THE LATER VOYAGES OF SVERDRUP AND PEARY
As we have already seen, it was as Nansen’s companion on his journey
across Greenland, and as his second in command on the _Fram_, that
Otto Sverdrup first acquired the taste for Arctic travel which, in
1898, led him to undertake an expedition on his own account. The
primary object of his new journey was to complete the survey of the
northern shores of Greenland which had been so brilliantly begun
by Peary, and to discover once and for all whether there lay any
land beyond it in the direction of the North Pole. Failing that,
he proposed to examine Grinnell and Ellesmere Lands, of which vast
tracts still remained totally unexplored.
Sverdrup sailed from Upernavik on August 5, in our old friend the
_Fram_, which had been refitted for the new voyage, and was soon
well on his way up Smith Sound. On reaching Hayes Sound he decided
to go into winter quarters there, as it was, of course, impossible
to attempt to reach a much higher latitude that season, and there
was plenty of good work to be done in the neighbourhood. A couple
of sledge journeys across Ellesmere Island put him in possession
of many new facts concerning the geographical features of that
country, and, as soon as spring came round, he began his preparations
for pushing north. Unfortunately, however, the season was very
unfavourable, and he soon found that, for that year at any rate, his
project of following the north coast of Greenland must be put aside,
so he determined to explore Jones Sound, which had never before been
followed to its juncture with the Polar Sea.
In this he was entirely successful, and when the next winter came
round it found him comfortably ensconced in winter quarters on
the south coast of Ellesmere Land. It was while Sverdrup was away
exploring the coast that the career of the _Fram_ was very nearly
brought to an untimely end by fire. Fortunately, however, she
was saved, and early in August she was afloat again. All serious
thought of pushing up Smith Sound had now been abandoned, and
instead, Sverdrup made for Belcher Channel, at the mouth of which
the next winter was spent. During the spring and summer the work of
exploration went merrily on, with the result that the indefatigable
Sverdrup had soon added much of the unknown coast of North Devon to
the charts.
On returning to the _Fram_ he found, to his regret, that she was so
firmly fixed in the ice that even blasting operations on a large
scale had no effect, and he was, in consequence, obliged to resign
himself to the inevitable and to spend another winter at the mouth of
Belcher Channel. Fortunately, however, he had by no means exhausted
the possibilities of that neighbourhood, and he occupied himself with
making a journey north, for which cartographers have every reason
to be grateful to him, though he failed in his endeavour to reach
Aldridge’s farthest. In the following summer the _Fram_ was set free,
and was able to return to civilised regions.
Sverdrup’s voyage was unrelieved by any very sensational or exciting
incidents, but the work that he did during those four years was
admirable. He mapped out the west coast of Ellesmere Land—a most
arduous task, as it is broken up by a singularly intricate system
of fiords—he discovered three large islands west of that land, he
explored North Devon and the northern shores of North Cornwall
and Findlay Island, and he proved that land existed north of the
Parry Islands, a point on which diverse opinions had hitherto been
held. Consequently, though he never reached the northern shores
of Greenland for which he had set out, he had no reason to be
dissatisfied with the result of his journey.
The energy and enterprise which Lieutenant Peary displayed in
carrying on his chosen work in the Polar Regions aroused so much
sympathy in America, that not long ago a number of those who were
interested in it formed a club which they called the Peary Arctic
Club, and which was founded with a view to providing him with funds
for carrying on the explorations in which he had already achieved
so conspicuous a success. It was principally owing to the exertions
of this club that in 1898 Peary was able to set sail from Sidney
in the _Windward_, which had been presented to him by Sir Alfred
Harmsworth, with the double end in view of completing his examination
of the northern shores of Greenland, and, if possible, of reaching
the North Pole. This expedition was, probably, the most perfectly
planned that has ever set out from any shores.
The _Windward_ had been preceded by the auxiliary ship the _Hope_,
which, after depositing her stores at Etah, sailed for home, while
the _Windward_ herself tried to push on north up Smith Sound. Ice,
however, proved an insurmountable obstacle, and she was obliged to
go into winter quarters near Cape D’Urville, on the north side of
Princess Marie Bay. Peary’s plans for the autumn were threefold.
In the first place, he wished to survey the land around his winter
quarters, in the second place, he was anxious to obtain a supply
of fresh meat for his party, and, in the third place, he intended
to convey as large a supply of provisions as possible along the
coast. He was completely successful in fulfilling each of these
three objects. By the end of September he had explored much of the
surrounding country, proving the continuity of Ellesmere and Grinnell
lands, and dissipating several illusions which existed concerning
Hayes Sound, which he was unable to find at all, Buchanan Bay,
which had hitherto been held to be a strait, and Bache Promontory,
which was popularly supposed to be an island. Early in September he
relieved himself of all further anxiety concerning his supply of
fresh meat, by killing a herd of seventeen musk-oxen, while, by using
every ray of moonlight and often working in complete darkness, he
had, by December 4, cached 3300 lbs. of provisions at Cape Wilkes.
“No one,” he says, “who has not had the actual experience can imagine
the work and annoyances involved in transporting, in semi- or
complete darkness, those supplies along the frightful ice-foot which
lines the Grinnell land-coast.”
On December 20, when the winter, that is to say, was at its worst, he
started off with six men and thirty dogs on a singularly unattractive
journey to Fort Conger. The darkness was intense, the weather was bad
and the way lay through most unpleasant places, but they stumbled
on over the rough ice as best they could, and on January 6 they
succeeded in reaching their destination. Peary, unfortunately, had
to pay for his boldness in thus facing the Arctic winter, for he
found, on arriving at the Fort, that both his feet were so badly
frost-bitten that he was unable to walk, and when the time came to
turn he had to be lashed to a sledge and dragged the whole way home.
Worse, however, was to come, for the doctor found it necessary to
amputate eight of his toes on his arrival at the ship in March, and
Peary felt the effects of the operation for a long while afterwards.
But he was not the sort of man to give in even to such a disaster as
this, and in the early summer he insisted on making another trip to
Fort Conger, in spite of the pain that walking over the hummocky ice
caused him.
The _Windward_ was set free in August, and proceeded at once to Etah,
where Peary had decided to spend the winter, as he did not consider
the ship fitted for an attempt to push northward through the ice.
Here she was joined by the _Diana_, which had been sent out with
supplies, and, after spending a few weeks in walrus-hunting, the two
ships sailed in company for America.
During the latter part of the winter Peary and his whole party
left Etah for Fort Conger, which they succeeded in reaching by the
end of March. After a few days’ rest the commander, with some of
his Eskimos, started off on what was to be the great event of the
summer—a journey round the north coast of Greenland. The way was
exceedingly rough, and days were often spent in the arduous work of
hewing a way for the sledges through the rugged ice. Determination,
however, made light of the great difficulties, and they pushed gamely
on past Lockwood’s farthest point and round the north coast of Hazen
Land, till, on May 19, Peary’s eyes were gladdened by a fleeting
glimpse of a mountain of peculiar shape, which he recognised as the
peak that he had seen rising proudly to the north when, in 1895,
he stood on the ice-cap south of Independence Bay. Unfortunately,
a heavy fog came down upon the party, and they were prevented from
exploring the rest of the Bay before lack of provisions obliged them
to start for home two days later.
Fort Conger was reached in safety, and the rest of the Arctic day
was spent in laying in a supply of fresh meat for the long night.
On April 17, after an ineffectual attempt to push north, Peary
and his men started off for Payer Bay. Here, as he expected, he
met the _Windward_, which had been sent out with supplies. All of
these were taken ashore, and the rest of the summer was spent in
re-establishing the line of _caches_ to Fort Conger. The winter was
destined to be trying, for several of the Eskimos fell ill, and Peary
was consequently obliged not only to nurse and see after them, but
also to do most of the hard work of preparing for the summer journey
single-handed. By February 1, however, his arrangements were complete
and most of his patients had recovered, so he started for Fort Conger
once more, intending to make it the base of his dash for the North
Pole. It was not, however, until April 1 that he was able to leave
Cape Hecla with nine sledges, and he soon found that the lateness of
his departure made it practically impossible for him to win success
that year. Huge pressure ridges, great masses of ice-rubble, frequent
open channels and deep snow made the way almost impracticable, and on
April 21, after reaching 81° 17,´ 27´´, he had to make this entry in
his journal.
“The game is off. My dream of sixteen years is ended. It cleared
during the night and we got under way this morning. Deep snow. Two
small old floes. Then came another region of old rubble and deep
snow. A survey from the top of a pinnacle showed this extended north,
east and west as far as could be seen. The two old floes over which
we had just come were the only ones in sight. It is impracticable and
I gave the order to camp. I have made the best fight I knew; and I
believe it has been a good one.”
There was now nothing for them to do but to make the best of their
way back. They reached Payer Harbour on May 17, where the _Windward_,
with Mrs Peary and her daughter on board, joined them on August 5.
Shortly after this the whole party set sail for home.
Peary has since shown, however, that the passage which we have quoted
from his diary was written in a fit of momentary despondency, and
that his dream of sixteen years is by no means over, for last year he
set sail in the _Roosevelt_ on another dash for the Pole, the results
of which are now being awaited with the keenest interest.