THE GREAT WHITE NORTH
[Illustration]
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
NEW YORK · BOSTON · CHICAGO
ATLANTA · SAN FRANCISCO
MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED
LONDON · BOMBAY · CALCUTTA
MELBOURNE
THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD.
TORONTO
[Illustration: COMMANDER ROBERT EDWIN PEARY, U.S.N.
Who reached the Pole April 6, 1909
_Copyright by Clinedinst, Washington, D.C._]
THE GREAT WHITE NORTH
THE STORY OF
POLAR EXPLORATION
FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE
DISCOVERY OF THE POLE
BY
HELEN S. WRIGHT
New York
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1910
_All rights reserved_
COPYRIGHT, 1910,
BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
Set up and electrotyped. Published October, 1910.
Norwood Press
J. S. Cushing Co.—Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.
PREFACE
The material for this book has been gathered from the rich storehouse of
Arctic Literature. The chief labour of its composition lay in elimination
rather than construction. The great field I have endeavoured to present
can hardly be brought with justice to the narrow bounds of a single
cover, but I have conscientiously endeavoured to bring to the reader’s
mind an accurate record of brilliant deeds that go to make the history of
the far North, and have let the explorers themselves tell the story of
_how_ these deeds have been accomplished.
Between the lines of their simple language describing stern facts
or desperate realities, one reads the character and temperament of
the adventurer; one gathers lessons of patience, self-sacrifice, and
endurance unsurpassed in the history of mankind, and perhaps appreciates,
for the first time, the splendid fibre of which he is made. Stripped
of the conventions and luxuries of civilized life, he plunges into the
great unknown to fight a relentless war against the greatest foes to his
existence,—Cold, Starvation, and Death. Though he may fall by the wayside
a victim to the Cause, or crawl home on hands and knees over the rough
fastnesses of the frozen wilderness, famishing,—perhaps dying,—the record
of his work lives on; the fundamental principles of great character do
not perish, but stand through the centuries, a star of hope to the weary
traveller on his pilgrimage along the well-trodden pathway of everyday
life, and stirs the layman to a better endurance of the burdens and
perplexities of the common lot.
It is with pleasure I make grateful acknowledgment to the gentlemen who
have accorded me their gracious permission to quote from their works, to
Commander Robert E. Peary, to Major-General A. W. Greely, and Sir Allen
Young, and to the following publishers and others who, by furnishing
material or giving consent to use selected matter, or by kind assistance
in other ways, have made my work possible: The American Publishing
Company, Hartford, Conn., for selections from “Our Lost Explorers”;
D. Appleton & Company for selections from Charles Lanman’s “Farthest
North” and Payer’s “New Lands within the Arctic Circle”; The Century
Company for selections from General Greely’s article on “The Northwest
Passage”; to Clinedinst, Washington, D.C., for permission to reproduce
the copyright portraits of Admirals Schley and Melville, General Greely,
and Commander Peary; Constable & Company, and E. P. Dutton & Company,
Ltd., London, for permission to reproduce the portrait of Amundsen in
the latter’s work, “The Northwest Passage”; Doubleday, Page & Company
for selections from Commander Peary’s “Nearest the Pole,” and for the
portrait of Anthony Fiala and other illustrations from the latter’s
work, “Fighting the Polar Ice”; The Encyclopædia Britannica Company for
a selection from an article by Markham on “Polar Regions”; to J. Scott
Keltie, Esq., editor of the _Geographical Journal_, for selections from
that journal; Houghton; Mifflin Company for selections from “The Voyage
of the Jeannette” and Melville’s “In the Lena Delta”; Dodd, Mead &
Company for selections from the Duke of Abruzzi’s “On the Polar Star”;
Benjamin B. Hampton, Esq., for permission to reproduce photographs of the
Peary expedition of 1908 and Commander Peary’s map, and Mr. Hampton and
the _New York Times_ for permission to quote Commander Peary’s telegram
announcing his discovery of the Pole; the editor of the _Illustrated
London News_ for permission to reproduce the portraits of Sir Edward
Belcher, Captain Nares, and Commander Markham; Little, Brown & Company
for selections from General Greely’s “Handbook of Polar Discoveries”; The
London Agency for Ordnance Maps for selections from Sir Allen Young’s
“Pandora Voyages”; Longmans, Green & Company for selections from Nansen’s
“First Crossing of Greenland” and Sverdrup’s “New Land”; the editor of
_McClure’s Magazine_ for a selection from Mr. Baldwin’s article on “The
Baldwin-Ziegler Arctic Expedition,” which appeared in that magazine in
1901-1902; Albert Operti, Esq., for permission to reproduce the portraits
of W. H. Gilder, Lieutenant Schwatka, Colonel Brainard, Captain De Long,
and Lieutenant Lockwood; C. Kegan Paul & Company for a selection from
Markham’s “Great Frozen Sea”; G. P. Putnam’s Sons for a selection from
Mr. Alger’s article on “Roald Amundsen,” which appeared in _Putnam’s
Monthly_; the editor of the _American Review of Reviews_ for a selection
from Mr. McGrath’s article on “Polar Exploration,” which appeared in that
magazine; Sampson, Low, Marston & Company, London, for a selection from
“German Arctic Expeditions”; Charles Scribner’s Sons for a selection
from Schwatka’s “Search,” Greely’s “Three Years’ Arctic Service,” and
Schley’s “Rescue of Greely”; F. A. Stokes Company for permission to
reproduce illustrations from Commander Peary’s work, “The North Pole,”
and for the loan of photographs; and to the same company for selections
from Andrée’s “Balloon Expedition” and Peary’s “Northward over the Great
Ice.”
CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER I
Early adventurers. Pytheas.—Dicuil.—Other.—Wulfstan.—The
Norsemen.—Iva Bardsen.—The Cabots.—The Cortereals.—Willoughby
and Chancellor.—Stephen Burrough.—Niccolò Zeno.—Frobisher.—Pet
and Jackman.—Sir Humphrey Gilbert.—Davis.—Barentz 1
CHAPTER II
Seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Hudson.—Baffin.—Deshneff.—Behring.—Schalaroff.—Tchitschagof.—Anjou
and Von Wrangell.—Phipps 18
CHAPTER III
Early nineteenth century. Ross and Parry, May 3, 1818. Object
of voyage, search for Northwest Passage through Davis Strait
and explore bays and channels described by Baffin.—Met natives
near Melville Bay.—The discovery by Ross of the famous Crimson
Cliffs.—Enters Lancaster Sound.—Advance barred by imaginary
Crocker Mountains.—Return of expedition to England.—Buchan
and Franklin North Polar expedition _via_ Greenland and
Spitzbergen.—_Dorothea_ and _Trent_ in Magdalena Bay, June
3, 1818.—Reached high latitude of 80° 37´ N.—Course directed
to east coast of Greenland.—Disastrous battle with the
ice.—_Dorothea_ disabled.—Hasty return to England 29
CHAPTER IV
1819-1827. Parry’s first voyage.—Object, to survey
Lancaster Sound and prove the non-existence of Crocker
Mountains.—Discovery of new lands.—Parry Islands.—Attains
longitude 110° W., thereby winning the bounty of five
thousand pounds offered by Parliament.—Winters near Melville
Island. Second voyage.—Ships _Hecla_ and _Fury_.—Examines
Duke of York Bay and Frozen Strait of Middleton.—Winters
off Lyon Inlet.—Sledge journeys.—Object, to make Northwest
Passage _via_ Prince Regent Inlet.—Reached Port Bowen.—Ten
months’ imprisonment.—Destruction of the _Fury_.—Hasty
return to England. Fourth voyage.—Purpose to reach the Pole
_via_ Spitzbergen with sledge boats over ice.—_Hecla_ as
transport.—Parry’s farthest 82° 45´ N. reached, June 23, 1827 41
CHAPTER V
Nineteenth century _continued_. Scoresby and Clavering.—Former
visited Jan Mayen Island in 1817.—Later he visited east
coast of Greenland.—Discovered Scoresby Sound. In 1824,
Captain Lyon surveyed Melville Peninsula.—Adjoining straits
and shores of Arctic America.—In 1825, Captain Beechey in
the _Blossom_ sailed through Behring Strait and passed
beyond Icy Cape.—Surveyed the coast as far as Point Barrow,
adding 126 miles of new shore.—Second voyage of Captain
John Ross.—Undertaken in 1829.—Discovers Boothia.—Wintered
in Felix Harbor.—Discovery of North Magnetic Pole by nephew
of Captain John Ross.—Commander James Clark Ross.—Valuable
observations.—Sledge journeys to mainland.—Four years
spent in the Arctic.—Perilous retreat.—Safe return.—Land
journey by Captain Back.—The Great Fish-Back River.—Point
Ogle.—Point Richardson.—Back’s farthest point was 68° 13´
57″ north latitude, 94° 58´ 1″ west longitude. Land journeys
of Simpson and Dease, 1836.—Descend the Mackenzie River to
the sea.—Surveyed west shore between Return Reef and Cape
Barrow.—In 1839, they explored shores of Victoria Land as
far as Cape Parry.—Crossed Coronation Gulf.—Descended the
Coppermine.—Reached the Polar Sea. Overland journey in 1846
by Dr. John Rae confirmed Captain John Ross’s statement that
Boothia was a peninsula 57
CHAPTER VI
Sir John Franklin.—Early life.—First land expedition of
1819-1821.—Journey from York Factory to Cumberland House.—Reach
Fort Providence.—Winter at Fort Enterprise.—Explorations.—5550
miles.—Hardship.—Starvation.—Return.—Second land
journey.—1825.—Winter quarters at Great Bear Lake.—Descent
of the Mackenzie River to the Polar Sea.—1200 miles of coast
added to map.—The last journey of Sir John Franklin, 1845.—The
_Erebus_ and _Terror_.—Last seen in Melville Bay 79
CHAPTER VII
Search for Sir John Franklin.—Captain Kellett.—Captain
Moore.—Dr. Richardson.—Dr. Rae.—Sir J. C. Ross.—Mr.
Parker.—Dr. Goodsir.—Collinson, M’Clure.—The _Felix_.—_Prince
Albert._—Commanded by Charles C. Forsyth.—Captain Austin’s
squadron.—Captain Ommaney.—Lieutenant Sherard Osborn.—Commander
Cator.—Grinnell expedition under De Haven 95
CHAPTER VIII
Search for Sir John Franklin _continued_.—Sledge journey of
Captain Austin’s squadron.—Return of _Prince Albert_ under
command of Captain Kennedy.—Bellot 120
CHAPTER IX
Search for Sir John Franklin _continued_.—Sir Edward Belcher’s
squadron.—Inglefield.—Rae’s journey.—Discovery of Northwest
Passage by Captain M’Clure.—Death of Bellot 141
CHAPTER X
Sledging parties of Sir Edward Belcher’s squadron.—Desertion of
the ships.—Return to England.—Story of the _Resolute_.—Traces
of Sir John Franklin discovered by Dr. Rae.—Anderson’s
journey.—The voyage of the _Fox_ under Commander
M’Clintock.—Sledge journeys.—Record and relics of Franklin’s
expedition.—_Fox_ returns to England 174
CHAPTER XI
The second Grinnell expedition.—Commanded by Dr. Elisha
K. Kane.—Winter quarters in Rensseläer Harbor.—Sledging
trips.—To the rescue.—Effects of exhaustion and cold.—Dr.
Kane’s journey.—Great Glacier of Humboldt.—Return and illness
of Dr. Kane. Second winter in the ice.—Privations and
suffering.—Abandonment of the _Advance_.—Retreat and rescue 199
CHAPTER XII
Dr. Hayes’s expedition. Winter quarters at Port Foulke,
Greenland coast.—Death of Sonntag.—Dr. Hayes’s journey.—Attempt
to cross Smith Sound.—Hayes’s farthest.—“Open Polar
Sea.”—Homeward bound 235
CHAPTER XIII
Charles Francis Hall.—Early life.—Interest in fate of Sir
John Franklin.—First journey to Greenland.—Discovery of
Frobisher relics.—Experiences and study of the Eskimos. Second
journey.—Delays and disappointments.—Sledging trips.—King
William Land at last.—Franklin relics.—Return of Hall to United
States. _Polaris_ expedition.—Reaches high northing.—Hall’s
sledge journey.—Return and death.—_Polaris_ winters.—No
escape.—_Polaris_ is wrecked.—Part of crew adrift on the
ice-floe.—Remainder build winter hut.—Final rescue and return
to United States 243
CHAPTER XIV
Captain Thomas Long.—Discovery of Wrangell Land.—Captain
Carlsen and Captain Palliser sail across the Sea of
Kara.—Captain Johannesen circumnavigates Nova Zembla.—First
German expedition.—Second German expedition.—_Germania_,
Captain Koldewey commanding.—_Hansa_, Captain
Hegemann.—Departure from Bremen.—Crossing the Arctic
Circle.—Island of Jan Mayen.—The ice line.—Separation
from the _Hansa_.—Adrift on the ice-floe.—Winter.—Final
rescue.—_Germania_ beset.—Winter.—Sledging parties.—Lieutenant
Payer’s remarkable journey—77° 1´ north latitude.—Return of the
_Germania_ 268
CHAPTER XV
Norwegian expedition, 1871. Payer and Weyprecht.—The
_Tegetthoff_ adrift in the Polar pack.—Discovery of Franz
Josef Land.—Payer’s sledge journeys.—Payer’s farthest
82° 5´ north latitude.—Cape Fligely.—Abandonment of the
_Tegetthoff_.—Retreat of officers and crew.—Picked up by
Russian fishermen.—Home 286
CHAPTER XVI
Baron A. E. von Nordenskjöld.—First voyage, 1858.—Accompanies
succeeding Swedish expeditions.—Spitzbergen.—Voyage of
_Sofia_.—1868.—Nordenskjöld’s journey to Greenland.—Voyage
of the _Polhem_.—Attempt to reach the Pole by reindeer
sledge.—Unexpected discouragements and disasters.—Voyage of the
_Proven_.—1875.—The Kara Sea.—Journey repeated the following
year.—In the _Ymer_.—Voyage of the _Vega_ 298
CHAPTER XVII
British expedition of 1875.—The _Alert_ and
_Discovery_.—Captain George S. Nares, F. R. S., Albert
H. Markham, F. R. G. S.—Two voyages of the _Pandora_,
1875-1876.—Schwatka’s search for the Franklin records, 1878-1879 310
CHAPTER XVIII
The _Jeannette_ expedition, 1879-1881.—In command of Captain
George W. De Long.—Leaves San Francisco.—Touches at Ounalaska,
August 2.—Reaches Lawrence Bay, East Siberia, August 15.—Last
seen by whale bark _Sea Breeze_ near Herald Island, September
2.—The _Jeannette_ beset in ice-pack September 6, never again
released.—Daily routine of officers and crew.—Ship springs
a leak.—A frozen summer.—Sight of new land.—A second winter
in the pack.—The _Jeannette_ crushed.—Abandonment.—The
retreat.—The fate of the three boats.—Death of De Long’s
party.—Melville’s search 345
CHAPTER XIX
International circumpolar stations.—Failure of Dutch
expedition.—Greely expedition reaches Lady Franklin
Bay.—Life at Fort Conger.—Sledge journey of Brainard and
Lockwood.—Farthest north.—Greely’s journey to interior of
Grinnell Land.—Lake Hazen.—Failure of relief ship _Neptune_ to
reach Conger in 1882.—Official plans for Greely’s relief in
1883.—_Proteus_ crushed in ice.—Garlington’s retreat.—Greely’s
abandonment of Fort Conger.—Greely reaches Cape Sabine.—The
beginning of a hard winter.—Death of members of the party from
starvation and cold.—Schley’s brilliant rescue of the remnant
of the Lady Franklin Bay expedition in 1884 369
CHAPTER XX
Nansen.—The man.—First Arctic experience.—Plans the crossing
of Greenland.—Carries out his great undertaking.—Voyage on the
_Fram_.—Drifting with the current.—Life aboard.—Nansen and
Johannesen start for the Pole.—Difficulties of travel.—The
“Farthest North!”—The retreat.—A winter on the Franz Josef
Land.—Attempt to reach Spitzbergen by kayak.—The meeting at
Cape Flora with Frederick Jackson.—Home in the _Windward_ 401
CHAPTER XXI
Journeys of Dr. A. Bunge and Baron E. von Toll.—Exploration in
Spitzbergen.—Sir Martin Conway.—Dr. A. G. Nathorst.—Professor
J. H. Gore.—Andrée’s balloon expedition to the North
Pole.—Search for Andrée by Theodor Lerner.—J. Stadling.—Dr.
A. G. Nathorst.—Captain Bade.—Walter Wellman’s plan to reach
the Pole from Spitzbergen.—Italian expedition under Duke of
Abruzzi.—Loss of the _Stella Polare_.—Captain Umberto Cagni’s
journey.—Breaks the record.—Retreat.—Home.—Baldwin-Ziegler
expedition of 1900.—Complete equipment.—Return of expedition
in autumn.—Ziegler expedition under Anthony Fiala.—The
_America_ reaches high northing.—Winters in Triplitz Bay.—Is
destroyed.—Failure of sledge journeys.—Relief ship does not
come.—Second winter.—Return of party by _Terra Nova_ in 1903 417
CHAPTER XXII
Otto Sverdrup.—Four years’ voyage of the _Fram_.—Journeys in
Ellesmere Land.—Important exploration of Jones Sound.—Discovery
of new lands.—Release of the _Fram_.—Captain Roald
Amundsen.—The voyage of the _Gjoa_.—Reaches head of Petersen
Bay (King William Land).—Two years’ stay.—Valuable scientific
observations.—Visits from Eskimos.—Sledge journeys.—Release
from the ice.—August 14, 1906.—Completion of the Northwest
Passage.—Another Arctic winter.—Sledge journey of Amundsen to
Eagle City.—Release of the _Gjoa_.—Reaches San Francisco, 1907 435
CHAPTER XXIII
Robert E. Peary.—The man.—First visit to the Arctic,
1886.—Other journeys, 1891.—Independence Bay,
Greenland.—Discovers Melville Land and Heilprin
Land.—Subsequent journeys, 1893-1895.—Discovery of famous “Iron
Mountain.”—Summer voyages, 1896-1897.—North Pole journey of
1898.—Peary seriously disabled by frost-bites.—Polar expedition
in S.S. _Roosevelt_, 1905-1906.—Final dash for the Pole, 1908 455
CHAPTER XXIV
Dr. Frederick A. Cook.—Claims discovery of the Pole.—His return
from the Arctic.—Reception by the Danes.—Announcement of
conquest of the Pole by Peary.—Denounces Dr. Cook.—Acceptance
of Peary’s claims by the American Geographical Society.—Dr.
Cook sends manuscript to Copenhagen.—Verdict.—Prior claim to
the discovery of the North Pole.—Not proven 470
EXPLANATION OF TERMS 477
INDEX 481
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Commander Robert Edwin Peary _Frontispiece_
Hondius his Map of the Arctike Pole, or Northerne World xx
FACING PAGE
Sebastian Cabot 3
Sir Hugh Willoughby 7
Martin Frobisher 10
Sir Humphrey Gilbert 14
Davis’s Ships _Sunshine_ and _Moonshine_ 17
The Death of Henry Hudson 21
Peter Feodorovitsch Anjou 28
Ferdinand von Wrangell 28
Captain John Ross, R.N. 32
Entering Lancaster Sound 52
John Franklin 80
Upernavik 99
Henry Grinnell 110
The Graves on Beechey Island 113
E. K. Kane 120
The Rescue in Melville Bay 128
Landing near Grinnell Cape 170
Nipped in the Ice 180
A Gale in the Arctic Sea 209
The Outlook from Cape George Russell 215
Humboldt Glacier 218
I. I. Hayes 224
Five Members of the Grinnell Expedition 231
Tennyson’s Monument 234
Frobisher’s Map of Meta Incognita 243
Funeral of Captain Hall 254
Jan Mayen Island 273
A. E. Nordenskjöld 288
Foul Bay 305
The _Vega_ in Konyam Bay 309
The Crew of the _Vega_ 316
Disco Island 320
Lieutenant Frederick Schwatka, U.S.A. 337
W. H. Gilder 344
Captain G. W. De Long, U.S.N. 352
Rear Admiral George W. Melville, U.S.N. 369
Colonel David Legge Brainard, U.S.A. 373
Lieutenant James B. Lockwood, U.S.A. 380
General A. W. Greely, U.S.A. 384
Rear Admiral Schley, U.S.N. 400
The Retreat of 1904—Sledge Column leaving Cape Mellinbock 433
Breaking Camp at Cape Richthope 433
Anthony Fiala 437
Roald Amundsen 444
Cape Flora in Early July, 1904 448
The Coal Mine at Cape Flora 448
The _Roosevelt_ drying her Sails 456
Cairn erected over the Body of Marvin 460
Camp Morris Jesup 462
The Peary Sledge 464
Christmas Dinner on the _Roosevelt_ 464
The Flag that Peary carried to the Pole 468
Map of Arctic Explorations, 1860-1909 474
Transcriber’s Note: There are nine additional illustrations not listed
above:
Admiral Sir Edward Belcher 142
Admiral Sir Edward Inglefield, R. N. 147
Map of North America 173
Sir John Franklin’s Record 192
Captain Hall and Eskimos 247
Captain G. S. Nares, F. R. S. 310
Commander A. H. Markham 311
Anniversary Lodge Cross Section 461
The Route Taken by Commander Peary in 1908 469
[Illustration: HONDIUS HIS MAP OF THE ARCTIKE POLE, OR NORTHERNE WORLD]
THE GREAT WHITE NORTH
CHAPTER I
Early adventurers: Pytheas.—Dicuil.—Other.—Wulfstan.—The
Norsemen.—Iva Bardsen.—The Cabots.—The Cortereals.—Willoughby
and Chancellor.—Stephen Burrough.—Niccolò Zeno.—Frobisher.—Pet
and Jackman.—Sir Humphrey Gilbert.—Davis.—Barentz.
A grave old world, majestically swinging upon its axis, the mystery of
its northern extremity locked closely within its breast, is suddenly
electrified by the news that at last man, for centuries baffled in his
heroic efforts, has revealed its hidden secret, and that Old Glory,
symbol of the daring of the moderns, floats from the Pole itself.
What a thrill of interest passes over the nations of the earth; universal
excitement; universal rejoicings. Cablegram, Marconigram, carry the
wonderful tidings under the seas or around the world in space.
_The Pole at last!_ For ages the northern lights have beckoned the
adventurous spirits to fathom the phenomena of the great unknown, have
lured man into harbours fantastic with the frozen ice of centuries,
have inspired him to cross the Greenland ice cap—or make his lonely
trail through the “barrens” of North America or the desolate “tundra”
of Siberia, his dauntless courage unquenched by previous records of
privation, starvation, and death itself. One after another of intrepid
explorers have left their stories of thrilling adventure, and record
of their names or those of their benefactors to mark their personal
discoveries.
What a history, what suffering, what sacrifice, compensated by great
achievement, by heroism, by glory—by the additions to the world’s record
of scientific knowledge!
Who were the early mariners that aspired to penetrate the unknown seas of
ice? Far back in the centuries, Pytheas, bold adventurer, brought back
rumours of an island in the Arctic Circle called Thule, at first welcomed
by the ancients as a wonderful discovery, but afterwards discredited. In
the ninth century some Irish monks, carried away by religious enthusiasm
and an adventurous spirit, seem to have visited Iceland, and one, Dicuil
by name, left written evidence, about 825, confirming the story of the
island Thule, which some of the brethren visited, and reported there
was no darkness at the summer solstice. Other and Wulfstan, athirst for
discovery and knowledge, set sail in the reign of King Alfred, and in all
probability the former rounded the North Cape and visited the shores of
Lapland, though his exact discoveries cannot now be identified.
[Illustration: SEBASTIAN CABOT
_From the “Harford” portrait attributed to Holbein_]
The hardy Norsemen, realizing the advantage of hunting and barter among
the natives of Greenland, made permanent settlements at Brattelid and
Einarsfjord. As far as 73° north latitude a cairn was found, and upon a
runic stone was a date 1235, and there is evidence that other settlers
reached as far as latitude 75° 46´ N. and Barrow Strait in 1266 or
thereabouts. Toward the middle of the fourteenth century Norway was
cursed with the Black Death, and the colonists in far-off Greenland
were forgotten. Forsaken by their own countrymen, they received little
assistance from the native Eskimos, for we read they were overrun and
attacked by them about 1349. A rare old document, the oldest work on
Arctic geography, consisting of sailing directions for reaching the
colony from Ireland, was written by one Iva Bardsen, the steward of the
Bishopric of Gardar, in the East Bygd. Bardsen was a native of Greenland
and went forth for the purpose of helping the sister colony. All of this
early history is vague and unsatisfying, but it shows the adventurous
spirit of those early mariners. Within the next hundred years, that is to
say between 1348 and 1448, at rare intervals there was some communication
with the Greenland settlements, but finally it ceased altogether. Later
the desire to find a short route to India inspired merchantman and
mariner to cross the Arctic Circle, and in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries expeditions of note, led by men of dauntless spirit, find their
record upon the pages of history.
[Sidenote: _THE CABOTS_]
Born in Bristol, England, about 1476, Sebastian Cabot, ambitious son
of an adventurous father, John Cabot, became zealous at an early age,
through the successes of Columbus, to attempt a like achievement. Father
and son proposed to Henry VII to sail west, and reach India by a shorter
route. The king, pleased with the idea of entering a new field of
maritime discovery, confided to the Cabots the execution of this plan. A
patent was granted March 5, 1496. “It empowered them to seek out, subdue,
and occupy, at their own charges, any regions which before had been
unknown to all Christians.” They were empowered to take possession of
such lands and set up the royal banner. They were authorized to return to
the port of Bristol and no other, and a fifth of the gains of the voyage
were to be turned over to the crown. The following year, 1497, John and
Sebastian sailed from Bristol in the good ship _Mathew_.
By the records of an old map of this period the land first seen by the
Cabots was the coast of Nova Scotia or Island of Cape Breton. The Cabots
designated the mainland as “Prima Terra Vesta,” and is outlined between
45° and 50°, showing land called St. Juan, no doubt Prince Edward Island
and mouth of the St. Lawrence. In the Privy Purse expenses of Henry VII
there is the following interesting expenditure, “10th of August, 1497. To
him that found the new Isle, £10.” No doubt, this modest sum was paid
for Newfoundland.
With the enthusiasm of the first voyagers stimulating them to fresh
effort, the Cabots secured a second “patent” to John Cabot, dated
February 3, 1498, giving him the command of six vessels, of not more than
two hundred tons each, and to quote the exact words of this document,
“them convey and lede to the lande and isles of late found by the said
John in oure name and by oure commandment.”
But before the small fleet was in readiness, the father died, and to
his son fell the enterprise. With five vessels, Sebastian set sail from
Bristol in May, 1498, and reaching the American coast ascended as high
as 67° north latitude, probably passing into Hudson Bay. He determined
to press on in a desire to find an open channel to India. His men became
appalled at the dangers that beset navigation in those higher latitudes
and mutinied, compelling him to retrace his course.
There is a vague rumour that he had with him upon this voyage over a
hundred emigrants, whom he landed in these high latitudes, and who all
perished from cold, although the season was midsummer. However, he
brought back to England three natives of the countries he had visited,
and for his successful discoveries of more than eighteen hundred miles of
our North American coast, the king rewarded him by conferring upon him
the office of Grand Pilot of England.
The interest and exertions of Sebastian Cabot did not abate, for this
hero, extolled by contemporary writers for his character and courage, by
his unflagging perseverance and indomitable will promoted the successful
expeditions of 1553, for which he was appointed governor for life of the
Muscovy Company. This company was established by the merchants of London
for the purpose of extending commerce and trade in India and Cathay, and
to find a northeast route that would expedite their enterprise.
[Sidenote: _WILLOUGHBY AND CHANCELLOR_]
Three ships were fitted out, and Cabot drew up instructions which are
curious reading at this day. The expedition was under Sir Hugh Willoughby
and Richard Chancellor, and sailed May 20, 1553, “for the search and
discovery of northern parts of the world, to open a way and passage to
our men, for travel to new and unknown kingdoms.” Cabot instructs these
men to treat all natives “with gentleness and courtesy, without any
disdain, laughing, or contempt.” If they should be invited to dine with
any lord or ruler, they should go armed and in a posture of defence.
He tells them to beware of “persons armed with bows, who swim naked in
various seas and harbours, desirous of the bodies of men which they covet
for meat.”
Of Sir Hugh Willoughby, first in command of the _Bona Speranza_, it is
recorded that he was tall and handsome and had proved a valiant soldier;
of Richard Chancellor, that he was beloved and genial and especially
noted for “many good parts of wit.”
Thus on that bright morning in early May, these two commanders with their
loyal crew sailed down the Thames amid the firing of guns and cheers of
the crowds assembled upon the river banks to wish them God-speed. It
was understood between the commanders that should their vessels become
separated, they should try to meet at Wardhuys, “a good port in Finmark.”
They proceeded northward and passed the northernmost cape of Europe in
July. At night during a dense fog and storm, the two ships separated, the
third and smallest kept with Willoughby, and the two brave commanders
and their crews never met again. Proceeding northward some two hundred
miles, reaching Nova Zembla, Willoughby was forced by the ice to return
to a lower latitude. In September, 1553, he harboured in the mouth of the
river Arzina, in Lapland.
He wrote in his journal at this time: “Thus remaining in this haven
the space of a weeke, seing the year farre spent, and also very evill
wether,—as frost, snowe, and haile, as though it had been the deepe of
winter, wee thought it best to winter there.”
In January, according to the record of Willoughby’s journal, all were
living. In the spring Russian sailors, venturing in these high latitudes,
were surprised to see two ships frozen in the ice. The relentless grip
of the Arctic winter still held them fast; the hand of death in its most
gruesome shape had reaped its harvest. Not a man survived. How brief
the details, yet the imagination shudders at the agonies of their last
days,—the cold, intense, congealing; the impenetrable, melancholy dark,
and death, laying its icy fingers upon the despairing heart of each in
turn and the “last Man,” surrounded by the stark forms of his companions,
wrestling alone with inexorable fate.
Chancellor’s vessel, the _Bona Ventura_, reached the Bay of St. Nicholas,
and landed near Archangel, which was then but an isolated castle. He
undertook a journey to Moscow, which resulted in successful arrangements
for commercial enterprise, Russia at that time being almost as little
known as the far east. Returning safely to England, he was warmly
welcomed as having proved the practical utility of Arctic voyages.
One of the companions of Chancellor on this voyage, Stephen Burrough,
materially aided by Sebastian Cabot, then in his eighty-fourth
year, set sail in 1556 from Gravesend, in a small pinnace named the
_Search-thrift_. Before the departure, the ship and crew were visited by
Cabot, and it is recorded of this farewell visit that “Master Cabot gave
the poor most liberal almes, wishing them to pray for the good fortune
and prosperous success of the _Search-thrift_; and for very joy that he
had to see towardness of our intended discovery, he entered into the
dance among the rest of the young and lusty company; which being ended he
and his friends departed most gently, commending us to the governance of
Almighty God.”
[Illustration: SIR HUGH WILLOUGHBY]
Burrough skirted the northern coast of Lapland to the eastward,
discovering the strait leading to the Kara Sea, between Nova Zembla and
Waigat. As a result of “the great and terrible abundance of ice that we
saw with our eyes,” Burrough explored no farther, but sailing into the
White Sea wintered at Colomogro, returning home the following spring.
[Sidenote: _THE CORTEREALS_]
As early as 1500 a Portuguese, Caspar Cortereal by name, endeavoured to
reach Cathay by the Northwest Passage and reached between 50° and 60°
north latitude. After making captive some fifty-seven natives, for the
purpose of making them slaves, he returned to Lisbon, October 18, 1501.
The following year he set sail again with two ships and is supposed to
have reached Hudson Strait, where the vessels became separated. Caspar
Cortereal and his crew were never heard of again.
The other ship returned to Lisbon with the unfortunate tidings, and
a brother, Miguel, set sail from Lisbon, in the spring of 1502, on a
searching expedition. Upon reaching Hudson Strait the ships separated to
explore the various inlets and islands of the locality. Two of the ships
reached the point of rendezvous, but the third, with Miguel Cortereal on
board, never appeared. Thus the two brothers shared a like fate.
A third brother, Vasco, petitioned the king to equip another expedition
to send in search of the missing men, but this the king refused to do
on the ground that the loss of two was greater than he could afford to
sustain. No tidings were ever received that could throw any light upon
the sad fate of the bold mariners.
One of the most curious productions by geographers was a map published
in 1558 by one Niccolò Zeno, a Venetian noble, whose ancestor of the
same name had left with notes and journals a record of certain northern
journeys made by him toward the end of the fourteenth century. He had
entered as pilot the service of a mariner named Zichnmi, remained many
years in his service, and, joined later by a brother called Antonio,
spent some time in a country he named Frislanda. Later both brothers
found their way back to Venice. The young Niccolò, discovering the
mutilated letters and maps of these brothers, proceeded to prepare a
narrative and elaborate map which was considered a most valuable addition
to knowledge and continued to be an authority for more than a century.
The names are very curious and confusing, but are supposed to be
identified as follows:—
Engronelant, Greenland; Islanda, Iceland; Estland, Shetland Islands;
Frisland, Faroe Isles; Mackland, Nova Scotia; Estotiland, Newfoundland;
Drogeo, coast of North America; Icaria, coast of Kerry or Ireland.
[Sidenote: _FROBISHER_]
The three voyages of Frobisher undertaken between the years 1576-1578
were in a great measure financed by a rich and influential merchant named
Michael Lok, whose passion for geographical research led him to encourage
the young explorer, who set out in the spring of 1576 in two small
vessels, the _Gabriel_ and _Michael_. The latter parted company in the
Atlantic, and the _Gabriel_ continued her voyage alone. Frobisher sighted
land about July 20 and called it Queen Elizabeth’s Foreland.
Continuing on his course, he entered the following day the strait that
bears his name, calling the land “Meta Incognita.” He made a landing and
explored the land to some extent, returning to England with some bright
yellow ore which aroused the enthusiasm of gold seekers and greatly
assisted him in expediting his other voyages. His primary aim of seeking
for the Northwest Passage was all but forgotten in the excitement caused
by the possible discovery of untold wealth.
Queen Elizabeth issued instructions for his guidance upon future voyages:
“Yf yt be possible,” so states the official document, “you shall have
some persons to winter in the straight, giving them instructions how
they may observe the nature of the ayre and state of the countrie, and
what time of the yeare the straight is most free from yce; with who you
shall leave a sufficient preparation of victualls and weapons, and also a
pynnas, with a carpenter, and thyngs necessarie, so well as may be.”
The second journey, much better equipped than the first, brought home,
beside specimens of plants and stones, large quantities of the supposed
gold ore. But though the dream of an El Dorado was never realized, and
the ore was eventually proved worthless, Frobisher’s greatest victory
to science was establishing the fact that there were two or more wide
openings leading to the westward between latitude 60° and 63° on the
American coast. Of his personal character we note with interest that
he was a brave, skilful leader of men, rough in bearing, but a strict
disciplinarian, and carried through his designs with the enthusiasm of a
true explorer.
[Sidenote: _PET AND JACKMAN_]
Arthur Pet and Charles Jackman, commanding two vessels, set out in 1580
with instructions to sail through the strait leading between Nova Zembla
and Waigat, and from thence eastward beyond the Obi River. They reached
Wardhuys on the 23d of June. About two weeks later they approached Nova
Zembla, but ice retarded their advance. They sighted Waigat on the 19th
of July. While trying to push their way along its southern coast, they
were embarrassed by shallows and obliged to go round by the north. They
forced their way between the shore and a low island only to be closed
in by the ice, which stopped further progress. The ships were widely
separated, and could only communicate with each other by the beating of
drums or firing of muskets. Warping their ships as opportunity offered,
they finally got in closer communication. Of the weather, they write at
this time, “Winds we have had at will, but ice and fogs too much against
our wills, if it had pleased the Lord otherwise.” Surrounded by fields of
ice, enveloped in fog, they were obliged to make fast to icebergs, where,
“abiding the Lord’s pleasure, they continued with patience.” By the
13th of August the season was considered too far advanced to penetrate
farther. Pet had discovered a strait between the mainland and Waigat
leading into the Kara Sea, and with this news he returned to England.
Jackman wintered in a Norwegian port; sailing home in the spring, his
ship with all on board was lost at sea.
[Sidenote: _SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT_]
The distinguished British naval commander, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, near
relative of Sir Walter Raleigh and favourite of Queen Elizabeth, being
ambitious to colonize Newfoundland, obtained in 1578 full power from the
queen to undertake a voyage of discovery and settle such parts of North
America “as no Christian prince or his subjects could claim from previous
possession.” His second voyage was undertaken in 1583, and with five
ships under his command, he sailed out of Plymouth Sound, June 11.
[Illustration: MARTIN FROBISHER]
A contagious disease breaking out on one of the vessels, the property
of Sir Walter Raleigh, and commanded by Captain Butler, it returned to
England; the four remaining, the _Delight_, the _Golden Hinde_, the
_Swallow_, and the _Squirrel_, sighted Newfoundland about June 30. Here
they landed August 3, taking possession of the harbour of St. John’s in
the name of Queen Elizabeth. A miner, brought for the purpose of finding
precious metals, should such exist in the newly discovered territory,
claimed to locate a silver mine, which news was greeted with much
enthusiasm by the entire fleet. So many of the crew having become ill,
Sir Humphrey found it advisable to send home the _Swallow_ with the sick
on board. He then embarked on the _Squirrel_, of only ten tons, the
smallest ship of the fleet.
Sailing out of the harbour of St. John’s on August 20, he reached by the
27th latitude 44° with fair weather. Two days later a gale arose preceded
by a dense fog. The _Golden Hinde_ and _Delight_ were beaten in among
the rocks and shoals. The _Golden Hinde_ signalled to stand out to sea,
but the _Delight_ did not heed this, and was shortly afterward wrecked
upon a shoal, where her stern was quickly beaten to pieces. A few of the
crew escaped in a boat, but the captain and a hundred men went down with
the ship. The heroic Captain Browne, only recently transferred from the
_Swallow_ to the _Golden Hinde_, when urged to save himself, spurned
the idea and stood bravely at his post rather than bear the reproach of
having deserted his ship, though that ship, himself, and all hands left
aboard were doomed to destruction. The small boat into which a few had
crowded, drifted about in the midst of the gale, which threatened every
instant to swamp them. They were without food and suffered greatly from
thirst. Fearing the overcrowded boat would founder unless materially
lightened, a man named Headley suggested that lots be drawn; those
drawing the four shortest should be thrown overboard. But one of their
number, Richard Clarke, who had been master of the _Delight_, rose in the
bow and answered sternly, “No, we will all live or die in company.”
Two more days passed with increased sufferings. They tried to appease the
pangs of hunger with seaweed that floated on the surface of the waves,
and they drank sea-water. On the fifth day the man Headley died and one
other. All but Clarke were praying to God for death, rather than such
continued agony. Clarke tried to encourage them by telling them they
would surely reach land by the morrow, and if they did not make it by
the seventh day, they might throw him overboard. The seventh day came at
last, and by noon they sighted land, as Clarke had prophesied; in the
afternoon they landed. They gave thanks to God, and after slaking their
unbearable thirst with fresh water, the strong ones found some berries
growing wild with which to feed the party. In several days they slowly
regained their strength.
Later they rowed along the coast, hoping to reach the bay of Newfoundland
and met some Spanish whalers who frequented these waters. They satisfied
their hunger by eating berries and peas, landing at intervals for the
purpose. Before long they fell in with a Spanish ship; the captain took
them to St. Jean de Luz in the Bay of Biscay. Landing near the French
frontier, they travelled through France and reached England about the end
of the year 1583.
The loss of the _Delight_ was a serious blow to Sir Humphrey Gilbert;
of the five ships with which he had started only the _Golden Hinde_ and
the _Squirrel_ survived. The impenetrable fogs which at this juncture
enveloped these ships were most disheartening to the crew, and already
the provisions on board the _Squirrel_ were running low. Officers and men
besought Sir Humphrey to return, but reluctantly, with no abatement in
his enthusiasm for adventure, he only consented to alter his course, upon
their promise to embark with him again the following spring. On August 31
they turned their bows toward home.
On the 2d of September, having hurt his foot and wishing it dressed by
the surgeon, Sir Humphrey Gilbert boarded the _Golden Hinde_, and later
repeated the visit to take part in an entertainment with the captain
and crew. He mentioned the sorrow at the loss of the _Delight_, and of
certain papers and ore that the Saxon miner had procured in Newfoundland.
He was advised to remain aboard the _Golden Hinde_, the _Squirrel_ being
so encumbered with heavy artillery and other freight that she was not
considered safe to face the storms so likely to occur in mid-ocean at
that season of the year. After consideration, Sir Humphrey replied,—
“I will not now desert my little vessel and crew, after we have
encountered so many perils and storms together.”
Being supplied from the _Hinde_ with some necessary provisions, Sir
Humphrey returned to the _Squirrel_.
On the 9th of September, in the latitude of England, the overburdened
little craft of ten tons showed signs of foundering. Sir Humphrey was
seen by the _Hinde_ sitting in the stern of his vessel with a book in his
hand and was heard to call out,—
“Courage, my lads! we are as near heaven on sea as on land!”
At midnight she sank with all on board. Thus terminated the first attempt
to colonize the inhospitable shores of Newfoundland.
[Sidenote: _DAVIS_]
Following closely upon the disastrous voyage of Sir Humphrey Gilbert came
the three voyages of Davis between the years 1585 and 1588. He discovered
the strait that bears his name, opened a way to Baffin Bay and the Polar
Sea, and surveyed a considerable extent of the coast of Greenland.
[Sidenote: _BARENTZ_]
Between the years 1594 and 1596, William Barentz made three journeys
to the Arctic, losing his life in the disasters and privations of the
last voyage. In this third voyage, he made his way to the sea between
Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla, where he writes, “We came to so great a
heape of ice that we could not sayle through it.” In August, 1596, they
were surrounded by drifting ice which crushed around them with such
alarming force as to make “all the haire of our heads to rise upright
with feare.” They made every effort to extricate themselves from their
perilous position, but on the 11th of September “we saw that we could
not get out of the ice, but rather became faster, and could not loose
our ship, as at other times we had done, as also that it began to be
winter, so took counsell together what we were best to doe, according to
the time, that we might winter, and attend such adventures as God would
send us; and after we had debated upon the matter (to keepe and defend
ourselves both from the colde and wild beasts), we determined to build a
house upon the land, to keepe us there in as well as wee could, and to
commit ourselves unto the tuition of God.”
While searching for material wherewith to build their winter-quarters,
they discovered a quantity of driftwood for which they thanked God for a
special act of Providence, and “were much comforted, being in good hope
that God would show us some further favour; for that wood served us not
only to build our house, but also to burne, and serve us all the winter
long; otherwise, without all doubt, we had died there miserably with
extreme cold.”
In spite of the intense cold which made the building of their hut most
laborious, there was open water an “arrow shot” beyond their ship. They
dragged their stores on hand sleds, and by October their dwelling,
closely thatched with sea rack to keep out as much cold as possible, was
completed, and “we setup our dyall and made the clock stride.” On the 4th
of November, “wee saw the sunne no more, for it was no longer above the
horizon; then our chirurgion made a bath (to bathe us in) of a wine-pipe,
wherein wee entered one after another, and it did us much good, and was a
great meanes of our health.”
[Illustration: SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT]
Regulations were established, food was apportioned, and extra clothing
distributed. Traps were set for foxes and other game, but soon the
weather became so rigorous that for days they were snowed in and could
not open their door. They were in darkness except for their fire, the
smoke of which became almost unendurable. Ice formed two inches thick in
their berths, and their misery may be imagined better than described.
On the 7th of December, they managed to secure some coal from their ship,
and with it made a good fire which warmed them somewhat, though it nearly
asphyxiated them. The cold becoming ever more intense and their supply of
wood diminishing, their sufferings are noted repeatedly in their journal.
“It was foule weather again, with an easterly wind and extreame cold,
almost not to bee endured, where upon wee lookt pittifully one upon the
other, being in great feare, that if the extreamitie of the cold grew
to bee more and more, wee should all dye there with cold; for that what
fire soever wee made it would not warme us; yea, and our sake, which is
so hot, was frozen very hard, so that when we were every man to have
his part, we were forced to melt it in the fire, which wee shared every
second day about halfe a pint for a man, where with we were forced to
sustayne ourselves; and at other times we dranke water, which agreed not
well with the cold, and we needed not to coole it with snow or ice; but
we were forced to melt it out of the snow.”
They were often awed by the great volumes of sound, “like the bursting
asunder of mountains and the dashing them to atoms.” About the middle of
January, they were forced, under great difficulties, to secure more wood,
and, making another trip to the vessel, they found much ice accumulated
within, and returned to their hut with a fox caught in the ship’s cabin,
which provided them with fresh meat.
On Twelfth Night they made a heroic effort to make merry. They drew lots
for the honour of being king of Nova Zembla, and the gunner was royally
installed. Imagining themselves back in Holland, they drank to the three
kings of Cologne, soaking biscuit in the wine that for days they had set
aside out of their scant store to celebrate this “great feast.” But the
intense cold and storms that soon followed excluded every other idea, and
for days they were shut in, trying to bring warmth to their frozen bodies
with hot stones, but while sitting before the fire, their backs would be
white with frost, while their stockings would be burned before they could
feel heat to their feet.
Their stock of provisions was becoming exhausted, and although they had
seen traces of bears and heard the foxes running over their heads, they
could not secure any.
On January 24, Gerard de Veer, Jacob Keemsdirk, and a third companion,
upon making their way to the seaside toward the north, saw the sun above
the horizon for the first time. Not having expected this event for
fourteen days later, Barentz was doubtful of their accuracy. On the 26th,
one of their number who had long been ill died, and they dug a grave
seven feet in the snow, “after that we had read certaine chapters and
sung some psalmes, we all went out and buried the man.”
As daylight increased, they left their hut for short periods of exercise.
By May their impatience to leave this desolate spot prompted them to make
preparations for departure, and without waiting to see if their ship
would be navigable when once released from the ice, they repaired their
two boats and awaited the first opportunity “to get out of that wilde,
desart, irkesome, fearfull, and cold countrey.”
On the 13th of June, the twelve survivors left the miserable shelter that
had been their home for ten months, and took to the open boats. Their
sufferings and privations cannot be described; three of their number
succumbed, and Barentz himself became too ill for service.
[Illustration: DAVIS’S SHIPS, THE “SUNSHINE” AND THE “MOONSHINE”]
As they passed Icy Cape, a headland of Alaska, latitude 70° 20´ N.,
longitude 161° 46´ W., Barentz asked to be lifted up to see it once
more, and the dying man’s eyes rested with pleasure upon its cheerless
coast.
On the twentieth day of June, Barentz was told that a man in the other
boat named Claes Andriz was near death. He remarked he would not long
survive his comrade. He was examining at the moment a chart of the
countries and objects they had seen on their voyage. He turned to Gerard
de Veer, who had made this chart, and asked him for something to drink.
Hardly had he swallowed the liquid when he suddenly expired. Saddened and
disheartened, the remnant of this unfortunate expedition struggled on
until September, when they reached the coast of Lapland.
After a voyage of eleven hundred and forty-three miles, these heroes of
the north left their boats in the “Merchant’s house” at Coola as “a sign
and token of their deliverance.” A Dutch ship carried them to Holland,
where they appeared before the curious crowds of Amsterdam in the costume
they had worn in Nova Zembla. They were honoured by their countrymen and
made to repeat their wonderful adventures before the ministers of the
Hague.
To the early maps of the period at the close of the sixteenth century,
Newfoundland and adjacent coast line had been added by the Cabots, who
had reached as far as 67° north latitude, Frobisher Strait, an outline of
the lands that he had visited, Davis Strait, and a portion of Greenland’s
east coast. But, more important than the discovery of new territory was
the stimulus to Arctic enterprise, which through Richard Chancellor had
established valuable trading activities between England and far-distant
Russia. The journeys of the Cotereals had opened a way to Spanish and
Portuguese fisheries off the banks of Newfoundland, and Frobisher’s
supposed discovery of gold in distant lands had given zest to discovery
in the New World by the English, exemplified by Sir Humphrey Gilbert’s
daring but unsuccessful attempt to colonize Newfoundland.