upon a picture of the _Polaris_, of the late Hall expedition as
she lay locked in her frozen bed in the cruel polar sea. The
artist has caught the icy atmosphere, with all its bleak, horrible
surroundings. If the _Polaris_ remains undisturbed by beast or
savage, the centuries will roll by, leaving the vessel intact, like
the mastodon, now extinct, but preserved by the glaciers of Siberia.
A fiery enthusiasm took possession of the late Capt. C. F. Hall,
and he came to the capital to plead his cause before Congress, as
did Columbus before Ferdinand and Isabella. This same kind of flame
is what lights up the path of progress, and keeps civilization from
going down to the tomb. It made Isabella sell her jewels, and it
forced our Congress to give Captain Hall an ear, and the consequence
was the purchase by the Government of an ice vessel of the Delaware,
_Periwinkle_ by name. She was brought to Washington, where Secretary
Robeson caused her very ribs to be taken out and others of the
greatest strength put in the place. To finish all, he added to the
long rakish sailing body an iron nose. In nautical language seven
feet of “dead wood,” or solid timber, protected the forward part of
the ship and this was strengthened by a plating of iron. Her sides
were from twenty inches to two feet in thickness, whilst she had
just twice the number of iron bolts in her carcass that are used
for ordinary vessels for whaling purposes. Nearly every dollar of
the appropriation was used in the purchase and strengthening of the
ships, leaving nothing for ornament; but everything in the shape of
comfort and luxury was contributed by the wealthy citizens of Boston,
even to musical instruments, which were to pierce the solitudes with
cultured airs. The _Polaris_ was rigged as a foretop-sail schooner,
and was able to sail and steer without aid from her engine. The
engine could burn either coal or oil, but it was not expected to
be of much use in extreme northern latitudes, as the danger was
imminent of breaking the paddle-wheels on the ice; and the propeller
was arranged in such a way that it could be lifted on deck through a
shaft or “propeller-well.” But if the propeller was broken a new one
was provided. The cargo was made up of duplicate articles to insure
its progress and safety. Most wonderful life-boats were provided.
One in particular attracted attention because it was made for sledge
journeys. It was constructed of hickory and ash, and folded up
like an umbrella, thus occupying one-eighth of the space as when
opened for use. It takes only two or three minutes to spread this
boat on the water. Its weight was two hundred and fifty pounds. A
life-preserving buoy was placed on the outside of the stern of the
_Polaris_, and in case a man fell overboard it could instantly be
lowered by touching a spring somewhere near the pilot-house. By
touching another spring an electric light was elevated two feet above
the buoy, and this would light up the water for yards around.
The vessel was loaded with pemmican, dessicated vegetables, canned
meats and fruits. The pemmican was the life of the expedition.
The latter is an ugly brownish compound to the eye, disgusting to
the taste in civilized regions; but an old whaler says: “It is an
entirely different article in the Arctic regions. When exposed to
the intense cold it becomes pale straw color, and melts in the mouth
like a peach, only ten thousand times more delicious.” It is said
to be worth a journey to the North Pole to be able to eat pemmican
accompanied by raw walrus liver.
All this frozen knowledge is vividly retained in the writer’s mind,
because it was her experience to sit at the same table with Captain
Hall at the National Hotel during the time the vessel was being
fitted out for her last voyage. This enthusiast had already spent
five years of his life with the Esquimaux and looked upon it as the
happiest period of his existence. There seemed to be a delightful
thrill in his mind when he would relate his escapes from freezing.
“One night,” said the Captain, “I had gone to pay a visit to an
Esquimaux lodge. I had gone to bed and was enjoying the most sublime
dreams. It seemed as if the whole sky in every quarter was blazing
with auroral lights, when all at once I felt myself trampled on,
rudely shaken and beaten with small fists. For a time I could not
collect my mind or understand what it all meant, but as soon as
consciousness asserted itself I learned that my kind friends had
discovered that I was freezing to death. The lodge was colder than
the one I had been accustomed to, and I had foolishly decided to
sleep alone, but I had been watched as a mother looks after her
child.”
“How did you get through the night, Captain?”
“After that experience I was willing to share the beds with the
Esquimaux, their favorite dogs included. The proprieties of civilized
life are entirely wiped out in the Arctic regions. It is merely the
animal fighting for existence.”
“But what good will come from this vast expenditure of precious blood
and treasure?”
“The stars and stripes must float from the icy pinnacle of the North
Pole. Congress has given me the means, and with God’s help I’ll nail
our banner there.”
Now that we have so many brave men battling for their lives on their
return from the ill-fated _Jeannette_, the writer thought the readers
of _The Times_ might wish to see recalled a picture of the _Polaris_,
with her intrepid commander, whose bones have been left to crumble in
the awful “ice field,” for soil there is none to be reached with pick
and shovel--only a snow grave.
The _Polaris_ left her moorings at the Washington navy yard with
nothing omitted which would detract from her success. Captain
Budington, the old whaler upon whom devolved the safety of the
vessel, left nothing undone. It was this indomitable seaman who
floated the fragment of Captain Hall’s crew home on a cake of ice.
The experience of this little band reads like one of Hans Andersen’s
fairy tales. The cruise of the _Jeannette_ makes a good advertisement
for the New York _Herald_, but what has the Government or nation
gained by its outlay in the Bennett scheme? Hereafter the fools must
not be permitted to fall into the _Herald’s_ trap if the Government
is expected to pay the greater part of the bills. Judging the future
by the past, an incipient Arctic explorer should be treated as a
lunatic and be placed where the contagion can be treated with the
freezing process such as Mrs. Hayes understood so well.
OLIVIA.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been
corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within
the text and consultation of external sources.
Several occurrences of the name ‘Phoebe’ have been changed to
‘Phœbe’ for consistency.
Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text,
and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained: for example,
mid-winter, midwinter; broad-cloth, broadcloth; god-mother,
godmother; corruscated; pom-pon; geegaws; traditionary; sublimatic.
Pg 7: ‘superb porportions’ replaced by ‘superb proportions’.
Pg 37: ‘so betwitching for’ replaced by ‘so bewitching for’.
Pg 45: ‘to a Budhist’ replaced by ‘to a Buddhist’.
Pg 47: ‘some resemblence to’ replaced by ‘some resemblance to’.
Pg 53: ‘exceding distaste’ replaced by ‘exceeding distaste’.
Pg 56: ‘Presidental picture’ replaced by ‘Presidential picture’.
Pg 60: ‘a strong resemblancce’ replaced by ‘a strong resemblance’.
Pg 61: ‘platform of equalty’ replaced by ‘platform of equality’.
Pg 88: ‘tarleton, with pearls’ replaced by ‘tarletan, with pearls’.
Pg 117: ‘Inteview with One’ replaced by ‘Interview with One’.
Pg 118: ‘the Saint coldy’ replaced by ‘the Saint coldly’.
Pg 159: ‘an have we not’ replaced by ‘and have we not’.
Pg 163: ‘Susan bottonholed’ replaced by ‘Susan buttonholed’.
Pg 172: ‘_Harper’s Bazar_’ replaced by ‘_Harper’s Bazaar_’.
Pg 184: ‘corresspondent, it’ replaced by ‘correspondent, it’.
Pg 235: ‘favor you you would’ replaced by ‘favor you would’.
Pg 279: ‘and appropirates’ replaced by ‘and appropriates’.
Pg 301: ‘lies somewere’ replaced by ‘lies somewhere’.
Pg 347: ‘one day to kill’ replaced by ‘one way to kill’.
Pg 366: ‘the artifical heat’ replaced by ‘the artificial heat’.
Pg 384: ‘to tintillate the’ replaced by ‘to titillate the’.
Pg 390: ‘Afterwards is was’ replaced by ‘Afterwards it was’.
Pg 401: ‘of the Tuilleries’ replaced by ‘of the Tuileries’.
Pg 408: ‘doops until the’ replaced by ‘droops until the’.
Pg 437: ‘could be impanneled’ replaced by ‘could be impaneled’.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Olivia Letters, by Emily Edson Briggs