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 1 2 3 
 
 1 
 
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/ ^1 
 
RECENT POLAR VOYAGES. 
 
 I 
 
 <^ 
 
 A RECORD OF ADVENTURE AND DISCOVERY. 
 
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 111 
 
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 FAST IN THE ICE, 
 
 Thomas j;elsott anb ^ons, 
 
 LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW VO R IC 
 
RECENT POLAR VOYAGES. 
 
 ^ llecotb of f t0C0bers «"!> Jlbtenture. 
 
 FROM THE SEARCH AFTER PRANKUN 
 
 TO THB 
 
 BRITISH POLAR EXPEDITION: 
 1875-1876. 
 
 " Ye sliall hear what they beheld 
 In other lands." 
 
 Byron. 
 
 LONDON: 
 T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW; 
 
 EDINBURGH; AND NEW YORK. 
 
LF 
 
 ^ G^s "Rs 
 
 Mi 
 
f" 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 [E subject of Discovery and Adventure in the 
 Arctic Seas has always had an attraction for 
 English readers, who cannot fail to remember 
 how large and important a share English seamen 
 have had in their exploration. The "Northern Lights" 
 have witnessed some of the brightest deeds of heroic daring, 
 some of the most remarkable manifestations of heroic endur- 
 ance, which adorn the annals of the British Navy. From 
 the days of Sir Humphrey Gilbert to those of Narcs and 
 Stephenson, the finest qualities of our race have been tested 
 in the long and arduous stmggle with the Arctic Winter, 
 and the mighty influences of the perpetual Frost. 
 
 The present volume, however, is not designed as a history 
 of that struggle. In its introductory chapter, it is true, it 
 briefly sketches the leading episodes, and rapidly sums up tlie 
 discoveries made at different periods, showing how the great 
 Unknown World of the ancients has been gradually revealed 
 to modem inquiry; but its chief purpose is to take up the 
 record at the death of Franklin, and to detail what has been 
 accomplished in the last quarter of a century. Of late years 
 the object of explorers has not been to discover the North- 
 West Passage, for that problem was solved by M'Clintock; 
 but to trace out a route to the Polo, and to the supposed 
 open Polar Sea. Advancing far beyond the limits of previous 
 research, they have experienced greater dangers, undergone a 
 
 \ r 
 
 ro% 
 

 Vlll 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 severer temperature, and pushed back the boundary of the 
 Unknown to a point within four hundred miles of the Pole. 
 They have shown that no open Polar Sea exists; that, in all 
 probability, a dense ice-barrier everywhere prevents access 
 to the coveted goal of geographical enterprise; while their 
 labours have, at the same time, made us acquainted with the 
 habits of Eskimo life, and the physical characteristics of the 
 Arctic World. 
 
 In the following pages, then, after a preliminary sketch of 
 the progress of Discovery in the Polar Seas, the reader will 
 find full yet concise summaries of the expeditions of Dr. 
 Kane, M'Clintock, Dr. Hayes, the Hansa and Germania, 
 Lieutenant Payer, Captain Hall in the Polaris, and Captains 
 Nares and Stephenson in the Alert and the Discovery. A 
 Chronological List of Arctic expeditions between 1845 and 
 1876 is added. The compiler has endeavoured to preserve 
 whatever was most valuable and interesting in the original 
 narratives, while compressing them within the limits of a 
 volume which he who runs may read. He has sought to do 
 ample justice to the courage, patience, and resolution of the 
 enthusiastic adventurers who have dared and suffered so much 
 for the sake of science. Many of the incidents related would 
 seem extraordinary if introduced by the novelist into his 
 history of a fictitious hero. Many of the scenes described 
 would seem incredible if depicted by the poet in the course 
 of the most stirring epic. Yet these incidents are trv£, — the 
 storm, the drifting ice-raft, the falling berg, the sinking ship, 
 the breaking up of the great frozen floe : these scenes are 
 real, — the vast plains of ice, the rugged hummocks, the bird- 
 thronged cliff, the far-stretching glacier. And the reader, 
 therefore, may enjoy all the excitement of romance, while 
 conscious that he is being beguiled by no invention of the 
 romancist. 
 
 
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 ndary of the 
 of the Pole. 
 ; that, in all 
 averts access 
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 id Captains 
 
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 1845 and 
 
 o preserve 
 
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 NORTH POLAR REGIONS 
 
•«*« ' 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PROGRESS OF GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERY IN THE NORTH, FROM THB 
 REIGN OF HENRY VII. TO THE REIGN OF VICTORIA. 
 
 The first adventurers— Sir Martin Frobisher— His three voyages— Sir Humphrey 
 Gilbert— His noble end— Captain John Davis— Extent of his discoveries- 
 Henry Hudson— Mutiny of his crew— Behring's adventures— The North-West 
 Passage— Dr. Scoresby— Sir John Koss- Sir John Parry's first and second 
 voyages— Franklin's overland journey- Parry's adventures— Discovery of the 
 Magnetic North Pole— Sir John Franklin's last expedition— Search after the 
 missing adventurers— The North-West Passage accomplished 13-103 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 DR. ElilSHA KANE. 
 American expedition headed by Dr. Kane— First winter in the ice— Return of the 
 light — Sledge-journeys — Crossing Smith Sound— The Humboldt Glacier— 
 Morton's expedition— Supposed discovery of an open sea— Second winter in 
 
 the ice-— Sufferings of Kane and his followers — A sledge-journey to Etah 
 
 Determination taken to return home — The departure — Arrival at Northum- 
 berland Island— Weary Man's Rest— Providence Halt— Voyage southward— 
 Among the ice-flelds— Relief at hand— Off Upernavik— Welcome home. 104-199 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 VOYAGES OP M'CLURE AND M'cLINTOCK. 
 Discoveries of M'Clure— Departure of M'Clintock's expedition— Arrival in Melville 
 Bay— Remains of Franklin's expedition— King William Land— Recovery of 
 Memorials— Probable route of Franklin— Conclusion of the search . . . .200-213 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE VOYAGE OF DR. HAYES. 
 Expedition projected for the survey of the north coasts of Greenland and Grinnell 
 Land— Departure of Dr. Hayes— In Smith Sound— An Arctic storm— Making 
 ready for winter— Brother John's glacier— A journey of exploration— The 
 winter-camp— The Eskimo guests— The first journey— A cairn discovered- 
 Arrival at Rensselaer Harbour— A second journey— In sight of Grinnell Land 
 —Land at last !— Cape Hawks— Coast of Kennedy Channel— Return journey 
 to Port Foulke— Summary of Dr. Hayes' discoveries— Homeward bound. 214-318 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE I,AND OF DESOLATION: DR. HAYES' VOYAGE TO GREENLAND IN 1869. 
 Voyage to Greenland— Jullanashaab— Dr. Hayes' welcome— Trip to Krakortok— 
 The boat- women— A trip in an oomiak— Redkammen— In a Greenland church 
 
1 -. 
 
 \ 
 
 X 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 — The fiord of Sermitsialik — Regaining tlie 8liip — Tlie Krelcarsoak — A haunt 
 of birds — In Melville Bay — A bear-hunt — Upernavik — Charging an iceberg — 
 Disco Island — A Moravian mission-station — Godhav'n — Jacobshav'n — Ascent 
 of the Lyngmarkens Fjeld — Farewell to the Land of Desolation 319-383 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION OF 1869-70. 
 
 The Germania and Hansa equipped for Arctic exploration — Departure of the two 
 ships — Arrival in the Arctic Ocean — Losing sight of the Hansa — Crossing the 
 ice-zone — A signal mistaken — The Hansa parts company — Voyage of the 
 Hansa — Among the ice — To the westward — The " Flower Basket " — Drifting 
 with an ice-fleld — The Devil's Thumb — The Brandenburg Gate — Building a 
 house of coal — The ship in danger — Abandonment of the Hansa — Making the 
 hut comfortable — Natural phenomena— The ice-raft drifts southward — Christ- 
 mas on a Greenland floe — Drifting along the coast — Islands in sight — The 
 Bay of Storms — Breaking up of the floe — Curious phenomenon — Arrival at 
 Nukarbik Island — Taking to the boats — The boat-voyage — Arrival at Illuidlek 
 — Omenarsuk Island — Prince Christian Strait — Arrival at Friedrichsthal — 
 Description of the Greenlanders — An Eskimo village — The East Greenlanders 
 — A boat -excursion on the Narksamuit — Departure from Friedrichsthal — 
 "The Island of Bears" — Nennortalik described — A Greenlander's hut — At 
 Llchtenau — Unartok Island — Visit to Igdlopait — Departure from Lichtenau 
 — At Julianashaab — The Storefjeld — Voyage of the Germania — Shannon 
 Island — Preparing for winter — How the crew of the Germania kept Christmas 
 — Daily occupations — Kleutzer's adventure with a bear — A long sledge-journey 
 — Results to science of the German expedition — Homeward bound — Return of 
 the Germania — Arrival at Bremerhaven 384-541 
 
 I ij 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE " POLARIS" EXPEDITION. 
 
 Captain Charles Francis H.J — His Arctic experiences — Appointed to the command 
 of the Polaris — Arrival at Upernavik — Up Smith Sound — " Thank God Har- 
 bour" — Winter quarters— -Hall's sledge-journey — His illness — His death and 
 burial — Newman Bay — A leak in the Polaris — Nipped in the ice — A stormy 
 night — Abandoned by the Polaris — On the ice-raft — A weary voyage — A gale, 
 and disruption of the raft — Narrow escape of the boat — Saved ! — Search for 
 the Poparts —Voyage of the Tigress — Discovery of remains of the Polaris — 
 Return to New York — What became of the Polaris after the breaking up of 
 the ice — Boat-building — Buddington and his men sail for the south— Arrival 
 in Melville Bay— llescued by the Kavenscraig 645-593 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE SWEDISH AND AUSTRIAN EXPEDITIONS. 
 
 Austrian Polar expedition— Swedish expedition — Spitzbergen- Return to Tromstt 
 — Leigh Smith's voyages — Lieutenant Payer's expedition 594-004 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE BRITISH EXPEDITION OF 1875-76. 
 
 Departure of the Alert and the Discovery- Results attained— Narrative of the ex- 
 pedition—Winter amusements — The two theatres — The sledging-parties — Im- 
 portant discoveries — No road to the Pole — Return home— Cruise of the 
 Pandora 605-059 
 
fist of IIluBtmtintt0. 
 
 BREAKING-UP OP THK ICE-nAFT, 
 FAST IN THE lOE, 
 
 willoughby's winter-quarters, 
 
 among the ice, 
 
 loss of the " squirrel," .. 
 
 THE "sunshine" AND THE "MOONSHINE," 
 
 PARRY'S CREW CUTTING A PASSAGE THROUGH 
 
 IN WINTER-QUARTERS, 
 
 ABANDONMENT OF THE " FURY," 
 
 ROSS'S SLEDOE-KXCURSION, .. 
 
 RESCUE OF THE CREW OP THE "VICTORY." 
 
 NIPPED BY THE ICE, 
 
 CAPTAIN AUSTIN'S SLEDGING-EXPEDITION, 
 
 DEATH OF LIEUTENANT BELLOT, 
 
 PARTING HAWSERS OFF GODSEND LEDGE. 
 
 RETURN OP THE SUN, 
 
 TENNYSON MONUMENT, 
 
 POLAR BEARS, 
 
 MORTON AT CAPE CONSTITUTION, 
 
 VISIT TO AN ESKIMO HUT, 
 
 THROUGH THE ICE, .. 
 
 IN SHELTER, 
 
 THE CLIi'FS AT PROVIDENCE! HALT, 
 
 PETERSEN AND THE SEAL, 
 
 THE devil's THUMB, 
 
 THE CAIRN AT CAPE HERSCHEL, 
 
 A STARTLING DISCOVERY, 
 
 A ROMANTIC SCENE 
 
 THE ICE, 
 
 •• 
 
 Frontispiect 
 
 • ■ 
 
 VietteNf 
 
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 • • 
 
 .. 21 
 .. 33 
 
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 .. 79 
 
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 . 121 
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 . 165 
 . 173 
 . 181 
 . 187 
 . 193 
 . 197 
 . 205 
 . 209 
 . 217 
 
\ 
 
 xu 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 ESKIMO KAJARM, 
 
 DR. HAYEB' MEKTINO WITH UANH, 
 
 E8KIMO SLEDOE AND TEAM, . . 
 
 A POLAR GLACIER, .. 
 
 FIOHT WITH A POLAR BEAR, 
 
 THE AURORA BOREALIS, 
 
 AN ARCTIC NIOHT, .. 
 
 AMONQ THE HUMMOCKS, 
 
 SPRING IN THE ARCTIC WORLD, 
 
 HERD OF WALRUS, .. 
 
 A WALRUS-HUNT, 
 
 THE OOMIAK AND ITS CREW, 
 
 GLACIER OF HERMITSIALIK, .. 
 
 FALL OP AN ICKBBRd, 
 
 the midnight sun, 
 
 forcing a passage thkouoh the ice, 
 
 upernavik, 
 
 charging an icebeug, 
 
 disco island, 
 
 oodhav'n, 
 
 jacobshav'n, 
 
 jan mayen, 
 
 the she-bear and her cub, 
 
 a bear at anchor, 
 
 an arctic skatino-rink. .. 
 
 welcome visitors, 
 
 boat-encampment on the ice, 
 
 an arduous kmployment, ,. 
 
 departure from friedrichsthal, 
 
 dangers of sledoe-travelling, 
 
 funeral of captain hall, 
 
 cunginq to th e boat, 
 
 SAVED ! . . 
 
 221 
 231 
 
 237 
 
 urt 
 
 255 
 261 
 205 
 287 
 305 
 309 
 313 
 325 
 337 
 346 
 349 
 359 
 365 
 309 
 378 
 377 
 381 
 397 
 421 
 425 
 441 
 465 
 409 
 475 
 501 
 537 
 555 
 575 
 579 
 
RECENT POLAR VOYAGES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PROGRESS OP GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERY IN THE NORTH, FROM 
 THE UEIGN OF HENRY VII. TO THE REIGN OF VICTORIA. 
 
 THE FIRST ADVENTURERS. 
 
 HE discovery of a North -West Passage to 
 India — that is, of a water-way from the 
 North Atlantic Ocean to the North Pacific, 
 round the " hyperborean shores" of the great 
 American continent — was an object which early engaged 
 the attention and fired the ambition of the sea-captains 
 of England. 
 
 They were incited to its accomplishment by the mono- 
 poly which Spain and Portugal had acquired of the 
 Cape of Good Hope route to " far Cathay " and its appa- 
 rently inexhaustible treasures; a monopoly solemnly 
 sanctioned by Papal authority. English energies, no 
 longer expended, after the accession of Henry VH.., 
 
\ 
 
 u 
 
 A» I 
 
 EARLY MARITIME ENTERPRISE. 
 
 i ^ 
 
 ■|i 
 
 upon fruitless campaigns in France, or still more fruit- 
 less internecine strife, needed a much wider field for 
 their expansion than England's insular limits could 
 afford; and they sought that field successfully in the 
 broad Ocean. This new spirit of enterprise was fostered 
 by the stories of strange lands and new races of men 
 which poured in on every side: stories of the deeds of 
 the Portuguese mariners; stories of the achievements 
 of Columbus and his followers. But, in truth, the North 
 Sea fisheries had already made the merchants of Bristol 
 familiar with the coasts of Greenland ; and John Cabot 
 and his English crew had gained the icy solitudes of 
 Labrador two years before Columbus reached the actual 
 mainland of America. It was natural, therefore, that 
 the English adventurers, when they resolved to com- 
 pete with those of Spain and Portugal in the discovery 
 of new regions, should turn their thoughts towards the 
 Northern World. 
 
 The first purely English name connected with the 
 long records of Arctic Enterprise is that of Master 
 Richard Thorne, at whose instigation King Henry VIII. 
 sent two fair ships, " well manned and victualled, having 
 in them divers cunning men, to seek strange regions." 
 This was in 1527. Nothing is known of the result of 
 the expedition, except that one of the ships was wrecked 
 off Newfoundland. 
 
 A London gentleman named Hore, accompanied, 
 strangely enough, by thirty members of the Inns of 
 Law, and about the same number of adventurers of low 
 degree, reached Newfoundland in 1535. There they 
 underwent the most terrible sufferings, and in their 
 
 ^1. ■, 
 
/■• 
 
 id, 
 of 
 
\ 
 
 ■1 .-1. 
 
willouohby's expedition. 
 
 17 
 
 utter want and reckless misery had recourse even to 
 cannibalism. Many of the crew had died, when a 
 French vessel arriving on the coast, the survivors sur- 
 prised it by night, and carried it to England. 
 
 In the reign of Edward VI., Cabot, the reputed dis- 
 coverer of Newfoundland, and an admirable seavjan, 
 was appointed " Grand Pilot of England " and Gove '.nor 
 of " the Mysterie and Companie of Merchant Adventurera 
 for the discoverie of regions, dominions, islands, and 
 places unknown." In this capacity he organized an 
 expedition to search out what we call the North-West 
 Passage; that is, a supposed communication with India 
 through the Arctic Ocean. Its leaders were Sir Hugh 
 Willoughby and Richard Chancellor. Chancellor's ship 
 was separated from her consorts, and sailing in a northerly 
 direction, was wafted into a spacious bay on the coast 
 of Muscovy. Sir Hugh's vessel and her companion were 
 driven on a wild and lonely part of the bleak Lapland 
 shore, near the mouth of the river Arzina. They entered 
 the river on September 18, 1563, and remained in the 
 haven it afforded for the space of a week; when, seeing 
 that the year was far spent, and also " very evil weather, 
 as frost, snow, and hail, as though it had been the deep 
 of winter," they resolved to take up their quarters there. 
 But as day followed day, each darker and drearier than 
 the preceding, and no relief came, or could come, in those 
 frozen solitudes and icy wastes, the brave adventurers 
 perished, one by one; and many months afterwards their 
 whitened bones were discovered by some Russian fisher- 
 men. Thus the work of Arctic Discovery began, as it 
 has been carried on, with sore human suffering. 
 
 (644) 2 
 
r I 
 
 18 
 
 FROBISHER S FIRST VOYAGE. 
 
 /' SIR MARTIN FROBISHER. 
 
 For several years the problem of the North was left 
 untouched ; owing, probably, to the unsettled state of 
 England during the reign of Mary Tudor and the early 
 years of Queen Elizabeth. But in 1575 the old thirst 
 for Discovery revived; and certain "studious heads," 
 moved with a commendable desire to discover the 
 " more remote regions of the world and the secrets of 
 the ocean," stimulated some " well-moneyed men," who 
 were actuated partly by love of knowledge and partly 
 by hope of gain, " to find out whether there were any 
 strait in the north part of America through which men 
 might sail to the rich country of Cathay, and so the 
 wealth of the East and West might be conjoined by a 
 mutual commerce." For this purpose they fitted out 
 two small barques, the Gabriel, of thirty-five, and the 
 Michael, of thirty tons, with a pinnace often tons; and 
 these they placed under the command of Martin Fro- 
 bisher, the son of a Yorkshire gentleman, who had won 
 a good repute for courage, resolution, and nautical skill. 
 
 In these little "cockle-shells," carrying in all some 
 thirty-five or forty officers and men, he sailed from the 
 "silver Thames" on the 8tli of June 1576. As he 
 passed the Queen's palace at Greenwich, he saluted Her 
 Majesty with a volley of ordnance ; and Elizabeth, with 
 that wonderful tact of hers, which served her better 
 than the profoundest political sagacity, waved her hand 
 to the adventurers from her palace window, and sent 
 them a gracious message, in which she thanked them 
 for their loyalty, and desired Frobisher to take leave of 
 
 ; -t 
 
QUEEN ELIZABETH'S FORELAND. 
 
 Id 
 
 lier on the following day. This he did, and met with a 
 very flattering reception. ■' 
 
 On the 12th, Frobisher was clear of the river, and 
 bent his course to the northward. On the 25th, he 
 passed the stormy Shetland group, where he took in 
 fresh water, and refitted the Gabriel. Sailing to the 
 westward, he sighted, on the 11th of July, some "high 
 and mgged land rising like pinnacles of steeples," where 
 he would fain have rested his crews, but was prevented 
 from finding a convenient port by the great store of ice 
 that lay along the coast, and the thick-gathering mists. 
 The land he saw was probably the southern extremity 
 of Greenland. 
 
 While threading his way through the ice-encumbered 
 seas he lost his pinnace, which was never again heard 
 of; and the following day, in a storm, the Michael dis- 
 appeared. Its crew proceeded westward, until they 
 reached what is supposed to have been Labrador. 
 Then, in the belief that Frobisher had been wrecked, as 
 they could discover no traces of him, they put their 
 ship about, and returned to England; arriving at 
 Bristol on the Ist of September. 
 
 The Gabriel, with only eighteen oflficers and men on 
 board, continued her adventurous voyage, and on the 
 21st of July reached the island-group lying to the 
 south-west of Davis Strait. Frobisher supposed it to 
 be a portion of Labrador, and named the first island he 
 fell in with Queen Elizabeth's Foreland. He was pre- 
 vented by fogs and ice from landing, and explored the 
 whole archipelago in the hope of discovering a haven 
 where he might refit his shattered vessel. This he 
 
\ 
 
 20 
 
 INTERVIEW WITH THE ESKIMOS. 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 p. 
 
 found at last in an island which he christened after 
 Hall, the master of the Gabriel, who, with four sailors, 
 first disembarked on it on the 1st of August. After 
 repairing his ship, Frobisher pushed forward into the 
 more southern of the two bays in Cumberland Island, 
 and named it Frobisher Strait. He was under the be- 
 lief that it would carry the navigator to the western 
 coast of America. 
 
 The neighbouring land he christened Meta Incognita. 
 Here one of his crew saw some " mighty deer " which 
 seemed to be " man-kind ! " They ran at him, and it 
 w^as with difficulty he escaped from their attacks. Here 
 Frobisher discovered traces of the frequent visits of the 
 natives. " And being ashore upon the top of a hill, he 
 perceived a nu.mber of small things floating in the sea afar 
 off, which he supposed to be porpoises or seals, or some 
 kind of strange fish ; but coming nearer, he discovered 
 them to be men in small boats made of leather. And 
 before he could descend from the hill, certain of these 
 people had almost cut off his boat from him, having 
 stolen secretly behind the rocks for that purpose; where- 
 upon he speedily hasted to his boat, and went himself 
 to his halberd, and narrowly escaped the danger and 
 saved his boat. Afterwards he had sundry conferences 
 with them, and they came aboard his ship, and brought 
 him salmon and raw flesh and fish, and greedily de- 
 voured the same before our men's faces. And to show 
 their agility, they tried many masteries upon the ropes 
 of the ship after our mariners' fashion, and appeared to 
 be very strong of their arms and nimble of their bodies." 
 
 It was the fond delusion of Frobisher that he was 
 
d after 
 sailors, 
 
 After ^ 
 
 ato the 
 
 Island, 
 
 the be- 
 
 westem 
 
 Lcognita. 
 " which 
 1, and it 
 i. Here 
 ts of the 
 I hill, he 
 B sea afar 
 or some 
 scovered 
 ^r. And 
 of these 
 I, having 
 ; where- 
 himself 
 and 
 ferences 
 brought 
 dily de- 
 to show 
 the ropes 
 peared to 
 r bodies." 
 b he was 
 
 iger 
 
 q; 
 
 > 
 
 z 
 o 
 
 z 
 
 CI 
 
 -I 
 
 X 
 
 m 
 
 o 
 
 m 
 
i 
 
 ■ V , N, 
 
RETURN TO ENGLAND. 
 
 23 
 
 now in the neighbourhood of the wished-for Cathay, 
 and to explore the surrounding coasts he undertook 
 numerous short expeditions, either in a rowing-boat or 
 in the Gabriel. In the course of these he often came 
 in contact with the natives, whom he described as 
 " strange infidels, whose like was never seen, read, nor 
 heard of before," " with long black hair, broad faces and 
 fiat noses, and tawny in colour, wearing seal-skins ; the 
 women marked in the face with blue streaks down the 
 cheeks, and round about the eyes." One of these 
 Eskimos he conveyed to England, wliere he died of a 
 cold which he had caught at sea. Their boats were 
 " all made of seal-skins, with a keel of wood within the 
 skin. The proportion of them was like a Spanish 
 shallop, save only that they were fiat in the bottom 
 and sharp at both ends." 
 
 Having lost his only boat, with five men in her, Fro- 
 bisher felt that it was useless to proceed farther, and 
 resolved on returning to England, in the hope of resum- 
 ing his researches in the following year. The Gabriel 
 arrived at Harwich on the 2nd of October, after an 
 absence of four months, in which time she liad sailed 
 farther north than any previous expedition, with the 
 exception of that commanded by John Cabot. 
 
 On the 3rd of October the adventurers reached London, 
 where they were joyfully received with the great ad- 
 miration of the people, bringing with them their " strange 
 man " and an Eskimo kajak, or canoe, — both being 
 " such a wonder unto the whole city and to the rest of 
 the realm that heard of it, as seemed never to have 
 happened the like great matter to any man's knowledge." 
 
^' 
 
 II 
 
 
 24 
 
 FROBISHER S SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 But Frobisher had with him something which proved 
 of greater interest to those whom the thirst for know- 
 ledge or greed of gain induced to concern themselves 
 about a short north-west passage to Cathay. This was 
 a stone picked up by one of the seamen, which, when 
 the seaman's wife had contemptuously thrown it into 
 the fire, "glittered with a bright marcasite of gold." 
 Being afterwards tested by some of the London gold- 
 refiners, it was pronounced to contain a large quantity 
 of the precious metal. 
 
 Now, indeed, the hopes of merchants and adventurers 
 flamed up brightly, and everybody believed that the 
 path to Cathay had been opened up to English enter- 
 prise ; or if not to Cathay itself, at least to some land 
 equally abounding in treasures. A second expedition 
 was straightway determined upon ; and receiving the 
 sanction of Queen Elizabeth and her great minister, 
 Cecil, a company was incorporated to carry it out, and 
 to prepare for the conquest and settlement of such new 
 lands as might be discovered. Frobisher was appointed 
 " Captain-General by sea and Admiral of the ships and 
 navy of the Company ;" and three ships were got ready, 
 the old Oabriel and Michael, and a much larger vessel, 
 lent by the Queen, the Aid, of 180 tons, manned by 
 sixty-five sailors and twenty-five soldiers. The two 
 smaller ships carried about twenty-five men between 
 them. 
 
 Frobisher weighed anchor at Black wall on Whit- 
 monday, the 26th of May, and dropped dovn to Graves- 
 end, where, in a true spirit of devotion, the crews received 
 the sacrament, tind were duly prepared to act as good 
 
 ih 
 
THE " STORMY ORCADES." 
 
 S5 
 
 Christians towards God and resolute men for all fortunes. 
 He stayed three days at Harwich, quietly getting rid of 
 those whom he suspectf^d to be neither resolute men nor 
 good Christians, and then bore away for the Orkneys. 
 The people of these bleak and storm-beaten islands seem 
 in Frobisher's days to have touched but the borders of 
 civilization. When he landed, they fled from their poor 
 cottages in a panic of fear, — which is not to be wondered 
 at when we remember how frequently they sufiered from 
 the attacks of pirates. Their houses are described as 
 very simply built of " pebble stone," without any chim- 
 neys, the fire being kindled in the centre. Wood was 
 unknown, and for fuel they used manure and turf. 
 " The goodman, wife, children, and other of the family, 
 eat and sleep on the one side of the house, and the 
 cattle on the other ; very beastly and rudely, in respect 
 of civility. They have corn, bigg, and oats, with which 
 they pay their king's rents, to the maintenance of his 
 house. They take great quantities of fish, which they 
 dry in the wind and sun. They dress their meat very 
 filthily, and eat it without salt. Their apparel is after 
 the rudest sort of Scotland. Their church and religion 
 is performed according to the manner of the Scots." 
 
 Frobisher quitted the " stormy Orcades " on the 8th 
 of June, and sailed onward steadily for six-and-twenty 
 days, much buffeted by contrary winds and rolling seas, 
 but cheered by the constant daylight that prevailed. 
 He fell in with some huge glittering icebergs, and with 
 trunks of trees borne by the currents from the American 
 coast ; and on the 4th of July there was " great firing of 
 
." 
 
 I: 
 
 /• I 
 
 96 
 
 MOUNT WARWICK. 
 
 guns" and much rejoicing on board the Michael, its 
 mariners mistaking an unusually great array of bergs, 
 looming wliitely through the mists, for the snow- 
 burdened shore of Greenland. That shore, however, 
 was really sighted in the evening ; but it brought no 
 comfort to the wave-worn adventurers. Frobisher 
 vainly attempted to find a port into which he might 
 convey his ships ; and after three days' delay, was forced 
 to leave behind him the long range of snowy mountains 
 and of gloomy valleys, filled with slow rivers of ice 
 labouring downwards to the very margin of the sea. 
 
 Directing his course to the strait discovered in his 
 former voyage, he reached Hall Island on the 17th. 
 Here he laid up his barques, and while his miners and 
 refiners were collecting the supposed gold ore, he em- 
 barked in a couple of boats, with forty of his men, and 
 made several exploring voyages. 
 
 Landing, on one occasion, on the northern shore of 
 Fiobisher Strait, he ascended a high hill, which, after 
 offering up suitable prayers, and arousing the echoes 
 with the blare of trumpets, he named Mount Warwick, 
 in recognition of one of his patrons, the Earl of War- 
 wick. On the summit a cairn of stones was raised. 
 After descending its rugged side, he encountered a party 
 of the natives, who showed a truly friendly disposition, 
 and shouted joyously, and danced and leaped at the 
 sound of the English trumpets. Neither Englishman 
 nor Eokra*^ knew a single word of the other's language ; 
 hxil H - ?^; i smiles are a language which is under- 
 8t i r i 1* vovldover. An exchange of presents took 
 plactv ■ j . - A other trifles being accepted by the 
 
MAKING ENEMIES. 
 
 S7 
 
 natives with evident gratification. Their manner of 
 traffic is thus loscribed : — They laid down of their 
 merchandise upon the ground so nmch as they meant to 
 part withal, and so looking that the other party with 
 whom they traded should do the same, they did them- 
 selves depart, and then, if satisfied, came again and took 
 in exchange the other's wares. 
 
 In this simple commercial transaction the English 
 seamen spent most of the day. In the afternoon, as the 
 summer twilight drew its shadows over the sea, they 
 wended their way towards the shore, with the intention 
 of re-embarking. Thither the Eskimos accompanied 
 them, with many friendly signs, and evidently desirous 
 they should stay. On his part, Frobisher was anxious 
 some of them should visit the ships; and when they 
 would not do this voluntarily, he resorted to strategem. 
 Having beguiled a couple of the Eskimos to the water's 
 edge, he seized them, and with Captain Hall's assistance 
 endeavoured to place them in the boat. However, they 
 eluded his grasp, ran for their bows and arrows, and 
 in conjunction with their comrades made so desperate 
 an attack on the Englishmen that it required all their 
 coolness and courage to repel it. One of the Eskimos, 
 it is true, was captured, but all the rest were thenceforth 
 converted into enemies. 
 
 In the course of the night Frobisher incurred another 
 serious risk. Having rowed from Hall Island to an islet 
 at some distance off, where he was forced by a sudden 
 storm to remain for some hours, the same storm brought 
 down upon his ships a tremendous flotilla of icebergs, 
 the smallest of which was sufficient to destroy the little 
 
\ 
 
 \ * 
 
 r I 
 
 
 28 
 
 TAKING POSSESSION. 
 
 I. 
 
 squadron if tliey came in contact with it. All the night 
 the Ij^nglish barques sailed to and fro, as in a maze, to 
 avoid the great bergs which, first from one quarter and 
 then from another, sailed down upon them. Some 
 scraped us, says the chronicler, and some escaped us; 
 but through vigilant and skilful seamanship they 
 avoided every danger, and God being their " best steers- 
 man," the morning found them in safety. Frobisher 
 then rejoined them, and a general thanksgiving was 
 offered up by the captain-general and his followers for 
 their happy deliverance. 
 
 The storm was attended with one happy result, for it 
 so broke up the ice in Frobisher Strait as to render the 
 channel navigable. For about a hundred miles the little 
 squadron sailed into the unknown waters, anchoring 
 at first in Jackman Sound, where he left his ships, and 
 afterwards exploring the southern coast-land in his 
 boats. Here he collected large quantities of the " gold 
 ore," and made acquaintance with a great dead fish, — 
 which was, in fact, a narwhal, — "being about twelve 
 feet long, and in bigness answerable, having a horn, two 
 yards in length, wreathed and straight, like in fashion 
 to a taper made of wax, growing out of the snout or 
 nostrils." 
 
 On the 23rd, Frobisher took formal possession of the 
 new land, entering with his company in marching order, 
 and having special care by exhortations that all, with 
 one voice, should, in the first place, thank God for their 
 safe arrival ; in the second, beseech Him that it would 
 please his Divine Majesty long to continue the queen 
 in the enjoyment of her crown and sovereignty; and 
 
I ( 
 
 ABOUT THE ESKIMOS. 
 
 n 
 
 third, implore Him that, by Christian study and endea- 
 vour, these barbarous people, trained up in paganism 
 and infidelity, might be led to the knowledge of true 
 religion, and to the hope of salvation in Christ. After 
 these devout supplications, they all marched through 
 the country w^ith ensign displayed, so far as was thought 
 needful, and now and then piled up stones on high 
 mountains and other places, in token of possession. 
 
 Frobisher next crossed the strait and visited the 
 southern shore, which he supposed to be some part of 
 Asia, believing that he had solved the mysterious pro- 
 blem which, in truth, was to find no satisfactory solution 
 for three centuries later. Thence he sailed to the west- 
 ward, and discovered the Countess of Warwick Sound 
 and Island ; after which, the accumulation of the pack- 
 ice preventing their farther progress, they prepared to 
 return to England. 
 
 Of the natives of these wild and previously unex- 
 plored regions, the historian of Frobisher's expedition 
 gives a curiously graphic description, which may be 
 compared with the particulars furnished by later 
 voyagers, and bears strong testimony to our early sea- 
 men's minuteness and accuracy of observation : — 
 
 They are, he says, of the colour of a ripe olive. They 
 are men very active and nimble. They are a strong 
 people and very warlike, for, in our sight, upon the 
 tops of the hills, they would often muster themselves 
 after the manner of a skirmish, trace their ground very 
 nimbly, and manage their bows and darts with great 
 dexterity. They go clad in coats made of the skins of 
 beasts, as of seals, deer, bears, foxes, and hares. They 
 
I in 
 
 \vA- 
 
 so 
 
 ABOUT THE ESKIMOS. 
 
 have also some garments of feathers, being made of the 
 cases of fowls, firmly sewed and compacted together. 
 In summer they use to wear the hair side of their coats 
 outward, and sometimes go naked for too much heat ; 
 and in winter, as by signs they have declared, they wear 
 four or five fold upon their bodies, with the hair for 
 warmth turned inward. These people are by nature 
 very subtle and sharp-witted, ready to conceive our 
 meaning by signs, and to make answer well to be un- 
 derstood again; and if they have not seen the thing 
 whereof you ask them, they will wink and cover their 
 eyes with their hand, as who would say, it hath been 
 hid from their sight. If they understand you not 
 whereof you asked them, they will stop their ears. They 
 will teach us the name of each thing in their language 
 which we desire to learn, and are apt to learn anything 
 of us. They delight in music above measure, and will 
 keep time and stroke to any tune you shall sing, both 
 with their voice, head, hand, and foot, and will sing the 
 same tune aptly after you. They will row with our 
 oars in our boats, and keep a true stroke with our 
 mariners, and seem to take great delight therein. For 
 their weapons to offend their enemies or kill their prey 
 withal, they have darts, slings, bows and arrows headed 
 with sharp stones, bones, and some with iron. 
 
 The chronicler proceeds to describe them as friendly 
 and kind-hearted one to another; as good fishermen 
 and bold sailors ; and as excellent marksmen, who seldom 
 failed to hit their mark, notwithstanding the primitive 
 character of their weapons. They had no other fuel 
 than " heath and moss," and they kindled a fire by the 
 
 • M 
 
RETURN TO ENGLAND. 
 
 SI 
 
 friction of a couple of sticks. They travelled in sledges 
 drawn by dogs, and moved from place to place in quest 
 of provisions. 
 
 The friendly intercourse between the Eskimos and 
 the strangers was interrupted at last by an unfortunate 
 skirmish, in which the former suffered severely. It is 
 impossible not to reflect at how great a cost of suflfering 
 and wretchedness Science has achieved her conquests, 
 and Knowledge extended her domains. We are prone 
 to congratulate ourselves on the progress of Civilization, 
 but seldom consider the sacrifices it has entailed both 
 upon its servants and its victims. Yet we may not un- 
 fairly think of it as of the Juggemauth of the Hindus, 
 whose triumphal march is over the bodies of the dead 
 and dying ; though these, indeed, are often willing suf- 
 ferers, while Civilization is always most fatal to the races 
 and peoples it designs to benefit, but who recoil from its 
 dangerous presence. We can but hope that when the 
 balance is struck hereafter it will show that the bless- 
 ings of Civilization outweigh its evils. Yet such can 
 hardly be the case until Civilization is always, every- 
 where, and in all things synonymous with Christianity. 
 
 The ships having by this time collected about two 
 hundred tons of the supposed auriferous mineral,* and 
 the season being far advanced, Frobisher determined on 
 returning to England. And after safely weathering a 
 succession of heavy gales, his vessels arrived at Bristol 
 and Yarmouth towards the close of the year. The auri- 
 ferous mineral, being assayed by competent gold-refiners, 
 proved, however, a sore disappointment. It was pro- 
 
 * See our account of Captain C. F. Hall's voyages, in a later chapter. 
 
I! 
 
 82 
 
 FROBISHER S THIRD VOYAGE. 
 
 Hi 
 
 nounced worthless, though every experiment that in- 
 genuity could suggest was undertaken in the vain 
 attempt to find the precious metal where Nature had 
 not placed it, or had placed it only in inappreciable 
 quantities. 
 
 Nevertheless, the Queen, and the adventurers, and the 
 English people generally, comforted themselves with the 
 liope that better and richer ore would be obtained on 
 another occasion. A third expedition was equipped on 
 a large scale. It was resolved not only to collect ore, 
 but to found a colony. Accordingly, Frobisher set sail 
 (May 31) with a fleet of fifteen ships, carrying a hundred 
 and thirty able seamen, a hundred and sixty pioneers, 
 and sixty seamen, besides gunners, shipwrights, car- 
 penters and surgeons, with " a minister or two to ad- 
 minister divine service and the sacraments according to 
 the Church of England." An imposing force ! But not 
 destined to achieve any useful result, either by way of 
 colonization or discovery, except that ^he admiral him- 
 self opened up the great inlet afterwards known as 
 Hudson Strait ; which is really one of the highways into 
 the broad Pacific, and, had he followed its course, would 
 have enabled him to antedate the labours of some of the 
 boldest of his successors. Frobisher carried hin fleet i nto 
 the Countess of Warwick Sound, and endeavoured to 
 settle his colonists. But they liked not the rigid climate 
 or ice-bound soil — the mists, the shadows, and the dark- 
 ness of that winter- world. They insisted on returning 
 to England; and thither, accordingly, the admiral betook 
 himself, leaving numerous relics of his abortive expedi- 
 tion to be discovered by Captain C. F. Hall in 1861-62. 
 
LOSS OF THE "SQUIRREL.' 
 

 I 
 
 i! 
 
 i'ii 
 
 ! t 
 
 ,Ii i! 
 ii 
 i: 
 
 .- 
 
 Pi Ii 
 P 
 
 I-- A 
 
VOYAGE AND DEATH OF GILBERT. 
 
 8ft 
 
 SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT. 
 
 The next bold spirit who attempted the conquest of 
 tlie North, and sought a passage to Cathay through 
 Arctic ice-floes, was that most chivalrous of Elizabethan 
 seamen, Sir Humphrey Gilbert. He had obtained a 
 patent from the Queen, and with funds raised by the 
 sale of his patrimony or supplied by his friends he 
 fitted oat five small ships, varying in size from twenty 
 to two hundred tons, and gallantly sailed away into the 
 unknown (1583). Deserted by one of his largest ships, 
 he pushed onward to Newfoundland, and took posses- 
 sion of the harbour of St. John's and the surrounding 
 country in the Queen's name. Then, with the Delight, 
 tlie Golden Hind, and the little Squirrel, a mere cock- 
 boat of ten tons, he proceeded on a voyage of discovery. 
 The Delight was wrecked off Sable Island; and soon 
 afterwards, having voyaged southward until near the ' 
 Azores, the Golden Hind and the Squirrel were over- 
 taken by a wild hurricane. His followers would fain 
 have had Sir Humphrey remove on board the Golden 
 Hind, but honour kept him in the tiny Squirrel. " I 
 will not forsake," he said, "the brave and free com- 
 panions with whom I have undergone so many storms 
 and perils." So the little barque was cruelly tossed and 
 bufieted by the raging waters ; and our last knowledge 
 of the knightly adventurer we owe to the captain of 
 tlie Golden Hind, who saw him seated in the stern of 
 his wave-worn pinnace calmiy reading a book, and 
 heard him utter the noble and never-to-be-forgotten 
 words, — " Courage, my lads ! we are as near to heaven 
 
w 
 
 «ii; 
 
 [! 
 
 \ 
 
 
 I. I' 
 
 r I' 
 ii 
 
 
 
 se 
 
 THE LAND OF DESOLATION. 
 
 by sea as by land ! " When morning came the pinnace 
 was no more to be seen; but Sir Humphrey's name 
 lives greenly in the memories of men for ever. 
 
 CAPTAIN JOHN DAVIS. 
 
 Discouraged neither by Frobisher's failures nor by 
 Gilbert's melancholy fate, the English merchants perse- 
 vered in their efforts to read the secret of the Polar seas. 
 In 1585 they listened to the plans of one John Davis, a 
 native of Sandridge in Devonshire, and a veteran sea- 
 man; and some of them, in concert with Elizabeth's 
 minister. Sir Francis Walsingham, furnished him with 
 two stout and well-found barques, — the Sunshine of 
 fifty, and the Moonshine of thirty tons, — ^in which to 
 carry out his projects of discovery. He hoisted his flag 
 in the Sunshine, and sailed from Dartmouth on the 7th 
 of June. As the discoverer, or pioneer, of the Baffin Bay 
 route, Davis occupies a place of renown among Arctic 
 navigators, and we must describe his achievements at 
 some length. 
 
 Towards the end of July, after a stormy voyage, in 
 which Davis and his men saw no land, but many por- 
 poises and whales, they sighted the south-east coast of 
 Greenland, which, in allusion to its stern and sterile 
 aspect, Davis poetically named the "Land of Desola- 
 tion." The chronicler of the voyage describes it as " very 
 high, and full of mighty mountains, covered with snow ; 
 no view of wood, grass, or earth to be seen ; and the 
 shore, two leagues off into the sea, so full of ice as that 
 no shipping could by any means come near the same. 
 The loathsome view of the shore and irksome noise of 
 
FRIENDLY ACQUAINTANCES. 
 
 87 
 
 the sea was such that it bred strange conceits among us, 
 80 that we supposed the place to be waste and void of 
 any sensible or vegetable creatures." 
 
 Here Davis found a considerable quantity of drift- 
 wood, and picked up a tree fully sixty feet in length. 
 
 Doubling Cape Farewell on the 25th of July, Davis 
 stood away to the north-west; and on the 29th dis- 
 covered a pleasant bay, spotted with isles of verdure, 
 which he named Gilbert Sound. The people of the 
 country, espying the two ships, visited them in their 
 canoes, and holding up their right hand to the sun, and 
 crying " Iliaout," would strike their breasts. On the 
 Englishmen doing the same, the natives went aboard ; 
 men of good stature, beardless, small-eyed, and "of 
 tractable conditions." The chronicler speaks of them 
 as "very tractable people, void of craft and double- 
 dealing, and easy to be brought to any civility or good 
 order." 
 
 He shook hands with one of them, and the savage 
 kissed his hand, and soon white men and Eskimos were 
 on friendly terms. " We were in so great credit with 
 them upon this simple acquaintance that we could have 
 had anything they had. We bought five canoes of tliem. 
 We bought the clothes from their backs, which were 
 all made of seal-skins and bird-skins, — their buskins, 
 their hose, their gloves, — all being commonly sewed and 
 well dressed, so that we were fully persuaded that they 
 have divers artificers among them. We had a pair of 
 fine buskins of them, full of fine wool like beaver. We 
 had of their darts and oars, and found that they would 
 
n1 
 
 \ 
 
 !1 )li 
 
 i ,'r 
 
 l: U 
 
 I 
 
 I' •J 
 
 n 
 
 i:;! 
 
 '.' ! 
 
 88 
 
 DAVIS S DISCOVERIES. 
 
 ii 
 
 by no means displease us, but would give us whatsoever 
 we asked of them," . ■ ^ 
 
 Davis understood from the Greenlanders that a broad 
 open sea lay to the north-west, and on the 1st of August 
 he sailed in quest of it ; but quickly altering his inten- 
 tion, he entered the broad highway to the Pole which, 
 as Davis Strait, still perpetuates the memory of this 
 intrepid navigator. 
 
 On the 6th of August he again sighted land, in Jat, 
 G6° 40', and dropped anchor in " a very fair road under 
 a brave mount, the cliffs whereof were orient as gold." 
 This promontory he named Mount Raleigh ; a foreland 
 to the north, Cape Dyer; another to the south. Cape 
 Walsingham ; and the bay itself, Exeter Sound. Here 
 his men discovered four white bears lying at the foot of 
 the mount, and killed one of them. Next day they 
 killed another. " When we came up to him," says Jane, 
 tlie historian of the voyage, "he lay fast asleep. I 
 levelled at his head, and the stone of my piece gave 
 no fire. With that he looked up, and laid down his 
 head again. Then I shot, being charged with two 
 bullets, and struck him on the head. He, being but 
 amazed, fell backwards; whereupon we ran all upon 
 him with boar-spears, and thrust him in the body. 
 Yet, for all that, he gripped away our boar-spears, and 
 went towards the water. Then he came back again, 
 and one master shot his boar-spear and struck him in 
 the head, and made him take the water and swim into 
 a cove fast by, where we killed him, and brought him 
 aboard." 
 
 The season being far advanced, Davis now turned 
 
 y 
 
r • 
 
 atsoever 
 
 , a broad 
 f August 
 lis inten- 
 Le which, 
 J of this 
 
 d, in lat. 
 ad under 
 as gold." 
 I, foreland 
 ith, Cape 
 id. Here 
 he foot of 
 day they 
 lays Jane, 
 isleep. I 
 liece gave 
 Idown hia 
 ith two 
 leing but 
 all upon 
 |he body, 
 ears, and 
 Ick again, 
 !k him in 
 iwirn into 
 ight him 
 
 turned 
 
DAVIS'S SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 41 
 
 southward, and doubling a cape which he christened 
 God's Mercy, discovered an ample channel, some thirty 
 leagues across, of which the waters were of the very 
 colour, nature, and quality of the main ocean. Sailing up 
 it sixty leagues, he found himself involved in an archi- 
 pelago of small islands ; but the weather growing 
 stormy, with frequent fogs, he resolved to sail for Eng- 
 land. On the 10th of September, off the bleak coast of 
 the Land of Desolation, he lost sight of the Moonshine, 
 and supposed she had gone down. But she joined him 
 again on the 13th; to be beaten off once more on the 
 27th, and find her way home alone. Strange to say, 
 both vessels reached Dartmouth on the 30th of Septem- 
 ber, within two hours of one another. 
 
 Davis's expedition had been rich in geographical 
 results. For the first time he had explored the southern 
 coast of Greenland, and he had discovered the great 
 channel of Davis Strait. The merchants who had sent 
 him out were so pleased with his skill and encouraged 
 by his success, that they resolved on the equipment of 
 another expedition in the following year, and were sup- 
 ported in their venture by the co-operation of some 
 merchants in the west of England. 
 
 Accordingly, with his old ships, the Sunshine and 
 the Moonshine, and,' in addition, the Mermaid, of one 
 hundred and twenty tons, and the North Star, a little 
 pinnace of ten tons, he sailed from Dartmouth on the 
 7th of May. When in the neighbourhood of Iceland, on 
 the 7th of June, he divided his little squadron, despatch- 
 ing the Sunshine and the North Star on a voyage along 
 
iW 
 
 42 
 
 POPE S VOYAGE. 
 
 rll 
 
 the eastern coast of Greenland ; while he himself, with 
 the Mermaid and the Moonshine, sailed in the track of 
 his previous voyage. 
 
 We will first follow the Sunshine and the pinnace, 
 under the charge of Richard Pope. 
 
 He sailed round the southern and western coasts of 
 Iceland, and at North Cape had some intercourse with 
 its natives. Their dwelling-houses he found to be 
 made, on both sides, of stones, with wood laid over 
 them, and " turfs of earth." The roofs were flat. The 
 boats were made of wood &nd iron all along the keel, 
 like our English boats ; and they had nails to nail them 
 withal, and fish-hooks and other things " for to catch 
 fish." They had also " brazen kettles, and girdles and 
 purses made of leather, and knops on them of copper, 
 and hatchets, and other small things as necessary." 
 
 Pope reached Greenland on the 7th of July, but was 
 prevented from landing by a firm barrier of ice. He 
 ascended as far northward, it is said, as lat. 80°. The 
 apparently impenetrable character of the ice-floes, how- 
 ever, so daunted this somewhat incompetent explorer, 
 that he hastily turned to the south, doubled Cape Fare- 
 well on the 31st of July, ran into Gilbert Sound — the 
 rendezvous appointed by Davis — quarrelled with the 
 natives, three of whom he cruelly murdered, and then 
 made the best of his way home to England. The Sun- 
 shine arrived in the Thames on the 6th of October ; but 
 the little pinnace was lost sight of in a terrible storm on 
 the 3rd of September, and never more heard of 
 
 Davis, after leaving Pope on the 7th of June, pro- 
 
 I: i 
 
IN GILBERT SOUxVD. 
 
 43 
 
 ceeded to Gilbert Sound, where he did not arrive 
 until the 29th, owing to bad weather, and the hin- 
 drance offered by masses of ice, which the currents 
 brought down from the north. He was warmly re- 
 ceived by the friendly natives, whose confidence he had 
 won on his former visit by his honest dealing. "As 
 the boats went sounding and searching," he says, " the 
 people of the country having espied them, came in 
 their canoes towards them, with many shouts and cries. 
 But after they had espied in the boat some of our 
 company that were here the year before with us, they 
 presently rowed to the boat, and took hold on the oars, 
 and hung about the boat with such comfortable joy as 
 would require a long discourse to be uttered. They 
 came with the boats to our ships, making signs that 
 they knew all those that the year before had been 
 with them. After I perceived their joy and small fear 
 of us, myself with the merchants and others of the 
 company went ashore, bearing with me twenty knives. 
 1 had no sooner landed but they leapt out of their 
 canoes, and came running to me and the rest, and em- 
 braced us with many signs of hearty welcome." After- 
 wards they returned in much greater numbers, the 
 ships being surrounded by fully a hundred canoes, 
 which brought abundant supplies of newly-killed beai-s 
 and birds, besides loads of skins and fish. 
 
 For a fortnight Davis lingered in this pleasant haven, 
 occupying his leisure by boat- voyages along the coast. 
 He ascertained that between the shore and the inland 
 belt of mountains lay a varying tract of open, grassy 
 country ; but it was apparently uninhabited, and with- 
 
I' 
 
 If' ' 
 
 44 
 
 ABOUT THE GREENLANDERS. 
 
 out any signs of permanent settlements. He discov- 
 ered, however, a large grave, protected from the weather 
 by seal-skins, and containing a number of dead bodies. 
 
 His amicable intercourse with the Greenlanders still 
 continued. 
 
 " I was desirous," says Davis, " to have our men leap 
 with them, which was done; but our men did over- 
 leap them. From leaping they went to wrestling. We 
 found them strong and nimble, and to have skill in 
 wrestling; for they cast some of our men that were 
 good wrestlers. They are of good stature; in body 
 well-proportioned ; with small, slender hands and feet ; 
 with broad visages and small eyes, wide mouths, great 
 lips, close-toothed, and the most part unbearded. Their 
 custom is, as often as they go from us, still at their re- 
 turn to make a new truce, in this sort : holding his hand 
 up to the sun, with a loud voice he crieth " Iliaout," 
 and striketh his breast, with like signs. Being pro- 
 mised safety, he giveth credit. They are idolaters, and 
 have images, great store, which they wear about them, 
 and in their boats, which, we suppose, they worship. 
 They are witches, and have many kinds of enchant- 
 ments, which they often used, but to small purpose, 
 thanks be to God ! They eat all their meat raw ; they 
 live most upon fish ; they drink salt water, and eat 
 grass and ice with great delight." 
 
 But a change came over the spirit of the scene. The 
 Greenlanders were as far from perfection as civilized 
 nations ; and their appreciation of the rare gifts of their 
 visitors bred in them such a desire to obtain possession 
 of them that they did not hesitate to appropriate them, 
 
A FRAY WITH THE NATIVES. 
 
 45 
 
 where they were not forthcoming in any honester 
 fashion. They cut away the boat of the Moonshine 
 from her stern ; they stole cables, and cloth, and oars, 
 and a sword, a caliver, and a spear, — so angering the 
 English seamen, that they desired their ommander to 
 dissolve the precarious alliance existing between them. 
 Davis was wiser than his followers, and knowing that the 
 thievish propensities of the natives arose from an igno- 
 rance of the laws that govern the relations of civilized 
 society, was unwilling to deal harshly. At first, he 
 tried what could be done by terrifying without injuring 
 them, and fired a volley in the air, which scattered 
 them like a flock of doves. Two hours afterwards, 
 having recovered from their alarm, they returned and 
 entreated a peace; and when this was granted, they 
 brought seal-skins and salmon-peel. But if you " expel 
 nature " by force, it will surely reassert itself; and as 
 soon as the Greenlander saw iron, he sought to acquire 
 it. Davis then ordered his men to refrain from ill- 
 treating the simple creatures, to whom iron was as a 
 source of infinite power and happiness, and to keep a 
 stricter watch over their property. 
 
 It is impossible to peruse the record of Davis's voy- 
 ages without being struck by his great sagacity, no less 
 than by the skill and humanity with which he con- 
 ducted all his intercourse with the natives. There 
 were others of the Elizabethan seamen as brave, and 
 even more adventurous; but none, perhaps, displayed 
 so much of the composure, intrepidity, and policy which 
 characterize a great naval commander. He reminds us 
 forcibly of the most illustrious of navigators. Captain 
 
16 
 
 AFTKR A STORM, A CALM. 
 
 Cook ; and on the " bead-roll " of Arctic explorers Ina 
 name must always occupy a foremost, if not the very 
 first place. 
 
 Having been absent on one of his short boat-voyages, 
 he returned to his ships on the 9th, to find his mariners 
 complaining heavily of the Eskimos, who had stolen 
 an anchor, cut one of the cables very dangerously, and 
 assailed the Englishmen with volleys of large stones. 
 Davis went ashore, and " used them with much cour- 
 tesy ; " after which they followed him on board, were 
 kindly treated, and allowed to depart freely. But after 
 sunset they resumed their annoying practices, and with 
 slings threw stones very fiercely into the Moonshine, 
 knocking down the boatswain. Davis ordered out his 
 boats, and chased them, but could not overtake their 
 light kajacks. 
 
 On the 11th, five of them came to make a new tinice. 
 
 " The master acquainted me," says Davis, " with their 
 coming, and desired they might be kept prisoners until 
 we had our anchor again ; and when he saw the chief 
 ringleader and master of mischief was one of the five, 
 he was very urgent to have him seized. So it "Wfis 
 determined to take him. He came crying ' lliaout,' 
 and, striking his breast, offered a pair of gloves to sell. 
 The master offered him a knife for tliem. So two of 
 tlicm came to us : one we dismissed," the other was 
 detained. The stolen anchor was then given up ; but 
 for some reason, which Davis has not recorded, he re- 
 solved on carrying his captive to sea with him. As he 
 was well-treated, he seems not to have regretted his 
 loss of liberty ; and his " new suit of frieze of the Eng- 
 
FAINTING HEARTS. 
 
 47 
 
 •ers his 
 le very 
 
 llsli fiishion " probably proved a sufficient compensation. 
 He trimmed up all his darts and fishing-tools for gene- 
 ral use, made oakum, and readily set his hand to the 
 ropo's-er 
 
 th 
 
 truce. 
 
 their 
 
 rs until 
 
 lie chief 
 
 [he five, 
 
 it was 
 
 to sell, 
 two of 
 er was 
 p; but 
 he re- 
 As he 
 Ited his 
 le Eng- 
 
 Gilbert Sound was quitted on the 11th of July. Six 
 days later, the two ships fell in with an iceber>. jo 
 huge, and so boldly marked along its margin with bays 
 and capes, that Davis at first conceived it to be a snow- 
 shrouded island which had hitherto escaped notice. His 
 men began to despair when it was discovered to be a 
 mass of solid ice ; and their depression increased as day 
 after day they slowly worked their way along the edge 
 of a tremendous field of ice, enveloped in a fog so dense 
 that thev )uld see nothing before or around them, 
 and so ' that their ropes and sails and shrouds 
 were frozen, and seemed to be made of crystal. So 
 great was the influence of Davis that none of them 
 durst think of mutiny; but they went through their 
 daily task with evident languor of spirit, and at last 
 they went forward to the quarter-deck and implored 
 him to return. Why struggle longer* against the un- 
 conquerable elements ? If he persisted in the endeav- 
 our, they would surely perish, and, through his over- 
 boldness, bring down upon his memory the curses of 
 their widows and fiitherless children. 
 
 Davis was resolute not to abandon his enterprise at 
 their bidding, but he saw that it was useless to perse- 
 vere with such timid spirits among his following. Ac- 
 cordingly, steering eastward, and making for the nearest 
 shore, which proved to be that of Greenland, in 66° SO' 
 
kW 
 
 \ 
 
 r 1 
 
 
 4B 
 
 IN ESKIMO BAY. 
 
 lat., or about five hundred miles to the north of Gil- 
 bert Sound, he proceeded to divide his crews and 
 provisions. On board the Merinaid he embarked all 
 the weak-hearted, with a sufficiency of stores, and de- 
 spatched them homeward. He himself, with his bolder 
 and more loyal followers, removed to the Moonshine, 
 and on the 12th of August resumed his explorations. 
 Crossing to Cumberland Island, he forced his way into 
 Cumberland Sound, and sailed up it for some eighty 
 leagues. He came to the conclusion that out of tnis 
 sound might be found a passage to Cathay ; but as it was 
 late in the season, and his vessel was much shattered, he 
 resolved to defer the quest of it to the following year. 
 
 Turning back on the 20th of August, he examined 
 the coast-line southward with much care and accuracy. 
 Thus he sailed past Meta Incognita, and crossed the 
 mouth of the great channel now known as Hudson 
 Strait — prevented, perhaps, by the accumulating ice-floes 
 from recognizing its importance — and edging alorg the 
 coast of Labrador, discovered Davis Inlet — or, as it is 
 now called, Eskimo Bay — where he rested from the 
 28th of August until the 1st of September. Here up- 
 wards of forty great cod were caught with the sound- 
 ing-lines, and some long spike-nails made into hooks. 
 The land seemed fertile ; at all events, it abounded in 
 animal life, — bears, deer, pheasants, partridges, wild 
 ducks, and other game. 
 
 Resuming his coasting voyage, Davis sailed as far 
 south as Ivuetoke Inlet, in 54° 30' lat. ; and then, on 
 the 13th of September, having lost his only anchor in 
 a sudden storm, and two of his men in a skirmish with 
 
 'W 
 
DAVIS S THIliD VOYAGE. 
 
 49 
 
 the natives of an island off Labrador, he turned his 
 prow towards England. A prosperous voyage across 
 the Atlantic brought him into the picturesque waters 
 of Dartmouth on the 1st of October. 
 
 Thus Davis had again shown his extraordinary abili- 
 ties as a navigator; but the merchants who defrayed 
 the cost of the expedition reflected that he had done 
 but little towards achieving the route to Cathay, and 
 many of them were loath to expend any more money 
 in such apparently fruitless ventures. Some, however, 
 were tempted by the prr- .Mcts of a lucrative fishery 
 on the coasb of Labrador, and joined with Davis's great 
 friend and patron, Sanderson, to fit out three ships, — 
 the Sunshine, the Elizabeth, and the Helen, — two of 
 which were to sail only as far as Labrador, while the 
 third was to be used by Davis in the prosecution of 
 his northern explorations. 
 
 Davis sailed from Dartmouth on the 19th of May 
 1587, and steered at once for Gilbert Sound, whence 
 he designed to push northward with "one of his ships, 
 while the others crossed to Labrador. Some of his 
 crew, however, were daunted by the aspect of the 
 Arctic seas ; and it was with difficulty that Davis sup- 
 pressed a mutinous outbreak on board the Sunshine 
 before the Sound was reached. He succeeded, however, 
 in carrying his little squadron into the well-known 
 port, on the 16th of June, and began to make arrange- 
 ments for the departure of the two expeditions, — one in 
 search of present gain, the other of future glory. 
 
 (544) A, 
 
1 
 
 I 
 
 •i-l I 
 
 \ 
 
 /■ I 
 
 60 
 
 WEST COAST OF GREENLAND. 
 
 He had brought out with liim the framework of a 
 pinnace, and this he proceeded to put together for ex- 
 ploring purposes. But his design was frustrated by 
 the thievish Greenlanders. Under cover of the night, 
 they pulled the pinnace to pieces again, extracted all 
 the nails, and stole every bit of iron they could dis- 
 cover. When caught in the midst of their depreda- 
 tions, they converted the broken boat into a kind of 
 barricade, and defied the English sailors. Orders were 
 given to the gunners to fire upon them ; but, partly out 
 of compassionate feelings, and partly from a desire not to 
 injure the pinnace irreparably, they charged their guns 
 with powder only. The report was sufficient to scare 
 the Eskimos, and the wood-work was recovered, as well 
 as so much of the iron as they could not carry with 
 them in their rapid retreat to their canoes. But the 
 pinnace was no longer of use, except to be turned into 
 a rude fishing-boat for the use of the Elizabeth. 
 
 On the 21st of June, the two fishing- vessels left 
 Gilbert Sound for the coast of Labrador, and Davis 
 proceeded on his exploring voyage. His followers were 
 faint-hearted, and ill disposed to imitate his brave 
 adventurous spirit. They longed to return to the green 
 shores of England ; or, at all events, to be led no farther 
 into the regions of winter than Labrador. But Davis 
 protested that he would rather end his life with credit, 
 than return with " injury and disgrace ; " and so, after 
 some hesitation, they agreed to live and die together, 
 and committed themselves to the ship. 
 
 As he advanced along the west coast of Greenland, 
 
DAVIS' S DREAM. 
 
 n 
 
 Davis fell in with several parties of natives, with whom 
 his men maintained a brisk exchange of commodities. 
 Like all savages, they fully understood the value of 
 iron, and would give anything they possessed for a 
 knife, or even a nail. In this way the English seamen 
 provided themselves with skins of bears and seals, 
 which proved an useful protection against the in- 
 clemencies of the Arctic climate. 
 
 On the 24th of June, in the narrowest part of the 
 Strait, and off Cape Walsingham, Davis encountered a 
 huge iceberg, which, with its outline of headlands and 
 bays, he mistook at first for Cumberland Island. On 
 discovering the nature of his delusion, he continued his 
 voyage northward, and sailed out of the Strait into 
 that ample basin which is now known as Baffin Bay 
 or Sea. 
 
 On the 30th he arrived in 72° latitude, or two hun- 
 dred and fifty miles farther to the north than any 
 previous navigator had penetrated. Here he discovered 
 a little cape or promontory, which he named Sander- 
 son Hope : the Danish colony of Upernavik is now 
 planted in its vicinity. The natives gave him a very 
 hospitable reception, and supplied him freely with 
 birds, and dried fish, and flesh. But his eager spirit 
 could not pause or linger ; for, seeing before him " a 
 great sea, — free, large, very salt, and very blue," — he 
 believed he had found the long-coveted passage to 
 Cathay, and began to dream that the road to the north 
 was thenceforth free and without impediment. 
 
 But he was soon to be rudely awakened from his 
 illusion. On the 1st of July his progress was barred 
 
r t 
 
 \ 
 
 BEATEN BY NATURE. 
 
 
 by a huge field of ice; and when he had laboriously 
 worked his ship around it, another rose up before him, 
 — another, and yet another. Vast icebergs drifted 
 southward in grim array ; and it tasked all his seaman- 
 ship, and all his calm courage, to carry his vessel safely 
 through the labyrinth. In spite of every effort he was 
 forced backward, and on the 29th he put into Cumber- 
 land Sound. Here, for three days, he sought for an 
 outlet, but, like the great bay beyond, it was covered • 
 with masses of ice, — and the inertia of Nature (so to 
 speak) triumphed over the energy of Man. There was 
 nothing to be done but to return home ; and with his 
 battered, leaking ship, Davis " shaped his course for 
 England, and, unhoped for of any, God alone relieving 
 him, arrived at Dartmouth," on the loth of September 
 1587. 
 
 In 1602, Captain Weymouth adventured a voyage to 
 the north-west, under a contract to forfeit all pay if he 
 did not discover the passage to China. An English- 
 man, James Hull, served as chief pilot in a Danish 
 expedition fitted out in 1605, which had no other result 
 than a survey of some part of the Greenland coast. We 
 next arrive at the name of 
 
 HENRY HUDSON. 
 
 Like Davis, Hudson ranks high among Arctic navi- 
 gators, and his discoveries were of real importance. He 
 made, in all, four voyages, sailing due north, north-east, 
 and north-west; and his enterprise may be traced all 
 along the American coast, from New York to the north 
 
HUDSON S DISCOVERIES. 
 
 58 
 
 of the great bay, or sea, which preserves his name. His 
 first voyage was made in 1607, under the direction of 
 the Muscovy Company ; and the order he received was 
 straightforward and simple in the extreme : " Go direct 
 to the North Pole." And this order he attempted to 
 carry out in a small decked boat, with a crew of ten 
 men and a boy! He steered due north along the shores 
 of Spitzbergen, until he reached lat. 81° 30'; and then, 
 for want of provisions, and owing to the approach of 
 winter, was forced to return. When we consider the 
 perilous character of the navigation of these northern 
 seas, we cannot but marvel as we record that Hudson's 
 little barque arrived safely in the Thames, on the 15th 
 of September. 
 
 In the following year he sailed again, but took a 
 north-easterly direction. His ship was somewhat 
 larger, and his crew numbered fourteen men. But he 
 ascended no higher than 75°, and returned to England 
 in August. 
 
 His third voyage, in 1609, was made in the Dutch 
 service. At first he made for the north-east, but being 
 baffled by the ice-drifts, he sailed west, and touched the 
 American coast in the neighbourhood of New York 
 Bay. He discovered the noble river which still bears 
 his name. The Dutch afterwards established a colony 
 on its banks; and among their descendants long 
 flourished wild strange legends of Hudson and his men. 
 " It was affirmed," says Washington Irving, " that the 
 great Hendrik Hudson, the first discoverer of the river 
 and country, kept a kind of vigil there every twenty 
 years, with his crew of the Half-Moon; being per- 
 

 I • 
 
 • 
 
 Ikl 
 
 r t 
 
 64 
 
 A MUTINOUS CREW. 
 
 mitted in this way to revisit the scenes of his enter- 
 prise, and keep a guardian eye upon the river and the 
 great city called by his name." 
 
 In 1610, he made his fourth and last voyage, in a 
 vessel of fifty-eight tons, stored and provisioned for six 
 months. Frobisher Strait was gained on the 1st of June. 
 Then came a desperate struggle against floating ice and 
 contrary winds ; but Hudson kept perseveringly to the 
 westward, reached the extreme point of Labrador, which 
 he called Cape Wolstenholm, and discovered an island- 
 group to the north-west, the southern headland of 
 which he named Cape Dudley Digges. Here a vast sea 
 broadened before his astonished gaze ; and the restless 
 waters for the first time rolled and seethed under an 
 English keel. 
 
 Into this great bay or sea he sailed for several hun- 
 dred miles; and winter coming on, he encamped his 
 crew upon Southampton Island, and hauled his ship 
 aground. The hardships he and his men endured were 
 terrible, for they were ill-fitted to contend with an 
 Arctic winter, and had neither sufficient provisions nor 
 stores. Hudson bore the trial uncomplainingly, sus- 
 tained by a noble enthusiasm ; but his followers grew 
 discontented, and then mutinous, and on Hudson's 
 attempting to resume the enterprise at the return of 
 spring, they seized upon him, his son, and several sick 
 sailors, and threw them into an open boat, in which 
 they had previously stowed a fowling-piece, some gun- 
 powder and shot, a small quantity of meal, and an 
 iron pot (June 21, 1611). The castaways were volun- 
 tarily joined by John King, the carpenter, who refused 
 
LATER EXPEDITIONS. 
 
 66 
 
 to share the shame of mutiny, and remained faithful to 
 his captain to the last. 
 
 Yes, to the last; for Hudson and his companions 
 were never more heard of. The ringleader of the 
 mutineers, and five others, were slain by the natives on 
 an island near Cape Digges. Of those who escaped, 
 some died of starvation, and the remainder managed to 
 carry the ship back to England. And thus miserably 
 ended an expedition that, at the outset, promised such 
 successful results. 
 
 BYLOT, BAFFIN, AND JAMES. 
 
 Notwithstanding Hudson's unhappy fate, his dis- 
 covery greatly impressed the imagination of his con- 
 temporaries, who concluded that, by sailing across the 
 great open water we now know to be a bay, they would 
 reach the Chinese shore. In this conviction. Captain 
 Button sailed northward in 1612. On the 15th of 
 August he fell in with the mouth of a river, which 
 he named Nelson River ; where, at a later date, the 
 Hudson Bay Company founded their first colonizing 
 post. Here he wintered ; displaying much sagacity in 
 the discipline of his men, whom he preserved in good 
 health by keeping them constantly occupied both in 
 body and mind. In April 1613 the ice broke up ; and 
 resuming his voyage, he added to the chart a gi'oup of 
 islands, in lat, 65°, now known as Mansfield Islands 
 He reached England in the following September. 
 
 In 1614 a voyage was made by William Baffin and 
 Fotherby, and 1616 by William Baffin and Robert 
 
\ 
 
 66 
 
 /■■I 
 
 BAFFIN'S GREAT 'DISCOVERY. 
 
 \. 
 
 i' I 
 
 fi ! 
 
 B^ lot, which resulted in the discovery of Whale Sound, 
 Sir Thomas Smith Sound, Alderman Jones Sound, Sir 
 Thomas Lancaster Sound, and Baffin Bay. These were 
 notable additions to the chart of the Arctic World, 
 which British enterprise was gradually defining and 
 filling up; but by Baffin's contemporaries they were 
 discredited. As Mr. Markham observes, the memory of 
 a bold and scientific navigator had to wait many weary 
 years for that full justice which comes at last. It was 
 exactly two centuries* before another vessel forced her 
 way into the " North Water " of Baffin Bay, and the 
 great pilot's discoveries were almost forgotten. On maps 
 published as late as 1818, may be seen a circular dotted 
 line to the west of Greenland, with this legend, — 
 "Baffin's Bay, according to the relation of William 
 Baffin in 1616, hut not now believed." 
 
 The all-important discoverv made bv Baffin was that 
 of the gi'eat channel leading out of his bay in a northerly 
 direction, and opening upon the vast and still unknown 
 region which stretches towards the Pole. He named it 
 after Sir Thomas Smith, the goveraor, we may almost 
 say the creator, of the East India Company ; and a man 
 of great sagacity, liberality, and enterprise. Of this 
 sound Baffin says : — " It runneth to the north of 78°, 
 and is admirable in one respect, because in it is the 
 greatest variation of the compass of any part of the 
 world known ; for, by divers good observations, I found 
 it to be above five points, or 66°, varied to the west- 
 ward, so that north-east by east is true north, and so of 
 
 * Ross and Parry reached the "North Water" on August 8, 1818, in the Alex- 
 ander and Isabella. 
 
CAPTAIN THOMAS JAMES. 
 
 57 
 
 the rest. Also this sound seemeth to be good for the 
 killing of whales, it being the greatest and largest in all 
 this bay." It is now regarded as affording the only 
 practicable route to the open Polar Sea ; and we shall 
 refer to it frequently enough when we come to speak of 
 Recent Polar Voyages. ' 
 
 I, in the Alex- 
 
 AN INTERVAL. 
 
 Little will be gained by dwelling upon the voyages 
 of Steven Bennet (1603-1610), Jonas Poole (1610-1613), 
 and Captain Luke Fox (1631), — the last of whom dis- 
 covered Fox Channel, and penetrated other waters to 
 the north and west, but did not penetrate as far north 
 as Baffin. In 1631, Captain Thomas James was des- 
 patched by the Bristol merchants, and his voyage is 
 remarkable for its misadventures if not for geographical 
 results. He seems to have been unacquainted with the 
 difficulties and dangers of Arctic navigation ; and was 
 driven to and fro by adverse winds and icebergs, until 
 winter compelled him to land his crew on Charlton 
 Island, and haul his ship ashore. Here they had bitter 
 experience of the severity of an Arctic winter. Though 
 they maintained a good fire in the hut they had con- 
 structed, their very beds were covered with frost, and 
 water froze in a pan placed in front of the stove. 
 Living almost wholly upon salt meat, they suffered 
 much from scurvy; and it was with difficulty they 
 contrived to build a boat, and at the return of summer 
 escape from their ice-prison. They succeeded, however, 
 in effecting tlieir return to England. 
 
 For fully a century no further attempt was made to 
 
_, ! 
 
 i^i| 
 
 •I 
 
 " I 
 
 i ( 
 
 ill' 
 
 r ' 
 
 68 
 
 EAST AND WEST. 
 
 solve a problem which men had come to consider as in- 
 soluble ; and the maritime enterprise of England was 
 principally directed to the colonization and survey of 
 the Atlantic coast. When the great work of Discovery 
 was again resumed, it was under the superintendence of 
 the Russian Government, and in the North-East instead 
 of the North-West. In 1741, Vitus Behring, a Dane 
 by birth, but an officer in the Russian service, explored 
 the coast of Kamtschatka. He was the discoverer of 
 the straits which bear his name, and thus established 
 the fact of the separation of Asia from America. Other 
 Russian expeditions followed, which threw much light 
 on the variation of the magnetic needle and other 
 phenomena, and slowly but surely increased men's 
 knowledge of the shores of the Arctic Ocean. The most 
 important was the sledge-journey of Baron von Wrangell 
 and Anjou in 1820-1823, which contributed some 
 T^aluable facts to the treasury of physical science. 
 Fighting against climatic hostility, they pressed for- 
 ward, across the ice-bound plains of Siberia, to latitude 
 70° 51' N., and longitude 155° 25' W., where they found 
 before them an open sea, which figures in their narrative 
 as the " great Polynia." They were informed by a 
 Tchuktchi chief, that from a point near Cape Chelagskoi, 
 on a clear summer's day, snovz-crowned mountains 
 might be seen at a great distance to the north. This 
 unknown northern land was invisible to Wrangell, but 
 was sighted by Captain Kelutt; and afterwards, in 1867, 
 by Captain Long, an American whaler, who approached 
 it from Behring Strait. It is now laid down on the 
 maps as Wrangell Land. 
 
BRITISH EXPEDITIONS. 
 
 59 
 
 Of the labours of the Russian explorers generally, of 
 such men as Hedenstrom, Anjou, Wrangell, Lutke, Baer, 
 Middendorf, and Schmidt, it may fairly be said (in the 
 words of a recent writer) that they place Russia second 
 only to England among the nations who have won glory 
 in the noble field of Arctic exploration. Great obstacles 
 to their work have existed in the physical difficulties of 
 the bleak tundras, and still blieaker shores of Northern 
 Siberia; but these obstacles have been overcome by 
 scientific enthusiasm, heroic resolution, and unquailing 
 persistency. Thus it is that we owe to Russian exr 
 plorers the examination and careful survey of more 
 than a third of the threshold of the unknown Polar 
 Regions. 
 
 BRITISH EXPEDITIONS. 
 
 In 1743, the British legislature stimulated the enthu- 
 siasm of the nation, and recalled the attention of British 
 seamen to the gallant and successful labours of their 
 ancestors in the Polar World, by the offer of a reward 
 of £20,000 for the discovery of the North- West Passage. 
 Several voyages were accordingly undei-taken, though 
 not with successful issues; and these were chiefly made 
 through Behring Strait to the east, in the belief that an 
 open b"^a lay between it and Hudson Bay. 
 
 Between 1769 and 1772, the intrepid Heame made 
 three land-journeys to the American shore of the Frozen 
 Ocean. In the last of these he discovered the Cop])er- 
 mine River, which he traced to its source. In 1773, 
 Captain Phipps (afterwards Lord Mulgrave) was sent 
 out by the Admiralty with orders to make for the North 
 Pole, as his primary object ; and to take all such mag- 
 
. \ 
 
 I 1 
 
 f 1 
 
 00 
 
 SCORESBY S ENTERPRISE. 
 
 Ill 
 
 ■^ i 
 
 :lil 
 
 :: \ 
 
 netic and meteorological observations, and to collect all 
 such scientific data as might possess a distinctive value, 
 as his secondary object. Phipps took the Spitzbergen 
 route, but penetrated no farther north than 80° 48'. 
 Nelson served as a midshipman on board this expedi- 
 tion, and met with the characteristic adventure with a 
 Polar bear which Southey has described so pleasantly. 
 
 Baffled, but not discouraged, the British Parliament 
 now offered (in 1776), in addition to its previous pro- 
 posal, a sum of £20,000 for the actual discovery of the 
 Pole, a similar sum for the discovery of any communi- 
 cation between the North Atlantic and North Pacific, 
 and £5000 to any person who should attain within one 
 degree of the Pole. 
 
 The last voyage undertaken by Captain Cook was in 
 this direction. He passed through Behring Strait, but 
 got no farther than 70° 45'. 
 
 In 1789, the Mackenzie River was discovered by Sir 
 George Mackenzie. 
 
 The next name on the glorious record is that of 
 Captain (afterwards Doctor) William Scoresby, well 
 known as a successful and adventurous whaler. In one 
 of his voyages (in 1806), while lying-to for whales in 
 what are called the " Greenland Seas," on the east side 
 of Greenland, he resolved to deviate from the beat m 
 track and push towards the " Polar Sea," in the exist- 
 ence of which he strongly believed. Forcing his way 
 through the pack-ice with almost incredible boldness 
 and energy, he actually succeeded in clearing the for- 
 midable barrier, and entering " a great openness or sea 
 of water," reached the high latitude of 81° 30' N. In 
 
 « ^ 
 
 L 
 
ARCTIC HIGHLANDERS. 
 
 oi 
 
 no succeeding voyage did he repeat this remarkable 
 achievement ; but he added largely to our knowledge 
 of the eastern coast of Greenland, and accumulated 
 much valuable and interesting information on the 
 physical phenomena and natural history of the Arctic 
 Regions. His various publications, moreover, contri- 
 buted to keep alive the national interest in the work of 
 maritime discovery, and led, more or less directly, to 
 the celebrated expeditions of Parry, Ross, and Franklin. 
 
 SIR JOHN ROSS. 
 
 In 1818, the British Government resolved on an 
 energetic effort to discover the long-wished-for Passage ; 
 and for this purpose the Isabella and the Alexander, 
 two stout and well-found brigs, were placed under the 
 orders of Captain John Ross, an officer who had already 
 had some experience of the Northern Seas. The 
 Alexander was commanded by Lieutenant Parry, a 
 man of strong character and much scientific ardour. 
 The two ships sailed on the 18th of April 1818, and 
 took the usual Baffin Bay route. In latitude 75° 54' N., 
 Ross fell in with an Eskimo tribe who had never before 
 seen the white men, and addressed them with the in- 
 quiries, " Who are you ? Whence come you ? Is it 
 from i\e sun or tlie moon?" To these savages Ross 
 "" lie name of " Arctic Highlanders " ; by no means 
 ompliment the hardy Gaels of Caledonia. Farther 
 north, he came upon a line of cliffs covered with red 
 snow; <i, phenomenon now known to be due to the 
 abundant presence in tiie snow of a minute lichen, 
 called the Protococcus nivalis. 
 
r I 
 
 A GREAT INLET. 
 
 At the farthest point which he reached, Tioss was too 
 far south to discern more than the outline of the land 
 near Smith Sound ; but he named the bold headlands 
 which guard the entrance to this famous channel after 
 his two ships, Cape Isabella and Cape Alexander. 
 
 Descending the west side of the bay, he found the 
 waters clear of ice, and extremely deep. The land was 
 high, and the range of mountains, in general, free from 
 snow. A noble inlet, nearly fifty miles wide, with 
 cliffs on both sides, now offered itself to view, and the 
 ships entered it ou ihe 29th of August. But they had 
 scarcely accomplished thirty miles when Ross, to the 
 surprise and vexation of his officers, declared that he 
 saw land stretching across the inlet at a distance of 
 eight leagues, and ordered the ships to tack about and 
 return. To this imaginary land he gave the name of 
 Croker Mountains. Parry, on the other hand, was of 
 opinion that this great inlet, now recognized as the Sir 
 James Lancaster Sound of Baffin, was no land-locked 
 bay, but a strait opening out to the westward ; and on 
 the return of the two ships to England he openly 
 declared this opinion. The English public supported 
 the energetic Parry; and, after a vigorous wordy warfare, 
 the Government resolved to place him in charge of the 
 Ilecla bomb-ship and the Griper gun-brig, with which 
 he sailed for the North on the 5th of May 1819. 
 
 SIR JOHN PARRY. 
 
 On the 15th of June he came in sight of Cape Fare- 
 well, and then steered northwards, up Davis Strait and 
 Baffin Bay, as far as latitude 73°, where he found him- 
 
r I 
 
 s was too 
 the land 
 leadlands 
 iiiel after 
 ler. 
 
 bund the 
 
 land waa 
 
 free from 
 
 ide, with 
 
 , and the 
 
 they had 
 
 IS, to the 
 
 that he 
 
 stance of 
 
 bout and 
 
 name of 
 
 i, was of 
 
 s the Sir 
 
 d-locked 
 
 and on 
 
 openly 
 
 ipported 
 
 warfare, 
 
 e of the 
 
 h which 
 
 )e Fare- 
 rait and 
 id him- 
 
:! 
 
 I 
 
 I III 
 
 !! 
 
 \it 
 
 " r 
 
 li 
 
Il ' • 
 
 PARRY S SUCCESS. 
 
 65 
 
 self hemmed in by masses of ice. On the 25th, how- 
 over, a way opened up, and Parry pushed forward, 
 boldly and energetically, until he reached Lancaster 
 Sound. Here he was on the ground made familiar by 
 the expedition of the preceding year, and was soon to 
 determine whether Ross's supposed mountains had any 
 real existence. " It is more easy to imagine than 
 describe," says Parry, " the almost breathless anxiety 
 which was now visible in every countenance, while, as 
 the breeze increased to a fresh gale, we ran quickly up 
 the sound." 
 
 As they advanced, the " Croker Mountains " disap- 
 peared into " thin air," and Parry proceeded as far as the 
 mouth of a great inlet, which he named Barrow Strait. 
 Entering this, he sailed onward to Prince Regent Inlet, 
 which, with various capes, bays, and islands, he named 
 and surveyed. On approaching the magnetic (not the 
 actual) north pole, he found his compasses rendered 
 almost useless by the "dip" or "variation" of the needle. 
 Great was then the excitement on board the two ships ; 
 and the excitement increased to enthusiasm when, on 
 September 4th, after crossing the meridian of 113° W. 
 longitude. Parry announced to his men that t ."^y had 
 earned the Government grant of £5000. 
 
 Two weeks later, they were beset by the ice, and in 
 the Hecla and Griper Bay, on Melville Island, Parry re- 
 solved to pass the winter. In the following year, the 
 thaw did not set in until July, and it was August before 
 Parry released his ships. Then he started for home, and 
 on arriving in England, about the middle of November 
 1820, was received with a hearty welcome. 
 
 (541) 5 
 
1? 
 
 1 
 
 66 
 
 AN ESKIMO VILLAGE. 
 
 His success led to his appointment to the command 
 of another expedition in 1821, His ships, the Hecla 
 and Fury, were equipped with every appliance that 
 scientific ingenuity could suggest or unlimited resources 
 provide. They sailed from the Nore on the 8th of May; 
 they returned to the Shetland Isles on the 10th of 
 October 1823. In the interval — seven-and-twenty 
 montlis — Parry and Lyon (his lieutenant) discovered 
 the Duke of York Bay, numerous inlets on the north- 
 east coast of the American mainland, Winter Island, the 
 islands of Annatook and Ooght, Hecla and Fury Strait, 
 Melville Peninsula, and Cockburn Island. A glance at 
 the map will show the reader how ftir to the westward 
 these discoveries carried the boundary of the known 
 region. While encamped on Winter Island, the English 
 were visited by a party of Eskimos, wliose settlement 
 they visited in turn. There they found a group of five 
 snow-huts, with canoes, sledges, dogs, and above sixty 
 men, women, and children, as regularly and to all ap- 
 pearance as permanently fixed as if they had occupied 
 the same spot the whole winter. The astonishment 
 with which the English surveyed the exterior aspects 
 of this little village was not diminished by their admis- 
 sion into the interior of the huts composing it. Each 
 was constructed entirely of snow and ice. After creep- 
 ing through two low passages, having each its arched 
 doorway, the strangers found themselves in a small 
 circular apartment, of which the roof formed a perfect 
 arched dome. From this central apartment three door- 
 ways, also arched, and of larger dimensions than the 
 outward ones, opened into as many inliabited apart- 
 
 
!ommand 
 le Hecla 
 nee that 
 resources 
 I of May; 
 10th of 
 d-twenty 
 iscovered 
 le north- 
 jland, the 
 y Strait, 
 glance at 
 westward 
 e known 
 3 English 
 3ttlement 
 ip of five 
 )ve sixty 
 
 all ap- 
 occupied 
 aishment 
 
 aspects 
 ir admis- 
 t. Each 
 er creep- 
 is arched 
 a small 
 
 perfect 
 ree door- 
 than the 
 d apart- 
 
 i 
 
I 
 
 .'I 
 
 III 
 
 
 ii 
 
 I 
 
 >■ r< 
 
' . ' > f \ 
 
 franklin's overland jouf.ney. 
 
 «0r 
 
 raents, one on each side, and the third opposite the 
 entrance. Here tlie women were seated on their beds, 
 against the wall, each having her little fireplace or ' 
 lamp, with all her domestic utensils, about her. The 
 children quickly crept behind their mothers ; the dogs 
 slunk into the comers in dismay. 
 
 The construction of the inhabited part of the hut was 
 similar to that of the outer apartment, being a dome, 
 formed by separate blocks of snow laid with great regu- 
 larity and no small ingenuity, each being cut into the 
 shape requisite to build up a substantial arch, from 
 seven to eight feet high in the centre, and with no other 
 support than this principle of building supplies. Suf- 
 ficient light was admitted by a circular window of ice, 
 neatly fitted into the roof of each apartment. 
 
 AN OVERLAND JOURNEY. 
 
 We must now return to the year 1819, when the 
 British Government, in its desire to complete the con- 
 quest of the North Pole, resolved on an overland ex- 
 ploration as supplemental to its efforts by sea. It was 
 resolved to survey the coast eastward from the Copper- 
 mine Kiver to Behring Strait : and for this purpose an 
 expedition was equipped, consisting of Lieutenant Frank- 
 lin as leader ; Dr. Richardson as naturalist ; two mid- 
 shipmen of high character — Messrs. Hood and Back ; 
 and two picked English seamen. 
 
 They arrived at York Factory, Hudson Bay, on the 
 30th of August ; left it on the 9th of September ; and 
 reached Cumberland House, another of the Hudson 
 Bay Company's settlements, on the 22nd of October ; — 
 
I 
 
 If ri 
 
 I: '8 
 
 I T 
 
 70 
 
 AT FORT ENTERPRISE. 
 
 having accompli ihed a journey of G90 miles in foi*ty-two 
 days. After resting for awhile, Franklin and Back 
 went forward by themselves to Chipewyan, near the 
 west point of Athabasca Lake, in order to superintend 
 the preparations being made for their intended adven- 
 ture. It was a terrible journey. The cold was fright- 
 ful, and beyond measurement, because the thermometer 
 was frozen. Provisions were scarce, and every move- 
 ment caused intense physical pain. But moral courage 
 carried thorn over every difficulty, and Chipewyan was 
 reached at last. 
 
 Here they waited until the rest of the party came 
 up ; and then, attended by a train of Canadian boatmen 
 and Indians, they moved onward some 500 miles to 
 Fort Enterprise, where a small hut was built of pine- 
 wood to shelter them during the winter. It stood on a 
 gentle ascent, at the base of which slept the frozen cur- 
 rent of Waiter River. Here the explorers employed 
 themselves in killing reindeer, and in preparing with 
 their fat and flesh that dried, salted, and pounded 
 comestible called pemmican. About one hundred and 
 eighty animals were killed. But even this number did 
 not furnish an adequate supply for Franklin's party; 
 and as the expected stores of tobacco, ammunition, and 
 blankets did not arrive, Mr. Back, with some Indian 
 and Canadian attendants, returned to Chipewyan for 
 them. Having obtained them, he once more rejoined 
 the party at Fort Enterprise — after an absence of five 
 months and a journey of 1104 miles, "in snow-shoes, 
 and with no other covering at night in the woods than 
 a blanket and deerskin." 
 
 ■ff-i. . ' I" W WHi i HjhMI| 
 
THE NORTHERN COAST. 
 
 n 
 
 '■an was 
 
 ' It was the middle of June 1821 before the ice broke 
 up in the Coppermine River. Then Franklin began his 
 journey, passing down the stream in light birch-canoes, 
 and occasionally pausing to hunt the reindeer, musk- 
 oxen, and wolves which frequented its banks. Having 
 reached the mouth of the river, the twenty adventurers 
 launched their barks into the Polar Sea, which they 
 found almost tideless, and comparatively free from ice. 
 
 The extreme westward point at which, after many 
 perilous experiences, Franklin arrived, was situated in 
 lat. 68° 30', and he appropriately named it Point Turn- 
 again. Between this headland on the east and Cape 
 Barrow on the west, a deep gulf opens inland as far 
 south as the Arctic Circle. It was found to be studded 
 with numerous islands, and indented with sounds afford- 
 ing excellent harbours, all of them supplied with small 
 rivers of fresh water, abounding witli salmon, trout, and 
 other fish. The survey of George the Fourth's Coro- 
 nation Gulf — to adopt Franklin's barbarous nomencla- 
 ture — being completed, the explorers prepared to return 
 to Fort Enterprise. The overland part of the journey 
 was attended with the most terrible hardships. They 
 suffered from the combined afflictions of cold, hunger, 
 and fatigue. They were so reduced in bodily strength 
 that it was with difficulty they could drag along their 
 languid limbs ; and when at last within forty miles of 
 their winter asylum, they found themselves at tlieir 
 last ration. No food, no shelter, and the severity of an 
 Arctic winter pressing upon them ! Mr. Back, with 
 three of the stoutest Canadians, gallantly started for- 
 ward to seek assistance; and were followed in a few 
 

 t ll 
 
 
 Mi 
 
 n 
 
 A TRAGIC TALE. 
 
 days by Franklin and seven of the party — leaving the 
 weakest, under the care of Dr. Richardson and Mr. Hood, 
 to proceed at leisure. Four of Franklin's companions, 
 however, soon gave up the attempt from absolute physi- 
 cal incapacity. One of these — Michel, an Iroquois — 
 returned to Dr. Richardson ; the others were never 
 again heard of. Franklin pushed forward, living on 
 berries and a lichen called tripe-de-roche, and reached 
 the hut; but it was without an inhabitant, without 
 stores, and blocked up by snow. Here he and his three 
 companions lingered for seventeen days, with no other 
 food than the bones and skin of the deer which had 
 been killed the preceding winter, boiled down into a 
 kind of soup. On October 29tli Dr. Richardson and 
 John Hepburn, one of the seamen, made their appear- 
 ance. But where were the rest of the party ? 
 
 Dr. Richardson had a tragic tale to unfold. He 
 stated that for the first two days after Franklin's de- 
 parture his party had nothing to eat. On the third 
 day Michel arrived with a hare and partridge, which 
 afforded each a small morsel. The fourth day they 
 fasted. On the 11th Michel offered them some flesh, 
 which he declared to be part of a wolf; but they after- 
 wards had good reason to suspect it was the flesh of 
 one of the unfortunate men who had left Franklin to 
 return to Richardson. They noticed that Michel daily 
 grew more furtive and insolent, and were convinced 
 that he had a supply of meat for his own use. On the 
 20th, while Hepburn was felling wood, he heard the 
 report of a gun, and, turning quickly round, saw Michel 
 dart into the tent. Mr. Hood was found dead ; a ball 
 
 11! 
 
t- ' ,1 
 
 A FAMINE-WORN PARTY. 
 
 II 
 
 had penetrated the back of his skull : there could not 
 be the shadow of a doubt that Michel had fired it. He 
 now grew more suspicious and impatient of control 
 than ever ; and as he was stronger than any other of 
 the party, and well-armed, they amved at the convic- 
 tion that their safety depended upon his death. " I de- 
 termined," said Dr. Richardson, " as I was thoroughly 
 convinced of the necessity of such a dreadful act, to 
 take the whole responsibility upon myself; and im- 
 mediately upon Michel's coming up I put an end to his 
 life by shooting him through the head." 
 
 They occupied six days in travelling twenty-four 
 miles, existing on lichens and pieces of Mr. Hood's skin 
 cloak. On the evening of the 29th they came in sight 
 of the fort, and at first felt inexpressible pleasure on 
 seeing the smoke issue from the chimney. But the 
 absence of any footprints in the snow filled their hearts 
 with sad forebodings, which were fully realized when 
 they entered the hut and saw the wretchedness that 
 reigned there. 
 
 The exploring party was now reduced to four — Frank- 
 lin, Richardson, Hepburn, and an Indian ; and that 
 these could long survive seemed impossible, from their 
 absolute weakness and lack of food. Happily, on the 
 7th of November three Indians arrived, whom Mr. Back 
 had despatched from Chipewyan with supplies ; and 
 they tended the sufferers carefully until all were strong 
 enough to return to the English settlement. And in 
 this way was accomplished a journey of 5500 miles; 
 mostly over a bleak and barren country and under an 
 inclement sky, with terrible cost of physical and mental 
 

 
 I 
 
 74 
 
 FOUR EXPEDltluXS. 
 
 suffering, and with much loss of life, but with results 
 which greatly enlarged the boundaries of geographical 
 
 knowledge. 
 
 EXPLORATIONS BY SEA AND LAND. 
 
 Four expeditions — or, more correctly speaking, one 
 expedition in four divisions — set out from England early 
 in 1824. Parry was sent to explore Prince Regent In- 
 let; Franklin was ordered to descend the Mackenzie 
 River to the sea, and then, dividing his party, to des- 
 patch one half to the eastward, while he led the other 
 half westward to Behring Strait ; Captain Beechy was 
 commissioned to sail to Behring Strait vid Cape Horn, 
 and thence to Kotzebue Sound, where he was to wait 
 for Franklin ; and Captain Lyon was directed to keep 
 southward of Southampton Island, up Rowe's Welcome 
 to Repulse Bay, and across Melville Isthmus to Point 
 Turnagain. The object in view, as the reader will sur- 
 mise, was to ascertain the exact configuration of the 
 northern shore of the American continent. 
 
 Captain Lyon met with many disasters, and, when 
 within eighty miles of Repulse Bay, was compelled by 
 the ice-drift and the adverse winds to abandon the 
 enterprise. 
 
 Parry, with the Hecla and Fury, reached Lancaster 
 Sound, but, being caught in the ice, was forced to winter 
 at Port Bowen. In the following season the Fui^y was 
 driven ashore by the pressure of accumulated masses of 
 ice, and so damaged that Parry was obliged to remove 
 her crew and stores to the Hecla; after which he re- 
 turned to England. 
 
itli results 
 ographical 
 
 king, one 
 iand early 
 legent In- 
 ilackenzie 
 y, to des- 
 the other 
 lechy was 
 ,pe Horn, 
 IS to wait 
 I to keep 
 Welcome 
 to Point 
 will sur- 
 n of the 
 
 id, when 
 elled by 
 don the 
 
 ancaster 
 winter 
 ury was 
 lasses of 
 remove 
 h he re- 
 
 ABANDONMENT OF THE "FURY. 
 
PUSHING NORTHWARD. 
 
 77 
 
 Franklin was not much more successful. Accom- 
 panied by Dr. Richardson, Back, and Messrs. Kendall 
 and Drummond, he arrived at Fort Chipewyan in July 
 1825 ; and thence proceeded to Great Bear Lake, where 
 he wintered. When the spring returned he began the 
 descent of Mackenzie River, and, after a voyage of 1045 
 miles, reached the sea in lat. 69° 14' N,, and long. 135° 
 57' W. He then undertook the westward route, while 
 Richardson travelled eastward. In long. 149° 39' W. 
 Franklin was arrested by a barrier of rock and ice, 
 whicl" he named Repulse Reef, and, being short of pro- 
 visions, turned back ; ignorant the fact that Captain 
 Beechey had brought his ship, the Blossom, up to Point 
 Barrow, or only 146 miles distant from him. Franklin, 
 after surveying the coast for 374 miles, and accomplish- 
 ing a voyage of upwards of 2000 miles, returned to 
 Great Bear Lake, where he was joined by Dr. Richard- 
 son. In the following year Beechey once more sailed 
 for the appointed rendezvous ; but Franklin meanwhile 
 was on his way back to England. 
 
 In 1827 the indeftitigable Parry started with an expe- 
 dition for the north shore of Spitzbergen. It was char- 
 acterized by his daring attempt to cross the pack-ice in 
 light boats and sledges ; the former being used in the 
 water-ways and pools, the latter in travelling over the 
 frozen plains. Nothing but the strongest entliusiasm 
 could have rendered this enterprise possible. When 
 the explorers arrived at a gap in the ice, they launched 
 their boats and embarked. On reaching the opposite 
 side they landed, and by sheer force hauled up the 
 
 I: 
 
 ■> \: 
 
I 
 
 i 
 
 
 ■ i 
 
 
 1 
 
 . 1 
 
 •? ; 
 
 
 ,' 
 
 
 'ii| 
 
 
 '4 n 
 
 ,1 
 
 78 
 
 ICE-FIELDS AND HUMMOCKS. 
 
 boats ; a laborious process, occupying so much time, 
 and making such demands on the men's strength, that 
 only eight miles were accomplished in five days. They 
 could not travel except by night, on account of the 
 glare of the snow, which threatened them with blind- 
 ness. Breakfasting soon after sunset, they laboured for 
 some hours ; then made their chief meal ; and towards 
 sunrise halted, lighted their pipes, wrapped themselves 
 up in their furs, and laid down to rest. The reader 
 must not suppose that the ice-fields of the Polar regions 
 are as smooth and level as the frozen surface of an Eng- 
 lish river. They are intersected by "lanes" of water, 
 and broken up by rugged hummocks of ice, which can 
 be crossed only with extreme difficulty. In spite of 
 every obstacle, Parry pressed on, ambitious to reach the 
 83rd parallel of latitude. But at last he became aware 
 of the startling circumstance that, faster than he moved 
 forward, the ice was carrying him backward; in other 
 words, it was slowly drifting southward beneath his 
 feet, and bearing him and his ])arty along with it. To 
 struggle against an adverse Nature was hopeless. In 
 lat. 82° 45' he gave it up ; for though they had travelled 
 nearly 300 milob over the rucrsed ice and through half- 
 frozen water, they had advanced no more than 172 miles 
 from the Ilecla. 
 
 MINOR EXPEDITIONS. 
 
 Steam was first used as an agent in Arctic explora- 
 tion in 1829, when Sir Felix Booth placed a steamship, 
 the Victory, under the command of Sir John Ross, and 
 his nephew Sir James. The Victory made her way 
 
lucli time, 
 ngth, that 
 ys. They 
 mt of the 
 rith blind- 
 boured for 
 d towards 
 -hem selves 
 'he reader 
 ar regions 
 )f an Enof- 
 
 of water, 
 tvhicli can 
 1 spite of 
 
 reach the 
 ime aware 
 
 he moved 
 ; in other 
 neath Ids 
 th it. To 
 eless. In 
 
 travelled 
 ugh half- 
 
 172 miles 
 
 explora- 
 
 teamship, 
 
 Ross, and 
 
 her way 
 
 
I i 
 
 i ' 
 
 1 
 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 >. i 
 
 ? t ,f^ 
 
 1 ''^ 
 
 i: 
 
 f ^' 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 't ■ 
 
 I ! 
 
 ■! ■*> 
 
 'I 
 
 ii ! 
 
 ■.n;' ■.-;^a. > ( .-> ■ 
 
IMPRISONED IN THE ICE. 
 
 81 
 
 into Prince Regent Inlet ; found the wreck of the Fury 
 on the 12th of August; and on the 15th reached Parry's 
 farthest point. Thence she accomplished 300 miles 
 along a previously unexplored coast ; and on the 7th of 
 October went into winter-quarters in what is now called 
 Felix Harbour. There Ross was held fast by the ice 
 for eleven months. In September 1830 he once more 
 got under way, but, after sailing for about three miles, 
 was again caught in the pack-ice, and shut up until 
 August 1831. On this occasion the Victory accom- 
 plished four miles, and on the 27th of September was 
 imprisoned for anotlier winter ; having thus achieved 
 exactly seven miles in two years. 
 
 In April 1832 James Ross made a sledge-excursion 
 to the westward, and crowned himself with glory by 
 reaching and fixing the magnetic North Pole in lat. 
 70° 5' 17" N., and long. 96° 40' 45" W. 
 
 The long imprisonment in the ice had by this time 
 seriously affected the health of the crew ; and as there 
 was no chance of releasing the ship, Ross determined to 
 abandon her, and effect his escape from the Polar soli- 
 tudes in boats and sledges. He made first for the wreck 
 of the Fury, in order to avail himself of her stores and 
 materials ; and after a terrible journey reached it, but 
 so spent and broken down that farther progress was 
 impossible. Here he wintered ; tliC whole party under- 
 going the most fearful sufferings, and several dying. 
 With the first warm days of the summer of 1833 their 
 hopes revived. They resumed their perilous adventure ; 
 and on the 15th of August gained the open sea, and took 
 to their boats. At midnight they passed Edwin Bay. 
 
 (544) g 
 
 u 
 
 *i 
 
 u 
 
 n 
 m 
 
 
 in 
 
 m 
 
i 
 
 I ; 
 
 ' 
 ( 
 
 
 ;■ I 
 
 8 1 
 
 p 
 
 II 
 
 82 
 
 A SHIP IN SIGHT. 
 
 and next morning reached the farthest point to which 
 they Iiad advanced in the preceding year. Finding an 
 open " water-lane," tiiey kept to the northward, and in 
 the evening were tossing off the north-eastern point of 
 the American continent. On the 17th great was their 
 joy to see before them the ample expanse of Barrow 
 Strait; and with a favourable wind they now steered 
 to the south, passing Cape York and Admiralty Inlet, 
 and on the 25th reaching the eastern shore of Navy 
 Board Inlet. 
 
 At four o'clock on the following morning the look- 
 out man announced that a ship was in sight; hv^ as 
 the breeze was blowing freshly, she bore away under 
 all sail, leaving them behind. Fortunately a dead calm 
 succeeded, and by dint of hard rowing our explorers 
 approached so near that their signals were descried, 
 when the ship heaved-to and lowered a boat, which 
 made directly towards them. The mate in command 
 .asked them if they were in distress, and offered assist- 
 ance, adding that he belonged to the Isabella of Hull, 
 once commanded by Captain Ross, but then by Captain 
 Humphreys. He was with difficulty convinced that 
 his former commander stood before him, — declaring that 
 it was all a mistake, for he had certainly been dead 
 two years. When finally satisfied, he hastened back to 
 his ship with the glad tidings, and immediately her 
 yards were manned, and three ringing cheers greeted 
 the captain and his party. 
 
 As soon as possible Captain Humphreys steered for 
 England, and on the 12th of October reached Stromness 
 in Orkney. Tlie intelligence of the rescue so happily 
 
i 
 
 to which 
 nding an 
 i, and in 
 I point of 
 yas their 
 E" Barrow 
 V steered 
 Ity Inlet, 
 of Navy 
 
 the look- 
 ;; br^ as 
 ly under 
 ead calm 
 explorers 
 descried, 
 t, which 
 ommand 
 id assist- 
 of Hull, 
 
 Captain 
 ced that 
 ing that 
 !en dead 
 
 back to 
 tely her 
 
 greeted 
 
 lered for 
 
 romness 
 
 happily 
 
r 
 
 ■ ' 
 
 1 
 
 
 i 
 1 
 
 1 i 
 
 1^^ 
 
 
 I 
 
 ^ 
 
 i 
 
 g': 
 
 V, 
 
 '.iL_, 
 
CAPTAIN BACK S VOYAGE. 
 
 85 
 
 accomplished quickly spread thence throughout the 
 kingdom ; and Captain Ross and his companions were 
 received as men who had risen from the grave. On 
 his landing at Hull he was welcomed by enthusiastic 
 crowds, like a general fresh from the field of victory. 
 He fully deserved the reception thus accorded to him. 
 
 In the fewest possible words, we must record the dis- 
 covery of Great Fish River in 1833 by Lieutenant Back; 
 and Dease and Simpson's exploration of Victoria Land 
 and Boothia in 1838. 
 
 With somewhat more detail we must refer to Cap- 
 tain Back's exploration of the coast of Boothia Felix. 
 He left England in the Terror, on June 14th, 1836, and 
 on the 1st of August was struggling with the ice-floes 
 off Resolution Island. On the 23rd he sighted Baffin 
 Island, and began to work his way through a sea of ice 
 to Southampton Island. Thence he proceeded towards 
 Repulse Bay, where he intended to winter; but late in 
 the month of September a violent storm drove him 
 back past Cape Comfort, where the Terror was fairly 
 ice-bound, resting on the solid ice as on a cradle, and 
 driven to and fro as the great frozen plain moved with 
 the heaving currents and rushing winds. In this posi- 
 tion Captain Back and his followers passed the winter, 
 enduring severe hardships, and constantly disquieted 
 by violent gales. 
 
 Towards the close of February the floe rent asunder, 
 with a commotion which threatened to crush the ship 
 into dust. Hither and thither drove the broken masses, 
 hurtling against one another, grinding and crashing to- 
 
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 86 
 
 DRIVEN TO AND FIIO. 
 
 gether with the most appalling sounds, — now lifting the 
 ship clean out of the water, now dashing against her 
 sides with a force which made her reel from stem to 
 stem. This series of disturbances extended into March. 
 On the ICth they reached a crisis. A mad onset of 
 floating ice raised the quivering vessel hard upon the 
 floe. " Scarcely ten minutes," says Back, " were left us 
 for the expression of our astonishment that anything 
 of human build could outlive such assaults, when an- 
 other equally violent rush succeeded, and in its way 
 toward the starboard quarter threw up a rolling wave 
 thirty feet high, crowned by a blue square mass of 
 many tons, resembling the entire side of a house, which, 
 after hanging for some time in doubtful poise on the 
 lidge, at length fell with a crash into the hollow, in 
 which, as in a cavern, the after part of the ship seemed 
 imbedded. It was indeed an awful crisis, rendered 
 more frightful from the mistiness of the night and dim- 
 ness of the moon." 
 
 During this long and gloomy period of disaster, the 
 unfortunate Terror' was driven to and fro over a range 
 of from twenty-six to forty-eight miles north-west of 
 Seahorse Point; but after the ICth she kept away from 
 shore, and set toward the south-east. Another month 
 passed by, and still the ice held her in its grip. Then 
 it parted for a while, and Back seized the opportunity 
 to refit his shattered vessel. Once more it closed in, 
 and so continued from the 7th of May till the 2nd of 
 June, when it finally broke up, but without any violent 
 commotion. Then the ship's hull was calked and 
 coated with tar ; and a channel having been cut through 
 
 
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A PERILOUS POSITION. 
 
 89 
 
 the broken floe into the open sea, the Terror finally- 
 regained her liberty on the 13th of July, after four 
 months' detention. 
 
 She was now near Charles Island ; that is, about 
 midway between Cape Comfort and the mouth of 
 Hudson Strait. What was to be done ? A careful 
 inspection of the ice-battered vessel soon answered this 
 question. There was nothing for it but to turn her 
 prow homeward ; and, indeed, no little doubt was felt 
 whether she would ever gain in safety a British port. 
 She was completely crazy, broken, leaky, riddled ; and 
 not even her tossing to and fro and prolonged battle 
 with the grinding ice-masses had been a more perilous 
 experience than her voyage across the northern Atlan- 
 tic proved. How she rolled with every sea ! how she 
 bent before every gust of wind ! When she reached 
 the north-west coast of Ireland, she was actually sink- 
 ing by the head, so that it was found necessary to run 
 her ashore in Lough Swilly on the 3rd of September. 
 Had she been three hours longer at sea, she would 
 assuredly have foundered. 
 
 Captain Back's voyage added nothing to our know- 
 ledge of the geography of the Polar World ; but it 
 furnished a brilliant illustration of the resolution, cour- 
 age, and endurance of British seamen. It occupies a 
 page in Arctic History which is comparatively little 
 known ; yet it is a page of the highest interest. 
 
 SIR JOHN franklin's LAST EXPEDITION. 
 
 In the spring of 1845, the Erebus under Sir John 
 Franklin, accompanied by the Terror under Captain 
 
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 90 
 
 LAST WORDS OF FRANKLIN. 
 
 Crozier — both ships being carefully fitted out and pro- 
 visioned for three years — sailed from the Thames. The 
 crews numbered 137 picked men. 
 
 On the 8th of June they left the Orkneys, steering 
 for the extreme point of Greenland known as Cape 
 Farewell ; where, indeed, the adventurer ' does, as it 
 were, bid farewell to the security and liberty of the 
 civilized world. A month later they lay at anchor in 
 the middle of a group of rocky islets on the east side of 
 BaflGin Bay. Yet another fortnight, and we may see 
 them with " the mind's eye," as some whalers saw them, 
 gallantly struggling with the ice which impeded their 
 progress across the Bay of Baffin to Lancaster Sound. 
 Seven officers man a I tut and drag her across the ice to 
 visit the whalers. They go on board the Prince of 
 Wales of Hull. " All well," they report ; and express 
 the blithest, cheeriest confidence in the success of their 
 enterprise. After a hearty hand-grasp, they say good- 
 bye and return to their ships. On the same evening 
 (July 26th) the ice breaks up, the westward route lies 
 open, and the Arctic expedition ploughs the waves for 
 Lancaster Sound. Thereafter a cloud descends upon it ; 
 it passes into the heart of the grim solitudes of the 
 Polar World, and men hear of it no more. Whither it 
 bent its course, and how it reached Cape Riley and 
 Beechey Island, or what mishaps befell the two stout 
 ships composing it, are problems of which the solution 
 even now is far from complete. 
 
 THE SEARCH. 
 
 When two yeai's had elapsed without any tidings of 
 
SEARCHING EXPEDITIONS. 
 
 91 
 
 the expedition reaching England, the public mind grew 
 seriously alarmed. Expectation deepened into anxiety; 
 anxiety darkened into fear. When the winter of 1848 
 passed away, and still no tidings came, it was felt that 
 further inaction would be intolerable. Hitherto the 
 great object had been the discovery of the North-West 
 Passage; now the thoughts of men were all directed to 
 a search after Franklin and his companions. Strangely 
 enough, Providence had so ordered it that in the search 
 after these " martyrs of Science " the former object was 
 attained. 
 
 An expedition in search of the missing heroes was 
 despatched under Sir James Ross; and another under 
 Sir John Richardson: both added to the stores of geo- 
 graphical knowledge, but nothing more. These had 
 worked from the eastward ; Captains Moore and Kellet 
 worked from the westward, entering Behring Strait, 
 and actually reaching, by their boats, the mouth of 
 Mackenzie River. In the spring of 1849, the British 
 Government offered a reward of £20,000 to any private 
 explorers, of any nation, who should discover and suc- 
 cour the wanderers; and Lady Franklin, out of her 
 own resources, organized several relieving parties. So 
 it happened that, in 1850, no fewer than twelve vessels, 
 led by Ross, Rae, M'Clure, Osborne, CoUinson, Penny, 
 Austin, Ommaney, Forsyth, and De Haven, besides boat 
 and sledge companies, plunged deep into the far North- 
 ern wildernesses to trace the footprints of the lost. 
 
 The Admiralty orders to Franklin had been, to pass 
 through Lancaster Sound into Barrow Strait; thence to 
 Cape Walker ; and from Cape Walker, by such course 
 
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 92 
 
 AT BEECHEY ISLAND. 
 
 as he iiiight find convenient, to Behring Strait. The 
 general opinion was, that he had got to the west of 
 Melville Island, and then been caught by the ice among 
 the numerous islands lying in that part of the Arctic 
 Sea. And it was supposed that he would be engaged 
 in an effort to cross the ice, and reach either one of the 
 Hudson Bay settlements, or some whaling-station. 
 
 Dr. Kae therefore started for Banks's Island, with 
 the intention of pushing on to Cape "Walker. Captains 
 Collinson and M'Clure sailed for Behring Strait, in 
 order to take up the eastward route. Captain Austin 
 in the Resolute, Captain Ommaney in the Assistance, 
 and Lieutenants Cater and Osborne in the Pioneer and 
 Intrepid, proceeded to Baffin Bay, in order to follow 
 up Franklin's track; while other westward-bound ex- 
 peditions, such as the Felix, under Captain Sir John 
 Ross, Captain Forsyth in the Prince Albert, Captain 
 Penny in the Lady Franklin, started for various points 
 of Banks Land and Boothia. An American expedi- 
 tion, fitted out by Mr. Henry Grinnell, a New York 
 merchant, and consisting of the brigs Advance and 
 Rescue, under Lieutenant De Haven, sailed also for 
 Banks Land and Melville Island in May 1850. 
 
 It was in this year that the first traces of the miss- 
 ing voyagers were discovered, through the accidental 
 detention at Beechey Island of two of the searching 
 expei. tions, — namely, those of Austin and Penny. 
 
 When these, in August 1850, had reached the mouth 
 of Wellington Channel, they were driven, by the large 
 ice-fields sweeping out of it and out of Barrow Strait, 
 to seek shelter in a great bay fonned at the eastern 
 
 ~Aim]UtJM*«m *' . ' 
 
TRACES OF THE LOST. 
 
 98 
 
 Arctic 
 
 entrance of the Channel, and almost bisected by Beechey 
 Island. On the 23rd, a boat's crew irom Captain 
 Ommaney's ship, the Assistance, landed on one of the 
 lieadlands of this bay, and, to their absolute surprise, 
 discovered signs of a former visit from Europeans. 
 Under the bold dark cliffs of Cape Riley might be seen 
 the ground-plan of a tent, scraps of rope and canvas, a 
 quantity of birds' bones and feathers; besides a long- 
 handled rake, that nad been used apparently in collect- 
 ing the beautiful weeds of the ocean-bed. Nothing was 
 found, however, to identify these relics with Franklin's 
 expedition. When Captain Penny heard of the " find," 
 he determined, in conjunction with Lieutenant De 
 Haven (of the Grinnell expedition), to prosecute a care- 
 ful search in the vicinity of Wellington Channel. While 
 the exploring ships were lying under the west point 
 of Beechey Island, some of the men obtained permission 
 to go ashore. On landing, they sauntered towards a 
 low projecting spur which stretches to the north, choos- 
 ing a convenient spot to cross the huge ridges of ice 
 lying piled up along the beach. They were seen to 
 mount the ridge or backbone of the point; in a minute 
 afterwards they were observed from the ships to rush 
 towards a dark object, and gather round it with every 
 sign of excitement. It was immediately felt that fresh 
 traces had been discovered, and a rush of all hands took 
 place to Beechey Island. There, on the point, stood a 
 carefully constructed cairn, of a pyramidical form. The 
 base consisted of a series of preserved meat-tins filled 
 with gravel and sand, and more meat-tins were so ar- 
 ranged as to taper upwards to the summit, where was 
 
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 i 
 
 04 
 
 AUSTIN S EXPEDITION. 
 
 fixed the remnant of a broken boarding-pike. But no 
 record could be found; nothing to connect it with Sir 
 John Franklin. Presently, as they looked along the 
 northern slope of the island, other strange objects caught 
 their eye. Another rush of eager, breathless beings, 
 and all stand in silence before three graves. Some of 
 them are unable to refrain from tears as they mutter 
 the words inscribed upon the rude tablets, "Erebus 
 and Terror." 
 
 On the 27th of August, as if drawn by some magnetic 
 attraction, no fewer than ten searching-vessels met at 
 Beechey Island, and several lay there during the winter, 
 with the view of resuming their work in the spring of 
 '51; but no additional discoveries were made. Sledg- 
 ing-parties were sent out in all directions, and along 
 the shores of Wellington Channel, the coasts of Banks 
 Land, and the waters from Barrow Strait to Melville 
 Island, 675 miles of new coast-line were surveyed. The 
 outcome of all this labour and adventure was represented 
 by the generally accepted conclusion that Franklin, after 
 leaving Wellington Channel, had moved in a south-west 
 direction. 
 
 Special reference should be made, however, to the 
 skilfully organized sledge-expeditions of Captain Austin. 
 These were designed to explore the coasts and islands 
 along Parry Strait, the sea-belt westward from Barrow 
 Strait to Melville Island, and the north end of Banks 
 Land; Wellington Channel being reserved for Captain 
 Penny. The westward party, numbering fourteen 
 sledges and one hundred and four men, started, under 
 
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THE SLEDGING-PARTIES. 
 
 97 
 
 Captain Ommaney, on the 14th of April 1851, to an en- 
 campment on Griffin Island, where they were carefully 
 inspected by Captain Austin. On the evening of the 
 15th they set out, with kites and sails attached to the 
 boats, and their men singing lustily while hauling at 
 the drag-ropes. 
 
 Three of the parties proceeded along the southern, 
 and three along the northern shore. The record of their 
 achievements runs as follows: — No. 1, under Captain 
 Ommaney, travelled 480 miles, of which 205 were pre- 
 viously unknown, and was absent 60 days. No. 2, under 
 Lieutenant (afterwards Admiral) Sherard Osborne, dis- 
 covered 50 mi]es, travelled 506 miles, was absent 58 days. 
 No. 3, under Lieutenant Browne, travelled 375 miles, 
 discovering 160 miles of coast, and was absent 44 days. 
 Three went to the southward. Of those which took a 
 northerly course, No, 1 travelled 550 miles, discovering 
 70 miles of coast, and was absent 62 days. No. 2, com- 
 manded by Lieutenant M'Clintock, travelled 760 miles, 
 discovered 40 miles of coast, and was out for 80 days. 
 Lieutenant M'Clintock pushed as far westward as 
 a point in latitude 74° 38' N., and longitude 114° 
 20' W. No. 3, under Surgeon Bradford, travelled 
 669 miles, discovering 135, and being absent 80 days. 
 The achievements of these parties show what may be 
 expected from the sledge-journeys to be undertaken in 
 connection with the present Arctic expedition (1876). 
 
 The other sledges were absent only for periods vary- 
 ing from twelve to thirty-four days; their business being 
 to form dep6ts of provisions, ascertain positions, and 
 take observations. But though their work seems easier 
 
 (544) 7 
 

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 ■ A 
 
 
 98 
 
 EXPLORING WELLINGTON CHANNEL. 
 
 tlian that of the farther-reaching parties, they suffered 
 muci) more severely ; for no fewer than twenty-eight of 
 their men were frost-bitten, and one of the leaders died 
 from cold and fatigue. 
 
 After receiving and considering the reports sent in by 
 his officers, Captain Austin came to the conclusion that 
 the expedition under Franklin had not proceeded either 
 to the southward or westward of Wellington Strait. 
 
 The sledge-parties appointed to explore Wellington 
 Channel were six in number, and consisted of forty-one 
 men, led by Captain Stewart, Messrs. Marshall, Reid, 
 and J. Stuart, and Surgeons Sutherland and Goodsir, 
 under the general superintendence of Captain Penny 
 They started on the 27th of April, but soon met with 
 stormy weather, and after having been sore buffeted for 
 several days were forced to return. They rested awhile, 
 and then, on the 6th of May, set forth again. Some 
 made so bold a circuit as almost to touch the most 
 northerly of Captain Austin's parties ; but their princi- 
 pal feat was the discovery of a wide westward channel 
 of open water, extending along the further side of the 
 lands which bound Barrow and Parry Straits. 
 
 In this discovery Captain Penny was personally con- 
 cerned, and he made vigorous efforts to follow it up. 
 Following the coast-line of Wellington Channel, he 
 reached latitude 75° 22' N. at Cape Duhorn, from which 
 he struck ten miles north-westward to Point Decision. 
 Thence, on the loth of May, he crossed the ice, still in 
 a north-westerly direction, to an island which he named 
 Baillie Hamilton. On the l7th, after completing the 
 circuit of this island, he reached the open strait, saw in 
 
THE MAD YANKEE. 
 
 99 
 
 it twenty -five milea of clear water, and discovered a head- 
 land in the distance, with a dark sky over it, indicating 
 open water on the further side. This point was found 
 to be in latitude 7G° 2' N., and longitude 95° 55' W., 
 and the strait was designated Victoria Channel. 
 
 Dr. Kane, the surgeon accompanying Lieutenant De 
 Haven's expedition, about this time fell in with what 
 he conceived to be traces of heavily-laden sledges; and 
 he formed the opinion that Franklin had gone north 
 from Cape Riley as soon as the ice broke up in 1846, 
 and from Wellington Channel had pushed right into 
 the Polar Sea. Accordingly, in this direction the Ad- 
 vance made her difficult way aa far as possible, Dr. 
 Kane displaying an almost reckless courage which 
 gained him the sobriquet of "the mad Yankee." No 
 more relics, however, were then discovered; though, 
 afterwards, a record found at Point Victory confirmed 
 the accuracy of Kane's conjecture, and showed that 
 Franklin had attempted that course, though driven back 
 by insuperable obstacles. 
 
 Several expeditions followed one another in heroic 
 efforts to wrest from the icy North the solemn secrets 
 it so jealously preserved. But no further information 
 was obtained of Franklin and his companions. Whether 
 they had turned homeward and perished in Baffin Bay; 
 whether, as Kane supposed, they had advanced to the 
 north-west by Wellington Channel; or whether (as was 
 indeed the case) they were ice-bound in Melville Island, 
 were problems, the solution of which seemed destined 
 to remain an impossibility. 
 
/v4 
 
 100 
 
 ir 
 
 .. DEATH OF BELLOT. 
 
 The Wellington Channel route was again explored, 
 in April 1852, by Sir Edward Belcher, who had five 
 vessels under his command, — the Assistance, Resolute, 
 North Star, Pioneer, and Intrepid. In the same year 
 Lady Franklin despatched the Rattlesnake and Isabel to 
 Behring Strait to assist Captains Collinson and M'Clure; 
 while Dr. Rae undertook another survey of Boothia; 
 and Captain Inglefield, with the Lady Franklin and 
 Phoenix, repaired to Barrow Strait in support of Sir 
 Edward Belcher. But, as an American writer remarks, 
 it is singular that not one of these expeditions, whether 
 equipped by the Government or by private generosity, 
 was despatched to Melville Sound, the very spot where 
 the lost seaman might be expected to be found if he 
 had carried out the instructions he received from the 
 Admiralty. " It was not," says Mr. Blake, " until five 
 years after the question of Franklin's safety was mooted 
 that Dr. Rae penetrated to Cape Walker ; and beyond 
 that there seemed a fatality, brooding over all the 
 explorers, which tabooed the only true and proper course 
 to the south and west of Melville Sound. Every place 
 to which he was not sent was thoroughb ransacked; 
 whither he was sent, not a single ship or man was 
 ordered." 
 
 A melancholy incident must be recorded in connec- 
 tion with Captain Inglefield's expedition. It was 
 accompanied by a gallant and enthusiastic young 
 Frenchman, Lieutenaat Bellot, as a volunteer ex- 
 plorer; but during a tenible gale of wind he was 
 blown from a piece of floating ice, and drowned (August 
 18, 1853). 
 
explored, 
 
 had five 
 
 Resolute, 
 
 ame year 
 
 Isabel to 
 
 M'Clure; 
 
 Boothia; 
 
 klin and 
 
 rt of Sir 
 
 remarks, 
 
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 from the 
 
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 IS mooted 
 
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 man was 
 
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THE SMITH SUU^D ROUTE. 
 
 103 
 
 Our narrative now brings us down to one of the 
 most remarkable of Recent Polar Voyages; that which, 
 in 1853, was undertaken by the able and intrepid 
 American surgeon and naturalist, Dr. Kane. He 
 adopted the Smith Sound route, from a conviction, 
 based on his discovery of the sledge-tracks at the 
 mouth of Wellington Channel, that Franklin had steered 
 northward through these waters until he had reached 
 the Polar Sea, and that he was there imprisoned among 
 the ice. 
 
\ 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 DR. ELISHA KANE. 
 
 A.D. 1863. 
 
 •'«i! 
 
 SECOND American expedition in search of 
 Sir John Franklin was fitted out in 1852, 
 and placed under the command of Dr. Elisha 
 Kane, who had already served in 1850 under 
 Lieutenant De Haven, and was well fitted for the 
 arduous and honourable post offered to him, by his 
 ability, resolutior, power of endurance, and enthusi- 
 asm. Having accepted the conduct of the enterprise, 
 he proceeded to enlist volunteers, and to mature 
 his plans. Believing that the peninsula of Green- 
 land extended far to the northward, approaching the 
 Pole in all probability nearer than any other known 
 land, and that in this way he would obtain easier access 
 both to the east and west than from Wellington Channel, 
 he resolved on an overland route in as direct a line 
 north as it was possible to follow. In other words, he 
 ]>roposed to start from the most northern attainable 
 ]>oint of Baffin Bay, and thence, pressing on toward 
 the Pole as far as boats or sledges could carry him, to 
 examine the coast-lines for vestiges of the lost party. 
 
KANE S EXPEDITION. 
 
 105 
 
 His little company consisted of eighteen officers and 
 men, — including Dr. Hayes, surgeon ; August Sonntag, 
 astronomer ; and Henry Brooks, first officer. 
 
 On the 30th of May they left New York in Mr. 
 Grinnell's brig, the Advance; in eighteen days reached 
 St. John's, Newfoundland, where they took on board a 
 noble team of Newfoundland dogs, the gift of Governor 
 Hamilton; and thence proceeded to Baffin Bay. 
 
 On the 1st of July they entered the harbour of 
 Fiskernaes, in Danish Greenland; a little colony of 
 fishermen, who deal in cod, and crapefish, seal and shark 
 oils, and live a life of hardship and enterprise, in which 
 the profits seem utterly incommensurate with the risks. 
 Here Dr. Kane engaged an Eskimo hunter, one Hans 
 Christian, notably expert both with kajack and javelin; 
 fat, good-natured, and, except when stimulated by the 
 excitement of the hunt, as stolid and impassive as a 
 North American Indian. Thence they kept along the 
 coast to Sukkertoppen, a great depot for reindeer-skins; 
 and on the 10th of July put to sea, steering to the 
 north and west in the teeth of a heavy gale. 
 
 Seventeen days later the expedition reached Melville 
 Bay, a basin which is celebrated both for the number 
 of its icebergs and its whales, and has witnessed the 
 loss of many a goodly vessel. Keeping to the west- 
 ward, Dr. Kane resolved to double Melville Bay bj'" 
 keeping outside of the belt of broken land-ice; but the 
 voyage proved both difficult and dangerous. The floes 
 gathering round his brig, he anchored her to an iceberg 
 to prevent her from being completely imprisoned. But 
 they had scarcely enjoyed a "breathing spell" before they 
 
 ti-;!| 
 
106 
 
 IN SMITH SOUND. 
 
 1^^ 
 
 were startled by a succession of loud, crackling sounds; 
 followed by a shower of ice-fragments, not larger than 
 a walnut. They accepted the warning; hauled in their 
 anchors ; and put out into the open just as the face of 
 the berg fell down in ruins, with a report like that of 
 near artillery. 
 
 On the 1st of August they made fast to another large 
 berg, "a moving breakwater, of gigantic proportions:" 
 this carried them steadily to the north; and when all 
 danger from the drifting ice was over, they got under 
 way, and through a tolerably clear channel took their 
 course to the north-east, wliile the heavens were lighted 
 with the glory of the midnight sun, and the surround- 
 ing ice-fields glittered like one great resplendency of 
 gem-work, — blazing carbuncles, and rubies, and molten 
 gold. 
 
 Keeping a mid-course through tlie bay. Dr. Kane 
 succeeded in reaching the North (or Cape York) Water 
 on the 3rd of August, and saw before him Smith Sound, 
 which is now universally recognized as the great high- 
 way to the Arctic Pole. On the 5th he passed the 
 "Crimson Cliffs" of Sir John Ross; so called from the 
 masses of rose-red snow which lodge in their ravines 
 and gorges. Hakluyt Island, with its tall spire of 
 gneiss about 600 feet high, was the next station; and 
 on the 6th he sighted Cape Alexander and Cape Isa- 
 bella, the two promontories which guard the entrance 
 to Smith Sound. He found the aspect of tlie coast 
 singularly uninviting. To the west the snow descended 
 with heavy uniformity to the water's edge, and was 
 only here and there relieved by glimpses of the green- 
 
 .k.fa-fc«^.. 
 
MEMORIALS OF THE PAST. 
 
 107 
 
 clad soil. On the right rose an array of cliffs, the 
 frowning grandeur of which would have fitly dignified 
 the threshold of " the proudest of southern seas." Their 
 average height varied from 1200 to loOO feet, with 
 some of their precipices rising sheer and unbroken for 
 800 feet. 
 
 On Littleton Island Dr. Kane determined to establish 
 his first depot of stores, for use on the return voyage. 
 The life-boat was loaded with provisions, blankets, and 
 other articles, and then buried. Along her gunwale 
 were placed the heaviest rocks the men could handle ; 
 and after the interstices had been filled up with smaller 
 stones and sods of andromeda and moss, sand and water 
 w ^re poured among the layers. All this, frozen at once 
 iwCo a solid mass, would be hard enough, it was hoped, 
 to resist the claws of the Polar bear. 
 
 To the surprise of our explorers, they discovered that 
 they were not the first human beings who had sought 
 a shelter in this desolate spot. It was evident, from a 
 few ruined walls here and there, that it had once been 
 the seat of a rude settlement ; and in the little knoll 
 cleared away to cover in the deposit of stores were 
 found some human remains. 
 
 Nothing, says Dr. Kane, can be imagined more sad 
 and homeless than these memorials of extinct life. 
 Hardly a vestige of growth was traceable on the bare 
 and ice-scarred rocks ; and the huts so closely resembled 
 the broken fragments around that it was almost difficult 
 to distinguish one from the other. Walrus-bones lay 
 about in all directions, showing that walrus-meat had 
 been the principal food of the inhabitants. There were 
 
 
 
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 108 
 
 AT REFUGE HARBOUR. 
 
 remains, too, of fox and narwhal, but no signs of seal or 
 reindeer. 
 
 The Eskimos, unable to restore their dead to the em- 
 brace of their mother-earth, seat them as in the atti- 
 tude of repose, with the knees drawn close to the body, 
 and then enclose them in a sack of skins. The imple- 
 ments used in life are grouped around : they are covered 
 with a rude dome of stones, and a cairn is piled above. 
 Thus a cenotaph is formed, which remains intact for 
 generation after generation. The Eskimos never profane 
 the resting-place of the dead, - * - '' 
 
 REFUGE HARBOUR. . ^: . 
 
 Continuing his adventurous course, Dr. Kane pressed 
 through the drifting ice to some distance beyond Cape 
 Lifeboat Cove, and took shelter in a beautiful little bay, 
 landlocked from east to west, and accessible only from 
 the north, which figures conspicuously in his narrative 
 under the name of Refuge Harbour. It was some time 
 before the ice broke up sufficiently to permit of his 
 effecting his escape ; and even after he had once more 
 got out into the channel, he had a daily fight with bergs 
 and floes. At one time, while anchored off a rocky 
 island which he called "Godsend Ledge," a perfect 
 hurricane came on; and though he had three hawsers 
 out, they snapped one after the other, like mere threads, 
 and the Advance drifted to and fro at the mercy of the 
 " wild ice." His only hope of safety lay in mooring close 
 to a berg ; and this effected, the brig was towed along 
 as by a gigantic courser — " the spray dashing over his 
 windward flanks, and his forehead ploughing up the 
 
1 
 
 ii 
 
 HI 
 
 
 ■*. 
 
 I . 
 
 . . ■>■ 
 
A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY. 
 
 Ill 
 
 lesser ice as if in scorn." Drifting masses, broken up 
 and hurtled together by a tremendous storm, threatened 
 them with destruction ; and the explorers were thank- 
 ful when, on the 22nd, the gale abated, and they canied 
 their little vessel into comparatively smooth water, 
 sheltered by the ice-belt which lined the rocky and 
 mountainous coast. 
 
 Having secured a haven of safety for the Advance, 
 Dr. Kane resolved to make a personal inspection of 
 the coast, in order to select a convenient winter-station 
 from which he might start on his sledge-journeys in 
 the following spring. For this purpose he had caused 
 his best and lightest whale-boat to be fitted with a 
 canvas cover, that rendered it not less comfortable than 
 a tent. A supply of pemmican was packed in small 
 cases, and a sledge taken to pieces stowed away under 
 the thwarts. The boat's crew consisted of Brooks, Bon- 
 sall, M'Gary, Sonntag, Riley, Blake, and Morton. Each 
 man had buffalo-robes for his sleeping-gear, carried a 
 girdle full of woollen socks to keep them dry by the 
 warmth of the body, and slung a tin cup and a sheath- 
 knife to his belt. A soup-pot and lamp for the mess, 
 and a single extra day suit as common property, com- 
 pleted the outfit. 
 
 ' A SLEDGE- JOURNEY. 
 
 Leaving Ohlsen in command of the Advance, Dr. Kane 
 and his little company pushed off in the Forlorn Hope, 
 as she was christened ; and after a cruise of about 
 twenty -four hours reached the ice-belt, where they 
 hauled her up, and stowed her away snugly under the 
 
 
r 
 
 112 
 
 A NOBLE RIVER. 
 
 i 
 
 shelter of a largo hummock ; after which they pushed 
 forward in the sledge. 
 
 Their journey across the rugged surface of the ice 
 was by no means without let or hindrance. It is easy 
 to glide over the frozen level which encrusts one of our 
 British lakes or streams in a severe winter ; but the icy 
 wastes of the Arctic region are broken up by gullies, 
 water-ways, and hummocks, rendering the traveller's 
 passage one of considerable difficulty. In five days 
 Dr. Kane advanced only forty miles; and finding the 
 obstacles almost insurmountable, he abandoned the 
 sledge, and the whole party proceeded on foot. With 
 the exception of their instruments, they canded no bur- 
 den but their pemmican and one buffalo-robe. The 
 weather, as yet not far below freezing-point, did not 
 make a tent essential to the bivouac ; and being so 
 lightly equipped, they were able to make twenty to 
 twenty-four miles a day. . ^ 
 
 On the 5th they came upon a noble bay, perfectly 
 open, and in strange contrast, therefore, to the ice out- 
 side. The cause of this at the time inexplicable pheno- 
 menon, was afterwards found to be a roaring, tempestu- 
 ous river, which, issuing from a fiord at the inner 
 extremity of the bay, thundered irresistibly over a 
 rugged bed of rocks. This river, which appears to be 
 the largest as yet known in North Greenland, was 
 about three-quarters of a mile wide at its mouth, and 
 sensible to the tidal influence for about three miles. 
 Its course was afterwards traced to an interior glacier, 
 from the base of which it welled in many streams that 
 
■\ 
 
 AWAY NORTH. 
 
 lib 
 
 pushed 
 
 the ice 
 
 is easy 
 
 e of our 
 
 the icy 
 
 gullies, 
 
 iveller's 
 
 ^e days 
 
 ing the 
 
 ed the 
 
 With 
 
 no bur- 
 
 The 
 
 did not 
 
 3ing so 
 
 enty to 
 
 erfectly 
 ce out- 
 pheno- 
 npestu- 
 i inner 
 over a 
 fs to be 
 id, was 
 th, and 
 I miles, 
 glacier, 
 as that 
 
 flowed into a single channel about forty miles above its 
 mouth. 
 
 Here, in the heart of the dreary snowscape, the 
 travellers met with an Arctic flower-growth, of con- 
 siderable variety of form and colour. The infiltration 
 of the melted snows fed its roots, and the reverberation 
 of the sun's heat from the rocks fostered its delicate 
 life. Amid festuca and other tufted grasses, brightened 
 the purple lychnis and sparkled the white stem of the 
 chickweed ; together with a graceful hesperis, reminding 
 the wanderers of the fragrant wallflower of our old Eng- 
 lish gardens. 
 
 After fording the river. Dr. Kane called a halt, in 
 lat. 78° 62', and long. 78° 41' W. The next morning, 
 leaving four of his party to recruit themselves, he struck 
 across to a north-eastern headland, which he named, 
 after the great English novelist. Cape William Make- 
 peace Thackeray. It was the last station on the coast 
 of Greenland determined by theodolite observations. 
 About eight miles beyond projected a lofty headland, 
 which Kane named Cape Francis Hawke. 
 
 The prospect which Dr. Kane beheld from the high 
 ground in this vicinity was most impressive. It ex- 
 tended beyond the 80th parallel of north latitude. Far 
 off on the left lay the western shore of the Sound, re- 
 ceding towards the dim, misty north. To the right a 
 rolling country led on to a low, dusky, wall -like ridge, 
 which he afterwards recognized as the Great Glacier of 
 Humboldt; and still beyond this, reaching northward 
 from the north-north-east, lay the land which now 
 bears the honoured name of Washington — its most pro- 
 
 'ii 
 
 (544) 
 
 8 
 
■•.vijr'iiwMv*' 
 
 114 
 
 RETURN TO REFUGE HARBOUR. 
 
 jecting headland, Cape Andrew Jackson, bearing about 
 fourteen degrees from the farthest hill on the opposite 
 side, Cape John Barrow. All between was one vast 
 sheet of ice. Close along its shore, almost looking 
 down upon it from the crest of their lofty station, the 
 explorers could see the long lines of hummocks dividing 
 the floes like the trenches of a beleaguered city. Far- 
 ther out, a stream of icebergs, increasing in numbers 
 towards the north, presented an almost impenetrable 
 barrier ; but beyond these the ice seemed less obstructed 
 and obstructive, and patches of open water glimmered 
 on the distant horizon. 
 
 Dr. Kane now led his party back to the brig, resolved 
 to winter in t'le secure bay he had found for her, and 
 to occupy the dreary months in expeditions to different 
 points, so as to obtain a complete knowledge of the 
 neighbouring coast. When the ice broke up in the en- 
 suing summer, he trusted to resume his onward course. 
 
 II 
 
 FIRST WINTER IN THE ICE. 
 
 Winter was approaching rapidly. By the 10th of 
 September the thermometer had fallen to 14°, and the 
 ice-floes had been welded by newly-formed ice into a 
 compact mass, with an unbroken surface. About sixty 
 paces north of the ship an iceberg had been caught in 
 the toils, was frozen in, and remained the gigantic neigh- 
 bour of the adventurers as long as they remained in 
 Rensselaer Harbour. " The rocky islets around were 
 fringed with hummocks ; and as the tide fell, their sides 
 \verc coated with opaque crystals of bright white. The 
 
A CANINE CHARACTERISTIC. 
 
 lis 
 
 birds had gone : the sea-swallows — which abounded 
 when we first reached here — and even the young burgo- 
 masters (gulls) that linp-ered after them, had all taken 
 their departure for the south. Except the snow-birds, 
 these are the last to migrate of all the Arctic birds." 
 
 The chief portion of the ship's cargo was now un- 
 loaded, and deported in the storehouse on Butler Island. 
 Vigorous efforts were made to increase the supplies of 
 proviaions. Steaks of salt junk, artistically cut, were 
 strung on lines, " like a countrywoman's dried apples," 
 and soaked in festoons under the ice. The salmon-trout 
 and codfish purchased at Fiskernaes were placed in 
 barrels, perforated to permit a constant circulation of 
 water through them. The "pickled cabbage" was 
 similarly treated, after a little potash had been used to 
 ncL?.tra]ize the acid. All these articles were submitted 
 to twelve hours of alternate soaking and freezing, the 
 ice-crust being removed from them previous to each 
 immersion. 
 
 A dog-house was also erected on Butler Island ; but 
 in reference to it, Dr. Kane records a remarkable illus- 
 tration of the canine character. The Eskimo dogs could 
 not be persuaded to sleep away from the vessel. They 
 preferred the bare snow, where they could lie within 
 the sound of human voices, to a warm kennel upon the 
 rocks. Strange, he says, that iliis dog-distinguishing 
 trait of affection for man should show itself in an animal 
 so imperfectly reclaimed from a savage state that he 
 can hardly be caught when wanted. 
 
 Dr. Kane's dogs were both Eskimos and Newfound- 
 landers. Of the last he had ten, which he was carefully 
 
116 
 
 ERECTING AN OBSERVATORY. 
 
 ... ^ 
 
 training in a light sledge to drive (unlike the Eskimos) 
 two abreast, with a regular harness, a breast-collar of 
 flat leather, and a pair of traces. Six of them made a 
 powerful travelling team ; and four could carry Dr. Kane 
 and his instruments, for short journeys around the brig, 
 with considerable facility. 
 
 The sledge was built of American hickory, thoroughly 
 seasoned, and skilfully combined the three paramount 
 considerations of lightness, strength, and diminished 
 friction. It was named the "Little Willie." Another 
 and stronger sledge, made after a model furnished by 
 the British Admiralty, was called the " Faith." It mea- 
 sured thirteen feet in length and four in breadth, and 
 could carry fourteen hundred- weight of mixed stores. 
 
 THE OBSERVATORY. 
 
 An observatory was also erected. The islet on which 
 it stood measured some fifty paces long by forty broad, 
 and rose about thirty feet above the water-line. Here 
 the adventurers raised four walls of granite blocks, 
 cementing them together with moss and water, and the 
 never-failing assistance of frost, which converted the 
 most heterogeneous materials into a compact mass. On 
 the whole was laid a substantial timber roof. The 
 pedestals for the support of the various instruments in 
 use consisted of a conglomerate of ice and gravel, well 
 rammed down while liquid in iron-hooped pemmican 
 casks, and quickly hardening into solidity. Adjoining 
 was a magnetic observatory, with wooden floor as well 
 as wooden roof; and upon the open ice-field, about one 
 hundred and forty yards from the ship, a meteorological 
 
 •««a:' 
 
A SUDDEN CALAMITY. 
 
 117 
 
 observatory, with thermometers, lanterns, and other 
 appliances. 
 
 The perils to which Dr. Kane and his party were 
 exposed may be estimated from the following incident, 
 which we shall allow him to describe in his own words. 
 
 " We have narrowly escaped," he says, " being burned 
 out of house and home. I had given orders that the 
 fires, lit under my own eye, should be regularly in- 
 spected; but through a misadventure the watch had 
 for a time pretermitted opening the hatches. As I 
 lowered a lantern, which was extinguished immediately, 
 a suspicious odour reached me, as of burning wood. I 
 descended at once. Reaching the deck of the fore- 
 castle, my first glance towards the fires showed me that 
 all was safe there ; and though the quantity of smoke 
 still surprised me, I was disposed to attribute it to the 
 recent kindling. But at this moment, while passing on 
 my returi. near the door of the bulkhead, which leads 
 to the carpenter's room, the gas began to affect me. 
 My lantern went out as if quenched by water ; and as 
 I ran by the bulkhead door, I saw the deck near it a 
 mass of glowing fire for some three feet in diameter. I 
 could not tell how much farther it extended, for I be* 
 came quite insensible at the foot of the ladder, and 
 would have sunk had not Mr. Brooks seen my condition 
 and hauled me out. 
 
 " When I came to myself, which happily was very 
 soon, I confided my fearful secret to the four men around 
 me — Brooks, Ohlsen, Blake, and Stevenson. It was 
 all-important to avoid confusion. We shut the doors of 
 the galley, so as to confine the rest of the crew and 
 
1 
 
 118 
 
 THE ARCTIC WINTER. 
 
 officers aft, and then passed up water from the fire-hole 
 alongside. It was done very noiselessly. Ohlsen and 
 myself went down to the burning deck ; Brooks handed 
 us in the buckets ; and in less than ten minutes we 
 were in safety. It was interesting to observe the eflfect 
 of steam upon the noxious gas. Both Ohlsen and my- 
 self were greatly oppressed until the first bucket was 
 poured on ; but as I did this, directly over the burning 
 coal, raising clouds of steam, we at once experienced 
 relief: the fine aqueous particles seemed to absorb the 
 carbonic acid instantly. 
 
 " We found the fire had originated in the remains of 
 a barrel of charcoal which had been left in the car- 
 penter's room, ten feet from the stoves, and with a bulk- 
 head separating it from them. How it had been ignited 
 it was impossible to know. Our safety was due to the 
 dense charge of carbonic acid gas which surrounded the 
 fire, and the exclusion of atmospheric air. When the 
 hatches were opened, the flames burst out with energy." 
 
 A RIGOROUS CLIMATE. 
 
 Gradually the severities of an Arctic winter made 
 themselves more and more keenly felt ; and those ex- 
 posed to the weather, notwithstanding every precaution, 
 with difficulty escaped very painful touches of frost- 
 bite. Of a party who had travelled some sixty miles 
 to establish a cache, or depot of provisions, north of 
 Cape Bancroft, not a man but was more or less afi'ected. 
 This is not to be wondered at, when v/e reflect that the 
 temperature had sunk to 25 degrees below zero. The 
 darkness advanced with insidious steadiness ; and early 
 
 ■"i:»aL5 
 
NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE. 
 
 119 
 
 in November we read that stars of the sixth magnitude 
 were visible at noonday. The black masses of the hills, 
 with their glaring patches of snow, were plain for 
 about five hours of the day; all the rest was gloom. 
 Except upon the island of Spitzbergen, which has the 
 advantage of an insular climate, tempered by ocean cur- 
 rents, no Christian men had wintered in so high a lati- 
 tude ; and they who there confront the terrors of the 
 North are Russian seamen, inured from earliest years 
 to cold and hardship. 
 
 On the 7th of November, we find Dr. Kane calculat- 
 ing that " our darkness has ninety days to run before 
 we shall get back even to the contested twilight of 
 to-day. Altogether, our winter will have been sunless 
 for one hundred and forty days." 
 
 With various devices these prisoners in the Arctic 
 solitudes endeavoured to beguile their monotony. They 
 got up a fancy ball; and they published an Arctic 
 newspaper. The Ice-Blink, with the appropriate motto, 
 — " In tenebris servare fidem." It is true the circulation 
 was somewhat limited; but the articles were not un- 
 worthy of a wider public. A fox-chase, something like 
 the boyish sport of "Hare and Hounds," was occasionally 
 got up, and other measures were adopted to combat a 
 depression which is the natural but dangerous result of 
 extreme cold. Frequent excursions were also made, 
 though they did but reveal the completeness of the 
 desolation which surrounded Dr. Kane's winter-camp. 
 
 Some idea of the rigour of the climate in the month 
 of February (1854) may be gathered from the following 
 data. The thermometers ranged from 60° to 75° below 
 
>•'( 
 
 120 
 
 EFFECTS OF THE LONG DARKNESS. 
 
 zero — that is, 92° to 107° below freezing-point! At 
 such temperature chloric ether became solid, and even 
 chloroform exhibited a kind of granular skin or pellicle 
 upon its surface. Spirit of naphtha froze at -54°, and 
 oil of sassafras at -49°. The exposed portions of the 
 human body were surrounded with a wreath of vapour 
 by the quick condensation of its exhalations. The air, 
 when inspired, was perceptibly pungent, and imparted 
 a sensation of dryness to the air-passages. It was 
 noticeable that every man involuntarily breathed in, as 
 it were, a guarded manner, with compressed lips. 
 
 The fii*st traces of returning light were observed at 
 noon on the 21st of January, when a tint of orange 
 lighted up, very briefly, the southern horizon. Neces- 
 sarily, the influence of the long and intense darkness 
 was very depressing, and was felt even by the lower 
 animals, many of the dogs dying from " a mental dis- 
 ease," clearly due to the absence of light. The symp- 
 toms of this disease were very peculiar, and deserve to 
 be indicated. The more material functions of the poor 
 creatures went on, it would appear, without interrup- 
 tion, — they ate voraciously, retained their strength, and 
 slept soundly. But, otherwise, they acted as if suffer- 
 ing from lunacy. They barked frenziedly at nothing, 
 and walked in straight and curved lines with anxious 
 and unwearying perseverance. They fawned on their 
 masters, but without seeming conscious of the caresses 
 lavished "tk r them in return. Their most intelligent 
 actio*^ ,e .j^: . ucomatic; sometimes they clawed you, 
 as if • '! .,* -^v-iTow into your seal-skins; sometimes 
 they reUi., I* / : ■ hours in moody silence, and then 
 
 III 
 
Alt 
 
 '•I 
 
A.N ARCTIC " INTERIOR. 
 
 128 
 
 started off howling as if pursued, and ran up and down 
 for hours. 
 
 AN ARCTIC "INTERIOR." 
 
 On the 21st of February, Dr. Kane started forth on 
 an expedition to welcome back the sun. He forgot his 
 past experiences and present sufferings when once more 
 he beheld the glorious orb of day, and nestled in its 
 glow with a sensation of delight, like that of bathing in 
 perfumed water. Wonderful influence of the sun ! It 
 seemed to inspire our explorers with new life, fresh 
 strength, fresh hope, — body and mind were quickened 
 and recruited by the invigorating rays ; and by degrees 
 the adventurers began to think of resuming the work 
 of exploration. 
 
 A day in March was spent after the following routine, 
 — and the description is generally applicable to the 
 various aspects of their winter-life on board the ice- 
 boimd brig. 
 
 At half-past seven all hands rose, washed on deck, 
 opened the doors for ventilation, and then went below 
 for breakfast. As fuel was scarce, the cooking was 
 done in the cabin. Breakfast — for all fared alike — was 
 hard tack, pork, stewed apples frozen like molasses- 
 candy, tea and coffee, with a delicate portion of raw 
 potato. 
 
 Afterwards, those who smoked indulged in their pipe 
 until nine ; then all hands turned to — idlers to idle, 
 workers to work ; one to his carpenter's bench, another 
 to his " preparations " in canvas ; one to play tailor, 
 another to make shoes ; one to skin birds, one to tinker, 
 and the rest to the " Office." 
 
■ \\ 
 
 !■ 
 
 124 
 
 HOW THE DAY WENT. 
 
 Let us take a peep into tlie " Arctic Bureau." 
 
 One table, one salt-pork lamp, with rusty chlorinated 
 flame; three stools, and as many waxen-faced men, 
 with their legs drawn up under them, the deck at zero 
 being too cold for the feet. Each has his department. 
 Kane is writing, sketching, and projecting maps ; Hayes 
 copying logs and meteorologicals ; Sonntag " reducing " 
 his work at the observator3^ A fourth, as one of the 
 working members of the hive, has long been defunct, — 
 vou will find him in bed, or studying " Littell's Living 
 Age." 
 
 At twelve took place a business round of inspection, 
 and orders were issued sufficient to fill up the day with 
 work. 
 
 Next came the drill of the Eskimo dogs, — a dog-trot 
 specially refreshing to their driver, whose legs creaked 
 with every kick, and whose rheumatic shoulders 
 chronicled every descent of the whip. And in this way 
 the captives went on until dinner-time ; when their fare 
 was much the same as at breakfast, with the exception 
 of pickled cabbage and dried peaches being substituted 
 for tea and coffee. 
 
 At dinner, as at breakfast, raw potato was introduced 
 as a hygienic luxury. Yet, like most medicine, it was 
 not as appetizing as it was wholesome. Even when 
 grated nicely, with the ugly red spots omitted, and oil 
 freely added as a lubricant, the partakers were fain to 
 shut their eyes and "bolt" it, like Mrs. Squeers's 
 molasses and brimstone at Dotheboys Hall. 
 
 Sleep, exercise, amusement, and work at will, carried 
 on the day till six o'clock supper ; a meal something like 
 
/ • 
 
 THE ICE-FOOT. 
 
 125 
 
 breakfast and something like dinner, only more sparing; 
 and then the officers submitted to Dr. Kane the day's 
 reports. 
 
 These dismissed, a game at chess or cards was in- 
 dulged in, or light reading for those who preferred it. 
 Then the watch was set, and " silence reigned around." 
 
 THE ICE-FOOT. 
 
 A peculiar feature of the Arctic region is the so- 
 called " ice-foot " (Danish, eis-fod), a zone of ice, which 
 stretches along the shore from the Arctic Circle far 
 away into the uttermost North. To the south it breaks 
 up under the genial influence of sunmier, and even as 
 high as Upernavik or Cape Alexander it disappears; 
 but in higher latitudes it is a perennial growth, cling- 
 ing to the bold faces of the cliff's, and following the 
 curves of the bays and the indentations of the rivers. 
 
 Though it changes with the seasons, it never wholly 
 passes away — that is, to the north of Cape Alexander. 
 It forms a broad and secure platform, a level highway 
 of travel, elevated above the grinding ice of the sea, 
 and adapting itself like a shroud to all the sinuosities 
 of the land. It will be convenient to speak of it as the 
 " ice-belt." 
 
 Though subject to occasional disruption, and di- 
 minished by thaws and evaporation, it measures the 
 severity of the year by its rate of increase. Rising 
 with the first inclemencies of the fading summer, it 
 enriches with curious and fantastic frost-work the undu- 
 lating sea-line; a little later, and it is moulded into 
 bolder shapes by collision with the drifting floes and 
 
 
 J 
 
 m 
 
 mt 
 
TT 
 
 126 
 
 " WHERE ARE YOUR COMPANIONS ? " 
 
 |i 
 
 ■ ( 
 
 i H 
 
 rocks falling from the cliffs which bound it. Before the 
 advent of the rigid winter, it is already solidified into 
 an impenetrable rampart; and so it continues to gain 
 in size and strength with the successive freezing of the 
 tides, until summer returns, and its progress is arrested 
 by the melted snows and rushing water-torrents. 
 
 During Dr. Kane's first winter at Rensselaer Harbour, 
 the ice-belt grew to three times the size it had pre- 
 sented on his arrival ; and by the middle of Marcii the 
 islands and adjacent shores were blocked up by a con- 
 tinuous icy terrace, nearly 27 feet high, and 120 feet wide. 
 
 In mid-winter, however, the ice-foot is not an un- 
 broken level. Like the floes, it has its barricades, serried 
 and irregular, which can be traversed only with toil and 
 difficulty. 
 
 A TERRIBLE JOURNEY. 
 
 On the 20th of March another party was sent out to 
 establish a depot of provisions, and Kane and the rest 
 of his followers waited only for their re^'irn to begin 
 the transit of the bay. Late at night on the 31st, they 
 were working cheerfully by the glare of their lamps, 
 when a sudden noise of steps was heard above, and 
 immediately afterwards Sonntag, Ohlsen, and Peterson 
 came down into the cabin. If there was sorjeiliiiif: 
 startling in their unexpected arrival, much more si.<r.t- 
 ling was their appearance. They were swollen, haggard, 
 and scarcely able to speak. 
 
 Where were their companions ? 
 
 Behind in the ice, — Brooks, Baker, Wilson, and Pierre, 
 — all frozen and disabled; and they themselves had 
 risked their lives to carry the pitiful news. Where 
 
 id ^JdliM. 
 
HASTE TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 1S7 
 
 were their comrades lying ? With cold white lips they 
 muttered that they could not tell; somewhere in among 
 the hummocks to the north and east; the snow was 
 drifting round them heavily when they parted, " Irish 
 Tom " had gallantly remained to feed and care for them ; 
 but of their recovery there was little hope. It was use- 
 less to put additional questions ; they were too exhausted 
 to be able to rally their ideas. 
 
 Not a moment was to be lost. While some attended 
 to the feeble wayfarers, and made ready a hasty meal, 
 others rigged out the " Little Willie " with its tent-like 
 cover, and placed in it a supply of pemmican. Then 
 Ohlsen, as the least exhausted, was strapped on the 
 sledge, encased in a fur bag, with his legs wrapped in 
 dog-skins and eider down, and away went the rescue- 
 party. It consisted of nine men and Dr. Kane. The 
 thermometer, when they set out, stood at -41°, or 78° 
 below freezing-point. 
 
 A tower of ice, called by the men the " Pinnacly 
 Berg," served as their first landmark; other colossal 
 icebergs, extending in long beaded lines across the bay, 
 helped to guide them for some distance ; and it was not 
 until they had travelled for sixteen hours that they 
 began to lose their way. 
 
 That their lost comrades were somewhere in the 
 gloomy area before them, and within a radius of forty 
 miles, they knew ; but this was to know little. And 
 Mr. Ohlsen, who now woke from a prolonged slumber 
 with unequivocal signs of mental disturbance, L-eemed 
 to have lost the bearing of the bergs, — which, indeed, in 
 form and colour, continually repeated themselves. 
 
^KW^ 
 
 T? 
 
 i: 
 
 t 
 
 128 
 
 A I'AINKUl, JOURNEY. 
 
 " Passing ahead of the party," says Kane (and there 
 is a deep pathos in liis simple unadorned narrative), 
 " and chimbering over some rugged ice-piles, I came to 
 a long level Hoe, which I thought might probably have 
 attracted the eyes of weary men in circumstances like 
 our own. It was a light conjecture ; but it was enough 
 to turn the scale, for there was no otlier to balance it. 
 I gave orders to abandon the sledge, and disperse in 
 search of footmarks. Wo raised our tent, placed our 
 pemmican in cache, exce})t a small allowance for each 
 man to carry on his person ; and poor Olilsen, now just 
 able to keep his legs, was liberated from his bag. The 
 thermometer had fallen by this time to -49°. 3, and the 
 wind was setting in sharply from the north-west. It 
 was out of the question to halt, — it required brisk 
 exercise to keep us from freezing. I could not even 
 melt ice for water; and, at these temperatures, any 
 resort to snow for the purpose of allaying thirst was 
 followed by bloody lips and tongue : it burned like 
 caustic. 
 
 " It was indispensable, then, that we should move on, 
 looking out for traces as we went. Yet when the men 
 were ordered to spread themselves, so as to multiply 
 the chances, though they all obeyed heartily, some 
 painful impress <^f solitary danger, or perhaps it may 
 have been the >. trying configuration of the ice-field, 
 kept them closing up continually into a single group. 
 The strange manner in which some of us were afiected 
 I now attribute as much to shattered nerves as to the 
 <iirect influence of the cold. Men like M'Gary and 
 Bonsall, who had stood out our severest marches, were 
 
FOUND ALIVE. 
 
 129 
 
 seized with trembling fits and short breath; and, in 
 spite of all my efforts to keep up an example of sound 
 bearing, I fainted twice on the snow. ' 
 
 " We had been nearly eighteen hours out without 
 water or food, when a new hope cheered us. I think 
 it was Hans, our Eskimo hunter, who thought he saw a 
 broad sledge-track. The drift had nearly effaced it, 
 and we were some of us doubtful at first whether it 
 was not one of those accidental rifts which the gales 
 make in the surface-snow. But as we traced it on to the 
 deep snow among the hummocks, y e were led to foot- 
 steps ; and, following these with religious care, we at 
 last came in sight of a small American flag fluttering 
 from a hummock, and lower down a little masonic 
 banner hanging from a tent-pole hardly above the drift. 
 It was the camp of our disabled comrades. We reached 
 it after an unbroken march of twenty-one hours." 
 
 They found the little tent almost buried in the snow. 
 When Dr. Kane came up, his men, who had outstripped 
 him, were standing in silent file on each side of ii. 
 With a delicacy of feeling which is almost characteristic 
 of sailors, and seems instinctive to them, they expressed 
 a desire that he should enter alone. As he crawled 
 beneath the tent-cui cain, and, coming upon the darkness, 
 heard before him the burst of welcome gladness that 
 came from the poor prostrate creatures within, and then 
 for the first time the cheer without, his weakness and 
 gratitude almost overcame him. " They had expected 
 him," was their exclamation ; " thf^y were sure he would 
 come ! " 
 
 There were now fifteen souls in all ; the thermometer 
 
 (544) 9 
 
 1 i 
 
 
 
 !t 
 
 ' ii 
 
 ii i 
 M 
 
180 
 
 PREPARING TO RETURN. 
 
 was 75° below the freezing-point ; the sole accommoda- 
 tion a tent barely able to contain eight persons : con- 
 sequently, more than half the party were compelled to 
 keep from freezing by walking outside while the others 
 slept. The halt, however, was not prolonged. Each 
 refreshed himself by a two hours' sleep, and then the 
 homeward march began. 
 
 They carried with them nothing but the tent, ftirs 
 to protect the rescued party, and food sufficient for a 
 journey of fifty hours. Everything else was abandoned. 
 Two lai-ge bufialo bags, each made of four skins, were 
 doubled up, so as to form a kind of sack, lined on each 
 side by fur, closed at the bottom, but opened at the top. 
 This impromptu sack was laid on the sledge, of which 
 the tent, smoothly folded, served as the floor. The sick, 
 with their limbs sewed up carefully in reindeer-skins, 
 •wore placed upon the bed of buffalo-robes, in a half- 
 recumbent posture ; due warmth was maintained by a 
 plentiful supply of skins and blanket-bags; and the 
 whole was so lashed together as to leave only a single 
 opening opposite the mouth for breathing. 
 
 These preparations completed, a short prayer was 
 uttered, and the brave little company started on their 
 return. The difficulties they met with, however, were 
 such as severely tested their courage and endurance. A 
 great part of their track lay among a succession of 
 hummocks, some of them extending in long lines, fifteen 
 or twenty feet in height, and all so steep that to ascend 
 them was impossible. The sledge had to pursue a wind- 
 ing course in and out of these serious obstacles, frequently 
 driving through gaps filled with recently-fallen snow. 
 
 "'^'^^^Py^WMWMwwipii— II — 
 
>e . 
 
 DANGERS ON THE WAY. 
 
 131 
 
 which hid the fissures and openings in the ice beneath. 
 These, says Kane, were fearful traps to disengage a limb 
 from, for every man was painfully aware that a fracture 
 or even a sprain might cost him his life. In addition, 
 the sledge was top-heavy with its load, which weighed 
 not leas than 1100 lbs., while the maimed men could not 
 bear to be lashed down tight enough to secure them 
 against falling off. 
 
 Yet, for the six hours, the progress of this undaunted 
 band was cheering. They advanced nearly a mile an 
 hour, and reached the new floes before they were ab- 
 solutely weary. "Our sledge," says Kane, "sustained 
 the trial admirably. Ohlsen, restored by hope, walked 
 steadily at the leading belt of the sledge lines ; and I 
 began to feel certain of reaching our half-way station of 
 the day before, where we had left our tent. But we 
 were still nine miles from it, when, almost without pre- 
 monition, we all became aware of an alarming failure of 
 
 our energies. 
 
 BoiisiH and Morton, two of the most robust of Kane's 
 party, besought permission to sleep. They declared that 
 they did not feel cold, and that all they wanted was a 
 little repose. Presently Hans was found frozen almost 
 into rigidity under a drift ; and Thomas, standing erect, 
 had his eyes closed, and could scarcely articulate. Soon 
 ufterwards, John Blake threw himself on the snow, and 
 refused to rise. They made no complaint of feeling 
 cold ; but it was in vain that Dr. Kane " wrestled, boxed, 
 ran, argued, jeered, or reprimanded;" he found that an 
 immediate halt was unavoidable. ^ a 
 

 
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 132 
 
 KANE'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 Again we quote from his own narrative, on the simpli- 
 city of which it is not possible to improve : — 
 
 "We pitched our tent with much diflGlculty. Our 
 hands were too powerless to strike a fire; we were 
 obliged to do without water or food. Even the whisky 
 had frozen at the men's feet, under all the coverings. 
 We put Bonsall, Ohlsen, Thomas, and Hans, with the 
 other sick men, well inside the tent, and crowded in as 
 many others as we could. Then leaving the party in 
 charge of Mr. M'Gary, with orders to come on after four 
 hours' rest, I pushed ahead with William Godfrey, who 
 volunteered to be my companion. My aim was to reach, 
 the half-way tent, and thaw some ice and pemmican 
 before the others came up. 
 
 " The floe was of level ice ; the walking excellent. I 
 cannot tell how long it took us to make the nine miles, 
 for we were in a strange sort of stupor, and had little 
 apprehension of time. It was probably about four 
 hours. We kept ourselves awake by imposing on each 
 other a continued articulation of words, though such 
 utterances must necessarily have been incoherent. 
 Godfrey and I afterwards retained only a very confused 
 recollection of what preceded our arrival at the tent. 
 We both, however, remember a bear walking leisurely 
 before us, and tearing up as he went a jumper that Mr. 
 M'Gary had improvidently thrown off the day before. 
 He tore it into shreds, and rolled it into a ball, but 
 made no attempt to interfere with our progress. God- 
 frey, who had a better eye than myself, looking some 
 miles ahead, could see that our tent was undergoing the 
 same unceremonious treatment. I thought I saw it too, 
 
 \-. 
 
!' II 
 
 ARRIVAL AT THE TENT. 
 
 138 
 
 but we were so drunken with cold that we strode on 
 steadily, and, for aught I know, without quickening our 
 pace." 
 
 Probably their approach proved the safety of the con- 
 tents of the tent; for on their arrival they found it 
 uninjured, though the bear had overturned it, and 
 tossed pemmican and buffalo-robes into the snow ; only 
 a couple of blanket-bags were missing. With great 
 difficulty they raised it, crawled into their reindeer 
 sleeping-bags without a word, and for three hours en- 
 joyed a dreamy but intense slumber. When Dr. Kane 
 awoke his long beard was a mass of ice, frozen fast to 
 the buffalo-skin ; and Godfrey had, literally, to cut him 
 out with his jack-knife. 
 
 Water was melted and some soup cooked before the 
 party arrived ; they accomplished the nine miles in five 
 hours, were doing well, and, considering the circum- 
 stances, in excellent spirits. The day was calm, and the 
 sun clear, so that the journey was less onerous than it 
 might have been. The new-comers enjoyed the refresh- 
 ment that had been got ready for them ; the crippled 
 were repacked in their robes, and the whole party sped 
 briskly toward the ranges of ice-hummocks that lay 
 between them and the Pinnacly Berg. 
 
 These hummocks came properly under the designa- 
 tion of squeezed ice. A reat chain of bergs stretching 
 from north-west to soucn-east, moving with the tides, 
 had compressed the surface-floes, and reared them upon 
 their edges in a singularly fantastic manner. ■ 
 
 Desperate efforts were required on the part of our 
 
■11. 
 
 II 
 
 iii 
 
 184 
 
 CROSSING THE FLOES. 
 
 worn and weary travellers to carry them across the 
 rugged area; desperate indeed, for their partially re- 
 suscitated strength failed them anew, and their self- 
 control began to desert them. They could no longer 
 refrain from eating snow ; and, as a consequence, their 
 mouths swelled, and some of them became speechless. 
 They must have perished had not the day been warmed 
 by a clear sunshine, so that the thermometer rose in the 
 shade to within four degrees of zero. 
 
 t 
 
 As they grew weaker and ^ i; their halts neces- 
 sarily became more frequent ; and they would fall, in a 
 semi-somnolent condition, on i\w ' "^ow. *^trange to say, 
 these brief intervals of slumber proved .refreshing, so 
 that Dr. Kane was induced to try the experiment in his 
 own person, taking care that Riley should arouse him at 
 the end of three minutes. Afterwards he timed the men 
 in the same way. They sat upon the runners of the 
 sledge, and fell asleep immediately, but were startled 
 into wakefulness the moment their three minutes had 
 elapsed. 
 
 At eight in the evening the wayfarers were clear of 
 the floes, and gained some new hope at the sight of the 
 well-known Pinnacly Berg. Brandy, which sometimes 
 proves an invaluable resource in emergencies, had already 
 been administered in table-spoonful doses. After a 
 final and stronger dram, and a longer rest, they resolved 
 on a last effort to reach the brig, which they attained at 
 one hour after noon. 
 
 But words are inadequate to describe their sufferings 
 
RETURN TO THE BRIG. 
 
 135 
 
 S the 
 
 y re- 
 
 self- 
 
 in this last stage of their journey. They were com- 
 pletely delirious, and no longer entertained any clear 
 apprehension of what was transpiring. Like men in 
 a dream they staggered onward, blindly, uncertainly. 
 From an inspection of their footprints afterwards, it was 
 seen that they had steered a bee-line for the brig, guided 
 by a kind of instinct, for they remembered nothing of 
 their course. 
 
 When about two miles from the brig they were met 
 by Petersen and Whipple, with the dog- traces, and a 
 supply of restoratives, for which Kane had sent a 
 message in advance by Bonsall. As soon as the frozen, 
 wayworn creatures were safe on board. Dr. Hayes took 
 them under his charge. All were suffering from brain- 
 symptoms, functional not organic, and to be rectified by 
 rest and abundant diet. Ohlsen was for some time 
 afilicted with blindness and strabismus; two others 
 underwent amputation of parts of the foot, but without 
 dangerous consequences ; and two died, in spite of every 
 attention. The rescue-party had travelled between 
 eighty and ninety miles, dragging a heavy sledge for 
 most of the distance. They had been out for seventy- 
 two hours, and halted in all eight hours. The mean 
 temperature of the whole time, including the noontide 
 hours of three days, was about —41° or 73° below 
 freezing-point. Except at their two halts they had no 
 means of quenching their thirst, and they could at no 
 time intermit vigorous exercise without freezing. 
 
 It is difficult to find a severer " experience " of the 
 perils of Arctic winter-travelling, when all the circum- 
 
136 
 
 ESKIMO VISITORS. 
 
 stances are taken into consideration j and the reader will 
 readily admit that Dr. Kane showed as much decision, 
 sagacity, and heroic resolution as any leader of a " forlorn 
 hope," marching to certain death under an enemy's fire. 
 
 % 
 
 !t X 
 
 
 li! 
 
 From the depression that followed these events, Kane 
 and his party were roused by a visit from the Eskimos. 
 The first who presented himself was a tall, powerful, 
 well-built fellow, with swarthy complexion and piercing 
 black eyes. He wore a hooded capSte of mixed white 
 and blue fox-skins, arranged with some degree of taste ; 
 and booted trousers of white bear-skin, which, at the end 
 of the foot, terminated grimly with the animal's claws. 
 This visitor was quickly followed by a number of his 
 countrymen. He showed himself both frank and fear- 
 less, and went on board the brig alone. Dr. Kane having 
 satisfied himself that no mischief was intended, invited 
 his companions, and some eight or nine at once accepted 
 the invitation. Others, meantime, as if contemplating 
 a long visit, brought up from behind the hummocks as 
 many as fifty-six fine dogs, with their sledges, and 
 secured them within two hundred feet of the brig, 
 thrusting their spears into the ice, and picketing the 
 dogs to them by the seal-skin traces. It was evident the 
 animals understood the meaning of the operation, and 
 as soon as it commenced they lay down quietly. The 
 sledges were made of small fragments of porous bone, 
 very skilfully fastened together by thongs of hide; 
 the runners, which shone like burnished steel, were of 
 highly-polished ivory, obtained from the tusks of the 
 walrus. , : . ; : f 
 
TROUBLESOME CURIOSITY. 
 
 187 
 
 They had no other weapons than knives, which they 
 carried in their boots; and lances, which they lashed 
 to their sledges. The latter was a formidable arm. 
 The staff was made of the horn of the narwhal, or else 
 of the bear's thigh-bones lashed together: wood was 
 not used. As for the knives of the party, a single 
 rusty hoop from a current -drifted cask might have 
 furnished them all; but the lancet-shaped tips of the 
 spears were made of steel, and rivetted not unskilfully 
 to the tapering bony point. This steel was obtained 
 from the more southern tribes. 
 
 When the Eskimos first came on board, they showed 
 themselves somewhat rude, rough, and unruly. They 
 spoke, three or four at a time, to each other and to 
 their American hosts, laughing heartily at not being 
 understood, and then chattering away as rapidly as 
 before. They were perfect representatives of perpetual 
 motion, going everywhere, trying doors, and forcing 
 their way through dark passages, round casks and 
 boxes, and out into the light again, anxious to touch 
 and handle everything they saw, and soliciting or en- 
 deavouring to secrete everything they touched. Dr. 
 Kane found it the more difficult to restrain them, as he 
 was anxious they should not suppose him alarmed by 
 their numbers. But their curiosity was so insatiable, 
 that it became necessary at last to use something like 
 force to keep it within proper bounds. 
 
 Dr. Kane's whole company was mustered and kept 
 constantly on the alert; but they did their spiriting 
 gently, and the utmost good-humour prevailed. The 
 Eskimos still continued to run in and about the vessel, 
 
 , fi 
 
'I 
 
 138 
 
 ENTERTAINING THE GUESTS, 
 
 i :: l 
 
 bringing in provisions, and carrying them out again to 
 their dogs on the ice ; and this occupied them until the 
 afternoon, when they lay down to sleep like tired 
 children. Dr. Kane ordered them to be made comfort- 
 able in the hold ; and a large buffalo-robe was spread 
 for their convenience in the vicinity of the galley- 
 stove. 
 
 In this stove blazed a fire of coal ; and the new fuel, 
 too hard for blubber, too soft for freestone, filled them 
 with amazement. They saw, however, that it would 
 work quite as efficiently as seals' fat, and borrowing an 
 iron pot and some melted water, proceeded to parboil a 
 couple of pieces of walrus-meat. The main portion of 
 their meal — that is, five pounds of meat a head — they 
 preferred to eat raw. It was observed that they did 
 not all eat together, but each man as he listed; and 
 when he had done eating he lay down to sleep, his 
 raw chunk of meat lying beside him. When he awoke 
 he took a few additional bites, and then to sleep again ! 
 They did not lie down as Europeans do, but adopted a 
 sitting posture, with the head drooping on the breast, 
 and snoring (most of them) famously. 
 
 In the morning they departed, after selling four of 
 their dogs and all the walrus-meat they could spare for 
 some needles and beads and a supply of old cask staves. 
 
 DISCOVERIES. 
 
 At the end of April, leaving ten of his party in the 
 brig, Kane, with seven men, started on an exploring 
 expedition, resolved to follow up the ice-belt to the 
 Great Glacier of Humboldt, there obtain a replenish- 
 
EAST COAST OF SMITH SOUND. 
 
 189 
 
 ment of pemmican from the cache made in the previous 
 October, and then make an attempt to cross the ice to 
 the American shore. This was to Ibe the " crowning ex- 
 pedition" of the campaign, — to attain the Ultima Thule 
 of the Greenland shore, measure the dreary frozen waste 
 that spread between it and the unknown Vv^est, and 
 hunt round the furthest ice-circle for an opening into 
 the mysterious regions beyond. It was not carried out 
 in its entirety, but it resulted, nevertheless, in geo- 
 graphical discoveries of great interest. 
 
 Let us trace the eastern coast-line of Smith Sound, 
 now acknowledged to be the sole highway to the Pole, 
 beginning at Refuge Harbour. 
 
 Cape Alexander ' may be taken as the westernmost 
 point of Greenland. Thence the shore strikes nearly 
 north and south, like " the broad channel of which it 
 is the boundary;" but on reaching Refuge Inlet it 
 bends nearly at a right angle, and runs from west to 
 east until it has crossed the 65th meridian. Two 
 indentations occur between the cape and the inlet : the 
 first near the Etah settlement, which was visited in 
 1855 by a Rescue Expedition under Lieutenant Hart- 
 stene, and bearing his name; the other, the Lifeboat 
 Cove of Dr. Kane's charts. In both the great dead- 
 white glaciers strike down to the water-line, having 
 slowly forced their way from the gorges among the 
 rocky hills of the interior. 
 
 Besides these gaps or indentations, the coast-line is 
 varied by a series of headlands differing much in char- 
 acter, and at Cape Hatherton sinking into undulating 
 hills. All along it lies an archipelago of islands, where 
 
 
Tf 
 
 1< ( 
 
 140 
 
 A BOLD LINE OF CLIFFS. 
 
 
 I^i 
 
 i!^l 
 
 the eider, the glaucous gull, and the tern, breed in 
 countless numbers. 
 
 Cape Hathcrton is a \ohy and conspicuous mass of 
 porphyritic rock. 
 
 North of Refuge Harbour the coast assumes a very 
 different character. There are no deep bays, no de- 
 scending glaciers ; and the deep fiords and inlets do not 
 reappear until we approach Rensselaer Harbour. Here 
 the geological structure changes also, and the cliffs are 
 distinguished by their bold diversity of form, remind- 
 ing the sjDectator of ruined temples, or the shattered 
 fa9ades of glorious cathedrals and minsters. Their 
 height sometimes exceeds one thousand feet. 
 
 This grand and impressive structure extends as far 
 as the Great Glacier, except where diversified by the 
 sweep of four great bays, each communicating with 
 deep gorges, which are watered by streams from the 
 inland ice-fields. The average elevation of the table- 
 land bordered by these cloven, rugged, precipitous clifis 
 is about 900 feet ; but far away, in the direction of the 
 mer de glace of the unknown interior, it rises to 1900 
 feet. 
 
 According to Dr. Kane, the most picturesque portion 
 of the North Greenland coast is met with between 
 Cape George Russell and Dallas Bay. Here the warm 
 red sandstones contrast agreeably with the cold white- 
 ness of the snow-fields and the ice-plains, and into the 
 dreary Arctic landscapes introduce something of the 
 character of more genial climates. The influence of the 
 seasonal changes has worked on the cliffs till they 
 have assumed the appearance of jointed masonry, which 
 
fr.i 
 
 ii 
 
 TENNYSON MONUMENT. 
 
 "jLtt 
 
m f I 
 
 >!■ 
 
 *,' 
 
 " V 
 
 u 
 
 •;« 
 
 ' . 1 
 
 f 
 
TENNYSON MONUMENT. 
 
 143 
 
 the narrow topmost layer of greenstooe caps with mimic 
 battlements. 
 
 A remarkable feature of this part of the coast was 
 distinguished by our explorers as the " Three Brother 
 Turrets." The rocky precipice rose at the mouth of a 
 sun-lighted gorge into the fantastic resemblance of a 
 castle, flanked with triple towers, boldly and clearly 
 defined. 
 
 Beyond this point, in lat. 79°, a single cliff" of green- 
 stone rose from a crumbled base of sandstones, like the 
 boldly chiselled rampart of an ancient fortress. At its 
 northern extremity, on t- odge of a profound ravine 
 which the action of ice and water had excavated in the 
 strata, stands a solitary column or minaret-tower, as 
 sharply finished as if wrought by the chisel of the 
 sculptor. The length of the shaft was estimated at 
 480 feet, and its pedestal or plinth was 280 feet high. 
 
 " I remember well," writes Dr. Kane, " the emotions 
 of my party 9-s it first broke upon our view. Cold and 
 sick as I was, I made a sketch of it, which may have 
 interest for the reader, though it scarcely suggests the 
 imposing dignity of this magnificent landmark. Those 
 who are happily familiar with the writings of Tenny- 
 son, and have communed with his spirit in the solitudes 
 of a wilderness, will apprehend the impulse that in- 
 scribed the scene with his name." 
 
 Beyond this Tennyson Monument lies the Advance 
 Archipelago ; and to the etist extends the Great Glacier 
 that has received the name of the illustrious German 
 philosopher and traveller Humboldt. It seems impos- 
 

 
 
 144 
 
 THE HUMBOLDT GLACIER. 
 
 sible to convey in words any adequate idea of the vast 
 frozen river which connects* instead of dividing the two 
 continents of America and Greenland. Its curved face, 
 from Cape Agassiz to Capo Forbes, measures fully sixty 
 miles in length, and presents a grand wall or front of 
 glistening ice, kindled hero and there into dazzling 
 glory by the sun. Its form is that of a wedge, the 
 apex lying inland, at perhaps " not more than a single 
 day's railroad travel from the Pole." Thus it passes 
 away into the centre of the Greenland continent, which 
 is occupied by one deep unbroken sea of ice, twelve 
 hundred miles in length, that receives a perpetual in- 
 crease from the water-shed of vast snow-mantled moun- 
 tjiins. A frozen sea, yet a sea in constant motion, 
 rolling onward slowly, labor'.ously, but surely, to find 
 an outlet at each fiord or valley, and to load the seas of 
 Greenland and the Atlantic with mighty icebergs, until, 
 having attained the northern limit of the land it over- 
 whelms, it poura out a mighty congealed torrent into 
 the unknown Arctic space ! 
 
 The discoveries which we have thus summarized 
 
 II 
 
 if^ 
 
 * " I have spoken of Humboldt Glacier as connecting: tlio two continents of Amer- 
 ica ami Greenlaiul. The expression requires explanation. All of Arctic America 
 north of Dolphin and Union Straits is broken up into large insular masses, and 
 may bo considered as a vast arciiipelago. AVhlle, therefore, a liberal definition 
 would assign these liind-niasses to the American continent, Grinnell Land cannot 
 strictly l)e regarded as part of the continent of America. Washington Land seems, 
 in physical character and position, to be a sort of middle ground, which, according 
 to the different views of geographers, may bo assigned Indifferently to either of the 
 two great divisions. From the American land-masses it is separated by a channel 
 of but thirty-flve miles In width; and at this point Greenland, losing its peninsular 
 character, partakes in general character with the land-masses of the West. A 
 water-channel not wider fhan Lancaster Sound or Murchison's, which have hereto- 
 fore not been regarded as breaking a geographical continuity, is all that InterTenei." 
 —Dr. Kane, p. 504, 
 
 11 
 
 
KANE S ILLNESS. 
 
 146 
 
 were not made without much suffering on the part of 
 Dr. Kane and his followers. The heroic leader, indeed, 
 jilmost succumbed to the terrible hardships of this 
 adventurous journey, and was carried back to the 
 sledge in so prostrate a condition that recovery seemed 
 hopeless. It may be doubted, indeed, whether his 
 strength was ever thoroughly recruited, though the 
 skill and attention of Dr. Hayes, and his own undaunted 
 spirit, rescued him from the jaws of death. All the 
 men were more or less afflicted, and in the middle of 
 June only three were able to do duty, and of the 
 officers Dr. Hayes alone was on his feet. 
 
 The Great Glacier had effectually terminated the 
 labours of the explorers in that direction ; and Dr. 
 Kane determined that their future search should be 
 made to the north and east of Captain Inglefield's Cape 
 Sabine, He still cherished a belief that some, at least, 
 of the hardier members of Sir John Franklin's expedi- 
 tion must bo alive, and, having made their way to the 
 open spot of some tidal eddy, had set bravely to work, 
 under the teachings of an Eskimo, or one of their own 
 whalers, and trapped the fox, speared the bear, and 
 killed the seal, walrus, and whale. 
 
 EXPLORATIONS. 
 
 Dr. Hayes and William Godfrey started on the 20th 
 of May, and returned on the 1st of June. Through 
 labyrinths of rugged hummocky ice they gallantly 
 struggled ; frequently in crossing the ridges, which 
 were from twenty to forty feet in height, their sledge 
 would capsize and roll over and over, dogs, cargo, and 
 
 (044) 10 
 
 - -il 
 

 Si ' 
 
 M <« 
 
 Si 
 
 II 
 
 146 
 
 THE NORTH-EAST PARTY. 
 
 all, into the drift below. Dr. Hayes suffered greatly 
 from snow-blindness, and Godfrey's energies completely 
 broke down. They succeeded, however, in crossing to 
 the west coast of the channel, which they explored for 
 about two hundred miles, from Cape Frazer to Franklin 
 Pierce Bay; and then returned across the ice to the 
 east coast, striking land at or near Cape Inglefield, and 
 then keeping along the ice-belt to Rensselaer Harbour. 
 Dobbin Bay was discovered in the course of this adven- 
 turous journey. 
 
 Another expedition was immediately resolved upon, 
 with the view of discovering an outlet to the north 
 from the great bay or basin of ice, since called Kane 
 Sea — a continuation of Smith Sound — in which the 
 explorers were involved. This expedition was desig- 
 nated the North-East Party ; and consisted of M'Gary, 
 Bonsall, Hickey, and Riley, under the direction of 
 William Morton, and accompanied by Hans the Eskimo. 
 Their orders were to push forward as far as the base of 
 the Great Glacier, and there fill up with provisions 
 from the cache. M'Gary and three men were then to 
 attempt to scale and survey the glacier, while Morton 
 and Hans crossed the bay in the dog-sledge and ad- 
 vanced along the north-west coast. 
 
 During their absence signs of summer daily grew 
 more numerous. Bird, insect, and vegetable began to 
 make their appearance. The songs of the snow-birds 
 filled the air with melody. The verdant sap revived 
 in the andmrneda ; the willows hung out tlieir downy 
 catkins ; and lichens, starwort, and drabas put forth 
 
ABOUT SEALS. 
 
 147 
 
 their tender shoots beneath the snow. The seals now- 
 showed themselves on the ice-floes, and furnished a 
 welcome dish at the table of our winter-worn explorers. 
 They were chiefly of the rough or hispid species, 
 whose flesh is eaten universally by the Danes of Green- 
 land, and is almost the main sustenance of the Eskimos. 
 When raw it has a flabby look, more " like coagulated 
 blood than muscular fibre ;" but when cooked it assumes 
 a sooty colour. It is described as close-grained, but 
 soft and tender, with a. flavour of lamp-oil; a mere 
 soupgon, however, for the blubber, when fresh, is sweet 
 and delicious, — at least, in the early summer. 
 
 The seal are shot as they bask in the sun by their 
 atluks or breathing-holes. At first they are exceedingly 
 shy and timid, but towards midsummer it becomes 
 easier to approach them ; and this more particularly 
 because the sun-glare frequently renders them nearly 
 blind. 
 
 Each seal yields a considerable supply of oil : on an 
 average, about five gallons. 
 
 The only other species that frequented Rensselaer 
 Harbour was the Phoca barbata, or large bearded seal ; 
 the U8uk of the Eskimos. This animal frequently at- 
 tains the length of ten feet, with a circumference of 
 eight feet, and owing to its unwieldy bulk is frequently 
 mistaken at a distance for the walrus. 
 
 The netsik, or hispid seal, will not perforate ice of 
 more than one season's growth ; and the hunters search 
 for it, therefore, in places where the water was open in 
 the previous year. But the usuk, or bearded seal, has no 
 atluk, or opening. For purposes of respiration it trusts 
 
 '-r 
 
) 
 
 1 i 
 
 148 
 
 SEAL AND BEAR. 
 
 to fissures and chasms in the ice, and hence it is found 
 wher ,ver the bergs or floes have been in motion. Their 
 range, consequently, is much more extensive than that 
 of their little " sun-basking brethren," who herd together 
 in large numbers, so as in some places to cover the ice 
 with a dark dense mass of living animals. 
 
 " On one occasion," says Kane, " while working my 
 way towards the Eskimo huts, I saw a large uauk 
 basking asleep upon the ice. Taking off my shoes, I 
 commenced a somewhat refrigerating process of stalk- 
 ing, lying upon my belly, and crawling along step by 
 step behind the little knobs of floe. At last, when I 
 was within long rifle-shot, the animal gave a sluggish 
 roll to one side, and suddenly lifted his head. The 
 movement was evidently independent of me, for he 
 strained his neck in nearly the opposite direction. 
 Then, for the first time, I found that I had a rival 
 seal-hunter in a large bear, who was, on his belly like 
 myself, waiting with commendable patience and cold 
 feet for a chance of nearer approach. 
 
 " What should I do ? The bear was doubtless worth 
 more to me than the seal ; but the seal was now within 
 shot, and the bear ' a bird in the bush.' Besides, my 
 bullet once invested in the seal would leave me de- 
 fenceless. I might be giving a dinner to the bear and 
 saving myself for his dessert. These meditations were 
 soon brought to a close ; for a second movement of the 
 seal so aroused my hunter's instincts that I pulled the 
 trigger. My cap alone exploded. Instantly, with a 
 floundering splash, the seal descended into the deep, 
 and the bear, with three or four rapid leaps, stood dis- 
 
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 / 
 
ABOUT THE POLAR BEAR. 
 
 151 
 
 consolately by the place of his descent. For a single 
 moment we stared each other in the face, and then, 
 with that discretion which is the better part of valour, 
 the bear ran off in one direction, and I followed his 
 example in the other." 
 
 PHYSIOLOGY OF THE POLAR BEAR. 
 
 The Polar bear is an animal of original character; 
 remarkable, as philosophers would say, for his strong 
 individuality. His curiosity is insatiable, and it fre- 
 quently leads him into difficulties from which he cannot 
 always extricate himself successfully. One night, during 
 the sledge-journey of Bonsall and M'Gary, they had en- 
 camped in the usual manner, and taken refuge from the 
 severities of the weather under the roof of their tent. 
 They were enjoying a sound sleep after the day's 
 fatigues, when, about half an hour after midnight, 
 M'Gary became conscious of a movement in the snow 
 immediately by his head. Waking hastily, he was 
 able to make out that a large animal was prowling 
 round the tent. His shout of surprise aroused his 
 companions ; but as they had left all their guns in the 
 sledge, a little distance off, they felt themselves in a 
 predicament. What was to be done ? Egress was im- 
 possible, for the bear had taken up a position at the 
 tent-opening; and displaying the utmost indifference 
 to lighted matches and brandished torches of news- 
 paper, proceeded to regale composedly on the carcass 
 of a seal which had been shot on the previous day. 
 
 One of the besieged, however, Tom Hickey by name, 
 bethought himself at last of an approved military strata- 
 
1 
 
 r 
 
 m- 
 
 1 j 
 
 i 
 
 
 t " 
 
 1* 
 
 1 ^ '' 
 
 152 
 
 URSINE CURIOSITY. 
 
 gem; and while the enemy kept watch in the front, he 
 escaped in the rear, through a hole which he cut in the 
 canvas of the tent. Seizing a boat-hook that lay out- 
 side, he dealt Bruin a blow which constrained him to 
 retreat some paces beyond the sledge. Tom then sprang 
 forward, seized a rifle, and fell back in safety on his 
 comrades; handing the weapon to Mr. Bonsall, who 
 deftly loaded it, and brought down the enemy with a 
 bullet through his body. 
 
 The last cache of provisions, on which Dr. Kane had 
 relied for the supply of this reconnoitring-party, was 
 found to have been rifled by the bears, though it had 
 been erected with much care and labour. No obstacle, 
 howevei;, could overcome the strength and curiosity of 
 these " tigers of the ice." Not a morsel of pemmican 
 remained except in the iron cases, which, being round, 
 with conical ends, had " defied both claw and teeth." 
 Yet they had been rolled and tossed in all directions, 
 like so many footballs, though over eighty pounds in 
 weight. An alcohol-case, bound strongly with iron, 
 was split up into small fragments. A tin can of liquor 
 was twisted into a ball; the bear's strong claws having 
 pierced through the metal as if it had been so much 
 paper. 
 
 Salt meats they evidently did not relish ; but ground 
 coffee had pleased their palate ; and so keen was their 
 appetite for old canvas, that even the flag of the ex- 
 pedition had been gnawed down to the very staff. 
 They had evidently enjoyed themselves thoroughly ; 
 tying up the heavy india-rubber cloth into hard knots, 
 
MORTON S EXPLORING JOURNEY. 
 
 153 
 
 and rolling about the bread-barrels after the fashion 
 of boys with their marbles. 
 
 MORTON S EXPEDITION. 
 
 Some interesting results were obtained from the 
 expedition under Morton. Their progress across the 
 ice was not unattended with danger; but these ex- 
 plorers were men not easily daunted. They clambered 
 up hillocks, and bridged broad chasms, and wound in 
 and out of towering bergs, with equal skill and in- 
 trepidity ; well seconded by their dogs, which showed 
 as much sure-footedness as mules. At Cape Andrew 
 Jackson they reached what appeared to be the farthest 
 limit of the ice; and, looking northward, up Kennedy 
 Channel, saw a broad expanse of open water. The 
 landscape was also of a brighter character than any they 
 had recently seen ; a long low plain spreading between 
 large headlands, and relieved here and there by ranges 
 of rolling hills. Down the valley came a flock of brent 
 geese with whirring wings; and the waves were 
 darkened by the shadows of ducks and dovekies. 
 Tern abounded, and the air literally echoed with 
 their shrill cries. 
 
 Ti e great channel of open water continued to spread 
 to the northward. Broken ice was floating in it, but 
 with passages fifteen miles wide, and perfectly clear. 
 " There would have been no difficulty," it is said, " in 
 a frigate standing anywhere." 
 
 Pushing forward boldly, Morton and his companions 
 entered upon a bold deep curve in the eastern shore, 
 which they designated Lafayette Bay. Beyond it lay 
 
 U'A 
 
 M 
 
 
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.a • I. 
 
 154 
 
 A REMOTE PEAK. 
 
 % £ 
 
 two islands, which Dr. Kane afterwards named in 
 honour of Sir John Franklin and Captain Crozier. 
 The Tie plus ultra of their adventurous journey was 
 Cape Constitution, where the ice-foot seemed nearly to 
 terminate. Here the cliffs were about two thousand 
 feet in height, nobly guarding the water-way which 
 apparently led to the enchanted region of the North 
 Pole. Morton attempted to pass round the cape, but 
 as there was no ice-foot his efforts were in vain; and 
 he found it impossible to ascend the lofty cliffs. So 
 he fastened to his walking-staff the Grinnell flag of 
 the Antarctic — a well-worn relic, which had already 
 fluttered in two Polar voyages — and rearing it on high, 
 its weather-worn folds floated freely " over the highest 
 northern land, not only of America, but of the globe." 
 Straining his gaze into the misty distance, Morton could 
 dimly see, far away on the western shore, a bare trun- 
 cated peak, which is supposed to be 2500 or 3000 feet 
 in height. This peak, says Kane, the most remote 
 northern point of Earth, takes its name from the great 
 pioneer of Arctic travel, Sir Edward Parry. It is 
 allowable to suppose that the future explorer who 
 shall succeed in reaching the mighty mass, and in 
 ascending to its summit, will be able to survey, with- 
 out let or hindrance, the free broad waters of the o' )en 
 sea that rolls around the Pole ! 
 
 A RECONNAISSANCE. 
 
 All the sledge-parties were once more on board 
 ship, and the season for Arctic exploration was over. 
 So far as Kane and his follower could judge, between 
 
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 l''fi 
 
 il 
 
 
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 t > 
 
 *' 
 
 l<« 
 
 ( , 1, 
 
 X 
 
 
 
THE ARCTIC SEA-BIRDS. 
 
 157 
 
 their station at Kensselaer and the north water of 
 Baffin Bay extended one vast barrier of unbroken ice. 
 Advance or retreat seemed alike impossible. Yet the 
 growing scarcity of provisions rendered it necessary 
 that they should establish a communication with some 
 point where fresh supplies could be obtained ; and, after 
 much consideration, the undaunted leader of this " for- 
 lorn hope " resolved on an attempt where he would 
 fall in with the squadron under Sir Edward Belcher. 
 For this purpose he chose five active men, the most 
 energetic and experienced of his party; and having 
 refitted and rigged up his old boat, started, about the 
 middle of July, on his bold adventure. Near Littleton 
 Island he observed some flocks of ducks, and by follow- 
 ing them up to their breeding grounds obtained an 
 abundant supply. Dr. Kane furnishes a striking picture 
 of the islets and rocky ledges where the birds made 
 their rude and irregular nests. Of one, which he calls 
 Hans Island, he says that the glaucous gulls, these cor- 
 morants of the Arctic seas, had made it their peculiar 
 homestead. Their progeny, already full-fledged and 
 voracious, crowded the guano-whitened rocks ; and the 
 mothers, with long necks and gaping yellow bills, 
 swooped above the peaceful shallows of the eiders, 
 seemingly just as their wants required. A more 
 domineering and insatiable rapacity could not be 
 imagined. The gull would gobble up and swallow a 
 young eider with almost indescribable rapidity. For 
 a moment might be seen the paddling feet of the poor 
 little wretch protruding from the mouth ; then came a 
 distension of the neck as it descended into the stomach ; 
 
158 
 
 CAUGHT IN A GALE. 
 
 ! M 
 
 a few moments more, and the young gulls were feeding 
 on the ejected morsel. ■ 
 
 The mother-duck, of course, nearly distracted, battled 
 gallantly and perseveringly ; but she could not always 
 reassemble her brood, and in her efforts to defend one, 
 uncovering the others, was frequently left as desolate 
 as Niobe. 
 
 11 f i 
 
 Continuing his course, Dr. Kane got out of the strait, 
 and passed into the open sea-way, where his boat was 
 tossed to and fro in a manner that added neither to the 
 comfort nor composure of his companions. While steer- 
 ing for Cape Combermere, a headland on the west coast 
 of what is called the North Water, they were overtaken 
 by a tremendous gale from the north, which nearly 
 capsized them. Their escape was due to the skill and 
 tenacity with which M'Gary handled that whaler's 
 marvel, the long steering-oar, heroically remaining at 
 his post for two-and-twenty hours. Great was the 
 relief when they entered the drift-ice, obtaining some 
 protection from the rolling waves ; and fastening to a 
 small ice-floe, rode out the storm under a warp and 
 grapnel. 
 
 When the weather abated, they resumed their voyage, 
 and after descending as far south as Clarence Head laid 
 their course for the Greenland shore. But after reach- 
 ing Northumberland Island they encountered the great 
 enemy o^ Arctic navigators — the pack-ice. Steadily 
 they forced their way through such narrow channels as 
 presented themselves, accomplishing in three days about 
 fifteen miles. At Cape Parry, however, the southern 
 
A SEA OF CRYSTAL. 
 
 159 
 
 boundary of Whale Sound, and one of the great land- 
 marks of the Greenland shore, they came to " a dead 
 halt." A solid mass lay before them, extending onward 
 to the remote horizon. " There were bergs in sight to 
 the westward, and by walking for some four miles over 
 the moving floe in that direction, M'Gary and myself 
 succeeded in reaching one. We climbed it to the height 
 of a hundred and twenty feet," says Kane, " and, looking 
 out from it with my excellent spy-glass to th^ south 
 and west, we saw that all within a radius of thirty miles 
 was a motionless, unbroken, and impenetrable sea." In 
 the Apocalyptic record of St. John we read, with won- 
 der, of a " sea of glass." Here was a sea of crystal — 
 level, rugged, solid, immovable ; which defied the navi- 
 gator even more surely than the rock-bound cliffs defy 
 the summer waves. 
 
 Until this vast waste broke up, or underwent some 
 change, farther progress was impossible ; and Kane re- 
 turned to Northumberland Island, in order to rest and 
 refresh his men. Here he discovered a colossal glacier, 
 which, from an interior ice-lake, slowly rolled its huge 
 bulk down the labouring valley, to the very brink of 
 the sea. In many places it could be seen .-"^erflowing, 
 as it were, the very crest of the rocks, and depending 
 in immense icy stalactites seventy and one hundred feet 
 in length. These, through the action of the continuous 
 overflow, were still increasing in size; some of them 
 breaking off as their weight became disproportionate to 
 their tenacity; others augmenting by constant supplies 
 from the interior, but throwing off broken masses with 
 an incessant clang and clamour. The plain below these 
 
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 ANOTHER WINTER. 
 
 V ' 
 
 ice-cataracts was heaped up with the wreck and refuse, 
 while torrents of foaming, muddy water poured along 
 the rugged surface, carrying rocks and gravel downward 
 to the sea. 
 
 il 
 
 .<:■ 
 
 iiij 
 
 A SECOND WINTER IN THE ICE. 
 
 They now returned to the brig, which for eleven 
 months had been imprisoned in the ice, and undertook 
 some operations, with the view of effecting her release ; 
 or, at least, of warping her toward Butler Island. In 
 this latter effort they succeeded, and having attained a 
 more convenient and sheltered position, they hoped a 
 heavy wind would accomplish their entire liberation. 
 But August was far advanced ; winter threw its dreary 
 shadows before; the young ice began to close in all 
 round ; and no change in their condition was brought 
 about either by favourable winds or high tides. Kane 
 found himself face to face with the question which so 
 often perplexes the boldest and readiest. What is to be 
 done ? He was compelled to own that the release of 
 the brig was impossible : should he essay another win- 
 ter on board, or should he attempt to reach the Danish 
 settlements on the coast of Greenland ? He resolved to 
 give his crew their choice, announcing at the same time 
 his intention of standing by the brig until the following 
 spring. After some deliberation, eight out of the seven- 
 teen survivors of the party elected to remain with their 
 courageous leader; namely, Brooks, M'Gary, Wilson, 
 Goodfellow, Morton, Ohlsen, Hickey, Hans Christian. 
 The others started on Monday, the 28th, in the old 
 boat, determined to push their way south, if it were at 
 
 
GUARDING AGAINST THE ENEMY. 
 
 161 
 
 all possible ; but one of them, George Riley, returned a 
 few days afterward. The rest passed, as it were, into a 
 cloud and the shadow of darkness ; and many weary 
 months went by before the veil was lifted. 
 
 Over the incidents of Kane's second winter in the 
 ice we shall not linger; as, necessarily, they differed 
 but little from his former experiences. Taking a hint 
 from the Eskimos, he turned his ship into an igloe, or 
 hut: padding the quarter-deck with moss and turf 
 until it formed a nearly cold-proof covering ; and, 
 below, enclosing a space of some eighteen feet square 
 within walls constructed of the same material. The 
 floor was calked carefully with plaster of Paris and 
 common paste, and covered with Manilla oakum a 
 couple of inches deep, and a canvas carpet. The en- 
 trance was from the hold, by a low, moss-lined tunnel, 
 corresponding to the tossut of the native huts. But no 
 precaution could guard them effectually against the 
 terrible cold of an Arctic winter, and they suffered 
 severely; their pains being aggravated by the preva- 
 lence of scurvy among them, and the want of proper 
 and sufficient food. 
 
 Communications were established with the Eskimos. 
 At first, owing to their disregard of the distinction 
 between nneum and tuum, the course of friendship did 
 not run smooth ; but Dr. Kane's energy and resolution 
 ftfiecteu a satisfactory settlement. A treaty of peace 
 was concluded, by which the Inuit, or Eskimos, pro- 
 mised : — " That they would not steal. That they would 
 bring fresh meat. That they would sell or lend them 
 
 (544) 11 
 
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 8 '^ i! V 
 
 I 
 
 168 
 
 A TREATY OF PEACE. 
 
 dogs. That they would keep them company whenever 
 they wanted them, and show them where to find bhe 
 game." 
 
 On the other hand, the Kahlunah, or white men, 
 swore: — "We promise that we will not visit you with 
 death or sorcery, nor do you any hurt or mischief what- 
 soever. We will shoot for you on our hunts. You shall 
 be made welcome aboard ship. We will give you presents 
 of needles, pins, two kinds of knife, a hoop, three bits 
 of hard wood, some fat, an awl, and some sewing- thread; 
 and we will trade with you of these and everything 
 else you want, for walrus and seal meat of the first 
 quality." 
 
 Bear-hunting, seal-hunting, walrus-hunting ; visits to 
 Anoatok, the Eskimo settlement, — these were the main 
 features of the winter-life of the ice-bound explorers. 
 There is a sad monotony about them ; and it is impos- 
 sible to read page after page of Dr. Kane's journal with- 
 out feeling that one of the greatest trials of himself and 
 his companions must have been the dreary sameness of 
 the long, dark, winter months, and the constant recur- 
 rence of familiar objects, familiar scenes, and phenomena 
 which, by their frequency, had lost most of their in- 
 terest. 
 
 Dr. Kane himself, however, was to some extent sup- 
 ported by his keen interest in Nature, and even in the 
 Arctic night could find much at which to wonder. 
 The intense beauty of the Arctic firmament, he says, 
 can hardly be imagined. It seemed extended imme- 
 diately above their heads, with its stars magnified in 
 glory, and the very planets shining with a radiance 
 
SUFFERINGS OF THE EXPLCilERS. 
 
 163 
 
 that proved unfavourable for astronomical observations. 
 "I am afraid," he says, "to speak of some of these 
 night-scenes. I have trodden the deck and the floes, 
 when the life of earth seemed suspended — its movements, 
 its sounds, its colouring, its companionships; and as I 
 looked on the radiant hemisphere, circling above me as 
 if rendering worship to the unseen Centre of light, I 
 have ejaculated in humility of spirit, 'Lord, what is 
 man, that thou art mindful of him?* And then I have 
 thought of the kindly world we had left, with its re- 
 volving sunshine and shadow, and the other stars that 
 gladden it in their changes, and the hearts that warmed 
 to us there, till I lost myself in memories of those who 
 are not — and they bore me back to the stars again," 
 
 As the winter advanced, the condition of the prisoners 
 — for such they were — daily grew worse, and most of 
 them were brought to the very verge of the grave by 
 scurvy. In December not more than three were capable 
 of active work; and to increase the gloom of the pros- 
 pect, they found their store of fuel insufficient, and Dr. 
 Kane saw that they would be compelled to have re- 
 course to the outside oak-sheathing of the brig. 
 
 It is almost impossible to enter fully into their suffer- 
 ings, because we gentlemen of England who live at home 
 in ease have no standard by which, as it were, to appraise 
 them. We have never experienced a temperature fifty 
 degrees below zero; know nothing of the agonies of 
 scurvy ; have never spent week after week uncheered 
 by tlie genial sunlight ; have never been imprisoned in 
 tlie bonds of an Arctic winter ! We can say no more 
 
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 M 
 
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 1 
 
 164 
 
 JOURNEY TO ETAH. 
 
 than that they had much to bear, and that they bore it 
 heroically. 
 
 On February 25, 1855, the sun once more rose above 
 the long, deep, gloomy night of an Arctic winter. 
 Early in March they obtained a supply of walrus-meat, 
 which probably saved the lives of the whole party. 
 A brief entry in Dr. Kane's journal, under the date of 
 April 22nd, " speaks volumes " as to the wretched con- 
 dition of these brave men, who had adventured into 
 the Arctic wilds on a mission of love and charity. 
 Here it is : "I read our usual prayers ; and Dr. Hayes, 
 who feeb sadly the loss of his foot, came aft and 
 crawled upon deck to sniff the daylight. He had not 
 seen the sun for five months and three weeks ! " 
 
 Dr. Kane now undertook a sledge-journey to Etah, an 
 Eskimo settlement, in order to effect the purchase of a 
 fresh supply of sledge-dogs. Here he was hospitably re- 
 ceived. A visit to an Eskimo hut, however, is not one of 
 pleasure. Such an "amorphous mass of compounded 
 humanity " is nowhere else to be seen: men, women, and 
 children, with little but their native dirt to cover them, 
 crowded together in a close stifling cell, fifteen feet by 
 six! As Kane failed to obtain the dogs, he was forced 
 to abandon the further exploration he had meditated. 
 
 PREPARATIONS. 
 
 For with the spring had returned Dr. Kane's all-ab- 
 sorbing desire to accomplish the object of his enterprise 
 — the discovery of some traces of the Franklin expedi- 
 tion, or, as he hoped, of its survivors. His work could 
 not be regarded as finished, he felt, until the further 
 
 ^mm. 
 
bore it 
 
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 ii 
 
 ti 
 
 Mt^ 
 
THE BOATS REPAIRED. 
 
 m 
 
 shores beyond Kennedy Channel had been searched; 
 but he was without dogs, the indispensable means of 
 travel. Out of sixty-two only four were left. Nothing 
 remained but to prepare for the homeward journey; for 
 escaping, if escape were possible, from the regions of ice 
 and snow in which they had so long been involved. 
 
 The necessary preparations were energetically under- 
 taken, notwithstanding the enfeebled condition of the 
 party, and carried out with much method. They in- 
 eluded the manufacture of clothing, of bedding, and 
 provision bags, the package of provisions, and the re- 
 pair and equipment of the boats. 
 
 These were three in number ; but all were well worn 
 by exposure to ice and storm. Two were " cypress 
 whaleboats," twenty -six feet long, with seven feet 
 beam, and three feet deep. These were strengthened 
 with oak bottom -pieces, and a long "string -piece" 
 bolted to the keel. The gunwale was fortified, and 
 additional depth obtained, by means of a washboard of 
 light cedar, about six inches high. A neat housing of 
 light canvas was stretched upon a ridge-line sustained 
 fore and aft by stanchions, and hung down over the 
 boat's sides, where it was fastened (stopped) to a jack- 
 stay. Each boat carried a single mast, stepped into an 
 oaken thwart in such a manner that it could be readily 
 unshipped and carried, with the oars, boat-hooks, and 
 ice-poles, alongside the boat. The third boat was the 
 little Red Eric, which was mounted on the old sledge ; 
 not, indeed, with any intention of using her for pur- 
 poses of navigation, but to cut her up for firewood, in 
 case the supply of blubber should fail. 
 
rr 
 
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 THE JOURNEY BEGUN. 
 
 Powder and shot, on which the lives of the travellers 
 depended, were carefully distributed in bags and tin 
 canisters. The percussion-caps Dr. Kane himself took 
 charge of, as more precious than gold. To Mr. Bonsall 
 were intrusted the arms and ammunition. Places were 
 arranged for the guns, and hunters appointed for each 
 boat. Mr. Petersen looked after the cooking-gear. In 
 fact, for each man a special duty was found, and nothing 
 was neglected that could contribute in any way to the 
 safety of the party. The completeness and thoughtful- 
 ness of these preparations had the best effect on the 
 spirits of the men ; and though some of them still 
 doubted whether escape was possible, all braced up 
 their energies to make the attempt. As most of them 
 were invalids, some little preliminary training was 
 needed ; but this required to be very gradual. " We 
 made but two miles the first day," says Kane, " and 
 Avith a single boat ; and, indeed, for some time after this 
 I took care that they should not be disheartened by 
 overwork. They came back early to a hearty supper and 
 warm beds ; and I had the satisfaction of marching them 
 back each recurring morning refreshed and cheerful." 
 
 They bade farewell to the brig, which had been their 
 home for upwards of two years, with much solemnity. 
 The whole company assembled in the dismantled winter- 
 cabin to assist in the ceremony. It was Sunday. They 
 read prayers and a chapter of the Bible. Then Dr. Kane 
 addressed them in a few manly words. He did not 
 attempt to disguise the difficulties that lay before them ; 
 but he declared that they could be overcome by energy 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 160 
 
 and subordination to command, and that the thirteen 
 hundred miles of ice and water that lay between them 
 and North Greenland could be safely traversed by the 
 majority — and that, indeed, there was hope for all. He 
 added that, as men and mess-mates, it was their duty — 
 and a duty enjoined upon them alike by religion and 
 true courage — to postpone every consideration of self 
 to the protection of the sick and the wounded ; and 
 this, under all circumstances, and by every one of them, 
 must be regarded as a paramount order. In conclusion, 
 he desired them to reflect upon the trials they had ex- 
 perienced and surmounted, and to remember how often 
 an unseen Power had rescued them in the hour of 
 danger. In Him it was for all of them to put their 
 trust, confid<jnt that He would shield and save. 
 
 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 All hands being ready, the brig was abandoned, and 
 they proceeded to their respective stations in the two 
 boats. Excluding four invalids, who were unable to 
 move, and Dr. Kane, who had to drive the dog- team 
 and serve as common carrier and courier, they num- 
 bered only twelve men. It was needful, therefore, to 
 concentrate their entire energies upon one sledge at a 
 time, as six to a sledge would have been incapable of 
 moving it. The routine established was most precise : 
 Daily prayers both morning and evening, all hands 
 gathering round in a circle, and standing uncovered 
 during the short exercise ; regulated hours ; fixed duties 
 and positions at the track-lines and on the halt; the 
 cooking to be taken by turns, the captains of the boats 
 
 ii 
 
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 1^ 
 
 miM 
 
a ll 
 
 ii 
 
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 !m 
 
 
 170 
 
 DAY BY DAY. 
 
 alone being excused. The charge of the log was con- 
 fided to Dr. Hayes, and of the running survey to Mr. 
 Sonntag ; of the boats and sledges to boatswain Brooks, 
 a man of tried courage and proved fidelity. 
 
 Up to the evening of the 23rd, the progress made by 
 the adventurous little company had scarcely exceeded a 
 mile a day for one sledge. On the 24th both sledges 
 amved at First Ravine, a distance of seven miles ; and 
 the dog-sledge had brought on to this point the buffalo 
 bags and other sleeping appliances which had been pre- 
 pared for the winter. That they should sleep in com- 
 fort was essential to the well-being, nay, the very 
 existence, of the adventurers ; and it was a rule, there- 
 fore, from which few de]Dartures wei"e permitted, that a 
 new day'o labour sliould not be begun until all had 
 recovered, as far as possible, from the ^atigues of the 
 previous day. Their halts were regulated by the con- 
 dition of the men, and not fixed by arbitrary hours : 
 sleep was proportioned to the length and trials of the 
 march. The thermometer still ranged below zero ; but 
 the housed boats, well crowded, and fully stocked with 
 sleeping-gear, were comfortable enough to weary men ; 
 besides which, they slept by day, when the sun was 
 Avarmest, and travelled when they would be safe from 
 the injurious eflfects of its reflected glare. 
 
 Over the earlier portion of the escape journey w } 
 need not linger. The first five weeks were occupied in 
 short stages, in intercourse with the Eskimos, in long 
 halts for the comfort of the sick, in the replenishment 
 
ALL IS NOT SMOOTH. 
 
 171 
 
 of supplies. Gradually, however, they advanced to the 
 southward; and their progress was expedited, on the 
 6th of June, by the coming up of a fresh breeze, which 
 enabled them to hoist their canvas and sail their sledges 
 across the ice. This was a new sensation to the foot- 
 sore wayfarers. " Levels which, under the slow labour 
 of the drag-ropes, would have delayed them for hours, 
 were glided over without a halt. They thought it 
 dangerous work at first, but the speed of the sledges 
 made rotten ice nearly as available as sound. The men 
 could see plainly that the^ vere approaching new land- 
 marks, and leaving old ones behind. Their spirits rose : 
 the sick mounted the thwarts, the well clung to the 
 gunwale ; and for the first time for nearly a year broke 
 out the sailor's chorus, * Storm along, my hearty boys !' " 
 
 DIFFICULTIES. 
 
 But all was not smooth, as the following extract from 
 Dr. Kane's journal will show : — 
 
 " From this time," he says, " we went on for some 
 days, aided by our sails, meeting with accidents occa- 
 sionally — the giving way of a spar or the falling of 
 some of the party through the spongy ice — and occa- 
 sionally, when the floe was altogether too infirm, labour- 
 ing our way with great difficulty upon the ice-belt. 
 To mount this solid highway, or to descend from it, the 
 axes were always in requisition. An inclined plane 
 was to be cut, ten, fifteen, or even thirty feet long ; and 
 along this the sledges were to be pushed and guided by 
 bars and levers with painful labour. These are light 
 things, aj I refer to them here ; but in our circum- 
 
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il 
 
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 11 
 
 
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 s( Hi 
 
 172 
 
 CROSSING THE FLOES. 
 
 stances, at the time I write of, when the breaking of a 
 stick of timber was an irreparable harm, and the dehiy 
 of a day involved the peril of life, they were grave 
 enough. Even on the floes the axe was often indis- 
 pensable to carve our path through the hummocks ; 
 and niany a Aveary and anxious hour liave I looked on 
 and toiled while the sledges wore waiting for the way 
 to open. Sometimes, too, both on the land-ice and on 
 the bolt, wo encountered heavy snow-drifts, which were 
 to bo shovelled away 'afoie we could get along; and 
 witliin an hour afterward, or perhaps even at the bottom 
 of the drift, one of the sledge-runnel's would cut through 
 to the water, 
 
 " It was saddiaiing to our poor follows, when we were 
 forced to leave the ice-belt and push out into the open 
 field, to look ahead at the salt ice-marshes, as they called 
 them, studded with black pools, with only a white lump 
 rising here and there through the load-coloured surface, 
 like tussocks of grass or rushes struggling through a 
 swamp. The labour would have been too much for us, 
 wearv and broken as we were, but for the occasional 
 assistance avo doriA'od from the Eskimos. I remember 
 once a sledge Avont so far under, carrying with it several 
 of the party, that the boat floated loose. Just then 
 seven of the natiA'os came up to us — five sturdy men 
 and tAvo almost as sturdy Avomon — and Avithout Avaiting 
 to be called on, Avorked Avith us most efficiently for 
 more than lialf a day, asking no reward." 
 
 On the 12th of June the expedition reached Little- 
 ton Island, Avhere they found their depot of provisions 
 
)• il 
 
 ^<i 
 
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 r 
 
 k.K 
 
 V^; 
 
 
A HALT AMONG THE ESKIMOS. 
 
 i75 
 
 in excellent order. Ohlsen, one of the bravest and most 
 intelligent of Dr. Kane's crew, at this point succumbed 
 to disease, and was buried decently in a little gorge ; his 
 remains being duly protected from fox and bear. After 
 this sad ceremony the march was resumed ; but as they 
 neared the Kskimo settlements it became less toilsome, 
 assistance being freely given by the children of the 
 Arctic World. They volunteered their aid at the drag- 
 ropes ; they carried the sick upon hand-sledges ; they 
 poured in abundant supplies of fresh food, the quantity 
 of little auks they brought being characterized as 
 " enormous." They fed the explorers and their dogs at 
 the rate of eight thousand birds a week, all of them 
 caught in their little hand-nets. No wonder that, under 
 such favourable circumstances. Dr. Kane and his fol- 
 lowers threw off their gloom for a time. The men in- 
 dulged in their old forecastle songs ; the sledges began 
 to move merrily ahead ; and the old moody silence gave 
 way to laugh and jest. 
 
 : ?ii 
 
 I' 
 
 
 Kit 
 
 h ". 
 
 RESUMING THE VOYAGE. 
 
 On the 16th of June the boats reached the open 
 water. The deep blue horizon glimmered before the 
 longing eyes of the wanderers ; the roar of the billows 
 came up from the icy beach ; the odour of the sea was 
 drunk in as if it carried with it new strength and life. 
 They encamped in the immediate vicinity of Cape 
 Alexander, at the southern entrance of Smith Strait. 
 Against tlio rugged sides of the dark headland the 
 surf beat tumuUnously ; and every man longed to bo 
 ploughing through it, and steering onwards to that 
 
 
i 
 
 I 
 
 f 
 
 176 
 
 ON THE OPEN WATER. 
 
 genial South where lay safety, and friends, and honour, 
 and home. - \ 
 
 A month was occupied in a careful repair of the 
 boats, ■v^ Inch, split with frost and warped by sunshine, 
 had opened at the seams, and required calking, and 
 swelling, and launching, and stowing, before the crews 
 could embark. 
 
 Alt«ir an unsuccessful attempt on June I7th, which 
 was defeated by a sudden gale, the boats got under way 
 at four P.M. on the 19th, Dr. Kane leading in the Faith. 
 She was followed by the Med Eric on his quarter, and 
 the Hope astern. In the Fai^h were M'Gary, Petersen, 
 Hickey, Stephenson, and Whipple ; in the Hope, Mr. 
 Brooks, Dr. Hayes, Sonntag, Morton, Goodfellow, and 
 Blake ; in the Fric, Bonsall, Eiley, and Godfrey. 
 
 The wind freshened as they doubled the westmost 
 point of Cape Alexander ; and as they looked out upon 
 the broad expanse of the open sea, t^iey could perceive 
 the kittiwakes, and the ivory-gulls, and the jagers 
 dipping their strong wings in the foam-crested waves. 
 They seemed the very s;ime birds — so, at least, the 
 adventurous voyagers thought — they had left two years 
 before, filling the air with their shrill cries, and catching 
 fish in the beautiful water. They sought to rest for 
 the night at Sutherland Island ; but a precipitous wall 
 of ice prevented them from landing. Then they stood 
 away for Hakluyfc Island, — not an agreeable voyage, as 
 a " short chopping sea" was running from the south- 
 east. The Red Eric was quickly swamped ; but Riley 
 and Godfrey contrived to struggle to the Faith, and 
 Bonsall to the Hope. It was impossible to remove 
 
 
NORTHUMBERLAND ISLAND. 
 
 177 
 
 the cargo of the little boat. All they could do was 
 to keep her from sinking, and tow her behind the larger 
 craft. The Hope v/as also leaking rapidly; but just 
 then the boats got in among the floating ice — which 
 always affords some protection against wind and cur- 
 rent — and fastened alongside an old floe. The weary 
 mariners then turned in to sleep, without hauling up 
 the boats. 
 
 The next morning they quitted their temporary 
 refuge, and proceeded to extricate themselves from the 
 ice-labyrinth ; afterwards rowing across the open water 
 to Hakluyt Island. 
 
 Here the boats were dragged ashore and calked. A 
 tent was rigged up for the sick ; and the bill of faro, 
 " bread-dust and tallow," was varied by a few birds. 
 
 On the 22nd, through a blinding snow-storm, they 
 pushed on to Northumberland Island ; wherp they were 
 greeted by a myriad of auks, and returned the greeting 
 by an invitation (which they found irresistible) to gi-ace 
 their table. A fox also saluted them with an admirable 
 imitation of the " Huk-huk-huk," or cry of distress, which 
 never .%lls in voin upon the ears of an Eskimo ; but the 
 sly fellow, after enticing them a mile and a half in pur- 
 suit, escaped their guns. 
 
 The boats entered a little patch of open water that 
 conducted them to the beach, immediately below one of 
 the hanging glaciers. These formed a curious and very 
 interesting spectacle. It seemed as if an ice caldron 
 inside the coast-ridijc was boilins: over, and flincjine; its 
 crust in huge fragments from the overhanging lip into 
 the sea below. 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 "I. . 
 I il 
 
178 
 
 INSUFFICIENT DIET. 
 
 I 
 
 On the 23rd, partly by rowing through winding 
 channels, and partly by dragging the boats over the 
 rugged ice, they succeeded in crossing Murchison 
 Channel, and encamped for the night on the land-floe 
 at the base of Cape Parry. Next day brought them to 
 the neighbourhood of Fitz-Clarence Rock, " one of the 
 most interesting: monuments that rear themselves along 
 this dreary coast : in a region more familiar to men, it 
 Avould be a landmark to the navigator. It rises from a 
 field of ice like an Egyptian pyramid surmounted by an 
 obelisk." 
 
 It is astonishing that such progress was made as is 
 here indicated, when we consider how scanty and how 
 insufficient was the daily allowance of food on which 
 these gallant men subsisted. At this time each man's 
 rations consis^od only of six ounces of bread-dust and a 
 lump of tallow about the size of a walnut ; to which 
 was added a cup of that great restorative, tea, when 
 they could run their boats under the lee of a berg and 
 fill their kettles with snow, so as to procure fresh water. 
 Dr. Kane says they drank immoderately of this stimu- 
 lating beverage, and derived gi*eat advantage from it. 
 
 Still, the effects of a diet so imperfect were gradually 
 seen in the decline of their muscular power. 
 
 The men themselves seemed scarcely aware of it, and 
 the difficulty they experienced in dragging and pushing 
 they referred to supposed obstacles in the ice and sludge 
 rather than to their own weakness. But one morning — 
 the 2Gth — as they endeavoured to push forward through 
 the fog, and found themselves hemmed in on all sides 
 by ice-fields so distorted and rugged as to defy all at- 
 
 j«iil4. 
 
A NARROW ESCAPE. 
 
 179 
 
 tempts to cross them, the truth seemed to burst simul- 
 taneously upon every mind. They had lost the sensa- 
 tion of hunger, and were almost satisfied with their 
 pasty broth, and the large draughts of tea which ac- 
 companied it. 
 
 "We were sorely disheartened," says Kane, "and 
 could only wait for the fog to rise, in the hope of some 
 smoother platform than that which was about us, or some 
 lead (that is, channel) that might save us the painful 
 labour of tracking. I had climbed the iceberg, and 
 there was nothing in view except Dalrymple Island, with 
 its red brassv face towering in the unknown distance. 
 But I hardly got back to my boat b<^fore a gale struck 
 us from the north-west, and a floe, tacking upon a tongue 
 of ice about a mile to the north of us, began to swing 
 upon it like a pivot, and close slowly in upon our nar- 
 row resting-place. 
 
 "At first our own floe also was driven before the 
 wind, but in a little while it encountered the stationary 
 ice at the foot of the very rock itself. On the instant 
 the wildest imaginable ruin rose around us. The men 
 sprang mechanically each one to his station, bearing 
 back the boats and stores ; but I gave up for the 
 moment all hope of our escape. It was not a nip, such 
 as is familiar to Arctic navigators ; but the whole plat- 
 form where we stood, and for hundreds of yards on 
 every side of us, crumbled, and crushed, and piled, and 
 tossed itself madly under the pressure. I do not believe 
 that, of our little body of men, all of them disciplined in 
 trials, able to measure danger while combating it, — I do 
 not believe there is one who this day can explain how 
 
 
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 IJ 
 
180 
 
 BORNE ALONG BY THE FLOE. 
 
 or why — hardly wlien, in fact — wo found ourselves 
 afloat. We only know that, in the midst of a clamour 
 utterly indescribable, through which the braying of a 
 thousand trumpets could no more liave been heard than 
 the voice of a man, we were shaken, and raised, and 
 whirled, and let down again in a swelling waste of 
 broken hummocks ; and, as the men grasped their boat- 
 hooks in the stillness that followed, the boats eddied 
 away in a tumultuous skreed of ice, and snow, and 
 water. 
 
 " We were borne along in this manner as long as the 
 imbroken remnant of the in-shore floe continued revolv- 
 ing, utterly powerless, and catching a glimpse every now 
 and then of the brazen headland that looked down on 
 us through the snowy sky. At last the floe brought 
 up against the rocks, the looser fragments that hung 
 round it began to separate, and we were able by oars 
 and boat-hooks to force our battered little flotilla clear 
 of them. To our joyful surprise, we soon found our- 
 selves in a stretch of the land-water wide enough to 
 give us rowing-room, and with the assured promise of 
 land close ahead." 
 
 But as they approached it they saw that It was fenced 
 round by a precipitous wall of belt-ice, in which was 
 neither an opening of access nor a nook of refuge. The 
 gale rose, and all that could be done was to get a grapnel 
 out to the ice, and hold on until the tide came up. In 
 this perilous position, and with winds and waves raging 
 around them, the voyagers were kept hard at work to 
 bail out their leaky boats, wliich strained every timber, 
 and seemed on the point of foundering. 
 
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 183 
 
 At three o'clock the tide had risen so high that tliey 
 found themselves able to scale the ice-cliff. One by one 
 the boats were hauled up on a narrow ledge, and dragged 
 into a deep, narrow gorge which provided an effectual 
 shelter. Here the little company ensconced themselves, 
 the cliffs warding off the fury of the gale. 
 
 Just as they had " encaved " the last boat, the Red 
 Eric, their ears were saluted with the long-unheard but 
 familiar and welcome sound of a passing flock of eiders, 
 whose whirring wings almost darkened the sky with 
 their shadows. Intense was the joy of the wave- worn 
 adventurers, for they knew the breeding-grounds of the 
 birds must be close at hand; and as they turned in, "wet 
 and hungry," to their long-coveted sleep, it was only to 
 dream of " eggs and abundance." 
 
 In the icy gorge they remained for three days, and 
 " eggs and abundance " they did indeed enjoy, gathering 
 as many as twelve hundred eggs in a day. Outside, 
 the tempest still let loose its violence, and the egg- 
 hunters found it difficult to keep their feet; but a 
 merrier set of gourmands than were gathered in the 
 crystal cave, far away in these bleak regions of the 
 desolate North, never " surfeited in genial diet." 
 
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 Though the snow-shower was still heavy, on the 3rd 
 of July the wind began to abate; and on the following 
 morniDg, after a moderate libation in honour of the day, 
 which is a memorable one in American annals, they 
 lowered their boats, and bade a grateful farewell to 
 " Weary Man's Rest." 
 
 For some days they slowly fought their way to the 
 
/• 1 
 
 184 
 
 AT PROVIDENCE HALT. 
 
 south, along the narrow water-ways which opened be- 
 tween the belt-ice and the floe. Owing to the dulness 
 of the weather, they could take no observations, and 
 they had arrived off a huge glacier, throwing its spur 
 far into the sea, before they discovered that it was im- 
 possible any longer to follow up the shore. Their pro- 
 gress was arrested by great chains of bergs, interspersed 
 with barricades of icy hummocks. For sixteen hours 
 they sought, and in vain, a mode of egress. The whole 
 sea was a mass of rugged, broken ice. 
 
 i , I 
 
 -A ) 
 
 PROVIDENCE HALT. 
 
 The birds, which had been so abundant when they 
 left Dalrymple Isliind, and had seemed to promise a 
 continuous supply, had been driven off by the storm. 
 The voyagers were again reduced to short daily rations 
 of bread-dust, which did not fail to influence unfavour- 
 ably their strength and energies. Dr. Kane was fearful, 
 therefore, to put out into the open sea ; and, in spite of 
 the barriers of ice, determined to prosecute his in-shore 
 route, which alone offered a prospect of game. They 
 occupied two-and-fifty hours in forcing this rugged 
 passage : an arduous and painful labour, which would 
 have been insupportable but for the disciplined endur- 
 ance of these gallant explorers. 
 
 After this diflficulty had been conquered, they had the 
 satisfaction of finding the water-channels broadening 
 before them, and on the 11th came in sight of Cape 
 Dudley Digges. At first their hearts rejoiced, in the 
 belief that their troubles were ended ; but a glacier, not 
 laid down in the charts, suddenly thrust out its icy 
 
AN ARCTIC SCENE. 
 
 185 
 
 tongue before theia, and seemed to defy their advance. 
 Their first resolve, says Kane, was to double it at all 
 hazards, for the crews were too much weakened to 
 undertake another wearisome " tracking " across its 
 hummocky surface, and the soft snow which covered the 
 land-floes was an insuperable obstacle. But on approach- 
 ing the glacier they found a spot where it was broken 
 up into fragments of ice and half-melted " sludge," and 
 the boats accomplished the passage. This done, the 
 condition of the frozen sea before them forced upon 
 Kane's mind the conviction that further advance was 
 impossible, and that they must patiently watch and 
 wait until the advancing summer had done its work, 
 and opened up to them a channel of escape. 
 
 Therefore they made for the cliffs. Grim and gloomy 
 was their aspect, but it was better to rest beneath their 
 protecting shadow than to await the fruitless ventures 
 of the sea. 
 
 Here, at the base of a lofty precipice, still adhered to 
 the rock a fragment of the winter iue-belt not exceeding 
 five feet in width. The tides broke over it, and the 
 waves incessantly lapped it, but it afforded a safe resting- 
 place for the boats. Above, Pelion seemed heaped upon 
 Ossa; cliff piled over cliff, until in the high distance 
 the rocks looked " like tlie overlapping scales of ancient 
 armour." They attained an elevation of at least eleven 
 hundred feet, and their summits were wreathed in fog 
 and mist; their rugged sides, broken with cleft and 
 ledge and crag, were tenanted by innumerable birds. 
 The nests were thickest on the rocky shelves some fifty 
 yards above the water ; but " both lumme and tridactyl 
 
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 186 
 
 AN IMMENSE GLACIER. 
 
 gulls filled the entire air with glimmering specks, caw- 
 ing and screeching with an incessant clamour." 
 
 The harsher features of the scene, however, were 
 somewhat relieved by a natural bridge which opened on 
 the right into a little valley cove, beautifully tapestried 
 Avith soft green mosses, while beyond and above it rose 
 the cold white wall of the glacier. 
 
 At its seaward termination, this glacier, this huge 
 river of ice, measured seven miles across; it sloped 
 upward and inward for about five miles, and then, 
 following the irregularities of its rocky substructure, 
 suddenly rose into a steep crevassed hill, mounting in 
 terraces, one above another. Then came two basins, as 
 it were, of less rugged ice, from which the frozen river 
 passed into the great mer de glace, or ice-sea, of the 
 interior. 
 
 From a high craggy hill to the northward it was 
 possible to obtain a view of this wonderful congealed 
 ocean, which apparently forms the continental axis of 
 Greenland; "a vast undulating plain of purple-tinted 
 ice, studded with islands, and absolutely gemming the 
 horizon with the varied glitter of sun-tipped crystal." 
 
 According to Dr. Kane, the water-flow from the lower 
 surface of the glacier exceeded that of any of the north- 
 ern glaciers, except the Humboldt and one near the 
 Eskimo settlement of Etah. One torrent which poured 
 across the ice-foot was tw^o to five feet deep, and broad- 
 ened upon the floes for several hundred yards ; another, 
 finding its outlet near the summit of the glacier, dashed 
 merrily over the rocks, and fell in abounding cataracts 
 upon the beach below. 
 
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 THE CLIFFS AT PROVIDENCE HALT. 
 
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THE VOYAGE SOUTHWARD. 
 
 189 
 
 The ranunculus, saxifrages, cliiekweeds, numerous 
 mosses, and Arctic grasses, throve vigorously near the 
 level of the glacier's first declivity ; stone-crops some 
 two hundred feet higher. The thermometer marked 
 90° in the sun, but only 38° in the shade. 
 
 Such were the physical characters of the scene. For- 
 tunately for our wanderers, it was not deficient in the 
 attractive element of animal life. The lumme, nearly 
 as large as the canvas-back ducks of America, and even 
 more nutritious and savoury — their eggs, highly esteemed 
 as delicacies on the Labrador coast — the cochlearia, grow- 
 ing richly in the guano-fertilized soil, — and all these, in 
 endless abundance, added to the attractions which it 
 possessed in the eyes of Dr. Kane and his followers. 
 
 On the 18th of July, after a week's delightful rest at 
 Providence Halt, the voyage was resumed. Preparation 
 had been made for it by laying in a store of lumme ; two 
 hundred and fifty of which had been duly skinned, 
 spread open, and dried on the rocks, to vary the diet of 
 bread-dust and tallow to which the crew would be 
 again restricted. Their course still lay along the margin 
 of the shore-ice. After passing the Crimson Cliffs of Sir 
 John Ross, the voyage seems to have assumed quite a 
 holiday character. The birds along the coast were glad 
 in the sunshine of the young summer, and bright streams 
 of water from the ice-fields above poured their crystal 
 threads over each verdurous cape. Our sportsmen, says 
 Dr. Kane, would clamber up the cliffs, and come back 
 laden with little auks; great generous fires of turf, that 
 cost nothing but the toil of gathering, blazed with a 
 
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 -•i.i- 
 
 I ' 'A 
 
 190 
 
 AT CAPE YORK. 
 
 cheerful radiance and a generous warmth ; and our 
 happy oarsmen, after a long day's work, made easy by 
 the prospect of peace and plenty, would stretch them- 
 selves in the sunsliine, and indulge in happy dreams, 
 until roused to morning prayers. Doubtless, the enjoy- 
 ment was all the keener because everybody knew that 
 the festival could not last. 
 
 INCIDENTS OF THE VOYAGE. 
 
 The end of it came at Cape York. Here, owing to 
 the late development of the season, the coast-ice pre- 
 sented a solid, unbroken surface, traversed by none of 
 those " leads " or water-ways which had hitherto served 
 the voyagers so well. A fast floe stretched out before 
 them, with numerous tongues extending to the south 
 and east. The only question was. Should they halt again 
 until the shore-ice opened, or abandon the coast and 
 venture into the open water ? 
 
 Dr. Kane soon decided that rest was impossible, for 
 at this part no birds were to be found, and the stock of 
 provisions was now reduced to 640 pounds, exclusive of 
 the dried birds ; or about 36 pounds per man. . Of fuel 
 there remained, including the empty provision-bags, a 
 supply for about three weeks. 
 
 The boats having been hauled up and refitted, the 
 crews re-embarked, and pushed south by west into the 
 ice-fields. The navigation was rendered exceedingly 
 difiicult by the huge hummocks which obstructed the 
 view ahead, and the frequent fogs. After a while they 
 found themselves blocked up, the canal into which they 
 had strayed having no outlet, and closing up behind 
 
AMONG THE ICE-FIELDS. 
 
 191 
 
 them as they advanced. There was nothing to be done 
 but to haul the boats up on the sledges, and retrace their 
 way to the westward. As only two were available, the 
 Red Eric was now cut up and stowed in pieces on board 
 the other boats to serve as fuel. Then the harassed men 
 dragged them over the broken ice until they reached 
 an open channel, and were able again to launch them. 
 
 The squadron, reduced to two boats, resumed its west- 
 ward course. Provisions were running low ; birds were 
 scarce ; the allowance of fuel was sadly restricted. Under 
 the influence of insufficient rations the strength of the 
 wayfarers was declining, but stern necessity compelled a 
 still further reduction. Five ounces of bread-dust, four 
 of tallow, and three of bird-meat, was all that could be 
 allowed as a day's ration for each man ! And this in 
 a rigorous climate, and under the trying circumstances 
 of constant exposure and incessant toil. 
 
 Dr. Kane remarks as curious that the effect of insuf- 
 ficient food is not, as might be supposed, the pangs of 
 hunger. The first symptom is loss of power, often so 
 imperceptibly brought on that only an accident reveals 
 its extent. " I well remember," he says, " our look of 
 blank amazement as, one day, the order being given to 
 haul the Hope over a, tongue of ice, we found that she 
 would not budge. At first I thought it was owing to 
 , the wetness of the snow-covered surface in which her 
 runners were; but as there was a heavy gale blowing 
 outside, and I was extremely anxious to get her on to a 
 larger floe to prevent being drifted off, I lightened her 
 cargo, and set both crews upon her. In the land of 
 promise off Crimson Cliffs, such a force would have 
 
 '■m 
 m 
 
A PERILOUS COURSE. 
 
 trundled her like a wheelbarrow : we could almost have 
 borne her upon our backs. Now, with incessant laboar 
 and standing-hauls, she moved at a snail's pace." 
 
 It was on this occasion that the little company nearly 
 lost their best boat, the Faith, which drifted away from 
 the ice-floe. The sight produced an almost hysterical 
 impression, for she had on board all their stores. Hap- 
 pily, before they could fully realize all the consequences 
 of her probable loss, a flat cake of ice eddied into the 
 vicinity of the floe. M'Gary and Dr. Kane sprang 
 upon it, and succeeded in floating it across the chasm 
 in time to secure the boat. Then the rest of the crew 
 rejoined her, with emotions of thankfulness which the 
 reader may well imagine. 
 
 As they continued their voyage, things grew worse 
 and worse. The men began to suffer from their old 
 difficulty of breathing, as well as from swollen feet, and, 
 what was still more serious, inability to sleep. When 
 it is remembered that they were now in the open bay, 
 in the full line of the great ice-drift to the Atlantic, and 
 in boats so shattered and leaky that even constant 
 bailing would hardly keep them afloat, it must be owned 
 that their position was as dark and hopeless as can well 
 be imagined. At this conjuncture, however, when hope 
 seemed hopeless, they discovered a large seal, asleep, and 
 slowly floating on a small patch of ice. If it could be 
 captured, they were saved ! 
 
 Oh, how carefully, how cautiously and silently, with 
 stockings drawn over their oars as mufflers, they 
 crept down upon the wished-for prize ! As they drew 
 
nost liavc 
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 ly nearly 
 way from 
 lysterical 
 s. Hap- 
 equences 
 into the 
 sprang 
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 the crew 
 hich the 
 
 vv worse 
 iheir old 
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 Jonstant 
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CAPTURE OF A SEAL. 
 
 195 
 
 near, so intense became the excitement that they could 
 hardly keep stroke. At last they arrived within a 
 hundred yards; the oars were taken in; and with a 
 single scull astern they dropped stealthily into the cur- 
 rent, Petersen was in the bow, with the large English 
 rifle, and everything depended upon his nerve and cool- 
 ness. Suddenly the seal rose on his fore-flippers, gazed 
 at the advancing boat with startled curiosity, and pre- 
 pared for a plunge. Would they lose him? No; at 
 that moment the report of the rifle disturbed the still 
 air, and simultaneously with it the seal relaxed his 
 great bulk on the ice, and, at the very brink of the floe, 
 his head fell helplessly to one side. 
 
 With a wild shout both boats charged full upon the 
 floes. Eager hands seized the precious booty, and lifted 
 it upon safer ice. The men, as if lost in a delirium of 
 joy, ran over the ice, crying, laughing, and brandishing 
 their knives. Never was animal more quickly prepared 
 for the table : never were vif nds more keenly relished. 
 A grand cooking fire was kindled, and the famished 
 voyagers enjoyed that night a strange, almost a savage 
 orgie. 
 
 RELIEF AT HAND. 
 
 It is unnecessary to dwell minutely on the later 
 incidents of the journey. On the 1st of August Dr. 
 Kane sighted the Devil's Thumb, and was soon in 
 waters that are familiar to every whaler. Passing to 
 the south of Cape Shackleton, the voyagers followed 
 up the quiet- water channels that run parallel to the 
 coast, occasionally killing a seal or some birds, and at 
 night encamping upon the rocks. 
 
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196 
 
 OFF UPERNAVIK. 
 
 .1 111 
 
 Two days later, as they were slowly rowing through 
 the mist, a familiar sound — the cadence of a " halloo " — 
 came to them over tlie waters. With joyous hearts 
 they pulled in the direction of the sound, and in about 
 half an hour could make out the single mast of a small 
 shallop. " 'Tis the Upemavik oil-boat ! " cried Peter- 
 sen, half laughing, half crying. And such, indeed, it 
 proved to be. In a few minutes they were on board of 
 her, and in the embraces of old friends. 
 
 " Here," says Kane — and the conclusion of his wonder- 
 ful narrative is best given in his own words — " here we 
 first got our cloudy, vague idea of what had passed in 
 the big world during our absence. The friction of its 
 fierce rotation had not much disturbed this little out- 
 post of civilization ; and we thought it a sort of blunder 
 as Carlie Mossyn told us that France and England were 
 leagued with the Mussulman against the Greek Church ! 
 He was a good Lutheran, this assistant cooper, and all 
 news with him had a theological complexion 
 
 " But ' Sir John Franklin ' ? There we were at home 
 again. Our own delusive little speciality rose upper- 
 most. Franklin's party, or traces of the dead which 
 represented it, had been found nearly a thousand miles 
 to the south of where we had been searching for them. 
 
 And so we 'out oars' again, and rowed into the 
 
 fogs. 
 
 "Another sleeping-halt has passed, and we have all 
 washed clean at the fresh-water basins, and furbished 
 up our ragged furs and woollens. Kasarsoak, the snowy 
 top of Sanderson Hope, shows itself above the mists, 
 and we hear the yelling of the dogs. Petersen had 
 
 'Si 111 
 
f through 
 lalloo "— 
 IS hearts 
 
 in about 
 f a small 
 ;d Peter- 
 ndeed, it 
 
 board of 
 
 wonder- 
 here we 
 )assed in 
 on of its 
 ittle out- 
 ■ blunder 
 md were 
 Church ! 
 ', and all 
 
 at home 
 3 upper- 
 i which 
 nd miles 
 )r them, 
 into the 
 
 have all 
 irbished 
 e snowy 
 e mists, 
 3en had 
 
 m 
 
• y. 
 
 
 \.i 
 
WELCOME HOME. 
 
 199 
 
 been foreman of the settlement; and he calls my at- 
 tention with a sort of pride to the tolling of the work- 
 men's bell. It is six o'clock. We are nearing the end 
 of our trials. Can it be a dream ? 
 
 ^' We hugged the land by the big harbour, turned the 
 comer by the old brew-house, and in the midst of a 
 crowd of children hauled our boats for the last time 
 upon the rocks. 
 
 " For eighty-four days we had lived in the open air. 
 Our habits were hard and weather-worn. We could 
 not remain within the four walls of a house without a 
 distressing sense of suffocation. But we drank coffee 
 that night before many a hospitable threshold, and 
 listened again and again to the hymn of welcome, 
 which, sung by many voices, greeted our deliverance." 
 
 Dr. Kane and his party remained at Upemavik until 
 the 6th of September, when they embarked on board 
 the Marianne for the Shetland Isles. But putting in 
 at Godhavn, they caught sight of an American squad- 
 ron, under Captain Hartstene, which had been de- 
 spatched in quest of them, and soon afterwards found 
 themselves under the shelter of the national flag. At 
 New York Dr. Kane received the honourable welcome 
 to which his courage, his fertility of resource, his 
 patient resolution, and his noble purpose had entitled 
 him. And though he had failed to discover Sir John 
 Franklin, he had deserved well of the civilized world, 
 having considerably enlarged its knowledge of the 
 Polar Regions. 
 
/' 
 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 VOYAGES OF M'CLURE AND M'CLINTOCK. 
 
 HE year 1853 witnessed the solution of the 
 geographical problem which had so long 
 engaged the curiosity of the scientific mind, 
 and the discovery of that North- West Pas- 
 sage from which so much had at one time been ex- 
 pected. Captain M'Clure, in the Investigator, entering 
 the Polar Seas by Behring Strait, pushed forward to a 
 point near Deary Island; and thence making his way 
 across the ice, encountered Lieutenant Pim, one of the 
 officers of Captain Kellett, who had entered by Baffin 
 Bay. This memorable event occurred on the 19th of 
 April. Twenty days later, the passage was completed 
 by Captain Collinson, in the Resolute; who afterwards 
 turned to the south-east, explored many sounds and 
 inlets, and discovered some relics of Franklin's party. 
 It should be added that M'Clure, having wintered in 
 1850 near the spot where the connecting waters could be 
 traced, had proved the feasibility of the passage, by ob- 
 servation, as early as October 31st of that year. M'Clure 
 was knighted as a reward for his services ; and Collinson 
 (now Vice-Admiral) received an honorary medal. 
 
 rVilJ 
 
m'clintock's expedition. 
 
 201 
 
 In the course of his expedition ^ M'Clure explored the 
 west side of Banks Land, where the ice presses close 
 against the cliffs in masses of stupendous dimensions. 
 It draws forty and fifty feet of water, and rises in 
 rolling hills upon the surface, some of them measuring 
 one hundred feet from base to summit. 
 
 K. 
 
 on of the 
 I so long 
 bific mind, 
 kVest Pas- 
 been ex- 
 ', entering 
 ward to a 
 f his way 
 ne of the 
 by Bafiin 
 i 19th of 
 iompleted 
 fterwards 
 iinds and 
 I's party, 
 itered in 
 1 could be 
 e, by ob- 
 M'Clure 
 Jollinson 
 
 m'clintock's EXPEDITION. 
 
 These discoveries accomplished, and all hope of as- 
 certaining the fate of Franklin and his followers seem- 
 ing chimerical, the British Government showed itself 
 unwilling to risk more lives and treasure among the 
 frozen wastes of the North. But Lady Franklin, with 
 heroic devotion, refused to abandon her chivalrous 
 work. She expended the remains of her private for- 
 tune in the purchase of a stoutly built screw-schooner, 
 the Fox, and called for volunteers to man it. Among 
 those who eagerly ofiered their valuable services was 
 Captain M'Clintock. Since 1848 he had been almost 
 constantly employed in Arctic research, and had dis- 
 tinguished himself by his sagacity, courage, and fer- 
 tility of resource. He was immediately appointed to 
 the command of the Fox; and the expenses of the 
 expedition being defrayed by subscription, he was able 
 to sail from England in the summer of 1857. ' 
 
 He reached Melville Bay without difficulty ; but here 
 he encountered Ihe familiar enemy of Arctic pioneers, 
 and, hemmed in by the ice, was constrained to endure 
 the delay of the long and tedious winter. And that 
 Divine mercy which has so often and so wonderfully 
 been vouchsafed to the heroes of Northern Discovery. 
 
r 
 
 202 
 
 VOYAGE OF THE " FOX. 
 
 i I 
 
 : 111 ::. 
 
 watched over the little Fox and her crew of five-and- 
 twenty men. "The ark which bore the hopes of a 
 loving wife and the prayers of so many friends, was 
 not to be swallowed up in the wreck-strewn depths of 
 Baffin Bay." 
 
 So the winter passed, with the usual discomforts and 
 painful experiences of an Arctic winter ; and in July 
 1858 the Fox was able to resume her voyage, and reach 
 across to Lancaster Sound. She anived at Beechey 
 Island on the 11th of August. Here M'Clintock found 
 the dep6t of provisions left by various expeditions, 8« 
 well as boats, huts, stores, and clothing, in excellent 
 preservation, and with much satisfaction replenished 
 his diminished supplies. 
 
 Once more the voyage was resumed; and past the 
 ice-bound shores, and through floating masses and glit- 
 tering bergs, the stout little Fox went on her way, — 
 westward, beyond Cape Hotham; westward, beyond 
 Griffith Island ; southward, through Peel Channel ; be- 
 tween the bleak and snow -crowned cliffs of Capes 
 Bonny and Walker, — until again her course was ar- 
 rested by the insuperable and ubiquitous barrier. Then 
 M'Clintock retraced his course as far as Bellot Channel, 
 the water-way which leads from Regent Inlet into that 
 great Arctic bay whose waters wash the American 
 coast from Great Fish River to Behringr Strait. From 
 the 20th of August to the 6th of Septeinber the gallant 
 explorer patiently watched for an opportunity of pene- 
 trating into the channel. Its entrance was a mile 
 wide, and guarded by lofty cliffs of granite, over which 
 the shadows of noble hills dominated. Through this 
 
TIDINGS OF THE LOST. 
 
 soa 
 
 five-and- 
 opes of a 
 ends, wan 
 depths of 
 
 iforfcs and 
 i in July 
 md reach 
 Beech ey 
 ►ck found 
 itions, as 
 excellent 
 jlenished 
 
 past the 
 and glit- 
 p way,-— 
 beyond 
 nel; be- 
 f Capes 
 was ar- 
 '. Then 
 Channel, 
 ato that 
 merican 
 From 
 gallant 
 f pene- 
 a mile 
 ' which 
 ?h this 
 
 majestic portal the restless waters rolled huge blocks 
 and bergs of ice, sweeping them along with a fierce 
 six-knot tide ; but the Fox escaped every danger, and 
 passed through the strait. 
 
 Yes> passed through the strait; but only to be 
 blocked up by a great belt of fixed ice, some miles in 
 width, beyond which could be seen the dark-green 
 crests of an open sea. 
 
 Here winter overtook the adventurers; and having 
 laid up his sturdy schooner in as secure a position as 
 possible, M'Clintock prepared to organize boat and 
 sledge expeditions for the exploration of the neighbour- 
 ing shores. 
 
 TRACES OF THE LOST. 
 
 On the 17th of February 1859, he and Captain Allen 
 Young, his second in command, left the ship to estab- 
 lish their dep6ts of provisions for the meditated jour- 
 neys. Young took a westward route, in order to reach 
 Prince of Wales Land ; while M'Clintock, accompanied 
 by Mr. Petersen, a veteran Danish explorer, proceeded 
 in a southerly direction to tiie Magnetic Pole. Their 
 excursions were not without hardship. The cold was 
 so intense that the mercury froze in the barometers ! 
 Yet they were cheerftiUy carried out, for the explorers 
 found that at last they were on the right track. At 
 Cape Victoria, on the west shore of Boothia, and in 
 lat. 69° 50' N., long. 96° W., Captain M'Clintock ascer- 
 tained from the Eskimos that, some years before, a 
 ship had been shattered by the ice off the north coast 
 of King William Land, but that all her people had 
 gained the land in safety, and travelled across to the 
 
itf. ■ 8 
 
 '\H\ 
 
 1 
 
 Si 
 
 \.i 
 
 204 
 
 SEARCHING-PARTIES ABROAD, 
 
 Great Fish River, where they died. The natives 
 showed him some wood whicli they had obtained from 
 a boat left by the white men on the said river. 
 
 At last, then, there was some hope that the mystery 
 which had so long enshrouded the fate of the Erebus 
 and Terror would be dispelled ; and on the 2nd of 
 April the searching-parties proceeded from Bellot Strait. 
 Captain Young struck to the north and west, so as to 
 survey the unexplored region lying between Bellot 
 Channel and Sir James Ross's farthest point in 1849, 
 on the one hand, and Lieutenant (late Rear-Admiral) 
 Osborn and Brown's extreme limits, in 1851, on the 
 other hand. His work was carefully done, but proved 
 fruitless of result. More successful were M'Clintock 
 and Lieutenant Hobson. They both struck across to 
 King William Land from Point Victoria ; and learning 
 from some natives that a second ship had been sighted 
 off this land, they separated, so as to explore it tho- 
 roughly, — Hobson taking the western and M'Clintock 
 the eastern side. 
 
 The latter swiftly and steadily proceeded on his 
 way, and from King William Land crossed to Montreal 
 Island; then rounded the estuary of the Great Fish 
 River, and visited Point Ogle and Barrow Island. No 
 fragments of wreck were found, no bones of the lost 
 crews ; but M'Clintock fell in with many of the natives, 
 who gave him all the information they themselves 
 possessed, and gladly bartered away their relics of the 
 Erebus and Terror. Resolving on completing the cir- 
 cuit of King William Land, M'Clintock now turned 
 to the north-west; and landing on the north side of 
 
r • 
 
 \S 
 
 natives 
 ined from 
 
 J- 
 
 mystery 
 16 Erebus 
 e 2nd of 
 lot Strait. 
 I so as to 
 n Ballot 
 t in 1849, 
 ■Admiral) 
 I, on the 
 it proved 
 'Clintock 
 across to 
 learning 
 sighted 
 e it tho- 
 'Clintock 
 
 ^ on his 
 Montreal 
 3at Fish 
 nd. No 
 the lost 
 natives, 
 jraselves 
 3 of the 
 the cir- 
 
 turned 
 
 side of 
 
 ■« 
 
i 
 
 'fi 
 
 :. I 
 
 ■i " 
 
 M 
 
 l; . 
 
 W 
 
TRACES OF FRANKLIN S EXPEDITION. 
 
 207 
 
 Simpson Strait, made for the cairn erected by that dia- 
 coverer in 1839 upon Point Herschel. When within 
 ten miles of it, he came upon a bleached skeleton. The 
 unfortunate man, probably one of the stewards of the 
 lost expedition, had evidently fallen behind the retreat- 
 ing party, and perished in his solitude. 
 
 The cairn at Cape Herschel had evidently been 
 meddled with ; and Captain M'Clintock conjectured 
 that the wanderers had placed in it a record, which 
 tlie natives had subsequently removed. 
 
 From Cape Herschel to the westernmost point of King 
 William Land the traces of the Eskimos were numerous, 
 and had obliterated those of Franklin and his followers; 
 but from that westmost point to Cape Felix, M'Clintock 
 met with abundant evidence of their sufferings and 
 miserable condition. He from the south, and Lieu- 
 tenant Hobson from the north, thoroughly examined 
 the whole of this " haunted ground," with results which 
 may be briefly indicated as follows : — * , , ■ 
 
 The Erehus and Terror spent their first winter at 
 Beechey Island, in the spot discovered by the expedi- 
 tion under Captains Austin and Penny ; having previ- 
 ously explored Wellington Channel as far as 77° N., 
 and passed down into Barrow Strait, between Cornwallis 
 and Bathurst Land. It is a curious and inexplicable 
 fact that these winter-quarters (1845-46) Franklin left, 
 for the purpose of prosecuting his south-west voyage 
 from Cape Walker in obedience to his instructions, 
 
 * We are indebted here to Rear-Admiral Osborn's lucid summary in liis "Leaves 
 from an Arctic Journal." 
 
) > 
 
 i n 
 
 it f 
 
 208 
 
 THE BOAT AND THE SKELETONS. 
 
 without leaving a single record. In 184C, the two ships 
 entered Peel Channel, but on the 12th of September 
 were caught in the ice off King William Land. In May 
 1847, Lieutenant Graham Gore and Mr. Des Vceux 
 landed and erected a cairn a few miles south of Cape 
 Victory, depositing in it a document to say that all the 
 crews were then well, and Sir John Franklin in com- 
 mand. But in less than a month afterwards the heroic 
 leader was stricken down : a merciful fate for him, as it 
 spared him the terrible experiences which awaited his 
 followers. 
 
 As the ice did not break up, the two vessels were 
 held fast for another winter, — the winter of 1847-48, — 
 during which no fewer than nine officers and fifteen 
 men died. On the 25th of April, the survivors came to 
 the resolution of abandoning the doomed ships; and, 
 one hundred and live in number, and led by Captains 
 Crozier and Fitzjames, they started for Great Fish River. 
 The vast quantity of articles left at the point of de- 
 parture is a significant evidence of their enfeebled con- 
 dition. From this spot to a point about half-way 
 between Point Victory and Point Herschel nothing 
 important was discovered ; and the skeletons and relics 
 were all deeply embedded in snow. At the half-way 
 point just spoken of, however. Lieutenant Hobson caught 
 sight of a piece of wood projecting from the snow ; and 
 on digging round it exhumed a boat, standing on a very 
 heavy sledge. Within it were two skeletons : one, lying 
 in the bottom of the stern-sheets, and covered with a 
 quantity of clothing; the other, half-erect in the bows, 
 as if the poor fellow had crept there to look out, and in 
 
 (544) 
 
 <I»L4 
 
he two ships 
 f September 
 Lnd. In May 
 Des Voeux 
 uth of Cape 
 that all the 
 din in com- 
 s the heroic 
 or him, as it 
 awaited his 
 
 /^essels were 
 ' 1847-48,— 
 and fifteen 
 ^ors came to 
 ships; and, 
 3y Captains 
 Fish Kiver. 
 )oint of de- 
 feebled con- 
 it half-way 
 el nothing 
 s and relics 
 e half-way 
 )son caufifht 
 snow; and 
 J on a very 
 one, lying 
 red with a 
 L the bows, 
 )ut, and in 
 
 ¥ 
 
 
 I iff 
 
 1! : 
 
 •Hit 
 
ry 
 
 ^^ 
 
 i • 
 
 \\ 
 
 ,S I .1 
 
 .V 
 
 ,i?C 
 
ADDITIONAL DETAILS. 
 
 211 
 
 that position had yielded to the slumber v^hich knows no 
 waking. A couple of guns, loaded and ready cocked, 
 stood close at hand, apparently prepared for use against 
 wild animals. Around this boat was found another 
 accumulation of cast-off articles; and M'Clintock con- 
 jectured that the party who had dragged the sledge thus 
 far were returning to the ships, having discovered them- 
 selves unequal to the terrors of the journey they had 
 undertaken. This is possible ; but we can hardly doubt 
 that the stronger portion of the crews pushed forward 
 with another boat, and that some reached Montreal 
 Island and ascended Great Fish River. On this subjdbt 
 we shall have more to say when we come to speak of 
 Captain C. F. Hall's adventures among the Eskimos. 
 
 ! i 
 
 FURTHER PARTICULARS. 
 
 In 1854, Dr. Rae, in his overland expedition, fell in - 
 with some Eskimos who spoke of having seen forty men 
 dragging a boat near the Fish River, under the leader- 
 ship of a tall, stout, middle-aged man; a description 
 fairly agreeing with the appearance of Captain Fitz- 
 james. Sherard Osbom is of opinion, therefore, that 
 the strongest of the survivors, under Fitzjames, pushed 
 on to perish in the dreary wildernesses of the Hudson 
 Bay territory (for relics have been found on the Fish 
 River, fifty miles above Montreal Island) ; and that the 
 weak, if ever they reached the ships again, did so only 
 in time to see them wrecked by the breaking up of 
 the ice in the autumn of 1848. We know from the ^ 
 Eskimos that one ship sank; and that the other, on 
 board of which was one dead person, "a tall, large- • 
 
 I 
 
1212 
 
 WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN. 
 
 boned nian," was driven ashore. These wrecks, how- 
 ever, could not have occurred on the coast between 
 Capes Victory and Herschel ; for in that case the natives 
 would assuredly have appropriated the relics discovered 
 by M'Clintock and Hobson. We come, therefore, to 
 M'Clintock's conclusion, that the wrecked ship went 
 ashore somewhere within the region frequented by the 
 Fish River Eskimos ; and that in the years 1857-68 the 
 ice had probably swept her'away again, and finally de- 
 stroyed her. 
 
 t'i ; 
 
 
 ^ ^ Let the reader remember, as a commentary on the 
 vanity of human wishes, that the point at which the 
 Erebus and Terror were caught in the ice in 1846, was 
 but ninety miles from the point reached by Dease and 
 Simpson in their boats in 1838-39. So that had Franklin 
 and his followers but accomplished those ninety miles 
 of open water, they would have won the prize for which 
 they had dared and endured so much, and have returned 
 home to enjoy the well-earned applause of their country- 
 men. But Providence had decreed otherwise. " They 
 were to discover," says the historian of their labours, 
 " the great highway between the Pacific and Atlantic. 
 It was given them to win for their country a discovery 
 for which she had risked her sons and lavishly spent 
 her wealth through many centuries ; but they were to 
 die in accomplishing their last great earthly task ; and, 
 still more strange, but for the energy and devotion of 
 the wife of their chief aiid leader, it would in all pro- 
 bability never have been known that they were indeed 
 the First Discoverers of the North- West Passage." 
 
CONCLUSION OF THE SEAECH. 
 
 218 
 
 THE END. ' 
 
 Thus ended the seaich after FrankKn, so far as Great 
 Britain was concerned. 
 
 The unhappy fate of his expedition seemed to exercise 
 a disastrous influence on British enterprise ; and Eng- 
 lish seamen almost entirely withdrew from further ex- 
 ploration in the region in which their forefathers had 
 gained such distinction. In the following pages we 
 shall follow with interest the adventures of Americans, 
 Swedes, Germans, Austrians ; but no English names will 
 be conspicuous in the romantic narrative. Happily the 
 old spirit has again revived in England, and the year 
 1875 witnessed the equipment of a Government expedi- 
 tion, well-manned and well-officered, which may be ex- 
 pected worthily to uphold the reputation of our navy. 
 Let us hope that it is destined to complete the great 
 work begun by English seamen upwards of three cen- 
 turies ago, and that British keels will be the first to 
 plough that open Polar Sea which has been the object 
 of so many daring speculations and the inspiration of 
 so many brilliant dreams. 
 
 ii 
 
 i ' 
 
■,♦ 
 
 V » 
 
 3i 
 
 ;i \ 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE VOYAGE OF DR. HAYES. 
 
 i » '-■'■■■ \ 
 
 • V 
 
 1 1! ; 
 
 fir pt' 
 
 iUE readers will be familiar with the name of 
 Dr. Hayes as that of the bold and skilful 
 surgeon of the American expedition com- 
 manded by Dr. Kane. The hardships he 
 underwent and the dangers he confronted in that re- 
 markable expedition having in nowise chilled his spirit 
 of adventure or quenched his thirst for knowledge, he 
 began, about 1858, to prepare for a new exploration, 
 the object of which was to complete the survey of the 
 north coasts of Greenland and Grinnell Land, and to 
 push his researches as far as practicable in the direction 
 of the North Pole. 
 
 His proposed base of operations was Grinnell Land, 
 which he had discovered in 1855, and had personally 
 traced beyond the parallel of latitude 80°. His experi- 
 ence had led him to the conclusion that if once the ice- 
 belt in Smith Sound could be passed, it was possible to 
 ■'■r>'u'^, fclie open sea beyond; for that the sea about the 
 H-. .r -^oie was not frozen, had come to be accepted as 
 the most cautious physicists, 
 laid his schemes before various scientific 
 
 ■\ :«•■ 
 
 iiiL'^'u<^ 
 
I, .,' 
 
 1 1 * 
 
 THE FIRST ICEBERG. 
 
 215 
 
 be name of 
 md skilful 
 ition com- 
 rdships he 
 in that re- 
 1 his spirit 
 wledge, he 
 xploration, 
 vey of the 
 id, and to 
 e direction 
 
 nell Land, 
 personally 
 lis experi- 
 ce the ice- 
 possible to 
 about the 
 ccepted as 
 
 scientific 
 
 societies, it received an amount of support which en- 
 abled Dr. Hayes and his friends to purchase and fit out 
 a strong, well-built schooner of 133 tons burden, named 
 the United States. Accompanied by Messrs. Sonntag 
 and Eadcliffe as astronomer and assistant-astronomer, 
 and with a crew of twelve officers ahd men, he sailed 
 from Boston on the evening of the 6th of July 1860, and 
 on the following day was once more tossing on the waves 
 of the broad Atlantic. 
 
 All went well with the courageous voyagers, and on 
 the 30th of July they crossed the imaginary boundary 
 of the Arctic Circle. Enveloped in cloud lay the Green- 
 land coast, at a distance of about ten leagues. The 
 monotony of the voyage was now interrupted by their 
 meeting with their first iceberg. It was floating directly 
 in their course, — an irregular pyramidal mass, about 
 three hundred feet at its base, and perhaps half as high, 
 with the white clouds curling about its spiral summit, 
 — but they contrived to clear it. Then came the rough 
 passage of Davis Strait; and on the 2nd of August they 
 lay becalmed for a while off* the Greenland coast, contem- 
 plating with eyes of admiration and wonder its broad 
 valleys, its deep ravines, its frowning cliffs, its general 
 aspect of desolate magnificence. 
 
 As the mist cleared away to the westward, the broad 
 bosom of the sea lay exposed to their gaze, with iceberg 
 after iceberg drifting across its surface, like fairy towers. 
 They seemed to have been suddenly admitted to a 
 glimpse of the marvels of the land of the Northern Gods. 
 Here was the Valhalla of the old Vikings, and the city 
 of the sun-god Freya, and the eery caves of Alfheim, 
 
 i 
 i 
 
 'I 
 
 I 
 
 p 
 
i: i 
 
 sie 
 
 A GLORIOUS PICTURE. 
 
 ! ii 
 
 and the silver roof and golden walls of Glitner; and 
 yonder, piercing the clouds, rose Himinborg, the Celes- 
 tial Mount, where the bridge of the gods reaches across 
 to heaven. ' , 
 
 No doubt these strange creations of the Norse poetry 
 were suggested by some such scenes as spread, awful 
 iind yet beautiful, before the eyes of our voyagers: the 
 aiiingled wonders of land and sea might well inspire a 
 poet's fancy; the rolling waters and their flashing castles 
 of ice, the snow-shrouded mountain-peaks and the deep 
 valleys between them. ;.; 
 
 The details of the picture are sketched by Dr. Hayes 
 with much graphic force and vivid colouring. The fol- 
 lowing description is adapted from his eloquent pages : — 
 
 w 
 
 i& 
 
 !:)f 
 
 ^ 
 
 BEAUTY OF THE ICEBERGS. 
 
 The air was almost as warm as that of a southern 
 summer eve; and yet before them were the icebergs 
 and the bleak mountains, with which it is impossible, 
 in this land of green hills and waving woods, to associ- 
 ate any other idea than that of cold repulsiveness. 
 Bright and soft was the sky, and as strangely inspiring 
 as that of Italy. The bergs had lost their cold, frozen 
 Took, and glittered in the glow of the brilliant heavens 
 like masses of solid flame or burnished metal. Those 
 near at hand seemed to have been wrought out of 
 Parian marble, and incrusted with shining gems of 
 ]3earl and opal. One in particular challenged attention 
 by its grandeur. Its form was not unlike that of the 
 Roman Coliseum, and it lay so far away that half its 
 heijjht was buried beneath the rim of the "blood-red 
 
I , 
 
 A ROMANTIC SCENE, 
 
. / 
 
 
BEROS AND BEKQS. 
 
 219 
 
 waters." As the sun, in its course along the horizon, 
 passed behind it, one might have thought that the old 
 Roman ruin had broken out into a sudden conflagra- 
 tion. 
 
 Where the bergs cast their silent shadows the water 
 was a rich green ; and nothing could be softer or more 
 tender than the gradual colouring of the sea as it shoaled 
 on the sloping tongue or spur of each floating mass. 
 Where the ice overhung the water the tint deepened, 
 and a cavern in one of the nearer bergs exhibited the 
 solid colour of the malachite mingled with the trans- 
 parency of the emerald ; while, in strange contrast, a 
 broad streak of cobalt shot diag'^nally through its body. 
 
 The romantic character of the scene was increased by 
 the numerous tiny cascades which leaped into the sea 
 from these floating islands ; the water being discharged 
 from lakes of melted snow and ice which tranquilly 
 reposed far up in the valleys separating the icy ridges 
 of their upper surface. From other bergs large pieces 
 were occasionally detached, crashing into the water with 
 deafening roar, while the slow ocean-swell resounded 
 hoarsely through their broken archways. 
 
 The breeze rising. Dr. Hayes was able to make the 
 harbour of Proven, escorted by a flotilla of those famous 
 Greenland boats, to which frequent reference has already 
 been made, — the kajaks. 
 
 What is a kajak ? Apparently, the frailest of all 
 craft that ever dared the sea. It measures eighteen 
 feet in length, and as many inches in width ; and tapers, 
 curving upwards, to a point at either end. Its frame- 
 
no 
 
 THE GREENLANDEll S KAJAK. 
 
 t| 
 
 I I! 
 
 work, or Hkcleton, is of wood ; wliich is covered with 
 tanned seal-skin, sewed together, very deftly and 
 strongly, by the native women — so deftly and strongly 
 tlia not a drop of water can find its way through the 
 seams ! The boat is about nine inches deep, and covered 
 at the top as at the bottom, with the exception of a 
 small space in the centre, which admits the boatman as 
 far as his hips. This central space is surrounded with 
 a wooden rim, over which the kajaker laces the lower 
 edge of his water-tight seal-skin jacket, so as to fasten 
 himself in, and keep the water out. For the purpose 
 of propulsion he uses a, single oar, about six feet long, 
 terminating at either end in a blade or paddle. This he 
 grasps with firm hand in the middle, and dips in the 
 water alternately to right and left. Buoyant beyond 
 all belief, impervious to water, light as a feather, graceful 
 as a duck : such is the Greenlander's kajak. But as 
 it has neither ballast nor keel, it is necessarily top- 
 heavy ; and both skill and courage are needed to man- 
 age it. The kajaker, however, seems born to the art ; 
 and in this gossamer-like canoe rides across billows 
 which would swamp an ordinary boat, and dashes 
 through breakers which close over his head. 
 
 At Proven Dr. Hayes stayed only Ion,"; enough to 
 purchase a team of dogs, and he then pushed on to 
 Upernavik, where he arrived on the 12th of August. 
 Here more purchases of dogs were made, and each 
 member of the crew was carefully provided with all the 
 necessaries of an Arctic wardrobe. Three native hunters 
 were also engaged, and an interpreter, who was perfectly 
 
leered with 
 eftly and 
 d strongly 
 rough the 
 id covered 
 ption of a 
 )oatman as 
 nded with 
 the lower 
 I to fasten 
 e purpose 
 feet long, 
 This he 
 ps in the 
 it beyond 
 r, graceful 
 . But as 
 arily top- 
 d to man- 
 ) the art; 
 is billows 
 d dashes 
 
 nough to 
 ed on to 
 ' August, 
 md each 
 h all the 
 3 hunters 
 perfectly 
 
 I ':$ 
 
 is ;'■'*■ 
 
 I : i 
 
 'i^li 
 
 HI 
 
\ 
 
 ill!- 
 
 ! 
 
 ,> 
 
 ' ' -6, 
 
 w. 
 
 U' 
 
 v 
 
A. NEST OF ICEBERGS. 
 
 223 
 
 i'iimiliar with tlio Eskimo langu.\ge, an excellent hunter, 
 and a skilful dog-driver. An addition of two Danish 
 sailors brought up the numerical strength of Dr. Hayes' 
 party to twenty souls. Their preparations being com- 
 pleted, they quitted 13 pernavik, amidst the hearty good 
 wishes of its hospitable inhabitants, and bade a long 
 farewell to the comforts of civilization. Now, indeed, 
 they began in earnest their difficult enterprise, and 
 launched themselves among the dangers of Arctic navi- 
 gation. At Upemavik the voyager takes leave, as it 
 were, of the Known world, and enters upon the Un- 
 known; or, at least, he passes into a region of cloud and 
 shadow, the very outlines of which, as yet, have not 
 been traced with any degree of certainty. 
 
 A NARROW ESCAPE. 
 
 It was no easy task to guide the schooner through 
 the icy labyrinth in which she was soon involved. On 
 one occasion she with difficulty escaped destruction. 
 
 A perfect " nest of icebergs " lay to leeward ; and the 
 current carried the United States towards them with 
 inconvenient rapidity. Dr. Hayes ordered a boat to be 
 lowered, and a mooring-cable to be run out to a berg 
 which lay grounded at a distance of about one hundred 
 yards. Wliile this was being done, the schooner grazed 
 the side of a berg which rose a hundred feet above her 
 topmasts, and then slipped past another of inferior 
 dimensions. The crew, by pushing against them with 
 their ice-poles, change 1 ■ some extent the schooner's 
 course; but suddenly an eddy modified the direction of 
 her drift and she struck, with her starboard quarter. 
 
224 
 
 DANGEROUS QUARTERg. 
 
 :•' l( 
 
 -^ ^ii 
 
 the dreaded mass, disengaging huge blocks of ice 
 which would have crushed her had they fallen upon 
 her. 
 
 The berg now began to revolve, and was " settling 
 slowly " over the threatened vessel. Small lumps of ice 
 began to rattle down on the after-deck, and drove the 
 crew and officers to the forecastle for safety. At length 
 the berg itself saved them from ruin. An immense mass 
 broke away from the submerged portion, and this, at 
 least a dozen times larger than the schooner, rose up 
 within a few yards of her, with a tremendous volume 
 of foam and water flying from its sides. The revolution 
 of the berg was checked by this rupture, and the berg 
 settled down in the opposite direction. 
 
 But now another danger occurred. A long tongue 
 was projecting immediately underneath the schooner; 
 and the keel slipped and grinded upon it, until it seemed 
 probable that the ship would be hurled into the air, or 
 else capsized. Here again the berg proved their safety. 
 A loud report was heard ; another and another followed 
 in swift succession ; the roar seemed to till the air with 
 a thousand echoes. The opposite side of the berg had 
 split off, piece after piece, tumbling a vast volume of ice 
 into the waves, and sending the revolving berg back 
 upon the ship. The movement now was quicker; frag- 
 ments began again to fall ; and, already sufficiently 
 alarmed by the dissolution which had taken place, Dr. 
 Hayes and his followers were in momentary expectation 
 of seeing the whole side nearest to them give way, and 
 crash down upon the steamer, — in which case she would 
 inevitably be carried down beneath it; doomed as surely 
 
 (644) 
 
DISRUPTION OF A BERG. 
 
 225 
 
 as a shepherd's hut beneath an Alpine avalanche. As 
 Coleridge says, — / ^ ; 
 
 " The ice was here, '' ~ , 
 
 The ice was there, 
 
 The ice waa all around; 
 It ci-eaked and growled. 
 And roared and howled 
 
 Like demons in a swound." 
 
 The men in charge of the boat had by this time suc- 
 ceeded in planting an ice-anchor and attaching a cable ; 
 and the crew on board the schooner began to haul in ; 
 a long, a strong, and steady pull, for they knew they 
 were pulling for their lives. Seconds seemed minutes ; 
 minutes seemed hours; but at length they began to 
 move off. Scarcely were they twenty yards distant 
 when the expected disruption occurred. The side nearest 
 to them split off, and crashed wildly into the sea, raising 
 a tremendous swell, and covering the agitated waters 
 with fragments of ice. 
 
 But they were safe, and as they gradually receded 
 they could look back calmly on the scene of their terror. 
 TL'; shattered berg, or so much as was left of it, rocked 
 and rolled like a tempest-tossed ship. At each wild 
 spin, fresh masses were disengaged; and as its sides 
 came up with long sweeps, great cascades fell from 
 them into the sea with a strange hissing, seething noise. 
 After several hours of this incessant agitation, the wreck 
 of the once colossal berg settled down into quietude, and 
 the sea began to flow with its usual calmness. 
 
 r 
 
 i 
 
 VIEW FROM AN ICEBERG. 
 
 Having moored his schooner to a berg which seemed 
 ("«) 15 
 
226 
 
 A WORLD OF ICE. 
 
 t). 
 
 to offer a sufficiently secure asylum, Dr. Hayes clam- 
 bered up its frozen slope, and reached the summit. The 
 view commanded from this elevated point was not less 
 remarkable than extensive. To the south-east a rocky 
 headland flung its shadow upon the water, and the 
 sunlight was separated from the shade by a boundary 
 so distinct that it was difficult not to look upon the 
 margin of radiance as the edge of a "fathomless 
 abyss." 
 
 To form an idea of the immense quantity of ice which 
 was enclosed within the visible horizon is not easy. Dr. 
 Hayes found an enumeration of the separate bergs im- 
 possible, giving it up in despair when he had counted 
 five hundred. Near at hand the eye could distinguish 
 the harsh ruggedness of their sharp outlines. Farther 
 off, they seemed to melt away into the soft gray sky, or 
 the sea of liquid silver, suggesting by their very indis- 
 tinctness the strangest and most wonderful images of 
 birds and beasts, of human forms, of gigantic architec- 
 ture, — spires touched with golden gleams, vast airy 
 domes, or buttressed towers radiant with unearthly 
 light! 
 
 To the east, the bright bosom of the sea was gemmed 
 with tiny islets ; and in the channels which intersected 
 them, the icebergs, great and small, thronged in close 
 array, massing together in the distance until they were 
 absorbed, apparently, in a snow-covered plain, and this 
 again, in its turn, disappeared in a cloud of bluish white- 
 ness. Yes ; far away against the horizon, like a vague 
 white cloud, lay the vast mer de glace, of which we 
 have already spoken as occupying the whole interior of 
 
IN MELVILLE BAY. 
 
 227 
 
 the Greenland continent. The snowy slope was one of 
 its dependent glaciers; and this glacier, the reservoir 
 from which had been discharged, at irregular intervals, 
 most of the icebergs scattered so thickly over the scene. 
 
 
 MELVILLE BAY. 
 
 Continuing his voyage among the bergs and islands. 
 Dr. Hayes entered Melville Bay on the 23rd of August, 
 and had the gratification of finding it free from ice. 
 
 Melville Bay, for the seaman, comprehends all that 
 expansion of Baffin Bay which begins southward with 
 the "middle ice," and terminates northward with the 
 " North Water." The North Water is sometimes reached 
 at Cape York, in lat. 76°, but generally higher up ; the 
 " middle ice," or, to use the well-known term, made so 
 familiar by the narratives of so many Arctic voyagers, 
 the " pack," not infrequently stretches down to the Arctic 
 Circle. This " pack " consists of drifting ice-floes, which 
 vary in extent from feet to miles, and in thickness 
 from inches to fathoms. Sometimes these masse.s are 
 closely pressed together, with few or no interspaces; 
 sometimes they are wide apart, according to the various 
 influences of wind and tide. They are always more or 
 less in motion, but drift in whatever direction winds 
 and currents may sway them. 
 
 To penetrate this formidable barrier is the work of 
 weeks, nay, of months ; but since Baffin discovered the 
 great sea named after him, in 1616, it has been annually 
 undertaken by a fleet of whaling-ships. The route is a 
 dangerous one, but the whalers prefer it ; for though 
 many a stout ship goes down with her sides crushed in 
 
T 
 
 r ' 
 
 228 
 
 HOW PACK-ICE IS FORMED. 
 
 u 
 
 •\ 'U 
 
 by the merciless ice, those which escape disaster almost 
 invariably return with ample cargoes of oil and blubber 
 from Lancaster Sound and the neighbouring waters. ■ ' 
 
 As the summer draws on, the " middle ice " breaks 
 up in such wise as to afford a tolerably clear channel, 
 and gradually the land-ice, or shore-belt, gives way to 
 a considerable extent. A narrow strip, or "ice-foot," 
 as Dr. Kane calls it, usually remains to the very close 
 of the season ; and along its margin the whalers and 
 exploring- vessels mp^"^' their way, so as to avoid being 
 beset in the terri'i' -. /•^•'." 
 
 The formation oi cue pack is thus explained by Dr. 
 Hayes: — The grr-^t Polar Current, which comes down 
 through the Spitzbergo, ^kh. and along the east coast 
 of Greenland, heavily laden with masses of ice, and 
 with a sparse supply of drift-wood from the Siberian 
 rivers for the use of the people of Greenland, sweeps 
 around Cape York, and there diverges to the westward. 
 Swollen by the ice-encumbered current which issues 
 from the Arctic Ocean through Smith, Jones, and 
 Lancaster Sounds, it strikes to the southward, past 
 Labrador and Newfoundland, receives a tributary from 
 Hudson Strait, "wedges itself in" between the Gulf 
 Stream and the shore, cools the waters of Newport and 
 Long Branch, and finally disappears in the great ocean 
 off the headlands of Florida. 
 
 Now a glance at the map will show that this move- 
 ment of the current forms, where the " middle ice " is 
 found, a kind of slow-moving whirlpool; and in this 
 the ice is churned and carried round so as to prevent 
 its rapid movement southward. By the end of August, 
 
 B 
 
IN SMITH SOUNDj 
 
 229 
 
 nevertheless, it is considerably reduced in dimensions, 
 owing to the combined action of the sun and the waters. 
 August, therefore, is, in one sense, the most favourable 
 month for navigators, beca\ise the water-way is com- 
 paratively open. On the other hand, the winter is 
 close at hand ; and should it come on suddenly, the ice 
 quickly gathers in, north, south, and east and west, and 
 the vessel caught within its iron grasp has no chance 
 of escape for the next nine or ten months. 
 
 IN SMITH SOUND. 
 
 Dr. Hayes was fortunate enough to cross MelviUe 
 Bay in fifty-five hours, and standing in-shore at Cape 
 York, succeeded in picking up an Eskimo hunter named 
 Hans, who had served in Dr. Kane's expedition. He 
 also, with characteristic good-nature, took on board th^ 
 hunter's wife and baby, though afterwards he had cause 
 to lament his generosity. 
 
 Dashing on through group after group of icebergs, the 
 schooner swiftly progressed along a line of bold and 
 rugged coast, broken by deep gorges, and relieved by 
 numerous streams of ice. One of these, the Petowak 
 Glacier, measured fully four miles across. Then came 
 Booth Bay, where Dr. Hayes established his winter- 
 quarters in his boat-journey of 1854, and underwent 
 many bitter experiences of an Arctic winter. Passing 
 Whale Sound, outside of Hakluyt Island, which figures 
 in the record of Dr. Kane's expedition, the adventurers 
 saw before them the darkly-frowning headlands which 
 guard the entrance to Smith Sound; Cape Alexander 
 on the east, and Cape Isabella on the west. With bergs 
 
^. f 
 
 ' ))■ 
 
 280 
 
 AN ARCTIC STORM. 
 
 i-V..\ 
 
 I -H 
 
 ' -. I 
 
 l! li 
 
 
 to the right of them, bergs to the left of them, they 
 pressed forward; but a terrible gale rising suddenly, 
 and a heavy pack of ice barring thtir course, they were 
 compelled to run in-shore and take shelter under the 
 land. The scene at night was marked by an awful 
 grandeur. A dark cloud lowering to the northward 
 brought the white slopes of Cape Alexander into bold 
 relief Great sheets of drifting snow rolled over the 
 cliffs, and streams of it swept down every gorge and 
 valley. Whirlwinds raised it from the hill-tops, and 
 carried it through the air like a storm of white spray. 
 A glacier descending through a ravine to the bay 
 below was covered with a broad shroud of " revolving 
 whiteness." The sun went down beneath a black and 
 ominous horizon. Out at sea the aspect of Nature was 
 still more dreadful. Off the cape the wild waters were 
 lashed into a weltering mass of spray. Words, indeed, 
 cannot convey any adequate idea of the " vast volume of 
 foam " which quivered over the deep, and rose and fell 
 with each throb of the varying wind, or of those rush- 
 ing terrible clouds which swept across the heavens in 
 the path of the storm. Upon the air were borne 
 shrieks and lamentations, dreary and loud as those of the 
 scurrying blast which, down in the second circle of the 
 Inferno, appalled the imagination of Dante; and the 
 clouds of snow and vapour were tossed upon the gale, 
 like the condemned souls upon that "tyrannous gust."* 
 
 i^ 
 
 
 * See the In/emo, Canto V. : — 
 
 "Bellowing there groaned 
 A noise, as of a sea in tempest torn 
 By warring winds. The stormy blast of hell 
 With restless fury drives the spirits on, 
 
them, they 
 g suddenly, 
 !, they were 
 ■ under the 
 
 ' an awful 
 
 northward 
 r into bold 
 d over the 
 
 gorge and 
 ll-tops, and 
 hite spray. 
 
 the bay 
 " revolving 
 L black and 
 S'ature was 
 raters were 
 rds, indeed, 
 t volume of 
 )se and fell 
 those rush- 
 heavens in 
 i^ere borne 
 hose of the 
 rcle of the 
 
 ; and the 
 
 1 the gale, 
 )us gust."* 
 
 OR HAYES' MEETING WITH HAN8. 
 
 ,'♦1 
 
 idlMfe 
 
.ft 
 
 9 ; ^ 
 
 
 \^: 
 
 I 1 
 
 .\> 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 , ■ i.'< ' ' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 'j 
 
 
 1 --^ '<■..- 
 
 ./ ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 • ■ 
 
 
 
 ^ » ~ 
 
 *--^^.,.. .— 
 
 J 
 
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 • .V 
 
 
 
 / 
 
 '■f ." V - ■. ' 
 
 ■ J 
 
 
 
THE SCHOONER ICE-BOUND. 
 
 233 
 
 The burricane continued for two or three days, and 
 forced the schooner out of the Sound. On the 3rd 
 another attempt was made, and proved succewsful. 
 After a desperate struggle, the brave men fought their 
 way into Hartstene Bay, where the r.hattered ship was 
 patched up as well as possible. Dr. Hayes then made 
 an effort to cross the Sound, as his object was to explore 
 the western coast, but in this he failed ; and as the ice 
 was rapidly accumulating, and the season near its close, 
 he resolved to take up his quarters for the winter in a 
 sheltered little cove within the bay, which he named 
 Port Foulke. It was situated about twenty miles by 
 latitude, and eighty miles by the coast, from Dr. Kane's 
 encampment at Eensselaer Harbour, and about eight 
 miles north-east from Cape Alexander. 
 
 The ice soon closed in upon the schooner. 
 
 Calmly accepting the inevitable, the crew now set to 
 work to land the cargo, and shelter it in a storehouse 
 of stone, which was erected on a terrace some thirty 
 feet above the tide-mark. Three of the Greenlanders 
 were detailed as an organized hunting force ; Mr. Sonn- 
 tag and his assistants took charge of the scientific 
 department. The schooner, when unloaded, was care- 
 fully and thoroughly fitted up as a winter-home. Sails 
 being unbent, yards lowered, and topmasts housed, the 
 upper deck was roofed in so as to form a house, eight 
 feet high at the ridge and six feet six inches at the 
 sides. Every chink and crack were closed up with 
 
 Whirled round and dashed amain with sore anno^. 
 When they arrive before the ruinous sweep, 
 There shrieks are heard, there lamentations, moans. 
 And blasphemies 'gainst the good Power in heaven." 
 
h M 
 
 i 
 
 1 ifc 
 
 II i 
 
 
 234 
 
 MAKING READY FOR WINTER. 
 
 tarred paper; four windows provided for light (while 
 the light lasted) and ventilation. The crew found 
 accommodation in the hold, which was suitably scrubbed, 
 floored, and whitewashed. In the centre stood the 
 cooking-stove; and above it was suspended a simple 
 apparatus for melting water from the snow or ice, — 
 namely, a funnel-shaped double cylinder of galvanized 
 iron connected with the stove-pipe at one extremity, 
 and opening at the other into a large cask. 
 
 So far as provisions were concerned, the imprisoned 
 explorers had at the outset no cause for discouragement. 
 The rigging of the schooner looked like a well-supplied 
 game-store — a dozen reindeer, and clusters of rabbits 
 and Arctic foxes, hanging invitingly from it. Nor did 
 the supplies diminish, for daily the hunters returned 
 with the abundant spoils of their rifles. They reported 
 the pleasant tidings of reindeer in herds of tens and 
 fifties still lingering in the pasture-valleys, so that both 
 men and dogs were well provided. 
 
 Near the storehouse was erected an observatory, 
 eight feet square and seven feet high — a structure of 
 canvas, snow, and skins — the interior of which was 
 handsomely equipped with scientific instruments ; and 
 Mr. Sonntag and his assistants found ample scope for 
 the spirit of inquiry. 
 
 All around the schooner spread a sea of ice, over 
 whose level surface the dogs careered with much 
 satisfaction. From the upper deck to the frozen 
 sea a superb stairway of slabs of this same "cheap 
 Arctic alabaster " was constructed ; and the snow 
 was piled around the schooner's sides in a solid era- 
 
AN ESKIMO DOG-SLEDGE. 
 
 235 
 
 bankment, which greatly added to the warmth of the 
 interior. 
 
 Tt may here be noted that the sun sank out of sight 
 I 1 the southern hills on the 15th of October; and 
 the little company of brave men were face to face with 
 the long winter darkness of the Polar World. At first 
 a kind of soft twilight prevailed, and the p' ' i^n glow 
 of the unseen orb of day rested on the m(juntain-tops ; 
 but surely and steadily the partial radiance lessened, 
 and slowly and surely came on the sad obscurity of the 
 Arctic night. 
 
 Dr. Hayes occasionally amused himself with taking 
 his team of dogs on an excursion. They were twelve 
 in number, healthy, strong, and swift of foot. They 
 d. carry the sledge over the ice at a tremendous 
 o^. ., accomplishing six miles in twenty- eight to 
 thirty-tliree minutes. But to manage them is quite 
 an art, for they are guided solely by the whip and 
 voice. 
 
 On the outside are placed the strongest dogs ; and the 
 team sways to right and left, according as the whip 
 falls on the snow to the one side or the other, or as it 
 touches the leading dogs. The voice aids the whip, 
 but the experienced driver relies more upon compul- 
 sion than upon persuasion. This whip is a wonderful 
 instrument. Its lash is about four feet longer than the 
 traces, and tipped with a "cracker" of hard sinew, quite 
 capable of phlebotomizing a refractory animal. Its 
 material is simply raw seal-hide, and it is attached to 
 a light whip-stock only two feet and a half in length. 
 Hence, to roll out the lash to its full length is a truly 
 
 i -, 
 
 'I 
 
 T 
 
 lit 
 
 
 
 f ^ 
 
 ' I 
 
 n' 
 u, 
 
 - if 
 
 ! i' 
 
 Al 
 
 l'^. 
 
236 
 
 A DIFFICULT TEAM. 
 
 ' i M 
 
 I) 
 
 ill: i- 
 
 ■f! 
 
 i ; 
 
 H-: i 
 
 difficult undertaking, and in this, as in other arts, it is 
 practice only that makes perfect. 
 
 Driving an Eskimo team, take it all in all, seems to 
 be, as Dr. Hayes describes it, the very hardest kind of 
 hard work. Incessantly must the driver ply his whip, 
 and ply it mercilessly as well as incessantly, or it will 
 avail him nothing. The least hesitancy or weakness 
 on the driver's part is immediately detected by his 
 dogs, and they act accordingly. Unless fully convinced 
 that the soundness of their skins is at his mercy, 
 they will indulge in the greatest liberties. "If they 
 see a fox crossing the ice," says Dr. Hayes, '\- come 
 upon a bear-track, or 'wind' a seal, or sight a bird, 
 away they dash over snow-drifts and hummocks, prick- 
 ing up their short ears and curling up their long bushy 
 tails for a wild, wolfish race after the game. If the 
 whip-lash goes out with a fierce snap, the ears and the 
 tails drop, and they go on about their proper business ; 
 but woe be unto you if they get the control. I have seen 
 my own driver sorety put to his mettle, and not until 
 he had brought a yell of pain from almost every dog in 
 the team did he conquer their obstinacy. They were 
 running after a fox, and were taking us toward what 
 appeared to be unsafe ice. The wind was blowing 
 hard, and the lash was sometimes driven back into the 
 driver's face ; hence the difficulty. The whip, however, 
 finally brought them to reason ; and in full view of the 
 game, and within a few yards of the treacherous ice, 
 they came first down into a limping trot, and then 
 stopped, most unwillingly. Of course this made them 
 very cross, and a general fight, fierce and angry, now 
 
er arts, it is 
 
 ill, seems to 
 lest kind of 
 ly his whip, 
 y, or it will 
 >r weakness 
 ited by his 
 Y convinced 
 his mercy, 
 "If they 
 3, '\'^ come 
 ?ht a bird, 
 ocks, prick- 
 long bushy 
 ae. If the 
 ars and the 
 r business; 
 [ have seen 
 i not until 
 ''ery dog in 
 They were 
 ward what 
 LS bio wine: 
 k into the 
 ', however, 
 iew of the 
 lerous ice, 
 and then 
 lade them 
 igry, now 
 
 1 li 
 
 m 
 

 » \ 
 
 >\. 
 
 \) 
 
 V* 
 
 If;. 
 
 v- 
 
I- 
 
 CHARACTER OF THE ESKIMO. 
 
 239 
 
 followed, which was not quieted until the driver had 
 sailed in among them and knocked them to right and 
 left with his hard hickory whip-stock." j 
 
 THE ESKIMO CHARACTER. 
 
 Another source of amusement presented itself to the 
 leader of our ice-imprisoned party, in the character and 
 manners of his Eskimo followers. 
 
 He came to the conclusion — at which other travellers 
 seem to have arrived — that the Eskimos are a very 
 strange kind of people, and that it is impossible to 
 place any reliance upon them. They possess no emi- 
 nent virtues and no eminent vices ; except, indeed, this 
 want of trustworthiness, which sometimes attains to 
 very disagreeable proportions. They are curiously self- 
 contained: never asking assistance, never offering it; 
 insensible to sympathy ; absolutely undisturbed by any 
 emotions of charity or generosity. In sickness or distress 
 they do not think of proffering assistance ; on the other 
 hand, if it is asked for they do not refuse it. But 
 they give of their stores in an indifferent and desultory 
 fashion, which shows that the gift is not withheld, 
 because it would be too much trouble to withhold. 
 From the rude snow-hut of the hardy hunter, the 
 brother who has lost his team, or been unsuccessful in 
 the chase, is not turned away ; but he is never invited. 
 If an Eskimo knew that his own brother was starving 
 at some short distance off, he would not carry to him 
 a single meal ; but he would allow the poor wretch to 
 enter his hut and take what he needed. 
 
 Contrary to the statements of some of our Arctic 
 
\ 
 
 
 240 
 
 CHARACTER OF THE ESKIMa 
 
 ! 1* 
 
 1?; i. ;■• 
 
 H 
 
 'U 
 
 explorers, Dr. Hayes affirms that the Eskimos neither 
 beg, borrow, nor steal; though he qualifies his state- 
 ment by the admission that this wonderful independ- 
 ence, this stainless honesty, is not exhibited in their 
 dealings with the white man. It may be doubted 
 whether it always holds good in their dealings with 
 one another. 
 
 It is in harmony with their strange impassiveness 
 tliat they never fight; but from this it must not be 
 inferred that they are free from the universal passions 
 of hatred,, envy, and jealousy. Only, they conduct 
 their quarrels somewhat after the old Italian fashion, 
 — secretly harpooning a decrepit old man or woman 
 who has become a burden, or a more successful com- 
 petitor in the chase, or a person whom they choose to 
 regard as bewitched. They do not hesitate to kill their 
 own children, if they think their family grows too 
 numerous, or if any of them should be born with some 
 marked physical defect. At least, such are the habits, 
 says Dr. Hayes, of those tribes who have not been 
 reached by the influences of Christian civilization, or 
 have not caught something of the aggressive spirit of 
 the old Norsemen, who, from the ninth to the four- 
 teenth centuries, lived and fought in South Greenland. 
 
 IP 
 
 A JOURNEY ON THE GLACIER. 
 
 The great glacier which Dr. Kane had named, in allu- 
 sion, we suppose, to John Bull, " Brother John's Glacier," 
 descended into the valley near the head of Foulke 
 Fiord, a deep inlet of the sea lying to the north of Port 
 Foulke. Dr. Hayes resolved to attempt its exploration. 
 
BROTHER JOHN S GLACIER. 
 
 241 
 
 Taking with him Mr. Knorr, three of his crew (M'Donald, 
 Heywood, Petersen), and one of his Eskimos (Peter), he 
 started on the 22nd of October. The sledge was lightly 
 laden with a small canvas tent, two buffalo-skins for 
 bedding, a cooking-lamp, and provisions for eight days. 
 Progress, therefore, was rapid, and the foot of the 
 glacier was reached on the same day. After a halt 
 the sledge was unloaded, and its equipment carried on 
 the men's shoulders to the top of the glacier ; then the 
 sledge itself was hoisted up; and the journey being 
 resumed, five ix'les were accomplished before the ex- 
 plorers rested for the night. 
 
 The following day they continued the ascent, and 
 travelled thirty miles; next day, twenty-five miles; 
 and then they began to experience the very worst in- 
 conveniences of Arctic travelling. The temperature 
 had sunk to 30° below zero, and so fierce a wind blew 
 in their teeth that they were compelled to pitch their 
 tent and take refuge in it. At this time they were 
 posted five thousand feet above the sea, and seventy 
 miles from the coast, in the midst of an apparently 
 boundless frozen waste. Neither hill nor gorge was in 
 sight ; nothing but ice and snow — the rugged, sloping 
 surface of the glacier. And so intense was the cold, 
 that to remain within the tent motionless was as im- 
 possible as to persist in face of the biting, murderous 
 gale. There was no alternative but to return ; and 
 hastening down the declivity, they ran a race against 
 death. 
 
 They had travelled upwards of forty miles, and de- 
 scended about three thousand feet, before they ventured 
 
 (61*) 16 
 
 ? 
 
 \ i 
 i 
 
 Ml 
 
 ■ ^ 
 
 Ik 
 
 m 
 
 >' SSil 
 
r " 
 
 &42 
 
 A GLORIOUS PROSPECT. 
 
 M 
 
 V.i 
 
 to halt. Here they found the wind much milder, and 
 the temperature twelve degrees higher. Once more 
 they pitched their tent, and enjoyed a sound night's 
 rest. 
 
 They accon^plished the latter part of their journey 
 by moonlight. At the base of the glacier a delightful 
 calm prevailed; and the homeward route, down its 
 lower face, and across the valley, and over the frozen 
 ice-bridge of the fiord, lay through a scene as pic- 
 turesque as it was unusual. Sheets of drifting snow 
 flitted above the white-topped hills like squadrons of 
 phantom riders. They were signs and witnesses that 
 the gale still raged on the heights, though all was hushed 
 and calm below. The azure arch of heaven was wholly 
 cloudless ; and the stars which studded it, like gems of 
 purest ray serene, shone reflected in the tranquil mirror 
 of the valley-pool. How white, how cold, how impap;- 
 sive looked the glacier ! Who, from its silent, death- 
 like aspect, could surmise that, like a river, ifc was 
 rolling its burden down the shuddering gorge ? What 
 a contrast between its moonlit surface and the shadows 
 of the frowning clifis ! Besprinkled with islands, the 
 dark fiord noiselessly wound its way between the 
 swarthy headlands, and gave up its ice-clad waters to 
 the restless summons of the all-absorbing sea. The 
 lofty snow - shrouded mountains of the west coast 
 loomed in the horizon like the walls of a palace of the 
 gods. Upon the sea lay the cold, white mist, obeying 
 in its undulations the impulse of the wind, — occasion- 
 ally revealing the huge mass of a slowly-floating ice- 
 berg ; occasionally flashing with the strange reflections 
 
(,) 
 
 HOW ICE IS FORMED. 
 
 SA8 
 
 lilder, and 
 >nce more 
 ad night's 
 
 ir journey 
 delightful 
 down its 
 the frozen 
 le as pic- 
 ting snow 
 ladrons of 
 esses that 
 '^as hushed 
 as wholly 
 :e gems of 
 uil mirror 
 >w impa-^.- 
 nt, death- 
 ir, it was 
 >? What 
 5 shadows 
 lands, the 
 ween the 
 waters to 
 sea. The 
 est coast 
 ,ce of the 
 ;, obeying 
 -occasion- 
 iting ice- 
 •eflections 
 
 of the auroral light. And from behind it came lurid 
 magnetic gleams, irradiating the surrounding darkness, 
 and darting fiercely among the starry groups, like 
 '■' fiery arrows " shot up by evil spirits of another world. 
 
 THE GLACIER-SYSTEM OF GREENLAND. 
 
 What is Greenland, except along its narrow strip of 
 shore, but one immense reservoir of ice, — a great inter- 
 nal basin, which constantly overflows, and sends down 
 into the sea, in all directions, its frozen torrents and 
 congealed streams ? 
 
 What it is, it has become through the influence of 
 the law of Circulation, which does not more certainly 
 prevail in the warm, green regions of the world, than 
 among the icy heights of the Himalayas, the Alps, or 
 the Andes. 
 
 The ocean throws off its waters by evaporation. 
 They circulate through the air, and, in these cold 
 regions, return again to earth in the form of snow — 
 snow which is partly converted into water, to feed the 
 springs, and streams, and rivers; and partly into ice, 
 to supply the Jiienj de glace and the great glaciers. 
 
 The ice thus formed is estimated to equal, in the 
 Alps, fifty-eight inches annually. Undisturbed, the 
 successive layers would raise Mont Blanc four hundred 
 feet higher in a century, and four thousand feet higher 
 in a thousand years. 
 
 But this astonishing result is prevented through the 
 operation of the glacier-system, which carries off the 
 superfluous ice as the rivers carry off the superfluous 
 waters. In truth, a glacier is simply a river of ice; 
 
 ji 
 
 Mi 
 
 i- 4 
 
 H 
 
 t 
 
 k ill. 
 
841 
 
 GLACIER-MOTION. 
 
 *;r 
 
 and the "river-systems" of the warmer zones of our 
 globe become the " glacier-systems " of the colder. 
 
 The exact method of the glacier-movement has not 
 been demonstrated to the entire satisfaction of scientific 
 men; but it is evident that the ice possesses a com- 
 bined ductility and viscosity, and perhaps it is allow- 
 able to compare its motion to that of a mass of jelly. 
 
 Observe, then, a beautiful instance of Nature's love 
 of an equilibrium. The ice accumulated every year by 
 the action of the winter- frosts is balanced every year 
 by the quantity carried downwards in the huge frozen 
 floods of the glaciers. 
 
 Nothing impedes the movement of the glacier, which 
 may be slow, but is irresistible. It adapts itself to the 
 configuration of the lower chains of hills, and flows 
 over their summits, or insinuates itself between their 
 windings. Pouring into the valleys, it gradually fills 
 them up, until they are level with the highest hills. 
 Coming to a precipice, it leaps headlong over its brink, 
 and streams into the plain below — a frozen cataract. 
 So, winter and summer, it moves on its way, grinding 
 down the rocks, and tracing its furrows like a giant 
 plough on the mountain-side; winter and summer it 
 continues its ceaseless course, until at length it reaches 
 the margin of the sea. But even here it does not stop. 
 " Pushing back the water, it makes its own coast-line ; 
 and moving still onward, accommodating itself to every 
 inequality of the bed of the sea, as it had before done 
 to the surface of the land, filling up the wide bay or 
 fiord, expanding where it expands, narrowing where it 
 narrows, swallowing up the islands in its slow and 
 
 
les of our 
 der. 
 
 t has not 
 ' scientific 
 3S a corn- 
 is allow- 
 f jelly, 
 urft's love 
 y year by 
 very year 
 ige frozen 
 
 ier, which 
 Blf to the 
 md flows 
 een their 
 ually fills 
 best hills, 
 its brink, 
 
 cataract. 
 
 grinding 
 B a giant 
 ammer it 
 it reaches 
 not stop, 
 oast-line ; 
 ' to every 
 fore done 
 le bay or 
 where it 
 slow and 
 
 m 
 

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 ^|^ 
 
 
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 '«■■' ■•^.i,. 
 
 ./''I 
 
 n 
 
.. < 
 
 GLACIER-DISRUPTION. 
 
 i^ 
 
 steady course, it finally reaches many miles beyond the 
 original shore-line." r-^ 
 
 This is the climax of its progress. When it first 
 emptied its frozen volume upon the coast-line, and 
 spread into the bay which, in the course of time, it was 
 to fill up, its face was several feet in height. But as it 
 moved forward it gradually sank below the level of 
 the waters; and finally its lofty front has almost dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 Then, owing to physical agencies, which our limited 
 space prevents us from attempting to explain — physical 
 agencies connected with the expansive properties of ice 
 — a disruption of the glacier takes place : a huge mass 
 is broken off, and buoyed up to the level natural to 
 fresh- water ice; and this huge mass, drifting slowly 
 away with the current, floats out into the sea as an 
 iceberg. By-and-by that iceberg will melt into the 
 waters, and, the process of evaporation being resumed, 
 will pass into the air ; as mist and rain will again de- 
 scend upon the earth: and in this way the great law 
 of Circulation is everlastingly maintaining the equili- 
 brium of the natural forces. 
 
 Here we may be allowed, before resuming our narra- 
 tive, to avail ourselves of Dr. Hayes' eloquent descrip- 
 tion of one of these marvels of the Arctic Ocean, — the" 
 huge, grand, white masses of the icebergs : — 
 
 Solemn, stately, and erect, he says, in tempest and in 
 calm, it rides the deep. Through its broken archways 
 the waves resound, and thunder against its adamantine 
 walls. In the morning it is veiled in clouds as im- 
 penetrable as those which shrouded the fair form of 
 
248 
 
 THE FLOATING ICEBERG, 
 
 
 Arethusa, in the beautiful Greek fable ; at noon the sun 
 equips it in silver armour ; in the evening it is resplen- 
 dent with all the glowing colours of the sunset ; and in 
 the silent night its surface glasses the heavenly orbs. 
 Drifting snows whirl over it in winter ; sea-gulls make 
 it their haunt in summer. Its lofty spires are touched 
 with the last rays of expiring day ; and when the long 
 darkness has passed, it catches the first faint glow of 
 returning light, and with gilded crest announces the 
 coming of the mom. The elements combine to do 
 homage to its matchless bea^j^ty. Its loud voice is 
 wafted to the shore, and the echoes carry the sound 
 into the heart of the remotest hills. The sun steals 
 through "the veil of radiant fountains" which shim- 
 mers over it in spray and foam in the summer winds ; 
 and the rainbow hangs out its many-tinted banners on 
 its lofty crest. With wreaths of soft vapour it is gar- 
 landed by the air, and all around it the waters shine 
 with the rare glory of emerald and sapphire. Onward, 
 onward, to fulfil its destiny, it sails along the blue 
 pathway of the sea, heedless of varying winds, heedless 
 of passing seasons. And in the course of time suc- 
 cumbiiig to the universal law of Nature, it sinks back 
 slowly into the all-absorbing waters from which, long 
 ages ago, it took its rise. Of this great la y it is, in- 
 deed, a noble monument, and to the changej of time a 
 more solemn witness than " the Egyptian Pyramids or 
 the obelisk of Heliopolis." Before man came upon the 
 world, which had been so carefully prepared to receive 
 him as its lord, the crystals of which that iceberg is 
 built up were dew-drops sparkling in the sun, and 
 
ESKIMO JACOB. 
 
 249 
 
 snow-flakes falling through the air, like feathers from 
 the wings of unseen spirits ! 
 
 A couple of icebergs visible from Dr. Hayes' winter- 
 camp were named the Twins, or Castor and Pollux. 
 Nor were they unworthy of the name ; for one rose 
 230 feet above the level of the sea, and the other 247 
 feet. 
 
 THE WINTER-CAMP. 
 
 We return to the camp and its "humours," which 
 were many. The imprisoned explorers do not appear, 
 at least in the early wintei-, to have suffered from 
 tedium. Their occupations were distinct and various ; 
 they were well housed and well fed ; each day brought 
 its duties and its novel experiences; and the Eskimo 
 members of the little company were a never-failing 
 source of entertainment. Jacob, the youngest of the 
 natives, furnished the men with a target for their fists. 
 He seems to have resembled the "fat boy" in Pickwick, 
 both in his capacity for eating and his amazing powers 
 of sleeping. When he was not eating he was sleeping, 
 and when he was not sleeping he was eating. The 
 necessary consequence of such a life was a remarkable 
 increase of corpulence. His cheeks were puffed out 
 li]-'^ blown bladders, and altogether he answered the 
 description of Mirabeau's fat friend, who had been 
 create ' apparently for no other purpose than to demon- 
 strate the wonderful extensibility of the human skin. 
 One day he was sent upon deck to dress a couple of 
 reindeer; but having succeeded in exposing a savoury 
 morsel, he paused in his task, cut a slice off the half- 
 
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 \i\ n 
 
 250 
 
 HANS AND HIS WIFE. 
 
 frozen carcass, and some time afte i'wards was found fast 
 asleep between the two dead animals, with the last shred 
 of his bonne bouche hanging from his lips. 
 
 Some amusement was afforded, also, by the conjugal 
 vagaries of Hans and his wife. The Eskimo lady was 
 singularly disinclined for work, and when invited to 
 assist in replenishing the men's winter-wardrobe ob- 
 stinately refused. Dr. Hayes describes her as the most 
 do.qged of her sex. She was indifferent to everything 
 and everybody, and about once a fortnight indulged 
 in a fit of ill- temper, in which she was wont to declare 
 her intention of abandoning Hans and the expedition, 
 and returning to her own people. She essayed the 
 experiment on one occasion, and, with her baby on her 
 back, dashed away towards Cape Alexander, Hans, 
 however, came out of his tent, as calm and impassive 
 as ever, and stood leisurely smoking his pipe, and sur- 
 veying the receding form of his wife and child with 
 the most provoking unconcern. Dr. Hayes thought it 
 desirable to call his attention to his wife's strategic 
 movement. 
 
 " Yes, me see." 
 
 " Where is she going, Hans ? " 
 
 " She no go ; she come back all right." 
 
 " But she will freeze, Hans ? " 
 
 " She no freeze ; she come back by -by, you see." 
 
 And he continued to smoke his pipe with a quiet 
 chuckle and a compkicent conviction of his knowledge 
 of the ways of womankind in general, and of his wife 
 in particular. And in about two hours the Eskimo 
 
A NEGRO COOK. 
 
 251 
 
 
 Xantippe came back, looking very blue and cold, and 
 evidently very much subdued. 
 
 Dr. Hayes was fortunate in the original character of 
 most of the men composing his expedition. The cook 
 was a negro, and apparently a negro of the kind one is 
 apt to suppose peculiar to popular songs and amusing 
 anecdotes. Like Yorick, only in a very different de- 
 gree, he was a fellow of infinite mirth and fancy ; and, 
 what was more to his commander's purpose, he was 
 well skilled in the culinary art. 
 
 On one occasion he set before Dr. Hayes a fillet of 
 venison, garnished with currant jelly, a perfect triumph 
 of taste and philosophy. 
 
 " I t'inks de commander likes dis," said he, " coming 
 from de cold." 
 
 " Yes, cook, it is really superb. Now, what can I do 
 for vou ? " 
 
 "T'ank you, sar. I t'inks if de commander would 
 only be so kind as to give me a clean shirt, I shall be 
 very t'ankful. He see dis one be very dirty, and I gets 
 no time to wash him." 
 
 " Certainly, cook ; you shall have two." 
 
 " T'ank you, sar ; " and with a marvellous doubling of 
 the body which is intended for a bow, cook retires to his 
 stool and his coppers. It was his boast that he had never 
 been off the ship's deck since she quitted Boston. " Vat 
 should I go ashore for ? " he would exclaim. " Me go 
 ashore ! De land be very good place to grow de vege- 
 tables, but it no place to be. I never goes ashore ven I 
 can help it, and, please my hebenly Fader, I never vill !" 
 
 V > 1 
 
 1 ,■ 
 
 ;'• : i'. 
 
 \in\ 
 
I ' 
 
 252 
 
 CHASING BEARS. 
 
 'El 
 
 '. T' ;- 1*1 
 
 A BEAR-HUNT. 
 
 On the 6th of November Mr. Sonntag and a small 
 company of adventurers returned from an attempt they 
 had made to reach the Humboldt Glacier. The chief 
 incident of the journey, which had been rendered pain- 
 ful and perilous by the rugged nature of the ice, was 
 the pursuit and capture of a Polar bear and her cub 
 They were roused on the margin of a ridge of " hum- 
 mocky ice," where they had been sleeping, and made 
 at once for the open cracks, some four miles distant, in 
 order to take to the water. Off dashed the dogs in 
 fierce pursuit, with bold disregard of the safety of the 
 sledges or of the persons seated upon them. In and 
 out of the labyrinth of hummocks shook and clattered 
 the two teams, sorely discomposing the drivers, and 
 flinging Mr. Sonntag on the snow. The delays which 
 took place gave the bears a start of fully a mile, so that 
 there was reason to fear they would reach the open 
 water. But the dogs seemed to be conscious of this 
 fact as well as the hunters ; and on gaining the broad 
 level plain they swept onward at a trem^indous speed. 
 The sledges almost flew over the hard snow, and the 
 chase assumed the aspect of one of those wild demon- 
 hunts depicted in so many of the German ballads. 
 
 In less than a quarter of an hour the dogs had 
 lessened the distance between themselves and their 
 quarry to two hundred yards ; but the water was close 
 at hand. During all this frenzied chase the old bear 
 was delayed by her cub, which she was evidently un- 
 willing to abandon. Terrible was the poor creature's 
 
PURSUERS AND PURSUED. 
 
 253 
 
 agony, and her cries were painful to hear. Anxious and 
 frightened, the cub trotted along by her side as best she 
 could ; and although she greatly retarded the progress 
 of the mother, the latter remained true to the instincts 
 of maternal affection. "One moment," says the his- 
 torian of the chase, " she would rush forward toward 
 the open water, as if intent only upon her own safety ; 
 then she would wheel round and push on the struggling 
 cub with her snout; and then, again, she would run 
 beside it, as if coaxingly encouraging it to greater speed. 
 Meanwhile her enemies were rushing on and steadily 
 Hearing the game. The dogs, forgetting their own 
 fatigue in the prospect of a speedy encounter, pressed 
 harder and harder into their collars. The critical 
 moment was rapidly approaching ; and, to add to the 
 embarrassments of the Bruin family, the little bear was 
 giving out." 
 
 Now, see the pursuers within fifty yards of the 
 pursued. Each hunter bends forward, seizes the end 
 of the line which holds together the traces, and slips 
 the knot. At once the swift course of the sledges is 
 arrested; and the dogs, released from their burden, 
 spring towards their prey. The old ^ear hears them 
 coming, and, sheltering her little one between her legs, 
 bravely awaits the assault. 
 
 Foremost in the charge is a veteran dog named 
 Oosisoak. Close beside him dashes the gallant Queen 
 Arkadik, and a score of other wolfish beasts — for the 
 Eskimo dog is more than half wolf — follow in hot 
 disorder. When in upon the enemy, her formidable 
 front and terrible roar teach them that discretion is the 
 
 
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 vi 
 
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 !'i.l 
 
 254 
 
 DEATH OF THE CUB. 
 
 better part of valour, and dividing, they attack on each 
 side ; only one young and inexperienced dog presuming 
 to face the powerful animal, and falling dead at once 
 beneath her huge paw. Then she turns upon her other 
 assailants. In doing so she uncovers the cub, which is 
 instantly involved in the ifniUe. What a scene ! The 
 frantic movements of the two bears, the roar of the 
 mother, the cry of her cub, the howls and hoarse utter- 
 ances of the contending dogs, — a new Homer is needed 
 to describe the features of such a combat. 
 
 At length the hunters bring up their forces. Jensen 
 and Hans load their rifles, and, watching their opportu- 
 nity, take aim and fire. A ball strikes tlie bear in the 
 mouth, another in the shoulder ; but the wounds are 
 slight, and serve but to increase her fury. 
 
 All the dogs have now combined in an attack on the 
 old bear, and the snow is soon crimson with blood. 
 The assailants suffer severely, but, undaunted, press the 
 attack. How long the Homeric episode would have 
 lasted, who can tell ? but that a deus ex machind inter- 
 vened in the person of Mr. Sonntag, who came up with 
 another weapon. A well-directed volley from the three 
 weapons brought the bear down upon her side, and the 
 dogs immediately made a rush at her. But, though 
 greatly weakened by loss of blood and the prolonged 
 struggle, she was not mortally hurt; and springing to 
 her feet, she once more put the pack to flight. Her 
 cub, however, now sank dead at her feet; and forget- 
 ting for a moment her own strait, she stooped down 
 and licked its face, and endeavoured by caresses to revive 
 in it some signs of life. At last she became aware of 
 
a^k on each 
 1 presuming 
 3ad at once 
 >n her other 
 lb, which is 
 cene ! The 
 roar of the 
 oarse utter- 
 ir is needed 
 
 les. Jensen 
 eir opportu- 
 I bear in the 
 wounds are 
 
 :tack on the 
 with blood. 
 id, press the 
 would have 
 chind inter- 
 .me up with 
 >m the three 
 lide, and the 
 But, though 
 e prolonged 
 
 pringing to 
 flight. Her 
 
 and forget- 
 ooped down 
 ses to revive 
 ne aware of 
 
 
 
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5»l 
 
 
 III 
 
 li'i 
 
 Hi! 
 
 
 .,'11 
 
 \^ 
 
 \ V 
 
WINTER NIGHT. 
 
 257 
 
 ) 
 
 the truth, and Huddftnly taming on her assailants she 
 attacked them with an access of fury. Then perceiv- 
 ing that she had other enemies than the dogs, she 
 charged at Hans, who threw away his spear and took 
 to ignominious flight. The bear pursued, and in a 
 moment more neither his own swift feet nor the dogs 
 could have saved him. But Sonntag and Jensen, hav- 
 ing reloaded their rifles, arrested her career with a 
 couple of bullets, which stretched her dead upon tlie 
 snow. 
 
 MIDWINTER. 
 
 Day by day the year approached its close, and the 
 Arctic winter asserted itself in all its severity. It is 
 difficult for us, dwelling in a temperate clime, to realize 
 all its terrible accompaniments. The oppression of the 
 prolonged darkness it is impossible for us to understand. 
 A night prolonged through several months weighs down 
 both the mental and physical energies, and involuntarily 
 saddens even the most sanguine spirit. Habit has so 
 accustomed us to the succession of morning, noon, and 
 night, that we fail to recognize the healthful influence 
 of this continual change ; yet it is a boon of singular 
 value and importance, which we should learn to appreci- 
 ate after the experience of an Arctic winter-night. 
 
 Still, it must be admitted that in clear weather the 
 moon affords some relief From its rising to its setting 
 it shines unintermittently, and keeps above the horizon 
 until its ten days of radiance are ended. There is some- 
 thing singular in its brightness, which is probably due 
 to the transparency of the atmosphere, and the increased 
 intensity afforded by the reflecting power of the snow. 
 
 (044) 17 
 
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 «9 
 
 
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 I 
 
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 /-•t 
 
 258 
 
 A CANINE EPIDEMIC. 
 
 \} 
 
 Snow-storms at Port Foulke were numerous and 
 lieavy. Between the dawn of winter and the 1st of 
 December the amount of snow which fell was forty- 
 eight inches. Its crystals were remarkably beautiful ; 
 and Dr. Hayes notes the fact — which we have observed 
 in our British winters — that perfect crystals are ex- 
 hibited only when the snow falls in a temperature 
 comparatively mild. Their form is always hexagonal ; 
 but though the rays are infinitely various in their 
 development, they all possess the same radical founda- 
 tion. 
 
 A disagreeable incident of the winter detention at 
 Port Foulke was the outbreak of an epidemic disorder 
 among the dogs, resembling mania or delirium. The 
 mortality was dreadful. In the first two weeks of 
 December eighteen died ; three more deaths occurred in 
 the following week; and Dr. Hayes found himself 
 reduced to nine animals. As all his plans of exploration 
 in the coming spring depended upon the efficiency of 
 his teams as a means of transportation across the ice, 
 his anxiety was great ; and in order to obtain a fresh 
 supply, he determined on sending Mr. Sonntag, with 
 Hans as driver, to the nearest Eskimo settlement on 
 Northumberland Island, if necessary, or to Whale 
 Sound, if haply any station should be found upon its 
 shores. 
 
 With twelve days' provisions, they set out on the 
 21st of December. Their journey proved very eventful; 
 but before we follow it up we must ask the reader to 
 witness, as Dr. Hayes witnessed, a remarkable display 
 of the aurora borealis. 
 
AURORAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 259 
 
 THE AURORA BOREALIS. 
 
 It was early in the morning of the 6th of January. 
 The darkness was so profound as to be oppressive. 
 Suddenly, from the rear of the black cloud which 
 obscured the horizon, flashed a bright ray ; but before 
 one could say "Behold!" the "jaws of darkness did 
 devour it up." Presently an arch of many colours fixed 
 itself across the sky, like a bridge for the armies of the 
 Unseen, and the aurora gradually developed. The 
 space within the arch was filled by the black cloud ; 
 hut its borders brightened steadily, though the rays 
 discharged from it were exceedingly capricious — now 
 glaring like a vast conflagration, now beaming like the 
 glow of a summer morn. More and more intense grew 
 the light, until from irregular bursts it matured into 
 an almost uniform sheet of radiance. 
 
 Towards the end of the display its character changed. 
 The heavenly dome was all aflame. Lurid fires flung 
 their awful portents across it, before which the stars 
 grew pale, and seemed to recede farther and farther 
 from the earth. The gentle Andromeda seemed to fly 
 from the scene of warfare; even Perseus, with his 
 brilliant sword and Medusa shield, drew back apace ; 
 the Pole Star vanished from the night ; and the Great 
 Bear, trusty sentinel of the North, for once abandoned 
 his watch, and followed the fugitive. The colour of the 
 light was chiefly red, but every hue had its turn, and 
 sometimes two or three were mingled ; blue and yellow 
 streamers shot ;i cross the terrible glare, or, starting side 
 by side from the wide expanse of the radiant arch, 
 
 !l 
 
 Hi 
 
 yii. 
 
 
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 II 
 
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 V • f 
 1), 
 
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n 
 
 200 
 
 A GLORIOUS SPECTACLE. 
 
 ■'iV. 
 
 i\ 
 
 melted into each other, and flung a strange shade of 
 emerald over the illuminated landscape. Again this 
 green subdues and overcomes the red ; then azure and 
 orange blend in rapid flight ; subtle rays of violet 
 pierce through " a broad flush of yellow," and the com- 
 bined streams issue in innumerable tongues of white 
 flame, which mount towards the zenith. Surely it is 
 impossible to gaze upon a scene so various, so unearthly, 
 so wonderful, without a silent recognition of the wis- 
 dom and power of the great Final Cause ! The 
 emotional side of our nature comes in to strengthen and 
 exalt our reason; our faith quickens; our convictions 
 acquire a new life ; our hearts, however cold before, are 
 compelled to pour their passionate raptures into the 
 grateful yet exultant strain, Te Deum Laudamus, — 
 " We praise thee, God : we acknowledge thee to be 
 the Lord !" 
 
 It may well be credited that the play of these orange 
 and red and violet and emerald lights upon the sur- 
 rounding objects produced the most marvellous effects. 
 "The weird forms of countless icebergs," says Hayes, 
 "singly and jn clusters, loomed above the sea, and 
 around their summits the strange gleam shone as the 
 fires of Vesuvius over the doomed temples of Campania. 
 Upon the mountain- tops, along the white surface of the 
 frozen waters, upon the lofty cliffs, the light glowed, 
 and grew dim, and glowed again, as if the air were 
 filled with charnel meteors, pulsating with wild incon- 
 stancy over some vast illimitable city of the dead." 
 
 Silent was the scene; yet it practised a strange decep- 
 tion upon the senses, for the swift flashes seemed fol- 
 
/•• ' 
 
 // 
 
 re shade of 
 Again this 
 1 azure and 
 3 of violet 
 id the com- 
 )s of white 
 5urely it is 
 ) unearthly, 
 of the wis- 
 ,use ! The 
 ngthen and 
 convictions 
 I before, are 
 es into the 
 mdamus, — 
 thee to be 
 
 hese orange 
 m the sur- 
 lous effects, 
 ays Hayes, 
 e sea, and 
 hone as the 
 ■ Campania, 
 rface of the 
 ;ht glowed, 
 le air were 
 wild incon- 
 dead." 
 ange decep- 
 seemed fol- 
 
 idi 
 
 .■II 
 
 i 
 
■^■iJEM 
 
 ( I 
 
MAN AND NATURE. 
 
 268 
 
 lowed by unearthly noises,* which fell upon the ear 
 
 like . I ^ . , 
 
 > "The tread 
 
 Of phantoms druad, 
 With banner, and spear, and flame ! " 
 
 THE ARCTIC NIGHT. 
 
 As a contrast to the glow and splendour of the fore- 
 going picture, we may place one of the Arctic night, 
 when its deep-blue skies are no longer illuminated by 
 electric coruscations. 
 
 All authorities agree in speaking of the severe ordeal to 
 which the Arctic night expos 3S the European explorers. 
 Physically, the experience is endurable ; though there 
 can be no doubt that its influence is to some extent un- 
 wholesome, and that the withdrawal of light acts upon 
 the human frame as it does upon vegetation. But to 
 civilized man's moral and intellectual faculties it is a 
 bitter trial. To that new world which it unfolds to the 
 senses they do not harmoniously adapt themselves. A 
 discord and a difference exist between man and nature. 
 He feels, for the first time, how salutary and delightful 
 are those changes of morn, and noon, and night which 
 refresh more temperate regions; what strength, and joy, 
 and renovating energy there are in the alternation of 
 sunrise and sunset, day and night. How he longs to see 
 again the warm glow of morning reddening the eastern, 
 skies, lighting up the tops of the hills, and gradually 
 
 * The auroral exhibition, according to the testimony of several observers, is ac- 
 tually accompanied by sounds like that of crackling or rustling silk ; something 
 similar, wc presume, to the discharge of sparks from an electric machine. Such is 
 the testimony of Dr. Henderson. On the other hand, both Parry and Lyon say 
 they never heard any sound. Sir J. Richardson thinks the auroral movements are 
 sometimes audible. That the aurora dims the stars, is strongly affirmed by Parry as 
 well as by Hayes. 
 
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 Mt ^ ' 
 
 1 
 
 264 
 
 THE ARCTIC NIGHT. 
 
 wakening into life the quiet valley, the flowery plain, 
 and the crystal stream ! How he longs for the golden 
 noon, with its gerdal sunshine, and its soft murmuring 
 sounds which bear testimony to nature's happiness ! 
 How he longs for the purple glories of the sunset, when 
 the great orb of day sinks serenely and majestically 
 below the horizon, and the earth kindles in the reflection 
 of its departing pomp ! How he yearns for those health- 
 ful influences of dawn which brace him up for his daily 
 labour; how he misses the tranquillizing power of twi- 
 light, which soothes and encourages to rest! From day 
 to day he finds himself possessed by a single desire ; on 
 his lips and in his heart is Goethe's well-known prayer : 
 " Light 1 light ! more light ! " He wearies of the con- 
 tinual gloom ; it becomes to him a burden and a terror ; 
 he feels as if it had laid hold upon him with an icy 
 grasp, and would no more let him go. 
 
 On the other hand, it may be conceded that the 
 Arctic night has its interesting and fascinating aspects 
 for the cultivated mind, when it can shake off the 
 weight and oppression of the prolonged silence and 
 almost continual darkness. It has, as we have seen, its 
 glorious auroral phenomena, flooding land and sea with a 
 many-coloured radiance, which may well recall "the 
 consecration and the poet's dream," for only in "poet's 
 dream " could anything so strangely beautiful have oeen 
 imagined. Then there is a charm in the keen, cold light 
 of the stars, in the eery lustre which falls upoT! the hills 
 and icebergs, in the flashing whiteness of the snow- 
 shrouded mountain-peaks and majestic glaciers. 
 
 " Nature," says Dr. Hayes, " is here exposed on a 
 
lowery plain, 
 or the golden 
 fc murmuring 
 s happiness! 
 sunset, when 
 
 majestically 
 the reflection 
 those health- 
 • for his daily 
 power of twi- 
 i! From day 
 jle desire ; on 
 aown prayer : 
 3 of the con- 
 
 and a terror ; 
 
 with an icy 
 
 led that the 
 lating aspects 
 hake off the 
 
 silence and 
 lave seen, its 
 nd sea with a 
 
 recall "the 
 ily in "poet's 
 ful have oeeii 
 en, cold light 
 ipcT! the hills 
 of the snow- 
 ,clers. 
 xposed on a 
 
'BiiaiMlBii 
 
 jBBsmm 
 
 
 ; ( \ 
 1 
 
 ipl i' 
 
 T > 
 
i 8' 
 
 GRANDEUR OF THE POLAR WORLD. 
 
 267 
 
 gigantic scale ; " that is, man stands so completely face 
 to face with it, that he feels himself dwarfed in its pre- 
 sence, and recognizes for the first time the grandeur of 
 its proportions. Out of the glassy sea rise the dark 
 fronts of lofty cliffs, flinging their shadows over the 
 desert of frozen waters. Mountain-summits, which foot 
 of man has never profaned, seem to pierce the very 
 licavf , and lift to the stars their virgin snows. In 
 huge and massive floods the glaciers roll their burden 
 of the innumerable ages into the sea, " The very air, 
 disdaining t' ^ gentle softness of other climes, bodies 
 forth," says Hayes, " a loftier majesty, and seems to fill 
 the universe with a boundless transparency ; and the 
 stars pierce it sharply, and the moon fills it with a 
 cold refniii -nee. There is neither warmth nor colourincj 
 underneath this ethereal robe of night. No broad win- 
 dow opens in the east, no gold and crimson curtain falls 
 in the west, upon a world clothed in blue, and green, 
 and purple, melting into one harmonious whole, a tinted 
 cloak of graceful loveliness. Under the shadow of the 
 eternal night, Nature needs no drapery and requires 
 no adornment. The glass}^ sea, the tall cliff, the lofty 
 mountain, the majestic glacier, do not blend one with 
 the other. Each stands forth alone, clothed only with 
 Solitude. Sable priestess of the Arctic winter, she has 
 wrapped the world in a winding-sheet, and thrown her 
 web and woof over the very face of Nature." 
 
 MR. SONNTAG'S journey. 
 
 We have recorded the departure of Mr. Sonntag on a 
 visit to the nearest Eskimo settlement, with the view 
 
 m 
 
IN SEARCH OF MR. SONNTAG. 
 
 \%Ml\ 
 
 of purchasing a team of Eskimo dogs. He was accom- 
 panied by Hans the hunter, and their return was ex- 
 pected in a few days. But, to the surprise at first, and 
 to the alarm and anxiety afterwards, of Dr. Hayes, 
 December passed away — a new year opened, and January 
 was far advanced — yet there came no news of Mr. Sonn- 
 tag. The suspense became intolerable, and Dr. Hayes 
 was preparing to start in search of him, when two 
 Eskimos arrived with the sad news that the poor as- 
 tronomer was dead. They also informed him that 
 Hans, with his wife's father and mother, was on his 
 way back to the schooner ; but, owing to the condition 
 of his dogs, was travelling by slow and easy stages. 
 
 When Hans at last made his appearance, he was 
 accompanied, however, only by his wife's brother; for 
 the father and mother had broken down, and were 
 left, along with the dogs, in the neighbourhood of 
 the glacier, v/aiting tor assistance. This was at once 
 despatched, and the two old people were brought to the 
 vessel, and properly cared for; as well as the feeble, 
 weary, almost lifeless dogs, now reduced to five in 
 number ! 
 
 From the story told by Hp^ns, it appeared that the 
 travellers had easily cleared Cape Alexander, and struck 
 across the ice to Sutherland Island, where they built a 
 snow-hut, and rested for a few hours. In due time they 
 set out for Northumberland Isla^ 1, and had proceeded 
 on their course about five miles when Sonntag, feeling 
 somewhat chilled, sprang off* the sledge, and ran ahead 
 to restore himself by exercise. Suddenly Hans observed 
 him sinking. He had come upon some thin ice, cover- 
 
 f li I 
 
 11 
 
ESKIMO HANS' JOURNEY. 
 
 369 
 
 in ice, cover- 
 
 ing a recently open tide-crack, and not perceiving the 
 danger, had stepped forward. The ice gave way, and he 
 fell in. Hans hastened to his rescue, and the two then 
 turned back for Sorfalik, where a snow-hut could afford 
 them shelter. Unfortunately, Mr. Sonntag did not 
 change his wet clothing ; and when the sledge halted at 
 Sorfalik, Hans discovered that his companion was stiff 
 and speechless. Removing him into the hut as quickly 
 as possible, he placed him in the sleeping-bag, adminis- 
 tered some brandy, and having tightly closed the hut, 
 lighted their alcohol lamp, for the double purpose of 
 elevating the temperature and making some coffee. 
 His efforts were in vain ; Sonntag never recovered con- 
 sciousness, and in a few hours died. 
 
 Having closed up the entrance to the hut, to protect 
 the dead body against carnivorous animals, Hans re- 
 sumed his journey, and reached Northumberland Island. 
 He found, however, that the natives had abandoned 
 their settlement ; and after a night's rest he went on 
 to Netlik, which was also deserted. At Iteplik, how- 
 ever, some twenty miles farther, he came upon a few 
 families. Among them were two Eskimos who had 
 known Dr. Hayes on his former visit to the Arctic 
 Regions, and they volunteered to carry him the news of 
 Mr. Sonntag's melancholy fate ; while Hans despatched 
 a couple of boys with ]iis team to Cape York, to ac- 
 quaint the Eskimos in that locality with Dr. Hayes' 
 presence and his wants. On their return he started 
 again for Port Foulke ; where he arrived, as we have 
 seen, with his team reduced to five miserably attenuated 
 dogs. 
 

 riii 
 
 270 
 
 THE ARCTIC FOX. 
 
 Such was Hans' story. Dr. Hayes did not accept it 
 as true in all its details, but had no means of disprov- 
 ing it. The expedition had utterly failed in its object, 
 besides costing hira the life of a trusted companion and 
 old friend, and all he could hope for was that some of 
 the wandering Eskimos might be induced to bring him 
 a reinforcement for his skeleton team. 
 
 EXCITEMENT OF THE CHASE. 
 
 Meantime, as the approach of day became more and 
 ;nore discernible, the imprisoned explorers found an 
 agreeable relief from the monotony of their occupations 
 in the chase, '^hc reindeer abandoned their winter 
 fastnesses in the remote vailoys, and came down towards 
 the shore. The Polar bear and the Arctic fox likewise 
 forsook their remoter haunts, and began the pursuit of 
 the seal and the ocean-birds ; the fox generally follow- 
 ing in the track of the bear, and obtaining a portion of 
 his prey. There are two distinct varieties, or rather 
 species, of the Arctic fox, — the Avhite and the blue. The 
 term " blue " is slightly inaccurate, the colour being 
 rather that of a solid gray ; but it has a bluish effect in 
 contrast with, or reflection upon, the snow. The fur of 
 both species is highly valued. 
 
 The habits of the Polar bear are too well-known for 
 any detailed description to be necessary. Everybody 
 has read of its ferocity, its courage, its amazing strength, 
 its devoted attachment to its young, its curiosity, and 
 its voracious appetite. During the long winter-darkness 
 tliat appetite can very seldom be satisfied ; but in the 
 summer, when the seal make their appearance upon the 
 
DR. HAYES AND THE BEAR. 
 
 271 
 
 ice-floes, it indulges in unlimited gluttony. It is prob- 
 able that its ferocity has been much exaggerated; at 
 least, it does not appear to attack man except when 
 hotly pursued and driven to bay. Then, indeed, it is a 
 dangerous opponent ; for one blow from its heavy paw 
 will crush a limb or dash out its assailant's brains. 
 
 Dr. Hayes relates that one day, when observing with 
 much interest the effect of the spring-tides upon the ice- 
 foot, he suddenly found himself confronted in the " pale 
 moonlight " by an enormous bear. He had just emerged 
 from the hummocks, and was on the full trot towards 
 the shore. Man and bear became conscious of each 
 other's presence at one and the same moment. As Dr. 
 Hayes was without a rifle or other means of attack or 
 defence, he concluded that " discretion was the better 
 part of valour," and wheeled suddenly in the direction 
 of the ship ; feeling much like 'jhe village-maiden in the 
 ballad, who fancies that a phantom is close-pursuing her 
 retreating steps. However, after a few lengthy strides 
 he looked back over his shoulder, and to his surprise 
 nnd gratification discovered the bear making for the 
 open water with a celerity that satisfactorily indicated 
 the nature of his reflections. 
 
 m^. 
 
 I'I'i 
 
 i> ; 
 
 ;l ;: 
 
 !' ' 
 
 THE ESKIMO GUESTS. 
 
 When weary of the chase. Dr. Hayes and his followers 
 found abundant amusement in studying the idiosyn- 
 crasies of their Eskimo guests, the father, mother, and 
 brother of Hans' wife, respectively named Tcheitchen- 
 guak, Kabluiiet, and Angeit. The last was a lad of 
 mischievous disposition, as full of tricks as a monkey, 
 
riiiMrB'ir"n'iyTMnTi 
 
 ' ■■ i. 
 
 \'::i' 
 
 K • 
 
 272 
 
 ESKIMO VISITORS. 
 
 niul a source of infitiite ontortainment to the sailors, who 
 jx^ttod hiiu after their rough, good-natured fashion. 
 Kabhinet, his mother, was an industrious and ingenious 
 woman, expert in the manufacture of every article of 
 an Arctic wardrobe, from the outer coat to the boots. 
 She was light-complexioned, as her name indicated — 
 " the child with the wliito skin." 
 
 Neither she nor her husband was prepossessing in 
 a])pearanco. According to our English ideas, broad 
 faces, heavy jaws, projecting cheek-bones, narrow fore- 
 heads, small black eyes, Hat noses, and long thin lips, 
 <lo not constitute the elements of physical comeliness. 
 Their hair was jet-black, but not abundant. Short in 
 stature, their frames, nevertheless, gave evidence of 
 muscular strength and considerable powers of endurance. 
 Tchoitchcnguak wore a beard on the upper lip and 
 chin ; an unusual distinction, the face of the Eskimo 
 being generally as beardless as th.-'t of the Mongolian, 
 which it closely resembles in typical characteristics. 
 
 Their attire was not adapted to set off their personal 
 cliarms, had they had any. An European tailor or 
 omxliste would have been shocked by its want of grace- 
 fulness and elegance. But it was well-adapted to the 
 climate, and so contrived as to afford the best possible 
 protection against its rigour. Very little ditierence 
 exists between the masculine and feminine costume of 
 the Eskimos. It consists always of nine pieces : a pair 
 of boots, stockings, mittens, pantiiloons, an under-dress, 
 and a coat. The man weal's bear-skin boots, reaching 
 to the top of the calf, where they meet the berj'-skin 
 pantaloons. Those of the woman aspire nearly to the 
 
THEIR COSTUME DESCRIBED. 
 
 273 
 
 middle of the thigh, and are made of tanned seal-skins; 
 l)ut her pantaloons are of bear-skin. The stockings aro 
 of dog-skin; the mittens of seal-skin. The under-dress 
 is manufactured of bird-skins, witii the feathers turned 
 imvards for greater warmth ; and the coat, which is 
 drawn on over tho head like a shirt, and has no opening 
 in front, of the skin of th.e blue Arctic fox. 
 
 The coat, we must explain, terminates in a hood which 
 envelops the head as completely as an Albanian capote, 
 or a Turkish veil, or a monk's cowl. This hood is the 
 chief mark of distinction between the dress of the two 
 sexes. In the woman's costume it is pointed at the top, 
 to receive the hair, which is twisted up into a hard, 
 horn-like tuft ; in the man's it is round, and fits closely 
 to the scalp. 
 
 Such is the Eskimo dress ; at least, such was the dress 
 of tlie interesting couple, Tcheitchenguak .and Kablunet. 
 It varies sometimes in materials ; but in its general 
 composition differs ver}'- little from that which we have 
 described. 
 
 Tcheitchenguak and Kablunet, after awhile, grew 
 weary of Hans' tent, or of Hans' company, or of both ; 
 and going ashore, proceeded to construct a snow-hut. 
 A beaver, however, would have contrived a more com- 
 fortable habitation ! It was nothing better than a cave 
 or tunnel fashioned in a bank of snow. Just opposite 
 the ship lay a narrow gorge, in which the snow had 
 accumulated to a great depth, leaving, as it swept and 
 eddied through the opening, a kind of cavern, formed 
 by the solid rock on the left and the snow-bank on the 
 right and overhead. Tcheitchenguak started from the 
 
 t5i4) 18 
 
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 J. 1 
 
 
 fti V 
 
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 m 
 
 t V,i 
 
 t'^:M 
 
 if- 
 
 1 #1 
 
 M 
 
 S74 
 
 TIIK SNOW-HUT. 
 
 inner side of tliis natural hollow, burying himself in the 
 snow like a rabbit in the sand, and worming his way 
 down into the drift with great rapidity. After ho had 
 worked downward for about five feet, he struck off 
 horizontally for about ten feet more. 
 
 This operation completed, he began the construction 
 of his den. Lustily did he strike his shovel into the 
 frozen snow al)ove his head, bringing it down in largo 
 blocks, which ho hastily cleared away, and soon ex- 
 cavated a space that enabled him to stand upright. 
 Having attained the proper dimensions, he then 
 smoothed and levelled the sides of his cave ; fixed up a 
 doorway, through, which it was just possible to crawl 
 on all-fours ; finished off the tunnel entrance ; laid down 
 a flooring of stones, which was afterwards covered with 
 several layers of reindeer-skins; tapestried the white 
 shining walls with hangings of the same description; 
 lighted a couple of oil-lamps; suspended a deer-skin 
 across the doorway, and exclaimed (in Eskimo), Opus 
 consummatum est ! 
 
 A few hours later, when Dr. Hayes paid a visit of 
 ceremony, he found the " interior " quite warm and com- 
 fortable. There was no fire, of course, but sufficient 
 light was given by the two lamps : the temperature had 
 risen to freezing-point ; Kablunet was plying her needle, 
 like a model housewife ; Angeit, the sailors' pet, was 
 regaling on some surreptitious tit-bits of venison ; and 
 Tcheitchenguak was engaged in the repair of a harpoon. 
 Such was the "at home" of an Eskimo family. 
 
 The tools and implements of the Eskimos are neces- 
 sarily of the simplest construction, yet they display a 
 
ESKIMO HANDICRAFT. 
 
 275 
 
 certain rude ingenuity. Tlieir lance consists of a wooden 
 shaft or liandle, with an iron 8j)ike (when procurable) 
 firmly secured to one end of it, and a piece of walrus 
 tusk, shod witli sharp iron, at the other. The harpoon 
 staff was a narwhal tooth or horn, six feet in length ; a 
 liard solid piece of ivory, perfectly straight. The head 
 was a pi(!ce of walrus tusk, three inches long, with a 
 hole through the centre for the line, a hole into one end 
 for the sharpened point of the staff, and at the other 
 end an iron tip. The line was nothing more than a 
 strip of raw seal-skin, about fifty feet long, which had 
 been cut from the body of the seal in a. cc.itinuous coil. 
 Tlien, for the rabbit-trap : a seal-skin line, provided 
 with numerous loops, and voild tout ! A shallow dish 
 of soft soap-stone, resembling a clam-shell in shape, and 
 measuring eight inches by six ; such was the lamp. 
 The pot was a square-sided vessel of the same material. 
 A piece of hard granite served as Hint, a lump of crude 
 iron ore as steel ; the wick was composed of dried moss ; 
 and the tinder, of the delicate downy covering of the 
 willow catkins. 
 
 SUNRISE. 
 
 Signs of the coming spring now began to rejoice 
 the captives. In the outer bay the ice was all 
 broken up, and along the shore a flock of dovekies 
 winged their way. Better than all, on the 18th of 
 February the heavens were once more flushed with the 
 promise of sunrise. Officei*s and men immediately 
 started for the neighbouring hills, in order to greet tlie 
 orb of day. The scene filled them with new life. Far 
 away to the south spread an open sea, with a fleet of 
 
 
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 S^^-' '^^^ \A^ 
 
 IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 1.0 
 
 I.I 
 
 1.25 
 
 130 
 
 Ul 
 
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 li£ 112.0 
 
 'A IIIIIJ4 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sciences 
 Corporation 
 
 23 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 
 
 (716) 872-4503 
 
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276 
 
 RETURN OF SPRING. 
 
 icebergs slowly careering over its waves. The winds 
 broke up the surface into multitudinous ripples, and 
 effectually prevented it from freezing. Light wreaths of 
 " frost-smoke " rose over it, and then sailed away on the 
 breeze to the south-west. To the left, the mountains 
 raised their lofty summits, and near Cape Alexander the 
 glacier-river rolled its flood downward from the mer de 
 glace. On the crests of the silent hills, and above the 
 broad rampa*'*-s oi the cape, floated lazy clouds of fleecy 
 whiteness, >y':r<)a^h which the sun's splendour streamed 
 in golden tire, until the whole southern firmament 
 glowed with ifce glory of the approaching day. 
 
 The dark spur of Cape Alexander lay directly south 
 of the watchers, who knew that the sun would emerge 
 above it at exactly the meridian hour, rolling along the 
 horizon, with only half its sphere above the deep-blue 
 rim of sea. Never did mother watch more eagerly by 
 the bedside of her youngest, waiting for the warm light 
 on the pallid cheek which should tell of danger past, 
 than these hardy adventurers for the moment of sunrise. 
 Presently a ray of light shot through the cloud-wreaths 
 on the brow of the morning, blending them into a 
 mysterious mass of purple gleams, and, as it drew nearer 
 and nearer, widening in every direction this purple 
 lustre, while the icebergs successively caught the glori- 
 ous tidings, and arrayed themselves in silvery splendour 
 to do homage to the god of day. No words can describe 
 the marvel of the change which came over the face of 
 the sea. We ourselves have seen such a scene early on 
 a summer morning, or rather just as night was disap- 
 pearing, and have felt as if death were suddenly trans- 
 
A WELCOME TO THE SUN. 
 
 277 
 
 KI'! 
 
 formed into life ; as if a cold shadow had passed from 
 the bosom of Nature, and earth and sea were once more 
 hallowed by the brooding Presence of the Infinite Love. 
 The dark-red cliffs soon shone with a warm colouring; 
 the hills and the mountains laughed as they assumed 
 their robes of glory ; the face of ocean broke out into 
 " multitudinous laughter." It is coming — it has come ! 
 And every man, as, with a sudden impulse, he lifts his 
 hat and hails the glorious face of the long-lost wanderer, 
 feels that it is good to have seen the sun. 
 
 *' Welcome, the lord of light and lamp of day ; 
 Welcome, fosterer of tender herbis green ; 
 Welcome, quickener of flourished flowers' sheen ; 
 Welcome, support of every root and vane ; 
 Welcome, comfort of all kind fruits and grain ; 
 Welcome, the birds' green beild upon the brier; 
 Welcome, master and ruler of the year ; 
 Welcome, welfare of husbands at the ploughs ; 
 Welcome, repairer of woods, trees, and boughs ; 
 Welcome, depainter of the bloomit meads ; 
 Welcome, the life of everything that spreads. " 
 
 Such is the rapturous strain in which an old Scotch 
 poet greets the great "day-god," the light-giver, the 
 parent of life and love. The watchers on those lonely 
 liills, with wastes of Arctic ice and snow around them, 
 were conscious of even a deeper feeling of gratitude and 
 admiration. The friend of all hopeful associations, says 
 Hayes, had returned to infuse a new glow into their 
 hearts. After an absence of one hundred and twenty- 
 six days, he poured his blessings once more on a cold 
 and desolate world, and that world went forth to meet 
 him. After a while he will rend asunder the sheet of 
 frozen snow, and tumble it in " gushing fountains " to 
 
 
 ;: : 
 
 
 I ii'5!! 
 
 !tli:l 
 
 m 
 
?[ if ' 
 
 \ 
 
 1 ■: .: / 
 
 278 
 
 PURCHASE OF DOGS. 
 
 i ■ !:l 
 
 >i'! 
 
 the sea, and will water the earth to life and warmth, so 
 that the flowers will bud and bloom, and turn their 
 grateful eyes towards him, as he keeps watch over the 
 ancient hills throughout the long summer. " The very 
 glaciers will weep tears of joy at his coming. The ice 
 will lose its iron grip upon the waters, and will let the 
 wild waves play in freedom. The reindeer will skip 
 gleefully over the mountains to welcome his coming, and 
 will look longingly to him for the green pastures. Tlie 
 sea-fowls, knowing that he will give them a resting-place 
 for their feet on the rocky islands, will come to seek the 
 moss-beds which he spreads for their nests ; and the 
 sparro^^ ,:. will come on his life-giving rays, and will sing 
 their love-songs through the endless day." 
 
 MOVEMENTS. 
 
 Now that the season was rapidly approaching, and 
 that every day brought with it an increase of light, Dr. 
 Hayes began to prepare for his northward explorations. 
 The chief difficulty by which he found himself confronted 
 was the want of dogs ; and it became evident that un- 
 less the Eskimos came up with a fresh supply, the 
 sledges would have to be drawn by men. 
 
 Towards the end of February, however, three Eskimos 
 visited the camp; Kalutunah, Tattarat, and Myouk. 
 By dint of some dexterous bargaining. Dr. Hayes ob- 
 tained four of their best dogs. These visitors had 
 scarcely departed before another batch arrived, from 
 whom two more dogs were obtained, so that a full team 
 was now made up. 
 
 Shortly afterwards Kalutunah returned, bringing with 
 
mn 
 
 TWO ESKIMO FAMILIES. 
 
 279 
 
 1, bringing with 
 
 him his wife, his four children, his dogs, and all his 
 goods and chattels : namely, parts of two bear-skins, 
 which constituted the family bedding ; half-a-dozen 
 seal-skins, or the family tent ; two lances and two har- 
 poons ; some harpoon-lines ; a couple of lamps and pots ; 
 a small seal-skin bag, containing the implements neces- 
 sary for the repair of the family wardrobe; a roll of 
 dried grass, which the Eskimos use as we do cork soles 
 for the boots ; some dried moss for lamp- wick ; and, for 
 food, a few small pieces of walrus-meat and blubber. 
 
 With Kalutunah Dr. Hayes concluded a friendly ar- 
 rangement, — by which it was agreed that he and his 
 family should live in the hut at Etah, do all the hunting 
 they could, and lend their dogs to the expedition ; while 
 Dr. Hayes undertook to provide them with everything 
 necessary for their support. • 
 
 Another family arrived a few days later — Myouk, his 
 wife, and baby ; but as Myouk did not bear a savoury 
 reputation, he met with a cold welcome from the " white 
 men." 
 
 Dr. Hayes was now the happy owner of seventeen 
 dogs, and he waited only for the arrival of April, with 
 its warm, vernal airs, to start on his journey northward. 
 Meanwhile, he fed and strengthened his teams, and 
 hunted the reindeer, and studied at his leisure the ways 
 and manners of his Eskimo friends. 
 
 Before he left the ship he was desirous of recovering 
 and decently interring Mr. Sonntag's body ; and in order 
 to secure Kalutunah's assistance for this purpose, he one 
 day drove over to the little colony of Etah. The in- 
 formation thus obtained enabled him to despatch Mr. 
 
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 ■:n\ 
 
 I ; 
 
 
 I 
 
 l> 
 
I¥TT 
 
 Hi I 
 
 280 
 
 THE FIRST EXPLORATION. 
 
 Dodge, with a couple of teams, to fetch the remains of 
 their unfortunate comrade ; and on his safe return with 
 the melancholy freight, a grave was dug in the frozen 
 terrace which overlooked the little bay, and the body 
 interred, with suitable Christian rites. A neatly-shaped 
 mound was afterwards raised with stones ; and at the 
 head was placed a chiselled slab, bearing this inscrip- 
 tion : — 
 
 t 
 
 AUGUST SONNTAQ. 
 Died December 1860. Aged 28 years. 
 
 
 V 'I 
 
 %. 
 
 '''I'i 
 
 THE FIRST JOURNEY. 
 
 Preparatory to his more extended expedition. Dr. 
 Hayes started on the 16th of March to survey the ground 
 over which he v/as about to tra^^el, and to determine 
 whether it would be better to keep along the Greenland 
 coast, or to strike across the sound, and make an effort 
 to reach, on Grinnell Land, the starting-point for which 
 he had striven unsuccessfully the previous autumn. 
 
 On reaching Sunrise Point, the headland previously 
 described in our account of the return of daylight, he 
 found the ice very rough and insecure, and his team 
 floundered in a tide-crack. The point, however, was 
 doubled at last, and he bowled merrily along the frozen 
 road as far as Cape Hatherton, where he encamped for 
 the night. Sleep and rest were difficult, for the tem- 
 perature outside the tent was 40° below zero ; and every- 
 body was glad when morning rendered possible a re- 
 sumption of the journey. 
 
 At the north point of Cape Inlet tlie attention of the 
 
^Wf\ 
 
 A CAIRN DISCOVERED. 
 
 281 
 
 3ntion of the 
 
 travellers was attracted by a conspicuous cairn ; whi jh, 
 on being examined, proved to have been erected by 
 Captain Hartstene, an officer despatched by the American 
 Government in search of Dr. Kane. It was with much 
 interest that Hayes gazed on the handwriting of his 
 countryman, there, in the heart of the icy wilderness. 
 Tlie written record ran as follows : — " The U.S. steamer 
 Arctic tr .iched here and examined thoroughly for traces 
 of Dr. Kane and his associates, without finding anythin, 
 more than a vial, with a small piece of cartridge-papei-, 
 with the letters 'O. K., Aug. 1853/ some matches, and 
 a ship's rifle-ball. We go from this unknown point to 
 Cape Hatherton for a search. (Signed) H. J. Hartstene, 
 Lieut.-Comdg. Arctic Expedition. Eight P.M., August 
 16th, 1855. — P.S. Should the U.S. barque Release find 
 tliis, she will understand that we are bound for a search 
 at Cape Hatherton. H. J. H." A reference to our nar- 
 rative of Dr. Kane's adventures will show that he and 
 liis followers had left Cape Hatherton, on their return 
 journey, before Captain Hartstene's arrival. 
 
 Climbing a hill in the neighbourhood of the point. Dr. 
 Hayes obtained a good view of the sea for miles around, 
 and observed that in every direction, except down the 
 coast toward Cape Hatherton, the ice was piled up in 
 great ridges which it was almost impossible for sle'^ges 
 to traverse. He resolved, therefore, that if he crossed 
 Smith Sound he would start from Cairn Point ; and he 
 proceeded to remove all the provisions from his sledge 
 not needed for immediate consumption, and to deposit 
 them in a cleft in a rock, covering them over with heavy 
 stones as a protection against the bears. Then, the day 
 
 
282 
 
 A NIGHT S LODGING. 
 
 i '^ 
 
 It 
 
 Hi 
 
 ■III 
 
 being past, the travellers dug a cave in a snow-bank, 
 and sought therein a little rest. 
 
 This mode of spending the night was so uncomfortable, 
 that, after another day's journey, Dr. Hayes set his in- 
 genuity to work to construct a more effectual asylum. 
 Selecting a snow-bank with a square side about five feet 
 high, and starting from the top, our wayfarers dug a pit 
 about six feet in length, four and a half feet in width, 
 and four in depth, so that between this pit and the 
 square side of the bank intervened a wall about two feet 
 thick. To the reader such an excavation will seem 
 better fitted for the reception of potatoes than of human 
 beings ; but Arctic explorers are not fastidious ! Over 
 the top of the pit was placed a sledge ; over the sledge 
 one of the canvas coverings used to enclose the cargo ; 
 over that again a three-feet layer of loose snow. Then 
 through the thin wall was dug a hole for entrance ; the 
 buffalo- skin bedding and cases of provisions were intro- 
 duced ; the wayfarers afterwards took up their quarters ; 
 the entrance was closed with a few blocks of hard snow ; 
 and all was comfortable for the night. The alcohol 
 lamp was lighted, and the tin kettle exposed to its glim- 
 mering blue flame. A good strong dish of tea recruited 
 the nerves of each weary wanderer, and the appetite 
 was satisfied by substantial rations of preserved beef and 
 potatoes. The pipes were then lighted, and everybody 
 disposed himself for slumber. 
 
 Slumber ! The air was so cold that it was with diffi- 
 culty the adventurers by constant friction of their feet 
 prevented them from freezing. Slumber! It was im- 
 possible, with the thermometer pointing to 31° below 
 
 I,.; 
 
EXCESSIVE COLD. 
 
 283 
 
 a snow-bank, 
 
 zero. What could be the cause of it ? Some mistakes, it 
 was suggested, in the construction of Dr. Hayes' newly- 
 invented refuge. The snow could not have been properly 
 beaten down and solidified. The air must have entered 
 through mp.ny a chink and crevice. The mystery was 
 solvcid, however, in the morning ; for when Dr. Hayes 
 exposed his thermometer to the external atmosphere, it 
 sank to 6S° 30' below zero, or 100° 30' below the freezing- 
 l)oint of water ! It is almost impossible for the reader 
 to realize what is meant by such a frightful extreme of 
 cold. 
 
 Dr. Hayes remarked as "a singular circumstance," 
 that this great depression of temperature was not — in 
 the open air, at least — perceptible to the senses. They 
 gave no hint whatever that, in the blazing sunlight of 
 the Arctic day, the thermometer indicated about the 
 coldest temperature ever recorded. This was owing, 
 we may conclude, to the profound calm that prevailed. 
 Had the air been in motion, the travellers would have 
 found such excessive cold not only inconvenient, but 
 dangerous. Most of us will have experienced the dis- 
 tressing effects of a cold east wind, even when the 
 general temperature has remained above freezing-point. 
 
 The influence of a low temperature upon the snow is 
 very striking. It becomes hardened to such a degree 
 that it is almost as gritty as sand, and consequently 
 tlie friction to the sledge-runner is much increased. 
 The sledge runs most easily when the snow is slightly 
 wet, and therefore the native covers the sole of his 
 runner with moisture. Dissolving in his mouth a ball 
 of snow, he pours it out into his hand, and then over 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 m 
 
284 
 
 A SECOND JOURNEY, 
 
 the polished ivory sole, whore it immediately forms a 
 thin film of ice to meet the indurated crystals. 
 
 Continuing liis journey, Dr. Hayes was much im- 
 pressed by the extraordinary spectacle which the sea pre- 
 sented. Winter had closed in while the ice was crowd- 
 ing upon the land ; and hence, owing to the tremendous 
 pressure, the sea was one bristling labyrinth of ice- 
 fragments, as if, during a storm, its whirling billows 
 had been suddenly frozen, and had resolved themselves 
 into a succession of rugged peaks and deep valleys. 
 Such a route was necessarily very laborious; and as 
 the dogs were growing weary, and that part of the 
 coast had been explored by Dr. Kane's parties, he de- 
 termined on returning to Port Foulke. He pushed 
 onward, first, to Rensselaer Harbour, which was asso- 
 ciated with so many painful memories, but discovered 
 scarcely any vestige of the discovery-ship, the Advance, 
 which had been probably carried out to sea, crushed in 
 the ice-floes, and sunk. 
 
 
 THE EXPLORING-PARTY. 
 
 After his return to Port Foulke, Dr. Hayes occupied 
 several days in preparing for the great expedition. The 
 dog-sledges carried forward to Cairn Point such stores 
 as were likely to be needed. Wardrobes were restored, 
 and provisions collected. On the evening of the 3rd of 
 April everything was ready, and the party, twelve in 
 number, started off merrily in two sledges, " The Hope " 
 and " The Perseverance," — the former drawn by eight, 
 and the latter by six dogs. A third sledge carried a 
 twenty-foot metallic life-boat, in which Dr. Hayes had 
 
COOPED UP IN A DEN. 
 
 285 
 
 visions of navigating the Polar Sea. The sun was 
 sliining briglitly into the harbour, and every heart 
 throbbed with enthusiasm. 
 
 This enthusiasm, however, received a severe check 
 from tlie first day's march, which, being accomplished 
 ill the teeth of a strong wind, proved a serious trial. 
 The second day was somewhat better; and when, on 
 tlie 6th of April, they reached Cairn Point, and were 
 comfortably housed, their spirits revived. We may 
 well be indulgent, however, to men who worked hard 
 in a frozen desert, with the temperature below zero, 
 and ice and snow everywhere around them, — now 
 plunging through a snow-drift four feet deep, now 
 toiling across a ridge of lofty hummocks. The journey 
 was so difficult, that Dr. Hayes was fain to leave the 
 boat at Cairn Point, and to proceed with the two dog- 
 sledges, and a foot-party dragging the other sledge, to 
 form a depot of stores and provisions on Grinnell Land. 
 He could not carry out his design for nine or ten days, 
 liowever, owing to a violent gale and snow-storm. 
 Meantime, the position of the exploring-party was miser- 
 able enough ; cooped up in a den in a snow-bank, and 
 engaged in a twofold struggle — to kill time, and pre- 
 vent the cold from killing them. 
 
 This den was a pit eighteen feet long, by eight feet 
 wide, and four deep. Over the top were placed the boat- 
 oars to support the sledge, which was laid across them ; 
 over the sledge was thrown the sail of the life-boat ; and 
 over the sail, a stratum of loose snow. In one end of 
 this wretched " interior " a hole was formed for ingress 
 and egress, but filled up closely with blocks of snow 
 
 II 
 
T-mr^'mt 
 
 286 
 
 CLOSE QUARTERS. 
 
 tis-i . i ' 
 
 IW:' 
 
 I 'ii 
 
 U 
 
 when all the party were housed. The floor (if we may 
 use the term) was spread with a strip of india-rubber 
 cloth ; above wliich lay a strip of buff*alo-skina, all 
 squared and sewed together ; and, above this, another 
 similar strip. 
 
 " When we want to sleep," writes Dr. Hayes, " we 
 draw ourselves underneath the upper one of these 
 buffalo strips, and accommodate ourselves to the very 
 moderate allowance of space assigned to each person as 
 best we can. The post of honour is at the end furthest 
 from the door ; and except the opposite end, this post 
 of honour is the least desirable of all other places ; for, 
 somehow or other, the twelve sleepers below me manage 
 to pull the * clothes ' off, and have me jammed against 
 the snow wall, with nothing on me but my travelling 
 gear; for we go to bed without change of costume, 
 except our boots and stockings, which we tuck under 
 our heads to help out a pillow, while what we call 
 ' reindeer sleeping stockings ' take their place on the 
 
 feet This," adds Dr. Hayes quaintly, "can hardly 
 
 be called comfort. I have a vague remembrance of 
 having slept more soundly than I have done these last 
 four nights, and of having rested upon something more 
 agreeable to the * quivering flesh ' than this bed of 
 snow, the exact sensations communicated by which 
 are positively indescribable, — a sort of cross between a 
 pine board and a St. Lawrence gridiron. And yet the 
 
 people are merry and busy enough Several packs of 
 
 cards are in requisition, and altogether we are rather a 
 jolly party — the veriest Mark Tapleys of travellers." 
 
 All things come to an end — even Arctic storms ; and 
 
»r (if we may 
 india-rubber 
 
 'alo-skina, all 
 this, another 
 
 Hayes, "we 
 one of these 
 } to the very 
 ach person as 
 3 end furthest 
 end, this post 
 3r places ; for, 
 »w me manage 
 Timed against 
 my travelling 
 3 of costume, 
 e tuck under 
 what we call 
 place on the 
 "can hardly 
 nembrance of 
 ine these last 
 nething more 
 this bed of 
 }d by which 
 Dss between a 
 And yet the 
 »^erai packs of 
 3 are rather a 
 ravellers." 
 storms; and 
 
 M 
 

 Id 
 
 !: ffil.M 
 
 
 Mi 
 
 11 
 
 \\i 
 
 \ . 
 
 r • 
 
 II.; 
 
 \* 
 
 JLi 
 
CURIOUS STATE OF THE ICE. 
 
 I 
 
 289 
 
 on the tenth day the camp was broken up, and the 
 passage of the sound undertaken. It was no easy task. 
 The ice was heaped up on either hand in immense 
 irregular hummocks; and between these lay gulfs of 
 drifted snow, in which the sledges rolled from side to 
 side, like ships in a billowy sea. At one time they clam- 
 bered a lofty ridge, to descend on the other side a rugged 
 precipice, which sent them flying headlong into the 
 snow-drift at its base. Yet again, no gap existing, and 
 the ridge being impracticable, a passage had to be dug 
 with handspike and shovel. Occasionally the sledge 
 would sink deep in the snow, and could be rescued only 
 at the cost of several hours of labour ; or it had to be 
 unloaded, and its cargo carried on the drooping shoul- 
 ders of the men. The dogs could not always pull their 
 vehicles through such a succession of obstacles; and 
 then the sailors fastened ropes to the sledges, and 
 hauled at them with unconquerable good-humour, 
 timing their efforts by monotonous nautical cries. 
 
 This extraordinary condition of the ice is thus ex- 
 plained : — 
 
 Smith Sound, which, as we have seen, was discovered 
 by William BaflBn upwards of two hundred and fifty 
 years ago, is, in effect, a spacious sea, running almost 
 duo east and west, and measuring about one hundred 
 and sixty miles in length, by eighty miles in breadth. 
 Its entrance, however, between Capes Alexander and 
 Isabella, is not above thirty miles wide. At the other 
 end, where it opens into Kennedy Channel, the gate- 
 way is of ampler dimensions. 
 
 Now, into this great basin pours the current of the 
 
 (544) 19 
 
 
 'lirl 
 
 j 
 
 ( 
 'I- 
 
 Hl 
 
 iil 
 
r ' 
 
 V 
 
 290 
 
 IMMENSE ICE-FLOES. 
 
 Polar Ocean, through the gateway of the Kennedy 
 Channel ; and as the ice necessarily escapes much more 
 slowly into Baffin Bay, it has accumulated within the 
 borders of the sound for centuries. During the sum- 
 mer it undergoes a partial process of disruption; and 
 the broken pieces, pressed together, heaped upon one 
 another, crowd in a labyrinthine confusion towards the 
 Greenland coast. 
 
 Much of the ice in Smith Sound is of very ancient 
 formation, consisting of bergs discharged ages ago from 
 the Humboldt Glacier. These huge masses, propelled 
 by the current in early winter through the sea, as the 
 new ice is rapidly forming, sweep onward like a tor- 
 nado. The result is — chaos. Dr. Hayes speaks of an 
 old ice-field which he measured while crossing the 
 sound. It rose on an average twenty feet above tlie 
 sea-level, and extended superficially about six miles by 
 four. Its surface was exceedingly rugged, alternating 
 between hillocks from sixty to eighty feet in height 
 and deep tortuous valleys. 
 
 The sledge-passage of such a floe was an enterprise of 
 which those who dwell at home at ease, and whose only 
 idea of an ice-surface is derived from the winter freez- 
 ing of pond, lake, or stream, can form no adequate con- 
 ception. It was infinitely worse than a gallop across 
 country. Hedges are trifles when compared with hum- 
 mocks, and ditches not worth a thought when com- 
 pared with deep chasms of frozen snow. 
 
 There is a certain grandeur and impressiveness about 
 these immense plains of ice. The solid contents of the 
 one we speak of could not be less than six thousand 
 
IN SIGHT OF GRINNELL LAND. 
 
 291 
 
 millions of tons ; its depth was certainly not less than 
 one hundred and sixty feet ! A mass of solid ice one 
 hundred and sixty feet thick, six miles long, four miles 
 wide — what an example is this of the slow but terrible 
 power of Frost ' It is formed, of course, by accumulation, 
 — growing from above, layer upon layer, like a glacier, 
 each recurring year marking a fresh deposit of snow and 
 a new stratum of ice. In no other way could the mighty 
 mass have come into being, for water does not freeze to 
 a greater depth than eighteen feet. The ice is the shield 
 and buckler of the sea, for the freezing air cannot pierce 
 through more than a certain thickness. 
 
 The 24th of April found the gallant company of 
 Arctic pioneers whose adventures we are narrating at 
 a distance of only thirty miles from Caim Point. They 
 had been absent from the schooner for two-and-twentv 
 days, and had worked so hard, endured so much, yet 
 accomplished so little ! Before them rose the elevated 
 coast of Grinnell Land ; but between them and it still 
 intervened a dreary and almost impassable desert. 
 Even those brave and hardy men began to despair — to 
 feel that they had embarked on an enterprise in which 
 the prospect of success was very uncertain ; and their 
 growing depression of spirits probably increased the 
 physical weariness from which they suffered. One man 
 was incapacitated from working by having sprained 
 his back in lifting; another had sprained his ankle 
 in falling; others suffered from frost-bitten toes and 
 fingers ; and the vital energies of all were so lowered 
 by the terrible cold that they could scarcely attend to 
 
fi- ^-:sm 
 
 292 
 
 THE FOUR PIONEERS. 
 
 V i.rii 
 
 Wi 
 
 Jii 
 
 I 
 
 f'i 
 
 tlieir own immediate necessities, much less devote them- 
 selves energetically to the completion of a journey from 
 which they no longer believed any result could bo 
 obtained. 
 
 So, when about midway across tlie sound. Dr. Hayes 
 ordered his men to return to the ship; while he himself, 
 with three noble-hearted volunteers — Knorr, Jansen, 
 and Macdonald — and his fourteen dogs, made a further 
 effort to reach Grinnell Land. 
 
 It was on the 28th of April this separation took place. 
 Forward — forward — forward ! Such was the motto of 
 Hayes ; and the energy and determination with which 
 he met and conquered obstacle after obstacle, were 
 truly chivalrous. Will no great poet ever write the 
 epic of Arctic Discovery, and immortalize the names of 
 such men as he ? Baffin, Hudson, Parry, Franklin, 
 Crazier, Bellot, Hall, M'Clintock, Collinson, Kane, Hayes, 
 — what heroic spirits were theirs ! What esolution, 
 what endurance, what noble self-devotion ! The best 
 qualities of humanity have been displayed in the long, 
 long warfare against the stern Genius of the North; 
 in that persistent, laborious, deadly struggle which lias 
 brougrht the banner of Science to the threshold of the 
 mysterious sea, and almost completed the conquest of 
 the Pole ! 
 
 The difficulties of the enterprise did not decrease as 
 Dr. Hayes neared the opposite shore ; but he was stimu- 
 lated to confront and overcome them by his enthusiastic 
 thirst for discovery. As he approached, the prospect 
 that developed before him lent him new courage. The 
 great wilc^ernoss of glittering peaks which stretches 
 
I! 'Ml 
 
 LAND AT LAST. 
 
 293 
 
 along the whole extent of Grinnell Land, produced a 
 profound effect on his imagination by its tranquil 
 sublimity. There the mountains rise in range after 
 range of isolated cones, " looking like giant stacks of 
 cannon-balls, sprinkled with snow." The midnight sun 
 streams across them from the north, and wreathes their 
 colossal forms with many-tinted vapours. 
 
 On the 11th of May, the dauntless explorer succeeded 
 ill his aim. He reached the ice-bound shore of Grinnell 
 Land, after one-and-thirty days of exhausting labour. 
 But he found himself unable to do much more. He and 
 his men were weary ; the dogs were exhausted ; and the 
 supply of dog-food was reduced to about three hundred 
 pounds, or twelve days' allowance. All he could do — ■ 
 and this he resolved to do — was to explore the route to 
 the margin of the Polar Sea, as a basis for further ex- 
 ploration, in the event of his reaching the west side of 
 the sound with his little vessel late in the summer. 
 
 The point at which he had touched Grinnell Land he 
 named Cape Hawks. Thence he stretched across a wide 
 bay to another headland. Cape Napoleon. Here the ice 
 was so heaped up and jammed in upon the shore, that it 
 became necessary to strike out into the sound, and plod 
 on his weary way through a wilderness of hummocks. 
 Next day he advanced to the north side of Cape 
 Frazer, the farthest point reached by Kane in the ex- 
 pedition of 1854. There the explorers found themselves 
 within the boundaries of Kennedy Channel, and with 
 good heart and fresh courage they pushed across Gould 
 Bay. The land at this point rises inland with a gentle 
 slope, broken into steps of greater or less regularity, 
 
 li 
 
 
 wi 
 
If 
 
 Wc^ 
 
 ! ; 
 
 'i m\ ji 
 
 fii 
 
 294 
 
 LOOKING NORTHWARD. 
 
 and forming a series of terraced benches, the highest of 
 which may be computed at one hundred and fifty feet 
 above the sea-level. Here Dr. Hayes discovered the 
 remains of an Eskimo camp; a curious circumstance, 
 which may be regarded as confirmatory of the views of 
 those who hold that Eskimo tribes inhabit the shores of 
 the Polar Sea. 
 
 As Hayes advanced, he found that no land was visible 
 to the eastward (from which it would appear that 
 Kennedy Channel is of considerable and unexpected 
 width), and that to the north-east the sky was dark 
 and cloudy, — a "water-sky," with the characteristic 
 aspect of a sky above a great sea. The temperature 
 was remarkably mild, not sinking below — 20°, and at one 
 time rising to the freezing-point. Signs of animal life 
 cheered the onward path of the travellers ; tiny snow- 
 buntings chirped around them, and a burgomaster-gull 
 flew over their heads on his way to the north. From a 
 neighbouring cliff a raven croaked his note of welcome ; 
 astonished, perhaps, at the presence of man in a solitude 
 so remote. In places where the wind had swept the 
 land bare of snow, traces of vegetation were discovered. 
 
 On the loth of May, Jansen, the strongest man of the 
 expedition, broke down, and Hayes determined to leave 
 him in charge of Macdonald, and to push on with Knorr 
 for his companion. He had now reached a position 
 somewhat beyond that attained by Morton in Kane's 
 expedition (June 1854) ; and was "looking out upon the 
 same sea from a point probably about sixty miles to the 
 northward and westward of Cape Constitution, where, 
 only a month later in the season, his further progress 
 
li 
 
 A DREARY PICTURE. 
 
 S95 
 
 was arrested by open water." His desire increased to 
 push as far to the northward as possible ; and, at all 
 events, to reach the 83rd parallel. 
 
 The coast, as he advanced, presented the same general 
 features : dark wall-sided cliffs on the left ; a jagged 
 ridge of broken ice on the right ; and between them a 
 kind of gorge, through which the two adventurers took 
 their way. Occasionally the continuity of the coast- 
 hne was broken by a bay; and as they kept to the 
 westward, along its southern margin, a sloping terraced 
 valley opened before them, rising gently from the ice- 
 bound sea to the snow-shrouded base of the mountains. 
 Dr. Hayes declares that he was never more impressed 
 with the dreary desolation of an Arctic landscape. He 
 liad thought his situation on the summit of the Green- 
 land Tner de glace, in that adventurous journey of his 
 which we have already described, could leave nothing un- 
 supplied to the imagination that was needed to complete 
 the picture of boundless sterility. But here the greater 
 variety of forms seemed to magnify the mental impres- 
 sion, and to give a wider play to the fancy. And as 
 the eye wandered from snowy peak to peak, and rested 
 upon the dark and weather-worn cliffs, and traced tlie 
 dull line of the everlasting ice-foot, and overlooked the 
 mysterious distant sea, which no keel had ever ploughed, 
 and in every object recognized the movement of the 
 silent forces of Nature, through the summer sunshine 
 and the winter darkness, constant, irresistible, unending, 
 — the explorer felt how small indeed are all the works 
 and efforts and thoughts of man ! 
 
 His progress was checked at length by the rotten ice, 
 
 m 
 
 III 
 
296 
 
 THE NORTHERN SEA. 
 
 ii|: 
 
 ;• i) 
 
 f • ' 
 
 which proved to be impassable. Hayes had reached his 
 ne plus ultra ; he had not attained lat. 82° but he had 
 actually advanced to the shore of that northernmost gulf, 
 into which Kennedy Channel opens through a broad bay. 
 Here the ice was broken up, and water-ways ramified 
 across it, and led- into the free ocean which, it may be, 
 lies beyond. Climbing to the summit of a rugged cliff 
 about 800 feet in height, Hayes was rewarded for his 
 labours and sufferings by a glorious prospect. Standing 
 against the dark " water-sky " at the north, rose, in dim 
 outline, the white sloping summit of a noble headland, 
 the northernmost known land upon the globe. He cal- 
 culated it to be in lat. 82° 30', or about 450 miles from the 
 North Pole. Nearer, another bold cape stood forth ; and 
 nearer, a third headland towered majestically above the 
 sea, as if pushing up into the very skies a lofty mountain- 
 peak, on which Winter had dropped its diadem of snows. 
 No land was visible except the coast which Dr. Hayes 
 had so bravely reached. Beneath him spread the sea 
 in a mottled sheet of white and dark patches ; the latter 
 being either pools of water, or patches of rapidly melting 
 ice. They deepened in colour and increased in size as 
 they receded, until they were blended in one uniform 
 expanse of dark blue by the belt of the water-sky. 
 Only the old and solid floes, some a quarter of a mile, 
 and some several miles across, and the hummocks and 
 ridges accumulated between them, or on their margin, 
 preserved the whiteness and rigidity of winter. 
 
 ! ' i 
 
 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 Further progress northward was impossible, unless 
 
t n 
 
 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 297 
 
 Dr. Hayes had been provided with a boat. Nothing 
 remained for him but to return as quickly as possible 
 to Port Foulke ; as quickly as possible, for the summer 
 was rapidly approaching, the ice was yielding to the 
 solar influence, and the open water was eating from 
 Kennedy Channel into the ice-masses of Smith Sound 
 in the north, as well as through Baflin Bay in the south. 
 But before turning his back on the unexplored Polar 
 Sea, he desired to erect some memorial of his adventures. 
 Some flags which he had brought with him were sus- 
 pended by a whip-lash between two tall rocks ; and the 
 following record, enclosed in a small glass vial, was de- 
 posited beneath a hastily-reared cairn of stones : — 
 
 This point, the most northern land that has ever been reached, 
 was visited by the undersigned, May 18th, 19th, 1861, accompanied 
 by George F. Knorr, travelling with a dog-sledge. We arrived 
 here after a toilsome march of forty-six days from my winter har- 
 bour, near Cape Alexander, at the mouth of Smith Sound. My 
 observations place us in lat. 81° 35', long. 70° 30' W. Our further 
 progress was stopped by rotten ice and cracks. Kennedy Channel 
 appears to expand into the Polar Basin ; and, satisfied that it is 
 navigable at least during the months of July, August, and Sep- 
 tember, I go hence to my winter harbour, to make another trial 
 to get through Smith Sound with my vessel, after the ice breaks 
 up this summer. I. I. Hayes. 
 
 May 19th, 1861. 
 
 
 ;i:. h 
 
 I Ml 
 
 ill B 
 
 I ■ 
 
 I 
 11 
 
 ossible, unless 
 
 It is due to the intrepid explorer to quote the words 
 in which he describes his emotions at quitting the scene 
 of his unprecedented achievement. 
 
 "I quitted the place with reluctance," he writes; 
 " it possessed a fascination for me, and it was with no 
 
 if 
 
 
\ 
 
 298 
 
 THE POLAR BASIN. 
 
 I' 1 
 
 ordinary sensations that I contemplated my situation, 
 with one solitary companion, in that hitherto untrodden 
 desert; while my nearness to the earth's axis, the 
 consciousness of standing upon land far beyond the 
 limits of previous observation, the reflections which 
 crossed my mind respecting the vast ocean which lay 
 spread out before me, the thought that those ice-girdled 
 waters might lash the shores of distant islands where 
 dwell human beings of an unknown race, were circum- 
 stances calculated to invest the very air with mystery, 
 to deepen the curiosity, and to strengthen the resolution 
 to persevere in my determination to sail upon this sea 
 and to explore its furthest limits. And as I recalled the 
 struggles which had been made to reach this sea, — 
 through the ice and across the ice, — by generations of 
 brave men, it seemed as if the spirits of these old 
 worthies came to encourage me, as their experience had 
 already guided me ; and I felt that I had within my 
 grasp * the great and notable thing ' which had inspired 
 the zeal of sturdy Frobisher, and that I had achieved 
 the hope of matchless Parry." 
 
 i \ 
 
 THE POLAR BASIN. 
 
 We may pause here to estimate the value of Dr. 
 Hayes' observations, and to form a correct idea of the 
 character of the Polar Basin. 
 
 A glance at the map will show the reader that the 
 North Pole forms, as it were, the centre, or focus, of a 
 sea or ocean with an average diameter of upwards of 
 two thousand miles. This sea is entirely surrounded 
 by land, except at its outlets into the North Pacific and 
 
A UUIEF SUKVEY. 
 
 S99 
 
 North Atlantic. Its shores, in truth, are generally well- 
 knov\Ti, and are laid down in our charts with much 
 accuracy, except so far as regards the north coasts of 
 Grinnell Land and Greenland. Their distance from the 
 Pole is curiously uniform, and they all lie within the 
 boundaries of the region of perpetual frosi They are 
 everywhere inhabited by people of the same race, who 
 gain a subsistence by continual hunting and fishing. 
 
 We have spoken of the outlets through which the 
 Polar Sea communicates with the Atlantic and the 
 Pacific. These are three : Baffin Ba}'-, Behring Strait, 
 and the broad but almost unknown channel between 
 Spitzbergen and Novaia Zemlaia. They are also inlets, 
 and enable the warm currents of the Equator to enter 
 to the east of Spitzbergen, and force out the cold Polar 
 currents ; in this way effecting a constant displacement 
 of the waters, which prevents those of the Arctic World 
 from being chilled to 32°. Hence, the warm breath of 
 this mighty ocean spreads a genial influence throughout 
 the northern region, and rescues it from the blight of a 
 perpetual winter ! 
 
 Bearing these facts in mind, the reader will under- 
 stand that it is only the surface-water which ever 
 reaches so low a temperature that it is changed to ice ; 
 and he will also perceive (to adopt the language of Dr. 
 Hayes) that when the wind moves the surface-water, 
 the particles chilled by contact with the air mingle in 
 the rolling waves with the warm waters beneath, — and 
 hence, that ice can only form in sheltered places, or 
 where the water of some bay is so shoal, and the current 
 so slack, that it becomes chilled to the very bottom, or 
 
 III 
 
800 
 
 THE HKLT OF ICE. 
 
 I ^f. 
 
 : 'ii 
 
 ' 1 
 
 ;i 
 
 ... \ i i 
 
 \ I 
 
 s 
 
 !| 
 
 where the air over tlie sea is uniformly cahn. As storms 
 are no less frequent or violent in the Polar seas than in 
 other regions of our globe, it follows that the Polar ice 
 can cover but a small portion of the Polar waters ; that 
 it exists in those localities only where it is sheltered by 
 the land. It adheres to the barren Siberian shores, aiid 
 springing thence across Behring Strait to America, it 
 girds the coast of America, accumulates in the narrow 
 channels which carry the Polar waters into Baffin Bay 
 through Parry Archipelago, extends to Greeidand, from 
 Greenland throws its crystalline bridge to Spitzbergen, 
 and from Spitzbergen to Novaia Zemlaia ; so that the 
 Pole is surrounded, at a nearly uniform distance, by an 
 uninterru])ted " land-clinging belt of ice," — ^more or less 
 broken in winter as in summer, and composed of mass(;s 
 wliich are in constant motion, though never far apart, — 
 forming a barrier that seems to defy the science and the 
 heroism of man. 
 
 In many places, however, human resolution has suc- 
 ceeded in penetrating into this formidable rampart, and 
 its southern edge has been followed up throughout 
 nearly its whole extent. It was in this way our ex- 
 plorers sought to discover a north-west passage into the 
 Pacific, and it was in this way M'Clure and Collinson 
 separately found it. Sir Robert M'Clure followed the 
 coast-line from Behring Strait to Banks Land, and then 
 pushed his way through the broken ice ; not, however, 
 completing the voyage in his ship, but travelling over 
 the ice for three hundred miles to Wellington Channel, 
 and thence returning home through Baffin Bay in a 
 vessel that had come from the eastward. Collinson, 
 
 
I 
 
 llESULT OF IIAYKS KXPLOltATIONS. 
 
 801 
 
 Im. As storms 
 ir seas tluui in 
 'j tl.e Polar ico 
 [• waters ; that 
 s sheltered by 
 an shores, and 
 bo America, it 
 in the narrow 
 ito Baffin Bay 
 reenland, from 
 Spitzbergen, 
 a ; so that the 
 listance, by an 
 —more or less 
 osed of masses 
 er for apart, — 
 cience and the 
 
 ition has suc- 
 rampart, and 
 
 p throughout 
 way our ex- 
 
 ssage into the 
 
 md Collinson 
 followed tlie 
 md, and then 
 not, however, 
 ^avelling over 
 ton Channel, 
 fin Bay in a 
 1. Collinson, 
 
 striiving from west to cjust, reached within a few miles of 
 tlio spot where perished Franklin, who had entered tlio 
 ice from the opposite direction. And in the same way 
 the Russians have explored the coasts of Siberia, bathed 
 only at two points: Cape Jakan, where the ice is insur- 
 mountable ; and Cape Ceverro Vostochnoi, which no 
 adventurer has yet succeeded in doubling. 
 
 DR. HAYES' DISCOVERIES. 
 
 We now come to sum up Dr. Hayes' discoveries, 
 ^\■hieh we shall do very nearly in his own words. 
 
 He came to the conclusion which Captain Inglefield, 
 a previous navigator, had adopted, — that Smith Sound 
 expands into the Polar Basin. Beyond the narrow 
 passage between Capes Alexander and Isabella, the 
 water widens gradually up to Cape Frazer, where it 
 expands abruptly. On the Greenland side the coast 
 trends regularly to the eastward, until it reaches Cape 
 Agassiz, where it dips under the glacier and is lost to 
 observation. Farther to the north, the mer de glace 
 has poured down into the Polar Sea; and forcing its 
 way onward through the water, it has at length reached 
 Washington Land, and overflowed southward into 
 Smith Sound. 
 
 Above Cape Sabine, Hayes discovered an inlet strik- 
 ing westward, which he named after his schooner, the 
 Advance. The first conspicuous headland on its south 
 side he designated Cape Seward ; and the most distant 
 point of visible land beyond. Cape Viele. The three last 
 conspicuous capes on the north side are distinguished in 
 the chart as Capes Baker, Sawyer, and Stetson ; the 
 
 •\ I 
 
802 
 
 LOOKING TO THE FUTURE. 
 
 bold dips in the coast between them, Jay Bay and Pea- 
 body Bay. Two large islands lying off the mouth of 
 the sound figure as Bache Island and Henry Island. 
 
 The coast-range of mountains which forms so bold 
 and striking a feature of Grinnell Land, are named the 
 Victoria and Albert Mountains. 
 
 The highest point to which Hayes attained, he christ- 
 ened Cape Lieber; and a remarkable peak towering 
 above it. Church's Monument. The bay below is not 
 inappropriately named after Lady Franklin. The noble 
 headland which Hayes saw outlined against the dark 
 " water-sky " of the open sea, he named Cape Union ; 
 the bay curving between it and another headland, more 
 to the south, Wrangel Bay; and the lofty peak over- 
 looking the Polar Sea from behind Cape Eugenie, Parry 
 Mountain. 
 
 Finally : Hayes was of opinion that Washington Land 
 was, in truth, an island in the centre of Smith Sound ; 
 Kennedy Channel separating it from Grinnell Land on 
 the west, and Humboldt Glacier filling up what was 
 once a channel on the east. 
 
 PLANS FOR THE FUTURE. 
 
 After a wearisome and difficult journey, which it is 
 unnecessary to describe, as the reader now understands 
 the character of Arctic travelling. Dr. Hayes regained 
 his ship on the 3rd of June. He had been absent two 
 months; for two months contending with obstacles 
 and enduring hardships which might well have con- 
 quered even his chivalrous spirit, but served only to 
 test the depth and overmastering power of his heroic 
 
WHAT W.^S TO BE DONE? 
 
 808 
 
 enthusiasm. In that period he had travelled not less 
 than thirteen hundred miles ; over ice and through ice, 
 in the face of hitter winds, and exposed very frequently 
 to all the rigour of an Arctic climate. 
 
 As soon as he had somewhat recruited his overtasked 
 energies, he undertook an examination of the schooner, 
 with the view of preparing her for the projected naviga- 
 tion cf Smith Sound. But on clearing away the ice 
 from her bows, it was discovered that her fore-timbers 
 were seriously damaged, and that though it might be 
 possible to render her seaworthy, yet she could not be 
 trusted in among the ice. 
 
 What was to be done ? , 
 
 Another attempt with boat and sledge was impossible 
 that year, for the boat was too heavy to be transported 
 across such ice as that of Smith Sound, and the terrible 
 experiences of the recent journey had reduced the 
 teams of dogs to four. In such circumstances, nothing 
 was to be gained by wintering a second time at Port 
 Foulke. The better, in fact the only plan, was to re- 
 turn home, refit, and, what was of great importance, 
 add steam-power to the resources of the expedition.* 
 
 A wonderful change had by this time come over the 
 spirit of the scene. Spring had returned with its bliss- 
 ful smile to the pale Arctic World. The temperature 
 from 35° below zero h£,d risen to 35° above. The cold 
 white shroud which had lain so long upon the hills and 
 valleys was folding up under the influence of the sun's 
 wavm rays. Down the wild gorges and from the brink 
 
 * The whole of this plan was never accomplished hy Dr. TTayes ; but in a succeed- 
 ing chapter we shall accompany him on a visit to Greenland, 
 
 T 
 
 11 
 
304 
 
 SPRING AND ITS CHANGES. 
 
 /• I 
 
 M 
 
 of lofty cliffs tumbled the foam and spray of flashing cata- 
 racts ; and the sound of water everywhere filled the air. 
 Along the banks of pool and stream Nature wakened 
 into life ; the genial sap flushed the veins of the willow, 
 though ice and snow yet lay around its roots. The 
 mosses displayed their various and fanciful forms, 
 and poppies and saxifrages revealed their buds in pro- 
 mise of good things to come. The cliffs were white 
 with the wings of the little auks, which the approach 
 of summer had driven from the southern lands. Squad- 
 rons of eider-ducks, in orderly array, sailed across the 
 harbour, and round about the island shores. Over the 
 surface of the sea swept the shadows of swift-winged 
 terns. Burgomaster-gulls and ger-falcons roamed to and 
 fro in quest of food ; and where the ice was melting, from 
 the fresh- water pools might be heard the snipe's repeated 
 cry. Pleasant it was to hear again the chirp of the 
 familiar sparrow ; and to watch the long lines of cack- 
 ling geese sailing to the remote fastnesses of the Polar 
 Sea. From the ice-rafts drifting with the current came 
 the deep bellow of the walrus; and the gentle seal dotted 
 the surface of the bay and fiord, revelling, as lizards 
 revel, and rejoicing, as almost all nature rejoices, in the 
 glory of the sun. Winter had passed away, and in the 
 soft bland smile of summer earth and sea stirred with the 
 consciousness of life. Nowhere does Nature show herself 
 insensible to this great change ; but nowhere does she 
 seem to feel it so deeply and to be affected by it so 
 potently as in the Arctic "World. It is a resurrection ; 
 a rising again from the bondage of the grave and the 
 sleep of death. 
 
I i 
 
 /■ t 
 
 • flashing cata- 
 filled the air. 
 ,ture wakened 
 of the willow, 
 iS roots. The 
 mciful forms, 
 r buds in pro- 
 fs were white 
 L the approach 
 lands. Squad- 
 led across the 
 res. Over the 
 f swift- winged 
 roamed to and 
 s melting, from 
 snipe's repeated 
 e chirp of the 
 lines of cack- 
 les of the Polar 
 current came 
 tie seal dotted 
 inof, as lizards 
 rejoices, in the 
 ay, and in the 
 Itirred with the 
 Ire show herself 
 •here does she 
 fected by it so 
 resurrection ; 
 grave and the 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 
 ; W] 
 

 
 Jh; 
 
 Ml'. 
 
 \ 
 
AUK-CATCHING. 
 
 307 
 
 While waiting for the ice to thaw sufficiently to admit 
 of the departure of the schooner, Dr. Hayes made another 
 excursion to "Brother John's Glacier." Here, too, the 
 influence of the great change was plainly visible. Huge 
 blocks had broken loose from its rugged face, and fallen 
 into the valley below; and from its solid mass issued 
 innumerable rills and rivulets, tinkling in the air like so 
 many silver bells. From observations carefully made 
 by Dr. Hayes, it appeared that the centre of the glacier 
 has descended six-and-ninety feet down the valley-slope. 
 
 f i 
 
 Another occupation was auk-catching, which the 
 Eskimos pursue in a novel and not altogether agree- 
 able fashion. The apparatus used is a small net, made 
 of light strings of seal-skin knitted into close meshes, 
 and attached to a staff about ten feet in length. 
 
 Dr. Hayes set out in company with Kalutunah, and 
 on reaching the hill-side frequented by the birds 
 crouched behind a rock about half-way up to the base 
 of the cliffs. The length of the declivity where the 
 auks congregated was about a mile ; and some idea of 
 their numbers may be gathered from the fact that they 
 swept across it in a continuous stream. After travers- 
 ing the whole extent in their rapid flight, they re- 
 turned, but higher in the air; and this circuit they 
 performed over and over again. Occasionally, as if in 
 obedience to some signal, a few hundreds or thousands 
 would drop down ; and, in an instant, the rocks, for the 
 space of several rods, would swarm all over with them, 
 the surface beins; undistinixuishable beneath the mosaic 
 of their black backs and pure white breasts. 
 
 11 
 
 
 fy 
 
808 
 
 WHOLESALE SLAUGHTER. 
 
 i If 1 1 i Ui 
 
 ■■ if -t 
 
 The two fowlers having suitably ensconced them- 
 selves so as not to alarm the birds, Kalutunah prepared 
 himself for the slaughter. When a particularly dense 
 flock swept over his head, he raised his net : half-a- 
 dozen birds flew right into it, and, stunned with the 
 blow, were unable to extricate themselves before Kalu- 
 tunah had slipped the stafl" quickly through his hands 
 and seized the net. Then with his left hand he pressed 
 down the birds, while with the right he drew them out 
 one by one, and for want of a third hand made use of 
 his teeth to crush their heads ! The wings were then 
 interlocked that the birds might not flutter away ; and 
 with a triumphant air Kalutunah looked round at his 
 white companion, spat the blood and feathers from his 
 mouth, and proceeded with the " sport," tossing up his 
 net and drawing it in with much rapidity, until he had 
 captured about a hundred victims. Dr. Hayes and he 
 then returned to the camp, and a hearty meal was 
 made on the game which had been obtained in a 
 manner so novel and so unsportsmanlike. 
 
 1 ■ » 
 
 A WALRUS-HUNT. 
 
 One of the latest experiences of our explorers was a 
 walrus-hunt, — a sport more exciting and difficult than 
 that of auk-catching ! 
 
 Looking out from the hill-top, in the sunshine of a 
 July morning, Dr. Hayes caught in the distance the 
 bellow of numerous walrus, and observed that the pack- 
 ■'"t drifting across the outer limit of the bay was 
 *'.t(^ral]y "alive" with the beasts. Their numbers were 
 \; 'jond computation — and even conjecture, for they 
 
 :ili 
 
jonced tliem- 
 nah prepared 
 Lcularly dense 
 J net: half-a- 
 ned with the 
 3 before Kalu- 
 ugh liis hands 
 tnd he pressed 
 irew them out 
 d made use of 
 incrs were then 
 ter away; and 
 d round at his 
 ithers from his 
 
 tossing up his 
 ^y, until he had 
 
 Hayes and he 
 arty meal was 
 
 obtained in a 
 
 explorers was a 
 d difficult than 
 
 sunshine of a 
 e distance the 
 . that the pack- 
 the bay was 
 numbers were 
 ture, for they 
 
 i i hi.t 
 
\ 
 
 .1^' 
 
 mil 
 
 hi : 
 
WALRUS-HUNTING. 
 
 311 
 
 \; 
 
 extended as far as the eye could reach, and covered 
 almost every piece of ice. 
 
 Dr. Hayes hurried down the hill, called for volunteers, 
 and throwing a harpoon, three rifles, and a line into one 
 of the whale-boats, he and his crew quickly dragged it 
 across the ice and launched it into open water. 
 
 After a two miles' pull they reached the margin of 
 the pack, and came to an ice-raft on which about two 
 dozen unsuspecting animals were clustered. They 
 covered it almost completely, " lying huddled together, 
 lounging in the sun, or lazily rolling and twisting 
 themselves about, as if to expose some fresh part of 
 their bulky bodies to the warmth, — great, ugly, wallow- 
 ing sea-hogs, they were evidently enjoying themselves, 
 and were without apprehension of approaching danger." 
 
 The attacking party approached slowly, with muffled 
 oars ; and as the distance between them and the walrus 
 decreased, became conscious of the fact that the latter 
 might possibly prove formidable antagonists. Their 
 aspect was not inviting, and Dr. Hayes and his men 
 felt as young soldiers feel when they first come under 
 fire. Their tough, nearly hairless hides, which are 
 about an inch thick, had a "singularly iron-plated 
 look " about them, suggestive of considerable powers of 
 defence ; while their huge tusks could not be regarded 
 otherwise than as powerful and dangerous offensive 
 weapons. The horrent ugliness of aspect, which the 
 tusks render peculiarly forbidding, is completed by the 
 broad flat nose, bristling with stiff whiskers, — the exact 
 use of which our naturalists have not been able to 
 determine. 
 
 ir" 
 
 V R 
 
 I lb 
 
I; I 
 
 II i 
 
 H- ;^ 
 
 ^i| 
 
 I 
 
 312 
 
 A FIERCE MELEE. 
 
 In tho herd now slumbciing or basking on the ice- 
 raft were two old bulls, who appeared to vary their 
 naps by jamming their tusks into each other's face, — a 
 strange kind of amusement, which both regarded with 
 obvious indifference. As the hunters drew near, tliey 
 raised their heads, took a leisurely and contemptuous 
 survey of the foe, punched each other again in the ftico, 
 and again fell asleep. The herd also contained several 
 cows and a few calves, varying in age and size, — some 
 without tusks, some with tusks just sprouting, others 
 with tusks like ivory cones, fully three feet long. Like 
 the bulls, they paid no attention to the approaching 
 boat ; probably they had never seen one before. 
 
 Preparations for the combat were hastily made. 
 Miller, as harpooneer, was stationed in the bows; 
 Knorr, Jansen, and Dr. Hayes kept their places in the 
 stern-sheets, each with his rifle loaded. When within 
 range they fired together, aiming over the heads of the 
 oarsmen ; and then the boat dashed pell-mell among 
 the terrified animals, as they rolled off' the ice into the 
 sea, Jansen had fired at one of the bulls, and hit him 
 in the neck; Knorr killed a young calf, but in the 
 meUe it was pushed off* the ice, and sank ; while Hayes 
 sent his bullet into the head of the other bull, which, 
 with a tremendous bellow, and a not less tremendous 
 splash, went into the Avater, but, coming against the 
 bows of the boat, was dexterously harpooned by Miller. 
 
 Then away with a rush under water drove the whole 
 of the terrified herd, and when they rose again they 
 were full fifty yards distant, with the harpooned bull 
 amongst them. As they rose, they uttered one " wild 
 
; on the ice- 
 :o vary their 
 her's face, — a 
 ■cffarded with 
 jw near, they 
 contemptuous 
 in in the face, 
 bained several 
 ,d size, — some 
 outing, others 
 3t long. Like 
 ) approaching 
 )efore. 
 
 liastily made, 
 n the bows ; 
 • phices in the 
 When within 
 heads of the 
 mell among 
 le ice into the 
 and hit him 
 but in the 
 while Hayes 
 bull, which, 
 s tremendous 
 against the 
 led by Miller. 
 )ve the whole 
 e again they 
 arpooned bull 
 ad one "wild 
 
 y 
 
 m 
 
n 
 
 f ' 
 
 It 
 
 I tj. 
 
 Iff; ■•■ 
 
 IS 
 
 !ll(l!!'^Ml|!,. 
 
VICTORY ! VICTORY ! 
 
 I 
 810 
 
 concerted sliriek, as if nn agonized call for help, and 
 tlien the air v/a3 filled with answering shrieks." 
 Everywhere the loud savage link! huh! huk! of the 
 wounded bulls seemed to find an echo, as the cry was 
 taken up and passed along from floe to floe, like the 
 report of musketry in platoon firing; and down from 
 every piece of ice dropped the startled beasts, and, as 
 it' inspired by one simultaneous movement, made to- 
 wards the boat. Quickly they surrounded it, and 
 girdled it with a ring of furious animals, evidently bent 
 upon an attack. 
 
 It seemed to be the purpose of the walrus, says 
 Hayes, to get their tusks over the gunwale of the boat ; 
 and it was clear that if only one of them hooked on to 
 it the boat would be torn in pieces, and its crew left 
 helplessly floating in the sea. Such a peril could be pre- 
 vented only by the greatest activity. So Miller, grasping 
 his lance, laid about him lustily, and inflicted many 
 a serious wound. The rowers staved ofl" the angry 
 animals with their oars ; the three riflemen loaded and 
 tired as rapidly as possible. The struggle was brief, 
 but it was exciting. At last a monster animal, perhaps 
 the leader of the herd, was killed ; and as he went 
 down like a stone, all the rest seemed to take a sudden 
 alarm, and diving simultaneously, retreated out to sea. 
 The victors, exhausted with their exertions, gladly made 
 for the shore, carrying with them a couple of dead 
 walrus as the prize of their prowess. 
 
 HOMEWARD-BOUND. 
 
 But the time had come when the schooner could be 
 
316 
 
 THE HOMEWARD VOYAGE. 
 
 I 
 
 : :! 
 
 "ft! 
 
 rf^eased from her long captivity. The ice broke up all 
 around; the sea poured into the harbour; and on the 
 11th of July the swell reached the vessel. On the 
 following day she was fairly afloat, and it was no 
 longer possible to leave her without a boat. Prepara- 
 tions were instantly made for a speedy departure, much 
 to the regret of the friendly Eskimos. On the 14th a 
 light breeze from the eastward enabled the explorers to 
 spread their canvas, and, moving slowly at first through 
 the broken ice, the United States sailed from Port 
 Foulke. 
 
 Before quitting the field of so many adventures, the 
 intrepid Hayes determined on one more attempt to 
 reach the west side of the sound, in the hope of obtain- 
 ing information that might be useful in the future. 
 He steered, therefore, for Cape Isabella, but a heavy 
 pack compelled him to take shelter for awhile under 
 the lee of Littleton Island. As soon as it broke up he 
 again put to sea; but experience soon convinced him 
 that it was impossible, with his shattered little 
 schooner, to encounter successfully the Smith Sound 
 ice. His work was done ; and there was nothing for 
 him but to make the best of his way home, satisfied 
 with the results he had achieved. 
 
 These results may be formulated in Dr. Hayes' own 
 hi^uage: — 
 
 " 1. I have brought my party through without sick- 
 ness, and have thus shown that the Arctic winter of 
 itself breeds neither scurvy nor discontent. 
 
 " 2. I have shown that men may subsist themselves 
 in Smith Sound independent of support from home. 
 
e broke up all 
 r ; and on the 
 issel. On the 
 id it was no 
 3at. Prepara- 
 jparture, much 
 On the 14th a 
 le explorers to 
 t first through 
 ad from Port 
 
 dventures, the 
 :e attempt to 
 lope of obtain- 
 in the future, 
 but a heavy 
 awhile under 
 it broke up he 
 onvinced him 
 attered little 
 Smith Sound 
 ,s nothing for 
 lome, satisfied 
 
 r. Hayes' own 
 
 without siek- 
 ctic winter of 
 
 ist themselves 
 rom home. 
 
 A GROTTO OF ICE. 
 
 317 
 
 " 3. That a self-sustaining colony may be established 
 at Port Foulke, and be made the basis of an extended 
 exploration. 
 
 " 4. That the exploration of this entire region is 
 practicable from Port Foulke ; having from that start- 
 ing-point pushed ray discoveries much beyond those of 
 my predecessors, without any second party in the field 
 to co-operate with me, and under the most adverse cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 " 5. That, with a reasonable degree of certainty, it is 
 shown that, with a strong vessel, Smith Sound may be 
 navigated, and the opon sea reached beyond it. 
 
 " 6. I have shown that the open sea exists." 
 
 At Cape Isabella Hayes landed, and was surprised 
 by the romantic beauty of the scenery. A charming 
 cup-like valley sheltered a little sparkling lake, — a 
 diamond in a setting of emerald, — and above this 
 opened a picturesque glen, terminated abruptly by the 
 shining mass of a glacier. Here a kind of fretted 
 Gothic archway opened into a fantastic cerulean grotto, 
 decorated with pendent icicles, like crystals ; an ice- 
 cavern of rare and wonderful beauty, which might have 
 afforded Coleridge a new suggestion for his strange 
 fragment of Kuhla Khan. 
 
 At length the discovery-ship quitted Smith Sound, 
 crossed the North Water, and touched the Greenland 
 coast at the Eskimo .settlement of Iteplik. Afterwards 
 it entered Melville Bay, and without let or hindrance 
 accomplished the voyage to Halifax, touching at Uper- 
 
 W- 
 
S18 
 
 HOME AT LAST. 
 
 ?'i 
 
 navik and Godliav'n. At Halifax Dr. Hayes received 
 intelligence of the outbreak of the American Civil War, 
 which effectually checked the prosecution of Arctic 
 exploration by American enterprise, and crushed out 
 the hopes which Hayes himself had entertained. From 
 Halifax he proceeded to Boston, and so completed a 
 voyage of more than ordinary interest, and rich in 
 important discoveries. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE LAND OF DESOLATION : DR. HAYES' VOYAGE TO 
 GREENLAND IN 1869. 
 
 VOYAGE, of which we propose to relate the 
 most interesting incidents, was made in 1869, 
 by Dr. Hayes, the American explorer, on 
 board the steam-yacht Panther, belonging 
 to Mr. William Bradford, an artist who has acquired 
 distinction by his vigorous pictures of Arctic scenery. 
 It was not, as Dr. Hayes remarks, a scientific, but rather 
 a picturesque expedition. However, the voyagers pro- 
 lited by the numerous opportunities it offered them of 
 examining the glaciers of Greenland and their icebergs. 
 They also visited the ruins of the settlements of the 
 ancient Norsemen, who occupied Greenland from the 
 tenth to the fifteenth century. Finally, they skirted 
 the coast for upwards of a thousand miles, until they 
 reached the last outpost of civilization, in the midst of 
 that vast and formidable ice-pack which loads the shores 
 of Melville Bay. 
 
 JULIANASHAAB. 
 
 We take up the narrative when our voyagers had 
 arrived at the settlement of Julianashaab. 
 
 1} 
 
 
320 
 
 AT JULIAXASHAAB. 
 
 ,;j 
 
 IJi ' *''11 I 
 
 I ' ! 
 
 .!:3M 
 
 l:il 
 
 The Land of Desolation, whicli we are about to do- 
 scribe, is the Greenland of yesterday and to-day. All 
 the southern portion, as far as the Gist parallel, forms 
 the district of Julianashaab, the capital, the most 
 flourishing and probably the best situated town in the 
 country. Its name is a compliment to Danish royalty. 
 Its founders, a hundred years ago, christened it " Julie- 
 Espe'rance " in honour of the then queen of Denmark. 
 
 In the morning, when its inhabitants saw some signs 
 of life upon our decks, they expressed their satisfaction 
 in the most amusing manner, — exchanging signs and 
 calls and shouts, running from point to point, either 
 singly or in groups. It was a scene of the most dis- 
 orderly activity. The little huts from which they 
 emerged could scarcely be distinguished from the sur- 
 rounding rocks ; the good people seemed to creep in 
 and out of burrows, like the American prairie-dogs. 
 
 The agitation increased when Dr. Hayes put off in 
 his boat and made for the shore. Ranged in two lines, 
 men, women, and children, a hundred of them, laughed 
 and chattered. All appeared full of joy. Some pointed 
 at him with their finger; others criticized the "cut of 
 his clothes ; " all remained immovable, unwilling to lose 
 the slightest detail of the feast so unexpectedly pro- 
 vided for their curiosity. 
 
 Julianashaab being a town of fishermen, we cannot 
 complain (the reader will allow us to adopt the first 
 person) that it smells of fish. Its rocks and quays are 
 covered with fish, and the air is impregnated with the 
 quintessence of fish. As for the inhabitants, they ex- 
 hibit various shades of colour, from the tanned hide of 
 
AN ESKIMO MAIDEN. 
 
 321 
 
 ibout to de- 
 to-day. All 
 irallel, forms 
 1, the most 
 
 town in the 
 nisli royalty, 
 led it " Julie- 
 f Denmark. 
 ,w some signs 
 ir satisfaction 
 no- signs and 
 
 point, either 
 the most dis- 
 L which they 
 from the sur- 
 d to creep in 
 airie-dogs. 
 yes put off in 
 d in two lines, 
 them, laughed 
 
 Some pointed 
 ^d the " cut of 
 iwilling to lose 
 xpectedly pro- 
 
 iien, we cannot 
 adopt the first 
 and quays are 
 jnated with the 
 tants, they ex- 
 tanned hide of 
 
 the Eskimos (or Greenlanders, as they are here called) 
 to the nearly pure Caucasian, with rosy cheeks and 
 transparent skin. We noticed particularly one young 
 girl, standing somewhat apart from the rest, as if she 
 considered herself their superior, but no better able 
 than they to restrain her curiosity. We afterwards 
 learned that her name was Concordia. Her chestnut 
 ringlets, luxuriant and well kept, were bound up by a 
 red silk kerchief; and an abundance of ribbons floated 
 from the chignon that crowned her head. Obviously 
 her toilette was a matter of thought and study. Her 
 red boots were as trim as her pretty kerchief; and 
 much taste was shown in her seal-skin trousers, em- 
 broidered with pearls, and her gay-coloured vest, bor- 
 dered with a wide band of eider-down at the bottom, 
 round the neck, and at the wrists : bracelets and a 
 collar of glass beads sparkled on the soft white fur. 
 
 We paid a visit to the church, which is a small but 
 picturesque edifice, built of wood brought from Den- 
 mark — as is the case with all the public buildings. The 
 walls being double and well calked, the interior is 
 easily heated. At no season of the year is the cold 
 much felt in the public buildings; no fire is needed 
 during the three summer months, and in winter the 
 Danish Government supplies its colony with a liberal 
 amount of fuel. The houses, all of one story, are 
 covered externally with a thick coat of tar, which 
 closes up every chink and crevice. 
 
 Notwithstanding the black tint which this useful 
 coating communicates to the church, it is of a pretty 
 appearance, and most reverently taken care of 
 
1i; m^ 
 
 322 
 
 ARRIVAL AT ERICSFIORD 
 
 The fiord on which Julianasliaab is situated stretches 
 inland from fifteen to twent}' leagues; but while the 
 modern town stands absolutely alone, the country was 
 formerly besprinkled with numerous villages. Cattle 
 covered the pastures where now a few cows nibble the 
 grass. Peace and abundance reigned in the midst of 
 a Christian population ; then, after five centuries of 
 tranquillity, undisturbed by the storms which raged 
 over Europe, t^''/^' population gradually died out, leaving 
 only the i.r* -■. '<"S last days to testify to long years 
 of prosperous progress. 
 
 : _i.CSFIORD. 
 
 Igalicke, " the fiord of the desolate houses ; " such is 
 the modern name of the deep inlet on the picturesque 
 cliffs off" which rise the solitary remains of the work 
 and energy of the Norsemen. 
 
 It was named Ericsfiord by Eric Eauda, or Eric the Red, 
 to commemorate his discovery of its waters [about 983]. 
 
 Varying from a mile and a half to four or five miles 
 in width, and resembling rather a majestic river than 
 an arm of the sea, it is one of the numerous indenta- 
 tions which communicate to this coast so peculiar a 
 character. Unlike the Norwegian fiords, those of 
 Greenland are almost all invaded by the glaciers, whose 
 continuous progress has largely modified the aspect of 
 the country since the Norsemen bestowed upon it the 
 suggestive spring-like name it certainly deserves no 
 longer. The " Greenland " of Eric Rauda is now the 
 " Land of Desolation" of the Elizabethan navigator. 
 
 A little above Julianasliaab, the fiord separates into 
 
A GREENLAND BOAT. 
 
 323 
 
 two arms, one of which strikes inland to Brattaiilid 
 and Gardar; the other, in a northerly direction, to 
 Krakortok. We resolved to visit the latter locality 
 first, and Mr. Anthon, one of the missionaries, under- 
 took to conduct us in his own boat. 
 
 A Greenland boat is a curiosity of naval architecture. 
 Mr. Anthon took us to examine his, which rested on a 
 platform, keel uppermost, so that we could inspect it 
 from below, — or rather, could look right through it. 
 For the Greenland boats are transparent as a bladder, 
 and resound like a drum if they are beaten with a stick. 
 
 " There," said Mr. Anthon, " what do you think of it ?" 
 
 " Think of it ! " replied our captain, with ill-concealed 
 disdain ; " is it in such a craft as this you propose we 
 should undertake a voyage ? " 
 
 " And why not ? " 
 
 Mr. Anthon, as he spoke, beckoned to three men, 
 who in the twinkling of an eye removed the boat from 
 its supports. When launched, it floated like a balloon 
 disdainfully tossed about by the waves. 
 
 We could not deny that it was a marvel of skill and 
 industry. Thirty-six feet long by six feet wide, it was 
 two feet and a half in depth. Neither nail, screw, nor 
 bolt was visible ; at the first glance it seemed to be 
 made wholly and only of leather. 
 
 The missionary inquired whether, when once in the 
 water, the boat had not a very good appearance. 
 
 We asked him whether he would allow it to be 
 rowed a short distance, so that Ave might see how it 
 behaved in the water, 
 
 " Certainl}^" he replied ; " I will call the crew." 
 
 i 
 

 ,» 
 
 1 ■; .■. 1 • 
 
 
 Hi 
 
 ■, i; 
 
 
 -' ■.■ " . 
 
 jiiilt 
 
 ' iMM Hi 
 
 f.n Hi 
 
 t ^ 
 
 ' 
 
 If 11 
 
 324 
 
 THE BOAT- WOMEN ! 
 
 And the crew appeared. 
 
 We must confess that never before had we seen 
 mariners so bravely equipped. Very long boots, reach- 
 ing above the knee, of various colours and elegant form, 
 outlining the dainty feet ; short breeches, descending 
 no lower than the haunches ; brilliant jackets, bordered 
 with black fur, and allowing a morsel of white necker- 
 chief to be seen around the neck; hair tied up with 
 knots of red ribbon on the top of the head : everything, 
 in a word, skilfully adapted to display the charms of 
 these Polar mariners. 
 
 " Maria ! " cried the missionary, " summon your com- 
 panions, and row a little way." 
 
 " Catherine — Christina — Dorothea — Nicolina — Con- 
 cordia ! " cried the young girl ; " come, make haste ! " 
 
 Then, running and prattling as fast as possible, they 
 all sprang pell-mell into the boat, with an absolute want 
 of discipline, which brought a frown to their captain's 
 brow. It was amusing to see the vivacity with which 
 they strode across the benches into their respective 
 places, sparkling with a mischievousness and a gaiety 
 that seemed scandalous to persons accustomed to the 
 gravity of our seamen when on duty. They calmed 
 down a little, when a sober-faced personage, with short 
 boots and seal-skin trousers, and a bonnet instead of 
 ribbons, stepped on board, and taking the rudder, gave 
 the signal of departure. 
 
 Every paddle was dipped in the water with promp- 
 titude and precision ; the boat flew like an arrow across 
 the little bay, vibrating to the measured cadence of the 
 rowers. 
 
 
ad we seen 
 boots, reach - 
 3legant form, 
 !, descending 
 ets, bordered 
 vhite necker- 
 tied up with 
 : everything, 
 he charms of 
 
 ion your com- 
 
 [icolina— Con- 
 ,ke haste ! " 
 possible, they 
 absolute want 
 bheir captain's 
 ty with which 
 leir respective 
 1 and a gaiety 
 stomed to the 
 They calmed 
 acre, with short 
 anet instead of 
 le rudder, gave 
 
 r with promp- 
 [in arrow across 
 . cadence of the 
 
Ui- 
 
 I 
 
 
WHAT IS AN OOMIAK ? 
 
 327 
 
 This is called an oomiak, or women's boat ; in contra- 
 distinction to the kajak, which is rowed by men alone. 
 
 A TRIP IN AN OOMIAK. 
 
 Next day the morning war; as clear and bright as the 
 eyes of our pretty mariners, who, keeping time to their 
 song with the regular beat of their oars, carried the good 
 missionary and ourselves swiftly over tlie tranquil waters. 
 
 The oomiak is impelled by means of short oars with 
 broad paddles, slung to the gunwale instead of acting in 
 rowlocks; these oars are edged with bone to protect 
 them from being broken by the ice. It carries a mast in 
 the foresheets, and when the weather is fair a square 
 sail is hoisted. A rich man buys the necessary materials 
 from the governor ; the poor man contents himself with 
 seal-skin; but frequently, for at least a portion of the 
 carcass, he is not obliged to have recourse to the official 
 stores. The sea obligingly deposits at his feet some 
 tree uprooted from Siberian forests, and brought to the 
 shores of Greenland by the great oceanic currents, — a 
 plank fallen from a ship, or a spar from some distant 
 wreck. Those great "rivers of the sea," which carry 
 heat and cold to the very confines of the globe, have 
 also their benefits for men. 
 
 A more auspicious day could not have been chosen for 
 our excursion. The lofty mountains which everywhere 
 surrounded us towered into the pearly lustre of a cloud- 
 less sky, their snowy crests fading away into the soft, 
 pure air. All was new and strange to us, from the boat 
 and its crew to the shore along which we were gliding 
 — to those borders, formed sometimes of huge, dark 
 
 I 
 
 li 
 
 M' 
 
 ill 
 
828 
 
 UP THE FIOUD. 
 
 I .r \ ; 
 
 u 
 
 cliffs, sometimes of verdurous 8lo})es resting in a sunlit 
 atmosphere. 
 
 There was not a living creature to be seen, except an 
 occasional seal which raised its half-human head to 
 gaze at us, or a few sparrows, or some stray butterflies 
 which fluttered around us when we neared the shore, 
 or here and there a flight of sea-birds. 
 
 The influence of the scene was contagious ; and even 
 our native crew were not insensible to the emotions it 
 awakened. Encouraged by the missionary, the young 
 girls chanted, with firm, melodious voices, and keeping 
 time with their oars, an old Norwegian psalm : — 
 
 ^ " O God, my Rock, to thee I cry ; 
 
 Oh, do not thou my prayers deny ! " 
 
 Five hours of this delightful voyaging brought us to 
 the head of the fiord, where the water did not exceed 
 three thousand yards in breadth. 
 
 Various episodes diversified our expedition, and we 
 were all surprised to find ourselves nearly at its termina- 
 tion. The fiord now lost the appearance of a river, and 
 assumed a lake-like character. A bold curve soon hid 
 it from our sight; in front of us a beautiful valley 
 stretched up to the very foot of Redkammen, one of 
 the most magnificent of mountains, in the eyes of the 
 artist as of the seaman : there are few bolder beacons in 
 Greenland, remarkable as it is for the savage splendour 
 of its scenery. 
 
 THE RUINS OF KRAKORTOK. 
 
 The declivity on which rose the ancient city of Kra- 
 
A RUINED CllY. 
 
 829 
 
 in a sunlit 
 
 kortok is very rugged, but at intervals occur some 
 pleasant levels, still clothed with a vigorous vegetation, 
 which seem to have ixjun cultivated in days of yore, 
 and undoubtedly might be so again. Tiny brooks wend 
 their way across the slope ; and on their banks the 
 angelica grows fully three feet in height. The stem of 
 this plant is the only spontaneous [..owth of the soil 
 which the Eskimos utilize for foud, except the anti- 
 scorbutic cochlearia ; and this is held in slight esteem, 
 and is not nutritious. According to tradition, the 
 Norsemen cultivated barley : and to judge from the 
 temperature of to-day, we should have thought that that 
 cereal might even now be reared; but Mr. Anthon in- 
 formed us that these bursts of fine weather are generally 
 followed by terrible frosts, and that, in any case, the 
 summer is too short to admit of the grain reaching 
 maturity. Nowhere in Greenland — not even here, on 
 the shores of the Ericsfiord — is there any attempt at 
 cultivation, except of a few garden vegetables, — such as 
 cabbages, radishes, and lettuces, which thrive admirably 
 as far north as the Polar Circle. The agricultural pro- 
 ducts of the country, therefore, have no commercial 
 value; though, if he be industrious and careful, each 
 inhabitant of the fiord can secure himself a sufficient 
 supply of vegetables. If they would take the trouble, I 
 think they might grow potatoes. As for cereals, any 
 labour bestowed on their cultivation would be lost 
 labour. That such w^as not formerly the case, the appear- 
 ance of Krakortok and its environs proves abundantly ; 
 each edifice, each habitation had its plot of tilled 
 ground. 
 
in 
 
 >■ I 
 
 880 
 
 AN OLD NORSE CHURCH. 
 
 Kound the church and two other ruined buildings 
 may still be seen the remains of enclosures of masonry, 
 which would appear to have been about five feet high. 
 
 In the church I was greatly interested. The walls 
 are intact up to a height of fifteen or eighteen feet, and 
 still indicate the form of the gable. The bays of the 
 three doors are in good preservation, as well as those of 
 the windows, except on the north side ; the arched 
 opening on the west side, above which is the sanctuary, 
 is almost perfect. The minute exactness of the orienta- 
 tion of the church cannot be attributed to chance, for 
 the same accuracy is noticeable in all the Sctcred build- 
 ings of the neighbourhood ; the walls diverge fully one 
 degree from the meridian line, though this may have 
 been the fault of my instrument, which I had no means 
 of regulating. The old Norsemen were close observei-s 
 of the motions of the celestial bodies, and must ha^^^e 
 known the true north. 
 
 We afterwards visited other parts of the fiord. 
 Houses would seem to have been very numerous ; but, 
 generally, the remains are covered with so luxuriant a 
 growth of willows, junipers, and dwarf birches, that 
 their traces are not easily discovered. 
 
 A SUNDAY AT JULIANASHAAB. 
 
 Our excursion to Krakortok took place on a Satur- 
 day. The next day we attended divine service at Mr. 
 Anthon's little church. 
 
 Julianashaab is never very lively, but the moderate 
 activity which prevails during the week is sufficient to 
 bring out in contrast the profound peace of the day of 
 
SUNDAY IN A GREENLAND CHURCH. 
 
 331 
 
 rest. How solemn this tranquillity appeared, as I as- 
 cended the course of the stream w]iich traverses the 
 settlement, and bent my steps towards the temple dedi- 
 cated to the Eternal at the foot of the majestic moun- 
 tains ! Both the natives and the settlers, savages and 
 civilized, had quitted their labours ; the fishermen, their 
 lines and nets ; the hunters had left the game to the 
 safety of their valleys. 
 
 As I drew near the church, the grand swell of the 
 organ gradually prevailed over the voice of the tinkling 
 brook. As in most churches, women preponderated 
 among the ' iience ; and they sang well. The Eskimo 
 language, indeed, is not deficient in euphony. In the 
 mouth of the natives, it has frequently a musical sound. 
 Mr. Anthon has very completely acquired the accent 
 and pronunciation. The whole service, sermon included, 
 was in the native tongue. It was a native who pre- 
 sided at the organ. 
 
 A more attentive auditory I have never seen than 
 this congregation of semi-savages. The homily I 
 thought well adapted to the understanding of men who 
 are continually exposed to the perils of the sea. Con- 
 templating the dusky countenances raised towards the 
 preacher, those faces expressive of such a keen desire 
 for instruction, I reflected on the mighty change which 
 had taken place in the midst of the nation which ex- 
 terminated the Norsemen. Then, the Eskimos were 
 plunged in the deepest darkness, — their superstitious 
 fancy peopled sea, earth, and air with hideous demons ; 
 now, the love of Christ reigns in their hearts, and all 
 profess the Christian faith. 
 
 I; 
 
882 
 
 A GREENLAND LEGISLATURE. 
 
 The service over, we accompanied Mr, Anthon to the 
 mission -house, and spent the greatest part of the day 
 with his amiable family. 
 
 * :.i 
 
 •!!; i 
 
 A GREENLAND PARLIAMENT. 
 
 Greenland is administered on a very simple system. 
 The six northern districts are comprehended in the in- 
 spectorate of the north — chief town, Godhav'n; the six 
 southern districts, in that of the south — chief town, 
 Godthaab. From the decrees and decisions of the in- 
 spectors there is no appeal except to the Danish Govern- 
 ment ; but each district has certain privileges confirmed 
 to it by royal charter. These are exercised by a " Par- 
 liament," based on the principle that every native is a 
 subject of Denmark, and owes obedience to her laws. 
 
 A Greenland Parliament ! No doubt the idea appears 
 as ridiculous to the reader as it did at first to us ; but 
 we changed our opinion after being present at a single 
 sitting. Nor would the world have much to complain 
 of, if all legislative councils discharged their functions 
 with the same honesty and equity. 
 
 The present population of Greenland may be esti- 
 mated at 7000 souls, or a little less than 600 to each 
 district. The district of Julianashaab has perhaps 800 ; 
 distributed along a coast-line of sixty leagues in numer- 
 ous little settlements, all situated on the shore or an 
 island, wherever a convenient port occurs. All these 
 little colonies are under the direction of the governor, 
 or bestyrere, of the town; and over each is placed a 
 Dane, or a half-breed, whose business it is to keep the 
 books of the Company, to sell provisions, and collect 
 
 lil 
 
THE LEGISLATIVE CHAMBER. 
 
 833 
 
 merchandise. The miscellaneous stores which a ship 
 brings annually to Julianashaab are divided amongst 
 the various settlements; which, in return, send their 
 products to the chief town, to freight the ship on its 
 home-voyage : these consist of stock-fish (cod dried, but 
 not salted), furs, eider-down, and the fat and skins of 
 seals. The last-named articles yield the largest revenue. 
 
 The Eskimos depend almost entirely on the chase 
 and the fishery; and convey the results of their in- 
 dustry to the central depot, which is opened by the 
 bestyrere for commercial purposes at certain hours. 
 
 It must be owned that the Greenland legislature 
 does not assemble in any palatial structure. The 
 chamber, about twenty feet long by sixteen feet wide, 
 is constructed of double planking, calked on the out- 
 side, and painted blue inside. 
 
 In the centre stands a table of pinewood, flanked by 
 a couple of benches on which the deputies take their 
 seats, clothed in seal-skin trousers and thick woollen 
 blouses, embroidered with broad straps, sewn crosswise. 
 The complexion of the honourable members is of a very 
 dark tint ; their black hair appears as little acquainted 
 with brush and comb as their skin with soap and water. 
 Yet they are not unattractive in expression; and, on 
 my entrance, they received me with a genial smile, 
 which revealed their fine white teeth. 
 
 But I have forgotten one portion of their costume — 
 and the forgetfulness is the less pardonable because it 
 shines with peculiar brilliancy: the oflScial toque, a 
 royal gift worn by each deputy during the parliamen- 
 tary session. This cap is of dazzling red, and bordered 
 
■ i> ; 
 
 334 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TRIBUNAL. 
 
 if J 
 
 ■>' I 1 
 
 by a wide stripe of gold lace ; in front are emblazoned 
 the Danish arms, surmounted by the emblem of Green- 
 land — a gilded Polar bear, a crown on its head, crouch- 
 ing piteously on its liind-quartere. At the end of the 
 table, a thirteenth toque ornaments the head of Mr. 
 Anthon, pastor of Julianashaab, and president ex offi^cio 
 of the district Parliament. 
 
 On the day of our attendance, the business before 
 this tribunal consisted chiefly of distributing alms 
 among the poor. 
 
 Among others, one petitioner, a living picture of 
 wretchedness, explained that he had just lost his 
 kajak, and was the sole support of his wife and chil- 
 dren. The assembly voted a small allowance of pro- 
 visions and clothing, and ordered the man to be em- 
 ployed at the government stores in melting seal-fot — for 
 which he would receive fivepence halfpenny a day. 
 
 An old man came with a rixdollar to purchase a 
 lance. Another, who had several daughters but no 
 oomiak, received, for the purpose of building one, an 
 advance of twenty-four rixdollars ; of which he engaged 
 to repay one half before the expiry of two years. A 
 hunter received a carbine on similar conditions ; an 
 invalid female, flannel for a chemise ; two orphans, 
 some gifts of bread ; and a widow, the means of burying 
 her deceased husband. 
 
 Every case was dismissed with prompt decision. 
 
 Ordinary offences are punished by flnes ; or rather, 
 by a tax of so' much per cent, on the value of eacli 
 article which the hunter brings to the depot. This 
 plan is found to work admirably well : if the delin- 
 
PRUDENT PROVISIONS. 
 
 335 
 
 iness before 
 
 ing one, an 
 
 quent refuses obedience to the parliamentary edicts, he 
 is absoiutely excluded from all the advantages of the 
 community ; that is to say, he can buy nothing — neither 
 carbine, ammunition, flour, sugar, or tea — a penalty which 
 induces a speedy amendment. Crime is very rare ; in 
 cases involving capital punishment, or the sentence of 
 the courts of justice, the accused is sent to Denmark. 
 But we heard of only one instance of this kind. 
 
 We cannot quit this interesting subject without a 
 word or two in reference to a very prudent provision of 
 the Company. That murderous "fire-water" is abso- 
 lutely forbidden, which, in America, has contributed so 
 largely to the demoralization and destruction of the 
 Indians. Only once a year are the natives permitted 
 to " quaff the flowing bowl ; " namely, on the royal 
 birthday. Every able-bodied man may then present 
 himself boldly at the storehouse of his settlement ; he 
 receives a ration of schnaps. But the women do not 
 share this privilege. 
 
 The Company dates from the year 1781, and was 
 established on almost exactly the same basis as that of 
 Hudson Bay. Commerce is a complete monopoly of 
 the Crown ; no stranger, not even for the value of a 
 rixdollar, is permitted to trade witli Dane or Eskimo : 
 and it is this severe regulation alone which can pre- 
 vent the introduction of spirits or any other prohibited 
 merchandise. 
 
 SERMITSIALTK. 
 
 We next made our way to the fiord of Serniitsialik, 
 or " the Region of Ice," where we might be witnesses 
 of those majestic natural plienomena found nowhere on 
 
33G 
 
 THE SERMITSIALIK GLACIER. 
 
 a grander scale than in Greenland ; phenomena far more 
 impressive than aught else the globe exhibits, in its 
 bosom or on its surface, without excepting even the 
 earthquake and the volcano. 
 
 The fiord of Sermitsialik is of the same length as 
 that of Julianashaab, but separated from it by a range 
 of mountains whose culminating point is the summit 
 of tlie Redkammen, This range strikes in a southerly 
 direction, curving anew towards the sea, and enclosing 
 Eric's gulf, and the little Earthly Paradise where the 
 Viking's found a refuo-e. To the north a similar coun- 
 ter-chain runs parallel to these bold peaks, leaving 
 between them and it a great valley which abuts on 
 the fiord of Sermitsialik. Far from being verdurous 
 and fertile, like that which the Eedkammen shelters. ^*-- 
 serves as the bed of an iniraense accumulation ot .^.;, 
 two miles and a half to four miles in breadth, and at 
 certain points upwards of nine hundred and fifty feet 
 in depth. It is a glacier, a " current of ice," as the Danes 
 call it, to distinguish it from the eis blinken which our 
 physicists name " sea of ice " (or mer de glace). 
 
 In our account of Dr. Kane's expedition we have 
 already referred to that mer de glace which occupies 
 the interior of Greenland; the Sermitsialik glacier is 
 but an arm, or rather an outlet, of it. Hundreds of 
 similar outlets, corresponding to the rivers of other 
 countries, restore to the bosom of ocean the condeised 
 vapours of the atmosphere. 
 
 How shall we describe the scene gradually unfolded 
 to our gaze as the Panther steamer! up the silent fiord? 
 
sna far more 
 ibits, in its 
 y even the 
 
 e length as 
 i by a range 
 the summit 
 a southerly- 
 id enclosing 
 3 where the 
 imilar eoun- 
 aks, leaving 
 ch abuts on 
 OP verdurous 
 n shelters, i^' 
 lation ot .^ ;, 
 adth, and at 
 nd fifty feet 
 as the Danes 
 n which our 
 ce). 
 
 on we have 
 icli occupies 
 ik glacier is 
 lundreds of 
 rs of other 
 e conde.ised 
 
 ly unfolded 
 silent fiord? 
 
!'• « 
 
 I "J .1 
 
 
 fi 
 
THE DOMAIN OF FROST. 
 
 S39 
 
 This fiord is three thousand yards across ; tlie valley 
 uccupied by the glacier is of the same width. And 
 what is the depth of the glacier ? Who shall say ? 
 We know it must be measured by hundreds of feet; 
 in some places it probably exceeds a thousand. For a 
 distance of nearly four leagues the shores of the gulf 
 are those of the glacier itself; and terminating in the 
 form of a wedge, they disappear in the vast ice-sea 
 which stretches to right and left above and beyond the 
 loftiest mountains — irresistibly drawing the eye towards 
 its surface, boundless as that of ocean. Little by little 
 we lost sight of the inclined plane, then of the white 
 line of the ice-sea: we were in front of an immense 
 cliff, varying from one hundred to two hundred feet in 
 height, diaphanous as the purest crystals, and reflecting 
 all the tints of heaven ! 
 
 We felt ourselves shudder as we approached tliis vast 
 domain of Frost. Uniting in broad streams, the ice and 
 snow which have melted on the surface of the glacier 
 spring from the brink of the precipitous cliff in clouds of 
 foam and spray irradiated by rainbow gleams of colour. 
 The air trembles with the din of these waterfsills ; and 
 at intervals the echoes seem almost rent by the thunder- 
 ous reports of the internal explosions of the glacier. 
 
 The cliffs are perfectly vertical; but far from pre- 
 senting a smooth surface, they are broken up into the 
 most fantastic forms imaginable : unfathomable caves, 
 symmetrical spires, arched vaults, and fissures and 
 liollows where the eye plunges into an intense, trans- 
 parent blue, which every moment changes its fleeting 
 opalescent hues. 
 
840 
 
 FROM THE HILL- TOP. 
 
 The light in the dark eye of woman is not more 
 difficult to transfer to canvas. A deep green, less 
 delicate but not less splendid, colours all the recesses 
 where the ice impends over the waters. In the sunlight 
 the surface of each huge crystal shines of the purest 
 white, except at those points where a fracture has 
 recently taken place ; we might liken it to the soft 
 shades and sheen of satin : this glimmer is due to the 
 different angles under which the ice is reflected. 
 
 t >f l; 
 
 
 • ii 
 
 »:> 
 
 We landed after supper, and, climbing among the 
 abrupt rocks, scaled a hill about three hundred and 
 fifty yards in height. The sun set behind the moun- 
 tains, and the great sea of ice, outlined upon the burn- 
 ing gloaming, was also empurpled with flames. The 
 limitless desert, the hard cold surface of which sparkled 
 with borrowed lights, was clothed with the splendours 
 of heaven ; and we forgot for the moment that we saw 
 before us the only region in the world which can fitly 
 be called " the Land of Desolation." 
 
 During the night we were disturbed by fears for the 
 safety of our vessel ; at intervals, our dangerous neigh- 
 bour reminded us of its presence. We heard a dry 
 quick crackling, followed by the noise of the fall of a 
 heavy body ; and we knew that another iceberg was 
 added to the hosts of the sea. In the morning, the 
 waters were covered with small fragments floating round 
 the huge mountainous masses which were already drift- 
 ing out to ocean. 
 
 Accompanied by the captain, we searched the fiord 
 for some less exposed anchorage. The scene had com- 
 
ASCENDING THE GLACIER. 
 
 841 
 
 pletely changed since the preceding evening : the waters 
 were strewn with blocks of ice ; sky, ep.rth, and sea 
 were all of the same dull, melancholy colours. On 
 reaching the northern shore, we fortunately discovered 
 a little cove just large enough and deep enough to re- 
 ceive our vessel. Landing on a slope of verdant turf, 
 we had the glacier on our right and the ice-cliff on our 
 left. We struck inland, and after a short walk found 
 ourselves in a deep gorge. The idea then occurred to 
 us of walking back to the ship ; and on communicating 
 it to the captain, he received the bold suggestion with 
 delight. So, having dismissed the boat, we began our 
 attack upon the glacier at a slope of some thirty degrees. 
 The ice was largely mingled with sand and stones, so 
 that our feet did not slip, and in a few minutes we 
 reached the summit. 
 
 Picture to yourself the rapids of Upper Niagara frozen 
 even to their very depths ; the falls, the river, the great 
 Lake Erie everywhere converted into ice ; the banks 
 above the cataract equal in elevation to the lower shores ; 
 you yourself, O reader, erect upon the rapids, with the 
 Erie so near that you can see its crystallized surface, — 
 and you will have, on a reduced scale, that sea of ice 
 which lay before us. The rapids Avill represent the 
 glacier; the great fall, the wall which it projects into the 
 sea (the curve of the " horse-shoe " being here turned 
 outwards) ; the river which expands into the Ontario will 
 become the fiord; and the Ontario itself images the ocean, 
 whither slowly move the mountains of ice detached 
 from the colossal cascade. 
 
'i ! 
 
 M i- 
 
 < I 
 
 842 
 
 A FROZEN WASTE. 
 
 We must point out, however, one remarkable dis- 
 similarity. From bank to bank a river-surt'ace is always 
 horizontal, but that of a glacier is sliglitly convex. As 
 tlms : — 
 
 SURFACK OF A UIVEB. 
 
 8UBPACE OF A QLAOIKR. 
 
 Through the ravine formed by the curvature of the 
 glacier and the escarpment of the soil, we arrived at the 
 sea. The journey was not without its perils ; for every- 
 where yawned crevasses separated by slippery projec- 
 tions. In some places these deep clefts wore onh'' a few 
 yards apart: they continually crossed or ran into one 
 another, though the general direction was easily dis- 
 tinguished. In these lay all the danger of our enter- 
 prise, for we ended always in arriving at some promon- 
 tory where two precipices united ; and then our choice 
 lay between leaping across an unfathomable abyss, or 
 retracing our steps to discover some safer path. 
 
 When once the border of the glacier was crossed, the 
 road became easier ; for a mile and a half it lay nearly 
 on a level, and the ice offered few difficulties. 
 
 We have never trodden these fr< zen wastes without 
 an almost solemn emotion. There is something ter- 
 rible in the extraordinary desolation of this Sahara 
 snow. 
 
 One thing particularly impressed us : the continuous 
 rumbling of this enormous mass, a thousand feet higli 
 at least ; even under our footsteps, it seemed to tremble. 
 
DESCENDING THE GLACIER. 
 
 34. 
 
 OP A GLACIER. 
 
 Wo slioiilJ not have been Hurprised to see a gulf yawn 
 before us. ' ; 
 
 Tlie deep voices of the ghicier were not the only 
 sounds we heard. On all sides, brooks meandered over 
 the crystalline plain; some of them mingling together 
 swelled into a considerable torrent, which, seething and 
 r.-jashing, precipitated itself into a chasm that rent the 
 entire mass of the glacier, and flowed into a muddy 
 river that sullied the waters on one side of the fiord. 
 
 The sun ascended towards the zenith and penetrated 
 the atmosphere with its rays. Even here, within the 
 domains of Frost, the atmosphere was not disagreeable. 
 The ice and snow melted rapidly, and we suffered more 
 from dam]) than cold. We were often compelled to 
 ciMwl on our hands and feet, or even sometimes on our 
 stomach, and, consequently, our clothes wore thoroughly 
 sonked. 
 
 There were no difficulties in the mid-portion of the 
 glacier; but they began again as we descended on the 
 other side. After a laborious effort we reached a Ions 
 p(jint or tongue, flanked on either hand by a deep ravine, 
 and formed by the intercrossing of two crevasses. But 
 from this promontory to the opposite bank extended a 
 bridge, or rather a kind of ridge, forming the summit 
 of a great mass of ice loosened by some commotion, 
 Mhich, gliding into the abyss, had been caught between 
 " 'le two sides, like a rock in a narrow gully. We must 
 oither trust ourselves to this natural bridge, or, abandon- 
 ing our object, retrace the perilous path by which we 
 had so net '-ly attained it. We resolved on the former 
 course ; and, says Dr. Hayes, I led the way, — " cree|)ing 
 
341 
 
 FALL OF A BERG. 
 
 on my hands and knees as far as possible, and then, 
 sitting astride the dangerous curving neck which led to 
 the bridge, I propelled myself forward with my naked 
 hands, a few inches at a time. Suddenly my eyes fell 
 upon the yawning abyss, with its intense azure gradu- 
 ally deepening into an awful obscurity ; the roar of the 
 waters rose to my startled ears. I turned giddy, and 
 clutched convulsively at the sharp, slippery ridge. To 
 go back was impossible. I could neither turn round, 
 nor retreat backward to the promontory. At whatever 
 ribK, I must go forward ; and I was encouraged by the 
 voice of the captain, who cried to me not to break his 
 bridcje. At leno-th the strugro-le was successful. I con- 
 trived to drag myself up the opposite side to a place 
 where 1 could lie down and recover my energies. Our 
 captain, after gallantly accomplishing the same feat, 
 seated himself also, and contemplated for a moment the 
 perilous pathway. "There," said he; "I have had 
 
 enough ! " 
 
 FALL OF AN ICEBERG. 
 
 Having regained the ship, we all assembled for dinner; 
 but our attention being arrested by the fall of numerous 
 huge blocks of ice from the glacier, we remained a while 
 upon deck to survey the surprising scene. We noticed, 
 among other phenomena, that the recent fractures were 
 of a splendid deep blue, which, after a brief exposure to 
 the sun, was transformed into a pure white, with soft 
 satiny reflections. 
 
 After dinner the Panther got up steam, in order to 
 proceed to the new anchorage we had discovered, but 
 her movement was arrested by a continuous series of 
 
ble, and then, 
 z which led to 
 ith my naked 
 /■ my eyes fell 
 3 azure gradu- 
 he roar of the 
 ed giddy, and 
 iry ridge. To 
 ;r turn round, 
 
 At whatever 
 Liraged by the 
 i to break his 
 essful. I con- 
 ide to a place 
 energies. Our 
 he same feat, 
 a moment the 
 
 I have had 
 
 ed for dinner ; 
 
 of numerous 
 lained a while 
 
 We noticed, 
 ractures were 
 if exposure to 
 ite, with soft 
 
 n, in order to 
 iscovered, but 
 lous series of 
 
1 J± 
 
 ll 1 
 
 \ 
 
 iiai !! 
 
 iiHaii.j 
 
A NOVEL SPECTACLE. 
 
 347 
 
 detonations. Enormous masses were almost simultane- 
 ously detached from the glacier, and their fall so caused 
 the waves to swell that the ship rolled violently. The 
 waves dashed furiously against the rocks. All at once 
 an explosion, dry, sharp, formidable, suddenly alarmed 
 us ; we felt we were on the eve of some extraordinary 
 cataclysm. 
 
 Looking in the direction whence the awful sounds 
 proceeded, we could see that the projecting angle of the 
 glacier was rapidly breaking up. This particular portion 
 was specially picturesque. A labyrinth of more or less 
 symmetrical spires and pinnacles gave it the appearance 
 of an immense cathedral. Its mode of formation was 
 easy to understand. The netwofk of crevasses al- 
 ready striking up the glacier extend and enlarge ; the 
 intervening spaces, sharp at first, are gradually rounded 
 by the sun's influence as the giant progresses towards the 
 sea. Some of these monoliths are reared above ogival 
 arches, of such perfection that it is difficult to imagine 
 they were not the work of human architects. At the 
 very extremity of the glacier, a tower, two hundred 
 feet high at least, was wholly separated from it nearly 
 down to the sea-level. A few \~>urs previously, we had 
 gone round it at no greater distance than a boat's length, 
 suspicious of no danger, and had seen its base descend- 
 ing vertically through the clear green waters. 
 
 The last and loudest outbreak was caused by the 
 collapse of this marvellous edifice. As if the sea-bottom 
 were giving way beneath it, little by little it descended 
 into the yawning abyss. It was not a fall, not a sudden 
 demolition, but a crumbling process, which lasted fully 
 
 iU 
 
 '1- ; 
 
 If 
 
 Ai 
 
348 
 
 THE GLACIER-VOICES. 
 
 inilll:. 
 
 t ;■ ! 
 
 a quarter of an hour. It went to pieces as if it had 
 been composed of shells, or rather of leaves, which de- 
 tached themselves layer by layer. We had scarcely 
 time to examine the phenomenon, for from base to sum- 
 mit the front of the glacier was veiled by an opaque 
 cloud, through which we could dimly see the continual 
 downfall of the masses of ice. We watched the phases 
 of the spectacle with almost breathless admiration, and 
 the danger must have been imminent and alarming 
 which could have withdrawn our attention from it. 
 Our enthusiasm reached its climax when the pinnacle of 
 the spire gradually sank into the immense whirlpool of 
 foam and vapour, where it speedily disappeared. 
 
 The most terrible thunder-peals are as nothing when 
 compared with the awful voices of the glacier in its 
 travail. It seems as if this ominous roar shook the very 
 foundations of the globe. From the fall of the first few 
 fragments, the din increased with perfect regularity; 
 reminding us of the wind which wails in the trees be- 
 fore a storm, then raises its voice, and crashes through 
 the forest with deafeninf; outbreak. 
 
 '■ 
 
 m; 
 
 V 
 
 THE KREKARSOAK. 
 
 In due time we left tlie fiord of Sermitsialik, and 
 continued our voyage to the northward. We crossed 
 the Arctic Circle, and, through a sea literally sown 
 with icebergs, skirted the romantic Greenland coast. 
 So numerous were the floating mountains that some- 
 times the horizon entirely disappeared ; we turned 
 and returned, threading to right and left the channels 
 which separated them ; losing all consciousness of danger 
 
 I ! 
 
as if it had 
 is, which de- 
 had scarcely- 
 base to sum- 
 y an opaque 
 the continual 
 }d the phases 
 niration, and 
 md alarming 
 tion from it. 
 le pinnacle of 
 ! whirlpool of 
 eared. 
 
 lothing when 
 glacier in its 
 look the very 
 ' the first few 
 t regularity; 
 the trees be- 
 shes through 
 
 litsialik, and 
 We crossed 
 ie rally sown 
 nland coast. 
 s that some- 
 we turned 
 the channels 
 .ess of danger 
 
LL 
 
 ! ) 
 
 r 
 
A RICHLY COLOURED PICTURE. 
 
 351 
 
 in the surprise and admiration which they continually 
 excited, ' ) 
 
 It was near midnight ; the atmosphere, entirely free 
 from mist, shone with a soft splendour; the sun, ap- 
 proaching the north, plunged obliquely into the waves ; 
 little by little, it almost wholly disappeared ; only a 
 dazzling arc still rose above the water-line ; the crim- 
 soned clouds faded away ; the sky glowed with gold ; 
 the motionless sea, unwrinkled by a single breath of air, 
 reflected like a mirror the resplendent tints md they 
 brightened afar among the hills and mountains of ice, 
 hills not exceeding a few feet, and giants towering some 
 hundreds of yards ; hills and mountains of every form, 
 some like citadels wdth perpendicular sides, others like 
 innnense cathedrals crowned by a forest of spires. 
 
 There was a wonderful variety in the colour of the 
 icebergs against the golden sky of the sunset. They 
 seemed of a deep violet ; on either hand they glittered 
 with amethyst, sapphire, and emerald ; then they paled 
 into a pure pearly white ; in our wake, against the 
 sombre cloud-bank which rested on the waters, they 
 changed to a burnished silver ; but everywhere they 
 arrayed themselves in the fires of the firmament. 
 
 Emerging at length from this realm of splendour, we 
 continued our course along the picturesque and beauti- 
 ful shores. First we passed in the shadow of the riven 
 and cavernous Black Hook; then at some distance from 
 the dangerous clitts of the mainland : cloven by deep 
 gorges, they resemble huge pillars, worn by time, and 
 intended to support the vast alabaster entablature of 
 
 I 
 
•i i>: ■• 
 
 11 i 
 
 E^ 
 
 I'll t'' i| 
 
 
 i i 
 
 S52 
 
 THE KREKARSOAK. 
 
 the great sea of ice. Soon we arrived abreast of a not- 
 able landmark, a conical mountain-peak rising sheer out 
 of the dark-green sea. This peak is an island, in effect; 
 measuring about ten miles in breadth from east to west, 
 and six in length from north to south. It is fenced 
 round by precipitous cliffs, above which the Krekarsoak, 
 or " Great Mountain," rises to an elevation of 4500 feet. 
 It is the " Sanderson's Hope " of John Davis, who dis- 
 covered it in 1585. 
 
 Beyond it the fiord widens somewhat; we reach a 
 less gloomy landscape ; the cliffs disappear ; the moun- 
 tain descends to the sea by a continuous declivity. 
 Here some signs of life were discernible. Up to a height 
 of 450 feet we can see bright patches of verdure, heaths 
 and mosses, and dwarf-grasses mingled with white and 
 yellow flowers. The scene may be compared to a cur- 
 tain stretched across the base of the peak to conceal 
 the mouth of the vast cavern which, according to the 
 Eskimos, occupies its whole interior, and is inhabited 
 by the giants. Had we been less familiar with the 
 grand aspects of the " Land of Desolation," we might 
 have fancied ourselves in some realm of wonder and 
 marvel, where supernatural creatures dominated over 
 the forces of Nature : in front of the cliff, at the base of 
 the Krekarsoak, our gaze rested on a host of undefinable 
 beings moving to and fro upon the sea. We could hear 
 the sounds of voices. Our captain "slowed" his engines, 
 keeping up just speed enough, and no more, to avoid 
 the icebergs, and in a few minutes we were surrounded 
 by a troop of amphibious animals, the well-known 
 people of the North. Spite of the severity of the climate. 
 
A HAUNT OF BIRDS. 
 
 863 
 
 'east of a not- 
 sing sheer out 
 [and, in effect; 
 1 east to west, 
 It is fenced 
 e Krekarsoak, 
 1 of 4500 feet, 
 avis, who dis- 
 
 ;; we reach a 
 ar ; the moun- 
 lous declivity. 
 [Jp to a height 
 '^erdure, heaths 
 vith white and 
 ared to a cur- 
 eak to conceal 
 ;cording to the 
 is inhabited 
 liliar with the 
 on," we might 
 )f wonder and 
 ominated over 
 at the base of 
 of undefinable 
 We could hear 
 id " his engines, 
 more, to avoid 
 ere surrounded 
 le well-known 
 of the climate, 
 
 they appeared no more sensible to it than our Juliana- 
 sliaab pilot, and disported in the icy waters with every 
 sign of delight. A boat paddled by four of these shaggy 
 Tritons approached our ship, and the white man who 
 steered it announced himself as the "bestyrere" of 
 Karsuk, an establishment at the foot of the green slope 
 which had attracted our attention. He was named 
 Esau. Having received him on board, we took his 
 canoe in tow, until he found it necessary to return to 
 his little kingdom. 
 
 Shortly afterwards we moored the Panther alongside 
 an iceberg, on which we disembarked. It was about 
 330 feet broad, by 50 feet high; its surface was undulat- 
 ing ; the sun's heat melted the new ice, and little pools 
 of pure water dimpled in its hollows. 
 
 Near us rose an immense precipitous cliff, which we 
 resolved to visit in the hope of finding there some birds. 
 It towered above our heads, like a wall of shining silver, 
 to an elevation of 2600 feet, and glowed reflected in the 
 waters. 
 
 When within a thousand yards of it we caught sight 
 of its feathered inhabitants; and, as we approached, 
 they flocked round us in great numbers, — astonished, 
 probably, at the sight of strangers in their far-oft* 
 haunts. Like all the divers, tliose swimming on the 
 water rose with great difficulty, beating their wings 
 loudly close to the surface before they took flight. The 
 flocks increased as we drew nearer. At first we thought 
 we heard the distant sound of a waterfall ; the murmur 
 rapidly deepened, and, near the cliff, so rose, and 
 swelled, and gathered, that we could not hear each 
 
 bU) 
 
 23 
 
854 
 
 SHOULDER TO SHOULDER. 
 
 i,*i 
 
 «''. 
 
 villi 
 
 .Mi 
 
 H t> .- 
 
 other speak unless we shouted. The din was produced 
 by the stir of the wings and the shrill cries of birds 
 posted on the rock or fluttering near it. Each ledge of 
 the cliff", a few inches or from two to three feet wide, 
 horizontal or sloping, level or irregular, was occupied 
 by the lummes, sitting on the hinder part of the body, 
 packed close to one another, with heads turned towards 
 the sea. Banged in compact order, they took up the 
 smallest possible space, and at a little distance might 
 almost have been mistaken for soldiers in white tunic 
 and black kepi, shoulder to shoulder, drawn up for re- 
 view. It was easy to count them on the lower benches; 
 higher up, one could still make out the lines ; on the 
 summit of the rocks, nothing was distinguishable. At 
 first we were puzzled by their strange attitude of immo- 
 bility ; but we soon discovered they were females, each 
 sitting on its solitary egg. 
 
 The lummes do not build a nest. The hope of their 
 race is simply deposited on the naked rock; the mother 
 raises it with her beak, and balances it on one end; 
 then seats herself upon it, as upon a drum. 
 
 Discharging our guns simultaneously, we brought 
 down birds enough to supply our crew with a dinner. 
 But what a change had taken place in the appearance 
 of the cliff ! Every voice was hushed ; the birds leaped 
 into the air; the wild agitation of their pinions was 
 like the breath of a storm; so numerous were they, 
 that as they flew over our heads they cast a shadow 
 like a cloud. Some of the eggs, too hastily deserted, 
 rolled over the edge and down the cliff, streaking it 
 with white and yellow. 
 
ABOUT THE LUMMES. 
 
 355 
 
 The birds, however, did not long remain on the wing; 
 must of them swooped down upon the waters some four 
 liundred yards distant, so that the surface became ab- 
 solutely black. Others returned to tlieir places, lest the 
 egg should grow cold ; and the rest began in due time 
 to think of the safety of their treasures. 
 
 But all did not go smoothly. Numbers displayed a 
 curiously violent irritation, like lish women in a rage ; 
 with bristling feathers they menaced one another, and 
 screamed at one another, and tore out each other's 
 snowy plumes, and pecked at each other's eyes. Oh, 
 the din, the clang ! There were thousands of them; all 
 screaming, and pecking, and fluttering at once ! Ths 
 cause of the dispute was soon discovered : some of them 
 were shameless thieves ; without remorse, without a 
 blush, they had seized on their neighbour's egg ! 
 
 The mother is sometimes compelled to leave her rocky 
 post; she cannot die of hunger while waiting for the 
 emergence of her chick. Perha])s, in her carelessness, 
 she topples down the egg in taking flight; perhaps, 
 while quarrelling, her mates have accidentally pushed 
 it over the brink of the clifl: She does not find it on 
 her return. If she preserves an honest conscience, she 
 will have no little lumme to show her friends ; but, bless 
 you ! she does not hesitate to appropriate the first egg 
 she can get at, and to seat herself upon it as if she were 
 one of the most exemplary of mothers ! The true 
 owner, returning, discovers the scandalous intruder ; she 
 seeks some empty place ; if none is found, she attacks 
 anybody or everybody in her rage, and a general com- 
 bat ensues. Sometimes, however, the precious deposit 
 
35G 
 
 UP llAFFIN BAY. 
 
 \H not loft without a protoctcn*; the male dischargiurr 
 the duties of liis spouse while she is attending to the 
 demands of appetite. But as she knows him to be 
 animated by no particular parental enthusiasm, she 
 swallows hastily her repast of little crustacoa, plunges 
 into the sea to enjoy a morning bath, and returns on 
 rapid wings to relieve her phlegmatic spouse ; who cele- 
 brates his release by a cry of pleasure and a clapj)ing 
 of wings very amusing to the spectator. 
 
 iU ' 
 
 \i 
 
 m ii: 
 
 '■ . 'i 
 
 j;i' 
 
 A NORTHERLY COURSE, 
 
 Continuing our course up Baffin Bay, we soon came 
 in sight of the pack-ice, the great barrier which is so 
 fji miliar to every Arctic exploror, and of which we read 
 so much in the narratives of Parry, Franklin, and Kane. 
 Floating masses were all around us, — some of them ten- 
 anted by sleeping seal, some rugged with ridges of frozen 
 snow ; but threading our way through the labyrinth, 
 we steered for Wilcox Point, a majestic headland which 
 rises about fifteen miles to the north-east of the Duck 
 Islands. There we examined the chart, to determine in 
 what direction our vagrant fancy should lead us next. 
 To the oast of Wilcox Point the coast deploys for some 
 miles before the well-known mountain which so 
 strangely resembles the upright thumb of a hand placed 
 flat upon a table, with the little finger underneath. 
 The hand represents the island of which the "Devil's 
 Thumb " is the centre. 
 
 No part of the great sea which bears the name of 
 Baffin has more terrors for the mariner. The icebergs 
 are so numerous, that it is called " Bergy Hole ; " and 
 
 .1.1,- e 
 
A FIELD OF ICE. 
 
 357 
 
 ilo discharging 
 :tonuing to tlio 
 •ws him to be 
 utliusiasm, she 
 istacea, plunges 
 md returns on 
 )use ; who cele- 
 and a clapj)ing 
 
 , we soon came 
 ier which is so 
 which we read 
 klin, and Kane, 
 ne of them ten- 
 ridges of frozen 
 the labyrinth, 
 leadland which 
 t of the Duck 
 bo determine in 
 [ lead us next, 
 iploys for some 
 lin which so 
 ■ a hand placed 
 er underneath, 
 h the " Devil's 
 
 •s the name of 
 The icebergs 
 jy Hole ; " and 
 
 so violent the currents, that a ship under sail Hur[)nsed 
 by a calm off the Thumb is soon drawn as it were into 
 a whirlpool, and forced to turn round as if a supernatural 
 influence were at work on the waters : if she emerges 
 safe and sound, without any disastrous collision with 
 the icebergs, she may be congratulated on a marvellous 
 escape ! 
 
 Tiie Panther proceeded bravely to encounter its first 
 field of ice. There it lay before us, — a broad white and 
 blue plain, stretching farther than the eye could see. 
 
 " What, is this all ? " cried some disappointed pas- 
 sengers ; for at the firsi; gla ice it wea rs no very formid- 
 able aspect. But the ship strikes against a projecting 
 tongue of crystal, and .our novices are convinced that 
 there is more in it than they suspected. 
 
 Tlie Panther, however, treated it as an unimportant 
 matter, and clove the clear waters until she had reached 
 a new ice-field, which, at first, we had supposed to be 
 an adjunct of the former one. But between the two 
 stretched an open arm of the sea^ — what the whalers call 
 " a pass ; " and through this opportune channel we 
 steamed northward, and northward, and still northward, 
 among the floes. 
 
 Soon we could see no sign of water except in our 
 narrow channel ; ice covered the sea afar ; and only from 
 the mast-head could we discover the " passes " that 
 wound in all directions. The one we were following 
 measured, at the opening, two thousand yards across ; 
 it gradually diminished, and then began to bend and 
 curve, and detached blocks of ice showed themselves 
 here and there. 
 
358 
 
 CHARGING AN ICE-FLOE. 
 
 The second offiv,er, whose ■watch it was, kept the man 
 at the wheel constantly on the qui vive with his " Port I 
 Starboard ! Just so ! Starboard all I " 
 
 " What are you about, sir ? " shouted the captain. 
 " Why do you keep to starboard ? " 
 
 " Way blocked on all sides ; we must steam astern ! " 
 
 " Ts there no opening anywhere ? " 
 
 "No; but on the larboard the ice seems tolerably 
 weak." 
 
 " Steer for it, then, and charge full upon it ! " roared 
 the captain. 
 
 " Ail light, sir ! Starboard a little ! That will do. 
 Go on ! " And we pushed forward, the Panther raising 
 her prow and her catheads clean out of the water, and 
 looking as if she regarded with the utmost contempt the 
 immense plain of crystal which stretched before us. She 
 struck full against it, drove into it, and crushed the ice, 
 as it were, under her iron feec. A quiver shot through 
 her frame from stem to stem. Then she m^^e upon the 
 floe, pounded it into fragments, and plunged deep into 
 the water to wliich she had afforded an opening. Her 
 impetus was not yet exhausted. Again she sprang upon 
 the ice, which yielded anew beneath her weight; and 
 then she stopped. On examination, it was found that 
 she had sustained no injury. Her masts were as erect 
 and her catheads as solid as ever ; not a sci itch on her 
 iron-clad broadsides. The first struggle had been a 
 victory. 
 
 " Turn astern ! " shouted the captain. We retired 
 nearly a hundred pacts, then, with all steam up, dashed 
 into the opening already made. Tlie cutwater struck 
 
, kept the man 
 yith his " Port ! 
 
 d the captain. 
 
 steam astern ! " 
 
 eems tolerably 
 
 on it ! " roared 
 
 That will do. 
 '^anther raising 
 the water, and 
 3t contempt the 
 before us. She 
 Tushed the ice, 
 T shot through 
 } r'^L.e upon the 
 3ged deep into 
 opening. Her 
 le sprang upon 
 ;r weight ; and 
 t^as found that 
 s were as erect 
 SCI itch on her 
 e had been a 
 
 . We retired 
 am up, dashed 
 itwater struck 
 
f 
 
 V t 
 
 r/A 
 
 ,'■11 * 
 
 II 
 
APPEARANCE OF THREE BEARS. 
 
 801 
 
 the ice; the Panther advances, falls back, rises up, 
 plunges, and darts forward. In this way she charged 
 the ice again and again, until a channel was opened up, 
 which, as the ice-fields were gradually set in motion, 
 widened considerably, and conducted us at length into 
 open water. 
 
 A BEAR-HUNT. 
 
 As we clove our path through Melville Bay, the cry 
 suddenly arose, " The bears ! the bears ! " and everybody 
 rushed upon deck. And those much-coveted carnivores 
 wer<', *" truth, as close to us as we could reasonably de- 
 sire. Undoubtedly they had sighted the Panther long 
 before we sighted theia ; but they contemplated us 
 ..uii,)! osedly, with more curiosity than alarm. There 
 wtr a mother and her two cubs; and they stood 
 motionless, at a distance of three or four hundred yards, 
 the only living beings in that apparently boundless soli- 
 tude of ice. The mother stood between her little ones ; 
 an honest family, peacefully established on an old ice- 
 field. We felt a pang of remorse at the idea that we 
 were about, so cruelly, to disturb their repose. 
 
 The steamer was " slowed " as soon as possible, and 
 the two parties considered each other, each endeavour- 
 ing to divine what the other was about to do. The 
 bears, of course, could see only the ship; for we took 
 good care not to show our heads above the bulwarks, 
 and as the wind blew from the north it could not betray 
 us. Evidently, in the eyes of the bears, the steamer was 
 a huge black phenomenon, with which, we were de- 
 lighted to see, they soon showed a disposition to become 
 more closely acquainted. The mother led the way, her 
 
:)ii 
 
 ;*(! 
 
 362 
 
 A BEAR-HUNT. 
 
 cubs trotting one on each side, and by a long and pru- 
 dent circuit made towards the stern of our ship, with 
 the obvious intention of coming to leeward of us. We 
 did our best to conceal ourselves more completely, 
 though holding it contrary to the laws of hunting to 
 w^ait until our game got wind of us. But our captain, 
 as chief hunter, insisted on patience ; he knew his ship 
 and what she could do. " They are ours," he said, " if 
 only they advance a little nearer ; " and he gave orders 
 to move ahead at half-speed. At the same time the 
 helm was put to starboard, and the steamer swerved 
 round so as to face the bears, which advanced slowly 
 along a projecting tongue of ice. 
 
 " What are you doing, captain ? The bears will scent 
 us, and decamp immediately." 
 
 " Bah ! the Panther is ready to bar their way." 
 
 " But the ice — the ice, captain ! You will not launch 
 the ship against yonder floe ? " 
 
 " Why not ? I would charge an iceberg, if it were 
 necessary." 
 
 So war was declared, between strength and skill on 
 one side, and craft and nimbleness on the other. 
 
 The mother advanced, meanwhile, with the greatest 
 circumspection, and as if she weighed the consequences 
 of every step. She was a fine animal, in good condition ; 
 had just breakfasted, apparently, and displayed the 
 leisurely apathy which gener lly accompanies the diges- 
 tion of a very plentiful repast. She did not even 
 traverse the little pools of water in her route, but 
 calmly made their circuit, as if indisposed to wet her 
 feet. Sometimes she turned her back upon us ; some- 
 
A BEAR-HUNT. 
 
 868 
 
 long and pru- 
 )ur ship, with 
 rd of us. We 
 e completely, 
 of hunting to 
 t our captain, 
 cnew his ship 
 ," he said, " if 
 le gave orders 
 arne time the 
 liner swerved 
 ranced slowly 
 
 Bars will scent 
 
 ir way." 
 
 ill not launch 
 
 I'g, if it were 
 
 and skill on 
 Dther. 
 
 the greatest 
 consequences 
 od condition ; 
 isplayed the 
 ies the diges- 
 id not even 
 r route, but 
 to wet her 
 
 )n us ; some- 
 
 times she halted, stretching forth her long neck, and 
 sniffing the air on every side — raising her nose as high 
 as possible, then lowering it upon the ice, as if she had 
 discovered something there. Meanwhile, the cubs fro- 
 licked around her ; seeing that she was not afraid, they 
 indulged their vivacious humour, and it was clear they 
 looked upon the Panther as a marvellous spectacle 
 which their mother had got up for their amusement. 
 They were as full of play as a couple of kittens, enter- 
 taining themselves with hide-and-seek around their 
 mother, and dealing each other an occasional pat on 'Jie 
 back. They rolled in the water-ways, sending the water 
 on high in crystal showers ; in fact, no schoolboys out on 
 a holiday were ever more bent upon innocent diversion. 
 The little family occupied half an hour in reaching 
 the point where the mother learned at length the nature 
 of her enterprise. For a moment she appeared un- 
 decided, stopped short, and turned round, as if to retrace 
 her steps; then she changed her opinion. For some 
 minutes she seemed to balance between opposing im- 
 pulses ; that which drew her onward prevailed. Having 
 arrived at the point of the ice-field, she raised her head 
 and sniffed noisily ; light broke suddenly upon her 
 mind ; we saw her turn right round with a rapid move- 
 ment, as if looking for some means of safety. After a 
 moment's reflection, she proceeded anew towards the 
 floe. The cubs, too, seemed to take alarm, and ran to- 
 wards their mother, as if to ask what was the matter — 
 if the spectacle were at an end — if they were to start on 
 a new journey. It seemed as if she replied that there 
 was no occasion for much alarm, but it was well to 
 
il 
 
 •'I 
 
 
 
 F i 
 
 ill 
 
 i| 
 
 '■Ui\ 
 
 I |l ^ II 
 
 i h. 
 
 864 
 
 WHAT THE " PANTHER " DID ! 
 
 make good use of tlieir legs, and got away as quickly as 
 possible. The little ones obeyed, wailing piteously, like 
 children who liave gone out afairing, and been overtaken 
 by a storm. The mother watched their movements with 
 tiie utmost solicitude, keeping close beside them, pausing 
 when they paused, and always interposing between 
 them and danger. 
 
 The Panther did not remain idle. As soon as the old 
 bear got to leeward of us, and took alarm, our captain 
 shouted, " Go ahead with full speed ! " The screw began 
 to revolve, and with all possible rapidity the ship made 
 for the ice, to cut off the retreat of the unfortunate trio. 
 
 From the lirst this had been our captain's plan, and 
 with him it was a simple question of time ; while most of 
 us, liowover, were asking one another whether the ship 
 would be sufficiently strong to accomplish the work he 
 required of her. 
 
 Hark, a terrible crash ! We charged the ice where it 
 seemed to offer least resistance ; but it was more solid 
 than that of the preceding day, and the shock was 
 much heavier. However, our cutwater soon opened a 
 passage, glided upon the tloe, crashed it under its bur- 
 den, and plunged again into the water. During tliis 
 manoeuvre, which was twice rejieated, no one could 
 stand upright. But our captain's expectations were 
 realized : tlie viirour of the assault defined across the 
 tongue of ice a crevasse which soon extended to tlie 
 other side ; and the unfortunate beasts found themselves 
 at our mercy, on a raft floating separate from the body 
 of the floe. 
 
 Soon afterwards, the ca])tain, with three companions, 
 
Y as quickly as 
 piteously, like 
 3een overtaken 
 ovements with 
 I them, pausing 
 osing between 
 
 soon as the old 
 n, our ca])tain 
 ho screw boi;an 
 tlio ship made 
 ifortunate trio, 
 niu's plan, and 
 ; while most of 
 ether tlie ship 
 ih the work lie 
 
 lie ice where it 
 was more solid 
 :he shock was 
 soon opened a 
 under its bur- 
 Durinsf tliis 
 no one could 
 octations were 
 lied across the 
 :tended to the 
 ind themselves 
 from the bodv 
 
 ee companions, 
 
'? ! 
 
 i iiiSi 
 
 /l:!:i 
 
 *;.■ 
 
 |H. ^ -h 
 
 im 
 
 n : 
 
 lij 
 
 
ANOTHER GREENLAND PORT. 
 
 867 
 
 disembarked; and it is needless to say that both the 
 mother and her cubs fell victims to their rifles. They 
 were quickly brought on board, and at breakfast next 
 morning their flesh was greatly relished. 
 
 UPERNAVIK. 
 
 Our space does not permit us to dwell upon every in- 
 cident of the voyage, — which, be it remembered, was a 
 voyage of artistic investigation rather than of geographi- 
 cal discovery. The Panther visited Upemavik, where 
 Dr. Hayes met once more with his old friends who have 
 already figured in these pages, Hans and his family. In 
 leaving this harbour, the Panther accomplished the dar- 
 ing exploit of charging an iceberg which lay across her 
 course. Her iron spur struck the mountain of ice just 
 in the middle. The shock was terrible ; the men on deck 
 were thrown off their feet, and the dishes and plates in 
 the cabin lost their equilibrium. Fortunately, on the 
 side it was struck the berg was cut like a bevel, and the 
 ship glided over the thin edge, rising five feet out of the 
 water. The force of the blow was, therefore, somewhat 
 broker;, aiid the steamer fell back into the water with 
 masts standing. Her captain recommenced the man- 
 oeuvre ; the sea was strewn with the countless fragments 
 detached by the collision, but the mountain remained 
 firm. The captain remiarked that in the centre the ice 
 appeared thinner, and renewed his ram-like blows, three 
 times, four times, five times. At the sixth, the mass 
 of crystal split with a terrible crash ; the two parts 
 pivoted on their base, striking the sea with a sound of 
 tuundcr. Then the Panther went on her way rejoicing. 
 
r 'I 
 
 !; t 
 
 1 
 
 M 
 
 ■ I 
 
 368 
 
 ABOUT DISCO ISLAND. 
 
 THE ISLAND OF DISCO. 
 
 Continuing her southward voyage, she next put into 
 the Moravian mission-station of Godliav'n, a rock-en- 
 compassed bay on the coast of Disco Island. 
 
 Disco Ishmd is one of the most remarkable localities 
 of Greenland. The Eskimos have a tradition that a 
 powerful sorcerer, or angeikout, long ago dragged it from 
 the south to its present position ; and in support of it 
 they point to an enormous hole in a rock on the south 
 side, through which the magician passed his rope. 
 
 An interesting feature of Disco Island is its extensive 
 carboniferous deposits. These vast accumulations of 
 vegetable matter date, in all probability, from a remote 
 geological epoch, when the country merited the name 
 of Greenland : a designation now as inappropriate as 
 that of Achilles when applied to an aged wrestler. 
 
 These coal-measures, however, are not peculiar to 
 Disco Island. Immense superficial strata are spread 
 over the whole continent. To the north of Waigatz 
 they are found in great abundance, as well as along the 
 river-courses of the great fiord of Omenak. With the 
 exception of Melville Bay, this is the point of the coast 
 richest in icebergs and glaciers, the whiteness of which 
 contrasts strangely with the black bands that tell of an 
 epoch when Frost had not yet destroyed in these regions 
 heat and life. 
 
 The island measures upwards of eiglity-five miles in 
 length, is everywhere exceedingly lofty, and exhibits 
 a magnificent line of lofty trap clifis. On the south, in 
 lat. 09°, it projects into the sea a low spur of granite, 
 
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AT JAC'OBSHAV N. 
 
 371 
 
 about a mile and a half in length — a peninsula at ebb 
 of tide, and an island at high water — forming the most 
 perfect little haven imaginable, — Godhav'n, or " good 
 harbour." To the north of the bay, and in face of rocks 
 which rise perpendicularly from the SPa to an elevation 
 of two thousand feet, lies the town of the same name, 
 — which our English whalers, however, more generally 
 call Lievely ; probably a corruption of the adjective 
 " lively." And as this little town is the metropolis of 
 Northern Greenland, and the general rendezvous for 
 whalers, fishing-craft, and vessels of discovery, no doubt 
 it is " lively " enough in the season, in comparison with 
 the frozen and solitary wildernesses beyond. 
 
 JACOBSHAVN. 
 
 The Panther proceeded next to Jacobshav'n, which 
 is one of the oldest missions in the north of Greenland. 
 It contains a church, and also a seminary for the educa- 
 tion of young natives desirous of becoming catechists or 
 teachers. Hence a woman who can neither write nor 
 read is now a vara avis in Moravian Greenland. Until 
 the epoch of the Danish colonization, the Eskimo lan- 
 guage was entirely oral, and the natives possessed no 
 other means of expressing the most elementary ideas 
 than by speech ; the picture-writing, or ichnography, of 
 tlie North American Indians, was unknown to them. 
 Tlie missionaries, however, have taught the Green- 
 landers to write ; and at Godthaab a printing-press, 
 established by Dr. Black, has published some interesting 
 historical narratives and native traditions, illustrated by 
 wood-engravings of the quaintest character. 
 
 k' 
 
372 
 
 INTERIOR OF GREENLAND. 
 
 h'- 
 
 I'' i! 
 
 i'i 
 
 The Eskimos are not deficient in aptitude and manual 
 skill ; and even in tlieir savage state evince no ordinary 
 dexterity, as is shown by Dr. Pfaff's collection of speci- 
 mens of ancient Greenland art. Knives, lamps, pots, 
 hatchets, spear-heads, harpoon-heads, needles, augers, — 
 all of stone, and all wrought in a superior manner : the 
 knives, well-sharpened at the edge, are, like the drills 
 and needles, manufactured from chalcedony and other 
 minerals of a similar character. Could our skilfulest 
 lapidaries, with all their improved mechanical appli- 
 ances, have polished them more brightly, or sharpened 
 them more keenly ? 
 
 As is the case with all the Greenland colonies, Jacobs- 
 hav'n owes its prosperity to its seal-fishery. The right 
 whale, in its annual migrations southward, visits these 
 waters in September ; the natives catch it, and dry its 
 flesh. So, too, at Jacobshav'n they catch and dry a 
 particular variety oi'fiitans, which are found on a lime- 
 stone bank deposited by the waters which fret beneath 
 the neighbouring glacier. 
 
 Two years before our visit, Mr. Whymper, the artist, 
 had examined this glacier, with the view of ascending 
 by it into the interior of the continent ; a thing which 
 we believe to be impracticable, at least so far as all the 
 glaciers known in Southern Greenland are concerned. 
 Dr. Hayes' journey of upwards of seventy-five miles 
 across one of these in the extreme north (see page 240, 
 ante), is the only successful attempt of the kind on 
 record ; and this was accomplished at a point where, 
 owing to the configuration of the soil, the ice was ex- 
 ceptionally smooth. Certainly it may be possible to 
 
nd manual 
 3 ordinary 
 1 of speci- 
 mps, pots, 
 
 augers, — 
 nner: the 
 
 the drills 
 and other 
 
 skilfulest 
 cal appli- 
 
 sharpened 
 
 3S, Jacobs- 
 The right 
 isits these 
 nd dry its 
 nd dry a 
 3n a lime- 
 it beneath 
 
 the artist, 
 ascendinfT 
 ing which 
 as all the 
 joncerned. 
 five miles 
 page 240, 
 kind on 
 at where, 
 e was ex- 
 ossible to 
 
 J : 
 
 
 :t" ill 
 
A NOBLE CASCADE. 
 
 375 
 
 .achieve the traject of Greenland through these icy 
 wildernesses, but the enterprise would be one of extra- 
 ordinary danger. It is doubtful whether a single living 
 animal would be found on the route. In our opinion, 
 the ice-sea spreads over the whole of Greenland, except 
 for a narrow belt along its coast, where the snow thaws 
 to return to the bosom of its parent ocean. 
 
 To de' 3ribe Jacobshav'n, would be simply to repeat our 
 previous description of Greenland towns. It is a little 
 larger than Godhav'n, and its climate is a little warmt- 
 
 During our stay at Jacobshav'n, the most memorable 
 event, undoubtedly, was our ascent of the Lyngonarkens 
 Fjeld ; which we accomplished by the cliff in front of 
 the town. The governor expressed his doubts as to our 
 successful achievement of an enterprise so difficult. Our 
 joyous company included two young lady-friends, the 
 inspector and his secretary, and half-a-dozen of the 
 Panther's people. Well supplied with provisions, we 
 crossed the bay at nine A.M. A brighter sun never filled 
 an autumn atmosphere with light and warmth ; we de- 
 scended on a broad verdurous slope, which we climbed 
 to the foot of the first chain of trap. Here we indulged 
 in a brief rest. We had followed up the banks of a 
 torrent, which now emerged from a deep crevasse to 
 form a magnificent cascade, partly veiled in an em- 
 browned cloud. The steep ridge over which it flung its 
 waters descends in a south-easterly direction, and gradu- 
 ally widens into a plain, which the laborious hand of 
 Time has wrought in the most singular fashion. The 
 softer portions of the rock have worn away, leaving the 
 rest intact ; over about two thousand yards its surface 
 
 f 
 
1-i ^ 
 
 m-. 
 
 ii 
 
 376 
 
 ADVENTUROUS LADIES. 
 
 resembles a clearing sprinkled with aged trunks. One 
 of these stone shafts, about twenty feet high, is called 
 "Lot's Wife." ^ 
 
 After having crossed this ridge at a short distance 
 from the cascade, we arrived at a vast abrupt decline, 
 formed of masses of rock fallen from the cliffs which rose 
 above our heads and seemed to touch the firmament. 
 Then began the real labour and burden of the day. 
 
 Of all the feats accomplished by the ladies, this was 
 the most difficult. It was impossible to plant the foot 
 firmly on these angular rocks, heaped pell-mell one upon 
 the other; it seemed as if the inclined plane of dry 
 stones up which we dragged ourselves would crumble 
 beneath us, and launch us in the midst of the terrible 
 avalanche, in the black gorge yawning beneath us. To 
 look down upon it turned us dizzy, to look upwards made 
 us shudder; but the brave-hearted maidens were bent on 
 success — always the last to halt to recover breath, they 
 were the first to give the signal of departure. Their 
 courage never wavered for a moment. 
 
 Along this rocky landslip we made our way for fully 
 three thousand yards before reaching the base of the 
 cliffs, which our barometer declared to be 1500 feet 
 above the sea. We threaded a narrow ravine, and be- 
 tween the high rocky walls, of a reddish brown, we 
 carefully followed up the torrent already spoken of; a 
 less toilsome route, which conducted us to the everlast- 
 inor snows that furnished its waters. 
 
 Here we enjoyed a cold collation ; and after having 
 quenched our thirst, we waded through the soft snow of 
 the slope that still separated us from the glacier. The 
 
ks. One 
 I is called 
 
 distance 
 b decline, 
 '^hich rose 
 rmament. 
 day. 
 
 , this was 
 t the foot 
 one upon 
 le of dry 
 1 crumble 
 e terrible 
 h us. To 
 irds made 
 re bent on 
 lath, they 
 fe. Their 
 
 for fully 
 ,se of the 
 
 500 feet 
 
 and be- 
 rown, we 
 cen of; a 
 
 everlast- 
 
 ir having 
 't snow of 
 ler. The 
 
 t 
 
 M:^ 
 
 M 
 
 S ;■ 5i 
 
 *■;< 
 
VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT. 
 
 379 
 
 fissures were not numerous, so without much difficulty 
 we soon ascended above the rocks, and gained the sum- 
 rait of the fjeld — a word (" field ") which perfectly de- 
 scribes its form ; but nothing could be drearier or more 
 naked than the great white plain which stretched be- 
 fore us, at an elevation of upwards of three thousand 
 feet above the sea. Yet there was a certain grandeur 
 in the scene : the atmosphere was very clear, except 
 beneath, where wreaths of vapour clung to the sides (Jf 
 the cliffs; the gaze certainly included a reach of seventy 
 to eighty miles. To the southward, beyond the town, 
 could be seen the Prince Royal Islands, lying about 
 seven miles off, like black spots on a silver surface ; 
 then the Dogs Archipelago, similarly formed in that 
 shining sea. The lofty coasts and hills of Bunker Land, 
 near Egedesminde, were outlined in the distance, and 
 closed the field of vision. To the east, above the sum- 
 mit of the great Skarve Fjeld, the mountains of Jacobs- 
 hav'n pierced the sky with their snow-crowned peaks, 
 between which the ice-sea shimmered, occupying upon 
 the horizon an arc of 70°, and losing itself gradually in 
 the pearly light; behind us, we could see the frozen 
 cones and whitely-gleaming plains of Disco Island. The 
 sea was more marvellous still. Thousands of icebergs 
 floated in the bay, like a colossal armada. Distributed 
 near us with greater parsimony, they multiplied rapidly, 
 concentrated themselves around Jacobshav'n, formed a 
 dentilated barrier in front of the sombre rocks of the 
 shore, and then disappeared between the lofty walls of 
 the fiord. In this majestic panorama unfolded before 
 our eyes, the immense glacier which empties its tribute 
 
 I 
 { 
 
 a, '1 
 
 \r 
 
 hi 
 
 
380 
 
 THE RETURN JOURNEY. 
 
 
 into the gulf seemed but a white line, and its giant 
 sons but little specks upon the sea. 
 
 We spent an hour in wandering over the show, which, 
 in a temperature of 35° F., was still soft to the foot, 
 though in some places it formed a tolerably solid crust. 
 We saw no true ice, and for want of digging-tools could 
 not ascertain at what depth it commenced. The scouts 
 sent ahead to discover another route, that we might 
 return to Godhav'n by the Red River, met with a 
 single crevasse only, but then it was an impassable one. 
 So that all we could do was to descend the mountain 
 on the same side we had ascended it. 
 
 We had no American flag to unfurl to the wind, by 
 way of saluting the port; but we improvised a Danish 
 flag, in honour of the young ladies and of their country, 
 the proprietary of this mountain : a red silk handker- 
 chief served as the ground, and two pocket-handker- 
 chiefs, twisted, as the cross. 
 
 After some joyous shouts, we resumed our journey ; 
 but during the return we were unsupported by ambition, 
 and it appeared to us much more laborious and painful 
 than the ascent. We were all the more pleased to find 
 at the gorge of the cascade a messenger awaiting us 
 with a hamper of provisions. We devoured them with 
 enthusiasm and gratitude. Our bostess, Mrs. Smith, 
 "who thought of everything and everybody, reconnoitred 
 the mountain with her telescope, and as soon as she 
 saw us beginning our descent, hastened to prepare this 
 graceful and acceptable surprise. 
 
 We had been afoot for eleven hours. The sun was 
 
its giant 
 
 w, which, 
 the foot, 
 )]id crust. 
 )o].s could 
 'he scouts 
 ;ve might 
 t with a 
 sable one. 
 mountain 
 
 wind, by 
 a Danish 
 : country, 
 handker- 
 handker- 
 
 journey; 
 Fimbition, 
 a painful 
 d to find 
 aiting us 
 lem with 
 Smith, 
 mnoitred 
 n as she 
 pare this 
 
 sun was 
 
 it li 
 
 
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 Hi 
 
 t 5 
 
 ■111 
 
FAREWELL TO DISCO. 
 
 888 
 
 now beliiiid the island, and the shadow of the cliffs fell 
 upon the houses; but far above our heads rose the 
 spotless crest of the Lyngmarken, all radiant in the 
 gleams of gold and purple which the heavens poured 
 forth upon it. 
 
 m 
 
 I 
 
 But here we must close our narrative. Next day, 
 the Panther spread her sails to the breeze, and quitted 
 the hospitable port. Standing out to sea, she soon lost 
 sight of the bold rocky coast of Disco. In a shoi*t time 
 even the lofty brow of the Lyngmarken was no longer 
 visible; and she bade farewell to the romantic shores, 
 with their varied and stirring memories, of the Land of 
 Desolation. 
 
 \ . 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION OF 1869-70. 
 
 PRELIMINARIES. 
 
 GERMAN Arctic Expedition was undertaken 
 in 1868; its commander being Captain Karl 
 Koldewey, and its scientific originator, Dr. 
 Augustus Petermann, the eminent geogra- 
 pher. It met, however, with very indifferent fortune. 
 Baffled by tlie pack-ice of Greenland, it withdrew to- 
 wards Spitzbergen, sailed along the west coast of that 
 archipelago, and then, again pushing northward as ffir 
 as 80° 73', it accomplished several short excursions, 
 which, though tending in no degree to solve the problem 
 of a passage to the Pole, were valuable from their 
 physical and hydrographicul results. In August, the 
 Germania sailed down Hinlopen Strait, sighting the 
 " Swedish Foreland," and on the 30th of September she 
 arrived safely at Bergen. 
 
 A month later, a number of gentlemen assembled at 
 Bremen, to celebrate the happy return of the expedition; 
 and in the course of their festivities the notion of a 
 
GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 
 
 885 
 
 second es:pedition was put forward, and favourably 
 received. Conferences then took place between Dr. 
 Petermann, Captain Koldewey, and others interested 
 In Arctic Discovery, and before long the project assumed 
 a definite shape and substance. When it was publicly 
 announced, it met with a gratifjdng reception. To 
 raise the necessary funds, committees were organized in 
 the gi'eat commercial cities of Germany ; and such was 
 the enthusiasm of all concerned, that in May 1869 the 
 central committee was able to announce its plans as 
 follows : — 
 
 "On the 7th of June, the Second Germiin Arctic 
 Expedition, under Captain Karl Koldewey, shall put to 
 sea 
 
 " It is our unanimous endeavour to render every part 
 of the equipment as perfect as possible. After strict 
 trial and inspection, the steamer Germania, the newly- 
 built chief ship of the expedition, fulfils every expecta- 
 tion, as well as the sailors who conduct it and the men 
 of science who accompany it. The steamer, like the 
 convoy which accompanies her, will be equipped for two 
 years. 
 
 " The Oermania's size is expressly adapted for ice- 
 navigation ; the accompanying ship, the Hansa, of 
 nearly the same size, will also be expressly adapted 
 for the same purpose, and will be under the command 
 of Captain Fr. Hegemann, of Oldenburg. If possible, 
 the two ships will remain with each other, both on the 
 outward journey, through the winter, and also on the 
 return. Regard to the greatest possible security of the 
 expedition has led to this extension of the plan. 
 
 (644) 25 
 
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 386 
 
 THE STAFF AND THE SHIPS. 
 
 " The plan of the originator of the undertaking, Dr. 
 Petermann, of Gotha, which makes the eastern coast of 
 Greenland the basis for advancing into the centre of the 
 Arctic Region, is to remain the first aim of this ex- 
 pedition." 
 
 The scientific staff of the Oermania were chosen and 
 appointed by Dr. Petermann — namely. Dr. Karl N. J. 
 Borgen, of the Gottingen Observatory ; Dr. R Copeland, 
 a voluntary assistant at the same observatory; Lieut. 
 Payer, a scientific topographer; and Dr. Adolphus 
 Pansch, surgeon, — to whom were assigned the depart- 
 ments of botany, zoology, ethnology, and anthropology. 
 
 On board the Hansa were — Dr. Buchholz, surgeon, 
 representing the departments of zoology, ethnology, and 
 anthropology ; and Dr. Gustavus Laube. 
 
 A few words as to the two ships. The Germania 
 was stoutly built, with extra iron sheathing and 
 strengthening; measured 90 feet long, 22| feet broad, 
 and 11 feet deep, and 143 tons burden. She was a 
 good sailer, but carried a powerful screw propeller. 
 
 The Hansa was a comparatively new schooner, of 
 76 f tons burden, purchased and refitted expressly for 
 this expedition. 
 
 The scientific equipment was particularly complete. 
 It included a first-rate collection of astronomical and 
 physical instruments, the greater part of which was 
 generously lent by the Gottingen Observatory, or given 
 by different professors or manufacturers. The ships also 
 carried a small but well-chosen library. Many pub- 
 lishers piesented the expedition with choice scientific 
 
CREWS AND EQUIPMENT. 
 
 887 
 
 works, as well as with books adapted to amuse the 
 leisure hours of both officers and crews. 
 
 These crews were composed as follows : — 
 
 The Germania : captain, two officers, engineer, boat- 
 swain, calker, cook, five seamen, fireman, surgeon. 
 
 The Hansa: captain, two officers, calker, cook, six 
 seamen, surgeon. 
 
 An all-important but a difficult part of the prepara- 
 tions was the laying in of provisions and stores ; and 
 here a wise liberality prevailed. The ships carried but 
 a small quantity of salt meat, which is a certain source 
 of scorbutic disease ; they were largely provided, how- 
 ever, with preserved meats. They took also a good 
 supply of pemmican, which is indispensable on sledge- 
 excursions, and a considerable stock of preserves of 
 every kind. It was thought prudent to be furnished 
 with a good "cellar;" and in addition to numerous 
 presents of wines, and especially of French red wines, 
 the two ships carried a capital assortment of spirits and 
 liqueurs. 
 
 The necessities and luxuries of an Arctic wardrobe 
 were also a matter of careful consideration. The OeV" 
 mania had on board quite a splendid collection of all 
 kinds of the warmest furs and the best winter-clothing. 
 In the preparation of these articles, nothing was ne- 
 glected. Thus : all the seams were sewn with Angora 
 woollen thread, because silk and cotton, under the influ- 
 ence of extremes of temperature, lose their tenacity. 
 Then, as to the buttons, they were all of ivory ; buttons 
 of silk or bone not being regarded as sufficiently solid. 
 Not a fragment of cotton thi-ead was to be found in any 
 
 iv 
 
1^ 
 
 1; 
 
 f ;?; 
 
 ! n\ 
 
 wm 
 
 888 
 
 ARCTIC COSTUME. 
 
 part of any article, while pockets and sleeves were snugly 
 lined with wool. Caps were provided, shaped like 
 ladies' hoods ; they completely protected the head, neck, 
 and shoulders of the wearer, and were trimmed around 
 the face with a thick plaiting or border of fur. The 
 gauntlets were from fifteen to sixteen inches long, by 
 seven to eight inches broad, so as to fit easily to the hand 
 when already encased in gloves of wool. The pelisses 
 were made of sheep-skins or buffalo-hides; the latter, 
 which are the lighter, being reserved for use in sledge- 
 excursions. They were well-greased, not alone as a 
 defence against cold, but to keep out moisture. Large 
 sleeping-bags, in which the travellers could ensconc 
 themselves if compelled to rest in the open air, weie 
 also made of buffalo-skins. 
 
 On the 13tli of June, all the members of the expedi- 
 tion subscribed a formal engagement to obey unreservedly 
 the orders of their leader, to devote all their efforts to 
 the successful accomplishment of the enterprise, and to 
 carry out with all possible fidelity the detailed instruc- 
 tions laid down by Dr. Petermann. 
 
 An understanding was also arrived at as to the means 
 to be adopted to facilitate a search after the members 
 of the expedition, in case they should be imprisoned or 
 should perish among the ice. 
 
 It was agreed that, as near as possible to the point 
 marked by each parallel of latitude or meridian of longi- 
 tude, the expedition should erect — on an eminence, when 
 possible — a cairn of stones or some structure easily dis- 
 tinguished. Documents descriptive of the movements 
 
WHERE IS THE HANSA ! 
 
 889 
 
 of the expedition were to be deposited, not in the in- 
 terior of these cairns, but in a hole situated about 
 twenty-five yards to the north. As the Eskimos show 
 a remarkable degree of respect for the resting-places of 
 the dead, information respecting the expedition, in case 
 any of its members died, was to be interred with their 
 corpses. In these sad receptacles would be found the 
 record of their heroism and their sufferings, if they them- 
 selves were not destined to return to Bremen, 
 
 . ,n 
 
 THE VOYAGE. 
 
 The Germania and the Hansa sailed from Bremen- 
 haven on the 15th of June 1869, at three o'clock in the 
 afternoon. 
 
 On the I7th and 18th they encountered much bad 
 weather; the sea rolled heavily, and the Hansa was 
 obliged to keep to leeward. In order not to be separated 
 from her consort, the Germania was compelled each 
 evening to lay-to until she overtook her. Hence, when 
 any person went upon deck, his first glance and his 
 first question were dedicated to the Hansa. And in 
 this way originated a brief dialogue, which was adopted 
 as a mild joke throughout the voyage : — " Where is the 
 Hansa ? " " Oh, to leeward ! " 
 
 The wind sank on the 19th, and fine weather prevailed. 
 North-west breezes afterwards blew almost uninterrupt- 
 edly for a week, and the two ships were detained for some 
 days in latitude 57° N., about the latitude of Skagen. 
 
 This protracted gale subsided on the 26th of June ; 
 and on the morning of that day, in lat. 57° N., and long. 
 24° 3' E., they fell in with a fishing-smack. 
 
 ■1 ! M 
 
^ 
 
 S90 
 
 SLOW PROGRESS. 
 
 
 ' ■I 
 
 " Boat ahoy ! Have you any fresh fish ? " 
 ,> "Yes." ^ 
 
 " Come on board, then." 
 
 Immediately all was activity on board the smack. 
 Ker crew lowered their tiny yawl, and quickly lay 
 alongside the Germania. Two young seamen, Dutch 
 to all appearance, sprang upon deck, with a basket full 
 of their finest fish, large turbots and soles. 
 
 Profiting by a light breeze which now arose, the 
 Germania slowly forged ahead, and about noon rejoined 
 her escort. 
 
 Then for two days raged a hurricane, blowing obstin- 
 ately from the north-north-west, and raising a heavy 
 sea, which rolled its billows over the main-deck. But 
 on reaching the 59th parallel, exactly two weeks from 
 their departure, the evil influence of the winds of the 
 north ceased, and the two ships could steer more directly 
 towards the Pole. 
 
 On the 30th of June, a strong north-wester again re- 
 tarded their progress, and the adventurers grew very 
 weary of the inaction to which they were condemned. 
 While the temperature of the atmosphere was still at 8° 
 above freezing-point, a fog came on about noon, which 
 gradually grew so thick that, to prevent separation, the 
 gong was sounded on both ships for fully sixteen hours, 
 — its dreary sounds, echoing through the dreary dark- 
 ness, producing the most melancholy effect. 
 
 By making a succession of short tacks, the ships con- 
 trived to move ahead, though very slowly ; and on the 
 evening of the 1st of July the expedition joyfully crossed 
 the channel which separates Norway from the rocky 
 
DAY AND NIGHT. 
 
 891 
 
 Shetlanda, in 60° of latitude. Thenceforward they were 
 in that region of the Atlantic which is known more 
 particularly by the name of the North Sea or Arctic 
 Ocean. 
 
 They had occupied sixteen days in accomplishing this 
 first stage of their voyage, which, with a fair wind, a 
 ship will accomplish in ten days and a half 
 
 Owing to the persistency of northerly winds, and the 
 strength of the current which flows eastward, they were 
 driven so near the Norwegian coast that, one evening, 
 they thought they caught sight of it. When in the 
 latitude of Drontheim, they resumed a north-west course. 
 
 The darkness of the nights had perceptibly diminished, 
 and already at midnight, on the 1st to 2nd of July, — 
 an epoch when the sun sets about quarter past ten, — no 
 lanterns were needed upon deck, not even at the bin- 
 nacle. The voyagers could see to, read the finest manu- 
 script. 
 
 During the day the ship was almost constantly sur- 
 rounded by flocks of gulls,* numbering from twenty to 
 fifty birds in each white- winged company. These swift 
 and noisy troops followed the two vessels indefatigably, 
 wheeling and whirling around them in every direction, 
 marking their prey in the track of the ships, and seizing 
 with the rapidity of lightning the smallest crustacean 
 brought to the surface in the eddy of the churning waves. 
 Already, in the Northern Ocean, some dolphins, or 
 " blowers," had been seen ; but now they swam lazily 
 around the ships, and so close to them that the zoologist 
 had the satisfaction of making an accurate drawing of 
 
 '■;:! 
 
 mn 
 
 * Larua tridactylu*. 
 
892 
 
 ABOUT DOLPHINS. 
 
 their back, and particularly of their dorsal fin. The 
 dolphins proved to be of the species * so well known to 
 Bailors as the Nordcaper or Butzkopf, one of the largest 
 of the family, measuring on an average about twenty- 
 five feet in length. It is distinguished by its straight, 
 Jong, and rigid dorsal fin, which is discernible at a con- 
 siderable distance, and has procured it the designation 
 of the " sword-fish." The Americans call it the " Killer," 
 and the Norwegians the apeckhauer or " Whale-catcher," 
 from a circumstance which was long discredited as a 
 fable, but is now admitted to be a fact by the least 
 prejudiced whalers ; namely, that these dolphins are the 
 most terrible enemies of the whale, which they follow 
 and attack with equal perseverance and success. 
 
 Besides the " Nordcapers," the voyagers one day fell 
 in with another species of dolphin, three or four of 
 which gambolled under the GevTnania'a bows. These 
 were perfectly brown, without any upright back-tin, 
 — having a thick head and abrupt forehead. It was a 
 strange but interesting sight to watch these unwieldy 
 and apparently awkward creatures, each nearly fifteen 
 feet long, disporting themselves in the water so peace- 
 ably and with so much agility. 
 
 Meanwhile, several soundings had been taken on 
 board the Hansa, with the following results : — On the 
 1st of July, in lat. 60° 45' N., and long. 2° 4' E., at a 
 depth of 05 fathoms, a rocky bottom, Norwegian granite; 
 July 7th, lat. 68° 18' N., and long. 7° 14' E., at 700 
 fathoms, hard sand. 
 
 About ten minutes before midnight, on the 5th of 
 
 * J)elphinua orca. 
 
IT 
 
 CROSSING THE CIRCLE. 
 
 898 
 
 1 fin. The 
 U known to 
 ' the largest 
 ut twenty, 
 ts straight, 
 le at a con- 
 designation 
 ie" Killer," 
 le-catcher," 
 jdited as a 
 Y the least 
 lins are the 
 ihey follow 
 ess. 
 
 ne day fell 
 
 or four of 
 
 ivs. These 
 
 back-fin. 
 
 It was a 
 
 unwieldy 
 
 -rly fiifteen 
 
 so peace - 
 
 taken on 
 —On the 
 E., at a 
 n granite; 
 at 700 
 
 le 5th of 
 
 July, the expedition crossed the Arctic Circle (66° 33'), 
 nearly in the meridian of Greenwich (long. 0° 16' W.). 
 
 The wind blew fiercely, and with a speed of nine 
 knots an hour they entered the Polar Sea, which was 
 to be their place of sojourn for upwards of a twelve- 
 month. 
 
 The Hansa was some miles ahead ; she hc'oted at her 
 maintop'mast-head the North German flag, and saluted 
 it with a discharge of cannon. The Germania followed 
 her example ; and afterwards crews and passengers 
 amused themselves by imitating the grotesque practices 
 usual on crossing the Equator. Neptune came on board 
 to welcome them on their appearance within that re- 
 mote part of his dominions ; and, of course, all who had 
 not previously crossed the Arctic Circle underwent the 
 rough shaving and christening which custom has duly 
 sanctioned. 
 
 On board the Hansa the proceedings were of a far 
 more elaborate character. Neptune came on board with 
 a couple of followers, and addressed Captain Hegemann 
 with the startling inquiry, "Do you carry any green 
 hands ? " The answer being in the affirmative, a strict 
 search was made for the " green hands ; " who proved to 
 be Drs. Buchholz and Laube, and the seamen Max 
 Schmidt and Konrad Gierke. Then came the christen- 
 ing. Dr. Laube writes as follows : — 
 
 " We entered willingly into the humour of the scene, 
 knowing that our sailors were decent fellows, and would 
 not carry their joke too far, even had we not entered 
 on the ship's books with them at Bremen, and become 
 seamen. Our carpenter went about the whole day with 
 
 I"1S 
 
 ■li 
 
 'ij) 
 
894 
 
 A NAUTICAL CEREMONY. 
 
 a sly, laughing face, and towards evening had quite lost 
 his wonted chattiness. We ourselves kept in the cabin, 
 in order not to witness the preparations. At midnight 
 we were called upon deck ; a gun was fired ; and as its 
 thunder died away we heard the well-known cry, ' Ship 
 ahoy ! ' Three wonderful figures climbed over the bow- 
 sprit ; Neptune first, in an Eskimo dress, with a great 
 white cotton beard, a seven-pronged dolphin-harpoon 
 for a trident in one hand, and a speaking-trumpet in the 
 other. A tarpaulin was spread on the quarter-deck, and 
 a stool placed upon it. It resembled a judge's bench. 
 Here each one of us was seated, with eyes bound, while 
 the masked followers of the Northern Ruler went 
 through the customary formalities. I was soaped and 
 shaved, but Neptune dealt with me very gently ; he can 
 appreciate a good cigar, and greatly respects those who 
 can supply him with the luxury. Then came the 
 christening; not, on this occasion, applied to the head 
 (as is usual), but to the throat and stomach. Neptune 
 addressed some questions to me through his speaking- 
 trumpet, desiring me to answer. I detected his object, 
 answered with a quick " Yes," and closed my lips. The 
 mischievous waterfall rattled over me, causing general 
 amusement. They then took the bandage from my 
 eyes, that I might see my handsome face in the glass ; 
 but instead of a looking-glass, it was the combing of the 
 wooden hatchway, which the barber's assistant very 
 gravely held before my face. I was now dismissed, and 
 could laugh with the others, while I watched my com- 
 rades going through the same ordeal one after the other." 
 This time-honoured and laughable ceremony was 
 
A TERRIBLE FOG. 
 
 895 
 
 brought to an end on both ships by a liberal dispensa- 
 tion of grog. 
 
 The hours of the night now became perceptibly- 
 brighter and clearer. No longer was there any need to 
 light the lamps between decks. And, as it happened, 
 the first night on which the high latitude we had 
 gained enabled us to see the sun at midnight, the clouds 
 which had obscured the sky all day drew off towards 
 the north ; and the voyagers contemplated with delight, 
 on the horizon of a boundless sea, the grand red orb of 
 the sun, visible almost in it;S entire circumference, and sur- 
 rounded by magnificent rings of gold and violet. Unfor- 
 tunately, the spectacle was of short duration. A curtain 
 of clouds veiled the heaven anew; and several weeks 
 passed away before the midnight sun was seen again. 
 
 On the 7th of July a little snow fell ; and from the 
 8th the voyagers were incommoded by a terrible fog, in 
 the midst of which they were compelled to " suffer and 
 grow strong" for four weeks, without relief — that is, 
 until they made the land. 
 
 Though they were still at some distance from the ice, 
 they began a regular series of scientific observations. 
 The temperature of the surface of the water was noted 
 every two hours; and after the 4th of July, in lat. 
 61° N., they observed, four times a day, the ocean tem- 
 perature at great depths. 
 
 They found they were sailing exactly at the limit 
 where the warm southern encounters the cold northern 
 current. The warm current — that is, the Gulf Stream 
 — was easily distinguishable by its higher temperature, 
 
 , ^4 
 
 :t,: [ 
 
 ■! « 
 
»96 
 
 IN SIGHT OF JAN MAYEN. 
 
 S ! 
 
 
 a more considerable proportion of salts, and the deeper 
 blue of its waters. 
 
 The existence of the currents can be ascertained by- 
 means of floating fragments of wood. As early as the 
 6th of July they had picked up some pieces ; two days 
 later, they fell in with a large gnarled and knotted tree. 
 
 To ascertain with exactness the superficial currents, 
 it has long been customary to throw overboard some 
 empty bottles, tightly corked, and enclosing a paper on 
 which are recorded the date when and the place where 
 these memorials are committed to the deep. When a 
 ship meets with one of them, it is duly picked up, the 
 place and time of its finding are noted, and the written 
 record is re-enclosed. Our voyagers from time to time 
 followed out this useful custom, which has led to some 
 interesting and even valuable results. 
 
 JAN MAYEN. 
 
 On the 9th of July they were in sight of Jan Mayen 
 Island. The Hanaa passed about a mile and a half to 
 the westward of it. In clear weather it would have 
 been possible to make out, long before, the loftiest sum- 
 mit of the island, the Beerenberg; but the sky was 
 misty. In the morning, however, they could see in the 
 distance some signs of its mighty glaciers. Keeping as 
 near in-shore as was safe or practicable, when the fog 
 temporarily lifted they could trace a tolerable extent of 
 broken, rugged, and rocky coast. It must have been 
 the north-east side of the island, just at the foot of the 
 Beerenberg, whose dark rocks, alternating with long 
 streaks of glacier-ice, descended to the water. The 
 
d the deeper 
 
 certained by- 
 early as the 
 38 ; two davs 
 knotted tree. 
 3ial currents, 
 irboard some 
 g a paper on 
 place where 
 jp. When a 
 eked up, the 
 I the written 
 time to time 
 3 led to some 
 
 ' Jan Mayen 
 ad a half to 
 would have 
 loftiest sum- 
 he sky was 
 d see in the 
 Keeping as 
 hen the fog 
 )le extent of 
 b have been 
 J foot of the 
 with long 
 rater. The 
 
 JAN MAYEN. 
 
 .1) 
 
 "■ ^, rf 
 
f ' 
 
A VOLCANIC ISLAND. 
 
 89» 
 
 whole, however, was indistinct and misty, giving the 
 impression of a blurred photograph; and soon the 
 thick curtain of the fog once more descended upon 
 the scene. 
 
 The island seems nearly always to be seen under 
 similarly disadvantageous circumstances; though Lord 
 DufFerin succeeded, in 1856, in catching a glimpse of 
 the snow -shrouded crest of the lonely Beerenberg. 
 " The heavy wreaths of vapour," he says, " seemed to be 
 imperceptibly separating; and in a few minutes more 
 the solid roof of gray suddenly split asunder, and I 
 beheld through the gap — thousands of feet overhead, as 
 if suspended in the crystal sky — a cone of illuminated 
 sky." Then again the clouds closed over it ; but sepa- 
 rating a second time, they left " the mountain standing 
 in all the magnificence of his 6870 feet, girdled by a 
 single zone of pearly vapour, from underneath whose 
 floating folds seven enormous glaciers rolled down into 
 the sea ! " 
 
 Jan Mayen was discovered in 1611 by a Dutch navi- 
 gator, whose name it bears. It lies about sixty geo- 
 graphical miles from the Greenland coast ; ia^nine miles 
 long, and one mile broad ; and is wholly of volcanic 
 origin. An attempt was made to colonize it in 1633-34, 
 when seven Dutch sailors passed the winter among its 
 rocks. The severity of the winter had been successfully 
 resisted, when scurvy broke out among them. This, as 
 they could not procure the proper nourishment, mowed 
 them down rapidly. The first died on the 16th of 
 April, and the others shared the same fate one month 
 later. Their diary ended with the 30th. When the 
 
 •■'■ 
 
 \iV. 
 
 m 
 
 11 
 
/• ' 
 
 400 
 
 AN ARCTIO FOG. 
 
 Dutch fleet arrived on the 4th of June, they were All 
 found dead in their huts. 
 
 In August 1817, Scoresby visited the island; in 
 1856, as we have seen. Lord Dufferin; and in 1861, 
 Dr. Berna, of Frankfort, landed, and spent two days 
 upon it. 
 
 IN THE POLAR SEA. 
 
 The Oermania and Hansa were prevented from ap- 
 proaching the glacier-burdened isle by the heavy sea 
 and strong wind. At midnight, therefore, they resumed 
 their northerly course. The fog was constantly increas- 
 ing, so that the two ships could scarcely see each other, 
 and in order to keep together were obliged again to 
 have recourse to the dismal horn. The voyagers could 
 now thoroughly enjoy the Arctic fog as "pictured in 
 books," and appreciate the truth of the painful descrip- 
 tions they so faithfully record. They thought of the 
 "sea-lungs" of Pytheas; of the impenetrable chaos 
 which, according to that writer, lies beyond Thule, and 
 is neither land, nor sea, nor atmosphere; and of that 
 passage in Horace,— 
 
 " Quod latus miindi nebula maluaque 
 Jupiter urget." 
 
 They thought, too, of the terrible gloom with which 
 the old Norse legends enshrouded the unknown ice- 
 region ; and began to believe in the dreary influence a 
 long sojourn in such a climate would exercise upon 
 mind and body. 
 
 Nothing could be more melancholy than that bound- 
 less, gray, uniform veil of fog. The very sea, as far as 
 
. I 
 
 " FOG ! FOG ! NOTHING BUT FOG ! 
 
 401 
 
 the eye could reach, was monotonously sombre. An auk 
 or a diver occasionally flying before the ship was the only 
 object that attracted the gaze. Sometimes the gloom 
 lightened sufficiently to enable the voyager to make out 
 vaguely the position of the sun ; but the orb of day was 
 seldom so far visible as to afford an observation for lati- 
 tude, or the sight of a fog-bow. But every hope of a 
 change which might be cherished by such a momentary 
 interval was at once destroyed by the rolling up of 
 fresh and even denser clouds of mist. As in the North 
 Sea over the persistent northerly gales, so here over the 
 new enemy the voyagers sang -"ae constant "doleful 
 tale of wrong and lamentation." The burden of their 
 cry was, " Fog ! fog ! the gloomy fog ! " If it had 
 stopped at that, it might have been endurable. But 
 now the tiny globules condense and fall in a fine spray, 
 and gradually gather into a heavy shower, though still 
 the fog continues. The sails flap, the running-gear 
 slackens, and the ship swings to and fro in the fresh 
 cold breeze. What can be done ? To stay below is an 
 oppression and a misery. The voyagers don their oil- 
 skin clothing, with high boots and serviceable sou'- 
 westers, and appear on deck. They pace to and fro 
 with cautious steps ; their eyes, as if open sea lay before 
 them, constantly sweeping the horizon, and turning 
 away in pitiful disappointment. The sight of the 
 bending masts, and the roll of the untiring billows 
 against the ship's side, dissipate for a time the influence 
 of the melancholy spectacle. The mind turns inwards 
 upon itself; and amidst all the thoughts of the grave 
 but eagerly-coveted future, indulges thankfully in its 
 (5u) 26 
 
 Ml 
 
 i 
 
 -i 
 
\ 
 
 ^ 
 
 .'■ t 
 
 k 
 
 402 
 
 JiOSINQ SIGHT OF THE " HANSA. 
 
 vivid memories of the past and of home. The voyager 
 thinks of his last day on shore; perchance a warm 
 summer day, with all the bloom of the rose, and all 
 the music of the nightingale. Once more he sees the 
 " dimples smiling on the cheek of home " (as old Catul- 
 lus has it), and with the loved ones he wanders in 
 the shadowy grove, or by the side of the murmurous 
 stream. He sees the bright gleam of starlight in the 
 heavens, and the rising of the golden moon above 
 the far-off tree-tops, when — a heavy wave strikes the 
 ship and heels her over to one side. He is thrown 
 against the mast; icy spray splashes in his face; the 
 water sweeps over the deck and over his feet. The 
 summer-night's dream is at an end. The chill reality 
 of a dreary, fog-shrouded day resumes its empire over 
 the mind and heart. 
 
 By this time the supply of fresh water had decreased 
 considerably, and it became necessary to put everybody 
 on an allowance. Bread had failed from the 8th of 
 July; but its want was not much felt, owing to the 
 abundant provision of potatoes. 
 
 From the 9th of July, until midnight on the 10th, a 
 strong easterly breeze carried the two vessels swiftly 
 and steadily towards the Arctic ice. 
 
 Early on the morning of the 10th the Germania 
 lost sight of the Hansa, and the hoarse sounds of her 
 horn met with no response. But later in the day was 
 heard the roar of a cannon, followed quickly by a 
 second report. The Germania immediately replied; 
 ' ut, about midnight, firing in its turn a signal-gun, 
 again received no answer. 
 
AMONG THE ICE. 
 
 403 
 
 For five successive days the weather did not im- 
 prove. The fog deepened steadily ; the mean tempera- 
 ture reached 36° ; rose on one occasion only to 39° 30' 
 and fell to 33° 80'. The only consolation was that 
 nothing retarded the Oermania'a course; for on the 
 open sea, with the aid of the compass, it is as easy to 
 steer in the darkest night as in the full light of day. 
 
 On the 14th a calm prevailed, and the crew of the 
 Germania profited by it to fish up drift-wood and 
 hunt the gulls. At intervals the weather cleared, and 
 it was possible to obtain a distant view ; but no Hansa 
 could be discovered. The signs were numerous now of 
 the nearness of the ice. They could see, in the west or 
 north-west, over the horizon, a white or yellowish 
 gleam, springing from the ice, and known as the " ice- 
 sky," but differing from the "ice-blink." Another 
 indication was the presence of the ivory gull, which 
 never strays far from the ice. 
 
 : :■!, 
 
 iiil 
 
 f 'U 
 
 AMONG THE ICE. 
 
 It will be for the convenience of the reader, perhaps, 
 if we henceforward consider ourselves as on board the 
 Germania, and narrate the incidents of the expedition 
 in the first person, as if we had been eye-witnesses of 
 them. 
 
 Let it be understood, at the outset, that the Polar 
 Circle is regarded geographically as the boundary of the 
 Arctic Frozen Sea. In the first place, there is a phy- 
 sical cause for this ; namely, that in winter, during a 
 certain number of days, the sun does not rise at all 
 within this circle, and his influence accordingly being 
 
 
r t 
 
 404 
 
 THE POLAR REGION. 
 
 'Iflf 
 
 SO rigidly restricted, the so-called "everlasting ice" is 
 enabled to form. But, secondly, the Polar Circle is also 
 a geographical boundary, as it cuts directly through 
 Behring Strait and the narrowest part of Davis Strait, 
 besides extending over both the Old and New Worlds ; 
 so that the entire area of the Polar Basin is enclosed 
 within it. We have spoken already of the three ap- 
 proaches to this basin; only one is of a considerable 
 width — that which lies between Scandinavia and Green- 
 land. Here the Polar Circle is least satisfactory as a 
 boundary-line, because here the arbitrary limit imposed 
 by Science is encroached upon by the irregularities of 
 Nature. From the west coast of Norway, to a point 
 far beyond the North Cape, the waves of the Atlantic 
 are never covered with ice ; while on the east coast of 
 Greenland, down to its southernmost point, the solid 
 heavy stratum presses with a continuous pressure and 
 an irresistible force. 
 
 Strictly speaking, the boundary of the true icy sea 
 may be defined by a line drawn from Cape Farewell to 
 Iceland, from thence to Spitzbergen^ and lastly to 
 Novaia Zemlaia. The cause of this appearance lies 
 really in the existence of two great ocean-currents. 
 From the coast of Norway up to Spitzbergen and 
 Novaia Zemlaia stretches the north-easterly arm of the 
 warm Gulf Stream, driving back all floating ice, and 
 from the genial influence of its waters conducing to a 
 liquefying process everywhere along the ice boundary. 
 
 On the other hand, on the east coast of Greenland the 
 Polar current runs in a south-west direction to a great 
 distance, sweeping along with it the congealed masses 
 
ABOUT POLAR ICE. 
 
 405 
 
 king ice" is 
 ircle is also 
 ly through 
 avis Strait, 
 jw Worlds ; 
 is enclosed 
 J three ap- 
 onsiderable 
 and Green- 
 ictory as a 
 ait imposed 
 ;ularities of 
 to a point 
 he Atlantic 
 ast coast of 
 ;, the solid 
 ressure and 
 
 rue icy sea 
 Farewell to 
 lastly to 
 larance lies 
 m-currents. 
 )ergen and 
 arm of the 
 ng ice, and 
 iucing to a 
 boundary, 
 senland the 
 I to a great 
 vied masses 
 
 formed in the remote north, and gathering in its course 
 all the younger ice, the growth of the last winter; while, 
 from the coldness of its waters, it prevents the melting 
 of the same in a remarkable degree. Hence it is clear 
 that from Davis Strait must likewise flow another cold, 
 ice-charged stream ; and thus the reader will under- 
 stand why our steam-ships, on their voyages to and 
 from New York, so often fall in with icebergs or drift- 
 ing ice. This great Greenland ice-current forms the 
 principal outlet for the removal of the superabundant 
 Polar ice, and may be compared to a floating glacier, 
 the farthest domain of which is the Polar Basin. 
 
 Some remarks on the nature of the ice in this Polar 
 curront may be useful. 
 
 At the beginning of the current, in the same latitude 
 as Spitzbergen, and much nearer to the coast, as far 
 south as Iceland, the largest ice-fields are to be found ; 
 tracts of enormous superficial area, and sometimes up- 
 wards of fifty feet in thickness. Between them, and 
 arising from their disruption, are smaller fields called 
 "ice-floes;" which, increased by thawing, by the sur- 
 rounding pressure and constant collision, as well as by 
 the waves, break up in small pieces — the real hummocks 
 which prevail at the eastern boundary of the current, 
 at the " ice-line," as well as at the southern extremity. 
 As a final stage of the disturbing process, huge hum- 
 mocks float about, or cover the broken ice or wide 
 expanse of sea with irregular eminences. It is chiefly 
 on the southern coasts of the Polar lands that real ice- 
 bergs are met with. Such an iceberg, say the German 
 physicists, is not formed in the sea, but is a broken 
 
 J ) 
 
4o^ 
 
 THE ICE-CURRENT. 
 
 mass of glacier moving along partly submerged, and 
 from which at different times large pieces have been 
 disrupted by various causes. These float onward with 
 the current. 
 
 The breadth of the ice-current, like the position of 
 the ice-line, necessarily varies at different times of the 
 year. While in the spring it strikes past Jan Mayen 
 to the southernmost point of Spitzbergen, it flows much 
 nearer to the coast in summer, and diverges to the 
 north of Spitzbergen by way of the west coast of Ice- 
 land. But even at corresponding times of the year 
 the ice-line may shift its position considerably. Much 
 depends on the prevailing winds, and on the relative 
 compactness of the labyrinthine mass of ice-fields, floes, 
 and drifts. 
 
 As all ice rises out of the water, says Dr. Pansch, and 
 presents an easy object of attack to the wind from its 
 irregularities of form, so it is frequently diverted from 
 the course of the water-current by a strong air-current, 
 and either accelerated or delayed in its progress. An 
 easterly and south-easterly wind impels the ice west- 
 ward, and drives the masses more closely together than 
 ever ; while a westerly and north-westerly wind forces 
 the boundary of the ice- world farther to the east, — 
 dividing and separating the masses, and thus rendering 
 the ice-stream much easier of navigation. 
 
 To sail across this ice-current or ice-zone was now 
 the task that lay before us. 
 
 On the 15th of July a light southerly wind rose, 
 early in the morning; our sails caught the favouring 
 
A WALL OF ICE. 
 
 407 
 
 3 was now 
 
 breeze ; the ship readily answered her helm, and pressed 
 towards the north-west through a sea encumbered 
 with fragments of ice. An experienced ear could already 
 distinguish a distant murmur, which seemed to approach 
 nearer and nearer : it was the swell of the sea as it broke 
 against the still unseen ice-fields. We heard the sound 
 with joy ; the object of our desire was attained ; and if 
 the ice proved for us a veritable shore or coast-line, we 
 might boldly, in the Germania, close in upon it, ajpid 
 examine it. 
 
 Nearer and nearer came the sound ; everybody rushed 
 upon deck, regardless of the demands of physical appe- 
 tite. 
 
 Suddenly, as if by enchantment, the fog cleared away ; 
 and before us, at a distance of some hundred paces, rose 
 the ice ! It presented a long, long line, like a cliff-wall 
 of rugged irregular rocks ; its blue-tinted sides glittered 
 in the sun ; against their base rolled the sea in flashing 
 columns of spray and foam. The summit was covered 
 with a thick layer of snow of blinding whiteness. 
 
 In silence we admired this magnificent panorama. It 
 was a grave and solemn moment; new thoughts and 
 impressions crowded on the mind ; the heart alternated 
 between emotions of hope and doubt. 
 
 But almost immediately the fog closed in again. 
 
 In the interval, however, brief as it was, we had con- 
 vinced ourselves of the absolute rigidity of the ice- 
 masses in this locality. Had we conceived the design 
 of penetrating that impregnable wall, we could never 
 have accomplished it. It was clear, even to those who 
 had but an imperfect notion of what ice-navigation 
 
 |[| 
 
 .f r i 
 
 it 
 
 I 
 
 %i 
 
 irw 
 
 \A 
 
 'i\ 
 
! ' 
 
 If 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 III 
 
 i 
 
 + 
 
 ; ' ii 
 
 li! 
 
 » 
 
 f 
 
 ■ iii 
 
 lOt^ 
 
 WAITING FOR FAIR WEATHER. 
 
 really means, that man could not triumph over such 
 an obstacle ; not even with the aid of gunpowder, or 
 with the most powerful armour-plated and iron-cuirassed 
 vessel. 
 
 Our first duty now was to look for the Hanaa in 
 lat. 75° ; but, on account of the east winds which had 
 prevailed continuously for the last few days, the cir- 
 cumstances were not favourable for any speedy breaking 
 up of the great ice-barrier. 
 
 The point at which the Germania struck the ice-line 
 was situated in lat. 74° 47' N., and long. 11° 50' W.; 
 and the impregnable threshold stretched almost due 
 north and south. We afterwards learned that the 
 Hansa had touched it on the same day in lat. 74° 57' 
 N., and long. 9° 41' W. 
 
 On the morning of July 16th the air brightened ; we 
 could steer towards the ice, which soon became visible. 
 On the north and north-east side extended a long chain 
 of ice-floes soldered together; but in the west and 
 north-west opened a large gap or inlet, into which we 
 penetrated, that we might examine the disposition of 
 the ice more closely. About eleven o'clock we reached 
 a chain of floating ice which seemed to seal up this 
 opening; but beyond it we could pciciii'^e another space 
 of open water, surrounded by ice> .ni stretching west- 
 ward. As it was not our intention to make any serious 
 effort to penetrate it before we had rejoined the Hcmsa, 
 we lay-to, waiting for fairer weather. 
 
 On the 17th we tacked in a dense fog, with a light 
 wind from the south-west. After having run for some 
 
ENTERING A CHANNEL. 
 
 409 
 
 ; 
 
 time on the same tack, we again met the ice, and had 
 to put about It seemed to us that we were in a kind 
 of chasm, surrounded by floating; ice-fields. All around 
 us floated freely small floes and islets, whose surface 
 was covered with broken ice and snow. We collected 
 a supply with our shovels, to melt it, and so renew our 
 stock of fresh water. 
 
 Towards evening the ice accumulated more and more 
 thickly around us ; and during the night we were com- 
 pelled to bear to the eastward, to prevent ourselves from 
 being beset. For two hours in the morning we tra- 
 versed the outer chain of bergs and fields ; and we per- 
 ceived from the swell that we had again entered the 
 open sea, where we lay-to in hope of a "good time 
 
 coming. 
 
 On the threshold, the ice-masses were sometimes so 
 piled upon one another that the ship, impelled only 
 by a very light wind, could not pass them. For the 
 first time we had to make use of our long ice-poles, so 
 as to fend off the blocks which lay in the ship's course ; 
 or, if their magnitude prevented this, to carry the vessel 
 round them. 
 
 At length, on the morning of the 18th, the weather 
 cleared, under the auspicious influence of a light 
 southerly breeze ; and, for the first time since we had 
 quitted Jan Mayen, the horieon appeared in all its 
 distinctness and r&,diance. We then ascertained that 
 the Germania was sailing in an ice-bordered channel, 
 which extended towards the south-east. 
 
 Meantime, we had seen nothing of the Hansa since 
 leaving Jan Mayen. She could not be far off", however, 
 
 ri 
 
1 i ': 
 
 ill S;M 
 
 ; -41 
 
 I- 1' 
 
 410 
 
 llEJOINING THE " II ANSA. 
 
 for WO wore rapidly approaching our rendezvous in lat. 
 75° N. ; and it was desirable to find her before the fof^s 
 enveloped us anew. A bottle of wine was promised to 
 the first man who caught sight of the truant. 
 
 There was great virtue in this promise ; for soon after 
 breakfast, to the joy of all on board, signal was made of 
 a sail amidst the ice-floes in the east-north-east. It was 
 a schooner : and as no whalers are ever schooner-riirired. 
 it could only bo the Ilansa ; and that such was the 
 case, the experienced eyes of our seamen soon made 
 sure from the nature of her rigging. Tho Ilansa was 
 under a cloud of canvas ; she had evidently caught sight 
 of us, and was struggling through the thick ice to re- 
 join us. Wo began to hope that we should soon push 
 forward in company. The fires were lighted, and we 
 got up steam, so as to cflfcct the junction of the two 
 ships without unnecessary delay. 
 
 About eight o'clock we rejoined the Ilansa. Both 
 ships hoisted their flags; the Hansa honouring ours 
 with a salute of camion, — to which wo replied, not being 
 prepared for a ceremony so imposing, with volleys of 
 musketry. 
 
 Taking the Ilansa in tow, we began to retrace our 
 coui'se, until, some accident happening to the machinery, 
 we were compelled to bring-to. The captain of the 
 Ji ansa, and her scientific staff", came on board ; and it 
 was resolved that, in case of a new sep.aration in the ice, 
 the iondezvous should be Sabine Island. 
 
 Our usual occupations were steadily continued. By 
 careful soundings we had ascertained the varying depth 
 of the sea up to the very threshold of the icy desert. 
 
 J, 
 
BOTH SHirS IN COMPA^•Y. 
 
 411 
 
 Wliilc on the 14tli bottom was found at 930 fathoms, 
 on the morning of the 1.5th it could not be found at 
 12.*J0 fathoms. The colour of the sea was generally a 
 pure blue. 
 
 In the midst of these observations, and of various 
 pursuits, midnight came upon us. At this moment our 
 progress was arrested ; the engines being stopped be- 
 cause the axle-bed was heated, and required cooling. 
 The mists had passed away, and a favourable breeze 
 having risen, the captiiin resolved to put out the fires; 
 and both ships proceeded under sail. Our friends of the 
 Hansa returned on board their own vessel, and we con- 
 tinued our route in company. 
 
 Who could have supposed that evening that we had 
 been reunited for the last time, — that we of the Ger- 
 mania should never again see the sister-vessel, — and 
 that we should not meet with our comrades again for 
 fourteen months, and then only after they had miracu- 
 lously escaped a terrible disaster, and successfully accom- 
 plished a series of remarkable adventures ? 
 
 Our intention was to follow up, in the south, the 
 boundary line of the pack-ice, seeking an opening which 
 should promise a chance of penetrating into it west- 
 ward. We tacked with adverse winds,, following up 
 the angular projections of the ice, which at this point 
 extended in a west-south-wosterly direction. 
 
 On the 19th of July we saw the first Polar bear ; the 
 animal was swimLiin^. On the same day appeared for 
 tlie first time at our table a specimen of Arctic fare. 
 At breakfast our cook surprised us by serving up a 
 
 iirt 
 
 H 
 
 b ' < ■ 
 
 I \ 
 
 i 
 
 n 
 
i 
 
 412^ 
 
 A MISTAKEN SIGNAL. 
 
 dainty dish of sea-calf's liver; and in the evening 
 "tickled our palates" with an excellent ragout made 
 with the flesh of the same animal. We rejoiced in the 
 agreeable innovation of " fresh meat." 
 
 The reader will be pleased to understand that we 
 continued a south-westerly course, closely hugging the 
 impregnable rampart of the ice. 
 
 We came in collision, on the night of the 19th, with a 
 part of the close-packed floes which had separated from 
 the main body. The swell had entirely disappeared; 
 and we moved towards the south-west among loose 
 floating ice. At night the fog was almost always dense; 
 but it cleared a little about eight in the morning. 
 There was a strong breeze blowing from the south- 
 south-west In the south-west we found the ice suffi- 
 ciently compact; and therefore, about eleven o'clock, 
 we steered to the westward. The Hansa was a few 
 miles to windward; and as both captains wished to 
 confer together again, and Captain Koldewey to take 
 coals on board the Germania, the approach-signal was 
 hoisted. The Hansa, unfortunately, misunderstood it. 
 We signalled, " Come within hail." She read it, " Long 
 stay-8.-peak." Thereupon she set more sail, and dis- 
 appeared in the deepening, darkening fog before we 
 could succeed in following her. Thus a fatal misunder- 
 standing separated, and separated for ever, the two 
 ships. 
 
 [We will now leave the Oermariia, under Captain 
 Koldewey's command, to proceed to her destination, 
 while we trace the unfortunate experiences of the HaTisa 
 in the report of Captain Hegemann and his companions.] 
 
w 
 
 le evening 
 -gout made 
 iced in the 
 
 id that we 
 ugging the 
 
 9th, with a 
 irated from 
 isappeared ; 
 nong loose 
 vays dense; 
 3 mominor. 
 the south- 
 le ice suffi- 
 en o'clock, 
 was a few 
 
 wished to 
 ey to take 
 
 signal was 
 lerstood it. 
 
 it, "Long 
 1, and dis- 
 
 before we 
 
 misunder- 
 r, the two 
 
 er Captain 
 lestination, 
 the Hansa 
 mpanions.] 
 
 ON BOARD THE " HANSA. 413 
 
 '■''.' 
 J.—THE VOYAGE OF THE " HANSA:' \ 
 
 AMONG THE ICE. 
 
 On the morning of the 20th of July, Captain Kolde- 
 wey hoisted a signal which, in the hazy weather, we 
 unhappily misinterpreted. Captain Hegemann thought 
 it meant that the ships should go as far westward as 
 possible, and crowded on all the canvas his spars would 
 carry. In this way we lost sight of the Oermania, 
 which we never saw again. 
 
 At noon we were in lat. 74° 4' N., and long. 12° 52' 
 W., with the Genmania about a marine mile astern. 
 The fog gathering in, we furled our sails, in the hope 
 the Germania would rejoin us. About half-past one 
 we perceived to windward, during a momentary lighten- 
 ing of the heavy fog- veil, a ship, which seemed to be a 
 Greenland whaler, mnning before the wind. We put 
 about in order to hail her^ and give her our letters and 
 despatches ; but in half an hour she disappeared. 
 
 On the morning of the 21st, as we lay quietly in the 
 pack, M. Hildebrandt, who had planted his photographic 
 apparatus on the ice, took a good photograph of the 
 Hansa. The dazzling effect of the sunlit snow pro- 
 duced the first case of snow-blindness in one of the 
 sailors, Philip Heyne, and snow-spectacles were im- 
 mediately issued. Seal and narwhal were seen near 
 the ship, and some fell victims to our prowess. An 
 attempt to attract the bears by a fire kindled on a block 
 of ice, and fed with seal-blubber, proved unsuccessful. 
 
 July ^8ih. — We caught sight to-day of the dreary. 
 
 IlKl 
 
 1 I. 
 
 ' I 
 
 w 
 
 i V 
 
 Hlf 
 
 I 
 
 m 
 
 I 
 
r 1 
 
 414 
 
 THE MIDNIGHT SUN. 
 
 
 rocky coast of East Greenland, stretching from Cape 
 Broer-Kuys to Cape James. 
 
 July 29th. — To-day we caught a young sea-calf; 
 which we called Jacob, and kept on board ship for a 
 week. Our skill as marksmen was exercised also on a 
 bearded seal, about seven and a half feet long, and on a 
 hooded seal; and for the first time and the last we 
 caught sight of a Greenland whale. On the same day 
 we succeeded in killing a Polar bear, which supplied us 
 with some capital hams. This animal measured about 
 nine feet in length, from the nose to the tip of the tail. 
 As for the little seal, it refused to eat, and we landed it, 
 therefore, on an ice-floe; but Jacob, instead of im- 
 mediately scuttling off, kept following up the ship, 
 swimming and diving, as if to thank us for having 
 given him his liberty. 
 
 The weather was now serene and bright. By the 
 lustre of the midnight sun, which illuminated the crystal 
 summits of icebergs and ice-peaks, we hunted the nar- 
 whal. It is impossible to conceive of anything more 
 extraordinary than the effect produced by the light of 
 the midnight sun as it falls upon an ocean loaded with 
 masses of ice. Warm and cold tones commingle and 
 cross each other in every direction ; the sea shines with 
 gleams of orange, leaden gray, or dark green ; the ice- 
 ridges blush with soft rosy tints; vast eery shadows 
 spread over the silent snow, while the most various 
 mirages glimmer in the waters. 
 
 As we could no longer advance in the direction 
 hitherto adopted, we were obliged, in conformity with 
 our instructions, to steer to the eastward, in order to 
 
 (#1 
 
THROUGH THE FLOES. 
 
 415 
 
 escape from the ice-pack, and resume the work of ex- 
 ploration anew. 
 
 On the 29th and 30th of July we sighted two vessels, 
 tacking with a north-east wind, at a distance of about 
 twelve miles. As we afterwards learned, one of them 
 was the steam-ship Bienenkorh, Captain Hagena. of 
 Weser. More to the northward it had fallen in with 
 the Germania, which we were to see no more. 
 
 As yet we were not actually beset in the ice, but to 
 approach the coast at once was impossible, on account 
 of the compactness of the floes. 
 
 On the Slat we lost sight of the ships ; on the 1st of 
 August they seemed to reappear — though this proved to 
 be nothing else than a mirage, caused by refraction. 
 The Hansa slowly and with difficulty went on her 
 way. At two o'clock we broke through two gigantic 
 floes. At the first shock the ship's bow rose two feet on 
 to the ice, and rolled as if her keel touched the bottom. 
 The masts reeled under the force of the blow, but the 
 Hansa successfully withstood it. 
 
 On the 3rd of August a fine snow fell. 
 
 On the 5th, the day when the Germania, as we shall 
 see, was already lying at anchor off Sabine Island, the 
 Hansa found herself once more in open water. 
 
 From the 5th to the 11th, we experienced an alter- 
 nation of foggy and fair weather, with a temperature 
 ranging from 29° to 36° F. We sailed northwards 
 along the ice boundary until the 10th. Troops of seals 
 surrounded us, varying from ten to twenty in number, 
 and displaying the utmost liveliness, sometimes leaping 
 clear out of the water. At eight o'clock we thought 
 
 l-l 
 
 f: 
 
 iSK?] 
 
mr 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 i 
 
 J 4 
 
 416 
 
 A PERILOUS PROGRESS. 
 
 we saw a vessel, and the hope of rejoining the Ger- 
 Tnania once more revived within us; but the inevi- 
 table fog closed in, and our signal-guns met with no 
 response. 
 
 A severe frost occurred on the night of the 10th, the 
 ice being an inch and a half thick. We steered in a 
 north-westerly direction,, and at seven in the morning 
 were twenty-five miles nearer the coast ; but the com- 
 pactness of the ice prevented us from profiting further 
 by the misj " south- wes.t wind. 
 
 For tha . cw days our task was exceedingly 
 
 laborious. The wind was contrary, and the attempt to 
 sail througtA ti op ;'ng ice impracticable. But by 
 hauling the ship along ibr twelve hours by means of a 
 cable attached to a small anchor, we contrived to reach 
 navigable water on the 13th. 
 
 But again our hopes were baffled. On the morning 
 of the 14th the ice was all around us, as it was all 
 around the ship of the ''Ancient Mariner" in Coleridge's 
 ballad. Fresh ice had formed in the little channels 
 separating the ice-floes, and the Hansa was completely 
 hemmed in. From this day until the final blocking up 
 of the Hansa, we encountered a succession of reverses, 
 fatigues, and dangers. 
 
 On the 14th, the monotony of our labours was 
 slightly interrupted ; we shot a white bear. 
 
 On the 15th, we were nearer the coast than we had 
 yet been. Shannon Island was forty-eight miles distant, 
 and Pendulum Island, fifty-nine. The ice was thick. 
 On the 16th, the thermometer marked 25° F. ; weather 
 beautiful. Stuck fast to the floe, we drifted steadily 
 
THE "FLOWER BASKET. 
 
 417 
 
 ' i: 
 
 ,bours was 
 
 southward. On the 18th and 19th we resorted again to 
 the hauling process, and advanced a few ship-lengths. 
 
 On the 23rd we reached the open water, and contrived 
 to make some slight advance in a westerly direction, 
 but in the evening were again set fast. 
 
 The carcass of a Phoca Qreenlandica had drawn to- 
 gether, we observed, a numerous phalanx of ivory gulls. 
 Two birds (Strepsilas interpres) were whirling round 
 and round, according to their wont, on the newly-formed 
 ice. 
 
 On the 24th we undertook a boat-excursion to the 
 shore : the captain, two officers. Dr. Laube, and two 
 sailors. We left the ship at two, and pushed forward 
 until within sixteen miles of the land. Passing a 
 curious icy formation, we named it, appropriately 
 enough, the " Flower Basket." From a tall hummock, 
 which we climbed, and adorned with the German flag, 
 we could see the coast very distinctly ; but we could 
 not approach closer, on account of the compactness of 
 the ice. We returned, therefore, to the ship ; reaching it 
 about half-past tv^elve at night. The position of the 
 ice was considerably changed, and a dense fog closed in, 
 so that we could scarcely find our way, and more than 
 once were obliged to haul the boat over the floes. W. 
 Bade's diary describes, with rough nautical humour, 
 our frugal evening meal, on the cold ice, and under the 
 cold sky, during this excursion. In the hurry, we had 
 brought with us only hard bread and some cocoa, and 
 a few bottles of sherry and brandy ; but cigars were 
 abundant as " leaves in Vallombrosa." At first, owing 
 to the lowness of the temperature, the water wouidnot . 
 
 (54*) 27 - " ■ 
 
 
 
 '♦^ 
 
 Jfi . 
 
 n 
 
4ia 
 
 OFF SABINE ISLAND. 
 
 boil, and in order to concentrate the heat we had to 
 lay our sou '-westers over the coffee-machine ; a proceed- 
 ing of doubtful wisdom, as ih was with much difficulty 
 these oilskin coverings were saved from the flames, 
 which readily caught them. 
 
 On the 25th, we profited by the calm to warp the 
 ship in the direction of the ice ; and this was the day 
 on which the Hansa approached nearest to Sabine 
 Island. 
 
 On the 26th and the 27th, the ice pressed us forcibly ; 
 but our stout schooner bravely resisted. According to 
 the observations taken on board the Germania, we now 
 know that the two ships, at this time, were not more 
 than thirty-four miles apart ! 
 
 On the 28th, for the first and only time, the wind 
 blew strongly from the north-west. We drifted per- 
 ceptibly southward, along with an enormous ice-field. 
 
 Taking into consideration the formidable ice-pressure 
 to which the ship was now subjected, we got our boats 
 ready, and distributed the fur clothing. We could not 
 but recognize the imminent prospect before us of being 
 obliged to winter on the coadt; and began to talk 
 seriously of using our coal-bricks for the construction of 
 a hut upon the ice, in case we were obliged to abandon 
 the ship. 
 
 September 2nd. — Kain, and a south-easterly gale. 
 
 On the morning of the 5th the weather was fair, with 
 a light breeze blowing up from the south-east. We 
 made twenty knots under sail in a north-westerly 
 direction, skirting an ice-field about fifteen miles in 
 
 # 
 
ICE EVERYWHERE ! 
 
 419 
 
 length, until eight o'clock ; then the wind fell, and we 
 were once more arrested in our progress by the com- 
 bined influences of the fog and the ice. 
 
 This was the last time that we were under sail. Had 
 the Hansa been a steam-ship, we should probably 
 have gained the coast, for we could see before us much 
 open water. 
 
 On the day following, we moored our schooner 
 between two promontories of a large ice-field, which 
 eventually became our raft of deliverance. Now began 
 the complete blockade of our ship in the ice. 
 
 It froze visibly ; and the fresh ice uniting, the floes 
 were soon thick enough to bear a man's weight. " We 
 remained," says Dr. Laube, " with every sail set, 
 between the great dense ice-packs, having advanced 
 upon the whole three ship-lengths westward. In the 
 evening we distinctly saw land towering above the ice, 
 the refraction showing us a solid barrier to the north. 
 To the east the ice was just as thickly packed. Two- 
 thirds of the way happily lay behind us, but the last 
 third seemed to be beset by insurmountable difiiculties. 
 To what purpose was all our labour ? I thought of 
 those at home, who only admit imaginary difiiculties 
 in the ice ; and who, perhaps, doubt our good- will, our 
 self-sacrifice, and our sincere endeavours. I did not 
 go to rest that night with the best and quietest of 
 thoughts. We were in the ice ; but whether, or how, 
 we should ever come out again, God only knew." 
 
 |ii 
 
 ; iv 
 
 II 
 
 '■ i: 
 
 l*v . 
 
 As late as the 7th of September, the voyagers still 
 flattered themselves that they might reach the coast. 
 
/• I 
 
 420 
 
 THE IMPRISONED SHIP. 
 
 It was distant only live-and-thirty miles ; and at noon, 
 in clear weather, its outlines could be distinctly traced. 
 To the west of the ice-field (the Hanaa lay to tlie east 
 of it) was visible a 'wide area of open water, white with 
 foam, which seemed to extend quite to the coast. A 
 pedestrian excursion westward upon the ice-plain, 
 following up its southern boundary, would show us 
 whether the channel on that side was navigable through- 
 out, and communicated with this open water. March- 
 ing through thick and frozen snow, we reached a huge 
 block of ice, which we christened the DeviVs Thumb; 
 from its summit we could command an extensive pro- 
 spect. Seated astride of it, we warmed ourselves with 
 a little of the liquor Bade had been thoughtful enough 
 to bring with him. Two other enormous masses, en- 
 closing a narrow and picturesque passage, were called 
 the Brandenburg Gate. 
 
 We contrived to escalade one of these masses by mount- 
 ing on one another's shoulders, and then cutting steps in 
 the ice with a knife. Hildebrandt made a sketch of the 
 little scene. Unfortunately, the canal we had seen 
 proved too narrow for the vessel ; and soon the ice in 
 it and on th? other side of the field set firmer together. 
 
 On the following days the cold was very keen, sink- 
 ing from 23° to 5°; and at last, on the 14tli of Septem- 
 ber, the Hansa was completely blocked up by ice, in 
 lat. 73° 25' 7" N., and long. 18° 39' 5" W. The south-west 
 drift, aided by the wind, which blew continuously frc-i 
 the north, carried the ship southward along with the 
 ice ; and in this way we traversed thirteen miles from 
 the 12th to the 14th, 
 
■mmiUJi lUUf. W^, «, "'VJI 
 
 i at noon, 
 tly traced. 
 :o tlie east 
 vhite with 
 coast. A 
 ice-plain, 
 [ show us 
 e through- 
 :. March- 
 ed a huge 
 8 Thumb; 
 jnsive pro- 
 selves with 
 ful enough 
 masses, en- 
 svere called 
 
 by mount- 
 ng steps in 
 etch of the 
 
 had seen 
 the ice in 
 r together, 
 keen, sink- 
 of Septem- 
 
 by ice, in 
 south-west 
 tously frc.-i 
 
 with the 
 miles from 
 
 ilii 
 
 '! \ 
 
 ■\0 
 
 ).- !• 
 
 
 
 !.* 
 
 in 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 I. 
 
 It 
 
mwi 
 
 ii 
 
 r ' 
 
^▼n 
 
 CArXURE OF A SHE-BEAR. 
 
 42f 
 
 On the 9th, a great ice-floe closed up the channel by 
 which the Hanaa had entered; and we made it fast 
 with cables to protect ourselves from the floating masses. 
 Some days later, a north -north -west gale set the ice 
 again in motion, and broke our hawsers. The ice ac- 
 cumulated behind the ship, raising it a foot and a half 
 
 On a neighbouring " field " we caup-l; - ighfc of a she- 
 bear and her cub. A boat at once put oti in pursuit. 
 Tlie two animals soon caught sight of us, and began to 
 trot along the edge of the ice, by the side of the boat — 
 the mother grinding her teeth, and licking her beard. 
 We fired as soon as we could take a steady aim, and the 
 bear fell upon the snow, mortally wounded. W re- 
 peatedly cast a noose over the young one, which con- 
 tinued to lick and caress her mother in the most affect- 
 ing manner ; but each time she contrived to extricate 
 herself, and at last she took to flight, groaning and cry- 
 ing. Though wounded by a musket-ball, she succeeded 
 in effecting her escape. 
 
 BUILDING THE HUT. 
 
 On the evening of the same day (the 9th of Septem- 
 ber 1869), at ten o'clock, some aurora gleams appeared 
 in the west, shooting towards the south. Radiant 
 sheaves and phosphorescent bands mounted towards 
 the zenith ; but the phantasmagoria quickly vanished. 
 At the same time we heard the young bear howling 
 dismally on the spot where it had lost its mother. The 
 fresh bear-meat proved most opportune, and tasted ex- 
 cellent either as a roast joint or in chops. On the 12th, 
 from the east, as before, — leaving the land behind them, 
 
 \ 
 
/ I 
 
 424 
 
 ARCTIC PASTIMES. 
 
 11. 
 
 — came another couple of bears. The old one met the 
 same fate as the previous wanderer ; the cub was 
 caught, and chained to the ice-anchor. Its alarm was 
 great, but it eagerly devoured its mother's flesh, which 
 we threw to it. We raised a snow-house for its accom- 
 modation, and provided it with a couch of shavings; 
 which, however, the young bear, like a true native of 
 the Arctic seas, treated with contempt, and preferred 
 encamping in the snow. A few days later it disap- 
 peared, along with the chain, which must have become 
 loosened from the anchor ; and no doubt +he poor crea- 
 ture perished. The weight of the iron in itself was? 
 sufficient to sink it. 
 
 The Hansa was visited by other Arctic guests. With 
 a brisk wind came a couple of snow-white foxes; a 
 proof that the ice had formed a continuous bridge to 
 the shore. With tails high in the air, they trotted or 
 galloped across the ice-fields like small craft sailing be- 
 fore the wind. One of them was shot by Mr. Hilde- 
 brandt, and the next day " smoked upon the board." 
 
 Our leisure was now considerable, but we did our 
 best to fill it up with various and varied occupation?. 
 We skated; we indulged in gymnastic games: the crew 
 found amusement in football; and in spite of twelve 
 degrees of frost, might be seen, on a fine sunny day, 
 stripped of their jackets, and their foreheads covered 
 with sweat. 
 
 Our ship had been constructed with all the improve- 
 ments, suggested by experience, that could insure the 
 safiB accomplishment of our enterprise. It would not 
 have been prudent, however, to place implicit contid- 
 
•ne met the 
 3 cub was 
 
 alarm was 
 lesh, which 
 • its accom- 
 r shavings; 
 e native of 
 i preferred 
 r it disap- 
 a,ve become 
 1 poor crea- 
 
 itself wa? 
 
 ests. With 
 be foxes; a 
 s bridge to 
 r trotted or 
 
 sailing be- 
 Mr. Hilde- 
 
 board." 
 ve did our 
 ccupation?. 
 the crew 
 
 of twelve 
 mnny day, 
 ds covered 
 
 e improve- 
 
 insure the 
 
 would not 
 
 icit confid- 
 
 'iiff 11 
 
 
 li-tlil 
 
 hr ?i 
 
 • i-:'i1 
 
 

 '' . ' 
 
 r " 
 
 
 iff!' I'l'-I 
 
 
 I 
 
 -. I'' 
 
 >., 
 
THE COAL-BRICK HOUSE. 
 
 427 
 
 ence in these precautions ; and we were at once warned 
 and threatened by the strong pressure of the ice, which 
 became more and more frequent. 
 
 We thought, at first, of wintering on the ice in the 
 boats, covered in with sails; but this sort of shelter 
 would not have afforded a satisfactory guarantee for 
 health and life. How would it defend us against the 
 wind, the severe cold, the hurricanes of snow, with 
 which we were certain to be assailed throughout the 
 winter ? How could we have prepared in it that warm 
 nourishment which is absolutely indispensable to exist- 
 ence during an Arctic winter ? We returned to the idea 
 of constructing a hut upon the ice-field, and without 
 delay proceeded to build the house of coal which had 
 already been proposed. Bricks made with coal are ex- 
 cellent material, because they absorb the moisture, and 
 reflect the warmth back into the interior. For mortar 
 we used water and snow. For the roof, we agreed to 
 take, in case of a final establishment on the ice through 
 the loss of the ship, the covering which protected the 
 deck of the Hansa from snow. 
 
 As a preliminary precaution, however, we turned our 
 attention to the preservation of our boats; and over 
 these we erected sheds of frozen snow. 
 
 The plan of the coal-house, or house of coal, was de- 
 signed by Captain Hegemann. Its dimensions were 
 twenty feet long by fourteen feet wide, eight feet and a 
 half high at the ridge-pole, with walls four feet eight 
 inches high. 
 
 The site was carefully selected: a smooth part of 
 the ice-field, free from fissures, and about four hundred, 
 
1 1 
 
 ■j 1 
 
 ,-• I 
 
 428 
 
 BUILDING OPERATIONS. 
 
 yards from the schooner. Had it been situated at a 
 much greater distance from the ship, the difficulty of 
 transporting the materials would have been materially 
 increased. All hands set to work on the 29fch of Sep- 
 tember. The foundations were dug out and hewn out 
 by help of spade and hatchet ; then a layer or course of 
 snow, a foot and a half in thickness, was built up, which 
 covered the ice. For want of sufficient materials, we 
 could raise the walls two bricks (or nine inches) thick 
 only to a height of two feet ; above that, we had to be 
 content with a single row. 
 
 A well which we excavated in the ice close at hand, 
 not only furnished us with a supply of beautiful 
 crystal water, but at the same time with a capital 
 cement. Thus, while on land the frost would have 
 compelled us to cease our operations, here it absolutely 
 facilitated them. We had nothing to do but to fill in 
 the joints and chinks with dry snow, and pour water 
 over it; in ten minutes we had a compact mass, from 
 which it would have been exceedingly difficult to ex- 
 tract a solitary brick. A temporary roof was formed 
 with the sail-cloth and matting which had remained on 
 board the Hansa since her last voyage to the West 
 Indies (reed-matting, with which the hold had been 
 lined before the cargo was put on board). Canvas and 
 mats were nailed to the ridge-pole ; and to give this 
 fragile construction more thickness and solidity, we 
 laid a layer of snow upon it. A double door, two feet 
 and a half wide, was made on board expressly ; and we 
 laid down a flooring of coal-bricks. Then we trans- 
 ported into this house, which was designed and erected 
 
A SNOW-STORM. 
 
 429 
 
 5 
 
 lated at a 
 iflficulty of 
 materially 
 til of Sep- 
 
 hewn out 
 r course of 
 i up, which 
 ■terials, we 
 ;hes) thick 
 
 had to be 
 
 16 at hand, 
 beautiful 
 a capital 
 ould have 
 absolutely 
 it to fill in 
 )Our water 
 nass, from 
 ult to ex- 
 as formed 
 mained on 
 the West 
 had been 
 anvas and 
 give this 
 idity, we 
 ', two feet 
 ; and we 
 we trans- 
 id erected 
 
 in a week, provisions for two months — consisting of four 
 hundred pounds of bread, two dozen cases of preserved 
 meat, a cask of lard, of coffee, and brandy; besides 
 wood, and some tons of the compressed coal. At the 
 same time we constructed on board ship a roof of timber, 
 in case we should finally winter in the vessel. 
 
 On the 7tli of October, the fresh ice opened anew in 
 front of the schooner. The men were engaged in sweep- 
 ing clean an area for a party of skaters, when a peculiar 
 noise, and a violent movement of the ice, which was 
 twelve inches thick, announced a coming gale from the 
 north. At the same instant the ice began to bend and 
 crack, and isolated masses were lifted up. This tumul- 
 tuous agitation lasted for nearly an hour. 
 
 On the 8tli, after the works necessary for the con- 
 struction of the hut were completed, a storm of snow 
 arose, which, if of earlier occurrence, would certainly 
 have rendered them impossible ; and in five days both 
 house and ship were entirely buried. Such piles of 
 snow were accumulated between the middle of the deck 
 and the ship's stern, that the sailors could with difficulty 
 make their way to their cabin. The new ice which sur- 
 rounded the Hansa was so loaded with snow that it 
 yielded under the weight, and fell away from the sides 
 of the ship, so that the sea- water penetrated between 
 the ice and snow. 
 
 'On the 13th the storm subsided; the weather again 
 became calm and serene, and we found ourselves fifteen 
 miles north-east of the Liverpool coast, which appeared 
 like to a rocky mountain, with shining ridges and pre- 
 cipitous walls thinly covered with snow. But in the 
 
 ^n 
 
 I '! 
 
 I 
 
430 
 
 DllIFTING TO THE SOUTH-EAST. 
 
 
 ■h i ti 
 
 ' 
 
 valleys and gorges the snow lay in heavy masses. We 
 could clearly distinguish the north point, Cape Glad- 
 stone, and Murray and Reynolds Islands, as well as a 
 great part of the coast stretching southward until lost 
 in the misty distance. 
 
 From the 5th to the 14th of October the drift had 
 been very great. In that period we had fallen back, 
 as it were, seventy-two miles towards the south-south- 
 east. 
 
 We frequently saw flights of crows, which seem to 
 sojourn all the winter on this coast. Once only did we 
 catch sight of a gull and a falcon. The narwhal also 
 made known their presence in the ice-covered channels 
 by their occasional " blowing." 
 
 On the morning of the l7th, three of the cre^'^"-- 
 namely, Bowe the carpenter, and the seamen Bliuv,. ji 
 and Heyne — undertook, in the fine weather, to gain the 
 land, which was only ten miles distant. They started 
 at seven o'clock, the weather being very calm, and the 
 temperature at zero. After crossing some dangerous 
 places in the newly-formed ice, they arrived at some 
 continuous fields which enabled them to approach within 
 four miles of the shore. After a three hours' journey 
 they were constrained to halt, because a belt of water, 
 about two miles wide, parallel to the coast, and skirting 
 the "ice-foot" or shore-ice, which was of nearly an 
 equal breadth, obstructed the route. About one o'clock, 
 when snow had begun to fall, and the wind to blow 
 from the north, they regained the ship ; we were grow- 
 ing anxious for their safety, and welcomed them gladly 
 on their return. 
 
A PRECURSOR OF EVIL. 
 
 481 
 
 DANGERS. ! 
 
 October 18th. — Three words will describe the state of 
 the weather, — eold, calm, and clear; but about eight 
 o'clock in the morning the ice began to drive and press 
 around the ship. This unpleasant agitation lasted until 
 the afternoon. At regular intervals, underneath, the 
 ice, like rolling waves, groaned and cracked ; now with 
 a sound like the clang of doors, now like a contention 
 of human voices, and now like the shrill creak of a drag 
 on the wheel of a locomotive. The obvious immediate 
 cause of the pressure was, that our field had turned in 
 drifting, and had come into collision with the littoral 
 ice. The two floes in front of the vessel received the 
 chief momentum ; so that for a time the Hansa was 
 safe, though trembling violently, and though her masts 
 swayed to and fro, like reeds in a wind. As the field 
 underwent some long and dangerous fissures, the whale- 
 boat seemed in dangor; and we brought it, therefore, 
 alongside the ship. Towards evening the weather 
 cleared ; but our presentiment that this day was but 
 a precursor of evil to come proved on the following day 
 only too correct. We made our preparations, however, 
 for either event — that is, for wintering in the house in 
 case the ship was destroyed; or for remaining in the 
 ship, if she escaped. We completed the provisioning of 
 the house, especially in bread and fuel. We collected 
 the fur clothing, and carried upon deck the remaining 
 stores. In removing these, we discovered a numerous 
 colony of rats, which, finding themselves very well off", 
 had not yet thought it necessary to abandon the vessel. 
 
 im 
 
 "iSi 
 
 <.?« 
 
 ...ilkyi 
 
.',"•■* 
 
 482 
 
 THE SHIP IN DANGER. 
 
 By evening the pressure had ceased, and the air was 
 calm, though foggy ; a halo formed round the moon, 
 which was then at its full, and illuminated with a pale 
 and fitful light the mountains and plains of ice. In the 
 cabin, and in the crew's lodging, we amused ourselves 
 by playing at cards. 
 
 The catastrophe we feared was preceded on the morn- 
 ing of the 19th by a hurricane from the north-north- 
 west, accompanied by a fall of snow, and much severe 
 pressure from the ice. So thick was the air, we could 
 not see the coast. The first heavy shock occurred at 
 ten in the morning, but we felt no particular alarm 
 until noon, when the constantly approaching and heaped- 
 up masses of young ice, about four feet thick, had 
 broken up on the starboard side of the vessel, and drove 
 heavily against the outer side. The stern of the schooner 
 rose slightly, and but for the high ice-blocks would have 
 risen higher ; she had to bear, therefore, the entire pres- 
 sure. But so far she was water-tight, as we found on 
 trying the pumps. Shortly before one o'clock, the deck- 
 seams amidships gave way. Then came an interval of 
 quiet, during which we took our mid-day meal on deck. 
 Between decks it was very uncomfortable. Before long 
 some massive blocks of ice forced themselves under the 
 ship's bow, and, though crushed by it, raised her up, 
 slowly at first, and then more quickly, until it was fully 
 seventeen feet out of its former position upon the ice. 
 We sought to ease this movement as much as possible 
 by shovelling away the ice and snow from the larboard 
 side. A strange and awful, yet splendid spectacle, of 
 which all the crew were witnesses from the ice, was 
 
le ice, was 
 
 A LEAK DISCOVERED. 
 
 4S8 
 
 this upward movement of the ship! With all due 
 speed, the clothing and nautical instruments, journals 
 and cards, were landed on the ice. Unfortunately, the 
 stem part of the ship would not rise ; and the convic- 
 tion was, therefore, forced upon us that the schooner 
 must soon be rent in twain. ' ' 
 
 About five o'clock the pressure temporarily ceased, 
 and the raised ice retreated; so ':hat, in the course of 
 an hour, the ship, lying on her starboard side, glided 
 into open water. The hawsers, which had been cast 
 loose, so as not to check her movements, were again 
 made fast; after which we went to the pumps, and 
 found seventeen inches of water in the hold. AU hands 
 set to work; and about seven o'clock the ship seemed 
 nearly clear, and we ventured to enjoy our evening 
 meal. Alas ! in a quarter of an hour's time the water 
 had increased to two feet, and, in spite of all our efforts, 
 continued steadily to increase. The position of the 
 leak could not be ascertained by the most careful 
 search; no sound of water could anywhere be heard; 
 and the conclusion was, that some part of the ship's 
 bottom, under the coal, had been stove in. The fate of 
 the Hansa, at all events, was sealed ; the good ship was 
 sinking ! Our emotion was great; but we endeavoured 
 to face the melancholy fact with calmness. The house 
 of coal on the drifting ice-waste was destined to be, 
 throughout the long and dreary Arctic winter, our sole 
 asylum, and perhaps our grave ! In such reflections, 
 however, we had no time to indulge. Our work was 
 steadily prosecuted. By nine in the evening, the snow 
 had ceased to fall ; a clear, starry heaven shone above 
 
 (544) 28 
 
 !!■ 
 
 ■t'!' 
 
 :!''■ 
 
 h 
 
 "!S 
 
 [Au 
 
 
 
 . . Pit' 
 V B 
 
 ", it 
 
 !■ m 
 
 is*' i^ 
 
 ^ 1 
 
 ! J 
 
 i 
 
 IMk 1 
 
 l^' 
 
434 
 
 A NIGHT OF ANXIETY. 
 
 US, and over the deary ice-desert spread the calm lustre 
 of a cloudless moon. Ever and anon the firmament 
 glowed, and the scenery was lighted up, by the ever- 
 changing glories of the aurora. 
 
 It was now freezing sharply, with the thermometer 
 at 13° below zero. One half of the men were 
 kept at the pumps; the others, until midnight, were 
 occupied in removing from the doomed vessel the most 
 necessary articles. "As to sleep," says Dr. Buchholz, 
 " it was not to be thought of, for the idea of our ter- 
 rible position whirled through my brain in the wildest 
 manner. What would become of us when winter 
 really set in, if its approach were heralded by such 
 bitter cold ? In vain I attempted to think of any 
 means of safety. It was useless to dream of reaching 
 the land. It might, indeed, be possible to force our 
 way through great dangers, and across the fields and 
 floes, to the inhospitable coast ; but at the utmost we 
 could provide ourselves with only a few days' food. 
 Eskimo settlements, from Scoresby's experience, were 
 not to be expected; so that death by hunger seemed 
 not very distant from us. We could do nothing, tlien, 
 but endeavour to save ourselves in the coal-hut on the 
 southward-drifting ice-field; and if it held together, 
 we might hope to .each a South Greenland Eskimo 
 settlement in the spring, or (which was somewhat im- 
 probable) get across the icy belt to Iceland." 
 
 One serious mishap attending the pumps was, that 
 the water poured out upon the deck could not run off 
 through the scuppers, because they were filled with ice; 
 therefore it froze between the provision-chests. The 
 
ABANDONING THE " HANSA. 
 
 436 
 
 calm lustre 
 
 firmament 
 
 ' the ever- 
 
 lermometer 
 men were 
 light, were 
 el the most 
 
 Buchholz, 
 of our ter- 
 the wildest 
 len winter 
 d by such 
 nk of any 
 3f reaching 
 ) force our 
 
 fields and 
 utmost we 
 days' food, 
 ence, were 
 rer seemed 
 hing, then, 
 •hut on the 
 together, 
 id Eskimo 
 lewhat im- 
 
 was, that 
 not run off 
 d with ice; 
 lests. The 
 
 whole after-deck was soon blocked up with ice; the 
 water pumped up stood round the pumps, and the men 
 who worked them stood in tubs to keep themselves 
 dry. We made holes in the bulwarks to let it escape ; 
 but not with much advantage, as, from the intense cold, 
 the water came out in a semi-congealed condition. At 
 the same time, the ice settled so over the cabin skylight 
 that the water oozed through its chinks. During the 
 night our weary and exhausted men gained a few hours 
 of refreshing sleep ; then they all drained gladly a cup 
 of coffee, and once more set to work. The catastrophe, 
 however, was close at hand. At eight in the morning, 
 the men who were busy in the fore-peak, getting out 
 the wood, came, with dismayed countenances, to an- 
 nounce that it was already floating below. Captain 
 Hegemann, when convinced of the truth of this state- 
 ment, ordered the pumps to be unshipped, and the vessel, 
 which was visibly sinking, to be abandoned. 
 
 All hands were at once engaged to transport to the 
 ice the various articles of utility collected on the deck 
 — bedding, clothing, provisions, and fuel. In silence 
 were all the heavy chests and baiTcls lifted over the 
 hatchway. First, the cook's iron galley; then, two 
 .stoves were happily saved : these insured us a supply 
 of warm nourishment, an endurable (if not a genial) 
 temperature in our coal-hut, and some other advantages 
 during our winter captivity. For fear of falling short 
 of fuel, we laid our hands upon every loose piece of 
 wood. Meantime, the vessel was rapidly settling down; 
 but we succeeded, nevertheless, in saving some objects 
 which were incalculably precious in our situation: a 
 
 ■■ J; 
 
 ■; !i 
 
 ,lii; 
 
4M 
 
 QETTINO OUT STORES. 
 
 l\ H 
 
 - i- ' 
 
 email mediclne-cliest, our lamps, books, cigars, boxes of 
 games, and the like. 
 
 But our work was far from ended. There, on the 
 ice, everything lay in a heterogeneous heapt It was a 
 complete chaos, in the midst of which some shivering 
 rats struggled for life. For greater security, we re- 
 moved the whole baggage thirty yards farther, across a 
 crevasse. We had also to deal promptly with one of 
 the seamen, Max Schmidt, who was ill with fever ; we 
 wrapped him up in furs>, and carried him on a plank to 
 the coal-hut. '' '■ "• ' 
 
 At nine in the evening we were all gathered together 
 in our new asylum, which, feebly lighted by a lamp, 
 resembled a capacious vault. Satisfied with tlie labours 
 of the day, though anxious about the future, we pre- 
 pared our beds. Planks were laid upon the ground, 
 and covered with sailcloth ; then each of us wrapped 
 himself in his furs, and took his rest. One man re- 
 mained on guard to keep watch over the stove, which 
 eventually raised the temperature of our chamber from 
 2° to 27^° F. Our couch was exceedingly hard, and 
 decidedly cold ; but we were so exhausted and weary 
 that we quickly fell asleep. ■ •• • 'i' • ' ; v • 
 
 In the morning we hastened to i\e ship to see what 
 more could be saved. But the ccal-hole was already 
 under water. We cut down the masts, and, with their r'" 
 ging, dragged them over the ice ; a task which occup. 
 us the entire day. The mizzen fell at eleven o'clock ; ai 
 three, it was the turn of the main-mast ; and the Hama 
 presented the appearance of a miserable wreck. . f 
 
 For the last time the captain and steersman went on 
 
 '■i. 
 
THE " HANSA SINKS. 
 
 487 
 
 deck, and about six o'clock loosed the cables, which, by 
 means of the anchor, still moored the ship to our ice- 
 floe : for there was reason to fear lest the latter, which 
 bore nearly all the treasure we had saved with so 
 much difficulty, might break up when the ship sank. 
 
 The poor battered carcass of the Hansa disappeared 
 in the night of the 2l8t, in lat. 70° 52' N. and long. 21° 
 W., about a German mile and a half from the Liverpool 
 coast. We could distinctly trace its cliffs and moun- 
 tains, which, according to Dr. Laube, closely resembled 
 the chalk-hills of Munich ; we could distinguish Glas- 
 gow Island and HoUoway Bay; but there was no means 
 of opening a road across the labyrinth of floating ice. 
 
 The largest of our three boats was lying loose on the 
 deck of the Hanaa when she went down, and accord- 
 ingly floated. The weather being very favourable, 
 we were able to haul up on the ice, near the hut, this 
 third hope of safety. 
 
 IN THE COAL-HUT. 
 
 The following days were occupied in making our- 
 selves as comfortable as possible in our black-looking 
 hut. Owing to the comparatively high temperature in 
 its interior, the sailcloth roof permitted the water to 
 ,. ivle through the snow which covered it, so that we 
 pa.«^od a very bad night. We remedied this incon- 
 vt .ence by substituting a roof of planks, covered with 
 sails. To provide for light and ventilation, we inserted 
 a couple of windows in the roof; but, in spite of this 
 provision, wi . e unable to dispense with the lamp for 
 the greater part of the day. Along the entire length. 
 
 VK 
 
.■ 1 
 
 fel t 
 
 1 i j' 
 
 il u 
 
 i l" 
 
 438 
 
 THE HOME ON THE ICE. 
 
 on iDotli sides of the room, we raised a tier of boards 
 about six inches above the ground, and laid our mat- 
 tresses upon it. To prevent the pillows from freezino- 
 to the wall, we lined it, where necessary, with double 
 planking. The cooking-stove was placed behind; the 
 smaller one in front. Along the walls, which were 
 hung with sailcloth, shelves were placed, and on these 
 we disposed our books, instruments, and cooking- 
 utensils. The ship's chests, planted in front of the 
 br-.-tioor, served for table and seats. The gilded 
 looking-glass from our old cabin adorned and brightened 
 the ini arior of our new one ; underneath it huns: a 
 splendid barometer ; and the ticking of the clock 
 cheered us with its accustomed sound. By all these 
 little arrangements, our residence in the coal-hut was 
 rendered comparatively endurable. • A good night's 
 sleep recruited our weary frames ; and, thanks to our 
 capital preserved meats, we gained fresh strength from 
 the marvellous soups and stews prepared by our cook. 
 
 We were no longer threatened by any imminent 
 danger; so our melancholy gave way a little, and it 
 was even with jests and laughter that we recalled some 
 of the humorous scenes of the 19th. In the evening 
 we resumed our whist-club, playing on a volume of the 
 ship's journal, as we had no table. 
 
 The greater portion of our supplies of fuel and pro- 
 visions, as well as the boats, lay still upon the ice in 
 the neighbourhood of the scene of disaster. The work 
 of transporting it was accomplished chiefly by means 
 of the sledges, and occupied several days. For the 
 time we piled it all up beside the house. As the layer of 
 
'il 
 
 r of boards 
 
 d our mat- 
 
 )m freezinti' 
 
 nth. double 
 
 )ebind ; the 
 
 v^hich were 
 
 id on these 
 
 d cooking- 
 
 ont of the 
 
 rhe gilded 
 
 brightened 
 
 it hung a 
 
 tbe clock 
 
 •y all these 
 
 Dal-hut wavS 
 
 jod night's 
 
 ,nks to our 
 
 :engtli from 
 
 our cook. 
 
 imminent 
 ttle, and it 
 called some 
 ,he evening 
 lume of the 
 
 lel and pro- 
 tbe ice in 
 The work 
 
 '■ by means 
 For the 
 
 the layer of 
 
 "MAKING OURSELVES COMFORTABLE." 
 
 439 
 
 snow outside rose as high as the walls, we dug around 
 the hut a trench four feet wide, which we covered with 
 an awning of sailcloth, increasing the protection it 
 afforded by a roof of snow. This kind of corridor fur- 
 nished a convenient place for stowing away our pro- 
 visions, and there we deposited the greater portion; 
 the remainder, which would serve for about two months, 
 was carefully deposited in the boats. The small quan- 
 tity of fuel procured by cutting up the masts and yards, 
 we threw together in a heap. 
 
 Sometimes the boats were stationed in one place, 
 sometimes in another ; w^e extricated them at intervals 
 from the snow, and transported them to some more 
 sheltered locality. 
 
 We put up the ship's hatchway before the door of 
 the hut, to catch the wind. A man-rope helped us to 
 descend into our " fox's hole," the roof of which scarcely 
 rose above the level of the snow. 
 
 We had saved the large flag, and on a snow-hill at 
 the rear of the house we raised the topgallant-mast as 
 a Hag-staff. In fine weather we hoisted the flag ; partly 
 for our amusement, and partly in the hope of attracting 
 the attention of any Eskimo settlement on the coast. 
 
 At last we succeeded in introducing order into our 
 chaos. The confused heap of individual belongings 
 was portioned out among its various owners. The 
 warming arrangement was excellent, for though the 
 tempcxature of the external atmosphere had sunk to 
 —13° F., the thermometer inside the hut marked 72° 
 30'. Often the fuel necessary for preparing our meals 
 jtroved sufficient also for heating purposes; and, in 
 
 ■'I 
 
 -S 
 
 ■r 
 
 ; ti 
 
 ' 1 
 
 m 
 
 % 
 
 1 
 
 fi ■ 
 
 it 
 
 
 I 
 
 iifiii 
 
 '■ 5lfc 
 ■ ■; IT 
 
 1^ 
 
 'I 
 
 \t i 
 
 I, 
 
 il S 
 
440 
 
 DAILY OCCUPATIONS. 
 
 order to spare the wood, we seldom used the second 
 stove. The damp was remarkably diminished, for it 
 escaped easily through the dormer-window, which also 
 admitted a supply of fresh air. 
 
 DE DIE IN DIEM. 
 
 Slowly but uninterruptedly our ice-field drifted south- 
 ward. We skirted the Liverpool coast as far as Scoresby 
 Sound, — sometimes approaching, sometimes receding 
 from the ice, with a uniformity of movement which 
 was probably due to the flux and reflux in that large 
 deep sound. We could perfectly distinguish the out- 
 line of the coast bristling with rocks ; and in two val- 
 leys, lying between abrupt precipitous mountains, we 
 fancied we saw huge glaciers covered with snow. 
 
 We often contemplated with melancholy feelings the 
 spot where the Hansa went down. Now there was 
 space enough for her between the ice-field and the 
 land-ice. 
 
 At the end of October the sun rose at half-past nine, 
 and about three o'clock sank behind the rocky coast. 
 In the hut we had but a few hours of daylight for 
 reading and writing. 
 
 We endeavoured, by everj'' possible means, to main- 
 tain a constant activity. We skated ; we made snow 
 images. The order of the day's proceedings was always 
 observed to the letter. 
 
 The last night-watch woke us at seven. We rose, 
 dressed ourselves in our woollen clothing, washed in 
 melted snow, and took our morning's coffee with a 
 ration of hard bread. Then we betook ourselves to our 
 
the second 
 ihed, for it 
 which also 
 
 Ifted south- 
 is Scoresby 
 s recedinor 
 lent which 
 
 tliat large 
 h the out- 
 in two val- 
 mtains, we 
 now. 
 feelings the 
 
 there was 
 i and the 
 
 f-past nine, 
 ocky coast, 
 aylight for 
 
 3, to main- 
 made snow 
 was always 
 
 We rose, 
 washed in 
 ee with a 
 Ives to our 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 
■ii;^ ! ;i 
 
 .iiiil 
 
 
 r I 
 
EXPLORING THE FLOE. 
 
 ^8 
 
 various avocations. Some acted as cabinet-makers and 
 carpenters ; some plied the useful needle ; some chopped 
 wood ; others kept the daily registers. If the weather 
 were clear, we took our astronomical observations, and 
 recorc'ed all useful and necessary calculations. At one 
 o'clock, dinner. Strong meat-soup was the pQce de 
 resistance at this meal ; and as we had an abundance 
 of preserved vegetables, our cook had every opportunity 
 of displaying his fertility of resource. We were careful 
 to eat but little of salt meat and bacon. Nor did we 
 ventuve to indulge in alcoholic liquors, — confining our- 
 selves to one glass of good port wine on Sundays. 
 Throughout the winter, owing to these precautions, our 
 health was good. We had no cases of sickness or of 
 physical discomfort, except the sailor Schmidt's attack 
 of fever when the ship went down, and a frost-bitten 
 toe of the sailor Biittner. We were always on the 
 alert, and dissension was prevented by the maintenance 
 of a strict discipline. 
 
 By degrees we completed a thorough exploration of 
 our floe. We made short tours, and cut roads in every 
 direction. We ascertained that it measured about seven 
 nautical miles in circumference, while its average dia- 
 meter was two miles. 
 
 The landscape surrounding us was dreary from its 
 monotony. It presented a uniform plain, or field, 
 covered with the frozen, glittering snow. 
 
 The term " field," we may here explain, signifies a 
 vast and continuous floating mass of ice. Smaller 
 pieces are called "floes;" and still smaller ones, "drifts." 
 
 Now, the ice-raft, on which, as Dr. Laube happily 
 
 Mi 
 
I 
 
 444 
 
 A WASTE OF WHITENESS 
 
 )> 
 
 n 
 
 liii 
 
 remarked, " we were as the Lord's passengers," was a 
 solid field, fully forty-five feet thick —five feet above, 
 and forty feet below, the water-level — composed of 
 drifts and floes frozen into a compact mass. 
 
 By the beginning of January, the accumulated snow, 
 often eight feet in height, had filled up eveiy fissure 
 and crevasse in the dreary, far-spreading plain ; so that 
 the eye wandered dissatisfied, without finding a solitary 
 resting-point, over the wearisomely blank waste of 
 whiteness ! When at any distance from the hut, it lay 
 so deeply embedded in the snow that we could dis- 
 tinguish nothing but the dark spot or line of the chim- 
 ney, the boats, and the flag-staff, with its fluttering 
 banner — a sign of civilization, which was duly unfurled 
 after every passing whirlwind. Later in the spring, 
 when the process of liquefaction and disruption had 
 greatly reduced the size of our raft, it appeared, owing 
 to the heaped-up blocks of ice and snow-wall, almost 
 like "animated blocks of ice." On examining them 
 more closely, these "ramparts" were found to be "the 
 pushed-up walls of small ice-masses, to which our field 
 had been knitted by the frost." At intervals rose 
 mounds of snow, which the change from thawing wea- 
 ther to frost had almost converted into glaciers, into a 
 solid and homogeneous whole. The western and north- 
 western borders of our field were dreary in the extreme. 
 The collision and almost constant friction of the driving 
 ice-floes had raised up walls ten feet in height, em- 
 bellished with snow-crystals, which radiated in the sun 
 like innumerable diamonds. In the auroral displays at 
 morn and eve, the white flakes turned to pale green. 
 
 
srs, was a 
 eet above, 
 mposed of 
 
 ated snow, 
 eiy fissure 
 n ; so that 
 ', a solitary 
 waste of 
 hut, it lay 
 could dis- 
 the chim- 
 flutterinff 
 Y unfurled 
 he spring, 
 iption had 
 red, owing 
 all, almost 
 ling them 
 
 be " the 
 
 1 our field 
 rvals rose 
 ring wea- 
 ers, into a 
 nd north- 
 extreme. 
 
 le driving 
 ight, eid- 
 n the sun 
 isplays at 
 lie green. 
 
 NATURAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 445 
 
 A beautiful radiance pervaded the night, for moonlight 
 poured fully and freely from the unclouded heavens; 
 and so strong and keen was the reflection from the 
 snow-mirror, that it was easy to read the minutest 
 handwriting, and to discern remote objects. 
 
 Nights such as these, moreover, were always illumi- 
 nated by the glories of the aurora borealis. For ex- 
 ample, on the 5th of December it shone with a splen- 
 dour so intense as to pale the starlight, and shadows 
 streamed across our monotonous ice-field. The coast, 
 according to its varying distance, was distinguishable 
 as a dark, vague streak, or in all the details of its rocky- 
 configuration. 
 
 Early in November our attention was attracted by 
 two natural phenomena. From the Liverpool coast we 
 lay about eight nautical miles. When out walking, we 
 observed a number of wdllow-like leaves whirled past 
 us, which had evidently been carried from the land by 
 some eddying breeze. At another place, the snow over 
 a considerable area was strewn with red dust. This 
 was thought to be of volcanic origin; and Dr. Laube 
 surmised that it had been borne through the air from 
 Iceland, which was about one hundred and eighty nau- 
 tical miles distant. 
 
 In the same month, on a neighbouring floe, we saw 
 the shapeless bulk of a walrus lying motionless as a 
 rock. Hildebrandt and Bade, the steersman, with 
 some of their comrades, started for the chase as soon 
 as the boat could be launched — a task of some diffi- 
 culty, as it had to be carried for some distance over the 
 
 a, 
 
 ]\i 
 
 ■'it' \ 
 
 it 
 
 i 'W 
 
ill .■!«;( 
 
 ' t.^ 
 
 ^ .; 
 
 446 
 
 WALRUS AND WHITE BEAR. 
 
 young ice. Here, as on more terrible fields, was shown 
 the efficacy of the needle-gun, — the ball passing through 
 the creature's thick hide. In his fury he endeavoured 
 to smash the young ice on which the hunters stood, 
 and to seize them when once in the water; but the 
 combat was unequal, and after a few shots he gave up 
 tlie ghost. To remove his colossal carcass to the hut, 
 was a terrible tasl'. And though ten men were set to 
 work, with the help of a powerful pulley, it was several 
 hours before the huge animal could be hauled up on 
 the ice. 
 
 Nor was it found easy to skin the victim. The tem- 
 perature being 20° below zero, the body froze into a 
 hard stony mass, almost as impenetrable as granite. 
 Under the skin lay a coating of fat, three inches thick, 
 which afforded us excellent fuel. The tongue proved a 
 much appreciated dainty ; and among the whale-fishers 
 of Behring Strait, salted walrus-tongues form a favour- 
 ite dish. Late in the evening a white bear made his 
 appearance, attracted by the appetizing smell of our 
 cookery, and was received with three guns, — a salute the 
 result of which we could not ascertain until daybreak. 
 Then, at a distance of about one hundred yards, we 
 found our visitor, hit in the side by a bullet, and 
 lying dead upon the snow. He proved to be a noble 
 animal. His well-developed head rested on his fore- 
 paws, as if in sleep. Distinctly upon the white frozen 
 surface stood out the few red drops of blood. We 
 hailed the prize aS a gift from Heaven ; for in our posi- 
 tion an addition of fresh meat was peculiarly valuable. 
 The four hams, weighing about two hundred pounds, 
 
 ! ^11 
 
 lii^idiiii 
 
ANOTHER BKUIN. 
 
 447 
 
 would provide "roast meat" for several Sunday banquets. 
 At the same time, the skin was turned to useful purpose, 
 as an additional covering to the still leaking roof A 
 few days later, another Bruin paid a hasty visit. As we 
 left the house on the 23rd of November, we noticed 
 several indications of his presence. He had found out 
 one of the boats, and standing on his hind feet had 
 " sniffed " at the provisions it contained ; but falling 
 through the tightly-stretched, stiflSy-frozen sailcloth, 
 his investigations had been arrested by his alarm. 
 Afterwards he had turned towards the house ; but the 
 brightness of the lamp, which we kept constantly burn- 
 ing in the snow-path, appeared to have terrified him. 
 
 Up to the beginning of January, our drifting ice-raft 
 had undergone no damage. On the 14th of November 
 we passed Cape Barclay, the southernmost point, ac- 
 cording to Scoresby, of this stretch of coast (hit. 69° 14' 
 N., and long. 24° 30' W.). Thence, to the most northerly 
 point of Graah's coast-journey. Cape Dan, in lat. 65° 37' 
 N., and long. 37° 20' W., we skirted the comparatively 
 unknown shore of the so-called Egede Land — approach- 
 inor at times within four miles of it. 
 
 On the 16th of December, the appearance of a white 
 Arctic fox made known to us the fact that the ice must 
 extend continuously to the land. He was attired in a 
 coat of spotless white, with a black-tipped tail. Great 
 was his familiarity. He snatched up the bear's flesh 
 buried in the snow, and carried it off to eat as we 
 approached liim. Then, in the coolest possible manner, 
 he promenaded the roof of our house, and watched our 
 proceedings through one of the dormer-windows. Such 
 
 m. 
 
 Hit" 
 

 448 
 
 KEEPING CHRISTMAS. 
 
 was his fearlessness, that we could not make up our 
 minds to shoot him. 
 
 Christmas now came upon us — a lonely Christmas, in 
 the heart of a solitary and dreary wilderness of snow 
 and ice. On Christmas Eve the snow fell so heavily as 
 to bury our house ; and soon afterwards fell showers of 
 rain, and a south-westerly wind blew ; and then came 
 another whirlwind of snow, against which it was 
 almost impossible for a pedestrian to make head. 
 
 But the inclemency of the weather could not affect 
 the spirits of men who had resolutely determined to 
 " keep Christmas." In the afternoon, while we were 
 taking our " constitutional," the steersmen reared on 
 high the Christmas tree ; and on our return we were 
 surprised by the bright interior of our lonely hut 
 Fancy, reader, if you can, the novel experience of keep- 
 ing Christmas on a Greenland floe ! Made of pine- 
 wood and birch-broom, the tree was a skilful construc- 
 tion. Some wax-candles furnished the illumination; 
 and paper festoons and home-baked gingerbread con- 
 tributed to its good effect. The men had made a 
 knapsack and revolver- case for the captain; and for 
 themselves was a rare assortment of Christmas gifts, 
 thoughtfully provided by kind friends at home. 
 
 After the distribution, we enjoyed a glass of port 
 wine ; and in the evening, chocolate and gingerbread- 
 nuts. 
 
 " In quiet devotion," writes Dr. Laube, " the day passed 
 by ; the thoughts which rose to our minds (they were 
 much alike in all) I will not attempt to record. Should 
 this be our last Christmas, it was, at all events, bright 
 
new-year's day. 
 
 449 
 
 enough. Should we be destined to return home safely, 
 the next will be brighter. May God grant it ! " 
 
 AN ALARMING INCIDENT. 
 
 Early on the 26th, the watch awoke us with a loud 
 shout. We were drifting to land ! An island lay right 
 ahead of us ! The terror was universal ; we all rushed 
 out. The air was obscure, but at a distance of about 
 three nautical miles we could make out a large mass, 
 looking like an island. The steersmen rushed ahead 
 to estimate the distance, and gain some idea of the 
 nature of the situation. We soon discovered that the 
 cause of our alarm was an iceberg. As it drifted much 
 more slowly than our ice-raft, we passed it on the fol- 
 lowing day, and soon lost sight of it. The feast of St. 
 Sylvester was then observed, just as it is at home; 
 firearms were discharged, and libations of punch poured 
 out. At midnight we exchanged our " New Year" good 
 wishes, with a merry clink of glasses. 
 
 New- Year's Day brought us the first clear and bright 
 weather we had seen for a considerable time. The land 
 between north-east and south-west was distinctly vis- 
 ible; against the blue sky could be traced the sharp 
 outlines of lofty mountains, their sides loaded with 
 small glaciers. On the following day " a change came 
 o'er the spirit of the scene ;" a storm came crashing and 
 clanging from the north-east, and brought with it a 
 continuous drift of snow. In the morning we thought 
 we heard a peculiar rustling noise, as if some person 
 were shuflBiing his feet on the floor; but as it was 
 quickly at an end, we paid no particular attention to 
 
 (554) 29 
 
 m 
 
 mm. 
 
/' I 
 
 m 
 
 460 
 
 THE FLOE IN DANGER. 
 
 ! )' 
 
 it. In the afternoon, the same sound broke upon ua 
 suddenly, and much more loudly — a scraping, sawing, 
 grinding, crackling, jarring sound, as if some unhappy 
 ghost were moving perturbedly underneath our floe. 
 We sprang to our feet in alarm, and rushed out, think- 
 ing the storehouse must have fallen in. Some of the 
 sailors went in advance with the lamp, to trace out the 
 path. But wherever the light sparkled on the radiant 
 crystalline walls, we could see nothing. The rigid 
 icicles, some of them a foot in length, hung immovable ; 
 obviously all was safe. Then we groped along the 
 snow-path before the house, but in vain ; only, in the 
 pauses of the storm, we could detect the same grinding 
 and rubbing. We threw ourselves flat on the floor, 
 and could then hear a noise like the " singing of ice " 
 when close-pressed, and as if water were running be- 
 neath our floe. We were forced to the conclusion that 
 it was in great danger of being broken up, — either from 
 drifting over sunken rocks, and coming in collision with 
 them, or from dashing against the shore-ice, or from 
 both causes combined. 
 
 We packed our furs, and filled our knapsacks with 
 provisions ; though, if the floe were destroyed, our posi- 
 tion seemed hopeless. It was true that ropes were 
 carried from our house to the boats lying about fifteen 
 paces from us, so that, in case of any mishap, we might 
 be able to reach them; but so fierce was the beat of the 
 pitiless drifting snow that we could not have moved 
 them from their resting-places, and in the attempt 
 would certainly have perished. At eight we stationed 
 two men in the pathway to watch, while the others lay 
 
 li 
 
ISLANDS IN SIGHT. 
 
 451 
 
 down to sleep, as the grinding noises were no longer 
 lieard. Sleep, however, refused to visit us throughout 
 that dreary, stormy, awful night. How thankful we 
 were when the gray dawn appeared, and the wind 
 abated somewhat of its violence ! 
 
 Some of us went out in the direction of the quay; 
 for so we had named the spot, five hundred steps from 
 the house, where the Hansa had gone down. 
 
 There we discovered a new wall of ice, and were 
 horrorstruck to find that it formed the boundary of our 
 floe ; that on all sides of it large pieces had been broken 
 off, and rose in fantastic masses out of the drifted snow. 
 
 Until two in the afternoon the storm continued. 
 Tiien it subsided slightly ; and by the morning of the 
 4th of January it had completely worn out. The air 
 was clear, and the prospect stretched right away to the 
 coast. Our floe had lost considerably in dimensions, 
 and from a circular form had changed to an oblong. 
 Tlie diameter did not now exceed one mile. On three 
 sides the distance from our house to the edge of the 
 floe was only two hundred steps ; on the fourth it wtis 
 about one thousand, instead of three thousand as before. 
 To the coast, the distance was scarcely two nautical 
 miles. 
 
 Besides the island seen on the 1st of January, we 
 now sighted several others rising like pyramids in the 
 north-west. We named them New- Year Islands, be- 
 cause we had discovered the first on the opening day of 
 the year. They were situated near the east point of a 
 bay which, from the danger we had incurred, we named 
 Bay of Horrors. Snow-shrouded mountains, which 
 
 ■'■■i 
 
 r-m- ■! 
 
 I 
 
 ' r, i 
 
 ;rF 
 
4R2 
 
 DRIFTING TO THE SOUTH-WEST. 
 
 the rising sun robed in pale rosy tints, towered in the 
 background ; and small glaciers were visible here and 
 there in the bay. To the south-west projected a head- 
 land, which wo called Cape Buchholz; another, Cape 
 Hildebnvndt, was the point of land nearest to us. 
 
 After the narrow escape we had undergone, and con- 
 sidering the evident insecurity of the ice-raft, we pro- 
 posed to make an attempt to reach the coast, with the 
 view, in the following spring, of doubling the southern 
 point of Greenland, and gaining the settlements on its 
 south-west coast. But we found it impossible to get 
 beyond the edge of our field, owing to the broken ice, 
 covered with snow, which lay between it and the shore. 
 
 An observation on the 8th of January revealed to us 
 that we were in lat. GG° 47' 2" N., and long. 34° 1' 5" W. 
 In other words, »ince the 27th of December, or in twelve 
 days, we had drifted fifty-two and a half nautical miles 
 in a south-westerly direction. 
 
 The following day one of the seamen made an entry 
 in his journal, which is thus rendered in the English 
 edition of Captain Koldewey's narrative : — 
 
 
 '* Thursday, 9th of Ja^iuanj lS70—Nort}iern Hotel. 
 
 " The weather in the past night was calm and clear. 
 The moon shone brilliantly; the northen lights and 
 the stiirs glittered upon the dead beauty of a landscape 
 of ice and snow. Listening at night, a strange, clear- 
 sounding tone strikes the ear ; then again a sound as of 
 some one drawing n.'ar with slow and measured steps. 
 We listen. Who is it ? All still ! not a breath stiiring! 
 Once more it sounds like a lamentation or a groan. It 
 
BREAKING UP OF THE FLOE. 
 
 453 
 
 in the ice ; and now it is still — still as the grave — and 
 by tho pale glance of the moon the ghastly-outlined 
 (joast is seen, from which the giant rocks are looking 
 over to us. Ice, rocks, and thousands of glittering stars. 
 thou wonderfully ghost-like night of the North !" 
 
 Our trials seriously increased from the 11th to the 
 1 5th of January. 
 
 At six. o'clock, on tlie morning of the 11th, Hilde- 
 brandt, whose watch it was, alarmed us with the cry — 
 "All hands tui. out!" The cry was seconded by the 
 terrible chaotic noises which raged outside. Forth we 
 rushed, clad in our furs, and provided with our knap- 
 sacks. But the outer entrance was blocked up with 
 snow, and we had to force our way through the snow- 
 roof of the corridor. What a scene presented itself to 
 our astonished eyes ! The elements seemed to be let 
 loose ; a driving wind blew from the north-east ; tlie 
 snow fell in blinding showers ; the floe around us was 
 crashing and splitting, and the sea rolled heavily upon 
 it. The ice-raft which had been our safety threatened 
 to become our destruction. Between our hut and the 
 wood-pile, a space of about twenty yards, opened a huge 
 chasm, through which the waves poured in furious 
 tumult; and our floe, now greatly reduced in size, 
 rocked to and fro like a small skift'. It was with diffi- 
 culty we secured our boat Bismarck; and even the 
 whale-boat we saved only by hauling it up into the 
 middle of the floe. The large boat, being beyond our 
 strength to manage, was lost. 
 
 We could not but believe that our end was come. 
 
 
 uISNi 'I ' 'a 
 
 nil 
 
 'ip.I 
 
 
 WW/ 
 
m 
 
 W^ 
 
 \f .111 s 
 
 ,M 
 
 454 
 
 AN INCONVENIENT ICEBERG. 
 
 We grasped each other's hands, and uttered a sad fare- 
 well Then we sought the shelter of our boats, and 
 while the cold snow fell around us, and the wind 
 hurtled through the air, we waited patiently and sadly. 
 Our little raft of ice was as an island tossed about in a 
 boisterous sea. 
 
 But towards evening the billows seemed to subside, 
 and the ice closed in together, and became packed again. 
 Once more we seemed to have escaped death. With 
 thankful hearts we took a little food, threw ourselves 
 on our beds, and endeavoured to find strength in sleep. 
 Soon after midnight a cry of terror again aroused us. 
 The voice of the sailor on watch proclaimed that an ice- 
 berg was drifting down upon us. We burst open the 
 roof, and descended upon the ice. What a spectacle ! 
 Close upon us, apparently hanging over our heads, and 
 prepared to fall, towered a colossal mass of ice ! " It 
 is past ! " exclaimed our captain. So sudden was the 
 alarm, that to this day we know not whether it was 
 really an iceberg that menaced or a mirage that de- 
 luded us. 
 
 We availed ourselves of a partial cessation of the 
 storm during the 12th and 13th to get our boats in 
 order, and take an astro uomical observation, which 
 showed us that in four days we had drifted southward 
 fifty-six miles. 
 
 At ten o'clock in the evening of the 14th, the storm- 
 blast once more arose, and the watch again brought the 
 appalling intelligence that the ice was in motion. The 
 floe broke up in the immediate vicinity of our hut, so 
 
 S.v-ft'lifi ' 
 
^^W^i 
 
 
 k STORMY \IGHT. 
 
 465 
 
 that fragments of ice flew around us, like the effects of 
 an explosion. We brought our two boats for the second 
 time into the middle of the floe, though it was with 
 difficulty we moved or worked, the storm rendering us 
 almost breathless. About eleven, a fissure suddenly 
 opened which threatened to rend our bouse asunder. 
 r!od only knows, says the chronicler, how it chanced 
 that, in our flight into the open, none of us came to 
 liarm. But there, in all the pitiless fury of the tempest, 
 we huddled together on the ice, houseless, roofless, 
 yearLUig for the daylight, which was still two hours 
 distant. The King William boat lay on the brink of 
 the floe ; and had it floated off, we could not have 
 tescned it. Happily, the fissure did not widen. 
 
 At midnight the weather grew calmer, and some of 
 us took refuge in the hut, others in the captain's boat, 
 over which we drew the thickest sail we could find. 
 This was the most ttrrible of all the nights v e passed 
 upon our precarious ice-raft. The cold was —9 1° F. To 
 sleep soundly was impossible, but our intense weariness 
 lulled us into a kind of unquiet, confused, half slumber ; 
 while beneath oar furs and coverings our limbs shook 
 with involuntary tremors. 
 
 The cook, with admirable energy, roused himself in 
 the morning to make a dish of coffee, which seemed to 
 inspire with fresh life our exhausted frames. 
 
 But, for the whole space of another dreary, desolate 
 day, the tempest continued to howl and rage. We lay 
 in the boat, in a mixture of snow and water, which 
 chilled our very life-blood ; shivering with the keen 
 frost, wet to the skin, our limbs stiff' from want of move- 
 
$\m 
 
 ill''* 
 
 156 
 
 REBUILDING THE HOUSE. 
 
 ment : we lay there all the day, and all the following 
 night; nor was it until the morning of the 16th that an 
 improvement in the weather enabled us to quit an 
 asylum which was also a prison. 
 
 We now turned our attention to the boat King 
 William, which we brought to the flag-staff", near the 
 other boats ; and erecting over it a roof of boards, covered 
 with sailcloth, it furnished sleeping-accommodation for 
 six of the men, until the house could be cleared of 
 snow. 
 
 For five nights we slept in the boats ; employing the 
 days in rebuilding our shattered homestead, on the same 
 site, but on a smaller scale. We reared a wooden 
 kitchen, The house itself measured only fourteen feet 
 in length, ten feet in breadth, and six and a half feet in 
 height in the middle ; but it was comfortably fitted up 
 with store-room, wooden beds, stove, and window, and 
 other appliances. A.s it did not allow of more than six 
 persons sleeping in it, the others, thenceforward, were 
 compelled to rest in the boats. 
 
 Throughout all these bitter experiences, the men, we 
 are told, exhibited the most admirable good-temper, much 
 patience, and the highest courage. The cook, even in 
 the most critical moments, attained to the ideal elevation 
 of the popular conception of a British tar. Sp long as 
 he had tobacco, he made ligut of everything: ex fumo 
 dare lucem. On one occasion, when the floe had broken 
 up, and the destruction of the hut seemed inevitable, he 
 chanced to be repairing his coffee-kettle. " Ah," said he, 
 " if the floe will but hold together until I have mended 
 
•' A GOOD TIME COMING. 457 
 
 my kettle ! I do so want to make tlie evening tea in 
 it, that, before we go, we may have something warm ! " 
 It will be supposed that, under the circumstances we 
 have described, the poor storm-beaten adventurers had 
 paid but little attention to cleanliness and the cares of 
 the toilet. Washing was a luxury which the men of 
 science had entirely renounced, and in which the men 
 of no-science indulged only twice a week. Yet it was 
 as much of a necessity as of a luxury, for what with the 
 coal-damp from the walls of the house, the smoke from 
 the lamp, and the dust from the stove, we were as black 
 as the blackest Eskimos. Our hair and boards were 
 
 « 
 
 dishevelled and unkempt ; since we left Bremen we had 
 allowed Nature to have her ov/n way. As for changing 
 our clothes, such an experiment was not to be attempted 
 in n temperature several degrees below zero. 
 
 We derived some comfort, on the 23rd, from the ap- 
 pearance of a hawk and a raven ; we welcomed them as 
 harbingers of a good time coming ! About this time we 
 observed a curious phenomenon in the snow-walls built 
 up around our floe. During the calm, the floating ice 
 had separated, and the fissures and intervening spaces 
 had filled up with driven snow in huge glittering 
 powdery heaps ; and these, on the 2oth, when the ice 
 closed in again, were forced up into walls or ramparts of 
 twenty to twenty-five feet in height, so that our settle- 
 ment seemed to lie in the heart of a profound ravine. 
 They did not last, however; breaking up on the 1st of 
 February, as soon as the spring -tide set the ice again in 
 motion, and quickly melted away. On this occasion, a 
 piece of our floe broke off" and drifted down the current. 
 

 ilvJt 
 
 y.ff] 
 
 458 
 
 STILL DRIFTING. 
 
 This enabled us to calculate the strength of our ice-raft, 
 as the water was very transparent, and the glitterinrr 
 material was perceptible at a depth of thirty to thirty- 
 five feet. We came to the conclusion, therefore, that, 
 unless some fresh catastrophe occurred, the floe was of 
 sufficient solidity to carry us into a southerly latitude ; 
 from which, by the boat, we might gain the nearest 
 West Greenland settlement. 
 
 INCIDENTS AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 On the 1st of February 1870, the seals reappeared; 
 we caught also a raven, and some various kinds of sea- 
 gulls. The former came from the land, the lattei" from 
 the sea. One morning we also surprised a fox near our 
 house. He remained with us several days, and grew so 
 familiar that he would fetch the meat whicli had been 
 thrown to him in the kitchen, and allow us to caress 
 him. He amused us exceedingly, and it never occurred 
 to u 3 to capture him. 
 
 During the following days we drifted at the rate of 
 a mile an hour through a labyrinth of bergs, some of 
 which exceeded one hundred feet in height, without ex- 
 periencing the slightest injury to our raft. When it 
 fell in with one of these floating mountains, it slackened 
 its course more or less, according to the nature of the 
 current, — the water dividing, and flowing on either side. 
 It then executed a sidelong movement, to right or left, 
 some twenty or thirty paces from the monster, and in 
 this way escaped the danger. 
 
 Bade and Hildebrandt attempted to climb one of 
 these huge bergs, but got only half-way up, and that not 
 
 ■-E«|U5F: 
 
1 
 
 FAIRER PROSPECTS. 
 
 459 
 
 without the greatest difficulty ; the smooth white walls 
 rose so abruptly, that it would have been easier to scale 
 the bare masonry of a church-tower. These enormous 
 masses, detached from the glaciers of Greenland, and 
 carried into the sea, resemble basaltic rocks, and are 
 curiously tinted with white patches and veins of azure. 
 Our calculations led us to believe that on the 6tli of 
 February we should be near the Dan Islands. How- 
 ever, we could not catch sight of them ; whence we con- 
 cluded that they do not exist, and that Graah, in laying 
 them down in his chart, was misled by the icebergs so 
 numerous in these parts, and so frequently mistaken for 
 islands. 
 
 We enjoyed an interval of rest in the early part of 
 February, The weather wa;} continually fair. The ice- 
 bergs and drifting masses of ice, though constantly in- 
 creasing in number, left our raft untouched. We were 
 f^ble to complete our domestic organization, and our 
 hopes of ultimate safety daily grew stronger. We had 
 grown profoundly indifferent by this time to the so- 
 called rights of property. The most precious books were 
 destroyed on the slightest pretext. The gilded frame 
 of our chimney-mirror was used for firewood, and the 
 plate-glass thrown aside. Petroleum and brandy were 
 poured lavishly into the stove, to keep up the necessary 
 lieat. For this purpose we utilized everything, — even 
 tobacco. Of what value was gunpowder ? So we ex- 
 pended it ^n ^rewovks, ^\isi pour 2)ci8ser le temps. 
 
 ': ;:' i 
 
 1 
 
 P 
 
 An incident which occurred at the beginning of 
 
V ', 
 
 400 
 
 AURORAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 March moved us, however, more seriously. Dr. Buch- 
 holz, who, in the hour of greatest peril, had reassured 
 us by his heroic composure, fell into a fit of despondency, 
 and was attacked by a nervous disease from which he 
 did not recover until his return home. We did our best 
 to take care of him ; but deprived of medical assistance, 
 situated as we were on a lonely ice-raft, or afterwards 
 in leaky and uncomfortable boats, we were unable to 
 employ the means which might more quickly have re- 
 stored him to health. 
 
 In mid-February, when in lat. 64° 40' N., and about 
 twenty miles from the land, we perceived in the west, 
 at a distance of eight miles, a belt of open water parallel 
 to the coast. Evidently it was of considerable breadth, 
 and it appeared to reach almost to the shore ; for the 
 wcbt wind raised a strong swell, while it was quite 
 calm when the wind blew from the east. We concluded, 
 therefore, that in the east the ice was not yet solidly 
 packed. 
 
 The sun, which at noon now rose seventeen degrees 
 above the horizon, made its gerial influence felt. We 
 began to dream of summer. Our fur clothing we flung 
 aside, and our men marched about with their throats 
 bare and chests uncovered. 
 
 The nights were gorgeous with the auroral splen- 
 dours. The luminous sheaves developed themselves 
 against the sky like the ribs of a fan or the petals of a 
 flower ; the magnetic zenith seemed to lie exactly above 
 our house. 
 
 Snow fell heavily in the month of March, and bright, 
 calm days were few. We drifted past a small iceberg, the 
 
A COLOSSAL ICEBERG. 
 
 461 
 
 summit of which, about sixty feet high, accommodated a 
 family of seals. The mother, apparently, had profited by 
 its solitude to bring forth her young on its dreary crest. 
 
 On the 4th, at a distance of twenty-five miles, we 
 caught sight of the glittering glacier of the Kolberger- 
 Heide. On approaching it, we could see from thence, 
 down to Cape Moesting, an uninterrupted series of 
 glaciers descending to the sea. Huge masses of rock 
 rose between them, like gigantic towers, to an elevation 
 of 3000 feet. In the vicinity we fell in with numerous 
 icebergs, some of which were motionless, as if fast to 
 the ground. 
 
 After safely passing through the midst of them, we 
 were rapidly driven, one day, under another floating 
 mountain, about six miles from the shore. When within 
 twenty-five yards of the immense mass we were checked 
 in our onward course, and for nearly three hours re- 
 mained motionless ; then the ice-masses separated, and 
 the drift resumed its original rapidity. A general con- 
 vulsion — perhaps the rupture of our own field — was felt 
 immediately afterwards; for twenty minutes we in- 
 curred the greatest danger, and, breathless with anxiety, 
 watched the terrible spectacle before us. That part of 
 the mountain of ice which was nearest to us formed a 
 huge overhanging mass ; its central bulk, by the com- 
 bined action of sun and water, was fantastically moulded 
 into archways and magnificent portals. On the south 
 side yawned a cavern wide enough and lofty enough to 
 receive a ship like the Hansa. As we drew nearer we 
 could see directly above us numerous points and jagged 
 spikes ; and, indeed, one projecting angle we were able 
 
 'ii:^ 
 
 lii: li| 
 
 : i 
 
 
:f!!t 
 
 111 
 
 V'' fi 
 
 smv-j! ' til 
 
 462 
 
 NEAllINQ LAND. 
 
 to graap. " Wo aro lost ! " such was our simultaneous 
 thought ; but, strange to say, our floe remained intact, 
 and, protected by the pieces floating around it, did not 
 oven graze the tremendous mountain. The berg once 
 left behind, wo drifted awliile in open water, which had 
 formed as in the wake of a sliij). 
 
 On the 18th of March we calculated our latitude and 
 longitude — the former, lat. C4° 2' N. ; the latter, long. 
 40° W W. 
 
 On the 29th, our d(ilight was great to find ourselves 
 in the latitude of Nukarbik. It wfis upon this island 
 that Graali wintered from the 3rd of Soptondier 1827 to 
 the 5th of April 1830 ; and from thence he set out on liis 
 perilous and difficult boat- voyage. We had long in- 
 dulged tlie hope that from this point we too miglit 
 imdertake with our boats tlie trajcct to Friederichstlial, 
 the most southerly establishment on the west coast. 
 However, the ice as yet was so compact that two of our 
 seamen asked leave to make an attempt to reach the 
 shore across it. Fortunately the captain refused, for a 
 few hours later some changes occurred which would 
 have exposed these men to terrible dangers. 
 
 In the evening we thought we perceived a fire on the 
 coast, which we set down as a sign of the presence of 
 the Eskimos. We fired off our muskets, therefore, and 
 on the following day hoisted our flag. But we saw no 
 signs of life except some crows and snow-buntings. 
 The fonner came regularly from land every morning, 
 and returned in the evcninix at sunset. 
 
•■e saw no 
 
 NUKAUHIK ISLAND. 
 
 463 
 
 In Nukarbik Bay wo woro detained, mu(!li agaiiiHt 
 our will, for four weeks. Wo were not more than two or 
 throe miles from the shore ; while outside the floes drifted 
 continuously towards the south, our own, on tlie con- 
 trary, veered sometimes to the south, sometimes to the 
 north. This was due to the peculiar movements of tlie 
 littoral under-current; the wind could not oppose it; 
 often, indeed, we drifted against the wind. In this 
 vicinity the coast is broken up by three deep inlets: 
 at high water the tide rushed into them, and carried us 
 \vdth it ; when the tide ebbed, we receded with it. At 
 tiio next flow the same movement was repeated ; and so 
 for some weeks we continued to bo the plaything of the 
 antagonistic currents. 
 
 Singular to relate, the great tide of the 3rd of April 
 had no influence upon us. 
 
 On the 12th the weather was clear, and we could 
 observe the flux and reflux. We found ourselves near 
 an iceberg which measured nearly one hundred and 
 twenty feet in height, and one hundred and eighty feet 
 in diameter, with a length of two hundred feet. From 
 ten in the morning until four in the afternoon we 
 slowly drifted past this island, sometimes so near that 
 we attempted to fend off our raft with our ice-poles. 
 Meantime we observed that the tide rose two feet, and 
 reached the high water-mark on the berg, where it 
 could easily be traced. About four the tide began to 
 ebb, and wo resumed our course. We could distinctly 
 hear the sound of the waves on the shore, and the 
 clash and clang of ice-floes driven one against the 
 other. 
 
 41 
 
 
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IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
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 1.25 
 
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 g la II 2.0 
 
 1.8 
 
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 Riotographic 
 
 Sciences 
 
 Corporation 
 
 33 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 
 
 (716) 872-4503 
 

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 464 
 
 RETURN OF SPRING. 
 
 We were now visited by small troops of linnets and 
 snow-buntings. We threw them some oatmeal, which 
 they ate very greedily. So tame were these birds, that 
 they allowed us to catch them with our hands. In the 
 month of April our carpenter had an attack of scurvy, 
 and his legs swelled. We employed the simplest 
 means to cure him — making him take very frequently 
 a little gentle exercise in the open air — and he soon 
 recovered. 
 
 Eastei j.r rived while we were still detained in Nukar- 
 bik Bay. W •: were all cheerful, and most of us in good 
 health, and sanguine that we should soon be delivered 
 from all oui dangers and anxieties. For us, indeed, it 
 was a true resurrection festival ! We had seen death 
 before us so often, and in so many forms ! Already 
 Nature greeted us with fresh and abundant signs of 
 spring : the air was much milder — the lowest tempera- 
 ture, even at night, did not exceed 23° F. ; in the sun- 
 shine, v/hich we often basked in, lying full length on 
 the sails of our boats, it rose to 54|° F. 
 
 On the first day of festival, April I7th, we enjoyed a 
 good meal: preserved meat made into savoury soup, 
 ham, pease, kidney beans, and a bottle of sherry which 
 had been carefully reserved for the occasion. Next day 
 a gale from the north drove our floe out of the bay, and 
 it resumed its southward drift. For three weeks we 
 moved onward steadily, so that on the 6th of May 
 we had reached lat. 61° 4', or almost the latitude of 
 Bergen. 
 
 On the morning of the 7th, great was our delight to 
 see open water in the direction of land. Should we not 
 
linnets and 
 meal, which 
 } birds, that 
 ids. In the 
 j: of scurvy, 
 le simplest 
 ' frequently 
 nd he soon 
 
 i in Nukar- 
 r us in good 
 »e delivered 
 s, indeed, it 
 seen death 
 ! Already 
 ,nt signs of 
 ?t tempera- 
 in the sun- 
 l length on 
 
 3 enjoyed a 
 
 oury soup, 
 
 erry which 
 
 Next day 
 
 le bay, and 
 
 weeks we 
 
 h of May 
 
 atitude of 
 
 ^.elight to 
 lid we not 
 
^ -\. 
 
 r ' 
 
 sC 
 
f ' 
 
 TAKING TO THE BOATS. 
 
 407 
 
 take advantage of it? Had not the time come for 
 abandoning our raft ? The wind was favourable, the 
 sky clear The captain consulted us, and 611 agreed it 
 was well to make the attempt. 
 
 Observations taken at noon showed that we were in 
 hit. Cl° 12' N., or 8' more to the north than on the pre- 
 ceding day. 
 
 After a hasty meal, we set to work to unload the 
 boats — a long and a painful task. At first we removed 
 the provisions, clothing, sails, masts, oars, astronomical 
 instruments; then we hauled up the boats on three 
 pieces of ice, and their cargoes, carried on our backs or 
 upon sledges, were placed on board. 
 
 We accomplished this labour with a feverish anxiety, 
 and at the end of three hours all was ready. Then we 
 cast around our ice-raft a last glance of gratitude. 
 Through dangers and sufferings innumerable it had 
 carried us, for two hundred successive days, from the 
 regions of terror and death to more hospitable latitudes, 
 where we had gained a new courage, and found strength 
 to hope for speedy deliverance. 
 
 It was nearly four o'clock in the afternoon when, 
 with loud hurrahs, we hoisted sail. We had distributed 
 our company in the three boats. In the whale-boat, 
 led by Captain Hegemann, were the two scientists, the 
 cook, and the sailors Philip Heyne and Bernard Gatjen. 
 A second boat, commanded by chief officer Hildebrandt, 
 carried the sailors Paul Tilly and Heinrich Biittner. 
 In the third, Bade, tlie second officer, was accompanied 
 by Wilhelm Bowe, the carpenter, Fritz Kewell, Max 
 Schmidt, and Conrad Gierke. 
 
468 
 
 A WESTWARD COURSE. 
 
 THE BO AT- VOYAGE. 
 
 We kept under sail till nine o'clock, moving slowly 
 at first, but more quickly when we got the boats into 
 trim, so that when we made fast to a floe for the night 
 we were nearer the shore by seven miles. 
 
 We underwent considerable trial in climbing upon 
 the floe. After having found a convenient place, the 
 boats were unloaded and hauled up one by one. The 
 provisions and fuel of each boat were piled beside it, 
 and covered with oiled sailcloth ; then, by way of a 
 roof, we covered the larger of the two small boats with 
 the sails of the other, and thus provided an imperfect 
 defence in case of bad weather. 
 
 These arrangements occupied us for some hours. Wo 
 supped upon bread and coffee, which the men prepared 
 in the boats with the spirit-of-wine lamp. 
 
 It was half an hour past midnight when we wrapped 
 ourselves in our furs, and laid down to rest. Our sleep 
 was not very long; at half-past five we resumed our 
 voyage. 
 
 Steering towards the west, we arrived within four miles 
 of the shore. But about noon the ice became so compact 
 that we were again compelled to make fast to a floe. 
 
 Until, five in the afternoon we remained ensconced 
 in our boats, on this mass of ice which was slowly 
 drifting southwards. The sun cheered us with its rays; 
 but it had the inconvenience of producing that peculiar 
 effect on the sight which is due to long gazing on the 
 snow. The eyes of the look-out men, incessantly turned 
 to windward to make out some navigable channel, could 
 
-I -/..iB^i^w^i^^upjMii ■■.iji v^i,*^ivK^nr< 
 
 oving slowly 
 lie boats into 
 •or the night 
 
 Linbing upon 
 at place, the 
 )y one. The 
 ed beside it, 
 >y way of a 
 11 boats with 
 an imperfect 
 
 1 hours. Wo 
 rien prepared 
 
 we wrapped 
 . Our sleep 
 resumed our 
 
 lin four miles 
 le so compact 
 
 to a floe, 
 id ensconced 
 
 was slowly 
 nth its rays; 
 that peculiar 
 Lzing on the 
 antly turned 
 lannel, could 
 
 I X 
 
r t 
 
OPHTHALMIC DISEASE EXPERIENCED. 
 
 471 
 
 no longer bear the dazzling splendour of the sunshine- 
 flooded plains of ice. At first they were sensible of a 
 painful weariness; then an inflammation of the eyes 
 came on, which caused an agonizing pain; they shed 
 tears abundantly; their minds wandered. All they 
 could do, however, was to endure patiently, while pro- 
 tecting themselves from the action of the light with a 
 thick bandage. The attack did not last above a day 
 and a half or two days, but it was necessary to guard 
 against its return. The disease, moreover, has many 
 stages. Some of us suffered severely and suffered often; 
 others escaped with only a slight feeliiig of fatigued 
 vision. Later on, we attempted to preserve our eyes 
 by constructing spectacles out of the green-coloured 
 lenses of the instruments of refraction ; and by means 
 of this ingenious device, each person was provided with 
 what is an indispensable article in the equipment of 
 an Arctic voyager. 
 
 Pressing forward, under canvas, we made our way 
 through the thick floating ice until within about a mile 
 and a half of the promised land. Then our course was 
 suddenly checked by the solid heaped-up masses before 
 us, which formed an apparently insurmountable barrier. 
 The painful work of hauling the boats had exhausted 
 our strength ; and after a ration of bread, with a little 
 coffee, we fell," exhausted, into a deep lethargic slumber. 
 
 Bad weather, snow, and tempests detained us for six 
 days upon the ice-floe. The temperature varied from 
 36|° F. by day, to 21° F. by night. 
 
 On the 10th of May, in the afternoon, we enjoyed 
 our customary game of whist in the whale-boat. 
 
 
472 
 
 DAILY RATIONS. 
 
 
 The sail of the large boat, which served as a roof 
 during the night, did not protect us very suflSciently 
 from the damp, on account of its comparative tenuity 
 and its transparency; and the rain which soon came on, 
 and fell unintermittently for twenty-four hours, sprinkled 
 us as abundantly as if we had been exposed to a shower- 
 bath. The two other boats were better off in this re- 
 spect, for they had capital coverings of oiled canvas. 
 
 During the day, Mr. Hildebrandt came with his crew 
 into the large boat, to bear us company, and to spare 
 their own brandy and provisions, with which they were 
 but ill-supplied. Eight of us then sat down to meals in 
 the large boat. 
 
 In the morning, we feasted upon warm coffee with a 
 crust of dry bread. At noon, we dined upon soup and 
 broth. In the evening, we were content with a few 
 mouthfuls of cocoa — of course without milk or sugar. 
 We were compelled to economize our supply of food ; 
 for otherwise, in case of a protracted delay, we must 
 have been exposed to the ravages of hunger. Our 
 appetite was exceedingly keen ; a circumstance easily 
 explained, for we were very sparing of the nourishment 
 indispensable in the Arctic climate, — meat and fat, — 
 weighing them out most scrupulously in our scales. 
 The supply of bacon was reckoned at six pounds per 
 head; and4here were, besides, a couple of hams. 
 
 On the 14<th the bad weather cleared off, and the ice 
 giving way towards the south, we dipped our oars and 
 accomplished a slight traject; but the ice closing in 
 again, we found ourselves condemned to another cap- 
 tivity on the floe. It lasted five days. 
 
GIVING OUT THE BACON. 
 
 473 
 
 Here is an extract from the journal of the pilot Bade. 
 
 " Each one of us passes the time," he writes, " as well 
 as he can. Mr. Hildebrandt makes sketches of our 
 boats on and among the ice ; Fritz, as cook of the large 
 boat, experiments with his cooking apparatus so as to 
 secure the greatest economy; Konrad composes poems; 
 the carpenter relates Vegesack stories, and describes how 
 as captain of a gun-boat he sailed by help of a Mediter- 
 ranean chart from Bremen to Hull, and how by means 
 of soundings he found himself at Ramsgate ; I myself 
 studied the poems of Heyne, or took to carving boats ; 
 Max essayed drawing. 
 
 " Yesterday the snow ceased : we took stock of our 
 provisions, and divided them ecjually. We have about 
 twenty-seven pounds of bread per man, five pounds of 
 bacon, and some coffee and cocoa which, we hope, will 
 last a month. Our appetite is unlimited ; and the 
 scantiness of our rations prevents our ever feeling 
 satisfied. I have made a small pair of scales, in which 
 I weigh the bread to my crew; the bacon I cut by my 
 eye in tolerably equal pieces, and then give it out in 
 due order. What an exciting moment is this ! How 
 every eye brightens at the sight of the bacon, while a 
 piece of bread is regarded as lovingly as the daintiest 
 confection ! Fritz pretends to have discovered that he 
 is much more satisfied when he simply swallows his 
 little ration, not masticating it much : it seems to last 
 longer ! We almost wear out our eyes in looking for a 
 seal. Oil and fresh meat would, indeed, be a most 
 welcome addition to our stock. It is a strange and 
 very mixed feeling, to reflect that in six weeks we shall 
 
 m^: 
 
ffl 
 
 ' 1 
 
 III 
 
 iUi 
 
 /* I 
 
 i 
 
 474 
 
 THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY. 
 
 have nothing to eat ; that if by that time we have not 
 reached the land, we must drop off', one after +he other : 
 but serious as is the thought, sometimes we seem to find 
 it wonderfully humorous. Of tobacco we have a fair 
 supply, and a good portion is consumed daily. Fritz 
 is making himself a new pipe. 
 
 " To-day, the 19th of May, the weather is again most 
 beautiful. I am writing at 9.30 A.M., and the tempera- 
 ture is at 72|° F.; the heat oppressive, the air calm, 
 but the ice quite compact. In such weather, however, 
 it should soon break up. With the telescope we can 
 see the torrents falling from the steep cliffs of the rocky 
 coast ; fresh water we find everywhere on the floe. 
 
 " Our health is good ; only Dr. Buchholz, unfortu- 
 nately, is still a sufferer. During the last few days our 
 eyes have grown stronger, as we have used them care- 
 fully. The temperature of the sea- water is 31" F.; that 
 of the fresh water on the floe S2° F. At this moment, 
 I hear expressions of astonishment at the appearance of 
 a fly which has perched or settled on the sails; in 
 truth, a hopeful sign ! The month of May, however, 
 is no month of pleasure to us in our captivity. With 
 the exception of the brightness and the mild tempera- 
 ture, it differs in nothing from January; resembling it in 
 its continuous northerly gales. Real night we have now 
 no longer ; jbhe sun rises at three, and sets shortly before 
 nine o'clock; the intermediate period is half-twilight. 
 The time must be at hand for the birds to choose their 
 quarters and lay their eggs. This east coast of Green- 
 land is, indeed, a deserted, dead, and dreary region; 
 and one may judge how difficult it is to approach, for, 
 
'!! 
 
 m 
 
 1 
 
 AN ARDUOUS EMPLOYMENT. 
 
 tK 
 
 I El 
 
 'i^vmm^m 
 
r I 
 
CONDITION OF THE ICE-FIELD. 
 
 07 
 
 had our lives depended on the issue, we could not have 
 reached it with the boats." 
 
 No change taking place in the situation of the ice, 
 we resolved, hard as the work would be, to drag our 
 boats to the island of Illuidlek, which lay distant about 
 three nautical miles. We began on the evening of the 
 20th, making use of the cables we had prepared during 
 the winter; and harnessed ourselves with a strap fast 
 across the shoulders. We did not accomplish more than 
 three hundred paces, however. The snow fell in thick- 
 coming flakes, and melted almost immediately; so that 
 in our night-encampment in the boats we suffered 
 much from the damp. 
 
 On the 21st, in the afternoon, the weather cleared. 
 The captain and Mr. Hildebrandt then undertook an 
 excursion towards the land. They found the ice ill- 
 adapted to their project — many floes being intersected by 
 wide crevasses, the ice being piled up in enormous 
 blocks, and few of the fields exceeding one hundred 
 paces in length. It appeared to us impossible to haul 
 the boats through such a labyrinth; and we resolved to 
 await the efiect of the spring-tides, which would flow 
 in a few days. 
 
 The time seemed to us dreadfully long. Some of the 
 men amused themselves with carving; and we ourselves 
 undertook to fashion the pieces for a game of chess. 
 Bade made a king in full regal attire, and crowned. 
 Others undertook more useful tasks, and wove some 
 lines, eighty fathoms long, in the hope of catching a 
 few fish to vary our scanty bill of fare. 
 
 (• .'i; hi 
 
 m 
 
 
 
•■'!•., 
 
 478 
 
 AN ISLAND-DESERT. 
 
 ; n 
 
 i i ! 
 
 The weather, on the 24th of May, was splendid. The 
 sun shone in a cloudless sky, and the thermometer, 
 when exposed to its rays, marked 95° F. We gladly 
 availed ourselves of such an opportunity of thoroughly 
 drying our clothes and linen, which had long been in a 
 wretchedly damp condition. The boats were uncovered, 
 and smoked bravely in the hot sunlight Everybody 
 was on the alert. Mr. Bade, accompanied by some of 
 the men, went hunting for a dinner. An unsuccessful 
 hunt! The seals would not show; tlie fish would not 
 bite; and the silly divers were wise enough to keep out 
 of the range of shot. Mr. Hildebrandt, with the sailors 
 Philipp and Paul, succeeded, however, in reaching the 
 island of Illuidlek, which lay three miles distant, with 
 an elevation of from one hundred and forty to one hun- 
 dred and fifty yards. They landed at one; and were 
 back with us by four o'clock. 
 
 This rocky island-desert measures about ten nautical 
 miles in circumference. Our men landed on the north- 
 east side, at a spot from which, in boats, it would be 
 easy to reach the south coast, where we might expect 
 to be sheltered from the wind and the ice-drift. There 
 was also a chance of adding to our provision-store by 
 hunting sea-birds. 
 
 Such waa Mr. Hildebrandt's report, and it confirmed 
 us in our resolve to make for the island. As the heat 
 of the sun was fatiguing, and the glare of the snow 
 blinding, we agreed to travel by night and rest by day; 
 and we calculated that the journey might be accom- 
 plished in eight days. 
 
 On the first night we succeeded in advancing five 
 
AT ILLUIDLEK. 
 
 479 
 
 idid. The 
 rmometer, 
 tVe gladly 
 horoughly 
 been in a 
 uncovered, 
 Iverybody 
 Y some of 
 isuccessful 
 would not 
 ) keep out 
 the sailors 
 Lching the 
 tant, with 
 > one hun- 
 and were 
 
 a nautical 
 bhe north- 
 would be 
 ht expect 
 1 There 
 i-store by 
 
 confirmed 
 5 the heat 
 the snow 
 t by day; 
 >e aceom- 
 
 icing five 
 
 hundred and thirty paces. Then we enjoyed the day's 
 rest, and at seven in the evening resumed our painful 
 toil. That night we made seven hundred paces. The 
 27th was Konrad's birthday ; and to keep up the spirits 
 of the men, we served cut to each a glass of sherry. 
 The work increased in difficulty as we advanced. First, 
 the boats had to be emptied, and dragged to the spot 
 where we purposed to rest for the day. Then we had 
 to return across the broken ice to fetch our stores ; and, 
 loaded with these, to regain the boats. As each person's 
 burden was one hundred to one hundred and five pounds, 
 the labour we underwent is more easily imagined than 
 described. But it is useless to dwell on details : suffice 
 it to say that on the 4th of June we succeeded in land- 
 ing on lUuidlek ; and we felt we had cause for gratitude 
 to an all-merciful Providence. 
 
 ON THE ISLAND OF ILLUIDLEK. 
 
 This small island stretches in the direction of south- 
 east to north-west. On the north-west a steep, dome- 
 shaped eminence, and in the south-east a sloping moun- 
 tain, are surrounded by clusters of barren and rugged 
 cliffs. From a small island, Ivimiut, lying in front of 
 it, and from Cape Discord on the mainland, it is sepa- 
 rated by a narrow channel. On the side which faces 
 the mainland extends the formidable barrier of a long 
 chain of rocks, beyond which lies a low island: pro- 
 bably that which, in Graah's map, is named Omenarsuk. 
 These rocks are of the most fantastic outline, and en- 
 tirely devoid of vegetation. A couple of solitary gulls, 
 perched in a crevice of the rock, regarded our arrival 
 
 
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 410 
 
 THE VOYAGE RESUMED. 
 
 ' \ I 
 
 ' i ■' 
 
 with curious ej^e; while a legion of guillemots screamed 
 and fluttered in the open waters of the pass. 
 
 We were between the south-east shore of the island, 
 Cape Discord, and the little island of Ivimiut. Towards 
 ten o'clock we entered a bay sheltered by high cliffs 
 from the north ; we christened it Hansa-Hafen (or 
 Hansa Harbour). There we designed to pass the night, 
 and with this view had already carried ashore our 
 stores; but the tide falling, our boats grounded, and 
 therefore, about midnight, we left the bay, and made 
 fast to a piece of ice lying close in-shore. It was now 
 exactly four weeks since we had left the floe in the 
 hope of gaining the mainland in a few days. 
 
 On Whitsunday the weather was beautiful. Messrs. 
 Hildebrandt and Bade took the small boat, and went 
 hunting. The spoils they brought back were scanty; 
 consisting only of twenty-two divers — the flesh of which, 
 however, prepared as a stew, furnished us with a couple 
 of capital dinners. Our provisions were now reduced to 
 a fortnight's supply. 
 
 The hunters had wandered into the higher grounds, 
 and had discovered along the coast, in a southerly 
 direction, a narrow strip of water. They found them- 
 selves in the midst of bare rocks, the more sterile as 
 they were more elevated, and bearing only a few mosses 
 and some creeping willows. No trace of man was 
 discernible. lUuidlek, where Graah had found a small 
 native population, seemed to have been long uninhabited. 
 
 On Whit-Monday, the 6th of June, we resumed our 
 enterprise. Our destination was Friedrichsthal, the 
 nearest settlement on the south-west coast of Green- 
 
CAPE PENTECOST. 
 
 481 
 
 screamed 
 
 he island, 
 Towards 
 ligh cliffs 
 3afen (or 
 the night, 
 shore our 
 aded, and 
 and made 
 was now 
 oe in the 
 
 , Messrs. 
 and went 
 'e scanty; 
 i of which, 
 1 a couple 
 educed to 
 
 r grounds, 
 southerly 
 nd them- 
 sterile as 
 Bw mosses 
 man was 
 id a small 
 inhabited, 
 umed our 
 sthal, the 
 of Green- 
 
 land. However, we hoped to encounter, long before 
 reaching that far-off point, some fishing-party of Eskimos 
 in search of seals. We painfully followed up the Kan- 
 gerdleck fiord, sometimes pushing and sometimes swim- 
 ming ; then with oars and sail we made head against a 
 violent south-west wind from six o'clock, when the ice 
 had become more broken up, until eleven &,i night. 
 
 Omenarsuk Island rises scarcely one hundred and 
 thirty feet above the sea, and yet on the north side is 
 found a spot, only a few yards square, covered with fresh- 
 water ice, which has all the appearance of a diminutive 
 glacier. From its situation it cannot be an isolated block 
 of ice detached from the heights, but rather a patch of 
 fresh-water ice, caused by the melting of the snows, 
 which would be frozen in the ravines of the island. This 
 formation of land-ice in so small a quantity, in the very- 
 neighbourhood of those mighty ice-currents, appeared 
 to us an interesting phenomenon. 
 
 A mile from the headland of this strait, which we 
 named Cape Pentecost, we hauled up our boats on the 
 firm and even coast-ice. 
 
 On the 7th of June, the weather was all that could 
 be desired. We proceeded very pleasantly under sail, 
 enjoying the rays of the sun along a precipitous coast, 
 and doubled Cape Pentecost, which raises aloft into 
 the air its rocky crest. Gloomy and wild was the 
 aspect of the shore. The dark-coloured rocks were 
 relieved by narrow streaks of snow which descended 
 them about half-way down; and sometimes also we 
 remarked the green tint of a few wretched mosses 
 
 (544) 
 
 81 
 
 r ! 
 
 'lip 
 
 h I 
 
 ■^wn^ vr ■'y^/i^^<ff!*?i:!fm^r;^^ 
 
r I 
 
 482 
 
 THE GREENLAND COAST. 
 
 \. ^ 
 
 m 
 
 .1' 
 
 1. 
 
 
 I 'I 
 
 creeping over the hard surface. At noon we encamped 
 on a small island — Kutek of Graah's map. In the hollow 
 of its rocks we found some fresh limpid water, excellent 
 for culinary purposes, and of which we drank heartily 
 a delicious draught. The rocky shores of Kutek must 
 have been frequently in collision with the ice-masses 
 descending from the north ; and, indeed, in many places 
 they had been plainly worn down and levelled. On 
 these rocks, which were covered at high water, we saw 
 the shining fragments of floes which liad been driven 
 against them and shattered in pieces. 
 
 In the evening we hauled up our boats for the first 
 time on the rocks of the Greenland continent, about five 
 miles to the north of Cape VaUoe. And as there we werf 
 safe from all contact with the ice, we gave ourselves up 
 to complete repose. At daybreak, the light of a glow- 
 ing sun revealed the scanty vegetation of the soil. There 
 were sorrel, dandelion, and cinque-foil, which we sought 
 for eagerly in the hollows and crevices of the rocky 
 ground. "With the help of a little pickle, we improvised 
 a salad, to eat with the remains of our divers. 
 
 Again we set sail, and by the evening had traversed 
 twenty miles. This time our encampment was made 
 on the south point of Greenland (lat, 60° 34' N.), in front 
 of the fiord of Lindenow. 
 
 ' On the following day we doubled Cape Hvidtfeldt, 
 which rises in the form of a majestic pyramid to a 
 height of several thousand feet. Before it lay a group 
 of rocks, at one of which we checked our course, in 
 order to find the best channel. 
 
 The colour of the mountains from this point contrasted 
 
NEARER AND NEARER. 
 
 488 
 
 [II 1 
 
 absolutely with those we had hitherto seen. They looked 
 like melted copper. The intensely blue atmosphere in 
 which they raise their magnificent forms, enhances the 
 richness of the hues of this picturesque coast. 
 
 The rocks lying almost immediately under the cape 
 are washed perfectly round, and may be compared to 
 gigantic ramparts, polished and smooth on every side. 
 The sea and the ice have done their work. These 
 dome-shaped rocks and rocky cupolas continued visible 
 along the whole line of coast; thousands in number, 
 forming a complete bulwark of stone, and serving to 
 defend the land against the encroachment of the ice. 
 
 But as we continued our voyage we were greeted 
 by shores of a brighter aspect. To the north of the 
 promontory of Igalalik, we perceived, at a great dis- 
 tance, some " spots of greenery " covered with a short 
 crisp herbage. Unfortunately, a thick fog prevailed, 
 and in threading the labyrinth of islands at the mouth 
 of Prince Christian Strait we missed our goal. The 
 weather had become verj'- bad. But the south-west 
 wind, blowing straight in-shore, drove us, just when we 
 were seeking shelter, into the first and best of the fiords 
 so numerous in these parts. We had entered into it 
 for some time under full sail, when the waters became 
 singularly siiiooth; we were probably in an inlet, and 
 we supposed it must be Prince Christian Strait. 
 
 We continued our course perseveringly until two in 
 the morning. A plateau of granite, sloping gently to 
 the sea, furnished us with a capital site for our encamp- 
 ment, and the boats, after our usual custom, were soon 
 arranged so as to serve for tents. 
 
 i 
 
 I 'si! 
 
 rVih 
 
 ! 
 
r I 
 
 484 
 
 A ROMANTIC LANDSCAPE. 
 
 ■ -r 
 
 In our secure asylum we could comfortably abandon 
 ourselves to a sound sleep. We had been successful in 
 gaining, as we supposed, the south point of Greenland, 
 and a few days ought to bring us to Friedrichsthal. 
 The dread of death by starvation, the terrible spectre 
 which had steadily confronted us for the last four 
 weeks, was gradually passing into the shadow of ob- 
 livion ; and so, at breakfast, we made an heroic attack 
 on our fat and ham. 
 
 But it was desirable we should ascertain as accurately 
 aa possible our exact geographical position. We de- 
 ferred our departure, therefore, until after the noonday- 
 meal. After our morning toilet, which a small stream 
 tumbling down the mountain-side enabled us to per- 
 form luxuriously, we climbed the height to obtain a 
 view of the surrounding landscape. How novel was 
 the scene on which our gaze rested ! No longer masses 
 of barren rocks alt/cmating with the everlasting ice. 
 Soft carpets of verdant mosses sparkled in every direc- 
 tion, and the dwarf wiUows put forth their young and 
 tender sprays. And yet no long time had elapsed since 
 the disappearance of the snow. We did not need to 
 climb very high to come upon vestiges of the winter 
 still. The channel beneath us had almost the appear- 
 ance of a Take ; and from our elevated position we could 
 see another opening southward, which seemed to be 
 bounded in the distance by an island. Eastward the 
 land rose with a gentle inclination ; while westward, 
 where the channel disappeared behind a rocky pro- 
 montory, swelled a sea of lofty mountains. All was 
 calm and desolate, except for the occasional flight of 
 
UNDER CANVAS. 
 
 486 
 
 a white-winged gull, or the piping of a lonely snow- 
 bunting. 
 
 The captain and chief officer had raised their tem- 
 porary observatory on a broad platform of granite. 
 Their observations showed that we were in lat. 60° 4' 
 N. We were not in Prince Christian Strait, therefore, 
 but farther to the south. '. 
 
 Thanks to a fair wind, we sailed a dozen miles in 
 this supposed strait ; but found it entirely surrounded 
 by rocks, and ascending the high ground, we convinced 
 ourselves that our boats had entered a bay and not an 
 arm of the sea. We had to retrace our path, accord- 
 ingly, and take to our oars. On both sides the land- 
 scape was picturesque and majestic. The sombre rocky 
 walls, their summits white with snow, rose to an 
 altitude of several thousand feet. Out of their fissures 
 and crevices sparkled foaming torrents, fed by the melt- 
 ing snows, which fell into the waters of the bay with a 
 pleasant din. Here and there soft beds of moss were 
 visible, and the birds made their appearance more 
 frequently. 
 
 At six in the evening we had regained our original 
 starting-point. We did not rest, however, and until 
 midnight continued our course under sail, advancing 
 four miles farther to the south, where we put into a 
 small but sheltered inlet. From some traces found 
 upon the shore, and more particularly from the seal-bones 
 scattered about, we concluded that the Eskimos had, in 
 passing, resided there for some time. . Small squares of 
 stones, and fragments of earthenware, mixed with the 
 bones of seals, confirmed us in this conclusion. 
 
 '■ >i 
 
 W 
 
486 
 
 AT SEDLEVIK. 
 
 The landscape was indescribably grand. A chain of 
 hills, clad in verdurous mosses, bounded it on the left ; 
 while to the right rose a mighty rampart, twelve hun- 
 dred feet in elevation. A rocky pyramid reared its 
 bulk on high ; and copious torrents, flashing over tlie 
 ridges, dashed headlong upon the wreck and ruin ac- 
 cumulated at the base of the cliffs, to join together in a 
 noble lake. The bottom of the bay was picturesquely 
 shut in by mountains, whose frozen rivers poured their 
 shining waters also into the lake ; which, in its turn, 
 descended into the sea, forming a cataract of rare mag- 
 nificence. 
 
 I . SEDLEVIK. 
 
 At eleven o'clock in the morning we resumed our 
 voyage, with a fresh northerly breeze. About noon we 
 doubled the point of Christian IV. Island, and then 
 rode between the islands situated to the north of Cape 
 Farewell, so as to gain the much larger island of Sedle- 
 vik, — which braves the sea with several conspicuous 
 promontories. As yet we had not fallen in with a 
 single Eskimo, although it was generally believed that 
 they came to fish in these waters. At a later date we 
 learned that the seal-fishery, which is of so much im- 
 portance to the Greenlanders, is carried on chiefly to the 
 south of Cape Farewell. 
 
 We spent Sunday, the 12th of June, on the island of 
 Sedlevik. Some of us went out on a hunting expedi- 
 tion. What a difference between these mossy lawns, so 
 thick and elastic, into which we sank knee-de'^p, and 
 the sterile, rugged rocks we had hitherto trodden ! At 
 the foot of the one lofty mountain, rising in the centre 
 
A SUMMER PICTURE. 
 
 487 
 
 of the isle, Summer had lavished all her wealth. Among 
 willows and flowering birches, the rich greenness of which 
 rose like embroider)'-work upon a ground of moss, the 
 sweet-smelling angelica and smooth-leaved sorrel pushed 
 their way ; tall and graceful ferns developed their finely- 
 wrought fronds ; and the rocky slopes were adorned 
 with the violet-tinted flower-beds of th.) low-lying 
 Sibbaldia. Below, at our feet, lay blue reaches of sea, 
 branching off in various directions, and stretching their 
 long, deep arms far into the heart of the mountains, 
 which, with azure ravines and whitely-gleaming glaciers, 
 bounded the view. Small icebergs, drifting on the 
 waters, lent life to the glorious picture ; fancy thought 
 of them as of the last ships of Winter's formidable 
 armada. Ah, what a different impression the landscape 
 made upon us now, to what it did but a few days before, 
 when we were all uncertain as to our fate, and almost 
 afraid to hope ! 
 
 On the 14th of June, we set out at four in the morn- 
 ing. We crossed between floes until we had doubled 
 the north point of the island ; ran before the wind 
 through Torsukatek Strait ; and then, as the wind fell, 
 rowed westward, keeping as near the coast as possible, 
 and steering for Friedrichsthal. And behold, after 
 rounding a low headland, the long-desired haven opened 
 before us ! It was a moment never, never to be for- 
 gotten ! With a wind in our favour, we hoisted sail, 
 and, the German flag fluttering at our masthead, careered 
 along right merrily. A few hundred steps from the 
 shore, on the green ground^ stood a tolerably spacious 
 red house, crowned by a small tower. This was the 
 
 I 'I i 
 
 v* 
 
 t- 
 
 •'1(1 
 
 ii 
 
488 
 
 r I 
 
 ARRIVAL AT FRIEDRICHSTHAL. 
 
 mission-house. More to the side, and somewhat nearer 
 to the bank, stood a similar building; and near it a 
 cluster of gloomy-looking stone huts, which we supposed 
 to be the dwellings of the Eskimos. To the left opened 
 a spacious bay, striking inland towards the north. The 
 landscape was set, as it were, in a frame of lofty moun- 
 tains, terminated in the distance by chains of dim blue 
 peaks. 
 
 AT FRIEDRICHSTHAL. 
 
 Can the reader imagine the emotions which animated 
 the hearts of the castaways of the Hanaa ? The Moslems 
 who, after their long pilgrimage, descry the white walls 
 of Mecca ; the Christian votaries who see the towers of 
 Jerusalem rising before them, — can scarcely experience 
 such feelings of delight as thrilled our bosoms when we 
 beheld the little colony of Friedrichsthal. He who for 
 long days has lain upon the bed of suffering, abandoned 
 even by the physicians, convinced of theii powerlessness 
 to save him, but who suddenly regains his health, and 
 enjoys for the first time, under the influence of a benefi- 
 cent sun, the life given back to him, — he alone can com- 
 prehend the sentiment which filled our grateful souls on 
 the 13th of July 1870. 
 
 Friedrichsthal is one of the latest establishments of 
 those devoted servants of Christ, the Moravian mission- 
 aries. It dates from 1827. It is situated in lat. 60° N.; 
 that is, with Pamiadluk, which lies a few miles farther 
 south, and is the residence of a small Danish trader, it 
 is the southernmost part of Greenland inhabited by 
 Europeans. 
 
A HEARTY WELCOME. 
 
 489 
 
 Its population, including the Eskimos scattered about 
 its vicinity, numbers 837 souls. The natives call the 
 mission Narsak — that is, " the flat land ; " a sufficient 
 distinction in mountainous Greenland, where level 
 country is so rarely found. 
 
 The verdurous fields of Friedrichsthal descend gently 
 to the sea. On either side high mountains stretch in- 
 land to the north. On the left the chain is separated 
 from the settlement by a bay or fiord, running parallel 
 to it — the Narksamiut. On the right, a bright stream, 
 which the missionaries call Konigsbach (or King's-back), 
 flashes from the ridge. The shore, smooth and level 
 throughout its entire extent, terminates with a natural 
 mole or pier of granite — the " Look-out " Hill. 
 
 These details we necessarily learned at a later period. 
 We were thinking of other things, when a fair wind 
 wafted us gently into the bay of Friedrichsthal, our 
 sails swelling, and the national flag fluttering at the 
 fore. At the door of the mission-house a blue dress was 
 visible for a moment, and then disappeared. Soon after- 
 wards, quite a throng of people pressed down to the 
 shore ; they had seen us. The slopes of the Look-out 
 Hill were also crowded. An European moved to and 
 fro like a man charged with authority. Had they then, 
 even in Greenland, a local or maritime police, or what ? 
 Where at first we had seen but a heap of stones, all was 
 now alive. There stood a group of human forms, 
 strangely attired — the natives of the country, who, hud- 
 dled one against another, with their dress of skins and 
 their tawny faces, could scarcely be distinguished from 
 the rocks. A man in a kajak put off to meet us ; but, 
 
 '(. 
 
 
- ! 
 
 490 
 
 THE MORAVIAN MISSION. 
 
 H 
 
 I'h 
 
 m \n 
 
 
 as soon as he had examined us, was on the point of re- 
 turning. Some words spoken by the European official 
 seemed to check him, and give him courage ; he paddled 
 again towards us, saluted us with friendly gestures, and 
 finally conducted us into the harbour. 
 
 As soon as we reached the land, everybody would fain 
 have been the first to disembark. On all sides we were 
 welcomed with embraces and hearty hand-shaking. 
 Words died away in the throat; voices trembled. The 
 man from the cliff, and the natives, hastened to greet us. 
 The supposed guardian of the public safety proved to 
 be Mr. Starick, the missionary ; who, with Mr. Gericke, 
 superintended the affairs of the colony. Both opened 
 wide their eyes when we briefly related the chief inci- 
 dents of our voyage. Mr. Gericke desired the women 
 who w^ere present to prepare coffee for us ; and leaving 
 our men to moor and unload the boats, we followed the 
 good pastor. 
 
 The mission-house is a timber building of one story. 
 Like most of the European dwellings in Greenland, it 
 was made in Denmark, brought out in pieces, and then 
 put together on its present site. It is no larger than the 
 huts of the Erzgebirge or the Hartz, and in its coat of red 
 paint resembles the Swedish peasant-houses. Its founda- 
 tions are laid on moss-covered rock. The erection of 
 this modest edifice, and of a plain wooden church, cost 
 more trouble than the building of many a palace in 
 Germany. It was necessary to transport each piece by 
 water from Julianashaab, about eighty miles distant, in 
 boats rowed by women. 
 , In the interior everything seemed very comfortable. 
 
: It 
 
 MAKING A GOOD MEAL. 
 
 491 
 
 i point of re- 
 opean official 
 3 ; he paddled 
 gestures, and 
 
 iy would fain 
 ddes we were 
 land-shaking. 
 jmbled. The 
 d to greet us. 
 sty proved to 
 
 Mr. Gericke, 
 Both opened 
 tie chief iaci- 
 d the women 
 ; and leaving 
 
 followed the 
 
 of one story. 
 Greenland, it 
 ces, and then 
 Tger than the 
 its coat of red 
 3. Itsfounda- 
 le erection of 
 church, cost 
 Y a palace in 
 each piece by 
 lies distant, in 
 
 comfortable. 
 
 The rooms were painted in oil, and neatly furnished. A 
 few flowers in the windows supplied imperfectly the 
 place of a garden, which the rigorous Greenland climate 
 renders impossible ; or, at least, the little plot in front of 
 the house looked dreary enough, and the turnips, its 
 only vegetation, scarcely showed their first green. 
 
 We were soon seated round the hospitable board of 
 Mr. Gericke, who, as well as Mr. Starik, was very anxious 
 to hear the story of our adventures. The women of the 
 house did not keep us waiting long. They spread a 
 white cloth upon the table, in the middle of which stood 
 a mighty pile of rusks, and near it some delicious butter. 
 Then our amiable hostesses dispensed the contents of a 
 huge can of smoking coffee ; and to the good things set 
 before us we hastened to do justice. We ate, we drank, 
 w^ talked. Great was our confusion when the pile of 
 biscuits disappeared with indecorous rapidity ! We 
 looked at one another astonished ; but, lo ! another pile 
 stood before us, demanding and receiving our attention. 
 Captain Hegemann felt it incumbent upon him to offer 
 some excuses for the voraci^''^ of our appetite ; but our 
 hosts refused to listen to them, declaring that the more 
 we ate the better they were pleased. Our men, mean- 
 time, seated at a table in the church, fared sumptuously 
 on crisp sea-biscuits made of excellent rye-fiour. 
 
 Alter the repast was at an end, the missionaries 
 eagerly offered to supply us with whatever we stood in 
 need off. Our shoes were in a sad condition, so each 
 accepted a new pair. For this purpose, a contribution 
 was levied on the boot-store, and we merrily ensconced 
 our feet and legs in solid boots of seal-skin. ' 
 
i 
 
 492 
 
 THE NATIVES DESCRIBED. 
 
 It was arranged that we should sleep in a small 
 chamber used as a school, near the church, on the forms, 
 placed one against another. 
 
 Properly speaking, the church is nothing more than 
 an oratory, A table covered with a black cloth indi- 
 cates the place of the preacher ; and a harmonium — for 
 this instrument has travelled as far as Greenland — 
 stands near the table. 
 
 f 1 
 
 1 
 
 I^^H' ^ 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 II 
 
 ^M i 
 
 DAYS AT FRIEDRTCHSTHAL. 
 
 The impression at first produced upon us by the 
 natives was not unfavourable. Undoubtedly, those rather 
 ugly and inexpressive physiognomies, — those broad, 
 flat faces, with little sidelong black eyes, the whole 
 framed in stitF bristle-like black hair, did not create any 
 very strong prepossession in their favour ; but our sym- 
 pathy was conquered by their air of candour and good- 
 will. As soon as they found that we were peaceable 
 people, and, above all, the countrymen of their beloved 
 missionaries, they became confidential. The man whom 
 we had seen first was the chief of a Greenland village, 
 Igalorsoeitsiak, situated near Cape Farewell, and was 
 named Jonathan. The missionaries described him as a 
 skilful hunter and a brave man. We were in urgent 
 want of a pilot to take us from Friedrichsthal, and no 
 one seemed better adapted to the post. He expressed 
 himself willing to accept it, and asked only for time to 
 arrange his domestic aftairs before setting out ; which, of 
 course, was granted. . • . 
 
 We learned that a vessel of the Danish navy, engaged 
 on colonial service — the brig Constance, Captain Barry — 
 
AN ESKIMO VILLAGE. 
 
 493 
 
 "^m 
 
 B:^, ,,.. 
 *-«|'^1'|| 
 
 ! mih 
 
 ■was momently expected at Julianashaab, and that it 
 was the single opportunity we should have that year 
 for effecting our return home. We resolved, therefore, 
 to leave Friedrichsthal as soon as Jonathan was ready. 
 
 About three o'clock we sat down to a comfortable 
 repast, composed of wine-soup, roast kid, potatoes, pan- 
 cakes, and pickles ; the whole washed down with some 
 weak sherry. 
 
 In the evening we conceived the idea of visiting the 
 Eskimo village. All the huts were empty, the windows 
 carried away, the interiors full of uncleanness. Heaps 
 of ordure and refuse, formed of animal remains, spread 
 abroad a pestilential odour ; thousands of flies swarmed 
 about them, and literally set the piles of filth in motion. 
 There were no men, but there were goats, and a large 
 herd soon gathered round us. 
 
 For supper we had a gigantic dish of porridge and a 
 vast mountain of omelettes, seasoned by lively conversa- 
 tion. We learned that, miraculously, — for we had no 
 landmarks or indications, — we had discovered the best 
 route for East Greenland. The missionaries told us that 
 Prince Christian Strait was completely blocked up with 
 ice-floes, through which it was difficult to force a pass- 
 age: our bay was a genuine discovery. We learned, 
 too, the reason why we had not fallen in with a solitary 
 native. All the Greenlanders cherish a profound dread 
 of the races dwelling farther north, believing they are 
 cannibals ; a belief originating in some of the old legends 
 of the Norsemen. The reader may understand, there- 
 fore, the feelings with which they watched our arrival 
 on their coast in our three boats, — crafts such as they 
 
 IJ 
 
 mm'' 
 

 if 
 
 41 
 
 f ! t it 
 
 ■ i ■ 
 
 p.. \ 
 
 • 
 
 1 ' ' ' 
 
 1 
 I. 
 
 
 r t 
 
 494 
 
 THE EAST GREENLANDERS. 
 
 had never before beheld in these waters ! What terror 
 our appearance must have produced in the hearts of 
 these poor, timid, superstitious Greenlanders ! So they 
 made all haste to escape as soon as they caught sight of 
 us. We must have passed, said the missionaries, many 
 of their settlements ; and it was possible that at Sedle- 
 vik, for example, we had sailed, during the night, close 
 by a Greenland village. But even by day it is not easy 
 to distinguish their little turf-roofed huts, unless you 
 are right above them, or your eye is accustomed to look 
 for them. 
 
 The inhabitants of East Greenland are, as a rule, 
 stronger and taller than those of West Greenland ; and 
 their hair is of a light-brown colour. When they 
 migrate to the west, it takes them some time to grow 
 acclimatized, and they suffer much from a cutaneous 
 disease. 
 
 It was late when we retired to our sleeping-quarters 
 in the schoolroom. What a satisfaction we found it, to 
 be able, for the first time since the 2nd of January, to 
 undress before we went to bed ! And then, too, we 
 could sleep without any anxiety. What terrible nights 
 of anguish we had undergone ! And now all was, 
 happily, at an end. 
 
 We had just finished our night toilet, when the door 
 opened and M. Starik entered with a jug of beer. Who 
 could resist the temptation ? The foaming liquor, which 
 did honour to the Greenland brewery, soon sparkled in 
 our glasses. 
 
 Early next morning friend Starik reappeared with an 
 ample breakfast. The massacre of the biscuits was re- 
 
EUROPEAN WONDERS. 
 
 495 
 
 peated. Then we attended to our toilet, and each in 
 his turn sallied forth, as clean and trim as possible. Our 
 men had done uie same. ' .■ ' <■ 
 
 Meanwhile, our linen had been washed by the Green- 
 land women. , 
 
 Our attention was constantly engaged by the new 
 scenes unfolded before us. Some kajaks had arrived 
 in the gray of the morning, and their owners approached 
 our boats with wondering curiosity. We took these 
 little swarthy men for lads about fifteen years of age ; 
 but learned that they were all husbands and fathers. 
 Naturally, they were much in want of everything we 
 could give them, and it was not long before they struck 
 up a warm friendship with our men. It was not with- 
 out some degree of pride each brought from his kajak 
 his carbine and powder-flask ; but they were overcome 
 with astonishment when they saw the skill and rapidity 
 with which our seamen handled the needle-gun. Our 
 musical-boxes did not less astonish them : nothing could 
 be more amusing than to observe the stupefaction with 
 which these little men and women listened to the tink- 
 ling, silvery sounds ; and had not M. Starik been pre- 
 sent, they would probably have thought of their long- 
 forgotten demon Cornik, and have taken us for sorcerers. 
 
 On the shore our ofiicers and the missionaries amused 
 themselves with firing at a target, and many of the 
 natives gathered round them. Others paid a visit to 
 the servants, who were actively engaged in manuftictur- 
 ing boots for those of us whose wants had not yet been 
 supplied. They gave them some sewing-needles, and 
 
 
i ! 1 
 
 V ■ 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 496 
 
 A GREENLAND CELLAR. 
 
 received in return a grateful "Kojunok" ("I thank you"). 
 Both the married women and their daughters, eight in 
 all, had an air of great mildness. M. Laube wished to 
 sketch them. We made them also write their names in 
 our memorandum-books. Our friendly attentions they 
 received with all the little coquettish graces of the 
 beauties of our own country, whispering and bending 
 down their heads ; it was even with a blush that the 
 respectable maiden, Sibylla, aged fifty, inscribed her 
 name upon the leaf 
 
 We visited this morning another curiosity — a Green- 
 land cellar; that is, a cavity in the rock, shaped like 
 a swallow's nest, where the inhabitants stow away pell- 
 mell their stores for winter, — dried fish, the blubber and 
 flesh of seal ; and when the space is filled, they close up 
 the entrance with a stone. 
 
 Generally speaking, no one is the least afraid that his 
 cellar will be plundered by his neighbour. The mis- 
 sionaries eulogized most warmly the honesty of their 
 parishioners, and assured us that they would endure 
 the crudest sufferings of famine rather than rob their 
 fellow-countrymen of their food. 
 
 Another fact may be recorded to the credit of the 
 Greenlanders : we met with scarcely one who could not 
 write his ,name. They are musicians. The musical 
 services in the church are conducted by a band of wind 
 instruments ; a genuine Greenlander oflSciates at the 
 organ — and, what is better, composes the hymns and 
 -^bta them to music. 
 
 We must also refer to the remarkable skill in leather- 
 "7ork which the women exhibit. There is something 
 
UNSEEN COMPANIONS. 
 
 497 
 
 wonderful in the care and patience with which they 
 execute the prettiest mosaics imaginable, for the adorn- 
 ment of their chaussures and other articles of clothing, 
 with tiny pieces of leather of various colours, not bigger 
 than a pin's head. Nor must we omit to praise the 
 taste which, if guided by a good housewife, they soon 
 acquire for the proper management of their houses, with 
 a due regard to order and cleanliness. 
 
 At table our hosts informed us that the natives had 
 acknowledged to them that for some days they had been 
 apprised, by their compatriots of the east coast, of the 
 approaching arrival of strangers from the east. At first 
 they were grievously alarmed, but they recovered their 
 composure on seeing us. The news of our voyage, there- 
 fore, had circulated among the unseen natives, who had 
 seen us from the distance threading our weary way 
 through the islands. 
 
 Afterwards we heard, at various places, that our ice- 
 raft had been fallen in with by some natives whom we 
 had failed to see; and, later, we convinced ourselves 
 that the rumour was not without a foundation of truth. 
 
 Yielding to the pressing entreaties of our hosts, we 
 abandoned our design of setting out on the following 
 day. They forewarned us, moreover, that at Cape 
 Egede, which we should have to double, much ice would 
 still be collected; and gave us to understand that the 
 northerly wind, then blowing, would open up a passage, 
 if we delayed another day. 
 
 In the evening, Messrs. Starik and Hildebrandt made 
 a boat-excursion on the Narksamuit. They sailed as 
 far as a point of the ba}^ where eighty women and chil- 
 
 (544) 32 
 
 5 ;-( 
 
 f . li' 
 
 i;\ 4, 
 
 srn^iW I "ii 
 
498 
 
 FOOD-SUPPLY OF THE NATIVES. 
 
 ill', 
 
 dreii were engaged in the herring-fishery. Herrings are 
 scarcely less valuable to the Greenlanders than seals, 
 and form a principal part of their food-supply. When 
 the fish fail, hunger sets in. Like our own herring, this 
 little fish, the mallotus arcticus, bearing a. close resem- 
 blance to the sprat, is accustomed to show itself in the 
 bay every evening, towards the end of May or the be- 
 ginning of June, in shoals of great compactness; and 
 women and children catch them with a kind of drasf- 
 net. When taken, they are neither gutted nor cleaned, 
 but simply laid out upon the grass until the sun has dried 
 them sufficiently. Then they are collected and stowed 
 away for winter consumption, in old seal-skin bags or 
 other receptacles, and are eaten with fish-oil. 
 
 1 i" 
 
 1 1 
 
 As soon as the boat came in sight of the fishers, the 
 women began to utter cries of terror, and some of them 
 took to flight ; but they grew calm on recognizing their 
 friend Starik. By degrees they were completely reas- 
 sured ; and even the youngest, in their kajaks, strove to 
 keep up with the boats. They promised to bring us, on 
 their return, some fresh herring; and they kept their 
 word. On the following morning, in fact, two great 
 heaps of fish did arrive ; and being carefully cooked by 
 our hostesses, proved a very agreeable dish at breakfast, 
 They had a capital flavour; and we did them justice. 
 
 During the day some kajaks appeared, and some of our 
 men attempted to paddle these fragile boats, which are 
 very difficult to manage when one is not accustomed to 
 them. It is not an easy thing even to keep them up- 
 right on the water ; and one finds it very troublesome 
 

 A VISIT TO THE GRAVEYARD. 
 
 499 
 
 to keep one's legs always extended while rowing, if one 
 is unaccustomed to it. No wonder that the natives 
 greeted our first experiments with a hearty burst of 
 laughter. They were on the best terms with our men, 
 and a species of commercial barter was established be- 
 tween them, which proved equally agreeable and profit- 
 able for all. 
 
 The females of the household and ourselves were 
 thoroughly familiar and cordial. Konrad was promoted 
 to the post of precentor, and conducted the choral prac- 
 tice of the young girls ; and we could not but admire 
 the firmness and correctness with which they chanted. 
 The sole fault was, that they accented every melody 
 with too much emphasis. 
 
 In the evening we visited the graveyard. The graves 
 of the natives are arranged round those of the Europeans, 
 which are much fewer. The Christian mode of inter- 
 ment has been adopted, but the ancient custom is re- 
 tained of raising above the grave a pile of stones. 
 
 On the Look-out Hill we saw some graves which 
 belonged, we were told, to the days of paganism ; but, 
 in the opinion of the missionaries, they are not above 
 a century old. They are so constructed, that through 
 an aperture in the stones it is possible to see the bones 
 which they enshrine. 
 
 On the following day, the day fixed for our departure, 
 when we reached the shore, we found it swarming with 
 men, women, and children, who, in their uncleanness 
 and disorder, contrasted disadvantageously with the 
 people of the mission. 
 
 ! It] 
 
 ¥ <f ^ 
 
 V. 
 
 : 
 
 it 
 
 ■ 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 :i 
 
 ■ 
 
 ii 
 
 1 «! 
 
600 
 
 THE ISLAND OB' BEARS. 
 
 i"; 
 
 If 
 
 The boats were loaded, and the sails hoisted. It waa 
 not without emotion that we poured out our grateful 
 thanks to our hosts. We also took leave of the women 
 and the natives. The good people of Friedrichsthal ^ad 
 overwhelmed us with supplies of fresh bread, butter, 
 sugar, and coffee. At last the oars were dipped, and, 
 in the midst of a triple hurrah, we set out on our new 
 voyage. Soon the Look-out Hill hid from sight the roofs 
 of the hospitable Friedrichsthal. 
 
 We were attended by a magnificent convoy. M. 
 Guericke, with his grand-daughter, accompanied us as 
 fa^ as the next station, in an oomiak, or woman's boat, 
 filled with the members of his household ; and fully a 
 dozen of the natives escorted us in their kajaks. 
 
 THE VOYAGE. 
 
 On the opposite coast of the Narksamuit, under the 
 lofty headland of which we have already spoken, lies 
 Igikait, — the Herjulfnda of the old Norsemen. We 
 landed there. Some remains of stone walls indicate 
 that it was once occupied by Europeans. 
 
 Afterwards we halted for a while at a little island 
 with a long, sonorous, and unpronounceable name, — 
 Kikertarsoeistak. Some white partridges stimulated 
 the ardour cff our hunters. 
 
 About four o'clock we arrived off Nennortalik, other- 
 wise called the Island of Bears. There we found a 
 small Danish trading-settlement, a kind of factory. We 
 were now about half-way between Friedrichsthal and 
 Lichtenau. We had been discovered from the shore, 
 and, to our great surprise, were welcomed with salvoes 
 
It was 
 
 • grateful 
 le women 
 sthal \ad 
 d, butter, 
 )ped, and, 
 I our new 
 i the roofs 
 
 ivoy. M. 
 lied us as 
 lan's boat, 
 id fully a 
 ts. 
 
 under the 
 poken, lies 
 nen. We 
 3 indicate 
 
 btle island 
 3 name, — 
 stimulated 
 
 lik, other- 
 e found a 
 itory. We 
 isthal and 
 the shore, 
 ith salvoes 
 
 I I 
 
 !:; ' 
 
 uiii 
 
. i 
 
 '■ I 
 
A SOJOURN AT NENNORTALIK. 
 
 603 
 
 of artillery by the Danes. The environs of the little 
 harbour were thronged by upwards of three hundred 
 natives — men, women, and children. 
 
 An European forced his way through the press ; M. 
 Rosing, a merchant, who gave us a friendly invitation 
 to his house, and informed us of the arrival of the brig 
 Constance at Julianashaab, But he cautioned us not 
 to be too sanguine that she could embark us ; because, 
 as she had to make a second voyage to Greenland that 
 summer, she would only discharge her cargo, and put to 
 sea again immediately. We could not reach the colony 
 in time, he thought, to return with her. He endea- 
 voured to console us by advising us to make for Ivikat- 
 Zeltplatz, a station twenty miles to the north of Julia- 
 nashaab, in the Bay of Arsut, whither several ships re- 
 pair every summer to load with the mineral abundant 
 in that locality, chrysolite. But the prospect of another 
 long boat- voyage was not particularly seductive. What 
 should we do ? After a brief deliberation, we resolved 
 on persisting in our first design ; and begged M. Rosing 
 to write to the governor, inviting his good services to 
 secure our passage on board the Constance. Notwith- 
 standing his doubts, M. Rosing showed himself desirous 
 to facilitate our object, and Jonathan was despatched to 
 Julianashaab. We waited for the reply at Lichtenau. 
 
 Nennortalik we found to be one of the best settle- 
 ments in Greenland. The governor's house, with its 
 tarred timbers, white window-frames, and well-ordered 
 gardens, produced an agreeable impression ; the build- 
 ings adjacent, used for commercial purposes, are clean, 
 neat, and well kept. The huts of the natives, as usual, 
 
 It 
 
 h. I 
 
 
 ' n\ 
 
604 
 
 A NATIVE FLEET. 
 
 m 
 
 m ■'.'■. 
 
 el: ' 
 
 I) is 
 
 il 
 
 f'Ji 
 
 ^^1 
 
 are built of stones and turf, A few are provided with 
 roofs of timber. The interior arrangement is of the cus- 
 tomary Greenland character: a low narrow vestibule 
 opens into a small chamber, with a wainscotting all 
 round. The greater part of this room is occupied bj 
 the wooden benches on which the numerous tenants 
 take their rest. The walls are adorned with a fev^ 
 lithographs, and some looking-glasses in gilt frames ; a 
 small table stands near the window, and two or three 
 chests supply the place of chairs. 
 
 To an European, a protracted residence in one of these 
 houses would be a severe punishment. The evaporation 
 from its occupants, the smell of the fish-oil used in the 
 lamps, the half-putrid food, and the decayed skin cloth- 
 ing, so poison the atmosphere, that it is almost im- 
 possible to breathe. Ventilation might be effected by 
 means of the large window on the south side ; but it is 
 so besmeared that it admits only a scanty and gloomy 
 daylight, — and it never occurs to any person that a 
 supply of fresh air is necessary or desirable. 
 
 The island is flat and barren. Strewn with erratic 
 blocks, it rises on the west side into a mountain-mass, 
 the outer promontory of which is the formidable Cape 
 Egede. Mosses, lichens, cranberries, and bilberries 
 CO ' .r the rocks with luxurious vegetation, — if the word 
 " luxurious " can fitly be applied to scenes so barren. 
 
 The evening was spent with our host ; and we were 
 accommodated for the night in a house built by the 
 colony especially for the entertainment of travellers. 
 
 Next day we set sail early, favoured by a strong fresh 
 breeze. 
 
 'i\' 
 
^1 ,' . wijir n^TT' ^f ■ 
 
 ARRIVAL AT LICHTENAU. 
 
 505 
 
 Igdlopait, the most recent of the mission-stations 
 founded by M. Warmow, stands upon an island. Its 
 inhabitants appear remarkably squalid and oleaginous. 
 The men wear skin "vestments" in a sadly tattered 
 condition ; and the women go about with their hair 
 loose and unkempt. 
 
 We re-embarked at four in the afternoon, and in 
 three hours reached Lichtenau. 
 
 P$ 
 
 AT LICHTENAU. 
 
 Lichtenau, the oldest of the Moravian missions in 
 South Greenland, was founded in 1772. It lies about 
 four miles inland, on the Bay of Lichtenau, which 
 stretches thirty-two miles beyond it. On a small penin- 
 sula, crowned by a rocky plateau, rises the mission- 
 house ; as well as the native village, the huts of which 
 are grouped around the rocks in the form of an amphi- 
 theatre. 
 
 As we drew near Lichtenau the land-fog cleared 
 away, and the inhabitants, descrying our approach, 
 hastened in all directions to the shore. The features 
 of the young girls and women are, according to our 
 esthetic principles, far from agreeable; but it is their 
 bodily mien which is more particularly repellent. In 
 general, the costume of the Greenland women differs 
 little from that of the men. They wear boots, gaily 
 decorated with embroidery, w^hich reach to the knee ; 
 short trousers of sepl-s^ In, hung around the hips without 
 straps, but fitting closely to the body; and, finally, a 
 kind of tunic, pointed both before and behind. The 
 narrow drawers compel them to walk with knees bent 
 
 ' 1 
 
 nil 
 
 
 11 
 
 
 H 
 
 .^W^m 
 
606 
 
 THE MORAVIAN MISSIONARIES. 
 
 and body leaning forward, shuffling one foot after the 
 other, so that they look somewhat like apes. If 
 this in itself is not attractive, imagine thus curiously 
 equipped a pair of old beldames, with broad faces tanned 
 and wrinkled, noses besmeared with snuff, eyes red and 
 bleared, and fluttering gray hair like Medusa-locks ! 
 
 Making our way through the crowd gathered on the 
 shore, we reached Mr. Spindler, the missionary; who, 
 with his wife, pressed forward to give us a hearty wel- 
 come, and to express their pleasure at so unexpected a 
 visit from their countrymen. Mr. Spindler is a man in 
 the prime of life, but apparently not quite acclimatized, 
 is very intelligent and well-informed, and supplied us 
 with many interesting facts in illustration of the life 
 and manners of the Greenlanders. Mrs. Spindler, who 
 is as vivacious as she is affable, devoted herself to the task 
 of making us comfortable. Mr. Spindler was alone in 
 the mission-house; his two colleagues having gone down 
 to the bay to purchase wood. 
 
 While the northern coasts, and more particularly the 
 neighbourhood of Lichtenfels, are supplied every year 
 with a considerable quantity of drift-wood, brought 
 down by the Polar current, the missionaries in the 
 south are compelled to import their fuel from Europe, 
 or to bring 'it from the interior, often from a great dis- 
 tance. Like the firewood, winter fodder for the live 
 stock — and Lichtenau possesses three oxen and some 
 goats — can be procured only with considerable difficulty. 
 The few small grass plots which yield a scanty crop of 
 hay lie miles apart, and often at a great distance from 
 the mission. The missionaries and their wives per- 
 
11 
 
 BAD NEWS. 
 
 507 
 
 sonally attend to these important matters, and aro 
 absent in turn, several weeks at a time, throughout the 
 short summer. Mr. Spindler wished to send for his 
 colleagues from the fiord ; but as we intended leaving 
 next day in the hope of reaching Julianashaab before 
 the Constance sailed, we would not allow him. 
 
 At length Jonathan returned. The missionaries con- 
 sidered he had lost no time, but had accomplished his 
 journey with great rapidity, though much hindered by 
 fogs. He brought the good news that the Danish cap- 
 tain had willingly consented to take us on board his ship. 
 Unfortunately, the good news was followed up by a 
 very laconic letter to the contrary effect from the gover- 
 nor of the colony : — " The German voyagers to the North 
 Pole cannot embark on board the Constance, because 
 she is about to set sail on her second voyage to 
 Northern Greenland. The German voyagers should go 
 to Ivikat, where perhaps they will find another vessel." 
 
 Mortified by this frigid communication from the 
 Danish official, we held a council, and deliberated what 
 course to adopt. A voyage to Ivikat in our boats was 
 a difficult enterprise, and, according to our calculations, 
 would occupy fully ten days. Besides, we had no cer- 
 tainty that we should obtain a vessel when we arrived 
 there. 
 
 Our deliberations were protracted. At last we resolved 
 on asking the advice of the mission.aries, who immedi- 
 ately sent for their chief. 
 
 Next day the boat returned with M. Warmow ; who 
 gave it as his opinion that the best thing we could do 
 was to seek a passage home from Ivikat on board ono 
 
508 
 
 UNARTOK ISLAND. 
 
 : i 
 
 m 
 
 'ii' 
 
 of the mineral ships. At the same time, he proposed 
 that we should rest ourselves thoroughly at Lichtenau, 
 and delay our departure for a week. These friendly 
 counsels we accepted, of course, with much gratitude. 
 
 On the following day we made an excursion to the 
 island of Unartok, situated about twelve miles from 
 Lichtenau ; it is remarkable for a hot- water spring. 
 Isaac Barson, the old Norse chronicler, who described 
 the establishments of the Northmen in Greenland early 
 in the fifteenth century, makes mention of it. According 
 to him, a Benedictine cell existed in its vicinity, and 
 the virtues of the spring were already known to the 
 colonists. 
 
 Like all the island-system of Greenland, Unartok is 
 cold and desolate, comparatively flat on the north-east 
 side, but mountainous on the south-west. We could 
 discover no traces of ancient buildings ; and yet it is 
 not easy to believe that a monastery could disappear 
 entirely from the surface of the soil, even in the course 
 of four centuries. The story of the old chronicler can 
 be accepted only on the supposition that the ancient 
 Norsemen must have constructed their edifices of timber, 
 like our modern missionaries; and that these, when 
 abandone(J by their inhabitants, were destroyed by the 
 natives, who would utilize the materials in various 
 ways. 
 
 As for the thermal spring, it is a reality, not a fiction. 
 On the west side, scarcely a gunshot from the shore, is 
 found a small level b^sin, about three feet deep and 
 twenty feet in diameter, covered with a remarkably 
 
in various 
 
 ITS HOT SPRINGS. 
 
 C09 
 
 fine granitic sand. According to an alcohol-thermometer, 
 its temperature is about 96°. Twenty paces farther 
 westward, and a little higher, wells up another tiny- 
 spring, which is very deep, and filled with stones. The 
 surface of the water is covered with a yellowish brown 
 mucilaginous matter, evidently of vegetable origin. The 
 temperature of this second fountain is 102°. The water 
 has a slight alkaline flavour, and deposits a white in- 
 crustation. The high temperature of the soil, caused 
 by these warm springs, is shown by a flourishing vege- 
 tation growing luxuriantly round their basins, and con- 
 trasting agreeably with the desert appearance of other 
 parts of the island. Indeed, this oasis of verdure almost 
 reminded us of our own green fields. Water-cresses, 
 orchids, buttercups, and other meadow-flowers, display 
 their elegant corollas; and on the very edge of each 
 basin flourishes a species of reed like those which grow 
 in the marshes and morasses of Europe. 
 
 Now-a-days the spring is but little used. The natives 
 are by no means solicitous to secure for themselves the 
 physical comfort of a good bath, and the missionaries 
 seldom have occasion to visit the shores of this lonely 
 isle. And, besides, one would find little pleasure in 
 bathing in the springs, because no protection is avail- 
 able from the keen air constantly blowing towards their 
 basins. 
 
 After examining these fountains, we left the island, 
 to make another visit to Unartok, to see the so-called 
 "soft-stone" mineral, which is found in the interior. 
 This is a kind of talc, which plays an important part in 
 the domestic economy of the Greenlanders. Formerly 
 
 < 
 
 .i 
 
: 1 ; . t 
 
 b> h 
 
 M J 
 
 610 
 
 A VALUABLE MINERAL. 
 
 it was the only material which they employed for their 
 potter}'^ : and even now, though Denmark supplies them 
 with copper and iron utensils, they still use it for making 
 their pans and saucepans ; but more particularly for 
 their lamps, which are simply crescent-shaped stones 
 hollowed out, and supported on a wooden tripod. The 
 hollow part is filled with fish-oil in the following man- 
 ner : — They take a piece of blubber in their mouth, out 
 of which they press the oil with astonishing skill, and 
 squirt 't ir . lamp. Some dry moss is then strewn 
 
 over as a . . ., j^^ressed tight to the concave edge, and 
 lighted. This lamp, which gives both light and heat, — 
 for they prep? . M-l food by it, — is found in ever}^ 
 house : it is, so to speak, tiie symbol of life of a Greenland 
 family ; and they gather round it, as Englishmen round 
 their fireside. The weights of their fishing-lines are 
 also made with this stone ; and it is a curious fact that 
 the old Norsemen employed it for the same purpose. 
 In the north of Gi'eenland it is found in large quantities, 
 but it is almost a rarity in the south. 
 
 The bay does not stretch as far inland as its neigh- 
 bours, but is surrounded by mountains which form a 
 magnificent panorama. At its extremity opens the 
 mouth of a valley which penetrates far inland. By 
 following.it the traveller will come right down upon 
 Friedrichsthal ; but it is so obstructed by heavy masses 
 of rock that the water-way is preferred. 
 
 Scarcely had our boat shown itself in the interior of 
 the bay than its desert shores became suddenly alive. 
 The inhabitants of Lichtenau and Igdlopait are stationed 
 there for the herring-fishery; and as there were no fish 
 
VISIT TO IGDLOPAIT. 
 
 511 
 
 ed for their 
 pplies them 
 , for making 
 icularly for 
 iped stonea 
 ripod. The 
 owing man- 
 mouth, out 
 ig skill, and 
 then strewn 
 re edge, and 
 and heat, — 
 ad in every 
 a Greenland 
 ihmen round 
 ng-lines are 
 )us fact that 
 me purpose, 
 e quantities, 
 
 as its neigli- 
 lich form a 
 opens the 
 nland. By 
 down upon 
 eavy masses 
 
 e interior of 
 denly alive, 
 ire stationed 
 were no fish 
 
 just then to catch, the fishers were indulging in their 
 customary idleness. But our arrival startled them all 
 into activity ; everybody shouted and made signs that 
 we should find here or there, at half-a-dozen different 
 points, a good landing-place. It was with the greatest 
 difficulty in the world we kept them off our boat, which 
 they wished to drag, with us in it, along the stony 
 beach. As we proceeded to the "soft-stone" rock, the 
 crowd pressed closely in our rear ; with the exception of 
 two old women, who, being unable to bear the rocky 
 surface, stayed behind to prepare for us a savoury repast. 
 When we reached the rock we found nothing to see ; 
 the natives had worked at the rock so long and so 
 assiduously that scarcely a trace remained on the surface 
 of the soil. We resolved, therefore, to continue our 
 excursion without waiting for the delicate cookery of 
 the two respectable Greenland housewives, — who were 
 not the least affronted, and quietly ate themselves the 
 dish they had cooked for us. 
 
 It was not so easy to get out of the bay as into it. 
 A strong wind blow right in our teeth ; we were forced 
 to take to our oars, and had a long pull before we came 
 in sight of Igdlopait. We arrived there in the evening. 
 For supper we were entertained with a dish, quite pecu- 
 liar to Greenland, — consisting of young shoots of the 
 angelica steeped in vinegar and sugar. This piquant 
 aromatic food, which would be relished at every table, 
 was gratefully appreciated by us; as was also some 
 capital beer, which we could never have expected to find 
 in a rocky and sterile island. 
 
 Next morning, almost before we had finished break- 
 
 1 
 
 
512 
 
 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 fast, came a kajak from Lichtenau, with a letter which 
 compelled our immediate return. A message had been 
 received from Julianashaab ; the Constance was waiting 
 to take us on board ! Who or what, in such circum- 
 stances, could detain us a single moment ? .. 
 
 On arriving at Lichtenau, we found our companions 
 in a state of great enthusiasm. The despatch which 
 had been forwarded to us at Igdlopait had been con- 
 firmed by a second, in which Captain Bang informed us 
 that, detained by the ice, he had only got as far as the 
 island of Pardlad, near Julianashaab, where he at first 
 thought of waiting for us; but had now gone on to 
 Julianashaab to take on board provisions, and by un- 
 loading some oil to make room for us. How we embraced 
 one another ; and what congratulations we exchanged, at 
 the good news which assured us of a speedy return to 
 our native country ! 
 
 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 M. Warmow now made haste to provision our boats, 
 and added many souvenirs which, in after-times, might 
 remind us of our absent countrymen. We did our best 
 to acknowledge his generosity. As we should have no 
 further need of our boats after our arrival at Juliana- 
 shaab, we gave one of them to the missionaries of Lich- 
 tenau. We had already distributed our musical-boxes, 
 which, in spite of so many accidents, we had preserved 
 in good condition. We also left with our kindly Green- 
 land hosts those of our weapons which were no longer 
 wanted. 
 
 It was past noon when we took leave of our friends. 
 
 n 
 
ENCOUNTER WITH AN ICEBERG. 
 
 518 
 
 The whole population of Lichtenau had assembled on 
 tlie shore ; the men saluted us with incessant discharges 
 of musketry ; others, in their kajaks, made ready to act 
 as our escort. The flotilla started amidst a hurricane of 
 hurrahs and a storm of farewells ! 
 
 However, we were fated to have one more encounter 
 with the formidable icebergs of the Polar World. 
 
 Opposite the port of Lichtenau drifted a considerable 
 number of these mountains, undermined by atmospheric 
 influences and the action of the waves. The concussion 
 of the firing moved one of these to do us a mischief. 
 We had already passed it in the whale-boat ; folloAving 
 us came the smaller shallop, with M. Hildebrandt and 
 its crew of natives ; the large boat was far in the rear. 
 Suddenly the huge mass burst, and hurled its ruins 
 upon this tardy-sailing craft. Fortunately it escaped ; 
 the blocks of ice fell around it without touching it, and 
 raised enormous billows, which propelled the boat 
 violently forward. For a moment we were alarmed, 
 but our alarm changed to mirth when we saw the little 
 craft dancing on the water safe and sound, and the 
 natives, soaked by the spray which had flooded them, 
 spitting and spluttering, and drying their faces — which 
 certainly had not been so well washed for a long time. 
 
 Soon Lichtenau disappeared for ever from our gaze. 
 At the mouth of the bay is situated the factory of Siid- 
 proven. We halted a moment to salute the factor and 
 his wife. Our escort then bade us adieu, and in our. 
 three boats we continued our voyage towards Juliana- 
 shaab. 
 
 We reached the island of Karsok in the evening. 
 
 (644) 33 
 
 Ml 
 
614 
 
 AT JULIANASHAAB ! 
 
 I*' 
 
 The natives at first concealed themselves ; but discover- 
 ing M. Warmow, they came forward, and accepted very 
 willingly a present of bread and meat. They locate 
 themselves on the summit of a rocky acclivity risin<T 
 from the shore. 
 
 <t: 
 
 i 
 
 We continued our course through a labyrinth of 
 channels, straits, and islands. It wan now the 21st of 
 June, and hardly dark at midnight. We doubled the 
 island of Omarsuk and its great heart-shaped mountain, 
 which the Greenlanders named the " Mountain of the 
 World " (Berg der Welt). We were rapidly approach- 
 ing the territory of Julianashaab. 
 
 About five in the morning we found ourselves at the 
 entrance to its bay, and made a short halt under the 
 cliff: 
 
 Our men were exhausted with the fatigue of this long 
 voyage, during which we had been unable to use our 
 canvas. We had suflfered greatly, also, from the cold and 
 damp, against which we were very insufficiently pro- 
 vided. But a hearty meal of bread and meat, with a 
 good cup of hot coffee, prepared in our old and faithful 
 kettle, recruited us satisfactorily, and we resumed our 
 route with new ardour. 
 
 We wound our way among the islands strewn in front 
 of the settlement, and of which the largest, exactly 
 opposite Julianashaab, is named Storo. Two hours 
 later, and we were at Julianashaab ! 
 
 Here the narrative of the Hansa expedition virtu- 
 ally terminates. Embarking on board the Constance, 
 
BAY OF IQALLIKO. 
 
 S15 
 
 Captain Stegemann and his companions soon reached 
 Copenhagen; whence, in a few hours, they crossed 
 to their own country. ■, 
 
 AT JULIANA f.HAAB. 
 
 However, before taking leave of Greenland, and quit- 
 ting Julianashaab, they undertook some useful excur- 
 sions ; of some of which we may record the results, as a 
 supplement to the narrative of Dr. Hayes in the " Land 
 of Desolation." ' ' , . . 
 
 They visited, among other localities, the Bay of 
 Igalliko; and the following notes of Dr. Laube add 
 some interesting facts to those related by the American 
 explorer: — 
 
 The oldest settlement of the ancient Norsemen is 
 identified with the modem Igalliko. Brattelid is sup- 
 posed to be the camp of Erik Rauda, the first emigrant, 
 as the Bay of Igalliko wiU be the Bay of Eimar, The 
 arm of the sea situated at a short distance from the 
 northern point of Julianashaab, and easily reached 
 through the land of Brattelid, may be identified with 
 the Erik Fiord of the Norsemen. We leave it to the 
 archaeologists to discuss the truth of these conjectures ; 
 what is certain is, that in this neighbourhood exist 
 abundant traces of the old Norse occupation. 
 
 First, we find a large area or chamber, forming a 
 square, enclosed with massive stones, placed side by 
 side, and close together, but not joined by mortar. 
 Formerly these were arranged in several courses; but 
 now only one is extant, and the stones of the others lie 
 scattered aU around. 
 
Tfrrr 
 
 hi 
 
 mi: i 
 
 ii"^f;.' 
 
 H 
 
 616 
 
 REMARKABLE MEMORIALS. 
 
 In the re-entering angle of this courtyard lie the ruina 
 of a house, which, if ever used for residential purposes, 
 must have been of very moderate dimensions. The 
 area, enclosed by walls measures from twenty to thirty 
 paces in length by ten in width. These walls are made 
 of low blocks of stone, fitted in to one another, but not 
 set with mortar; exactly like the Cyclopean masonry 
 in the south of Europe. None of the blocks are hewn. 
 The smooth side is that where the block was separated 
 from the parent rock. The interstices are filled up with 
 small stones. In the south front of the building two 
 entrances occur. One opens into a room which the 
 Egedes had used as a. storehouse ; the other was open. 
 Both were about six feet high ; so that a big man could 
 not have passed through upright. On the slab above 
 the door lay some earth, in which grass was growing ; 
 and as this layer of mould was tolerably thick, while, 
 owing to the climatic conditions of Greenland, it could 
 not be the result of vegetation or of the decomposition 
 of the stone through atmospheric influences, we came to 
 the conclusion that the builder, like his descendants in 
 Iceland, had covered his roof with sods. The whole 
 area inside the enclosure of masonry is co/ered with 
 fragments of rock. If the Arctic climate has not tried 
 in vain its teeth upon these ancient walls, the Greenland 
 population' have also contributed largely to their de- 
 struction; for all the stones which the inhabitants of 
 Igalliko use in the construction of their houses, have 
 been hewn by the sons of the North with so much skill 
 and labour as to form most admirable materials. A 
 Greenlander will take no such trouble. He plunders 
 
A GREENLAND LAKE. 
 
 r.17 
 
 the old Norse edifices of whatever can easily be rendered 
 available, and leaves only those immense blocks which 
 cannot be removed without considerable eftbrt. 
 
 About a hundred paces beyond, we come to the ruins 
 of another building, much smaller, and unenclosed. 
 Farther still, we observe a simple rampart of stones; 
 and on the grassy slope at the extremity oi the bay lie 
 some blocks of hewn masonry, which can only be the 
 result of human labour. On a small flat island, situated 
 near the harbour, are the foundations of another Norse- 
 men's building. It is possible that these edifices may 
 have been used as storehouses and servants' residences. 
 The one on the island may have been designed v , a 
 refuge in case of danger. The early settlers had their 
 
 lilding materials close at hand. 
 
 While the voyagers waited until the charmel was 
 sufficiently free from ice to permit of their departure, 
 they found time to make another interesting explora- 
 tion : — 
 
 The journey to the lake situated near Julianashaab 
 is agreeable and instructive. It lies surrounded by 
 magnificent rocky cliffs, from which leaps a foaming 
 torrent, to empty itself into the sea after a short and 
 wild career. In the background rise picturesque moun- 
 tain-heights, mirroring their bold crests in the glassy 
 surface of the tranquil waters. The banks are carpeted 
 with soft mossy lawns, into which the wayfarer sinks 
 knee-deep. The majestic calm of the high northern 
 solitudes broods over the landscape. 
 
 We also climbed the Storefjeld, a mountain about 
 
 i 
 
m 
 
 i 
 
 < 
 
 1 
 
 t 
 
 h 
 
 a^ 
 
 ? ' 
 
 Im 
 
 i 
 
 m 
 
 
 mm 
 
 , 
 
 w 
 
 \ 
 
 
 ill' 
 
 Jl; 
 
 nil 
 
 518 
 
 ASCENDING THE STOREFJELD. 
 
 1200 feet in height, and the loftiest in the neighbour- 
 liood of the settlement. We reached its dome-shaped 
 summit by crossing ravines and scaling precipices; it 
 was an Alpine excursion on a small scale, and an ex- 
 cellent gymnastic exercise for all of us. Only we could 
 have wished to be delivered from the gnats, that plague 
 of the Greenland summer. These little mischievous 
 insects harassed us incessantly : in vain we hunted or 
 smoked them ; their swarms infested the heights as well 
 as the valley, and they gathered about the traveller from 
 head to foot. If their sting did not pi duce upon our 
 bronzed and hardened skin the effect which a ir.us- 
 quito bite has on the delicate skin of ladies, yet the tiny 
 but continuous pricking eventually became perfectly 
 intolerable. 
 
 The prospect from the crest of the Storefjeld is not 
 less beautiful than extensive. It stretches far across 
 the bare summit of the mountain, strewn with rugged 
 rocks, and beyond that of its neighbours, till it is ter- 
 minated by the inland chains of heights, crowned with 
 glaciers and eternal snows. Below lies the lake, with 
 its sapphire waters; and, beyond, the islands and the 
 strait, and the blue sea sprinkled with shining blocks 
 of ice. So gorgeous a view fully recompensed us for 
 our ftitigue, and while engaged in contemplating its 
 various aspects we forgot even the annoyance of our 
 insect-plague. Our officers, it is true, were not quite 
 so satisfied with the spectacle of the masses of ice still 
 floating on the sea ; for they were a sign that the hour 
 of departure was not yet come. 
 
ARRIVAL AT FREDERIKSHAAB. 
 
 610 
 
 The bay of Julianashaab seems tolerably full of fish. 
 One of the boats of the Constance, sent out to catch 
 some cod, returned, after a very short ab'^ence, laden 
 with booty. The fish was cut up and salted. They 
 hooked also a shark, nine feet long ; and immediately a 
 host of natives made their appearance, who seized on 
 the " hyena of the sea," carried it ashore, cut it up, and 
 then deposited the pieces on the heaps of refuse in front 
 of each house — a process by which they acquire the 
 flavour approved of by the natives. 
 
 THE HOME-VOYAGE. 
 
 At length, on the 3rd of July, about eleven A.M., the 
 Constance set sail, with the happy company of German 
 voyagers on board. She made but slow progress, how- 
 ever, and did not reach Kaksimuit (the Kraksimuet of 
 Dr. Hayes) until the night of the 15th. On the 19th 
 she resumed her voyage, and on the 22nd came in sight 
 of Frederikshaab. Here the voyagers were entertained 
 by the gambols of a herd of whales, who approached the 
 ship so near as to cover her deck with water. The 
 evolutions of the cetaceans were very interesting. It 
 was like a submarine explosion when any one of them 
 leaped from the water ; then they swam on the surface, 
 beating it with their fins so violently that the sound 
 was like a succession of cannon-reports. 
 
 In the evening, the Constance dropped anchor off 
 Frederikshaab, where she remained until the 26th, 
 
 The ice-floes were still so compact out at sea as to 
 compel the Constance to keep a northerly course. 
 Otherwise, wind and weather were favourable. In the 
 
620 
 
 IN THE OPEN SEA. 
 
 h 
 
 I* 
 
 evening the voyagers passed at a short distance the 
 second of the great glaciers of South Greenland, — the 
 Jisblink, near Fiskernaes. The portals and arcades ex- 
 cavated by the ocean- waters in this huge mass of ice 
 glowed with an emerald radiance ; and the wash of the 
 waves, sometimes feeble and sometimes violent, fell on 
 the ears of the listening explorers. The day closed up 
 with a glorious sunset. They were still attended by 
 those luminous splendours which had moved their 
 admiration during their sojourn among the ice on the 
 east coast of Greenland, and of which the dweller in 
 temperate regions can form no idea. But the clouds 
 streaked with lurid red were no good sign, and the 
 following day a storm blew up, and heavy fogs pre- 
 vailed. 
 
 On the 30th, the Constance turned her prow west- 
 ward. Towards evening, says Dr. Laube, the well- 
 known sound of the sea dashing against the ice saluted 
 our ears. It was not long before we saw the redoubt- 
 able barrier, but the floes were now scattered and broken 
 up : ah, how different from the spectacle they had 
 formerly presented ! Now they were worn, shattered, 
 reduced in size, — the very playthings of the waves, — 
 and the vessel continued her route without finding them 
 any impediment. 
 
 Towards evening they formed behind us only a rim or 
 belt of dazzling white ; and in their rear the mountains 
 of Greenland, gilded by a setting sun, seemed to bid us 
 a last farewell. Gradually they disappeared in the 
 gloom. Night drew her veil over the scene; and on 
 the morrow, when we ascended upon deck, we found 
 
W, In 
 
 RETURN TO COPENHAGEN. 
 
 621 
 
 bance the 
 and, — the 
 'cades ex- 
 ass of ice 
 ish of the 
 it, fell on 
 closed up 
 ended by- 
 red their 
 ce on the 
 iweller in 
 ho clouds 
 , and the 
 fogs pre- 
 
 ow west- 
 tlie well- 
 e saluted 
 redoubt- 
 id broken 
 hey had 
 shattered, 
 waves, — 
 ing them 
 
 ^ a rim or 
 lountains 
 to bid us 
 i in the 
 and on 
 we found 
 
 ourselves in lat. 65° 11' N., in free and open waters, in 
 Davis Strait 
 
 " July 31. — More ice. Our course lies due south, and 
 — words full of a celestial harmony ! — is directed to- 
 wards our fatherland. 
 
 " A few weeks more, and our troubles will be ended, 
 our sufferings forgotten ; yet how long it seems to wait 
 for that happy moment ! 
 
 " After a voyage of about four weeks' duration on the 
 lonely waters of the North Atlantic, we come in sight 
 of the Shetland Isles. Soon we reach them, and a fair 
 wind carries us into the German Sea. We survey the 
 horizon with watchful eyes, in the hope of discovering 
 some homeward-bound German vessel, which may caiTy 
 the good tidings of our safety. But none is seen ; the 
 Doggerbank is occupied only by Dutch and Norwegian 
 fishermen. At length we gain the mouth of the 
 Cattegat. The sea around us grows more and more 
 populous with veosels. In the latitude of Skagen, up- 
 wards of three hundred ships hail with us towards the 
 Baltic, and yet we do not perceive a solitary German 
 barque. What can be the cause ? During our absence 
 has Germany lost all her fleet ? But soon a pilot comes 
 on board, and informs us of the grave events transpiring 
 in Europe [the Franco-German war]. The explanation 
 is sufficient. We understand why we have met with 
 no German ship, and why hundreds lie at anchor in the 
 roads of Elsinore." 
 
 We arrive at Copenhagen on the 1st of September ; 
 and the appenranco of that beautiful city, with its groves 
 of beech-trees, agreeably impresses us. What a differ- 
 
 i I I 
 
r , 
 
 
 r I 
 
 522 
 
 A " MOTLEY CKEW. 
 
 ence between its laughing landscapes and the desert 
 shores of Greenland ! With what joy we contemplated 
 the shores of the Sound, its neat, trim villages, its stately 
 trees, that fresh green foliage which we have not seen 
 for so many months ! At Copenhagen, we are once more 
 in the world of civilization. The two captains go ashore ; 
 we remain on board, and the Constance is taken into dock. 
 
 For the first time we bestow a thought on the 
 wretchedness of our personal appearance, and each 
 bursts out into laughter at the tattered condition of his 
 companions. It was impossible for us to quit the ship 
 until rehabilitated — at least by day ; the police would 
 certainly have followed us. On our heads, seal-skin 
 caps ; on our feet, sea-boots, which displayed our toes ; 
 our trousers in rags, and our coats threadbare, — such 
 was our costume ! Our first proceeding, therefore, was to 
 repair to a clothing-store ; and we could not feel angry 
 when the proprietor closed up the doorway with his 
 body until the consul's certificate convinced him of our 
 respectability. 
 
 Here we may close our narrative. The voyagers 
 reached Schleswig in safety on the 3rd of September, 
 after a series of adventures almost unparalleled in the 
 history of Arctic discovery and enterprise. 
 
 II.— VOYAGE OF THE " GERMANIA." 
 
 We have devoted a considerable space to the record 
 of the loss of the Hansa, and the experiences of its 
 people on their raft of ice, because the circumstances 
 
COURSE OF THE " GERMANIA. 
 
 528 
 
 I n 
 
 he desert 
 templated 
 its stately 
 c not seen 
 once more 
 go ashore ; 
 into dock, 
 it on the 
 and each 
 bion of his 
 t the ship 
 lice would 
 
 seal-skin 
 I our toes ; 
 are, — such 
 'ore, was to 
 feel angry 
 
 with his 
 lim of our 
 
 voyagers 
 September, 
 ed in the 
 
 the record 
 ices of its 
 urastances 
 
 were unusual, and characterized by a special interest. 
 Over the voyage of the Gei'mania, however, we shall 
 pass much more rapidly, and content ourselves with 
 particularizing its results; the incidents which attend 
 an expedition into the midst of the Arctic ice, and a 
 winter-encampment, being now familiar to almost every 
 reader, from the narratives of various explorers. 
 
 It was on the 20th of July that the Hansa and the 
 Germania so unexpectedly parted. The latter looked 
 wistfully around and about for her comrade, but no 
 signs of her being visible, determined to make for the 
 rendezvous which had been agreed upon. Continuing 
 her course to the north, she fell in with several whalers, 
 but none of them had seen the missing ship. Yet how 
 near to each other lay their respective courses, may be 
 inferred from the fact that the Germania, on the 1st of 
 August, lay-to in nearly the same spot as the Hansa 
 had reached on the 22nd of July, when ice-blocked, and 
 drifting to the south. 
 
 The monotony of the voyage was relieved by watch- 
 ing the mallemuckes, or auks (Mergulua alle), which 
 attended the ship in immense flocks, and exhibited an 
 extraordinary voracity. If a large piece of fat, which 
 they cannot swallow at a gulp, is thrown into the water, 
 they fight desperately ; sometimes two or three begin at 
 different points, working both with beak and claw. 
 The bird is not ugly ; its colour is variable ; the young 
 ones are grayish, but the old, with the exception of the 
 wings, almost always white ; its head is highly arched, 
 Nvitli a strong bluish beak bent like a hook. 
 
 ' ! , . 
 
,. -,_.--J , 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 '^^^^^B 
 
 
 ^^^^^H 
 
 
 ^^^^H^l 
 
 
 
 
 ^H^l 
 
 
 n^^H 
 
 
 ^m 
 
 Hi 
 
 H 
 
 
 ^9 
 
 
 
 ^^H' 
 
 ;tt| 
 
 
 IHR 
 
 
 in|^p9w 
 
 MD^ 
 
 I^B^Bt 
 
 Ik 
 
 BJH^Wt 
 
 
 EHMin ■■ 
 
 m^^ 
 
 SHANNON ISLAND. 
 
 f 
 
 On the 5th of August we reached the group known 
 as the Pendulum Islands, discovered by Captain Claver- 
 ing in the year 1823. We dropped anchor on the south 
 side of ^he largest isle, where we were sheltered by a 
 small isle in front ; to which, from the number of walrus 
 congregated there, we gave the name of Walrus Island. 
 
 After a few days' rest, our northerly course was again 
 resumed, though we met with frequent obstructions 
 from the ice. On the 14th, an enormous ice-field ap- 
 peared right ahead of us, extending eastward as far as 
 the eye could see, and apparently joining the land-ice 
 to the west. We were forced, therefore, to put about, 
 and take refuge on the south side of Shannon Island, 
 where we might pursue our scientific investigations, 
 and watch from its hills for a favourable opportnr'^- 
 of renewing our expedition. We dropped anchor lu ^ix 
 fathoms of water, and between some stranded blocks of 
 ice, on the ICth of August. 
 
 On the shore we found some remains of Eskimo 
 summer-huts, with a great deal of moss and weeds; and 
 succeeded in shooting a musk-ox, which proved a wel- 
 come addition to our bill of fare. 
 
 Shannon Island stretches from lat. 74° 5Q' to lat. 75° 
 26' N. In the north it attains the considerable eleva- 
 tion of 940 feet ; but to the east and south its hills sel- 
 dom exceed 500 feet. Nearly the whole of its mass is 
 of volcanic origin. Close to its coast, on the nortli-east, 
 extends a fine range of basaltic columns. 
 
 On the 27th, after consultation with his officers and 
 scientific staff. Captain Koldewey came to the conclu- 
 sion that a northward advance was impossible. Ho 
 
 lil 
 
MAKING THINGS SNUG. 
 
 626 
 
 determined, therefore, to return to the sheltered anchor- 
 age on the south side of Pendulum, from which it might 
 be practicable to organize a sledge-expedition to the 
 mainland. At four P.M., therefore, we raised anchor, 
 and steered southwards. The sea was now everywhere 
 frozen over, and mostly covered with ice an inch thick, 
 through which we could force a passage only with 
 steam-power up. 
 
 From Klein Pendulum, however, we shifted our 
 quarters to our old anchorage oflf Sabine Island; and as 
 the ice had gathered in all around in solid masses, there 
 we resolved to winter. Signs of that dreary season 
 were, indeed, coming fast upon us. The earth was 
 frozen on the surface; the streams ceased to flow; heavy 
 winds blew from the inhospitable North. So we set to 
 work to make everything snug for the approaching time 
 of trial. The ship was hauled into a safe and sheltered 
 spot, where she was moored with ropes to the ice and 
 neighbouring rock. She was then unfitted; even her 
 lower masts and shrouds being taken down, and carried 
 ashore. Thus the ship was disburdened; and, at the 
 same time, a considerable space was gained both on deck 
 and in the cabin, which in every respect was, in winter, 
 of the greatest importance. 
 
 "First," says our chronicler, "the sails were taken 
 down and rolled together, then the yards and the 
 maintop-mast, and the sails and all the rigging dis- 
 mantled. The foretop-mast we purposely left standing, 
 that we might have a lofty point, which, in the course 
 of time, might be useful for observing the air-currents 
 and electricity. Then the deck was cleared, and the 
 
526 
 
 PREPARING FOR WINTER. 
 
 flj, I:. 
 
 long-boB t hoisted from its place. The spare spars and all 
 utensils and chests were brought to shore. The same 
 thing was done with all provisions which the frost could 
 not destroy; except, of course, what we needed for use 
 during the half-year. The two largest boats we laid 
 with the yards, &c., on the flat shore at the end of the 
 harbour. For the provisions, however, we erected a 
 depot, half-way to the observatory on the peninsula. 
 On a layer of planks we closely packed our chests and 
 vessels, covering them with sails, the edges of which were 
 kept down by heavy stones. Thus buried, our belongings 
 seemed able to defy both storms and bears. But other 
 things remained to be done. One or two men had to help 
 to build the stone houses; and the engineer and the stoker 
 were busy taking the machinery to pieces. One of these 
 stone houses was intended for an observatory. It was 
 built on the comer of land lying near to the ship, upon 
 the steep edge of the bank ; for the other, as a mag- 
 netical observatory, a more north-west position seemed 
 preferable." 
 
 As a protection against the icy blasts, a strong sail- 
 cloth tent was stretched over the ship ; and, finally, a 
 three-inch-thick layer of moss completed the roof erected 
 above the deck. The wooden walls of the cabin were 
 lined externally with felt, and on the inside with the thick 
 woollen stuff known as " coating." The floor was partly 
 covered with a carpet, and partly also with felt and 
 sailcloth. The iron stove was placed so that its radia- 
 tion should warm every comer. In short, everything 
 was done that the ingenuity and scientific skill of man 
 could suggest to ward off the rigour of the Arctic winter. 
 
i ^ 
 
 KEEPING CHRISTMAS. 
 
 627 
 
 At the beginning of November they were deserted by 
 the sun, and the three months' Arctic night set in. 
 Drearier and drearier grew every day ; but as we have 
 already described in these pages the principal features 
 of a winter in the Polar Kegions, we need not now enter 
 on any minute details. Cold and darkness — cold and 
 darkness — what more can we say ? These are man's two 
 greatest enemies, against which even Science itself can 
 make no very successful struggle. 
 
 if 
 
 i 
 
 CHRISTMAS-TIME. 
 
 We resolved, however, to keep the Christmas season. 
 We were the first Germans who had wintered in the 
 realms of ice and snow, and we all felt that a Christmas- 
 tree must bloom on board the Germania. The wish, 
 however, seemed fruitless, for Greenland does not bear 
 fir-trees. But Nature took pity on our distress ; scanty 
 as was her growth, she ofiered us a helping hand, as if 
 in recognition of Christmas. Even in winter the stalks 
 of the androraeda retain their leaves, and these, though 
 of a dark greenish brown, are still fresh. The carpenter 
 made a pedestal, on which stood a three feet stem, with 
 its branches so disposed as to represent a fir-tree. These 
 were covered with the andromeda shoots, and smaller 
 sticks were attached to imitate the natural branches. In 
 this way we achieved a magnificent tree ! The over- 
 hanging slope of the adjacent hill was one of the few 
 spots where the andromeda grew abundantly ; our 
 botanist knew how to find it under the snow, and at 
 dark the plants were raked up and brought home in 
 triumph. ' 
 
628 
 
 CHRISTMAS IN EAST GREENLAND. 
 
 The fir-tree was built up, so to speak, in the wann 
 after-cabin, every man on board contributing something 
 towards its completion. It was gaily decorated with a 
 variety of offerings, and even golden-nuts and small 
 wax lights were not wanting. At four o'clock the 
 managers of the show cleared the cabin, whose walls 
 were afterwards embellished with flags and foxes' skins, 
 until the general effect was really imposing. All was 
 ready by six ; the ship's bell rang out a cheerful sum- 
 mons. Under the ventilator a small coloured transpar- 
 ency was arranged; and from the forecastle rose the 
 welcome strains of a Christmas hymn. Then aU the 
 company entered the cabin, and took their places round 
 the table. 
 
 " German Christmas in East Greenland ice ! There 
 stood the powerful forms of big * children,' serious but 
 cheerful ; and the finest Christmas-tree rose on deck, 
 glittering with lights and gold and silver ; and on the 
 fresh white table-cloth lay the plates with the gifts 
 upon them: they were but trifling things, but they 
 gave much pleasure — small books, letter-cases, and so 
 on. Near the tree lay a large harmonica 'for the men;' 
 this, with some balls of cord, in which were enclosed 
 different small articles, was a present from the ladies of 
 Kiel. On the other side stood the complete model of a 
 full-rigged'ship, ju&b finished by P. Iversen. 
 
 " Somewhat later followed' a hot supper, in which the 
 cook astonished us with some delightful cakes. Healths 
 were drunk in foaming wine of the Neckar; and at 
 dessert a large chest, which had taken its place in the 
 cabin since yesterday, was opened. It contained a valu- 
 
T/j NEW-YEAR S DAY. fi. 
 
 SM' 
 
 able present from Mainz: a number of bottles of excellent 
 Rhine wine. You should have seen the men of the 
 Germania ! Heart and mind were in a glow; they 
 joked and chattered, speeches were made and healths 
 drunk, and the ship resounded with many a hearty 
 cheer. We thought of our loved ones at home, our 
 brothers on the Hansa, and our ever dear country. 
 
 "It was not long before we had a song And as it 
 
 was a wonderfully warm, soft air, the suggestion of a 
 dance on the ice received universal approbation. Soon 
 we were dancing merrily on the white snow, whilst the 
 boatman, wrapped in a reindeer-skin, played the new 
 harmonica with an artist's hand. 
 
 " More bottles were opened, more healths drunk, and 
 midnight had passed before we retired to rest." 
 
 THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 We now come to the year 1870. New- Year's Daj'* 
 was greeted with general pleasure, for it was a proof 
 that half the formidable Arctic night had passed away, 
 without producing any evil influence on mind or body ; 
 and though the coldest time was still to come, it no 
 longer seemed so dreadful. 
 
 There is something, however, in the absolute silence 
 of the Arctic winter which oppresses every heart ; and 
 the spirit shrinks from the gloom and the shadow con- 
 stantly brooding over the scene. All the sweet voices 
 of creation are hushed ; the brooks have ceased to ripple 
 and the cascades to plash and clang; the waves no 
 longer murmur on the shore. Life, too, is almost 
 utterly wanting; the scanty vegetation of the North 
 
 (544) 34 
 
630 
 
 THE ARCTIC WINTER. 
 
 sleeps under a tliick shroud of snow, and the bears have 
 retired to their winter recesses, the seals to the outer 
 edge of the pack-ice, and the birds have winged their 
 way to milder latitudes. No glow of sunlight flecks 
 the distant heiglits, or pours its golden colours on the 
 glassy sea or the shining masses of ice. Everything 
 and every place are tinged with gloom ; nature is 
 wrapped in a rigid cerecloth or funeral pall, over which 
 the profound Night broods immovable ; in the intense 
 blue of the heavens the stars glitter keenly, and it is 
 easy to realize the force of the poet's expression, "the 
 cold light of stars ; " like colossal phantoms rise tlie 
 shadowy, snowy walls of the mountains; and the 
 universal melancholy of the landscape is reflected in 
 the mind of the observer. 
 
 Our ship presents no cheerier sight externally, for its 
 deck is laden with snow ; masts and yards stretch 
 spectral arms in the gloom ; the ropes are wound about 
 with frosty webs of crystal, and the helm lies buried 
 deep under heavy blocks of ice. 
 
 No wonder that, with such surroundings, we almost 
 succumb to a feeling of utter desertion, or that our 
 spirits are prostrated by the darkness which weighs so 
 heavily on nature animate and inanimate. It needs <a 
 strong effprt to conquer and put iide such sensations ; 
 and we should scarcely be capable of it, if we did not 
 remember that every day brings us nearer and net 
 to the spring. 
 
 Work is an excellent safeguard against a sentiment 
 of melancholy which, if indulged in, might become 
 dangerous. And, accordingly, a constant activity pre- 
 
TAKING CARE OF THE OUTWAKD MAN. 
 
 S81 
 
 vail e J on board ship ; all hands were engaged in one or 
 other avocation, — reading, writing, registering observa- 
 tions, tailoring, shoemaking, carpentering, and learning 
 or teaching in the " school of navigation." The clothing 
 also came in for a share of our attention. For the 
 degree of cold we had hitherto experienced nothing was 
 better than our woollen garments, but only when the 
 air was still ; if the wind blew, our bodies, even if kept 
 in motion, became cold and rigid in a very short time. 
 As we contemplated a sledge-journey, however, we began 
 to make ready our fur garments, — cutting up our long 
 and useless fur coats, wliich reached to the feet, and 
 transforming them into short, close-fitting surtouts, 
 lined with wool. The boots, hard and unmanageable, 
 were replaced by chaussures of original design, made of 
 sailcloth, lined with woollen stuff, to which leather 
 soles were attached. The tent was enlarged, so as to 
 accommodate all the sledge-travellers, and the fur sacks 
 and coverings for the sleeping-place duly prepared. 
 
 AN ADVENTURE WITH A BEAR. 
 
 On the morning of the 13th, one of the seamen, 
 Theodor Kleutzer, ascended the hill we had christened 
 the Germaniaberg, in order to view the landscape in 
 iicreasing daylight. Having gained the summit, he 
 seated himself on a rock and gave expression to his joy- 
 ous elings in a song. " Music hath charms," as he dis- 
 covered on looking round ; for a huge bear, a few paces 
 off, was intently listening to his vocal exercise ! Had 
 Theodor, a str ng, ready, and capable man, been armed, 
 such a rencontre would not have disturbed him in the 
 
532 
 
 KLEUTZER AND THE BEAR. 
 
 mm 
 
 least ; but it so happened tliat he had not even a knife 
 upon his person. He was unarmed, alone, at a distance 
 from his companions, and face to face Ai^ith a Polar 
 bear! 
 
 His only chance of safety lay in flight, and he began 
 a tolerably rapid descent of the mountain. Upon look- 
 ing back, after a time, he saw, much to his discomfort, 
 that Bruin was trotting behind him, like a dog. In 
 this way they continued the descent of the mountain. 
 If Kleutzer halted, the bear halted ; if Kleutzer went 
 on slowly, so did the bear ; if Kleutzer ran, the bear 
 trotted. Thus the two had gone some distance, and 
 Kleutzer began to feel uneasy, fearing the bear might 
 grow weary of a long stern-chase, and press closer upon 
 his heels. He uttered, therefore, a loud shout, which 
 disconcerted the bear for a moment, but afterwards 
 seemed to have angered and irritated him, for he quick- 
 ened his pace, and rapidly drew nearer. In this dilemma 
 the sailor recollected some stories he had read of ursine 
 curiosity, and while continuing his flight he pulled off 
 his jacket and threw it behind him. The device was 
 temporarily successful ; the bear stopped to examine the 
 strange article, and Kleutzer dashed ahead, with a shout 
 for help that resounded far and wide. But soon the 
 bear was op his heels again ; and cap and waistcoat had 
 to be offered up. Kleutzer now saw some of his com- 
 rades hastening towards him: the sight renewed his 
 energies ; lie shouted, and ran with all his speed. Un- 
 fortunately, the bear ran too, and Kleutzer was obliged 
 to take the last thing he had, — his shawl, — which he 
 flung across the creature's snout. But, excited by the 
 
w 
 
 SAFE AND SOUND. 
 
 533 
 
 en a knife 
 a distance 
 h a Polar 
 
 he began 
 Ipon look- 
 Hscomfort, 
 - dog. In 
 mountain, 
 itzer went 
 I, the bear 
 tance, and 
 3ear might 
 sloser upon 
 out, which 
 afterwards 
 r he quick- 
 is dilemma 
 i of ursine 
 
 pulled off 
 device was 
 samine the 
 ith a shout 
 b soon the 
 istcoat had 
 if his com- 
 
 newed his 
 >eed. Tin- 
 eas obliged 
 -which he 
 
 ;ed by the 
 
 shouting and the pursuit, the bear tossed it aside con- 
 temptuously, and pressed the fugitive so closely that he 
 touched his hand with his cold black muzzle. 
 
 Kleutzer thought all hope was at an end ; but sud- 
 denly the idea occurred to him of garotting his enemy 
 with the leathern belt which he wore round his body. 
 Steadily he gazed into the creature's cruel eyes; a 
 moment of hesitation ; the bear was startled ; his atten- 
 tion was arrested by the shouts of the many who were 
 hurrying to the rescue, — some without coats or caps, 
 others without boots, — and he darted off at a gallop ! 
 Fleeing across the ice, he received a cross fire, and 
 several bullets struck him. He contrived to recover 
 himself, however, after a momentary collapse, and strid- 
 ing across the frozen snow, made his way to the sea. 
 With glad and thankful hearts the people of the Ger- 
 mania were soon afterwards seated at the mid-day 
 meal, and reverently praising the merciful Providence 
 who had delivered their comrade from a dreadful death. 
 
 THE SUN again! 
 
 On the 3rd of February the imprisoned explorers 
 greeted once more the welcome rays of the sun. Its 
 reappearance was quite an event in their history ; and 
 the feelings with which they contemplated it can be 
 imagined only by those who, like them, have passed 
 through three sunless, gloomy, shadowy, dreary months. 
 
 " It was a joyous and a glorious sight. Invigorating 
 were the effects of its first rays as they fell upon us, as 
 were also the effects upon the landscape. For us, until 
 now, the whole mountain panorama lay in one uniform 
 
584 
 
 RETURN OF THE SUN. 
 
 I§> 
 
 .i I 
 
 ll f 
 
 M 
 
 coloured dark mass; except now and then, in the bright 
 moonlight, when some glaring lights and shades stood 
 out ; and even the brightest twilight could scarcely in- 
 dividualize an object. Now every part and outline of the 
 mountain-chain stood prominently forward ; the pro- 
 jections were elevated, and the distant points receded ; 
 and this fresh, beautiful, living landscape was flooded 
 with the softest colours, — red, violet, blue, and green, in 
 all shades, according to the strength of the light, the 
 kind of ground, and the nature of the surroundings. 
 But our pleasure was destined to be of short duration, 
 for the sun soon disappeared again behind the jagged 
 horizon of ice, and the gloomy, uniform grayish blue 
 shadows descended one after the other on the wintry 
 landscape." 
 
 From this time forward, however, each day grew 
 brighter, though the cold increased; and increased to 
 such an extent that on the evening of the 21st of Feb- 
 ruary, for fully one hour, the thermometer marked —40° ! 
 This was the lowest point it reached during the captivity 
 of the Oermania. Winds were frequent, and during 
 their prevalence the rigorous cold, as all Arctic voyagers 
 have observed, was very hard to bear. It seemed almost 
 impossible to obtain any protection against it. 
 
 On the 6th of March, Dr. Bdrgen, when within about 
 fifty paces from the ship, was seized by a bear. Happily 
 his cries were heard, and he was rescued, but not before 
 tlie animal had inflicted upon him some severe wounds. 
 
 Two days later, Captain Koldewey, Lieutenant Payer, 
 and a carefully selected party, set out on a long sledge- 
 journey in a northerly direction. They followed the 
 
 m V 
 
"'nMf^w " ■ri-' 
 
 mww^ "' 
 
 A GLORIOUS PROSPECT. 
 
 686 
 
 the bright 
 ides stood 
 jarcely in- 
 line of the 
 the pro- 
 5 receded; 
 as flooded 
 I green, in 
 light, the 
 [•oundin2:s. 
 I duration, 
 he jagged 
 iyish blue 
 he wintry 
 
 day grew 
 jreased to 
 it of Feb- 
 ked -40° ! 
 ! captivity 
 id during 
 ; voyagers 
 ed almost 
 
 hin about 
 Happily 
 not before 
 3 wounds. 
 Lnt Payer, 
 ig sledge- 
 owed the 
 
 coast-line very closely, and discovered and named 
 various headlands and bays lying beyond the northern- 
 most point attained by Captain Clavering — namely, 
 Mount Haystack, near Cape Oswald Heer. A beautiful 
 bay, opening to the south, stretches from Cape Heer to 
 Cape Seebach ; and, north of lat. 76°, lies another noble 
 bay, — named after the great German astronomer Bessel, 
 — which abounds in picturesque fjords. Here the 
 travellers, to their infinite astonishment, came upon 
 some Eskimo buildings. 
 
 In a third bay — Roon Bay — the icebergs were very 
 numerous. Straight to the north rose an imposing wall 
 of gneiss, fully 3280 feet in height, which was strangely 
 designated the " Devil's Cape." Lieutenant Payer is 
 inclined to believe that behind it the Greenland coast, 
 trending towards the north-west, was probably connected 
 with Smith Sound. 
 
 On the 9th they reached an island-group, East Island, 
 G50 feet high, in the middle of Dove Bay. 
 
 Here the view from the heights showed them that 
 the westerly background of the bay, which is filled with 
 numerous moderately high-lying islands, formed a high 
 mountainous country, separated ;>y a large fjord, and 
 bristling for sixty miles with huge glaciers and moun- 
 tain-tops — the latter attaining an elevation of 6500 feet. 
 On all sides the chain was of wonderful beauty. Frozen 
 cascades and rivers of ice, more than a mile broad, fell 
 from a snowy plateau 4800 feet high, in the north-west. 
 Icebergs of monstrous height were shut up in the 
 interior of the bays. 
 
 In lat. 76° 47', they reached Cape Bismarck. A vio- 
 
 I 
 
 » 
 
 !1 
 
 ■ ■ \: 
 
 ! 
 
 ■ iiA.i,liLil 
 
636 
 
 NE PLUS ULTRA. 
 
 i i 
 
 II 
 
 lent snow-storm then detained them within their tent 
 for three days. On the 15th, though exhausted and 
 weary, they pushed forward some thirty miles, and 
 crossed the 77th degree of latitude. 
 
 " Like so many of our predecessors," says Lieutenant 
 Payer, " we too longed to lift the veil hanging over the 
 whole of the Arctic World, so opposed to the mandate, 
 'Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther;' and, like so 
 many others, found that our object gained fell far short 
 of our bold jflights of fancy ; and that, resting after end- 
 less troubles at the end of our journey, we still looked 
 in vain for the solution of the many riddles which 
 Science expected of us. The conjecture once broached 
 [by Kane and Dr. Hayes] of an open Arctic Sea, we 
 could, from our stand-point, only reject as idle. To the 
 farthest point of the horizon the sea was covered with 
 a solid covering of ice, over which, had it not been for 
 the want of provisions, we could have continued our 
 sledge-journey. The outer coast-line stretched in an 
 almost northerly direction ; to the north-west, the pros- 
 pect was closed in by lofty ice-covered mountains, only 
 a few miles distant." 
 
 The sledge-party having accomplished this much, 
 which, though of a negative rather than a positive char- 
 acter, WAS still important, were compelled to retrace their 
 steps ; and after enduring great hardships, regained the 
 ship. They had no dogs, and the labour of drawing 
 the loaded sledge had, therefore, to be sustained by 
 men. With rations steadily lessening, and strength as 
 steadily decreasing, chiljed to the bone by exposure to 
 the cold, and worn with want of sleep, it is no wonder 
 
If :T"- : 
 
 I their tent 
 
 lausted and 
 
 miles, and 
 
 Lieutenant 
 ng over the 
 le mandate, 
 and, like so 
 3II far short 
 g after end- 
 still looked 
 idles which 
 ce broached 
 3tic Sea, we 
 die. To the 
 iovered with 
 lot been for 
 ntinued our 
 ched in an 
 st, the pros- 
 mtains, only 
 
 this much, 
 ositive char- 
 retrace their 
 regained the 
 
 of drawing 
 ustained by 
 
 strength as 
 
 exposure to 
 no wonder 
 
■■ i 
 
 % 
 
 i 
 
RESULTS TO SCIENCE. 
 
 &S9 
 
 that they could achieve only a few nautical miles daily. 
 Great was their thankfulness when, on the 27th of April, 
 they greeted the friendly shelter of their comfortable 
 cabin, and saw the old familiar faces smiling round 
 them. 
 
 During their detention in the ice, they undertook 
 five sledge-journeys in all ; and the advantages derived 
 were by no means inconsiderable. Was Science, it 
 may be asked, in any way the gainer ? The follow- 
 ing summary affords a satisfactory answer to the 
 question. 
 
 The discovery of a land extending over several de- 
 grees of latitude and longitude ; the reaching the most 
 northerly point ever yet attained in East Greenland; 
 the conviction that the land was curiously broken up, 
 and might yet prove to be a large group of islands ; the 
 knowledge that a future measurement of degrees would 
 meet with no impediment from climate, configuration of 
 soil, or atmospheric condition ; tlie addition made to the 
 geological lore of our terrestrial globe, and the confirma- 
 tion of the conjecture that the most recent geological 
 formations occur in the remote Nortli ; the discovery of 
 enormous glaciers; the proof that the Eskimos must 
 long since have deserted the north-east coast, and that 
 the land is completely uninhabited ; observations on the 
 diffiision of certain plants and animals, and on the ex- 
 tended range of the kingdom of the north wind ; lastly, 
 the experience that the navicjaoility of the so-called 
 coast-water is greatly impeded by the ice-masses in the 
 Arctic current, amongst the local islands. Results like 
 these must not be undervalued. 
 
540 
 
 ABOUT THE BEAR. 
 
 THE POLAR BEAR. ^ 
 
 Some of the facts stated by the chroniclers of the ex- 
 pedition in reference to the Arctic bear are of interest. 
 Their conclusion is, that he deserves our compassion. 
 His life is one long uninterrupted hunt after food, though 
 he is protected from the cold by a layer of fat several 
 inches thick. He suffers often and suffers much from 
 hunger. In the stomach of one was found nothing but 
 a flannel lappet, which our tailor had thrown away; 
 in the case of many others, it was quite empty. Some- 
 times it contains nothing but water and large pieces of 
 sea-weed ; a proof that the bear is sometimes forced by 
 hunger to eat herbs. In the dreary Polar World of frost, 
 cold, and darkness, with its violent gales and sweeping 
 hurricanes of snow, the mountains alone can arrest his 
 wanderings for food amidst the chaotic and towering 
 ice-fields, surrounded by fissures, or when floating out 
 to sea on an ice-floe. His brown cousin in Europe 
 undoubtedly lives a much easier life. 
 
 They are attracted from considerable distances by the 
 smell of burnt fat, and the Eskimos often entrap them 
 through it. But the stratagem requires much skill and 
 self-possession. An encounter with an Arctic bear is 
 usually a serious matter. His strength is immense ; he 
 is capable of great exertion ; and he does not yield until 
 completely disabled. His constant hunger makes him a 
 troublesome neighbour, for he contrives to get at the most 
 cunningly-concealed deposits of provisions, and to dig out 
 almost anything that has been buried. The best way is 
 to suspend a sack from an inaccessible wall of rock. 
 
fffT 
 
 RETURNING SOUTHWARD. 
 
 ui 
 
 The bear has a strong affection for his native ice- 
 fields, and does not willingly part from them. The 
 whaler Bienenkorb, which the expedition visited in 
 1869, had one upon deck ; and when, from the strong 
 rolling of the ship, he caught sight of tlie ice, he raised 
 a despondent howl. Indeed, the sight of the drift-ice so 
 powerfully worked upon him, that the men were at last 
 compelled to hang a veil of sailcloth before the cage. 
 
 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 Part of the month of June, and the opening days of 
 July, were devoted to excursions to Sabine Island, 
 Klein Pendulum, and Clavering Island ; and to a close 
 examination of their tent-circles and graves and hut- 
 ruins, all testifying to the former existence of an Eskimo 
 settlement. 
 
 On the 22nd of July, the ice having considerably 
 broken up, the Germania got up steam, left the harbour 
 in which it had been imprisoned for ten months, and once 
 more steamed to the northward. But after reaching as 
 high as lat. 75° 29', it found itself, when off Shannon 
 Island, confronted by a solid barrier of ice. No signs 
 of water could be seen. The frozen surface stretched 
 far away in every direction, rugged and motionless. Pro- 
 gress was impossible ; and on the 30th Captain Kolde- 
 wey abandoned the fruitless attempt, and again steamed 
 southwards. He determined upon exploring the south- 
 ern coast so long as the weather permitted, and then 
 making the best of his way back to Europe. 
 
 One of the first places we touched at was Jackson 
 Island, where we found a pleasant variety of vegetation. 
 
 :i;i*l„ 
 
542 
 
 A ROMANTIC FJORD. 
 
 Then we doubled Cape Franklin, and penetrated into 
 the romantic recesses of an arm of the sea, which we 
 christened Kaiser Franz-Josef Fjord, It was covered 
 with numerous icebergs, from 95 to 190 feet high, and 
 enclosed within mountainous shores, which threw a deep 
 shadow over the restless waters. One of its principal 
 arms curves in a south-westerly direction, at the foot of 
 a mountain-chain about 87o0 feet in height. 
 
 "We had entered a basin," says Lieutenant Pa)'er, 
 " with its shores formed by rocks unequalled for glorious 
 form and colour. Here were assembled all the pheno- 
 mena of the Alpine World : huge walls, deep erosion- 
 fissures, wild peaks, mighty crevassed glaciers, raging 
 torrents, and waterfalls all these grand and magni- 
 ficent features united in one panorama. To me the 
 impression given by the high, towering, rocky mountains 
 of the basin, was that of some fairy tale. A colossal 
 cubic rock on the small basis of a tongue of land ex- 
 tended far into the fjord, towering above the blue water 
 to a height of fully 5600 feet ; regular reddish yellow, 
 black, and light stripes showing the different layers of 
 the stone. The terraces and towers on its edges re- 
 sembled a ruined castle ; we therefore called it the 
 Devil's Castle. Never in the Alps have I seen anything 
 approach ii;g this in grandeur. Here a diminutive 
 Matterhorn rose straight from the waves ; there a huge 
 cascade from some glacier rushed over the giant walls, 
 deep down into the clear, quiet water below." 
 
 Lieutenant Payer, Dr. Copeland, and Ellinger climbed 
 the immense glacier which opened upon one side of the 
 fjord. From its summit they could see a monster 
 
A CHAPTER OF EUROPEAN HISTGllY. 
 
 543 
 
 pyramid of ice to the west, rising about 4850 feet above 
 a high mountain -ridge. It was named after the great 
 geographer, Petermann. Along the horizon extended a 
 world of snowy summits, exceeding 9700 feet ; and the 
 shining surface of the fjord could be traced for about 
 forty miles towards the south-west. 
 
 After this excursion, the prow of the Germania wns 
 turned towards the European shores, with a south- 
 easterly course; and with some difficulty finding her 
 way through a labyrinth of floes, she got out into the 
 open sea at last on the 26th of August. The ice was 
 behind us, and we could breathe freely ! We accom- 
 plished the rest of the voj'^age, however, under sail, the 
 boiler having given way. But the wind was ftivourable, 
 though violent, and we ran at a rapid rate past Iceland, 
 and between the Faroe and Shetland Isles, after which 
 we made for the mouth of the Weser. On arriving in 
 the roads, we fell in with several large vessels, and were 
 saluted with the astounding information of the war be- 
 tween Germany and France, the capture of Napoleon, 
 the downfall of the French Empire, the proclamation 
 of a republic, the siege of Paris ! Ah, what wonderful 
 events had transpired during our lonely captivity in the 
 ice ! While we had struggled and endured for the sake 
 of adding a few additional facts to the stock of scientific 
 knowledge, a new chapter of European history had been 
 written in blood, and the fortunes of empires decided, 
 perhaps for generations. 
 
 On the 11th of September, at six P.M., we safely entered 
 Brcmerhaven. 
 
• ,' 'I 
 
 ^ 
 
 644 
 
 RESUMi OP THE VOYAGE. 
 
 An impartial review of the voyage thus happily 
 terminated, proves, we think, that the German flag 
 suffered no disgrace in the hands of the intrepid ex- 
 plorers who carried it into the frozen solitudes of East 
 Greenland, and planted it on the northernmost point 
 which, in that direction, had been reached by civilized 
 man. They did not succeed in discovering the North 
 Pole ; but they showed that to reach the North Pole 
 from the basis of East Greenland is virtually impossible. 
 Their researches have opened up, however, a wide and 
 interesting iBeld for further exploration, which cannot 
 fail to assist very materially in solving the various pro- 
 blems still connected with the natural conditions of the 
 Arctic World. 
 
 4l 
 
 lit' 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE "POLARIS" EXPEDITION. 
 
 1871 1873. 
 
 NE of the most indefatigable of recent Arctic 
 explorers was the American navigator, Charles 
 Francis Hall; and a brief sketch of his 
 career before he undertook the command of 
 the Polaris, and proceeded on the expedition in which 
 he lost his life, can hardly fail to interest the reader. 
 
 It was in 1860 that he first visited the Polar Regions, 
 though from boyhood they had been the subject of his 
 dreams and the goal of his desires. On this occasion, 
 by means of dog-sledges and an " old, rotten, leaky, and 
 ice-beaten boat." which he obtained from a whaler, 
 lie made a careful and complete examination of the 
 shores of Frobisher Bay and Countess of Warwick 
 Sound ; discovering numerous memorials of the visit 
 of Martin Frobisher, and proving that the inlet named 
 by that old seaman a strait, and designated as such on 
 the maps for two hundred and eighty-four years, was 
 really a bay. He brought back with him to the United 
 States two of the Eskimos, Ebierbuig and Tookoolito, 
 —who figure in the Polaris expeditior. as Joe and 
 
 (644) 35 
 
646 
 
 AMONG THE ESKIMOS. 
 
 Bm 
 
 '.iii ; 
 
 4 il,. 
 
 Hann.'ih. These liad previously visited England — in 
 1853 — and had acquired many of the habits of civiliza- 
 tion. The woman could read a little, and spoke English 
 well enough to act as an interpreter. Joe was a good 
 pilot, and could also speak some English. 
 
 His explorations among the Eskimos, — or Innuits, as 
 they prefer to call themselves, — convinced him that they 
 knew the socret of Sir John Franklin's fate; and that 
 it was only to be learned by living among them long 
 enough to acquire their confidence. 
 
 All his energies, therefore, were addroGsed to the task 
 of raising the funds for a suitable expedition ; and he 
 was so for successful that, in the summer of 18G4, he 
 was enabled to take his passage for Repulse Bay, along 
 with Joe and Hannah, on board the bark Monticello. 
 They were landed on Depot Island, August 21sfc, 
 Thenceforward he pursued his investigations among 
 the Innuits v/ith indefatigable energy, and ascertained, 
 from evidence furnished by the natives, that one of 
 Franklin's vessels had actually accomplished the North- 
 West Passage v.^hile ^ve of her crew were still on 
 board; further, that, when abandoned by the crew, 
 she was found by the Eskimos, in the spring of bS49, 
 near O'Reilly Island, lat. 68° 30' N., and long. 99° 8' 
 W., imprisoned in the ice. 
 
 Captain Hall, in his published narrative, informs us 
 that the bones of Franklin's galhirit but unfortunate 
 followers were scattered over the snowy wastes of 
 King William Land. Ihe Eskimos of that region are 
 a more churlish and savage race than those of Repulse 
 Bay; and instead of rendering the lost explorers the 
 
'WWW "r 
 
 IIALL S EARLY ADVENTURES. 
 
 547 
 
 little assistance that would certainly have saved their 
 li^'e^, tiiev gladJy saw them perish, and plundered them 
 of every article on which they could lay their hands. 
 Captain Hall, however, seems to us to place too implicit 
 a reliance on the statements of the natives; and we see 
 no grounds for believing that some of Franklin's men 
 liad been reduced to acts of cannibt^iism. He collected 
 some hundred and fifty relics of the expedition, in the 
 shape of articles which had belonged either to the 
 ships or their of' ors. 
 
 At various times, during his long absence from the 
 United States, he sent home notes of his progress and 
 experiences through the captains of the whaling-vessels 
 he fell in with. In 1865 he had learned that Captain 
 Crozier of the Terror, with Parry, Lyon, and one other 
 whose name he could not obtain, had survived their 
 companions, who yielded without any very protracted 
 struggle to the effects of cold and starvation. One 
 Innuit had taken pity on a wanderer, and sheltered and 
 fed him until he died. It would appear that Crozitr 
 and a companion were living as late as the autumn of 
 18G4. The natives affirmed that the white men had 
 fought with an Indian tribe near the estuary of the 
 Great Fish River, and that many of the latter were 
 slain; that, afterwards, Captain Crozier and two com- 
 panions had started in a south-westerly direction for 
 Fort Churchill, or York Factory, and that at that time 
 they were supplied with food, and with either skin or 
 india-rubber boats. 
 
 In 1866, Captain Hall wintered on Repulse Bay; and 
 in the course of the winter accomplished a six weeks' 
 
 :; != , !' 
 
 aTiFibipia nil 
 
 .L ; ,:i 
 
548 
 
 A NEW OBJECT. 
 
 journey with dog-sledges to the north-west, in order 
 to purchase dogs for the work of the next season. On 
 this journey he was accompanied by five white men, 
 volunteers from whalers lying in Eepulse Bay, his 
 Eskimo followers, Joe and Hannah, and about thirty 
 dogs. They met with some rough experiences, and 
 endured very considerable hardships ; but succeeded in 
 purchasing no fewer than forty dogs. Hall was told 
 by the natives that some of the white men had been 
 among them, and that one had died, and was carefully 
 buried. 
 
 On his return to Repulse Bay, the indefatigable ex- 
 plorer declared his conviction that some of Franklin's 
 party were still alivi , and offered live hundred dollars 
 in gold to each white man who would accompany him 
 in a further search during the season of 1867-68. Five 
 seamen from the whaling-ships again volunteered ; and 
 after employing a couple of months in the chase, so as 
 to lay in a sufficient stock of provisions, the little 
 company started on a journey which finally convinced 
 even Hall himself that his sanguine anticipations were 
 groundless. Abandoning, therefore, all hope of rescu- 
 ing the unfortunate men, who had undoubtedly perished 
 two or three years before, he returned to the United 
 States, ills sanguine mind intent on a new object — the 
 discovery of the North Pole. 
 
 An American writer speaks of Hall as well-adapted 
 for his self-imposed work. He was a well-proportioned, 
 powerfully built man, muscular rather than stout, and 
 measuring about five feet eight inches in height. His 
 powers of observation were considerable, as is shown 
 
DEPARTURE OF TI.E "POLARIS. 
 
 549 
 
 in his descriptions of Eskimo life and manners; he was 
 energetic, persevering, courageous; but he was unable 
 to command men, and the failure of the Polaris expe- 
 dition, which we are about to relate, was undoubtedly 
 due to his want of firmness and decision as a leader. 
 Moreover, in his all-absorbing desire to carr}'^ out his 
 j):oject, he was apt to lose sight of the difficulties that 
 lay in the way of their realization, or to conceal them 
 from himself and others. 
 
 Tliesr> qualities, however, stood him in good stead 
 while he was engaged in securing the support of the 
 Government and people of the United States for his 
 coptomplated expedition. None but a man of buoyant 
 i; U!,p. rament could have endured the labour which its 
 preparation entailed upon him. He succeeded, how- 
 ever, in enlisting the public sympathy on his side, and 
 Congress then voted a grant of fifty thousand dollars 
 to defray his expenses. 
 
 So in due time the Polaris was fitted out; officers 
 and men were engaged — though, unfortunately, without 
 sufficient inquiry or discrimination; and Hall, after the 
 American manner, was presented with a flag which De 
 Haven, and Dr. Kane, and Dr. Hayes had successively 
 carried nearer and nearer to the coveted terminus of dis- 
 covery. Hall, in accepting it, declared his belief that this 
 flag, in the spring of 1872, " would float over a New 
 World in which the North Pole Star is the crowning 
 jewel;" and the Polaris sailed from New London at four 
 P.M. on the 3rd of July. Her commander was accompanied 
 by Dr. Emil Bessel, as chief of the scientific corps; by Mr. 
 Meyers, as meteorologist; R. W. D. Bryan, astronomer 
 
m 
 
 65(> 
 
 A NOTABLE INCIDENT. 
 
 I A 
 
 I') 
 
 and chaplain; Sidney 0. Buddington, sailing-master, 
 Emil Schuman, chief engineer; Hubbard C. Chester, 
 first mate; and William Morton, second mate. The 
 last-named, as the reader will remember, figures promi- 
 nently in the record of Dr. Kane's expedition. It was 
 he who crossed the great Humboldt Glacier, and looking 
 forth upon a channel afterwards visited by the Polans, 
 made the mistake of supposing that he had discovered 
 the open Polar Sea. 
 
 ?<■ 
 
 1,1 
 
 fi 
 
 
 t I i 
 
 at i * 
 
 THE VOYAGE OF THE "POLARIS." 
 
 Touching at Holsteinberg, one of the Greenland 
 settlements, Hall fell in with a Swedish exploring- 
 expedition, under Captain Von Otter, which had got 
 no farther than Upernavik, and was then homeward 
 bound. 
 
 On the 4th of August the Polaris entered Godhav'n, 
 where it took on board a supply of coals and other 
 stores. While lying in this sheltered port, she was 
 joined by Captain Tyson, a man of considerable Arctic 
 experience, as assistant-navigator, 
 
 Upernavik was reached on the 18th; and here the 
 services of Hans, the well-known Eskimo hunter, were 
 secured. 
 
 Captain Hall, says his American historian, appears 
 to have had very decided p"imonitions of disaster, from 
 the fact that he left here, in charge of Inspector Smith, 
 a quantity of valuable papers relating to his second 
 expedition, and particularly to his search for Sir John 
 Franklin; an extraordinary step to take under the 
 circumstances, as his object in carrying them with him 
 
 
' ^ ■ ■H f li »Tr 
 
 SUPPOSED OPEN SEA. 
 
 5&1 
 
 was to write them up for publication on his return. 
 Why Captain Hall so carefully avoided all allusion to 
 the dissensions which had already taken place on board 
 the Polaris, can be explained only by his sanguineness 
 of temperament, which induced him to overlook all 
 impediments and disagreeable incidents in the over- 
 mastering desire to push onward to the far North. 
 There was nothing which he dreaded so much as the 
 delay or abandonment of the expedition. To give up, 
 was an impossibility; but he could willingly die if his 
 object were achieved, or in achieving it. 
 
 On the 21st of August the expedition left Uper- 
 navik, and on the 24th sailed from Tossar. Soon 
 afterwards they entered Smith Sound, and through 
 icebergs and ice-floes steamed past Port Foulke, the 
 scene of Dr. Hayes' adventures. On the 27th they 
 reached the point where Kane, in 18o5, abandoned the 
 Advance. Still they steamed onward, and onward, 
 sailing round obstructing ice, and making their way 
 with so much rapidity, that, on the 28th, they gained 
 lat. 81° 35' N., and afterwards entered Kane's " open 
 sea," which proved to be a land-locked bay, now named 
 in the charts after the Polaris. It proved to be about 
 forty-five miles wice, with high land on each side. 
 
 Still sailing on, tliey found themselves in a channel 
 similar to Kennedy's, wliich was much obstructed by 
 heavy ice. The prospect now began to grow gloomy, 
 and some of the faint hearts on board would fain have 
 been content Avith the discoveries already made. Hall 
 and Tyson and Chester were anxious to go forward 
 
 .iL.i.. 
 
 1 
 
ll' 
 
 B 
 
 id' l: 
 
 I m 
 
 !!)■ \ i 
 
 il'li 
 
 ?f 
 
 H 
 
 : 1^ ii 
 
 ii 
 
 
 552 
 
 THANK GOD HARBOUR. 
 
 witliout delay, as the channel still lay open to the 
 north-east; but having arrived in lat. 82° 16', they so 
 far compromised with Buddington and his party as to 
 agree to lay up for the winter. On the 7th of Sep- 
 tember, therefore, the Polaris steamed in nearer the 
 land; and, in lat. 81° 38', was successfully carried into 
 a tolerably sheltered cove, about twelve miles long and 
 nine miles wide, which Hall appropriately named 
 " Thank God Harbour." 
 
 WINTER-QUARTERS. 
 
 The coast-hills here attained an elevation of from 
 900 to 1300 feet; and the great scars and fissures in 
 the rocks looked as if wind and weather, frost and ice, 
 and sudden changes of temperature, had done their 
 worst with them. At their base lay a great quantity 
 of debris; stones and sand, and rocky boulders, which 
 had been disintegrated and broken up by the frost. To 
 the south, a great glacier came down from the heights, 
 and sweeping round in a wide circuit, fell into tlie bay 
 northward of the Polaris. At various points traces of 
 an Eskimo settlement were discernible; the circles of 
 stones showing where blie tents had been erected. 
 There were also some spear-heads made of walrus- 
 teeth, some pieces of bone, and other articles of Eskimo 
 handiwork. 
 
 While preparations for " wintering " were being 
 made. Captain Hall started on a sledge-journey, wliich 
 occupied from October 10th to October 24th. On his 
 return he was suddenly taken sick. At first it was 
 supposed to be only a temporary bilious attack, but on 
 
I f 
 
 DEATH AND BURIAL OF HALL. 
 
 553 
 
 the following day the symptoms became alarming, and 
 he was frequently delirious. His illness continued, and 
 gradually assumed the appearance of paralysis. 
 
 Early on the 8th of November, the heroic explorer's 
 adventurous career was terminated. " Last evening," 
 says Tyson, " the captain himself thought he was better, 
 and would soon be around again. But it seems he took 
 worse in the night. Captain Buddington came and told 
 me he 'thouglit Captain Hall was dying.' I got up 
 immediately, and went to the cabin and looked at him. 
 He was quite unconscious — knew nothing. He lay on his 
 face, and was breathing very heavily; his face was hid 
 in the pillow. It was about half-past three o'clock in the 
 morning thai he died. Assisted in preparing the grave, 
 which is nearly half a mile from the ship, inland; but 
 the ground was so frozen that it was necessarily very 
 shallow — even with picks it was scarcely possible to 
 break it up." 
 
 In Captain T^ son's diary we find another entry, nnder 
 the date of November 11, which closes this strange, 
 eventful history : — 
 
 " At half-past eleven this morning we placed all that 
 was mortal of our late commander in the frozen ground. 
 Even at that hour of the day it was almost dark, so that 
 1 liad to hold a lantern for Mr. Bryan to read the prayers. 
 I believe all the sliip's company were present, unless, 
 perhaps, the steward and cook. It was a gloomy day, 
 and well-befitting the event. The place also is rugged 
 and desolate in the extreme. Away off, as far as the 
 dim light enables us to see, we are bound in by huge 
 masses of slate rock, which stand like a barricade. 
 
 il 
 
654 
 
 A STRANGE FUNERAL. 
 
 I] 
 
 ' lit 
 
 m 
 
 n "?•• 
 
 W flii'il 
 
 guarding the barren land of the interior; between these 
 rugged hills lies the snow-covered plain; behind us the 
 frozen waters of Polaris Bay, the shore strewn with great 
 ice-blocks. The little hut which they call an observa- 
 tory bears aloft, upon a tall flag-staff, the only cheering 
 object in sight; and that is sad enough to-day, for the 
 Stars and Stripes droop at half-mast. 
 
 "As we went to the grave this morning, the coffin 
 hauled on a sledge, over which was spread, instead of a 
 pall, the American flag, we walked in procession. I 
 walked on, with my lantern, a little in advance; then 
 came the captain and officers, the engineer. Dr. Bessel, 
 and Meyers ; and then the crew hauling the body by a 
 rope attached to the sledge, one of the men on the right 
 folding another lantern. Nearly all are dressed in 
 skins; and, were there other eyes to see us, we should 
 look like anything but a funeral cortege. The Eskimos 
 followed the crew. There is a weird sort of light in the 
 air, partly boreal or electric, through which the stars 
 shone brightly at eleven A.M., while [we were] on our 
 way to the grave." 
 
 Thus ended Hall's ambitious project of conquering the 
 secret of the North Pole; and thus was quenched the 
 enthusiasm of a singularly ardent nature. Though 
 better fitted for a volunteer than a leader, to act alone 
 than to govern others, he undertook his work with a 
 boundless energy and an untiring perseverance; and 
 had he lived, it is certain he would have advanced as 
 far to the northward as man is able to go. We cannot 
 but regret so sudden and disastrous a termination of a 
 chivalrous enterprise. Yet there is something appropriate 
 
een these 
 ad us the 
 ^ith great 
 1 observa- 
 T cheerinof 
 ly, for the 
 
 the coffin 
 istead of a 
 lession. I 
 Lnce; then 
 Dr. Bessel, 
 body by a 
 I the right 
 Pressed in 
 we should 
 e Eskimos 
 isht in the 
 the stars 
 [•e] on our 
 
 uering the 
 
 inched the 
 
 Though 
 
 I act alone 
 
 rk with a 
 
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 vanced as 
 
 We cannot 
 
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 H 
 
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 ^ 1 u 
 
 
 
 -^^ 
 
THE ARCTIC WINTER, 
 
 m 
 
 in his place of burial; and that lonely grave amid the 
 peaks and icebergs of the Polar World is surely a more 
 suitable sepulchre for such a dauntless explorer than 
 one in the crowded city cemetery, or even the village 
 churchyard. On no man was the strange magical spell 
 of the North more powerfully laid than on Charles 
 Francis Hall; and it is well that he should sleep where 
 the cold Northern winds blow across his grave, and the 
 weird radiance of the aurora falls upon it. 
 
 AN ARCTIC WINTER. 
 
 The cobimand of the expedition now devolved upon 
 Ca])tain Buddington; one of whose first and most re- 
 grettable acts was to discontinue the Sunday service 
 that had hitherto been held, and held with a good effect 
 upon the men. 
 
 On the 20th a violent hurricane arose, and continued 
 for many hours. It was accompanied by a heavy snow- 
 drift, and attended by much breaking up of the ice. 
 
 The nights were frequently illuminated by auroras, 
 and their radiance was a welcome innovation on the 
 dreary winter-darkness. Dreary indeed ! It was almost 
 impossible to tell night from day, and to go out of sight 
 of the vessel was dangerous in the extreme. It was not 
 alone the darkness that was found oppressive, but the 
 silence. When out of hearing of the din and clamour 
 of the disorderly and ill-disciplined crew, the gloom and 
 silence of everything, says Tyson, settled down upon 
 one like a pall. As there were no trees, there was no 
 welcome whistling of the wind among their branches; 
 and out on the open plain the wind buffeted the way- 
 
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553 
 
 LIGHT ! MORE LIGHT ! 
 
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 thing existed that could be ruffled by it, or ever so 
 gently swayed or disturbed, so that the wind was felt 
 before it was heard; unless the traveller chanced to be 
 near a gorge in the hills, down which it would come 
 with a sufficiently formidable roar. 
 
 One eveniig, when Captain Tyson had wandered 
 from the ship, he found that, out of the range of the 
 men's voices, r ^ other sound prevailed. It was quite 
 calm; no wiixd, no xnovement of any living creature; 
 only the leaden sky above, only the gray cold ice be- 
 neath, and silenrz everywhere! It hung like a shroud 
 over tlie rigid, Rbiffened forms of Nature. So painfully 
 oppressive did the wanderer find it at last, that he was 
 frequently tempted to shout aloud and break the spell. 
 At last he felt constrained to do so; but no answer 
 came, not ; ven a responsive echo. 
 
 " The space was void; and there I stood, 
 And the sole spectre was the solitude. " 
 
 In February the day began to gain a little on the 
 night, and the men began to recover their strength and 
 spirits. Such is the common experience of all Arctic 
 voyagers. There can be no doubt as to the ill effects of 
 long-continued darkness on the mind and body of man; 
 and the explorer of the North, during its terrible winter, 
 is frequently tempted to re-echo the aspiration of 
 Goethe for " Light ! more light !" The night of the 21st 
 was distinguished by the appearance of a beautiful 
 paraselene, when four false moons were visible beside 
 the true, or five in all. The true orb of night was sur- 
 
 «3 
 
A SLEDGE- JOURNEY. 
 
 559 
 
 ) answer 
 
 rounded by a halo wliich also embraced two of the false 
 ones; while the other two had a separate halo, forming a 
 large circle concentric with the first. The two mock 
 moons nearest to the true were fitfully lighted up with 
 prismatic colours, a sight not less beautiful than curious. 
 
 It was on the 28th that the sun reappeared, after an 
 absence of one hundred and thirty-five days; but the 
 cold was still exceedingly severe, — the thermometer 
 marking 37° below zero. 
 
 In March and April several short sledge-excursions 
 were made, with the result of correcting numerous 
 errors in Dr. Kane's chart. The coast-line for some fifty 
 or sixty miles was closely examined, as well as its fiords, 
 with their respective glaciers and icebergs. 
 
 On the 9th of May, Tyson, Meyers, Joe, and Hans started 
 on a sledge-journey which occupied six days. They 
 struck inland to the east-north-east, and succeeded in 
 reaching Newman Bay; thence proceeded in the same 
 general direction as high as lat. 82° 9'. One day they 
 came upon a herd of musk-oxen, of which they slaugh- 
 tered twelve. These cattle develop their enormous 
 bulk, as whales do, on what seems to be very slender 
 and insufficient diet. Their food is the moss and lichens 
 which grow on the rocks; and to get at it they must 
 lirst scrape away the snow with their hoofs. There 
 were some calves with the herd, and three of these were 
 killed. At first the hunters failed to see them, for at 
 the approach of danger the young ones take shelter 
 under the body of their parents; and such is the length 
 of the hair of the musk-ox, that, as it nearly touches the 
 ground, it hangs like a curtain before the calves, com- 
 
'•i 
 
 660 
 
 ABOUT THE LEMMING. 
 
 pletely concealing them from view. The musk-ox is a 
 bulky animal, weighing between five hundred and six 
 hundred pounds. But their legs are very short in pro- 
 portion to their weight and size, so that their appearance 
 is the reverse of graceful. Hunting the musk-ox is not 
 very exciting spoi*t, for it is as easy to hit as the side of 
 a house. When the herd have been checked by the dogs, 
 and have arranged themselves in a circle, the hunter has 
 nothing to do but to walk up and shoot them. 
 
 A few lemmings (Myodes torquatus) were seen. One 
 of the men caught a live lemming, and the carpenter 
 found a dead one. These lemmings are small rodent or 
 gnawing animals. Though sometimes called the Arctic 
 mouse, it differs considerably from the common mus; 
 its claws are sharp and sickle-shaped, and the two 
 middle claws of the fore feet are remarkably long for an 
 animal whose entire length does not exceed five inches. 
 It inhabits the southern as well as the north Polar 
 Regions, but is not found elsewhere. During the sum- 
 mer it burrows in mossy swamps, and in v/inter be- 
 tween stones and rocks. Its food is exclusively vege- 
 table. When it travels it follows a perfectly straight 
 course, and nothing but an absolutely insurmountable 
 obstacle can turn it aside. 
 
 Early in June a formidable leak was discovered on 
 the starboard side of the stern of the Polaris, two planks 
 being badly split. The warm weather now began to act 
 on the ice, which broke up sufficiently to allow of boat- 
 excursions. Two were planned; one under the direc- 
 tion of Mr. Chester and Mr. Meyers, the other under 
 
 
.! ^ 
 
 NIPPED IN THE ICE. 
 
 561 
 
 that of Captain Tyson and Mr. Bessel. The former 
 came to nothing, the boat being crushed by the fall of 
 an iceberg. The latter proceeded to Newman Bay, but 
 was recalled, for some unexplained reason, by Captain 
 Buddington. 
 
 The summer passed away in a very unprofitable man- 
 ner; the want of discipline and obedience among the 
 crew, and of energy and zeal on the part of the com- 
 mander, proving fatal to all attempts to accomplish the 
 objects of the expedition. The Polaris weighed anchor 
 on the 12th of August, and steamed slowly in a 
 southerly direction. But being caught in the ice, she 
 was moored to a floe, and in this way she slowly drifted 
 down Kane Basin into Smith Sound, and on the 4th of 
 October passed Kensselaer Harbour, where Kane had 
 spent the winters of 1853, 1854, and 1855. 
 
 I 
 
 ADRIFT 1 
 
 During the night of the 15th of October, the ship was 
 " nipped " in the ice ; and so terrible was the pressure, 
 that all on board thought she would be reduced to a 
 wreck. In a moment of panic, the captain, who would 
 seem to have been totally unfit for his responsible posi- 
 tion, shouted to his men to " throw everything on the 
 ice ; " and immediately the direst confusion prevailed. 
 The men seized upon the stores, which had previously 
 been brought up from the hold in anticipation of a 
 catastrophe, and flung them overboard indiscriminately. 
 As the vessel, by its rising and falling motion, was con- 
 stantly breaking the ice, and no care was exercised 
 where or how the things were thrown, Tyson, with 
 
 l5«j 3() 
 
562 
 
 BREAK-UP OF THE FLOE. 
 
 /" 
 
 some of the men, get upon the floe, and endeavoured to 
 introduce a little order into the chaotic confusion. While 
 they were thus engaged, the ice began to crack; shortly 
 afterwards it exploded under their feet, and shivered 
 into many pieces; the ship broke away in the darkness, 
 and was out of sight in a moment ! 
 
 It was a terrible night, — deep darkness, the snow 
 falling heavily, the wind blowing violently. " We did 
 not know," says Tyson, " who was on the ice, or who 
 was on the ship; but I knew some of the children were 
 on the ice, because almost the last thing I had pulled 
 away from the crushing keel of the ship were some 
 musk-ox skins; they were lying across a wide crack in 
 the ice, and as I pulled them toward me to save them, 
 I saw that there were two or three of Hans' children 
 rolled up in one of the skins. A slight motion of the 
 ice, and in a moment more they would either have 
 been in the water and drowned, in the darkness, or 
 crushed between the ice." 
 
 When morning came, Tyson found that, fortunately, 
 two boats were lying on the floe to which he and his 
 companions were committed; a nearly circular floe, 
 about four miles in circumference, and diversified, like 
 a small island, with hillocks and ponds, or lakelets, the 
 latter formed by the summer melting of the ice. The 
 ice was very various in thickness. Some of the mounds, 
 or hills, were as much as thirty feet thick, others did 
 not exceed ten or fifteen feet. 
 
 The little company, thus strangely brought together 
 on a floating piece of ice, numbered nineteen and in- 
 cluded — Captain Tyson; Meyers, meteorologist; Her- 
 
 f.. 
 
ADRIFT ON THE ICE. 
 
 568 
 
 ron, steward; and Jackson, cook; Kniger, Jamka, Lin- 
 dermann, Anthing, Lindquist, and Johnson, seamen; 
 Joe, and his wife Hannah, and their child Puney; Hans, 
 his wife Christiana, his children Augustina, Tobias, and 
 Sucri, and his baby Charlie Polaris (so called because 
 bom on board the ship in Polaris Bay), Eskimos. 
 
 The supply of provisions for these nineteen men, 
 women, and children consisted only of fourteen cans of 
 pemmican, eleven and a half bags of bread, one can of 
 dried apples, and fourteen hams; so that if the ship did 
 not return for them, the prospect was dark enough — and 
 its solitary feature of hopefulness lay in the possession 
 of the two boats. 
 
 And it soon appeared as if tlie ship did not mean to 
 return for them — as if, indeed, she purposely designed to 
 abandon them. It is difficult -^ o read Tyson's narrative 
 without coming to the conclusion that Captain Budding- 
 ton might have regained the floe if he had chosen to 
 do so, and re-embarked the unfortunate castaways. As 
 this is a serious reflection on his humanity and good 
 faith, we shall adopt the language which Tyson himself 
 employs in reference to the captain's conduct: — 
 
 The boats had been got oflf the floe and partly loaded, 
 and the men were pulling towards the shore, intenamg 
 to come back for what was left, when the loose ice 
 rendered progress impossible, and they were compelled 
 to haul up on the ice. Soon after, says Tyson, I saw 
 the Polaris ! I was rejoiced indeed, for I thought 
 assistance was at hand. 
 
 She came around a point above us, eight or ten miles 
 distant. We could see water over the ice that had 
 
 I 
 
* ; , 
 
 •.I r 
 
 \ i 
 
 564 
 
 THE "POLARIS IN SIOHT. 
 
 ,k 
 
 drifted down, and we could see water in-shore, I 
 wondered why the Polaris did not come and look for 
 us. Thinking that she did not know, perhaps, in what 
 direction to look, though the set of the ice must have 
 told which way it would drift, I set up the colours 
 which I had with me, and a piece of india-rubber cloth. 
 Then with my spy-glass I watched the vessel, which 
 was under both steam and sail. She kept along the 
 coast, and then, instead of steering toward us, dropped 
 away behind Littleton Island. Our signal was dark, 
 and could not but be seen at that distance on a white 
 ice-floe. 
 
 I wanted poles with which to build a house or tent, 
 and sent some of the men to the other side of the floe 
 for a supply. I knew they must be there, belonging to 
 a house I had built of poles in which to store provisions. 
 On their way the men saw the vessel behind the island, 
 and so came back and reported ; they described her as 
 "tied up." 
 
 And now our piece of ice, which had been stationary, 
 began to drift, and I could not understand the vessel 
 not coming for us. She could not be disabled, for we 
 had recently seen her steaming ; so I told the men we 
 must cross to the other side of the floe, and then make 
 for the land, perhaps lower down than the vessel was, 
 in order that A^e might eventually reach her 
 
 There was a great deal of murmuring, for the men 
 did not seem to realize the crisis, and thought more of 
 saving their clothes than of saving their lives. But I 
 seemed to see the whole winter before me. Either, I 
 thought, the Polaris must be disabled and cannot come 
 
^1 
 
 A LITTLE ENCAMPMENT. 
 
 B96 
 
 for ua, or else Captain Buddington does not intend to 
 rescue us ; and then flashed through mv mind the recol- 
 lection of a scene and a fearful experience which had 
 happened to me before, on which occasion his indiffer- 
 ence had neaily cost the lives of myself and all my 
 crew. The thought came to me, What, in such a case, 
 am I to do with all these people, without ship, or shelter, 
 or sufficient food, through all the long, cold, dark, and 
 dreary Arctic winter ? 
 
 Such is Captain Tyson's statement, somewhat con- 
 densed, but virtually in his own words. 
 
 During the night of the 16th, another disruption of 
 the floe occurred, and Tyson and his companions found 
 themselves adrift on one part, with one of the boats, 
 while the other boat, part of the provisions, and the 
 house of poles, remained on the main body of the floe. 
 On the 2l8t, however, they succeeded in recovering these 
 precious and necessary articles ; and, afterwards, in re- 
 nioving to a larger and firmer floe which lay much 
 nearer the shore. Then they built up their snow-houses, 
 forming quite a little encampment : one hut for Captain 
 Tyson and Mr. Meyers; another for Joe, Hannah, and 
 Puney ; a third for the men ; a fourth for Hans and hia 
 family ; a store-hut for provisions, and a cook-house, — 
 all united by arched galleries or corridors made of snow. 
 
 These were true igloes, and made in the regular 
 Eskimo fashion. • First, the ground was levelled off', and 
 then one-half of the floor towards the end farthest from 
 the entrance was slightly raised above the other or front 
 half. The raised part was parlour and bedroom; the 
 
&66 
 
 A SNOW-IIUT. 
 
 front part, workshop and kitchen. The walls and the 
 arched roof were composed of square blocks of hard 
 snow, and a square of about eighteen inches of thin 
 compressed snow or ice served for window. The low 
 entrance was reached by a gallery, in which it was 
 impossible to st^ind upright. At night the entrance was 
 closed up by a block of snow. 
 
 In a hut of this construction there is scarcely room to 
 turn round, and a white man of ordinary stature can 
 but just stand erect in the interior. From its form, 
 however, it is well adapted to brave the Arctic climate. 
 It cannot be blown over, though it is frequently buried 
 beneath the snow-drift ; and when there is a sufficiency 
 of oil to bum in the lamps, it can be kept comfort- 
 ably warm. But, from its arched construction, and the 
 material employed, it cannot, of course, be made spacious 
 enough to accommodate properly a large number of men. 
 And it is only in the centre of the dome an upright 
 position can be maintained, as from that point the walls 
 slope gradually to the ground. 
 
 Towards the end of October Captain Tyson took stock. 
 The inquiry showed that the provisions consisted of 
 eleven and a half bags of bread, fourteen cans of pemmi- 
 can, fourteen hams, ten dozen cans of meats and soups, 
 one can of dried apples, and about twenty pounds of 
 chocolate and sugar mixed. The pemmican cans 
 weighed fortj'^-five pounds each, but the meat and soup 
 cans only one and two pounds. The hams were small ; 
 of dried apples there were twenty-two pounds. But 
 clearly this supply was utterly insufficient for the sup- 
 port of nineteen persons during six months of winter. 
 
r^w 
 
 WATCHING FOR SEAL. 
 
 667 
 
 Their hope was to gefc to the shore, where their ammuni- 
 tion might provide them with some species of game. 
 
 On the 30th of October the day's allowance for the 
 whole company consisted of two pounds of pemmican, 
 six pounds of bread, and four pounds of canned meat. 
 On such scanty rations everybody's strength rapidly 
 declined; and though the natives continued hunting, no 
 success attended their efforts. In fact, it is very diffi- 
 cult to find the seal in winter. They live principally 
 under the ice, and can be seen only when the ice cracks. 
 Being warm-blooded animals, they cannot long continue 
 under the ice without breathing. Consequently, for the 
 purposes of respiration, they make air-holes through the 
 ice and snow ; but at the surface these holes are so small 
 — not more than two and a half inches across — that 
 they are scarcely distinguishable, especially in the dim 
 uncertain light of an Arctic winter-day. A native will 
 sometimes remain watching a seal-hole for thirty-six or 
 forty-eight hours before getting a chance to strike ; and 
 if the first stroke misses, the seal is gone for ever. 
 Barbed spears are used by the hunter; and as the seal's 
 skull is exceedingly thin, a well-aimed blow is sure to 
 penetrate, and then the prize can be held securely until 
 the hole has been sufficiently enlarged for the body to 
 come through. 
 
 Two seals were captured on the 21st of November, 
 and proved a temporary alleviation of the distress of the 
 castaways. All the dogs but four had been sacrificed, 
 and everybody was suffering pitifully from weakness. 
 The ice-floe, meantime, continued to drift to the south- 
 ward. And so the dreary record continues day by day: 
 
 y 
 
 ,,i ! 
 
I \ 
 
 \ 
 
 668 
 
 DIVIDING THE PREY. 
 
 the darkness and the cold increasing; the provisions 
 rapidly lessening; and the miserable condition of the 
 little company intensified by the insubordination and 
 misbehaviour of tlie German sailors. 
 
 On the 29th of December a seal was caught, and 
 divided amongst the rejoicing party. According to 
 Captain Tyson, when a seal is properly divided there 
 is but one way of doing it. First, tlie " blanket " is 
 tiiken off — that is, the skin, which includes the blubber; 
 it is all " one and inseparable " as it comes from the 
 creature. Then the body is opened carefully, in such a 
 way as to prevent the blood being lost. It is placed in 
 such a position that the blood will flow into the internal 
 cavity ; this is carefully scooped out, and either saved for 
 future use or passed round for each to drink a portion. 
 The liver and heart are considered delicacies, and 
 divided as equally as possible, so that all may partake. 
 The brain is also a dainty, and either reserved or equally 
 divided. The eyes are given to the youngest child. 
 Next the flesh is equally apportioned. Sometimes the 
 person who distributes it cuts it up as fairly as he can, 
 and then, standing with his back to the pieces, another 
 person calls out the names of the company in succession, 
 and each receives his portion, without the distributor 
 being able to display any favouritism. The entrails 
 are usually scr^-ped, and allowed to freeze before they 
 are eaten. The skins are generally saved for clothing, 
 and also for many other domestic purposes such as 
 the construction of kajaks and oomiaks, the reins and 
 harnesses of dog-sledges, and for tents. In fact, to 
 almost everything which the Eskimos use or wear the 
 
 lis 
 
aauMH 
 
 I r , I 
 
 ABOUT SEALS. 
 
 669 
 
 seal furnishes something. Even the membranous tissues 
 of the body are frequently stretched and dried, and 
 made into semi-transparent windows for the snow-huts. 
 The small Greenland seal (Phoca vitulina) is a very 
 pretty creature in the water; its fur is a shiny white, 
 beautifully variegated with black and obscure dark 
 spots on the back and sides ; weight, about fifty or sixty 
 pounds. Members of this species appear singly or in 
 families, but never in shoals, as is the custom of the 
 " springing seal " {Phoca hispida). The latter is morp 
 frolicsome than the former, and plays with its comrades 
 in the open water yary much like the porpoise, except 
 that there is D^.re of springing and less of rolling in its 
 movements. Largest of all the species is the hooded or 
 bearded seal {Phoca barbata), and very ponderous of 
 action. When assailed, it makes a revolution, and goes 
 down like a whale, head foremost ; while the small seal 
 drops backward, tail down, the head disappearing last. 
 
 FURTHER EXPERIENCES. 
 
 By the 9th of January the floe had carried them as 
 far south as 72°, and they had reached about the middle 
 of Davis Strait. The cold was now intense ; 40° below 
 zero, and ranging thence up to —17° or —15". A seal was 
 captured on the 16th. The seamen had given Captain 
 Tyson great anxiety through their lawlessness, but the 
 approaching failure of provisions subdued them to some 
 extent, and they showed themselves more willing to 
 obey orders. A gleam of hope was afforded by the re- 
 appearance of the sun on the 19th, after an absence of 
 eighty-three days. In the preceding year he had been, 
 
 h 
 
 'I 
 
 :iS 
 
670 
 
 A I i.EET OF ICEBERGS. 
 
 
 absent from the crew and staff of the Polaris for one 
 hundred and thirty-five days ; and his quicker return 
 was, of course, a sign that they had drifted rapidly to 
 the southward. 
 
 Day after day the weary voyage continued, — the 
 rapidly-diminishing supply of provisions being eked out 
 by the skill of the Eskimo hunters, who frequently 
 brought in a seal. It is a remarkable fact that, on the 
 whole, notwithstanding the rigorous temperature and 
 the scanty rations, our castaways enjoyed good health 
 with scarcely an exception, until towards the end of 
 January. Tobias, one of the Eskimo children, then 
 showed symptoms of illness, and gradually grew very 
 weak. 
 
 In February the ice-floe carried them into a part 
 of the strait thronged with icebergs of every form and 
 size. They presented a strange and beautiful spectacle. 
 When the sunlight fell upon them, and lighted up their 
 fantastic masses, all the prismatic colours, as in a rain- 
 bow, flashed through their crystal spires and pendants. 
 Their history is very variouj. Some run aground 
 within a few paces of their birthplace; others travel 
 on until they come in contact with a floe, and being 
 stranded upon it, keep it company for hundreds of 
 leagues; others pursue a lonely and majestic course 
 towards the open sea, and gently melt into the warm 
 waters of i.he Atlantic; some, like pirates, make straight 
 for the goodly barque, and send her, with all her precious 
 freight of human lives, to the bottom. And as they are 
 various in their history, so are they in their appearance: 
 some being wall-like, solid ramparts, with square and 
 
 al 
 
TTp-nr- 
 
 and 
 
 ON THE ICE-RAFT. 
 
 671 
 
 almost perpendicular faces, two or three miles in length, 
 by half as many in breadth; while others present the 
 outlines of a stately palace, a Moorish mosque, or a 
 Gothic cathedral — 
 
 " Whose spire 
 Chimes out to the breezes a song, 
 And glows in the sunset like fire. " 
 
 Occasionally a berg wears away at the water-line, while 
 the base below the water is intact, and supports an 
 extended surface on a comparatively narrow pedestal ; 
 others are arched or tunnelled ; and, indeed, there is no 
 limitation as to size or bulk. The most beautiful and 
 the most grotesque may sail side by side; one may 
 measure a mile square, another may not exceed forty or 
 fifty feet. Whether they are large or small, we see 
 only a small proportion of their bulk ; the main body is 
 always below water. 
 
 We have described in a previous chapter the voyage 
 of the Hansa'a crew on an ice-raft, but it must be re- 
 membered that they were much better supplied with 
 necessaries and comforts than the castaways of the 
 Polai'is. The former had time to make abundant pre- 
 parations, were conveniently housed, and had no lack 
 of provisions ; the others went adrift unexpectedly, in 
 the most unfavourable circumstances, and ill-provided 
 against the severities of an Arctic winter. 
 
 In February the pressure of hunger was less felt by 
 Captain Tyson and his companions, as seals were occa- 
 sionally caught, and now and then a dovekie ; yet things 
 were bad enough, and the prospect of ultimate escape 
 seemed very uncertain. Matters would ha\ ^ gone more 
 
 ft 
 
 1 1 ^ 
 
 liiiiii 
 
 rii 
 
 s 
 
 
 V 
 
 Kw 
 
 I 
 
 f; 
 
 in 
 
 1 ;l 
 
 
 : r 
 
I- 
 
 572 
 
 A PERILOUS POSITION. 
 
 i 
 
 smoothly, had the German seamen been amenable to 
 discipline, and allowed an equitable distribution of 
 rations. But they laid violent hands on everything 
 they could get at ; and when a seal was caught refused 
 the Eskimos their proper share, though they were in- 
 debted for it to the skill and patience of the native 
 hunters. 
 
 MAKING FOR THE SHORE. 
 
 At length, on the 3rd of March, the floe approached 
 Cumberland Gulf; and Captain Tyson determined, as 
 soon as the weather proved favourable, to take to the 
 boats, in the hope of falling in with some of the whaling- 
 ships. Or, if they drifted past the gulf, he resolved to 
 try for Hudson Strait; and landing on Resolution Island, 
 to wait there in safety for American whalers or Hud- 
 son Bay vessels. But for some days tlie wind blew 
 steadily from the north-west, bringing with it pitiless 
 storms of frozen snow. 
 
 On the 7th of March another experience awaited 
 these sorely-tried men. For some days past the ice 
 had cracked and snapped under them, with a sound 
 like that of distant thunder. On the 7th the noises in- 
 creased, and grew so violent as to betoken an early dis- 
 ruption of the floe. They are described as very various 
 in character, and as producing a most peculiar effect 
 upon the listener. Captain Tyson found himself unable 
 to distinguish their diversities in plain prose, and has 
 recourse to a poetical quotation, which partially gives 
 an idea of their variety and freshness : — 
 
 " Hark ! a dull crash, a howling, ravenous yell, 
 Opening full symphony of ghastly sound ; 
 
KILLING A BEAR. 678 
 
 Jarring, yet blunt, as if the dismal hell 
 
 Lent its strange anguish from the rent profound. ' 
 Through all its scale the horrid discord ran ; 
 Now mocked the beast — now took the groan of man." 
 
 But even these emphatic lines, he adds, convey no full 
 idea of the overwhelming power of the pushing and 
 grinding ice-masses. 
 
 The threatened catastrophe took place on the 11th, 
 in the midst of a formidable gale. The ice-raft broke 
 up into hundreds of pieces, and the castaways found 
 themselves afloat on one which measured no more than 
 seventy-five by one hundred yards. Their alarm was 
 great lest this also should be disrupted, in which case 
 their destruction seemed inevitable. But, happily, it 
 was of immense solidity, and the icebergs around it 
 ])rotecting it to some extent from collision with the 
 surrounding floes, it drifted along very quietly. 
 
 By the 25th of March they had reached lat. Cl° 59' N., 
 and were close upon the waters where the hooded seals 
 are always numerous. Some captures were made; and 
 the more abundant supplies of food induced a more 
 cheerful and energetic spirit in Captain Tyson's com- 
 panions. A bear was killed on the 28th. Shortly after 
 dusk a noise was heard outside the huts. Joe recon- 
 noitred, and discovered Bruin near his kajak, whicli 
 lay within ten feet of the hut occupied by Joe and 
 Tyson. Both their rifles were outside ; one in the 
 kajak, tlie other lying close to it. Tyson and Joe 
 crept out very stealthily, and when at the outer en- 
 trance could hear the bear engaged in a repast at their 
 expense. Seal-skins and pieces of blubber were lying 
 
 !i 
 
 'V^ 
 
 \m\ 
 
 S 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 : i 
 
 Hi 
 

 674 
 
 ON THE PACK-ICE. 
 
 about in all directions, and some of these the bear 
 had hauled about thirty feet from the kajak, and was 
 leisurely devouring. While Joe stole into the sailors' 
 hut to alarm them, Tyson crawled forward to reach his 
 rifle; but in doing so knocked down a shot-gun, which 
 aroused Mr. Bruin's attention. The captain levelled 
 his rifle; he growled; the trigger would not go ofi"; a 
 second and a third time it would not go off : but the 
 captain did, for the bear made at him. Getting within 
 the hut, Tyson reloaded his rifle, and crept out again ; 
 taking up a position where he could see the animal 
 tolerably well in spite of the increasing darkness. The 
 bear saw his enemy, and faced towards him ; but this 
 time the rifle-ball went straight to its mark. The bear 
 ran about two yards, and fell dead. On skinning him 
 next morning, it was found that the ball had entered 
 the left shoulder, passed through the heart, and out 
 at the other side. 
 
 m 
 
 ON THE PACK-ICE. 
 
 The small ice-raft which carried the castaways of the 
 Polaris and their fortunes began to wear away very 
 rapidly, and Captain Tyson determined on taking to 
 the boats, with the view of reaching the main pack. 
 As the boat was intended only to hold six or eight men, 
 and had now 'to embark twelve men, two women, and 
 five children, with their tent, and necessary wrappings of 
 seal-skin, it was a dangerous attempt, and much of their 
 provisions and ammunition had to be abandoned. 
 There was no other alternative, however; and fortu- 
 nately, though the boat was overloaded and leaked con- 
 
Hi'' 
 
 i li: 
 
 > I 
 
 
'7-.- 
 
 \ i 
 
PANGS OF HUNGER. 
 
 577 
 
 siderably, the traject was safely accomplished, and all 
 landed on the pack-ice. 
 
 Scarcely was this enterprise successfully accomplished 
 before a violent gale arose, which continued, with but 
 little intermission, for several days, and reduced the 
 storm-beaten company to great distress from the im- 
 possibility of capturing any seals. They began to suffer 
 the pangs of hunger, and at one time it seemed as if 
 death by starvation would be the termination of their 
 miseries. Nay, worse results were to be apprehended. 
 " Some of the men,", wrote Tyson, on the 15th of April, 
 " have dangerous looks; this hunger is disturbing their 
 brains. I cannot but fear that they contemplate crime. 
 After what we have gone through, I hope this company 
 may be preserved from any fatal wrong. We can and we 
 must bear what God sends without crime. This party 
 must not disgrace humanity by cannibalism." For- 
 tunately a seal was killed on the 18th, and this supply 
 came like a direct blessing from Heaven to recruit their 
 strength. 
 
 Just as it was needed ! For at night, on the 20th, 
 a heavy sea suddenly arose, a;nd sweeping in violent 
 billows over the ice-floe occupied by the castaways, 
 carried off their tent, their skins, most of their bed- 
 clothing, — everything, in fact, that was movable, — and 
 plunged them into destitution. Only a few articles 
 were saved, which they contrived to stow in the boat ; 
 the women and children were already in it, or the little 
 ones must certainly have perished. It required all the 
 efforts of the men to save the boat. They knew that 
 their lives depended on its preservation, and this know- 
 
 (544) 37 
 
 m > i 
 
678 
 
 SHIPS IN SIGHT. 
 
 Sii.4 
 
 ij I 
 
 ledge inspired them to exertions which, in their enfeebled 
 condition, were almost superhuman. For twelve hours 
 they held on to it, "Hke grim Death;" scarcely a sound 
 was uttered, save and except the crying of the children, 
 and Captain Tyson's orders to "Hold on," "Bear down," 
 " Put on all your weight," and the responsive " Ay, ay, 
 sir," which, in this terrible crisis, came readily enough. 
 Discipline was temporarily restored under the influence 
 of danger. 
 
 We find them, on the 22nd of April, half drowned, 
 half frozen, without shelter, and without food ! Had 
 the end come ? Not yet : Heaven again came to their 
 rescue; a bear was sighted, pursued, killed, brought 
 back to the " camp " in triumph, and speedily devoured. 
 On the 28th, three young seals fell to the hunters' 
 rifles, and abundance reigned. On the same day they 
 were cheered by the appearance of a steamer working 
 her way tlirough the ice to the south-west; and though 
 she did not see them, it infused new hope into their 
 hearts, as it was a sign and a token that they might 
 now expect to be relieved. And, indeed, on the follow- 
 ing day another steamer was aeen. Then volleys were 
 fired; colours were hoisted; loud shouts were raised; 
 but these combined efforts failed to draw her attention 
 to the little company on the ice-raft. A third steamer 
 afterwards came in sight, but did not bring them 
 
 deliverance. 
 
 SAVED ! 
 
 However, it was not far off. On the 30th, a fourth 
 steamer was discovered through the fog, and so near 
 them that Hans leaped into his kajak and paddled to- 
 
J 'I III 
 
 l!> 
 
 li 
 
I 
 
HELP AT LAST. 
 
 581 
 
 wards lier. Meantime, she perceived Captain Tyson's 
 signals, and, to the intense joy of all these storm-beaten, 
 wan, attenuated, suft'ering castaways, bore down upon 
 them. In a few minutes she was alongside of their 
 piece of ice. 
 
 "On her approach, and as they slowed do-m," says 
 Captain Tyson, whose words we shall here adopt, "I 
 took off my old Russian cap, which I had worn all 
 winter, and waving it over my head, gave them three 
 cheers, in which all the men most heartily joined. It 
 was instantly returned by a hundred men, who covered 
 her top-gallant-mast, forecastle, and fore-rigging. We 
 then gave three more, and a 'tiger;' which was appro- 
 priate, surely, as she proved to be the sealer Tigress, 
 — a barquentine of Conception Bay, Newfoundland. 
 
 " Two or three of their small seal-boats were instantly 
 lowered. We, however, now that relief was certain, 
 threw everything from our own boat, and in a minute's 
 time she was in the water; while the boats of the 
 Tigress came on, and the crews got on our bit of ice, 
 and peeped curiouslj'^ into the dirty pans we had used 
 over the oil-fires. We had been making soup out of 
 the blood and entrails of the last seal which Hans had 
 shot. They soon saw enough to convince them that 
 we were in sore need. No words were required to 
 make that plain. 
 
 " Taking the women and children in their boats, we 
 tumbled into our own, and were soon alongside of the 
 Tigress. We left all we had behind ; and our all was 
 simply a few battered, smoky tin pans, and the debris 
 of our last seal. It had already become offal in our 
 
 I' , 
 I' 
 
 I ■ 
 
 I 
 
 ;l 
 
 if 
 
 t ;l 
 
[ 
 
 682 
 
 ENJOYING A MEAL. 
 
 :;! 
 
 
 1^^ 
 
 eyes, though we had often been glad enough to get such 
 fare 
 
 " We had been sitting talking of our ' wonderful/ or, 
 as the captain called it, ' miraculous ' escape, some half an 
 hour. I was very hungry, having eaten nothing since 
 the night before, and I wanted a smoke so much ; but I 
 saw no signs of either food or tobacco. So I finally 
 asked him if he would give me a pipe and some tobacco. 
 
 " He said he ' did not smoke.' 
 
 "However, I soon procured both from one of his 
 officers, and had a good long smoke — the first I had had 
 since Joe gave me the two pipefuls, one of those dreary 
 days in our snow-hut. In course of time breakfast 
 came along — cod-fish, potatoes, hard bread, and coffee ! 
 
 " Never in my life did I enjoy a meal like that ; plain 
 as it was, I shall never forget that cod-fish and potatoes. 
 No subsequent meal can ever eclipse this to my taste, 
 so long habituated to raw meat, with all its uncleanly 
 accessories." 
 
 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 The Tigress, with her passengers, arrived at St. John's, 
 Newfoundland, on the morning of the 12th of May. In- 
 telligence of the rescue of Captain Tyson and his party 
 having by this time reached the American Government, 
 the United States steamship Frolic was despatched to 
 St. John's; anH arriving there on the 27th, embarked the 
 survivors on the following day, and conveyed them to 
 Washington on the afternoon of the 5th of June. 
 
 A Board of Inquiry having investigated the circum- 
 stances under which Captain Tyson and his companions 
 
rcum- 
 mions 
 
 VOYAGE OF THE " TIGRESS. 
 
 6M 
 
 had been sent adnft from the Polaris, exonerated the 
 captain from all blame. It wa8 decided to despatch an 
 expedition in search of the Polaris, and the fourteen 
 persons on board of her at the time of her separation 
 from Tyson's party. For this purpose the Tigress was 
 purchased, and properly equipped; while the steam- 
 launch Juniata was sent forward to establish a dep6t 
 of coal and stores for her use at Disco Island. 
 
 SEARCH FOR THE "POLARIS." 
 
 The Tigress was placed under the command of Cap- 
 tain Greer, with Lieutenant Wliite as his chief-officer, 
 and Captain Tyson as his ice-master. She carried, in 
 all, eleven officers and forty-two men, including Eskimo 
 Joe as interpreter. Hans and his family, and the other 
 Eskimos, were taken on board, in order to be conveyed, 
 at their own desire, to Disco. 
 
 The Tigress steamed out of New York Harbour on 
 the 14th of July, and at once proceeded on her northerly 
 course. As it was marked by no interesting incidents, 
 we need not delay the reader by detailing its various 
 stages. Suffice it to say that the expedition reached 
 Littleton Island, where the separation from the Polaris 
 had taken place, about the middle of August. As they 
 neared the shore, two tents were discovered, and on the 
 mainland, close by the island, some human figures ! It 
 was at once supposed that the missing crew were found ; 
 but on a boat being sent ashore the human figures 
 proved to be Eskimos. A discovery was made, however. 
 The Eskimos wore the clothing of civilized men, which 
 they had obtained from Captain Buddington's party; 
 
 lii 
 
 )i 
 
.1 , , -l-i , 
 
 684 
 
 NEWS OF THE " POLARIS." 
 
 and were able to gi"e much interesting information to 
 the eager inquirers. Captain Buddington, it was as- 
 certained, had abandoned the Polaris on the day after 
 she had broken away from the floe. His men had built 
 a house on the mainland, where they had wintered ; had 
 fitted it up with sleeping-berths for fourteen persons (a 
 proof that no deaths had taken place), and furnished it 
 with a stove, table, chairs, and other articles taken from 
 the Polaris. During the winter, they had built and 
 rigged two sailing-boats, with wood and canvas from 
 the doomed vessel; and that "about the time when the 
 ducks begin to hatch," Captain Buddington and his 
 company had sailed southward in these boats. 
 
 The chief man among these iJskimos added that Cap- 
 tain Buddington had made him "a present of the 
 Polaris ; " but that, soon after his departure, the vessel 
 broke loose from the ice in a gale of wind, and, after 
 drifting about one mile and a half towards the channel 
 which separates Littleton Island from the mainland, had 
 foundered. The chief described in pathetic terms the 
 emotions with which he had watched her sinking, 
 sinking, until she disappeared in the great deep for 
 ever. 
 
 Captain Greer took possession of all the articles left 
 behind in the winter-camp of the Polaris crew — the 
 manuscripts, the medical stores, and the instruments ; as 
 also of the log-book — out of which had been torn, it was 
 remarked, every passage having reference to the death 
 of Captain Hall. 
 
 The Tigress then went southward, in the hope of 
 falling in with the two boats, or of obtaining some in- 
 
A TERRIBLE STORM. 
 
 585 
 
 telligence concerning them. She reached Upemavik on 
 the 23rd, and Godhav'n on the 25th ; but at neither place 
 had the missit^ crew been heard of. It was ascertained, 
 however, that the whaler Arctic, of Dundee, and eight 
 others, had gone to the North, all expecting to sight 
 Cape York ; and it seemed certain that, if Captain Bud- 
 dington had kept to the east coast, he must already 
 have been rescued by one or other of those ships. 
 
 As the whalers on their return would certainly follow 
 the west coast-line in working down from the north 
 water. Captain Greer, at Tyson's instigation, resolved to 
 strike across to the west, in the hope of intercepting 
 them, and gaining some information. 
 
 In his voyage he fell 'n with several Scotch whalers, 
 but they knew nothing of the Polaris; and coal running 
 short, he was compelled to put back to Ivgitut, on the 
 Greenland coast, to obtain a fresh supply. Here he 
 found the celebrated little steamer Fox — which, under 
 Captain M'Clintock, did such good service in the search 
 for Franklin. 
 
 Putting to sea again, the Tigress^ encountered a ter- 
 rible storm on the night of the 6th and 7th of October. 
 " Towards evening " — so runs the record — " the wind 
 increased to a gale, accompanied by squalls of snow. 
 Shortened sail, and hove the vessel to on the starboard 
 tack. Through the night the gale increased to a hurri- 
 cane ; the sea was very heavy, breaking over our little 
 barque, and keeping her deck continually flooded with 
 water. Not only the deck, but the ward and engine 
 rooms were flooded. The tire-room took so much 
 water, that there was danger of the fires being put out ; 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 '< 
 
* - ; 
 
 686 
 
 RETURN TO NEW YORK. 
 
 m 
 
 but, fortunately, nothing more serious occurred than 
 the carrying away of the lower bobstay to the bowsprit, 
 and everybody getting thoroughly soaked. About seven 
 A.M. the gale abated, and the wind hauled to the west- 
 ward some four points ; its former course was south-east. 
 Wearing ship ; we are now standing off-shore, as we are 
 not more than fifteen miles from the Greenland coast. 
 The weather is not pleasant yet ; a heavy sea is .running, 
 but not so bad as last night. It is impossible as yet, 
 however, to get anything to eat. Tables think nothing 
 of turning over ; the sea gaily indulges in the pastime 
 of extinguishing the galley- fires, keeping the cook and 
 steward in a chronic state of exasperation; and such 
 was the power of the seas which broke over us, that 
 even the anvil and iron covers to the coal-bunkers — the 
 latter weighing about seventy pounds, and the former 
 two hundred — were found floating around the deck, 
 driven hither and thither by the force of the descend- 
 ing waves." A fact like this is better than volumes of 
 description. 
 
 All Captain Greer's efforts to obtain tidings of the 
 Polaris crew were in vain, and he determined, there- 
 fore, on returning to St. John's. When they arrived at 
 this well-known harbour, the first words they heard 
 were : " The Polaris party are safe." Nothing remained 
 for the Tigre§s, therefore, but to make the best of her 
 way back to New York ; and landing there on the 9th 
 of November, Greer and Tyson had the satisfaction of 
 learning that Captain Buddington and his party had 
 been picked up by the Ravenscraig whaler three weeks 
 before the Tigress was ready for sea ! 
 
\\( ' 
 
 ABANDONMENT OF THE " POLARIS. 
 
 587 
 
 THE FATE OF THE "POLARIS." 
 
 We return now to the Polaris. On the night that 
 she broke away from the ice, she had on board fourteen 
 officers and men — namely, Captain Buddington; Chester 
 and Morton, the first and second mates ; Schuraan and 
 Odell, chief and assistant engineers; Campbell and 
 Booth, firemen ; Coffin, carpenter ; Sieman, Hobby, 
 Hays, and Manch, seamen; Dr. Bessel, chief of the 
 scientific stafi"; and Bryan, the astronomer and chaplain. 
 
 Leaking heavily, and with her anchors gone, the 
 Polaris was driven by the wind in a north-easterly 
 direction. At length steam was got up, and the vessel 
 got under some degree of control. A look-out was kept, 
 it is said, from the mast-head, for the two boats and their 
 companions ; but as they could not be seen, and it was 
 supposed they would accomplish their voyage in safety, 
 Buddington put the vessel in-shore, and moored her off 
 Kane's Life-boat Cove (lat. 78° 23' 30" N., and long. 
 73° 21' W,). She had sustained such serious injuries, 
 that the wonder was she had kept afloat so long ; and 
 as it seemed impossible to repair her, Buddington re- 
 solved on permanently abandoning her, and on convey- 
 ing to land all the food, fuel, and the articles most 
 necessary for building a house, and supporting himself 
 and companions during the winter. Some days were 
 occupied in the work of unloading, and the Polaris was 
 then abandoned to her fate. In the following summer 
 she was presented to an Eskimo chief, in return for as- 
 sistance rendered to the "white strangers;" but soon 
 afterwards she drifted out of the cove, and, as we have 
 
 !! 
 
 iii 
 
 
 I 
 
588 
 
 A WINTER-ENCAMPMENT. 
 
 already stated, foundered in the sight of her last pro- 
 prietor. Such was the melancholy end of the Polaris 
 which Captain Hall's fond imagination had destined to 
 be the first keel that navigated the unknown waters of 
 the Pole. 
 
 A WINTER-ENCAMPMENT. 
 
 The house erected by the survivors of the Polarw 
 was constructed with the ship's spars, bulk-heads, and 
 sails. It measured twenty-two feet in length and four- 
 teen in width, and was surrounded by a bank of snow 
 to protect it from the Arctic winds. A stove ensured 
 its warmth ; and comfortable sleeping-berths for fourteen 
 persons were built up around its sides. Implements for 
 cooking were brought from the Polaris, as well as a 
 table, lamps, and other conveniences. 
 
 In the course of a few days, a party of native Eski- 
 mos arrived in five sledges. They proved of great 
 assistance to the white men, and rendered any services 
 that were required of them, in return for a few knives, 
 needles, pieces of wood and iron, or other trifling articles. 
 Some of them built their huis in the vicinity, and pre- 
 pared to winter there. The women were of great 
 utility — making and repairing clothing, and " perform- 
 ing other feminine courtesies for the men;" while the 
 native hunters, as the season advanced, brought to the 
 house a plentiful supply of fresh meat. In these cir- 
 cumstances, it is not astonishing that Captain Budding- 
 ton and his party experienced but few of the severities 
 of an Arctic winter. 
 
 When fairly settled, the whole party fell into a regu- 
 lar daily routine of the easiest character. Dr. Bessel 
 
BOAT-BUILDING. 
 
 58CI. 
 
 and Mr. Bryan continued their scientific observations ; 
 the others whiled away the time in reading, writing, 
 and playing at chess, draughts, and cards. There was 
 also the house- work to be done ; ice-blocks cut for 
 melting, fire replenished, lamps trimmed, the meals 
 cooked ; and when, in February, the coal-supply became 
 exhausted, wood for firing purposes had to be cut from 
 the Polaris, and brought ashore. When the mild light 
 of spring broke over the far Northern seas, there were 
 many opportunities for going in search of game, or seal- 
 hunting, or setting traps for foxes. Happily, as their 
 historian remarks, food was neve'^' 'van ting, nor even 
 scarce; they were well-fed, well-clothed, and well- 
 sheltered. How striking a contrast to the wretched 
 condition of their comrades adrift on the raft of ice ! 
 
 They had no boats, however, and they set to work to 
 supply this deficiency. Materials were abundant, and 
 they enjoyed the advice and assistance of the ship's 
 carpenter. Each boat was twenty-five feet in length, 
 square fore and aft, and five feet beam — capable of carry- 
 ing seven men, with provisions for about two months ; 
 in which time, it was supposed, they would undoubtedly 
 reach a latitude where assistance would be obtainable. 
 The timber used was chiefly taken from the Polaris — 
 such as the ceiling of the alley-ways and after-cabin. 
 The difficulties of the work were great, but not insur- 
 mountable. The two boats were finished; and also a 
 third and smaller one, which was presented to the 
 friendly natives. 
 
 A little after one o'clock, on the morning of the 3rd 
 of June, the boats received their cargo of provisions 
 
 
 I 
 
CM 
 
 A SOUTHWARD VOYAGE. 
 
 
 and other necessary articles. The party was equally 
 divided — seven in each boat; and bidding farewell to 
 the Eskimos and their winter-home, they launched out 
 into the free waters of Smith Sound, and turned their 
 prows southward. 
 
 With the exception of slight scorbutic affections in 
 a few of the men, they had enjoyed wonderfully good 
 health throughout the Arctic winter and spring. It 
 was now summer, and the sun was constantly above the 
 horizon. Neither against cold nor darkness was it 
 necessary now to struggle. The voyage before them, 
 except for occasional interruption from the pack-ice, 
 was a pleasant excursion. Wherever they put ashore 
 they found sea-birds, seals, and other game in abun- 
 dance ; and occasionally the eggs of the eider and other 
 ducks figured in their bills of fare. 
 
 As they proceeded on their voyage, they touched at 
 the Eskimo settlement of Etah-y-tamy, but found it 
 abandoned; also at Hakluyt Island; and afterwards 
 they landed on the west shore of Northumberland 
 Island, where they were detained until the 10th by the 
 pack-ice. Putting to sea again, the ice carried them 
 back to their point of departure. But on the 12th the 
 prospect was more favourable, and they set sail for the 
 second time. Crossing the southern part of Murchison 
 Sound; they doubled Cape Parry, and rested for awhile 
 at Blackwood Point. Continuing their voyage on the 
 'C'liowing day, they reached and landed on Dalrymple 
 ;- "ud; afterwards at Wolstenholme Island and Cape 
 
 . '*us far, says Mr. Blake, their course had been com- 
 
■■•■, T 
 
 , \ § 
 
 SIQHTINa A WHALE. 
 
 591 
 
 paratively easy; but they were now called upon to 
 encounter the ice of the glacier-fed Melville Bay ; and 
 here considerably greater exertion was required of them 
 — the water-ways frequently closing up, so that they had 
 to haul their boats across the ice until they came to 
 another open " lead." Their troubles, however, were not 
 of long duration. On the twentieth day from their 
 departure, and soon after entering upon the difficult 
 waters of Melville Bay, they sighted a steamer in the 
 distance. They were then twenty-five miles south-east 
 of Cape York. 
 
 " True, they perceived that the vessel was beset, and 
 could not come to them ; and she was some ten miles 
 away. But being beset, she was sure to remain until 
 they could get to her ; and the relief appeared all the 
 more timely, since one of the boats had been injured in 
 its contact with the ice, and only about one week's 
 provisions remained. The party had apparently over- 
 eaten their rations, or had not rightly estimated them. 
 
 " Two men were sent forward toward the steamer, 
 but had traversed only a portion of the distance when 
 they were met by a body of eighteen men from the 
 ship — which proved to be the Ravenacraig of Dundee, 
 Captain Allen; lying in lat. 75° 38' N. long. 65° 35' W., 
 Cape York being to the noiiih-west, at about twenty- 
 five miles distance. 
 
 " The party on the ice had been sighted by the look- 
 out on the vessel at about one A.M. (it being light all the 
 time then) ; they were at that time about fourteen miles 
 off", and were supposed to be Eskimos. By nine o clock 
 it was observed that the party were moving toward 
 
 'I 
 
 
 ' 
 
COS 
 
 all'8 well that ends well. 
 
 the vessel, but very slowly, not having made more than 
 two miles since first seen ; and it was now discovered 
 that they were not natives, but white men. This 
 naturally increased the interest on board. It was per- 
 ceived that they had two boats, and their colours on a 
 pole. Volunteers were now ready to go to their relief, 
 and eighteen picked men were chosen for the purpose ; 
 Captain Allen also hoisting his ensign as an encourage- 
 ment to the wanderers. 
 
 " Captain Buddington and his party were intensely 
 gratified to see that they had been noticed, and all 
 watched with the greatest anxiety the progress of the 
 twp men who had gone forward toward the vessel. But 
 when the rescuers were seen returning with them, every 
 heart was relieved, and weariness gave place to the joy 
 of anticipated security. 
 
 " The boats had been considerably injured by contact 
 with the rough, huramocky ice ; and one of them was 
 slightly stove, but had been repaired. The fatigue of 
 dragging boats over such ice may be partly imagined 
 when we find that it took the combined party of thirty- 
 two from six P.M. until midnight to get to the vessel — 
 a rate of two miles an hour. The difficulty had been 
 greatly increased by a deep slushy snow, which was 
 spread over the entire surface; and was not only heavy 
 and diaagreeaTDle to wade through, but was not without 
 its real dangers, as more than one found by suddenly 
 sinking into some treacherous hole, which was con- 
 cealed by it. One of the men had great difiiculty in extri- 
 cating himself from one of these hidden pitfalls; indeed, 
 without assistance the accident might have proved fatal." 
 
•' SAFE AT HOME." 
 
 503 
 
 THE CONCLTTSION. 
 
 On board the Ravenscraig, Captain Buddington and 
 Ills companions were most hospitably entertained ; but 
 as she was not homeward-bound, her captain, as soon 
 as possible, transfeiTed them to the Arctic and the Jn- 
 trepid, which, having completed their work in the Polar 
 seas, were about to sail for Dundee. The Arctic, with 
 C/aptain Buddington and ten of his party, reached that 
 port on the 18th of September 1873. Embarking on 
 l)oard the City of Antwerp, they arrived safely at New 
 York on the 4th of October ; and were followed, a few 
 weeks later, by Mr. Bryan and his two companions, who 
 had been transferred to the Intrepid, and from that to 
 the Erick. Thus every member of the ill-fated Polaris 
 expedition arrived safely at their homes, except its gal- 
 lant and enthusiastic leader, whose ambitious hopes had 
 lieen so sadly and fatally extinguished. Had Captain 
 Buddington possessed a tithe of his ardour, he might, 
 ])erhaps, have succeeded in accomplishing that final 
 achievement of the conquest of the Pole which, we 
 trust, is now reserved for British enterprise and courage. 
 
 i: 
 
 (M4) 
 
 38 
 
 W 
 
 t 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE SWEDISH AND AUSTRIAN EXPEDITIONS, 
 
 HE work of Arctic Ex])loration has not lan- 
 guished in the last two or three years. An 
 Austnan expedition, conducted by Messrs. 
 Payer and Weiprecht, sailed in 1870; pro- 
 ceeded to Kbnig Karl Land in the latter part of the 
 summer ; and, ascending to the east of Spitzbergen, in 
 long. 40° to 42°, discovered an open Polar sea, free from 
 ice, as high up as the 79th parallel of latitude. 
 
 The Swedes, in the summer of 1871, despatched a 
 ship under Baron von Otter to the west coast of Green- 
 land, to bring away a largo mass of meteoric iron that 
 had been discovered there ; and Mr. Rosenthal, a mer- 
 chant of great enterprise and culture, sent out in his 
 own ship scientific observers to the seas east of Spitz- 
 bergen. 
 
 In the same year, an Arctic voyage was accomplislied 
 by the Grand Duke Alexis in the corvette Warjdg; 
 during which some valuable observations were made by 
 the geograjdier. Von Middendorff, on the currents and 
 temperature of the sea off the western coasts of Novaia 
 Zemlaia, 
 
 I 
 
NOUWEIDAX WHALF.KS. 
 
 595 
 
 Sir Roderick Murcliison, in his address to the Royal 
 Geographical Society on opening the session of 1872-73, 
 justly remarked, that not the least praiseworthy and 
 productive of Arctic voyages in recent years have been 
 those of the Norwegian whaling-fleet, whose captains 
 now engage in honourable rivalry to penetrate as far as 
 they can into the Icy Sea, — making new discoveries 
 there, and constantly adding to our knowledge of its 
 climate by carefully-kept tneteorological registers. Two 
 of these fishers — Captains Allmann and Johnsen — 
 brought home, in 1872, highly-interesting accounts of 
 Kbnig Karl Land ; an island of the Spitzbergen Archi- 
 pelago, first seen by the voyager Wiche in 1617, but 
 never previously visited. In length the newly-exa- 
 mined island measures about forty-four nautical miles ; 
 no glaciers exist in it ; the snow-fields are disconnected, 
 and of inconsiderable extent. Vast quantities of drift- 
 wood lie high above the tide-mark on its eastern shores ; 
 and it con tiins the ordinary Polar animals in abundance 
 — the reindeer being specially large and well-nourished. 
 Captain Johnsen (or Jansen) anchored in 79° 8' N. 
 
 An important Swedish expedition — the fifth fitted out 
 by that country, partly at Government cost, partly by 
 aid of scientific societies, and partly by national enter- 
 ])rise — sailed in 1872. It consisted of two ships of the 
 Swedish navy, each commanded by a naval officer, 
 under the general direction of the veteran, Professor 
 Nordenskiold. Besides the steamers Polhein and Onkel 
 Adam, the brig Gladan was employed upon this service. 
 
 The Onkel Adam and the Gladan carried supplies of 
 moss and coal, several reindeer, and a dwelling-house 
 
 1 
 
BPfl 
 
 A SWKDISII KXPEDITIOX. 
 
 all ready for ])uttiiig up; and were intended to return 
 to Sweden before tlie beginniujr of winter. 
 
 Commander Palander, of the Polhem, and his officers ; 
 Professor Nordenskiold, Dr. Envall, Professor Wykander, 
 Lieutenant Parent (an Italian officer), two engineers, 
 nine Swedish seamen, and four Laplanders, were to form 
 a winter-party ; but, during the summer, the expedition 
 was also to be accompanied by Dr. Kjellman, a naturalist, 
 the crews of the Oladan and Onkel Adam, and several 
 supernumeraries. 
 
 The plan of the expedition, was to pass the autumn 
 on the eastern side of Spitzbergen, and to winter in 
 Mussel Bay, or oft' Parry Island. 
 
 Unfortunately, the Onkel Adam and the Gladan, 
 which had been intended to return in the autumn of 1872, 
 were detained by the ice, a^id compelled to winter in 
 Spitzbergen, along with the Folhem. The resources of 
 the exploring- vessel were r -^^cordingly crippled, from the 
 necessity she was under of supplying the wants of her 
 ice-bound consorts. Sij fishing- vessels, whose crews 
 amounted in all to fifty-eight men, were also frozen in, 
 off Grey Point, on the northern coast ; and eighteen of 
 their men reached Ice Sound by keepm;j^ along the shore 
 in open boats. Two of the vesseL* escaped, with the 
 remainder, in November. The Swedish expedition took 
 up its winter-quarters in Mussel Bay, a small inlet on 
 the east side of Weyde Bay, on the northern coast of 
 Spitzbergen. 
 
 The eighteen Swedes who reached Ice Sound found 
 the depot there well-supplied with fresh and salt pro- 
 visions, and provided with a good stove. They might 
 
HKTURN TO TROMSO. 
 
 w 
 
 vory well have survived the winter; but they preferred 
 salt meat to the preserved nieat, .md abstained from 
 exercise. Hence nil of them died. These details were 
 gathered from a diary which they had kept (October 7, 
 1872, to April 19, 1873), and which was discovered by 
 Captain Mack on his visit to the sound in the summer 
 of 1873. 
 
 We must now return to the Swedish expedition. Its 
 members were under firm command, and held together 
 by the bonds of discipline. A wholesome diet and 
 severe daily exercise were enforced; and the consequence 
 was, that only two men died during the whole winter. 
 Large and valuable collections of botanical, zoological, 
 nnd geological specimens were made by the officers. In 
 the last days of April, when the weather moderated, and 
 the sunshine gained some influence. Captain Palander, 
 Professor Nordenskiold, and fourteen men, started on a 
 sledge -journey. They followed up the coast-line of 
 North-East Land, rounded Cape Platen, and then stiik- 
 ing into the snowy wastes of the interior, made their 
 way across the hills to their encampment in Mussel Bay. 
 They arrived there on the 29th of June, after an absence 
 of sixty days. In the summer, Mr. Leigh Smith in the 
 Diana (see post) paid them a visit, and recruited them 
 with a seasonable and liberal supply of fresh provisions. 
 But the Swedes attempted nothing more in the way of 
 exploration, and the Folhcm returned +o Tromso on the 
 6th of August 1873. Though some contributions had 
 been made to geographical knowledge, no fresh dis- 
 covery of any importance was due to this splendidly- 
 equipped expedition. 
 
 k 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 II : 
 
 R| 
 
398 
 
 MR. LEIGH smith's VOYAGES. 
 
 k'i'h 
 
 According to Mr. Markham, the most interestincr 
 voyages of recent times are those which have been 
 undertaken by Mr. B. Leigh Smith, an English gentle- 
 man of means, with a view to attaining the highest 
 I)Ossible latitude, and of exploring the unknown lands 
 to the eastward of Spitzbergen, In 1871, he was accom- 
 panied by Captain Ulve, a Norwegian; and the season 
 proving unusually favourable, he sailed down Hinlopeii 
 Strait, and at its south-eastern outlet reached the 
 position attained by Koldewey in 1868. What had 
 been supposed to be a peninsula, he discovered to be an 
 island; and it is now marked on the map as Waygat or 
 \^(ilhelm Island. 
 
 From this point he could see the land on the opposite 
 shore, stretching far away a little north of east; and the 
 remotest point he named Cape Mohn. This discovery 
 of Smith and Ulve extends considerably the southern 
 shore of North-East Land. The eastern sea beino- 
 closed up by the pack-ice, Mr. Leigh Smith returned to 
 the north coast, and in September visited the Seven 
 Islands. Then he doubled Cape Platen, and pursuing 
 a south-easterly course for about forty miles, observed 
 that the coast of North-East Land was still trending 
 eastward. The remotest point visible has been named 
 Ca) '^ Smith. 
 
 Ml". Leigh 'Smith 's investigations, as Markham informs 
 us, have considerably modified the outline and enlarged 
 the area of North-East Land ; and have shown that 
 both the southern and northern sliores extend farther 
 to the east than was previously supposed. 
 
 In September 1871, Mr. Leigh Smith, on the nicri- 
 
 , rs 
 
 >v 
 
lained 
 
 ler 
 
 nien- 
 
 FURTHER EXPLORATIONS. 
 
 690 
 
 dian of 18° K, attained the latitude of 81° 14' N. This 
 was the highest tliat had then been reached in a ship ; 
 except by Scoresby in 1800 (lat. 81° 30' N.), and by the 
 Swedes in 1808 (hit. 81° 42' N.). 
 
 In 1872 Mr. Leigh Smith again sailed for Spitzbergen, 
 in his yacht the Sampson. But the season proved un- 
 favourable ; his vessel was much damaged by the ice, and 
 he found himself unable to advance beyond Weyde Bay. 
 
 Once more, in 1873, our indefatigable exploiter invaded 
 the frozen realms of the North. His own yacht, the 
 Sani'pson, sailed from Hull on the 1st of May, laden 
 with stores, and in charge of an experienced whaling- 
 captjiin, W. Walker. The intention was, to station her 
 in Cobbe's Bay, near the north-west point of Spitzber- 
 gen, so that if any accident happened to the exploring- 
 vessel, Mr. Leigh Smith and his party would have a 
 second ship to fall back upon. The exploring- vessel 
 was Mr. Lamont's steam vacht Diana, which Mr. Smith 
 engaged for the purpose, and strengthened with an iron 
 stern-piece and iron pieces on the bows, for several feet 
 above and below the water-line. Her burden was 103 
 tons, and her engine of .50 horse-power. She had 
 twenty hr^-nds on board, all told; and her sailing-master 
 was an intelligent and experi(mced seaman. Captain 
 Fairweather. Mr. Leig!\ Smith was also accompanied 
 by the Rev. Mr. Eaton as naturalist, by Lieutenant 
 Chermside, R.E., and by Mr. Ricliard Potter. 
 
 The Diana first visited Jan Mayen's bleak volcanic 
 island-mass, and thence worked to the north along 
 the edofe of the ice. After relieving the Swedish ex- 
 pedition, she made several gallant efforts to penetrate 
 
 "it 
 
 1 i 
 
 ;i 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 ! 
 
 1 •: 
 
 1 
 
 H 
 
 1 1,1 1 
 
 
 .L 
 
 ! 
 
 Jl 
 
600 
 
 VOYAGE OF THE " DIANA. 
 
 to the noi'th or east, but all without success. The 
 season was rigorously cold, and the northern shores of 
 Spitzbergen were hard-bound with ice. Mr. Smith, 
 however, contrived to reach and examine the Seven 
 Islands, explored Hinlopen Strait for a second time, as 
 well as the south shore of North-East Land, and made 
 several interesting deep-sea soundings. Finally, he made 
 a vigorous but fruitless effort to reach Wiche's Land, by 
 doubling the extreme southern point of Spitzbergen; 
 and then returned to Dundee in September 1873. 
 
 The results of this voyage, as of the Swedish expedi- 
 tion, proved very conclusively that the Spitzbergen 
 route offers little prospect of an open way to the North 
 Pole; and most authorities are now agreed that tho 
 road lies through Smith Sound, if road there be. At 
 all events, the Polaris expedition showed that it was 
 possible, without check of any kind, to advance as high 
 as latitude 82° 16' N, ; and that, at this remote point, 
 the sea was still navigable, with a " water-sky " to the 
 northward. It is this route which the British expedi- 
 tion of 1875 followed up, and followed up with such 
 valuable results. 
 
 We must now glance briefly at the doings of the 
 Austrian expedition, in 1872; which, under Lieutenant 
 Payer, selected the route by Novaia Zemlaia and the 
 Siberian Coast. 
 
 The Austro-Hungarian Arctic Expedition was sup- 
 ported by the ^husiasm of the whole empire. Its 
 commander, Lieutenant Payer, was a seaman of proved 
 ability, familiar with the dangers and difficulties of 
 
THE AUSTRIAN EXPEDITION. 
 
 001 
 
 Polar exploration. He served, as we have seen, in the 
 German expedition (the Oermania and Hansa), under 
 Captain Koldewey, and executed a map of its discoveries 
 which attracted much attention by its beauty and 
 accuracy. Afterwards, he hired a small schooner, and 
 at his own risk explored the waters between Spitzber- 
 gen and Novaia Zemlaia. 
 
 His second in command was Lieutenant Weyprecht, 
 who had been his companion on both his voyages. 
 
 The steamer Tegeihof was carefully and liberally 
 equipped for this important service; and Lieutenant 
 Payer had the advantage of Sir Leopold M'Clintock's 
 advice and experience in his preparations for the or- 
 ganization of travelling sledge-parties. 
 
 The surgeon was Dr. Kepes, a Hungarian ; the pilot, 
 Captain Carlsen, a veteran Arctic mariner. The crew 
 were chiefly Italian seamen from the Adriatic coast; 
 but, says our authority, "there was great confusion 
 of tongues on board the Tegethoff — Italian, German, 
 English, Norwegian, and Slavonic, all were spoken. 
 Captain Carlsen gave his orders in Norwegian, with 
 forcible Italian expressions occasionally thrown in. Dr. 
 Kepes talked to the crew in Latin and Hungarian; and 
 two men spoke a very curious dialect, the German of 
 the Tyrol." 
 
 As far as the Zemlaia coast. Lieutenant Payer was 
 accompanied by Baron Sterneck, Hans Hofer (a geo- 
 logist), and Herr Berger (a pliotographer). 
 
 Lieutenant Payer's intention was to round the north- 
 eastern point of Novaia Zemlaia, and press eastward to 
 tlie northernmost point of Siberia, where he would pitch 
 
 1 
 
 ' m 
 
 1 1 
 
 '■ ' i 1 
 
 1 !.l 1 U 
 
 r 
 ! 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 ; 
 
 1 
 f 
 
 'i 
 
 I 1 
 
802 
 
 AN IMPERIAL BIRTHDAY. 
 
 his winter-camp. In the following year he hoped to 
 continue the voyage to Behring Strait ; while, during 
 the spring, sledge-parties would be engaged in explorino- 
 the unknown coasts of Wrangell Land, and otherwise 
 advancing the bounds of geographical discovery in that 
 remote and desolate region. j 
 
 The Tegethoff left the Elbe in Ju^e; and having com- 
 pleted her preparations, steamed from Tromso on the 
 13th of July 1872. The first ice was struck on the 
 25th, in lat. 74° 15' N., and on the 29th she was off 
 the dismal Zemlaian coast. Here the vessel was in- 
 volved in the pack-ice; but steam being got up, she was 
 drjiven through the floes until she reached open water, 
 about twenty miles wide, to the north of the Matocli- 
 kiu Strait. Much ice was fallen in with on the follow- 
 ing days; and on the 12th of August the Ishiorn yacht 
 joined company, with Count Wilczck and his com- 
 panions on board. On the 13th, the two vessels dropped 
 anchor about two cable-lengths from the shore, in lat. 
 76° 30' N. ; and celebrated the emperor's birthday iu 
 right loyal style on the 18th. 
 
 Covers were laid for twelve, and the bill of fare included 
 a haunch of reindeer, bear steaks, six bottles of Moselle, 
 six of Hungarian wine, six of champagne, and a glorious 
 Christmas pudding. This was surely a novel Arctic feast ! 
 
 Three or fOur sledge-parties made daily excursions to 
 the adjoining islands; returning with quantities of fire- 
 wood, spoils of the chase, rare plants, and geological 
 specimens. On the 23rd signs of Winter became dis- 
 agreeably conspicuous : the young ice began to form ; 
 and the north wind came down from its Polar haunts 
 
 pa 
 
"^p 
 
 BAFFLED BY THE WINTER. 
 
 603 
 
 with characteristic fury. So the two vessels parted 
 company; the Te^c^Aq^ proceeding nortliward on her 
 mission of discovery, and the Isbiorn keeping south- 
 ward along the coast. On the 2Gth slie passed the 
 Kostin Shar; but on reaching the mouth of the Pet- 
 chora, Count Wilczck and his party left her to accom- 
 plish her return-voyage to Tromso, while they made 
 their way in small boats up the Petchora to Perm, 
 whence they returned home by Moscow. 
 
 The season of 1872 was one of exceptional severity, 
 and ice was encountered in seas which, under more 
 favourable conditions, were generally free from obstruc- 
 tion. Lieutenant Payer, however, bated not one jot of 
 hope, and kept his course to the eastward with resolute 
 intrepidity; hoping to reach Cape Chelynskin, the 
 northernmost Siberian promontory, where he hoped to 
 pitch his winter-camp. 
 
 He was baffled, however, as so many had been baffled 
 before him, by the forces of the Arctic winter. He was 
 compelled to winter among the ice ; using his sledges 
 when opportunity offered, for the purpose of exploration, 
 or to obtain fresh provisions. 
 
 Both the summers of 1873 and 1874 were spent off 
 the Siberian coast ; but though many interesting dis- 
 coveries were made, Lieutenant Payer did not succeed in 
 effecting a passage through the Icy Sea to Behring 
 Strait. This navigation of the Asiatic mainland remains 
 to be accomplished. Its achievement can never possess 
 any commercial value, but may probably contribute 
 some additional data to the results of scientific inquiry. 
 
 I 
 
604 
 
 RKTURN OF THK EXFKDITIJJN. 
 
 In the autumn of 1874, the Austrian expedition re- 
 turned home; unsuccessful, as we have seen, in its main 
 object, but by no means unproductive. Few expeditions, 
 of late years, have possessci n more decided scientific 
 interest; and the gallant Payer fully deserved the 
 honourable reception accorded to him by our principal 
 Scientific Societies on his visit to England in the 
 spring of 1875. 
 

 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE BRITISH EXPEDITION OF 1875-76. 
 
 GENERAL REMARKS. 
 
 HE British Expedition, consisting of the Alert 
 and the Discovery, did not succeed in all it 
 was intended to accomplish ; and yet it can 
 hardly be spoken of as a failure. It did not 
 reach that conventional point of geographers, the North 
 Pole, but it penetrated within four hundred miles of it; 
 and it ascertained the exact nature of the obstacles 
 which render access impossible, except under conditions 
 not at present in existence. We agree with a thought- 
 ful writer in the Spectator that this was a most impor- 
 tant service rendered both to Science and the State. 
 We now know that by the Smith Sound route a ship 
 may attain to within 450 miles of the Pole ; and that, 
 afterwards, a journey about as long as from London to 
 Edinburgh must be undertaken, in a rigorous climate, 
 with the thermometer 50° below zero, over ice packsd 
 up into hillocks and hummocks which render sledge- 
 travelling almost impracticable, or practicable only by 
 hewing out a path with the pickaxe at the rate of a 
 
606 
 
 AHCTIC EXPERIENCES. 
 
 mile and a half a day. And further: the work would 
 have to be begun and conipKted in four months, or, 
 from lack of light and warmth, It could not be done at 
 all. These are serious difficulties, and whether it is 
 M'orth while for men to encounter them, where the gain 
 would be problematical, we need not here inquire. Be- 
 fore any attempt can be made, some provision must be 
 discovered for proteccing those who make it against the 
 excessive cold, and for a surer and swifter mode of con- 
 veyance than the sledge affords. The journalist to 
 whom we have referred speculates that science may 
 furnish future expeditions with undreamt-of resources, 
 — \yith portable light and heat, for instance, from the 
 newly-discovered mines at Disco ; preventives against 
 scurvy ; electric lights ; supplies of dynamite for blow- 
 ing up the ice ; and a traction-engine to traverse the 
 road thus constructed ; but, in the meantime, these ap- 
 ])liances are not at our command. We must be content 
 with the measure of success achieved by Captain Nares 
 and his gallant followers. 
 
 And these well deserve the gratitude of all who 
 think the fame and honour of a nation are precious 
 possessions. Tliey have shown clearly that the " race " 
 has not degenerated ; that Englishmen can do and suffer 
 now as they did and suffered in the old time. They 
 displayed a ccTurage and a fortitude of truly heroic pro- 
 portions. And the experiences of Arctic voyaging are 
 always of a nature to require the highest courage and 
 the sternest fortitude. The long Arctic night is in 
 itself as severe a test of true manhood as can well be 
 devised. The miner works under conditions far less 
 
DANCEllS AND DIFFICULTIES. 
 
 607 
 
 laborious than those to which the Arctic explorer 
 siibiiiits, for he enjoys im alternation of light and dark- 
 ness ; his underground toil lasts but for a few hours at 
 a time. Yet we know that it tries a man's manly quali- 
 ties sorely ! What, then, nuist it be to keep brave and 
 cheerful and true throughout a prolonged night of one 
 hundred and forty-two days — that apparently endless 
 darkness, almost the darkness of a sunless world ? 
 
 We know, too, that ccjntinuous work, without relaxa- 
 tion, for month after month, will break down the nerves 
 and shatter the intellect of the strontjest. Yet we read 
 that the men of the Alert toiled like slaves, on one 
 occasion, for seventy-two days, in cold so extreme that 
 the reader can form no conception of its severity, and 
 with the dread constantly hanging over them of that 
 terrible and most depressing disease, scurvy. Owing to 
 their inability to jjrocure any fresh game, as most former 
 expeditions had done, each of the extended sledge- 
 parties, when at their farthest distance from any hel[), 
 was attacked by it. The return-journeys were, there- 
 fore, a prolonged homeward struggle of men who grew 
 weaker at every step, the available force to draw the 
 sledge continually decreasing, and the weight to be 
 dragged as steadily increasing, as, one after another, 
 the men stricken down had to be carried by their 
 enfeebled comrades. 
 
 It has been well said that in such exploits as these 
 there is a sustained heroism which we cannot fully 
 appreciate, because we cannot fully realize the terrible 
 character of the sacrifices involved. But it is com- 
 jjaratively easy for us to understand, and therefore to 
 
608 
 
 HEROIC DEKDS. 
 
 admire, the courage of Lieutenant Parr, when he started 
 alone on a journey of tliirty-five miles, with no other 
 guide for his adventurous ste})s than the fresh track of 
 a wandering wolf over the ice and snow, in order to 
 carry help and comfort to his failing comrades. It is 
 easy to understand, and therefore to admire, the devo- 
 tion of Mr. Egerton and Lieutenant Rawson, when, 
 at the imminent risk of their own lives, they nursed 
 Petersen, the interpreter, while travelling from the 
 Alert to the Discovery, with the temperature 40° below 
 zero. Petersen, who had accompanied them with the 
 dog-sledge, fell ill ; and with a noble unselfishness they 
 succeeded in retaining heat in the poor fellow's body by 
 alternately lying one at a time alongside of him, while 
 the other by exercise was recovering his own vital 
 warmth. We can also acknowledge and admire the 
 constancy of Captain Nares, who, in that horrible 
 climate, lived thirty-six days in the "crow's-nest," 
 while his ship laboured among the grinding, shivering, 
 crushing ice, until exhaustion overcame him. And we 
 can acknowledge and admire the bravery and faithful- 
 ness of the men of the sledge-parties who, for days and 
 weeks, drew the sledges and their comrades, with gloom 
 above and around them, ice and snow everywhere bound- 
 ing the prospect, and in a temperature which seemed 
 to freeze the'blood and benumb the heart. 
 
 What a tale, says a writer in the Times, what a tale 
 of unrequited suffering it is ! Surely not " unrequited ; " 
 for those who suffered, suffered at the call of duty, and 
 have been rewarded by the approval of their country- 
 men, and by the consciousness of having done something 
 
if'^i'vr 
 
 HKROIC SUFFKRINGS. 
 
 009 
 
 tale 
 ted;" 
 T, and 
 ntry- 
 
 jrreat, of not liavin^ lived in vain. " How lightly do 
 all talk of glory ; how little do they know what it 
 means ! The little army had to cut its way through 
 the ice-barriers, dragging h.oavily- laden sledges, and 
 going to and fro, the whole torce being often required 
 for each sledge, content to make a mile and a quarter 
 a day, in pursuit of an object still iour hundred miles 
 off, through increasing difficulties, and with barely five 
 months, or one hundred and fifty days, wherein to go 
 and return. The labour is a dreadful reality ; the 
 scheme itself a nightmare, the phantasy of a disordered 
 brain. Even the smaller and subsidiary expedition for 
 planting a depot last autumn cost tliree amputations. 
 The cold was beyond all former experience for intensity 
 and length, and the physical efiect of a long winter 
 spent in the ships under such conditions is particularized 
 as one reason why the men were less able to endure 
 cold, labour, and the want of proper food. Every one 
 of the expeditions, whatever the direction, came back 
 in the saddest plight, — some dragging the rest, and in 
 one case only reaching the ship through the heroism of 
 an officer pushing on many miles alone to announce his 
 returning comrades, and to procure the aid by which 
 alone they were saved from destruction. These are 
 episodes, but they are the matter which redeems the 
 story and makes its truest value. They tell us what 
 Englishmen will do on occasions beyond our feeble 
 home apprehensions, when once they have accepted a 
 call, and are in duty bound." 
 
 At the time we write no elaborate record of the oxpedi- 
 
 ' 1 
 
610 
 
 THE WAY TO THK POLK. 
 
 tion has been publislietl, and tlie materials of the follow- 
 ing sketch are collected therefore from various narra- 
 tives which have a])})eared iii the daily journals. We 
 shall begin by endeavouring to ))lace before the readei", 
 with the assisttmce of Mr. Clements R Marklmm, a rapid 
 summary of what the expedition acct^mplished. And 
 then we shall describe its more interesting incidents. 
 
 SUMMARY OF RESULTS. 
 
 The object of Captain Nares and his followers was to 
 discover and exjilore as considerable a portion of the 
 unknown area in the Polar Regions as was possible with 
 reference to the means at their disjw.sal, and to the posi- 
 tions the vessels succeeded in reaching as starting-points. 
 The theories about o))en Polar basins and navigable 
 wateis which once obtained have long been discarded 
 by practical Arctic ge(jgra pliers. A coast-line, however, 
 is needful as a means of progress to "the threshold of 
 work ; " and it is needful, too, in order to secure the 
 desired results of Arctic discovery in the various de|)art- 
 nients of scientific inquiry. 
 
 The ex]iedition, then, in the first j)lace, had to force 
 its wa}' through the ice-encumbered channel which con- 
 nects Baffin Bay with the Pohir Ocean ; a channel which 
 successivelv bears the names of Smith Sound, Kane 
 Basin, Kennedy Channel, Hall Basin, and Robeson 
 Strait, Smith Sound opens out of Baffi.n Bay between 
 Capes Alexander and Isabella. The Alert and the Dis- 
 covery passed these famous headlands and entered the 
 Sound on July 29, 187-"); and from that date until 
 Scptombev 1. Avbr-n tlio Ahrt frossod tho Throsliold o\' 
 
WINTEU QUAUTEUS. 
 
 611 
 
 M of 
 
 the Unknown Region, tliey fought one continuous battle 
 with the ice. The Polaris, it is true, had made a rai)id 
 passage on the occasion of its memorable voyage; but the 
 circumstances were exceptional. Generally the Sound is 
 blocked up by heavy tloes, with winding waters caused 
 by the action of wind and tide. With great difficulty 
 our two ships forced the barrier; bi^t their success was 
 due in no small measure to the skill and vigilance of 
 Captain Nares, who allowed himself no rest until they 
 were out of danger. At length, after many hairbreadth 
 escapes, and many laborious nights and days, and much 
 energy and devotion on the part of the officers, and equal 
 courage and industry on the part of the men, the ( xpedi- 
 tion reached the north shore of Lady Franklin Inlet, 
 and found a safe, commodious harbour in lat. 81° 44' N. 
 Here the Discovery took up her winter quarters, as had 
 previously been arranged; and the Alert, after a brief 
 interval of repose, continued her northward progress. 
 
 This she was enabled to do through the opportune 
 opening up of a water-lane between the shore and the 
 ice. Bravely she dashed ahead, rounded Cape Union, 
 so named by the men of the Polaris expedition, and 
 entered the open Polar Ocean. Then, in lat. 82° 20' N., 
 the white ensign was hoisted on boai'd a British man- 
 of-war in a latitude further north than the ship of any 
 nation had reached before. Soon afterwards the solid 
 masses of the Polar pack-ice began to close around 
 the adventurous vessel ; and on the 3rd of September 
 1875, the Alert was fast fixed in her winter quarters, 
 on the ice-bound shore of the inhospitable Polar Sea, 
 in lat. 8-2° 27' N. 
 
 
 :, i ,1: 
 
 ■ n 
 
 
612 
 
 THE WINTER WORK. 
 
 Tills, says Mr. Markhain * was the first grand success ; 
 and it assured the eventual completion of the work. 
 For, owing to the admirable seamanship of Captain 
 Nares, and to the zeal and devotion of the officers and 
 crew, the Alert had been carried across the Threshold, 
 and was within the Unknown Region. A point of de- 
 parture was thus obtained, which rendered certain the 
 achievement of complete success ; inasmuch as in what- 
 ev<}r direction tl:e sledge-parties travelled, valuable dis- 
 coveries could not fail to be the result. 
 
 The autumnal excursions, during whif^h depdts of 
 provisions were established for use in the work of the 
 coming spring, were not performed without a very con- 
 siderable amount of suffering. Lieutenant May and two 
 seamen were so severely frost-bitten, that, to save their 
 lives, amputation was found necessary. 
 
 As will be seen from the latitude given, the ships 
 wintered further north than any ships had ever pre- 
 viously wintered. The cold exceeded anything pre- 
 viously registered, and darkness extended over a dreary 
 period. The winter, however, was not spent idly: 
 observatories were erected, and a mass of valuable 
 scientific data industriously accumulated. 
 
 " But the crowning glories of this ever-memorable 
 campaign were," as Mr. Markham exclaims, "achieved 
 during the s?pring." Three main sledge-expeditions 
 were organized : on(3, under Commander Markham and 
 Lieutenant Parr, instructed to keep due north, as far 
 as possible, into the newly-discovered Polar Ocean ; 
 another, under Lieutenant Aldrich, to explore the 
 
 * The Anaf^cmii, November 4, 187(5, p. 458. 
 
SLEDGE-EXCURSIONS. 
 
 613 
 
 American coast, westward ; and the third, under Lieu- 
 tenant Beaumont of the Discovery, to survey the nortli 
 coast of Greenland, facing eastward. Each party con- 
 sisted of two sledges; and the six, with their gallant 
 crews, set out on the 3rd of April 1876, determined 
 to vindicate and maintain the reputation of British 
 seamen.. They separated at Cape Joseph Henry; and 
 before they again met, this was what they achieved: — 
 
 Commander Markham and Lieutenant Parr pushed 
 northward as far as lat. 83° 20' 26" N. ; being the most 
 northerly vyint which any explorers have attained. 
 They may iharefore be fairly and justly regarded as 
 " the Champions " of Arctic Discovery, until some suc- 
 cessors, more fortunate than they, shall surpass their 
 glorious feat. 
 
 Lieutenant Aldrich struck westward ; rounded Cape 
 Colombia in lat. 83° 7' N.; and explored 220 miles of 
 the American coast-line, previously not laid down on 
 any map. 
 
 Lieutenant Beaumont crossed Robeson Strait, and 
 surveyed the northern coast of Greenland for about 
 seventy miles. 
 
 " In order," it is said, " that these three main parties 
 might do their work successfully, every soul in the 
 two ships was actively employed. The depot and 
 relieving parties did most arduous work, and the 
 officers vied with each other in promoting the objects 
 of the expedition, while the most perfect harmony and 
 unanimity prevailed. Captain Feilden and Mr. Hart 
 were especially active in making natural history col- 
 lections; and Lieutenants Giffard, Archer, Rawson, 
 
 il 
 
614 
 
 WHAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED. 
 
 Egerton, and Conybeare did admirable work in ex- 
 ploring and keeping open communications," When 
 the sledge-parties returned to the ships, Captain Nares 
 found that they had suffered terribly; but he also found 
 that their success had been complete. They had solved 
 a geographical problem ; no open sea surrounded the 
 Pole, as so many sanguine spirits had anticipated. The 
 way northward was over a waste of ice — of ice broken 
 up into hummocks and ponderous masses. And with 
 the appliances they possessed further progress was im- 
 possible ; the expedition had reached its ne 'plus ultra. 
 
 The work was done, and Captain Nares perceived 
 tha,t nothing more could be gained, while valuable lives 
 might be lost by remaining longer in the Polar Ocean. 
 He decided upon returning to England, with the follow- 
 ing rich results to show as the reward of an heroic 
 enterprise : — 
 
 First, the expedition had discovered a great Polar 
 Ocean, a knowledge of which cannot fail to prove of 
 exceeding value to the hydrographer. Next, the shores 
 of this ocean had been explored along fifty degrees 
 of longitude, and important collections formed of speci- 
 mens of the Arctic fauna, flora, and geology. The 
 channel connecting the Polar Ocean with Smith Sound 
 had also been carefully surveyed, and an accurate 
 delineation effected of either shore. Geological dis- 
 coveries of high value had also been made; as, for 
 example, that of the former existence of an evergreen 
 forest in lat. 82° 44' N,, — a fact significant of vast 
 climatic changes. And, lastly, interesting observations 
 in meteorology, magnetism, tidal and electric pheno- 
 
AT DISCO ISLAND. 
 
 615 
 
 mena, and spectrum analysis had been carefully re- 
 corded. The expedition of 1875-7G must, therefore, 
 in view of these results, be classed among the most 
 successful wliich ever adventured into Arctic waters; 
 though it failed, like its predecessors, to gain the North 
 Pole. 
 
 NARRATIVK OF THE EXPEDITION. 
 
 The Ah'vt and the Discovery left the shores of 
 England in May 187-"). After a voyage of live weeks' 
 duration they arrived at Lievely, the port of Disco 
 Island, on the west coast of Greenland. This small 
 settlement numbers about ninety-six inhabitants, Danes 
 and Eskimos, — generally speaking, a mixed race. The 
 Danish Inspector of North Greenland resides here, and 
 he received the expedition with a salute from three 
 brass cannon planted in front of his house. There is 
 a well-conducted school, attended by about sixteen 
 children ; anil a small church, where the schoolmaster 
 reads the Lutheran S(a"vice on Sundays, — the priest 
 coming over from Upernavik occasionally, to perform 
 marriages, christenings, and other religious services. 
 
 The AIni having taken on board thirty Eskimo 
 dogs and a driver, the expedition left Disco at one 
 o'clock (m the evening of July IGth, and next morn- 
 ing reached Kiltenbunto, about thirty miles further 
 north. 
 
 Kiltenbunto is a little island in the Strait of Wei- 
 gattet, between Disco and the mainland. Here the 
 Discovery took on board thirty dogs; and shooting- 
 parties from both ships made a descent on a " loomery," 
 or " bird-bazaar," frequented by guillemots, kittiwakes, 
 
 
 !;i 
 
 
 i: 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
616 
 
 IN BAFFIN BAY. 
 
 and other ocean-birds. Two or three days later the 
 expedition arrived at a settlement named Proven, where 
 it was joined by the Eskimo dog-driver who has already 
 figured so cotispicuously in these pages, — Hans Chris- 
 tian, the attendant of Kane, Hayes, and Hall, in their 
 several expeditions. At Proven tlie adventurers re- 
 ceived and answered their last letters from " home. 
 
 Striking northward through Baffin Bay, they reached 
 Cape York on the 25th of July, and met with a com- 
 pany of the misnamed Arctic Highlanders, who tra- 
 versed the ice-floes in their dog-sledges, and soon fra- 
 ternized with the seamen. A narwhal having been 
 harpooned, a quantity of the skin and blubber was 
 given to > these Eskimos. Mr. Hodson, the chaplain of 
 the Discovery, describes them as exceedingly greedy 
 and barbarous, eating whatever fell in their way, but 
 living chiefly upon seals. They were not so far ad- 
 vanced in civilization as to be able to construct kayacks, 
 and apparently they had never before seen Europeans. 
 They wore trousers of bear-skin, and an upper garment 
 of seal-skin. 
 
 Proceeding northward by Dr. Kane's Crimson Cliffs, 
 they soon reached that brave explorer's celebrated win- 
 ter quarters, Port Foulke, and took advantage of a day's 
 delay to visit the Brother John Glacier, which we have 
 described in a previous chapter. They found Dr. 
 Kane's journal, but no relics; shot a reindeer, and a 
 large number of birds. 
 
 Between Melville Bay and the entrance to Smith 
 Sound no ice was met with ; but on the 30th of July 
 the " pack " was sighted, off Cape Sabine, in lat. 78° 
 
WINTER QUARTERS. 
 
 617 
 
 41' N. Hero, at Port Payer, the ships were fast held 
 by the ice for several days. An attempt to proceed 
 further northward was made to the west of the islands 
 in Hayes Sound; but the water-way not leading in the 
 right direction, the ships returned. On the 6th of Au- 
 gust they made a fresh start, and thenceforward main- 
 tained an uninterrupt'-;d struggle with the ice. The Alert 
 led the way, with Captain Nares in her " crow's-nest," 
 anxiously looking out for practicable channels. At 
 Cape Frazer the huge solid mass again delayed them. 
 Then they succtoded in crossing Kennedy Channel to 
 the east side, and taking shelter in Petermann Fiord — 
 so named after the great German geographer. After a 
 few days, they again pushed northward; and on the 
 25th of August, after many narrow escapes from being 
 crushed in the ice, a well-sheltered harbour received 
 them, on the west side of Hall Basin, north of Lady 
 Franklin Sound, in lat. 81° 44' N. This was at once 
 selected as the winter quarters of the Discovery. Her 
 sister-ship, continuing her course, rounded the north- 
 east point of Grant Land ; but instead of falling in with 
 a continuous coast-line, stretching one hundred miles 
 further towards the north, as all had anticipated, found 
 herself on the border of what was evidently a very 
 extensive sea, with impenetrable ice on every side. As 
 no harbour could be found, the ship was secured as far 
 north as possible, inside a kind of embankment of 
 grounded ice close to the land. There she passed the 
 winter ; and during the eleven months of her detention 
 no navigable water-way, through which she could move 
 further to the north, presented itself 
 
618 
 
 THE PAL-*:OCRYSTir; SEA. 
 
 Far from meeting with the " great Polar Sea " 
 dreamed of by Kane and Hayes, our adventurers dis- 
 covered that the ice-barrier before them was unusually 
 thick and solid. It looked as if composed of floating 
 icebergs which had gradually been jammed and welded 
 together. Henceforth it will be known on our maps 
 as the Palceocrystic Sea, or Sea of Ancient Ice ; and a 
 stranded mass of ice disrupted from an ice-floe is to be 
 termed a floeberg. 
 
 Ordinary ice does not exceed ten feet in thickness ; 
 but in the Polar Sea, generation after generation, layer 
 has been superimposed on layer, until the whole mass 
 measures from eighty feet to one hundred and twenty 
 feet; it ifloats with its surface nowhere less than fifteen 
 feet above the water-line. It was this wonderful thick- 
 ness which prevented the Alert from driving ashore. 
 Owing to its great depth of flotation, sixty feet to one 
 hundred feet, the mass grounded on coming into shallow 
 water, and formed a breakwater within which the ship 
 was comparatively secure. "When two pieces of or- 
 dinary ice are driven one against the other, and the 
 edges broken up, the crushed pieces are raised by the 
 pressure into a high, long, wall-like hedge of ice. When 
 two of the ancient floes of the Polar Sea meet, the in- 
 termediate lighter broken-up ice which may happen to 
 be floating about between them alone suffers; it is 
 pressed up between the two closing masses to a great 
 height, producing a chaotic wilderness of angular blocks 
 of all shapes and sizes, varying in height up to fifty feet 
 above water, and frequently covering an area upwards 
 of a mile in diameter. 
 
STORY OF THE " DISCOVERY. 
 
 619 
 
 We must now return to the Discovery. As soon as 
 she had taken up her winter quarters, her crew began to 
 unload her, landing the boats, stores, and spare spars, 
 and otherwise preparing for the winter. The first day 
 ashore they shot a herd of eleven musk-oxen. A few 
 days afterwards the sea was frozen all round the ship, 
 so that they could freely move to and fro about the ice. 
 A week later they saw a large number of musk-oxen, 
 and shot about forty — thus laying in a considerable 
 supply of provisions. 
 
 Their winter port, which was surrounded by snow- 
 clad hills about two thousand feet high, they christened 
 Discovery Harbour. 
 
 As soon as the sea was completely frozen over, the 
 sledging-parties were organized and duly despatched; 
 but as the autumn was rapidly passing, very little could 
 be done in this direction. The usual preparations on 
 the part of Arctic explorers were then made for " hyber- 
 nating." Houses were built; also a magnetic observa- 
 tory and a theatre of ice — recalling the glittering edifice 
 constructed by Catherine II. of Russia on the Neva, 
 and celebrated by Cowper in the well-known lines, — 
 
 " No forest fell 
 When thou wouldst build, no quarry sent its stores 
 To enrich thy walls ; but thou didst hew the floods, 
 And make thy marble of the glassy wave." 
 
 A smithy was erected on the 11th of November, 
 being the first the Arctic ice had ever borne. Its roof 
 was made of coal-bags, cemented with ice. The ship's 
 stoker reigned supreme in it as blacksmith ; and when 
 we consider the accessories, — the ice, the snow, the 
 
620 
 
 WINTER AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 darkness, — we must admit that his blazing forge must 
 have made a curious picture. The chaplain tells us, 
 humorously, that the smith adorned the interior wall 
 with a good many holes, as each time that his iron 
 wanted cooling he simply thrust it into the ice ! 
 
 WINTER AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 As for the theatre, which, as we know, has always 
 been a favourite source of amusement with Arctic ex- 
 plorers when winter-bound, it was sixty feet long and 
 twenty-seven feet broad ; and, in honour of the Princess 
 of Wales, was named " The Alexandra." Her birthday 
 was selected as the day of opening — December 1st; and 
 the operting piece was a popular farce — " My Turn Next." 
 As sailors are generally adepts at dramatic personations, 
 we may conceive that the piece " went well," and that 
 the different actors received the applause they merited. 
 It is recorded that foremost among them was the 
 engineer, Mr. Miller, who appears to have been, empha- 
 tically, the Polar Star. Several of the men sung songs ; 
 and recitations, old and new, were occasionally intro- 
 duced; the result of the whole being to divert the 
 minds and keep up the spirits of the ship's company 
 during the long, long Arctic night. 
 
 The Fifth of November and its time-honoured associa- 
 tions were not forgotten. A huge bonfire blazed on the 
 ice; a "Guy Fawkes" was manufactured and dressed 
 in the most approved fashion ; and the silence of the 
 frozen solitudes was broken by the sounds of a grand 
 display of fireworks and the cheering of the spectators, 
 
 A fine level promenade had been constructed on the 
 
KEEPING CHRISTMAS. 
 
 «21 
 
 ice, about a mile in length, by sweeping away the snow ; 
 and this served as a daily exercise ground. A skating- 
 rink was also constructed. A free hole in the ice, for 
 the sake of better ventilation, was carefully kept up. 
 Whenever it closed, through a process of gradual con- 
 gelation, the ice-saws were set in motion to open it up 
 again, or it was blasted with gunpowder. The dogs 
 lived on the ice-floe all the winter. It must not be 
 thought that the cold was uniform day after day. 
 Probably it is not the low temperature so much as the 
 variable temperature that makes an Arctic winter so 
 very trying to the European. In a few hours the 
 change would be no less than 60°. The cold reached its 
 lieight — or depth — in winter, when the thermometer 
 marked 70^° below zero ; the greatest cold ever experi- 
 enced by any Polar expedition. It is difficult for the 
 human frame to bear up against this excess of rigour, 
 even with the help of good fires, good food, and good 
 clothing. Not only the physical but the mental facul- 
 ties are debilitated and depressed. 
 
 Our ice-bound seamen, however, managed to keep 
 Christmas merrily. Early on the day so dear to Chris- 
 tian memories " the waits " went their usual rounds, — 
 a sergeant of marines, the chief boatswain's mates, and 
 three other volunteers, — singing Christmas carols, and 
 making " a special stay outside the captain's cabin." In 
 the forenoon prayers were said on the lower deck ; after 
 which the captain and officers visited the men's mess, 
 tasting the Christmas pudding, and examining the taste- 
 ful decorations which had been improvised. Then the 
 gifts which, in anticipation of the day, had been sent 
 
622 
 
 THE " SITUATION. 
 
 out by kindly English heai-ts, were distributed by the 
 captain, — to each gift the name of the recipient havino- 
 been previously attached. This was an affecting scene; 
 and hearty, though not without a touch of pathos in 
 them, were the cheers given as the distribution took 
 ])lace; a distribution recalling so many "old familiar 
 faces," and all the sweet associations and gentle thoughts 
 of home ! Clieers were also raised for the captain and 
 men of the far-away Alert Next, a choir was formed, 
 and echo resounded with the strains of " the Roast 
 Beef of Old England 1 " of which, no doubt, many of the 
 singers entertained a very affectionate remembrance. 
 The men dined at twelve and the officers at five, and 
 the day seems in every respect to have been most suc- 
 cessful as a festival. 
 
 A few particulars of the "situation" may here be 
 given in the chaplain's own words : — " We had brought 
 fish, beef, and mutton from England," he says, " all of 
 which we hung up on one of the masts, and it was soon 
 as hard as a brick, and perfectly preserved. We had 
 also brought some sheep from England with us, and they 
 were killed from time to time. When we arrived in 
 Discovery Bay, as we called it, six of them were alive; 
 but on being landed they were worried by the dogs, and 
 had to be slaughtered. During the winter the men had 
 to fetch ice from a berg about half a mile distant from 
 the ship, in order £o melt it for fresh water." 
 
 THE SLEDGING-PARTIES. 
 
 At last the long Arctic night came to an end. It was 
 with emotions of hope and gratitude and joy that the 
 
GOING A-SLEDGING. 
 
 623 
 
 explorer's welcomed the first rays of the returning sun 
 on the last day of February. For four months they had 
 lived in obscurity and gloom, with the exception of such 
 relief as the stars and the moon had occasionally afforded. 
 On the day of the sun's return to the Polar World, it 
 was known that it would rise at about twelve o'clock, 
 and everybody ascended the hills for the purpose of 
 hailing the glorious spectacle. The mists and fogs, 
 however, baffled their expectations; and though they 
 felt its influence, they did not see it for some days after 
 it had mounted above the horizon. 
 
 News was brought from the Alert by two officers 
 and two men towards the end of March. They had 
 accomplished the journey with the thermometer at 40° 
 below zero, and had occupied six days in making it. 
 The officers were Lieutenant Rawson and Mr. Eoerton, 
 who had started at first in company with Petersen, the 
 interpreter, but had been comi^elled to return with him, 
 as already narrated, because he was severely frost-bitten. 
 Directly they returned to the Discoverij, preparations 
 were made for sending out the sledge-parties. Two 
 officers and three men, with a dog-sleJge, started across 
 Robeson Channel to Hall's Rest, the winter quarters 
 of the Folaris, to report on the stores left by the 
 American vessel, which the United States Government 
 had placed at the disposal of the British expedition. 
 They reappeared on the fifth da}^, with the information 
 that they had found biscuit, pemmican, preserved meat, 
 molasses, and other articles. They had lived in a wooden 
 observatory that they found erected there. Captain 
 ITmII's o-rnvo m'rs in exoollont preservation ; and they set 
 
 m 
 ■■■'h 
 
624 
 
 THK THIRD PARTY. 
 
 up a head-board, with an inscription on it, to mark it<? 
 situation. 
 
 Lieutenant Beaumont and Mr. Coppinger, tlie surgeon, 
 each with an eiglit-man sledge — or, rather, with seven 
 men besides themselves — started for the Alert, in quest 
 of the other sledge which had wintered with that vessel, 
 their design being to cross Robeson Channel, and explore 
 the North Greenland coast. In tliis journey, owing to 
 the " hummocky " character of the ice, they spent twelve 
 days. 
 
 Two days later, a third party, consisting of a twelve- 
 man sledge and an eight-man sledge, with two officers, 
 proceeded to survey the shores of Lady Franklin 
 Sound. The captain accompanied them in the eight- 
 man sledge, and was absent about a week; but the 
 twelve-man sledge, which had gone merely to carry 
 stores and provisions for the other, did not return for 
 a fortnight, the sledge having been damaged, and one 
 of the marines severely frost-bitten in the heel. The 
 other sledge, after an absence of about four weeks, re- 
 turned in safety, — having discovered that Lady Frank- 
 lin Strait, as the Americans call it, was a sound orj 
 fiord about sixty miles long. They had fallen in witli j 
 some musk-oxen, which were too wild to be got at; 
 and had seen three or four glaciers, anf. hills threel 
 thousand feet in height. 
 
 About June the warm summer began to assert itself,! 
 and in the rays of the sun their ice-houses melted awayj 
 like the baseless fabric of a vision. So the sledging- 
 party last spoken of adventured across the ice to Polaris 
 Bay, taking with them a life-boat as a precaution (foij 
 
./t*^- 
 
ii' 
 
 [frofn Map accomfiiuyiitg Ojffidiit Effort publithtd in " tVitlMri."] 
 
1 m 
 
aae 
 
 miii 
 
 Hi 
 
 .; 
 
 -;i 
 
THE NORTH GREENLAND PARTY. 
 
 625 
 
 the ice might at any time have broken up), and a supply 
 of provisions for the use of the North Greenland ex- 
 pedition. This work done, they returned to the ship, 
 leaving behind them two officers and three men, who 
 pushed up Petermann Fiord for about eight miles, until 
 arrested by the impenetrable barrier of a huge glacier. 
 
 On returning from their explorations they found that 
 Lieutenant Newsome, with four men, of whom one had 
 died of scurvy on the way, had accidentally separated 
 from the North Greenland party, and reached Peter- 
 mann Fiord on the 3rd of June. All were seriously ill 
 of scurvy, except Mr. Kawson and a marine. Under 
 Dr. Coppinger's skill and care, however, they recovered. 
 As soon as possible, the doctor, with Mr. ITewsome and 
 the Eskimos, started in a dog-sledge to gather some in- 
 formation about the other members of the North Green- 
 land party. In a day or two they fell in with them ; 
 and not too soon, for all were thoroughly exhausted. 
 They had abandoned everything, and when the doctor 
 arrived were without food. Four of them, who were 
 accommodated on the sledge, were broken down with 
 scurvy, and two others had been attacked slightly. 
 What was to be done in this critical j. "=;ition of affairs? 
 At first it was thought advisable to remain on the spot 
 for a while, and see if the Eskimos could shoot a seal. 
 But a day's experience showed that this plan would not 
 answer; and they then resolved to carry the two worst 
 invalids on the dog-sledge to Hall's Kest. This was 
 accomplished, and the poor fellows seemed to grow 
 better when nourished by seal-soup and proper food; 
 but on the following morning one of them sank and 
 
 (544J 40 
 
 H'i 
 
626 
 
 hall's hospital.' 
 
 died. The life of the other hung for some time in 
 the balance. The whole company were now invalided; 
 and Hall's Rest might fitly have been termed Hall's 
 Hospital. 
 
 A few days — weary, melancholy days — having elapsed, 
 an officer, with a couple of men, was sent across to the 
 ship to report the serious condition of affairs. As it was 
 the end of June, the ice had broken up in many places, 
 and the traject of the strait was not accomplished with- 
 out difficulty, and frequent immersions in the water. 
 No sooner did Captain Stephenson learn how the party 
 were situated, than he set out, with seven men, to carry 
 a supply of medicines, provisions, and various comforts. 
 They had with them a boat and a sledge on a four- 
 wheeled car, and in this they crossed the land to the 
 margin of the sea, a distance of about six miles. Some- 
 times the boat was called into requisition to carry 
 themselves and the sledge from floe to floe. With half 
 of the men they returned in a few dayn leaving the rest 
 in charge of Lieutenant Beaumont and Dr. Coppinger, 
 until they had made more progress towards recovery. 
 
 Early in August an officer arrived from the Alert, to 
 report that she had moved southward, and was only 
 about ten miles distant, and that Captain Nares, con- 
 sidering the main objects of the expedition secured, had 
 decided on returning to England. About the same 
 time returned the North Greenland party; their pro- 
 visions having failed them. A few days later, and, 
 having made her way through the broken ice, the Alert 
 joined the Discovery in Discovery Bay. Mr. Beau- 
 mont's party next arrived; and both vessels prepared 
 
THE ORDER OF THE DAY. 
 
 627 
 
 for the homeward voyage. They left Discovery Bay, 
 as we shall see, on the 28th of August. 
 
 THE STORY OF THE " ALERT." 
 
 Let us jiow return to the Alert, which we left em- 
 bedded in the ice of the North Polar Ocean. 
 
 Her crew made shift to spend a tolerably merry 
 winter, availing themselves of the usual resources of 
 Arctic explorers under similar conditions. The day's 
 order was much as follows : — At 6.45 A.M. the comman- 
 der was called, and all hands were piped up on deck ; 
 and the hammocks having been previously stowed 
 away and the decks cleansed, everybody sat down, 
 with vigorous appetite, to breakfast. The steerage and 
 lower deck were afterwards cleared up, and soon after 
 9 A.M. the men were told off for their respective daily 
 duties. At 10 A.M. another general parade of the crew 
 was summoned, and, as a preventive against scurvy, the 
 day's dose of lime juice was administered. Then the 
 crew went to quarters ; the usual careful inspection 
 took place ; and the chaplain read prayers. At one 
 o'clock the deck was cleared, and " dinner smoked upon 
 the board." On days when the darkness was not too 
 intense the crew turned out to work upon the ice, or 
 took their turn at walking exercise and amusements. 
 They were thus occupied until supper, which was 
 served at about five o'clock; and followed by evening 
 school, the duties of which proved equally agreeable to 
 the officers who taught and the men who learned. 
 Soon after nine the officers in charge inspected the ship 
 to see that all was quiet for the night. At ten out 
 
 
628 
 
 THE " ROYAL ARCTIC THEATRE.' 
 
 went the lights of the chief petty officers, and at eleven 
 those of the wardroom. 
 
 This daily routine was freely interrupted on festival 
 occasions. Guy Fawkes' Day was celebrated as hilari- 
 ously as by the men of the Discovery; and it is a 
 curious illustration of the strength of old English tradi- 
 tions that the merry-making customs of the fifth of 
 November should be thus closely observed by both the 
 ice-bound vessels. Due honours were also paid to 
 Father Christmas ; nor was New- Year's Day forgotten. 
 Dramatic talent existed among the men of the Alert in 
 sufficient force to provide a regular dramatic company. 
 The "Royal Arctic Theatre" was erected in Funnel 
 Row, tod entertainments given weekly. The pro- 
 grammes of the " Thursday Pops," as they were com- 
 monly called, were thrown off at a printing-press 
 established in Trap Lane by Messrs. Giffard and 
 Simmons; and from one of these we gather that the 
 Royal Arctic Theatre opened for the season " under the 
 distinguished patronage of Captain Nares, the members 
 of the Arctic Expedition, and all the nobility and 
 gentry of the neighbourhood," on the 18th of Novem- 
 ber 1875. The orchestra consisted of one eminent 
 pianist, Signor Aldrichi (Lieutenant Aldrich), and the 
 scenic artist was Dr. Moss. The performances com- 
 menced at 7.30;, and "sledges" might be ordered at 
 nine o'clock. They were by no means wholly dramatic. 
 The bill of fare included scientific and historical lec- 
 tures, readings and recitations, songs and instrumental 
 music, ranging from grave to gay, from lively to severe ; 
 and now and then, to draw a' bumper house, some such 
 
A GR '.ND CHORUS. 
 
 629 
 
 sh 
 
 attraction as teats of legerdemain by " the real Wizard 
 of the North, on his way to the Hyperborean Regions ;" 
 acrobatic feats by "the Bounding Brothers of the 
 Frigid Zone ;" or the vocal performances of the " Pale- 
 o' - Christy Minstrels," who " never sing in London." 
 The plays produced were an original burlesque oper- 
 etta, "The Vulgar Little Boy; or. Weeping BiU" 
 (founded on Barham's popular " Misadventures at Mar- 
 gate)," written expressly by the ship's chaplain, the Rev. 
 W. H. Pullen, author of the well-known political squib, 
 "Dame Europa's School;" "Aladdin; or. The Wonder- 
 ful Scamp;" "Boots at the Swan;" and "The Area 
 Belle." The last and grand night was March 2nd, 
 1876, — when Captain Nares lectured on " The Palseo- 
 crystic Sea, and Sledging Experiences;" and after a 
 variety of songs and readings, the company and 
 audience sang a grand choral strain, "The Palseocrys- 
 tic Chorus," which we borrow from the pages of the 
 Graphic : — 
 
 " Not very long ago, 
 
 On the six-foot floe 
 Of the Palseocrystic Sea, 
 
 Two ships did ride 
 
 'Mid the crushing of the tide, 
 The Alert and the Discovery. 
 
 * The sun never shone 
 Their gallant crews upon 
 
 For a hundred and forty -two days ; 
 But no darkness and no hummocks 
 Their merry L irts could flummox, 
 
 So they set to work and acted plays. 
 
 " There was music and song 
 To help the hours along, 
 Brought forth from the good ship's store ; 
 
 f 
 
 
 in 
 
etso 
 
 A GRAND CHORUS. 
 
 And each man did his best 
 To amuse and cheer the rest, 
 And 'nobody can't do more.' 
 
 " Here's a health to Marco Polo; 
 
 May he reach his northern goal oh ! 
 And advance the flag of England into realms unknown ; 
 
 May the Challenger be there 
 
 All courses bold to dare, 
 And Victoria be victorious in the Frozen Zone, 
 
 " May our Poppie be in sight 
 With her colours streaming bright, 
 And the Bulldog tug on merrily from strand to strand 
 And the Alexandra brave 
 See our banner proudly wave, 
 O'er the highest cliffs and summits of the northernmost land. 
 \ 
 
 " Here's a health to Hercules, 
 Whom the autumn blast did freeze. 
 And all our gallant fellows by the frost laid low. 
 Just wait a little longer. 
 Till they get a trifle stronger. 
 And they'll never pull the worse for having lost a toe. 
 
 " Here's a health with three times three 
 
 To the brave Discovery, 
 And our merry, merry guests so truly welcome here ; 
 
 And a brimming bumper yet 
 
 To our gallant little pet. 
 The lively Clements Markham with its bold charioteer. 
 
 " Here's a health to all true blue. 
 
 To the oflBcers and crew. 
 Who man this expedition neat and handy oh ! 
 
 And may they ever prove. 
 
 Both in Sledging and in Love, 
 That the tars of old Britannia are the dandy oh ! " 
 
 In explanation of some passages in the foregoing 
 spirited effusion, we may state that the six sledges 
 
MORE SLEDGING. 
 
 631 
 
 belonging to the Alert were named respectively, Marco 
 Polo, Victoria, Challenger, Foppie, Bulldog, and Alex- 
 andra. " Hercules " appears to have been the nick- 
 name of one of the strong men of the ship. 
 
 MORE SLEDGING-PARTIES. 
 
 The Alert wintered so far north, that its officers and 
 men failed to meet with some of the usual accessories 
 of a Polar expedition. There were no Polar bears ; no 
 Eskimos; even auroral displays were infrequent. On 
 the other hand, the darkness is described as not having 
 been particularly dense. The reflection of the snow, 
 and the keen "light of stars," considerably mitii^ated 
 the " deep obscure ; " and once in every fourteen days 
 the splendour of the moon illuminated the weird out- 
 lines of the monotonous Arctic scenery. 
 
 Some sledging was done in the autumn, though spring 
 is the season when it can best be undertaken. The 
 Ale7't was no sooner made all snug in her winter quar- 
 ters, than sledging-parties carried provisions and boatfi. 
 along the shore both northward and westward, ready 
 for use by expeditions in the following spring; the depot 
 being planted within a mile of the farthest northern 
 position hitherto attained by civilized man. After a 
 terrible journey of twenty days' duration, the travellers 
 returned on the 14th of October, just two days after the 
 disappearance of the sun. The snow fell heavily, and, 
 by protecting the sloppy ice from the intense frost, 
 rendered travelling difficult. The men's shoes got 
 thoroughly wet; hence several were frost-bitten, and 
 one officer and two men, on their return, were compelled 
 
 hi. 
 
 liiij 
 
682 
 
 LIEUTENANT RAWSON'S EXPEDITION, 
 
 to undergo amputation. Beneath the cliffs lay great 
 dense, deep snow-wreaths, and in many places a road 
 had to be excavated to the depth of six feet. The men 
 sunk to their waists. The sledge was often completely 
 buried. It needed all Lieutenant Rawson's resolution 
 and patience to bring back his little company in safety. 
 The main sledging-party, under Commander Mark- 
 ham, with Lieutenants Parr and May, and twenty-five 
 men, left the Alert on the 25th of September, for the 
 purpose of establishing a depot at Cape Joseph Henry. 
 They advanced three miles beyond Sir Edward Parry's 
 northernmost point, and, from a mountain 2000 feet 
 high, sighted land towards the west-north-west, as far 
 as lat. 83° 7' N., but saw none to the northward. 
 
 I' ■ 
 
 With the return of the sun on the 29th of February, 
 Captain Nares began his preparations for the spring 
 sledging-expeditions, organizing two main detachments: 
 one, bound northward, under Commander Markham and 
 Lieutenant Parr, with fifteen men, supported by Dr. 
 Moss and Mr. White, with two seven-man sledges ; and 
 another, bound westward, consisting of two seven-man 
 sledges, led by Lieutenants Aldrich and Giffard. 
 
 On the 12th of March, Lieutenant Rawson and 
 Mr. Egerton, as already narrated, started off to open 
 up communication with the Discovery^ but were com- 
 pelled to return by the illness of Petersen, whom they 
 nursed on the way with womanlike tenderness and 
 devotion. In the following week, accompanied by 
 Simmons, of the Alert, and Regan, of the Discovery, 
 they resumed their adventurous track across the hum- 
 
hall's memorial. 
 
 688 
 
 mocky ice, with the temperature 40° below zero, endur- 
 ing much, but pusliing forward undauntedly. When 
 their comrades of the Discovery condoled with them on 
 account of frost-bitten cheeks, and noses, and fingers, 
 it was with the frank, blithe heroism of the true British 
 seaman that Lieutenant Rawson replied, — "Well, at 
 least we feel that the cheers from Southsea beach have 
 been fairly earned." 
 
 The sledging - expeditions began in earnest in the 
 first week of April, only a few men being left on board 
 each ship. Captain Stephenson, of the Discovery, paid 
 a visit to the Alert, and also crossed Hall's Basin twice 
 to Greenland. Captain Nares, with Captain Feilden, 
 was not less energetic; and for a considerable area round 
 the two ships all was activity and motion. When at 
 Polaris Bay, Captain Stephenson, in memory of the 
 gallant and unfortunate Hall, hoisted the American 
 ensign, and erected a brass tablet above the explorer's 
 lonely grave. It bears the following inscription : — 
 
 " Sacred to the memory of Captain C. F. Hall, of the 
 U.S. ship Polaris, who sacrificed his life in the advance- 
 ment of science on November 8, 1871. This tablet has 
 been erected by the British Polar Expedition of 1875, 
 who, following in his footsteps, have profited by his 
 experience." 
 
 It may be noted here, in illustration of the labour 
 attendant on the equipment of an Arctic sledge-party, 
 and the despatch of provisions for their sustenance, 
 that, in order to support the expeditions on the north 
 coast of Greenland and in Petermann Fiord, " Robeson 
 
 f 
 
684 
 
 RELICS OF THE " POLARIS." 
 
 ^■1 
 
 k 
 
 It; 
 
 
 ■'it 
 
 
 Channel was crossed eleven times from the position of 
 the Alert to a dep6t established north of Cape Brevoort, 
 and Hall's Basin eleven times between Discovery Bay 
 and Polaris Bay; making a total of twenty- two sledge- 
 parties crossing the straits, including the transporting 
 of two boats. The main depot at Cape Joseph Henry, 
 for the support of the northern and western divisions, 
 thirty-seven miles from the Alert, was visited by sixteen 
 different sledges." 
 
 Our travellers did not fail to examine the various 
 cairns erected by the seamen of the Polaris. At one 
 place a box chronometer was found to be in excellent 
 order, though it had undergone the test of four Arctic 
 winters. And some wheat, which the Polaris had 
 brought out in order to ascertain the eft'ect upon it of 
 exposure to extreme cold, was successfully cultivated 
 under a glass shade by Dr. Ninnis, — almost as interest- 
 ing an experiment in its way as the sowing and suc- 
 cessful harvesting of Mummy wheat, the grains found in 
 ancient Egyptian sepulchres. 
 
 The British expedition had advanced so far north 
 that it was beyond the life-limit of bears, birds, and 
 even seals; and the sledging-parties, unable therefore 
 to obtain any fresh game, were severely attacked by 
 scurvy. This fell disease invariably broke out when its 
 victims were furtliest from any assistance. The journeys 
 back to the ships were consequently undertaken, as we 
 have already pointed out, by men whose strength de- 
 creased daily; and the burden became all the greater 
 as man after man was smitten down, and, to save his 
 life, placed upon the sledge. Great was the alarm on 
 
THE NORTHERN SLEDQE-PARTY. 
 
 635 
 
 board the Alert, when, towards the close of the 8th of 
 June, Lieutenant Parr suddenly presented himself Ho 
 was alone. Where were his comrades ? What calamity 
 had befallen them ? He soon explained that he had 
 undertaken a journey of thirty-five miles, toiling for 
 twenty-two hours through mist and drift and snow, 
 and guided only by the fresh track of a stray wolf, to 
 convey the news of the prostrated condition of the 
 members of the northern expedition. Preparations were 
 immediately made for hastening to their assistance. 
 With the help of the officers, who all volunteered to 
 drag the sledges, Captain Na-os was able by midnight 
 to start with two strong relief-parties — Messrs. Egerton, 
 Conybeare, Wootton, and White, the officers who could 
 best be spared from the ship, taking their places at 
 the drag -ropes; and Lieutenant May and Dr. Moss 
 pushing forward with a supply of medicines in the 
 dog-sledge. 
 
 Such was the alacrity and energy of the two latter, 
 that they contrived to reach Commander Markham's 
 encampment within fifty hours of the departure of Lieu- 
 tenant Parr; though, unfortunately, not in time to save 
 the life of one of the marines, who but a few hours before 
 had expired and been buried in the floe. On the re- 
 mainder of the stricken company, their arrival, however, 
 had a most beneficial influence ; and when, early the 
 next day, Captain Nares came up to their relief, their 
 courage and resolution, which had never deserted them, 
 were quickened to the utmost, and even the invalids 
 threw off that dread depression an attack of scurvy 
 invariabl}'^ produces. On the morning of the 14th all 
 

 >-u,ii 
 
 
 t 
 
 \l 
 
 
 l1 ' 
 
 w 
 
 H 
 
 m 
 
 686 
 
 STRICKEN WITH SCURVY. 
 
 were once more safe on board the ship, and offering up 
 their heartfelt thanksgiving to God. 
 
 Captain Nares famishes some particulars which illus- 
 trate very vividly the terrible experiences of the adven- 
 turous sledge-party, and also the ravages which scurvy 
 never fails to commit. He says that of the seventeen 
 officers and men who originally left the Alevt, only 
 five — namely, three officers and two men — were able 
 to drag the sledges alongside. Three others — heroes as 
 true as any of those whom Homer has made famous ! — 
 manfully kept on their feet to the last, enduring the 
 extreme of pain and fatigue rather than, by riding on the 
 sledge, increase the burden their weakened companions 
 had to drag. They were just able to crawl on board 
 ship without assistance. Tlie remaining eight had 
 struggled gallantly, but the disease had proved too 
 much for them, and they were carried on the sledges. 
 Out of the whole number, only two officers escaped the 
 ravages of scurvy. After due resc and medical atten- 
 tion, the chief carpenter's mate returned to his duty, 
 and three others recovered so as to be able to wait on 
 their sick comrades; but Jolliffe, a petty officer, who 
 had nobly borne up against the disease while actively 
 employed, when his legs became cramped from resting 
 on board proved to be one of the most lingering cases. 
 
 Surely the nation will never begrudge the co, •: of 
 expeditions which give such occasion for the display of 
 the most generous unselfishness and the noM<?st devo- 
 tion ! 
 
 Tliese sledge-journeys wert, performed in the face of 
 tremendous difficulties. Beyond the mere coast-belt, 
 
 If 
 
THE ANCIENT POLAR ICE. 
 
 637 
 
 ohere was lit ule smooth ice ; the tolerably level floes or 
 fields, usually about six feet above the neighbouring ice, 
 seldom measured a mile across. Their surfaces were 
 thickly covered with rounded blue-topped ice-humps, 
 averaging twenty feet high; which lay sometimes in 
 ranges, and sometimes a hundred to two hundred yards 
 apart, the intervening spaces being filled with wind- 
 driven snow, and the whole resembling a gusty ocean 
 suddenly stifl:ened into rest.* Between these floes, like 
 an embankment of rude formation, extended a vast pile 
 of the wreck an(^ refuse of previous summers' broken-up 
 pack-ice, regelateu during the winter into one rugged 
 and confused mass of angular blocks of various heights up 
 to forty and fifty feet, and of every imaginable variety 
 of configuration, like the disrupted lava at the mouth 
 of a crater. These were interspersed with a continuous 
 series of "steep-sided snow-drifts," which stretched 
 downwards from the highest summit of the ice-chaos 
 until lost in the general level at a distance of about one 
 hundred yards. It may be conceived that it was not 
 easy to find a passage for the sledges through these 
 labyrinths of ice and snow. The snow-slopes were by 
 no means an assistance, for the winter-winds coming 
 chiefly from the west, and the course of the sledges 
 being due north, they had to be encountered almost at 
 right angles. Consequently, the journey was an in- 
 cessant struggle with ever-recurring obstacles ; as fast 
 as one had been conquered, another presented itself 
 The pickaxes were in constant requisition, either to cut 
 a way through the packed-up ice, or out of the per- 
 
 * " Here let the billows stiffen, and have rest." — Colkridqk. 
 
 !~ 
 
C38 
 
 OFFICERS AND MEN. 
 
 m ■' 
 
 I p. 
 
 
 
 'k 
 
 pendicular side of the high fioes. Instead of a steady 
 advance, the whole party were frequently detained half 
 a day by the necessity of facing the sledge and hauling 
 it forward a few feet at a time. These considerations 
 will enable the reader to judge how great must have 
 been the " pluck," persistence, and energy which could 
 accomplish a journey of seventy miles in such excep- 
 tional circumstances. 
 
 Captain Nares observes — and his eulogium will be en- 
 dorsed by the reader — that no two officers could have 
 accomplished this laborious enterprise with greater 
 ability or courage than Commander Markham and 
 Lieutenant Parr. And it is but just that the services of 
 Rawlings and Lawrence, the captains of the two sledges, 
 should be put on record. In addition to their general 
 cheerfulness and good-humour, — qualities which always 
 help to lighten difficult work, — to their care and skill 
 were due the safe return of the sledges, on which the 
 lives of all depended — safe, uninjured, and in as service- 
 able a state as when they left the ship, notwithstand- 
 ing the terrible character of the road they had travelled. 
 To such men as these, and to the brave, patient, resolute 
 sledge-crews generally, we owe the tribute of our praise. 
 However severe their privations, they never complained. 
 During this memorable journey to penetrate to the 
 north over the i*ugged Polar oceanic ice, a journey in 
 which the "pluck" and determination of the British 
 seaman were most conspicuously displayed, day after 
 day, against obstacles which might well have been re- 
 garded as insurmountable, the two officers and their 
 brave followers succeeded in advancing the Union Jack 
 
NO ROAD TO THE POLE. 
 
 639 
 
 to latitude 83° 20' 26" N.,— or within four hundred 
 miles of the North Pole. , 
 
 In order to attain this advanced post, the present 
 boundary-mark of geographical research in that direc- 
 tion, the total distance travelled was two hundred and 
 seventy-six miles on the outward, and two hundred and 
 forty-five miles on the homeward journey, though the 
 lurthest direct distance from the ship did not exceed 
 seventy-three miles. The result of labour so colossal 
 and sufferings so severe would seem to be, that we must 
 consJdt. a long journey over the Polar pack-ice, with 
 sledge and boat, to be impracticable at any season of the 
 year. As the sledges were necessarily advanced each 
 r •, ! . (^ singly, we are able to calculate the exact rate of 
 pi^j3 ossion which may be expected, if it should be 
 thought desirable to push forward with light sledges^ 
 without any additional means of returning later in the 
 season in the event rf a disruption of ice in the rear. 
 The maximum attained by Commander Markham was 
 two and three-quarter miles a day ; the mean rate being 
 one mile and a quarter. 
 
 NO ROAD TO THE POLE. 
 
 The outbreak of scurvy rendered Captain Nares very 
 anxious as to the welfare of Lieutenant AJdrich's com- 
 pany on their return from the westward ; and the more 
 so, when it was found that the cairn erected over his 
 depot of provisions, thirty miles to the north-west, re- 
 mained untouched on the day appointed for his arrival 
 there. Lieutenant May, with the dog-sledge, and three 
 robust men, were therefore sent to meet him. On the 
 
«4a 
 
 HOMEWARD-BOUND. 
 
 
 20th of June the two parties met at the dep6t, and sig- 
 nalled *^e welcome fact to Captain Nares. It was for- 
 tunate that Lieutenant Aldrich returned when he did, 
 for on the following day a rapid thaw set in, with the 
 wind from the southward, and the snow-valleys were 
 rendered impassable for sledges for the rest of the season. 
 His party, like Commander Markham's, were stricken 
 with scurvy,four of them lying helplesson the dog-sledge; 
 and Lieutenant May's arrival proved most opportune. 
 
 Having now assembled all his company on board the 
 Alert, Captain Nares was called upon to decide whether 
 it was possible to carry the work of exploration further, 
 or whether the expedition should return to England. 
 Owing to the absence of any land with a northward 
 trend, and the innavigable character of the Polar pack- 
 ice, he concluded that on neither side of Smith Sound 
 could any ship advance further northward than the 
 Alert had done ; and also, that from no secure position 
 in Smith Sound was it possible for sledges to advance 
 nearer to bhe Pole. If the expedition remained in the 
 vicinity for another season, the exploration of the shores 
 of Grant Land might be pursued to the south-west, and 
 of Greenland to the north-east, but not more than fifty 
 miles beyond the points already attained. In the 
 weakened condition of the crew, and for so small an 
 additional gain, Gaptjiin Nares decided that it would be 
 unwise to risk another winter, Aa soon as the ice 
 broke up, " Ho for merry England ! " 
 
 THE RETURN HOME. 
 
 A regular thaw did not set in until the last week of 
 
AMONGST THF. ICE. 
 
 641 
 
 June. Water flowed in the ravines on the 1st of July. 
 After that date the thaw gradually extended, and in- 
 creased in rapidity; and on the 23rd a strong south- 
 west wind drove the pack a mile away from the shore. 
 On the 26th a cairn was erected on the shore, and a 
 record of the work of the expedition deposited in it ; 
 and on the 31st, a passage having been cleared through 
 the winter-barrier of icebergs, the Alerts with a strong 
 south-west wind filling her canvas, pushed out into 
 Robeson Channel on her homeward voyage. After a, 
 run of two miles along-shore, through a fairly open way 
 between the pack-ice and what Dr. Kane calls " the ice- 
 foot," she was checked in her course by a heavy floe 
 one and a half mile in diameter, which almost touched 
 the land ; and no other shelter being available, she lay 
 up in Pv small cove or creek, among a group of icebergs 
 that had gone ashore in the shallows. 
 
 The obstructive floe showed signs of movement early 
 on the morning of August 1st; and soon afterwards 
 went away to the northward at the rate of a mile and 
 a half an hour, grinding along the ice-foot somewhat 
 alarmingly as it advanced towards the ship. Steam 
 being up, however, the Alert cast off" her moorings, and 
 succeeded in edging between the land and the floe ; 
 while the latter swung round in-shore with a violent 
 jerk, close to the position which the ship had previously 
 occupied. 
 
 We may note here the difference which Captain 
 Nares insists upon between an ordinary floe, such as is 
 commonly met with in Arctic waters, and the ancient 
 Polar Sea ice. The former seldom exceeds six feet in 
 
 (544) 41 
 
 I 
 
642 
 
 NEAR CAPE UNION. 
 
 I ^ 
 
 t: t ; 
 
 i' 
 
 
 t! 
 
 thickness, and breaks into fragments against an obstruc- 
 tion, or may be charged by a steam-ship, as we have 
 already seen ; but the latter, being some eighty or one 
 hundred feet thick, lifts all impediments out of its 
 course, or, so to speak, throws them disdainfully away. 
 " Such was the case on this occasion : the Polar floe, 
 which," says Captain Nares, " we only escaped by a few 
 yards, on nipping against the heavy breastwork of iso- 
 lated floebergs lining the coast, some of them forty feet 
 high and many thousand tons in weight, which had 
 lately formed our protection from the smaller ice pieces, 
 tilted them over one after another, and forced them 
 higher up the land-slope, like a giant at play, without 
 receiving the slightest harm itself — not a piece break- 
 ing away. It was most providential that, by its twist- 
 ing round, the Alert was enabled to escape out of the 
 trap in which she was enclosed." 
 
 The shore here presented a formidable line of ice- 
 cliff, from twenty to forty feet in height, striking down 
 into clear blue water ten to twenty fathoms deep. The 
 Alert kept onward, so close to tne cliff that the boats 
 hung at her quarter frequently touched it, until again 
 brought to a stop near Cape Union by the accumula- 
 tion of the pack. Her captain, however, was able here 
 to secure her abreast of a large stream, the current of 
 which had undermined the ice-cliff for some fifty yards, 
 and floated it off to sea, leaving a kind of cove or 
 harbour where the ship could be laid alongside the 
 beach in such a manner that, if the pack struck her, it 
 could only force her on shore. The reader of Arctic 
 voyages will remember that a somewhat similar posi- 
 
I; I 
 
 A DIFFICULT VOYAGE. 
 
 643 
 
 tion was once occupied by Sir Edward Pany's ship, 
 under somewhat similar circumstances. l ' 
 
 When the tide had turned, and b(igan to flow south- 
 ward, it broke up the ice all around Cape Union, and 
 formed a narrow water-way, which offered Captain 
 Nares a chance of escape. Steam was got up immedi- 
 ately, but, owing to unavoidable delay in shipping the 
 rudder, the ice closed in before the ship could be 
 carried round. Her last stage was worse than her 
 first ; for she was now cut off" from her safe little port, 
 and no better shelter was available than a slight hollow 
 or break in the ice-cliff". Here, however, she was 
 brought- to, with the ice-blocks swirling past her at a 
 distance of twenty yards, .it low water Captain Nares 
 cast off", an:! bored some way into the pack, so that the 
 Alert might drift round the cape with the southern 
 tide. At about a quarter Df a mile from the land, she 
 drove along with the ice ; and when the tide slackened, 
 steamed out of the pack before it began to set to the 
 northward. Then, keeping close in to the ice-foot, she 
 kept slowly on her course to the southward, the water- 
 way broadening as she approached Lincoln Bay, which 
 was crossed without difficulty. When within five miles 
 of Cape Beechey, the tide turned ; but after a short delay 
 a channel opened, allowing the ship to round the cape. 
 At this point the ice-olift' ends, and the land slopes 
 gently to the shore — which is protected by a barrier of 
 ffoebergs, similar to, but smaller than, those which line 
 the shore of the Polar Sea. Here the ship was made 
 fast in three fathoms water, within twenty yards of the 
 shore, about a mile to the south of the cape. 
 
 
 ' 
 
 
m 
 
 I 
 
 ',1 
 
 044 
 
 ICE-BOUND. 
 
 We dwell on these particulars in order that our 
 readers may form some idea of the difficulties of Arctic 
 voyaging. The words, "Slie forced her way through 
 the ice," afford no conception whatever of the obstacles 
 that have to be overcome, and the dangers that have to 
 be avoided, by a ship navigating in the midst of pack- 
 ice and ice-floes; or of the skill and vigilance and 
 patience on the part of officers and men, by which only 
 can the enterprise be brought to a successful issue. 
 
 We are told that on August the 4th snow-squalls 
 blew from the south-west. As the ice had closed in 
 around the ship, holding it in a vice, the sportsmen of 
 the party landed, and visited some neighbouring lakes 
 in search of game. They found a number of wild geese, 
 and killed fii'y-seven, which supplied a welcome addi- 
 tion to the ordinary bill of fare. Mr. Egerton and a 
 seaman were sent off to the Discovery, then about 
 twenty miles distant, with orders for her to prepare for 
 the homeward voyage. We have already related how 
 they reached the ship in safety. 
 
 While the Alert was thus imprisoneu, the huge pack- 
 ice in the offing was carried up and down the strait 
 by the tidal movement, the wind having the effect of 
 increasing the velocity of the current and the duration 
 of its flow both northward and southward. The ice 
 generally was of a lighter character than that in the 
 Polar Sea; but many heavy Polar floes were driven 
 southward by the gale, and set into Lady Franklin 
 Sound and Archer Fiord rather than down Kcr.nedy 
 Channel. Lady Franklin Sound, indeed, seems to be 
 the receptacle of all the heavy ice that comes south 
 
CAUGHT BY A FLOE. 
 
 645 
 
 ith 
 
 through Robeson Channel; retaining it until the pre- 
 vailing westerly winds carry it once more to the north- 
 ward, and empty the Sound, previous to its being re- 
 filled on the return of the northerly gales. It is only, 
 says Captain Nares, in seasons when northerly winds 
 occur more frequently than westerly ones, that any 
 considerable quantities of the huge Polar ice are drifted 
 into Smith Sound and Baffin Bay. 
 
 The gale of the 6th of August was very violent. The 
 tide rushing southward, drove a succession of heavy 
 floe-pieces against the small bergs that protected the ship, 
 and capsized one of them completely. It was firmly 
 aground when struck by the point of a large floe ; but 
 such was the force of the collision that it was reared 
 erect in the air to its full height of at least sixty feet 
 above water, when, turning a complete somersault, like 
 a practised gymnast, it came down on its back with a 
 shock that shattered it into pieces, and raised a wave 
 sufficient to roll the ship considerably. Into the gap 
 thus caused moved the ice, until at last it nipped the 
 Alert y though not dangerously. 
 
 That same evening Lieutenant Rawson and two sea- 
 men arrived from the Discovery, with news of the ill- 
 fortune that had overtaken the Greenland sledge-party. 
 
 It soon became apparent that there was no chance of 
 releasing the ice-bound ship except by cutting down 
 the heavy floe that held her prisoner ; and accordingly 
 all hands were set to work. After three days' toil, so 
 much of the floe was hewn away that at high water it 
 floated and set the ship free; at the same time the 
 main pack moved oil* and the Alert steamed onward, 
 
046 
 
 THE TWO SHIPS. 
 
 rejoining her consort, the Discovery, on the 11th of 
 August. ^ 
 
 All the invalids on board the Alert were now re- 
 moved to the Discovery, and Captain Nares remained 
 at the entrance to the harbour, prepared to cross to 
 Polaris Bay, as soon as the ice permitted, to relieve 
 Lieutenant Beaumont. As before stated, however, he 
 arrived on tlie 14th, and relieved the commander of the 
 expedition of a serious anxiety. Both vessels were now 
 ready to start, but the state of the ice detained them 
 until the 20th, when, a " lead" offering through the pack, 
 away they steamed, and arrived close to Cape Law- 
 rence without encountering any serious obstacle. Here 
 their old enemy, the ice, again opposed them; and 
 Captain Nares found only the famous ** three courses " 
 of a well-known statesman open to him : either to re- 
 turn north, to drive ahead into the pack, or make fast 
 the ships to some of the grounded floebergs. This last 
 expedient was adopted, and in a land-locke^d inner basin 
 the Alert and the Discovery were accordingly secured. 
 But, unfortunately, at the fall of high water a piece 
 of ice pressed against the Alert, and at the same time 
 its protecting floeberg drove ashore. Result : the Alert 
 was aground forward, but with deep water under the 
 stern. And before she could be released, the tide had 
 fallen fourteen feet, so that the ship lay over at an angle 
 of 22°, with fore-foot and keel exposed as far aft as the 
 fore-channels. Nothing could be done until the tide 
 rose. Then the ship was lightened, and afterwards 
 hauled off without having undergone any damage. 
 
I.I 
 
 IN SMITH SOUND. 
 
 647 
 
 A passage again opened on the 22nd of August, and 
 the two ships steamed as far southward a^s Cape Col- 
 linson, with no other troubles than dense snow-storms, 
 mists, and strong head-winds. But off the cape, the 
 Alert having to back to escape a nip, slie fouled the 
 Discovery for a moment; the latter escaping, however, 
 with nothing worse than the loss of a boat's davit. 
 
 The ice gradually breaking up before a strong south- 
 west wind, the two ships crossed Scoresby Bay, which 
 was perfectly clear, but rolled with a heavy sea. As 
 they approached Cape Frazer, they were buffeted by a 
 terrible gale, and put in to Maury Bay, anchoring 
 among a quantity of grounded ice. Three days were 
 spent in arduous efforts to double Cape Frazer, — one of 
 the betes noires of Arctic navigators, because it is the 
 meeting -point of the flood-tides, north and south, one 
 from the Polar Ocean and the other from the Atlantic, 
 — and Cape Hayes, the boundary-mark of the channel. 
 Then the voyagers, with glad hearts, passed into Smith 
 Sound; and- hugging the shore as closely as was safe, 
 arrived on the 29th at Prince Imperial Island, in Dobbin 
 Bay, " every one heartily thankful to be out of the pack, 
 clear of the struggling icebergs, and for the ships to be 
 secured to fixed ice once more." 
 
 The temperature now sunk again below freezing-point. 
 The brief Arctic summer was over, and day and night 
 the young sea-ice formed continuously. The mists that 
 had hitherto a,ccompanied the ships cleared away before 
 a brisk northerly wind, and revealed a magnificent 
 panorama of lofty mountains, white with shrouds of 
 snow, and deep valleys filled with colossal glaciers. 
 
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648 
 
 KEEPING SOUTHWARD. 
 
 One of these stretched downwards to the shore, and 
 threw off great icebergs which floated or stranded in 
 Dobbin Bay. It was named after the Empress Eugenie, 
 who had taken a lively personal interest in the ex- 
 pedition. 
 
 Crossing Dobbin Bay on the 1st of September, the 
 voyagers came within a quarter of a mile of a dep6t of 
 provisions established near Cape Hawks in the previous 
 nutumn, and succeeded in removing a portion. A day or 
 two later Captain jN jt^^s landed on Washington Island, 
 and visited a cairn \rhioh he had raised there on the 12th 
 of August 1865. lie visited, also, two old cairns erected 
 by former explorers , bho lichens with which they were 
 gray proved that they were of earlier date than Dr. 
 Hayes' expedition. 
 
 On the 3rd of September, by dint of steaming as- 
 siduously, the ships rammed their way through a lane 
 of water to the westward of Cape Hawks, which was 
 inconveniently obstructed by loose pieces of old ice. 
 After rounding the cape, says the captain, the pack by 
 drifting away from the land had left unfrozen water 
 and numerous detached small floes, which forced them 
 to make a very serpentine course, and occasionally to 
 pass within thirty yards of the low ice-foot on the shore, 
 fortunately always finding deep water. In this way 
 they reached Allman^Bay, half-way between Cape 
 Hawks and Franklin Pierce Bay. Meeting here with 
 a belt of new ice, the Discovery was sent ahead ; and 
 under full steam she forced a canal through the ice, 
 which was from one to three inches thick. From the 
 lofty hills in the interior a huge glacier leads down to 
 
ARRIVAL AT DISCO. 
 
 649 
 
 Allman Bay ; and it is a noticeable fact that always in 
 the neighbourhood of a glacier-stream the water was 
 found nearly fresh, and of the temperature of 32° 
 
 On the 7th our homeward-bound ships reached Norman 
 Lockyer Island, on the margin of P'incess Marie Bay. 
 The season was now far advanced, and as the slightest 
 mistake might have led to the vessels being ice-bound for 
 the winter, the two captains ascended to the highest 
 point of the island to obtain some idea of the prospect 
 before them. They were much relieved by seeing a 
 large area of open water some twenty miles distant, 
 which they conjectured would extend to the mouth of 
 Smith Sound. No time was lost in getting under 
 way; and the ships crossed two-thirds of the distance 
 before they fell in with ice. By charging it under full 
 steam, they cleared the obstacle, and then, through an 
 open water-channel, ran on to Cape Sabine. 
 
 On the 9th of September, they arrived off Cape Isa- 
 bella, where they found a small packet of letters and 
 newspapers which had been left at the depot by the 
 Pandora. The weather was now calm, and the wind 
 favourable. Sail was hoisted, therefore, as the supply 
 of coal began to run short, and on the evening of the 
 12th the expedition reached Bardin Bay. During the 
 IStli and the 14th they worked southward into Wols- 
 tenholm Sound ; and thence, with a south-easterly wind, 
 crossed to Cape Byam Martin, which they reached on 
 the 16th. Two days later they entered the well-known 
 waters of Melville Bay ; on the 2oth, they arrived at 
 Disco, where, and afterwards at Egedesminde, they 
 obtained some small supplies of coal. 
 
650 
 
 RESULTS OF THE EXPEDITION. 
 
 Egedesminde was left behind on the 2nd of October, 
 and on the 4th the two ships recrossed the Arctic 
 Circle — exactly fifteen months from the time of crossing 
 it on the outward voyage. Experiencing adverse winds, 
 they made but slow progress to the southward ; and as 
 the weather became warmer and damper, a few of the 
 men suffered from rheumatism and catarrhs. During a 
 heavy gale on the 19th, the two ships separated ; but 
 both, as we have seen, reached the shores of England in 
 safety, where their gallant officers and crews met with 
 the hearty welcome so thoroughly merited by their 
 courage, perseverance, and heroic industry. 
 
 Some notes on the general results obtained by the 
 expedition in zoology, botany, and geology, have ap- 
 peared in the Academy. The two naturalists under 
 whose care these departments were placed, — Captain 
 Feilden, in the Alert, and Mr. Hart, in the Discovery, 
 — worked with unflagging energy and no small success. 
 
 Of mammals, the species found furthest north were 
 the Arctic fox, the wolf, the ermine, the Polar hare, the 
 lemming, and the musk-ox, all of which were seen on 
 the shores of the great Polar Basin or Palseocrystic Sea. 
 No cetaceans were sighted north of Payer Harbour, 
 near Cape Sabine; a fact which renders all the more 
 serious the gradual' process of extermination of the 
 Greenland (or right) whale in more southern latitudes. 
 The only seal found beyond Cape Union, in lat. 82° 15' 
 N., was the little ringed seal or "floe-rat" {Phoca 
 hispida). 
 
 So far as the land extended, bird life prevailed; the 
 
!;i 
 
 RESULTS OF THE EXPEDITION. 
 
 esi 
 
 species Leing the snowy owl, the snow-bunting, and the 
 ptarmigan. Full collections were made of all the birds 
 frequenting Smith Sound; and our naturalists had the 
 satisfaction of discovering the long-sought-for breeding- 
 haunts of the knott and sanderling.* 
 
 Few species of marine fish were obtained, but "an 
 interesting small salmonoid" was met with in fresh- 
 water lakes as far north as lat. 82° 35'. A fine collec- 
 tion of marine invertebrates was secured by dredging 
 and trawling; and the character of the sea-bottom from 
 Baffin Bay up to lat. 83° 19' N. was accurat^y ascer- 
 tained by a series of careful soundings. 
 
 In the department of botany our naturalists were re- 
 warded by the discovery of between twenty and thirty 
 species of phanerogamic plants between the parallels of 
 82° and 83°. Much richer and more varied results were 
 obtained in the cryptogamic flora. 
 
 Geologically, the facts arrived at were of the utmost 
 value. " The whole west coast of Smith Sound, from 
 Cape Isabella to Cape Union, has been fully surveyed 
 and mapped, and large collections have been made both 
 of fossils and rock-specimens; while the sledge-parties 
 which explored the shore of the Polar Basin, both to 
 east and west, brought back sufficient material to deter- 
 mine the geological character of the country. Silurian 
 limestones, richly fossiliferous, were the prevailing rocks 
 along Smith Sound. Miocene deposits, including a 
 twenty-foot seam of coal, were found as far north as lat. 
 
 * The scarcity of animal life in the remote North is shown by the small quantity of 
 game shot by the sportsmen of the expedition after reaching winter quarters : — six 
 musk-oxen, twenty hares, seventy geese, twenty-six ducks, ten ptarmigan, and 
 three foxes. 
 
652 
 
 A GEOLOGICAL FACT. 
 
 81° 44'. From the shales and sandstones of this forma- 
 tion a beautiful series of leaf-impressions were collected, 
 illustrating the characteristic flora of the epoch, and 
 presenting a remarkable demonstration of the existence 
 of a temperate climate within five hundred miles of the 
 present Pole at a comparatively recent geological time. 
 Not less important are the indications of great recent 
 changes in the elevation of the land afforded by the 
 discovery of thick post-pliocene deposits, lying at a con- 
 siderable elevation above the sea-level, and containing 
 fossils similar to the existing marine fauna. Lastly, 
 very interesting and suggestive observations have been 
 made on glaciation and ice-action in general." 
 
 This, of course, is but a summary, and a very brief 
 and condensed one, of researches which have evidently 
 been of the highest importance. And it might almost 
 be said of the late expedition, that even had its geo- 
 graphical discoveries been less valuable, its scientific 
 results would have entitled it to a foremost place in 
 the annals of Arctic Enterprise. 
 
 Our record of Arctic voyages will fitly close with a 
 sketch of the cruise of the Pandora, a screw -yacht 
 commanded by Captain Allen Young, which left Eng- 
 land in the summer of 1876, in order to open up com- 
 munications with the 'Admiralty expedition. 
 
 Captain Young left Upernavik on the evening of the 
 19th of July, and stood away to the northward ; in bad 
 weather, and with the wind blowing a gale. Through 
 vast fields of ice he threaded his way, sometimes under 
 sail, sometimes under steam, until, on the morning of 
 
CRUISE OF THE " PANDORA. 
 
 658 
 
 the 24th, he found his ship completely surrounded, in 
 lat. 75" 10' N. 
 
 No time was lost in endeavouring to effect an 
 escape by charging the ice at full speed, — again and 
 again returning to the onset; and a slow but steady 
 progress was being made, when the field in which they 
 were held fast, drifting before the gale, " collided " with 
 a group of grounded bergs, and exposed the little vessel 
 to such severe pressure, that preparations were made 
 for abandoning her. Provisions, ammunition, camping 
 and travelling gear, all were made ready, and the boats 
 were lowered as far as possible at the davits. Mean- 
 time, heavy charges of gunpowder were used to blast 
 the ice where it pressed the ship most severely; and the 
 bergs taking a different direction, the Pandora began 
 to recover herself, and before night settled down nearly 
 to her usual level. In the darkness of the night, with 
 the wind howling, and the snow and sleet driving in 
 heavy showers, she moved ahead with the pack ; and 
 in this way continued her progress until the 27th, when 
 the weather cleared, and Captain Young discovered that 
 he had advanced right into the heart of Melville Bay, 
 with no water in sight. Full in view were Capes 
 Walker and Melville, the Peaked Hill, and huge glacier- 
 streams embedded in the intervening valleys. All 
 around was one vast monotonous sheet of rugged ice. 
 It was not until the 29th that the Pandora, after many 
 hairbreadth escapes, got into open water, in' lat. 75° 
 50' N., and long, 64° 55' W. While thus imprisoned in 
 the grasp of the floe, the explorers killed only one Polar 
 bear, four seals, and a few little auks. 
 
654 
 
 MEMORIALS OF EXPLORERS. 
 
 In a clear sea they now stood away to the westward, 
 passing Capes Dudley, Digges, and Athol, and other 
 headlands familiar in the records of Arctic adventure. 
 At noon on the 31st, when off Wolstenholm Island, 
 another gale overtook them, increasing rapidly to almost 
 hurricane fury. This was an unpleasant experience ; 
 for the deck was washed by heavy seas, and it was with 
 the greatest difficulty they avoided coming into collision 
 with the icebergs which drifted rapidly through the 
 snow and spray. 
 
 Reaching Gary Island, they landed to examine Captain 
 Nares' depot of provisions, and found it in good preser- 
 vation. The cairn had not been visited since Young's 
 call at the island on the 10th of September in the pre- 
 vious year. Afterwards they made for Sutherland 
 Island, where they found a record of the American 
 explorer. Captain Hartstene, dated August 16, 1855. 
 It is with a curious feeling that, in these regions of 
 almost perpetual winter, the voyager comes upon such 
 faint memorials of men who, like him, have dared all 
 the perils of icefloes and icebergs, and adventured into 
 seas far beyond the track of ordinary commercial enter- 
 prise. 
 
 On Littleton Island, already mentioned so frequently 
 in these pages, a record of the expedition was, found. 
 The document was dated July 28, 1875, and signed by 
 Captain Nares, and it indicated the course about to be 
 taken by the ships under his orders. Owing to the 
 ice-encumbered condition of the straits, however, Captain 
 Young could not follow it up; and instead of crossing to 
 Cape Isabella, he resolved to examine the coast in Hart- 
 
i:i 
 
 OFF CAPE ISABELLA. 
 
 656 
 
 stene Bay, in order to seek a harbour for the relief-ship 
 which the Admiralty had intended to send out in 1877, 
 in case of the non-return of the Polar Expedition. This 
 was found on the 4th of August, not far from the Eskimo 
 settlement of Etah, and named after the Pandora. It 
 would seem to offer every advantage as winter quarters 
 for Arctic discovery-ships ; the surrounding hills are 
 "dotted with Arctic hares, appearing like snow-balls 
 on the luxurious vegetation." The little auk breeds in 
 thousands on the cliffs, eider fowl and guillemots haunt 
 the waters, and the adjacent valleys and pastures are 
 frequented by reindeer. 
 
 Captain Young next made for Cape Isabella, which 
 he reached on the 6th of August. Watchful eyes soon 
 discovered a large cairn on the summit of this headland. 
 A boat was lowered, and the contents of the caiiii soon 
 obtained, while despatches and letters for Captain 
 Nares' expedition were left in their stead. Then the 
 Pandora steamed to the northward; but, owing to the 
 adverse winds and the accumulated ice, could make no 
 way, and was forced back to Cape Isabella. Another 
 attempt was made to the eastward, and for several days 
 the gallant little ship crossed and recrossed the straits, 
 through the pack, always beset with ice, and frequently 
 enshrouded in impenetrable fogs. No fewer than three 
 times was she compelled to take shelter in Pandora 
 Harbour. On the 19 th she was driven back to the 
 northward of Littleton Island, and Captain Young and 
 some of his officers took the opportunity of visiting the 
 Polaris camp. Nothing remained of the house erected 
 by Captain Buddington except a few broken boards. 
 
666 
 
 TWELVE HOURS EXPERIENCE. 
 
 The rocks were strewn with pieces of metal, fragments 
 of clothing, and other waifs and strays. The cache in 
 which the retreating party had deposited their books 
 and instruments was also examined ; but the only relics 
 were a brass bowl of a seven-inch compass, a tin tube, 
 and parts of a telescope. Some cases and casks, con- 
 taining records for the use of Captain Nares, were 
 securely placed among the rocks on the western point 
 of the island; and Captain Young then returned to 
 Cape Isabella. 
 
 Finding nothing here of any interest, and convinced 
 that no travelling or boat party had reached that posi- 
 tion from the Polar ships, the Pandora bore away to 
 the northward under canvas. " It was very dark and 
 thick," says Captain Young, " but sufficiently clear to 
 enable us to avoid the heavy ice. By nine A.M. we were 
 up to Lecomte Island, when we were stopped by a fog 
 until eleven o'clock, when I could see from aloft that the 
 main pack extended across the straits into Rosse Bay. 
 We were in a lake of land water, with close-packed and 
 heavy ice all round, from south to north, and again 
 closing on the land from the eastward. Our only chance 
 of moving seemed to be through a nan'ow lead or slack 
 place, running first to the east-north-east, and then again 
 apparently towards the east coast. We entered the 
 pack, and succeeded* by five p.m. in again escaping into 
 the land water in Hartstene Bay." Such are the experi- 
 ences of twelve hours in the ice-clogged waters of the 
 North ! But we need not delay the reader with these 
 minute particulars, notwithstanding their interest as 
 illustrative of the nature of the struggle waged with so 
 
I \ 
 
 AN ESKIMO FAMILY. 
 
 657 
 
 ise 
 as 
 so 
 
 1 
 
 \ 
 
 much persistency of purpose by the Arctic explorer. 
 The sea was now covered everywhere with ice and 
 bergs. Storms were of frequent occurrence; and the 
 wind and wave beaten Pandora was forced back into 
 Baffin Bay. 
 
 Here, on the 28th of August, her captain could see that 
 the solid ice had filled the straits and the head of the bay 
 right across to Cape Alexander. The way north being 
 thus obstructed. Captain Young resolved on proceeding 
 towards Upernavik, in North Greenland, hoping to find 
 that the last ship had not already sailed for Denmark, 
 and in that case to send an officer home with despatches, 
 while the Pandora returned to Smith Strait. 
 
 On the 29th slie was off Hakluyt Island, and steered 
 for Bardin Bay in Whale Sound. On entering the bay, 
 a summer tent could be seen, and some Eskimos, with 
 their dogs, running to and fro, evidently with the view 
 of attracting the attention of the visitors. Captain 
 Young accordingly landed, with some of his officers, and 
 accompanied by Christian, his Eskimo interpreter. The 
 natives met them with the utmost confidence and fear- 
 lessness, assisting to haul their boat up on the shore. 
 They were ten in number, and all members of one 
 family. Food appeared to be plentiful with them, but 
 they were profuse in their thanks for some walrus-flesh 
 given by Captain Young. Their manners were frank 
 and communicative, and they showed considerable viva- 
 city, rejoicing over the results of a very good hunting 
 season. Neither European ships nor white men had 
 they seen for years ; but they said that an old man, who, 
 with his ftimily, inhabited Northumberland Island, told 
 
 (544) 42 
 
6BI 
 
 ESKIMO TREASURES. 
 
 of two ships which had passed to the northward "last 
 summer." How lonely must be the life led by these 
 poor savages ! Never gladdened by the sight of a sail ; 
 but, year after year, shut up in their frozen solitudes, 
 and without any other object or purpose before them 
 than to obtain just enough food to avoid a premature 
 and miserable death ! 
 
 Among their treasures Captain Young observed a 
 ship's bucket, half the top of a mahogany table, the 
 paddle of a Greenlander's kayack, much ice-worn, and 
 a piece of packing-case marked " Lime juice — Leith;" all 
 of which, they said, had drifted into the bay at different 
 times from the southward. These people seemed to 
 Captain Young of a kind and simple disposition, while 
 they were evidently robust and healthy. All that they 
 had — and it was little enough — they freely pressed 
 upon their visitor ; and when asked what present they 
 would like, their chief selected only some gimlets and a 
 fifteen-foot ash oar. The latter, he said, would split up 
 into spear-shafts ; the former he wanted for boring bone 
 and ivor}^ Captain Young, however, gave them several 
 other useful articles ; accepting in return some narwhal 
 horns, specimens of their pot-stone cooking-kettles, and 
 of the iron pyrites which they used for striking fire. 
 An exchange of dogs also took place ; five of the dogs 
 belonging to the Pandora being given for three of the 
 finest bear-hunting and tame dogs of the Eskimos. 
 
 At Upernavik the Pandora, after a stonny and dan- 
 gerous passage, arrived on the evening of September 
 the 7th, but found that the last ship had sailed for 
 Europe. As there were no means, therefore, of com- 
 
' 
 
 llETUKN TO ENGLAND. ggg 
 
 municating with England, and ,13, without such com- 
 munication, Captain Young did not feel authorized to 
 winter in the North, a supply of fresh water was taken 
 on board, and the ship steered for home. From the 
 15th to the 21st she tarried at Godhav'n, in Disco 
 Island. In Davis Strait she encountered large quan- 
 tities of heavy Spitzbergen drift-ice, and weathered a 
 severe south-easterly gale. On the IGth of October in 
 lat. 54° 38' N., and long. 44° 30' W., she sighted the v rcfcic 
 ships, Alert and Discovery, and hastened to communi- 
 cate with them. They kept together unti^ the i9th. 
 On the following day, the Pandora wa.^ buffete 1 by 
 another hunioane; but the rest of her vovnce was 
 acco>-.plished in safety, and was marked by no^incidents 
 of importance. 
 
 Here, for the present, terminates the record of British 
 enterprise and adventure in the Arctic World. It is 
 difficult to believe, however, that the nation will rest 
 until the "heart of the mystery has been plucked out," 
 the Secret finally mastered, and the British flag hoisted 
 on that remote point whicli is conventionally known as 
 the North Pole. 
 
FROM 1848 TO 1873. 
 
 1845. Departure of the expedition under Sir John Franklin and Cap- 
 tain Crozier. The two ships, Erebus and Terror, last seen by Captain 
 Dannet, of the whaling-ship Prince of Wales, in Baffin Bay, July 26. 
 
 1846. Dr. John Kae is despatched by Hudson Bay Company, to dis- 
 cover whether Boothia be an island or a peninsula. 
 
 1848-50. Searching-voyage for Sir John Franklin, to Behring Strait, 
 by the Plover, Com. Moore; and the Herald, Captain Kellet. 
 
 1848. Sir James C. Ross's searching-expedition for Franklin is unsuc- 
 cessful. 
 
 1849. The North Star despatched with supplies. 
 
 1850. Eight vessels sent out by the British Government to continue the 
 search for Franklin. 
 
 1850. The Advance, Lieutenant De Haven, and the Rescue, Lieutenant 
 Griffith, sent out on the same arrand, at the cost of Mr. Henry Grinnell 
 of New York. The Advance arrives at iJeechy Island in August, and ten 
 other searching-vessels in the course of the month. 
 
 1850. Franklin searching-expedition, via Behring Strait, conducted by 
 Captain M'Clure in the Investigator, and Captain Collinson in the Enter- 
 prise. M'Clure discovers the North- West Passage. 
 
 1850. The Lady Franklin, Captain Penny, is sent out by Lady Frank- 
 lin, the wife of Sir John. Also the Pnnce Albert, Captain Forsyth (and 
 Mr. W. P. Snow). 
 
 1850. The first traces of the missing expedition discovered at Cape 
 Riley by Captain Ommany, August 23 ; and graves of sailors, on Beechy 
 Island, by Sherard Osborn, August 25. 
 
 1851. First Arctic exploring- voyage by Mr. Leigh Smith, who sails to 
 the north-east, and reaches lat. 81° 13'. 
 
1 I 
 
 POLAR VOYAGES. 
 
 661 
 
 1851. Searching-voyage of the Prince Albert, Captain Kennedy. 
 
 1851. Sea to the north of Wellington Channel discovered by Captain 
 Penny. 
 
 1862. Searching-expedition of five ships, under Sir Edward Belcher, 
 sets sail. One of these, the Resolute, is abandoned in 1853, and afterwards 
 drifts about one thousand miles to Cape Mercy. Several other ships 
 abandoned in 1854-55, under fiircumstances which led to the removal of 
 Sir E. Belcher's name from the British Navy List. 
 
 1852. Captain Inglefield sails in the Phoenix. 
 
 1853. Dr. Kane's expedition in the Advance, fitted out by Messrs. 
 Grinnell of New York and Peabody of London. 
 
 1853. Final solution of the North-West Passage problem. Captain 
 M'Clure, entering from Behring Strait, meets Lieutenant Pim, who had 
 entered from Baffin Bay, at Dealy Island, April 19. 
 
 1853. Captain CoUinson sails right through the Arctic seas, and, taking 
 a south-east course, discovers numerous relics of Franklin's party. 
 
 1853-54. Dr. Kane's expedition ; discovers Humboldt Glacier, and sur- 
 veys coast of Greenland and Washington Land; supposed discovery oi 
 open Polar Sea. 
 
 1855. Lieutenant Hartstene searches for Kane and his party, with 
 whom he meets at TJpernavik. 
 
 1855. Arctic sledge-journeys of Sir K. M'Clintock and Lieutenant 
 Meacham, exceeding 1500 miles each. 
 
 1855. The Resolute, formerly of Sir E. Belcher's expedition, having 
 drifted to Cape Mercy, is taken possession of by Captain Buddington, of 
 the whaler 0( rge Henry, and carried to the United States. It is there 
 refitted, anr" presented to the Queen in the name of the American people. 
 
 1857-59. Voyage of the Fox, Captain M'Clintock, in search of Sir John 
 Franldin. Discovers numerous relics. 
 
 1858. Mr. James Lamont, in his steam-yaqht, explores the north-east 
 waters. 
 
 1830-61. Expedition of Dr. Hayes to west coast of Smith Sound, where 
 he plants the American flag on the northernmost point of land attained in 
 that direction. 
 
 1861. Voyage of Captain W. P. Snow to King William Land. 
 
 1861. Swedish expedition, under Professor Torell, to north of Spitz- 
 bergen. 
 
 1860-62. Captain Charles Francis Hall explores Frobisher Strait (which 
 he discovers to be a oay), and dwells much among the Eskimos. 
 
 1863. Captain Carlsen completed the circumnavigation of Spitzbergen. 
 
 1864-69. Second voyage of Hall to northern shores of Hudson Bay; 
 makes interesting discoveries; is absent five ""-ars. 
 
663 
 
 POLAR VOYAGES. 
 
 
 1887. Mr. Edward Whymper's visit to Greenland, and journeys into 
 the interior. 
 
 1867. Northern voyages of Captains Long, Rayner, and Lewis, ending 
 in the discovery of land in lat. 70° 40', extending qver eight degrees of 
 longitude, from 178° 15' W. 
 
 1867. Lord Dufferin sails to Spitzbergen and Jan Mayen in his yacht 
 Foam. 
 
 1868. Swedish expedition under Professor Nordenskiold : makes dis- 
 coveries in the north-east. 
 
 1868. Private Kussian and German scientific discursions sent out by 
 Sedijcoff and Rosenthal respectively. 
 
 1868. Voyage of the Nautilus, Captain Blowen, who penetrates beyond 
 Spitzbergen to 72° N. 
 
 1869. German expedition ill the Albert, under Dr. Emil Bessel ; no results. 
 1869. Seven Arctic exploring-expeditions are fitted out from various 
 
 parts of Europe. 
 
 1869. German expedition, consisting of the Ger mania, Captain Kolde- 
 wey, and the Hansa, Captain Hegemann, sails for North Pole. The two 
 vessels accidentally separate. The Hansa, on 23rd of October, is lost oflf 
 east coast of Greenland, in lat. 70° 60' N., and her captain and crew drift 
 southward on an ice-floe for one hundred and ninety-three days ; after which 
 they make their way to the shore in boats, and, keeping along the coast, 
 reach the Moravian mission-stations of South Greenland. Thence they 
 obtained a passage to Bremen. The Germania proceeded north, but was 
 beset in the ice, and returned home in the following summer. 
 
 1872-73. Captain C. F. Hall sets sail in the Polaris, a vessel fitted out 
 by the American Government, June 14; and on the 30th of August 
 reaches the highest northern latitude ever attained by any vessel — 82° 16'. 
 In November he is taken ill and dies. Part of the crew, in a storm, get 
 adrift on an ice-floe, and losing sight of the Polaris, are carried in a south- 
 westerly direction, from 15th October 1872, until the 30th of April 1873, 
 when they are picked up by the Tigress. Captain Buddington and 
 the rest of the crew beach the Polaris at Lifeboat Cove, near Littleton 
 Island, and winter on the mainland. In the spring they build two boats ; 
 in which, on June 23, 1^73, they are picked up by the Dimdee whaler 
 Bavenscraig. 
 
 1872. Voyage of Captain AUmanr, who re-discovers Wiche's Land, 
 first seen by the English in 1617. 
 
 1872. Voyages of Captain Johnsen and Captain Nilsen, who both ex- 
 plore the waters around Wiche's Land, which is really a group of islands. 
 
 1871. Captain Carlsen circumnavigates Novaia Zemlaia, and discovers 
 the relics of the Dutch navigator, Barentz. 
 
POLAR VOYAGES. 
 
 663 
 
 ;on 
 
 Ds ; 
 ler 
 
 id, 
 
 1871. Captain Mack sailed into the sea of Kara, and examined the 
 Novaia Zemlaia cdast for 500 miles. Early in September he reached a 
 point in lat. 75° 25' N., and long. 82° 30* ; no ice was in sight. 
 
 1871. Two Kussian expeditions despatched to explore the northern coast 
 of Asia. 
 
 1869-71. Mr. Lamont made three voyages to the North— in 1869, 1870, 
 and 1871. 
 
 1872-73. Swedish expedition under Professor Nordenskiold, of three 
 ships, the Folhem and two others. Compelled to winter in Spitzbergeii, 
 and returned in August 1873. 
 
 1872. Lieutenants Payer and Weyprecht sail in a small private ship, 
 .and reach Konig Karl Land ; they find an open sea in lat. 78°. 
 
 1872. Captain Jansen, in a vessel of only twenty-six tons, visits the 
 so-called Wiche's Land ; climbs a lofty hill, from which he saw open 
 water to the east and north-east; anchored in lat. 79° 8' N. 
 
 1873. Overland expedition, under M. Tschekanowski, to survey the 
 coast of Arctic Siberia. 
 
 1873. Mr. Leigh Smith's expedition in the Diana; discovers that North 
 Cape is an island, and not, as previously supposed, a peninsular promon- 
 tory. 
 
 1875. British Arctic expedition, under Captains Nares and Stephenson, 
 in the Alert and Discover}/; sails for Smith Sound, to proceed from thence 
 towards the North Pole. 
 
 1875. Swedish expedition, under Professor Nordenskiold, for explora- 
 tion of the coast of Arctic Siberia. 
 
 1875. Private expedition, iitted out by Lady Franklin, to follow the 
 route of the Alert and Discovery. 
 
 1876. Return of Captains Nares and Stephenson ; having ascertained 
 that the Smith Sound route is impracticable, 
 
 1876. Voyage of the Pandora, Captain Allen Young, to communicate 
 with the Arctic ships, Alert and Discovery, 
 
 ex- 
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