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^i^

l)K. KRIDTJOK NA.NSl.N

I 'i

I'l

THE "FRAM" EXPEDITION.

NANSEN

IN THE

FROZEN GUOf^LD

PRECEDED BY A BIOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT EXPLORER AND COPIOUS

EXTRACTS FROM NANSEN'S "FIRST CROSSING OF GREENLAND -

ALSO AN ACCOUNT BY EIVIND ASTRUP, OF LIFE AMONG

PEOPLE NEAR THE POLE, AND HIS

JjurneJ E.zn$$ ^orthEiTi Speenland

WITH

Lieut. R. E. F»EARY, U.S.N.

ARRANGED AND EDITED
By S. L. KERENS, Cand. F»hLiL

FOLLOWED BY A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE PRINCIPAL

earlier Hrctic explorations

FROM THE NINTH CENTURY TO THE PEARY EXPEDITION, INCLUDING

THOSE OP CABOT, FROBISHER, BERING, SIR JOHN FRANKLIN

KANE, HAYES, HALL, NORDENSKJOLD, NARES, SCHWATKA,

DeLONG, GREELY, and OTHERS.

By JOHN E. READ.

Assistant Editor 0/ thf "Columbian Cyclopedia."

PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED.

WkYERlY PUBLISHING CO.,

LAKESIDE BUILDING,

CHICAGO, ILLS.

91(09/)

PREFACE

Among the subjects that are "old yet ever new," that of Arctic
Exploration holds a prominent place. It interested the hardy
Northmen a thousand years ago, and it has a still stronger fasci-
nation for the people of the present day. It is natural that this
should be the case. The human mind is so constituted that it is
always seeking to learn about things that lie beyond the immedi-
ate range of its knowledge. Among intelligent and progressive
people there is always a desire to investigate and explore the
unknown. This is followed by efforts to secure the knowledge
for which a wish has been formed. In the case of Arctic Explo-
ration, the desire to know whether there were islands or conti-
nents beyond the narrow range of their vision led the pioneers
in this great work t-^ sail upon unknown seas. Probably a love
of adventure also urged them on, but this could hardly have been
the leading motive in their dangerous voyages. At a' early
period in the history of such enterprises the commercial spirit
became a factor, and in later days the love of scientific investiga-
tion was added to the other elemr •«-s in the combination of forces
which led men to brave the dai.^ -^ and endure the hardships
inseparable from the work of Arctic . xploration.

The latest of the great Arctic explorers to reach his home is
Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, a young Norwegian scientist, who went
much farther north than man had ever been, farther even than
the companion who accompanied him to latitude 86° 14'. In
Europe and America he is the hero of the day. His accurate
knowledge, wonderful foresight, marvellous skill, splendid execu-
tive ability, magnificent courage, and unconquerable determina-
tion carried him to a success far greater than any of his prede-
cessors were able to secure. It is fitting that the record of his
brilliant achievements should be given to the public in a handsome
and a permanent form. With this end in view the present book
has been prepared. It also seemed desirable that it should con-
tain a biography of Dr. Nansen and an account of his work, much
of which was vahiable, previous to the great exploit which brought

PREFACE

him world-wide fame. Thus the people could be brought to
know the man as well as to learn of his deeds. In order to add
still further to its interest and make it not only an entertaining
but also a permanently valuable book, it was decided to add other
features. The <;ieat journey across the inland ice of Greenlaml
by Lieutenant Peary, of the United States Navy, and l-jvind
Astrup, is fully described, and a sketch is given of the Second
I'eary E.xpedition. The concluding portion of the book is a
connected sketch of the principal expeditions to the North from
tiieir earliest date down to the time of the ones just described.
Thus the iMitire historical period of Arctic Ivxploration to the
return of Nansen and the Lvaui in 1896 has been covered.

The materials for this work have been obtained from the best
sources, and their arranger.ient has received careful attention.
The biography of Dr. Nansen and a description of the planning
and executing of the great journey across Greenland were mainly
written by two eminent Norwegian scholars, Professor W. C.
lirogger and Professor Nordahl Rolfsen, both intimate friends of
the great explorer. The story of the Crossing of the Iiihuul Ice
is related by Nansen himself, while several of the following chap-
ters were prepared by his Norwegian friends. Tlie description
of the Voyage of the Frnin, of the Great Sledge ICxpcdition and
its wonderful success, and of the return of the explorers, is given
in Nansen's own words. Across Northern Greenland, an account
of the e.xpedition of Lieutenant Peary, is by Eivind Astrup, an
entertaining writer and famous exi)lorer who accompanied Peary
in the perilous journey to the extreme northern portion of that
desolate land. In the preparation of the history of the P!arlier
Arctic Ivxplorations the works of the best writers upon the sub-
ject were consulted. Where discrepancies were found, as they
were in several instances, the evidence was carefully weighed and
the statements which seemed to have the strongest claim for
accuracy were accepted. Of the more than one hundred illustra-
tions, many of them full-page, which not only add to the beauty
of the book but greatly increase its utility, a large number are
from photographs taken upon the spot and are absolutely perfect
representations of the scenes which they place before the eye
For several of these illustrations we are under obligations to Mr.
Alfred C. Harmsworth, patron of the Jackson-Harmsworth Ex-
pedition, and some were obtained from Nansen's •' Pram Over

PREFACE

iii

i\cn
)unt

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:hat

licr
sub-

hcy
and

foi-
st ra-
autv

are
•feet
eye.

Mr.

Ex-

>ver

I'olhavet," published in Norway. Mes.srs. H()iiL,hton, Mifflin &
Company and 'i'iie Lothrop I'uhlisliiiij; Company kindly fmnished
several portraits ; the publishers of MeClure's Ma_i;a/.ine allowed
the use of a number of fine plates, and thr»)U^h the courte.sy of
Dr. Robert N. Keely, sur^^eon to I'eary's First Kxpedition, and
Dr. Gwilym G. Davis, member of the Archx()l()j;ieal Assoeiation
of the University of Pennsylvania, many extremely beautiful
sketches antl ph()toi;raphs are |.;iven.

The inveslij^alion of the cheerless rej^ion of the North has
been attended by constant danj^er and has iuNoKed heavy losses
of life and property. Hut tlie work has not been done in v.iin.
It opened the way for the formation of colonies, for the develop-
ment of commerce, for extensive and profitable whale and seal
fislieries, and has <ijreatly enlar^^ed the bounds of human know-
ledire. Not onlv iias there been an enormous advance in the line
of j;eographical information, but much has been learned rci^ardin^;'
ideology, meteorology, zoology, and kindred sciences. Work in
this direction has also made known to civilized nations a most
interesting race of people who not only live, but who appear to
fully enjoy life, in a region of jierpetual snow and ice. Then, too,
the heroism, fortitude and fidelity of the noble men who, at the
imminent risk of their lives, have gone to this inhospitable region
and in the face of appalling dangers, and while enduring most
terrible sufferings, have struggled on in order that they might
open to the civilized world the vast domain which had so long
remained unknown, have b6cn object lessons of faith and hope to
all the world. And ns long as courage is admired, devotion to
duty is respected, and self-sacrifice is revered, so long will the
deeds of the heroes who have toiled amid the awful drjariness
and desolation of the Frozen V^orld be held in honored remem-
l)rance.

l-'urther progress in Arctic Exploration will involve difficulty
and danger, but the end is not yet. What has been accomplished
will stimulate to renewed effort, and the knowledge that has been
gained in the past will greatly aid in the future prosecution of the
work. The genius and energy of man are pitted against the
barriers of nature, and soonsr or later nature will be compelled to
reveal her secrets to his gaze. Those who are inclined to doubt
the probability of carrying further an investigation of the Arctic
region should be encouraged by the fact that many things which

PREFACE

were long deemed impossible have been accomplished and that
the future may be expected to bring as great surprises as the past
has given. A curious illustration of the uncertainty of predic-
tions regarding the success ot Arctic Ivxploration is found in the
book of an able ICnglish writer. The preface of this work was
dated March 25, i<S50, a time at which interest in the fate of Sir
John l''ranklin was at its height. 'l"he last words of the book
express a hope that " I*jigland will be careful of again risking the
lives of her adventurous sons in further attempts to discover
what cannot be looked upon in any other light than that of a
geographical ileitis fntiiiis^Thi^ Northwest I'assage." Yet from
documents which were afterward found it was proved that the
Franklin expedition had discovered this passage not less than
three years before its non-existence was so emphatically affirmed.
During the last half century great advances along the line of
Arctic Exploration have been made and interest has Waxed instead
of waned. T^ach new discovery seems to stimulate to still stronger
endeavor, and public interest in the subject was never as high as
it is at the present time. Projects of various kinds are being
considered and preparations for further efforts are under way.
Which of the various plans proposed will lead to success, or
whether one radically different from any that have been sug-
gested will be required, cannot be affirmed. But it is safe to say
that, sooner or later, the great Arctic problem will be solved.
The work will be carried on until the region at the North that is
now unknown has been explored and' a flag has been unfurled
upon the precise spot which geographers designate as the Pole.

CONTENTS

CHAl-TBR

I. Ancestry — Childhood . . . '*°o

II. YoL'TH ".'.'.' 24

III. Nanskn's CIkrknland Expedition — Pkkpakation —

Plan — K(,)UII'mi:.nt _.

IV. Across Greenland ,.,

V. Drifting in thk Ue .78

VI. An Eskimo Encami-.ment on iiik East Coast . . 86
VII. TiiK CRossiN(i OF THK Ini.ani) Ick — Thk First Sight

OK Land and First Urink of Watkr . . . .113

VIII. Thk Dkscknt to Amkralikfjord 136

IX. Arrival at Godthaah , ,.

X. With the Current _ ' ,7^

XI. NaNSKN at HoMK and AllROAD i,S8

XII, On Board thk '• Fram " 218

NANSEN'S STORY AS TOLD UY HIMSELF

XIII. Introduction

XIV. Thk VovAOK OF THK "Fram" . . . , ' " 357
XV. Thk Great Sledge Expedition . .... 271

XVI. Ho.MKWARD Hound ^/

XVII. How THE "Fram" fared — SvERDRup's Storv . ' . 302

PEARY'S JOURNEY ACROSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

XVIII. Winter Quarters and Preparations . . ^2%

XIX. Across the Ice Cap 330

XX. The Second Peary Expedition , . . lly

XXI. Natives at Smith Sound . . • . . jv

XXII. Hunting ' . ' . ' " '

XXIII. The North Greenland Dog . . . . ' 30?

XXIV. Home Life, Habits and Character .... 406
XXV. Intelligence, Religious Ideas and Customs . . 421

EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

XXVI. Pioneer Voyages ..j

XXVII. Interest renewed ^r^

XXVIII. Heroic Endeavors . .".'.'.".'.'.■ 477

XXIX. Great Disasters ' " * Z^l

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Dr. F'ridtjof Nansen

Hans Nansen

Baron Christian V. V. Wedel-Jarisl^erg (Nansen's Craiul
Baroness C. F. V. Wedcl-Jarlsberg (Nansen's (uT.ndmotl
Fridtjof Nansen and his Father ....

Nansen's Mothsr

Great Frcien — The Dwelling-house ....

Nansen as a Child

Nansen as a Boy

In the Polar Sea

The Members of the Greenland Expedition
Sverdrup on Guard on the Ice Floe ....
Under Sail in tlie i\K)onlight — Creva ;ses ahead
Nansen and Sverdrup in tlie Canvas Boat .

Nansen at Thirty-one

Tailpiece : Head of Walrus

The Eskimo Encampment at Cape Bille .

Eskimo Beauty, from the East Coa.st, in her Old Age .

Eskimo Boy, from the Camp at Cape faille

Eskimos, from the Camp at Cape Bille

" An unusually sociable woman " . . . .

" Tlien the master came out of the tent "...

Canoes among the Floes ......

First Attempts at Sailing

" And there I lay gazing after the ship and its sail "'

Sailing on the Inland Ice

Sailing hi Moonlight ....
Coasting down the Slopes
An Awkward Predicament
Roujjhish Ice .

Rest and Reflection ....
Into Better Ice again ....
Upon the Brow of an Ice-slope .
The Boat and its Builder
Shooting Gulls from the Boat .

By Ameralikfjord

Bolette — Greenland Woman of ?,Iixed Race

Nansen in 1S93

Nan.sen on the Ice — Summer Dress
Nansen on the Ice — Winter Dr,;ss

I''rontisp,

icce

father)

I.e.)

iiigp(\

ID
14

'5
16

32
54
5^'
69

«5
86

97
98

lOI
IDS

107
no
117
119
121

•25
129

137

•39
140
141

'43
•45
149
153
1 6s
179
181
i83

LJST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

"5
iT)

•7

5^>
69

«5
86

97
98

lOI

105
107
1 10
117
119

Facing pa^j^c
Facing pa i^c

Facing page
Facing page

Facing page

Kva Nansen

Dr. Nansen

Nansen's Home ....

Nansen's Study at (Jodthaab

The Launch of the " Fram "

Nansen and Mrs. N'in.sen on Snow-shoes

The " Fram " in I3erc:en

Lieutenant Joliansen ....

Kitchen of the •' Fram "...

.Saloon on the •• Fram '' ,

Nansen's Study on the " Fram "

Colin Archer, the Builder of the •' Fram "

(From •' Fram Over I'olhavct.")
The "Fram" L-aving 15ergcn, Nor-.vay, for the Arctic Regions

(From " F'ram Over Polhavet.')
Members of the Norwegian Tolar K-ocdition, 1893-96

(From "Fruin Over I'olhavct.")
(Outline Draught of the "Fram" ....

(From " Fram Over J--ilIiavet.")
The ''Fram'' in the Ice-pack

(By courtesy of McCliire s Ma'^azine.)
Playing Cards on Board the " Fram"

(From "F'ram Over Polhavet." )
Crew of the '• Fram " when Nansen and Johansen left the

^''■P Facim^pa^e

(F-rom " Fram Over Polhavet.")

Dr. Nansen and Lieutenant Johansen L-aving the "F'ram"

Hunting Walrus on the East Coast of Taimyr Peninsula Facing page

(From " Fram Over I'olliavet.")
Toward the South : Nansen and Johansen Homeward bound,

May I, 1S96 Facing pa^^e

(F-rom " Fram Over Polhavet.")
Meeting of Dr. Nansen and Mr. Jackson in Franz Josef Land, June, 1896

(By permission of Mr. Alfred C. Ilarmsvvorth.)
Dr. Nansen in Franz Josef Land, June 189^)

(By permission of Mr. Alfred C. Harmsworth.)
Captain Otto Neumann Sverdrup .... Facinc paire

The " Fram " in the Harbor of Christiania after her Return ,
Nansen's Reception at Christiania, September 9, 1S96 Facinf; pa<^e

Lieutenant Robert E. Peary, U. S. N. . "^

Eivind Astrup

Our First Bear

Ice-pack in Melville Bay

The " Kite " at Melville Bay . . .

Peary's House and Tent

Iceberg off Cape Cleveland, McCormick Bay

Separation of Ice Floes ....

Peary and his Companions

The Midnight Sun ....

A Specimen of Greenland Flora

Facing page
Facing page

188

190

'97
198

202
21 1
219
224
230

233
237
244

246

249

264

Facing page

274

2.S2

28S

293
297

302

3 4
316
321
324
324
326

326
335
33''>
33«
340
340
346

viii

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Musk Ox 349

The Relief Party meeting l^eary and Astrup . . . Facing pa^e 350

Peary and Astrup hoisting Flags on Navy Cliff 356

Young Eskimo Girls and Native Hut at Godhavn 358

The " Falcon " among Icebergs I'acing page 358

Walrus taking a Sun Bath I'acing page 360

Sea-birds 364

Watching for Seal 371

Sledge from Smith Sound 373

I'.skimo Fox-trap 374

IJear attacking Seal 375

Different Weapons and Implements Facing page 3S0

Attacking a Walrus Facing page 384

A Group of Seals Facing page 386

Shooting Seals 389

Reindeer 391

Gate' ing Auks with a Net 393

A F; orite Dog 395

Dog harness 397

Dogs of Northern Greenland Facing page 400

A Group of Pups 405

Eskimo Boy 406

An Eskimo House in Winter 407

Stone Huts or Igloos — taken at Midnight 409

Cape York, Smith Sound — Eskimo Sleds on the Ice . . . . 411

Interior of Hut 413

Sir John Franklin Facing page 441

Martin Frobisher 447

Henrv (irinnell 479

Dr. E. K. Kane 483

Dr. Isaac I. Hayes 489

C. F. Hall 493

A. E. Nordenskjold 505

Lieutenant G. W. De Long, U. S. N 517

Com. George W. Melville, U. S. N 520

Tailpiece: Polar Bear 531

MAPS

Map of Greenland Facing page 146

Map of Projected and Actual Routes of the " Fram " and

Course of Sledge Expedition Facing page 266

(By courtesy of McClure's Magazine.)

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

CHAPTER I

ANCESTRY CHILDHOOD

Hans Nansen, Fridtjof Nansen's ancestor, born No-
vember 28, 1598, in Flensburg, had as a sixteen years
old lad gone to the White Sea in his uncle's ship — in
those days quite an adventurous enterprise. They had
practically no charts, they were scantily supplied with
instruments, and they had to keep cannon and cutlasses
in readiness. In the course of the voyage, indeed, they
had been twice overhauled and plundered by the Eng-
lish. Now they were fast in the ice at Kola. But the
intelligent boy, eager for knowledge, did not permit him-
self to be depressed. He employed the time in learning
Russian, and in the summer, when the uncle bent his
course southward again, his nephew did not accompany
him. He preferred to stay behind and learn more. He
travelled alone " through several districts of Russia to
the town of Kuwantz." From Kuwantz he took ship in
September for Copenhagen.

His character came early to maturity, and his powers
could not brook inaction. He had not completed his
twenty-first year when King Christian IV. placed him at
the head of an expedition to the rich fur regions about

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

the Petschora. But the ice was too much for him. He
had to m.ake up his mind to winter at Kola. Here he
received a commission from the Czar of Russia, and
undertook, by imperial order, an exploration of the coast

HANS NANSEN

of the White Sea. Not until he reached Archangel did
he rejoin his ship.

After that he held a command for eighteen seasons in
the service of the Iceland Company. He was by nature a
keen observer and a born leader of men, full of alert prac-
ticality, and yet with a strong literary bent. And he was
eminently disposed to share with others the fruits of his

NANSEN'S ANCESTRY AND CHILDHOOD

1 1

reading. " When I had nothing else to do," he writes,
" I copied out extracts from the Bible, and from various
Cosmographical and geographical works, to serve as an
index and commonplace-book for future reference. . . .
And when, a little while ago, I read it through again, 1
thought that perhaps there might be others who would
be glad to know these things, but who, on account of
other occupations and so forth, had neither time nor
opportunity to study the great works on cosmography.
For the benefit of such persons I have given to the
press this brief digest." The title ran : " Compendiuni
Cosmographicum ; being a short description of the en-
tire earth, etc. Treating, furthermore, of the sea and of
navigation, with certain serviceable directions thereto
appertaining."

The " Compendium Cosmographicum " became a pop-
ular handbook, so much read by seafaring men and
others, that four editions were exhausted in the author's
lifetime. Indeed, we gather that up to a few years ago it
had not quite gone out of use. The copy now in the
possession of the Nansen family came, according to a
well-authenticated tradition, direct from a skipper who
sailed by it. Inside the old cover, the late owner of the
book has inscribed the following testimonial : —

" This book is of great use to seafaring folk. Ote
Borgersen A as, 1841."

Thus the handbook of the gallant old Arctic skipper
may be said to have done service down to the very thresh-
old of the time when his descendant was preparing to
add new " courses " to those he had so diligently laid
down — " courses " across Greenland and to the North
Pole.

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

At the age of forty, Hans Nansen begins to rise in the
world ; and soon he exchanges the command of a ship's
crew for that of the burghers of Copenhagen. He first
became town councillor, then one of the four burgo-
masters, and in 1654 he held the chief place among the
four. Shrewd, ready-witted, eloquent, accustomed to
command, and endowed with a firm will and invincible
energy, he seemed specially created to take part, and a
leading part, in the critical times which followed.

In 1658 the Swedish king, Karl Gustav, declared war
and invaded Zealand. The Estates met at the Palace,
the royal message was read, and the king addressed them
in person. It fell to the lot of Hans Nansen to answer
that the burghers " would stand by the king through
thick and thin," and the populace behind him shouted
their assent. Not only was the integrity of their native
land at stake, but civic freedom and independence as
well. On the following day, the loth of August 1658,
the Privy Council was obliged to issue a proclamation
" which was as good as a patent of nobility to all the mer-
chants and handicraftsmen of Copenhagen." Karl Gustav
understood its significance. " Since the burghers have
obtained such privileges," he exclaimed, " no doubt they '11
stand a tussle." And during this " tussle " the leading
burgomaster of Copenhagen had no peace either by day
or night. Earthworks had to be constructed, ditches
filled, provisions laid in, soldiers quartered, the burghers
drilled and commanded, and public order preserved in the
midst of a concourse of people crowding into the city
from every side. " We find him now at home, opening
his plate chest and his money-box, placing great sums at
the king's dii "^al, lending him his carriage and horses,

NANSEN'S ANCESTRY AND CHILDHOOD

and all the time doing his best to keep up the spirits of
his own family; now in the Town Hall sitting in council
or on the bench; now in the Chamber, now with the
king ; then again at a regimental inspection, or on the
fire-watch tower, or at the outworks, with the bullets
picking men off on every side; now listening to the ser-
mons which were preached on the ramparts, now going
the rounds with the night patrol." And when it comes
to meeting the enemy outside the fortifications, the inde-
fatigable burgomaster is still in the van.

It is certain that there are remarkable points of simi-
larity between the old burgomaster and his grandson's
grandson's grandson.

It would seem as though Fridtjof Nansen himself were
conscious of this hereditary strain in his character. In
one of his letters to his father, he speaks of the Nansen
pride, which in his case, when occasion demands, takes
the form of an adamantine stubbornness.

But this pride does not descend to him on the male
side alone ; through his mother he inherits the blood of
the Wedels.

Count Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg, the famous political
leader of 1814, afterwards Viceroy (Statholder) of Nor-
way, had a younger brother, Baron Christian Frederik
Vilhelm of Fornebo, whose daughter was the mother of
Fridtjof Nansen. Thus, if pride and spirit of adventure
may be said to lie at the root of the father's family-tree,
every branch of the mother's bears evidence of the same
qualities.

A few words more about the Nansen family. Hans
Nansen, Municipal President, Privy Councillor, and Judge
of the Supreme Court, died at Copenhagen, November 12,

•4

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

1667. A daughter of liis eldest son, Michael Nansen, was
married to the celebrated P(;ter Griffenfeld. A younger
son, Hans Nansen, was Municipal President of Copen-
hagen at the time of his death in 17 18. His grandson
was Ancher Anthony Nansen, w^ith whom the male line

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BARON CHRISTIAN F. V. WEDEL-JARLSBERG (nANSEN'S GRANDFATHER)

removed to Norway. In 1761 he became district magis-
trate of Outer Sogn, and there married a lady of the
name of Leierdahl, a member of the Geelmuyden family.
His only son was called Hans Leierdahl Nansen, who in

NA.XSEN'S ANCE^iT/iV AXD CHILD JI 00 D

ScptcMii1)cr, ivSoQ, Ijccamc juclcijc in Guldalen.and later rep-
resentative for Stavanger district in Storthinget. lie was
divorced from his first wife and married again, 1810, a
daughter of court-printer Mbller of Copenhagen. They
were Fridtjof Nansen's grandfather and grandmother.

HARONESS C. F. V. WEDEL-JARLSBERG (NANSEN'S GRANDMOTHER)

Fridtjof's father, Baldur Fridtjof Nansen, was born in
Kgersund in 181 7. After the death of his father in the
twenties, Baldur Nansen's mother removed from Egersund
to Stavanger, for the sake of her son's education. Here

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

she lived till 1^35, when he matriculated at the University
of Christiania.

" He was industrious," says an intimate friend of the

Nansen family in a
letter, " well - behaved
and exemplary in
every respect. His
abilities were not bril-
liant, but, being strict-
ly and plainly brought
up, and stimulated by
the influence of his
clever mother, he
passed all his exami-
nations with a certain
distinction, and be-
came an accomplished
jurist. He had none
of his parents' wit and
fancy; but he was
noted for his thor-
oughly refined, amiable, and courteou'' manners and dis-
position."

He became Reporter to the Supreme Court; but he
was principally employed in finance and conveyancing.
He enjoyed unbounded confidence.

Baldur Nansen's first wife was the daughter of Major-
General Sorensen, and sister to the wife of the poet Jorgen
Moe. His second wife (Fridtjof's mother) was Adelaide
Johanna Isidora, nee Wedel-Jarlsberg, who also had been
married before. Mrs. Adelaide Nansen is described as a
tall and stately lady, capable and resolute, even-tempered

KRIDTJOF NANSKN AND HIS FATHKR

NAXSEN'S ANCESTRY" AXD Cin/.D/fOOD

•7

. I

and straightforward, without any pretension on the score
of birth and ancestry. She had a masculine will. It was
greatly against the wishes of her strict and aristocratic
father that she married a baker's son for her first hus-
band. However, she carried her point, and her mother
appears to have sided with her in this affair of the heart.
The parents were not at the marriage, although they had
sfiven their consent.

As a young girl she had defied opinion and cultivated
that sport which her son was afterwards to render world-
famous. She was devoted to snow-shoeing, which was at
that time thought unwomanly and even improper. As a
housewife she was one of those who know every nook
and corner of the house
from attic to cellar — ac-
tive, managing, ready
with her hands and not
afraid of the coarsest
work. If the servant had
blistered her fingers, the
lady of the house would
herself take hold and
wring out the wet linen.
She worked in the gar-
den, and she made her
boys' clothes. They had
no other tailor until they
were eighteen years old.

Nevertheless, she found time to acquire the knowledge
she had not stored up in early youth. Her will power
and love of activity, her intrepidity, her practical and reso-
lute nature, have descended to her son.

nansen's MOTHKR

NAAS/iX /X THE IRQ /.EN WORLD

Mr. and Mrs. Nanscn, after tlicir marriage, settled
down upon a small property belonging to her at Great
I'Voen in West Aker. Here I'ridtjof was born on October
10, iiS6i.

In the choice of his birthplace, his lucky star, as we
have said before, had ordered things for the best. Here
was country life, here were cows and horses, geese and
hens, hills for snow-shoeing on every side, great forests
close at hand, and, only some two miles and a half away,
an excellent school, one of the best in Christiania.
These two miles and a half were reckoned a mere
nothinir in the Nanscn household. I'irst to school in the
morning, and back again, then, on summer afternoons,
down to the fortress to learn to swim — that makes a
good ten miles of a hot summer's day, to say nothing of
minor wanderings. And there were invariably fights by
the way — systematic training, be it observed, from the
very first.

Froen farmyard was the scene of the boy's earliest
expeditions, and it was not Arctic cold, but torrid heat
that first imperilled his life. One day when he was three
years old, and still in frocks, he stood hammering away at
a wheelbarrow, no doubt trying to mend it, when, to the
consternation of those in the kitchen, a column of smoke
was seen to be rising from his person. " He 's on fire ! "
was the cry. Out rushed the housekeeper, and tore his
clothes off his back. In the course of his wanderings, he
had visited the brew-house, where some sparks from the
fire had lodged in his petticoats ; and behold ! he was
within an ace of being burnt to death in blissful uncon-
sciousness that anything was amiss.

The Frogner River flowed right past the front door at

NANSF.V'S /INCESTA')' ,IXD Clfff DlfOOP

settled

Great

ictober

as we
Here
se and
forests
\ away,
stiania.
I mere
1 in the
rnoons,
lakes a
liinti of
L^lUs by
om the

earl
id heat
IS three
away at
to the
smoke
1 fire ! "
ore his
ngs, he
om the
|he was
uncon-

Idoor at

^^S

CKKAr IKOlCN — IHK I )\VKI.I.1N( ; llOUSK

r^roeti, and here Fridtjof and his younger l3rotlier woukl
batlie in the fresh of the evening, in tlie coklest j)ool they
could find. Indeed, tlie younger of the two woukl some-
times nearly perish with the cold, so that after coming out
of the water he had to be dragged about at a brisk trot, in
the costume which preceded all fashions and modes of
dress, in order to keep life and warmth in his body.

Into this same river they fell through the ice in the

winter, and when their mother appeared on the scene she

ound Fridtjof in the act of fishing his brother out. And

it was in the Frogner River that Fridtjof himself came

near losing his life.

But it also presented a peaceful means of livelihood.

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

They selected from among the pea-sticks those made of
juniper, rolled their trousers well up, and went digging

among the decayed leaves in
the garden for bait, which
they stored in the turned-up
portion of their breeches.
Then they went and fished
for trout or minnows. Now
and then the hook would go
astray and stick fast in Fridt-
jof's under lip ; whereupon
Mrs. Nansen would have re-
course to father's razor, make
a resolute incision and extract
the foreign body. No fuss or
pother on either side. Not
so much as a sound.

Here at Froen he first ran
his head against the ice —
the rough ice in the yard.
When the little five-year-old rushed into tho kitchen, there
was scarcely a white spot left on his face, for the blood
that trickled down it. He would not shed a tear, and was
only afraid of being scolded. But from that day to this
he wears his first ice-medal in the shape of a scar.

They hunted squirrels with dog and bow. " Storm," the
dog, would chase the squirrels up trees, where the little
creatures found a tolerably secure asylum ; for the arrows
never hit them. Finally, Fridtjof, inspired by Indian tales,
hit upon a devilish device which he thought must prove
fatal. He anointed the arrow-head with the juice of a
poisonous mushroom, so that a wound from it meant

NANSEN AS A CHILD

NANSEA'S ANCESTRY AM) CHILDHOOD

certain death. But the arrows someliow did no more ex-
ecution, although he also tipped them with melted lead
to make them cany better.

After that he took to a new variety of weapon —
cannons. He stuffed them to the muzzle with powder,
but could not get it to ignite. Then he made a maroon,
and poked it about so much that it exploded in his face.
The cannon ultimately burst ; and it was again his
mother's task to take him aside and pick out the powder
grain by grain.

He himself tells the story of his first snow-shoes, and
his first great leap : —

" I am not speaking of the very first pair of all — they
were precious poor ones, cut
down from cast-off snow-
shoes which had belonged
to my brothers and sisters.
They were not even of the
same length. But Mr. Fabri-
tius, the printer, took pity
upon me ; ' I '11 give you a
pair of snow-shoes,' he said.
Then spring came and then
summer, and with the best will
in the world one could n't
go snow-shoeing. But Fa-
britius's promise sang in my
ears, and no sooner had the
autumn come and the fields
begun to whiten with hoar-frost of a morning, than I
placed myself right in his way, where I knew he would
come driving by.

NANSEN AS A BOY

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

III

iii

" ' I say ! What about those snow-shoes ? '
" ' You shall have them right enough,' he said, and
laughed. But I returned to the charge day after day:
' What about those snow-shoes ? '

" Then came winter. I can still see my sister standing
in the middle of the room with a long, long parcel which
she said was for me. I thought she said, too, it was from
Paris. But that was a mistake, for it was the snow-shoes
from Fabritius — a pair of red-lacquered ash snow-shoes
with black stripes. And there was a long staff too, with
shining blue-lacquered shaft and knob. I used these
snow-shoes for ten years. It was on them I made my
first big jump on Huseby Hill, where at that time the
great snow-shoe races were held. We boys were not
allowed to go there. We might range all the other hills
round about, but the Huseby Hill was forbidden. But
we could see it from Froen, and it lured us day after day
till we could n't resist it any longer. At first I started
from the middle of the hill, like most of the other boys,
and all went well. But presently I saw there were one
or two who started from the top ; so of course I had
to try it. Off I set, came at frantic speed to the jump,
sailed for what seemed a long time in space, and ran
my snow-shoes deep into a snow-drift. We did n't have
our shoes fastened on in those days, so they remained
sticking in the drift, whi^e I, head first, described a fine
arc in the air. I had such way on, too, that when I
came down again T bored into the snow up to my waist.
There was a moment's hush on the hill. The boys
thought I had broken my neck. But as soon as they
saw there was life in me, and that I was beginning to
scramble out, a shout of mocking laughter went up ; an

NANSEN'S AXCESTRY AND CHILDHOOD

endless roar of derision over tlie entire hill from top to
bottom.

"After that, I took part in the Huseby Hill races and
won a prize. But I did n't take it home ; for I was put
to shame on that occasion as well. It was the first time
I had seen the Telemark peasants snow-shoeing, and I
recognized at a glance that I was n't to be mentioned
in the same breath with them. They used no staff; they
simply went ahead and made the leap without trusting to
anything but the strength of their muscles and the firm,
lithe carriage of their bodies. I saw that this was the
only proper way. Until I had mastered it, I w^ould n't
have any prize."

He was a terrible one for falling into brown studies.
Between putting on the first and the second stocking of
a morning, there was always a prolonged interval. Then
his brothers and sisters would call out, " There 's the
duft'er at it again ! You '11 never come to any good,
you 're such a dawdler."

He was ahvays bent on getting to the bottom of every-
thing. He asked so many questions, says one of his older
friends, that it made one absolutely ill. " Many a time
have I given him a thundering scolding for this everlast-
ing ' Why ? — Why } — Why ? ' " The arrival of a sewing-
machine at Froen naturally aroused the demon of curios-
ity in all his virulence. He must find out what kind of
animal this was. So he took it all to pieces, and when
his mother came back from town, the machine was the
most disjointed puzzle imaginable. If tradition is to be
trusted, however, he did not give in until he had put it all
together again.

CHAPTER II

YOUTH

If, weary of the soft grace of the Ch -istiania Valley,
one turns and gazes northward from the tower on Try-
vand Height, one is confronted, as far as eye can see,
with blue-black forests — forests and nothing but forests,
ridge behind ridge, on and on to the farthest verge of
the horizon.

This is Nordmarken, an unbroken stretch of Nor-
wegian woodland, many square miles in extent, a lonely
world of narrow valleys, abrupt heights, secluded glassy
lakes, and foaming rivers.

Into this solitude no murmur from the busy capital
ever penetrates, not even the sound of a panting engine
or the warning whistle of a steamboat cautiously thread-
ing the intricacies of the fjord in the dense sea-fog.

At the frontier of Nordmarken the comforts of civiliza-
tion instantaneously stop short. When you have said
good-bye to the great hotels on the slopes of the Frogner
Saeter, and plunged into these interminable forests, yctu
may wander for days without coming across anything
remotely resem'^ling an hotel.

Yes, here all is peaceful and still — breathlessly still —
when summer spreads her light veil over the glassy lakes
and dark green leas, when the black-grouse drowses in
the heather, and even the thrush in the pine-tops hushes
his song.

NANSEN'S } O 67 //

There is breathless stiUness, too, of a clear autumn
evening when the birch sees its yellow silk, and the aspen
its gorgeous scarlet, reflected in the black mirror of the
lake, framed in the delicate pale red of the heather.

Again there is breathless stillness — perhaps even more
complete — during the long night of winter, when the
stars glitter over the snow-laden forest and the white-
frozen surface of the lake, and no sound is heard save the
soft trickle of the ice-bound river.

In the shooting and fishing season it is no longer the
Great Pan who reigns. Fishing-rods by the score hang
over the river like a bending wood, and the guns of the
city sportsmen keep up a continual popping and banging
in a spirit of noisy competition. Even the boundless
abundance of fish and game is thus on the decline.
Waterworks have interfered with the spawning, dam after
dam bars the fishes' way up stream, and the river bed lies
dry for weeks together.

It was not so twenty years ago, in Fridtjof Hansen's
boyhood. He was among the few, the pioneers, the elect.
That Robinson Crusoe existence which less favored boys
must be content to live in imagination was vouchsafed to
him in its glorious reality. Of his first expedition to the
borders of that Promised Land he has himself ritten as
follows : —

" I showed no great intrepidity on my ^rst voyage of
discovery, although it went no farther than to Sorkedal.

" I was somewhere about ten or eleven at the time, and
up in Sorkedal lived several boys w^ho were friends of
mine, and who had asked my brothers and myseli to come
and see them. One afternoon in June, as we were sitting
out on the steps, it came over us all of a sudden that we

NANSEN IN 'I HE FROZEN WORLD

really ought to act upon this invitation. We had a notion
that we ought to ask our parents' leave, and an equally
clear notion that we should n't Ljet it if we did. Father
and mother were taking a siesta; we dared not disturb
them, and if we waited till they awakened it would be too
late to go. So we took French leave and slipj^ed off.
The first part of the way was familiar to us. We knew
where Engeland lay, and made our way to Bogstad with-
out much hesitation. After that we were rather at sea ;
but we asked our way from point to point, first to the
Sorkedal church, and after that to the farm where the
boys lived. By the time we got there it was seven o'clock
in the evening. Then we had to play with our friends
and go and see the barn, and afterwards to do a little fish-
ing. But it was n't any real fun. Our consciences were
so bad that we had no peace for so much as half an hour.
Then the time came for us to go home, and our hearts
sank so dreadfully that the way back seemed ever so much
wearier than the way out. The youngest soon became
footsore, and it was a melancholy procession that slowly
dragged itself towards Froen farm at eleven o'clock that
night. We saw from a long way off that people were
afoot ; no doubt they had been searching for us. We felt
anything but fearless. As we turned the corner, mother
came towards us. ' Is that you, boys.'*' 'Now we're in for
it! ' we thought. ' Where have you been .? ' mother asked.

" Well, we had been to Sorkedal. Now for it ! But
mother only said in an odd way : ' You are strange boys ! '
And she had tears in her eyes.

" Fancy, not the least bit of a scolding ! Fancy getting
to bed with our blistered feet, and without the least bit of
a scolding !

iVANSF.N'S YOUTH

" And the most extraordinary part of it was that a few-
days later we were allowed to go again to Sorkedal.
Could it be that father and mother had come to think
that they had been a little too strict with us ?

" While I was in my teens, I used to pass weeks at a
time alone in the forest. I disliked having any equipment
for my expeditions. I managed witli a crust of bread and
broiled my fish on the embers. I loved to live like Rob-
inson Crusoe up there in the wilderness."

But frequently Nansen was accompanied by his brother
and an t)lder member of the family, who hapj^ened to be
an enthusiastic huntsman and fisherman. And in this
way, from the age of twelve upwards, the boys trained
themselves to bear those fatl<j:ucs which are the best thiny;
in the world for hardening the muscles. The tramj)
became longer and longer, they jiushed on farther and
farther afield, as they grew older ; first to Sorkedal — then
to Langli River — then Svarten (the Black Lake) — San-
dungen — Katnosa.

The woods of Nordmarken offered plenty of long runs
for a "" ski-rtmfier'' who preferred to go his own way. It
was here that a feeling for nature was fostered in him — a
sense of the beauty of winter and summer, and of shifting
atmospheric moods which do not as a rule appeal to boys.
Here his tissues were hardened to face the Polar winters,
while he stood in the crackling frost waiting for the hare,
and envying him his warm white fur. It was hereabouts
(at Fyllingen) that he was once hare-hunting with his
brother for thirteen days on end. At the last they had
nothing to live on but potato cakes, and were half starved,
both they and their dog. Then came killing-day at the
farm, and the brothers consumed black-puddings till they

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

nearly burst. When the time came to go home, Fridtjof
had to shoulder seven hares, slung by the legs. He
slipped, fell forwards, and all the hares shot out like the
rays of a halo round his head.

There was one thing that used to annoy his snow-
shoeing cronies in those days, and that was his total care-
lessness as to creature comforts. If he hapj^ened to
look from the tower on Tryvand's Height away over to
Stubdal, twenty miles off, a whim would all of a sudden
seize him, and nothing would serve but he must set off
without taking a crumb of food with him. He on one
occasion descended upon a farm in Stubdal so ravenously
hungry that the people did not forget his visit for many
a day.

Another time he and a party of his friends set off on a
long snow-shoeing expedition, each with his provision wal-
let on his back — each one, that is to say, except Fridtjof
Nansen. But when they got to the first resting-place he
unbuttoned his jacket and took out of his breast pocket
— concealed deep within the lining — several pancakes,
which were as hot after the snow-shoeing as if they had
just come off the pan. He held them up smoking :
" Have a pancake, any of you fellows .? " None of them
were dainty, but the pancakes seemed even less so, and
they declined with thanks. " Well," he said, " the more
fools you, for let me tell you there 's jam in them I " It
is in such traits that he shows his kinship with the deni-
zens of the great forests. He has the recklessness of the
hunter and the lumberman, their daring and headlong
spirits. He is a typical east-country boy. But at the
same time there is systematic intention in the training to
which he subjects himself; his alert ambition reinforces

NANSEN'S YOUTH

his dclii^ht in unvarnished nature, and his tendency to
set at defiance the customs of civihzation. " The least
possible " is early his ideal, and he has not the slightest
objection to shocking public opinion in acting up to his
principles. It never occurs to him to doubt that it is he
who is right and the world that is wrong. He aj)pears to
have been one of the first consistent disciples of Jaeger
in Christiania, and later on, in his letters from Bergen, he
boasts that now the wool theory is admitted on all hands.
He quotes in this connection one of his favorite sayings:
" There was a man in a madhouse in London, who used
to say : ' I said the world was crazy, but the world said
that I was crazy, and so they put me here.' "

One thing his friends had to guard against : they must
never say to him that anything was impossible, for that
was inevitably the signal for him to attempt it. His boy-
ish imjjctuosity brought him on one occasion to death's
door — to the very verge of one of those leaps which
even the most expert athlete cannot clear.

It was in 1878. On a walking tour with his brother
Alexander, he came to Gjendin in the Jotunheim, and
must needs climb the Svartdal Peak. There was a way
round the back of the mountain which was more or less
practicable, but Fridtjof would have none of that ; he must
of course go straight up the precipitous black face of the
hill. " As w^e got up towards the peak," his brother relates,
" there was a snow-field which we had to cross. Beyond
the snow-field lay the precipice, straight down into the
valley. I had already had several attacks of giddiness, so
that Fridtjof had given me his alpenstock, and was with-
out it when it came to crossing the glacier. Instead of
going carefully step by step, as he would do now, he goes

3°

NAiXSEN IN THE FROZEN WOK ID

at it with a rush, sHps, and begins to sHde down. I can
see him turn pale. A few seconds more, and he will lie
crushed to death in the valley. Me digs his heels and
nails into the ice, and brings himself to a standstill in the
nick of time. That moment I shall never for<'et. Nor
shall I forget his coming down to the tourist chalet and
disappearing into the trousers which the burly secretary
of the Tourist Club, N. G. Dietrichson, had to lend him,
an essential part of his own having yielded to the friction
of the <j;lacier."

The same year in which Fridtjof Nansen was in the
Jotunheim, he had his first experience of ptarmigan shoot-
ing in the mountains, — Norefjeld and thereabouts, — and
it was then they went on a tramp so exhausting that one
of his brothers fell asleep far ujj on the heights, and had
to be hauled along with the greatest difficulty. It was
probably these early hunting expeditions through the for-
est and over the mountain plateaux that gave him his taste
for the accurate observation of animal life, and thus sup-
plied the initial impulse towards the line of study which
he finally chose. In the year 1880 he matriculated with
sufficient credit to prove that his distractions during
school time had not been so absorbing as to prevent him
from settling down to work when the moment arrived.
He got a first class in all natural science subjects, mathe-
matics, and history; and when in December, 1881, he went
up for his second examination, he was classed as laudabilis
prce ceteris. He appears about this time to have been in
some uncertainty as to his choice of a career. He was
entered as a cadet at the military academy, but the nomi-
nation was 'cancelled w^hen he finally resolved to continue

!■

J^^1JVS£.V'S YOi'Tir

his scientific studies, lie never contemplated going into
the medical profession, but had at one lime an idea of
takin*"- the first part of the medical examination. It ended,
however, in his choosing a special branch, Zoology. As
early as January, 1S82, he ai)plies to Professor Collett for
advice. The Professor happens to remember how he him-
self has been urged by Arctic seamen to go with them
and i)rosecute his studies during a sealing expedition.
This ought to be the very thing for Nansen. 1 le is an
expert sportsman and a good shot — why should he not
go to the Arctic regions on board a sealing vessel, make
his observations, keep a record, and train himself for de-
scriptive zoological research ? Nansen came to see him,
and he made the suggestion, which took hold of the young
man at once. A week later he asj^ain called on the Pro-
fessor, having in the mean time spoken to Captain Kref-
ting of the sealer Viking, and arranged matters v ith him.
On January 23, Nansen's father telegraphed to an old
friend in Arendal asking him to secure the ship-owners'
sanction. The friend was able, when called upon, to de-
clare that Fridtjof Nansen was a sturdy, strapping fellow,
ready with his hands, and capable of great endurance, so
that, to the best of the witness's belief, he would prove a
useful and desirable member of the expedition. Permis-
sion was instantly wired back, and Nansen, having em-
ployed the brief interval at the university in studying the
anatomy of the seal, sailed from the port of Arendal on
board the Vih'ng on Saturday, March 11.

The cruise lasted five months ; during which Nansen
shot about five hundred large seals, and fourteen Polar
bears. The Viking got fast in the ice off the east coast
of Greenland, and it was there that the idea occurred to

N.tNSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

Nanscn that it would be practicable to land on the coast
and cross the inland ice.

We have T^idtjof Nansen's own word for it tiiat these
weeks off the east coast of Greenland exercised a deter-
piining influence over him. " By day the peaks and the
glaciers lay glittering beyond the drift ice ; in the evening
and at nit^ht, wIilmi the sun tinned them with color and

IN TlIK rOLAR SKA

set air and clouds oii fire behind them, their wild beauty
was thrown into even bolder relief."

He brooded incessantly over plans for reaching that
coast which so many have sought in vain. It must be
possible, he thought, to make your way over the ice, drag-
ging your boat along with you. He wanted to set of¥
alone and w'alk ashore, but permission was refused him.
Already he had begun to entertain notions of penetrating

N^IJVSJiJV'S YOUTH

to the heart of the country; and within a year of his
return to Norway tiic idea of crossini; Cireenhuul on
snow-shoes had taken firm root in his mind.

While iMidtjof Nansen was swimmini; across the rifts
in the ice after Polar bears, the I)irector-in-Chief of tiie
Hergen Museum, Dr. Danielssen, was turning thinj^s oxer
in his mind, fie needed a new assistant. Before tlie
ijear-hunter had reached Christiania, Professor Robert
Collett was appHed to by telegraph for his advice. He
thought instantly of Nansen, and asked him, the moment
he set foot on shore, if he would care to become Curator
{Kouservaior) o{ the Bergen Museum. He agreed at once,
lie was not yet twenty-one, and had done nothing what-
ever to make his mark in science ; so it was certainly a
very tempting offer. He held the position of Curator of
the Bergen Museum till i<S8(S, during which time he was
engaged in carrying on zoological investigations.

F'ew things are more characteristic of Nansen than the
way in which he passed from Polar bear-hunting to the
work-room of the Bergen Museum. " I have become an
absolute first-class stick-in-the-nuid," he says in a letter to
his father as early as October 17, 1882. He, the athlete
and sportsman par excellence, has to " reassure " his father
by informing him that he is a member of two gymnastic
societies ! He throws himself into his scientific work as
passionately as if it were the most thrilling of adventures.
He pursues the paltriest insect revealed by the micro-
scope no less impetuously than he pursued the bears
over the Arctic wastes. In the course of his studies of the
nervous system, Nansen became acquainted with the chro-
mic silver method of staining the nerve fibres invented
by Professor Golgi of Pavia.

NANS EN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

In order thoroughly to famiHarize himself with this im-
portant auxiliary to the investigations which had now oc-
cupied him for several years, he determined, in the spring
of 1886, to go to Italy. Pr.rtly under Golgi's personal
guidance, and partly at the Zoological Station in Naples,
where he would find ample material, he hoped to be able
to carry his researches somewhat farther than had been
possible with the methods hitherto in vogue. The previ-
ous year, at the Bergen Museum, he had wor* the Joachim
Friele gold medal for his work on the myzostoma. He
had taken the medal in copper, and applied the value of
the gold to his travelling expenses.

After a short stay in Pavia, where he conferred with
Professor Golgi and Dr. Fusari, he went on to Naples,
where he spent the following months, from April till June,
1886, at the celebrated Zoological Station.

The principal results of his studies he embodied in sev-
eral biological works ; for " The Structure and Combina-
tion of the Histological Elements of the Central Nervous
System " Nansen received his doctor's degree.

By the great public, Fridtjof Nansen is known and ad-
mired chiefly as the dauntless explorer of the unknown
wastes of the North Pole. The above may help to im-
press upon the public, that Nansen is also an investigator
of note in another domain, which, though it does not
attract so much attention, perhaps deserves it no less.

Voyages of discovery in the quiet study, in the labora-
tory, in the world of the microscope, in Nature's secret
workshop, — these too minister to the enlio;htenment of
mankind and the progress of civilization. In this field
Fridtjof Nansen proved himself a born discoverer, and, at
an unusually early age, developed an activity which was
rich in promise.

.•/

CHAPTER III

NANSEN S GREENLAND EXPEDITION PREPARATIONS PLAN

— EQUIPMENT

O'l

winter evening in '87," writes Dr. Grieg, " I sat
in my den at 3A Parkveien, absorbed in my work. Sud-
denly the door was flung wide open, and in stalked
Nansen, with his long-haired, badly trained dog Jenny.
Without pretending to be an authority on the subject,
it is my opinion that Nansen is too absent-minded to be
able to train good sporting dogs. The evening was cold,
so that even Nansen had thrown his plaid over his shoul-
ders. He sat down on the sofa just opposite me.

" ' Do you know what I 'm going to set about now ? '
he said. ' I mean to have a try at crossing Greenland.'
And he set forth his plans with the aid of my old atlas,
which I shall always associate with the memory of that
evening. He was excited and wrought-up, and, at that
stage, far from being certain, or even hopeful, of finding
things go easily. I saw he wanted objections to discuss,
and I supplied him with what occurred to me, though I
knew nothing of the subject. ' It would be easiest to
make the crossing lower down, you understand,' he said,
* but the real thing will be to show the world that Green-
land can be crossed so far north as this ' and he

pointed out where he had at first planned to start. He
little dreamed that this stretch of coast, which he treated
so lightly that evening, would prove so hard a nut to

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

't>'

Jd
all

crack. He said he was going to Stockholm. ' What
are you going to do there ? ' ' To look up Nordenskjold,
and ask him to give me his opinion of my scheme. I
shall just wait to take my doctor's degree in the si r
and then off to Greenland. It will be a hard sprin
man, but pooh ! I shall manage it.'

" Another friend had meanwhile dropped in
three walked to Skarpsno, we two every-day people mak-
ing feeble objections, he meeting them with increasing
warmth and with youthful emphasis of conviction. He
would stake his life on the plan, and we should see it
would all go smoothly. It was like a revelation, in these
decadent days, to find a man of action ready to lay down
his life for his idea. I was impressed and moved that
evening when we parted."

He went to Stockholm. It may be noted at this point
that it was in 1886 that Peary and Maigaard, with their
scanty equipment, had made a highly successful inroad
upon the Greenland ice field, intended, as Peary had
expressly stated in his brief narrative, merely as a prelim-
inary reconnaissance. Nansen had no time to lose if he
did not want to be anticipated. Moreover, his zoological
and anatomical labors were in the mean time at a stand-
still. His great essay on the histological elements of the
central nervous system was finished, and could at any
time be handed in as a thesis for his doctor's degree.

"When, on Thursday, November 3, 1887, I entered my
work-room, in the Mineralogical Institute of the Stock-
holm High School," says Professor Brogger, " my janitor
told me that there had been a Norwegian asking for
me. He had not left a card, and did not say who he was.
Compatriots without a name and without a visiting-card

.• ;

NANSEN'S GREENLAND EXPEDITION

were no rarity. It was no doubt some one wanting me
to relieve him from a momentary embarrassment.' ' What
did he look like.'*' I said, with a touch of annoyance.

" ' Tall and fair,' answered Andersson.

" ' Was he well dressed 1 '

" ' He had n't any overcoat,' said Andersson, smiling
confidentially ; ' he looked like a sailor, or something of
that sort.'

" Ah, yes — a sailor without an overcoat ! No doubt
the idea was that I should supply him with one. I saw
it all.

" An hour or two later in came Wille. ' Have you seen
Nansen .? '

" ' Nansen ? Was that the name of the sailor .? The
man without an overcoat ? '

" ' Has he no overcoat ? At any rate he 's going to
cross the Greenland ice sheet.' And Wille rushed off —
he was in a hurry.

" After that comes another of my colleagues. Professor
Lecke, the zoologist. ' Have you seen Nansen } Is n't
he a splendid fellow .? He has been telling me of many
interesting discoveries about the sex of the myxine —
and about his investigations of the nervous system too.
Charming things ! Splendid ! '

" After all these preliminaries, Nansen at last appeared
in person — tall and erect, broad-shouldered and powerful,
yet with the grace and suppleness of youth. His rather
rough hair was brushed back from his massive forehead.
He came straight up to me and gave me his hand with a
peculiarly winning smile, while he introduced himself.

" ' You are going to cross Greenland ? '

" ' Well, I 'm thinking of it'

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

" I looked him in the eyes. There he stood with the
kindly smile on his strongly-cut, massive face, his com-
plete self-confidence awakening confidence in others.
Although his manner was just the same all the time, —
calm, straightforward, perhaps even a little awkward, —
yet it seemed as if he grew with every word. This plan,
— this snow-shoe expedition from the east coast, — which
a moment ago I had regarded as an utterly crazy idea,
became, in the course of that one conversation, the most
natuial thing in the world. The conviction possessed me
all of a sudden : he will do this thing, as surely as we are
sitting here and talking about it.

" This man whose name I had never so much as heard
until a couple of hours before, had in these few minutes —
quite naturally and inevitably as it seemed — made me
feel as though I had known him all my days ; and with-
out reflecting at all as to how it happened, I knew that I
should be proud and happy to be his friend through life.

" ' We '11 go straight to Nordenskjold,' I said ; and we
went. With his singular dress — a tight-fitting, dark blue,
jersey-like blouse or jacket, closely buttoned up — he did
not fail to attract a certain amount of attention in Drott-
ninggatan (Queen Street). Gustaf Retzius, as I heard
afterwards, took him at first for an acrobat or rope-
dancer.

" Well, we hunted up Nordenskjold, crossing the quiet,
cloistral quadrangle of the Academy of Science, which
has always something awe-inspiring about it.

" Nordenskjold was in his laboratory, as usual at that
time in the morning. We went through the anterooms
filled with mineralogical specimens and cases. ' These
used to be Berzelius's quarters,' I remarked to Nansen in

/.•/

NANSEN'S GREENLAND EXPEDITION

passing. Lindstrom, the Professor's assistant, presently
appeared, with both hands full of retorts and chemicals.

*' ' The old man is inside ; he 's up to his eyes in work,'
he whispered quietly to me.

" There, in the work-room, ' old man Nor ' was wander-
ing around among his minerals. I can never see his
strong, broad back, without thinking of a story in connec-
tion with his boat expedition up the Yenisei in 1875. At
one point, where the seas repeatedly threatened to swamp
the boat, Nordenskjold took his seat on the after gunwale,
and let the ice-cold waves break on his broad back.
There he sat for hours, doing duty, in a literal sense, as a
breakwater. Of such stuff are Arctic explorers made.

" I greeted Nordenskjold and performed the introduc-
tion. ' Curator Nansen, of Bergen. He intends to cross
the Greenland ice sheet '

" ' Good heavens ! '

" ' And he would like to consult you upon the matter.'

" ' I 'm delighted to see him. So ! Mr. Nansen intends
to cross Greenland } '

" The bombshell had fallen. The friendly, amiable, but
somewhat absent expression he had worn an instant be-
fore had vanished, and his liveliest interest was aroused.
He seer" -.id to be scanning the young man from head to
foot, in order to see what sort of stuff he had in him.
Then he burst out with a twinkle in his eye : ' I shall
make Mr. Nansen a present of a pair of excellent boots !
Indeed, I 'm not joking ; it 's a very important and serious
matter to have your foot-gear of the best quality.'

" The ice is broken. Nansen expounds, Nordenskjold
nods a little skeptically now and then, and throws in a
question or two. He no doubt regarded the plan — at

I
i

>' !

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

least so it seemed to me — as foolhardy, but not absolutely
impracticable. It was obvious that Nansen's personality
had instantly made a strong impression on him. He was
at once prepared, in the most cordial manner, to place the
results of his own experience at the young man's service.

" There were of course numbers of details to be gone
into : the Laplanders, snow-shoes, sledges, and boats —
and then the question whether the drift ice could be
cros£";d as Nansen had planned. But ' the old man was
up to his eyes in work,' and it was agreed that Nansen
should come again. Meanwhile, we were to meet the
same evening, at the Geological Society. As we were
leaving I said aside to Nordenskjold, ' Well, what do you
think ? I back him to do it.'

" ' I dare say you 're right,' answered Nordenskjold.
But the skeptical expression was again to the fore.

" After the meeting at the Geological Society, Nansen
accompanied me home. It was pretty well on in the
evening. While we were sitting talking, he genial and at
his ease, I quite absorbed in all these new ideas, there
came a ring at the door, and in walked Nordenskjold. I
at once saw that he was seriously interested.

" We sat there till the small hours, discussing Arctic
and Antarctic explorations in general, and the Greenland
expedition in particular. It was only four years since
Nordenskjold himself had made his last expedition on the
Greenland ice sheet; and he was at this time, if I remem-
ber rightly, much interested in arranging a combined
Australian-Swedish Antarctic expedition, in which his
promising son, G. Nordenskjold,^ who unfortunately died
so early, was to have taken part.

^ Three years later this young man undertook an expedition to Spitzbergen.

•' I

NAXSKN'S GREENLAND EX/'ED/T/ON

" I was going the next day to tlie usual Fourtli of
November banquet at the house of the Norwegian Secre-
tary of State, and I asked Nansen if he would care to
have an invitation. No, he could n't well appear on such
an occasion — he had only the clothes he was wearing.

"' But Mr. Nansen can come and dine with me, just as
he is,' suggested Nordenskjold with frank cordiality; and
so it was arranged.

" I cannot say whether Nansen, when he returned to
Christiania, a couple of days later, took with him the ' ex-
cellent boots,' though I know that Nordenskjold after-
wards sent him a pair of snow-spectacles. But, boots or
no boots, he certainly took back with him many a valuable
hint, and the assurance of complete sympathy on the part
of the great explorer. When, nearly two years later, they
again met in Stockholm, the foolhardy plan had been
carried out, and the journey over the inland ice from coast
to coast was an accomplished fact."

Nansen's application to the " Collegium Academicum "
for the means to carry out the expedition is dated Novem-
ber II, 1887. The very first sentence goes straight to
the heart of the matter: " It is my intention next sum-
mer to undertake a journey across the inland ice of
Greenland from the east to the west coast." The amount
he asked for was 5,000 crowns (less than 300/.). It is so
infinitesimally small in comparison with the magnitude
and importance of the undertaking, that one cannot speak
of it now without a smile. But as yet the project, was
only a project, and the projector an untried man. The
faculty and the council warmly recommended the scheme
to the Government. But the Government could not see

NANSEN IN THE EROZEN WORLD

its way to sanctioning it. One of the official organs was
unable to discover any reason why the Norwegian people
should pay so large a sum as 300/. in order that a private
individual might treat himself to a pleasure-trip to Green-
land. And undoubtedly the Government here repre-
sented a very large section of the people. Two widely
different sides of the Norwegian character were in this
case at odds. The love of adventure is represented in
Nansen, the cautiousness, the " canniness," of the Norwe-
gian peasant is represented in the Government. It is no
mere chance that this 300/. should have come from
abroad. For except in scientific circles, and among the
young and ardent, the general opinion certainly was that
Nansen's undertaki.. .5 was only worthy of a madman —
though no one actually went so far as to have him locked
up, like the man in the London madhouse whom Nansen
is so fond of citing. A comic paper in Bergen inserted
the following advertisement : —

Notice. — In the month of June next, Curator Nansen will give a snow-shoe
display, with long jumps, on the inland ice of Greenland. Reserved seats in
the crevasses. Return ticket unnecessary.

And in private conversation the affair was taken much
in the same way, when it was not regarded from a more
serious point of view, by people who thought it sinful to
give open support to a suicide.

Nor was it only the outside public that held these
opinions. Previous explorers of Greenland, who might be
supposed to know the local conditions, characterized the
plan as absolutely visionary. Nansen has himself reprinted
in his book a short extract from a lecture delivered in
Copenhagen by one of the younger Danish explorers of
Greenland. He says : " Among the few of us who know

^ \

NANSEN'S GREENLAND EXJ'En/I'/ON

something of the nature of Danish East Oeenland, there
is no doubt that unless the ship readies the coast and
waits for him till he is forced to confess himself beaten, it
is ten to one that either Nansen will throw away his own
life, and perhaps the lives of others, to no purpose ; or
else he will be picked up by the Eskimos, and convoyed
by them round Cape Farewell to the Danish stations on
the west coast. But no one has any right needlessly to
involve the East Greenlanders in a long journey, which
must be in many respects injurious to them."

It was, however, from Denmark that the requisite finan-
cial assistance came. Professor Amund Helland, who had
himself been in Greenland, had strongly advocated the
plan in the " Dagblad " of November 24, 18S7. "After
the experiences of others on the inland ice," he says, " and
after what I myself have seen of it, I cannot see why
young and courageous sncw-shoers, under an intelligent
and cautious leader, should not have every prospect of
reaching the other side, if only the equipment be care-
fully adapted to the peculiar conditions. . . . All things
carefully considered, I believe there is every likelihood
that competent snow-shoers should be able to manage
this journey without running any such extreme risks as
should make the expedition inadvisable. Those who
have travelled some distance on the inland ice of Green-
land number, at present, about twenty men, and not a
single life has been lost in these attempts."

As a result of this article, Professor Helland was able
to announce to the " Collegium Academicum," on Jan-
uary 12, 1888, that Mr. Augustin Gamel, of Copenhagen,
had offered to provide the 5,000 crowns.

Nansen accepted the generous offer. Afterwards, when

i> '.

44 NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

all was happily over, people criticised this action. He
ought to have waited patiently till the money turned up
somewhere in Norway. This wisdom after the event is
foolish enough. It ignores the actual facts of the situ-
ation. Nansen had made up his mind to pay for the
whole enterprise out of his own pocket; no one in Norway
showed the slightest eagerness to prevent his doing so.
And, with all his self-reliance, he could not, at that time,
regard the realization of his idea as a privilege that must
be reserved solely and exclusively for Norway. The situ-
ation was quite different when, five years later, with the
eyes of all the world upon him, he set out for the North
Pole. Then, indeed, it was of the utmost importance that
the money as well as the flag should be Norwegian. The
criticism seems all the emptier when we remember that
the Greenland Expedition did not cost 5,000 crowns, but
more than three times that amount, and that Nansen him-
self would have met this deficit out of his small private
means, had not the Students' Society, after the successful
return of the expedition, set on foot a subscription which
brought in 10,000 crowns.

It was, as Nansen had said to Dr. Grieg, a hard spring.
The first six months of 1888 passed in one incessant
rush. At the beginning of December, 1887, he is back in
Bergen. At the end of January, he goes on snow-shoes
from Eidfjord in Hardanger, by way of Numedal, to
Kongsberg, and thence to Christiania. In March he is in
Bergen again, lecturing on nature and life in Greenland.
One day — or rather night — we find him camping on
the top of Blaamanden, near Bergen, to test his sleeping-
bag, and a week later he is on the rostrum in Chris-
tiania giving his first trial lecture for his doctor's degree,

NANSEN'S GREENLAND EXrEDlTJON

on the structure of the sexual organs in the myxine.
On April 28 he defends his doctoral thesis : " The Nerve
Elements : their structure and connection in the central
nervous system " — and on May 2 he sets off for Copen-
hagen, on his way to Greenland. " I would rather take
a bad degree than have a bad outfit," he used to say to
Dr. (irieg in those days. He succeeded in getting both
good, but only by straining every nerve. On the one
hand, he had his scientific reputation to look to; on the
other, his own life and the lives of five brave men ; for he
was fully convinced that, of all the dangers which were
pointed out to him, the most serious by far was the danger
of a defective outfit. On the outfit, more than on any-
thing else, depended victory or defeat, life or death.

It was in the January number of the periodical " Natu-
ren " (i.SSS) that he for the first time made a j^ublic state-
ment of his plan. He explains that, by striking inland
from the east coast, he will need to cross Greenland only
once. It is true that by this course retreat is cut off.
" The inhospitable coast, inhabited only by scattered
tribes of heathen Eskimos, is by no means an enviable
winter residence to fall back upon in the event of our
encountering unforeseen obstacles in the interior; but the
less tempting the line of retreat, the stronger will be the
incentive to push on with all our might." This is one of
the essential points of the plan — all bridges are to be
broken. Here we see the irresistible self-confidence of
genius — its triumphant faith in its power to reach the
goal. The thing that presents itself to ordinary prudence
as the first necessity, namely, a safe and easy line of re-
treat, genius regards rather as a hindrance and a thing to
be avoided.

NANSEN IN rilE FROZEN WORLD

i'l

•' Set/.ct Ilir iiicht (l;i.s Lt'l)cn cin,
Nie wircl cucli das Lchcn gewonncn scin."

We will not here dwell upon the other features of the
plan, because in all essentials it was carried out as pro-
jected ; and the modifications which proved necessary are
sufficiently well known throui^h Nansen's own account of
the expedition. It wi j remembered how they were
caui^ht in the drift ice, carried down almost to the
southern point of Cireenland, and then had to fight their
way laboriously north again. It will be remembered, too,
that they did not strike inland, as they intended, north of
Cajje Dan, but a good way farther .south, and that they
reached the west coast, not, as contemplated, on Disco
Bay near Christianshaab, but at the Ameralikfjord near
Godthaab. These alterations are important enough in
them.selves, but inessential in relation to the main object.
The plan itself having ' i set forth, the article proceeds
to enumerate the scienl roblems which may be solved

or brought nearer to a solution by a journey across the
inland ice. Nansen concludes by quoting Nordenskjold's
words in the preface to his book, " The Second Dickson
Expedition to Greenland : " " The investigation of the un-
known interior of Greenland is fraught with such mo-
mentous issues for science that at present one can hardly
suggest a worthier task for the enterprise of the Arctic
explorer."

Nansen was himself fully conscious of the great scien-
tific import of the journey he was about to take.

For the rest, this expedition required in its leader a
quite unusual combination of qualities : an adventurous
imagination to conceive it, a Viking-like hardihood to
carry it through, strenuous physical training throughout

NANSEN'S GREENLAND EXPEDITION

a
us
to

lit

childhood and youth to enable him to face its fatigues,
and self-sa( rificing devotion to science in order to make
the most of the opportunities it afforded. And even more
was required. This young man, whose fame as yet rested
entirely upon an unfulfilled idea, had to take command of
a little group of brave men who all risked their lives ex-
actly as he did, and among whom were some who them-
selves had held command. This was not a company of
soldiers to be ofificered as a matter of course ; it recjuired a
special tact, a peculiar instinct, to bear one's self :is prumis
inter pares. With all his proud self-confidence, Nansen
had just this instinct. It springs in part, no doubt, from
a strain of gentleness in his character, but may on the
whole be regarded as simply another manifestation of his
singular knack of doing the right thing at precisely the
right moment. I le had bcMi too early intent on ends of
his own to develop what one w< uld call a specially social
disposition. " He is something of a soloist," one of ' iS
friends writes to us, " steadfast towards those to whom he
really attaches himself ; but they are not many." He is
too absorbed in his work. He is not expansive, in the
sense of fcelimj any inborn cravinij to make friends. But
now, in the moment of need, the unaffected geniality of
his temperament comes out quite naturally in his relation
to those who have had the courage and the insight to
place their trust in him. Given another personality than
his, the whole undertaking would not improbably have
gone to wreck, with the most disastrous consequences.
If it had been simply a question of mechanical discipline,
the spirit of revolt might easily have arisen in the course
of these indescribable hardships, and ruined everything.
As it was, all were agreed that, though discussion should

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

u *

of course be free, one must have the decisive voice. But
that ore was of no higher rank than the others when
there was work to be done or hunger to be endured ; and
it was this complete equaHty that formed the strongest
bond of union. Stories have been invented as to the rela-
tions between the six Greenland explorer's, some of them
of a dark and almost traijic tenor. We are able to state
on the best authority that all these legends, from first to
last, are the product of popular imagination, which, after
the tremendous enthusiasm over Nansen's return, neces-
sarily underwent a reaction.

The men who accompanied Nansen were Captain Otto
Neumann Sverdrup, born October 31, 1855, in Bindalen ;
Lieutenant Oluf Christian Dietrichson, born May 31,
1856, in Skogn, near Levanger ; Christian Christiansen
Trana, born February 16, 1865, at the farm of Trana, near
Stenkjoer ; besides the two Lapps, Samuel Johannesen
Balto, aged 27, and Ola Nilsen Ravna, aged 45. All
these names have become historical. To the two first-
mentioned in particular a great share in the credit of the
expedition is due. The whoU civilized world is indebted
to them, and Nansen most of all. " People are very
ready," he says in the preface to " The First Crossing of
Greenland," " to heap the whole blame of an unsuccessful
expedition, but also the whole honor of a successful one,
upon the shoulders of the leader. This is particularly
unfair in the case of such an expedition as the present,
where the result depends on absolutely no one falling
short, on every one filling his place entirely and at every
point."

For the lives of all these men Nansen had now assumed
the responsibility, so far as the planning and management

(.■'

NANS£N':S GREENLAND EXJEDJT/ON

of tlie journey was concerned ; and his responsibility
began with the outfit. With regard to this essential mat-
ter, all the qualifies we have been dwelling upon would
have been of no avail had he not possessed one other of
the first importance. He was accustomed to see things
for himself. He was an observer not only in the domain
of science, but also in that of practical life. As a boy, he
pulled the sewing-machine to pieces to see how it was
made, and as a young man he had gone deeply into the
question of the nutritive value of the various food-stuffs.
He had an eminently practical and mechanical talent ;
and he had been born with the instinct of the Youn<jrest
Son in the fairy tale, for picking up a magpie's wing
whenever he came across it, since you never could tell
when it mii>ht come in useful." No doubt he had learned
much in his brief consultations with Nordenskjold, whose
numerous expeditions had always been conspicuous for
their careful and excellent equipment. But the expediticin
now in hand must be set about on an entirely original
plan, since they were to have neither reindeer nor dogs,
but were themselves to be their own beasts of burden and
drag every crumb of food and every instrument. Now
was the time to act up to the Nansen motto, " To require
little." The thing was to ascertain what food-stuffs com-
bine a maximum of nourishment with a minimum Of
weight , and equally important was the consideration of
the means of transport to be employed. The lightness
of everything was the cardinal point which distinguished
the Nansen expedition from all others. Lightness became
a study, an art. Nansen brooded on the problem by day,
and dreamed of it at night. Like Macbeth, he was
haunted with visions of insubstantial tollekuivs (sheath
knives).
4

NANS EN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

Everytliing was minutely criticised, from the raw mate-
rial up to the finished product. Many of the most impor-
tant articles Nansen designed for himself. From his
detailed description of the outfit we reproduce in a few
words the essential points ■ Five specially constructed
band - sledges of ash, with broad steel - plated runners.
These sledges were about 9 ft. 6 in. long by i ft. 8 in.
broad, yet weighed, with the steel runners, only a little
over 28 lbs. They were so excellently made that in spite
of the tremendous wear and tear they were subjected to
not one of them broke. Next came Norwegian snow-
shoes {ski) of the most careful make, as well as Canadian
snow-shoes and Norwegian wickerwork truger. The last
were used particularly in ascending the outer slope of
the ir land ice, and on wet snow where ski were useless.
The tent was furnished by Lieutenant Ryder, of Copen-
hagen. It was just large enough to accommodate the
two sleeping-bags side by side upon the floor. The dress
of the party consisted of a thin woollen vest and woollen
drawers ; over the vest a thick Iceland jersey ; and for
outer garments, jacket, knickerbockers and thick snow-
socks on the legs, all made of Norwegian homespun. For
windy and snowy weather they had an outer dress of thin
sail-cloth. Their foot-gear consisted of boots with pitched
seams and Lapland iauparsko, a sort of moccasin. On
their heads they wore woollen caps and hoods of home-
spun, woollen gloves on their hands, and in extreme cold
an extra pair of dogskin gloves. For their eyes they had
snow-spectacles, some of smoke-colored glass with baskets
of steel-wire network, some of black wood with horizontal
slits.

The provisions consisted mainly of pemmican, meat-

NANSEA^'S GREENLAND EXPEDITION

powder chocolate, calf-liver pate, a Swedish biscuit known
as kndkkcbrdd, meat biscuits, butter, dried halibut, a little
cheese, pea-soup powder, chocolate, and condensed milk.
They took two double-barrelled guns for replenishing
their larder. The cooking apimratus was a spirit-burning
contrivance devised by Nansen and a chemist named
Schmelck, upon which they expended much labor. No
spirits for consumption; some tea, a little coffee, a little
tobacco. On the other hand, an abundance of scientific
instruments. And, to complete the list, tarpaulins, which
on the inland ice were sometimes used as sails ; bamboo
poles ; and a quantity of tools and small necessaries of
various kinds from matches and a few candles down to
darning-needles — everything of course as light as pos-
sible.

In only one single respect did this equipment prove
inadequate. The pemmican, which should have been the
staple of their diet, had in the course of manufacture
been deprived of all fat, and Nansen did not discover the
fact until the last moment. The result was that they suf-
fered after a while from " fat-hunger, of which no one who
has not experienced it can form any idea." Even during
the last days, when they had as much dried meat as they
wanted, they did not feel satisfied.

How easy it would have been in this terra incognita
for the outfit to have fallen short in ether respects ! For
one thing, no one in the least foresaw that the expedition
would, at this time of the year, be exposed to such severe
cold as was found to prevail on the inland ice. It was a
new and unknown meteorological phenomenon which the
expedition encountered. If Nansen had chosen woollen
sleeping-bags instead of those of reindeer-skin, which he

I' '^i

l/ll 1

5»

A'AA'SJSJV IN THE FROZEN WORLD

at last determined on, he and his comrades, as he himself
admits, would scarcely have reached the west coast alive.

Yes, a great deal might have happened ; but luck was
on Hansen's side. His good genius was very active in all
that concerned this, his first great undertaking. But in
the last analysis, no doubt, the man who has " the luck
on his side " is he who shows capacity, foresight, genius,
and does not pit himself against forces which are in the
nature of things unconquerable.

We cannot conclude these lines on the preparations for
the Greenland expedition without mentioning that Nan-
sen was in constant communication with one of the most
notable of the explorers of Greenland, Dr. H. Rink. One
service that Rink certainly rendered him was to throw
into strong relief the perils of the expedition, although
there were moments when the enfeebled and ner' )usly
conscientious old man reproached himself with not having
dwelt on them suf^ciently. " Rink at first regarded the
plan," his wife writes to us, " as a mere romantic fancy.
The more he pondered over it, and the more he became
attached to the man who was to carry it out, the more
perilous did it become in his eyes, until at last he blamed
himself severely for not having, in the course of all their
discussions, painted in strong enough colors the dangers
to which he believed the expedition would be exposed.
So, expressly on this account, we invited Nansen to pay
us another visit. That evening we spent for the most
part in looking at pictures of Greenland, in a quieter and
more serious frame of mind, on the whole, than on pre-
vious occasions, when there had been a vast amount of
jesting over the chances (cannibalism not excepted) that
might befall the expedition on the ice fields. On these

NANSEN'S GREENLAND EXrEDITION

occasions everybody used to laugh very heartily, except
Rink. And I remember I had to bear all the blame of
this imseemly conduct after the party broke up."

In Rink's house, too, they used to take lessons in
Eskimo, when time permitted. Sverdrup tried it first ;
but he could not i>:et his tongue round the Greenland
idiom. Dietrichson was good at it. " Curiously enough,"
writes Mrs. Rink, " I had pitched upon these two as the
predestined spokesmen of the expedition, and did not
offer to give Nanseu any lessons. Whereupon he said,
as though a little hurt: 'Mayn't I try too.?' — and he
went at it with the earnestness and perseverance that are
such charming traits in his character. How remarkably
he succeeded in picking up the language, the Eskimos
themselves bear witness."

The last evening Nansen was at Rink's house, Mrs.
Rink accompanied him to the door. " I said," she writes,
" what had often occurred to me, ' You must go to the
North Pole, too, some day.' He answered emphatically,
as though he had long ago made up his mind on the
])oint, ' I mean to.' "

RAVNA

CHRtSTIANSRN

NitNSEN bIBTRICHSON SVERDRUP

THE MEMBERS OF THE CJREENLAND EXPEDITION

CHAPTER IV

ACROSS GREENLAND

On May 2, 1888, Nansen started from Christiania, by
way of Copenhagen and London, for Leith, where he
was to meet the rest of the party, who had gone, with
the whole outfit, from Christiansand direct to Scotland.

From Scotland they proceeded to Iceland by the
Danish steamer Thyra. Not until June 4 did they join
the sealer yason (Captain M. Jacobsen), which was to
carry them over to the east coast of Greenland — under
the express stipulation, however, that the vessel should
not be hindered in its sealing operations for the sake of
landing the party.

A en OSS GREENLAND

On Monday, June ii,thcy had their first ghnipsc of
the cast coast of Grcenhmd, sighting the high ruggjd
peaks north of Cape Dan at about the latitude where, in
1883, Nordenskjold had succeeded in getting through
the drift ice with tlie Sophia. The ice belt between the
vessel and the coast proved, however, to be still so wide
(from nine to ten miles of rough ice) as to render any
attempt to reach the land unadvisable for the present.
They had to wait about a month for a favorable opportu-
nity of leaving the Jason, which was bound to remain in
the region where the seal-hunting was likely to be good.
Meanwhile, Nansen acted as "doctor" to the whole fleet
of sealers, and had to possess his soul in patience until
the sealing season was practically over.

Finally, on the morning of July 17, the Jason was so
near land (about 2\ miles from the coast near Sermi-
likfjord, at 65 1° N. lat.) that Nansen determined to force
a passage i-hrough the comparatively narrow belt of drift
ice.

The boat belonging to the expedition, and a smaller
one which the captain of the Jason had placed at their
disposal, were therefore lowered, the baggage packed and
stowed in the boats, and every preparation promptly
made. At 7 r. m. all was ready for a start. Nansen went
up into the crow's-nest for a last survey of the course,
and saw plainly, with the aid of the glass, a belt of open
water between the drift ice and the shore.

" We are taking to our boats with the firmest hope of
a successful issue to our enterprise," Nansen wrote in a
letter to the " Morgenblad " hastily scribbled at the last
moment.

It was soon apparent that their hopefulness was, at the

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

!i:

very outset, to be put to a severe test. After they had
tried the whole night loni;, in storm and rain, to get
through the drift ice opposite the mouth of the SermiHk-
fjord, the ice became so packed by tlie current that, in
the early morning, they had to drag their boats up on the
floes. One of the boats was injured by the jjressure of
the ice, so that it had to be repaired in hot haste; and
during the short time lost in doing this they were caught
in a strong southerly current, and swept seaward again
at a great speed. At six o'clock on the 19th they found
that they were already twice as far from land as when
they had left the shij).

There was nothincr for it but to drift southward with
the ice until an opportunity should offer of getting in
under the land a^ain.

For ten days the expedition drifted along the cast coast
of Greenland as far down as the island of Kudtlek, 61°
40' N. lat., at an average rate of nearly six knots in the
twenty-four hou'"s. Quite apart from the very serious
dangers to which Nansen and his comrades were exposed
during this drift voyage, the expedition was carried a long
way from its projected starting-point, and had lost a great
deal of very precious time. It was not till July 29 that
they succf ded in setting foot on dry land, and thus the
best part of the summer was already gone.

Nansen has given a vivid description of this interesting
drift voyage, and of life on the ice floe, which, tossed about
by the waves and breakers, and repeatedly cracked and
broken, was yet the abiding-place of the expedition during
all these days.^ With the mountains of the coast so near
that in bright weather they could clearly distinguish their

1 For description, see next chapter.

ll!

P ->u\

sed

,nd

NANSEN JN THE FROZEN WORLD

outlines, they were steadily borne southward, farther and
farther from their goal.

The night of July 20 might easily have been their last.
The ice floe on which they were drifting had come right
out to the verge of the open sea, which was running very
high, so that the surf kept on washing over the Hoe almost
up to the tent. Had the floe been crushed, they might
very likely have found it impo ;sible to launch the boats in
such a furious sea, and among the clashing masses of ice.
In any case they could not have saved more than one of
the boats, and the most indispensable part of the provi-
sions and equipment. One scarcely knows which to
admire the most, — Sverdrup, who kept the night watch,
pacing calm and composed, with his quid in his cheek, up
and down the floe, between the tent and the boats, many
times on the point of loosening the hooks of the tent-flap
to make them all turn out, but always staying his hand ;
or Nansen and Dietrichson, who lay quietly asleep in the
tent, while the surf roared and rattled the ice-brash over
the rocking floe, and swept ever nearer and nearer until it
lapped the very edge of the tent. But just as the outlook
was blackest, the floe suddenly changed its course, headed
shoreward once more " as if guided by an unseen hand,"
and was soon in safer waters.

Nansen and his companions had a hard time of it
during these perilous, exciting days on the ice floe. They
did not so much mind their toil in the rain and surf, fruit-
lessly striving to force a passage through openings in the
ice pack ; they did not so much mind their scanty diet of
raw horse-flesh, etc. (the cooking apparatus was only once
lighted during their days of drifting); they did not so
much mind the dangers that threatened them on every

^CA'OSS GRKEXLAND

hand ; but they ch-cudcd the prospect of having to give up
for that season the journey across the inland ice. Tliese
wasted (hiys were trying days indeed.

When the news of tlie success of the expechtion
reached Stockhohii, Nordenskjcild pointed out, as the
strongest proof of tlie achiiirabie energy displayed during
the entire j>)urney, that when at last they had got through
the belt of tlrift ice they instantly set to work to row
northward again, in order to reach the proper point for
attacking the ice sheet. They had, in a way, made an
unfortunate and discouraging start. It was already well
on in the sunnner, the suj)i)ly of provisions was not over-
abundant, and — civilization was, moreover, within tempt-
ingly easy reach. 'J'hey were now only i8o miles from
the nearest colony, P'rederiksdal, while the Sermilikfjord,
the starting-i)oint originally fixed upon, was nearly twice
as distant. The mere fact of their resisting the tempta-
tion to put off till the following year may be called truly
heroic ; not many would have shown such resolution.
But for them the temptation was no temptation at all. It
did not enter their thoughts that there was anything to
be done except to head the boats northward as quickly
as possible. And it was not with anxious fear, but with
radiant joy, that they now saw a clear water-way before
them.

The first problem, that of getting through the drift ice
with whole skins, was thus solved — with great labo-, it is
true, and loss of precious time, but nevertheless solved.
It had been prophesied that even this would prove im-
l^racticable ; for a long series of vain attempts had shown
that it was next thing to impossible to penetrate the ice
belt south of the sixty-sixth degree of latitude. Not until

NANS/'IX /.V TlfE /'RO/.EX WORLD

i iiii \

1883 had Nordcnskjold, uitli tlic stcaniur Sophia, suc-
ceeded in rcachini; the cua.st near Cape Dan (KIiil; Oscar's
I lawn). So nuich the more darini; was it on Nansen's
part to make the attemi)t.

But now the thing was to make all speed northward.
The best of the summer was i^one. If they were to have
any chance of reachint; the west coast that year, they
must go at it in earnest. And they did go at it in
earnest.

On the day of their landing at Kekertarsuak they had
a lordly repast of hot chocolate and extra rations of oat
cake, Swiss cheese, mysost (goat's milk cheese), and cran-
berry jam, to celebrate their landing; but after that their
meals consisted of cold water, biscuits, and dried beef —
they could not waste time in cooking until they had in
some measure made uj) what they had lost in the ice
drift. It was a toilsome journey by boat northward along
the coast. For long distances they had to exert all their
strength to force the ice floes apart in order to get the
boats through the narrow channels between them; and
sometimes they had to drag the boats over the ice, skirt-
ing the low barren coast, with glaciers and snow-fields
coming right down to the margin of the sea. They got
safely past ♦:he dreaded glacier Puisortok (near it, at Cape
Bille, they came upon an encampment of heathen Eski-
mos, of which Nansen has given a highly interesting
description),^ and they forced their way with the greatest
difficulty through a closely packed belt of drift ice south
of Ingerkajarfik. At Mogens Heinesens Fjord the appear-
ance of tlie coast altered. From this point northward
there is a long stretch of bare coast land, with a view of

* See chapter vi.

ACJiOSS GREENLAND

hij^h mountain ranges, " summit on summit, and rank be-
hind rank."

Hy dint of constant battling with tlie drift ice and tiie
current, the expedition reached Nunarsuak (62" 43' N.
lat.) on August 3. I^om this point they tried to sail, but
the wind soon rose to a tem])est which was near proving
fatal, for the boats were on the point of being crushed
between the ice floes, got their oars and th()Ie-|)ins
smashed, and were sejjarated into the bargain. It was a
hard pinch, but by putting forth all their strength they
got through it at last, and liie tent was pitched on a
patch of .soft greensward on (irit'fenfeldt's Island, for the
highly needful repose after an exhausting day. A feast
of splendid hot caraway .soup, "never to be forgotten,"
was the reward for their toils.

On August 5 the boats narrowly escaped being
crushed by the falling of a fragment of an iceberg, and
"after ahnost incredible labor" they reached in the even-
ing an islet at the moutli of the Inugsuarmiutfjord, where
they intended to rest for the night. But from here they
perceived that the water was open ahead, the fjord lying
smooth as a mirror; so their rest had to be adjourned.
Forward again ! They certainly did " go at it in earnest."

At Singiartuarfik, on August 6, they again fell in with
Eskimos. Then northward again, now in ojDcn water,
now fighting with drift ice, ahvays on cold dry diet which
was served out, moreover, in very scanty rations. They
were never really satisfied, not even directly after eating ;
but Nansen said " they had had enough, so enough it had
to be," as Christiansen put it. To the Lapps, who natu-
rally had no very clear notion beforehand of what they
had embarked upon, this perpetual fighting with drift

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

IK'

ice, and fasting on top of it, began to seem rather de-
pressing.

The coast now became less precipitous again, and the
mountain contours rounder, and the explorers began to
tliink of landing and beginning their journey proper.
On August 8 they reached Bernstorff's Fjord (Kangerd-
lugsuak) at about 631° N. lat. The fjord was brimful of
glacier ice, many of the huge icebergs rising out of the
water to a height of over two hundred feet (six or seven
times as much being under water), and running to a mile
or so in breadth, sometimes flat-topped, sometimes jutting
forth into the moi^t fantastic p^^aks, pinnacles, and crests.
These colossal masses were so innumerable that they
threatened to bar aU advance. From the top of one of
them the eye ranged over an " Alpine world of floating
ice."

At last chinks were discovered even in this barrier —
open channels " with a narrow strip of sky visible between
high walls of ice." And " although huge icebergs more
than once collapsed, or capsized with a mighty crash, and
set up a violent sea-way," here, too, they at last got out of
their difficulties for the moment. That night they slept
in the sleeping-bags only, upon a rock so small that there
was not room to pitch the tent.

In a more and more open water-way they pressed on
northward, with masses of ice breaking off from the
glaciers and icebergs on every side. On August 9, while
they were in the act of forcing asunder two floes, among
a number of icebergs, a huge piece of an iceberg fell
down with a mighty crash upon the floe they were stand-
ing on, smashing it and violently churning up the sea.
" Had we gone to that side a few moments earlier, as we

ACROSS GREENLAND

•e

originally intended, we should almost certainly have been
crushed to death. It was the third time such a thing had
happened to us," Nansen says in his account of the expe-
dition, characteristically describing it as "an odd occur-
rence." Well may it be called " odd " ! How does it hap-
pen that some men come safe and sound through all such
adventures ; go voyages on ice floes and sleep undisturbed
while the surf is on the point of breaking up the fragile
barrier between them and eternity ; row in boats under
toppling icebergs, and get clear of them two minutes be-
fore they fall ; plump into fissures in the inland ice at the
very points where their arms and their alpenstocks can
save them ; row for days in dangerous waters in nutshell
boats improvised out of sail-cloth, and get in just in time
to escape storms and certain destruction ; sleep on the ice
in a temperature of — 45° C. ( — 49° Fahr.) without freezing
to death ; fall into the ice-cold water half a score of times
not only without drowning, but without so much as taking
cold ; lead a dog's life of toil and hunger for months at a
stretch, and come out none the worse for it ; while others
— alas ! one has no heart to insist on the contrast. But
truly it may well be called " odd" !

Let us admit that ninety-nine hundredths of this "devil's
own luck " is due to having an eye on every finger, so to
speak — is due to the sound mind in the sound body —
to the alert capacity of genius — to the indomitable energy
of the man with a vocation. Granted all this, how are we
to account for the remaining hundredth ?

These Greenland explorers are in league with destiny !

When Njaal and his sons were hard bestead, Njaal would
have had them give in ; and one of the sons agreed with
him that that was " the best they could do." Whereupon

NANSEJV IN THE FROZEN WORLD

Skarphcdin answered : " I am not so sure of that, for now
he is fey." The Saga-man would have us understand that
he who is " fey," who is marked for death, lias no longer
complete control of his will and his intelligence.

These young men were not "fey" in any sense of the
word/

They now pressed forward in tolerably open water past
the glacier-bound coast near Gyldenlove's Fjord and Col-
berger Heide, and at last, at eight o'clock in the evening
of August lo, in a thick fog, they made their final land-
ing on the north side of Umiviksfjord. They were now
done with the boats, and were overjoyed to haul them up
on land, Nansen meanwhile making the roffee " for the
second hot meal in twelve days."

After Nansen ind Sverdrup had assured themselves, by
a laborious reconnaissance on August 1 1, that it was pos-
sible to make the ascent of the inland ice from Umivik,
the following days were devoted to all kinds of repairs
of foot-gear, sledge-runners, etc., the final packing of the
baggage, and, in short, the most careful preparation for
the journey that lay before them. During all tliese days
the weather was mild and calm, with a great deal of rain
— weather in which it would not in any case have been
advisable to make a start.

At last, at nine in the evening on August i6, every-
thin<j: was in order for the ascent. The baofsao-e was
stowed on four sledges, each carrying about 220 lbs., and
a fifth, somewhat larger sledge, carrying about double that
amount. This last was therefore drawn by two men,
Nansen and Sverdrup.

• The word in tlie original is " feig," which means rot only " fey," but
" cowardly."

ACROSS GREENLAND

The ascent of the ice was very steep, so that their pro-
gress was slow, and, although they at first travelled by
night, the surface was soft. The ice was full of crevasses,
yet not so difficult but that they could manage to get
across them. It rained a good deal, too, so that they were
wet to the skin. For three days and nights, from noon
on the 17th till the morning of the 20th, the weather was
so execrable, with torrents of rain and wind, that there
was nothing for it but to keep to tlie tent. They were
not very agreeable days, especially as the supply of provi-
sions was so small that Nansen decided that one meal a
day must suffice while they were doing nothing.

On the 20th they were able to start off again. It was
frightfully slow going, over the steep surface, full of rents
and fissures. On the 21st it cleared up, and there was
frost enough to make the snow firmer. I'rom that day
till they reached the west coast they found no drinking
water anywhere, and consequently suffered from a burn-
\x\<y thirst. While on the march they <j;ot nothinir to drink
but just what they could melt by the warmth of their own
bodies. They filled small flat pocket-flasks with snow and
carried them in their breasts, often next the skin, until the
snow was melted. In such intense cold as they encoun-
tered later, these were hard-earned drops.

When they turned out at two o'clock on the morning
of the 2 2cl, they found a frozen surface. The)- were now
at a height of about 3,000 feet, and thought they had got
over the worst of the ascent. I^ut the ice was still very
uneven, and the labor of dragging along the heavy sledges
was terrible — "the strain on the upj^er part of the body
was very trying, and our shoulders felt as if they were
burned by the ropes."

A.LVSy-LV /.V THE FKO/.KN IVOKI.D

From the 24th onward they traxcllcd by day. The
cold now bei^an to increase niiiidly. Nevertheless, except
for a single day, the surface was still, as a rule, extremely
heavy, on account of the loose snow into which the
sledt^es sank deep ; and on the 26th they had, in addition,
a reijjular snow-storm. The ascent was still so steep (a
gradient, sometimes, of i in 4) that it would often take
three men to \i\\\\ each sledge, so that they had to cover
the liround several times over. No wonder that Chris-
tiansen, who, as a rule, never opened his mouth, should
have said to I )ietrichs()n after one of these return jour-
neys : " Ciood Lord! to think of people being so cruel
to themselves as to iro in for this sort of thinii." The
exi)edition had then reached a height of about 6,000 feet.

This weather, with wind and snow-flurries, continued
during the following days. Although they tried to make
use of the wind by rigging u]) tarpaulin sails on the
sledges, they nevertheless got on so slowly that it began
to dawn on Nansen that, at this rate, there would be small
prospect of reaching Christianshaab now that the season
was so far advanced. On the 28th, therefore, he deter-
mined to take a different direction, and steer due west, for
Godthaab, or rather for the shores of the Ameralikfjord
(64° 10'), directly south of Godthaab, a considerably nearer
point on the west coast. This proposition was received
with joy by exery one, and they set off through the snow
with the same unremitting toil, although in a slightly dif-
ferent direction.

The |)rojecting jjcaks (nunataks) which, up to this point,
they had passed from time to time, now disappeared ; the
last glimpse of l->are rock was seen on August 31. After
that nothing but ice and snow met their view until they
reached the west coast.

ACROSS GREENLAND

The

tly clif-

point,
[l; the

After
11 they

Still their course lay steadily upward. The snow-field
rose in long, gentle waves, higher and higher toward the
interior.

lH)r weeks they fought their way inland in this fashion,
one day exactly resembling another, and full of endless
toil from niorninsj: till niijht. The surface of the snow
was now smooth and even as a mirror, broken only by
the tracks they themselves made with their feet or their
sledges. The snow, frec[uently fresh-fallen, was, as a rule,
fine and dry, and tlierefore exceptionally heavy to drag
the sledges through. The day's march under these con-
ditions was not long — not more than from five to ten
miles, although they were now able to use snow-shoes.

As they advanced the cold became more and more
severe. When the weather was fine, indeed, the midday
sun was often quite ojDj^ressive, and their feet would get
wet in the slush ; but as soon as the sun went down, they
felt the cold of the nights so much the more keenly —
and they w^ere often in danger of having their wet feet
frost-bitten. " It often happened, when we came to take
off our lau]3ar-shoes of an evening, that we foiuid them
frozen fast in one solid piece with snow-sock and stock-

mg.

On September 11, the temperature at night within the
tent was under —40' C. ( — 40° Fahr.), and outside the tent
probably under —45° C. ( — 49° Fahr.). The difference be-
tween the day and the night temperature was often more
than 20° C. (36° Fahr.). Even inside the closed sleeping-
bag, the cold was so severe that when they awakened they
would often find their heads completely surrounded with
ice and hoar frost. " To be obliged to be out constantly
in such cold is not always agreeable," says Nansen in his

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

book. " It often hai^pcncd that so much ice formed about
the face tliat the beard was absokitely frozen fast to the
wrajjpings round the liead, and it was difficult enout^li to
open the mouth to speak." When in addition to the frost
there came a snow-storm, we can readily understand that
it was no joke for them to drag themselves, each with a
heavy sledge, day after day across the interminable ice
desert, at an altitude of 8,000 or 9,000 feet above the sea.
From September 4 to 8 they encountered a furious snow-
storm, with a temperature of — 40° Fahr. On the 7th, in-
deed, they dared not stir from their tent, which was care-
fully hauled taut, lest the w'nd should blow it to shreds —
in which case, no doubt, their saga would have been over.
But when it was at all possible their daily life followed its
regular course; and in spite of cold and snow-storm, thirst,
" fat hunger," and other hardships, they toiled steadily on
toward the west coast. On September 5 they passed the
highest point on their route, 8,860 feet.

On September 1 1 and 1 2 they were at a height of about
8,300 feet; and from here began a perceptible, if not a
very marked, down gradient toward the west. On the
1 6th they came upon several pretty sharp declivities, and
when the temperature at night " just failed to reach zero "
they all felt that it was quite mild.

On the 17th they saw a snow-bunting, and knew they
must now be nearinsf " land."

On the 19th they had a favorable wind, and hoisted
sails on the sledges, which they lashed together, two and
two. They were soon going at a spanking pace, and
now at last they were distinctly upon the downward slope
toward the coast. Late in the afternoon they saw " land "
for the first time. They went on sailing in the moonlight,

ACROSS GREENLAND

Oc;

and very nearly sailed their last voyage, for the)- had now-
reached the fissured marginal zone of the inland ice, with
its yawning crevasses many hundred feet deep.

Nansen himself had the fingers of both hands frost-
bitten that evening, and suffered "almost intolerable pain"
(it must have been bad indeed !). They had little enough

UNDI'.i; SAII, IN 'I'lIK MOOM.ICHT — CKKNASSKS AIIIAl)

to eat, too ; but for all this they cared not a whit, for they
knew now that they were nearing the west coast.

The next morning (September 20) when they looked
out of the tent, and saw the whole country south of Godt-
haabsfjord spread out before them, one can guess what
were their feelings. " We were like children — a lump
rose in our throats, while our eyes followed the valleys and
sought in vain for a gHmpse of the sea."

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

The next clay they advanced }3retty briskly, althougli
with the iireatest caution, on account of the numerous
fissures, among which they had many narrow escapes.
On the eveninti of the 21st, for the first time since leavinLi'
the east coast, they found water, and after several weeks
of thirst were able to drink freely. " We could positively
feel our stomachs distending," says Nansen. These were
memorable days for them all.

They pushed on now toward Ameralikfjord ; but it was
an advance under difificulties. The ice soon became terri-
bly uneven, and full of cracks and crevasses on all sides —
sometimes so impassable that they had to make long de-
tours. Several times, one or another of them would fall
into a crevasse, but would generally manage to get his
alpenstock fixed like a horizontal bar across the fissure.
" It was odd enough that none of us fell in any deeper."

In spite of untold difficulties and dangers they made
their way during the succeeding days across this treacher-
ous marginal zone, and at last, on September 24, reached
naked soil, and had the inland ice forever behind them.
" No words can possibly describe what it was to us merely
to have earth and stones under our feet — the sense of
well-being that thrilled through every nerve when we felt
the heather springing under our step, and smelled the
marvellous fragrance of grass and moss."

Their difficulties, however, were not yet over — they
had still a good way to go down the long Austmannadal,
and now everything had to be carried on their backs.
This final stage they accomplished in the following days,
and at last the fjord was reached.

Here Sverdrup and Balto set to work to stitch together
the hull of a canvas boat, using for the purpose the sail-

/,'

ACh'OSS GRKENI.AM^

NANSEN AND SVr.RDRri' IN TIIK CANVAS IIOAT

cloth floor of tlie tent ; wliilc Nanscn cut willow-wands to
make the frame. Oars were improvised out of bamboo
staves and split willow-branches covered with sail-cloth.
For thwarts they had nothing but a theodolite-stand and
two thin bamboo rods.

It was an uncouth nutshell of a boat, about 8 feet long,
not quite 4 feet 6 inches wide, and scarcely 2 feet deep.
It was just big enough to hold Nansen and vSverdrup, and
the most necessary baggage; and they had to keep their
tongues pretty straight in their mouths, or it would liave
capsized.

After a terrible business in getting boat and baggacre
through the river delta and across a clayey spit of land to
the open water, on September 29, Nansen and Sverdrup
at last rowed off down the Ameralikfjord. Although the
boat could scarcely be classed as Ai, and leaked so that it

7»

NAN^JiN JN TJIK FKOAEN WORLD

I*!,

had to be baled every ten niinute.s, it nevertheless earned
them to their journey's end.

They had favorable weather on the whole, and, by dint
of j;reat exertions, they brought their coracle safe and
sound to New llerrnhut at midday on October 3.
Scarcely had they got ashore when a terrific southerly
jj;ale came on. From New llerrnhut they went overland
to Ciodthaab.

I)ietrichs».,p. Christiansen, and the two Lapi)s, who had
remained behind at the head of the Ameralikfjord with
the bulk of the baggage and no great store of provisions,
were brought off in safety as soon as the weather ))er-
mitted; and thus, on October 16, did this remarkable
expedition come to a fortunate close.

"We had toiled hard, and undeniably suffered a good
deal in order to reach this ijoal ; and what were now our
sensations,'* Were they those of tlie hap])y victor.-* No;
we had looked forward so long to the goal that we had
discounted its attainment." So Nansen writes of his feel-
ings the evening before they arrived at Ciodthaab. And
this is, no doubt, comj^rehensible enough. They were too
tired, too worn out, for the abstract exultation at having
actually reached their goal to be able to assert itself effec-
tually against the more material delights, for example, of
eating till they were satisfied and sleeping in a proper
bed.

Besides, the satisfaction had been broken up into many
happy moments during the actual journey — they had had
a taste of it when, with confident hope, they landed on the
east coast, after forcing their passage through the drift
ice ; they had revelled in it when they first saw land from
the heights of the inland ice, when they first found water

ICA'OSS GRI'J'.XLAND

to drink, when they (ir^^l frit the soHd earth, with heather
and mohs, under their feet, when they hiunchcd their boat
on the waves of tlie AnieraHUfjord. 'I'lie satisfaction
really lay in the exploit as a whole, in the stinuilatinij;
onen-air lifi-, toilsome ihouiih it was — not so nuieh in the

)al attained, as in the struiiule to attain it. As soon as

that was done, why, it was done; there was no longer
anything to toil and strive for, and lassitude rushed in

ui)(

)n theni until other more distant 'joals heuan to loom

ahead in their thoughts. 'Ihis, indeed, is what inevitably
ha|)i)ens to every man who is really born with the sj)irit
of research. So long as he has strength and faculty for
new ])roblems, his joy over those achieved must be short-
lived. It must give place, in the ferment of the mind, to

new asjJU'ations ; and m INansens case these new aspn"a-
tions were already lying in wait. We may safely assume
that e\'en during his sta\- in Cireenland the ])lan of his
next great enterprise must liave been taking sha])e in his
thoutihts.

When the exj^edition reached the colony, the shijj from
Godthaab had already started. Nansen, however, got
kaiak-men to take letters to Ivi'>"tut, seventv miles south
ot Godthaab. They were duly delivered, at the last
moment, on board the steamer Fox. which had carried
McClintock on his voyage in search of I*"rank]in ; and
thus the news of the successful issue of the Greenland
expedition reached Europe that autumn. It chanced
that the Fox was obliged, by scarcity of coal, to touch at
Skudesnces, so that Nansen's native country got the first
intelliijence.

The two letters brought by the steamer, one from

JV.IAS/CN' IN THE INOZEX U'ONI.D

NanscM to (iaincl, the other fiom S\(.T(lrii|) to his father,
were soon telei^raphed over the uiiole uorld, and, as will
be renienihered, were evei) when* received witli i;reat
rejoiriiiL;.

Mcanwiiile Nansen and his comrades had to winter in
(iodthaah. where I lerr P)i>.tni|)s, the (Hrec tor ol the colony,
Doctor Hin/ers. I'astor JKilles, and the other Danish
residents, showed them the L|;reatest hos|)ita]ity. and did
everythinL; to make their stay as pleasant as possible.
Nansen himself liniud his time to account in studying
the I'^skimos. lie shared their life with them ii. their
huts, went thoroiii;hly into their methods of hunting,
their customs and oicupations, and even got to know
their language pretty well, lie learned to manage the
kaiak and wield their wea|)ons; in short, he s|)ared no
possible |)ains in his study of this remarkable j)e()ple, for
whom he soon came to entertain a real affection.

He also made several excursions with the (Ireenlanders,
a hunting exjiedition to Ameralikfjord, and longer tri|)s
to Sardlok and Kangek, during which he lived for some
weeks entirely with the l^skimos.

On April 15, 18S9, while Nansen and his comrades sat
chatting over their cofTee with the colonial director and
the doctor, the whole colony resounded with one universal
cry, " Umiarsuit ! Umiarsuit ! " (The ship, the shij) !)
It was the longed-for vessel, HviddJ'onum, under the
command of Lieutenant Ciarde.

The hour of departure had come, and everything was
soon in order. " It was not without sorrow," Nansen
says, " that some of us turned our backs on the people
who had been so good to us. and the place where we had
lived so happily." So far as Nansen himself is concerned,

//( Vi'OAA GNEEM.AMJ

• 75

one may be sure that these words arc the e\i)ressioii of
sincere feelinj;. A nature h'ki- lii>, with it^ hi-allhy
passion for o|)en-air activity, nuist have been in its ele-
ment aniont;- these kindly priniitivi' pi'o])U'. I U- rehites
a cliarmingly characteristic Httle incident of their leave-
takiii''. One of his l^skimo friends, whom he had often
visited, said to him tiie (hiy before his de|)artnre : "Now
you are i^oiiiL;' back to the unreal world whence you came
to us, and you will meet many peojjle there, and hea''
many new things, and you will soon forijet us; bu( u^e
7i'i// never foroct you!'

Those who know Nansen know that he has not fori;-ot-
len his I'!skimo friends ; and those who have read his book
describini;- their life will understand how dear they had
become to him.

On May 21, after a favorable passage, //rvV////';i;'?/^;/ an-
chored in the harbor of Copenhagen, It was a little more
than a year since Nansen, on his way to Greenland, had
passed through Coi)enhagen, and put the hasty finishing
touclies to the prei)arations for the e.\j)edition. A great
deal liad hai)i:)ened in the interval. In himself, indeed, he
was just the same when he came back as when he went
away ; but in the eyes of the world he was a very differ-
ent person. Then he had been a }'oung dare-devil setting
forth on a forlorn hope; now he was the world-renowned
explorer who liad successfully carried through a great un-
dertakinir.

And then came the triumphs. First a week's festivi-
ties in Copenhagen, and then the home-coming — such a
home-coming as has fallen to the lot of no other Norwe-
gian. It was a lovely day as the triumphal procession
passed up Christiania Fjord — all the ships were in festal

NAXSEN JN THE FKOZKX IVOKT.D

array, tlic woods wore their first i;reen leaves, there
were flowers and flags and music on e\ery liand, uj) the
whole long fjord, to the city. It was as though a flood of
color and warmth had streamed forth to greet these vis-
itants from the white wastes of the inland ice.

r^irst came the men-of-war and the torpedo boats, skim

ming along beside the
i\[. G. Mclchior, and
forming a (juard of
honor, right uj) to the
capital ; then the great
sc|uadron of steamshijjs,
then the sailing-boats
and cutters with their
wliite sails, dartins:
around Nansen's ship
like a flock of sea-gulls,
now astern, now abeam,
now ahead There he
stood in his gray clothes
which had turned to
dirty brown in ihe
(jreenland turf huts.
The honor done him
was too overi)owering for him to feel proud at that mo-
ment. A softer and more subdued emotion must douJDt-
less have been in the ascendant. He must have felt how
he passed over into his people, and became one with it.
He had gone forth as an emissary, an interpreter of this
pei.)ple ; the courage wliicli goes unknown and unrecorded
to its fate in the dark nights on sea and fjord, it had been
his happy lot to lead forward into sunsliine and victory

NANSKN AT TIIIKTY-ONE

AC/POSS GREENLAND ^^

before the eyes of the u hole world. Among all the th(,u-
sands who waved to him from the ramparts of Akerhrs
who burst tlie cordon of the police and swarmed round his
carnage m the streets, how nKxny at tiiat moment had any
thought of science ? It was the ex,)loit that apj)ealed to
them— they saw in him the victorious chieftain, the con-
nectmg link between the heroes of the Sagas and the
heroes of every-day life, the fisherman clinging to his over-
turned boat, the snow-shoer on the wintry uplands, the
lumberman shooting the rapids on his raft. They saw in
hull the national type ; an:l the)- were right in a way In
that hour he must certainly have felt himself close-knit
to the soil from which his deed had sprung, and memories
Oi childhood must have rushed in upon him when his car-
nage stopped at the house of the sisters Larsen, and he
ran upstan-s to greet the old housekeeper at Great Froen
^yho had bandaged his blood-stained forehead the first
time that he kissed the ice.

CIIAPTICK V

I)Kll<riN(; IN TlIK ICK

Nkxt morning, July 20, I was roused by some violent
shocks to the fioe on which we were encamped, and
thought the motion of the sea must have increased very
considerabU'. When we u:et outside we discoxer that the
lloe has split in two not far from the tent. The Lapps,
who had at once made for the highest points of our i)iece
of ice, now shout that tney can see the open sea. And
so it is ; far in the distance lies the sea sparkling in the
morning sunshine. It is a sight we have not had since
we left the Jason.

I may here reproduce the entries in my diary for this
and the following day : —

" The swell is (^rowinix heavier and heavier, and the
water brer.king over our floe with ever-increasing force.
The blocks of ice and slush, which come from the grind-
ing of the floes together, and are thrown uj) round the
edges of our piece, do a good deal to break the violence
of the waves. The worst of it all is that we are beinq; car-
ried seaward with ominous rapidity. We load our sledges
and try to drag them inward toward land, but soon see
that the pace we are drifting at is too much for us. So
we begin again to look around us for a safer floe to pitch
our camp on, as our present one seems somewhat shaky.
When we first took to it it was a good round flat piece

' From Nansen's Across Greenland.

DRIFTIXG ly 7 HE ICE

this

the

rcc.

ind-

the

'RCC

car-
i;cs
see
So
itch
iky.
ece

about seventy yards across, but it split once during tlie
night, and is now pi'ei)anng to part again at other places,
so that we shall soon not have much of it left. Close by
us is a large strong Hoe, still unbroken, and thither we
move our camj).

" Meanwh''" the breakers seem to be drawincf nearer,
their roar ^. '<-' s louder, the swell comes rolling in and
washes over the ice all around us, and the situation prom-
ises before long to be critical.

" Poor Lapps ! they are not in the best of spirits. This
morning they had disappeared, and I could not imagine
what had become of them, as there were not many places
on our little island where any of us could hide ourselves
away. Then I noticed that some tarpaulins had been
carefully laid over one of the boats. I lifted a corner
gently and saw both the Lapps lying at the bottom of the
boat. The younger, Balto, was reading aloud to the other
out of his Lapjjish New Testament. Without attracting
their attention I replaced the cover of this curious little
house of prayer which they had set up for themselves.
They had given up hope of life, and were making ready
for death." — As Balto confided to me one dav lonir after-
ward, they had opened their hearts to one another here
in the boat and "mingled their tears together, bitterly
reproaching themselves and others because they had ever
been brought to leave their homes. This is not to
be wondered at, as they have so little interest in the
scheme.

" It is glorious weather, with the sun so hot and bridit
that we must have recourse to our spectacles. We take
advantage of this to get an observation, our bearings
showing us to be in 65'' 8' N. and 38" 20' W., z. c, 30

li 1

NAiYSEiY nV THE FROZEN WOULD

minutes or about 35 miles from the mouth of Sermilik-
fjord, and from 23 to 25 minutes or about 30 miles from
the nearest land.

"We i;et our usual dinner readv, deciding;', however, in
honor of the occasion, to treat ourselves to jiea-soup.
Th's is the first time we have allowed ourselves to cook
anything. While the soup is beinu; made the swell in-
creases so violently that our cookint; apparatus is on the
point of capsizing over and over agiin.

" The Laj^iJs go through their dinner in perfect silence,
but the rest of us talk and joke as usual, the violent rolls
of our floe repeatedly giving rise to witticisms on the part
of one or other of the c()mj:)any, which in spite of our-
selves kept our laughing muscles in constant use. As far
as the Laj^ps were concerned, however, these jests fell on
anything but good ground, for they plainly enough
thought that this was not at all the proper time and place
for such frivolity.

" From the highest point on our floe we can clearly see
how the ice is being washed by the breakers, while the
columns of spray thrown high into the air look like white
clouds against the background of blue sky. No living
thinuf can ride the floes out there as far as we can see.
It seems inevitable that we must be carried thither, but,
as our floe is thick and strong, we hope to last for a while.
We have no idea of leaving it before we need, but when
it comes to that, and we can hold on no longer, our last
chance will be to try and run our boats out through the
surf. This will be a wet amusement, but we arc deter-
mined to do our best in the fight for life. Our provi-
sions, ammunition, and other things are dixided between
the two boats, so that if one is stove in and sinks we

DRIFTING IN THE ICE

ivmg

see.

but,

.hilc.

ivlien

last

the

Icter-

Irovi-

Iveen

shall have enough to keep us alive in the other. We
should probably be able to save our lives in that case,
but of course the success of the ex})edition would be \ery
doubtful.

" To run one of our loaded boats into the water
through the heavy surf and rolling floes without getting
her swamped or crushed will perhaps be possible, as we
can set all our hands to work, but it will Ijc difficult for
the crew of the remaining boat to get their shij) launched.
After consideration we come to the conclusion that we
must only jjut what is absolutely necessary into one boat,
and keep it as light as possible, so that in case of
extremity we can take to it alone. r\)r the rest, we shall
see how things look when we actuall)- reach the breakers.

" We have scarcely half a mile left now, and none of us
have any doubt but that before another coujdIc of hours
are passed we shall find ourselves either rocking on the
open sea, making our way along the ice southward, or
sinkin<T to the bottom.

" Poor Ravna deserves most sympathy. He is not yet
at all accustomed to the sea and its caprices. He moves
silently about, fiddling with one thing or anc 'her, now and
again goes u}d to the highest points of our ^.oe, and gazes
anxiously out toward the breakers. His thoughts are
evidently with his herd of reindeer, his lent, and wife and
children far away on the Finmarken mountains, where all
is now sunshine and summer weather.

"But why did he ever leave all this? Only because
he was offered money.'* Alas! what is money compared
with happiness and home, where all is now sun and sum-
mer } Poor Ravna !

" It is but human at such moments to let the remem-

I' I

NANS EN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

ill

f m

brancc dwell on what has been fairest in life, and few
indeed can have fairer memories to look back upon than
yours of the mountain and reindeer-herd.

" Hut here, too, the sun is shinini; as kindly and peace-
fully as elsewhere, down on the rolling sea and thundering
surf, which is boilins: round us. The evening is i>lorious,
as red as it was )esterday, and as no doubt it will be to-
morrow and ever after, setting the western sky on fire,
and pressing its last long passionate kiss on land and ice
and sea before it disajDpears behind the barrier of the
'inland ice.' There is not a breath of wind stirrinuf, and
the sea is rolling in upon us rudd\ and polished as a
shield under the light of the evening sky.

" Beautiful it is, indeed, v/ith these huge loncj billows
coming rolling in, sweeping on as if nothing could with-
stand them. They fall upon the white floes, and then,
raising their green, dripping breasts, they break and
throw fragments of ice and spray far before them on to
the glittering snow, or high above them into the blue air.
But it seems almost strange that such surroundings can
be the scene of death. Yet death must come one day,
and the hour of our departure could scarcely be more

glorious.

" But we have no time to waste ; we are getting very
near now. The swell is so heavy that when we are down
in the hollows we can see nothinci: of the ice around us,
nothing but the sky above. Floes crash together, break,
and are ground to fragments all about us, and our own
has also split. If we are going to sea we shall need all
our strength in case wc have to row for days together in
order to keep clear of the ice. So all hands are ordered
to bed in the tent, which is the only thing we have not

iit

DRIFTING IN THE ICE

very
down
Id us,
[ircak,

own
Id all

IX in

lered
not

yet packed into the boats, Sverdrup, as the most experi-
enced and cool-headed amonu" us, is to take the first
watch and turn us out at the critical moment. In two
hours Christiansen is to take his place.

" I look in \ain for any sign which can betray fear on
the part of my comrades, but they seem as cool as ever,
and their conversation is as usual. The Lapps alone show
some anxiety, though it is that of a calm resignation, for
they are fully convinced that they have seen the sun set
for the last time. In spite of the roar of the breakers we
are soon fast asleep, and even the Lapps seem to be slum-
bering quietly and soundly. They are too good children
of nature to let anxiety spoil their sleep. Balto, who, not
finding the tent safe enough, is lvini>; in one of the boats,
did not even wake when some time later it was almost
swept by the waves, and Sverdrup had to hold it to kec}i
it on the floe.

" After sleeping for a while, I do not know how long, I
am woke by the sound of the water rushing close by my
head and just outside thu wall of the tent. I feel the floe
rocking up and down like a ship in a heavy sea, and the
roar of the surf is r ore deafening than ever. I lay expect-
ing every moment to hear Sverdrup call me or to see the
tent filled with water, but nothing of the kind happened. I
could distinctly hear his familiar steady tread up and down
the floe between the tent and the boats. I seemed to my-
self to see his sturdy form as he paced calmly backward
and forward, with his hands in his pockets and a slight
stoop in his shoulders, or stood with his calm and thought-
ful face gazing out to sea, his quid now and again turning
in his cheek — I remember no more, as I dozed off to
sleep again.

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

li' ;■

li !

) ^

i'r

" I did not wake again till it was full morning. Then I
started iij) in astonishment, for I could hear nothing of the
breakers but a distant thunder. When I got outside the
tent I saw that we were a long way off the open sea. Our
floe, however, was a sight to remember. Fragments of
ice, big and little, had been thrown upon it by the waves
till they formed a rampart all around us, and the ridge
on which our tent and one of the boats stood was the
only part the sea had not washed.

" Sverdrup now told us that several times in the course
of the night he had stood by the tent-door prepared to
turn us out. Once he actually undid one hook, then
waited a bit, took another turn to the boats, and then
another look at the surf, leaving the hook unfastened in
case of accident. We were then right out at the extreme
edge of the ice. A huge crag of ice was swaying in tlie
sea close beside us, and threatening every moment to fall
ipon our floe. The surf was washing us on all sides, Ijut
the rampart that had been thrown up round us did us
good service, and the tent and one of the boats still stood
high and dry. The other boat, in which Balto was asleep,
was washed so heavily that again and again Sverdrup had
to hold it in its place.

" Then matters got still worse. Sverdrup came to the
tent-door again, undid another hook, but again hesitated
and waited for the next sea. He undid no more hooks,
however. Just as things looked worst, and our floe's turn
had come to ride out into the middle of the breakers, she
suddenly changed her course, and with astonishing speed
we were once more sailing in toward land. So marvellous
was the change that it looked as if it were the work of an
unseen hand. When I got out we were far inside and in

DRIFTIXG IN THE ICE

a good harbor though the n,ar of the breakers was still
aucbble enough to renu.ul us of the night. Thus fo^
t.n,e wc were spared the expeeted trial of the se.wor
ness of our boats and our own seamanship "

— \vlikl.''"'''WMKl//'^/// '

TllK KSKIMO KNiAMI'MlAT AT V ,\VV. lUl.I.E
(/?>' A". Nielsen, /rotii <i /ihotogr<i/>h)

ilv

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1:
.1

CHAPTER VI

AN KSKIMO ENCAMI'MKNT ON TIIK EAST COAST *

As wc drew near Cape Bille, the promontory which lies
to the north of Puisortok, we lieard strange sounds from
shore — as it were, a mixture of human voices and the
barkins: of doijs. As we ijazed thither we now caught
sight of some dark masses of moving objects, which, as
we examined them more closely, we found to be groups
of human beings. They were spread over the terrace of
rock, were chatteriuL:: in indistinsfuishable Babel, ijesticu-
lating, and pointing toward us as we worked our way
quietly through the ice. They had evidently been watch-
ing us for some time. We now too discovered a number
of skin-tents which were perched aiTiong the rocks, and at
the same time became aware of a noteworthy smell of
train-oil or some similar substance, which followed the off-
shore breeze. Though it was still early, and though the
water in front of us seemed open for some distance, we
could not resist the temptation of visiting these strange
and unknown beings. At the moment we turned our

* From Nansen's Across Greenland.

1, as
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A.V ESKIMO ENCAMrMENT

«7

boats toward shore the clamor increased tenfold. They
shrieked and yelled, j)ointed, and rushed, some down to
the shore, others uj) on to higher rocks in order to see us
better. If we were stopped by ice and took out our long
boat-hooks and bamboo jjoles to force the floes apart and
make ourselves a channel, the confusion on shore rose to
an extraordinary pitch, the cries and laughter growing
simply hysterical. As we got in toward land some men
came dartinir out to us in their " kaiaks," amonu' them
a native whom we had seen in the morninir. Their faces
one and all simply beamed with smiles, and in the most
friendly way they swarmed around us in tluir active little
craft, trying to point us out the way, which we could quite
well find ourselves, and gazing in wonder at our strong
boats as they glided on regardless of ice, which would have
cut their fragile boats of skin in pieces.

At last we passed the last floe and drew in to shore.
It was now growing dusk, and the scene that met us was
one of the most fantastic to which I have ever been
witness. All about the ledges of rock stood long rows
of strangely wild and shaggy-looking creatures — men,
women, and children all in much the same scanty dress
— staring and pointing at us, and uttering the same bo-
vine sound which had so much struck us in the morning.
Now it was just as if we had a whole herd of cows about
us, lowing in chorus as the cowhouse door is opened in
the morning to admit the expected fodder. Down by
the water's edge were a number of men eagerly strug-
gling and gesticulating to show us a good landing-place,
which, together with other small services of the kind, is
the acknowledged Eskimo welcome to strangers whom
they are pleased to see. Up on the rocks were a number

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WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

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NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

of yellowish-lDrown tents, and lower down canoes, skin-
boats, and other implements, while more " kaiaks "
swarmed round us in the water. Add to all this the
neighboring; glacier, the drifting floes, and the glowing
evening sk}-, and, lastly, our two boats and six unkempt-
looking selves, and the whole formed a picture which we
at least are not likely to forget. The life and movement
were a welcome contrast indeed to the desolation and
silence which we had so lont; endured.

It was not long, of course, before our boats were safely
moored, and we standing on shore surrounded by crowds
of natives, who scanned us and our belonsfinijs with won-
dering eyes. Beaming smiles and kindliness met us on
all sides. i\ smiling face is the Eskimo's greeting to a
stranger, as his language has no formula of welcome.

Then we look around us for a bit. Here amid the ice
and snow these people seemed to be comfortable enough,
and we felt indeed that we would willingly prolong our
stay among them. As we stopped in front of the largest
tent, at the sight of the comfortable glow that shone out
through its outer opening, we were at once invited in by
signs. We accepted the invitation, and as soon as we
had passed the outer doorway a curtain of thin membra-
neous skin was pushed aside for us, and, bending our
heads as we entered, we found ourselves in a cosey room.

The sight and smell which now met us were, to put it
mildly, at least unusual. I had certainly been given to
understand that the Eskimos of the east coast of Green-
land were in the habit of reducing their indoor dress to
the smallest possible dimensions, and that the atmosphere
of their dwellings was the reverse of pleasant. But a
sight so extraordinary, and a smell so remarkable, had

AN ESKIMO ENCAMPMENT

never come within the grasp of my imagination. Tlic
smell, which was a peculiar blending of several charac-
teristic ingredients, was quite enough to occupy one's
attention at first entrance. The most prominent of the
components was due to the numerous train-oil lamps
which were burning, and this powerful odor was well
tempered with human exhalations of every conceivable
kind, as well as the pungent efifluvia of a certain fetid
liquid which was stored in vessels here and there about
the room, and which, as I subsequently learned, is, from
the various uses to which it is applied, one of the most
important and valuable commodities of Eskimo domestic
economy. Into further details I think it is scarcely ad-
visable to go, and I must ask the reader to accept my
assurance that the general effect was anythmg but at-
tractive to the unaccustomed nose of the new-comer.
However, familiarity soon has its wonted effect, and one's
first abhorrence may even before long give way to a cer-
tain degree of pleasure. But it is not the same with
every one, and one or two of our party were even con-
strained to retire incontinently.

For my own part, I soon found myself sufKiciently at
ease to be able to use my eyes. My attention was first
arrested by the number of naked forms which thronged
the tent in standing, sitting, and reclining positions. All
the occupants were, in fact, attired in their so-called
*' natit " or indoor dress, the dimensions of which are so
extremely small as to make it practically invisible to the
stranger's inexperienced eye. The dress consists of a
narrow band about the loins, which in the case of the
women is reduced to the smallest possible dimensions.

Of false modesty, of course, there was no sign, but it is

NAiYSE.y AV 77/E FROZEN WORLD

not to be wondered at that tlie unaffected ingenuousness
with wliich all intercourse was carried on made a very
strange impression upon us conventional Europeans in
the first instance. Nor will the blushes whicii rose to the
cheeks of some among us when we saw a party of young
men and women who followed us into the tent at once
proceed to attire themselves in their indoor dress, or, in
other words, divest themselves of every particle of cloth-
ing which they wore, be laid to our discredit, when it is
remembered that we had been accustomed to male society
exclusively during our voyage and adventures among the
ice. The Lapps especially were much embarrassed at
the unwonted sight.

The natives now thronged in in numbers, and the tent
was soon closely packed. We had been at once inxited
to sit down upon some chests which stood by the thin
skin-curtain at the entrance. These are the seats which
are always put at the disposal of visitors, while the occu-
pants have their places upon the long bench or couch
which fills the back part of the tent. This couch is made
of planks, is deep enough to give room for a body re-
clining at full length, and is as broad as the whole width
of the tent. It is covered with several layers of seal-skin,
and upon it the occupants spend their whole indoor life,
men and women alike, sitting often cross-legged as they
work, and taking their meals and rest and sleep.

The tent itself is of a very peculiar construction. The
framework consists of a sort of high trestle, upon which a
number of poles are laid, forming a semicircle below, and
converging more or less to a point at the top. Over
these poles a double layer of skin is stretched, the inner
coat with the hair turned inward, and the outer generally

■'-^^'•^^'-^"-'"-'

AJV ESKIMO ENCAMPMENT

consistinG: of tlic old coverinu^s of boats and " kaiaks."
The entrance is under the above-mentioned trestle, which
is covered by the thin curtain of which I have already
spoken.

This particular tent housed four or five different fami-
lies. Each of them hiid its own partition marked off
upon the common couch, and in each of the stalls so
formed man, wife, and children would be closely packed,
a four-foot space thus ha\'ing sometimes to accommodate
husband, two wives, and six or more children.

Before every family stall a train oil lamp was burning
With a broad flame. These lamjDs are flat, semicircular
vessels of pot-stone, about a foot in length. The wick is
made of dried moss, which is placed against one side of
the lamp and continually fed with pieces of fresh blubber,
which soon melts into oil. The lamps are in charge of
the women, wiio have special sticks to manipulate the
wicks with, to keep them both from smoking and from
burning too low. Great pots of the same stone hang
above, and in them the Eskimos cook all their food which
they do not eat raw. Strange to say, they use neither
peat nor wood for cooking purposes, though such fuel is
not diflficult to procure. The lamps are kept burning
night and day ; they serve for both heating and lighting
purposes, for the Eskimo does not sleep in the dark, like
other people ; and they also serve to maintain a perma-
nent odor of train-oil, which, as I have said, our Euro-
pean senses at first found not altogether attractive, but
which they soon learned not only to tolerate, but to take
pleasure in.

As we sat in a row on the chests, taking stock of our
strange surroundings, our hosts began to try to enter-

(

!':; ^ >'■!

-■♦

A^ANSEN JN THE FROZEN WORLD

tain us. The use of every object we looked at was kindly
c.\i:)lained to us, partly by means of words, of which we
understood nothing, and partly by actions, which were
somewhat more within reach of our com})rehension. In
this way we learned that certain wooden racks which
hung from the roof were for drying clothes on, that the
substance cooking in the pots was seal's-flesh, and so on.
Then they showed us various things which they were
evidently very proud of. Some old women opened a bag,
for instance, and brought out a little bit of Dutch screw-
tobacco, while a man displayed a knife with a long bone-
handle. These two things were, wo doubt, the most
notable possessions in the tent, for they were regarded by
all the company with especial veneration. Then they
began to explain to us the mutual relations of the various
occupants of the tent. A man embraced a fat woman,
and thereupon the pair with extreme complacency pointed
to some younger individuals, the whole pantomime giving
us to understand that the party together formed a family
of husband, wife, and children. The man then proceeded
to stroke his wife down the back and pinch her here and
there to show us how charming and delightful she was,
and how fond he was of her, the process giving her, at
the same time, evident satisfaction.

Curiously enough, none of the men in this particular
tent seemed to have more than one wife, though it is a
common thing among the east coast Eskimos for a man to
keep two if he can afford them, though never more than
two. As a rule the men are good to their wives, and a
couple may even be seen to kiss each other at times,
though the process is not carried out on European lines,
but by a mutual rubbing of noses. Domestic strife is,

AN ESKIMO ENCAMPMENT

however, not unknown, and it sometimes leads to violent
scenes, the end of which generally is that the woman
receives either a viicorous castiiration t)r the blade of a
knife in her arm or leg, after which the relation between
the two becomes as cordial as ever, especially if tlic
woman has children.

In our tent the best of understandings seem to ])rcvail
among the many occupants. Toward us the}- were
especially friendly, and talked incessantly, though it had
long been quite clear to them that all their efforts in this
direction were absolutely thrown away. One of the
elders of the party, who was evidently a prominent per-
sonage among them, and probably an "angekok" or
magician, an old fellow with a wily, cunning expression,
and a more dignified air than the rest, managed to explain
to us with a jjreat deal of trouble that some of them had
come from the north and were going south, while others
had come from the south and were bound north ; that the
two parties had met here by accident, that we had joined
them, and that altogether they did not know when they
had had such a t2:ood time before. Then he wanted to
know where we had come from, but this was not so easily
managed. We pointed out to sea, and as well as we
could tried to make them understand that we had forced
our way through the ice, had reached land farther south,
and then worked up northward. This information made
our audience look very doubtful indeed, and anotlier
chorus of lowing followed, the conclusion evidently being
that there was something supernatural about us. In this
way the conversation went on, and, all things considered,
we were thoroughly well entertained, though to an out-
side observer our pantomimic efforts would, of course,
have seemed extremely comical.

NANS EN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

. . f
i'

I will not be rash enough to assert that all the faces
that surrounded us were indisputably clean. Most of them
were, no doubt, naturally of a yellowish or brownish hue,
but how nuich of the color that we saw in these very
swarthy countenances was really genuine we had no means
of deciding. In some cases, and especially among the chil-
dren, the dirt had accumulated to such an extent that it
was already passing into the stage of a hard black crust,
which here and there had begun to break away and to
show the true skin beneath. E\'ery face, too, with few-
exceptions, simply glistened with blubber. Among the
women, especially the younger section, who here as in
some other parts of the world are incontinently vain, wash-
ing is said to be not uncommon, and Holm even accuses
them of being very clean. But as to the exact nature of
the process which leads to this result it will perhaps be
better for me to say no more.

It might be supposed that the surroundings and habits
of these people, to which I have already referred, together
with many other practices, which I have thought it better
not to specify, would have an extremely repellent effect
upon the stranger. But this is by no means the case
when one has once overcome the first shock which the
eccentricity of their ways is sure to cause, when one has
ceased to notice such things as the irrepressible tendency
of their hands to plunge into the jungle of their hair in
hot pursuit, as their dirt-encrusted faces — a point on
which, I may remark, we ourselves in our then condition
had little right to speak — and as the strange atmosphere
in which they live ; and if one is careful at first not to look
too closely into their methods of preparing food, the gen-
eral impression received is absolutely attractive. There

AN ESKIMO KXCAMPMENT

is a frank and homely gcnialit)- in all their actions which
is very winning, and can only make the stranger feel thor-
oughly comfortable in their society.

People's notions on the subject of good looks vary so
much that it is difficult to come to a satisfactory determi-
nation with regard to these Kskimos. If wc bind ourselves
down to any established ideal of beauty, such as, for in-
stance, the Venus of Milo, the c|uestion is soon settled.
The east coast of Greenland, it must be confessed, is not
rich in tyj^es of this kind. Hut if wc can only make an
effort and free our critical faculty from a standard which
has been forced upon it by the influences of superstition
and heredity, and can only agree to allow that the thing
which attracts us, and on which we look with delight, for
these very reasons possesses the quality of beauty, then
the prr>blem becomes very much more difficult of solution.
I have no doubt that, were one to live with these people for
a while and grow accustomed to them, one would soon
find many a pretty face and many an attractive feature
among them.

As it was, indeed, we saw more than one face which a
European taste would allow to be pretty. There was one
woman especially who reminded me vividly of an acknow-
ledged beauty at home in Norway; and not only I, but
one of my companions who happened to know the proto-
type, was greatly struck by the likeness. The faces of
these Eskimos are as a rule round, with broad, outstanding
jaws, and are, in the case of the women especially, very
fat, the cheeks being particularly exuberant. The eyes
are dark and often set a little obliquely, while the nose is
flat, narrow above, and broad below. The whole face often
looks as if it had been compressed from the front and

NAXSEN IN Tin: FRO ZEN WORLD

forced to make its growth from tlic sides. Amont>; the
women, and more especially the children, the face is so flat
that one could almost lay a ruler across from clieek to
cheek without louchini^ the nose; indeed, now and au;ain
one will see a child whose nose really forms a depression
in the face rather than the reverse. It will he understood
from this that many of these people show no si^ns of ap-
proaching the lun'opean standard of good looks, hut it is
not exactly in this direction that the Eskimo's attractions,
generally sjijcaking, really lie. At the sanie time there is
something kindly, genial, and complacent in his stubby,
dumpy, oily features which is quite irresistible.

Their hands and feet alike are unusually small and well-
shaped. Their hair is absol.itely black, and quite straight,
resembliu'j: horse-hair. The men often tie it back from
the forehead with a string of beads and leave it to fall
down over the shoulders. Some who have no such band
have it cut above the forehead or round the whole head
with the jawbone of a shark, as their superstitions will not
allow them on any account to let iron come into contact
with it, even when the doubtful course of having it cut at
all has been resolved upon. But, curiously enough, a man
who has begun to cut his hair in his youth must necessa-
rily continue the practice all his life. The women gather
their hair up from behind and tie it with a strip of seal-
skin into a cone, which must stand as perpendicularly as
possible. This convention is, of course, especially strin-
gent in the case of the young unmarried women, who, to
obtain the desired result, tie their hair back from the fore-
head and temples so tightly that by degrees it gradually
gives way, and they become bald at a very early age. A
head which has felt the effects of this treatment is no

AN ESKIMO ENCAMPMENT

attractive sight, but the victim in such cases has generally
been a long time married and settled in life, and the dis-
advantage is therefore not so keenly felt.

After we had been sitting in the tent for a while, one of

;al-
as

in-
to
re-

ESKIMO BEAUTY, KROM THK KAST COAST, IN HKR OLD AOE
(By E. Nielsen, from a photograph taken by the Danish " Konebaad" expedition)

the elders of the company, the old man with the unat-
tractive expression, of whom I have already spoker 'ose
and went out. Presently he came in a^^ain with a long line
of seal-skin, which, as he sat on the bench, he began to un-
roll. I regarded this performance with some w^onder, as I
could not imagine what was going to happen. Then he
brought out a knife, cut off a long piece, and, rising, gave
it to one of us. Then he cut off another piece of equal
7

NANSIC.V IN TJIK J'RO/.EN WORLD

Icngtli atul gave it to another, and the process was re-
jieated till we all six were ahke provided. W'lien he had
finished his distribution he smiled and beamed at us, in
his abundant satisfaction with himself and the world at

large. Then another of them went out,
canie back with a similar line, and dis-
tributed it in like manner ; whereupon
a third followed his e\ami)le, and so
the game was kept going till we were
each of us provided with four or five
])ieces of seal-skin line. Poor things !
they gave us what they could, and what
they thought would be useful to us.
It was the kind of line they use, when
seal-catching, to connect the point of
the harjjoon to the bladder which pre-
vents the seal from escaping, and it
is astonishingly strong.

After this exhibition of liberality we
sat for a time looking at one another, and I expected that
our hosts would show by signs their desire for something
in return. After a while, too, the old man did get up and
produce something which he evidently kept as a possession
of great price and rarity. It was nothing else than a clumsy,
rusty old rifie, with the strangest contrivance in the way of
a hammer that it has ever been my good luck to see. It
consisted of a huge, unwieldy piece of iron, in which
there was a finger-hole to enable the user to cock it. As
I afterwards found, this is the ordinary form of rifle on
the west coast of Greenland, and it is specially constructed
for use in the " kaiak." After the old man had shown us
this curiosity, and we had duly displayed our admiration.

l.sKiMo COY, ri; iNi niK

CAMl' AT FORT llll.l.K

AN ESKIMO ENCAMPMKyr

)n,

he made us unclcrstand by some very unmistakable ges-
tures that he had iiotliiiii; to |)ut in it. /\t first I pre-
tended not to grasj) liis meaning, but, this insincerity
being of no avail, 1 was obligerl to make it plain to him
that we had nothing to give him in the way of ammuni-
tion. This intimation he received with a very disai)pointed
and dejected air, and he went at once and put his rifle
away.

None of the others showed by the slightest token that
they expected anything in return for their presents. They
were all friendliness and hospitality, though no doubt
there was a notion lurking somewhere in the background
that their liberality would not prove unproductive, and, of
course, we did not fail to fulfil our share of the transac-
tion next day. The hospitality, indeed, of this desolate
coast is quite unbounded. A man will receive his worst
enemy, treat him well, and entertain him for months, if
circumstances throw him in his way. The nature of their
surroundings and the wandering life which they lead have
forced them to offer and accept universal hospitality, and
the habit has gradually become a law among them.

Afucr we considered we had been long enough in the
tent we went out- into the fresh air again, and chose as our
camping-ground for the night a flat ledge of rock close to
the landing-place. We then began to bring our things
ashore, but at once a crowd of natives rushed for our
boats, and were soon busy moving our boxes and bags
up on to the rocks. Every object caused an admiring
outburst, and our willing helpers laughed and shouted in
their glee, and altogether enjoyed themselves amazingly.
The delight and admiration that greeted the big tin boxes
in which much of our provender was packed were espe-

Ill I

100

NAN SEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

\ '

cially unmanageable, and the tins were each passed round
from hand to hand, and every edge and corner carefully
and minutely examined.

As soon as the boats were empty we proposed to drag
them up, but here again all insisted on giving their help.
The painter was brought ashore, manned by a long line
stretching far up the rocks, and the boats hauled up each
by the united efforts of twenty or thirty men. This was
splendid sport, and when one of us started the usual
sailor's chorus to get them to work together, the enthusi-
asm reached its height.

They joined in, grown folk and children alike, and
laughed till they could scarcely pull. They plainly
thought us the most amusing lot of people they had ever
seen. When the boats were safe ashore we proceeded to
pitch our tent, an operation which engaged all their atten-
tion, for nothing can interest an Eskimo so much as any
performance which belongs to his own mode of life, such
as the management of tents and boats and such things.
Here their astonishment does not overcome them, for
they can fully understand what is going on. In this
case they could thus admire to the full the speedy wav
in which we managed to pitch our little tent, which was
so much simpler a contrivance than their great compli-
cated wigwams, though at the same time it was not so
warm.

Our clothes, too, and, above all, the Lapps' dress, came
in for their share of admiration. The tall, square caps,
with their four horns, and the tunics with their long, wide
skirts and edging of red and yellow, struck them as most
rernarkable, but still more astonished were they, of course,
in the evening, when the two Lapps made their appear-

AN ESKIMO ENCAMPMENT

lOI

ance in their reindeer-skin pelisses. All must needs go
and feel them and examine them, and stroke the hair of
tliis wonderful skin, nothing like which they had ever
seen before. It was not seal-skin, it was not bear-skin,
nor was it fox-skin. " Could it be dog-skin } " they
asked, pointing to their canine companions. When we
explained that it was nothing of that kind they could get
no further, for their powers of imagination had reached

KSKIMOS, FROM THE CAMP AT CA I'K HILLE
(From a fhotograpK)

their limit. Balto now bes:an to s^ibber and make some
very significant movem.ents with his hands about his
head, with the idea of representing reindeer horns, but
this awoke no response. Evidently they had never seen
reindeer, which do not occur on that part of the east
coast which they frequent.

■i

102

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

I !

Then we distributed the eveninij rations, and ate our
supper sitting at the tent-door, and surrounded by specta-
tors. Men, women, and children stood there in a ring
many ranks deep, closely watching the passage of every
morsel of biscuit to om* lips and its subsequent consump-
tion. Thoucfh their mouths watered to overflowing at
the sight of these luxuries, we were constrained to take
no notice. We had no more in the way of bread than we
actually needed, and, had we made a distribution through-
out all this hungry crowd, our store would have been
much reduced. But to sit there and devour one's biscuits
under the fire of all their eyes was not pleasant.

Our meal over, we went and had a look round the
encampment. Down by the water were a number of
" kaiaks " and a few specimens of the " umiak " or large
skin-boat, which especially interested me. One of the
men was particularly anxious to show me everything.
Whatever caught my eye, he at once proceeded to ex-
plain the use of by signs and gestures. Above all, he
insisted on my examining his own " kaiak," w^hich was
handsomely ornamented with bone, and all his weapons,
which wTre in excellent condition and profusely deco-
rated. His great pride was his harpoon, which, as he
showed me triumphantly, had a long point of narwhal
tusk. He explained to me, too, very clearly the use of
the th rowing-stick, and how much additional force could
be given to the harpoon by its help. Every Eskimo is
especially prouJ of his weapons and "kaiak," and expends
a large amount oi work on thei'" adornment.

By this time the sun had set and the night fallen, and
consequently the elements of weirdness and unreality
which had all the time pervaded this scene, with its sur-

AN ESKIMO ENCAAirMENT

103

roundings of snow and ice and curious human adjuncts,
were now still more predominant and striking. Dark
forms flitted backward and forward among the rocks,
and the outlines of the women with their babies on their
backs were especially picturesque. From every tent-door
through the transparent curtain shone a red glow of light,
which with its su<'u:estions of warmth and comfort led the
fancy to very different scenes. The resemblance to
colored lamps and Chinese lanterns brought to one's
mind the illuminated ijardens and summer festivities
away at home, but behind these curtains there lived a
happy and contented race, quite as happy, perhajDs, as
any to which our thoughts turned across the sea.

Then bed-time drew near, and the rest we sorely
needed after the scanty sleep of the last few days. So
we spread our sleeping-bags upon the tent-floor and be-
gan the usual preparations. But here again our move-
ments aroused the keenest interest, and a deep ring ot
onlookers soon [gathered round the door. The removal
of our garments was watched with attention by men and
women alike, and with no sign of embarrassment, except
on our part. Our disappearance one by one into the
bags caused the most amusement, and when at last the
expedition had no more to show than six heads, the door
of the tent was drawn to and the final " Good-night "
said.

That night we could sleep free from care and without
keeping watch, and it was a good night's rest we had, in
spite of barking dogs and other disturbances. It was late
when we woke and heard the Eskimos moving busily
about outside. Peeping through the chinks of the door,
we could see them impatiently pacing up and down, and

104

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

\ it '

waiting for the tent to be thrown open again that they
might once more feast their eyes on all the marvels hid-
den inside. We noticed to-day, and we supposed it was
in our honor, that they were all arrayed in their best
clothes. Their clean white frocks, made of the same thin
membraneous skin as the tent curtains, shone as brilliantly
as clean linen in the distance, as their wearers walked uj)
and down and admired their own magnificence. Down
by our boats, too, we saw a whole congregation, some
sitting inside and others standing around. Every imple-
ment and every fitting was handled and carefull}- scru-
tinized, but nothing disturbed or injured.

Then came the opening of the door, and forthwith a
closely packed ring of spectators gathered around, head
appearing above head, and row behind row, to see us
lyir g in our bags, our exit thence, and gradual reinstate-
ment in our clothes. Of all our apparel, that which
excited most wonder and astonishment was a colored belt
of Christiansen's, a belt resplendent with beads and huge
brass buckle. This must needs be handled and examined
by each and all in turn, and of course produced the usual
concerted bellow. Then our breakfast of biscuits and
water was consumed in the same silence and amid the
same breathless interest as our supper of the night
before.

After breakfast we walked about the place, for we had
determined to enjoy life for this one morning and see
what we could of these people before we left them. I
had tried, unnoticed, to take a photograph of the ring
which thronged our tent-door, but as I brought the
camera to bear upon the crowd some of them saw my
manoeuvre, and a stampede began, as if they feared a

AN ESKIMO ENCAMPMENT

105

discharge of missiles or other sorcery from the apparatus.
I now tried to catch a group who were sitting on tiie
rocks, but again with the same result. So the only expe-
dient was to turn my face away, and by pretending to be

"^.s^-

"OUTSIDE ONli LITTLE TENT I FOUND AN UNUSUALLY SOClAliLE WOMAN"
(By E. Nielsen, frotn a photograph')

otherwise engaged to distract the attention of my victims
and meanwhile secure some pictures.

Then I took a tour round the camping-ground with my
camera. Outside one little tent, which stood somewhat
isolated, I found an unusually sociable woman, apparently
the mistress of the establishment. She was relatively
young, of an attractive appearance altogether, with a smil-
ing face and a pair of soft, obliquely set eyes, which she
made use of in a particularly arch and engaging way.
Her dress was certainly not elegant, but this defect was,
no doubt, due to her established position as a married

io6

NANSEN IN ThE FROZEN WORLD

V i?

1. '^i ,

woman, and must not be judi^cd too harshly. In her
" amaut," a garment vvliich forms a kind of liood or bag
behind, she had a svvartliy baby, which she seemed very
fond of, and which, Hke many of the mothers, she did her
best to induce to open its black eyes and contemj)late my
insignificance. This was partly, no doubt, the flattery of
the coquette ; on the whole we got on very well together,
and unperceived I secured several phott)graphs. Then
the master came out of the tent, and showed no sign of
surprise at finding his wife in so close converse with a
stranger. He had evidently been asleep, for he could
hardly keep his eyes open in the light, and had to resort
to a shade, or rather some big snow-spectacles of wood.
He was a strongly-built man, with an honest, straightfor-
ward look, was very friendly, and showed me a number of
his things. He was especially proud of his " kaiak " hat,
which he insisted on my putting on my head, while he
meantime unceremoniously arrayed himself in my cap.
This performance was little to my taste, as it was quite
uncertain what would be the result of the exchange to me.
Then he took me to see his biii boat or " umiak," as well
as other of his possessions, and we parted.

I went on, and loo^-ed into some other tents. In one
of them I found two girls who had just taken a big gull
out of a cooking-pot, and were beginning to devour it,
each at work with her teeth on one end of the body, and
both beaming with delight and self-satisfaction. The bird
still had most of its feathers on, but that did not seem to
trouble them much. Perhaps, after the manner of the
owl, they subsequently ejected them.

Some of the women had noticed that the Lapps used
the peculiar grass known as " sennegraes," which the Eski-

A.V ESKIMO ENCAMPMENT

107

mos also use, in their boots, and they now brouijjht eacli
of us a huge supjily of the commodity, smiUng most co-
quettishly as they made their offering. We expressed
our thanks, of course, by an equally lavish disj)lay of
smiles. Then they began to inquire, by means of signs,
whether we had no needles to ^ive them in return. I
could have gratified them, certainly, since I had brought
a number of these articles of barter, which are much
prized on the east coast. But my
real object was to keep them in
case we had to spend the winter in
these parts, in which case they would
have proved invaluable. So I told
them that we could not let them
have any needles in exchange for
their orj-ass, and ijave them instead
a tin which had had j^reserved meat
in. This made them simply wild
with delight, and with sparkling
eyes they went off to show the
others their new acquisition. The
grass came in very handy for the
two Lapps, whose store was run-
ning short, and without this grass
in his shoes a Lapp is never thor-
oughly comfortable. They had a
deal to sav, too, about this Eskimo
" sennegrDES." The fact that these people had sense
enough to use the grass impressed Ravna and Balto to a
certain extent, but they declared it had been gathered at
the wrong time of year, being winter grass taken with
the frost on it, instead of being cut fresh and then dried,

IHEN TIIK MASTKR CAME
OUT OF THE tent"

(From a fihotografih)

Iti

108

NAXSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

in accordance with the practice of rational beings. It
was of little use to point out to them that it was not the
habit of the I£skimo to lay up greater stores of such
things than he actually needed to keep him going.

But the time of our departure drew near, and we began
by degrees to make our preparations. A man now came
up to us and asked whether we were going northward.
At our answer in the affirmative his face brightened
amazingly, and it proved that he was bound in the same
direction with his party, to whom he went at once and
announced the news. The camp was now a scene of
lively confusion, and, while we and the Eskimos vied with
one another in our haste to strike our tents, launch our
boats, and stow our goods, the dogs, who well knew what
was in progress, expended their energy in a howling com-
petition.

As the tent we had spent the preceding evening in was
going southward, it was necessary that we should go and
make some return for the presents we had received. So
with a number of empty meat-tins I went in and found a
party of half-naked men taking a meal. I gave them one
each, which delighted them hugely, and some of them
at once showed their intention of using them as drinkincf-
vessels. Outside I found the possessor of the rifle, who
again urged upon me the fact that he had no ammunition
for it. But when I presented him with a large tin instead
he expressed perfect contentment and gratification.

The great skin-tents were soon down and packed away
in the boats. It was indeed quite astonishing to see the
speed with which these Eskimos made ready for a journey
with all their household goods and worldly possessions,
though, of course, there were a great number of helping

AN ESKIMO ENCAMPMENT

109

hands. We had almost finished our preparations too,
when a salt-box was pleased to discharge its contents in
the middle of one of the provision-bags. This had to be
seen to at once, and the Eskimos consequently started
before us. Two of the boats set off on their southward
journey, and two more presently disappeared behind the
first point of rock to the north. The company of " kai-
akers," however, were still left, as they stayed behind to
bid each other a more tender farewell, before they j^arted,
perhaps, for a separation of some years. '!'his leave-tak-
ing gave rise to one of the most comical scenes I have
ever witnessed. There were altogether a dozen or more
of their little canoes, and they all now ranged uj) side by
side, dressed as evenly as a squad of soldiers. This ex-
traordinary manoeuvre roused my attention, of course, and
I could not imagine what it purported. I was not left
long in ignorance, however, for the snuff-horns were pres-
ently produced, and the most extravagant excesses fol-
lowed. Their horns were opened and thrust up their
noses again and again, till every nostril must have been
absolutely filled with snuff. Several horns were in circu-
lation, and each came at least twice to every man, so that
the quantity consumed may well be imagined. I wanted
to photograph them, but lost time and could not bring
my camera to bear upon them before the line was broken,
and some of the canoes already speeding away southward
among the floes.

This (reneral treatinof with snuff is the mode in which
the Eskimos take leave of one another, and is a very
similar performance to the ceremonious dram-drinking
among our peasants at home. In this particular case
only those who had come from the south had anything to

A.LVSJSN IN TJ/E IROZEN WOKLD

stand treat with. They were evidently fresh from the
Danish colonies beyond Crpe r'arewell, as their abundant
supply t)f snuff proved, while the others were j^robably
bound south on a similar errand. These pilijjrimages
occur unfortunately too often, though their emporium lies
at no trifling distance — a couple of years' journey, in
fact, for those who live farthest up the coast.

One would almost expect that so long a journey would

'THE LlNli WAS lIRoKKiN, AND SOMK OK TIIK CANOKS ALREADY SPEEDING

AWAY SOUTHWARD AMONC. THE FI.OES "

(From a fihotogtapli)

' li^

be followed by a long stay at the place of business. But
this is not the case, and the Eskimo, in fact, spends little
more time over his periodical shopping than a lady of the
world over a similar, but daily, visit. In half an hour, or
an hout perhaps, he has often finished, and then disap-
pears again on his long journey home. A shopping
expedition of this kind will therefore often take four years

I I

lap-
ins:

lars

AN ESKIMO KXCAMJWIENT

III

at least, and conscciucntly a n'>an'.s ()j)i)()rtunitics in tliis
way in the course of a lifetime are very liniited. These
are quite enough, however, to i)r()(luce a miscliievous
effect. One is apt to suppose that it is the want of cer-
tain useful things, otherwise unattainable, that urges them
to these long journeys; but this is scarcely so, for the real
incentive is without doubt a craving for tobacco. As a
matter of fact they do buy some useful things, like iron,
which they get chiefly in the form of old hoops, but they
really have a good sup])ly of such things already, they do
not use them much, and they are not absolutely necessary.
Most of their purchases are things which are either alto-
gether valueless or else actually injurious.

Among the latter must especially be reckoned tobacco,
which is the commodity of all others most desired, and
which they take in the form of snuff. Smoking and
chewing are unknown on this coast, but their absence is
made uj) for by all the greater excess in snuff-taking, the
indulgence in which is quite i)henomenal. They buy
their tobacco in the form of twist, and prepare it them-
selves, by drying it well, breaking it up, and grinding it
fine on stone. Powdered calcspar or quartz or other rock
is often added to the snuff to make it go further, and to
increase, it is said, the irritating effect upon the mucous
membrane.

In addition to tobacco they buy other things which
certainly have an injurious effect upon them, such as,
for instance, tea. Coffee, curiously enough, these people
have not learned to like, though this drink is bliss celes-
tial to the west-coast Eskimos.

It is truly fortunate that they have no opportunity of
getting spirits, as the sale is absolutely prohibited by the

113

NANSEN IN THE EROAEN WORLD

Danish (iovernmciit. Of other Kuropcan prochicts, they
l)iiy biscuits, tlour, peas, which they arc particularly fond
of, and similar things. Articles of clothing, too, are in
great demand, such as thick jerseys from the l-'aroe
Islands, cotton stuffs for outer tunics, and material out of
which they can make hats; old luiropean clothes are
highly valued, and they have an idea that when they can
dress themselves out in these worn-out rubbishy garments
they cut a far finer figure than when they content them-
selves with their own warm and becoming dress of seal-
skin.

In exchange for such things, which are of little value
to us and of still less real worth to them, they give fine
large bear-skins, fox-skins, and seal-skins, which they
ought to keep for their own clothes and the other nu-
merous purposes for which they can be used. It is, of
course, unnecessary to remark how much better it would
b6 if these poor Eskimos, instead of decking themselves
out in European rags, would keep their skins for them-
selves, and confine themselves to those regions where
they have their homes, instead of straying to the outskirts
of European luxury and civilization.

When the Eskimos have at length consumed their pur-
chases and must needs return to the old manner of life,
the net result is that they have lost a number of useful
possessions and have acquired a feeling of want and long-
ing for a number of unnecessary things. This is, in fact,
the usual way that the blessings of civilization first make
themselves felt upon the uncivilized.

•■7

• '■

CHAPTFR VII '

'(JS

m-
lore
:irts

ur-
ife,
ful
ng-
act,
ake

\ \

TIIK (KOSSTNt; f)l' IIIK INLAND ICK — lirK FIRST SICIIT
()!• LAND AND FIRST DRINK OF WATFR

i\s the middle of Scptcniljcr ajiproaclu'd, wc hoped
every chiy to arrive at tlie beginnini; of the western sl()j)e.
To judge from our reckoning it coukl not be far off,
though I had a suspicion that this reckoning was some
way ahead of our ol^servations. These, however, I i)ur-
posely omitted to work out, as the announcement that we
had not advanced as far as we supjjosed woukl have been
a oitter disappointment to most of the party. Their cx-
])ectations of soon getting the first siglit of hand on the
western side were at their height, and they pushed on
confidently, while I kept my doubts to myself and left
the reckoning as it was.

On September 1 1 the fall of the ground was just appre-
ciable, the theodolite showing it to be about a third of a
degree. On September 12 I entered in my diary that
" we are all in capital sj^irits, and hope for a speedy
change for the better, Balto and Dietrichson being even
confident that we shall see land to-day. They will need
some patience, however, as we are still 9,000 feet above
the sea " (we were really about 8,250 feet that day), " but
they will not have to wait very long. This morning our
reckoning made us out to be about seventy-five miles
from bare land, and the ground is falling well and con-

^ P'rom Nansen"s Across Greenland.

311'!

ill

1' .

! ^

I m

5 '

114

NAN SEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

tinuously." The next clay or two the slope grew more
and more distinct, bat the incline was not regular, as the
ground fell in great undulations, like those we had had
to climb in the coarse of our ascent.

On Septjmber 14 the reckoning showed that it was
only about thirty-five miles to land. But even now we
could see nothing, which the Lapps thought was very
suspicious. Ravna's face began to get longer and longer,
and one evening about this time he said, " I am an old
Lapp, and a silly old fool, too ; I don't believe we shall
ever get to the coast." I only answered, " That 's quite
true, Ravna ; you are a silly old fool." Whereupon he
burst out laughing : " So it 's quite true, is it — Ravna is
a silly old fool .-* " and he evidently felt quite consoled by
this doubtful compliment. These expressions of anxiety
on Ravna's part were very common.

Another day Balto suddenly broke out : " But how on
earth can any one tell how far it is from one side to the
other, when no one has been across } " It was, of course,
difficult to make him understand the mode of calculation ;
but, with his usual intelligence, he seemed to form some
Idea of the truth one day when 1 showed him the process
on the map. The best consolation we could give Balto
and Ravna was to laugh at them well for their cowardice.

The very pronounced fall of the ground on September
17 certainly was a comfort to us all, and when the ther-
mometer that evening just failed to reach zero we found
the temperature quite mild, and felt that we had entered
the abodes of summer again. It was now only nine miles
or so to land by our reckoning. ^

It was this very day two months that we had left the
Jason. This happened to be one of our butter-mornings.

Ithe

I
{

THE CROSSING OF THE INLAND JCE

I'S

the very gladdest mornings of our existence at the time,
and breakfast in bed with a good cup of tea brought the
whole party into an excellent humor. It was the first
time, too, for a long while that the walls of our tent had
not been decorated with fringes of hoar-frost. As we
\vcre at breakfast we were no little astonished to hear, as
we thought, the twittering of a bird outside ; but the
sound soon stopped, and we were not at all certain of its
reality. But as we were starting again after our one
o'clock dinner that day we suddenly became aware of
twitterings in the air, and, as we stopped, sure enough
we saw a snow-bunting come flying after us. It wan-
dered round us two or three times, and jjlainly showed
signs of a wish to sit upon one of our sledges. But the
necessary audacity was not forthcoming, and it finally
settled on the snow in front for a few moments, before
it flew away for good with another encouraging little
twitter.

Welcome, indeed, this little bird was. It gave us a
friendly greeting from the land we were sure must now
be near. The believers in good angels and their doings
must inevitably have seen such in the forms of these two
snow-buntings, the one which bade us farewell on the
eastern side, and that which offered us a welcome to the
western coast. We blessed it for its cheering song, and
with warmer hearts and renewed strength we confidently
went on our way, in spite of the uncomfortable knowledge
that the ground was not falling by any means so rapidly
as it should have done. In this w^ay, however, things
were much better next day, September i8; the cold con-
sistently decreased, and life grew brighter and brighter.
In the evening, too, the wind sprang up from the south-

■t ■
I' '' '1

ii6

NAN SEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

east, and I hoped we should really get a fair sailing breeze
at last. We had waited for it long enough, and sighed
for it, too, in spite of Balto's assurances that this saiHng
on the snow would never come to anything.

In the course of the night the wind freshened, and in
the morning there was a full breeze blowing. Though,
as usual, there was no great keenness to undertake the
rigging and lashing together of the sledges in the cold
wind, we determined, of course, to set about the business
at once. Christiansen joined Sverdrup and me with his
sledge, and we rigged the two with the tent-floor, while
the other three put their two sledges together.

All this work, especially the lashing, was anything but
delightful, but the cruellest part of it all was that while
we were in the middle of it the wind showed siii^ns of
dropping. It did not carry out its threat, however, and at
last both vessels were ready to start. I was immensely
excited to see how our boat would turn out, and whether
the one sail was enough to move both the sledges. It
was duly hoisted and made fast, and there followed a
violent wrenching of the whole machine, but during the
operations it had got somewhat buried in the snow and
proved immovable. There was enough wrenching and
straining of the mast and tackle to pull the whole to
pieces, so we harnessed ourselves in front with all speed.
We tugged with a will and got our boat off, but no sooner
had she begun to move than the wind brous^ht her rio-ht
on to us, and o/er we all went into the snow. We were
soon up again for another trial, but with the same result ;
no sooner were we on our legs than we were carried off
them again by the shock from behind.

This process having been gone through a certain num-

THE CROSSI.\G OF TJIE INLAND ICE

117

ber of times, we saw plainly that all was not right. So
we arranged that one of us should stand in front on his
ski and steer by means of a staff fixed between the two
sledges, like the pole of a carriage, leaving himself to
be pushed along by his vessel, and only keeping it at a

FIRSl' ATTEMPTS AT SAILINC;

respectful distance from his heels. The other two mem-
bers of the crew were to come behind on their ski,
either holding on to the sledges or following as best they
could.

We now finally got under way, and Sverdrup, who was
to take the first turn at steering, had no sooner got the
pole under his arm than our vessel rushed furiously off
before the wind. I attached myself behind at the side,
riding on my ski and holding on by the back of one of
the sledges as well as I could. Christiansen thought this
looked like too risky work, and came dragging along
behind on his ski alone.

Our ship flew over the waves and drifts of snow with a
speed that almost took one's breath away. The sledges

ii8

NAXS£N IN THE FROZEN WORLD

struggled and groaned, and were strained in every joint
as they were whirled over the rough surface, and often
indeed they simply jumped from the crest of one wave on
to another. I had quite enough to do to hang on behind
and keep myself upright on the ski. Then the ground
began to fall at a sharj)er angle than any wc had had yet.
The pace grew hotter and hotter, and the sledges scarcely
seemed to touch the snow. Right in front of me was
sticking out the end of a ski, which was lashed fast across
the two sledges for the purpose of keeping them together.
I could not do anything to get this ski end out of the
way, and it caused me a great deal of trouble, as it stuck
out across the points of my own ski, and was always
coming into collision with them. It w^as worst of all when
we ran along the edge of a drift, for my ski would then
get completely jammed, and I lost all control over them.
For a long time I went on thus in a continual struggle
with this hopeless ski end, while Sverdrup stood in front
gayly steering and thinking we were both sitting comfort-
ably on behind. Our ship rushed on faster and faster;
the snow flew around us and behind us in a cloud, which
gradually hid the others from our view.

Then an ice-axe which lay on the top of our cargo
began to get loose and promised to fall off. So I worked
myself carefully forward, and was just engaged in making
the axe fast when we rode on to a nasty drift. This
brought the projecting ski end just across my legs, and
there I lay at once gazing after the ship and its sail,
which were flying on down the slope, and already show-
ing dimly through the drifting snow. It made one quite
uncomfortable to see how quickly they diminished in size.
I felt very foolish to be left lying there, but at last I recov-

THE CROSSING OF THE INLAND ICE

119

ered myself and set off bravely in the wake of the vessel,
which was by this time all but out of sight. To my great
delight I found that, thanks to the wind, I could get on
at a very decent pace alone.

I had not gone far before I found the ice-axe, in trying
to secure which I had come to grief. A little way farther
on I caught sight of another dark object, this time some-
thing square, lying in the snow. This was a box which
contained some of our precious meat-chocolate, and which
of course was not to be abandoned in this way. After this
I strode gayly on for a long time in the sledge-track, with
the chocolate-box under one arm and the ice-axe and my

rgo

"AND TIIKRF. I LAY CAZING AFTl-.R TlIK SHIP AND ITS SAIL "

siaff under the other. Then I came upon several more
dark objects lying straight in my path. These proved to
be a fur jacket belonging to me, and no less than three
pemmican boxes. I had now much more than I could
carry, so the only thing to be done was to sit down and
wait for succor from the others who were following be-
hind. All that could now be seen of our proud ship and
its sail was a little square patch far away across the snow-
iield. She was going ahead in the same direction as

^//gf-mw^i

I20

NANSEIV IN THE FROZEN WORLD

before, but as I watched I suddenly saw her brought up
to the vvitid, the tin boxes of her cargo ghtter in the sun,
and her sail fall. Just then Christiansen came up with me,
followed not long after by the other vessel. To them we
handed over some of our loose boxes, but just as we were
stowing them away Balto discovered that they had lost no
less than three pemmican tins. These were much too val-
uable to be left behind, so the crew had to go back and
look for them.

Meanwhile Christiansen and I started off again, each
with a tin box under his arm, and soon overtook Sverdrup.
W'e now sat down to wait for the others, which was not
an agreeable job in this bitter wind.

Sverdrup told us that he had sailed merrily off from the
very start, had found the whole thing go admirably, and
thought all the time that we two were sitting comfortably
on behind. He could not see behind him for the sail, but
after a long while he began to wonder why there was not
more noise among the passengers in the stern. So he
made an approach to a conversation, but got no answer.
A little farther on he tried again and louder, but with the
same result. Then he called louder still, and lastly began
to shout at the top of his voice, but still there was no
response. This state of things needed further investiga-
tion ; so he brought his boat up to the wind, went round
behind the sail to see what was the matter, and was not
a little concerned to find that both his passengers had
disappeared. He tried to look back along his course
through the drifting snow, and he thought he could see
a black spot far away behind. This must have been my
insignificant figure sitting upon the lost tin boxes. Then
he lowered his sail, which was not an easy matter in

THE CROSSIXG OF THE INLAND ICE

121

the wind that was blowing, and contented himself to wait
for us.

We had to sit a long time before the others caught us
up again. We could just see the vessel through the snow,
but her sail was evidently not up, and of her crew there
was not a sign. At last we caught sight of three small
specks far away up the slope and the glitter of the sun

"SAILINi; ON THF. INLAND ICE"

on the tins they were carrying. Presently the sail was
hoisted, and it was not long before they joined us.

We now lashed the sledgres better together and made
the cargo thoroughly fast, in order to escape a repetition
of this performance. Then we rigged up some ropes be-
hind, to which the crew could hold or tie themselves, and
thus be tow^ed comfortably along. In this way we got on
splendidly, and never in my life have I had a more glo-
rious run on ski.

12:

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLT^

A while later Svcrdrup declared that he had had
enough of steering, and I therefore took his place. Wc
had now one good slope after another and a strong wind
behind us. We travelled as we should on the best of
ski hills at home, and this for hour after hour. The
steering is exciting work. One has to keep one's tongue
straight in one's mouth, as we say at home, and, whatever
one does, take care not to fall. If one did, the whole
conveyance would be upon one, and once under the run-
ners and driven along by the impetus, one would fare
badly indeed, and be lucky to get off without a complete
smash-up. This was not to be thought of, so it was
necessary to keep one's wits about one, to hold the ski
well together, grip the pole tight, watch the ground in-
cessantly, so as to steer clear of the worst drifts, and for
the rest take things as they came, while one's ski flew on
from the crest of one snow-wave to another.

Our meals were not pleasant intervals that day, and we
therefore got through them as quickly as we could. We
stopped and crept under shelter of the sails, which were
only half lowered on purpose. The snow drifted over us
as we sat there, but the wind at least was not so piercing
as in the open. We scarcely halted for the usual choco-
late distributions, and took our refreshment as we went
along.

In the middle of the afternoon — this notable day by
the way was September 19 — just as we were sailing our
best and fastest, we heard a cry of joy from the party be-
hind, Balto's voice being prominent as he shouted " Land
ahead ! "

And so there was; through the mist of snow, which
was just now a little less dense, we could see away to the

THE CROSSING OF THE INLAND ICE

•23

west a long, dark mountain ridge, and to the south of it
a smaller peak. Rejoicings were loud and general, for
the goal toward which we had so long struggled was at
last in sight.

Halto's own account of the occurrence runs as follows :
" While we were sailing that afternoon I caught sight of
a black spot a long way off to the west. I stared and
stared at it till I saw that it reallv was bare <rround.
Then I called to Dietrichson, ' I can see land!' I)ie-
trichson at once shouted to the others that Balto could
see land away to the west. And then we rejoiced to see
this sight, which we had so often longed to see, and new
courage came into our hearts, and hope that we should
now happily and without disaster cross over this ice-
mountain, which is the greatest of all ice-mountains. If
we had spent many more days upon the ice, I fear that
some of us would have fared badly. As soon as Nansen
heard this he stopped and gave us two pieces of meat-
chocolate each. It was always our custom, when we
reached a spot \.'hich we had long wished to reach, to
treat ourselves to the best food we had. So when we
came to land after drifting in the ice, when we reached
Umivik, when we had climbed to the highest point of
Greenland, when we now first saw land on the west side,
and lastly, when we first set foot upon bare ground again,
we were treated to our very best — which was jam,
American biscuits, and butter."

Though this first land we saw lay a little to the north
of the line we had hitherto been following, I steered for
it nevertheless, because the ice in this direction seemed to
fall away more rapidly. However, the point was soon
hidden in the snow again, and we went on with the wind

1,1

124

NAXSEN /X THE FROZEN WORLD

strai^Iit behind us for tlic rest of the afternoon without
getting any further sight of land. The wind grew
stronger and stronger, we flew down slope after slope,
and everything went famously.

A while later both the gradient and the wind slackened
off for a time, but as evening began the breeze freshened
and the slope grew steeper, and we rushed along through
the dense driving snow more furiously than ever. It was
already growing dusk, when I suddenly saw m the gen-
eral obscurity something dark lying right in our path. I
took it for some ordinary irregularity in the snow, and
unconcernedly steered straight ahead. The next mo-
ment, when I was within no more than a few yards, I
found it to be something very different, and in an instant
swung round sharp and brought the vessel uj) to the
wind. It was high time, too, for we were on the very
edge of a chasm broad enough to swallow comfortably
sledges, steersman, and passengers. Another second and
we should have disappeared for good and all. We now
shouted with all our might to the others, who were com-
ing gayly on behind, and they managed to luff in time.

Here also Balto has something to say : " The same
evening while we were still sailing along — it may have
been about half-past seven and it was rather dark — we
saw Nansen, who was in front on his ski, signalling
wildly to us, while he shouted, ' Don't come here ; it is
dangerous ! ' We, who were tearing along at full speed,
found it difficult to stop, and had to swing around and
throw ourselves on our sides. At the same time we saw
in front of us an awful crack in the ice, which was many
hundred feet deep."

As to the rest of the day's sail my diary says : " This

THE CROSSING OF THE INLAND ICE

135

SAILING IN MOUNLKIHT. "WIIKN 1111:. SNOW I.OdKKD IKKAC II I.KUlS I HAD l<i
(;0 CAUTIOUSLY ANn I'SK MY SIAKK"

\e
g

' I

was the first crevasse, but was not likely to be the only
one, and we must now go warily. It was suggested that
it was hardly advisable to sail any farther that evening,
but I thought it too early to stop yet, as we must take
advantage of the wind. So I left the sledges and went
on in front to reconnoitre, while Sverdrup undertook the
steerinc: of our boat, and the sails of both of them were
taken in a bit. The wind was strong enough even to
blow me along, and 1 could run long stretches without
moving a muscle, and so covered the ground fast.

" When the snow looked treacherous I had to go
cautiously and use my staff to see whether I had solid
ground under foot, and, if not, to signal to the others to
wait till I had found a safer route. In spite of all precau-
tions, Sverdrup and Christiansen all but came to grief
once, as the snow fell in behind them just as they had
passed over an unsuspected crevasse. Meantime the

126

N.tNSEN IN T}FE FROZEN WORLD

■ it

vviiul was steadily increasing, and the sails had to be
taken in more a-d more to prevent the sledges overrun-
ning me. As we were all getting hungry, biscuits were
served out, but no halt was made to eat them.

" It was rapidly getting dark, but the full moon was now
rising, and she gave us ligiit enough to see and avoid the
worst crevasses. It was a curious sight for me to see the
two vessels comiuLT rushing along behind me, with their
square vlking-like sails showing dark against the white
snow-field and the big round disc of the moon behind.

" Faster and faster I go Hying on, while the ice gets
more and more difficviit. There is worse still ahead, I can
see, and in another moment I am into it. The ground is
here seamed with crevasses, but they are full of snow and
not dangerous. Every now and then I feel my staff go
through into space, but the cracks are narrow and the
sledges glide easily over. Presently I cross a broader one,
and see just in front of me a huge black abyss. I creep
cautiously to its edge on the sli})pery ice, which here is
covered by scarcely any snow, and look down into the
deep, dark chasm. Beyond it I can see crevasse after cre-
vasse, running parallel with one another, and showing
dark blue in the moonlight. I now tell the others to stop,
as this is no ground to traverse in the dark, and we must
halt for the night.

"In the west we could now see land again against the
evening sky, which still shows a faint trace of day. They
were the same mountains we had first seen, but they now
tower high above the horizon, and to the south of these
peaks again there is a long ridge of rock protruding from
the snow.

" It was a difficult business to gee the tent up in this

i
4

•

THE CKOSSJXG 01' THE JXLAXD ICE

«27

jse
|m

lis

stronu; wind, and on the hard, slipj)cry ice, whicli gave no
hold for our guy-ropes, and we had to cut deep holes
before we could make our staffs do duty as i)egs. /\t last,
after having fared worse than usual with the cold, we got
the tent up and were able to crawl into a jjartial shelter.
No one was inclined to do any cooking that evening, as
even inside the tent the wind was much too aggressive,
and the little feast which was to do honor to the day, and
which we had much looked forward to, was j)ut off till
next morning. So we were content to divide our last
piece of CJruyere cheese, and then, well pleased with our-
selves and our day's work, creej) into our sleejiing-bags.
I now discovered for the first time that I had got the fin-
gers of both my hands frozen during the afternoon's sail.
It was too late now to rub them with snow, as thev had
begun to thaw on their own account, but that night the
pain they gave me was almost unendurable, till I fell
asleej) in spite of it."

Early next morning, September 20, I started up with
the consciousness that I had forgotten to wind my watch
up over-night. Unluckily Svcrdrup had done exactly the
same, and though we wound them both up at once it was
now too late. This was, of course, rather unfortunate for
our longitude observations, but we were now so near land
that we could reckon our position with tolerable exacti-
tude neverthele s.

When we loc ,ved out of the tent w^e could sec the whole
country to the south of Godthaabsfjord lying spread out
before us, a rough mountainous tract with many deep val-
leys and lofty peaks. Those who remember their first
sight of a mountain landscape in their childhood, with its
sunlit peaks and stretches of glittering snow ; who can

128

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

remember how this new mysterious world fascinated and
aHured them — they will understand what our feelings
were this morning. We were just like children, as we sat
and gazed, and followed the lines of the valleys down-
ward in the vain search for a glimpse of the sea. It was
a fine country that lay before us, wild and grand as the
western coast of Norway. Fresh snow lay sj^rinkled about
the mountain tops, between which were deep black gorges.
At the bottom of these were t'le fjords, which we could
fancy, but could not see. A journey to Godthaab in this
kind of country looked anything but a simple matter.

We enjoyed our grand breakfast at our ease and leisure
this morning, made tea unlimited, and simply revelled in
cheese and oatmeal biscuits. It was glorious to have a
treat like this once in a way. The morning was well gone
before we got finally on the move. In the darkness of
the evening before we had sailed into some very rough fis-
sured ice, and we now had to bear away to the south to
avoid the worst crevasses and reach smoother crround. The
snow throughout this day's march was partly blown into
drifts, especially where there was any unevenness in the
ice to catch it, and partly swept away by the wind, leaving
the surface slippery and bare.

Presently we reached the top of a long, steep slope
which had to be descended. Sverdrup and I started down
on our ski and had a fine run. But our sledge was dif-
ficult to steer, and we had huge crevasses on each side, so
at last we were constrained to take our ski off for safety's
,ake. We then went on, standing each on a runner of
the sledge, and scraping and breaking with our feet in
order to keep clear of the crevasses. The Lapps during
this run were especially reckless, and let their sledge rush

THE CROSSING OF TIIK INLAND ICE

129

ahead r "h as it pleased. A little farther down we came
upon a i.it piece of ice, which was so slij)pery that it was
quite difficult to cross. It looked like the frozen surface
of a lake or pool. Beyond this we found ourselves in
some nasty ice again, and after I had fallc 1 through the
snow several times 1 thought it best to put the ski on
again. With them t)ne is of course much safer, as when
one slides across the narrower crevasses their great length

fCJASriNC IxiWN TIIK Sl.OI'KS

,ope
own
dif-
so
ity's
of
in
•mg
ush

will generally hold one up. At this time we had a nasty
experience, as our sledge came lengthways ujDon a cre-
vasse, the snow-cornice of which gave way under one of
the runners, and we only managed to drag it on to firm
ground just as the whole mass of snow was falling in be-
neath it. Ravna and Balto nearly got into a worse scrape
once, when they tried to take a short cut instead of follow-
ing our course. They slid down on to a huge wide fissure,
whereupon one of the runners cut straight through the
snow and all but upset the sledge, and it was only by the
skin of their teeth that they escaped. I was furiously

130

NANS EN IN THE ERO/JiN WORLD

f V

angry with thcni, of course, and rated thcni well for not
bcinu content to let us who went in front run such risks
as were necessary. Christiansen, too, was once on the
poin.. ( ' -osing his sledge in much the same way.

In tne afternoon we had a hailstorm from the south and
southeast. The hail stung our faces and the wind contin-
ually blew the sledges around, so that hauling became hard
and difficult work. In this respect Sverdrup and I were
worst off, as our load was very bulky and lay high on the
sledge, which therefore exposed a large surface to the
wind. The steel bars or keels under the runners would
here have been an advantage, but they had long ago given
way on the rough ice of the east coast.

We stopped for the day on a little flat, on which there
was just enough drifted snow to hold our staffs, and the
pitching of the tent was thus a simple matter. We had
flattered ourselves that we should come within very easy
distance of land, if not reach it altogether, this evening,
and we were considerably disappointed when it seemed
to us at the end of the day that we were almost as far off
as ever.

Next day, September 21, snow was falling, and we
could see nothing either of the land or the ice around us.
We had to grope our way as best we could, and there
was no possibility of choosing the most advantageous
course.

Toward noon we stopped in order to get an observa-
tion, if it WTre possible, as the sun now and again showed
through the clouds. It was most important that we
should know where we were, and the day before I had
been too late for the purpose, having made a mistake
about the time owing to my omission to wind my watch

L! ff ■

THE CROSSIXG Of THI: LXLAXD ICE

131

ning,
eenicd
ar off

id us.

there

Igeous

^erva-
owed
t we
had
stake
/'atch

up. Luckily this time the sun was visible for a while,
and I was able to get the altitude, my reckoning putting
us at about lat. 64° 13' N. This position was a little
more northerly than I should have liked, the reason being
that I had, as I have said, steered too much to the north
as we were sailing after we came within sight of land.
As it will appear, we now had to pay some days' penalty
for the mistake. If we had ke])t our original more south-
erly course, we should [probably have been able to sail
riirht down on to the land itself.

We now, therefore, turned more to the south when we
set off again. In the course of the afternoon Sxcrdrup
and I had a disagreement as to our best route — a thing
which rarely happened. Me wanted to take us more to
the right up on to a ridge, as he had through the snow
seen crevasses down below in front of us. I had seen
nothing of the kind, and preferred to keep away to the
left ; but after some discussion Sverdrup prevailed, and
we climbed the ridge, Init only to find ourselves in the
middle of some terrible crevasses. They were worse
than any we had hitherto had to deal with, and we were
very glad to clear out again and bear away more to the
south. Here we found a tolerably smooth stretch of ice
forming the bottom of a valley between two ridges, which
were both quite a network of fissures. This alley or fur-
row narrowed in front of us, and ended in a defile, where
the two ridges almost met. Here there was an abrupt
fall in the ground, and the ice was uncomfortably rough.
The place looked all but impracticable, and it was clearly
no use trying to push on any farther while the weather
was so thick. It seemed very likely that we had come
too far already.

is»

NANSEN IN THE EJWZEN WORLD

So it was settled that Dietrichson, Ravna, and Balto
should pitch the tent, while Sverdrup, Christiansen, and I
should ({o down and see whether this broken ice would
allow of a passage. Balto in his quality of under-cook
was told to set the apjjaratus going, and have everything
ready by the time we came back — some good i)ea-soup
and plenty of hot water in the upper vessel, so that we
could have some lemon-grog after supi)er.

We three soon had the Alpine roj^e round our waists
and set off downward. The ice was im usually rough
and hard to pass, a simple chaos of sharp edges with fis-
sures in between ; but it was not dangerous, as the clefts
were as a rule not deep.

We had not gone far before, to my astonishment, I saw
a little dark spot down below us between some ridges
covered with snow. It looked amazingly like water, but
it was quite possible that it was only ice, so I said nothing
to the others. But when I reached it and, putting my
stafT in, met with no resistance, our surprise and delight
were quite unbounded. We threw ourselves down, ]3ut
our lips to the surface, and sucked up the water like
horses. After a month of incessant thirst and limited
rations, the pleasure of having abundance of drink was
indescribable. How many quarts <!^ swallowed I should
not like to say, but we plainly felt ourselves swell within
and without during the operation. We then went on
refreshed, but before we had gone far we heard some one
shouting behind, and saw little Ravna running after us
as fast as his short legs w^ould carry him. We waited,
fearing that there was something wrong in the camp, and
I was much relieved to hear, when he came up, that all
he wanted was the wicks for the spirit-lamp, which I usu-

THE CROSSING OF THE INLAND ICE

»33

ally carried in my pocket to keep theni dry. I was anx-
ious to know whether he had seen the water, for Ravna
was the worst of all of us to drink when he had the
chance, and I was half afraid that he would <j:o at it till
he made himself ill. He had seen the water, he told us,
but had not had time to attend to it as he came down,
though he meant to make up for the omission on the way
back.

So we sent him off again and went on with our explora-
tion. We presently found ourselves among the roughest
ice 1 had ever seen, and all that 1 knew of from Captain
Jensen's descriptions was nothing com})ared to this.
Absolutely imjjassable it was not, but ridge upon ridge,
each sharper and more impracticable than its neighbor,
lay i.i all directions, while between them were deep clefts,
often half full of water, which was covered with a thin skin
of ice not stront; enough to bear.

Darkness was already coming on when we finally
turned homeward. We were wretchedly done up by
having to toil over this rough ground, on which the soft
snow lay deep in jolaces, and were much comforted when
we at last cauirht siirht of the tent in the distance. As
we passed the pool again we must needs have another
drink. We lay down and let the w^ater fairly flow down
our throats. Our foreheads irrew numb and cold, but
that did not stoj) us. L" was a truly divine pleasure to be
able once more to drink to the very end of one's thirst.
A cheering smell of good pea-soup met us as we entered
our little tent, where we found the others squatting around
the cooking machine. Balto had everything hot and
ready for us, and was very proud of having carried out
his orders to the letter.

I i

'II

I
i

134

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

His description, too, will serve to tell us what the rest
of the i)arty did while we were away.

" The other three went off with a rope round their
waists to look for a way, while we — that is, Ravna, Die-
trichson, and 1 — stayed behind to })ut up the tent. I
had to make some pea-soup, too, for I was cook. So
I got the machine out, but then found that there were
no wicks, as Nansen had them in his pocket. So I sent
Ravna off to get them, and when he came back he said
he had found water and drunk his stomach full. When
I heard this 1 caught up a tin box and ran as hard as I
could go till I reached the pool. Then I threw myself
down and began to drink. I had to lift my head up now
and then to get breath, and then I went on drinking
again. It tasted just like fresh, sweet milk, for we had
not had any water for a whole month. Then I filled the
tin and carried it up to the tent, and when Dietrichson
saw it he lay down and drank till he could not hold any
more. The tin was a \'ery big one, but there was only
just enough left for the pea-soup afterward. We found
plenty of water every day after this."

I am sure we all remember September 21, when we
first found \,ater. I really think it was one of the best
days of the whole expedition.

Balto's fragrant soup was soon served out, and we set
to work upon our sujiper with more than usual keenness,
which means considerably more than it seems to say.
Even Ravna could eat that night. He used to declare he
never could make a good meal because there was not
enough to drink. This used to induce him to save up
his rations, and he would often annoy us, and make our
mouths water fruitlessly, by bringing out four or five

THE CROSSING 01' TJIK INLAW ICE

'35

spare biscuits at a time to show us. The truth probably
was that his Httlc body did not need as niucii food as our

ariier ones.

After supper we liad lemon-grog, which consisted of
citric acid, oil of lemon, sugar and hot water, a compound
which to our tastes was nothing short of nectar, and
which we sipped and enjoyed to the utmost as we lay i

our sleepmg-bags. I'or my own i)art it was a long tmie
since I had been so tired. The laborious wadiiiLT in the
deep, fresh snow had tried my legs severely, and I do not
fancy that the others were much better. Hut an evening
like this in the tent brings a feeling of comfort and grati-
tude upon one, and a xeil of forgetful n ess is gently and
soothingly drawn over all the pains and tribulations of the
day.

A candle-end — the last we have — has been lii^hted
ff)r supper. This over, and all our ])reparations for the
morrow made, we ])ut out oijr light, bury our heads well
beneath the hoods of the sleeping-bags, and pass swiftly
and lightly over into the region of dreams.

I \

ij!

CMAPTHR VIII

llll'. DKSCKNT TO AMKKAI.I KFJOKD

Hkfore breakfast on September 22, while Balto was
making the tea, Svenhnij) and I climbed the ridge of ice

'hich lav to th(

ith of the tent ft

wnicn lay to tne soutn ot tne tent tor a reconnaissance.
It was seamed with broad crevasses of unfathomable
depth, most of them running parallel. Once I fell through
a siiow-brid'j^e, but the fissure was so narrow that I could
keep my hold on both its sides, and after some amount of
struggling I managed to extricate myself. I^^'om the top
(m the rid<>e we had a fine view over the surrounding): ice,
and could see that our best course would j^robably be to
keep a westerly direction for the present and turn south-
ward again lower down. As far as we can see, in front
of us the ice seems to lie in fissured ridges, which all run
westward toward Godthaabsfjord. We had been in doubt
as to what valley or fjord the de})ression right before us
could be, but we could now see that it must be Kan-
gersunek. AltoL^ether we were able to make out our
whereabouts very well, and it was cjuite plain that we had
come down four or five miles farther to the north than we
had meant.

We found breakfast ready when we got back to the
tent, and afterward it was settled that Sverdrup and I
should go out again and explore the ice to the west, keep-
ing to the north of the part we examined the previous

1 From Nansen's Across Greenland.

THK DKSCENT TO AM llhWI.I KFyOR D

•37

A\ AWKWARD I'RKDKAMI'.NT

even in f^;,

The others meanwliile must follow us with the
four sledges as far as they could in the same direction,
and, if they could get so far, stop at the last ridge we
could see from here. As they had a fair wind behind
them, I thought they would be able to manage a sledge
each without much difficulty.

So Sverdrup and I started off, and with the wind be-

. 1
I

ml\s/':a jx the fnoaen wori n

\ ' i!

ill

hiiul us ran fast douii on our slii)])(.'ry oak ski. The
ijjround was fairly easy till we came far enouj^h to sec
down into the fjord, which was full of lloatini; glacier-ice.
Then the crevasses bej^an, hut at Hrst they ran parallel,
and we pushed a |L(ood way farther on. Hut presently
things became utterly hopeless, a sim])le network of inter-
lacing fissures, the ice i)r{)truding in small scpiare islands
from the midst of the blue abysses. l*!ven th(; fancy could
form no idea of the depth of these chasms, and the sight
of the riven and chaotic mass was uneartldy in the ex-
treme. Not a stej) farther could we go; there was nothing
for us to do but eat our dinner and i^o back to look for
the Others. We found shelter in a little crevice, where
the sun did its best to comfort us and temper the keen-
ness of the bitinir wind.

On the way back I had the ill-luck t(< fall into a cre-
vasse. I was left hanging by my arms, and the j)()sition
was neither easy nor pleasant. The fissure was narrow
indeed, but it was very difficult to get a footing with my
ski on the slijjpery edges. I was alone, too, as Sverdrup
had taken a different line, and, being a long way on
in front, saw nothing of my disaster. However, after
struijiiling for a while, I at last manau^ed to scramble out
by myself. Strangely enough, none of us ever went far-
ther into these crevasses than to the annpits.

We liad not <j:one far before we cautiht siiiht of the
tent, which lay a little way to the north of us and on the
very ridge where the party had been ordered to halt.
They had reached this point about half an hour before,
and the coffee was already under way. I must explain
that we were now so near the coast that the coffee pro-
hibition was not so stringently observed. It was not

•

HIE DKSCEXT TO .l.\//:h'.t /./h'/'70h' />

'.^9

. The

to sec
cier-ice.
parallel,
resell tly
)f i liter-
islands
:y could
10 sight
the c.\-
nothiiiLij
ook lor
■, where
le keeiv

) a c re-
position
narrow
,vith my
yerdrup
vay on
r, after
ble out
nt far-

of the
on the
l() halt,
[before,
bxplain
^e pro-
las not

ON IIIK MuKNINi; UV SKl'lKMHER 2J : KDlClllSH l( K

(|uite ready, and a si' irt rest after our little ski excursion
did us good. After we had finished our coffee the tent
was struck, and we set off in a southerly direction in
order to skirt the ice-stream which flowed down to the
fjord, and in the middle of which we had just been. At
first the ground was easy and we made good progress,
though the wind did its best to hinder us by blowing the
sledges around. In the evening, when it was already
growing dusk, we reached a ridge of nasty, broken ice,
which we had seen in the distance that mornincf, and which
there seemed to be no way of avoiding. It was necessary
to explore the ground here before moving any farther,
and so there was nothing to be done but encani}) and
wait for daylight. While supper was preparing two of us
went out again. The ice was undeniably aw^kward, but
with enterprise we could no doubt get through. The

140

N.i.vs/-:x /x '/•///'.• I'Ro/.r.x won in

«
if

"I. I

I'lll

ricliju was liu Uily ih)1 broad, and the Ijcst rtjiitc \va:s evi-
dently the strai;^lite.st and shortest.

Next nioniini;-, September 23, Svercbnip wi-nt out ujjon
anotlier prospectiiiL;; expe-dition, .uid came back with com-
|)aratively reassurinjjj intelhi^ence. 'Hie ice was not so
Ixid as it had seemed lo be at Hist si;^ht, and it would be
|)ossible, if we |)Ut three men to each sledge, to j^et them
aloni; witliout carryiivjj them.

Then we broke up camp and set out upon tlu' heaviest

k: sr AND UKM.i'.cno.N (.ii:n i:.Mi;i K 2j)

{/>V ///<■ Author^ from a /^liotoi;rafih')

bit of ice-travelling;- wliich we had yet had. In many
places we had to carry each sledge bodily up the steep
slopes of the ridges we had to cross, while as we de-
scended the other side the unfortunate man wno went
behind had to hold it back widi all his micht. If he

was L'vi-

Tirn DESCF.NT TO AMh.NAI.lKryOR P

I M

.sli')|)(.'(l, down ux-nl he and the sIl'(1i;X' on to ihc hccU ot
thi. others in troiil. and du- whole group shd on together.
Often, however, we were huky enough to hit upon the
course of a fro/en ii\er, whieh gave us an easy though
soniewliat winding passage among the hunmiocks and

ON TlIK AI IKUNOON OK sK 1 Tr. M I ; I : R

: INTO IIETTKR KK ACAIN

ridges of ice, whicli often formed cliffs with nearly per-
pendicular walls. In one case we had to |)ass through a
narrow cleft which only just ga\'e us room, and at the
bottom held a little stream only partially frozen, the water
of which stood well above our ankles.

In the afternoon we at last passed out of the worst
of the ice, and could again take the sledges singly. 'I"he
surface was now tolerably good, and it grew still better,
but the wind was awkward, as it was always blowing the
sledges around. A good way farther on I discovered a
moraine running across the ice in an easterly direction

142

N. INS /'IN /N Till': FRO/. EN IVOR ID

I i

i!ii

from the land. I iniairinL'd tliat this moraine must mark
the limit between the streams of ice, more especially be-
cause it lay in a depression, and as I could not see any
trood in ''ettinLT into the lull current of another ice-sti'can),
I determined to work down toward land on the north
side of the moraine. We now halted, and the tent haviiiL;"
been pitched and Halto sent out to look for water ior the
coffee, Sverdrup ami I set off downward toward the
land to see whether the ice were practicable here. We
had not gone far before we saw that our o])portunity had
come. We seemed to ha\e crossed to the south side of
the stream of ice which fell into (iodthaabsfjord, for the
surface seemed to fall away to the south, or more cor-
rectly toward the land which lay straight before us. We
went back with tlie encouraging news, ami the whole
party drank their coffee in the highest si)irits. The
prospect of once more feeling dry land beneath our feet

as now not far off, and this was enouLrh to fill

us wiin

dcli<i]it. .As soon as we could we went on again, and
with the wind behind us made good progress, the ice
being relatively smooth and yet often falling rapidly. We

were chsapjDom
that

ted, 1

lowever, in our hope of reachm

land

evenmg, as, owmg

to t!

th(

le uatnerniL!;

dark

ncss, we

presently had to stojj. But on the whole we were more
than satisfied with the day's work, as we had advanced a
good deal farther than we had had an\' reason to hoi)e in
the morning.

Next day, September 24, we turned out earlv and set
off with the determination to reach land that dav. This

time, too, \\ 1 were n

ot d

isapjjo

in ted. We pushed on fast.

as the gradient was often tolerably steep and gave us
much help. The wind was fair, too, the ice easy, and

TlfE DESCENT TO AMERALIKFjOKJ)

« J3

everything promising. Some way down a reconnaissance
proved necessary, as the ice liere got rather rougher. I
went on in front and soon found myself u|)()n the brow of
an ice-sl()|)e which overlooked a beautiful mountain tarn,
the surface of which was covered with a sheet of ice.
iJeyond was a gorge through which a river from the tarn

"UroN THK IJRUW Uf AN ICK-SI.Ol'K WIIH II (J\ KKI.ui iK KD A liKAUTIl' UI. MOUN-
TAIN TARN "
[By A . !ihh/i, from a /<ltoto);rnpl{)

ran d(jwnward, while to the right the great glacier sloped
evenly down to its end moraine, and would have formed
the most mao^nificent coasting-hill imaoinable, but for the
stones that lay scattered over its surface. Here was an
easy descent for us, and no obstacles to separate us from
our goal. I soon had the whole j^arty by me, and we
stood enjoying the sight of the land below. After ! had

,.l

144

NAASEN IN THE FKO/.EN WORLD

'I'ri

\''y

I !

taken a couple of jjliotot^raj^lis, we set off down the last
ice-slope. It was steep, steeper pemaps than any we had
run down beft)re, and we had to use our brakes ; but the
sledges went gayly, and soon we were safe and well upon
the frozen tarn below the glacier, with the inland ice
forever left behind.

We now jjushefl across the tarn toward the river on
the other side. The ice was not everywhere quite safe,
but by moving carefully we reached the rocks beyond
without mishap, took off the "cranipoons" which we had
been using the last few days, and, like schoolboys released,
ran wildly about the shore. Words cannot describe what
it was for us only to have the earth and stones again be-
neath our feet, or the thrill that went through us as we
felt the elastic heather on which we trod, and snielled
the fragrant scent of grass and moss. Behind us lay the
inland ice, its cold, gray sloi)e sinking slowly toward
the lake ; before us lay the genial land. y\way down the
valley we could see headland beyond headland, covering
and overlapping each other as far as the eye could reach.
Here lay our course, the way down to the fjord.

I ,i

THE HOAT AND ITS lUTILDKR

CHAPTER IX

ARRIVAL AT GODTHAAB

ovcrinti

Next morning, September 29, we carried the boat down
to the water. It was desperate work plodding along with
it through this sticky sand, in which our feet sank deep,
and fixed themselves, and wheezed like the piston of an
air-pump as we pulled them out again at each step. But
at last we reached the water's edsre, and set the boat
down, to gro back and Qret the rest of our things. There
were any number of gulls down here, and we had looked
forward to the prospect of a supply of fresh meat ; but,
unfortunately, they kept at a respectful distance, and we
had no chance of a shot. When we got back to our
camping-place, we came to the conclusion that we had
had quite enough of the sands, and determined to carry

1 From Nansen's Across Greenland.
10

146

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

the other things over the higher ground, rough and diffi-
cult though it was.

When we got down to the shore again, we saw that the
boat was now afloat a long way out in the water, as, while
we had been away, the fjord had risen to such an extent
as to flood all the outer part of the sands. Luckily Sverd-
rup had been thoughtful enough to moor her fast by
driving a stake into the ground, though we had left her so
far from the edge of the water that we thought she was
quite safe. He now waded out to her, and rowed her in
to a point of land close by, while I moved the baggage to
meet him at the same spot. Thus, at last, after a day's
labor, we had overcome one more obstacle, and were ready
to embark on a good sea-way.

After we had had our dinner we set out upon our first
voyage, our destination being the farther side of the fjord,
along which we meant to coast on our way outward. We
discovered at once that our boat travelled much better
than we had expected. She did not prove to be a fast
craft, certainly, but we could get along in her, and reached
the other side of the fjord after what we considered to be
a remarkably quick passage. Nor was water-tightness one
of our boat's virtues, for we had to take to baling with one
of the soup-bowls about every ten minutes.

Just here, the head of the fjord formed a little bay or
inlet, which seemed to us, in our present state of mind, an
unusually attractive spot. It ended in a peaceful, gentle
valley — a valley of long, brown slopes and stretches of
moss and stones, and skirted by low, round hills ; just the
ground that is most welcome to the reindeer and his pur-
suer. Our interests still centred in all that we could con-
nect with food and the pursuit of game, and the more

. i

nd diffi-

that the
Ls, while
i extent
Y Sverd-

fast by
t her so
she was
i her in
;j^cige to

a day's
*e ready

3ur first

le fjord,

d. We

[ better

a fast

eached

d to be

}ss one

th one

bay or
nd, an
gentle
Kes of
ist the
|s pur-
con-
more

148

NANS/uV IN THE FKOZEX WOKJ.D

.'■111

poetic reader must forgive us. To us, at this time, tliis
was the most beautiful side of Nature ; and for her true
beauty — the lofty |)eaks, the snow-clad mountains, the
precipitous cliffs, and all the glories of barrenness, glories
of which Ameralikfjord has enough and to spare — we
had no eyes of a])])reciation. Sucii delights are for that
true l()\er of Nature, the tourist, as he wanders among
them on his comfortable steamer, with abundance of warm
clothinL!" and good food.

Then we worked along the stupendous cliffs which
form the northern shore of Amcragdla, as the inmost
branch of Ameralikfjord is called, and stopped for the
night at a spot where we could land our boat and find flat
ground enough to sleep upon — accommodation not to be
procured everywhere. We had not advanced much that
day, but we were quite satisfied, and very pleased to be on
the sea once more. Our chief delight, however, was the
prospect of eating our fill of good fresh meat after nearly
seven weeks of the driest of food. During our row I had
shot six big blue gulls. At first I missed several times,
as the birds kept out of range, but at last one ventured
nearer, and then I had no further trouble. Gulls, as most
people know, are inquisitive birds ; so when I had thrown
one dead body out to float, the others must needs come
to look at it, and I brought down one after the other, and
stocked our larder for the time.

These gulls are big birds, and we determined to have
two apiece for our evening meal. They were skinned,
put two at a time into boiling water, and cooked as little
as possible. Sverdrup was afterward asked whether he
took care to clean them properly. " Oh, I don't know,"
he answered ; " I saw Nansen pull something out of them,

ARRllAL AT GODTJIAAH

149

'\\\Ci I suppose it was ])ait of the inside ; and sonic more
came out in the jjot while they were cooking. i\\\ 1 can
say is, 1 never tasted better birds in my Hfe." And he

SHOOTINC Ori.I.S FROM TlIK liOA 1
\By A. Block, after f>hotogriit>h and sketch)

was quite right : we both thouglit we had never had any-
thing which could be compared with those gulls ; the ten-
derest of chickens could not have been better. Whether
the cause lay in our appetites, or the peculiar methc>d of
preparation, I will not attempt to decide. We looked for
no reason at the time, but tore our birds in pieces as fast
as teeth and fingers would allow. It was not long before

,;*

'5"

AAA'SEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

IHil

It ii

. \

!) I

I I

* Jii'

■i!
1'

■ill

the first two had disapjicarcd, and then we set to work
upon the second with greater deliberation and more pro-
longed enjoyment. We finished with the broth in which
they had all been boiled. This had a very characteristic,
gamey taste, which added much to its peculiarity, though
we were not quite certain to what we should attribute its

origm.

Language, in fact, has no words which can adequately
describe the satisfaction of the two savages who sat that
evening on the northern shore of Ameragdla, and dipped
each his hands into the pot, fished out the body of a gull,
and conveyed it, piece by piece, head, feet, and all, into
the depths of his hungry stomach. The light of the fire
meanwhile was almost dimmed by the brighter glory of
the northern liiihts. The whole heaven blazed, both north
and south ; the lights swept onward, and then returned
again ; and suddenly a whirlwind seemed to pass across
the sky, driving the flames before it, and gathering them
together at the zenith, where there was a sparkling and
a crackling as of burning fire, which almost dazzled the
eyes of the onlooker. Then the storm seemed to cease,
the light died slowly away, there was nothing left but a
few hazy flecks, which sailed across the starlit sky as we
stood there still gazing. Such a display of northern lights
I have never seen, either before or since. And there, be-
low us, lay the fjord, cold and impassive, dark and deep,
and girt round about by steep walls of rock and towering
mountains, the familiar fjord landscape of the west of
Norway.

Next day things did not go quite so well with us, as in
the course of the morning a head-wind sprang up, which
blew so hard that, instead of making progress, we were

wmm

(./

ARRIl'AL AT GODTHAAB

151

almost driven backward, and our little cockle-shell danced
up and down upon the waves to such an extent that there
seemed every chance of our capsizing. She proved a
good sea-boat, however, and never shii)i)ed a drop of water,
except that which ran in unceasing streams through her
bottom. Against the breeze, though, she travelled very
heavily, and there was nothing to be done but land, rest
meanwhile, and hope that the wind would drop toward
evening. This it eventually did, and we embarked again.
It was not long before we reached Nua, as the point is
called which lies at the mouth of Itivdlek Fjord, the north-
ern branch of Ameralik. Here the country was less wild
and broken, and, with its low ridges covered with moss
and heather, promised excellent reindeer-ground.

It was a fine, still evening, and we now set about to cross
the fjord. This was the longest sea-passage we had as yet
attempted ; but all went well, and we were soon across to
the opposite shore. It was dark by this time, and we put
to land to get some supper. Here, however, we found nei-
ther fuel nor water, and had to eat our food cold and with-
out drink, a state of things to which we were, nevertheless,
well used. We had thought of pushing on farther during
the niijht, but we now saw some ominous storm-clouds
coming up from the west, and gathering about the sharp,
wild peaks on the north side of the fjord. The night, too,
was so dark that it would have been difficult to cross the
fjord again, as we wished ; and so we determined to bring
the boat ashore, and get a little sleep, in the hope that
the moon might come to our help later. During the oper-
ation of beaching the boat, Sverdrup was unlucky enough
to fall into the w^ater, which is not very pleasant just be-
fore bedtime, and when one has so little in the way of a
change of clothes.

I>l'.

'52

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

II i'

There was no imj)rovL'mcnt in the weather, and we slejot
till the morning of October i. It was a sijlciulicl sunny
clay, and there was a gentle wind blowing to help us.

In the course of the morning we crossed the fjord again,
and went ashore to get ready a substantial dinner of two
gulls apiece and a sou|) of iinsur|)asscd excellence. To
the broth in which the birds had been cooked we added
peas and bread, and the comjjound was so invigorating
that we literally felt the strength grow in us as we took
down (/ue basin after another.

Unluckily, at this spot where we had landed there was a
great abundance of crowberries, and as a matter of course
we added them to our bill of fare. It was long since we
had had access to fresh, wholesome, \egetable food, and
we actually indulged ourselves beyond the bounds of rea-
son. First we ate the berries standing ; and then, when
we could stand no longer, we ate them sitting; and when
this posture became at last too wearisome, we lay prone at
our ease, and jDrolonged the debauch to incredible lengths.
When we landed there had been no wind, but now a stiff
northerly breeze sprang up, which blew up the fjord, and
made any attempt at further progress on our part quite out
of the question. All we could do, therefore, was to lie
here, and go on with our crowberries. At last we grew so
torpid that we had not the energy to pick the berries any
longer with our hands, and so we turned on our faces, and
went on gathering them with our lips till we fell asleep.
We slept till evening, and when we woke, there hung the
great black, luscious berries still before our very lips, and
on we went eating them till we dozed off again. If what
people say is true, that gluttony is one of the deadly sins,
then may Heaven's mercy save us from the dire punish-

-..^

AKRIIAL AT (JODTJIAAJi

'S3

ment that must await us for what wc did that day in Anic-
ralikfjord. It lias always been a cause for wonder to nie
that we did not pay the penalty then and there ; but, as a
matter of fact, we suffered no ill-effects from our excesses.
At midni<j;ht the wind dropj)ed, and I turned the crew
out. In spite of the crowberries, Sverdrup had had suffi-

1!Y AMKKALIKKJOKl) <)N TIIK MOkNI.NO UK 1)CH)I1ER I
{From a fhotograpli)

any
and

leep.

% the
and

what

cient energy in the course of the evening to collect some
wood and fetch water in the event of our needing a meal
in the night. We now, therefore, fortified ourselves for
work, and by one o'clock we were afloat, ready to push on
with re^'ewed energy. We made our way quickly along
the shore in intense darkness. The phosphorescence of
the water was almost as brilliant as anything that tropical
seas can show. The blades of our oars gleamed like
molten silver, and as they stirred the surface the effect was

«54

NANHJiN IN THE J'KO/.KN WORLD

■■ ■

;

1
il

seen ill the flittering r.icliaiice that stretched far below.
The whole scene was very i;ran(l as we passed along under
the beetling cliffs, where we could see scarcely anything
but the flashes of ijhosphorescence which flitted upon the
water round about us, and danced and played far away in
the eddies of our wake.

We seemed to have luck with us just now — a state of
things to which we were not much accustomed. The
weather was fine, and there was no wind ; so, to make the
best use of our opportunities, and keep the steam up, we
had recourse to frequent stimulants in the way of meat-
chocolate. Rations were served out often and liberally,
and with apparent effect, for we made rapid progress.

At dawn, while we were resting at a certain spot, we
heard numbers of ptarmigan calling in the scrub close by
us. It would have been easy to bag some, and I was
tempted to try ; but we thought we had no time to waste
on land for such a purpose, so we showed an heroic deter-
mination by rowing away from the enticing spot.

We rowed on all the morniiig without stopping, except
for chocolate. Along the whole stretch of shore the rocks
fell so abruptly into the water that there were but two or
three places where a landing was possible. About noon,
to our great astonishment, we found ourselves approach-
ing the mouth of the fjord. Here we came upon a point
with a nice flat stretch of beach, and pulled in to land.
The spot seemed a favorite camping-place, for there were
several rings of stones marking the sites of Eskimo tents,
and masses of seals' bones and similar refuse strewn about
the place.

The consciousness of having got so far made us unus-
ually reckless. We felt that we should soon be in Godt-

MMM

iMj

ARRIl'AL AT GODTIfAAn

155

haab now, and in honor of the occasion vvc contrived
a dinner which, in magnificence, sinpassed even that of
the day before. We liad now no need for parsimony or
self-restraint, and no meal throughout the course of the
ex|)e(liti()n came up to this in extravagance. We began
with sea-urchins, or sea-eggs, which I colh'cted in num-
bers on the beach close by. The ovaries of these arc
esj^ecially good, and little inferior to oysters, and of this
delicacy we consumed huge cpiantities. We then went
on to gulls and guillemots, which were followed by the
usual excellent soup. Biscuit and butter we had in
abundance, and there were plenty of crowberries for him
that had recovered from the surfeit of the preceding day.
It was, indeed, a dinner worthy of the name, as Sverdrup
said. It was no easy matter for us to convey ourselves
into the boat again, and bend over the oars to do our
jiroper work. If at any time afterward I wished to bring
Sverdrup into a thoroughly good humor, I had only to
call to mind our notable dinner at the great camping-j^lace
in Amcralikfjord.

r'ortune was strangely kind to us that day: we now
had a fair wind behind us, and, in spite of our torpor and
laziness, we made raj^id j)rogress during the afternoon.
Everything was rosy to us nGW\ and we pulled away in
sheer fulness of heart. There was one thorn in the side
of our happiness, nevertheless. This came from the
absurdly thin little rails on which we had to sit instead of
thwarts. I suffered so much that I felt I could well do
without a certain part of the body altogether. We
shifted, and shifted again, but with little relief to our sore-
ness and discomfort. The happiness of this world is,
indeed, seldom pure and unalloyed.

1*1

156

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN IVOA'Ll)

%■

< ,1

Thus wc passed out of tlic fjord, and saw tlic sea,
islands, and scattered rocks spread out before us, and
lighted by the most glorious of sunsets. The whole ex-
panse seemed to be suspended in an atmosphere of
gently glowing light. The vision stopped us, barbarians
as we were, and de}Drived us of speech and power of ac-
tion. A feeling of home and familiar scenes came over
us ; for just so lie the weather-beaten islands of the Nor-
wegian coast, caressed b}' flying spray and summer haze,
the outskirts of the fjords and valleys that lie behind.
It is not to be wondered at that our forefathers were
drawn to this land of Greenland.

We had set ourselves the task of passing the mouth of
Kobbefjord, an inlet which lies just to the south of Godt-
haab, that evening, so that, in the event of bad weather
next day, we could, nevertheless, easily reach our destina-
tion overland. We now came to a little fjord which is
not marked suf^ciently clearly on the map we had, and
which we therefore wrongl)- assumed to be Kobbefjord,
though I thought at the time that it la)' suspiciously near
to the mouth of Ameralik.

Consequently, we thought vve might as v/ell land there
and then, as we sat simply in torture, and our legs were
stiff with the pain and discomfort of the position. But
then it struck us that we had better keep on till we could
see the lights of Godthaab, for, in our innocence, we sup-
posed them to be visible from the south. We saw, how-
ever, nothing at all, and, as the current now ran hard
against us, we were at last obliged to desist and go
ashore. This was at a point which lies at the foot of a
high mountain, which we afterward found to be Hjorte-
takken. It was riow about nine o'clock, and, with the

(

ARRIVAL AT GODTffAAB

157

exception of short intervals for breakfast and dinner, we
had been fixed to those seats of affliction for a good
twenty hours. It was indeed a welcome change to have
a broad surface to stretch ourselves upon.

Phenomenal as our dinner had been, the supper which
now followed was not much less so. I'or the first time
since we left the yason we could go- to work upon bread,
butter, and liver " jiate" without restraint and stingy weigh-
inir out of rations. We drank lemonade to our heart's
desire, and did our very best to prevent any of that prov-
ender which we had been economizing so long from
remaining over, to be carried to people among whom it
would have no value. This thought it was that harassed
US, and urged us to further effort; but in the end we
were obliged to desist, with our task as yet undone.

This was the last of these wonderful niijhts which we
had a chance of enjoying before our reentrancc into civili-
zation. We felt that it was our farewell to Nature and to
the life which had now grown so familiar and so dear to
us. The southern sky was as usual radiant with the
northern lights, streamer after streamer shooting up to the
zenith, each more brilliant than the last ; while the .stars
glittered in their usual impassive way, their brightness
more or less eclipsed as the rival lights waxed or waned in
intensity.

We were both of us in a strange mood : our wander-
ings were all but ended ; we had met with many mishaps
and many unforeseen obstacles, but \\t had succeeded in
spite of all. We had passed through the drifting ice, and
pushed our way up along the coast ; we had crossed over
the snow-fields of the continent, and made our way out
of the fjord in our miserable little boat, in defiance of

^ 1 1

iS8

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

Ill I

adverse winds ; we had worked hard, and undeniably gone
through a deal of tribulation to reach the goal which now
lay so near to us. And what were our feelings now?
Were they feelings of triumph or exultation ? For my
own part, 1 must confess that mine were not of this lofty
order; to no other feeling could I attain than a sense of
gross repletion. It was a feeling grateful enough to me ;
but as for our goal, we had been kept waiting too long —
there was too little surprise about its eventual attainment
for us to give much thought to it.

We curled ourselves up in our fur pelisses, chose each
a stretch of heather among the rocks, and slept our last
night under the open sky as well as we had seldom slept
before.

It was late before we woke next morning, October 3,
and when we at last shook off our sleep, the wind had
long been blowing freshly up the channel leading to Godt-
haab, and calling us to work. But we felt that for once
we need not hurry — we could sleep to the end, and yet
reach our destination in good time.

We bec^^n breakfast aijain with the worthiest intentions
of consuming to the last morsel the provisions which
remained ; but though we attacked them manfully, we
had to put to sea once more with this end still unattained.
With the wind behind us we made rapid progress north-
ward, and when we passed the sj^it of land on which we
had camped for the night, we foimd that we had been all
the time on the south side of Kobbefjord. This fjord
now lay before us set in a circle of wild, lofty mountains,
among which Hjortetakken was most conspicuous, with
its sides sprinkled with fresh snow, and its peak from time
to time wrapped in light, drifting mist.

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ARRIVAL AT GODTHAAB

159

We now set about to cross the fjord to the south side
of the promontory on wliich (iodtliaab itself lies. As we
reached the middle we heard, for the first time for many
weeks, the sound of unfamiliar voices. They were evi-
dently Eskimo women and children from whom the
sounds came. They were screaming and shouting; but,
though we listened, we could make out nothing, and
though we looked, there was no one to be seen. Some
time afterward we learned that these voices must have
come from a party of folk who had gone over to " Store
Malene," a mountain lying to the east of Godthaab, to
gather berries. They had caught sight of us, and were
shouting to one another that they could see tv/o men in
half a boat, and were much exercised to know what new
sorcery this could be. Such a vessel they had never seen
before, and they did not at all like the look of it.

This Eskimo description of our little craft as half a
boat was really very hapj)y, as it did much resemble the
forepart of an ordinary boat. Some way farther on we
saw in the distance the figure of a man sitting, as it were,
in the water. This was the first " kaiaker " we came
across on the west coast. Presently we caught sight of
two more; they were out after seal, and took no notice
of us. This was either because they preferred their own
business, or because they thought there was something
wrong about us. There is no doubt that they saw us
long before we saw them, for the Eskimo has the keenest
of eyes, and never fails to use them.

As we rounded the next point, Sverdrup, who was row-
ing bow, caught sight of some houses which he thought
must be Godthaab. I turned my head in astonishment,
and saw some Eskimo huts, but could not think them to

iw*

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160

NAASEA JN THE J'KOZEN WORLD

;t 1

I'.'

be Godthaab, as, according to the maj), the settlement did
not lie just there. Sverdrup then said : " But those big
houses can't belong to these wretched Kskimos." I then
turned quite round, and could now see the slated roof of
a long building, surmounted by a little <^CA\er, and was
c|uite ready to agrc' that this could not be an Eskimo
abode, though it struck me that it might very well be a
warehouse. But as we passed another j^oint, we found
we had before us no warehouse, but a church and a num-
ber of Eskimo huts lying by a little bay. We did not
think it was any use landing here, and were for keeping
straight on ; but suddenly a fresh breeze sprang up, and
made it very heavy work to row, and we concluded that
it would be better to go ashore at once, and proceed to
Godthaab overland.

So we turned our little tub shoreward, and found that
a number of Eskimos, chiefly old women, were already
swarming out of the houses, and coming down to the
beach to receive us. Here they gathered, chattering, and
bustling to and fro, and gesticulating in the same strange
way as we had seen their fellows of the east coast often
do. We could see little or no difference between the two
branches of this people we had mec ; here there was just
the same outward aspect — the same ugliness, and the
same beaminor friendliness and good humor.

When we landed they thronged around us, and helped
us disembark our jjoods, and bring the boat ashore, all the
while jabbering unceasingly, and laughing, in wonder and
amusement, at us two poor strangers. While we were
standing there, mounting guard over our gun and the
more valuable of our possessions, and ignoring the crowd
of people around us, whom, of course, we could not under-

I -

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ARRIVAL AT GODTHAAB

i6i

stand one whit, Sverdrup said : " Here comes a Euro-
pean ! " I looked up, and saw a young man advancing
toward us. He was clad in an attempt at a Greenland-
er's dress, but had a Tam-o'-Shanter cap upon his head,
and a fair, good-looking face, which was as little like an
Eskimo's as could well be. There could be no mistake
about him ; he and his whole demeanor were, so to say, a
direct importation from " the King's Copenhagen," as it is
called here. He came up to us, we exchanged salutations ;
then he asked, " Do you speak English ? " The accent
was distinctly Danish, and the question somewhat discom-
fited me, as I thought it a little absurd for us to set to
work at English instead of our own mother-tonirue. But
before I could answer, he luckily inquired : " Are you
Englishmen ? "

To this I could safely answer, in good Norse : " No ; we
are Norwegians." " May I ask your name ? " " My name
is Nansen, and we have just come from the interior."
" Oh, allow me to congratulate you on taking your Doc-
tor's degree." This came like a thunderbolt from a blue
sky, and it was all I could do to keep myself from laughing
outright. To put it very mildly, it struck me as comical
that I should cross Greenland to receive congratulations
upon my Doctor's degree, which I happened to have taken
just before I left home. Nothing, of course, could have
been more remote from my thoughts at the moment.

The stranger's name was Baumann. He was a good-
natured, sociable native of Copenhagen, who was now in
the Greenland Service, and acting as assistant, or, as they
call it, "Volontor," to the Superintendent of the colony of
Godthaab. We subsequently had a good deal of his soci-
ety. The Superintendent, he told us, was just now away
11

l62

NAN SEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

I i

J t

from home, and in the name of his superior lie offered us
a hearty welcome to the colony. Godthaab itself was close
by, and it was quite by chance that he had just walked out
to Ny Herrnhut, the spot where we landed, to see the mis-
sionary. This is one of the few stations established by
the German Moravian Mission in Greenland.

The first question I asked, as soon as I could get an
opportunity, was about communication with Denmark, and
whether the last ship had sailed. From Godthaab I
learned that the last ship had gone two months or more
ago, and there was none now that we could catch. The
only possible chance was the Fox, at Ivigtut, but she was
to leave in the middle of October, and the place was 300
miles away.

These tidings were anything but welcome. It had been
the thought of catching a ship to Europe which had
spurred us on during our crossing of the ice ; the vision
of a ship had haunted us unceasingly, and never allowed
us the enjoyment of rest or ease. We had consoled our-
selves with the thought that we could make up for lost
time on board, during our voyage home ; and now, when
the time came, we found that our ship had sailed before
ever we started upon our journey across the continent. It
was a magnificent structure of hopes and longings that
now sank into the sea before our eyes. As far as I was
concerned personally, this was not of much account, for,
on the contrary, I w-as quite ready to spend a winter in
Greenland ; but for the other poor fellows it was another
matter. They had friends and relatives — one of them
wife and children — away at home, whom they longed to
see, and they had often talked of the joys of their return.
And now they would have to wait through the long win-

ARRIVAL AT GODTHAAB

163

tei* here, while their people at home would think them
long since dead. This must never be; a messai^e must
be sent off at once to the Fox, our last hope of relief.
While we were talking the matter over, we were joined
by another European — the Moravian missionary, ilerr
Voged. Me greeted us very kindly, gave us a hearty
welcome, and would not hear of our going by his door
unentertained.

He lived in the buildin<j: with the tt)\ver which had first
cauijht our attention, and which served both as church
and as a residence for him. W'e were received here, by
the missionary and his wife, with unaffected heartiness, and
it was with a strange liiixture of feelings that we set foot
once more in a civilized dwelling, after four months of
wild life on shipboard, in our tent, and in the open air.
The room we were taken into will always remain vividly
impressed upon my memory. Its dimensions were not
grand, and its features were uniformity and simplicity;
but for us, who were used to a cramped tent, and the still
greater simplicity of the open air, the appointments of this
house were nothing less than luxury itself. The mere sit-
ting upon a chair was a thing to be remembered, and the
cigars to which we were tieated were a source of uncon-
cealed satisfaction. Then the cup of welcome was handed
round, while coffee and food were being prepared for us.
It was a queer change to be sitting at a table again, and
before a white cloth, and to be using knife and fork upon
earthenware plates. I will not say, unreservedly, that the
change was altogether for the better, for we had been
thoroughly comfortable when sitting by the camp-fire, and
tearing our gulls to pieces with our teeth and fingers, with-
out forks, plates, and formalities.

It ' '

164

NANSEN IN 7 HE EROZEH WORLD

While the meal was in progress, the pastor of God-
thaab, Herr Balle, arrived ; soon after him came the
doctor of the place, whose name was Binzer. The news
of our coming had already reached the colony, and they
had hurried out at once to bid us welcome. We were
now beset with questions as to our journey: as to why
we had changed our route, how we had got out of the
fjord, where we had left the others, and so on ; all our
accounts being followed with the most lively interest.
Then the j)arty broke up, and we took our leave of our
kind host and hostess.

When we got out of doors, we found, to our surprise,
that it was raining. Our luck was' true to us this time,
and we had reached the habitations of men none too soon,
for the rain would have been very unpleasant to us in our
little boat.

We were assured that our boat and thinii^s should be
taken care of and sent on, and then we started off to walk
in the rain over the hills to Godthaab.

After a time our way brought us out upon a project-
ing point of rock, and we saw the colony lying below us.
There were not a great number of buildings — four or
five European houses, a church perched upon an emi-
nence, and a good many Eskimo huts. The whole group
lay in a small hollow between two hills, and by a pleasant
little bay. The Danish flag was flying on its high mast,
which stood on a mound down by the water. Crowds of
people were swarming about. They had all come out to
see the mysterious strangers from the interior who had
arrived in half a boat.

Then we made our way down ; but we had hardly
reached the houses before a gunshot rang out over the

ARRIVAL AT GODTHAAB

•65

water, and was followed by one after anotlicr, in all a
complete salute. We had partf^d from civilization amid
the thunder of cannon, and with this same thunder we
were received into the civilized worla again, for to such
the west coast of Greenland must certainly be reckoned.
It might have been supposed that we were individuals of
the most warlike tendencies. How many shots they fired

HOLETTE. GREENLAND WOMAN OF MIXED RACE

in our honor I cannot say, but the salute was well sus-
tained. The little natives had all their work to do around
the guns under the flagstaff, as we were passing among
the houses and between long rows of Greenlanders of
both sexes, who crowded around and line.d. the way. They

1 66

NANSE.V IN THE FROZEN WOK ID

— and especially the women — were a strikini;; sight in
their picturesque attire. Smiles, good nature, and here
and there, perhaps, a little unaffected wonder, beamed
from all the faces about us, and added a new sunshine to
the surroundings.

Then our eyes fell upon a more familiar sight — the
figures of the four Danish ladies of the colony, who were
coming to meet us, and to whom we were duly presented.
At the same time, it struck us somewhat curiously to see
European petticoats again among all the skin jackets and
trousers of the fair Eskimos.

As we reached the Superintendent's house, the salute
was brought to an end, and the native gunners, under the
lead of one Fredcriksen, gave us a ringing cheer. The
Superintendent's wife now welcomed us, on her own part
and that of her husband. Here, again, we were tem-
porarily entertained, and also invited to dine with the
doctor at four o'clock.

We had still a long time to get through before then,
however, though we had plenty to do in the way of VAash-
ing and decorating ourselves. We were shown up into
our new friend Baumann's room, the aspect of which,
again, was suf^ciently unfamiliar to us to make a very
vivid impression upon our minds. Here a musical-box
played to us " The Last Rose of Summer," an air which
will hereafter never fade from my memory ; and here we
w-ere, for the first time, horrified by the sight in a glass
of our sunburnt and weather-beaten faces. After our
long neglect in the way of washing and dressing, we
seemed to ourselves little fit for presentation in society,
and, both in our faces and clothes, a considerable number
of the hues of the rainbow were intrusively conspicuous.

ARRIVAL AT GODTIIAAB

167

It was an indescribable delij^ht to pliinj^e the head into
a basin of water once more, and to go througli the cere-
mony of an honest Saturday night's wash. Cleanness
was not, however, to be obtained at the first attempt.
Then we attired ourselves in the clean linen, so to say,
which we had brought all the way across Greenland for
the purpose ; and, thus reconstituted, we felt ourselves
(|uite ready for the good things of the doctor's well-
provided dinner-table.

Hy all the Danish inhabitants of Godthaab we were
entertained with unjirecedented hos|)itality, and the lux-
ury displayed on all sides was quite astt)nishing. We
had ex|jected to find that the P2uropeans exiled to this
corner of the world would be so influenced by the na-
ture of their surroundings, and the jjrimitive section of
humanity amid which they dwelt, that they would have
inevitably forgotten a certain amount of their native
etiquette. And therefore our surprise was great when we
saw the ladies appear at social gatherings in the longest
of trains and gloves, and the men in black coats and
shirt-fronts of irreproachable stiffness, and even on
occasions going to the extremity of the conventional
swallow-tail. Surrounded, as we were, by the natives in
their natural and picturesque attire, and thoroughly
unaccustomed as we had grown to all these things, to us
the absurdity of European taste in such matters seemed
altogether incongruous.

We two were now safe in port, and the next thing to
be done was to send relief to our comrades in Amera'ik-
fjord with the least possible delay. They had no means
of knowing whether we had reached our destination, or
had gone to the bottom of the fjord, and left them to

168

NANHEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

! i
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starve to death out there. And after this was done, we
must despatch a message to the Fox.

In tlie course of the afternoon we tried, therefore, to
arrange matters, but without success. No sooner had we
arrived than a storm from tiie south liad sprung up, and
the weather was so bad that the Eskimos, who are had
sailors in anything but their " kaiaks," voukl not venture
upon the voyage into Amerahkfjord. The letter to the
Fox was to be sent by one or two " kaiakers," but we
could find no one in the colony who would undertake
to start in this weather, and we were therefore obliged to
wait till next day.

When night came, and lodging had to be found for
us, Sverdrup was quartered upon the before-mentioned
Frederiksen, the carpenter and boat-builder of the place,
while Herr Baumann's room was put at my disposal. It
was strange, too, to find myself in a real bed again after
six months' absence. There can be few \vho have en-
joyed a bed as completely as I did this one. Every limb
thrilled with delight as I stretched myself on the soft
mattress. The sleep which followed was not so sound as
I could have expected. I had grown so used to the bag
of skin, with the ice or rock beneath it, that I felt my
present couch too soft, and I am not sure that, after
a while, I did not feel a faint longing for the old order of
things.

On the morning of October 4 I was roused from my
unquiet dreams by the gaze of the Eskimo maid-servant
who had come with the morning supply of tea and sand-
wiches. After this early meal I got up, and went out to
look around the place.

Down by the beach there was just now a deal of life

ARRtVAI. AT aODTHAAP

169

and movement, for a boat's load of seals, which had been
caught not far off, had just come in, and the so-called
" flensing," or process of cutting the blubber out, was now
in progress. I went down with Baumann to study this
new phase of life. The Kskimo women, with their
sleeves rolled uj), knelt in numbers around the gashed
and mangled seals. From some the blood was taken, and
collected in pails, to be afterward used in the manufac-
ture of black puddings, or analogous delicacies; from
others the intestines were being drawn, or the blubber or
flesh being cut. All parts were carefully set aside for
future use.

After having seen enough of the sanguinary spectacle,
and duly admired the dexterity and grace displayed by
the Kskimo women, as well as the good looks of some
among them, we went across to see Sverdrup, and, if he
were ujd, to ask him to come and have breakfast at the
Superintendent's house.

When we entered, however, we found him already at
table with his host, Herr Frederiksen, and engaged upon
a breakfast of roast ptarmigan and other delicacies. I
expressed my regret that this was the case, as I had
hoped that we should breakfast together. But Sverdrup
could see no reason why we should not do so still. He
was now occupied with his first breakfast, certainly, but
so good a thing would easily bear repetition, and he
expressed himself ready at once to begin again. So he
actually did ; and, as a matter of fact, he made at this
time a regular practice of eating his meals twice over.
Vox three days he stood the strain ; but after this he suc-
cumbed, and had to keep his bed for some hours in con-
sequence. It was a long time, indeed, before any of us

trw

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NANZEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

J i
I

returned to decent ways again, and were content to take
our food like civilized beings.

In the course of the morninfc a man was found who
was considered equal to the task of carrying our de-
spatches southward, and was at the same time willing to
undertake the journey. The man's name was David, and
he was a resident of Ny Herrnhut. He was to go to
Fiskerna^s, a small settlement some ninety miles to the
south, and there to send the letters on by other " kai-
akers." An errand of this kind is usually undertaken by
two men in company, as risks of a fatality are thus much
lessened. But as the same David was not afraid of the
undertaking, and had expressed his readiness to start the
same afternoon, I, of course, had no objection to make.
! promised him, as well as the others to whom he was
to hand the despatches, extra pay in case they caught
the Fox.

I then wrote a hurried letter to Herr Smith, the man-
ager of the cryolite quarry at Ivigtut. The Fox being
the property of the company who own this quarry, it lay
really wich the local manager to decide what course the
vessel siiould take ; bui I also wrote to the captain of the
ship. In both these letters I asked that the vessel should
be allowed to come up to Godthaab to fetch us, if possi-
ble. I did not propose that she should \vait at Ivigtut till
we could join her there, because, in the present uncertain
state of the u^eather, it was quite impossible to calculate
how long it would take us to get the rest of the party
from Ameralikfjord, and cover the necessary 300 miles in
open boats. As far as we could judge, we could not
reckon upon reaching Ivigtut by the middle of the
month — the date at which the ship was expected to sail

'i\

ARRIVAL AT GODTH.IAB

— and we could not ask her to wait an indefinite time for
us down there. On the other hand, it seemed to me that,
if she thought of doing anything on our behalf, it would
be to come and fetch us. By these means she could save
time, and it would be possible to reckon, with a fair
amount of accuracy, how many days the voyage to Godt-
haab and back would take her.

Furthermore, in case mv messemrers should catch the
Fox, but siie cou'd not see her way to fetching us, I
hastily wrote a few lines to Herr Game!, of Copenhagen.

This letter, and one from Sverdrup to his father,
brought to Europe the first news of our having reached
the west coast of Greenland, and contained all that was
known of our journey for six months. In one respect
they hold, perhaps, a somewhat unusual position, for their
postage came to no less than eighty-five dollars.

Our me.ssenger promised me that he would start that
very afternoon. He did make the attempt, but, as far as
I could learn, was driven back by stress of weather.

As things were just as bad in this respect when even-
ing came, and it was the general opinion that no boat
would be able to make the voyage into Ameralikfjord
next day either, the pastor proposed that a couple of
men should be despatched in " kaiaks " to take to our
companions the news of our safe arrival, together with
a temporary supply of provisions, with which they could
console themselves until the boats could be sent to fetch
them away. This proposal I accepted, of course, most
gratefully ; and while the pastor went to secure his
"kaiakers," two plucky brothers, named Terkel and
Hoseas, who belonged to Sardlok, but happened at this
moment to be at Godthaab. the ladies of the colony set

i^:

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172

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

i '

I I

busily to work to collect a supply of the most unheard-of
delicacies. These were stowed away in the two canoes,
while I supplemented them with some simpler articles of
food, such as butter, bacon, and bread, and last, but not
least, some pipes and tobacco. Among the latter was a
big Danish porcelain pipe with a long ster id a pound
of tobacco, for Balto's private delectatic ■ a present
which I had promised him up on the inland ice on
some occasion when he had surpassed himself in handi-
ness. As soon as the " kaiaks " were ready packed, I
gave Terkel, the elder of the two brothers, through the
medium of the pastor, an exact description of the spot
where the others were to be found, and pointed it out to
him on the map, which 'le understood well.

Next morning, therefore, October 5, three Eskimos left
Godthaab — two bound for Ameralikfjord, and the third
for Fiskernaes. The first two, who were excellent hands
at their work, made good use of their time, and found our
companions on the morning of the following day. But
the latter, who was an inferior " kaiaker," had to turn
back, and was a long time before he finally got off. As
far as I could make out, he was seen hanging about Ny
Herrnhut, which was his home, some days later.

This same morning, too, a boat for Ameralikfjord made
an attempt to start, but only to come back a couple of
hours afterward. As I have already said, these Green-
landers are no great performc's with the oar. In the
afternoon they had another try, and this time, strange to
say, we saw no more of them ; but, as we subsequently
learned, they got no farther than to an island a little way
to the south, where they disembarked, and passed the
next few days in a tent instead of returning, though they

ARRIVAL AT GODTHAAB

173

were no more than an hour's row distant all the while.
There was a very good reason for this odd conduct, as it
appeared, for had they come back they would have lost
all the pay which they now managed to put to their
credit; and, besides, they would have had nothing like so
good a time at hjme as in their tent on the island, and
therefore they felt no call to move till they had consumed
their whole supply of provisions.

Next day the Superintendent of the colony, Herr
Bistrup, returned, together with Herr Heincke, the
German missionary from Umanak, a Moravian station up
the fjord, some forty miles from Godthaab. The Superin-
tendent had been in Umanak, when a " kaiaker," who
had been sent off from the colony, brought him the news
of our arrival. He and the missionary had thereupon at
once despatched a couple of men in canoes into Amera-
likfjord. They also carried a supply of provisions sent
by the missionary and his wife, and were told to remain
with our party, and help them in every possibU^ way.

On October 7, Terkel and Hoseas canic back from
Ameralikfiord with a letter from Dietrichson, tellino: 1 1
that they now felt quite comfortable in there, as they had
an abundance of provisions, and now knew of our safe
arrival at Godthaab.

Two days later, or on October 9, the weather was suffi-
ciently favorable to allow of my sending off an ordinary
Eskimo boat, which I had borrowed of Herr Voged, the
German missionarv whom we had first met. The crew
consisted as usual chiefly of women. The same day, too,
the first boat, commonly known as " the whaler," finally
left the island on which its crew had hitherto been pic-
nicking.

174

NANSEN IN THE EROZEN WORLD

Several days now passed, and as we had heard nothing
of our companions, we began to expect their arrival every
moment. The Greenlanders in particular were extremely
anxious to see them.

Like all Eskimos, they have the liveliest imaginations,
of the fruits of which we had some noteworthy examples.
The very day after our arrival the strangest rumors were
flying about among the natives of the colony as to our
experiences upon the inland ice. We were said to have
taken our meals in the company of the strange inhabi-
tants of the interior, who are double the size of ordinary
men. We had also come across the tiny race of dwarfs
who inhabit the rocks in the recesses of the fjords. Of
the feet of these little people we had seen numerous traces
in the sand, and we even had two specimens of the race
in our company.

On the other hand, it was reported that two of the mem-
bers of the expedition had died on the way ; but of this
sad occurrence we, as was quite natural, had no desire to
speak.

At first, indeed, we were regarded as possessing certain
almost supernatural attributes, and it was feared that we
had achieved the heroic feat of crossing the dreaded
inland ice by the aid of means not strictly orthodox. And,
therefore, as soon as Sverdrup or I showed ourselves in
public, the natives assembled in great numbers to gaze
at us. I, especially, on account of my size, was a favorite
object of their regard. We received appropriate names
at once : Sverdrup was called " Akortok " — that is to say,
" he who steers a ship ; " while I was honored with two
appellations — " Angisorsuak," or " the very big one," and
" Umitormiut nalagak," which means " the leader of the

ARRIVAL A7' GODTHAAB

I7S

men with the great beards," under whicli description the
Norwegians are generally known.

It had also come to the knowledge of these good people
that we had two Lapps in our company — members of a
race which they had never seen. The two " kaiakers "
\\\\o had come back from Ameralikfjord had minutely de-
scribed their meetin*: with the strangers. " There were
two men," they said, " of the people who commonly wear
great beards, and two who were like us, but were clad in a
wonderful dress." They were thus quite acute enough to
see that the Lapps, in spite of all distinctions, belongi^d
to a race somewhat on a level with themselves, and were
widely different from all Danes and Norwegians.

At last, early on the morning of October 12, the two
Eskimos who had been sent into the fjord from Umanak
arrived with a note from Dietrichson, saying that the
whole party were now on the way.

The entire colony, Europeans as well as natives, now
turned out, and awaited their arrival in u^reat excitement.
At last we could see, by a movement among the " kai-
aks," which lay below us, that the boats must be in sight.
Presently, too, " the whaler " appeared from behind a pro-
jecting point. The " kaiaks " simply swarmed around her,
and we soon caught sight of our four companions, seated
in the stern, in front of the steersman, and already waving
their caps in the air by way of salutation. It was a little
strange to me to see them sitting there as passengers,
instead of working at the oars.

The boat came slowlv on, with a lontr strinsf of " kai-
aks " tailing out behind, and soon put in to shore under
the fiacrstaff mound, where the four stranjje beinsfs from
the interior landed, and were heartily welcomed by the

176

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

Europeans of the colony, as well as by crowds of Eskimos,
to whom, of course, they were a source of renewed
wonder and admiration. The Lapps came in for marked
attention. The Greenlanders set them down as women,
because they v,ore long tunics something like the cloaks
of European ladies, as well as trousers of reindeer skin,
which particular garments are only used by the women
of the Eskimos. Balto seemed to take the attention which
fell to his share with the greatest complacency and non-
chalance. He talked away, related his experiences, and
was soon on an intimate footing with all the inhabitants
of the place. Ravna, as usual, went his own silent way ;
he came up to me, ducked his head, gave me his hand,
and, though he said very little, I could see his small eyes
twinkle with joy and self-satisfaction.

They were all glad enough to have reached their desti-
nation, and the announcement that there was a very doubt-
ful prospect of their getting home this year did not seem
to have much effect upon their good spirits.

As stated before in this work (see page 74), N insen and
his companions had to spend the winter at Godthaab.
On April 15 the ship Hvidbjorncn arrived, and soon after
the home journey began; on May 21 Copenhagen was
reached, and on May 30 they entered Christiania Fjord,
where they were received by hundreds of sailing boats
and a whole fleet of steamers.

CHAPTER X

WITH THE CURRP:NT

In the beginning of 1S90, Nansen delivered a lecture
before the Norwegian Geograi)hical Society, and set forth
his plan for a new Polar Expedition. " I believe," he said,
after giving a short sketch of the history of ]X)lar investi-
gation, " that if we study the forces of nature itself which
are here ready to hand, and try to work with them instead
of against them, we shall find the surest and easiest way
of reaching the Pole. It is useless to work against the
current, as previous expeditions have done ; we must see
if there is not a current that will work with us. There
are strong reasons for supposing that such a current
exists."

Nansen's plan was founded upon the assumption that
from Bering Strait and the north coast of p:astern Siberia
a constant and comparatively strong sea-current sets in
the direction of the North Pole, whence, again, it turns to
the south or southwest, between Spitzbergen and Green-
land, follows the east coast of Greenland, and then sweeps
around Cape Farewell into Davis Strait.

Three years after the sinking of the Jcannctlc. north of
the New Siberia Islands in June, 18S1, a number of arti-
cles were found on the drift ice ofi" tlie southwest coast
of Greenland, which must undoubtedly have belonged to
the lost ship — among them, for example, a provision list
with the signature of the captain, De Long, a list of the

178

A'ANSJuV IjV J'llE FROZEN WORLD

I \

i'l^

r ■

ycannctlcs boats, and a pair of oil-skin trousers marked
with the name of one of the sailors who were reseued.
The news of this th'scovery upon the (h'iftinL; ice (loe
attracted much attention, and it was conjectured, with a
|iK'uisiljihty a|3proachin_L; to certaint)-, that the floe must
have been carried by the abo\e-menti()n(,'d current from
the New Siberia Islands, across or near the I'ole, to the
place where it was found. It was calculated that the
articles must have been conveyed at a si)eed of about (wo
miles in the twenty-four hours, which corresponded with
the rate .it which the ycaintctic was borne along in the ice
during" the last four months of her existence.

These relics of the ycaiiiutti are not, however, tin-
only objects which ha\e made the lout; journey with the
current from luist Siberia across the Pole, and have been
swept southward alont;- the east coast of (ireenland. A
so-called " throwing stick," used by the P'skimos for hurl-
ing their bird-darts, was found by a (ireenlander, and
given to Dr. Rink at (iodthaab, who afterwards jjresented
it to the Christiania Universitv. It has been shown that
this instrument is cjuite different in form from that used
by the Greenlanders, but exactly resembles the throwing-
sticks used by the Eskimos of Alaska, the northwestern
extremity of North America, which borders on Bering
Strait ; so that it too, in all j^robability, had trax'crsed the
Polar Sea.

The drift wood which is washed ashore in Greenland
in such large quantities, and is so indispensable to the
Eskimos in the absence of timber trees, has been shown
to consist for the most part of timber native to Siberia,
so that it too must have Decii carried by the same current
across the very precincts of the Pole.

WITH 11/ E CLKRENT

'79

NANSEN IN 1893

In the course of his wanderinfjs alone: the shores of
Denmark Strait, Nansen found on the fh'ift ice large
quantities of mud. Of this he collected a number of
specimens, which were examined by Professor P. Cleve,
of Upsala, and A. E. Tornebohm, of Stockholm, and
proved to consist of varieties of soil characteristic of Si-
beria. Thus the probability is that this mud, too, had
made the long ]Dolar voyage.

These facts of themselves suflficiently prove that there

i8o

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

l!'

*■■

must be a practicable connection between the sea to tlic
north of Asia and the sea on the cast of Greenland —
not, i)erhaj)s, an open water-way, which one could scarcely
expect to find, but a practicable route in the sense that
the current carries the ice floes (now frozen together, now
}jiled one on the top of the other, and then again broken
up and scattered), across the distance indicated, with con-
siderable regularity and in an ascertainable sjia* e of time.
From these premises, then, Nansen drew what we may
fairly call the inevitable conclusion that if an ice floe with
uhat happen.; to be upon it can tluis make its way across
the polar area in a given time, it must be no less possible
for a ship, fixed among the ice ^oes in the course of the
current, to complete the same passage in the same time.

His plan was to make his way, with a small but strongly
built vessel, to the New Siberia Islands, and there or
thereabouts await the most o]Dj5ortune moment for mak
ing the furthest possible advance in ice-free w^ater. He
thought it probable that he could get well past the Islands.
" When once we have come so far, we shall be right in
the current in which the ycaiiueUe was caught. Then
the thing will be to j^ress on northward with all our
mifrht until we stick fast. W^e must now choose a favora-
ble place, moor the shij) firmly between convenient ice
floes, and then let the ice screw itself together around her
as much as it pleases — the more the better. The ship
will simply be lifted out of the water into a firm and se-
cure ice berth." Henceforth — so the project continues
— the current takes up the work of propulsion ; the ship
is no longer a means of transport but a barrack. The
current sweeps it past the Pole and onward into tiie sea
between Greenland and Spitzbergen. At the 8oth degree

liii

win I TJIE CLRRENT

tSi

of latitude, or pos.siljly before that if it be summer, it will
l)robab]y find open water and be able to sail home. IJut
if it should be erushed by the pressure of the ice ? Then
the equipir.ent and provisions will be moved to a stronj;

iii;«f^= :i ?!;i?a

NAX'^I.N ON IliK l( K (SI'MMI U I>KI'.ss)
(i roiii an i>istiiiii,uiei'iis /'lu>l(\i;r,i/'/i)

ice floe, where the tents will be ])itched, warm tents of
double sail-cloth v/ith .ui hitermediate layer of reindeer-
hair. One can i^et far upon an ice floe. The crew of
tiie Hansa drifted from Smith Sound riiiht down to Davis
Strait. But if the ice floe should break ? Even that will
not be fatal, for the stores will be distributed over the ice
and placed upon vooden rafts. Then, having in this way

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(716) 872-4503

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1.S2

NAXSEN JN TJIK FKO/.EN WORLD

arrived in the (jrccnland sea and found ()j)en water, the
expedition will take to its boats. It is not the first time
Norwegian seamen have traversed the Arctic Sea in open
boats; if your boats are good, it is not at all ini]K)Ssible to
get on amid the ice.

And it is no unreasonable calculation that all this may
take no more than two years. Five years' provisions, at
any rate, will be amply sufficient. With the food-stuffs
now available, there is no fear of scurvy. Besides, a
certain amount of fresh meat may jirobably be counted
on ; seals and polar bears are to be found very far north,
and the sea no doubt contains plenty of small animals
which may be eaten at a j)inch. But suppose, now, that
the yeaiinctic current does not pass right across the Pole,
but, say, between the Pole and P'ranz Josef Land .'^ That
matters very little. " We do not set forth to seek for the
mathematical j^oint which forms the northern end of the
earth's axis ; to rea(-h this particular spot is not, in itself,
a matter of the first moment. W hat we want to do is to
investii^ate the <'reat unknown ret-ions of the earth which
surround the Pole; and our in\estigations will have prac-
tically the same scientific value whether we reach the
actual Pole itself, or pass at some distance from it —
curious though it would be, no doubt, to stand on the
very Pole and be turned around with the earth on one's
own axis, or see the oscillations of the pendulum describe
an angle of exactly fifteen degrees in the hour."

Nansen finallv dwells upon the scientific significance of

J \ CD

polar exploration — its im])ortant bearing upon the prob-
lems of geograph)-, terrestrial magnetism, atmospheric
electricity, the /\inT)ra Borealis, the solar spectrum, dawn
and twilight, the physical geography of the sea, meteor-

//■//// TJIE CLRRI'.X'J'

'»3

ology, zoulogy and botany, jiala-'ontology and geology.
"We Norwegians," so he ends his lecture, "have before
now contributed not a little to the exploration of the
Arctic area ; our gallant Tromso and Hammerfest men
in particular have done excellent service in this respect.

2S^i

NANSEN ON THK ICK (WINTER IIKESS)
(Front nil instantant'oris f'ltotOi;y,tt<h)

But as vet no Norwegian crew has set forth straiuht for
the Pole in a Norwegian craft.

" The polar area must and shall be investigated
throughout its whole extent. There has hitherto been a
noble rivalry between the nations as to which should first
achieve the goal ; and one day it will be achieved.

(If

184

IVANS EN /N THE FROZEN WORLD

I I

I V

■'

it SI

Tl ■

" May it be Norway's fortune to lead the way! May it
be the Norwegian flag that first floats over the Pole ! "

In November, 1892, Nansen expounded the same plan
before another geographical society, not a young body
like ours, but old and world-renowned above all others —
the Royal Geographical Society in London.

There was a brilliant cjatherincr, includinrr almost all
the Englishmen who have distinguished themselves in
Arctic exploration, and they are not a few. Before this
society, the first to which Nansen, on his return from
Greenland (1S89), had set forth the results of his expedi-
tion — before this society, which had done more than any
other for the advancement of Arctic research — before, in
short, the most competent body of Arctic specialists in
the world — he had now both to explain and to defend
the basis and the details of his plan.

There they sat before his eyes, all those celebrated
explorers whose names were already inscribed in the
history of Arctic research — those grizzled and white-
haired pioneers of the polar world, the heroes of so many
an achievement before Nansen was born. There sat
Admiral Sir George Nares himself, the celebrated chief
of the Alert and Discovery expedition, during which
Commodore Markham had, on May 12, 1876, reached the
latitude of 83° 20', a record which only Lockwood had
since beaten. There sat Admiral Sir Leopold McClin-
tock, leader of the Fox expedition (1857-58), by which
Franklin's fate had been finally ascertained. There, too,
was Admiral Sir E. Inglefield, who in 1852 brought Kane
Basin within the sphere of geographical knowledge. And
there, among the rest, w^as the famous Arctic traveller.
Sir Allen Young, who, so long ago as 1857, had accom-

WITH THE CURREN2'

'85

!►

panied McClintock, and in 1S75 had taken tlie Pandora
right up into Smith Sound to bring tidings of the Nares
expedition — the same Pandora whicli, under the name
of the Jeannetlc, carried the liapless De Long to his fate.

A whole host of other famous polar travellers were
present — Admiral Ommanney, Dr. Rae, Captain Wig-
gins, the well-known Yenisei trader, Captain Wharton, etc.

It was to this illustrious gathering that Nansen was to
expound his scheme. His lecture was, as usual, clear,
sober, attractive in 'ts form, and plausible in its matter.
But he here stood face to face with a concentrated mass
of experience, all tending to prove the insuperable difficul-
ties of polar travel, which could not instantly make way
for a new idea. Practically all of these famous pioneers
of Arc'"ic research, one after another, commented unfavor-
ably upon the scheme.

Old Admiral Sir Leopold McClintock opened the dis-
cussion as soon as the lecture was over. He began his
speech thus : " I think I may say this is the most adven-
turous programme ever brought under the notice of the
Royal Geographical Society, We have here a true Vik-
ing, a descendant of those hardy Norsemen who used
to pay this country such frequent and such unwelcome
visits." But he could not venture to express any great
confidence in the scheme put forward, even supposing
Dr. Nansen succeeded in getting into the alleged polar
current. Sir Leopold feared the force of the ice-pressure,
and did not believe that it would force the ship up on
the ice.

The next speaker, too. Admiral Nares, expressed strong
doubts as to the plan. He particularly doubted whether
the Fram would succeed in finding any polar current,

i86

nai\si<:n in the frozen world

\ i

; fill'

4:.'

--!

and dwelt upon the dant^crs of a drift voyage such as
Nansen projected.

Admiral Inglefield expressed himself more favorably,
but Sir Allen Young again emphasized the dangers and
difficulties, thought that Ian .1 and shallow water would be
found in the neighborhood of the Pole, and very much
doubted whether the ship would be forced up on the ice.
His opinion was that it would be wisest to strike for the
north from a point well to the westward of the New
Siberia Islands.

Captain Wiggins, too, was opposed to making the New
Siberia Islands the starting-point, " as they are the most
treacherous, low, sandy, muddy, horrible j^laces." Ikit, on
the whole, he apj)roved of Nansen's plan, and ended by
wishing him a hearty God-speed.

Captain Wharton, a well-known authority on these
questions, gave him warm encouragement as to his theory
of the current. He thus ended his speech : " People
sometimes ask: What is the use of Arctic exploration .''
Amongst other things I think it may be said that its use
is to foster enterprise and bring gallant men to the front.
To-nicrht we have an excellent example of that in Dr.
Nansen. I can only say to him, God-speed ! "

Manuscript communications from Admiral Sir George
Richards and the celebrated Sir Josej^h I). Hooker were
also read, both sceptical and full of warnings. Sir Joseph
Hooker thus ended his remarks : " I may conclude with
expressing the hope that Dr. Nansen may dispose of his
admirable courage, skill, and resources in the prosecution
of some less perilous attempts than to solve the mystery
of the Arctic area."

It was not until late in the evening that Nansen him-

WITH THE CURRENT

187

self was at last called upon for a short reply to all these
doubts and anxious warnings. Mis answer is as like him
as it could be. Though plainly willing enough to take
advice as to details, he is in the main unshaken in his
conviction of the practicability of his scheme. And while
he answers, point by point, the objections to it, he gathers
new arguments from these objections themselves. Refer-
ring to Admiral Nares's remark, that an Arctic expedition
ought always to have a secure line of retreat, he answers :
" I am of the opposite opinion. My Greenland expedi-
tion proved the possibility of carrying out such an enter-
prise without any line of retreat, for in that case we burnt
our ships, and nevertheless made our way across Green-
land. I trust we shall have the like good fortune this
time, even if we break the bridges behind us."

It is, as Sir Leopold McClintock said, the old Viking
blood that speaks in these words.

For it is true, as that famous explorer hinted at the
beginning of his speech, that there is a touch of romance
in Nansen's scheme. It is constructed, indeed, upon a
scientific basis ; but no one who was exclusively a man
of science, or exclusively a sportsman, would have had the
foresight to conceive such a plan, or the courage to exe-
cute it. A creative and daring imagination is its deter-
mining element.

1 I

1 1'

;i'M

i^pff I

CHAPTER XI

NANSEN AT HOME AND ABROAD

Immediately aftcT his return from Greenland, Nansen
was offered the post of Curator of the Zootomic Museum
of Christiania University, and accepted the offer. Be-
sides the duties of tliis position, an immense quantity of
work fills up the interval between the Greenland and the
North Pole ex))editions ; he writes the story of what he
has done, and he makes the pre})arations for what he has
yet to do. And to all this we must add his lecturing
tours to different parts of Europe.

In 1S89 he married a daughter of the late Professor M.
Sars, like his well-known son, Professor O. Sars, an emi-
nent naturalist. Fru Nansen is probably the most skilful
lady skirunner in Norway, besides having attained great
celebrity as a concert singer.

A honeymoon was out of the question. The day after
the marriage, the happy couple started by way of Gothen-
burg, Copenhagen, flushing, and London, for Newcastle,
the scene of a geographical congress which lasted a week,
while the new-made wife wondered in her secret soul that
her husband should thus prefer " geography " to " love."
Thence back to London. In the great city, they let the
world, with its discovered and undiscovered countries,
look after itself, and gave themselves up, in the solitude
of that densely peopled wilderness, to the rapture of ex-
istence. Then they passed six glorious days in Paris. In

KVA NANSF.N
{From a photogrnph)

,1 '.

190

AJA'S/uV IN THE FRO/. EN WORLD

October tlu-y were home aj;ain ; but the sixteenth of the
month found tliem once more on the move, this time for
Stocishohn, to attend a mectini;" of the Swedish Anthro-
pological and ( ieot;ra|)hiral Society. This society had,
in January, iS,S(j, determined lo confer its I'li^a medal
upon I'ridtjof Nansen, and it was now handed to him by
the KiuL;". Oidy 'iw^ j)eo|)le had received it — Norden-
skj()ld, Palander, Slanic)-, i*r/,ewalski, and juid<er. 'i'he
spokesman of the societ)', Professor (lustaf Retzius, said
in tlie course of his speech: " I )r. Nansen has iiad for-
time on his side in his hrst enterprise. Let us ho|)e that
this victory may not prove his Narva, leading him to un-
derrate difficuUies, and lluis lurini; him on to a Pultowa.
May it be only the first of a series of trium|>hs ! " The
speaker knew, he said, that Dr. Nansen was in no way
|)i'{Ted uj) ])y his .ichie\ement, but precisely the same as
he had been two years ago when he came to Stockholm
to consult l^rofessor Nordenskjold as to his projected
journey. But Nansen might well be proud of his exploit,
the speaker continued, because it was an honor, not only
to himself, but also to his country. It is not on the field
of battle that small nations can vindicate their place in
the world, and secure their independence. It is in the
domain of culture, of civilization, of science and art — a
domain which lies open to all — that they must press
forward into the front rank and strive for the palm of
victory. Here it is that they must seek for their true
distinction, and earn the respect of the great nations.

As far as we can ascertain, the Vega medal was the first
distinction of its kind conferred upon Nansen. Seven
years ago, as an unknown seal-hunter in the Polar Sea, he
had looked with reverence upon the gallant craft which

"\W.. ■ ' iw"

DR. NANSEN

19a

NAXSEN- IN THE FRO/.EN WOKI.D

\ : A

1
:

: . .. f-

: i t

had borne Ncirdcnskjolcl anHind Asia. Now he liimsclf
held a place of honor by the side of that renowned travel-
ler, and received the medal which bore the name of his
ship and was, according to custom, presented on the day
when the Vega reached Stockholm after her northeast
passage.

The V^cga medal was far from being the only mark of
distinction conferred upon him. In the course of these
years Nansen became a mcmljer of a host of geograph-
ical and other learned societies, and received several gold
medals and other dect/rations. We may mention the
Karl Ritter medal, and the Victoria medal of the Royal
Geographical Society, conferred upon him in the begin-
ning of 1 89 1. This celebrated body states as follows its
reasons for selecting him for this distinction : " The
patrons of the Victoria medal, to Dr. Fridtjof Nansen,
for having been the first to cross the inland ice of Green-
land, a perilous and daring achievement, entailing a jour-
ney of more than three months, thirty-seven days of which
were passed at great elevations, and in the climate of an
Arctic winter; obliging him to lead a forlorn hope with
the knowlcdire that there could be no retreat, and that
failure must involve the destruction of himself and his
companions ; and calling forth the highest qualities of an
explorer. For having taken a scries of astronomical and
meteorological observations under c' cumstances of ex-
treme difficulty and privation, during a march which
required exceptional powers of strength and endurance,
and mental faculties of a high order, as well as the
qualities of a scientific geographer, for its successful
accomplishment. And for his discovery of the physical
character of the interior of Greenland, as well as for other
valuable scientific results of his expedition."

NANSKN AT HOME AM) ABROAD

'93

A di.stiii<;ui.shccl friend in Copcnhaj^cn, uiitiiig to con-
gratulate Nansen on receiving tiie Victoria medal, ends
his letter thus; "If you sliould hereafter become ' Com-
mander ' or ' Cirand Cross' of any order whatsoever, you
must excuse me if I do not congratulate you. Crowds of
people have the right to wear a ribbon ; but the Victoria
medal is held by very few, and it 's a devilish select co)n-
pany it brings you into."

The Cirand Cross is presumably in reserve for his
return from the Polar Seas. Hitherto Nansen has
received the Knights' Cross of the St. Olaf Order (May
25, iS.Sg) and of the Order of the Dannebrog. It can
scarcely be indiscreet to add, that it pained him greatly
to be the sole recipient of these distinctions. lie felt
strongly that his comrades who had risked their lives with
him, and shared with him his toils and dangers, ought
also to share with him the i)ublic recognition of their
exploit. It was certainly no fault of his thai he was the
only meniber of the expedition who received the cross of
St. Olaf.

Even before he returned from Greenland he had been
elected a member of the Christiania Scientific Society.
A whole host of evidences of the appreciation of his
achievement in scientific circles streamed in upon him
after his return, in the form of letters from the leading
authorities on Arctic exploration. We shall here quote
only a single expression from a letter addressed to him
by the celebrated Arctic traveller, Sir Clements Mark-
ham, dated March 11, 1891. He says of the Greenland
expedition : " For my part I regard it as being, from the
geographical point of view, one of the most remarkable
achievements of our time, remarkable alike for intrepidity

and for the importance of its scientific results.""
13

'94

NANS EN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

\ \

I \

' f

On June 24, 1 89 1, Nanscn was appointed Correspond-
ing Member of the Institute of France, in succession to
Nordenskjold, who was promoted to the rank of Foreign
Associate.

When he and iiis wife returned from Stockhohii they
lodged for two months with Martha Larsen, formerly
housekeeper at Great Froen, whom we have already had
occasion to mention more than once. Her house, which
revived all the memories of his childhood, was like a
haven of rest where he could take refuge at any time.
He had lived with her during the " hard spring," when he
had to struGfCfle both with his doctoral thesis and with
his preparations for the Greenland expedition. Here he
would seek rest and refreshment of an evening in chatting
over the old days at Froen.

" Do you remember, Martha," he wo aid say all of a
sudden, " that time when I came to you streaming with
blood from a cut in the leg.'' "

" Indeed I do — you had fallen on some broken glass."

" No — I can tell you the truth now, Martha. You see
we had got new sheath-knives, both Alexander and I ;
and as I was slashing the heads off thistles with my new
knife, I ran it into my leg. But of course I could n't tell
you that."

" It was n't like you to tell me a lie," says Martha, with
mild reproach.

" No, but there 's a limit to everything, Martha ; and I
could n't have the new sheath-knife taken from me."

It has been the lot of Martha Larsen to sweeten the
year-long toils of the polar explorers. Not that she, per-
sonally, took part in the expedition ; but she was the self-
appointed purveyor of jams and jellies to the Fram. In

NANSEN AT NOME AND ABROAD

^95

the course of his voyage northward, when Nansen was
sending his farewell greetings in letters to all who stood
very near to him, or had played an important part in his
life, he did not forget his faithful old friend. iM'om Kha-
barova, Yugor Strait, he writes to her on August 3, 1S93:
" As I am on the point of leaving this last place from
which letters can be despatched, I must send you a part-
ing greeting, and thank you for all your friendship and
goodness to me." Her friendship he describes as untir-
ing, and says that she is always finding opportunities to
be of service to him and to his wife. We need not apol-
ogize for referring to this simple little lett'jr. It is not
every celebrated man whose memory is so alert at the
critical moments of his life.

From Martha Larsen's the newly-married couple re-
moved to the Drammen Road, where they set up house.
But there was too little sun here, and too much town, too
much civilization. They determined to build for them-
selves, and bought a site at Svartebugta (the Black Bay),
where Nansen, as a boy, had often lain in ambush for
wild duck. While their building operations were in pro-
gress, they lived in a pavilion close to Lysaker railway
station — a pavilion which has since been transformed by
the painter, Otto Sinding, into a comfortable house with
a splendid studio. But up to this time it had never been
inhabited. The f^oor was close to the ground, and it w^as
very cold ; the water in the pitchers froze hard every
night. " That winter," says Mrs. Nansen, " cured me of
the habit of feeling cold." In this dog-hutch and in this
biting cold, Nansen set himself down to his book upon
Greenland — he had no difficulty in recalling the atmos-
phere of the inland ice.

196

NAiVSEA' IN TIIK FROZEN WORLD

f I

I !f

If he took an hour's holiday and became a human
being again, he repented of it afterward. But he was for-
ever going over to watch the jDrogress of the new house,
in the details and arrangements of which he took a keen
interest. The " high seat," and the Ijcd, in the old Nor-
wegian style, were executed from his own designs by
Horgersen, afterward so well known as a wood-carver.
The house, which was built by Mrs. Nansen's cousin.
Architect Welhaven, was finished in March 1890, but
they had moved into it long before that. It was Bjorn-
stjerne Bjornson who . ave it its name. He rose from
the " high seat," chani|jagne-glass in hand, and said :
'' Godthaab skal det hcde!'' ("It shall be called Good
Hope ! ")

Godthaab lies in the bight formed by a little projecting
ness, sheltered and secluded, and quite alone. In front of
the house is a wooded and grassy slope, leading down to
the shore, whence the fjord stretches wide and open right
to Nesodland. Here M?.nsen had his foot on his own
ground, and could keep his own boat for sailing on the
fjord.

But in the autumn he set off on a long lecturing tour,
accompanied by his wife. He spoke in Copenhagen,
London, Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig, Munich, and Ham-
bursf. We have received from one of the most eminent
geographers in Europe, Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen,
a very valuable statement of the impression which Nan-
sen at this time left behind him in scientific circles. We
quote from a letter dated May 17, 1896 : —

" As I have been confined to my room for several
weeks, and am not yet permitted to do more than the
most imperative work, I unfortunately cannot give myself

NANS EN AT HOME AND ABROAD

'97

NANSEN S HUMK

the pleasure of entering upon a detailed account of Dr.
Nansen's visit to Berlin. I hope, therefore, that you will
accept in its stead the following brief notes.

" Fridtjof Nansen was here in November, 1S90, two
years after his memorable crossing of Greenland, and a
year and a half after his return to Norway. As he
wanted to complete his book describing the expedition,
he had hitherto been unable to accept any of the repeated
invitations he had received to visit Berlin, On Novem-
ber 8 he lectured before a meeting of the Geographical
Society. He was warmly received, for we had all fol-
lowed his daring journey with interest. The peculiar
magic of his personality, which never fails to affect those

198

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

who stand face to face with him, was strongly felt during
the delivery of this lecture. He took us all captive by
the magnetism of his immovable will. We saw in him a
strong man marching toward a clearly realized goal, and
clinging with tenacious energy to a well-weighed and
carefully projected ])lan. We were strongly impressed
with this feeling, even as he told of his crossing of Green-
land, and how he had ' burnt his ships ' before setting
forth on what was then regarded as a foolhardy act of
darinix. And it was with [growing enthusiasm that the
meeting hung upon his words as he went on to sketch
''n outline his great new scheme for reaching the North
Pole. Many were of opinion that the enterprise was
altogether too hazardous, and were doubtful of the }}rem-
iscs on which he based his belief in its possibility. But
not one amon<r his hearers doubted that if the thinci was
within the range of human possibility, Nansen was the
one man j)redestii-ed to carry it out. On looking into
the reasons for the brilliant success of his first undertak-
ing, one could not but recognize that they lay in the
care with which every detail of the ]Dlan was thought out,
the sedulous forestalling of every possible contingency,
the physical training which enabled him to cope with all
physical difficulties, the talent for making the most of
mechanical aids to locomotion, and finally, the indomita-
ble strength of will. Although, no doubt, this new pro-
ject far surpassed the former enterprise in magnitude
and daring, yet all the precautions necessary to secure
a fortunate result seemed to have been conceived on a
proportionally larger scale.

" Such, my honored friend, is the impression Nansen
left behind him. No one who was present can ever for-

R :f

ro-

I re

len

)!"-

I Hi

ill

200

A^A.VS£Ar IN THE FROZEN WORLD

get tlie picture of the handsome, well-knit young man
who so modestly told the story of an accomplished feat,
and sketched in such simple words the outlines of a still
more daring enterjirise. Every one felt fully assured that
whatever determination, strength, and intelligence can do
to vanquish the hostile forces of Arctic nature might be
confidently expected of F"ridtjof Nansen. And although
we cannot quite rid ourselves of the idea that the assump-
tions on which the scheme is founded are not as yet fully
established, yet we are convinced that Nansen's clear
insight will realize the actual conditions when he comes
face to face with them, and that he will wisely confine
himse'f to attempting what is physically possible, instead
of clinging with stolid obstinacy to the plan once laid
down. In this confidence, we look forward to seeing
your gallant young countryman return with a rich harvest
of scientific results, followed as he is by the warm sympa-
thy of the whole civilized world.

" One thing I must add to my account of the impres-
sion produced by Nansen. I must note the happy com-
bination in him of a remarkable spirit of enterprise with a
strong scientific sense. These two qualities are not often
found together. Especially in our age of athletics, it may
almost be said to be the rule that the most daring exploits
— for example, in mountain climbing — are carried out
purely for their own sake and to satisfy a mere love of
adventure. So much the more heartily should we ap-
plaud the man who is impelled by higher motives to the
conquest of the greatest physical difficulties. Nansen's
lecture left no doubt of his keen interest in, and thor-
ough understanding of, the problems connected with
Arctic research. He took espec .1 pains to acquire and

NANSEN AT HOME AND ABROAD

201

communicate a scientific insight into the physical con-
formation and conditions of Greenland; and he has clearly
a no less enli'j^htcned sense of the scientific significance
of polar exploration."

What especially occuj^ied him in these years was the
preparations for the Polar Expedition. The e(|uipment
involved an immense expenditure of thought — from the
construction of the ship to the minutest detail of the com-
missariat. Even the selection of the crew must have
meant a great deal of correspondence — no fewer than
150 foreigners applied for leave to join the expedition.
The list is headed by Englishmen and Americans, then
come Germans, Danes, Swedes and Finns, Italians and
Frenchmen, etc. The labor was enormous. Evervthing
had to pass through his head, every one of the thousand
details. Compared with this mental toil, the labor of
dragging the sledges over the Greenland ice fields was
little more than child's play. It engrossed him day and
night, and encroached terribly on the few hours that were
left for his home and his family. The strain upon his
vital force was incomparably greater than in any of his
previous efforts.

In ihe beginning of 1S92 he again set forth on a lectur-
ing tour, this time in England, the profits going to the
expedition fund. He spoke in London and in the other
great towns of England, Scotland, and Ireland, visiting
Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, Hull, New-
castle, Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin, Bristol, and many other
places.

" His lectures," writes a friend in England, " were highly
appreciated and made a great success. His mastery of
the English language was remarkable. He made himself

;t1

f V'l ''

is '*

} 1

I! I

; :t

Itt

!02

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

thoroiiL^hly lieard and understood. Of course he read his
addresses ; but to my tliinkint^ liis speakiiv^ was most
effective when, at the end of his last lecture before the
Royal Geograjjhical Society, he laid his manuscript aside.
It was, in a sense, a farewell to England, inspired by a
depth of feeling which stirred his audience to enthusiasm.
I can assure you that when Nansen returns, a magnificent
reception awaits him in this country."

Late in the autumn of this year his ship was launched.

" A wliole troo]) of invited guests," writes Gustaf Ret-
zius, in the " Aftonblad " for November 3, ICS92, " took the
morning train on October 26, from Christiania to Laurvik.
There had been ten degrees of frost in the night ; snow-
had fallen, and a thin white veil lay over hill and valley.
Gradually the mists dispersed, and the morning sun shone
out with the peculiar softened splendor characteristic of
a clear winter day. Nansen himself receives us at Laurvik
station, and leads us to a whale-boat, lying at the i)ier,
with a crow's-nest at its foretop. It carries us down the
fjord, then turns to the left and runs in shore. Here, in
Raekevik Bay, lies the hull of a ship, shored up on the
beach, with its stern to the sea. It is Fridtjof Nansen's
new shij), which is now to go off the stocks. The hull is
high and broad, black below, white above. The three
goodly masts of American pitch-pine are still lying along-
side her on the wharf. Three flagstaffs have been erected
on the deck, two with flags, the one in the middle without.
It is reserved for the pennant bearing the ship's as yet
unknown name, which is to be hoisted after the christen-
ing. There are many speculations as to what the name
is to be. People guess Eva, Leif, Norge, and Nordpolcn.

" Thousands of spectators have gathered around Colin

ii!

204

A'^JVS£JV JN THE FROZEN WORLD

f ■

Archer's wliarf, thousands have clambered uj) on the
rocks. But around the great vessel lying shored uj) on
the slips stand groups of sturdy figures in working clothes,
with grizzled hair and furrowed features, carefully examin-
ing her lines and build. These are whalers and seal-hunt-
ers who have year after year braxed the dangers of the
Polar Sea. There are also many workmen among them,
ship's-carpenters who have helped in the building, and
who now regard their work with just satisfaction. Hut the
master builder is the stately man with the serious refined
features and the long white beard. It is Colin Archer.

" iM'idtjof Nansen, followed Ijy his wife, now mounts a
platform erected close to the vessel's bows. Mrs. Nansen
steps forward, breaks a champagne bottle against the stem
at one strong blow, and says loud and clear : ' Fram skal
den hcde ' — * She shall be called Fram.' ' At the same
moment the flag is hoisted on the unoccupied flagstaff,
and the word can be read in white letters upon a red
ground. The last moorings are now quickly cast off, the
last supports knocked away, and the great vessel glides,
at first slowly, then quicker and quicker, stern-foremost,
down the sharply sloping groove which leads to the water.
It plunges deeper and deeper. For a moment it almost
seems as though it were going to sink, or at any rate to
strike the bottom. But as the stem approaches th^e water
the stern rises, and finally the whole vessel floats away, to
be brought back in a few minutes, laid alongside the
wharf, and there moored. At the moment w^hen the
whole bulk of the ship had taken the water, a great wave
swept shoreward and washed over the rocks and over the
onlookers who had perched themselves close to the sea.

^ Fram = Forwards.

I It

NA.YSJwV AT JIOME AXD ABROAD

aos

We could sec tlicni from the distance scnimbliuLj; like wet

fli

les u]") the slij)i)ery rocks

A kirtre boat which liad been

swept asiiore by the wave was with difficuky saved, but
without misadventure.

"On tlie pkitfonn, by his wife's side, iM'idtjof Nansen
stood tall and erect, and watched the scene. All eyes
were bent upon them. We coukl not but think what
tlieir feehni;s must have been at the moment when the
vessel glided into the sea: feelinijfs of <'ladness that the
prologue to the long dark drama that was to be enacted
in the polar night was now happily concluded ; feelings
of pain at the thought of tlie long separation that lay
before them.

" Vox all who were ])resent, it was a moment of deep
emotion when, amid the booming of s^uns and the thun-
dering cheers of the multitude, the Fravi })lunged into
the sea and rose again proudly in its freedom. Many
were afterward heard to say that it was one of the most
impressive experiences of their lives. As the ship glided
forth in the silvery light reflected from the calm surface
of the sea, we seemed, in a flash of foresight, to be read-
ing the Saga of the future. We seemed to glance down
the vista of her destiny, to see her, in waters no keel has
yet furrowed, spreading light over regions no eye has yet
seen. And when we came to think of the stern realities
which must one day surround the vessel and its crew on
their daring quest, the cold, the darkness, the storms, the
icebergs, and all that follows in their train, we could not
but feel a touch of awe. But in Fridtjof Nansen's serene,
unembarrassed, steadfast glance, there was no trace of
doubt or anxiety. He has the faith and the will-power
that can move mountains."

\ 11

i <

i<\\\

If '

T-' •

206

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

Colin Archer, the builder of the Fnim, belonj^s to a
Scotch family. His name is widely known and highly
resj)ected in Norway. " It is not many years since our
pilot boats were sadly deficient in point both of speed and
of safety. They were neither well built nor well designed
for the work they had to do, so that it frecjuently haj)-
pened that the boat went down and took the i)il()t with it.
Mr. Archer devoted himself to the task of furnishing our
pilots with a faster and safer sea-boat. After more than
twenty years' work, he has met with such success that
the pilot can now face almost any weather in one of his
boats, and that those he leaves at home need no longer
tremble and turn pale when the surf is lashing and the
storm swee])ing over the sea."

In a speech which he made that day, Mr. Archer said
that he would never have been able to solve this peculiar
problem, so unlike any that he had hitherto attempted,
if Nansen himself had not furnished him with the key;
it was Nansen's constructive sense that had throughout
pointed the way. But Nansen had no less right on his
side when he praised Colin Archer's talent, and expressed
the belief that never before had a ship been built for
Arctic work with any approach to the care and thought
which had been devoted to this one. Let us hope that
Colin Archer's most noteworthy " pilot boat," which is to
pilot humanity through ice-packed channels and over un-
known waters, may stand the test as well as the other
" Archer-boats," its predecessors.

The Fram, which in reality somewhat resembles a pilot
boat, is specially designed to play the part allotted it in
Nansen's general scheme. His idea is not to burst his
way by force through masses of ice, but to let the Fram

\
1

NANSEN .IT If ami AAV) A/iA'O.ID

207

lie firmly frozen in and be carried forward by the current.
It is not a fast siiip, then, that he needs, but a vessel
which can bear an immense pressure of ice without beinj;
crushed. It Iiad to be so desit^ned that the ice should
not be able to Ljrij) its sides and squeeze them together,
but should, as it were, wedge itself under the hull and
force it up out of the water. Vnv this reason the sides
and bottom are stroiv^ly rounded. In order to secure
the greatest possible strength the ship had to be as small
as possible, and particularly short in i)n)portion to its
breadth. This would facilitate both the raising of the
hull wlien the ice got packed under it, and the handling
of the vessel among the tloes when it should be released
from its ice-berth.

The Franis lentjth on deck is i2iS feet; len<j:th on
water-line, 113 feet; keel, 102 feet. Her extreme breadth
is 36 feet ; breadth at water-line, exclusive of ire-skin,
34 feet; depth, 17 feet. When she is lightly loaded, the
draft of water is 12^ feet. The keel, which is 14 inches
by 14 inches, American elm, projects only 3 inches be-
low the planking, and its edges are well rounded. The
frames are double, being built chiefly of Italian oak, ob-
tained from the dockyards at Horten, where it had been
stored for thirty years. The lining is pitch-pine. Tlie
outside planking consists of three layers : the inner one
being 3 inches oak, the middle one 4 inches oak, and
outside all an ice-skin of greenhcart, increasing in thick-
ness from 3 inches at the keel to 6 inches at the water-
line. Both, bow and stern are protected by a covering
of iron bars. The total thickness of the ship's sides
is 24 to 28 inches, and their power of resisting pressure
is thus very considerable ; but it is greatly increased by

II |i

"III

; .;i:

208

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

. .

powerful beams or stays of wood or iron. The hold
is divided into three water-tight compartmeiits. The
structural strength of the Fram is thus quite exceptional.
Never before has a vessel been so fortified auainst the
attacks of the ice.

During these years of toil Nansen enjoyed breathing
spaces, when he gathered his friends around him. These
pleasant interludes in his work will never be forgotten by
those who took part in them. They remember the din-
ner when all the pointers — Werenskjold, Eilif Peterssen,
Skredsvig, Munthe, Sinding — gave themselves up to
high jinks without beginning or end, when they would
on no account listen to polite speeches, but rushed inio
the kitchen and set the pump going whenever any one
began. Nansen was thoroughly at home among the paint-
ers — he himself dabbled a little in their handicraft,^ and,
during his Bergen days, had worked in the studio of old
Schiertz, who thought he had the makings of an artist in
him.

They remember, too, that Midsummer Eve, when
Lammers sane: of the hero Roland, and Nansen went
down to the bonfire and piled on wood.

By way of exemplifying the hours of relaxation in the
life of labor depicted in this book, one of the authors
will note down hvs recollections of a luncheon party
at Nansen's house, the day after the launch of the Fram.

1 Nansen draws excellently; all the plates for his zoological, anatomical,
and histological essays are drawn by himself. We may mention, as a charac-
teristic instance of his energy in every department, that he was not content
with himself making the drawings for his works, hut also learned lithograph}-,
so that, for example, the plates in his principal essay on the nervous system
are drawn on the stone with his own hand.

NANS/iN AT HOME AND ABROAD

J09

It had rained ovcrnij^ht, so that the roads were ankle-
deep in autumn mud. Nansen himself met us at the
station in the liii^hest of spirits.

When we reached his house (a c|uarter of an hour's
walk from Lysaker station) it was raining. The fjord
stretched before us dark anrl dei)ressing, the gray autumn
sky seemed to droop disconsohite among the pine stems.
But in Nansen's study tranches and logs were crackling
and smouldering cosily upon the open hearth.

Here everything is in old Norse style. Nansen him-
self, as before mentioned, designed the furniture of light
pine-wood, beautifully carved with dragon arabes(|ues.
Over the high seat hangs a tapestry of an anticpie pat-
tern.

Luncheon was served in the cosey little dining-room,
and merriment was the order of the day. W\\\ justice
was done to one dish after another ; and Nansen is not
the man to forget to season the viands with talk. lie
was, of course, still full of memories of the previous day,
and one incident of the launch after another was related
and discussed. Mrs. Nansen had to analyze her sensa-
tions at the moment when she broke the chamj)agne
bottle a'j^ainst the bow and said : " Fram skal den Jiedc ! "
Some one else related how Archer was seen to close his
eyes when the ship began to move; and so forth.

When the champagne ap])eared, Nansen proposed
Retzius's health, and Retzius thus ended his speech in
reply : —

" This is a delightful home of yours, Nansen, and I

cannot but marvel at your resolution in tearing yourself

away from it to set forth into the ]3olar winter, and brave

an unknown fate. You, a biologist, have the sea stretch-

1 J

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: lo

A'ANSEN IN TJIK FRO/.EX WOKLD

, j

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ing before your very windows, with all its inexhaustible
and fascinating treasures. 1 lere you are in the midst of
all your old friends, the marine fauna — with worms,
moUusks, and mud-eels at your beck and call. W'e scien-
tists, who so highly appreciate Nansen the biologist —
the man who has successfully steered many a voyage of
exploration o\'er the unknown depths of the biological
world, and especially through the intricacies of the
nervous system — cannot quite reconcile ourselves to the
thought that you are deserting this field of labor to go so
far and to be absent so Ioult.

" Hut you have yourself determined it, you have decreed
your own destiny.

" And besides, when the explorer returns from his
adventurous voyage, the biologist will find the field of
investigation as rich as e\'er. You may make )'our mind
easy — we who are left at home will not reap the whole
harvest — there will be ])lenty left for you to do. We arc
as yet only at the beginning of our work.

" There is only one thing I fear, and that is that
I'^ridtjof Nansen, when he comes back from the North
Pole, will discover that the earth has a South Pole as
well."

As we clink Masses and drink Nansen's health, strange
thou£i"hts fill our minds. Who knows when this circle of
friends may meet again ? Not, at any rate, until one of
them shall have returned from afar.

Nansen is, as usual, quiet and at his case. As the later
courses come on, we £>'et him to tell us some of his stories,
lie has an unusual gift of oral, no less than of written
narrative ; he describes picturesquely, with powerful
touches, and, on occasion, with charming humor. First

NANS EN AT HOME AND AH ROAD

1 1

we get him on the |M)kir Ijears. Then some one asks
about the time when he and Mrs. Nansen cHmbecl Nore-
fjeld on New Year's Eve.

"Yes, it was really New Year's I'^ve ; it was in 1890.
Eva and I had gone iij) to Knkleren for a breath of fresh

NANSEN AND MRS. NANSI'N ON SNOW-SHOI'.S

atcr

ries.

ten

■rful

"irst

air, and we made up our minds to climb Norefjeld — to
the top of course. We slept at Olberg, and were rather
lazy in the morning, so that it was about ten o'clock
before we made a start. And we did n't hurry at all at
first, so that the day slipped on. It 's something of an
ascent even in summer; but in winter, when the days are
short, you have to look sharp if you want to get to the

1-'^

1(.

if: 'I

212

N.INS/CN IN TIfE FRO/.KN WORLD

top while it's li<^ht. And then we had taken a course of
our own — well, it may have been the most direct, but it
certainly was n't the (|uickest. The snow was very dee]),
and we had n't any guide. At last we could n't possibl)-
use our snow-shoes any longer ; it got so steep we had to
take them off and carry them. Put we were bound to do
it all the same ; you can't face about and leave a thing
half done, however much ice and frozen snow there may
be. The last piece almost beat us ; I had to cut our way
step by ste}) with my staff. I went ahead, Eva followed.
It reminded me of what the little girl wrote in her school
essay: ' k'or e\'ery step we went forward, we went two
ste])s back. At last we reached the top.'

" Well, we too reached the top, but it was dark, and we
liad been at it from ten till five with nothing to eat. So
now we set to and picnicked in the snow and the pitchy
darkness, on inysost^ and pemmican mixed."

"You may thank heaven we don't treat you to that
to-day," said Mrs. Nansen.

" Yes, you made wry faces over it, Eva," growled her
husband. " But it 's all a matter of habit."

We limbered ox-er our walnuts and our wine while Nan-
sen continued : " Well, there we two sat alone in the
snow at the to]) of Norefjeld, something like 5,000 feet
above the level of the sea. I'he frost-wind nij)i:)ed our
checks, the darkness grew denser and denser. Ear away
in the west there lingered a very, ve y feeble gleam of day,
the last in the year. We had to see about getting down

agam.

" We struck a course more or less in the direction of
Eggedal. F'rom Hogevarde " down into the valley is per-

' Goat's milk cheese, ^ The top of Norefjeld.

ilS

I I

NAA\SEN AT J/O.UE AND AH ROAD

2 13

ian-

thc

I feet

our

1 of
ber-

haps about a Norwegian mile,' whieh would have been
thing at all if it had been light. liut it was n't so easy

to find our way in the darkness.

" Off we plunged into the night, I ahead and Iiva fol-
lowing. We went like the wind over rocks and slopes,
and it was no joke to keep our balance, I can tell you.
When you 've been out in the dark for some time, a sort

f dim shimmer seems to rise from the snow ; )()L1 can't
call it light, but it is n't absolute darkness either. I leaven
knows how we managed to get along sometimes, but man-
age we did. All of a sudden I had to stoj) short, and
shout to Kva. It was too steej) for snow-shoes, there was
nothing for it but to sit down and slide. It 's not good
for your trousers, but it 's safer in the dark.

"The wind nipi)ed our ears till they tingled, for it was
freezing like anything; and on we went. .Suddenly, as
we were going at full sjjeed, my liat blew off — a little
gray hat of the sort I usually wear.

" So I had to put the brake on, and get to my legs again.
Far up I saw something h\?zV upt)n the snow, scrambled
up to it, seized it, and found it was a stone. The hat must
be farther back — yes, there it was. Again I clutched at
a stone. Hats seemed to swarm all over the snow; but
when I came to put them on they all turned to stones.
Stones for bread may be bad enough, but stones for hats
are not a whit better. There was nothing for it but to
go ahead hatless.

" Eva remained where I had left her. ' Eva ! ' I shouted,
' Eva !' The answer came from far, far below.

" There seemed to be no end to that mile. But we
managed to keep going somehow ; and now and then we

^ Seven English miles.

ii ,

P" --.

/I '

' I
in
I'M

ill

h'-i

214

NANS EN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

could use our snow-shoes too. All of a sudden the ground
seemed to fall away at our feet; we stopped at the verge
of a })recipitous bank — how iiigh it was we could n't see,
but over it we had t(j go, one first, the other after The
snow was deejj, and when that is so, you can clear incred-
ible distances.

" We had long ago lost our bearings, if we had ever had
any. We only knew that we must go ahead. At last we
came to a dead fix. Eva had once more to sit and wait
while I cast about for a way. I went grojjing around in
the darkness and was a lonu; time i>"one. All of a sudden
a thought struck me : supj^ose she were to fall asleej) !
Such things have been known to hai)pen, and she must
be dead tired. ' Eva, Eva ! ' I shouted. ' Yes ! ' she an-
swered right enough, but this time from far, far above. If
she had fallen asleep I don't know that I could ever ha\'e
found her again. As it was I groped my way up to her,
brinfi:int>; with me the (::ood news that I had found a water-
course. I won't say that a watercourse is the best possi-
ble snow-shoe course, especially in ]:)itchy darkness, when
your stomach is empty and your conscience ill at ease —
for this was really a reckless piece of work. But some-
how or other we did contrive to make our way down the
watercourse.

" Now we were among the birch-trees, and at last we
struck upon a road. So the worst was over. Ear down,
we came upon a hut. I thought it looked cosey enough,
but Eva said it was dirty and horrid. And now she was
quite lively; she was determined to push on. Just like a
woman.

" To make a long story short, we at last reached the
parish clerk's house in Eggedal. It was now late at night,

NAi\SEN AT HOME AM) A/iKOAD

2 I

icn

igh,
was
:c a

the
rht,

so we had to wake the j)e()i)Ie iij). 'I'lie |)arish clerk was
quite frightened when he heard we had eonie Iroiu liie top
of Norefjekl.

" This time V.xa was not so particular about her night's
lodging. She had no sooner sat down in a chair than she
fell asleej) ; it was twelve at night, and she had been on
her feet for fourteen hours.

'" He's cjuite worn out, poor bo)',' said the i)arish clerk;
for V.\:\ was wearing a gray snow-shoeing dress, with a
short skirt and trousers.

" ' It is my wife,' said I.

"You should ha\e heard the exclamations. 'Oh Lord,
oh Lord, you don't mean to say so ! Thiid^ of dragging
your wife with you over the top of Norefjekl on New
Year's live ! '

" Hut now came supper — and as soon as she smelled
that it was not inysos/ :\\m\ penunican she wakened up.

" It ended in our resting three days at the j)arish cU-rk's
— and that was our New Year's \\\d ascent of Nort'fjeld.
I thought it great fun ; but I don't know what \\\:\ would
say.

" When we left Iiggedal the poor boy and I drove down
Numedal to Kongsberg, and the bov was almost fro/en to
death.

" But one has to go through a little hardship now and
then to enjoy life i:)r()perly after it. If \()U don't know
what cold is, neither do you know what it is to be warm."

The time draws on for the great departure. The sum-
mer of 1S93 has come. In the evenings, while his secre-
tary is writing at full speed, and Nansen is walking up
and down directing and dictating, he will suddenly slip

2l6

NANS/iiV IN TJIK FROZEN WORLD

'<\

out antl appear on the slope in front of the house. Here
l)hintin^- is goii^i;' on — gooseberry and currant buslies,
apj)le and i)ear trees. Nansen himself |)()inls out to the
gardener where every tree, every bush is to stand. " It will
be splendid soil," .says the man, as he fills the holes with
mould mixed with seaweed. "Oh yes, I hope they'll grow,"
says Nansen. The evening sun throws long shadows
from the great ])ine stems in front of the house, the waves
wash softly, in a long slow swell, against the beach. The
nurse comes out of the lu)use carrying little Liv, who is to
be put to bed.

How long will be the shadows cast by these bushes and
trees before he comes back? How many evenings will
the sun disajjpear behind the ridge, before current and
wind and wave bring his ship home again } Evening after
evening, month after month, year after year I

On Midsummer Day \\\^i Fram lies at Pipervik ready
to start. Only a small group of Christiania peojjle have
gathered to stare at the clumsy-looking ship, which still
lies at its berth long after the time ajjjxjinted for the start.

So slight is the notice taken of an achievement in the
bud. When he comes back again, all Christiania will turn
out to receive him. Hut men are always so. As though
it were nothing to conceive this great design, to take this
immense responsibility, to bear all burdens until you are
ready to drop under them — and to stand erect on the
C[uarter-deck and take your life in your hands. There
were not many that day who remembered the old saying
which had been cited at Rnekevik when the Fram was
launched : " Magnos homines virtiite mdimui^, non for-
tunar (We judge great men by their virtue, not by their
luck,)

I I ii

till

N.LVSJiN AT HOME AND ABROAD

217

Hut amoiiL: those who had liathLTcd to see Nansen off
were many members of the Storthi'iiL;. iiy two resolu-
tions, whicli must be reekoned to the crecHt of so small a
l)eo|)le, the StorlhiiiL;' had contributed a sum of about
$75,000 to the expenses of the expedition. 'l\)-day it had
adjourned in order to bid farewell to its leader. But
Nansen liad not been informed of this, and had not yet
come on board. The members of the Storthin<'- waited
for hours, and at last could wait no longer.

J'lven at the last moment there were details of business
that Nansen had to attend to. The whole morning
l^assed, and he had had scarcely a moment to exchange
a word with his wife. The farewell was of the shortest.
When he came downstairs, little Liv was brought to him
smiling. He took the child in his arms: "Ah yes, you
l.iugh, Liv, but I ! " He sobbed.

Then he jumped into the little petroleum launch,
steamed up the fjord, boarded the Fram, taking no notice
of any one, went u]) to the bridge, and gave orders for the
start. Those who saw his face at that moment will never
forget it.

h I

One i^icture from liis story of that New Year's Kve ex-
pedition has often risen before our minds during these
years of waiting. .She sits alone upon the mountain, and
gazes forth into the imj^enetrable darkness, so long, so
long. Then a voice is heard from far off on the snow-
field. He is there! He is comin*'' !

\\'

r:'

«« 1:

Ni!

CIIAPTl'K XII

ON I'.OAkI) IIII'. I'kAM

iii

,11

1 M

TiiK wind had been n\t;ht ahead the whole day, writes
Professor \V. C Hn)L!;!jjer, ever since we started from
Landej^ode. W'e had (ii'^t made a tack under full sail
rii^ht across the V'estfjord toward Moskena's Island, a:, 1
had now put about, and were heading straight for the
j)assage southeast of Skraaven.

The steady fresh Ijreeze had swept the sky clean, and
lifted the sea into foam-topped waves which plashed
monotonously against the broad bow of the I'ratn, as she
jiloughed her wa)- through them, as hea\y as an oKl
Dutch galliot and as steady as a rock.

Uj) on the bridge the |)il()t, 1 laagensen, was pacing to
and fro in sturdv securitv, now and then shouting an
order to the man at the wheel in his homely Nordland
dialect. Hut the fairway was at this point so clear that
there was not very much for a pilot to do — a wide chan-
nel in front, and a steadv wind blowing-, hour after hour.

At the end of the bridge Nansen had rigged uj) for
himself an open-air studio — an easel and a few boxes of
pastel colors — and here he sat the whole evening, and
well on into the night, in his yellow-gray silk mackintosh,
heedless of the cold wind (which, however, was gradually
dropping), dabbing on colors, and smudgiiig with lis fm-
ger-tips on the sandpaper, so intently and indefatigabl}-
that he rubbed the skin off. The blood trickled from the

■^

ON nOAKl) Till'. '^FKAyf'

-'")

'^1

ti'^*^

TllK " I'KA.M " IN BER(.EN

abrasion, and made a broad red strijic down tlie sky (i
his landscape.

And the landscape the Fram was passing was indeed
worth painting in its sunset radiance. No pen could
possibly draw a true picture of its ever-changing splendor
of form and hue.

}J\

ii!

230

N.IXS/'IN IN THE FRO/.lu\ WORLD

W :t

ICastward, illiimiiicci l)y the reflection of the sinkiiv.j
sun, rose the whole mighty array of tlie crests, and peaks,
and summits of tlie mainland; while to the west, the end-
less snow-flecked I.ofoten-W'all loomed dark and threat-
enini;, a chain of Alps springing right up from the sea.
The sun was so low that the island mountains lay en-
tirely in the shadow, dark purple silhouettes against the
marvellously soft and shifting colors of the evening sky.

Over the highest peaks hung hea\y grayish white
masses of cloud, now melting into the stri|)s of snow,
which formed a delicate lace-like collar around the shoul-
ders of Vaagekallen, now transpierced by the smouldering
glow of the evening sun, which, down toward Moskena-s
Island, formed a continuous broad band of gold over the
low-lying banks of mist, like the reflection of a sea of fire
in the far distance.

Above our heads stretched the pale evening sky,
toning off into greenish blue and the most delicate rose-
pink, so cloudless, and bright, and jjure, that it seemed
as though Heaven had si)ecially willed that Nansen and
his comrades should see our land at its very loveliest,
without stain or flaw, before they bade it farewell. And
beneath us leaj)ed the glorious sea, still crisping into
foam-crests that shone white on the dark blue ground —
our forefathers' royal road to " fame and might," ^ the road
on which the Fravi was now covering the first stages of
her way to immortality.

The Fram plodded doggedly on toward Skraaven.
I lour after hour the strange sharp peak stood out right
ahead of us, seeming always to recede as we advanced.

' An allusion to the Danish national song, Koiit; Christian stod ved hojen
Mast.

, i

ON IWAKD THE '' ERAM'

aai

The Fram, as \vu know, docs not protend to he a cli|)|)er.
She has no occasion for sj)eed, she has tlie years before
her. Rij^ht you are, I'ram ! Slow and sure wins in the
end. Chi va piano va sduo, clii va forte va in mortc.

The Fravt was now comparatively trim and ship-shajje;
Sverch'up himself had superintended the cleanin*^ |)r()cess,
and worked the hose the whole afternoon, while (ijertsen
followed him with the mop, and whole rivers of water

pou

d thi

rouL;h the scu])pers, carryi

th ll

lem al

sunerlluities. I slu)uld not like to swear that they did

not now and then sc|uirt a dro|) or two amonj^ Nansen's
pastels, when they hap|)ene(l to pass under the bridj^e ;
but it could not be helped — the /•>«;;/ had to bestir her-
self in order to look presentable when she i^ol to liomsi),
and a daily scouring was necessary to remove all traces
of the coal-shifting operations in Na'rosu nd.

Now the coal was finally stowed away in the hold, and
the greater part of the dried fish cleared from the deck
both fore and aft, so that the ship began to look fairly
habitable auain. This clearinu: up had cost a t^ood deal
of trouble, for the crew was small, and things were not
yet quite in working order. The chief difTiculty lay in
the fact that the cargo was so exceedingly heterogeneous.
It is not so easy to get everything into order when an
exact account has to be kept of where all the innumer-
able articles are stowed, so that they may always be at
hand when needed, perhaps in the moment of danger.
Thus every one had his own dej^artment to attend to in
addition to the general work of the ship, and the average
day was anything but a holiday.

Even now, one or two had not yet finished their day's
work. The first mate was busy carpentering. Little

'I !

;ir

222

JVAAS£JV IN THE FROZEN WORLD

;f«

'Si

i I

i j

IIS

111

Scott Hansen was every one's favorite ; although a mere
boy to undertake such a voyage, — he was only twenty-
five, — he did his man's work with the best of them He
was always in good humor, always friendly and ]Dleasant
to every one ; but his eyes would beam with affection
when they fell u}Jon the barometers and chronometers
and all his other dear instruments uj) in the chart-room,
which had been placed under his care. He was to be
both astronomer and meteorologist — and first mate into
the bargain, and a little of everything else. He was
expecting to meet Professor Mohn next day up at Lodin-
gen, and was consequently very busy putting together a
cage for his thermometers, planing and nailing away until
far on in the evening]:.

There was not much room on the deck of the Fram ;
indeed, there was scarcely a spot that was not cumbered
with deck cargo of all sorts. Almost the whole space for-
ward was taken up with the supports for the longboats,
and the superstructures over the hold, to say nothing of
an immense number of odds and ends, such as a huge pair
of bellows, a spare crow's-nest, a great tool-chest, etc.
But aft it was even worse — w1-«at with a stack of timber
(planks, beams, etc.), a number of large beer-barrels (a
steadily diminishing number, it must be admitted), the
huge spare rudder and spare propeller, several parts of the
great windmill for generating electricity when the coal is
exhausted, capacious tanks for petroleum and gas oil, one
of the boats, and finally, under the bridge, a whole jDile of
dried fish to feed the dogs who were to be taken on board
at Yugor Strait.

Around the wheel, however, was a small open space
built in with deck cargo, where one could actually put

ON /iO.lh'J) Tllli -FRAM"

223

one's foot on the deck and sit cosily sheltered from the
wind. This was the favorite evenint;' rendezvous of those
who had time to spare for a smoke and a chat.

Here we sat this eveninii in the twiliichl, while the
Frani buffeted its way through the seas under the XaAo-
ten-Wall — Hendriksen, Cijertsen, Jacobsen, Christiansen
(one of the Greenland party), and I. The })ipes were in
full blast and the talk in full swinir.

Jacobsen was a Ccij)ital narrator, when you could work
him up to the point, which was not every day. Me had
seen a tji-cat deal of the world between the South Pole
and the North, and had an unusually rich stock of expe-
riences to draw upon. Whether he was recounting his
adventures among the Maories of New Zealand or amonc:
the ice Hoes of Nova Zembla, he always managed to put
an extraordinary amount of life into the situation, and to
transport his hearers into the thick of it. This evening
he was telling the story of his polar-bear hunts, with one
of the Bourbon princes, on Spitzbergen, and he graphi-
cally depicted for us all the manners and customs of the
polar bear, its spirit of inquiry and its clumsy cunning. I
have since read somewhere that at parting the prince pre-
sented him with his own gold watch ; of that he said
nothincj, and I saw nothin<>; of it while I was on board the
Fram.

Polar bears being the topic, first one and then another
contributed something of his own experiences.

" How many bears have you shot, Hendriksen, roughly
speaking } " asks the mate.

Hendriksen was a Balsfjord man ; the shape of his fore-
head, his broad cheek bones, and the whole type of his
physiognomy seemed to indicate that he had Qua:n blood

■I,
'I I

'1 <
\

}

• i
i

•11

I M

{

234

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

' I

^ f

1'i

■ '

fJ^

in his veins. Be this as it may, he was a good-natured
and genial fellow, and one who could put his shoulder to
the wheel to some purpose when strength was needed.
I le had now sailed the Arctic Sea in every direction for
fourteen consecutive seasons, ever since he was nineteen ;

during all these years he had
never felt the heat of summer,
until he had come south for
a short time to help in fitting
out the Fram.

I le was not a man of many
words, but it was easy to see
that he was by no means
yearning to repeat his expe-
rience of the summer tem-
perature. He was one of
those members of the crew
who i^referred to pass the
night in one of the " hotels "
on deck, either in the Grand Hotel or in Gravesen's — so
they had christened the two longboats. It is true that
these b(3ats were deeply padded with all sorts of pack-
ages of furs, so that you could no doubt make yourself
a comfortable enough bed among them, when once you
had wormed your way down through the layers of hand-
sledges, snow-shoes, kaiaks, and other Arctic appliances
which were piled up in these airy hanging hotels a la
Semiramis.

" I 've never kept count of them," answered the giant
evasively.

" I dare say you may put it at fifty at least," said the
mate.

lilall

I.IKUT. JOIIANSEN

(Nanscn's sole companion on liis sledge exjif

dilioii ndcr leaving tlic '' !■ ram ")

ON BOARD THE '' FKAM''

lant

the

"Oil no! perhaps something Hkc forty — white bears,
I mean," lie added, as though a mere wliite bear were
scarcely worth si^eaking about.

" Have any of you shot brown bears then ? " I asked.

" Yes, Mogstad has killed several," replied the mate.
" The first one, he had another man to help him, but that
was when he was only sixteen, hive or six years after-
ward he kept a bear barricaded in his lair for a whole
month, and then let him out, and put a bullet in him as
he ran. Oh, he 's a rare hand at all sorts of things, is
Mogstad — you won't easily find him at a loss."

" But Sverdrup has shot brown bears too ! " remarked
Christiansen, who was now at the wheel and had hitherto
not opened his mouth. He and Sverdrup were both
Bindal men, so he felt he must stand up for his district;
as a rule it was not easy to get a word out of him. He
was evidently suffering agonies of indecision as to
whether he should go on with the ship or not, although
he had declared in advance that he would iro no farther
than Tromso. Not that the Greenland trip liad fright-
ened him off — it was other hindrances that stood in his
way.

Sverdrup had now relieved the pilot, and was pacing
backward and forward on the bridge, with an even, slow
step. The Fram and he are in reality not unlike each
other ; the same indescribable air of solidity and security
breathes around them both. E!ach has a very thick outer
hull, but within all is snu'T and warm and sound. Now
and again he stops beside Nansen, and watches him min-
gling the colors on his paper, but as a rule says nothing
and resumes his walk, casting cjuick searching glances
ahead over the sea.
15

III

I ,

•1 ji:

< II

iijii.iiii

226

NAiVSJiN JN THE FROZEN WORLD

i.
%

ft*"'
M

1%:

Whoever has seen Sverdrup on board the Fram knows
well that he is the right man in the right place. The
Pram is no luxurious pleasure-yacht, nor is Sverdrup a
model of courtly elegance — but you may be sure that

Afloat "twixt sky and sea,
The first of men is lie.

About the wheel the talk went merril)-, undisturbed by
wind or weather. The waves kept on gurgling up into
the rudder hole, which, besides fulfilling its original i)ur-
pose, served as a gigantic sj^ittoon. Now and again an
extra puff of wind would come, and the rigging would
creak as the sails tightened ; while the throb of the pis-
tons in the engine-room sujjplied a monotonous accom-
paniment. Behind the pile of planks and the boat which
shut us off from the bulwarks, we could hear Kvik, the
Greenland dog, snoring and growling in his sleep, keep-
ing up a sort of murmur of contentment, now and then
interrupted by a short bark.

"That confounded cur!" said die mate. "What do you
think he 's done to-day .f* Eaten up the soles of a pair of
bran new slippers that Amundsen had got from his wife."

Kvik was everybody's favorite on board ; but he had an
unfortunate habit of devouring whatever he came across
in the way of leather or skins, without the smallest re-
spect of persons. Field-glass straps and shoe-soles, port-
manteaus and portfolios, everything that was made of an
animal's skin was for him a dainty scarcely to be resisted,
diough he knew that indulgence would be followed by a
beating. After all, he had to lay in strength for the
voyage. Young as he was, he had seen more of the
w^orld than most dogs or men, having travelled from East
Greenland to Copenhagen with the Ryder Expedition,

ON BOARD THE " FKAM"

2-'7

then from Copenhai^cn to Lysaker; and now he was on
his way from Lysaker to the Polar Sea.

" Amundsen is married, is he ? " I asked.

" Why, of course lie is ! He 's the most married of the
whole lot of us. He has a wife and six children. It's
a wonder he can leave such a lot at home for so long
a time."

" Has he been north before } "

" Yes, he was out sealing with the Dia7ia one season,
and then last year he went to the Yenisei with a cargo
from Shields. Oh yes, he s quite at home in the high
latitudes, he is."

" Juell, the steward, is he married too .'^ "

" Why of course he is — married and has children," said
Gjertsen. " That fine figure of a woman you saw on
board on the way from Christiania to Morten, \o\\ know

— that 's his wife. She s been a lot about with him, too.
A few years ago she went with him right to the Gold
Coast, and when they were going ashore, Juell thought he
should never see his wife aoain — for all of a sudden the
boatmen, the niggers you know, as naked as my hand,
took and seized her in their arms and jumj^ed into the
water with her. Juell believed he 'd seen the last of her;
for you know, she 's uncommonly plump and appetizing,
and he thought no doubt they were cannibals, these
fellows."

" Then a great many of you are married ? " I said.

" Oh yes, we 've almost all got some one to leave be-
hind," answered Hendriksen. " Amundsen heads the list,
he does, for he has five or six children ; then Nordal has
five, Juell and I have four apiece, and then — let me see

— Petterson has two I think, and "

'■^ I'll

lit \M
W

'ill!

228

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

I. If / t:

k3 ^-^^ I

i '■■'

" And Nanscn and I have one apiece," added the mate.

My th.oughts flew back to little Liv, and 1 turned my
head and saw him still sitting up there upon the bridge,
busy with his painting, as though he had never in his life
done anything else. He had taken off his ca]) in order
to see better, and was shading the i)icture with his arm
or looking through the hollow of his hand to get a con-
centrated impression of the color. Mis bust stood out
boldly, the massive head with the short-clii)ped hair show-
ing in sharp outline against the indescribably pure and
clear colors of the evening sky. Were his thoughts bent
on his distant goal, or were they at home with little Liv
in her cradle 1

The evening air began to grow chill, so I rose to go
below and get hold of my greatcoat. As before men-
tioned, it was no easy matter to make your way about on
the deck of the Fraiu ; so I remarked jokingly, " One
would need cither four legs or a pair of wings to get
about among all this litter."

" You should do as Johansen did," answered the mate.
" He walked on his hands the other da) up the steps from
the fo'c'sle, across the whole of the forward deck, uj) the
steps to the after deck, and <;lown the companion into the
cabin : and I 'ni bothered if he was even red in the face
when he put his feet down again upon the floor of the
saloon."

" Oh, that 's nothing for Johansen, he 's the first gym-
nast in Norway," remarked Gjertsen. " In Paris, he
made a clean somersault over forty-two men, so that the
Frenchmen thought there would be nothing but a wet
spot left when he came down. But he fell on his feet,
as right as possible. He got a gold medal for that, too ! "

■' 'I

ON HOARD THE " FRAM

229

.-et

late.

trom

the

face
the

rym-

S he
the
wet

feet,

o !

"Amundsen is not bad at that sort of thing, either, you
know. What do you think he did the otlier day down at
Rorvik, while we were loading all that beastly coal ? I Ic
was up in the main-top and wanted to come down to the
deck, forward. Confound me if he did n't slide down the
stay from the main-top to the fore-top, holding on by his
hands alone all the way ! There is n't another man on
board could have done it ; but Amundsen's fists are as
hard as shoe leather, and no mistake. And then, of
course, he 's a bit lighter than I am, for example," said
Gjertsen.

I, unable to emulate either of these feats, made my way
as well as I could over the obstacles that bestrewed the
after deck, past the chart-room, in the oj^en doorway of
which several powder-casks were piled up drying, and
down the cabin companion — a journey which, if it did
not require a gymnast of the first rank, was certainly not
to be recommended to a gouty subject or a fat man.

The cabin steps went right past the galley, where Juell
was at that moment deep in his culinary occupations.
A tempting smell of cooking greeted my nostrils, and I
looked in for a moment to warm myself a little and have
a chat.

Juell stood in his shirt-sleeves busy at his work, the
perspiration pouring down his high forehead, and his heavy
mustaches drooping like a bridle from the corners of his
mouth.

" Nice and warm here, Juell," said I.

" Warm ! I should think it was ! When all the pots are
boiling for dinner I believe the devil himself would singe
his nose if he poked it in here. It 's the hardest job I 've
ever had in my life. I 've made many a voyage in my

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NANSEX IN THE FROZEN WORLD

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day, but this is the first time I 've sliipi)ccl as cook, and if
I come safe and sound hack attain, it shall he the last
time ! Take my advice, Professor, and never be a cook,
whatever you are."

" No, no, Juell — \vc can't all be tailors, you know. I

don't suppose I 'm in
much dant;er of re-
ceiving an aj)])oint-
ment as chef. But
when you come home
again, Juell, I hope I
shall be able to give
yo ' a dinner and say
tak for sidst} and
thank you for all
the good dinners on
board the Fram.''

" Thanks for the

invitation," answered

Juell. " But it won't be for some time yet, I 'm afraid. If

only Peik here will hold out till we come back, I dare say

it won't be such a bad trip after all."

" Peik " was the popular name for an insulated cooking-
apparatus, of Finne's invention, a great contrivance which
held the warmth very long. Nansen took a lively interest
in it, and several times, while I was on board, assisted at
the cooking of the dinner, in order to familiarize himself
with the working of Peik. And Peik cooked many excel-
lent things. The fare on board the Fram, in spite of Juell's
apologies for his deficiencies as a culinary artist, was really
capital and not at all monotonous. The menu generally

* " Thanks for our last meeting " — a common form of salutation.

Kl rciIKN OV WW. '• IK'AM

ON HOARD THIi '' IRAM"

a3i

consisted of soup or fish, and a dish of meat, with half a
bottle of beer a head, so long as the beer lasted. I re-
nieniber, for instance, tiiat the first dinner I ate on board
consisted of tinned fish-i)uddin<;s from Stavanger, tinned
rabbit from Australia, and wild ducks whicli Nansen had
shot on the way. A great variety of (ierman preserved
vegetables were used in the soups, and American cran-
berry jam was often served with the meat. The provision-
ing of the ship, like all the rest of its equipment, was most
carefully thought out in all its details. There was a j)ar-
ticularly large sujjply of vegetables and of fatty matter,
so that, so long as it stuck to the Fram, the expedition
should not suffer from " fat-hunger," as the Greenland
explorers had sulYered. There were no less than 13,000
lbs. of butter on board, one third of it the best Danish
butter, and the rest superfine margarine, a present from
Pellerin & Co. While I was on board we ate nothins: but
this margarine ; it was of such excellent quality that I do
not think any one would have taken it for artificial butter,
unless he had been told.

On the whole, the ship was lavishly provisioned ; you
could scarcely name a thing that was not in su ck, and
generally in considerable quantities. One thing, however,
was entirely absent, and that was alcohol — for drink-
ing, that is to say. The spirits for preserving " speci-
mens " would scarcely come under the heading of com-
missariat.

A passing steamer in Trondhjem Fjord had thrown us a
bottle of port wine, bidding us drink it at the North Pole.
This was — with the exception of the beer, which was
calculated to last for a couple of months — all the drink-
able alcohol on board. " You must lay in one or two

232

A'AXSEN /X THE FROZEN WORLD

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bottles of cliampamK' in Troniso, Nanscn," I said one clay
in a joke, " to drink a shaal for Gamle Nor<^e, when you
hoist your fla^" on the axis of the earth." " I was think-
in<^ of snuigj^ling on board one or two bottles of brandy
for Christmas live," he answered; "but you need n't speak
about it to the men." The doctor afterwards swore mc
to secrecy, and told me that he, too, intended to smu<;gle
a bottle or so on board at Tromso.

I can sec in my mind's eye the saloon on Christmas
Eve, with the steaming toddy on the table. If I know
Nansen aright, the dose for each man will be of the
honid'opathic order. How clearly it stands forth in my
memory, that cosey little low-roofed cabin, with the small
state-rooms around it !

" Saloon " is a misleading word to use. The Frams
saloon was little more than a cot. But the thought of the
hiufh endeavor to which it was dedicated made it seem
loftier and more spacious than the most majestic hall. In
itself, too, it was a cosey little retreat, exceedingly pleasant
to creep down into when it was too raw and cold and wet
to remain on deck.

On the front wall of the saloon, between the two
entrance doors, was placed a long sofa with high end-
posts carved into dragons' heads. It was covered with a
heavy rug of bright Norwegian colors. In front of it
stood the long narrow dining-table ; by making ourselves
as small as possible, we could all (except those on watch)
sit down to it at once. The table-service was the same
for all dishes ; an enamelled tin plate and a big enamelled
cup.

Over the middle of the sofa hung, in a frame, an ad-

ON JIO.IKD THE '' J'RAM'

niinibly i)aintccl design for tapestry, by (ierhard Muiithe,
rejiresentiiiii; three fairy-tale princesses surj)rise(l l)\- three
I)rinces transformed into bears. To the left of this little
masterpiece hunjjj a woodland scene by I'^ilit l*eterssen,
and on the ri-^ht a delicate sketch in colored chalks by
Skredsvig, representing the point and landing-stage at

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SALOON UN rilK " KKAM '

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Nanscn's home at Lysaker, with, under it, a study from
Ja,'dercn by Kitty Kielland.

Against the riijht hand wall stood an harmonium made
by Nystrom & Co., of Karlstad. It was arranged so that
it could be played either by means of the keys like a
piano, or with a handle, like a barrel-organ, the tune being
determined by a strip of perforated paper. Its repertory
consisted of over a hundred pieces, from the minuet in
Don Giovanni and airs from Dcr Frcischutz, down to the
commonest dance tunes. As an institution, however, it
did not seem to be particularly popular ; at any rate there
was a unanimous movement on board for buying a con-
certina in Tromso, and great expectations were abroad as

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234

NANSEN IN THE EKOZEN WORLD

to what Mogstad would do with his violin when he joined
the ship.

Over the harmonium hung a picture by llansteen, and
between the door of Scott Hansen's comfortable and taste-
fully arranged cabin and the back wall of *' > saloon hung
a little woodland sketch, also by Ilansteei Jiile over the
stove (a petroleum pipe-stove made by niunck. whicli
served at the same time as a ventilating ajiparatus), in the
middle of the back wall, hung a third painting, a study of
birch-stems, by the same artist.

On the left wall, between the entrance to Dr. Hlessing's
and Sverdrui)'s cabins, was fixed a stand with seven Krag-
Jorgensen carbines. These, however, were only a small
portion of the ship's armament, which consisted in all of
no fewer than thirty-two rifles and twent^'-four revolvers,
all of the best quality, to say nothing of ^ cannons, and
a great store of ammunition.

Above the stand of guns hung another charming pic-
ture by Skredsvig — the fir-trees in front of Nansen's
house, a winter landscape with snow.

A little way from the table, the great mast divided the
saloon into two parts. It was surrounded by a quite nar-
row upholstered seat, which, however, was seldom used.
Loose stools were scattered about the cabin.

Light was supplied at night by several incandescent
electric lamps over the sofa. The great arc lamp was not
used while I was on board.

One other detail must not be omitted : the Norwegian
lion on a red background in the skylight over the stove.

Such w^as the saloon of the Fram. The roof was so low
that Gjertsen, Hendriksen, and Juell could touch it with
their hats, and so narrow that at scarcely any part of it

ON noAKP tiH'. '^ i-kam''

335

could two couples pass cacli other without turniug side-
ways.

1 low every httic detail between these low walls has fixed
itself in my memory, from the half-frii^htened, half-curious
expression on the faces of Munthe's princesses, to the
check rui^ on the sofa seat, which, however, Nan^en used to
turn wront; side up every day, for he found that the many
jiairs of coal-dusty and tarry trousers left too obvious traces
on the pattern, and were already bcL^inning to soften the
gay colors rather too much. " It s got to last till we come
back again," said Nansen, " so we must be si)aring of our
splendors."

In the saloon I found the su])per-table still s|)read, al-
though it was already pretty late. The engineers who
had been on duty had come up to have supjier and draw
a breath of fresh air, which they had well earned ; for the
stoke-hole of the Fram, a paradise no doubt in the polar
winter so long as the coal lasts, must in these more south-
erly latitudes and in summer b.av^ seemed very much the
reverse.

There they sat, then, the two athletes aforesaid, Engi-
neer Amundsen and Lieutenant and Stoker Johansen,
enjoying their rest and their supper. Presently in came
Scott Hansen and Dr. Blessing, and we got a warm cup
of tea from the steward and attacked the supper manfully
— I, indeed, for the second time.

I knew that I should probably eat only one more supper
on board the Fram, and recollections streamed in upon
me of my days on board, which had passed so quickly,
along with many a thought of the days that were as yet
hidden in the mists of the future. In the mean time, the
supper and the talk went on as usual, Juell going back-

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236

JV^JVS£JV IN THE FROZEN WORLD

ward and forward and assisting in both. The talk ran
on all sorts of topics, but of course chiefly on the J'ram
and everything connected with her. Now the petroleum
launch was the theme — one held that it was a wretched
affair altogether, that it was quite impossible to keep it
clean, and that after you had used it once, it took half a
day to make it fit for use again, while another defended
it and maintained that, with its great spe, d, it would be
invaluable for reconnaissances, etc. Then some one de-
scribed what a sharp look-out you had to keep among the
open lanes in the ice, how it felt to get into an Arctic fog,
and so forth.

I was to take no part in all this, so felt myself rather
outside the conversation. I turned to the doctor and
said, " Tak foi' maden} doctor. It will probably be a long
time before you and I have supper together again on
board the Frani^

" Two summers, I expect," said the doctor, with his
usual cheery confidence.

" If you have good luck, perhaps you '11 be back next
autumn," said I.

" That would be the devil's own luck," was the answer.

" No luck at all," Amundsen put in. " If anything
worth while is to come of the trip, we must be away two
years at the very least."

A hearty burst of laughter greeted Amundsen's frank
prognostication. His view of the matter was undeniably
both a stoical and a practical one.

After supper I went into my cabin to rest a little and
get out my overcoat before going on deck again. Nan-
sen had given up his ow^n cabin to me, and slept in

^ " Thanks for the food ! " — a formula always used at the end of a meal.

ON BOARD THE '' FRAM''

=37

the deck-house while I was on board. Tlie door to liis
cabin was on tlie right, well forward in the saloon, and,
like all the doors in the Fram, was immensely solid, with
a high thresh(jld. None of the cabins had any sort of
window (the sides of the shij) were twenty-four inches
thick), and when the door was closed the only means of
ventilation was a couple of snuJl holes in the door itself.
It was of course pitch dark, too, unless the incandescent
lamps, with which each cabin was provided, were lighted.
When you entered the cabin and turned the knob for

I ■

NANSEN'S STIDY ON THE " FRA.M."

the electric light, the first dv'ng it shone upon was an ad-
mirable drawing by Werenskjold : " Eva with little Liv in
her lap." Thus all that was dearest in the world con-
fronted him the moment he put his head in at the cabjn
door. I well remember one morning when he came to
fetch something before I had got up. He turned the but-
ton while still in the doorway and began to chat with me ;

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238

JVAA'SEJV IN THE FROZE A' WORLD

but I saw where his eyes fell, and where his thoughts
were.

Under the pieture was a bench, a sofa by day, a bed by
night. Here were no soft spring mattresses, only a stuffed
pallet with a pair of warm blankets and a single very
meagre pillow. But how sound one could sleep on this
simple couch — that is to say, when the Fravi was not
rolling so as to land one on the floor every now and then.

For the Fram could roll, at any rate before the cargo
was shifted in the Nairosund.

Scott Hansen declared that she had described an angle
of forty-six degrees in a heavy sea off Lister. It must
liave been an uncomfortable night ; the ^\hole forward
deck was deep in water, i-o that the deck cargo was wash-
ing about from one side to the other, and at last there was
nothing for it but to throw overboard a number of parafifin
barrels. Fortunately they were only empty barrels in-
tended for preser\'ing the skins of bears, seals, walruses,
and other game ; and there were plenty of them left.
Even while I was on board the Fram, she rolled a good
deal one night, although it was not blowing particularly-
hard, and the sea did not run very high — indeed, there
was only a long swell. In crossing the Vestfjord, on the
other hand, when it was blowing quite fresh, the ship was
as steady as a rock the moment she w^as under full sail.
She was, indeed, a strange, a uniciue vessel. Sverdrup,
who, as a rule, said little enough, could not help now and
then giving expression to his affectionate surprise in a
subdued " She 's a rare little craft, and no mistake ! "

But to return to Nansen's cabin. On one side of the
end wall was a cupboard containing the cash-box, papers,
diaries, etc., the key of which was in Nansen's own keep-

\\ 11

ON BOARD THE '' FRAM'

239

ing ; on the other side, near the head of the bed or sofa,
was a bookcase with a rich selection of Hterature of many
kinds. Numbers of books had been presented to the
Fram by Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish j^ubHshers and
others. The tolerably extensive library thus formed was
always at the disposal of the crew. Besides, the dt)ctor
had his own medical library in his cabin, and Scott
Hansen kept a collection of books, mainly meteorological
and astronomical, alonii: \vith the charts in the chart-room.
But Nansen had picked out for his own use a number of
books which he kept in his cabin. They were for the
most j^art, of course, geographical, geological, zoological,
and other scientific works, but with a fair sprinkling of
imaginative literature and philosophy. Ibsen and Bjorn-
son, Vinje, Jonas Lie, Runeberg, and others were repre-
sented, some of them by their complete works ; and here
too were Tennyson, Keats, Byron, Frauenstedt's Schopen-
hauer, etc. — in short, an ample stock of reading even for
the long night of the polar winter.

When I entered on my short occupation of the cabin,
the greater part of these books lay in a chaos on the floor,
along with all sorts of other things ; so I took it upon my-
self to arrange them according to subjects in the bookcase,
and I made free use of this library while I was on board.
This evening, for instance, when I lay down on the sofa
after supper, I oj^ened the first book that came to hand,
and found it to be Nansen's " How can the North Polar
Region be Crossed } " — containing his lecture before the
Royal Geographical Society, and all the objections of the
celebrated F2nglish sailors. It was the first time I had
seen it. It made a peculiar and moving impression upon
me as I read it here in Nansen's own cabin.

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240

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

Wlien I had done, I felt I must go up and sec liim.
Until that moment 1 had not quite grasped and realized
the significance of his enterprise. He himself was always
so easy and unpretending, and on board the Fram every-
thing took its daily course with such a total absence of
solemnity, that I had, as it were, lost the sensation of
there being anything unusual in this voyage. To cross
Greenland, to start for the North Pole, to go to the end
of the world, seemed no more to these men than a trip
down Christiania Fjord to the ordinary mortal.

I could hear Juell's quick tongue, in the saloon, supply-
ing a running commentary to one of the doctor's stories ;
on the deck some one was rumbling a beer-barrel along;
the piston kept up its regular throb, and the propeller its
vibration, while the Fram clove its way foot by foot
through the sea, slowl)- but surely — as though driven by
some natural law ever onward and onward toward the
unknown t>oal.

Nansen had lent me a camel's-fur jacket while I was on
board; it was so cosey and warm that it seemed to put my
skin into a positive glow when I had it on. Thank
Heaven, I thought, he need certainly neither starve nor
freeze so lonij as the Fram holds tof 'ether.

But if the Fram should be crushed, as one of the Eng-
lish admirals prophesied ?

" Then we '11 take to our longboat," Nansen had
answered.

" The boats are too big and heavy," another admiral
had objected.

" We have five or six smaller boats with us," was Nan-
sen's reply, " and if the worst comes to the worst, we '11
get along on an ice floe ; I 've done it before."

li'.i

ON BOARD THE 'FRAM"

241

Yes, I felt I must see him and express my affection
for him in the little time we could still be together. Up
the companion, past the steaming galley, out into the free
air of heaven !

There the Fram lay, heaving gently in the full glory of
the summer night. We had at last drawn near the peaks
of Hammero, so that we could see their green-clad base.
Before us stretched all the moui: tains of the mainland,
those nearest bathed in a splendid purple glow, while far-
ther ahead they passed through all gradations of subdued
color from tender violet to deep gray, right down to the
edge of the crisp blue-black sea.

It was strangely still. Not a soul was to be seen on
the deck, forward, and when I looked aft, to the south-
ward, I saw nothing but sky and sea. The solemn silence
of the summer night took such hold on my mind that
I remained leaning on the bulwarks for a long time,
watching the plash of the waves against the ship's side,
before I went up to him.

There suddenly flashed upon me the recollection of a lit-
tle ragged urchin whom I had seen a few days before on the
beach near Trondhjem while I was waiting for the Fram.
He was going barefoot in the sand, dirty and unkempt,
but beaming with health and contentment, and singing at
the top of his voice, " Jeg gaar i fare, hvor jeg gaar ! " ^

Then the thought of my own confirmation came upon
me, when I sat in the church and shouted with all the
rest, " Jeg gaar i fare, hvor jeg gaar ! " and heard the
mighty organ-harmonies throbbing under the vaulted roof
as though they indeed represented the wrath of the Lord.

* " I go in danger wherever I go '' — the first line of a hymn.
16

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242

NANS EN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

Some one came along the deck wliistling a merry tune;
it was the light-liearted Petterson, stripped to tlie waist in
the chill evening wind, carrying a basin and a towel and
preparing to wash the grime of the engine-room off his
face and body. He had been in the Polar Sea before, on
board the Ilcrtha, so that he was at home in these waters.
What a splendidly modelled back! How fine the play of
the muscles in his arms! Yes, indeed, such frames as
this seemed built for a tussle with the darkness and the
fog and the cold and the ice. His whole jjersonality was
set to a very different air from that whicli was running in
my head. Every line of it seemed to sing : —

" \'itr glad naar farcn vcicr
livur cvnc, som du cicr ! " ^

and from all his con" rades around, from the man who
stood at the helm, from those who were stoking the
furnace, from all who now lay slee])ing in their bunks,
it seemed as thou'jfh the third line came chiminc: in tri-
umphantly : —

" Og desto storrc suicr ! "' -

I could delay no longer, I must go up to Nansen. I
clambered over boxes and boards, wornied my way be-
tween barrels and stacks of dried fish, and finally, in
spite of all obstacles, managed to haul myself up on the
bridc^e.

There he still sat in his thin silk waterproof, as he had
sat hour after hour, defying the wind. When he saw me
he rose and nodded, and said, as thougli apologizing for
having been so absorbed in his painting : —

" I 've just finished ! " And then, without a pause,

* " Rejoice when danger puts to the test every faculty you possess."
2 " And so much greater the victory."

ON BOARD Tirii '' J'A'AM"

243

se,

" Have you ever seen such a lovely evening ? We re
lucky in our weather, and no mistake."

"It's a beautiful country, this of ours," I said. "You
must make haste and come home, and have a better look
at it! — And now let me -^ee your works oi art."

"I have a whole bundle here," he answered. "You
shall have the lot of them to take to Eva."

Ah, yes — that was why he had been so busy.

" I 've been down below, readiniij," I went on, " and I got
hold of that English i)am|)hlet of yours with the plan of
your expedition. You did n't get much encouragement
out of them, in London."

"Oh, they didn't treat me at all badly — and there
was n't really anything to discourage one in what they
said. It was just the same when I was starting for Green-
land, you know; and that, to my mind, was really a more
ticklish business than this. Mere, thank goodness, we 've
got everything we can possibly want, and I hope we shall
neither starve nor freeze." He looked in my face with a
frank smile and said slowly and emphatically : " Boasting
apart, no ship has ever been equipped for an Arctic voy-
age as this one is."

Then he bundled up his painting things, and we went
below.

Two days later, on the evening of July 12, wc parted
at Tromso. It had rained and snowed alternately all day
long, and from the top of Tromsdal Peak, right down to
the gardens along the fjord, an inch-thick sheet of new-
fallen snow lay over the green leaves and the fresh grass.
An icy north wind was blow'ing, so that the fjord seemed
to reek beneath it, and you could see the squalls sweeping
over the water.

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244

NANS EN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

Nanscn and I had been afoot all day making purchases.
Moreover, we had been studying geology in Tromso Mu-
seum, had had a glass of wine at Mack's, and had, for the
rest, put in our time usefully and agreeably.

I had been aboard the Fram in the afternoon to say

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COLIN ARCHER, THK KUII.DF.K OK THE " KRAM "

good-by, and had poked my nose into every hole and
corner to fix my impressions firmly in my memory. On
board I found Mogstad, who had now joined the ship, and
was to replace Gjertsen and Christiansen. He impressed
me as a fine, active, fearless fellow, and was doubtless a
valuable addition to the crew.

V ' ''

OjY hoard the '' FRAM"

245

While I was busy |)ackinuj my portmanteau, Nansen
came down with the water-colors and pastels, the products
of the northward voyage, wliich I had jiromised to take
to his wife. He had placed them within the leaves of
Nordenskjold's great facsimile atlas, and remarked as he
gave me the jxarcel : " You 'd better take Nordenskjcild's
book with you ; it 's so costly and valuable, it would be a
great pity to lose it if the luck should go against us, and
we should have to leave the Fram behind."

He said this with as much nonchalance as if he had
been speaking of leaving behind an old overcoat, or a
worn-out pair of boots.

" You must see and bring the Fraiii home with you," I
said.

" Oh, you may be sure we won't leave the vessel until
we can't do anything else ; but of course the ice might be
so bad that we could n't get her through, and then it would
be annoying to have to lose more than necessary."

That evening Nansen and Sverdrup accompanied me
on board the Vcstcraalen, and had a glass of hot toddy by
way of stirrup cup.

A last hearty embrace, and good-by. " My love to your
wife ! And be sure and give my love to Eva and Liv and
all at home ! "

" Promise me you '11 take care of yourself, and not be
too reckless — and a safe return to both you and the
Fram ! And God bless you, my dear friend ! "

The steamer's bell rinu:s for the last time. At midni<rht
precisely the Vcsteraale^i starts for the south. I see Nan-
sen and Sverdrup standing erect, side by side, in the stern
boat of the Fram. For a moment more I can distinguish
Nansen's light waterproof; then the two figures seem to

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246

NANS EN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

melt into one bcliind the veil of snow, thick as in mid-
winter, which is sweeping over the sound. One last
glimpse of the Fram through the mist, and all is over.
When shall I see him again ?

Till'. "IKAM" I.KAVING ItKKCKN, NORWAY, KOR THE ARCTIC REC.IONS

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AS TOLD liY HIMSELF

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cii;\i''ii:r XIII

INTKODUCTION

As soon as ever I bejjjan to think about Arctic enterprise
it struck me that the ways in which atteni|)ts had iiitherto
been made to penetrate into the mysteries of the pohir
regions were hardly the best. It was clear that the con-
stantly moving sea-ice which comes drifting from the noith
has been the great hindrance which has stopped the ships
and often crushed them, as well as has made progress by
means of dogs and sledges such a difficult task. It oc-
curred to me, however, that there must be other ways by
which the interior of these unknown rej^ions mi<jfht be
reached, and it is many years since I first conceived the
plan of the voyage we have now accomjjlished.

It was especially the finding of some articles from the
unfortunate y<?rt'«//<;'//t' expedition which led me in iS<S4 to
think of this plan. These articles were found, as is well
known, on the southwest coast of Greenland, and could
not, in my opinion, have come there from the sea north-
east of the New Siberian Islands, where the Jeannette
went down, in any other way than right across the Polar
Sea north of Franz Josef Land ; and it struck me that if
objects from a ship could drift this way, a ship too might
go the same route, provided she was strong enough to
withstand the pressure of the ice.

I then began to study these seas carefully, and turned
my attention especially to the ice and its drift ; but the

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NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORJ.D

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more I studied the subject, the more proofs I obtained
of a constant communication between the sea north of
Siberia and that on the east coast of Greenland, and I
was fully convinced that there was a constant drift or
drift current which carried the drift ice in a fixed course
right across the sea around the North Pole from the Si-
berian and Bering Strait side, out into the sea between
Spitzbergen and Greenland. And so certain was my con-
viction of the correctness of this theory, that I was equally
certain that an expedition which, with a specially adapted
vessel, pushed into the ice and allowed itself to be frozen
in at the right spot on the Siberian side, must necessarily
drift tiie same wa)-, and thus be enabled to lift, to some
extent, the veil which is drawn across these regions. In
my lecture delivered before the Royal Geographical So-
ciety in November, 1892, and published in the "Geograjih-
ical Journal " for 1896, I unfolded my plan and the views
upon which it was based.

The proofs upon which I v^hiefly based my theory of a
drift across the Polar Sea were, as before mentioned: —

(1) The continual conveyance of Siberian drift wood to
the Greenland coast.

(2) The finding on the coast of Greenland of a throw-
ing-stick (an Plskimo implement), of which it might with
certainty be affirmed that it came from Alaska by the
Berina: Strait ; and

(3) The very nature of the ice that comes drifting south
along the coast of Kast Greenland, and which is consider-
ably larger and more massive than any drift ice we know,
and may therefore safely be said to have drifted a long
time in the sea before it could be packed together and
piled up to form such enormous masses.

.! i !

INTRODUCTION

251

One proof to wliich at that time I attached consid-
erable value, and which, after investigating the circuni-
stances more closely, I consider to be of still greater im-
portance, was that all over the ice which comes drifting
southward along the east coast of Cireenland, down
through the strait between Iceland and Greenland, I found
brown dust and mud. This, I concluded, could not come
from any other place than Siberia, During my Green-
land expedition in 1888, however, 1 collected some sam-
ples of this dust, which I got the geologist Fornebohm to
examine. Without knowing my views — simply from
microscopical examination of this dust — he gave it as his
opinion that it had probably come from an extensive
alluvial country, and therefore considered Siberia to be its
probable source. Besides mineral dust, however, he found
in these sam.ples microscopical plants, which are known
by the name of diatoms, and he therefore sent the sam-
ples to Professor Cleve, the great author'ty on the sub-
ject. Cleve now found a striking conformity between the
diatoms in my samples and those in a sample which had
been casually gathered during the Swedish Vega expe-
dition on a floe off Cape Wankarema, in the neighbor-
hood of Bering Strait. These diatom samjiles from two
places lying at such a distance from one another are
totally different from all other samples hitherto examined
from different parts of the world. Mutually, however,
they are so exactly alike that Cleve did not hesitate in
expressing it as his opinion that there must be an open
communication between the sea north of Berin"; Strait
and that east of Greenland. By investigating this more
closely during the expedition, I found a whole world of
diatoms and other microscopical organisms, both vege-

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NANSKN IN THE FROZEN WORJ.D

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table and animal, living in the frush-watcr pools on the
polar drift ice, and constantly travelling from Siberia to
the east coast of Greenland, — a world which has hitherto
only been known from the above-mentioned samples, but
which, perhaj)s, no one dreamed was living on the ice in
the far north — that ice which was thought to be utterly
forsaken by all living beings.

After having brought forward in my lecture the various
proofs of the correctness of my theories, I summed up in
the following words : —

From all these facts we seem fully entitled to draw the
conclusion that a current is constantly running across
the polar region to the north of Franz Josef Land from
the sea north of Siberia and Bering Strait, and into the
sea between Spitzbergen and Greenland; and as we have
seen, the floe ice is constantly travelling with this current
in a fixed route between these seas. Since such is the
case, the most natural way of crossing the unknown region
must be to take a ticket with this ice, and enter the cur-
rent on the side where it runs northward — that is, some-
where near the New Siberian Islands — and let it carry
one straight across those latitudes which it has prevented
so many from reaching.

As was emphasized in this lecture, it was not, of course,
the object of the expedition to reach the North Pole, but
to go right across the unknown! polar region. As I then
said (" Geographical Journal," p. 20), it is not possible to
guarantee exactly over what point the current will take
one. " It may be possible," I say, " that the current will
not carry us exactly across the Pole, but the principal
thing is to explore the unknown polar regions, not to
reach exactly the mathematical point in which the axis
of our globe has its northern termination."

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M^XSJ^.Y IN THE FROZEN WORLD

To attain tlii>, it was clear to nie that there were only
two ways of proceeding ; it was either —

(i) To build a strong ship, so constructed that it can
withstand the pressure of the ice, and, living in this ship,
to float across with the ice ; or

(2) To take only boats along, and camp on an ice floe,
and live there while lloating across.

My j)lan was especially based on the former of these
two ways, but also in such a manner that we were pre-
pared to take the second way in case our ship should be
overcome by the superior force of the ice.

In order, however, that this should not happen, I gave
all my care to the building of a ship especially fitted for
this object, and I was fortunate enough to find in the
well-known Norwegian naval architect, Mr. Colin Archer,
a man who devoted himself with all the skill and capabil-
ity he possessed to the task I set him. Seldom, if ever,
has a ship been built with more care or greater conscien-
tiousness than that with which Colin Archer built the
Frmn ; but in return he has the satisfaction of having
produced the first ship that has ever passed the Polar
Circle. The Fram fulfilled perfectly, down to the small-
est details, the requirements which I put upon her. It
was not only her great strength and the picked material
of which she was built which enabled her to go through
the exceptionally severe ordeals to which she was sub-
jected, but U was also the unusually good shape, and the
numerous ingenious means by which all dangerous points
were protected, and which were due in a great measure to
Colin Archer's insight. It is therefore to a great extent
owing to him, through the good ship, that the whole expe-
dition, which it was prophesied in advance would be the

INTRODUCTION

hardest and most dangerous that man liad ever yet ven-
tured upon, was a real pleasure or holiday trip, during
which we led so comfortable a life that few could be
more comfortable, even in Old Eingland.

When I delivered my lecture to the Royal Geograjihi-
cal Society, many of the great Arctic authorities who
were present as my true friends, and anxious about the
safety of my companions and myself, strongly dissuaded
me from the attempt. A few of them went so far as to
say that the whole plan was founded on theories which
were far from agreeing with the actual circumstances;
and the general opinion, both in England and elsewhere,
was that either the expedition would never be heard of
again, after having once confided itself to the capricious
polar ice, or it would return without results ; and all
authorities seemed to agree that it was an utter impossi-
bility for a ship to withstand the ice-pack in the unknown
North. The well-known American Arctic traveller. Gen-
eral A. W. Greely, thought it " almost incredible that
the plan advanced by Dr. Nansen should receive encour-
agement or support," and he concludes his article in the
"Forum" with the following words: " Arctic exploration is
sufficiently credited with rashness and danger in its legit-
imate and sanctioned methods, without bearing the bur-
den of Dr. Nansen's illogical scheme of self-destruction."

This, of course, could not shake my faith in the correct-
ness of my plan. The Norwegian Storthing had already,
as soon as I put forward a petition, voted the sum I
required for its realization, while there was no difiicully
in obtaining from private individuals in Norway what
more was required for the expedition. Having, on
account of the expensive construction of the ship, etc.,

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NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

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run short of funds just before starting, I had to ask the
Norwegian Storthing for an extra grant, which was again
given with willing hand.

STATEMENT OF RECEII'TS AND EXPENDITUKES OF THE
" FKAM " EXPEDITION, 1893-1S96

INCOMK

Contribution of the State
(government) ....

H. M. the king and origi-
nal private contributors . 105,000.00

Collected by geographical
society and committee

Interest

Deficit covered by A. Mei-
berg, A. Dick, and F.
Nansen 19,862.50

London Geographical So-
ciety (^300), H. Simon,
Manchester (^100), a
Norwegian at Riga (1000
rubles), and others . . 9,278.62

Crmvni

280,000.00

20.461S.46
9,729.7s

Total cr 444,339.36

(Total about $120,000.00.)

EXl'KNSES

Hire-account (wages) . .
Life insurance premiums

(for the married mem

bers of exp.)
Instruments ace. .
Sliip's ace. . . .
Provision ace. . .
K,xpen.se ace. . .
Outfitting ace. . .

Crmvns
46,440.00

5,361.90

12,978.68

271,927.08

39, 1 72.98
10,612 38
S7,846.3.1

Total cr 444,339.36

(Total about $120,000.00.)

'I (.1 ,.

I.I

CHAPTER XIV

THE VOYAGE OF THE " EKAM

On June 24, 1^93, everything was at ]a.>-t ready, and
the Fram weighed anchor, and stood off down the
Christiania Fjord. On July 21 we stood out to sea from
Vardo, the last Norwegian })ort, and shaped a course for
Nova Zembla. On the way we were stopped by ice for
some days, and did not reach Chabarowa, in the Yugor
Straits, until July 29. Here we took on board thirty-four
Siberian sledge dogs, which Trontheim, a man sent by
Baron Toll, had brought for us from the Ostiaks, in West
Siberia. Here, too, the boiler had to be cleaned, and
various other preparations made before we could proceed.
We were also waiting for a sloop, the Urania, which was
to bring us a cargo of coal ; but her coming was delayed ;
and as we already had a large quantity of coal and time
was short, I decided not to wait.

On one occasion I am afraid that I lowered my repu-
tation for all time to come amonu' the Russians and
Samojedes in these parts. Some of them had been on
board and had seen me stand in the launch (I was en-
gaged in putting the machinery in order), with arms bare
and face full of dirt and o^rease, wearing a woollen shirt
and working hard. After they had gone to shore, they
told Trontheim that he had deceived them in telling
them that I was a fine gentleman. They declared that
I worked like a common laborer on board, and loolicd

'53

NAN^EN IN THE J'KOZKA WOKLD

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worse than a pig. Unfortunately, Tronthcim could not
say anything in my defence; one cannot deny facts.

On the evening of August 3 vvc were ready to start.
My secretary, Christoffersen, who had accompanied us
so far, now took leave of us. Just as we were about to
weigh anchor, however, a fog came on, and we could
hardly see the length of the bowsprit. The fog did not
seem inclined to lift, and I at last decided to start in spite
of it, I myself, with one man, going in front in our little
|)etroleum launch to sound the shallow channels where
we might expect to run aground at any moment. We
got safely out, and next morning stood out of the Yugor
Straits, and entered the dreaded Kara Sea. Here it was
not long before we met with ice, and it almost looked as
if every way was blocked ; but we found an open channel
running eastward along the shore, and followed it as far
as the Kara River. Thence we crossed over to Yalmal,
where, on August 6, we were completely stopped by ice.
We went ashore, and while waiting emi)loyed the time in
botanical and geological expeditions. Upon fixing the
locality, we found, too, that on the map the coast was
j)laccd half a degree too far west. While we lay here, two
Samojedes came on board ; they were hospitably received,
and, having been enriched with biscuits and other Euro-
pean luxuries, left the ship well pleased. They were the
last human being^s we saw.

On August ' 2 the ice at length opened toward the
north sufficiently to allow of our venturing on an attempt
to force our way farther. At the northern point of Yal-
mal, indeed, we were fortunate enough to reach open
water on August 13; but a stiff northeasterly gale com-
pelled us to tack eastward against a heavy sea. This
went on for several weeks.

TJIli VOYAGE OF THE '' EKAM''

259

While beating up one day against a stiff breeze in the
Kara Sea, to the northwest of the mouth of the Yenisei
River, we suddenly discovered land. We could not make
out what this was, as our observations gave our position
as right out at sea. It soon, however, became clear to us
that this was a hitherto unknown island, and we named
it Sverdrup's Island. In the evening we got under the
shore at Port Dickson. It had originally been our inten-
tion to put in here to leave letters for home, which were
to be called for by the English Yenisei Expedition under
Captain Wiggins ; but time was precious, and I therefore
decided to go on without stopping.

During our sail in a northeasterly direction along the
coast of Siberia we were continually discovering new is-
lands, which I shall not dwell upon here. This coast
upon the whole is very different from that represented on
maps. It gave me the impression of being a glaciated
coast, with deep fjords and a marked belt of rocks and
islands outside it, something like the west coast of Nor-
way or Scotland, although of course the mountains were
not so high nor the fjords so marked.

On August 20 we landed on one of Kjcllman's Islands,
where we shot a couple of bears and some reindeer.
Here, as in several places on the Siberian coast, we found
unmistakable traces of a glacial period, which must have
covered Northern Siberia with an inland ice of considera-
ble extent. I found erratic blocks, moraines, and moraine
deposit almost wherever I landed, from Yalmal to the east
of Cape Chelyuskin ; and on this particular island I also
found, in a place which was left bare at low water, unmis-
takable striations. WMien we were about to go on from
this place, we were stopped by storm and a rapid adverse

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NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

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current, which, in these dangerous waters, full of rocks
and shallows, rendered our advance impossible. Not un-
til August 24 did we get clear of them, when we still had
to beat up toward the east, against a strong head wind.
On August 27 we reached Cape Palander, and on the
same nigiit were stopped by unbroken land-ice between
Nordenskjold's Taimyr Island and the Almquist Islands.
We endeavored to break our way through to the north of
the latter, but discovered a neu "^hain of islands stretch-
ing far north. After having at length reached the north-
ern end of these, we were stopped there by densely packed
ice, and were obliged to turn back. There was no pas-
sage to be discovered ; unbroken land-ice lay everywhere
between the islands. We were obliged to wait, prepared
to winter in the same spot where Nordenskjold, as early
as the middle of August, 1878, had found water entirely
free from ice. The storm, however, broke up the ice, and
on September 6 we were able to continue our way; but to
our surprise we came upon land before we were half way
across the Taimyr Gulf, as it is laid down on the map.
This bay is considerably narrower than one would gather
from ordinary maps, and has a different appearance. We
went on in a northerly direction toward Cape Chelyus-
kin, but were stopped on September 7 by close-packed
ice to landward.

On the following day I went on an expedition into the
Chelyuskin Peninsula. I found it to consist for the most
part of extensive clay plains, strewn with huge erratic
blocks of granite, porphyry, and various kinds of rock. I
also found here the opening of a mighty estuary, which
extended far up into the land.

On September 9 we were once more able to push our

THE VOYAGE OF THE '' ERA.\r

261

way northward, discovcrint; still more new islands in the
sea to the west of Cape Chelyuskin, whieh we passed on
September 10. Kast of this cape the thickly i)acked ice
obliged us once more to make a short halt. Masses of
ice lay to the east and south aloni>" the east coast of the
Taimyr Peninsula, so close to the shore that we were
obliued to continue alonsjr it southward as far as to about
the mouth of the Anabara River. On Sej^tember 15 we
were off the Olenek River, where twenty-six first-rate
sledge dogs were awaiting us. These, too, had been pro-
cured by Baron Toll, because the I^last Siberian dogs are
very much better than the West Siberian. It was most
important for me to have these dogs, as I felt that they
might become very useful tons; but the shallow water
and the lateness of the season kept me from going in.
Were we to run. aground here, it might easily cost us
several days' labor to get afloat again, and in the mean
time winter might set in, and we should be imprisoned
for a whole year, even if nothing worse happened. I
considered this was too great a risk to run, and therefore
continued our course toward the New Siberian Islands.

On the night of September 18 we passed the most
westerly of these islands — Bielkov Island. Depots had
been left on Kotelny for the expedition by Baron Toll, in
case of our being obliged to leave the shij) and turn our
steps homeward across Siberia. I would have been glad
to inspect these depots ; but again time compelled us to
continue our way without delay through the o})en water
to the north.

It was not until September 20, in 77° 44' N. lat., that
we were stopped by ice. I should have liked to go
eastward along the edge of the ice for the purpose of

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NANSI'lX IN TIIE I'KO/.liX WORLD

n I

cxaniiniiii;, if possil)!^, tlic mysterious Sannikov Land;
and thence go in the cHreetion of Bennett Island ; but
there was a great deal of iee in this direction, and as pro-
gress would consecjuently he doubtful, I continued in a
northwesterly direction along the edge of the ice. On
vSepteniber 21 we reached the head of a bay in the ice,
whence the ice-edge extended in a southwesterly direc-
tion. Here we could discover no further lead toward
the norl'i, and we therefore, <jn September 22, made fast
to an icjberg in 7.S 50' N. lat. and 133' 37' I*^. long., and
allowed ourselves to be surrounded bv the ice, which was
soon packed closely around the ship.

During the first few days we drifted in a northerly
direction, so that by Sej)tember 29 we had passed the
seventy-ninth |)arallel of latitude. Ho])e was bright, but
before long it was darkened by a north wind, which con-
tinued throughout the autumn, and carried us in a south-
easterly direction. That was a dreary time ; it seemed
as if everything were going against us. On November
S we had come right down as far as 77" 43' N. lat., and
138° 8' 1'^ long.; but then at last we got southerly and
southeasterly winds, and began in earnest to drift in a
northerly and northwesterly direction, just as had been
presupposed, in the plan of the expedition.

As early as October the ice-pressures began to be tre-
mendous, and continued throughout the autumn and
winter. We soon discovered that it was principally due
to the tidal current, and that the ice periodically parted
and packed together again twice in the twenty-four hours.
The pressure, was therefore greatest at the spring tides,
when it would often lift the vessel several feet, only to let
it drop back again into its former position as soon as the

THE VOYAGE OF THE '' IKAM'

s63

THK " IKAM ' I.N TIIK ICK-I'ACK

ice again opened. In the case of any other vessel this
pressure would have been utterly fatal; but the Fravi
surpassed our boldest expectations, and was superior to
all pressure. The ice piled itself up, and crashed against
her sides with a noise like the crack of doom, but in vain.
There was not a sound of the yielding of umbers or wood.

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A'AN.'^EN JN THE FROZEN WORLD

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mx^

The noise of tlie ice criishiriG: ae^ainst her sides often rose
to such a j)itch that \ve could not hear each other speak
as we sat in the saloon. It was particularly awkward for
the card-players, who thus could not hear each other's
declarations.

At first, as \on<i as the crew were unaccustomed to this,
they found the scene so interesting that they remained on
deck to watch it ; but they soon tired of it, and no longer
went uj), however bad tl-.e pressure was. We felt as safe
as in a fortress, and the Fram was a comfortable warm
nest, where nothing was felt of the severity of the polar
w'nter.

The temperature fell rapidly, and continued evenly low
throughout the winter. During many weeks the mer-
cury was frozen. The lowest temperature was 63" below
zero. In spite of this, and although with this temperature
there was often a wind, we felt quite comfortable, during
our oj)en-air excursions, in our good woollen clothing,
with a covering of wind-proof material outside. The
Fram was so well protected against the cold that even in
these low temperatures we had no fire in the saloon until
the New Year.

All the men were in excellent health during the whole
of the ex ledition, and we are all agreed that the Polar
Sea is a healthy place, especially wit!"- such a capital sani-
tarium as the Fram.

The electric light was produced by means of a wind-
mill, and quite fulfilled our expectations. There was not,
however, sufificient wind to allow of our having electric
light all the time, and vre then had to content ourselves
with ordhiary oil lamps.

On the whole, the time passed as pleasantly as possible

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266

NAA'SEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

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on board. Every man was on the best of terms with his
neighbor, and did his duty with a will. Care was of
course taken to provide occupation; but even without this,
time did not hang heavy on our hands. For those who
were not continually occupied in scientific observations
and investigations there was abundant entertainmcTit in a
capital library, games, music, various kinds of work, etc.;
and I think hardly any of us greatly felt the monctony
complained of in all Arctic expeditions. For us who had
charge of the scientific observations there was more work
than we could accomplish. The Fram. in fact consti-
tuted an observatory of the best kind for scientific in-
vestigations of all kinds; and it is therefore scarcely to
be wondered at that we should bring home such abun-
dant and valuable material as few expeditions before us
secured.

Lieutenant Sigurd Scott-Hansen was responsible for
the meteorological, magnetic, and astronomical observa-
tions, which, I venture to say, are exceptionally complete.
Dr. Blessing undertook the greater part of the botanical
investigations and observations of the Aurora Borealis,
and also, of course, his physiological and medical observa-
tions, which are by no means unimportant. In addition
to these, zoological researches were made on board, sound-
ings, determination of the temperature and the salinity of
the sea water, observations of the atmospherical electricity,
and much besides.

In the sea near the Siberian coast and northward to
79° N. lat., I found only very inconsiderable depths — less
than ninety fathoms. A little south of this latitude, how-
ever, the depth increased with astonishing rapidity, and I
found the sea north of that to be between 1,600 and 1,900

\4M

/7(-r:'C.li^r,urst \X

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Mip showing the Projected and Actual Routes of the " Fram," and the Course of the Sledge; Expedition.

268

A^AXSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

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fathoms deep. It therefore seems to me as if the entire
polar basin should be considered as a continuation of the
deep channel which runs northward from the North
Atlantic Ocean between Spitzbergen and Greenland.
This discovery of a deep polar basin overthrows, however,
all earlier theories based upon a shallow Polar Sea. In
the numerous bottom samples brought to the surface in
our soundings I always found a remarkable absence of
organic life, a fact which will probably lead to some alter-
ation of our views with regard to bottom deposits. The
temperature and salinity of the sea also prove to be very
different from the suppositions of most scientific authori-
ties. I found, not far below the cold ice-water covering
the surface of the Polar Sea, a deep layer of warmer and
Salter water, originating probably in the Gulf Stream, its
temperature being as much as one degree above freezing
point. Below this, indeed, the water was somewhat
colder, but yet considerably warmer than is generally
supposed.

The speed at which we drifted was continually chang-
ing, and our course, in consequence, was not a straight
line. Sometimes we drifted forward, but at others we
went back again; and were our course to be marked on a
map as it actually was, it would be such a confusion of
loops and knots that no one would be able to make any-
thing of it. P'rom the accompanying outline map, how-
ever, on which the principal features of our course are
given, a good impression of its direction may be obtained.
As we expected, we drifted most in a northwesterly direc-
tion in the winter and spring, while northerly winds
stopped us in the summer.

By June 18 we had in this way reached 81° 52' N. lat.,

THE VOYAGE OF THE ^' FEAAf"

•69

but prevailing northwest winds again drove us south-
ward, and the whole of that summer we drifted about
in lower latitudes. Not until October 21 did we reach
82° N. lat. in 114" 9' E. long. On the evening of Christ-
mas Day, 1894, 83° was reached in about 105° E. long.,
and a few days later 83° 24' N. lat. — the most northerly
latitude until then reached by man.

On January 4 and 5, 1895, the Frani was subjected to
the greatest j^-essure we experienced. Before we set out
on our expedition the great Arctic authority, Sir Leopold
McClintock, gave it as his opinion that the Fram would
be able to withstand the ice-pressure in the summer, but
that if she were exposed to it in the winter he believed
the probability of her being able to stand the pressure or
raise herself was very slight. Other Arctic authorities
expressed themselves yet more strongly, saying that it
was an impossibility for any ship to stand the ice-pressure
in the winter. Now, however, the Fram was not onl)' to
be exposed to winter pressure, but she was then fast
frozen in ice of over thirty feet in thickness, a fact of
which I had previously ascertained the truth by boring.
Across this ice immense masses of ice came "-liding with
irresistible force against our port side. The pressure was
tremendous. The ice piled itself up above the gunwales,
and high up the rigging, threatening, if not to crush her,
at least to bury her. Scarcely a man on board believed
she could live. The necessar)' provisions, canvas kaiaks,
cooking utensils, fuel, tents, hand-sledges, and ski were all
brought in safety on to the ice. All hands w^re ready to
leave the ship, and no one was allowed to sleep unless
fully clothed.

But the Fram proved to be stronger than our faith in

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270

NANS EN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

her. When the pressure was at its height, and for the
first time her timbers and beams began to creak, she
broke loose, and was slowly lifted up out of the icy berth
in which she had been fast frozen.

It was a triumph. By putting together the very worst
possibilities, I could hardly imagine a more dangerous
position for a vessel, and after that experience I consider
i\\^Fram to be capable of anything. Notwithstanding
the most careful examination, we have not been able to
discover a single crack, a single splinter displaced in her.

After this it became comparatively quiet as regards the
pressures, and we drifted on rapidly in a northerly and
northeasterly direction.

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CHAPTER XV^

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THE GREAT SLEDGE EXPEDITION

As I now thought I could assume with certainty that
the Fram in a short time would reach her hijrhest lati-
tude north of Franz Josef Land, and as early as the
following summer would, as our plan presupposed, be
near the sea north of Spitzbergen, I believed the oppor-
tunity had come to carry out a plan I had for some time
entertained: namely, to examine the sea north of the
Franis course. This could only be done by a sledge ex-
pedition, which could not reckon upon getting back again
to the Frarrt, as the chance of refindinfr a vessel driftintr
in the ice was small. As a journey of this kind might
appear to be fraught with some risk, should unforeseen
hindrances be met with, I felt that I could not take the
responsibility of sending any one else, and therefore de-
cided to go myself, although Luere was no lack on board
of those who were more than desirous of going. I chose
as my companion Lieutenant Joh.aisen, who gladly ac-
cepted the offer of going. The cojnmand of the remain-
der of the expedition on board the Fram I left in Sver-
drup's hands.

I of course felt some hesitation in thus leaving rny
companions and placing the responsibility for their well-
being and safety in the hands of another ; but with the
perfect confidence that I had in Sverdrup's capability as
a leader and power of overcoming difficulties, I had no

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fear of his not bringing all hands safely home, ev'cn
should the worst happen and they have to abandon the
Fram ; an event, however, which I deemed highly im-
probable.

All the winter I had been busy making preparations for
this expedition. 1 had had new strong sledges made on
board specially calculated for being drawn by dogs over
the uneven ice. Next I had made two kaiaks, twelve feet
in length, and so roomy that they could each carry a man
with provisions for four months, as well as some dogs on
the deck. The framework of these was made of bamboo
and covered with canvas. When completed they weighed
about forty pounds each. The provisions, which consisted
exclusively of the best kinds of dried and greatly con-
densed articles of food, — chiefly dried meat, dried fish,
steam-cooked oatmeal, biscuits, butter, etc., etc., — were
stowed away in r.mvas bags of convenient size. We had
constantly driven the dogs to keep them in training for
the journey, and all kinds of experiments had lieen tried
with the tent, sleeping-bag, etc.

It was my intention to leave the Fram as soon as the
dawning polar day would allow of our traversing the
rough drift ice. So on February 26. with six sledges,
twenty-eight dogs, two kaiaks, and provisions for men
and dogs for several months, Johansen and I left the
Fram. However, after four days' toiling with all these
sledges over the rough ice, we saw that, thus heavily
laden, we should not be able to reach our s:oal in ijood
time. The dogs could not on this ice draw as much as
we had expected of them ; and we therefore decided to
return to the ship, in order to reduce the number of our
sledges and the quantity of our provisions, and to wait a
little longer before setting off.

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A'.IA'S/LV /.V rilli IRO/EN WONLD

On March 3, just as wc were approachiiiL;' the J'niiu,
the sun aijpcarucl above the horizon for the (\v>[ tinu; that
spriiiL;-, after the longest polar iii^ht ever experienced by
man. Observations taken on the same chiy showed that
we had reached a hititude of 84"" 4' N.

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DR. NANSKN' AND 1,1 KUTK.NANT Ji >ll ANSKN LKAVINC; THK " KKAM "

A few days were a-i^ain si)ent in preparations. It was
now my j)lan to take witli us only cIol;' i)rovisions for one
month and provisions for the men for a lumdred days,
and with this lis^lit ec|uipment try to pass ([uickly on
over the ice. \W' thus need not set off so early, and
it was not until March 14 that we again said farewell to
our companions, this time in earnest. We had now onl)-
three sledges, on two of which lay our two kaiaks, and
we had the same twenty-eight dogs as before. It was
my hope that as we got farther north we should find
smoother ice, the ice there being older, and its uneven-

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THE GREAT SLEDGE EXrEDlTlON

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ness therefore better covered up by tlie driftinj; snow.
This appeared at first to be the case. We found the ice
tolerably easy to jjjet over, and did some good days'
marches. On March 22 we had already reached .S5 10'
N. lat., and we calculated that we could cover greater and
greater distances as the sledge-loads grew lighter with the
daily consumption of food on the ])art (if both men and
dogs. The dogs, too, a|j|)eared to hold out fairly well.
Hut by and by the Hoes began to be more uneven, and
packed together, and the drift, which until then had
seemed to be slight, was now against us. On March 2s
we had reached <S5° 19' N. lat.; on the 29th, S5 ' 30'.
The ice was obviously drifting southward at a good rate,
while at the same time our jjrogress over the rough ice
was slow. It was a never-ending labor, forcing our way
through and getting the sledges over the high hummocks
and piled-up ridges of ice, which were always being
formed afresh, and which the snow-storm never had time
to smooth over. On such ice the dogs, of course, were of
very little assistance. When they came to obstacles such
as these they waited patiently until we had carried the
sledges safely over, and they could once more draw them
on over a short stretch of level ice to a fresh obstacle.

The ice was in constant movement and thrndering
around us on all sides. On April 3 we were in 85' 59'
N. lat. We pushed on with all our might, always h()])ing
for better ice. On April 4 we reached 86"^ 3' ; but the
ice grew worse, until at last on April 7 it was so bad
that I thought it unadvisable to continue any farther to-
ward the north. If it were like this in the direction of
Franz Josef Land, we might have difficulty enough in
getting there. We were then in 86° 14' N. lat., and

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NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

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about 95° E. long. In order to investigate the state of
the ice and the possibiHty of advance, I went farther
north on ski, but could discern no likelv way. I'Vom the
highest hummock 1 could find, I saw only packed and
piled-up ice as far as the horizon.

Here, as during our whole journey, we saw no sign of
land in any direction. The ice appeared to drift before
the wind without being stopped Ijy mainland or islands
for a distance of many miles ; and it seems to me scarcely
probable that land will be found on this side of the North
Pole, even if we must sujDpose that on the other side any-
thing like a continuation of the North American archi-
pelago may be found toward the north.

The first time we set out from the Fram we had had
our good warm wolf-skin clothes with us ; but as spring
was approaching, and the temperature had latterly been
comparatively high, we did not think we should again
have very low temj^eratures, and therefore, to save weight
and make the caravan as easy of transport as possible, we
reduced the outfit to a minimum, and left our warm fur
clothing on board when we left the Fram for the second
time, a proceeding that we were subsequently to repent
bitterly.

For about three weeks the temperature remained at
about 40° below zero, rising on AjDril i to 7.6° below
zero, but soon sinking again to 36.4° below zero. With
such a temperature and a wind, we often felt it bitterly
cold in our good but too light woollen clothing, which,
owing to the perspiration of the body, was gradually
transformed into an icy coat of mail. It was worse with
our outer woollen jackets, which became covered with a
thick layer of ice, which it took us fully an hour to thaw

THE GREAT r LEDGE EXJ'ED/T/ON

277

every night in our slecpini>-bag, no little physical heat
being spent on the i)rocess ; and not until we had lain
with chattering teeth for about an hour and a half did
we begin to feel at all comfortable, A few minutes after
we got out (>f our sleeping-bag in the morning, our clothes
were again transformed into ice ; and I scarcely think
that either Johansen or I will ever wish for a repetition
of those days. In March the minimum tem})erature was
49*^ below zero, the maximum 4' below zero.

It was on April cS that we altered our course and be-
gan our wanderings toward Cape Migely, in hranz Josef
Land. ¥oy a time we still had the same toilsome kind of
road to go ; but after one day's march the ice became bet-
ter, and its passage somewhat easier. It was our habit to
wind up our watches every evening when we got into our
sleeping-bags. Being, however, very anxious to get on,
our day's march was sometimes very long, and on April
12 more than thirty-six hours had elaj)sed before we
again crept into our bags; and when we then thought of
our watches they had run down. This was an unfortunate
occurrence. I had taken no observations for longitude
for three days. I of course took an observation for time
the following day, but was obliged to make a reckoning
for the three intermediate days' journey, which, however,
I knew must be fairly accurate, even though I could not
tell how much the ice had drifted in that time. In order
to have our time once more quite exact, I now wanted to
take some lunar distances ; but on setting about it I dis-
covered that the table necessary for their calculation had
been left on board by mistake. We naturally, during the
rest of our journey, continued to take observations for
longitude with just as much care, and thought that we
could not be very far out.

278

NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

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When we arrived at 85° N. lat. on April 25, to our
astonisliment we came ujion two fox tracks. This seemed
to imply that we were near some land ; but nothing of
the kind was visible, notwithstandinij; the clear weather.
What now most hindered our progress were the cracks
and channels in the ice. In that low temperature they
were, as a rule, covered with a thin sheet of ice, which
made it imiDossible to use our kaiaks in ijettin"; across.
We were therefore often compelled to go a round of
many miles, and it would sometimes take half a day to
get past a channel of this kind. The farther south we
came, the more of these there were, and they greatly
hindered our advance ; while provisions were dwindling,
and the dogs had to be killed one a'ter another to feed
the remainder. Some of the dogs at first evinced great
aversion to eating their companions ; but as their hunger
increased, and they got nothing else to eat, they gradu-
ally became so voracious for this food that it was diffi-
cult to keep them from it as soon as a dog was killed.

Their rations had to be gradually reduced to the small-
est possible amount, so as to make the little we had go far
enough, and keep them alive as long as possible ; but by
degrees they grew^ sadly worn out. Many of them drew
their load faithfully until they suddenly dropped down
with fatigue, unable to stand any longer. We then had
no other choice than to kill them on the spot, or to lay
them on one of the sledges, and take them with us to kill
them when we pitched our camp in the evening.

In June the channels became more numerous and
more difficult than ever to deal with, and the state of the
ice was very bad. Dogs, ski, and sledge-runners broke
through the crust on the snow, and sank deep into the

THE GREAT SLEDGE EXPEDITION

!7y

soft and wet snow beneath. The number of dotjjs now,
too, was very small, and was continually diminishint;".
Advance seemed almost hopeless, but we had no choice,
and so toiled on as l)est we could, while the rations for
both dogs and men were reduced to a mininunu.

It is well known that, according to l^iyer's ma|), there
is a land north of l''ran/ h)si'f Land, in about '!r\}y' N, hit.,
which he has called I'etermaiin Land. It had been m\'
intention to try first to gain lliis land, where progress
would probably have been easy, and where we could
have reckoned m\ finding sufficient game for our rilles.
According to our reckoning, too, we ought now to ha\e
been in the loni^itude of this land ; but we came farther
and farther south without l)eing able to descry any land
at all. y\t the end of May we were in S2' 21' N. lat. ;
on June 4, in (S2" 18'. I^y J me 15 we had drifted north-
west into tS2" 26', and shoul^l not then ha\-e been more
than about twenty miles north of Cape Fligely. We still,
however, could see no land. This became more and more
puzzling, and the state of the ice grew continually worse.
At last, on June 22, we shot a large seal, and now deter-
mined to wait until the snow melted, in the mean time
living upon seal's llesh. A little later we shot three bears,
and we now had abundance of food, so that our two
remaining dogs could be well fed on raw meat. It was
not until July 22 that we once more set out over tolerably
good ice, and two davs later we at length came in sight of
unknown land. We were then in about <S2° N. lat,, but
we were to hax-e a hard struggle to reach this land.

One day during that time we had an adventure which
might liave been much more serious. We were just
about to cross a channel in the ice in our kaiaks. This

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NAXSEN IN THK FROZEN WORLD

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was generally accomi^lishecl by tying the two kaiaks
together on the iee, then plaeing them on the water, and,
after creeping with the dogs out on to the deck, paddling
across. This tinie we had just brought my kaiak up to
the edge of the floe, and while I was busy with it Johan-
sen turned back to draw up his kaiak beside it. Suddenly
I heard a noise behind me, and, turning, saw Johansen on
his back with a bear over him, and holding the bear by
the throat. I caught at my gun, which lay on the fore-
deck of my kaiak ; but at the same moment the boat slid
into the water, and the gun with it. 13y exerting ill my
strength I hauled the heavily laden kaiak up again, but
while doing so I heard Johansen quietly remark, " You
must hurry up if you don't want to be too late." At last
I got the gun out of its case ; and as I turned round with
it cocked, the bear was just in front of me. In the hurry
of the moment I had cocked the right barrel, which was
loaded with shot ; but the charge took effect behind the
ear, and the bear fell down dead between us. The only
wound Johansen had received was a slight scratch on the
back of one hand, and we went on our way well laden
with fresh bear's flesh.

The current was strong, and the ice was broken up all
over into small flocs. The channels between were, as a
rule, filled with small ice-pieces and crush.ed ice, making
it impossible to use our kaiaks. We therefore had .o leap
from one block of ice to another, dragging our sledges
after us, with the constant fear of seeing them upset into
the water. We continued this for a fortnight, and it was
not until August 6 that we reached land in 8i° 38' N. lat,
and 63° E. long. This first land consisted of four entirely
glacier-covered islands, which I called Hirttenland, after

THE GREAT SLEDGE EXPEDITION

281

an old Norwegian fairy talc. Along the north side of
these islands there was oj)en water, upon which we rowed
westward in our kaiaks. When we reached this open
water there was little prospect of our having much more
use for the two do^s we still had left ; and as it was not a
little inconvenient to take them with us on the sea, we
shot them and left them on the drift ice.

In these waters we made a remarkable ornitholofjical
discovery; for as long as we were in the neighborhood of
these islands we daily saw numbers of the hitherto so
rare, so mysterious, and so little known Ross's gull [Kodo-
stetia rosea). This, the most markedly jjolar of all bird
forms, is easily recognizable from other species of gull by
its beautiful rose-colored breast, its wedge-shaped tail, and
airy flight. It is without comparison the most -beautiful
of all the animal forms of the frozen regions. Hitherto it
has only been seen by chance on the utmost confines of
the unknown Polar Sea, and no one knew whence it came
or whither it went ; but here we had unexpectedly come
upon its native haunt, and, although it was too late in the
year to find its nests, there could be no doubt about its
breeding in this region.

During the next few days, a thick fog prevented us
from discovering land south of these islands ; but on
August 1 2 the fog lifted a little, and an extensive land, or
rather a chain of islands, now lay before us to the west
and south, extending from the southeast right up to the
northwest. This was more and more puzzling. There
was nothing to be found in Payer's map agreeing with it.
I thought we must be very nearly in the same longitude
as Austria Sound ; but if this was correct, we were now
in the act of sailing right across Wilczek Land and the

282

NANS EN JN HIE JROZEN WOKLD

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Dove Glacier, without j^etting a glimpse of any land near.
Nor could 1 discover any indication of y\ustria Sound in
its northern ])art ; and Rawlinson's vSound, too, had van-
ished. It is therefore scarcely surjirising that I came to
the conclusion that there niust be some considerable error
in our longitude. How, indeed, this could be was not
clear to me ; but I concluded that either our watches
must have gone completely wrong of late, or that during
the three days before April 12 we had drifted a most re-
markable distance. However this might be, I could only
suppose that we had now arrived at the unknown west
coast of I'lanz Josef Land, or to that m)sterious land
which always on majis goes by the name of Gilis Land,
and which is generally ])laced between T'ranz Josef Land
and Spit'/bergen. Of one thing, however, I was certain ;
namely, that by steering south and southwest we must at
last come to Spitzbergen, our actual goal, where we should
find Norwegian walrus-sloojxs, which could take us home
at once. We therefore continued, now paddling, now
drau-ointj over the ice, westward throuuh a sound which
lay in 81° 30' N. lat. I Laving got through this, we found
a large piece of oj^en water, upon which we paddled south-
west along the northwest shore of the land, hoping soon
to be able to cross over the sea to Spitzbergen. \\\ vain
did we search for land in the west. On August 18 a
wind from the sea suddenly drove the ice in toward the
shore, and we were imprisoned for a week. After again
continuing our journey for a day or two, w^ were once
more imprisoned, on 26th August, in about 81° 13' N.
lat. and 55.]" E. long. The autumn was now so far ad-
vanced that I considered it would be too late to begin the
long journey to Spitzbergen, where we could scarcely

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NANS UN IN THE FROZEN W'OKJ.D

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cxjjcct to arrive in time to find any shij)s going home, and
where we sht)uld accordingly have to winter without hav-
ing time enough to lay in provisions and make j)repara-
tions for it. As the place we had reached seemed well
t'ltted for wintering in, and there appeared to be sufficient
opportunity for getting game, we thought it safest to stop
here and j)repare for the winter.

We immediately set to work to shoot walrus, the blub-
ber of which we intended to use for firing. lH)r two men,
however, the manipulation of these huge animals was
attended with considerable toil. We had at last to give
up dragging them uj) on land or on to the ice, and our
only expedient was to lie on them in the water while re-
moving the hide and blubber, during which process we
succeeded in getting our only clothes thoroughly satu-
rated with oil and dirt, thus rendering them peculiarly
unfitted for protection against the winter cold and storms.
There was no scarcity of bears, and we shot tliem for our
winter store of food. After having laid in a temporary
supply, we set to work on our hut, which was built of
stone, earth, and moss. How we were to roof it seemed
at first a difiFicult problem to solve. P'ortunately, how-
ever, we found a piece of timber cast up on the shore.
This we used as the ridgepiece of the house, and stretched
walrus hides over it, weis^hted at the edges on both sides
with large stones. On the top of this we laid snow. To
build a chininey was not easy, as we had not the stones
necessary. Our only expedient was therefore to build it
of ice and snow, which had to be renewed, however, two
or three times in the course of the winter.

For cooking, lighting, and heating, we used walrus
blubber and bear's fat. Bear's flesh and fat was our only

THE GREAT ULEDGE EXEEDITION

2S5

food. In the evening we fried it in a large ahiniiniuni
frying-pan ; in the morning we boiled it. We made our
bed and sleeping-bag of bear-skin. To keep warmer, we
both slei)l in one bag, and, taken altogether, we were
quite comfortable in our low hut, of which a great part
lay below the level of the ground, and was therefore fairly
well i)rotected from the violent winter storms which con-
tinually raged above it. By the helj) of our lamps we
succeeded in keeping the temperature inside at about
freezing-point, while on the walls it was, of course, consid-
erably lower. These were covered with a thick coating of
fiGst and ice, which in the lamplight imparted a beautiful
marmoreal apj^earance to the walls of the hut, so that in
our ha])pier moments we could dream that we dwelt in
marble halls. The hut was about ten feet long, six feet
broad, and high enough in some places to allow of our
standing almost erect. Our couch was formed of rough
stones ; we never quite succeeded in getting it even tol-
erably level, and our most important business throughout
the winter was, therefore, to bend the body into the most
varied positions in order to discover the one in which the
pressure of the stones was least felt.

We had no work which could help to make the time
pass : we did little else than sleep, cat, and then sleep
again. If any one still holds the old belief that scurvy
arises from want of exercise, this is a striking proof that
such is not the case. Strange to say, our appetites con-
tinued unimpaired the whole time, and we always con-
sumed our bear's flesh and our fat with the same voracity.
When the weather permitted, we would take an hour's
walk every day in the dark outside the hut ; but often it
was so stormy that it was not expedient to put one's nose

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NANS F.N /N THE FROZEN WORI.D

ii'i

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beyond the passage wliicl) led to our palace. Several days
would often j)ass in which we lay (piite still, until at last a
scarcity of ice to melt for drinking-water, or of food, com-
pelled us to go out to fetch ice or to drag in the carcass or
leg of a bear. After November we were not visited again
by bears until March, and our only company in the winter
was a ihuuIkt of foxes which constantly sat upon the roof
of oui- hut, whence we could hear their perpetual gnawing
at our fro/en meat. It made us often dream that we
were sitting comfortably at home listening to the rats in
the loft above; and we by no means grudged them a
little of all our abundance. These foxes were of both the
white variety and the valuable dark-furred kind, and had
we been so inclined we could easily have laid by a good
store of valuable furs. Our supply of ammunition, how-
ever, was not so large as to allow, in my opinion, of our
sjicnding it upon them, for it seemed to me that bears
were the smallest game that could give us any return for
our cartridges.

Ui)on the whole, the winter passed in a manner beyond
our expectation. Our health was excellent ; and if we
had only had a few books, a little flour, and a little sugar,
we were both agreed that we could have lived like lords.

At last came spring with sunshine and birds. How
well I remember that first evening, a few days before the
sun had appeared above the horizon, when we suddenly
saw a flock of little auks {rotgcs) sail past us along the
mountains to the north. It was like the first greetinc:
from life and spring. Many followed in their train, and
soon the mountains around us swarmed with these little
summer visitors of the north, which enlivened everything
with their cheerful twittering. A dark sky, which we had

THE GNIwlT S/./'lDGF. EXrEDfTlON

287

had tlic whole wiiUcr, but especially now in the s|)riiiL;, in
the south aiul southwest, sccincd to imjjly that there must
be water iu that direction, of which it was a reflection.
We had, therefore, every hope of nialcing a (|uick and
easy voya«;e in our kaiaks across to Sj)it/,beri;en, partly
over open water, jjartly over drift ice ; and as daylight
had now returned, we busied ourselves in preparations for
this journey.

There was much, however, to be done before we could
set off. Our clothes were so worn out and so saturated
with fat and dirt, that they were anything- but suitable for
a journey of this kind. W'e therefore made ourselves
two entire new suits out of two blankets we had brought
with us. Our underclothing we tiied to wash as best we
could, but never before ditl I know what it was to exist
without soaj). It was difficult enough to get one's person
clean, but this we managed to a certain extent by rubbing
in bear's blood and fat, and then rubbing this off with
moss. P)Ut this process was not ajiplicable to clothes.
After trying every possible way, we found, in our despair,
no other expedient than to boil them as best we could,
and then scrape them with a knife. In this way we got
so much off them that they did to travel with, though the
thought of putting on clean clothes when we once more
got back to Norway was always in our minds as the
greatest enjoyment that life could bestow. We had to
make a new slccping-bag of bear-skins, which we dried
and prepared by stretching them out under the roof of
our hut. Our good, precious silk tent, which we had had
during the whole of the preceding year's journey, had at
last, during the autumn storms, become so worn out that
I did not think it could be used any more. We were

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NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

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now, therefore, obliged to employ our sledge sails as a
tent. Our provisions for the journey were chiefly bear's
flesh and fat, and our fuel was train oil and blubber, and
we were sure of finding sufficient game on the way when
the provisions we took with us gave out.

At length, on May 19, we were ready, and started
southward in short day's marches. On May 23, in 81°
5' N. lat., we came to the open water, of which, during
the whole winter and spring, we had seen the reflection
above the horizon ; and we now rejoiced at the thought
of going south in our kaiaks. Storms, however, detained
us until June 3. These storms had caused the ice to set
in and block the water, so that we now went south over
the ice, a favorable wind permitting us to make use of
sails on our sledges, so that we got on at a good rate. A
little farther south we found extensive tracts of land,
whose rorthern coast stretched in a westerly direction.
To the west-northwest along this coast lay open water.
I was in doubt for a while as to whether we ouo;ht not
to take to the water, and go on in that direction, but
thought that this would again take us too far north, and
therefore preferred to steer south over flat ice through a
broad, unknown sound. Here, too, a favorable wind per-
mitted the employment of sails on our sledges, and we
went along at a really considerable speed.

On June 12 we at last reached the south side of the
group of islands, and there came upon a large open piece
of water, extendinfj westward alonq; the south coast.
The wind was still favorable. By tying together our two
kaiaks, rigging up a bamboo rod as mast on them, and
then hoistins: our sledc:e sails, we were now able to sail
upon this open water along the coast, and in this way

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made good progress. When the wind dropped or became
less favorable, we took down our sails and paddled on.

In this way we began to approach the southwestern
point of the group of islands, and rejoiced at the thought
of being able to cross over to Spitzbergcn, where in the
course of a few weeks we were certain to be on board a
homeward-bound Norwegian vessel.

As we passed along this coast we noticed hew remark-
ably the latitude I obtained by my observations agreed
with the latitude that Leigh-Smith had found for the
south coast of Franz Josef Land. It was also remarka-
ble how well, both in direction and. appearance, this coast
seemed to agree with Leigh-Smith's map ; and I there-
fore began to suspect that in spite of everything we were
still on the south coast of Franz Josef Land, and had
com.e south through a wide sound cuttincj straight across
Zichy Land, which has hitherto been regarded as con-
tinuous, but now resolves itself into a chain of small
islands.

During our voyage along this south coast we had sev-
eral mishaps, which, however, ended happil)-. One day,
when we had been sailing along the shore, we lay to in
the evening to the ice to reconnoitre our farther way
westward. In leaving the kaiaks, we made them fast to
the ice by a strong strap, which we thought was perfectly
reliable. While we Vv-ere a little way off on the top of a
hummock, however, we discovered that our linked boats
had broken from their moorings and were rapidly drift-
ing away from the ice, carried along by the wind. All
our provisions were on board, our whole outfit, our guns,
and our ammunition. There we stood upon the ice, en-
tirely without resource. Our only safety lay in reaching

THE GREAT SLEDGE EXPEDITION

291

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our kaiaks, and I had no choice but to spring into the
water and try to reach tliem by swimming.

It was, however, a struggle for Hfe, for the kaiaks
seemed to drift more rapidly before the wind than I could
swim ; the icy water gradually robbed my whole body of
feeling, and it became more and more difficult to use my
limbs. At length I reached the side of our craft ; but it
was only by summoning up my last energies that I finally
succeeded in ixettinij: on board, and we were saved.

Two days later my kaiak was attacked by a walrus.
These monsters had tried several times to put an end to
us by suddenly coming up from below, and attacking the
kaiak with a violent blow, which might easily have upset
us, but this they had hitherto not succeeded in doing.
This time, however, the attack was more violent. The
walrus suddenly pushed up beside my kaiak, and, laying-
one flipper on its edge, tried to upset it, at the same
time driving its long tusks into the bottom, fortunately,
however, without touching; me. I manat>ed to uive the
walrus such a blow on the head with the paddle that it
rose high u}) out of the water, threatening to fall uj^on
me, but disappeared the next moment as quickly as it had
come. The water was rushinij into the kaiak throui^h
the long rent made in the bottom by the walrus, and I
w^as sinking rapidly, and only at the last moment managed
to run my kaiak on to a floe that was projecting under
the water, and escaped in safety from the boat on to the
ice. The next day was employed in repairing the kaiak,
and in drying clothes, outfit, photographic apparatus, etc.,
which were all soaked with sea-water, though fortunately
no real harm was done.

The following day, when we were ?bout to continue

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our journey, and as I was just preparing breakfast before
starting. 1 went uj) on to a hummoek to reconnoitre land-
ward. As I stood there, jiuffs of wind came across to
me from the land, carrying a confused noise from the
thousands of loons and other sea-birds which inhabited
the mountains there. As I was listeninii[ to all these bird-
voices, 1 suddenly started at a completely different sound,
which so much resembled the barking of a dog that for
a moment it seemed to me that there could be no doubt
of its beiuLT this. But then it was once more lost in the
noise of the birds, and I thouiiht I must have been mis-
taken. Afjain, however, the wind brouLjht over a fresh
stream of sound, which left no doubt whatever of there
actually being dogs in the neighborhood. 1 ran down
and waked Johansen in the sleeping-bag by saying, " I
ha\'e heard dogs ! " But I could not make him compre-
hend, so I gulped down my breakfast, put on my ski, and
dashed off across the ice. As I apjn-oached the shore I
saw a man coming toward me. It was Mr. Jackson, and
hearty was the handshake with which be welcomed me.

[In order to make the narrative more complete, as well
as to mve merited recoij^nition to one of the leading recent
enterprises in the field of Arctic research, we will say that
the gentleman whom Dr. Nansen so opportunely met at
this critical time was Mr. F. G. Jackson, leader of the
Jackson-Harmsworth expedition which left England in
1894. Very soon after the meeting of these explorers
one of the members o^ the Jackson party came to the
Nansen camp. He was closely followed by four compan-
ions. They all gave Lieutenant Johansen a cordial greet-
ing, and then escorted him to the headquarters of the
expedition.

THE GREAT SLEDGE EXrEDITIOX

293

MEETING OF DR. NANSEN AND MR. JACKSON IN FRANZ JOSEF LAND, JUNE, 1896
(Bji permission of Mr. Alfred C. Harmsworth, of the Jackson-Hartusiuorth expedition)

Before organizing this expedition Mr. Jackson had seen
a good deal of Arctic work, and had won distinction by
making, in connection with his investigations, a sledge
journey of four thousand miles. For a long time he had
desired to explore Franz Josef Land and the area to the
north of this comparatively unknown region.. His plans

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NANSEN IN THE FRO/. EN WORLD

were carefully laid, and they seemed so practicable that
he was enabled, under the most favorable conditi')ns, to
make an effort to put them into execution. He found a
munificent patron in Mr. Alfred C. Harmsworth, a mem-
ber of the Royal Geographical Society, wljo not only con-
sented to bear the whole expense of the expedition, but
also gave a great deal of time and personal effort in
securing as complete an equipment as it was possible to
obtain.

A whaler named the Wmdivard, an exceedingly strong
ship which had been constructed with special reference to
service in the ice, was purchased and transformed into a
steam yacht. Several boats of different types were built,
and seventeen sledges, of an improved pattern designed
by Mr. Jackson, were made. Tents, materials ready to be
put together for houses, and a large supply of excellent
scientific instruments also formed a part of the outfit.
For the first time in the history of Arctic exploration a
few ponies were taken for use in travelling and in hauling
loads. These were obtained at Archangel, and thirty
dogs were secured from Western Siberia.

The Windward sailed from Gv^enhithe on the after-
noon of July 1 1, left Archangel early in August, and pro-
ceeded to Franz Josef Land. At Cape Flora, Jackson,
with his few companions, established his headquarters.
The settlement, which consisted of seven huts, was named
Elmwood. The Windward returned home, and was on
her second voyage to the station when Nansen and
Johansen became the guests of its inmates.

The primary object of this expedition was to make a
thorough exploration of Franz Josef Land, both of the
coast and of the interior, and thus determine whether it

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THE GREAT SLEDGE EXFEDITION

295

is the southern portion of a great polar continent or a
collection of islands. In this work Mr. Jackson has been
very successful, having discovered many islands, and an
important body of water which he has named Queen
Victoria Sea. As nearly or ([uite all that is required in
this direction has been performed, it is understood that in
the spring or summer of the present year (1^97), Mr.
Jackson will take up the secondary, though very interest-
ing and important work of the expedition, and either upon
the open water or the frozen surface of this great sea,
according to its condition at the time, commence a voyage
or a journey which will be continued as far as possible
toward the Pole.]

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IIOMKWARl) HOUND

We were received here with a liospitality and hearti-
ness such as those Arctic surroundings can seldom have
witnessed ; and thouirh we had fullv intended to u:o on our
way to S|3itzl)eri;en, which would i)robahly be our quick-
est way home, we could not tear ourselves away from this
hospitable spot, again renounce all the ease and comfort
which were here offered to us, and once more take our
pilgrim's staff into our hand. We decided to accept the
kind invitation to wait for the lVm(/7uar{/, which was soon
to arrive, and then again return to Europe.

Never shall I fonj^et how deliiihtful it was, as soon as
we entered Jackson's comfortably arranged house, to have
a warm bath. It was not, indeed, possible to become
clean the first time, but still it imparted a feeling of clean-
liness ; and then delightfully soft, clean woollen garments
to follow, to be shaved and have one's hair cut, have a
capital dinner, coffee, cigars, port wine, and, last but not
least, books and the latest literature (tw^o years old, indeed,
but new to us) — in short, we felt all at once transported,
as if by the stroke of a magic wand, into the heart of civ-
ilization. The attention, the consideration, wjtich every
member of this expedition offered us was touching, and
made an indelible impression on both of us. It seemed
as if their aim was to soften by their kindness the recol-
lection of last winter's loneliness and dreariness.

■

HOME n ARl) /)' O i iXD

'J 7

nn. NANSKN, AS PHO lOCR AI'irr.D BY MR. JACKSON IMMEDI AIT.r.Y AFII K Til Ml K
MKKTINC. IN KKANZ JOSKK LAND, IN IfNi:, 1S96

{By perviission of Mr. Alfred C. llarms^vorth, of the Jaiksoii-Hariiisiuorth ex/>fi/ilu»i.)

We now discovered that my suspicions, as indicated
above, were correct. We were actually on the south coast
of Franz Josef Land, and had arrived at Cape r""lora, on
Northbrook Island. Our observations and determination
of longitude were fairly correct, in spite of everything,
and our chronometers proved lo have been right. On
the other hand, there were mistakes in Payer's map.

298

NAASEN IN TIJK FRO/JiN WORLD

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which had put nic on the wrong track — mistakes of
which I have not yet found an exjihuiation, l)ut will find,
it is to be hoped, on conferring more closely with I'ayer
himself.

The broad sound through which we had come south
this spring lay just a little west of Austria Sound, and
was considerably larger than the last-named sound. It
had already been traversed by Jackson, and called by him
the British Channel.

During the winter we had been encamped just to the
west of Austria Sound, on an island which I have called
Frederick Jackson's Island. Before we set out on our
expedition, I stated, in my lecture before the Royal (Geo-
graphical Society, my opinion that Franz Josef Land was
only a group of islands. This opinion has now been
fully confirmed. Franz Josef Land is not only a group
of islands, but a group of little islands of such small
extent as perhaps no one had thought possible. In my
opinion the islands forming Franz Josef Land may l3e
considered as a continuation of East Spitzbergen, and the
most important, most interesting subject yet to be worked
out is the exploration of the still unknown western part
of Franz Josef Land and its connection with Spitzbergen.
In this region there are probably many new islands which
it is to be hoped Jackson and his expedition will have an
opportunity of discovering and charting. How far north
the islands extend it is not yet possible to determine, but
it is scarcely likely to be very far.

I will not venture an opinion as to whether Petermann
Land has any existence ; our course was so easterly that
it may well have been too far off to be seen ; but in that
case it must be an island of inconsiderable extent. The

no MEW AND liOi'M)

J99

wliolc of tluit |)arl t)f I'laii/ JDScf Liuul traversed l)y us
consisted of basalt, and has once formed a continuous
basaltic land, which is now, iiowever, by numerous chan-
nels and fjords, cut up into small islands, entirely or in
great measure covered with glaciers, and where only here
and there alon<j: the shore the dark basaltic rocks are
visible. As a rule the land does not rise to a height of
2,000 feet above the sea, and only occasionally did the gla-
ciers seem to apj)roach to a height of 3,000 feet. On the
south side of the country there is, beneath the basalt, a
deep stratum of clay which extends to a height of from
"00 to 600 feet above the sea, and which belongs to the
Jura formation, and where both Dr. Koetlitz, of the Jack-
son expedition, and I found numerous fossils of various
kinds, chiefly Ammonites and Belemnites, which leave no
doubt as to its age. As far as I can for the present say, a
large part of this clay belongs to the so-called Oxford clay.
Lignite and fossil wood were also common in these clay
strata. In a few places numerous fossil plants were also
found, whose age I have not yet had time to determine, but
which probably belong to a later formation than the Jura.
In the mean time the days at Cape Flora passed imper-
ceptibly. We spent our time partly in making scientific
excursions of small extent, partly in reading, writing, and
preparing a map of our route across Franz Josef Land
as it appeared, according to our investigations, to be. In-
cessantly did we scan the horizon in expectation of the
Windward^ the ship which was to come from Europe ;
but a great quantity of ice lay in the sea outside, no
sail appeared on the horizon, and as time went on we be-
came more and more impatient, and more and more often
did anxious remarks fall on the possibility of the ice hin-

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N.tNSEN IN THE J'RO/J.y U'OHLD

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(Icriiii; the Windward from comini^ in this year. When
a month had |)assecl, Johansen and I hei^an to rej)ent a
little tliat we had stoj)|)ed here, and had not i^one straight
on to S|)it/hergen, where we should probably long before
this have found a ship and been on our way home. 1
began to think, indeed, of setting off again, as I was un-
willing to risk i)assing another winter in the Aretie re-
gions. I was tolerably eertain that the /''nitii would come
home this year, and would then, of course, throw oiu-
friends into the greatest anxiety with regard to our fate;
there would then hardly have been an\- hope at home of

ever seeing us again.

At length, when six weeks had jjassed, I was suddenly
aroused one night by Mr. Jackson witli the news that the
JVindiuard had arrived. The cheers aiul joyful exclama-
tions with which the news of our arrival at Cajje Flora
were received on board the Windward werej^roofs of such
great and sincere delight that we could hardly have e\-
jiccted greater from our own countrymen. It was a fresh
demonstration of the symjDathy which exists between the
ICnglish and Norwegian nations.

The stores brought for the Jackson ex])edition were
soon unshij^ped from the Wi?id'ward, and by the aid of
sledges dragged over the ice to land. In less than a week
all was ready ; and as soon as letters and telegrams for
home were written, on August 7, we went on board, and
the Windward weighed anchor to make for home.

On board the ship we had the shortest and pleasantest
homeward journey that perhaps any Arctic expedition has
ever had. We again experienced PInglish hospitality to
its fullest extent, and those days can certainly never be
forgotten by either Johansen or myself.

1 10 Ml: WARD nOUXD

301

TliciT was a <;reat deal of ici* in the sea Ixtween I'ran/
Josef Land and Nova Zeiiihla, aiul it would certainly
have been oidv too easy to run the hltle U'lfKhoari^ ^o
far into the elosely packed ice that it would have taken
weeks and months to t^et out attain. lUit with his ureat
experience and his clear-si<;hte(lne>> in all that concerned
ice and ice navigation, Ca|)tain lirown, the old whalei'
under whose conmiand the IViiKhijaj-d now was, knew
how to (hid iu^t the onlv uav that would be certain to
take us throui;"h 220 miles of ice out into the open sea to
the Udilh of Nova Zembla, .md thence shape a straii^ht
course for \'ard('). where we arii\ed on Aui^iist 13, six
days after haviiv'- left Cape I'lora.

Thus I .md one man of my e\i)edition had now come
to our native land, where we were received with open
arms. Our firs"^ cpiestion after settinjj; foot on Norwegian
soil was whether anythini;- had been heard of the Fram
and our comrades. Our fear the whole winter and si)ring
had been that the Fram would reach home before us.
To our relief, however, we now learned that nothing had
been heard of the Fram, and our friends had been saved
from unnecessary anxiety. I telegraphed immediately to
the King of Norway and the Norwegian Government that
all was well on board the Fram when we left her, and that
I fully expected her and the remaining members of the
expedition home again safe and sound in a short time.

Great, then, was the joy when, in Hammcrfest, on Au-
gust 2 1,1 received a telegram from Skjarvo, a little j^ort
not far off, to say that the Fram had arrived in the night,
all well on board.

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CHAPTER XVII

now THE

FRAM " FARED SVERDRUP's STORY

lit

When I left the Frain, I gave instructions to Svordrup.
Among other things they ran thus: "The chief aim of the
expedition is to push through the unknown Polar Sea,
from the district around New Siberia north of P>anz
Josef Land, out to the Atlantic Ocean near Spitzbergen
or Greenland. The princijjal part of this task I consider
we have already accomplished; the rest will be accom-
plished little by little as the expedition goes farther west.
In order to make the expedition yet more productive, I
will make an attempt to push on farther to the north with
dogs. Your duty will then be to bring the lives hereby
entrusted to you home by the safest way, and not to ex-
pose them to needless danger, either out of regard to the
ship, cargo, or results of the expedition.

" How long it may be before the Fram drifts out into
open water no one can tell. You have provisions for
several years ; but should it, for some unknown reason,
take too long, or should the crew begin to suffer in health,
or you for any other reason consider it best to abandon
the vessel, this should unquestionably be done. At what
time it should take place, as also the way that ought to
be chosen, you yourself will be best able to judge. Should
it be necessary, I consider Franz Josef Land ^nd Spitz-
bergen to be the best lands to make for. If search is
made for the expedition after Johansen's and my arrival

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CAI'TAIN OTTO NKUMANN SVKKDIU: 1'

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NAXSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

liunie, it will first he made there. When you come to
land you should as often as possible erect consjDicuous
cairns on promontories and projecting; headlands, and
within each cairn place a short statement of what has
been done, and whither you are going. In order to make
these cairns distinguishable from others, a very small
cairn should be erected four metres from the large one
in a nt)rthward direction by the magnet. What outfit
will be the best in case of the abandoninii of the Frani is
a question we have so often discussed that I consider it
superfluous to dwell on it here. I know that you will
take care that the needful number of kaiaks for all the
men, sledges, ski, snow-shoes, and other articles of outfit,
are put in order as soon as possible, and kept in readi-
ness, so that such a journey over the ice could be under-
taken with the greatest possible ease. Information as to
the provisions I consider most suitable for a journey of
this kind, and the quanticy necessary for each man, I give
elsewhere.

" I know, too, that you will hold everything in readi-
ness to abandon the Fravi in the shortest possible time
in the event of a sudden misfortune befallin"; her in the
shape of fire or pressure. If the ice permits, I consider
it advisable that there should always be a depot, with
sufficient provisions, etc., upon a safe place on the ice,
such as we have lately had. All necessary things which
cannot be upon the ice ought to be so placed on board
that they are easy to get at under any circumstances. As
you know, there are only concentrated sledge provisions
now in the depot; but as it is not impossible that the ex-
pedition might have to remain quiet for some time before
setting off, it would be extremely desirable to save as much

J low ThE ''FRAM' FARED

305

tinned meat, fish, and veijfL tables as jjossible. Should dis-
turbed times come, I would even consider it advisable to
have a supply of these articles also ready on the ice.

" Should the Fratn in driftin<^ bear far to the north of
Spitzbergen and get mto tlie current under the east coast
of Greenland, many possibilities could be imagined, which
now it is not easy to form any opinion about ; but should
you be obliged to abandon the Fraiu, and make for the
land, it would be best for you to erect cairns, as mentioned
above, there too, as search might possibly be made for the
expedition there. In tliat case, whether you ought to
make for Iceland (which is the nearest land, and whither
you would be able to go in the sjiring by following the
edge of the ice) or for the Danish colonies v.est of Caj^e
Farewell, you will be better able to judge when you see
the circumstances.

" The thincfs that ouu:ht to be taken with vou, if the
Fram be abandoned, after the necessary provisions, are
weapons, ammunition, and outfit, all scientific and other
journals, observations, all scientific collections that are not
too heavy (in the latter case small sami)les of them), pho-
tographs, the original plates by preference, or if they are
too heavy, then copies of them — the areometer, with
which most of the observations on the specific gravity
of sea-water are made, besides, of course, all journals and
memoranda w^hich are of anv interest. I leave behind
two or three journals and letters which I will request
you to take especial care of, and deliver to my wife, if
I should not come home, or you, contrary to expectation,
should get home before us.

" Hansen and Blessing will, as you know, take charge
of the various scientific observations and collections; you
20

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NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

yourself will see to the soundings, and that they are taken
as often as opportunity permits. As the crew was small
before, and will now be still further reduced by two men,
some work may fall to each man's lot ; but I know that as
far as possible you will spare men to assist in the scientific
observations, and make these as complete as possible. . . .

" In conclusion, I wish all possible success to you, and
those for whom you are now responsible ; and may we
meet again in Norway, whether it be on board this vessel
or without her."

The requests I had here set down Sverdrup made it a
matter of conscience to comply with, and the summer
after Johansen and I had left the Fram was employed,
not only in the work necessary for the safety of the vessel,
but in making the outfit required for a sledge journey
over the ice as perfect and complete as could well be.
And never, perhaps, has an expedition been better pre-
pared for leaving their vessel than this, although the prob-
abilities were that the necessity for so doing would not
occur. Light canvas kaiaks, each to hold two men, had
already been partly completed on board before I left, and
sledges, ski, snow-shoes, cooking apparatus, dog harness,
etc., were all tested and put in good order, and, as will be
seen from the orders given, provisions were kept in readi-
ness. Before we left the ship some time had been spent
in carting away the piled-up masses of ice which had been
forced against the Frams sides during the pressure of
January, 1895, and the removal of this ice was continued
after we left.

At the end of March, just as the last of this mass had
been removed, the ice cracked in all directions around the
ship, and a broad crack was formed which passed at the

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J/0 IV THE '' FRAM'' FARED .307

distance of a few feet from the stern of the vessel. vSub-
sequently in this crack there was great jiressiire, and the
ice quite split up, so that the greater part of the Fram lay
in open water by the end of July. The stern, however,
was still frozen fast in a great block of ice. An attempt
was made to break this up by bb.sting, which seemed, how-
ever, at the time, to have had very little effect, only a small
crack in the ice appearing; and Sverdrup was standing on
the ice talking with some of his companions as to what
more should be done to get ih.e vessel afloat, when they
suddenly noticed that she was slowly beginning to move,
and before they were aware of it the vessel glided from
her icy slip into the water with a deafening noise, while
the spray was thrown from her bows in e\ery direction.
It was like the launching of a ship, and her return to oj)en
w'ater was welcomed by the crew with ringing cheers.
That year, however, the Frams freedom did not last long.
B)^ warping and sawing she was again brought into a safe
haven, and in August was again frozen fr,.^ t.

At first, after we had left the ship, the drift was not of
much importance; but toward the end of .\{)ril it became
somewhat stronger in a westerly direction. On July 22,
1895, the Fram was in 84° 50' N, lat., "i:^" \l. long. At
this time there seemed to be a great deal of movement in
the ice, and strong pressure on all sides in the vicinity.
After this southwesterly and westerly winds set in, which
during the latter part of the summer stopped the Frauis
drifting, and even drove her back in an easterly and
notherly direction. Not until October did she again bear
to the west, and during the remainder of the autumn and
the winter tlie drift was better than ever. On October
16, 1895, the Fram was in her highest observed latitude,

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NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

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viz., 85" 57' N. lat. and 66° E. long. Some clays later she
was still farther north, but on those clays it was cloudy, so
that no observations could be taken. By the middle of
P\'bruary, 1S96, the Frani liad come in a southwesterly
direction to 84° 20' N. Lit. and 24"" K. long. But here,
cjuite unexpectedly, long-continued south winds stopped
the drift until May, when it again began to go south, until
on July 19 they were in CS3" 14' N. lat. and 14 E. long.,
where the work of ''ettiirj: t!ie Frani out of the ice began.
Had she not got loose here, but had been obliged to con-
tinue driftin", she would of course have come south with
the polar ice along the east coast of Greenland, toward
which the direction of her drift pointed directly ; and
had she not got loose before, she wojI.I have been driven
south right to Cape P\irewell, a drift which has already
been accomplished several times, an, I which would, there-
fore, not have been so well worth repeating.

Throughout her drift tlirough the unknown Polar Sea
from New Siberia to the north of Spitzbergen, the Fram
was constantly exposed to pressure, none, however, being
so serious as that, already described, in January, 1895.
During this last summer, especially now in June, 1896, the
pressure was particularly great, and of a peculiar nature.
The Fram at that time lay in a channel, which, with
the changing tidal current, alternately opened and closed
twice during the twenty-four hours. Throughout one
week in June, at the spring tides, the pressure in this
channel was extremely hard, and the Fram was regularly
lifted up once or twice a day, so high that her bottom
could often be seen above the ice. But broad and safe
as she is, she rose quietly, without letting a sound be
heard within, either in timber or woodwork. No one on

J/0 IV TJlli ^^J'RAM" FARED

309

board was awakened by the i)ressure, even when at its
height; while it often happened that Sverdrup himself,
who is a very lii^ht sleeper, awoke in the morning with-
out an idea of what had taken place in the night. Only
when he came on deck and looked over the bulwarks did
he observe how high the vessel was raised above the
surface of the ice.

This quiet raising was of course due to the well-
adapted lines on which the Fram was built. This, too,
is the reason why, e\en when raised highest, she did not
heel over to any great extent ; as a rule she lay almost
horizontal. Sometimes she heeled over a few degrees,
but the greatest l-.ecling ever that the Fram did in the ice
amounted to iS .

I have already mentioned the temperatures of the first
winter. I will only add here that the two subsccpient
winters on board the Fram were not colder than that
one. It is well knov.'n that the districts south of the delta
of the Lena in Siberia form one cf the poles of maximum
cold of the northern hemisphere. It was therefore not to
be expected that the winters in the northern part of the
unknown Polar Sea, which we were going to explore,
would be found colder than those to the north of the
Siberian coast. This, too. proved to be the case. Of
course, the temperatures in all three winters were rather
low on board the Fram, while we two who were on Franz
Josef Land had a considerably milder winter; but as a
set-off we had the more violent storms, from which the
interior of the polar basin is to a great extent exempt.
The summers in the polar basin were also rather cool,
the temperature generally remaining at about freezing
point, and only occasionally rising a few degrees above it.

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The highest temperature observed during the journey
was, as far as I remember, 7° or 8° (Fahrenheit) above
freezing. The fall of moisture in the inner regions of the
polar basin was very small, as the cold air carries very
little moisture with it. All the winter and spring, there-
fore, we had, as a rule, unusually settled, clear weather;
while, on the other hand, in the latter part of the summer
no small amount of fog might often be seen lying low
down on the surface of the ice. Rain was, of course, a
great rarity.

During the whole voyage the Aurora Borealis was of
exceedingly common occurrence, and scarcely a day passed
in which it was not observed, provided the sky allowed at
all of its being seen. We thus had exceptional opportu-
nities of studying this wonderful natural phenomenon,
which often rose to a grand intensity, setting the entire
sky in flames. Northern lights of various colors were
very frequent, and at times the colors were surpiisingly
intense. On the other hand, no sound was ever heard
from them, nor did we ever see them quite low.

Atmospherical electricity was also a subject of investi-
gation, and sometimes the electricity was fairly strong.
The result of these investigations, however, cannot be
discussed until later. During the whole journey, samples
of the air were taken in glass tubes, and will be analyzed
at home.

The depth we had found during the earlier part of our
drift continued after I had left the Fram, and the lead
showed between 1,800 and 1,900 fathoms, until the water
began to grow shallow^ as the Fram worked her way south
toward Spitzbergen. The water temperatures, too, con-
tinued almost unchanged ; but the layer of warm water

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I/O IV THE '' FRAM'' FARED

below the cold, fresher water, which I have already men-
tioned, became somewhat deeper toward the west, the
nearer they came to the North Atlantic Ocean between
Spitzbergen and Greenland.

I have already said that the health on board was unus-
ually good, and so it continued to be the last year als<x
The only cases of illness were one or two slight attacks of
gastric catarrh, a short attack of rheumatism, and two or
three other trifles. There was no sign of scurvy during
the whole journey, and in my opinion this disease cannot
appear if sufficient attention and care are given to the
provision department in fitting out an expedition ; and it
is therefore a disease which ought to be forever banished
from Arctic expeditions, — this disease which has hitherto
been the one to claim the greatest number of victims
offered to polar explorations.

When in June and July of this summer the expedition
began to see some jjrosjject of being able to force its way
south with the Fram, much labor was spent in getting
her out of the ice, a task which was not easy in the great
packed masses. The only way was to try to blow up
these pieces of ice by blasting, in which process both gun-
cotton and ordinary gunpowder were employed. The
former of these proved to be the most effectual ; but
heavy charges of gunpowder might also, if judiciously
placed, have had a capital effect.

During these blasting experiments an accident hap-
pened which might easily have had the most serious
consequences. Sverdrup, with one man as helper, had
just laid a train in a crack in the ice, and set light to the
fuse, when suddenly the piece on which they stood gave
way, and they fell into the water with the charge, and the

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burning fuse close to them. The situation was anything
but agreeable, and they made the most desperate exertions
to get on to the ice again, and out of reach of the charge
before it exploded; but the edge of the ice was liigh, and
it was only after two or three unsuccessful attem})ts that
they succeeded in getting to a place of safety. The
charge exploded soon after.

After several days of exhausting labor at this ice-blast-
ing they at last succeeded in setting the Fram free, and
on July 19 the work of forcing her southward through
the closely packed ice began in earnest. The ice here was
tremendous throughout, the floes sometimes being so
large that the end of them could not be seen even with a
glass. No open water was visible, and the situation often
looked hopeless. But it is a capital thing not to have any
way of retreat; in other words, to have no choice but to
go on. So on they went, and they had a capital vessel,
by whose means the impossible became possible. By
steaming and warping they forced their way, bit by bit,
through ice which would have made most men give them-
selves up to despair; and when it was too bad for this, a
way was made by blasting. For about a month they
kept on with this work, and during that time broke their
way through 150 geographical miles of ice — ice perhaps
vaster than any other vessel has ever yet ventured upon ;
and on August 13, the very day on which Johansen and I
arrived at Vardo, they got out of the ice into open water.

At the time of their coming out of the ice there was a
fog, which, however, soon lifted, and close by was seen
a small vessel, the Sisters (Sostrene), a schooner from
Tromso, which greeted the Fram with hearty cheers.
Captain Bottolfsen coming on board. The first question

no IV THE ''FKAM" I'AREl)

Z'^Z

put to him was whether Nansen and Johaiiscn had ar-
rived in Norway. The negative answer to this acted like
an uncomfortable (himper on the joy they had experienced
in getting out of the ice, and few on board the Fram had
any liope now of ever seeing us again. Supposing, liow-
ever, that people on S|)itzbergen might be better informed,
they went there to meet Andree, who was supposed to
be at that place. There, however, the intelligence was no
more reassuring, and their fears for us — their two com-
rades — grew more and more serious. Captain Sverdrup
was perhaps the only man on board who still believed
that we were alive ; he thought that we had arrived at
Franz Josef Land so late last autumn tiiat we had been
obliged to winter there with Jackson's expedition, and all
on board were agreed to go at once to Franz Josef Land
to look for us. The Fram was indeed fully equipjjed
for starting on a new polar exjDedition, should it be neces-
sary. To make quite certain, however, it was decided to
go home to Norway to see if there might be any later
intelligence of us there.

It was during the night of August 20 that the Fram
cast anchor in the little haven of Skjarvo, in Finmark.
Sverdrup immediately rowed ashore to despatch some tele-
grams. After he had hammered for some time in vain
upon the various doors of the telegraph office, a head was
put out of a window, and an angry voice called out : —

" It 's too bad that one can't even be allowed a quiet
night's rest ! What do you want, and who are you ? "

" My name is Sverdrup, and I am captain of the Fram',''
came the quiet answer.

At this the tone of voice in the window immediately
changed. " I '11 come directly," it shouted, and the win-

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clow was closed again. Sverdrup went around the house
to the entrance, and there, to his surprise, found the
person whom he had seen at the window in the simplest
(ieshabiHe standing fully dressed before him. No human
being had ever dressed more quickly, he thought ; and his
astonishment was not lessened by the first words that the
head of the telegraph office said to him, " Nansen and
Johansen have come back."

Sverdrup hardly gave himself time tc answer, but
rushed down the island to the shore to shout out the
glad news to his comrades, wlio fell on one another's
necks in mad delight. The news was immediately sent
out over the water to the Fram, which soon after greeted
it with a salute of two guns, which echoed far out into the
still summer night, proclaiming the return of the Norwe-
gian polar expedition to its native land. (Nansen and
Johansen met the Fram in Tromso harbor.)

RKCEPTION AND FESTIVITIES AT CHRISTIANIA

The reception vvhieli took place at Cliristiania on Sep-
tember 9 was so brilliant that no sovereign could be
welcomed more royally.

As soon as the tidinL!;s of Nansen's and the hratus
return were flashed over the world, committees were
formed to arranjjje j^reat festivities, and they worked with
unremitting zeal to have everything ready at the proper
time. The notice was rather short, but it appeared to be
long enough, as everybody was anxious to assist, and a
hundred willing hands were ready where there was room
and use for only two.

On Wednesday, September 9, the cajjital of Norway
was in its best attire. There were flags everywhere along
the route of the procession, and festoons of evergreens,
and shields with the names of the explorers in silver on a
blue ground ; but the most original spectacle was an im-
mense triumphal arch, occupied by several hundred young
people dressed in white.

All business was suspended, stores and ofifices closed
at noon, and crow'ds of people thronged the streets from
early morning.

The festivities commenced on Christiania Fjord. A
fleet of about a hundred giyly decorated steamers, large
and small, sailed out in the "♦lorning to meet the Fram
and escort the good ship tc the city. While this grand
demonstration was t^iking place on the sea, every locality
in and around the city from which one could get a view
was filled with people.

When the large fleet of steamers met the Fram and

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NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

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her escort of eight men-of-war, a tremendous cheer rang
out, and the Fram steamed into port amidst the sakites
from the ships and the guns on land. She looked quite
insignificant with her sombre and ice-battered hull in
these gay surroundings.

The guns of the fortress then gave the signal that the
fleet had arrived, and a boat rowed by quite young sailor
boys took Nansen and his men from the Fram, while the
multitude cheered and waved their handkerchiefs on see-
ing the hero of the day, who was dressed in his celebrated
blue jacket. At the pavilion, on the pier, a large chorus
of men sang with great effect, at this inspiring moment,
the well-known hymn, " A Mighty Fortress is our God."

While everybody present joined in singing the national
hymn, Nansen and his comrades walked froni the boat to
the tent, where the indescribably joyful meeting with their
families and most intimate friends tool: place. Then
followed the official reception, at which Mr. Sunde, the
president of the Christiania City Council, made the speech
of welcome. After deafening cheers Nansen responded
in a loud, sonorous voice : —

" Countrymen • it is a difficult task to express the feel-
ings that animate my comrades and myself. Well I
remember the day we left home. The fjord lay before
us heavy with rain ; it was hard to say Good-by, and
great was the responsibility; we felt that Norway's best
wishes were with us ; we realized that if we flinched the
country would he disappointed. But I was certain that
my men would do their duty even to the shedding of the
last drop of blood. I can say that no one ever went to
the North with nobler men than I did. I thank you,
from the bottom cf my heart, for your greeting of v/cl-

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come, — a greeting that hardly any other Norwegian ever
received. Thanks to Christiania. We only did our
duty, therefore the welcome is doubly dear to us. Long
life to our capital city ! y it often send out men like

those it sent with me ! "

After the reception was ended the explorers were taken
into carriages, — Nansen and Captain Sverdruj) in the
first, — leading the procession as it moved up through
the city.

They received unceasing ovations, and on passing un-
der the triumphal arch, wdth its living decorations, flowers
were thrown to the heroes. The professors and students
awaited them at the university, and on their arrival the
rector. Professor Schiotz, on behalf of science, welcomed
Nansen and crowned " The Heroes from the Desolate
Ice Fields " with laurel.

The goal of the procession was the royal castle, into
which Nansen and his men passed while interminable
masses of people collected outside, and called for him so
persistently that he had to appear, time after time, on the
balcony to bow his acknowledgments. At the state din-
ner that followed and to which about one hundred people
were invited, Nansen wore the Grand Cross of the Order
of St. Olaf, with which King Oscar had honored him at
the reception at the castle. Sverdrup wore the cross of a
commander, and the scientific members of the expedition
the cross of knights, and the other members, the new
Fram medal of silver. The only speech that was made
was that of the King, who said : —

" This is a notable day indeed. Nansen is now, as a
discoverer, the victorious pioneer of an important work of
civilization, whom the whole world greets with acknow-

RECEPTIOX A WD FESTIVITIES

319

ledgment and admiration. His countrymen greet him
witli special pride, joy, and enthusiasm, because this great
feat was accompHshed by Norwegians alone. When the
Fram sailed away she was followed \\ ith hope, fear, and
doubt; but mtelligence, prudence, and dauntless courage
dispelled our fears and fortified our hopes. Colin i\rch-
er's Fram, with Sverdrup at the helm and Nansen on the
commander's bridge, and a crew of brave men, conquered
the many difficulties. The Fram reached a point farther
north than any other ship ever did ; and its fearless leader
went still nearer to the Pole with but a single companion,
defying dangers the thought of which makes one shud-
der, and which cannot fail to awaken the highest admira-
tion. A kind Providence held its protecting hand over
our countrymen and insured them a safe return. But we
will not give greater credit to Providence than is its due.
Providence usually sides with prudence and courage,
therefore we will rather emphasize the remarkable accu-
racy of Nansen's calculations. When the Fram returned,
a great shout of joy echoed through Norway's mountains
and all along its coasts. The Fram has had a trium-
phant voyage; she has returned with her full crew, unin-
jured, and with stores still unexhausted, — all visible proofs
of the great care that has made this polar expedition a
success.

"And now you stand here in the royal castle, and the
King of Norway feels that it is not only his sacred duty,
but that it is his incontestable right, to interpret the feel-
ings of the Norwegian people at this moment. Accept,
then, through me, the entire people's sincere and heart-
felt thanks for what you have done, for the joy you have
caused in Norwegian hearts, for the honor and lustre you

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NANSEN IN THE FROZEN WORLD

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have spread over your fatherland. These evidences of
appreciation will not die, but will survive those who are
present here, and will descend to posterity century after
century, as long as the Norwegian mountains stand. We
will salute Fridtjof Nansen and his men with three times
three cheers."

When Nansen left the castle at nine o'clock to drive
to his home, he found the city illuminated with bonfires
and torches. The next day (Thursday) the city was astir
early, ready for new ovations. In the forenoon a large
parade consisting of over tw^enty thousand school chil-
dren, dressed in their best and carrying flags, passed be-
fore Nansen and his men, who were stationed under a
triumphal arch, where they were nearly buried under the
masses of flowers that the httle girls threw at them.

In the evening the city of Christiania tendered the
party a great banquet, in which about five hundred per-
sons participated. The next evening there w^as a festival
performance at the theatre, after which a torch-light pro-
cession of students accompanied Nansen to a banquet at
the Students' Club.

The ovation ended the next day with a great popular
festival in the open air at which over thirty thousand peo-
ple were present. There were addresses by Pjornstjerne
Bjornson and others. Nansen expressed his thanks amid
tumultuous applause. Then followed singing and dan-
cing, illuminations and fireworks, and thus ended the great
festival in Christiania where the whole nation had united
to give one of its greatest sons a royal reception.

1 (

PEARY'S JOURNEY
ACROSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

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LIEUTENANT ROBERT E. PEARY, U. S. N.

THE NORTH GREENLAND EXPEDITION OF 1891-92
Written by Eiviiid Astrup for the Geographical Society of Christiania, Norway

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OUTLINE OF THE PLAN

Briefly told, the plan of Lieutenant Peary for this
expedition was as follows : With five or six companions
lie would land at Whale Sound, on the western coast of
Greenland, latitude j-j" 35' N., in June or July. The
remainder of the summer and the autumn were to be
spent in erecting a hut in which to spend the winter,
storing meat and other supplies, making scientific re-
searches, collecting specimens, and making excursions to
the inland ice. In addition to this, if the character of the
season would permit, a depot of provisions was to be
formed near the southern corner of Humboldt Glacier.
During the winter the members of the party would repair
their sledges and ski, mend their clothes, and get into
readiness for use whatever they might need for travelling
purposes. They would also practise running on ski and
on Canadian snow-shoes. In the spring four or five of
the party would make an effort to cross the inland ice to
Petermann Fjord. From that point, if reached, two or
three of them would continue the journey, while the
others would return to Whale Sound. The advance
party would push on to the most northern point in Green-
land. After ascertaining its exact geographical position,
they would commence the return trip and rejoin their
companions at Whale Sound, and the entire party would,
at the first opportunity, return to the United States.

CHAPTER XVIII

WINTER gUARTERS AND TREPARATIONS

EiviND AsTRUP, the author of tliis sketch of a most
remarkable expedition, was a young Norwegian who ac-
companied Lieutenant Peary on his periious journey over
the inland ice and to the most northern point of Green-
land. The following is his narrative : —

The number of members of this expedition was five.
Besides Lieutenant Peary, its commander, there were Dr.
F. A. Cook, a physician and a very active and energetic
man who was about thirty years of age; Mr. Langdon
Gibson, a prominent sportsman and an excellent hunter,
who rendered invaluable assistance to the party; Mr.
John T. Verhoeff, the mineralogist of the expedition, who
contributed $2,000 toward fitting it out and who never
returned ; and myself. I was the youngest member of
the party, not having completed my twentieth year when
we left port. Each member tendered his services without
remuneration. Matthew Henson, a colored man who had
been in Lieutenant Peary's service for many years, went
with us as cook. A remarkable innovation which gave
the expedition an added, not to say a sensational interest,
was the presence of Lieutenant Peary's wife, who ear-
nestly desired to accompany her husband. Up to this
time no white woman had ever ventured into the Arctic
regions.

The expedition left New York June 6, 1891, in the

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ACHOSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

Kite, a small steam sealer. Besides the members of the
party, a number of scientists from Philadelphia sailed with
us to make observations and collections during the voy-
age, and intending to return in the vessel after having
landed us at our northern port.

After a prolonged and tedious voyage along the coasts
of North America and Newfoundland, and over Davis
Strait, we sighted, on June 23, the land to which we had
longed to come.

On the western coast of Greenland we called at the
Danish colonies, Godhavn and Upernavik. At each of
these places we were well received and hospitably enter-
tained by the Danish officers stationed there.

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326

ACKOSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

On July 2 we were stopped by ice in Melville Bay, and
for three weeks we were able to make but little progress.
Here the time passed very slowly, as we were all impatient
to reach our j)oint of destination, the place on Inglefield
Ciulf where we expected to have our winter quarters.

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KK-l'ACK IN ,MK1.VII.1.K HAY

Our principal occupation at this time was the shooting of
a few seals and some sea-birds.

On July 1 1 a great misfortune befell Lieutenant Peary.
This was the fracturing of his right leg. Although com-
pletely disabled physically, he accepted the situation
calmly and uncomplainingly. For four weeks he was
confined to his bed, but he never lost his patience or
wavered in his confidence of success.

Our first bear was shot on July i6. During the next
few days several more of these ferocious creatures were

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seen, but wc were not able to get within shooting distance
of any of them.

While east of Cape York, on July 22, we got out of the
pack-ice, and on the next day we beheld in the distance
the desert coast which was to be our home during the
coming winter.

The place which Lieutenant Peary had finally chosen
for our winter quarters was situated on the southern side
of McCormick Bay a little south of latitude 78°. We
reached it early in the morning of July 24, and spent
almost the entire day in looking for the most suitable spot
upon which to build our house. Toward evening we de-
cided to take a small dry place that was near the coast,
with a creek running directly past it.

During the following week the crew were busy hauling
our provisions and stores, while we were equally industri-
ous in building a house out of the materials which we had
brought along in the ship for that purpose. This house
was twenty-two feet long and twelve feet broad, and was
divided into two rooms, one of which was considerably
larger than the other. The walls and roof were made of
one-inch boards, which were covered on the inside with
tarred pasteboard. A foot inside of this wall there was
another covering of common pasteboard lined with thick
blankets. On the outside a wall of stone, three feet high,
was built around the house. Upon this wall we piled the
numerous boxes and barrels in which our provisions were
stored. In the autumn we stretched a canvas awning
from the roof of the wall around the house, and thus
formed a closed passage surrounding the building. This
aided greatly in keeping the interior warm and cosey
during the winter.

WINTER QUARTERS AND PREPARAT/ONS 329

of
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On July 30 the KiU left us, after Lieutenant Peary,
who was still unable to walk, had been carried ashore on
a stretcher which was constructed for the occasion. The
house was then almost completed. We were not at all
sad to see the ship, our last connection with the civilized
world, disappear in the distance. Now we were alone,
and could without interrujjtion take up the work of the
present and prepare for that which lay before us in the
coming year.

Before the house was quite completed we commenced
many other things that were to be done before winter set
in. One of the principal of these matters was to form the
acquaintance of some Eskimos living on Northumberland
Island and persuade them to settle near our house. This,
because they would be of great assistance to us in the
winter by sewing our skin garments, and might be helpful
in various other wavs. On August 12 four of us set out
on a boat expediti .1 to the island. We reached it safely
and found some Eskimos. The first meeting with them
seemed very queer, as we did not understand a word of
their language and they were equally ignorant of ours.
Still, by means of signs, we managed to make them un-
derstand what we wanted. A family, consisting of a man,
his wife, and two children, were willing to go with us at
once, and we took them over in our boat, arriving at the
house on the i8th of Auecust.

Summer was now far advanced. The remainder of the.
season was spent partly in making short ti'ips to' examine
the inland ice and partly in hunting reindeer. We
needed the latter both for their meat, to help out our
supply of food, and for their skins, with which to make
clothing for the winter. On these hunting trips we went

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330 \^CI^OSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

nearly to the end of McCormick Bay, and we were usually
quite successful. We had killed, in all, thirty-four rein-
deer that autumn, when darkness set in and we were
obliged to cease our hunting expeditions.

On October 26 the sun left us, not to return for nearly
four months. During about half of this period there was
hardly any difference in the light between night and day.
I will try to give an idea of what we did in this long
period of darkness. As I said before, our hut was warm
and cosey, and though the quarters were close we all got
along very well. We had three meals each day. The
last of these consisted of reindeer meat and different
canned vc<j:etables, and was more elaborate than either of
the others. The day was spent in various kinds of man-
ual labor. This was partly in the nature of necessity, as
there were many things to be done in the way of prepara-
tion for our sledge journey in the following spring. I did
most of the carpenter work, making sledges, ski, and
other articles. Among the others. Lieutenant Peary
particularly excelled in the high art of cutting clothes, and
most of our skin garments were made after his patterns.
Dr. Cook performed quite respectable work as a tanner,
and Mr. Gibson was equally successful in the line of shoe-
making. After a time we became so proficient in these
occupations that we jokingly expressed to each other our
doubts whether we had ever been doing anything else in
this life but tan, sew, or cut patterns for the peculiar fash-
ion of clothes which we wore.

On Saturdays we began the day by sweeping the long
stovepipe. This was such i. difficult task that all of the
male members of the expedition were obliged to help ;
and when it was finished, if one were to judge by the color

WINTER QUARTERS AXD rREPARATIONS 331

of our faces, he could have easily imagined that we were
members of a negro settlement in the dark continent.
But to make up for tliis dis< omfort we had, e\ery Satur-
day evening, a warm bath in an old petroleum barrel.
The bath could be had with or without assistance, as the
bather preferred. If he wanted it, the help of two or
three obliging Eskimos, who used soap and scrubbing-
brush with considerable energy, was freely given.

On Sundays we walked about in our more or less worn
civilized attire, and, considering the circumstances, ap-
peared to be a rather fine looking set; but on Monday
morning we were content to put aside all regards to
vanity and cheerfully don our skin clothes again.

The clothes last named were made of reindeer skin,
which, in proportion to its weight, is the best material
known to furnish protection from the cold. The skins
were prepared in the singular but rather troublesome
Greenland way of chewing them, after they are dried, in
order to break the fibres. The sewing was done by the
Eskimo women before the winter had fairly commenced.
Skin clothes, like clothes made of other material, wear
out. They resemble clothes made of other materials also,
in that they wear more in some places than they do in
others. This was especially noticeable in respect to the
trousers. Toward the end of winter we all looked like
gorillas. Our dignified doctor had attempted to mend
one of his garments by putting a patch of ice bear skin
on the most exposed place. The long white hair stick-
ing out certainly gave him a comical appearance.

We filled in a afood deal of the time durinsf the winter
in reading old newspapers and magazines, scientific
works, and books pertaining to Arctic travel, of which we

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ACROSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

had brought a large supply. Our evenings were largely
spent in attempting to talk to the Eskimos. We told
them of the distant countries to the south. Thvjy ap-
peared deeply interested ; but when we asked them if they
would like to go with us, when the ship came to take us
to our homes, they replied with great earnestness that
they would never leave their countiy of rocks and ice.
They often sang and danced for us. That is, one man
or woman, at a time, would go out on the floor and make
the most hideous faces and movements, singing more or
less improvised songs of a mystic character, which we
could not understand, and beating a drum as an accom-
paniment. The other Eskimos and ourselves, all but the
negro, stood around the dancer in a circle. The negro
sat away back, on the edge of his berth, and played hymn-
tunes on an accordion which was sadly out of tune, as a
kind of protest against this display of heathenism.

Nearly every day during the winter we received new
visits from Eskimos. This was especially noticeable
when we had a full moon. Then they would fairly come
in droves. On these occasions some of them would build
their characteristic cupola formed snow-huts immediately
upon their arrival, and would settle down there to live ;
while others, who intended to stay only a short time, were
usually allowed to sleep on the floor of our house, where
they often could be seen packed as closely as sardines.
One can easily imagine that at first this was decidedly
disagreeable particularly to our sense of smell ; but such is
the modifying effect of habit that the atmosphere, which
had seemed almost suffocating, by degrees became endur-
able, and at length caused us no trouble whatever. By
this intimate association with the natives, we soon

WINTER QUARTERS AND PREPARATIONS 333

learned their characters, and obtained considerable prac-
tical knowledge of their difficult language.

Of course, Christmas must be celebrated, even though
we could not have balls and sleigh rides ; so on Christmas
Eve we had a large dinner party. About six o'clock we
sat down to the table with solemn air but cheerful hearts.
We wore our finest raiment, but with most of us this
consisted of a funny mixture of stylish and improvised
clothes. We attacked the menu in a resolute manner,
and stopped only when we could hold no more. Then
we gave room to our friends, the Eskimos. We had
several visitors just then, and we were resolved to serve
them at our table in a civilized manner. Having never
before used knives and forks, they were decidedly awk-
ward in their efforts to eat as white men do. It was
quite amusing to see how carefully they put the food in
their mouths for fear of hurting their cheeks with the
tines of the fork ; and they seemed to enjoy the situation
as well as we did. Later in the evening some of the
members of the expedition secretly put on masks. I
shall never forget the scene that followed. Old women
and children alike screamed with fright, and even the
bravest of the men disappeared with remarkable alertness
through the door. This closed the festivities of the
evening. It was late in the forenoon of the next day
before we could induce the good people to enter our
house again. When we explained to them the mystery
of the great change in the appearance of our faces on
the previous evening, and showed them the masks, they
were filled with admiration, and had much enjoyment
with the toys which had previously filled their minds
with alarm.

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334

ACROSS NORTIIERX GREENLAND

Between Christmas and New Year it snowed almost
incessantly. During the winter there was a snowfall of
a little more than twenty-three feet. The northern lights
were not very brilliant. Our chief consolation during the
long winter night was the moon. This luminary, when
it appeared, stayed with us uninterruptedly for six or
seven days, and spread such a lustre over the vast waste
of ice that we could easily imagine ourselves in the land
of fairy tales, wdiere everything is made of shining silver.

Late in January w^e began to see a faint light to the
south, and not long afterward we noticed a brief day. On
February 13 we rejoiced to see the returning sun, that had
been absent one hundred and ten days. Our dark winter
night had passed more quickly and more agreeably than
wc had expected, but we were glad that it was over.
Upon myself its principal effect had been to give me a
strong feeling of cosiness and comfort when I came in-
doors from the cold and unceasing darkness outside.
After the return of the sun the air became milder dav
by day. During the whole of January and February the
temperature averaged minus 40" Celsius. The lowest tem-
perature noted in the entire winter was minus 47}° Celsius.

About the middle of February we were surprised by
a very marked and interesting change in the weather.
There was a storm from the southeast, and the mercury
suddenly rose to 5°, with a heavy rain. This was be-
tween -jf and 78° N. latitude, and in the coldest month
of the year. A few days later the cold was as severe as
it had been during most of the season.

March and April were busy months for us all. The
work on our equipment was pushed rapidly forward. We
also made some hunting expeditions, and spent seven days

WINTER QUARTERS AXD TR EPA RATIONS 335

in a sleigh trip around Inglefielcl Gulf. By the end of the
latter month we had c()m})leted everything needed for
travelling over the inland ice. We had also obtained, by
barter with the Eskimos, twenty of their strongest dogs.

Of the equipment I will mention ski, sledges, Canadian
snow-shoes, and sleeping-bags made of reindeer skins.
We found afterward that the sleeping-bags were not

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necessary, as our clothes proved warm enough to sleep
in, and the bags were left on our way. On account of its
heavy weight we could not carry a tent. When we
wanted to sleep, in fair weather we simply laid down on
the snow, sheltered by a sledge ; if it stormed we crept
under an oilcloth. All of our cooking was clone by
the aid of a spirit lamp. Pemmican, dried and ground

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336

ACJiOSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

meat mixed with fat, was our principal food during the
whole journey, but we also had some shipsbread, a little
rancid butter, Knor s pea flour, condensed milk, chocolate,
and meat powder.

On April 30 we transferred provisions, sledge:;, and
other equipments from our winter quarters to McCormick
Bay, and afterward to the border of the inland ice. It was

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ICEBERG OFF CAPE CLEVELAND, MCCORMICK BAY

exceedingly hard work ; and as our course took us through
deep drifts of snow and over steep heaps of stones, it was
necessary to make the loads very small. Wher this work
was accomplished everything was in readiness; and the
small party, consisting of Lieutenant Peary, Gibson, Dr.
Cook, and myself, set out with hope and confidence that
in due time we should reach our distant destination.

WINTER QUARTERS AND PRErARATJOAS 337

After nicirchini;- for several days we encountered a furi-
ous snow-storm, which compelled us to halt. We built
a snow hut (l^lskimo igloo), in which we took shelter.
The storm raged for tiiirty-si\ hours. When it ceased,
and we crejjt out of oiu- narrow quarters, a sad sight met
our eyes. Our sledges were nearly buried under great
hills of hard snow^ and two of our larire tin boxes contain-
ing shipsbread had been swept by the wind over a preci-
pice, where we could not recover them. Ten of our dogs,
always restless in a snow-storm, had gnawed their harness
and straps in pieces, and were loose, while three of the
others had been attacked by a disease which the Eskimos
call poblakto, similar to hydrophobia, and were at the
point of death. This was extremely discouraging, as there
was great danger that the other dogs would fall victims
to the malady, in which case it would be impossible for
us to proceed. During the long storm the dogs had be-
come very hungry, and those that had freed themselves
from their straps had devoured everything eatable that
was not buried under the snow. Fortunately our provi-
sions were packed in hermetically closed tin cans, which
l^roved .imjjervious to the teeth of the dogs. The catch-
ing of the loose dogs, which were not yet well acc|uainted
with their new masters, was a difficult task that not only
severely tested our patience, but also caused our spirits to
sink to zero.

The usual method of catching one of these dogs is to

entice him to come near you by throwing small pieces of

pemmican or. the snow. In a favorable moment you seize

him by the neck with a firm grip. You then press his

head into the snow and hold him in this position until

some one else can harness him. If one is well practised
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338

JCA'O.SS XOKTIthlRN GREEXLAND

in this work he can, as a rule, do it without getting bitten
more than two or three times. In two cases we had to
lasso the dog doubly, each man clinging tightly to his rope
and a third man holding the animal down in order to
make it possible for a fourth person to |)ut on a new har-
ness or repair the old one.

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bErAUAlIUN UK ICli M.UKS

CHAPTKR XIX

ACROSS TIIK ICK CM'

TnK following (lays \\c had slow and tedious work-
climbing the steep hills; but after May 14 we found the
inland ice slowly sloping up toward the northeast and
shilling with an intense brightness in the light of the sun.
We then began regularly to travel at night, when the
reflection of the sun on the snow was less annoying.
The much warmer day was sacrificed to the gods of sleep
and to the art of preparing tea and j)ea soup. We
had reached an elevation of three thousand five hundred
feet above the sea level. Four of our dogs had died of
poblakto, so we only had sixteen of the animals with
which we had started. We therefore left some damaged
sledges and all the articles we could possibly do without.
Even then our outfit weighed about one thousand eight
hundred pounds.

On May 17 we reached the highest point between
Inglefield Gulf and Kane Basin. Before us, sloj)ing
toward the north and northeast, but so little as to be
hardly noticeable, lay the inland ice. I had often told my
companions that this was the Norwegian Independence
Day, and they desired to observe it in some manner that
should distinguish it from ordinary days. Dr. Cook,
who had the gift of making something good out of very
poor materials, proposed, after we had made our camp in
the morning, to make a fire out of a broken ski and cook

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340

ACA'OSS NOKTIIEKN GNEEXI.AND

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a nical that would make our mouths water. lie carried
out his |)art of the j)roi;ramme to perfection. We had
hardly ever eaten a meal with greater relish than we did
the one on that mornin;.; of Ma\' 17. The principal dish
was of the doctor's own invention. 'Ihe recijje from
which it was made i> as follows: '10 one litre of warm
liea-souj), add some pieces of i)emmican. If the pem-
mican is fro/en hard, chop it into small i)ieces with an
a.\c. This will (-ansc it lo melt more readilv. Stir the

I'KAKV AM) HIS (OMI'WKINS

whole over a fire, usint^ pemmican enough to make the
mi.xture quite thick. It is a very palatable dish, and, if
not eaten in too large ciuantities, is easilv digested.

On. May iS and 19 we made good progress, covering a
distance of about twenty-two miles each day. On May 20
we encountered a snow-storm from the southeast, and were
obliged to make our cam]) much earlier than usual. As
soon as we halted, we commenced makinir a snow hut.

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34a ylCA'OSS X0A"J7//':A\\' CREEXI.AXn

Here \vc well' snow-bouiul for two clays. Had wc
known that two ami a half months would pass before wc
should au;aiii he under a roof, wc i)robably should have
accepted this detention with much less dissatisfaction.

We were not able to resume our journey until Sunday,
May 22. When we had removed the snow with which
our sledges were covered we found, to our <;reat disap-
l)ointment, that the only luxury among our stores — ten
packages of fruit preserves — had disappeared. The ex-
planation was easy. The dogs had gotten loose, visited
the sledges, and eaten what they found, liut the |)re-
serves did not agree with their stomachs, and the poor
animals suffered .severely for their pilfering.

During the next two days we covered a distance of
about forty-four nu'les, although we used neither ski noi
snow-shoes. On the morning of May 24 we were east of
the ilumboldt (ilacier, and about one hundred and thirty
miles from McCormick hay. After finishing our meal
Lieutenant Peary informed us that, a(x^ording to the |)lan
which had been laid out, the time had come for our little
c()m|)any to se|)arate. Two of its members must return
to Redcliffe House (our winter (|uarters) and the other
two continue the work of exploration. The object of the
latter party would be to determine how far north the
Greenland continent extends. It would require a long
journey and involve great difiFiculties. Rapid travelling
would be necessary, and the carrying of a sufficient cpian-
tity of provisions to last for (piite a period would be indis-
j)ensable. If conditions are favorable a dog can draw, on
the inland ice, a load of about one hundred and twenty-
five pounds, and requires only about one pound of penimi-
can per day for food. It was therefore desirable that the

.ICA'OSS THE ICh. CAT

y\^

party proccccliiii;' north should luivo a small luimhrr oi'
jK'opk' and a relatively large luinibi-r of doiijs. '\'\\\^
would admit of tin- carrying; of ])rovi.si()ns for a loiigci'
period than would otlu'r\\i>e he i)ossil)le, and would also
afford the means of takiiiLi' alonii' a lariier number of

41 Ci t?

scientifie instruments.

Lieutenant Peary now in(|uire(l who would he uillini;-
to accompany him farther north. We each and all \-olun-
teercd. lie selected me for his comijanion, and before we
returned I accomplished llu- end I had wished foi" on the
day that I offered my services to the e.\])edition in I'hila-
delphia.

We now camped toi;i'ther for the last time. After our
sleep we made |)ieparations, in the afternoon, to ])art.
(iibson and tlu' doctor took one of the smaller sledges,
two of the dogs, and pro\isions for twelve days. Lieuten-
ant Peary and myself took the rt-maining sixtei-n dogs
and the othei- sledges. The latter wc tied one behind
anothei' with ro|)es. Oui' entire load wi-ighed about
twelve hundred i)ounds.

When our two j)arlies were ready to moxe we sliook
hands, the whins cracked, and we LTot under wav. Ciibson
and Dr. Cook went toward the south, with Redcliffe
House as their destination ; Peary and myself proceeded
to the northeast toward the distant and unknown i)oint at
the North Caj)c of Greenland. There was deep solemnity
at this parting, and none of us will ever forget the time
when, in tlie niidniuht hour, we lost siirht of each other in
the middle of a lonely desert of snow. From tliis j)oint
the success or failure of the expedition depended wholly
upon the fate of only two men.

That niglit we covered a distance of not quite four

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344

.ICA'OSS NORTriKRX GRlil-.Xr.lXD

miles, and wc nuulc our first camp alone early in the
morning. The next night one of the large sledges broke;
and as considerable time was occupied in repairing it, we
did not make much progress. We had now reached a
place where the snow was loose and deep, and during the
three following nights we were able to proceed only a
short distance.

On May 2.S we shot one of our dt)gs. 'Ihe weight of
our provisions had diminished so much that a smaller
number of animals was needed to draw the load. Hy
killing one of the dogs we could not only save the j)r()vi-
sions he would have eaten, but we could also use his flesh
as food for the others. In time we acquired considerable
facility in skinning and cutting up dogs, but it was the
most unpleasant work we had on the inland ice. It made
our hearts ache to kill the creatures that had been so
faithful to us. At first there were but few of the dogs
that had an aj^petite for the flesh of t leir fallen comrades;
but later, when provisions became scarce and they suf-
fered from hunger, the sur\ivors all ate it readily.

Three ni<>hts of marching brought us within sight of
Petermann I'^jord. In the background we could see,
through the clear air, to Hall Hasin, a good deal south of
latitude <sr\ y\fter this there were so many deep cre-
vasses in the ice that we were obliged to turn more
toward the east than our course had thus far been di-
rected. On the 3(1 of June we had to kill another dog.
This left us fourteen.

Vox a few days we made rapid progress. Then we
a^ain caught siHit of the mountains on the coast. Dur-
ing a week of marching on the ice we had made our way
into a trap from which it took us several days to escape.

ACROSS Tim ICJi CAP

345

On the 9th aiul loth of June there was a snow-storm
which compelled us to halt. We si)ent the time under an
oilcloth cover, an improvised sleeping-saloon that was not
tight enough to give us the most perfect protection.

When the storm was over we resumed our march, but
had not been moving more than a half hour when we
were cut oFf from our course by large crevasses. We now
saw that we had come too near the coast and were LToinij:
down a sIojdc that would lead us to a dangerous locality.
It was evident that we must again climb up to the inland
ice. This required two days of hard work to accomplish.
Our best dog sprained a leg, lagged behind, and was lost.
We also lost an excellent telescope down a crevasse.

The time that followed was somewhat monotonous, yet
was full of interest to explorers. On account of the
numerous crevasses our j)rogress was slow; but when on
June 26 we reached a height of 6,000 feet, this difficulty
was over, and our spirits were jjercejitibly raised. Though
I can assure you that he is not at all of a musical turn, I
could off and on hear Pearv sinic, while I sanij; Norweoian
sono:s as well as I knew how. At these unusual sounds
the doo's turned their heads, and the intelli<'ent look in
their eyes indicated that they were trying to assure them-
selves that they had human beings for companions.

After reaching the elevation noted, we were obliged for
four nights to go in a southeasterly direction, as our direct
progress was checked by a fjord, Victoria Inlet, that
seemed to have no end. At last, in the night between
luly I and 2, we found that it was a canal which sepa-
rated the rocks to the north from the real continent of
Greenland. We were then at a height of 5,000 feet,
and could sec below the end of the inland ice. Nearer

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AC A' OSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

and nearer we
a p p r f ) a c li e d
the dark mo-
raine until at
last the memo-
rable moment
arrived when
we set foot on snow-free land
after two months of continuous ski
and snow-shoe runnino;.

It was nearly midnight when
we reached the moraine. A cou-
])le of snow-sparrf)ws chirped us a
''•reetin<j: of welcome, and we heard
the pl'jasant rippling of a fountain
among the large stones that every-
where covered the ground. We
did not need coaxing to throw our-
selves upon the ground and drink
freely of the refreshing stream.
Life had never seemed more beautiful than it did at tliis
moment.

Peary at once started on a tour of discovery, and soon
found something that quickened the hunting blood in our
veins. This was a fresh track of musk oxen. \\q cer-
tainly did not forget to take a rifle and some cartridges
with us when, on the next morning, July 3, we started on
a tour with ])rovisions sufficient to last four days. \\'c>
also carried thermometers, barometers, and photographic
and cooking apparatus. Slinging our bundles upon our
backs we were off. Peary led the way, I followed, with
our seven dogs. Our sledges and the rest of our luggage
we left behind among the stones.

A srKllMI N III' CKIK.M.ANl)
K I.OKA

A CI! OSS THE ICE CAP

347

Up and clown \vc went to the coast, over hills and dales,
through creeks, along rapidly running streams, and beside
small dark lakes the livelong day betore we stoj^ped to
rest. Everywhere we found numberless small loose and
sharp stones, which made the march in our thin-soled
seal-skin kamiks a time of continual sufferin^•.

During the march we collected specimens of several
minerals and also obtained a number of red, yellow, and
white flowers that enlivened the otherwise dreary scene.
Several times we found tracks of musk oxen, but none
of the animals were in si<>ht. In the evenin<>:, after our
march of twelve hours, we were sore-footed and faii<j:<-'d out,
but we had hardly eaten our plain supper of })emmican
and shipsbread before we fell into a sweet sleep lying
among the stones.

The next day brought glatl surprises ./nd i)roved a
U'reat festival for us. In the morninp-, about an hour
after resuming our journey, we came to a rock about
4,000 feet high. l*'rom thi> |)()int, far away to the north-
east, we saw the ocean covered with a shining layer of
white. We had reached the east coast, but we only had a
glimpse of what we tlesired to see in broad expanse. For
two hours we pressed on, but then there was an abrupt
ending of our marching for the day. Right before us,
and but little more than a half mile away, we caught sight
of somethiiii>; that attracted our attention and caused each
of us to utter an exclamation of glad surprise. Two musk
oxen were moving ovev the stones. We quickly agreed,
by means of signs, that Peary should follow them with the
rifle, while I should conceal our seven dogs, in order that
they might not scent the game, which we greatly desired
to secure. When the dogs were attended to, I waited and

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AC A' OSS NORTJIKRN GREENJ.AND

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listened with great anxiety. Soon I heard three sharp
reports of tlie rille, Ijy whieh my exeitenient was made
still more intense. i\i length the tall form of Peary came
into view on the sloi)e above me. He nodded, gesticu-
lated, and laughed, liy this I knew what had occurretl.
We were to have a supply of fresh meat ! In a few jumi)s
I cleared the hill. The dogs kept me comi)any, and
double-quick time was made to the place where the ani-
mals lay. There were two cows and two calves. Three
of them Peary had killed. The smallest of the grouj), a
young long-legged calf, was alive and was calling faintly
to its dead mother for i)rotection.

After securing our dogs to some large stones we a}>
proached our game. The grown animals were as large as
cows two years old. They were covered with long black
hair that, when they stood upright, nearly touched the
ground. The heads were disproportionately large, the
liorns were thick and curved, and the faces were half
hidden bv long locks resembling manes. Altogether, the
animals jjresented a very wild and uncanny aj^pearance.

We photographed the creatures in different positions,
and then removed their skins. This took us several
hours. Upon searching for the calf we found it lying
dead among the stones. The poor creature had probably
been killed by fear and excitement.

It was a matter of course that we should celebrate the
securing of such splendid game by a banquet for our-
selves and the dogs. Preparations were commenced at
once. We began by roasting pieces of the meat over our
small spirit lamps, but as this took a long time we became
impatient and went to eating it raw. I suppose it was
because we had been eating pemmican so long that our

ACROSS THE ICE CAP

iV)

ap}3ctitcs for fresh meat were almost insatiable. We ate
so much that we were really alarmed, l^'or a while we
could hardly keep awake. Our splendid feast was finished
with a few cups of tea, to which we added some milk
obtained from the cows.

We did not forget or omit to feed the dogs. The)-
were greatly excited by the fresh and bloody meat, and

! -'J

MUSK OX

thoroughly cleaned all the bones of the large animals. It
was late at night when we all got settled down to sleep.

The next morning we saw another lot of the musk cattle
grazing at a little distance from us. There were six ani-
mals in this herd. It was my turn to use the rifle. We
did not need the flesh of more than one ; and as I did not
want to cause unnecessary injury, I decided to try to jMck
out a bull. When I came within shooting: distance I
selected one with enormous horns, similar to the old
northern drinking horns, that was evidently the leader of

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ICA'OSS AORIUEKN GREKM.AXD

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the band. When I fired he fell, fatally wounded ; the
others, alarmed at the report, ran a few hundred feet and
then quietly resumed their grazing.

I left the animal where it fell and at onee returned to
the camp, in order that we might j)roceed to a great rock,
about five miles away, from the top of which we expected
to obtain a fine view of the surroundinir recrion and take
some photograi)hs o'' the coast. i\<, we wished to do this
and return before nightfall, there was no time to lose.

We reached the toj) of the cliff about 9 a. m. A mag-
nificent view spread out before us — a view that will
never be forgotten. We were at an elevation of about
3,<Soo feet. 'I'he rock, to which Peary gave the name of
Navy Cliff, ended toward the north in a steep wall that
continued unbroken to the sea. At its foot was a nn'ghty
bay, widening toward the east and surrounded by high
and steejD walls of rock. How far this bay reached we
could not determine, as the \iew was cut off by large
rocks; but we considered it ])robable that it was directly
connected with Victoria Inlet, and that these two bodies
of water form a sort of canal that cuts off the land north
of the 82d parallel of latitude from the real continent of
Greenland. We firmly believe that here the main body
of land ends and that all the land to the north is in the
form of islands.

We took a number of astronomical observations, and
then got out our photogra])hic apparatus and sketch-
books. When we had finished our work we sat down to
our dinner. Peary brought out a small silver ilask con-
taining whiskey, which he carried for use in case of ill-
ness. We each took a drink, and Peary christened the
magnificent body of water we had found Independence

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ACROSS NORTHERN GREKNJ.AND

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Hay, in honor of the Fourth of July, the clay ujjon which
it had been discovered. We then built a tall beacon of
stones and placed in its centre a small bottle containint;
a paper upon which was written a short description of our
trip thus far. Two silk Hags which we had brought with
us were fastened to' a bamboo pole, which we i)laced
among the stones, and which were soon waving in the
fresh summer breeze.

On the 8th of July we commenced our return trip, that
lasted twenty-seven days. We had reached a height of
8,ooo feet, and were greatly delayed by storms and deep
loose snow. During the last seven days our average
distance was thirty-two miles per day, but during this
period the snow was firmer and the walking was much
better than it had previously been. During most of the
trip Peary used Canadian snow-shoes, while I used ski
exclusively.

On the 5th of August, as we were nearing our winter
quarters, the point at which our journey was begun, we
discovered, at a distance of about two miles, some dark
spots moving about on the surface of the snow. We
were soon convinced that they were men, but wc could
only guess who they were or on what errand they were
engaged. The doctor or Gibson and some lilskimos
might be out searching for us, but that seemed hardly
probable. We wondered if they could be members of the
expedition that was to take us home and who were out
examining the borders of the inland ice. We even que-
ried whether the ship that brought them might not at
that moment be lying in McCormick Bay awaiting our
return.
* Very soon after we saw these men they caught sight of

ACROSS THE ICE CAP

353

it of

us. We thought \vc could distinguish a faint sound as
of shouting, and the report of a gun. \V( answered im-
mediately with hearty cheers, and I discharged our rifle
twice.

Our last surmise in regard to the company proved to
be correct. As we approached we found that the fore-
most of the party was Professor lleiljirin, of Philadelp'nia,
the geologist who had accompanied us on the trip of the
previous year, and who was leader of this rescue exi)edi-
tion. The other members of the party, seven in number,
were also from Philadelphia. Of these, four were scien-
tists, one was an engineer, one an artist, and one a jour-
nalist. They were dressed in modern tourist suits and
carried shining mountain staffs and ice-axes, but none of
them had either snow-shoes or ski. As the cold of the
preceding night had not been severe enough to form a
frozen crust upon the surface of the deep and moist snow,
they were obliged to wade in a substance resembling
powdered sugar, into which they sank to the knees and
sometimes to the hips. The fact that they had walked
about five miles in this terrible slush was abundant evi-
dence of their zeal and perseverance.

At a distance of about three hundred and twenty-fi\'e
feet we commenced " shooting " at each other with the
well-known snap-shot kodaks. These little instruments
with their short cracks gave a kind of warlike appearance
to our meeting — a fin de siecle infantry volley, indeed.

As the parties approached each other a glad hurrah
sounded through the thin mountain air. Then came the
most hearty shaking of hands and an enthusiastic greeting
of the men who had come with the steamer Kite to take
us back to civilized society. Never to be forgotten was
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AC/iOSS NORTIfEKN GREENLAND

this meetinj^ with fcllovv-mcn after seventy-two days of
loneliness on an almost boundless field of snow. Neither
can we ever forget the intense interest and deep enjoy-
ment with which we listened to a recital of the great
events which had occurred in the inhabited world during
the year tliat had passed since we left our homes.

Slowly we made our way over the snow, but conversa-
tion did not flag. At length we reached the ship. Our
great journey was at an end.

Since leaving the house we had spent more than ninety
days on the inland ice of (ireenland, and had travelled
about thirteen hundred miles. We had found the exact
northern extent of the mighty ice cap of this great region,
and, with a probability bordering on certainty, had defined
the limits of the Greenland continent to the north. Our
observations showed that the land rapidly grows narrow
a little beyond latitude 78°, and very clearly indicated the
existence of several icc-frec islands to the north of the
mainland. We also obtained a great deal of information
regarding the meteorology of the region and the height
of the inland ice.

With our five faithful dogs we went upon the deck of
the vessel. Here the friendly sailors joyfully gave us
their hands and warmly congratulated us upon the suc-
cess of our exploring tour and our safe return. I hardly
need say that one of the first things we did after reaching
the vessel was to take a thorough bath and put on clean
clothes. Then an accommodating sailor freed us from
a large quantity of long matted hair. This gave us a
rather decent appearance, and we gathered around the
table for dinner, where we spent abundant time and did
full justice to the meal.

.tCKOSS Tlfl: ICE CAP

3SS

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Two clays later we had all of our things on board, and
the Kite steamed down the bay to our winter {|uarters.
There we were cordially welcomed by the other members
of the exjiedition, — the doctor, (iil^soii, V'erhoeff, and
I*eary's man Matt, all of whom met us at the shore. He-
hind them stood anuml)er of our native friends, who lonii
ago had given up all hope of our ever returning from the
great mountains, " Sormoksuak." 'I'heir faces were beam-
ing with joy, and the men listened in breathless excite-
ment when, a little later, I gave them a descrijjtion of our
meeting with musk oxen on the eastern coast. Many
were the questions that I had to answer; and with their
usual desire for exact information, they were not satisfied
until I had given them upon paper a careful drawing of
our route over the inland ice and of the coasts beyond.

Before we sailed for home a sad misfortune overtook
us. This was the loss of our mineralogist and meteoro-
logical observer, Mr. Verhoeff, who perished while on an
excursion which he undertook alone. Me had intended
to be away for two days. As he did not return at the end
of that time we began to feel anxious in regard to him,
and on the evening of the third day commenced a diligent
search. For seven days and nights we continued our
efforts ; but with the exception of some footprints on the
snow, not the slightest trace of our missing companion
could be found, and we were forced to the belief that
further work in this direction would be without avail.
The general opinion was that our unfortunate friend had
fallen into one of the many deep crevasses which make
travelling extremely perilous in the region which lie at-
tempted to explore.

On the 24th of August the Kite slowly steamed out of

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3S6

ACKOSS NORTHERN GRKENI.AND

McCormick Hay and away from our small winter quarters,
where we had spent many happy hours. It was witli
minified feelings of joy and sorrow that among hundreds
of icebergs we at last lost sight of our little house. I'Our
weeks later, after having sojourned for fourteen months
among desert ice fields, we found ourselves once more in
a civilized land.

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I'EARY AND ASIRUI' HOISTINC, FLAGS ON NAVY CI. IKK

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CHAPTHR XX

TUF. SKCOM) I'KAUV KXI'KDI TION

ScAKCEi.v nine months h;ul passed after our return
before the energetic leader of our party was again on
Ills way north at the head of anotlier Arctic expechlion.

I'liis expedition left New York on the sealer /'a/con
July 2, 1893. It was much more fully e(|uipped than the
previous expedition had been. Among the novelties were
eight Mexican mules, which were said to be of a remark-
ably strong and hardy breed, and which were taken for
the jiurpose of transporting jirovisions from our winter
(|uarters u|) to the border of the inland ice. We also took
along a pigeon-house containing a large number of carrier
|)igeons. It was Peary's intention to use t'nese birds, while
travelling in the interior of Greenland, to carry messages
to the winter quarters of the expedition, but they did not
prove to be well adapted to this kind of service.

In addition to the usual number and kind of boats, wc
were provided with a launch fitted with a j^etroleum
engine that we expected would be of great service in
short excursions for hunting and in making surveys near
our winter quarters. This, too, proved a disaj)jK)intment,
as the boat was too licht, and the engine did not give
sufificient power. Peary had hoped, after the long winter
set in, to use this engine in the house in connection with
a dynamo which we had taken along to furnish us with
electric lights.

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ACROSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

Vob.\G l.bKlMO GIRLS AND NATIVE HUT AT (JODUAVN

W'hen we left America our party numbered fourteen
members. This number was later increased to fifteen, as
Mrs. Peary, who accompanied her husband in this as well
as in his previous expedition to the Arctic regions, in the
autumn gave birth to a daughter, who lived and was well
and strong when the voyage to the civilized world was
made. Mrs. Cross, an elderly woman, also went with us
to serve as cook, and, v/hen needed, in the capacity of
nurse. On the return voyage in the Falcon the following
autumn, she was taken ill, and she lived but a short time
after the ship arrived at Philadelphia.

The other members of the expedition were as follows :
Mr. Entrikin, engineer ; Dr. Vincent, physician ; Mr.
Baldwin, meteorologist ; Mr. Clark, zoologist ; Mr. Swain,
secretary and stenographer ; Messrs. Lee, Davidson, Carr,
and myself. Then, without being really a member of the

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ACROSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

expedition, Mr. Stokes, an artist, went with us for the pur-
pose of painting Arctic scenes. Lastly, there was Matt,
Peary's colored servant, who had accompanied us on our
previous voyage.

On our way northward the Falcon stopped at several
of the English mission stations on the east coast of ' b-
rador in order to purchase dogs from the Eskimos. /. e
obtained about twenty, and then set our course directly
for Greenland. On July 26 we sighted the lofty snow-
covered mountains, and that night we stopped at the
Danish colony, Holstensborg. Two days later v^-e v^ached
Godhavn and then proceeded to Upernavik.

On July 31 we passed Melville Bay, and on August 3
tlie Falcon anchored in Bowdoin Bay, about twenty miles
east of our first winter quarters.

We proceeded at once to construct a dwelling. On
account of having twice as many people, we were obliged
to build on a larger scale than we had done before. The
house was made thirty-three feet long and fourteen feet
wide and was divided into several small rooms.

On August 20 the Falcon sailed for Newfoundland. In
the following days the house was finished and Peary chris-
tened it Anniversary Lodge.

Meanwhile I was engaged in moving some five thou-
sand pounds of provisions from the coast to the inland ice.
In this work I had the assistance of twenty native.- We
had planned to have the hauling done by mules, but of
the eight which we had when we left Philadelphia five
had died and the three that survived proved entirely un-
fitted for service in the wild region to which we had taken
them.

During the months of September and October a good

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362

ACROSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

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deal of time was spent in hunting, in order that we might
secure a supply of meat for use in the coming winter.
We also erected a depot, in which to store provisions, on
the inland ice.

Our hunters were very successful. Before the end of
October they had secured seventy reindeer and twenty
walrus. The meat of the animals last named was used
for feedin^• our do^-s durint^ the winter. The autumn was
unusually mild as far as temperature was concerned, but it
was rainy and disagreeable. Bowdoin Bay did not freeze
over till the early part of November. This was a full
month later than it froze in 1891.

On October 26 the sun left us, to be absent from our
sight for about four months, and the monotonous winter
life began. Five days later a catastrophe occurred that
came very near carrying the expedition into utter ruin.
A mighty iceberg, loosened from the mountain near our
dwelling, swept down the bay with terrific force, and
caused a flood that inundated the shore and house and
carried with it the thirty-two barrels of petroleum upon
which we were depending for fuel and light during the
winter. Fortunately only four of the barrels were totally
lost. The others were recovered with great difficulty
after quite a proportion of their contents had been lost by
leakage. From this time we were obliged to be very
economical in the use of coal oil, and all hope of having
electric lifjhts had to be abandoned.

With the opening of winter we began to receive visits
from our friends, the Eskimos, who helped us faithfully
and untiringly with whatever work we happened to have
on hand. The months of November and December were
largely spent in preparing clothes and equipments for the

THE SECOXD PEARY EXPEDITION

363

journey in tlic coming spring. Christmas and New Year
were celel)ratecl in an appropriate manner. rY'bruary
brought the severest cold, minus 3;' Celsius. On the
14th of this month daylight appeared again. During
the winter more than half of our dogs had died; but as
the Eskimos had a largo number, we had no difficulty in
purchasing thirty from them.

On March 6 the whole equii)ment was brought up to
the border of the inland ice, and e\'er)thing was in readi-
ness for the long and wearisome journey.

At this time I was attacked by an illness, probably pro-
duced by eating pemmican, which made it unadvisable
for me to attempt to take further part in the work of the
expedition. I was compelled, very reluctantly, however,
to give up my long cherished plan, though at Peary's
request I remained a few days longer at the dejDot. On
March 14 I returned to the house, accompanied by Lee,
who had frozen one of his feet so seriously that he could
not proceed with the others. About two weeks after our
return Dr. Vincent also reached the house with Davidson,
who had frozen one of his heels very badly during the
terrible equinoctial storm that raged in those regions
March 22 and 23. During this storm the temperature
was minus 45° Celsius, a remarkable phenomenon in con-
nection with such a violent wind as then prevailed.

After the storm was over it was found that several of
the dofjs had been frozen to death and all of the others
were more or less injured. This was the last news I
heard from the expedition till May i, as I was absent on a
sledge trip around Melville Bay, which I undertook witli
a friendly native hunter and eight dogs.

On my return to winter quarters I found that Peary

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364

ACROSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

and his companions had been compelled to give up the
journey and had come back from the inland ice. The
N'iolent storms and the extremely low temperature, minus
45° Celsius, had greatly diminished the number of dogs.
Mr. Entrikin had both of his feet frozen, and all the other
members of the party were in a condition which entirely
unfitted them to continue the trip.

There is very little to be said about the remainder of

SEA-BIRDS

the time that we spent in Greenland. We were all
earnestly longing for the Falcon to come and take us
home.

One beautiful evening toward the close of July two na-
tives brought us word that a ship had arrived. The news
was received with great joy and hearty cheers.

The return voyage in the Falcon was quickly and safely
made, and was without any incident worthy of notice.

This is all that it seems necessary to say concerning

THE SECOND PEAKY EXPEDITION

365

the expedition. Lieutenant Peary received a quantity of
provisions and coal from the Falcon, and remained at
winter quarters, intending to spend another year in that
desert region. Lee and Matt, the colored servant, alao
remained with him.

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CHAPTER XXI

NATIVES AT SMITH SOUND

Late in the afternoon of July 23, 1891, the ICZ/c was
slowly nearing land on the south side of Whale Sound.
P'rom the deck we discovered what appeared to be human
dwellings. A boat was quickly lowered, and we pulled
for the shore. The land was considerably elevated, but
we succeeded, though with some difficulty, in effecting a
landino;. We then found a collection of tents and earth-
huts situated in a sheltered position at the foot of a
mountain.

There were about a dozen people at this little settle-
ment. The men promptly came to the shore to meet us,
but the women and the children cautiously kept in the
background. Two of us involuntarily held out our hands
to greet them in the manner of civilized people, but our
action made a singular impression upon those with whom
we desired to become acquainted. Instead of shakiiig
hands they stared at us with surprised looks upon their
faces, apparently without the slightest idea of what we
meant. Soon, however, they seemed to understand that
we were peaceable people, and that we had no intention
of injuring them. Then all was changed, and the scene
which at first had been quite dull became very lively and

interestino:.

One of our sailors who, during ihv. ^^.nding, happened
to be smoking a short pipe attracted a great deal of

.L. i

NATIVES AT SMIT/f SO CAD

3f>7

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attention, and the clouds of smoke tliat he puffed out at
intervals made a strong impression upon the natives, who
evidently thought he was endowed with mystical and
supernatural gifts. Their astonishment was greatly in-
creased when, with a quick movement, he lighted a match
and thus produced still larger clouds of smoke from his
remarkable " lamp." It was evident that the people be-
fore us had never come in contact with civilized men, and
that most of them had never seen a ship. The latter
appeared to them a wonderful object.

The natives were not the only ones who were inter-
ested and surprised. Their appearance made as strong
an impression upon our minds as wc had made upon
their own. Uncouth, dirty, and with features anything
but regular, they seemed to belong to an inferior race,
while their long, shaggy black hair, which hung over their
skin-clothed shoulders and, in some cases, even over their
small dark eyes, gave them a singularly sinister and an
almost terrifying appearance.

Later on I saw that some of the natives were not so
neclisfent in re2:ard to their hair as were those with whom
we here came in contact. Some of the women, especially
the vounG^er ones, often had their hair fastened in a sort
of topknot by a thin seal-skin strap. Sometim.cs, too, a
man would be seen having a similar strap around his
head, in order to keep his eyes free from his long greasy
locks of hair. These locks, which closely resemble the
manes of horses, are knotted into solid masses, and make
nice and warm domiciles for numerous parasites.

The Eskimo forehead is low, the face broad, and the
features ugly. The eyes are almond-shaped and small,
but their power of vision is really wonderful. The nose

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AC/iOSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

is small and broad, the mouth large with thick lips, which
with the fair sex have no resemblance to the ideal "cherry
lips " of which so much is said and written by civilized
people. Probably this is the reason the men do not kiss
their wives, but instead, if they wish to show especial ten-
derness, press their flat noses still flatter against the faces
of the others. As a rule this caress is accompanied by
an audi])le sniff.

Within the protruding lips shine rows of strong teeth
which are firmly set in heavy muscular jaws, and which
are used, not only for eating, but also for pulling loads
and in the various kinds of their daily work.

The women also understand, as well as their sisters
living farther south, how to use their mouths. Some-
times, too, they use them for very practical purposes. As
a single illustration, I will mention the fact that, after it
has been stretched and dried, they chew, inch by inch,
each skin that the men secure in hunting. In this way
they make the skins so pliable that they can readily be
made into clothes.

From the description I have given it will readily be
seen that, if judged by his face, an Eskimo would not take
a prize at a beauty show in competition with Europeans.
The bodies come much nearer our ideal, and the hands
and feet are of only medium size and are well formed,
though the appearance of the men's hands is often in-
jured by numerous cuts and scars.

In regard to the color of the skin of these people it is
difficult to n a correct opinion. This, because of the
dirt with which it is thickly and almost constantly coated.
When sufficiently clean to show its natural tint it appears
to be a light brown shaded with yellow or gray. Though

NATIVES AT SMmi SOUND

it gives them a decidedly unjileasant a|)pearance, the un-
cleanness of tiie Eskimos at Smith Sound should not be
made too much a matter of reproach. It is one of the
natural and almost inevitable consequences of the hard
conditions under which they live.

During nine or ten months of the year all the water
they have for drinking, cooking, and other purj)oses is
obtained by melting snow or ice in stone vessels which
are held over small flames of blubber. This is not only
slow and toilsome, but if done to any great extent it also
requires a larger quantity of blubber than they can well
provide. Consequently a bath is an unknown and, under
existing circumstances, an almost impossible luxury.
Still, if they were anxious to be clean they might do
something in this direction by means of a wet bird-skin
or a sharp stone. And I think we awakened some inter-
est in this respect during our sojourn with them. The
women, in whom a desire to please seemed as strong as it
is in their siste.s of civilized lands, certainly made some
attempts to imfove their appearance.

Possibly one reason why these people care so little
about cleanliness is the fact that it does not appear to be
essential to health. The air seems to be free from bac-
teria, and the severe and long-continued cold evidently
tends to prevent the diseases which filth is certain to gen-
erate in warm climates.

The natives at Smith Sound arc isolated from all other

tribes. In 1S92 there were two hundred and thirty-four

individuals. During the next two years the number of

births exceeded that of the deaths by nine.
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CHAPTER XXII

IIUiNTING

In order to obtain an intimate knowledge of the Eski-
mos it is necessary to observe them at their daily occu-
pations. First of all, you must go hunting with them.
Autumn has come, and in every day that passes the sun
draws nearer and nearer to the southern horizon. Ere
long comes a day when it sends its last golden greeting
to the desert landscape and disappears from view. In
a lonely and protected fjord you will see a red-cheeked
Eskimo, who by jumping over the blocks of ice near the
land has succeeded in setting foot on the newly frozen
autumn ice. His face is beaming with joy. Life is offer-
ing him many attractions. Summer, with its constant
smiles day and niL,ht, had begun to be somewhat monoto-
nous, and he greets the winter as a dear and welcome
guest. Now that new ice has formed on the bay he can
begin the exciting hunt for seals. On the shore in front
of the low hut stands his young, wife, smiling at the
thought of soon having some fresh seal meat after living
during the summer upon tough narwhal flcGh and the
auks, which furnish most of the food supplies during that
season.

Cautiously the native tries the strength of the ice with
his seal-spear, and moves farther and farther out upon its
glassy surface. Smaller and smaller he seems to become,
until at length he disappears behind an immense iceberg.

HUNTING

371

the
that

ith

This is too much for his three faithful clogs to quietly
bear. Standing on the shore, they have watched, with
ears erect, and with every indication of intense interest,
their master on his lonely walk. They now pull impa-
tiently at the straps with which they are tied to heavy

WATCHING FOR SEAL

stones, and their plaintive howds fill the air. They realize
that the ice is strong enough to bear, and still they are
left behind. Does their master forget how cheerfully they
used to draw him on the sledge over the ice.'' His appar-
ent neglect seems more than they can endure. Their
howls become still louder and more dismal until his wife
goes up to them and pets them all. Then they lie down
on the cold rocks and go to sleep.

Meanwhile the hunter continues his walk upon the ice.
He moves slowly, and has an air of constant watchfulness.

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In his right hand he carries a seal-spear and the line
belonging to it. In his left hand he has a piece of bear-
skin, and fastened with a strap on his back is a well-worn
hunting-knife with a handle made from the tooth of a
walrus.

Suddenly he stops and bends over the ice. He has dis-
covered an opening about five inches in diameter. This
is a breathing-hole of a seal. He now cautiously places
the small piece of skin on the ice near the hole, and
quietly sits down to await the appearance of the seal.
But as a seal often has several of these breathing-holes
it may be a long time before he will come to the one
at which the hunter is located. Patiently the hunter sits
there, hour after hour, like a cat watching a rat-hole, until
the nose of the seal appears in the small opening.

This is a critical moment. The opening is small, and
the spear must be guided with a true aim and sure hand
or the game will be missed, and the long and weary wait
will bring no return. If the hunter fails, and there is a
lack of food at the house, he must either wait again or,
if he happens to know of other breathing-holes, go as
quickly as possible to the one which he thinks the fright-
ened seal will be the most likely to visit.

If he hits the seal he finds that the opening, which was
made only for its nose, is much too small to allow the
body of the animal to come through. He therefore at
once sets to work to enlarge the spot. This work is done
with the hunting-knife, which is used with wonderful dex-
terity. If, when it is pulled upon the ice, the seal is not
dead, it is killed with the knife, but with a bone needle
the hunter soon sews up the wound, in order to prevent as
far as possible the loss of blood.

HUNTING

373

Then, with his heart filled with joy, the native returns
to the shore to get the dogs and sledge with which to
take the game home. He could, without much difficulty,
pull the seal along over the snow-free ice, but the desire
to enjoy the first sledge-ride of the season is too strong to
be resisted.

He is soon with his dogs. They greet him with deaf-
ening barks as he approaches the shore. They are
cjuickly loosened and everything is made ready for the
trip. With a practised hand the master swings the short
whip handle, to which a lash about seventeen feet in
length is attached, and the team carefully picks its way
over the rough stones. When the clear ice is reached it
strikes into a full gallop. No reins are used in guiding

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SLEDGE FROM SMITH SOUND

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this wild team. Only the whip is needed for their con-
trol. When the driver beats on the ice to the left of the
animals they go to the right, and when he strikes the ice
on the oiher side they move to the left. If he wants to
hurry one of the dogs he knows how to touch a tender
spot, but he is usually careful not to be too severe.

The seal is soon reached and placed upon the sledge.
On the way home the hunter may make a detour to some

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ACM OSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

tongue of land where he has a fox-trap which he wishes
to examine and see if it is in order for the coming winter.
These traps are made of flat stones of about uniform size,
and placed in a rectangular position. A large flat stone
is so arranged that when a fox pulls at a piece of blubber
that is placed at the farther side of the inclosure it falls

ESKIMO KOX-IRAP

and completely closes the opening by which he entered.
How many foxes are caught in this way I cannot tell, but
it must be a large number. It requires about eight skins
to make a coat for a man, and the garments are not very
durable.

Formerly the Eskimos made traps in this form, but
considerably larger, for bears. In 1894 I saw the ruins of
an immense trap of this description on the now uninhab-
ited Ellesmere Land. But at present such means are not
employed. A considerable number of bears are killed in
these regions every year, but the work is done la a braver
manner than by catching them in traps.

The finest place for bear-hunting is south of Cape
York, on the ice-bound Melville Bay. Out on these vast

HUNTING

375

fields of ice, far from home, the Eskimo has fought many
a hard battle with the large and powerful Arctic bear.

To conduct such a battle successfully both courage and
presence of mind are required. Consequently some of
the natives are much better adapted for this work than
are others. At the present time one of the most promi-
nent hunters in this section is a man named Akpallia.
When we saw him in 1891 he called himself Nordingjer,
but two years later we found that, without apj^lying to

BEAR AlTACKINi; SKAI,

the courts for permission, he had changed his name. I
could not obtain from him any definite information re-
garding the reason for this proceeding. Possibly he had
been bothered with letters intended for another person

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ACROSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

11 ^] :^

of the same name. Well, however the matter may be
exj)lained, the man is an experienced bear-iiunter. He is
nearly forty years of age, and many a hairy giant has per-
ished at his hand. Soon after his return from a hunting-
trip I obtained shelter for the night in his hut. It was
riunored that for once the bears had the best of the fight,
and that they had torn one of his arms and also killed
two of his dogs. After making many inquiries I suc-
ceeded in obtaining from him an account of his latest
trip. This, in substance, I will repeat, as it will give the
reader a pretty good impression as to the general method
in which bear-hunting is conducted.

During the month of March Akpallia suddenly felt an
ardent desire to revisit Melville Bay, his old hunting-
ground. He promptly repaired his sledge, patched his
bird-skin shirt (he was a widow^er and therefore had to do
this work himself), and gave his dogs a good meal. This
done he took a long sleep, and in the morning, after
leaving his children, a boy and two girls, in the care of a
neighbor, he started on his expedition. Four days later
he arrived at Cape York, one hundred and twenty-five
miles distant from his home. Here the bear-hunters have
their headquarters. There are usually several families
located at this point, and most of the men are expert
hunters.

Akpallia remained for a couple of days among the
flesh-pots of the Cape York colony. Two of the local
hunters agreed to accompany him on his intended trip.
One of these was only a half-grown lad, but he was taken
alone because he was the ow^ner of a ijenuine jjun. This
he had obtained from the crew of an English whaling
ship in exchange for a large quantity of ivory, and he was

HUNTING

111

was

much elated at seciirini; what he considered a <j[reat bar-
gain. Though at this time he had only j)owder enough
for two loads, and had no lead for balls, but was obliged
to use small stones in their stead, and though by an un-
fortunate explosion the length of the barrel had been re-
duced to about twenty inches, the gun was still regarded
as rather a formidable weapon, and its young owner was
as highly regarded by his comrades as though he hnd
killed a dozen bears.

At length the three hunters left Cape York. They
had three sledges and fifteen dogs. For two days their
search was in vain, but on the morning of the third day
they found the fresh tracks of bears.

One who has never seen the Eskimo under similar cir-
cumstances can form no adequate idea of the intense ex-
citement into which he is thrown by such an c nt. The
dogs, too, show a wonderful degree of interest, holding
up their heads, erecting their ears, and eagerly gazing
over the great white field of ice. Their masters talk in
rapid whispers, stop and . ■ n, run a short distance, then
stop and look around again, v ntil *:he observer begins to
seriously question whether people who act in such an
apparently ridiculous manner because they have found
the tracks of a bear can be skiKul hunters. But further
observations will convince him that, notwithstanding such
childish actions at certain times, they show the most won-
derful presence of mind when in dangerous situations.

The tracks discovered by our friends were those of a
female bear and her two cubs. For a time the hunters
all followed the same tracks ; but when, after proceeding
for some distance, they came to the fresh track of a sin-
gle bear, leading in an entirely different direction, they

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ACJ^OSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

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parted, Akpallia clioosing to follow the track last discov-
ered and to attemj)t to kill the bear without the aid of his
companions.

At len<'th he caught si<>ht of the bear of which he was
in pursuit. It was lyini;- at the foot of an iceberi^, c|uietly
sunning itself, but so far away that it apjjeared like an
almost shapeless mass. The excitement of the hunter is
now intense. In a hoarse and mufried voice he exclaims
to his dogs, "Takkotakko! takkotakko!" (look! look!).
The dogs at once turn tlicir heads inquiringly toward
their master as if to ask if he has really discovered some-
thing. They can only see the monotonous snow-drifts
and the fields of ice, which stretch in every direction be-
yond the utmost limit of their vision. Then he con-
tinues: " Nannuk ! nannuk ! nannuksua!" (a bear! a
bear ! a large bear !). Hardly are these words uttered
when the dogs become so excited that he cannot restrain
them. They leave the long circuitous course of the
track and rush instinctively, and in the wildest haste,
in the ri<j:ht direction.

When they are only about a half mile distant from the
bear, he rises and for a moment stands erect, with head
and neck stretched out towvard the approaching team. In
this position he becomes visible to the dogs, who now pull
the sledge over the ice with increasing fury. The bear
appears to know by intuition the bloodthirsty character of
the Eskimo and his swift-footed dogs, and with all possible
speed he flees from the dangerous place. Akpallia jumps
from the sledfje to make it liq-hter for the dog:s, and, hold-
ing with his hands one of the guiding arms behind, his
legs dance wildly under him as he follows the frenzied
animals.

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HUNTJXG

379

The bear runs fast, but he cannot go as rapidly as the
clogs. The distance between them becomes percejitibly
shorter. Hut Akpallia has to jump on tlie sledge again
in oriler to save his strenuth for tiie cominu stru<'<>le.
He is a rather large man, and his weight considerably
retards the si)eed of the dogs, but he knows that bears
cannot run a long distance and that the hunted animal
will soon be obliged to slacken his pace.

At length the team is within al)()Ut four hundred feet
of the bear. Then Akpallia bends over and cuts the rope
that keeps the dogs together. The sledge sto])s instantly
and the loosened dogs rush lor the enemy with almost
lightning speed. As soon as the bear perceives that
flight will be of no avail, he turns and faces his assailants.

Meanwhile Akpallia has seized his sjjear from the
sledge and is hasting to the battle-field. 'I'his hardy son
of the icy desert knows nothing of fear. Ills two com-
panions long ago disajipeared in the distance. Single-
handed he is to fight a ferocious beast of prey — a beast
that with one blow of its paw can easily take his life.
Intelligence, coolness, strength, courage, endurance, and
agility will all be required to give him a fair probability
that the conflict will end to his advantage.

As soon as Akpallia reaches his prey he grasps his
spear with both hands, and with all his strength endeavors
to pierce the bear to its heart. But the animal, turning
suddenly and unexpectedly, deflects the course of the
spear, and its point strikes his broad shoulder-blade. In
a moment the bear breaks the spear with his paw and
Akpallia is disarmed. Wholly ignoring the barking
dogs, the wounded animal turns in rage upon the hunter
Akpallia takes a few steps in the snow in order to reach

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^CA'OSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

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Ills knife, which he threw down when |)rcparinc; to make
an attack with the spear, but his foot sHps, he falls, and
the next instant a forepaw of the bear is resting heavily
upon the upper part of his left arm. With almost super-
human efforts he tries to get free, he screams in the face
of the mighty brute in hope of scaring it away, he strikes
airainst its breast with his fist. All in vain ! The claws
of the bear have penetrated deeply into his flesh, and he
cannot loosen their hold.

It is only because the bear has other foes that are dis-
tractiuLi: his attention that he does not do the hunter
more harm. No sooner do the dogs see the prec'cament
in which their master is placed than they make a fero-
cious but foolhardy attack upon his foe. The two oldest,
a pair of handsome animals resembling wolves in appear-
ance, that have been- with their master in many a hard-
fought battle, attack the bear in front, one of them even
biting the paw that holds the arm of his master in the
snow. But the bear does not loosen its grip. With a
quick blow of the other paw it puts one of the dogs out of
the fight. The situation, which was danjjerous before,
has now become desperate. But it soon grows worse.
Anotlier bear appears from behind an iceberg near by, a
second dog has fallen bleeding upon the snow, and
Akpallia appears to be beyond all hope of deliverance.

At this cri*"':al moment two sledges appear. They are
coming at full speed around the iceberg, which had long
kept the bear last noted from view. With these sledges
are the comrades of the prostrate hunter. Seeing his
condition, they give terrific yells, which he answers with
loud calls for help.

The bear now leaves his victim, joins the other beast,

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DIFFFRENT WKAPONS AND IMPI.KMKNTS

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ACROSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

and Akpallia is saved. The dogs from the newly arrived
sledges are set at liberty, and intercept the bears in their
flight. After a short but sharp fight, in which the dilapi-
dated gun plays an important part, the huge beasts are
slain. Then Akpallia's wounds, which fortunately have
not caused much loss of blood, arc bandaged with long
strips of dirty and greasy seal-skin, the bears are skinned,
and as much of the meat as can be carried is loaded upon
the sled<j:es.

One of the wounded dogs had died upon the spot.
The other was still alive, and was taken home on a sled<2:e.
In due time the hunters reached the colony at Cape York,
where their adventure, with all of its details, was de-
scribed to an interested and appreciative audience.

Similar things often occur in Eskimo bear-hunts. The
life of the hunter is like a oame in which no one can
refuse to take part. The stakes are high, even life itself;
clothes an-l food sufficient to last for only a short time are
the prizes to be gained.

The manner in which t'ne natives hunt the walrus in
these regions also seems to be worthy of description.

Very early in the spring the families leave their winter
huts ak)ng the coast near Inglefield Gulf to go north
almost to Cape Alexander, where they temporarily live in
snow huts.

Early on some morning when the weather is clear and
favorable, the men set out for a walrus hunt. There are,
perhaps, a dozen sledges. Each is drawn by five or six
dogs and carries two hunters. As a rule it requires a
drive of two hours to reach a good hunting-place, which
must be near the open sea. Sledges are left quite a dis-
tance back of the thin ice, where the hunt takes place.

HUNTING

383

and

are,

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dis-

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The dogs are taken along and i)lay an important part in
the affair. The hunters walk about a half mile, or farther
if necessary, to ice which moves with (^very step they
take. They now have to use great care to avoid dan-
gerous places, and are obliged to continually test the
strength of the ice with their spears. These implements
usually have a pointed piece of narwhal tooth tied to one
end to prevent their slipping on the smooth surface of the
ice, but a few are fitted with pieces of iron which their
owners obtained by bartc from white men, by wh(jm they
are visited only at long intervals. This spear is about
five feet in length. It is illustrated in the collection of
weajDons and implemerts, a drawing of which will be
found on a preceding page.

It is on the thin wavy ice cover just described that the
hunt begins. Soon there seems to be a sino-insj and
cracking in the ice ; then there is a break into many
pieces, and up through the opening thus formed a
bearded walrus quietly and majestically lifts its large
head and grinning face. You hear its deep breathing,
that in the twiliijht of the forenoon seems to resemble a
slow snoring, and you see its breath like a cloud of x-apor,
which in the very low temperature that prevails looks as
white and shining as the steam from the valves of an
engine. A moment afterward the animal slowly and
quietly disappears in the deep. The cold waves close
over the dark head, but even while it is descending 3'ou
hear similar sounds from other places.

It is usually while the walrus is engaged in breaking
the thin ice in order to form a breathing-hole that the
Eskimo rushes to the attack, though sometimes, in spite of
the cold, one is found that has crept up on the ice where
it was strong enoucrh to bear its weisfht.

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As a rule tin* native uses only the spear when he
attaeks a walrus. J'his s|)ear is made in suc:h a w.iy that
it e.ui be used as a harpoon it desired, and thus saves
the trouble ot carryini; two kinds of instruments. As
the skin of the walrus is e\eeedinL;iy thi'k and tough, the
hunter thrusts the spe.u' into its body with his right
hand instead t)f throwing it, and in his left hand holds a
eoiled line that is firmly fasteried to it. The sj)ear is
made in a form that admits of its being i)ulled from the
aniuial, while the hari)oon eould not be drawn out.

.\s soon as the walrus is struek it disaj)|)ears in the
vater, and the lumter must be alert and aetive to j)reveni
his earrying away the s])ear and line. lie eannot rely
upon his mere physieal strength in sueh a eontest. With
a strong blow hi.' plants the pike of the sj)ear in the iee,
and winds the line around it twiee. If the pike gives
wav or the iee breaks wlvM-e it is driven in, the game will
be lost, and with it also the spear-head and line. It some-
times oceurs that the feet or legs of the hunter beeonie
entangled in the line, and he is drawn into the wattM".
Two hunters fn)m tliis small tribe have recently })erished
in this way.

But suppose the ice and spear hold, and all goes well,
in this case the hunter feels greatly relieved when the
line slackens. Soon the animal airain comes to the sur-
face. With his knife the hunter quickly makes two holes
in the ice, draws the line down one of the holes and up
through the other. Now the spear is free, and every time
the animal comes to the surface it receives a sharp thrust.
This is continued until the walrus dies from wounds and
exhaustion.

In summer the North Greenland walrus are often seen

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ACROSS NORTiriiRN GREENLAND

in companies of considerable size. Then it is not safe to
disturb them. To attack tliem in an t)pen boat involves
considerable danuer, and to interfere with them in a kaiak
would be etjuivalent to suicide. Of these facts wc had a
l)ractical illustration in August, 1891, when Dr. Cook,
(iibson, Verlioeff, and myself were taking- a boat trip over
Whale Sound. Wc saw several herds of walrus sunning
themselves on floating ice. Upon making an attack we
were, to our great surprise, immediately surrounded by
something like a hundred of these monsters, which evi-
dently were bent upon our destruction. Fortunately we
were all well armed with rapid-firing magazine rifles, and
l^lkva, an l^skimo who was with us, had a harpoon and a
spear. But notwithstanding our excellent equipment for
the battle, it was with great difficulty that we escaped
from the enraged animals. It was a long and hard fight,
some of the time at such close quarters that we used our
oars and boat-hooks to drive off those of the herd that
were so close as to threaten the instant destruction of our
craft. How many of the animals we had killed during
the fight we could not tell, as most of the dead ones were
drawn under the water by their comrades, who used their
long tusks for this j)urj)ose. With the harpoon lines
which the native had brouijht we secured two bodies.
During such a fight the aim of the walrus is to get his
tusks over the edge of the boat, by which means it would
easily be capsized. If he is successful there is little hope
for the occupants unless there is another boat close by.
In earlier times many Norwesjian walrus hunters lost
their lives in this manner at Spitzbergen.

In addition to the method of hunting for seals which
has already been described, which takes place on the new

c to

Ivcs
aiak
ad a
ook,
over

niiv4

hi we

(1 by
\ evi-
ly we
■i, and
ind a
nt for
,caped
. fi<dit,
2d our

that
of our
iluring
s were
|l their

Hnes
bodies.

;t his

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hope
by

kse

lost

hich

le new

388

.■u Vi'r^v.v .\()A' /'///: A'x (;h'/:/':.\/..i.\/)

ice in autumn .uul v.\v\\' winter, and whicii is called " niau-
j)()I<," or waitini; hunt, tlu re is anotluT nK'thod of seeui"inn'
these animals that is ol sullieient importance to justify its
description. This plan i^ lollowcd in spring and summer,
when the si-als s|)end nuich ol the time hint;' upon the
surface ol tlu" sunlit ice. in .\i)ril the ici-, which com-
menced to torm six months beloi'c, has ri-achcd a thick-
ness ol ahout li\-e feet. It is therefore only by great
perse\-eranie and the giadual enlargem^-nt of its hreath-
ing-hoU's, th.u the small Ijord seal can make its way
thi-ough the thick ice in the s|)ring.

l'"or this kind of a hunt the i'.skimo likes to start early
in the mornin''-, so that he mav ha\e plenty of time for
the work that is before him. To be sure, the sun at
the vnd of .\|)ril is u|) da\- and night, and at any houi"
in the twentv-four vou luav see seals upon the ice. Hut in
the daytime the sunshine is stronger, the air is warmer,
and the seals are more sleepy, and consequently are more
easily captured than they are at night.

The I'.ative has not been long upon the ice, before with
his keen vision, he detects some* dark spots far away on
the white expanse. lie chooses one of these, and soon
his swift dotrs brinu; him to within a half mile of his game,
llere he halts lest the doirs should frighten the seals, cans-
ing them to jilunge into the water and escajie. y\fter
leaving his team the hunter takes his harpoon and goes
on foot toward his game.

As he approaches the seals he bends over more and
more imtil at last he gets down upon the snow and creeps
on his hands and knees. He wishes to have the seal
believe i is not an enemy, but one of his own kind that is
approaciung. If one of the animals looks up the hunter

JlUiYriXG

3S9

at once slops luoviiiL;" .iIoiil;, s(:ra])c's in the >n(ivv with one
hand or toot as the st-als often flo, and imitates the sin^n-
lar liissini;' sound \\hi( h thi'y make.

It is very interesting; to observe from a j)oint near by
the seals and their h.ibits and ways. Sonu' will be seen
restini; eomfortably on their sides like human beini^s,
some lyini; on their bellies with their heads down on the

soon
^anie.

caus-
, After

eocs

anc

Lrcep;-

Ihat is
ainter

siiooiinm; skai.s

ice and apparently aslcej), and others lyini; on their backs
and scratchinjjj their round bodies with their short fore-
paws. Now and then one will c|uiekly raise the upper
part of its body, stretch its flexible neck, and look ear-
nestly around, scenting in all directions.

When the hunter has approached quite near the seals,
he suddenly rises, takes a fe\v quick jumps to get as close
to them as possible, and the next moment his harpoon
fiies through the air. One of the animals has been struck
in the back. They all disappear in the water, but the
wounded one is soon drawn up on the ice and killed.

r '' f -

t :'

39°

ACA'OSS NORTIfERN GREENLAND

'Hie luintcr now calls his doi^s, and they come to him at
their highest sjiccd. The method of killing seals with
firearms hardly needs to be described.

Of the lari^er animals of the sea that are hunted by the
Eskimos only the narwhal remains to be mentioned. The
hunt is now pursued in kaiaks, but until about i(S7o the
natives had nothing of this description, and the hunt-
inii was done on fioatint^ ice. The Iiskimos of North
Greenland, having used them for so short a time, do not
make as fine kaiaks as their South Greenland brethren, or
manai^e them with anvtiiint^ like the same decree of skill.
In fact, the kaiaks in use at Smith Sound at the time of
our visit were both clumsy and dangerous.

The hunters of narwhal keep their kaiaks near together,
and as soon as one of the j^arty has harpooned an animal
the remainder hasten to his assistance. When the ani-
mal has been killed they all join in towing ir home. The
irame is then divided accordinu; to certain established
rules. The one who first attacks and wounds an animal,
be it narwhal, bear, seal, walrus, or reindeer, is always
regarded as its real slayer, and therefore receives the lion's
share of the resulting honors and profits.

The meat of the narwhal is quite tough, but the natives
consider it both nourishing and palatable. In summer it
can be obtained in large quantities. The sinews along
the back arc dried and used for thread. They are mucli
stronc:er than are those which are obtained from the rein-
deer and which also serve the same purpose.

Amonij the land animals which the natives of this
region engage in hunting, the reindeer is by far the most
important. In former years the hunt in this region did
not amount to much. The reindeer were numerous ; but

HUNTING

39'

1 at
A-ith

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The
> the
lunt-
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o not
jn, or
skill,
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c I'cin-

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e most

on did

^s ; but

as the bow and arrow formed the only wcajion used for
this purpose, it was difficult to kill them. They were
hunted, especially in spring and summer, principally for
sport and with very little regaid to the value of their flesh
and skins. But when the natives obtained rifles, as

4^^, ^^^K

\^ ^

KKINDKER

several of them did from the Peary expeditions, and be-
came acquainted with their use, reindeer meat became a
common article of diet, and the skin came into very gen-
eral use as a material for men's clothing. In 1891, when
we first visited this locality, the natives were using the
bow and arrow almost exclusively for hunting ; but before
our departure in 1894 these articles had been pretty gen-
erally discarded, and it is probable that in the compara-
tively near future they will be found only in the glass
cases of ethnographical collections. Then, too, in a short
time nearly all the reindeer will be destroyed. For such
natural hunters as the Eskimos the pleasure and excite

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392

ACROSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

nieiit of the cliase are too great to he restrained hy any
considerations of future good. As long as tiiere arc
reindeer to he had, the natives will kill them without any
regard to their recjuirements for food or clothing. These
])e()|)le are children of the present, who later on will have
to pay dearly for tlie use they are making of some of the
destructive powers which they have obtained from their
civilized visitors.

How the reindeer is killed with firearms need not be
explained, but it may be of interest to note that a skilful
and patient lumter can ajjproach near enough to shoot it
with a bow and arrow or even to kill it by throwing a
stone.

Hares were formerly caught in large numbers in North
Greenland by snaring, but now they are shot with rifles.

It is a singular fact that the ptarmigan has never been
hunted by the people of this tribe. As its meat is excel-
lent food, the immunity which it enjoys is probably due to
some ancient suj^erstition.

Of the sea-birds, the auk is the only one that plays an
important part in the domestic economy of the inhabit-
ants of this region. They are caught with a net which is
attached to a long pole.

This hunt is largely engaged in by families who have
pitched their tents near the mountains where the birds
make their nests. As these are always along the steepest
and most inaccessible parts of the coast, the occupation is
both difficult and dangerous, ahd serious accidents some-
times occur.

A few years ago a man of middle age, and the father of
a family, lost his life while catching auks at the south-
western point of Saunders Island, called Akpan (Auk

HUNTIXG

393

Island) by the natives on account of the enornioiis nunv
jjer of auks which arc found there. In c()ni|)aiiy with
Aniiii^ana (moon), a half-witted fellow, he had climbed u|)
on the cliff, more than 2,000 feet hiL;h, that extends the
full leni^th of the island. When he had reached a point
from which he could see a lart^e tlock of auks directly
below, he had .AniiiLjana lower him down the perpendic-
ular wall of the cliff, in order that he mii;ht reach the
narrow ledge upon which the birds make their nests. In
this work the auk hunters use the same lines and straps

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CATCHINr, AU".S WITH A NKT

as they use in walrus hunting. And, what indicates a
still less degree of caution, they do not hesitate, no matter
how dangerous the precipice, to trust their whole weight
to a single person on top of the mountain. On this occa-
sion Aningana had only just commenced to lower his com-

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394

ACROSS A0A'77//':A'.\' grekm.aad

radc when his strciit^tli ujavc out, he let go of the line, and
the unfortunate hunter was dashed to i)ieees on the rocks
at the foot of tlie cliff. The place was pointed out to me
as I i)asse(l on a sledge. When I looked up to the great
mountain wall I could hardly believe that men would run
such fearful risks in order to secure a few birds or eggs.

Another time it happened that an Iiskimo, while catch-
ing auks, had one of his legs crushed by a falling rock.
The i)0()r fellow couUl not faint, — he knew nothing of
any such relief, — so he managed as best he could to
drag himself home. There, by advice of the wise men and
women of the tribe, his leg was amputated. \\\ a short
time he was perfectly well ; and he, in common with the
other members of the colony, had a great deal of amuse-
ment in connection with his stumpy limb.

When we consider the kind of instruments used by the
Eskimos in amputating legs and arms, it is difiRcult to see
how their work can be successful. They have dirty
knives, and for bandages use stri|)s of greasy seal-skin.
Hut nature seems to give the best of assistance on such
occasions, and with but little help from man heals wounds
and broken bones that with civilized people would require
the most careful and skilful treatment.

ciiAPii-k xxin

I I -

illK NORTH (JKKKM.AM) DOd

TiiK qualities of harcliiiess and endurance wliich are so
pronounced in the I*]skini() of North Greenland are even
more conspicuous in his faithful d(\L?. In fact, the extent

ijiii

< I

A lAVURITE DOG

to which this animal can endure hardship, exposure, and
sufferinci is almost inconceivable.

The North Greenland dogs are of different co1(m-s, but
the ones most commonly seen are gray, spotted white,
and black haired. Not infrequently there is a round light
spot over each eye. Dogs that are entirely white are

'I'll

i\'

396

ACJWSS AORTJIERN GREENLAND

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also found in considerable numbers. The latter can
hardly be distinguished from the white Arctic wolf that is
chiefly found on the islands north of the continent of
yXmerica. .As a rule the Mskimo dog carries his bushy
tail neatly curled upon his back, but there are some which
let it hanu: down like the wolf. There can hardly be a
doubt tiiat the species of dogs which the I'^skimo now has
in subjection once lived in the northern temperate and
Arctic regions and was identical with the present sjjecies
of wolves. It also apjjcars certain that, while its size has
diminished since it was domesticated, there has not been
any admixture of foreign blood.

The cloi^e physical resemblance to the wolf which these
dogs, after a long period of domestication, continue to
bear is doubtless owing to the fact that they subsist upon
the same kind of food and have almost as wild a life as
did their ancestors. They are fed upon raw meat and
blood, blubber, walrus-skin, and the entrails of all kinds of
animals that their master kills. Water they have only in
the short summer, when they can help themselves from
the streams which flow from among the rocks. In winter,
even after the most fatiguing work, they must be content
to quench their thirst as best they may with the snow on
the ground.

The dogs are not fed regularly each day, but on an
average they get something to eat every other day. If
for a time the colony happens to have an abundance of
meat, the dogs are allowed to help themselves. But at
other periods, especially in winter and during long sledge
journeys, they are sometimes obliged to go without food
for three or four days. They do not seem to suffer nearly
as much from these irregularities of feeding as would

^Tl

an
If

of
at

uld

THE NORTH GREENLAXD DOG

397

naturally be exjjcclcd. Ajjparcntly they arc able to eat
enoucijh at a single meal to last them for several days.
With the exception of the first few weeks after their birth,
they spend their whole lives under the ()])en sk\'. M\en
in the severest cold or the most violent storms this e.\j»os-
ure does not often seem to aiinoy or injure them.

Not\vithstandin<>' tlu' wild and irregular life which he
leads, the l^skimo doi;- exhibits many of the traits of the
more thoroughly domesticated house dog of warmer cli-
mates, lie is affectionate, obedient, and faithful to his
master. In return the T^skimo cherishes a deep love for
his dogs, th()U<'"h he seldom manifests this feeliuLr toward
them by caresses or kindly
words. On the contrary.
a strant2:er seeing him s^art
on a sledge journey would
get the impression that he
used the whip with far too
great a degree of severity,
though he would soon
learn that the frequent use of the lash is just as necessary
in manauinij: a team of doizs as is the use of reins and
whip in driving horses.

When the dogs ]3ull a sledge they are fastened to the
front of it by seal-skin straps which diverge from a com-
mon centre in such a way that the animals can run side
by side. Although this harness is exceedingly simple, it
serves its purpose remarkably well. Usually the fleetest
of the dogs has a little longer strap than any of the others,
in order that by running just ahead of its companions it
may encourage them to greater exertions. The leader of
the team seems to have a clear understanding of the
honor and responsibility of his position.

DDC. llAKNr.SS
(f, (ipi'iiiti^ fnr he 1(1, /■ and r , (ipLMiiiif; for forelegs

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398

AC/? OSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

The Eskimo doij Is not at all lackint^ in intclliiicnce.
This fact is clearly indicated by the skilful manner in
which it perpetrates its frequent thefts. These stealings
are confined to eatables ; but as this term includes their
own harness, their master's tent, trousers, kamiks (boots),
and shirts, the straps on sledges, and many other things
made of skin, they take a pretty wide range. Such thefts
would naturally be somewhat trying to the patience, but
the Eskimos regard them with comj)arati\'e indifference.
I have seen an Eskimo wake up and find the hair of his
reindeer coat all over the outside of his tent and most of
the q:arment eaten, but his an<j:er afjainst the dof>: that had
done the mischief did not go any farther than to sa}',
" Naav ajotupilalek sjo sjo — Sinajjadujo — takko ! " or
something like, " Well, did you ever see such a miserable
fool ! " Then he would tie the " miserable fool " to the
stone from which it had broken loose and say no more
about the affair. In contrast with this I have seen two
men belonging to a highly civilized race wake ujd and
find their fur ploves torn and half eaten on the snow near
their hut. One chose a well-known method of venting
his wrath, and cursed until his companions could almost
smell sulphur in the air. The other, who was too good
to be profane, caught the dog that he considered the
culprit and beat it until the whip-handle was broken. In
the treatment of anin^'als the men of enlisjhtened nations
would often be put to shame by comparison with the
kind-hearted Eskimos.

I once suggested to a native that he should punish his
dogs for having stolen, from right before her face, the
last piece of blubber that his wife had in the hut. I shall
never forget his answer. It was to the effect that the

THE NORTH GREEXLAND DOG

399

the

Itions

the

111 his

I, the

shall

It the

punishment ought to fall upon himself, as he had not had
food for his dogs for several days. As the dogs do not
steal when they have enough to eat, it does seem hard to
punish them for trying to procure food for themselves
when no one offers to supi^ly them.

The dogs often eat their reins ; and as these are very
tough to bite, they are usually swallowed in pieces of
considerable length. A member of the expedition once
discovered one of the tliirty dogs which we then had
engaged in eating his bridle. Thinking that he might
save the small piece that was protruding from the dog's
mouth, he started to take it away. Great was his sur-
prise to obtain a strap nearly ten feet in length, which,
although it had been chewed a good deal, was still fit for
use.

When many hungry dogs are together it is necessary
to keep a close watch over them, even if they are well fas-
tened, in order to avoid being shamefully plundered. If
under such circumstances you lie down to sleep, there
seems to be a sharp competition, especially among the
smaller female dogs, to see which one can get loose first
and steal the most. But there are always some dogs,
especially among the males, that never will condescend to
attempt to get loose, but which become extremely indig-
nant when they see their less honest comrades appropnate
the master's property. They howl and growl uninterrujjt-
edly in a singularly short and noisy way that can never be
mistaken after it has once been heard.

In addition to the noise made by the dogs that remain
tied, there is not infrequently a deafening racket in conse-
quence of violent fights among the thieves when one or
another feels that he has not been allowed a fair oppor-

if ,

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'i1i

If - 1

if:

1 1

400

ACROSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

tunity to obtain his share of the pUmder. This betrays
their wrong-doing; and if the sleepy owner will get up and
attend to them at once, he may prevent any very serious
damage. But if the dogs are allowed to continue their
depredations they will not be satisfied with trifles. And
they seem able to surmount nearly all obstacles. The
stones of the meat stores they u})set with their noses ;
they open boxes that have been well nailed by attacking
the weaker places with their teeth ; steel wires they tear
to pieces ; ropes they gnaw ; and to almost every kind of
package or material they are as destructive as is many
a human robber. They only hesitate when they come to
a barrel of hard-tack. Although they devour boot-soles
and the entrails of all kinds of animals with great relish,
they do not stoop so low as to attempt to eat one of the
hard and dry things that are called shipsbrcad and are
eaten by men.

In the civilized world the prolonged howling of a dog
in what should be the still hours of the ni<>'ht is reorarded
as a certain indication that he is troubled or distressed.
In North Greenland the case is altoiiether different. At
our last vi'inter quarters, where we often had about one
hundred dogs at a time, we had the plainest proof that
their howls in the night were caused by joy, and that in
purpose, at least, they took the place of song in human
beings. They particularly excelled as chorus singers; and
when the) were unusually happy, as when they had fin-
ished an excellent meal or had enjoyed a good night's
rest, they always treated us to a concert.

To make the whole chorus take part in the concert it
was only necessary that a single one of the number sing a
long "O — au — o — au — o — au — o — au!" But it

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402

ACA'OSS AVA' 'rill'.RN C, R EEXLAXD

was imperative that this be done l)y one of the older and
more dignified members of the party. If one of the
younger and less prominent ones attempted to start the
performance, it was generally an utter failure. I le emitted
a few faint howls, but the others did not respond, and with
a very foolish look upon his face he ceased his efforts to
provide a musical entertainment.

To hear a chorus of a half hundred dogs with well-
trained voices makes a powerful impression even upon
j)eople who have no ear for music. But to persons of
musical ability and cultivated taste the performance seems
so ridiculous that they can hardly refrain from laughing
in the solemn face of the leader. The entertainment is
certainly a fine as well as an original " opera comique."

It is quite amusing to see the Eskimo feed his dogs.
He cuts the meat in {)ieces as large as his fist, piles them
on a board, stands directly in front of the place where the
animals are tied, and when they have all become quiet,
with their eyes fixed upon the meat, he can begin the
feeding. This is the only way in which he is able to con-
trol them so that the weaker as well as the stronger ones
can get their share. Piece after piece of the meat is
thrown by the master and dexterously caught by the dogs
until all is gone. If all the dogs in the team are old
acquaintances, and in the habit of being fed together, the
feeding-time is likely to pass without disturbance ; but if
there are any strangers among them the whole meal may
be a violent and continuous conflict.

The Eskimo dog is naturally very much inclined to
fight. Good friends actually fight for pleasure. They
sportively snap a few tufts of hair froni each other's skin,
howl and bark for a while, and the whole thing is over.

THE NOKTir GRERNLAXD DOG

403

Hut it is very different when strange clog teams are care-
lessly allowed to come within reach of each other. Then
the fur will not only fly, but the snow between the fighters
will soon be crimson with their blood.

Another characteristic of this race of animals is that
each team of dogs has its own king. I le may not be the
strongest, but he is the most fearless and skilful fighter
among them, and not one of them dares to oppose his
tyrannical rule. When two strange lots of these dogs are
thrown together a very important fight will immediately
be commenced by the kings of the two teams. At the
same time there will be a general battle between the
other dogs of the teams to settle their relative rank for
the future. When these fiirhts have been finished, and
not till then, the equilibrium of the little society is fully
established. But the vanquished king is utterly broken
in spirit. Mis tail, formerly carried proudly curled on his
back, now hangs limp and drooping, and the head that
was so erect is now held down, while the half-closed eyes
follow every movement of the victor, who pompously
stalks around his subjects, and seems almost bursting
with pride.

There is a peculiar epidemic disease that every year
destroys a large number of these dogs, and which the
natives say has sometimes been so severe as to threaten
the extinction of the breed. When attacked by this dis-
ease the dog loses its appetite, becomes cross, sometimes
will even bite its own master, and at length develops all
the symptoms of madness in its advanced stage. No one
certainly knows the cause of the disease, but as it occurs
only in the severest weather and during the long night of
the year, it is probable that cold and darkness are the

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404

ACROSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

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principal factors in its production. The foxes also in this
region are said to be subject to this disease.

It was only natural that the appearance of the disease,
of which there were several cases among the dogs at Red-
cHffe House, caused the members of the expedition a
great deal of anxiety. Its close resemblance to hydro-
phobia was a sufficient cause for alarm ; but we were
greatly relieved to find, and to have our observations con-
firmed by the natives, that the bite of an affected animal
was not danircrous to man.

As the success of future polar expeditions may very
largely depend upon the use of Eskimo dogs, it seems to
be of great importance to prevent an outbreak of this dis-
ease. I am convinced that this can be done by having
electric lights in winter, furnishing the dogs a moderate
degree of protection during storms and periods of severe
cold, serving their meat warm instead of frozen, and sup-
plying them with a sufficient quantity of water to drink.

In North Greenland the docfs often mate for life. If
young are expected in the cold season, a bed is prepared
on one of the side benches in the hut, near the lamps,
and here the mother remains with her pups until the
winter is over, though to quench her thirst she is often
obliged to go out in the cold and darkness to lick the
snow. Hardly anywhere are pups more kindly treated or
more dearly loved than they are in the hut of the poor
Eskimo. The father of the household plays with them
and names them, the mother sews nice white collars of
bear-skin for all the dark-haired ones, while the children
caress and pet them all day long.

In the spring the pups may be large enough for the
owner to commence their training. Some fine day he

the
he

THE NORTH GREENLAND DOG

405

furnishes each with a small harness and, with some of the
older animals, takes one or two at a time for a short
drive. It does not require much time for them to become
familiar with the meaning of the whip ar.d of the differ-
ent calls, and when this stage is reached tluir education
is completed.

I»-^^

A C.ROUI' UK HUPS

11]:.

ESKIMO lloY

31; ^:'

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CIIAPTIvR XXIV

IIOMK I.IIK, llAlilTS AM) CIIARACTKR

To civilized jjcoplc tlic domestic life of the I'^skimos, or
Innuits, by both of which terms the natives at Smith
Sound are designated, seems very i)eculiar.

The winters are spent in low, small huts. These are
built of stones and moss, and are always near the ocean.
The usual size of a hut is about thirteen feet in length
and breadth. The roof is so low that a man of ordinary
size cannot stand erect under it. Sometimes huts are
built so close to each other that they are converted into
one by simply cutting through the separating wall.

The inside of a hut is reached through a lon<j: and nar-
row entry, also built of stone, which is so low that one is
obliged to creep when he goes in or out. A small square
opening in the end wall leads up to the living-room. Di-
rectly over the entry is a square window, closed with a
skin, and often almost covered with snow. In its centre
there is an opening a few inches in diameter, through
which the hot and almost suffocating air of the hut

HOME J.JFK, HA HITS AXD CIIAKACTEN

407

escapes as a ray of steam, and uliiili also serves as a
peep-hole when the inmates hear noises outside.

The family sleep in the L.ck part of the hut on a
platform, about twenty inches high, which is made of
stones and covered with bear or reindeer skins. Benclu-s
of the same height are also built along the sides of the
hut. Upon one of these stands a bowl-shaped lamp of
stone. Directly over it is an oblong cooking-vessel, made
of the same material, which is hung by strings from \\\v
roof.

The flame of tlie lamp is sustained by blubber and fme

lllil

..I*-

^♦^

oJK'^*^'-

A.N LbKl.MO llUUSi. I.N Wl.NlLK

peat, and serves to both light and warm the small room.
If the light goes out another is started by means of
sparks from flint or ironstone.

In the immediate neighborhood of their winter huts
the natives build stone chambers, about half in and half
above the ground. Here the house-mother kec})s her

408

ytCA'OSS X()A'77//':A'.\ CA'I.I'.M.AM)

stores of skins and other valiuihlc m.itcriiils, and the
hunter phiccs his winter furs. The stores of meat are a
httle farther from the hut and are covered with a )>Ile of
stones.

in the sprinjjj, wlien the days len^tlien and the rays of
the sun he<^"in to spread a liltk- warmtli over the landscape,
tlie ICskinio leaves Iiis close and dark winter abode, packs
the seal-skin tent of the family on his sleth^e, and ujoes to
some i)lace not far distant that is free from snow and
appears to he a desirable location for a summer residence.
Here he pitches the tent, and the whole family enjoy the
freer life of the new home.

As a rule, before leaving; their winter huts the Ivskimos
remove the roofs so that tlv inti'iiois may be th()roUL;hly
ventilated. They li\e in tt'uts from the end of ApM'il till
Sei^tember. Then they return to huts; but as they are
fond of chanL;e, they sometimes select a different |)lace
from the one in which the last winter was jxissed.

The mother of the household attends to the lam|) both
in the hut and the tent. She is careful to renew the
blubber beside it when the sup|)ly already there is melted,
and to so adjust the flame that there will be as little
smoke as possible. She also melts the snow that is used
for various purposes, and does the cooking for the family.

That the domestic utensils arc not kept in a condition
that would be considered decent by civilized people is
not surprising when we remember that the Eskimos
really have no sense of cleanliness. The large stone pot,
the flat dishes, the drinking-cujjs, and the boards upon
which the food is kept are covered with a thick layer of
dirt, grease, and dried blood, the odor of which w'ill, until
he has become accustomed to it, deprive a white man of

f I

HOME l/J'/:, /f.l/U'JS ,l.\7) (7/. I A'. I ('77: A'

409

both

the
Ued,
ittlc
used
inily.
tion
e is
nios
l)()t,

his aj)i)(.'thi'. Hut al'tt-r a long day's walk over the rough
snow-fields, in a low temperature, when the nuiseles are
weary, and the whole system cries out for food and water,
the most dainty son (»f civilization will he glad to tal of
the ])lain and jxxirly i)re|)ared food and drinl< Irctni the
greasy cui)s of the iiosj)ital)le Eskimos.

'I'he dishes which the I'iskimo housewife offers hei'

STONK IIUrSOR IC.I.OOS — TAKKN M' MIDNKIHT

family and her guests at the different seasons of the )• r
are neither numerous nor complicated. Meat of waln-s,
seal, narwhal, bear, reindeer, hares, and auks, with differ-
ent kinds of blood, forms the foundation of all her cook-
ing. Spices, salt, or other condiments are entirely un-
known. Considerable blubber is eaten, but the larger

'1 ■

'if i
f

I'»

I ■,

i-.i

410

ACROSS NORTHf'.RN GRERXLAND

part of it is used for furnisliing light and heat. As a
rule, the meat is cooked, lout it is sometimes eaten raw,
especially when it is frozen. When it has been ke})t long
enough to reach a condition in which most civilized
peojole would consider it spoiled, it is esteemed a great
delicacy. The li\'er of several animals and certain en-
trails of the seal are prized for food, as is also the material
found in the stomach of the reindeer. The latter consists
of \egetable matter, but it is so rarely obtained that it can
almost be said that meat is the exclusive article of diet of
the North Greenland l^skimos.

Dog meat is sometimes eaten, but only under excep-
tional circumstances. Nothing short of the greatest ne-
cessity will induce a native to kill one of his dogs. Be-
sides, the dogs are generally very lean and their meat is
not palatable. The peojole consi.lcr the flesh of pups a
good article of food, and I think they are capable judges
in this matter. Once when I was at the Cape York
colon)', and nearly starved, I was jrivcn some frozen raw
meat of a })up that tasted verv well. It somewhat resem-
bled the meat of a bear. This mi')'U not be the eeneral
opinion of the quality of this kind of food, but it is stated
merely as my personal impression.

The natives at Smith Sound use nothing but water for
drinking purposes. When we first offered them tea and
coffee many of tlicm refused, but after a time they began
to like these drinks. They also soon learned to like hard-
tack, which, considering the fact that they are, in the true
sense of the word," a breadless joeojole,'" is not very surpris-
ing. Of spirits and tobacco they were entirely ignorant,
and we were careful not to enlighten them. It is remark-
able tliat they do not use, or even know of any kind of

HOxME L/FE, HABITS AND CHARACTER 411

stimulant. In this respect they are yet in the original
" state of innocence " which no other people in ; j world
appear to have preserved.

The meals are eaten in a very plain and easy manner.

■^f^^P^

'iP

GATE YORK, SMITH SOUND — ESKIMO SLEDS ON TIIK ICE

for
and

The housewife places the pieces of boiled meat in a vessel,
from wliich the members of the family, all of whom are
very scantily clothed, take them with their hands when
they want them. In eating, a large piece of meat is taken
to the mouth with the left hand and cut off close to the
lips with a sharp knife that is held in the right hand.

As with civilized people, marriages among the natives
of this region are contracted for life. As a rule the rela-
tion of husband and wife continues as long as they both

n..f

ACJiOSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

live, though separations sometimes occur. A few years
ago Agna left her husband, Kaochu, saying that he was
too old, and went to live with Kala, a middle-aged wid-
ower. In excuse for this fault of the in man - .aspects
estimable woman, it can only be said that altiioigh her
husband was not so very old, he really did present a
superannuated appearance. His walk was unsteady, one
leg was crooked from rheumatism, his face was full of
dirty wrinkles, his nose and cheeks had taken on a bluish
tint from exposure to wind and weather, his eyes were
edged with a red bor 'er, and his hair — his hair — well,
let us not attempt to carry the description any farther.
And yet this little lame man is full of fun, and gives his
neighbors the pleasure of many a laugh. His friends,
and a daughter who keeps house for him, see that he does
not suffer from want.

Polygamy does not exist among these people, possibly
because the conditions are unfavorable, but husbands and
wives are not always faithful to each other, and a want of
fidelity in this respect is not regarded as at all a serious
matter. The unmarried young people are strictly chaste.

The position of the married woman is as dignified and
respected as is that of the man, though in any important
disagreement she is obliged to submit to the will of her
husband

The relations between parents and children are as
close and as affectionate as they are in any part of the
world. When small, the children are rather nice looking,
but as they grow up their features become much coarser
and have a less attractive appearance. At birth their
parents give them names, usually only one, but some-
times two, for each child. These names are commonly

HOME LIFE, HABITS AND CHARACTER

4'3

the terms used to designate animals or other familiar ob-
jects. The children arc rarely punished, and as they are
thoroughly good-natured punishment is seldom needed.
The youngsters often aj^pear very sweet and cunning, as,
for instance, when playing in the open air a game cor-
responding to the "tag" of civilized lands, or when cons<^-

Ifili

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^■^-.i.vwsf^^V:

INTKRIOR OV HUT

ing on the little sleighs which their kind fathers have
made for them. Except in the mildest way they ne\er
quarrel or fight, and they never call each other names or
use abusive language in any way. In short, they are a
lot of dirty angels.

Marriages take place at a very early age. The man
washes to marry as soon as he thinks he can support a
wife, usually when from sixteen to twenty years old, and
the girls are considered marriageable when they reach
the age of fourteen years. Love seems to be the foun-
dation for all marriages. Even if it were preferred, mar-
rying for money or other worldly goods would not be
possible. The engagement lasts quite a long time, but

nra

iff

414

JCA'OSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

»■ f

ti:

I'l

there are no ceremonies whatever connected with the
weddint;. The number of children in a family is usually
three or four. Sometimes, but not often, it reaches five or
even six.

When a visiting- l^skimo arrives from some distant
colony he does not say "(iood day" or " How do you
do," and the men and women upon whom he is calling do
not welcome him with words. A bashful smile is all that
he offei-s, and the same o;reetin2; is returned. Soon one
of the older Eskimos, in a low voice, makes some remark
or asks some question, and thus a conversation will be
slowly started. When the visitor is leaving, he does not
say " Ciood-by," but harnesses his dogs to the sledge
and goes away without saying a word about it. In their
whole behavior these people show a most absolute inde-
pendence which will astonish any civilized person who
comes in contact with them.

Before starting on a long journey the natives drink as
much ^ ater as possible. This is done as a jjrecaution
against thirst, which in a fatiguing journey in the ex-
tremely dry Arctic air is a fearful torture.

During the winter night, which lasts nearly four
months, there is never a lack of sociability. This tends
to make the time pass more quickly for the people than
it otherwise would do. The younger families, especially,
travel around a great deal, visiting their parents, aunts,
uncles, and other relatives and friends. In many cases
they s))end more time in this way than they do at home.
Even if for a short time they are at home, they have
usually made a previous arrangement to entertain some
guests.

In December and Januarv the darkness is so intense

HO Ml'] rjFK, FfAnrrs and character

4«S

that travelling can be done only by moonlight. When
the moon appears, once in four weeks, it remains con-
stantly visible for about a week, and gives a si)lendid
liiiht for the travel-lovinir Innuits.

There is haj)])iness shining on the broad faces of the
natives when in the month of T'ebruary the sun, after
the depressing darkness of the winter, begins to give to
the clouds nearest the horizon a golden colorinij. And
when the sun itself for the first time comes into view the
joy is unbounded. Old and young, men, women, and
children, gather on the rocks behind the huts of the
colony, where the view is unobstructed, and with joyful
shouts greet the returning king of day.

The Eskimos at Smith Sound have no defmite method
of computing time or of stating the exact date at which
any given event occurred. If they want to indicate a cer-
tain hour of the day, they state the position of the sun
or the stars in the sky at this time. They have names
for our four seasons and terms to designate the to them
important periods of the year, a,i " the days that we move
into tents," "the days when the sun leaves us," and various
other times and events.

It would naturally be expected that a people situated
like the Eskimos, compelled to fight a hard battle for a
mere existence, and who are in almost constant danger of
finding their food supplies exhausted, and with no certain
means of replenishing them, woidd be very serious and
unhappy. We would suppose that they would regard life
as an evil which for some reason had been forced upon
them, and from which death would bring them a welcome
relief. But with regard to the Eskimos such an opinion
would be wholly incorrect. To one who lives with them

^- .'\.

I !

i 4i

■m

ti:

,' I'l

'ij

I I

416

AC A' OSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

until he is well acquainted with their ways and under-
stands their language, their joyful laughter, their amusing
witticisms, their frequent jokes, and, in fact, their whole
conduct, will indicate beyond the shadow of a doubt that
these people are unusually well satisfied with their lot in
life.

UiM)n looking more closely at the matter, this satis-
faction with what seem to be very hard conditions of
existence will not be as difficult to explain as it at first
glance appears. In the first ])lace they enjoy excellent
health. As they advance in years they suffer somewhat
from rheumatism, but they seldom have any other severe
illness. Snow-blindness, a slight inflammation of the eyes
caused by the bright reflection of the sun on the snow,
frequently attacks the men in the spring, but it does not
often prove serious in its results. Another and a very
important reason for their contentment is found iii the
fact that this small Eskimo society is founded upon the
principle of equal rights and j^rivileges for all of its mem-
bers. Money is entirely unknown. Love to one's neigh-
bor is a fundamental law. A society in which liberty,
equality, and fraternity are not, as in many civilized lands,
merely a distant and an almost hopeless ideal, but are the
actual rule of life and conduct, can hardly fail to secure a
large share of happiness and contentment.

If one of the hunters is more skilful or has better suc-
cess than his companions, so that during the summer he
obtains a larger quantity of meat than will be needed by
himself and his family in the winter he does not conceal
the surplus, or attempt to withhold it from the others.
On the contrary, with pleasure and pride he will distribute
it among those whose eyes are not as keen or whose arms

HOME LIFE, HABITS AND CHARACTER 417

are not as strong as his own, or who were not as fortunate
in finding good hunting-grounds.

If the question were raised whether the expert liunters,
who secure an adequate quantity of provisions for the
winter in a comparatively brief time, will not be more
inclined to spend a part of the summer in idleness than to
continue the hunt in the interest of others, the answer
would be that as long as the ambition of these men con-
tinues as great as it is at present, there is no danger of
their relaxing their efforts, even if their natural kindness
of heart is not taken into the account.

It is a rule among this people that any game which a
hunter does not take home, but leaves at some convenient
point, covered with stones for possible future use, can be
taken by others, if needed, with perfect right, and without
asking permission of any one. It often hajjpens that
meat stored in this way by one man is used by others.
In fact, the tribe forms a single family, and each member,
without exception, consecrates the work of his life to the
common good. They have the joys of life, as well as the
hardships and sufferings, in common. It is seldom that
this tribe are visited by a real famine ; and though some
authors have represented them as improvident, my obser-
vation convinced me that they endeavor to enter the win-
ter with a full stock of provisions, and that they usually
succeed in obtaining a liberal supply.

The members of this tribe manifest a strong affeclion
for each other. This, perhaps, is not remarkable when it
is remembered that the company is comparatively small,
and having for a long period been isolated from all other
tribes, the members are related to each other by blood as
well as by the common ties of humanity. As an instance
27

ill

irt

\\\

. I

418

AC/? OSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

A ' ^'

l:lll<

% %

• n

ill

; (11

of the general concern for the welfare of the individual I
well remember how anxious the members of the colony
appeared at a time when one of the younger hunters
remained away a day longer than was his usual custom.

It is extremely seldom that Eskimos quarrel, and when
a disagreement occurs it is a very tame affair. The par-
ties do not talk loudly or call each other names, but sim-
ply separate. They are a quiet and gentle people, and
very much dislike anything in the way of disturbance or
discord.

Judging from the bc^t information we could obtain, it
seems probable that the natural period of life is about
sixty years. The debility incident to old age is then fully
developed, a..d in many cases is accompanied by an in-
flammation of the lungs which soon proves fatal.

The communistic form of their society renders stealing
from each other impossible. And it must be said of them
that they are really an honest people. When we first
went among them they would often take articles from
the members of the expedition ; but as they had no know-
ledge of the principle of private ownership of property,
they could not justly be blamed for doing so. When
they learned that we disapproved of their course we
could always rely upon their honesty. Still, it was plain
to see that they were intelligent enough to perceive the
injustice of our holding them to a strict account while we
were taking possession of their land without their permis-
sion and without compensation, and killing the reindeer
which would have been useful to them for food.

The Eskimos rarely told us an untruth. When they
did so it usually appeared to be in order to fool the white
people who thought themselves so wise, rather than from

HOME LIFE, HABITS AND CHARACTER 419

ill

:rom

they

white

from

either mahce or habit. They seldom or never lie to each
other, but it is very hard for them to tell a truth that they
know will be disagreeable, and they em))loy all kinds of
subterfuges to avoid such an unpleasant task.

Upon the whole, the morals of this interesting tribe
must be regarded as approaching the standard of Chris-
tianity. But it is to be remembered that while the people
of Christian nations are subjected to many and strong-
temptations to violate the principles of religion, the Eski-
mos live under much simpler conditions, and can far more
easily avoid transgression. For many of the evils which
stain civilized society these people have neither motive
nor opportunity; and while in various ways they earnestly
endeavor to follow the right, there are other directions in
which their virtues are negative rather than positive.

The good humor of the Eskimos is inexhaustible.
When a large company is gathered, as occurred several
times at the house of the Peary expedition, their mirth is
unbounded. It would be utterly impossible to describe
the " circus " we had when a party of Eskimos came to the
house, and for the first time in their lives saw a mule.
Their mirth was exuberant, but was far from childish, and
many and witty were :heir remarks about the long ears
and the hairless tail of the animal before them.

One of the leading wits of the tribe was little fat Ekva.
He would sit for hours in the centre of a little circle and
keep the audience laughing at his talk and jokes. But he
did not forget his family. He was always careful to put
into a dirty seal-skin bag part of the hard-tack that was
given him and carry it to his little two years' old child
Annedor when he went home.

In the Eskimo tribe at Smith Sound there are no chiefs

wr^^^

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420

ACJiOSS NO h' THE UN GREENLAND

or jjcrsons who in any way bear rule over others. Each
member is his own master, and one never interferes with
the affairs of another. The older men who have been or
who still are remarkably skilful hunters seem to receive a
good deal of respect, and their words have considerable
influence upon the other members of the colony, but this
is merely a matter of deference, and not a recognition of
authority. No greater degree of liberty can be found in
any part of the world than is enjoyed by the happy people
of this cold and desolate land.

;:J'
'■•1

CHAPTER XXV

INTELLIGEN'CL, RELIGIOUS IDEAS AND CUSTOMS

From the description already given, the reader will
readily admit that the natives at Smith Sound, like their
brothers farther south, are really an intelligent people.
The weapons which they make and the manner in which
they conduct their hunting expeditions show that they
are not wanting either in ingenuity or in skill. In re-
cent years contact with the members of the Peary expedi-
tion has done much to develop these qualities as well as
to bring the merits of the tribe to the attention of civil-
ized people.

They greatly surprised us by the facility with which
they learned to use firearms and the skill which they
exhibited, after practising for only a few hours, in hand-
ling our whale-boats.

I think Kolotenijva is one of the most q-ifted men in:
the tribe. He is certainly one of the ablest and most
eflRcient of the younger members. He is about twenty-
five years of age, with a powerful frame and muscles like
steel. His eyes are small but bright, and he can clearly
discern distant objects that are invisible to ordinary
people. His hair, which is long and black, is quite curly
and forms a fine frame for his brave-looking face. In
many ways he reminds me of chiefs of whom I have read
in Indian tales. No one in the whole tribe was prouder
than Kolotengva, no one more independent, no one

■

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1 , \

I' i

if!

42a

ACROSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

' I '

cooler in chinjjjcr, slircwder in hunting, or more faithful
in friLMulship. 'I'ungvingva, his wife, was a red-checked,
smiling child with dark eyes and snow-white teeth.

This couple had a pastime in which no other members
of the tribe ever engaged. This was drawing. Some-
times they mi ketches of the ships of the Kablunak
(white men), so.netimes men were represented, at others
animals, huts, tents, or kaiaks. As I had fortunately
brought a larger quantity of these things than I needed,
I kept them supplied with pencils and paper. Many of
their drawings were very interesting, and all, without a
single exception, showed that they were keen observers.

A picture drawn by Kolotengva in my sketch book
represents a hunting scene. Two hunters, an Eskimo
with a bow and arrow and a Kablunak with a ride, are ap-
proaching two 'ndeer from different directions. Their
sledge is wait! the foot of the mountain upon which

the hunt is taking place. The Kablunak is shown in
a somewhat intoxicated condition and as being lightly
clad, but as a whole the picture is quite instructive. An-
other picture, drawn from memory by Tungvingva, rep-
resents the steam sealer Kite. It was one of her first
attempts to draw with a pencil, and is quite creditable.
Still another drawing by Tungvingva represents two
white men. As they have their hair cut, instead of wear-
ing it long like the natives, she has simply represented
them as bald-headed, and has thereby caused the ears to
stand out rather more prominently from the fine heads
than their owners would desire.

Kolotengva was a great admirer of the knowledge and
inventions of the Kablunak, and was glad to adopt and
recommend to the tribe any of our customs or methods

INTELLIGENCE, KELLGIOUS IDEAS, CUSTOM.. 423

thnt could be made of practical use in the conditions
under which they lived, lie was the first to provide him-
self with pockets in his seal-skin coat. He found them
a great convenience, and his example was soon followed
by many of the other young men.

Kolotengva had a comrade whom he liked better than
he did most of the others. This was Kudla. I do not
know a better description of these two than "hurragut-
ter." ' Wherever anything was going on they were inva-
riably to be found. They were always full of fun, and
were sure to do something very comical.

In July, 1.S94, I was accidentally j)resent when Kolo-
tengva and Kudla returned from a reindeer hunt. While
talking with them I noticed that the former's face and
hands were so thickly covered with moscjuito bites as to
give him the appean nee of having had the smallpox,
while the latter was entirely free from such ma-ks. When
Kudla perceived that I was going to speak about it he
forestalled me with the remark, made very seriou^sly and
with an assumj^tion of superiority, that the mosquitoes
had troubled little Kolotengva very badly while he was
asleep at night, but as for himself the insects did not
dare to attack him. " And why } " continued Kolotengva
immediately, " because even the mosquitoes refuse the
miserable stuff that is flowing through your veins." This
is only a specimen of the satirical fun and repartee of
which these young fellows were masters.

If possible a still more pronounced hurrah boy was
Kaschu. He was about thirty years old and was as lively
as a cricket. His face, which was broad and round, looked

^ Hurragutter, literally translated would be "hurrah boys." It is equivalent
to our terms " one of the boys," " a gay boy," or " a jolly fellow."

424

ACROSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

M i

as if it had been hastily cut out of a piece of timber by a
wood-carver. When he: was perfectly happy he laughed so
heartily as to stretch his mouth from ear to ear and shut
both his eyes. If for any reason he considered himself in
danger he invariably closed one eye. His physical endur-
ance was almost unlimited, and it would be extremely dif-
ficult to find a travelling companion more energetic and at
the same time more genial.

Kaschu pitched his tent near the winter quarters of the
second Peary expedition, and remained there for a long
time. Every morning, even after it had become very
cold, he could be seen, without a stitch of clothing, walk-
ing around and taking his weather observation for the
day. When the white men had any amusements in pro-
gress Kaschu never failed to be with us. When we were
running on ski, on the hills back of the house, he accom-
panied us, and in time he became quite a skilful ski
runner, though his appearance was far from elegant.
When running fast he made the most frightful faces, and
when at full speed he believed that he was in great peril
and always closed one of his eyes.

As I have commenced giving biographical sketches I
will add a few more of some of the typical members of
the tribe.

Among the very old people there were the parents of
Kaschu, Arodoksua and Migibsungua. As an indication
that the old man knows something of the laws of health,
it may be stated that since he ceased hunting he takes
exercise every forenoon by walking for a long distance on
the ocean ice, pushing his empty sledge in front of him.
Recently he has suffered considerably from rheumatism.
His wife is quite well, and her tongue is active from early

INTELLIGENCE, RELIGIOUS IDEAS, CUSTOMS

425

matchless
\ningaia,

riy

in the morning until late at night. When sti
present she is almost continually praising hei
son, Raschu. Her other son, the half-witted
she seldom mentions, but she represents Kaschu as a
wonderful boy. When she describes him as a fine-look-
ing fellow, one who is familar with his wooden head, his
large mouth, and his half-closed eyes can hardly keep
from laughing.

Among the most worthy of the married couples of
the tribe should be named Ingapaddu and Ituschaksui,
the parents of Tungvingva. They have six children, the
largest number in one family within the memory of the
oldest member of the tribe. Ituschaksui is aijood mother,
and looks carefully after the comfort and welfare of her
family. I have seen her go out on the ice for more than
a mile to tell two of her younger children, who were play-
ing there, that it was growing cold and they should have
some covering on their hands.

Ituschaksui has two younger brothers, both of whom
are married. Their names are Aseio and Panikpa.
Like their sister, they are highly gifted, particularly Aseio,
whose pale, narrow^ face and large, thoughtful eyes are the
outward signs of a clear intellect and quick perceptions.
He is, however, not very strong, and for this reason his
wife, Anavi, has often been obliged to perform the kinds
of work that usually fall to the men. So she has turned
into somewhat of an Amazon. She can drive a sledge-
team with suprising dexterity and ply the whip with as
much strength and persistence as any ordinary man.

Panikpa is of a rather retiring and philosophical nature.
He prefers to have his tent or winter hut in a lonely place
where people do not pass daily, and where he, with his

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ACROSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

wife and their small children, can enjoy life in a peaceful
and quiet manner. I have had many long conversations
with Panikpa, and he always seized the opportunity to
make inquiries in regard to foreign lands. His faith in
the Kablunak is very great, and he has a strong desire to
see their cities, railroads, horses, and many other things of
which he has learned something from pictures and verbal
descriptions. It is very doubtful if his wish in this respect
is ever gratified. But even now his horizon is more
extended than is that of many a peasant in civilized lands,
and the nature of his inquiries indicates a very thoughtful
mind.

Another prominent member of this tribe is Kayegvitto,
a smart, good-natured fellow who is taller, and probably is
also stronger, than any of his comrades. This superiority
has made him very vain. He seems to have formed the
opinion that he is really the leading man of the tribe and
that he ought to be acknowledged as such. He evidently
gained this idea by observing the conduct of our own
people. He observed that there was one of our party who
was treated with great respect and was obeyed by the
others. Doubtless this awakened a desire on his part to
act as leader of his companions. His vanity was quite
conspicuous, as there was no trace of it in any other
member of the tribe. His comrades treat the matter as
a sort of a joke, smile, and say something equivalent to
" Kayegvitto — yes, poor fellow, he is a little off."

On one occasion this vanity on the part of Kayegvitto
proved of great benefit to our party. This was about the
middle of winter, when the second Peary expedition was
at the north. The supply of food for our large num-
ber of dogs had become greatly reduced. We had heard

INTELLIGENCE, RELIGIOUS IDEAS, CUSTOMS 427

that Kayegvitto had a considerable quantity of meat at
the colony Nachsa, on the south side of Whale Sound.
It was decided that I should go there and try to obtain a
supply. I set out and on the following day reached the
colony while the moon was shining. I was received at
the shore by all the male inhabitants, prominent among
whom was Kayegvitto. No sooner did the latter see
that it was a Kablunak who had come to pay them a visit
than he shot into his hut like an arrow, but he soon re-
turned, clad in an old and well-worn coat that he had
obtained the previous autumn by trade from one of the
members of the expedition, lliis, he appeared to think
gave him a suflficient degree of dignity to enable him to
represent his " subjects " in proper manner.

I at once walked up to him, took his hand, and shook
it very hard. The ceremony of shaking hands is not
customary among the Eskimos of this tribe, but they had
learned its meaning, and in this case it appeared very
flattering to Kayegvitto. I then explained to him my
errand, telling him that Peary, the great master (nale-
gaksuak) from the distant land, wanted meat for his hungry
dogs, and that I had come to ask Kayegvitto, the great
master of the Innuits, to supply him. I said that Kayeg-
vitto had a good deal of meat, he was a great hunter, and
that only he was nalegaksuak of the Innuits. The last
sentence was highly pleasing to the person to whom it
was addressed. He repeated it several times, and then
invited me to spend the night at his home, an invitation
which, of course, was promptly accepted.

On the following morning a conference was held to
discuss the matter of giving me the supplies for which I
had asked. After I had for a couple of times called this

428

ACROSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

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heavy, coarsely built man the great master of the Innuits,
Kayegvitto, with an air of superiority that was indescrib-
ably ludicrous, ordered his companions to fill my sledge
with meat. Once in a while he would assist in the work
by graciously picking out for me the larger pieces of meat.
The Eskimos who, for the occasion, had voluntarily con-
descended to be the subjects of Kayegvitto, heartily en-
joyed the whole affair, and were good-natured enough to
continue the comedy to the end.

When the meat was loaded Kayegvitto received a
suitable present, which apparently he had not expected,
and I left the great man standing in the moonlight, still
dressed in his thin coat, although the temperature was
something like minus 40° Celsius.

In this tribe there is a little orphan boy whose name is
Kadluktu. He lived for a long time at our winter house,
under Matt's berth, and was well fed with the remnants
of our meals. He was a nice and brig-ht little fellow,
and we took quite an interest in him. Matt, especially,
seemed to have an almost fatherly care for him. First
he gave him a thorough washing over his whole body.
Then he employed a couple of old women to free his
clothes from dirt and vermin, an operation that was
greatly needed. When these things had been done, he
cut the boy's hair as close as that of a seal ; and as far
as outward appearance could go, Kadluktu was civilized.
The little fellow has no steady home. He lives some-
times with one family and at others with another, but
wherever he goes he is always treated kindly.

Kaoni is the name of a queer fellow who has a large
wife and four children. I suspect that he is a bit hen-
pecked. At the colonies which Kaoni visits there is

INl'ELLIGENCE, RELIGIOUS IDEAS, CUSTOMS 429

always fun for the inhabitants, but it is at his expense.
He is extremely awkward in everything that he does, and
in addition to this he has the unfortunate habit of stut-
tering. So it is inevitable that he should be the princi-
pal figure in the funny stories which his neighbors tell
each other. The following will serve as a sanij)le of
these humorous narrations. It represents a conversation
such as occurs when two hunters who live near him meet
each other : —

" Nukta caught a narwhal day before yesterday, and
Angodlu and Mahotia each caught a seal yesterday."

" Indeed ! Akkomodlngva and I also killed two seals
yesterday. Kaoni was to go with us, but the kaiak he
had borrowed upset just as he pushed out from land, and
then he stayed at home." [Long and subdued laughter
from both hunters.]

" What did Kaoni say when he came back again 1 "

" Ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-iak is no good." " Ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-oni
either, we added." [Again prolonged laughter from both
parties.]

On our last expedition we took with us an Edison
phonograph, and often allowed the Eskimos to listen to
it. Strange to say they did not seem to be very much
impressed with this wonderful invention. They never
for a moment appeared to connect this apparatus with
anything supernatural. They laughed at it, and seemed
to enjoy hearing its hidden voices, but evidently looked
upon it much as they would have looked upon a toy with
which they had been familiar for years. We expected
that they would regard the voices as those of the spirits
who hold a prominent place in their religious conceptions.
But their keen intelligence seemed to immediately make

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ACROSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

plain to them that the plionograph, hke many other curi-
osities which the Kablunak possessed, was a wonderfully
complicated, but otherwise a quite natural, product of the
work of human hands and minds.

Most Eskimos can easily count up to twenty, but in
practical affairs they seldom or never have any need for so
large a number. When they refer to more than five ob-
jects they usually say " many," or use some similar term
without attempting to be exact. Sometimes, however,
when in the long winter nights they sit in their low huts
and cut from ivory small figures of men, or animals, or
curiosities of various forms, they try to count them, and
go as high as thirty or forty. They count on their fin-
gers: one, atasuk; two, magluk ; three, pingarsut ; four,
sissami ; five, tedlumet. If they want to go higher they
call six the first finger on the second hand, or igluane ata-
suk (sometimes abbreviated to igluane) ; seven will be the
second finger on the second hand, or igluane magluk,
and so on until they reach ten. Then, as ihey have no
more fingers, they begin to count over again on the fin-
gers but give them the names of the toes. Therefore
thirteen will be three toes on the first foot ; seventeen
will be two toes on the second foot, and twenty will be
the last toe on the last foot. If the Eskimo wants to
count a larger number than twenty, he starts on a new
man. Twenty -one will then be one on the new man
(Innuit aipachsjani atasuk). In this way the count can be
carried up to forty.

The Eskimos are quite ingenious and are possessed of
a good deal of mechanical skill. These qualities are par-
ticularly exhibited when they have occasion to repair
guns or other weapons or implements, for which work

INTELLIGENCE, RELIGIOiS IDEAS, CUSTOMS 43.

they have nothing suitable in the way of tools or mate-
rials. One of their most clifificult tasks is to \)\\\. a gun in
repair after the spring of the lock has been broken. It
may be a long time, months, perhaps, before the owner or
any of his friends can devise a remedy ; but one is pretty
certain to be found, and on some fine day the gunner
may again be seen in search of game, with his weapcjn in
good working order. He may liave been forced to give
up the old lock, the spring now in use may be made of
ivory instead of steel, and the discharge may be effected
by pulling aside a piece of wood which has kept the ham-
mer drawn back ; but in spite of all these things the gun
is again a serviceable weapon, and the owner is able to do
as much execution as he could before the accident which
disabled it occurred.

East of Cape York there are several large meteors.
These were carefully examined by Lieutenant Peary in
the spring of 1894. It is said that when the English
polar expedition under Sir John Ross visited this region
in the early part of the present century, the natives were
using pieces of iron, which th/^y obtained here, for point-
ing their spears and harpoons. It is not easy to under-
stand how they were able to hammer the iron into a
suitable form without heating it. This method of working
the metal was not known to the Eskimos in this vicinity
until they came in contact with the members of the Peary
expedition. It is therefore probable that in earlier times
the natives were able to use only a few fiat splinters
w^hich, by the agency of natural ciuses, had become
separated from the larger bodies.

The Eskimos are careful to protect the feet of their
dogs from injury by the hard and sharp ice that forms

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ACROSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

upon the surface of the snow in spring. For this purpose
they make socks of seal-skin, which are tied to the legs of
the clogs below the lowest joint, and which prove very
efficient.

These people know the difference between hard and
soft woods, and readily distinguish between pine and fir
and oak and ash. As they have never seen a livin^; tree,
this seems quite remarkable. If they could suddenly be
brought where they could see the mighty oaks or the
dark green pines, similar to the trees which have fur-
nished the small pieces of timber of which their sledges
are made, they would shout with joy.

The Eskimos have a good deal of musical taste, but in
most cases it is so slightly developed that they are not
able to catch our plainest and simples; airs. Still there
are some exceptions. Ituschaksui was our most advanced
pupil. We succeeded in teaching her to sing several of
our common songs correctly. All the others to whom we
tried to teach these airs would introduce many false notes.
Still, their own songs, with which they were thoroughly
familiar, they sang very nicely. This was especially true
in chorus. Here no single voice made itself prominent
among the others, and the general effect of the singing
was quite pleasing.

The religious ideas of the Eskimos at Smith Sound,
though not very clearly defined, are nevertheless quite
interesting. In this small tribe we find a shadow of the
belief, or perhaps a groping after the ideas, that were held
by our own ancestors thousands of years ago. In reality
we are considering a people who are just beginning to
emerge from the stone age. They are an original people
who have remained in character and in conduct almost

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INTELLIGENCE, RELIGIOUS IDEAS, CUSTOMS 433

unchanged through the lapse of the ages, and who furnish
one of the most interesting objects of study to tiiose wlio
desire to trace the development and progress of mankind.

The various religions of civilized people have assumed
certain definite forms. The doctrines of each can be
stated in a few brief articles of faith which are set forth
in the most positive terms. But it is altogether different
with the reh'gion, or rather with the religious conceptions,
of the Eskimos. The views of this people are vague and
undecided. Upon most points there is no general agree-
ment as to what constitutes the truth, but each individual
has his own ideas. These take a very wide range, but
they are mostly in a shadowy form.

Probably this uncertainty is very largely due to the
small number of people in the tribe. In large societies
people are strongly influenced by the opinions and beliefs
of the masses around them. The fact tliat millions of
people have accepted certain doctrines gives to these
forms of belief a very strong presumption of truth. But
where the public, so far as is known, embraces only a
very few hundred people, its influence upon the individual
must be relatively small. And where, as in this case, no
common statement of belief has been formulated, the per-
sonal element attains a still greater degree of prominence.
My opinion upon this point has been strengthened, per-
haps I might say that its truth has been confirmed, by
various conversations which I have had with the natives
themselves.

After becoming well acquainted with him, and gaining

his confidence to such an extent that he was willing to

talk with me upon a subject which is one of the last

which uncivilized people will discuss with others, I asked
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434

ACROSS NO fi! THE UN GREENLAND

Kolotengva, " Do the Innuits believe that there is a life
after death ?" He replied: " Yes. When an Innuit dies
his soul (or rather ' shadow ') will wander to a land below
us, where there is good hunting, much sunshine, and
everything pleasant. Hut others think that the soul goes
to a land high up in the air, and nobody is sure what is
right. We Innuits are so few, and there are so many
Kablunaks, and you know everything. Tell us how it is
about this matter.'

It is not necessary to state in full my reply to this
request. Suffice it to say that I went so fai as to promise
Kolotengva an eternal life much happier than his life on
earth. No better consolation can be offered a man who
is troubled by the thought of death.

When a Christian feels the cares and sorrows of life
bearing heavily upon him, and finds trial and disappoint-
ment his constant companions, he turns in prayer to anal-
mighty and compassionate God, and obtains the help and
consolation which he so sorely needs. With the Eskimos
mighty but invisible spirits take the place of God, and in
some measure compensate for their want of knowledge of
a single all-powerful Ruler. They think that these spirits
can be imprisoned by their angekoks or magicians. W^hen
this has been accomplished it is thought that conferences
can be held with the spirits, and that they can be per-
suaded to cure sickness, give success in hunting, and aid
in all of the various affairs of the daily lives of their peti-
tioners.

Both men and women can become angekoks, though
all are not equally well adapted for such a distinction.
Clearness of intellect, dexterity, and a talent for acting are
all required to enable a man to secure respect as a magi-

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INTI'J.I.IGr.NCI':, h'l'.l IGIOLS IDEAS, CL STO.MS 4^5

cian. The older ant^ekoks teach the youi^L^er |)e()|)Io who
think themselves especially qualified for the position, or
who are attracted to the mystic occupation. The time
required for learning extends over several years, and dur-
ing the course of instruction many mysterious ceremonies
are performed.

The principal spirit of which the I'^skimos profess to
have knowledge is I'ornaluiksua ("the giant shadow").
According to the angekoks he lives exclusively upon the
land, can do harm as well as good, and though of su| er-
natural size, he has the human form. When on a (|iil('t
day in summer some sudden noise of falling rocks is
heard in a colony, the inhabitants will say in a low and
anxious voice, " Tornahuksua ! Tornahuksua ! " They
think this mighty s])irit is then wandering along the dark
cliiYs of the mountain-side.

Another sj)irit of considerable importance is called
Kokvoia. This is said to have k)ng black arms, and to
live in the sea. There are also many other spirits and
mystic beings, but they are all of an inferior order. There
is, as has been indicated, a great deal of superstition
among tlie natives, but it is so vaijue, and varies so much
with different individuals, that it is hardly possible to note
any specific form which can be said to be characteristic of
the tribe.

It is difficult to say how many angekoks arc to be
found among the Innuits at Smith Sound. In fact, there
is a great difference of opinion among th ^ members of
the tribe as to which individuals of their number are
entitled to this distinction. For myself, I do not think
that there is a very strongly marked difference between
the magicians and many of those who are not fully recog-

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ACJ^OSS NORTHERN GREIiNUiND

nizcd as such. My impression is that all vvlio can show a
little feelinj; and niysticisni in their songs make preten-
sions of hc'longing to this class on every occasion that
offers itself. It is, however, one thing for a person to
pose as an angekok and c|iiite another to so appear as
to inspire others with reverence. There are hardly more
than a half dozen in the tribe who are really venerated by
their companions. Of these, four are men and two are
elderly women.

The youngest of the four male angekoks, and the one
who is the most highly resi)ected, is Kayapaddu. I le is
about thirty-five years of age, fat and smiling, and has only
to put on the blue sn(nv-spectacles with which Peary pre-
sented him to very closely reiiemble a good old-fashioned
minister. WHien he gave his spiritualistic seances, the
light from the train-oil lamp was turned so low that the
occupants of the room could hardly see each other. Then
Kayapaddu, holding a skin drum in one hand and a drum-
stick made of bone in the other, would go forward on the
floor and bec:in to sing and drum.

At first his song was low and quiet, but gradually it
would show more and more excitement, his body would
sway so that his long hair would wave wildly around, and
his face would take on an agonized expression. In a few
hours he was covered with perspiration. He pressed his
hands to his forehead, cried and moaned, then suddenly
burst out in a roaring, almost a demoniacal laughter, and
at last succeeded in making appear for him some invisible
spirits of the lower orders that he used as messengers to
the higher powers. Now he frequently changed his voice.
Someames it represented the voice of a spirit, at others it
was perfectly natural. He became more and more noisy

IXTF.I.L/GENCE, RELIGIOUS IDEAS, CUSTOMS 437

4.,«i

and demonstrative, until at length many t)f his hearers
became so nervous and excited that they trembled with
emotion and some of them began to moan with him.

If the object of this performance was to heal the sick,
or to prolong the life of one who appeared to be dying,
Kayapaddu would sometimes continue the exercises for
several hours. lie would seldom give u|) until the |)a-
tient was either dead or improving. If dt-alh occurred
at such a time it would be said, in favor of the angekok,
that recovery was impossible, as .some hostile spirit had
obtained power over the soul, and had ])reviously stolen
it, or some similar excuse for his failure would be made.
If, on the other hand, recovery ensued, respect for the
magician apjieared to be greatly increased.

There is no doubt that the natives who are present at
these performances believe that the sj)irits are really jires-
ent, and that they negotiate with the angekok. .And for
my part I dare not doubt that the angekok acts in good
faith. It is often said, and perha])s correctly, that if a lie
is repeated times enough, the one v.ho tells it comes to
believe that it is true. There can hardly be a question
that the angekoks are self-deceived.

The belief which appears to extend to all races and all
parts of the world in amulets, or objects that have the
power to protect their wearer from evil spirits and give
security when danger threatens, is common among the
Eskimos at Smith Sound. These amulets are often nar-
row bracelets of black seal-skin without hair. For women
necklaces of the same material are in common use. Pieces
of seal-skin clothes that once belonged to people who have
died, small ivory figures of men or animak, and various
other objects are also employed. The amulets are conse-

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ACROSS NORTHERN GREENLAND

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crated by singing mystic songs over them. As a rule the
older people decide, or at least suggest, what objects the
children or young people ought to select for the purpose.

When an Eskimo dies the remaining members of the
family observe many formalities, in order that the soul of
the deceased shall not feel insulted. They are not to
mention his name, but must cry and mourn a certain
length of time after his death. Those who have touched
the dead body or anything belonging to it must for a
long period observe certain rules in regard to their cloth-
ing and diet.

Before the bod^' is taken out it is dressed in full travel-
ling costume. Then it is drawn by straps through the
entry of the house, taken for some distance from the
dwellings and away from the shore, and is well covered
with stones. Often the corpse is bent so that the knees
touch the breast, and is then rolled in skins. This is
done to save the labor of making as large a grave as
otherwise would be needed. The house in which a death
has occurred is immediately vacated. If it is ever used
again it will be only after a long period of time has inter-
vened.

All the property of the dead that his friends think
could be of service to him in his long wandering to the
land of souls is placed near the grave. The natives be-
lieve that it is the " souls '.' of these objects, and not the
material things themselves, that will be useful to the de-
parted in his long last journey. And while the soul is
going toward the distant sunlit hunting fields the body
remains in eternal sleep. Only the chilling blasts- of the
wind penetrate among the stones and sweep through the
faded fur coat in which all that was mortal of the man
is clothed.

A BRIEF HISTORY

(:ii

OF THE PRINCIPAL

EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

FROM THE NINTH CENTURY TO THE
PEARY EXPEDITION

INCLUDING THOSE OF

CABOT, FROBISHER, BERING, SIR JOHN FRANKLIN,

KANE, HAYES, HALL, NORDENSKJOLD,

NARES, SCHWATKA, DE LONG,

GREELY, AND OTHERS

JOHN E. READ

ASSISTANT EDITOR OF THE "COLUMBIAN CYCLOPEDIA"

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EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

CHAPTER XXVI

PIONEER VOYAGES

F'f

Who first engaged in Arctic exploration, and from
what point and on what date the first expedition started, is
unknown. Pytheas, a geographer who lived in the time
of Alexander the Great, claimed to have entered the
Polar Zone. He reported the discovery of various re-
gions, and reiDresented that he had " explored Northern
Europe even to the world's end." To some region that
he visited the name of Thule was fjiven ; but whether this
was Iceland, one of the Shetland Islands, or some other
country, cannot be determined.

Whatever may have previously been discovered, it is
probable that in the middle of the ninth century there
were no human settlements farther north than the Faroe
Islands. It is certain that at this date the Scandinavians
were a hardy and restless people, fearless and persevering,
and possessed of an unquenchable spirit of adventure and
thirst for discovery. There is reason to suppose that
about the year 860 a party of these sea rovers, while at-
tempting to reach the Faroe Islands, were driven upon an
island which presented such an inhospitable appearance
that they named it Snowland. A few years later a party
of Swedes visited the same island and gave it the name of

441

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EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

r-f

Iceland, by which it has since been known. In or about
the year 874 Norwegian adventurers estabHslied the first
permanent settlement upon the island and laid the foun-
dations of a prosperous colony.

Previous to this, voyages in the northern waters appear
to have been undertaken principally for the ])urpose of
adventure. But in 890 Simon Otho, or Other, a Norwe-
gian sailor, reputed to have been in the service of Alfred
tlie Great of England, seems to have engaged in a mari-
time exploration which had a commercial end in view.
y\t this time the Venetians and the Moors controlled
commerce and shut out the English people from direct
trade with Turkey and India. It was therefore desired
to find a way of reaching these countries without passing
into the Mediterranean Sea. According to ancient rec-
ords the king fitted out a ship and commissioned Otho
to make a voyage of discovery " for the glorye of God, the
honour of his kinge, and publique goode of his countrie."
Thus equipped Otho commenced a search for a northeast
passage to India. Just how far he went cannot be deter-
mined, but it is certain that he sailed around the northern
extremity of Iceland, and that he was the first navigator
who crossed the Arctic Circle. After enduring many
hardships he returned home without making any valuable
discoveries.

When the Iceland colony had been established about
a hundred years it was joined by Thorwald, a powerful
chief who had been expelled from Norway. He was soon
followed by his son, who is known in history as Eric the
Red. The latter had heard of a land upon which a sail-
ing party had been driven in a storm, and in the year 982
he started on a voyage on which he discovered a country

> ',1

PIONEER VO \ 'A GES

443

t' i

which he called Greenland. It is supposed that this
pleasant name was given in order to induce people to
settle there. That it proved disappointing to some of its
visitors is indicated by one of the early writers, who said
that " certainly there is no place in the world yet knowne
and discovered that is less greene than it." In spite of
the forbidding aspect of the country, Erie succeedetl in
establishing a colony which soon became of considerable
importance. The Christian religion was accepted and
the church prospered to such an extent that in 1121 a
bishop was consecrated. I'\)r about three hundred years
thereafter the colony was strong and thriving. /\t the
close of this period a rapid decline commenced, and the
church and colony fell into utter ruin. The causes
of their disappearance are involved in an impenetrable
mystery.

In the year 1000 Leif, a son of Eric the Red, having
been told by a visitor from Iceland who had encountered
contrary winds of a land that he had seen while on his
way, started on a voyage in hope of discovering this un-
known region. The numerous accounts of this voyage
which have come down to the present time show consid-
erable variation as to details, but it is clear that the party
saw Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, that they landed on
the coast of New England, that they wintered near Plym-
outh Rock, and that here was born a child that in all
probability was the first one born of European parents on
the American continent. On account of the fjreat num-
ber of vines which were found, the country was named
V inland. All this occurred nearly five hundred years
before Columbus set foot on the New World.

In 1380 two Venetian brothers, named Zeno, are said

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EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

to have sailed to the north and on their return given
interesting accounts of the countries which they had
seen, but just what lands they reached cannot be deter-
mined. Various other venturesome navigators sailed u]5on
American waters, but for a long period after the discovery
of the New England coast no important results were
obtained.

The wonderful discoveries of Columuus gave a new
and powerful impetus to maritime adventure and exj^lo-
ration. From this time on, instead of the roving voyages
of individuals, expeditions were organized with great care,
often under the authority of the government of the coun-
try whence they sailed, and were commanded by men
who were educated in the science of the time and also
were in most cases practical seamen. In 1496 John
Cabot, a Venetian then living at Bristol, and his sons
were authorized by a ro3'al patent from Henry VII. of
England to sail under the English flag " to all parts,
countries, and seas, of the east, of the west, and of the
north," and as ofiicers of the king to take possession of
w'hatever lands they might discover. The explorers were
obliged to furnish their own ships and equipment, and it
was not until the spring of 1497 that the expedition
started. On this trip John Cabot was accompanied by
his second son, Sebastian, who became a noted explorer.
Newfoundland and Labrador were discovered some eigh-
teen months before Columbus reached the mainland of
America. In 1498 John Cabot received another com-
mission from the king, but for some unknown reason he
was not able to go with the expedition, and Sebastian
Cabot took command of the two ships that had been pro-
vided. There is no doubt that an effort was made to find

PIONEER VOYAGES

445

pro-
find

a northwest passage to India, but accounts of the e.\i)edi-
tion are so hopelessly confused and conflicting that it is
impossible to determine the course that was pursued or
tiie highest degree of latitude that was reached.

In the year 1500 Caspar Corte real, of Portugal, a mem-
ber of a noble family and connected with the court of
King Emmanuel of that country, sailed from Lisbon and
explored the coast of Labrador for several hundred miles.
The following year he made another voyage, and probably
reached Hudson Strait; but during a violent storm his
ship disappeared, and no trace of it or of its crew was
ever found. In 1524 France sent out an expedition, com-
manded by Giovanni Verazzano, which followed the coast
of the United States and of British America to a latitude
of 50°. After his return Jacques Cartier sailed from
France and reached the Bay of St. Lawrence, which, with
the St. Lawrence River, he afterward more fully explored.

During the reign of Henry VIII. two polar expeditions
were made by the English, but they added little or nothing
to the knowledge of northern regions that had previously
been acquired. Then a company of merchants, said to
have been men of " great wisdom and gravity," fitted out
three ships for an expedition to search for a northeastern
passage to India and China. Sir Hugh Willoughby, who,
though he seems to have known very little about naval
affairs, was considered " a most valiant gentleman," was
chosen commander. Instructions for the voyage were
carefully drawn by Sebastian Cabot. This expedition
sailed in 1553. While off the North Cape a gale sepa-
rated the ships. Willoughby came within sight of Nova
Zembla, but progress northward being impossible on ac-
count of the ice, he turned back to the mouth of a river

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EARJ.JKR ARCTIC JiXrLOKATIONS

in Lapland, where he went into winter quarters with the
crews of the two ships which had kept together. Here
they all perished with cold or hunger. The ships were
afterward recovered and started for England with the
bodies of the departed, some seventy in number, but they
foundered at sea and the living were engulfed with the
dead. The third ship, commanded by Chancelor, reached
ci place where there was " no night at all " and sailed into
the White Sea. The crew landed at Archangel and
opened the way for an extensive commerce between Hng-
land and Russia.

In 1576 Martin T'robisher sailed from England in hope
of discovering a northwest passage. Great demonstrations
were made by the people, and Queen Elizabeth sent a
gentleman on board to inform the crews that she wished
them " happie successe." A point off the coast of South-
ern Greenland was reached, but the winds were so con-
trary that a landing could not be effected. One of the
vessels was lost and the commander of another deserted
the expedition and sailed back to England. Frobisher
continued his voyage and passed into what is still known
as Frobisher Strait. Returning home, he carried, with
various other things, specimens of minerals which were
tested by various parties, by some of whom they were said
to contain gold. Great excitement was occasioned by this
report and the queen placed Frobisher in command of
another expedition. These ships brought back some two
hundred tons of the ore, but it was found to be not only
destitute of gold but absolutely worthless. A third and
larger expedition was soon prepared and sent out under
the same commander, but it met with various and great
disasters and accomplished nothing of marked importance.

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PIONEER VOYAGES

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I"'rom Justin Winsor's " Nnrrnlive and Critical History of America."
I'.y |icrmissii)n of lIouf;lUon, Mifiliii & Co.

In 1580 two ships departed from England in search (^f
a northeast passage. They were commanded by Arthui-
Pet and Charles Jackman. They entered the Kara Sea,
but soon found farther progress impossible and returned.
Three years later Sir Humphrey Gilbert, who had written
upon the subject of the northwest passage, secured from
Queen Elizabeth permission to make a voyage to America
and to take possession of all " heathen and barbarous
countries " which he should discover. One fifth of the

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EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

gold and silver secured was to becuine the property of
the crown, and hoiuage was to be paid to the sovereign.
With these excei)ti()ns Sir Humphrey was to have abso-
lute authority in the regions of which he should take pos-
session. After two unsuccessful efforts, the first from
trouble with the crews and the second from bad weather,
he sailed with five ships. One soon returned. The others
reached Newfoundland, and formal possession was taken
of the island. One ship was sent home with a number of
ih'- nrew who were sick, and one of the others struck on
the coast and was destroyed by the waves. Only sixteen
of the crew escaped. The captain and about one hun-
dred of his men went down with the ship. T^ogs were
heavy and food supplies were becoming scanty. The
crews of the two remaining ships desired to go back to
England. /Xfter exacting a promise that they would re-
turn with hini the next spring, Sir Humphrey consented
to grant their request and the homeward voyage was com-
menced. The ship on which Sir Humphrey sailed was
greatly overloaded, and, encountering a hard storm, it went
down with all on board. The remaining vessel succeeded
in reaching England, though in a somewhat disabled con-
dition.

A company of English merchants, with the " desire of
advancing God's glory and the good of their native land,"
fitted out two vessels for a voyage to discover a passage
to India. This expedition was placed in charge of John
Davis, who sailed in 1585. After reaching the coast of
Greenland and following it to a considerable distance, he
turned to the west and discovered the strait to which his
name has been given. He reached a point much farther
north than any previous navigator, but storms and fogs

ili

PIONEER VOYAGES

449

I con-

wcrc encountered and the ships returned to Ent^land. In
15S6 and 15.S7 Davis revisited the places discovered on his
first expedition, and reached a somewhat hi^^her hititude,
but L^reat quantities of floating ice soon caused him to
leave the dangerous locality.

The next polar expedition of great importance was com-
manded by William Barents, of Holland. lie made three
voyages, the first in 1594. During this voyage he reached
the northern point of Nova Zembla, but could not proceed
farther on account of the ice. That he was wonderfully
persevering in the face of great difficulties is evidenced by
the fact that in trying to get through the pack of ice he
put his ship around eighty-one times. He returned home
and the following year had command of another expedi-
tion, but soon after he reached the Kara Sea a great storm
arose and large quantities of ice drifted around the ships.
Efforts to proceed were futile and the weather became
severe. At this juncture a council was held, and it was
resolved that they had done the best they could to carry
out the instructions under which they had sailed, but that
it was now to be " seen that it does not please God that
we should continue our voyage, and that it is necessary
we should desist." They therefore resolved to return to
Holland as quickly as possible. The government de-
clined to take further risks in the matter, but offered a
reward to any one who should discover the passage. A
few residents of Amsterdam equipped two vessels, one of
which was commanded by a seaman named Rijp, and the
other by Barents, which sailed in 1596. Early in June
they came to Bear Island and later in the same month
they discovered Spitzbergen. Here the commanders were
unable to agree as to the course to be pursued. They
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EARIJER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

therefore separated, and each ft>lU)\ved the direction whicii
seemed to him most Mkely to lead to a successful issue.
After sailing for some time and making no discoveries,
Rijp returned to Holland. Barents reached the northeast
corner of Nova Zembla, entered a bay which was called
Ice Haven, and was closed in by the ice. Here, with the
sixteen men of his crew, he was forced to spend the win-
ter. With a c|uantity of drift wood which they found, and
some planks from the ship, they built a house. Here they
suffered almost beyond endurance. i\\\ entry in their
journal states that the cold was so intense that "what fire
soever wee made it would not warme us." Often the walls
were covered with ice and clothing froze while it was be-
ing dried by the fire. For eighty-one days they were with-
out the sun. One of their number died. Durinu: the
spring the weather became milder and plans were formed
for an escape from their dreary abode. But it was n(jt
until June 14 that they were able to leave, and then they
were obliged to go in two open boats, as the ship was fast in
the ice. Barents, who had been ill for some time, died on
the fifth or sixth day of the voyage. After enduring great
privations twelve of the crew reached Lapland and were
taken home by a Dutch vessel which stopped there on its
return from a trading voyage. More than two hundred
and seventy years later the house which Barents and his
crew had occupied, and in which they had endured such
terrible privations, was visited by a Norwegian trader
named Carlsen, who found cooking utensils, tools, books,
a flute, and numerous other articles, apparently just as
they had been left when those w^ho had used them so long
ago departed never to return.

During the next few years various expeditions sailed

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PIONEER VO J 'A GKS

•15'

to the tiortli, hut no vahiahlc results were secured. In
the year 1607 Ilenry Iludson entered the H^l of Arctic
explorers, and in the four voyai^es which he sailed he
made discoveries of i;reat importance. 'Die first of these
expeditions was sent out by the Muscovy Company, llis
orders were to "go direct to tiie North Pole." llis ship
was small and his crew consisted of only twelve men and
a boy. lie passed alon;^ the east coast of (ireenland and
examined the coast of Spitzberi^en, but after reaching a
latitude of about Si' his i)rogress was checked by ice and
fog. llis stock of provisions was scanty, and, the weather
becoming intensely cold, he returned home. The follow-
ing year he sailed again, in a little larger vessel, and
hoped to find a northeast passage; but heavy fogs and an
enormous quantity of ice prevented him from reaching a
higher latitude than 75'. Upon this voyage he found the
waters teeming with whales and seals, some of which he
hoped to capture, and with the proceeds defray the ex-
penses of the expedition. In this he was as unsuccessful
as he was in the main object of liis trip, but from his
discovery very extensive and profitable fisheries were
afterward developed. The next year Iludson engaged
in the service of the Dutch East India Company. llis
report of this voyage indicates that he followed his own
inclinations more closely than he did the course which
his employers expected him to jnirsue. For though he
started northeastward, he soon, under the plea that the
ice was impenetrable, sailed to the west. Continuing this
course, he reached the bay upon the shore of which New
York city now stands, and discovered the magnificent
river which bears his name. In the spring of 16 10
Hudson sailed upon what proved to be his final voyage.

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EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

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A ship of fifty-five tons, called the Discovery, was fitted
out by persons who believed that a northeast passage
could be found, and who chose. Hudson as its commander.
He visited the Orkney and Faroe Islands, passed near
Iceland, and reached what is now called Resolution
Island. From this point he was unable to proceed to the
north. Turning toward the south, he came to the great
strait which has received his name. Progress was ex-
ceedingly difficult on account of ice, but he pressed
onward until he came to the great body of water that is
now known as Hudson Bay. This appeared to him to
be a great open sea, and he believed it was a part of the
Pacific Ocean. He sailed for a long distance into this
great bay, but the woather became severe and it was
necessary to go into winter quarters. What appeared to
be a suitable place was found upon an isbnd, the vessel
Avas brought to the shore, and was soon fast in the ice,
and preparations were made for spending a long and
dreary season at this inhospitable retreat. The crew were
greatly dissatisfied. Their means of protection from the
cold were wholly inadequate, their supplies of food were
very scanty, and during the winter they endured great
hardships. Hudson, however, seems never to have lost
couraofe or wavered in his determination to do all that
was within his power to bring his voyage to a successful
issue. But in the sj^ring, when an attempt was made to
continue the exploration, a portion of the crc\^ mutinied.
Hudson, his son, several sailors who were sick, and the
carpenter, who refused to remain with the mutineers, were
sent adrift in an open boat and were never heard of again.
A careful study of what data could be obtained led to
a belief that by sailing across the great open water that

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PIONEER VOYAGES

453

Hudson had discovered the shore of China could be
reached. In 1612 Captain Button was sent out by Prince
Henry of Wales to find a northwest passage and proceed
to the Asiatic coast. He reached the mouth of the Nel-
son River, where at a later date the Hudson Bay Com-
pany established its first station. Hcru he was obliged
to stay until spring, when he continued the voyage until
he reached a latitude of 65°. Then he turned sor'hward,
and after touching at Mansell Islands sailed to England.
Although he had not been able to find it, he expressed a
firm belief in the existence of the passage. About this
time various other expeditions were sent out, but no dis-
coveries of great importance were made.

In 1 61 6 William Baffin reached and explore 1 the great
body of water which has received his name and which
geographers have pronounced " the most magnificent bay
in the world." He passed Lancaster Sound, into which
Pn.rry sailed some two hundred years afterward, and dis-
covered Smith Sound. Hi? reports were not credited at
the time ; but later explorers found that they were true,
and that his lunar observations had been taken with a
remarkable degree of skill.

Several other expeditions were sent out at brief inter-
vals, but for a long period no point was reached as far
north as Bafiin had penetrated, and faith in the existence
of a northwest passage gradually declined. Then, too,
about this time the interest of explorers was turned to-
ward America, which became the objective point of nu-
merous voyages for the discovery of new regions and the
establishment of colonies.

Toward the close of his career Peter the Great of
Russia formed the plan of sending a party to explore the

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EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

northeastern i)ortion of his dominions and find at what
point, if any, the continents of Asia and America were
separated by water. Empress Catherine was interested in
the project, and after the death of the Czar carried out his
wishes in this respect. An expedition under the com-
mand of Captain Vitus Bering, a Dane who had become
a trusted officer in the Russian navy, left St. Petersburg
in 1725 and proceeded by land to Ochotzk, a distance of
nearly four thousand five hundred miles. Here two ships
were built, and in July, 1728, the party sailed toward the
northeast. They made various observations along the
coast of Kamtschatka, and proceeded to latitude 67° 18',
when, finding no appearance of land and fearing the
rigors of the rapidly approaching winter, they returned
to the port from which they had sailed. Here the weary
months of the winter were passed. The effort to reach
the American continent was then repeated, but was in
vain.

The final voyage of this great navigator was made in
1 74 1. With two ships he left a harbor i.i Kamtschatka
on the 4th of June, and on the i8th of July he discovered
the continent of America. The captain of the other ship
had sighted the same coast, at a lower latitude, three days
before. He remained in the vicinity for some days, lost
several men who went on shore, and then, with the
remainder of his crew, returned home. Bering made an
effort to proceed to a higher latitude, but was driven back
by a violent storm. The scurvy broke out among the
crew, and it was decided to return to Kamtschatka, but
on the way they missed their course. Several of the crew
had died, and so many of the survivors were sick that it
was almost impossible to manage the ship. Fogs and

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PIONEER VOYAGES 455

gales were encountered, and they were in almost constant
fear of being \\recked. In November they were driven
upon a small island, which received the name of the com-
mander of the expedition. There they made what prep-
arations they could and went into \dnter quarters. On
'C 8th of December Bering, who had been ill for some
iime, passed away. The discovery r.nd naming of Mount
St. Elias, and the discovery of Bering Strait, which proved
that Asia and America were not connected by land, were
among the fruits of this expedition, in which one of the
most meritorious of the great Arctic explorers lost his life.
This was followed by several other Russian expeditions,
some by sea and others by land, by which considerable'
additions to the previous knowledge of various sciences
were made.

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CHAPTER XXVII

INTEREST RENEWED

In 1743 interest in Arctic exploration was revived by
an offer made by the Biitish Government of a reward of
;^''20,ooo for the discovery of the Northwest Passage by
way of Hudson Strait. Various voyages were made, but
their main object was not accompHshed and the results
were very meagre. In 1776 the government removed the
restriction as to the route, and offered the reward for
the discovery of " any northern passage " navigable for
ships, and also added an offer of ;^5,ooo to any one who
would penetrate to within one degree of the North Pole.
Among the navigators who attempted to solve the great
Arctic problem were the famous Captain Cook, whose
course was blocked by ice in latitude 70° 20', and Sir
Alexander Mackenzie, who discovered the great river that
is called by his name. W'illiam Scoresby, a noted whaler,
while on a cruise off the east coast of Greenland, in 1806,
succeeded in working his way through the ice into a
great open sea and reaching a latitude of 81° 30', a higher
point than had previously been attained.

From the officers and crews of whaling vessels which
returned from the coast of Greenland in 1816 and 181 7,
the British naval authorities learned that the sea was
then unusually clear of ice. It was therefore considered a
favorable time for pushing the work of exploration ; and
in 18 1 8 an expedition, under the command of Captain

INTEREST RENE WED

457

John Ross and Lieutenant William Edward Parry, both
of whom were subsequently knighted for their services in
this field of investigation, was sent to discover the North-
west Passan;e. The two vessels with which thev had
been furnished sailed in April and arrived at the Danish
settlement on tlie Whale Islands in June. Here they
learned that the preceding winter had been unusually
severe. After various delays, and encountering great
dangers from the ice, they reached a rugged coast upon
which they landed and which they explored for quite a
distance. Proceeding on their voyage, they followed to
a considerable extent the course which Baffin had pur-
sued. Various sounds that he had described were passed ;
but as appearances indicated that they were either bays
or else were impassable on account of ice, no effort was
made to explore them. On the 30th of August they
reached one of these inlets which was bordered by
majestic mountains and which, being free from ice, it was
resolved to explore. This proved to be Lancaster vSound.
For some thirty miles the course was unobstructed, and
the officers and crews were hopeful and almost confident
that full success was soon to crown their arduous and
perilous undertaking. After proceeding a little farther
they found, much to their disappointment, the appearance
of a mountain range direcdy across their course. The
weather was threatening, and Captain Ross hastily gave
orders to return to the bay. When this was reached the
western coast was followed for some distance, and then
the expedition returned to England, arriving there safely
in October.

This failure to discover the passage for which so many
other navigators had searched in vain strongly tended to

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EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

confirm the opinion tliat Baffin had formed, and many
others had accepted, that from Lancaster Sound tliere
was no entrance to a sea lying to the west. From this
view Lieutenant Parry dissented, claiming that this expe-
dition, like others which had preceded it, " had been
relinquished just at a time when there was the greatest
chance of success." After a careful investigation of the
causes which led Ross to return, the government directed
Parry to make another voyage. In accordance with this
commission he sailed from England, with two ships, in
May, 18 1 9.

The ships were provisioned for two years, and were
well supplied with whatever was supposed to be needed in
such a voyage. The instructions under which he sailed
required the commander to make as thorough an explora-
tion as possible of Lancaster Sound, and, in case that was
found to be impenetrable, to enter other inlets, if open
ones were found. A direct voyage to Lancaster Sound
was attempted, but when latitude 73° was reached vast
masses of ice were encountered. For some ten days
navigation was extremely difficult, and many times the
ships narrowly escaped being wrecked. On the 25th of
June an open way appeared, and the voyage was con-
tinued with but little difficulty till on the 30th of July
the southern entrance to Lancaster Sound was reached.
This was about four weeks earlier in the season than the
expedition of the previous year had come to this point.
On the following day the crew went on land and found
a flagstaff that had been set the year before.

The ships then passed up the sound, and officers and
crews watched with great anxiety for evidence that
should determine whether the mountains which Ross had

in ill

INTEREST RENE WED

459

rs and
that
s had

claimed to see, and to which he had given tlie name of
Croker Range, really existed, or were, as Farry firmly be-
lieved, only imaginary. The point at which the range
had been located was jDassed without obstruction and was
found to be a splendid bay. Continuing tlieir voyage
along the wide inlet, which, in honor of Sir John Barrow,
one of the principal promoters of the expedition, was
named Barrow Strait, the party became confident that
their course would lead them to an open sea. They
were soon disappointed by coming to an island from
which a body of ice extended to the northern shore. For
some time the compass had been losing its sensitiveness,
and at length it became entirely useless. By this it was
known that they were near the magnetic pole ; but the
time in which Arctic exploration could be continued was
so brief that it was not considered wise to delay in order
to take exact observations. Varying their course to avoid
the ice, and pressing forward with what speed they were
able, they came, on the 2 2d of August, to a strait some
eight leagues in width, that seemed to be free from ice,
which was named Wellington Channel, but which, for
want (.^ time, was not explored. On September 4 the
meridian of 110° west longitude was crossed, and Parry
announced to his crews that they were then entitled to
the reward of ^5,000 which had been offered to subjects
of his Majesty who should first reach that meridian within
the Arctic Circle. Tn honor of the event a point of land
on Melville Island, ne^r by, was named Bounty Cape.

The weather was growing severe, the nights were dark,
and, as the compass was useless, progress was slow and
difficult. Still, it was hoped that exploration could be
continued for some weeks. But only four days after

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EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

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crossing the meridian wliich they had been so anxious to
reach, their course was completely blocked by solid ice.
After waiting about a fortnight in hope that the barrier
could be penetrated, they became convinced, not only that
further progress was impossible, but also that to remain
where they were involved great and immediate danger
that the ships would become fast in the ice. It was
therefore decided to return as far as Melville Island and
attempt to enter one of the two good harbors which
had been observed as they passed a few weeks before.
Considerable difficulty was experienced in reaching the
vicinity of the western harbor, which seemed to offer
a safer retreat than the other, and then it was found
necessary to cut a channel more than two miles in length
and wide enough to admit the passage of the ships,
through ice that averaged seven inches in thickness.
This difficult task accomplished, the ships were brought,
on the 26th of September, to a safe anchorage, in five
fathoms of water, at a point near the beach. Here they
were destined to remain until August of the following
year.

For a few weeks some game was secured by hunting
parties ; but as the weather became more severe, the ani-
mals that were suitable for food migrated, and only foxes
and wolves remained on the island. Before the close of
October the mercury sank to 24° below zero, and it be-
came necessary to spend most of the time on board the
ships. In order to keep his men cheerful, and help while
away the long and dreary period which he knew must
elapse before they could leave the spot upon which they
were practically imprisoned. Parry organized a theatrical
party v^^hich gave a performance every two weeks during

:ious to
•lid ice.

barrier
ily that

remain
dan(j:er

It was
nd and
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before,
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;h they
satrical
during

INTEREST RENE WED

461

the long night of three months that set in at the time
this unique place of amusement was opened. A weekly
newspaper was established, and served, in some measure
at least, to take the attention of the men from their un-
pleasant surroundings and keep their minds active and
interested. By these diversions, and by the regular exer-
cise on the decks of the ships, which was rccjuired by the
commander, the health of the men was well maintained.
During January it became very cold, the thermometer
registering from 30^ to 40" below zero a large part of the
month. I'^ebruary brought still severer cold, 55 ' below
zero being indicated on the i6th, but it also brought the
sun. March rave a little relief, but it was not until
the last of April that there was a rapid rise in tempera-
ture. With the increased warmth birds and quadrupeds
returned from the south, and hunting expeditions were
made with tlie double purpose of giving the men exercise
and of mcreasing the food supply.

During the first half of May the ice was cut, and on
the 1 7 th of that month the ships were once more afloat,
but until the 2d of August they remained locked in the
harbor by the great body of ice that lay between them
and the open water. When it became evident that con-
siderable time must elapse before their voyage could be
resumed. Parry and a party of his men made a partial ex-
ploration of Melville Island. On most of the area the soil
was barren, but the western coast had some vegetation
and a greater abundance of game. Not only were moss,
grass, saxifrage, and dwarf willows found, but one of the
party was surprised and delighted by securing a ranuncu-
lus in full flower. In June the snow thawed rapidly and
walking became very difficult. The ravines, too, were

46a

EARfJER ARCTIC EXriORA riOXS

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filled with torrents of water, which made them both dilli-
ciilt and dangerous to cross.

On the 2d of August the body of ice by which the
ships had for so long a time been imprisoned broke up
and floated away. The voyage was resumed ; but on the
15th of the month, when the southwestern extremity of
the island had been reached, an impassable barrier of ice
was found. Careful observation, from a high jDoint of
land, led to the belief that there was no possibility of
advancing in that direction, and a search for a passage
farther to the south was decided upon. 'I'his |jroved un-
successful, and the expedition returned to England. In
this voyage Parry had reached a sjjot more than thirty de-
grees of west longitude beyond the extreme point touched
by any of his predecessors.

At the time the expedition commanded by Ross was
sent out to discover a northwest passage, another, under
Captain Buchan and Lieutenant, afterward Sir John
Franklin, was fitted out to discover the North Pole. Two
ships were provided, and instructions were given to })ro-
ceed into the Spitzbcrgen seas, and, passing between
Spitzbergen and Greenland, push directly for the Pole.
The weather was bad and the ships were soon separated,
but early in June they met at an appointed place off
Spitzbergen. Learning from the officers of whaling ves-
sels that the sea to the west was filled with ice, Ca}3tain
Buchan sailed to the north ; but before passing the north-
western point of Spitzbergen the ships became fast in the
ice, and for thirteen days they were can _d to the south at
the rate of about three miles per day. After getting free
they made another attempt to proceed, but early in July
they were again imprisoned in the ice. Here they were

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INTEREST RENEWED

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y were

detained for three weeks. I-'urther efforts to pass north-
ward appearing;' to be useless, it was decided to give up
the attempt and endeavor to pass along the eastern coast
of Greenland. They were soon overtaken by a violent
gale; and as one of the ships was badly injured, it became
necessary to proceed to l'\air Haven for repairs. When
these were made the ships startetl on tiieir homeward voy-
age and reached the Thames on the 2 2d of October.

In order to increase the chances of success in the effort
to learn the real condition of the northern polar regions,
a party was sent out by the British Government, in 1S19,
to pass overland and survey the nortliern coast of the con-
tinent from the mouth of the Coppermine River to Bering
Strait. This j)arty consisted of five persons : Sir John
Franklin, wlu) was appointed commander; Dr. Richard-
son, a naval surgeon ; George Hack and Robert Hood,
midshipmen ; and John Hepburn, a seaman. They left
England in May and after a perihnis voyage reached Y<;rk
Factory, a station on Hudson Bay, August 30. Here
they were delayed about ten days in making necessary
preparations for a continuance of their trip. Following
rivers and lakes as much as possible, but in many jDlaces
finding their course impeded by rocks or rapids, they
reached another station of the Hudson Bay Company,
called Cumberland House, on tlie 2 2d of October, hav-
ing traversed a distance of about seven hundred miles.

Notwithstanding: the lateness of the season and the
increasing intensity of the cold, Franklin felt that a part
of the company ought to proceed to one of the stations
on Athabasca Lake, or perhaps even farther north, where,
he had been informed, guides and interpreters could be
secured. It was arranged that Franklin, with two of the

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EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

party, should go on, and that the other two members
should remain where they were until s})ring. Accord-
ingly, Franklin, accompanied by Back and Hepburn,
started on the 18th of January and arrived at Fort Chipe-
wyan, a station at the northwestern shore of Athabasca
Lake, near the end of March. This point was about
eight hundred and fifty miles from the one at which they
had left the remainder of their party. The journey was
tedious and dangerous. While walking, they were obliged
to wear snow-shoes. These weighed two or three pounds
each and made the wearer feel that he was drafjgini]: " a
galling and stubborn weight at his feet." The cold was
intense ; but as the mercury froze in the bulbs of the ther-
mometers, its degree could not be measured. The diffi-
culties of the situation were increased by a scarcity of
provisions, and terrible suffering was experienced before
the destination of the party was reached.

At Fort Chipewyan Franklin and his companions re-
mained until July, when they were joined by Hood and
Dr. Richardson, who had been left at Cumberland House.
Other stations had been communicated with, and nearly
twenty Indians and Canadian boatmen had been engaged
to assist in the expedition. A little after the i_iiddle of
July the party started, in hope of reaching the mouth of
the Coppermine River before going into winter quarters.
But the orreatest exertions were unavailing: ; and on reach-
ing a point some five hundred and fifty miles from Fort
Chipewyan they selected a spot on the bank of a frozen
river, where they erected a hut to which they gave the
name of Fort Enterprise. Here the party killed a large
number of reindeer and prepared for future use the meat
that was not required for immediate consumption. Two

I .

INTERES2' RENEWED

465

large

trips were made, one in a canoe and the other, by l''rank-
lin and Dr. Richardson, on land, in order to determine
the distance to the Coppermine River. This proved to
be about eighty miles. Both parties returned in safety,
but they had endured great suffering from cold and want
of food.

It soon became apparent that a sufificient quantity of
game could not be obtained to supply the company with
food during the long winter that was then setting in, and
Back proposed to lead a company to some of the stations
that had been passed, even to Fort Chipewyan if neces-
sary, and hasten the delivery of provisions that had been
sent up from Cumberland House. This journey, which
was marked by exti-eme privations and attended by great
dangers of various kinds, occupied, with the return trip,
nearly five months. During this time Back had walked
more than eleven hundred miles. The winter was exceed-
ingly cold, and at one time the thermometer indicated 57°
below zero. Even the trees were frozen throuijh, and in
trying to cut them nearly all the axes were broken. In
December the food supplies got very low, and great anxi-
ety was felt on this account ; but about the middle of Jan-
uary a quantity of provisions sufificient for more than two
months was received from one of the other stations. With
the opening of spring reindeer appeared, and danger from
starvation was passed for a few months, at least.

As the weather grew milder, preparations for the on-
ward journey were begun. Before the camp was broken
arrangements were made with an Indian chief, who had
been with them for some time, to bring a supply of pro-
visions to the fort before September, in order that, if they
returned that way, they would not be in want of food for
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EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

the next winter. Early in June the first jxirty, led by Dr.
Richardson, started. On the 14th of the month iM-anklin
and the remainder of tlie force left the fort, taking with
them three canoes, which were drawn over the snow and
ice by men and dogs. Travelling was difificult and provi-
sions were scanty. Several of the men became lame, and
in order to lii^lUen the load one of the canoes was left
on the way. Franklin and some of his companions fell
through tlie ice and narrowly csca})ed being drowned.
On the I St of July the Coppermine River was reached
and the canoes were launched upon its n'aters. Naviga-
tion was difficult and perilous; but on the i.Sth of the
month the mouth of the river was reached, and a great
polar sea stretched out before them. On the way they
had secured some salmon, and also killed sexeral musk
oxen, but even with these additions their stock of provi-
sions was small. The distance travelled from Fort Ep<"er-
prise to this point was three hundred and thirty-four miles.
For more than one third of this distance it had been ne-
cessary to drag the canoes and baggage over the snow and
ice. Yet after all the time they had spent, the sufferings
they had endured, and the dangers they had encountered,
they had only reached what, when the main purpose of
the work was considered, was the real starting-point of the
expedition.

After a brief stop at the mouth of the river the party of
twenty men, in two canoes and with provisions for only
fifteen days, started toward the east. For four days they
kept near the coast. This had considerable vegetation,
and the water was comparatively free from ice. They
then came to a rugged point which they doubled. In a
short time they were hemmed in by the ice, in which they

IXTEREST REXE WED

4^' 7

by Dr.

'ranklin
nor with
low and
cl provi-
.mc, and
was left
ions fell
Irowned.
reached
Naviga-
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[ a f^reat
^vay they
ral musk
of provi-
)i-t Ep<"er-
:)ur miles.
3cen ne-
now and
ufferings
lountered,
rpose of
int of the

party of
for only
days they
-cjretation,
They
3d. In a
hich they

were detained for several days. Some of the men went
on shore and succeeded in killing ^ few deer to eke out
their scanty supply of provisions. As soon as possible the
voyage was renewed. Cape Katcr was rounded, and the
canoes passed into the open sound. An exploring party
was sent on shore, in hope that an Eskimo \illage coukl
be found ; but the spot was too barren to be inhabited
even by the hardy natives of the polar regions.

Passing along the coast, they came, on the loth of Au-
gust, to open water, which, to tlieir great disaj)pointment,
they found was only a large bay. This was named after
Lord Melville. They were still far from Repulse Hay,
which they had hoped to reach. Their canoes were in
bad condition, their stt)ck of provisions was almost ex-
hausted, but little game could be secured, and the ra])id
approach of the terrible Arctic winter was heralded by
unmistakable tokens. A long distance had been travelled,
but the route was circuitous and the extreme })oint reached
was in latitude 68° 30'. A headland on the shore of the
bay was named Point Turnagain. Here the effort to con-
tinue explorations was abandoned, and it was decided to
return to Fort Enterprise.

The lateness of the season made it impossible to return
by the way they came. In order to shorten the distance
and diminish the danger, it was thought best to }3ass for
some distance up Hood's River, which they had recently
discovered, and then proceed overland in as direct a
course as possible. They halted at a magnificent cataract,
which they named Wilberforce Falls. This point was
about one hundred and fifty miles from Fort Enterprise.
Here, in order that they might be more easily carried, two
small canoes were made from the larger ones which they

468

EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

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had used thus far. Other preparations for the overland
trip were completed, and on the ist of September the
party set out on what proved to be one of the most
terrible journeys of which there is either record or tradi-
tion.

The party had proceeded only about twelve miles when
they were overtaken by a heavy snow-storm and compelled
to halt for two days. They covered themselves with their
blankets, but could obtain neither fuel nor food. When
the storm abated they renewed their journey, which was
rendered still more difificult by the snow which had just
fallen. The boatmen comjilained of the labor of carry-
ing the canoes, and, after a time, either through accident
or design, allowed one of them to be broken by a fall.
As it was injured beyond repair, this canoe was used for
fuel. Intense suffering made these men utterly reckless.
In spite of all that the leaders could sa)-, they abandoned
the other canoe, and even threw away their fishing-lines.
For three weeks the party made what progress they could
through a most desolate region. They not only suffered
from cold and weariness and weakness, but most of the
time they were on the verge of starvation. For days at a
time they had no food except a nauseous and almost indi-
gestible species of lichen, and they were even reduced to
the extremity of eating their old shoes. At length they
reached the Coppermine River, but it was several days
before they could construct a raft upon which they were
able to cross. As some of the men were too weak and ill
to proceed, the party was compelled to divide. Several of
the boatmen perished from hunger and exposure, and
Hood was murdered by one of the Indians.

Back was the first to reach the fort. Instead of find-

IXTEREST RENEWED

469

verland
ber the
ic most
)r tradi-

2S when
m pulled
ith their

When
lich was
had just
jf carry-
accident
)y a fall,
used for
reckless.
)andoned
ing-lines.
ey could
suffered
■it of the
days at a
ost indi-
duced to
gth they
2ral days
hey were
ik and ill

cveral of
,ure, and

of find-

ing a supply of provisions, as had been promised, the
building was empty. Leaving a note stating that he had
gone in search of the Indians who had been depended
upon to furnish supplies, he continued his toilsome jour-
ney. Franklin and five comj. anions reached tlie desolate
fort on the i ith of October, and nearly three weeks later
Dr. Richardson and Hepburn arrived. Old skins, bones,
and lichens were used for food until the 7th of November,
when some Indians, who had been sent by Back, brought
a quantity of provisions. About a week later the journey
was resumed. Fort Chipewyan was reached in safety, and
here the party reniained until the following June. The
next month they reached York Factory, and the difficul-
ties and dangers of their most remarkable journey were at
an end.

The fact that Parry had failed to discover the North-
west Passage was not regarded as proof that it did not
exist. Neither did it diminish confidence in the zeal or
the competence of the commander himself. So when he
expressed an opinion that by commencing explorations at
a low^er latitude the desired opening could be found, the
government placed him in command of another expedi-
tion.

In May, 1821, with two ships and a transport loaded
with provisions and other necessities. Parry again set sail
from England. The entrance to Hudson Strait was
reached early in July. At this point the transport was
unloaded and sent home. Strong currents were soon
encountered, and the ships narrowly escaped destruction
by enormous icebergs. In September Repulse Bay was
reached, and found to be clear of ice. Leaving the bay.
Parry proceeded, in accordance with, his instructions,, to

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HARLIER ARCTIC EXPLO RATIONS

explore the coast line. This work was continued, under
many difficulties, until it became imperative to seek
winter quarters. T'nese were found on the shore of a
small island, and the ships were soon fast in ice. Here
Parry adopted the same means for keeping his men cheer-
ful and contented that had been tried on his previous
voyage, and with an equal degree of success. A party of
Eskimos living near by made frequent trips to the vessels,
and the officers also visited the snow huts of these peculiar
people.

It was not till the 8th of July that the expedition was
able to proceed, and even then it was necessary to do a
great amount of work in getting the ships out of the ice.
A little more than a week later they approached an
elevated region which they hoped would prove to be the
northern shore of the strait ; but when its entrance was
reached they were greatly disappointed to find an impass-
able barrier of ice. After waiting nearly four weeks
in hope that an openin - would be made, it was decided
to take observations on i. ' . A party proceeded to the
northern point of the penin..".ila near which their progress
by water had been checked, and discovered a strait in
which there was a strong current and considerable loose
ice. Returning to the ship, an effort was made to reach
this strait, but it proved unsuccessful. In this neighbor-
hood another winter was spent, and the ships were not
again afloat until past the middle of August. Several of
the crew had become ill, and Parry reluctantly sailed for
England.

Soon after reaching home Parry had a dangerous ill-
ness ; but in 1824 he was ready to take up his work again,
and was sent out, with the two ships used on the voyage

•m*

INTEREST RENEWED

47'

ecI, under
to seek
lore of a
e. Here
en cheer-
previous
L party of
e vessels,
; peculiar

ition was
J to do a
f the ice.
iched an
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ance was
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everal of
ailed for

2rous ill-
rk again,
e voyage

just described, to explore Prince Regent's Inlet, in hope
that it would lead to an open sea. The expedition left
England in May, and, after encountering luany danger ,
arrived late in September at the point where they had
been comiDelled to halt in iSiq. Near here a harbor,
which was named Port Bowen, was found, and Parry
made preparations to pass his fourth winter in the Arctic
regions. It was a dreary season, and in some respects
proved even more tedious than any of its jjredecessors.
On the iSth of July the ships were again free and the
voyage was resumed. In a short time large bodies of ice
were encountered, and one of the ships was so badly in-
jured that it had to be abandoned. The crew was taken
on board the other ship, which at once returned to I'^ng-
land.

Three other expeditions were sent from England at
about the time that Parry started for Prince Regent's
Inlet. Of these, one was commanded by Captain Lyon,
who was instructed to make a more thorough survey than
had yet been attempted of the coast as far as Point Turn-
again. Another was led by Eranklin, with orders to pass
down the Mackenzie River to the sea, and then proceed
along the coast to Bering Strait. The other was com-
manded by Captain Beechey, who was to pass around
Cape Horn, proceed to Bering Strait, and continue his
voyage to Kotzebue Sound, where he was to meet the
expedition led by Franklin. The results of this combined
effort were very meagre. Captain Lyon was overtaken
by storms and encountered vast drifts of ice, and when
some eighty miles distant from Repulse Bay was obliged
to give up the enterprise. Franklin and his party passed
the winter at Great Bear Lake. In the spring they sailed

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472

EARLIER ARCTIC KXPJ.ORATJONS

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down the Mackenzie River to the point where it separates
into different channels. The party then divided. One
detaciinient, under Ur. Richardson, passed to the east,
in order to explore the coast as far as the Coppermine
River. The other, led by Franklin, went to the west, in
hope of reaching Icy Cape and meeting Captain Beechey.
The former party accomplished its purpose with but little
difficulty, and, returning, reached their winter quarters on
the ist of September. They saw a large number of birds
of various kinds, and at one point were greatly annoyed
by mosquitoes.

Franklin and his party had a much severer experience.
Unfriendly Eskimos made them much trouble, and they
were delayed by fogs and storms. By the middle of
August the cold had become severe and the men were
suffering greatly from weariness and exposure. It was
therefore necessary that they at once return to the house
at Great Bear Lake. The extreme point reached was
named Return Reef. It was afterward learned that Cap-
tain Beechey was then only one hundred and fifty miles
away. The second winter was passed at the lake. It
proved very severe. At one time the temperature was
58° below zero. With the approach of mild weather the
party returned to England. During the summer the ship
under Captain Beechey reached the appointed place and
remained as long as the weather would permit ; but as they
had already returned to England, no trace of Franklin
and his companions could be found.

Although he had been repeatedly bafiled in his Arctic
expeditions, Parry was not discouraged. Scoresby had
suggested that by constructing boats in such a manner
that they could also be used as sledges, it might be possi-

INTER KST REXE II ED

473

n were
It was
house
sd was
Cap-
miles
It

l)lc to reach the Pole by passing over the ice. Parry
accepted this idea and presented it to the attention of the
government officers. It met their ap|)roval and was
l)romi)tly put into execution. Two boats were built; and
with the Hccla, one of the ships which he had previously
commanded, Parry set out on his fourth expedition.

In 1827 the ship was sailed to the north coast of Spit/.-
bergen, where it was left in a safe harbor. On the 2 2d
of June the men took to the boats. Three days later
they reached the ice, but it proved to be very rough and
was intersected by numerous channels. Progress was
extremely slow and toilsome. Rains were frequent and
there were heavy falls of snow. Dense fogs caused many
delays. At length, finding that they were being carried
south by the drifting of the ice in the water, faster than
they were proceeding north on its surface, it was decided
to return to the ship. This was only one hundred and
seventy- two miles distant, although they had actually
travelled two hundred and ninety-two miles. The most
northern point reached was 82° 45', which, so far as was
certainly known, was the highest latitude that had then
been reached by man.

In 1829 Sir John Ross, whose voyage in 18 18 had
been so barren of results and had brought upon himself
not a little adverse criticism, proceeded to the polar re-
gions in a small s' ^amship that had been placed at his
disposal for this p^ pose by his friend Sir Felix Booth.
This ship, named the Victory, was commanded by James
Clark Ross, a nephew of Sir John. It was the first
steamer ever used in Arctic exploration. Lancaster
Sound was reached in August. The voyage was con-
tinued to what is known as the Gulf of Boothia. Here

J ii :

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474

EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

.1 sheltered position was found, which was named I'V'lix
Harbor, wliere winter quarters were taken. When spring
opened, various land journeys were made. Not until
September did the ship get afloat, and it had proceeded
only about three miles when it again became entangled
in the ice. Here it remained until the following Au-
gust. On the 2Sth of the month the ship was again free.
i3ut the wind soon arose, the weather suddenly became
cold, and when they had sailed only four miles they were
once more firmly surrounded by ice. Here they remained
till the s])ring, when, on account of the failing health of
the men, the small quantity of provisions on hand, and the
great uncertainty as to when a free passage through the
ice could be found, it was resolved to abandon the ship.

After a wearisome and dangerous journey the party
reached the spot where the Fury had been wrecked in
Parry's third voyage. Here they found a quantity of
provisions that had been saved from the ship, and here
they passed a most miserable winter. There was great
suffering from cold and illness, and several of the men
died. Harly in the summer of 1833 the survivors re-
sumed their journey. About the middle of August open
water was reached, and the party took to their boats.
Twelve days later two ships were sighted. On one of
these their signals of distress were observed. This ship
proved to be the Isabella, which Ross himself had once
commanded. The weary explorers were taken on board
and given every possible means of comfort. On the i8th
of October the rescued party, all of whom had long
before been given up for dead, arrived at England. The
principal result of this expedition was the reaching and
determining of the exact location of the North Magnetic

;-!

INTEREST KEXE WEI)

475

eel l''clix
Ml spring
lot until
rocccdcd
n tangled
^ing Au-
gain free.
J became
hey were
remained
health of
1, and the
ough the
le ship,
the party
recked in
lantity of
and here
vas great
the men
vivors re-
list open
eir boats,
n one of
his ship
lad once
on board
the 1 8th
lad long
d. The
hing and
Magnetic

Pole. This was accomplished by James Ross, in April,

As year after year passed and no tidings from Ross
were received in I'^ngland, great anxiety was fell for his
safety. A fund was raised in order to fit out an expedi-
tion to search for him, and, if he could be found, give him
needed relief. The government aided the movement ;
and Hack, who had accompanied Franklin to the north
and had since been promoted capt.iin, was placed in
command. In I'^ebruary, 1833, he sailed from I^ngland.
With his party he reached Fort Chipewyan on the 29th
of July, and about a fortnight later arrived ut a station on
Great Slave Lake. Here two parties were formed to
explore the region, in hope of finding a navigable river
upon which the journey could be continued. On the
approach of cold weather they returned to the lake,
where a house, which they named Fort Reliance, was
built, and where they passed the winter.

The season proved to be terribly severe. On the 1 7th
of January the thermometer registered 70" below zero.
Food was scanty and it was impossible to secure fish or
game at that time. A large number of Indians flocked
to the house ; and thousxh a little food was distributed
among them, many perished from hunger. On the 25th
of April the party were greatly cheered by the arrival of a
messenger with the news that Ross had reached England
in safety. This left them free to make further explora-
tions, which was, indeed, a secondary object of the expe-
dition. On the 7th of June the house was closed, and
the party proceeded to the Great Fish River, which ha^
since been named after Back, of which they made a care-
ful examination. After an absence of about four months

476

EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

I.I.

' 11.

m I

they returned to Fort Reliance, where tliey passed
another winter. In the following March the homeward
trip was commenced, and in September the party arrived
in England.

In 1836 the British Government equipped another ex-
pedition to continue the exploration of some of the coast
lines that had been partially surveyed. Back was placed
in command of the ship Terror, on which he sailed in
June. The party was doomed to disappointment. They
hoped to winter in Repulse Bay ; but before reaching that
point they encountered a violent storm, by which they
were driven back for quite a distance, and ere long the
ship was caught in a mass of ice. Much of the time
they were driven by the wind, or carried by the current,
with the great body of ice in which they were wedged as
in an enormous vise, and they were often in imminent
danger of destruction.

The ship did not get free until nearly the middle of
July. It had been seriously damaged, and an immediate
return to England was the only course that could be
adopted. The trip was made with all possible speed,
but the ship was in a sinking condition when port was
reached. Although the expedition had failed, it was not
from want of skill or effort. This fact was fully recog-
nized, and soon after reaching home Back was knighted.
The survey which he was unable to make was completed
the following year by Dease and Simpson, who were sent
out by the Hudson Bay Company, and who made exten-
sive explorations of the coast of Boothia and Victoria
Land.

ii:

I i:

CHAPTER XXVIII

IIEKOIC ENDEAVORS

The next expedition to the Arctic seas left England on
the 26th of Way, 1845. The government had fitted out
two ships, the Erebus and the Terror, in the best possi-
ble manner, and also provided a transport, w ith a cargo of
food supplies and general stores, to accompany them as
far as Uavis Strait. The Erebus was commanded by Sir
John Franklin, w^ho was chief ofihcer of the expedition,
and the Terror, by Captain Richard Crozier. The com-
bined crews numbered one hundred and thirty-eight men.
The object of this expedition, as defined by the govern-
ment officers, was " the accomplishment of a northwest
passage by sea from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean,"
and very minute instructions were given as to the course
which was to be pursued. The ships and transport
arrived safely at Davis Strait. Here the latter was un-
loaded and at once returned to England. The two ships
then went on their way. On the 26th of July, 1845, they
were seen by a whaling vessel named the Prince of
Wales. They were then near the middle of Bafifin Bay,
waiting for an opening in the ice, which had blocked their
way. From that time they were seen by white men no
more.

It was expected that about two years would pass after
the ice fields wore reached before word could be received
from the explorers. When this period had elapsed and

f if^r^

478

EARLJER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

i ■»!■

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nothing was heard from the party, their friends in Eng-
land be^an to fear that some disaster had befallen the
expedition. As weeks and months went by, leaving the
silence unbroken, the feeling of apprehension deepened.
In 1848 the British Government sent out three expedi-
tions in search of the missing exi)lorers. Of these, one
was to attemi)t to reach the Polar Sea by way of Bering
Strait, one was to pass down the Mackenzie River to
the sea and then follow the coast to the Coppermine
River, while the other was directed to }xiss through Lan-
caster Sound and Barrow Strait. Two ships were fitted
out for the expedition first named. They were the
Herald TxwA the Plover, under Cajjtain Ilenry Kellett and
Commander Thomas E. L. Moore. The second was led
by Dr., now Sir John Richardson, who was accompanied by
Dr. John Rae, who had already won fame as an explorer
in the service of the Hudson Bay Com})any. The third
was under Sir James Clark Ross and Captain E. J. Bird,
with two large ships named the Ejiierprisc 2i\\A \\\ii Investi-
gator. Full directions were given to each of these parties;
and as all points that Franklin was at all likely to reach
were to be visited, it was hoped and believed that this
united effort would speedily be crowned with success. The
expeditions made some valuable additions to the know-
ledge of the regions which they visited, but as far as their
principal object was concerned they were utter failures.

In 1849 the British Government offered a reward of
;^ 20,000 to private persons, of any nationality, who should
discover and rescue the missing explorers. This, together
with a deep interest in the fate of Franklin, led to the
formation of numerous parties to prosecute the search.
Lady Franklin also provided means for sending men and

««^

HEROIC ENDEAVORS

479

IIKNKV (JKl.NNKLI.

vessels to aid in tlie work. In 1S50 there were at least
twelve ships, besides boat and sledge parties, engaged in
the enterprise.

Among the expeditions was one from the United
States. This was mainly fitted out by Henry Grinnell, a
New York merchant, but it was under (government con-
trol. It was commanded by Lieutenant I)e Haven, who
had seen service in an exploring expedition in the Ant-
arctic regions. Two ships, the Advance and the Rescue,
were furnished. They left New York on the 24th of
May, 1850. The plan proposed was i' 'iceed to Mel-
ville Island, pass the winter wherever !.oy were caught
in the ice, and then follow whatever course should seem
most likely to lead to success.

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EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

The ships of several of these expeditions came near
each other in Baffin Bay. At this point they were long
delayed and were often in extreme peril from enormous
masses of floating ice. Some of the best ships spent five
weeks in sailing northward only thirty miles. When the
course became more open the ships parted company,
going in different directions in order to make the search
as thorough as possible.

On the 23d of August, 1850, the first trace of the
missing party was found. This was at Cape Riley, where
the crew of a boat from the British ship Assistance
landed. Several articles were found which had evidently
belonged to Europeans, but they could not be identified
with the Franklin party. This was followed by a trip to
Beechey Island, about three miles distant. Here was
discovered the spot where Franklin spent the winter of
1845-46. The graves of three men who had died during
that season were also found. These were marked by oak
boards upon which the names and ages of the deceased
had been inscribed. Careful search was made by parties
from three of the vessels which were near the island, but
nothing: could be found to indicate in what direction
Franklin intended to proceed when he left the camp. It
was ascertained, however, that during the winter his ships
had been fast in the ice a little south of Beechey Island.

About the middle of September the vessels engaged in
the search were ice-bound, and the work was necessarily
suspended. When spring opened sledging expeditions
were formed to prosecute the search on land. Twelve
parties were organized. One of these, under Lieutenant
McClintock, travelled seven hundred and sixty miles.
The others covered lesser distances. Great suffering was

e near
e long
DrmoLis
mt five
len the
mpany,
searcli

of the
, where
sistance
/iclently
entified
trip to
n"e was
inter of
during
by oak
eceased
parties
md, but
irection
np. It
is ships

and.
iged in
essarily
ditions
Twelve
.itenant
miles.

ng was

HEROIC EXDEA VORS

481

experienced from cold and fatigue, and one of the men
died from exiiaustion. One of the j^artics reached the
spot where Parry had encamped in 1S20, and anotiier dis-
co\ered a wide strait of o|)en water, which was named
Victoria Channel, but no trace of I'ranklin or his men
was found.

y\lthough the numerous exjieditions which had been
sent out were utter failures as far as the accomi)lishmcnt
of their main purpose was concerned, some very imjjor-
tant results in other lines were secured. Ihe most notice-
able of these was the discovery by Cajitain, afterward
Sir Robert McClure, commander of the British ship In-
vestigator, of the Northwest Passage. This great event
occurred on the 26th of (October, 1850. \'ear after year
expeditions followed the ones which have been named.
Several ships were lost. Ileroic efforts were made by
officers and men, and terrible sufferings were endured,
but the mystery regarding the fate of Pranklin was not
dispelled.

In 1S53 Mr. Cirinnell, aided by several individuals and
organizations, fitted out his second expedition to the
Arctic regions. The shij), which was named the Ad-
vance, was commanded by Dr. P^lisha Kent Kane, who
had accompanied Lieutenant l)e Haven in the first (irin-
nell expedition. With eighteen men he sailed froni New
York on the 30th of May, intending to pass as far north
as possible in Baffin Bay, and thence proceed, with sledges
and boats, on land and water in such direction as should
give the greatest hope of success. After reaching Mel-
ville Bay there was great difficulty and danger on ac-
count of fogs and ice. At Littleton Island a quantity
of provisions were stored, to be used, in case of necessity,
31

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if:
fit

sij

i I

48 2

]-:.\Rr.lF.R AKCTfC KXrr.ORATIOXS

on the return trip. Altli()u<;h tlie ret^ion was dreary and
desolate in the extreme, aljundant evidences were found
that it had once been the seat of an I'^skinio settlement.

As winter approached, the shi|) was brought to a
sheltered place, which was named \'an Rensselaer 1 larbor,
where it became fast in \\mi ice on the loth of Sei)teniber.
Sledging parties were sent out for the double jjurpose of
establishing dej)ots for i)rovisions and for making explora-
tions. This work could not be continued after the 2()th
of November, as the sun then passed below the horizon
to remain for one hundred and twenty days. 'I'he winter
was extremely severe. The temperature was often 40",
and at one time dropped to 75", below zero. Most of the
dogs, of which a large number had been procured for
sledging j)urposes, died from brain disease caused by the
depressing influences of intense cold and continuous dark-
ness. Many of the men suffered severely from scurvy,
and the others were greatly debilitated by their close con-
finement and the hardships which they had endured.

On the return of the sun, sledging parties were formed
and the work of exploration was resumed. These jour-
neys proved extremely difficult. Two of the men died as
the result of exposure and privations, and Kane had an
illness that for several days seemed likely to })rove fatal.
A latitude of 82° 27' was reached, and a coast line was
mapped which extended nine hundred and sixty miles.
To complete this work involved not less than two thou-
sand miles of walking and sledge travel. Among the dis-
coveries which were made were a maiinificcnt column of
greenstone, four hundred and eighty feet high, rising on
a pedestal which itself towered two hundred and eighty
feet above the ground, which was called Tennyson's

«w*-

,ry and
foiiiul
lent.
L to :i
I arbor,
.cm her.
pose of
•.\j)lora-

IC 2()lh

hori/.on
winter
en 40",
of tlie
red for
1))' tlie
IS dark-
scurvy,
ISC con-
d.

formed
e jour-
died as
Iliad an
c fatal,
ne was
miles.
) thou-
he dis-
imm of
ino- on
eighty
ly son's

iriiRoic I'.Nnr.A i oa's

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DK. 1;. K. KANK

Monument; and an enormous wall of ice, three huiidred
feet in hci<>ht, which was named the Great Glacier of
Humboldt. The ])arty carried its explorations to Caj^c
Constitution, in latitude 82" 27'. A lofty peak on the
opposite coast of Grinnell Land was named Mount lul-
ward Parry.

At this time the summer was well advanced, but there
were no indications that the ship would get clear of the
ice. The stock of jDrovisions was small, and the health of
the party had become greatly impaired. A careful con-

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484

EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

sidcration of the subject sliowcd tliat it would be ex-
tremely hazardous to attempt to pass another winter in
the ship. Therefore Dr. Kane resolved to make an at-
tempt to communicate with some English ships, belonging
to a searching expedition, whicli were lying off Heechcy
Island. With five of the strongest men he started in an
open boat, but a terrible storm was encountered, and in
sjjite of their most earnest efforts to force a j^assage, the
ice presented a barrier which tliey could not break
through. They returned to the ship, intending to hoist
signals that would bring to their aid other explorers, if
there were any in that region.

On consulting with his men, Dr. Kane found that some
of them believed it would be possible to escape overland
to the nearest Danish colony. He then gave each and all
the choice of making such an attempt or of remaining
with him in the shij). Nine of the men preferred to go.
The remainder, more wisely as it proved, decided to stay
with their commander. After enduring the most terrible
sufferings, those who had left found their way back to the
vessel.

About seventy-five miles distant from the ship was an
Eskimo village. The inhabitants were friendly to the
weather-bound explorers. For a time communication was
kept up, and some food supplies were obtained ; but with
the coming of continued darkness, and a great scarcity of
meat at the settlement, this source of relief was cut off.
By March all the men were suffering from scur\'y, and
more than half of the number w^ere seriously ill. The
supply of fuel was exhausted, and lamps were used for
both light and heat. Everything in the ship was turned
black with soot. Two of the men became desperate and

JIKROJC ENDEAVORS

4^5

be cx-

inter in
an at-

lon^inu;

Jccclicy

:l in an
and in

mc, the
break

to hoist

Drcrs, if

at some

)verland

and all

niainin<j:

d to ffo.

to stay

terrible

V to the

was an
to the

ion was

)iit with
city of
lit off.

vy, and
The

sed for
turned

ite and

attempted to desert. One of these was successful, but he
seems to have repented, as lie afterward returned with
some food that he had obtained from the I'^skimos.

liefore sprinir had fairly come, pre[)arations were com-
menced for abandoning the ship. The three boats were
repaired, sledges were put in order, and a supply of clotii-
inu: and beddini; was uot in readiness for use. On the
17th of May, after the reading of j)rayers and the Scrip-
tures, the flags were hoisted and hauled down. Then the
seventeen survivors of the i)arty, four of whom were too
ill to walk alone, started to cross the ice and water which,
for thirteen hundred miles, lay between them and the
north of Greenland.

For nearly a week the })arty was able to proceed only a
little more than a mile per day. Karly in June one of the
men met with an accident which, a few days later, resulted
in his death. Various Eskimo settlements were visited,
and at some of them the sujDply of provisions was replen-
ished. On many occasions it was necessary to halt for
rest. Various accidents occurred, and difficulty and dan-
ger were the constant companions of the weak and weary
party. At length, to their great relief, open water was
reached, and on the 19th of June they took to their boats,
one of which was soon swamped. It was a fearful voyage.
Hunger, cold, weariness, and exposure to storms brought
terrible sufferings. After being in the open air of an
Arctic climate for eighty-four days, the party reached Up-
ernavik, the seat of a Danish colony on an island off the
coast of Greenland. Here they remained until the 6th of
September, when they embarked on a ship bound for the
Shetland Islands. But at Godhavn an American expedi-
tion that had come out to search for them was seen, and

I- i

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I;.

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iu'

486

EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

they were transferred to the shijis which had been sent
for their rehef. In October they were safely landed at
New York. Many important surveys had been made and
much valuable information concernin;^ tlie Arctic regions
had been gained, but not the slightest trace of iM-anklin
had been found.

The Vm\r absence of Dr. Kane caused a <jrreat deal of
anxiety in the United States, and in I'"ebruary, 1855, the
Secretary of tlie Navy was authorized by Congress to send
an expedition for his relief. Two ships, tlie Release and
the .<4rf/?V, were ec|uij)ped and Lieutenant Ilartstene was
placed in command, liafifin Hay was reached in due time,
and a careful search was made at the numerous points
where it seemed possible that Kane might be detained.
All efforts to find the missing men ])n)ving fruitless, the
ships were turned toward the south and i)roceeded to
Upernavik and thence to (iodhavn, on Disco Island,
where, as already related, the exi)l()rers were found.

Upon his return home, and the publication of his report
of the voyage. Dr. Kane received many honors, not only
from his countrymen but also from societies and individ-
uals in foreign lands. As soon as possible he prepared a
complete narrative of his Arctic explorations, which was
published in book form and made him famous as an
author. His health, which had never been firm, had suf-
fered from his terrible exposiuTs, and, before his book was
completed, rapidly failed, in hope of obtaining relief he
sailed to Eneland ; but his strength declined, and after a
brief visit he started for home by way of Havana, but died
in that city, in February, 1857, at the early age of thirty-
seven years.

The numerous maritime expeditions that were sent out

IIEKOJC ENDI.Al ONS

4S7

i\\ sent
ulcd at
:iclc and
regions
'ranklin

deal of

"I55. the
to send
ase and
L'ne was
Lie time,
i points
etained.
less, the
L'ded to
Island,

s report
ot only
individ-
pared a
ich was
as an
ad suf-
)k was
■lief he
after a
ut died
thirty-

ent out

to diseovcr Franklin were supplemented by diligent and
extended seareh on land. Dr. Kae, who had not only
seen a great deal of service, but had won popular recogni-
tion as an expert in this field, spent several years in this
arduous work. In 1854 he met a band of i'^skimos who
told him a])ont a jjarty of some forty men who had starved
to death at a ])lace far west of where they then were.
I'"()ur winters had jxissed since this sad event occurred.
The men were drawiny; sledtifes and a boat over the ice.
Their lanLiuaiie could not be understood ; but from siufns
which they made the I'^skimos believed that their shii)s
had been wrecked, that their provisions were scanty, and
that they were going toward the south in hope of finding
game on which they could subsist. Later in the same
year several graves were found, and also the bodies of
about thirty persons which had not been buried. These
were on tlie mainland. On an island, not far away, five
otlier bodies were found. Some of the bodies were in
tents, some on the open ground, and others under a boat
that had been placed so as to form a shelter from storms.
Dr. Rae purchased of the Eskimos a large number of arti-
cles that had belonged to the party and that completely
identified the men who had so miserably perished as mem-
bers of the Franklin expedition. He at once proceeded
to I^ngland, and, with his men, received the reward of
^10,000 which had been offered to those who first should
give definite information regarding the fate of the Frank-
lin party.

The report of Dr. Rae caused a very general feeling in
England that no member of the Franklin expedition could
be livinfj, and the British Government declined to risk
more lives or expend more money for a further search.

fi i

488

EAKIJEK ARCTIC KXI'J.ORATWNH

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Lady I''ranklin, however, witli the assistance of a few
friends, fitted out a vessel, called the l'\).\\ of which the
experienced e.\i)l()rer Captain McCIintock was j)laced in
coniniand. The olficers and men numbered twenty-five
The ship sailed from Scotland in July, 1S57, was caui;ht
in ice in Melville Hay on the i.Sth of August, and drifted
until late in April, iS^S. Heechey Island was reached on
the iith of August, and a marble tablet, that had been
sent out by Lady l*"ranklin, was erected at the graves of
the men who had died at that jilacc.

The second winter was passed in a haven at the eastern
entrance of Bellot Strait. Larly in the si)ring journeys
were made to establish depots of j)rovisions. Natives
were met with who said that many )'ear- before a ship had
been broken uj) by the ice, that the crew had escaped, had
gone toward the (ireat ImsIi River, and all had died of
starvation.

On the 2d of A])ril, 1S59, the spring journey com-
menced. I-'rom a ])arty of natives news was obtained of
a second shij3 that had drifted on shore, and several relics
were purchased. The explorers divided into two parties,
one led by Lieutenant Ilobson, the other by Captain
McCIintock. On the 6th of May Hobson found written
records of the I'^ranklin expedition. The first entry was
dated the 2Sth of May, 1S47, and stated that the ])arLy
had passed up Wellington Channel and returned by the
west side of Cornwallis Island, thus having completed the
discovery of the Northwest Passage, of which they had
been in search. They were then in winter quarters and
all were w'ell. The second entry, dated the 25th of April,
1848, states that Sir John Franklin died on the nth of
June, 1847, that eight other officers and fifteen men had

lUiROJC KNDEAIORS

489

corn-
el of
dies
rties,

tain
•itten
' was
)arLy
y the
d the

had

and
'\pril,
h of

liad

DR. ISAA(. I. II AVIS

died, that havinii^ Ix'en fast in ice since the I2tli of Sep-
tember, 1S46, the ships 7:'n'<^w.? and Terror w^xa deserted
on the 22d of April, 1S4.S, and that on the 26th of April
the survivors would commence a journey in hope of
reaching Hack's (ireat Tish River.

Lieutenant Hobson proceeded in the direction indi-
cated, and found human skeletons, a boat nearly buried in
the snow, watches, books, and numerous other articles.
Captain McClintock also reached the boat. In connec-
tion with what had already been found, these discoveries
confirmed the statements of Dr. Rae, and pro\'ed beyond
doubt that after leaving the sj^ot where the records were
found the party attempted to reach the Great V\'A\ River,

..a

«:

1 **•

490

RAKI.IKR ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

that many of them died on the way, that some started
to return to the ship and lost their lives, and that the
remainder reached the river, but w^^le waiting for the ice
to break they all j^erished of exposure and starvation.
Such was the terrible fate of the first discoverers of the
Northwest Passage, which had been sought for hundreds
of years.

Dr. Isaac I. Hayes, who went out as surgeon with the
second Grinnell expedition, under Dr. Kane, was exceed-
ingly anxious to prosecute further search in the Arctic
regions, and endeavored to secure the organization of
another party, and obtain a suitable ecjuipnient for that
purpose. But the public had come to believe that no
results could be obtained that would be of sufficient value
to justify the risks of life and prt)perty that another
expedition would involve. Yet his zeal was so great, and
he so forcibly ]Drcsented his views in lectures which he
delivered in the large cities 01 the United States, that
considerable interest was aroused and a sufficient sum of
money was secured to purchase and fit out a vessel for
his use.

In this ship, the name of which was patriotically
changed from the Spring Hill to the United States,
Hayes sailed from Boston on the 7th of July, 1S60.
The party, all told, numbered fifteen persons. The
definite objects of the expedition were to extend, and if
possible complete, the survey of the northern coast of
Greenland and Grinnell Land, and continue explorations
in the direction of the North Pole. The Arctic Circle
was reached near the close of July, and the entrance to
Smith Sound on the 27th of August; but winds were
contrary and the ship was driven back three times before

■ H !

HEROIC ENDEA VORS

491

started
ha I the
• the ice
irvation.
i of tlie
undreds

vith the

exceed-

; Arctic

ition of

for tliat

that no

nt value

another

eat, and

hich lie

es, that

sum of

ssel for

iotically

States,

i860.

The

and if

oast of

I rations

Circle

mce to

s were

before

it was possible to proceed to any great distance in the
strait. A harbor, which was named Port P'oulke, was
found about twenty miles south of where Kane wintered
in Rensselaer Harbor.

In April, with twelve of his strongest men and a num-
ber of dogs, Hayes started on a sledge journey, intending
to cross the sound to Grinnell Land. Twenty-five days
of ardous toil did not take them half the distance, but it
utterly disabled several of the men. Unwilling to aban-
don the project while there was a possibility of success,
Hayes sent all but three of his men back to the ship.
The returning party took with them the boat that had
been taken in hope that it could be launched on an open
sea.

With his three companions, two sledges, and fourteen
dogs, the resolute leader of the expedition pressed on, and
two weeks after the parties separated he reached the
land. An exploring trip along the coast was commenced.
In less than a week one of the men became utterly
exhausted. With another to care for him, he was left
behind, and Hayes, with a single companion, continued
his journey. On the i8th of May they reached Mount
Parry. Here their progress was checked by rotten ice
and fissures which could not be crossed without a boat.
Observations were taken which showed that they were in
latitude 81° 35', a higher point than any previous ex-
plorer had reached on land.

The return journey was extremely difficult, but the ship
was reached on the 3d of June. During his absence
from the harbor Hayes had travelled thirteen hundred
miles. In July the vessel was free from ice. Plans had
been formed to sail to Grinnell Sound, in order to make

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492

I.ARLIER ARCTIC EXPJ. ORATIONS

further explorations, but it was found that such injuries
had been sustained durin<»; the winter that the vessel
would not be safe anionti iioatin<>: masses of ice. There-
fore the party returned to Boston. Only one man had
been lost, and his death was due to an accident.

In the year i860, Charles iM'ancis Hall, who from boy-
hood had been deeply interested in the fate of Franklin,
and had been a close student of the literature pertain-
ing to the Arctic regions, sailed from New London,
Connecticut, in a whaling vessel, for the north. A boat
which had been si)ecially fitted for his use was taken
along. His ])lan was to stoj) at some suitable jjoint,
organize a crew of Eskimos, and prosecute a search for
members of the I'ranklin expedition, some of whom he
believed had reached native settlements and were still
living. He also desired to survey some portions of the
region which was as yet unexjjlored. Search for the
Franklin party was j^revented by the loss of the boat
soon after his arrival ; but he found various relics of the
Frobisher expedition, and learned that the body of water
which for nearly three centuries had been known as
F"robisher Strait was actually a bay. In September,
1862, he reached New London in a whaling vessel.
With him he took two Eskimos, or Innuits, Joe and
Hannah, with their little child. The latter was soon
taken ill and died.

In 1864 Llall sailed again, with his Innuit companions,
to the nortli. He had acquired considerable knowledge
of the Eskimo language and customs. His plan was to
live with these people two or three years, gain their confi-
dence, and then secure their assistance in exploring all
the region in which survivors of the F'ranklin party, if

ieclge
^vas to

confi-
ng all

ty, if

IfEIWlC RNni'.. tl'OA'S

493

^■^.

l'!^-

such there were, would l3c at all likely to be found. This
expedition covered a period of five years. The greatest
efforts were made to learn the truth retrardins; the missin<j[
explorers. For a long time Hall was very hopeful of find-
ing some of them alive, but at length he was forced to
the conclusion that the last of that ill-fated i^arty had
perished several years before.

In 1869 Hall reached home and was received with

'■M
13

1 1

I, .

494

EARLIER ARCTIC KX RIO RATIONS

great lionors. He then made a vigorous effort to secure
an expedition for the purpose of discovering the North
Pole. A great deal of interest was excited. ConLrress
made an approj)riation for the purpose, and a steamer
named the Polaris was fitted out. Mall was a])j)ointe(l
commander of the expedition. A scientific corjos, to take
observations in accordance with instructions from the
National y\cadcmy of Sciences, was selected. A full
complement of officers was chosen, and a crew of fourteen
men was secured. Joe and Hannah, the Innuits who had
previously accompanied Hall and had rendered him in-
valuable services, were also members of this ex])edition.

On the afternoon of the 3d of July, 1S71, the Polaris
sailed from New London, Connecticut, on her final voy-
age. Smith Sound was reached without special adven-
ture. Passing through Kennedy Channel, the vessel
entered what Kane had supposed was an open sea, but
which proved to be only a small body of water. This
received the name of Polaris Bay. ^"'arther on a strait
was discovered which, in honor of the Secretary of the
Na\y who had used his influence in aid of the expedi-
tion, was named Robeson Channel. In this strait a
latitude of 82° 16' was reached on the 30th of August.
This was the highest latitude yet reached. It was fifty
miles beyond the farthest point touchea by Dr. Hayes,
and nearly two hundred miles beyond where Dr. Kane
had gone. Here progress was checked by ice, and for
a while the ship was carried back by the drift. Hall and
some of his men were anxious to make further efforts to
proceed, but some of the subordinates were opposed to
this course; and the commander, as it subsequently ap-
peared, unwisely heeded their protests. On September 3

i^flB^^Sk

n;^

HEROIC ENDEAVORS

495

IS fifty

Hayes,
Kane

|nd for
W and
ii-ts to

Ised to
:ly ap-
nber 3

the ship was j)ut into winter quarters in Polaris Bay, in
a cove to which Hall gave the name of Thank God
1 1 arbor.

On the loth of October, Hall, with three companions,
started on a sledge journey for the purpose of exploring
the adjoining region and selecting the most favorable
route for the expedition to the Pole, which he intended
to make in the spring. The ordinary difficulties of
travelling in that region were encountered, but the party
returned in safety, reaching the ship on the 24th of Octo-
ber. They had attained the highest latitude yet reached,
and discovered a channel which they expected to utilize
when the northward journey should be resumed. Soon
after reaching the ship Hall was taken ill, and on the 8th
of November he passed away. Thus ended the life of
one of the noblest and most devoted of Arctic explorers.

It was rumored that Hall had been poisoned, but a
thorough investigation by the government proved that he
died from natural causes. His body was buried on the
shore of Polaris Bay, and an American flag was placed
over his grave.

Captain Buddington, who succeeded to the command
of the expedition, had little desire for Arctic explorations;
and though some short journeys were made, nothing of
importance was accomplished. Toward the middle of
August the homeward voyage was commenced. After
sailing about fifty miles, the vessel was caught in the ice
and narrowly escaped being wrecked. When free, the
voyage was resumed, but in a short time a field of float-
ing ice was entered, with which the ship drifted for a long
distance. During the night of October 15 a gale drove
the ice upon her in such a manner as to threaten her

III

,, . . ;

: t-i'

1'?:
h

EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

immediate destruction. The captain ordered the crew
to save whatever they could. Provisions, clothing, and
various other materials were hurriedly thrown upon the
ice. The Mskimo women and children were taken off,
and several of the men left the vessel to move the
goods to as safe a place as could be found. Suddenly the
ship broke away and disappeared in the darkness, leav-
ing nineteen persons, men, women, and children, adrift on
the ice.

Of some poles and lumber which had been thrown
from the shij:), the party on the ice constructed a rude
house in which they took up their abode. The stock
of provisions was small, and, though a few seals and an
occasional bear were captured, the party were constantly
on short rations. In addition to the weakness caused by
insufficient food, they suffered terribly from the depress-
ing influence of severe cold, and of darkness, which lasted
for eighty-one days. Meanwhile the floe upon which
they were encamped was raj^idly drifting toward the
south. On the iith of March it was broken up by a
terrific gale. This left the castaways upon a compara-
tively small piece of ice, as far as area was concerned, but
fortunately it was of considerable thickness. This, how-
ever, gradually wasted away ; and Captain Tyson, the
leader of the forlorn party, deemed it imperative that they
take to their one remaining boat and attempt to reach
a larger and firmer field of ice. This was safely accom-
plished, though not without great difficulty and extreme
danger. Violent storms caused them great suffering and,
by preventing the capture of seals, brought them to the
verge of starvation.

On the 20th of April the waves swept over the ice and

ic crew
iig, and
5()n the
ken off,
JVC the
jnly tlie
ss, leav-
.drift on

thrown

a rude

e stock

and an

nstantly

used by

depress-

h lasted

which

uxl the

p by a

mpara-

ed, but

s, how-

n, the

it they

rcacli

iccom-

:treme

Ito the

:e and

HEROIC ENDEAVORS

497

carried away their shelter, together witii nearly all tiie
articles which they had thus far been able to save. Only
by the most desperate efforts, continued f(jr tweKe hours,
were they able to keep the boat from being washed away.
Their condition was now even more pitiable than it had
previously been; but as they were nearing the seal-fishing
grounds they hoped to fall in with a vessel that would
give them relief. On the 25th of April the ice became
so insecure that they were obliged to take to the boat.
A few days later a sealing vessel was seen, but either the
unfortunate party were not able to attract the attention of
those on board or else the ship was unable to get through
the ice which lay between them. After this two other
vessels were sighted, but the castaways remained unseen.

On the 30th of April deliverance came. Through a rift
in the fog a steamer was seen near by. Signals from the
boat were observed and the vessel went to their relief.
In a short time the almost famished party was taken on
board the ship, which proved to be the Tigress, from
Newfoundland, which was on a cruise for seals. On the
12th of May the rescued party reached St. John's. The
government sent a steamer for them, and on the 5th of
June the people who had been exposed to so many perils,
had so many hairbreadth escapes, and endured almost
unparalleled exposure and privation, arrived at Wash-
ington.

When the Polaris was carried away from the ice it liad
fourteen persons on board. Information given by the
party rescued from the ice led the government to fit and
send out a vessel to find and rescue the officers and crew
of the ship that had so suddenly disappeared. On the
14th of July, 1873, the Tigress, under Captain Greer,
32

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498

EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

sailed from New York on this errand of mercy. She was
accompanied by the yu7iiatix, a smaller vessel, which car-
ried supplies for the Tigress and which was also designed
to aid in the search. About the middle of August the
Tigress reached Littleton Island, near which the Polaris
was last seen by the party that drift<;d away on the ice.
Here some Eskimos were found who said that the day
after the separation occurred Captain Buddington had
abandoned tlie ship. With some lumber from the vessel
the men had built a house on the shore. Here they
had spent the winter. Two boats were made, and in
these the company sailed southward in the spring. Dur-
ing a gale the vessel broke loose from the ice in which it
had been entangled, and, after drifting for a while, had
gone down in the sea. Many articles that had been left
at the winter camp were secured by Captain Greer.

The Juniata proceeded to Newfoundland and commu-
nicated the facts to the Navy Department at Washing-
ton. Instructions to continue the search were returned
and another voyage was commenced, but news was soon
received from a British vessel that the crew of the Polaris
had been found. After the departure of the Juniata
Captain Greer continued the search, but finding no trace
of the missing party sailed to New York, where he learned
that Captain Buddington and his men had been rescued
by a British whaling vessel about three weeks before the
relief voyage of the Tigress was commenced. As this
ship was not homeward bound, the men were transferred
to other vessels, and by way of Scotland at length reached
New York. With the exception of their noble leader,
Captain Hall, every member of the Polaris expedition
reached home in safety. Many of them had been adrift

HEROIC ENDEAVORS

499

She was

lich car-

k'signed

^ust the

Polaris

the ice.

the clay

;ton had

e vessel

ere they

and in

5. Dur-

which it

lile, had

)een left

commu-

v'ashing-

•eturned

as soon

Polaris

^M7iiata

no trace

learned

rescued

"ore the

s this

sferred

eached

leader,

•edition

adrift

on floating ice for one hundred and ninety days, and all
had been exposed to the greatest dangers and had en-
dured the most terrible hardships. Their preservation
and rescue may well be classed with the miracles of
modern times.

Dr. Petermann, an eminent German geographer, sent
out a small vessel in 186S to prosecute exploration in the
Arctic seas. Captain Koldewey was placed in command.
The crew numbered eleven men. Great difficulties were
encountered and only meagre results were obtained.
Soon after the return of the vessel preparations were made
to renew the work. Funds were secured, two ships, the
Gcrmania and the Hansa, were fitted out, and Captain
Koldewey was appointed commander. Several noted sci-
entists accompanied the expedition. The object in view
was to penetrate to the very centre of the Arctic regions.

The ships sailed in June. Owing to contrary winds the
Arctic Circle was not crossed until the 5th of July. On
the 20th of July, owing to a misinterpretation of signals,
the ships became separated. Captain Hegemann, of the
Hansa, sailed away from, instead of proceeding toward,
the Germania, as Captain Koldewey intended. On the
14th of September the Hansa was frozen in. The danger
that she would be crushed appeared so great that a house
was built upon the ice. This was constructed of a patent
fuel made principally from coal, in the form of bricks, and
was held together by a mortar made of water and snow.
It was twenty feet long, fourteen feet wide, and eight and
one half feet high at the ridije.

Early in October there was a heavy fall of snow which
completely buried both the house and the ship. On the
19th of the month there was a terrific gale, the pressure

•

1
t

m\\

111

!, I

ii.

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500

EARLIER ARCTIC KXPLORATIONS

of the ice upon the vessel was increased, and a serious
leak was started. During the night of the 21st of Octo-
ber the ship went down. A f arful winter was passed in
the little house. Violent storms were frequent and the
cold was severe. The great ice field ujjon which the men
were located was drifted about at the mercy of wind and
wave. On the 7th of May a place was reached from
which there ajjpeared to be an open stretch of water to
the shore. The boats, which had been saved from the
ship, were launched, and after almost insuperable obsta-
cles had been overcome the party reached land. Several
islands were visited, but it was not until the 14th of June,
icSyo, that the weary party reached a human habitation.
On that date they arrived at Friedrichsthal, a station of
the Moravian missionaries on the southwestern coast of
Greenland, and early in September the entire party
reached home. They had drifted more than eleven hun-
dred miles on the ice, and had been preserved through a
more remarkable series of perils and misfortunes than
almost any other company of Arctic explorers who
returned to their native land.

After losing sight of the Haiisa, the Germania followed
the coast of Greenland as far north as latitude 75° 30',
but near the middle of August was obliged to turn to the
south. Winter was passed off Sabine Island. In the
spring various excursions were made which resulted in
valuable scientific and geographical discoveries. Before
the work which they hoped to accomplish was completed,
a leak in the engine boiler made it necessary for the party
to return home. This voyage was completed in Septem-
ber, 1870.

In 1872 an Austro-Hungarian expedition was sent to

HER O /L ■ JiAD EA I 'OA'S

5o«

I serious
of Oc to-
passed in

and the

the men
vind and
led from

water to

from the

)le obsta-

Several

of June,
abitation.
station of
I coast of
ire party
;ven hun-
1 rough a
ncs than
rs who

ollowed

75° 3o\

■n to the

In the

suited in

Before

mpleted,

le party

Septem-

sent to

the Arctic rei^ions. It was commanded by Lieutenant
Payer, who iiad not only cHstinguished himself in the
(ierman expedition under Cai)tain Koldewey, but who
had also made extensive explorations on his own account.
Cai)tain Weyprecht, who had accomjjanied Payer in his
previous voyayjes, was chief officer of the shi|). The
steamer Tei^cthoff' w^i^ fitted out in the best possible man-
ner, and Captain Carlsen, an experienced Arctic voyager,
was employed as pilot.

On the 14th of July, i»S72, the voyage was commenced.
Fifteen days later the coast of Nova Zembla was seen.
At about this time ice became troublesome, but the north-
ern coast of Nova Zembla was rounded in safety. Here
progress was checked and the ship was soon fast in the
ice. The dreary Arctic winter now set in. The sun was
absent one hundred and nine days. As there was danger
that the ship would be broken by the ice, a hut was built
in which to take refui^e in case such an accident occurred.
Much of the time the floe in which the vessel was encased
was adrift and toward the end of October, 1873, it reached
a point within three miles of an island lying off a main-
land that had never been explored. Some brief excur-
sions were made, but the beginning of the Arctic night
soon made their continuance impossible.

The party were now in a higher latitude than where
they passed the preceding winter, and the sun did not
appear at this point for one hundred and twenty-five days.
Snow fell to the depth of twelve feet and the cold was
very severe. In March several expeditions were made
by sledge parties. During one of these the temperature
dropped to fifty-eight degrees below zero. One of the
men died from lung disease aggravated by scurvy.

ir-fi

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502

liAKLIEK ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

Many of the clogs died and others became so weak as to
be of little use in the sledge teams. But in spite of all
these obstacles considerable was accomplished in the way
of exj)loration. One of the sledge parties reached a lati-
tude of 82° 5'. In honor of their sovereign the leaders of
the expedition named the country Franz Josef Land.

There were no indications that the voyage could ever
be resumed, and the diminished stock of provisions, to-
gether with the failing health of the men, made it neces-
sary to desert the ship. On the 20th of May, I1S74, the
flags were nailed to the mast and the men took to the
sledges, upon which the boats and some provisions had
been loaded. The deep snow made walking extremely
difificult, and the wind drove back the ice to such an
extent that at the close of two months of most arduous
toil they were less than eight miles from the ship. On
the 14th of August they came to open water, and four
days later Nova Zembla was reached, A few days after-
ward they were taken off by a Russian vessel which
landed them at Norway on the 3d of September. Al-
though the explorers did not accomplish all that they
desired to do, the scientific and geographical results of
their expedition were of great value.

From 1858 to 1878 several expeditions to the Arctic
seas were sent out from Sweden. The expense was
borne in part by the government, but several individuals
and societies were large contributors. The earlier exj: -
ditions were principally for scientific purposes. Thev
resulted in the securing of a vast amount of information
concerning the zoology, botany, and geology of the re-
gions visited. Two of this series of expeditions should
have special mention in this narrative. They are the
ones which sailed in 1872 and in 1878.

ni'lK OH • ENDEA I OJiS

S°i

ik as to
e of all
the way
d a lati-
adcrs of
nd.

lid ever
ons, to-
t neces-
S74, the

to the
3ns had
tremely
uch an
arduous
ip. On
nd four
s after-

which
Al-
at they
ults of

Arctic
le was
viduals
r ex] -
Thev
nation
he re-
jhould
•e the

For the expedition of 1.S72 two steaniers and a tians-
port were furnished. Naval officers had command of the
ships, but the expedition was under the j;eneral direction
of Professor Nordenskjold, who had made several voyaujes
to the North. The steamer Onkcl Adam and the trans-
port Gladan took out moss, coal, oil, fifty reindeer, and
the parts of a dwelling-house ready to be put tojjjethcr.
It was designed that these vessels should return in the
fall; while the other steamer, named the yW/ze^w, was to
remain at the North during the winter.

The vessels which should have returned before winter
set in were caught in the ice, and were obliged to remain
with the Pol/iem in Mussel Bay, on the northern coast of
Spitzbergen. This proved a great disaster, as the main-
tenance of the crews seriously reduced the quantity of
provisions which had been designed for the j-)arty on
board the exploring vessel. As illustrating the perils of
the Arctic regions, it may be stated that a number of
fishing vessels, with fifty-eight men on board, were also
frozen in at this time off the northern coast. I'jghteen
men took open boats and succeeded in reaching Ice
Fjord, where a quantity of provisions had been stored.
Later in the season two of the ships got clear of the ice
and, with the remaining men on board, sailed for home.
In November a relief expedition was sent from Norway
for the fishermen who had left the ships, but, owing to
severe cold and unfavorable weather, it was unsuccessful.
Another ship was sent out in December, but was unable
to reach Spitzbergen. In January, 1873, a third vessel
was despatched, but the effort to find the missing men
was a failure. It was afterward learned that the house
was reached and a quantity of food was found ; but as

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504

EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

indicated by a diary which they kept for some time, tlie
men did not take regular exercise, and they nv ected to
freshen their meat. As a consequence of these indiscre-
tions they all fell victims to disease, and the last of the
party died before the summer opened.

The scientists connected with the Swedish expedition
made many important observations; and though all their
reindeer escaped soon after they were landed, several
sledge journeys were undertaken with dogs. But while
it accomplished much in some directions, the expedition
wholly failed in its principal object of making a journey
on ice to the Pole.

The principal object of the expedition of 1S78 was
the discovery of the Northeast Passage. It involved an
expense of ^20,000, of which sum three fifths was fur-
nished by Mr. Oscar Dickson, of Gothenburg, and the
remainder by the Swedish Government. A screw steamer
named the Vega, which had been built expressly for use
in the ice regions, was equipped in the best possible man-
ner, and Professor Nordenskjold, who had accompanied
not less than eight Arctic expeditions, was placed in
charge. The whole force, including officers, scientists,
and crew, numbered only thirty men.

The steamer sailed on the 21st of July. She was
accompanied by the Lena, a small steamer which was
designed for use on the river of that name. Progress
was slow on account of adverse winds, but Kara Sea was
reached on the ist of August, and five days later the
vessels entered Dickson Harbor, near the mouth of the
Yenisei River. On the loth of August the voyage was
resumed. The course was unobstructed for only two
days. Then large masses of ice were encountered, and

HEROIC ENDEAVORS

S°5

imc, tlie
ectecl to
indiscre-
st of the

:pedition
all their
several
lit while
:pedition
journey

878 was

:)lved an

was fur-

and the

steamer

for use

le man-

ipanied

Lced in

:ientists,

|he w^as
ch was
rogress

ea was
Iter the

of the

;e was
|ly two

d, and

A. E. NORDENSKJOI.D

heavy fogs made progress both slow and dangerous. The
difKiculties and dangers of the situation were greatly in-
creased by the fact that the Taimyr Peninsula lies farther
to the west than had been supposed, and several small
islands were discovered in what, according to the then
existing charts, should have been the direct course on
which to sail.

On the 19th of August the northern extremity of Si-
beria was reached. Here flags were raised and a salute
was fired. The only party to observe these demonstra-
tions was a large white bear, and he plainly manifested
his disapproval of the proceedings. The next day the

r.o6

EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

ships proceeded along the east coast of the peninsula.
A week later they separated. The Lena sailed up the
river to its destination, Yakutsk, which it reached on the
2ist of September.

The progress of the Vega was retarded by ice, but
North Cape was reached on the 12th of September.
Here it was detained for nearly a week. Several excur-
sions were made on the adjoining land, which led to some
very interesting discoveries. Among these were ruins of
the habitations of a people, probably allied to the Eski-
mos, who inhabited this region some hundreds of years
ago. Fogs and ice caused constant trouble, but on the
27th of September the east side of Kolintschin Bay was
reached and the vessel was anchored. It was fully ex-
pected that the voyage would be resumed on the next
day, but the night was cold and the numerous floes were
frozen together so firmly that they could not be pene-
trated. It was hoped that the ice would soon break up,
but winds from the north continued to pack heavy masses
along the coast, and new ice was rapidly formed by the
increasing cold. Before the close of November it was
evident that the Vega was frozen in for the winter.

The ship was now near the northern part of Bering
Strait, and only one hundred and fifteen miles from the
Pacific Ocean. Had this point been reached one day
sooner the voyage could undoubtedly have been contin-
ued without special difficulty, and an imprisonment in the
ice for nearly ten months would have been avoided. Nei-
ther would the delay have occurred in an ordinary season.
But cold weather came unusually early, and navigation
closed more than two weeks before the date up to which
whaling ships had, in different years, been able to get

;

HEROIC ENDEAVORS

507

)ntin-

|n the

Nei-

[ason.

lation

^hich

get

into open water. During the winter meteorological and
magnetic observations were regularly taken which have
proved of great scientific interest and value. The ship
was occasionally visited by Eskimos, of whom there were
some two hundred livinij in the vicinitv. The cold was
severe, but there was no day upon which the rays of the
sun were not seen above the horizon.

On the 1 8th of July, 1879, after being frozen in for two
hundred and ninety-four days, the Vega got free from the
ice and proceeded to Bering Strait. Two days later the
Northeast Passage, for which Willoughby commenced
the search three hundred and twenty-six years before, and
which many others had vainly attempted to find, was
completed. Again the Swedish flag was raised and a
salute was fired. The point had been reached at which,
as Professor Nordenskjold expresses it, " the Old and the
New World seem to shake hands." After visitinc: the
shores of Berincf Strait the Ves^a sailed for Yokohama,
which port it reached on the 2d of September.

Omitting a description of various minor expeditions,
we must find room for an outline of an important one
sent out by the British Government in 1875. The ob-
jects of this expedition were to reach the Pole, if possible ;
to explore any regions which might be visited, but which
had not previously been seen or described ; and to obtain
information that would be useful in forming plans for
further operations in this direction.

Two ships, the Alert and the Discovery, were fully
equipped for the purpose and were liberally supplied
with provisions and other necessities. Captain Nares
was appointed commander. The ships sailed on the 29th
of May. Several islands off the Greenland coast were

So8

EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

i'l:

«;

Mil.

visited, and a number of dogs and two drivers were ob-
tained. Smith Sound was reached on the 29th of July,
and for more than a month the ships had extreme diffi-
culty in passing through the ice which almost constantly
blocked their way.

The Discovery went into winter quarters at the shore
of Lady Franklin Inlet, in latitude 81° 44'. The Alert
pressed on, through a channel of open water which ap-
peared between the ice and the shore, passed the point
which the Polaris party had named Cape Union, and
entered what appeared to be an open Polar Sea. On the
ist of September a position was gained nearer the Pole
than any ship had previously reached, and the white flag
was hoisted in celebration of the event. All the indica-
tions were favorable for further progress ; but the channel
soon ended, the wind changed, and the ship was carried
near the shore. A comparatively safe place was reached,
and on the 3d of September the ship was frozen in. The
latitude was 82° 27'. In this until then wholly unknown
region the party were obliged to spend the winter.

During the autumn depots of provisions were estab-
lished for the use of sledging parties in the spring.
Winter brought the darkness and dreariness which are
among the chief characteristics of the Arctic regions at
tins season of the year. In March the cold was intense.
On the 3d of that month the therm-ometers registered 73°
below zero, but the following day brought some compen-
sation in the fact that for a short lime the sun was visible
above the hills. But the cold, terrible as it was, proved
less trying than did the sudden and violent changes in
temperature, which sometimes amounted to sixty degrees
within a few hours. As they were farther north than

vere ob-
of July,
me diffi-
nstantly

le shore
e Alert
lich ap-
e point
on, and
On the
le Pole
ite flag
indica-
:hannel
carried
eached,
. The
known

estab-
3ring.
h are
Dns at
tense.

npen-
asible
roved
es in
grees
than

HEROIC ENDEAVORS

509

bears, birds, or seals are found, fresh meat could not be
obtained. One of the results of this deprivation was the
prevalence of the scurvy, from attacks of which several
members of the party died.

As early in the spring as it was practicable, sledging
parties were sent out from each of the ships. One of
these, led by Commander Markham and Lieutenant Parr,
moved due north, with instructions to go as far as pos-
sible in that direction and in hope of reaching the Pole ;
another, under Lieutenant Aldrich, was to pass to the
west, making explorations along the American coast ; and
a third, led by Lieutenant Beaumont, of the Discovery,
was to move eastward along the northern coast of Green-
land. These expeditions led to many interesting dis-
coveries, some of which were of great value to scientists.
One of these was the findinq- of the remains of a (rreat
evergreen forest in latitude 82° 44', a discovery which
proves that vast climatic changes have occurred in this
now desolate and barren region.

Commander Markham and Lieutenant Parr reached a
latitude 01 83° 20' 26", a point farther north than any pre-
vious explorer had reached. The enormous amount of
labor involved in this undertaking may be estimated from
the fact that although this spot was only seventy-three
miles, in a straight course, from the ship, the party
travelled two hundred and seventy-six miles going, and
two hundred and forty-five miles on the return trip. The
journey was largely over ranges of ice hills, many of them
twenty feet in height, through ravines filled with snow,
over or around vast piles of broken ice, or on floes where
it was necessary to use picks or axes to make a path over
which the sledge could be drawn. Add to all this the

:»1

- 1

i .

S'o

EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

suffering and the depression of the vital forces caused by
the severe cold of the inhospitable region, and it hardly
seems possible that the human frame could endure the
terrible hardshij^s to which these resolute explorers were
subjected.

Lieutenant Aldrich and his party explored two hun-
dred and twenty miles of coast line of which no chart had
previously been made. Lieutenant Beaumont, with his
company, made a survey of the northern coast of Green-
land for a distance of some seventy miles. They all
endured severe suffering. Several of the men were taken
ill, and their already overburdened companions had to
draw them on sledges for long distances, and one of the
Beaumont party died on the wviy.

When his men returned to the Alert, Captain Nares
decided that it was not advisable to continue the work of
exploration. It w^as evident that at the point which he
had reached the ice firmly and permanently closed navi-
gation. Further attempts of sledging parties to reach the
Pole, from the place then occupied, would certainly result
in failure, would involve a vast amount of suffering, and
probably would cause the loss of many lives. The men
were already weakened by exposure, toil, and disease. It
was therefore determined that the expedition should not
remain there another winter.

It was not till the 31st of July that a passage through
the ice appeared. Upon that day the Alert commenced
her homeward voyage. The ship was often in great dan-
ger from vast m.asses of floating ice, but it reached Lady
Franklin Inlet in safety on the nth of August. The
Discovery was at once put in readiness, but on account of
the ice the ships did not leave the port until the 20th of

HEROIC ENDEA VORS

•ough
meed

dan-
Lady

The
int of
)th of

the month. They reached Melville Bay on the i8th of
September, and the Arctic Circle was crossed on the 4th
of October, just fifteen months from the day the ships
sailed over it when they were outward bound. Ice, and
storms, and adverse winds were encountered, and tiiere
were some vexatious delays ; but on the 2d of November,
1876, the vessels sailed into the harbor of Portsmouth.

Althouiih numerous and earnest efforts had been made
to find records of the Sir John Franklin expedition, they
had, with the single exception of the paper discovered by
Lieutenant McClintock, been utter failures. That such
documents would be of great value, both from an histori-
cal and a scientific point of view, was evident. That they
were in existence, seemed probable from the fact that
various parties of Eskimos, from whom articles which had
unquestionably belonged to the unfortunate party had
been obtained, told of books and papers which many
years before white men had placed in cairns in their
country. These rumors were repeated, not only by ex-
plorers, but by the masters of whaling ships which had
visited that region. Among the parties who became
greatly interested in these reports was Lieutenant Fred-
erick Schwatka, of the United States Army. Mainly
through his efforts, an expedition, the expenses of which
were met by private subscription, was organized. A ship
named the Eothen was obtained and fitted for service in
the ice, a crew of twenty-three men was secured, and
Schwatka, who had been granted leave of absence from
the army, was placed in command of the exploring party.
While the main purpose of the expedition was to find the
records of the Franklin party, there was also the impor-
tant secondary object of obtaining valuable geographical
information.

5'2

EARLIER ARCTIC EXriORATlONS

\ \ su

V ,*•

:'.»l i

i^-:

On the 19th of June, KS7S, the ship sailed from New
York, and on the 7th of August reached Rowe's Wel-
come Strait, an arm of Hudson Bay. They were here
visited by friendly natives. Winter was spent on the
mainland, near Depot Island, in latitude 63° 51'. The
reports of the natives in regard to the prosjjcct of finding
the records in search of which the i)arty had come were
not encouraging. One of the visitors said that, long be-
fore that time, his father had found, in a cairn on King
William Land, a box containing a written paper ; but as
the latter appeared to be of no use to himself or his
people, it had been thrown away. But he also told of
another cairn which had not been opened, and of a spoon,
which had been given to Captain Porter, which had un-
doubtedly been used by the Europeans who had perished
in that region. Mr. Gilder, who was second officer of the
expedition, found Captain Porter, who was on a whaling
ship not far distant ; but the information obtained from
him was most dish(,'artening.

Notwithstanding the discourau^ements that had been
met, it was determined to prosecute the search. Mr.
Gilder visited an Eskimo settlement more than seventy
miles away, to obtain -^ome dogs. Upon his return a
great sledge journey was commenced. The Schwatka
party was accompanied by thirteen Innuits, including
women and children. The winter camp was left on April
I, 1879. The teams consisted of forty-two dogs, and the
sledges were loaded with food supplies sufficient to last
for five or six weeks. They proceeded toward the north-
west, through a region that had not been explored. For
some time travel was very slow and difficult. On the
15th of May a party of natives was found, and informa-

I New
Wel-

; here

n tlie

Tlie

KiiiLi:

from

HEROJC ENDEAl ORS

S»3

tion corroborating many of the points learned by i)revious
explorers was obtained.

The journey was continued to Back's River. Montreal
Island was searched for traces of the missing men, but
without success. Richardson Point was crossed, and a
party of natives were met from whom considerable addi-
tional information was obtained. On the 4th of June
Schwatka and Gilder examined a cairn which had been
built by Captain Hall over the remains of two men of the
I-'ranklin party. At a spot where a party of Europeans
had encamped, they found many articles and also an open
grave. A medal that had been placed on a stone at this
grave indicated that Lieutenant Irving, of the Terror, had
been buried there. The skull and what other bones
could be obtained were taken in charge, and in due time
were forwarded to Irving's relatives in Scotland. Other
skeletons were found, but they could not be identified, and
were therefore buried.

By the 3d of July the northern part of King William
Land was reached, and four days later the party turned
toward the south. Travelling was exceedingly difficult.
Several cairns were found and various places where white
men had camped. At Erebus Bay remains of a boat and
numerous small articles were discovered. Parts of sev-
eral skeletons were also found and interred. Early in the
autumn many reindeer were met with and an abundance
of meat for immediate use was obtained, but by the mid-
dle of October these animals had entirely disappeared.

After a period of rest the march was resumed on the
loth of December. Food supplies were scanty; and
when an occasional reindeer was obtained the flesh was
poor, and it was frozen as well as raw when eaten.

i' i ' 11

5'4

EAKJ.IER ARCTIC EXPLORATJONS

Wolves were exceedingly troublesome, and some of the
party had narrow escapes from destruction by these fero-
cious beasts. Heavy snow-storms were frequent, and
often prevented progress a week or more at a time.
The cold W3s terribly severe, the mean temperature for
January being 53° below zero. During the winter there
were sixteen days when the thermometer indicated a
temperature of 68° below zero, and on one day it marked
71° below. The men endured fearful suffering, and many
of the dogs perished. By almost superhuman exertions
Depot Island was reached on the 4th of March. But here
a terrible disappointment awaited the almost exhausted
party. The captain of the Eothen had not delivered the
provisions which he had agreed to bring to that point.
The only ship in the region was at Marble Island. This
was reached after a wearisome march which occuj)ied
seventeen days.

Such, in brief, is the history of the longest and most
remarkable sledge journey hitherto made. The distance
travelled was three thousand two hundred and fifty-one
miles, and most of the journey was in not only a desolate,
but in an entirely unexplored region. The company were
out during an entire winter, and one which, according
to the testimony of the natives, was of unusual severity.
The hardship of the journey was greatly increased by
the fact that during most of the long period which it
occupied the entire food supplies for men and dogs were
obtained from the scanty resources of the country which
they traversed. The principal results of the expedition
were the interment of the bones of the crews of the
Erebus and the Terror, the acquirement of much valuable
geographical information, and the establishment beyond

ne of the
lese fero-
lent, and
a time,
■atiire for
tor there
iicated a
t marked
nd many
exertions
But here
xhausted
/ered the
at point,
d. This
occLijDied

l/E/iO/C ENDEAVOKS 5,5

a doubt that the reeords of the unfortunate Frankhn
party had been irretrievably lost. The return voyaere
was completed on the 22d of Septen.ber, ,880 The
energy and skill of Lieutenant Schvvatka in the conduct
of the enterprise received full recognition at home and

nd most
distance
fifty-one
desolate,
iny were
:cording
severity,
ased by
vhich it
>gs were
y which
pedition
of the
/aluable
beyond

" ;

•11

<< »

(III

1 ( r

ti;

-.1

ii-

CHAPTER XXIX

(JKKAT DISASTERS

In the year 1879 Lieutenant G. W. De Long, of the
United States Navy, was placed in command of an expe-
dition which had for its principal object the discovery of
the North Pole. This officer had served as a subordinate
on the yuniata, in its voyage in search of Captain Hall,
and was greatly interested in the subject of Arctic exj)lo-
ration. At his earnest solicitation Mr. James Gordon
Bennett, of the " New York Herald," purchased and
fitted out a ship, which was named the Jeannettey and
which, for the purpose tf exploring the Arctic regions,
was placed under the control of the United S' tes Gov-
ernment. Lieutenant Chipp was appointed executive
officer ; Lieutenant John W. Danenhower, master ; and
George W. Melville, engineer, — all belonging to the
navy. Unfortunately, the Bering Strait route was se-
lected.

On the 8th of July, 1879, the Jea^inette sailed from San
Francisco with thirty-two persons on board. Progress
was slow, as the winds were unfavorable and the ship was
heavily loaded. At St. Michael's, Alaska, forty dogs were
obtained, and some Indians were employed to go with the
expedition as drivers and hunters. According to gov-
ernment instructions, search was made for Professor Nor-
denskjold, who was known to have started on a voyage of
exploration with a view to obtaining information and also

GREAT DISASTERS

5 '7

gov-

Nor-

ige of

also

to render assistance if necessary. On the last clay of
August it was learned that the Vega^ Nordenskjiild's siiij),
had passed the winter in the bay which the Jeannetlc had
reached, and had since sailed to the south.

An attempt was made to proceed to VVrangell Land,
but in less than a week progress was stopped by ice. On
the Sth of September there
was a desperate effort to
force a way to Herald
Island, but only a little
headway was made. A
few days later a party with
dogs and a sled proceeded
to the island, in hope of
finding a harbor, and also
of securing some drift wood
for fuel, but it was unsuc-
cessful.

The ship had been
heeled over some five de-
grees, and in this position
was firmly held in the ice.
It drifted, with the floe, in various directions, sometimes
out to sea and at others within sight of land. During the
first half of November large cracks appeared in the floe
and huge masses of ice were thrown near the ship, which
was in imminent danger of being crushed. On the 24th
of the month the ship got afloat, and in a few days it
was sent adrift in a gale, but was soon frozen in again.

Toward the close of the year Lieutenant Danenhower
was disabled by an affection of one of his eyes, and for a
long period was obliged to remain in a darkened room.

LIKUT. O. W. I)K !,ON(;, I'. S. N.

(,■•■

Si8

EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

. 1.

II)

)"l

«' i

'i he ship was in constant peril from the ice, and on the
19th of January the fore-foot was broken, and it com-
menced to leak badly. The deck pumps were put in o
immediate use, and as soon as was possible the steam
pump was started. Attempts to fill the cracks somewhat
diminished, but did not nearly stop, the inflow of water.

Early in June De Long had strong hopes that the
voyage could soon be resumed, but the ship did not get
free of the ice, and of course continued to drift. Fogs
and storms were frequent, and there was constant danger.
It was not till the ist of September that a shift occurred
which brought the ship on an even keel. It was still
fast in the ice, and efforts to release it resulted in in-
creasing the already dangerous leak. It soon became evi-
dent that the ship would not get clear until after another
winter at least. It had drifted over an immense area,
sometimes in straight lines but often in circles, — and it
seemed destined to continue this erratic course indefi-
nitely.

On the 1 6th of May, 1881, land v/as seen, the first for
fourteen months. This was an island, and the ship drifted
past it on the following day. It was named, in honor of
the ship, Jeannette Island. On the 24th of the month an-
other island was sighted. This was visited early in June
by Engineer Melville and several other members of the
party. It was named Henrietta Island, and was formally
taken possession of in the name of the United States.

On the 12th of June the floe split in pieces and the
ship was set free, but floating masses of ice pressed upon
it and its bows were raised in the air. De Long gave
orders to remove the chronometers, rifles, and other indis-
pensable articles to the ice and prepare to leave the ship.

on the
it com-
3ut in o
e steam
mewhat
'ater.
hat the
not cret

Fogs
dana:er.
ccurred
^as still
I in in-
me evi-
mother
e area,
•and it
indefi-

st for
drifted
)nor of
ith an-
June
Df the

mally

d the
upon
gave

indis-
ship.

GREAT DISASTERS

5 '9

At about eleven o'clock that nit^ht the boats were lowered
and the men formed a camp on one of the portions of
the broken floe. At four o'clock on the morning of June
13, 1 88 1, the masses of ice which had held it fast sepa-
rated, and the ship went down.

Several of the ship's company were ill, and the surgeon
advised a brief period of rest. On the 17th of June, at
6 p. M., the retreat toward the south commenced. The
company travelled at night, in order to escape the blinding
glare of the sun upon the snow. They had three boats,
nine sleds, a large quantity of pemmican, and a fair supply
of ammunition. The men were harnessed to the sleds.
On account of the large quantity of material, it was ne-
cessary to go over the same ground several times. The
snow was deep and the toil was exhausting. After a
week of this wearying labor, observations by the officer
showed that not only had no progress been made, but that
the drift to the northwest had been twenty-seven miles
farther than their advance to the south. Toward the
close of the month the conditions improved, and some
progress was made in the direction in which they desired
to go.

On the iith of July Bennett Island was discovered.
On the 28th of the month a landing was effected, a flag
was unfurled, and the party took possession in behalf of
the United States. Here they camped for several days.
On the 6th of August the party took to the boats. Of
these the larger cutter was commanded by De Lon^, the
smaller cutter by Lieutenant Chipp, and the whale-boat
by Engineer Melville, On the nth of September the
men landed on an island off the Asiatic coast, and a
hunting party was sent out. The next morning they

i'-'

S20

EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

P'i

1 i ''^"

;;;.H

1 1

. I'

left the camp and proceeded on their course toward the
southwest. For several hours the boats kept near to-
gether ; but a gale came up in the afternoon, and early in

li^

From Melville's " In the Lena Delta." By the permission of Houghton, Mifflin & Co.

the evening they were separated, never to be brought near
each other again.

The whale-boat was brought into one of the mouths of
the Lena River. The men were almost exhausted, but
by the help of a native pilot they worked up the river to a
village, where they waited for the ice to form so they could
proceed with sleds. A Russian exile went to Bulun to
notify the authorities. Lieutenant Danenhower made a

GREAT DISASTERS

52t

near

ms of
[, but
to a
:ouid
[n to
Ide a

search with a dog team for the other boats, but no trace
of them was found.

On the 29th of October word was received that a party
of natives had met two sailors of the De Lon<>- boat and
were taking them to Bulun. The sailors had sent a note
to the effect that Ue Long and the remainder of his party
were in a starving condition. With one native and a
team of dogs Engineer Melville went at once to learn the
location of De Lonu: and ijive him relief. Lieutenant
Danenhower took charge of the remainder of the party
and went to Bulun. He then followed Melville to aid in
the search for the missing men. At Yakutsk a dispatch
from the Secretary of the Navy was received. This di-
rected that the invalid and frozen members of the party
be removed to a warmer locality. Danenhower and his
party went to Irkoutsk. From this point the lieutenant
telegraphed for permission to renew the search, but op.
account of the condition of his health the request was not
granted. He therefore returned home, reaching New
York, with three of his men, on the ist of June. With
the exception of an Indian, who had died of the smallpox
in Russia, the remainder of the whale-boat crew and the
two men whom De Long had sent forward for relief were
all in thf United States early in 1882. One of the mem-
bers, however, had become insane and was placed in a
government institution for that unfortunate class.

The history of the De Long party and their terrible
fate was fully learned from the journal in which the
leader made frequent entries up to almost the hour of his
death, and from the testimony of the two men who were
saved. On the fifth day after the separation, their boat
was driven upon the ground. Most of its contents were

::'l^^

^•

■rl u

H
II

>.>

('in

fill.

.'••1

522

EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

taken on shore, and preparations were made to walk to
what was supposed to be the nearest settlement, about
ninety-five miles away. The journey was commenced
September 19. The walking was extremely hard, the
loads were heavy, and the men were feeble from their
exposure and sufferings in the boat. An occasional rein-
deer was killed, which eked out their scanty supplies of
provisions. On the 3d of October there was nothing to
eat, and the last dog was killed for food. A few days
later, one of the men, who had been badly frost-bitten and
very ill for some time, died. As the party had nothing
with which to dig a grave, the body was buried in the
river. On the 9th the two men who finally reached
home were sent in advance, to obtain relief if possible.
On the loth the De Long party had nothing to eat but
deer-skin scraps. On the 17th one of the men died, and
at midniojht of the 21st another was found dead. Part of
divine service was read on Sunday the 23d. Upon some
days no entry was made. Upon others the death of one
or more members of the party was recorded. The last
entry was dated Sunday, October 30. It states that two
men had died during the night and that another was
dying. This left De Long, the surgeon, and one sailor,
all of whom must have died soon after the record last
named was made.

The two seamen sent on by De Long endured the
most terrible sufferings before they were rescued by some
friendly natives. Life was sustained by eating their boot
soles, burned bones, and pieces of their seal-skin clothes,
in addition to a bird and an occasional fish. The natives
took them to Bulun. A telegram was sent to Engineer
Melville, who reached there on the 3d of November.

GREAT DISASTERS

3d the
some
Ir boot
Rothes,
natives
jineer
jmber.

After learning the direction in which I)e Long had pro-
ceeded, he started for the Lena Delta. He obtained rec-
ords from native hunters which enabled him to find the
log-books and other articles which had been left on the
shore. A long search, entailing great suffering, proved
unavailing. As it was certain that the missing party had
perished, and that nothing more could be done until a
more favorable season opened and further supplies were
obtained, Melville proceeded to Yakutsk.

Early in spring the search was resumed, and on the 23d
of March, 1882, the last camp of the party was found and
the bodies of ten of the men who had died at that point.
One of the men, as De Long's journal stated, had died
in a boat, and the body had probably been swept into the
river near which the camp was formed. A tomb was
erected on a bluff, and the bodies, in a box which had
been made for the purpose, were placed therein. A
cross, twenty-two feet high, was erected. Upon this cross
was the following inscription: " In Memory of 12 of The
Officers And Men of The Arctic Steamer JeannettCy who
Died of Starvation In The Lena Delta, October, 188 1,"
This was followed by the names of the men who met this
terrible fate. A.^^terward caskets were sent to Siberia, and
the bodies were brought to the United States.

After the separation of the boats in the gale of the 1 2th
of September, Lieutenant Chipp and his party were never
seen. There can be no doubt that the frail craft, with all
on board, was engulfed in the sea.

As whalinsf vessels returnino^ from the North Pacific in
1879 brought no news of the yeannette, and two ships of
the whaling fleet which had been near where the explor-
ing vessel was to go did not come back, the government

I- .

I !

;:rl

III! 1
1.1

524

EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

sent out the steamer Corwiii to look after the seal fish-
eries in Alaskan waters and also to search for the missing
vessels. The Corwin sailed from San Francisco in May,
1880, and returned the following October. No trace of
{he vessels was found. In 1881 the government sent out
three ships on the same errand. One of these was the
Corwin, which sailed from San Francisco on the 4th of
May and again returned in October. Evidence was ob-
tained that the two whaling ships had been wrecked and
their crews had perished.

On the 1 6th of June the Rodgers sailed from San
Francisco for Bering Strait. While in St. Lawrence
Bay, late in November, the ship was burned. The oflfi-
cers and crew were relieved by a whaling vessel. The
steamer Alliance was sent to search between Greenland
and Iceland, and along the coast of Norway and Spitzber-
gen She left Hampton Roads on the i6th of June and
reached New York, on the return trip, on the iith of
November. Although none of these expeditions found
traces of the Jeannette, a great amount of geographical
and scientific knowledge was obtained.

In carrying out its part in an international plan for tak-
ing observations in the Arctic regions, the United States
established, in 1881, two stations. One of these was
located at Ooglaamie, near Point Barrow, in Alaska.
The expedition was in charge of Lieutenant Ray, of the
army, who sailed from San Francisco on the i8th of
July, and reached his destination earh in September.
This party was recalled by an act c£ Congress, and
reached San Francisco on the 2d of Occober, 1883.

The other expedition had a terrible experience. It
was sent to establish a station near Lady Franklin Bay.

GREAT DISASTERS

525

The objects in view were the making of explorations,
the collection of animal, vegetable, and mineral specimens,
and the taking of meteorological, magnetic, and other
observations in accordance with the plan adopted by
the International Conference, to which the establisiiment
of this station and the one in Alaska was due.

Lieutenant A. W. Greely, of the army, was placed in
charge of the party, which consisted of twenty-three men.
Two Eskimos joined it at Upernavik. Very minute di-
rections as to the work to be done, and the course to be
pursued, were given by the government. A ship was to
be sent each year with supplies, and depots of provisions
were to be established at specified points. If the ships
did not reach the station, Greely was to commence a
retreat not later than September i, i^SS^.

On the 7th of July, 1881, the party sailed from St.
John's, Newfoundland, in the Proteus, a steamer which
had been chartered for the purpose. At various points
stops were made to procure dogs, obtain additional sup-
plies, establish depots of provisions, and complete prepa-
rations for a long sojourn in a desolate land.

Littleton Island was reached on the 2d of Auijust.
Two days later, when only eight miles from the place of
destination, progress was checked by ice. During the
next few days the ship was driven back forty-five miles.
On the loth the wind changed, and the next day the ship
crossed Lady Franklin Bay. It was decided to locate
where the English vessel, the Discovery, of the 1875 expe-
dition, had wintered. With great difficulty a passage was
forced through the ice which had formed in the harbor.
At a point about one hundred yards from the shore the
ship anchored, and the work of unloading was com-

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Sa6 EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

menced. A house was constructed, and the station was
named Fort Conger. After a delay of several days, occa-
sioned by ice at the entrance to the harbor, the steamer
started on her return voyage, which was made in safety.
Two of the party, who did not appear able to endure the
hardships of the service, returned in the ship.

In accordance with the arrangement made when Greely
was sent out, a vessel was despatched with supplies in
1882. This was the Neptune, which sailed from St.
John's on the 8th of July, with William M. Beebe, a pri-
vate in the general service, in charge. On account of ice
and storms the station was not reached. Provisions were
stored at various points and the ship returned.

In 1883 the government sent out two ships, the Pro-
teus and the Yantic, with supplies for Greely and his
party. This expedition was commanded by Lieutenant
Garlington, of the army. The Proteus, in which Gar-
lington sailed, was a strong vessel well fitted for service in
the ice. The Vantic, with Commander Wildes in charge,
was a much smaller, weaker, and slower craft.

The expedition left St. John's on the 29th of June.
Godhavn was reached in safety. The Yantic was obliged
to stay a few days for necessary repairs, and was then to
go to Waigat Strait for coal. As soon as the weather
permitted, the Proteus resumed the voyage, but soon
encountered ice, was compelled to head toward the
south, and was repeatedly turned from a direct course.
At length Cape Sabine was reached, and the ship was
anchored in Payer Harbor. Here the party remained
four and a half hours. Whether the instructions were too
indefinite, were misunderstood, or the commander of the
expedition did not realize the vast importance of leaving

GREAT DISASTERS

527

a full supply of provisions at this point, which Greely and
his men were almost sure to visit two months later if the
ship failed to reach Lady Franklin Hay, cannot be told,
but the opportunity for leaving sujjplies was not improved.
Two small depots of provisions which had been formed by
preceding parties were visited, and one of them was re-
paired. Various magnetic and other observations were
taken, and the work of the expedition at this point was
closed.

As the ice-pack appeared to have broken, the voyage
was resumed in the evening. After proceeding about
twenty miles, ice was again encountered. On the morn-
ing of the 23d of July the situation was so perilous that
an effort was made to return to the south ; but in the
afternoon the ship was hemmed in, and before nightfall it
was crushed by enormous masses of ice. Early in the
evening a change in the tide caused a movement of the
ice which relieved the pressure, and the ship at once
went down.

When it became evident that the ship would be
wrecked, the boats and a quantity of provisions were
taken out. After the Profeus went down the crew took
three of the boats and the relief party the other two. A
small quantity of provisions and a few other stores were
landed near Cape Sabine. One party, under Lieutenant
Colwell, who had accompanied the expedition as a volun-
teer, and had taken charge of the meteorological work,
but who was not in authority, sailed across Melville Bay
in hope of finding the Yantic. After being in their boat
thirty-eight days, exposed to cold, encountering ice and
tremendous gales, and covering a distance of eight hun-
dred miles, the weary party arrived at Disco, where, to

528

EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

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their inexpressible relief, they found the ship. CiaHingtoii
and his party, including the crew of the Proteus, had kept
along the shore and reached Upernavik on the 24th of
August, only two days after the Y antic had left that port
for fear of being frozen in. Immediately upon the arrival
of Lieutenant Colwell, the Vantic returned to Upernavik,
took Garlington and his men on board, and sailed for
St. John's, where it arrived on the 13th of September.

The season was so far advanced that it would be worse
than useless to make further attempts to relieve Greely
that year, but the government soon commenced prepara-
tions for sending an expedition at the earliest moment it
would be possible to enter the Arctic Sea. Two ships,
the Thetis and the Bear, were purchased ; and the Alert,
which had been used by Captain Nares in the ex})edition
of 1875, was donated for the purpose by ihe British Gov-
ernment. A steamer, the Loch Garry, was chartered at
St. John's to carry a supply of coal to Littleton Island.

Commander W. S. Schley, of the navy, was placed in
charge of this expedition. The ships were fully equipped,
and ofificers were chosen and crews selected with great
care. Provisions were taken for two years. To induce
owners of whaling vessels to interest themselves in the
case, Congress offered a reward of $25,000 for the rescue
of the Greely expedition or conclusive information regard-
ing its fate.

On the 24th of April, 1884, the Bear sailed from New
York. On May i the Thetis left the same po t, and the
Alert followed on May 10. The advance ships, the
Thetis and the Bear, had much trouble with ice in Mel-
ville Bay, but succeeded in reaching Littleton Island —
the Thetis on the 21st, and the Bear c 1 the 22d of June.

GKEA T DISASTERS

529

iMiicliiig that Grcely had not reached the island, the
ships at once proceeded toward Cape Sabine. Late in
the afternoon of the 2 2d tliey were stopped by ice.
Several parties were sent ashore, one of which soon dis-
covered records of the niissinuj explorers. The latest of
these was dated October 21, F8S3, and stated that full
rations for only forty days remained. There seemed to
be hardly a possibility that any of the party could have
survived. Lieutenant Colwell, with a few others, pushed
forward in a cutter, followed as soon as ix)ssible by the
ships, to the site of the Greely camp, as stated in the
pajjers that had been found. This was about five miles
west of Cape Sabine. Fortunately, the wind had driven
the ice from the shore, thus giving a free course.

About nine o'clock in the evening Colwell and his
party reached the camp. Here Greely and six of his
men were found. The others had perished. All the sur-
vivors were feeble ; and several, including Grcely, were
almost at the point of death. They were given restora-
tives and a little food, and, when somewhat revived, were
taken aboard the ships. The bodies of thirteen of the
dead were recovered. Of these, one, an Eskimo, was
buried at Disco. The other twelve were taken to the
United States. Five bodies that had been buried at the
camp had been swept into the sea. Besides the seventeen
men who had died of starvation, one had been drowned
while endeavoring to procure food, and one who was
rescued had been so badly frost-bitten, and was so
reduced by exposure and want of food, that he died on
the homeward journey.

Greely and his men abandoned Fort Conger August
9, 1883, were adrift on ice for thirty days, and were com-

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EARLIER ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

jiellccl to abandon their boats before tlicy reached the
spot where the final camp was made, and where they
remained from October 21, 1883, until June 22, 1884.
During the winter gales were numerous, and great quan-
tities of ice were driven through the channel, thus pre-
venting its freezing over and thereby cutting off the party
from thi! supplies of food which were stored on Littleton
Island.

The T/ictis, Bear, and Loch Garry reached St. John's
on July 17, 1884, and the Alert arrived on the following
day. About a week later the three vessels which be-
longed to the government sailed for I\)rtsmouth, New
Hamj)shire, where they arrived on the ist of August.
Here the party was received by the Secretary of the
Navy and other prominent officials, and a public recep-
tion Vv'as given. On the 8th of August the sliips reached
New York. Officers of the army and navy were pres-
ent, and the relief expedition was received with imposing
ceremonies.

While the station was maintained at Fort Conger much
was done in the way of exploration, and some valuable
discoveries were made. A party under Lieutenant
Lockwood reached latitude 83° 24', a point farther north
than had been gained by civilized man, and which was
not again attained until the intrepid Nansen made his
splendid effort to reacli the Pole.

Such, in brief, is the history of many of the principal
expeditions to the Arctic regions, from the time of the
early sea rovers, who were animated by the spirit of
adventure as well as by curiosity, down to the return of
the survivors of the Gieely party, which went out in the
interests of science and discovery. The daring deeds and

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