THE VOYAGES OF THE "MERCURY" AND THE "AURORA BOREALIS."
"It was a most fortunate thing that any of the men could live until
they reached civilization," I said, when Captain Adams had finished
his reading of Dunbar's story in the paper.
"It was solely due to that fact that we are here at present, admiral,"
replied Captain Adams. "No sooner was the story published than the
greatest possible excitement arose both in America and Europe. The
United States and Britain felt chagrined that a private citizen had
been able to achieve what the greatest nations on earth, with
unlimited men and money, were unable to accomplish. To satisfy popular
clamor the United States, Great Britain, Russia, France, Germany,
Italy and Spain each fitted out separate expeditions to follow in the
wake of the _Polar King_. These were manned with former Arctic
navigators, and were in each case commissioned and fitted out
regardless of cost to explore the interior world and lay the
foundation of future conquest and commerce. The Secretary of the
United States Navy, at Washington, sent for Dunbar and Henderson, and
forthwith employed both as pilots for the _Mercury_ expedition under
my command."
"How did the English people receive the news?" I inquired of Sir John
Forbes.
"It is useless to say, admiral," he replied, "that the story of the
_Polar King_ was the sole topic of conversation for weeks throughout
the United Kingdom. The Royal Geographical Society, the Royal
Astronomical Society, and the Travellers' Club, all sent special
deputations to the government, asking for the fitting out of a ship to
undertake British research, which might possibly accompany the United
States vessel having the pilots Dunbar and Henderson on board, and
thus partake of the advantage these guides would naturally give the
United States vessel.
"The British Government," continued Sir John, with a smile in his eye,
"saw at once that British interests in the interior world must be
protected at all hazards, and gave the Lords of the Admiralty full
power to act.
"My fame as an Arctic navigator and as the discoverer of the bones of
the great Irish Arctic hero, Montgomery, and those of his men, in a
cabin on Prince Albert's Island, caused the Lords of the Admiralty to
place at my command the frigate _Aurora Borealis_, manned by
experienced Arctic sailors.
"Negotiations were opened with the United States Government, whereby
the _Aurora Borealis_, by proceeding up the northwest passage along
the route followed by the Montgomery expedition, might meet the
_Mercury_, who would enter the Arctic Sea by way of Behring Strait. It
was arranged, as Captain Adams is aware, that each vessel should
proceed direct to latitude 75 N., longitude 140 W., and there await
the other vessel."
"You are right," said Captain Adams, "for my instructions were of the
same nature. The _Mercury_ was fitted out in Brooklyn Navy Yard, and
as soon as her complement of two hundred and fifty officers,
explorers, scientists, press correspondents and seamen was enrolled,
and her stores fully shipped, I was instructed to proceed by way of
the Nicaragua Canal to San Francisco for further orders and stores.
Leaving San Francisco I next touched Victoria, B.C., and finally at
Sitka, Alaska, for final orders. The entire winter had been consumed
in getting ready, and by May 1 I cleared for Behring Strait, steering
straight for the rendezvous in the Arctic Sea where we had arranged to
meet by June 1. I was first on the spot, and had the good fortune of
only having to wait a week before we sighted the _Aurora Borealis_."
"And then," said Sir John, "began the real work of the voyage. All had
been plain sailing so far, but it was clearly impossible for any
vessel to reach the Polar Gulf unless a lead was discovered in the ice
barrier similar to that so fortunately discovered by the _Polar King_.
It was here that the services of Dunbar as pilot came into
requisition. Captain Adams had got him to mark on the chart as near as
possible the location of the chasm in the ice mountain discovered by
the _Polar King_. That once rediscovered, we could succeed in
following the _Polar King_; but should we fail in our quest, all
further progress would be impossible. I often said to Captain Adams
that I considered Lexington White as one of the most fortunate of men.
It was nothing short of the miraculous that you should discover a
newly-rent passage through the barrier of ice that for ages has
guarded the sublime secret of the pole. Only once in all the eternity
of the past did the gate of that thrilling Arctic zone open itself to
humanity, and by a miracle of fortune you were on the spot at the
right moment, ready to enter that open door. That fact alone emblazons
you with glory. But to my story. How were we to discover the same or a
similar lead to the north? On the mere chance of discovering such a
passage both vessels had encountered the dangers and terrors of the
Arctic desolations. Dunbar located the chasm in latitude 78.6 N.,
longitude 125 W., and thither we sailed.
"As for the expeditions sent out by the other governments of Europe,
jealous of American prowess, we have not seen or heard of any of them.
Their vessels followed the direction of the Gulf Stream, and the
instructions given their commanders were to first make Spitzbergen,
and thence proceed due north, and if possible find there a passage to
the pole. For ourselves, I will let Captain Adams tell how we got
through the ice barrier."
"That," said Captain Adams, "is a simple enough story, but the actual
experiences were not so simple as the recital of them. We found that
Dunbar's estimate of the location of the passage was within fifty
miles of the exact spot. We found the passage after some days'
searching, about fifty miles beyond Dunbar's location on the chart.
The veritable passage was there, but, as was expected, instead of open
water there was a mass of solid ice of unknown thickness, but
fortunately having a smooth surface.
"There was but one thing to do to overcome such an obstacle, and that
was to haul the ships on runners on top of the ice, right through the
gap formed by nature in the icy barrier. Our labors in making such a
passage were simply superhuman. Both crews were employed for more than
a week in sloping the ice-foot up which the vessels were to be
dragged. Then an enormous cradle had to be constructed of massive
beams of wood securely bolted together, large and strong enough to
carry either vessel. There was fortunately lumber enough for this
purpose, as among the stores of both ships timbers for building Arctic
huts had been included. The cradle was first secured to the hull of
the _Mercury_, and the crews of both vessels took hold of the ropes
made fast to her decks. She was drawn close to the ice, but utterly
refused to leave the water. We tried fixing anchors in the ice ahead,
to which were attached a system of blocks and ropes. These
supplemented the strength of the men by the hoisting engine, but even
this was of no avail. We next rigged up a large drum, vertically over
the shaft of the propeller, and connected it therewith by means of
right-angled cog-wheels. To this was fastened an immense cable, to the
other end of which were attached the ropes rove through blocks held
firmly a quarter-of a mile ahead by thirty anchors imbedded in the
ice. We started the engines, and, sure enough, the bows of the vessel
began to rise out of the water. The _Mercury_ would have been lifted
high and dry on the ice were it not that at that moment several of the
smaller cables in the blocks snapped asunder, and thus our third
effort failed. At this juncture, Sir John Forbes proposed to plant a
few more anchors in the ice, and through the additional blocks work a
cable leading from the bows of the _Mercury_ to the stern of the
_Aurora Borealis_. This being done, he would steam ahead off the ice
and add the power of his ship to that of the _Mercury's_ engine, and
thus relieve the strain on the _Mercury's_ cables. It was a capital
idea, and we immediately put it into execution. The result was a
perfect success. The combined energies of the English ship and her
crew, together with those of our own vessel and men, drew the
_Mercury_ up the slide of ice, and placed her erect and dry upon the
level surface of the lead. It was now comparatively easy work to draw
the ship along the ice. Her own engines were equal to the task; but it
was impossible for the _Mercury_ to go ahead, as, without her
assistance, the _Aurora Borealis_ would be unable to leave the water.
Then, again, there was only the material for but one cradle for both
ships. The difficulty was solved by cutting away one-fourth of the
cradle from beneath both bow and stern of the _Mercury_, and, joining
these parts, we furnished the _Aurora Borealis_ with a sledge as large
as that of our own ship, and strong enough to keep her in an upright
position while being dragged over the ice. After infinite trouble, and
in obedience to the aggregated energies of the engines of both ships
and the hauling of the combined crews, the English ship was drawn up
upon the ice beside the American vessel. This double feat of skill and
determination was duly saluted by a roar of guns and the cheers of the
sailors.
"The ice proved so smooth and hard that the crews of each ship,
assisted by the engines, were able to work their respective vessels in
good order through the entire chasm, a distance of seventy miles.
Arriving at the open floe beyond the northern ice-foot, we bevelled
off the ice as before, and the ships were finally launched upon the
polar sea."
I congratulated Sir John Forbes and Captain Adams on their successful
manoeuvre, which resulted in getting their ships across the ice. It
was a feat of engineering skill rarely possible of accomplishment, and
in their case nature had seconded their efforts by providing a smooth
and solid floor to operate upon, otherwise all human endeavor would
have been fruitless.
"And now, gentlemen," I said, "what do you say surprised you most in
your voyage hither from the ice barrier?"
"I think, admiral," said Captain Adams, "that the grandest sight on
earth is the full view of the Polar Gulf, with its suspended abyss of
waters surrounding the ship. The colossal flux and reflux of waters
produces a feeling of terrible sublimity. It is an awful scene."
"But that scene," said Sir John Forbes, "belongs to the outer world.
This aspect of the interior world of Plutusia is ten thousand times
more magnificent. What grander glory ever fell on human eyes than this
Colosseum of oceans, continents, kingdoms, islands and seas spread
upon the vast interior vault surrounding us, and all lit up by the
internal sun! The human imagination never conceived anything equal to
this. Here nature surpasses the wildest dreams of fancy. We are
astounded with the splendor of such a world!"
"You are right, Sir John," said Captain Adams; "this interior sphere
surpasses anything hitherto discovered in heaven or earth. And then to
think of its enormous riches! The royal fleet of Atvatabar, plated
with solid gold, proves the extraordinary profusion of the precious
metal."