the expedition left Disco at one o’clock on July 16th, and next morning
reached Kiltenbunto, about thirty miles further north.
Kiltenbunto is a little island in the Strait of Weigattet, between
Disco and the mainland. Here the _Discovery_ took on board thirty
dogs; and shooting-parties from both ships made a descent on a
“loomery,” or “bird-bazaar,” frequented by guillemots, kittiwakes, and
other ocean-birds. Two or three days later the expedition arrived at a
settlement named Proven, where it was joined by the Eskimo dog-driver,
Hans Christian, the attendant of Kane, Hayes, and Hall, in their
several expeditions. At Proven the adventurers received and answered
their last letters from “home.”
Striking northward through Baffin Bay, they reached Cape York on
the 25th of July, and met with a company of the misnamed Arctic
Highlanders, who traversed the ice-floes in their dog-sledges, and
soon fraternized with the seamen. A narwhal having been harpooned,
a quantity of the skin and blubber was given to these Eskimos. Mr.
Hodson, the chaplain of the _Discovery_, describes them as
exceedingly greedy and barbarous, eating whatever fell in their way,
but living chiefly upon seals. They were not so far advanced in
civilization as to be able to construct kayacks, and apparently they
had never before seen Europeans. They wore trousers of bear-skin, and
an upper garment of seal-skin.
Proceeding northward by Dr. Kane’s Crimson Cliffs, they soon reached
that brave explorer’s celebrated winter quarters, Port Foulke, and took
advantage of a day’s delay to visit the Brother John Glacier. They
found Dr. Kane’s journal, but no relics; shot a reindeer, and a large
number of birds.
Between Melville Bay and the entrance to Smith Sound no ice was met
with; but on the 30th of July the “pack” was sighted, off Cape Sabine,
in lat. 78° 41´ N. Here, at Port Payer, the ships were fast held by
the ice for several days. An attempt to proceed further northward was
made to the west of the islands in Hayes Sound; but the water-way
not leading in the right direction, the ships returned. On the 6th
of August they made a fresh start, and thenceforward maintained an
uninterrupted struggle with the ice. The _Alert_ led the way,
with Captain Nares in her “crow’s-nest,” anxiously looking out for
practicable channels. At Cape Frazer the huge solid mass again delayed
them. Then they succeeded in crossing Kennedy Channel to the east
side, and taking shelter in Petermann Fiord--so named after the great
German geographer. After a few days they again pushed northward; and
on the 25th of August, after many narrow escapes from being crushed
in the ice, a well-sheltered harbour received them, on the west side
of Hall Basin, north of Lady Franklin Sound, in lat. 81° 44´ N. This
was at once selected as the winter quarters of the _Discovery_.
Her sister-ship, continuing her course, rounded the north-east point
of Grant Land; but instead of falling in with a continuous coast-line,
stretching one hundred miles further towards the north, as all had
anticipated, found herself on the border of what was evidently a very
extensive sea, with impenetrable ice on every side. As no harbour could
be found, the ship was secured as far north as possible, inside a kind
of embankment of grounded ice close to the land. There she passed the
winter; and during the eleven months of her detention no navigable
water-way, through which she could move further to the north, presented
itself.
Far from meeting with the “great Polar Sea” dreamed of by Kane and
Hayes, our adventurers discovered that the ice-barrier before them
was unusually thick and solid. It looked as if composed of floating
icebergs which had gradually been jammed and welded together.
Henceforth it will be known on our maps as the Palæocrystic Sea, or Sea
of Ancient Ice; and a stranded mass of ice disrupted from an ice-floe
is to be termed a floeberg.
Ordinary ice does not exceed ten feet in thickness; but in the Polar
Sea, generation after generation, layer has been superimposed on
layer, until the whole mass measures from eighty feet to one hundred
and twenty feet; it floats with its surface nowhere less than fifteen
feet above the water-line. It was this wonderful thickness which
prevented the _Alert_ from driving ashore. Owing to its great
depth of flotation, sixty feet to one hundred feet, the mass grounded
on coming into shallow water, and formed a breakwater within which the
ship was comparatively secure. “When two pieces of ordinary ice are
driven one against the other, and the edges broken up, the crushed
pieces are raised by the pressure into a high, long, wall-like hedge
of ice. When two of the ancient floes of the Polar Sea meet, the
intermediate lighter broken-up ice which may happen to be floating
about between them alone suffers; it is pressed up between the two
closing masses to a great height, producing a chaotic wilderness of
angular blocks of all shapes and sizes, varying in height up to fifty
feet above water, and frequently covering an area upwards of a mile in
diameter.”
* * * * *
We must now return to the _Discovery_. As soon as she had taken
up her winter quarters, her crew began to unload her, landing the
boats, stores, and spare spars, and otherwise preparing for the
winter. The first day ashore they shot a herd of eleven musk-oxen. A
few days afterwards the sea was frozen all round the ship, so that
they could freely move to and fro about the ice. A week later they saw
a large number of musk-oxen, and shot about forty--thus laying in a
considerable supply of provisions.
Their winter port, which was surrounded by snow-clad hills, about two
thousand feet high, they christened Discovery Harbour.
As soon as the sea was completely frozen over, the sledging-parties
were organized and duly despatched; but as the autumn was rapidly
passing, very little could be done in this direction. The usual
preparations on the part of Arctic explorers were then made for
“hybernating.” Houses were built; also a magnetic observatory and
a theatre of ice--recalling the glittering edifice constructed by
Catherine II. of Russia on the Neva, and celebrated by Cowper in the
well-known lines,--
“No forest fell
When thou wouldst build, no quarry sent its stores
To enrich thy walls; but thou didst hew the floods,
And make thy marble of the glassy wave.”
A smithy was erected on the 11th of November, being the first the
Arctic ice had ever borne. Its roof was made of coal-bags, cemented
with ice. The ship’s stoker reigned supreme in it as blacksmith; and
when we consider the accessories,--the ice, the snow, the darkness,--we
must admit that his blazing forge must have made a curious picture. The
chaplain tells us, humorously, that the smith adorned the interior wall
with a good many holes, as each time that his iron wanted cooling he
simply thrust it into the ice!
As for the theatre, which, as we know, has always been a favourite
source of amusement with Arctic explorers when winter-bound, it
was sixty feet long and twenty-seven feet broad; and, in honour of
the Princess of Wales, was named “The Alexandra.” Her birthday was
selected as the day of opening--December 1st; and the opening piece
was a popular farce--“My Turn Next.” As sailors are generally adepts
at dramatic personations, we may conceive that the piece “went well,”
and that the different actors received the applause they merited. It
is recorded that foremost among them was the engineer, Mr. Miller, who
appears to have been, emphatically, the _Polar Star_. Several of
the men sung songs; and recitations, old and new, were occasionally
introduced; the result of the whole being to divert the minds and keep
up the spirits of the ship’s company during the long, long Arctic night.
The Fifth of November and its time-honoured associations were not
forgotten. A huge bonfire blazed on the ice; a “Guy Fawkes” was
manufactured and dressed in the most approved fashion; and the silence
of the frozen solitudes was broken by the sounds of a grand display of
fireworks and the cheering of the spectators.
A fine level promenade had been constructed on the ice, about a mile in
length, by sweeping away the snow; and this served as a daily exercise
ground. A skating-rink was also constructed. A free hole in the ice,
for the sake of better ventilation, was carefully kept up. Whenever it
closed, through a process of gradual congelation, the ice-saws were set
in motion to open it up again, or it was blasted with gunpowder. The
dogs lived on the ice-floe all the winter. It must not be thought that
the cold was uniform day after day. Probably it is not the _low_
temperature so much as the _variable_ temperature that makes an
Arctic winter so very trying to the European. In a few hours the change
would be no less than 60°. The cold reached its height--or depth--in
winter, when the thermometer marked 70½° below zero; the greatest cold
ever experienced by any Polar expedition. It is difficult for the human
frame to bear up against this excess of rigour, even with the help of
good fires, good food, and good clothing. Not only the physical but the
mental faculties are debilitated and depressed.
Our ice-bound seamen, however, managed to keep Christmas merrily.
Early on the day so dear to Christian memories “the waits” went their
usual rounds,--a sergeant of marines, the chief boatswain’s mates,
and three other volunteers,--singing Christmas carols, and making “a
special stay outside the captain’s cabin.” In the forenoon prayers
were said on the lower deck; after which the captain and officers
visited the men’s mess, tasting the Christmas pudding, and examining
the tasteful decorations which had been improvised. Then the gifts
which, in anticipation of the day, had been sent out by kindly English
hearts, were distributed by the captain,--to each gift the name of the
recipient having been previously attached. This was an affecting scene;
and hearty, though not without a touch of pathos in them, were the
cheers given as the distribution took place; a distribution recalling
so many “old familiar faces,” and all the sweet associations and gentle
thoughts of home! Cheers were also raised for the captain and men of
the far-away _Alert_. Next, a choir was formed, and echo resounded
with the strains of “O the Roast Beef of Old England!” of which, no
doubt, many of the singers entertained a very affectionate remembrance.
The men dined at twelve and the officers at five, and the day seems in
every respect to have been most successful as a festival.
A few particulars of the “situation” may here be given in the
chaplain’s own words:--“We had brought fish, beef, and mutton from
England,” he says, “all of which we hung up on one of the masts, and
it was soon as hard as a brick, and perfectly preserved. We had also
brought some sheep from England with us, and they were killed from time
to time. When we arrived in Discovery Bay, as we called it, six of them
were alive; but on being landed they were worried by the dogs, and had
to be slaughtered. During the winter the men had to fetch ice from a
berg about half a mile distant from the ship, in order to melt it for
fresh water.”
At last the long Arctic night came to an end. It was with emotions of
hope and gratitude and joy that the explorers welcomed the first rays
of the returning sun on the last day of February. For four months they
had lived in obscurity and gloom, with the exception of such relief as
the stars and the moon had occasionally afforded. On the day of the
sun’s return to the Polar World, it was known that it would rise at
about twelve o’clock, and everybody ascended the hills for the purpose
of hailing the glorious spectacle. The mists and fogs, however, baffled
their expectations; and though they _felt_ its influence, they did
not see it for some days after it had mounted above the horizon.
News was brought from the _Alert_ by two officers and two men
towards the end of March. They had accomplished the journey with the
thermometer at 40° below zero, and had occupied six days in making
it. The officers were Lieutenant Rawson and Mr. Egerton, who had
started at first in company with Petersen, the interpreter, but had
been compelled to return with him, as already narrated, because he was
severely frost-bitten. Directly they returned to the _Discovery_,
preparations were made for sending out the sledge-parties. Two officers
and three men, with a dog-sledge, started across Robeson Channel to
Hall’s Rest, the winter quarters of the _Polaris_, to report
on the stores left by the American vessel, which the United States
Government had placed at the disposal of the British expedition. They
reappeared on the fifth day, with the information that they had found
biscuit, pemmican, preserved meat, molasses, and other articles. They
had lived in a wooden observatory that they found erected there.
Captain Hall’s grave was in excellent preservation; and they set up a
head-board, with an inscription on it, to mark its situation.
Lieutenant Beaumont and Mr. Coppinger, the surgeon, each
with an eight-man sledge--or, rather, with seven men besides
themselves--started for the _Alert_, in quest of the other
sledge which had wintered with that vessel; their design being to
cross Robeson Channel, and explore the North Greenland coast. In this
journey, owing to the “hummocky” character of the ice, they spent
twelve days.
Two days later, a third party, consisting of a twelve-man sledge and
an eight-man sledge, with two officers, proceeded to survey the shores
of Lady Franklin Sound. The captain accompanied them in the eight-man
sledge, and was absent about a week; but the twelve-man sledge, which
had gone merely to carry stores and provisions for the other, did not
return for a fortnight, the sledge having been damaged, and one of the
marines severely frost-bitten in the heel. The other sledge, after an
absence of about four weeks, returned in safety,--having discovered
that Lady Franklin Strait, as the Americans call it, was a sound or
fiord about sixty miles long. They had fallen in with some musk-oxen,
which were too wild to be got at; and had seen three or four glaciers,
and hills three thousand feet in height.
About June the warm summer began to assert itself, and in the rays
of the sun their icehouses melted away, like the baseless fabric of
a vision. So the sledging-party last spoken of adventured across the
ice to Polaris Bay, taking with them a life-boat as a precaution (for
the ice might at any time have broken up), and a supply of provisions
for the use of the North Greenland expedition. This work done, they
returned to the ship, leaving behind them two officers and three men,
who pushed up Petermann Fiord for about eight miles, until arrested by
the impenetrable barrier of a huge glacier.
On returning from their explorations they found that Lieutenant
Newsome, with four men, of whom one had died of scurvy on the way,
had accidentally separated from the North Greenland party, and reached
Petermann Fiord on the 3rd of June. All were seriously ill of scurvy,
except Mr. Rawson and a marine. Under Dr. Coppinger’s skill and
care, however, they recovered. As soon as possible, the doctor, with
Mr. Newsome and the Eskimos, started in a dog-sledge to gather some
information about the other members of the North Greenland party. In
a day or two they fell in with them; and not too soon, for all were
thoroughly exhausted. They had abandoned everything, and when the
doctor arrived were without food. Four of them, who were accommodated
on the sledge, were broken down with scurvy, and two others had been
attacked slightly. What was to be done in this critical position of
affairs? At first it was thought advisable to remain on the spot
for a while, and see if the Eskimos could shoot a seal. But a day’s
experience showed that this plan would not answer; and they then
resolved to carry the two worst invalids on the dog-sledge to Hall’s
Rest. This was accomplished, and the poor fellows seemed to grow better
when nourished by seal-soup and proper food; but on the following
morning one of them sank and died. The life of the other hung for some
time in the balance. The whole company were now invalided; and Hall’s
Rest might fitly have been termed Hall’s Hospital.
A few days--weary, melancholy days--having elapsed, an officer, with
a couple of men, was sent across to the ship to report the serious
condition of affairs. As it was the end of June, the ice had broken
up in many places, and the traject of the strait was not accomplished
without difficulty, and frequent immersions in the water. No sooner did
Captain Stephenson learn how the party were situated, than he set out,
with seven men, to carry a supply of medicines, provisions, and various
comforts. They had with them a boat and a sledge on a four-wheeled car,
and in this they crossed the land to the margin of the sea, a distance
of about six miles. Sometimes the boat was called into requisition to
carry themselves and the sledge from floe to floe. With half of the men
they returned in a few days, leaving the rest in charge of Lieutenant
Beaumont and Dr. Coppinger, until they had made more progress towards
recovery.
Early in August an officer arrived from the _Alert_, to report
that she had moved southward, and was only about ten miles distant;
and that Captain Nares, considering the main objects of the expedition
secured, had decided on returning to England. About the same time
returned the North Greenland party, their provisions having failed
them. A few days later, and, having made her way through the broken
ice, the _Alert_ joined the _Discovery_ in Discovery Bay.
Mr. Beaumont’s party next arrived; and both vessels prepared for the
homeward voyage. They left Discovery Bay, as we shall see, on the 28th
of August.
* * * * *
Let us now return to the _Alert_, which we left embedded in the
ice of the North Polar Ocean.
Her crew made shift to spend a tolerably merry winter, availing
themselves of the usual resources of Arctic explorers under similar
conditions. The day’s order was much as follows:--At 6.45 A.M.
the commander was called, and all hands were piped up on deck; and the
hammocks having been previously stowed away and the decks cleansed,
everybody sat down, with vigorous appetite, to breakfast. The
steerage and lower deck were afterwards cleared up, and soon after 9
A.M. the men were told off for their respective daily duties.
At 10 A.M. another general parade of the crew was summoned,
and, as a preventive against scurvy, the day’s dose of lime juice
was administered. Then the crew went to quarters; the usual careful
inspection took place; and the chaplain read prayers. At one o’clock
the deck was cleared, and “dinner smoked upon the board.” On days when
the darkness was not too intense the crew turned out to work upon the
ice, or took their turn at walking exercise and amusements. They were
thus occupied until supper, which was served at about five o’clock;
and followed by evening school, the duties of which proved equally
agreeable to the officers who taught and the men who learned. Soon
after nine the officers in charge inspected the ship to see that all
was quiet for the night. At ten out went the lights of the chief petty
officers, and at eleven those of the wardroom.
This daily routine was freely interrupted on festival occasions.
Guy Fawkes’ Day was celebrated as hilariously as by the men of the
_Discovery_; and it is a curious illustration of the strength of
old English traditions, that the merry-making customs of the Fifth of
November should be thus closely observed by both the ice-bound vessels.
Due honours were also paid to Father Christmas; nor was New-Year’s Day
forgotten. Dramatic talent existed among the men of the _Alert_
in sufficient force to provide a regular dramatic company. The “Royal
Arctic Theatre” was erected in Funnel Row, and entertainments given
weekly. The programmes of the “Thursday Pops,” as they were commonly
called, were thrown off at a printing-press established in Trap Lane
by Messrs. Giffard and Simmons; and from one of these we gather that
the Royal Arctic Theatre opened for the season “under the distinguished
patronage of Captain Nares, the members of the Arctic Expedition, and
all the nobility and gentry of the neighbourhood,” on the 18th of
November 1875. The orchestra consisted of one eminent pianist, Signor
Aldrichi (Lieutenant Aldrich); and the scenic artist was Dr. Moss.
The performances commenced at 7.30; and “sledges” might be ordered at
nine o’clock. They were by no means wholly dramatic. The bill of fare
included scientific and historical lectures, readings and recitations,
songs and instrumental music, ranging from grave to gay, from lively to
severe; and now and then, to draw a bumper house, some such attraction
as feats of legerdemain by “the real Wizard of the North, on his way
to the Hyperborean Regions;” acrobatic feats by “the Bounding Brothers
of the Frigid Zone;” or the vocal performances of the “Pale-o’-Christy
Minstrels,” who “never sing in London.” The plays produced were an
original burlesque operetta, “The Vulgar Little Boy; or, Weeping Bill”
(founded on Barham’s popular “Misadventures at Margate”), written
expressly by the ship’s chaplain, the Rev. W. H. Pullen, author of the
well-known political squib, “Dame Europa’s School;” “Aladdin; or, The
Wonderful Scamp;” “Boots at the Swan;” and “The Area Belle.” The last
and grand night was March 2nd, 1876,--when Captain Nares lectured on
“The Palæocrystic Sea, and Sledging Experiences;” and after a variety
of songs and readings, the company and audience sang a grand choral
strain, “The Palæocrystic Chorus,” which we borrow from the pages of
the _Graphic_:--
“Not very long ago,
On the six-foot floe
Of the Palæocrystic Sea,
Two ships did ride
’Mid the crushing of the tide,
The _Alert_ and the _Discovery_.
“The sun never shone
Their gallant crews upon
For a hundred and forty-two days;
But no darkness and no hummocks
Their merry hearts could flummox,
So they set to work and acted plays.
“There was music and song
To help the hours along,
Brought forth from the good ship’s store;
And each man did his best
To amuse and cheer the rest,
And ‘nobody can’t do more.’
“Here’s a health to _Marco Polo_;
May he reach his northern goal oh!
And advance the flag of England into realms unknown;
May the _Challenger_ be there
All courses bold to dare,
And _Victoria_ be victorious in the Frozen Zone.
“May our _Poppie_ be in sight
With her colours streaming bright;
And the _Bulldog_ tug on merrily from strand to strand;
And the _Alexandra_ brave
See our banner proudly wave,
O’er the highest cliffs and summits of the northernmost land.
“Here’s a health to Hercules,
Whom the autumn blast did freeze,
And all our gallant fellows by the frost laid low.
Just wait a little longer,
Till they get a trifle stronger,
And they’ll never pull the worse for having lost a toe.
“Here’s a health with three times three
To the brave _Discovery_,
And our merry, merry guests so truly welcome here;
And a brimming bumper yet
To our gallant little pet,
The lively _Clements Markham_ with its bold charioteer.
“Here’s a health to all true blue,
To the officers and crew,
Who man this expedition neat and handy oh!
And may they ever prove,
Both in Sledging and in Love,
That the tars of old Britannia are the dandy oh!”
In explanation of some passages in the foregoing spirited effusion,
we may state that the six sledges belonging to the _Alert_ were named
respectively, _Marco Polo_, _Victoria_, _Challenger_, _Poppie_,
_Bulldog_, and _Alexandra_. “Hercules” appears to have been the
nickname of one of the strong men of the ship.
* * * * *
The _Alert_ wintered so far north, that its officers and
men failed to meet with some of the usual accessories of a Polar
expedition. There were no Polar bears; no Eskimos; even auroral
displays were infrequent. On the other hand, the darkness is described
as not having been particularly dense. The reflection of the snow, and
the keen “light of stars,” considerably mitigated the “deep obscure;”
and once in every fourteen days the splendour of the moon illuminated
the weird outlines of the monotonous Arctic scenery.
Some sledging was done in the autumn, though spring is the season when
it can best be undertaken. The _Alert_ was no sooner made all snug
in her winter quarters, than sledging-parties carried provisions and
boats along the shore both northward and westward, ready for use by
expeditions in the following spring; the depôt being planted within a
mile of the farthest northern position hitherto attained by civilized
man. After a terrible journey of twenty days’ duration, the travellers
returned on the 14th of October, just two days after the disappearance
of the sun. The snow fell heavily, and, by protecting the sloppy ice
from the intense frost, rendered travelling difficult. The men’s shoes
got thoroughly wet; hence several were frost-bitten, and one officer
and two men, on their return, were compelled to undergo amputation.
Beneath the cliffs lay great dense, deep snow-wreaths, and in many
places a road had to be excavated to the depth of six feet. The men
sunk to their waists. The sledge was often completely buried. It needed
all Lieutenant Rawson’s resolution and patience to bring back his
little company in safety.
The main sledging-party, under Commander Markham, with Lieutenants
Parr and May, and twenty-five men, left the _Alert_ on the 25th
of September, for the purpose of establishing a depôt at Cape Joseph
Henry. They advanced three miles beyond Sir Edward Parry’s northernmost
point, and, from a mountain 2000 feet high, sighted land towards
the west-north-west, as far as lat. 83° 7’ N., but saw none to the
northward.
With the return of the sun on the 29th of February, Captain Nares began
his preparations for the spring sledging-expeditions, organizing two
main detachments: one, bound northward, under Commander Markham and
Lieutenant Parr, with fifteen men, supported by Dr. Moss and Mr. White,
with two seven-man sledges; and another, bound westward, consisting of
two seven-man sledges, led by Lieutenants Aldrich and Giffard.
On the 12th of March, Lieutenant Rawson and Mr. Egerton, as
already narrated, started off to open up communication with the
_Discovery_, but were compelled to return by the illness of
Petersen, whom they nursed on the way with womanlike tenderness and
devotion. In the following week, accompanied by Simmons, of the
_Alert_, and Regan, of the _Discovery_, they resumed their
adventurous track across the hummocky ice, with the temperature 40°
below zero, enduring much, but pushing forward undauntedly. When their
comrades of the _Discovery_ condoled with them on account of
frost-bitten cheeks, and noses, and fingers, it was with the frank,
blithe heroism of the true British seaman that Lieutenant Rawson
replied,--“Well, at least we feel that the cheers from Southsea beach
have been fairly earned.”
The sledging-expeditions began in earnest in the first week of April,
only a few men being left on board each ship. Captain Stephenson,
of the _Discovery_, paid a visit to the _Alert_, and also
crossed Hall’s Basin twice to Greenland. Captain Nares, with Captain
Feilden, was not less energetic; and for a considerable area round the
two ships all was activity and motion. When at Polaris Bay, Captain
Stephenson, in memory of the gallant and unfortunate Hall, hoisted the
American ensign, and erected a brass tablet above the explorer’s lonely
grave. It bears the following inscription:--
“Sacred to the memory of Captain C. F. Hall, of the U.S. ship
_Polaris_, who sacrificed his life in the advancement of science
on November 8, 1871. This tablet has been erected by the British Polar
Expedition of 1875, who, following in his footsteps, have profited by
his experience.”
It may be noted here, in illustration of the labour attendant on the
equipment of an Arctic sledge-party, and the despatch of provisions
for their sustenance, that, in order to support the expeditions on the
north coast of Greenland and in Petermann Fiord, “Robeson Channel was
crossed eleven times from the position of the _Alert_ to a depôt
established north of Cape Brevoort, and Hall’s Basin eleven times
between Discovery Bay and Polaris Bay; making a total of twenty-two
sledge-parties crossing the straits, including the transporting of
two boats. The main depôt at Cape Joseph Henry, for the support of
the northern and western divisions, thirty-seven miles from the
_Alert_, was visited by sixteen different sledges.”
Our travellers did not fail to examine the various cairns erected by
the seamen of the _Polaris_. At one place a box chronometer was
found to be in excellent order, though it had undergone the test of
four Arctic winters. And some wheat, which the _Polaris_ had
brought out in order to ascertain the effect upon it of exposure to
extreme cold, was successfully cultivated under a glass shade by Dr.
Ninnis--almost as interesting an experiment in its way as the sowing
and successful harvesting of Mummy wheat, the grains found in ancient
Egyptian sepulchres.
The British expedition had advanced so far north that it was beyond the
life-limit of bears, birds, and even seals; and the sledging-parties,
unable therefore to obtain any fresh game, were severely attacked by
scurvy. This fell disease invariably broke out when its victims were
farthest from any assistance. The journeys back to the ships were
consequently undertaken, as we have already pointed out, by men whose
strength decreased daily; and the burden became all the greater as man
after man was smitten down, and, to save his life, placed upon the
sledge. Great was the alarm on board the _Alert_, when, towards
the close of the 8th of June, Lieutenant Parr suddenly presented
himself. He was alone. Where were his comrades? What calamity had
befallen them? He soon explained that he had undertaken a journey
of thirty-five miles, toiling for twenty-two hours through mist and
drift and snow, and guided only by the fresh track of a stray wolf,
to convey the news of the prostrated condition of the members of the
northern expedition. Preparations were immediately made for hastening
to their assistance. With the help of the officers, who all volunteered
to drag the sledges, Captain Nares was able by midnight to start with
two strong relief-parties--Messrs. Egerton, Conybeare, Wootton, and
White, the officers who could best be spared from the ship, taking
their places at the drag-ropes; and Lieutenant May and Dr. Moss pushing
forward with a supply of medicines in the dog-sledge.
Such was the alacrity and energy of the two latter, that they contrived
to reach Commander Markham’s encampment within fifty hours of the
departure of Lieutenant Parr; though, unfortunately, not in time to
save the life of one of the marines, who but a few hours before had
expired and been buried in the floe. On the remainder of the stricken
company, their arrival, however, had a most beneficial influence; and
when, early the next day, Captain Nares came up to their relief, their
courage and resolution, which had never deserted them, were quickened
to the utmost, and even the invalids threw off that dread depression an
attack of scurvy invariably produces. On the morning of the 14th all
were once more safe on board the ship, and offering up their heartfelt
thanksgiving to God.
Captain Nares furnishes some particulars which illustrate very vividly
the terrible experiences of the adventurous sledge-party, and also
the ravages which scurvy never fails to commit. He says that of the
seventeen officers and men who originally left the _Alert_, only
five--namely, three officers and two men--were able to drag the sledges
alongside. Three others--heroes as true as any of those whom Homer has
made famous!--manfully kept on their feet to the last, enduring the
extreme of pain and fatigue rather than, by riding on the sledges,
increase the burden their weakened companions had to drag. They were
just able to crawl on board ship without assistance. The remaining
eight had struggled gallantly, but the disease had proved too much for
them, and they were carried on the sledges. Out of the whole number,
only two officers escaped the ravages of scurvy. After due rest and
medical attention, the chief carpenter’s mate returned to his duty,
and three others recovered so as to be able to wait on their sick
comrades; but Jolliffe, a petty officer, who had nobly borne up against
the disease while actively employed, when his legs became cramped from
resting on board proved to be one of the most lingering cases.
Surely the nation will never begrudge the cost of expeditions which
give such occasion for the display of the most generous unselfishness
and the noblest devotion!
These sledge-journeys were performed in the face of tremendous
difficulties. Beyond the mere coast-belt, there was little smooth ice;
the tolerably level floes or fields, usually about six feet above the
neighbouring ice, seldom measured a mile across. Their surfaces were
thickly covered with rounded blue-topped ice-humps, averaging twenty
feet high; which lay sometimes in ranges, and sometimes a hundred to
two hundred yards apart, the intervening spaces being filled with
wind-driven snow, and the whole resembling a gusty ocean suddenly
stiffened into rest.[12] Between these floes, like an embankment
of rude formation, extended a vast pile of the wreck and refuse of
previous summers’ broken-up pack-ice, regelated during the winter into
one rugged and confused mass of angular blocks of various heights up to
forty and fifty feet, and of every imaginable variety of configuration,
like the disrupted lava at the mouth of a crater. These were
interspersed with a continuous series of “steep-sided snow-drifts,”
which stretched downwards from the highest summit of the ice-chaos
until lost in the general level at a distance of about one hundred
yards. It may be conceived that it was not easy to find a passage for
the sledges through these labyrinths of ice and snow. The snow-slopes
were by no means an assistance, for the winter-winds coming chiefly
from the west, and the course of the sledges being due north, they had
to be encountered almost at right angles. Consequently, the journey was
an incessant struggle with ever-recurring obstacles; as fast as one had
been conquered, another presented itself. The pickaxes were in constant
requisition, either to cut a way through the packed-up ice, or out of
the perpendicular side of the high floes. Instead of a steady advance,
the whole party were frequently detained half a day by the necessity of
facing the sledge and hauling it forward a few feet at a time. These
considerations will enable the reader to judge how great must have been
the “pluck,” persistence, and energy which could accomplish a journey
of seventy miles in such exceptional circumstances.
Captain Nares observes--and his eulogium will be endorsed by the
reader--that no two officers could have accomplished this laborious
enterprise with greater ability or courage than Commander Markham and
Lieutenant Parr. And it is but just that the services of Rawlings and
Lawrence, the captains of the two sledges, should be put on record.
In addition to their general cheerfulness and good-humour,--qualities
which always help to lighten difficult work,--to their care and skill
were due the safe return of the sledges, on which the lives of all
depended--safe, uninjured, and in as serviceable a state as when
they left the ship, notwithstanding the terrible character of the
road they had travelled. To such men as these, and to the brave,
patient, resolute sledge-crews generally, we owe the tribute of our
praise. However severe their privations, they never complained. During
this memorable journey to penetrate to the north over the rugged
Polar Oceanic ice, a journey in which the “pluck” and determination
of the British seaman were most conspicuously displayed, day after
day, against obstacles which might well have been regarded as
insurmountable, the two officers and their brave followers succeeded in
advancing the Union Jack to latitude 83° 20’ 26″ N.,--or within four
hundred miles of the North Pole.
In order to attain this advanced post, the present boundary-mark of
geographical research in that direction, the total distance travelled
was two hundred and seventy-six miles on the outward, and two hundred
and forty-five miles on the homeward journey, though the farthest
direct distance from the ship did not exceed seventy-three miles. The
result of labour so colossal and sufferings so severe would seem to
be, that we must consider a long journey over the Polar pack-ice, with
sledge and boat, to be impracticable at any season of the year. As the
sledges were necessarily advanced each stage singly, we are able to
calculate the exact rate of progression which may be expected, if it
should be thought desirable to push forward with light sledges, without
any additional means of returning later in the season in the event of
a disruption of ice in the rear. The maximum attained by Commander
Markham was two and three-quarter miles a day; the mean rate being one
mile and a quarter.
The outbreak of scurvy rendered Captain Nares very anxious as to the
welfare of Lieutenant Aldrich’s company on their return from the
westward; and the more so, when it was found that the cairn erected
over his depôt of provisions, thirty miles to the north-west, remained
untouched on the day appointed for his arrival there. Lieutenant
May, with the dog-sledge, and three robust men, were therefore sent
to meet him. On the 20th of June the two parties met at the depôt,
and signalled the welcome fact to Captain Nares. It was fortunate
that Lieutenant Aldrich returned when he did, for on the following
day a rapid thaw set in, with the wind from the southward, and the
snow-valleys were rendered impassable for sledges for the rest of the
season. His party, like Commander Markham’s, were stricken with scurvy,
four of them lying helpless on the dog-sledge; and Lieutenant May’s
arrival proved most opportune.
Having now assembled all his company on board the _Alert_, Captain
Nares was called upon to decide whether it was possible to carry the
work of exploration further, or whether the expedition should return to
England. Owing to the absence of any land with a northward trend, and
the innavigable character of the Polar pack-ice, he concluded that on
neither side of Smith Sound could any ship advance further northward
than the _Alert_ had done; and also, that from no secure position
in Smith Sound was it possible for sledges to advance nearer to the
Pole. If the expedition remained in the vicinity for another season,
the exploration of the shores of Grant Land might be pursued to the
south-west, and of Greenland to the north-east, but not more than fifty
miles beyond the points already attained. In the weakened condition of
the crew, and for so small an additional gain, Captain Nares decided
that it would be unwise to risk another winter. As soon as the ice
broke up, “Ho for merry England!”
A regular thaw did not set in until the last week of June. Water
flowed in the ravines on the 1st of July. After that date the thaw
gradually extended, and increased in rapidity; and on the 23rd a
strong south-west wind drove the pack a mile away from the shore. On
the 26th a cairn was erected on the shore, and a record of the work of
the expedition deposited in it; and on the 31st, a passage having been
cleared through the winter-barrier of icebergs, the _Alert_, with
a strong south-west wind filling her canvas, pushed out into Robeson
Channel on her homeward voyage. After a run of two miles along-shore,
through a fairly open way between the pack-ice and what Dr. Kane calls
“the ice-foot,” she was checked in her course by a heavy floe one and
a half mile in diameter, which almost touched the land; and no other
shelter being available, she lay up in a small cove or creek, among a
group of icebergs that had gone ashore in the shallows.
The obstructive floe showed signs of movement early on the morning of
August 1st; and soon afterwards went away to the northward at the rate
of a mile and a half an hour, grinding along the ice-foot somewhat
alarmingly as it advanced towards the ship. Steam being up, however,
the _Alert_ cast off her moorings, and succeeded in edging between
the land and the floe; while the latter swung round in-shore with a
violent jerk, close to the position which the ship had previously
occupied.
We may note here the difference which Captain Nares insists upon
between an ordinary floe, such as is commonly met with in Arctic
waters, and the ancient Polar Sea ice. The former seldom exceeds six
feet in thickness, and breaks into fragments against an obstruction,
or may be charged by a steamship; but the latter, being some eighty or
one hundred feet thick, lifts all impediments out of its course,--or,
so to speak, throws them disdainfully away. “Such was the case on this
occasion: the Polar floe, which,” says Captain Nares, “we only escaped
by a few yards, on nipping against the heavy breastwork of isolated
floebergs lining the coast, some of them forty feet high and many
thousand tons in weight, which had lately formed our protection from
the smaller ice-pieces, tilted them over one after another, and forced
them higher up the land-slope, like a giant at play, without receiving
the slightest harm itself--not a piece breaking away. It was most
providential that, by its twisting round, the _Alert_ was enabled
to escape out of the trap in which she was enclosed.”
The shore here presented a formidable line of ice-cliff, from twenty
to forty feet in height, striking down into clear blue water ten to
twenty fathoms deep. The _Alert_ kept onward, so close to the
cliff that the boats hung at her quarter frequently touched it, until
again brought to a stop near Cape Union by the accumulation of the
pack. Her captain, however, was able here to secure her abreast of a
large stream, the current of which had undermined the ice-cliff for
some fifty yards, and floated it off to sea, leaving a kind of cove
or harbour where the ship could be laid alongside the beach in such a
manner that, if the pack struck her, it could only force her on shore.
The reader of Arctic voyages will remember that a somewhat similar
position was once occupied by Sir Edward Parry’s ship, under somewhat
similar circumstances.
When the tide had turned, and began to flow southward, it broke up
the ice all around Cape Union, and formed a narrow water-way, which
offered Captain Nares a chance of escape. Steam was got up immediately,
but, owing to unavoidable delay in shipping the rudder, the ice closed
in before the ship could be carried round. Her last stage was worse
than her first; for she was now cut off from her safe little port,
and no better shelter was available than a slight hollow or break in
the ice-cliff. Here, however, she was brought-to, with the ice-blocks
swirling past her at a distance of twenty yards. At low water Captain
Nares cast off, and bored some way into the pack, so that the
_Alert_ might drift round the cape with the southern tide. At
about a quarter of a mile from the land, she drove along with the ice;
and when the tide slackened, steamed out of the pack before it began
to set to the northward. Then, keeping close in to the ice-foot, she
kept slowly on her course to the southward, the water-way broadening
as she approached Lincoln Bay, which was crossed without difficulty.
When within five miles of Cape Beechey, the tide turned; but after a
short delay a channel opened, allowing the ship to round the cape.
At this point the ice-cliff ends, and the land slopes gently to the
shore--which is protected by a barrier of floebergs, similar to, but
smaller than, those which line the shore of the Polar Sea. Here the
ship was made fast in three fathoms water, within twenty yards of the
shore, about a mile to the south of the cape.
We dwell on these particulars in order that our readers may form some
idea of the difficulties of Arctic voyaging. The words, “She forced her
way through the ice,” afford no conception whatever of the obstacles
that have to be overcome, and the dangers that have to be avoided, by a
ship navigating in the midst of pack-ice and ice-floes; or of the skill
and vigilance and patience on the part of officers and men, by which
only can the enterprise be brought to a successful issue.
We are told that on August the 4th snow-squalls blew from the
south-west. As the ice had closed in around the ship, holding it in a
vice, the sportsmen of the party landed, and visited some neighbouring
lakes in search of game. They found a number of wild geese, and killed
fifty-seven, which supplied a welcome addition to the ordinary bill of
fare. Mr. Egerton and a seaman were sent off to the _Discovery_,
then about twenty miles distant, with orders for her to prepare for the
homeward voyage. We have already related how they reached the ship in
safety.
While the _Alert_ was thus imprisoned, the huge pack-ice in the
offing was carried up and down the strait by the tidal movement, the
wind having the effect of increasing the velocity of the current
and the duration of its flow both northward and southward. The ice
generally was of a lighter character than that in the Polar Sea; but
many heavy Polar floes were driven southward by the gale, and set into
Lady Franklin Sound and Archer Fiord rather than down Kennedy Channel.
Lady Franklin Sound, indeed, seems to be the receptacle of all the
heavy ice that comes south through Robeson Channel; retaining it until
the prevailing westerly winds carry it once more to the northward,
and empty the Sound, previous to its being refilled on the return of
the northerly gales. It is only, says Captain Nares, in seasons when
northerly winds occur more frequently than westerly ones, that any
considerable quantities of the huge Polar ice are drifted into Smith
Sound and Baffin Bay.
The gale of the 6th of August was very violent. The tide rushing
southward, drove a succession of heavy floe-pieces against the small
bergs that protected the ship, and capsized one of them completely. It
was firmly aground when struck by the point of a large floe; but such
was the force of the collision that it was reared erect in the air
to its full height of at least sixty feet above water, when, turning
a complete somersault, like a practised gymnast, it came down on its
back with a shock that shattered it into pieces, and raised a wave
sufficient to roll the ship considerably. Into the gap thus caused
moved the ice, until at last it nipped the _Alert_, though not
dangerously.
That same evening Lieutenant Rawson and two seamen arrived from the
_Discovery_, with news of the ill-fortune that had overtaken the
Greenland sledge-party.
It soon became apparent that there was no chance of releasing the
ice-bound ship except by cutting down the heavy floe that held her
prisoner; and accordingly all hands were set to work. After three
days’ toil, so much of the floe was hewn away that at high water it
floated and set the ship free; at the same time the main pack moved
off, and the _Alert_ steamed onward, rejoining her consort, the
_Discovery_, on the 11th of August.
All the invalids on board the _Alert_ were now removed to the
_Discovery_, and Captain Nares remained at the entrance to
the harbour, prepared to cross to Polaris Bay, as soon as the ice
permitted, to relieve Lieutenant Beaumont. As before stated, however,
he arrived on the 14th, and relieved the commander of the expedition
of a serious anxiety. Both vessels were now ready to start, but the
state of the ice detained them until the 20th, when, a “lead” offering
through the pack, away they steamed, and arrived close to Cape Lawrence
without encountering any serious obstacle. Here their old enemy, the
ice, again opposed them; and Captain Nares found only the famous “three
courses” of a well-known statesman open to him: either to return
north, to drive ahead into the pack, or make fast the ships to some
of the grounded floebergs. This last expedient was adopted, and in a
land-locked inner basin the _Alert_ and the _Discovery_ were
accordingly secured. But, unfortunately, at the fall of high water a
piece of ice pressed against the _Alert_, and at the same time its
protecting floeberg drove ashore. Result: the _Alert_ was aground
forward, but with deep water under the stern. And before she could be
released, the tide had fallen fourteen feet, so that the ship lay over
at an angle of 22°, with fore-foot and keel exposed as far aft as the
fore-channels. Nothing could be done until the tide rose. Then the ship
was lightened, and afterwards hauled off without having undergone any
damage.
A passage again opened on the 22nd of August, and the two ships
steamed as far southward as Cape Collinson, with no other troubles
than dense snow-storms, mists, and strong head-winds. But off the
cape, the _Alert_ having to back to escape a nip, she fouled the
_Discovery_ for a moment; the latter escaping, however, with
nothing worse than the loss of a boat’s davit.
The ice gradually breaking up before a strong south-west wind, the two
ships crossed Scoresby Bay, which was perfectly clear, but rolled with
a heavy sea. As they approached Cape Frazer, they were buffeted by a
terrible gale, and put in to Maury Bay, anchoring among a quantity of
grounded ice. Three days were spent in arduous efforts to double Cape
Frazer,--one of the _bêtes noires_ of Arctic navigators, because
it is the meeting-point of the flood-tides, north and south, one from
the Polar Ocean and the other from the Atlantic,--and Cape Hayes, the
boundary-mark of the channel. Then the voyagers, with glad hearts,
passed into Smith Sound; and hugging the shore as closely as was safe,
arrived on the 29th at Prince Imperial Island, in Dobbin Bay, “every
one heartily thankful to be out of the pack, clear of the straggling
icebergs, and for the ships to be secured to fixed ice once more.”
The temperature now sunk again below freezing-point. The brief
Arctic summer was over, and day and night the young sea-ice formed
continuously. The mists that had hitherto accompanied the ships cleared
away before a brisk northerly wind, and revealed a magnificent panorama
of lofty mountains, white with shrouds of snow, and deep valleys filled
with colossal glaciers. One of these stretched downwards to the shore,
and threw off great icebergs which floated or stranded in Dobbin Bay.
It was named after the Empress Eugénie, who had taken a lively personal
interest in the expedition.
Crossing Dobbin Bay on the 1st of September, the voyagers came within a
quarter of a mile of a depôt of provisions established near Cape Hawks
in the previous autumn, and succeeded in removing a portion. A day or
two later Captain Nares landed on Washington Island, and visited a
cairn which he had raised there on the 12th of August 1865. He visited,
also, two old cairns erected by former explorers; the lichens with
which they were gray proved that they were of earlier date than Dr.
Hayes’ expedition.
On the 3rd of September, by dint of steaming assiduously, the ships
rammed their way through a lane of water to the westward of Cape Hawks,
which was inconveniently obstructed by loose pieces of old ice. After
rounding the cape, says the captain, the pack by drifting away from
the land had left unfrozen water and numerous detached small floes,
which forced them to make a very serpentine course, and occasionally to
pass within thirty yards of the low ice-foot on the shore, fortunately
always finding deep water. In this way they reached Allman Bay,
half-way between Cape Hawks and Franklin Pierce Bay. Meeting here with
a belt of new ice, the _Discovery_ was sent ahead; and under full
steam she forced a canal through the ice, which was from one to three
inches thick. From the lofty hills in the interior a huge glacier leads
down to Allman Bay; and it is a noticeable fact that always in the
neighbourhood of a glacier-stream the water was found nearly fresh, and
of the temperature of 32°.
On the 7th our homeward-bound ships reached Norman Lockyer Island, on
the margin of Princess Marie Bay. The season was now far advanced, and
as the slightest mistake might have led to the vessels being ice-bound
for the winter, the two captains ascended to the highest point of the
island to obtain some idea of the prospect before them. They were
much relieved by seeing a large area of open water some twenty miles
distant, which they conjectured would extend to the mouth of Smith
Sound. No time was lost in getting under way; and the ships crossed
two-thirds of the distance before they fell in with ice. By charging
it under full steam, they cleared the obstacle, and then, through an
open-water channel, ran on to Cape Sabine.
On the 9th of September they arrived off Cape Isabella, where they
found a small packet of letters and newspapers which had been left at
the depôt by the _Pandora_. The weather was now calm, and the wind
favourable. Sail was hoisted, therefore, as the supply of coal began
to run short, and on the evening of the 12th the expedition reached
Bardin Bay. During the 13th and the 14th they worked southward into
Wolstenholm Sound; and thence, with a south-easterly wind, crossed to
Cape Byam Martin, which they reached on the 16th. Two days later they
entered the well-known waters of Melville Bay; on the 25th they arrived
at Disco, where, and afterwards at Egedesminde, they obtained some
small supplies of coal.
Egedesminde was left behind on the 2nd of October, and on the 4th the
two ships recrossed the Arctic Circle--exactly fifteen months from
the time of crossing it on the outward voyage. Experiencing adverse
winds, they made but slow progress to the southward; and as the weather
became warmer and damper, a few of the men suffered from rheumatism and
catarrhs. During a heavy gale on the 19th, the two ships separated;
but both, as we have seen, reached the shores of England in safety,
where their gallant officers and crews met with the hearty welcome so
thoroughly merited by their courage, perseverance, and heroic industry.
Some notes on the general results obtained by the expedition in
zoology, botany, and geology, have appeared in the _Academy_.
The two naturalists under whose care these departments were
placed,--Captain Feilden, in the _Alert_, and Mr. Hart, in the
_Discovery_,--worked with unflagging energy and no small success.
Of mammals, the species found farthest north were the Arctic fox, the
wolf, the ermine, the Polar hare, the lemming, and the musk-ox,--all of
which were seen on the shores of the great Polar Basin or Palæocrystic
Sea. No cetaceans were sighted north of Payer Harbour, near Cape
Sabine; a fact which renders all the more serious the gradual process
of extermination of the Greenland (or right) whale in more southern
latitudes. The only seal found beyond Cape Union, in lat. 82° 15’ N.,
was the little ringed seal or “floe-rat” (_Phoca hispida_).
So far as the land extended, bird life prevailed; the species being the
snowy owl, the snow-bunting, and the ptarmigan. Full collections were
made of all the birds frequenting Smith Sound; and our naturalists had
the satisfaction of discovering the long-sought-for breeding-haunts of
the knott and sanderling.[13]
Few species of marine fish were obtained, but “an interesting small
salmonoid” was met with in fresh-water lakes as far north as lat. 82°
35’. A fine collection of marine invertebrates was secured by dredging
and trawling; and the character of the sea-bottom from Baffin Bay up
to lat. 83° 19’ N. was accurately ascertained by a series of careful
soundings.
In the department of botany our naturalists were rewarded by the
discovery of between twenty and thirty species of phanerogamic plants
between the parallels of 82° and 83°. Much richer and more varied
results were obtained in the cryptogamic flora.
Geologically, the facts arrived at were of the utmost value. “The
whole west coast of Smith Sound, from Cape Isabella to Cape Union,
has been fully surveyed and mapped, and large collections have been
made both of fossils and rock-specimens; while the sledge-parties
which explored the shore of the Polar Basin, both to east and west,
brought back sufficient material to determine the geological character
of the country. Silurian limestones, richly fossiliferous, were the
prevailing rocks along Smith Sound. Miocene deposits, _including a
twenty-foot seam of coal_, were found as far north as lat. 81° 44’.
From the shales and sandstones of this formation a beautiful series
of leaf-impressions were collected, illustrating the characteristic
flora of the epoch, and presenting a remarkable demonstration of the
existence of a temperate climate within five hundred miles of the
present Pole at a comparatively recent geological time. Not less
important are the indications of great recent changes in the elevation
of the land afforded by the discovery of thick post-pliocene deposits,
lying at a considerable elevation above the sea-level, and containing
fossils similar to the existing marine fauna. Lastly, very interesting
and suggestive observations have been made on glaciation and ice-action
in general.”
This, of course, is but a summary, and a very brief and condensed one,
of researches which have evidently been of the highest importance.
And it might almost be said of the late expedition, that even had its
geographical discoveries been less valuable, its scientific results
would have entitled it to a foremost place in the annals of Arctic
Enterprise.
* * * * *
Our record of Arctic expeditions will fitly close with a sketch of the
cruise of the _Pandora_, a screw-yacht commanded by Captain Allen
Young, which left England in the summer of 1876, in order to open up
communications with the Admiralty expedition.
[Illustration:
CHART
SHOWING THE DISCOVERIES
OF THE
BRITISH POLAR EXPEDITION
1875–76.
[_From Map accompanying Official Report published in
“Nature.”_]]
Captain Young left Upernavik on the evening of the 19th of July, and
stood away to the northward--in bad weather, and with the wind blowing
a gale. Through vast fields of ice he threaded his way, sometimes under
sail, sometimes under steam, until, on the morning of the 24th, he
found his ship completely surrounded, in lat. 75° 10’ N.
No time was lost in endeavouring to effect an escape by charging
the ice at full speed,--again and again returning to the onset; and
a slow but steady progress was being made, when the field in which
they were held fast, drifting before the gale, “collided” with a
group of grounded bergs, and exposed the little vessel to such severe
pressure, that preparations were made for abandoning her. Provisions,
ammunition, camping and travelling gear, all were made ready, and the
boats were lowered as far as possible at the davits. Meantime, heavy
charges of gunpowder were used to blast the ice where it pressed the
ship most severely; and the bergs taking a different direction, the
_Pandora_ began to recover herself, and before night settled down
nearly to her usual level. In the darkness of the night, with the wind
howling, and the snow and sleet driving in heavy showers, she moved
ahead with the pack; and in this way continued her progress until the
27th, when the weather cleared, and Captain Young discovered that he
had advanced right into the heart of Melville Bay, with no water in
sight. Full in view were Capes Walker and Melville, the Peaked Hill,
and huge glacier-streams embedded in the intervening valleys. All
around was one vast monotonous sheet of rugged ice. It was not until
the 29th that the _Pandora_, after many hairbreadth escapes, got
into open water, in lat. 75° 50’ N., and long. 64° 55’ W. While thus
imprisoned in the grasp of the floe, the explorers killed only one
Polar bear, four seals, and a few little auks.
In a clear sea they now stood away to the westward, passing Capes
Dudley, Digges, and Athol, and other headlands familiar in the records
of Arctic adventure. At noon on the 31st, when off Wolstenholm Island,
another gale overtook them, increasing rapidly to almost hurricane
fury. This was an unpleasant experience; for the deck was washed by
heavy seas, and it was with the greatest difficulty they avoided coming
into collision with the icebergs which drifted rapidly through the snow
and spray.
Reaching Cary Island, they landed to examine Captain Nares’ depôt of
provisions, and found it in good preservation. The cairn had not been
visited since Young’s call at the island on the 10th of September in
the previous year. Afterwards they made for Sutherland Island, where
they found a record of the American explorer, Captain Hartstene, dated
August 16, 1855. It is with a curious feeling that, in these regions of
almost perpetual winter, the voyager comes upon such faint memorials of
men who, like him, have dared all the perils of ice-floes and icebergs,
and adventured into seas far beyond the track of ordinary commercial
enterprise.
On Littleton Island, a record of the expedition was found. The document
was dated July 28, 1875, and signed by Captain Nares; and it indicated
the course about to be taken by the ships under his orders. Owing to
the ice-encumbered condition of the straits, however, Captain Young
could not follow it up; and instead of crossing to Cape Isabella, he
resolved to examine the coast in Hartstene Bay, in order to seek a
harbour for the relief-ship which the Admiralty had intended to send
out in 1877, in case of the non-return of the Polar Expedition. This
was found on the 4th of August, not far from the Eskimo settlement
of Etah, and named after the _Pandora_. It would seem to offer
every advantage as winter quarters for Arctic discovery-ships; the
surrounding hills are “dotted with Arctic hares, appearing like
snow-balls on the luxurious vegetation.” The little auk breeds in
thousands on the cliffs, eider fowl and guillemots haunt the waters,
and the adjacent valleys and pastures are frequented by reindeer.
Captain Young next made for Cape Isabella, which he reached on the
6th of August. Watchful eyes soon discovered a large cairn on the
summit of this headland. A boat was lowered, and the contents of the
cairn soon obtained, while despatches and letters for Captain Nares’
expedition were left in their stead. Then the _Pandora_ steamed
to the northward; but, owing to the adverse winds and the accumulated
ice, could make no way, and was forced back to Cape Isabella. Another
attempt was made to the eastward, and for several days the gallant
little ship crossed and recrossed the straits, through the pack, always
beset with ice, and frequently enshrouded in impenetrable fogs. No
fewer than three times was she compelled to take shelter in Pandora
Harbour. On the 19th she was driven back to the northward of Littleton
Island, and Captain Young and some of his officers took the opportunity
of visiting the _Polaris_ camp. Nothing remained of the house
erected by Captain Buddington except a few broken boards. The rocks
were strewn with pieces of metal, fragments of clothing, and other
waifs and strays. The _cache_ in which the retreating party had
deposited their books and instruments was also examined; but the only
relics were a brass bowl of a seven-inch compass, a tin tube, and parts
of a telescope. Some cases and casks, containing records for the use
of Captain Nares, were securely placed among the rocks on the western
point of the island; and Captain Young then returned to Cape Isabella.
Finding nothing here of any interest, and convinced that no travelling
or boat party had reached that position from the Polar ships, the
_Pandora_ bore away to the northward under canvas. “It was very
dark and thick,” says Captain Young, “but sufficiently clear to enable
us to avoid the heavy ice. By nine A.M. we were up to Lecomte
Island, when we were stopped by a fog until eleven o’clock, when I
could see from aloft that the main pack extended across the straits
into Rosse Bay. We were in a lake of land water, with close-packed and
heavy ice all round, from south to north, and again closing on the
land from the eastward. Our only chance of moving seemed to be through
a narrow lead or slack place, running first to the east-north-east,
and then again apparently towards the east coast. We entered the pack,
and succeeded by five P.M. in again escaping into the land
water in Hartstene Bay.” Such are the experiences of twelve hours
in the ice-clogged waters of the North! But we need not delay the
reader with these minute particulars, notwithstanding their interest
as illustrative of the nature of the struggle waged with so much
persistency of purpose by the Arctic explorer. The sea was now covered
everywhere with ice and bergs. Storms were of frequent occurrence; and
the wind and wave beaten _Pandora_ was forced back into Baffin Bay.
Here, on the 28th of August, her captain could see that the solid ice
had filled the straits and the head of the bay right across to Cape
Alexander. The way north being thus obstructed, Captain Young resolved
on proceeding towards Upernavik, in North Greenland, hoping to find
that the last ship had not already sailed for Denmark, and in that
case to send an officer home with despatches, while the _Pandora_
returned to Smith Strait.
On the 29th she was off Hakluyt Island, and steered for Bardin Bay in
Whale Sound. On entering the bay, a summer tent could be seen, and some
Eskimos, with their dogs, running to and fro, evidently with the view
of attracting the attention of the visitors. Captain Young accordingly
landed, with some of his officers, and accompanied by Christian, his
Eskimo interpreter. The natives met them with the utmost confidence
and fearlessness, assisting to haul their boat up on the shore. They
were ten in number, and all members of one family. Food appeared to be
plentiful with them, but they were profuse in their thanks for some
walrus-flesh given by Captain Young. Their manners were frank and
communicative, and they showed considerable vivacity, rejoicing over
the results of a very good hunting season. Neither European ships nor
white men had they seen for years; but they said that an old man, who,
with his family, inhabited Northumberland Island, told of two ships
which had passed to the northward “last summer.” How lonely must be the
life led by these poor savages! Never gladdened by the sight of a sail;
but, year after year, shut up in their frozen solitudes, and without
any other object or purpose before them than to obtain just enough food
to avoid a premature and miserable death!
Among their treasures Captain Young observed a ship’s bucket, half
the top of a mahogany table, the paddle of a Greenlander’s kayack,
much ice-worn, and a piece of packing-case marked “Lime juice--Leith;”
all of which, they said, had drifted into the bay at different times
from the southward. These people seemed to Captain Young of a kind
and simple disposition, while they were evidently robust and healthy.
All that they had--and it was little enough--they freely pressed upon
their visitor; and when asked what present they would like, their chief
selected only some gimlets and a fifteen-foot ash oar. The latter, he
said, would split up into spear-shafts; the former he wanted for boring
bone and ivory. Captain Young, however, gave them several other useful
articles; accepting in return some narwhal horns, specimens of their
pot-stone cooking-kettles, and of the iron pyrites which they used for
striking fire. An exchange of dogs also took place; five of the dogs
belonging to the _Pandora_ being given for three of the finest
bear-hunting and tame dogs of the Eskimos.
At Upernavik, the _Pandora_, after a stormy and dangerous passage,
arrived on the evening of September the 7th, but found that the last
ship had sailed for Europe. As there were no means, therefore, of
communicating with England, and as, without such communication, Captain
Young did not feel authorized to winter in the North, a supply of fresh
water wars taken on board, and the ship steered for home. From the 15th
to the 21st she tarried at Goodhav’n, in Disco Island. In Davis Strait
she encountered large quantities of heavy Spitzbergen drift-ice, and
weathered a severe south-easterly gale. On the 16th of October, in
lat. 54° 38’ N., and long. 44° 30’ W., she sighted the Arctic ships,
_Alert_ and _Discovery_, and hastened to communicate with
them. They kept together until the 19th. On the following day, the
_Pandora_ was buffeted by another hurricane; but the rest of her
voyage was accomplished in safety, and was marked by no incidents of
importance.
Here, for the present, terminates the record of British enterprise and
adventure in the Arctic World. It is difficult to believe, however,
that the nation will rest until the “heart of the mystery has been
plucked out,” the Secret finally mastered, and the British flag hoisted
on that remote point which is conventionally known as the NORTH
POLE.
INDEX.
Agaricus muscarius, 139.
Agassiz, experiments of, 116.
Alectoria jubata, 137.
Aletsch glacier, the, described, 47.
Algol, or Medusa’s Head, 39.
Arctic Highlanders, 12.
Arctic night, the, characteristics of, 32–34, 93–95.
Arctic region, extent of, 13, 14.
Atmospheric phenomena, 31.
Auk, the, described, 97, 98.
Aurora Borealis, the, phenomena of, 27;
theory of, 29.
Baffin, discoveries of, 227.
Barents, adventures of, 266–269.
Barrens, the, region of, described, 16.
Bear, Polar, natural history of the, 85–93;
hunting seals, 86;
voracity of, 88;
affection for its young, 88, 89.
Beechey, Captain, quoted, 45, 46, 55.
Bell, quoted, 78.
Bellot, Lieutenant, quoted, 123.
Bennet, Stephen, voyage of, 228.
Berkeley, quoted, 140.
Birds, migrations of, 11.
Boötes, constellation of, 40.
Bremer, Frederika, quoted, 138.
Brewster’s, Sir David, experiment with polarised light, 111.
Buddington, Captain, adventures of, 308–311.
Burrough, Stephen, voyage of, 222, 223.
Button, Captain, voyage of, 227.
Bylot, Robert, voyage of, 227.
Carlsen, Captain, voyage of, 270.
Cladonia rangiferina, 137.
Clarke, Dr., quoted, 203.
Clavering, Captain, referred to, 12.
Cochlearia, or scurvy-grass, uses of, 139.
Coleridge, quoted, 69.
Constellations, northern, list of, 37.
Cooley, Mr., quoted, 230.
Corvidæ, the, natural history of, 160.
Cryptogamous plants of the north, 141, 142.
Crystallization, process of, 108.
Cygnus musicus, 161.
D’Almeida, Count, quoted, 205, 206.
Davis, Captain John, voyages of, 224, 225.
Dolphins, the, natural history of, 82, 83.
_Dorothea_, the, narrow escape of, 55.
Dufferin, Lord, quoted, 166, 167, 172.
Eider ducks, the, natural history of, 103;
in Iceland, 104.
Eskimo dog, the, description of, 190.
Eskimo, the, hunting the walrus, 68, 69;
hut of, 76.
Eskimo kayak described, 182.
Eskimo seal-hunt, an, described, 77, 78.
Eskimo sledge, the, described, 192–196.
Eskimos, the, boundaries of, 175;
character, manners, customs, and clothing, 179–196.
Falcon, the, natural history of, 160.
Faraday, ingenious experiment of, 111.
Felinska, Madame, quoted, 211.
Fish in the Arctic seas, 106.
Flora of the Arctic lands, 19.
Fox, Luke, voyage of, 228.
Fox, the Arctic, natural history of, 151–153.
Fox-trap, a, described, 152.
Franklin, Sir J., overland journey of, 231;
last expedition of, 231;
relics of, discovered, 233, 235, 236.
Fritillaria sarrana, the, properties of, 142, 143.
Frobisher, Sir Martin, voyage of, 223.
Frobisher Strait discovered, 223.
Gale, an Arctic, described, 70.
Gârds of Lapland, described, 207.
_Germania_, the, expedition of, 245–265.
Geysers, the, phenomena of, 165–167.
Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, death of, 224.
Glacier-ice, peculiarities of, 112.
Glacier in Smith Strait, 124, 127;
of Sermiatsialik, 128, 129.
Glaciers, characteristics of, 47;
motion of, 113–115;
phenomena connected with, 115–118;
of the Arctic regions, 118–133;
of Spitzbergen, 120, 123.
Godhav’n, 167.
Grampus, the, natural history of, 83, 84.
Greenland, scenery on the coast of, 22.
Guillemot, the, described, 96, 97.
Gull, the, described, 103.
Hall, Captain, expedition and death of, 271, 272.
_Hansa_, the, voyage and loss of, 245–251.
Hans the Hunter, 186–189, 284.
Hare, the Arctic, 154.
Hartwig, Dr., quoted, 15.
Hayes, Dr., quoted, 25, 35, 43, 49, 50, 59, 87, 95, 96, 124, 125,
127, 128, 138, 152, 153, 186, 191, 192, 244;
Arctic expedition of, 244, 245.
Hearne, quoted, 183.
_Hecla_, the, and the _Fury_, danger of, 56.
Hegemann, Captain, 245.
Hekla, eruption of, 164.
Henderson, Dr., quoted, 172.
Hill, Mr., quoted, 213, 214.
Hobson, Lieutenant, discovers Franklin relics, 234–236.
Holland, Mr., quoted, 173.
Hore, Mr., voyage of, 222.
Hudson, Henry, discoveries of, 225–228.
Humboldt Glacier, description of, 131–134, 238.
Hutchinson, Captain, quoted, 205.
Icebergs, their dimensions, 41;
their magnificent appearance, 42, 43;
danger to navigation from, 44, 123;
breaking up of, 49;
range of, 50, 51;
in Baffin Bay, 124.
Ice-fields, extent and character of, 54, 56, 57.
Ice-flowers, characteristics of, 108.
Iceland, dimensions of, 162;
history of, 162;
volcanoes of, 163;
dreary landscapes of, 164;
geysers of, 166, 167;
houses and churches of, 170;
travelling in, 172;
horses of, 173.
Iceland moss, uses of, 138, 139.
Jacobshav’n, 168.
Jakut merchants, the, enterprise of, 217.
Jakuts, the, as bear-hunters, 212;
manners and customs of, 216, 217.
James, Captain Thomas, voyage of, 228.
Joe the Eskimo, with Captain Tyson, 278, _et sqq._
Kamtschatka, fisheries of, 212;
the dog of, 214, 215.
Kamtschatkans, the, characteristics of, 213, 214.
Kane, Dr., quoted, 15, 32, 33, 34, 42, 68, 73, 74, 88, 91, 92,
131–134, 149, 153, 184, 185, 237, 239, 242, 243;
Arctic explorations of, 237–244.
Knots, the, habits of, 11, 12.
Koldewey, Captain, referred to, 12;
voyage of, 245.
Lagopus, the, 161.
Lamont, Mr., quoted, 60, 62.
Lapland, divisions and extent of, 197;
climate of, 197;
inhabitants of, 197;
the reindeer in, 200;
sledging in, 201;
an interior in, 204, 205.
Lapp dialect, the, 206.
Lapp hunters, the, boldness of, 202.
Lapps, the, dress, manners, and customs of, 198.
Lapps, the Mountain, character of, 199, 200.
Lapps of West Bothnia, 206, 207.
Laube, Dr., quoted, 252.
Lemming, the Arctic, 154.
Macmillan, Dr., quoted, 135, 136, 137, 141.
Markham, C., quoted, 10, 175, 225, 226, 273.
Marten, the, 155.
Martins, M. Charles, quoted, 119, 120, 121.
M’Clintock, Captain Sir Roderick, quoted, 148, 151, 181, 265;
voyage of, 234.
M’Clure, Sir Robert, quoted, 81;
discovers North-West Passage, 233.
Mecham, Captain, quoted, 146, 150.
Mer de Glace of Greenland, 127, 128.
Merganser, the natural history of, 99.
Milton, Lord, and Dr. Cheadle, quoted, 158–160.
Moonlight in the Polar World, 26.
Moraines, described, 115.
Moravian mission-stations in Greenland, 179.
Mosses in the Arctic regions, 139.
Musk-ox, the, natural history of, 149, 150.
Mustelidæ family, the, in the Arctic regions, 155.
Nares, Captain, expedition of, 314, _et sqq._
Narwhal, the, natural history of, 82.
Newfoundland colonized, 224.
North-West Passage, utility of, 9.
Novaia Zemlaia, temperature of, 21.
Osborn, Admiral Sherard, quoted, 44, 81, 84, 85, 87, 146, 151,
232, 236, 237.
Ostiaks, the, manners and customs of, 211, 212.
Ostrownoje, trade at, 220.
Oxyria, the, uses of, 141.
Pack-ice, description of, 53.
Parry, Captain, quoted, 44, 46, 56, 230;
voyages of, 228, 229, 230.
Payer, Lieutenant, voyage of, 270, 271.
Penny, Captain, voyage of, 232–234.
Phænogamous plants of the north, 141.
Phocidæ, the.--See SEAL.
Plant-life of Spitzbergen, 142;
of Kamtschatka, 142, 143.
Pleiads, the, 39.
_Polaris_, the, voyage of, 271–313.
Polecat, the, in the Arctic regions, 156, 157.
Pole-Star, the, position of, 36.
Poole, Jonas, voyage of, 228.
Puffin, the, natural history of, 99.
Quenes, or Finns, the, 206.
Rae, Dr., finds relics of Franklin, 233.
Red snow, phenomenon of, explained, 135.
Refraction, phenomena of, 31.
Regelation, what it is, 111.
Reikiavik, description of, 168, 169.
Reindeer, the, natural history of, 144;
usefulness of, 145;
food of, 146;
and wolves, 147;
in Siberia, 218, 219.
Reindeer moss, 137.
Rendu, Bishop, quoted, 114.
Richardson, Sir J., quoted, 145.
Rock-hair, 137.
Rorqual, the, 80.
Ross, Sir James, quoted, 145.
Ross, Sir John, voyages of, 228, 231.
Sabine, Sir Edward, quoted, 10.
Sable, the, natural history of, 156.
Samojedes, the, superstitions of, 208, 209;
manners and customs of, 210, 211.
Schaïtan, an Ostiak idol, 211.
Scoresby, Dr., quoted, 44, 106, 186.
Seal, the, natural history of, 71–73;
flesh of, 73, 74;
different genera of, 75.
Sermiatsialik, glacier of, 127, 128.
Shepherd, Mr., quoted, 104.
Skaptá Jokul, eruption of, 165.
Smew, the, natural history of, 100.
Smith Sound, route by, 228.
Snow, formation of, 108.
Snow-crystals, described, 109.
Snow-line, limit of, 20.
Somerville, Mrs., quoted, 30, 107.
Southey, quoted, 136.
Sporidesmium lepraria, 140.
Spring in the Arctic regions, 34.
Starakis, the, described, 98.
Stephenson, Captain, of the _Discovery_, 314.
Summer in the Arctic regions, 36.
Swan, the wild, natural history of, 105;
the whistling, 161.
Tadebtsios, or Samojede demons, 209.
Tadibe, the Samojede priest, 209.
Tchuktche, the, manners and customs of, 220.
Temperature of Arctic winter, 33.
Tennyson, quoted, 105.
Thingvalla, the, in Iceland, 168.
Thorne, Dr. Robert, Arctic exploration proposed by, 222.
Tripe de roche, 137, 138.
Tundras, the stony, described, 15, 16.
Tungusi, the, characteristics of, 219, 220.
Tyndall, Professor, quoted, 47, 48, 108, 109–111, 112, 113, 115,
117, 118.
Tyson, Captain, narrative of, 278–308.
Unknown Region, extent of, 10.
Upernavik, described, 176.
Ursa Major, constellation of, 36;
description of, 37, 38.
Waigatz, island of, 208.
Walrus, the, natural history of, 63;
courage of, 64;
gradual decay of, 67.
Walrus-hunt, a, described, 68, 69.
Walrus-hunting, how carried on, 60;
proceeds of, 62.
Ware, quoted, 37, 38.
Whale, the, natural history of, 78;
characteristics of the Greenland, 79, 80;
the Razor-backed, 80.
Whalebone, what it is, described, 79.
Whale-fishery of the Eskimos, 81.
Whirlwinds of the north, 31.
Willoughby, Sir Hugh, loss of, 222.
Wolf, the Arctic, natural history of, 148.
Wolverine, the, cunning of, 157;
anecdotes of, 158–160.
Wooded zone of the Arctic regions, 143.
Wrangel, Admiral von, quoted, 20, 81, 218, 221.
Yakutsk, temperature of, 26.
Young, Captain, cruise of, in the _Pandora_, 334.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The _Tringa canutus_ of ornithologists.
[2] _Abies alba et nigra._
[3] _Larix Canadensis._
[4] _Pinus Banksiana._
[5] _Abies Sibirica_, _Larix Sibirica_.
[6] Tyndall, “Forms of Water,” p. 137.
[7] The name given to a plain of ice near Mont Blanc.
[8] Scoresby calculated that it would require 80,000 persons, labouring
continuously from the creation of man to the present day, to count the
number of organisms contained in two miles of the green water.
[9] So called from its circular form, and because the surface of the
leaf is marked with curved lines.
[10] A more moderate estimate says 1300 persons.
[11] _The Academy_, November 4, 1876, p. 453.
[12] “Here let the billows stiffen and have rest.”--COLERIDGE.
[13] The scarcity of animal life in the remote North is shown by the
small quantity of game shot by the sportsmen of the expedition after
reaching winter quarters:--six musk-oxen, twenty hares, seventy geese,
twenty-six ducks, ten ptarmigan, and three foxes.
Transcriber’s Notes:
1. Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling errors have been
corrected silently.
2. Where hyphenation is in doubt, it has been retained as in the
original.
3. Some hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of the same words have
been retained as in the original.
4. Where appropriate, the original spelling has been retained.
5. Italics are shown as _xxx_.