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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 I VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY TOWAKUS THE NOIITH POLE, PKKFOiaiED IX HIS MAJKSTV's S.ill'S DOROTHEA AAD TIIEXT, fMiKU TllK COMMAND OK CAl>TAr\ DAVID JJUCIIAN, M.S.- 1818; TO WllUi, IS AI.I.Kl., A SIMMAUV OK A,.,. TMK KA.U.V ATTKMPTS TO ItKACH TUK I'ACIFK- UV WAV OK TilK POLK. BY (JAPTAIN F.W. BKI northward — DitFicuIty of proceeding- Heset in the ice. — Regain tl>e open sea, after liaving hcen three weeks heset.— A storm compels the expedition to take refuge in the ice.— Perilous situation of the vessels. —Their fortunate deliverance — The shattered condition of the ships obliges them to go into port . . lot 1 CHAPTER IV. Extent of damage ascertained — Captain Buchan's de- termination thereupon. — Dcscrioticn of the anchorage, and of the adjoining coast.— Geological feature. — Line of perpetual snow.— Glaciers, their formation, &c.— Dan- ger of approaching them 12y CHAPTER V. Early attempts to settle Spitzbcrgen Fishing-ground contested.— A party winter in Bell Sound.— Their suffer- ings — Attempt to colonize Jan Mayen.— Sufferings and death of the party. — A similar attempt made at Spitz- bergen. — Death of the party.— Ships repaired. — Put to sea — Trace the barrier of ice toward Greenland.— Return to England.— Sir Edward Parry's attempt to reach the Pole over the ice.— Concluding remarks . . 159 CONTENTS. Vil PAirr ir. i CHAPTER I. I'AfiR i Events which led to the prosecution of Arctic discovery. — Extent of geographical knowledge in the 15th century. —Oriental commerce.— Monopoly.— Columhus. — Jealousy of the Portuguese leads to the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope, and a navigable route to Cathay. — Eng- land, desirous of j)articipating in Oriental connnerce, at- tempts a passage through the Arctic seas. — First Polar voyage 215 CHAPTER H. The States General of Holland offer a reward for the discovery of a northern passage to China. — Two vessels are equipped by the merchants William Barentz and Cornelison Ryp appointed to command them. — Make Cherie Island. — Discover Spitzhergen. — Mildness of its climate. — Barentz and Ryp differ in opinion. — Separate. — Barentz reaches Nova Zembla. — Annoyed by bears. — Pass the northeast point of the Island. — Cheering prospect. — Disappointment. — Dangerous situation. — En- deavours to return.— Prevented and compelled to winter. — Builds a house.- Death of the carpenter.— Bears he- come voracioub, and endanger the party Intense cold. — VIII CONTENTS. Num.nnjrs of tlu- party—CluTrfulnoss ..ndor their .nisfor. »mu.s.-. Twelfth , '"^'A ■ '^ I //.111. -^ \ v//:f;i' \. '•"''>, '"' .V / .r ■\ ^^-^5v^/'\vr ."^r X^. '* J ■ if! I I I i,....-:' v., — w *5^ ;:nii '"-'"'.v. '^vrc:^;.^;>■^.,•/A;,.>, () 3' E 10 jj' ;i I 1 .ii i.r .^ii iri, , i iV-*; 1 1 J I 9 / -^"^' . » . U ^> ^- \ V^'.- V ' y'- ■ ' ". \ Xi.i V A A < \ VS 17 ,.'"U'f,,,. .VTln, ,, . '>. L i'- -^rv^ V U^¥{Tsh, nnu, ill, I'HHAH ' \\ '''■''^\ ~r%Af »" ■"■v.-.. •"•i- OF theEXPEDITIONunoertve LIlU.l vlu- PCS I TION-fTii,. cf -vhI,- V '?io.»-*-'\ "^-^ FAT KFi I) IVV. ill .luiH' ami Si'pt ciiiixM-. 181K . Vi/i li-.lmii ■•'••fiT. .'iO, I'.r . ;ur», .; ijt'M li' V j>li.!v\hiiriiii^' '.'/ii . ■' iM'V r A VOYAGE Ti- THE NOHTH POLE. INTRODUCTION. In sii1)iiiittijig to the jjublie tho V^oyao-o of Captain IJiichaii towards the North Polo, T am awaro that imioh of the interest which attaehe|»r(»l)!itioM ot' the (Mnulnct of the otlircrs jukI seaiiicii I li.'id tlic lioiioiir to comniiUMl."* TIk; Uiirrativc, liowovrr, altlioiigli tlms Car sipprovpd by Captain Biiclian, is lakcii t'roin my own private journal ; and I licdd niysLdl" rcspoii- silue lor whatovcr faults may l>o found in the course of its jtao-es. IJefore I had finished tliis narrative, it was sup^nfosted to m(> that it wouhl receive acMitional interest if a sketcli of tlie several vova^es whicli had ah-(>ady been jterformed in tlir sfuiic d'nrctioii were ap])en(led. in onior that the i)nl)lic nd^-lit 1)0 made ac(|uainted with the orii»in and pro- .crress of Northern Discovery witiiout having- to wade throu«ili j)on(h'rons folio voImdu's. or make a selection from the " X'oyages of a Viiixed cha- racter." To such as have not perused these voyao-es, 1 trust they will l)e of us(. in assistino- their Judo-ment as to the merits of the one now |»laced before tliem ; and those |)ersons who reco^niiso them as old friends will find them accom|)anied by remarks which modern surveys have sug- gested, and by corrections of some mistakes whicli aj.|)ear to luive been made in modern compilations. J5ut it nnist be borne in nn'nd, that it is not intended to o-ivo more than a l)rief Captain liudiau's Icttrr, dated Aiifriist 1, 1831. J< f illKl I.NTUOIU'CTIUN. a ((111 line of tlii'sc Miyaiics, wliicii liavr hi'iMi di'- liiilt'il l»y Hiic ol' our !il)l«'st aiitlioi<; in the " Clironolo^ical lli>t ; V<»ii :iiv luMvljy ••(•«|iiin'(l :iii<| .liivctcd l.» |»ructM<| to sc.i, with all (•(•iivcniciit (U'S|»atcli, in tliitzl»erL,^eii and Greenland, witii- oiii st(»|i|)in<'- on either of their coasts. In this j>assa;it! yon may ex|KM't to meet with fre<|nent .d)stnict ion from lields and islands of ice, to ovt, char of which, and to ensnro tho sali'ty of the sliij.s and jieojdo committed to yoin- charn-e, will rcpiiro from you and all who are under yonr orders the nreatest |)recantion Jiiid vioilance. And, as the navi^'atiou amonloyo(I, not (loubting- that ovory oxortion will 1.0 mado on yoiir part and on that of your officors; mIiIIo, at tlio sanio tinio, no ])rocaution Mill 1)0 oniittod that imidonco may dictate to avoid accidents on an enterprise of so arduous a nature as that of conductinn- shiii.s in safotv throuuii fields of ice in uid stream of a river Mill continue open lonu' after the sides aro fn.zen u]i. From the best information we have boon able l<> ol)taiii, it would apj.ear that the sea to the northward of Sj.itzbernvn, as far as S3\ , or .S-V, has b(>eii found nvnerally free fnmi ice, and not shut up by lan.l. Should these accounts, HI wliicji Noveral uiasters of \vhalinn still Jnore to the northward, and in tliis event you will steer due north, and use your best endea- vours to reach the North Pole. In making this attemi)t you will be most particularly attentive to ascertain the rate of your chronometers, as, should you reach the i'ole, your future course nmst mainly depend upon tlie accuracy with Avhicli vou mav be able to cany with you the time at (ireenwich. If you should he so fortunate as to reach the \\)\i\ and the weather should ])rove favourable, you are to nanain in its vlciinty for a few more accurately makino- the observations which it is to be expected your interestina- and unexampled situation may furnisl' you with. Amonn' many objects of science or curiositv \\liic!i are likely to j)resent themselves at or near this point of the earth's surface, you will more particularly direct your attention to the Nariaiion and inclination of the maiiiietic needle, and the inter.sity of the mao'uetic force, and •i<'\\ f;"- it is artected by the atmospherical ch'ctricity : for which latt(>r purjiose you will be liiiiiislied witli an electrical api)aratus ]»eculiarlv consti-ucted (ur ihis object. i 1 10 INSTRUCTIONS. Vou will also fiuloavoiir to ascertain the set and velocity of any cnn-onts which you may observo, and if i»ossil)lc the depth of the sea and the nature of the bottom, and you are to take up several bottles of sea water from the surface, and from ditferent depths, which you will carefully cork uj) and label. On leavin^ir the Pole you will endeavour to shape a course direct for Behriuland. Should you find it im])ossil)lo to aj)])roach the Pole, but that you shouhl be able to ])ro- eeed in a direction afrordin<>: any |)ros])ect of reachinn: Bdirings Strait, yon are to adopt it, recollecting that. alth<.n,uh it is hiuj,ly desirable, with a view to the interests of science, and the extension of natural knowledoe, that yon shonld reach the iN)li., y,>t tliat the passn,-e between tlie Atlantic and Pai-ific is the main object (.f v.nir mission; and uith this view, if y,,,, shonhl * t!.: •^ INSTRUCTIONS. II find the course vest of Spitzljorfjen obstructed to such a degree, as, after reasonable trial, to afford no chance of a passage, you arc to re- turn, and endeavour, if too mncli of the season shall not have elapsed, to mako your way to the soutliward and westward of Spitzbergen. In this case, too, you will endeavour, in the first i)]ace, to pass due north over or near th„ Pole, and only when that attemj^t shall be hope- less. tak(^ such a lateral course as circumstances may open to you. You will take all possible ])recaution a"-ninst being obliged to winter in those seas, particu- larly in those north of Sj)itzl)ergen, concerning which we are in a state of entire ignorance. Should yon, either by ]iassing over or near the Pole, or by any lateral direction, make your way to Behrings Strait, you arc to endeavour to pass into tiie Pacific Ocean ; and, in the event of your succeeding to pass this strait, you arc then to make the best of your way to Kams- cliatka, if you think you can do so without risk of being shut up by the ice on that coast, for the purpose of delivering to the Russian y maybe for- warded ..verlaud to St. Petersburgh t<. be con- I f !, 1 U I k 1^ V2 IXSTRICTIONS. voyed to liOiidoii ; .iik, from tliencc you will ]»roceed to the Saiuhvifh Islands, or Xcnv Albion, or such otiier place iu the I'acific Ocean as you may think i.roj.er, to refit and refresh your crews; and, if j.ni(l('ii(.c of jiijikiiio^ snrli an attcM]!]-;. If yonr orinjnjil pn^sngo sliould be nmdi^ witli i-icility, and you .sec reason to be- lieve that your siuress was not o\vin,<>- to cir- ciinistanees nunvly aceidental or temporary, an.l tliat there is a j.rohahility that y(;u may ho able, also, to a('('oni|»Iisli the passao-e baek. it \vonl crews, y.,u, in ihis case, are to abaiulon all thouohts of returnino- by tli(> northern i)assao-o, an- your j)rooooers on l)oard the Trent, in order to ensure as far as possible the arrival of these important docu- ments in Enrrljind by thus multiplying the modes of conveyance. If, however, either on the passage out, or on the return, it should so liapi)en that, from obstruction of ice, or any other circumstance, your progress should l)e so sIom- as to oblio-e you to winter i)i those parts, you are in that case to api)roacli the most convenient land, and endeavour to find out some secure bay in M-hich the shij)s may be laid u]) for the win- ter; taking such measures for tlie health and comfort of the people committed to your charo-c as the materials with which you are supi)lie«l for h(msing-in the ships, or hutting the men on shore, may enable you to do. And, if you iM INSTRl^rTIONS. If) sliull fiiu] it oxp(Mli«Mit to roRort to tliis moa- siiro, and yoii should moot witli any iiilial)i- taiit^, oitlior Ks(|uiinaux or Indians, near tlio place where you winter, you are to endeavour, hy every m(>ans in your power, to cultivate a fVi(>ruWiip wirli them, by niakino- them presents of sucli articles as you may be supjdied witji. and which may be useful or aoreeable to them ; yon will, however, take care not to suffer your- self to be surprised by them, but use ev(>ry precaution, and l)e constantly on your guard against any hostility. You Mill endeavour to prevail on them by such reward, and to be paid in such manner, as you may think best to ansM-er the purpose, to carry to any of the settlements of the JFud- son's ]5ay Company, or of the North.^Vest Company, (should you winter near the coast of America.) or lo any of the Hussian settlements of Siberia, (should you winter on the coast of Asia,) an account of your situation and j)ro- ceedings, with an nro-ent request, that it may be forwarded to Eiioland with the utmost i)oJ- sible des))atch. Jiut you are to recollect, in your first at- tempt to proceed to the northward, that you are to take care not, on any account, uidess accidentally cauoht in the ice, to remain to l-i 1(1 INSTUl'WMONS. ) fM I ^: I I;: winter on iiny jtart of the ooast (►f (Jroonlaiid, Spitzbi'roen, N'ova Z('nil)la, or the adjacent coasts, but to leave the ice iilxuit tlie iiiichlle, or 20th of Sei»teni)jer, or tlie tst of October at the hitest, and make the best of your way to tlie river Thames. Althouirh the first and most imi)ortant object of this voyage, is the discovery of a j)assa J'oI(., slionid you bo so forhinato as to ivac-li that lu.int, and Avliich yon arc also t(» attend to on everv part of your vo3'a,o-e. you are likewise^ to koej) a correct re.^ister of the teni|)eratnre of the air, in various situations, and at dirterent depths; you will cause thi- dij» of tiie horizon to be frequentlv observ(«d by the dip sector, invented by Doctor VV'ollaston, and ascertain what effect niav be produced by measuring- that dij) across fields of ic(\ as <'oinpared with its nieasurenient across the surface of the open si«a ; you Avill also cause fre(pi(>iii observations to be made for ascertainino- the refraction, and Mhat effect may be produced l)y observing- an objc^ct, either celestial or terrestrial, over a field of ice, as comjiared with objects obsi-rved over a surface of water; together with such other meteorolo- gical remarks as y i may have ojiportunities of making. \'ou are to attend particularly to the height, direction, and strength of the tides, and to the set and velocity of the currents; the deitths niid scumdings of the sea, and the na- ture of the bottom; for which puri)ose you are c :!n* Is iNsriu crioNs. -.iipiilicd with :iii iiistnmiciit In'ttci' cMlruliitrd to hrinu' ii|' ^iil>staii('fs than the h'iul usually rm|)h>}('-liall liave passed tin" latitnde of 7;)" north, and once every day, when you shall l»e in an ascei'tained enrreiit. throw ctvi-rhoard a bottle, closely sealed, and containiiiy' ii |>aper stjitinu' the date ami positioji at which it is launched; and \«»ii will .si'ivc? similar orders to the connuauder of the Trent, to he executed in case of separation ; and, for this pur]tose. we have caused ea(di ship to Im> supplied with |>a|>ers on which is |irinted. in several lan,u'ua,2''.'s, a re(piest that whoever niav Hnd it should take Jiieasures for ti'ansniittinu' it to this otiice. iVnd, althouuii you ar(> n(»t to he drawn aside fnuu the main Mlijecl A' the service on which vou are (~mplo\id, so hum as y(ui may he en- ahled In mtike anv i)rouress. yet, whenever \(mi may he inijiede(| hy ice. nr tjnd il necos>;iry t(» a]»jtroach the coasts (d" the continent, (»r islands, y(ui aro to c;iuse views of havs. haili(»iirs. head- lands, cVc.. It» i»e carefnll} taken, to illustrate and ex]>lain the tra as you i)i;iy Ix' mMc to inaIo('ini('ns of tlio animal, mineral, and ve<>-etable kino-doms as you can conveniently stow on Ijoard the ships; and of the larger animals you are to cause accurate drawing's to be made, to accompany and elucidate the dc^scriptions of them. In this, as well as in every other part of your scientific duty, wo trust that you Mill receiv(> material assistance from Mr. Fisher. Von are to use your best endeavours, and give instructions to the same ett'ect to Lieutenant Franklin, to keep the two vessels constantly together, and pn^-ent their separation: if, how- ever, they should sej^arato you are to appoint Lerwick, in the Shetland Islands, as the first rendezvous ; and, after that, Ma,^(lalena 15av, iji S|)itzbern-<>n, beyond which, as nothing- is known, n(» other rendezvous can be ai)pointcd ; and, in the event of any irr(^parable accident happening to either ol' the shij»s, you are to cause the officers aiul ci'ew of the disabled ship to be removed into the other, and with her singly to proceed c 2 'f> I ;% 20 INSTRLCTIUNS. I 4 .'I in proseoiition of (lie v(»y:io-(», or return to Kny-- lund according' as circunistantH's ^liall apju'ar to rf(jniro. Should, untortunatcly, your own ship bo the; one disabh-d, you art-, in that case, to take the eoniniand of the Trent ; and, in tlie event of vour own inabiiitv, bv siekness or other- • • • wise, to carry these instructions into «'.\ecution, v«»u are to transfer tliein to tlie Lieutenant next in conimanik wlio is hi'.-eby reciuired to execute them in the Ix'st manner he can for the attain- ment of the several (d>je('ts in view. As in all undertakings of this nature several emerst advantaii'eous to the service i>n which vou are enijtloyed, most likely to advance the accomplish- ment of the various objects of the exj)edition, and most conducive^ to the si'curity of the ships, and th(> liealtl", comfort, ami safety, of your oftlccrs and men. On your arrival in England, you are innne- diately to ro|)air to this oflice, in order to lay before us a full account <>i' vour proceediuii's in the whole course of your voyage ; taking care, before you leave the ship, to demand from the officers, and petty otiicers, the logs and journals 1 INSTRUCTIONS. 21 tlicy J!iny luive k.'pt : and also from My. Tislior Mich j.Minials, (,r iiK'in.»rau(la, as he niav have krpt, which aiv all t.. he sealed n|,; and y„n will issue similar directions to Lienteiiaiit Frank- lin and his ollicers; the said lo;;-s, journals, or other documents, (., hv thereafter disposed of" as \vc may think j. roper to dcternn'ne. His Majesty's principal Sirretary of State for Forcioi, AlK-iirs has been recpiestrd to a|)ply to the Courts of Russia, Denmark, and Sweden, to issuo onlers to their respective subjects to aflbrd any hospitality or assistaiu-e which these expe- ditions may he in a situation to re(|uire and receive; th(> Court of Russia has hecMi particu- larly requested !<» nive directions to the autho- rities at K'aiutschatka, for the safe conveyance of any despatches you may entrust to then), and the Com-ts (d" Denmark and Sweden have been re(juested to order any of tlieir slnps, whether national or |)rivate, which you may fall in witl , to treat you with amity, and to note carefully in their lo-s the situations in which they may see anv INSTRl'CTTONS. tan, for our infbrmatio'i, a ucucral acroiint of your proceedings up to tlie dale at wliicli tlie opjiortuuity cf eoiiveyiug your des|)atcli may oci'ur. Ciiven under our hand, tliis 31st INJareli, 1818, Signed Melville. .r. S. YoT?KE. («E0. Hope. O. INIOORE. To David Buchaii, Ksq.. ComnianiUM- of II, M. Sloop Dorothea. I'M By command of tlieir Jordships, J. W. Crokeu. ^ 2l^ ("iiAi»'ri':i{ I. Ex|H'(lili(jii (Ictcrmiupd iiiion. — Its objects;. — Instnu'tioiis. — luiiiijiiiiciit. — I)('i)iutiiri' Visit SIuuI.iikI. — A lonk dis- onvercd. — C'lieric jsiaml. — I'ackt'd Uv. — lS[)itzbfrgoii. — M;iiidal('ii;i IJav. — (rUu'icrs TiiK iiiisiK'C'cssful tcnniiiatioii of tlio oxpcditioii wliicli had been sent out in 171)3, iiiidor the lion. Captain IMii|»|t8, and tlio decided opiiiiftn o'ivtMi l)y that oHicer of the iinpracticabilitv of tlie nndertakinu", set at rest for a time tlie (pies- tion (»f a north-west passaue, and tiii' neneral uar in Mlnch l^^nuland soon aftiT heeatne in- s«d\ed opcnecl a new Htdd for exertion. The spirit of discovery, liowever. only shinihered whilst the i-ncryii's of the country were neces- sarily (U'voted to more im]>ortant ohjects : for no sooiK^r liad the allie<| powers secured to l^uropi^ a u'eneral [ie-ice. tlian northern (Uscoverv was resiiineil. and prosecuted with an ardour vvortliy of a yreat maritime nation. A I this period, when the whoK' Avorld Aras at peace, it was thought that the (piestion of a noil h-u est passage to th(> I'aciiic, which had f i , 1-; 24 KXrr.DITlON ciin-agod tlio attontioii of almost all the northern powers of Kurope : in uliicU nmeli inonev had l)een ventured ; many livi's and vessels lost, and on wliicli the puhlie curiosity had been so jnueh awaken(>d, that this ini|)()rtant and interesting- (piestion ouui^t now, for once and for ever, to he set at rest. l'[>on a review of all that had heen hitherto acconiplisjied. or attempted, it was evident to almost all the world that the -jivat (d)stacle to a navinal)le passage was tlu' (juantity of ice with \vlii(di the northern seas were encnnd)er >d ; for no land had been hitluM'to discovered between Nova Zend)la and Spitzbero'en, or bi'tween the last-mentioned p.lace and Greenland. l5oth Hud- son's and iJattin's Bavs had several openino-s which, if free from ice, uiioht I(>ad to the west- M-ard : an •'ompactness of this iee, was, of conrs(>, a pro[.er ground for expectation to rest upon; and. uith- out in any way undervaluing the ellbrts of those worthy men wh()s(> voyages will ]>v found re- corded toward the end of this Aoluine. it was not unreasoiial.lo to sn|ipose ihat many (d.s(a(des, insuruHMnitalde to them in vesMds s.. ill-eon- ■1. ; DETEinriNEI) UPON. 25 (litioiied. Mild with crews so iiiadcqiiate to the uiideitakiiio-, miulit |,o overcome by powerful slij|)s j.roperl; iiiaiuied and eiinipped. And, as there wns also an opinion that this body of ice was merely a ludt, Avliicli, if it eouhl ])e broken tiirouoh. (h(! sea ])eyond wonhl be found clear ai!ive the benefit of that advancement of science- and art which had been bestowed upon "tlier experimrnts, and it was evident that it re.piired only some little impetus to set the •nachine in motion tor this attempt to become a r kiiow- ledge. uivatci' rx(Mli()iis, or more constant |hm-- fxcverance, snccccMlcd in l)i-in,i>'inu' a ])rojo('t tn l)ear whirh, in less vio-on»ns oi- pertinacious hands, wnnhl hav(^ bccMi sutlorcd to die away, this favourable chan^'c uas tunuMl to so u'ood an account by an inlbicntial mcnibcr of the oovernnient, and whose name is insei)aral)lc from northern discovery, tliat, in thi' t'oUoAving- vear, J lis Majesty (Jeoriie the h'ourth, then I'rince Kejient. \v:is pleased to command iliat ;t tempts should 1)0 made to reach the Pacific, both bv the western route through Jiafliifs i5ay, and bv a northern course acn»ss the IVde. Four vessels were accordin tons' l)urtheii ; ami Lieiitonant .lolm I'^raiikliii, wliosc name lias since attained so liioji a rank in tiie annals of Northern J)is- rovery, was placetl nnder liis orders in com- mand of tlie Trent, a Itrii;' of 250 tons. Botli these vessids were hired into the service for the occasion, and were taken into a dock at Shad- well, where thev were literallv I'endered as strong as wood and iron conld make them, con- sistently with the necessity of rr^'^orving' siifti- cient room for the stowa^-e of provision. The ex]>edition, besides having for its object the determination of n geographical (jnestion of importance, was also of a scientific natnrc : and. being the oidy one of that description that had been fitted out by England for many years, a variety of sniigestions and inventions, likelv to |)i-ove nsefnl on a service of snch novelty, were snbmitted to the Admiralty and other dej»artinents of the Government. The ])eculiarity of the proposed route affordtMl o|)porUmities of making some useful experiments upon the ellip- lical figure^ of the earth; on magnetic pheno- mi'na ; on the I'efi'action of the atmosphere in high latitudes, under ordinary circumstances, and <'\er ('Xl('iisi\c masses of ice ; nu the tempei'ature an■ :.l Jl if ymi^ . I ■; ! i I h ii I 28 OBJECTS or EXPEDITION. and at various (Icptlis ; and on metoorological and other interest ino- |>lienoni(Mia ; to all of winch Captain liuohaji was directed to pay particular attention; and, that this brancli of his dntynnght be the more eliectually perfoi'nied, Mr. fJeorge Kislier Mas ai)pointed tt) assist him, in tlic ca- pacity of astronomer to tlie ex]K'dition. It could hardly lie supposed that any of the officers eugnii'ed in this service were, at the outset, much accpiniiited with tlie navigation of an icy sea ; ;uid, to reudcr the expedition more complete in this ])articular, a (Jreenland nnister and mnti% of ureat experience, were appointed to each vcsscd. The total complement of each of these vessels wai as follows : — DOHOTHEA, 5') lAIt'U. Captain David Huchan. Lii'iiteiiant Artliur Mon'li. Sio-(/C(i)/. John Duki'. /' /tr.fi'r. John Jcrmain. Ai'tniiHiiiirr. Gi'or^ii' Tishor. Admirciti, Matc^. Charles I'ahiior. William J. Dcaly Asfiiiitfint S/n-(/(' meet every contingency, and 80 ay (ioverinnciit regai'dinu' the lon_o-sought north- west passao-e to the Pacific, that T have been Indnccd to insert them at full length, iiotwith- staiidinu- they have, for tlu- most ])art, been pnb- li>he(i in Capt.'iu Uoss's account of his vovage to Batiin's I Jay. On the Snh April the exj)edition proceeded down the river, and arrived ;it Lerwick, in the Shetland Islands, on the 1st Alav. t i'. I ! -. 30 I'l'.rAUTi'in:. \N'r were linnlly .'Ic.-i:' of the river iM'forc w.' linjeet of serious monuMit. (V)nsiderinu- the manner in which the Jiuli of the vessel had 1)0011 line! and fortilied. it was as much a matter <•!' surprise, as of reo,vt. to all on hoard; ad it was (U>terinincd to talut the leak still coiitinuod, and baflled all our etl'orts to discover its immediate cause. Fortunati-ly, it was not of such maonitude as to endaiiovr the safety of the l.ri- or the exp(>dition must hav(> suH'ered cousideral.l(> detention, still it wasof suflicient importaiuv to keep the seamen ^-'"irl<'v»"(l nearly half their watch at the i.ump— •m evil of itself, it must Ix- a.lmittod, sufrich-ntly .i^Toat under any circumstances, and one wlii(di, i'l <'nr case in particular, was likely to !)<> in- '•ivased ; and wlien it was further considered that f l.i:\K DFSCOVKKKI). ;]i "•""<■'■<"'< .l,st;n.,V. Un„M ,„.olK,My , ,(■(',.,• i„ '''"'" ""• ><'''^i'*'"- "f 111." <-|VU n,„|,i v.'ITill ho -I'Mn-.l rorlhisoMra ,l„ly, ii ,|i,l .-.pprar to ...11 on honnl to Ur a ,„c,st unfortimut.' occurreiuv, and "''""""'"' i-oeoo(lJi.a'«. ''^'"' iolinl.irant. of L.-ruirk, liouvvc r, t.)ok a still inu.v smons viroha),Iy, ''|iv,. a.vonipanied n., for we were short of <.on,. !^'7""^' as many of th.se ,,oo,de weiv in the •'f " "' ^-^^l^i'-i^' voyao,. i„ ,„^. ^^.,^^^,^. ^j^^ ^^ -iHMv tl.eir sorvi.vs i.av.. always heen eonsulere.i \:ihiah|(., especially j,, )„,;,f^ <»•'"- 10th Al^y. havin;. eon)Hoted the bnsi- "-S lor Mhic-h .,. ,n,t int<. Loruiek,wo sailed -;^ '- tl.o Western Channel : and. vhen elear "' ^'"' ''•"'"' l'''^<' "'" li'ood fortune to n.eet with =' '^'"- ^^i'xK^^ith which M-e ,,ursned onr conrse ^'•^^'"■''^ ""■ i^'=""> "'•>^l'itxhei^en;and crosses! file arctjc cuvlo on the i4th. l! •1; (' !■ j. ■ ..,a#' t w 'A2 CONSTANT UAM.KillT. In :i voynu'c over ;i |Mtrti(»ii <»!' tlic i;l(»lK' so mtirclv new to us, aiitl s<» totally (liHtTfiit in its natural |ili('noni(Mia tVoin those to wliicli we liad bi'cii accustonK'd, citlKT in s ; l)ut nothing;' made so (U'C)> an in)[)res>iou u|>ou our senses as the chann-e from alternate* day and inuht to wlii(di we liad heeii habituated from our infancy, to the t'ontinual daylin'^t to which we wci'e subjected as soon as we crossed the ai'ctic cinde. A\ Iumv the <^round is but little trodtleii, even trifles are interi'stinu' ; and i do not, therefore, hesitate to describe the feelings with whi(di wi> rejrarded this chauLi-e. The nov(diy. it uiust be admitted, was very a,ui'eeal)le, and the advantaji-e of constant daylight, in an unexjtlored an|i. often dej)rive(l to our cabin at the proper liour. where, shuttino- out the rays of the sun, ue obtained that repose which tlio exercise of our duties re<]uire(]. At first si,o-|it it will, no doubt, appear to many |)ersons that constant daylight must be a valu- able ac(|uisition in every country ; but a little reHection will, I think, be sufficient to show that the reverse is really the case ; and to satisfy a thinking mind, that we cannot over- rate the bh^ssings we derive from the wh in the wave. The mihl weatlier, wiu(di liad thus far attended the wind from the southward, gradually yiidded to a cold current from the north, which cased our sails and cordage with ice, and covered our decks Mith snow. Mven here wi> found nmusomciit in examining the cnriously-f(»rmed Hakt'S that fell, which were •litt'erent from any we had been accustomeroved the fore- runner of a source of far greater ])roHt to indivi- duals, and, ultimately, of material benefit to our country at large ; and is one of th(;se striking instances which sometimes occur, but which are often suifered to jiass unheeded where important results arise from circumstances of the most tri- vial nature. As Cherie Island was, at this time, the oidy source wlience Kngland derived her supply of oil, the failure above-mentioned induced the merchants to seek tliat material elsewhere, and hence originated the l^^nglish whale-fishery, once one of the most important blanches of our commerce, and the most approved nursery f(»r our seamen. Purchas, adverting to this event, savs, " Now the often using of Cherie Island did makt; the sea-horse grow scarce and decay, v/hich made the companie look out for further discoveries,"* * !*urchas, p. lii 1-, folio. 'M THE WHALK FISHERY. 37 and adds, that " In the year 1011 the companie set fortli two ships for (Greenland, kc, this was the first year tlie companie set out for the killing of whales in Greenland ; and, about the 12th of June, the Biskayners killed a small whale which yiehh^l twelve tunnes of oyle, being the first <»yh} that evor was made in (Greenland."* lint to return to our own proccedino-s. Tlavin^;- no oi)j('ct in a)>proaching- C.'herie Isliind closely, we took advantage of an easterly wind, and stood toward the south caj)e of S,;itz- bergeii ; in (h)iiig which it became necessary to pass through a \y'u\e belt of loose ice that had been (Hsengaged from the main body. To such of our crew as had not before visited the Arc- tic regions the scene that now presented itself was novel aiid interesting, and the huge masses of ice as they floated in succession past the vessels, wei'e regarded with peculiar attention ; partly on account of their grotescpie shapes, but principally as thi'y might assist us in form- ing our judgment of the nature of the barrier which \v(> anticipate*! might ultimately present itself to our progress. The streams through Mhich onr course lay consiste i>. t..i.j. .1 ' i 3 ^ mm mm 38 SIN AT MIDNKillT. '\ n ■Hi' vossel stoerino^ between tbem. but, nevertheless, occasionally inter]10sin^• material obstruction to our passage. The progress of a vessel tlirouuh such a labyrinth of frozen niassos is one of the most interesting siglits that offer in the Arctic seas, antl being" at this time wholly new to us, many, even of those jx^rsons not naturally curious, were kei)t out of their beds until a late hour to partak(> of the enjoyment of the scene. There was. besides, on this occasion an ad- ditional motive for remaining up: very few of us had ever seen the sun at midnight, and this night ha|>itening to be particularly clear, his broad red disc, cin-iously distorted by refraction, and sweeping mai(stically along the northern ho- rizon, was an object of imposing grandcMir, which riveted to the deck some of (uir crew who would, perha])s, have beheld with indifference^ the less inn)(ts;ina. The ravs were too obli(|ne to illuminate more than file inecinalities of the lloes. and falling f l)y INTEREiSTlNG SCENE. 39 (luis parfialiy on tlic «>T()tosquG shajx'S, either really assumed by the ice, or distorted liy the inie(]ual refraction of the atmosphere, so betrayed the ima<,niiatioii that it recjuired no great exer- tion of fancy to ti-ace, in various directions, ar- chitectural edifices, grottos, and caves liere and therc^ glittering as if Avith jirecions metals. So generally, indeed, was the deception Jidnutted, that, in directing the route of the vessel from aloft, we for a while deviated from our nautical phraseology, and sha]>e(l our course for a church, a tower, a. bridge, or some similar structure, instead of i'or iumj)S of ice, which were usually designated l)y less elegant a|t]K3llations. Our attention was, however, 8oon called from the contemplation of this engagiug scene of novelty and illusion to matter of more immediate import- ance and reality, arising from the increasing difH- culty of our situation. The streams of ice, between which we at lirst |)ursued our serj)entine course with com- parative ease, gradually became more narrow, and, at length, so iiujteded th(^ navigation, that it became nec(.>ssary to run the ships against some of these im.'igiiiary edifices in order to turn them aside. Kven this did not always succeed, as snme were so sul)stantial and im- moveable, tha( the vessels uianced olf t(» the i I ^ - t ' J'r, ifil |.l U. 40 APPROACH SPITZBKIIUKN. opposite bank of tlie chnniu'l, and there be- came for a time embedded in tlie ice. Thus circumstanced, a vessel has no other resource than that of i)atiently awaiting the change of position in tlie ice, of Mhich slie must take every advantage, or she will settle bodily to lee- ward and become conijiletely entangled. We fortunately overcame these little diHiculties, and, though occasionally threatened with a deten- tion, finally succeeded in accomplishing a ])as- saae throuuh the stream, and in reaching the open sea l)y six o'clock the following morning. This little encounter was not without its salutary etlect. It taught those who had been accustomed to the routine of an ordinary navi- gation, to repel that impatience of delay Mhich so much pervades a maritime life, especially in vessels of war : and it was further useful as an initiation into the manner of navigating a sea encumbered with floating ice. On the liikli, we came within sight of the southern jironiontory of Spitzbergen, and, as we rauijecl alonu" the land to the north^^■ard, the dark |)ointed summits of the mountains, which characterise the island, rose maj'estically above beds of snow, giving a bleak and dreary as|tect to the coast. As Ca])tain liuchan's instructions diiccted him ^i ;M' SEVERE WEATHER. 41 to make the attom))t to roach a hi"--!! northern latitude on the western side of Spitzbero-en first, we jilied to Mindward alon^r that part of tlie coast until the 28th, wlien we were overtaken ))}• a violent ^alc at south-west, in which th(^ shi|)s parted con]])any. At the commencement of tliis teni|)estuous weatlier, we ran before the ,u;vle ; but, toAvards evejiing, many heavy ]>ieces of ice, which we occasionally found it difficult to avoid, led us to conjecture that the ;/^/t7.- was lujt far distant, and that our course could not be continued without danger; we conse- quently rounded-to until the wind should mo- d(M'ate, 'I'lie weather was now very severe ; the snow fell in lie.'iw showers, ans were so thickly covered Mith ice, that it was neces- >aiy to beat them with large sticks to keep ilicui in a statt' of readiness for anv evolu- tion that might be rendered necessarv, either f i 4t 4-2 PACkl'.D ICK. 1 ; ( I il ,, ! ' ;i l)y tlio a|»})eaniii('e of ice to leeward, or by a change of wind. The following nioniing the gale abated, and we bore away to the northward in search of the Dorothea; but, at nine in the evening, the weather being foggy, we found ourselves surrounded l)y ice in latitude r creasocl satisfaction tluit we ivjoiiKnl \wv, oven before entering our ai)|)ointed place of rendez- vous. The expedition now stood to the north- ward, and we shortly saw the main body of ice a^'ain, quite compact as before, extending" round tlu' nortliern horizon in one vast un- broken })lain, connected so ch)sely with the shore, as to leave no i)assage whatever for a vessel. The reader will reary at- tempt to rea(di the I'ole, was viewed by us with intense curiosity, as the barrier Mith which it had uow become our object and duty to con- tend in the prosecution of a similar enterprise. We could perceive that it was composed of masses too heavy to be turned aside by the bows of our vessels, and too thick and too ex- tensive for the saws with which we Mere pro- \ided to be of any practical utility; in short, as regardtMl the practicability of the passage, it was the same formidable body it had been hitherto re)»resented. At tlu^ same time, however, it was iKtt that solid continent of ice described by l*hip]»s. nor vvas its gencn-al a))pearancc so un- promising but that tlu" h< to iidvnnco :i coiisidcM-ablc distance^ lu'voiid the posi- tion of the niiiruinal lini\ wliicdi, at tliat inonuMit, u'd to render onr fnrtlior jtrogress iinpos- Sonio of ns, iiidrcd, witli that ardonr scon bh SIDK W liicli is often attendant njxtn inexperience U'ined it nii^lit at (-nee he sejiarated ff chanu'es of the season and other fjivonr- ahh' cireninstances, Nvhi(di nnu'lit jns;tify the (expe- riment of (hisliin-j amonust it, and pnttinpf its irresistihihtv to the test. It was evifh'iit, how- ever, to [\ practised seam nil. that to have entered tlit^ j)/i('/i :it that moment wonhl nn)st ]>rohal)ly have eiuhnigei-ed the safety of th(> expedition at its verv onts(>t •. and (■ai)tain limdian, who liad had f^ome ex|>erience in this mattm-, very wiselv ahsfnined from so rash an enter|>rise, and reserved his vessels for a more promising oc- casion. Convinced tliat there was no possibility of etfecting anvthing advantageons at this (^arly sta"e of the senson, and desirons of maUinu' the most of the slntrt snmnnM- bidbre him. Cajitain linchan determiiuMl upon passing a few days in Mauvh-deiia IVav, in order to snrvev the port anur- : ) to- its (»\\ - 'rod ibly tioii ^vlio (TV ;ui(l (iC- ' of arly tlio tain s in aixl )rc;; ^'r^.>;:r,.^' iil^v:-., - ■'■'~"-'M'i" "»«i " j"K ! u» j rwv ».. (* 'fr--'--^- -SE'.. .A'-"' ^■?.»- ^'dW-^ SOlT'-ll GA I ..■■f-.uS:';^i43!-sss(», ;;"'■;. KOir.i. mil. V II w^w c \\- m A .1 II)) ,v. I(i.M,,i..i J- •^1 •X '■* \' :. % X •^. .,,.,.,,..1.- •■•-■—■•T'-^".v"vtr>r-«?»~S35SSB£iSro(i!^ ■■:.■■■ ' -•'«»'?-•-■■■ -^'->"-- .--anT:, ..■..-i-- .-..-.■.. ■.-.■-r:i;.ri.. ,^:-..-j-S?--.. .-< .TUIln . ^^^ ^.| ^ ^-^ . - |, | , , | j |"— ■ |j m , |- '''^^^'^ ^ "" WA<;• i 1 '1 i 1 ■ ; iJ ! f 1 t -* ^ Ui' 1 . ■ * -J «0«i* MA(atAI,i:N.V HAY. 45 I » tlifi'c oil till' Ur: rapidly ; and when we re-visited the anchora«'e in the heuinnino- of Au^^iist following, it had entirely disappeared. The !)av is renderetl consiiicuous hv four cla- ciers, of which the most remarkable, though the smallest in size, is situated, two hundred feet above the sea, on the slope of a mountain.* * The most convenient anchorai>e in this bay is sitnated off the S.E. end of the first of those glaciers, tlie marks for which are the centre of the hirjre ghicior at the head of the bay in one with the extremity of the low neck of land called the Burying (ironnd, and the hanging glacier in a line with and over the S.E. end of the second glacier. Hero there are about eleven fathoms' water ; and vessels must be cautious not to overshoot this spot, as the bottom is rocky in other places, and the water deepens suddenly, particularly tovsards the second glacier. In approaching this anchorage, care must also be taken to avoid Shannon Rock, which is just under water, and lies south, a quarter of a mile from a flat rock, which will be se(>n on the north side of the bay. sin r? ( f: !i i H ;■ ,( i I i'tj/ fj »( if i ]p 4C, IMMENSE 1L()(JKS ^J'liis oliit'icr. from its pcculiai' uppcaranco, has Ih'011 ai)|)ro})riatoly tt>niio(l tlie Tlaii^n'ing" rc('l»erreat hazard of any boat that mav chance to be near. At the' head of the l)ay there is a hi_i>h pyra- mi(hd mountain of granite, termed Hotge Ilill, from the myriads of small birds of that namc^ Avhicli frequent its base, and which apjtcar to prefer its environs to every other })art of tlie liarbour. Thev are so numerous, that we have fre(|uently seen an nninterruj»ted line of them extending full half way over the bay, or to a distance of more than three miles, and so close together that thirty have fallen at one shot. This living column, on an average, might have been about six vards broad and as manv deep ; so that, allowing sixteen birds to a cubic yard, there must have been nearly four milli(His of birds on the wing at om> time. 'I'his number appears at first very large; but it will not be thought so by j)ersons who have been accustomed to observe the innnensc flocks of birds whi(di emigrate lo the unfrequented M t t ■ ■■% Mas 1 »«■. ?*. OF ALCA-ALLiE. 47 parts of tlio g]()hi\ In California, (lie o-posc and (lurks oovoi- tlio ground for many square acres so eifeetually as completely to cliano-e its natural colour; and Audubon, speaking- of the passena'er-])igeon in its visit to the banks of the Ohio, estimated the number of birds u])on the wing at one time at one billion, one hun- (h-ed and fifteen millions, and upwards. Tlie number I have given certainly seems large ; yet, when it is tohl that the little rotges rise in such numl)ers as completely to darken the air, and that their chorus is distinctly audible at a dis- tance of tour miU's, the estimate will not be thought to bear any reduction. As soon as the ships were at anchor mea- sures were taken for the survey of the port, and boats were despatched to all parts of the bay, either on this duty or on shooting excur- sions. The weather was remark al)lv fine du) lo- the greater part of the time we Mere at anchoi-, es])ecially on the anniversary of TTis Majesty's birthday, which was commemorated by an extra issue of ])rovisions to the shijis' companies. Magdak'na Hay was the first ]>ort in which we had anchored in the Polar regions, and there were of course many objects to engage our attention. We were particularly struck Avith the l)riliian('y of the atmosj>h(M-e, tlie p(\iceful I ■ 'i I, f . -'A i I : i < ■ i:K;^^ 48 rui: aN('hoka(;k. j * : . li novelty ol" tlic seeiiL', juid tlic _<>Taii(lc'ur of tlie various objects with wliicli Xutiire lias stored these iiiirrequented regions. Tiie anehorage is bounded by ruii'j^ed moun- tains, whieh rise i)ri'eij)it()usly to the heinlit oi about three thousand feet. Deep vallevs and glens oeeur between tlie ranovs, the greater ])ai't of whieh are cither filled with inunense beds of snow, or with glaciers, sloping from the summits of the mountainous margin to the verv edt>"e of the sea. Owing to the westcrlv direction of these ranges, and the jtrecipitancy with which they rise, the sun never shines upon the south- ern shore of the bay, with the exception of a few hours aljout midnight durinu- tlie heiuiit of sunnner, and then only at a very low altitude; whereas its rays ai'e exerted with the fullest eil'ect upon tlu' northern shore, which occasion- ally radiates a heat of 57 or GO dcgi-ees. 'J'here is, conse([uentIy, the most marked dilference between the sides of the bay, both in point of climate and general aj)pearance ; f(»r while, on the one, |)erpetual frost is converting into ice the streams uf water occasioned bv the thawing snow upon the u])|)er |)arts of the mountains which are exj)o^ed to the suiTs rays, the other side is relieving itself of its superHcial winter rrust, and refresliing a vigorous vegetation with its moisture. ( ij i i WBf — ' ■A GLACIERS. 49 TIlis process of contem])oraneous tliawing and freeziiig seems, as J shall iiniiiediately take oc- casion to explain, to have been very instrumen- tal in 1 lie formation of those stupendous gla- ciers, which strike with astonishment and admi- ration every person who has an opportunity of beholding them. In Magdalena Bay there are, as already ob- servc^d. four of these glaciers, two of which are situated on the southern shore, at the margin of the sea. The third, which 1 have mentioned ;is bearing the appropriate name of " the Ilaiuj- imi hchcnj^' a])pears to have accumulated with- out any lateral support, as though a stream of water had issued from a ])articular spot and be- come congealed as it descended ; thus forming a nucleus, which gradually increased, and rose as the stream ])oured its waters over its accu- nuilating surface, until, in the course of ages, the mass has attained its present bulky dimen- sions. The fourth, and largest, occupies the head of the bay, and extends from two to three miles iidand. Numerous large rents in its up])er surface, occasioned, perhaps, either by its own motion or by the subsidence of its foundation, have caused it to be gratuitously named the '• Waggon Way," in accordance with the sup- K '■:'i W 50 WAGGONMVAY (iLAClKR. I ; * posed reseinblance Avhich these fissures bear to the ruts left hy a wn/igon. From the circumstance of the sea helup: of o'reat j)earance ; the seals sporting on its surface seem to be swimming in a thick milky su))- stance ; and the rip[)le as it sweei)S along oc- casions long white lines, so that it is only Dy looking ])eri)endicularly u])on the water arouid the boat that its trans]»arency is perceived, and the decei)tion is detected. In another }>art of my journal it is shoMu that the danger o,' ap])i'oachlng those fragile masses of ice is far from imaginary; and that 1-: :-i a If^^ > \ n '? 1 1 5*^ CAUTION NKAU TFIK (iLACIER. tlicM'o is Jilso a iK'cossitv for a strict observaiict' of silciif'c in tlicir iiHiiUMliato vicinity. Tlio fact is, that, as tiic hcr^ is constantly In-caking away dnrino- sunmior, tlicn^ arc o-cncrally some ])ieccs all but on tin* point of falling, and capable oi" boino: detached by tin* smallest concussion ol' the air; the explosion of a gun scarcely ever failing to bring down one of the masses. Jn cloudy or misty weather, when the hills are clothed with newlv-tallen snow, nothino- can be m<»re dreary than tlu> appearance of the snores of Spitzbergen i whereas, on the contrary, it is scarcely possible to conceive a more brilliant and lively effect than that wliich occurs on a fine da}, when the sun shines forth and blends its rays witli that ])eculiarly soft, bright atmo- sphere which overhangs a country deeply-bedded in snoM- ; and with a jture sky, whose azure hue is so intense as to find no parallel in nature. On such an occasion the winds, near the land nt least, are very light, or entirely hushed, and the shores teem with living objects. All na- ture seems to acknowledo-e the a'lorious sunshint\ and the animated ])art of creation to sot no bounds to its -lit. Such a day was the 4tli of June, and we felt most sensibly the change from the gloomy atmosphore of the oj>en s. a. to the cheerful :M it". ■% ■ H) ' "Jig. - — - 1 KrKlX'T OK SliNSlllNE. 53 glow that uverlmii''- the liills and phicid surface of Ma,n(hileiia J5ay. Aith<)un of happy feelings. It was a pleasure of the same character as that which must have been t vperienccd by every traveller who. on s(nne Hue bright evening in a tropical climate, has hstened to the merry buz of thousands of winged insects which immediately succeeensations. In r J :\ i h 54 STlLLNIiSS OF TIIK NUJUT. the l)uriiinay. as if to iiKjuire whence s(» ■-i I lie (le- ads of T tlic UTc i versa I rrivi'd illness illness in"- ot' mt of Is, in- placid dercd eedily ind a :|)odi- UMied IS 00- l)lace, that t on kvhicli cans- tliinpf cliinii- e s(» ht, ' i ! mi I h WALUUSKS. 55 miiisiitil it clistiirhaiK't! procoeHlcd. Tlic^o little alaniiN wliicli would liave jtasscid miliecMlod in situations rrc(|ueuted l)y man, proved, luuro than anv otluT iiifident, how '•roat a stran"-or he was in tlicsc re;^ions ; a focliun- which, 1 must confess, carrii'd with it an jiorccahlo sen- sation, arising, no doubt, from the conviction that \vi.> were treading- a ground which had l»een hut rarely visited l)efore. When we first rowed into this hay it was in (juiet possession of lu^rds of walruses, who were so unaccustomed to the sight of a l«oat that they assenil)led about lier a|i|)arently highly incensed at the intrusion, aiul swam towards ■ jv as thougli they would liave torn the planks asunder w itii their tnsks. The wouiuls that were inllicted oidy served to increase their rage, and, J Irankly admit, that, when I considered how many miles we were from our vesst'l, and what miuht hi' the i-esult of this onset, J wished wi> had the sup|)ort of a second l)(»at; we continued, however, to keep them oil* with our fire-arms, •Hid fortunately came (df witliout any accident. U lien we afterwards came to anchor, we wont better provided, and succeeded in killing several el these animals ui)on the ice at the head of the bay. AV'e found some of tlii'se nmnsters fourteen if " M IS h^ i ■ .. rxj I'.xcnisiox. I- II :t: it ir fot't i?i Iciin'tli and nine feet u'ii'tli, nii, and keep them prisoners for several days, as appears to have been the casj' in one of the voyages alluded to. I can oidy say, tluit had such a task been imposed upon us, M-e should have found it utterly impos- sible to arcom)dish it. One (►f our earliest excursions in this IJay was an attemi)t to ascend the peak, which I have already described as Rotge Kill, upon M-hich may now perha])s be seen, at the luMght of about two tliousand feet, a staff that once carried a red flag, which was ])lanted there to mark the ureatest height we were able U) attain, j)artly in ••onsequence of the steepness <»f the ascent, but '[.. DAN(JKR()US ASCKNT. 57 inniiily <>u nocouiit of tlic (lotacliiMl niassos of i(irk whicli ;i very sli^-Iit matter would (lis|)la('e, and liiirl down tlio i)rocii)itous declivity, to the utter destruction of him who depended upon tlieir support, or Mho mii^iit happen to he in tlieir jiatli l)eIow. The latter part of our ascent was, imleed, nuich against our inclination ; but we f und it ini|tossii)le to descend by the way we m\ come up, and were compelled to gain a IcmI^c, which promised the only secure resting- pliK'c we covery. We follow- ed the ledge we had thus gained to the head of a bank of snow, which lilled up a valley to the east of the hill, and found the snow sufTicientlv soft for our feet to make an imjiression upon it, or T really believe we should have been ol)liged to wait until we could have obtained ropes from the ship to facilitate our descent. As it was, tills ])ed of snow was so steej> that, had we missed our footinij:, we must have rolled down, and been prccii)itated into the sea, as in- varial)ly happened with the birds we shot, unless. T BRKP .(' i')X Ki ss[AN advi;ntl'ri:ks. , i 1 1 i! i rt li n if i' i 1''p.H imlt'c'(l, Avlii'u their (loscciit was iiiten^'ptcd bv foNi's, or I»ui;ulK'iiiist('is. wliicli ^\orc always on the! watcli for tlii'ir prey. \\ c iiutictMl i\i[u\y parts of the surfare of the snow stained with ;i (k'e|i red substance by tlu' littli> auk; but such phu*es, thoui!'h siniihir in colour, could scarcelv Ix' said to bear anv re- sembhmcv' to the representation of the red snow of halHirs liay.* \\ V had been in j)ossession of the aiudiorau'c ;i few ihiys only, when we Avere agreeably sur- |)rised at the ajipearance of a strange boat [lulling towards the ship. On a nearer aj)- proach, we ibund that she belonged to some Ivussian adventurers, A\ho ^^•ere engage(l in the colleclitui of i)eltrv and nuirses' teeth. They aj)peared ei^ually astonislietain liuchan gave them a kind reception, an- desinuis of ^ainin;'' further information * See l{()>s'- N'oyajiV, Is IS. ^p RMM m^^^mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm^f^. THEIR IIAJUTS or DI'VOTION. 59 of tlieso people, nn officer of the Dorothea arcompaiiied them to their tibode at tlie head of a small cove, alxmt four miles to the south- ward of Mai^dalena Bay. They had here a comfortable wooden hut well lined with uioss, divided into three com- partments; in one of whi(di there were three carcasses of fine venison, and many AvIId ('ucks. It was with extreme [deasure W(> noticed, in this i-etired spot, prol)ably the uiost northern and most desolat(» habitation of our globe, a >l)irit of devotion rarely exercised iu civilized coimt'-ies. On landing tV<»m the boat, and aj)- |)roacliing their reslt-c'iu'e, these peopl(3 knelt upon its threshold, and ollered up a prayer with fervor and evident sincerity. The exact uaturo of the prayer we diir;;tion. it mav, at all t'Ncnts, be regarde-l a-; an insi.mce of the henelicial ellVct which scckisiou from the busy worhl. and a contemplation of the v.orks of Natnre. almost invariably produce upon the hearts of even the nu)St uneducated part of inaidvind This is; (iiic of the few renuunini:' establisli-- M' i h m J' ft If' (U) ESTABLISHMENTS AT Sl'ITZBEllGEN. luents at Si)itzl)ergcii still uplie'ld by tlie iiicr- cliaiits of Aivliiingcl ; who, cluriii«r tlic last coii- tury, and under the auspices of the Itussiau o'overnment, formed a settlement in IJell Sound, upon this coast,* and who still send annually f a small vessid to briu_<>- home the peltry and sea-horse teeth that have been collected by their servants during the year. ♦ C'oxo's Russian Discoveries. 1818. mmmmmm QUIT MVGDALENA RAY, Gl lici- siaii Liiid, lly I- and hy (ITAPTEIt IT. Quit Map-diilona Bay. — Revisit tlio Ice. — Tho Tivnt driven into tho i)acko(l ico. — Hor dangerous situation. — Tlie ice opens. — 'J'he ships enter and are beset. — Cause of tlie leak in the Trent discovered and remedied. — Heavy pres- sure of the ice. — Intricate situation of the vessels Th>'y '■>'ji-aiii tho open sea. — Walruses make a formidable at- tack upon the boats of the Trent. — Their habits described. — Expedition proceeds to Fair Haven, — Description of the aiudiorage. — Numerous graves and remains of habita- tions discovered. J/'iir ISIH. — TriF, ox]>o(lition (jiiittcd iMad, bv a heavv swell rollino- ui) from the south-west, that it had Ihh'Ii blowing: hard at sea during the time we were snugly at an- chor, and that Ave had thus escaped at least one gale of wind. 'J'he breeze was now mo- '/, 02 RECONN'OlTUi: THE ICE. '•'- i-i ^ ■ ^. ' I iA,ii deratiiio', mid we stood alono- the innrii^in of tlu» ice, scarcliinu' for an openiiifi-, and remarking' as Ave went wliat very little eiVeet had been pro- dneed npon it by the o-ale. AN'hile thns ocen])ied the breeze snddenly deserted ns, and the vessels l)eini>- rendered nn- nianaii'able ])v the heavy swell which continu- ed to r
ht breeze of wind oil' the ice, both vessels succeeded in uainini;' the open sea, but they had scarcely proceeded an hour l)efore they were again l)ecalmed, and, in s|iit(' of every exertion, they were a second tinu' driven into the packed ice. The turl)uh>nt scene from which we had but recently es('a|ted was but a iaint jirelude to that Avhich now ])resented itself. DuriPig tlie inter- val the swell had materially increased, and now rolled furiouslv in npfui tlie ice. The jiieces at the edge of the ))a(d\ were at one time wholly immersed in tlu^ ^ea, and at the next raised fur above thi^ir natural line of flotation, while i ' t I'KRII.OrS SITIATION. (;:] tlioso fnrtlior in, Immiih' more cxtGnsivo, were al- tciiiatc'ly (l('])r(\sso(l or olovatod at cither cx- tieiiiitv as tlie advaiiciniv wave forcd its way aloii^-. 'J'ho see-saw motion which was tlius pro- duced was alariniiio-, not mendy in apjiearancc, hilt, in fact ; and iiuist have jiroved fatal to any vess(d that liad encountered it, as th)es of ice, several yards in thickness, were continually crashinii' and bivaking- in ]))eces. and the sea for miles was covered with iraii'inents oTonnd so small that they actually formed a thick, pasty snbstance — in nantical lan«>uage termed ''/mis// iff' — which extended to tlie depth of five feet. Amidst this giddy element, our wlndc atten- tion Mas occupied in endeavourino- to place the how of the vessel, the strongest ])art of her fni'iie, in the direction of the most formidable pieces of ice — a manonivre which, though likely to lie attended with the loss of the howsprit, was yet preferable to encountering the still greater rish of having the broadside of the ves- sel in contact with it. For this M'ordd have sub- jected her to the chance of dipping her gun- wale nnder the floes as she rolled ; an acci- dent Mhich, had it occurred, would either have laid open hei' side or liave overset the vessel at once. In either cas(> the event would ]n'o- b.'ilily have proved fatal to all on l»oard. as it .r ()4 UKLKASH. i| < ( would have been next to impossible to rescue any person from the confiised movino- mass of brasli ice, which covered the !sea in every direction. With much difliculty we ellected our 'abori- ous task ; until we were fortunately s]);u'ed the anticipated collision l»y the brash ice becoming thicker as we proceeded, and at length (piito impenetrable, so that the brig by this means was kept at a distance of about a huni'.reil yards from the heaviest pieces. Thus situated, wo passed the night in the greatest anxiety, at one time fancvino- the distance between the ice and the vessel was diminishing, and at another that it was somewhat increased, and only ear- nestly hoi)ing throughout, that a breeze would spring up from the northward, and release u> from our j)erilous position. The attention of the seamen was in sonit> deoree diverted from the contemidation of this scene of ditliculty by the neci'ssity of emi)loy- ing them all at the i»umi»; for tiie leak was by no means diminished and the duties of thf day having called tliem from this occujtatiou, a considerable (piantity of water had by this time found its way to the well. Towards morning, our hopes of a breeze olf the ice were realized, and by seven o'clock we had the satisfaction to get set, in it. Tins nn- pioniisini"' Intelliu'ence, con|de(! with tlie ap]iarent lending;' of the ice to the sonthward, satished Captain liuchan that <>nr host chance of success was l»v keeping near the hnid of Spitzhergen. ;iiid he in conse(|iienc(.' ducc more directed tlie ( i>in'se of the vessels to the eastward. W <■ inaen sp(M'itied was not .jiiite clear to us, live peaks heing distinctly vi-^iltle. Nor wa^ il more (>vid(>nt why the term "Crown"" had heen applied, as they bore no rt senil)lan<*e whatever to that emhiem of rovaitv. 'I'hey seemed to consist ol' a range of outliers traversed l»y horizontal n>iiJnr)iHi/iln strata, with deep \alleys l.etwiu.-n: as though Ihrv had ori liills ix'cnlinrly a(kaptiHl for Kindinark^. 'V\\v lollowinu' ovcninu' wo were (dose to tlic ice (.If ( loven (dill". Tlu- pa(dv Mas still impe- netrable: but it was some satisfaction to ol>serve that the maruin Avas removed several miles to the nortliwaril (d' its former ])osition. and thai thi'i'e Avas a clianncd of water betAveen it and tlie land. Sfvt'ial days had now been pass- ed witliont aiiy apparent advantau'e to the ex- pedition, and. ('on' the shortness of tht^ season, it was evident that the o|)|)ortnnity thus allbrded of u'ettiiiu" to tlie noi'thward of Spit/.- Iteru'en, tliouuh at the risk (d' beinn' beset, was n(»t to be neu'leeted. As C'aptJiin J^uehan had re.'i^on to think (he- ehanncd just (deared awav miiiht lead to an en- iuij;-. The ships pa<-sed Cloven Clilf, — a remark- a'do is(dated ro(d\ \\hi(di marks the nortli-wes- teiii boinnlary of Spitzberyen, — and for souk time steered alonu' an intricate «dianuel between jR. ijt It J IBWt.., IlKSKT WITH ICK. (m • lie l:iiiy wliieli tliey had entered liecniiio so <'oni|)Iet(dy (dosed u|) ;!'«. It) ]ire(dudo the possildlity (d' retreating'. The, ice soon I'e^an to ]>i-(»ss lieavily n])on ns. and. !(> add to oni- ditlicidtit^s, \\r fonnd tlie water so slialio'.v. that the ro(d liallin, I fndson, Poole, and indeed almost all the? early voyagers to this coinitrv had heeii sto)t|>esi'd much heyond onr pi'esent situation. WC were als( t far from the spot where ( aptain I'hipps so nearly al)and<»n(>d his venseLs, li' i m i ' 1 1- '_' ^'t .f ! '. 5 1 (•riA\f;K or POSITION. '■"'"'■"-■''■I- '-■fK.,.t anv,hi„„. ,„■■,, '''"'- •;'■"'-"■■':";■■""■'■■■••- i V,,.. H„.,x.,-,„, ,, •"It'Cs f|.,„,| ,„1|- Kl-.st 1„..,,I ' ' •;;::.;:-;:""";'■; -■■ ;:.:,; '■:'"'■■'•■••- »"i-Mi.vi..„. I, .,,., „„„...„, ,: ; "■ """^" ""■ ^"' I"- ■ -- ..,: ' -l<> ,.n.,.,v.s. „. ,|„„,,l,t „■,, nuVl.t I.,. , „ ,,,;';;'"• '''V'"'"'"'''-"'"'''"^--^ '-'■■•'■'•' •" ■ '■"'• ' : .^-' '■■ -i-'a,.., ,„„i .,„„. (.11- •:; 'ar. iir lj()|i(..s 'OI|S('(|l|, .,,,., Teforc. f,,||. f'lC.'lppiMr- l\\-'HV, JVoiil ■•■'.li't'rs. (Iiiil <'ilt(-'i'ati(Mi lis t(» |irii. if taiiitiK III I'VCr s;i|i- •' us. i"o iiiiiiK- tiid soiiii' .ii'rindin.' -^^ (Iiaii fi loaivr (n ifijiiiiiciit -' t>\|(,.(|i. likely U) 111(1 .suc- ■<^ pircc I i.r ^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) //^/^^ ^y.? ^ ^ sr ^'> '/ -(^ Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 \ V •^ :\ \ iS^ '."is ft- ^^\ ^-% rv^ c> -t," '«>'^ >* •A^^ %^' ^ % > 6^ • I / .1 / •9m mimmnmimm "-U-JU*. » 1 ADVANTAGKS OF IT. oy of ico that was t\vistinid was tlio motion of the ice tliat altliounh <,],ly a few yards from the Dorothea, slie found it wholly imj)raeti('al)le, and it was not until after twenty hours' hard lahoiir that we suee( eded in ni>ain |)laeini>- th(j vessels tou'i'ther. !>oth vessels were now hauled into small Itavs ill the lloe, and secured there hy I'opes h\(Ml to the ice hy means tf larue iron hooks, called ice-anchors, 'J'lie advantages of such a situation must ho evident to every seaman, the vessel heing l»v tiiis means protected from the passijig ic«^ by the projecting points a-head and a-st( rn of her; and the Hoes being sometimes deepiM- in the water than the ships, there is in such a case no danger of their touching the ground. \\'e continued fast to this floe of ice for thirteen days, shifting the shi|»s from one part of it to another, as the motion brought them between it and the shore. As t'uis could ))e • 'H'ected onlv bv main I'orce, the crew were so constantly engaged in this harassing dnty, that their time was divided almost entirely between the windlass and the pum[); until the men at i il .< ^ f 1 f 1 ■ I '^•-::^-« .-•'•i-.uS*- •'.■■■ ■•i..v.--,- t . «^-- •..•'■■'J- •'^% & ;.;-!'#^-'' ,^.l/^>S^ ^ ■V. ^r ■■'.. -fin!? -^ . .- z.m 'A,-, /-. I V iN ■ / J, (a: ^Hi*. --rff^'^scaii^i*^' ■^'^ n, 70 { Al'SK or TIIK LKAK DISCOVEUKl), Inifjtli ln'Panio ho fjiti^iiicfl tlint our sick-list was sorioiislv Jiu. 1 (or the leak liaviiiu" scaici'ly sliowri itself licCdri' the l»ri^ (|uitte(l tlic river, l)y siij)|i()sini^' the lieli- to have heeii partly pitched over, a eoveriiiy which, of course, verv soon wasliod awav at sea. IJy this fortunate discovery we were aide in a few luinutes to a])ply an ellectual n>in«'(Iy, and to jtarfake of the satisfaction arisini;- from lindinii' oiirselve.- in as tiyht and safe a vesscd as wi> could wish — a satisfaction which, I am sure, the reader will fully appreciate. On the loth, an (dlicer of the Dorothea ob- tained permission to |iroceed \\ith a few seamen over the ice to the shore, which was or four miles from the ships — a joni'- nev which, whilst the dav was line and the hree/e light, seemed to be of very easy accomplishment. i'larlv in the afternoon he set out with his |)arlv, and commenced his t cursion jdeasantly en(»uuh, travcdling at a <^oo(l rati' and surmoimtiiii^' evi'ry obstacle. Scarccdy, however, liad he reached half way to the shore when the ajtpearance of a fog' in the hori'^ion induced the jrudeiit part of his companions to return to the ships, and, shortly afterwards, (tbliyed the renuiinder to desist iVom proceeding fiuther. The fog ajtproached <|uicl\er than was expt-ctod, and soon obscured eveiy distant obji'ct ; so that 'Iff I } I 't 'in, ; « t . ' . i 1 ? I , , • i !■ 72 rKIULOlS AUVKNTlKi; tlic |>arty, liuvliiu: Hiilod in cv^tv oilier iiiotk' of |n-es('rviiis»' the ction of tlio sliips, at- toiiijiU'*!, as a last resource, to retrace tlieir foot- marks ill the snow; but tliis was found to lie equally inipraetieable, in conseciueiice of tlu; pieces of lee over which they had i)assed hav- ing changed their position, and of the occur- rence of other tracks, su(di as those of bears and seals, which at distances were mistaken for their own. Thus circunibtaiuH d, they felt the full exti'ut of the daiiffi-r to which thev had thoughtlessly exjjosed themselves — a danger id" no trifling magnitude, as it threatened to involve the lives of the v, hole remaining party. Still, endeavouring to preserve the direction in which the shi|>s had last been seen, they wandered about, making a very circuitous c])ery jdece to the other, or, when the channels between them were too wide for this puriiose, ferrying them- selves across upon detached fragments, was m ■ L ' J, iw W ■' » ■ ( i OF PART OF THE Clll-W 73 a work Mliicli it iV(|iiircMl no ordinary exertion to t'XtMMit.\ Indeed, the setting from one pieee to tlie otlhM- was, tlir(Mi;>liout, by no means tlie least liazanlons part of tlieir Jonrney ; tlie didi- enlties too were nnieli inereased, and many ac- cidents occurred, tiirou«>li that hurry, and anxiety to overcome them s])eedily, wliich occasioned the ne-jlect of many j.recantions, tliat leisure iiad before enabled them to observe, in order to ensure their safety. Some fell into the water, and were Mith )iortunity of dividing, in efjual shares, the small (juantity of provisi<»n Avhicli they had rcmainino-, as also their stock of powder and ammunition. They also took it in tiu-ns to fire muskets, in the hojie of being heard from the sliip.s, which they knew would retin-n the fire, and that they Moid i:il 74 DISTRF.SSINfi SITUATION. f I J • : kotrv, and even Ity ciUinoii. iidt oiu* report was licanl l)v the party, wlio, (Mtiisciiuciitly, <*oii- cIikKmI tlieiiisrivi's at a imirli ^rcatfr distanci' from the ships than they ivally were. Our adventurers c«>ntiiiui'(l to travel in the .supj)()sed direction of the slil|)s, ki'epinn' within view of each other, and renik'rin;^' one another all the assistance possiMe, until a lireeze spruni;- up, and set the pieces of ice in rapid motion. Unable to coutend with this new ditllcultv, and overcome Avith wet, cold, and sixteen hours of fatigue, they sat down, in a state (»f ilcspon- deucy, upon a piece of ice, determined to submit their fate to Providence. It is diflicult to imagine a more distressing situation than that of the party at this monu'iit : almost perishing with cold and fatigue, with the bare snow for their only resting-place, their supply of [u'ovision exhausted, and themselves drifting about in a thick fog, they knew not whither, perhaps far awav fnmi their ships, and with the prospect of being carried out to sea, where death would have been inevitable. The muskets we had heard on board the shij) had, of course, made us extremely anxious to attbrd relief to our sntl'ering companions ; but, for many hours, no person dared venture over the ice, on account of the fo"-, and the diilicultv ( SAFK KKTrilN. 7i) of ;,^('ttiii;r hjick to tliu silip; luit ulioii, hy the report of the imibkets ln'c'oiniii;j more Jiiidible, wu roiiiid tliJit tlie piirty were driftiii;,^ towjinls lis, tlie anxiety to reseue tlieiii was so ^reat that tlio (Jroeiilaml master anarty, who, bv this time, were drifted nearly within siifht of the vessels. They found them seated upon a piece of ice, as already described, cold, wet, and so overcome that, in a few hours more, the ;>reater part of them must have perished. Their joy at unex|>octedly beholdin*,^ their companions come to their relief, and still more at finding themselves so near their shij>, may readily be ima<>ined, and inspired them with fresh vii^our, which enabled them, with the assistance of their shipmates, to ellect the remainder of their journey. After eighteen hours' absence, they all yot safely on board, fully determined, in future, to rest satisfied with the view of the shore which was aiforded them from the shi|>, and without the sli<;htest desire to attempt to a|»proach it a^-ain by means of the ice. The evening of the 14th being very fine, and overything quiet, we set oi. [ire some sea-horse fat, in order to entice within reach of our muskets any bears that might be ranging (he ice, as r I' in I ^\ I n !•! ! •(I A MKAIl SHOT. tlii'sc .'iiiimals |t(»ssi'ss a vcrv korii scnit, and arc iiivarialdv attracted l»y burnt animal matter. About niidni;^lit \vc Iiad the satisfiu-tinn (»!' Mci'in,i»' one of tlicm drair ''is h\\<^v carcass ont of the water, and slowlv make his wav towards iis. 'I'he siyht of tliu tall masts of the ships appeared t<» alarm him a little at first, for he o<'casionaIly hesitated, threw np his head, and seemed half inclined to turn round and bo oil'; l)ut the au-ree- al)le odour of tlie Imrnt blubber was evidently S(» <^rateful to his olfactory nerves and emjity stoinach that it ovi'rcame every re|»iif4nance, and ;;ra(Uially brouglit him within ran_ne of our mus- kets. On receiviui"" the first shot, he sjiraiiL'; round, uttered a terrific orowl, and lialf raised himself upon his hind le^s, as if in exjiectation of seizing the object tluit had caused him su<*li excruciating pain; and woe to any human biiiig who had at that moment been within reach of his merciless paws. The second and third balls laid him writhing upon the ice, and the mate of the Dorothea jum]tcd out of the vessel and endeavoured to des|»atcli him Avith the Initt end of a nnisket ; but it unfortunately broke short off and, for a moment, left him at the mercy of his forniidaldo antagonist, who showed, by turning sharply upon his assailant and seizing him by the thigh, that he was not yet mustered ' Kl ; ( .1 1 DANT.F.nors SPOUT. I t :iii(l ho wouM most (MTtniiilv liavc iiillictcd a sfiliMis wound, liiid it liaty, witli the exception of a ytirter, such as is used by (Jri'eidand sailors to tie up their Itoat stocking's. In his left side there was a cicatrised wound of considerable niauiiitude. l''rom what we saw of tlu; activity and ferociousness of this animal, addt-d to the well-known strength of his species. Me readily g'avo credit to the accounts of liarent/, and otlier early vi>itors to tlii'se regions, and it may be considereetwe(>n him and the object of his cliace, when, in his youth, he ventured alone, over the ice in these regions, in pursuit of such formidable game. The journals of the earlv vovagers in northern latitudes abound with anecdoti'S illustrative y (Jerat de \'ere, in his account of liarentz' second voyage : ( ,ii^ I ; ' .11, 7H r.EAR HUNT IN I i " The Otli (►f Sept('iii])cr, sonio of our men went ou shore, upon the linne laud to seeke for stones, wliich siro .1 kinde of diiiniond, wliercof tliere sire many also in the States' Hand : and, wliile they were seekinp: the stones, two of our men lyini*- tof>etlier in one ])laee, a ^reat leane white beare came su(hlenly stealing out, and canuht one of them fast by the neeke ; who, not know- ing what it was that tooke liim by the necke, cryed out and sayd, ' Who is it that pulls ^nce so by the necke V wherewith the other, that lay not farre from him, lifted up his head to se(> who it was ; and, perceiving it to bee a monstrous beare, cryed out, and sayd, ' ( )h, mate ! it is a beare,' and therewith presently rose up, and ran no away. "The beare at the first falling upon the man, ])it his head in sunder, and suckt out his blood ; wherewith the rest of the men that were on the land, being about twentie in number, ranne [tresently thither, either to save the man, or else to drive the beare from the body; and having charged their j)ieces, and bent their ]>ikes, set uj^on her, that still was devouring the man, but, perceiving them to come t(>wards her, fiercely and cruelly ranne at them, and got another of them out from the coinpanie, which she tore in pieces, wherewith all the rest ramie away. I \ NOVA ZKMHLA. '0 ■■ " We pcrroivincf, out (»t' our slii|) niul plnimssc, tlijit our men niiinc to Uic soa-sido to snvi' tliciii- solvos, witli all spoi'd ciitred into our boati's, and rowL'd as fast as woe couM to the slioarc to re- lieve our men. Where, bein^i' on land, wc beheld the cruell sju'ctacle (»f eur two di'ad men that had been so cruelly killed and torno in pieces by the l)eare. We, seeing that, encouraged our men to goe backe agaiue with us, and with pieces, curti'laxes, and halfej)ikes, to set u]iou the beare, but thev would not all ai>ree thereunto ; some of them saying, our men are already (lea])osc not ourselves into so open danger ; if wee might save our fellowes' lives tlu-n wee would make haste; but now we need not make such speed, but take her at an advantage, with most securetie for ourselves, for we have to doe w ith a cruell, fierce, and ravenous beast. Where- upon three of our men went forward, the beare still devouring her i)rey, not once fearing the number of our men, and yet they were thirtie at \.\\v least ; the three that went forward in that sort were Cornelius .lacobson, AVilliam Geysen, and Hans \'an Xuflen, William JJarentz, ])urser : and, after that the sayd master Mid jtylat (lad shot three times, and mist, the purser, ste|)ping somewhat further forward, and seeing the l)eare ' '^ if w • w I t ! I 1^' I I 80 AFFECTIONATF, CONDUCT OF A WALRUS to 1)0 within the loni;th of a sliot, jtrosontly lovellod his j)i('C'e, and, disciiargiiig' it at the bearc, slidt lior into the head> betMoene the eyes, and yet slic held the man still fast by the necke, and lifted vp her head with the man in her month; bnt slice began somewhat to stagger, wherewith tlu; purser and a Scottish man drew out their eurtelaxes and strooke at her so hard that their eurtelaxes burst, and yet she would not leauo the man; at last AN'illiam (ievsen went to them, and Mith all his might strooke the beare vpon the snout with his jtiece, at which time the beare fell to the ground, makinu- a great noyse, and William Cleysen leaping vpon her cut her throat/' * The following evening wc were greatly amused by the singular and aflectionate conduct of a walrus tov.ards its young. In the vast shi'et of ice which surrounded the ships, there were occasionally many pools ; and, when the weather was clear and warm, animals of various kimls would fre(piently rise and sport about in them, or crawl from thence upon the ice to bask in the warmth of the sun, A walrus rose in one of these pools close to the ship, and, finding everything «piiet, dived down and brought u|) its voung, which it held to its breast bv oress- * Pmrlias, his Pilgrimes, vol. iii. p. 1-81. J t; TOWARDS ITS YOUNG. 81 ing it with its flipper. In this manner it moved iibout the i)ool, keeping in an erect posture, and always directing tlie face of the young to- ward the vessel. On the slightest movement on board, the mother i-eleased her flipper and pushed tlie young one under water; but, when everything was again quiet, brought it u}) as before, and for a length of time continued to j)lay about in the pool, to the great amusement of the seamen, who gave her credit fo, abilities ill tuition, which, though possessed of consider- able sagacity, she hardly merited. It was some consolation to us, amidst the mortification we endured from our protracted detention in the ice, to find that there were very few hours in which some little incidents of an amusing nature did not occur to divert our attention from the monotony of the daily duties of the ship. At one time the Mandcr- ings of bears would be watched with all the eagerness of a sportsman beating a cover; at another, the gambols of seals and walruses would take up our attention ; and occasionally the ap- pearance of whales or narwhals in small pieces of water about us, would invite jiursnit. The bears would sometimes a])proach so near as to sniff at the linen drying upon the ice ; and o I ; f i i*l: I f?l t ^R. :i. 1::;! I. :1* ii ! I 82 AMUSTNG STRATAGEM OF A HKAU. ■!,! in : ! t H ! i 1 i' more than once wc were tempted to give cliasc to some tliat had been wounded. On one occasion we thought we were sure of our game, from his hind leg being shot through, and from the quantity of bh)od wliich flowed from the wound, but Ijruin outran us all upon three legs, and gained so much ground that every now and then he could altbrd to rest and rub his leg in the snow, which, after a while, as ap])eared by his track being no longer stained, had the effect of stanching the blood. But there were very few of the incidents which gave greater amusement to those who happened to see it than the one which follows. The bears, when hungry, seem always on the watch for animals sleeping upon the ice, and endeavour, by stratagem, to approach them unobserved, for, on the smallest disturbance, the animals dart through holes in the ice, which they always take care to be near, and thus evade pursuit. One sunshiny day a walrus, of nine or ten feet length, rose in a pool of watoi' not very far from us, and after looking around, drew his greasy carcass upon the ice, where he rolled about for a time, and at length laid himself down to sleep. A bear, wliich had probably been observing his movements, crawled carefully upon the ice on the opposite side of the pool, and I • WARY CONDUCT OF THE WALRUS. 83 ))egan to roll about also, but apparently more with design than amusement, as he progressively lessened the ool ; which the bear no sooner observed than he threw off all dis- guise, rushed toward the spot, and followed him in an iiisto'it into tne water, where I fear he was as much disappointed in his meal as we were of the pleasure of witnessing a very in- teresting encounter. On the sixth day after the ships became hampered in the ice, they were drifted to the westward so much that the o])en sea was again in view from the mast-head. The ice, however, continued too closely packed to allow of our at- tempting the liberation of the vessels with any probability of success ; and a most fortunate cir- o i: 'i| (, ' ■ !t, s k.^ h i M e' r 'fT .■■'I I • ' ( = i ( I ^1 84 PRESSURE OF THE ICE. cumstance it eventually proved that wo had been prevented nearing the margin of the ice, for on the following morning it blew a hard gale from the southwest, and such a heavy sea rolled in upon the pack, that, although the shi])S were nine miles distant from the margin of the surf, it was distinctly heard like distant thunder. The pressure of the ice around the ships now b'^came very great; every pool of water was closed, and the enormous force acting upon the floes was occasionally apparent by large pieces ol ice being forced upon those with which they were in contact. In anticipation of an oc- currence of this nature, we had taken the pre- caution of placing the vessels in small bays, formed in the field, to which they were secured, and were thus, in a great measure, protected by the points of ice on either side of us. But, notwithstanding this advantage, it was evident, by the grinding noise against their sides, that they sustained considerable pressure throughout the gale. At one time, when the Trent appeared to be so closely wedged up that it did not seem pos- sible for her to be moved, she was suddenly lifted four feet by an enormous mass of ice getting under her keel ; at another, the frag- ments of the crumbling floe were piled up under DANGEROUS FLOES OF ICE. 85 tlic ])0ws, to the on the ice, the roaring of the sea upon the edge of the pack, and the aspect of the sky, — the ships were so perfectly becalmed that the vane at the mast-head was scarcely agitated. There was also a most marked difference in the state of the at- mosphere over the packed ice and that over the open sea. Over tiie ice the sky was perfectly cloudless ; whilst the sea was overcast with stormy-looking clouds, which passed heavily along with the gale, until they reached a line nearly perpendicular to the edge of the packed ice. i\ wt M li ■If il i 0h m l'.t(l.. 86 THE "ICE BUNK. I: . I i I M At this point, or line of dinnaivation of the two Jitinosjiliorcs, it was curious to mark tlio rajtid motion of tlio clouds to the riolit or loft, and how immediately they hecamc condensed, or were disj)crsed on arrivin:i('k bofriiinin^i^ to open in every direction. This dispersion, and the ocenrrenec of a fivsh northeast wind, afforded ns tiic only opportnnity of cxtrieatino- the vessels that had occurred since they were beset, and Captain Buchan ^dadly availed 1 ' nself of it, so that in a few hours both vessels reaclietl the open sea, after thir- teen days' detention in the pack. The northerly wind increased to a "fale, and drifted a great quantity of ice aAvay to the south- ward. We passed several pieces, upon which we noticed our own footmarks, and could thus judge of the effect ])roduccd by the change of wind. In the hope of its working a consider- able alteration in our fovour, we kept close to the edge of the pack. On the 2Gth we had a fall of snow, and at noon, for the first time since crossing the Arctic Circle, a shower of rain, which, although the summer was so far advanced, cased every ro])e in ice as it fell. The gale abated, and the next day, having a breeze from the southward, we ap]iroached the ice about Cloven Cliff, and found it drifted close down uj)on the land. Here it fell calm, and seve- ral herds of walruses being seen, as usual, upon detached pieces of ice near the main body, l)ermission was given to the boats to go in pur- H\ itf ' )l 88 DE veer's description OF suit of tliciii. Wi' hiul alrca water lioud first, if possible, Imt other- wise, in any position in wliicli chance may have phiced tlieni, occasioning^ one of the nnist iau_u:h- ahle scenes of tlio i\in(l it is possible to con- ceive. The pfalloj) of a sva-Ziorsi' is probably the most awkward motion that is exhibited by the animal tribe, from the great diHicnIty they ex- perience in brin;>infr the hind feet forward, which arises no donJjt from the inmiensi; wei<;ht of the animal, and the groat ortsmen, but another was so • ( If' »1 1 1 1 i ' 1 i f \i i :-) I ! i1^! f> 92 WALllUSKS ATTACKED. intent upon its gambols, tliiit, notwitlistanding tlio extreme vigilance I have noticed, several of the crew managed to effect a landing upon the ice without any alarm beino- given to the ani- nials ; but immediately on the first musket being fired the affrighted group made sucli a dcs- j)erate rush towards the edge of the ice that they nearly overturned the M'hole of our ] tarty, purposely stationed there to intercejtt them. The seamen finding this cliari>e more formi- dable than they cxj)ectcd, were obliged to sepa- rate, to allow their opponents to pass through their ranks, and being thus, in their turn, taken by surprise, they suffered them, almost unmolested, to perform their sianincrsets towards the sea. A\ hat with their uncertain move- ments, the cxtreuK toughness of their skin, and iG resi)ectful distance at vliich the men were obliged to keej), to avoid the lashing of the head and tusks of the animals, it was, indeed, no easy task to inflict any serious injury upon them. One, however, was dcs[)crately wounded in the head with a ball, and the mate of t!ie brig, being determined, if possible, to secure his prey, resolutely struck his tomahawk into his skull, but the enraged animal, with a twist of its head, sent the weapon whirling in the ai/, iUid then lashing his neck, as though he would destroy TIIEY BECOME THE ATTACKING PARTY. 1)3 witli liis immense tusks everytliinc^ that came in his way, efFecter' his esea]>c to the water. The seamen foHowed, and i)uslied olF in their hoats ; l)ut the walruses findino- tliemselves more at liome now than on tlie ice, in their turn l)ecame the assaihants, and the aflliir beo-an to as- sume a serious asj)ect. They rose in great num- l)ers about the boats, snorting with rage, and rusliing at the boats, and it was witli tlie utmost (HfHculty tliey were prevented u])setting or stav- ing them by placing their tusks upon the gun- wales, or by striking at them with their heads. It was the opinion of our people, that in this assault the walruses Merc led on by one ani- mal in particular, a much larger and more for- midable beast than any of the others ; and they directed their efforts more particularly towards him, but bo withstood all the blows of their tomahawks without flinching, and his tough hide resisted the entry of the whale lances, M'hich were unfortunately not very sharp, and soon bent double. The herd Avas so numerous, and their attacks so incessant, that there was not time to load a musket, which, indeed, was the only effectual mode of seriously injuring them. The purser, fortunately, had his gun loaded, and the whole now being nearly exhausted with chopping and sticking at their assailants, he snatched it 'ii A J ■( '■i ■-I'll J J I! :} I m ?■; 94 COURAGE OF A YOUNG WALRUS. up, and thnistiiig the muzzle down tlic throat of the leader, fired into his bowels. The wound ])rove(l mortal, and the animal fell back amongst his comj)anions, who immediately desisted from the attack, assembled round him, and in a mo- ment quitted the l)oat, swimming away as hard as they could with their leader, Mhom they ac- tually bore up with their tusks, and assiduously preserved from sinking. Whether this singular and comi)assionatc conduct, which in all pro- bability was done to prevent suffocation, arose from the sagacity of the animals, it is diHicuIt to say, but there is every probability of it, and the fact nuist form an interesting trait in the history of the habits of the species. After the discharge of the i)urscr's gun there remained of all the herd only one little assail- ant, Mhich the seamen, out of compassion, \vere unwilling to molest. This young animal had been observed fighting by the side of the leader, and from the ]irotection which was afforded it by its courageous patron, was imagined to be one of its young. The little animal had no tusks, but it swam violently against the boat, and struck her with its head, and indeed would have stove her, had it not been kept off by whale-lances, some of which made deep incisions in its young sides ; these, however, had not anv immediate 1; II RECIPROCAL AFFECTION. 95 oflbct; the attack was contii.acd, and tlio en- raged little animal, tli()u- her forward until she was beyond our reach. We observed many similar acts of comj)assion in these ajii- mals towards their wounded com])anions ; and t>n one occasion, in ))articular, mIicu several walruses were attacked upon a beach iu>ar Mag- c of muskets drove all those which could crawl, into the sea, but immediately upon their panic subsiding they re- turned to the shore an' but re Kk'd I'CO, tl 10 has like orxl, atli ; hat for isiiis: to ires C!t s^ •5 m I' I ) : I , t '1 i.. i ONE SHOWN ALIVE IN ENGLAND. 97 seen the wounded, when out of danger, quietly crawl upon the ice. 1 might relate other in- stances of sagacity and affection in these animals, hut these are perhaps some of the most remark- able. Tn the year 1G08 one of these animals was brought to England alive, and exhibited at the Court, "where the king, and mar^ honourable personages, behold it with admiration for the strangenesse of the same, the like whereof had never before beene scene alive in England. Not long after, it fell sickc and died. As the beast in shape is very strange, so is it of strange do- cilitie, and apt to be taught, as by good ex- perience we often proved."* Our sportsmen had succeeded in capturing two walruses only when the boats were recalled, in consequence of the ice being observed to con- nect itself with Cloven Cliff, and the floes to be closing together, so as to prevent the possi- bility of entering between them. Cajjtain Bu- chan, however, judged, from general appearances, that a favourable change would soon occur ; and, being anxious to keep as near as possible to the pack, that he might be in readiness to take ad- vantage of the first opening that offered, he determined to anchor between the islands con- * Purchas. H I' i ^ 1 : ." 1 '■■ (S: "I W il' MU . in. i •■: 98 FAIR IIAVI'N. i! I tignous to Cloven Cliff'. This position not only afforded an opportunity of watching the state of the ice from the hills more narrowly than could be done from the shij)S, but possessed the additional advantage of enabling us to do so without incurring the risk of being driven off the coast by northerly winds. The expedition was, in consequence, directed to proceed to Fair Haven, where it anchored on the 28th, in fifteen fathoms water, between Vogel Sang and Cloven Cliff This anchorage is entirely free from hidden danger, easy of access, and tolerably well shel- tered from southerly and westerly winds, and the high rolling seas which attend gales from those quarters ; but it is quite open to the north. In consequence of this -jxposure, the road is liable to be incommoded by pieces of ice, which are occasionally drifted in from that direction ; and some degree of danger is also to be ai)preliended from the fragments of land- bergs, which are sometimes carried thither by the tides. All the islands about the anchorage are high and precipitous; but they are, nevertheless, co- vered with lichens, and other rich pasturage for rein-deer, a species of animal so abundant, upon Vogel Sang in particular, that that island alone i I 11 REIN-DEER. 99 siipplieil us witli forty carcasses. They were at this time in such hi^h condition, that the fat upon the loins of some measured from four to six inclies, and a carcass, ready for being dressed, weiglied two hundred and eighty-five pounds. In August, however, they were so lean that it was rare to meet with any fat upon them. From the wary disposition, and the very keen scent of these animals, wo found it extremely difficult to get within gun-shot of them, espe- cially from to windward ; and were obliL^ed either to separate into two or three parties, and to harass them until they took to the water, where they were easily overtaken by the boats, or to secrete ourselves behind large stones, con- tiguous to one of their walks, and there wait until they ai)])roached. They were, at this time, in pairs, and when one was shot the other would hang over it, and occasionally lick it, ajiparently bemoaning its fate ; and, if not immediately kill- ed, would stand three or four shots rather than desert its fallen companion. This compassionate conduct, it is needless to say, doubled our chance of success ; though, I must confess, it was obtain- ed in violation of our better feelings. Their sym- pathy must, indeed, have been verv strono- to have induced them to remain so long by their wounded; for if nt otiior times our shots misled, i (■ : .( fcl i,. >l 'I f 1 i iff ^j I ' J', r r ( r ' ; > Li I I I i-^ i '■ J^l' ft m $ i: 1i r^ I i J I: 'I L 100 KING EIDER-DUCKS. the panic occasionctl by the discharge of the ^'uns was so great, that tliey fled in all direc- tions, and there was no chance of getting near them again. When pressed, they readily took to the water to SMim to islands that were three or four miles distant. In this way, we managed to get four unhurt on board the Trent, where we had recourse to every contrivance in our power to retain them alive ; but they were so wild that they broke their limbs, and inflicted other serious wounds, Avhich obliged us to kill them in order to put an end to their sufferings. Upon the small rocky islands near the an- chorage the birds were no less abundant, in proportion, than the rein-deer upon Vogel Sang. The king eider-ducks {Somateria spedabilis) had possessed themselves of one of these islets, and were so numerous, that it was scarcely possible to walk without stepping upon their nests ; and, could we have divested ourselves of all con- sideration for the young birds, we might have filled several sacks with that valuable commo- dity, eider-down, of which their nests were com- posed. It was the period of incubation ; and we had many opportunities of witnessing the de- termined manner in which they defended their nests, frequently remaining upon them until they were knocked over with sticks. Even the THEIR HA HITS. 101 • i. I)iirrroniioistor.s, strontja-o;ors, .sea-swall(,us, and otlicr birds, which were ahvay.s hovorinx about and watchiiifT for opportunities of devouring tlie t'ggs or llio youncr birds, (hired not molest the ducks whilst upon tlieir nests, and could only secure their prey when foxes or some of the larger animals drove them into the sea. A l»ractice, common to these birds, which I have not seen mentioned in their history, marks the provision which nature lias made against some of the casualties to which their species are liable, and from which the young might be destroyed in their embryo state by the parents being ke])t away from their nests in so cold a climate. When immediate danger com])elled them to seek tlieir own safety in flight, they hastily drew the down of the nest over the eggs, and glued it there with a yellow fluid, which they deposited as they arose. This precaution not only kept in the warmth of the eggs, by interposing between them and the air a thick covering, which the cold would require some time to penetrate, but it was otherwise useful from its being of so very offensive a nature that the foxes would not touch the eggs that were tainted with it. If it hap- pened that they were suddenly surprised, and compelled to take wing without making this provision for the safety of their young, they flew ' « IL? I- I i f!' i i'\ Ml i \ i > 11 \ ;i "i v. 102 INSTINCT 01' TIIK F, IDKll-DlX'K. to a short distuiioc only, iuhI, unless the dinifyor was very ininiincnt, would return almost iniine- diately and eover u|» tlieir nests, after which they took fli«jfht with api)arently less solicitude. In Norway, these birds make tlieir nests and lie anumgst the Juni[>er hushes; hut here they build them amoufj^st the rocks and loose stones upon the small islets oH' the coast. The down is of that tenacious character that it adheres tt) every rouji^h substance it touches, and thus effectually prevents the nests being overturned or blown away l)y strong winds. The (|uantity of down rcipiired for one of these nests deprives the parent of a great portion of the down upon its breast, which is in conse<|uence left nearly bare for a considerable time ; and it is quite pitiable to observe the condition of those which have, pro- bably, been obliged to make a second nest. The males may also be seen occasionally with their breasts denuded of down, from their having con- tributed to the formation of the nest. They are the constant attendants upon the ducks whilst they are sitting, and frequently procure food for them ; they also assist in the defence of the young, and may sometimes be seen keej)ing the eggs warm whilst the ducks have gone to a distance to procure food. Here, however, their attentions appear to end for the season, for to- :jl.i .1. THEIR EXTKNSIVE MIGRATION. 103 ward the close of tlie summer the drakes as- semble and take their selfish departure, leaving the ducks to find tiieir own way, and to help their youn^r alonnr in the best manner they can. In due time, however, they also take their de- parture, and immense flocks of adults and youn»r may be met a hundred miles or more from land, slowly migrating to the southward, some of the young birds being quite weak upon the wing. As this species of eider-duck is almost a stranger on the shores of Britain, they probably pass the winter in some ]iarts of the rocky coast of Norway, but at any rate they must traverse about a tliousand miles of open sea, and brave many a tempest before tliey reach their winter home. M {► r f M ^l I <<) 104 PUT TO SFA. iH- Ji: U CHAPTER III. Put to sea from Fair Haven, — Renew the attempt to get to the northward. — Ditficulty of proceeding. — Beset in the ice. — Regain the open sea, after having been three weeks heset. — A storm compels the expedition to take refuge in the ice. — Periknis situation of the vessels. — Their fortunate deliverance. — The shattered condition of the ships obliges them to go iuto port. During the time the expedition continued at Fair Haven, the hills were ascended ahnost daily for the purpose of surveying the state of the ice in the offing : and, on the 6th July, finding it haO been driven to the northward, the ships put to sea, and sailed as far as 80^ 15' N. Here the same impenetrable barrier that had before impeded their advance was encountered, with as little success as before ; and the ships, in their endeavour to extricate themselves from the loose ice that skirted the edge of the main body, received heavier concus- sions than they had hitherto sustained. Thus, in every attemjtt to reach a high AGAIN REPULSED. 105 nortliern latitude, and even to penetrate be- tween the ice and the coast of Spitzbcrgen we had been rej)ulsed, and obliged to retrace our steps at the risk of staving the ships. The summer was now well advanced ; and the effect produced upon the ice by temperature and south- westerly gales during the six weeks we had been upon the coast was so trifling, that we be I M Mi ; . - « . i I: M m » 1 ff^T i' ! I H 1,, . 1 r: 112 GREAT PRESSURE OF THE ICE. ever, always diverted by the scent wof the track of the seamen upon the ice, or by the rubbish that had been thrown upon the floes, which the keenness of their scent enabled tlieni to detect at a considerable distance, and it was rare, when Ave moved from a place, that it was not speedily visited by one of these animals. During the period of our detention in the ice we found that with westerly or southerly winds, and occasionally upon the change of the tide, the fields of ice would sustain such a pressure that their points would yield and be crumbled to atoms; the bay ice would slide upon, and form a layer over the field that was in contact with it ; immense hummocks would be overset, and sometimes forced under water ; and in other parts, again, fragments would be piled up thi' ty or forty feet in height. As nothing made of wood can withstand these pressures, a vessel, if caught, must either be crushed, or rise and allow the ice to advance until it meets an op- ponent as unyielding as itself. Fortunately, the wedge-like form of a vessel is favourable to her rising, and the outline of the fields is generally so irregular that some points of it are nearly certain to receive the strain before it presses much upon the vessel ; the squeezes are, how- ever, occasionally very dangerous. On the ev^- Ill ; ' ' ' DAMAGE FROM PRESSL'Rli OF THE ICE. 113 ing of the lOtli the Trent sustaiuea one which made her rise four feet, and heel over five streaks; and on the 15th and 10th both vessels suffered damage, especially the Dorothea, from her being longer and mo.c' wall-sided than the Trent. On that occasion we observed a field fifteen feet in thickness break up, and the pieces pile upon each other to a great height, until they upset, when they rolled over -vvith a tre- mendous crash. The ice near the ships was piled up above their bulwarks, to the great dancer of the bowsprit and upper works. Fortunately the vessels rose to the pressure, or they must have had their sides forced in ; the Trent received her greatest damage upon the quarters, and was so twisted that the doors of all the cabins flew open, and the panels of some started in the frames, while her false stern-post was moved three inches, and her timbers cracked to a most serious extent. The Dorothea suffered still more : some of her beams were sj)rung, and two planks on the lower deck were split fore and aft, and doubled un, and she otherwise sustained serious injury in her hull. It was in vain that we attempted any relief, our puny efforts were not even felt, though continued for eight hours with unabated zeal; and it was not until the tide changed that the smallest effect was pro- M:i' n : ■I ' f ' ! ! "I •lt 1 !■ M .I'i! ' Mi if ^rr^ ' I' I ;■!'■ '!■! \ i 1 •s ■ 114 SPECIMENS OF CORAL HROUGIIT LP. duced. When, liow(;vor, tliat occurred, the ves- sels arif^hted and settled in the water to their proper draft. From the lilth to the 19th we had westerly win had the mortification to find the ice close in every direction, and that there did not appear tlio smallest chance of our being able to proceed one mile further to the northward. Captain Buchan, therefore, began seriously to contem- plate the utility of further prosecuting the at- temjit in this direction. The ice had undemone no perceptible change with the advance of the season, and we could not expect to derive any material advantage from a diminution of its thick- ness. As little improvement could we expect from the influence of winds, which had a very trifling effect in separating the ice at this dis- tance from its margin. In the meanwhile seve- ral days' hard labour had proved that unless some material alteration took place the ships could not even maintain their position against the current which was setting to the southward, much less gain any ground in the opposite direction. Under these discouraging circumstances, Cap- I 2 IP I I! I 1 m . It ! i if^ I ! i< :4P ^i^r^rrf^ 110 LIBERATION OF THE VESSELS. ■ li' i I tain Buclian tlioiinrht it exptvliciit to endeavour to regain the open sea as qnickly as pos9ii)le, in order to renew the attempt in another direc- tion. But from this we were now about thirty miles distant, without any opening presenting it- self wliich would aid the wships in efllecting their release. We, however, loosed from the floe of ice which had so materially befriended us during heavy pressures, and commenced warping the ships in the desired direction ; but the difficulty of moving them was such, that, after five hours' hard labour, we had succeeded in gaining only one mile towards our r ' ""ase. For nine successive . /s from this period the crews were occupied day and night in endeavour- ing to extricate the ships ; and at the expiration of that time we were gratified by the discovery of the open sea from the m.ast-head. As we neared the margin the changes in the state of the ice became greater, so that we were at one time sailing with a press of canvas, and the next sustaining heavy squeezes between fields of ice ; at length a few " streams " only intervened be- tween the ships and the open water, and having a fair wind av(» forced through them, striking some of tlie pieces so forcibly that on two oc- casions the brig had stern-way. Thus by six o'clock in the evening we had the satisfaction PROCEED TOWARDS GREENLAND. 117 of fiiuliuf^ ourselves again in a clear sea, after having been tiiree weeks encireled l)y ice, ex- tending to tlie horizon in every direction. Tho pleasnre we felt at again having our vessels under connnand cannot be equalled by any arisin'7 from the ordinary occurrences of a mari- time life. They at first appeared to bound through the water, and every passing wave brouglit with it a peculiar gratification. As we increased our distance from our icy prison we observed a wide channel leading to the east- ward, between the land and the ice, which would probably have enabled us to advance nearly as far as the Seven Islands. But this route had been attempted several times, and had always occasioned disappointment, and ended in great difficulty in extricating the ships. Captain Buchan did not therefore bestow upon it a second thought ; but, on the contrary, being of opinion that he had given the ice a fair trial m the vicinHij of Sintzberrjcn, and that it was utterly useless to persevere any longer in a northern direction from thence, he determined upon examining the ice towards Greenland ; and, in the event of finding it equally imjienetrable there, to proceed round the south cape of Hpitz- bergen, and make an attempt between that island and Nova Zemhla. \¥\ \ >\ I I > :l! 15 •!'■ i ' f \ \v I! ' s % 1? i 1 • 1 ! \ 1 ! li '|1! If' 1 ' 1 ' • : f 1 1 1^ ! 1 1 li 1 ^11 1 i 1 r t 1 I. 1 ^..:il 118 SUDDEN GALE. Wo accordingly 8te._i'ed to the west, elated at the prospect of this new adventure ; but, scarcely had we time to contemi)late the change in our destination, when the situation of the vessels dehianded our most serious attention. In order to execute the first part of Captain Buchan's intentions, it was necessary to trace the ice, and minutely to examine its outline ; and we were thus sailing along it at a rea- sonable distance, when a gale of wind from the south-west arose so suddenly that we were at once reduced to storm-staysails. The sea got up equally fast, and rendered ineffectual our endeavour to maintain our position with /egard to the ice, on the western tack at least, and we in consequence wore round, early in the morning of the 30th July, in the hope of being nu)re successful on the other. An hour had scnrcely elapsed from this man- oeuvre, when the main body of ice, which had been lost sight of for a short time, was seen close upon the lee-beam, with the sea beating furiously upon it. The imminent danger to which the vessels were now exposed induced us to press them with all the sail they would bear, by setting the close-reefed main-topsail and foresail, but they availed us nothing ; we settled down gradually upon the danger, and were soon DOROTHEA TAKES REFUGE IN THE ICE. 119 amongst the large pieces of ice, which in windy weatlier skirt the edge of the i)ack. These pieces consist of the heaviest ice, or that which has the greatest hohl in the water, ai.d remain at the edge in consequence of their being less operated upon by ihe wind. As we could not afford to lose an inch of ground bv bearing up to avoid these masses, we received many very heavy concussions in turning them out of our course. The Dorothea, having been more to leeward than the Trent when the gale sprung up, Mas so close to the ice at half past nine o'clock in the forenoon that, in order to escape imme- diate shipwreck, it became necessary for her to take refuge amongst it, — a practice which has been resorted to by whalers in extreme cases, as their only chance of escaping destruction. As she bore away, we Matched the result of the evolution with the greatest anxiety, — since, from the formidable as])ect of the ice under our lee, it did not api)ear possible for any ship to sur- vive an encounter with it, and mo could not l)ut be aM'are that the fate of our own vessel nn"<>ht soon be connected Mitli the issue of her darin I if* 'fsr^ hi i .1. ff I I i ^f i t P i-3 U) ! .1 Ji Ii. ■ r . 122 AWFULLY GRAND SCENE. and I wisli I could in this place communicate to the reader any just conception of it, but I am utterly at a loss for words in Avhich to embody its description. No language, I am convinced, can convey an adequate idea of the terrific grandeur of the effect now produced by the collision of the ice and the tempestuous ocean. The sea, violently agitated and rolling its mountainous waves against an opposing body is at all times a sublime and awful sight ; but when, in addition, it encoun- ters immense masses, which it has set in motion with a violence ccjual to its own, its effect is prodigiously increased. At one moment it bursts upon these icy fragments, and buries them many feet beneath its wave, and the next, as the buoy- ancy of the depresi-ed boe of no avail, the reader may imagine, the sensation of awe which must ac- company that of grandeur in the mind of the beholder. At this instant, when we were about to put the strength of our little vessel in competition with that of the great icy continent, and when it seemed almost presumption to reckon on the possibility of her surviving the unequal conflict, it Mas gratifying in the extreme to observe in all our crew the greatest calnmess and resolution. If over the fortitude of seamen was fairly tried, it was assuredly not less so on this occasion ; and T will not conceal the pride I felt in witnessing the bold and decisive tone in which the orders were issued by the commander of our little ves- sel, and the promptitude and steadiness with which they were executed by the crew. We were now so near the scene of danger as to render necessary the immediate execution of our plan, and in an instant the labouring vessel flew before the gale. Each person insthictively secured his own hold, and with his eyes fixed upon the masts, awaited in breathless anxiety the f-^'': 1^' i; !' =it 'i n 124 THE TRENT DASHES INTO THE ICE. if *] ; J i b ' I li: 1, I i !' I ' I *«* moment of concussion. It soon arrived, — the brig, cutting her w.iy through tlic light ice, camo in violent contact with the main bodv. In an instant we all lost our footing, the masts bent with the impetus, and the cracking timbers from below bespoke a pressure which vas calculated to awaken our serious apprehensions. The vessel Ktaggered under the shock, and for a moment seemed to ^ecoil ; but the next Avave, curling up under her counter, drove her about her own length within the margin of the ice, where she gave one roll, and was immediately thrown broadside to the wiiid by the succeeding wave, which beat furi- ously against her stern, and brought her lee-side in contact with the main bodv, leaving her wea- ther-side ex])Osed at the same time to a piece of ice about twice her own dimensions. This unfor- tunate occurrence prevented the vessel penetrat- ing sufficiently far into the ice to escape the effect of the gale, and placed her in a situation where she was assailed on all sides by battering- rams, if I may use the expression, every one of which contested the small space which she occu- pied, and dealt such unrelenting blows that there appeared to be scarcely any possibility of saving her from foundering. Literally tossed from piece to piece, we had nothing left but patiently to abide the issue, for we could scarcely keep our .W5«5v»';»> *»■ -*as>*w. . ■-'imnit'' 5 !.» 'li • It ;i i! 1 ■ f ..■\ i r . f. l r )■ i' I ii l! A LAST RESOURCE. 125 feet, much less render any assistance to the vessel. The motion, indeed, was so great, that the ship's bell, which in the heaviest gale of wind had never struck of itself, now tolled so continually that it was ordered to be muffled, for the pur- pose of escaping the unpleasant association it was calculated to produce. In anticipation of the worst, we determined to attempt j)lacing the launch upon the ice under the lee, and hurried into her such provisions and stores as could at the moment be got at. Serious doubts were reasonably entertained of the boat being able to live amongst the confused mass by which we were encompassed ; yet, as this appeared to be our only refuge, we clung to it with all the eagerness of a last resource. After some time had elapsed without any im- provement in our situation, and when, on the con- trary, it became more and more evident, from the injury the vessel repeatedly received, that she could not hold together very long, we were convinced that our only chance of escape de- pended upon getting before the wind, and pene- trating further into the ice. To effect this, with any probability of success, it became necessary to set more head-sail, though at the risk of the masts, already tottering with the pressure of that Avhich was spread. Watching an opportunity, Iff! ui ijiti .i i' I! < ft M' I i ! 1 1 n Wi I i ' Si \ ■ ' y I '{• I. 12G SITUATION IMPROVED. some of our expcrtest seamen plained the fore- • topsail-yard for this piiri)ose, and let a reef out of the sail, while the jib was dragf^ed halfway up its stay by means of the windlass. This additional })ressure ui)on the fore part of the vessel ha])})ily succeeded beyond our expecta- tions. The brig came into the desired position, and with the aid of an enormous mass under the stern, she split a small field of ice, fourteen feet in thickness, which had hitherto impeded her progress, and effected a passage for herself be- tween the pieces. The situation of the vessel was now greatly imj)roved, so much so that, by carefully ])lacing the fenders, particularly the walrus hides, be- tween the ice and her sides, the strokes were so much diminished that we had scarcely any doubt of saving her, provided the gale did not last long. How often and anxic.?isly did we at this time turn our telescopes in the direction in which we had last seen our consort ; for although conscious that neither could render the other any immediate assistance, yet it would have been a great consolation to have known that she was still afloat, and that in the event of the worst happening to one, there was yet a remote chance of ultimate relief from the other vessel. But between the Dorothea and ourselves there was ■T»»r*- ESCAPE. 127 iiitorposofl a dense cloud of sjiray, uliicli limited our view to a few fatlionis only, and effectually prevented our ol)tuining any information as to her condition. After about four hours of the most anxious solicitude, the o;alo beo-an to moderate ; the ves- sel became comparatively easy; and the mist arisinn. from the broakcTs clearing away, wc had the gratification to observe the Dorothea still aHoat. We, hoM-evcr, soon learnt, by signal, that she had suftered very severely. The'storm which had arisen suddenly, now as speedily abated, and our efforts were immediately directed towards the liberation of our vessel, lest the wind should again increase and complete the work of destruc- tion, so effectually begun. Tt M-as a difficult task which we had to jierform, and one that was by no means yet free from danger; but the blows which the vessel now encountered were so com- paratively light with respect to those she had al- ready withstood, that we thought little of them ; ))esides, the necessity of the measure seemed so urgent that we i)ersevered in our endeavours, and about four o'clock succeeded in getting the Trent quite clear of the ice. The Dorothea, however, was too much damaged to risk the heavv blows which attended this o]>eration, and continued embayed in the ice until six o'clock the follow- V\ liM U'\l ^1 V i ' ! ' ! it I ! I-: fit ill i i Hi ■ ii 1'} : :■.) h 128 MAKE FOK FAIR HAVEN. ing morning, when, with the assistance of our boats, she also etreetcd her release. Thus, by the blessing of Divine I'roviileneo, both vessels were again in an open sea ; and tliat heart mu^t indeed have been obdurate which did not, secretly, at least, return tlianks to the Almighty for a deliverance from such imminent danger. But we could not conceal from our- selves that although now unfettered by ice, our prospects were widely different from those with which, but a few hours before, we navigated an open sea. Then everything was before us, and the mind was buoyant with the prospect of fresh enterprises. Now l^oth vessels were dis- abled, and one, at least, was in a foundering con- dition. So that although ignorant of the full ex- tent to which either had suffered, it was neverthe- less quite evident that, as regarded the main object of the Expedition, they were both useless. In a leaky state, we made the best of our way to Fair Haven, in Sj)itzbergen, and thence to a secure anchorage in South Gat, in the same island. In approaching t\vo account to accede; and as to Lieutenant trankhn's request, he preferred taking upon him- .'elf the responsibility of appearing to deviate from his Instructions, rather than subject his crew to the risk of proceeding homo singly in a vessel so shattered and unsafe. He finally determined, therefore, upon remaining in his own ship, and sharing the fate of those who had ac- comjianied him in so many trials and dangers, retaining also the Trent as a convoy. The next consideration was, whether some- thmg more might not yet be accomj)lished by a boat expedition over the ice ; but, upon con- sultnig with Lieutenant Franklin, and examinincr nito the resources of th. ships for such an entei° prise, they were found so inadequate to the pur- pose that the project was speedily given up. Captain Buchan was thus reluctantly compelled to abandon all further discovery, and to proceed to England as soon as the necessary repairs of his vessel should be completed. It was now ])roposed to make the most of the few days which the vessels had to remain K 2 iru^ If I 'I 'II- li sp !l I I ■ ... 132 DESCRIPTION OF THE COAST. at the anchorage. Mr. Fislier, the astrono- mer, was directed to fix his observatory upon Dane's Island, and to commence his observ- ations on the pendulum, the dip, and tln' in- tensity of the needle, the results of winch I have briefly given in the Appendix, as they have been pnl)lished elsewhere by that gentleman ; and Lieutenant Franklin and myself were employed to construct a j)lan of the port and the adja- cent islands, — which indeed was much required, as the charts that were before in use M'ere extremely incorrect, so much so that even the number of islands was erroneously given. We also assisted Mr. Fisher in determining th(> geographical ])osition of the observatory. In the prosecution of our duties we were led to all parts of the coast which could be con- veniently reached by a boat. We found tlu* shores of this part of Spitzbergen in general very steep, for, with the exception of here and there a narrow flat bordering upon the sea, they speedily rise into mountains of from two thousand feet and upwards in height, increasing to a far greater altitude in the interior. These hills are, for the most ])art, inaccessil)le, either on account of the abruptness of the ascent, or of the tren- cherous nature of their surfaces, upon which large stones and fragments of the mountain are so ^nr ^•,( !•■ J MOUNTAINOUS CHARACTER. 133 liglitly jmised, that the smallest additional vvei<>ht l»re('i])itatcs them to the bottom of the hill. I have already described the difficulty of the as- cent of Rotge I fill; the same difficulty we found to beset the ascents in other parts of the coast. This impediment did not escai)e the notice of early navigators, some of whom lost their lives ill their endeavour to overcome it. Martens, speaking u]»on this sulyect, recommends chalking the footsteps during the ascent, in order that the descent may be more easy and certain, and others have had recourse to various expedients. Vn\i, how far these reconnnendations are to be followed it is not my intention to inquire; I mention the circumstance merely to show, that tlie unusual precijjitancy of the elevations has incurred general observation. The sunnnits of the mountains, which form au extensive range, traversing the island in a north and south direction, terminate in remark- ably sharp peaks, from which, as 1 have else- where observed, the island has derivcfl its name. The lateral ridges which branch off from this great chain are less pointed, and sometimes par- take of the appearance of a house-top, of which there is a remarkable instance on the north side of lAfagdalena Bay. 'J^hese ridges, however, are sufficiently surmounted by p(;aks to form a strono- I'fi^ ., I I I :.1t fiM M ' ; ■ il i u ' , i ' ';n\ ilii Ii Hi 1! ■ f!. i ;( i i h f« 1 1 1 111 ■■ ( ^ 1 ! ■ i 1 .:'■' ' ■ ' I; I 1 : 1: t i ■ CI ',i' I :! I i iH: 13G GEOLOGICAL FEATURE. the coast is, however, very limited ; and, un- fortunatelv, there were no observations made as to the order in which the varieties occurred. It may, nevertheless, be interesting to the geolo- gists to be informed of the nature of the rocks which composed the several islands, and some of the mountain ridges on this part of the coast, especially as there have been so few oppor- tunities of examining them, and as it is an intermediate station between the places visited by jMr. Scoresby and Sir Edward Parry. At the northern entrance of Magdalena Bay, the termi- nation of one of those remarkable ridges which branch off from the large chain traversing the island throughout in a north and south direc- tion, our specimens consisted of granite, with })redoniinant Avliite felsj)ar, mica slate, and gneiss with black mica. Those of Dane's Island were mica slate and gneiss, passing into perfect gra- nite, with black mica, and specimens intermedi- ate between these two, together with some quartz. There M'ere also found here two specimens of coal (probably alluvial), the one glance coal, the other a slatz variety. On the eastern side of South Gat, which separates Dane's Island from the main land, we found mica slate and gneiss, of the same varieties as at Dane's Island. Upon Amsterdam Island, as already stated, Vogel Sang J' DISINTEGRATION OF ROCKS. 137 aflbrded specimens of granifo with retl felspar, gneiss with black mica, common quartz, and a large grained white felspar, with a little admixed rpiartz. Upon a small islet near the Norvvajs, common (juartz, with some disin- tegrated felspar. At the termination of the mountain ridge, which forms the eastern side of Foul Sound, we procured, near the summit, quartz rock with some mica, fine grained granite, and white felsparic rock, with quai-tz ; and, from a considerable block at its base, large grained white felspar, with a little admixed quartz. Al)out twenty miles north of Cloven Cliff, wc brought up, from a depth of one hundred and eighty-four fathoms, two specimens of rock, the one common granite, the other fine grained grey sandstone. In other parts of Spitzbergen, the coast has as yet been so imperfectly explored, that we are not even sure we know its limits, and, ])er- luips, mountains higher than those above-men- tioned may yet be found to exist. About Fair Haven the mountains which came under our observation a])peared to be rapidly disintegrating on the surface, perhaps from the great absorption of wet during the summer, and the dilatation occasioned by the frost in the winter. Masses of rock were, in consequence, re- '!■ ( iL I I I ' 5| ■ };■ if I I • I i; i \ i ; I § W' I : ■ i 138 PERPETUAL SNOW LINE. peatedly detached from the liills, accompanied with a loud report, and falling from a great height were shattered to fragments at the base of the mountain, there to undergo a more active process of disintegration. In consequence of this deteriorating process, we find at the foot of the hills, and in all the places wdiere it Avill lodge, a tolerably good soil, upon which grow several varieties of Alpine plants, grasses, and lichens, that in the more southern aspects flourish in great luxuriance. Nor is this ve- getation confined to the bases of the moun- tains ; it is found ascending to a considerable height, so that we have frequently seen tlie rein-deer browsing at an elevation of fifteen hundred feet. This elevation, it will occur to many of my readers, must be above the region of perpetual snow. And so, ho doul)t, it is;* but, during three or four months of the year, the radiation of the sun at Spitzbergen is always very intense, and its effect is greatly heightened by the very clear atmosphere that prevails over every extensive mass of snow or ice, so that we find the mountains bared at an eleva- tion nearly equal to that of the snow-line of Nor- way ; and as vegetation does not ai)pear to de- * In De La Beche's Geology, p. 24, it is given at lour liuii- drcd and fiftv feet. ;i RAPIDITY OF VEGETATION. 130 pond upon the mean temperature of the situation alone, but rather upon the prevalence of a suffi- ciently milfl atmosphere during a certain portion of the season, there seems to be nothing ano- malous in the tact, although at first it certainly has the appearance of anomaly. Plants which can endure considerable frost, and remain at rest during the period of an arctic winter, vegetate very rapidly when subjected to a mild ten"pera- ture ; hence we find them bursting into flower almost as soon as the snowy covering is removed from above them, perfecting their seed, and prepar- ing for a quiescent state again, all Avithin the s])ace of a few weeks. At Melville Island I dug up a plant of the Samfrmja oppositofoUa in'' the depth of winter, when the thermometer was sixty-tw^o degrees below the freezing point, and brought it into the cabin, where we were raising mustard and cress over the pipe of the stove". In four hours it began to push, and the next day it had perceptibly grown, but the want of air and light, of course, prevented its coming to perfection. In some sheltered situations al Spitzbergen the radiation of the sun must be very powerful during about two hours on either side of noon, as we have frequently seen the thermometer upon the ice in the offing at fifty- eight degrees, sixty-two degrees, sixty-seven de- ^i 1 1 Ml If' i'i is ;»t I \ ^ < i^ 'II 110 LINK or PERPETUAL SNOW. «»roos, .111(1 once, at miilnitiht, it rose to soveiity- tliroo (Icgroc'is, although in the shack* at the same tinio it was only thirty-six dcgrct'S It has !)oeii ahvady observed tiiat, in conse- quence of this })o\vert'ui operation of the sohu' rays upon surfaces at Spitzbergen which have a favourable as])ect and inclination, we Hud mountains divested of their snowy covering at elevations far above the line at which perpetual frost may otherwise be i)resumed to exist. And we shall be very much deceived if wc sui)pose the lino of perpetual snow to ascend tt) the eleva- tions at which wc j)crceive this to take place ; for v\hile extensive tracts are sometimes seen perfectly bare at the height of three thousand feet, we at the same time fin*^ others in si- tuations where the surface is nearly horizon- tal, on which the snow remains hard at an elevation of oidv fourteen hundred feet, as, for example, upon the island of Amsterdam ; and mo should probably find it much lower if \ve could meet with a surface similarly inclined at an in- ferior elevation ; but upon this part of Spitz- bergen plains of such a nature so rarely occur, that we are very much limited in our obser- vations. In very high latitudes during the sum- mer solstice the sun is nearly perpendicular to the surfaces of steep mountains for many hours i1 IHSCT'SSION. 141 (Ml cithor side of uooji. and the .itniosplioiv hcino- icniarkably cloar, tlio removal of the snow from such situations can consequently afford no mea- surement of tlie line in question. It is only upon level surfaces, or upon such as, in con- secjuence of the obliciuity of the auf-des, they j>rosont, its rays operate with hut little effect, that we can form any accurate estimation of its height. The reverse is naturally the case in low latitudes. Tn consequence of the radiation of the great jdain of Tartary wc find the snow line upon the north side of the Himaleh moun- tains higher by three thousand feet than it is on the south. And the great plain of Titicaca causes the snow line to be two thousand feet higher in the latitude of 1G° than it is under tlic equator. JNlr. Scoresby, in his "Arctic Regions," lias supposed the upper limit of the snow lino at Spitzbergen to be at the height of seven thou- sand seven hundred and ninety-one feet, which, if it be not a misprint, is, I presume, to be under- stood as the elevation beyond which solar radia- tion ceases to produce a thawing temjierature in the stratum immediately in contact Mith the hills exposed to it. If otherwise, and wc are to assume this as the line of perpetual snow, in the general acceptation of the term, wc shall have this line I J i I'll i > i U Mi t ^' 142 BEDS OF SNOW— OI.AZED SURFACE. uiiilor the latitude 7H', at au elevation as gri'ut as it is upon the Carpathian Alps in 4[)}/, wliih; in the intermediate latitudes, in 71 ', for instance, it descends to two thousand four hundred feet, which can hardly he. There will be much difli- culty, I api)rehend, in determining this lino at Sjtit/bergen ; it is certiiinly not above fourteen hundred feet in latitude 70^" ; while, on the other hand, it far surpasses the c jvation at which it would be placed by thee ^tical com- putations ; one of which fixes it at four hundred and fifty feet. Almost all the valleys in Spitzbcrgen, whicli have not a southern aspect, are occujiicd either by glaciers or innnense beds of snow. These beds afford almost the only feasible mode by which the summits of the mountain ridffes can Ix; gained ; even these are very steep ; and in de- scending by them extreme care is neccssaiy to avoid being precipitated from the top to the bottom, especially when the snow has been ren- dered hard by a succession of thawing and freez- ing. This process frequently takes place in the summer, and occasionally glazes the surfaces so highly, that when the sun shines they reflect a brilliant lustre, and give to the coast a curious and pleasing aspect, whicli, though upon an in- comjiarably more extensive scale, brings to the L) A NO K ROUS KXI'LOIT 143 ivoolloction of those |)cr.sons who have visited i^nvhvr, the sinnruijir edeet produee.l hy the mass of tiiiiKMl roofs iui,l stecpk's which used to crown the hei<,dit,s of that |)lace. Of the danger whicdi attends the traversing these acclivities we had nearly received a serious l)roof, for we narrowly cscaj.cMl losing oik. of onr hest and most active seamen in an attemj.t to descend hy one of these inclined planes. While some observations were ))eing made upon the beach, a sailor of the name of Spinks ha.l ob- tained leave to accompany the boat's crew in pur- suit of a herd of deer that were browsing upon the hills. The ardour of the chase led the party l»eyond the linn't of the prescribed range, and when the signal was made for their return to the boat some of them were on the top of the mountain. Sj.inks, an active and zealous fel- low, anxious to be first at his i)ost, thought he Mould outstrip his comrades by descending the snow which was banked against the mountain, at an angle of about 40° with the horizon, and rested against a small glacier on the left. His height was about two thousand feet, and in the event of his foot shpinng, there was nothing to impede his i)rogress until he reached the beach, either by the slojie, or the more terrific descent of the face of the glacier. He •i! :^\ ;il ;.1 / I 144 SPINKS' LUCKY KSCAPi:. began liis descont by seating liimself and dig- ging his heels into the snow, the surface of which liad been glazed and rendered hard by the process before mentioned. He got on very well at first, but ju'csently his foot slij)- ped, or the snow was too hard for his heel to make any impression, and he began to descciul at a rapid pace, keeping his balance, however, by means of his hands. Ilis speed becoming accelerated, in a very short time his descent was fearfully quick ; the fine snow flew about him like dust, and there seemed to be but little chance of his reaching the bottom in safety, esj)ecially as his descent now appeared to take the direction of the iceberg. We ran with all our strength to render him the earliest assistance, and for a moment having lost sight of him behind a crag of the mountain, we ex- pected nothing less than that his lifeless body would be found at the foot of this icy pre- ci])ice ; but Spinks, with great presence of mind and dexterity, to use his own expression, " by holding water first with one hand, and then the otlver," contrived to escape the dan- ger, and, like a skilful jiilot, to steer his vessel into a ])lace of refuge, amidst a bed ot soft snow which had recently been drifted arainst the hill. As soon as he could extricate him- 'T" : I se If fr THiniJTE TO AX OLD SHIPMATE, ■oiii tlio (l('j)tli into which he had I 14, |>Iun,ived by the force he h.ul )00 11 iUMjuired, lie made Ins way towards us, rubbing his chafed sides iiid hohb'iio- together his (attered garments, and. to our great satisfaction, laughing heartily at tl fii2' in ■e he sui.j)osed he must cut, for he had le worn away two pairs of trowsers and sonietl The (h.nger being over, we cordiail nil"- more. IIS lauii'l V .[oijicd in I, yet in our hearts coiioratuhited OUl'- >f hi,^ in divertinu" fi-<'m the ditticult tl leir minds ed that service, either b les and ;u-ivi'^;o'is which attend- ludi y giving ;i cheerful and erous turn to every little incident, or 111 re counting his own real < r >iij>j)osed adventure.- The value of such n character under t i!(* < 1 1 s- tresi mg circumstances . t.'iiding Captain Frank if j r ' ;v ;' ; ' : i' i ■■ 1 i » iil, i .1 ■ ! ill \(. I': I ; n I f I (« ,jfm^ ,^l H *? 14G DANES GAT. ■ j| = Jill's journey to the Polar Sea can be csti- matcv^ only l)y those who were present ; and it is a g-reut satisfaction to learn that, on his return to Eiioland, lu' was promoted to the rank of Cnnner, and ap])ointed to Il.iSf.S. Philomel, whore he became no less a favourite lie unfortu- nately died not long afterwards at Gibraltar; and the res])ect and esteem of his shipmate>^. officers as well as seamen, was manifested by the marked attention that was paid to his fun(>- ral. As an old shijjmatc of my own, I am happy of an opj)ortunity of paying this tribute, though indeed small, to his memoiy ; and, T trust, the short digression which it has occa- sioned will not be regretted. Our anchorage was in a ])art of the channel named South Gat, formed by Dane's Island and S]>itzbergen. It was completely land-locked, of moderate dej)th of water, and as secure a port as a vessel under ordinary circumstances could rfMjuirc ; and, with the exception of a cove on the western side of Dane's Island,* which M'as discovered too late to be examined, it seems to be the safest port on the north-west coast * 111 this cove, wliich was visited by Mr. Dcaly only, therr were fomid two large wooden huts, and three boats, lashed to- frether and drawn up on the beach. There was also near tliu huts a buryinir-grouiul, surmounted ))y three crosses. 1 i h > llu'd ti>- \vi\v tin; (JLAfnEUS. 147 of S]>itzbcrr>'('n, mid L;is llio aii lofty moun- tains ; they both attain the region of perpetual snow; and alike owe their sustenance and in- crease to the conversion of snow into ice ^ There have ])een recently puljlished on the Continent several works upon glaciers ;* and the Edinburgh lleview, CLT., contains a very in- teresting and learned article on the glacier theory and motion, written in review of those works. We learn from them, that the glacier of the south is of nearly j)ure ice at tlie lower ex- tremity ; i)asses into a granular substance of snow in transition state into ice higher up ; and above that again is bounded l)y a region of per- petual snow; "from which," observes the Jle- view (on every theory), "the glacier depends in some way or other for its sustenance and in- crease." And, speaking of the m'n', or unconso- Hdated part of the glacier, we learn that its gra- nular structure results from " the partial thaw to * Etudes sur les Glacieiv^ par M. Asrassiz. — Essai siir Ics Glaciers, par J. de Charpeiilier.— Throrie des Glaciers do la Savoie, par M. do Chanoiiie ; and others. I 'I m ( ^ < M ii' n i ! m i « i: I 3: I -f . i 1 150 GLACIER FORMATION. wliivli it lias been subjected, in consequence ol' the water which the heat of the sun prochices. percohiting ])rctty freely through the mass ;" which is nearly what has been stated as to the manner in which the snow of the Spitzbergcn glacier has been converted into the icy form in which it now apj)ears. It would be scarcely prudent to venture ujton a minute detail of ideas which have been sug- gested by a partial examination of the northeni glaciers, and by a consideration of their pcculia'* position with regard to that luminary to which they owe their existence •, for in the arctic re- gions all ordinary sources of fresh water are locked up by the iron hand of ])erpetual frost. But, if we were required to trace the glacier formation to its origin, and follow it through its several courses u\> to its present stage, we should, in the first place, imagine a valley filled with snow, and a -temperature below the freez- ing point to reign, nearly at all times, vithin it, or at all events to preponderate througluait the day, for this seems essential. As the sun rises, and casts his beams on the moun- tain tops, communicating its warmtli to the ele- vatee ghu'ier at its upper extremity, and towards all tlio bergs formed in that harbour there was a tendency to an increase of depth ; wliereas, on tlie opp(»site side of the bay, where there are no glaciers, there is comj)arativeIy shallow water from one en ^^> .^ Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MS80 (716; 872-4503 4^ iV <> ^"i. ^ ^ '^ io ■i I li I i, FALL OF AN IMMENSE MASS into the sea. The crew of the kuinch, supposino- themselves beyond the reach of its influence, quietly looked upon the scene, when, pr. ;^r.ntly, a sea rose and rolled towards the shore witli such raj)idity that the crew had not time to take any jirecautions, and the boat was in consequence washed upon the beach, and com{>letely filled by the succeedinrj wave. As soon as their as- tonishment had subsided they examined tlio boat, and found her so badly stove that it be- came necessary to rei)air her in order to return to shij). They had also the curiosity to measure the distance the boat had been carried by the wave and found it ninety-six feet. On another occasion we were viewing the same glacier, and had approached tolerably near when a similar avalanche occurred, but, fortu- nately we were not near the shore, and, by attending to the direction of the boat's head, we rode over the Mave it occasioned without any accident. This occurred on a remarkably fine day, when the quietness of the bay was first interru|>ted by the noise of the falling l)ody. Lieutenant Franklin and myself had approached one of these stupendous walls of ice, and were endea- vouring to search into the innermost recess of a deep cavern that was near the foot of the i i FROM THE GLACIER. 157 glacier, when mo heard a rej>ort as if of a can- non, and, turning to the (|uarter whence it j>ro- ceeded, we perceived an immense i)iece of the front of tiie berg sliding down from a height of two hundred feet at least into the sea, and dis- persing the water in every direction, accompa- nied by a loud grinding noise, and followed by a quantity of water, v .lich, being j)reviously lodged in the fissures, now made its escape in numberless small cataracts over the front of the glacier. We kept the boat's head in the direction of the sea, an<' thus escaped the dis- aster which had befallei; the other boat ; for the disturbance occasioned by the })lunge of this enormous fragment caused a succession of rollers which swept over the surface of the l)ay, making its shores resound as it travelled along it, and at a distance of four miles was so considi rable that it became necessary to aright the Dorothea, whicli Mas then careening, by immediately re- leasing tiie tackles Avhich confined her.* The piece that had been disengaged at first wholly disappeared under Mater, and nothing Mas seen but a violent boiling of the sea, and a shooting n[» of clouds of s})ray, like that Mhich occurs at the foot of a great cataract. After a short time it reaj)peared, raising its head lull * From Captain Biichan's letter. I I II I Iji ;(ii ( i ; 1j V l! i ! . > ( i 1 ) c 1 I L ii J yi ii 158 ENORMOUS ICEHEROS. a Imndrod feet abovo the surfaco, with water j)ouriii<>f «lowii from all p.arts of it ; and tlioii, labouring as if doubtful which way it sliould fall, it rolled over, and, after rorkin!>- about some minutes, at length beeamc settled. \Y<2 now ai)proached it, and found it nearly a quarter of a mile in circumference, and sixty feet out of the water. Knowing its specific gravity, and making a fair allowance for its ine(]ualities, wc conii)utci) ' ) li :: CIIAPTKIl V. Early attempts to settle Spitzbcrjrcn— Fishinfr.ground ron- tested.— A party winter in Bell Sound.— Their sufferino-s. —Attempt to colonize Jan Mayei. -Sufferings and deaUi of the party.— A similar attempt made at Spitzbergen.— —Death of the party.— Ships repaired.— Put to °sea Trace the barrier of ice toward Greenland.— Return to England.— Sir Edward Parry's attempt to reach the Pole over the ice. — Concluding remarks. J .1 4 V J ! ! It will be seen, on referriii<»- to the survc\ of this coast, which was made by the expedition, that there are seven islands lying off the north-west ])art of Spitzbergcn. The various anchora<^er, which have been referred to in the course of this narrative, with the exception of Magdalena Bay, are formed between those islands and the main land. In the early navigation of this sea, these ports were resorted to by vessels princijially from Holland, Norway, and Denmark, so that there have been occasionally as many as forty .-it ouohor at a time. Upon som«.' of the islands around the anchorage there were found the remains h 1r- ■ H IGO EARLY AITKMPTS AT COLONIZATION. of brick l)uil(liiigs, and a groat many coflins, of which wc connted upwards of a thousand upoji the islands of Amsterdam, tlie Norways, and the low lands about Smeerenburg. Out of this number of graves a few only bore English inscriptions, the others were princii)ally Dutch. By the dates on the head-boards, it aj)peare(l that the greater pari, had been deposited on the shore about the middle of the eighteenth century. The interment of Dutch subjects, how- ever, is not confined to these islands, for Sir Edward Parry found them as far to the castxvard as Treurenburii: Bav, where he discovered thirtv coflins upon a point of land on the north side of that harbour bearing Dutch inscri[>tions, from which it aj)peared that the dates nearly corre- sponded with those above-mentioned. We are told in various ])ublications that at- tempts have been repeatedly made to form esta- blishments upon Sj)itzl)ergen for the j)urpose of reducing the whale blubber to oil on the spot, and of collecting the skins of bears, foxes, and walruses ; but the individuals ui)on vhom the experiments of cohmization were made gene- rally fell victims to that dreadful malady the scurvy, which the climate of Spitzbergen seems particularly calculated to promote. A few years after the commencement of the TT^T^* CONTESTLU RIGHT OF FISHING GROUND. IGl whale-fishery upon this coast, the ground was resorted to by vessels from almost all the mari- time powers of Europe. The whales having been then very little molested, resorted to the bays and sounds in great numbers, and the ships in consequence remained in port instead of keep- ing the sea, as is done at present, and pursued their occupation in boats despatched from the ships at anchor. There was in consequence a continual interference between the boats of i.he several nations ; and jealousies arose, which soon heightened into contentions of a serious cha- racter. Ships went armed, and, latterly, powerful fleets for those days, were sent out, and the weak- est were either plundered of their cargoes or obliged to quit th:> ground. At one time the English were masters of the coast, at another the Dutch; so that the ' irfare between the vessels of different nations appears to have been almost incessant. Companies for the prosecu- tion of this species of commerce were esta- blished in the several countries, and royal pa- tents granted, securing to each the exclusive privilege of fishing in those seas. Each nation claimed to itself the right of so doing from priority of discovery, or some such j)retext. 'J'lie English maintained theirs from the alleged dis- covery of Spitzbergen by Sir Hugh AVilloughby; M ii'ii i I I I ' 1 1 I . it II' \ i 1 1 1^* mff 1 02 TRADE THROWN OPEN. ' . ( f\ 1? tlie Dutcli, with more justice, from that by liarentz ; the Dunes, from the supposed con- nexion between S|iitzl)ergen and Greenland, which behmged to them by riglit of coloniza- tion;* the French, from the Biscayners having been the first fisliers in tliose seas ; in short, each had a ready excuse for exchiding the other from a participation in the trade. At l'?ngth, after many seizures and engagements, the trade was thrown open, and certain bays and lounds were, by agreement, allotted to the different nations. The English, from their being the first in that country,f had the best bays; the Dutcli found 1 arbours further north ; the Danes, though late, got in between them, and the French and S})aniards were compelled to put u^) with some stations upon the northern coast. The capture of the whales being thus confined to the coast, it became very convenient to reduco the blubber into oil on the spot, and " cookeries " were erected for this purpose. The English had their principal station m Bell Sound; tlie Dutch had theirs upon Amsterdam island, and * 111 Munster's Geographia, printed in 1540, Greenland is joined to the north of Europe, making the Northern Ocean appear one largo bay. f Anderson's Commerce. lii:' at by . con- nlaiul, loiiiza- haviug short, or the O 3. At ;ments, n bays to the ir being b bays; h ; the pm, and IL'd to lortheni confined reduce akeries " English nd; the uid, and ■eenland is era Oct-an SliTTLKMKNT AT SI'ITZUKROKN ATTK>;PTKU. l()3 others were erected npou the Norways, and Dane's Island in its immediate vicinity. Nothing now remained but to induce some persons to inhabit these establishments in order to their becoming regular settlements ; and, as an en- couragement to settlers, large rewards were held out by the Russia company to any persons who would pass one entire year in their pos- sessions; but none were found willing to endure the privations of such a banishment, or to expose their lives in so hazardous an under- taking. Failing in this, they obtained from the government the promise of a reprieve to any culprits who would volunteer, and actually perform this service ; and accordingly several, in order to escape the extreme sentence of the law, accepted of the offer, and were carried to the place. But when they arrived on the spot, and were landed, they were so struck with horror at the desolate appearance of their intended abode, and with the hopeless pro- spect which it presented, that they begged to be taken back again, declaring they would rather undergo the penalty of their crimes than subject themselves to the lingering death which must inevitably attend their wintering in so wretched a place.* They were accordingly taken home * Churchill's Collection, vol, iv. p. 748. M 2 II ilJ I. ill J ; f^ I' : . ! 4 i > , 1 ( 1(14 NINK niUTISIl SEAMEN SIU'EER. I '■ again in the vessel wiiieh brought tiicm out ; and MC are told tliat the company afterwards obtained their reprieve. It happened that this experiment, which no reward could induce any person to attemi>t, was shortly doomed to undergo a trial by a ])arty of British seamen, consisting of nine persons, who were left behind in this miserable country by a whaler, and all of whom were found dead the following year, with their bodies cruelly disfigured and torn by bears and foxes.* Tn 1030 also, some little time after this melan- choly occurrence, it was again fated to be tried. The master of the same whale vessel happened to send a boat on shore, at a i)lace near Black Point, famous for the numerous herds of deer which frequented it, with orders to procure a supply of venison, and return on board. The party, consisting of eight persons, landed, and, with the assistance of two dogs, succeeded in taking fourteen of these animals; being then overcome with fatigue they determined to pass the night on shore, and return to their vessel on the following day. It, however, un- fortunately happened, that a change of wind occurred in the course of the night, and brought down such a quantity of ice, that the vessel * Churchill's Collection, vol. iv. \u •r-r-- A no ATS CREW LEFT HEIIINU. 1G5 could not come near the land, added to which ji thick fog shortly arose and continued for several days. The party seeing the vessel could not a|)j)roach the coast, on account of the ice and fog, and being limited to time, determined to proceed to a place called Green Harbour, where they supposed there were several vessels at anchor, and whither they knew their own ship would })roceed before she returned home, to take on board twenty-four of her crew. They coasted the shore along in their boat, and on the seventeenth day arrived at the harbour ; when, to their disappointment and dis- may, they found that all the vessels had departed. There were yet three days wanting of the time for the final dej)arture of the vessels from the coast ; and, supposing there might still be some in Bell Sound, they made the best of their way thither. Unfortunately, however, there arose a difference of opinion as to the situation of the Sound, and they, in consequence, wandered up and down the coast until the day appointed for the final departure of the vessels had expired, i>o that when they reached the Sound they found all the ships were gone. Dismay, horror, and despair, alternately ]>os- sessed their minds, and they stood gazing at each other as if to inquire what was to be done in i|: '1:1: ' !• ?i ' i les, operated simultaneously upon the party. " Arousing ourselves from this lethargy," says the narrator, " and impressed with the hopelessness of our situation if we, in any way, gave way to despair ; we at once set ahout taking the most cffeetnal measures for preserving our lives, during the long and severe winter Avhich was before us." It was now the end of August, and the party determined at once to proceed to the vicinity of Green Harbour and lay in a stock of venison for their winter consumption. They were successful in this un- dertaking, having procured nineteen deer and four bears, with which they returned to Bell Sound, on the 3rd September, intending, however, to make another trip to Green Harbour for a second supply; but they were prevented putting this in execution by cold weather, which made them fear the sea might freeze over and prevent their return. Their next consideration was to construct a house, that should enable them to pass the winter in tolerable comfort, and in this matter they were particularly fortunate in finding a quantity of building materials, — brick, lime, plank cS:c., which had been left at the establisli- ment ; and, to crown all, there was a spacious I I B AHUANOEMENTS I'OU WINTERING. 107 slii'd, built of stout inateriuls, aud roofed witli tiles, which had been erected for tiie Use of tlie company's artificers. It was too lar^e for them to live in, ])ein^ fifty feet l)y forty-ei^ht, but they very wisely l)uilt their own liouse within it ; two sides were of brick, and the other two of stout j)lank, nailed a foot apart and filled in with sand ; the ceilinfj consisted of stout layers of plank. Tho only light that was admitted came through tho chimney, to which it found access by the removal of some tiles from the outer roof. Four cabins were built within this dwelling, and the door was rendered tight by the application of a mattress which was found there. Thus did tho party contrive to convert to their ])urpose, in the best manner, the various materials which fell within their reach ; and to construct a dwelling between which and tho external atmosphere there was an intermediate stratum of air, which, in a very great degree, moderated the intensitv of the cold, so that we do not find them once complaining of the severity of the weather during the winter. Next to a supply of provision, notliing could have been more for- tunate than their meeting with this shed and the building materials ; for whilst it interposed a medium between their dwelling and the outer atmosphere, it at the same time afforded them a il '^ i '( n i I I, iiJ lu 4 1 I 1G8 ECONOMY OF PROVISION. |»lace in wliicli they were able to take exercise when the severity of tlie weatlitr j)revented their stirring abroad ; and no doubt it is owing to this fortunate occurrence, not only that the lives of the i)arty were preserved, but that none of them were afflicted with that dreadful malady tlio scurvy, which proved so fatal to other parties who attempted to winter in the same island. Being now provided with a house, their next care was t j make beds and clothing for them- selves ; for wlii'^h purpose they ^^.ried the skins of the deer and bears they had taken, and sewed them together with bone needles, and thread made from the yarn of rope. On the 12th of Se])tember all their arrangements were finished. On that day some ice drove into the bay, and upon it two walruses which they succeeded in taking, and added to their stock of provision. This was a very acce})table .addition, for they found u})on looking over their stock, that, with the utmost economy, they would not have enough to last them half through the winter, without having recourse to the refuse of whale blubber, after the oil had been extracted from it ; upon examination, also, it was found, that they would have to subsist upon this loathsome food four days in the week, and that upon the other three they might feast upon venison and bears' flesh. 1P^ iwWir*"*"^ 11 Is M:'i SEVERITY OF WEATHER. IGl) On the lOtli of October tlie weather was so cold that the sea froze over, and thev were compelled to pass much of their time in the house ; this was dreary enough, as they had neither book, pen, nor ])aper, to divert their minds from the miseries of their situation, and from the prospect of a painful and lingering death, which they had every reason to a]>prehend from the fatality which attended other parties, who had attempted to pass tlie winter upon this island. From the 14t]i of October, to the 8rd of February (O.S.) they did not see the sun, and from the 1st to the 20th of December (O.S.) there did not a]>pcar to be any daylight. The new your set in so extremely cold, that if they touched a piece of metal it would stick to their fingers like birdlime; if they exposed themselves to the air large blisters were raised upon their skin, and wlien, from necessity they went to fetch snow or water, they returned sore, as if they had been beaten with sticks. Until the 10th of January they found fresh water under the ice, in a lake near the beach. Tiiis water, it appears, flowed from a hole in a cliff of ice and lodged in the lake, until the intense frost consolidated it into ice. After this, snow thawed with hot irons was used for drink- ing. Hi! If i 1 h 1 ' r I i 1 i f 1; .1 t : 1 HI 7 I Iti m i ■ i'' I.- l^u I I '. i .^fj ' I '*'<. ii 170 REAPPEARANCE OF THE SUN. On the 3r(l of Febuary our narrator, overjoyed at the reappearance of that luminary so essential not to comfort onlv, but to life itself, exclaims — " Aurora smiled once agam upon us with her golden face, for now the glorious sun, with his glittering beams, began to gild the highest tops of the lofty mountains ; the brightness of the sun, and the whiteness of the snow both together were such as would have revived a dying spirit." The return of the sun to a part of the earth from whicl; it has totally disappeared, and espe- cially for so long a period as occurs at Spitz- bergen, is attended with many exhilarating circumstances, and we cannot wonder at any raptures which may be indulged in by persons who are witnesses of its effects. The pleasure of being able to stir abroad in daylight; the cheerfulness which the sunshine sheds over the country around ; the modifying tendency of his rays upon the atmosphere; the return of the animals, and the prospects which it opens out, all oj)erate upon the mind, and produce a com- bined sensation of joy and thankfulness which can only be fully appreciated by those who have experienced it. To add to the happiness of the party, two bears were seen upon the ice, and they succeeded in taking one, which was a valu- ul)le acquisition ; but they suffered from eating RETURN OF ANIMALS AND BIRDS. 171 the liver, as many persons had clone before, the effect being soon apparent by the skin pealing off their bodies. No other inconveniences, how- ever, were felt. Toward the beginning of March their provision again became extremely scarce; but, as if Providence had watched over their necessities, at this timt there came so many bears about their dwelling, that they succeeded in killing a sufficient number to serve them for a length of time, and put beyond don})t the chance of their being again reduced to want. The feathery tribe now, also, revisited the coast, and, with their arrival, the foxes came forth from their holes in great numbers. The party by means of traps, and whalebone springs, managed to take a great many of both foxes and birds, especially of the latter; one species of which, probably the Puffin, was easily captured, from their difficulty in rising from the land, " owing," as our narrator observes, " to the misplacement of their legs." They were now able to stir abroad with com- fort ; and, as the month of INIay approached, they began to ascend the hills to look out for vessels, but it was not until the 24th of that month that there was any chance of one beino- seen, for the ice extended as far as the eye could reach. On tliifs day, however, it broke up, and ;!!!:Ni! ■' t ■ ' i ! '• \„ .1 172 FAPPY DELIVERANCE. li \4 'i I ■■[ I j t' I I ! •H i\ the next day the Sound was more than half cleared. It now blew a gale, and the party had retreated to their house, and were sitting over the fire, when they heard themselves hailed in English by a strange voice. It immediately occurred to them that some vessel had arrived in the Sound ; and, filled with delight and sur- prise, they rushed out and found their expecta- tions realized. Thus after ten months' residence on this deso- late island, and after enduring all the severities of a winter, under the 77° of latitude, did these hardy seamen return on board their vessel, in good health, and without the loss of a single individual of their number. The extraordinary manner in which they es- caped sickness throughout the winter must be attributed to the warmth and comfort of their dwelling, and to the natural strength and cheer- fulness of their minds, which has a most pow- erful effect upon the scurvy, a disease from which they had the worst to apprehend, as they had no vegetables or antiscorbutics of any kind ; and the gross and loathsome food upon which they subsisted for a great part of the time would materially encourage that complaint. The possibility of wintering in Spitzbergeu being now no longer a matter of doubt, the 2 SETTLEMENT TRIED AT JAN MAYEN. 178 Dutch Greenland Company determined to send out persons to their establishment at Amsterdam Island, and published their intention through- out their fleet in 1633. Seven seamen accord- ingly volunteered for this service, and were landed upon Amsterdam Island, with an ample supply of provision and every necessary. At the same time, seven other seamen offered to pass a winter upon the Island of St. Maurice, now called Jan ^layen, u])on which the Dutch had also a cookery ; and as this is the first instance of any winter being passed in this island, it will not be irrelevant to give a sketch of the climate, and of the success which attended this as well as the other experiment. The island is situated in latitude 71° N., and is about thirty miles long by three broad, with a re- markable morntain, called by the Dutch Beeren- burg, or Bear's Mount, rising from the northern part of it to the height of six thousand eight hun- dred and seventy foot.* The island is in the immediate vicinity of the edge of that immense barrier of ice which extends across the northern part of the Atlantic, and it ap])cars from the narrative of these men, that it is accessible to shipping during great i)art of the winter season. It seems to be subject to a great vicissitude of * Scoresby's " Arctic Regions." >J I I ■; [fl ! '. t f } \ HW ;^ ¥ if '' . II) 174 PREPARATIONS — SEVERE COLD. ,1 J I ■" ■■! ■ climate, and, coiisi ^1 r ii ;|j Hi \k- h 11 17n DEATH OF TUK SKTTLKKS. meiu'c "April," wlieii a terininutioii to his earthly career, or so near an aj)pr()ach to ii from indisjiosition seems to have occurred, that lie was not able to proceed beyond the Latin word *' dio," witii wliich he usually commenced eacli day's proceedings. The death of this man must have been an event as melancholy as it was unex])ected to his poor suffering companions, all of whom were too feeble to assist them- selves, even to the scanty morsels of food which remained ; and not less disheartening to thoni in their distress to find that the only one on whom they could at all rely for assistance, and apparently the strongest of the party, should have so soon fallen a victim to the malady which was gradually bringing them down to their graves. How long they survived their companion has never appeared ; we only know, that when the island was revisited in June following, they were all found dead. Near to one of the bodies was lying a box of ointmenv. with which the un- fortunate being had rubbed his lacerated gums and joints, and by the position of one of the arms, he appears to have expired whilst in the act of applying the remedy to his mouth. With- in the grasp of another there was a morsel of bread and cheese, and near him a Prayer-Book. Thus terminated the first experiment which 'vr^' ATTKMPT RKXKWED AT SIMTZUHRGLN. 170 was ever made to settle Jaii Mayon, the result of Miiich was not known in Holland until after they had despatched a second party to rejieat the attempt which had bf-n simultaneously made upon Si)itzl)er. t ■ ■ t ^i ■: 1^ I'l 1 i i 1 ' 1 1 ll !K 180 I'UIVATION AND SICKNKSS. iiifoniKMl, first, of tlie day on wliicli tlic sun ap- pcaivd for tlic last time that season, and for the last time tiieso unfortunate l)eings wore destined to beliohl it. This occurred on the 21st October. h'roin tliat (h\te until the LMth November we hear of no complaint ; but they now l)e«;an to feel the effect of the climate, and of their unnatural mode of life in the apj)ear- ance of that disease which had proved fatal to the settlers upon Jan Mayen. In anticipatiou of this complaint, they had jirovided a " scorbutic poti(m," of which they ])artook as soon as they perceived symptoms of tlic disease, but it does not appear to have had any ])ermanently benefi- cial effect, as the party fell sick and took t" their beds, one after the other, until several of them were incapacitated for exertion of any kind. On the 12th December, although total darkness reigned throughout the twenty-four hours, such of the party as could walk, went in search of fresh food, and vegetable diet, to allevi- ate the end, but to no purpose ; the bear escaped, and they made their way back, with feelings which may more easily be imagined than described. Three weeks after this, the hand of death put an end to the sufferings of the first of the party, the next day another died, and two davs after, a third. The four who remained contrived to make c(>liins for their departed comrades, and placed the bodies in them; but they were not able to carry them out of the house. The day- light now began to daAvii in the south, about noon, and, as it increased, the foxes came about the hut, and the party had the good fortune to take one of them ; which for a while cheered their drooping spirits, as they hoped to derive great benefit from the use of its flesh. They i!M •\ ■ Hi I » u * • ll 'I 182 DEPLORABLE STATE OF THE PARTY. ■ H m :■! 1 1 rli I saw also about this time many bears, but they were too weak to pursue them ; to use their own expression, they were " so feeble and sore that thev could not even bite their biscuit." Their earthly career was now drawing to a close; debility heightened into " cruel pain ;" and they soon experienced the effect of the scurvy in all the horrors of its most loathsome and afflicting form. In the last stage of their disease, while they yet retained their faculties, one of them penned the following affecting paragraph : " Four of us that are still alive, lie flat upon the ground in our huts ; we think we could still feed were there but one among us that could stir out of our hut to get us some fuel, but no- body is able to stir for pain. We spend our time in constant prayer, "".o implore God's mercy to de'".er us out of this misery; being ready, whenever he pleases to call us. We are certain- ly not in a condition to live long without food or fire, and cannot assist one another in our mutual api)lications, but must every one bear his own burthen."" No words can more feelingly describe the deplorable condition of these miserable beings than those which are given in the last paragraph, which fell from the pen of the historian <-f this [>arty. Situated as they were, with tlieir intel- Uv ! H PARTY FOUND UEAU. 183 lect still perfect, having a desire for fc ocl, \vitli- out the means of gratifying it, and feeling the gradual inroad of the frost u})on their a})artnient, without strength to replenish the dying em- bers, it is to bo hoped they did not long survive the time at which that paragraph was penned. Their bodies were found the summer following, by the ships which were purposely sent from Holland to inquire into their fate ; and their discovery is tlius related in Churchiirs Collection : '' The man who got first on shore ha})pened to come to the back door of the hut, v'hich he broke open, and running upstairs, found the car- cass of a dog upon the floor, which had been laid there to dry. JNIaking the best of his way down again, he trod upon the carcass of another dog^ and from thence, passing through a door towards the front door, he stumbled in the dark over the bodies of the men, whom they saw (after the window was opened) all together in the same place, viz. three in cofiins, two in their respective cabins, and the other two u])on a sail, spread upon the floor, with their knees drawn up to their chins." Their bodies were placed in coflins, and deposited outside the huts ; and as the ground was frozen too haritzl)orgeii coast than in any former year that we are ac- quainted with, and consequently that tlie ditticnl- ties of getting' to the northward v.'ere proj)ortioii- ably increased. This obstruction to the northward in 1818 was coincident with a remarkable dispersion of the ice in low latitudes. In the parallel of 70^ N., for instance, it appears that there was a ftici- lity of gettin^^ westward, such as had not occurred for many years before. The cause of this was, in all probability, the prevalence of southerly and southwesterly gales, for which this year was remarkable, the tendency of M'hich would be to disperse the ice in a low latitude, and drive it to the northward ; in which direction, meeting with its usual obstruction, it would accumulate, and encumber the sea, in tlic manner in which we found it. On comparing this season, also, with that in Avhich Captain Parry made his attempt to travel over the ice to the Pole, the unfavourableness of the period (1818) is further confirmed; as it appears from his journal, that on returning from Treurenburg Bay on the 25tli August, it was the opinion of every officer on board the lied a that they might have sailed to 82° N., whereas, in no part of the season of 1818 did wo find tlic CONCLUSION. 1!H oAore of tlie ie(3 within a Iiundred miles of tliis parallel, or to the northward of SO"^ 10' N. Notwithstanding this very unfiivonrable state of the northern seas, the expedition attained nearly as high a latitude as any that had previ- ously been reached, if we except Mr. Scoresby's singular advance to 82° N. ; and, from the fact that no other expedition lias since been under- taken for the same ])urpose, it A\ould ajipear that the fulness of the attempt made by Captain Bu- chan has been admitted. Here, strictly speaking, the Polar voyages have been brought to a close, but there is yet one attemj)t so immediately connected with this subject, and of so enterprising a character, besides reflecting so much lustre upon our hardy country- men by whom it was executed, that it must on no account be omitted. It was a project no less bold and daring than that of endeavourino- to reach the Pole by means of two small boats, so constructed that they might either be used as sledges upon the ice, or rowed in the open water. The expedition consisted of twenty-eight per- sons, under the command of our great Polar navigator, Sir Edward Parry, distinguished alike for his courage and perseverance, as for his patient endurance and humane consideration of those under his command. His former ship, the I n, '!1 !||Mi *. : i'H; !i' 4 fir r. n I i m i 4 i, |l 192 CAPTAIN parry's ATTKMPT. llocla, wa:< ai)pf>iiitc'd to take liim to SpitzbcM-^ieii, and left England in April 1827. On the 14tli AJay she reached Amsterdam Island (Spit/hcr- gen), and being compelled to rnn into the ice for shelter from a gale of wind, she got beset, and drifted about for three weeks before she could be extricated. At length, on the 8th June, a southerly wind dispered the ice, and Sir EdwanI Parry proceeded towards the Seven Islands, uj)oii one of which (AValdcn Island) he deposited a reserve sup})ly of provision, for the use of hh little party on its return. The sea was now so clear of ice, that the Ilccla stood to the north- ward to the latitude 81° 5' N., and then ])ro- ceeded to Treurenburg Bay in Ilenlopen Strait, where the ship was left in charge of Lieutenant Henry Foster,* who was directed to await the return of his ca})tain. Sir Edward Parry now set out on his arduous undertaking, having under his command Lieutenant (now Captain James) Ross, jNIr. (now Commander) Bird, and Mr. Beverly, surgeon, and twenty-four seamen. This party was e(|ually divided between t\v(» boats, called the Enterprise and Endeavour, Sir Edward being in the former, and Lieutenant * A highly scientific and promising officer, who had the misfortune to lose his life, hy falling overboard from a canoe in the river Chagro. i'! '• parry's polar attempt. 193 James Ross in command of the otlier. Tims appointed, and with provision and clothing for seventy days, the party set out for Little Table Island, wiiere they left a reserve supply of pro- vision, as they had done at Walden Fsland, to fall back uj)on in case of necessity. From Table Island, the most northern known land upon the Globe, Sir Edward Parry ])roceeded at once to the performance of one of the most singular and perilous journeys of its kind ever undertaken, except perhaps that of Baron Vran- f,de, upon a similar enterprise to the northward of iJehring's Straits. " Let but any one conceive for a moment the situation of two open boats, laden with seventy days' provisions and clothing for twenty-eight men, in the midst of a sea covered nearly with detached masses and floes of ice, over which these boats were to be dragged, sometimes up one side of a rugged mass, and down the other, sometimes across the lanes of water that separate them, frequently over a sur- face covered with deep snow, or through pools of water. Let him bear in mind, that the men had little or no chance of any other supply of provi- sion than that which they carried with them, cal- culated as just sufficient to sustain life, and con- sider what their situation would have been in the event, by no means an improbable one, of o ill 1 1 > > i'fii I , ■; i I • I I "i , '' '' ! I . 1 I It:i I. ' i l; i i ■ 1 1 < 1 ' i 1 t ' 1 ; i i 1 t t ri ■ 1 1 1 ^n 1^ il 104 I'ARRY S rOLAU ATTKMPT. losin*]^ any ]y,irt of tlint scanty stock. Jjct any one try to inn\th, findinf>- it impossible to overcome this difficulty, and half their resources being expended, it was hope- less to think of attempting anything further. "For the last few days," says Captain Parry, " the eighty-third parallel was the limit to which we had ventured to extend our hopes ; but even this expectation had become considerably weakened since the setting in of the northerly wind, which continued to drive us to the south- ward during the necessary hours of rest, nearly as niucli as we could gain by eleven or twelve hours of daily labour. Had our success been at all proportionate to our exertions, it was my full intention to have proceeded a few days beyond the middle of the period for which we were provided, trusting to the resources we ex- pected to find at Table Island. But this was so far from being the case that 1 could not but consider it as incurring useless fatigue to the officers and men, and unnecessary wear and tear for the boats, to persevere any longer in the attempt. T determined, therefore, on givin if . I i. 'I 1 1 202 CONCLUDING REMARKS. It will be scon that the great obstacle ■vvhicli has hitherto frustrated every endeavour, has been a vast barrier of ice stretching across the north- ern seas from Nova Zembla on the one hand, to the shores of Greenland on the other. This vast barrier has been encountered by all, with dif- ferent degrees of success it must be allowed, but with the same invariable result, and yet so great are the changes which occasionally take ])lace in its position, that, notwithstanam- apparatus for warmino- the vessel thi-oughout could bo fitted with little trouble. And as the propeller is only intended to bo used as an auxiliary power, a small high-pressure engine would bo all that would be required, aiul conse- quently it would take up but little of the stowage of the vessel. In short, it seems as if this invention had apjiearod about this time to stimu- late us to further exertion, and the auspicious return of Captain James Ross from the Antarctic seas, with oflicers and seamen already accustomed to the ice, and with two vessels ready strength- ened, to which the propellers could bo applied at a moderate expense, appears to mark the present as a period at which arctic research might be most advantageously resumed. In connexion with this attempt, that most interesting and important (juestion, of the com- [>ression of the earth at the Poles, might undero-o an investigation, by a direct measurement of an extensive arc of the meridian at Spitzbcrgen. l\i rill! y ! 1 li f i 1 i r I; ,. it 'ft liV 208 CONCM'DIXG REMARKS. :i 1.^ \i\ % This ini|>ortai)t cniisidoration was brounlit under tlic notice of the President and Council of tlie Uoyal Society in 182") by Sir J. Iferschel, in conso(|ucncc of a i)aj)cr written by Colonel Sa- bine,* who, havinnf conducted a valuable scries of pendulum observations at Spitzbcrgen, for the purpose of determining the figure of the earth, felt the very high interest and importance that Mould attach to a direct comparison of these results with a compression determined by the actual measurement of an arc of the meridian, or rather by extending the measurement of arcs to higher latitudes than has been hitherto at- tempted. Ilis propositi* net with the warm support of Mr. Davies Gilbert, the late Sir Humphrey Davy, then President of the Royal Society, Sir J. Herschel, and others, and was so far entertained by the Council of tlie Royal Society, that in the autumn of the same year the j)ropriety of recommending the subject to the Government was taken into consideration. So deeply were Colonel Sabine's feelings engaged in this most important inquiry, that he sought from remote foreign sources the most useful information with regard to the localities of Sj)itzbergen ; and on the question being put to him by the President of the Society, he * See Appendix. m CONCLUDINCJ RLMAUKS. 201) ill! mediately comiminicated liis reudiiioss to coii- (Inet the uii(lertjikiiien, from tlie favourable nature of the ,2:roniMl, and that an arc of uj)\var(ls of four (U'orees mi^jlit be measured in that iii"h iati- tude, which would be ecjual in value to one of nine degrees in the mean latitude of i-'ranee. JJut 1 feel that I am weakening tlu; ijujiortanee of the subject, which has been so forciblv argued by that zealous and enterprising oHicer, and beg to refer th< reader at once to his most interesting letter, which by pernn'ssion I have placed in the Appendix. The question is one of paramojut importance, and of itself worthy of an ex})edition, but when it can be combined with another of equal interest, it seems as though there could be but one o[)inion as to the i>ro- j)rioty of its becoming a national undertaking. With such an undertaking, other interesting objects might be connected. Many of the scien- tific inquiries, mentioned in the Instructions at the beginning of this book, have unavoidal)ly been but imi)erfectly investigated. Much requires to be done in magnetism. The correct determination of the position of the magnetic poles ; the present Ihp and Magnetic intensity, as compaied with i' (• 111 \ 1 ■I:. ! 1 1 I* I : 1. I I !•! , I I I i ' ■ ■ P i i ': I h 1 M i i: >J. I 1;^ t f 210 CONCLUDING REMARKS. results obtained twenty yoais ago, during wliich period the needle has begun to retrograde, would be particularly desirable. And, amidst other natural phenomena, the stupendous ice forma- tions, wliich have recently excited much atten- tion, are not unworthy of investigation : whether they really have a progressive motion, tearing their icy bases from the firmly-frozen earth beneath, o ■ whether they remain immovably fixed, and are thus icy monuments of at least four thousand years' antiquity, are inquiries full of interest, although they sink into insignificance compared with the magnitude of the propositions above mentioned. It has been shown that the highest latitude has been reached in the vicinity of Spitzbcr- gen, and, consequently, that is the point from which any expedition sent upon this service ihould start. And :.s the sea here does not become clear of ice until the summer is well advanced, the shijis would have am])le time to land, and to settle the party engaged in the measurement of the arc of the meridian, and to push other useful incpiiries, before they would be required to start on their grand enter- prise. If they should chance to arrive at an auspicious moment during one of tliese favourable openings ;1 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 211 in the ice, and if any land sliould be discovered in, or near the situation marked in an oUl Duteli chart, and its coast shouhl stretch to the nortli- ward, and l)o a])|)roachable, tliere is but little doubt that the expedition would be able to advance along- its western side, owing to the prevailing motion of the ice,* and perhajis attain a very near approach to the Pole. In any case we shall have acquired knowledge, and a positive benefit to science, by a more accurate deter- mination of tlic figure of the earth than we have hitherto possessed. In concluding these remarks, I cannot withhoM the expression of my cordial agreement in the opinion maintained by the Quarterly Uevie\v,i- " that neither the country nor the naval service Mill ever l)elicve they have any cause to regret voyages, wliicli in the eyes of foreigners and posterity must confer lasting honour upon both."" And long may our country continue to enjoy that peace and pros])erity, which shall enable her to exercise in such honoural)le and useful services those energies of her seamen, which, in the event of war, nnist be directed to so ojtposite a purj>oso. * See "Currents," Appomlix No. III. I Qiuirterly Review, lxxiv. 539. (I- n ' i ;' I ) 1 1. ':> I I ) 1 1 ■►- Wik. ■■*»»■ •fOS ••—- u PART II. EARLY ATTEMPTS TO REACH THE PACIFIC BY WAY OF THE POLE. I i [ii If i If i r 1 1 ll ^n . .,!• .1 ; I 1 i IMIELLMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 215 CHAPTER T. I'AciUs which led to the prosecution of Arctic discovery. — Ex- tent of geographical knowledge in the 15th century. — Ori- ental commerce. — Monopoly. — Columbus. — Jealousy of the Portuguese leads to the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope, and a navigable route to Cathay. — England desirous of participating in oriental connuerce attempts a passage through the Arctic seas — First Polar voyage. The northern seas, in defiance of the boisterous nature of the climate, ap])ear to have been more extensively navigated at an early ])eriod than parts of the Atlantic lying nearer the equator. Partly from accident, such as vessels being driven away by gales of wind, and partly from the rest- less aml)ition of those piratical northern nations whose fleets spread terror around them, rceland an ( ! 1 If ■1:'. ' ■ (■ ■■1 ; i ^i:. ! . Hii ^vlli(•h arc bettor autlientieatce of the many individnals amongst tliosc l)arl)!u-- ous tril)es, who, witliout compass or qnadrant, traversed tliousands of miles of tliese stormy seas at a time ,"lien the more soutliern nations of Europe scarcely dared lose sight of thcii' own coasts. But that which enterprise and intrepidity alone failed to accomplish, the desire of aggrandise- ment was soon destined to effect. From very early periods the commodities of the cast had excited the attention of the Mcstern Eurojiean nations, and about the period when INIarco Polo's discoveries became known, the desire of trading with the countries Avhich he described as abound- ing in riches, became so great, that a regular overland conveyance was established between the Persian Culf, the Ked 8ea, and the shores of the INfediterranean. The ^^enetians, Cenocse, and Florentines, were at this time the great carriers by sea, and for the most part monopo- lised the trade of the east, or exacted a tribute from the vessels of other nations trading to those ports which had become the de])6ts for I T" KXTENT OF GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE. 217 oriental morchaiulisc. At longtli the Portu- gucse, jealous of the exclusive privilege enjoyed l)y those countries, and desirous of participating ill til is lucrative commerce, conceived the idea of circumnavigating Africa, and of opening out a route by which she miglit i)artake of those profitable sources of wealth. They were greatly encouraged in this idea by the successful issue of a voyage, performed along the coast of Africa, in the short, but brilliant reign of Prince Henry of Portugal, a voyage which had dispelled the preiiosterous notion of the equatorial regions being uninhabitable on account of the excessive heat of the climate, and of the inevitable fate which would attend the navigator who should attempt to double Cape Boyador. It was this desire of transporting to the shores of Europe the golden treasures of the east, that gave so powerful a stimulus to early discovery. ft may, indeed, be said to have been almost the only great incentive which actuated the mer- chants of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries to engage in distant and hazardous enterprises. The extent of the geographical knowledge of the Globe was at this time extremely limited. All the southern j)art of Africa Mas unknown, and a full third jiart of the (J lobe toward the west was a blank, which the most darin<>- navi- ■■ t U m ' 1' ■ I t ! 1 I ( i I 11 i, I 218 COLUMHUS. I I I i ii i ^ator slirank from the task of oxplorinfj^. Navi- gation, also, was quito in its infancy, for, al- thonoli tlio conij>ass liad boon brought into pretty general use, yet the important desiderata for determining the position of a sliip at sea were wanting, and the mariner scarcely ever wilfully ventured out of sight of land. An eventful period was, however, at hand. Whilst the Portuguese were tardily maturing their project, the master mind of Columbus, aided by the almost conteniporaneous a})plica- tion of the astrolal)e to marine purposes, by AJartin Behaim, about 1489, swept from the ])erformance of distant voyages the terrors and obstacles which hitherto attached to them, and navigation at once broke from the trammels by which it had so long been confined. It is useful to observe what rapid strides arc made in either art or science, when a wav has been opened by the enlightened genius of some favoured individual. No sooner had Columbus dashed across that immeasurable waste of waters, over which the maritime nations of Euro])e had long and wistfully cast their eyes in vain, than his examide was followed by the other principal naval j^owers of Europe. In England, his bril- liant discovery was no sooner known than it became a suljject of dee]) interest at court ; and CAKOT. 211) Jfc'iiry the Sovcntli, mortified, no (lonl)t, tliat lu- ii;i(l lost the ojjportniiity of onffa;>in<>- the services of tliat ^yreat iiiiin who, under frequent disap- jtointnient from tlie court of Spain, had oltered himself to the English kinii:, took advantao-c of the presence of Sebastian Cabot, a well-known skilful navigatm-, and determined to employ him iu scarchinn^ for a passage to Cathay and the East Indies, to the northward of the lands discovered hy the Spaniards. Cabot was, accordingly, grant- ed a ])atent, authorizing him to search for un- known lands, and to con(|uer and settle them ; the king reserving to himself one-third of the profits. Cabot sailed from England in the spring of a.d. 1497. and although unsuccessful in accom- jdishing the passage, became the first authen- ticated discoverer of Newfoundland, and of the coast of America down to Florida. On his return, he found the attention of the court occu- [lied in preparing for a war with Scotland, and liis discoveries were not then followed up. The Portuguese, with the brilliant example of Columbus before them, and encouraged by the important voyages of Diaz and Covilham, now forsook the tedious, and dilatory navigation of the coast, and boldly launcliiiig out into the ocean, strove to outrival the Spaniards in the /< \% ! 1 > • I 1 I !| u ii I , 220 NORTHERN ROLTK rROl'OSEl). r 1 Ml nil) ^plt'iidour of their cntorprizcs ; n\u\ tliii8, while Spain wjis ])ursuiii<:f the ]»romising avenues to wealth, wliich Cohinibus liad ojjened in the west, tlie ]*ortu^uese, under the skilful direction of Da Gania, and Magelhanes, accomplished the lon;>f ankMitly sought routes to the golden shores of Cathay. For several years the Sj>aniards and Portuguese continued to enrich themselves with the trade they so justly earned, without any attemj)t being made by other maritime nations to participate ia oriental commerce. At length the spirit of enteri)rise, which had lain dormant in England during nearly thirty years, was revived. Its efforts were, however, directed to a totally dittercnt route to that pursued by either Spaniards or Portu- guese. The voyages round the Ca]ie of Good Hope and Cape Horn, or by the Strait of Magel- hanes, were so very objectionable on account of their duration and expense, that it was deter- mined to try whether a navigable passage to India might not exist by the north — a question which from that period to the present day has excited the deepest interest in this country, and from which we may date the commencement of Arctic disco verv. It was now well known that this route to Cathay could only lie either along the northern A. II. 13-27 1U)LI)NKSS OF TIIK SIT.C.ESTION. !>2t coasts of Euro)io; to tlic north of tlio nowly- V": (liscovoi'cd continent of Anicricii ; or diroctlv across tlie Polo ; cither of which would lead througli the lieart of the Polar regions, and through seas "encumbered with mountains of ice, and where continued snows fell from the skies." It was a hold experiment, especially if we bear in mind the state of navigation of tJiosc early days, and the inferiority of the sliips in use, compared with those of the present age ; and many persons will, no doubt, agree with Hakhiyt, that the boldness of the mind which first contemplated a voyage across those stormy, and icy seas, falls little short of that wliich first suggested the idea of bringing the ends of the known world into communication witli each other. " Wil it not (observes Ilakluyt) in all posteritie be as great a renowne vnto our English nation, to liaue been the first dis- couers of a sea l)eyond the North Capo (neuer certainly knowen before) and of a conuenient passage into the huge empire of Russia by the 15aie of S. Nicholas and the riuer of Duina ; as for the Portugalcs to haue found a sea beyond the Cape of Buona Espiranza ? .... or for the Italians and Spaniards to haue discouered vn- known landes so many hundred leagues west- ward and south-westward of the Straits of •li !l ! ! i t 1 . i ! ill: M f ; 1 i V \ It I 'ft II ! I ! : ! J; 1'. i if :, ■ i r 1 1 :': { '\- J A. 1 1. I.V-'7. 22*J siFri:niNf;s to hk kncountkrkd. (iibniltjir and of the Pillars of Jiorculos? . . . . — True it is, that our succcssc liatli not bono corrcsjJoiKJi'iit vnto tlioirs : yot, in this our at- tempt, the viicortaiiitio of fiii(lln<>- wuh farrc ffrcatcr, and tho diflicultic and danger of search- ing was no -whit lesse J5ut besides t\w foresaide \nccrtaintie, into wliat dangers and diflicnlties they jdunged tlieniselves, aiiinins mc- niinisse liorrct, 1 tremble to recount. For, Hist, they were to exi)ose themseiues unto the rigour of tlio sterne and uncouth northern seas, and to make triall of the swelling wanes and boisterous winds, wliich there commonly do surge and blow ; then were they to sail by the ragged and peiilous coast of Norway, to frequent the unhauntcd shoares of Finmark, to double the dreadful and misty North Cape, and to beare witli "NV^ilhuigli- bies land . . . and as it were, to open and vn- lock the seven-fold mouth of Duina, .... and vnto what drifts of snow and mountains of yoe euen in June, July and August, vnto wliat hideous overfals, vncertaine currents, darko mistes and fogs, and diners other leareful incon- neniences, they were subject, and in danger of." * This idea of braving the Arctic seas, was tlie bold suggestion of Master Robert Thorn, vvlio '* llakluyt's Voyages, Preface to second edition, vol i. ])j). XV. and xvi. I'lUST POLAR VOYAr.K. "Jllo «'xliort(Ml Ifcnry tlio Rinhth, •' witli vory woJLjlity ^;';- and siibstiuitiul ivasoii, to set forth a diycouL'ry t'vcii to the Xorfh Pole.'" Tho king- WHS pleased to accede to the proposal, and sent " two faire ships Mell manned, and vlctnalled, having' in them divers cniming men to seek strange regions." * The particulars of this voyage, which was the Hrst ever undertaken for the i)ur|)osc of searching a j)assago to the Ivast Indies across the Pole, api)ear to have been lost, as Ilakluyt says, "by reason of the great negligence of ihe writers of those times, who should have used more care in preserving the memoires of the worthy actes of our nation;" but it seems that one of the shi[)s was luimed the Domiims Vobiscum, that the expedition left I'^ngland in 1527, and having navigated far to the north-west, at length entered a dangerous gulf between Greenland and Newfoundland, where one of the vessels was cast away, and that the other, having visited Cape Breton, and landed occasionally upon that coast, returned home in the autumn of the same year. This is all that is known of this voyage, from which much was antici])ated ; and the great disappointment which the disastrous fate of the expedition occasioned was in all probability the reason that no other * Haklnyt's Voyages, vol. iii. p. Ix'f). 1 »^ «r'^>-^ f i 1 ii I I f * I >i « i A.n. 224 THE iTANS TOWNES. attempt of a similar nature was made for ui)\vai"ds of five and twenty years. At length, in the year 1553, Purchas informs us, "The trade of this kingdome waxing cold, and in decay, and the merchants, incited with the ftime of the great masse of riches M'liicli the Portugals and Sjianiards brought home yearely from both the Indies, entered into a resolution, notwithstanding the ]irohibitiirit of iiortlu'rii (lis eovery very shortly succeeded the return of '■'"'■* Sehastian Cabot to England in 1549. His reputation as an able navigator was at that time so firmly established, that Edward VI. con- stituted him " Governour of the mystcrie and discouerie of regions, dominions, islands, and places vnknowne," and granted him a pension of IGC/. 13*. id. per annum, "in consideration of the good and acceptable services done, and to be done." * Cabot who originated this expedi- tion, drew up a code of instructions for the persons engaged in it, which a modern writer of great eminence observes, "do him infinite honour, not only for the chaste style in which they are written, but also for the liberal and enlightened sentiments which run throughout this early per- formance."! The expedition consisted of the Bona Esj)e- ranza, of 120 tons, the F hvard Bonaventura of 1 60 tons, and the Bona Confidentia of 90 tons. There were several candidates for the com- mand of this expedition, but the choice fell upon Sir Hugh Willoughby, " both by reason of his goodly personage, as also for his singular skill in the seruices of warre." lie was accordingly '• Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 31. f Chronological History of \^oyages in the Arctic Regions. Q ; f i ,1 I I { n I 1 226 SIR HUGH WILLOUGHBY. ^li . '^^ '■Hi' A.i>. appointed Captain General of the fleet, and sailed in the Bona Esperanza. Richard Chancellor was appointed Pilot Major of the fleet, and took command of the Edward Bonaventura, having Stephen Burrough for his captain. Cornelius Durfoorth was appointed captain of the Bona Confidentia. The ships " being fully furnished with their pinnesses, and boats, well appointed with al maner of artillerie, and other things necessary for their defence, with al the men aforesaid, dej)arted from Ratcliffe, and valed unto Deptford the 10th May 1553." The next day the fleet passed Greenwich, and saluted the court,* which was assembled there : on which " the Privie Council, they lookt out at the win- dows of the court. The courtiers came running out, and the common people flockt together, standing very thicke vpon the shoare." On the 30th they passed Yarmouth, and reached over to the coast of Norway, where they anchored in two small ports near Rest and Lofoot islands, and at length doubled the North Cape of Norway. Here the Bonaventura was separated from the fleet by a gale of wind. When this abated, the admiral pursued his course towards AVardhuys, * Purchas, Pilg. vol. iii. p. 213. f The king was absent on account of ill healtli, and died soon after. M. 'r? SIR HUGH WILLOUGIIBY 227 a port in wliicli, in case of separation, tlie fleet were ap])ointed to rendezvous, and on the 14th August, early in the morning, discovered land in lat. 72" N., bearing E. by N. 100 leagues from Seynam. This land has been affirmed by Pur- chas to be Spitzbergen, but there is nothing in Sir Hugh Willoughby's journal to authorize such a presumption ; on the contrary, his courses and distances clearly ])rove that it could not be part of that island.* * This land could not be Spitzbergen, for that island, from Seynam bears to the west of north, whereas Sir Hugh's courses are all N. E., and S. E. And further, from this newly-discovered land he stood three days to the northward, and then steered S. S. E. Thence he sailed many leagues to the westward, before he came to Arzina. Whereas, S. S. E. alone from Spitzbergen would hardly fetch the North Cape. One of two conclusions, therefore, is evident, that, if this latitude be correct, the discovery in question was Nova Zem- bla, and if the distance from Seynam, it was the coast of Lap- land, about Suetoi Noss, at the mouth of the White Sea. But if we adopt the last-mentioned case, the latitude would be GO"" instead of 72", an error of too great a magnitude even in those days, to have been made, and less probable, in this instance, as we find Sir Hugh's latitudes of Rost and Seynam Islands nearly correct. It seems more probable, then, that the dis- tance was in error, and that the land was part of Nova Zembla, which supposition is strengthened by instructions given to Pet and Jackman, only twenty-seven years after, in which they are directed to stretch over from Wardhuys, to Willoughby's land.t If it were Nova Zembla, the latitude and bearing from A.M. il ' i, 1 f See Hakluyt's Voyages, vol. i. p. 488. \ i, 228 SIR IIUGU WILLOUGllBY. ! J A.D. 1,')53, From this laud of fSir Hugh Winoughl)y, he and his consort, the Bona Coufidcntia, stood to the northward to about the latitude 75"; and then, the Confidentia being leaky, returned to the coast of Lapland ; and finding it impossible to reach Wardhuys, they put into a port at the mouth of the river Arzina, where the " yearo being farre spent, and having very evil weather, as frost, snow, and haile," the Admiral deter- mined to winter. There were no inhabitants at this place, nor could several parties, which wore despatched in various directions, find any traces of them inland. The ships were soon frozen up ; and, on the place being visited the follow- ing year by some fishermen, Sir Hugh Wil- Seynam would be correct, but the distance, instead of IGO leagues, would be 230 leagues ; an error, however, not much to be wondered at, considering the bad weather the fleet en- countered between those places. It is worthy of remark, that Sir Hugh Willoughby's courses and distances from the time when he quitted Seynam, to the day after he struck soundings in 160 fathoms, and was in expectation of making Wardhuys, place him actually within a few leagues of that place, as laid down in the charts of the present day. The reckoning after this period is not given regularly ; on the eighth and thirteenth days it is omitted altogether ; and icithont tlwse days (on one of which it blew so hard at west that he " strooke his sayles, and lay adrift,") he made good the before-mentioned 160 leagues, so that by his own account his distance exceeded that which he has given from Seynam. Everything, therefore, favours the presumption that Willoughby's land was part of Xova Zombla. m. CHANCELLOR AND BURROUGIL 229 louofhhy, and the crews of both vessels were a.,.. found frozen to death. ^'•'•■^• INJaster Ricliard Chancellor, in the Bonaven- tura, after his separation from Sir Hugh Wil- loughby, succeeded in reaching Wardhuys, but not being rejoined by the Admiral, after waiting the appointed time, he again put to sea, and ultimately anchored in the Bay of San Nicholas (now called Archangel) : here he effected a suc- cessful negotiation, and undertook a journey to INfoscow, Mhere he was well received, and sump- tuously entertained by the king, who astonished our countrymen with the display of gold, and silver, and jewels, which appeared at his court. The discreet and able conduct of Chancellor won the good opinion of Juan Vasilovich the Em- peror, and laid the foundation of a commerce Avith Russia, which, with very few interruptions, has continued to the present day. Having win- tered at S. Nicholas, the following season Chan- cellor returned to England, bearing a very courte- ous letter to King Edwaid VI. CHANCELLOR AND BURROUCJH. The successful issue of Chancellor's - ovao-e i55g. was considered, in some degree, to compensate m i (I i 1 •: • 5 i, t : f t ji: .• < ■ I I (f, V ' \l . tt ! ! ih p] in ii m 1 1 ! I V U : ( A.I). 155(). 230 CHANCELLOR AND BURROUGH. for the melancholy fate of poor Sir Hugh Willougliby, and was a sufficient encourao-c- mcnt for the merchants to fit out another expe- dition to Archangel, to improve the opening that had been thus propitiously begun. This expedition was under the command of Chancellor. But at the same time, it was determined to follow up the attempt to discover the much- desired northern passage to Cathay ; and, accord- ingly, the next year, 1556, Stephen Burrough was directed to take command of the Serchthrift pinnace, and to endeavour to navigate as far as the river Obe. He quitted the Thames in April 1556, and touching at Cola, Pechora, and other places on the coast of Russia, on the 25th July (St. James's day) he discovered Nova Zcmbla, and shortly after the Waigatz, were he had communi- cation with some Russians, who were there for the purpose of taking sea-horses. He had here also some interesting interviews with the Samoyeds, of whose customs Richard Johnson, a companion of Burrough, gives a very amusing description in Hakluyt's, vol. i. p. 317. On the 22nd August, Burrough, "being out of all hope to discover any more to the eastward this yeere," thought it desirable to return ; partly on account of the strong northeast winds, which had set in, and partly because of the '' great and terrible II ii A:r,ii,|^ ■^*""ir.ii * t ( 1 ! i'. : \ L>3(J BARKNTZ' SRCOND VOYAGE. ships, six of wliicli w\n'v hidi'ii with viirious kinds of nicrchandisiv and the sovcnth was to aecdin- jiany tliom as tar as a capo on the coast of Tartary, named Tabin, beyond which it was sn|>- posed there woukl be found no difliculty in mak- ing the remainder of the passage to the eastern seas ; and, in the event of their succeeding in reaching that ])romontory, or such a station from which they couhl sail southAvard witlic. .t hin- drance, she was to return to Holland >.ith the Joyful tidings of their success. Peter Phiii- tius, a learned cosmographer, was also a great furtherer of this expedition, and not only de- lineated the coast along which it was to proceed, but gave particular instructions to the commander as to how he was to j)rocee(l. James Ilemskerke was ap})ointcd chief factor, and AVilliam Barcntz chief pilot of the expedition. It was late in the season before the vessels quitted the Texcl, and they did not, in con- seciuence, reach Nova Zembla until the 17th of August. They found this coast greatly en- cumbered with loose ice, and had some diffi- culty in approaching the island of Waigatz ; they succeeded, however, in reaching the strait which separates that island from the main land ; but, found the sea beyond so blocked with ice that there was no possibility of proceeding .-Hi, I \ M fi n HARKNTZ' SFXOND VOYAC.!',. to tlio ciistward, aiul tlioy rjichori'tl in a bay on tlic soiitli side of the \Vai«ratz, wliieli tlicy named Traen Day, from a (|uantity of train oil that was found there. Tiiey saw here also a number of carved imaf?es, wliich were worsliij)ped l)y tlio Samoyeds, and everywhere ol>served the traces of men and deer, but saw no inhabitants. On the 23rd they were visited l)y a party of Russians, Mho had come in quest of train oil, morses' teeth, and n^eesc ; and were informed by them that in about nine or ten weeks the frost M'ouhl set in, and freeze the sea so liard tliat tliey woukl be able to pass over it to the Tartarian coast. They also met a party of Sa- moyeds, who at first menaced them Mitli their bows; but, on being told by the interpreter that they were friends, immediately tlirew down their weapons and entered into friendly con- versation. One of these savages, who had been upon an excursion to the eastward, informed Ba- rentz that after five days' sail in tliat direction he would find a promontory, beyond Miiicli the sea would be found open, and load him to the south-eastward. This joyful news determined Barentz to proceed as soon as he could, and on the 2nd of September he put to sea ; but, finding the strait of Waigatz, as before, nmch encumbered with ice, on tlie 4th he anchored J.Vi.".. •i ■ . ■ ' ' -■ .- I. ' i I i i-:. 238 BARENTZ' SECOND VOYAGE. ! ! I' w ect. — Dis- to return. . hous(>, — IS, andc'ii- party.— day. — Ro- ion. — Ice banduiu'd. }ir rrtuni Moft with Rotiirii to (. — Traces orgon anil rns by the jreonland. bv Cherie lied by tieditioii determined the States Ceneral net to send ont any more vessels on ticconnt of tlie States ; but, as an encourag-enient to individuals who niiglit feel disjjosed to follow uj) the attempt, they otlored a reAvard to any ])crson or per- sons who should effect the northern passau'c to China, provided that passage " could be sayled." This encouragement had its desired ellect, and two vessels were equipped by the merchants, who appointed Jacob Ilemskirkc Ilendrickson master and factor for tho wares and merchandise, and Barentz chief pilot of one of the vessids, and John Cornelison Ryj) master and factor in the other. Here we find the first encoura<>-e- ment which was held out to the seamen to ])er- severe in the voyage by the i)romise of additional wages in the event of success ; a judicious act, which, had it been more frequently ado])ted in those s. It consiste*! of two par- ludia and foiu" circdes, tw(^ of which passed through the sun and it> parhelia; the third eii- 242 UAHKNTZ TIIIUl) VOYA(JK m ■i ! V. f I!! i 1 * ■; i i ■ ■ A.n. 1 ,■)!»(!. (•()in])ass(>ilots of the ships when they met. A party landed upon the island, and procured a quantity of eggs; and as they Mere returning they encountered a large white bear, which fought with them while " four glasses ranne out," and swam away M'itli a hatchet which had been " struck int(» her back;" the ferocious animal was, however, killed at last, and was found to be thirteen feet in length. In consequence of this formidable encounter the island was named IJear Island ; but this Avas, a few vears afterwards, chanffed to C'herie Island, as will be seen in advance. ■' m :'\ /i ISAUKNT/. TIIIIU) VOVAGK Tlio island was fouiid to be oncnniborod witli ice on all sides, so that there was no possibility of proceeding to the eastward ; and, indeed, they had l)een ol)ii<>'cd to pass through a great deal of it before they arrived at the phwo wliere they anchored. They therefore determined to stand along this frozen barrier to the northward; in doing which, they discovered higli land on the lOtli ; a]id, by an observation of the sun, found their latitude to be 80" 11' N. The land I W to the east of them, and they had some diHicnlty in a])proaching it in consequence of a strong- north-easterly wind whicli was then blowing. This is the first authenticated discovery of S|)itz- bergen, for Purchases argument, in favour of Sir Hugh Willoughby having seen it, is not borne out by Sir llugh's journal, as has already been shown; and that is the onlv instance in which any doubt could j)ossibly arise. Our navigators entered a l)ay, running north and south, and then came to an anchor. The lati- tude of this place was 70" 42' X., which cor- responds with the situation of 1^'air Ifaven ; to which tlieir description of the port thoy entered will also correctly a]>i)ly. They saw many ''harts and bucks "' (rein-deer) upon the land; and u|)on a small island in the i-enti'e of the liay there were a great immbei- H 2 i n ..11 ' : L • t 1 244 15A11ENTZ TITTUn VOYACiK. 1 .V A.n. ! \ 1' -J f 'i of 0-ecsc, some of which tlicy knockod down M'ith stones. Tlicso <>-ccsc are descrilKMl as hciiio- red, l)iit there must, I thiid<, be here some mis- take in tlie transhition, as Ave know of no geeso of tliat eoh)iir visiting Spitzbergen since tliat period. Barentz was struck with the hixuriancc of the soil of S])itzbergen, as compared vith that of Nova Zembla, and remarks,* tliat " althoutili in this hind, Avhicli lyeth und(>r 80" and more, there groweth leaues and grasse," and that there are therein "such beasts, as eate grasse, as halts, buckes, and such like beastes as live there- on ; yet in Nova Zembla, under 70°, there groMxth neither leaves nor grasse ; nor any beasts that eate grasse or leaves line therein, but such beasts as eate fleshe, as bears and foxes." This remark will, hereafter, appear to be incorrect. The com])arative uiildness of the climate of Spitzbergen, however, has been remarked by almost every person who has visited it, and forms a su1)ject (jf interesting investigation for the curious iu(|uirer. JJarentz remained two days at anchor, and then steered to the north-west, in the hopes of being able to extend his discoveries in that direction, but lie was sto[)[)ed by that great barrier of ice Purchas, v. iii. p. 4.nS. JJAUENTZ' TIIIllL) V()YA(ij;. 245 wliicli, from that day to tlio i)rosoiit time, has arrested the progress of every navigator who has attempted to reach a higli nortliern hititude. Finding lie coukl not ju'oceed, he returned to his anchorage, and determined the latitude to l)c 79" 42' N., and the variation on shore 10° W. He tlien put to sea, and steered along the western coast of Spltz])ergen to the hititnde 70", wlien he entered the cliannel whicli separates Prince Charles' Island from the mainland of Si)itzl)ei'f>'en. but finding the ])assage impeded hy a reef of rocks, he sailed back, and renewing his conrse to the eastward, arrived off Bear Island on the 1st July. The pilots here again differed in opinion as to the course they should steer : Barentz being determined to continue his route to the eastward towards Nova Zemlda, and Cornelison to endea- vour to find a passage on the eastern side of the land (of Spitzbergen) Avhich they had just quitted. It was, therefore, agreed that tlie ships shouhl part company, and each pursue his own ])lan. Barentz, after numerous encounters A\ith the ice, which extended from Cherie Island along the 73' of latitude nearly, arrived off f.ombs ]iay, Nova Zembla, on the 17th July. lie found all this coast nuudi encumbered witii heavy ice, some of whi(di was aground in twenty fathoms wator; and Ik^ had several hair-breadth escapes -\ A. II. 1 .MK). ,11 IH 4 -.it M'\ m \:>un MG lUllKNT/ TlIIRl) VOYAGE from the squoeziiiji' toiit'tlicT of tlio floes iiiul tlic (lisrujitioii of tlio l)or<>s. mucli Jl IS crew Mere iilso red bv bet illicit (li cli annoyed oy bears, wnicn were very darinn' and numerous, and fre(]ucntly ])roved most un- welcome visitors to ])arties which were des])atched from the vessel, and chanced to l)e unarmed. Indeed, their encounters with these ferocious aninuils were alwavs attended with hazard, even to the boats of the vessel, which they could in an instant upset by ])lacin_L»- their ])aws uj»on the o'unwale. Nor M'ere the crew at all times sale on l)oard the ship, as the bears sometimes (dimbed the berg to which she was fastened, and, on more than one occasion, the seamen on her deck were forced to stand upon the defensive against their attacks. Amidst all these difticulties Barentz worked his May along the west side of Nova Zembla, and reached the northeast extremity of the island on the IGth August. Here some of the crew went on shore ; and, on ascending a hill, they perceived the land trend a^ay to the southeast, and, to their great satisfaction, observed a clear sea in the east. So great Mas their joy at this Melcome discovery, that they " knew not hoM' they should get soon enough on Ijoard to certitie to William Barentz thereof." The ship Mas still embayed in \vv ; but at the end of the third day. August lOth, they succeeded in reach- » ) lURKNTZ' TniRl) V()Y.\(iK. 247 inn- the cleiir water in the east. It however proved to be of very limited extent, and findinu' it impossible to ])roceed, Barentz Mas o-hul to ,i>et back again to the land ; which he had scarcelv regained before the ice enclosed his vessel; his boats were crushed, and the shi]) narrowly escaped a similar fate. The weather was now stormy, and the Tind having changed to the northward, and made the coast a lee-shore foi- the vessel, she was in the most imminent peril. On the 25th Barentz gave uj) all hopes of being able to proceed on his voyage, and thought now only of how ho could best get back and return home. The northerly wind had set him down to the eastward of Nova Zembia ; and there was so much ice to the northwanl of him, that it M-as almost hopeless to think of returning in that direction, whilst, judging from appearances, he had as little to exjicct by the strait of ATai- gatz in the south. This, however, held out the better jirospect of the two, and he u.scd cveiy endeavour to roach it, but the ice was so fast in that direction that it resisted all his ellbrts ; and, in despair, ho turned back and once more tried to get homo by the north. In doing this lie nearly lost his vessel by the enormous ]»ressuro of the ice, which lifted her four feet on one occasion, broke the rudder, and otherwise da- A.ll. .1 \ 248 nAUKNT/; Til I III) VOYAfiH. A. II. miii>'('( ' 1 licr. The Miiitcr also Itc^aii to set in, and there seemed to bo no alternative but that of seeurino- the vessel, it' possible, where she lav, and iiiakinoo|)1l'," ohscrvc'S a woil-kiiowii writer of nortlieru voyages,"* " during- their cohl, comfortless, dark and (h'eadfui winter, is Intonsely painful, and interesting". No inui'ninr escajjes them in their most hojteless and aillicted situation : hut such a sjtirit of true i>ioty, aiul a tone of such mild and subdued resignation to Divine Providence, breatlie through the whole narrative, that it is impossible to peruse the simple talc of their sufferings and contemplate their forlorn situation without the deepest emotion for the unhappy fate of so many wretched beings, cut off from all human aid, and almost from all hope of their ever being able to leave their dark and dismal adode." October set in with extremely cold weather, and witli heavy falls of snow, which greatly hin- .lered the completion of the house. Until this was done, the crew lived in the vessel, but they were almost smothered with the smoke from the fires wliich it was necessary to keep up, to j)revent their being frozen. On the twelfth the house was finished, and some of the i)arty slept in it, but it was the '2-ith before they could all * Sir Joliu Barrow. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) % ^/ A ^ 1.0 1.1 Ml 1^ u^ ■^ 12.2 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ^ 6" ► V] vl /^ c?^ %v^> .^ '^l Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MS80 (716) 873-4503 «i'^ # ^ 4l\ 250 UAUKNl// TlIIUl) VOYACJi:. •:?( I . I » S i-i ' A. I., rornovc to it, on account of ono of tlio crow lu'liMr very ill. On the Srd Novcmlxr tlicy saw the iipi)er limb of the sun Just above the horizon at noon, Mhich was the last time it appeared that seas(ni.'- Up to this period, the bears had proved a great annoyance, and had evidently become more audacious as the days drew to a close. No serious accident, however, had occurred, notwith- standing the lives of the parties were frequently endangered ])y their attacks. On one occasion three of these animals surprised some of the men, who were employed in dragging things to the house ; there were, unfortunately, only two hal- berts amongst the party, which were seized by the master and Do Veer, who stood forth to de- fend thems(dves. The rest of the party fled to the ship ; in doing which one of the men fell into a cleft in the ice, and the greatest apj)rehenJ«ions were entertained for his safetv, lest the bears should fall upon him, and devour him, but nu)st providentially his life was spared, by the bears following those who continued to run away. De Veer and the master, thus left alone, joined the man who had fallen, and succeeded in getting into the ship on the opposite side ; but * At Melville Island, 12' south of this station, it set on the Ith Novembor. ^ < lURKNTZ' THIRL) VOYAGE. 1>51 the bears observing thorn rminino-, gave cliase, vn. fiihi lolloped them into the ship, where tliey were ' '"' for a time diverted by ]>ieces of Mood being thrown ui)on the ice, which they " ranne after as a doggo vseth to doe at a stone that is oast at him." iAJeanwhile the crew beh)w endeavoured to strike a light for the nse of the matcldocks, but in tliis tliey failed, so that tlio- could not shoot their assailants, and the l)ears growing fierce with disappointment at the loss of their l)rcy, made a desjierate attack upon the few who remained uj)on the deck of the vessel. Most for- tunately, the largest of these ferociou beasts re- ceived a wound upon the snout with a halbert, which occasioned him so nuich pain that he with- drew from the vessel, and was immediately fol- lowed by the others. "And we thanked Cod that we were so well delivered from them." No sooner had the sun sunk below the horizon for the last time, than the bears also took their departure, and were seen no more until the return of sunshine. This was a great relief to the party, who were occasionally obliged to go in search of wood, which, in the darkness of the winter, would have been a very hazardous duty, bead they been subjected to the attacks of these animals : their place, moreover, Mas snp|»]ied bv white foxes, which m.w ventured to range about, I 1- 'i I J r ! < ! , < t I t ! i I' 2'y2 r.AlU^NT/,' TIIIIU) VOVAGK. ' 'Mi I * I-- . i : uiid of'ttMi iifTonlod a most wclcomo iius^ of IVosh meat, M'liicli in taste rcsoMiblod '' conit's' flesh, and seemed as daintie as venison to us."' As tl)o winter advanced the cohl became al- most insupportable ; the beer and all the spirits were frozen, " even our sacke, which is so hot, Avas frozen very hard;" the walls and roof of the house were covjreiiotlion," a pleasino- rcc(»lIi>ction, Avhich " put us in o-ood comfort, and ouseil our paiiie." The new ye.ar sot in without iiiiy roLixatioii of the severe frost above mentioned. A great deal of snow had fallen, and their house was at this time coniidetely Imried, so that the inmates Mere obliged to unhang their door ai..: cut their May out. This was undoubtedly the best thing that could have hapj^ened to them, as it must have rendered the apartment less pejirfcrablc to the cold than any contrivance they could them- selves have resorted to. The frost was, however, so intense on the outside that no one dared ven- ture from the house for several days together, and they were occasionally greatly straitened for fuel ; yet, amidst all this suffering did those hardy peo])le retain their cheerfulness, and even Twelfth Day Mas not suffered to })ass without its usual festivities; for, on that night, they prayed their master that they might be merrie, and said, " We M'erc content to si)end some of the wine that night mIhcIi m'c had spared, and M'hich Mas our share every second day; and whereof for certayn dayes wo had not drunke, and so that night Me made merrie, and drunke to the three kings, and therewith Me had tM'o lH)und of mcale, whereof we made ])ancakes with oyle, and every man a white bisket, which we A.I>. I.MI7. }l I If I H it, i ■' 1 1 ' ilt 5 i ■ F ;. II f- ' A. II. l.V'<7, !251 lUHKNTZ TlIIKl) V()YA(M;. sopt in wine ; ami s«» !Sii]>|iosiii<>' that we were ill our owno oountrey, aiul amongst our friends', it comforted vs, as well as if we liad made a great bancjuet in our owuc house : and we also made tickets, and our gunner was King of Nova Zemlda." On the 8th January the weather was more moderate, and a few of the party went out to examine some traps tliat had been set for foxes, and were greatly cheered by the obseiving the dawn of the returning sun. On the Kith there Avas a ''certaine rcdnessc in the skie," and on the 24th, contrary to the expectation of all, T)e X'cer and Jacob llemskinie, who had gone to the sea-side, observed the upj)er limb of the sun. This was so unaccountable an occurrence* to them, that they ran immediately to AVilliani Darentz to give him the information, but liu- rei.'tz would not credit their statement, antl allirmed it to be impossible that the sun could reai)pear for fourteen days from that period, which, indeed, under ordinary circumstances, would have beeii about the right time. De V^eer and Ilemskirke were, however, quite posi- tive of the fact, and anxiously looked out for another clear day, tl:at they might have an o])portunity of confirming their statements. On the 27th this occurred, and at noon tliev had F-- I;: lUllKNTZ' Til nil) VOYACJK. the .satislhctioii to behold the smi " ii» liis full rouiKlnosse sibovc t'ue horizon." Barentz him- self could now no longer doubt the fiict, but h(! was at a loss to account for so cxiraor linary a phenomenon, in any other manner than by snpposing that after their clock was rendered useless by the freezing of the Morks, they had omitted to turn the glass, which ran twelve hours, and that a considerable error in the register of the time had in conse(iuence crept in. De Veer, however, is at some pains to show that this was not the case, and ingeniously refers to the almanac published at Venice, for a corroboration of his oi)inion, and in that it ap])earcd that on the day the sun was first seen the moon and Jupiter were in conjunction ; and on examining the heavens on the 24th, they actually saw these two planet.s on the meridian together. But they had a better opportunity of deciding the question on the 10th February, when they observed the mean altitude of the sun's lower limb to be 8' above the horizon; their latitude had been determined on two oc- casions to be 70" N., which Mould give 0(V-7G' = 14' — 8" 1=11", for the sun's declination, which is nearly what it would have been on the lJ)th February, the very day on which the observation uas made by their reckoning. Thev had also A.ll. V" n »' ^ I ll t 1 A. II. l.)!»7. 2r)(5 FURKNTZ' THIRD VOYAfU:. similar o})sorvations on tlio iJOtii and 21st jNIaioli. wliicli ffive tlio same results. If tlic facts bo as tlicy arc stated, this is tlie most extraordinary instanee of refraction ii|ii)n record. At Melville fsland, i>i latitude 7') l>>' N., oidy twelve miles to the southward «>f lia- rentz' station, the sun set on the 4th Xovemhcr, and reappeared oa the 0th February, sixteen days after it Avas first seen by l)e \'eer. As the daylight increased such of the party as were able ventured out, whenever the weatiier would permit, to stretch their limbs, after their \ou}i: and painful confinement, and occasionallv to collect wood for the consvinption of tlie house. This last mentioned occuj)ation was any- thing but a recreation, as the snow Mas verv deep, and the strength of the i)eoi)le was so reduced, that it was with the utmost ditticnlty they could drag the fuel to the house. I'lic number of working hands Avas also greatly diminished by sickness, and by the severe ertects of the frost, one man having had his great toe frozen oil'; they had, however, as yet lost but two of their companions by death. Upon all their excursions they were now again oblige7 more audacious tliau ever, even folhiuiiio' tlio people to the door of their house, whieh tliev attemjited to force ; aud one was killed on the eve of enterin<»- the room Mhere the peo})lo slept. On opcnin*,^ tiiis animal there was four.d in his stomach "part of a Imck, with the hair and skinne and all, wiiich not long before she had torne and devoured," a fact which I men- tion oidy to rectify an error in supposing deer did not fre(|uent Nova Zembla. On the 22n(l Fe1)ruary, as a party were re- turning from the vessel, they had the satisfaction to see the ice break away from the shore, which I>ut them all in " good comfort ;" and on the 8th March they were further gratified at finding it drifted entirely away, so that there was not a particle of ice to be seen in the north-eastern quarter, and in the south-east alone was there any visible. This remarkable disrui)tion of the ice would have put them in the highest spirits had the weather relaxed in its severity, but the continuance of the cold satisfied them that it was only a temporary occurrence, as in fact it proved, for, toward the end of INJarch, it closed again with the land, and with such a tremen- dous reaction that it was piled up along the coast as though there had been " whole townes made of ice with towers and bulwarks round s A.M. I."i!»7. ( ! i i i.t *r 2r)8 A.I). 15!>7. BARENTZ TIIIKl) VOYAfJE. al)oiit thoiu." TIio cold was most niir('loiitiMi« ill its severity, and tlie fulls of miiow so heavy and fre(n,ent that, during' the ^M'eater part of April, the jtarty were shut nj> in their lioiis(». On the 17tli, however, they moved out to visit the vessel, and found the ice a|?ain in motion; and, in an ojien space near the shore, observed a diver, the first bird they luul seen. On the 30tli they observed the sun at midiii<,dit just above the northern horizon ; a circumstance uliich, if further evidence of their reckonin<]^ bein«>' correct were recjuired, would fully establish the fact. Although they had thus occasionally mild days on which they could venture abroad, yet on tlic whole the weather was so intensely cold to theii debilitated frames, that the 2J)th of May had ar- rived before they could make any ]>reparati(>M to dej)art, and then they found themselves too weak to recover their boat from the snow, in order to repair her for their voy.'ige, — which it was necessary to do, as their shijt was bilh all their sufferinfvs, that I have only touched u]ion them occasionally, and contented myself with record- ing the most material occurrences in the inte- resting narrative before me. I'K ■r»-r^». - u lpntiiii>- heavy part of llOllS(\ to visit notion ; L'rvod a le 3(nli t above hicli, if correct ict. Id (lays on the to tlieii' lia('(l oy were I to fol- xll their 3u thoni rcconl- ho inte- RARENT'/; THIRD VOYAOF-:. 2r>j) As the month of Juno sot in, thoy sum- the nro;oiit necessity of prejuiring for their departnrc, and by p^reat efforts repaired tlieir boats; and on the 12th everythin*; was ready. Before tliis period the seu had been frequently seen clear of ice, both in the cast and west ; the weather was comparatively mild, and on the Cth they had a heavy shower of rain, the first that had fallen that season. On the I3th June, it remained only to pet the sick d()wn to the boats. Amongst these was ])oor liarentz, who had lon<,^ been ill; and who, with a seaman named Adrianson, was obliged to bo drawn to the sea-side on a sled . I. ".it;. I Ij ,i ! 2G2 HUDSON. i i. ' ,* M A.[>. 1507. Whether he had wintered at Cola, or had made a voyage there after having returned home from Spitzbergen, is not even alluded to ; but, as nothing is said of any discovery of his, it Is probable that he made none worthy of note. If he circumnavigated Spitzbergen, as some have supposed, it would, without much doubt, have been known to those j)ersons, at least, who were intere. tod in northern discovery ; but so far from this being the case, we find the jNIuscovy Com- pany, fourteen years afterwards, fitting out a vessel to ascertain whether 8i)itzbcrgen " bo an island or a mayne."* HUDSON'S FIRST VOYAGE. Ifi(i7. 41 For several vcars the En";lish had confined their attempts to discover a near route to China to tlie nort/tirest, in which direction they had sent out no less tlian five expeditions between the years 1002 and 1G()7 ; besides that of Stejdien Bennet, who had also made a voyage to Cherie Island. All these voyages were unsuccessful ; and on the return of the last, under Knight, the Company determined to try the practicability of a passage directly northward, either across the * Piirchas, Pilg. vol. iii. \u 707. ' 'f HUDSON. •2G3 Pole, or roiiiul the noi-tli coast of Si)itzbGrn:en. a.d. 1 I'll"* Henry Hudson, an cxj)enencecl seamen and an euliglitened navigator, was chosen by the Mus- covy Company to conduct this expedition. He was not fitted out, it must be admitted, on a vej'y liberal scale, liavin^? only ten men and a boy, and a vessel of eighty tons' burthen. But he appears to have been quite satisfied with the arrangement, and quitting (Jravesend on the 1st of INIay, he steered to the northward, . ud stretched over to the coast of CJreenland, which he made about the latitude GO" N., and gave the name of Young to a cape in that vici- nity, and to a remarkable mountain, like a round castle, AFount of God's Mercy; but having had no observation for five days, it is not presumed that the situations of these places are at all accurate. There appears to have been no difficulty in irettinu- alono- this coast, Mhich has almost ever since been so encumbered with ice that it is only by great chance any person has been able to revisit it. Close in-shore there was, certainly, some ice seen, but Hudson found no difficulty in working his way in the offing as far as 78", where he gave the name of /fold unth J [ope to the land then in sight, " which was mayne high land, with very high mountains," but without any snow upon them. I I 1^ mmmm wmm I il n 4S 'i ^^ i 1 ,■'! I! A.D. 1007. 2G4 HUDSON. Hudson was prevented making- further dis- covery upon this coast by the ice, which was now seen to the northward, and with which he soon became much hampered. "It may >e ob- jected to us," says Hudson, " as a fault for hal- ing so westerly a course," — but he gives good reasons for so doing. Greenland was not at that time known to extend so far north as he had found it, and the great barrier of ice lying be- tween that country and Spitzbergen was not known to be so connected with the western shore as it h.as since been found. If he found no land, he thought his passage to the Pole would hav^ been easier, as he would have had more sea-room ; and if he found land, ho knew it would be a discovery " worth the seeing.'' Being now hindered by the ice from holding a northerly course, he stretched over towards Spitzbergen, and on the 27th saw the coast, in about the latitude 77°, and the ice lying very thick along it. There was, however, a navigable j)assage, and Hudson mailed as far as Vogol Ilook, from M'hence he stood to the northwest, and was stopped by the ice in the same situation, nearly, as Barcntz had been. He made several attempts in this direction, and being unsuccessful, on the 1st of July he direct- e»l his ellbrts to the northeast, hoping to fin«l ^i HUDSON. 2G5 a passage between the land and tlie ice. was here, however, nearly embayed in the ice, and, to prevent being beset, was obliged to stand to the southward. After beating about in ex- tremely cold thick weather, and strong winds, it cleared up, and he found that he had entered the channel between Prince Charles' Island and Si)itzbergen, and it was the 6th of Juiy before he could get clear. On the 7th, finding the ice again in the northwest, and having the wind at N.N.E., he seems to have formed the deter- mination of passing round the south end of Spitzbergen, and of trying, as Cornelison Ryp had done, to pass along the eastern side of the island ; " hoping by this meane either to defray the charge of the voyage, or else, if it pleased God in time to give us a fair wind to the north- east, to satisfie exi)ectation." The next day it was calm, and on that following he had a con- trary wind, which coni})elled him to stand to the northeast, and again to encounter the ice, by which he was soon encomi)assed. He managed, however, to escape being beset, and the wind shifting to 8.8.E., " it behooved me,'' says Hud- son, " to change my course, and to sayle to the northeast by the southern end of Newland;"* but being come into a " green sea," he again * Spitzbergen. He A. I). Iti07. r 1 ' 4\\ 200 HUDSON. I I .■ I ■. 4 ; A.I.. (•litin;ifcd his determinatioii and steorcd north, 1<)(I7. along the western coast of Spitzbergen, and thongh occasionally hampered with ice, which always prevented his getting westward, he reach- ed the latitude of 80° on the 12th, and saw the land of Spitzhergen bearing S. S. \V. twidvc leagues. lie had here a narrow escape from being swept into the ice by a heavy sea during a calm. As he proceeded eastward he at first found the sea more clear, but it ultimately sto])ped him off a small island, Avhich he named Cape Collins. AVliere this island is situated it is not easy to determine, as no latitude is given, but, from its being said to lie to the north of a deep bay, or sound, in the entrance of which the soundings increased from thirty-six fjithoms to upwards of a liundred, it was perhaps INIoffin Island, and the deej) bay was Liefde Bay, or Wyde Bay. The crew land- ed in this bay, and found the traces of deer, foxes, and other beasts, and a great deal of drift wood upon the shore. There was nothing, however, to detain Hudson in this bay, and having a fair wind, he, '' minding his voyage, and the time to perform it in," stood away to the northeast, and at midniglit observed the meridian altitude of the sun to be 10" 40'. This observation might have determined the position HUDSON. 207 of Cape Collins, had it been correctly recorded, but tiiere is evidently some error, as the latitude deduced from it is to the southward of the coast line of Spitzborn^en. lie worked to the northeast all nir^ht, but on the morning of the IGth he was almost encompassed with ice, the southwest being the only quarter that was ft ?e from it. The day was warm and clear, and land was seen in the northeast, extending far into 82", and " by the bowing, or showing of the sky, much further." It is quite evident that Hudson must here have over-estimated the distance of this land, as we, indeed, find he had done on a former occasion, when he stated it to have been seen twonty leagues; whereas, no part of this northern coast of 8i)itzbergen can be distinguish- ed at much more than half that distance. His latitude also was probably in error, for we know that no part of S[)itzbovgen reaches the latitude of 81" N., much \QH»far h/f(f 82" N. We now come to a passage which has been supposed to ap|)ly to the north coast of old Greenland; but there is no difliculty whatever in tracing Hudson up to this point of his pro- ceedings, and it is most clear that he was at this time Avithin sight of the Seven Islands. The passage runs thus : " A\'hen I first saw (the land stretching into 82 ) 1 hoped to have had a A.I). l(it)7. 208 HUDSON. ' :f ft' i '; e1 f (• i! ; -) i1 A. II. I- proach for two liundred years ; and it assists us to trace, Avith tolerable accuracy, the position of that great icy boundary, which, since Hudson's day, at least, has extended from the Seven Islands to Greenland. In lcS16 a remarkable opening was observed in this ice l)y Mr. Scoresby, M'hose enter])rising si)irit at once determined him to take advantage of it ; and he had thus the good fortune to become the first to rediscover the coast, which, for upwards of tMo hundred years had been shut out from the navigator. In 1824 this coast was again a])proached, and a ]»ortion of it surveyed, by the late Captain Clavering, R.N., in II. :M. ship Griper. A.l». iiior. n' i ll i ! J 'l . : r If 272 ii A.D. I(i07. i r CHAPTER ITT. Hudson's second voyage. — Jonas Poole's first voyapo. — Jon;! . Poole's second voyage. — Poole's third voyage. — Haffiii's first voyage. — Baffin's second voyage with Fotherby, — IJaHiii and Fotherby again. — Suspension of artic research. — Voyages resumed. — Wood and I'lawes. — Russian enter- prise under Tschitschagoff. HUDSON'S SECOND VOYAGt:. The subject of a nortlioni route to the Kast Indies was still considered of so iiiucli iinport- anco to the commercial interests of England, that tlie merchant adventurers seem to have been determined not to r.bandon it wlnle a chance of success remained. The several voyages exj)ressly made for this j)urpose had shown only where that passage could not be effected, and it was yet possible that there might be found some spot where their efforts and pcrse- verence would be crowned with success. The route directly north had baffled the attempts of two of the most skilful navigate. 3 that either England or Holland had sent forth, and that by Nova Zembla, both l)y its northern coast and by the Waigatz, had been as Aiirly tried, I HUDSON. 273 but no person had as yet fully examined the space betAveen Nova Zembla and S])itzbergen. ft is true, that the sea was known to be occa- sionally much encumbered in the iicinitv of Cherie Island, ane witli his little bark through this barrier, hitherto held so formidable', and so ruinous to the ju'ospects of his ])rede- ccssors. It is really quite impossible to contem- plate the exj)loits of this darino; and worthy navigator, without entertaining the highest respect for his character. In his first voyage, with only ten men and a boy, he really did more than some of our best equipped expeditions of modern times have been able to accomplish ; and we now find him boldly facing the great icy barrier, with serious expectations of being able to master it. We are now sufficiently acquainted %vith the nature of this mass of ice to know that with his means he could not be otherwise than unsuccessful, as it turned out ; for after in^ne- trating about fifteen miles, he found it im])os- sible to ])roceed, and was forced to give up his intention ; indeed, he thought, not without reason, that he had endangered himself some- what too far. He however made his way out with only a few rubs of the vessel against the ice. Foiled in this direction, he stood along the ice to the eastward until the 25th June, m l; ;* A HUDSON. '">7'*1 wlion ho luul npprnncl'.Ml so noar to Nov.i /(Mnl)lii that lie had not tho smallest hopo ol' holuo- ahio to efK'ct the j)a!isa<;o in this diivction. The next day he saw tlie island, and on tlie L^rth sent a l)oat on slioro, in hititnch' 72 ' 12' N. They found here a cross crecte«l near the heach, and the remains of a fire, whicli liad, possihly, been left by the crew of poor JJarentz' vessel, whose suflferings alon;Lr this coast have been already related. They also saw an abundance of drift- \M)od, the traces of d(>t r, bears, and foxes, and brou,uht on board the horns of a deer. Hudson now considered it ho})c>less to attempt a northern passao-c to the wcstiranl of Nova Zendda; and, giving- the efforts of IJarentz to tho nortlnvard of that Island their due weight, he determined to try and acconij)lish his pnrjtosc by effecting the ])assage of the AN'aigatz. This resolution was, however, abandoned a day or two after, for, on moving his vessel to a point of land, he discovered an opening in the coast, and saw so many Mali-uses upon the shore, that he considered it his duty to endeavour to defray tlie expense of the voyage by means of the (piantity of oil, and teeth, he hoped to oljtain from tlic>ir capture. He was also not without some ex])ecta- tion, from the appearance of tlie opening, that it might aftbrd an easier passage to the eastward liidlt. i H ';) III i»' t !l J, I ■' II 276 HUDSON. A.D, than that by the AVaigatz. On enterinor it lie 1608. ^ " ° found thirty-four fathoms water, and carried twenty fathoms for six leagues up it. Beyond this he could not proceed in his vessel at that time, on account of a shift of wind and a strong current setting from the eastward ; but the next day he sent his boat to explore it, and found, after a long row of seven leagues, that the water shoaled to four feet, and that the channel, for such it is now known to be, was completely blocked up with ice. The party landed, and again found traces of people, by a broken oar, and some embers of wood. They saw flowers in bloom, fine herbage, and many deer; several herds of which had also been seen from the ship. It has been supposed that Hudson was mis- taken in this particular, and that he is the only visitor to Nova Zembla w'u mentions these animals. nis, however, is an error, for Barentz, on landing at the place A\here he wintered, saw the foot-mf'j-ks of deer, and it has been already observed, that he found in the stomach of a bear the hair and skin of one of these animals, which had not long been devoured. Numerous traces of this species were also found upon the southern part of Nova Zembla, by the expedition in 1595. The opening which Hudson had thus paitially N » HUDSON. 277 S 1) explored was, he says, first discovered by Oliver Brunei), a Dutchman, and by him named Casting Sarch. The opening was also seen by Barontz, who fixes its latitude at 711" ^^ really the same as that given to it by Hudson.* Hudson accuses Brunell of an error in the latitude of this strait; which, he observes, he has placed too far north, but for Avhat reason he cannot imagine, unless it be to make it accord with the com])ass ; meaning thereby, that if a course were steered for the strait, which Hudson ^. laces in 711" N., and no variation allowed to the compass, it would conduct a vessel to the strait in the situation assigned it by Brunell. In this, however, Hudson is altogether mistaken. Brunell very properly placed his Casting Sarch in the lati- tude in which the only strait dividing Nova Zem- bla into two islands is known to exist, about 73^^ N. The supposed strait of Hudson has since been found to be nothing more than a channel, between an island lying off the coast (called by the Russians Mejdoucharsky) and Nova Zembla, and had his boats succeeded in passing through it, they would have arrived in the very same sea they had quitted a few hours before, and have seen their vessel at anchor. The want of a compass in the boats gent to explore this channel was, no * Modern surveys place it in 71" N. A.D. ItJOd. mm l* t I ,1. M ' : ! 1 .1/ A. I). Id'O.'l 278 HUDSON. doubt, the cause of this extraordinary mistake of Hudson. Had they been furnished witli this instru- ment they woukl have found that tlieir course, which at first was northeast, «!:radually varied to northwest ; and on their return on board, Hudson would have been convinced tliat this channel could not conduct him to the eastern coast of Nova Zembla ; whereas, on the contrary, he quitted that island with the conviction that this was a strait which communicated with the Sea of Tartary, and that the passage into that sea was obstructed only by ice. It may have been an omission of a similar kind to that above mentioned, which occasioned the mistake as to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, about which there has been such a diversity of opinion ; but which, since accurate surveys of the coast have been made, has been found to exist, not however in the direction at first supposed, but, like that mistaken by Hudson, to have been nothing more than a wide channel, lying between the mainland and an island. We have now accurate surveys of almost the whole of the island of Nova Zembla, and are able to speak with confidence as regards the supposed strait of Hudson. Ft is extremely interesting, with this chart in our hand, to go over the early voyages of the Knglish and Dutch to this coast. On comparing t i HUDSON. 279 it with tlio t( xt of Barcntz, and De Veer, Ilmlson, and others, notwithstanding tlieir egregious mis- takes in bearings an.' distances, we are able to trace ahnost every bay and promontory wliich they describe. 8uch remarkable incidents as this, like that which was found to exist between the modern survey of Baffin's Bay and the outline given by its first discoverer, gives additional value to the records of our early navig..cors, whoso statements have been often discredited, from the very erroneous situation they have assigned to the'a' discoveries, and from the errors into which they have unavoidably fallen, from the want of those instruments necessary to the determination of their position, but many of wliich the more they have been examined and compared with recent surveys, the higher they have risen in public estimation. Hudson was very much disappointed at finding the strait did not admit of a passage to the eastward, as he had spent several days in its examination. He was also much concerned to find that he morses, from wliicli he had at first great expectations, had all quitted the coast and taken to the ice in the ofting, or had, according to Hudson's conjecture, gone to AVllIoughby's Land. He seems now to have quite given up all thoughts of the W'aigatz, and to have adopted A.n. ItJOli. " i i ■ . i » ^m Iff: ; v: i,! i-iJ! i; i :4 ' ;i < I A. I). 1()08. 280 HUDSON. a new i)laii, '.vhich was to search for A\'illougliby's Land ; ))ut ^vo hear nothing more of this, as he put to sea, and made the best of his way to Enghand, where he arrived on tlie 2()th of August, having on the passage formed one or two new schemes, such as that of exploring Lumley's Inlet, and " Davis' furious overfall," which were as speedily given up, In fact, Iludsoii appears to have been of a restkis ambitious turn of mind, and not being governed by any precise instruc- tions, to have thought himself at liberty to put in execution any schemes which his fertile imagi- nation might suggest. A^^itl all this, however, he was an indefetigable, courageous, zealous, and scientific navigator. He seems to have thought his little vessel, which could not have been much bigger than a modern fishing boat, equal to any service ; and upon a single voyage in such a vessel, with ten or fifteen men only, to have planned for himself work which might well have formed the occupation of two or three regular expeditions. His scientific attainments do him credit; he was the first who had ever attempted to observe the dip of the needle on board a ship ; and his Journal commences with a remark, which shows that he was before his contemporaries in science. " INIy courses," he observes, " were by a com passe that the needle I V- ni HUDSON. 281 and the north of the Flye were directly one on the otlicvf," meaning tliat his compass was not, as was usual in those days, corrected for the variation, which M'as, of course, done by turning the north or " flye " of the card as many degrees to the east, or west of the north of the needle, to which it was attached, as were equal to the variation of the place when the card was made. This Hudson knew v as founded upon an erro- neous supposition, viz. that the variation Mas nearly the same in all ]^laces ; and he lost not a moment in correcting an error which, he knew, might lead to the most serious consequences in a region where the variation of the needle underwent so great a change in so very short a distance. This enterprising navigator was afterwards engaged in several voyages ; in one of which he discovered the Bay that bears his name. Here his crew mutinied, and put him and his son, and seven others, into a small sloop, with a scanty supply of provision, and they were never after heard of. I cannot close this account of Hudson's without transcribing his ludicrous mention of one of those nondescript species of the ocean, termed mermaids, which are said to have been seen by early navigators. "This morning," says Hud- son, "one of our companie looking overboard, A. II 1008. i I JONAS rOOLK. A.l>. Kill!). saw a mormaid : and calliii*? vp some of tin- conipaiiic to see her, one more came vp, and, by that time shee was come close to the shij/s side, lookini»' earnestly on the men; a little after, a sea came and overturned her; from the navill vpward, her backe and breasts were like a woman's, (as they say that saAv her,) her body as l)ig as one of vs, her skin uery white, and long haire hanging down bL-hind, of colour blacke : in her going downe they saw her tayle, which was like the tayle of a porpoise, and speckled like a macrell." •'I ii;i(). JONAS POOLE. For several years the Muscovy Company had sent vessels to Cherie Island for the ])urpose of taking walruses, in which they were very suc- cessful : and, in 1G09, the island was taken pos- session of in the name of the Company. These voyages were strictly mercantile; but, in IGIO, they despatched a vessel to this place, with orders to proceed northward from thence, and to search for " the likelihood of a trade or passage that way." Jonas Poole, who had already made several voyages to Cherie Island, and was well accjuaint- ed with the northern seas, was chosen for this service by the Company ; who i)Iaced under his JONAS POOLE. 2^3 I coininaiiil a vossol called tlio Amitio, of seventy tons, and a croM' of fourteen men and bo vs. Poole met with an uimsnal quantity of ice to the south westward of Cherie Island, and had several severe encounters with it in his atteni])t to get near the island. Finding he could not api)roach it, he stood to the northwest, and on the lOth ^lay was close in with the south Cape of Spitzbergen. Poole was much hindered with fogs and ice along this coast ; but by perseverance he reached the northwest extremity of the island, in latitude 79° 50' N., when he found the ice close down upon the land ; and, seeing there was no ])assage, he returned. He discovered, and entered, several bays and sounds, and was, evidently, more intent upon i)icking up a cargo of blubber and teeth, than in attempting a passage. In the descrip- tion of this part of the coast of 8pitzbergen consists the chief merit of this voyage, which, after all, was more of a mercantile than of a scientific character. To a sound, in latitude 77" 0' N., he gave the name of Horn Sound, from having found a deer's horn upon the beach ; and to a hill, four leagues south of it, Muscovy iNIount ; to a sound north of this, Lowe Sound. lie also named Fair Foreland, Ice Sound, Cape Cold, Cuiinard'.s Nose* A. II. Kilo. A.I). loio. 1611. 284 JONAS POOLE. Foul Sound, Deer Sound, Close Cove, and several otlier places, which may be seen in any modern charts of this coast. In some of these places he found the weather so mild that he observe.^, "A passage may be as soon attayned this way by the I*ole as any unknowne way whatsoever, by reason the sun doth give a great heat in this climate." He is also of opinion that the island is habitable, for if the deer, of which he saw and killed many, " having nothing but the rocks for a house, and the stcrry cano]>ie for a covering, doe live here, why may not man?" Notwithstanding Poole's remark about the likelihood of the passage this way, we do not find him persevering in any endeavour to effect it, for, after he had rjoen the ice to the northward of his farthest point, he returned without making any second attempt, and arrived in England in the end of August. In the following year, Poole's services were engaged for a period of years by the jNIuscovy Company, for the purpose, as it would appear, of making discoveries. The commission given to him is thus tran- scribed in Purchas' Pilgrims : * — " Inasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God, through the industry of yourself and others, to discover unto our nation a land, lying in 80*^ toward the North * Vol. iii. p. 707. : 1 i JONAS POOLE. 285 Pole : we are desirous, not only to discover farther to the northward along the said land, to finde whether the same be an island or a mayne, and which way the same doth trend, either to the eastward or to the westward of the Pole ; as also whether the same be inhabited by any people, or whether there be an open sea farther northward than hath becno already discovered. For accom- plishing of all which our desires we have made choice of you; and, to that end, have entertayned you into our service, for certayne years, ui)on a m stipend certayne : not doubting but you will so Carrie yourself in the busincsse for which you were so entertayned, as God may be glorified, our country benefitted, yourself credited, and we, in our desires, satisfied." By the sequel of this commission Poole was directed to take under his convoy the JNIary Margaret, which was fitted solely for mercantile purposes, and in which were six Biscayners, ex- pert in the killing of the whale, and to accom- pany her first to Cherie Island, and thence to Whale Ba. in Spitzbergen, where Poole was to wait to get a little experience in the manner of killing whales, as this was the first year in which any English vessel had ventured upon that lia- zardous occupation ; and having learnt tlio mode of taking these animals, in case he should see A.n. Kill. I ' ' ,'v. ,(.. ■>iH iiiii. 280 JONAS 1»00LK. occasion to use it, ho was to |)roc('0(l unoii ; but it is almost laughable to observe throughout the continual reference tliat is made to the main chance. lie is not only to assist in killing whales with the Margaret, but he is at the same time to send his shallops and search the coast i^^x whale tins, ambergris, morses' teeth, &:c., and whilst on his discovery lie is to examine the bays, and " gather up all the finnes" he can find ; he is also directed to leave a cojiper kettle at Cherio Island for him to boil his blubber in, c^c. ; and that he may have no excuse for a premature return on account of want of i)rovision, an invoice is given of the several kinds put on board, which is calculated to last for seven or eight months. IJy this each man was allowed ])er day, half a ])ound of beef, tliree-{|uarters of a pomid of biscuit, five pints of beer, besides fish, cheese, oatmeal, and peas; f.nd a quarter of a pint of aqua vita- per month. This allowance, upon the whole, was very liberal, but we cannot say as nuich for that of candles, of which they were furnished Mith only six dozen for the voyage. Poole, in charge of the Elizabeth, left England in company with the JNlary Margaret, Stej)hen !/ •'; t JONAS POOLE. 287 Bonnet master, tlie Amitie, and the llcsohition; but tlu^ two last-mentioned vessels were to leave lilni off the North Cape, from wlieneo the Amitie was to proceed to Nova Zembla, and the Keso- lution to Archangel. The ships were sejiarated by a ^alc of wind, in latitude O'y" N. But the INIarg-aret and Elizabeth met again off Clierio Island, and proceeded to Sjjitzbern^en too(>ther, and anchored in Crosse Bav on the 2yth IMav. Poole remained in this bay until the Kjth of June, and then jirocceded on his discovery to the north. lie found the ice close u|)ou tiu; land, in latitude about 80° N., and seeiuo- no prospect of a i)assag'c that way, he returned, and kept the ice in sight all the May to Creen- land, which he expected to see about Hudson's Hold with Hope, but having sailed forty leagues, by his own account, to the westward of its position, without any indications of land, he re- turned to Cherio Island. Here Poole found part of the crew of the JMargaret, which had been wrecked at 8])itzbergen, and returned with them to that place, to take on board the cargo they had provided for their vessel before she went down. They reached their destination, and found a ship of Iluli in the port, a most for- tunate occurrence for all |)arties, for as the Elizabeth, Poole's shi]), was discharging her A.IK Kill ' I ! Hi' 288 JONAS POOLE. A. II, ItJll I I ;;i V !•' 1G12. cargo slie upset, and sunk inmicdiatcly ; and tlu' Hull ship lu'canic tlie carrier of not onlv tlio cargo that had heon collected upon the land for the Margaret and her consort, but of the crows of both vessels as Mell. The next year, Poole sailed again for Cherie Islauo mueh engaged in Mhaling to attempt any . KJl'J. FOTHERBY AND BAFFIN. Jn 1G14, we find discovery again becoming an igu. object of attention, proceeding, however, from a motive totally different from that which actu- ated it before. The coasts of Spitzbergen had become so much frequented by foreign vessels that the Company determined to take i)osses- sion of all its bays and harbours ; and with this u 290 FOTIIERBY AND BAFFIN. !i Mi' U [i :lii r' -.i A.n. 1()14. view they intended to extend their researclies, as far as possible, along that part of the northern coast which had been discovered by Hudson. The Company felt themselves authorised to do this in virtue of a Patent which they had obtained under the Great Seal of England, whicli granted to them exclusively the right of fishing in the Greenland seas. Ten vessels were accordingly prepared, and placed under the command of Fotherby and Baffin. No discovery of conse- quence was, however, made ; indeed this season is remarkable for the closeness with which the ice adhered to Spitzbergen, for, on the 14th July, even the ships' boats were not able to get beyond Red Beach, in consequence of the ice there being unbroken; and so late as the middle of August they had the greatest difficulty in reaching into the sound two leagues beyond it. This sound, although it had been seen by Hudson, had never been entered, until Baffin and Fotherby rowed up it in their boats. They named it Wiches Sound ; and quitting their boats, walked to the eastward and southward, until they could see the end of another sound adjoining, which Hudson had named Sir Thomas Smith's Sound. There was no further jjassage along this shore, even for a boat. Nor were they mucli more successful in another attempt, which was made about a fort- 11 VM <' FOTIIERBY AND BAFFIN. 29T night afterwards, as the ice was found hard set against the land four leagues to the eastward of Red Cliff. The next year Fotherby was again sent upon discovery to the northward of Spitzbergen, antl Baffin was again appointed his pilot ; but he could not succeed even as well as he had done the year before ; nor was he as fortunate to the south- westward as Hudson had been, for in several attempts which he made to reach the eastern coast of Greenland, he encountered mountains of ice, many leagues to the eastward of it. In this part of his voyage he fell in with Jan ISIayen island, of which he gives a very good descrip- tion, and estimates its length within a mile of what it has since been accurately determined by Mr. Scoresby. This island is said to have been discovered in 1611 by Jan Mayen, and was certainly the same island upon which a ship of Saint Sebastian was lost in 1613.* The dis- covery, however, appears to have been unknown to Fotherby, who gave it the name of Sir Thomas Smith, and to the mountain now known by the name of Beerenburg, tiakluyt's JNIount. Fotherby appears to have made several attempts both to pass Spitzbergen and to get a sight of Greenland about Hudson's Hold-with-IIope, in * See Purchas' Pilgrims, vol. iii. p. 718. u 2 A.n. ' i ! hit- n ! IS 1 ,i. >ri ^iJ ' V : f iNij ' I A.n. Kilo. 292 FOTIIERBY AND BAFFIN. both of M'liicli lie was unsuccessful, and returned lioiue in September. The passage to the East Indies, by the north, and north-east, had now been so repeatedly tried, and found impracticable, that but very little hope remained of its ever being effected ; Fotherby, nevertlieless, recommended the Company to ex- pend a small sum annually in discovery, " 150/. or 200/. at the most ; " and we find, accordingly, that a small vessel, fitted for this purpose, occa- sionally accompanied the ships which were em- ployed in whaling. No advance was, however, made beyond what has been already stated. In 1618, we find the ice close down upon the coast, about Ilakluyfs headland; in 1 02], that it was set into Sir Thomas Smith's Bay beyond Red Beach ; and, in short, in every account that has reached us from that quarter, there appears to have been no possibility of passing to the north- ward of Spitzbergen. Discovery was, however, pushed along the eastern shore of that island, and a large ialet,* extending into the centre of the island, explored. Several straits and islands have also since been discovered, and in short, the whole coast of Spitzbergen has in course of time been laid down ; but we have, I believe, no authenticated account of any vessel having ever circumnavigated the island. * Wyde Jansz Water. CAPTAIN WOOD. CAPTAIN JOHN WOOD. 293 ! I The question of a northern route to the Pacific had failed to occupy attention for upwards of sixty years, when it was i-evived by various reports and accounts, partly from Holland, but chiefly by the publication of a paper in the " Transactions of the Royal Society of London in 1G75 ;" in which it was stated, that a vessel had sailed several hundred leagues to the north-east of Nova Zembla, and that the sea was there found free from ice. It was also reported, that some Dutch vessels had circumnavigated Spitzbergen, and that one had even reached the latitude of 88° 56' N., and found the sea there quite hollow and free from any incumbrance. To these statements were added many hearsay stories, of an encou- raging nature ; and the subject finding a zealous advocate in the person of Captain John Wood, who advanced many specious reasons in support of his opinion, the practicability of a passage was entertained with as much earnestness as though no efforts to accomplish it had ever been made. Hitherto the vessels which had been sent upon this service were in the emi)loyment of Compa- nies or of private individuals, being, besides, ex^ tremely small, and ill a(la|)ted to the occasion ; A I). Hi 7.5. it 294 CAPTAIN WOOD. r ■ : ' ; ii A.D. 1075. 1(j7(J. but the enterprise was now patronised l)y tlic Government ; and the Admiralty, at the head of which the king in those days ])resided, ordered the Speedwell to be equipped for this service, and the command to be given to Captain AA'ood, who had so warmly e8]>oused the cause. At the same time the Duke of York, with several noble- men and gentlemen, purchased the Pros])erous, a pink of one hundred and twenty tons, to accom- pany her, and she was placed under the com- mand of Captain Flawes. These two vessels left England in May, 1G7G, and appear to have held a course between Spitz- bergen and Nova Zembia; but on \vhat me- ridian it is impossible exactly to determine, as " the Journal of Captain Wood," observes the author of ' Chronological History of Voyages to the Arctic Regions,' is so meagre that, if it were not for his supposed latitudes, and his situ- ation ' according to judgment,' it is not easy to follow his track or to trace his place on any particular day." lie appears, however, to have kept along the ice towards Nova Zembia, which he saw on the 2Gth June ; and before he had time to make any discovery, or even advance along that coast, he had the misfortune to lose his vessel. His consort was prevented rendering him any assistance at this time, and a fog coming on, he lost sight of her for several days ; at length, CAPTAIN WOOD. 295 on the 8tli July, she made lier appearance, and, to the great joy of Captain Wood and all his crew, she took them on board, and conveyed them safely to England, with the exception of two seamen, who were drowned in landing ui)on Nova Zembla when the ship went to pieces. Tlie failure of this expedition is attributed by Wood to the error in which he was led by following the opinion of i)oor Barentz, but in what way we are not told, nor can we easily imagine ; for, if that wortl>y navigator gave any opinion, it would certainly be againijt the i)robability of a passage by the route pursued by AVood. Indeed Wood seems to have been greatly at a loss for an excuse for his failure, as we find him ac- cusing all tlie statements of both Dutch and English as false, and asserting, in the most un- accountable manner, that Nova Zembla was connected with Spitzbergen on the north, and with the coast of Tartary on the south, notwith- standing it was well known that both its extremi- ties had been rounded on several occasions. In short, he seems to have been determined that, as he could not effect the passage himself, ho would create an imaginary barrier which should deter any other person from renewing the attempt. We cannot suppose that these unfounde01> first Lord of the Admiralty to obtain his ma- jesty's sanction for an exjiedition to try how far navigation was ])racticable towards tlic Nortli Polo. The expedition of Captain Wood was as yet the only one that had been e(|uipped for this pnqtose by the Government, and that had failed, ai)parcnt- ly not from insurmountable obstacles, but from an untoward accident at the outset of the voyage. The arguments in favour of a passage which had been used on that occasion were applicable to the present, and besides which a very favourable change was about this time reported to have taken place in the state of the ice, in the Arctic seas, and, moreover, it then seemed particularly desirable, whilst Cook was pursuing his observa- tions with the pendulum in the southern hemi- sphere, that corresponding experiments should be made in a high northern latitude, especially as these delicate observations could then be con- ducted with greater accuracy than before, owing to the material improvement which about that time had been made in the construction of the pendulum. These important considerrtions had their duo weijiht with Earl Sandwich, then at the head of the Admiralty, who immediately submitted the application of the Royal Society to his A. II. i77;i f i i' i 'M^ 300 HON. CAPTAIN PIIIPPS. * A.J), Majesty George III, in whose memorable reign the spirit of «liscovery reached a higher standard than it liad perhaps ever l)efore attained, and who was pleased to command that two ships should be a])propriated to this service, " with every encouragement that could countenance such a)i enterprise, and every assistance that could contribute to its success." The Racehorse and Carcass bombs were ac- cordingly ordered to be prepared, and the com- mand of the exi)edition was given to the Hon. Captain Constantine J. Phipps (afterwards Lord Mulgrave), who hoisted his pendant in the former, and Captain 8keffington Lutwidge was appointed to the command of the latter. This class of vessel was selected on account of the comparatively superior strength and stowage of the ships, a choice of which the judiciousness has been fully confirmed by all the expeditions which have been employed subsequently upon a similar service. Nothing was spared that could render the expedition eifective, or that could tend to pro- mote the health and comfort of the seamen engaged in it, and prevent the occurrence of that species of sickness which had heretofore attended the lengthened voyages of almost all redeccssors. The first pn q' m: i HON. CAPTAIN I'llIlM'S. 301 Cook had about this ix'i'iod ruriii«liLMl informa- tion of tlie first iiiiportanco as rooarded the pre- vention of this (h-eadful niahidy, and accordingly several alterations were made in the nature of the provision 8ui)i)lied ; and the comfort of the sea- men was farther considered by a gratuitous issue of clothing, adapted to the rigour of the climate. Among the useful articles with which the ships were sup] »licd, was an apparatus for distilling fresh water from the sea, the invention of Dr. Irving, who accompanied the expedition as surgeon. The possibility of some serious accident befal- ing the ships, suggested the propriety of adapt- ing the boats to the conveyance of the crews, consisting of ninety persons in each vessel, and of protecting them against the inclemency of the climate, to which the people would in such an emergency be exposed. Captain Phipps was considered an officer of great experience and scientific attainment, and Mr. Lyons, of mathematical reputation, was en- gaged to accompany him as astronomer. The Royal Society supplied every requisite informa- tion upon subjects to which it wished to direct attention; very full instructions in the branch of Natural History were furnished by Mr. (after- wards Sir Joseph) Banks, and the best instru- ments in use in those days, were supplied, in- A.I). 1773. ' ( I f , m A. 11. 302 HON. CAPTAIN PIIIPPS. cludiiif^ a sccoikIh' pciululuni, witli whlcli Mr. (iialiani, the inventor of the mercurial com- pensation |)cn(lulum, had made some of his most valuable observations in London. In shf)rt, every consideration that could tend to render successful and complete so important an ex- pedition was bestowed upon it. And when we reflect on the ample manner in which every- thing was provided, as compared with the earlier expeditions, the size and strength of the ves- sels, the number of the seamen, the improve- ment in the provision, and in short, in every other respect, — we must confess that, as tar human efforts could be made availal there was every reason to believe that more wouhl now be accomplished than hatl hitherto been per- formed, and that this expedition would have the advantage of all that had preceded it. On the 2()th May, Captain Phipps received instructions from the Admiralty, to take the Carcass under his command, and to proceed to the North Pole, or as far towards it, and as nearly upon the meridian of Greenwich, as the ice, or other obstructions would admit. In the event of being successful in this under- taking, or even in finding an open navigation beyond the Pole, he was not to proceed any fur- ther, but to secure his return to England at all HON. CAl'TAIX PIIIPPS. \M)'.) events before the winter should set in. He was directed to make all the uscFul observations in his power that might tend to improve navigation, or promote natural knowledge, and in the event of being obliged to abandon his own ship, he was directed to prosecute the voyage in that of his consort, the Carcass. On the 80th May the two ships joined com- pany, the Carcass having been fitted in a (liferent port to the Racehorse, and < n the 2nd June the ex])edition quitted the Nore, passed Flam- borough Head on the 9tli, and was off the Shetland Islands on the 14 ih. On the 10th Captain Phipps crossed the Arctic Circle ; and had the gratification of observing the meridian altitude of the sun at midnight. The follow- ing day Mr. Cavendish's thermometer was sunk 4680 feet, by which the temperature of the water at that dei)th was ascertained to be 20°, whilst that of the surface was 48" ; and a few days after similar results were obtained. The obser- vations with this instrument, however, should be received with great caution. Dr. Irving's appa- ratus for distilling fresh water from that of the ocean was now tried, for the first time, and suc- ceeded beyond expectation, producing from thirty- four to forty gallons of pure water in the course of the day, with no other fuel than that employed A.I). i77;i. N I M 304 HON. CAPTAIN PIIIPPS. 11; 1;? A.n. 1773, .;. I ! 'V .!i ill the cookino^ of the ship's provisions, a result which fully established the utility of this inven- tion of Dr. Irving-, which in long voyages might be of the greatest advantage to a small crew. This instrument, however, although it answered its intended purpose very well, was, it must be admitted, less useful upon this service than it would have been to almost any other, as the passage from England to the Frozen Sea could be of short duration only, and, after its arrival there, there could be no necessity for it, as fresh water could always be procured from the ice and snow, of which there was no probability of any deficiency. It, however, marked a disposition on the part of the government to omit nothing that might be useful. On the 23rd, in latitude 72° N., a piece of drift wood was picked up, which was not in the least wormeaten, a fact which Phipps seems anxious to mention, as much stress had been laid upon the occurrence of drift wood in the Arctic seas, as indicating* a prevailing current from some distant country in which this material was grown, and upon that ground founding an argu- ment in favour of a navigable passage. Five days afterwards the island of Spitzbergen was seen in the distance, and the following day the ships stood close in with the land, which Captain till HON. CAPTAIN PHIPPS. 305 I Phipj)s describes as being in appearance neither a.d. habitable nor accessible ; it being formed of high ^"'^' barren black rocks, without the least marks of vegetation, in many places bare and pointed, and in others covered with snow ; being so high that its summits towered above the clouds, whilst the valleys were filled with snow or ice. This appearance in the middle of summer, he adds, might have suggested the idea of perpetual winter, had not the mildness of the weather, and the brightness of the sunshine, added to the constant daylight which they now enjoyed, given a congenial and cheerful sensation, which was in opposition to that j>roduced by the black and dreary appearance of the coast. Captain Phipps now continued his route to the northward, along the western side of Spitzbergen, making his remarks upon the land, and pursuing his observations at sea, in which, we must do him the justice to observe, that, throughout the voyage he was particularly attentive. On the 29th he had arrived at a high magnetical lati- tude, the dip being 80:^", and where, the directive power of the needle being greatly diminished, the local attraction of his vessel was sensibly felt. At that period, however, the nature of this dis- turbing force had not been discovered ; and he confesses himself at a loss to account for the W-- 'ill' >i 30G HON. CAPTAIN PIIIPPS. SM' U^ I ft?! i il A.D. 1773. wide (lisorepancy in liis observations on the varia- tion made at sea. In the sequel of the voyage, liowever, we find this enlightened navigator glancing at a ]irobable cause of the disturbance, as did also Captain Cook, about the same period, in the Pacific ; but it is well known that it was left to the penetration of the indefatigable Flinders, satisfactorily to explain the pheno- menon. On the 3rd July, the expedition arrived off an island on the western side of Spitsbergen, which had received the name of Prince Charles', and Captain Pliipps determined the height of one of its mountains to be 4509 feet. As this was by no means one of the highest hills, some idea of the scale and grandeur of the coast may be formed from its altitude. lie here fell in with a whale ship, the master of which informed him that the ice was only sixteen leagues to the west- ward, and that three ships had already been lost in it. The following day he anchored in Hamburgh Cove, in lat. 79° 80' N., a small place, situated about three miles to the southward of ]\Iagdalena Bay, where he replenished the water of the ship, and would have made some astronomical observa- tions had be not been obliged by wind and fog to j)ut to sea almost immediately. The shijis again HON. CAPTAIN PHIPPS. 307 sheered to the nortli-.N-ard, uloiig the land, until the afternoon of the ijth, when, the weather beino- very foggy, the attention of our voyagers was arrested by a noise resembling the surf upon a beach, which increased as they proceeded, until they at length discovered an extensive body of ice, consisting of large masses driven closely together, heaving and subsiding with the waves as they rolled in from the southward, and so close to the ships that there was hardly room for them to be put about. When the weather cleared up the main ice was seen at no great distance from the ships, bearing from W.N.W. to E.N.E., and j)resenting a pros]>cct as cheerless to our navigators as could well be imagined, as it precluded the i)ossibi- lity of advancing to the northward much beyond the situation of the ships at that time, and left the only hojie of being able to make any progress dependent upon a narrow channel leading to the eastward, between the ice and the northwestern point of Spitzbergen. Captain Phipps lost no time in availing himself of even this small open- ing, and being favoured with clear weather and smooth water, he sailed close along the edge of the ice. lie however very soon came to the end of the opening, and finding no chance of being able to proceed further, turned about to retrace his X 2 A.I). 177;: 308 HON. CAPTAIN PIIIPPS. i ^ ' i ■ h ' ( : ; A.D. 177:5. course, and very narrowly escaped being beset by the ice, which was in rapid motion, and which indeed enclosed the ships in a manner that rendered it necessary to have recourse to rop(>s and ice-anchors to extricate them. Foiled in an cistern direction. Captain Phipps determined to try in the northwest, and, after contending M'ith fogs and blowing weather, he succeeded in attaining the latitude of 80" 30', which was the most northerly i)oint ascertained by observation, which he reached during the voyage ; this Avas in longitude 2° 2' E. lie was not able, however, to proceed thus far without considerable difficulty, and the risk of being beset, for the ships were already surrounded by loose ice. The weather was at this time cold and wet, and the duty of the shij) becoming very harassing to the seamen, many of them were laid up with i^ains in their limbs. After searching in vain in every quarter for an opening that would admit of the expedition proceeding to the north- ward, and having run ten degrees along the edge of the pack, and in that space made several attempts to push through it, and having always encountered an im})enetrable body of ice a short distance within the loose pieces at the edge, Captain Phipps directed his course once more to the eastward, to ascertain whether what he m I . HON. CAPTAIN PIIIPPS. 809 termed the main ice Mas connected witli the northern coast of S])itzbergen ; a point lie had before been iint ble to determine, in consequence of the quantity of loose ice floating about. Two days' calm, succeeded by a thick fog, how- ever, prevented the execution of this plan for the time ; and, there Ijeing every ap])earance of very boisterous weather, the ships put into Fair Haven for shelter. Fair Haven is a name which has been ffivon (by the Dutch navigators) to all the anchorages between Cloven Cliff and Amsterdam islands ; but that part of it in which Phipps now anchored is situated between Vogel Sang, Cloven Cliff, and the Norways, and is sometimes called the North Harbour. This is the most convenient port in Spitzbergen for observing the motion of the ice in the offing, which can be plainly dis- covered from the hills or from the islands under which the ships are anchored. The Norways are two islands, situated to the north-east of Cloven Cliff, and have been used by the Dutch whalers at various times for the purpose of boiling their blubber previous to their return home. There "sverc several sliips anchored there at tlic time Captain Plii])ps j)ut into Fair Haven, but he does not appear to have had nny communication with them. A.D. 1773. ) , 310 HON. CAPTAIN PIIIPPS. >t- S t' . A D. 1773. As there was a prospect of being detained several days at this anchorage, the pendulum was landed upon a small rocky island near the Norways. The weather, however, proved so im- favourable, that no satisfactory observations were obtained ; and, indeed, we may add, that the same remark will ap})]y to all that was done upon this island, for nothing can be more incorrect than the survey of the Haven, vhich Phipps states was made from that spot, or the heights of the hills and islands about it, notwithstanding all the jirecautions he appears to have taken in order to render them accurate. From the ac- count of these operations given in the Ai)pendix, we cannot suppose Captain Phip])s to have been ignorant of the practical part of the work ; and we must consequently conjecture, either that some error occurred in writing down the ob- servations, or that he could not devote his atten- tion to it, as he has not even given the number of islands correctly, and of course he has not attended to their relative act that Captain Phipps, after pursuing that direction for several miles, abandoned all hope of being able to effect anything in a western direction fo; the present ; as a last alternative, therefore, he determined to make another trial in the quarter where he had been already three times repulsed. On the 24th he reached this spot, and the shi])S, after receiving several hard knocks in forcing through some loose ice, succeeded in advancing beyond it. The next day the sea to the east- ward was so free from ice that the greatest hopes were entertained of being able to get to the northward. At two in the afternoon they were in sight of Moffen Island, a low patch of ground about two miles across, with a lake in its centre, surrounded by a circular bank of gravel and shingle, about a quarter of a mile broad, which had been raised, no doubt, by the repeated pressure of the ice against the shore, as such embankments are by no means uncom- mon on the shores of seas encumbered with HON. CAPTAIN PIIIPPS. 313 ice. There was a piece of drift wood upon the edge of the hike, al)out eighteen feet k)ng and five feet girth, with a root to it ; and, as there are no trees of this dimension upon either Spitzbergen or Nova Zemblr., it is very i)ro- bable that this one had buen brought down some of the great rivers to the eastward, and drifted by the currents to the resting-jdace which it had found upon jVIoffen Island. This small barren spot of ground was the resort of nume- rous sea-fowl, wild geese, and ducks, which had made nests all over the island. Upon one part of the shore there was a grave, with a Dutch inscription, bearing date 1771. On the western side of the island they found a fine sandy bay, with a shelving even bottom, and good anchorage in five fathoms' water at half a mile distance from the shore. Quitting ]\Ioffin Island, the ships worked to the north-eastward, in a sea so clear of ice, that the only pieces in sight were those which they had already passed. The next day they saw land to the eastward ; and on the 27tli were in latitude 80° 48' N. by reckoning, and in longitude 14° 59' E. Here they again encoun- tered the main body of ice, which arrested their further progress northward, and the following day were obliged to run several miles to the A.l). 1773. r ., i • .1 w J' K il (y*l 1.1 ;, % Ti, A.I). 177a. 314 HON. CAPTAIN I'lIIFFS. southward to avoid l)eiiig beset. The expedi- tion \vas at tliis time about twenty-one niiie!>* to the westward of tlie Seven Islands, wliicli appeared to be surrounded by ice ; tlic sea to the soutlnvard of them, however, seemed to be clear, and Captain Phipps shaped liis course in that direction, in the hope of being able to jjass the islands, and of finding the sea to the east- ward of them clear of ice. In doing this, he opened out Ilenlopen Strait, and found a heavy swell from the southward ; from which it mav be inferred that the sea was clear of ice in that direction, for a considerable distance at least. The wind here fell light ; and tho ships being near a low island, a boat was sent to examine it : they found it to be about seven miles in length, and very low. Dr. Irving, who accompanied the party, stated that there were lying upon the beach, sixteen or eighteen fei t above the level of the sea, several large trees, about seventy feet long, which had been torn up by the roots, and others which had appa- rently been felled with an axe, and marked out in twelve-feet lengths. The timber was in no ways decayed, nor the strokes of the axe in the least defaced. There were likewise some pipe- staves, and wood, fashioned for use. The beach was formed of old timber, sand, and I HON. CAPTAIN I'lIlPl'S. 315 whale-bones. The island was coiuposed prin- cipally of " stones, of an hexagonal fonn, and about thirty inches diameter, coniniodiously l)laced for walking over." The middle of the island was covered with moss, scurvy-grass, sorrel, and a few ranunculuses, then in flower. Two reindeer were feeding upon this pasturage, one of which was shot, and found to be in good con- dition and well flavoured. The islan1 7 o I / to (extricate tho slii|)s from tli" dan^jor of Ikmiiu" })t'S('t l)C'twocii the ice and tho hind, which the gradual accumulation of broken ice about the vessels, and a general (dosing of the main body with the coast monientarilv threatened. Being favoured with a light l)ree/e from tin' eastward in the morning of the 31st, the shifts cast oil' and steered to the Mestward, but were soon obliged to make fast again, as tlic ice became packed in every direction, being evidently acted upon by some very great external force, as it was piled up, occasionally, in heaps higher than the ships' main-yard. This innnense jtrcssure was no doubt occasioned by a gale of wind from the southwestward, which being kept off l)y the land of Si)itzbergcn, was not felt by the ships, which were l)ecalmed all day. That such was really the case was shortly rendered more evident by the ice driving bodily to the eastward, as well as by the space in which the ships had advanced from the westward becoming so closed up, that there was not any open water to be seen. Tho pilots, who had never been so far before, now became alarmed lest the ships should become permanently fixed in the ice, and recommended the saws to be set to work with a view to the liberation of the vessels by means of a canal, but the ice was so thick that, with the utmost ex- A.ll. i77;i. »'. Ill; ■ ■»■; ti ' i 1 ' ■ ■ i I i 1 I A.I). 177.'}, 318 HON, CAPTAIN PHIPPS. ortions of a whole day, tlie ships were moved only the sixth of a mile, Avliile they were during the same time carried back two or three leagues by the current. It was quite obvious therefore that nothing could be effected with the saws, and they were carried on board again. The. ships were now quite immovable, and drifting gradually with the ice to the eastward, by which the prospect of liberating them became hourly less apparent. Here it was that Nelson, who was coxswain of one of the boats of the Carcass, went in pursuit of a bear, followed at a distance by one of his shij>mates, and had so narrow an csca]ie of his life. Early in the following morning three bears were killed upon the ice. On the 5tli August, the probability of libe- rating the sln'ps becoming less every day, and the season being far advanced, Captain Phipps was of opinion that some speedy resolution was necessary towards the preservation of the crews of the ships, and as their proceedings in this endeavour would entirely depend upon the distance to which the packed ice might extend to the westward, INIr. Walden, one of the midshipmen, and two pilots, were sent to an island about twelve miles distant to survey the state of the sea from its summit. They returned on the following 1 '1 \ 1 1773 I I 322 HON. CAPTAIN PIIIPPS. by keeping a ])ress of sail on the ships, they managed to get tliem past the Launch ; and the progress cf the ships now exceeding that of the boats, they were all got on board. Hojies of a speedy liberation were now mo- mentarily increasing ; all sail was kept on the vessels, which began to move briskly through the water, and to make their own way through the ice, by turning aside pieces which would have resisted a less forcible impetus; in doing this the Racehorse lost her best bower anchor, by the stock coming in contact with a large piece of ice, which broke it in the shank. By noon on the 10th the ships had cleared the ice, and the crews enjoyed the indescribable gratification of once more finding themselves in a navigable sea. The next day, Captain Phipps put into the port of Smeerenberg, and anchored off the low point of Amsterdam Island, where, as he had antici- pated, he found four Dutch whalers ; so that had he been obliged to abandon his own ships, he Mould thus have on provided with the means of retvu'ning to England. Being now convinced, from his experience amongst the ice, that it was quite impossible to penetrate the great icy barrier, which he had found extending from the northeastern point of Spitzbergen, round by the Seven Islands to the HON. CAPTAIN PIIIPPS. 323 i-' longitude 2" 2' E., ho determined upon return- ing to England, as soon as he had given the ships such temporary repair as they needed, and re- cruited his crew after the fatigues they had under- gone. And in order tliat the time which this woukl require might be employed advantageously, the pendulum was landed upon Amsterdam Island, and the survey of the coast, which had been begun at North Harbour, continued, but, most unaccountably, with as little approach to accuracy as before ; and ships must on no account attempt to sail by the chart which has been pub- lished in the account of this voyage. A base was measured with great care, aj^pa- rently, upon Amsterdam Island, for the purpose of comparing the geometrical measurement of the height of a mountain with its altitude by the barometer — in which there was so great a dif- ference, that Captain Phipps expresses himself wholly at a loss to account for it, as both experi- ments were made with the greatest care ; the former by himself, and the latter by Dr. Irving. It is a great pity that Captain Phipps has omitted to inform us in his narrati\ e of the posi- tion of this mountain, as Captain ^iabine would have been able to determine which of the mea- surements was correct, and his observations would, perhaps, have rescued this and other parts Y 2 A.n. 1773. 324 HON. CAPTAIN PHIPPS. A.n. 1773. *r of Captain Phipps' operations from a blemish, which has been cast upon them, evidently through an oversight in affixing the letters to the im- proper places on the chart. Nearly opposite the anchorage of the ships, there was situated one of those stupendous for- mations of ice for which the island of Spitzbergen is remark-able. It occupied a deep valley, formed between black rocky mountains ; its face was about three hundred feet in height, and nearly perpendicular, and towards its southern extremity there was a stream of water gushnig out of it. Near its centre, according to the view given of it by Mr. D'Auvergne, who accompanied Captain Phipps, there was a deep cavern, which presented nearly the same appearance as it did when visited by Captain Buchan's expedition, forty-five years afterwards. Large pieces of ice frequently broke away from the face of this glacier during the time the ships were at anchor, one of which grounded in 144 feet water, and reached 50 feet above the sea, making its whole length 194 feet. Upon the point of Amsterdam Island where the pendulum was landed,, Captain Phipps discovered the remains of some conveniences for boiling oil, and remarks, that the Dutch once attempted to make an establishment at that place, and left some people to winter there, all of whom perished. , 1 I HON. CAPTAIN PHIPPS. 325 From similar remains being found also upon the Norways, two islands a few miles to the northward of Amsterdam Island, and from the occurrence of a far greater number of graves, bearing nearly the same date, it is likewise j)ro- bable that the Dutch, who had there also an establishment, had also attempted to pass the winter upon these islands, and that the miser- able beings had shared the same melancholy fate with those on Amsterdam Island. It is somewhat remarkable, that so great a mortality should have attended this attempt, provided, as the settlers must have been, with the necessaries of life, when, many years before, a boat's crew of Englishmen, we are told, were cast away upon the same place, and contrived to pass six dreary winters, unprovided with anything but their boat and the clothes they stood in, without losing a man. If a conclusion may be drawn from these facts, it is, that the Dutch, having no necessity to labour during the winter, shut themselves up in their huts, and thereby generated the disposition to scurvy, to which fresh air and exercise are so great an antidote ; whilst the English, compelled by necessity to wander out in the depth of winter to collect even their fire-wood from the drift tim- ber upon the beach, were driven to the use of 1773. 32G HON. CAPTAIN PIIIPPS. A.U. 1773. ;r I: ■■i: M'i; i :ii ■ ?^- both tliese preventives, and so escaped the ravages of that dreadful malady. Hence we may infer the propriety, nay the necessity, of giving* oc- cupation both to the mind and body of persons, whose fate it may be to pass a long and dreary whiter in a climate unusually severe. Captain Phipps, in concluding his journal ob- serves, that he perceived no minerals of any kind on that part of Spitzbergen which he visited, nor were there any appearances of active or e^'l-inct volcanoes. There were no rivers or springs, but the fresh water, which was always found in great abundance, was produced by the melting of snow. There was no thunder or lightning whilst he was upon the coast ; and the sky was in general loaded M'itli hard white clouds, so that he does not remember to have seen the seas and the liorizon both free from them even in the clearest weather. The drift-wood, which from very early times has given rise to various conjectures as to the place of its growth, was, with the exception of the pipe-staves discovered upon the low island by Dr. Irving, all fir, and not perforated by the worm, but he had no opportunity of ascertaining from whence it had drifted. He next remarks upon the nature of the ice which he saw, and from his description of it, as well as from that given by Captain Lutwidge of HON. TAPTAIN PIIIPPS. 327 what was seen from the Seven Islands, it is clear that both these officers were of opinion, that tlie l)arrier was a firm consolidated mass, unbroken by any of those cliannels in which the ships sailed near its margin, as the former remarks that the " loose fields and glaciers, as well as the interioi part of the Jid'cd ice, were flat and low," and the latter, that the sea to the eastward of the Seven Isles was " entirely frozen over, not like the ice we had hitlierto coasted, but a flat even surface as far as the eye couhl reach." Such an opinion however, has since been proved incorrect ; but, coming from high official authority, it must not only have cast a doubt over the alleged successes of some of the early voyagers, but it may with reason be assigned as the cause of the long interval which ela])sed between the return of this expedition and the revival of discoveries towards the Pole. While Captain Phipps remained at the anchor- age the weather was so unfavourable for astronomi- cal observations that he could obtain no satisfactory results with the pendulum ; but, by such as he was able to make, the compression of the earth at the Pole appeared to be as 212 to 211, or rU- iNIodern observations, however, seem to fix it at sh^, nearly a difference which is to be imputed partly absence of the necessary observations in C A.I). i77;j 10 ain 328 HON. CAPTAIN PHIPPS. ■r .1 A.D. Pliipps' case, and partly to the improved method by which results are now deduced from these delicate ex2)erimcnts ; he having been able to observe but two passages of the oj)i)osite limbs of the sun, whilst a considerable number of these transits are necessary to give accuracy to observations involving so much delicacy and precision. His magnotical observations were more satisfactory. On the 19th August the expedition quitted Spitsbergen, and sailed along the edge of the ice to the westward until the 23rd, when Captain Phipps observes, that " the season was so very far advanced, and fogs, as well as gales of wind, so much to be expected., that nothing more could now have been done, had anything been left untried," and he accordingly directed the course of his expe- dition for England, where it arrived on the 29th September. The expedition of Captain Phipps ends what may properly be considered early Arctic voyages, the next undertaking being that by Captain Buchan, already narrated. These early enter- prises, which may be appropriately termed the pioneers of the way, have tended to remove that veil of obscurity which, previously, hung over the geograj)hy, and indeed over all the pheno- mena of the Arctic regions. Before these all was darkness and terror; all beyond the North HON. CAPTAIN PIIIPPS. 329 Cape a blank upon the chart ; the nortliern limits of either Asia or America were unknown ; and to sail l)y *' the unhaunted shores of Finniark, to double the dreadful and misty North Cape, and to vnlocke the seven-fold mouth of Duina," were exploits hardly to be ventured upon. But since that period each succeeding voyage has added to the geographical knowledge of its day ; each year has swept away some gloomy super- stition ; has brought to light some new pheno- menon of the northern regions ; and tended to the advancement of natural knowledge. A.D, 1773. ■1 1 1 w ■l lil^i « lit ArrENDix. l! CONTAININO I. Abstract of Exi'euiments made at Spitz- BEUGEN. II. Temperature of the Sea. AND III. Currents of the Ocean. ) 1 », r t! ^ ,'i > i u li ''i 3 ; t :.. ! I '^ll! PART III. : #^ APPENDIX. Of the various scientific observations made during the absence of Captain Buchan s expedi- tion from England, those on tlie length of the j)endulum vibrating secondh; ; on the dip, intensity, and magnetic force, of the needle ; the tempera- ture of the sea at various depths, as com])ured with that at 4ie surface, and on the currents of the ocean, are the most interesting ; and of these a short notice will not, we trust, be considered superfluous. No. I. Jn Abstract of Experiments made at Spit:b€rgen, to de- termine the length of the pendulum vibrating seconds, 1818. iiy the Rev. George Fisher, Astronomer to the Expedition. The pendulum was attached to a clock made by SheUoji, fhe property of the Royal Society. The rod was cylmdrical, the bob of a lenticular shape, and rhe whole of brass, cast in one m id mass. It vil)rated upon blunt edges of stee', in hollow cylinders of agate ; and the c^ook was supported upon a strong, oaken, tripod stand. The i)lane of vibration was adjusted t" a vertical ■ 8!. I If 384 EXPERIMENTS AT SPITZBERGEN. position by means of a screw attached to the hindermost leg, and a ^evel fixed to the agates. There was a contrivance also for making the nsual lateral adjustment for equalising the beats ; and the experiments were all made with the same face of the pendulum outwards. The baro- meter, thermometer, and arc of vibration, were observed every two hours. Immediately bcjfore the embarkation of the clock, it was put up in the house of the late Henry Browne, Esq., F.R.S., in Portland Place, London, and the number of vibrations in twenty- four hours, mean solar time, was 86384,41 ; ther- mometer, Farht. 48" 8 ; arc 1" 31. After the voyage, (Dec. 1818,) it was put up in the same house ; and the nuraber of vibrations, as before, was 80380,5; ther. 47° 1; arc I^OIG. It was afterwards taken down, and put up again in the following ]\Xarch. when the number of vibrations was 80379,8 ; ther. 57° 3 ; arc 1' 55. These results were obtained by a comparison with an excellent clock made by Cummings, regulated by transit observations. Corresponding observations were made at three different places on the coast of Si)itzbergen, at a few miles' distance from each other ; at two of which, from the very unfavourable state E Aug. 12 IG 19 20 23 EXPERIMENTS AT SPITZBERGEN. 835 of the weather, no means occurred of effecting the ol)ject in view, but ])y comparing the clock with nine chronometers, some of which went very indifferently. These comparisons were, for- tunately, rendered unnecessary, as observations were afterwards obtained at Dane's Island in latitude 79" 40' 20" N., and longitude 11° G' l| E. ; at which place the clock was landed, and fixed upon a solid mass of granite rock, at the height of forty-five feet above the level of the sea, and the sun's passage over the meridian observed for several days. A detail, therefore, of the comparisons will be needless, with the P exception of merely stating, that the mean results at each place indicated a very near agreement. TABLE I. Pendulum Observations vpon Danes Island, Spiuhergen. I 00 X Aug. Sun's transit liy rlciek. J Blean 5 ) \ Wires ) Kcjuat. Time. + Error of flock. M. S. Time. Mean Arc. Mean Therm. Mean liar. No. vibrations '..'1 hours ; M. Sol. Time. H. M, S. H. M. S, H. M. S. fast. 12 2 42 34 10 4 4806 2 37 4G04 1" 359 3G"9 2&-4G 8fi470-CO IG 2 4G 33- 15 4 4-72 2 42 2843 1''358 3G'G 29-53 8G4G903 19 2 49 2220 3 2G (i7 2 45 55-53 1" 3G9 3(J" 4 29 «l !1G4G912 20 2 50 17-73 3 1300 2 47 4-G5 i"3ni 3G' 5 •Jll(;3 iR;4G9;{0 23 2 53 205 2 29 51 2 50 32-54 u 330 EXPERIMENTS AT SPITZBERGEN. It- : iifl \ t i r !' I' 1 "I' Mean Correction diff. Temp. 44 „ diff. of Arc 1" 65 „ diff. of Elevation 86469-68 48"— 36" 7 —4-97 (l-403)2— (1-366)"— 0-45 47 J feet —0-18 86475-28 These observations at Sjiitzborgen are reduced to the same arc, temperature, and elevation, above the sea, as the means between the cor- responding ones in London, before and imme- diately after the voyage. The number of vi- brations being 80382*45 ; thermometer 48" ; barometer 29-02 ; arc 1° 403. A further cor- rection is also due to the buoyancy of the at- mosphere, arising from the difference between the atmospheric pressures at each place ; but, as this difference is exceedingly small, and the correction subject to some uncertainty as to its amount, and, moreover, much less than the unavoidable errors A^hich arise from irregulari- ties in the action of the maintaining poMer, friction, &c., it is omitted. Taking the length of the seconds' pendulum in London (at the level of the sea) to be 39-13929, The length at Spitzbergcn is 39-2132 Polar length . . 39.2199 Equatorial length . . 39-0117 Polar compression, or ellipti- city of the earth, Lop. Mec. Celeste, torn. ii. p. 102. ■J ya \. y.\ EXPERIMENTS AT SPITZHERGEN. 337 01 en O o > >-, p 0) be Cm o en rt O O J3 u u >-> o go ^. d. P Ol ,J3 be .S "? o US . = -J 3 -* rt'S^ 01 r^ t i'^ *r-l • 1.5 tr, r^ -^ rt ■« H! o Of ■^■5 (>- I— I CO Cj a ^- o »o 'O 0{ l^ ^ * CO oh:, o o 1-^ 1-H »— < ^ r- -^ • • • • • '^ I-H '"' 1-1 o I-H Oi (N o l^ ^ ao CO «o "O 00 S-c 5-1 v" « -a ub CO OJ 6 o =0 00 CO C5 00 CO rs Oi 0< 0^ cs^ o/ 0^ ^ C o o Oi o OO o C3 > 00 • 0-3 r^ o< 1— c 00 "C K* 'S* 'J' ^ T}< 00 ■* > IN o< oe (M CM ex r) »-H O -'^ •* 00 -pi c 00 OJ (N -* r-H 0^ "* ^1 o -* l-H l-H r— t ^^ • t^ t^ 00 00 00 00 00 00 c =3 . b o« o 00 o #v r^ CO b i-i w r— ( r— < 00 rH oo o ^ ^ ^ o c^ o p J^ o Ci »o o c>- h- 00 t— • , '^^ • * 1 c o e? ti N fcc o. eS Oi CO OJ •4-) " f\ J2 o ^ =2 «3 a rt 1-^ C/2 r*. O Q lo ^O CO 00 C3 ^ CC' ■3C •^ v^ r—K Oi ■ tFi- -t 00 c 3 fcii a o u a2 W c/5 ,d o o o> bo 0) ^ -!■:< C/3 o c 0> O i 1 lIP'.T . 'U I 338 EXPERIMENTS AT SPITZBERGEN. Tlic (lipping instrument was one of the usual construction, made by T. Jones, and furnished with polished agate knife-edges, upon whicli the axes of the needles vibrated. One needle be- longing to the instrument was used solely for the pur])ose of determining the comi)arative forces, and its magnetism (which was very uni- form during the voyage) was therefore never interfered with. The force at Shetland is taken at r052, which is a mean of the results from the experiments of Captain Sabine, and subse- quent ones of my own near the same j)lace. The variations of the compass were taken, either on shore or on the ice, with Kater's compasses, far removed from any local attraction. 1} I I \. 039 II. TEMPERATURE OF THE SEA. With regard to the temperature of the sea at depths below th3 surface, wo had few op])ortuni- ties of niakiug- these observations until we reach, ed the 79" parallel of latitude, but l)etween that and 80 degrees we had a series of results, which were \nry satisfactory, and fully confinned Mr. Scoresby's observations, which showed a small increase of temperature with an increase of depth. The following is Mr. Scoresby's Table, to which I subjoin a short Table of these results, for the sake of comparison. TABLE III. Showing the Temperatures of the Sea at the surface, and at various depths, from Mr, Scoresby's observations. Temperature at Surface. Below the Surfare. Remarks. Temp. No. of fathoms. 31" » >> 29 7 32 31" 33 8 34 5 30 36 37 3G 3 38 13 37 57 100 400 730 120 761 [ In latitude 79" N. In latitude 80" N. In latitude 78" N. z 2 340 TEMPERATURE OF THE SEA. TABLE IV. 1:1 f Comparison of Temperature of the Sea at depths, and at the surface. From Experiments made by the Expedition. Ut'Uiw the Surface. Dfttc. 1818. Temperature at Surface. Temi). No. of fathoms. Remarks. June 33" 34" 15 \ July 34 34 34 34-5 301 35/ in harbour. )> 33 34 60 >) 34 34'5 72 , » 32 367 73 / » 31 35 '6 83 f if 32 32 31-5 32 36 35-3 36-5 35-6 94 103 108 Between the llatitudes of /79" 45' N. and ,80" 27' N 30-3 30*5 36 36-5 120 142 » 32-5 36-5 173 » 32-5 36-3 185 » 31 -5 31 237 » 32-5 35-5 270 ») 32 35 331 May 33 43 700 1 3^1 III. CURRENTS OF THE OCEAN. Upon a review of many observations on cnr- rents in tlie liiglicr latilrdes, which have been [>nblicly recorded, it is quite evident that tliere prevails, throngliout the summer at k'ast, a flow of tlie waters to the south-westward. A\'e have, in the first ]»lace, })resnmptive evidence of this from the Mestern coasts of all the lands within the Arctic Circle ])eing navigable to their north- ern limits ; whilst the eastern coasts are so encumbered with ice drifted upon them, that they are almost una])proachable. Whether we turn our attention to Nova Zembla, Spitzbergen, Greenland, or Behring's Strait, the same result is obtained. But we have other proof of this still more conclusive : ships, which have been beset in the ice betM'cen Spitzbergen and C«reen- land, have been found to drift in a S.AV. and S.W. l)y S. directions, at the rates of one hun- dred and eiiihty-two miles in thirteen days ; one hundred and twenty miles in nine days ; four hundred and twenty miles in fifty days ; and one thousand three hundred miles in one hun- dred and eight days ; or, at an average late of 842 CURRENTS OF THE OCEAN. i f 1 Ml, I ill PI W about, thirteen miles a-day, with the exception of the tliircl instance, which gives eight miles a-(lay, but still in a southwest direction. It has been shown, in the course of this volume, that Sir Edward Parry's attempt to reach the I'olc failed partly from the continued set of the current to the southwestward ; and, in Cap- tain Buchan's voyage, that the utmost exertions of the crews M'ere inadequate to the mainte- nance of their position. This south-westerly current, however, does not appear to reach below the parallel of Cherie Island in the east, nor to extend as far as Ca])e Farewell in the west, and certainly not beyond it ; for a southeasterly current has been found to prevail there, from the fact of bottles, which were thrown into the sea in those parts, having been i)icked up on the shores of Great Britain and Teneriffe ; and from the casks of the William Torr whaler, wrecked in Davis' Straits, having been found off' the Bay of Biscay, off" Rockall, and at in- termediate stations between this island and New- foundland.* Connecting the observations in the * The drift of these bottles and casks is taken from a " Bottle-track Chart," a very interesting and curious docu- ment, which has been compiled with great care, after a labo- rious collection of widely scattered facts, by Commander Ik'cher, R.N., and published in the Nautical Magazine for March 1S43. '^ CURRKNTS OF TUK OCEAN. 'M'A Aivti(! soa with those upon the " Bottk'-track. Chart" of ComiiiaiKkM- IJecher, it seems tiiat tlio southeasterly current sets from Davis' Strait li temperature of the sea, wliicli we carried as far as the 7-3th deorec of latitude. This warm stratum ap])ears to have been j)asse(l through by Sir Edward Parry during his passage from Soroe to Spitzbergen, in about the 7f]rd degree of latitude, and to have extended to the longitude of 8° E., where the temperature, as with Captain Buchan, fell from 39° to 82^ and continued at or below this degree during the remainder of the passage. * The following results have been kmdly furnished me by Commander Bi'cher, R.N. Lat. Long. Drift of Bottle. Bottles /60'N. 7" o'W. N.54" E. HOG miles, thrown over- ) 60 25 4 N. 48" E. 274 ■) 5(J ^50 board in 25 4 1 () 5 27 N. 8" E. N.:^r' E. 217 8k. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) .V^ i :/. * 1.0 I.I 1.25 Um 125 :^ 1^ 12.0 11118 1.4 1^ V] <^ /2 /a 'm > ;> 7 Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4S03 6^ I 344 fi (yAPTAiN Sabine to Da vies Gilbert, M.V. Vice President of the Royal Society. Portland Place, Feb. 8, 1826. IMy dear Sir, I heg to trouble you with a few remarks on the project of measuring an arc of the meridian at Spitzbergen, previous to its discussion at the Council of the Royal Society. It is not necessary that I should at this time enter on the reasons which have induced, for more than a century jiast, measurements to be made of jiortions of the meridian, for the pur- pose of determining the figure of the earth. The question now is, rather, shall all that has been effected hitherto in this method, with so much labour and expense, remain in its present in- complete and inconclusive state ? or, shall the method be pursued until the result which it is capable Oi giving be attained ? There have been two arcs measured in the vicinity of the Equator ; the Indian one, in par- ticular, deserving of the highest consideration from its extent, and from the care bestowed on its details. To give to these arcs their full value in the proposed determiiiation, there I "!i CAPTAIN SABINE'S LETTER. 345 is wanting a corresponding measurement, or mea- surements at the Polar extremity of the meri- dian, with which they may be combined. Several stations have been named for this purpose besides Spitzbergen ; viz., the North Cape, Greenland, and Iceland. From personal knowledge of all these countries (except Iceland, to wh'ch, however, the remark equally applies), I can venture to give a practical oj)inion, that there can be no question as to the sujierior eligibility of Spitzbergen ; a water communi- cation along the whole line of operations, con- stitutes the superiority ; and to those who have thought much on the details of such proceed- ings, it will not be necessary to explain that this is a point of the very first importance ; a view of the chart of Spitzbergen will best show its remarkable fitness in this respect. An arc, falling a little short of 4|°, is com- prised between Hope Island and Seven Islands, being the northern and southern extremities of the group which passes under the general name of Spitzbergen, and which may be seen by the chart to be so connected by intermediate land as to admit of their being united trigonome- trical ly. The value of an arc of 4^" in the latitude of Spitzbergen towards the deducing the pro- 340 CAPTAIN SABINE'S LETTER. ill >i[ portion of the polar and equatorial tliamctci*s by its combination with an arc near the equator, is equivalent to one of 9° in the mean latitude of France, and of 7° in the mean latitude of Britain ; its value, therefore, in the ultimate de- termination, may be estimated by the known im- portance which is attached to the national arcs of Great Britain and France. It may be further noticed, that it is equivalent to an arc in Lapland, of nearly six times the extent of the arc measured by the French Academicians ; the importance of which at this day is such, in the view of the first geometrician of the age, that M. Laplace has recently proposed, that a fresh c -n mission should be sent to rc-detcrmine the latituues of the extre- mities. The expediency, then, of undertaking such a measurement at Spitzbergen, is principally to be considered in reference to the natural difficul- ties which may impede its execution. And on this point, having myself actually resided some weeks on shore at Spitzbergen, having conducted operatioi'G of a similar nature, having personal knov ledge of the general character of ihe country to be traversed, the difficulties it presents to per- sons carrying astronomical instruments, and the modes and facilities of overcoming those difficul- ties, and having made observations of much deli- CAPTAIN SABINE'S LETTER. 347 cacy, contiimctl tlirouf^h many successive hours, and for successive days, at the summit of one of the hills of i)rincipal elevation, such as would jirobably form the greater part of the trigono- metrical stations, I may venture to hazard the opinion which that varied experience warrants. The subject was in my mind when on the spot, and I have since reflected continually, in refer- ence to it, and have heard, I believe, most of the olyections which from time to time nave been suggested in conversation, against its practical accomplishment. I still, however, entertain the opinion formed on the spot, viz., that there is no reason to anticipate any difficulties, either of cli- mate or country, but such as may be surmounted by the patience and exertion requisite in such operations, or which, being surmounted, would in the slightest aegree interfere with the accuracy of the result. I may observe, that I am speaking of difficulties which I think it not improbable I may be called on myself to meet ; and that I am not likely, under such circumstances, either lightly or inconsiderately to underrate them. It is very satisfactory to me to be enabled to add, that the inferences I had drawn from my own personal experience at S]»itzljcrgcn, have been greatly strengthened by the highly interest- ing and important information, as regards this :j4s CAPTAIN SABINK's LETTER. i^^ ,({,., (|iiestio!i, wliifli JVfr. Crowe, liis Majesty's \'ioe- Coiisul at JIanimcrfast, the establislier and pro- ])rietor of a British scttleinent at Si)itzl)erge)i, lias obtained in the last summer. The following extracts arc from a communication which IMr. Crowe has made to Lord Melville : " It having been mentioned to me by Caj)tain Sabine, in a conservation I had with him pre- viously to my leaving England last sunmier, that the Admiralty might have it in contemjdation to send a vessel in the direction of Spitzbergen, for certain scientific objects, and that any information would be acceptable which might tend to facili- tate the progress of such a vessel, I directed the master of a small cutter of forty tons, who Mas to sail from Ilammerfast, to the settlement at Ice Sound, to penetrate up Wyde Jansz Water, an arm of the sea M'hich intersects Spitzbergen in a north and south direction, respecting the free navigation of which Captain Sabine had exi)ressed a wish to be informed. The vessel accordingly did ascend to the i)araUel of Ice Sound (78°), and ti,o muster rej)orts it to have been perfectly free from ice. lie next went round the west coast as far as Walden's Island, adjoining the Seven Islands, with- out meeting with any impediment; and although many shoals of ice were visible from thence, there were many open channels through which he ii ■ u i" CAPTAIN SAaiNES LETPER VA9 might have navigated still further in that direc- tion. A vessel belonging to myself, the year before last ascended half a degree further north than Table Island, but nine to the 'i'estward. ]Mr. rSharostin, an intelligent Russian, with whom I have frequently conversed, actually ]>assed thirty-nine winters on Spitzbergen, and resided there for fifteen years without having once left the island. He declares, that during his residence he invariobly found the coasts free from ice, for four and sometimes for five months in every year. I am enabled to add, that my own vessels have frequently navigated the coast from Ryke Yse's Islands, the south-east extremity, round the west coast, to the Seven Islands at the north-east ex- tremity, and that four timei^ out of six they might have circumnavigated Spitzbergen." Mr. Crowe has further ucquaintcvl me that his brother, who sailed in the cutter up Wyde Jansz Water, represents the land on either side as being conveniently traversable, the hills of moderate elevation, and the valleys running well into each other. Mr. Crowe has requested me to express his readiness to attend at any time at the Council of the Royal Society, should his presence appear desirable, and I need not add, that my attendance is always at their command. ipilp 350 CAPTAIN SABINE'S LETTER. ' .',t It I il Those aro, T ajiprchcntl, the best sources from whence information can at present be attained ; but, without doubt, the most satisfactory mode of ascertaining- whether the natural difficulties to be encountered ought to weigh against the value of the result that would bo obtained, is to send a vessel in the present summer for the express in- vestigation. For this purpose there would bo required no win<:.ering in the high latitudes, no particular cost in strengthening or fitting the ship for the service, no second ship as a consort in case of accident, because there are permanent settlements at Spitzbergen, at which merchant vessels are always to be found ; no risk of life, beyond what the Norwegian sailors annually en- counter in quest of eider-down. One of the ordinary surveying ships relieved for six months from her accustomed employ, would then place it in the power of the Council to decide, in full and competent knowledge, on the propriety of recom- mending the measure to be carried into execu- tion. I conceive that a single season, the present summer for example, would be ample for the most thorough investigation, in which every sta- tion should be personally visited, the angles and latitudes observed with inferior, that is to say, more portable instruments, and the situation of a CAPTAIN RAniNF/S LETTER. 351 base solcotctl, with reference both to the survey generally, and to the nature of the ground. The report should also contain so thoroughly digested a scheme of further ])roceedings, as should enable the Council to judge of tlic merits of every part of the proposed ])lan, previously to its being under- taken. Such a Ileport Mould probably prove more than half the labour of the whole operation. Should the Council think that T could bo advantageously employed in conducting such an investigation, my services, as you well know, are at their command. Accompanied by a second officer of the Ordnance, and a steady sergeant of Artillery, I should feel little doubt either of put- ting the question, as regards Spitzbergen, at rest for ever, by proving the impracticability of the operation, or of furnishing such a report as I have described, whereby its completion, if it Mere ex- ])edient to be pursued, could be looked forward to with certainty. I remain, my dear, Sir, Yours very faithfully, Edwaud Sabixk. THE END. London : Printed by S. & J, Bentley, Wilson, and Flet, Bangor House, Shoe Lane. f