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TIIF. rUKW OV TlIK 'MIAVSA" nilAOOlNi: T 11 i: I 11 r.OATS ACROSS THK IC K.
See pn£f 357-
THE
ARCTIC WORLD:
w.
ITS PLANTS, ANIMALS, AND NATURAL PHENOMENA.
eciith a J)istorii-al Shctch of Jlvctic iliscobcnj,
DiiWN TO THE
BRITISH POLAR EXPEDITION:
1875-76.
f. f^'>i''
I-
I'
■ Here let Ilie Inllriw. stiffen, and have resi,'— COLERIDGR
LONDON:
T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW;
E D I N D U R G H ; AND NEW YORK.
^G.
PREFACE.
jiNGLISHMEN have always felt a special interest in the regions of the icy North, from
the days when Dr. Thome first proposed the search after a passage to the Pole, down
to tliese present times, when the Expedition under Captains Nares and Stephenson
has shown that such a passage is virtually impracticable. The interest originally kindled by
commercial considerations has been maintained by purer and loftier motives, — by the thirst after
knowledge, and the sympathy with the brave deeds of brave men. And it must bo admitted
that our national virtues of resolute perseverance and patient courage have never been more
hap^jily displayed than in the prosecution of the great work of Arctic Discovery. Our explorers
have refused to know when they were beaten ; and in defiance of a terrible climate, of icebergs
and ice-floes, of liurricanes and driving snow-storms, of obstacles, dangers, and difficulties, have
pressed onward, until the latest adventurers have crossed the Threshold of the Unknown Region,
and confronted the immense plain of ice that extends for four hundred miles from the Pole.
Their labours, indeed, have been attended by the shadows of melancholy disasters, and the long
Arctic night closes over the graves of many whom England was loath to lose ; but in their
successful issue they have brought us acquainted with the phenomena of a strange and wonderful
world, and opened up to us a succession of scenes of the most remarkable character.
There can be no question that in the frozen wastes and snowy wildei'nesses lurks a powerful
fascination, which proves almost iri-esistible to the adventurous spirit. He who has once entered
the Arctic World, however great his sufferings, is restless until he returns to it. Whether
the spell lies in the weird magnificence of the scenery, in the splendours of the heavens, in the
mystery which still hovers over those far-off seas of ice and remote bays, or in the excitement
of a continual struggle with the forces of Nature, or whether all these influences are at work, we
cannot stop to inquire. But it seems to us certain that the Arctic World has a romance and an
attraction about it, which are far more powerful over the minds of men than the rich glowing
lands of the Tropics, or the
"Summer-isles of Eden lying in dark -purple spheres of sea,"
which are crowned with the bread-fruit and the palm, the spontaneous gifts of a liberal soil.
We follow with far deeper interest the footprints of a Parry and a Franklin than those of a
Wallis, a Carteret, or even a Cook.
i:.mmm
n
iv ritKFACE.
Tlie genenil i-eader, therefore, may not be displeased at the attempt of the present writer to
put before bim, with bold touclies, and in outhne rather than in detail, a picture of that Polar
World which is so aw tul and yet so fascinating. In the Ibllowing pages he will find its principal
featiu'es sketched, its chief characters legibly and clearly traced. They are not intended for the
scientific, — though it is ht)ped the scientific, if they fall in with them, will find no ground for
censure. They aim at describing the wonders of sky and sea and land ; the glories of the
aurora; the beauty of the starry Arctic night; the majesty of iceljerg and glacier; the rugged
dreariness of the hunnnocky fields of ice ; the habits of the Polar bear, the seal, and the walrus ;
and the manners and customs of the various tribes which frequent the shores of the Polar seas
and straits, or dwell on the border-land of the Frigid Zone. In a word, it has been the writer's
object to bring together just such particulars as might enable the intelligent reader to realize to
himself the true character of tlie world wliich extends around the North Pole. In carrying
out this object, he has necessarily had recourse to the voyages of numerous explorers and the
narratives of sundry scientific authorities ; and he believes that not a statement has been
ventured which could not claim their suppoit.
CONTENTS.
CIIAFrEK I.
Various routfs between fche Atlantic ami PatiHc Oceans described —
Advantages of a North-West Passage, if practicable — What is to be
gained from further Arctic exploration — What zoology would gain
— The problem of the migration of birds — About the Knots — Bound-
aries of the North Pola,r Eegions — Their principal geographical
features — Divisions into two zones, or sections — The stony tundras
— The flora of the North — The Silierian desert — Limits of perpetual
snow — General character of life in the Polar World 9-21
CHAPTER II.
An imaginary voyage — View of the Greenland coast — A splendid
picture of land and sea — The winter night and its atmospheric
phenomena — The aurora borervlis described — Its peculiarities and
possible causes — Winds and whirlwinds — Phenomena of refraction
— The " ice-blink " — Characteristics of the Arctic night — Described
by Dr. Kane — Kemarkable atmospheric conditions — Effect of pro-
longed darkness on animal life — Characteristics of the Arctic spring
— A spring landscape described by Dr. Hayes — Summer in the
North — The Northern heavens and the Pole-Star — List of Northern
constellations — The Great Bear — Some conspicuous stars 22-40
CHAPTER III.
The Polar seas — Form.ation of icebergs— Their dimensions and appear-
ance — Description of colossal bergs — Their danger to navigation —
Adventures with bergs — Quotations from v.arious writers — Dissolu-
tion of an iceberg— Icebergs in Melville Bay — How icebergs are
formed — Reference to icebergs in the Alpine lakes — Professor Tyn-
dall quoted — Breaking up of a berg described by Dr. Hayes — A
vision of icebergs — Their range— The "piick-ice" described — E.x-
tent of the ice-fields — " Taking the p.ack" — An incident described
by Admiral Beechey — D.angerous position of Captain Parry's ships
— Character of an ice-field— Crossing an ice-field — Its extraordinary
dimensions — Animal life in the Polar seas — Walrus-hunting —
Quotation from Mr. Lamont — A disagreeable process — Natural
history of the walrus— The walrus and the Polar bear — Historical
sketch of the walrus-fishery— Adventure with walruses — A walrus-
hunt described— Hunting in an Arctic gale— The Phocidre family
— Natur.al history of the seal— Different genera— Seal's flesh, and
its uses— An incident in Dr. Kane's expedition— An Eskimo hut—
An Eskimo se.al-hunter— The whale, and all about it— The Green-
land whale— What is whalebone ?— Food of the whale— The Nor-
thern rorqual — Eskimo whale-fishers — About the narwhal— The
black dolphin -The ore, or grampus — The PuUu bear — Bears and
seals — Particulars of the habits of the Polar bear — His voracity —
Affection of the bear for her young — An episode described — Battle
with a bear — The bear and the Eskimo dogs— The Arctic night —
Its various phases— Coming of the sun — Return of the birds —
Guillemots and aides — Aliout the puffins — The mergansers — The
smew, or white nun — The eider duck described — Eider ducks in
Iceland — Collecting eider down — The wild swan— Fables about its
death-song — The Arctic waters, and their teeming life — Migrations
offish 11-107
CHAPTER IV.
The formation of snow descTibed — Snow-crystals — Effects of the crys-
tallizing force — Ice-flowers — Sir David Brewster's experiment with
polarised light — Regelation and moulding of ice — Characteristics of
glacier-ice — Cleavage in compact ice — The aspect of glaciers — On
the motion of glaciers — History of its discovery — Moraines de-
scribed — Theory of glacier-motion — Quotation from Professor
Tyndall — Glaciers of the Polar Regions — Glacier in Bell Sound —
Formation of icebergs — Icebergs in Baffin Bay — Glacier described
by Dr. Hayes — The Greenland Mer de Glace — Glacier of Sermiat-
sialik — The great Humboldt Glacier — Discovered by Dr. Kane —
Description of its features— Kane's theory of icebergs — Notes on
the glacier lOS-134
CHAPTER V.
Red snow, what is it ? — First forms of vegetable life — The lichens,
their variety— Reindeer moss — Rock-hair — Rock tripe, or tripe de
roche — Used as food — Iceland moss and its properties — The mosses
of the Arctic Regions — Scurvy-grass — The fly-agaric — Microscopic
vegetation — A memorial of Franklin — Phienogamous plants of the
North — Cryjitogamous plants — Vegetation in Novaia Zemlaia — In
Spitzbergen — In Kamtschatka — The Fntallaria sarrana — The
wooded .and desert zones— Forms of animal life — Natiu-.al historj-
of the reindeer — His usefulness — His food — Reindeer and wolves-
Cunning of the Arctic wolf — Domesticity of the wolf — The musk-
ox described — Captain M'Clintock quoted — The Arctic fox — Hia
wariness — A fox-trap — The bear and the fox — The Arctic hare —
The Alpine h.are — The Hudson B,ay lemming — The JIustelidte
family — The marten — The sable — The polecat — About the gbitton,
or wolverine — anecdotes of his extraordinary sagacity — A great
enemy to the trapper — The biter bit — Arctic birds — The falcons —
The crows — Distriljution of animals l.'iD-iei
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VI.
Iceland, its extent — Its history — Its volcinoes — Hekla and its erup-
tions — Eruption of the Skaptd Jokul— The geysers, or boiling
springs — Their phenomena described— Account of the Strokr —
Coasts and valleys of Iceland — Tlie Thingv.alla — Description nf
Reikiavik, the capital— Character of the Icelander— His haymak-
ing operations — His dwelling described — An Icelandic church —
Icelandic clergy — Travelling in Iceland — Its inconveniences —
Fordinir the streams — Fishing in Tcelaml.... 102-17-1
CHAPTER VII.
The land of the Eskimos — Range of the so-called Arctic Highlanders —
Danish settlements in Greenland — tJpernavik described — Jacobs-
hav'n — Godhav'n — Their Eskimo inh.abitants — The Moravian
Missions — Characteristics of the nomadic Eskimos — Their physical
qualities — Their mode of dress — An Eskimo hut — The Eskimo
kayak^ or canoe — Their weapons and implements — Hostility be-
tween the Eskimos and Red Indians— Eskimo settlement at Ana-
toak— Eskimo singing — Food of the Eskimos — Dr. Hayes' inter-
course with the Eskimos— The story of Hans the Hunter — The
Eskimo dogs— Anecdote of Toodla — The Eskimo sledge— Equip-
ment of the sledge — Equipment of an Eskimo hunter — General
character of the Eskimos 175-190
CHAPTER VIII.
Lapland, its divisions, extent, and boundaries — Its climate — Its in-
habitants — Their physical characteristics — Dress of the Lapps —
Their superstitions — The Mountain Lapps — Their migratory
habits — Their ivguria, or huts, described — Milking the reindeer
— Sledging and skating — A Lapp's skates — A Lapp's sledge —
The Lapp hunters — Encounter with a bear — Intemperance of
the Mountain Lapps — The Forest Lapps— Interior economy of a
Lapl.and hut — Lapps at Bjorkholm — R.acial char.acteristics of the
Lapps — Habits and manners of the Lapps — Tlie Lapp dialect —
The Lapps and the Queues — The stationary Lapps, and their
gdrds 197-207
CHAPTER IX.
The .Samojedes — Their degrading superstitions — Samojede idol at Wai-
gatz — The Tadchtsios, or spirits — Influence of the Tudibe, or sor-
cerer—His mode of incantation — Customs of the Samojedes — The
Osti.aks — Their Scfi/i'itans and Srhamans — Residence of the Ostiake
— Hunting the wliite bear — Kamtschatka described — Its inhal)i-
tants — Their physical peculiarities — The dog of Kamtschatka —
His qualities — His usefulness — How he is trained — Siberia and its
tribes — The Jakuts — Their jarts, or huts — Their hanly horses—
The character of the .Takuts — Jakut travellers — Jakut merchants
and their caravans — Dreariness of the country they inhabit —
Hunting the reindeer— At Kolymsk — The Tungusi — His mode of
travelling — His food — The Tchuktche, and their land — Their
activity as traders — Tobacco, a staple of commerce — Visit to a
Tchuktche f.amily- The Tenngyk and the Oukilon 20S-221
CHAPTER X.
History of Discovery in the Arctic Regions — Expeditions of Thome
and Hore — Of Sir Hugh Willoughby — Martin Frobisher and his
.adventures — Discoveries of Davis — Hudson, his discovery of Hudson
Bay, Jan Mayen, and Cape Wolstenholm — His fate — BafBn'.s
voyages — Highway to the North Pole — Expedition of Ross and
P.arry — Parry's second expedition — Loss of the Fit}!/ — Overland
journeys — Franklin's la.st expedition — The search .after Franklin —
Discovery of relics — Captain Penny's expedition — Sir Robert
M'Clure's discovery of the North-West Passage — Voy.age of
M'Clintock — Lieutenant Hobson's discoveries — Dr. Kane's ex-
pedition — Explores Smith Sound — Discovers the Humboldt Glacier
and Kennedy Chiinnel — Wintering in the Arctic Regions — Dr.
Hayes' expedition — Voyage of the Gcrmania and the Hansa — Loss
of the latter — Escape of the crew on an ice-raft — Arriv.al .at Green-
hand — Adventures of the Gcrmania — Barents and C.arlsen — Austri.an
expedition under Payer — Voyage of the Polaris — Death of Hall —
Tyson's voyage on an ice-raft — Rescued by the Tigress — Captain
Buddington abandons the Polaris — His winter quarters — Boat
voyage — Safe arrival — British expedition of 1S75-7G — Departure of
the Alert .and Discorery — Narnative of the expedition — Winter
amusements — The sledging-parties — Import.ant discoveries — No
road to the Pole — Return home — Cruise of the Paii(7or(i.... 222-337
NORTH POLAR REGIONS
f> lod 7o(! .T<v
EnpJish. Jiife^
eoo 700 soo 900
ICijst of illustratiouB.
1. THE CREW OF THE " HANSA " DKAGGING THEIR BOATS ACROSS
THE ICE (frontispiece).
2. A DESERT OF ICE IN THE ARCTIC REGION,
3. THE SWAMPS OF THE OBI,
4. IN THE FOREST ZONE OF THE NORTH (FOLL-PAGE),
5. THE MIDNIGHT SUN (pDLI.-PAGe), ...
C. OFF THE COAST OF GREENLAND, ...
7. MOONLIGHT IN THE POLAR WORLD,
8. THE AURORA B0REALI3, ...
9. THE AURORA BOREALIS— THE CORONA,
10. ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENA IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS :—REPLEC
TION OP ICEBERGS, ...
11. ADVENT OP SPRING IN THE POLAR REGIONS,
12. URSA MAJOR AND URSA MINOR, ...
13. NEBULA IN ANDROMEDA, ...
U. ARCHED ICEBERG OFF THE GREENLAND COAST,
15. AMONG THE BERGS— A NARROW ESCAPE, ...
10. ICEBERG AND ICEFIELD, MELVILLE BAT, GREENLAND,
17. ORIGIN OF ICEBERGS— EXTENSION OF A GLACIER SEAWARDS,
18. THE ALET3CH GLACIER, SWITZERLAND, FROM THE .EGOISCH
HORN, SHOWING ITS MORAINES,
19. THE MARJELEN SEA, SWITZERLAND,
20. PALL OF AN ICEBERG (PCLL-PAGE),
21. IN AN ICE-PACK, MELVILLE BAT, ...
22. CHANNEL IN AN ICE-FIELD,
23. "nipped" in AN ICE-FIELD,
24. AMONG THE ICE-HUMMOCKS (FCLL-PAGE),
25. HUNTING THE WALRUS, ...
26. THE WALRUS, OR MORSE,
27. A WALRUS PAMILT,
23. FIGHT BETWEEN A WALRUS AND A POLAR BEAR,
29. BOAT ATTACKED BT A WALRUS (FULL-PAGE),
30. FIGHT WITH A WALRUS, ...
31. HERD OF SEALS, NEAR THE DEVIL's THUMB, BAFFIN SEA,
GREENLAND,
32. THE COMMON SEAL,
83. SHOOTING A SEAL,
34. THE OTART,
13
10
17
23
25
20
23
29
32
35
30
39
•12
43
45
47
48
48
61
53
64
S4
67
61
63
64
04
05
OS
71
73
74
75
3.5. THE HOODED SEAL, ... ...
30. AN ESKIMO SEAL-HUNTER,
37. THE GREENLAND WHALE,
38. NARWHALS, MALE AND FEMALE, ...
39. A SHOAL OP DOLPHINS, ...
40. POLAR BEARS, ...
41. BEAR CATCHING A SEAL,
42. BEARS DESTROTING A CACHE,
43. FIGHT WITH A WHITE BEAR (FULL-PAGE),
44. STALKING A BEAR,
45. SEA-BIRDS IN THE POLAR REGIONS,
40. THE GREAT AUK— R.VZOR-BILLS— THE PUFFIN,
47. PUFFINS,
43. THE GOOSANDER,
49. A BIRD "bazaar" IN NOVALV ZEMLAIA (FULL-PAGE),
r>0. THE BLACK-BACKED GULL,
51. THE EIDER-DUCK,
52. THE HAUNT OF THE WILD SWAN, ...
63. VARIOUS FORMS OF SNOW-CRYSTALS,
64. EXHIBITION OF ICE-FLOWERS BY PROJECTION,
65. ICE-FLOWERS,
66. MOULDING ICE, ...
67. A POLAR GLACIER,
r,S. GLACIER, ENGLISH BAT, SPITZBEEGEN,
.W. GLACIER, BELL SOUND, SPITZBERGEN,
CO. STE,\MER "charging" AN ICEBERG, UPERNAVIK, GREENLAND
(full-page),
01. FORCING A PASSAGE THROUGH THE ICE (FULL-P.VGE),
02. THE GLACIER OP SERMIATSIALIK, GREENLAND (FULL-PAGE), ...
03. PROTOCOCCUS NIVALIS,
04. WILD REINDEER,
05. THE MCSK-OX, ...
CO ARCTIC FOXES, ...
67. A FOX-TRAP,
63. THE ERMINE, OR SABLE MARTEN, . .
09. THE GLUTTON, OR WOLVERINE,
70. PTARMIGAN,
71. AN ICELANDIC LANDSCAPE,
76
77
79
82
S3
84
94
97
98
91)
lUO
101
103
103
105
109
110
110
112
113
119
120
121
125
129
136
145
150
152
153
156
157
160
163
LIST OF II
'STKATIONS.
72 MOUNl' HEKl.A, KlinM T]1K VALI.EV CIK >IKVrrA.
73 THK GREAT UEVNEK,
74. HARBOUR OF BEIKIAVIK,
75. ICELANDERS FlSHINc; FUR NAUWIIAL,
7«. UPEK.VAVIK, GliELM.ANII,
77. DISCO ISLAND, CKKENLANil,
78. noDHAV'N, DI»Ci) ISLAND, OKEENf.AND,
79. DANISH .SEITLE.MENI' OF .lACOBSHAV N, CKEENLAND,
80. BUILDING AN ESKIMO HUT,
81. THE ESKIMO KAYAK,
82. THE ESKIMO OOMIAK, ...
83. DR. HAYES FALLS IN WITH HAN.-i THK HUNTER (FULL-PAGE
84. ESKIMO DOGS, ...
85. ESKIMO SLEDGE AND TEAM (FULL-PAGE), ..
SO. REINDEER IN LAPLAND,
87. TRAVELLING IN LAPLAND,
8S FISHER LAPPS, ...
89. 8AMOJEDE HUTS ON WAIG,\TZ ISLAND,
90. A SAMOJEDE FAMILY,
91. JAKUT HUNTER AND BEAK,
92. KAMTSCHATKANS,
93. A KAMTSCHATKAN SLEDGE AND TEAM,
94. THE LOSS OF THE "SQUIRREL,"...
95 SHIP OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY,
96. SCENERY OF JAN MAYEN,
97. THE "HECLA" AND "FURY" WINTERING AT WINTER ISLAND,
9-!. THE "fury" ABANDONED BY PARRY,
99 DISCOVERY OF THE CAIRN CONTAINING SIR JOHN FRANKLIN'S
PAPERS,
100 RELICS OP THE FRANKLIN EXPEDITION BROUGHT BACK TO
ENGLAND, ...
101. DISCOVERY OF ONE OF THE BOATS OF THE FRANKLIN E.X-
PEDITION, ...
102. THE "three BROTHER TURRETS,"
103. MORTON ON THE SHORE OF THE SUPPOSED POLAR OCEAN.
104. DR. KANE PAYING A VISIT TO AN ESKIMO HUT AT ETAH,
105. TRYING TO LASSO A BEAR (fULL-PAGe), ...
108. THE MIDNIGHT SUN, GREENLAND,
107. A BEAU AT ANCHOR,
J'i4
lij;
W.I
174
170
177
177
178
181
182
183
1S7
101
193
200
201
203
209
210
212
213
215
224
225
23B
229
230
236
238
240
•241
247
249
249
lllS SKATING— ilKF THE COAST OF GREENLAND, ... . . ?hO
lull, SN(]\V LINNETS AND Bl'NTINGS VLSITlNi: THE CREW (iF THE
" HANSA," .. ... 2.'.4
llu. THE CKEW (IF THE ■' HAN.SA " BIVOU.iCKING ON THE ICE
(KILL-PAGEI, ... ... ... ... ... 2.55
HI. A RASH INTRUDER, ... ... ... ... ... ;'5J
112 BEAR-HUNTING, GREENLAND, ... ... ... ... 2IJ0
113, "INTO A WATEK-GAP," ,,. ... ... ... 201
114 J'HE CREW OF THE "GEKMAMA" IN A SNoW-STOUM (FILL-
I'AGE). .. ... ... ... 2li3
115. MATERIALS FOR THE HOUSE, ... ... ... ... I'Ofl
lllj. ATTACK ON A BEAR, ... ... ... ... ... 207
117. SETTING FO.X-TRAPS, ... ... ... ... ... 2113
lis. RELIEVED, ... ... ... ... ... 269
119. FUNERAL OF CAPTAIN HALL (FULL-PAGE), ... ... 273
120 AN ARCTIC SNOW-STOK-M, ... ... ... ... 27(i'
121. THE CASTAWAY'S ON THE ICE (FULL-PAGE), ... ... 279
122. ADRIFT ON THE ICE-FLOE, ... ... ... ... 281
123. RECOVERY OF THE BOAT BY CAPTAIN TY.SON, ... ... 282
124 lOLOES CONSTRUCTED BY THE CASTAWAY.S, ... ... 2-13
125 HANS MISTAKEN FOR A BEAR, ... ... ... ... 2.S4
126 DIFFICULT TRAVELLING (FULL-PAGE), ... ... ... 285
1-27 THE GUIDING LIGHT, ... ... ... ... ... 287
128 DRAGGING A SEAL, ... ... ... ... ... 238
129 RETURN OF THE SUN (FULL-PAGE), ... ... ... 289
130 SHOOTING NARWHAL, ... ... ... ... ... Z91
131. DRAGGING THE OOGJOOK, ... ... ... ... 292
132. SUNLIGHT EFFECT IN THE ARCTIC REGION (FULL-PAGE), ... 293
1.33 FIRST SIGHT OF A WHALE, ... ... ... ... 295
134. FACE TO FACE WITH A POLAR BEAR, ... ... ... 296
135 AN ARCTIC ICE-SCAPE (FULL-PAGE), ... ... ... 297
136. ON BOARD THE BOAT, ... ... ... ... ... 299
137. BREAKING UP OF THE ICE, ... ... ... ... 300
138. JOE CAPTURES A SEAL, ... ... ... ... ... 300
139. A NIGHT OF FEAR (FULL-PAGE), ... ... ... ... 301
140 A "HELL OF WATERS,"... ... ... ... ... 303
141. DRAGGING THE BOAT ON TO A FLI>E, ... ... ... 304
142. CLINGING TO THE BOAT (FULL-PAGE), ... ... ... 305
143. saved! (full-page), ... ... ... ... ... 309
THE ARCTIC WORLD.
CHAPTER I.
THE XORTH POLE THRESHOLD OF THE UNKNOWN WORLD THE CIKCUMPOLAR REGIONS THE FLORA
OK THE NORTH LIKE IN THE POLAR WORLD — THE NORTH-WEST AND NORTH-EAST PASSAGES.
^S the reader knows, the Poles are the two extremities of the axis round which the Earth
revolves. It is to the North Pole, and the regions surrounding it, that the following
jjages will be devoted.
The inhabitants of Western Europe, and mure paiticulaiiy those of the British Isles, have
a peculiar interest in the North Polar Regions. Deriving their wealth and importance from
their commercial enterprise, and that commercial eutei-prise leading their ships and seamen into
the furthest seas, they have necessarily a vital concern in the discoveiy of the shortest possible
route from that side of the Earth which they inhabit to the othei-, or eastern side ; and this,
more particularly, because the East is rich in natural ])roductiuns which are of high value to
the peoples of the West.
Now a glance at the map \\ill show the reader that the traders of AN'estern Europe — the
British, the French, the Dutch, the Scandinavians — are situated on the northern shores of the
Atlantic Ocean, and that, to reach the Pacific Ocean or the Indian, only two routes are at
present open. For instance, they may cross the Atlantic to the American coast, and, keeping
south\\ard, strike through Magellan's stormy Strait or round the bleak promontory of Cape
Horn into the Pacific, and then, over some thousands of miles of water, proceed to Australia or
Hindustan or China ; or they may keep along the African coast to the Cape of Good Hope, its
southernmost point, and so stretch across the warm Tropical seas to India and the Eastern
Archipelago. A third, an artificial route, has indeed of late years been opened up ; and ship.s,
entering the Mediterranean, may pass through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea. But this
last-named route is unsuitable for sailing-shij^s, and all three routes are laborious and slow. How
greatly the distance would be shortened were it possible to na\'igate the Northern Seas, and,
keeping along the north coast of the American continent, to descend Behring's Strait into the
Pacific ! In other words, were that North- West Passage practicable, whicli, for three centuries,
our geographers and explorers so assidu<.)usly and courageousl}' toiled to discover ! But a still
shorter route would be opened up, if we could follow a line drawn from the British Islands
10 EXTENT OF TITE UNKNOWN REGION.
straight across the North Pole to Behring's Sea and the Aleutian Archipelago. This line would
not exceed 5000 miles in length, and would bring Japan, China, and India within a very short
voyage from Great Britain. We should lie able to reach Jajian in three or four weeks, to the
obvious advantage of our extensive commerce.
Hitherto, however, all efforts to follow out this route, and to throw open this great ocean-
liighway between Europe and Asia, have failed. Man has been baffled by Nature ; by ice, and
frost, and winds, and climatic influences. With heroic perseverance he has sought to gain the
open sea which, it is believed, surrounds the Pole, but a barrier of ice has invariably arrested his
progress. His researches have carried him within about 500 miles of the coveted point ; but he is
as yet unable to move a step beyond this furthest limit of geographical discovery. Immediately
around the North Pole, within a radius of eight to ten degrees or more, according to locality,
still lies an Unknown Region, on the threshold of which Science stands expectant, eagerly look
ing forward to the day when human skill and human courage shall penetrate its solitudes and
reveal its secrets.
This Unknown Region comprises an area of 2,500,000 square miles ; an immense jiortion of
the terrestrial surface to be shut out from the knowledge of Civilized Man. Its further explor-
ation, if practicable, cannot but be rich in valuable results. Not only would it furnish the
shortest route from the West to the East, from progressive Europe to conservative Asia, from
the Atlantic to the Pacific, but it could not fail to add in a very important degree to our stores
of scientific information. Sir Edward Sabine is surely right when he says, that it is the greatest
geographical acliievement which can be attempted, and that it will be the crowning enterprise of
those Arctic researches in which England has hitherto had the pre-eminence.
We may briefly indicate to the reader some of the advantages wliich might be expected
from exploration in the Unknown Region. It would unquestionably advance the science of
hydrography, and lead to a solution of some of the more difficult problems connected with the
Equatorial and Polar ocean-cuiTents, those great movements of the waters of which, as yet, we
know so little.
A series of pendulum observations, it is said, at and near the North Pole, would be of
essential service to the science of geology. We are unable, at present, for want of sufficient
data, to form a mathematical theory of the physical condition of the Earth, and to ascertain its
exact configuration. No pendulum observations have been taken nearer than 600 or G20 miles
to the North Pole.
Again : what precious information respecting the strange and wonderful phenomena of
magnetism and atmospheric electricity would certainly be acquired ! How much we have yet to
learn in reference to the Aurora, which can be learned only in high latitudes, and at or near the
point which apparently represents a magnetic focus or centre I
It has also been pointed out by Mr. Markham that the climate of Europe is largely affected
by the atmospheric conditions of the Polar area, in wliich the development of extremely low
temperatures necessarily leads to corresponding extreme changes of pressure, and other atmos-
pheric disturbances, whose influence extends far into the Temperate Zone. For the satisfactory
appreciation of these phenomena, says Mr. Markham, a precise knowledge is required of the
distribution of land and water within the Polar Region.; and any addition to our knowledge of its
unknown area, accompanied by suitable observations of its meteorology, cannot fail to aflfbrd
PROBABLE RESULTS OF CONTINUED I'OLAR EXPLORATION. 11
improved means of understanding the meteorology of our own country, and of the Earth
generally.
There can be no doubt, too, that geology would profit, if we could push our researches
nearer to the Pole, and force our way through the great barrier of the Polar ice. It is highly
desirable, too, that we should know more of that interesting class of animals, the Mollusca,
both terrestrial and aquatic, fresh-water and salt-water. Again : what a wide field of inquiry is
opened up by the Polar glaciers ; their extent, their elevation, their range, and the eftects
produced by the slow but continuous motion of those huge ice -rivers over the surface of the
country. And the botanist has a right to calculate uj)on the discovery of many precious
forms of vegetable life in the Unknown Region. The Arctic flora is by no means abundant,
but it is peculiarly interesting. In Greenland, besides numerous mosses, lichens, algae, and
the like, flourish three hundred kinds of flowering plants, all of which are natives of the
Scandinavian peninsula ; and Dr. Joseph Hooker remarks that they exhibit scarcely any
admixture of American types, though these are found on the opposite coast of Labrador. It
would seem probable that in the warm period Avhich preceded the Glacial Age, the Scandinavian
flora spread over the entire area of the Polar Regions ; but that during the Age of Ice it was
gradually driven within its present limits, only the hardier types surviving the blight of the
long lingering winter.
And what would be the gain to the zoologist ? Why, it is a well-known fact that life
abounds in the Arctic waters, and especially those minute organisms which play so important a
part in the formation of sedimentary deposits, and help to build wp the terrestrial crust. We
have much to learn, moreover, of the habits and habitats of the fish, the echinoderms, the
molluscs, the corals, the sponges of the extreme Northern Seas.
There are questions connected with the migrations of birds which can be elucidated only
by an exploration of the Unknown Region. Multitudes which annually visit our shores in
the winter and spring, return in summer to the far North. This is their regular custom,
and obviously would not have become a custom unless it had been found beneficial. Therefore
we may assume that in the zone they frequent they find some water which is not always
frozen ; some land on which they can rest their weary feet ; and an adequate supply of
nourishing food.
From Professor Newton we adopt, in connection with this consideration, a brief account of
the movements of one class of migratory birds, — the Knots.*
The knot, or sandpiper, is something half-way between a snipe and a plover. It is a very
active and graceful bird, with rather long legs, moderately long wings, and a very short tail. It
swims admirably, but is not often seen in the water; preferring to assemble with its fellows on the
sandy sea-shores, where it gropes in the sand for food, or fishes in the rock-pools and shallow
waters for the small crustaceans. It is known both as the red and the ash-coloured sandpiper,
because it changes the colour of its plumage according to the season of the year ; a bright red in
summer, a sober ashen-gray in winter. Now, in the spring the knot seeks our island in immense
flocks, and after remaining on the coasts for about a fortnight, can be traced proceeding gradually
northwards, until it finally takes leave of us. It has been noticed in Iceland and Greenland, but
not to stay ; the summer there would be too rigorous for its liking, and it goes further and
* Tho Tringa canutus of oriiithologists.
1-2 THP.ESHOLD OF THE UNKNOWN WORLD.
further north. ^Vliitlier ? Where does it build its nest, and hatch its young ? We lose all
trace of it for some weeks : wliat becomes of it ?
Towards the end of suumier back it comes to us in larger flocks than before, and both old
Ijirds and young birds remain upon our coasts until November, or, in mild seasons, even later
Then it wino-s its fliidit to the south, and luxuriates in blue skies and balmy airs until the follow-
ing spring, when it resumes the order of its migrations.
Commenting upon these facts. Professor Newton infers that the lands visited liy the knot
in the middle of summer are less sterile than Iceland or Greenland ; for certainly it would not
pass over these countries, which are known to be the breeding-places for swarms of water-l)irds, to
resort to regions not so well ])rovide(l with supplies of food. T\w food, however, chiefly depends
on the cUtnate. Wherefore we conclude that beyond the nortliern tracts already exjilored lies a
region enjoying in summer a climate more genial than they possess.
Do any races of men with which we are now unacquainted inhabit the Unknown Region ?
Mr. Markham observes that although scarcely one-half of the Arctic world has been explored,
yet numerous traces of former inhabitants have been found in wastes which are at present aban-
doned to the silence and solitude. Man would seem to migrate as well as the inferior animals,
and it is possible that tribes may be dwelling in the mysterious inner zone between the Pole and
the known Polar countries.
The extreme points reached by our exjjlorers on the ice-bound Greenland coast are in aliout
82° on the west, and 7G° on the east side ; these two points lying about six hundred miles apart.
As man has dwelt at both these points, and as they are sej^arated from the settlements further
south by a dreary, desolate, uniiiliabitable interval, it is not an extravagant conjecture that the
unknown land to the north has been or is inhabited. In 1818 a small trilje was discovered on
the bleak Greenland coast between 76° and 79° N. ; their southward range being bounded by the
glaciers of Melville Bay, and their nortliward Ijy the colossal mass of the Humboldt Glacier,
while inland their way is barred l)y the Seruik-sook, a great glacier o£ the interior. These
so-called Arctic Highlanders number about one lumdred and forty souls, and their existence
" depends on open pools and lanes of water throughout the winter, which attract animal life."
Wherever such conditions as these are found, man may be found.
We know that there are or have been inhabitants north of the Humboldt Glacier, on the
very threshold of the Unknown Region ; for Dr. Kane's ex})edition discovered the runner of a
sledge made of bone lying on the beach immediately to the north of it. The Arctic Highlanders,
moreover, cherish a tradition that herds of nuisk-oxen frequent an island situated far away to the
noi'th in an iceloss sea. Traces of these animals were found by Captain Hall's expedition, in
1871-72, as i'ar north as 81° 30'; and similar indications have been noted on the eastern side
of Greenland. In 1823, C^ajitain Clavcring found twelve natives at Cape Borlase Warren, in
lat. 79° N. ; but wlieii Ciqttain Koldewey, of the German expedition, wintered in the same neigh-
bourhood, in 18()9, they had disappeared, though there were traces of their occupancv, and ample
means of subsistence. Yet they caiuiot have gone southward, owing to insuperable natural
obstacles ; they must liave moved towards the North Pole.
We have tluis indicated some of tlie resuUs which may be anticipated from further researclies
in tlie riikiiown llegion. It is not to \>v forgotten, however, that " tlu' unexpected always
hajipens," and it, is inqiossible to cah'ulate definitely the C(.)n.sequent'es whieli niav ensue from a,
ij:\iits of the north polar region.
13
more exteiisive investigation. "Columbus," it has been justly said, "found very few to sjnu-
pathize with liim, or perceive the utility of the effort on his part to go out into the unknown
waste of waters beyond the Strait of Gibraltar, in search of a new country. Who can, at this
time, estimate the advantages wliich have followed upon that adventure ? If now it should be
possible to reach the Pole, and to make accurate observations at that point, from the relation
which the Earth bears to the sun and to the whole stellar universe, the most useful results are
very likely to follow, in a more thorough knowledge of our globe."
The reader has now before him the particulars which will enable him to form an idea of
the extent and character of the undiscovered region of the Pole. Roughly speaking, it is
bounded by the 80th parallel of latitude on the European side, except at a few points where our
A DESERT OF ICE IN THE ARCTIC REGION.
gallant explorers have succeeded in crossing the threshold ; on the Asiatic side it descends as low
as 75'; and to the west of Behring Strait as low as 72°. Thus, it varies from 500 or 600 to
1400 or 1500 miles across. Below these parallels, and bi)unded by the Arctic Circle, or, in some
places, by the GOth parallel, extends a vast belt of land and water which is generally known as
the Arctic or Circumpolar Regions. These have been more or less thoroughly explored ; and it is
to a description of their principal features, their forms of animal and vegetable life, and their
natural phenomena, that we propose to devote the present volume.
It is important to remember that the northern shores of Europe, Asia, and America are
skirted by the parallel of 70°, and that the belt between the 70th and 80th parallels, having been
partially explored by the seamen and travellers of various nations, intervenes as a kind of neutral
ground between the known and the unknown. We may, indeed, formulate our statement thus ;
U GEOGRAPHY OF THE NORTH POLAR REGIONS.
from the Pole to the 80th degree stretches the unknown ; .from the 80th to the 70th, the
partially known ; while, south of the 70th, we traverse the lands and seas which human enter-
prise has comjoletely conquered.
The Circumpolar Zone includes the northernmost portions of the tliree great continents,
Europe, Asia, and America ; and by sea it has three approaches or gateways : one, through the
Northern Ocean, between Norway and Greenland ; another, through Davis Strait, — both tliese
being from the Atlantic ; and a third, through Behring Strait, — the entrance from the Pacific.
It will be seen that the Circumpolar Regions, as they are now understood, and as we shall
describe them in the following pages, extend to the south of that imaginary line drawn by
geographers round the North Pole, at a distance from it equal to the obliquity of the ecliptic, or
23° 30'. Within this circle, however, there is a period of the year when the sun does not set ;
while there is another when he is never seen, Avhen a settled gloom spreads over the face of nature,
— this period being longer or shorter at any given point according as that point is nearer to or
further from the Pole.
But as animal and vegetable life are largely affected by climate, it may be justly said that
wherever an Arctic climate prevails there we shall find an Arctic or Polar region ; and, hence,
many countries below even the GOth parallel, such as Kamtschatka, Labrador, and South Green-
land, fall within the Circumpolar boundary.
The waters surrounding the North Pole bear the general designation of the Arctic Ocean.
But here again it is almost impossible to particularize any uniform limit southward. It joins the
Pacific at Behring Strait in about lat. 66° N., and consequently in this quarter extends fully
lialf a degree beyond the Arctic Circle. At Scoresby Sound, as at North Cape, where it meets
the Atlantic, it is intersected by the jiarallel of 71°, and consequently falls short of the Arctic
Circle by about 4° 30'.
In the Old World, the Polar Ocean, if we include its gulfs, extends, in the White Sea, fully
two degrees beyond the Arctic Circle ; while at Cape Severo, the northernmost point of Asia, in
lat. 78° 25' N., it is 11° 55' distance from it. Finally, in the New World it is everywhere con-
fined ivithin the Circle ; as much as 5° at Point Barrow, about 7° 30' at Barrow Strait, and
about 3° at the Hecla and Fury Strait.
We may add that, so far as temperature is concerned, the great gulfs known, in memory
of their discoverers, as Davis Strait, Baffin Bay, and Hudson Bay, are portions of the Ai-ctic
Ocean.
Of the more southerly area of tliis great ocean, the only section ^^■llich has been adequately
explored to a distance from the continent, and in the direction of the Pole, is that which washes
the north-east of America. Here we meet, under the collective name of the Polar Archipelago,
with the following islands : — Banks Land, Wollaston Land, Prince Albert Land, Victoria Laud,
Prince Patrick Island, Princess Royal Islands, Melville Island, Cornwallis Island, North Devon,
Beechey Island, Grinnell Land, and North Lincoln. Further to the cast lie Spitzbergen, Jan
Mayen Island, Novaia Zendaia, New Siberia, and the Liakhov Islands. The chief straits and
inluts are Lancaster Sound, liarrow Strait, Smith Sound, Regent Inlet, Hecla and Fury
Strait, Wellington Channel, and Cumberland Sound; wliile further westward are Belcher
Channel, Melville Sound, M'Clintock Channel, Banks Strait, and Prince of Wales Strait.
THE STONY TUNDRAS. 15
The Arctic Lands compieliend two well-defined sections, or zones ; that of the forests, and
the treeless wastes.
To the latter belong the islands wdthin the Arctic Circle, and also a considerable tract of the
northern continents, forming the " barrens " of North America, and the " tundras " and " steppes "
of European Russia and Siberia.
The treeless character of this vast area of wilderness is owing to the bleak sea-winds which
drive, without let or hindrance, across the islands and level shores of the Polar Ocean, compelling
even the most vigorous plant to bend before them and creep along the ground.
Drearier scenes are nowhere presented than these stony tundras, or their boundless swamps.
Almost the only vegetation are a few gray lichens, a few dull blackish-looking mosses ; the
stunted flowers or crawling grasses that here and there occur do not relieve the uniform desola-
tion, — they serve simply to enhance its gloomy character. In summer, indeed, the tundras are
full of life ; for the spawning instinct of the salmon and the sturgeon impels them to enter tlieir
rivers and seek the quiet recesses of their mysterious lakes. The reindeer assemble in numerous
herds to feed on the herbage warmed into temporary vitality by the upward-slanting sun ; the
whirr of countless wings announces the coming of the migratory birds to breed, and feed tlieir
young, on the river-banks and the level shores ; and in their trail arrive the eagle and the hawk,
intent on prey.
But with the fir.st days of September a change passes over the scene. Animal life hastens
to the more genial south ; the birds aliandon the frozen wastes ; the reindeer retires to the shelter
of the forests ; the fish desert the ice-bound streams ; and a terrible silence reigns in the desolate
wilderness, broken only by the harsh yelp of a fox or the melancholy hooting of a snow-owl.
For some eight or nine months a deep shroud or pall of snow lies on the whitened plains. No
cheerful sunbeams irradiate it with a rosy glow ; the sky is dull and dark ; and it seems as if
Nature had been abandoned to eternal Night.
But blank and dreary as the limitless expanse of snow appears, it is the security of man in
these far northern regions. It affords the necessary protection to the scanty vegetable life against
the riofour of the lone winter season. In Rensselaer Bav, Dr. Kane found, when the surface
temperature had sunk to — 30°, a temperature at two feet deep of — 8°, at four feet deep of
-+- 2°, and at eight feet deep of -I- i:6°, or no more than 6° below freezing-point. Hence, under-
neath their thick frozen pall, the Arctic grasses and lichens maintain a struggling existence, and
are able to maintain it until thoroughly resuscitated by the summer sun. It is owing to this wise
and beneficent provision that, in the highest latitudes, the explorer discovers some feeble foiTns of
vegetation. Thus, as Hartwig reminds us, Morton gathered a crucifer at Cape Constitution, in
lat. 80° 45' N. ; and Dr. Kane, on the banks of the Minturn River, in lat. 78° 52', met with a
flower-growth which, though fully Arctic in its type, was gaily and richly coloured — including
the purple lychnis, the starry chickweed, and the hesperis, among the festuca and other tufted
grasses.
In the tundras, the most abundant vegetable forms, next to the lichens and mosses, are the
grasses, the crucifers, the saxifrages, the caryophyles, and the compositfB. These grow fewer and
fewer as we move towards the north, but the number of individual plants does not decrease.
Where the soil is fairlv drv, we shall find an extensive o^rowth of lichens ; in moister grounds,
these are intermingled with the well-known Iceland mo.ss. Lichens are everywhere, except in
o
llj THE REGIONS OF THE -BARRENS."
the sparse tracts of uieaJow-lanil lyino- at tlie t'o(jt of .sheltering hills, or in those alluvial inuudateel
hollows which are tliiekly planted with " whisperhig reeds" and dwarf willows.
It is not easy to trace exactly the lioundary between the tundras and the forest zone. The
fjrnier descend to the south, and the latter advances to the north, according- to the climatic influ-
ences which prevail ; following the isothennic lines of uniform temperature, and not the mathe-
matical limits of the geographical parallels of latitude. Wliere the ground undulates, and hilly
ridges break the fury of the icy blasts, the forests encroach on the stony treeless region ; but the
desolate plains strike into the wooded zone in places where the ocean-winds range with unchecked
sway.
The southernmost limit of the " barrens" is found in Labrador, where they descend to lat.
57^ ; nor is this to l)e wondered at, when we remember the peculiar position of that gloomy penin-
sula, with icy seas washing it on three sides, and cold winds sweeping over it fi-oni the north.
On the op]iosite coasts of ] fud^on Bay they do not strike lower than fiO° ; and they continue to
THE SW.iMPS UF THE OBI.
rise as we ])roceed westward, ujitil in the Mackenzie Valley we find the tall forest growth reach-
ing as far north as GS or even 70'. Thence they recede gradually, until, on the l)leak shore of
Behring Sea, they do not rise higher than (!.') . Crossing into the eastern continent, we find
them bcgimiing, in the la.nd of the Tuski (or Tchuktchi'), in G.) , and tVom thence encroaching
gradually upon tin/ tundras until, at the Lena, they reach as high as 71 . From the Lena to
the ( )bi till' tundras gain upon the forests, and in the (Jbi Valley descend below the .Vrctic (.'ircle ;
but from the Ubi to the Scandinavian coast tlie forests gain upon the tundras, terminating, after
many variations, in lat. 70".
Tin; result to which this rapid siu'Vey brings us is, that the "'tundras" ov ".barrens" of
Europe, Asia, and America occupy an area larger than the whole of Euro]n'. The Siberian
wild(-'rness is more extensive tlian tlie .\IVieaTi Sahai-a or the South Amci'ican Pampas. Lut of
still vaster area are tlu; Ai'ctic tbri'st T-t^tiMoiis, whii'h stretch in an "almost contimious belt"
THE FLORA OF THE NORTH. 19
through three quarters of the world, with a breadtli of from 15' to 20° — that is, of 1000 to 1400
miles. And it is a peculiarity of these Circumpolar woods, that they are almost wholly composed
of conifers, and that frequently a wide space of ground is covered for leagues upon leagues witli a
single kind of tir or pini\
" Tills is the forest |iriiiie\Ml. The uiiinmiriiig pines ami tlie iiemli)c,-l;s,
BleiiJeil with moss, aud in giinneuta greeu, iuilistiiict in tlie twilight,
Stand lil<e JJruids of eld, with voices sad and pi'o|ihetic,
Stand like liai'pevs hoar, with lieaids that rest on their bosoms."
The American species, however, differ from the Asiatic or European. While in the Hudson
Bay territories grow the white and hlauk spruce,* the Canadian larch, f and the gray pine ; + in
Scandinavia and Siberia, the Siberian fir and larch, § the Picea olovata, and the Pinus umhnt
flourish. But both in the Old World and the New the birch advances beyond the fir and pine,
and on the banks of the rivers and the shores of the lakes dwarf willows form immense and
almost impenetrable thickets. The Arctic forests also include various kinds of ash, elder, and
the service tree ; and though orchard trees are wholly wanting, both man and beast find a
great boon in the bilberries, cranberries, bog-berries, and the like, which grow plentifully iu
many localities.
The area of the Arctic flora comprises Greenland, in the western hemisphere, and extends
considerably to the south of the Arctic Circle, especially on the coasts, where It reaches the
parallel of 60° N. lat., and even overpasses It.
In Greenland the vegetation is more truly of an Arctic character than even in Iceland. The
valleys are covered with marsh-plants and dingy mosses ; the gloomy rocks are encrusted with
lichens ; while the grasses on the meadow-lands tliat border the fiords and inlets are nearly four
times less varied than those of Iceland.
The flora of Iceland is approximative to that of Great Britain ; yet only one in every four of
British plants Is included in It. Tlie total number of species may be computed at eight hundred
and seventy, of which more than half blossom ; this proportion is greater than prevails in Scotland,
but then only thirty-two are of woody texture. They are scattered about in groups according as
they prefer a marshy, volcanic, dry, or marine soil. Many bloom In the immediate vicinity of the
hot springs ; some not far from the brink of the basin of the Great Geyser, where every other
plant is petrified ; and several species of confervte flourish in a spring the waters of which are
hot enough, It Is said, to boil an egg.
From the nature of the Arctic forests, the reader will Ije pivpared to leani that they are not
inhabited, like those of the Tropics, by swarms of animals ; or made musical by the songs of birds,
like our European woods. Even the echoes are silent, except when the hoarse wind bears to
them the peculiar cry of the reindeer, the howl of the wolf, or the sharp scream of some bird of
prey. Insect life, however, is active and abundant ; and our Arctic travellers have suftered
greatly from the legions of gnats which haunt their swampy recesses.
Passing from the forest region into the treeless wastes, we may glance once again at their
strikingly Impressive features. North of the 62nd parallel no corn can ripen, on account of the
fatal power of the winds which pour down from the Arctic Ocean. As Ave advance to the iioiih-
* Aiies alha et nigra. t Lnrix Canadensis. X Pinus Banksiana. § Abies Sihirica, Larue Sibirica.
20 GLOOM OF THE SIBERIAN DESEIiT.
ward, a wide-spivacl art'a of dcsolatinn strL'tclies before us : salt steppes, stony plains, boundless
swamps, and lakes of salt and fresh water. So terrilile is the cold that tlie spoirgy soil is per-
petually frozen to the depth of some hum.lred feet lielow the surface ; and the surface itself, though
not thawed until the end of June, is again ice-bound 1)y tlie middle of September, (hie of the
most p-rapliic sketches with which we are acrpniinted of the extreme Sibei'ian desert is furnished
by Admiral von WrauLivl, wlio ti'avelled during the winter from tlie mouth of the Kolyma to
Behring Strait.
Here, he says, endless snows and ice-crusted ix)cks bound the horizon ; Nature lies shrouded
in all liut perpetual winter; life is a constant coiiHit-t with privaticm and with the terrors of cold
and hunger; the grave of Nature, containing only tlie Ixmes of antither world. The people, and
even the snow, throw off a continual vajiour ; and tliis evaporation is instantly changed into
mdlions of needles of ice, which make a noise in the air like tlie sound of torn satin or the rustle
of thick silk. The reindeer take to the fore.st, or crowd together for heat ; and the raven alone, the
dark bird of winter, still smites the frosty air with heavy laboi'ious wing, leaving behind him a
long trail of thin va]ioui' to mai'k the course of his solitary ilight. The trunks of the thickest
trees are rent with a loud clang, masses of rock are torn from their sites, the ground in the
Tallej^s is split into a myriad fissures, from which the waters that are underneath bubble up,
throwing off a cloud of smoke, and immediately congealing into ice. The atmosphere grows
dense; the glistening stars are dimmed. The dogs outside the huts of the Sil>erians burrow
in the snow, and their howling, at intervals of six or eight hours, interrupts the general silence
of winter.
The aliundance of fur-bearing animals in the less rigorous parts of the tundras has induced
the hardy Russians to colonize and liuild towns on these confines of the Frozen Worlil. Yakutsk,
on the river Lena, in G2' 1' 30" N., may be regarded, perhaps, as the coldest town on the Earth.
The ground is perpetually frozen to the depth of more than 400 feet, of which three feet only are
thawed in summer, when Fahrenheit's thermometer frerpiently marks 77" in the shade. Yet
in winter the rigour of the climate is so extreme that mercury is constantly frozen for two and
occasionally even for three months.
From the data set ibrth in the preceding pages, the reader will conclude that, as indeed
results from physical laws, the line of perpetual snow will l)e found to descend lower and lower
on advancing to the Pole. By the line of per})etual snow we mean, of course, the limit above
which a continual frost endures. Now, this limit varies according to climate. The lower the
tem]M'rature, the lower the snow-line; tlie highei' the temperature, the higher the snow-line. In
the Tropics it does not sink below the sununits of the lottiest mountains. Thus, at 1° tVom the
Equator, where the mean temperature at the sea-level is 84'.:2, tlie snow-line must be sought at
the elevation of 15,203 feet; in 51° 30' lat., the latitude of London, it is u.sually found at about
5900 feet; in lat. 80°, where the mean tempei-ature is 33'.6, it sinks to 457 feet. These figures,
however, represent its normal elevations ; but temperature, as we all know, is greatly affected bv
local circumstances, and therefore the perpetual snow-line varies greatlv in heieht. Owino- to
causes already explained, the snow-line in the Circumpolar Regions sinks to a very low level ;
and, therefore, many mountainous regions or elevated tabic lands, such as Spitzbergcn, Greenland,
and Nov.-iia Zenilain, wliidi, in a iiion' temperate climate, wovdd bliMuu with (■merald slopes and
LIFE IN THE POLAR WORLD. 21
waving woods, are covored with liuge glaciers and fields of ice, with appur^'ntly interminable
reaches of untrodden snow.
It should be noted, however, that nowhere does the perpetual snow-line descend to the
water's edge; nowhere has the spell of winter absolutely crushed the life out of all vegetation.
Lichens and grasses, on which the reindeer gains its liardy subsistence, ai'c found near lat. 80° ;
even on the awful plains of Melville Island the snow melts at midsummer ; and the deserts of
New Siberia afford food for considerable numbers of lemmings. As far as man has reached to
the north, says a popuLir and accurate writer, vegetation, when fostered by a sheltered situation
and the refraction- of solar heat from the rocks, has everywhere been found to rise to a considerable
altitude above the level of the sea ; and should there be land at the North Pole, we may
reasonably supjiose that it is destitute neither of animal nor vegetable life. It would be quite
wrono' to conclude that the cold <>f winter invariably increases as we approach tlie Pole, the
O til
temperature of a laud being controlled by many other causes besides its latitude. Even in tlie
most northern regions visited by man, the influence of the sea, particularly where favoured by
warm currents, considerably mitigates the severity of the winter, while at the same time it
diminishes the heat of summer. On the other hand, the large continental tracts of Asia or
America that slope towards the Pole, possess a more rigorous winter and a fiei'cer summer than
many coast lands or islands situated far nearer to the Pole. For example : the western shores
of Novaia Zemlaia, fronting a wide expanse of sea, have an average winter tempei'ature of only
— 4", and a mean summer temperature which rises ver}- little above the freezing-point of water
(+36° 30'); while Yakutsk, situated in the centre of Siberia, and 20' nearer to the Equator, has
a winter temperature of — 36° 6', and a summer of + 66' 6'.
But though such are the physical conditions of the Polar Regions, it must not be supposed
that Nature wears only a severe and repellent aspect. There is something beautiful in the vast
expanse of snowy plain when seen by the light of a cloudless moon ; something majestic in the
colossal glaciers which fill up the remote Arctic valleys ; something picturesque in the numerous
icebergs which grandly sail down the dark Polar waters ; something mysterious and wonderful in
the coruscations of tlie Aurora, which illuminates the darkness of the winter nights with the glory
of the celestial fires. The law of compensation prevails in the far North, as in the glowing and
exuberant regions of the Tropics.
CHAPTER II.
THE ARCTIC IIEAVKNS : ATMOSPHERIC AND METEORIC PHENOMENA.
KT the reader fancy liiinself — sin mid he be reading' these pages on a warm summer's day,
the fancy Avill not be unpleasant ! — let tlie reader iancy himself on board a well-
fduiid, steutlydjuilt \\haling-vessel, and rapidl}^ approaching the coast of Greenland.
But the heavy mist hangs over the legend-haunted shores, and we can but catch the sound of
the clanging surf as it rolls upon them. All ai-ound us spreads the mist, — dense, impenetrable.
What is that before us ? The dead white mass of an iceberg, slowly drifting with the current,
and almost upon us before the look-out man discovered it. But the helm has been sharply
handled ; our good ship has put aliout ; and we sail clear of the mighty jjyramid. Fully one
hundri'd and fifty feet high, we can assure you, and twice as broad at its base. A sudden
break in the mist reveals its radiant spire, with white I'lnud-wrcaths circling and dancing round
it in the sunlight.
And now, as we steadily move forward, the fog is lifted up lilce a curtain, and before U3,
like a scene in a panorama, looms the Greenland coast in all its austere magnificence : yonder
are its broad ice-filled valleys, its snow-clad ravines, its noble mountains, its iron-bound range
of cliffs. Its general aspect of solemn desolation.
Away over the westward sea fiy the scattered vapours, disclosing iceberg after iceberg, likti
the magical towers in some of Turner's })ictures. We seem to have been drawn by some irre-
sistible spell into a world of enchantment, and all the old Norse romance comes back upon the
memory, with its picturesque associations. Yonder lies tlie Valhalla of tlie ancient ocean-
rovers ; yonder the dazzling city of the sun-god Freya, one of the most popular of the Scandina-
vian divinities, as well he might be; yoniler the elfin caves of Alfheim ; and Glitner, with its
walls of gold and roofs of silver; and the radiant Gimele, the home of the blessed; and there,
too, towering above the clouds, the bridge Bifrost, l)y which the heroes ascended from earth to
heaven. Heimdall, wlio can see for i'ully a hundred leagues, as well by night as by day, stands
sentiiR'l upiiu it, jux'jiared to sound his hurn (ijallar, if intruders should attempt to cross it!
The sea is smooth as glass; not a ]-i]iple breaks the wonderful calmness of its surface.
It is midnight, but in this strange Arctic woi'ld the sun still hangs close upon tlie northern
liorizon ; the icebergs I'ear their dazzling crests around, like iloating spires, and turrets, and
many-towered minsters ; tlie dark headlands are boldly outlined against the sky ; and sea, and
sky, and mountains, and icebergs are sulfused in a Avildly beautiful atmosphere of crimson, gold,
and luii-plc. The picture is like a poet's vision ; and so startlingly unreal, that it is difficult
lor the unaccustomed spectator to believe it other than an illusion.
A GLORIOUS LANDSCAPE AND SEASCAPE.
25
We adopt the following description from the vivid language of Dr. Hayes, who displays a
keen feeling for the beauties of the I'olar world.
The air was warm, he says, almost as a summer's night at home, and yet there were the
icebergs and the bleak mountains, with which the fancy, in our own land of green hills and wav-
ing woods, can associate nothing but what is cold and i-epellent. Bright was the sky, and soft
and strangely inspiring as the skies of Italy. The bergs had wholly lost their chilly aspect, and,
olitterinof in the blaze of the brilliant heavens, seemed, in the distance, like masses of burnished
metal or solid flame. Nearer at hand they were huge blocks of Parian marble, encrusted with
colossal gems of pearl and ojial. < )ne in [)articular exhibited the perfection of grandeur. Its
UiF THE COAST Of GKEEXLAXH.
form was not unlike that of the Coliseum, and it lay so far away that half its height was buried
beneath the line of blood-red waters. The sun, slow moving along its path of glory, passed
behind it, and the old Roman ruin seemed suddenly to break into flame I
Nothing, indeed, but the pencil of the artist could depict the wonderful richness of this com-
bined landscape and seascape. Church, in his great picture of " The Icebergs," has grandly
exhibited a scene not unlike that we have attempted to describe.
In the shadows of the bergs the water was a rich green, and nothing could be more soft and
tender than the gradations of colour made by the sea shoaling on the sloping tongues of some of
these floating masses. The tint increased in intensity where the ice overhung the waters, and a
deep cavern in one of them exhibited the solid colour of the malachite mingled with the trans-
26
CONTRASTS IN THE POLAT! WORLD,
parency of the einei'ald, while, in wtrange coutra.st, a broad belt of cobalt blue shot diagonally
thi-ough its body.
The enchantineiit of the scene was heightened by a thousand little cascades which flashed
into the sea from the icebergs, the water being discharged from basins of melted snow and ice
which tranquilly reposed far up in the hollows of their topmost surface. From other bergs large
boulders were occasionally detached, and these jtlunged into the water with a deafening din,
while the roll antl rush of the ocean resounded like the music of a soleuui diro^e throufifh theii
broken archways.
The contrasts and combinations of colour in the I'ular world ai'e, indeed, among its parti-
cular attractions, and of their kind they cannot be surpassed oi- imituted even in the gorgeous
realms of the Trojncs. The pule azui-e gleam of the ice, the dazzling whiteness of the snow, the
vivid verdure of the suidit plains, the deep emerald tints, crossed with sapphire and ultramarine,
of the waters, would in themselves afford a nuiltiplicity of rich and beautiful effects ; but to these
we must add the magical influences of the coruscations of the Arctic heavens, with the glories of
the miduiiiii-t sun and the wonders of the Aurora.
MOONLIGHT I.N TllK I'0[.An WORLD.
Even moonlight in the Polar world is unlike moonlight anywhere else; it has a character
all its own, — strange, weird, supernatural. Niglit after night the sky will be free from cloud or
shadow, and the radiant stars shine out with a singular intensity, seeming to cut the air like
keen swords. The moonbeams are thrown back with a ])ale lustre by ice-tloe and glacier and
snow drift, and the ordy relief to the brisrhtness is where the ilark cliffs throw a shadow over the
IX THE LONG WINTER-NIGHT. 27
landscape. Gloriously beautiful look the snow-clad mountains, as the moonlight pours upon
them its serene splendour, interrupted only by the occasional passage of a wreath of mist, which
is soon transformed into sparkling silver. The whole scene produces an impression of awe on
the mind of the thoughtful spectator, and he feels as if brought face to face with the visible
presence of another world.
The prolonged wintei" night is in itself well calculated to affect the imagination of the Euro-
pean. He reads of it in travels and books of astronomy ; but to know what it is, and what it
means, he must submit himself to its influence, — he must " winter" in the Polar Regions. Not to
see sunrise and sunset, and the changes they bring with them, day after day, enlivening, inspirit-
ing, strengthening, is felt at first as an intolerable burden. The stars shining at all hours with
equal brilliancy, and the lasting darkness which reigns for twenty days of each winter month
when the moon is below the horizon, become a weariness and a discomfort. The traveller
longs for the reappearance of the moon ; and yet before she has iim her ten days' course, he feels
fatigued by the uniform illumination.
But sometimes a relief is supplied by the phenomenon of the Aurora Borealis. We inha-
bitants of the United Kingdom know something of the rare beauty of the " northern lights,"
when the heavens kindle with a mysterious play of colours which reminds us of the strange
weird radiance that occasionally kindles in our dreams ; yet these are poor and trivial when
compared with the auroral display. Let us endeavour to realize it from the glowing description
painted by one of the most eloquent and observant of Arctic exj^lorers.
He was groping his way among the ice-hummocks, in the deep obscurity of the mid-winter,
when suddenly a bright I'ay darted up from behind the black cloud which lay low down on the
horizon before him. It lasted but an instant, and, having filled the air with a strange illumina-
tion, it died away, leaving the darkness even greater dai'kness than before. Presently an arc
of coloured light sprang across the sky, and the aurora became gradually more fixed. The space
enclosed by the arc was very dark, and was filled with the cloud. The play of the rays which
rose from its gradually brightening border was for some time very capricious, modifying the
burst of flame from what seemed a conflagration of the heavens to the soft glow of early morn.
Gradually the light grew more and more intense, and from irregular bursts it settled into
an almost steady sheet of splendour. This sheet, however, was far from uniform, and may best
be described as "a flood of mingling and variously-tinted streaks."
The exhibition, at first tame and cjuiet, developed by degrees into startling brilliancv. The
broad dome of night seemed all a-blaze. Lurid fires, fiercer than those which reddened the
heavens from burning Troy, flashed angrily across the zenith. The stars waned before the mar-
vellous outburst, and seemed to recede further and further from the Earth ; "as when the chariot
of the sun, driven by Phaeton, and carried from its beaten track by the ungovernable steeds,
iiished madly through the skies, parching the world and withering the constellations. The
gentle Andromeda flies tremblinof from the flame : Perseus, with his flashinsf sword and Goro^on
shield, retreats in fear ; the Pole-Star is chased from the night ; and the Great Bear, faithful
sentinel of the North, quits his guardian watch, following the feeble trail."
The colour of the light was chiefly red, but this was not permanent, and ever}- hue mingled
in the wonderful display.
Blue and yellow streamers shot athwart the lurid fire ; and, sometimes starting side by side
28
A VISION OF MANY COLOURS.
tVoiu tJie wide expanse of the illumined arc, they melted into each uther, and Hung a weird
glare of green over the landscape.
Again tliis green overcame the red ; blue and yellow blended with each other in their swift
flight; violet-tinted arrows flashed through a broad glow of orange, and countless tongues of
white flame, formed of these uniting streams, rushed aloft and clasped the skies. The effect of
the many-coloured lustre upon the surrounding objects was singularly wonderful. The weird
forms of innumerable icebergs, singly and in clusters, loomed above the sea, and around their
summits hovered the strange gleam, like the fires of Vesuvius over the villas and temples of
Mm-
'¥l
l'. i ■
■ 11' 'M " "'
^■_.
i ir '51 '•: 1
if
m
TUE ADP.OP.A IIOREALIS.
Pompeii. All along tlie white surface (jf the frozen sea, upon the mountain-peaks and the lofty
cliffs, the light glowed and dimmed and glowed again, as if tla- aii- were filled with graveyard
meteors, flitting wildly above some vast illimitalilc city of the dead. The scene was noiseless, yet
the senses were deceived, for sounds not oi' earth or sea seemed to follow tlie swift coruscations,
and to fall upnn the ear like
"Tlje livii.l
( )t' |ili:iiiluiiis ilrenil,
Willi li.-imirr, ,ni(l s|if':ir, Mini tl.inie."
Tliough the details, so to s|u'ak, are not always the same, the general chai-aeter n\' the aurora
changes very sliehtly, and, IVom u comparison of nunu^rous accounts, the gradation of the pheno-
nu'non would seiuii to be as follows : —
The sky slowly assumes a tint ol' brown, on which, as mi a background, is soon developed a
nebulous segment, bordiired by a s])acious arc of d;iz/.liii'_; whiteness, which seems ineess.antly
CHANGES OF THE AUP.ORA BOREALIS.
29
aoitated by a tremulous motion. Fixnn this arc an incredible number of shafts and rays of light
leap upwards to the zenith. These luminous columns pass through all the hues of the rainbow,
— from softest violet and intensest sapphire to green and purple-red. Sometimes the rays issue
from the resplendent arc mingled with darker flashes ; sometimes they rise simultaneously at
different points of the horizon, and unite in one broad sea of flame pervaded by rapid undulations.
On other occasions it would seem as if invisible hands were unfurling fiery dazzling banners, to
THE AURORA BOREAMS — THE COROVA.
: -C' 5, -r^iM.,- ■. "-'--^
stream, like meteors, in the troubled air. A kind of canopy, of soft and tranquil light, which is
known as the corona, indicates the close of the marvellous exhibition ; and shortly after its
ajipearance the luminous rays begin to deci'ease in splendour, the richly-coloured arcs dissolve
and die out, and soon of all the gorgeous spectacle nothing remains but a whitish clmidy liaze in
those parts of the firmament which, but a few minutes before, blazed with the mysterious fires
of the auroi'a borealis.
The arc of the aurora is only part of a broad circle of light, which is elevated considerably
above the surface of our globe, and the centre of which is situated in the vicinity of the Pole.
It is not difficult, therefore, to account for the different aspects under which it is presented to
observers placed at different angles to the focus of the display. A person some degrees south of
tlie ring neces.sarily sees but a very small arc of it towards the north, owing to the interposition
of the earth between him and it; if he stood nearer the north, the arc would appear larger and
30 rilF,N()MI';NA OF TH K AURORA.
liiglier ; if innnediately lielow it, he would see it ajiparently traversing- the zenith; or if within
the ring, and still further north, he would see it culminating in the south. It has been supposed
that the centre of tlie ring corresponds with the magnetic north pole in the island of Boothia
Felix.
Generally the ]>henomenon lasts for several hours, and at times it will he varied by jieculiar
features. Now it will seem to jiresent the hemispherical segment of a c(^lossa,l wheel ; now it
will Avave and droop like a I'ieli tapestry of many-coloured light, in a tliousand prismatic folds ;
and now it exhibits the array of innumerable dazzling streamers, waving in the dark and
intense sky.
The arc varies in elevation, V)ut is seldom more than ninety miles above the terrestrial sur-
face. Its diameter, however, must be enormous, for it has been known to extend southward to
Italy, and has been simultaneously visible in Sardinia, Connecticut, and at New Orleans.
According to some authorities, the phenomenon is accompanied by noises resembling the
discharge of fireworks, or the crackling of silk when one piece is folded rjver another ; but this
statement is discredited by the most trustworthy observers.
Mrs. Somerville's description is worth quoting, as taking up more emphatically some 2toints
to which we have already alluded : —
The aurora, she says, is decidedly an electrical (or, more strictly speaking, a magneto-
electrical) phenomenon. It generally appears soon after sunset in the form of a luminous arc
stretching more or less from east to west, the most elevated point being always in the magnetic
meridian of tlie j^lace of the observer ; across the arc the coruscations are rapid, vivid, and of
various colours, darting like liglitning to the zenith, and at the same time flitting laterally with
incessant velocity. The brightness of the rays varies in an instant ; they sometimes surpass the
splendour of stars of the first magnitude, and often exhibit colours of admirable transparency, —
blood-red at the base, emerald-green in the middle, and clear yellow towards their extremity.
Sometimes one, and sometimes a quick succession of luminous currents run from one end of the
arc or l)ow to the other, so that the rays rapidly increase in lirightness ; but it is impossible to
say whether the coruscations themselves are actually aftected by a horizontal motion of transla-
tion, or whether the more vivid light is conveyed from ray to ray. The rays occasionally dart
far past the zenith, vanish, suddenly reappear, and, being joined by others from the arc, form a
magnificent corona or immense dome of light. The segment of the sky below the arc is cjuite
black, as if formed by dense clouds ; yet M. Struve is said to have seen stars in it, and so it
would appear that the blackness of which several observers speak must l:ie the effect of contrast.
The lower edge of the arc is evenly defined ; its upper margin is fringed by the coruscations,
their convei-gi^icc towards the north, and that of the arc itself, being probably an effect of
]ierspective.
The am-ora, exercises a remarkahle influence on the magnet'c needle, even in places where
the display is not visililc. Its vibrations seem to be slower or quicker according as the auroral
light is quiescent or in motion, and the variations of the comjiass during the day show that the
aurora is not ]iecnliai- to night. I|. lias been ascertained hv cai'eful ol)servations (liat tlie
dLsturbanees of the magnetic needle and tlie aui-oral displays were simultaneous at Toronto, in
ATMOSrHERIC TIIENOMENA DESCRIBED. 31
Canada, on thirtuen dnys out of twenty-t'cjur, the reniainin;,' days liaving been clouded ; and
contemporaneous observations show that in these thirteen days there were also magnetic dis-
turbances at Prague and Tasmania; so that the occurrence of" auroral phenomena at Toronto on
these occasions may be viewed as a local manifestation connected with magnetic effects, wliich,
whatever may have been their origin, probably prevailed on the same dai/ over the ivhole surface
of the globe.
Among the atmospherie jihenomena of the outer world we are justified in reckoning the
Winds, which are remarkable for their variability. Their force is considerably diminished when
they pass over a wide surface of ice ; sometimes the ice seems even to beat back the breeze, and
turn it in a contrary direction. The warm airs from the south grow cool as they sweep across the
frozen expanse, and give up their moisture in the form of snow. In a region so bleak and chill
it is not often that clouds are created, the atmosj'lieric vapom-s Ijeing condensed into snow or liail
without passing through any intermediate condition.
Whirlwinds of frozen snow are formidable enemies to the seaman forced to traverse the ice
on foot, or in a sledge drawn by Eskimo dogs. Dense showers lash and sting the unfortunate
traveller's face, penetrate his mouth and nostrils, freeze together his very eyelids, and almost
blind him. His skin assumes a bluish tint, and burns as if scarred by the keen thongs of a knout.
An optical illusion of frequent occurrence in the Polar Regions makes objects appear of
dimensions much larger tlian they really possess. A fox assumes the proportions of a bear ; low
banks of ice are elevated into lofty mountains. The eye is fatigued by dwelling upon the horizon
of lands which are never approached. Just as in the sandy deserts of tlie Sahara the distances
of real objects are apparently diminished, so the Arctic explorer, misled by the aerial illusion,
advances towards a goal which seems always near at hand, l)ut is never attained.
Another source of error, common both to the Arctic and the Tropical deserts, is the
mirage, a phenomenon of refraction, which represents as susjiended in air the images of remote
objects, and thus gives rise to the most curious illusions and fantastic scenes. Dr. Scoresby one
day perceived in the air the reversed representation of a ship which he recognized as the Fame,
connnanded by his father. He afterwards discovered that it had lieeii lying moored in a creek
about ten leagues from the point where the mirage had played with his imagination.
Again, in approaching a field of ice or snow, the traveller invariably descries a belt of
resplendent white immediately above the horizon. This is known as the "ice-blink," and it
reveals to the Arctic navigator laeforehand the character of the ice he is approaching. At times,
too, a i-ange of icebergs, or of broken masses of ice, will be reflected in colossal shadows on the
sky, with a strange and even weird effect.
But, after all, the special distinction between the Arctic lands and the other regions of the
globe is their long day and longer night. Describing an innnense spiral curve upon the horizon,
the sun gradually mounts to 30°, the highest jwint of its course ; then, in the same manner, it
returns towards the horizon, and bids farewell to the wildernesses of the North, slowly passing
away behind the veil of a gloomy and ghastly twilight.
When the navigator, says Captain Parry, finds himself for the first time buried in the silent
shadows of the Arctic night, he cannot conquer an involuntary emotion of dread ; he feels
32
A ?>[(Hixi,!(;irr XKiiii' ix thk xokth.
ATMII.SI'IIKIIH' rilKN'iMENnN IN THE AKL'TR' REGIONS: — REFLECTION OF ICEBERGS.
tian«j)()rt(.'d out of tlio sphoi'o (jf ordiiiury, i-oiiiiiioii|ilai-o L'xi.steuee. 'J'he deadly and sombre
deserts of the Pole seem like those uiiereated voids which Milton has phu'ed between the realms
(jf life ;nid death. The very a.nimals are affected by the profound melancholy which saddens the
face of Nature.
Who can r(_';id with(.)ut emotion the followino- passages fi'om Dr. Kane's .Journal '.-■■
"October ;JS, Frifhiij.— 'YXxa moon has reached her greatest northern <leclination of about
25° 35'. She is a glorious oiiject; sweeping around the heavens, at the lowest part of her curve
she is still I T' aliove the horizon. For eight days she has been making her circuit with nearly
unvarying brigbtness. It is om- of those sjiarkling nights that bring back the menictiy of sleigh-
bells and songs and ghul coniniiiiiings ol' liearts in lands that are far a^\■ay.
" rile weathi'r outside is at l!5 licluw zero."
A tew days lati'r, and the hi rmc explorer writes: —
SINGULAR ATMOSrHEEIC CONDITIONS. 33
" Xovemhei- 7, Monday. — The darkness is coming on with insidious steadiness, and its
advances can be perceived only by comparing one day with its fellow of some time back. We
still read the thermometer at noonday without a light, and the black masses of the hills are plain
for about five hours with their glaring patches of snow ; but all the rest is darkness. Lanterns
are always on the spar-deck, and the lard-lamps never extinguished below. The stars of the
sixth magnitude shine out at noonday.
" Our darkness has ninety days to run liefore we shall get back again even to the contested
twilight of to-day. Altogether, our winter will have been suidess for one hundred and forty
days."
Here is another significant passage ; yet all its significance can scarcely be appreciated by
the dwellers in tempei'ate climes : —
"November 27, Sunday. — The thermometer was in the neighbourhood of 40' below zero,
and the day was too dark to read at noon."
"December 15, Thursday. — We have lost the last vestige of our mid-day twilight. We
cannot see print, and hardly paper: the fingers cannot be counted a foot from the eyes.. Noon-
day and midnight are alike ; and, except a vague glimmer on the sky that seems to define the
hill outlines to the south, we have nothing to tell us that tliis Arctic world of ours has a sun."
On the 11th of January (1854), Dr. Kane's thermometer stood at 49° below zero; and on
the 20th the range of those at the observatory w^as at — 64° to — 67 . On the 5th of February
they began to show an unexampled temperature. They ranged from 60° to 75° below zero, and
one very admirable instrument on the tatfrail of the brig stood at — 65°. The reduced mean of
the best spirit-standards gave — 67°, or 97° below the freezing-point of water.
At these temperatures chloric ether became solid, and carefully prepared chloroform exhi-
bited a granular film or pellicle on its surface. Spirit of naphtha froze at —54°, and oil of
sassafras at — 49°. The oil of winter-green assumes a fiocculeut appearance at — 56°, and solid at
- 63° and - 65°.
Some further details, borrowed from Dr. Kane's experiences, will illustrate still more power-
fully the singular atmospheric conditions of the Arctic winter.
The exhalations from the surface of the body invested any exposed or partially-clad part
with a wa-eath of A-apour. The air had a perceptible pungency when inspired, but Dr. Kane did
not undergo the painful sensation described by some Siberian travellers. When breathed for
any length of time it imparted a sensation of dryness to the air-passages ; and Dr. Kane observed
that all his party, as it were involuntarily, breathed gradually, and with compressed lips.
It was at noon on the 21st of January that the first glimmer of returning light became
visible, the southern horizon being touched for a short time with a distinct orange hue. The
sun had, perhaps, afforded them a kind of illumination before, but if so, it was not to be distin-
guished from the "cold light of stars." They had been nearing the sunshine for thirty-two days,
and had just reached that degree of mitigated darkness which made the extreme midnight of Sir
Edward Parry in kit. 74° 47'.
We have already alluded to the depressing infiuence exercised by the jirolonged and intense
darkness of the Arctic night, and we have referred to the singular effect it has upon animals.
34 CHARAtTKJtlSTK'S OF THE AIMTIC WINTKK.
Dr. Kane's do^'s, though iiidst of them were natives uf the ^Vrctie Circle, proved unable to bear
up against it. Most of them died from an anomalous form of disease, to which the absence of
lio'ht would seem to have contributed as nuich as the extreme ccjld. 'J'his circumstance seems
worthv of fuller notice, and we quote, therefore, Dr. Kane's obsei'vation upon it : —
" J<(iuiari/ :'(). — This nuirning at five o'clock — for I am so attticted with tlie inaomnlum oi
this eternal night, that I rise at any time between midnight and noon — I went upon deck. It
was absolutely dark, the cold not pei'mittiug a swinging lamji. There was not a glimmer came
to nie through tlie ice-crusted window-jianes of the cabin. While I was feeling my way, half
jiuzzletl as to the best method of steering clear of whatever might be before me, two of my
Newfoundland dogs put their cold noses against my hand, and instantly commenced the most
exuberant antics of satisfaction. It then occurred to me how very dreary and forlorn must these
])Oor animals l)e, at atuiospliei'es + 10" in-doors and —50" without, — living in darkness, howling at
an accidental light, as if it rc'minded them of the moon,- -and with nothing, either of instinct or
sensation, t(j tell them of the passing luiurs, or to explain the long-lost daylight."
The effect of the prolonged darkness upon these animals was most extraordinary. Every
attention was ]iaid to their wants ; they were ke])t below, tended, fed, cleansed, caressed, and
doctored ; still they grew worse and worse. Strange to say, their disease was as clearly mental
as in the case of any human lieing. There Avas no physical disorganization ; they ate voraciously;
they slept soundly, they retained their strength. But first they were stricken by epilepsy, and
this was followed by true lunacy. They barked frenziedly at nothing ; they walked in straight
and curved lines with anxious and unwearying perseverance. They i'awned on the seamen, but
witliout seeming to appreciate any caresses bestowed up(in them ; pushing their head against the
friend who noticed them, or oscillating with a strange pantomime of feai'. Their most intelligent
actions seemed of an automatic character ; sometimes they clawed at their masters, as if seeking
to burrow into their seal-skins; sometimes they preserved for hours a moody silence, and then
started otf howling, as if pursued, and ran to and fro for a considerable jteriod.
When spring returned Dr. Kane had to moui-n the loss of nine splendid Newfoundland
and thirty-five Eskimo dogs ; of the whole pack only six survived, and one of these was unfit for
draught.
Having dwelt at some lengtli on the characteristics of the Arctic winter, we now tui'n to
consider those of the Arctic spring. This begins in April, but d(.>es n<.it exhibit itself in all the
Ireshness of its beauty until May. The temperature rises daily in the interval ; the winter fall
ot snow, which has so long shi-ouded the gaunt hills and lain upon tlie \allevs, rolls up l)efore the
rays ot the rising sun : and the melted simw pours in noisy torrents and Hashing cascades
through the rugged I'aviucs and over the dark sides of tlie lofty clitfs : everywhere the air
resounds with the din of falling waters. Early in June the traveller sees witli delight the signs
ot returning vegetation. The willow-stems grow green with the fresh and living sap ; mosses,
and poppii's, ;ind saxifrages, and the cochlearia, with other hardy plants, begin to spi'out ; the
wi'lcoine wliii-r of wiii'^s is bron.^ht upon the bive/.e : the clitfs are alive with the little auks;
Hocks ol stately eider ducks sail into the creeks and sounds; the graceful ti'rns scream and dart
over the si'a ; the. buigomasters and the gvrfalcons mo\e to and fVo \\\\\\ greater die'uitv ; the
long-tailed duck tills the echoes with its shrill \n'wv \ the snipes ho\ei- about the fresh-water
I
A rOLAR LANDSCAPE IN SPRTNCi. 35
pools; tliL' sjianows chirp froin rock to rock ; long lines of cackling geese sail in the l)lue clear-
ness overhead on their wav to a rcunoter nortli : tlie walrus and the seal hask on the ice-iloes
'3|--.ri.|^(t<iji
'^^.=-
^■-
AilVKNT OK SPlllNii IN THE I'OLAl! IlKlllnNS.
which have broken u}) into small rat'is, ami drift lazily with the currents; and a fleet of icebergs
move southwards in solenm and stately procession, their spires and towers flashing and
coruscating in tlie suidight.
We transcribe a sketch of a sjiring landsrajie in the Polar world from the pages of Dr.
Hayes ; —
We arrived at the lake, he says, in the midst of a very enlivening scene. The snoAv
had maiidy disappeared from the valley, and, although no flowers had yet appeared, the early
vegetation was covering the banks with green, and the feeble growths opened their little leaves
almost under the very snow, and stood alive and fresh in the frozen turf, looking, as glad of the
spring as their more ambitious cousins of the Avarm South. Numerous small herds of reindeer
had come down from the mountains to fatten on this newly budding life. Gushing rivulets and
fantastic waterfalls mingled tlieir pileasant nuisic with the ceaseless hum of birds, myriads of
which sat upon the rocks of tlie hill-side, or were perched upon the clifts, or sailed through the
air in swarms so thick that they seemed like a dark cloud passing before the sun. 'Jliese birds
were the little auk, a waterfowl not larger than a quail. The swift flutter of their wings and
their constant cry tilled the air with a roar like that of a storm advancing among the forest trees.
The valley was glowing with the sunlight of the early morning, wliich streamed in over the
glacier, and robed hill, mountain, and ))lain in brightness.
Sjiring passes into summer, and all nature seems endowed with a new lite. The death-
like silence, the oj^pressive darkness, the sense of fear and despondency, all have passed away ;
36
AHOTTT THE XOTITTT POLE.
and earth and water echo witli clieerful voices, the landscape is bathed in a glorious radiance,
the human soul is conscious of a sentiment of hojie and expectation. The winter is past and
gone ; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come. The snow has
melted from the hills, and the streams run with a merry music, and the scanty flora of the far
northern wtirld attains its full development. By day and night the sun pours fortli its in-
vigorating rays, and even the butterfly is encouraged to spoi't among the blossoms. The Aurora
no longer exhibits its many-coloured fires, and the sky is as clear and cloudless as in genial Italy.
But this season of life and warmth is of short duration, and A\hen July has ])assed the sun
begins to sink lower and lower, as if to visit another world ; a sliadow gradually steals over the
sky; winds blow fiercely, and bring with them blinding showers of sleet and icicles; the
fountains and the streams cease their pleasant flow ; the broad crust of ice spreads over the
imprisoned sea ; the snow-mantle rests on the hill-sides and the valleys ; the birds wing their
way to the warmer South ; and the Polar world is once more given over to the silence, the
loneliness, and the cfloom of the lono- Arctic nisfht.
Turning our attention now to the " starry heavens," we observe that consjiicuous among the
glorious host is the North Star, which, from earliest times, has been the friend and guide of the
navigator.
The Pole-Stai-, or Polaris, is the star a in the constellation of Visa Minnr, and is the nearest
large star to the north pole of the celestial equator. We say the "nearest," because it does not
actually mark the position of the pole, but is al>out 1° .30' from it. Owing, however, to the
motion of the pole of the celestial ecjuator round that of the ecliptic, it will, in about 2000 A.n.,
approach Avithin 28' of the north pole ; but after reaching this point of ajjproximation it will
begin to recede. At the time of Hipparchus it was 12° distant from it (that is, in 15(3 n.c); in
1785, 2° 2'. You may easily find its place in the '• stellar firmament," fur a line drawn l)etween
the stars a and ft (hence called the "Pointers") of the constellation Uv.va. Major, or the (Jreat
Bear, and j)roduced in a northerly direction for about four and a half times its own length, will
almost touch the Pole-Star. Two thousand years this post of honour, so to speak, was occupied
by the star ft of Ursa Majnr ; while, in aliout twelve thousand years, it will be occupied by the
star Vega in Li/r<(, which will be within 5" of tlie north jiole.
The constellation of Ursa Major is always above the horizon of Europe, and hence it has
been an object of curiosity to its inhabitants from the remotest
.'nitii|uity. (Jur I'eaders may easily recognize it by three stars which
form a triangle in its tail, while four more form a quadrangle in the
body of th(^ imaginary bear. In the triangle, the first star at the tip
of the tail is Benetnasch of the second magnitude ; the second, ]\Iizar ;
and the third, Alioth. In the quadrangle, the first star at the root
of the tail is named Megrez ; the second below it, Phad ; the third,
in a hori/ontal direction, Merak ; and the fourth, above the latter,
I )uhhc, of the first magnitude.
In Ursa Minor the only conspicuous star is Pohiris, of \\hich we
t'HMA MAJOR AND I'RSA MISOl!.
Ikivc recenllv spoken.
We suhjoin a list
ol the northern constellations, iiicludin"' th
names o
f tl
lose wuo
A LIST OF NORTHERN CONSTELLATIONS.
37
formed tlieui, the nuiubur of their visible stars, and tlie names of tlie most impoi-tant and
conspicuous.
NORTHERN CONSTELLATIONS.
COXSTELLATIONS.
Author.
No OF
Stars.
Pkixcipal Star-s.
Ursa Minor, the Lesser Bear
Aratus.
24
Polaris, 2.
Aratus.
Aratus.
Ai'atus.
Aratus.
Aratus.
87
G6
.54
80
Dubhe, 1 ; Alioth, 2.
Algenib, 2; Algol, 2.
Capella, 1.
Arcturus, 1.
R.-istaben, 3.
Perseus and Head of Medusa
Cepheus .. . .. . .
Aratus.
Hfvelius.
Ha
2.5
Alderamin, 3.
Canes Venatici, the Greyhounds Chara and Asteria..
Cor Caroli, Heart of Charles II
Halley.
3
Triangulum, the Triangle
Ai-atus.
16
Triangulum Minus, the Lesser Tnangle
Hevelius.
10
Musca, the Fly.
Bode.
Hevelius.
Hevelius.
Tycho Brahe.
44
.53
43
Leo Minqr the Lesser Lion .
Coma Berenices, Berenice's Hair.
Cameleopardalis, the Giraffe
Hevelius.
58
Mons Menehius, Aloiuit ilenelaus
Hevelius.
Aratus.
11
21
Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown
Serpens, the Serpent
Aratus.
U4
Scutum Sobieski, Sobieski's Shield.. .
Hevelius.
8
Hercules, with Cerberus
Aratus.
113
Ras Algratha, 3.
Serpentarius, or Ojihiuchus, the Serpent -Bearer
Aratus.
74
Ras Aliagus, 2.
Taurus Poniatowski, or the Bull of Poniatowski
Poezobat.
7
Lyi-a, the Harp
Aratus.
22
Vega, 1.
Vulpeculus et Anser, the Fox aiid tlie Goose ... .. .
Heveliiis.
37
Sagitta, the Arrow
jVratus.
IS
xVquila, the Kagle, with Antinon.-^
Aratus.
71
Altair, 1.
Belphinus, the Dolphin
Aratus.
18
Cygnus, the Swan
Aratus.
SI
Deneb, 1.
Cassiopeia, the Lady in lier ( 'hair
Aratus.
55
Equulus, the Horse's Head
Ptok-niv.
10
Lacerta, the Lizard .. ...
Hevelius.
11)
Pegasus, the Flying Hni-fti'
Aratus.
811
Wiirkab, 2.
Andromeda
Aratus.
(;()
Ahnaac, 2.
Turandus, the Reindeer
Lemonnier.
12
A few remark.s in reference to some of these constellations, and the glorious orbs which they
help to indicate to mortal eyes, may fitl}' close this chapter.
We have already alluded to Ursa Major, which forms one of the mo.st conspicuous objects
of the northern heavens. It has V)orne different names, at different times, and among different
peoples. It was the 'Ajo/cto? /xeydXij of the Greeks; the " Septem triones "" of the Latins. It is
known in some parts as David's Chariot ; the Chinese call it, TcJieou-pey.
Night and day this constellation watches above the northern horizon, revolving, witli slow
and majestic march, around Polaris, in four and twenty hours. The quadrangle of stars in the
body of the Great Bear forms the wheels of the chariot ; the triangle in its tail, the chariot-pole.
Above the second of the three latter shines the small star Alcor, also named the Horseman.
The Arabs call it Saidak, or "the Test," because they use it to try the range and strengih of a
person's vision.
This brilliant northern constellation, composed, witli tlie exception of (\ of stars of the
second magnitude, has frequently been celebrated by iioets. We may jiaraphrase, for the
advantage of our readers, a glowing apostrophe from the pen of the American AA'are : —
With what grand and majestic steps, he says, it moves forward in its eternal circle, follow ing
among the stars its regal way in a slow and silent splendour I Mighty creation, I salute thee !
38 THE "POETrvY OF IIKAVKX."
1 luve to see thee wandering in tlie shining paths hke a giant prund uf his strong girdle — severe,
indefatigable, resolved — whose feet never lag in the road which lies before them. Other tribes
aliandon their nocturnal ccjursc and rest tlieir weary urbs under the waves; but thou, thou never
closest thv burning eyes, and never suspendest thy determined steps. Forward, ever forward I
While systems change, and suns retire, and worlds fall to sleep and awake again, thou pursuest
thy endless march. The near horizon attempts to check thee, but in vain. A watchfid sentinel,
thnu never quittest thy age-long duty ; but, without allowing thyself to be sui-})rised by sleep,
thou guardest the tixed light of the universe, and ju'ex'entest the north from e\er forgetting its
place.
Seven stars dwell in that shining company ; the eye embraces them all at a single glance ;
their distances from one another, lujwever, are not less than the distance of each from Earth.
And tliis tigain is the I'eciprocal distance of the celestial centres or foci. From deptlis of heaven,
imexplored by thought, the piercing ra3's dart across the void, revealing t<.) our senses innumer-
able worlds and systems. Let ns arm our vision with the telescoije, and let us survey the
firmament. The skies open Avide ; a shower of sparkling tires descends uj>on our head ; the stars
close up their ranks, are condensed in regions so remote that their swift ravs (swifter than aught
else in creation) must travel for centuries before they can reach our Earth. Earth, sun, and ye
constellations, what are ye among this infinite innnensity and the multitude of the Divine works!
]f we face towards the Fole-Star, which, as we have seen, preserves its place in the centre
of the northei'ii region of the sky, we have the south behind us, the east is on our right, the west
upon our left. All the stars revolving round the l\.ile-,Stai-, from right to left, should be
recognized according to their mutual relations rather than referred to the cardinal points. On
the other side of Polaris, a,s t-ompared with the Great Bear, we find another constellation which
is easily recognized. If from the central star S we cany a line to the l^ole, and then prolong it
for an equal distance, we traverse tlie c(.)nstellation of Cassiopeia, conqiosed of five stars of the
third magnitude, disposed somewhat like the outer jand_)s of the letter j\I. The small star x.
terminating the square, gives it also the form of a chair. This grou|) occupies every possible
situation in i-evolving round the Pole, being at one time above it, at another below, now on tlie
left, and then on the right ; but it is always readily found, because, like Ursa Major, to which it
is invariably o}>posite, it never sets. Tlie Pole-Star is the axle round which these two constella-
tions revolve.
If we now draw, fr<im the stars a and (^ in Ursa Maj'or, two lines meeting at the l\)le, and
afterwards extend them beyond Cassiopeia, they will abut on the square of Pee/asus, which is
iiounded on one of its sides by a group, or series, of thi'ee stars resend>ling the triangle in Ursa
Major. These three bel(.)ng to the constellation of And I'onieda (a, ft, and 7), and themselves
abut on another three-orbed group, that of Perseus.
Till' last star in the scpiare of Perseus is also the first a of Andromeda : the other three are
named, Algenib, 7 ; Markab, « ; and Scheat, ft. To the north of Andromeda ft, and near a small
star, 1', the Arctic traveller w 111 disccin an oblong nebula, which may be compared to the light of
a taper seen through a, slu'i/t of lioi-n ; this is the first nebula to wliich any allusion occurs in the
annals of astronomy. in /'t-rseiis «, an orb of great brilliancy, on the prolonged plane of the
three principal stars of .\ ml rmneda, shines with steady lustre between two less dazzling s[)heres,
VIEW OF 'I'TIE NORTHERN CONSTELLATIONS.
39
and tonus in conjunction witli tlu.-ni a concave arc very easily (listiiigiii.sLeJ. (Jf this arc we
may avail ourselves as a new point of departure. By prolongino- it in tlie direction of o, we come
to a very In-ij^lit star of the first magnitude, the (Ju((l.
By forming- a right angle to this prolongation in a
southerlv direction we come to that o-lorious mass of
stars, not very frequently above the Polar horizon, the
Pleiads. These were held in evil repute among the
ancients. Their apjiearance was supposed to be ominous
of violent storms, and Valerius Flaccus S2:)eaks of them as
fatal to ships.
Algol, or Medusa's Head, known to astronomers as
Perseas 13, belongs to the singular class of \'ariable Stars
Instead of shining with a constant lustre, like other orl)s,
it is sometimes very brilliant, and sometimes very pale;
passing, apparently, from tlie second to the fourth magni-
tude. According to Goodricke, its period of variatit)n is
2 days 20 hours 48 minutes. This ]ihenoinennl cliaracter
was first observed by Maraldi in iG!)4; but the duration
of the change was determined by Goodricke in 1782. For
two days and fourteen hours it continues at its brightest,
and shines a glory in tlie heavens. Then its lustre suddenly begins to wane, and in tliive hcau's
and a half is reduced to its mininunn. Its weakest ])eriod, however, does not last more tluui
about fii'teen minutes. It then begins to increase in brightness, and in three hours and a half
more it is restored to its full s})lendoui- ; thus jiassing thi'ough its succession <if changes in 2 days
20 hours 48 minutes.
This singular periodicity suggested to Goodricke the idea of some opaque body I'evolving
around the star, and by interposing between it and the Earth cutting off a portion of its light.
Algol is one of the most interesting of the welcome stars which kindle in the long Arctic
dai'kness.
The star ^ in Peiseus, situated above the " stormy Pleiads," is double ; that is, a binary
star. ^ in Ursa Major is also a twin-star ; and so is Polaris, the second and smaller star app)ear-
ing a mere sjieck in conqiarison with its companion.
NEBULA IN ANiJRoy.KUA.
These are the principal stars and starry gi-oujis in the (_'ircum]iolar Ptcgions of the heavens,
on one side ; let us now turn our attention to the other.
For this purpose we must again take the Great Bear as our starting-point. Prolonging
the tail in its curvature, the Arctic traveller notes, at some distance from it, a star of the
first magnitude, Aicturus, or Bootes a. This stai', thv)ugh without any authority, was at
one time considered the nearest to the Earth of all the starry host. About 10° to the north-
east of it is Mirac, or e Bootes ; one of the most beautiful objects in the heavens, on account
of the contrasted hues, yellow and azure, of the two star's composing it. I^nfortunately,
the twin-orbs cannot be distinctly seen except with a telescope of two hundred magnifying
power.
40 VIEW OF THE X(ti;T]TEl!N CONSTELEATIOXS.
A snuill riiiL;' oi' stars to tlie Id't of BiKitcs is appi-opi-iutely known as Coivuci BorealiK, or
the Northern Crown.
The constellation nf li i.'ifrs inrnis a pentan'on ; .-luil the' stars conniosiiig' it are all of the
tliiril niai;-nitudo, with tlie exception of «, wliich is <A' the first. Aretui'us, as we have said, was
anciently considered the star nearest to the Earth. It is, at all events, am' of the nearest, and
helon^'s to the small number of those whose distance our astrcjiiomers have succeeded in calculat-
ini'\ It is Gl trillitins, 71i!.0()0 millions of Icao-ues from our iilanet: a distance of which we can
form no a^tpreciable conception. ^Moreover, it is a coloured star; on exarnining it througli a
telescope we see that it is of the same hue as the " red planet Mars."
By carryini^' a Hue from the Polar Star to Ar(.-turus, and I'aisinu' a perpendicular in the
middle of this line, opjiosite to UruK Jfnjaf, the obser\ei' of the Arctic skies will discover one of
the most luminous orl.ts (if night, Vi';/<i, or « Lyra, near the Milky Way. The star /3 Lyra,
or Sheliak, is a variable star, changing from the tliird to the fifth magnitude, and accomplishing
its variati(.)n in G days ](• hours and 34 minutes, /'i and e Lyra, ar(_> ([uadruple systems, each
composed of binaiy or twin-stars.
The hne drawn from Arcturus to Vega cuts the constellation of Hercules.
Between Ursa Major and Ursa Minor may be olxserved a ])rolonged series of small stars,
coiling, as it were, in a number of convolutions, and extending towards Vega : these belong to
the constellation of the Dirujoii.
Such are the ]irini_-ipal objects which attract the attention of the traveller, \\hen contemplat-
ing the star-studded firmament of the Art'tic night.
CHAPTER III.
THE POLAR SEAS ! ICEBERGS ICE-FLOES THE SEAL THE WALRUS THE NARWHAL — THE WHALE
SUNDRY FORMS OF MARINE LIFE.
I HOSE masses of ice wliicli, towering to a considerable elevation above the surface of
the water, are carried hither and thitlier by the currents of the Polar Sea, are known
as Icehevys. They are fresh-water formations, originating in the great glaciers of the
northern highlands. For as the rivers continuously pour their waters into the ocean, so do the
glaciers incessantly glide downward from the head of the valleys which they occupy, until,
arrivino- on the coast, they throw off their terminal projections, to be carried afar by the action
of the tidal waves.
These bero-s, or floating mountains, are sometimes 250 to 300 feet aliove the level of the sea,
and their capacity or bulk is invariably equal to their height. From their specific gravity it has
been calculated that the volume of an iceberg hdow the water is eight times that of the portion
rising above it. They are frequently of the most imposing magnitude. Ross, in his first exjae-
dition, fell in with one in Baffin Bay, at a distance of seven leagues from land, which had gone
aground in sixty-one fathoms water. Its dimensions, according to Lieutenant Parry, were 4,169
yards in length, 3,869 yards in breadth, and 51 feet in height. Its configuration is described as
resemblino- that of the back of the Isle of Wight, wliile its clifts recalled those chalky ramparts
wdiich stretch their glittering line to the west of Dover. Its weight was computed at 1 ,292,397,673
tons. Captain Graab examined a mass, on the west coast of Greenland, which i-ose 120 feet out
of the water, measured 4,000 feet in circumference at the base, and was calculated to be equal in
bulk to upwards of 900,000,000 cubic feet. Dr. Hayes took the measurements of a berg which
had stranded off the little harbour of Tessuissak, to the north of Melville Bay. The square wall
which faced towards his base of triangulation was somewhat more than three-quarters of a mile
in length, and 315 feet in height. As it Avas nearly square-sided above the sea, it would be of
the same shape beneath it ; and, according to the ratio already given, must have drifted aground
in a depth of fully half a mile. In other words, from base to summit it must have stood as high
as the peak of Snowdon. Its cubical contents cannot have been less than about 27,000,000,000
feet, nor its weight than 2,000,000,000 tons !
When seen from a distance, the spectacle of any considerable number of these slowly-moving
mountains is very impressive, and it becomes particularly magnificent if it should be lit up by the
splendour of the midnight sun. They are not only majestic in size, but sublime in appearance,
at one time assuming the likeness of a grand cathedral church, at another, of a lofty obelisk ;
now of a dazzling pyramid, and now of a cluster of lofty towers. Nature would seem to have
42
Di:. RANK'S ADVKX'rrni;.
:i)ii-x
AllCUELl KliUEUG ull' THE CUl^ENLANU COAST.
lavished u|i(iii theiu all liur arcliitt-'i-tural faiicv ; ami as they are n'randly swe]>t alon^',
one uiiL;'ht he pai-iloiied thr siqiposiiiL;' theiu to hi' the sea-washed paJaees ot" a, raee of
ocean Titans.
In IMulville Bay, Dr. ]vane's ship anrlioi-ed to an iceh(.'i'L;', which |>roti_'cteil it rnuii the i'ury
of a violent q'a.le. Ihit he had nut \^'\\'X enjoyed tlie tnuninil shelter it ait'orded, wlien a din of
loud ciacklliiL;' scjnnds was he:u'd alidVe ; and small tV.'ii^'nients of ice, not lari^'i^r than a walnnt,
began to dot tlie water, like the Hrst hi<4 drops of a thunder-shower. ])r, \\^^^\^• and his crew did
not neglect these indications : lliey liad hai-ely time to cast otf, howe\'er, before the i'ace of the
icy cliff fell in ruins, crashing like neai' ,-irtillei-v.
FLOATING ISLES OF ICE.
43
Aftci'\vai-(ls he made fest to a laro-er ber"' whieli he describes as a inoviiigf breakwater, and
of gigantic proportions ; it kej)t its course steadily towards the nortli.
When he got under weigli, and made i'or the north-east, tlirough a hibyrinth of ice-floes, he
was f'avoureil witli a gorgeous sj^ectacle, wliicli liardly any excitement of peril could have induced
him to overlook. The midnight sun came out over the northern crest of the huge berg, kindling
variously-coloured iires on every pai-t of its surface, and making the ice around one sublime trans
parency of illuminated gem-work, blazing carbuncles, and rubies and molten gold.
])r. Hayes describes
an immense bei'gwhich
lesembled in its
general aspect the
Westminster Palace
of Sir Charles Barry's
creation. It went to
ruin before his eyes.
First one tall tower
tumbled headlong into
the water, starting
from its surface an in-
numerable swarm of
gulls ; then another
followed ; and at
length, after five luiurs
of terrible disrujition
and crashing, not a
fragment that rose fifty
AMdNCi TUE BEROS — A NARROW E^SCA^E.
feet above the water
remained of this archi-
tectural colossus of ice.
These flouting isles
of ice are carried south-
ward lulh* two thou-
sand miles from their
parent giaciei-s to melt
in the Atlantic, where
they communicate a
perceptible coldness to
the water for thirty or
forty miles around,
while their influence
on the atmospheric
temperature may be
recognized at a greater
distance. Their num-
ber is extraordinary.
As many as seven hundred bergs, each loftier tliau the dome of St. Paul's, some than the cross
of St. Peter's, have been seen at once in the Polar basin ; as if the Frost King had despatched
an armada to oppose the rash enterprise of man in penetrating within his dominions. The waves
break against them as against an iron-bound coast, and often the spray is flung over their very
summits, lilve the spray of the rolling waters of the Channel over the crest of the Eddystone
Lighthouse. The ice crumbles from their face, and tumbles down into the sea with a roar like
that of artillery ; and as they waste away, through the combined action of air and water, they
occasionally lose their equilibrium and topple over, producing a swell and a violent commotion
which break up the neighbouring ice-fields : the tumult spreads far and wide, and thunder seems
to peal around.
The fractures or rents frequently visible in the glittering clifls of the icebergs are of an eme-
rald green, and look like patches of beautiful fresh sward on cliffs of chalk ; while pools of water
of the most exquisite sapphiiine blue shine resplendent on their surface, or leap do^n their
craggy sides in luminous cascades. Even in the night they are readily distinguished from afar
by their effiilgence ; and in foggy, hazy weathei', by a peculiar blackness in the atmosphere.
As the Greenland Current frecpiently drifts them to the south of Newfoundland, and even to the
40th or 39th parallel of latitude, the sliips and steamers crossing between Europe and America
44 ADVENTURES WITH ICEBERGS.
sometimes meet them on their track. To come into colUsiun with tliem is certain destruction ;
and it is probable that some of those ill-fated vessels which have left their liarlxmrs in safety,
but have never since been heard of,— as, for example, the steamer President, — have perished
through this cause.
But if they are sometimes dangerous to the mariner, they often prove his security. As
most of their bulk lies below the water-surface, they are either carried along by under-currents
ao-ainst the wind, or else from their colossal size they are able to defy the strongest gale, and to
move alono- with majestic slowness when every other kind of ice is driven swiftly past them.
And hence it happens that, when the wind is contrary, the wlialer is glad to bring his ship into
smooth water under their lee. In describing the difficulties of his passage through the loose
and drifting ice near Cape York, and the broken ice-fields. Dr. Kane records the assistance he
derived from the large icebergs, to which he moored his vessel, and thus was enabled, he says, to
liold his own, however rapidly the surface-floes were passing by him to the south.
Yet anchoring to a berg brings with it an occasional peril. As we have already said, large
pieces frequently loosen themselves from the summit or sides, and fixll into the sea with a far-
resounding crash. When this operation, " calving," as it is called, takes place, woe to the unfor-
tunate ship which lies beneath !
All ice becomes excessively brittle under the influence of the sun or of a temperate atmos-
phere, and a single blow from an axe will suffice to split a huge berg asunder, burying the heed-
less adventurer beneath the ruins, or hurling him into the yawning chasm.
Dr. Scoresby records the adventure of two sailors who had been sent to attach an anchor to
a berg. They set to work to hew a- hole in the ice, but scarcely had tlie first blow been struck,
when the colossal mass rent from top to bottom and fell asunder, the two halves falling in oppo-
site directions with a tremendous uproar. (Jne of the sailors, wdth remarkable presence of mind,
instantly clambered up the huge fragment on which he was sitting, and remained rocking to and
fro on the dizzy summit until its equilibrium was restored ; the other, falling between the
masses, would probably have been crushed to death if the current caused by their commotion
had not swept him within reach of the boat that was waiting for them.
Fastening to a berg, says Sherard Osborn, has its risks and dangers. Sometimes the first
stroke of the man setting the ice-anchoi-, by its concussion, causes the iceberg to break up, and
the people so employed run great risk of being injured ; at another time, vessels obliged to make
fast under the steep side of a berg have been seriously damaged by pieces detaching themselves
from overhead ; and, again, the projecting masses, called tongues, which form under water the
base of the berg, have been known to break off, and strike a vessel so severely as to sink her.
All these perils are duly detailed by every Arctic navigator, who is always mindful, in mooring
to an iceberg, to look for a side whirh is low and sloping, without any tongues under water.
Captain Parry was once witness of that sublime spectacle, which, though of frequent occur-
rence, is seldom seen l)y human eyes, the entire dissolution of an enormous iceberg.
Its huge size and massiveness had been specially remarked, and nuii tlmuglit that it might
well resist "a century of sun and tliaw." It looked as large as \\\'stininster Abbey. All on
board Captain I'arry's ship descrilicd as a most wondrrCiil spectacli' tliis ic(_>berg, without any
warning, complctclv breaking up, 'I'lic sea around it lKM-;inic n scefliing caldi'on, from tlir
violent plunging of the masses, as they bi'oke and re broke in a thousaiKl pieces. The tloes, torn
TN MELVILLE BAY.
45
up for a distance of two uiilus around it, by the violent action of the rolling waters, threatened,
from the agitation of the ice, to destroy any vessel that had been amongst them ; and Captain
Parry and his crew congratulated themselves that they n-ere sufficiently far from the scene to
witness its sublimity without being involved in its danger.
Icebero-s chieHy aV)onnd in Baffin Bay, and in the gulfs and inlets connected with it.
They are particularly numerous in the great indentation known as Melville Bay, the whole inte-
rior of the country bordering upon it being the seat of immense glaciers, and these are constantly
" shedding off" icebergs of the largest dimensions. The greater bulk of these is, as we have
explained, below the water-line ; and the consequent depth to which they sink when floating
ICEiiEKG AND ICEFIELD, MELVIM.E BAY, GllEENLANU
subjects them to the action of the deeper ocean-currents, wliile their broad surface above the
water is, of course, acted on by the wind. It happens, therefore, as Dr. Kane remarks, that
they are found not infrequently moving in different directions from the floes around them, and
preventing them for a time from freezing into a united mass. Still, in the late winter, when
the cold has thoroughly set in, Melville Bay becomes a continuous mass of ice, from Cape "i ork
to the Devil's Thumb. At other times, this region justifies the name the whalers have bestowed
upon it of " Bergy Hole."
Captain Beechey, in his voyage with Buchan, in 1818, had an opportunity of witnessing the
formation of a "berg," or rather of two of these inunense masses. In !Magdalena Bay he had
46 A COLOSSAL ICEDKltO.
taken tlui ship's launch near the shi.iro to exaniim.^ a mayniticeut ^'hicier, \\'li(_'n thi- (Hsfharg'(? of a
o'un caused an instantaneous (Hsruption of its hull^. A noise rcsembhrn;' thunth.'r was heard in
tile direetion of th(,' glacier, and in a few seeomls more an immense [liece hroke away, and fell
headlong" into the sea. The crew of the launch, supjjosing themselves beyond the reach of its
influence, ([uietly looked ujion the scen(_', wla^n a sea arose and I'olled towards tlie sliore with
such rapidity that the boat v\'as washed upon the beach and tilled. As soon as their astonish-
ment had subsided, they examined the boat, and found her so bailly stove that it was necessary
to repair her before they could return to their shi]i. They had also the curiosity to measure the
distance the l>oat had been cai-ried 1)V the wave, and ascertained that it was ninety-six feet.
A short time afterwards, when Cajitain Beechey and Lieutenant Franklin had approached
one of these stuj)endous walls (if ice, and were endeavouring to search into the innermost recess
of a deep cavern that lay near the foot of the glacier, they suddenly heard a report, as of a
cannon, .and turning to the quarter whence it |n'oceeded, perceived an immense section of the
front of the glacier sliding down from the height of two hundred feet at least into the sea, and
dispersing the water in every direction, accompanied I)y a loud grinding noise, and followed by
an outflow of water, which, being previously lodged in the fissures, now made its escape in innu-
merable tiny fla.shing rills and cataracts.
The mass thus disengaged at first disappeared wholly under -water, and nothing could be
seen but a vioh.-nt seething of the sea, and the ascent (_)f cL^uds of glittering sjtray, such as that
which oc(.'urs at the foot of a great waterfall. But after a short time it re-appeared, raising its
head fully a hundred feet above the surface, with water streaming down on every side ; and then
labouring, as if doulitful whi<dr way it shoidd fall, it rolled over, rocked to and fro for a few
minutes, and finally became settled.
On ajiproaching and measuring it, Beechey found it to be nearly a quarter of a mile in
circumference, and sixty feet out of the watei'. KnoM'ing its specific gravity, and making a fair
allowance for its inequalities, he conqnited its weight at 421,660 tons.
In Parry's fir.st voyage he passed in one day fifty icebergs of larne dimensions, just after
crossing the Arctic Circle ; and on the following day a still more extended chain of ice-peaks of
still larger size, against which a heavy southerly swell was violently cb-iven, dashing the loose
ice with tremendous force, sometimes flinging a white sjn-ay over them to the height of more
than one hundred feet, and accomjmnied by a loud noise " exactly resembling the roar of distant
thunder.'
Between one of these bergs and a detached floe the Ilccln, Parry's ship, had nearly, as the
whalers say, been "ni]ij)ed," or crushed. 'Jlie berg was about one hundri>d and forty feet high,
and aground in one^ liundred and twenty fathoms, so that its whole height nuist have exceeded
eight hundred feet ; that is, it was of a, bulk equal to St. Catherine's Down in the Isle of Wight.
In his second voyage Parry speaks of fifty-four icebergs visible at one time, some of which
were not less than two Inmdred feet above the sea ; and again of thirty of these huge masses,
many of them whirled ab(jut by the tides like straws on a mill-stream.
Icebergs can originate only in regions where glaciers abound : the former are the oftspiing of
the latter, an<l \\here land unsuital:)le to the pi'oduction of the lattei' does not e.xist, the former are
never found. Ileuce, in Batlin liay, where steep clifls of cold grauite frown over almost
latlioniless watei's the "iiKiuarcl: o| glacial tormations" floats slow l\- fi'om the ra\ine which has
GLACIERS AND ICEBEEGS.
47
been its birth-place, until fairly launched into the depths of ocean, and, "after long years," drifts
into the warmer regions of the Atlantic to assist in the preservation of Nature's laws of equili-
brium of temperature of the air and water.
There was a time when men of science, and, amongst others, the French philosopher St.
Pierre, believed that icebergs were the snow and ice of ages accumulated upon an Arctic sea,
wliich, forming at the Poles, detached themselves from the parent mass. Such an hypothesis
naturally gave rise to many theories, not less ingenious than startling, as to the effect an incessant
accumulation of ice must produce on the globe itself; and St. Pierre hinted at the possibility of
the huge "domes of ice " — which, as he supposed, rose to an immense height in the keen frosty
heavens of the Poles — suddenly launching towards the Equator, dissolving under a tropical sun,
and resulting in a second deluge !
In simple language Professor Tyndall furnishes an explanation of the origin of icebergs,
which we may transfer to these pages as su^Jjalementary to the preceding remarks.
What is their origin ? he asks ; and he replies, as we have done, the Arctic glaciers. From
the mountains in the interior the indurated snows slide into the valleys, and fill them with ice.
The glaciers thus created move, like the Swiss ones, incessantly downward. But the Arctic
glaciers descend to
the sea, and even
enter it, frequently
ploughing uj) its
bottom into sub-
marine moraines.
Undermined by the
continuous action of
the waves, and un-
able to resist the ______
pressure of their /
own weight, they
break across, aiid
-i»f'
>iii,
NXil' '
ICbbEUliS — EXTENSIuN OF A (JLACIEH SEAWARDS.
discharge enormous
masses into the
ocean. Some of
these drift on the
adjacent sliores, and
often maintain them-
selves for years.
Others float away to
the southward, and
pass into the broad
Atlantic, where they
are finally dissolved.
But a vast amount
of heat is demanded for the simple liquefaction of ice, and the melting of icebergs is on this
account so slow that, when large, they sometimes maintain themselves till they have been
drifted two thousand miles from their place of biiih.
Icebergs, then, are fresh- water formations, and though they are found on a colossal scale
only in the Polar seas, yet they are by no means uncommon among the lofty Alpine lakes.
The monarch of European ice-rivers is the great Aletsch glacier, at the head of the valley
of the Rhone. It is about twenty miles in length, and collects its materials from the snow-drifts
of the grandest mountains of the Bernese Oberland — the Jungfrau, the Monch, the Trugberg, the
Aletschhorn, the Breithorn, and the Gletscherhorn.
From the peak of the ^ggiscliliorn the Alpine traveller obtains a fine view of its river-like
course, and lie sees beneath him, on the right hand, and surrounded by sheltering mountains, an
object of almost startling beauty. " Yonder," says Tyndall,* " we see the naked side of the
glacier, cxj)osing glistening ice-clifts si.xty or seventy feet high. It would seem as if the Aletsch
* Tvudull, "Funus of Water," ].. l;37.
4
iS
GLACIEES IN SWITZERLAND.
THE ALETSCII GLACIKR, SVVlTZEKIjAND, I'RUM THE vtGGlsrHHuRN, SHOWING ITS MiiIlAINES.
here were engaged in the vain attempt to tlinist an arm tlirough a hxteral valley. It once did
so ; but the arm is now incessantly broken off close to the body of the glacier, a great space
formerly covered by ,,—=-= „=^=-=^-„=,.-^^^^,^^^-^=--.™^=^
the ice being occu-
pied by its water of
liquefaction. In this
wayalakeofthelove-
liest blue is formed,
Avhich reaches quite
to the l)ase of the
ice-cliffs, saps them,
as the Arctic waves
sap the Greenland
glaciers, and receives
from them tlie
broken masses wl i icl i
it has underminnl.
As we loulv (low II
upon the lake, small
icebergs sail over
the tran([uil smt'at'e,
each resembling a-
and on looking towards
the water ? The ber<'- 1
TII
MAUJKLKN SEA, SWITZEULAND.
could see the water teemiiii>' from its sides.
snowy swan accom-
panied by its
shadow."
This lake is the
Miiijelen Sea of the
Swiss.
Professor Tyndall
goes on to describe
a sjiectacle which
he witnessed, and
which, as we have
seen, is of frequent
occurrence in the
Arctic Seas. A
large and lonely ice-
berg was floating in
the middle of the
lake. Suddenly he
heard a sound like
that of a cataract,
Whence came
the iceherg
lad liccome toii lica\'V throUijh tlic meltiii"' uiiduriicath ; it was in the act
i. V O O
BFvEAKING-UP OF A BERG. 49
of performing a somersault, and in rolling over carried with it a vast quantity of water, wdiich
rushed like a waterfall down its sides. And the iceberg, which, but a moment before, was snowy
white, now exhibited the delicate blue colour characteristic of compact ice. It would soon, how-
ever, be rendered white again Ijy the action of the sun.
We may contrast this picture of the solitary iceberg in the centre of the dark-blue lake Avith
one which Dr. Hayes describes in his i)icturesque voyage in the open Polar Sea.
After passing Upernavik he saw a heavy line of icebergs lying across his course, and having
no alternative, shot in among them. Some of them proved to be of immense size — upwards of
two hundred feet in height, and a mile in length ; others were not larger than the schooner which
woimd her way amongst them. Their forms were as various as their dimensions, from solid wall-
sided masses of dead whiteness, with waterfalls tumbling from them, to an old weather-worn
accumulation of Gothic spires, whose crystal peaks and sharp angles melted into the blue sky.
They seemed to be endless and innumerable, and so close together that at a little distance they
appeared to form uptMi the sea an unbroken canopy of ice.
Dr. Hayes I'ecords an adventure which may serve to give the I'eader an idea of the nature
of the perils encountered by the Arctic explorer. The ocean-current was carrying his schooner
towards a labyrinth of icebergs at an uncomfortably rapid rate. A boat was therefore lowered,
to moor a cable to a berg which lay grounded at about a hundred yards distant. While this
was being done the schooner absolutely grazed the side of a berg which rose a hundred feet
above her topmasts, and then slipped past another of smaller dimensions. But a strong eddy at
this moment carried her against a huge floating mass, and though the shock was slight, it proved
sufficient to disengage some fragments of ice large enough to have crushed the vessel had they
struck her. The berg then began to revolve, slowly and ponderously, and to settle slowly over
the threatened ship, whose destruction seemed a thing of certainty.
Fortunately, she was saved by the action of the l)erg. An immense mass broke off
from that j^art which lay beneath the water-surflice, and this colossal fragment, a dozen times
larger than the schooner, came rushing up within a few yards of them, sending a vast volume of
foam and water flying from its sides. This rupture arrested the rotatory motion of the berg,
which then beo-an to settle in another direction, and the schooner was able to sheer oft'.
At this moment the crew were startled by a loud report. Another and another followed
in quick succession, until the din grew deafening, and the whole air seemed a reservoir of chaotic
sounds. The opposite side of the berg had split off*, piece after piece, topj^ling a vast volume of
ice into the sea, and sending the berg revolving back upon the shi}). Then the side nearest to
them underwent the same singular process of disiaxption, and came plunging wildly down into
the sea, sending over them a shower of spray, and i-aising a swell which rocked the shij) to and
fro as in a gale of wind, and left her grinding in the debris of the crumbling ruin.
" The ice was here.
The ice was there,
Tlie ice was all aroiiml ;
It creaked aud growled,
And roared and howled,
Like demous iii a swoiuid."
It is impossible, we slioulil say, for any one wlio has not liad actual experience of the
conditions of the Arctic woi'ld, to comprehend or imagine the inunense (juantity of ice upborne
50 A VISION OF ICEBERGS.
on its cold bleak waters. The mere enumeration of the Hoating bergs at times defies the
navigatoi-. Dr. Hayes once counted as far as five hundred, and then gave up in despair. Near
by they stood out, he says, in all the rugged harshness of their sharp outlines; and from this,
softening Avith the distance, they melted away into the clear gray sky ; and there, far of!" upon
the sea of li(piid silver, the imagination cctnjured up the strangest and most wonderful groups
and objects. Birds and beasts and luunan forms and architectural designs took shape in the
distant masses of blue and white. The dome of .St. Peter's was recognizable here ; then the
spire of a village church rose sliai'p and distinct ; and under the shadow of the Pyramids nestled
a Byzantine tower and a Grecian temple.
" To the eastward," says Dr. Hayes, describing a similar scene, " the sea was dotted with
little islets — dark sjjccks upon a biilliant surface. Icebergs, great and small, crowded through
the channels Avlrich divided them, until in the far distance they appeared massed together, termi-
nating against a snow-covered plain that slo]»ed upward until it was lost in a dim line of bluish
whiteness. This line could be traced behind the serrated coast as far to the north and south
as the eye could carrv. It was the yreat Mer cle Glace* which covers the lenafth and breadth of
the Greenland continent. The snow-covered slope was a glacier descending therefrom — the
parent stem from which had been discharged, at irregular intervals, many of the icebergs which
troubled us so much."
We have now brought together a sufficient number of data to assist the reader in forming a
vivid conception of tliose monsters of the Polar Seas, the icebergs ; and to enable him, unless he
is very slow of imagination, to realize to himself what they aj'e, and what their general aspect is.
But we may add one interesting detail, noticed by Mr. Lainout, the persevering seal-huntei",
which is A'ei'y generally ovurluokud.
In the course of the brief Arctic summer the increased solar Avarmth has a perceptible effect
u])on the solid ice, and it becomes undermined and honeycombed, or, as the sailors call it,
" rotten," like a chalk clilf. It decays fastest, apparently, "between wind and water," so that
enormous caverns are excavated in the sides of the bergs.
Poets never dreamed of anything more beautiful than these crystal vaults, which sometimes
appear of a deeji ultramarine blue, and at others of an emerald-green tint. One could fancy them
the faAt.airite haunts of mermaids and juermen, and of every kind of sea monster; but, in
truth, no animal ever enters them; the water dashing in and out through their icy caves and
tunnels makes a sonorous but rather monotonous and melancholy sound In moderately calm
weather many of these excavated bergs assume the form of gigantic nuislirooms, and all kinds of
fantastic outlines ; but as soon as a breeze of wind a ri.ses they break up into little pieces with
great rapidity.
Icebergs are met with (m every side of the Southern I'ole, and on every meridian of the
great Antarctic Ocean. But such is not the case in the North. In the oGOth meridian of longi-
tude wliicli intersects the parallel of 70° N., icebergs spread over an extent only of about fiftv-
five degrees, nnd tliis is immediately in and about Greenland and Bailin liay. Or, as Admiral
Osborn ])uts it, for 1,;)75 miles of longitude we have icebergs, and then for 7,G35 get)grapliical
miles none are met with. This fact is, as tlie same writer calls it, most interesting, and points
strongly to the probaljility that no extensive area of land exists about the North Pole; a sup-
* Tin.' iiHUK- nivi'ii (u a jilaili of icu ueai' Mniil Diane.
IHIfliiuanitiitiiiiiiiiiiiiMiipiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin^^^
I/'!' I i:
PERILS OF PACK-ICE.
53
position sti'engthened by another fact, tliat the vast ice-fields oft' Spitzbergen sliow no signs of
ever having been in contact with land or gi'avel.
Another difficulty which besets the Arctic navigator is the " pack-ice."
In winter, the ice from the North Pole descends so far south as to render the coast of
Newfoundland inaccessible ; it envelops Greenland, sometimes even Iceland, and always sur-
rounds and blocks up Spitzbergen and Novaia Zendaia. But as tlie sun comes north this vast
frozen expanse, which stretches over several thousands of square miles, breaks up into enormous
masses. When these extend horizontally for a considerable distance they are called ice-fields.
IN AN ICE-PACK, MELVILLE BAT.
A. floe is a detached portion of a field ; a large area of floes, closely compact together, is known
as pach-ice ; while drift-ice is loose ice in motion, and not so firmly welded as to prevent a ship
irom forcing her way through the yielding fragments.
This " pack-ice," however, is the great obstacle to Arctic exploration ; and frequently it pre-
sents a barrier which no human enterprise or skill can overj^ass. At times, it has been found
possible to cut a channel through it, or it breaks up and opens a water-way through which the
bold adventurer steers. In 1806, Captain Scoresby forced his shi|) through two hundred and
fifty miles of pack-ice, in imminent peril, until he reached the parallel of 81° 50', — his nearest
approach to the Pole. In 1827, Sir Edward Parry gained the latitude of 82 45', l>y drao-o-ino-
54
TTTE rCE-FTELDS OF THE NORTH.
a boat over the ice-fields, but was then compelled to abandon his daring and hazardous attempt,
because the current carried the ice southward more rapidly than he could traverse it to the north.
In warm sunmiers this mass of ice will suddenly clear away and leave an oj)en streak of silver
sea along the west coast of Sintzbergen, varying in width from sixty to one liundred and fifty miles,
and reaching as high as 80" or 80° 30' N. latitude. It was through this channel that Scoresby bore
his ship on the expedition to which we have just alluded. A direct course iVc^m the Thames,
CHANNEL IN AN ICE-FIEI,b.
across the Pole, to Behring Strait is 3,570 geographical miles; by Lancaster Sound it is 4,GG0
miles. The Russians would be saved a voyage of 18,000 geographical miles could they strike
across the P(jle and through Behring Strait to British Columbia, instead of going by Cape Horn.
Ice-fields, twenty to thirty miles across, are of frequent occurrence in the great Northern
Ocean ; sometimes they extend fully one hundred miles, so closely and solidly packed that no
opening, even for a boat, intervenes between them ; they vary in thickness from t6n to forty or
even fifty feet. At times these fields, which are many thousand millions of tons in weight,
acquire a rapid rotatory motion, and dash against one another with a fury of which no words can
give an accurate idea.
The reader knows what
awful results are pro-
duced liy the collision of
two railway trains, and
may succeed, perhaps, in
fomiing some feeble con-
ception of this still more
appalling scene wlu'ii he
remembers the hug(!
dimensions and solidity
of the opposing forces.
y
*5C-
NIPPED IN AN ICF.-FIELD.
The waters seethe and
foam, as if lashed by a
tremendous tempest ; the
air is smitten into stillness
by the chaos of sounds,
the creaking, and rend-
ing, and cracking, and
heaving, as the two ice-
fields are hurled against
each other.
Woe to the ship caught
between these grinding
"TAKING THE PACK." 55
masses ! No vessel ever Iniilt by luunaii bands could resist their pressure ; and many a whaler,
navigating amid the floating fields, especially in foggy weather, has thus been doomed to destruc-
tion. Some have been caught up like reeds, and flung helplessly upon the ice ;• others have been
overrun by the ice, and buried beneath the accumulated fragments ; others have been dashed to
pieces, and have gone down suddenly with all on board.
The records of Arctic exploration are full of stories of " liairbrt-adtli escapes " from the perils
of the ice-field and the ice-floe. Here is one which we borrow from the voyage of the Dorothea
and the Trent, under Captain Buchan and Lieutenant Franklin.
The two vessels were making for Magdalena Bay, when they were caught in a vi(jlent storm,
and compelled to heave-to under storm stay-sails. Next morning (June 30) the ice was seen
along the lee, with a furious sea breaking upon it. Close-reefed sails wei'e out in the hope of
weathering the danger. When Buchan found that this could not be effected by his ship, a slow
and heavy sailer, he resolved on the desperate expedient of "taking the pack," in preference to
falling, broadside on, among the roaring breakers and crashing ice. "Heaven help them !" was
the involuntary cry of those on board the Trent, and tlie prayer was all the more earnest from
the conviction that a similar fiite would soon l)e their own.
The Dorothea wore, and, impelled by wind and sea, rushed towards what seemed inevitable
destruction; those in tlie Trent held their breatli wliilr tliey watcht'd the perilous exploit. The
suspense lasted but a moment, for the vessel, like a snow-flake before the storm, drove into the
a%\'ful scene of foam, and spray, and broken ice, which formed a wall impenetrable to mortal eye-
sight. Whether she was lost or saved, the gallant hearts on board the Trent would never know
until they too were forced into a manoeuvre which appeared like rushing into the jaws of death.
But it was inevitable ; and when Franklin had made all his preparations, he gave, in firm, decisive
tones, the order to "put up tlic helm."
No language, says Admiral Beechey, who was then serving as a lieutenant on board the
Trent, can convey an adequate idea of the terrific grandeur of the effects produced bv the collision
of "the ice and the tempestuous ocean. No language, on the other hand, can convey an idea of the
heroic calmness and resolution of Franklin and his crew. As they approached the terrible scene,
Franklin watched for one opening less hazardous than another ; but there was none. Before
them stretched one long line of frightful breakers, immense blocks of ice heaving, rearino-, and
hurtling against one another with a din which rendered the loud voice of the gallant commander
almost inaudible. On the crest of a huge billow the little Trent rushed into the horrible turmoil ;
a shock, which cjuivered tlirough tlie ship from stem to stern, and the crew were flung upon the
deck, and the masts bent lil^e willow wands.
"Hold on, for your lives, and stand to the helm, lads!" shouted Franklin. "Ay, av, sir,"
was the steady response from many a heroic heart. A billow came thundering against the stern of
the brig ; would the brig be engulfed, or would she drive before it ? Happily, she forged ahead,
though shaking like a spent race-horse, and with every timber straining and creakino-. Now,
thrown broadside on, her side was remorselessly battered by the floe pieces ; then, tossed by the sea
over ice-block after ice-block, she seemed like a plaything in the grasp of an irresistible power. For
some hours this severe ti-ial of strength and fortitude endured ; then the storm subsided as rapidly
as it had arisen, and their gratitude for their own escape was mingled with joy at the safety of
the Dorothea, wliich they could see in tlie di.stance, still afloat, and with her crew in safetv.
56 PERILOUS I'OSITION OF TAKKY'S SHU'S.
On Captain Parry's second expedition, in 182i!, liis sliiits, tlie llechi and tlie Fiirij, were
placed in a ])o.sition of scarcely lews danger.
Thus we read of the Ilecla, which at the time had been made ftist by means of cables to the
land-ice, that a very heavy and extensive floe caught her on her liroadside, and, being backed by
another large body of ice, gradually lifted her stern as if by the action of a wedge. Tlie weight
every moment increasing, her crew were obliged to veer on tlie hawsers, whose friction was so
great as nearly to cut through the Ijitt-heads, and ultimately set them on fire, so that it became
requisite to jiour upon them Ijuckets of water. At length the pressure ])roved irresistible ; the
cables snapped; but as tlie sea was too full of ice to allow the shij) to drive, the only way in
which she could yield to the enormous buiden lirought to bear u]>on her was by leaning over the
land-ice, while her stern at the same time was lifted clean out of the water for fully five feet.
Had another floe backed the one wdiich lifted her, the ship must inevitably have rolled
broadside over, or been rent in twain. But the pressure which had been so dangerous eventually
proved its safety ; for, owing to its increasing weight, the floe fm which she was carried burst
upwards, unable to resist its force. The Ilecla then righted, and a small channel opening up
amid the driving ice, she was soon got into comparatively smooth water.
(_)n the fiillowiiig day, shortly before noon, a heavy floe, measuring some miles in length,
came down towards the Funj, exciting the gravest apprehensions for her safety. In a few
minutes it came in contact, at the rate of a mile and a half an hour, with a point of tlie land-ice,
breaking it up with a tremendcnis roar, and forcing numberless immense masses, perhaps many
tons in weight, to the height of fifty or sixty feet ; whence they again rolled down on the inner
or land side, and were quickly succeefled by a fresh siqiply. While tliey were compelled to remain
passive spectators ctf this grand Ijut terrific sight, l)eing within five or six hundred yards of the
])oint, the danger they incurred was twofold : first, lest the floe should swing in and serve the ship
in the same unceremonious manner ; and, seconilly, lest its jiressure should detach the land-ice to
which they were secured, and cast them adrift at the mercy of the tides. Fortunately, neither
of these terril)le alternatives occurred, the floe remaining stationary for the rest of the tide, and
setting off with the ebb when the tide soon afterwards turned.
The reader must not imagine that an ice-field is a smooth and uniform plain, as level as an
English meadow ; it is, on the contrary, a rugged succession of hollows, and of jirotuberances called
"hummocks," interspersed with pools of water, and occasionally intei'sected by deep fissures. In
many parts it can l)e compared only to a jiromiscuous accumulation of rocks closely packed
together, and piled up over the extensive dreary space in great heaps and endless ridges, leaving
scarcely a foot of level surfiiee, and compelling the traveller to thread his way as best he can
among the perplexing inequalities ; sometimes mounting unavoidable obstructions to an elevation
of ten, and again more than a hundred feet, above the general level.
The interspaces between tliese closely accumulated ice-masses are filled up to some extent
with drifted snow.
Now, let the reader endeavour to form a definite idea of the scene presented by an ice-field.
Let him watch the slow progress of the sledges as they wind thiough the labyrinth of i)roken ice-
tables, the men and dogs pulling and ]>ushing up their respective loads, as Napoleon's soldiers
may have done when drawing their artlllei'V through the rugged Alpine passes, or Tjord Napier's
FORMATION OF AN ICE-FLOE. 59
heroes when they scaled the steep Abyssiniuu heights. He will see them clambering over the
very summit of lofty ridges, where no gap occurs, and again descending on the other side, the
sledge frequently toppling over a precipice, sometimes capsizing, and sometimes breaking.
Again : he will see the adventurous party, when baffled in their attempt to cross or fiiid a
pass, breaking a track with shovel and handspike ; or, again, unable even with these ajipliances
to accomplish their end, they retreat to seek an easier route. Perhaps they are fortunate enough
to discover a kind of gap or gateway, and upon its winding and uneven surface accomplish a
mile or so with comparative ease. The snow-drifts sometimes prove an assistance, but more fre-
quently an obstruction ; for though their surface is always hard, it is not alwaj^s firm to the foot.
Then the crust gives way, and the foot sinks at the very moment when the other is lifted. But,
worse than this, the chasms between the hummocks may l)e overarched with snow in such a
manner as to leave a considerable space at the bottom void and emj)ty ; then, when everything
looks auspicious, down sinks one of the hapless explorers to his waist, another to the neck, a tliird
is " lost to sight," the sledge gives way, and all is confusion worse confounded ! To educe order
out of the chaos is probably the work of hours ; especially if the sledge, as is often the case, must
be unloaded. Not unfrequently it is necessary to carry the cargo in two or three loads ; the
sledges are coming and going continually ; and the day is one " endless pull and haul."
Dr. Hayes speaks of an ice-floe, crested with hummocks, and covered with crusted snow, the
solid contents of which he estimated, in round numbers, at 6,000,000,000 of tons, its depth being
aljout one hundred and sixty feet. All around its border was banked up a kind of rampart of
last year's ice, the loftiest pinnacle of which rose fully one hundred and twenty feet above the sea-
level. This ice-tower consisted of blocks of ice of every shape and size, piled one upon an-
other in the greatest disorder. Numerous other towers, or bastions, equally rugged, though of
less elevation, sprang from the same ridge, and from every part of this desolate area; and "if a
thousand Lisbons were crowded together and tumbled to pieces by the shock of an earthquake,
the scene could hardly be more rugged, nor to cross the ruins a severer task."
We must date the origin of a floe like this back to a very remote period. Probably it was
cradled, at the outset, in some deep recess of the land, where it remained until it had accumulated
to a thickness which defied the summer's sun and the winter's winds. Then it would grow, as the
glacier grows, from above ; for, like the glacier, it is wholly composed of fresh ice — that is, of
frozen snow. Thus it will be seen, to quote Dr. Hayes once more, that the accumulation of ice
upon the mountain-tops is in nowise different from the accumulation which takes jilace upon these
floating fields, where every recurring year marks an addition to their depth. Vast as they are to
the sight, and pigmies as they are compared with the inland Mer de Glace, yd, in all that con-
cerns their growth, they are truly glaciers, dwarf floating glaciers. That only in this manner
can they grow to so great a depth will at once be conceded by the reader, if he recollects that ice
soon reaches a maximum thickness by direct freezing, and that its growth is arrested by a natural
law. Necessarily, this maximum thickness varies according to the temperature of the locality :
but the ice is in itself the sea's protection. The cold air cannot absorb the .warmth of the water
through more than a certain thickness of ice, and that thickness attains a final limit long before
the winter has reached its close. The depth of ice formed on the first night is greater than that
formed on the second ; on the second is greater than on the third ; on the third greater than on
60 WALRUS-HUNTING.
the fourtli ; and no it contiiuiu.s, until tliu iiicreasu no lunyer Takt's ])laco. In othtT wuids, the
ratio of increase of the thickness of ice is in inverse jjroportiun to the (hiiation of the period of
freezing. There comes a time when the water beneath the ice no longer congeals, because the
ice-crust above it protects it fi'om the action of the atmosphere. Dr. Hayes asserts tliat he
never saw an Arctic 'ice-tuhle Jo j'tiied hij tl i irvt JrcezDir/ thut exceeded eighteen feet; and he justly
adds, that were it not for this all- wise jirovision of the Deity, — this natural law, as our men of
science term it, — the Arctic waters would, ages ago, have been solid seas of ice to their pro-
foundest depths.
Haviny saitl thus much about the various forms whicli the ico assumes in the Polar seas, —
about their icebergs and ice-fields, jiack-ice and drift-ice, and the thick belt of ice which surrounds
their shores, — we may now direct the reader's attention t(j their Animal Life ; to the creatures
which inhabit them, walrus and seal and wiiale, the fishes, the molluscs, and even minuter
organisms.
And first wc shall beain with the Walrus, which finds a congenial home in the Arctic
wildernesses.
Wali-us-hunting is the principal, or at all events the most lucrative, occupation of the Norse
fishermen, who annually betake themselves to the cheerless shores of Spitzbergen in search of
booty. Their life is a terribly hard and dangerous one ; and Mr. Lamf)nt, who has had much
experience of them, observes that they all have a restless, weary look ab(.)ut the eyes, — a look as
if contracted by being perpetually in the presence of peril. They are wild, rougli, and reckless;
but they are also bold, hardy, and enduring of cold, hunger, fatigue ; active and energetic while
at sea, though sadly intemperate during their winter-holiday.
The vessels engaged in the seal-fishery and walrus-hunting are fitted out by the merchants
of Tromsoe and Hammerfest, who have, of late years, adopted the system of sharing their proceeds
with their crews, thus giving them a direct interest in the ])r(^sperity of the expedition. The
ship is fitted out and provisioned by the owners, who also ad\ance to tlie men what money they
may require to purchase clothing and to make pro\'ision foi- their families during their absence.
Then they allot one-third of the gross receipts of the adventure to the crew, di\i(ling it into
shares, three for the captain, two for the harpooneer, and one each for the conmion men. So that
if a fairly successful voyage should realize in skins, blubber, and ivory a sum of two thousand
dollars, and the number of hands amounts to ten, the usual strength of a seal-ship's crew,
each will receive forty-seven and a half dollars, or about £10, — a very considerable sum for a
Norwegian.
Each ship carries a couple of boats, and a walrus-boat, capalik' of Irokling five men, Avhich
measures twenty-one feet in length by five feet beam, having her main breadth at about seven
feet from the l>ow. She is bow-shaped at both ends, and so built as to turn easily on her own
centre, besides being strong, light, and easy to row. Each man plies a ]>air of oars hung in
"grummets" to stout tbole-])ins ; the steersman directs the boat by also rowing a pair of oars,
but with his face to the bow ; and as there are six thwarts, he can, if necessary, sit and row like
the others. By this arrangement the strength of the men is econtanized, and the boat is more
swiftly turned when in pursuit of the walrus.
WALRUS-H U NTING.
CI
The steersman als() acts as liai-]i()(inuer, and, df course, sits in the bow. The strongest man in
tlie boat is usually placed next to liini, to hold and haul in the line when a walrus is struck, and
it is his duty to hand the harpoons and lances to the harj>ooneer as required.
Each boat — which, by the way, is painted white, so as to resemble the ice amongst which it
moves — is usually provided with three harpoon-heads inside the bow, on each side : these fit into
little racks of painted canvas, so that their keen points and edges may not be blunted, and to
prevent them from injuring the men. The harpoons serve equally well for seal and walrus, and,
simple as they seem and are, answer admirably the purpose for which they are designed. The
weapon is thrust into the animal ; its struggles tighten the line ; the large outer barb then
catches up a loop of its tenacious hide, or the tough reticulated fibres containing its lilubber;
HUNTING THE WALRUS.
while the small inner liarl), like that of a lish-hook, prevents it from being detached or loosened.
When a walrus has been properly struck, and the line hauled taut, it rarely escapes. To each
harpoon a line of twelve or fifteen fathoms long is attached : a sufficient length, as the walrus is
seldom found in water more than fifteen fathoms deep ; and even if the water should exceed that
depth, it cannot drag the boat imder, because it is unable to exert its full strength when subjected
to the pressure of twelve or fifteen fathoms of water.
Besides the harpoons, each boat is jirovided with four or five enormous lances; the shaft
being made of pine-wood, nine feet long, and one inch and a half thick at the handle, increasing
upwards to a thickness of two inches and a half where it enters the iron socket. This would seem
62 A DISAGKEEABLE PliOCESS.
a formidable weaj)Oii, and formidable it is in the stout hands of a Norse har[)Ooneer; yet, frequently,
the iron shank is bent (loul)le, or the strong shaft snapped like a reed, in the violent resistance of
the sea-horse ; and, therefore, to prevent the head being lost, it is fastened to the shaft by a
double thong of raw seal-skin, tied round the shaiJi and nailed to the handle for about three feet
up. The shaft may seem of disproportionate length, but it is necessary to give the buoyancy
sufficient for floating the heavy iron spear if it should fall into the water. This spear, or lance,
is not used for seals, because it would spoil the skins.
Notwithstanding the destruction effected by the yearly expeditions of the walrus-hunters, the
sea-horses are still found in large herds in many parts of the Polar woild. Mr. Lamont describes
a curious and exciting spectacle, where four large flat icebergs were seen to be so closely packed
with these animals that tliey were sunk almost level with the water, and presented the appear-
ance of " solid islands of walrus I " The walrus lay with their heads reclining on one another's
backs and hind-quarters, just as rhinoceroses lie asleep in the dense shade of the African forests,
(^r, to use a more commonplace but familiar comparison, as hogs slumber and wallow in a British
farmyard.
Such a sight was a temptation not to be withstood Ijy a walrus-hunter, and Mr. Lamont and
his hari^ooneer speedily disturbed the repose of the monsters, which chiefly consisted of cows and
young bulls. After slaying their victims, and getting them on board, came the disagreeable but
necessary task of separating the blubber from the skins to stow it in the barrels ; a process which
is performed in the following manner : —
Across the ship's deck, immediately aft the hatchway, is erected a kind of framework or
stage of stout timber, about four feet in height, but slojiing down at an angle of about sixty
degrees, with the deck at the forward side : on the other side it is jierjjendicular, and there the two
spevhsioneerti (or "blubber-cutters") jjost themselves, clad, not in armour, but in oil-skin from top
to toe, and armed with large keen knives, curved on the edge. Then the skins are hoisted out of
the hold, and, two at a time, are suspended across the frame, with the blubber side uppermost : tlie
fat, or blubber, is next removed by a kind of uiowimj motion of the knife, which is lield in both
hands, and swayed from left to right. Only long practice, and great steadiness of wrist, can give
the dexterity I'equisite for the due performance of this difficult operation. Even in skinning a
walrus, skill is imperative.
As the blubber is mown off, it is divided into slabs, weighing twenty or thirty pounds each,
and flung down the hatchway, Avhere two men are stationed to receive it, and pack it into the
casks, which ^\'hen full are securely fastened up.
The skin, whieli is taken oft" the animal in two longitudinal halves, is a valuable commodity,
and sells at the rate nf iiom two to four dollars jier half skin. The principal purchasers are the
Russian and Swedish mercliants, and its princii)al uses are for harness <and sole leather. It is
also twisted into tiller ropes, and emj^loyed to in'otect the rigging of shijjs from friction. The
blubber is valued on account of the oil ; but neither has the walrus so much blubber, in propor-
tion to its size, as the seal, nor does the lilubber afford so good an oil. A seal of GOO lbs. will
carry 200 to 250 lbs. weight of fat; an ordinary walrus, weighing 2000 lbs., will not carry any
nio)'e.
The most prolitalile portion of flic unfortunate sea-horse is its tusks, wlili-h are conijiosed of
\vv\ liard. dense, and white ivoi'v. This i\di-v is not so o-ood, and eonse(|uentlv does not ct)in-
ABOUT THE WALRUS.
63
maud so high a price, as elephant ivory, but is in high repute for the uiauufacture of false teeth,
chessmen, umbrella handles, whistles, and other small articles.
The tusks are not an extra pair of teeth, but a development and modification of the can-
ines. For about six or seven inches of their leng-th they are solidly set in the mass of hard bone
which forms the animal's upper jaw. So far as they are imbedded in the head they are hollow,
l)ut mostly filled up with a cellular osseous substance containing much oil ; the remainder of the
tusk is hard and solid throughout.
The young walrus, or calf, has no tusks in its first year of existence ; but in its second, when
it is about the size of a large seal, it has a pair of nuicli the same size as the canines of a lion.
In the third year the tusks measure about six inches in length.
In size and shape tliey vary greatly, according to tlie animal's age and sex. A good pair of
bull's tusks, says Mr. Lament, will be twenty-four inches each in lengih, and four pounds each
in weight ; but larger and heavier specimens are of frequent occurrence. Cows' tusks, it is said,
will average fully as long as those of the bulls, because less liable to be broken, but seldom weigh
more than three pounds. They are generally set much closer together than the Ixdl's tusks,
sometimes even overlapping one another at the points ; while those of the bull will often diverge
as much as fifteen inches.
lip. This
ip is thickly
In scientific language the walrus, morse, or sea-horse {Tricliccus), belongs to a genus of
amphibious manunals of the family Pliocidce, a family including the well-known seals. It agrees
with the other mem-
bers of that family
in the general con-
figuration of the
body and limbs,
but distinctly difters
from them in the
head, which is re-
markable,- — as we
have seen, — for the
extraordinary de-
velopment of the
canine teeth of the
upper jaw, as also
for the protuberant
or swollen appeai'-
ance of the muzzle,
— due to the size of
their sockets and
the thickness of the
THE WALRUS, Oil MORSE.
upper
upper
set with strong,
transparent, bristly
hairs, which measure
about six inches in
length, and are as
thick as a crow-rpiill.
The terrific mous-
tache, with the long
white curving tusks,
the thick projecting
muzzle, and the
fierce and bloodshot
eyes, give Rosmarus
trichecus a weird and
almost demoniacal
aspect as it rears
its head above the
waves, and goes far
to account for some of the legends of sea-monsters whicli cml>cllish the Scandinavian mytholog}-.
The walrus has no canine teeth in the lower jaw. Its incisors are small, and ten in numlier ;
six in the upper and four in the lower jaw. The molars, at first five on each side in each jaw,
64
TlIK WALRUS AND THE POLAR BEAR.
but fewer in the adult, are simple and not large ; their cr(.)wns are ol)li(]uely worn. The nostrils
wtadd seem to he displaced by the sockets of the tusks ; at least they both open almost directly
upwards at some distance from the muzzle. The eyes are small, but savage ; there are no exter-
nal ears.
The Arctic Avalrus is the sole known species of the genus. It is a gregarious animal, always
assembling in large herds, which occasionally leave the water to take their rest upon the shore or
A WALRUS FAMILY.
on the ice ; and it is at such times the hunters chiefly attack them, since their movements out of
the water are ver}^ laborious and awkward.
They defend them-
selves against their
enemies, of which the
Polar bear is chief, with
their formidable tusks ;
and these they also use
in their fierce combats
with one anothei'. They
figiit with great deter-
mination and ferocity,
using their tusks much
in the same manner as
game-cocks use their
beaks. From the uu-
KICIIl' niriWI'.K.N A WALKIS AM) A I'OLAIl llliAl!.
wieldy appearance of the
animal, and the position
of its tusks, an inexperi-
enced sjiectator would
suppose tliat the latter
could be em]il(iyed only
in a (loirninifd stroke ;
but, on the contrary, it
turns its neck with so
much ease and rapidity
that it can strike in all
directions with erpial
t( tree.
Old bulls verv fre-
KAELY HTSTOT'.Y OF THE WATJtUS FTSTTFJtY. 67
quently have one or both of their tusks broken ; which may arise either from fighting or from
using them to assist in scaling the rocks and ice-floes. But these Ijroken tusks are soon worn
down again and sharpened to a point by the action of the sand, as the wah-us, like the
elephant, employs its tusks in digging its food out of the ground, — that is, out of the ocean-
bed. Its food principally consists of stai-fish, shrimps, sandworms, clams, cockles, and algie ; and
Scoresby relates that lie bas found tbc remains of young seals in its stomach.
In reference to the gradual decay, or, more coi'rectly speaking, extermination of tlie walrus,
the following particulars seem to be authentic.
When the pursuit of the walrus was first systematically organizt'd from Trotnsciu and Ham-
merfest, much larger vessels were em])loyed than are now in vogue ; and it was usual for tlicm to
obtain their fir.st cargo about Bear Island eaily in the season, and two additional cargoes at
Spitzbergen before the summer passed away. Tliis icgular and wholesale slaughter drove away
the sea-horse herds from their haunts about Bear Island ; but even afterwards it was not a rare
occurrence to procure three cargoes in a season at Spitzbergen, and less than tw(j full cargoes
was regarded as a lamentable mishap. Now, however, more than one cargo in a season is
very seldom obtained, and many vessels return, after four months' absence, only half full.
It is estimated that about one thousand walrus and twice that number of bearded seals
(Phoca harhata) are annually captured in the seas about Spitzbergen, exclusive of those wliicli
sink or may die of their wounds. Some idea, therefore, may be formed of the number of sea-
horses which still ride the waves of the Polar seas. But it is quite clear that they are under-
going a rapid diminution of numbers, and also that they are gradually withdrawing into the
inaccessible solitudes of the remotest North.
We learn from the voyage of Ohthere, which was undertaken ten centuries ago, that the
walrus then abounded even on the very coast of Finmarken. They have abandoned that region,
however, for some centuries, though individual stragglers were captured up to witliin the last forty
years. After their desertion of Finmarken, they retreated to Bear Island ; thence they wei-e
driven to the Thousand Islands, Hope Island, and Pv,yk-Yse Island ; and thence, again, t(i the
banks and skerries to the north of Spitzbergen. It is fortunate for the persecuted walrus that
the latter districts are accessible only in open seasons, or perhaps once in every three or four
summers ; so that they obtain a respite and time to breed and replenish their numbers. Other-
wise the end of the present century would mark also the total extinction of the walrus on the
island-shores of Northern Europe.
We ao-ree with Dr. Kane that the resemlilance of tlie walrus to man has been absurdlv
overstated. Yet the notion is put forward in some of our systematic treatises, and accompanied
by the suggestion that we are to look for the t\"pe of the merman and mermaid in this animal.
If we look we .shall not find. Tlie walrus has a square-shaped Jiead, with a frontal bone presenting
a steep descent to the eyes, and any likeness to humanity nnist exist in the imagination of the
spectator. Some of the seals exhibit a nnieli greater resemblance : the size of the head, the
regularity of the facial oval, the drooping shoulders, even the movements of the seal, remind us
impressively of man. And certainly, when seen at a distance, with head rai.sed above the waves,
it aftbrds some justification for tlie fanciful conception of the nymphs of ocean, the mermaids who
figure so attractively in song and legend.
GS
ADVENTUKKS WTTTF WALRUS.
])v. Kane I'finai'ks tliat the in.stiiict of attack, wliich is strong in the wah'us, though so
feeble in the si'al, and is a well-known chai'aetei'istic of the jiachyderins, is interesting to the
naturalist, as assisting to establish the afKnitv of the walrus to the latter. When wounded, it
rears its body high out of the water, plunges hea\ily against the iee, and strives to raise itself
upon the surface by means of its fore-flippers. As the ice gives way under its weight, its coun-
tenance assumes a truly ferocious exjiression, its bark elianges to a roar, and the foam pours out
from its jaws till it froths its beard.
Even when not ex- .^ -- _^ ^=^- '
cited, the walrus man-
ages its tusks bravely.
So strong are they
that they serve as gra}>
pling-irons with which
to hold on to the sur-
face of the steep rocks
and ice-banlvs it loves
to clindi ; and thus
it can ascend rocky
islands that ai'e sixty
and a hundred feet
above the sea-level.
It can deal an ojipon-
ent a fearful blow, but
it prefers to charge,
like a veteran warrior ;
and man, unless well
armed, often comes oft'
second l)est in the con-
test.
(lovernor Flaischer
told Dr. Kane that, in
1830, a brown walrus
— and the Eskimos
say that the brown
the lance. In vain the older and more wary hunters advised him to forbear.
I'lGHT WITH A W.iLRU.S.
walrus are the fiercest
— after being speared
and wounded near
U])ernavik, put to
flight its numerous
assailants, and drove
them in fear to seek
help from the Danish
settlement. So violent
were its movements
as to jerk out the
harpoons that were
launched into its body.
The governor slew it
with much difficulty
after it had I'eceived
several rifle-shots and
lance-wounds from his
whale-boat.
( tn am )ther occasion,
a young and atlventui'-
ous Innuit plunged his
naler/eit into a brown
walrus ; but, alarmed
by the savage demean-
our of the beast, called
for help before using
It is a brown
walrus!" they cried; "" Aih'ohKaiok ! Hold back!" Finding the caution disregarded, his only
brother i-owed forward, and hurled the second harjioon. Almost instantaneously the infuriated
beast charged, like the wild boar, on tlie unfortunate young Tnnuit, and ri[i])ed oprn his body.
Here is a descrijition of a walrus-hunt: —
(h^ fii-st setting out, the hunters listen eagerly for some sounds by whicli to discover the
habitat of the animal. The walrus, like amateur vocalists, is partial to its own music, and will
lie foi' houi's enjoying the monotonous vocalization in which it is accustometl to indulge. This is
descrilied as soincthing between the mooing of a cow and the deepest baying of a niastill'; very
AN ESKIMO HUNTER. 69
round and full, with its "barks" or "detached notes" repeated seven to nine times in rather
quick succession.
The hunters hear thti bellow, and press turwai'd in sin^'le iilc ; wiudiuL;' behind ice-hununocks
and ridges in a serpentine apiuoai-li towards a L;'rnu]i of " ponddiko discolorations," recently
frozen ice-sj^ots, which are surrounded by (dder and tinner ice.
In a few minutes they coiiie in sight of the walrus. There they are, five in number, rising
at intervals through the ice in a body, and breaking it up with an explosion which sounds like
the report of heavy ordnance. ( 'onspicuous as the leaders of the herd are two large and fierce-
looking' males.
Now for a display oi' dexterity and skill. While the walrus remains abo\-e water, the
hunter lies flat and motionless; when it begins to sink, behold, the hunter is alert and ready to
spring. In fiict, scarcely is the tuskc^d head below the waterdine before every man is in a rapid
run; while, as if by instinct, before it returns all are prone behind protecting knolls of ice.
They seem tt) guess intuitively, not only how long it will be absent, but the veiy point at whieh
it will reappear. And, in this way, hiding and advancing by turns, they reach a plate of thin
ice, scarcely strong enough to bear a mart's weight, on the very briidc of the dark pool in whii-h
the walrus are gambolling.
The phlegmatic Eskimo harjiooneer now wakens into a n(n'el condition of excitement. His
coil of walrusdiide, a well-trimmed line of maiiy fathoms length, lies at his side. He attaches
one end to an iron barb, and this he fastens loosely, l)y a socket, to a shaft of unicorn's horn ;
the other end is already loosed. It is the work of a second I He has grasped the harpoon.
The water eddies and whirls ; puffing and panting, up conies the unwieldy seadioi'se. The
Eskimo rises slowly; his right arm thrown back, his left hanging close to his side. The walrus
looks about him, and throws the water off his crest; the Eskimo launches the fatal weajion, and
it siidvs deep into the animal's side.
Down goes the wounded awak, but the Eskimo is already speeding with winged feet from
the scene of combat, letting his coil run out freely, but clutching the final loop with a desperate
grip. As he runs, he seizes a small stick of bone, roughly pointed with iron, and Ijy a swift
strong movement thrusts it into the ice ; he twists his line around it, and prepares for a struggle.
The wounded walrus plunges desperately, and (hiirus the ice-pool into foam ; meantime, the
line is hauled tight at one moment, and loosened the next ; for the hunter lias kept his station.
But the ice crashes ; and a couj)le of walrus rear up through it, not many yards from the spot
where he stands. ( )ne of them, a male, is excited, angry, partly alarmed; the other, a female,
looks calm, but bent on revenge. Down, after a rapid survey of the field, they go again into the
ocean-depths ; and immediately the harpooneer has chosen his position, carrying with him his coil,
and fixing it anew.
Scarcely is the mana'uvre accomplished before the pair have once more risen, breaking up
an area of ten feet in diameter about the very spot he left. They sirdc for a second time, and
a second time he changes his place. And thus continues the battle between the strength of
the beast and the address of the man, till the former, half exhausted, receives a second wound,
and gives up the contest.
The E.skimos regard the walrus with a certiun degree of sujjerstitious reverence, and it is
their belief that it is under the guardianship of a special representative or prototype, who does
70 AN AP.CTTC (lALIv
not, indeed, interfere to ]irotect it tVdiii Ix/iiiL;' iiuiitcd, but is caret'ul tiiat it sliall lie hunted under
toleral>ly fair I'duditions. They assert that near a remarkable conical peak, Avhicli rises in the
solitudes of Force Bay, a jji'reat walrus lives all alone, and when the moon is absent, creeps (.)ut
to the l)rink (if a ravine, where he bclhiws with a voice of tremendous ])Ower.
The walrus-hunter, unless he keeps to the sea-shore, and the ice-floes within reach of a bdat,
must be prepared to undergo many hardships, and to confront with a calm heart the most batfling
and terrible dangers. He may be overtaken by a gale ; and a gale in the wild remote North, far
from any shelter, — a gale which drives before it the blinding snow and jjitiless icicles, — a gale
wdiich sweeps unresisted and irresistible over leagues of frozen snow, — a gale which comes down
from the mountain-recesses whei-e the glaciers take their rise, — is something so dread, so ghastly,
that the dweller in temperate regions can form no idea of it.
We remend.)er that one of the ffiillaTit seekers after Franklin describes an Arctic arale, and
its effects. He says that the ice, at a short distance from the shore, had in many jilaces been
swept bare of snow Ity the dilving blast; and ovvv the glassy sheet he and his companions were
helplessly carried along before the gale. The dogs, seldom stretching their traces, ran howling
in front of the sledges, which pressed upon their heels.
Wild was the scene, and dark. The moon had sunk tar behind the snow-shrouded moun-
tains, and the travellers had no other light than the shimmer of stars. 'J'he deep shadows of the
cliffs, towering a thousand feet above their heads, lay heavily ujjon them, and enhanced the
midnight gloom. The patches of snow clinging to the sharp angles of the colossal wall; the
white shroud lying on its lofty summit; the glaciers which here and there protruded through its
clefts, brought out into striking relief the blackness of its cavernous recesses. The air was filled
with clouds of drift, which sometimes oimpletely hid the land, and swept relentlessly before the
explorers, as they tottered across the frozen plain.
Suddenly a dark line became visible across their path ; its true nature revealed by circling
wreaths of " frost-smoke." " Emerk ! emrrh ! " (Water ! water !) shouted the drivers, checking
as suddenly as possible the headway of the sledges, but not until the party were within a few
feet of a recently opened and rapidly widening crack, — a fissure in the ice-crust, already twenty
feet across.
Some of the travellers now clambered to the summit of a jiile of hummocks, and endeavoured
to pierce the obscurity. A headland, laid down on the map as Cape Alexander, lay only a few
miles in advance. The ice in the shallow bay on its southern side Avas rent in all directions ;
while beyond, from the foot of the cajie, a bi'oad slieet of water extended westward. The wind
diversified its dark surface with ridges of snowy spray; while liere and there a frosty surf
tumbled in breakers over a small berg oi- drifting floe. The pieces of ice lying along its margin
were in motion, and the crasli of their hard surfaces could be heard as they came into constant
collision. Their sti'ident clanioiii-, the ceaseless washing of the surface, tlie moaning of the wind,
the steely rush of the dril't, i\\r piteous wail of the dogs, and all tlie strange noises and voices of
the storm, added to the gloom and awful melancholy of that moonless night.
We need not wonder that the Eskimos of the Arctic wilderness are as feaiful of a tempest
as are the Uedouiiis of the African desert. It o\( rwhelms the one with a cloud of snow, and it
buries the other in a I'lond of sand ; and each demands and receives its quota of victims.
THE GREAT PHOCID.E FAMILY.
71
That seal-hunting- hhuuld Ije more extensively pursued than wali-us-liunting is natural ; for
if less exciting, it is also less dangerous ; and the seal is not only a more valuable prey than the
walrus, but is more easily cajitured.
The Phocidse are well represented in the Arctic waters. In Behring Sea we encounter
the sea-lion and the sea-bear ; while from the Parry Islands to NoA^aia Zemlaia extends the
range of the harp seal {Phoca Grcenlandica), the bearded seal (PJioca harhata), and the hispid seal
{Phoca hispida). The skins of all these species are more or less valuable ; their oil is much
esteemed ; and their flesh supj>lies the wild northern tribes with one of their principal articles
of subsistence.
The structure of the seal is admirably adapted in every detail to an acjuatic life. It lives
Ur.lUi OK SEALS, NEAR THE DEVILS THUMB, liAKFlN SEA, GREENLAND.
chiefly in the water, wliei-e its motion.s are always easy and graceful ; but it spends a part of its
time in enjoying the sunshine on ice-fields, ojien shores, rocks, and sandy beaches ; and the female
brings forth her young on land.
The body of the seal is elongated, and tapers considerably from the chest to the tail. The
head has been compared to that of the dog ; the brain is generally voluminous. The feet are
short, and little more than the paw extends beyond the integument of the body ; they are
webbed, and pentadactylous, or five-toed : the fore feet are set like those of other quadrupeds ;
but the hind feet are directed backwards, with toes which can be spread out widely to act as
paddles. The tail is short.
72 DIFFERENT GENERA OF SEALS.
The motions of tlio seal on land are constrained and peruliar. The fore feet are but little
used, and tlie body is thrown forward in a succession of jerks produced by a contraction of tlie
spine. Awkward as tliis mode of jn'ooression seems, it is, nevertheless, exceedingly rapid. The
seal, liowever, never ventures far from the shore, and tlie moment it is disturbed or alarmed it
plunges into the water.
The physiognomy of the animal is in perfect accord with its character, and expresses a con-
siderable degree of intelligence combined with much mildness of disposition. The eyes are large,
black, and brilliant ; the nose is broad, with oblong nostrils ; and there are large whiskers. The
seal has no external ears, but in the auricular orifices exists a valve which can be closed at will,
and protects the internal organism from the water ; the nostrils possess a similar valve. The
body is thickly garnished with stiff glossy hairs, very closely set against the skin, and plentifully
lubj-icated with an oily secretion, so that the surface is always smcjoth, a,nil unaffected by water.
The teeth ditil-r in difi'crent genera, but in all are specially adapted for the seizure of fish and
other slippery prey, though the seals are omnivorous in their habits, and will partake both of
vegetable and animal food. There are either six or four incisors in the upper, and four or two
in the lower jaw ; the canines are invariably large and strong ; and the molars, usually five or
six on either side, in each jaw, are sharp-edged or conical, and bristle with points. The seal is
fond of swallowing large stones ; for wh:it pui'[)ose is not certain, but, probably, to assist
digestion.
Seals live in herds, more or less numerous, along the frozen shores of the Arctic seas;
and on the lonely deserted coasts they bring forth their young, over Avhich they watch with
singular affection. They swim with nmch rapidity, and can remain a considerable time under
water. They are migratory in their habits, and at least four species visit our British waters.
Un the northern coasts of Greenland they are observed to take their departure in July and to
return again in September. They produce two or three young at a time, and suckle them for
six or seven weeks in remote caverns and secpiestered recesses ; after which they take to the sea.
The young exhibit a remarkable degree of tractability ; will recognize and obey the maternal
sunmions ; and assist each other in distress or danger. Many, if not all, of the species are
polygamous, and the males frec^uently contend with desperate courage for the j)ossession of a
favourite female.
There is not much difference in the habits of the different genera or sj^ecies of the Phocidse ;
but while the great Arctic seal dives like the walrus, making a kind of semi-revolution as it goes
down, the common seal {PJioca vitulina), called by the hunters the stein-cohbe, from its custom
of basking on the rocks, dives by suddenly dropping under water, its nose being the last part of
its body which disapjiears, instead of its tail.
The connuon seal has a very fine spotted skin, and weighs about sixty or seventy pounds.
It is much fatter, in ])ro]iorti(_in to its size, than the bearded seal, and its carcass, consecpiently,
having less sjiecific gravity, floats nmch longer on the water after death.
A third kind of seal found in the Spitzbcrgen seas is, probably, the Plioca hispida, though
the hunters know it only by the names of the "springer," and Jan IMayen sral. In the s]U'ing
months it is killt;d in large numbiM-s by the whalers among the vast ice-fields \Ahich encircle the
solitary rocks of Jan IVfaycn Island.
Mr. Lanxiiit <.)l)scr\'es that llicsc seals, though existing in siieli enormous numbers to the
THE PHOCA HISPIDA, OR "SPRINGER."
73
west, are not nearly so numerous in fcipitzbergen as the great, or even as the much less abundant
common seal. They are gregarious, which neither of the other vaiieties are, and generally
consort in hands of fifty to five huiidred. '^I'hey are extremely dirticult to kill, as during the
summer months they very seldom go upon the ice; they seem nuich less curious than the
other seals, and go at
such a rapid pace
through the water as
to defy pursuit from
a boat. On coming
up to breathe, these
seals do not, like their
congeners, take a de-
liberate breath and a
leisui-ely survey, but
the whole trooj^ make
a sort of simultaneous
flying leap through
the air like a shoal of
porpoises, as they go
along, and reappear
again at an incredible
distance from their
preceding breathing-
^'l>k:^-
THE COMMON SEAL.
place. Hence the
name of " .springers "
given to them by the
whalers.
The Jan May en
seal weighs from 200
to 300 lbs., and is
described as the fat-
test and most buoy-
ant of the Arctic
manuuals.
We have spoken
of seal's flesh as an
important article of
subsistence to the
Eskimo tribes. Our
Arctic voyagers and
explorers have fre-
quently been glad to
nourish themselves upon it, and speak of it as somewhat resembling veal in flavour. Not once
or twice, but several times, it has saved the hardy pioneer of civilization from destruction, and
the discovery of a stray seal has been the means of preserving a whole expedition.
There is a very striking incident of this kind in the narrative of Dr. Kane. He and his
party had reached Cape York on their waj to the Danish settlements, after their long but fruit-
less search for Sir John Franklin. They were spent Avith fatigue, and half-dead from hunger.
A kind of low fever crippled their enei'gies, and they were unable to sleep. In their frail and
unseaworthy boats, which were scarcely kept afloat by constant bailing, they made but slow pro-
gress across the open bay; when, at this crisis of their fortunes, they descried a large seal floating,
as is the wont of these animals, on a small patch of ice, and apparently asleep, — a seal so large
that at first they mistook it for a walrus.
Trembling with anxiety, Kane and his companions prepared to creep down upon the
monster.
One of the men, Petersen, with a large English rifle, was stationed in the bow of the boat,
and stockings were drawn over the oars as mufilers. As they approached the animal, their
excitement became so intense that the men could hardly keep stroke. That no sound might be
heard, Dr. Kane communicated his orders by signal ; and when about three hundred yards oft'
the oars were taken in, and they moved on, stealthily and silently, with a single scull astern.
The seal was not asleep, for he reared his head when his enemies were almost within rifle-
shot ; and long afterwards Dr. Kane could remember the hard, careworn, almost despairing
74
Di;. KANE'S NAllliATIVE.
expression of the men's liaggard faces as they saw him nKJve ; their lives depended on his capture.
Dr. Kane lowered his hand, as a signal fur Petersen to fire. IM'Gorry, who was rowiny, hung,
he says, upon his oar, and tlie boat slowly Ijut noiselessly forging ahead, did not seem within
range. Looking at Petersen, he saw that the poor fellow was pai'alyzed hy his anxiety, and was
\-ainly seeking to find a rest for his gun against the cut-water of the boat. The seal rose on his
llijjpers, gazed at his antagonists for a moment with mingled curiosity and alarm, and coiled
himself for a plunge. At that moment, simultaneously with the crack of the rifle, he relaxed his
huge bulk on the ice, and, at the very brink of the water, his head fell helplessly on one side.
SHOOTING A SEAL.
Dr. Kane would have ordered another shot, but no discipline could liave controlled his men.
With a wild yell, each vociferating according to his own im|iulse, they urged both boats upon the
floes. A crowd of hands seized the preci(jus boot}^, and ]h)\v it uji to safer ice. The men seemed
half crazy, they had l)een so reduced b_y f;imine. They ran o\-er the floe, crying and laughing,
and brandishing their knives. ]3efore five minutes had elapsed, each man was sucking his
streaming fingers or mouthing long sti'ips of raw blubber.
Not an ounce of this seal was wasted !
The intestines found their way into the soup-kettles without any observance of the pre-
liminary home-}>rocesses. The cartilaginous parts of the fore-flip[)ers were cut off in tbe melee,
and passed round Ibr the operation of chewing ; and even the liver, A\ai'm and raw as it was, bade
fair to be eaten befoi-e it had seen the ]iot. That night, on the large halting-floe to which, in
contempt of the dangers of drifting, the hapjiy adventurers had haided their boats, two entire
planks of the Red Eric were devoted to the kindling of a large cooking-fire, and they enjoyed
a bountiful and savagre feast.
A SACEED DOMIClLlv
75
Such is an experieiicu of Arctic life ; (jf tlie liaidships ciulurcrl by the heroic men who go
forth to do the work of Science and Civilization.
Returning- to the seals, we may remark that, accordin<,f to a scientific authority, the angle of
weedy rock on which a phoca is accustomed to rest with his family comes to be regarded as his
property, and no other individuals of his species are entitled to lay claim to it. Although in the
water these animals congregate together in numerous herds, and protect and courageously
defend one another, yet, when they have once emerged from their favourite element, they regard
themselves on their own space of rock as in a sacred domicile, where no comrade has a right to
intrude on their domestic tra!i(|uillity. If any stranger approach this family centre, the chief — or
shall we call him the father ? — prepares to repel by force what he considers an unwarrantable
encroachment ; and a terriljle combat invariably ensues, which terminates only with the death of
the lord of the rock, or the compulsory retreat of tlie intruder.
But a family never -^_^-
seizes upon a larger
tract than it absol-
utely requires, and
lives peaceably with
neighbouring famil-
ies, from which it is
seldom separated by
a greater interval
than forty or fifty
paces. If compelled
by necessity, they
will even live on
amicable terms at
much closer quarters.
Three or four families
will share a rock, a
cavern, or an ice-fioe ;
but each occupies the "^ =Ei ^■^^^^-'^
place allotted to it at " ^^ ,^ ^^=^.=2^^^^^;.-^ ,^,.',^^^^^ The remarks we
the orieinal aiipor- have been making
S' J- 1 THE OTARV. °
tionment, and shuts ''^Pplj more particu-
larly to the common seal {Phoca vltulina), or small Spitzbergen seal, which measures from four
to five feet in length. The Greenland or harp seal {Phoca Grobnlandica), to which we have
already alluded, is larger and fatter, and is distinguished by the changes of colour it undergoes
before it reaches maturity. We have also sjioken of the bearded seal {Phoca barbata), which
sometimes attains a leng-th of ten feet, and is known, not only by its size, but its thick and strong
moustaches. The hooded seal {Stemmatopua cristatus) is distinguished by the globular and
expansible sac situated on the summit of the head of the males. This species grows to the
length of seven or eight feet, and inhabits the waters of Newfoundland and Greenland.
himself witJiin it, so
to speak, nor ever
meddles with indi-
viduals of another
family.
Our modern na-
turalists divide the
Phocidse into two
distinct orders : the
Phocce properly so
called, which have
no external ears, but
only an auditory ori-
fice on the surface of
the head ; and the
Otarice, which are
provided with exter-
nal organs.
76
AN ESKIMO HUT.
The value of tlio seal to the Eskimo tiiljus Avill host be understood tVoiu a desci-i|iti(jii of the
uses to wliicli various parts of the animal are applied in an Eskimo luit.
We will suppose -^=^ -^-~r
this hut to measure
about five or live and
a half feet in heio-]it,
and about ten feet
in diaineter. The
walls are made r)f ^{\
stones, moss, and
the bones of seals,
narwhals, whales, and
other ocean - crea-
tures. They are not
arched, but recede
inward gradually
from the foundation,
and are capped by
lono- oblontf slabs of
slate-stone extending
from side to side.
THE HOODED SEAL.
We enter ; the floor-
ing consi.sts of thin
Hat stones. At the
bark ]>art of the hut
the floor rises about
a toot, and this hreck,
as tlie elevation is
called, serves both as
couch and seat, being
covered with a thick
layer of dried moss
and gi'ass, under
Seal -skins, dog-skins,
and bear - skins.
Similar elevations
are }>laced at the
corners in front ;
under one of which
will lie, jjerhajis, a
litter of pups, with their mother, and under the otlier a poi'tion of seal's meat. In the square
front of the hut, above the passage-way, a window is inserted ; the light being admitted through
a square sheet of strips of dried intestines, sewed together. The entrance is in the floor, close to
the front wall, and is covered with a piece of seal-skin. Seal-skins are hung aliout the walls to
dry. At the edge of the hifcl:, on either side, sits a woman, each, busily engaged in attending to
a smoky lamp, fed with seal's (jil. These lamps are made of soapstnne, and in shape I'esemble a
clam-shell, being about eight inches in diameter. The cavity is filled with oil obtained from
seal's blubljer ; and on the straight edge the flame burns quite vividly, the wick which furnishes
it being made of moss. The business of the AVouieii is a])|)arently to prevent tlie lamjts from
smoking, and to kee]> tliem sujijilied \\\i\\ l)lubber, large pieces of which are placed in the cavity,
the heat drawing out the oil. About tliree inches above this flami' hangs, suspended from the
ceiling, an oblong scpiare jxit made of the same material as the lamj), in which a joint of seal is
simmering slowly. Above this hangs a I'ack, made oi' bare lib-lxnus, IxjiiikI togi.'ther crosswise,
on wliich stockings and mittens, and wirious g:irments made of seal-skin, ai'e laid to dry. No
other tire can be seen than that which the lanqis sup])ly, nor is any other needed. So many
persons are crowded into the conlined interior that it is insutl'erably hot, while tbe Asholc ])lace
reeks with the smell of seal-flesli, seal-oil, and seal-skin !
It is natural enough that we slmuld here introduci' an account of the Eskimo mode of
catching seals. The gi-eat season of the seal-hunt is the s]irlng, when the inotfensive pliocat
gambol and spoi't in the open wato'-ways near tin- coasts, oi- clambei' on the ice-floes to I'ujoy the
rays of the tardy sun. They are of a. waiy and timid disjiosition, and we may suppose that their
THE ESKIMO SEAL-HUNTEi:.
77
traditions have taught theia tu he iJii their guard against man ; Init as all their habits and ways
are well known to the Eskimo, they do not succeed in eluding his dexterous perseverance. . Some-
times the hunter attii'cs liimself in a seal-skin, and so exactly imitates their: appearance and
movements that he approaches within spear-range of them before the disguise is detected ; or else
he creeps into their haunts behind a white screen, which is propelled in front of him by. means. of
a sledge. As the season verges upon midsummer less precaution becomes necessary ; the eyes of
the seals being so congested by the fierce i-adiance of the sun that they are often nearly blind. • In
winter they are assailed while labouring at their breathing-holes, or when they rise for the pur-
pose of respiration.
If an Eskimo satisfies himself iliat a seal is working away Ijeneath the ice, he takes up his
station at the suspected jinint, and seldom ([uits it, hdwever severe the weather, until he has
captured the animal. To protect himself from the freezing blast, he throws up a snow-wall about
AN ESKIMO SEAL-HUXTEU.
four feet in height, and seating himself in its shade, he rests his spears, lines, and other appliances
on a number of little forked sticks inserted into the snow, in order that he may move them, when
wanted, without making the slightest noise. He carries his caution to such an excess, that he
even ties his own knees together with a thong to prevent his garments from rustling !. .
To discover whether the seal is still gnawing at the ice, our patient watcher makes use of
his keep-kuttuk ; a slender rod of bone, no thicker than ordinary I)ell-wire, cleverly rounded, with
a knob at one end and a shai'p jioint at the other.
This implement he thrusts into the ice, and the knol>, which remains above the surface,
informs him by its motion whether the animal is still engaged in making his hole ; if it does not
move, the attempt is given up in that place, and the hunter betakes himself elsewhere. When
he supposes the hole to be nearly completed, he stealthily raises his sjiear, and as soon as he can
hear the blowing of the seal, and knows therefore that the ice-crust is very thin, he drives it
into the unsusj^ecting animal w ith all his might ; and then hacks away with liis sharp-edged
78 ABOUT TUK WHALE.
knife, or jHtiina, the intervening- ice, .so as to repeat his hlows, and secure his victim. The iirittilc,
or Phoca hispichi, being- the smallest seal, is lield A\hile struggling, either by tlie hand, or
by a line one end of wliirh is twisted i-ound a spear driven into the ice. In the case of the
bearded seal, or o<juka, the line is coiled round the hunter's leg or arm; fir a walrus, round
his body, the feet being at the same time firmly planted against a hunmiock of ice, so ;is to
increase the ca25ability of resistance. A boy of fifteen can kill a neitiik, but the larger animals
can be mastered only l)y a robust and experienced adult.
We come now to speak of the Whale, which, in size, is the sovereign of the Arctic seas, ami
the grandest type of marine life.
Whales [Cetacca) are, as most persons now-a-days know, an order of aipiatic mannnals,
distinguislied by their fin-like anterior extremities, and by the peculiarity that the place of the
[losterior extremities is supplied by a large horizontal caudal fin, or tail ; while the cervical
bones are so compressed that the animal, externally at least, seems to have no neck.
The general form of the whale, notwithstanding its position among the Mammalia, is similar
to that of the fishes, and the horizontal elongation of the body, the smooth and rounded surface,
the gradual attenuation of the extremities of the trunk, and the magnitude of the fins and tail,
are specially adapted to easy and swift motion in the water. The arrangement of the bones
composing the anterior liinb is very curious. The whole of the fin consists of exactly the same
parts as those which we find in the human hand and arm ; Ijut they are so concealed beneath the
thick cutaneous or integumentary envelope, that not a trace of l)one is visible. In this respect an
intermediate organization is shown by the fore limbs of the seal.
The posterior extremity, in all the Cetacea, is either absolutely deficient, or else rudimentary.
If I'udimentary, its sole vestige consists of certain small bones, the imperfect representation of a
jielvis, suspended, as it -were, in the fiesh, and unconnected with the spinal colunm. Here we
may observe a remarkable dift'erence between the whale and the seal : in the lattei', as we have
seen, there is a short tail, and the posterior extremities perform the office <_if a true caudal fm ; in
the former this important organ of progressi(jn consists, to use Mr. Bell's words, of " an extremely
broad and powerful horizontal disc, vaiying in figure in the difterent genera, Imt in all con-
stituting the principal instrument of locomotion." In fishes the tail is set vertically, but in whales
horizontally ; and it has been well said that the admirable adaptation of such a peculiarity in its
position to the requirements of the animal forms a fresh and beautiful illustration of the infinite
resource and foresight of the Creative Wisdom.
Thus : the fishes, respiring only the air contained in the dense li(|uid medium in which they
live, require no access to the atmosphere ; and, therefore, their progression is chiefly confined to
the same region. But the whales, breathing atmospheric air, must necessarily come to the
surface for each respiration ; and hence they need a powerful instrument or lever, the position of
which shall apply its impulse in a vertical direction, so as to impel their colossal bulk from the
lowest depths of ocean to the surface every time the lungs require to receive a fresh supply of
atmospheric air. The greatest rai)idity of motion is effected by alternate strokes of the tail
against the water, u]iwards and downwards; i)ut the usual progression is accomplished by an
oblicjue lateral and downward impulse, first on one side and then on the other, just as a l)oat is
propelled by a man with a single oai' in tlie art of "sculling." The extent of the tail in some of
THE GREENLAND WHALE.
79
the larger species is really immense ; the superficies being no less than about a liundred squai-e
feet, and its breadth considerably exceeding twenty feet.
The connnon, right, or Greenland whale {Balcena mysticetus) has been, for centuries, the
object of man's systematic pursuit, on accnunt of its valualjle oil and scarcely less valualjle
baleen.
This whale seldom exceeds fifty to sixty feet in length, or tliirty to forty in girtli, and, there-
fore, is by no means the head of its ftmiily. As in other species, the 1;)ody is thick and Imlky
foi'wards, largest about the middle, and tapers suddenly towards the tail. The head is colossal ;
broad, flat, and rounded beneath, and narrow above ; it fomis about a third of the animal's entire
length, and is about ten or twelve feet broad. Its lips — such li])s ! — are five or six feet thick.
They do not cover any teeth, but they protect a pair of very formidable jaws. The cavernous
THE GREENLAND WHALE.
interior of the mouth is fiUud up witli two series of wlialebone lamina-, aixiut three IuukUviI m
each, which rerpiire particular description. The whalebone, or baleen, as it is called, consists of
numerous parallel plates, layers, or laminre, each of A\hicli is formed of a central coai'se fibrous
layer lying between two that are compact and externally polished. But this outer jiart does
not completely cover the inner ; a kind of edge is exposed, and this edge terminates in a loose
fringed or fibrous extremity. Moreover, at the base of each plate of baleen lies a conical cavity,
covering a pulp which corresponds with it ; and this pulp is sunk within the substance of the gum
or buccal membrane stretched over the palate and upper jaw.
The compact outer layers of the baleen plate are continuous with a w bite horny layer of the
gum, wliieb passes on to the surface of each plate ; and the pul]i may be regarded, therefore, as
the secreting organ of the internal coarse structure only. The filaments of the fringe are
exceedingly numerous, and so fill up the mouth-cavity as to form a very efficient and ingenious
sieve or strainer; and as the esophagus, or "swallow," of the whale is so confined as to be
unable to admit of the passage even of the smaller fish, and the food of the whale consequently
80 THE NORTHERN i;()U(,»ljAL.
is limited to minute organisms, such as the medusre, this skilfully devised construction is abso-
lutely requisite in order to retain the whole of those which are taken into the mouth.
The mode in which the whale feeds uiay be thus described : —
The broad waters of the Arctic seas teem with innumerable shoals of molluscous, radiate,
and crustaceous animals, and these are frequently so numerous as absolutely to colour the wave-
surface.
When a whale, therefore, desires food, it opens its colossal mouth, and a host of these
organisms is, as it were, swept up by the great expanse of the lower jaw : as the mouth closes,
the water is ejected, and the life it contained is imprisoned by the appliance we have attenrjited
to describe.
If we consider the number of whales found in the Northern seas, and the mighty bulk of
each individual, our imagination entirely fails to appreciate the countless myriads of minute
organisms which must be sacrificed to their due nourishment.
One of the principal products of the Greenland whale is its baleen, or whalebone, with the
domestic uses of which our readers will be familiar ; but the large quantities of oil wliich it yields
are still more valuable. A whale sixty feet in length will supply fully twenty tons of pure oil.
Besides the common whale, our hunters find in the seas of the North the razor-backed
whale, or northern rorcjual [Balamoptera pliysalis), characterized by the prominent ridge
which extends along its mighty back. This mon.ster of the deep attains a length, it is said, of
one hundred feet, and measures from thirty to thirty-five feet in circumference. But its yield of
oil and baleen is less than that of the right or Greenland whale, and as its capture is a task of
difficulty and danger, the whalers seldom attack it. In its movements it is more rapid and
restless, and when harpooned it frequently j^lunges downward witli such force and velocity as to
break the line. In several respects it difi:ers from the Greenland species ; and particularly in the
nature of its food, for it feeds upon fishes of considerable size.
Some of our naturalists affirm that several species of rorquals exist in the Arctic seas ; and
the pike whale, so called from the resemblance of its mouth to that of a jjike, is frequently
described as an independent species. Others, however, are of opinion that the pike is simply the
young of the monster we have been describing. The rorqual is very voracious, and preys
exten.sive]y upon fishes ; as many as six hundred cod, to say nothing of smaller " fry," having
been found in the stomach t)f a single individual.
While the Greenland wbale is being rapidly driven back into the icy wildernesses beyond
Behring Strait, on the west, and the creeks and gulfs beyond Baffin Bay, on the east, the
rorquals, including the Bahviioptem rostratus (or beaked wliale), Bakenoptera musculus, and
Bakrnojjfera hoops, still frequent the open waters, — their pursuit being, as we have shown, more
difficult and less profitable. They are generally found in attendance on the herring-shoals, of
which they ai'e the assiduous and destructive enemies. Ofi" Greenland, Spitzbergen, and Novaia
Zendaia tlu^y are found in considerable numbers.
()urwliaIors go forth every year in well-provided ships, and supplied with tb(> best and
most foi-niidable weapons which scientific ingenuity can devise. Still they find the enterprise
one of peril iiiid liardship, and it is universally recognized as reipiiring in those who embark in
it no ordinary powei's of eu(hirance, as well as courage, patience, and perseverance. Yet the
Asiatic \\\A American trilx's do not fear to confront the oceandeviathan with the simplest of
WHAJ.E-FISHERY IX THE NORTHERN WATERS. 81
arms. The Aletit embarks in liis little iskiti', or hf(i<lnr, and catching sight of his pre}', stealthily
approaches it from behind until he nearly reaches the monster's head. Then he suddenly and
dexterously drives his short spear into the huge flank, just under the fore fin, and retreats as
swiftly as his well-plied oars can carry him. If the spear has sunk into the flesh, the whale is
doomed ; within the next two or three days it will perish, and the currents and the waves \\\\\
hurl the vast bulk on the nearest shore, to be claimed l)y its gallant conqueror. And as each
spear bears its owner's peculiar mark, the claim is never disputed.
Uccasionally the baidar docs not escape in time, and the exasperated leviathan, furiously
lashing the waters with its tail, hurls the frail boat high up into the air, as if it were a reed, or
sinks it with one crushinsf blow. No wonder that those of their race who undertake so hazardous
a calling are held in high repute among the Aleuts. To sally forth alone, and encounter the
whale in the icy waters of the Polar Sea, is a task demanding the utmost intrepidity and the
utmost tranquillity of nerve.
Many of the whales thus daringly harpooned are lost. It is on record that, in the simnner
of 1831, one hundred and eighteen whales were struck near Kadjack, and of these only forty-
three were found. The others either drifted to tar-ofl' shores and lonely unknown isles, or became
the prey of sharks and ocean-birds. Wrangell states that of late years the Russians have intro-
duced the use of the harpoon, and engaged some English harpooneers to teach the Alelits the
secret of their craft ; and, therefore, the older and more hazardous method, which the Aleuts had
learned from their forefathers, will soon be a thing of the pa.st.
The Eskimos devote the month of August to the whale-fishery, and for this purpose they
assemble in companies, and plant a colony of huts on some bold headland of the Polar coast,
where the water is of depth sufficient to float their destined victim.
As soon as a whale's colossal bulk is seen outstretched on the water, a dozen kayaks or more
cautiously paddle up in the rear, until one of them, shooting ahead, comes near enough on one
side for the men to drive the spear into its flesh with all the force of both arms. To the sj^ear
are attached an inflated seal-skin and a lonof coil of thono-. The whale dives immediately it is
stricken. After awhile it reappears, and the signal being given by the floating seal-skin buoy, all
the canoes again paddle towards their prey. Again the opportunity is seized for launching the
fatal spears ; and this process is repeated until the exhausted whale rises more and more fre-
quently to the surface, is finally killed, and towed ashore.
Captain M'Clure fell in with an Eskimo tribe ofl" Cape Bathurst which hunted the whale in
this primitive fashion, but the females, as well as the men, engaged in the pursuit. An omcdak,
or woman's boat, he says, is " manned by ladies," having as harpooneer a chosen man of the tribe;
and a shoal of small fry, in the form of kaijals, or single-men canoes, are in attendance. The
harpooneer singles out "a fish," drives into its flesh his weapon, to which an inflated seal-skin is
attached by means of a walrus-hide thong. The wounded fish is then incessantly harassed by the
men in the kayacks with weapons of a similar description ; and a number of these, driven into
the unfortunate whale, baftle its eflbrts to escape, and wear out its strength, until, in the course
of a day, it dies from exhaustion and loss of blood.
Sherard Osborn tells us that the harpooneer, when successful, becomes a very great personage
indeed, and is invariably decorated with the Eskimo order of the Blue Ribbon ; that is, a blue
82 ABOUT THE NAinVHAL.
line is drawn across Ids face over the bridge of his nose. This is tlie liighest honour known to
the heroes of Cape Bathurst ; but it carries along with it the privilege of the decorated individual
being allowed to take unto himself a second wife !
In the waters of Novaia Zcmlaia, (Ireeidand, and Spitzbergen is found the narwlial, or sea
unicorn {MouodoiL moiioceros), which was at one time tlie theme of so many extravagant legends.
It Ijelongs to the C'etacea, l.iut diliers from the whale in having no teeth, properly so called, and
in being armed with a formidabjt.' liorn, ])r()jecting straight forward from the upper jaw, in a
direct line witli the l)ody. This horn, or tusk, the use of wliich has not been satisfactorily ascer-
tained, is harder and whiter than ivory, s[)irally striated from base to point, tapers throughout, and
measures from six to ten feet in length. ]\Ir. Bell remarks that it would be a strange anomaly
NARWHALS, MALE ANMl FEMALK.
if the apparent singleness of this \veapon were real. In truth, liutJi teeth are invarialily found
in the jaw, not only of the male, l)ut of the female also; l>ut in ordinary (though not in all) cases
one only, and tliis in the male, is fully develojicd, the other remaining in a rudimentary condition
— even as botli do in the female.
The narwlial, from mouth to tail, is al)out twenty feet long, though individuals measuring
thirty feet are sometimes met with. Its head is short, and the upper part convex; its nmuth
small ; its spiracle, or res^iiratory vent, duplicate within ; its tongue long ; tlie pectoral fins small,
'^llie back, whicli is convex and rather 'wide, lias no fins, and sliarpens gradually towards tlie tail,
whicli, as in other (A'tacea, is horizontal. The foo<l of the narwhal, whose hal>its are remarkably
liacific, consists of medusa', the smaller kinds of flat fish, and other marine animals.
A striking spectacle whicli frequently greets the eye of the voyager in t]>e Arctic seas is that
of a shoal of doljthins ganibolling and leajiing, as if in tlie very heyday of enjoyment. The
beluga., sometimes called the vliite whale (/A/yA/^H.s' U/itcus), attracts attentii>ii by tlie dazzling
whiteness of its body and the swiilness of its mo\ements. It frecpieiits the esLuai'ies of the Ubi
THE BLACK DOLPHIN.
83
and the Irtish, tlie Arackun/iu and the Cuppermiiie, wliicli it sometimes ascends to a considerable
distance in pursuit of the sahnon. Its length varies i'i<iui twelve to twenty feet; it has no dorsal
fin; and its head is round, with a bmad truncated snout.
The Ijlack dolphin {< •lnhici'iiliiiltis <jlubiiy'iK-;) is also an inlialiitant of the Polar seas, both
beyond Behring- Strait, and between Greenland and Sj)itzbLrii;en. It is, however, frequently
met with in Avatoi's furtlu'r soutb. Its leng-th averages about twenty-four feet, and its circumfer-
■illoAL iiF DliM'ill.N.S.
ence ten feet. Its smooth oil}' skin is bluish-black on the upjicr, and an obscure white on the
lower, parts of the bodv. Twenty-two or twenty-four strong interlocking teeth in each jaw form
its formidable apparatus of offence and defence ; its dorsal fin is about fifteen inches high ; its tail
five feet broad; the pectoral fins are long and narrow, and well adapted to assist their owner in
its rapid movements. It consorts with its kind in herds of several hundreds, under the guidance
of some old and wary males, whom the rest follow as docilely as a fiock of sheep their bell-wether ;
hence the Shetlanders term it the " ca'ing whale." Large shoals are frequently stranded on the
shores of Norway, Iceland, and the (Jrkney, Faroe, and Shetland Isles, furnishing the inhabitants
with a welcome bootv.
To the same latitudes belong the ferocious ore or gi'ampus [Dvlpliinus orca), the tiger of tlie
seas, which not only attacks the p<:)ri)oise and dolphin, but even tlic colossal whale. Its broad
deep body is black above and white beneath ; the sides are marbled with black and white. There
are thirty teeth in each jaw, those in front being blunt, round, and slender, while those behind are
sharp and thick ; and between each is a space fitted to recei\e those of the opposite jaw when the
84
TiTE roi.Ai; r.E.vn.
month is cl(j.sed. The hack fin of thi' grampus is of gTuat size ; souietimes measuring as much as
six feet in lengtli, from the base to the tip. 'J'he grampus generally voyages in small squadrons
of four or five individuals, i'nlldwing each <_itlier in single file, and alternately rising and sinking- in
such a manner as to resendile the uudulatory motions of a huge kraken or sea-serpent.
Among the inhabitants of the Polar Ocean must certainly he included tlie Polar bear
(T/idlas.'iarctos iiuirUiiniu^), since it swims and dives with great dexterity, and, moreover, is often
found on the drifting ice-iloes at a distance of eighty to one hundred miles from land. It is a
creature of great strength, great fierceness, and great courage, though we may not accept the
exaffuferated accounts of it which eidiven the narratives of the earlier voyagers.
A noble creature is the Polar bear, says Sherard t)sb<.)rn, whether we speak of him by the
FOLAK HEARS.
learned titles of " lirsus maritinuis," " Thalassarctos maritimus," or the sailors' more expressive
nomenclature of "Jack Rough 1" With all her many W()nders, continues this lively writer, never
did Nature create a creature more admiraljly adapted to the life it has to lead. Half fiesli. half
fish, the seaman wandering in the inhospitable regions of the North cannot but be sti'uc-I< with
the appearance of latent energy and power its every action attests, as it rolls in a lithe and swag-
gering way over the rough surface of the frozen sea; or, during the brief Ai'ctic sununer, haunts
the broken and treacherous "pack" in search of its prey.
When not too loaded with fat — and it seems to fatten readily — the pace of the bear is leisurely
and easy, yet at its slowest it is eijual to that of a g-ood pedestrian ; and when alarmed or irritated,
its speed is surprising, though not graceful, (hi level ice, it flings itself ahead, as it were, by a
violent jerking motion of the powerful fore jiaws, in what has been described as an '"ungainly
gallop;" but it always makes, when it ran, ibi' rough ice, where its strength and agility are best
BEAR AND SEAL. , 85
displayed, and where neither man nor dog can overtake it. In the Queen's Channel, during
Captain M'Clure's expedition, more than one bear was seen making its way over hroken-np ice,
rugged and precipitous as the mind can picture, with a truly wonderful facility ; their powerful
fore paws and hind legs enabling them to spring from piece to piece, scaling one fragment and
sliding do\vn another with the activity of a huge quadrumane rather than that of a quadruped.
Evidently it is conscious of its superiority in such rough and perilous ground, and is generally
found at the edge of the belts of hummocks or broken ice which intersect most ice-fields, or else
amongst the frozen pack-ice of channels such as Barrow's and the Queen's.
There is, however, another reason why bears keep among hummocks and pack-ice — namely,
that near such spots water usually tirst makes its appearance in the summer. Seals, consequently,
are most numerous there ; while the inequalities of the floe afford shelter to the bears in approach-
ing their prey. During summer the colour of the Polar bear is of a dull yellowish hue, closely
resembling that of decaying snow or ice. The fur is then thin, and the hair on the soles of their
feet almost wholly rubbed off", as with the other animals of Arctic climes ; but in the autumn,
when the body has recovered from the privations of the previous winter, and a thick coating of
blubber overlays his carcass to meet the e.Kigencies of another season of scanty fare, the feet, as
the season advances, are beautifully incased and feathered with hair, and the animal's colour
usually turns to a very pale straw, which, from particular points of view, as the light strikes it,
looks white, or nearly so. The nose and li})s are of a jetty black ; the eyes vary in coLjiir. Brown
is common, but some have been seen with eyes (jf a pale gray. Their sense of smell is peculiarly
acute, facilitated no doubt by the peculiar manner in which the pure keen air of the North carries
scent to very considerable distances.
Sherard Osboru states that bears have been seen to follow up a scent, exactly as dogs would
do; and the floes about Lowther Island, in 1851, looked as if the bears had quartered there in
search of seals, after the fashion of a pointer in the green fields of England. The snorting noise
which they make as they ajiproach near indicates how much more confidence they j^lace in their
scent than in their vision ; though both, when the hunter is concerned, are apt to deceive them.
The Polar bear attains to very formidable proportions ; but Avhen seamen sjjeak of monsters
fifteen feet in length, their auditors may be excused for withholding their belief. Ten feet would
seem to be a maximum ; and the bear need be large, strong, and muscular to master the large
Arctic seal, especially the saddle-back and bladder-nose species. For though it swims well and
dives well, it neither swims nor dives as well as the seal, and would therefore have but little
chance of obtaining a sufficient livelihood if it could not attack and ca]:)ture its victim on the
ice-floes.
The seal, on the other hand, fully aware of its danger, and of the only means of escaping
from it, always keeps close to the water, whether it be the hole it has gnawed and broken through
the ice, or the open sea at the floe edge.
And when it lies basking on the floating ice, and apparently apathetic and lethargic, nothing
can exceed its vigilance. With its magnificent eyes it is able to sweep a wide range of the
horizon, however slightly it turns its head ; its keenness of hearing adds to its security. There is
something peculiarly striking in its continuous watchfulness. Now it raises its head and looks
around ; now it is intent on the slightest sound that travels over the crisp surface of the ice ; now
it gazes and listens down its hole, a needful precaution against so subtle a hunter as old Bruin .'
86
'MANY A SLll'."
It would seem imjiossiljle to surpi-iso an animal so vigilant and so \vary ; and, indued, in eircum-
venting its [>rey the bear e.vhiliits an astuteness and a skill wliii-li overpass the bounds of instinct,
and ajij^roaeh elosely to those (tf reas(.)n.
From its scent and by its (juick strong vision the bear apprehends the position of the seal.
Then it tlirows itself }iroiie upon the ice, and jiroHting by inequalities which are invisible to human
eyes, gradually steals upon its destined vi(_-tim l)y a soft and scai'cely perceptible movement of the
hind feet. To hide its lilack muzzle, it constantly uses its foi'e feet; and thus, only the dingy-
white of its coat being visible, it is scarcely to be distinguished from the general mass of the floe.
Patiently it draws nearer an<l nearer; the srul, mistaking it for one of its own congeners, or else
yielding to a fatal curiosity, delaying until its
assailant, with one spring, is ujion it.
Yet, as the old adage says, there is many a
slip ; and even in these circumstances the bear
does not always secure its feast. It is disap-
pointed sometimes just as the jirey seems with-
in its grasp ; and how keen the (.lisappointment
is can be appreciated only, we are told, by hapless
Arctic travellers, " who have been hours crawling
up. dreaming of delicious seal's fry and overflow-
ing I'uel l)ags, and seen the ]»rey pop down a hole
when within a hundred yards of it." The great
muscular power of the seal frequently enables
it to fling itself into tlie water in spite of the
bear's efforts to hold it on the floe ; Bruin, how-
e\er, retains his grip, for his diving powers are
iR>t much inferior to tlmse of the seal, and down
they go together ! Sometimes the bear proves
victorious, owing to mortal injuries inflicted ujion
the seal before it reaches the water ; sometimes
it may be seen reappearing at another hole in the
floe, or clambering up another loose piece of
ice, apparently nuicli mortified by its want of
success.
As we liave said, the bear dives well, and is nearly as nuich at home in the water as
upon the ice. If it catches sight of a seal U[)on a drifting floe, it will slide quietly into the
sea, swim with only the tip of its nose al)ove the watei', and, diving under the floe, reach
the very spot which the hajiless seal has regarded as an oasis of safety. It is this stratagem
of its enemy wliirh has taught the seal to watch its hoh' so warily. Even on extensive ice-
fields fast to tlie land, where the bear cannot conceal its approach by taking advantage of
hunnnocks or other meipialitii's, the seal is not safe; for thvn Bruin dro|)s down a hole, and
swims along undei' the it-e-crust until it reaches the one where the poor seal is all unwittingly
enjoying its last rays of sunshln(\
The l)ear's season of [ileiity begins with the coming of the spring. In February and ^larch
BEAR CATCIIINU A SEAL.
ABOUT THE BEAR. 87
the .seal is oiviug- birtli to Iier young, who are born blind and helplesR, and for ten days are unable
to take to the water. The poor mothers use every effort to protect them, Ijut, in s{>ite of tlieir
affectionate exertions, a perfect massacre of the innocents takes place, in which, not improbably,
the Arctic wolf is not less guilty than the Arctic bear.
Voracity, however, frequently proves its own Nemesis, and the bear, in its eager pursuit of
prey, often involves itself in serious disaster. The seal instinctively breeds as close as possible
to the open water. But the ice-floes, during the early equinoctial gales, will sometimes break up
and drift away in the form of pack-ice ; a matter of indifference, says Osborn, to the seal, but a
question of life and death to the bear. Borne afar on tlieir little islets of ice, rocked by tem-
pestuous waters, buftetetl by icy gales, numbers of these castaways are lost along the whole area
of the Polar Sea. It is said that when the gales blow down from the north, bears are some-
times stranded in such numbers on the .shores of Iceland as to endanger the safety of the flocks
and herds of the Icelandic peasants ; and they have been known to reach the coasts of Norway.
Bears drifting about at a considerable distance from the land are often enough seen by the
whalers. They have been discovered fully sixty miles from shore, in Davis Strait, without any
ice in sio-ht, and utterly exhausted by long swimming. It is thus that Nature checks their too
rapid increase ; for beyond the possibility of the wolf hunting it in packs and destroying the cubs,
there seems no other limitation of their numbers. The Eskimos are too few, and too badly pro-
vided with weapons, to slaughter them very extensively. "Wherever seals abound, so do bears ;
in Barrow Strait and in the Queen's Channel they have been seen in very numerous troops. The
Danes assert that they are plentiful about the northern settlement of Upernavik in Greenland,
for nine months in the year ; and from the united testimony of the natives inhabiting the north-
eastern portion of Baffin Bay, and that of Dr. Kane, wlio wintered in Smith Sound, it is
evident that they are plentiful about the polyiiias, or open pools, formed there by the action of
the tides.
In the summer months, when the bear is loaded with fat, it is easily hunted down, for then
it can neither move swiftly nor run long; but in deep winter its voracity and its great strength
render it a formidable enemy to uncivilized and unarmed man. Usually it avoids coming into
contact with our British seamen, though instances are on record of fiei-cely contested engagements,
in which Bruin has with difficulty been defeated.
It is folly, says Sherard Osborn, to talk ijf the Pt)lar bear hibernating : whatever bears
may do on the American continent, there is only one Arctic navigator who ever saw a bear's
nest ! Bears were seen at all points visited by our sailors in the course of M'Clure's expedition ;
at all times and in all temperatures ; males or females, and sometimes females with their cubs.
In niid-winter, as well as in mid-sunnuer, they evidently frequented spots where tides or currents
occasioned either water to constantly exist, or only allowed such a thin coating of ice to form that
the seal or Avalrus could easily break through.
That the Polar bear does not willingly attack man, except when hotly pursued or when suf-
fering from extreme want, is asserted by several good authorities, and confirmed by an experience
which Dr. Hayes relates. He was strolling one day along the shore, and observing with much
interest the effect of the recent spring-tides upon the ice-foot, when, rounding a point of land, he
suddenly found himself confronted in the full moonlight by an enormous bear. It had just
sprung down from the land-ice, and met Dr. Hayes at full trot, so that they caught sight of each
88
A VORACIOUS INTKUDER.
otliL'i', man and brute, at the same m(jment. Being without a ritle or otlier means of defence, Dr.
Hayes suddenly wheeled towards his ship, with much the same reflections, probably, about dis-
cretion and valour as occurred tu old Jack Falstatf when the Douglas set u}>on him; but discover-
ing, after a few lengihy strides, that he was not "gobbled ujj," he looked back over his shoulder,
when, to his gratification as well as surj^rise, he saw the bear speeding towards the open water
with a celerity which left no doubt as to the state of its mind. It would be difficult to determine
which, on this occasion, was the more frightened, the bear- or Dr. Hayes !
A curi(jus illustration of the condjined voracity and epicureanism of Bruin is recorded by Dr.
Kane. A cache, or depot of provisifins, which had been constructed by one of his exploring
parties with great care, and was intended to supply them with stores on their return journey,
they found completely destroyed. It had been built, with every possible precaution, of rocks
brought together by heavy labour, and adjusted in the most skilful manner. So far as the
means of the builders permitted, the entire construction was most eftective and resisting. Yet
these "tigers of the
ice " seemed to have
scarcely encountered
an obstacle. Not a
morsel of ]iemniican
(preserved meat) re-
mained, except in tlie
iron cases, which,
being round, with
conical ends, defied
both claw and teeth.
These they had rolled
and pawed in every
direction, — tossinu;
them about like foot-
balls, although up-
wards of eighty
pounds in weight.
An alcohol - case,
strongly iron-bound,
was dashed into small
fragments ; and a tin
can of liquor twisted
almost into a ball.
The bears' strong-
claws had perforated
the metal, and torn
it up as with a chisel.
But the burglars were too dainty foi- salt meats. For gi'ound cofi'ee they had evidently a
relish ; old canvas was also a favourite, — dc ijustihus non est disputandam ; even the flag which
had been reared " to take possession " of the icy wilderness, was gnawed down to the very
staft'. It seemed that the bears had enjoyed a regular frolic ; rolling the bread-barrels over the
ice-foot and into tlie broken outside ice ; and finding themselves unable to masticate the heavy
India-rubber cloth, they had amused tliemselves by tying it up in unimaginable hard knots.
HEAUS DESTROYING A CACHE.
The she-bear displays a- strong affection for her young, which she will not desert even in the
exti'emity of peril. The explorer already quoted furnishes an interesting narrative of a pursuit
of mother and cub, in whicli the former's maternal qualities were touchingly exhibited.
On the appearance of the lauiting party and tlieir dogs, the bear fled ; but the little one
being unable either to kee]) ahead of the dogs or to maintain the same rate of speed as its
mother, the latter turned ba</k, and, putting her liead under its Iiaunches, tlu'ew it some distance
forward. 'I'lie cub being thus safe for the moment, she \\ould wheel round and face the dogs, so
as to give it a chance to iiui away; but it always stopped where it had alighted, until its mother
THE BEAR'S 31ATEUNAL AFFECTION. 91
came up, and gave it anotlier forward impulse ; it seemed to expect her aid, and would not go forward
without it. Sometimes the mother would run a few yards in advance, as if to coax her cub up to
her, and when the dogs ajiproached she would turn fiercely upon them, and drive them back.
Then, as they dodged her blows, she would rejoin tlie cub, and push it on, — sometimes putting
her head under it, sometimes seizing it in her moutli by the nape of its neck.
For some time she conducted her retreat with equal skill and celerity, leaving the two
hunters far in the rear. Tliey had sighted her on the land-ice ; but she led the dogs in-shore, up
a small stony valley which penetrated into the interior. After going a mile and a half, however,
her pace slackened, and, the little one being spent, she soon came to a halt, evidently determined
not to desert it.
At this moment the men were only half a mile behind ; and, running at full speed, they soon
reached the spot wliere the dogs were holding her at bay. The fight then grew desperate. The
mother never moved more than two yards ahead, constantly and affectionately looking at her
cub. When the dogs drew near, she sat upon her haunches, and taking the little one between
her hind legs, she fought her assailants with her paws, roaring so loudly that she could have
been heard a mile off. She would stretch her neck and snap desperately at the nearest dog
with her shining teeth, whirling her paws like the sails of a windmill. If she missed her aim, not
daring to pursue one dog lest the others should pounce upon her cub, she uttered a deep howl of
baffled rage, and on she went, pawing and snapping, and facing the ring, grinning at them with
wide-opened jaws.
When the hunters came up, the little one apparently had recovered its strength a little, for
it was able to turn round with its dam, however quickly she moved, so as always to keep in
front of her belly. Meantime the dogs were actively jumping about the she-bear, tormenting her
lilce so many gadflies ; indeed, it was difflcult to fire at her without running the risk of killing the
dogs. But Hans, one of the hunters, resting on his elbow, took a quiet, steady aim, and shot
her through the head. She dropped at once, and rolled over dead, without moving a muscle.
Immediately the dogs sprang towards her; but the culi juni])ed upon her body and reai'ed
up, for the first time growling hoarsely. They seemed quite afraid of the little creature, she
fought so actively, and made so nuich noise ; and, while tearing mouthfuls of hair from the dead
mother, they would spring aside the minute the cub turned towards them. The men drove the
dogs oft* for a time, but were compelled to shoot the cub at last, as she would not quit the I )ody.
A still more stirring episode is recorded by Dr. Kane, which will fitly conclude our account
of the Polar bear.
" Nannook ! nannooh!" (A l)ea.r ! a bear!) With this welcome shout, Hans and ]Morton,
two of his attendants, roused Dr. Kane one fine Saturday morning.
To the scandal of his domestic regulations, the guns were all impracticable. While the men
were loading and capping anew, ]^r. Kane seized his pillow-companion six-shooter, and ran on
deck, to discover a medium-sized bear, with a four-months' cub, in active warfare with the dogs.
They Avere hanging on her skirts, and she, with remarkable alertness, was picking out one victim
after anotlier, snatching him by the nape of the neck, and flinging him many feet, or rather yards,
by a scarcely perceptible movement of her head.
Tudea, the best dog, was already hofs Jc combat ; he had been tossed twice. Jenny, another
92 A BATTLE WITH A BEAE.
of tlie pack, made an extraordiuaiy somerset uf nearly fifty feet, and alighted senseless. Old
Whitey, a veteran cunibatant, stanch, but nut " bear- wise," had been foremost in the battle;
soon lie lay yelping-, helplessly, on the snow.
It seemed as if the Ijattle were at an end ; and uannooh certainly thought so, for she turned
aside to tlie beef-barrels, and began with the utmost composure to turn them over, and nose out
their fatness. A bear more innocent of fear does not figure in the old, old stories of Barents
and the Spitzbergen explorers.
Dr. Kane now lodged a pistol-ball in the side of the cub. At once the mother placed her
little one between her hind legs, and, sho^dng it along, made her way to the rear of the store or
" beef-house." As she went she received a rifle-.shot, but scarcely seemed to notice it. By the
unaided efforts of her fore arms she tore down the barrels of frozen beef ^^'hi(•h made the triple
walls of the storediousv, mounted the rubbish, and snatching up a half barrel of herrings, carried
it down in her teeth, and prepared to slip away. It was obviously time to arrest her movements.
Going up within half [listol-range. Dr. Kane gave her six l;>uck-sliot. She dropped, but instantly
rose, and getting her cub into its former j)0siti()n, away she sped I
And this time she would undoubtedly have effected her escape, but for tlie admirable tactics
of Dr. Kane's canine Eskimo allies. The Smith Sound dogs, he says, are educated more
thoroughly than any of their more southern l:»rethren. Next to the seal and the walrus, the
bear supplies the sta}>le diet of the tribes of the North, and, except the fox, furnishes the most
important element of their wardrolie. Unlike the dogs Dr. Kane had brou^iit with him from
Baffin Bay, tlie Smith Sound dogs were trained, not to attack, l)ut to embarrass. They
revolved in circles round the perplexed liear, and wlien pursued would keep ahead with regulated
gait, their comrades accomplishing a diversion at the critical moment liy a nip at the nanuook's
hind-quarters. This was done in the most systematic manner possible, and with a truly wonder-
ful composure. " I have seen bear-dogs elsewdiere," says Dr. Kane, " that had been drilled to
relieve each other in the melei', and avoid the direct assault ; but here, two dogs, without even a
demonstrati()n of attack, would |)ut themselves before the })ath of the animal, and retreating right
and left, lead him into a profitless jiursuit that checked his advance completely."
The unfortunate animal was still fighting, and still retreating, embarrassed by the dogs, yet
affectionately cari-ying along her wounded cub, and tliough wounded, Ideeding, and fatigued,
gaining ground upon her pursuers, when Hans and Dr. Kane secured the victory, such as it was,
for their own side, by delivering a coujile of rifle-balls. She staggered in front of her young one,
confronted her assailants in death-like defiance, a-ncl did not sink until pierced by six more
bullets.
When her b(_)dy was skinned, no fewer than nine balls were discoveretl. She proved to be
of medium size, very lean, and without a. jiarticle of food in her stomach. Hunger, probably, had
stimulated her courage to desiieration. The net weight of the cleansed carcass was 300 pounds ;
that of the entire animal, (ifjO pounds ; her length, only 7 feet 8 inches.
It is said tliat liears in tins li^-iii condition arc more palatablr and w Imlcsomc^ tliaii when flit ;
and that tlu; inipi-cgnation of fatty oil tlirono'li tlie cdlnlar tissues makes a. well-fed hear nearly
uneatable. The llesli of a famished beast, though less nutritious as body fuel or as a stimulating
diet, is rather sweet and tender than otherN\ise. J/aral : starve your bear In-fore vou eat him I
The little cub was larger than the ipialifying adjectixe would inijily. She was taller than
ESKIMO DOGS AND POLAR BEARS. 93
a dot)-, and her weight 114 lbs. She sprang upon the corpse of her skiughtered mother, and rent
the air with woful lamentations. All efforts to noose her she repelled with singular ferocity ;
but at last, being completely muzzled with a line fastened by a ruiuiing knot between her jaws
and the back of her head, she was dragged- off to the brig amid the uproar of the dogs.
Dr. Kane asserts that during this fight, and the compulsory somersets which it involved,
not a dog suffered seriously. He expected, from his knowledge of the hugging propensity of the
plantigrades, that the animal would rear, or if she did not rear, would at least use her fore arms ;
but she invariably seized the dogs with her teeth, and after disposing of them for a time, refrained
from following up her advantage, — probably because she had her cub to take care of. The
Eskimos state that this is the habit of the hunted bear. (3ne of the Smith Sound dogs made no
exertion whatever when he was seized, but allowed himself to be flung, with all his muscles
relaxed, a really fearful distance ; the next instant he rose and renewed the attack. According
to the Eskimos, the dogs soon learn this " possum-playing " habit.
It would seem that the higher the latitude, the more ferocious the bear, or that he increases
in ferocity as he recedes from the usual hunting-fields.
At Oominak, one winter day, an Eskimo and his son were nearly killed by a bear that had
housed himself in an iceberg. They attacked him with the lance, but he boldly turned on them,
and handled them severely before they could make their escape.
The continued hostility of man, however, has had, in Dr. Kane's opinion, a modifying
influence upon the ursine character in South Greenland ; at all events, the bears of that region
never attack, and even in self-defence seldom inflict injury upon, the hunters. Many instances
have occurred where they have defended themselves, and even charged after having been
wounded, but in none of them was life lost.
A stout Eskimo, an assistant to a Danish cooper of Upernavik, fired at a she-bear, and the
animal closed at the instant of receiving the ball. The man had the presence of mind to fling
himself prone on the ground, extending his arm to protect his head, and afterwards lying perfectly
motionless. The beast was deceived. She gave the arm a l)ite or two, but finding her enemy
did not stir, she retired a few paces, and sat upon her haunches to watch. But her watch was
not as wary as it should have been, for the hunter dexterously reloaded his rifle, and slew her
with the second shot.
It has been pointed out that in approaching the bear the hunters should take advantage of
the cover afforded by the inequalities of the frozen surface, such as its ridges and hillocks. These
vary in height, from ten feet to a hundred, and frequently are packed so closely together as to
leave scarcely a yard of level surface. It is in such a region that the Polar bear exhibits his
utmost speed, and in such a region his pursuit is attended with no slight difiiculty.
And after the day's labour comes the night's rest ; but what a night ! We know what night
is in these temperate climes, or in the genial southern lands ; a night of stars, with a deep blue
sky overspreading the happy earth like a dome of sapjjhire : a night of brightness and serene
glory, when the moon is high in the heaven, and its soft radiance seems to touch tree and stream,
hill and vale, with a tint of silver ; a night of storm, when the clouds hang low and heavily,
and tlie rain descends, and a wailing rushing wind loses itself in the recesses of the shuddering
94
'JIIK ARCTIC NIGHT.
wlkkIs ; wf kiiuw Mliiit iiinlit is, in tlieso temperate ret^'ions, under all its various aspects, — now
mild and I)eautit'ul, now ^-loomv and sad, now o-rand and temjiestuous ; the lono- dark night of
winter Avith its frosty airs, and its drooping shadows thrown hack hy the dead surface of the
snow ; the brief bright night of sunnner, \\iiich foi'ms so slnirt a pause between the evening of
one dav ami tlie morning of another, that it seems intended imly to afford the luisy earth a breath-
ing-time ; — but we can form no idea of what an Arctic Niijlit is, in all its mystery, magnificence,
and wonder. Strange stars light up the heavens; the forms of earth are strange; all is unfami-
liar, and almost miintelligible.
STALKING ,V liKAi;.
It is not that the Arctic rjight makes a lieaxy demand on our physical faculties. Against
its rig(.)ur man is alile to defend linnst'lf ; but it is less easy to provide against its sti'ain on the
moi'al and intellectual faculties. 'J'hu da.rkue.ss whicli clotlies Nature for .so long a period reveals
to the senses of the European ex])lorer wliat is virtually a new world, and the senses do not well
adapt themselves to tliat world. The cheering inllucnces of the rising sun, which invite to
labour; tlie sootliing inilucnces of the eAem'ng twilight, which beguile to I'est ; that quick change
,V<im day to niglit, and night to day, which so lightens tlie burden of existence in our tem])erate
clime to mind and sovd and bo<ly, kmdling the hope and ri.'UL'wing tlie i-our;ige, — all these
are wanting in the Polar world, and man sutlers and languishes accordingly. 'I'he grandeur of
Nature, says Dr. Hayes, ceases to give delight to the dulled sympathies, and the heart longs con-
ITS VARIOUS PHASES. 95
tinually for new associations, new hopes, new objects, new sources of interest and pleasure.
The soUtude is so dark and drear as to oppress the understanding ; the imagination is
haunted Ijy the desolation which everywhere prevails ; and the silence is so absolute as to
become a terror.
The lover of Nature will, of course, find much that is attractive in the Arctic night ; in the
mysterious coruscations of the aurora, in the How of the moonlight over the hills and icebergs, in
the keen clearness of the starlight, in the sublimity of the mountains and the glaciers, in the
awful wildness of the storms ; but it must be owned that they speak a language which is rough,
rugged, and sevei'e.
All things seem built up on a colossal scale in the Arctic world. Colossal are those dark and
tempest-beaten cliffs which oppose their grim rampart to the ceaseless roll and rush of the ice-
clad waters. Colossal are those mountain-peaks which raise their crests, wliite with unnumbered
winters, into the very heavens. Colossal are those huge ice-rivers, those glaciers, which, Itorn
long ago in the depths of the far-off valleys, have gradually moved their ponderous masses down
to the ocean's brink. Colossal are those floating islands of ice, which, outrivalling the puny archi-
tecture of man, his temples, j^alaces, and pyramids, drift away into the wide waste of waters, as
if abandoned by the Hand that called them into existence. Colossal is that vast sheet of frozen,
frosty snow, shimmering with a crystalline lustre, which covers the icy plains for countless
leagues, and stretches away, ])erhaps, to the very border of the sea that is supposed to encircle
the unattained Pole,
In Dr. Hayes' account of his voyage of discovery to\\ards the North Pole occurs a fine pas-
sage descriptive of the various phases of the Arctic night. " I have gone out often," he says,
"into its dai'kness, and viewed Nature under different aspects. I have rejoiced with her in her
strength, and communed with her in her repose. I have seen the wild burst of her anger, have
watched her spoitive play, and have beheld her robed in silence. 1 have walked abroad in
the darkness when the winds were roaring through the hills and crashing over the plain. I
have strolled along the beach when the only sound that broke the stillness was the dull creaking
of the ice-floes, as they rose and fell lazily with the tide. I have wandered far out upon the
frozen sea, and listened to the voice of the icebergs bewailing their imprisonment ; along the
glacier, where forms and falls the avalanche ; upon the hill-top, where the drifting snoAv, coursing
over the rocks, sung its plaintive song ; and again, I have wandered away to some distant valley
where all these sounds were hushed, and the air was still and solemn as the tomb."
Whoever has been overtaken by a winter night, when crossing some snowy j^jlain, or making
his A\ay over the hills and through the valleys, in the deep drifts, and with the icicles pendent
from the leafless boughs, and the white mantle overspreading every object dimly discernible in
the darkness, will have felt the awe and mystery of the silence that then and there pre^"ails.
Both the sky above and the earth beneath reveal only an endless and unfathomable quiet. This,
too, is the peculiar characteristic of the Arctic night. Evidence there is none of life or motion.
No footfall of living thing breaks on the longing ear. No cry of bird enlivens the scene ; there
is no tree, among the branches of which the wind may sigh and moan. And hence it is that one
who had travelled much, and seen many dangers, and witnessed Nature in many phases, was led
to say that he had seen no expression on the face of Nature so filled with terror as the silence
of the Arctic night.
9G ADVENT OF T[IE SUN.
But li}' (iegTL'Chi thu (larkuL'ss grows less intunse, aiul tlie cuiniiiy of the day is auiiDunced by
the prevalence of a kind nf twilight, wliieh increases more and more rapidly as winter jias.ses into
spring. There are signs that Nature is awakening once more to life and motion. The foxes
come out upon the liill-side, both Idue and white, and gallop hither and tliither in search of food,
— follo-W'ing in the track of the hear, to feed on tlie refuse which the " tiger of the ice" throws
aside. The walrus and the seal come more frequently to land ; and the latter begins to assemble
nn the ice-Hoes, and select its breeding-places. At length, eai'ly in February, bi-oad daylight
comes at noon, and then the weary explorer rejoices to know that tlie end is near. Flocks of
speckled birds aiTive, and shelter themselves under the lee of the shore ; chietly (lovc-kies, as they
are called in Southern Greenland — the U)'iii <irijU<' of the natui'alist. At last, on the 18th or
I Dth of February, the sun once UKjre makes its a})j)earance above the southern horizon, and is
welcomed as one welcomes a friend who lias lioen hmg lost, and is found again. Upon the crests
of the Jiills light clouds are floating lazily, and through tliese the glorious orl) is pouring a
stream of golden fire, and all the southern sky (piivers, as it were, with the shooting, shifting
splendours of the coming day. Presently a soft bright ray breaks through tlie vaporous haze,
kindling it into a purjjle sea, and touches the silvery summits of the lofty icebergs until they
seem like domes and pinnacles of flame. Nearer and nearer comes that auspicious ray, and widens
as it conies: and that jiurple sea enlarges in every direction; and tliose, domes and pinnacles of
ilame multiply in quick succession as they feel tlie passage of the quickening light; and the dark
red cliffs arc wai'ined with an indescril_>able glow ; and a mysterious change passes over the face
of the ocean ; and all Nature acknowledges the- [)resence of the sun !
"The parent of light ami life everywhere," says Dr. Hayes, "he is the same within these
solitudes. Tlie germ awaits liim liere as in the (Jrieiit ; but tlicrc it rests only through the short
hours of a summer night, wliile here it reixises for months under a sheet of snows. But after a
while the l)riglit sun will tear this sheet asunder, and will tumble it in gushing fountains to the
sea, and will kiss the cold earth, and give it warmth and life : and the flowers will bud and
Iilooni, and will turn their tiny faces smilingly and gratefully up to him, as he wanders over
these ancient hills in the long summer. The very glaciers will weep tears of joy at his coming.
The ice will loose its iron grip iqnui the waters, and will let the wild waves play in freedom.
The reindeer will skip gleefully over the mountains to welcome his return, and will look longingly
U) him fir the green pastures. The sea-fowls, knowing tliat he will give them a resting-place for
their feet on the rocky islands, will come to seek the nio.ss-beds which he spreads for their nests;
and the sparrows will come ou his life-giving rays, and will sing their love-songs through the
endless day."
With the sun return the Arctic birds, and bilbre we quit (lie realm of waters we propose to
i>lance at a few of tliose which fiXMiueiit tlie cliffs and shores durin<'- the brief Polar summer.
Among the first-comers is the dove-kie or black guillemot {Uria <j)-ijlle), which migrates
to the temperate climates on the ajiproach of winter, visiting Labrador. Norway, Scotland, and
even descending as far south as Yorkslure. In fact, we know of no better place where to
oii.serve its habits than along tln' immense range of |H'i-]>endiiailar cliffs stretching from Flam-
borough Head to Filey Bay. Here, on the fiare ledges of this colossal ocean-wall, the guillemot
GUILLEMOTS AND AUKS
97
lays its c'l^'y.s, IjiU witlnuit tlii; pi'utectioii ol' a ucst ; souiu of tliciii |)ariillul with tlie cdn'c uf the
shelf, others nearly so, and others with their hlunt and sharp ends indiscriminately pointing to
the sea. They are not athxed to tlie rock hy any glntinous mutter, or any foreign substance
whatever. Vou may see as many as nine or ten, or sometimes twelve, old guillemots in a line, so
near to each other that their wings almost touch. The eggs vary greatly in size and .shape and
coloui'. Some a,re lai'ge, others small ; some exceedingly sharp at oiu' c'ml, others rotund and
globular. It is said that, if uiidisturl)ed, the guillemot never lays more than one egg; but if
that be taken away, .she will lay another, and so on. I Jut Audubon a.s.serts that he has seen
these birds sitting on as many as three eggs at a time.
SliA-UIKDS IN TUE roL.\K UKUIONS.
The black guillemot differs from the foohsh guillem<.>t {Urin truilr) only in the colour of
its plumage, whit-li, with the exception of a large white patch on the coverts of each wing, is
black, silky, and glossy; the feathers appearing to be all unwebbed, like silky filaments or fine
hair. The bill, in all the species, is slendei', strong, and pointed ; the up[)er mandil)le bending
slightly near the end, and the base covered with soft short feathers. The food of the guillemot
consists offish and other marine products.
The AlcidiV, or auks, are also included amongst the Arctic birds. The little auk {Aivtica
(dca) frequents the countries stretching northwards from our latitudes to the regions of perpetual
ice, and is found in the Polar Regions both of the Old World and the New. Here, indeed, they
congregate in almost innumerable flocks. At early morn they sally forth to get their l)reakfast,
which consists of dift'erent varieties of marine invertebrates, chiefly crustaceans, with which the
Arctic waters teem. Then tliey return to the shore in immense swarms. It would be impos-
98
AUKS AND STARAKIS.
wible, says an Arctic voyager, to convey an adequate idea of the numbers of these birds wliich
swarmed around him. Tlie slope on both sides of tlie valley in wliich he had pitched his camp
rose at an angle of about forty-five degrees to a distance of from 300 to 500 feet, where it met
the cliffs, which stood about 700 feet liigher. These hill-sides are composed of the loose rocks
making in their ra-
pid Hight the whole
length of the hill,
thev returned hioiier
in tlie air, j^erform-
ing over and over
again the complete
circuit. Occasionally
a few liundreds or
thousands of them
would dro]! down,
as if following some
leader ; and in an in-
stant the rocks, for
a space of several
rods, would swarm
all over with them,
their black backs
and pure white
breasts sjieckling the
liill very prettily.
detached from the
cliffs by the action
(jf the frost. The
birds crawl among
these rocks, winding
far in through nar-
row jilaces, and there
deposit their eggs
and hatch their
young, secure from
their great enemy,
the Arctic fox.
On one occasion,
tliey were congre-
gated along a slope,
fully a mile in length,
and over this slope
rushed a constant
stream of birds, only
a few feet above the
stones ; and, after
Though quantities are destroyed by the crews of vessels as well as by the Eskimos, their
numbers never seem to decrease. Their flesh is both wholesome and delicate, and afibrds a wel-
come change of diet to the mariner weary of salt meat and pemmican. They are Aery tame, and
easily captured, — in some j^laces being actually caught in hand-nets, like moths or butterflies;
and they pass a great portion of their time on the ocean, where they disport themselves with
equal grace and self-possession.
The starakis [Phaleridina) inhabit tlie archipelagoes which lie between China and North
America. They assemble in small flocks, and swim about in quest of the crustaceans, molluscs,
and otlier marine animals on which they feed. At nightfall they return to land, where they find
shelter under the ledges of the rocks, or in burrows dug with their bill and feet. The female
lays a solitary egg.
The auks abound in the liigli nuitlicrn latitudes. They are all ocean-birds, and are never
fnuiid, like the divers, in fresh-water streams and lakes. Those species which possess the power
of flight nestle on the rocky cliit's and icebergs, where they lay a, single egg, of conical form ; a
shape which prevents it fVom i-nlling away, or moving, except within a very narrow circle, on the
bare rocky ledge where it is deposited.
The puffins (^Fratfi-cola), which in winter abound on our own shores, li\e chiefly on the water.
They dive and swim with dexterity, but, owing to the shortness of their wings, are capable only
HUFFINS AND MERGANSERS.
99
of liinitod flight. Their phimagu is thick, siiiDuth, and douse, and so completely throws off the
water that it is c|uite impervious to wet ; while their deep, compressed, and pointed beak,
resembling exactly a double keel, is admirably adapted as an instrument for cutting the waves
Avhen the bird wishes to dive.
The puffins live principally upon sprats and other small fishes ; and the food intended for
their young they retain until partially digested, Avhen they disgoi'ge it into their mouths. Like
all the auks, the mother-bird lays but one egg.
The appearance of an island or iceberg frequented by these birds is very vividly sketched
by Audubon, than whom no naturalist has ever more completely attained a thorough acquaint-
ance with the Bird- World.
He tells us that on every crag or stone stood a jiuffin, at the entrance of every hole another,
and yet the sea was covered and the air filled with them. The burrows were all inhabited by
young birds, of different ages and sizes ; and clouds of puffins f^ew over us, eacli individual liold-
;-P|ipiw
.fcigiiil,,
^>^^.^ijjZ&^^0^>^--
ing a small fish by the head. The burrows all comnumicated with each other in various wavs,
so that the whole island seemed to be perforated by a multitude of subterranean labyrinths, over
which it was impossible to run without the risk of falling at almost every step. The voices of
the young sounded beneath the traveller's foot like voices from the grave, and the stench was
exceedino'ly disaofreeable.
Something must next be said <>f the mergansers [Mcrgince), a sub-family of the palmipeds,
which also belong to the Polar world. Their principal characters may thus be stated : a straight
bill, much compressed on the sides, and convex towards the tip, which is furnished witli a broad
and nmch-hooked nail ; the wings are moderate, and pcjinted ; the tail is short and rounded ; the
tarsi are short, and the toes moderate, the outer being as long as the middle, the three anterior
ones united by a full web, M'hilo the hind toe is moderate, elevated, and provided with a broad
web on its maririn.
From these characters it is easy to infer that the bird is aquatic in its habits ; that it can
swim and dive well ; that it is also capable of strong, swift flight ; and that its food will consist
chiefly of fishes.
The dun diver or gt)osander (Mergus merganser) is widely distributed throughout the
Polar Regions botli of the eastei-n and western continents. During its southern migration, it
100
THE WHTTK ArEKOANSEP..
visits the United States, as well as Fi'aiice, Hollaiul, and ( urniany ; l)ut on tlie approach of
summer it retires to Siberia and Kamtsehatka, leL-lantl, (jSret^nlaiuI. and tlie ^Vretic shoi'es oi'
North Anieriea.
In these localitic^s it eonstrncts its nest — always near the edge of the water : huildinL;- it u]i
witli little regard to synnnetry, and linin'^- it with down. It
ends being equally
of grass, roots, and siniilai- materia
is placed some-
times amono- the
mossy, weedy
stones ; and sunie-
times it is con-
cealed in the long
grass, or under tlje
cover of bushes, or
in the stumps or
hollows of decayed
trees. The female
la.ys fr(.>m twelve
to I'ourteen eggs,
of a cream-yellow
colour ; their form
is a lonof oval, both
THE OOSSANDEl;.
obtuse. The goos-
ander may be said
to spend its time
HI the air and on
the watei- ; and, in
truth, on the land
it moves hut hibcjri-
ously and awk
wardly, owing to
the backward posi-
tion of its legs. It
rises with difficulty
from the ground ;
but when once on
the wing, its course
is swift, strong, and steady. As it lives mainly upon Hsh. its tiesh is oily and ilhtlavoured ; a cir-
cumstance which goes far to comiiensate the spoi'tsman for the frequent failure of his attempts to
capture it. It is a wild and wary bird, and as it swims with rapidity and dives with ease, it
generally etiects its escape from all but the most ex]ierienced huntens.
Another species which abounds in noiihern latitudes is the smew {Mcrtius alhdhis), also
known as the white nun or white merganser. This palmiped is about the size of a widgeon ;
is of elegant form; and its ijlumage beautifully coloured with black and white. Its bill is of a
dusky blue, nearly two inches long, thickest at the base, and tapering into a slenderer aiid more
narrow shape towards the pr)int. \\\ oval black patch, glossed with green, marks each side of
the head ; the under part of the crest is black ; but all the rest of the head and neck, as well as
the graceful breast and the bt'lly, are white as snow, with the exception of a curved black line
on each side of the u])|ier part of the breast, and similar mai'ks on the lower part ; the back, the
coverts on the ridge of the wings, imd the prniiary (juills are black ; the secondaries and greater
coverts are white-tip|ieil ; while the sides of the body, under the wings to the tail, exhibit a
curious variegation of dark wavy lines. The legs and feet are of a h'aden blue.
The range ol' the smew is \-ei-y extensive, for it migrates as far southward ;is the Mediter-
ranean, while it is found every wiiere in the Arctic Hegions.
On the shores of Ncjvaia Zendaia, as on those of Sj>itzbei'gen, the sea-l)irds arrive in count
less hosts as soon as the sunnner sun has removed the long and dreary s])ell under which Nature
laboui's through llie winter months. The iiari-ow iMekdedges on which tliey congregate, and
where aid<s ami guillemots assemble in tliousands, the iJussians call "a liazaar." The large gray
A KIRD "BAZAAR IX SOVAIA ZF.MLAI.V.
ABOUT THE EIDER-DUCK.
103
sea-mew (L((nis (jlaucus), tlie " burgoinaster" of the Dutch whalers, prefers tlie lonely sinnniits
of isolated cliffs, where it can reign the monarch of all it surveys. The ivory gull {Larus ehur-
neus) is seldom found
in high northern lati-
tudes ; but the com-
mon gull {Larus
canus) and the black-
backed gull {Larus
mar inns) are almost
as abundant as guille-
'sSem
>/X-
^.:
'i.^==.
THE Bt.ACK-B.VCKEO GnLI..
beautiful, of the birds
is the eider-duck {So-
materia molUssima) ,
which also frequents
the shores of Baffin
and Hudson Bays,
Lapland, Greenland,
and Spitzbergen. It
loves to breed on the
small flat islands
which lie off the
coast, such as Akeney,
Flutry, and Videy,
mots.
In Iceland one of
the most useful, and
certainly not the least
where it is secure from the attacks of the Arctic fox. Its breeding-places in Iceland are private
property, and some of them have been for centuries in the possession of the same families, which
owe to the birds all their wealth and prosperity. Hence they are very vigilantly guarded.
Whoever kills one is fined thirty dollars ; and to secrete an egg, or pocket a few downs, is an
offence punishable by law. The chief occupation of some of the proprietors is to examine
through their tele-
scopes all the boats
that approach, so as
to be sure that there
are no guns on board.
As the birds on
these islands are quite
tame, the eider-down
is easily collected.
The female having
laid five or six j^ale
greenish-olive eggs,
in a nest fashioned
witli marine plants,
and thickly lined
with down of the
i^.r^.f^m-^.- -
TIIK KinER-nUCK.
cacy, the collectors
carefully remove her,
rob the nest of its
precious lining, and
then replace the bird.
Immediately she be-
gins to lav afresh,
and again has re-
course to the down
on her body to pro-
tect her eggs ; and
should her own stock
be exhausted, as is
not unfrequently the
case, she is furnished
with an auxiliary
supply by the male.
most exquisite deli-
Even this second lining is often taken away, and the poor bird a third time repeats the process,
both as regards the eggs and the down ; but if the plunderers do not spare her now, she after-
wards abandons the nest, and seeks a home in some more sequestered nook.
As it comes to the European markets, this down, which is highly valued on account of its
lightness, elasticity, and warmth, occurs in balls about the size of a man's fist, and weighing
from three to four pounds. Such is its fineness and elastic quality, that when a ball is opened.
104 ETDER-DUCKS IN ICELAND.
and cautiously laid n^ar the tire to L'Xj)aiid, it will roniplutfly liU a (juilt live feet square. It
should lie ui.ited, however, that the down i'roni dead liirds is of coniparativelv little value, having
lost its elasticity.
An interesting account of a visit to Vii;!' in the Isafjardardjufs, a favourite resort of the
eider-duck in the north of Iceland, is furnished hy ]\[r. She])hei'd :-
As he approached the island, he says, he could see Hocks ujion tlocks of the saci'ed birds,
and could hear their cooinys at a yreat distance. Landiu''- on a rockv wave-^\■orn shore, ac-'ainst
which tlie waters scarcely rippled, lie set uH' to survey the island. The shore he describes as
"the most wonderful ornitliulogical sight imaginable." The ducks and their nests were every-
where. Great bi-own dui-ks started U]j under his feet at every step ; and it was with diffi(adty
that he avoided tivading on some of the nests. As the island is but threc-ipuxrtcrs of a mile
across, the o])posite slun-e is soon reached. ( )n tlie coast was a wall built u]i of large .stones, just
above the high watei'-mai-k, about thi'ee teet high, and of considerable thi<-kness. At the liottom,
on both sides of it, alternate stones had been left out, forming a series of sijuare comjiaitnu-nts in
which the ducks might make their nests. Almost every com])artment was occupied ; and as the
human intruder walked alonu- the shore, a lonsj- line of startled ducks flew out one after the other.
The surface of the water also was white with (hu-ks, who welcomed their "brown wives" with
loud and clamorous cooing.
Mr. Shejiherd, on arriving at tlie fannhouse, was received in the most hospitable manner,
hospitality being one of tlie special virtues of the Icelander. lie was nuich impressed by the
appearance of the liouse, which seemed to be converted into one large (J/ickeri/. The eartlien
wall suiTounding it,- and the window-emln'asures, were tilled with ducks; on tlie ground,
encircling the house, was a ring of ducks; on the sloping roof wi-re seated ducks; and a duck
was perched on the door-scraper !
A grassy bank close by had been cut iiit(j scpiare jiatches like a chess-board (a square of turf
of about eighteen inches being removed, and a hollow excavated), and all these squares were
occupied by ducks. A windmill was infested with thein, and so were all the out-houses, mounds,
rocks, and crevices. In fact, the ducks were everywhere. Many of them were so tame as to
allow the stranger to stroke them on their nests; and their mistress said there was scarcely a
duck on the island which woidd not allow her to take its eggs without flight or fear. When she
first became possessor of the island, the ])i'oduce of down iVoiii the duc]<s did not exceed fifteen
pounds weight in the year, but under her careful nuiturc it had risen, in twenty years, to nearly
one hundred pounds annually. About a jiound and a half are required to make a coverlet for a
single bed ; and the down is worth from tweKe to fifteen shillings per pound. j\Tost of the eggs
are taken and pickled tor wintei- consum|ition, one or two only being left to hatch.
Eider-ducks congregate in numei'ous tlocks, generally in deeji water; they dive with
wonderful force, and thus are enabled to cajiture the shell-fish whicli form their ]irinci|ial fiiod.
If a storm threatens, they retire to the rocky shores where tht\v lo\e to lu'eed and rest. The
(Ireenlanders kill them with darts, iiursuing them in tlieii- little boats, watching theii- cour.se by
the air-bubbles tJiat comt; floating ujiwanl when they dive, and tlexterously aiming at them as
soon as they rise to the surfac<' wearied. Their llesh is eaten by the ( J reenlanders. but it is not
well-llav(jurt'd ; tlu'ir «.:ggs, ho\\e\'er, ai'e held in high este(.>ni.
THE WILD SWAN.
105
The kiai^ eider (Soiiinfi'i-ia sjx'ctuJ/ihd) belongs to tlie .same genus as the f'onaer.
We suppose tliai. every readei- is aoquaiiit(^<l witli tlie beautiful lines in which Tennyson has
eiubmlied the tablr ol'lhi' liyin'^- swan singing its own dirge: —
" Willi Mil illlUT Vilin' tlic liviT r.'lll.
Adowii it flii;it<ul :i <l.yili,i; .sw.iii,
Aud IcMidly iliil laiiH^iit
The wiUl sw.'iii's (leatli-hyiiiii tuuk the soul
Of tliat waste ])hice with joy
Iliihh'ii in soirow : at first, Ui the oar
The warlile was hiW, ami full, and clear;
Hut anon her awful jubilant voice,
With a music strange aud niaiiifold,
l''lowe<l forth on a carol free and hold
And the creeping mosses and clambering weed:?,
And the willow-branches hoar and dank.
And the wavy swell of the soughing reeds.
And the wave-worn horns <pf the echoing bank.
And the silvery marish-Howers that throng
The desolate creeks and pools among,
W'ere Hooded over with eddying song."
But the wild swan's voice, even in its death-hour, has no .such musical sweetness as the poet
here sets Ibrtli. It is always harsh and dissonant, and wlnii it breaks on the silence of the
Arctic skifs carrii's witli It an almost ]iainful inijiression.
^ <f^^:^^^ ?
TIIK ir.\UNT VF TUK WILb SWAN.
The lakes of Iceland, and its streams, abound M-ith these beautiful birds. They are very
numerous on the Myvatn, or Great Lake, as well as the wild duck, tlie scoter, the common
goosander, the red-breasted merganser, the scaup duck, and other anserines. The wild swan is
shot or caught for its fcathei's, which are highly prized for urnaniental jiurposes. It is sometimes
found in large Hocks, sometimes in single pairs; and besides the lakes and streams, it frequents
the salt and brackish waters along the coast. It is chiefly at the pairing season, or at the
approach of winter, that it assembles in multitudes ; and as the winter advances it mounts hio-h
in air, and shapes its course in search of milder climates.
The female builds her nest of the withered leaves and stalks of reeds and rushes, in lonely
and sequestered places. Slie usually lays six or seven thick-shelled eggs, which ai'e hatched
106 tup: arctic waters.
in about six weeks, when both parents assiduously guard and feed the cygnets. When full-
grown, this hue bird measures nearly five feet in length, and above seven in breadth across
its extended wings ; it weighs about fifteen pounds. The entire plumage is of a pure white, and
next to tlie skin lie.s a coat of thick fine down.
The wealth of the Arctic and sub- Arctic seas is apparently inexhaustible. In many parts
cod are plentiful, and supply the Greenlanders with a valuable article of, food. The capelin
{Mullotus vitlosua), which in May and June frequent.s the Greenland waters, is eaten both fresh
and dried ; in the latter case forming a useful winter provision. The halibut is found of a large
size ; and ocean also contributes the Norway haddock, the salmon-trout, the lump-fish, and the
bull-head. Nor are the Crustacea unrepresented : long-tailed crabs being abundant, while the
common mussel may be gathered almost everywhere at ebb-tide. The seas, however, grow
poorer as we advance towards the Pole, and many important species of fish do not penetrate
further north than the Arctic Circle.
Yet even where these are wanting, the ocean-waters teem with life ; and a recent writer is
fully justified in remarking that the vast multitudes of animated beings which people them form
a remarkable contrast to the nakedness of their bleak and desolate shores. The colder surface-
waters are, as he says, almost perpetually exposed to a cold atmosphere, and being frequently
covered, even in summer, with floating ice, they are not favourable to the development of
organic liie ; but this adverse influence is modified by the higher temperature which constantly
prevails at a greater depth. Contrary to the rule in the Equatorial seas, we find in the Polar
ocean an increase of temperature from the surface downwards, in consequence of the warmer
under-currents, flowing from the south northwards, and passing beneath the cold waters of the
superficial Arctic current.
Hence the awful rigour of the Arctic winter, which strikes the eartli with a death-blight,
is not perceptible in the ocean-depths, wliere myriads of organisms find a secure retreat from
the frost, and whence they emerge during tl)e long summer's day, either to haimt the shores
or ascend the broad rivers of the Polar world. Between the parallels of 74" and 80°, Dr. Scoresby
observed that the colour of the Greenland sea varies from the purest ultramarine to olive-green,
and from crystalline transparency to striking opacity ; and these appearances are not transitory,
but permanent.* The aspect of this gi-een semi-opaque water, which varies in its locality with the
currents, — often forming isolated stripes, and sometimes spreading over two or three degrees of
latitude, — is mainly due to small medus;e and nudibranchiate molluscs. Many thousands of
square miles must literally run riot with life, since the coloured waters we s])eak of are calculated
to form one-fourth of the sea between the 74th and SOth j'arallels.
On the Greenland coast, wliere the transparency of the waters is so great that the liottonr
and every object upon it are clearly di.scernible, even at a dejith of eighty fathoms, tlie ocean-bed
is covered witli gigantic tangles, so as to remind the spectator of the ocean-gardens of the
Tropical Zone. Alcyonians, sertularians, ascidians, nullipores, mussels, and a variety of other
sessile animals incrust every stone, or congregate in every fissure and hollow of the rocky ground.
A dead seal or fish flung into the sea is soon converted into a skeleton, it is said, by the myriads
* Scoresby calouhited tljiit it would require 80,000 ]jersous, l;ib(>uriiig coutitnum.sly fnnii tliu oreatiuii uf man to tin- jireseiit
J.ay, to count the number of urgani.sms contained in two miles of tlie green water.
MARINE LIFE. 107
of small crustaceans which infest these noi-thern waters, and, like the ants in the equatorial
forests, perform the part of scavengers of the deep.
It is evident, from the observations of Professor Forbes, that deptli, has a very considerable
influence in the distribution of marine life. From the suiiace to the depth of 1380 feet eight
distinct zones or regions have been mapped out in the sea, each of which has its own vegetation
and inhabitants ; and the number of these regions must now be increased, after the astonishing
results of tlie deep-sea soundings of Dr. Carpenter and Professor Wyville Thomson. The
changes in the different zones are not abrupt : some of the creatures of an under region always
appear before those of tlie region above it vanish; and though there ai'e a few species the same
in some of the eight zones, only two are connnou to all. It is to be observed that those near the
surface have forms and colours analogous to the inhabitants of southern latitudes, while those at
a greater depth are analogous to the animals of northern waters. Hence, in the sea, depth
corresponds with latitude, as heiijJit does on land. Mrs. Somerville adds, in language of much
terseness, that the extent of the geographical distribution of any species is proportioned to the
depth at which it lives. Consequently, those which live near the surface are less widely
dispersed than those inhabiting deep water.
The larger and more active inhabitants of the seas obey the same laws with the rest of
creation, though their provinces, or regions, are in some instances very extensive. Above the
44th parallel the Atlantic species frequently correspond with those of the Pacific. The salmon
of America is identical with that of the British Isles, and the coasts of Sweden and Norway ; the
same is true of the Gadidce, or cod. The Cottas, or bull-head ti'ibe, are also the same on both
sides of the Atlantic ; increasing in numbers and specific differences on approaching the Arctic
seas. The same law holds good in the North Pacific, but the generic forms differ from those in
the Atlantic. From the propinquity of the coasts of America and Asia at Behring Strait,
the fish on both sides are nearly alike, down to Admiralty Inlet on the one side, and the Sea of
Okhotsk on the other.
CHAI'THi; IV.
TJih i;lacikr,s.
S iiitrniluctoi-y to a dt'scriptioii nf the Arctic (ilacici's, a few words <>ii tlie foriiiatioii of
snow .seem necessaiw. I^rietiy. it may lie said tliat snow is the result of the crystal-
lization of watei".
The molecules and atoms of all suljstances, when not coiij^trauied by some external power,
laiild themselves up into crystals. This is true of the metals and minerals, if, after having
been melted, they are allowed to cool yradually. liismnth develops the process in a very
impressive manner, and when properly fused and solidified exhibits larm'-sized crystals of
singular bi'auty.
In like maimer, sugar dissolved in water produces, after cva|poratiou has taken place,
crystals of sugar-candy. 'J'he ready crystallization of alum is known to every sc-hooliioy who has
dabbled in "chemical ex])eriments." Chalk dissohfd and crystallized bei'omes Iceland sjiar,
and assumes a vaiiety of fanciful and graceful shapes. The diamond is crystallized carbon; and
the crystallizing power is inherent in all our precious stones,- sapphire, topaz, emerald, beryl,
amethyst, ruliy.
In the process of crystallization, it is i'ound tliat thi; minutest particle of matter is possessed
of an attractive and a repellent pole, and that l)y their natural action the form and structure of
the crystal are determinetl.
The attractmg poles, in the solid condition of any given substance, are iirnily interlocked;
l>ut dissolve the cohesion by tin: apj)lica.tion of sufKcient heat, and the poles will recede so far as
to be practically beyond each other's range. And thus the natui'al tendency of the molecules
to build themselves together is neutralized.
Water, for example, as a ]i(piid is, to all appearance, without form ; but when sulHcieiitly
c()oled, its molecules are brought mider thf inllui.'Uce of the crystallizing force, and then ari-aiige
themselves in the most varied and l>eautiful shapi's. \\'hen snow falls in calm air, the icy
particles present themselves in the form of si\-rayed stars. From this ty]K' then.' is no departure,
though tlie appearance of the snow-stars in other respects is infinitely varied.
It is worth pausing, as Professor Tyndall remai'ks, to think what wondeiful work is going
on in the atmosphere during the formation and descent of every snow-showi'i- : wJiat " building
power" is l)rougbt into play! and how impeifect seem the productions of human minds and
hands when comjianxl with those produced by tin.' foi'ccs of Nature !
We have spoken of attracting and repe-lling poles; luit a few words of explanation seem
CRYSTALLIZINO FOltCE IN ICE.
1U9
magnet,
, devoid
desirable. Every niagiK't possesses two .such poles ; and it' iron Hlino-s be scattered over a
each particle becomes also endowed with twd poles. Now suppose that similai' particle?
of weight, and floating in the atmos-
phere, come together, what will
happen ? Obviously, the repellent
poles will retreat from each other,
while tlie attractive will approacli,
and ultimately interlock. Further :
if the particles, instead of a single
pair, possess several pairs of poles
arranged at definite points over their
surfaces, you can then picture them,
in obedience to their mutual attrac-
tions and repulsi(jns, building them-
selves together in masses of definite
shape and structure.
You have, then, only in imagine
the aciueous particles in cold calm air
to be gifted witli poles of this descrip-
tion, compelling the said [)articles to
assume certain definite aggregates, and you liuve l)efore your mind's eye the invisible architecture
which creates the visible and beautiful crystals uf the snow.
VAIIIOUS KOIillS OF SNOW-CllVSTALS.
The important part phiyetl liy this ci^ystallizing force in ice as well as snow, will be under-
stood from the following remarks by Professor Tyndall, who ma}' justly be described as the most
eminent living authority on the subject : —
At any temperature below 32 F., — that is, freezing-pointj — the movement of heat is
sufficient to loosen the molecules of water from their ligid lionds of cohesion. But at 32" the
movement is so diminished that the atoms lock themselves together, and imite in a solid. This
act of union, however, is controlled by well-known laws. To the unintelligent eye a block of ice
seems neither more interesting n(.)r more beautiful than a sheet of glass ; but to the instructed
mind the ice is to the sjlass what an oratorio of Handel is to the scream of a ballad-singfer. Ice
is music, glass is noise ; ice represents order, glass confusion. In the latter, the molecular forces
have brought about an inextricable intertangled network ; in the former, they have woven a rich
and regular embroidery, the designs of which are infinitely beautiful.
Let us suppose ourselves examining a bk)ck of ice. In what way shall we get at its
structure ? A sunbeam, or if that be wanting, a ray of electric light is the anatomist to which
we must confide the vvoik of dissection. We direct this ray straight from our lamp across the
plate of transparent ice.
It shivers into pieces the icy edifice, exactly reversing the order of its architecture.
The crystallizing force, for example, had silently and systematically built up atom after
atom ; the electric ray dislocates them (so to speak) just as silently and systematically.
We elevate the ice-block in front of the lamp, so that the light may now pass through its
110 SIX-KAYED ICE-FLOWERS.
substance. ComjDare the ray as it enters with the ray as it makes its exit ; to the eye there is no
perceptible difference, and its intensity seems scarcely diminished. But not so with its heat.
As a thermic agent, the ray was more powerful before its entrance than it was after its emer-
£,rence. A portion of its heat is arrested, is detained in the ice, and of this jiortion we now
proceed to avail ourselves. What will it effect ?
We place a lens in front of the ice upon the screen. Now, observe this image (see Illustra-
tion), the beauty of which is still very far fi-om the real effect. Here is one star; yonder is
another ; and in proportion
as the action continues, the
ice apjjears to resolve itself
more and more into stars,
all of six rays, like snow-
crystals, and resembling a
beautiful flower. By mov-
ing the lens in and out, we
Iiring new stars into sight ;
and while the action continues, the edge of the petals is covered with indentations lilve those of
the leaf of a fern. Probably, few of our readers have any conception of the magical beauties
concealed in a block of ice ! Let them remember that prodigal Nature worlds in this way
throughout the whole world. Every atom of the solid crust which covers the frozen waters of
r
r
V
:#
IT
1.11 ^* 'f
4yfe,3iBMi.iaai!iw
Miiai^iiiiiiiiaaiiiiiBaites
EXHIBITION OF ICE-FLOWERS BT PROJECTION.
ICR-FLOWERS.
the North, has been wrought out in oliedience to tlie law we have enunciated. Nature is always
and everywhere harmonious ; and it is the mission of Science to awaken us to an appreciation of
its concords.
There is anotlicr point of our ex]>eriment to which the reader's attention nuist be directed.
He sees the flowers illuminated by the ray whicli traverses them. But if he examines them,
while turning upon tbem a ray which they will i-eflect and send back to his own eye, he will
see in the centi'e of each a sjiot with tlie brightness of liui'iiished silver, lie will be tempted
SIR DAVID BREWSTER'S EXPERIMENT. Ill
to think that this spot is u bubble of air; l)ut, by iiuiuersiug the ice in hot water, you can melt
the ice all around the spot, — and when it alone remains, you will see it diminish and disappear
without any trace of air. The spot is a vacuum. Such is the faithfulness to herself with A\hich
Nature operates ; thus, in all her operations, does slie submit to her own laws. We know that
ice, in melting, contracts ; and here we arrest the contraction, as it were, in the very act. The
water of the flowers cannot fill the space occupied by the ice which by its fusion has given birtli
to them; hence the pioduction of ;x vacuum, the inseparable companion of each liquid flower.
The fragment of compact ice whose elements assume such beautiful crystalline forms is itself
a crystal. This was shown by Sir David Brewster, who employed for the pui-pose of analysis
that modified form of light which we call polarised Hijlii. It is singularly well adapted to l>ring
out the peculiarities of the main structure of substances, owing to the coloured figures which
it outlines on a screen after passing through them. All crystals with an axis — such, for instance,
as Iceland spar — yield a series of brilliantly-tinted rings, traversed by a regularly-formed cross
entirely black. As ice produces the same figures, ^ve are justified in attributing to it the same
kind of crystallization. We must note, howevei", that we are referring now to the thick ice
formed on our canals and lakes. If we examined the first film formed on the surface of the water,
we should discover in it a comjiletely irregular crystallization, the ray of polarised light producing
only a mosaic of varied tints, distributed without any order. But it is ea.sy to explain the way
in which this primary crust or film is produced. Those portions of the fluid mass in contact with
the air are the first to freeze, but each molecule of ice abandons its heat to the contiguous water,
which thereby is slightly raised in temperature, and the result is a partial congelation. The
surface we are examining then presents a network of tine needles intercrossed in every direction,
and forming a kind of delicate lace, the meshes ov intervals of which are gradualh' filled up.
When the network is transformed into a continuous sheet, the loss of heat is diminished more
and more as this external crust grows thicker and thicker ; but the development of the ice
invariably takes place by means of long interlaced needles, as the reader may see for himself by
breaking off a portion from the nearest pond (in winter), and examining the sectional surface.
Having said thus mucli in reference to the crystallization of ice and snow, we proceed to
exjslain the regelation and vioulding of ice. Some years ago, Faraday astonished the scientific
world by a very curious experiment. Splitting into two parts a piece of ice, he brought together
the parts at the moment that fusion took place on their surfaces, and they united immediately.
How are we to account for this effect, which can be produced even in hot water ?
Wlien the temperature of water rises, the surface molecules first become liquid, then
gaseous ; being placed beyond the coercitive action of tlie surrounding particles, they are easily
set free ; transported, on the contrary, into the centre of the mass, they are brought absolutely
under the influence of this action, which induces a new solidification, — or, to use the scientific
term, a regelation. In tliis way it becomes easy to understand how very various forms can be
communicated by simple j^ressure to a fragment of ice. If the observer successively places a
straight bar in moulds of increasing curvature, he may easily comjjel it to assume the shape of
a ring or even of a knot. In each mould, it is true, the ice breaks ; but if the pressure is kept .
up, the surfaces of the fragments are brought into contact, and adhere so as to re-establish a
112 CHARACTERS OF GLACIER-ICE.
condition of continuity. A snowhall may thus be convurtyd into a sphere of ice, and the .sphere,
hy constant pressure, into a cup (ir a statue.
Professcjr Tyndall refers to a remarkable instance of regelation wliicli lie oUserved one day
in earlv s])rin<;'. A layer of sncjw, not ipiite two inches tliick, liad fallen i>n the o'lass roof of a
small conservatory, and the internal air, warming the
,v " })anes, had melted the snow so far as it Avas in im-
'/"'''' - mediate contact with them. The entire layer had
*^~ij slipped down the pane, and projected beyond the
y,' I " ^' !-> edg'c of the roof, without falling, and had bent and
curved as recpiired, just like a flexiljle body.
ci
' - -_-^ ' .-:|:' The snow-fields wdiich overspread the upper part
'^ " ' of eveiy glacier, whether in the Arctic Kegions or
MOULDING ICE. , , l i. 11 • i
elsewhere, are composed ot crystallized snow, whose
fragile, delicate, and fairy-like architecture endures so long as it remains dry, but undergoes a
great transformation when the sun, melting the ujiper stratum, allows the water to interpene-
trate its substance. The fluid, congealing anew during the night, transforms the snow into the
condition technically known as nh'c ; a term given by the Swiss physicists to a granular mass
composed of small rounded icicles, disaggregated, Ijut more adhesive than snow-flakes, and of a
density intermediate between that of snow and that of ice. Under the pressure of new layers,
and as a result of infiltrations of water, the nevi, unites, and solders into ice of constantly
increasing compactness.
But glacier-ice jiresents some other curious peculiarities. Every abundant snowfall on the
summit of the mountains forms a layer easily distinguishable from preceding layers — which, in
most cases, have already passed into the neve condition. This stratification becomes more
apparent when the whiteness of the surface has been sullied by dirt or dust wafted on "the
wings of the wind." It is percejitible also in ice ; l)ut here we must not confound it with another
phenomenon of which the cause is ditterent, the veined strueture.
In jilaces where glaciers have been accidentally cut doun in an almost vertical dii-ection,
the section is found to exliibit a series of parallel veins, funned by a beautiful and very
transparent aziu'e ice in tlie midst (-)f the general mass, 'whicii is uf a whitish colour, and
sliglitly opaque.
In different glaciers, and in different parts of the same glacier, these blue veins will vary in
number and intensity of colouring. They are specially beautiful in crevasses of recent formation,
and on the sides of channels excavated in the ice by tiny rills resulting from superficial fusion.
Not a few glaciers exhil)it this remarkaljle veined structure througli(_)ut their entire extent.
When a vertical cutting exposes the delicate azure network to atinosj)heric influences, the softer
ice melts prior to the fusion of the blue ice which then remains in their detached leaflets. On
examining these attentively, we cannot fail to remark the absence, or, at all events, the extreme
rarity, of air-bubbles, though they arc so plentiful m the coarser ice.
Professor Tyndall's exjilanation of this ])henomenon is as interesting as it is ingenious. While
on a visit of insj)ectiiin fi) the slate-ipiarries of A\'ales, he had occasion to study the cleavaije of
the rocks which compose thi'iii ; in dtlirr words, their ficulty of dividing naturally, a property
f'LEAVACP: IX CO.Ml'ACr JCK. 113
inherent in all crystals. The schistous slate separates easily into sheets, and in traversing ditierent
quarries one sees that all the planes of cleavage are parallel in each. From this circumstance
our men of science were at tiist induced to look upon slates as the i^roducts of the stratification of
difterent deposits. Such an explanation, however, could not be accepted by Tyndall, when he
observed that the minute fossils embedded in them were constantly misshapen and flattened in the
direction of the plane of cleavage, because the great modification they liad undergone could not
have taken place in superimposed strata at the bottom of the primeval sea. He concluded that
these schists, therefore, must have been subjected to a considerable pressure ; and further, that
this pressure must have been exercised at right angles with tlie plane of separation of the difiereut
layers.
A long series of exjteriments jjroved that many bcxlies, \\\\v\i t'urcibly compressed, exhibit in
their structure a very distinctly marked lamination, and frc<iucntly veins of very great beauty.
He carefully examined ii(in which liad passed under tlie steam-hammer, or thnjugh the
rolling-mill ; clay and wax were subjected to tlie hydraulic press. In all cases he detected signs
of cleavage ; and hence we are justified in the infei'ence that the phenomenon is invariablv pro-
duced by jjressure in all bodies of irregular internal structure. Such is the result with glacier-
ice, from whose mass the air-bubbles introduced l)y the .-^now are gradually expelled. At first
of brilliant whiteness, it assumes, in the parallel layers corre.sponding to the planes of cleavage,
those beautiful azure tints which characterize the veined structure. So little has it to do with
stratification, that in places where this is aj^parent it has given rise to a series of horizontal lines,
while the parallel veinings, in the same masses of ice, are all inclined at an angle of about GO'.
The tendency to cleavage in compact ice would seem to explain the regular form of tlio.so
fragments or detached pieces with which some parts of the glaciers are covered. Usually they
occur as cubes, or as rectangular parallelepipeds. The Alpine mountaineers name them aeracs,
— in allusion to their resemblance to certain cheeses which bear this name, and which are manu-
factured in rectangular boxes. They have been found in many parts of a really colossal size,
measuring fifty feet iu length, breadth, and depth, and as regular in sliape as if they had been
liewn witli a chisel.
There are many intei-esting points connected with the formatitm and constitution of glaciers
which we should gladly discuss, but we are confined by our limits to remarks of a general char-
acter, and we must now pass on to speak of the phenomena attendant upon their motion. No
doubt, the traveller wlio for the first time comes in sight of one of these huge ice-rivers, and
sees the mighty mass apparently rooted to its valley-bed, solid, unchangeable, adamantine,
finds it hard to believe that it moves onward with a certain and an unresting, though a
gradual progress. It looks like a noble river, suddenly petrified by some ovenvhelming force :
congealed, as it flowed, in a moment, by some irresistible spell! Such, indeed, is the conception
of the poet : —
" Ye ice-falls ! ye th.it from tbe mouutaiu's brow
Aduwu euormous raviues slope aiuaiu....
Torrents, luethinks, tliat heard a mighty voice,
Aud stopped at once amid their maddest iiliiiige !
Motionless tori'euts ! silent cafciraets ! ''
And this conception is justified by the asjx'ct of the glacier. Thus, of the Glacier du Ot'ant,
114 RENDU UrON GLACIERS.
Professor Tyiidall says : — " It stretches sinootlily for ;i long distance, then becomes distiu'bed,
and then changes to a great frozen cascade, down whicli the ice appears to tumble in wild
confusiDn. AboNe the cascade you see an expanse of shining snow, occupying an area of some
square miles." But we shall see that here, as in tlie world of man, appeai-ances are deceitful,
and that the jjlacier well deserves to be called an ice-river, in allusion to its re<j-ular and
continuous motion.
Between the snow-fail in the higher regions of the globe, and the quantity of snow which
every sununer disappears tludugh liquefaction, the difference is very considerable. The supply,
so to speak, exceeds the demand, and a residuum is annually left. It is only below the perpetual
snow-line that the snow created and accumulated in winter is wholly melted in the warm season.
And, therefore, if for any considerable period the excess upon any particular mountain continued
to accumulate, inunense masses of ice would gradually rise to the extreme height in the atmos-
phei-e affected by aipieous phenomena.
Bendu, the Bdmnn ( 'atholic prelate, who first led the way to the discovery of the tiue
nature of glaciers, says, very justly, — "The economy of the world would be soon de.stroyed, if at
certain points accumulations of matter prevailed. The centre of gravity of the globe would be
insensil)ly displaced, and the admirable regularity of its movements would be succeeded by dis-
order and 2)crturbation. If the Poles did not send back to the Equatorial seas the waters which,
reduced into vapour, issue daily from these l)urning regions, to be ct)n verted into ice in the
Arctic and Antarctic Zones, ocean wt>uld be drained dry, and life would cease, as well as water,
to circulate throughout our world. The Creator, however, in order to ensun; the permanence of
His almighty work, has called into existence the vast and powerful law of circulation, and
this law the careful observer sees reproduced in all tlie economy of Nature. The water circulates
from the ocean into the air, from the air it spreads over the earth, and fr<jm the earth it j)asses
into the seas. The rivers return from whence they came, in oixler that they may issue forth
anew ; the air circulates around the globe, and, as it were, upon itself, j)assing and repassing
successively at all the altitudes of the atmospheric colunm. The elements of every organic
substance circulates in changing fmni the solid to the licpiid or aeriform state, and in returning
fi-oin the latter to the state of solidity or organization. It is not inqirobable that the universal
agent \\hich we designate imder the naine of tire, ligiit, electricity, and magnetism, has pro-
bably also a circle of ciir-itlntton as extensive as the uni\'erse. Should its movements ever be
known to us more than they now are, it is probable that they would afford the solution of a host
of problems which still defy the intellect of man. Circulation is the law of life, the method of
action enqiloyed by l*rovidence in the administration of the univer.se. In the in.sect, as in the
plant, as in the human body, we find a circulation, or I'ather several circulations, — blood, humours,
elements, fire, all whicli enter into the composition of the individual."
However fanciful may l)e some of the amiable prelate's speculations, it is certain that the
gla-ciers obtiy this law of circulation. Tlie snow-accumulations in the upper regions are to some
extent reduced l)y the desci'ut of the avalanches, — that is, of masses of snow and ice which di'tach
tliemsehes from tlie mountain-sides and dash lieadjong into the \allevs below, whei'e thev are
I'apidly melti'd by the warmer atmosphere. lUit (his would, in itself, be wholly insudicient.
Aiiolliir iiiovcmcut , ;it once more eBicacious and more rc'idai', is ui ressarv ; a moNrincnt whiili
;
VARIOUS KINDS OF MORAINES. 115
embraces tliu eiitirt; system of thu ice-masses, and which carries the glaciers below the ]nM-|K'tvial
.snow-line, so that every year they may give uji a jiortion of their terminal cxtrLinitius. Thu
discovery of this general {irogression is onu of the most fertile with which, of late years, the
physics of the globe have been enriched.
Professor Tyndall rightly observes that there are numerous obvious indications of the exist-
ence of glacier-motion, though it is too slow^ to catch the eye at once. The crevasses change within
certain limits from year to year, and sometimes from month to month ; and this could not be if
the ice did not move. Rocks and stones also are observed, which have been plainly torn from
the mountain-sides. Blocks seen to ftxU from particular points are afterwards noticed lower
down. On the moraines rocks are found of a totally different mineralogical character from those
composing the mountains right and left ; and in all such cases strata of the same character are
found bordering the glacier higher up. Hence the conclusion that the foreign boulders have been
floated down by the ice. Further, the ends or " snouts " (jf many glaciers act like ploughshares
on the land in front of them, overturning with irresistible energy the huts and chalets that lie in
tbeir path. Facts like these have been long known to the inhabitants of the High Alps, who
were thus made acquainted in a vague and general way with the motion of the glaciei's. But
Science cannot deal with generalities : it requii'es precise and accurate information ; and this
information, so far as the progression of the glaciers is concerned, has been obtained through the
patient labours of Rendu, t'harpentier, Agassiz, Desor, Vogt, Professor Forbes, Bravais, Chaides
Martins, Hopkins, Professor Tyndall, Colomb, John Ball, and Schlagintweit. Their experiments
and observations have established the truth of certain immutable principles, and proved the
existence of a general law of movement.
The accumulation of the debris hurled headlong by the mountains forms on the glacier-surface
long lines of stone and earth, wdrich are called moraines ; these diverge in certain directions,
according to the circumstances we now come to exjilain.
The landslips which occur on the banks or edges of the glacier give rise to the lateral
moraines, which are enlarged and extended daily by the twofold effect of the fall of stones and
ddbris, and the pi'ogressive movement which carries them along with the whole mass of ice.
Towards the centre of the great glaciers, in almost every case, is found a medial moraine ; the
result of the encounter of the lateral moraines of two glaciers which have united into one. These
superficial moraines participating in the movement of the glacier, each of their blocks eventually
rolls to the foot of the terminal precipice, and thus a frontal inoraine is formed on the very soil
of the valley, like an embankment raised to prohibit the further advance of the ice. And, lastly,
the bed of sand, gravel, pebbles, and detritus which is found beneath the glacier, and over which
it glides, is called the profound moraine.
The furrows wrought by this last-named stratum on the bottom of the glacier-channels
show the wonderful force of friction which the glacier exercises during its descent. The dejiths
of these furrow^s depends entirely on the hardness of the de^bris carried dow^l by the glacier, and
the nature of the rocks submitted to the friction. The polish assumed by these rocks when they
are sufficiently solid to resist the thunderous march of the glacier, indicates the enormous
pressure which it exercises on the slopes of the valley through which it forces its way. This
effort, bearing pi-incipally on the side of the rocks turned in the direction of their crests, impresses
116 A TilVEF. OF ICE.
u|)(in tliem a peculiar rouiK.lrd forin, so Yikv the apjiuarauee of a flock of sheep {iiioutoiiti) tliat De
Saussure o-ave them the name of I'vchcs inoittomices.
Connected Avith the scientific evidence of the }iroL,n-e.ssive movement of glaciers, a glacier in
the Bei-nese Oberlaiid Avill for e^'er be memoi-a]>le. Two branch glaciei's, the Lauteraar and the
Finsteraar, unite at a iiromontory called the Abschwung to form the trunk glacier of tlie
Unteraar, wliicli cai-ries a great medial moraine along its colossal baclv.
Here in 1827, an "intrepid and enthusiastic" Swiss professor, Hugi, of Si)lotliurm (or
Soleure), erected a small caliin of stones for the juu'pose of observations upon the glacier. The
hut moved, and he toi.ik ste|is to measure its motion. In tln-ee years, 18i!7 to 1830, it moved
330 feet downwards. In 18:50 it had descended 2354 feet; and in 1 841, it had accompHshed a
journey of 4712 feet. [Tliis was at the rate of about 336 feet a year.] «
In 1840, M. Agassiz, with some scientific friends, jNIessrs. Desor, Vogt, and Nicolieb,
established themselves under a great overhanging slab of rock on the same moraine, and by
means of side walls, and other appliances, consti-ucte<l a rough abode which, because some of these
men of science came from Neufchatel, they named the " Hotel des Neuchatelois."
In two years after its erection, Agassiz discovered that it liad moved downwards no less a
distance than 480 feet.
These and some similar im-asurements l)rought to light a very important fact. The reader
Avill observe that the inithllc rinii)J)iT!i, corresponding to the central poi'tion of tlie glacier, are the
largest: hence it was (jlivious tliat tlie cmitrr <>/ <i (/Im-irr, Jilr th<(t nf a rirer, mores more
rapiilhi tJidii flie stdrs.
{ >\\ ing to the greater central motion of a glacier, its creva.sses invariably assume a curved
outline, of which the convexity advances towards the bottom of the valley.
It has also been ascertained that the superficial part of a glacier moves more rapidly than
its base.
Again: Tyndall and Hirst, by employing instruments of great precision, have demonstrated
that the maxinunn of motion is not to be found exactly in the centre, but that, according to the
windings of the valley through which the glacier flows, it moves sometimes to the right of the
centre, and sometimes to the left. Now, the progression of a river exhibits all the characters we
have just enumerated, and the truth foreshadowed by Rendu has been confirmed in every detail.
The glacier is a " river of ice."
The reader will naturally ask, How can a substance of sucli apparent rigidity as ice obey, as it
does obey, the same laws which regulate the movement of fluids ? I can understand, he may say,
how water flows in such and sucli a manner : it is a licpiid, and its molecules are deficient in the
property of cohesion ; but that so solid, and firm, and unimpressible a substance as ice should lie
capable of motion st'cms imiiossible. I can understand very easily that a mass of ice, when
loosened or detached from its resting-j)lace, will glide downwards until arrested by some
adequate obstacle; but this is not the kind of motion you are describing. ^Vccording to vour
explanations, every constituent portion of the glacier moves, and the central faster than the lateral,
and the surface faster than the base.
These objections were advanced l)y men of .science when the motion of glaciei's was first put
forwai'd as a theorv ; and (lie answer '■■i\cn bv Sclieuclizer was, that a ijlacier miijht be cimi-
THEORY OF GLAriKlt-MOTIOX. 117
pared, in the suiniiier season, to a sponge saturated witli water, wliieli, when afterwards congealed
1>y the cold teniperatmv of autunni and winter, expanded, and ]irn(hieed a dilatation of the mass
in every direction. Then, as it cmdd not recede, as it could not i-eascoid its valley-slope, the
augmentation nf size wnidd necessarily take place in its lower pnition.
It is unnecessary for us to explain why this answer was unsatisfactory. Subsequent obser-
vations, however, proved its impossibility, and Professor Forbes then put forward his ideas of
the viscous character of ice. But these, too, did not meet the conditions of the jihenomenon ;
and the view now adopted is that of Professor Tyndall, who has shown that it is the result of
the resfelation we have alnadv described.
Professor Forbes enunciated his theory in words to tlie following effect : " A glacier is an
imperfect fluid or viscous l)ody, wliich is urged down slopes of certain inclination by the natural
pressure of its parts." But we know the exceeding brittleness of ice, and how is viscosity com-
patible with brittleness ? We know, too, that crevasses and fissures will suddenly form on a
glacier, like the cracks on a j)ane of glass. But if ice were vLscous, and could expand, dilate, or
stretch as viscous substances do, these crevasses would be impossible. They would gradually
close up, like an indent in a mass of jelly. And yet it cannot be denied that a glacier does move
like a viscous body ; the centre flowing past the sides, the top flowing over the bottom, while the
motion through a curved valley corresponds to fluid motion. How are we to reconcile these
apparently conflicting circumstances ?
By Professor Tyndall's regelation theory, wliich is founded on a fact already mentioned ;
namely, that when two pieces of thawing ice are brought in contact, they freeze together.
This /aci, and its application irres^aective of the cause of regelation, may be thus illustrated :
" Saw two slabs from a block of ice, and bring their flat surfaces into contact ; they immediately
freeze together. Two plates of ice, laid one upon the other, with flannel round them overnigiit,
are sometimes so firmly frozen in the morning that they will rather break elsewhere than along
their surface of junction, if you enter one of the dripping ice-caves of Switzerland, you have
only to press for a moment a slab of ice against the roof of the cave to cause it to freeze there and
stick to the roof
" Place a numlier of frao-ments of ice in a basin of water, and cause them to touch each
other ; they freeze together where they touch. You can form a chain of such fragments ; and
then, by taking hold of one end of the chain, you can draw the whole series after it. Chains of
iceberofs are sometimes formed in this way in the Arctic seas."
From these observations we deduce the following result : — Snow consists of small particles
of ice. Now, if by pressure we squeeze out the air entangled in thawing snow, and bring the
little ice-granules into close contact, they may be expected, as they do, to freeze together ; and
shoiild the expulsion of the air be complete, the squeezed snow Avill assume the appearance of
compact ice.
It is in this way that the consolidation of the snows takes place in the Arctic as in the
higher Alpine regions. The deeper layers of the neve are converted into more or less perfect ice
by the pressure of the superjacent layers ; and further, they are made to assume the shape of the
valley which they fill, by the slow and continuous pressure of its sides.
In glaciers, as Professor Tyndall points out, we have ample illustrations of rude fracture and
regelation; as, for example, in the opening and closing of crevasses. The glacier is broken on
11'8
GLACIERS OF THE TOLAK WOItLD.
tlie cascades, and niondt'd at tliuir bases. Wlien two branch o'lacitjrs lay their sides together,
the rcgelation is so firm tliat they begin inmiL'diately to How in tlic triuik glacier as in a single
stream. The medial moraine gives no indication by its slowness of motion that it is derived from
the sluo'yish ice of the sides of the branch glaciers.
We may sum up the regelation theory in few woids. The ice of glaciers changes its form
and i-etains its continuity under j^rc.s'.s-^rt' which keeps its particles together. But when subjected
to tension, sooner than stretch, it breaks, and behaves no longer as a viscous body.
These are Professor Tyndall's words, and the fact which they embody it would be difficult
to set fortli more clearlv or more concisely.
A I'OLAU Ij LACIER.
Having said thus much of the structure, causes, characteristics, and movement of
glaciers, we proceed to consider some of the nKjre I'emarkable of those which are situated in
the Arctic World.
The glaciers of the Polar Regions do not differ in structure or mode of formation from those
of other countries. Yet they possess some jaeculiar features, and to a superficial observer might
seem independent of the j^hysical laws we have attempted to explain. That this is not the case
has been sliown by Charles Martins, who carefxdly studied the glaciers of Spitzbergen on the
occasion of the cxiiloring voyage of tlie J'fchcrchr to that island, and has demonstrated that their
differences ar(^ but a |iaiticulai- caso of the general phenomenon.
As s]ieci,-d rli;ir;ictei-s lie [loints out, first, the rarity of needles and prisms of ice, wliicli he
ICE-CAVERNS AND OLACIEKS.
119
attributes to the slight inclination and the uniformity of the slopes, as well as to the diminution
of the solar heat, which, evon in the long sunnner days, does not melt the surface. There are no
rills or streams capable of hollowing out crevasses and moulding protuberances or projections.
But transversal crevasses produced by the movement of the glaciers are immerous, and these are
often veiy wide and very deep.
In the terminal escarpment, which melts in jiroportion as it plunges into the sea, immense
caverns are sometimes seen ; caverns so immense that the azure-gleaming grottoes of the Arveii'on
and Grindelwald, so much admired by European travellers, are but miniatures. " One day," says
Charles Martins, " after having ascertained the temperature of the sea off the great glacier of Bell
Sound, I proposed to the sailors who accompanied me to carry our boat into its cavern. I
explained to them the risk we should incur, being unwilling to attempt anything without their
consent. When our boat had crossed the threshold, we found ourselves in an inmiense Gothic
GL.iCIER, ENGLISH BAY, .SPITZBERciEN.
cathedral ; long conical-pointed cylindei's of ice descended from the roof ; the recesses seemed so
many chapels opening out of the principal nave ; liroad fissures divided the walls, and the open
intervals, like arches, sprang towards the summits ; azure gleams played over the icy surface, and
were reflected in the water. The sailors, like myself, were dumb with admiration. But a too
prolonged contemplation would have been dangerous ; we soon regained the narrow opening
through which we had penetrated into this winter temple, and, returning on board our vessel,
preserved a discreet silence respecting an escapade which might have been justl}' blamed. In the
evening, we saw* from the shore our cathedral of the morning slowly bend forwards, detach itself
from the parent glacier, crash into the waves, and reappear in a thousand blocks and fragments of
ice, which tlie retiring tide carried slowly out to sea."
120
FORMATION OF ICEBERGS.
GLACIER, BELL SOUND, SPITZBERGEN.
The Spitzborgen o-laciers do not exhibit those numerous uiorainos which are observed on the
majority of those of SwitzerLind.
The mountains, not being very lofty, are buried, as it were, under tlieir burden of glaciers,
instead of preponderating over them, and seem witli difficulty to lift their }:)eaks out of the mass
of ice and snow surr(.)nnding them. Con-
sequently, there aru no considerable land-
slips or falls of earth and stone, which,
accumulating along the borders of the
glaciers, might f )rm moraiues. jMartins is
of opinion tliat the Spitzbergen glaciers
i.-orrespond to the u])]ier part of the glaciers
of Switzerland ; to so much, that is to say,
as lies above the perpetual snow-line.
Now, he says, the higher we ascend on
an Alpine glacier, the more do the lateral
and medial moraines diminish in width and
form, until they taper away and finally disappear under tlie higli )icrcs of the amphitheatres from
which the glacier issues, just as the mountain torrents often take theii' rise in one or in several
lakes terraced one above the other.
For all these reasons, he adds, the medial and lateral m(.)raines are scarcely conspicuous on
the glaciers of Spitzbergen ; a number of stones and boulders may be seen along their sides, and
sometimes in their centre, but the ice is never hidden, as in the Alps, under the mass of debris
accumulated upon it. As for the terminal moraines, they must be sougiit at the bottom of the sea,
since the terminal escarpment nearly always overhangs it. Hence, the blocks of stone fall simul-
taneously with the blocks of ice, and f >rm a submarine frontal moraine, of which the two
extremities are occasionally visible ujion the shore.
In a jn'evious chapter we have alluded to the manner in whicli icebergs are formed by the
detachment from the seaward extremity of the glacier of huge masses of ice, which the current
carries out into the open sea. To the desci'iption already given, Ave may here add that which
Charles Martins furnishes in his valuable and interesting record of persevering scientific enterprise,
" Du Spitzberg an Sahara" : — I n Spitzbergen. he says, the glacier, after a traject of more or less con-
siderable duration, I'eaches the sea. If the shore be rectilineal, it advances no further ; but, in the
recess of a bay, where the shore is curved, it continues its progression, sujiporting its bulk on the
sides of the bay, and aelvancing above the water, whicli it overliangs. This is easily understood.
In sunnner the sea-water at the liottom (_>f the bays is always at a tem|H'rature a little above 32°;
on coming in contai't witli this conijiaratively warm water the glacier melts, and, at low tide, an
interval is perceptible between the ice and the surface of the water. The glacier being no longer
supported, partially crnnddes and gives way; innnense blocks detach themselves, fall into the
sea, disajjpear beneath the watei', reappear i-evohing on their own axes, and oscillate for a few
moments until they have taken up their position of equilibrium. Tlie blocks thus detached
from the floating masses, of all sizes and sliapes, are called icebergs.
Our traveller records tliat twice a day, in Magdalena Bay and Bell Souiul, he was an eye-
witness of this jiartial ruin ol' tlie extremity (if the glaciers. Their iVdl was accomjianied by a
ICEBERGS AS IMrEDIMENTS TO NAVKIATION. 123
noise like that of tJiuiKka- ; the swollen sea rushed upon the sliore in a succession of gigantic waves ;
the gulf was covered with icebergs, which, caught in the swirl and eddy, issued out of the bay,
like immense fleets, to gain the sea beyond, or were stranded here and there at points where the
water was shallow. The icebergs seen by M. Martins were not, however, of any surprising-
magnitude ; he estimates their average height at thirteen to sixteen feet. We have seen that
those of Baffin Bay ai'e tenfold more considerable and imposing ; but then, in that bay the tem-
perature of the sea is below 32°; the glacier does not melt when it enters the water; it sinks to
the bottom of the sea ; and the portions detached from it are all of greater height than even the
submerged jxirt of the icebergs which drift tu and fro in the bays and gulfs of Spitzbergen.
We may follow up tliis description with some observations by Lieutenant Bellot, the
chivalrous young Freiichman who perished in one of the expeditions desj^atched in search of Sir
John Franklin and his companions. He is sjjeaking of the masses of ice his ship encountered
soon after doubling Cape Farewell, the south point of Greenland, and he remarks, that as Baffin
Bay narrows towards the south, the icebergs, first set in motion higher up the bay by the northern
gales, necessarily tend to accumulate in the gorge thus formed, and so to impede and block up
Davis Strait, even wlicu the higher waters are quite free. It is only through a series of alternate
movements of advance and recession that the bergs finally jiass beyond the barrier, and float out
into the Atlantic, to undergo a slow process of dissolution.
The mobility of the Ijergs, though necessary to navigation, forms at the same time its peculiar
danger, since a vessel is often placed between the shore and the colossal masses driven forward by
the wind, or between these and the solid ice which as yet has not broken up. It is useless to
dwell upon the immense force possessed by masses which are frequently several square leagues in
extent, and which, once in movement, cannot be stayed by any human resistance. A sailing-
vessel finds herself placed in conditions all the more unfavourable, because the winds lilow from
the very direction which she is bound to take in order to open up a way through the floes. Now,
if the gale is violent, it is perilous indeed to push forward in tlie midst of a labyrinth of bergs,
which form so many floating rocks ; if a calm prevails, a ship can move forward only by laborious
hauling or towed by the boats. The application of the screw-propeller to steam-sliips has given
to them a great superiority, because they are not liable to any accident to paddle-wheels, exposed
as such must be to collision with the floating ice. It is recorded that, on one occasion, a screw-
steamer, near Upernavik, on the coast of Greenland, actually charged an iceberg, and drove
rig] it through it, as a railway-engine might crash through a fence or hurdle. Of course, the
berg was of no great elevation ; but its solid mass yielded to the inmiense force of the steam-ship,
and split into large fragments.
In the convulsions caused by furious tempests, which are far from being so rare within the
Arctic Circle as is popularly supposed, the shape of the bergs becomes very irregular, and the
configuration of the ice-fields is constantly undergoing modification. Hence it often happens that
the voyager sees before him an open basin of water of greater or less extent, from w^hich he is
separated only by a narrow stri]) of ice. In such a case he endeavours to eflfect an opening, either
by driving his ship at full speed against the weakest part of the ice, or with the helj^ of immense
saws, twenty feet in length, which are worked with a roi)e and ])ulley i>laced at the top of a
triangle formed of long poles ; or, finally, by exploding a mine. When the ice is not very solid.
124 MOVING ISLANDS IN BAFFIN BAY.
the .ship is ibrccd into tlie opening, against the sides of which it acts like a wedge. It will sonio-
times occur, in the course of the ojieration, that the ice-fields, set in motion by tlie wind or the
currents, close in together, after having treacherously sej^arated for a moment, and the vessel is
then subjected to a dangerous pressure. Unhappy the mariner who docs not foresee or sufficiently
note the warning signs of this accident, which is almost always accompanied bj' fatal consequences.
The ice, which nothing can check, passing underneath the ship, capsizes it, — or, if it resists,
crushes it.
AVe ha.ve alluded to the colossal bergs of Baffin Bay. These are thrown off from the
northern glaciers, and particularly from the enormous ice-river named after Humboldt, which
cumbers the declivities of the Greenland Alps, beyond the 79th parallel. It has been a frequent
source of surprise to navigators that these mighty masses should float in a contrary direction to
that of the ice-fields which descend with the Polar current towards the Atlantic. They reascend
with such rapidity that they shatter the so-called " ice-foot," or belt of ice, still adhering to the
shore. Captain JMaury has collected numerous observations on this imj^ortant suliject, and he
quotes the case of a ship which was being laboriously hauled against the current, when an enor-
mous floating mountain coming up from the south steered against it, but fortunately did not come
into collision with it, and forging ahead, very quickly disappeared. How is such an incident to
be explained ? By the existence of a submarine counter-current, acting on the lower extremity
of the submerged portion of the berg, which, as we have stated, is always seven or eight times
larger than the bulk above the surface of the waves.
Our whalers, in their hazardous expeditions, often derive assistance from these moving islands.
They seek shelter under their lee when sudden storms arise ; for the huge bergs are scarcely
affected by the most violent gales. They find their shelter valuable also during certain operations
f)f the fishery for wliich rest and quiet are necessary. Yet it is not absolutely exempt from
danger. The seeming friend may prove to be a concealed foe. The iceberg may collapse, or be
capsized ; or formidal^le fragments, loosened from their sides or summits, may topple headlong and
threaten to overwhelm the ship beneath : but as on these and other accidents we have already
dwelt at length, Ave refrain from wearying our readers with a twice-told tale. The repetition in
which, to some extent, we have indulged, was needful, in order to show the reader in what way
the dissolution of the lower extremity of the glaciers is efiected in the Arctic world.
In the neighbourhood of Cape Alexander, one of the headlands of Smith Strait, Dr. Hayes
met witli a glacier, of which he gives an interesting description in his narrative of an " Arctic
Boat Journey," (1854): —
It was the first, protruding into the ocean, which lie had had an opportunity of inspecting
closely ; and though small, compared with other similar formations, it had nevertheless all their
principal characteristics. It presented to the sea a convex mural face, seventy feet in height and
about two miles in length, its centre projecting into the water beyond the general line of the
coast to the east and west of it. The surface rose abruptly to the height of about two hundred
feet, and, sloping thence backward with a gentle inclination, seemed to be connected with an
extensive mer de c/Iace above. Several fissures or crevasses, apparently of great depth, struck
vertically through its body, and extundct! far up into its interior; and others, more shallow, which
THE ARCTIC MEU DE GLACE. 127
seemed to have been formed by the streams of melted snow that poured in cataracts down into
the sea. Dr. Hayes remarks that he was impressed by its viscous appearance ; but we have
shown that a certain amount of viscosity naturally appertains to glacier ice.
Parallel with its convex face ran a succession of indistinctly marked lines, which gave it the
aspect of a semi-fluid mass moving downward upon an inclined surface ; and this idea was con-
firmed by its appearance about the rocks on either side. Over these it seemed to have flowed ;
and, fitting accurately into all their inequalities, it gave the efiect of a huge moving mass of
partially solidified matter suddenly congealed.
Of still greater interest is the same adventurous explorer's description of the great Arctic
Mer de Glace which lies inland from Rensselaer Bay, in about lat. 79° N., and long. 68° W.
Dr. Hayes and his party had set out on an expedition into the interior, and after passing
through a really picturesque landscape, enriched with beds of moss and turf, patches of jjurple
andromeda, and the trailing branches of the dwarf-willow, they emerged upon a broad plain or
valley, in the heart of which reposed a frozen lake, about two miles in length by half a mile in
width. They traversed its transparent surface. On either side of them rose rugged bluffs, that
stretched off into long lines of hills, culminating in series in a broad-topped mountain-ridge, which,
running away to right and left, was cut by a gap several miles wide that opened directly before
them. Immediately in front was a low hill, around the base of which flowed on either side the
branches of a stream whose course they had followed. Leaving the river-bed just above the lake,
they climbed to the summit of this hillock ; and there a sight burst upon them, grand and impos-
ing beyond the power of words adequately to describe. From the rocky bed, only a few miles in
advance, a sloping wall of pure whiteness rose to a bi'oad level plain of ice, which, apparently
without limits, stretched away toward the unknown east. It was the great mer de glace of the
Arctic continent.
Here then was, in reality, the counterpart of the river-systems of other lands. From behind
the granite hills the congealed drainings of the interior water-sheds, the atmospheric precipitations
of ages, were moving in a mass, which, though solid, was jalastic, moving down through every
gap in the mountains, swallowing up the rocks, filling the valleys, submerging the hills : an
onward, irresistible, crystal tide, swelling to the ocean. The surface was intersected by numerous
vertical crevasses, some of considerable depth, which had drained oft' the melted snow.
It was midnight when the explorers approached this colossal reservoir. The sun was
several degrees beneath the horizon, and afforded a fixint twilight-gleam. Stars of the second
magnitude were dimly perceptible in the cold, steel-blue Arctic heavens. When they Avera
within about half a mile of the icy wall, a brilliant meteor fell before them, and, by its reflection
upon the glassy surface beneath, greatly increased the magical effect of the scene ; while loud
reports, like distant thunder or the roll of artillery, broke at intervals from the depths of the
frozen sea.
On closer insj^ection it was found that the face of the glacier ascended at an angle of from
30° to 35°. At its base lay a high bank of snow, and the wanderers clambered up it about sixty
feet ; but beyond this their efforts were defied by tlic exceeding smoothness of the ice. The
mountains, which stood on either hand like giant-warders, were overlapped, and to some extent
submerged, by the glacier. From the face of the huge ice-river innumerable little rivulets ran
9
128 Cl.AClKli UV .SKltMlATSlALIK.
(Itiwii tlie L'liaiim'ls tlieir nrtiou liad o-raduall}- excavated, or gurgled fioni Leiieath the ice; form-
ing, oil tlie le\el lands Ix'low, a sort of marsh, not twenty yards from the icy wall. Here, in
strange contrast, hloomt'd heds of verdurous moss; and in these, tufts of dwarf-willows were
wrcathino- their tinv arms and rootlets ahout the fecldur tiower-iifrowths ; and tliei't', clustered
together, crouching among the gi-ass, and sheltered hy the leaves, and feeding ou the bed of
lichens, flourished a tiny, white-blossomed draba and a white chickweed. Dotting the few feet
of green around might be seen the j'ellow flowers of the more hardy Jioppy, the purple jDoteiitilla,
and saxifrages yellow, ])iirple, and white.
The great glacier t)f Serniiatsialik is one of the arms, or outlets, of this immense reservijir of
ice. It occupies the bed of a valley, varying from three and a half to five miles in width, and
attaining at certain points a depth of upwards of three hundred and seventy feet. This valley
opens upon the fiord of Serniiatsialik, which is separated from that of Julianshaab by the range
of mountains culminating in the peak of Redkammen.
We owe to Dr. Hayes a lively description of the Sermiatsialik glacier, which he thinks
must at scjiiie places be more than seven hundred and fifty feet in depth, overflowing the borders
of the valley like a swollen torrent. For upwards of four leagues, the icebergs which tlirong the
fiord, or gulf, are those of the glacier itself and terminating in a wedge-like (outline, disappear in
the vast sea of ice ex])anding to right and left above the loftiest summits, and di-awing irresist-
ibly the eye to its rippled surface, — boundless, apparently, like that of ocean. As the voyager
sails up thi' gulf he gradually loses sight of the frozen slope, and then of the white line of the
me)' (hi (jlace : he finds himself in front of an immense cliff, from one hundred to two hundred
feet in height, diaphanous as the purest crystals, and reflecting all the hues of heaven.
One almost shudders as one approaches this vast domain of Winter. Collecting in copious
streams, the ice and snow melted on the surf^xce of the glacier pour over its Itiiiik, forming float-
ing clouds of spray, irradiated by I'aiidjow col<nirs. The din of these cascades fills the air. At
intervals, the loud re|iorts of the internal convulsions of the glacier are repeated by every echo.
The clift' is entirely vertical ; but its face, far from being smooth, is broken up into an infi-
nite variety of forms : into unfathomable cavernous hollows, symmetrical spires, ogives, pinnacles,
and deep fissures, where the eye plunges into a transjiarent blue, which changes every second
its fleeting, opaline tints ; tints so soft, and yet so vivid, that they defy the skill of the artist to
reproduce them. The lustre of the " dark eye of woman" is not more difficult to seize. A deep
dark green, less delicate but not less splendid, colours all the recesses where the ice overhangs
the waters. In the sunlight one sees the surface of these huge crystals shining with the white-
ness of the ))urest snow ; excejit, indeed, where recent fractures have taken j)lace. I'hey suggest
to the mind tfic idea of the gleams and reflections of a piece of satin ; the undulafory lustre and
shifting sparkle being pnxluced by the different angles under which the light is reflected.
l')Ut let us sujipose that we have landed : with much dilHculty lun'e ascended the cliffs; and
have clambered up the glacier to its very summit. The scene before us, how shall we convey to
the mind of the reader ?
Imagine, if vou can, the rajiids of tlic Ujipci- Niagara congealeil e\('n to their lowest depths;
imagine the falls, and flie broad ii\c r, and the great Lake Faiv all frozen into solid ice : witii
GLACIER OF SEEMIATRIALIK. l?,l
bergs above the cataract towering as liigh as the lower banks : suppose that you, the spectator,
having taken your stand upon the ra2)ids, with the Erie so near that you can see its crystaUized
surface, and you will have a picture, on a reduced scale, of the sea of ice now S2')reading far before
us. The rapids will represent the glacier ; the Great Fall the cliff which it projects into the sea
(only that the celebrated "horse-shoe" is here turned outwards) ; the river which broadens into
the Ontario will be the fiord ; and the Ontario, that dark grim ocean into wliich tlie gigantic
bergs detached from the mighty ice-cascade are slowly making their way !
We must indicate, however, one remarkable dissimilarity, for which our previous observa-
tions on the nature of glaciers will have prepared the reader. From one bank to the other, the
surface of a river is always horizontal, but that of a glacier is slightly convex.
Through the narrow glen, or ravine, formed by this curvature of the glacier, a kind of lateral
trough or gully, bounded by the escarpment of the soil, Ave reach the sea. The descent is not
without its dangers, for at every point crevasses open, separated by slippery projections. These
deep gashes, at some points, are only a few yards apart ; and they incessantly cross each other,
and run into one another, so as to form a perfect labyrinth, in the w-indings of which the adven-
turous traveller is apt to feel bewildered.
The border of the glacier once crossed, the way becomes less difficult ; for a mile and a half
the level is almost jierfect, and the ice but little broken uj). The frozen desert, however,
impresses us with an almost solemn feeling, and there is something terrible in the desolation of
such a Sahara of snow !
Moreover, the traveller is irresistibly affected by the continual roar or growling of the enor-
mous mass, which seems to stir and shake under our very feet. He would not be sui-jnised if a
vast chasm suddenly yawned before him ! These harsh deep voices of the glacier, however, are
not the only sounds we hear. On every side rises the murmur of brooks which trace their fur-
rows across the crystalline plain. Some of these gradually converge, and, uniting, form a con-
siderable torrent, which leaps with a clang from icy crag to icy ledge, until it is lost in a
crevasse, or jirecipitated over the frozen cliff into the waters of the fiord. The solitude of the
scene is complete, but not the silence. The air is as full of " noises " as ever was Prosperous isle.
Such are the pi'incipal features of the glacier of Sermiatsialik.
About ninety miles north-east of Rensselaer Bay lies the great Humboldt Glacier, which
seems to serve as a connecting-link between the Old World and the New.
It lies between the 79th and 80th parallels north, and between the G4th and Goth meridians
west, skirting the shore of Peabody Bay, which is a bold indentation of the east coast of Kane Sea.
It was discovered in Dr. Kane's expedition, and is j^robably one of the grandest spectacles
in the Arctic world. Dr. Kane acknowledges himself unable to do justice to its magnificent
aspect. He can speak only of its " long, ever-shining line of cliff diminished to a well-pointed
wedge in the perspective;" of its "face of glistening ice, sweeping in a long curve from the low
interior, the facets in front intensely illuminated by the sun."
This line of clifi' rises, like a solid wall of glass, three hundred feet above the water-level,
with an unknown, unftxthomable depth below it ; and its curved face, sixty miles in lenrjtli, dis-
appears into unknown space at not more than a single day's railroad-travel from the Pole. The
13l' TIJK HUM1W)1,I>I' CLACIKi;.
iulLTior with wliicli it (■(iiiiuiiniii-atL's, ami i'linii which it isssues, is uii luiexjildix'd rncr de ylace,
ill! icu-occau, of ajt]iarfiitly Ijouiidlcss (liiiR'ii.sioiis.
Such is thf •'luiglity crystal brid^'e " which connects the two continents of America and
Gieenland. ^Ve say, continents; for Greenland, as Dr. Kane remarks, liowever insidated it
mav idtiniatt'ly prove to be, is in mass strictly continental. Its least |)ossil)le axis, measured
from ( 'a])e Farewell to the line of the ][nniboldt (llacier, in the neig-hbourhood of the 80th
parallel, gives a length of upwards of twelve hundred miles. — not materially less than that of
Australia from its iKjrthern to its southern cape.
Imagine tlie centre of such a (.•(.>ntinent, says ])i\ Kane, occupietl through nearly its whole
extent liy a dee]i, mdu-oken sea of ice, that gathers pei-ennial increase from the water-shed of vast
snow-covered moimtains and all the jirecipitations ot the atniospheri' upon its own surface.
Imagine this, mo\ing onward like a great glacial river, seeking outlets at every ti(.)rd and valley,
rolling icy cataracts into the Atlantic and (Jreeuland seas; and, having at last reached the
northern limit of the land that has borne it u]), pouring out a mighty frozen torrent into unknown
Arctic space.
•' It is thus," I'emarks Dr. Kane, "and only thus, that we must form a just conception of a
phenomenon like this great glacier. I had looked in my own mind for such an ajipearance,
should I ever be fortumite enough to reach the northern coast of Greenland. But now that it
was before me, I could hardly I'ealize it. 1 had recognized, in my (puet library at Irjuic, the
beautiful analogies which Forbes and Studei' have developed between the glacier and the river;
but I could not coni[ireliend at first this complete substitution of ice for water.
" It was slowly the c(.inviction dawned on me that I was hooking upon the counterjiart of
the great river-system of Arctic Asia and America. Yet here were no water-feeders fi'om the
south. Every j)article of moistiu'e had its origin within tlie Polar Circle, and had been converted
into ice. There were no vast alluvions, no forest or animal traces borne down by licjuid torrents.
Here was a plastic, moving, semi-solid mass, obliterating life, swallowing rocks and islands, and
l)louo'hina' its wav with irresistible march through the crust of an investino- sea."
When, at a later period. Dr. Kane made a closer examination of tliis great natural wondei',
he found that previously he had not realized the full grandeur of the spectacle. He noted that
the trend of the glacier was a few degrees to the west of north; and he remarks, as the
jieculiarity of its aspect, that it did not indicate repose, but activity, energy, movement.
Its surface seemed to follow that of the basis-country over which it flowed. It was undulat-
ing on and about the horizon, but as it descended towards tbe sea it represented a broken plain
with a general inclinati<ni of some nine degrees, still diminishing toward the foreground. Crev-
asses, which in the distance seemed like mere wrinkles, expanded as they came nearer, and were
intersected almost at right angles by long continuous lines of fracture ])arallel with the face of
the glacier.
These lines, too, scarcely perceptible in the far distance, widened as they approached the
sea luitil they formed a gigantic stairway. It seemed as though the ice had lost its support
below, and tliat the mass was let down from above in a series of steps ; and such an action is the
necessary i-esult of the heat thrown out by the soil, the excessive surtace-drainagc, and the con-
stant abrasion of the sea.
DK. KANE'S THEORY OF ICEBERGS. l.S.i
The indication of a great prupelliiig agency seemed to be just commencing at the time that
Dr. Kane visited the great glacier. The split-oflP lines of ice were evidently in motion, pressed
on by those behind, but still liroadening their fissures, as if the imitelling action grew more and
more energetic nearer the water, till at last they floated away in the form of icebergs. Long
files of these detached masses might be seen, like the ranks of a stately armada, slowly sailing
out into the remote sea, their se2:)aration marked by dark [)arallel shadows ; broad and spacious
avenues near the eye, but narrowed in the perspective to mere furrows. A more impressive
illustration of the forces of nature it would be difficult to conceive.
Dr. Kane's view of the formation of icebergs difiers considerably from that wliich most
physicists entertain.
He does ncjt believe that tlic berg falls into the sea, brok<'n l)y its weight from the parent
glacier; he is of ()})inion that it r/.svw //'o;/; the sea. The process is at once gradual and compara-
tivelj- quiet. " The idea of icebergs being discharged, so universal among systematic writers,
seems to me at variance with the regulated and progressive actions of Nature. Developed by
such a process, the thousands of bergs which throng the Polar seas should keep the air and
water in perpetual commotion, one fearful succession of explosive detonations and propagated
waves. But it is only the lesser masses falling into deej) waters which could justify the popular
opinion. The enormous masses of the great glacier are propelled, step by step and year by year,
until, reaching water capable of supporting them, they are floated off to be lost in the tempera-
tures of other regions."
The Humboldt Glacier did not ditl'er in strm-ture from tlie Alpine and Xorwegian ice-
growths ; and its face presented nearly all the cliaracteristic features of tlie latter. The overjlow,
or viscous overlapping of the surface, was very strongly marked. " When close to tlie island
rocks," says Kane, "and looking out upon the upper table of the glacier, I was struck with the
homely analogy of the batter-cake spreading itself out under the ladle of the housewife, the upper
surface less affected by friction, and rolling forward in consequence."
The crevasses bore the marks of direct fracture, as well as of the more gradual action of
surface-drainage. The extensive water-shed between their converging planes gave to tlie icy
surface most of the hydrographic features of a river-system. The ice-born livers which divided
them were margined occasionally with spires of discoloured ice, and generally lost themselves in
the central areas of the glacier before reaching its foreground. (Jccasioually, too, the face of
the clacier was cut by vertical lines, which, as in the Al])ine examples, were evidently outlets for
the surface drainage.
The height of this ice-wall at the nearest point was about three huudred feet, measured from
the watei"'s edge ; and the unbroken right line of its diminishing persjiective .showed that this
might be regarded as its constant measurement. It seemed, in fact, a great icy table-land,
abutting with a clean precipice against the sea. This, indeed, is the great characteristic of" all
those Arctic glaciers wliich issue from central reservoirs or mers de (jlace upon the fiords or bays,
and is strikingly in contrast with the dependent or hanging glacier of the ravines, where every
line and furrow and chasm seem to indicate the movement of descent and the mechanical
disturbances which have impeded and delayed it.
Dr. Kane named this monster glacier after Alexander Von Humboldt, to whose labours
'134 NOTES ON THK OLACIKU.
Physical Science is so largely indebted ; and the cape wliich tlanks it on the (Jreenland coast
after the distinguished naturalist, whom the world has so recently lost, Professor Agassiz.
The jioint at which the Humboldt Glacier enters the " Land of Washington " affords even
at a distance very clear indications of its plastic or semi-solid character. The observer finds it
impossible to resist the impression of fluidity conveyed by its peculiar markings. Dr. Kane very
appropriately named it Cape Forbes, in honour of the illustrious son of Scotia who contributed
so largely to our true knowledge of the structure and mode of progression of glaciers.
As the surface of the glacier, adds its discoverer, receded to the south, its face seemed
broken with piles of earth and rock-stained rubbish, until f;xr back in the interior it was concealed
from view by the slope of a hill. But even beyond this point its continued extension was shown
by the white glare or ice-blink in the sky above.
Its outline to the northward could not be so easily traced, on account of the enormous dis-
charges at its base. The talus of its descent from the interior, looking far off to the east, ranged
from 7° to 1 5 " ; so interrupted by the crevasses, however, as only in the distance to produce the
effect of an inclined plane. A few black protuberances rose abcjve the glittering surface of the
snow, like islands in a foamy sea.
It could be seen, from the general iuecpialities of its surface, how well the huge mass
adapted itself to the inequalities of the basis-country beneath. The same modifications of hill
and dale were discernible as ujion land. Thus grand and various in its imposing aspect, it
stretches to the north until it touches the new Land of Washington, cementing together by an
apparently indissoluble tie the Greenland of the Norse Vikings and the America of the Anglo-
Saxon colonists.
CHAPTER V.
TIIK ARCTIC LANDS — FAUNA — FLORA — GREENLAND ICELAND NOVAIA ZEMLAIA — SIBERIA.
I^j liave already pointed out that in tlie northernmost regions of the Arctic hinds the
year is divided into one prolonged and bitterly cold night of several months' duration,
and one glorious summer's day extending over nine or ten weeks, which brings the
scanty vegetation to a sudden maturity. We have indicated that even within the limits of
perpetual snow the life of Nature is not altogether crushed out ; and in supjJort of this statement
we may refer to the " red snow" which figures so often in the pages of our Arctic voyagers,
though its true character was not at first apprehended.
This so-called "red snow" was found by Sir John Ross, in his first Arctic expedition in
1808, on a range of cliffs rising about 800 feet above the sea-level, and extending eight miles in
length (lat. 75' N.). It was also discovered by Sir "W. E. Parry in his overland expedition in
1827. The snow was tinged to the depth of several inches. Moreover, if the surface of the
snow-plain, though previously of its usual spotless purity, was crushed by the pressure of the
sledges and of the footstejis of the party, blood-like stains instantly arose ; the impressions being
sometimes of an orange hue, and sometimes more like a pale salmon tint.
It has been ascertained that this sinsfular variation of colour is due to an immense asryrresra-
tion of minute plants of the species called Protococcus nivalis ; the generic name alluding to the
extreme primitiveness of its organization, and the specific to the peculiar nature of its habitat.
If we place a small quantity of red snow on a piece of white pajier, and allow it to melt and
evaporate, there will be left a residuum of granules sufficient to communicate a faint crimson tint
to the jjaper. Examine these granules under a microscope, and they Avill prove to be sphei'ical
purple cells of almost inappreciable size, not more than the three-thousandth to one-thousandth
part of an inch in diameter. Look more closely, and you will see that each cell has an opening,
surrounded by indented or serrated lines, the smallest diameter of wliich measures only the five-
thousandth part of an inch. When perfect, the plant, as Dr. Macmillan observes, bears a
resemblance to a red-currant berry ; as it decays, the red colouring matter fades into a deep
orange, which is finally resolved into a brownish hue. The thickness of the wall of the cell is
estimated at the twenty-thousandth part of an inch, and three hundred to four hundred of these
cells might be grouped together in a smaller space than a shilling would cover. Yet each cell is
a distinct individual plant ; perfectly independent of others with which it may be massed ; fully
capable of performing for and by itself all the functions of growth and reproduction ; jiossessing
" a containing membrane which absorbs liquids and gases from the surrounding matrix or elements,
136 FORMS OF VEGETAP.LK LIFE.
a coutaiiird lluul mI' jiLTuliar rhararttT foniifd out of these materials, and a nuiiiber of exL-essively
uiiuute granules eijuivaleiit to spores, or, as some would say, to cellular liuds, AS'liirli are to become
the germs of new plants," Dr. Macmillan adds: "That
's-oR ' one and the same i)rimitive cell should thus minister
''yf^-^^rr'^^-'^M ®'- "^ equally to absorption, nutrition, and re} >rod action, is an
^_- extraordinary illustration of the fact that the smallest and
rS,k,ii yimj^lest organized object is in itself, and, for the part it
'V'W>'''*\v''.l*'i '■ *'''^^ created to perform in the operations of nature, as
admirably adapted as the largfest and most complicated."
ritOTOCOCCUS NIVALIS. - 1 C J.
The tirst vegeta1.)le forms to make their appearance at the limits (_)f the sni)\v-line. whether
in liigh latitudes or on mountain-sununits, are lichens ; which flourish on rocks, or stones, or trees,
or wherever they can obtain sufficient moisture to supjtort existence. Upwards of two thousand
four hundred species are known. The same kinds prevail throughout the Arctic Kegions, and
the sjiecies common to both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres are very numerous. They
lend the beauty of colour to many an Arctic scene which would otherwise be inexpressibly
dreary; the most rugged rock acquiring a certain air of pictures(pieness through their luxuriant dis-
play. Their forms are wonderfully varied ; so that they present to the student of Nature an almost
inexhaustil)le field of inquiry. In their most rudimentary asjiects they seem to consist of nothing
more than a collection of powdery granules, so minute that the figure of each is scarcely distin-
guishable, and so dry and so deficient in organization that \\e cannot but wonder how they live
and maintain life. Now they are seen like ink-sjiots on the trunks of fallen trees ; now they are
freely sjirinkled in white dust over rocks and withered tufts of moss , others apjiear m gray filmy
patches ; others again like knots or rosettes of various tints ; and some are pulpy and gelatinous,
like aerial sea-weeds which the receding tide leaves bare and naked on inland rocks, A greater
complexity of structure, however, is visible in the higher order of lichens, — antl we find them
either tufted and shrubby, like miniature trees ; or in clustering cu|)s, which, Hebe-likc', present
their " dewy offerings to the sun,"
In the I^)lal■ World, and its regions of eternal winter, where snow and ice, and daik diear
waters, huge glacier and colossal berg, combine to foiin an awful and impressive i)ictiu'e, the
traveller is thankful for the abundance of these humble and primitive forms, which communicate
the freshness and variety of life to the otherwise painful and death-like uniformity of the frost-
bound Nature, 1 1 is true that here,
*' AltO\'L'. .■IVnUllil. lli'lriW.
I )ii iiiiiiiiitaiii 111' ill glen,
Niir tice, iinv sliiiili, mil' ]ilaiit, ma' tlnwi'i'."
may be found in the lauds l)eyond the line of jierpetual snow ; it is true that
'■ All is rucks iit raiulom tlirnwn.
Black waves, bare crags, anil lianks uf stmic ;
A.s if were here denied
The summer's sun, the spring's sweet dew,
That I'lnthe with many a varied hue
The lile.akest mountain-side ; "
but vegetation is not absolutely wanting, and the lichens are so largely developed and so widely
distributed as to impart cjuite a peculiar and distinctive character to the scenery.
TJCIIEXS AND TITEri! f'll A RArTFlR.S. l.iT
A lirhen wliicli is disroverLHl in Mhiiost every Z(jne of altitude and latitude which rauo-es
from tlie wild shores of Mel\ille Island in the Arctic to those of Deception Islam! in the
Antarctic circle, — which hloonis on the crests of the Himalayas, on the lofty j)ea.k of (Jhindiorazo,
and was found by Ag-assiz near the top of Mont Blanc, — is the Lecidea fjeuyraji/u'ca, a Ijeautiful
bright-green lichen, whose clusters assume almost a kaleidoscopic appearance.
A lichen of great importance in the Arctic world is the welldcnown Cladonia raixji/eriii'i.
or reindeer moss, which forms the staple food of that animal during the long Arctic winter. In
the vast tundras, or steppes, of Lapland it flourishes in the greatest profusion, completely covering
the ground with its snowy tufts, which look like the silvery sprays of some magic plant.
According to Linn;eus, it thrives more luxuriantly than any other plant in the pine-forests of
Lapland, the surface of the soil being carjieted with it for many niiles in extent; and if the forests
are accidentally bui'iied to the ground, it quickly reappears, and grows with all its original \igour.
These plains, which seenr to the traveller smitten with the curse of desolation, the Lajjlander
regards as fertile pastures ; and here vast herds i)f reindeer roam at w'ill, thriving where the
horse, the elephant, and even the camel would jjerish. This useful animal is dependent almo.st
entirely on a lichen for su]ij)ort. What a deep interest is thus attached to it! That vast
numbers of families, living in pastoral simplicity in the cheerless and inhospitable Polar Regions,
should depend for their subsistence upon the uncultui-ed and abundant supply of a plant so low
in the scale of organization as this, is, says Dr. Macmillaii, a striking proof of the great importance
of even the smallest and meanest objects in nature.
When the ground is crusted with a hard and frozen snow, which prevents it from obtaining
its usual food, the reindeer turns to another lichen, called rock-hair {Alectoria juhata), that grows
in long bearded tufts on almost every tree. In winters of extreme rigour, the Laplanders cut
down whole forests of the largest trees, that their herds may browse freely on the tufts which
clothe the higher branches. Hence it has been justly said that " the vast dreary pine-forests of
Lapland possess a character which is peculiarly their own, and are perhajis more singular in the
eyes of the traveller than any other feature in the landscapes of that remote and desolate region.
This character they owe to the immense numl^er of lichens with which they abound. The ground,
instead of grass, is carpeted with dense tufts of the reindeer moss, wliite as a shower of new
fallen snoAV ; while the trunks and branches of the trees are swollen fiir beyond their natural
dimensions with huge, dusky, funereal liranches of the rock-hair, hanging down in masses,
exhaling a damp eartlry smell, like an old cellar, or stretching from ti-ee to tree in long festoon.=!,
waving with every breath of wind, and creating a perpetual melancholy sound."
In regions furthest north are found \'arious sj)ecies of licliens belonging to the genera
Gyrophora and Umhilicuria, and known in the records of Arctic travel as rock tripe, or /ri/je
de roche ; a name given to them in consequence of their blistered thallus, which I)ears a faint
resemblance to the animal substance so called. They afford a coarse kind of food, and proved
of the greatest service to the expeditions under Sir .John Franklin ; though their nutritious
properties are not considerable, and, .such as they are, are unfortunately impaired by the presence
of a bitter principle which is apt to induce diarrhoea. In Franklin and Richardson's terrible
overland journey from the Coppermine River to Fort Enterprise it w^as almost the sole support,
at one time, of the heroic little company. Di'. Richardson says they gathered four species of
138 r.OCK LICHEN, OR STONE-MOSS.
Gyrophora* and used tliein all as articles of food ; "but uot having the means of extractino- the
bitter jirincijilu tVoni them, they proved nauseous to all, and noxious to several of the jmrty,
producing severe bowel complaints." Franklin on one occasion remarks : " This was the sixth
day since we had enjoyed a good meal ; the tripe de roche, even wlien we got enough, only
serving to allay the pangs of hunger for a short time." Again, we read : " The want of trij^e
<le roche caused us to go supperless to bed."
Dr. Hayes, in the course of his "Arctic Boat Journey," was compelled to have recourse to
the same unsatisfactory fare. The rock-lichen, or stone-moss, as he calls it, he describes as about
an inch in diameter at its maximum growth, and of the thickness of a wafer. It is black exter-
nally, l)ut when broken the interior appears white. When boiled it makes a glutinous fluid,
which is slightly nutritious.
"Although in some places it grows very abundantly," writes Dr. Hayes, "yet in one
locality it, like the game, was scarce. Most of the rocks had none upon them ; and there were
\ ery few from which we could collect as nuich as a quart. Tlie difficulty of gathering it was
nuich augmented by its crispness, and the firmness of its attachment.
" For this plant, poor though it was, we were compelled to dig. The rocks in every case
were to be cleared from snow, and often our pains went unrewarded. The first time this food
was tried it seemed to answer well, — it at least filled the stomach, and thus kept off the horrid
sensation of hunger until we got to sleep ; but it was found to produce afterwards a painful
diarrhoia. Besides this unpleasant effect, fragments of gravel, which were mixed with the moss,
tried our teeth. We picked the ])lants from the rock with our knives, or a piece of hoop-iron ;
and we could not avoid breaking off some particles of the stone."
These lichens are black and leather-like, studded with small black points like "coiled wire
buttons," and attached either by an umbilical root or by short and tenacious fibres to the rocks.
Some of them may be compared to a piece of shagreen, while others resemble a fragment of
burned skin. They are met with in cold bleak localities, on Alpine heights of granite or
micaceous schist, in almost all parts of the world, — on the Scottish mountains, on the Andes, on
the Himalayas ; but it is in the Polar World that they most abound, spreading over the surface
of every rock a sombi-e Plutonian vegetation, that seems to have been scathed by fire and flame,
until all its beauty and richness were shrivelled up.
Some of the lichens in the less remote latitudes — as, for instance, in Sweden — are far
superior in usefulness to any of those we have hitherto described. The Swedish peasant finds
in theiu his pharmacy, his dyeing materials, his food. W^ith the various lichens that grow upon
the trees and rocks, says Frederika Bremer, he cures the virulent diseases which sometimes
afflict him, dyes the articles of clothing which ho wears, and poisons the noxious and dangerous
animals which annoy him. The juniper and cranberry give him their berries, which he brews
into drink ; he makes a conserve of them, and mixes their juices w ith Ids dry salt-meat, and is
liealthful and cheerful with these and with his labour, of which he makes a pleasure.
The only lichen which has retained its place in modern jiharmacy is the well-known " Iceland
moss." It is still employed as a tonic and febrifuge in ague; but more largely, Avhen added to
soups and chocolate, as an article of diet for the feeble and consumptive. In Iceland the
* So GiUeil fi'oni its cireular fnrni, and liuoause the surface nf tlie leaf is marked witli curved liiie.s.
MOSSES IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 139
Cetraria Islandica is highly valued by the inhabitants. What barley, rye, and oats are to the
Indo-Caucasian races of Asia and Western Europe ; the olive, the fig, and the grape to the
inhabitants of the Mediterranean basin ; rice to the Hindu ; the tea-plant to the native of the
Flowery Land ; and the date pahn to the Arab, — is Iceland moss to the Icelander, the Lapp,
and the Eskimo.
It is found on some of the loftiest peaks of the Scottish Highlands ; but in Iceland it
overspreads the whole country, flourishing more abundantly and attaining to a larger growth on
the volcanic soil of the western coast than elsewhere. It is collected triennially, for it requires
three years to reach maturity, after the spots where it thrives have been cleared. We are told
that the meal obtained from it, when mixed with wheat-flour, produces a greater quantity,
though perhaps a less nutritious quality, of bread than can be manufactured from wheat-flour
alone. The great objection to it is its bitterness, arising from its peculiar astringent principle,
cetraria. However, the Lapps and Icelanders remove this disagreeable pungency by a
simple process. They chop the lichen to pieces, and macerate it for several days in water mixed
with salt of tartar or quicklime, which it absorbs very readily ; next they dry it, and pulverize
it ; then, mixed with the flour of the common knot-grass, it is made into a cake, or boiled, and
eaten with reindeer's milk.
Mosses are abundant in the Arctic Regions, increasing in number and beauty as we approach
the Pole, and covering the desert land with a thin veil of veixlure, which refreshes the eye and
gladdens the heart of the traveller. On the hills of Lapland and Greenland, they are exten-
sively distributed ; and the landscape owes most of its interest to the charming contrasts they
aflbrd. Of all the genera, perhaps the bog-mosses. Sphagna, are the most luxuriant ; but at the
same time they are the least attractive, and the plains which they cover are even drearier than
the naked rock. In Melville Island these mosses form upwards of a fourth part of the whole
flora. Much finer to the sight is the common hair-moss [Polytrichum commune), which extends
over the levels of Lapland, and is used by the Lapps, when they are bound on long journeys, for
a temporary couch. We may mention also the fork-moss (Dieranum), which the Eskimos
twist into wicks for their rude lamps.
We have not space to dwell upon the grasses and fungi, though these are numerous, and
some of them interesting. The cochlearia, or scurvy-grass, has often proved of great utility to
Arctic explorers ; and Dr. Kane on more than one occasion availed himself of its medicinal
projterties. Fungi extend almost to the very limits of Arctic vegetation. The Greenlanders and
Lapps make use of them for tinder, or as styjatics for stopping the flow of blood, and allaying
pain. In Siberia they abound. Frequently, in the high latitudes, they take the form of "snow
mould," and are found growing on the barren and ungenial snow. These species are warmed
into life only when the sun has grown sufticient to melt the superficial snow-crust, without
producing a general thaw, and then they spread for and wide in glittering wool-like patches,
dotted with specks of red or green. When the snow melts, they overspread the grass beneath
like a film of cobweb, and in a day or two disapjjear.
In Siberia grows the fly-agaric [Agaricus muscarlus), from which the inhabitants obtain an
intoxicating liquor of peculiarly dangerous character. It has a tall white stem, surmounted by a
dome of rich orange scarlet, studded with white scaly tubercles, and in some parts of Kamt-
14(1 A .MKMORTAI, oF KltANKLIN.
sfliatka. and tliL' uortlieni districts of Siberia is so abundant tbat tbe ground sparkles and shines
as if covered witli a scarlet carpet. The natives collect it dui'ing the hot summer months, and dry
it. Steeped in the juice of the whortleberry, it ibrnis a powerful intoxicatiui;' wine ; or rolled up
like a bolus, and swallowed without chewing-, it produces nuich the same effect as opium. ( )n
some, however, it acts as an. excitant, and induces active muscular exertion. A talkative person,
under its influence, cannot keep silence or secrets; one fond of music, sings incessantly; and if a
person who has jiartaken of it wishes to step over a sti'aw or small stick, he takes a stride or
jump sufficient to clear tlie trunk of a tree !
The Koi'iaks and Kamtschatkans pers(jnify this fungus, undei- the name of Macho Moro, as
oue of their 2)e)iates, or household gods ; and if they are impelled by its eflects to commit any
dreadful crime, they pretend they act oidy in oliedience to commands which may not be disputed.
T(j qualify themselves for nuirdei'or suicide, they drink additional doses of " this intoxicating
product of decay and corru])tion."
During Captain Penny's voyage in search of Sir John Franklin, he picked up two pieces of
Hoating drift-wood, far beyond the usual limit of Eskimo occupation, which, from their ])eculiar
appearance, excited a lively curiosity. The one was found in Robeit Bay, off Hamilton
Island, lat. 76" 2' north, and long. 7G west, — that is, in the route which Franklin's ships, it is
supposed, had followed, — and was |)lainly a fragment of wrought elm plank, which had been part
of a ship's timl)ers. It exhibited three kinds of surface, — one that had been planed and pitched,
one roughly sawn, and the third split with an axe. The second piece of drift-wood w^as picked
up on the north side of Cornwallis Island, in lat. 7;V SfV north, and long. 9()" west. It was a
branch of white spruce, mu('h bleached in some ])laces, and in others charred and blackened as if
it had been used for fuel.
( )n i.iofh frao'iiients traces of microsco]>ic vegetation wt-vc discovered; and as it was thought
they might, if carefully examined, afford some clue to the- fate (jf Franklin's expedition, they
were submitted to Mr. Bei'kcJey, a well-known naturalist. In the report which he addressed to
the Admiraltv, he stated that the vegetation in l)0th cases resembled the dark olive mottled
patches with which wooden structures in this c(jiuitry, if exposed to atmos])heric influences, are
speedily covered. The lileached cells and fibres of the tVagment of elm were filled up with
slender fungoid forms, nn/celi(P; while on its different suifa-ces appeared several dark-coloured
specks, l)elonging to the genus PIiohki. As it was not pi-obable that jilants so minute could have
retained, through the terrible severity of an Arctic winter, their delicate naked spores in the
jiei'fect condition in which they were found. Mr. Berkele}' concluded that they must have been
developed through that same .sununer ; \\ bile from three to four years, in tlio.se high latitudes
and amid the rigour of stcjrmy ice-covered seas, would suffice to produce the bleached appearance
of" the wood. Hence be inferi'ed that the pl.-inlv hud not been long exposed.
( )n the other fragment of drifY-wood he discovert'd some deeply-eml)edded minute black
fungoid foi'ms, called Sjii'Du'iIrsmiNin lfj>riiri<t. TT^nlike the /ihnuHis, wbicli are very t'phemei'ai,
these plants possess the longevity of the lichens, and the same jiatches last for years unchanged on
the same pieces of wood, while their traces are discernible for a still longer period. From their
condition, Mr. Berkeley inferred that tlu' finigi on the drifted wood had not been recently di'veloped,
but that, on tlie contrary, they were the remains of the species which existed on the diift-wood
when used foi' fuel by the unfortunate crews of Franklins ships, the Erchiin and tin; Terror.
rn.'ENOGA;MOUS plants of the north. 141
There can be no doubt whatever, as Dr. Macniillan remarks, considering the circumstances
in wliich tliey were discovered, and tlie remarkable aj^peai-ances they presented — there can be no
reasonable doultt tliat l)oth fragments of di'ift-wood belonged to, or were connected with, the lost
ships ; and tlic curious information regarding the course they pursued at a certain time, furnished
by witnesses so extraordinary. and uidikely as a few tiny dark specks of cryptogamic vegetation
on floating drift-wood, was confirmed, in a wonderful manner, by the after- discovery of the first
authentic account ever obtained of the sad and pathetic histoiy of Franklin's expedition.
The reader will not exjjcct to find the tundras of Northern Asia or the shores of the Polar
Sea lich in bud and bloom, yet even these dreary wastes ai-e nc^t absolutely without Horal decora-
tion. Selinum and cerathium, as well as the l>op{)y and sorivl, andnjmeda, and several species of
heath, are mentioned by Dr. Kane as blooming in the neighbourhood of Smith Strait. On the
south coast of the Polar Sea Dr. Richardson found a considerable variety of vegetation. We
noticed, he says, about one hundred and seventy phaenogainous or flowering plants ; being one-
fifth of the number of species which exist fifteen degrees of latitude further to the southward.
He adds : — The grasses, bents, and rushes constitute only one-fifth of the number of species
on the coast, but the two formei- tribes actually cover more ground than all the rest of the vege-
tation. The crucifene, or t-ross-like tribe, afford one-seventh of the species, and the compound
flowers are nearly as numerous. The shruhhii phaitti that reach the sea-coast are the common
juniper, two species of willow, the dwarf-birch, the common alder, the hippophae, a gooseberry,
the red bear berry {arbutus uva ursi), the Labrador tea-plant, the Lapland rose, the bog-
whortleberry, and the crowberry. The kidney-leaved oxyria grows in great abundance there,
and occasionally furnished us with an agreeable addition to our meals, as it resembles the garden-
sorrel in flavour, but is more juicy and tender. It is eaten by the natives, and must, as well as
many of the cress-like plants, prove an excellent corrective of the gross, oily, rancid, and fre-
quently jDutrid meat on which they subsist. The small balls of the Alpine bistort, and the long,
succulent, and sweet roots of many of the astragaleaj, N\hi(ii grow on the sandy shores, are
eatable ; but it does not seem that the Eskimos are acquainted with their use. A few cluni])s of
white spruce- fir, with some straggling black spruces and canoe-birches, grow at the distance of
twenty or thirty miles from the sea, in sheltered situatif)ns on the banks of rivers.
It lias been pointed out that the princijjal characteristic of the vegetation of the Arctic
Regions is the predominance of perennial and cryptogamous plants ; but further southward, where
night begins to alternate with day, ov in what may l)e called the sub-arctic zone, a difference of
species appears which greatly enhances the beauty of the landscape. A lich and vividly-coloured
flora adorns these latitudes in Europe as well as in Asia dui-ing their brief but ardent summer,
with its intense radiance and intense warmth, — consi.sting of potentillas, gentians, starry chick-
weeds, spreading saxifrages and sedums, spirreas, drabas, artemisias, and the like. The jiower
of the sun is so great, and the consequent rapidity of growth so extraordinarv. that these
plants spring up, and blossom, and germinate, and perish in six weeks. In a lower latitude
many ligneous plants are found, — as berry-bearing shrubs, the glaucous kalmia, the trailing
azalea, the full -blossomed rhododendron. The Siberian floi-a differs from the European in the
same latitudes by the inclusion of the North American genera, |>hlox, mitella. and claytonia,
142 VEGETATION IN THE I'OLAi; WORLD.
and l>y tliu luxuriance of its asters, spireeas, niilk-vetches, and the saline plants goosefbot and
saltwort.
In Novaia Zemlaia and other northern regions the vegetation is so stunted that it barely
covers the ground, but a much greater variety of minute plants of considerable Ijcauty are aggre-
gated there in a limited space than in the Alpine climes of Europe where the same genera occur.
This is due to the feebleness of the vegetation ; for in the Swiss Alps the same plant frequently
usurps a large area, and drives out every other, — as the dark blue gentian, the violet-tinted pansy,
and the yellow and pink stone-croj)s. But in the far north, where vitality is weak and the seeds
do not ripen, thirty different species, it has been observed, may be seen "crowded together in a
brilliant mass," no one being powerful enough to overcome its companions. In these frozen cli-
mates jilants may be said to live between the air and tlii^ earth, for they scarcely raise their heads
aljove the soil, and their roots, unable to penetrate it, creep along the surface. All the woody
plants — as the betula nava, the reticulated willow, andromeda tetragona, with a few bacciferous
shrubs — trail upon the ground, and never rise more than an inch or two above it. The Salix
lanata, the giant of the Arctic forests, is about five inches in height ; while its stem, ten or twelve
feet long, lies hidden among the moss, and owes shelter, almost life, to its humble neighbour.
From Novaia Zemlaia we pass to Spitzbergen, whose flora contains about ninety-three
species of flowering or phrenogamous plants, which, like those already mentioned, generally grow
in tufts or patches, as if for the sake of mutual protection. The delicate mosses wliich clothe the
moist lowlands, and the hai'dy lichens wliich incrust the rocks up to the remotest limits of vege-
tation, are very numerous. Some of the Spitzbergen plants are found on the Alps, at elevations
varying from 9000 to 10,000 feet above the sea-level ; such as the Arenaria hijfora, the Cerastium
alptnum, and the Ranunculus glacialis. The only esculent plant is the Cochlearia fenestrata,
which here loses its bitter principles, so much complained of by our Arctic explorers, and may be
eaten as a salad. Iceland moss and several grasses afford sustenance for the reindeer.
A very different description is given of Kamtschatka, to wliit'h we are once more brought in
the course of our rapid survey. Its climate is much more temperate and uniform than that of
Siberia, and as the air is humid, the herbaceous vegetation is extraordinarily luxuriant. Not
only along the banks of the rivers and lakes, but in the avenues and copses of the \\'oodlands, the
grass attains a height of fully twelve feet, while the size of some of the compositte and luiibelli-
fer83 is really colossal. For example, the ITeradium dulce and the Senecio cannahifolius fre-
cpiently grow so tall as to overto]) a rider upon horseback. The pasturage is so rich that the
grass generally yields three crops every summer. A species of lily, the dai'k purple Fritallaria
sarrana, is very abundant, and the inhabitants use its tubers instead of bread and meal. If the
fruits of the In'cad-fruit tree are pre-eminent among all others, as affording man a peifect substi-
tute for bread, the roots of the sarrana, wliich are very similar in taste, rank peihaps immediately
after them. The collection of tliese tubers in the meadows is an important summer occupation
of the women, and one which is rather troublesome, as flic plant never grows gregariously, so
tliat each root has to be dug out separately with a knife. Fortunately the work of gathering the
tubers is much lightened by the activity of the Siberian field-vole, a\ hich excavates an ample
THE WOODED AND DESERT ZONES. 143
burrow, and stores it fur wiutur pruvisiuu with a large supply of roots, chicriy those of the
sarrana.
To sum up : —
What may be called the Arctic climate extends over nearly the whole of Danish America,
the newly-acquired possessions of the United States, the original Hudson Bay Territory, and
Labrador, down to that unimportant watershed which separates from the tributaries of Hudson
Bay the three great basins of the St. Lawi-ence, the five great lakes, and the Mississippi. This
line of watershed undulates between the 52nd and 49th parallels of latitude, from Belle Isle
Strait to the sources of the Saskatchewan, in the Rocky Mountains, where it inflects towards the
Pacific Ocean, skirting on the north the basin of the Columbia.
Thus bounded on the south, the Arctic lands of America, including the groups of islands
lying to the north and north-east, cannot occupy less than 560,000 square leagues. They exceed,
therefore, the superficial area of the European lands, estimated at alxnit 4!)0,000 square
leagues.
We propose to divide these lands into two zones or regions, the wooded and the desert
zones : the former, in America, includes the basins of the TTpper Mackenzie, the Churchill, the
Nelson, and the Sevei'u.
In the wooded zone the thermometer does not rise above zero until the month of May.
Then, under the influence of a more genial temperature, the breath of life passes into the slum-
bering, inert vegetation. Then the reddish shoots of the willow^s, the poplars, and the birches
hang out their long c(jttony catkins ; a pleasant greenness spreads over copse and thicket ; the
dandelion, the burdock, and the saxifrages lift their heads in the shelter of the rocks ; the sweet-
brier fills the air with fragrance, and the gooseberry and the strawberry are put forth by a
kindly nature ; while the valleys bloom and the hill-sides are glad with the beauty of the thuja,
the larch, and the pine.
The boundary between the \\'oodt'd zone and the barren ^\■l:)uld be shown by a line drawn
from the mouth of the Churchill in Hudson Bay to Mount St. Elias on the Pacific coast,
traversing the southern shores of the Bear and the Slave Lakes. To the north, this barren zone
touches on eternal snow, and includes the ice-bound coasts of the Parry Archipelago ; to the east
and the north-east, identity of climate and uniform character of soil firing within it the greatest
part of Labrador and all Greenland.
In Asia the isothermal line of 0° descends towards the 55th parallel of latitude, one lower
than in America, — though to the north of it some important towns are situated, as Tobolsk, lat.
58' 11'; Irkutsk, lat. 58° 16'; and Yakutsk, lat. 62°.
In Continental Europe, the only Arctic lands jaroperly so called, and distingniished by an
Arctic flora, are Russiair Lapland and the deeply-indented coast of Northern Russia. Far away
to the north, and separated from the continent by a narrow arm of the sea, lie the three almost
contiguous islands known as Novaia Zemlaia (lat. 68° 50' to 76° N.). And still further north,
almost equidistant from the Old World and the New, lies the gloomy mountainous archipelago
of Spitzbergen (lat. 77° to 81°, and long. 10° to 24).
We have now only to recapitulate the general characters of the x\rctic flora, as thej' would
10
144 FOmtS OF ANIMAL LTFK,
present themselves to a traveller advancing from the Avooded zone into the desert, and thence to
the borders of the Polar Sea.
On the southern margin of the wooded region, as in Sweden, Eussia, and Siberia, extend
immense forests, chiefly of coniferous trees. As we move towards tlie north these forests
dwindle into scattered woods and isolated copj^ices, composed chiefly of stunted jtoplars and
dwarf birches and willows. The sub-alpine myrtle, and a small creeping honeysuckle with
rounded leaves, are met with in favourable situations. Continuing our northerly progress, we
wholly leave behind the arborescent species ; but the rocks and clifis are bright with plants
belonging to the families of the ranunculacete, saxifragaceae, cruciferje, and gramineoe. To the
tlwarf firs and pigmy willows succeed a few scattered shrubs — such as the gooseberry, the sti-aw-
berry, the raspberry, pseudo-mulberry {Hiibus ch(fina'nior((f!) — indigenous to this region, and the
Lapland oleander [Rliododendron laponicuin).
Still advancing northward, we find, at the extreme limits of the mainland, some drabas
[Cruciferce), potentillas {Rosacea), burweeds and rushes [Cijperacew), and lastly a great abun-
dance of mosses and lichens. The commonest mosses are the SplecJinum, which resembles small
umbels; and, in moist places, the Sphaijnum, or bog-moss, whose successive accumulations, from a
remote epoch, have formed, with the detritus of the CyperacccB, extensive areas of peat, which at
a future day will perhaps be utilized for fuel.
We come now to examine the forms of Animal Life which exist under the conditions tif
climate and vegetation we have been describing.
Foremost we nuist place the animal which, in the Arctic World, occupies much the same
position as the camel in the Tropical, — the reindeer {Cervus tuvandus).
\i\ size the reindeer resembles the English stag, but his form is less graceful and more com-
pressed. He stands about four feet six inches in height. Long, slender, bi'anching horns
embellish his head. The upper part of his body is of a brown colour, the under part is white ;
but as the animal advances in years his entire "cotitf cliai»g;es to a gra^'ish- white, and, in not a
few cases, is pure white. The nether jiart of the neck, oi' dewlap, droops like a pendent beard.
The hoofs are large, long, and black ; and so are the secondary lioofs on the hind feet. The
latter, when the animal is running, make by their collision a curious clattering sound, which may
be heard at a considerable distance.
The reindeer anciently invaded Europe and Asia to a comparatively low latitude : and
Julius Ceesar includes it among the animals of the great Hercynian forest. Even in our ouii
time large herds traverse the wooded heights of the southern prolongation of the Ouralian i-anL;e.
Between the Volga and the Don they descend to the 4Gtli parallel; and they extend tlicu-
wanderings as far as the very foot of the Caucasus, on tlie banks of tlie Kouma. Still, the
proper habitat of the reindeer is that region of ice and snow l^iiuuded liy the Arctic Circle, — or,
more exactly, by the isothermal line of ' ('.
Both the wild and the tame species change their feeding-grounds with the seasons. Li
winter they come down into the plains and valleys ; in summer they retire to the mountains,
where the wild herds gain the most elevated terraces, in order to escape the pertinacious attacks
of their insect-enemies. It is a fact worthy of note that every species of animal is infested by a
parasitical insect. The oestre so terrifies the reindeer that the mere appearance of one in the air
USEFULNESS OF THE REINDEErv.
145
will infuriate a troop of a tliousaud animals. In thu moulting season these insects deposit their
eggs in the skin of the unfortunate animal, and there the larvse lodge and multiply ad iiiji)iiturn,
incessantly renewing centi'es of suppuration.
To the natives of North America the reindeer is invalual)lt>. There is hardly a part of the
animal not made available for some useful purpose. Clothing made of its skin is, according to
Sir J. Richardson, so imjjervious to cold, that, Avith the addition of a coverlet made of the same
material, any one so protected may bivouac on the snow with safety in the most intense cold of
the Arctic nio-ht. The venison, when in hioh condition, has several inches of fat on the haunches,
and is said to equal that of the fallow-deer in our English parks ; the tongue, and a portion of
the tripe, are reckoned most delicious morsels. Pemmican is made by pouring one-third part of
WILD REINDEER.
fat over two-third parts of the pounded meat, and mixing fat and meat thoroughly together. The
Eskimos and Greenlanders consider the stomach, or jiaunch, with its contents, a special delicacy ;
and Captain Sir James Ross says that the contents form the onl}^ vegetable food ever tasted by
the natives of Boothia. For the reindeer is a herbivorous animal, and feeds upon the mosses
and grasses.
The I'eindeer is by no means a graceful animal ; its joints are large, and powerful in propor-
tion to its size ; the divided hoofs are very large, and as the animal is compelled to lift its feet
high when going over the snow, its gallop has none of that beautiful elastic spring wliich char-
acterizes the deer of our own islands, though its pace is "telling," and soon carries it ahead of
everything but the long-winded, long-legged wolf
The stags cast their antlers, and the does drop their young, in jNIay or June, about the time
of the first thaw. The males and females are then verv seldom found too-ether ; the female deer
collecting in small herds with their young; the little creatures, which seem all eyes, ears, and
14G HERBIVOROUS ANIMALS AND THEIR FOOD.
legs, taking alarm at any uuaceustoined sound or the slightest appearance of danger. The
summer vegetation fattens the bucks and does amazingly, and the fawns thrive and develojJ ;
all three, says Osborn, liaving a comparative lioliday, and getting into condition to face the trials
of the coming winter ; while the wolf and the fox, their sworn enemies, are pursuing the infant
seals and bears, or attending to their iiwn little domestic duties. But when the autumn frost
sets in, and hardens the ground, and the dense snow once more overspreads the dreary northern
landscajie, the wolves resume their attacks on the unfortunate deer.
For warmth or protection, and following the natural instincts of gregarious animals, they
now begin to collect together in large herds of bucks, does, and fawns, numbering as many as
sixty and seventy head. The stags seem to undertake the discipline of these large companies, as
well as to be responsible for tlieir safety.
Captain Mecham relates that, in October 1852, when crossing that j^art of Melville Island
which intervenes between Liddon Gulf and Winter Harbour, he fell in with as many as three
hundred head of deer ; and he adds that reindeer were always in sight, in herds varying from ten
to sixty in number. One of these herds, containing twenty males, he tried to stalk up to on the
7th of October, but failed in getting a shot at them ; for although the does, with the inherent
weakness of their sex, showed an excessive curiosity, and made one or two efforts to desert the
herd and examine the sti-anger, the stags would in nowise tolerate such conduct, but chastised
them smartly with their antlers, and kept the herd together and in motion by running rapidly
round and round, uttering at the same time a strange noise Avliich seemed to alarm the herd, and
keep it flying from the suspected danger.
The coat of the reindeer in summer-time is remarkably thin, and adapted admirably in
colour to that of the snow-denuded soil ; but as winter approaches, it thickens, and gradually
resumes its snowy whiteness. Though not, strictly speaking, a fur, it forms an admirable non-
conducting substance.
As winter, " ruler of the inverted year," extends his sway over the Polar World, and food
grows scarce and indifferent, and has to be sought over larger areas, the herds break up into
companies of ten or twenty animals ; the lichens, the reindeer moss already described [Cetravia
IsIancUca), and the sprouts of the creeping willow forming their principal food.
On this branch of our subject Admiral Sherard Osborn makes two suggestive remarks.
Arctic vegetation, he observes, has no time in the autumn to wither or decay — while in full
bloom, and before the juices have time to return into the jiarent root or be otherwise dissipated,
the " magic hand of the frost king " strikes them ; and tlms the wi-sdom of the Creator has
provided for the nourislnnent of his creatures a fresh and warmth-creating food, l,ying hid under
a mantle of snow, which the instinct of those Arctic animals teaches them to remove and reach
the stores so Ijeneficently preserved l)eneath.
Moreover, most li(.'rl)iv(_)rous animals have a slow system of digestion, even in a domestic
state; as, for instance, our cattle and sheep. This a])pears to be more conspicuously the case in
the musk-ox, the reindeer, and the Arctic hare, and is of great utility in lands where vegetation
is scanty and widespread, and the weatlier occasionally so severe as to compel these creatures, for
two or three days at a time, to think only of their safety by seeking shelter from the snow-storms
in deep ravines m' under lofty cliflf's. It appears in their case as if Nature extracted from tluir
food a greater ipiantity of nourishment tlian she does fi'om that of animals in more southern
REINDEER AND THE WOLVES, 147
latitudes ; or possibly, the food, by the mere act of remaining in the stomach or intestines, serves
to check the cravings of appetite, though no further nutriment should be extracted.
Most of the musk-oxen and deer shot in Captain M'Clintock's expedition, and especially the
musk-oxen, liad their entrails distended with food apparently quite digested, while the surround-
ing country in many cases was absolutely barren and lifeless, — inducing the conclusion that these
creatures had been a long time collecting their supplies, as also that it liad been a long time
swallowed, and necessitated the full activity of the vital principle to prevent the food from proving
a source of disease. This, indeed, was clearly proved in the case of the musk-oxen, which, if
shot, and left twelve hours Avithout being disembowelled, grew tainted throughout with a strong-
musky odour, rendering the flesh uneatable.
It may ^Iso be stated, as an illustration of the facility witli which the reindeer can Avinter in
high latitudes, that in Lapland, whei'e they are used as beasts of draught, a daily supplj' of four
pounds of lichen (Cenomyce rangiferina) is considered ample for a working animal ; and on this
dietary a reindeer will be in sufficiently good condition to go witliout food occasionally for two
or three days, and yet, to all appearance, not to be distressed.
Thus, as regards its stores of food, and its provision against the severity of the Arctic winter,
the reindeer would seem to be suitably and amply endowed ; and its greatest trial is the incessant
rapacity of the wolves that follow its track throughout the winter season. As that season
advances, the unfortunate animal apparently resigns itself to an evil which it cannot avoid or
avert ; and the calm composure with which a small troop of these creatures will graze with an
entourage of half a dozen wolves is not less curious to the observer than philosophical on the
part of the reindeer !
" A herd of deer," says an ej'e-witness, " thus surrounded by the wolves, who were too great
cowards to rush in upon their prey, would be startled every now and then by the long-drawn
unearthly howl of the hungry brutes ; sometimes a frightened deer, horror-stricken at the abomi-
nable chant, dashes madly away from the herd, — away all, or a portion, of the wolfish fraternity
go after it. In many cases the scene may be briefly summed up with the old three-volume
denouement of — a rush, a shriek, a cranching of bones, and snai-ling of beasts of prey, and all is
over ! for the wonderful powers of swallow and horrid voracity of an Arctic wolf must be seen
to be understood ; no Avriter would jieril his reputation for veracity by repeating what has been
seen on that head. But souietimes the frightened deer gains the open country, and goes
wonderful distances dogged by the persevering wolf, who assuredly has it, unless another herd is
met which admits the hunted deer into its ranks.
" Occasionally, whilst a herd of deer are grazing, one of them may happen to hit upon a spot
where the food is plentiful ; it naturally lingers there, while the herd is moving slowly on against
the wind. The wolves immediately mark the straggler, and stealthily crawl on, their object
lieing to cut him off" from the herd ; that effected, there is a howd and a rush, which if the deer
does not evade by extraordinary exertions, his fate is instantly sealed."
These scenes are enacted throughout the long iVrctic winter. When sight is rendered
useless, scent comes to the aid of the rapacious destroj'er ; and we can well believe that manv
an exjilorer, in the December darkness of the frozen wastes, has often wished his olfactory nerves
were as sensitively organized as those of the wolf For although he can then hear the reindeer,
it is imjiossible to see them, except when they liurry across the dark but sno\\'y landscape ; and
148 CUKNING OF THE AJIC'J'IC WOLF.
many a bad shot has been made by a hungry «eam;ui at a hirge pair of melancholy eyes wliich
peered out of the enveloping mist, because he could not tell, for the life of him, whether the
animal was distant two or twenty yards.
In the dreadful winter of 1852-53, the deer approached close to tlie exidoring-ship Inveii-
titjator, having qnitted the land and traversed the belt of ice. It is difficult to say whether
this was done with a view of seeking the warmth which instinct, if not scent, told them radiated
from the vessels, — the vessels, compared with the temperature everywhere prevailing (namely,
9" 5' below freezing-point), being complete volcanoes of heat ; or whether it was for security against
their wolfish enemies. Probably, it was for the first-named reason ; inasmuch as it is recorded
that the foxes of Leopold Harljour, in 1848, soon became aware of the warmer atmosphere pro-
duced by the i)resence of Sir James Eoss's squadron, and sagaciously burrowed and bred in the
embankments thrown u}> arcmnd the ships.
But, at length, winter and its sorrows pass away, and early in the new year a happier life
dawns on the nuich-tried reindeer. In February and March the seals begin to breed, and as the
attention of the wolves and other beasts of prey is then drawn to the helpless young, which are
truly " delicious morsels," the holidays of the reindeer may be said to commence. We may
remind the reader also that the Arctic hare and the lemming winter in the icy north, and yield
occasional meals to wolf and f()X.
The spring returns, and as the sun rises above the horizon, the great herds gradually break
up and scatter abroad ; and the deer may then be seen in wandering groups of three or four, until
once more the autumn-twilight deepens, and they reassemble in numerous companies.
As the reindeer is the camel of the Polar World, so the Arctic wolf may be said to occupy
the place of the tiger ; so daring is its courage, and so fierce its lust of l)lood. Assembling in
large packs, they are not afraid to haunt the immediate neighbourhood of man. In Captain
M'Clintock's expedition, they gathered round the Investigator at such close quarters, that it was
unsafe for the crew to leave the ship, unless in companies, and well-armed ; and with their
melancholy howls they made night hideous. Five of them attempted to pounce on an Eskimo
dog which had long been the pet of the Incestujatur. One of these brutes is described as a
" perfect giant," standing nearly four feet high at the shoulder, and having a footmark as big as
a reindeer's.
(Jur English seamen planned many a clever scheme to entrap these wary ci-eatures, but all
failed, while some of the encounters with them were unpleasantly close, and the risk very con-
siderable. One day, the boatswain, while out shooting, broke by a shot two of the legs of a fine
buck reindeer. Evening coming on, and he knowing the animal could not drag itself far,
returned to the ship. Next morning, he started at an early hour to secure his jirize. ^^'hat was
his disgust, when he arrived at the })lace, to find his booty in the possession of five large wolves
and several foxes ! Detei'mined to have, at all events, a share, the boatswain advanced, shouting
with all his might, and hurling at the thieves every opprobrious plu-asu Ik' could invent, yet
afraid to fire his single-bai'rellod gun at any one of them, for fear the rest shnuld serve him as
they were serving the Inick ; more particularly as they appeared inclined to sliow fight, and made
no sign of retreat until he was within four yards. Even then only four had the grace to nu)ve
away, sitting down a |iistii]-shot <itf, an<l howling most lamentably.
The boatswain jiicked up a leg of tlie deer, which had been disniend)rri'd, and then
DOMESTICITY OF THE WOLF. 149
grasped one end of the half-devoured carcass, while a large she wolf tugged agamst him at
the other.
It must be owned that this position was a disagreeable one, and had the howling of the four
wolves brought others of their kind to the rescue, the consequences of this affray between hungry
wolves and a no less hungry sailor might have proved serious. Fortunately, the interpreter, who
chanced likewise to be out shooting on a neighbouring hill, had his attention attracted by the
noise of the brutes, and made his appearance on the scene. He afterwards described it as the
strangfest he had ever witnessed. So close were the boatswain and the carnivora in their struofo-le
for the meat, that he fancied the latter had actually attacked the foi-mer. On the arrival of this
reinforcement the wolves decamped, leaving the gallant boatswain with only twenty pounds
weight of meat, instead of the one hundred and twenty his prize must have originally weighed.
The identities between the Arctic dog and the Arctic wolf are so important that Dr. Kane
agrees with Mr. Broderip in assigning to these animals a family origin. The oblique position of
the wolf's eye is not uncommon among the Eskimo dogs. Dr. Kane had a slut, one of the tamest
and most aft'ectionate of his team, who had the long legs, the compact body, the drooping tail, and
the wild scared expression of the eye, which some naturalists have supposed to distinguish the
wolf alone. When domesticated early — and it is easy to domesticate him — the wolf follows and
loves you like a dog. " That they are fond of wandering proves nothing ; many of our pack will
stray for weeks," says Kane, " into the wilderness of ice ; yet they cannot be persuaded, when
they come back, to inhabit the kennel we have built for them only a few hundred yards off.
They crouch around for the companionshij^ of men." Both animals howl in unison alike ; and,
in most parts, their footprint is the same.
The musk-ox {Ovibos moschatus) is one of the largest of the Polar ruminants. As its
zoological name indicates, it is an intermediary between the ox and the sheep. Smaller than the
former, larger than the latter, it reminds us of both in its shape and general appearance. It has
an obtuse nose ; horns broad at the base, covering the forehead and crown of the head, and curv-
ing downwards between the eye and ear until about the level of the mouth, where they turn
upwards ; the tail is short, and almost hidden by the thickness of the shaggy hair, which is
generally of a dark brown, and of two kinds, as with all the animals of the Polar Regions ; a long
hair, which on some parts of the body is thick and curled, and, underneath, a fine kind of soft,
ash-coloured wool ; the legs are short and thick, and furnished with narrow hoofs, like those of
the moose. The female is smaller than the male, and her horns are smaller. Her general colour
is black, except that the legs are ^vhitish, and along the back runs an elevated ridge or mane of
dusky hair.
The musk-ox, as his name implies, throws out a strong odour of musk, — with which, indeed,
his very fiesh is impregnated, so that the scent is communicated to the knife used in cutting up
the animal. Not the less is he regarded as a valuable booty b}^ the Indians and the Eskimos,
who hunt him eagerly. He wanders in small troops over the rocky prairies which extend to the
north of the great lakes of North America. He is a fierce-temj^ered animal, and in defence of
his female will fight desperately.
His general habits resemble strongly those of the reindeer ; but his range appears to be j^rin-
cipally limited to Melville Island, Banks Land, and the large islands to the south-east of the latter.
150
ABOUT THE MUSK-OX.
One of our Arctic exjjlorers describes the uiusk-uxen as all very wild in April, and as
p-enerally seen in large herds from ten to seventy in number. In June they were stupidly tame,
and seemed to be oppressed by their heavy coats of \vo(j1, which were hanging loosely down their
shoulders and hind-cpiarters in large Cjuantities ; the herds nmch smaller, and generally composed
of cows and calves.
The heavy coat of wool with which the musk-oxen are provided, is a perfect protection
ao-ainst any temperature. It consists of a long fine black hair, and in some cases white (for it is
not ascertained that these oxen change their colour during the winter), witli a beautiful fine wool
or fur underneath, softer and richer than the finest alpaca wool, as well as much longer in the sta^sle.
This mantle apparently touches the ground ; and the little creature looks, it is said, like a bale of
THE MUSK-OX.
black wool, mounted on four short nervous goat-like legs, with two very bright eyes, and a pair
of sharp " wicked-shaped " horns peering out of one end of it.
They seem to be of very uncertain temper, sometimes standing stupidly glaring at their
assailants, whetting their horns against their fore legs ; at other times, they will rush furiously
against their hunters.
Captain ]\Iechani discovered very great numbei's of musk-oxen near the head of Hardy Bay,
Melville Island. ( )n one jilain he obsei'ved as many as seventy grazing within a circuit of two
miles; on his approach, they divided into herds of al)out fifteen each, headed by two or three
enormous bulls. Their manccuvres, he says, were so (juieic and regular that they niii^lit be more
fittingly compared to scjua.drons nf ca\'alrv tlian anything else lie cduld think of. < >iie lierd
moved forward at a galloji, several times within rille-sliot, and formed in perfert hue w ith bull^ in
the van, presenting a formidable array of horns. The last time they advanced at a gallop until
AX ENCOUNTEi; WITH A MTSK-OX. 151
within about sixty yards, when they foriiit-d iu line, the bulls snorting wildly, and tearing up the
snow. But as soon as Captain Mecham fii'sd they wheeled round promptly, rejoined the main
body, and made oft' out of sight, only waiting occasionally for the wounded animal.
The following graphic account of an encounter with a musk-ox is given by Captain
M'Clintock :—
"We saw and shot two very large bulls — a well-timed supply, as the last of the venison was
used up ; we found them to be in better condition than any we had ever seen. I shall never for-
get the death-struggle of one of these noble bulls ; a Spanish bull-fight gives no idea of it, and
even the slaughter of the bear is tame in comj:)arison. This animal was shot through the lungs,
and blood gushed from his nostrils upon the snow. As it stood fiercely watching us, prepared
yet unable to charge, its small but fixed glaring eyes were almost concealed by masses of shaggy
hair, and its whole frame ^\•as fearfully convulsed with agony ; the tremulous motion w^as com-
municated to its enormous covering of tangled wool and hair ; even the coarse thick mane seemed
to rise indignant, and slowly waved from side to side. It seemed as if the very fury of its passion
was pent up within it for one final and revengeful charge. There was no roaring ; the majestic
beast was dumb ; but the wild gleam of savage fire which shot from his eyes, and his menacing
attitude, were far more terrible than the most hideous bellow. We watched in silence, for time
was doing our work, nor did we venture to lower our guns until, his strength becoming exhausted,
he reeled and fell.
" I have never witnessed such an intensity of rage, nor imagined for one moment that such
an apparently stupid brute, under any circumstances of pain and passion, could have presented
such a truly appalling spectacle. It is almost impossible to conceive a more terrific sight than
that which was presented to us in the dying moments of this matchless denizen of the northern
wilds."
It seems doubtful whether the wolf, which is naturally a most cowardly creature, can act on
the oSensive against the musk-ox ; and most Arctic navigators seem of opinion that it attacks
only lame or sickly cattle.
The activity of these oxen, and their goat-like power of climbing, is very remarkable, and
much at variance with their clumsy apjjearance. They have been seen making their way, ^\'hen
frightened, up the face of a clift" which defied all human efforts, and going down the precipitous
sides of ravines by alternately sliding upon their hams, or pitching and arresting their downward
course, as Sherard Osborn remarks, by the use of the magnificent shield of horn which spreads
across their foreheads, in a manner to excite the liveliest astonishment of the spectator.
The Arctic Fox [Canis laijopu.^) cannot compare with either of the preceding animals in
importance or interest, yet it figures very largely in the journals of ovu* Aixtic explorers. It is
smaller than the common European fox ; has a shai'[3 nose, and short rounded ears, almost con-
cealed in its fur; the legs are short, and the toes covered both above and below with a thick soft
fur ; the tail is shorter than that of the common fox, but more bushy. Its range is very exten-
sive, for it is found in the lands bordering on the Polar Sea in both continents. As winter
approaches, its coat of hair grows thick and ragged ; until at length it becomes as white as snow
- — the change of colour taking place last on the ridge of the back and the tip of the tail. Its food
152
WAl^lNF.SS OF TJIE AKCTJC FOX.
-.iysrj'£'yejtv=
ARCTIC FOXES.
consists uf various small nuaiirupeds, — such as tho Arctic bare and the luniiuing, — on all kinds of
water-fowl and their eggs, on the carcasses of tish, shcll-tish, and the refuse of the young seals
killed and devoured by tlie Polar bear. In the track of the latter it seems to hunt systematically.
___ _ . — _ ^ ,- It swims with dexterity, and will
% cross i'rom island to island in
search of prey. Its fur is light
and warm, though not very durable,
and lor the sake of this fur it is
puj-sued both in Arctic Asia,
(Jreenland, and Hudson Bay. It
is a wary animal, however, and
not easily caught.
Dr. Hayes atfords us an illus-
^=^- tration of this statement.
As be and a follower, named
Bonsall, on one occasion were ex-
ploiing in Northumberland Island, they discovered a fox scamjaering away over the plain.
Bonsall gave chase, but could not arrive within shooting distance. Another was then heard
barking overhead at them. Dr. Hayes seized his gun, and climbing over some huge boulders
which filled the bott(jm of the gorge, endeavoured, by crawling behind a rock, to overtake or
approach the animal ; but it seemed to be aware of his intentions, and scampering away, led him
a wild chase across the plain. The astute Reynard first made off, so that his assailant "could
not cover him upon the cliff:" and when out of danger, perched upjon a stone, and barked at
him in the most tantalizing manner. The doctor approached within long range. Immediately,
as he was about to bring his gun to his shoulder, it dropped behind the stone and fled to
another, where it set up the same rapid chatter, — a shrill " Huk ! huk ! huk I" sounding like a
mixture of anger and defiance. Again Dr. Hayes tried to approach it, but with no better
success ; round and round it ran, until at length, weary of following it, Dr. Hayes fired. Some
of the .shot probably touched it, for it screamed loudly ; but it fled with remarkable rapidity, and
finally baffled its pursuer.
As the flesh of the fox is by no means to be despised, and, indeed, ranks as a dainty in the
bill of fare of an Arctic navigator, a hot pursuit of it is often maintained, and traps are constructed
to ensure its capture. These are usually built on nmch the same principle as a rabbit-trap.
Selecting a smooth level rock, the trappers arrange some flat stones of about six inches thick, so
as to enclose on three sides an area of six inches by two feet and a half (_)ver this enclosure
other flat stones are laid ; and between the two used to close up one of the ends a peg is inserted,
so as to project about an inch within the trap.
To this peg, by means of a loo}), is loosely hung a small })iece of meat ; and to the same peg,
outside, is attached another lo(i}) made at the end of a cord, the cord being carried up through the
rear of the trap, and ovei- the top to the front, where it is fiistened round a thin Hat flag of slate,
which moves freely up and down, being guided and held by a couple of large blocks placed one
on either side of the entrance.
The way in which this machinery works is very simple :^
TRAPriNG A FOX.
153
The fox enters under the shde uv trap-doui', advauees to the rear, seizes the bait, and attempts
to back out. The bait, of course, is pulled from the i)eg, and with it the loop supporting the door
comes off. As soon as its support is removed down comes the door, and Master Rej'nard is
entrapped. Every-
thing now depends on
the manner in which
the cracks have been
clo.sed lip ; for if the
animal can thrust its
little nose between a
couple of stones, it
will assuredly effect
its escape. Nor is it
less important that
the enclosure should
not be sufficiently
laro-e to enable the
fox to turn round ;
for in that case it
generally contrives to
loosen the door, and
depart in infinite glee.
The Arctic fox is
described by Dr.
Hayes as the prettiest
and most provoking
of living creatures.
One which he unsuc-
cessfully chased for
fully three hours was
about the size of a
domestic cat, round
and plump, white as
the snow, with a long
pointed nose, and a trailing bushy tail, which seemed to be its particular pride. It was quite
evident that it enjoyed the perplexities of its hunters, as it leaped from rock to rock, or circled
round and about them, and showed the utmost indifference to tlie miseries of their famished con-
dition. It rolled and tossed about among the loose drift, now springing into the air, now bound-
ing away, now stopping short, and now cocking its head to one side and elevating one foot, as if
listening, seeming all the time to be intent on exhibiting its " points " to its enemies, for whom
it did not care the value of the minutest part of its very pretty tail. Weary and exhausted. Dr.
Hayes abandoned the pursuit, and returned to his camp, followed by the fox, though always at
a safe distance ; and when they last caught sight of it, as they looked back from the rocks above
the hut, it was mounted on an elevation, uttering its shrill sharp cry, in apparent mockery of
their defeat.
A FOX TRAP.
Of the supposed relations between the bear and the fox, Dr. Kane remarks that he once
thought his observations had confirmed them. It is certain that they are frequently found
together ; the bear striding on ahead with his prey, the fox behind gathering in the crumbs
as they fall ; and Dr. Kane often saw the parasite licking at the traces of a wounded seal
which his champion had borne off over the snow. The story is that the two hunt in couples.
This may well be doubted, though it is clear that the inferior animal rejoices in his associa-
tion with the superior, at least for the profits, if not the sj'mpathy it brings to him. " I
once wounded a bear,"' says Dr. Kane, '' when I was out with Morton, and followed him for
twelve miles over the ice. A miserable little fox travelled close behind his patron, and licked
up the blood wherever he lay down. The bear at last made the water ; and as we returned
from our fruitless chase, we saw the fox running at full speed along the edge of the thin ice aa
if to rejoin him."
LH THE HAKE AND THE LEMMlXfi.
A welcome additi(jn to the meagre fare of the Arctic navigator is i'urnished by the Arctic
Hare {Lepus glacialis), which, like the reindeer, collects in herds or troops as winter approaches.
As many as two hundred have been seen at a time : and at one of their favourite haunts — Cape
Dundas, Melville Island — might be seen a complete highway, three yards broad, which the tread
of their numbers had beaten through the snow. In winter they seek their food and Imrrow for
protection under the snow-crust. (Japtain M'Clintock states that they are ul)iquitous in the Polar
Regions, but that, of course, they are most numerous where the pasture is most abundant, as on
Banks Land and ]\Ielville Island. The sportsmen of the two discovery ships, Resolute and Intrepid,
shot one hundred and sixty-one hares in a twelvemonth on Melville Island ; their average weight,
when fit for the table, was seven jjounds, and from ten to twelve pounds including skin and offal.
In the warm brief summer the hare takes refuge from the pursuit of beasts of prey nnder
large boulders, or in the steep face of rocky ravines. It is then found in groups of from twelve
to twenty. So delicate is their skin, that though the winter fur is of exceeding beauty and liril-
liant whiteness, it cannot be applied to any purpose of utility. They do not hibernate ; and our
explorers generally found them amongst the heavy hummocks of the fioe-ice, as if they fled to that
ruofaed oTound from the wolves or foxes.
In the range of the Altai, and extending even into Kamtschatka, we meet with the Alpine
Hare [Lagomys Alp)inus)\ a small rodent, scarcely exceeding a guinea-pig in size, and measuring
in length nine inches only : it has a long- head, with short, broad, and rounded ears. Its favourite
places of sojourn are among the rocks and cataracts of wild wooded regions, where it forms
burrows beneath the rocks, or inhabits their fissures. When the sky is liright, and the sunshine
genial, they seldom leave their holes in the day-time ; but in dull weather they may be seen
bounding among the rocks, and making the echoes resound with their low whistle or bird-like
chirp. In the autumn they make ready against winter need by collecting a large assortment of
the niost nutritious herbs and grasses, which, after drying in the sun, they arrange in heaps of
various sizes, according to the number of animals engaged in the task ; and as these heaps are
often several feet in height and breadth, they m;i.y be easily distinguished even through the deep
snow, and frequently prove of great service to the Siberian sable-hunters, whose horses would
perish but for the supplies thus strangely afforded. Hence, wherever a Siberian or a Tartar tribe
is found, the Aljoine hare possesses a distinctive name, — and, notwithstanding its diminutiveness,
is highly valued.
Another rodent which deserves to be remembered in these pages, is the Arctic or Hudson
Bay Lemming {Myodus leminus), which is found in Labrador, and on all the American mainland
washed by the cold waters of the Arctic Ocean. It has been described as " a perfect diamond
edition of the guinea-j^ig." In habits it resembles the hare very closely, excejit that it is more
gregarious, and is generall_y found in large families. In summer it is of an ashy colour, with a
tawny tinge on the back, a dusky streak along its middle, and a pale stripe on either side. It
lias the repute of being exceedingly inoffensive ; and is tamed so easily that, when caught, it
becomes reconciled to its captivity in a day or two, and will soon show itseU' st'usible of its master's
caresses. In winter it is perfectly Avhite, white ;\s snow, from A\hich it can be distinguished
only by the keen scent of the fox or the Eskimo dog.
ABOT'T TITE T,F,M:\rTXa. 153
■ About the end of May, or early in June, it leaves the laud and seeks the floating ice ; for
what imrpose does not seem as yet to be accurately ascertained. Is it due to an in.stinct of
migration, such as the Norwegian lemming so ])o\vcrfully exhibits? It may be that the thaws
force them from the land, or that, as the seamen say, "Them blessed little lemmings must be
arter salt!" They have often been found steering ofi:' «hore from the north coast of Melville
Island, leaving comparative plenty in their rear ; and, so far as could be made out, on a clear day,
from land of considerable height, there w^as nothing in the shape of terra Jinna in the direction
they were taking. When thus exposed upoii the open floe, owds, gulls, and foxes pick them up
for food. Can it be that Providence occasions, or has ordained this exodus for the purpose of
feeding these creatures, and of thinning down the numbers of an animal which would otherwise
multiply exceedingly, and devour all the vegetation of a naturally ban-on region ?
From an Arctic journal it would appear that the lemmings are preyed upon by the Polar
beai- We transcribe a graphic passage in further illustration of the habits of that remarkable
carnivore : —
" Seeing some drift-wood lying about," says a gallant navigator, " which it was important
should be examined, I halted and encamped, dispersing the men along the beacli to bring all
in they could find. Walking landward to obtain a view from a hill, I w'as startled to see
a she-bear and two cubs some distance inland. Watching them carefully, I was not a little
interested to see the mother applying her gigantic muscular power to turning over the
large blocks of sandstone which strewed the plain, and under which the unlucky lemmings
at this season take shelter. Directly the she-bear lifted the stones, which she did by sitting
upon her hams and pulling them towards her with her fore paws, the cubs rushed in and
seized their prey, tossing them up in the air in their wantonness. After repeating this
operation until the young fry must have made a very good meal, I was glad to witness the
bear's mode of suckling her young — a sight, I should think, rarely seen. Seated on her haunches,
with the backbone arched, so as to bring the breasts (which were situated between the shoulders)
as low as possible, the youngsters sucked away in a standing attitude. Anxious to secure this
family-party, we proceeded to burn all sorts of strong-smelling articles ; and at last she brought
her babes down, though very warily, and when more than one hundred yards oft' turned away,
evidently suspicious."
In the sub- Arctic regions are found some of those animals which furnish commerce Avith
the costliest furs. They all belong, however, to the family Mustelidie, represented in temperate
climes by the common weasel [Mustdcs).
The marten of North America is, in fact, the cousin-german of the weasel, and not less
ferocious in its habits. In the forests of- fir and birch which it loves to frequent, it preys upon
the small rodents, the birds, and, if its appetite is very keen, upon the reptiles. It scales trees
as nimbly as the cat ; and its flexible body enables it to insinuate itself into the smallest
openings, where a cat could not pass, and into the burrows and hollows of the trees or rocks in
which its victims seek shelter. It is, however, a pretty animal, with vivacious way.s, an astute
physiognomy, and a rich coat of fur.
In the wooded zone which borders on the desert region of the Polar World are found both
the Pine Marten {Mustela martes) and Pennant's Marten {Mustela Canadensis). The fur of
I'TTE :\rA];TEN AND TTTR ?<ABLE.
the ibrmer is of a very sujieriur (juality, and its skin tonus a great article of coninierco. It
burrows in tlie cround, and feeds iqion nuce, rabbits, and partridges. The Canadian marten is
larger than the preceding; longer and stronger. It lives in the woods, preferring damp places
to dry ; and clindjs with a remarkable amount of ease and dexterity.
The Sable (Miistrla ubdUna) is nuu-h more highly esteemed for its fur than any other of
the weasel tribe. It has long whiskers, rounded ears, large feet (the soles u\^ which are covered
with fur), white claws, and a long bushy tail. The general colour of the fur is brown, more or
less brilliant, but the lower parts of the tlirunt and neck are grayish.
A vivacious and nimble animal is the sable,
which dwells in tlie remotest recesses of the
forests, l)eneath the roots of trees, and in holes of
the earth, and penetrates to the very borders of
the realm of i)erpetual snow. Prodigious numbers
are killed in Siberia, duriny the months of
Novend^er, December, and January. The hunters
assemble in lai'ge companies, and make their way
d<jwn the great rivers in boats, carrying sufficient
sup})lies of provisions for a three months' absence.
(Jn reaching the appointed place of rendezvous,
the different companies, each under the direction
of a leader, ti.x; upon their respective quarters,
erect huts of trees, and build up the snow around
them. In the neighbourhood of these they lay
their snares ; and then, advancing another mile
oi- so, they set a further quantity ; and tlius they
proceed, imtil they liave covered a considerable
area of around ; buildin<'' huts in each localitv,
and returning in due order to each set of snares to collect their j)r(.'y. These snares are of
the simplest construction ; nothing more than small ))its or cavities, loosely covered with rough
planks or branches of trees, and Imited A\ith fish or flesli. Wlu^n the game grows scarce, the
trappers follow the sable to their retreats by tiucking their footprints over the fresh-fallen snow ;
place nets at their entrances ; and quietly wait, if It be for two or three days, until the animals
make their appearance.
The fur of the sable Is distinguished from all other furs by this singular jiroperty : the hair
has no iiarticular inclination, but may be laid down inditferently i'l :^iiy direction whatever.
THK KRMIXK .VNU SAIil.K MAHTEX.
The genus Polecat {Mustela j'^utarius) comprehends the smallest of all known carnivores, —
namely, the weasel, the ferret, and the ermine. The temperate countries of Europe possess a
variety of the latter species; but the ermines of the remote North yield the fullest and softest
fur. These animals, like many others in high latitudes, change the colour of their coat according
to the season. They have been ailojited by poets, on account of the s])otless whiteness of their
fur, as emblematic of purity; but, in truth, they merit that honour only in the winter: in
ABOUT THE WOT.VRRTNK.
loT
the suniiner their colour is a clear maroon. The tail, at all times, is of a beautiful brilliant
black.
Another carnivorous quadruped wliicli haunts the northern forests is the Glutton {Gulo
Arcticus), or Wolverine ; it owes its former and more popular name to its extreme voracity.
But it is at least as remarkable for its strenofth and fierceness, inasmuch as it does not fear to
dispute their prey with the wolf and bear; and for its cunninoj, since it baffles again and again
the most carefully devised stratagems of the hunter. It is a slow and somewhat unwieldy
THE GLUTTON. OR WOLVERINK.
animal ; but it is determined and persevering, and will jiroceed at a steady pace for miles in
search of prey, stealing unawares upon hares, marmots, and Itirds ; and surprising even the
larger quadrupeds, such as the elk and the reindeer, Avhen asleep.
The stories told of this remarkable animal's shrewdness, which far exceeds that commonly
attributed to the fox, would seem incredible, were they not confirmed by good authority. It is
in allusion to its extraordinary cunning that the Indians call it Kekwaliarhess, or the " Evil
One." AVith an energy that never flags it hunts day and night for the trail of men, which,
when found, it follows up unerringly. On coming to a lake, where the track- is generally drifted
over, it continues its steady gallop round the shores, to discover the point at which the track
re-enters the woods, when it again pursues it until it arrives at one of the wooden traps set for
158 ITS KKMAllKAP.LE RAOAfJITY.
the marten or the iiiliik, the enuiiie or the musk-rat. Cautiously avoiding- the elixir, it eti'ects
violent entrance at the back, and seizes the Ijait with inijiunity ; or, if the ti-ap contains an
animal, drag-s it out, and, with wanton malevolence, mauls it, and liides it at some distance in the
underwood or at the top of some lofty pine. If hard pressed liy huno-f]-, it devours the victim.
And in this manner it deuKjlishes the whole series of tra])s ; so that when once a wolverine has
established itself on a. trapping- walk, the hunter's onl}^ chance of success is to change his ground,
and build a fresh l(.)t of tra])s, in the liope of securing a few furs before the new jiath is discovered
by liis industrious enemy.
Some interesting particulars of the habits and ways of the glutton are recoi'ded by Lord
]\[ilton and Dr. Cheadle in their lively narrative of an expedition from the Atlantic to the
Pacific ("The North-West Passage by Land"). They tell us that it is never caught in the
(nxlinary pit-iall. Occasionally one is poisoned, or caught in a steel trap ; but so great is the
creature's strength, that many traps strong enough to hold securely a lai-ge wolf Avill not retain
the wolverine. When caught in this way, it does not, like the fox and the mink, proceed to
amputate the lindj, but, assisting to carry the trap with its mouth, hastens to reach a lake or
river, where its progress will be unimpeded by trees or ftxUen wood. After travelling to a
sufficient distance to be safe from pursuit for a time, it sets to work to extricate its imprisoned
limb, and very frequently succeeds in tlie attemjit.
Occasionally the glutton is killed liy a gun placed so as to bear on a bait, to which is
attached a string communicating with the trigger. But a trapper assured Lord Milton and his
companion, that very often the animal had proved too cunning for him, tirst approaching the
gun and gnawing in two the cord communicating witli the trigger, and then securelv devouring
the bait.
In one instance, when all the trappers devices to beguile his enemy liatl been seen through,
and clearly foiled, lie adopted the plan of placing the gun in a tree, with the muzzle pointing
vertically downwards upon the bait. This was suspended from a branch, at such a height that
the animal could not secure it without jumjiing ; and, moreover, it was completely screened by
the boughs. Now, the Avolverine's curiosity almost equals its voracity. It shows a disposition
to investigate everything ; an old moccasin flung aside in the bushes, or a knife lost in the snow,
must be ferreted out and examined, and any object suspended almost out of reach generally
proves irresistible as a temptation. In this instance, however, the caution of the glutton
exceeded its curiosity and restrained its hunger ; it clind^ed the tree, cut the fastenings of the
gun, which then tumbled to the ground, and, descending, it secured the bait with impunity.
Lord Milton's party were personal sufferers by, and witnesses to, the animal's cunning. One
day, when setting out to visit their trajis, they observed the footprints of a very large wolverine
which had followed their trail, and La Pionde, their trajiper, at once exclaimed, " C'est fini,
monsieur; il a casse toutes notres etra|)pes, vous allez voir;" and so it proved. As they came
to each in succession, they found it broken open at the liack, and the bait taken ; and, where an
animal had lieen caught, it was carried oif. Throughout the whole line every one had been
demolished ; and the tails were discovered of no fewer than ten martens, the bodies of which had
apparently been devoured by the hungiy and astute w^olverine.
With one more illustration we must be content, and turn to another bi'anch of our subject,
though we do not suppose that our I'eaders will weary of the relation of facts wlilt'h throw so
"THE BITER BIT." 159
vivid a ligiit on the intelligence, as distinct from, and su})erior to, the instinct of animals. And,
certainly, the manner in which the glutton foils the ingenious stratagems of the trappers must
be ascribed to intelligence rather than to instinct. In the following anecdote we think it is
plainly shown that tlie latter could not have sufficed to guard the animal against the machina-
tions of its persevering foes.
Dr. Cheadle, accompanied by an Indian boy, named JMisquapasnayoo, started off for the
woods, bent upon proving his superior acuteness to the wolverine. They found that the latter
had renewed his visits along the line of traps, and broken all which had been reconstructed,
devouring the animals found in them. Dr. Cheadle thereupon adopted a device which could not
fail, he thought, to catch his enemy in liis ow^n toils. All tlie broken traps were repaired and
set again, and poisoned baits substituted fi>r tlir ordinary ones in the tra])S ; ni:>t in every
instance, but here and there alono- the line.
The forest was here of great extent, and seemed to stretch away to the frozen North with-
out let or hindrance, the mass of timber being broken only by numerous lakes and swamps, or
clearances which had been caused by conflagrations. The traveller always seeks the lakes ; not
only because they enable him to travel more rapidly, and penetrate further into the less hunted
regions, but also because the edges of the lakes, and the jiortages betw-een them, are favourite
haunts of the fox, the fisher, and the mink. On one of these lakes a curious circumstance was
noted. The lake was about half a inile in length, and of nearly equal breadth, but of no great
depth. The water had seemingly frozen to the bottom, except at one end, where a spring
bubbled up, and a hole of about a yard in diameter existed in the ice-crust, which w^as there only
a few inches thick. In this hole the water was crowded with myriads of small fish, most of them
not much larger than a man's finger, and so closely packed that they could not move freely. On
thrusting in an arm, it seemed like plunging it into "a mass of thick stir-about." All around
the snow had been trodden down hard and level by the feet of the numerous animals attracted
to this Lenten banquet ; and triicks convei'ged to it from every side. The footprints could be
recognized of the cro.ss or silver fox, delicately impressed in the snow as he trotted daintily along
with light and airy tread ; the rough marks of the clumsier fisher ; the clear and sharply-defined
track of the nimble mink ; and the great cross trail of the ubiquitous glutton. On the trees
around scores of crows were sleepily digesting their abundant meals.
When Dr. Cheadle and his companion turned homewards, they found that their enemy had
been in active pursuit. Along the ground they had traversed on the previous day, every trap
was already demolished, and all the baits w^ere abstracted. Dr. Cheadle at first imagined that
he had at last outwitted and destroyed his enemy ; but the Indian's keener eyes discovered each
of the baits which had been poisoned, lying close at hand, bitten in two and rejected, while all
the others had disapjDeared. The baits, nevertheless, had been verj'^ carefully prepared ; the
strychnine being inserted into the centre of the meat by a small hole, and when frozen it was
impossible to distinguish them from the harmless ones by any peculiarity of appearance. It
seemed as if the animal susi^ected poison, and bit in two and tasted every morsel before .swallow-
ing it. The baits had purposely been made very small, so that in the ordinary course they
would have been sw^allowed whole. That the same w'olverine had followed up their path from
the first, they knew perfectly well, because it was one of unusually large size, as shown by its
tracks, which were readily distinguished from those of smaller animals.
11
IGO
thp: arctic birds.
The distribution of Birds in tlio Polar PtegicMis, is a subject on which it seems desiralile to
offer a few remarks, so that our readers may be able to form an accurate conception of the
character and variety of the animal life peculiar to them.
Of the birds of Greenland and Iceland, it may be affirmed that fully three-fourths of the
species, and a still larger proportion of individuals, are more or less aquatic, and many of the
remainder are only summer visitois. The largest bird that ventures far north is the ^Iquila
alhicilhi, or fishing-eagle, which builds its eyrie on the loftiest crags of the occan-clifts, and feeds
on salmon and trout. The Falco Idandicus, or gyrfalcon, though a iiativc of Iceland, is now
veiy rarely met with. The snowy o\\\ inhabits the glaciers which fill tlie deep inland valleys
of Greenland, and its range extends as far southwards as the Orkneys. Particular kinds of
grouse are conhned to the high latitudes; and more particukirly the |)tarmigan, or white grouse,
fi'.vr5Ih_;an.
which suiiplies a welcome addition to the scanty bill of fare of the Arctic navigators. It is
found, even in the depths of winter, on Melville Island; Ijurrowing under the snow, perha])S, for
warmth, protection, and foLid. But it appears to 1)0 most numerous in April, when it is found
in pairs ; in Septend)er it collects in coveys, sometimes of as many as fifteen or twenty birds,
preparatory to their southern migration.
Of the Corvidie, the only species which ventures beyond the Arctic Circle is the Royston
crow, and that only in summer.
The raven, however, is found in all the wide PoLir realm, and is largo-, stronger, and more
voracious in the Arctic Islands than elsewhere. It drives the cider ducks from their nests in
oixler to prey on their young or feast on their eggs, and it uni'..s in llorks to exjul intruding
birds frnni their aljode.
DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. 161
'J'lic (rixdlatores arc luuru iiuuier(ju.s thau laud-birds in the Arctic World. The siiij)e and the
golden plover are only visitors; but the oyster-catcher is a denizen of Iceland, where, building
its nest on tlie reedy haidvs of the streams, it wages war with the crow ti'ibe. The heron,
(Lulew, plover, and most of the otlier waders, emigrate ; sand-pipers and the water-ousel remain
"all the year round."
The Cijunuti miisicu.s, or whistling swan, is siJecially famous for its migrations. Tt measures
five feet from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail, and eight feet across its noble extended
wings ; its plumage is white as snow, with a slight tinge of orange or yellow on the head. Some
of these swans winter in Iceland ; and in the long Arctic night their song, as they pass in flocks,
falls on the ear of the listener like the notes of a violin.
The distribution of animals is, of cotirse, resfulated b\' laws analoofous to those which reii'u-
late the distribution of [ilants, insects, birds, and fishes. Each continent, and even different
portions of the same continent, are the centres of zoological families, which have always existed
there, and nowhere else ; each group being almost always specifically different from all others.
As the Arctic World includes a district common to Europe, Asia, and America, with uniform
climatic conditions, the animals inhabiting the high latitudes of these continents are frequently
very similar and sometimes identical ; and, in fact, no genus of quadrupeds exists in the Arctic
regions that is not found in all three continents, though there are only twenty-seven species
common to all, and these mostly fur-bearing animals. The carnivores, as we have seen, are verv
few in number, and of these the most important is the Polar bear. Of the herbivon^s the
reindeer is the most valuable ; its southern limit in Europe is the Baltic Sea, in Ameiica the
latitude of Quebec.
There are fully eight varieties of American dogs, several of which are natives of the far
North. The Uujiypus, or isatis, a native of Spitzbergen and Greenland, extends over all the
Arctic regions of America and Asia, and is found in some of the Kurile Islands. Dogs are
employed to draw sledges in Newfoundland and Canada ; and the Eskimo dogs, used for this
jjurpose by the Arctic explorers, are famous for their strength, their docility, and [)ower of
endurance. They were mute, until they learned to bark from European dogs on board the
discovery ships.
CHAPTER VT.
ICELAND AND THE ICELANDERS.
fU)ST within the Arctic region, but nearly un the Hniits of what geographers call the
Atlantic Ocean, lies an island which, since its colonization in the ninth century, has
not ceased to excite the interest of the explorer and the man of science.
Iceland — which measures about 300 miles at its greatest length, from east to west, and
about 200 miles at its greatest breadth, from north to south — is situated in lat. 63° 23-66° 33' N.,
and long. 13° 22-24° 35' W. ; at a distance of 600 miles from the nearest point of Norway, 250
from the Faroe Isles, 250 from Greenland, and above 500 miles from the northern extremity of
Scotland. As early as the eighth Christian century it was discovered by some EurojDcan
emigrants ; though, indeed, the Landnana Book, one of the earliest of the island-records, asserts
that they found the memorials of a yet earlier settlement in various Christian relics, such as
wooden crosses, which ajipeared to l:>e of Irish origin. At all events, the first really successful
attempt at colonization was made by Ingolf, a Norwegian, who planted himself and his followers
at Reikiavik in 874. In the following century a somewhat extensive immigration took place of
Norwegians who resented the changes of polity introduced by Harold Haarfager, and all the
habitable points on the coast were occupied by about 950 a.d. Fifty years afterwards, though
not without much opposition, Christianity was legally established, and the bishoprics of Holar
and Skalholt were founded, The government assumed the character of an aristocratic rej^ublic,
with a popular assembly, called the Altliing, meeting every summer in the valley of Thingvalla.
Commerce was encouraged, and the Icelanders early distinguished themselves by the boldness of
tlieir maritime enterprise, and the extent of their ocean fisheries.
About the year 932 they discovered Gi'eenland, and about 986 a portion of the North
American coast, which they called " Vineland." They did not confine their voyages to the north,
but sent their ships even as far south as the Mediterranean. From 1150 to 1250 is rightly con-
sidered the most flourishing period of Icelandic liteiature and commerce. After the conquest of
the island by Haco VI. of Norway, much of the old s])irit seemed to die out. AVln'n Norway
was united to Denmark in 1380, Iceland was included in the bond, and it is still regarded as a
dependency of the latter kingdom. In 1540 it enibi-aci>d the principles of Ijutheran Pi'otestant-
ism. Its population at one time nundDcred 100,000, but it gradually diminished until, in ]840,
it was reduced to 57,094 ; l)ut a slow increase has taken place of late years, and it imw amounts
to about 70,000. The language spoken is the old Norse.
Iceland is a fifth part larger than Ireland, and its superficial area is estimated at 39,207
VOLCANOES OF ICELAND.
1G3
square miles. Not more than 4000 miles, however, are habitable, all the rest being ice and lava;
for the island seems to be little more than a mass of traehyte, snow-shrouded and frost-buund,
restino- on a sea of fire. It consists of two vast parallel table-lands, the foundations of rang-es of
lofty mountains, most of which are active volcanoes ; and these table-lands strike acro.ss the
centre of the island, from north-east to south-west, at a distance from one another of ninety to
<me hundred miles. Their mountainous summits are not pyramidal, as is generally the case in
Europe, but rounded like domes, as in the Andes of South America. Their sides, however, arc
broken up by precipitous masses of tufa and conglomerate, intersected by deep ravines of the
o-loomiest character. Thev are covered with a thick shroud of ice and snow, but in their wond)s
seethe the fiery elements whicli ever and anon break fnrtli into terrible activity. The eastern
AN ICELANDIC r.ANDSCAl'E.
table-land and its mountain range is the most extensive, and contains Oerafa, the culminating
point of Iceland. It is visible from a great distance at sea, like a white cloud suspended above
the island. Its height is (j42G feet, and it springs from a vast uKJuntain-mass ; no fewer than
3000 square miles being pei-petually bmdened with ice and snow, at an altitude varying fi-(jm oOOO
to 0000 feet.
A very considerable portion of the island is occupied by the large glaciers wliich descend
from the mountains, like frozen torrents, pushing forward into the lowlands, and even to the
maroin of the sea. These act as almost imi)assable barriers to communication between the
various inhabited districts.
1G4
A CIRC]>E OF ICE.
We have spc/ken uf the two ranges of tal)le4ands as aljout ninety to mie humh-ed miles apart.
The interspace forms a lnw hi'oad v.-illey, whieli <:)i)ens at either extremity on the sea — an awfid
waste, a region of desolatinn, wliere man is utterly powerless ; where the elements of fire an<l
frost maintain a perpetual antagonism; where blade of grass is never seen, nor drop of water ;
where bird never wings its way, and no sign of life can be detected. It seems a realization of
Dante's "circle of ice" in the "Inferno." The surf;ice consists of lava streams, fissured by
innumerable crevices ; of i-oclcs piled on rocks ; of dreary glaciers, relieved by low volcanic cones.
It is supposed that some remijte portions of the inaccessible intericn* arc less barren, because
herds of reindeei- have been seen feeding on the Iceland moss that iVinges the Itordei's of this
dreary region, lint there is no reason to believe that it can ever l)e iuhabiti^d by man.
MOUNT HEKLA, FIIOM THE VALLEY OF HE VITA.
The extremities of the valleys, where they a]iproach the ocean, are the ]n'incipal theatres of
volcanic activity. At the northern end the bestdcnown volcano is that of Hekla, which has
attained a sinister repute from the terrific character of its erui)tions. Of these six-and-twenty
are recorded, the last h.iving <iccurred in 1843-4G. One lasted for six years, spreading devasta-
tion over a country w liich hail formerly been tlie seat of a ]irosperous colony, burving the fiidds
beneath a flood of lava, scoria!, and aslies. During the eruption of Septend)er 2, 1845, to Ajiril
184(), three new craters were formed, from whicji cohinms of fire sprang to the height of 14,0(10
feet. The lava accaimulated in forniidalilr hills, and fragments of .scoria' and jiumice-stone. Aveigh-
iuLT two liundi-edwei"'lit, were thrown to a distan
ce of a lenirne nnd ;i lia
while
lie ice and snow
ERUPTION OF THE SKAPTA JOKUL. 165
wliicli had lain on the mountain for centuries wure Hqueficd, and poured down into the plains in
devastating torrents.
But the eruption of another of these terrible volcanoes, the Skaptd Jokul, which broke
out on the 8th of May 1783, and lasted until August, was of a still more awful character. At
that time the volcanic fire under Europe must have raged -most violently, for a tremendous earth-
([uake shattered a wide extent of Calabria in the same year, and a submarine volcano had flamed
Hcrcely for many weeks in the ocean, thirty miles from the south-west cape of Iceland.
Its fires ceased suddenly ; a sei'ies of earthquakes shook the island ; and then Skapta broke
forth into sudden and destructive activity.
For months the sun was hidden by dense clouds of vapour, and clouds of volcanic dust were
carried many liundreds of miles to sea, extending even to England and Holland. Sand and
ashes, raised to an enormous height in the atmosphere, spread in all directions, and ovei'whelmed
tliousands of acres of fertile pasturage. The sulphurous exhalations blighted the grass of the
field, and tainted the waters of river, lake, and sea, so that not only the herds and flocks perished,
but the fish died in their poisoned element.
The quantity of matter ejected by the rent and shivered mountain was computed at fifty or
sixty thousand millions of cubic yards. The molten lava flowed in a sti-eam which in some
places was twenty to thirty miles in Ijroadth, and of enormous thickness ; a seething, hissing
torrent, which filled the beds of rivers, poured into the sea nearly fifty miles from its points of
eruption, and destroyed the fishing on the coast. Some of the island-rivers were heated, it is
said, to ebullition ; others were dried up ; the condensed vapour fell in whirls of snow and storms
of rain. But dreadful as was the eruption itself, with its sublime but awful phenomena, far more
dreadful were its consequences. The country within its range was one wide ghastly desert, a
fire-])li"'hted wilderness ; and, partly from want of food, partly owing to the unwholesome con-
dition of the atmosphere, no fewer than 93-30 men,* 28,000 horses, 11,401 cattle, and 190,000
shoe]i, were swept away iii the short space of two years. Even yet Iceland has scarcely recovered
from tile blow.
At the noi-thern end of the great central valley the focus of igneous plienomena is funid in
a semicircle of volcanic heights which slope towards the eastern shore of the Lake Myvatr. Two
of these are very formidable, — namely, Leirhnukr and Krabla on the north-east. After years of
inaction, they suddenly broke out with tremendous fury, pouring such a quantity of lava into the
Lake Myvatr, which measures twenty miles in circuit, that the water was in a state of ebullition
for many days. On the sides of Mount Krabla, and at the base of this group of mountains, are
situated various caldrons of boiling mineral pitcli, the ruined craters of ancient volcanoes ; and
from their depths are thrown up jets of the molten matter, enveloped in clouds of steam, and
accompanied by loud explosions at regular intervals.
But the most singular phenomena in this singular country, where frost and fire are con-
tinuallv disputing the pre-eminence, are the Geysers, or eruptive boiling springs. These all occur
in the trachytic formation, are characterized by their high temperature, by holding siliceous
matter in solution, which they deposit in the fi)rm of siliceous sinter, and by evolving large
(juantities of sulphuretted hydrogen gas.
Upwards of fifty geysers have been counted in the space of a i'aw acres at the southern end
* A -URiro iiioilevrite cslimale says l.'?00 jiersoiis.
^Tree
PHEXOMKNA OF THK CIHYSEJtS.
of the great valley. Some are constant, some jierioilical, some stagnant, some only slightly
agitated. The grandest and mcjst celebrated are the Great Geyser and Strukr, tlurty-five miles
north-west from Hekla. These, at regular interval
boiling water, to the height
of one hundred feet, accom-
panied by clouds of steam
and deafening noises. In the
case of the Great Geyser, the
jet issues frum a shaft al)(_)ut
seventy -five feet deep, and ten
in diameter, which opens into
the centre of a shallow basin,
about one hundred and fifty
feet in circumference. The
basin is alternately emptied
and filled : when filled, loud
explosions are heaixl, tlie
ground quivers, and the boil-
ing water is forced upwards
in gigantic columns. Thus
the ba.sin is emptieil, and the
explosions cease until it is
refilled.
Messrs. J )escluiseaux
and Bunsen, who, according
>! \i
THE GREAT CEYSKR.
iiirl into the air immense columns of
--jMB~s^ to Mrs. Somerville, visited
~^^ \ Iceland in 184G, found the
temperature of the Great
Geyser, at the depth of
seventy-two feet, to equal
260° 30' F. prior to a great
eruption, reduced, after the
eruption, to 251° 30' F. ; an
interval of twenty-eight hours
passing in silence.
About one hundred and
forty yards distant is the
Strokr (from .^troka, to
i agitate), a circular well, foiiy-
four feet deep, with a tube
eight feet wide at its mouth,
diminishing to little more
than ten inches at a depth
of twenty-seven feet. The
surface of the water is in con-
stant ebullition, while at the
bottom the temperature ex-
ceeds that of boiling water by about twenty-lour degrees. It appears, from experiments made
by Donny, that water, long boiled, beconies mort; and more free from air, and that tlius the
cohesion of tlie particles is so nuieh increased, that when the heat is sufiiciently increased to
o^'ercome that cohesion, the production of steam is so consideralile and so instantaneous as to
induce an explosion. In this circumstance ]\I. Donny finds an explanation of the phenomena of
the Geysers, which are in constant ebullition for many hours, vuitil, being almost jturified from
air, the intense internal or subterranean heat overcomes the cohesion of the particles, and thus
an explosion takes place.
Loi'd Dufterin describes an eruption wliich he witnessed on the occasion of his visit t<;) the
Geysers, Init lor whieh he waited three days. Like pilgrims round s<.)me ancient slirine, he says,
he and his friends kept patient watch ; but the (Ireat ( Jeyser scarcely deigned to vouchsafe the
sliorhtest manifestation of its latent eneru-ies. Two or tlu'ce times thev heard a sound as of sub-
terraneau cannonading, and once an eruption to the height of, about ten feet occurred. ( )n the
morning of the fourth day a cry from the guides made them start to tlu/ir feet, and with one
common impulse rush towards the basin. The usual undergroiuid thunder hail already com-
menced. A violent agitation was disturbing the centre of the ])ool. Suddenly a dome of water
lifted itself u|) to the height of eight or ten feet, then burst, and fell ; nnniediately after which a
shining liqiiid colunni, or rather a sheaf of colnnnis, wreathed in mhes of \aiionr, sprang into
ACTION OF THE -'STROKU." 167
the air, and in a .succession of jerking- leaps, eacli liiyher than the last, flung their silver crests
against the sky. For a few minutes the fountain lield its own, then all at once appeared to lose
its ascending power. The unstable waters faltered, drooped, fell, "like a broken purpose," back
upon themselves, and were immediately sucked down into tlie recesses of their pipe.
The spectacle was one of great magnificence ; but no description can give an accurate idea
of its most striking features. The enormous wealtli of water, its vitality, its liidden power, the
illimitable breadth of sunlit vapour, rolling out in exhaustless profusion, —these combine to
impress the spectator with an almost painful sense of the stupendous energy of nature's slightest
movements.
The same traveller furnishes a very humorous account of the Strokr (or "cluirn").
It is, he says, an unfortunate Geyser, with so little command over its temper and stomach,
that you can get a rise out of it whenever you like. Nothing more is necessary than to collect a
quantity of sods and throw them down its funnel. As it has no basin to protect it from these
liberties, you can approach to the very edge of the pipe, which is about five feet in diameter, and
look down at the lioiling water perpetually seething at the bottom. In a few minutes the dose
of turf just administered begins to disagree with it ; it works itself up into " an awful passion ;"
tormented by the qualms of incipient sickness, it groans and hisses, and boils up, and spits at you
with malicious vehemence, until at last, with a roar of mingled pain and rage, it throws up into
the air a column of water forty feet high, carrying with it all the sods that have been thrown in,
and scattering them, scalded and half-digested, at your feet. So irritated has the poor thing's
stomach become by the discipline it has undergone, that even long after all foreign matter has
been thrown oif, it continues retching and sputtering, until at last nature is exhausted, when,
sobbing and sighing to itself, it sinks back into the bottom of its den.
The ground around the Geysers, for about a quarter of a mile, looks as if it had been
'• honeycombed by disease into numerous sores and orifices ; " not a blade of grass grew on its
hot, inflamed surface, which consisted of unwholesome-looking red livid clay, or crumpled shreds
and shards of slough-like incrustatit)ns.
A region, corresjionding in character to the desert mountain-mass we have been describing,
stretches westward froni it to the extremity of the ridge of the Snaefield Syssel, and terminates
in the remarkable cone of Snaefield Jokul.
The island coasts exhibit a singularly broken outline, and the deep lochs or fiords, like those
of Norway, only less romantic, dip into the interior for many miles, and throw off" numerous
bi-anches. These fiords are wild and gloomy ; dark, still inlets, with precipices on either side,
a thousand feet in height, and tlie silence unbroken, save by the occasional wash of the waters, or
the scream of a solitary ocean-bird. Inland, however, they assume a gentler character : they end
in long narrow valleys, watered by pleasant streams, and bright with pasture. In these bits of
Arcadia the inhabitants have built their towns and villages.
In the valleys on the north coast, which are adorned by clumjjs of willow and juniper, the
soil is comparatively fertile ; but the most genial scenery is found on the east, where, in some
places, the birch-trees reach a heiglit of twenty feet, and are of sufficient size to be used in house-
building. The fuel used by the Icelanders is the drift-wood which the Gulf Stream brings from
Mexico, the Carolinas, Virginia, and the River St. Lawrence.
168 DESCRIPTION OF THE THING VALLA.
In the south of the island the inetin tunij>crature is about 39"; in the central districts, 3G'";
in tlic noi'th it rarely rises above 32', or freezing-point. Thunder storms, thoug-h I'are in high
latitudes, are not unconnaon in Iceland; a, circumstance which is due, no dnubt, to the atmos-
pheric disturbances caused by the volcanic phenomena. Hurricanes are frequent, and the days
are fv\v when the island is free from sea-mists. At the northern end the sun is always above the
horizon in the middle of summer, and under it in the miildlo of winter ; but absolute darkness
does not prevail.
One of the most interesting places in Iceland is Thingvalla, where of old the "Althing,"
or supreme parliament, was wont to hold its annual assemblies, under the " Logmathurman," or
president of the republic.
It is nothing more than a broad jilain on the bank of the Iliver Oxera, near the point where
the swift waters, after forming a noble cascade, sweep into the Lake of Thingvalla. Only a
jilain ; but the scenery around it is indescribably grand and solemn. (Jn either side lies a barren
plateau, above which rises a range of snowy mountains, and from the plateaus the plain is cut of!'
by deep chasms, — that of Almanna Oja on the east, and the Hrafna Gja on the west. It
measures eight miles in breadth, and its surface is covered by a network of innumerable fissures
and crevices of great depth and breadth. At the foot of the plain lies a lake, about thirty miles
in circumference, in the centi-e of which two small crater-islands, the result of some ancient
c'ru|iti(>ii, are situated. The mountains on its south bank havu a romantic aspect, and that their
volcanic fires are not extinct is shown by tlic clouds of vapoui' evc.ilved from the h<.)t springs that
pour down tlieir rugged sides. The actual meeting-place of the Althing was an irregular oval
area, aljout two hundred feet by fifty, almost entirely surrounded by a crevice so broad and deep
as to be impassable, except whei'e a nairow causeway connected it with the adjacent plain, and
permitted access to its interior. At one other point, indeed, the encircling chasm is so narrow
that it may possibly be cleai-ed at a leaji ; and the story runs that one Flosi, when hotly pursued
by his enemies, did in this way escape thom ; l)ut as falling an inch short would mean sure death
in the o-reen waters below, the chasm may be reo-arded as a tolei-ablv sure barrier atrainst
intruders.
The ancient capital of the island was >Skalholt, where, in the eleventh century, was founded
the first school; an episco])al seat; the birthplace of a long line of Norse worthies, Islief the
chronicler, Gis.sur the linguist, and Finnur Johnson the historian. But its glories have passed
away ; its noble cathedral has ceased to exist ; and three or four cottages alone perjietuate the
name of the once flourishing city.
The present capital is Reikiavik, to which, in 1707, were transferred the united bishopries
of Stoolum and Skalliolt. It consists of a collection of wooden sheds, one story high, rising hei'C
and there into a gable end of gj-eater pretensions, extending along a tract of dreary lava, and
flanked at cither end by a suburb of turf huts. On every side of it stretches a dreary lava ])Iain,
and the gloom of the scorched and ghastly landscape is unrelieved by tree or bu.sh. The white
mountains are too distant to serve as a background to the buildings, but before the door of each
merchant's house, facing the sea, streams a bright little jiennon ; and as the traveller paces the
silent streets, whose dust no carriage-wheel has ever desecrated, the i-ows of flower-]iots |)eeping
out of the windows, between wliite nmslin curtains, at once con\iiice him (hat. nol withstanding
ABOUT EEIKtAVIK.
1G9
their unostentatious appearance, witliiu each dwelling reign "the elegance and comfort of a
woman-tended home."
The prosperity of Pteikia\i]v is cliiefly due to its excellent harbour, and to tlie fish-banks in
its neio-hbourhood, which supply it with an important commercial stajjle. In the summer and
early autunm it is much visited by tourists, who start from thence to adnu'iv the wonders of
Hekla, Skapta, and the Geysers; but its busiest time is in July, when the aiuiual fair draws
tliither a crowd of fisher-folk and peasants. From a distance of forty and fifty leagues they come,
with long trains of pack-horses, their stock -fish slung loose across the animals' backs, and their
other wares packed closely in boxes or bags of i-eindeer-skin.
The Icelander is honest, temperate, liospitable, possessed with a fervent spirit of patriotism,
and strongly wedded to the ancient usages. He is also industrious ; and though his industry
'V£l/)^tXi^M^
HARBOUR OF REIKIAVIK.
is but scantily remunerated, he earns enough to satisfy his simple tastes. In the interior his
chief dependence is on his cattle ; and as grass is the main produce of his firm, his anxiety during
the haymaking season is extreme. A bad crop would be almost ruin. He is, however, wofully
ignorant of agriculture as a science, does but little for the improvement of the soil, and employs
implements of the most pi'imitive character. The process of haymaking in Iceland is thus
described : —
Tlie best crops are gathered from the "tun," a kind of home-park or paddock, comprising
the lands contiguous to the farmstead — the only portion of his demesne to which the owner
gives any special attention, and on the improvement of which he bestows any labour. This
" tun " is enclosed within a wall of stone or turf, and averages an extent of two or three acres,
though sometimes it reaches to ten. Its surface is usually a series of closely-packed mounds,
like an overcrowded graveyai-d, with cliannels or water-runs between, a1)out two feet deep.
170 AN ICELANDER'S DWELLING.
Hither every person employed on the fann, or whom the farmer can engage, resorts, with short-
bladed scythe and rake, and proceeds to cut down the ct)arse thiclc grass, and rake it up into
httle heaps.
Afterwards the mowers hasten to clear the neighbouring hill-sides and undrained marshes.
This primitive haymaking, so unlike the systematic operation -which bears that name in
England, is carried on throughout the twenty-four hours of the long summer day. The hay,
when sufficiently dried, is made up into bundles, and tied with cords and thongs, and packed on
the back of ponies, which carry it to the clay-built stalls or sheds prepared for it. And a curious
sight it is to see a long string of hay-laden jjonies returning home. Each pony's lialter is made
last to the tail of Ids predecessor; and thu little animals are so overshadowed and (iverwlielmed
by their burdens, that their hoofs and the connecting ropes alone are visible, and they seem like
so many animated haycocks, feeling themselves sufficiently made up, and leisurelv betaking
themselves to their resting-places.
During the proti-acted winter the Icelander, of course, can attend to no out-of-door labour,
and passes his time within liis liut, which, in many parts of the island, is not nmch superior to
an Irish " cabin."
The lower part is built of rough stones up to a height of four feet, and between each
course a layer of turf is placed, which serves instead of mortar, and helps to keep out the cold.
The roof, made of any available wood, is covered with turf and sods. On the southern side the
building is ornamented with doors and gable-ends, each of \\-hich is crowned by a weathercock.
These doors are the entrances to the dwelling-rooms and various offices, such as the cow-shed,
store-house, and .smithy. The dwelling-rooms are connected by a long, dark, narrow passage, and
are separated from each other by strong walls of turf As each apartment has its own roof, the
building is, in effect, an aggregate of several low huts, wliich receive their light through small
windows in the front, or holes in the roof, covered with a piece of glass or skin. The floors are
of stamped earth ; the fireplace is made of a few stones, rudely packed together, while the smoke
escapes through a Imle in the roof, or through a cask or barrel, with the ends ku(_>cked out,
which acts as chimney.
In some parts of the island lava is used instead of stones, and instead of wood the rafters
are made nf the ribs of whales. A horse's skull is the best seat provided for a visitor. Too
often the same room serves as the dining, sitting, and sleeping place for the whole family, and
the beds are merely boxes filled with feathers or sea-weed. There are, however, a few houses of
a superior character, in which the arrangements are not much unlike those of a good old-fashioned
English farm-house ; the walls being wainscotted with deal, and the doors and staircase of the
same material. A few prints and photographs, some book-shelves, (jne or twn little pictures,
decorate the sitting-room, and a neat iron stove, and massive chests of drawers, I'urnish it
sufficiently.
From the houses we turn to the churches. In lieikiavik the church is a stone building,
the only stone building in the town ; but this is exceptional : most of the cliurches are not much
better than the houses. We will be content, therefore, with a visit to the Keikiavik sanctuar}',
which is a neat and unpretending erection, capable of acconnncxlating three or four hundred persons.
The Icelanders are not (ip})Osed to a "decent I'itual," and tlie Lutheran minister wears a black
gown with a r\ift' round liis neck. The majority of the congregation, here as everywhere else,
CHURCHES AND CLERGY IN ICELAND. 171
consists of women ; some few dressed in bonnets, and the rest wearing the national black silk
skull-cap, set jauntily on one side of the head, with a long black tassel drooping to the shoulder,
or else a quaint mitre-like structure of white linen, almost as imposing as the head-dress of a
Normandy peasant. The remainder of an Icelandic lady's costume, we may add, consists of a
black bodice, fastened in front with silver clasps, over which is drawn a cloth jacket, gay with
innumerable silver buttons ; round the neck goes a stiff ruff of velvet, embroidered with silver
lace ; and a silver belt, often beautifully chased, binds the long dark wadmal petticoat round the
waist. Sometimes the ornaments are of gold, instead of silver, and very costly.
Towards the end of the Lutheran service, the preacher descends from the pulpit, and attiring
himself in a splendid crimson velvet cope, turns his back to the congregation, and chants some
Latin sentences.
Though still retaining in their ceremonies, says a recent traveller, a few vestiges of the old
religion, though altars, candles, pictures, and crucifixes yet remain in many of their churches, the
Icelanders are stanch Protestants, and singularly devout, innocent, and pure-hearted. Crime,
theft, debauchery, cruelty are unknown amongst them ; they have neither prison, gallows, soldiers,
nor police ; and in the manner of their lives mingles something of a patriarchal simplicity, that
reminds one of the Old World princes, of whom it has been said, that they were " upright and
perfect, eschewing evil, and in their hearts no guile."
In the rural districts, if such a phrase can jjroperly be applied to any part of Iceland, the
church is scarcely distinguishable from any other building, except by the cross planted on its roof
It measures, generally, from eight to ten feet in Avidth, and from eighteen to twenty-four feet in
length ; but of this space about eight feet are devoted to the altar, which is divided off by a
wooden partition stretching across the church, just behind the pulpit. The communion-table is
nothing more than a small wooden chest or cupboard, placed at the end of the building, between
two small square windows, each formed by a single common-sized pane of glass. Over the table
is suspended a sorry daub, on M'ood, intended to represent the Last Supper. The walls, which
are wainscotted, are about six feet high ; and stout beams of wood stretch from side to side. On
these are carelessly scattered a number of old Bibles, psalters, and loose leaves of soiled and anti-
quated manuscripts. The interior of the roof, the rafters of which rest on the walls, is also lined
with wood. Accommodation, in the shape of a few rough benches, is provided for a congregation
of thirty or forty souls.
Poor as are the churches, the pastors are still poorer. The best benefice in the island is
worth not much more than £40 per annum ; the average value is £10. The bishop himself does
not receive more than £200. The principal support of the clergy, therefore, is derived from their
glebe-land, eked out by the small fees charged for baptisms, marriages, and funerals.
Such being the case, the reader will not be surprised to learn that the Icelandic clergy live
miserably and work hard. They assist in the haymaking ; they hire themselves out as lierdsmen ;
they act as the leaders of the caravans of pack-horses which carry the produce of the island to
the ports, and return loaded with domestic necessaries ; and they distinguish themselves as black-
smiths, as veterinarians, and shoers of horses.
Dr. Henderson gives an interesting and graphic account of a visit he paid to one of these
" poor parsons," John Thorlukson, who, Avhile .supporting himself by drudgery of this painful kind,
translated Milton's "Paradise Lost" and Pope's " Essa}^ on ]\Ian " into Icelandic.
172 T];AVELLING in ICELAND.
" Like most of his lnvthix'ii, at this season of the year," says Dr. Heiidursoii, " wc foiiiul liim
in the meadow assistini^- iiis ]ieo|ile at haymakino-. < )n lieariiii;- of our arrival Jie made all the
haste home which Jiis age and intiimity would allow, and bidding us welcome to his lowly
abode, ushered us into the humble apartment where he translated my countrymen into Icelandic.
The door was not quite four feet in height, and the room might be about eight feet in length by
six in breadth. At the inner end was the poet's bed ; and close to the door, over against a small
window, not exceeding two feet square, was a table where he committed to paper the effusions of
his muse. On my telling him that my countrymen would not have forgiven me, nor could I
have forgiven myself, had I passed tlnx>ugh this part (.)f the island without paying him a visit, lie
replied that the translation of Miltou had yielded him many a jileasant hour, and often given him
occasion to think of England."
It is true that this passage was written some fifty-five years ago, but the condition of the
clergy of Iceland has not much improved in the interval.
Travelling in Iceland, even vuider the more favourable conditions brought about by a con-
stant influx of tourists, is not to be achieved without difficulty and discomfort. Not only is the
country destitute, necessarily, of inns and tlie usual arrangements for the convenience of travellers,
but much, very nuich, depends upon the weather. With a bright sky overhead, it is possible to
regard as trivial and unw(jrthy of notice the small dc.faijycmeiits which, in liad weather, develop
into very serious annoyances. The only mode of travelling is on horseback, for as there are no
roads, carriages would be useless ; while the distances between the various points of interest are
too great, the rivers too violent, and the swamps too extensive for pedestrian tours to be under-
taken. Even the most moderate-minded tourist requires a couple of riding-horses for himself, a
couple for his guide, and a couple of pack-horses ; and when a larger company travels, it expands
into a cavalcade of from twenty to thirty horses, tied head to tail, which slowly pick their way
over ruyo-ed lava-beds or dant'crous boji^iiT o'round.
It is one thing, as Lord Dufferin remarks, to ride forty miles a day through the most singular
scenery in the world, when a glorious sun brings out every feature of the landscape into startling-
distinctness, transmuting the dull tormented earth into towers, domes, and pinnacles of shining-
metal, and clothes each peak in a robe of many-coloured light, such as the " Debatable Mountains "
must have been in Bunyan's dream ; and another to j^lod over the same forty miles, wet to the
skin, seeing nothing but the dim gray bases of the hills, which rise you know not how, and care
not where. " If, in addition to this, you have to wait, as very often must be the case, for many
hours after your own arrival, wet, tired, hungry, until the baggage-train, with the tents and food,
shall have come up, with no alternative in the meantime but to lie shivering inside a grass-roofed
house, or to share the quarters of some farmer's family, whose dt)mestic arrangements resemble
in every particular those which Macaulay describes as prevailing among the Scottish Highlanders
a hundred years ago ; and if, finally, after vainly waiting for some days to see an eruption which
never takes place, you journey back to Reikiavik under the same melancholy conditions, it will
not be unnatural that, on returning to your native land, you should proclaim Iceland, with her
geysers, to be a sham, a delusion, and a snare ! "
There are no bridges in Iceland ; no bridges, except, indeed, a few planks flung across the
Bruera, and a swing-bi-idge, or klafe, which spans the JokiUsa ; and, as is still the case in some
FORDING THE STKEAM8. 173
parts of the Scottish Highlands, the traveller must ford the streams, which are always rapid, and
sometimes inconveniently deep. The passage of a river is, therefore, a formidable enterprise, as
may be inferred from the experiences of Mr. Holland and other travellers.
The guide leads the way, and the caravan follow obediently in his wake, stemming, as best
they can, the swift impetuous torrent. Often the boiling water rises high against the horse's
shoulders, and dashes clouds of spray in the face of the riders. The stream is so furiously fast
that it is impossible to follow the individual waves as they sweep by, and to look down at it
almost makes one dizzy. Now, if ever, is the time for a firm hand, a sure seat, and a steady eye :
not only is the current strong, but its bed is full of large stones, which the horse cannot see
through the dark waters ; and should he fall, the torrent will carry you down to the sea, whose
white breakers are plainly visible as they crawl along the resounding beach at a mile's distance.
Happily, though hungry for prey, they will not be satisfied. Swimming would be of no use,
but an " Icelandic water-horse " seldom blunders or makes a false step. But another danger lies
in the masses of ice swept down by the whirling waves, many of which are sufficiently large to
topple over horse and rider.
How the horses are able to stand against such a stream is every traveller's wonder ; nor
would they do so unless they were inured to the enterprise from their very yonth. The Icelanders
who live in the interior keep horses known for their qualities in fording difficult rivers, and never
venture to cross a dangerous stream unless mounted on an experienced "water-horse."
The action of the Icelandic horses in crossing a swift river is very peculiar. They lean all
their weight against the current, so as to oppose it as much as possible, and move onwards with
a characteristic side-step. This motion is not agreeable. It feels as if your horse were marking
time, like soldiers at drill, without gaining ground, and as the progress made is really very slow,
the shore from which you started seems to recede from you, while that to which you are bound
does not seem to draw nearer."
In the mid-stream the roar of the waters is frequently so great that the travellers cannot
make their voices audible to one another. There is the swirl of the torrent, the seething of the
spray, the crunching of the floating ice, the roll of stones and boulders against the bottom, — and
all these sounds combine in one confused chaotic din. Up to this point, a diagonal line, rather
down stream, is cautiously followed ; but when the middle is reached, the horses' heads are turned
slightly towards the current, and after much eftbrt and many risks the opposite bank is reached
in safety.
Lord Dufterin says, with much truth, that the traveller in Iceland is constantly reminded of
the East. From the earliest ages the Icelanders have been a people dwelling in tents. In the
days of the ancient Althing, the legislators, during the entire session, lay encamped in movable
booths around the place of council. There is something patriarchal in their domestic polity, and
the very migration of their ancestors from Norway was a protest against the antagonistic principle
of feudalism. No Arab could be prouder of liis high-mettled steed than the Icelander of his little
stalwart, sure-footed pony : no Oriental could pay greater attention to the duties of hospitality ;
while the solemn salutation exchanged between two companies of travellers, as they pass each
other in what is universally called "the desert," is not unworthy of the stately courtesy of the
gravest of Arabian sheikhs.
It is difficult to imagine anything more multifarious than the cargo which these caravans
174
PHODUCTIOXS OF THE ISLAND.
import into the inland districts : deal boards, rope, kegs of brand}', sacks of rye or wlreaten flour,
salt, soap, sugar, snuff, tobacco, coffee ; evervtliing, in truth, which is necessary for domestic con-
sumption dui-iiig the drear}^ winter season. In exchange for these commodities the Icelanders
give raw wool, knitted stockings, mittens, cured cod, fish-oil, whale-blubber, tbx-skins* eider-
down, feathers, and Iceland moss. The exports of the island in wool amount t<i ujjwards of
1,200,000 lbs. of wool 3-early, and 500,000 pairs of stockings and mittens.
ICELANDERS FISHING FOR NARWHAI,.
Iceland offers abundant sport to the enthusiast in fishing. The streams are well supiilied
with salmon ; while the neighbouring seas abound in seals, torsk, and herrings. The narwhal-
fishery is also carried on, and has its strange and exciting features. The implement used is
simply a three-pronged har|)oon, like a trident, witli which the fisherman strikes at the fish as
they rise to the surface ; and his dexterity and coolness are so great that he seldom misses
his aim.
Numerous works, in English, have been Avritten upon Iceland and the Icelanders; the most
trustworthy are those by Dr. Henderson, Professor Forbes, Holland, Chambers, and Lord
Dufferin. The Kino- of Denmark visited Iceland in 1874.
CHAPTER VII.
THE ESKIMOS.
HE land of the Eskimos is of very wide extent. From Greenland and Labrador they
range over all the coasts of Arctic America to the extreme north-eastern i^oint of Asia.
Several of the Eskimo tribes are indejjendent ; others acknowledge the rule of Great
Britain, Denmark, Eussia, and more recently of the United States. The whaler meets with them
on the shores of Baffin Bay, and in the icy sea beyond Behring Straits ; the explorer has tracked
them as far as Smith Sound, the highway to the Xoi-tli Pole ; and while they descend as low as
the latitude of Vienna, they rove as far north as the 81st and 82nd parallels. They are the
aboi'igines of the deserts of ice and snow, the ancient masters of the Arctic wilderness, and all
Polar America is their long-acknowledged domain. To a certain extent they are nomadic in
their habits ; compelled to migrate by the conditions of the climate in which they live, and
forced to seek their scanty sustenance in a new locality when they have exhausted the capa-
bilities of any chosen habitat. As Mr. Markham tells us, traces of former inhabitants are found
throughout the gloomiest wastes of the Arctic regions, in sterile and silent tracts where now only
solitude prevails. These wilds, it is knoAvn, have been uninhabited for centuries ; yet they are
covered with memorials of wanderers or of sojourners of a bygone age. Here and there, in
Greenland, in Boothia, on the American coast, wliere life is possible, the descendants of former
nomads are still to be found.
Arctic discovery, as yet, has stopped short at about 82' on the west coast, and 76° on the
east, of Greenland. These two points are about six hundred miles apart. There have been
inliabitants at both points, though they are separated by an uninhabitable interval from the
settlements further south ; we may conclude, then, that the tei'va incognita further north is also
or has boon inliabited. In 1818 it was discovered that a small tribe of Eskimos inhabited the
bleak west coast of Greenland between 7<o' and 79° N. They could not penetrate to the south
on account of the glapiers of Melville Bay ; they could not penetrate to the north, because all
progress in that direction is forbidden hj the great Humboldt glacier ; while the huge interior
glacier of the Sernik-sook pent them in upon the narrow belt of the sea-coast. These so-called
" Arctic Highlanders " number about one hundred and forty souls, and throughout the winter their
precarious livelihood depends on the fish they catch in the open pools and water-ways. Under
similar conditions, it is probable that Eskimo tribes may be existing still further north ; or if, as
geographers suppose, an open sea really surrounds the Pole, and a warmer atmosphei-e i^revails,
the conditions of their existence will necessarily be more favourable.
12
17G
AT UPEKNAVIK.
Before we come to spealv of thtj characteristics of the Eskimos, we must briefly notice the
Danish settlements in Greenland, \\hich are gradually attracting no inconsiderable nmnber of
them within tlie bounds of civilization. These are dotted along the coast, like so many centres
of light and life; but the most imjiortant, from a connnei-cial point of view, are Upernavik,
Jacobshav'n, and (rodhav'n.
Upernavik is the chief town of a district which extends from the 70th to the 74th degree of
north latitude, and enjoys the distinction of being the most northerly civilized region in the
world. Its northern boundary represents the furthest advance of civilization in its long warfare
against the Arctic climate.
The town of Upernavik is situated on the summit of a mossy hill which slopes to the head
of a small but sheltered harbour. It contains a government-house, plastered with pitch and tar;
a shop or two; lodging-houses for the Danish officials; S(,)me timber huts, inhabited l)v Danes;
UPERNAVIK, GKBENLAXD.
and a number of huts of stone and turf, intermingled with seal-skin tents, whieli accommodate
the natives. Its principal evidences of civilization are its neat little church and parsonage.
The inhabitants are chiefly occupied in fishing and hunting, and in the manufacture of suit-
able clothing for the protection of the human frame against the winter cold. Reindeer, seal, anil
dog skins are deftly converted into hoods, jackets, trousers, and l)oots. The last-named are
triumphs of ingenuity. They ai'e made of seal-skin, which has liceii tanned by alternate freezing
and thawing ; are sewed witli sinew, and " crimped " an<l fitted to the foot with equal taste and
.'ikill. Dr. Hayes informs us that the ( Jrccnland women, not exempt from the l<:)ve of finery
characteristic of their sex, trim their own bouts in a ]>erfectly bewitching manner, and adopt
the gayest of colours, lied boots, or wliite, trimmed with red, he says, seemed most generally
worn, though there was no more limit to the variety than to the capriciousness of the fancy which
sug'gested it. And it would be difticLdt to imagine a more gi-otes(jue spectacle than is presented
by the crowd of red, and yellow, and white, and purple, and blue legged women mIio crowd the
beach whenever a sti'a.ntre shin luiters the harbour.
DISCO TSr.AND.
177
The population of Upurnavik niuiibL'is now aljoiit t\\o liuudred and fifty souls; comprising
some forty or fifty Danes, a larger number of half-breeds, the remainder being native Green-
landers, — that is, Eskimos.
iJItsCO l.-iLA.ND, (jlU.li.NLA.MJ.
In describing one Danish settlement we dusrribe all, for they present exactly the same
characteristics, the difference between them being only a question of population.
Jacobshav'n and (iodhav'n are situated on tlie island of ])isc(). which is separated from the
> V
UclDllAVN, DISCO ISLAND, GKEKXLAND.
west coast of Greenland by Weygat Strait, and has been described as one of the most remarkable
localities in the Arctic World. The tradition runs that it was translated from a southern region
to its present position by a potent sorcerer ; and an enormous hole in the rock is pointed out as
178
JArOBSHAV'N IN GEEENLAND.
the gully through which he pa«.sud his rope. It is a lofty iskiud, tuid its coast is belted round by
high trap cliffs, of the most iiiiposing aspect. Near its south-west extremity, in lat. 69 S., a low
rugged spur or tnn'^ue (if granite projects into the sea for about a mile and a half, — a peninsula
at low watei', and an island at hi^h water, — and forms tlie snug little recess of Godhav'n, or
Good Harbour. To the nortli nf the bay, in face of rocky clitfs, which rise perpendicularly
from the sea to a height of ilOOO feet, lies the town of the same name, wliich our English
whalers know as Lievely, 2>i"obably a coi'ruptitni of the adjective Uodij ; for the tiny colony is the
metropolis of Northern Greenland ; and since the beginning of the present century has been the
favourite rendezvous of the fishing fleets and expeditions of discovery.
Further to the north lies Jacobshav'n, which possesses a celebrity of its own as one of the
most ancient of the Moravian mission-stations in the n(jrth of Greenland. Besides a church, it
DANISH SKTTLEMKXT OF JACUliSIlAV N, UUKENl.ANli.
boasts of a college for the education and trainini;- of natives \\iio desire to be of service to their
fellow-rountrymen in the capacity of catechists or teachers. So great has been the industry, and
so well deserved is the influence o? the missionaries, that it is difficult now to find an Eskimo
woman in this part of Greenland who cannot read and write. Prior to the Danish colonisation
of Greenland, the language of the natives was exclusively oral. <->nly through the medium of
speech could they represent their simplest ideas ; and the picture-writing of the North American
Indians was beyond their skill. But the missionaries liave raised the Eskimo tongue into the
rank of written languages. At Godthaab a printing-press is in full ojteration, and has already
produced some very interesting historical narratives and Eskimo ti'aditions.
As is the case with all the Greenland colonies, Jacolishav'n owes its prosperity to the seal-
fishing. Moreover, tlie (Jreenland, or "right" whale, in its amiual migrations southward, enters
the neighbouring waters during the month of .Sej)tember, and furnishes employnu'nt to tlie fish-
ing population.
In the nciLilibourhood ol' Jacol)slia\ "ii an enormous ij-lacie)', one of Uir olfshoots of the <>'reat
CHAKACTEllLSTICS OF THE ESKBIOS. 179
central mer de glace of (Jreenhuid, finds its way to tlie sea. Yet tlie temperature is said to be
milder than at Godliav'ii.
The following remarks apply, of course, to those Eskimos who still lead a nomadic life, and
have profited little or nothing by the Christian civihzation of the Danish settlements and
Moravian missions.
Among themselves the Eskimcjs are known as Jniiits, or " men ;" the seamen of tbe Hudson
Bay ships have long been accustomed to call them Seyvios or Suckemos — names derived from the
cries of Seymo or Tei/mo with wliicli they hail the arrival of tlie traders ; while the old Norse-
men designated them, in allusion to thfir discordant shouts, or by way of expressing their infinite
contempt, Skraelimjers, " screamers " or " wretches."
The European feels impelled to pity the hard fate which condemns them to inhabit one of
the dreariest and most inhospitable regions of the globe, where only a few mosses and lichens, or
plants scarcely higher in the scale of creation, can maintain a struggling existence ; where land
animals and birds are few in number ; and where human life would be impossible but for the
provision which the ocean waters so abundantly supply. As they live in a great degree upon
fish and the cetaceans, they dwell almost always near tlie coast, and never penetrate inland to
any considerable distance.
In the east the Eskimos, fin- several centuries, ha\'e been subjected to the civilizing influences
of the English and the Dutch ; in the west, they have long been under the iron rule of the Mu.s-
covite. In the north and the centre their intercourse with Europeans has always been casual and
inconsiderable. It will therefore be understood that the difterent branches of this wide-spread
race must necessarily exhibit some diversity of character, and that the same description of man-
ners and mode of life will not in all points apply with equal accuracy to the savage and heathen
Eskimos of the extreme northern shores and islands, the Greek Catholic Aleuts, the faithful
servants of the Hudson Bay Company, and the disciples of the Moravian Brethren in Labrador
or Greenland. Yet the differences are by no means important, and it may be doubted whether
any other race, living under such peculiar conditions, and extending over so vast an area, can
show so few and such inconsidfral)le specific varieties. When one thinks of an Eskimo, one
naturally calls up a certain image to one's mind : that of a man of moderate stature or under
medium size, with a broad flat face, narrow tapeiing forehead, and narrow or more or less
oblique eyes ; and this image or type will be found to be realized throughout the length and
breadth of Eskimo America. The Eskimo, generally speaking, would seem to have sprung from
a Mongol stock ; at all events, he can claim no kinshii? with the Red Indians. Happily for
Europeans, if inferior to the latter in physical qualities, he is supei'ior in generosity and amiabilit}''
of disposition.
The Eskimos are sometimes spoken of as if they were dwarfs (ir Lilliputians, l)ut such is not
the case. They are shorter than the average Frenchman or Englishman, but indi\nduals
measuring from five feet ten inches to six feet have been tound in Camden Bav. Dr. Kane
speaks of Eskimos in Smith Strait who were fully a foot taller than himself It is true of the
females, however, that they are comparatively little.
The Eskimos are a stalwart, broad-shouldered race, considerably stronger than aii}' other
of the races of North America. In both sexes the liands and feet are small and well-shaped.
180 now TO nitESS TX THK AKCTK; liECTOXS.
Their muscles are sti'ono-ly duvelepeil, owiiii;- to eonstant exercise in liuntino- the seal and the
wah'us. They are also powerful wrestlers, ami on no une(|ual tei'uis could compete with the athletic
celehrities of Devon and (Jornwall. Their [ihysio^nomy, notwithstandinj^' its lack of beauty, is
tar from displeasinn' ; its expi'essiou is cheerful and L;(.)od-tempere(l, and tlie lono- winter night
does not seem tt) sadden their spirits or o]i]iress their energies. The females are well made, and
though not handsome, are scarcely to be stigmatized as ugly. Their teeth are very white and
regular; and their complexion is warm, clear, and good. Jt is true that it cannot be seen to
advantage, owing to the lavei-s of dii't by which it is obscured ; l)ut it is not much darker than a
dark brunette, and as for the dirt — widl, perhaps, it rs prefera.ble to cosmetics I
Even in tlie Arctic World, woman seems conscious of tlie influence of her charms, and man
seems willing to recognize it. They jilait their black and glossy hidr — these Eskimo beauties ! — •
with much care and taste; ami they tattoo th(_'ir forehead, cheeks, and chin with a, few curved
lines, which produce a not altogether impleasant etfect.
Fr(.im Eehring Straits eastward, as far as the river ^Fackenzie, the males pierce the lower
lip near each angle of the mouth, in <_irtl(.'r to suspend to it ornaments (if blue or green quartz, or
of ivory, shaped like buttons. Some insert a small ivory (piill or dentalium shell in the carti-
lage of the nose. They decorate themselves, UKireover, with strings of glass beads; or when and
where these cannot be t)btained, with strings of the teeth of the musk-ox, wolf, or fox ; hanging
them to the tail of the jacket, or twining tliem round the Avaist like a girdle.
The influence of climate u])on dress is a subject which we commend to the ncttice of art-critics
and aesthetic philosophers. Within tlie Arctic Circle the problem t(j lie solved is, how to obtain
the greatest amount (_)f protection tVir the person, without rendering the costume too heavy or
cumbrous; and the Eskinros have succeeded in solving it satisfactoril}-. They can defy the
rigour of the Arctic winter, its extreme cold, its severest gales, and pursue their avocations in
the open air even in the dreariness of the early winter twilight, so cleverly ada]ited is their garb
to the conrlitions under which they live. Their boots, made of seal-skin, and lined with the
downy skins of birds, are tborougldy water])roof ; their gloves are large, but defend the hands
ii'iim tVostdjite : they wear two pair of breeches, made of reindeer or seal-skin, of which the under
jiau- has the close, warm, stinudating liair close to tlie flesh ; and two jackets, of which the upper
one is provided with a large hood, completely enveloping the head and tace, all but the eyes.
The \\omen are similarly attired, except that tlieir outer jacket is a little longer, and the hood, in
wliich they cai'ry tluir children, considerably larger ; and that, in summer, they substitute for
the skin-jacket a, wate-r-tight shirt, or lainh-ibA. made of the entrails of the seal or walrus. They
sew their b(.>ots so tightly as to render theui im])er\'ii_)us to moisture, and so neatly that they may
almost be imiuded in the categoiT of A\nrks of art. In Labrador the women cany their infants
in their lioots, wliich have a Iohl;' ]"iinted flap in front for the ]>urjiose.
Ilia ]irecediiig chapter we have spoken incidentally of the Eskimo huts. These, like the
Eskimo dress, are admir.ably adapted to the (ircumstances of the country and the nature of the
climate. The materials used are (ither frozen snow, earth, stones, or drift-wood. The snow-hut
is a domo-sha]ied edifice, constructi'd in tlu' following mamu^'r :
First, tlu^ builders trace a eiide on the smooth h'\el surfice of thi' snow, and the snow
gathered witliin the area, thus detined is cut into slaljs, and used for buililiug the \\alls, leaving
the ice underneath to sei-\'e as the flooriiiL;-.
AN ESKIMO HTTT.
181
The crevices between the slabs, and any accidental fissures, are closed up Ijy throwing a few
shovelfuls of loose snow over the buildino-. Two men are "'enerallv enaraffed iu the work : and
when the dome is completed, the one within cuts a low door, through which he creeps. As the
walls are not more than tliree or four inches thick, they admit a soft subdued Ymht into the
interior, but a window of transparent ice is generally added. Not only the hut, but the furnitui'e
inside it, is made of snow ; snow seats, snow tables, snow couches — the latter rendered comfort-
able by coverings of skins. To exclude the cold outer air, the entrance is protected by an ante-
chamber and a porch ; and for the pui-poses of intercommunication, covered passages are carried
from one hut to another.
The rajjidity with \\iiich these snow-huts are raised is (juite surprising, and certainly affords
a ^ivid illustration of the old saying that "practice brings perfection." Captain M'Clintock for
isr^- ^
BI-ILDING AN ESKIMO HUT.
a few nails hired four Eskimos to erect a hut for his ship's crew ; and though it was twenty-four
feet in circumference, and five and a half feet in height, it was erected in a single day.
Much ingenuity is frequently displayed in their construction.
Dr. Scoresby, in 1824, found some deserted huts on the east coast of Greenland, which
shoAved no little constructive skill on the part of their builders.
A horizontal tunnel, about fifteen feet in length, and so low that a person entering it was
compelled to crawl on his hands and knees, opened with one end to the south, while the other
end terminated in tlie interior of the hut. This rose but slightly above the surface of the earth,
and being generally overgrown with moss or grass, could scarcely be distinguished from the
neighbouring soil. It resembled, indeed, a large ant-hill, or the work of a mammoth mole ! In
some cases the floor of the tunnel was on a level with that of the hut ; but more frequently it
slanted downwards and upwards, so that the colder, and consequently heavier, atmospheric air
was still more completely prevented from mixing too quickly with the warmer air within. The
182
THE ESKIMO AT SEA
other arrangements exhibited the same ingenuity in pre\i(ling against the inconveniences of a
rigorous chmate.
From tlie huts of tlie l^iskinios we pass to their boats.
The bii/ifl.- or Ixddur is as good in its way as the bght and swift canoe of the Polynesian
islanders. It consi.sts t>f a narrow, long, and liglit wooden framCAVork, covered water-tight with
seal-skin, with a central aperture for tlie body of the rower. Sometimes the frame is made of
seal or walrus bone. The Eskimo takes his seat in his buoyant craft, with legs outstretched,
.and binds a sack — which is made from the intestines of the whale, or the skins of young seals —
so tightly round his waist, that even in a rolling sea the boat remains water-tight. Dexterously
ond rapidly using his paddle, with his spear or harj)Oon before him, and preserving his equili-
lirium with marvellous steadiness, he darts over the waves like an arrow; and even if upset,
\-
f^-.
THE ESKIMO KAYAK.
speedily rights himself and his Inioynnt skitf. The (imiu'dk, or woman's boat, consists in like
manner of a framework covered with seal skins ; but it is large enough to accommodate ten or
twelve people, with benches for the women wlio row or [laddle. The mast supports a triangular
sail, made of the entrails of seals, and easily distended by the wind.
It has been observed that a similar degree of inventive and executive skill is displayed by
the Eskimos in their spears and harjjoons, their fishing and hunting implements. Their oars are
tastefully inlaid with walrus teeth; they have sev(^i'al kinds of spears or darts, accoi'ding to .the
character oi' tlie animal they intend to Inmt: and theii' bows, with strings of seal-gut, are so
strong and elastic as to drive a six-foot aii'ow a really considerable distance. The harpoons and
spears use<l in killing w hales oi' seals have long shafts of wood or bone, and the barbed point is
ESKIMOS AND EED INDIANS.
183
so constructed that, when lodged in the body of an animal, it remains imbedded, while the shaft
attached to it by a string is loosened from the socket, and acts as a buoy. Seal-skins filled with
air, like bladders, are also employed as buoys for the whale-spears, being stripped from the
animal with such address that all the natural apertures are easily made air-tight.
Fish-hooks, knives, and spear or harpoon heads, the Eskimos make of the horns and bones of
the deer. In constructing their sledges, and roofing their huts, they have recourse to the ribs of
the whale, Avhen drift-wood is not available. Strips of seal-skin hide are a capital substitute
for cordaoe, and cords for nets and bow-strings are manipulated from the sinews of musk-
oxen and deer.
THE ESKIMO OOMI.VK.
A strange and deadly antagonism prevails between tlie Eskimos and the Eed Indians. On
the part of the latter it would seem to originate in jealousy, for the Eskimos are superior in skill,
social habits, general intelligence, personal courage, and strength ; on the part of the latter, in
the necessity for self-defence and the provocations they have received from a sanguinary enemy.
Hence, the Indians inhabiting the borders of the Polar World seek every opportunity of
surprising and massacring the inoffensive Eskimos. Hearne relates that, in the course of his
expedition to the Coppermine River, the Indians who accompanied him obtained information
that a party of Eskimos had raised their summer huts near the river-mouth. In spite of his
generous efforts, they resolved on destroying the peaceful settlement. Stealthily they made
their approach, and when the midnight sun touched the horizon, they swooped down, with
18t AT ANA'I'OAK:.
a frightful yell, on their uiifurtuiiate victims, not one of whom escaped. With that love of
torture which seems inherent in the Red Indian, tliey did their utmost to intensify and prolong
the afifonies of tlie suftcrers ; and one ay'ed woman had both her eyes torn out before she
received her death-blow. The scene where this cruel slaughter took place is Icnown to this
day as the " Bloody Falls."
Dr. Kane supplies some interesting particulars of a party of Eskimos A\ith whom he became
acquainted dux'ing his memorable expedition. The intimacy began under unfavourable circum-
stances, for three of the party had been detected in a scandalous theft, had attempted to carry
off their ]ilunder, were pursued, ovei'taken, and ])unished. Soon afterwards, Metek, the head
man <ir chief, arrived on the scene, and a treaty of peace was concluded.
(Jn tlie part of tlie [iiiiit, or Eskimos, it ran as follows : -
" We promise that we will not steal. We promise we will bring you fresh meat. We pro-
mise we will sell or lend you dogs. We will keep you company whenever you want us, and
show you where to find the game."
(..)n the part of the Kahhinali, or white men, it ran as folLjws : —
" We promise that we will not visit you with death or s(_irce]-y, nor do you any huit or mis-
chief wdiatsoever. We will shoot for y(Hi on (jur hunts. Y(.>u shall l)e made Avelconie ab(_>ard
ship. We will give you presents of needles, pins, two kinds of knife, a Ixjop, three Ijits of hard
wood, some fat, an awl, and some sewing-thread ; and we will trade with y(ju of these and every-
thing else y<->u want f^r \\alrus and seal meat of tlie first quality."
The treaty, saj's Dr. Kane, was not solemnized by an oath ; but it was never broken.
The Eskimo settlement at Anatoak, Lit. 73° N, on tlie shore of Smith Strait, near Cape
Inglefield, seems to merit description.
The hut or igloU was a single rude elli]>tical apartment, built not unskilfully of stone, the
outside lined -with sods. At its furtlier vm\, a rude jilatform, also of stone, was raised about a
foot above the entering tl(jor. The roof was irregularly curved. 1 1 was composed of flat stones,
remarkably large and heavy, arranged so as to overlap each othei', but apparently Avithout any
intelligent application of the ]iriiiciple of the aivh. The lieight of this cave-like abode barely
permitted one to sit upright. Its length was eight feet, its breadth sevL'U i'eet, and an expansion
of the tunnelled entrance made an appendage of perha|is two feet mr)re.
The ti'ue winter-entrance is called the tussut. It is a walled tunnel, ten feet long, and so
narrow that a man can hardly crawl along it. It opens outside below the level of the igloe, into
which it leads by a gradual ascent.
Thus the reader will see that the hut at Anatoak was constructed on the same princi[iles as
the huts discovered by Dr. Scoresby.
Time had done its work, .says Dr. Kane, on llie igloe of Anatoak, as among the palatial
structures of more southern deserts. The entire front of the dome had fallen in, closing up the
tossut, or tunnel, and forcing visitors and residents to enter at tlie solitary window above it.
The breach was wide enough to admit a. sledge-team ; but the Eskimos showed no anxiety to
close it U]i. Thi'ii- clotlies saturated with the fi-eezing water of the tloes, tliese men of iron
gathered round a tire of liissing and tiaring whale's blubber, and steamed away in a|>|iarent com-
fort. The only departure from tlieii' usual routine was suggested probably by the open rocif and
]\IANNi:i;S AND CUSTOMS. 185
the bleakness of the night ; and therefore they refrained from stripping themselves naked before
coming into the hut, and hanging up their dri])ping vestments to dry, like a votive offering to
the god of the sea.
Their kitchen implements were remarkable for simplicity. " A rude saucer-shaped cup of
seal-skin, to gather and hold water in, was the solitary utensil that could be dignified as table-
furniture. A flat stone, a fixture of the hut, supported by other stones just above the shoulder-
blade of a walrus, — the stone slightly inclined, the cavity of the bone large enough to hold a
moss-wick and some blubber ; a scjuare l)lock of snow was placed on the stone, and, as the hot
smoke circled round it, the seal-skin saucer caught the water that dripped from the edge. They
had no vessel for boiling ; what they did not eat raw they baked upon a hot stone. A solitary
coil of walrus-line, fastened to a movcxble lance-head (noon-r/hak), witli tin; well-worn and well-
soaked clothes on their backs, completed the inventory of their effects."
The Eskimos entei-tained Dr. Kane and his companions with a choral performance, singing
their rude, monotonous song of " Amna Ayah" till the unfortunate Avhite men were almost mad-
dened by the discord. They improvised, moreover, a special chant in their honour, which they
repeated with great gravity of utterance, invariably concluding with the sonorous and compli-
mentary refrain of " Xalegak ! nalejak ! nalegak-soak .' " — ■" Captain I captain ! great captain I "
The chant ran as follows : —
:^--te
Am - na - yah ! Am - lux - yah ! Am - na - yaii I Am - na - yah !
In the early spring the Eskimos resume their hunting expeditions, and their snow-covered
huts are transformed into scenes of the liveliest activity. Stacks of jointed meat, chiefly walrus,
are piled upon the ice-foot ; the women stretch the hide for sole-leather, and the men collect a
store of harpot)n-lines for the winter. Tusky walrus heads stare at the spectacle from the snow-
l)ank, where tliey are stowed for their ivory ; the dogs are tethered to the ice ; and the children,
each one armed with the curved rib of some big walrus or seal, I'lay ball and bat among the
snow-drifts.
The quantity of walrus meat which the Eskimos accumulate during a season of plenty should
certainly raise them above all risk of winter Avant ; but other causes than improvidence render
their supplies scanty. They are never idle ; they liunt incessantly without the loss of a day.
When the storms prevent the use of the sledge, they occupy themselves in stowing away the
spoils of previous hunts. For this puqiose they dig a pit either on the mainland, or, which is
preferred, on an island inaccessible to foxes, and the jointed meat is stacked inside, and covei'ed
witli heavy stones.
Tlie ti'ue explanation of the scarcity from which these people so frequently suffer is the
excessive consumption in which they indulge during the summer season. By their ancient laws
all share in common ; and since they migrate in numbei's when their necessities press them, the
tax on each separate settlement is excessive. The quantity which the members of a family con-
sume seems excessive to a stranger ; yet it is not the result of inconsiderate gluttony, but due
to their peculiarities of life and organization. In active exei'cise, and under the influence of
exposure to a severe temperature, the waste of carbon must be enormou.s.
186 AN KSKniO COUPLE.
When in-(luors, and at rest, engaged upon tlieir ivory haniess-i-ings, fowl-nets, or otlier
houseliold gear, they eat, as many eat in more civilized lands, for mere animal enjoyment, and to
pass away the time. But when engaged in the chase, they take but one meal a day, and that
not until the day's labour is ended. They go out upon the ice without lireakfast, and seldom eat
anything until their return. Dr. Kane estimates the average ration of an Eskimo in a season
of plenty at eight to ten pounds of meat a day, with soup and water to the extent of half a
gallon. Such an allowance might almost have satisfied the appetite of Gargantua 1
Dr. Hayes, in the course of his adventurous Arctic Jjoat-journey, held much intercourse with
the Eskimos, and his impressions, on the whole, would seem to have 1)een highly favourable.
His sketch of a couple whom he met in the neighbourhood of the Eskimo colony of Netlik
is very amusing.
He describes them as a most ?f;diuman-looking pair. Everything on and about them told of
the battle they fought so gallantly and patiently with the elements. From head to foot they
were invested in a coat of ice and snow. Shapeless lumps of whiteness, they resend^led the
snow-kings or statues which lx)ys delight in making, except that they possessed the faculty of
motion. Their long, heavy fox-skin coats, reaching nearly to the knees, and surmounted by a
hood, covering, like a round bunji, all of the head liut the f;ice, the bear-skin pantaloons and boots
and mittens Avere saturated with snow. Their long, black hair, wliicli fell from beneath their hoods
over their eyes and cheeks, their eyelashes, the few haii-s growing upon their chins, the rim of fur
around their faces, all glittered with white iVost — the frozen moisture of their breath. Each
carried in his right hand a whip, and iir his left a lump of frozen meat and blubber. The meat
they flung down on the floor of Dr. Hayes' hut; then, without jiaui'^ing for an invitation, they
thrust their whipstocks under the rafters, and divesting themselves of their mittens and outer
garments, hung them thereon. Underneath their frosty coats they wore a warm, close shirt of
bird-skins.
In the same bold explorer's narrative of liis voyage of discovery in 18G0, two other Eskimos
figure very conspicuously; and one of these, named Hans, would seem to have been a very foir
type of tlie Eskimo character. Hans, we may observe, had originally served in Dr. Kane's
expedition, and had then gained the confidence of Dr. Hayes ; so that when the latter undertook
his own memorable voyage, he became anxious to secure the Eskimo's services.
When his ship had crossed Melville Bay, and lay in the grim shadows of Cape York, Dr.
Hayes bethought himself of the Eskimo hunter. He remembered to have heard that Hans had
fallen in love, and taken a wife, and repaired, with her at his side, to share the fortunes of the
wild Eskimos who inhabit the remote northern shores of Baffin Bay.
But Dr. Hayes felt confident tliat the hunter, having known something of the superior
comfort and happiness of the social life of civilization, would soon weary of his voluntary banish-
ment, and of the penury and hardships of tlie existence of the Eskimo nomads. He made up
his mind that Hans would return to Cape York, and there take up his residence, in the hope of
being picked up by some passing shij).
So Dr. Hayes stood close inshore, to find that his conjectures were completely realized. As
he sailed along the coast he discovered a group of human beings eagerly endeavouring by signs
and gestures to attract attention. Heaving the schooner to, he and his second in conminnd, Mr.
rU. IIAVK;^ 1 Al.I.^ IN Willi I1A^^ T II K 11 V N T K U.
BR. HAYES, AND HANS THE HUNTEK. 189
Sountag, went ashore in a boat, and there was Hans ! The Eskimo recognized both of them
immediately, and called them by name.
We may adopt the remainder of Dr. Hayes' interesting little episode, because it illustrates
the ingrained selfishness, or self-concentration, of the Eskimo character.
Hans had deteriorated greatly during his residence with the wild Eskimos, and he had sunlc
to their level of filthy ugliness. He was accompanied by his wife, wlio carried her first-born in
a hood upon lier back ; his wife's brother, a quick-eyed boy of twelve years ; and his wife's
mother, "an ancient dame with voluble and flippant tongue." They were all attired in the usual
Eskimo dress of skins ; objects of interest and curiosity, but not "things of beauty."
Hans led his visitors, over rough rocks and through deep drifts of snow, to his rude hut,
which stood on the cold hill-top, about two hundi-ed feet above the sea-level. An excellent
jiosition for a "look-out," but as inconvenient for a hunter as can well be imagined. Here ho
had watched and waited for many a dreary montli ; surveying the sea day after day, in the faint
hope of discovering some European vessel. But none came ; summer passed into winter, and
winter lengthened into summer ; and still Hans watched and Avaited, yearning' after his southern
home and the friends of liis youth.
His tent — for it was rather a tent than a hut — was made of seal-skins, and its capacity was
scarcely sufficient to accommodate his little family.
Dr. Hayes asked him if he would accompany the expedition.
"Yes."
Would he take his wife and baby '.
"Yes."
Would he go without them ?
" Yes."
This last answer reveals the curious unimpressionableness of the Eskimo, who endures with
calmness, nay, even with indifference, those partings a\ hicli try the heartstrings of the European.
It is, perhaps, a result of the constant warfare he maintains against an uncongenial and austere
Nature that he comes to regard himself as his first and chief, as almost his only concern. So
long as his wife and children surround him, he shows no evident want of affection ; but he has no
objection to part from them, if the separation will prove to his individual interest.
As Dr. Hayes had no leisure to examine critically into the state of his mind, and as he
cherished a conviction that the permanent separation of husband and wife was to be regarded
as a painful event, he determined on giving tlie Eskimo mother the benefit of this conventional
suspicion. Both husband and wife, therefoi-e, were carried on board the schooner, as well as
their baby, their tent, and all their household goods. The bright-eyed boy and the ancient dame
cried to accompany them ; but Dr. Hayes had no further room, and was compelled to leave them
to the care of their tribe, who, about twenty in number, had discovered the schooner, and with
a merry shout had come across the hill. After bestowing upon them some useful gifts, Dr.
Hayes returned to his vessel.
He adds that Hans was the only unconcerned person in the party. At a later period the
thought crossed his commander's mind that he would liy no means have been displeased had wife
and child been left to the charity of their savage kin : while Dr. Hayes had abundant reason,
190 ABOUT THE ESKBIO DOGS.
during the couise of the exjiedition, to wish tliat lie had left the selfish and indolent Eskimo to
linger in his seal-skin tent among the hills and r<icks of Cape York.
The same traveller descriljes the hnntmg equipment of a party of Eskimos setting out in
pursuit of bear>s.
First, the dogs. These were picketed, each team separately, on a convenient area of level
ground; and on the approach of Dr. Hayes and his companions they sprang up from the knotted
heap, in which they had Ijeen lying through the niglit, with a wild, fierce yell, which died away
into a low whine and impatient snarl. They evidently were hungry, and their masters seemed
desirous of feeding them ; for, going to their sledges, each one brought up a flat i)iece of some-
thing which looked singularly like plate-iron, Init, upon examination, was found to be walrus-
hide, three-quarters of an inch thick, and frozen intensely hard. Throwing it uj)on the snow a
few feet in advance of their respective teams, they drew their knives from their capacious boots,
and attempted to cut up the skin ; Init its hardness defied all their eflforts, and Dr. Hayes had
to fetch hatchet and saw before the work of division could be comj^leted.
During the few minutes thus occupied, the dogs had become almost frantic. They en-
deavoured to break loose ; |iulling on their traces, running back and si^ringing forward, straining
and choking themselves until their eyes shot fire, and the foam flew from their mouths. The
sight of food had stimulated their wolfish passions, and they seemed ready to eat each other. Not
a moment passed tliat two or more of them were not flying at each other's throats, and, grappling
together, rolled, and tossed, and tumbled over the snow.
The Eskimos looked on apparently unconcerned, except when there appeared a risk of one
of the dogs being injured, and then they secured a temporary calm by uttering an angry nasal
"Ay! Ay!"
When at length the food was tlirown, tlie dogs uttered a greedy scream, which was followed
by a moment's silence wliile the pieces were falling, then by a scuffle, and the hard, frozen
chunks had vanished. How they were swallowed, or how they were digested, was, to the
spectator, inexplicable I Enough to say that "the jaws of darkness did devour them up," and
calm instantaneously succeeded to the storm.
The Eskimo dog is of medium size, and squarely built ; in fact, he is a reclaimed wolf, and
exhibits that variety of colour which, after a few generations, generally characterizes tame animals.
Gray, which is often seen, Avas probably at one time the predominating colour. Some of the dogs
are black, wdth white breasts ; some are Avholly white ; others are reddisli or yellowish ; but,
indeed, almost every shade may be seen amongst them. Their skin is covered with a coarse, com-
pact fur, and is much valued by the natives for the purposes of clothing. In the form of the
animals the variety is considerable ; but the general characters would seem to be a pointed nose,
short ears, a cowardly, treacherous eye, and a hanging tail. But exceptions occasionally occur,
and one figures in Dr. Hayes' narrative under the name o? Toodlamik, or, more briefly, Toodla.
He differed from his kind in having a more compact head, a less pointed nose, an eye denot-
ing affection and reliance, and an erect, bold, fearless carriage. Dr. Hayes, how^ever, expresses
some doubt as to his purity of blood. From the beginning to the end of the cruise he was master
of all the dogs that were brought to the ship. In this connection it is worthy of remark, that in
every pack one dog invariably attains the mastership of the whole — a kind of major-generalship;
A CANINE 'M'irARACTER."
191
and in each team, one who is master of Ins comrades, a general of brigade. Once master, always
master ; but the post of honour is gained at the cost of many a lame leg and ghastly w^ound, and
is held only by doing daily battle against all comers. These could easily gain the ascendancy in
every case, but for their own petty jealousies, which often prevent their union for such a purpose.
If a combination, however, does happen to be brought about, and the leader is hopelessly beaten,
he is never worth anything afterward ; liis spirit is completely prostrated, the poor fellow pines
away, and dies at last of a broken heart.
ESKlMl.1 DOGS.
Toodla, says Dv. Hayes, was a character in his way. He was a tyrant of no mean pretension.
Apparently he thought it his special duty to attack every dog, great or small, that was added to
the pack : if the animal was a large one, in order, probably, that he might at once be forced to
feel that he had a master ; if a small one, in order that the others might hold him in the greater
awe. Tt was sometimes quite amusing to see him set oft' in pursuit of a strange dog, his head
erect, his tail curled gracefully over his back ; slowly and deliberately he went straight at his
marlc, with the confident, defiant air of one who recognizes the power and importance of his oflice.
13
192 THE ESKIMO'S SLREXiE.
Leagues and conspiracies were nut unfrequently formed against liini, induced, no doubt, by a
feeling of despair ; but he always succeeded in overthrowing them, — not, it is true, witliuut
occasional assistance from " without ;" for the sailors, who [jottecl him greatly, would sometimes
take his jmrt when the struggle was manifestly unecjual.
But we must leave tlie dogs, and turn to the sledge.
This was, in very truth, an ingenious s]iecinien of native mechanical skill. It was made
Avholly of bone and leather. The runners, which were S(iuare behind and rounded upward in
front, and aLout five feet hjug, .seven inches high, and three-fourths of an inch thick, were slabs
of bone; not solid, but made up of a luunber of pieces of various shapes and sizes, dexterously
fitted and tightly lashed together. Some of these were not largei- than one's two fingers ; some
were three or lour inches scjuare ; others were as large as one's hand, and triangular in shape ;
others, again, were several inches in length, and two qr three in breadth. They all fitted into their
several places as exactly as tlie blocks of a Chinese puzzle. Near tlieir margins ran rows of
little holes, and tlirough these strings of seal-skin were inserted, by which the blocks were
fastened together, until the whole was as firm as a .board.
The marvel of the thing is that all these pieces are flattened and cut into the required shape,
not with nicely contrived instruments and tools, but with stones. The labour must be immense.
The grinding needed to make a single runner must be the work of months. The construction of
an entirely new sledge would ])robably occupy the lifetime of a generation ; and hence a vehicle
of this kind becomes a family heirloom, and is handed down from father to son, and son to grand-
son, and is constantly undergoing repair and restoration ; a new piece here, another there, until
as little remains of the original sti'ucture as of the sailor's old knife, when it liad had a new blade
and a new handle! Tlie oriii'in of some of tlie Eskimo sledires is lost in the mists of a remote
antiquity.
Tlie nmners are usually sliod with ivory from the tusk of the walrus. The said ivory had
likewise been gi-ound flat, and its corners made square, with stones; and it was fastened to the
runner by a string looped through two counter-sunk holes. The pieces of which it was composed
were nunaerous ; but the surface was wonderfully uniform, and as smooth as glass.
The runners stood about fourteen inches apart, and were ftxstened together by bones, tightly
lashed to them ; the bones used being the femur o\' the bear, the antlers of the reindeer, and the
libs of the narwli.il. Two w;drus-ribs, lasheil one to the after-end of each runner, served as
upstauders, ;ind wei'e braced by a ])iece of reindeer antler, secured across the top.
Having thus disposed of the team and the sledge, we now come to the equipment.
Fir.st, one of the Eskimo hunters spread a jiiece of seal-skin over the sledge, fastening it
securely by little strings attached to its margin. ( )n this he placed a small piece of walrus-skin,
as a provision for the dogs ; a piece of blubbei- for fuel ; and of meat for his own lunch. During
his absence he would c<iok no I'ood, but he would want water; and therefore he carried his
kdlltil.', uv lanip — namely, a small st(»ne disli ; a himp of laniinck or dried moss, designed l"or the
wick; and some wibow-blossoms [na-oiciiiuls] for tinder. To ignite the tinder, he had a piece of
ii'on-stone and a small sliarji i'raL;iiient ol'tlint.
We may follow bim im his route, and ascertain the use he makes of (hes(> a]»pliances.
K
n
o
m
M
O
O
D
THE HUNTER'S EQUIPMENT. 195
When he grows thirsty, he halts ; scrapes away the snow until he lays bare the solid ice
beneath ; and painfully scoops in it a small cavity. Next, he fetches a block of fresh-water ice
from a neighbouring berg, lights his lamp, and, using the blul)l)er for fuel, proceeds to place the
block on the edge of the cavity. As it slowly thaws, the water trickles down into the hole ; and
when the Eskimo thinks the <|uautity collected is sufficient to quench his thirst, he removes the
rude apparatus, and, .stooping down, drinks the soot-.stained fluid. If he feels hungry, he breaks
off a few chips from his lump of frozen walrus-beef, cuts a few' .slices from the blubber, and enjoys
his unsatisfactory meal. Tlie mhabitant of the Arctic desert knows nothing of epicurean tastes ;
and if he did, he has no means of gratifying them.
To return to the equipment. The hunter carried with him an extra pair of boots, another
of dog-skin stockings, and another of mittens, to be used in case he should be unfortunate
enough to get on thin ice, and the ice should break through.
The entire ec^uipment being placed upon the sledge, he threw over them a piece of bear-skin,
which was doubled, so that, when oiiened, it Mould be large enough to Avrap about his body and
protect it from the snow, if he wished to lie down and rest. Then he drew forth a, long line,
fastened an end of it through a hole in the fore part of one of the runners, ran it across
diagonally to the opposite runner, passed it through a hole there, and so continued, to and fro,
from side to side, mitil he reached the other end of the sledge. There he made fast the line, and
thus the cargo was secured against all risk of loss from an u})set. Next he hung to one
upstander a coil of heavy line, and to the other a lighter coil, tying them fast with a small
string. The former was his harpoon-line for catching walrus ; the latter, for catching seal. His
harpoon staff was made from the tusk of the narwhal; measured live feet in length, and two
inches in diameter at one end, tapering to a point at the other.
All being ready, the team, consisting of seven dogs, Avas brought up. The harness was of a
very primitive descrijation. It consisted of two doubled strips of bear-skin, one of which was
placed on either side of the animal's body, the two being fastened together on the top of the neck
and at the breast, so as to form a collar. Thence they passed inside of the dog's fore legs and up
along his flanks to the tail, where the four ends meeting together were attached to a trace
eiofhteen feet in lenoth.
The trace was connected with the slediife bv a line four feet long, of which one end Avas
attached to each runner. And to the middle of the line a stout string was fastened, running
through bone rings at the ends of the traces, and secured by a slip-knot, easily untied — an
arrangement designed with the view of ensuring safety in bear-hunting. The bear is hotly jjur-
sued until the sledge arrives within about fifty yards ; the hunter then leans forward and slips
the knot ; the dogs, set loose from the sledge, t^uickly bring the brute to bay. If the knot gets
fouled, serious accidents are not unlikely to occur. Tlie hunter vainly endeavours to extricate it,
and before he can draw his knife to cut it — supposing he is fortunate enough to have such an
instrument — man, and dogs, and sledge are all among the bear's legs, in a luiddled and tangled
heap, and at the mercy of the enraged monster.
The dogs w^ere cold, and eager to start. In a moment they were yoked to the sledge ; the
hunter with his right hand threw out the coils of his long whip-lash, with his left he seized an
upstander, and propelling the sledge a few paces, he uttered at the same moment the shrill
19G CHARACTER OF THE ESKIMOS.
starting-cry, " Ka ! ka ! — ka ! kal'" wliidi sent the dogs in a Itnund tu their places, and away
they dashed over the rugged ice. The hunter skilfully guided his sledge among the hunmiorks,
moderating the impetuosity of his team with the nasal ''Ay I ay!" wliich they ])ei-fectly under-
stand. On reaching the smooth ice, he dr(ip])ed njK.m the sledge, allnwed his whipdash to trail
after him on the snow, shouted " Ka ! ka 1 — ka ! ka ! " to his savage team, and disappeared in as
wild a gallop as ever was taken hy the demon huntsman of G(-'rman legend !
It does not appear that the Eskimos have niagistrates or hiws, yet the utmost good order
prevails in their communities, and quarrels are rare. When these do occur, one or other of the
dissatisfied parties collects his little store, and migrates to a ditferent settlement. The constitu-
tion of their society is rightly described as patriarclial, Init the iider d(.ies not seem to be elected :
he attains his post by pi'oving his ])ossession of superior strength, address, and courage. As soon
as his physical jiowers give way, or old age enfeebles his mind, he deposes himself, takes his seat
in the oo)ni(il\ <iv woman's boat, and is relegated by common consent to i'emale companionship.
Like all savage tribes, the Eskimos have their mystery-men, or aiir/el-ol.s, wJio resort to the usual
deceptions to acquire and retain supremacy, swallowing knives, resorting to ve^ntriloquial artifices,
and conversing in a mysterious jargon, unintelligible to "the common herd. They profess to
hold intercourse with certain potent spirits, and to employ their agency in rewarding or punish-
ing their dupes : and even the infiuence of tlie (Christian missionaries has hardly rooted out the
belief in the superstitions originated ancl fostere'd by these men.
Notwithstanding the hard conditiims of tlieir lii'e, and the dreariness of the region which
they inhaltit, the Eskimos are a cheerful peoiile. They are keenly sensible of the charms of
music, though their own vocalization is ineonceivably melancholy; and they are partial to many
rude pastimes, mostly of a gymnastic character.
Their good nature has been praised by many travellers ; but they show the usual in-
liumanity of the savage towards the aged and infirm. Weakness is no title to the sympathy of
the Eskimo; he I'csjiects strength, but he utterly disregards and cruelly oppresses the feeble.
He is ungrateful towards his benefactors, and in his intercourse with strangers his fidelity can be
relied upon only so long as he knows tliat any breach of faith will be severely punished. He
does not steal from his own people, and "Tiglikpok," "he is a thief," is a reproach among the
Eskimos as among ourselves ; but no shame attaclies to him if he robs the white man, thouo-h
the latter may have loaded him with favoui's.
If we add that they display a strong ail'ection for their children, and that the children are
singularly docile and obedient to their parents, we shall have said enough to assist the reader in
forming an accurate conception of the characteristics of the inhabitants of the Eskimo Land.
CHAPTEU VIII.
LAPLAND AND TIIK LAPPS.
WPLAND, or the Land of the Lapps, wliicli the Lapps themselves call Sameaiida or
Somellada, forms the north and nnitli-eastern portions of the Scandinavian peninsula,
and is divided between Sweden and Russia. Norwegian Lapland includes the pro-
vinces of Norrland and Finmark ; Swedish, of North and South Bothnia ; and Russian, of Kola
and Kemi. The last-named has an area of 11,300 square miles, with a population of 9000;
Swedish Lapland, an area of 50, GOO square miles, with 4000 inhabitants; and Norwegian, an
area of 26,500 square miles, with a population of 5000. We are here referring to the number of
true Lapps ; in each division the population would be largely increa.sed if we included Finns,
Russians, Swedes, Norwegians.
Lapland, for nine months in the year, is blighted by the rigour of a winter climate. Tlic
summer months, when the sun does not set for several weeks, are July and August ; and these
are preceded by a brief spring, and followed by even a briefer autumn. ( 'ereals do not thrive
hio-her than the sixty-sixth parallel, with the exception of barley, which is cultivated as far
north as the seventieth. The greater part of the country comes within that wooded zone
which we described in an earlier chapter, and the forests, consisting of birch, jiine, fir, and
alder, spread over a very extensive area. C)n the mosses and lichens which grow abundantly
in their shelter, are fed the innnense herds of reindeer which constitute the princij>al wealth of
the inhabitants.
Tlie Lapps may almost be regarded as a nation of Lilliputians. Their men seldom exceed
five feet in height, while the majority are some inches below that very moderate stature ; and
the women are even shorter. They are, however, a robust race, with muscular limbs, and
unusual girth of body, the circumference of their cliest being nearly equal to their height. Their
complexion is dark, tawny, or copper-coloured ; their dark, piercing, deep-sunken eyes are set
very wide apart, so as to comnumicate a peculiar character to the physiognomy. The wild,
strange effect is further increased by the unkempt masses of dark, lank, straight hair which
droop on either side of the whiskerless, beardless face. The cheek-bones are prominent, like
those of a Celtic Highlander ; the nose is iiat ; the mouth wide, with thin compressed lips. It
may be supposed that the Lapps, from these indications, are not models of masculine or feminine
beauty ; and Dr. Clarke asserts that, when aged, many of them, if exposed in a menagerie, might
be mistaken for the long-lost transitional form intermediate between man and ape. And, cer-
tainly, there is something repulsive in the constant blinking of eyes rendered sore by the pungent
198 AMONG THE LAPPS.
smoke of tliuir huts, or tlu' wliite j^larc of the snow, as well as in the expression of obstinacy and
low funninf;' which one reads in eveiy feature.
An aristocrat might he pi'oud of their small and finely-shaped hands ; but their arms, like
their legs, are disjiroportionately short, clumsy, and thick. ( 'lunisy, we mean, in shape; cer-
tainly not in movement, foi- the extraordinary flexibility of their lindjs is one of the traits by
which a Lapp is easily distinguished.
Of the dress of the Lapps it is needless to say much. In winter it <-onsists of bears' skins,
in which both male and female wi'ap themselves uj), with the fur outwaixl. In summer the men
wear a sort of tunic, the poe.^l:, made of coarse light-coloured woollen cloth, depending to the
knee, but bound aliout the waist with a l:)elt or girdle. Their head-gear consists of a kind of fez,
made of wool, and adoiiied with a red worsted band round the rim, and a bright red tassel.
Their boots or .shoes are cut from the raw skin of the reindeer, with the hair outwards, and they
are peaked in shape. They are thin, and they have no lining ; but the Lapp defends his feet
and ankles from the cold by stuffing the vacant space of the boot with the broad leaves of the
Carex vesica fia, or Cyperus grass, Asliidi he cuts in summer, rubs in his hands, and dries before
using. The female costume resembles that of the males, but their girdles are gayer with rings
and chains.
The La])ps are a superstitious raci". Like all the Norse tribes, they believe in witchcraft ;
and of old the Lapland witches had a reputation which extended to England, for being able
to ward off rain or disperse storms. The English seamen trading to Archangel frequently
visited their coast in order t(j buy a favouralile wind.
Many of the Lapps claim the ability to foretell future events, and fall, or pretend to fall,
into a trance (jr ecstasy, during which they see visions, utter prophecies, and unlock the secrets
of those who trust to their divination. They also read the fortunes of inquiring dupes by means
of a cup of liquor, or by the vulgarest jargon of jjalmistry. Superstition is the daughter of
Ignorance. It is also the sister of Fear, for the suj^erstitious are invariably prone to see
supernatural signs and wonders in the ajjpearances of the heavens, or to hear unearthly voices
borne upon tlie midnight wind, and in everything they cannot understand to imagine the
presence of some antagonistic power. As the American natives were panic-stricken at the
occurrence of an eclipse, so the Lapps are filled with dread when the sky glows with the
coruscations of the aurora.
These superstitions prevail in spite of the exertions of priests and schoolmasters. They are
nourished in secret even wlien they are not openly proclaimed ; and the Lapj), after listening
devoutly to the harangue of his pastor, will return home to ofier homage to his saidas, or wooden
idols; to cower at the name of Trolls, the evil spirit of the forest; and to be deluded by the
artifices of any so-called witdi or foi'tune-teller.
There are La})ps, and Ija]i}is; each, according to the i-egion lu; ndiafiits, beai'ing his dis-
tinctive characteri.stics, and jireserving liis indi\idual habits. Thus, there are the FjilUlappars,
or Mountain Lapps; the .Skogslap|)ars, or Wood l^apps; and the Fislierlapps.
From the nature oi' the country the reader will expect, and will be right in expecting, that
the Fjalllappars form the most numerous section. They are the nomads of Lapland, and their
mode of life is entirely pa.storal. As the Arabs with their tlocks move from one oasis to another,
or the Tartars with their cattle, so the Lap})s migrate from place to place, compelled by the
THE LAPP AND HIS HUT. 109
necessity of fiiiding sustenance for tlR'ir 1ili-(1.s of reindeer. The mosses and lichens on which
these animals feed are soon exhausted, and some time elapses before the half-frozen soil replaces
them. The same cause operates to prevent the Lapps from assembling in large communities.
Seldom more than three, four, or five families encamp) in the same neighbourhood.
It will not be supposed that the temporary abode of a nomad exhibits any architectural
completeness. Their tuyuria, or huts, are of the rudest construction. They raise a conical frame-
work, composed of the flexible stems of trees, and this they cover with a coarse kind of canvas,
and in winter with the skins of reindeer and other animals. No doorway is required, and egress
and ingress are provided for by turning up a portion of the canvas at the bottom, so as to form a
triangular gap ; and the portion so turned up is let down again at niglit. I n the centre of the
interior some large stones are piled together for a fireplace, and a square opening in the roof
above carries oft" the smoke, and lets in the light and air — not to say rain, snow, and fog, when
these prevail.
The tent or hut we have described generally measures about six feet in diameter, and eighteen
to twenty in circumference. It does not exceed ten feet in height. There is no floor, but the
ground is covered with reindeer skins, and upon these the inhabitants sit or crouch by day, and
huddle themselves up at night. The household utensils, implements, and weapons are suspended
from the sides of the hut ; and the clothing of the family, no very extensive stock, is preserved
in a chest.
On a shelf or platform, raised high above the reach of dogs and wolves, between two neigh-
bouring trees, the Lapp keeps his store of dried reindeer flesh, and cheese, and curds ; for his diet
is as plain as his general habit of living. His herd of reindeer he puts up at night, or when they
are required for milking, in a large enclosure, about four hundred to five hundred feet in circuit,
formed by a barrier of posts and stumps of tr"ees, supporting a row of horizontal poles. Against
the latter birch poles and branches of trees are placed diagonally, forming a kind of abattis, which
is found to be a sufficient security against the attacks of wolves.
It is said that tlie milking of a herd of reindeer aftbrds a lively and picturesque spectacle.
When they have been driven within the area, and all the outlets closed, a Lapp, selecting a long
cord or thong, twists both ends round his left hand, and then in his right gathers the thong itself
in loose coils. Fixing on a reindeer, he flings the coils over its antlers. Sometimes the latter
ofters no resistance; but generally, on feeling the touch of the thong, it darts away, and its
pursuer, in order to secure it, is called upon for the most vigorous efforts. And the scene is
animated indeed, when half-a-dozen reindeer, j^ursued by as many Lapps, sweep round and round
the enclosure, until the former are finally overcome, or, as now and then hapj^ens, wrest the cord
from the hands of the discomfited Lapp, and leave him prostrate on the ground. When the
animal is secured, his master takes a dexterous hitch of the thong round his muzzle and head,
and then fastens him to the trunk nf a ]n-ostrate tree. The operation of milking is pei'formed by
both men and women.
As soon as the pasture in the neighbourhood is exhausted, the encamjjuient is broken up,
and the little company migrate to some fresh station. The rude tuguria are dismantled in less
tlian half an hour, and packed with all the household furniture on the backs of the reindeei', who,
by long training, are inured to serve as beasts of burden. On the journey they are bound
together, five and five, with leather thongs, and led by the women over the mountains ; while the
200
SLEDGING AND SKATING.
fatiier of the f'aiuih' preLX'(k'^ the uiai-cli to select a suitable site for the new eneainpmeiit; and his
sons or servants fallow with the remainder of tlie lierd.
As spring verges upon summer, the Lapps ahand<in their mountain pastures, and move
towards the shore. No sooner do the reindeer scent the keen sea-air than, breaking loose from
all control, they dash headlong into the Ininy waves of the fiord, and drink long draughts of the
salt sea-water. The Lap])S consider tliis sea-side migration essential to the health of their herds.
When summer readies its meridian, and the snow melts, tliey return to the pleasant mountain-
solitudes, ascending higher and higher, according to the increase of temperature. Then, on the
approach of winter, they retire into the woods, where their great difficulty is to defend their herds
and themselves from the attacks of the wolves. In this incessant warfare they derive much
RKl.NDEER IN LATLAND.
assistance from tlie courage of their dogs. These are about the size of a Scotch terrier, with long
shaggy hair, and a head bearing a. curiously close resemblance t(.) that of a lynx.
In the winter the Lapp accomplishes his journeys either by sledging or skating.
Tlieir skates are not exactly things of Ijeauty, but they answer their purpose admiralily.
( )ne is as long as the person who wears it; the other is about a foot shortei-. Tbe feet of the
wearer are placed in tlie mitldle, and the skates, or skirhoi, fastened to them by thongs or withes.
They are made of fn--wood, and covered with the skins of reindeer, which check any backward
movement by acting like bristles against the snow. Tt is astonishing with what speed the Lapp,
thus equipped, can traverse the frozen ground. The most dexterous skater on the canals of
JloUand could not outstrip him. He runs down the swiftest wild beasts; and the exercise so
stimulates and warms his frame that, even in midw intei', wlieii pursuing one of these lightning-
like courses, he can dispense with his garment of furs. When he wishes to stop, be makes u.se of
TKAVELLINO IN LAPLAND.
201
a lun^r pull-', which is pi'ovi(h'(l with a round ball of wood near the end, to prevent it from sinking
too deep into the snow.
He is no less expert as a slcdger. His vehicle, or ptdka, is fashioned like a boat, with a
convex bottom, so as to slip over the snow with all the greater ease; the prow is sharp and
pointed, but the hind part Hat. Perha})s it may better be compared to a punt than a boat. At
all events, in this cuiious vehicle the La[)p is bound and swathed, like an iufluit in its cradle. To
preserve its equili-
brium, he trusts to
the dextei"ity with
which he moves his
body to and fro, and
from side to side, as
may be needed ; and
he guides it by
means of a stout
pole. His steed, a
reindeer, is fastened ^
to it by traces at-
tached to its collar,
and connected with
the fore part of the
sledge ; the reins are
twisted round its
horns ; and all about
its trappings are
hung a number of
wilderness, when the usual signs and characters of the landsca])e are buried deep in snow. But
his memory is tenacious, and a blighted tree, or a projecting crag, or a clump of firs, aflbrds him
a sufficient indication of the correctness of his course. He frequently continues his rapid journey
throughout the night, when the moon invests the gleaming plains with a strange brilliancy, or
the aurora fills both earth and heaven with the reflection of its wondrous fires.
A French traveller, M. de Saint-Blaize, is of opinion that the Lapps, like all savage and
semi-civilized races, are rapidly diminishing in numbers. Yet this diminution is hardly owdng to
the conditions under which they live. Their life, to the civilized European, .seems severe and
almost intolerable ; but though it is marked by privation and fatigue, it is not without its charms.
It is free and independent, and without anxiety. As for the privation and fatigue, the Lapp is
hardly conscious of them, because his capacity of endurance is great, and he is accustomed to them
from his earliest years. Temperate, active, and inured to exertion, his physical frame is wonderfully
vigorous, and he knows nothing of the majority of maladies which afilict the dweller in cities.
One terrible disease, indeed, he does not escape, and this may have had much to do with their
decline, — the smallpox. Otherwise, they are a healthy as well as a hardy race. If during a
journey a Lapp woman gives birth to a child, she places the new-born in a frame of hollow
wood, in which a hole has been cut to receive the little one's head ; then slings this rude cradle
TRAVELLING IN LAPLAKD.
little bells, in the
tintinnabulation of
Avhich the animal
greatly delights.
Thus accoutred, it
will perform a jour-
ney of fifty or sixty
miles a day ; some-
times travelling fifty
miles without pause,
and with no other
refreshment than an
I >ccasional mouthful
I >f snow.
Witli wonderful
accuracy the Lapp
will guide hiui.self
and his steed
through a seem-
incjlv labyrinthine
•202 THE LAPP HUNTERS.
on her back, and c-uutiuuus her maivli. When sliu luilts, aim suspends the infant and its cradle to a
tree, the wirework with which it is covered aftbrding a sufficient protection against wild beasts.
Professor Forbes, however, describes a more comfortable cradle, which is cut out of solid
wood, and covered with leather, in flaps so arranged as to lace across the top witli leathern
thongs ; the inside is lined with reindeer moss, and a jnllow, also of reindeer moss, is provided
tor the head of the infant, wlui tits tl:e space so exactly that it can stir neither hand nor foot.
The Lapp is a bold hunter, and will encounter tlie bear single-handi'il. Like the Siljerian,
he entertains a superstitious reverence for this ])owerful animal, which he regards as the wisest
and most acute of all the beasts of tlie field, and supposes to know and hear all that is said about
it; but as its fur is valuable and its Hesh well-favoured, he does not refrain fmm ]iursuing it to
the death, though careful, so to s})eak, to kill it with the highest respect.
Early in winter the bear retires to a rocky cave, or a covert of branches, leaves, and moss,
and there remains, without food, and in a state of torpidity, until the sjjring recalls him to active
life. After the first snowfall, the Lap]) hunters seek the tbrest, and search for traces of their
enemy. These being found, the spot is carefully marked, and after a few weeks they return,
arouse the slumbering brute, and stimulate it to an attack; for t(j shoot it while asleep, or, indeed,
to use any weapon but a lance, is considered dislionourable.
Hogguer, whose narrative is c[uoted by Hartwig, accompanied a couple of Lapps, well armed
with axes and stout lances, on one of these dangerous expeditions. When aliout a hundred paces
from the bear's den, the 2)arty halted, and one of the Lapps advanced shouting, and his comrades
made all the din they could. He ventured witliin twenty paces of the cavern, and then threw
stones into it. For awhile all was quiet, and Hogguer began tn think they had come upon an
empty den ; but suddenly an angry growl was heard.
The hunters now renewed and redoubled their clamour, until slowly, like an honest citizen
roused from his virtuous sleep by a company of i-oisterers, the animal came forth from his lair.
At first he seemed indift'erent and lethargic ; but, catching sight of his nearest enemy, he was
filled with rage, uttered a slKjrt but terrible roar, and rushed headlong upon him. 'ilie Lapp,
with his lance in rest, awaited the onset calmly, while the bear, coming to close quarters, reared
himself on his haunches, and struck at his antagonist with his fore paws.
To avoid these powerful strokes, the daring huntsman crouched, and then, Avith a sudden
spring, drove his lance, impelled l^y a sturdy arm, and guided by a sure eye, into the creature's
heart.
The victor escaped with only a slight w^ound on the hand, but the marks of the bear's teeth
were found deeply impressed on the iron spear-head.
Accordinof to an olil custom, the wives of the hunters a.ssend)le in one of their huts, and as
soon as they hear them returning, raise a louil discordant chant in lionour of the bear. When
the men, loaded with tlieir l>ooty of skin and tlesh, draw near, it is considered necessary to
receive them with words of rejn-oach and insult, and they are not allowed to enter through the
door ; they are compelled, therefore, to obtain admission through a hole in the waW. But when
the animal's manes have been thus propitiated, the women are not less eager than the men to
make the most of its carcass ; and after the skin, fat, and flesh have been removed, they cut up
the body, and bury it with great ceremony, the head first, the)i the neck, next the fore paw's,
INTKMFEUANCE OF THE LAPPS.
203
and so on, down to the animal's "last," — its tail. This is done from a wild bulicf that the bear
rises from the dead, and if it has been proper!}- interred, will kindly allow itself to be killed a
second time by the same hunter !
The principal article of food of the Lapps is reindeer venison. This they boil, and it sup-
plies them both with meat and broth. In summer they varj^ their bill of fare with cheese and
reindeer milk ; and the rich eat a kind of bread or cake, baked upon hot iron plates or "girdles."
For luxuries they resort to brandy and tobacco ; and these are not less appreciated by the women
than by the men. As tor the latter, they are never seen without a jiipe, except at meals; and
the first salutation which a Lapp addiessesto a sti'anger is a demand for " tabak " or " braendi. '
Dr. Clarke tells us that on paying a visit to one of their tents, he gave the father of tlie family
about a pint of brandy, and as he saw him place it behind his bed, near the margin of the tent, he
concluded it would be economically used. In a few minutes the daughter entered, and asked for
a dram, on the ground that she had lost her shave while engaged upon domestic duties outside.
The old Lapp made no rei)ly, but slily crept round the exterior of the tent until he came to
the place where the brandy was concealed. Then, thrusting in his arm, he drew forth the precious
bottle, and emptied its contents at a draught.
We find no great dift'erence of habits
existing between the Mountain Lapp and
the Skogs or Forest Lapp, except that the
latter takes up fishing as a summer pursuit,
and devotes the winter months to his herds
and the chase. But in course of time his
herds demandinu- more attention than he
can give to them, he is transformed into a
Fi.sher Lapp, who d\\ells always upon the
sea-coast, and is at once the filthiest and
least civilized of the race. He resembles
the Mountain Lapp in his love of tobacco
and brandy. He differs from him in never
migrating, and in wholly abandoning the
pastoral life.
A picture of what the artists call a Lap-
land "interior," of the domestic economy
of a Lapp hut, is painted for us by the
author of a recent book of travel, entitled
" Try Lapland."'
After a long day's journey, in the neighbourhood (jf Lake Eandcjaur, weary and cold,
he and his companions came upon a small hut, and had visions of obtaining a night's rest ;
but a closer acquaintance with the hut convinced them that such a proceeding would be
undesirable.
For, knocking at the door, and pulling up the latch, they entered, to see before them a
familv scene !
i-^-tJ^"^
FISIIER I.Al'PS.
204 A LAPP INTEKIOE.
In an in<-oni>eival)lv ilirtv ruoui stuod a still (lirtifr beldame, making coffee. Her husband,
an old man of seventy, sat on oni_> side ; while a hi(le(.ins, deformed little Lapj), Avhethei' man or
woman thev coidd liardlv tell, squatted on the floor on the othei', in fidl costume, eonsistiny of
hi'^h-peaked blue eloth cap, and reindeer-skin dress, ornamented with ])euds and spangles. Her
face was brown as a bcrrv, long lanky Idaek hair streamed down her cheeks; and, staring at the
intruders, sin/ begged for •■penge" (money). Two young men were snoring in one Ijed, and two
boys in another ]»laeed o])posite to it, each being covered with a few reindeer-skins.
The entrance of the strangers ai'oused the sleepers to give one hasty look, and then they
snored again.
The ladv of the house offered coffee; and though everything looked so dirty as to create a
[(ositive feeling of disgust, the travellers could not ailbrd to be particulai', and acce}it('d her offer,
which ])ut her in a jierfect ecstasy of delight.
Quickly she scuttled off to the well for water, and, tilling her kettle, set to work to roast
tVesh coffee.
The old man got up and endeav(.iured to rouse the sleepers, when lie understood that the
strano^ers were in immediate want of l)oats and rowers.
Leaving him to make the necessary preparations, they went out to take a look at the sur-
rounding scenei-y ; and ivturning in a quarter of an hour, expected to find them ]ii-eparing the
boats, which la,y two or three hundn'd yards oil'. JJut, to their surprise, not the slightest change
bad (jccurred in the position of the sleepers ; and, after drinking their coffee out of the one cup
the Lapps possessed, they grew impatient, and stormed at the young men, trying even to pull
them out of bed — but they would n(jt budge.
" The father," says our authority, " who protested great love for the English, but turned out
the bicvo-est rascal we had come across, was as anxious as we were that his sons should get up and
row us ; — but not a bit of it! H(' told us tliat they had been out tlnre days and three nights on
the Fells, and were thoroughly exhausted. What was to be done, we could not thiidv. It was
p-ettino- serious; we certainly could not sleep in this dreadful hole, and ih('re was no other shelter
near.
" Money had no power : though 1 shoAved the almighty dollar to the weary slumberers, (they
had surely never been in America ! ) they turned away with a. grunt.
" Then, happy thought, I ri:collected the hramlij ; anil bringing my keg to the bedside,
I taj^ped it, and offered them a glass if they would get ui>. This was (juite another thing ; they
yawned, stretched their limbs, and stood upon the Hoor. Poor fellows I we then saw how ill and
fagged they looked, though they were splendid specimens of the human race.
" Pourin"- a g-lass of the lierv comi)ound <l<iwn their throats, they imt on their coats, and
followed us like sleepy dogs ; but in a lew monieid-s were rowing us like heroes."
All ti-avellers agree in bearing witness to the passion of the Lap])s for alcoholic liquors.
If we could spare our apostles of temperance and advocates of ( Jood Teniplarism, whicli, alas ! we
cannot afford to do, few better iields could be ibund for their admirable labours than Lapland.
Captain Hutchinson, however, has more pleasant ex]ieriences to relate, and moiv agreeable
"interiors" to sketch, than the preceding. Let us accoiiqiany liim. for instance, on a visit to the
island of lijorkholm.
RACIAL CHARACTEItlSTICS OF THK LAl'PS. SOS
The settlement here is very small, consisting of onh' two or three houses, and a few barns
and sheds. Tlie inliabitants, after the usual manner of tlic I.ajips, support themselves by fishing
in summer, and by the reindeer in winter. Not a tree or shiub grows upon the island ; only
grass.
The hostess, on this occasion, was an active, good-nutured little woman, nut more than I'miu-
feet hitdi, wlio flew to and fro witli a really wonderful agility. At one moment she. was mounted
on the dresser, searching for forks and spoons; at another, almost buried in a deep liox, diving
for sheets and table-clotli. Crockery was decidedly scarce ; and a china slop-basin, with a wreath
of prettily painted little flowers round the margin, had really a hard time of it.
It was first presented to Captain Hutchinson and In's ]>arty for the purpose of wasliing tluir
hands; at supper it appeared filled with chocolate; in the morni)ig it reaj^peared as their joint
washing-basin.
However, the little Lapp entertained them right royally, with hot kippered salmon, pan-
cakes, dried reindeer, and eggs.
The beds were very comfortable, the mattresses of hay, with the whitest of sheets. And
though the hostess and her family seemed very poor, rchcs of former grandeur were visiljlf in the
silver spoons, teapot, goblet, and cream-jug.
A recent writer observes tliat the inferi(»rity of tlie Lapj) race is as conspicuous from the
intellectual as from the physical point of view. This is evident from the most cursory glance at
their lives and manners. Tlie Lapp is, on the whole, a simide, timid, regular, honest creature.
To his great defect we have already adverted, — that excessive partiality for strong liquors, which
would be sufficient to bring about the annihilation of his race within a more or less limited jtei-iod,
even if his davs were not numbered from every otlier concurrent cause. He is essentially nomadic.
He is perfectly free and independent tln-oughout the solitary wastes which extend from the North
Cape to the sixty-fourth degree of In titude ; he plants his tent where he pleases, generally close
to a wood or lake ; and he moves on when the moss all around it has been eaten up. Such a mode
of life is, of course, incompatible witli the progress of Swedish, Norwegian, and even Finlandish
civilization, which, year by year, curtails the territory given up to the migration of the nomadic
Lapps.
There is about the life of the Lnp]>s, in summer, says Count D'Almeida, a certain charm of
independence, which might prove seductive to certain minds, weary of civilization and unwitting
of mosquitoes. But in winter, n(j being of any other race could with impunity endure such
privations and sufterings as they undergo. They are compelled to keep a careful watch upon
their herds, which are in constant danger from the snow-storms and the wolves. In the hard
frosts, when the snow is upwards of three feet in depth, they are compelled to dig it up with
their axes, so as to obtain access for their reindeer to the moss, whit-h constitutes their only food
in winter. Their vigorous constitutions and their power of enduring privation and climatic
rigour, explain how it was that man, in the Glacial Age, though without any of the appliances
of civilization, could endure its ti-emendous severity. What the Lapps can bear in point of toil
and want is almost incredible. They suffer, and are strong, in a sense the poet never contem-
plated. It frequently happens that they are surprised b}^ a snow-hurricane; they sleep on the
ground, covered with snow flakes, which, on awaking, they simjily shake ofl^, and pursue their
■206 THE LAPPS AXU (H'ENKS.
way. In an excess of cokl which would chill our blood, even if we were running at the top of
our speed, they will tall, in a tit of intoxicatidu. on the ground, and lie there with impunity for
hours. It is said that in mid-winter, women, suddenly seized with the pains of childbirth while
on the road, are delivered in the snow, without any ill result, either to them or their oftspring.
But, as the same writei- remarks, human strength cannot exceed certain limits. The Lapp
ages early in life, and dies young. When he attains an advanced age, his fete is still more lament-
al)le. It is said that if an old man falls sick while a trilie is accomplishing one of its customary
migrations, his children frequently abandon him, — leaving Jiini with some provisions at the foot
of a tree, or on the bardv of a stream, with the ten-ible prospect before him of dying of starvation,
or falling a ]>rey to wild licasts. The Lapp is always poor even when he may be called
rich; foi' it is calculated that to maintain a family of four persons, a herd of fully four hundi'ed
reindeer is necessary, representing a capital of about .flGO.
The Lapp dialect is desci'ibed as resembling the Finnish. When we remember that the
Lapps and the Queues, or Finns, wear a similar costume, are distinguished by very similar cus-
toms, and that the two jieople call themselves by the same generic name, Suomi, we can under-
stand why some travellers persist in regarding them as sprung from the same common stock.
But a careful investigation shows the absolute distinctness of the Lapps from the Finns, notwith-
standing this similarity of name and language — a similarity due, as in many other countries, to
the influences of conquest or colonization. Some etlmologists, and among them M. D'Omalins,
include the Finns among the white, or Caucasian race, and leave the Lapps among the inferior
branches of the great Mongol family. It seems certain that a greater difference exists between
the Queues and the Lapps of Northern Norway than between the Queues and the Scandinavians
of the same region.
The Queues have ada]>ted themselves completely to sedentaiy and agricultural habits, while
the Lapps, as yet, have not made a single advance in the direction of raising themselves above a
pastoral and noiuadic life. On the other hand, Finns constantly intermarry with the Swedes or
Norwegians ; while unions between Lapps and Scandinavians, or even between Lapps and Finns,
are regarded throughout the entire country as monstrous anomalies. Lastly : laying aside the
arguments founded upon the physical conformation of the Lapps and the Finns, an imjiortant
historical consideration seems to prove their distinct co-existence from a period far anterior to the
settlement of the Suiones and the Goths in the peninsula ; it is that in the Finnish mythology
we constantly meet with legends of battles between dwarfs and giants. It is impossible that these
can refer to the warfare between the Finns and tlie Scandinavians, for tlie latter were of the same
stature as the former ; and it is in comparison witli the La))])s only that the Finns could relatively
be called ijinufs.
We borrow from ( 'ouut L'Alviella a few iiarticulars relating to the stationary Lajips, who
inhabit the region of West ]3othnia, or Westerbotten, a long, narrow strip of land dividing the
(iulf of Bothnia from Lapland ]iropcr. These Lapps seem to be tlie product of a mixture of
races in which the Si-auilinavian element pi'edominates. 'I'ho}' are of an ordinarv stature, robust,
with regular featiu'es, b'ght hair, and clear gray eyes.
The country in wliich they dwell lias a strange, an original, but a monotonous character.
THE STATION A]:Y LA ITS. 20T
It is its monotony which woarios thu tnivuUer, though at tirst he \vill bu impressed by its fresli
yet severe beauty. The forests of birch and tir seem endless, and the great lakes in their depths
fatigue the eye with their wastes of cold, drear water. Occasionally, however, the traveller comes
u[)on a smiling jilain, enamelled witli myosotis, and Ijrightened by a silvei'-shining, music-mur-
muring stream. Here and there the wood is thinner, and lean cows may be seen feeding among
the half-stripped stems. Next comes a clearing, w here the forest has been swept away by fire ;
a clearing with fields of rye and barley ; a palisade enclosure, and a grou]) of chalets, with a com-
paratively spacious and undilapidated building in the centre.
These gdrds, as they are called, closely resemble each other throughout the North. Neither
material nor space is begrudged to the West Bothnian architects. Even the smallest fiirm
comprises three or four buildings, which generally form a square on tlie four sides of an inner
court. These buildings — how unlike the wretched, filthy hut of the nomadic Lapp ! — comprise
three living-rooms, kitchen, and staljles ; and are divided from each other only by a j^artition of
horizontally-laid planks, the interstices being filled up by moss. The furniture is simple, con-
venient, suitable, and shining with cleanliness, like a Dutch kitchen. Around the hearth is hung
a series of brightly-coloured prints, representing either a Scriptural scene or events in the life of
an illustrious personage, — King Charles XV., or the bishop of the diocese, side by side with the
universal legendary figures. Napoleon I. and Garibaldi. Close by stands the old hereditaiy
locker, in which the husband accumulates his money and the wife deposits her triidiets ; to the
wall is suspended a complete trophy of knives, pipes, belts with silver buckles, sledge-bells, and a
whip with a carved horn handle. The whole scene is one of order and the proprieties of family life.
All these dwellings, it may be added, do not wear the samje aspect of prosperous neatness;
but even where poverty is present, it is unaccompanied by that sullen gloom and melancholy
squalidness which, in other countries, is the painful indication and result of long-endured privation.
And here, we must also remember, poverty and famine are not always inse^^arable comjianions.
The shadow of hunger frequently darkens the rich man's door, and a man might perish for want
of food on a sack of gold. (_)ne winter, the wealthiest members of the community were reduced
to the necessity of eating bread made of bark mixed with moss.
Still, we see how wide a difference separates the stationary from tlie nomadic Lapp, and how
impossible it is for a wandering population to acipiire or appreciate the comforts of civilized life.
A pastoral race, in the present age of the world, is, and must be, a decaying, because a bai-barous
race. If it touches the borders of civilization, it is only to become infected wdth its vices, and
thus to hasten its inevitable decav.
U
CHAPTER IX.
THE SAMOJEDES AND OTllEK TRIBES OF ARCTIC ASIA.
I TIE Samojecles are the immediate neighbours of the Lapps. Like them, they are
nomades ; hut they are even less civihzed, and have profited less by the arduous and
enthusiastic labours of the Christian inissionaries. They range over the forests and
stony tundras of Northern Russia and Western Siberia; driving their reindeer herds from the
banks of the Chatanga to the icy shores of the Wliite Sea, or hunting the wild beasts in the
dense woods which extend between the Obi and the Yenisei.
They are sunk far deeper than the Lapps in a coarse and debasing superstition. It is true
that they believe in a supreme deity — Num, or Jilibeambaertje, who resides in the air, and, like
the Greek Zeus, sends down thunder and lightning, rain and snow ; and they evince that latent
capacity for poetical feeling wliich is indicated even by the most barbarous tribes in their descrip-
tion of the rainbow as " the hem of his garment." They regard him, however, as so elevated
above the world of man, and so coldly indiflerent to humanity, that it is useless to seek to propi-
tiate him either by prayer or sacrifice ; and they have recourse, accordingly, to the inferior gods,
— A^'ho, as they believe, have the direction of human affairs, and are influenced by incantations,
vows, or special homage.
The chief of all the Samojede idols is still supposed to consecrate with its presence, as in the
days of the adventurous Barentz, the bleak and ice-bound island of Waigatz. It is a block of
stone, pointed at the summit, and bearing some rude resemblance to a human head, having been
fashioned after this likeness by a freak of nature. This has formed the model for the Samojede
sculptors, who have multiplied its effigy in wood and stone ; and the idols thus easily created
they call sjadcei, because they wear a human (or semi-lunnan) countenance (y'd). They attire
them in reindeer-skins, and embellish them with innumerable coloured rags. In addition to the
sjadcei, they adoj^t as idols any curiously contorted tree or irregularly shaped stone ; and the
household idol (Hahe) they cany about with them, carefully wrapped up, in a sledge reserved
for the purpose, the hahengan. One of the said penates is supposed to be the guardian of
wedded happiness, another of the fishery, a third of the health of his worshippers, a fourth of
their herds of reindeer. When his services ai"e required, the Hahe is removed from his resting-
place, and erected in the tent or on tlie pasture-ground, in the wood or on the river's bank.
Then his mouth is smeared with oil or blood, and before him is set a dish of flesh or fish, in
return for which repast it is expected that he will use his power on behalf of his entertainers.
His aid being no longer needed, he is returned to the hahengan.
SITERSTITTOXS OF THE SA.M( )J F.DKS.
209
SAMOJEDE HUTS Oy WAIQATZ ISLAND.
Besides these obliging deities, the Samojede believes in the existence of :in order of invisible
spirits which he calls Tadehtslos. These are ever and everywhere arouml him, and bent rather
upon his injury tlian his
welfare. It becomes im-
portant, therefore, to pro- F
pitiate them ; but this can fcg^
be done only through the
interjiosition of a Tadibe,
or sorcerer ; who, on occa-
sion, stimulates himself into
a state of wild excitement,
like the frenzy of the Py- ^^
thian or Delphic priestess. £
When his aid is invoked by T
the ci'edulous Samojede, his |
first care is to attire him-
self in full magician's
costume — a kind of sliirt,
made of reindeer leather,
and hemmed with red cloth. Its seams are trimmed in like manner ; and the shoulders are also
decorated with red cloth tags, or epaulettes. A piece of red cloth is worn over the face as a
mask, and a plate of polished metal gleams upon his breast.
Thus costumed, the Tadibe takes his drum of reindeer-skin, ornamented witli brass rings,
and, attended by a neophyte, walks round and round with great stateliness, A\hile invoking the
presence of the spirits by a discordant rattle. This gradually increases in violence, and is
accompanied by the droning intonation of the words of enchantment. The spirits in due time
appear, and the Tadibe proceeds to consult tliem ; beating his drum more gently, and occasionally
pausing in his doleful chant, — which, however, the novice is careful not to interrupt, — to listen,
as is supi^osed, to the answers of the aerial divinities. At length the conversation ceases ; the
chant breaks into a fierce howl ; the drum rattles more and more loudly ; the Tadibe seems
under a supernatural influence ; his body quivers, and foam gathers on his lips. Then suddenly
the frenzy ceases, and the Tadibe utters the will of the Tadebtsios, and gives advice how a
straying reindeer may be recovered, or the disease of the Samojede worshipper i-elieved, or the
fisherman's labour rewarded with an aliundant " harvest of tlie sea."
The offiee of the Tadibe is usually transmitted from father to son ; but occasionally some
individual, predisposed by nature to fits of excitement, and endowed with a ^ivid imagination, is
initiated into its mysteries. His morbid fancy is worked u])on by long solitary self-communings
and protracted fasts and vigils, and his frame by the use of pernicious narcotics and stimulants,
until he persuades himself that he has been visited by the spirits. He is then received as a
Tadibe with many ceremonies, which take place at midnight, and he is invested with the magic
drum. It will be seen, therefore, that the Tadibe, if he deceives others, jmrtly deceives himself.
But he does not disdain to have recoui'se to the commonest tricks of the conjuror, witli the view
of imposing upon his ignorant countrymen. Among those is the famous rope-trick, introduced
210
CUltlOUS CU«T0.A18 OF THE SAMOJEDES.
iutti England Ijy the Davenport Brotlier.s, and since repeated by so many professional necro-
mancers. With his hands and feet fastened, he sits down on a carpet of reindeer-skin, and, the
lights being- put out, invokes the spirits to come to his assistance. Soon their presence is made
known by strange noises ; sr|uirrels seem to rustle, snakes to hiss, and bears to growl. At length
the disturbance ceases, the lights arc re-kindled, and the Tadibe steps forward unliound ; the spec-
tators, of course, believing that he has been assisted by the Tadebtsios.
As barbarous, says Dr. Hartwig — to whose pages we ai'e here indebted — as barbarous as the
poor wretches who suljmit to his guidance, the Tadibe is incapable of im])roving their nioiul con-
dition, and luis no wish to do so. Under various names, — Schamans among the Tungusi, Ai«jelok.s
among the Eskimos, Medicuie-iKcii among the Crees and Chepewyans, — we find similar magicians
or impostors assuming a spiiitual dictatorship over all the Arctic nations of the Old and the New
^^^)rld, wherever their authority has luit been broken by (Jhristianity or Buddhism ; and this
dreary faith still extends its influence over at least half a million of souls, from the White Sea to
the extremity of Asia, and from the Pacific to liu(ison Bay
The Samojedes, like the SiLiurian tribes, offer up sacrifices to the dead, anti perform various
ceremonies in honour of their memi>r_y. Like the North American Indians, they believe that
the desires and pursuits of the de[iarted continue to be the same as they were on earth; and
hence, that they may not be in want of weajions or inqilements, they dept)sit in or about their
graves a sledge, a sjiear, a cooking-pot, a knife, an axe. At the funeral, and for several years
afterwards, the kinsmen sacrifice reindeer o\er the grave. When a princt^dies, a Starschina, the
owner, perhaps, of several herds of reindeer, his iiearest relatives fashion an image, which is kei)t
in the tent of the deceased, and to which as much respect is paid as was paid to tlie man himself
in his lifetime. It occupies his usual seat at every meal ; every evening it is undressed, and laid
down in his bed. For
three years these
honours are kept Up,
and then the image
is buried, from a be-
lief that the body by
that time nmst have
decayed, and lost all
recollection of the
past. <Jnly the souls
of the Tadibes, and
of tJKise who ha\i_'
died a violent death,
are privileged with
immortality, and ho-
ver about the air as
disembodied s^jirits.
The Samojedes
arc ,scatfei-ed — to tin;
i.\MiJ.JIiUH FAMILV.
number of about a
thousand families —
over their wild and
inhospitable region.
Ethnologists o-ene-
rally consider them
to have a common
origin with the Finns
of Europe. In stature
they are somewhat
taller than the Lapps,
and their colour is
more of a tawny, The
marked features of
their countenance re-
call the Hindu tyjie.
The forehead is high.
the hair black, the
nose long, the nioutli
well fiirmcil : but tlic
THE OSTJAKS AND TlIEli; .M ANN i:i;.S. 211
sunken eye, -veiled liy a licnvy lid, expresses a cruel and jK-rfidious nature. The manners of
the Saniojedes are l)rutal ; and in eharacter they are fieree and cunning. They are shepherds,
hunters, traders — and when opportunity serves, robbers. Like the other Arctic peoples, they
clothe themselves in reindeer-skins. They shave off their hair, except a tolerably large tuft
which they allow to flourish on the top of the head, and they pluck out the beard as fast as it
grows. The women decorate their persons with a belt of gilded C()])per, and with a {jrofusion
of glass beads and metallic ornaments.
Continuing our progress eastwaixl, we come to the Ostiaks, a people spreading over the
northernmost parts of Siberia, from the Oural Mountains to Kamtschatka.
Some interesting particulars of their habits and customs are recorded by Madame Felinska,
a Polish lady whom the Russian Government condemned to a long exile in Siberia.
One day, when she was seeking a pathway through a wood, she fell in with a couple of
Ostiaks on the point of performing their devotions. These are of the simj^lest kind : the wor-
shipper places himself before a tree (the larch, by preference) in the densest recess of the forest,
and indulges in a, succession of extravagant gestures and contortions. As this form of worship
is prohibited by the Russian (government, the ( )stiak' can resort to it only in secret. He professes,
indeed, to have accepted (Jhristianitv, but there is too much reason to fear that the majority of
the race are still attached to their heathen creed.
Nearly every Ostiak carries about his person a rude image of one of the deities which he
adores under the name of Schaitan ; lint this does not prevent him from wearing a small crucifix of
cojiper on his breast. The Schaitan is a rough imitation of the human figure, carved out of wood.
It is of different sizes, according to the various uses for which it is intended : if for carrying on
the person, it is a miniature doll : l)ut for decorating tin; Ostiak's hut an image can be had on a
larger scale. It is always attired in seven peaid embroidered chemises, and suspended to the
neck by a string of silver coins. The wooden deity occupies the place of lionour in ever}^ hut,
— sometimes in company with an image of tlie Vii'gin Mary or some saint, — and before beginning
a repast the Ostiaks are careful to offer it the daintiest morsels, smearing its lips with fish or raw
game ; this sacred duty performed, they finish their meal in contentment.
The jiriests of the Ostiaks are called Scliamarix ; tluur immense influence they employ to
[iromote their own personal interests, and maintain the meanest superstitions.
In summer the Ostiak fixes his residence on the banks of the Obi or one of its tributaries.
It is generally square in form, with low stone walls, and a high pointed roof made of willow-
l)ranches, and covered with pieces of bark. These having been softened by boiling, are sewn
together so as to form large mats or carpets, whicli are easily rolled up and carried from place to
place. The hearth is in the centre ; it consists of a few stones set round a cavity in the soil.
Here the Ostiak lives ; supporting himself on fish, which he frequently eats without cooking — and
purchasing a few occasional luxuries, such as tobacco and drink, with tlio' salmon and sturgeon
caught by his dexterity.
In winter he withdraws into the woods, to hunt tlie sable or the scpiirrel, or to pasture the
herds of reindeer which some of them possess. He builds his jurt on a small eminence near the
bank of a stream, but out of reach of its spring inundations. It is low, small, squalid ; its walls
plastered with day ; its window made oi' a thin sheet of ice.
212
iii'N'Pfxr; TiiK wiiri'K i;kai;.
Thf ( )stiaks are ^'enerallv of small stature, (lark-comiilexioiied, and with l)lack liair, like
the Samojedes ; Init this is not iiixariahly the ease. The}' seem to helony to the same family as
the Samojedes and Finns. 'Hiey are honest, good-natured, inert, and extremely careless and
dirty in their hahits ; though it may he ennceded that their huts are not filtliier than the
"interiors" of the Icelandic fishermen. Their women are not much better treated than African
slaves, and are given in marriage to the Iiighest hidder. The price necessarily varies according
to the condition of the parent ; the daughter of a rich man sells for lift}' reindeer, of a poor man
for half-a-dozen dried sturgeon and a handful of sijuirrel-skins.
•j^^^ The ( )stiaks and the Samojedes are great
J; lumters of the whiti.' hear. It is the same
,- ^« | with the Jakuts (or Yakouts), a people
-^^"^ dwelling near the Bouriats, and, like them,
1; apjiroximating to the ^Mongol type. Their
ohiect in tlu^ chase, however, is not alwavs
ti) kill the animal, hut to take it alive.
Madame Felinska asserts that, one daj,
she saw a considerable herd of bears cou-
ducteil to IJcri'Zov, like a herd (_)f tame
cattlt!, and apparently quite as inofiensive.
She does not inform us, however, by what
means tliey had been reduced to such a
desirable state of subjection. Frequently
the ( )stiaks and the Jakuts attack the white
bears body to body, ^\■i^hout any other
wea])on than a hatchet or long cutlass.
They ro(piire to strike their formidable
antagonist with inunense vigour, and to
slay it at the first blow, or their own danger is extreme. Slionld the hunter miss his stroke,
his solo resource is to thng himself tin the ground and lie motionless, until the bear, while
smelling his body and turning him over, mcautiously otlers himself again to liis attack.
JAKirT HUNTER A\D BEAK.
We now reach the peninsula of Kanitscliatka. In area it is e([iial to Cireat Britain, and its
natuial resources are abundant; yet, owing to the ravages of small-pox, and excessive brandy-
di inking, its ])opulation does not exceed seven or eight thousand souls. Its climate is nmch
milder than that of tlie interior of Siberia, being favourably afl'ecti'd by the warm breezes from
the sea ; and though cereals do not flourish, its ]Kisture-grounds are rich and ample, and its herba-
ceous Vegetation is exceedingly abundant.
The fisheries of Kanitscliatka enjoy a well-deserved reputation. In spring the salmon
ascend its rivers in such astonishingly numerous legions, tliat if you plunge a dart into the water
Vou will sui'elv sti'ike a fish ; and Steller asserts that th(.t bears and do^s in this fortunate reo^ion
catch on the banks with thcii- paws and mouths more lish than in less tavouri'd counti'it's the
most skilhd anj^lers can ensnare b\' all tlu' ile\ices of piscatorial science. Hermaim also r^'t'ers to
ABOUT THE KAMT.SCTIATKANS.
213
the teeming myriads of the Kaiiitschatka waters. Tn a stream only six inches deep he saw
countless hosts of chac-kos {Sla<joc(q)]i(tlns) , two or tlu-ee feet in length, partly stranded on the
grassy banks, partly attempting to force a passage through the shallows.
The coasts of Kamtsehatka swarm in like manner with aquatic birds, which roost and breed
on every crag and ledge, in every niche and hollow, and at the slightest alarm rise from their
resting-places with a whirr of wings and a clamour of voices repeated by a thousand echoes.
The Kamtschatkans display in the puisuit of those birds and their eggs a skill and a daring
not inferior to the intrepidity and dexterity of the inhabitants of the Faroe Isles or the Hebi'ides.
Barefooted, and -without even the aid of ropes, they venture to descend the most awful declivi-
ties, which the foaming waters render inaccessible from belnw. ( )n the left arm hangs a basket,
to be filled with eggs as they advance ; in the right hand tbey carry a short iron hook, with
which to drag tbe birds from their rocky roosts. When a bird is caught, the fowler wrings its
neck, slings it to his girdle, and lowers himself still further (h)wn tbe rugged precijjice.
The Kamtschatkans are of small stature, but stronu-limbed and broad-shouldered. Their
cheek-bones are high, their jaws massive, broad, and prominent, their eyes small and black, their
noses small,
lips very full
their
The
jirevailing colour of
the men is a dark
brown, sometimes ap-
proaching to tawny ;
the complexion of
the women is fairer ;
and to presexwe
it from the sun,
they embellish it
with bears' guts, ad-
hering to the face
by meansof fish-lime.
They also paint their
cheeks a brilliant red
with a sea- weed.
Kamtsehatka
boasts of a very valu-
able domestic animal
in its dog. Mr. Hill
is of opinion that he
KAMTSCHATKANS.
must be considered
indigenous to the
country, where he
roves wild upon the
hills, and obtains his
existence in exactly
the same manner as
tlie wolf In his
nature, both phj'si-
cally and in respect
to his temper and
disposition, he seems
about equally to re-
semble that tameless
animal and the mas-
tiff; yet not alto-
gether in the same
manner that might
be sup25osed to arise
from the cross breed
I if the two species,
but rather as pos-
sessing some of the (pialities of both, neither confounded nor modified, l)ut distinctly marked,
"and perhaps in equal perfection to the same qualities possessed severally by those animals. He
is about the size of the ordinary mastiff, and his colour is usually Ijuff or silver-gray, with the
several darker or lighter shades of these colours as an invariable basis. In the form of his
body, too, he resembles the mastiff", but his head is more like that of the wolf Still more do
214 THE DUL! OF KA.MTSCllATKA.
we recognize tlic wolfitsli el:arai-ter in tliy eye, wliicli is eniel and furtive, as well as in liis habits
and disjjosition. Like his i'ellow-rDver, he sleejts more l)y day tlian by nii^iit, and he sees better
throno'li the scanty liffht atibrded by the stars or moon than in the full radiance of the sun : this
has o'ivcn rise to tlie same vulgar error concerning his vision which, in Britain, prevails respect-
ing that of the cat, — that he can see in the dai'k.
If there be any exception, says Mr. Hill, to the distinct manner in which the dog of
Kamtscliatka possesses the character and qualities of both the wolf and mastitt', it is in regard to
his voice, which is heard in loud cries and undistinguishable sounds, something between the
bark of the one and the bowl of the other.
In all thino's connected with the labour in which he is ensfaared, the Kamtscliatka doij dis-
plays a more than ordinaiy intelligence. He is very eager to work, and obedient, like the canine
species generally, to one master only ; but he gives no indications of that attachment which,
more or less, in all other species of the dog, enal>les man to sympathize with them, and some-
times even excites a degree of friendship which not every one of his own species is able to
inspire. Thus, every pack or team of dogs nnist always be driven by the same hand and guided
by the same voice, which the whip, and not caresses, has taught them to remember and obey.
With these ciualitios, the dog becomes in this country a very serviceable animal. Whatever,
indeed, our horses and bullocks perform for us here in Britain, if we except carrying us on their
backs and ploughing our arable land, the dogs perform for the Kamtschatkans. There is not
much employment for them, however, in the summer ; and at that season they are allowed to
range about and secure their food, which they usually tind in the rivers, in the best way they
can. Some pains are at all times necessary to keep them in good temper and at peace with their
neighbours, whether canine or human. And therefore all Kamtschatkans who keep a team
near their houses are careful, when the snow is on the ground, to drive a nundjer of stakes
into the earth, or poles set uj) in the same manner as the frame of a lint or wigwam ; and to
these the dogs are attached singly or in pairs. But when paired, whether at the stakes or in
liarness, it is requisite that those yoked together should be not only of the same family, but
of the same litter, or at all events they should have been paired when they were puppies. It is
at no time safe to leave the greater part of them loose ; and the younger dogs are described as
the most dangerous in this way. They will not only at all times kill domestic fowls, — which the
Kamtschatkans, therefore, are unable to breed, — and dogs of the smaller species that may chance
to be brought to the place, but they have been known to destroy children. While tliey do not
work they are tolerably fat, and have usually an allowance of half a dried salmon, or a })ortion
weighing about two pounds, a day; but when they labour they are worse treated and more
stinted thaii the Siberian horses, and receive only half the cpiantity of food apportioned to them
when at rest; yet they will, under this treatment, perfonn journeys of three or four weeks' dura-
tion with much less repose than the horses require. Nay, they will even, upon a journey of four
or five days' duration, work for fourteen or sixteen hours out of the twenty-four without tasting
any food whatsoever, and without appearing to suffer any diminution of strength ; and the univer-
sal opinion seems to be, that the less food they receive on this side of starvation, when travel-
ling, the better.
Five of these dogs will draw a slcxlge carrying three full-grown persons and sixty pounds
weight of luggage. When liu'htlv loaded, such a sledge will travel fi-om thii'tv to fortv versts in
TRAVELLING AND TRAINING.
215
a day over bad roads and through the deep snow, while- on even roads it will accomplish eighty
to one hundred and twenty. And hei-ein lies the inestimable value of the Kamtschatkan dogs,
for the horse would be useless in sledging : in the deep snow it would sink ; and it would be unable,
on account of its weight, to cross the rivers and streams which are covered onl}^ with a thin sheet
of ice.
^^^di:^^.,...
— rss^^
A KAMTSCHATKAS SLEDGE AXD TEAM.
But travelling with dogs is by no means easy. Instead of the whip, the driver uses a
crooked stick with iron rings, which, by their jingling, supply the leader of the team Avith the
necessary signals. If the dogs show symptoms of relaxing in their efforts, the stick is cast
among them to rouse them to greater speed ; and the driver dexterously picks it up again as his
sledge shoots by. In a snowstorm they keep their master comfortably warm, and will lie round
about him quietly for hours. They are experienced weather-prophets too, for if, when resting,
they dig holes in the snow, it is a certain sign of a storm.
The training of these dogs begins at a very early age. Soon after their birth they are
placed A\ith their mother in a deep pit, so as to see neither man nor beast ; and after being
weaned, they are still condemned to a total exclusion from "the madding crowd." A probation
of six months having expired, they are attached to a sledge with older dogs, and being extremely
shy, they run at their very fastest. On returning home they undergo another period of pit-life,
until they are considered perfectly trained, and capable of performing a long journey. They are
then allowed to enjoy their summer freedom. Such a mode of training may render them docile
and obedient, but it renders them also gloomy, mistrustful, and ill-tempered.
Siberia, so for as the vallev of the Lena is concerned, and even eastward to the Kolima and
216 ABOUT THK JAKUTS.
westward to tlio Yenisei, is iiili;il)ite<l liy the Ixjkl and vig-orous race of the Jakuts. Their
number is computed at about 1200,000, and they inhabit tlie extensive but dreary jiruvince of
Jakutsk, with a chief town of tlie same name.
The Jakuts are t(-) a great extent a pastoral people, but as tbey trade in horses and cattle,
and also carry on a l)risk fur-trade with the Russians, they ]ia\'e attained a far liigher level of
civilization than is connuon among pastoral races. In summer they live in light conical tents
("urossy"), which are fixed u|)on poles, and covered with birch rind. Tliese they pitch in the
open plains and valleys, and then devote themselves to gathering sup[ilies of hay against the
coming winter. This is witli tliem a wry important labour, for their chief wealth is in their
herds of cattle, and to find a sufficient |irovision for them in the Ijleak climate of the Lena basin,
and on the borders of the Arctic World, is a task of great difficulty. (Jften, indeed, the supply
fails before the return of spring, and the oxen must then be fed upon the young shoots and
saplings of the birch and willow.
When winter approaches, the Jakut removes from his tent into a warm, tind)er-!)uilt hut, or
Jart, which assumes the form of a truncated pyramid, and has an exterior covering of turf and
clay. Its windows are made of thin sheets of ice ; which, as soon as a thaw sets in, are replaced
by fish-bladders or jiaper steeped in oil. The floor is of eartli, very rarely boarded, and generally
sunk two or three feet below the surface of the ground. The seats and sleeping-berths are
arranged along the sides ; the hearth, or tsrhei-wal, occupies the centre, and its smoke finds an
exit througli an aperture in the roof Clothes and weapons are siisj)ended from the walls, and
the general a})pearance of the interior is squalid and disorderly.
Near the jart are stalls for the cows ; but when the cold is very intense, they, like the Irish-
man's pigs, find accommodation indoors. As for the horses, they remain night and day in the
ojien air, though the weather may be so severe that even mercury freezes ; and they have no
other food than the decayed autunm grass, which thuy find under the snow.
The capacity of endurance whicli the dakut hordes exhibit is almost incredible. Like other
quadrupeds in the Arctic regions, they change their hair in summer. Traversing, month after
month, the dreary wilderness where tlie only vegetation is a scanty and half-rotten grass, they
still retain their strength and energy; and notwithstanding the hard conditions of their lives,
they do not age so ([uickly as our own more carefully-tended steeds. To aim at improving the
Jakut horse would be, in the opinion of many travellers, to gild refined gold, and perfume " thrown
on the violet." He will continue a steady trot for hours, over roads of which no Englishman can
form an idea, and stop to take his rest with no other food but the bark of the larch and willow,
or a little hard grass, no covering protecting his foaming sides from tlie t'old. and the tempera-
ture down at 40°.
As the horse, so the master. The Jakut is the very personification of hardiness. He seems
able to endure anything, and to attenq)t everything. (_)n the longest winter-journey he carries
neither tents nor extra coverings with him, not even one of the large fur-dresses, such as the
Siberians generally use. He contents himself, in fact, with his usual dress ; in this he generally
sleeps in the open air: his bed, a horse-rug stretclied upon the snow; his jiillow, a wooden
saddle. With the same fur jacket whicli serves him by daytime as a, dress, and wliidi he pulls
ofi" when h(> lies down for the night, he defends his back and shoulders, while the front jiart of
bis l)o(ly is turned towards the fire, almost without any covei'ing. He then stops his nose and
CHAlJACTKi; OF THE JAKUTS. 217
ears with small pieces of skin, and covers liis face so as to leave only a small aperture for
breathing; these are all tlic precautions lie takes against the severest cold. Even in Siberia the
Jakuts are known as " ir(jn men."
The horse to the Jakut is as valuable and as important as the camel to the Arab or the
reindeer to the Lapp. It is not only his steed, which seems incapable of weariness, — his bea.st of
draught, patient under lieavy loads, — but its skin provides him with articles of dress ; with its
liair he makes his fishing-nets; boiled horse meat is his favourite food, and sour mare's milk, or
koiDJiis, liis principal beverage. By mixing this milk with rye flour, or the inner rind of the fir
or larch, he makes a thick pnrrid^c, \\liicli he flavoiu's with Ijcrrios, or di'ied fish, or rancid fat.
Before connnerce had been diverted into the valley of the Amur, thousands of pack-horses,
under the guidance of Jakuts, annually crossed the Stanowoi hills on the way to Ochotsk ; a
journey of terrible difficulty, which might appal the stoutest nerves. But the Jakut endures the
extremes of cold and hunger with a wonderful equanimity. He fears neither the stormy winds,
the darkened heavens, the depth of the treacherous morass, nor the darkness and silence of the
forest. Nothing appals him but the unseen presence of " Ljeschei," the spirit of the mountain
and the forest. The traveller frequently comes upon a fir-crowned hillock, and from the branches
of one of the eldest firs sees suspended innumerable tufts of horse-hair. What does it mean?
He needs not to impure, for, lo ! liis Jakut driver, dismounting from his steed, hastens to pluck
a few hairs from his horse's mane, and then, \\ith nuich reverence, attaches them to the nearest
bough, in order to propitiate the terrible Ljeschei. Even Jakuts who have been ba})tized, and
are nominally enrolled among the Christian population, are guilty of this silly bit of superstition ;
while it is suspected, on good grounds, that tliey still cherish their belief in Schamanism, and
their ancient dread of evil spirits. When we remember, however, the absurd beliefs and vulgar
errors still lingering in many parts of our own land, we are unable to pass a very severe verdict
on the credulity of the Jakuts.
When on the road they beguile the tedium of the way by singing songs of the most doleful
character, corresponding to the hal)itual melancholy wliich they seem to have inherited from
their forefathers ; a melancholy suggested, probably, by the gloom of the landscape, the chilling
aspect of the sky, the inclemency of the climate, and the prolonged battle in which their lives
are passed. Their songs, not the less, are songs worthy of a bold and intelligent people, and,
like the poetry of the Norsemen, are replete with images borrowed from nature. They constantly
describe in glowing language the lofty magnificence of the snow-crowned mountains, the starry
beauty of the night, the roll and rush of the river, the wail of the wind as it streams through a
forest of pines. The Jakut minstrels are mostly improvisatores ; and, to secure the favour of the
Ljeschei, they will extol the charms of the wilderness over \\hicli it rules, as if that wilderness
were a portion of Elysium.
The Jakut merchants are remarkable for their enterprise. Their capital is Jakutsk, on
tlie Lena, and thence they extend their operations in all directions. In the rigour of M'inter they
will lead their caravans to Ochotsk, or Kjachta, or Ostrownoje.
A"et the counti-y they traverse is at all times a desert. The mean temperature of the year is
only -1-14°. In Novendier the thernn)meter sinks to —40°, or 72' below freezing-point. The Yana,
at Nislmi Kolymsk, freezes early in September; and lower down, where the current is sluggi-sh.
218 HUNTING TIIK RKINDKKi;.
loaded horses can cross its frozen .surface as early as the niiildle of August : yet the ice does not
melt before June. Tlie sun remains, it is true, ahout fifty-t-wo days above tlie horizon ; but its
light, shrouded by almost continual mists, is attended l)y but little heat, — and its orb, compressed
by refraction into an elli]itical form, may be examined by the naked eye witliout inconvenience.
As the climate, so the vegetation. Dwarfish willow-shrubs, stunted gras.s, moss, and a few
berry-bearing plants compose the flora of the cheerless tundras. There is greater abundance and
more variety in the neigldaouring and better sheltered valleys of tlie Aniuj ; the poplar, birch,
thyme, absinth, and low creeping cedar enliven their slopes ; Init even in these places Nature is
most niggardly of her gifts. Such is not the case, however, with the fauna of Arctic Siberia.
The forests are tenanted by nundjers of reindeer, elks, bears, fo.\es, sal)]es, and gray stjuirrels ;
Mhile in the low grounds stone foxes make their liurrows. With the return of spriii<>' come
immense flights of swans, geese, and ducks, which build their nests in the most sequestered
corners. The sea-coast is frequented by eagles, owls, and gulls; tlie brushwood by tlie white
ptarmigan ; the brooks by hundreds of little snipes. Even the songs of the finch are not wantinp-
in spring, nor is the thrush wholly silent in autumn.
Summing up the details recorded by Admiral Wrangell, a recent writer draws an impre.ssive
picture of tlie mode of life of the people of this desolate waste, and observes : "All denotes that
here the limits of the habitable eartli are passed ; and one asks with astonishment, What could
induce human beings to take up tlieir abode in so comfortless a region ? "
The chief resource of the Sidlahoris of the Eiver Aniuj is, he saj^s, the reindeer chase, — the
success of which mainly determines whetlier famine or some degree of plenty is to be their lot
during the coming winter. The passage of the reindeer takes place twice a year : in spring, when
the mosr[uito-swarms drive them to the sea-coast, where tliey feed on the moss of tlie tundra ;
and in autumn, when the increasing cold foi'ces them to retire inland. The spring migiation,
which begins about the middle of May, is not very profitable ; partly because the animals are
then in poor condition, and partly Isocause it is m(Ji'e difficult ti> kill them as they dash across
the frozen rivers. The chief hunting takes place in August and Sejitember, when the herds,
each numbering several thousand deer, return to the forests. They invariably cross the river at
a particular spot, where a flat sandy bank enables them to land with comparative ease ; and here
they close up their ranks, as it were, under the guidance of the stalwart veterans of the herd.
After a brief pause of hesitation the herd plunge into the waters, and in a few minutes the
surface of the river seems alive with swimming reindeer. Now is the hunter's time ; and out
from his concealment in the reedy creek he darts in his little boat, wounding as many animals as
he can. While he and his comrades are thus engaged, they run some risk of being capsized in
the turmoil, for the bucks gallantly defend themselves with horns, and teeth, and liind legs,
Avliile the roes usually attempt to spring with their fore feet upon the gunwale of tlie boat. If
the hunter should be overset, his sole chance of safety is to cling to a stixing animal, wliich a\ ill
carry him securely aci'oss the stream. Such an accident, however, is of rare occurrence. A
good hunter will kill a hundred reindeer, or even more, in half an hour. IMeantime, the other
boats seize the .slaughtered animals, which become the property of tlieii- civws ; while those that
are merely wounded and swim ashore belong to the hunters, a\1io, in tlie midst of the uproar,
when all tlieir strength is tasked to the uttermost, so aim their sti'okt's as only to wound severely
ABOUT THE TUNGUSI. 219
tliL' larger aniuials. 'J'lie noise of tliu horns sti-iking against each other, the " incarnadined "
waters, the shouts of the hunters, the cries of pain, rage, and alarm of the struggling animals, all
form a scene which, once seen, is not easily forgotten.
While the men of Kolymsk are thus engaged during the brief sunjmer-time in hunting,
fishing, and hay-making, the w^omen wander over the country, and climb the sides of the moun-
tains, for the ]>urpose of gathering edible roots, aromatic herbs, and various kinds of berries —
though the last do not ripen every year. The berry -[ilucking season at Kolymsk, like the
vintage in France or Italy, is a season of mirth, a holiday interval in a hard and laborious life.
The young women and girls form large parties, and spend ^v■llole days and nights in the open air.
When the berries are collected, cold Avater is poured over them, and they are preserved in a
frozen state as an addition to the scanty winter fare. We are told that " social parties" are not
unknown at Kolymsk, and probably aft'ord as much or as little entertainment there as in more
favoured and more civilized communities. The staple luxury is a deluge of weak tea — very
weak, for the aromatic leaves which cheer but not inebriate are very dear at Kolymsk ; and as
sugar is also a costly article, every guest takes a lump of candy in his mouth, lets the tea which
he sips flow by, and then replaces it upon the saucer. It would be considered a breach of cour-
tesy if he consumed the entire luni}), which thus is made to do duty at more than one soiree.
Next to tea, but not less esteemed, the i>riuci})al requisite for a Kolymsk entertainment is
l)randy.
Another important Siberian people are the Tungusi, who spread from the basins of the
Upper, Middle, and Lower Tunguska to the western shores of the Sea of Ochotsk, and from the
Chinese frontiers and the Baikal to the Polar Ocean. Their nund)er does not exceed thirty
thousand. According to their avocations, and the domestic animals which constitute their
wealth, they arc known as the Reindeer, Horse, Dog, Forest, and River Tungusi. Those who
keep or rear horses and cattle are but a few ; the majority depend on the reindeer. The condi-
tion of all is deplorably wretched. The Tungusi has no resource but fishing or hunting. When
the rivers are frozen, he withdraws into the forest. Here his misery is so great and his need so
extreme that he frequently becomes a cannibal, and attacks the wives and children of his more
fortunate countrymen. In happier circumstances he is remarkable for the readiness of his wit,
the vi\acity of his manner, and the blithesome carelessness of his disposition. It is asserted,
however, that he is both malignant and deceitful. He is vain ; and loves to decorate his person
with strings and ornaments of glass beads, from his small Tartar caji to the tips of his shoes.
When hunting the reindeer, or travelling througii the forests, however, he puts on large water-
tight boots, or tiari, well greased with fat ; and he carries, on these occasions, a small axe, a
kettle, a leathern wallet containing some dried fish, and a short gun, or a bow and a sling. He
is always accompanied by his faithful dog.
" With the assistance of his long and narrow snow-shoes, he ilies over tlie dazzling
plain ; and protects his eyes, like the Jakut, with a net made of black horse-hair. He never
hesitates to attack the bear single-handed, and generally masters him. The nomad Tungusi
naturally requires a movable dwelling. His tent is covered with leather, or large pieces of
pliable bark, whii'h are easily rolled up, and transported from place to place. The Juft of the
sedentary Tungusi resembles that of the Jakut, and is so small that it can be very rjuickly and
220 ABU LIT THE TCilL'IvTCIlE.
tliorouglily wariiH'il by a fire kindled on tlie stone Leaiili in the centre. In his food the Tuno-usi
is by no means dainty. One of liis favourite dishes consists of tlie contents of a reindeer's
stomach mixed with wild berries, and spread out in tliin cakes on the rind of trees, to be dried
in the air or in tlie sun. Those wlio have settled mi the Wilnj and in tlie neighbourhood
of Nertschinsk likewise consume large quantities of birch tea, which they boil with fat and
berries into a thick j)orridge ; and this unwholesome food adds, no doubt, to the yellowness of
their complexion."
We shall now, and lastly, take a glance at the Tchuktche (or Tuski), who inhabit the north-
eastern point of Asia, with the ice-covered wateis of the Polar Sea on one side, and those of
Behring Sea on the other. Their land is but seldom visited; all, however, Avho have ventured
thither agree in describing it as one of the most melancholy regions of the earth. The soil is
barren, and lialf-frozeu, yielding no other vegetation than mosses and lichens, the vaccinium, and
the dwarf birch and Avillow, — except in the low grounds, where the reedy marshes are frequented
in the summer by geese, and swans, and ducks, and wading-birds. The climate is so rigorous that
one wonders man can make up his mind to endure it. There is no summer earlier than the 20th
of July ; and on the 20th of August the shadow of winter conies upon the earth. Animal life,
however, if not very varied, is abundant: walruses, sea-lions, and seals inhabit the coasts; and the
reindeer, the wolf, the argali, and the Arctic fox are found in the interior.
The Tchuktche are an enterprising people, and fond of independence. Unlike their neigh-
bours, the Koriaks, they liave always maintained their free<lom against the encroachments of
Russia. They are active and S2:)irited traders. In skin-covered boats they cross Behring
Straits, and barter furs and walrus-teeth with the natives of Amei'ica. In lonof caravans, their
sledges drawn by reindeer, they repair to the great fair of Ostrownoje, and carry on a vigorous
commerce with the Russian merchants. In their train follow sledges laden with supplies of
lichen and moss for the reindeer, as in their wanderings, however circuitous these may be, they
are compelled to traverse broad spaces of stony desert, where even these abstemious animals can
obtain no food. As their movements are regulated Iiy the necessities of their herds, they
occupy five or six months in a journey Avhich, m a straight line, would not exceed a thousand
versts in length ; they are almost always migrating from place to place, yet. as they invariably
carry their dwellings with them, they never leave home. A caravan generally consists of fifty
or sixty families ; and as soon as one fair is at an end, they depart to make their preparations for
the next.
The great staple of the trade at ()str(_>\vnoje is tobacco. To secure a small su])ply of the
narcotic which forms the sole luxury of their dreary lives, the Eskimos of North America,
extending from the Icy Cape to Bristol Bay, send their articles of barter from hand to hand as
far as the Gwosdus Islands in Behring Strait, where the Tchuktche jiurchase them with tobacco
bought at Ostrownoje. Thus, in tlie icy regions of the extreme north, tobacco is the source and
sujtport of considerable commerce ; and the narcotic weed which Raleigh and his contempoi'aries
introduced from America into Europe, and which from Europe made its way into Asia, is
exported from Asia for the use of American tribes.
The lialance of trade, however, seems entirely against the latter. We ai'e told that the
skins which a Tchuktche purchases of an Eskimo for half a pood (eighteen pounds) of tobacco-
A TCHUKTCH INTERIOK. 221
leaves, he sells to the Kussian for two poods (seventy-two j^ounds) ; and these skins, costing the
Russian about one hundred and sixty roubles, the latter sells at Jakutsk for two hundred and
sixty, and at St. Petersburg for upwards of five hundred roubles.
The furs sold at Ostrownoje are chiefly those of stone foxes, black and silver-gray foxes,
gluttons, lynxes, otters, beavers, and martens. Other products brought thither by the Tchuktche
are bear-skins, walrus-teeth, and thongs, sledge-runners (made of whale ribs), and dresses of rein-
deer-skin. The Russians, besides tobacco, dispose of kettles, axes, knives, guns, tea, and sugar.
A visit to the family of a Tchuktche chief is thus described by one of Admiral Wrangell's
companions : —
We entered the outer tent, or namet, consisting of tanned reindeer-skins outstretched on a
slender fi'amework. An opening at the top to give egress to the smoke, and a kettle on the
hearth in the centre, showed that antechamber and kitchen were here harmoniously blended into
one. But where might be the inmates ? Most probably in that large sack made of the finest
skins of reindeer calves, which occupied, near the kettle, the centre of the namet. To penetrate
into this " sanctum sanctorum" of the Tchuktch household, we raised the loose flap which served
as a door, crept on all fours through the ojDening, cautiously refastened the flap by tucking it
under the floor-skin, and found ourselves in the polofj — that is, the reccjition or withdrawing-room.
A snug box, no doubt, for a cold climate, but rather low, as we were unable to stand upright in
it ; nor was it quite so well ventilated as a sanitary commissioner would requii'e, as it had posi-
tively no opening for light or air. A suffocating smoke met us on entering : we rubbed our
eyes ; and when they had at length got accnstomed to the pungent atmosjihere, we perceived, by
the gloomy light of a train-oil lamp, the worthy family sitting on the floor in a state of almost
complete nudity. Without being in the least embarrassed, Madame Leiitt and her daughter
received us in their primitive costume ; but to show us that the Tchuktche knew how to receive
company, and to do honour to their guests, they immediately inserted strings of glass beads in
their hair.
Their hospitality equalled their politeness ; for, instead of a cold reception, a hot dish
of boiled reindeer flesh, copiously irrigated with rancid train-oil by the exj^erienced hand of
the mistress of the household, was soon after smoking before them. The culinary taste of the
Russians, however, could not ajjpreciate this work of art, and the Leiitt family were left to do
justice to it unaided.
The Tchuktche are polygamous. Their Avomcn are regarded as slaves, but arc not badly
treated. Most of the Tchuktche have been baptized, but the}' cling in secret to their heathen
creed, and own the power of the shamans, or necromancers. They form two great divisions : the
reindeer, or wandering Tchuktche, who call themselves Tennygk ; and the stationary Tchuktche,
or Oukilon, who exhibit affinities with the Eskimos, and subsist b}' hunting the whale, the
walrus, and the seal. The Oukilon are supposed to number 10,000, and the Tennygk
about 20,000.
CHAPTER X.
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF AKCTIC DISCOVKRY.
fr'^s^^N tlie reign of Huniy A' 111., Dr. Ptoliert Tlionie dedarod that " it' lie had tacultie to his
will, the tir.st thing he would understande, even to attempt, would be if ouv seas
iiorthwarde be navigable to the Pole or no." And it is said that the king, at his
instigation, "sent two fair ships, well-manned and victualled, having in tlicm divers cuiming
men, to seek strange regions; and so they set fortli out of the Tliames, the 20th day of May,
in the nineteenth year of his reign, whicli was the year of our Lord 1527." Of the details of
this expedition, however, we have no record, except that one of the vessels was wrecked on tlie
coast of Newfoundland.
In 1536, a second Arctic voyage was undertaken by a Ijondon gentleman, named Hore,
accompanied by thirty members of the Inns tif Law, and alxnit the same number of adventurers
of a lower estate. They reached Newfoundland, which, according to some authoiities, ^^'as dis-
covered l>y Sebastian Cabot in 141)6, and here they suft'ered terrible distress; in the extremity
of their need being reduced to cannibalism. After the deatlis of a great jiortion of the crew, tlie
survivors captured by surprise a French vessel wliich had ariived on the coast, and navigated
her in safety to England.
But tlie true history of Arctic Discovery dates, as Mr. Markham observes, from tlie day when
the veteran navigator, Sebastian Cabot, explained to young Edward VI. the phenomena of the
variation of the needle. On the same day the aged sailor received a pension ; and immediately
afterwards three discovery-ships were fitted out by the Muscovy Company under his direction.
Sir Hugh Willoughby was appointed to their command, with Richard Chancellor in the Edward
Bound venture as his second. The latter, soon after quitting England, was separated from the
squadr(.)n, and sailing in a, northerly direction, gained at last a. spacious harlxiur on the Muscovy
coast. Sir Hugh's ship, and her companion, the Bona C'on/identia, were cast away on a desolate
part of the Lapland coast, at the mouth of the river Arzina.. They entered the river on Sep-
tember 18, 1563, and remained there for a- week ; and "seeing the year far sj)ent, and also very
evil weather, as frost, snow, and hail, as though it had been the deep of \\'intei', they thought it
liest to winter there." Put as day followed day, and week followed week, in those grim solitudes
of ice and snow, the brave adventurers i)erished one by one ; and many months afterwards their
bleached Ijoiies were disco\'ered by some Russian fishermen.
In the spring of 1556, Sti'phen Purrough, afterwards chiei' pilot of England, iitted out tlie
"Search-thrift" pinnace, and sailed away i'or the remote lujrth. 1 le tliscovered the strait leading
FROBISHER'S VOYAGES. 223
into the sea of Kara, between Novaia Zemlaia and the island Waigatz ; but ho made up his
mind to return, because, first, of the north winds, wliicli blew continually; second, "the great and
terrible abundance of ice which we saw with our eyes ; " and tliird, because the nights waxed
dark. He arrived at Archangel on September 11, wintered there, and returned to England in
the following year.
Twenty years later, on a briglit May morning. Queen Elizabeth waved a farewell to ^Martin
Frobisher and his gallant company, as. they dropped down the Thames in two small barks, the
Gabriel and the Michad, each of thirty tons, together with a pinnace of ten tons. They gained
the shores of Friesland on the 11th of July; and sailing to the south-west, I'eached Labrador.
Then, striking northward, they discovered "a great gut, bay, or passage," which they named
Frobisher Strait (lat. G3° 8' N.), and fell into the error of supposing that it connected tlie
Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific. Here they came into contact with some Eskimos ; and
Frobisher describes them as "strange infidels, whose like was never seen, read, nor heard
of before,: with long black hair, broad faces and flat noses, and tawny in colour, wearing seal-
skins, the women marked in the face with blue streaks down the cheeks, and round about
the eyes."
Frobisher's discoveries produced so great an impression on the public mind, that in the
following year he was placed at the head of a larger expedition, in the hope that he would
throw open to English enterprise the wealth of "far Cathay." About the end of May 1577,
he sailed from Gravesend with the Aijde of one hundred tons, the Gabriel of thirty, and the
Michael of thirty, carrying crews of ninety men in all, besides about thirty merchants, miners,
refiners, and artisans. He returned in September with two hundred tons of what was supposed
to be gold ore, and met with a warm reception. It was considered almost certain that he had
fallen in with some portion of the Indian coast, and Queen Elizabeth, naming it Meta Incognita,
resolved to establish there a colony. For this purpose, Frobisher was dispatched \\\i\\ fifteen
well-equipped ships, three of which were to remain for a twelvemonth at the new settlement,
while the others, taking on board a cargo of the precious ore, were to return to England.
In the third week of .June Frobisher arrived at Friesland, of which he took possession in the
queen's name. Steering for Frobisher Sti'ait, he found its entrance blocked up with colossal
icebei'gs ; and the bark Dennis, which carried the wooden houses and stores for the colony, coming
in collision with one of these, unfortunately sank. Then, in a great stoi'm, the fieet was scattered
far and wide, — some of the vessels drifting out to sea, some being di'iven into the strait ; and
when most of them rejoined their admiral, it was found tliey had suffered so severely that no helj?
remained but to abandon the project of a colony. They collected fresh supplies of ore, however,
and then made their way back to England as best they could. Here they were met with the
unwelcome intelligence that the supposed gold ore contained no gold at all, and was, in truth,
mere dross and refuse.
The dream of a northern passage to Cathay Avas not to be dissipated, however, by an
occasional misadventure. Even a man of the keen intellect of Sir Humphrey Gilbert felt per-
suaded that through the northern seas lay the shortest route to the treasures of the East ; and
having obtained from Queen Elizabeth a j^atent authorizing him to undertake north-western
discoveries, and to acquire possession of any lands not inhabited or colonized by Christian princes
or their subjects, he equipped, in 1583, with the help of his friends, a squadron of five su)all ship.-^,
15
224
DEATH OF SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT.
aud sailed from England full df bright vibiuiis and sanguine anticipations. On board his fleet
were smiths, and carpenters, and shipwrights, and nia.sons, and refiners, and "minei-al men ;" not
to speak of one Stephen Parmenio, a learned Hungarian, who was bound to chi-onicle in sonorous
Latin all "gests and things worthy of reniendjrance."
Sir Humphrey formed a settlement at Newfoundland ; and then, embarking on board the
Squirrel, a little pinnace of ten tons burden, and taking with him the (Johlen Hind and the
Delight, he proceeded on
a voyage of exploration.
Uidiappily, the Ddighl
ran asliore on the shoals
near Sal)le Land, and
all her crew except
twelve men, and all her
stores, were lost. The
disaster determined Sii
Humphrey to return to
England ; and his com-
panions implored liim to
embark on board the
Golden Hind, represent-
ing that the StjiiiD'cl
was unfit for so long a
voyage. " I will not for-
sake," replied the chival-
rous adventurer, " the
brave and free compan-
i(_ins with whom 1 have
underg(_>ne so many
storms and perils."
THE LO.SS OF TUB "SQUIRREL.
Soon after passing the
Azores, they were over-
taken by a teirible tem-
pest, in which the tiny
jiinnace was tossed about
b3'the waves like a straw.
The (ruldeii Hind kept
as near her as the roll-
ing billows j^ermitted ;
and her captain has left
on record that he could
see Sir Humphrey sit-
ting calndy in the stern
reading a book. He
was heard to exclaim —
" Courage, my lads ; wo
are as near heaven by
sea as l>v land ! '" Then
night came on, with its
shadows and its .silence,
and next morning it
was percei\'ed that the
pinnace and her gallant
freight had yone to swell the sum of the irrecoverable treasures of the deep.
But neither Frobisher's mishap nor Sir Humphrey Gilbert's melancholy fate could check
that current of English enterprise which had set in for the North. There was an irresistible
attraction in these remote northern seas and distant mist-shrouded lands, with all tluar pt)ssibilities
of wealth and glory ; and Arctic Discovery had already begun to exercise on the mind of the
English ])eople that singular fascination which the ciiurse of centuries has not \\eakened, whieh
endures even to the present day. So, in 1585, Sii- ^Vch'ian (Jilbi^rt and some other gentlemen of
Devoiisliire I'aised funds sufficient to fit out a couple of vessels — the *S'«;;.sA/;/c of fifty, and the
Mvonsltiiie of thirty-five tons — for the great work of discovery ; and they gave the connnand to a
veteran mariner and capable navigator. Captain John Davis, a countryman, or county-man, of their
own. Towards the end of July he reached the west coast of Greenland, and its cheerless aspect
induced him to christen it the " Land of Desolation." His intercourse with the Eskimos,
however, Avas of the friendliest character. Standing away to the north-west, he discovered and
crossed the strait which still bears Ids name ; and to the headland on its western coast he gave
HUDSON'S Fli;ST VOYAGE.
225
the name of Cajie Walsingham. Having tluis opened up, tliDUgli unwittingly, tlie great highway
to the Pohir Sea, lie sailed for England, wliere he ai-rived on the 20th of" .Sujjteniber.
In his second voyage, in 1586, when, in addition U) the SfUhsJiijic and the Moonshine, he had
with him the Mermaid of one hundred and twenty tons, and the North Star pinnace of ten, he
retraced his route of the previous year. The Situshine and the North Star, however, he employed
in cruising along the east coast of Greenland ; and they ascended, it is said, as high as lat. 80° N.
Davis in his third voyage ^aushed further to the north, reaching as far as the bold promon-
tory which he named Cap)e Sajiderson. He also crossed the great channel afterwards known as
Hudson Bay.
The next Englishman who ventured into the frozen seas was one Captain Waymouth, in
1G02 ; hut he added nothing to the scanty information already acquired. An Englishman, James
Hall, was the chief pilot of an expedition fitted out in KJOf) hy the King of Denmark, which
explored some portion of the Greenland coast. He made thi'ee successive voyages; but while
exhibitinij his own courage and resolution, he CDiitribnted nothino- to the stores of (reoc-raphical
knoAvledofe.
We now ariivc at a name which deservedly ranks among the foremost of Arctic explorers —
that of Henry Hudson. He contributed more to our acquaintance with the Polai- seas than anv
one who had ])receded him, and few of his successors have surpassed him in the extent and
thoi'oughness of his researches.
He first appears, says Mr. Markham, fitting out a little cock-boat for the Muscovy Companv,
called the Hopewell (of eighty tons), to discover a passage by the North Pole. On the 1st of
May 1607 he sailed from Greenwich. "' When we consider the means
with wliich he was provided for the achievement of this great dis-
covery, we are astonislied at the feaili.'ss audacity of the attempt.
Here was a crew of twelve men and a boy, in a wretched little
craft of eighty tons, coolly talking of sailing right across the Pole to
Japan, and actually making as careful and judicious a trial of the
possibility of doing so as has ever been effected by the best e(juij)ped
modern expeditions Imagine this bold seaman sailing from
Gravesend, bound for the North Pole, in a craft about the size of one
of the smallest of modern collier brigs. We can form a good idea
of her general appearance, because three such vessels are delineated
on the chart drawn by Hudson himself. The Hopewell was more
like an old Surat buggalow tlian anything else that now sails the
seas, with high stern, and low jiointed bow; she had no head-sails
on her bowsprit, but, to make up for this, the foremast was stepped chock forward. There was a
cabin under the high and narrow poop, where Hudson and his little son were accommodated ;
and the crew were crowded forward."
Hudson first sighted land beyond the Arctic Circle in lat. 70'. It was the cold, grim coast
of East Greenland. Three degrees further north a chain of lofty peaks, all bare of snow, rose
upon the horizon, and Hudson's men noted that the temperature daily increased in mildness.
Steering to the north-east, the great naAigator arrived off the shores of Spitzbergen, where some
SHIP OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTIjUV.
226
HIS IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES.
of Lis mull landed and [liekud uji various frayinoiits of whalebone, horns of deer, walrus-teeth, and
relics of other animals. To tlie north-west point of Spitzbergen he gave the name which it still
bears — Hakhiyt's Headland. At one time he found him.self as far north as 8F; and it seems
probable that he discuvrred the Seven Islands: he remarked that the sea was in some places
green, in others blue ; and he says, " Our green sea we found to be freest from ice, and our azure-
blue sea to lie (lur icy sea;" an observation not confirmed by later navigators. The greenness
was probably due to the presence of minute organisms.
Having completed a survey of
-^aS^ssmmit!^ v-^rr^- the west coast of Sj^itzbergen, he
resolved on sailing round the north
end of Greenland, A\hich he sup-
posed to 1)6 an island, and return-
ing to England by Davis Strait.
\\'ith this view he again examined
the sea between Spitzbergen and
Greenland, but from the strong ice-
blink along the northern horizon
felt convinced that there was no
passage in that direction. After
sighting Spitzbergen, therefore, he
determined to return to England ;
x^>"*»s!i. and on his homeward voyage dis-
covered an island in lat. 71° N.,
which he named Hudson Sutches,
and which has since been impro-
perly named Jan Mayen. The
Hopewell arrived in the Thames on
the 15th of September.
The results of this voyage, says
Mr. Markham, were very import-
ant, both in a geographical and a
commercial point of view. Hudson
had discovered a portion of the east
coast of Greenland ; lie had exa-
mined the edge of the ice between
Greenland and Spitzbergen twice
— in June and in the eiul of July ;
and he had sailed tn the iioithwarti of Spitzlieigxii until lie was stopped by the ice, reaching
almost as high a latitude as Scoresby in 180G, -which was 81° 12' 42" N. Hudson's highest
latitude by observation was 80° 23', but he sailed for two more days in a north-easterly direction.
The practical consequence of his voyage was that his account of the quantities of whales and sea-
horses in the Spitzbergen seas led to the establishment of a ricJi and prosperous fishery, which
continued to Hourish for two centuries.
SCENERr OF .TAX M.VYEN.
BYLOT AND BAFFIN. 227
In the following year Hudson made a second voyage, in the hn|)e of discovering a north-
eastern passage to China between Spitzbergen and Novaia Zemlaia. l-Te exhibited his charac-
teristic resolution, and forced his way to the very gate of the unluiown region, which is still
closed against human enterprise by an impenetrable barrier of ice ; but all liis eftbrts proved in
vain, and he returned to Gravesend on the 26th of August.
In 1610, in a vessel of fifty-five tons, he once more entered the Polar seas, and gained the
extreme point of Labrador, which he named Cape Wolstenholni. llcw' burst upon liim the view
of that magnificent sea which has since been associated with his name ; and there can be no doubt
that his enterprise would have anticipated the discoveries of later navigators, but for the nuitiny
which broke out among his crew, and eventually led to his being sent adrift, witli nine faithful
companions, in a small ojien boat. He was never again heard of
The spirit of connnercial enterprise and the love of mai-itiuie adventure were still strong-
enough in England to induce the equipment of further expeditions. In 1612 sailed Captain
Button, — who discovered a stream, and named it Nelson Ptiver ; where, at a later date, the
Hudson Bay Company planted their first settlement. Here he wintered. In A] nil 1613, on
the breaking up of the ice, he resumed his work of exploration, and discovered, in lat. 65", an
island group, whicli he named Manuel, now known as Mansfield, Islands. Tlion lie liore away
for England, arriving in the Thames early in September.
Robert Bylot and William Baffin undertook a voyage in 1615. The latter had liad some
previous experience of Arctic navigation, which he turned to advantage in KJIG, when he
accompanied Bylot on a second expedition. Their ship, the Discovery, of fifty-five tons, reached
Cape Hope Sanderson, the furthest point attained by Davis, on the 30th of May ; and after
meeting with some obstruction from the ice, proceeded northwards to 72" 45', where she dropped
anchor for awhile among the Women's Islands. Baflin kept to the north until he found ice in
74° 15' N., and he then ascended Melville Bay, touching the head of the great basin now known
by his name, and sailing down its western coast. He arrived in Dover Roads on the 30th of
August, after a brilliantly successful voyage, wliich had opened up the principal north-west
channels into the Arctic Sea.
It is necessary here to interpolate a few remarks in explanation of the difficulties which
beset the Baffin Bay route of Arctic exploration. Geographers assert, and the assertion seems
confirmed by the experience of navigators, that a surfiice-current is constantly flowing down this
bay, and carrying great fleets of icebergs and shoals of ice-floes into the Atlantic from its southern
channels — Lancaster, Jones, and Smith Sounds. Hence, at the head of the bay there exi-sts a
considerable open and navigable expanse, which extends for some distance up Lancaster and
Smith Sounds during the summer and early winter, and is known as the " North Water." But
between this open expanse and Davis Strait lies an immense mass of ice, averaging from one
hundred and seventy to two hundred miles in width, and blocking up the centre of Baffin Bay, so
as to interrupt the approach to the north-west end. Tliis is known as the " middle pack," and
consists of some ancient floe-pieces of great thickness, which may have been brought down from
a distant part of the Arctic seas ; of a wide extent of ice accumulated during each winter, about
six or eight feet in thickness ; and of the grand and gigantic icebergs which are so characteristic
228 VOYAGE OF i;OSS AND I'AJMiY.
a feature of the Melville Bay scenery. A very lar^-e (|uaiitity of this jiaek is destr(.)yed in each
succeeding summer by the thaws, or by the swell and warm temperature of the Atlantic as the
ice drifts southward.
It is remarked of the Battin Bay ice, that it is nuich lighter than that found in the Sjiitz-
bergen seas. The latter often occurs in single sheets, solid, transparent, and from twenty to
thirty, and even forty, feet in tliickness. In BafHn Bay the average thickness of the Hoes does
not exceed five or six feet, and eight or ten feet is of very rare occurrence.
From Baffin's voyage, in IG] G, until 1817, no attempt was made to force this " middle pack "
and enter the North Water; but now the voyage is made every year, and thi'eo routes have
been opened up. The first is called the " North-aliout Passage," and lies along the Greeidand
coast ; the second, or " Middle Passage," only possible late in the season, is by enteiing the drift-
ice in the centre of the bay ; and the third, or " Southern Passage," also only possible late in the
season, along the west side of Baffin Bay. Once in tlie North Water, whichever route be
attempted, all obstacles to an exploration of the unknown region may be considered at an end.
From Cape York to Smith Sound the sea is always navigable in the summer months.
It will thus be seen that the great highways to the Pole were discovered by William
Baffin.
(_)ur limits comjiel us to ]>ass over the voyages of Stephen Bennet (1G03-1G10), Jonas Poole
(1G10-1G13), and Captain Luke Fox (1G31). In 1G31 the merchants of Bristol despatched
Captain Thomas James, Init he made no additions to the discoveries of his predecessors. And
then for nearly two centuries England abandoned her efforts to open ujia, ctimnumication between
the Atlantic and the Pacific.
In 1818, however, the (piestion of the existence of a North-West Passage once more occujiieil
the jiuMic mind ; and the British Government accordingly fitted out an exploring expedition, the
Isuhclln and the ^Vcrandrr, under the command of C'aptain Boss and Lieutenant Pai'ry.
They sailed from England on the 18th of April, reached the southern edge of the Baffin Bay
ice on the L!nd of July, and, after a. detention of thirty-eight days, reached the North Water on
August 8th. The capes (.)n each side of the mouth of Smith Sound, lu)ss nameil aftei' his two
sliips ; and having accomplished this nuich, he affirmed tliat he saw land against tlie horizon at a
distance of eight leagues, and then retraced his course, and sailed for England.
The British (government, however, refused to be discouraged by the faihu-e of an expedition
\\hich had obviously been conducted with an entire absence of vigour and enterprise. They
therefore equipped the IlecJa and the (Jiipei-, and gave the connnand to Lieutenant Parry ; who
sailed from the Thames on the .^th of May 1819, and on the lath of June sighted ( 'ajie Fare-
well. Stiiking northward, up Davis Strait and P)affin Bay, he found him.self checked liy the ice-
liarrier in lat. 73 N. A man of dauntless resolution, he came to the determination of forcing a
passage at all hazards; and in seven days, by the e.\ercise of a, strong will, great sagacity, and
first-rate seamanshij). he succeeded incan-yiiig his shi]>s tln-oU'_;li the jnu-k of ice, wlilch measunil
eighty miles in breadth.
He was thc'ii ai)le to enter Su' James Lancaster Sound ; and up this nohh' iiih't he pro-
ceeded with a fair wind, hopeful of entering the gi'cat Polar Sea. l:5ut after ad\ancing a con-
siderable distance, lie was once more met by the frozen ])o\vers of the Noi'th, and this time he
A\'as forced to own himself vampiished. He accordingly ivturned towards the soutli, discovering
TAKRY'S SECOND EXPEDITION.
229
Barrow Strait ; and, more to the westward, an inlet wliicli has since figured conspicuously in
Arctic voyages — Wellington Channel. Bathurst Island he also added to the map ; and afterward.s
he came in sight of Melville Island. On the 4th of" September he attained the meridian of
110° W. long., and thus became entitled to the Parliamentary grant of £5000. A convenient
harbour in the vicinity was named the " Bay of the Ileda and the (rvipcrj' and here Lieutenant
Parry resolved upon passing the winter.
In the following spring he resumed his adventurous course, and completed a very careful
survey of the sliores of Baffin Sea ; after which he repaired to England, and reached the Thames
in safety, with his crews in good health, and liis .shi[>s in excellent condition, about the middle of
Novendjer 18:20.
THE '"IIKCLa'' and " FURV " WINTKRING .iT WIXTKU IISLAXD.
Having done so nmch and so well, it was natural that Captain Parry should again be selected
for employment in the Arctic seas in the following y-ear. He hoisted his tlag in his old ship,
the Ilecla, and was accompanied by the Furi/ ; both vessels being equipped in the most libei-al
manner. He sailed from the Nore on the 8th of INIay 1821 ; he returned to tlie Shetland
Islands on the 10th of October 1823. In the interval, a period of seven-and-twenty months, he
discovered the Duke of York Bay, the numerous inlets which break up the northern coast-line
of the American continent. Winter Island, the islands of Anatoak and Ooght, the Strait of the
Ftd-i/ and Ilecia, Melville Peninsula, and Cockburn Island. During their winter sojourn on
Winter Island, the English crews were surprised liy a visit iVom a party of Eskimos, whose
settlement Captain Parry visited in his turn. He found it an establishment of five huts, with
canoes, sledges, dogs, and above sixty men, Avonien, and children, as regularly, and, tn all appear-
ance, as permanently fixed as if they had occupied the same spot the whole winter. " If the first
view," says Parry, " of the exterior of this little village was such as to create astonishment, that
230
AX JCSKiMO 11 1 'T.
feeling was in no small degree heightened on accepting the invitation soon given us to enter these
extraordinar}^ houses, in the construction of which we observed that not a single material was
used but snow and ice. After creeping through two low passages, having each its arched door-
way, we came to a small circular apartment, of which the roof was a perfect arched dome. From
this three doorways, also arched, and of larger dimensions than the outward ones, led into as
many inhabited apartments — one on each side, and the other facing us as we entered. The
interior of these presented a scene no less novel than interesting : the women were seated on the
beds at tlie sides of the huts, each having her little fireplace or lamp, with all her domestic
utensils about her. TJie children cre})t behind their mothers, and the dogs shrank j^ast us in
dismay. The construction of this inhabited part
"**s*^^^-_^, . ^— — ^='^= of the hut was similar to that of the outer apart-
ment, — being a dome, formed by separate blocks
of snow laid with great regularity and no small
art, each being cut into the shape requisite to
form a substantial arcli, from seven to eight feet
high in the centre, and having no support what-
ever but what this principle of building supplies.
Sufficient light was admitted into these curious
edifices by a circular window of ice, neatly fitted
into the roof of each apartment."
In 1824-25 Captain Parry undertook a third
voyage, but with less than his usual success.
The Fayij was driven ashore by the pressure of
the pack-ice, and so damaged, that Parry found
it needful to abandon her, and remove her crew
and stores to the Ilecla.
Sir John Parry's fourth and last expedition,
in 1827, was characterized by his bold attempt
to cross the icy sea in light boats and sledges ;
resorting to the former when his progress was
interrupted by pools of water, and to the latter
in traversing the unbroken surface of tlie ice-
fields. He was soon comjjelled, however, to
abandon the sledges, on account of the hum-
mocks and irregularities of the ice.
We agree with Mr. Cooley, that voluntarily to undertake the toil and brave the danger
of such an expedition, required a zeal little short of enthusiasm. When the travellers reached a
watia--way, they were obliged to launch their boats and embark. On reaching the opposite side,
tlieir boats were then to be dragged, frequently up steep and perilous clifis, their lading being first
removed. By this laborious process, pei-severed in with little intermission, they contrived to
accomplish eight miles in five days. They travelled only during the night, by wliich means they
were less incommoded with snow-blindness ; they found the ice more firm and consistent ; and
had the great advantage of lying down to sleep during the warmer jiortion of the twenty-four
' I TRV ABANDONED BY TARRY — ia':i.
AN OVERLAND EXPEDITION. 231
hours. Shortly after sunset they took their breakfast ; then they laboured for a few hours before
taking their princi])al meal. A little after midnight, towai'ds sunrise, they halted as if for the
night, smoked their pipes, looked over the icy desert in the direction in which the journey was
to be resumed ; and then, wrapping themselves in their furs, lay down to rest. Advancing as
far north as 82° 40', they were then compelled by the drifting of the snow-fields to retrace their
steps. They regained their ships on the 21.st of August, and sailed for England.
We must now go back a few years. In ^lay 1819, an overland expedition was despatched
to ascertain the exact position of the Coppei'mine River, to descend it to its mouth, and to explore
the coast of the Arctic Sea on either hand. The command was given to Lieutenant Franklin,
who was accompanied by Dr. Richardson the naturalist, by Messrs. Hood and Back, two English
midshipmen, and two picked seamen. The expedition was spread over a period of two years and
a half, and the narrative of what was accomplished and endured by its members reads like a
romance. They reached the mouth of the Coppermine, and then launched their little barks on
the chill waters of the Polar Sea. With much perseverance, and after encountering some serious
obstacles, they made their way along its shores in a westerly direction as far as Point Turnagain,
in lat. G8° 30' N. Between this headland on the east, and Cape Barrow on the we.st, opens a
deep gulf, stretching inland as far as the Ai'ctic Circle. Franklin named it George the Fourth's
Coronation Gulf; and describes it as studded with numerous islands, and indented with sounds
affording excellent harbours, all of them supplied with small rivers of fresh water, abounding with
salmon, trout, and other fish.
Passing over Franklin's after-labours in the great cause of Arctic Discovery, labours which
secured him the well-merited reward of knighthood, we come to that last voyage, whicli helped,
as we shall see, to solve the problem of a North- West Passage, but was the cause of one of the
saddest chapters in the history of Maritime Enterprise.
It was in the spring of 1845 that Sir John Franklin, in command of the Erebus and the
Terror, with Captain Crozier, an experienced Arctic navigator, as his lieutenant, and at the head
of one hundred and thirty-seven picked seamen, brave, resolute, and hardy, once more sailed for
the Polar waters.
On the 8th of June he left the Oi'kneys, and a month later arrived in Baffin Bay. About
the end of July some whaling-ships in Melville Bay saw the Erebus and Terror contending
gallantly with the ice whicb impeded their progress to Lancaster Sound. On the evening of the
26th the ice opened up, and the two discovery-shijis sailed away into the north-western seas.
Two years passed, and no news reached England of Franklin and his companions. As day
succeeded day, and week followed week, and still no tidings came, men grew anxious, and then
alarmed; "expectation darkened into anxiety, anxiety into dread." At last, it was determined
to institute a search for the missing heroes. An expedition was sent out under Sir James Ross ;
another under Sir John Richardson ; but neither obtained any information. By many all hope
was then abandoned ; and the fate of Franklin was regarded as one of those mysteries which the
historian in vain attempts to unravel. He and his men had perished ; of that there could be no
reasonable doubt. Yet a few were sanguine enough to believe that they had taken refuge among
232 SEARCHING EOIi SIR JOHN FIIANKLIN.
the Eskimos, or were dragging out a weary existence in some remote wilderness, in expectation
of help from home. Franklin's brave and noble wife was one of those who, whatever they feared
or hoped, were, at all events, determined not to rest until some accurate inf()rmatit>n had been
gained. And round her gathered the most eminent scientific men of the day, whose influence
combined with the general symj)athy of the people to encoui-age the Government in a further
effort.
It was in 18.10 tliat the first clue to the position of the ErcJius and Terror was secured in
Beechey Island, through tlie accidental detention thei'e of the searching expeditions of Captains
Austin and Penny.
They were bound for Mflville Island, but on reaching the entrance of Wellington Channel
(August 1850), were met by such innudise fields of ice sweeping down it and out of Barrow
Strait, that they were glad to seek shelter in a great bay at the eastern end of the channel, —
a bay almost bisected, as it were, by Beecliey Island. On the 23rd, a boat from Captain
(Jnnnaney's ship, tlie ^i.s.s/.sifnuv, happened to land on one of the extreme points of the bay; and
the crew, in the course (.)f tlieir wanderings, were not a little surprised to discover traces of a
former visit from Europeans. Under the lofty cliff t)f Cape Biley they came upon the ground-
work of a tent, scraps of canvas and rojie, a. (]uantity of bii'ds' bones and feathers, and a long-
handled rake which, apparently, had been used for collecting the ricli laru weeds tliat cover the
bottom of the Arctic waters.
That Europeans had been encamped there, was certain, but not a name or record associated
the remains with Franklin's expedition. News of tlie disci:)very, however, reached Captain
Pemiy, an Alierdeen seaman, who had l)een emjiloyed by the British Admiralty as leader of a
sejiarate expedition ; and in conjunction with Lieutenant de Haven, (_>f the United States Navy,
wlio was in command of the expedition lil)erally equipped by Mr. Grinnell, of New York, he
resolved to examine the east coast of Wellington Channel with minute care, in the belief that
some memorials of Franklin would thus be discovered.
From a point called Cape Sjienser, the Americans, on foot, pursued the trail of a sledge up
the east side of Wellington Channel, until, at one day's journey beyond Cape Imiis, it suddenly
ceased, as if the party had there turned l)ack again. A bottle and a piece of llic Times news-
paper were the only relics whicli fell into the hands of tlie searchers. Meantime, Captain Penny
had anchored his shijis under the western point of Beechey Island, and despatched a boat to take
up the clue at Cape Ililey, a,nd f )llow it to the eastwaid, in the event of the traces being those
of a party retreating from the ships, su]iposing them to liave ]:)een ice-bound in the nortli-west, to
llathn Bay. This boat-party eventually ivturned unsuccessful; but, one afternoon, some men
belonging to the TakJi/ FriDihhn asked leave, and obtained it, for the j)ur2)ose of a I'anible ovei'
Beechey Island. They sauntered along towards the low p)rojecting portion of tlie isl.nid which
extends nortliward, clioosing a convenient spot to cross the huge lidges of ire which lav jiilcd up
along the beach; they were seen to mount the acclivity or backbone of the point. In a minute
afterwai'ds their friends on bcjard the ships (says Admiral Sherard Osliorn) saw the party rush
simultaneiaisly towards a, dark object, round whicli they collected, with signs of great excitement.
Presently one ran hither, one thither. Feverish with anxiety, those on board knew imniediatelv
that some fre.sh traces h.ad been found, and a general sortie took place to Beechey Island. " Eh,
DISCOVERY OF llELICS. 233
sir," said a gallant Scutch uiaiiiicr, when i-ulatiny the discovery — '' eh, sir, my heart was in my
mouth, and I didna ken I could rin so fast afore."
And what had been found ?
A cairn, of a pyi-amidal form, which had evidently been constructed with much care. The
base consisted of a series of preserved-meat tins, filled with o-ravel and sand ; and more tins were
so arranged as to taper gradually upwards to the summit of the cairn, in which was planted the
fragment of a broken boarding-pike. To all appearance it had been purposely raised for the
reception of some documental record, yet nothing could be found in or about the spot, in spite of
the most persevering eftbrts. But presently looking along the northern slope of the island,
other strange objects caught the eye. Another rush of anxious excited beings, and they stood
before three graves ; and many of them brushed away the unwonted tear as they read upon their
humble tablets the words Erebus and Ten-or.
Captain Austin followed up Captain Penny in his explorations of the Arctic wastes, but no
further information was obtained of Franklin's movements. It was impossible to determine
Avhether on his way home he had perished in Baffin Bay ; whether he had struck to the noi-th-
west by Wellington Channel ; or whether he was luqily imprisoned in Melville Island.
We have no s]iace, nor is it necessary, to dwell on the records of tlie various searching expe-
ditions fitted out by the (!overument, or by Lady Franklin and her friends. It must be noted,
however, that one of these, led by Captain (afterwards Sii-) Bobert IM'Clure, succeeded in accom-
plishing the enterprise in which Franklin perished, and, entering the Northern Ocean by Behring
Strait, actually foi-ced its way, through snow and ice, into the Atlantic. The North-West
Passagfe, so loni>' sought, was thus discovered ; but the discoverv, though interesting and valuable
from a geographical point of view, was followed by no commercial results. In truth, it proved
that the route along the north-west of the American Continent could never be practicable for
ordinary vessels.
It may be asserted that nearly all men had abandoned hope and expectation of a.scertaining
any exact particulars of the fate of Franklin and his foUowei's, when, towards the close of the
autumn of 18.t4, Dr. Bae, a well-known traveller and Arctic exj)lorer, suddenly appeared in
England, bringing with him the most curious evidence of the disasters which had overwhelmed a
party that had evidently been travelling from the ice-bound Erebus and Terror towards the Great
Fish River. Dr. Rae had ascertained from some Eskimos with whom he had been travelling
that this party numbered forty |iersons, and that all had died of starvation four years prior to Dr.
Bae's visit. The unfortunate " white men " had been first seen on King William's Land ; later
in the same year theii- dead bodies had been observed near or about the mouth of the Great Fish
Biver (1850). Dr. Bae In-ought home numerous pieces of silver plate obtained from the Eskimos,
which were marked with the names of officers of the t^\■o ships. Lady Franklin was encouraged
l)y this intelligence to urge upon the Government the propriety of despatching an expedition to
the points indicated by the Eskimos ; but the Government contented themselves with apjilying
to the Hudson Bay Company. The result ^\'as an overland expedition in 1855 to the mouth of
the Great Fish Biver, by Mr. Anderson, one of the Company's chief officers. He had no boat
with him capable of reaching King William's Land, though it was only sixty miles distant from
234 VOYAGE OF M'CLINTOCK.
the point lie attained, nor was he aceomjianied by an Eskimo intei'itreter. He ascertained, liow-
ever, tliat only a portion of the ofiicers and men of the Efchiis and Terror had reached the Great
Fish River — some forty of them, very possibly, as Dr. Rae had been informed; these forty, with
the three o^raves upon Beeehey Island, still leaving' ninety-five persons unaccounted for.
Lady Franklin and her friends continued to press ujion (Jovernment the need for further
inquiry ; liut finding the responsible ministers unwilling to intei-fere in what they had come to
consider a hopeless enterprise, they contrived, with some help from the public, to purchase and
fit out a strongly-built screw-schooner, of wliicl; Captain M'Clintock volunteered to take the
command.
He sailed from England in the sunmier of 1857 ; reached Melville Bay in safety, but was
then held fast by the floating ice. The winter, however, came and went without any injury to
him and his gallant band ; and on the 27th of July 1858, the Fox stretched across to Lancaster
Sound. On the 11th of August she arrived at Beeehey Island, and replenished her diminished
stores from the depots left there by j^i'cvious expeditions. Then she pushed to the westward,
past Cape Hotham and Griffith Island, southward through Sir Robert Peel Channel, and so
into Prince Regent Inlet. Having ariived off the eastern entrance of Bellot Strait, she found it
Idocked up by a wall of ice, and from the i!Ot]i of August to the Gth of September she watched
foi- an opportunity of breaking through it. Gn the Gth she made the passage, but only to find
the other end obstructed by an impassable ice-barrier ; and, after five fi'uitless attempts, her
captain brought her to anchor for the winter in Port Kennedy, on the northern side of the strait.
When the new year opened, M'Clintock resolved on undertaking sledge excursions in various
directions, with the view of obtaining some information of Franklin and his expedition. In one
of them, at Cape Victoria, on the west coast of Boothia (lat. G9^ 50' N., long. 9G" W.), he ascer-
tained from the natives that, several years previously, a ship had been wrecked off the northern
shores of King William's Land ; that all her crew landed safely, and set off on a journey to the
Great Fish River, where they died. Again : in April, falling in with the same party of Eskimos,
they learned further, that besides the ship which had sunk in deep water, another had been
driven ashore by the ice. Captain M'Clintock thereupon crossed to Monti'eal Island, travelled
round the estuary of the Great Fish River, and visited Point Ogle and Barrow Island. On May 7,
he fell in with an old Eskimo woman, who told him that many of the white men drojDped by
the way as they made towards the Great Fish River ; that some were buried, and some were not.
Proceeding in what he conceived to have been the route of the retreating crews, he discovered,
near Point Herschel, a bleached skeleton ; evidently that of one who had fallen behind tlie main
body, from weakness and fatigue, and had died where he had fallen.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Hobson, who had started with another sledging party, had made the
important discovery of a record, giving a brief account of the Franklin expedition up to the time
when the shijis were lost. It was found within a cairn constructed on Point Victory, and it set
forth the following particulars : —
The Erebus and Terror spent their first winter at Beeehey Island, in the spot discovered by
Penny and Austin's expedition ; but they had jireviously explored Wellington Channel as for as
73" N., and passed down again into Barrow Strait, between Cornwallis and Bathurst Land. In
184G the two ships seem to have sailed through Peel Channel, until cauglit in the ice ofi' King
THE CAIRN ON POINT VICTORY.
235
William's Land, on the 12th of September. In May 1847, Lieutenant Graham Gore and Mr.
des Voeux landed, and erected a cairn a few miles south of Point Victory, and deposited in it a
"'rj-M^i't
DISCOVERY OF THE CAIRN CONTAINING SIR JOHN FRANKLINS TAPERS.
document which stated that, on that day, all were well, with Sir J. Franklin in command.
Within a month, however, that illustrious navigator died (June 11), and thus was spared the
RELICS OF THE FRANKLIN EXPEDITION BROUGHT BACK TO ENGLAND.
terrible trials which afflicted his followers. The ice did not move, and the winter of 1847-48
closed in upon them. It proved fatal to nine officers and fifteen men. On April 22, 1848, the
2.3G
LIEUTENANT IIOCSDX'S DISCOVEP.IES.
two sliips, wliicli IkiiI liri'ii imprisoned tor upwards of niiiL'tcL'n niontlis, were deserted, and the
otHcers and crews, one hundred and five in nundiei-, uiuha- tlie comniand of ( 'aptains Cruzier and
Fitzjanies, started for the Ureat Fisli Tiiver.
At the cairn and all ahout it lay a great quantity of clothing and other articles, which the
sufferers had found from experience of three days to be a heavier weight than their enfeel)led
strengtli was ahle to drag".
From this point to a s[)ot about midway between Point Vict(.iry ami Point Herschel nothing
of nuich importance was discovered, and the skeletons as well as relics wei'e deeply end)edded in
snow. At this midway station, however, the top of a piece of wood jtrojecting (jut of the snow
was seen by Lieutenant IIobs(jn, and on digging round it a boat was discovered. It st(.)od on a
very heavy sledge, and within it were a couple of skeletons. The one in the bottom of the stern-
riiscnvKiiv OF onk of thf, boats uF the iranklin expedition.
sheets was covered with a great quantity of throwu-(jlf clothing; the othei', in the l)ows, seemed
to have been that of some poor fellow who had crc|it there to look out, and in that position fallen
into his last sleep. A coU])le of guns, loaded a.nd ready c(.)cked. stood ujiright to hand, .is if tliey
had been prepared for use against wild anim;ils. Around tliis boat was another accumulation of
cast-oft' articles ; and it was the belief of M'Clintock that the ])arty in charge of her were return-
ing to the .ships, as if they discovered their strength nne(pial to the terrililc journey before them.
It may be assumed, howevei-, that the stronger portion of the crews still pushed on with another
boat, and that some reached Monti'eal Island and a.scended the Great Fish River.
The point, says Shei'ard Osborn, at which the fatal imprisonment of the Erebus and 7'('rror
in 1846 took place, was only ninety miles from the spot reached by Dease and Simpson in tlieir
boats in 1838-39, coming from the east. Ninety miles more of open water, and Franklin and
I'W would have not onl}' won tln^ pi'ize they sought, but ri'aclu'd tlieir homes to
his gallant ci-
DR. KANE'S ADVEXTU1;ES. 237
wear tlicif wcll-cariu'd hdiiDur.s. " It was not to be so. Let us bow in buniibt}- ami awe to tlie
inscrutable decrees ot" that i'l'ovidence who ruled it otherwise. They were to discover the great
highway between the Pacific and the Atlantic. It was givtm them to win for their ctnnitry a
discovery for whicli she had riskeil her sons and lavishly spent her wealth tlirough many centuries;
but they were to die in accomplishing their last great earthly task : and, still more strange, but
for the energy and devotion of the wife of their chief and leader, it would in all probability never
have been known that they were indeed the First Discoverers of tJie North-West Passage.
We have thought it foi' the convenience of our readers to set before them an uninterrupted
narrative of the exertions made io ascertain the fate of Franklin aud his companions by English
seamen under English influence; but we must now return to 1853, to chronicle the American
expedition under Dr. Kane —whicli did not, indeed, succeed in its primary object, but made some
remarkable additions to our knowledoe of the Polar Regions.
Dr. Elisha Kane sailed from Boston in 1853, in command of the Advance, with a crew
of seventeen officers and men, to whom two Greenlanders were subsequently added.
(Jn the 7th of August he passed the two great headlands which guard the entrance of
Smith Sound, — Cape Isabella and t'ajte Alexander, discovered and named in the preceding year
by Captain Inglefield, — and after a voyage of equal difficulty and danger reached Pensselaer Bay
on the east coast of the sound, where he passed the winter. A few extracts from his diai-y will
show under what conditions, and in what circumstances, Kane and his followers i)assed the long
and dreary winter months : —
"October :.'St.]i_. — The moon has reached her greatest northern declination of about 25° 35'.
She is a glorious object; sweeping around the heavens, at the lowest part of her curve, she
is still 14° above the horizon. For eight days she has been making her circuit with nearly
■unvarying brightness. It is one of those sparkling nights that bring back the memory of sleigh-
bells and songs, and glad connmmings of hearts in lands that are far away.
" November 7tli. — The darkness is corainof on with insidious steadiness, and its advances can
only be perceived by comparing one day with its fellow of some time back. We still read the
thermometer at noonday witlnjut a light, and the black masses of the hills are plain for about
five hours, with their glaring patches of snow ; but all the rest is darkness. The stars of the
sixth magnitude shine out at noonday. Except upon the island of Spitzbergen, which has the
advantages of an insular climate, and tempered by ocean-currents, no Christians have wintered
in so high a latitude as this. They are Russian sailors who made the encounter there — men
inured to hardships and cold. < Jur darkness has ninety days to run before we shall get back
aofain even to the contested twilio-ht of to-day. Altoiifether our winter will have been sunless
for one hundred and forty days.
"December l~)th. — We have lost the last vestio-e of our mid-dav twilio-ht. We cannot see
print, and hardly paper ; the fingers cannot be counted a foot from the eyes. Noonday and
midnight are alike ; and, except a vague glimmer in the sky that seems to define the hill outlines
to the south, we have nothing to tell us that this Arctic world of ours has a sun. In the dark-
ness, and consequent inaction, it is almost in vain that we seek to create topics of thought, and,
by a forced excitement, to ward off the encroachments of disease."
But in due time the long Arctic night passed away, and the season came round for under-
238
EAST COAST OF SMITH SOUND.
taking tho slcdgo joui-ueys which were the main object of the expedition. But Dr. Kane was
then met by a new difticulty. Out of the nine splendid Nuwfoundhxnd and thirty-tive Eskimo
dogs which he had originally possessed, only six had survived a peculiar malady that had seized
them during the winter ; and though some fresh purchases were made from the Eskimos who
visited Rensselaer Harbour early in April, his means of transport remained wholly inadequate.
Kane, moreover, who though strong of heart was weak of body, had suftered much from the
rigour of the climate, and was in a sadly feeble C(jndition when, on the 25th of April 1854, he
started on his northward journey. He found the Greenland coast, as he ascended Kane Sea,
full of romantic surprises ; the cliti's rising to a height of ten hundred and eleven hundred feet,
and presenting the lioldest and most fantastic outlines. This character is continued as far as the
Great Humboldt Glacier. The coast is indented by four great bays, all of them communicating
\\ith deep gorges, which are watered by streams from the interior ice-tields. The mean height
of the tabledand, till it reaches the bed of • the Great Glacier, Dr. Kane estimated, in round
numbers, at 900 feet; its tallest summit near the Avater at 1300, and the rise of the background
above the general level at 600 more. The face of this stupendous ice-mass, as it defined the
coast, was everywhere an abrupt and threatening precipice, only broken by clefts and deep
ravmes, giving breadth and interest to its wild expression.
_5js=^^j._ ,:^^ ___ _^^ ' . '. . -. -. . • •- . Dr. Kane informs us that the most
f ; ? -t,. '■ — r— f, picturesque portion of the coast occurs in
the neighbourhood of Dallas Bav. Here
the red sandstones contrast very favour-
ably with the blank whiteness, and associate
the warm colours of more southern lands
with the cold tints of the Arctic scenery.
The seasons have acted on the different
layers of the cliff' so as to give them all the
ajipearance of jointed masonry, and the
narrow stratum of greenstone at the top
surmounts them with boldly-designed battle-
ments. To one of these " interesting freaks
of Nature " Kane gave the name of the
"Three Brother Turrets." The crumbled
ruin at the foot of the coast-wall led up,
like an artificial causeway, to a ravine that blazed at noonday with the glow of the southern
sun, when everywhere else the rock lay in blackest sliadow. Just at tho edge of this lane of
light rose the semblance of a castle, fianked with triple towers, completely isolated and defined.
These were the Three Turrets.
Still further to the north, a solitary cliff' of greenstone, marked by the slaty limestone that
once encased it, sprang from a mass of broken sandstone, like the rough-hewn rampart of an
ancient city. At its northern extremity, on the brink of a deep ravine, wrought out among the
ruin, stood a solitary column, or minaret-tower, the pedestal of which was not less than 280 feet
in height, while the shaft was fully 480 feet. Dr. Kane associated this remarkable beacon with
the name of tho poet Tennyson.
THREE BROTHER TURKKTS.
KENNEDY CHANNEL. 239
Dr. Kane continued his advance, and mi tlie 4tli of May approached the Great Glacier.
Tlii.s progress, however, was dearly earned. Owing to the excessive cold and labour, nioi^t of hi.s.
party .suffered iVmii ])ainful prostration ; three were attacked with snow-blindness; and all \\ure
troubled with dropsical swellings. Oft" Cape Kent, while taking an observation for latitude,
Kane himself was seized with a sudden pain, and fainted. His limbs became rigid. He was
strapped upon the sledge, and insisted that the march should be continued. But, on the 5th, he
grew delirious, and fainting every time that he was taken from the tent to the sledge, he suc-
cumbed entirely.
"My comrades," writes this heroic man, than wIkhh no braver or more resolute spirit
ever ventured into the dreary Northern wilds, "would kindly [)ersuade me that, even had I con-
tinued sound, we could not have proceeded on our journey. The snows were very heavy, ai:d
increasing as we went; some of the drifts perfectly impassable, and the level floes often four
feet deep in yielding snow. The scurvy had already broken out among the men, with .syni]-
toms like my own; and Morton, our strongest man, was beginning to give way. It is the
reverse of comfort to me that they shared iny weakness. All that I should remember witli
pleasurable feeling is, that to five brave men, themselves scarcely able to travel, I owe my pre-
servation. "
They carried him back to the brig at Rensselaer Harbour, and for several days he hiy
fluctuating between life and death. As the summer came on, however, his health slowly
improved ; and though unable to undertake any sledge excursions in jterson, he organized a series
of expeditions in which his stronger companions took part. Dr. Hayes crossed the strait in a
north-easterly direction, reached the opposite coast of Grinnell Land, where the cliffs varied
from 1200 to 2000 feet in height, and surveyed it as far as Cape Fraser, in lat. 79° 45'.
He returned on June 1st, and, a few days later, Morton departed to survey the Greenland
shore bej'ond the Humboldt Glacier. His journey was a difficult one, for the obstacles oftered
by the ice hummocks were sometimes almost insurmountable, and the ice-field was intersected
by chasms and water-lanes frequently four feet in width. After skirting the coast of what is
now known as Morris Bay, Morton's party came upon easier ground ; and presently a long low-
country opened on the land-ice, a wide plain between large headlands, with rolling hills through
it. A flock of brent geese came down this valley, with a whirr of wings, and ducks were seen in
crowds upon the open water. Eiders and dove-kies also made their appearance ; and tern were
very numerous, and exceedingly tame. Flying high overhead, their notes echoing from the
rocks, were large white birds, which Moi'ton supposed to be burgomasters. There were also
ivory gulls and mollemokes ; the former flying very high, and the latter winging their way far
out to sea.
The channel (Kennedy Channel) was here unobstructed by ice, and its waves rolled freely
and noisily on the shore. Along its verdant margin Morton proceeded warily, and on the 2Gth
of June, 1854, reached the striking headland of Cajie Constitution, about 2000 feet in height.
Its base was washed by a tremendous surf, through which it was imjjossible to pass — the ne 2)l>-is
ultra, as it seemed, of human enterprise. Climbing from rock to rock, he contrived to reach an
elevation of 300 feet ; from which he was able to trace the outline of the coast for fifty miles to
the north. In the distance rose a range of mountains, very lofty, and rounded at their summits.
To the north-west might be seen a bare peak, striated vertically with protruding ridges, and
IG
24U
PRErAlIING FOK WJNTEl!,
JIUKTON UN THE SIJOllE OK TUE SUn'OSED I'uLAR GLEAN.
.soaring to an altituJc' of between 2500 and 3000 feet. This peak, the most remote northern
land then known upon the globe, was named after the great pioneer of Arctic travel. Sir Edward
Parry.
Tlie range (Victoria and Albert INIountains) with ^vhich it was connected was much higher,
!Morton thought, than any they liad seen on the southern or Greenland side of the bay. The
sunnnits were generally rounded, resembling a succession of sugar-loaves and stacked cannon-
balls declining slowly in the perspective.
All the -sledge-parties were now once more aboai-d the brig, and the season of Arctic ti-avel
had ended. The short sunnacr was rapidly wearing away, and yet the ice remained a rigid and
impenetrable barrier. It was evident that the ship could not be liberated, and Kane found him-
self C(.)nipelled to decide between two eijually dismal alternatives, — the abandonment of the .ship,
or another winter among the Polar snows. For himself, he resolved to remain ; but to those
who wei-e willing to venture on the attempt to reacli the Danish .settlement at Upernavik, he
l"ft rlie choice opL'ii. ( )ut of the seventeen survivors of the ])ai'ty, eight, like Di-. Kane, decided
(,o stand by tht^ brig; the others, to push soutliward to UpiTiiaxik. 'Jlu'se were provided witli
all tlie provisions and appliances tliat could be spared, and tnnlv tlirir dc]iarture on Monday,
August i!.Stli ; t-;irrying witji thi.-ni a written assui'am-i' of a brothrr's wclconie slumld they l>e
driven l)a<'k -an assurance amply redeen:cd when severe trials had prepared tlicni to share again
the lortunes of Ihcir ciniiiuandei'.
KANE'S WINTER QUARTERS.
241
Dr. Kane confronted the winter with equal sagacity and resolution. He had carefully
studied the Eskimos, and concluded that their form of habitation and peculiarities of diet, with-
out their unthrift and filth, were the safest that could be adopted. He turned the brig, there-
fore, into a kind of iijJoe, or hut. The quarter-deck was well padded with moss and turf, and the
cabin below, a space some eighteen feet squai-e, was inclosed and packed from floor to ceiling
with inner walls of the same material. The floor itself was carefully calked with plaster of
Paris and common paste, and covered two inches deep with ]\Ianilla oakum and a canvas carpet.
The entrance was from the hold by a low, moss-lined tunnel, the tossut of the native huts, with
as many doors and curtains to close it up as ingenuity could devise. This was their sitting-room,
dining-room, sleeping-room ; but there were only ten of them, and the closer the warmei-.
DIl. KAXE PAYING A VISIT TO AS ESKIMO HUT AT ETAII.
While they were engaged in these defences against the enemy, they contrived to open up
a friendly intercourse with the Eskimos, visiting them in their snow-huts at the settlements of
Etah and Anatoak, distant about thirty and seventy miles from the brig ; and, in return for
presents of needles, pins, and knives, they undertook to show the white strangers where game
was to be procured, as well as to furnish walrus and fresh seal meat. The assistance rendered
by the Eskimos was of the greatest value, and we may infer that, without it, Dr. Kane and
his followers must have succumbed to the hardships of that dreadful winter.
On the 1:2th of December, the party which had abandoned the ship suddenly reappeared,
finding it impossible to penetrate to the south. They Iiad suffered severely ; were covered with
rime and snow, and fainting -with hungei-. It was necessary to use nuich caution in conveying
them below : for after an exposure of such fearful intensity and duration as they had undergone,
the warmth of the cabin would have prostrated them completely. Tliey had journeyed three
21-2 DAYS IN WINTER.
huudred and fifty miles ; and their la«t run from the bay near Etah, some seventy miles in a
right line, was through the hummocks with the thermometer at —50°. " One by one," says
Kane, " they all came in and were housed. Poor fellows ! as they threw open their Eskimo
garments by the stove, how they relished the scanty luxuries which we had to oft'er. The coffee,
and the meat-biscuit soup, and the molasses, and the wheat-bread, even the salt pork, which our
scurvy forbade the rest of us to tdurh — how they relished it all 1 For more than two months
they had lived on frozen seal and walrus meat."
We cannot dwell on the various little incidents which marked that sad and terrible winter,
but an extract or two from Dr. Kane's journal will show the reader how much the imprisoned
explorers endured, and in what .spirit they bore their trials : —
" December 1, Frulaij. — I am writing at midnight. I have the wa-tch from eight to two.
It is day in the moonlight on deck, the thermometer getting up again to 36° below zero. As I
come down to the cabin — for so we still call this little moss-lined igloii of ours — every one is
asleep, snoring, gritting his teeth, or talking in his dreams. This is pathognomonic ; it tells of
Arctic winter, and its companion, scurvy. Tom Hickey, our good-humoured, blundering cabin-
boy, decorated with the dignities of cook, is in that little dirty cot on the starboard side ; the
rest are bedded in rows. Mr. Brooks and myself chock aft. (,)ur bunks are close against the
frozen moss-wall, where we can take in the entire family at a glance. The apartment measures
twenty feet by eighteen ; its height six feet four inches at one place, but diversified elsewhere by
beams crossing at different distances from the floor. The avenue by whic-h it is approached is
barely to be seen in the moss-wall forward ; twenty feet of air-tight space make misty distance,
f(jr the ]>uff of outside temperature that came in with me has filled our atmosphere with vesicles
of va})Our. The avenue — Ben-Djerback is our poetic name for it — closes on the inside with a
door well-patched with fiannel, from which, stooping uj)on all fours, you back down a descent of
four feet in twelve throuoh a tunnel three feet hisfh, and two feet six inches broad. Arrived at
the bottom, you straighten youi'self, and a second docjr admits you into the dark and sorrowing
hold, empty of stores, and stripped to its naked ceiling for fii'ewood. From this we grope our
Avay to the main hatch, and mount by a rude stairway of boxes into the open air."
" Fehruari/ :.'l, Weihiesdai/. — To-day the crests of tlie north-east headland were gilded by
true sunshine, and all who were able ascended on deck to greet it. The sun rose above the
horizon, though still screened from our eyes by intervening hills. Although the powerful refrac-
tion of Polar latitudes heralds his direct appearance by brilliant light, this is as far removed
from the glorious tints of day as it is from the mere twilight. Nevertheless, for the past ten
days we have been watching the growing warmth of oiu- landscape, as it emerged from buried
shadow, throui;-h all the stages of distinctness of an India-ink wasliing, step by step, into the
sliarp, bold (k'finition of our desolate harbour scene. We have marked every dash of colour
wliirh the great Paintei' in his benevolence vouchsafed to us; and now the empurpled blue,
clear, unmistakable, the spreading lake, the flickering yellow ; peering at all th(>SL', ])ooi' wrrtehes!
everything seemed superlativr lustrt' and unsurpassable glory. We had so grovelled in darkness,
that we over.saw the light.
" Mr. Wilson has caught cold, and I'elapsetl. Mr. (Jhlsen, after a. su.spicious day, startles
me by an attack of partial epilepsy ; one of those strange, indescribable spells, fits, seizures,
WINTER EXrERIENCES. • 243
whatever naine the jargon gives them, wliicli indicate deep disturbance. I conceal his case as
far as I can ; but it adds to my lieavy paclv of troubles to aiitiripate the gloomy scenes of epileptic
transport introduced into our one apartment."
" Februar)j 28, Wednesdaij.^YtihvwAYy closes: thank God fm- the lapse of its twenty-eight
days ! Should the thirty-one of the coming March not drag u.s further downwanl, we may hope
for a successful close to this dreary drama. By the 10th of April we should have seal; and
when they come, if we remain to welcome them, we can call ourselves saved.
" But a fair review of our pr(isi)ects tells me that I must look the lion in the face. The
scurvy is steadily gaining on us. I do my best to sustain the more desperate cases ; but as fast
as I partially build up one, another is stricken down. The disease is perhaps less malignant than
it was, but it is more dirtuse 1 tliroughout our party. Except William Morton, who is disabled
by a frozen heel, not one of our eighteen is exempt. Of the six workers of our party, as I
counted them a month ago, two are unable to do out-door work, and the remaining four divide
the duties of the ship among them. Hans musters his remaining energies to conduct the hunt.
Petersen is his disheartened, moping assistant. The other two, Bonsall and myself, have all the
daily offices of household and hospital. We chop five large sacks of ice, cut six fathoms of eight-
inch hawser into junks of a foot each (for fuel), serve out the meat when we have it, hack at the
molasses, and hew out with ci-owbar and axe the pork and dried apples, pass up the foul slops
and cleansings of our dormitory ; and, in a word, cook, scullionize, and attend the sick. Added
to this, for five nights i-uuning I have kept watch from 8 p.ji. to 4 a.m., catching cat-naps as I
could in the day witliout changing my clothes, but carefully waking every hour to note ther-
mometers.
" Such is the condition in which February leaves us, with forty-one days more ahead of just
the same character in prospect as the twenty-eight which, thank God I are numbered now with the
past. It is saddening to think how much those twenty-eight days have impaired our capacities
of endurance. If Hans and myself can only hold on, we may work our way through. All rests
upon destin}', or the Power which controls it."
It is useless, however, to dwell longer on this melancholy record. Kane saw that to abandon
the brig was now the only resource : the ice held it fast, there w^as no probability of its being-
released, and a third winter in Rensselaer Bay would have been death to the whole party. As
soon, therefore, as the return of spring in some measure recruited the health of his followers, he
made the necessary preparations for departure ; and on the ilOth of ]\Iay the entire ship's com-
pany bade farewell to the Advance, and set out on their homeward route. With considerable
difficulty and arduous labour they hauled their boats across the rough, hummocky ice, and reached
the open sea. On the 17th of June they embarked, and steered for Upernavik, which port they
calculated upon reaching in fifty-six days. When they got fairly clear of the land, and in the
course of the great ice-drift southward, they found their boats so frail and leaky that they could
be kept afloat only by constant bailing ; a labour which told heavily on men already weakened
with disease and want. Starvation stared them in the fiice, when happily they fell in with and
captured a large seal, which they devoured voraciously ; and this opportune help recruited their
failino- energies. Thenceforth thev were in no lack of food, as seals were plentiful : and early in
2M IIAYE.S' 8LEI)t;K JOURNEY.
August, after liviun' for eiglity-fuui- days in the opfu air, tliey touml tlieniselves uiKlcr tlie com-
fortable roofs of Upernavilc, enjoy iii'^ tlie lios[iitai)le welcome of the generous Danes.
Dr. Kane returne:! to Xew York on the 11th of October 1855, after an absence of thirty
months. His discoveries had been imi^ortant, his heroism wortliy of tire race from which he
sjjruni^', and none can deny that he had well merited the honours he received. Unfortunately,
a frame never very robust had been broken down by the trials of two Arctic winters; and
this gallant explorer passed away on the IGth (jf February 1857, in the thirty -seventh year of
his age.
In ISGO, Dr. Hayes, the companion of Dr. Kane, took the command of an expedition
intended to complete tlie survey (_)f Keimedy Channel, and to reach, if it were possible, the
North Pole. His sclu)oner, the United States, was brouglit up for the winter at Port Foulke,
about twenty miles south of Eensselaer Harbour ; and early in the following April, Dr. Hayes
set out on a sledge and boat journey across the sound, and along the shores of Grinnell Land.
From the eloquent record of Jiis adventures, wdiich dot's ho much credit to his literary skill,
" An Arctic Boat Journey," we have already quoted some stirring })assages ; but the following-
extract we may be allowed to repeat, on account of the clear liijht it throws ujion tlie nature of
the difficulties Hayes encountered on his northward advance : —
" The track," he says, " was rough, past description. I can conipai'e it to nothing but a
promiscuous accumulation of rocks closely packed together, and piled up over a vast plain in great
heaps and endless ridges, leaving scarcely a foot of level surfaci'. The interstices between these
closely accumulated ice-masses are filled up, to some extent, with drifted snow. The reader will
easily imagine the rest. He will see the sledges winding tlu'ough the tangled wilderness of
broken ice-tables, the men antl dogs pulling and pushing up their respective loads. He will see
them clambering over the very summit of lofty ridges, through which there is no opening, and
again descending on the other side — the sledge often plunging over a precipice, sometimes cap-
sizing, and frequently breaking. Again he will see the party, baffled in their attempt to cross
or find a pass, breaking a track with shovel and handspike ; or, again, unable even with these
appliances to accomt)lish their end, they reti-eat to seek a better track : and they may be lucky
enough to find a sort of gap or gateway, upon tlie winding and uneven surface of which they will
make a mile or so with comparative ease. The snow-drifts are sometimes a help and sometimes
a hindrance. Their surface is uniforndy liard, Imt not always firm to the f(.)ot. The crust
frecpiently gives way, and in a, most tiresome and provoking manner. It will not (|uite bear
the weight, and the foot sinks at the very moment when the other is lifted. But, worse than
this, the chasms between the hunnnocks are fret[uently bridged over with snow in such a manner
as to leave a considerable space at the bottom cpiite unfilled ; and at the very moment when all
looks promising, down sinks one man to his middle, another to the neck, another is buried out of
sight; the sledge gives way, — and to extricate the whole from this uidiappy predicament is
probably the labour of hours. It would be difficult to imagine any kind of labour more dis-
hearteniuii', or whicli would sooner sai) the energies of both men and annuals."
Afti'i- eni-ounteiing dilHculties like these, whieh wore nut the strength of most of his inirty,
so that they were coni|ielli'd to return to the schoonei', Dr. Hayes succeeded in crossing the
THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXl'EDITKJX. 2+5
sound, and br^-au his jduniey along the coast. But the difficulties did not abate, and made such
demands on the ptjwers of endurance of the travellers, that the strongest among them broke
down, and had to be left behind in charge of another of the party. The resolute Hayes then
pushed on, accompanied by Knorr, and on the 18th of May reached the margm of a deep gulf
where further progress was rendered impossible by the rotten ice and broad water-ways. From
this point, however, he could see, on the other side of the channel, and immediately opposite to
him, the lofty peak of Mount Parry, discovered in 1854 by the gallant Morton ; and more to the
north, a bold conspicuous headland, which he named Cape Union, tlie most northern known land
upon the globe. Beyond it, lie thought he saw the open sea of the Pole, which, from Cape
Union, is not distant five hundred miles ; but the voyage of the Po/rtr/.s, at a later date, has
shown that what he saw was only a land-locked bay.
On the 12th of July, the schooner was set free from the ice, but she proved to be too much
damaged to continue her dangerous voyage ; and satisfied with having proved that a direct and
not impracticable route to the Pole lies up Smith Sound and Kennedy Channel, Dr. Hayes
returned to Boston.
It is the oiiiuion, however, of some geographers, thout^h scarcely warranted by ascertained
facts, that the Pole may more easily be reached by what is known as the Spitzbersfen route.
They argue that to the east of this snow-crowned archipelago the influence of the Gulf Stream
makes itself felt ; and they conclude that this great warm current possibly strikes as far as the
Pole itself It is known that Parry, to the nortli of Spitzbergen, attained the latitude of 82° 45' ;
and it is recorded that a Hull whaler, the True-Love, in 1837, navigated an open sea in lat. 82"
30' N., and long. 15° E. ; so that she might probably have solved the problem and have gained
the Pole, had she continued on Jicr northerly course.
Holding this belief, the illustrious German geographer, Dr. Petermann, succeeded in raising
funds for a German expedition in 18G8; and i\\e Germania, a brig of eighty tons, under the
command of Captain Koldewey, sailed from Bergen on the 24th of May, for Shannon Island, in
lat. 75° 14' N., the furthest point on the Greenland coast i-eached by Sabine in 1823. She was
accompanied by the Hansa, Captain Hegemann ; and both ships were equipped in the most
careful manner, and liberally supplied with appliances and stores.
On the 9th of July the expedition was ofi" the island of Jan Mayen, and at midnight on
that day was sailing direct to the northward. A heav}' fog came on, and the two ships,
even when sailing side by side, could not see one another, and communication could be main-
tained only by the use of the speaking-trumpet. Their crews might then conceive an idea of
that impenetrable chaos which, according to Pythias, terminated the world beyond Thule, and
which is neitlier aii', nor earth, nor sea. It is impossibly to imagine anything more melancholy
than this gray, uniform, infinite veil or canopy : ocean itself far as the eye can reach, is gray
and gloomy.
For five successive days the weather remained in this cdudition, the fog alone varying in
intensity, and growing thicker and thicker. On the 14th a calm prevailed, and the Germania
lowered a boat to pick up drift-wood and hunt the sea-gulls. The ice-blink on tlie horizon
showed that the ships were drawing near the great ice-fields of the Polar Ocean ; and another sign
of their proximity was the appearance of the ivory gull [Larus ehurneuf:), which never wanders
246 THE "GERMANIA" AND THE "HANSA."
far from the ice. Occasionally the shii).s fell in ^vitll a rorqual, or nord-caper, as the seamen call
it,- -a sjjecies of whale distinguished by the presence of a dorsal fin.
( )u the raorning of the 15th of July a liglit breeze blew up from the south, and the two
ships sailed steadily on tlieir north-western course througli a sea covered with floating ice. An
accustomed ear could already distinguish a distant murmur, which seemed to draw nearer and
yet nearer ; it was the swell of the sea breaking on the far-otf ice-field. Nearer and yet nearer !
Everybody gathered upon deck ; and, suddenly, as if in virtue of some spell, the mists cleared
away, and the adventurers saw before them, within a few hundred yards, the ice ! It formed a
long line, like a clitf-wall of broken and rugged rocks, whose azure-tinted precipices glittered in
the sun, and repelled, unmoved, the rush of tlie foamy waves. The summit was covered with a
deep layer of blinding snow.
They gazed on the splendid panorama in silence. It was a solemn moment, and in every
mind new thoughts and new impressions were awakened, in which both hope and doubt were
blended.
The point where the (JermiAiu'd had struck the ice was hit. 74" 47' N. and long. IT 50' E.,
and the icy barrier stretched almost directly from north to south. The Ilansa touched the ice
on the same day, but in lat. 74° 57' N., and long. 9' 41' E.
The two ships, which had separated in tlie fog, effected a union on the 18th, and the
Germania taking the Ilansa in tow, they made towards Sabine Island. After awhile, the
towing-rope was thrown off, the Germania finding it necessary to extinguish her fires and
proceed under canvas. They then followed uji, in a southerly direction, the great icy barrier,
seeking for an opening which might afiord them a chance of steering westward.
On the 20th, the (jerniania f >und tlie ice so tliiclc in the south-west that she adopted a
westerly course, and hoisted a signal for the captain of the Ilansa to come on board to a confer-
ence. The latter, however, misinterpreted it, and instead of reading the signal as "Come within
liail," read it as " Long stay apeak ;" crowded on all sail, and speedily disap])eared in the fog,
which grew wonderfully intense before the Gennania could f illow her. Through this curious
eri-or the two ships were separated, and for fourteen months the crew of the Germania remained
in ignorance of the fate of their conn-ades.
Before following the (n'nnania on her voyage of discovery, we propose to see what befell
the Ilansa among the Arctic ice.
Captain Hegemann had understood the signal of his senior officer to mean that the ships
were to push on as far as possible to the west\va,rd, and, as we have seen, he crowded on nil sail.
lUit when the fog closed in, and he fnnid himself out of sight of the Germania, he lay-to, in the
hope that the latter might rejoin him. Disapjiointcd in this, he kept on his way, and on the
28th of July sighted the rocky and gloon)y coast of East Greenland, from Cape Broer-Ruys to
Cape James.
The weather continued fine. By the light of the midnight sun, \\hich illuminated the
fantastic outlines of the bertis, the adventurers engfagfed in a naiwhal-hunt. Nothino- is more
extraordinary than the efi'ect of the rays of the midnight sun jienetrating into an ocean covered
with fioating ice. The warm and cold tones strike against each titlier in all directions; the sea
is oi'ange, leaden-gray, or dark green ; the reefs of ice are tinged with a delicate rose-bloom ;
VOYACiE OF THE "IIANSA."
249
broad ^^liadows spread over tlie snow, and tliu iiin.st varied effects of mirage are pr(jdaced every-
where ia the tranquil waters.
On tlie 9th of September, the Iltnisa found the channel of free water in which she had been
THE MlDXUniT SIX GIIEENLAND.
navigating closed by a huge mass of ice, and to protect her against the drift of the floating: bergs
she was moored to it with stout hawsers. A fe^\' days latei-, the ice was broken up by a gale of
wind from the north-east, and the hawsers snapped. Tlie ice accumulating behind the ship
A BEAU AT AXCIIOU.
raised it a foot and a half. On a contiguous sheet of ice, the explorers discovered a she-bear
with her cub, and a boat was despatched in pursuit. The couple soon caught sight of it, and
be- 'an to trot along the edge of the ice beside the boat, the mother grinding her teeth and
250
FA'COUNTEi; WTTIT POT,Ai: P.EARS.
licking licr beard. Her enemies lauded, an<l fired, and the benr fell in the sn(i\v, mortally
wounded. ^Vllile the cuh was eno'aged in tenderly licking and caressing her, several attempts
were made to ca})ture it witli a lasso ; hut it always contrived to extricate itself, and at last took
to flight, crying and nKjaning bitterly. Though strud^ with a bullet, it succeeded in eflectinf
its escajie.
( )n the 1:2th the)' again saw a couple of bears coming from the east, and returning tVom the
sea towards the land. The mother fell a victim to their guns, but the cub was captured, and
cliained to an anchor whirh they had driven into the ice. It apjieared exceedingly restless and
disturbeil, but not the less did it greedily devour a slice of its mother's flesh which the .sailors
threw to it. A snow wigwam was hastily constructed f )r its acconmiodation, and the floor covered
with a layer of shavings; but the cul) despised these luxuries of civilization, and preferred to
encamp on the snow, like a true inhabitant of the Polar Regions. A few days afterwards it
disappeared with its chain, which it had contrived to detach from the anchor : and the weight
of the iron, iu all probability, had dragged the jioor beast to the bottom of the water.
SKA'll.M; — IJKK THE COAST OK taiEKN LAND.
'J'he ILdisK was now set fast in the ice, and no liopi' was entertained of hei- I'rlease until tlie
coming of tlir spi'ing. \lvv crew anuised themseh'es witli skating, and, when the \\-eather
jiermittvij, with all kinds of gynniastic exercises. It became necessary, howcwr, to considi/r
THE "HANSA" ICEBOUND. 251
what preparations should bo uiade for encountering the Arctic winter, one of the bitterest
enemies with which man is called upon to contend. The Ilansa was strongly built, but her
commander feared she might not be able to endure the more and more frequent pressure of the
ice. At first, it was [proposed to cover the boats with sail-cloth and convert them into winter-
quarters ; but it ^\•as felt that they would not afford a sufficient protection against the rigour of
the Polar climate, its furious winds, its excess of cold, its wild whirlwinds of snow. And there-
fore it was resolved to erect on the ice-floe a suitable winter-hut, constructed of blocks of coal.
Bricks made of this material have the double advantage of absorbing humidity, and reflecting
the heat which they receive. Water and snow w^ould serve for mortar ; and a roof could be
made with the covering which protected the deck of the Ilansa fronr the snow.
The ground-plan of the house was designed by Captain Hegemann ; it measured twenty
feet in length, and fourteen feet in width ; the ridge of the roof was eight feet and a half, and
the side walls four feet eight inches in elevation. These walls were composed of a double row
of bricks nine inches wide up to a height of two feet, after which a single row was used. They
were cemented in a peculiarly novel fashion. The joints and fissures were filled up with dry
snow, on which water was poured, and in ten minutes it hardened into a compact mass, from
which it would have been exceedingly difficult to extract a solitary brick. The roof consisted of
sails and mats, covered with a layer of snow\ The door was two and a half feet wide, and
the floor was paved with slabs of coal. Into this house, wiiich was completed in seven days,
provisions for two months were carried, including four hundred pounds of bread, two dozen boxes
of preserved meat, a flitch of bacon, some cott'ee and brandy, besides a supply of firing-wood,
and some tons of coal.
On the 8th of October, after the completion of the house, a violent snowstomi broke out,
which would assuredly have rendered its construction impossible, and which, in five days, com-
pletely buried both the sliip and the hut. Such immense piles of snow accumulated on the deck
of the Ilansa, that it was with the greatest difficulty the seamen could reach their berths.
From the 5th to the 14th of October the drift of the current was so strong, that the ice-
bound ship was carried no fewer than seventy-two miles towards the south-south-east.
Meantime, the pressure of the ice continued to increase, and the Ilansa seemed held in the
tightening grasp of an invincible giant. Huge masses rose in front, and behind, and on l:)oth
sides, and underneath, until she was raised seventeen feet higlier than her original position.
Aflfairs seemed so critical, that Captain Hegemann hastened to disembark the stores of clothing,
tlie scientific instruments, charts, log-book, and diaries. It was found that through the constant
strain on her timbers the ship had begun to leak badly, and on sounding, two feet of water were
found in the pumps. All hands to work ! But after half an hour's vigorous exertions, the water
continued to rise, slowly but surely ; and the most careful search failed to indicate the locality
of the leak. It was painfully evident that the good ship could not be saved.
"Though mvich affected," says the chronicler of the expedition, " by this sad catastroi^he, we
endured it with 'firmness. Resignation was indispensable. The coal hut, constructed on the
shiftincr ice-floe, was thenceforward our sole refusfe in the lonij- ni^'hts of an Arctic winter, and
was destined, perhaps, to become our tomb.
" But we had not a minute to lose, and wc set to work. At nine o'clock p.m. the snow-fall
252 LOSS OF THE "HAXSA."
ceased ; the sky glittered witli .stars, the moon illuiuiiiated with hei' radiance tlie imuiense wilder-
ness of ice, and the rays of the Aurora Borealis here and there lighted up the firmament with
their coloured coruscations. The frost was severe ; during tlie niglit tlie thermometer sank to
- 20° K. (_)ne half the crew continued to work at the })umps ; the otljer was actively engaged in
disembarking on the ice the most necessary ai'ticle.s. There could be no thi)Ught of sleep, for in
our frightfid situation the mind was beset by the most cimtlicting apprehensions. AVhat would
become of us at tlie very outset of a seascin which tln-eatened to be one of excessive rigour \ In
vain we endeavoured to imagine some means of saving ourselves. It was not possible to think
seriously of an attempt to gain the land. Perhaps we might have succeeded, in the midst of the
greatest dangers, in reacliing the coast by opening up a way across the ice-floes, but we had no
means of transporting thither our provisions; and it appeared, from the reports of Scoresbv, that
we coidd not count on finding any Eskimo establishments, — so that our only prosjiect then would
have been to die of hunger."
The sole resource i-emaining to the explorers was to drift to the south on their moving ice-
floe, and confine themselves, meantime, to their coal hut. If their ice-raft proved of sufficient
strength, they might hope to reach in the spring the Eskimo settlement in the south of Green-
land, or come to gain the coast of Iceland by traversing its cincture of ice.
It was on the 22n(l of October, in lat. 70 50' N., and long. 21' W., that the Ilansa sank
beneath the ice. Dr. Laube writes: '• We made ourselves as snug as possible, and, once our
little house was completely embanked \\\i\\ snow, we had not to complain of the cold. We
enjoyed perfect health, and occupied the time A\ith long walks and with our books, of which we
had many. We made a Christmas-tree of birch-twigs, and endiellished it with fragments of
wax taper."
To prevent attacks of disease, and to maintain the cheerfulness of the men, the officers of
the expedition stimulated them to every kind of active employment, and laid down strict rules
for the due division of the day.
At seven in the morning, they were aroused by the watch. They rose, attired tliemselves
in their warm thick woollen clothing, washed in water procured by melting sikiw, and then took
their morning cuj) of cottee, with a piece of hard bread. A^arious occujiations succeeded : the
construction of such useful utensils as proved to be necessary ; stitching sailcloth, mending
clothes, writing up the day's journal, and reading. When the weather permitted, astronomical
observations and calculations were not forgotten. At noon, all hands were simimoned to dinner,
at which a good rich soup formed the principal dish ; and as they had an abundance of ])reserved
vegetables, the bill of fare was frequently changed. In tlie use of alcoholic li([uors the most
rigid economy was observed, and it was on Sunday only that each person received a glass of ])ort.
The ice-floe on which their cabin stood was assiduously and carefully explored in all direc-
tions. It was about seven miles in cin-uit, and its average diaineter measured nearly two miles.
The out-of-door anui.sements consisted chiefly of skating, and building up luige images of
snow — Egyptian s[)hynxes and the like.
The borders of the ice-floe, especially to the west and south-west, presented a. curious aspect ;
the atti'ition .iud ]ir(^ssure of tln^ flo:iting ice had built up nliout if hiLj-li glifteriuL;' wmIIs, upwards
of ten feet in elevation. The snow-ci'vstals llashed and radiated in the sun like nivriads of
THE HUT OF THE CASTA^YAYi^. 253
fliaujouds. The red gleam of murning and evening east a strange emerald tint on the white
surface of the landscape. The nights were magnificent. The glowing firmament, and the snow
which refle{;ted its lustre, jiroduced so intense a brightness, that it was possible to read without
fatigue the finest handwriting, and to distinguish remote objects. The phenomenon of the Aurora
Borealis was of constant occurrence, and on one occasion was so wonderfully luminous that it
paled the radiance of the stars, and everything upon the ice-floe cast a shadow, as if it had been
the sun shining.
Near the coal-cabin stood t\\ o small huts, one of which served for aljlutions, the other
as a shed. Round this nucleus of the little shipwrecked colony were situated at convenient points
the piles of wood for fuel, the lioats, and the barrels of patent fuel and pork. To prevent
the wind and snow tVom entering the dwelling-hut, a vestibule was constructed, with a winding-
entrance.
The greatest cold experienced was - 29' 30' F., and this was in December. After Christmas
the little settlement was visited by several severe storms, and their ice-raft drifted close along the
shore, sometimes within eight or nine miles, amidst much ice-crushing, — which so reduced it on
all sides, that by the 4th of January 1870 it did not measure more than one-eighth of its
original dimensions.
On the 6th of January, when they had descended as far south as 66° 45' X. lat., the sun
reappeared, and was joyfully welcomed.
On the night of the 15th of January, the colony was stricken by a sudden and terrible
alarm. The ice yawned asunder, immediately beneath the hut, and its occupants had but just
time to take refuge in their boats. Here ihey lay in a miserable condition, unable to clear out
the snow, and sheltered very imperfectly from the driving, furious tempest. But on the 17th
the gale moderated, and as soon as the weather permitted they set to woi'k to reconstruct out of
the ruins of the old hut a new but much smaller one. It was not large enough to accommodate
more than half the colony ; and the other half took up their residence in the boats.
February was calm and fine, and the floe still continued to drift southward alons the land.
The nights were gorgeous with auroral displays. Luminous sheaves expanded themselves on the
deep blue firmament like the folds of a fan, or the petals of a flower.
March -was very snow}-, and mostly dull. On the 4th, the ice-raft passed within twenty-five
miles of the glacier Kolberger-Heide. A day or two later, it nearly came into collision with. a
large grounded iceberg. The portion nearest to the drifting colony formed an immense over-
hanging mass ; its principal body had been wrought by the action of the sun and the waves into
the most capricious forms, and seemed an aggregate of rocks and pinnacles, towers and gateways.
The castaways could have seized its jirojecting angles as they floated i)ast. They thought their
destruction certain, but the fragments of ice which surrounded the raft served as " buft'ers," and
saved it from a fatal collision.
On the 29th of March, they found themselves in the latitude of Nukarbik, the island where
Graab, the explorer, wintered, from September .3rd, 1827, to April 5th, 1830. They had
cherished the hope tliat from this spot they might be able to take to their boats, and start for
Friedrichstal, a Moravian missionary station on the south coast of Greenland. However, the
ice was as yet too compact for any such venture to be attempted.
For four weeks they were detained in the bay of Nukarbik, t)nlv two or three miles from
2r. 1
DRIFTING ON THE IC'EnAFT.
the shore, and yet uiialile to I'eaeli it. Thuir rait wais caught in a kind of eddy, and sometimes
tacked to the south, sometimes to the north. The rising- tide ean-ied it towards the shore, the
ebbing tide tioated it out again to sea. During this detention they were visited by small troops
of birds, snow linnets and snow l)uutings. The seamen threw them a small quantity of oats,
which they greedily devoured. They were so tame that they allowed themselves to be caught
by the hand.
(.>?
S:J0W LINNKT.S and BI:NT1NGS visiting THK chew of the " IIANSA."
Fr(.ini the end of ]\fare]i to the 17th of April, the voyagers continued their dreary vacillation
between Skieldunge Lsland and Cape Moltke ; a storm then drove them rapidly to the south.
The coast, with its bold littoral mountain-chain, its deep bays, its inlets, its island.s, and its
romantic headlands, otfcrod a, succession of novel and impressive scenes; and specially imposing
was the great glacier (jf Puisortok, a mighty ice-river wliich skirts the shore for upwards of
thirty miles.
Early in May they had reached lat. 01° 12'.
On tlio 7th, some water-lanes opened for tliem a way to the shore ; and abandoning the ice-
raft, they took to tlic'ir boats, Avith the intention of progressing southward along the coast. At
finst they met witli i^onsidcrablo dilHculty, being frequently compelled to haul u]) the boats on an
ice-floe, and so pass the niglit, or wait until the wind was favourable. As this necessitated a
continual unloading and rdoailiiig of the boats, the work was very severe. At one time they
DRIFTING ON THE ICE-EAFT. 257
were detained for six days on the ice, owing to bad weather, violent gales, and heavy snow-
showers. The temperature varied from + 2° during the day to - 5° R. during the night.
Their rations at this period were thus distributed : — In the morning, a cup of coffee, with a
piece of dry bread. At noon, for dinner, soup and broth ; in the evening, a few mouthfuls of
cocoa, of course without milk and sugar.
They were compelled to observe the most rigid economy in tJic use of their provisions, lest,
before reaching any settlement, they should l)e reduced to the extremities of famine. Yet their
appetite was very keen ; a circumstance easily explained, for they were necessarily very sparing
in their allowance of meat and fat, which in the rigorous Arctic climate are indispensable as
nourishment.
As no change took place in the position of the masses of ice which surrounded them, they
resolved to drag their boats towards the island of Illiudlek, about three marine miles distant.
They began this enterprise on the evening of the 20th, making use of some stout cables which
they had manufactured during the winter, ami harnessing themselves by means of a brace
passed across the shoulders. That evening they accomplished three hundred paces. Snow fell
heavily, and melted as fast as it fell, so that during their night-bivouac they suffered much from
damp.
Tlie next day they found before them such a labyrinth of blocks and fragments of ice, Moat-
ing ice-fields, and water-channels, that they were constrained to give up the idea of hauling their
boats across it, and resolved to wait for the spring tide^ — which, they knew, would occur in a few
days. The delay was very Avearisome. To beguile the time, some of the seamen set to work at
wood-carving, while the officers and scientific gentlemen manufactured the pieces for a game of
chess. Others prepared some fishing-lines, eighty fathoms long, in the hojie of catching a desir-
able addition to their scanty bill of fare.
On the 24th, the weather was splendid. The sun shone in a cloudless sky, and wherever its
genial radiance fell the thermometer marked + 28° 5' R. This was an excellent opportunity for
drying their clothes, which, as well as their linen, had been thoroughly soaked innumerable times.
The coverings were removed from the boats, which, in the varm sunshine, exhaled great clouds
of vajiour. The cook endeavoured to add to his stores of provisions ; but the seals churlishly
refused to make their appearance, the fish disdained to nibble at the fat-baited hooks, and the
stupid guillemots were cunning enough to escape the best directed shots.
M. Hildebrandt, with two seamen, made an attempt — in which they succeeded — to reach the
island of Illiudlek, which lay about three miles off", and is from 450 to 500 feet in height. They
found it a desert ; not a trace of vegetation ; its shores very steejj, and at some jjoints precipitous ;
its surface torn with crevasses and ravines. The only accessible part seemed on the north; but as
the evening was drawing in, they had no time for exploration, and made haste to return to the
boats.
The castaways now came to a resolution to seek a temporary refuge on this desolate isle.
As the heat of the sun was sufficient to render their labour very painful, and they suftered much
from the effects of the snow upon their eyes, they went to work at night, dragging their boats
forward with many a weary effort, and rested during the daytime. In this way they reached
the island on the 4th of June.
258 VOYAGE OF THE "OEltMANIA."
Hero they moored tlieir bunts in ;i small bay sheltered l)_v a wall of roeks from the imrth
wind, which they named II(insa-IIoJ'<'n. Next day they shot two-and-twenty divci's, which
provided them with a couple of good dinners. The sup])ly was very valuable, as the stock of
provisions on hand would not last above a fortnii^dit.
After a brief rest, the atlventurers resumed their voyage, keeping close in-shore, and
struggling perseveriugiy amidst ice and stones — and further cliecked by an inaccui'ate chart,
which led them into a deep fiord, instead of King C'hiistian TV. Sound. On the 13th of June,
however, they arrived at the INIoravian missionary station of Filed richstal, where their country-
men received them with a In'arty welcome. For two hundred days they had sojourned upon a
drifting ice-field, experiencing all the hardships of an Arctic winter, aggravated by an insuf-
ficiency of food.
They reached Julianshaab on the illst of June; endjarked on board the Danish brig Ct)H-
cttaiice ; and were landed at Copenhagen on the l.st of September.
We must now return to the Gerinania.
Captain Koldewey made several bold attempts to jienetrate the pack-ice, but proved unsuc-
cessful in all until, on the 1st of August, he reached lat. 74°, where he contrived to effect a
passage; and though much delayed by a succession of fogs and calms, he made his way to
Sabine Island, — and dropped anchor on its southern side, in lat. 74° 30' N., and loug. 29° W.,
on the 5th of August.
(_)n the 10th he again passed towards the north, keeping along the Greenland shore until,
in lat. 75 31' N., his ad\;ince was checked by a mass of closely-packed ice, which stretched from
the coast of the mainland out to Shannon Island, a long unliroken line (jf fourteen mikw. It
presented a very formidable appearance, being edged in some 2)laces with a fringe of broken ice,
boulders, and blocks, rising in heaps and hummocks forty feet high.
The Germania remained in this position for several days. As nothing but ice was visil)le
to the northward, and no prospect opened up of further progress in that direction. Captain
Koldewey moved his ship to the south side of the island on the fOtli of xVugust, and droj)ped
anchor close to Cape Philip:) Broke.
Eleven days were s]ient in a. careful exploi'ation of Shannon Island, during which time a
nmsk-ox was shut, and close watch was kept fi'om an elevated point un the ice lying tt) the north-
ward. But as it continued solid and innnovable, and the end of the season was at hand, Cajitaiu
Koldewey returned nuithwai'd, and brought his vessel to anchor on the south side of Pendulum
Island on the 27th of August.
When it became necessary to make preparations fur lacing the coming winter, Captain
Koldewe}' moved his ship un the 13th of September into the little harbuui- he had occupied on
the 5th of August. Their suljsequent experience showed it to be the only secure one between
the parallels of 74 and 77". A few days later the sliij) was frozen in.
The first sledging-party was despatched on the 14th of September, and i-cmained out for
eight days. After reaching the mainland, they travelled for four days up a newly-discovered
fiord, finding many petrifactions and nnich lignite. They also saw large hei-ds of musk-oxen.
Vegetation was abundant, but chiefly' composed of sjR'cies of ^Indromeda. Jn the course of this
excursion, our explorers had one or two ad\entui'es with l)ears. First, a female, with her two
THE GERMAN EXPEDITION.
•259
cubs, paid tlieiii a visit, l)\it being received with some vulleys of musketry, quickly beat a retreat.
(Ju another occasion, a daring intruder found his way into tlieir tent. His temerity, however,
cost him his life; and tlie (iennans banqueted gaily on the fat and flesh with which he incon-
tinently supplied tliem.
A RASH INTRUDER.
AVhen the- winter preparations were comj^leted. Captain Knldewey organized several shoot-
ing jiarties, who made good booty of reindeer and musk-oxen, and added most satisfactorily to
the provision-supplies ; no fewer than fifteen hundred pounds of good beef and venison attesting
the skill and good fortune of the hunters. But after the beginning of November, neither musk-
oxen, reindeer, nor bears were \-isible.
A second sledge journey was undertaken towards the end of October in a southerly
direction. The party discovered another fioid, and returned o)i tlie 4th of November. On the
2G0
AX AKCTIC ('HIMST.MAS.
fulluwiiiy day the sun disa]ii)L'arwl altonetlier, ami tht- ilruary Arctic niyht of three months'
duration overtook tliciii.
Tlie close of the year was marked by a succession of violent storms, and the temperature
rose to 25' F. It soon fell again to zero, however; but it was not until 1870 that it indicated the
maximum of cold experienced throughout the winter, — namely, 40° F. Of the December gales,
the most furious broke out on the IGth, and lasted until the 20th. It set free the ice in the
harbour, and even to within three hundred yards of the ship ; but foi'tunately she had been
anchored in the most sheltered part of the bay, and close to the shore, in only ten feet of water ;
otherwise the crushed-up ice, moving with the currents, would probably have carried her away
to almost certain destruction.
The heroic little company, however, were nowise disheartened by the gloom and hardship of
their situation. From Captain Koldewey's account, they would seem to have spent a right merr}'
Christmas, after the heai-tv German fashion. They danced l)y starlight upon tlie ice ; they cele-
BKAR-HI->'TISO — GKEKVI.ASD.
brated Christmas Eve with open doors, tlie temperature being 25^ F. ; with the evergreen Andro-
'iHcda they made a famous CHiristmas-tree ; they decorated the cabin with flags, and spread out
Tipon their tables the gifts prejoared for the occasi(in by kindly hands : each received his share,
and each joined in and contributed to the general merriment.
The Yule-tide festivities over, they made ready the equipments for their sledging expeditions
in the ensuing spring, — the object of the most ini|)oi-tant of these lieing to attain the highest
possible degree of north latitude.
In February the sun returned, and with it the bears ; and the daily excursions upon the
islanel, undertaken by the scientific members of the expedition, were rendered dangerous by their
audacity. Every one was required to go amied, yet some accidents occurred. One of the
"scientists" was severely wounded in the head, and dragged upwards of fdur hundred paces
before his conn-a.des rescued him fnmi the bear. .Vfter the hqtse of a few weeks, however, he
recovered from liis wdunds. .
THE "GERMANIA" AMONG THE TCE.
261
On the 24th of March, the first sledge-party left the shij), and travelled northward until, on
the 15th of April, they reached 11° 1' N. lat. Then the wild northerly gales compelled them to
retrace their steps. On their return they were fortunate enough to shoot some bears, whose
blubber supplied them with fuel to warm their food ; and the wind filling the sails which they
had hoisted on their sledges, they progressed with such rapidity as to reach the ship on the
27th of April.
At the northernmost point attained by this party, — lat. IT 1', — the belt of land-ice which
skirted the shore seemed to the travellers to be four miles in width and several years old. They
speak of it as a "bulwark built for eternity." Out to seaward, the ice, which was very hum-
mocky, stretched in an unbroken expanse.
■ INTO A WATER-GAP.
Two other sledge-parties were sent out early in ]May : one of these was employed in making
geographical and scientific explorations of the neighbouring coast of Greenland ; the other in
attempting the measurement of an arc of the meridian. Their journeys were difficult enough
and troublesome enough, and made large demands on the energies of those "wlio undertook
them. Crossino- hummocks and ruo-o-ed ice was weary work, and sometimes the whole partv
plunged into deep drifts of snow. On one occasion, the sledge was precipitated into a water-gap,
or crevasse ; and befoi-e it could be recovered and hauled up on the ice-floe, they were compelled
to unload it, and remove each article, one by one. Then again they would have to make their
262 VOYACE OF THK •' GERMxVNI A."
way through a- storm of pitiless violence; the north wind (hiving the frozen snow into their
faces witli a fury tliat almost Ijlindjd them. ' Up to their knees in the new snow, they j^ressed
forward witli a dogged intrejiidity ; enduring hardships and triumphing over obstacles of which
the "mob of gentlemen who stay at home at ease" can form no adequate conception.
The bears now increased in numbers and in boldness, as if they had determined to
besiege the small company now left on board the sliip. The greatest caution was necessary
to prevent accidents ; and tliough several were shot, their death did not ajjpear to terrify the
survivors.
The thaw began about the middle of May, and towards the close of the month the sledge-
]iarties were furred to wa.de thruugh the water wliii-li Huoded the surface df the sea-ice.
In June, large pmtions of laud-ice were continually breaking (jtf, and nuu-h open water could
be descried in the south-east. IJut it was not until the 10th of July that the ice around the ship
broke uji. Four days later, l)oating became practiraljle. and a voyage was made to tlie Eskimo
village on Clavering Island. It ended in disappointnient, — the village having been deserted,
and the huts having fallen into ruin.
On the 2'2nd of July, the Geriitm/iu once more steamed to (he nortliw.-u-d, to renew the
attem])t of the preceding year. Her boiler tulies, however, leaked so seriously, that it was evident
tile boiler would speedily fail altogether. Atter some delay it was temporarily jpat<hed up; and
by following a narrow channel between the loose pack-ice and the firm ice-ltelt of the coast, she
contrived to push forward to the north-east cape of Shannon Island, in lat. 7i>'' 29' N. Here the
ice barrier showed itself compact, solid, and insupieral)le. The Germania, therefore, on the 30th
of July, made for the southward, and continued her exjJorations in that direction. The
"Mackenzie Inlet," which Caj^tain Clavering discovered in 1823, was found to have disappeared;
its place being occupied by a low, Hat plain, on which herds of reindeer were pasturing. So
unaccustomed were they to the sight of man, and so fearless (jf dang-er, that five of them were
speedily shot.
On the Gth of August, the Germania discovered and entered a broad, deep fiord in
lat. 73° 13'. It was perfectly free from ice ; but a tleet of huge icebergs was sailing out of it
with the current. It was soon noticed that the farther they ascended this picturesque sea-arm,
the warmer became tlic temperature of the air and of the surface water. It threw off several
branches, and these wound in and out among lofty mountains. Their declivities were washed
by cascades, and their ravines filled with glaciers ; so that the prospect thus unexpectedly opened
up of the interior of Greenland was singularly romantic and impressive.
Some of the adventurers ascended a mountain 7000 feet in height; but even from this lofty
watch-tower no limit could be discerned to the western or ]trincij)al arm of the fiord. In almut
32° W. long, the mountain- range rose, it was ascertained, to an elevation of 14,000 feet. The
Gerinaiiia penetrated for seventy-two miles into this remarkable inlet, and reached 2G° W. long. ;
but her boiler acting irregularly, and Captain Koldewey being ap})reliensive of the consequences
if it wholly failed, commenced his homewai'd voyage on the L7th of August. Pie re-entered the
pack-ice at the mouth of the fiord, and was occu])ied until the 24th in forcing his way through it,
— reaching the ojien, iceless sea in lat. 72' N. and long. 14" W.
The G-'('r}»(////'", owing to the uselessness other boiler, m;ide the rest of hei' voyage under sail,
and arrived at Bremen in safety on the I Itli of Sejitemlirr, with all well on boai'd. It is worth
THE CREW OF THE "gERMANIa"' IN A SNOW-STORM.
MTGPvATIOXS OF THE ESKIMOS. SCf)
notice that, with the exception of two accidental wounds, tliis interesting expedition was accom-
plished without any kind of sickness, — a circumstance which speaks highly for the forethought
and carefulness of those engaged in equipping and conducting it.
We have been indebted for our brief notice of the voyage of the Germania to a paper by
Captain Sir Leopold M'Clintock, who sums up its results in a condensed and intelligible form ;
and to the narratives by Captain Koldewey and his officers, translated by Mr. ]\Iercier, and
published under the direction of Mr. H. W. Bates.
The Greenland shore, under the seventy-fifth parallel of latitude, is not the frozen desert
whicli it has hitherto been supposed to be. It is frequented by large herds of reindeer, as
many as fifty having been siglited at a time. Musk-oxen were by no means rare, but made
their appearance in troops of fifteen or sixteen ; while smaller animals, such as ermines and
lemmings, were also met with. Birds were not numerous ; shoals of walruses were noticed,
but no whales.
Geographically speaking, the voyage was valuable from the observations obtained in refer-
ence to a region which previously was almost unknown.
The absence of natives, and of all recent traces of them, is a remarkable fact. In 1829,
Captain Graab found the northern Greenlanders ranging as high as 04° 15' N. lat. ; but they
knew nothing of any human beings living further north ; nor could they themselves travel in
that direction, the way being blocked up by huge impassable glaciers.
In 1822, when Scoresby partially explored the Greenland coast between the parallels of
70° and 72° 30', he discovered many ruined habitations and graves, but no recent indications of
human beings.
In the following year, Captain Clavei'ing met with a party of Eskimos in 74°; but neither
he nor Scoresby found reindeer or musk-oxen ; and the fact ascertained by the Germania that,
in 1869, these animals were numerous, and devoid of any fear of man, gives reason to suppose
that few, if any, of this isolated tribe of Eskimos are now in existence. Now, as the musk-
oxen, and also the reindeer, seem to have wandered hither from the northward, we may con-
jecture tliat the natives followed the same route.
"If it be true," saj^s M'Clin-tock, "that this migration of men and animals was effected
from west to east along the northern shore of Greenland, we naturally assume that it does not
extend far towards tlie Pole ; that, probably, its most northern point is at the eastern outlet of
Kennedy Channel, and that it turns from thence sharply towai'ds the east and north-east, —
the distance, in a straight lino, to the most northern point reached by Koldewey, is not more
than six hundred miles. It is not less strange than sad to find that a peaceable and once
numerous tribe, inliabiting a coast-line of at least 7° of latitude in extent, has died out, or has
almost died out, whilst at the same time we find, by the diminution of the glaciers and increase
of animal life, that the terrible severity of the climate has undergone considerable modification.
We feel this saddening interest with greater force wlien we reflect that the distance of
Clavering's villao-e from the coast of Scotland is under one thousand miles ! Thev were our
nearest neighbours of the New Woi-ld."
Returning suddenly to the sixteenth century, we find the names of some Dutch seamen of
eminence inscribed in the record of early Arctic Discovery, and amongst these the most ilhistrious
2GG
A DUTCH EXPEDITION.
is that of A\'illiaia Barents. We refer to liiiii here, because lie is connected with Carlsen's
voyage in 18()9, wliicli went over much the same grouiul as tliat which tlie Dutcli exj)lorer had
surveyed nearly three liunch'ed years before.
The merchants of Amsterdam iiaving fitted out a sliip — the Mo-ctwiits, of one liunth-ed tons
— to attempt a passage round the northern end of Novaia Zemlaia, the command was given
to William Barents; who accordingly sailed from the Texel on the 4th of June 1594.
He sighted Novaia Zemlaia, in lat. 73° 25' N., on the 4th of July, sailed along its grim,
gaunt coast, doubled Cape Nassau on the 10th, and struck the edge of the northern ice on the
13th. For several days he skirted this formidable barrier, vainly seeking for an opening; and in
c(uest of a channel into the further sea, he sailed ]:)erseveringly from (Jape Nassau to the Orange
Lslands. He went over no fewer than seventeen hundred miles of Lj'round in his assiduous search.
MATERIALS Full Til K HOUSK.
and put his sliij) about one-and-eighty times. He discovered also the long line of coast between
the two points we have named, laying it down with an exactness which lias been acknowledged
by later exjtlorers. His men wearying of lalxiur which seemed to yield no positive results,
Barents was under the necessity of i-eturning home.
In 150r) the Amsterdammers fitted out another expedition, consisting of two strongly-built
ships, under Jacol) van Heemskerch and Jan Cornelizoon llijp, with P);ircnts as pilot, though
really in coimnand.
In this voyage the adventurers kept away iVom the hind, in oixler to avoid the pack-ice, and
sailing to the westward, discovered Bear Island on the 0th of June. Then they steered to the
northwanl, and hove in sight of Spitzbergen exactly ten days later. 'I'liey supposed, however,
that it Wiis only a part of (ireenland, and were led to bear away to the north-west — a course which
was speedilv iirrcstrd liy the etci'ual icy barriei-. Barents then coasted along the western side of
UAllENTS AT XOVAIA ZE.MLAJA.
2Cu
Spitzbergen ; and tin- iKirtli-wi'stfrii liuadlaiid licing fVequunted by an iiuuifiisf iiumbci- of birds,
he called it A'ogeLsang.
On the Lst of July he again made Bear Island, and here lie and Eijp agreed to separate.
Of the latter we know only that lio was unsuccessful in an attcin|it to find an opening in tlie ice
on the east of Greenland, and that he returned to Holland in the same year. Of the foinirr the
narrative is painfully full and interesting.
Quitting Bear Island, he reached Novaia Zemlaia on the 17th of July, sighting the coast
in lat. 74° 40' N. Keeping along it with characteristic perseverance until the 7th of August, he'
passed Cape Comfort ; but only to find himself once more face to face with the dreary spectacle of
the far-reaching Polar ice. It so hemmed and fenced him in on every side, that he was unable
to extricate his vessel from it ; and liuing driven into a bav, which he named Ice Haven, " there
ATTACK ON ,V UEAK.
they were forced, in great cold, poverty, misery, and griefe, to stay all the winter." For the
heavy pack-ice drifting into the bay closed it up, and closed around the ship until she was held
fast as in iron bonds.
Barents and his sixteen followers now prepared to encounter with a good heart the trials of
the long Arctic wintei'-night. They displayed, in truth, a courage, a patience, and a good fellow-
ship which A\ere heroic. Finding a large supply of drift-wood, they constructed, with the help of
planks from the poop and forecastle of the vessel, a sufficiently commodious house, into which they
removed all their stores and pro\'isions. They fixed a chimney in the centre of the roof; a Dutch
clock was set up and duly struck the weary hours ; the sleeping-berths were ranged along the
walls ; a wine-cask was converted into a bath. All these ingenious devices, however, availed
but little against the terrible feeling of depression which is induced by the continuance for so
many weeks of a blank and cheerless darkness.
268
EXPEDITION UNDER BAKENTS.
The sun disajipeared on the 4tli of November, and the cold thereafter increased until it was
almost intolerable. Their wine and beer were frozen, and lost all their streno-th. By means of
great fires, by applying heated stones to their feet, and by wrapping themselves up in double
fox-skin coats, they barely contrived to keep off the deadly cold. In searching for drift-wood they
endured the sharpest pain, and often braved imminent danger. To add to their troubles, they
had much ado to defend themselves against the bears, which made frequent assaults on their hut.
However, they contrived to slaughter some of the audacious animals, and their fat provided them
with oil for their lamps. When the sun disappeared the bears departed, and then the white
foxes came in great numbers. They were much more welcome visitors, and being caught in
traps, set in the vicinity of the house, supplied the ice-bound voyagers with food and clothing.
When the 19th of December arrived, they found some comfort in the reflection that half
SETTING FOX-TRAl'S.
the dreary season of darkness had passed away, and that they could now count every day as
bringing them nearer to the joyful spring. They suffered much, but endured their sufferings
bravely ; and celebrated Twelfth Night with a little sack, two pounds of meat, and some merry
games. The gunner drew the prize, and became King of Novaia Zemlaia, " which is at least
two hundred miles long, and lyeth between two seas."
On the 27th of January ever}- heart rejoiced, for the glowing disc of the sun reappeared
above the horizon. But it brought with it their old enemies the bears, against whom they found
it necessary to exercise the greatest vigilance.
On the 22nd of February they again saw " much open water in the sea, which in long time
they had not seene." During the whole month violent storms broke out, and the snow fell in
enormous quantities.
On the 12th of ]\Iarch a g.ale tVoni the north-east brouglit back the ice, and the open water
DEATH OF BAKEMTS.
2(J9
disappeared ; the ice driving in with nmch fury and a mighty noise, the pieces crashing against
each other, " fearful to hear." Up to the 8th of ]\Iay tlie ice was everywhere, and their sad eyes
could look forth on no pleasant or hopeful scene. Then it began to break up, and the gaunt,
weary explorers prepared to tempt the sea once more. They set to work to repair their two
boats, for their ship was so crippled and strained by the ice that .she was injured beyond their
ability to repair.
On the l-ith of June they quitted the place of their long captivity ; Barents, before they set
out, drawing up in writing a list of their names, with a brief record of their experiences, and
depositing it in the wooden hut. He himself was so reduced with sickness, want, and anxiety
that he was unable to stand, and had to be carried into tlie boat. On the 16tli, the captain,
hailing from the other boat, inquired how the pilot fared. " Quite well, mate," Barents replied ;
" I still hope to mend before we get to Wardhouse," — Wardhouse being an island on the coast
of Lapland. But he died on the 19th (or, as some authorities say, on the 20th), to the great
grief of his comrades, who appreciated his manly character, and placed great reliance on his
experience and skill.
The adventurers met with many difficulties from tlie ice, — sometimes being carried out ftir
from the ice-belt, and at others being compelled to haul the boats for long distances over the rough
surface of the floes to reach open water. It has been well observed that there are many instances
on record of long ocean-voyages performed in open boats, but that, perjaaps, not one is of so
extraordinary a character as that which we are describing, — when two small and crazy craft
ventured to cross the frozen seas for eleven hundred miles, continually endangered by huge float-
ing ice-masses, threatened by bears, and exposed for forty days to the combined trials of sickness,
famine, cold, and fatigue.
270 CAiiLSEN AT NOVAIA ZK.MLAIA.
At leiigtJi they arrived at Kola, in Ijajilaiul, ti)wai'(ls ilie end of AuL;'ust ; and, .strangoly
enough, were taken on board a ])iitch vessel eonnnanded by tlie veiy Cornelizoon Hijp wlio
liad commanded the sister discovery-shij) in the pi'evious year. They reached the Maas in safety
in October 15'J7.
No voyager ajipears to ha\e saiK'd in the track of Uarenls, or, at ail events, to have visited
the i)lace wliere he wintered, nntil 1S71. No one but he had rounded the north-east point of
bleak Novaia Zenilaia. In 186',), however, and on the IGth of ^lay. Captain Carlson, a Nor-
wegian of nuich experience in the North Sea trade, sailed from Ilauuncrfest in a sloop of sixty
tons, calk'd the SoIkJ. < »n the 7tli of September he reached Ice Haven, and on the 9th
discovered a I'ude wooden Iiouse standing at the head of the bay. Its dimensions were 32 feet
liy 20, and it was constructed of planks measuring from 14 to 1 (J inches in breadth, and 14 inches
thick. These, it was evident, had belonged to a ship, and amongst them were several oak beams.
Heaps of 1)ones of seal, bear, reindeer, and walrus, as well as several large puncheons, were
collected round the hut. It was the winter-piison of Barents and his companions, and had never
been entered by human foot since they had abandoned it. The cooking-pans stood over the
fireplace, the (^>ld clock hung against tlie wall ; there were tlie books, and implements, and tools,
and weapons which had lieen of so nuicli service two liundii'd and seventy-eight years before.
It was an Arctic reproduction of the legend of the hundred years' sleep of the fairy princess.
Captain C*a,rlsen gives the following list of articles found in the lone hut on the shore of
Novaia Zendaia, : —
Iron franif uvrr (lie lircplacc, with shifting liar; two .sliip amkinij; pans <>( cii|i|irr, ftiuml .standing on the ifon frame,
with tlie renuiins of a co[i|Jcr sr(Mi|i ; r(i|i[iiT liands, proliably at une time fastened lound )jails ; bar of iron ; iron crowbar ;
one long and two small gun-barrels ; two bores or augers, each three feet in length ; chisel, padloclc, canlking-iron, three
gouges, and six files ; plate of zinc ; earthenware jar ; tiuikard, with zinc lid ; lower half of another tankai'd ; six fragments
of pe])per-])ots ; tin nKnit-strainer ; pair of lioots ; sword; fragments of old engravings, with Latin couplets underneath
them ; three I >utcli books ; a small piece of metal ; nineteen cartridge cases, some still full of powder ; iron chest, with lid,
and intricate lock-work ; fi'agments of metal handle of samp ; grindstone ; an cight-jxiund iron weight ; small cannon-ball ;
gun-lock, with hiinuner and flint; clock, liell of clock, and striker; ras|i ; small a\iger ; small nari-ow strips of copper
band ; two .salt and pepper pots, about eight inches high ; two pairs of compius.ses ; fragment of iron-liandleil knife; tliree
spoons ; Ijorer ; lione ; one wooden, and one bronze tap ; two wooden stoppers for gun nuizzles ; two spear or ice-pole lieads ;
four navigation instruments ; a flute ; lock and key ; another lock ; sledge-hammer head ; clock weight ; twenty-si.x pewter
candlesticks and fragments, six in a complete state of |ireser\ation ; pitcher of Ktiaiscaii sliape, licautifuUy engraved ; nj)per
half of another pitcher ; wooden trenchei-, colounnl i-ed ; clock alarum ; three scales; four niedallion.s, circular, about eight
inches in diameter, three of them mounted in oak frames ; a string of Imttons; hilt of sword, and a foot of its blade;
halberd head ; and two carved pieces of wood, one with the hall of a knife in it.
On the 1-lth of Sr|)tenilM'r Captain ('arisen sailed from the Ice Haven, and kept along the
east ctiast of Novaia. Zenilaia, encounteiing bad weather and contrary winds, but succeeding in
his chief object, the circumnavigation of the island, which he accomplished on the 6th of October.
He returned to Hannueifest early in N(i\ember.
()ur chroiioh.gical summai-y now firings us to the Austrian Polar t'Xpedition of 1872. The
command was intrusted to Lieutenant Payer, an accomplished seaman who had served under
Captain Koldewey ; Cailsen was engaged as jdlot ; and the steamer 7\'(/('tIioJf was carefully and
abundantly equipjied for the voyage. The ])lan laid down b_y Ijieutmant Payer was well-con-
cei\'c(l ; namely, to round tlie north-easLeni point'ol' Xo\aia Zeinlaia, and sail eastward until he
voyagp: of the "Polaeis." 271
iuadt3 the extreme nortli of Siberia, wliere he proposed to winter. In the spring, travelling-
parties would be sent out on exploring journeys ; and the voyage, in summer, would be con-
tinued as far as Behring Strait.
The Tegethoff steamed out of Tromso Harbour on the 13th of July; first fell in with the
ice on the 25th, in lat. 74° 15' N. ; and on the 29tli sighted the coast of Novaia Zemlaia. Here
she was caught in the pack ; but steam being got up, repeated charges were made at the enemy,
and she was carried bravely into an open water-way, about twenty miles wide, to the north of
the Matochkia Strait. On the 12th of August she was joined by the Ishydrn yacht, with Count
Wilczck and some friends on board. The two vessels anchored close to the shore, in lat. 7(i'
30' N., and on the 18th celebrated the Emperor of Austria's birthday. Daily excur.sions were
made by sledge-parties to the adjoining islands, resulting in an accumulation of botanical and
geological specimens, besides slaughtered bears and foxes, and quantities of drift-wood. On the
23rd the vessels parted company, — the Tegethojf steaming to the northward, and the Ishijoni
endeavouring to push southward along the coast. On reaching the mouth of the Petchora,
Count Wilczck and his friends left her to proceed on the return voyage to Tromso, while they
ascended the Petchora in small boats to Perm, and returned to Vienna by way of JMoscow.
The Tegethojf spent the winters of 1872 and 1873 in the Icy Sea, and made some discoveries
of interest. It returned in safety in the summer of 1874.
In 1871 an American expedition was fitted out under the command of Captain Charles
Francis Hall, who had already gained distinction by his explorations in the Polar regions and
his long residence among the Eskimos. Through the liberality of Mv. Griunell, assisted by the
United States Government, he was provided with a stout and well-found steamer, the Polaris,
which sailed from Brooklyn on the 29th of June. She carried a crew of seventeen officers
and men, — Mr. Bnddington being sailing and ice master, and Mr. Tyson assistant navigator, —
besides six adult Eskimos and two children ; and a scientific staff consisting of Dr. Emil Bessel,
Mr. Bryan, and Mr. Frederick Meyers.
A few days previous to the sailing of the expedition, Mr. Grinnell presented Hall with the
historic flag which Lieutenant Wilkes, in 1838, had borne nearer to the South Pole than any
American flag had been before, — which Lieutenant De Haven, and afterwards Dr. Kane, and
lastly Dr. Hayes, had carried further north than any other ensign. Captain Hall, in receiving-
it, expressed his conviction that, in the spring of 1872, "it would float over a new world, in
which the North Pole Star is the crowning jewel."
On the 3rd of July the Polaris entered the land-locked harbour of St. John's, Newfound-
land, where she remained a week while her machinery underwent some repairs. Then she
proceeded north to Holsteinberg, in Greenland ; but failed in procuring a supply of coal or a
stock of reindeer furs, both of which were much desiderated. On the 4th of August she arrived
at the Danish settlement of Godhaven, and happily found the United States steamer Congress,
which had been despatched with extra stores and supplies. Thence she steamed northward to
Upernavik, which was reached on the 1 8th. So far her progress seemed to have been peculiarly
fortunate ; but already dissensions had broken out among the officers, which augured ill tor
the eventual success of the expedition. In his despatches home, however, Captain Hall made
no allusion to this discouraging circumstance ; and his biographer explains this silence by " his
18
272 "THANK GOD IIAEBOUR."
idiosyncrasy, wliicli enabled him to sink everything else in the one idea of pushing on to the
far noi'th."
Upernavik, with its little colony of Danish officials and Eskimo natives, was left behind on
the 21st of August, and the Polaris continued her adventurous course. Six days later, she
arrived at Kane's winter-quarters in 1853-55, and at the jioint where he abandoned his little
vessel, the Advance. Next day her crew found a huge wall of ice in front of them, and doubled
round it by steering to the west-north-west. Then again putting their vessel's head to the north-
ward, they made their way up Kennedy Channel, and gained the threshold of what Dr. Kane
had supposed to be the Open Polar Sea. They discovered, however, that it was bounded by
land on either side, with a vast expanse of ice stretching far beyond it. Careful observation
showed that it was, in reality, a bai/, which Kane had mistaken for the open sea when its land-
boundaries were liidden by fog. It is about forty -five miles wide.
Thence they entered a channel similar to that of Kennedy, which measured about seventeen
miles in breadth, and was obstructed by heavy ice. Their progress now was slow and difficult,
and many of the crew wore rueful countenances, as if they were going "to sail off" the edge of the
world." A more serious obstacle was the timidity of Captain Buddington, who showed himself
opposed to pushing further northward. Hall, therefore, resolved to carry the steamer in shore,
land some of his stores, and prepai-e for wintering at this advanced point of " Ultima Thule."
At midnight, on the 4th of September, Captain Hall raised an American flag on this land,
the northernmost site on which any civilized flag had been planted. WJien it was waving in
the breeze, he proclaimed that he took possession of the surrounding region of snow and ice " in
the name of the Lord, and for the President of the United States." He then returned on board
the Polaris, and her anchor was let go. The place was only a bend in the coast, and afforded
no protection as a harbour ; they therefore steamed through the open water, and searched further
to the southward ; but finding no more sheltered quarters, they returned to their former anchor-
age, and began to land provisions, — the wind moaning sadly, and the snow falling in heavy
showers.
On the 7th, they weighed anchor and steamed in nearer to the shore ; bringing the ship
round behind an iceberg, which lay aground in thirteen fathoms of water. This huge mass of
ice proved to be about 450 feet in length, 300 feet in breadth, and GO feet in height; lat 81°
38' N., long, or 45' W. The berg was named "Providence Berg," and the cove in which they
had established themselves, " Thank God Harbour." On surveying the surrounding country
they found nothing calculated to brighten the jarospects of the coming winter. The coast-hills
rose from nine to thirteen hundred feet in height, and were furroA\ed and scarred with great
cracks and fissures, which bore witness to the rough usage of frost and ice, wind and weather.
To the south lay a large glacier, which swept round in a wide circuit, and fell into the bay
immediately north of their anchorage. Traces of Eskimos were discernible hero and there;
circles of stones, indicating where they had pitched their tents. The landscape was all of a dull
neutral tint, a kind of cold gray ; for, as yet, the winter snow had not clothed it with its mantle
of dazzling whiteness. For this, however, the adventurers had not long to wait. A snow-storm
began on the 27th of Septembei-, and lasted for six-and-thirty hours.
On the 10th of October Captain Hall oiganized a sledging expedition, as a jirelimiuary to
an extended journey in the spring. There were two sledges, each drawn by seven dogs ; Captain
FUNERAL OF CAPTAIN UALL.
DEATH OF CAPTAIN HALL. 275
Hall and Eskimo Joe in one .sledge, and Mr. Chester and Eskimo Hans in the other. They
were absent until the 24tli, but owing to the roughness of the ice had accomplished only fifty
miles, and had made no discovery.
Meantime, the crew had been engaged in banking up the ice around the ship, in order to
protect it from collision with drifting floes ; the deck was partly roofed over, and covered with
canvas ; and other preparations were made to resist the terrible inclemency of an Arctic winter.
These, however, were temporarily suspended by the sudden illness of Captain Hall. On the
1st of November he was a little better, but on the 3rd his malady, which appears to have been
a form of paral^'sis, took a turn for the worse ; and the end came so rapidly that the eager-
hearted, enthusiastic explorer, who had braved so many harsh experiences in the Polar World,
" fell a.sleep " early on the morning of the 8th. A grave was immediately prepared for the
reception of his remains about half a mile inland ; a shallow grave, for the ground was frozen
so hard that it was scarcely possible to break it up, even with picks; and on the 11th, the
funeral took place. The time chosen was half-past eleven in the morning ; yet it was so dai'k
that Mr. Bryan read prayers by the light " of a lantern dimly burning." All the ship's company
were present. The coffin was hauled on a sledge, over which, by way of pall, was spi'ead the
American flag with its stai-s and stripes. The captain and officers. Dr. Bessel, and Mr. Meyers,
followed as mourners ; and strange and picturesque must the melancholy procession have
appeared, as it wound its way through ice and snow, while a weird boreal light or gleam in the
air revealed the outlines of the distant hills, rising like a ram[iart on the edge of the snow-
covered plain, and flickered every now and then over the frozen expanse of the ice-bound bay.
Thus, says Captain Tyson, thus ended poor Hall's ambitious projects ; thus was stilled the
effervescing enthusiasm of his ardent nature. " Wise he might not always have been, but his
soul was in his work ; and liad he lived till spring, I think he would have gone as far as mortal
man could go to accomplish his mission. But with his death, I fear that all hopes of further
progress will have to be abandoned." That Tyson was right in his conjecture, our narrative
will show.
Captain Buddington succeeded to the command, and one of his first measures was to dis-
continue the Sunday service, for reasons which he does not seem to have explained, and we are
unable to imagine. So far as we can gather from the jjublished records of the expedition, he
was a man unfitted to bear responsibility, — a man without enthusiasm in himself, and incapable,
therefore, of stimulating it in others. Nor could he secure the obedience of his inferiors. Sea-
men are always prompt to detect the weakness of their officers ; and the crew of the Polaris
soon assured themselves that their new captain was deficient both in courage and resolution.
However, the winter gradually closed in upon the little ice-bound company of the Polaris,
and they were called upon to endure, Avith such patience as was at their connnand, the severities
of the long Arctic night. It was very dark, yet not totall}' dark. For an hour or two at noon
it was possible to wander a short distance from the snow-roofed vessel ; but, once away from
it, the gloom and silence of everything around settled down on the wanderer like a pall. There
were none of the usual sounds of Nature to relieve the deep oppi-ession of the scene. " I'he
other evening," says Tyson, " T had wandered away from the ship, disgusted with the confusion
and noise, and longing for a moment's quiet. Once beyond range of the men's voices, there was
27G
WINTER-BOUND.
absolutely no othtr sound wliat.over. It was quite calm — no wind, no movement of any living
creature ; nothing' but a leaden sky above, ice beneath my feet, and .silence cceri/n'Iicre. It
hung' like a [tail over everything. So painfully oppressive did it become at last, that I was
frequently tempted to shout aloud, to break tlie spell. At last 1 tlid ; but no response came,
not even an echo.
' Tlif s]).iCL- was viii.l ; tla'ri' I stcud,
And the sole s])ecti-e was the solitude.'"
On the 1st of January 1S7'2, it is ret-orded that eighty days had elapsed since the adven-
turers had seen the smi. The internal economy of the Polaris, meantime, was pitiably dis-
AN ARCTIC SNOW-STURM.
organized. There was no disci])line, no order, no method. The men did what they ])leased,
and ccjnsequently made night hideous by their prolonged carousals. The officers disagreed
among themselves, and the object of the exjjcdition appeared to have been hxst sight of, or no
longer to excite any deep or permanent interest. It was even discussed as a pro2)er and ]irob-
able course to abandon the proposed northward exjiloration, and, as soon as the ice brt)ke up, to
make all haste back to New York.
Early in February, the daylight began to gain upon the night a little, and the Eskimos
hunted for seals, as they could be heard under the ice making their breathing-holes. Storms
were very frequent — storms which drove the snow aftxr in dense, blinding clouds ; and false
moons and other atmospheric phenomena attracted the attention of the curious observer. Uii
SLEDGE-JOURNEYS. 277
the 28th, after an absence of una hundred and thirty-five days, the sun reappeared; and never
was royal guest more eagerly welcomed by a loyal people. Its rays seemed to bring with them
a promise of new life. Men's hearts grew lighter in spite of them.selves, and all felt as if they
had been relieved from a heavy and intolerable burden. Not that the temperature showed any
perceptible difference. The thermometer indicated 37' below zero on the 1st of March !
Passing over a couple of months which present no incidents of importance, we find that on
the 9th of May the monotonous dulness of the expedition was broken by a sledge-journey to
the north, undertaken by Captain Tyson, with Meyers, Joe, and Hans as companions. They
were absent from the ship six days ; striking inland, in an east-north-east direction, to Newman
Bay, and thence keeping more to the north, until they reached lat. 82° 9'. Mr. Meyers surveyed
the shores of Newman Bay, and Captain Tyson endeavoured to secure some game. One day
they came on a large herd of musk-oxen. These animals act very curiously when an attack is
made upon them. They form a circle, stern to stern, and await the assault of their enemies.
The dogs surround them, and keep them at bay. Not unfrequently a dog gets tossed. Though
Joe and the captain fired and reloaded as fast as they could, the poor brutes offered no resist-
ance ; but when eight had fallen, the remainder took to flight. The slaughtered oxen were then
flayed, and the best pieces cut up for conveyance to the ship.
These cattle develop their great size and weight on what miglit be supposed to form a very
slender diet. Their food is the mosses and lichens which grow on the rocks; and to obtain it,
they must first scrape away the snow with their hoofs. At the first sign of danger, the calves
shelter themselves under their parents' body ; and their hair is so long as to attbrd the young a
very complete and satisfactory screen. The musk-ox is an animal of considerable bulk. Several
of those shot by Tyson and the Eskimos weighed from 500 to 600 lbs. each. In proportion to
their size and weight, their legs are very short.
Early in June, Captain Buddington resolved to despatch a couple of boats, for the purpose
of exploring the neighbouring coast, and discovering, if possible, an open water channel to the
north. One of these was placed under the command of Mr. Chester ; the other, of Captain
Tyson. Mr. Chester's boat was nipped in an ice-floe, and crushed to pieces. The crew escaped
Avith difficulty, but the historical flag was lost. Captain Tyson pushed forward to Newman
Bay, where some eider-ducks, gulls, and dovekies were shot. Joined by Mr. Chester — who
had returned to the ship, and secured the safety-boat — he found his further progress arrested by
that compact, insuperable field of ice which is the despair of Arctic navigators. All attempts
to get further to the north proved in vain ; and orders to return having an-ived from Captain
Buddington, there was nothing to be done but to rejoin the Polaris.
The summer passed away, and still the Polaris lay beset among the ice ; or, rather, drifted
slowly to the southward, along with the floe to which it was attached. No sledge-expeditions
were organized ; and Captain Buddington's sole concern was to watch for an opportunity of
getting out into the open channel, and returning to New York. Some slight progress south-
ward was occasionally made ; but towards the end of October it became evident that the
explorers would have to spend a second winter in their frozen captivity. They had been carried
beyond Rensselaer Harbour, where Dr. Kane wintered during 1853-55, and began the construc-
tion of a storehouse for provisions, in case the ship .should be endangered by the drifting ice.
This dreaded catastrophe did indeed occur, on the night of the 15th. The pressure of the
278 ADRIFT ON THE ICR.
floe was tremendous, but the Palarts boi-e it bravely, though groaning and creaking in every
timber. After awliile, however, it was found that she had started a leak aft, and that the water
was gaining on tlie pumps. Tlie discovery seems to have startled Buddington out of all coolness
or reflection. He threw up his arms, and cried out to "throw everything on the ice." Im-
mediately all was cliaos. The men seized whatever lay near to their hands, and threw it
overboard. A quantity of stores had been previously placed on the deck, in anticipation of such
an event ; l)ut these were now hurled on the floo in indiscriminate confusion, and with consider-
able loss. C'ai)tain Tyson and some of the men got overboard, with the view of arranirino- thino-s
in, at least, a semblance of oi'dei- ; but while he was thus engaged, the ice commenced cracking.
Shortly afterwards it exploded under his feet, and broke in many jdaces ; the shi]> drove away
in the darkness, and Tyson and his companions immediately lost sight of her.
It was a terrible night. The wind blew a hurricane, and the snow fell heavily in drifting,
whirling masses. "We did not know," says Tyson, "who was on the ice, or who was on the
ship ; " but seeing some musk-ox skins lying across a wide crack in the ice, he pulled them
towards him to save them — and behold, rolled up in one of them were two or three of the
children of Hans the Eskimo ! Some of the men were afloat on small pieces of ice, but by
means of the whale-boat these were rescued ; and when the gray light of morning dawned on the
scene, Tyson ascertained that eighteen j^ersons, besides himself, were castaways. These were —
]\Ir. Meyers, meteorologist ; Heron, steward ; Jackson, cook ; six seamen ; Joe and Hans, the
Eskimos, and their wives and children.
The piece of the floe on which they were cast was nearly circular, and about four miles in
circumference. It was not level, but full of hillocks, and of ponds or small lakes, which had
been formed by the melting of the ice during the short summer. The ice varied greatly in
thickness. Some of the mounds, (_)r hills, were probably thirty feet thick ; the flat parts not
more than ten or fifteen. The surface was exceedingly rugged, and the hummocks were white
with snow.
Tyson's first task was to inspect the stock of provisions that had been collected on the floe.
It consisted of fourteen cans of pemmican, eleven and a half bags of bread, one can of dried
apples, and fourteen hams ; and if the ship did not return for them, they might have to support
themselves upon this supply all through the dreary winter, or die of starvation. Fortunately,
they had a couple of boats ; and Tyson's second care was to load these, embark his little company,
and endeavour to reach the shore. In this attempt they were balked by the drifting ice ; and
before they could rejjcat it they caught sight of the l^olaris. Immediately they ran up a rough
and ready signal ; but no one seemed to be keeping a look-out, and the castaways had the
mortification of seeing her drop awa}^ behind Littleton Island, without undertaking any search
for her missinof crew.
Tyson therefore resolved to cross to the other side of the floe, and make for the land,
perhaps lower down than the Polaris was, so as to intercept her. Evervthing was thrown
away, except two or three days' provisions, and the boats were got ready. But the men were
slow and reluctant ; oars were wanting ; a violent gale arose ; and as night was coming on,
Ty.son found liimself compelled to abandon his intention. On the following day, the ice again
broke; and now the adventurers were drifting with one boat on one jnece of ice, while the otlier
THE BOAT RE(!OVEIlED.
281
boat, a pai't of thuir provisions, and an uxtumporizfd hut of polos, rcuiaincd on the main part of
the original floe. Tho ice-raft which carried Tyson and his companions measured about 150
yards each way.
On tlie 21st, however, the boat and [iroN'i^ions were recovered. Joe, witli tho keen eye of
an Eskimo, caught sight of the bow of the boat, projecting from a fragment of the broken ice.
Followe<l by his faithful ally, Tyson went in search of it, leaping like a chamois-hunter from
crag to crag. Six of the dogs had accompanied him. These were harnessed to the boat, and
with the help of sturdy arms dragged it over the disrupted floe. The whole party then removed
to the large floe, M'here some snow-houses were speedily erected. They formed quite an encamp-
ADRIFT OX THE ICE-KI.OE.
ment : one hut, or rather a sort of half-hut, for ]Mr. Meyers and Caiitain Tyson ; Joe's hut for
himself, his wife, and their adopted daughter ; a hut for the men ; a storehouse for provisions, and
a cook-house, — all united by arched galleries, built of consolidated snow, with one main entrance,
and smaller ones branching off to the several apartments or huts. Hans built his iyloi-
separately, but close by. All were constructed after the Eskimo fashion — tliat is, the ground
being levelled off', one half tif the floor to^\'ard the end fui-thest from the entrance was slightly
raised above the other or front half. The raised part, as we have previously explained, serves as
parlour and bedroom ; the lower area, as workshop and kitchen. The walls and arched roof
were built up of square blocks of hard snow, packed hard and close by the force of the wind. A
square of about eighteen inches of this compressed snow or ice served for window.
282
TAKING STOCK.
This good work done, Tyson took stock. Successive expeditions had gathered together
nearly all that was on the ice when the Polaris drifted from theiu, and he found tliat their
stores included two l)oa-ts — one of ^\•hich, Imwever, was being hroken up for fuel — and one
kayack, a good supply of powder and shot, eleven and a half bags of bread, f<.)urteen cans of
pemmican, fourteen hams, ten dozen cans of meats and soups, one can of dried apples, and about
twenty pounds of chocolate and sugar mixed. Tlie pemmican cases were large, each weighing
forty-five pounds ; the meats and soujjs were only one and two pound cans ; the hams were
small ; the dried-apple can counted for twenty-two pounds. Evidently, when divided among
nineteen people, this sup|)ly could not last many weeks ; and unless they reached the land, or
RECOVERY l)F TIIK BOAT IIY CAPTAIN TY.sOX.
could catch seals, starvation seemed their pr()l)able ultimate fate. The alh)wance was reduced to
eleven ounces for each adult, and half that amount fm- tlie children, — rations jiainfully in-
adequate to the proper support of the human frame in a I'olar region and during an Arctic
winter.
On the 23rd of October they lost sight of the sun. At this time they were about eight or
ten miles off-shore, and i'orty to fifty miles west of Northumberland T.sland, in lat. 77" 30' nearly.
The Eskimos were on the watch for seals day after day, but without success. In truth, it is not
easy to find the seal in winter, as they live princij)ally under the ice, and can be seen only when
it cracks. A warin-bloodrd animal, it cannot always remain beneath the frozen sin-face without
breathing, and for this [>ur}i<)se they make air-holes through the ice and snow. These. Jiowever,
MISTAKEN FOR A BEAR.
283
are so small at the surface, not exceeding two and a half inches across, that they are not easily
distinguished, esjiecially in the twilight-gloom of an Arctic winter day.
The Hoe, or ice-raft, on which the crew of the Polaris had found shelter, continued to drift
slowly to the southward, impelled hy wind and current. The weather was so severe that it was
worse than useless to attemjat t(j reach the shoi'e. The castaways therefore huddled themselves
together in their igloes, or huts of snow, or took such diversion as hunting for fox or seal
afforded. Or when a gleam of flxii- weather afforded an opportunity, Tyson took a short drive
in his sledge, and explored as much as he dared of the ice lying towards the shore. On the
1st of November an attempt was made to reach the land, the dogs being harnessed to the
sledge, and tlie boat loaded with the most essential articles ; but the state of the ice rendered
all eftbrts of this kind fruitless.
One day, Joe and Hans, the Eskimos, went out in quest of game. In wandering through
the hummocks they lost one anotlier, and Joe, after trying his luck alone, made his way back
«>
IGLOES CONSTRUCTED BY THE CASTAWAYS.
towards the hut before night came on ; he fully anticipated to find that Hans had preceded him,
and was much alarmed when he heard that he had not returned. Accompanied by Robert,
he started in search of him. As they sped along through the rapidly-gathering darkness, they
saw what appeared to be a Polar bear ajiproaching them ; loaded their pistols, and pre^iared to
give him a warm reception, when, fortunately, the creature throwing up his arms, and standing
erect, they perceived that it was their missing comrade. He had used both hands and feet in
climbing the rough huuunocks, and his fur clothing being covered with snow, the deception was
tolerablj'^ complete.
On the 21st of November, Captain Tyson writes in his diary : " We are living now on as
little as the human frame can endure without succumbing ; some tremble with weakness when
they try to walk. INIr. jNIeyers suffers much from this cause ; he was not well when he came ou
the ice, and the regimen here has not improved him. He lives with the men now ; they are
mostly Germans, and so is he, and the affinity of blood draws them together, I suppose. Since
284
SUFFRRINOS OF THE CASTAWAYS.
he has housed with the men, I have lived in tlie hut with Joe, Hannah, and Puney. Puney,
poor child, is often hungry ; indeed, all the children often cry with hungei-. We give them all
that it is safe to use. I can do no more, liowever sorry I may feel for them."
But it is unnecessary to trace the misfortunes and sufferings of Captain Tyson's little com-
pany day by day. Their wretched condition — adrift on a raft of ice, insufficiently clothed, insuffi-
ciently fed, poorly housed, without any of the comforts that generally make an Arctic expedition
endurable, buHeted by snow-storm and tempest, in constant apprehension lest their insecure raft
should break up — recpures no exaggeiatitjii of colouring to prixluce its full impression on the
reader. In January 1873, it was found that the provisions were diminishing with tcnible
rapidity ; and this was due not so nmch to the regular daily consumption as to the secret pilfer-
ings of the crew, who were not controlled by any bonds of disci2)line, and yielded Captain Tyson
an imperfect and reluctant obedience. They were all Germans, except Heron, an Englisliman,
HANS MI.STAKEN FOR A BEAR.
and the cook, a man of colour, and their conduct was a disgrace to their nationality. They
seem to have thought that their raft was carrying them swiftly towards Disco in Greenland,
where abundant su]>plies could easily be obtained ; but, in truth, they were drifting in the
direction of Labrador, and the safety of all demanded the sternest economy of their small stock
of provisions.
The cold was now excessive,-— 35" below zero at noon, and 37° at midnight. On the 13th,
it sank below 40°. On the following day, however, a strong westerly gale blew up ; the cold
became more moderate — the temperature rose to —14". Under the influence of the gale, the ice
began to crack and grind and break u\^ ; the natives launched a kayack ; a seal was hunted
down, and the castaways feasted gloriously. This, however, was but a transient gleam of good
fortune. On the 17th the glass again sank to 38", and no more seals were visible. The men
were now reduced to less than twelve ounces of food daily, which was not sufficient to furnish
mternal warmth, or to strengthen the system against the terrible effects of the Arctic climate.
A HUNTING EXrEDITION.
287
The 19th was, to some extent, a day of hope; for, after an absence of eighty-three days,
the sun once more rose above the misty horizon. Eskimo Joe took advantage of tlie burst of
daylight to undertake a hunting exjiedition. About five miles from the hut he found open
water, and shot two seals, but could land only one ; the young ice carried the other away. En-
couraged by the cheerful glow of the sun, he stayed out later than usual, and it was very dark
before he returned. A light of burning blubber was kindled to guide him to the hut. It shone
out upon the gloom of the night like a pharos.
The 25th of January marked the one hundred and third day of the castaways' voyage on the
THE GUIDING LIGHT.
ice-raft, and they severely felt the monotonous wretchedness of their existence. It was a beau-
tiful day, and perfectly calm ; but the thermometer indicated 40° below zero. At midnight the
heavens were illuminated with all the glories of a brilliant aurora. They seemed to be ablaze :
from the south-west to the north-east, from the horizon to the zenith, the magnetic fires shot
here and there, and wavered and undulated, like flame driven by a strong wind. At one time
the splendour was almost overpowering, and the straining eye was fain to seek relief in darkness.
On the 1st of February a violent gale arose, blowing from the north-west, and the ice,
rolling and rocking beneath its influence, split up into great cracks and fissures which threat-
ened the safety of the castaways. Huge blocks fell off" from the floe ; and the vast bergs
which had liitherto accompanied, and partly sheltered it, moved rapidly before the wind.
19
288
PICTURE OF AN INTERIOR.
Everything acknowledged the might of tlio storm ; but as yet the adventurers had not been
disturbed, tliougli surrounded by mountains of ice heavy enough, if driven against their
encampment, to liave crushed them to atoms. Tlius far they liad floated safely, but the
position was one to cause reflection : at some time or other the ice must break up, they knew ;
but whether they would survive the catastrophe was beyond conjecture. They could only
wait and hope.
Here is a picture of the interior of one of the kjlocs, or snow-huts : — •
"Joe and Hannah are sitting in front of the lamji, playing checkers on an old piece of
DRAGGING A SEAL.
canvas, tlie squares lieing marked out with Tyson's pencil. They use buttons for men, as they
have nothing better. The natives easily learn any sort of game ; some of them can even play a
respectable game of chess ; and cards they understand as well as the ' heathen Chinee.' Cards
go wherever sailors go, and the first lessons that the natives of any uncivilized country get are
usually from sailors.
" Little Puney, Joe and Hannah's adopted cliild, a little girl, is sitting wrapped in a,
musk-ox skin ; every few minutes she says to her mother, ' T am so hungry !' The children often
cry with hunger. It makes one's heart ache, but they arc obliged to bear it with the rest."
The gale continued on the 2nd, with blinding showers of snow — fine, penetrating, pungent.
10
M
H
q
to
o
FANTASTIC FORMS OF ICEBKRGS.
291
Next day the weather moderated, and the glass rose to 15° below zero. Dark clouds lowered in
the horizon, preventing the land from being seen, if any shore were near. But the rapid rise in
the temperature, after so strong a north-west gale, allowed Tyson to hope that the wind had
mastered the current, and was forcing them towards the Greenland shore.
Though all around nothing was visible but ice and icebergs, the scene had a certain beauty
of its own — a strange weird beauty, like that of a dream-picture. When the sun shone on the
bergs, and lighted up their massive or fiintastic forms, all the prismatic colours of the rainbow
flashed through the " crystal pendants " or " projecting peaks." The interest of the scene was
enhanced by the variety of its forms. Every berg appeared to have had its individual history,
and its broken outline and furrowed surface bore witness to the experiences it had undergone —
storm and rain, wind and water. Some rose up around the castaways like solid ramparts ; others
represented the spire of a Gothic cathedral, the pinnacle of a Turkish minaret, the glittering
SllUOTlSG NAKWHAL.
walls of a palace : all were beautiful, yet terrible in their beauty, conveying a profound feeling of
might and destructive power.
On the 5th, and again on the 7th, a seal was caught, and the little company enjoyed a plen-
tiful meal. On the latter day a couple of narwhals were shot, but both sank before they could
be reached. These narwhals are sometimes called sea-unicorns, or monodons, in allusion to the
long horn, six to eight feet in measurement — or, rather, the elongated tooth — which projects
from the upper jaw ; a formidable weapon, tapering frcim base to point, with a spiral twist from
left to right. Strange stories were told of these sea-unicorns by the early navigators ; but science
has made short work of legend and fiible.
Day after day, the history of our navigators was the same ; no stirring romance, but harsh
reality : — wind and snow, snow and wind — a wind which almost froze the life-blood of those
exposed to it, and snow which fell so fast and thick as to wrap the scene in the gloom of dusola-
292
DRIFTIXG SOUTHWARD.
tion. Still, the ice-raft di'ifted southward ; slowly but surely drifted through the darkness of the
night and the twilight obscurity of the day ; while the little company it carried suffered much
from increasing weakness, though better provided with food than formerly, owing to the frequent
capture of narwhal and seal. Occasionally the mists cleared off, and the sun streamed out in
meridian splendour, lighting up every feature of the " ice-scape " — may we coin the word ? —
around them. But, too frequently, " snow and blow, blow and snow," was, as Tyson remarks,
" the order of the day."
Hope lives eternal in the human breast ; and though it had sunk very low in the hearts of
our adventurers, it suddenly rekindled on the 19th of February, when they caught sight of the
west coast, at no greater distance than thirty-eight or forty miles. Its flame was kept alive on
the 21st by the discovery that the thermometer had risen to 3° above zero. Next day it had risen
to 20", or within 12" of freezing-point ; and men inured to the rigour of an Arctic winter spoke
DRAGGING THE OOOJOOK (SEE P.^OE 29o). ,
of such weather with cheeriness as " very comfortable." The cloud upon the prospect noAV M'as
the want of food, for the game had begun to fail. The hunters went forth every morning, but
returned empty-handed. The feebleness of the party increased in an alarming degree. It took
several men to carry a light Eskimo kayack, which for an ordinary man is not even a burden.
What was to be done ? The only chance of life seemed to lie in reaching the .shore ; but how
were these gaunt, frail skeletons to convey their boat across the rugged ice until they reached
the open water ?
They decided, however, on making the attempt, in the hope of reaching a place called
Shaumen, a little to the north of Cape Mercy, in lat. G.5° N., where game, and sometimes
Eskimos, were to be found. In spite of all their efforts, they were foiled by a succession of
blinding, lashing, beating snow-storms. The mercury sank again to 24° below zero, and their
position grew desjicrate. They were reduced to one meal^and sucli a meal ! -jwr (Junn. Great
was their jo}^ on the 28th when the huntei's brouglit in thirty-seven dovekies, or two apiece.
B|lE::;ip;;4iii:;:'
BREAK-UP OF TIIK FLOE.
295
They were cooked witliout deliiy, and eaten up to the last morsel, except the feathers. Greater
still was their joy on the 2nd (of March), when Eskimo Joe shot a monster oogjook (a large
kind of seal), the largest they had ever seen — such a monster that it took all Jiauds to drag its
carcass to the huts. Peter danced and sung in the exuberance of his delight, and everybody
felt that for a time they were saved from starvation. On measurement, this glorious oogjook
proved to be seven feet nine inches in length, or fully nine feet including the tail.
The ice-raft was now approaching Cumberland Gulf, and Tyson calculated that they had
reached lat. 65° N. They drifted more and more rapidly ; and if they did not die of famine, — if
the ice did not break up too suddenly, — there was a pi'obability of their reaching the whaling
FIRST SIGHT OF A WHALK.
ground, and falling in with some friendly ship. Tlie gales, however, were frequent and severe ;
the thermometer continued very low — 32° to 34° below zero ; and the sufferings of the whole
company were intense. Even the Eskimos were sorely afflicted ; though without these bold and
patient hunters, the white men must certainly have perished.
On the 7th of March there were indications of the breaking up of the floe. It cracked and
snapped beneath them, with a sound like that of distant thunder. So far as the surface was con-
cerned, however, no signs of fractui'e were visible ; the eye, straining in every direction, saw
nothing but an unbroken expanse of ice. And thus it continued until the 12th, when, during a
terrible storm, the threatened catastrophe took place, the ice-raft being shattered suddenly into
hundreds of pieces, on one of which, not more that one hundred yaids by seventy-five, the
20
296
ADVENTURE AVITH A BEAK.
adventurers found themselves adrift! (_)li, what a night of dread anxiety they passed, expecting;
every moment that tliis piece too would give way, and plunge them into ruin ! But it held
together; and when the wind abated, and the snow ceased to fall, and the wild hurtling of the
broken ice was Jiushed, they could look around them, and realize their position. The condition
of the ice had undergone an ab.solute change; the "floes" were driven up into a "pack," and
luige blocks, of all shajies and sizes, were heaped up and jammed together in inextricable
confusion.
Noting that on the 21st of March seven seals replenished the empty larder of our adven-
turers, and that on the 2Gth whales were visible for the first time, — a welcome sign, as indicating
FACE TO FACE WITH A POLAR BEAR.
their approach to the fishing-grounds, — we pass on to the 29th, which was marked by a curious
incident. Shortly after dark, Tyson heard a noise outside his hut ; he had just taken off his boots,
preparing for rest; Joe, too, was on the j)oint of retiring, but thinking the ice was breaking up,
he went out to view the "situation." In a few seconds ho hastily returned, ]»allid and frightened,
and exclaiming, "There is a bear close to my kayack !" The kaj'ack lay within ten feet of the
entrance to the hut. Both Joe and Tyson's rifles were outside; Joe's within the kayack, and
Tyson's lying close to it ; but Joe had liis pistol in the hut. The captain put on his boots, and
then both crept cautiously out. Seal-skins and luni])s of blubber were lying about in all direc-
tions ; and Bruin, having dragged some of these about thirty feet from the kayack, ^\as banquet-
ing at his case. Joe crept into the sailors' hut to ulaini them. Meantime Tyson crawled
REACHING THE PACK-ICE.
299
stealthily to bis ride, Ijut in taking' it knocked down a shot-gun standing by. The bear heard it,
but Tyson's rifle already covered him ; he growled ; Tyson pulled the trigger, but the gun would
not go off"; a second, and a third time — it did not go; but Tyson did, for the bear now rushed
full upon him. Retiring to the hut, he put another cartridge in, and then again crept out into
the open, taking up a position where he could see the animal, although the night was dark. The
bear, too, saw his assailant, and faced towards him ; but this time the rifle-ball went straight to
its mark ; the bear ran about two rods, and fell dead.
The victim was a "sea-bear," Ursus maritimus, und supplied the company on the ice-raft
with a welcome chanafe of diet.
ON BOARD THE BOxiT.
As the piece of ice was gradually wearing away, the adventurers of the Polaris resolved
on an eff"ort to regain the main pack, which would necessarily be safer. With their .sleeping-
gear, tent, and a supply of shot and powder, they embarked on board the boat, and stood to
the westward ; and on the 4th of April, after a succession of rough experiences, reached
the "pack." Here they were not much better off", for a violent gale blowing from the north-
east, the ice began to break off" in huge fragments ; and soon the area at the command of
the navigators was so small, that they were compelled to reload the boat, and prepare for a
hurried departure. The wind, however, subsided, the pack closed up, and things returned to
their normal condition.
On the 18th of April the castaways were somewhat reinvigorated by the capture of a seal,
300
CAUGHT IN A STOr.JI.
which Joe bi'ought ashore in his kayack, and by the appearance of kind to the south-west. But
in this wild Arctic region the weather in spiing is subject to surprising changes, and on
the 20tli another gale began to blow. Such was its fury that it drove a heavy swell of sea
liRKAKING Ur OF TUE ICE.
across the ice-i'aft, which washed away every article that was loose. Billow after billow followed
with ever-increasing violence ; and tent, and skins, and nearly all the bed-gear, were swept into
JOE CAPTURES A SEAL.
the lioiling waters. Only a few articles were saved, which, along with the women and children,
had been stowed in tlii^ boat. To save the boat tasked the energies of all the pai'ty, mIid had to
hold on to it, with might and main, to prevent it from being cari'ied out to sea. AH throiigli the
A NIGHT OF FEAR.
303
dreadful night the men were on the watch against tliis crowning disaster ; all through the dreary
night, from 9 p.m. until 7 a.m., straining every nerve, calling into play every resource of energy.
Ever and anon, one of tlie tremendous billows would plunge downward, and lift the boat bodily,
and the men with it, and carry it and them forward on the ice, almost to the opposite edge of
the floating raft ; several times the boat heeled partly over, and was hauled back only by the
more than human strength which the crew derived fi-om a knowledge of their position. The boat
gone, all was lost ! Terrible was the work ; had the waters been smooth, the task would not have
been easy ; but they were filled with loose ice, whicli rolled about in blocks of all shapes and
sizes, and with almost every wave these came toppling and rolling and driving forward like an
A '■ HELL OF WATERS.
avalanche, and fell about the heads and limbs of the men as they clung desperately to the boat.
But God mercifully supplied them with the strength they needed ; and so, labouring to the
uttermost, they waited and watched for the day. For twelve hours scarcely a sound was uttered
except the crying of the children, and Tyson's stern command to " Hold on," or " Bear down,"
Avith the responsive " Ay, ay, sir " of the men.
Day dawned at last, with a dull gray light over the restless sea, and Tyson saw with in-
describable thankfulness a large raft of ice floating within reach. He determined to make for it,
though the men hesitated to launch the boat into such a "hell of waters." But it was done;
the women and children were first got on board, and then all the men embarked in safety. By
dint of hard pulling, they gained the ice, landed, refreshed themselves with a morsel of food,
21
301
TAKING TO THE BOAT.
and tlicn, on this new ice-raft, laid di)\vii to i-est. Tlio following mornino- found them "safe
sound," after all their ti'ials, witii the exception of a few bruises and contusions.
On the 2:Ind of Ainil another bear was killed ; and just in time, for the whole party were
without a morsel of food. This lasted them for three or four days ; and then, on the 25th, as
starvation once more stared them in the face, they resolved on a desperate effort to make the
land. What else were they to do ? The rain fell in torrents ; the wind blew a hurricane ; the
ice-raft was constantly wasting away ; they had no provisions. True, the boat was frail and
leaky, and the sea ran high ; but as the ice ^^'ould not much longer afford them even a footing,
a decision was forced upon them.
So in their crippled, overloaded boat they set out, the wind blowing a gale, and a tremen-
dous sea running, full of small knife-like blades of ice. After eight hours' labour at the oars,
they came to a piece of floe, and encamped upon it for the night. At daylight on the 28th they
UKAtiGING THE IKJAT UN TO A KLUE.
aifain lauiK/licd their boat ; and after much wearv work in threadiniif their way throuiih a fleet of
icebergs, they got into comjjaratively open water.
At half-past f:)ur, a joyful sight ! — a steamer right ahead, and bearing north of them. The
castaways hoisted their colours, and pulled towards her. She was a sealer, going south-west, and
making her -way through the floating ice. The hearts of the castaways beat with joy at the
prospect of speedy relief; but, alas, they were doomed to disappointment ! She did not see the
miserable little company in the overloaded boat ; and it was impossible for them to overtake her.
Night gathered over the sea, and she disappeared.
Reaching a suitable piece of floe, they boarded it, and again encamped for the night, mider
a sky which was clear and calm, and shone with tlie glory of stars. The sea, too, was tranquil,
and, notwithstanding their disappointment, they felt more hopeful than before; it was evident
they had reached the borders of civilization, and might rely ujk)!! obtaining helj). With seals'
blubber they kindled beacon fires on the ice; and divided their men into two watches.
.V^"WHvi^i__
CLINGING TO THE liOAT (SEE PAGE 3CS).
RESCUED BY THE "TIGRESS." 307
The next day they sighted another steamer, launched their boat, and pulled lustily towards
her. In vain : she did not see them, and after a couple of hours' hard work they were hemmed
in by the ice, and could make no progress. They landed on a floe, and hoisted their colours ;
collected and loaded all their rifles and pistols, and filled the echoes with the ringing report of
three simultaneous volleys. They heard three shots in rei^ly, and — glorious sight ! — saw the
steamer directing her course towards them. They shouted with all their might ; but in the keen
air their voices seemed to pass away soundlessly. Presently the steamer changed her course,
tacking south, then north, then west, as if she were vainly endeavouring to force a passage through
the accumulated ice. Yet there seemed no insuperable obstacle in her path. The fugitives fired
again, and again ; but slie came no nearer, and late in the afternoon steamed away to the south-
west.
At sunset they descried land in the same direction, about thirty-five miles distant.
On the following day, the 30th of April, Tyson was lying in the boat, his watch having just
ended, when the look-out raised a sudden shout : " There's a steamer ! there's a steamer ! " As
if fresh life had been poured into his veins, Tyson sprang to his feet, ordered all the guns to be
fired, joined his companions in a loud simultaneous cry, and raised their colours to the head of
the boat's mast. Hans leaped into his kayack, and was despatched to intercept the ship, if pos-
sible, as there was some danger of losing sight of her in the fog which prevailed ; but, happily,
she bore down towards them. Hans paddled on, and in his broken English shouted, " American
steamer." He was not understood by those on board, but they kept their course, and in a few
minutes lay alongside of the ice-isle which sheltered Tyson and his company. Oh, what three
loud, hearty, joyful cheers acknowledged their deliverance ! These were immediately returned
by the crew of the steamer, which proved to be the sealer Tigress, of Conception Bay, New-
foundland.
We quote from Captain Tyson's simply-worded narrative : — •
" Two or three of their small seal-boats were instantly lowered. We, however, now that
relief A\'as certain, threw everything from our own boat, and in a minute's time she was in the
water ; while the boats of the Tigress came on, and the crews got on our bit of ice, and peeped
curiously into the dirty pans we had used over the oil-fires. We had been making soup out of
the blood and entrails of the last little seal Avhich Hans had shot. They soon saw enough to
convince them that we were in sore need. No words were required to make that plain.
" Taking the women and children in their boats, we tumbled into our own, and were soon
alongside of the Tigress. We left all we had behind, and our all was simply a few battered
smoky tin pans and the debris of our last seal. It had already become ofial in our eyes, though
we had often been glad enough to get such fare.
" On stepping on board, I Avas at once surrounded by a curious lot of people — I mean men
filled with curiosity to know our story, and all asking questions of me and the men. I told them
who I was, and where we were from. But when they asked me, ' How long have you been on
the ice?' and I answered, 'Since the 15th of last October,' they were so astonished that they
fairly looked blank with wonder.
" One of the party, looking at me with open-eyed surprise, exclaimed, —
" 'And was you on it night and day?'
" The peculiar expression of the tone, with the absurdity of the question, was too much for
21 b
308 IN SEAHCIi OF THE "TOLAELS."
luy politeness. I laughed in spite of myself, and my long unexercised risibles thrilled with an
unwonted sensation."
Tyson and his party were picked up in lut. 53 35' N.; a fact which will give the reader
some idea of the wonderful voyage they had accomplished on their various ice-rafts.
They were treated with thoughtful kindness on board the Tvjress, which on the 7th of May
turned her head towards Newfoundland. On the following day she put into Conception Bay,
where the Americans landed, and remained until the 12th. They then started for St. John's;
and the news of their remarkable experiences having preceded them, found themselves on their
arrival the objects of a very general and lively curiosity. After a short stay, they were conveyed
to Washington on board the United States steamship Frolic. And here ends their strange,
eventful history.
We must now return to the Polaris.
When she drifted away in the darkness of that stormy night, she had on board fourteen
jiersons : Captain Buddington, Dr. Emil Bessel, Messrs. Bryan and Chester, and ten officers and
seamen. What had become of them and their vessel ? Such was the natural question which
arose on the safe arrival at Washington of Tyson and his companions ; and the American Govern-
ment quickly came to the determination of organizing a relieving party to seek for and bring
back the survivors and remains, if any, of the Polaris expedition. The steamship Juniata was
immediately despatched to form a depot of supplies on the coast of Greenland in advance. She
reached Upernavik on the 31st of July, and there brought into use her steam-launch, the Little
Juniata; which, manned by a gallant crew, pushed forward into the icy waters of Melville Bay,
but without coming upon any traces of the missing explorers. Meantime, the American Govern-
ment purchased the Tiijress, and fitted her up for a thorough cruise in the Arctic seas. With
Captain Greer in command, and ]\[r. Tyson as acting-lieutenant, and a crew of eleven officers
and forty-two men, "all told," the Tigress set sail on the evening of Jul}^ 14th, and dropj)ed
anchor at St. Joini's on the morninsf of the 23rd.
On the 11th of August we find her at Upernavik, where she took on board a supply of coal
from the Juniata. She then proceeded northward, falling in with the heavy pack-ice near Caj^e
York. The 14th saw her off the Eskimo settlement of Netlik. She was now approaching
Northumberland Island, in the neighbourhood of which, or of Littleton Island, it was supjaosed
the Polaris had parted from the ice-floe. Captain Greer carefully examined Northumberland
Island, but without success. He then made for Littleton Island ; and a l)oat was lowered to go
on shore, carrying Lieutenant White, Captain Tyson, and other officers. What was their sur-
prise, as they approached, to discover some human figures and a couple of tents on the mainland,
near Littleton Island. The figures proved to be Eskimos ; and through the agency of Eskimo
Joe, who was on board the Tigress, it was soon ascertained that Captain Buddington had deserted
the Polaris on the day after her separation from the floe ; that ho and his companions had erected
a' house on the mainland, and wintered therein ; had fitted it up with sleeping-berths for fourteen
men, the full number, and furnished it with stove, table, chairs, and other articles removed from
the abandoned ship ; that during the winter the party had built and equipped a couple of sailing-
boats ; and that " about the time when the ducks begin to hatch " they had departed for the soulh.
SAVED !
LUDDINGTON AND HIS CREAV. 311
The Eskimo chief, or leader, added that Captain Buddington had made him a present of"
the Polaris; but that tlie gift proved of no effect, for in a violent gale she broke loose from the
ice, drifted out into the channel, and foundered.
Further search brought the crew of the Tigress to the winter-camp of the Polaris crew.
It was situated in lat. 78° 23' N., and long. 73° 46' W. Some manuscripts were found there, with
the log-book, the medical stores, and remains of instruments ; and these, with whatever else that
seemed of intrinsic value, having been removed on board the Tigress, the expedition bore away
to the southward, and on the IGth of October reached St. John's, Newfoundland, where they
received the welcome intelligence of the rescue of the Polaris party under the circumstances we
shall now relate.
We return to the eventful nifrht of the 15th of October 1872. Durinor the tremendous
gale that then raged along the Arctic coast, the bow-hawser of the Polaris snapped like a
" pack-thread," the anchors slipjied, and the ship drifted away into the darkness. The wind
forced her in a north-easterly direction ; and next morning those on board found her " a little
north of Littleton Island, in Smith Sound, having been exactly abreast of Sutherland Island
during a portion of the night."
As she was leaking rapidly the pumps were set to work ; and the fires with mucli difficulty
being lighted, the ship was got to obey her helm. It was then found that the following officers
and men remained on board : — Captain Buddington ; Mr. Chester, chief mate ; William Merton,
second mate ; Emil Schuman, chief engineer ; Odell, assistant-engineer ; Campbell and Booth,
firemen ; Coffin, carpenter ; Sieman, Hobby, Hays, and Manch, seamen ; Dr. Emil Bessel,
meteorologist ; and Mr. Bryan, astronomer and chaplain.
A look-out was kept, it is said, for the nineteen who were missing, but no signs of them
being discovered, Cajjtain Buddington came to the comfortable conclusion that they had saved
themselves in the boats. Doubting the feasibility of carrying the Polaris to the southward, lie
determined to abandon her, and winter on shore. With this view she was run in as near land
as possible, and finally grounded in Kane's Life-boat Cove, lat. 78° 23' 30" N., and long. 73°
21' W. Here, on the 17th of October, Captain Buddington prepared to establish a winter-
camp ; and the next few days were occupied in removing from the stranded vessel all the food
and fuel, and such articles as could conduce to the comfort and sustenance of the party througli
the ensuinsr winter.
o
With spars, bulk-heads, and canvas brought from the Polaris a commodious house was
erected, measuring twenty-two feet in length, and fourteen feet in width. It was thoroughly
water-tight ; warmed inside by a stove ; and banked outside with masses of compact snow. In
the interior the sides were lined with fourteen sleeping-berths. A table and chairs and lamps
added to the general comfort ; so that our explorers were prepared to brave a Polar winter
under more favourable conditions than those experienced by most Arctic navigators.
In the course of a few days a party of native Eskimos, with five sledges, made their
appearance, and their friendly labours were found of no little value. They considered them-
selves amjDly repaid by a few presents of knives, needles, and the like, and after a short stay
returned to their settlement at Etali. However, others soon took their place ; and eventually
312 COMFORTABLE WINTER-QUARTERS.
two or three families built their igloes in the neighbourhood of the American camp. The
Eskimo women made themselves very useful by making and repairing clothing, and rendering
other feminine courtesies; wliile the men, when game became plentiful, supjjlied tlie little
settlement with a welcome abundance of fresh meat. Nor was this the only advantage derived
from the presence of the Eskimos ; on the contrary, it had an excellent effect on the morale of
the men, who did not feel that utter isolation, that sense of being cut off from human companion-
ship, and separated from the rest of the world, which is one of the severest trials of wintering
in the Arctic regions. The heavy pressure of the long, dark Polar night was wonderfully
lightened by the kindly attentions and mirthful society of the Eskimos.
It is probable that some of the Polaris crew never spent a happier winter. There was no
want of food, no suffering from cold ; their quarters were warm, cheerful, and well-lighted.
Time did not hang heavily on their hands ; for when the house-work was done, when the fires
were replenished, the lamps trimmed, and the day's provisions cooked, they amused themselves
with reading or writing, or ^^hiyed at chess, draughts, and cards. It is true they had no com-
munication with the world without, and no intelligence could reach them from friends or kinsmen ;
but, surgit amari aliquid — in the cup of human happiness a bitter drop is always found !
When the worst of the winter was past, they began, under the direction of the carpenter,
to construct a coujtle of boats, with the view of returning homeward as soon as the ice broke up.
Each was twenty-five feet long, square fore and aft, and five feet beam ; capable, that is, of
caiTying seven men, with provisions for about two months, in which time they might reasonably
calculate on reaching the civilized settlements. It was the end of IMay before the condition of
the ice enabled them to set out. Then they broke up their camp, rewarded their Eskimo friends,
carried on board stores and j? revisions ; and, finally, early on the morning of the 1st of June
they bade farewell to their winter-home, and sailed out into the waters of Smith Sound.
Their voyage was unmarked by any disastrous incident, and presents a strange contrast to
the dangerous experiences of Tyson and his companions. Wherever they landed, they obtained
an abundant supply of aquatic birds, seal, and other game. They were all in good health, well-
fed, well-clothed. Their boats were sound and strong. The winter had long passed away, and
the glorious summer sun poured its full radiance on the calm surface of the Arctic sea. Sailing
pleasantly along, they touched at Hakluyt Island, and subsequently landed on the west shore
of Northumberland Island.. The pack-ice detained them there until the 10th. They then
entered a water-way toward Cape Parry, but were subsequently forced back by the ice to the
place whence they had started. On the 12th the channel was clearer. They set sail again;
crossed the southern part of Murchison Sound ; doubled Cape Parry ; and halted for rest and
refreshment on Blackwood Point, near Fitz Clarence Rock. Thence they made, in due
succession, for Wolstenholme Island, and Cape York, — names which recall the adventures of
the earlier explorers.
Their course now assumed a more difficult character, as they had come face to face witli
the ice of Melville Bay, — that great expanse of Arctic waters which is surrounded by glacier-
loaded shores, and has always been a fixvourite "' whaling-ground." Here they encountered some
difficulty with the "pack;" the "leads," or water-ways, curiously intersecting one anotlier, and
striking far into the ice, and so closing up that it was often necessaiy to haul tlieir boats across
a kind of promontory, or tongue, from one lead to another. Their troubles, howe\er, were of
ON BOARD THE " RAVENSCRAIG." 313
brief duration. On the twentieth day after leaving Life-boat Cove, they sighted a steamer,
beset in the ice, at a distance of thirty or thirty-five miles from Cape York. She could nut
come to thetn, it was true, but they could go to her ; and this they prepared to do. They had not
traversed half the distance, however, before they met a body of eighteen men from the ship ; for
they too had been seen, and recognized as white men, and relief immediately despatched. The
friendly vessel proved to be the Ravenscraig of Dundee, Captain Allen, lying in lat. 75° 38' N.,
and long. G5° 35' W.
It was now found, according to the narrative of the expedition, that the relief did not come
much too soon, for the boats had been considerably injured by contact with the rough hummocky
ice. And the fatigue of hauling them over such a surface may be inferred from the fact that it
took the Polaris crew, with their eighteen relief-men from the Ravenscraig, six hours to reach
the latter vessel. The difficulty was increased by a deep slushy snow, which lay thick upon the
ice, and which was not only heavy and disagreeable to the wayfarer, but exceedingly dangerous,
as more than one found by sinking into the pitfalls it treacherously concealed.
But they reached the Ravenscraig at midnight, and received a hearty welcome from Captain
Allen, who was able also to communicate the grateful intelligence that their comrades, the little
company sent adrift on the ice-raft, were all in safety.
It has been well said that the Polaris expedition proved curiou.sly prolific of startling and
exciting incidents. From the time when Captain Bartlett of the Tigress rescued the " exhausted
waifs" of the ice-floe, until the last scene in this romantic drama was enacted, the public mind
had been kept in a condition of continual expectancy by the progress of events connected with
the story of these Arctic explorers. The lamentable death of Captain Hall, — the long voyage on
the ice-floe through the gloom of the Polar night, — the return of the nineteen castaways after so
many hair-breadth escapes and wonderful adventures, — the departure of the Tigress, — the dis-
covery of Buddington's Avinter-camp, — and now the rescue of him and his crew by the Dundee
whaler, formed a series of surprising and exciting events, which, if not of epical interest, would
certainly seem to furnish matter for a poet's song. Even the early annals of Arctic exploration,
with their narratives of the achievements and sufferings of Hudson, Davis, Barentz, present no
incidents of a more remarkable character. As men dwelt upon them, they came to acknowledge
that the " age of romance " was not ended yet.
On the 18th of September 1873, the Arctic whaling-steamer arrived at Dundee with eleven
of the Polaris survivors, who had been transferred to her from the Ravenscraig, as the latter was
not homeward bound. Three others reached America in the Intrejnd ; and thus the expedition
of the Polaris terminated without any loss of life, if we except the unfortunate death of her
enthusiastic commander, Captain Hall.
It added nothing, it is true, to our geographical knowledge of the Arctic World; and yet it was
not without some useful results. The Polaris, at all events, approached nearer to the North Pole
than any one of her predecessors ; and men of science were thenceforth justified in assertuig that
the hope of complete success was no longer chimerical. The distance to the pole from the jioint
reached by the Polaris was comparatively so trivial, as to afford good reason for believing that it
would not long baffle human resolution and enterprise. Then, again, it was established as a fact
beyond doubt that Europeans could securely winter in a latitude of 81° 38'; that a ship well built
314 THE BRITISH EXPEDITION.
and well equipped miolit push northward as far as 82' IG'; and that no insuperable obstacles to
its further advance could then be detected. It was also shown that the temperature, even in
lat. 82°, was not of a nature to overcome the energy and enthusiasm of men accustomed to life
and adventure in the Arctic "World. These data, so conclusively established by experience, con-
stituted a source of great encouragement to future navigators, and permit the conclusion that the
Polaris expedition, with all its disasters and mismanagement, helped forward the great work of
discovering the North Pole.
" We now kiiow," says Mi\ INIarkham, " that the American vessel commanded by Captain
Hall 2>assed up the strait, in one working season, for a direct distance of two hundred and fifty
miles, without a check of any kind, reaching lat. 82° IG' N. ; and that at her furthest point the
sea was still navigable, with a water-sky to the northward."
The Polaris, however, was nothing better than a river-steamer of small power, ill adapted
for encountering the 23erils of Arctic navigation, — with a crew, all told, of thirty men, \\'omen,
and children, including eight Eskimos. If she could accomplish such a voyage without difficulty,
and coidd attain so high a latitude, it was reasonable to anticipate that a properly equipped
English expedition, under equally favourable circumstances, would do, not only as much, but
nuich more, and carry the British flag into the waters of the circumpolar sea, if such existed.
With this view, the Admiralty fitted out the Alert and the Discovery, under Captains Nares
and Stephenson. Every precaution that science could suggest was adopted to ensure the com-
pleteness of their equipment; and the two shijDS, accompanied as far as Disco b}^ H.]M.S. Valorous
as a tender, left England on the 29th May 1875.
The British Expedition, consisting of the Alert and the Disco vcnj, did not succeed in all it
was intended to accomplish ; and yet it can hardly be spoken of as a failure. It did not reach
that conventional point of geographers, the North Pole, but it penetrated within four hundred
miles of it ; and it ascertained the exact nature of the obstacles which render access impossible,
except under conditions not at jiresent in existence. We agree with a thoughtful writer in the
Spectator that this was a most important service rendered both to Science and the State. We
now know that by the Smith Sound route a ship may attain to within 450 miles of the Pole;
and that, afterwards, a journey about as long as from London to Edinburgh must be undertaken,
in a rigorous climate, with the thermometer 50° below zero, over ice packed up into hillocks and
hummocks which render sledge-travelling almost impracticable, or practicable only by hewing
out a path with the pickaxe at the rate of a mile and a half a day. And further : the M'ork
would have to be begun and completed in four months, or, from lack of light and warmth, it
could not be done at all. These are serious difficulties, and whether it is worth while for men to
encounter them, where the gain would be problematical, we need not here inquire. Before any
attempt can be made, some jirovision must be discovered for protecting those who make it
against the excessive cold, and for a surer and swifter mode of conveyance than the sledge
affords. The journalist to wliom we have referred speculates that science may furnish future
expeditions with undreamt-of resources, — with portable light and heat, for instance, from the
newly-discovered mines at Disco ; pi-eventives against scurvy ; electric lights ; sup}>lies of dyna-
mite for blowing u}) the ice ; and a traction-engine to traverse tlie road thus constructed ; liut, in
DANGERS AND DIFFICULTIES. 315
the meantime, these apjihances are not at our command. We must be content with the measure
of success achieved by Captain Nares and his gaUant followers.
And these well deserve the gratitude of all who think the fame and honour of a nation arc
precious possessions. They have shown clearly that the " race " has not degenerated ; that
Englishmen can do and suffer now as they did and suftered in the old time. They displayed a
courage and a fortitude of truly heroic proportions. And the experiences of Arctic voyaging are
always of a nature to require the highest coui-age and the sternest fortitude. The long Arctic
night is in itself as severe a test of true manhood as can well be devised. The miner works
under conditions far less laborious than those to which the Arctic explorer submits, for he
enjoys an altei-nation of light and darkness; his underground toil lasts but for a few hours at a
time. Yet we know that it tries a man's manly qualities sorely ! What, then, must it be to
keep brave and cheerful and true throughout a prolonged night of one hundred and forty-two
days — that apparently endless darkness, almost the darkness of a sunless world ?
We know, too, that continuous work, without relaxation, for month after month, will break
down the nerves and shatter the intellect of the strongest. Yet wc read that the men of the
Alert toiled like slaves, on one occasion, for seventy- two days, in cold so extreme that the reader
can form no conception of its severity, and with the dread constantly hanging over them of that
terrible and most dejiressing disease, scurvy. Owing to their inability to procure any fresh
game, as most former expeditions had done, each of the extended sledge-parties, when at their
fai'thest distance from any help, was attacked by it. The return -journeys were, therefore, a
prolonged homeward struggle of men who grew weaker at every step, the available force to
draw the sledge continually decreasing, and the weight to be dragged as steadily increasing, as,
one after another, the men stricken down had to be carried by their enfeebled comrades.
It has been well said that in such exploits as these there is a sustained heroism which we
cannot fully appreciate, because we cannot fully realize the terrible character of the sacrifices
involved. But it is comparatively easy for us to understand, and therefore to admire, the
courage of Lieutenant Parr, when he started alone on a journey of thirty-five miles, witli no
other guide for his adventurous steps than the fresh track of a wandering wolf over the ice and
snow, in order to carry help and comfort to his failing comrades. It is easy to understand, and
therefoi-e to admire, the devotion of Mr. Egerton and Lieutenant Rawson, when, at the inmii-
nent risk of their own lives, they nursed Petersen, the interjireter, while travelling from the
Alert to the Discoveri/, with the temperature 40° below zero. Petersen, who had accompanied
them with the dog-sledge, fell ill ; and with a noble unselfishness they succeeded in retaining
heat in the poor fellow's body by alternately lying one at a time alongside of him, while the
other by exercise was recovering his own vital warmth. We can also acknowledge and admire
the constancy of Captain Nares, who, in that horrible climate, lived thirty-six days in the
" crow's-nest," while his ship laboured among the grinding, shivering, crushing ice, until exhaus-
tion overcame him. And we can acknowledge and admire the bravery and faithfulness of the
men of the sledge-parties who, for days and weeks, drew the sledges and their comrades, with
gloom above and around them, ice and snow everywhere bounding the prospect, and in a
temperature which seemed to freeze the blood and benumb the heart.
What a tale, says a writer in the Times, what a tale of unrequited suffering it is ! Surely
not " unrequited ;" for those who suffered, suffered at the call of duty, and have been rewarded
31 G HEROIC SUFFEPJNGS.
by the approval of tlieir countrymen, and by the consciousness of having clone something great,
of not having lived in vain. " How lightly do all talk of glory ; how little do they know what
it means ! The little army Iiad to cut its way tlirougli the ice-barriers, dragging heavily-laden
sledges, and going to and fro, the whole force lieing often required for each sledge, content to
make a mile and a quarter a day, in pursuit of an object still four hundred miles off, through
increasing difficulties, and with barely five months, or one hundred and fifty days, wherein to go
and return. The labour is a dreadful reality ; the scheme itself a nightmare, the jihantasy of a
disordered brain. Even the smaller and subsidiary expedition for planting a depot last autumn
cost tliree amputations. The cold was beyond all former experience for intensity and length,
and the physical eftect of a long winter sj)ent in the ships under such conditions is particularized
as one reason why the men were less able to endure cold, labour, and the want of proper food.
Every one of the expeditions, whatever the direction, came back in the sadde.st plight, — some
dragging tlie rest, and in one case only reaching the ship through the heroism of an officer
pushing on many miles alone to annoimce his returning comrades, and to procure the aid by
which alone they were saved from destruction. These are episodes, but they are the matter
which redeems the story and makes its truest value. They tell us what Englishmen will do on
occasions beyond our feeble home apprehensions, when once they have accepted a call, and are
in duty bound."
At the time we write no elaborate record of the expedition has been published, and the
materials of the following sketch are collected therefore from various narratives which have
appeared in the daily journals. We shall begin by endeavouring to place before the reader,
with the assistance of Mr. Clements R. Markham, a rapid summary of what the expedition
accomplished. And then we shall describe its more interesting incidents.
The object of Captain Nares and his followers was to discover and explore as considerable a
portion of the unknown fi.rea in the Polar Regions as was possible with reference to the means
at tlieir disposal, and to the positions the vessels succeeded in reaching as starting-points. The
theories about open Polar basins and navigable waters which once obtained have long been dis-
carded by practical Arctic geographers. A coast-line, however, is needful as a means of progress
to " the threshold of work ; " and it is needful, too, in order to secure the desired results of
Arctic discovery in the various departments of scientific inc^uiry.
The expedition, then, in the first place, had to force its way through the ice-encumbered
channel which connects Baffin Bay with the Polar Ocean ; a channel which successively bears
the names of Smith Sound, Kane Basin, Kennedy Channel, Hall Basin, and Eobeson Strait.
Smith Sound opens out of Baffin Bay between Capes Alexander and Isabella. The ^llcrt and
the Discovery passed these famous headlands and entered the Sound on July 20, 1875; and
from that date until September 1, wlien the Alert crossed the Threshold of the Unknown
Region, they fought one continuous battle with the ice. The Polaris, it is true, had matle a
rapid passage on the occasion of its memorable voyage ; but the circumstances were exceptional.
Generally the Sound is blocked up by heavy floes, with winding waters caused by the action of
wind and tide. With great difficulty our two ships forced the barrier ; but their success M'as due
in no small measui-e to the skill and vigilance of Captain Nares, wlio allowed himself no ri'st
THE WINTKi; WOIIK. 317
until they were out of danger. At length, after many hairbreadth escapes, and many lal)(iiiou,s
nights and days, and much energy and devt)tion on the part of the officers, and equal courage and
industry on the part of the men, the expedition reached the north shore of Lady Franklin Inlet,
and found a safe, commodious harbour in lat. 81° 44' N. Here the Discovery took up her winter
quarters, as had previously been arranged ; and the Alci't, after a brief interval of repose, con-
tinued her northward progress.
This she was enabled to do through the opportune opening up of a water-lane between the
shore and the ice. Bravely she dashed ahead, rounded Cape Union, so named by the men of
the Polaris expedition, and entered the open Polar Ocean. Then, in lat. 82° 20' X., the white
ensign was hoisted on board a British man-of-war in a latitude further north than the ship of
any nation had reached before. Soon afterwards the solid masses of the Polar pack-ice began to
clcse around the adventurous vessel ; and on the 3rd of September 1875, the yilert was fast fixed
in her winter quarters, on the ice-bound shore of the inhospitable Polar Sea in lat. 82° 27' N.
This, says Mr. Markham,* was the first grand success ; and it assured the eventual comple-
tion of the work. For, owing to the admirable seamanship of Captain Nares, and to the zeal
and devotion of the officers and crew, the Alert had been carried across the Threshold, and was
within the Unknown Begion. A point of departure was thus obtained, which rendered certain
the achievement of complete success ; inasmuch as in Avhatever direction the sledge-parties
travelled, valuable discoveries could not fail to be the result.
The autumnal excursions, during which depots of provisions were established for use in the
work of the coming spring, were not performed without a very considerable amount of suffering.
Lieutenant May and two seamen were so severely frost-bitten, that, to save their lives, amputa-
tion was found necessary.
As will be seen from the latitude given, the ships wintered further north than any ships
had ever previously wintered. The cold exceeded anything previously registered, and darkness
extended over a dreary period. The winter, however, was not spent idly : obsei'vatories were
erected, and a mass of valuable scientific data industriously accumulated.
" But the crowning glories of this ever-memorable campaign were," as Mr. Markham
exclaims, " achieved during the spring." Three main sledge-expeditions were organized : one,
under Commander Markham and Lieutenant Parr, instructed to keep due north, as fixr as
possible, into the newly-discovered Polar Ocean ; another, under Lieutenant Aldrich, to exjilore
the American coast, westward ; and the third, under Lieutenant Beaumont of the Discovery, to
survey the north coast of Greenland, facing eastward. Each pai-ty con.sisted of two sledges ;
and the six, with their gallant crews, set out on the 3rd of Ajnil 187G, determined to vindicate
and maintain the reputation of British seamen. They sejiarated at Cape Joseph Henr}^ ; and
before they again met, this was what they achieved : —
Commander Markham and Lieutenant Parr pushed northward as far as lat. 83° 20' 2G" N. ;
being the most northerly point wliich any exjslorers have attained. They may therefore be
fairly and justly regarded as " the Champions " of Arctic Discovery, until some successors, more
fortunate than they, shall surpass their glorious feat.
Lieutenant Aldrich struck Avestward ; rounded Cape Colombia in lat. 83' 7' X. ; and
explored 220 miles of the American coast-line, previously not laid down on any map.
* TJiC Acadcmij, Xmember 4, 1S7C, p. 453.
318 WHAT WAS AC'COMl'LISHED.
Lieutenant Beaumont crossed Robeson Strait, and surveyed the northern coast of Green-
land for about seventy miles.
" In order," it is said, " tliat these three main parties might do their work successfully,
every soul in the two ships was actively employed. The depot and relieving parties did most
arduous work, and the officers vied with each other in j^romoting the objects of the expedition,
while the most perfect harmony and unanimity prevailed. Captain Feilden and Mr. Hart were
especially active in making natural history collections ; and Lieutenants Giftard, Archer,
Kawson, Egei-ton, and Conybeare did admirable work in exploring and keeping open communi-
cations." When the sledge-parties returned to the shijis. Captain Nares found that they had
suffered terribly ; Ijut he also found that their success had been complete. They had solved a
geographical problem ; no open sea surrounded the Pole, as so many sanguine spirits had antici-
pated. The way northward was over a waste of ice — of ice broken up into hummocks and
ponderous masses. And with the appliances they possessed further progress was impossible ;
the expedition had reached its ne plus nU)xi.
The work was done, and Captain Nares perceived that nothing more could be gained, while
valuable lives might be lost by remaining longer in the Polar Ocean. He decided upon return-
ing to England, with the following rich results to show as the reward of an heroic enterprise : —
First, the expedition had discovered a great Polar Ocean, a knowledge of which cannot fail
to prove of exceeding value to the hydrographer. Next, the shores of this ocean had been
exjilored along fifty degrees of longitude, and important collections formed of specimens of the
Arctic fauna, flora, and geology. The channel connecting the Polar Ocean with Smith Sound
had also been carefully surveyed, and an accurate delineation effected of either shore. Geologi-
cal discoveries of high value had also been made ; as, for example, that of the former existence
of an evergreen forest in lat. 82° 44' N., — a fact significant of vast climatic changes. And,
lastly, interesting observations in nieteorolog-y, magnetism, tidal and electric phenomena, and
spectrum analysis had been carefully recorded. The expedition of 1875-7G must, therefore, in
A'iew of these results, be classed amono- the most successful which ever adventured into Arctic
waters ; though it tailed, like its predecessors, to gain the North Pole.
The Alert and tlie Disco very left the shores of England in May 1875. After a voyage of
five weeks' duration they arrived at Lievely, the port of Disco Island, on the west coast of
Greenland. This small settlement mimliers about ninety-six inhabitants, Danes and Eskimos,
— generally speaking, a mixed race. The Danish Inspector of North Greenland resides here,
and he received the expedition with a salute from three brass cannon planted in front of his
house. There is a well-conducted school, attended by about sixteen children; and a small
church, where the schoolmaster reads the Lutheran service on Sundays, — the priest coming
over from Upernavik occasionally, to perform marriages, christenings, and other religious
services.
The Ahni, having taken on btiard thirty Eskimo dogs and a dri\"er, tlie exj^edition left
Disco at one o'clock on Jul}^ IGth, and next morning reached Kiltenbunto, about thirty miles
further north.
Kiltenbunto is a little island in the Strait of Weigattet, between Disco and the mainland.
Here the Discover[/ took on board thirty dogs; and shooting-parties from both ships made a
WINTER QUARTERS. 319
descent on a " loomery," or " bird-bazaar," fVt'(|uented by guillemots, kittiwakes, and other ocean-
birds. Two or three days later the expedition arrived at a settlement named Proven, where it
was joined by the Eskimo dog-driver, Hans (,'hristian, the attendant of Kane, Hayes, and
Hall, in their several expeditions. At Proven the adventurers received and answered their
last letters from " home."
Striking northward through Baffin Bay, they reached Cape York on the 25th of July,
and met with a company of the misnamed Arctic Highlanders, who ti-aversed the ice-floes in
their dog-sledges, and soon fraternized with the seamen. A narwhal having been harpooned,
a quantity of the skin and blubber was given to these Eskimos. Mr. Hodson, tlie chaplain of
the Discovery, describes them as exceedingly greedy and barbarous, eating whatever fell in
their way, but living chiefly upon seals. They were not so far advanced in civilization as to be
able to construct kayacks, and apparently they had never before seen Europeans. They wore
trousers of bear-skin, and an upjJer garment of seal-skin.
Proceeding northward by Dr. Kane's Crimson Cliff's, they soon reached that brave ex-
plorer's celebrated winter quarters. Port Foulke, and took advantage of a day's delay to visit
the Brother John Glacier. They found Dr. Kane's journal, Init no relics; shot a reindeer,
and a large number of birds.
Between Melville Bay and the entrance to Smith Sound no ice was met with; but on the
30th of July the " pack" was sighted, off" Cape Sabine, in lat. 78° 41' N. Here, at Port Payer,
the ships were fast held by the ice for several days. An attempt to proceed further north-
ward Avas made to the west of the islands in Hayes Sound ; but tlie water-way not leading in
the right direction, the ships returned. On the Gth of August they made a fresh start, and
thenceforward maintained an uninterrupted struggle with the ice. The Alert led the way, with
Captain Nares in her " ci'ow's-nest," anxiously looking out for practicable channels. At Cape
Frazer the huge solid mass again delayed them. Then they succeeded in crossing Kennedy
Channel to the east side, and taking shelter in Petermann Fiord — so named after the great
German geographer. After a few days they again pushed northward; and on the 25th of
August, after many narrow escapes from being crushed in the ice, a well-sheltered harbour re-
ceived them, on the west side of Hall Basin, north of Lady Franklin Sound, in lat. 81" 44' N.
This was at once selected as the winter quarters of the Discoverjj. Her sister-ship, continuing her
course, rounded the north-east jioint of Grant Land; but insteiid of falling in with a continuous
coast-line, stretching one hundred miles further towards the north, as all had anticipated, found
herself on the border of what was evidently a very extensive sea, with impenetrable ice on every
side. As no harbour could be found, the ship was secured as far north as possible, inside a
kind of embankment of grounded ice close to the land. There she passed the winter; and
during the eleven months of her detention no navigable water-way, through which she could
move further to the north, presented itself
Far from meeting with the " great Polar Sea " dreamed of by Kane and Hayes, our ad-
venturers discovered that the ice-barrier before them was unusually thick and solid. It looked
as if composed of floating icebergs which had gradually been jammed and welded together.
Henceforth it will be known on our maps as the Paloeocrystic Sea, or Sea of Ancient Ice; and
a stranded mass of ice disrupted from an ice-floe is to be termed a floeberg.
Ordinary ice does not exceed ten feet in thickness; but in the Polar Sea, generation after
320 STORY OF THE "DISCOVERY."
generation, layer has been superimjiosed on layer, until the whole mass measures from eighty
feet to one hundred and twenty feet; it floats with its surface nowhere less than fifteen feet above
the water-line. It was this wonderful thickness which prevented the Alert from driving ashore.
Owing to its great depth of flotation, sixty feet to one hundred feet, the mass grounded on
coming into shallow water, and formed a breakwater within which the ship was comj^aratively
secure. " When two pieces of ordinary ice are driven one against the other, and the edges
broken up, the crushed pieces are raised by the pressure into a high, long, wall-like hedge of
ice. When two of the ancient floes of the Polar Sea meet, the intermediate lighter broken-up
ice which may happen to be floating about between them alone suffers; it is pressed up between
the two closing masses to a great height, producing a chaotic wilderness of angular blocks of all
shapes and sizes, varying in height up to fifty feet above water, and frequently covering an area
upwards of a mile in diameter.
We must now return to the Discovery. As soon as she had taken up her winter quarters,
her crew began to unload her, landing the boats, stores, and spare spars, and otherwise preparing
for the winter. The first day ashore they shot a herd of eleven musk-oxen. A few days after-
wards the sea was frozen all round the ship, so that they could freely move to and fro about the
ice. A week later they saw a large number of musk-oxen, and shot about foi'ty — thus laying in
a considerable supply of provisions.
Their winter port, which was surrounded by snow-clad hills, about two thousand feet high,
they christened Discovery Harbour.
As soon as the sea was completely frozen over, the sledging-parties were organized and duly
despatched ; but as the autumn was rapidly passing, very little could be done in this direction.
The usual preparations on the part of Arctic explorers were then made for " hybernating. "
Houses were built ; also a magnetic observatory and a theatre of ice — recalling the glittering
edifice constructed by Catherine II. of Russia on the Neva, and celebrated by Cowper in the
well-known lines, —
" No forest fell
When thou wuuldst build, uo quairy sent its .stores
To enrich thy wall.s ; but thou ilidst hew the floods.
And make thy niarlile of the glas.sy wave."
A smithy was erected on the 11th of November, being the first the Arctic ice had ever
borne. Its roof was made of coal-bags, cemented with ice. The ship's stoker reigned supreme
in it as blacksmith ; and when we consider the accessories, — the ice, the snow, the darkness, —
we must admit that his blazing forge must have made a curious picture. The chaplain tells us,
humorously, that the smith adorned the interior wall with a good many holes, as each time
that his ii'on wanted cooling he simply thrust it into the ice !
As for tlie theatre, which, as we know, has always been a favourite source of amusement
with Arctic explorers when winter-bound, it was sixty feet long and twenty-seven feet broad ;
and, in honour of the Princess of Wales, was named "The Alexandra." Her birthday was
selected as the day of opening — December 1st; and the opening piece was a popular farce —
" My Turn Next." As sailors are generally adepts at dramatic personations, we may conceive
that the piece " went well," aiid that the different actors received the apiilause they merited. It
WINTER AMUSEMENTS. 321
is recorded that foremost among them was the engineer, Mr. Miller, who appears to have been,
emphatically, the Polar Star. Several of the men sung songs ; and recitations, old and new, were
occasionally introduced ; the result of tlie whole being to divert the minds and keep up the
spirits of the ship's company during the long, long Arctic night.
The Fifth of November and its time-honoured associations were not forgotten. A huge
bonfire blazed on the ice ; a " Guy Fawkes " was manufactured and dressed in the most approved
fashion ; and the silence of the frozen solitudes was broken by the sounds of a grand display of
firew^orks and the cheering of the spectators.
A fine level promenade had been constructed on the ice, about a mile in length, by sweeping
away the snow ; and this served as a daily exercise ground. A skating-rink was also constructed.
A free hole in the ice, for the sake of better ventilation, was carefully kept up. Whenever it
closed, through a process of gradual congelation, the ice-saws were set in motion to open it up
again, or it was blasted with gunpowder. The dogs lived on the ice-floe all the winter. It must
not be thought that the cold was uniform day after day. Probably it is not the loiv temperature
so much as the variable temperature that makes an Arctic winter so very trying to the European.
In a few hours the change would be no less than G0°. The cold reached its height — or depth —
in winter, when the thermometer marked 70i° below zero ; the greatest cold ever experienced
by any Polar expedition. It is difficult for the human frame to bear up against this excess of
rigour, even with the help of good fires, good food, and good clothing. Not only the physical
but the mental faculties are debilitated and depressed.
Our ice-bound seamen, however, managed to keep Christmas merrily. Early on the day so
dear to Christian memories " the waits " went their usual rounds, — a sergeant of marines, the
chief boatswain's mates, and three other volunteers, — singing Christmas carols, and making " a
special stay outside the captain's cabin." In the forenoon prayers were said on the lower deck ;
after which the captain and officers visited the men's mess, tasting the Christmas pudding, and
examining the tasteful decorations which had been improvised. Then the gifts which, in
anticipation of the day, had been sent out by kindly English hearts, were distributed by the
captain, — to each gift the name of the recipient having been previously attached. This was an
affecting scene ; and hearty, though not without a touch of pathos in them, were the cheers given
as the distribution took place ; a distribution recalling so many " old familiar faces," and all the
sweet associations and gentle thoughts of home ! Cheers w^ere also raised for the captain and
men of the far-away Alert. Next, a choir was formed, and echo resounded with the strains of
" the Roast Beef of Old England ! " of which, no doubt, many of the singers entertained a
very affectionate remembrance. The men dined at twelve and the officers at five, and the day
seems in every respect to have been most successful as a festival.
A few particulars of the " situation " may here be given in the chaplain's own words : —
" We had brought fish, beef, and mutton from England," he says, " all of which Me hung up
on one of the masts, and it was soon as hard as a brick, and perfectly preserved. We had
also brought some sheep from England with us, and they were killed from time to time.
When we arrived in Discovery Bay, as we called it, six of them were alive ; but on being
landed they Avere worried by the dogs, and had to be slaughtered. During the winter the
men had to fetch ice from a berg about half a mile distant from the ship, in order to melt it
for fresh water."
322 GOING A-SLEDGING.
At last the long Aivtic nig-lifc came to an end. It Avas with emotions of hope and gratitude
and joy that the explorers welcomed the first rays of the returning sun on the last day of
February. For four UKJiiths they had lived in obscurity and gloom, with the exception of such
relief as the stars and the moon hatl occasionally afforded. On the day of the sun's return to the
Polar World, it was known that it would rise at about twelve o'clock, and everybody ascended
the hills for the purpose of hailing the glorious spectacle. The mists and fogs, however, baffled
their expectations ; and though they fdt its influence, they did not see it for some days after it
had mounted above the horizon.
News was brought from the Alei't by two officers and two men towards the end of March.
They had accomplished the journey with the thermometer at 40° below zero, and had occupied
six days in making it. The officers were Lieutenant Rawson and Mr. Egerton, who had started
at first in company with Petersen, the interpreter, but had been compelled to return with him,
as already narrated, because he was severely frost-bitten. Directly they returned to the
Discover ij, preparations were made for sending out the sledge-parties. Two officers and three
men, with a dog-sledge, started across Robeson Channel to Hall's Rest, the winter quarters of
the Polaris, to report on the stores left by the American vessel, which the United States Govern-
ment had placed at the disposal of the British expedition. They reappeared on the fifth day,
with the information that they had found biscuit, pemmican, preserved meat, molasses, and other
articles. They had lived in a wooden observatory that they found ei-ected there. Captain
Hall's grave was in excellent preservation ; and they set up a head-board, with an inscription on
it, to mark its situation.
Lieutenant Beaumont and Mi*. Coppinger, the surgeon, each with an eight-man sledge —
or, rather, with seven men besides themselves — started for the Alei't, in quest of the other sledge
which had wintered with that vessel ; their design being to cross Robeson Channel, and explore
the North Greenland coast. Li this journey, owing to the " hummocky " character of the ice, .
they spent twelve daj^s.
Two days later', a third party, consisting of a twelve-man sledge and an eight-man sledge,
with two officers, proceeded to survey the shores of Lady Franklin Sound. The captain accom-
panied them in the eight-man sledge, and was absent about a week ; but the twelve-man sledge,
which had gone merely to carry stores and provisions for the other, did not returii for a fort-
night, the sledge having been damaged, and one of the marines severely frost-bitten in the heel.
The other sledge, after an absence of about four weeks, returned in safety, — having discovered
that Lady Franklin Strait, as the Americans call it, was a sound or fiord about sixty miles long.
They had fallen in with some musk-oxen, which were too Avild to be got at ; and had seen three
or four glaciers, and hills three thousand feet in height.
About June the warm summer began to assert itself, and in the rays of tlie sun their ice-
houses melted away, like the baseless fabric of a vision. So the sledging-party last spoken of
adventured across the ice to Polaris Bay, taking witli them a life-boat as a precaution (for the
ice might at any time have broken up), ami a supply of provisions for the use of the North
Greenland expedition. This work done, they returned to the ship, leaving behind them two
officers and three men, who flushed up Petei'mann Fiord for aliout eiglit miles, until arrested by
the impenetrable barrier of a huge glacier.
On returning from their explorations they found that Lieutenant Newsome, with four men,
"HALL'S HOSPITAL." 323
of whom one had died of scurvy on the way, had accidentally separated from the North Green-
land party, and reached Petermann Fiord on the 3rd of June. All were seriously ill of scurvy,
except Mr. Rawson and a marine. Under Dr. Coppinger's skill and care, liowever, they
recovered. As soon as possible, the doctor, with Mr. Newsome and the Eskimos, started in a
dog-sledge to gather some information about the other members of the North Greenland party.
In a day or two they fell in with them; and not too soon, for all were thoroughly exhausted.
They had abandoned everytliing, and when the doctor arrived were without food. Four of
them, who were accommodated on the sledge, were broken down with scurvy, and two others
had been attacked slightly. What was to be done in this critical position of aflairs ? At first
it was thought advisable to remain on the spot for a while, and see if the Eskimos could shoot a
seal. But a day's experience showed that this plan would not answer ; and tliey then resolved
to carry the two worst invalids on the dog-sledge to Hall's Rest. This was accomplished, and
the poor fellows seemed to grow better when nourished by seal-soup and proper food ; but on
the followinpr morninof one of them sank and died. The life of the other hunof for some time in
the balance. The whole company were now invalided ; and Hall's Rest might fitly have been
termed Hall's Hospital.
A few days — weary, melancholy days — having elapsed, an officer, with a coujtle of men,
was sent across to the ship to report the serious condition of affairs. As it was the end of June,
the ice had broken up in many places, and the traject of the strait was not accomplished without
difficulty, and frequent innnersions in the water. No sooner did Captain Stejjhenson learn how
the party were situated, than he set out, with seven men, to carry a supply of medicines, pro-
visions, and various comforts. They had with them a boat and a sledge on a four-wheeled car,
and in this they crossed the land to the margin of the sea, a distance of about six miles. Some-
times the boat was called into requisition to carry themselves and the sledge from floe to floe.
With half of the men they returned in a few days, leaving the rest in charge of Lieutenant
Beaumont and Dr. Coppinger, until they had made more progress towards recovery.
Early in August an officer arrived from the Alert, to report that she had moved southward,
and was only about ten miles distant ; and that Captain Nares, considering the main objects of
the expedition secured, had decided on returning to England. About the same time returned
the North Greenland party, their provisions having failed them. A few daj's later, and,
having made her way through the broken ice, the Alert joined the Discovery in Discovery Bay.
Mr. Beaumont's party next arrived ; and both vessels prepared for the homeward voyage.
They left Discovery Bay, as we shall see, on the 28th of August.
Let us now return to the Alert, which we left embedded In tlie ice of the North Polar
Ocean.
Her crew made shift to spend a tolerably merry winter, availing themselves of the usual
resources of Arctic explorers under similar conditions. The day's order was much as follows : —
At 6.45 A.M. the commander was called, and all hands were piped up on deck; and the ham-
mocks having been previously stowed away and the decks cleansed, everybody sat down, with
vigorous appetite, to breakfast. The steerage and lower deck were afterwards cleared up, and
soon after 9 a.m. the men were told off" for their respective daily duties. At 10 a.m. another
general parade of the crew" was summoned, and, as a preventive against scurvy, the day's dose of
324 THE "ROYAL ARCTIC THEATRE.'
lime juice was administered. Then the crew went to quarters ; the usual careful inspection took
place ; and the chaplain read prayers. At one o'clock the deck was cleared, and " dinner
smoked upon the hoard." On days when the darkness was not too intense the crew turned out
to work upon tlie ice, or took their turn at walking exercise and amusements. They were thus
occupied until supper, which was served at about five o'clock ; and followed by evening school,
the duties of which proved equally agreeable to the officers who taught and the men who learned.
Soon after nine the officers in charge inspected the ship to see that all was quiet for the night.
At ten out went the lights of the chief petty officers, and at eleven those of the wardroom.
This daily routine was freely interrupted on festival occasions. Guy Fawkes' Day was
celebrated as hilariously as by the men of the Discovery ; and it is a curious illustration of the
strength of old English traditions, that the merry-niaking customs of the Fifth of November
should be thus closely observed l)y both the ice-bound vessels. Due honours were also paid to
Father Christmas ; nor was New-Year's Day forgotten. Dramatic talent existed among the
men of tlie Alert in sufficient force to provide a regular dramatic company. The " Royal Arctic
Theatre " was erected in Funnel Row, and entertainments given weekly. The programmes of
the " Tliursday Pops," as they were commonly called, were thrown off at a printing-press estab-
lished in Trap Lane by Messrs. Giffard and Simmons ; and from one of these we gather that the
Royal Arctic Theatre opened for the season " under the distinguished patronage of Captain
Nares, the members of the Arctic Expedition, and all the nobility and gentry of the neighbour-
hood," on the 18th of November 1875. The orchestra consisted of one eminent pianist. Signer
Aldrichi (Lieutenant Aldrich) ; and the scenic artist was Dr. Moss. The performances com-
menced at 7.30; and "sledges" might be ordered at nine o'clock. They were by no means
wholly dramatic. The bill of fare included scientific and historical lectures, readings and recita-
tions, songs and instrumental music, ranging from grave to gay, from lively to severe ; and now
and then, to draw a bumjser house, some such attraction as feats of legerdemain by " the real
Wizard of the North, on his way to the Hyperborean Regions ; " acrobatic feats by " the
Bounding Brothers of the Frigid Zone ; " or the vocal performances of the " Pale-o'-Christy
Minstrels," who " never sing in London." The inlays produced were an original burlesque
operetta, "The Vulgar Little Boy; or. Weeping Bill" (founded on Barham's popular "Misad-
ventures at Margate"), written expressly by the ship's chaplain, the Rev. W. H. Pullen, author
of the well-known j^olitical squib, "Dame Europa's School;" "Aladdin; or. The Wonderful
Scamp;" "Boots at the Swan;" and "The Area Belle." The last and grand night was
March 2nd, 1876,- — when Captain Nares lectured on "The Paleeocrystic Sea, and Sledging
Experiences ; " and after a variety of songs and readings, the company and audience sang a
grand choral strain, " The Pala30crystic Chorus," which we borrow from the pages of the
Graphic : —
" Not very long ago,
Ou the six-foot floe
Of tlie Palreoerystic .Sea,
Two .sliips dill licle
'Mid the crushiug of the tide,
The Alert aud the Discovery.
" The sun never shone
Their gallant crews u])on
For a hmulred aud forty-two days ;
A GRAND CHORUS. 325
But no darkness and no hummocks
Their merry hearts could flummox,
So they set to work and acted playf.
" There was music and song
To help tilt! hours alonj;,
Brouglit fortli from the good ship's store ;
And each man did his best
To amuse and cheer the rest,
And ' nobody can't do more.'
" Here's a health to Marco Polo ;
May he reach his northern j^oal oh !
And advance the flag of England into realms unknown ;
May the Challenger be tliere
All courses bold to dare,
And Victoria be victorious in the Frozen Zone.
" May our I'oppie be in sight
With her colours streaming bright ;
And the Bulldog tug on merrily from strand to strand ;
And the Alexandra brave
See our banner proudly wave.
O'er the highest cliff's and summits of the northernmost land.
" Here's a health to Hercules,
Whom the autumn blast did freeze,
And all our gallant fellows by the frost laid low.
Just wait a little longer.
Till they get a trifle stronger,
And they'll never pull the woi-se for having lost a too.
" Here's a health with three times three
To the brave Discovery,
And our merry, merry guests so truly welcome here ;
And a brimming bumper yet
To our gallaut little pet.
The lively Clements Markham with its bold charioteer.
" Here's a health to all true blue,
To the officers and crew,
Who man this expedition neat and handy oh !
And may they ever prove.
Both in Sledging and in Love,
That the tars of old Britannia are the dandy oh ! "
111 explanation of some passages in the foregoing sjiirited effusion, we may state that the
six sledges belonging to the Alert were named respectively, Marco Polo, Victoria, Challenger,
Poppie, Bulldog, and Alexandra. " Hercules " appears to have been the nickname of one of the
strong men of the ship.
The Alert wintered so far north, that its officers and men failed to meet with some of the
usual accessories of a Polar expedition. There were no Polar bears ; no Eskimos ; even auroral
displays were infrequent. On the other hand, the darkness is described as not ha'ving been
particularly dense. The reflection of the snow, and the keen " light of stars," considerably
mitigated the " deep obscure ; " and once in every fourteen days the splendour of the moon
illuminated the weird outlines of the monotonous Arctic scenery.
Some sledging was done in the autuuin, though spring is the season when it can best be
undertaken. The Alert was no sooner made all snug in her winter quarters, than sledging-parties
326 . MORE SLEDGING.
carried provisions and boats alon^' the shore l)otli northward and westward, ready for use by
expeditions in the following spring ; the depot being planted within a mile of the farthest
northern jiosition hitherto attained by civilized man. After a terrible journey of twenty days'
duration, the travellers returned on the l-4th of October, just two days after the disappearance of
the sun. The snow fell heavily, and, by protecting the sloppy ice from the intense frost, rendered
travelling difficult. The men's shoes got thoroughly wet ; hence several were frost-bitten, and
one officer and two men, on their return, were compelled to undergo amputation. Beneath the
cliffs lay great dense, deep snow-wreaths, and in many places a road had to be excavated to the
depth of si.N; feet. The men sunk to their waists. The sledge was often completely buried. It
needed all Lieutenant Rawson's resolution and patience to bring back his little company in safety.
The main si edging-party, under Commander Markham, with Lieutenants Parr and May,
and twenty-live men, left the ^llert on the 25th of September, for the purpose of e.stablishing a
depot at Cai^e Joseph Henry. They advanced three miles beyond Sir Edward Parry's northern-
most point, and, from a mountain 2000 feet high, sighted land towards the west-north-west, as
far as lat. 83' 7' N., but saw none to tlie northward.
"With the return of the sun on the 29th of February, Captain Nai'es began his preparations
for the spring sledging-expeditions, organizing two main detachments : one, bound northward,
under Commander Markham and Lieutenant Parr, with fifteen men, supported by Dr. Moss and
Mr. White, with two seven-man sledges ; and another, bound westward, consisting of two seven-
man sledges, led by Lieutenants Aldrich and Giffiird.
On the 12th of ]\Iarch, Lieutenant Rawson and Mr. Egerton, as already narrated, started
off to open up conniuuiication with the Discovery, but Avere compelled to return by the illness of
Petersen, whom they nursed on the way Avith womanlike tenderness and devotion. In the
following week, accompanied by Sinunons, of the Alert, and Regan, of the Discovery, they
resumed their adventurous track across the hummocky ice, Avith the temperature 40^ below zero,
enduring much, but pushing forward undauntedly. When their comrades of the Discovery
condoled Avith them on account of frost-bitten cheeks, and noses, and fingers, it Avas Avith the
frank, blithe heroism of the true British seaman that Lieutenant Rawson replied, — "Well, at
least Ave feel that the cheers from Southsea beach have been fairly earned."
The sledging-expeditions began in earnest in the first Aveek of April, only a few men being
left on board each ship. Captain Stephenson, of the Discovery, paid a visit to the Alert, and
also crossed Hall's Basin twice to Greenland. Captain Nares, Avith Captain Feilden, Avas not
less energetic; and for a considerable area round the two ships all Avas activity and motion.
When at Polaris Bay, Captain Stephenson, in memory of the gallant and unfortunate Hall,
hoisted the American ensign, and erected a brass tablet above the explorer's lonely grave. It
bears the following inscription : —
" Sacred to the memory of Captain C. F. Hall, of the U.S. ship Polaris, Avho sacrificed his
life in the adA^ancement of science on November 8, 1871. This tablet has been erected by the
British Polar Expedition of 1875, Avho, following in his footsteps, have profited by his
experience."
It may bo noted here, in illustration of the labour attendant on the e([ui]inient of an Arctic
THE NORTHERN SLEDGE-PARTY. 327
sledge-party, .■iiid the despatcli of provisions for their sustenance, that, in order to support the
expeditions on the north coast of Greenland and in Petermann Fiord, " Robeson Channel was
crossed eleven times from the position of the Alert, to a depot established north of Cape Brevoort,
and Hall's Basin eleven times between Discovery Bay and Polaris Bay; making a total of
twenty-two sledge-parties crossing the straits, including the transporting of two boats. The main
depot at Cape Joseph Henry, for the support of the northern and western divisions, thirty-seven
miles from the Alert, was visited by sixteen different sledges."
Our travellers did not fail to examine the various cairns erected by the seamen of the
Polaris. At one place a box chronometer was found to be in excellent order, though it had
undergone the test of four Arctic winters. And some wheat, which the Polaris had brought out
in order to ascertain the effect ui^on it of exposure to extreme cold, was successfully cultivated
under a glass shade by Dr. Ninnis — almost as interesting an experiment in its way as the sowing
and successful harvesting of Mummy wheat, the grains found in ancient Egyptian sepulchres.
The British expedition had advanced so far north that it was beyond the life-limit of bears,
birds, and even seals ; and the sledging-parties, unable therefore to obtain any fresh game, were
severely attacked by scurvy. This fell disease invariably broke out when its victims were
farthest from any assistance. The journeys back to the ships were consequently undertaken, as
we have already pointed out, by men whose strength decreased daily ; and the burden became
all the greater as man after njan was smitten down, and, to save his life, placed upon the sledge.
Great was the alarm on board the Alert, when, towards the close of the Stli of June, Lieutenant
Parr suddenly presented himself. He was alone. Where were his couu-ades ? What calamity
had befallen them ? He soon explained that he had undertaken a journey of thirty-five miles,
toiling for twenty-two hours through mist and drift and snow, and guided only by the fresli track
of a stray wolf, to convey the news of the prostrated condition of the members of the northern
expedition. Preparations were immediately made for hastening to their assistance. With the
help of the officers, who all volunteered to drag the sledges, Captain Nares was able by
midnight to start with two strong relief-parties — Messrs. Egerton, Conybeare, Wootton, and
White, the officers who could best be spared from the ship, taking their places at the drag-ropes ;
and Lieutenant May and Dr. Moss pushing forward with a supply of medicines in the dog-sledge.
Such was the alacrity and energy of the two latter, that they contrived to reach Commander
Markliam's encampment within fifty hours of tlie departure of Lieutenant Parr ; though, unfor-
tunately, not in time to save the life of one of the marines, who but a few hours before had
expired and been buried in the floe. On the remainder of the stricken company, their arrival,
however, had a most beneficial influence ; and when, early the next day. Captain Nares came up
to their relief, their courage and resolution, which had never deserted them, were quickened to
the utmost, and even the invalids threw off that dread depression an attack of scurvy invariably
produces. On the morning of the 14th all were once more safe on board the ship, and offering
up their heartfelt thanksgiving to God.
Captain Nares furnishes some particulars which illustrate very vividly the terrible
experiences of the adventurous sledge-party, and also the ravages which scurvy never fails to
commit. He says that of the seventeen officers and men who originally left the Alert, only five
— namely, three officers and two men — were able to drag the sledges alongside. Three others —
heroes as true as any of those whom Homer has made famous I — manfully kept on their feet to
328 THE ANCIENT POLAR ICE.
the last, enduring the extreme of pain and fotigue rather than, by riding on the sledges, increase
the burden their weakened companions had to drag. They were just able to crawl on board
shij5 without assistance. The remaining eight had struggled gallantly, but the disease had
proved too much for them, and thoy were carried on the sledges. Out of the whole number,
only two officers escaped the ravages of scurvy. After due rest and medical attention, the chief
carpenter's mate returned to his duty, and three others recovered so as to be able to wait on
tlieir sick comrades ; but Jolliffe, a petty officer, who had nobly borne up against the disease
while actively employed, when his legs became cramped from resting on board proved to be one
of the most lingering cases.
Surely the nation will never begrudge the cost of expeditions which give such occasion for
the display of the most generous unselfishness and the noblest devotion !
These sledge-journeys were performed in the face of tremendous difficulties. Beyond the
mere coast-belt, there was little smooth ice ; the tolerably level floes or fields, usually about six
feet above the neighbouring ice, seldom measured a mile across. Their surfaces were thickly
covered with rounded blue-topped ice-humps, averaging twenty feet high ; which lay sometimes
in ranges, and sometimes a hundred to two hundred yards apart, the intervening spaces being
filled with wind-driven snow, and the whole resembling a gusty ocean suddenly stiffened into
rest.* Between these floes, like an embankment of rude formation, extended a vast pile of the
wreck and refuse of previous summers' broken-up pack-ice, regelated during the winter into one
rugged and confused inass of angular blocks of various heights up to forty and fifty feet, and
of every imaginable variety of configuration, like the disrupted lava at the mouth of a crater.
These were interspersed with a continuous series of " steep-sided snow-drifts," which stretched
downwards from the highest summit of the ice-chaos until lost in the general level at a distance
of about one hundred yards. It may be conceived that it was not easy to find a passage for the
sledges through these labyrinths of ice and snow. The snow-slopes were by no means an assist-
ance, for the wintei'-winds coming chiefly from the west, and the course of the sledges being due
north, they had to be encountered almost at right angles. Consequently, the journey was an
incessant struggle with ever-recurring obstacles ; as fast as one had been conquered, another
presented itself. The pickaxes were in constant requisition, either to cut a way through the
packed-up ice, or out of the perpendicular side of the high floes. Instead of a steady advance,
the whole party were frequently detained half a day by the necessity of feeing the sledge and
hauling it forward a few feet at a time. These considerations will enable the reader to judge
how great must have been the " pluck," persistence, and energy which could accomplish a
journey of seventy miles in such exceptional circumstances.
Captain Nares observes — and his eulogium will be endorsed by the reader — that no two
officers could have accomplished this lal)orious enterprise with greater ability or courage than
Commander Markham and Lieutenant Parr. And it is but just that the services of Eawlings
and Lawrence, the captains of the two sledges, should be put on record. In addition to their
general cheerfulness and good-humour, — qualities which always help to lighten difficult work, —
to their care and skill were due the safe return of the sledges, on which the lives of all depended
— safe, uninjured, and in as serviceable a state as when they left the ship, notwithstanding the
terrible character of the road they had travelled. To such men as these, and to the brave,
* " Here let the billows stiffen iiiid have rest."— Coleridge.
NO EOAD TO THE POLE. 329
patient, resolute sledge-crews generally, we owe the tribute of our praise. However severe
their privations, they never complained. During this memorable journey to penetrate to the
north over the rugged Polar Oceanic ice, a journey in which the " pluck " and determination of
the British seaman were most conspicuously displayed, day after day, against obstacles which
might well have been regarded as insui'mountable, the two officers and their brave followers
succeeded in advancing the Union Jack to latitude 83° 20' 26" N., — or within four hundred miles
of the North Pole.
In order to attain this advanced j^ost, the present boundary-mark of geographical research
in that direction, the total distance travelled was two hundred and seventy-six miles on the
outward, and two hundred and forty-five miles on the homeward journey, though the farthest
direct distance from the ship did not exceed seventy-three miles. The result of labour so
colossal and sufferings so severe would seem to be, that we must consider a long journey over
the Polar pack-ice, with sledge and boat, to be impracticable at any season of the year. As the
sledges were necessarily advanced each stage singly, we are able to calculate the exact rate of
progression which may be expected, if it should be thought desirable to jiush forward with light
sledges, without any additional means of returning later in the season in the event of a
disruption of ice in the rear. The maximum attained by Commander Markham was two and
three-quarter miles a day ; the mean rate being one mile and a quarter.
The outbreak of scurvy rendered Captain Nares very anxious as to the welfare of
Lieutenant Aldrich's company on their return from the westward ; and the more so, when it
was found that the cairn erected over his dejiot of provisions, thirty miles to the north-west,
remained untouched on the day appointed for his arrival there. Lieutenant May, with the dog-
sledge, and three robust men, were therefore sent to meet him. On the 20th of June the two
parties met at the depot, and signalled the welcome fact to Captain Nares. It w^as fortunate
that Lieutenant Aldrich returned when he did, for on the following day a rapid thaw set in,
with the wind from the southward, and the snow-valleys were rendered impassable for sledges
for the rest of the season. His party, like Commander Markham's, were stricken with scurvy,
four of them lying helpless on the dog-sledge ; and Lieutenant May's arrival proved most
opportune.
Having now assembled all his company on board the Alert, Captain Nares was called upon
to decide whether it was possible to carry the work of exploration further, or whether the
expedition should return to England. Owing to the absence of any land with a northward
trend, and the innavigable character of the Polar pack-ice, he concluded that on neither side of
Smith Sound could any ship advance further northward than the Alert had done ; and also, that
from no secure position in Smith Sound was it possible for sledges to advance nearer to the
Pole. If the expedition remained in the vicinity for another season, the exploration of the
shores of Grant Land might be pursued to the south-west, and of Greenland to the north-east,
but not more than fifty miles beyond the points already attained. In the weakened condition
of the crew, and for so small an additional gain. Captain Nares decided that it would be
unwise to risk another winter. As soon as the ice broke up, " Ho for merry England ! "
A regular thaw did not set in until the last week of June. Water flowed in the ravines on
330 AMONG THE ICE.
the 1st of July. After that date the thaw gradually extended, and increased in rapidity; and
on the i:3rd a strong south-west wind drove the pack a mile away from the shore. On the 26th
a cairn was erected on the shore, and a record of the work of the expedition deposited in it ; and
on the 31st, a passage having been cleared through the winter-barrier of icebergs, the Alert, with
a strong south-west wind filling her canvas, pushed out into Robeson Channel on her homeward
voyage. After a run of two miles along-shore, through a fairly open way between the pack-ice
and what Dr. Kane calls " the ice-foot," she was checked in her course by a heavy floe one and
a half mile in diameter, which almost touched the land ; and no other shelter being available, she
lay up in a small cove or creek, among a group of icebergs that had gone ashore in the shallows.
The obstructive floe showed signs of movement early on the morning of August 1st ; and
soon afterwards went away to the northward at the rate of a mile and a half an hour, grinding
along the ice-foot somewhat alarmingly as it advanced towards the ship. Steam being up,
hov/ever, the Alert cast off" her moorings, and succeeded in edging between the land and the floe;
while the latter swung round in-shore with a violent jerk, close to the position which the ship
had previously occupied.
We may note here the difference which Captain Nares insists upon between an ordinary
ffoe, such as is commonly met with in Arctic waters, and the ancient Polar Sea ice. ■ The
former seldom exceeds six feet in thickness, and breaks into fragments against an obstruction, or
may be charged by a steam-ship ; but the latter, being some eighty or one hundred feet thick,
lifts all impediments out of its course, — or, so to speak, throws them disdainfully away.
"Such was the case on this occasion: the Polar floe, which," says Captain Nares, "we oidy
escaped by a few yards, on nipping against the heavy breastwork of isolated floebergs lining
the coast, some of them forty feet high and many thousand tons in weight, which had lately
formed our protection from the smaller ice-pieces, tilted them over one after another, and forced
them higher up tlie land-slope, like a giant at play, without receiving the slightest harm itself
— not a piece breaking away. It was most providential that, by its twisting round, the Alert
was enabled to escape out of the trap in which she was enclosed."
The shore here presented a formidable line of ice-cliff, from twenty to forty feet in height,
striking down into clear blue water ten to twenty flxthoms deep. The Alert kept onward, so
close to the cliff" that the boats hung at her quarter frequently touched it, until again brought to
a stop near Cape Union by the accumulation of the pack. Her captain, however, was able here
to secure her abreast of a large stream, the current of which had undermined the ice-cliff" for
some fifty yards, and ffoated it off" to sea, leaving a kind of cove or harbour where the ship could
Ije laid alongside the beach in such a manner that, if the pack struck her, it could only force her
on shore. The reader of Arctic voyages will remember that a somewhat similar position was
once occupied by Sir Edward Parry's ship, under somewhat similar circumstances.
When the tide had turned, and began to flow southward, it broke up the ice all around
Cape Union, and formed a narrow water-way, which offered Captain Nares a chance of escape.
Steam was got up immediately, but, owing to unavoidable delay in shipping the rudder, the ice
closed in before the ship could be carried round. Her last stage was worse than her first; for
she was now cut off" from her safe little port, and no better shelter was available than a slight
hollow or broalc in the ice-cliff". Here, however, she was brouglit-to, with the ice-blocks swirling
past her at a distance of twenty yards. At low water Captain Nares cast off', and bored some
ICE-BOUND. 331
way into the pack, so that the Alert might drift round the cape with the southern tide. At
about a quarter of a mile from the land, slie drove along with the ice ; and ^^■hen the tide
slackened, steamed out of the pack before it began to set to the northward. Then, keeping close
in to the ice-foot, she kept slowly on her course to the southward, the water-way broadening as
she approached Lincoln Bay, which was crossed without difficult}-. When within five miles of
Cape Beechey, the tide turned ; but after a short delay a channel opened, allowing the ship to
round the cape. At this point the ice-cliff" ends, and the land slopes gently to the shore — which
is protected by a barrier of floebergs, similar to, but smaller than, those which line the shore of
the Polar Sea. Here the ship was made fast in three fathoms water, within twenty yards of
the shore, about a mile to the soutli of the cape.
We dwell on these particulars in oi'der that our readers may form some idea of the diffi-
culties of Arctic voyaging. The words, " She forced her way through the ice," afford no concep-
tion whatever of the obstacles that have to be overcome, and the dangers that have to be
avoided, by a ship navigating in the midst 'of pack-ice and ice-floes ; or of the skill and vigilance
and patience on the jiart of officers and men, by Avhich only can the enterprise be brought to a
successful issue.
We are told that on August the 4th snow-squalls blew from the south-west. As the ice
had closed in around the ship, holding it in a vice, the sportsmen of the party landed, and visited
some neighbouring lakes in search of game. They found a number of wild geese, and killed
fifty-seven, which supplied a welcome addition to the ordinary bill of fare. Mr. Egerton and a
seaman were sent off" to the Discovery, then about twenty miles distant, with orders for her to
prepare for the homeward voyage. We have already related how they reached the ship in safety.
While the Alert was thus imprisoned, the huge pack-ice in the offing was carried up and
down the strait by the tidal movement, the wind having the effect of increasing the velocity of
the current and the duration of its ffow both northward and southward. The ice generally was
of a lighter character than that in the Polar Sea ; but many heavy Polar floes were driven
southward by the gale, and set into Lady Franklin Sound and Archer Fiord rather tlian down
Kennedy Channel. Lady Franklin Sound, indeed, seems to be the receptacle of all the heavy
ice that conies south thi'ough Robeson Channel ; retaining it until the prevailing westerly winds
carry it once more to the northward, and empty the Sound, previous to its being refilled on the
return of the northerly gales. It is only, says Captain Nares, in seasons when noi'therh- winds
occur more frequently than westerly ones, that any considerable quantities of the huge Polar ice
are drifted into Smith Sound and Baffin Bay.
The gale of the 6th of August was very violent. The tide rushing southward, drove a
succession of heavy floe-pieces against the small bergs that protected the ship, and capsized one
of them completely. It was firmly aground when struck b}- the point of a large floe ; but such
was the force of the collision that it was reared erect in the air to its full height of at least sixty
feet above water, when, turning a complete somersault, like a practised gymnast, it came down
on its back with a shock that shattered it into pieces, and raised a wave sufficient to roll the ship
considerably. Into the gap thus caused moved the ice, until at last it nijiped the Alert, though
not dangerously.
That same evening Lieutenant Eawson and two seamen arrived from the Discovery, with
news of the ill-fortune that had overtaken the Greenland sledge-party.
33-2 THE TWO SHIPS.
It soon became apparent tliat there was no chance of releasing the ice-bound ship except by
cutting down the heavy floe that held her prisoner ; and accordingly all hands were set to work.
After three days' toil, so much of the floe was hewn away that at high water it floated and set
the ship free ; at the same time the main pack moved ofi", and the Alert steamed onward, rejoin-
ing her consort, the Discovery, on the 11th of August.
All the invalids on board the Alert wero now removed to the Discovery, and Captain Nares
remained at the entrance to the harbour, prepared to cross to Polaris Bay, as soon as the ice
permitted, to relieve Lieutenant Beaumont. As before stated, however, he arrived on the 14th,
and relieved the commander of the expedition of a serious anxiety. Both vessels were now
ready to start, but the state of the ice detained them until the 20th, when, a " lead " ofiering
through the pack, away they steamed, and arrived close to Cape Lawrence without encountering
any serious obstacle. Here their old enemy, the ice, again opposed them ; and Captain Nares
found only the famous " three courses " of a well-known statesman open to him : either to return
north, to drive ahead into the pack, or make fast the ships to some of the grounded floebergs.
This last expedient was adopted, and in a land-locked inner basin the Alert and the Discovery
were accordingly secured. But, unfoi'tunately, at the fall of high water a piece of ice pressed
against the Alert, and at the same time its protecting floeberg drove ashore. Result : the Alert
was aground forward, but with deep water under the stern. And before she could be released,
the tide had fallen fourteen feet, so that the ship lay over at an angle of 22°, with fore-foot and
keel exjiosed as far aft as the fore-channels. Nothing could be done until the tide rose. Then
the ship was lightened, and afterwards hauled off" without having undergone any damage.
A passage again opened on the 22nd of August, and the two shijas steamed as far southward
as Cape CoUinson, with no other troubles than dense snow-storms, mists, and strong head-winds.
But off" the cape, the Alert having to back to escape a nip, she fouled the Discovery for a moment;
the latter escaj^ing, however, with nothing worse than the loss of a boat's davit.
The ice gradually breaking up before a strong south-west wind, the two ships crossed Scoresby
Bay, which was perfectly clear, but rolled with a heavy sea. As they approached Cape Frazer,
they were buffeted by a terrible gale, and put in to Maury Bay, anchoring among a quantity of
grounded ice. Three days were spent in arduous efforts to double Cape Frazer, — one of the hetes
noires of Arctic navigators, because it is the meeting-jioint of the flood-tides, north and south,
one from the Polar Ocean and the other from the Atlantic, — and Cape Hayes, the boundary-
mark of the channel. Then the voyagers, with glad hearts, passed into Smith Sound ; and
hugging the shore as closely as was safe, arrived on the 29th at Prince Imperial Island, in
Dobbin Bay, " every one heartily tliankful to be out of the pack, clear of the straggling icebergs,
and for the ships to be secured to fixed ice once more."
The temperature now sunk again below freezing-point. The brief Arctic summer was over,
and day and night the young sea-ice formed continuously. The mists that had hitherto accom-
panied the ships cleared away before a brisk northerly wind, and revealed a magnificent pano-
rama of lofty mountains, white with shrouds of snow, and deep valleys filled with colossal
glaciers. One of these stretched downwards to the shore, and thi'ew ofl' great icebergs which
floated or stranded in Dobbin Bay. It was named after the Empress Eugdnie, who had taken a
lively personal interest in the expedition.
ARRIVAL AT DISCO. 333
Crossing Dobbin Bay on the 1st of September, the voyagers came witliin a quarter of a
mile of a depot of provisions estabhshed near Cape Hawks in the previous autumn, and suc-
ceeded in removing a portion. A day or two later Captain Nares landed on "Washington Island,
and visited a cairn which he had raised there on the 12th of August 1865. He visited, also,
two old cairns erected by former explorers ; the lichens with which they were gray proved that
they were of earlier date than Dr. Hayes' expedition.
On the 3rd of September, by dint of steaming assiduously, the ships rammed their way
through a lane of water to the westward of Cajie Hawks, which was inconveniently obstructed
by loose pieces of old ice. After rounding the cape, says the captain, the pack by drifting away
from the land had left unfrozen water and numerous detached small floes, which forced them to
make a very serpentine course, and occasionally to jiass within thirty yards of the low ice-foot on
the shore, fortunately always finding deep water. In this way they reached Allman Bay, half-
way between Cape Hawks and Franklin Pierce Bay. Meeting here with a belt of new ice, the
Discovery was sent ahead ; and under full steam she forced a canal through the ice, which was
from one to three inches thick. From the lofty hills in the interior a huge glacier leads down
to Allman Bay ; and it is a noticeable ftxct that always in the neighbourhood of a glacier-stream
the water was found nearly fresh, and of the temperature of 32°.
On the 7th our homeward-bound ships reached Norman Lockyer Island, on tlie margin of
Princess Marie Bay. The season was now far advanced, and as the slightest mistake might
have led to the vessels being ice-bound for the winter, the two captains ascended to the highest
point of the island to obtain some idea of the prospect before them. They were much relieved
by seeing a large area of open water some twenty miles distant, which they conjectured would
extend to the mouth of Smith Sound. No time was lost in getting under way ; and the ships
crossed two-thirds of the distance before they fell in with ice. By charging it under full steam,
they cleared the obstacle, and then, through an open-water channel, ran on to Cape Sabine.
On the 9th of September they arrived oflp Cape Isabella, where they found a small packet
of letters and newspapers which had been left at the depot by the Pandora. The weather was
now calm, and the wind favourable. Sail was hoisted, therefore, as the supply of coal began to
run short, and on the evening of the 12th the expedition reached Bardin Bay. Dui-ing the 13th
and the 1 4th they worked southward into Wolstenholm Sound ; and thence, with a south-
easterly wind, ci'ossed to Cajie Byam Martin, which they reached on the 16th. Two days later
they entered the well-known waters of Melville Bay ; on the 25th the}^ arrived at Disco, where,
and afterwards at Egedesminde, they obtained some small supjilies of coal.
Egedesminde was left behind on the 2nd of October, and on the 4th the two ships recrossed
the Arctic Circle — exactly fifteen months from the time of crossing it on the outward voyage.
Experiencing adverse winds, they made but slow progress to the southward ; and as the weather
became warmer and damper, a few of the men suffered from rheumatism and catarrhs. During
a heavy gale on the 19th, the two ships separated; but both, as we have seen, reached the
shores of England in safety, where their gallant ofiicers and crews met with the hearty welcome
so thoroughly merited by their courage, perseverance, and heroic industry.
Some notes on the general results obtained by the expedition in zoology, botany, and geo-
logy, have appeared in the Academy. The two naturalists under whose care these departments
334 RESULTS OF THE EXPEDITION.
were placed, — Captain Feilden, in the Alert, and Mr. Hart, in the Discovery, — worked with
unflagging energy and no small success.
Of mammals, the species found farthest north Averc the Arctic fox, the wolf, the ermine,
the Polar hare, the lemming, and the musk-ox, — all of which were seen on the shores of the great
Polar Basin or PaliBOcrystic Sea. No cetaceans were sighted north of Payer Harbour, near
Cape Sabine ; a fact which renders all the more serious the gradual process of extermination of
the Greenland (or right) whale in more southern latitudes. The only seal fomid beyond Cape
Union, in lat. 82° 15' N., was the little ringed seal or " floe-rat" {Phoca hispida).
So far as the land extended, bird life prevailed ; the species being the snowy owl, the snow-
bunting, and the ptarmigan. Full collections were made of all the birds frequenting Smith
Sound ; and our naturalists had the satisfaction of discovering the long-sought-for breeding-
haunts of the knott and sanderling.*
Few species of marine fish were obtained, but "an interesting small salmonoid" was met
with in fresh-water lakes as far north as lat. 82° 35'. A fine collection of marine invertebrates
was secured by dredging and trawling ; and the character of the sea-bottom from Bafldn Bay
up to lat. 83° 19' N. was accurately ascertained by a series of careful soundings.
In the department of botany our naturalists were rewarded by the discovery of between
twenty and thirty species of phanerogamic plants between the parallels of 82° and 83°. Much
richer and more varied results were obtained in the cryptogamic flora.
Geologically, the facts arrived at were of the utmost value. " The whole west coast of
Smith Sound, from Cape Isabella to Cape Union, has been fully surveyed and mapped, and
large collections have been made both of fossils and rock-specimens ; while the sledge-parties
which explored the shore of the Polar Basin, both to east and west, brought back sufficient
material to determine the geological character of the country. Silurian limestones, richly fossili-
ferous, were the prevailing rocks along Smith Sound. Miocene deposits, including a tiventy-foot
seam of coal, were found as far north as lat. 81° 41'. From the shales and sandstones of this
formation a beautiful series of leaf-impressions were collected, illustrating the characteristic flora
of the epoch, and presenting a remarkable demonstration of the existence of a temperate climate
within five hundred miles of the present Pole at a comparatively recent geological time. Not
less imjaortant are the indications of great recent changes in the elevation of the land aftbrded by
the discovery of thick post-pliocene deposits, lying at a considerable elevation above the sea^
level, and containing fossils similar to the existing marine fauna. Lastly, very interesting and
suggestive observations have been made on glaciation and ice-action in genei'al."
This, of course, is but a summary, and a very brief and condensed one, of researches which
have evidently been of the highest importance. And it might almost be said of the late expedi-
tion, that even had its geographical discoveries been less valuable, its scientific results would
have entitled it to a foremost place in the annals of Arctic Enterprise.
Our record of Arctic expeditions will fitly close with a sketch of the cruise of the Pandora,
a screw-yacht commanded by Cajitain Allen Young, which left England in the summer of 187G,
ill order to open up communications Avith the Admiralty expedition.
* Tlie scarcity of animal life in the remote Nortli is sliown liy the small quantity of game sliot by the sportsmen of the expedition after reiich-
ing winter quarters :— six musk-oxen, twenty hares, seventy geese, twenty-six ducks, ten ptarmig.an, and three foxes.
CRUISE OF TIIK -'PANDORA." 335
Captain Young left Upuiiiavik on the evening of the 19th of July, and stood away to the
northward — in bad weather, and with the wind blowing a gale. 'i'liVDUgh vast fields of ice he
threaded his way, sometimes under sail, sometimes under steam, until, on the morning of the
24th, he found his ship completely surrounded, in lat. 75' 10' N.
No time was lost in endeavouring to effect an escape by chai'ging the ice at full speed, —
again and again returning to the onset ; and a slow but steady progress was being made, when
the field in which they were held fast, drifting before the gale, " collided " with a group of
grounded bergs, and exposed the little vessel to such severe pressure, that preparations were
made for abandoning her. Provisions, ammunition, camping ;nid travelling gear, all were made
ready, and the boats were lowei^ed as far as possible at the davits. Meantime, heavy charges of
gunpowder were used to blast the ice where it pressed the ship most severely ; and the bergs
taking a different direction, the Pandora began to recover herself, and before night settled down
nearly to her usual level. In the darkness of the night, with the wind howling, and the snow
and sleet driving in heavy showers, she moved ahead with the pack ; and in this -way continued
her progress until the 27th, when the weather cleared, and Captain Young discovered that he
had advanced right into the heart of Melville Bay, with no water in sight. Full in view were
Capes Walker and Melville, the Peaked Hill, and huge glacier-streams embedded in the inter-
vening valleys. All around was one vast monotonous sheet of rugged ice. It was not until the
29th that the Pandora, after many hairbreadth escapes, got into open water, in lat. 75° 50' N.,
and long. 64° 55' W. While thus imprisoned in the grasp of the floe, the explorers killed only
one Polar bear, four seals, and a few little auks.
In a clear sea they now stood away to the westward, passing Capes Dudley, Digges, and
Athol, and other headlands familiar in the records of Arctic adventure. At noon on the 31st,
when off Wolstenholm Island, another gale overtook them, increasing rapidly to almost hurri-
cane fury. This was an unpleasant experience ; for the deck was washed by heavy seas, and it
was with the greatest difficulty they avoided coming into collision with the icebergs which
drifted rapidly through the snow and spray.
Peaching Cary Island, they landed to examine Captain Nares' depot of 2)rovisions, and
found it in good preservation. The cairn had not lieen visited since Young's call at the island
on the 10th of September in the j^revious year. Afterwards they made for Sutherland Island,
where they found a record of the American explorer. Captain Hartstene, dated August 16,
1855. It is with a curious feeling that, in these regions of almost perpetual winter, the voyager
comes ujjon such f;xint memorials of men who, like him, have dared all the perils of icefloes and
icebergs, and adventured into seas far beyond the track of ordinary commercial enterprise.
On Littleton Island, a record of the expedition was found. The document was dated July
28, 1875, and signed by Captain Nares; and it indicated the course about to be taken liy the
ships under his orders. Owing to the ice-encumbered condition of the straits, however. Captain
Young could not follow it up ; and instead of crossing to Cape Isabella, he resolved to examine
the coast in Hartstene Bay, in order to seek a harbour for the relief-ship which the Admiralty
had intended to send out in 1877, in case of the non-return of the Polar Expedition. This was
found on the 4tli of August, not far from the- Eskimo settlement of Etah, and named after the
Pandora. It would seem to offer every advantage as winter quarters for Ai'ctic discovery-
ships; the surrounding hills are "dotted with Arctic hares, appearing like snow-balls on the
336 TWELVE HOURS' EXPERIENCE.
luxuridus vegetation." The little auk breeds in thousands on the clitis, eider fowl and guillemots
haunt tlie waters, and the adjacent valleys and pastures are frequented by i-eindeer.
Captain Young next made for Cape Isabella, which he reached on the Gth of August.
Watchful eyes soon discovered a large cairn on the summit of this headland. A boat was
lowered, and the contents of the cairn soon obtained, while des^iatches and letters for Captain
Nares' expedition were left in their stead. Then the Pandora steamed to the northward ; but,
owing to the adverse winds and the accumulated ice, could make no way, and was forced back
to Cape Isabella. Another attempt was made to the eastward, and for several days the gallant
little shiji crossed and recrossed the straits, through the 2)ack, always beset with ice, and
frequently enshrouded in impenetrable fogs. No fewer than three times was she comj^elled to
take shelter in Pandora Harbour. On the 19th she was driven back to the northward of
Littleton Island, and Captain Young and some of his officers took the opportunity of visiting
tlie Polaris camp. Notliing remained of the house erected by Captain Buddiugton except a
few broken boards. The rocks were strewn with pieces of metal, fragments of clothing, and
other waifs and strays. The cache in which the retreating party had deposited their books and
instruments was also examined ; but the only relics were a brass bowl of a seven-inch compass,
a tin tube, and parts of a telescope. Some cases and casks, containing records for the use of
Captain Nares, were securely placed among the rocks on the western point of the island ; and
Captain Young then returned to Cape Isabella.
Finding nothing here of any interest, and convinced that no travelling or boat party had
reached that position from the Polar ships, the Pandora bore away to the northward under
canvas. " It was very dark and thick," says Captain Young, " but sufficiently clear to enable
us to avoid the heavy ice. By nine a.m. we were up to Lecomte Island, when we were stopped
by a fog until eleven o'clock, when I could see from aloft that the main pack extended across
the straits into Posse Bay. We were in a lake of land water, with close-packed and heavy ice
all round, from south to north, and again closing on the land from the eastward. Our only
chance of moving seemed to be through a narrow lead or slack place, running first to the east-
north-east, and then again apparently towards the east coast. We entered the pack, and
succeeded by five p.m. in again escajsing into the land water in Hartstene Bay." Such are the
experiences of twelve hours in the ice-clogged waters of the North ! But we need not delay
the reader with these minute particulars, notwithstanding their interest as illustrative of the
nature of the struggle waged with so much persistency of purpose by the Arctic explorer. The
sea was now covered everywhere with ice and bergs. Storms were of frequent occurrence ; and
the wind and wave beaten Pandora was forced back into Baffin Bay.
Here, on the 28 th of August, her captain could see that the solid ice had filled the straits
and the head of the bay right across to Cape Alexander. The way north being thus obstructed.
Captain Young resolved on proceeding towards Upernavik, in North Greenland, hoping to find
that the last ship had not already sailed for Denmark, and in that case to send an officer home
with despatches, while the Pandora returned to Smith Sti-ait.
On the 29th she was off Hakluyt Island, and steered for Bardin Bay in A\']iale St)und.
On entering the bay, a summer tent could be seen, and some Eskimos, with tlieir dogs, ruiming
to and fro, evidently with the view of attracting the attention of the visitors. Captain Young
accordingly landed, with some of his officers, and accompanied by Christian, his Eskimo
ESKIMO Ti;KAsri;F:s. 337
interpreter. The natives niet them with the utmost confidence and fearlessness, assisting to
haul their boat up on tlie shore. They were ten in number, and all members of one family.
Food aj^peared to be plentiful with them, but they were profuse in tlnir thanks inr some wnlrus-
flesh given by Captain Young. Their manners were frank and conununicative, and they
showed considerable vivacity, rejoicing over the results of a very good hunting season. Neither
European ships nor white men had they seen for years; but they said that an old man, wlio,
with his family, inhabited Northumberland Island, told of two ships which had passed to the
northward "last summer." How lonely must be the life led by these poor savages! Never
gladdened by the sight of a sail; but, year after year, shut up in their frozen solitudes, and
without any other object or purpose before them than to obtain just enough food to avoid a
premature and miserable death!
Among their treasures Captain Young observed a ship's bucket, half the top of a mahogany
table, the paddle of a Greenlander's kayack, much ice-worn, and a piece of packing-case marked
"Lime juice — Leith;" all of which, they said, had drifted into the bay at different times from
the southward. These people seemed to Captain Young of a kind and simple disposition, while
they were evidently robust and healthy. All that they had — and it was little enough — they
freely pressed upon their visitor; and when asked what present they would like, their chief
selected only some gimlets and a fifteen-foot ash oar. The latter, he said, would split up into
spear-shafts; the former he wanted for boring bone and ivory. Captain Young, however, gave
them several other useful articles; accepting in return some narwhal horns, specimens of their
pot-stone cooking-kettles, and of the iron pyrites which they used for striking fire. An exchange
of dogs also took place; five of the dogs belonging to the Pandora being given for tliire of the
finest bear-hunting and tame dogs of the Eskimos.
At Upernavik, the Pandora, after a stormy and dangerous passage, arrived on the evening
of Sejitember the 7th, but found that the last ship had sailed for Europe. As there were no
means, therefore, of communicating with England, and as, without such communication, Captaiii
Young did not feel authorized to winter in the North, a supply of fresh water was taken on
board, and the ship steered for home. From the 15th to the 21st she tarried at Goodhav'n, in
Disco Island. In Davis Strait she encountered large quantities of heavy Spitzbergen drift-ice,
and weathered a severe south-easterly gale. On the 16th of October, in lat. 54° 38' N., and
long. 44° 30' W., she sighted the Arctic ships. Alert and Discovery, and hastened to communi-
cate with them. They kept together until the 19th. On the following day, the Pandora
was buffeted by another hurricane; but the rest of her voyage was accomplished in safety, and
was marked by no incidents of importance.
Here, for the present, terminates the i-ecord of British enterprise and adventure in the
Arctic World. It is difficult to believe, however, that tlie nation will rest until the " heart of
the mystery has been plucked out," the Secret finally mastered, and the British flag hoisted on
that remote point which is conventionally known as the Noin 11 Pole.
INDEX.
Agahicus mdscaeius, 139.
Agassiz, experiments of, 110.
Aluctoria julj.ata, 137.
Aletsch glacier, the, de-scrilied, 47.
Algol, or Medusa's Head, 39.
Arctic Highlanders, 12.
Arctic night, the, characteristics of, 32-34, 93-
93.
Arctic region, extent of, 13, 14.
Atmospheric phenomena, 31.
Auk, the, described, 97, 98.
Aurora Bore.alis, tlic, phenomena of, 27 ; theory
of, 29.
Baffin, discoveries of, 227.
Barents, adventures of, 2GG-2G9.
Barrens, the, region of, described, KJ.
Bear, Polar, natural history of tlie, 8.5-93 ;
hTinting seals, 86 ; vor.acity of, SS ; affec-
tion for its young, 88, 89.
Beechey, Captain, quoted, 4.5, 4G, 55.
Bell, quoted, 78.
Bellot, Lieutenant, quoted, 123.
Benuet, Stephen, voyage of, 228.
Berkeley, quoted, 140.
Birds, migTations of, 11.
Bootes, constellation of, 40.
Bremer, Frederika, quoted, 138.
Bi-ewster's, Sir David, experiment with polar-
ised light, 111.
Buddington, Captain, adventures of, 308-311.
Burrough, Stephen, voyage of, 222, 223.
Button, Captain, voyage of, 227.
Bylot, Robert, voyage of, 227.
Caklsen, Ca]itain, voyage of, 270.
Cladonia rangifcrina, 137.
Clarke, Dr., quoted, 20.3.
Clavering, Captain, referred to, 12.
Cochlearia, or scurvy-gi'a.ss, uses of, 139.
Coleridge, quoted, 69.
Constellations, northern, list of, 37.
Cooley, Mr., quoted, 230.
Corvidje, the, natural history of, 160.
Cryptogamous plants of the north, lU, 142.
Crystallization, process of, 108.
Cygnus musicus, 161.
D'Almkida, ( 'ount, quoted, 205, 206.
Davis, Captain Jolui, voyages of, 221, 225.
Dolphins, the, natural history of, 82, 83.
Dorothra, the, narrow escape of, 55.
Dufferin, Lord, quoted, 166, 167, 172.
ElDEK DUCKS, the, natural history of, 103 ; in
Iceland, 104.
Eskimo dog, the, descrijition of, 190.
Eskimo, the, hunting the walrus, G8, 69 ; hut
of, 76.
Eskimo kayak described, 182.
Eskimo seal-hunt, an, described, 77, 78.
Eskimo sledge, the, described, 192-196.
Eskimos, the, boundaries of, 175 ; character,
Tnanners, customs, and clothing, 179-196.
Falcon, the, natural history of, 160.
Faraday, ingenious experiment of. 111.
Felinska, Madame, quoted, 211.
Fish in the Arctic se.as, 100.
Flora of the Arctic hands, 19.
Fox, Luke, voyage of, 228.
Fox, the Arctic, n.atural history of, 151-153.
Fox-trap, a, described, 152.
Franklin, Sir J., overland jouniey of, 231 ; last
expedition of, 231 ; relics of, discovered,
233, 235, 236.
Fritallaria sarrana, the, properties of, 142, 14.3.
Frobisher, Sir Martin, voyage of, 223.
Frobisher Strait discovered, 223.
Gale, an Arctic, described, 70.
Cards of Lapland, described, 207.
Gcrmania, the, expedition of, 245-26.5.
Geysers, the, phenomena of, 16.5-167.
Gilbert, Sir Humplirey, death of, 224.
Glacier-ice, jiccidharities of, 112.
Glacier in Smith Strait, 124, 127 ; of Scnuiat-
sialik, 128, 129.
Glaciers, characteristics of, 47 ; motion of, 113-
115; phenomena connected with, 115-118 ;
of the Arctic regions, 118-133 ; of Spitz-
bergeu, 120, 123.
Godhav'n, 1G7.
Grampus, the, natur.al history of, 83, 84.
Greenland, scenery on the coo-st of, 22.
Guillemot, the, descrilied, 96, 97.
(Jull, the, described, 103.
Hall, Captain, expedition ami death of, 271,
27'>
Hansit, the, voyage and loss of, 24.5-251.
Hans the Hunter, 186-189, 284.
Hare, the Arctic, 154.
Hartwig, Dr., quoted, 15.
Hayes, Dr., quoted, 25, 35, 43, 49, 50, 59, 87,
95, 96, 124, 125, 127, 128, 138, 1.52, 1,53,
186, 191, 192, 244 ; Arctic expedition of,
244, 245.
Hc.arne, quoted, 183.
Hccia, the, and the Fur;/, danger of, 5G.
Hegemann, Captain, 245.
Hekla, eruption of, 164.
Henderson, Dr., quoted, 172.
Hill, Mr., qiroted, 213, 214.
Holison, Lieutenant, discovers Fraiddiu relics,
234-236.
Holland, Mr., quoted, 173.
Hore, Mr., voyage of, 222.
Hudson, Henry, discoveries of, 223-228.
Humltoldt Glacier, description of, 131-134, 238.
Hutchinson, Capt.ain, fjuoted, 205.
IcEBt:RGS, their dimensions, 41 ; their magnifi-
cent appearance, 42, 43 ; danger to naviga-
tion from, 44, 123 ; breaking up of, 49 ;
r.ange of, 50, 51 ; in Baffin Bay, 124.
Ice-helds, extent aiul ch.aracter of, 54, 56, 57.
Ice-flowers, characteristics of, 108.
Iceland, dimensions of, 162 ; history of, 162 ;
volcanoes of, 163 ; dreary landscapes of,
164; geysers of, 166, 167; houses and
churches of, 170 ; tr.avellingin, 172 ; horses
of, 173.
Iceland moss, uses of, 138, 139.
.Tac'iibshav'n, IGS.
.Takut merchants, the, enterprise of, 217.
Jakuts, the, as bear-hunters, 212 ; manners and
customs of, 216, 217.
James, Captain Thomas, voyage of, 228.
Joe the Eskimo, witli ( 'ajftain Tyson, 278,
ct sqq.
Kamtschatka, fisheries of, 212 ; the dog of,
214, 215.
Ivamtschatkans, the, char.acteristics of, 213, 214.
Kane, Dr., quoted, 15, .32, 33, 34, 42, 68, 73, 74,
88, 91, 92, 131-131, 149, 1,53, 1S4, 185, 237,
239, 242, 243 ; Arctic explorations of, 237-
214.
INDEX.
339
Knots, thf, lialiits of, 11, 12.
Koldewey, Captain, refcrreil to, 12 ; voya*,'e of,
245.
IjAGOPUS, the, ICl.
Laniont, Mr., qnotetl, IJO, 02.
Lapland, divisions and e.\tent of, 197 ; climate
of, 197 ; inhabitants of, 197 ; the reindeer
in, 200 ; sledging in, 201 ; an interior in,
201, 205.
Lapp dialect, the, 206.
Tja]>p hunters, the, boldnes.s of, 202.
Lapps, the, dress, manners, and customs of,
198.
Ijapps, the Mountain, character of, 190, 200.
Lapps of West Bothnia, 206, 207.
Laube, Dr., quoted, 252.
Lemming:, the Arctic, 154.
Maciull.\n, Dr., cpioted, 135, 136, 137, 141.
Markham, C, quoted, 10, 175, 225, 226. 273.
Marten, the, 155.
>Lirtins, M. Charles, quoted, 119, 120, 121.
M'Clintock, Captain Sir Roderick, quoted, 148,
151, 181, 265 ; voyage of, 2.34.
M'Clure, Sir Eobert, quoted, 81 ; discovers
North- West Passage, 233.
Mecham, Captain, quoted, 146, 150.
Mer de Ghvce of Greenland, 127, 128.
Merganser, the natural liistory of, 99.
Milton, Lord, and Dr. Cheadk-, cpioted, 158-
160.
Moonlight in the Pohir World, 26.
Moraines, described, 115.
Moravian mission-stations in Greenland, 179.
Mosses in the Arctic regions, 139.
Musk-o.x, the, natural history of, 149, 150.
Mustelidas family, the, in the Arctic reg^ons,
155.
Nakes, Captain, expedition of, 314, ct sqr/.
Narwhal, the, natural history of, 82.
Newfoundland colonized, 224.
North- West Passage, utility of, 9.
Novaia Zemlaia, temperature of, 21.
OSBORN, Admiral Sherard, quoted, 44, 81, 84,
85, 87, 146, 151, 232, 236, 237.
Ostiaks, the, manners and customs of, 211, 212.
Ostrownoje, trade at, 220.
Oxyria, the, uses of, 141.
Pack-ice, description of, 53.
Parry, Captain, quoted, 44, 40, 50, 2:!0 ; voy-
ages of, 228, 229, 230.
Payer, Lieutenant, voyage of, 270, 271.
Penny, Captain, voyage of, 232 -234.
Phaenogamous plants of the north, 141.
■Phocida;, the. — See Seal.
Plant-life of Spitzbergen, 142 ; of Kamtschat-
ka, 142, 143.
Pleiads, the, 39.
Polaris, the, voyage of, 271-313.
Polecat, the, in the Arctic regions, 150, 157.
Pole-Star, the, position of, 30.
Poole, Jonas, voyage of, 228.
Puffin, the, natural history of, 99.
(JUENEs, or Finns, the, 206.
Rae, Dr., finds relics of Franklin, 233.
Red snow, phenomenon of, explaiu('d, 1.35.
Refraction, phenomena of, 31.
Regelation, what it is. 111.
Reikiavik, description of, 168, 169.
Reindeer, the, natural history of, 144 ; nseful-
nessof, 145 ; food of, 140 ; and wolves, 147 ;
in Siberia, 218, 219.
Reindeer moss, 137.
Rendu, Bishop, quoted, 114.
Richardson, Sir J., quoted, 145.
Rock-hair, 137.
Rorqual, the, 80.
Ross, Sir James, quoted, 145.
Ross, Sir John, voyages of, 228, 231.
Sabine, +5ir Edward, quoted, 10.
Sable, the, natiu-al history of, 1.56.
Samojedes, the, superstitions of, 208, 209 ; man-
ners and customs of, 210, 211.
Schaitan, an Ostiak idol, 211.
Scoresby, Dr., quoted, 44, 106, 186.
Seal, the, natural history of, 71-73 ; flesh of,
73, 74 ; different genera of, 75.
Sermiatsialik, glacier of, 127, 128.
Shepherd, Mr., quoted, 104.
Skaptii Jokul, eruption of, 165.
Smew, the, natural history of, 100,
Smith Sound, route by, 228.
Snow, formation of, 108.
Snow-crystals, described, 109.
Snow-line, limit of, 20.
Somerville, Mrs., quoted, 30, 107.
Southcy, quoted, 130.
Sporidcsniiuni lepraria, 140.
S[jring in the Arctic regions, 34.
Starakis, the, described, 98.
Stephenson, Captain, of the Discnrcry, 31 4.
Summer in the Arctic regions, 30.
Swan, the »-ild, natural history of, 105 ; the
whistling, 101.
Tadebtsios, or Samojede demons, 209.
Tadibe, the Samojede priest, 209.
Tchuktche, the, manners and customs of, 220.
Temperature of Arctic winter, 33.
Tennyson, quoted, 105.
Thingvalla, the, in Iceland, 108.
Thome, Dr. Robert, Arctic exploration pro-
posed by, 222.
Tripe de roche, 137, 138.
Tundras, the stony, described, 15, 10.
Tungusi, the, characteristics of, 219, 220.
Tyndall, Professor, (pioted, 47, 48, 108, 109-
111, 112, 113, 115, 117, 118.
Tyson, Captain, narrative of, 278-308.
Unk.nown Region, extent of, 10.
Upeniavik, described, 176.
Ursa Major, constellation of, :}0; description
of, 37, 38.
Waigatz, island of, 208.
Walrus, the, natural history of, G.3 ; courage
of, 04 ; gradual decay of, 67.
Walrus-hunt, a, described, 08, 09.
Walrus-hunting, how carried on, GO ; proceeds
of, 02.
Ware, fpioted, 37, 33.
Whale, the, natural history of, 78 j cliaracter-
istics of the Greenland, 79, 80 ; the Razor-
backed, 80.
Whalebone, what it is, described, 79.
Whale-fishery of the Eskimos, 81.
Whu-Uvinds of the north, 31.
Willoughby, Sir Hugh, loss of, 222.
Wolf, the iVrctic, natural hintory (jf, 143.
Wolverine, the, cuiming of, 1 57 ; anecdotes of,
158-160.
Wooded zone of the Arctic regions, 143.
Wrangel, Admiral von, quoted, 20, 81, 218, 221.
Yakutsk, temperature of, 20.
Young, Captain, cniise of, in the Pandura, .334.
c,
'"~MSssS!S,
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