Provisions of the Natives getting low.--New Calamity threatened.
--Health and Strength failing.--Necessity of seeking other
Quarters.--The only alternative.--Report of a Wreck.--
Parties leave.--Dreadful Traveling and Exposures.--Report by
the Natives that our Men were frozen to Death.--An Instance of
Treachery.--The Captain and his Party leave.--The Weather.--
Traveling.--Thoughts of Home.--Preservation.--One of the
Party unable to walk.--Left behind.--Found by the Natives.--
The Fate before us.--Division of the Biscuit.--Another fails,
sits down, and is frozen to Death.--Reflections.--Captain
Norton encourages his only remaining Companion.--Singular
Appearance upon the Ice.--Dog Teams.--Part of Mr. Fisher's
Company.--Encouragement to our Minds.--Natives unwilling to
help us.--The Danger of Riding.--Last Effort.--The Music of
Barking Dogs.--Our Manner of Traveling.--Dreadful Condition
of our Feet.--Captain Norton falls exhausted.--Native
Kindness.
In February, it became apparent to all of us, that the provisions of
the natives were getting low; we saw it in our daily fare--diminished
in quantity, if not poorer in quality.
A new and unexpected calamity now threatened us. One misfortune after
another had followed us since the wreck of the ship; deliverance had
failed us when it was just within our reach; disappointment and untold
deprivation had taken its place; but now, as if our past trials were
only preparatory for another,--one more frightful than any we had
contemplated or looked upon,--the question was presented to us in its
most distressing form, whether we should remain among the natives, and,
from present appearances, _starve_ to death, or whether, while any
strength remained, we should make one more, and perhaps the last effort
to reach some other settlement, where we might get provisions enough to
live upon. Our prospects never looked more gloomy than at this time.
We were well assured there were huts down along upon the coast, but how
far we could not tell; and therefore it was a most hazardous journey,
and altogether uncertain whether any one of us would live to reach them.
We were at this time very much reduced in flesh and strength in
consequence of short allowance, and therefore greatly incapacitated
to endure the labor and fatigue of traveling through the snow, or
to withstand for any considerable season the intense cold which
then prevailed. And still further, we were aware there would be no
protection for us during the long night we should be out; or, it may
be, a number of days and nights we should find no shelter. How many
fearful odds were against us! Of this fact we were certain: to remain
where we were, we should all perish by degrees with starvation; we
came therefore to the conclusion, we could but die if we should venture
to travel to the next settlement.
The haggard and emaciated countenances of our companions told but too
plainly that a change must take place in our living, or soon we should
"go the way of all the earth." If our friends at home could have looked
in upon us in this time of our last extremity, they would neither have
known us, nor would they have supposed, from our appearance, that we
could long survive our misfortunes. It is well that we do not always
know either the condition or the sufferings of our fellow-men.
It was about this time, while we were anxiously considering our state
--what should be done, in what direction to seek for life--a report
reached us by means of the natives, that a ship had been cast away on
the coast, from seventy to one hundred miles distant, as near as we
could judge.
A single _ham_ was brought to the settlement by the natives, which
confirmed the truth of the wreck.
This circumstance greatly encouraged us, and determined the first
party, consisting of only two, to leave one morning, and to travel in
the direction of East Cape. In the afternoon of the same day another
party of three left, Mr. Fisher and two others, taking the same course
as those did in the morning.
The last party soon came up with the first one, and found the two men
nearly exhausted, and overcome by the difficulties of traveling, and
by the intenseness of the cold; but by encouragement and hope held out
to them, that another day they might find a native settlement, they
struggled on through that night. The next day, they pressed on the
best they could, making, however, but very slow progress, and seeing
but little before them to animate their minds, or to raise up their
spirits. They had gone as far as strength, or hope, or the love of life
could carry them. They became bewildered, chilled, frost-bitten, and
blinded by the flying snow; and as their last resort before they should
lie down in death, having given up all prospect of getting any farther,
they traveled round and round in a circle; and they were found in this
condition when discovered by several natives, who immediately led them
to their huts, which were only a mile or two distant.
How these men were kept alive during the time they were exposed to the
intense cold of the day, and especially of the cheerless arctic night,
seeking the best track they could through an unknown region of valleys,
cliffs, ice, snow banks, &c.,--how these men were kept alive, is a
matter of profound surprise, and certainly one of those instances of
special providence in behalf of the needy and suffering sons of men.
Mr. Fisher said, all he had with him to eat by the way, when he left
the settlement, was "some burnt coffee in his pocket." The others with
him were no better off. It is wonderful that they lived amid so much
destitution and exposure. What will not necessity compel men to do!
Mr. Fisher, with the rest, asked the natives for something to eat;
and he obtained a small piece of frozen whale's blubber. In less than
two hours they were brought to the huts, and to their great joy found
provisions more abundant. The whole distance they had traveled exceeded
twenty miles.
A few days after the departure of Mr. Fisher's company, and the one
that preceded his, word was brought to the settlement by some of the
traveling natives, that the whole party were frozen to death.
This was sad intelligence indeed, and yet it was what we greatly
feared. We, however, had our doubts as to the truth of the report. We
had some very strong reasons for suspecting the natives of lying--
a habit we perceived identified with another, viz., that of stealing.
And yet the report could not fail to produce in all our minds intense
solicitude respecting the fate of our companions.
They ventured forth, risking their own lives, in order to find better
accommodations for the company. As soon as they should find better
quarters, and the prospect of preserving us from starvation, the
agreement was, to send us immediate word; and then small companies
would follow them from time to time, so as not to discommode a small
settlement of only a few huts with our whole number coming into it at
once.
The reluctance of the natives in our settlement to assist us in finding
new quarters, when they knew their provisions were getting wretchedly
low, and when they knew, too, that we had not more than one third of
our ordinary fare, and that we were becoming weaker and more emaciated
day after day, their reluctance to assist us, or to direct us to the
nearest settlement, can be accounted for only on the principle that if
we died, they wanted us to die with them; or that they did not desire
we should go to any other settlement. What their particular motive was
in this respect, we could not satisfactorily ascertain.
During this time of uncertainty concerning the fate of Mr. Fisher
and those with him, Captain Norton called the company together,
and proposed that another party should go out and look for their
companions, and ascertain, if possible, whether they were living or
not. Eight or ten days had thus passed away, and nothing was heard from
the first party, nor could we learn any thing definitely about them
from the natives, though we had reason to believe they knew more about
them than we did.
On the supposition, however, that Mr. Fisher and his party had perished
by the way, as reported by the natives, and lest those who might follow
should meet with the same calamity, and thus party after party be lost
in those trackless wastes of the arctic, it was thought advisable, if
possible, before any more of us followed, to send word by the traveling
natives to all the settlements, both near and more remote, whether
five seamen had arrived at any one of them, or whether they had been
discovered frozen to death.
Word was sent to Mr. Fisher from Captain Norton by means of pieces of
copper written upon with lead, and forwarded by the natives. Mr. Fisher
also sent word to Captain Norton in the same manner after his arrival
at the settlement; but neither heard from the other, and therefore
both parties were left in painful suspense, and especially those who
were left behind.
In this instance we discovered another treachery of the natives towards
us, and which we found it impossible to account for, considering their
kindness towards us in many other respects.
Since nothing had been heard from Mr. Fisher for many days, the
captain stated to his men, that he had made up his mind to leave the
settlement, and ascertain if possible the fate of Mr. Fisher, and find
better quarters. One thing was certain; he assured them he could not
live there; that was out of the question. He was greatly debilitated,
had scarcely any thing to eat, and for three days past had not eaten a
piece of blubber larger than his three fingers.
Accordingly, on the last day of February, the captain left with a
company of three besides himself.
We took our departure at sundown, or late in the afternoon, in order
to avoid the effect of sunlight upon our eyes. We learned from the
experience of the natives to avoid, if possible, this evil; and hence
we took the latter part of the day to commence our perilous journey,
and chose darkness rather than light.
Our intentions were to travel until we should find more comfortable
quarters, or perish in the attempt. We were sensible that from the
severity of the cold, we must travel all the time, night and day;
there could be no rest or respite for us, with safety, out of doors.
If we should stop for any length of time, or sit down, death would be
inevitable.
It was intensely cold when we left--such an air as is felt only in
the arctic. The northern lights shone very brightly that night; wind
quite high; occasionally the snow flying in dense masses around us; and
besides, slumping into the snow from six inches to two feet at almost
every step.
Thus we traveled, or rather, as it seemed to us, crawled along during
that night, keeping our course by the sea shore as much as we could.
We found no well-beaten road, or path, but we had to make one for
ourselves; no plain before us, but a rugged and broken surface, both
upon the frozen ocean and upon the land; immense piles of snow, wrought
into a great variety of forms by the circling winds; indeed the whole
scene before us was one of the wildest, grandest, and most terrific,
that winter could present to mortal eyes, and such as can be seen only
where Winter asserts his undisputed supremacy.
And what a night was that for human beings to be out and exposed,
with no covering above us but the bright stars, and the brighter
coruscations, as they would flash up from the pole and overspread
the northern sky! Then we thought of home,--far distant home,--and
friends, and the contrast, the strange contrast between their condition
and ours! But words are poor vehicles to convey to the reader the
emotions of our minds as we felt the loneliness of our condition, and
the dreariness of our prospects on that dreadful night. It will never
be effaced from the tablet of our memories, and in our hearts may we
ever record, as long as life shall continue, the goodness of God in
preserving us, and causing our eyes to behold the light of another day.
About ten o'clock on the following day, one of our number began to
exhibit more than ordinary weariness, languor, and stupidity. We found
he began to lag behind, and was unable to keep up with us, though we
were much exhausted, and only by the greatest possible exertion were
we able to keep on our feet. We had not stopped, except for a moment,
since we left the settlement.
Tired and overtasked nature, however, could not always endure. We all
traveled slowly; but one of our number was really making little or no
progress at all. We, who were ahead, would slacken our pace, or return
to meet him, assist him, and encourage him to hold out and press on.
This we did many times, but we found it absolutely impossible for him
to keep up with us. We had no strength to carry him; this was out of
the question; and to attempt to help him along for any considerable
time, or to wait for him or stay by him, it was certain we should never
get any where, and all die together.
The only alternative, therefore, to which, from necessity, we were
brought, was to leave him behind. Sad as was our decision in this
instance, yet it was distressingly true that, if we had tarried by the
way or sat down, we never should have risen again.
We pressed on for our lives. We soon lost sight of our companion in the
distance, either resting or making ineffectual efforts to get along. In
leaving him in those wintry wilds, we left him, as we supposed, to die.
We saw no chance for his escape.
About eight days from this time, we learned that, a few hours after we
left him, he was found by some natives in a perfectly helpless state,
and carried by them to a settlement several miles distant, where he was
taken care of, and finally joined the company at East Cape.
In regard to those of us who were still able to proceed through the
drifted snow, how slight the hope that we should long continue our
perilous journey, and how probable that each one of us in turn would
lag behind, and finally lie down to rise up no more!
We saw in our companion an example of what our own fate might shortly
be. Whatever of heart or hope there was left, the captain encouraged
those with him to put forth all their strength and energies, as every
thing they held dear on earth--even life itself--was now at stake.
If they faltered, death was certain; if they pressed on, there might be
some remote chance of safety and of life.
When Captain Norton left the settlement, he took with him as his only
supply of food, both for himself and his three companions, three sea
biscuits, which he hid away the first of the winter as a last resort,
not knowing what necessity the future might bring along with it.
The last and final emergency had now arrived. He therefore took one
of the biscuits, and divided it into three parts, retained one for
himself, and gave the other two to his companions.
Soon after the division of the biscuit, we found a temporary shelter
under the lee of a precipitous and broken line of hills, which extended
some distance, and which protected us from the cold and piercing north
wind.
Captain Norton never allowed himself to sit down, because he was
convinced, so weak as he was, and nearly worn out, if he should yield
to the promptings of his almost exhausted body, and sit down, he would
never rise up again; and therefore he continued on his feet, and moving
about from place to place. He warned his companions again and again,
if they valued life, not to think of finding rest by sitting down,
or seeking repose in any manner; if they should, death would shortly
ensue. There was "but a step between us and death."
Yet, notwithstanding the entreaties, persuasions, and warnings of
Captain Norton, another one was observed to falter and disposed to sit
down. Being but a short distance from him, we perceived he made no
effort to eat his biscuit, and also exhibited that singular dulness and
stupidity which are the silent and stealthy precursors of the sleep of
death. He was then sitting down in an easy and natural posture. The
captain spoke to him several times; but he gave no answer, nor made any
movement of any kind. He went to him immediately, though he was not
twelve feet distant, to ascertain the cause, and found what we greatly
feared; alas! the poor fellow's eyes were set, his limbs were rigid,
the piece of biscuit was still in his hand. He was frozen to death;
his mortal life had fled; his spirit had gone to God, who gave it!
In the winding sheet of drifting snow we let him remain. What a
scene that was to us! We were struggling for life amid elements of
destruction such as but few of our countrymen ever witnessed, and, we
trust, never will.
Only two of us were now left to pursue our sad, and in some respects
almost hopeless, journey. It seems quite incredible that we should
have had any courage to make another effort in struggling forward,
after what we had just witnessed, and that, at once, we should not have
surrendered ourselves to the fate which appeared to follow and surround
us.
The captain said to Cox, his only remaining companion, "The best foot
forward now, or we shall be left out here; and to be out one more
night, we are gone."
Having traveled two or three miles, as we should judge, from the place
where our shipmate died, we discovered something in the distance, from
one to two miles, skimming along apparently on the ice, which at first
had the appearance of a flock of crows. Cox said to the captain, "The
crows have come for us already." But upon further inspection, and the
object approaching nearer, it turned out to be four or five dog teams,
with three of Mr. Fisher's party and a number of natives, bound back to
the settlement to let their companions know that they had found good
quarters, and also to bring some of them away with them.
This was cheering news indeed--cheering because Mr. Fisher and his
party were alive, cheering because it revived our desponding spirits,
and infused new hope into our minds that permanent help was not far off.
Those who accompanied the natives with the dog teams saw at once how
nearly exhausted the captain and Cox were, but yet the natives were
unwilling to take them to the nearest settlement. And, besides, there
would have been as great danger, and perhaps even greater, for us to
have ridden on the supposition that the natives had been disposed to
carry us, than for us to have walked. We should have been chilled to
death, if we had remained still or quiet, in a very short time.
The direction to the nearest settlement on the coast was pointed out to
us; and we were put upon the track made by the dog teams, and told that
the distance to it was six or eight miles.
The captain told Cox, "We must reach the place before dark; the last
effort must now be put forth--the best foot forward." It was now
about twelve o'clock, M. We started in the direction of the huts, and
traveled on as fast as we could, though at the best very slow. The snow
was deep, and hard to travel.
All the mental and physical energy which we possessed was called into
requisition to aid us in reaching a resting place before night. It was
our last exertion. It was indeed a merciful providence that we happened
to meet our friends and the natives, otherwise, beyond a reasonable
doubt, we should have perished; but meeting them, however, we received
great encouragement to our minds, and, furthermore, knew for a
certainty the direction and about the distance of the huts. Without
such a stimulus as this, and just the one we needed,--for our lives
were suspended upon it,--our last resting place on earth would have
been made amid the drifting snows of the arctic.
With severe labor and painful exertion, we finally reached the
settlement just at night. Before we saw the huts, which were concealed
from our view by banks of snow, we were heralded by the barking of the
dogs. We knew, therefore, that we were near the abode of human beings.
The sound fell on our ears ten thousand times more sweetly than the
music of an AEolian harp.
But we hardly knew how we were carried through the last part of our
journey. Strength was given to us by the great Father of all. It was
of the Lord's mercies that we did not yield to final despondency, and
utterly despair of ever beholding the countenances of our friends
again. Hope and heart were in the ascendant; if they had once fallen,
all would have been over with us.
Sometimes we crawled along on our hands and knees; at other times we
would fall down, both upon the right hand and upon the left, and it
seemed to us that we could not rise; and then, again, we would get up
and struggle on. In this manner we traveled miles, and especially the
last part of the way. Indeed, our feet had become dreadfully inflamed,
and large blisters had formed on the sides of them, which made the
labor of walking exceedingly and distressingly difficult.
Captain Norton was so completely overcome and exhausted when he reached
the hut, that he fell prostrate upon the floor, unable to advance one
step farther, and lay almost senseless.
Not only were our feet inflamed and blistered in the most shocking
manner, but our clothes were stiff with frost in consequence of
perspiration, by our extraordinary efforts to reach the settlement
before night. We were treated with great kindness by the natives; our
stiff and frosty clothes were soon exchanged for dry ones. After a
season of rest, a good supper was prepared for us, consisting of walrus
blubber, deer meat, and "ice cream" made of the fat of the deer mixed
with snow.
[Illustration: WHALES RAISED.]