It was a beautiful sunny day, and many vessels were gathered in San
Francisco bay to attend the departure. Guns were fired, flags waved,
and cheers given with a will for the brave men who were going to risk
their lives in the search for the North Pole.
The _Jeannette_ sailed away through the Pacific ocean. She crossed
Bering sea in a heavy gale, and passed through Bering strait in safety.
After rounding East cape, the watch in the crow’s nest saw some rude
huts along the beach. They were the homes of the Tchuktches, the
Siberian race which inhabits this peninsula.
The ice alongshore prevented De Long from landing, and the natives,
seeing this, launched a large skin boat and went out to the ship. The
Indian chief went with them, and they all boarded the _Jeannette_.
These people could furnish very little information, because no one on
board knew their language and they could speak no English. But De Long
learned, by means of signs and motions, that Nordenskjöld, with the
_Vega_, had wintered to the northwest of them, and that a few weeks
before he had passed out through Bering strait.
The Tchuktches had a delightfully original way of asking for liquor.
They bent their elbows and uttered the word “Schnapps.” But they did
not get anything to drink, and soon returned to the shore.
The next day some men from the _Jeannette_ succeeded in landing. They
found the Tchuktches living in tents made of skin, and very dirty.
They ate the raw flesh of the walrus and drank the blood. Their chief
wore a red calico gown as a mark of his high rank. It was a cool
garment for so cold a place, but the natives do not feel the cold as
keenly as we should.
After sailing along the Siberian coast for a short distance, the
_Jeannette_ bade farewell to land and started on her perilous journey.
In the Arctic regions the ice is divided into what is known as young
ice and the pack. Young ice is that which is forming all the time.
It is thin at first, and vessels can usually cut their way through.
The pack is the old ice which has been formed for many years, and is
composed of large pieces, called floes, which are often thirty or forty
feet thick and extend over a great surface both above and below the
water.
The floes sometimes close up and float together as a pack, squeezing
in everything between them. Sometimes they separate, leaving channels
of water between. The pack floats with the wind and the current, and
there is little chance of escape from it. If a ship is caught in the
ice pack, it must float with it until a storm or some other change of
weather breaks up the pack. When a ship is strong enough to resist the
pressure of the ice pack, there is some chance of escape in the spring,
but so tremendous is the power of the ice that Arctic voyagers avoid
the pack if possible.
It seems to have been De Long’s intention deliberately to enter the
pack and drift with it, for when, on September 6, he saw an opening
between the Siberian and the American packs, he slipped in. At first
the _Jeannette_ pushed her way bravely, but after a few hours she was
unable to proceed, and soon she was frozen in solidly.
[Illustration: THE “JEANNETTE” IN THE ICE PACK.]
To the southwest lay Herald island, which the men attempted to explore.
Taking a dog sledge, they traveled to within six miles of the beach,
where they found open water, so that they were obliged to return to the
ship without setting foot on land. They found the ship drifting with
the ice, and in danger of being crushed between the huge masses which
surrounded her. Thundering noises from far away could be heard as the
blocks of ice ground and grated together. At times the ice separated
near the ship, leaving it in clear water. Again, the pack closed up
about the stanch little vessel, which was like an eggshell at the mercy
of enormous blocks of floating ice.
But all this time the _Jeannette_ was drifting, and at length she came
in sight of Wrangel Land. Before De Long lost sight of this land, he
satisfied himself that it was an island, and not a part of Greenland
as some explorers had supposed.
On November 10 the black Arctic night began, which lasted until January
25. The bitterness of the cold during this long period of darkness is
inconceivable. The surface water was usually at a temperature of 29°
F., the freezing point of salt water.
Notwithstanding their discomforts, the men followed a regular routine.
At seven o’clock in the morning all on board were called and the fires
were started in the galleys. At nine o’clock the explorers ate their
breakfast. From eleven until one o’clock every man took his gun and
went out on the ice to exercise. At three in the afternoon dinner
was served, and the galley fires were put out in order to save coal.
Between seven and eight o’clock tea was made. The crew lived on pork
and beans, salt beef, and canned goods. Sometimes, when the hunters
were successful, they had the meat of the seal, bear, or walrus. For
amusements there were theatricals and a navigation class.
For one year and nine months the _Jeannette_ floated in the pack, at
the mercy of wind and tide. The coldest weather came in February, when
the thermometer registered 58° below zero. In spite of the windings
and turnings of their course, the general direction was toward the
northwest. De Long trusted to the strength of his ship to withstand the
pressure of the ice, and float across the pole out into the Atlantic
ocean. At length, on May 17, 1881, land was sighted. It proved to be
an island not indicated on the chart of that region. De Long therefore
claimed it as a discovery, and named it Jeannette island. Another
island was discovered not far away, and called Henrietta.
A sledge party under Melville was sent out from the ship to explore
this island. The ice over which they traveled consisted of large
blocks that floated rapidly and were constantly changing their
position. Sometimes the men were obliged to jump into the water and
swim from one block to another. The dogs were almost useless; they
refused to jump, and tried to run away. The men pushed them into the
water, and then they had to swim for their lives. This seems cruel
treatment, but Arctic exploration means severe suffering for all who
engage in it, and the help of the dogs was absolutely necessary.
Henrietta island was rocky and ice-capped, not in itself a very
valuable possession for the United States of America; yet the Stars and
Stripes were set up there, and a square copper case, containing copies
of the _New York Herald_ and a record of the voyage, was placed in a
cairn. Then the sledge party returned to the ship. The _Jeannette_ was
in dire distress, for the ice around her, now rapidly breaking up, was
by turns receding and closing in. Every time it closed in, it pressed
against her sides with tremendous force, so that her timbers fairly
creaked.
But brave Captain De Long would not leave his ship until he was quite
certain that she was going to sink, and her hold was full of water
before he gave orders to abandon her. Then the crew had to work with
desperate haste to transfer provisions, tents, and boats to a safe
place on the ice. At four o’clock in the morning of June 13, the
_Jeannette_ sank to the bottom of the Arctic ocean. The ice closed over
the place where the little vessel had endured such terrific grinding
for twenty-one months, and only a cabin chair and a few pieces of wood
remained to mark the spot.
Imagine the condition of the men left on the ice so many miles from
land. But they worked with calm courage to arrange their provisions and
all the articles which were needful for camping on the sledges, and
four days after the _Jeannette_ had sunk, the retreat across the ice
began.
This march was one of the most difficult ever undertaken. In one day
the travelers could cover a distance of only a mile, or at most a mile
and a half. Thirteen times they were compelled to go over the road,
seven times with loads, six times without, traveling a distance of
twenty-six miles in order to cover an advance of two miles. Many of the
party were taken ill and had to be carried by their companions.
At the end of the week, De Long found that the ice over which they were
traveling had floated northwest faster than they had traveled south;
consequently the party was twenty-seven miles farther away from the
Siberian coast than when they started. De Long kept this disheartening
fact a secret from his men, lest they should despair.
On and on they traveled, day after day, until at last a dim line of
land came into view; it proved to be a new island, with rocky shores
and steep sides. It was a difficult task to cross the channel of water
which separated the ice pack from this bleak coast, but Captain De Long
ordered all his men to attempt the crossing. They raised the American
flag and took possession of the island in the name of the President of
the United States. This land De Long called Bennett island. Thousands
of birds were found among the rocks, and the men had a refreshing feast
after their weeks of weary work. The sides of Bennett island were bold
and steep, and landslides occurred several times.
It was thought best to continue the journey by water. There were three
boats, and a part of the supplies was placed in each boat. De Long
commanded one, Lieutenant Chipps another, and Engineer Melville the
third. When the New Siberian islands came in sight, the voyagers knew
that they were nearing the mouth of the Lena river. This large stream
flows across Siberia into the Arctic ocean. Its banks are usually
occupied by tribes of Indians, who remain there during the summer
season to fish and hunt. It was encouraging to know that land was so
near, and the weary travelers kept bravely on, working with all their
strength to steer through the masses of ice. It seemed as if two new
perils sprang up for every danger escaped. In a heavy gale Lieutenant
Chipps’s boat went down, and De Long and Melville lost sight of each
other. Melville at length succeeded in guiding his boat to the mouth of
the Lena river.
The country appeared to be deserted, and it seemed probable that they
had escaped from drowning, only to perish from cold and starvation. But
after they had traveled some distance up the river, and were just about
to give up in despair, they met some natives.
Melville ordered the natives to spread the report of the two missing
boats wherever they went. Two of them were sent with dog teams as a
searching party to the different towns on the delta. After thirteen
days they returned with tidings of the missing crews. They had met two
men of Captain De Long’s party, Noros and Nindemann, who had succeeded
in making their way to a deserted fishing station; but they were in
a pitiable condition. Although a severe storm was raging, Melville
started immediately for this place with his dog team, carrying food
with him.
He found Noros and Nindemann in a small hut, nearly dead from cold and
hunger. After making them comfortable, and learning from them where
they had left De Long, Melville pushed on. Storms delayed him in his
search, so that when he reached the part of the river where De Long’s
party was last seen, he abandoned all hope of finding any of them
alive, for they had been without provisions two days when Nindemann
left them, and that part of the country was entirely destitute of food.
Yet Melville continued his search, determined to find the missing men,
alive or dead. After heroic, untiring efforts, he found the dead bodies
of his shipmates. They had perished five months before.
After attending to the burial of his brave comrades, and rewarding the
natives who had assisted him, Melville set out for home. He arrived
in New York, September 13, 1883, just one year from the day on which
the three boats were separated in the gale. Due credit has been given
Engineer Melville, both at home and abroad, for his promptness and
energy in conducting the search for the lost crew of the _Jeannette_.
The fate of the _Jeannette_ and her crew often leads people to overlook
the results secured by her voyage. The long drift of twenty-one months
enabled the voyagers of this expedition to acquire considerable
knowledge of the ocean. The ship traveled over a large area, sometimes
moving almost in a circle. The depth of the ocean, the character of
its bed and its drift were determined. Many kinds of animal life were
studied, and two islands were discovered.
XIII. GREELY IN GRINNELL LAND
1881–1883
Interest in the Frozen North became so great, that a conference of
nations was held in Hamburg, Germany, in 1879, to discuss plans by
means of which knowledge of that part of the world might be advanced.
Eleven countries were represented, and it was decided to send out
expeditions and establish stations for the purpose of making scientific
observations. Fifteen expeditions were sent out by different countries,
and fourteen stations were established. These stations were known
as the International Circumpolar stations, and their work was to be
coöperative.
The United States decided to establish two stations, one at Point
Barrow, Alaska, and the other in Lady Franklin bay. The command of
the expedition to Point Barrow was given to Lieutenant Ray. Adolphus
Washington Greely, a lieutenant in the United States Army, was offered
command of the other, and when the enterprise was made national in
1881, he accepted the commission.
The arrangements necessary for the journey were soon made, and Greely
and his companions sailed on the _Proteus_ to Newfoundland. They left
that island on July 7, 1881, and headed for the north. The _Proteus_
sailed through Davis strait and Baffin bay, passing the wonderful “bird
cliffs,” which rise perpendicularly for over a thousand feet out of
the sea, and are broken only by narrow ledges. Neither Eskimo nor
animal can reach these rocks, and here, safe from harm, the birds lay
their eggs and hatch out their young by the tens of thousands. Greely’s
men shot many birds and secured hundreds of eggs.
[Illustration: BIRD CLIFFS.]
The _Proteus_ passed through Smith sound and Kennedy channel, and
reached Lady Franklin bay in safety. She anchored at last in Discovery
bay, on the coast of Grinnell land, where Greely and his men went
ashore to select a place suitable for a camp, to be named Fort Conger.
Then the _Proteus_ steamed away, leaving a small company of men alone
in the Arctic solitude. But they were too busy to feel lonely, and
began to work hard in order to make a comfortable home for themselves.
The house was built of wood covered with tarred paper, and stations for
the instruments were erected near at hand.
The cliffs around Discovery harbor rise from a hundred to a thousand
feet in height and nearly surround the bay, which contains about
twenty square miles of ice floe. Game was plentiful. Large flocks of
eider ducks visited an open pool near by, and herds of musk oxen were
to be seen in the distance, grazing quietly. The Arctic summer was
at its height, and the slopes were covered with grasses, mosses, and
buttercups.
Under the direction of Lieutenant Greely, the men took observations,
explored the country, and built depots. The depots were built at
convenient distances from Fort Conger, and were stored with supplies
of food for the use of exploring parties. At last so much had been
accomplished that Greely thought he might safely leave the camp and try
to reach the interior of Grinnell land.
With three companions he started from Fort Conger, April 26, 1882,
traveling over ice which was in good condition, so that the party moved
rapidly. Greely found that two openings along the coast, which he
had supposed to be bays, were large fiords. Here he came upon layers
of remarkably clear fresh-water ice. It was deep blue in color and
contrasted beautifully with the opaque white ice of the ocean floes.
Without doubt a river or glacier emptied into the fiord. Magnificent
mountain peaks round about rose to heights of thousands of feet above
the sea level, and through the valleys, which were bare of snow, there
were frequent traces of the musk ox, the fox, and the hare.
[Illustration: MUSK OX.]
A sharp turn brought the party to a large icebound lake about five
hundred square miles in area, which Greely named Lake Hazen. To the
north rose ranges of mountains, snow-covered and majestic, known as
the Garfield range; beyond these lay the United States range, also
snow-covered.
The next day Lake Hazen was crossed and a beautiful glacier discovered.
It was five miles wide, and rose perpendicularly one hundred and
seventy-five feet out of the lake. Greely named it the Henrietta
Nesmith glacier, in honor of his wife.
The top of this glacier was white, like unpolished marble. Lower down,
the ice shaded into a bluish color, growing more delicate as it reached
the foot, where it became white, with yellow and rose-colored tinges.
There were three deep gullies or channels in the glacier, through
which a torrent had evidently rushed at some time; and, strange as
it may seem, the hills and slopes next it were covered with plants,
lichens, willows, and Arctic poppies. In the valleys there was enough
vegetation to serve as pasture for musk oxen and other animals. The
interior of Grinnell land was a pleasant country, and Greely felt sorry
to leave it and return to the coast. He had discovered and explored a
large tract of land never before visited by civilized men.
In June, 1882, Greely went again to the interior of Grinnell land. This
time he discovered a number of small lakes, connected by streams with
Lake Hazen.
He also made the ascent of a mountain forty-five hundred feet in
height. When he had climbed within half a mile of the top he was so
tired that he felt he must give up. To urge himself onward, he kept
throwing his field glasses ahead of him, and crawling on his hands
and knees to the spot where they were. At last he could advance only
fifty steps at a time, but he persevered and reached the top, to which
he gave the name Mount Arthur. It is in all probability the highest
peak in Grinnell land, and from its summit Greely saw the entire
island spread out like a map before him. North of Lake Hazen rose the
snow-clad mountains, extending range beyond range. A like view met his
eye as he surveyed the country to the south, while in the interior he
was gazing upon fertile valleys dotted with lakes, which supported
herds of musk oxen.
Greely spent only twenty minutes on the top of Mount Arthur. The
temperature was far below zero, and he was in danger of freezing. When
he began to descend, he decided to slide down a precipice a hundred
feet in height, in order to save a long walk around the snowdrifts.
Luckily he landed in the soft snow. At the foot of the mountain Greely
met his companions, and they returned all together to Fort Conger, well
pleased with their journey.
The next year Lieutenant Lockwood crossed Grinnell land, and on the
western coast discovered a large fiord which he named Greely fiord.
Both north and south of this region were large ice caps, which
constantly discharged glaciers into the lakes and fiords. At Lake
Hazen, as well as at many other places on the island, abandoned Eskimo
huts were found, showing that the Eskimos had at one time occupied the
island; and many relics of these people were collected, among them
a stone lamp, a bone spear-head, and a sledge. But at this time the
island was entirely uninhabited.
XIV. FARTHEST NORTH OF THE GREELY PARTY
1882
While Greely was exploring Grinnell land, another party from Fort
Conger, under Lieutenant Lockwood, had forced its way across Robeson
channel to the Greenland coast. Lockwood’s party proceeded northward in
the face of many severe trials. The thermometer registered 81° below
the freezing point; add to this rough ice and severe winds, and we may
faintly imagine the suffering endured.
During a snowstorm the men were obliged to dig a hole in a snow bank
and crawl into it for protection. But the opening soon filled up with
drifting snow, and the air became so foul that the men were glad to
creep out again. Sometimes the wind blew them over while they were at
work, and once a fierce gust lifted one of the dog sledges, with its
load of two hundred pounds, from the ground. Nevertheless, on April 27,
1882, the party reached Cape Bryant, where they camped and proceeded to
explore the surrounding country. The men of the supporting party, as
had been agreed, turned back at this point and returned to Fort Conger.
[Illustration: AN ARCTIC SNOWSTORM.]
Then Lieutenant Lockwood, Sergeant Brainard, and an Eskimo named
Christianson set off to the north to Cape Britannia, taking with them
enough food to last twenty-five days. The ice was in fair condition
for pushing rapidly forward, and they soon reached Cape Britannia, a
towering cliff. The men climbed to the top and gazed around over the
snow-covered mountain peaks. Then they descended and traveled on over
land never before trodden by white men. They crossed Nordenskjöld inlet
and Chipps inlet, and at length reached a new island, which was named
after Lieutenant Lockwood. It lies in latitude 83° 24ʹ north, but four
hundred and fifty miles from the pole, and was at that time, 1882, the
northernmost point yet attained by any nation.
For three hundred years England had held the honor of penetrating
farthest north. From the time of Henry Hudson, who, in 1607, reached
latitude 81° 30ʹ, the English sailors had succeeded in going nearer to
the pole than the explorers of any other nation. In 1875, an English
Arctic expedition under Captain Nares, reached latitude 83° 20ʹ
north. Now, Lockwood and Brainard had gained for America the glory of
penetrating the farthest north.
From a height of twenty-six hundred feet these two men saw fields of
ice extending to the north as far as the horizon. To the northeast they
saw Cape Washington, which is twenty-eight miles above Cape Columbia,
the most northern point of Grinnell land. Cape Washington is the
northernmost known limit of Greenland, lying in latitude 83° 38ʹ. After
battling so long with the fierce gales and severe weather, the two men
were so exhausted that they could with difficulty return to the camp.
Shortly after their return it was decided to go back to Fort Conger.
Two of the party were snow-blind and had to be led. The three brave
travelers were greeted with delight by the rest of the party.
Their success in reaching the highest latitude yet attained was
discussed at every meal. The time passed rapidly at Fort Conger, for
the men were very busy, but presently they became anxious. The visiting
ship which was expected in the summer of 1882, with supplies and
recruits, did not arrive, and Greely prepared to pass a second winter
at Fort Conger. When August, 1883, came and no visiting ship had yet
made its appearance, it is no wonder that the men were disheartened.
At length, weary of waiting, and certain that it meant death to remain
a third winter at Fort Conger, Greely decided to retreat to the south,
hoping to meet the ship. He expected, at least, to find that provisions
had been placed in depots, for his relief. The little steam launch, the
_Lady Greely_, towed two other small boats through the narrow channels.
Small amounts of food were found in different caches or depots along
the route, though not enough to bring much relief. The party was now
on the verge of starvation. Only after a desperate struggle did they
succeed in reaching Cape Sabine, where they erected stone huts and
prepared to pass the winter as best they might. Some of the party tried
to hunt, but game had disappeared and darkness was close upon them.
Their condition was indeed pitiable; their clothing was in rags, they
had no fuel and but forty days’ rations.
But the United States had not forgotten the brave men who were risking
their lives to make her name glorious. The _Neptune_, the _Proteus_,
and the _Yantic_ had been sent to relieve Greely during 1882 and 1883.
Every one of these vessels, however, failed to reach him; moreover,
they neglected to deposit supplies where he might have found them.