CHARLES FRANCIS HALL AND THE INNUITS.
Hall’s Expedition.--His early Life.--His reading of Arctic
Adventure.--His Resolve.--His Arctic Outfit.--Sets Sail on
the “George Henry.”--The Voyage.--Kudlago.--Holsteinborg,
Greenland.--Population of Greenland.--Sails for Davis’s Strait.--
Character of the Innuits.--Wreck of the “Rescue.”--Ebierbing and
Tookoolito.--Their Visit to England.--Hall’s first Exploration.--
European and Innuit Life in the Arctic Regions.--Building an
Igloo.--Almost Starved.--Fight for Food with Dogs.--Ebierbing
arrives with a Seal.--How he caught it.--A Seal-feast.--The
Innuits and Seals.--The Polar Bear.--How he teaches the Innuits
to catch Seals.--At a Seal-hole.--Dogs as Seal-hunters.--Dogs
and Bears.--Dogs and Reindeers.--Innuits and Walruses.--More
about Igloos.--Innuit Implements.--Uses of the Reindeer.--Innuit
Improvidence.--A Deer-feast.--A frozen Delicacy.--Whale-skin
as Food.--Whale-gum.--How to eat Whale Ligament.--Raw Meat.--
The Dress of the Innuits.--A pretty Style.--Religious Ideas
of the Innuits.--Their kindly Character.--Treatment of the
Aged and Infirm.--A Woman abandoned to die.--Hall’s Attempt to
rescue her.--The Innuit Nomads, without any form of Government.--
Their Numbers diminishing.--A Sailor wanders away.--Hall’s
Search for him.--Finds him frozen to death.--The Ship free from
Ice.--Preparations to return.--Reset in the Ice-pack.--Another
Arctic Winter.--Breaking up of the Ice.--Departure for Home.--
Tookoolito and her Child “Butterfly.”--Death of “Butterfly.”--
Arrival at Home.--Results of Hall’s Expedition.--Innuit
Traditions.--Discovery of Frobisher Relics.--Hall undertakes a
second Expedition.--His Statement of its Object and Prospects.--
Last Tidings of Hall.
Among the most remarkable expeditions ever undertaken in the Polar
world is that of Charles Francis Hall, performed during the years 1860,
1861, and 1862. Its primary object was to discover the survivors of
Sir John Franklin’s party; for at this time there was good reason to
believe that out of the 105 who were known to be living on the 25th of
April, 1848, some were still surviving. Towards the main purpose of the
undertaking nothing was indeed accomplished. Hall came upon no traces
of Franklin and his men; but he acquired a more accurate knowledge of
the Esquimaux--or rather as they call themselves, and as we shall
call them, the Innuits--a word meaning simply “men” or “people”--and
their mode of life than was ever before, or is likely to be hereafter,
gained by any other white man capable of telling what he saw, and a
part of which he was. The remarkable book in which Mr. Hall describes
his expedition[25] seems not to have come under the notice of Dr.
Hartweg. It is proposed in this chapter to supplement the account of
the Innuits from this work of Mr. Hall.
[Illustration: 131. HALL AND COMPANIONS, IN INNUIT COSTUME.]
Up to middle life Hall had resided in the inland city of Cincinnati.
He had eagerly read every thing that he could find on record of the
searches made for Franklin. Large ships and small ships had been sent
out. Brave hearts and stout hands had been enlisted in the search,
but with no tangible result beyond ascertaining the spot where the
surviving 105 were when they abandoned their ships and took to the
shore, hoping to make their way to their homes. Only two of these men
were proven to have died; and it was more than probable that of the 105
known to have been living in 1848, some would yet be alive in 1860, for
not a few of these men, if living, would be still of middle age.
Hall had read the story of the sufferings of Kane’s party during the
long months of the Arctic winter, but he had come to the conclusion
that most of these resulted from the mode of life adopted by them. The
Innuits, he knew, lived to a good old age through a succession of such
winters, and he believed that a civilized man could live where a savage
could. This conviction was confirmed by one of Kane’s companions, who
told him, “When we lived like the Esquimaux, we immediately recovered,
and enjoyed our usual health. If Providence had so ordered it that
we should cast our lot with the Esquimaux, I have no doubt that we
would have lived quite as long, and in quite as good health as in the
United States or England. White men can live where Esquimaux can, and
frequently when and where they can not.”
So Hall grew into the conviction that some of these lost ones could
yet be found; and he writes, “It seemed to me as if I had been
_called_, if I may so speak, to try and do the work. My heart felt
sore at the thought of so great a mystery in connection with any of
our fellow-creatures, especially akin to ourselves, yet remaining
unsolved.” How should he obey this call? His own means, beyond a stout
frame and strong will, were of the smallest. He broached the project
at the West, where it was received with favor. Then he came East, and
was met with like consideration. Funds were raised, and the expedition
which Hall contemplated was fitted out.
This expedition consisted simply of Hall himself. The cash contributed
for the outfit was just $980, of which more than a third was
contributed by Henry Grinnell, of New York. In addition to this was
about a quarter as much in the way of presents. “These,” says Hall,
“constituted all the means and material I had to carry out the great
undertaking my mind had led me to embark in.” Hall’s list of the
articles on his outfit for a three years’ residence and exploration is
worthy of record. It shows in what way his $980 in cash was expended.
“My outfit,” he writes, “for the voyage and the whole of my expedition,
consisted of:--a boat, length twenty-eight feet, beam seven feet,
depth twenty-nine and one-half inches, drawing eight inches of water
when loaded with stores and a crew of six persons; one sledge; one
half-ton of pemmican; two hundred pounds of Borden’s meat biscuit;
twenty pounds pork scrap; one pound preserved quince; one pound
preserved peaches; two hundred and fifty pounds powder; a quantity
of ball, shot, and percussion caps; one rifle, six double-barrelled
guns; one Colt’s revolver; beads, needles, etc., for presents; two
dozen pocket-knives; some tin ware; one axe, two picks, files, etc.;
tobacco and pipes; wearing apparel for self, and red shirts for
natives; stationery and journal-books; watch, opera-glass, spy-glass;
sextant, pocket sextant, artificial horizon, azimuth compass, common
compass, two pocket compasses; three ordinary and two self-registering
thermometers. Some navigation-books and several Arctic works, with
my Bible and a few other volumes, formed my library.” The boat and
fixtures cost one hundred and twenty-five dollars; meat, biscuit,
pemmican, etc., about two hundred and fifty dollars; astronomical
instruments, about one hundred dollars; guns and accoutrements, about
two hundred and twenty-five dollars; clothing, fifty dollars; pipes
and tobacco, twenty dollars; travelling expenses and express payments,
seventy-five dollars; dog-team, bought in Greenland, fifty dollars. The
other items making up the nine hundred and eighty dollars are all duly
given. It will be seen that the balance left for minor, but necessary,
expenditures was very small.
New London, Connecticut, is the port from which vessels mainly sail for
the Arctic whale-fishery. Here was the place of business. Williams and
Haven largely engaged in that enterprise. They relieved Hall of a great
load of anxiety by a brief note, in which they said: “As a testimony
of our personal regard, and the interest we feel in the proposed
expedition, we will convey it and its required outfit, boats, sledges,
provisions, instruments, etc., free of charge, on the barque ‘George
Henry,’ to Northumberland Inlet; and, whenever desired, we will give
the same free passage home in any of our vessels.”
On the 29th of May, 1860, the “George Henry” set sail, with a crew,
officers and men, of twenty-nine souls. Accompanying as tender was a
schooner, which had a history. She was now known as the “Amaret;” but
under the name of the “Rescue” she had won fame in Arctic research, for
in her Kane had made his first Arctic voyage. Hall always calls her by
her old name, and the account of her loss forms a striking episode in
his narrative.
[Illustration: 132. KUDLAGO.]
We have said that Hall’s expedition consisted of himself alone. But
when he started he had with him a companion, who he hoped would greatly
aid him. This was Kudlago, an Innuit, who had acquired some knowledge
of our language in Greenland from whalers, had come to the United
States on a whaling-vessel, and was now anxious to return to Greenland.
But he fell sick on the voyage, and died on the 1st of July. His last
words were, “Do you see the ice?” for he knew that the appearance of
ice at this season would show that he was near his home. He died three
hundred miles at sea, and was committed to the ocean, Hall reading the
funeral service. A great iceberg--the slender one represented on page
48 of this volume--was drifting close by, and Hall named it “Kudlago’s
Monument.”
On the 7th of July they reached Holsteinborg, the capital of the Danish
colony of Greenland, a town consisting of twenty-four houses. The
entire population of Greenland is estimated at about 2450, of whom 2300
are Innuits, and the remainder Europeans. Of the Innuits, 1700 live
by sealing, and 400 by fishing; the others being mainly mechanics and
sailors, besides twenty native catechists. Of the Europeans, thirty-one
are “First and Second Governors;” twenty-four missionaries and priests;
thirty-six clerks; the others mechanics and sailors. The forty-four
native and European missionaries receive, in all, 13,600 Danish paper
dollars, equal to about $8500 in specie. The head-schoolmaster has one
hundred and twenty-five paper dollars; three others receive one hundred
dollars each; three, twenty-five dollars; two, six dollars. Of these
last, one teaches his own two children, who are the only ones in his
district. There are also four women, who get a dollar a year each for
teaching children their letters. The sixteen Government employés get
from forty to ninety dollars a year, besides provisions for themselves
and their families. Bread is baked for them every fortnight. The
currency of the colony is paper, the “six-skilling” note being worth
about three cents.
[Illustration: 133. GREENLAND CURRENCY.]
The native Greenlanders are by no means deficient in intelligence. Mr.
Hall gives a _fac-simile_ of a wood-cut representing a woman and child
drawn and engraved by one of them who had received no instruction in
art, and no education of any sort beyond that of the majority of his
countrymen. The great festival of Greenland is the birthday of the King
of Denmark, in which all the population, native and European, who can
be assembled, take part, his Majesty furnishing the cheer. Hall gives
a view of this celebration, taken from a drawing made by a native. The
original drawing was full of character.
The “Rescue” having rejoined her consort, the “George Henry,” from whom
she had been separated on the voyage, the captain proposed to set sail
for his proposed whaling-ground on the west side of Davis’s Strait.
They sailed on the 24th of July, Hall accompanying. Three days after,
they encountered a violent snow-storm, and were beset by icebergs. On
the 8th of August they anchored in a bay in latitude 63° 20´, called
by the natives Ookoolear, but by Hall named Cornelius Grinnell Bay.
Here and hereabouts the whalers went to work, and Hall began his
acquaintance with the Esquimaux at home.
[Illustration: 134. WOMAN AND CHILD. (Drawn and Engraved by AN
INNUIT.)]
[Illustration: 135. FESTIVAL OF THE BIRTHDAY OF THE KING OF DENMARK.]
Among these was Kookerjabin, the widow of Kudlago, and of three others.
“The Innuits,” writes Hall, “are a happy people. As they crowded our
decks, I one day noticed about a dozen women seated, and busily engaged
at their work. Two were mending one of the boat’s sails, some were
chewing seal-skins for boot-soles, others were sewing, while one was
tending a cross baby. It is rare to find an Innuit child who is not
very quiet, but this little fellow had eaten a piece of raw blubber,
which had disordered him. Some of the amusing tricks played by these
Esquimaux women are especially deserving of notice. The variety of
games performed by a string tied at the ends, similar to a ‘cat’s
cradle,’ completely throws into the shade our adepts at home. I never
before witnessed such a number of intricate ways in which a simple
string could be used. One arrangement represented a deer; another, a
whale; a third, the walrus; a fourth, the seal; and so on without end.”
[Illustration: 136. PREPARING BOOT-SOLES.]
The short Arctic summer soon came to a close. On the morning of the
26th of September came light winds from the north-west; by noon it
began to snow, the wind increasing to a gale. The whaling-boats all
came in, and preparations were made for bad weather. During the night
the storm grew hourly fiercer. The “Rescue” dragged her anchor, and was
dashed upon the rocks an utter wreck. Hall’s little boat, upon which he
had so much relied, was torn from its moorings and lost, “dooming me,”
says Hall, “to a wreck of disappointment in the hopes I had cherished
concerning her. The ‘George Henry’ was also in imminent peril, but
outrode the tempest; but on her next voyage, eighteen months later, was
lost at a point hardly a hundred miles distant.”
The “George Henry” was soon after laid up in winter-quarters, fairly
blocked in by ice. Hall in the mean time had made himself acquainted
with the Esquimaux of the region. Prominent among these were a
couple--husband and wife--whose history is worthy of record.
[Illustration: 137. WRECK OF THE RESCUE.]
One day--it was November 2--while Hall was writing in his cabin,
he heard a low, sweet voice saying, “Good-morning, Sir.” Looking up,
he saw a comely woman, dressed in very good imitation of civilized
costume. He had heard of her before. Her name was Tookoolito. She was
the wife of Ebierbing, a rather famous seal-hunter and pilot. Seven
years before a British whaler had taken them to England, where they
were received as the lions of the day. They dined with Prince Albert,
and were introduced to the Queen. Ebierbing thought that the Queen was
“very pretty;” indeed she bore no very distant likeness to his own
wife. Tookoolito thought Prince Albert was a “very kind, good man.”
Both agreed that the Queen had “a very fine place.” Tookoolito, as
many thousands in the United States afterwards had occasion to know,
spoke English almost perfectly. Her husband was less fluent, but still
quite intelligible. This pair became Hall’s constant companions in the
Arctic regions; came with him upon his return to the States, remained
there with him for two years, and went back with him upon his second
expedition, which now (September, 1869) is not completed.
[Illustration: 138. THE GEORGE HENRY LAID UP FOR THE WINTER.]
Early in January Hall resolved to make an exploring expedition with the
dog-team which he had bought at Holsteinborg. The party consisted of
himself, Ebierbing, Tookoolito, and another Esquimaux, named Koodloo.
The sledge was drawn by ten dogs--five of which belonged to Hall, and
five to Ebierbing. They relied for food mainly upon the proceeds of
their hunting, taking with them only a pound and a half of preserved
mutton, three pounds of salt pork, fifteen pounds of sea-bread, three
pounds of pork scraps for soup, and a little coffee, pepper, and
molasses. The trip lasted nearly a month and a half, during which time
Hall learned to live like the Esquimaux in their snow cabins, and
subsisted mainly upon raw seal flesh. When he returned to the ship
it was hard for him to accustom himself to the change from the pure
atmosphere of a snow-house to the confined air of a small cabin.
[Illustration: 139. STORM-BOUND.]
Had Kane but known how to pass an Arctic winter, the world would never
have had occasion to read one of the most pathetic accounts ever
written of suffering. Buddington, the captain of the “George Henry,”
had learned the lesson by dear experience. Five years before, when in
command of another vessel, he had lost thirteen of his men by scurvy.
“But,” said he, “I am not now afraid of losing any more men by scurvy
while I have command over them. Whenever there are appearances of it
on board, I will have every pork and beef barrel--salt provisions of
every kind--headed up at once, and every man shall live upon bread and
fresh provision, such as whale, walrus, seal, deer, bear, ptarmigan,
duck, and the like. It is not a little remarkable that persons
afflicted with scurvy seem madly inclined to salt provisions, which
they know to be in their case absolute poisons. They will go any length
to obtain salt pork, even when they have fresh food in abundance.”
Hall’s first night in an igloo may stand as a sample of many more. We
cite, with much abridgment, from his journal:
“We encamped at 5 P.M., having found good material for building
a snow-house. Ebierbing and Koodloo at once commenced sawing out
snow-blocks, while I carried them to a suitable spot for erecting the
igloo, which took us one hour to make. As soon as it was completed
Tookoolito entered, and commenced placing the stone lamp in its proper
position. It was trimmed, and soon a kettle of snow was over it, making
water for coffee and soup. She then placed several pieces of board,
which we had brought with us, on the snow platform where our beds were
to be made. Upon these were placed canvas and deer-skins, and our
sleeping accommodations were complete. The drying of any thing that has
become wet during the day falls to the lot of the woman. She places
them in a net hung over the lamp and attends to them through the night,
meanwhile mending all articles of clothing that need repairs. Presently
our evening meal was ready. It consisted of Cincinnati ‘crackling’
soup, a bit of raw salt pork, half a biscuit for each, and coffee.”
[Illustration: 140. INNUIT STONE LAMP.]
A snow-house, built in an hour, is abandoned when the use for it is
over. The dogs are suffered to enter, and appropriate any thing that
is left which suits their taste. Nothing comes amiss to them. On the
third night Hall had his hair cut by Tookoolito, and the clippings
were left on the floor. The dogs swallowed these, among other things.
Stormy weather soon came on. There was no hunting or sealing, and the
party had nothing to eat except some bits of raw, frozen whale’s-skin
which they found in a _cache_, which a party from the ship had made a
few weeks before. Not far off was an igloo belonging to an Innuit named
Ugarng, whom they knew. Hall went to it hoping to find something to
eat. Ugarng had just come in, having spent two whole days and a night
in watching over a seal-hole without success. He had heard the seal
blow, and that was all. He bore his disappointment coolly. “Away I go
tomorrow again,” he said. He went next day, remained all night over the
seal-hole, and came back with nothing. “This was very bad for the whole
of us,” says Hall. How bad it was for the poor wife of Ugarng and her
children may be inferred from her own words. They were without food or
light; her infant was restless from hunger. She said simply, “Me got no
milk, meat all gone, blubber too; nothing to eat, no heat; must wait
till get seal.”
Hall was about as near starvation as were the Innuits. All he had to
eat was a bit of the “black skin” of a whale, and this he relished; he
could have eaten any thing which would have gone to keep up internal
heat, and make bone and flesh. Ebierbing was away hunting. At length
Tookoolito managed to extemporize a warm dinner. From the black skin
she tried out enough oil to fill the lamp and heat some snow-water.
This was thickened with a couple of ounces left of a quart of meal
which formed a part of the stores with which they set out. The pair
shared the “pudding,” and thought it excellent. The cold was severe.
Within the dark igloo the thermometer stood at about zero; outside, 25°
to 52° below zero. Under these circumstances Hall kept at his journal,
sitting wrapped in furs to keep from freezing. So passed ten days.
Ebierbing had gone back to the vessel in order to bring back some food.
Day by day Hall went to the top of a hill, straining his eyes over the
snowy waste in hope of seeing the approach of the messenger. On the
evening of the 24th of January, fourteen days after their starting upon
the expedition, they were reduced to their last ration of food, which
was a piece of black skin two inches long, an inch and a half wide, and
three-quarters of an inch thick.
At midnight footsteps were heard approaching; Hall sprang from his bed
and opened the snow-block door. There was “Jack,” an Innuit, who had
gone out on a hunt, with his spear strung with strips of seal-blubber.
Hall’s favorite dog had been allowed to sleep in the igloo. The
half-starved creature scented the blubber, gave a desperate leap, and
grasped a portion of the food, and in spite of all the efforts of Hall
and the others swallowed it. Before the door could be closed all the
other dogs outside were aroused, and fighting for a share. Among them
they got nearly the whole. Next morning Hall went out, and gazing in
the direction from which the approach of Ebierbing was hoped for, saw
something black moving over the snow. It was Ebierbing with dogs and
a sledge, loaded with provisions from the ship, and also with a seal
which he had caught that morning. A great seal-feast took place at
once, which Hall thus describes:
[Illustration: 141. FIGHTING FOR FOOD.]
“According to Innuit custom, an immediate invitation was given by the
successful hunter’s family for every one to attend a seal-feast. Our
igloo was soon crowded. My station was on the dais, or bed-place, so
that I could watch what was going on. The first thing done was to
consecrate the blubber by sprinkling water over it. Then our host
proceeded to separate the blubber and skin from the meat and skeleton
of the seal. The body was then opened, and the blood scooped out. The
blood is considered very precious. The liver came next, cut into pieces
and eaten raw, I getting a share. Then followed distributing the ribs,
for social picking, also eaten raw, I doing my duty, and becoming quite
an Innuit in all except in the quantity eaten. This I might challenge
any white man to do. No human stomach but an Innuit’s could possibly
hold what I saw these men and women devour. When the feast was ended,
the company dispersed. Tookoolito then sent around bountiful gifts of
seal-blubber for fire-lamps, also some seal-meat and blood. This is the
usual custom among the Innuits. They share each other’s success, and
bear each other’s wants. Generally if it is found that one is short of
provisions, it may be known that all are so.”
[Illustration: 142. THROUGH THE SNOW.]
The manner in which Ebierbing secured that precious seal is a striking
example of Innuit patience. On his way to the ship the dogs discovered
a seal-hole. He marked the spot by making a small pile of snow close
by, and squirting a mouthful of tobacco-juice upon it by way of mark.
On his return he found the hole, and determined to try to secure the
animal. So wrapping his feet and legs in furs taken from the sledge, he
took his position, spear in hand, over the seal-hole. It was buried two
feet deep under the snow. He thrust his spear through the snow again
and again until he found the little aperture leading through the ice;
then in the dark night he seated himself close by, waiting to hear the
blowing of the seal. Towards morning the welcome sound was heard. One
well-aimed thrust of the spear secured the prize. Ebierbing was nearly
frozen, his nose being frostbitten; but he suffered more from thirst
than from cold. There was indeed snow all around, but in that intense
cold the mouth does not retain sufficient caloric to melt a piece of
snow placed in it. His first call when he reached the igloo was for
water. To watch all night at a seal-hole would seem to be a sufficient
trial of patience and endurance; but Hall notes another time when
Ebierbing passed two whole days and nights without food by a hole, and
then failed to secure the seal.
To the Innuit the seal is, in the broadest sense, the staff of life.
It is to them all that flocks and herds, grain-fields, forests, coal
mines, and petroleum wells are to dwellers in more favored lands. It
furnishes to them food, fuel, and clothing. The seal is the most wary
and suspicious of creatures; to capture him demands a patience and
dexterity which throws into the shade all the exploits of deer-stalkers
and lion-hunters. “Nutchook,” for so the Innuits name the seal,
has good reason for wariness, for his chief enemy, “Ninoo,” the
bear, against whom he has to keep constant watch, is a keen hunter.
The Innuits acknowledge that “Ninoo” has taught them how to catch
“Nutchook,” the common seal, and his big cousin “Oookgook,” the great
seal. Hall, no contemptible sportsman, acknowledges that he was never
able to get within rifle-shot of a seal when basking upon the ice; yet
Ninoo catches them with his own paws; and the Innuits, taught by him,
come within the distance of a spear’s cast.
[Illustration: 143. WAITING BY A SEAL-HOLE.]
The way Ninoo goes to work at seal-hunting upon the ice, according to
Innuit accounts, is this: He sees far away upon the ice a black spot,
which he knows to be a seal resting at the edge of his hole, and taking
a succession of “cat naps,” hardly ten seconds long, lifting up his
head between times, and narrowly surveying the whole horizon. Ninoo
flings himself upon his side, and creeps along when the seal’s head
is down. The moment the seal’s head is raised the bear stops short,
and begins “talking” to the seal. The sound which he utters is quite
distinct from his ordinary voice. The seal is charmed, suspects no
harm, and down goes his head for another nap. Forward goes Ninoo, and
so on for a long time, until he gets within leaping distance; then one
spring, and it is all over with Nutchook. The Innuits say that if they
could only talk to Nutchook as cleverly as Ninoo does, they would catch
more seals. The Innuit imitates Ninoo.
[Illustration: 144. LOOKING FOR SEALS.]
Hall describes one of these hunts, the main actor being an Innuit
named Koojesse: “Koojesse had ‘talk’ with seals, and it was with great
interest that I watched him. He lay down on one side, and crawled by
hitches or jerks towards his victim; then as the seal raised its head
Koojesse would stop, and commenced pawing with his right hand and foot,
while he uttered his ‘seal-talk.’ On this the seal would feel a charm,
raise and shake its flippers both fore and aft, and roll over on its
side and back as if perfectly delighted; after this it would drop its
head to sleep. Then Koojesse would hitch along till the seal’s head
would pop up again, which usually occurred every few moments.” In this
particular case the seal escaped, for the Innuit had approached too
near, and had thus broken the charm.
[Illustration: 145. INNUIT STRATEGY TO CAPTURE A SEAL.]
In the winter, when the seal lives under the ice, its capture requires
great skill and perseverance. She, for somehow the male seal seems
now not to be noticed, has a breathing-hole through the ice, to which
she must come now and then for air. Upon the surface of the solid ice,
which is covered with snow, the prospective mother constructs an igloo
for her progeny. She scrapes off the snow until she has formed a dome,
carrying away the snow down through the hole in the ice. Upon the shelf
of ice surrounding the hole the young one is born, and there it is
regularly visited by the mother. None but very keen-scented animals,
such as the bear, fox, and dog, can discover such an igloo. The dog
sometimes captures a seal. Hall describes such an event: “Ebierbing had
one day been out with dogs and sledge where the ice was still firm,
when suddenly a seal was noticed ahead. In an instant the dogs were off
towards the prey, drawing the sledge after them at a marvellous rate.
The seal for a moment acted as if frightened, and kept on the ice a
second or two too long, for just as he plunged, _Smile_, the best seal
and bear dog I ever saw, caught him by the tail and flippers. The seal
struggled violently, and so did _Smile_; but in a moment more the other
dogs laid hold, and aided in dragging the seal out of his hole, when
_Smile_ took it in charge. The prize was secured wholly by the dogs.”
[Illustration: 146. SEAL-HOLE AND IGLOO.]
[Illustration: 147. WAITING FOR A BLOW.]
Dogs seem to hunt the seal only upon their master’s account; but the
fox and the bear capture him for themselves. How the fox contrives to
get into a seal igloo we are not told; but as they manage to break open
the best packed provision-cases, we may assume that they know how to
commit burglary upon the igloo of a poor seal. If the Innuits are to be
believed, the way the bear goes to work is this: When he has scented
out the precise position of an igloo he goes back a little distance, so
as to get a good run; and then, giving a high leap, comes down with
all his weight upon the roof of the dome, crushes it in, and with his
paw seizes the young seal, who was quietly asleep upon the ice-shelf.
The cunning bear is not always satisfied with the little infant seal,
but uses it as a bait to catch its mother. Having caught the young one,
and holding it fast by the hind flippers, the bear scrapes away all
the snow, and lets the young seal paddle about in the water; its cries
draw the mother to the hole, and within reach of the bear’s paw, when
one grab is given, and the anxious mother is secured. At all events the
Innuits practise this sort of strategy with the seal, and they declare
that they have learned it from the bear.
The bear is to the Innuits the embodiment of all wisdom. They tell
stories of his sagacity which are hard to believe. Thus they say that
when he sees a walrus basking upon the ice at the foot of a high cliff,
he mounts to the summit of the cliff, and picking up a big stone flings
it down with perfect aim upon the head of the walrus and crushes its
thick skull. If it should happen that the walrus is only stunned, the
bear crawls down the cliff, picks up a stone, and with it hammers away
at the head of the walrus until the skull is broken. This story of the
Innuits needs confirmation, though Hall seems to credit it.
[Illustration: 148. DOG AND SEAL.]
The dog is essential to the existence of the Innuits. As they have
never domesticated the reindeer, without the dog they could not travel
from place to place, which they are obliged to do in order to follow
the migrations of the seal and walrus, upon which they mainly subsist.
Without him they could never find out the holes in the ice through
which the seal comes up to breathe in the winter. Their dogs seem to be
much more intelligent and docile than those of any other of the Polar
tribes. When one is found to be more than usually intelligent he is
carefully trained as a seal-dog. When the dog scents a seal-hole, which
he does though it is covered deep under the snow, he unerringly follows
the scent to the very spot.
[Illustration: 149. SPEARING THROUGH THE SNOW.]
The Innuit proceeds to “prospect” by driving the slender spear through
the snow until he finds the small opening in the ice which leads to the
main hole. He then withdraws the spear, taking the utmost care not to
disturb the snow, and seats himself close by to await the coming of the
seal. He watches for hours, and sometimes for days, before he hears the
welcome “blow.” At the second or third puff, he knows that the nose
of the seal is at the bottom of the breathing-hole, perhaps two yards
below the spot where he is standing. The spear must be thrust with
perfect accuracy; for an error of a quarter of an inch on either side
would miss the hole, and the spear-point would strike the solid ice,
and the seal would be away in an instant. If the blow is well-aimed
and at the right instant, it pierces the head of the unseen seal, who
instantly dives, and runs out the eight or ten fathoms of line which,
fastened to the harpoon, is tied around the waist of the Innuit. The
snow is then dug away, the breathing-hole enlarged, so as to permit the
seal to be drawn through.
[Illustration: 150. DOGS AND BEAR.]
The dogs also take special delight in hunting the bear. When a team
scent a bear it is impossible to restrain them. Once when Hall was on a
journey a bear with her cub was seen on the ice at the foot of a high
mountain. When within two hundred yards, the leading dog was cut loose,
and he made straight for the bear; one by one the others were set free
from the sledge, and all were in hot pursuit. One dog set upon the cub,
and finally separated it from its mother; another caught the dam; and
both rolled down a precipice, up which the bear scrambled again and
escaped, for it was so steep that the dogs could not follow. All the
dogs, eleven in number, now set upon the cub. Hall coming up, the young
brute made at him; he ran it through with his spear. He expected that
the Innuits would applaud his courage and dexterity; but they shook
their heads and said nothing at the time. They soon showed the utmost
determination to leave the neighborhood, and explained by saying that
the old bear would come back at night, smell the blood of the cub,
and become enraged, and kill them all. The Innuits avoid killing a
young bear until they have dispatched the old one, for they say that
knowing the death of her young makes her a hundred times more terrible.
Although the liver of the seal is held to be a great delicacy, the
Innuits never eat that or the head of the bear; nor, if they can
prevent it, will they suffer their dogs to do so.
[Illustration: 151. BARBEKARK AND THE REINDEER.]
The Innuit dogs also sometimes hunt the reindeer. Hall’s dogs one day
gave chase to a deer, and one of them, Barbekark, sprung at its throat,
and bit through skin, windpipe, jugular, and tongue, taking out the
piece as clearly as though it had been cut with a knife. Barbekark was
brought to the United States by Mr. Hall, and died there. His stuffed
skin showed him to be a noble beast of unusual size.
[Illustration: 152. HEAD OF REINDEER.]
The walrus enters largely into the supplies of the Innuits. They
manifest much courage and skill in harpooning these ungainly beasts.
The hunter goes out armed with a lance and a peculiar harpoon made for
that purpose. A long hide-rope is attached to the head of the harpoon,
and coiled around the neck of the hunter, who crawls along until he
comes within striking distance of the walrus, who lies basking upon the
ice. The walrus dives at once; the hunter slips the coil off from his
neck, and fastens the end of it to a spear driven into the ice; thus
tethering the animal. As soon as the walrus comes up he is dispatched
with a long lance. Should the Innuit fail to slip off the coil in
time, he would infallibly be drawn into the water, and almost certainly
lose his life; but as Hall records no instance of such a catastrophe,
we infer that these rarely happen.
[Illustration: 153. SPEARING THE WALRUS.]
The Innuits show remarkable ingenuity in availing themselves of every
facility afforded by their inhospitable country. Of their igloos
or snow-houses we have already spoken. In half an hour a couple of
men will build one of these, which answers very well for a temporary
shelter. When one is to be built for a longer residence, more care is
taken in the construction. A site is chosen where the snow is hard--
if possible, over a running stream, so that they can obtain water
without the labor of melting the ice. A circle is marked out for the
ground plan. Blocks of snow are cut with a large knife or saw. These
blocks are three feet long, eighteen inches wide, and six inches thick,
shaped rounding, so that each block forms the segment of a circle of
the proposed diameter · of the igloo. The blocks are slightly tapered
off on the inner side, and are laid spirally, one man building from
within, while the other brings the blocks from without. The courses
grow smaller and smaller as the dome rises, until there is only a
narrow open circle, into which a block of snow is dropped by way of
keystone, binding the whole dome firmly together. The man within now
carefully examines every part, and if there are any openings left they
are stopped up with snow. A hole for a door is then cut; and through
this are passed the snow-blocks to build the divan, which forms the
seats and bed. A tunnel-like passage is then dug and covered over. This
is so low and narrow that one must crawl on all fours to pass through
it. The outer door of the passage consists of a block of ice or hard
snow fitting closely to the opening and turning upon a sort of pivot.
The usual diameter of a family igloo is twelve or sixteen feet, and its
height about eight. It will accommodate ten or a dozen people.
[Illustration: 154. INNUIT IGLOOS.]
When newly built, an igloo is one of the most beautiful structures
conceivable. The blocks are more transparent than the clearest
alabaster and whiter than the purest marble, but they soon become
defaced by the smoke and the filth of all kinds which rapidly
accumulates. Apart from the divan, almost the only article of furniture
is the stone lamp, which serves the purpose both of lamp and furnace.
It reminds one of an implement common among civilized people, and known
as an “Etna.”
[Illustration: 155. WALRUS SKULL AND TUSKS.]
The Innuits show great dexterity in the construction of their
implements and in the fabrication of their clothing. Their canoes have
been the admiration of every voyager in the Arctic regions, and they
are wonderfully dexterous in the management of them. Their sledges have
the runners made of bits of bone ingeniously tied together with the
sinews of the deer. When they wish them to run very smoothly they shoe
them with ice, by simply squirting from their mouths a thin stream of
water upon the runner, where it congeals in an instant. The “oodloo,”
or woman’s knife, is shaped like our common meat-chopper. It is made
of bone, merely edged with iron; but in the hands of an Innuit woman
it takes the place of the knife, hatchet, scraper, and shears of her
civilized sisters. The different kinds of spears and harpoons used in
capturing the seal, walrus, and whale are admirably adapted for their
purpose. We doubt whether we could improve upon the design, and, with
all our facilities in the way of material, very much in the way of
execution. The Innuits have clearly given their whole minds to the
fabrication of these weapons. They have the bow and arrow, and are
quite clever in its employment; but for them it is of little use except
in the shooting of birds, for a seal or walrus would not even feel an
arrow shot from the strongest bow.
[Illustration: 156. THE WOMAN’S KNIFE.]
Although the Innuits have never domesticated the reindeer, it yet plays
a great part in their economy. Their clothing and bedding is composed
almost wholly of deer-skin, which is one of the best non-conductors
of heat known. Even when the thermometer marks 70 degrees below the
freezing-point, they never use but one for bedding; and Mr. Hall says
that he has slept under a dozen of the best woollen blankets and
been almost frozen, while a single slender skin kept him abundantly
warm. During the summer the deer furnishes a great part of the food
of the people. The grass and mosses upon which the deer live are very
abundant. Nowhere, except on the prairies of the West, had Hall ever
seen such luxuriant pasturage, and the deer in August were so plentiful
that they were killed merely for the sake of their hides and tallow,
which is a great luxury, fully equal, in Hall’s opinion, to the finest
butter. If the Innuits would only store up their provisions in the
season of plenty, they need never suffer from famine; but they never
do this, and the consequence is that from November till May they are
almost always on the verge of starvation, while during the rest of the
year they revel in plenty.
[Illustration: 157. INNUIT IMPLEMENTS.]
As a pendant to Mr. Hall’s account of a seal-feast, we give his
description of a reindeer-feast. The date is December, the season
of scarcity. “Four months before, they had more deer-meat than they
could eat--and the quantity that an Innuit and his dog can consume
is something almost incredible. But one day a man came in from a
hunting excursion bearing with him a portion of the carcasses of two
deer, frozen as hard as a rock. A general invitation for a feast
was of course given out; and the entire population, about thirty in
all, rushed in. Sampson, the giver of the feast, acted as master of
ceremonies. He first made the ladies on the bed give away, so as to
clear a space whereon he might do the carving. Then he placed a huge
seal-skin on this spot, by way of tablecloth, upon which the frozen
carcass was laid. This he began to carve with a hatchet. Slabs of its
side were chopped and peeled off; chips of ice flew here and there
into the faces of the guests at each stroke of the axe. As fast as
the fragments of venison rolled off, other men took the pieces, and
by means of a saw and seal-knives reduced them to a size adapted for
handling. Then Sampson distributed these bits, one to each, till every
mill had its grist to grind. Thus for half an hour Sampson carved; then
his hatchet-handle broke off close up to the head. Another axe was
sent for, and meanwhile, with the half of a saw, the two saddles were
divided into the proper number of pieces, ready for distribution. The
carcass was then once more attacked, and the shell was broken, split,
and sawed to pieces. In it was the ‘kernel,’ to which all looked with
anxious eyes; this was at last divided into as many pieces as there
were pieces of saddle, and then one of each was given to every guest.
I received my share with gratitude, and, with a piece in each hand,
began eating. I bit off a mouthful of the saddle-piece; it was good. I
took a morsel of the other; it was delightful: its flavor was a kind of
sorrel acid; it had an ambrosial taste; it fairly melted in my mouth.
When nearly through, I had the curiosity to crowd my way to a light to
see what this delicious frozen food was, for where I sat I was shaded
by large forms between me and the firelight. I looked at it, rolled it
over, and looked again. Behold, it was the contents of a reindeer’s
paunch! On this discovery I stopped feasting for that night.”
Mr. Hall passes judgment upon various other articles of Innuit food.
Seal’s blood, smoking hot, is excellent. The skin of the whale,
three-quarters of an inch thick, looking like India-rubber, even when
raw, is good eating; but when boiled and soused in vinegar, is most
excellent. The “gum” of the whale, that is, the substance in which
whalebone is set, is a special Innuit delicacy; it looks like cocoa-nut
meat, and tastes like unripe chestnuts. Hall could not fully appreciate
this; but he adds savingly, “If the struggle was for life, and its
preservation depended upon the act, I would undoubtedly eat whale’s
gum until I got something better to my liking.” Once a substance which
looked like a choice bit from a turkey’s breast was handed to him. He
thought he had stumbled upon a delicacy, but after vainly trying to
masticate it for half an hour, he found it as solid as when he began.
This substance was the ligament lying between the vertebræ of the
whale. He had made a mistake in the way of disposing of it. The Innuit
mode is to take a huge piece into the mouth, lubricate it thoroughly,
and then bolt it whole, as the boa-constrictor swallows a deer. Hall
thinks well of the Innuit practice of eating their meat raw, in a
sanitary point of view; but he never quite liked it. He never fully
came up to the opinion of Mansfield Parkyns, the Abyssinian traveller,
who assures us that no man knows what a good beef-steak is until he has
eaten it raw, before it has had time to get cold.
The costume of the Innuits is admirably adapted to the climate.
The winter dress, commencing with the feet, is thus composed: Long
stockings of reindeer skin, with the hairy side next to the person;
socks of eider-duck skin, with the feathers on both sides, and of
seal-skin with the hair outside; boots, the legs of reindeer skin with
the hair outside, the soles of seal-skin. The jacket is of reindeer
skin, fitting rather loosely; those of the women have long tails
reaching almost to the ground. The ornamentation of the female dress
depends on the means and taste of the wearer. One “very pretty style,”
mentioned by Mr. Hall, had a fringe of colored beads across the neck,
bowls of Britannic-metal tea-spoons down the front flap, and a double
row of copper cents, surmounted by a small bell, down the tail, which
was bordered by a beading of leaden shot. The jacket has no opening
before or behind, but is slipped on over the head. The women’s jacket
has a hood which serves a variety of purposes, among others, that
of carrying the children. The breeches reach below the knee, and
are fastened by a string drawn about the waist. Finger-rings and a
head-band of bright brass, complete the fashionable costume.
The religious ideas of the Innuits are very vague. They believe that
there is one Supreme Being who created the earth, sea, and stars; and
also a secondary divinity, his daughter, who created all things having
life, whether animal or vegetable. She is the tutelary deity of the
Innuits. They believe in a heaven and a hell, but have no very well
defined ideas about them. According to Tookoolito, heaven was upward;
it is light there all the time, and there are no ice or storms. Hell is
downward; no sun there, but storms and snows all the while; it is cold,
and there is a great deal of ice there. Any one who has been killed
by accident goes straight to heaven. They have a kind of priests, or
rather conjurers, called Angekos, whose business is to charm away
sickness, and secure good hunting-seasons, with an abundance of seals,
walrus, and deer, and an early disappearance of the ice. When his
services are called for, he is always, like a wise man, careful to get
his pay in advance, and it is generally understood that the success of
his incantations depends greatly upon the amount of his fee.
[Illustration: 158. FINDING THE DEAD.]
Upon the whole, the Innuits must be regarded as an amiable and kindly
people. They are exceedingly tender parents, and not unaffectionate
husbands and wives. The main exception to their general kindness is
their treatment of the aged and infirm. When one, especially a woman,
is hopelessly sick or infirm, she is not unfrequently abandoned. Mr.
Hall relates several incidents of this kind which came within his
own knowledge. In one case the husband, when he found that his wife
was hopelessly sick of consumption, abandoned her, and took another
while the poor creature was still alive. The deserted woman lingered
several weeks, supplied with food by the neighbors. In another case
a sick woman, in the depth of winter, was left behind in an igloo,
with a small quantity of provisions. Hall, learning of this, made an
attempt to go to her rescue. But in the mean time a heavy snow-storm
had come on, and the igloo was entirely buried, so that no traces of it
could be found. A few days after, Hall, accompanied by Ebierbing, made
another attempt. The spot was finally found, though the snow lay level
above the ice-hut, the position of which could be ascertained only by
exploring with their spears. They broke through the roof, and, looking
down, saw the woman frozen as solid as a marble statue. She had been
dead for days, and the indications showed that she had perished from
cold very soon after being abandoned. There were supplies of whale-skin
for food, and blubber to keep up the fire, but she was too feeble to
rise from the bed and replenish the lamp.
[Illustration: 159. INNUIT SUMMER VILLAGE.]
The Innuits of the present day are a purely nomadic race, roaming
from place to place, following the seal, walrus, and deer. But their
wanderings appear to be confined to the region of the coast, never
extending far into the interior. Their dwellings are therefore
constructed for mere temporary occupation, being snow-huts (_igloos_)
for winter, and tents (_tupics_) for summer. But there are indications
in the form of trenches and excavations which show that they formerly
led a more settled life, and constructed more permanent habitations.
Their numbers have been gradually diminishing ever since they have come
into contact with the whites. How this comes to pass is a mystery.
There is nothing to show that the climate has become more rigorous,
or that the animals which constitute their food have grown scarcer or
less easy of capture. The Indians of America have been destroyed by
the occupation of their hunting-grounds, by whisky, and the small-pox,
introduced by the whites. The natives of the South Sea Islands have
been eaten up by nameless diseases, contracted from their licentious
white visitors. There is scarcely a trace of either drunkenness or
licentiousness among the Innuits. Consumption is the great destroyer
among them; but we can see no reason why this should be more prevalent
now than it was generations ago.
[Illustration: 160. RETURNING TO THE SHIP.]
It seems that in former times there were chiefs among the Innuits, but
at the present time there is no trace of any thing like government
among them. In each community there is usually some one who, from age,
personal prowess as a hunter, or native shrewdness, is looked up to
with respect, and his opinions are regarded with deference; but he has
no sort of authority except that which each person voluntarily concedes
to him.
[Illustration: 161. OVER THE ICE.]
We left Mr. Hall near the close of January, 1861, when he was just
returning to the ship after his first overland expedition. We do not
propose to follow him through the course of his personal narrative,
although it abounds with striking incidents and details of hardship and
peril. Thus, one day in March, John Brown, one of the ship’s crew, in
company with two Innuits, started off from an igloo a few miles distant
to rejoin the ship. Somehow he got separated from his companions, but
the next morning he had not arrived. The night had been intensely cold,
the thermometer marking 57 degrees below freezing-point. A party of a
dozen set off in the attempt to find him. In two hours they came upon
the tracks of the wanderer, but only Hall and four others could hold
out; the others, one by one, fell back. They kept on, following the
tracks, which now began to grow faint, being partly filled up with
snow. For a time the tracks went straight for the ship; then they began
to waver, now in one direction, and then in another, showing that the
man had lost his way. They followed the tracks, in the intense cold, 60
degrees below freezing-point. They were tormented by thirst, which they
attempted to allay by the use of ice. The first fragment which Hall
put into his mouth froze it fast. He managed to reduce the temperature
of the ice by holding the fragments in his mittened hand, so that he
could place them in his mouth. After six hours, Hall’s companions said
they could go no farther and must return; for they had brought along no
snow-knife, with which they could build an igloo for the night; and if
a storm should spring up, they must all be inevitably lost. Hall went
on alone. One of the crew named Johnston soon overtook him, saying,
“Brown was my shipmate, and I loved him. I will go on with you. If
I were to go back now, I shall always regret it.” They followed the
tracks, which now began to run in circles, interlocking one another.
There were twelve of these within less than two miles. Every little
while they came upon places where the wanderer had lain down to rest.
At five o’clock, nine hours after setting out, they were overtaken by
Captain Buddington, with two sailors and two Innuits, accompanied by a
dog-team. They all pressed on with renewed vigor, and in a few minutes
came upon poor Brown, frozen dead. They could not convey the corpse to
the ship, fully ten miles away, and so buried him in the snow upon the
spot where he was found.
[Illustration: 162. THE FROZEN SAILOR.]
It was the middle of July before the ship was released from her icy
prison. The whalers went to work, and Hall made several important
expeditions by land and water, living nearly all the while with the
Innuits. Towards the middle of October the captain began to prepare
for returning home. But he was a few days too late. The ship was beset
in the ice-pack, with no hope of escape. There was nothing left but to
make up their minds to spend another winter in the ice.
We must pass wholly over the incidents and adventures of this second
winter. It is the old tale of suffering and privation. On the 12th of
January the thermometer fell to 72 degrees below the freezing point.
One of the men who had left to visit an Innuit encampment came back,
saying that he thought he had frozen his toe. Upon pulling off his
boots both feet were found to be frozen stiff, and as hard as ice. The
usual attempts to save the members were made in vain; mortification
began, and, to save the man’s life, the captain was obliged to amputate
portions of both his feet.
This year, 1862, the ice held on unusually late; but on the 8th of
August it was found that the pack had broken up. The way home was
apparently open; and all hands were summoned on board. The vessel
spread her canvas and sailed off, the Innuits surrounding her in their
canoes, and shouting farewell.
Tookoolito and Ebierbing resolved to accompany Hall to the States,
taking with them Tukeliketa (“Butterfly”), their infant, a year old.
The child died a few months after their arrival in the States, and
lies buried in the graveyard at Groton, Connecticut. “I never saw,”
says Hall, “a more animated, sweet-tempered, and engaging child.” For
days the mother was delirious; then she longed to die, that she might
be with her lost Butterfly. Upon his grave were laid, according to the
custom of his people, all his childish playthings. They were sacred
to the dead. The mother went to the grave one day, and found that one
article, a gayly-painted little tin pail, had been taken away. She was
inconsolable. “Poor little Butterfly,” she said, “how he will miss his
beautiful pail!”
The homeward voyage was speedy and prosperous. On the 13th of September
the “George Henry” dropped anchor at New London, whence she had sailed
two years and three and a half months before.
The net results of Hall’s expedition were these: Many new discoveries
were made in Arctic geography; much information was gathered in
relation to the inhabitants; and experience acquired of immense value
to all future Arctic explorers. Mr. Hall also made a very interesting
discovery in regard to the fate of the expedition of Martin Frobisher,
undertaken almost three centuries ago. He found a tradition among the
natives that many years ago white men in ships had visited a place
still called “White Man’s Island.” Hall compared these traditions with
the accounts extant in books respecting this voyage, and was struck
with their remarkable coincidence. He visited the place designated as
the white man’s encampment, and found many things which had evidently
been left by Europeans. Among these was a heap of coal amounting to
several tons, a large fragment of iron, and some bricks. Every thing
was covered over with moss whose thick growth showed that they must
have remained there undisturbed for ages.
The bearing of this upon the possibility of revealing the whole mystery
of the fate of Franklin is evident. If the Innuits have preserved
tolerably accurate traditions of what took place three centuries ago,
it is not to be doubted that they still have information of what took
place within a single generation. It is now past hoping that any
members of Franklin’s expedition are yet living; but there must be
Innuits who can tell how and where they died.
To further this investigation Hall resolved upon a second expedition.
He spent nearly two years in preparing his book for publication, and
in making preparations for this enterprise. Abundant facilities were
now placed at his disposal; and on the 30th of July, 1864, he again set
sail. In the preface to his book, written on board the vessel, he says:
“I am persuaded that among the Innuits may be sought, by one competent,
with every chance of complete success, the sad history of Sir John
Franklin’s men. To make myself competent for this more interesting and
important research, I patiently acquired the language and familiarized
myself with the habits of the Esquimaux. I now return to their country
able to speak with them, to live among them, to support my life in the
same manner that they do theirs; to migrate with them from place to
place, and to traverse and patiently explore all the region in which
it is reasonable to suppose Franklin’s crew travelled and perished.
I shall be accompanied by the two intelligent Esquimaux, Ebierbing
and Tookoolito, who, having accompanied me on my return from my first
expedition, and after remaining with me for two years, now go back
with me on this second voyage. I enter upon this undertaking with the
liveliest hope of success. I shall not, like previous explorers, set my
foot on shore for a few days or weeks, or, like others, journey among
men whose language to me is unintelligible. I shall live for two or
three years among the Esquimaux, and gain their confidence; and I have
the advantage of understanding their language, and of making all my
wishes known to them.”
[Illustration: 163. FAREWELL OF THE INNUITS.]
It is now (September, 1869) more than five years since Hall set out on
this second expedition. Up to 1867 he wrote, as occasional opportunity
offered, to his fast friend and warm supporter, Henry Grinnell; but
his letters gave only faint indications of what he had been able to
accomplish. In 1868, when he had hoped to return, no whaling-vessels
came back to the States from the Arctic seas. A trace or two of him has
been reported by English vessels, sufficient, however, to afford reason
to believe that he still lives. An American whaler expected to pass the
winter of 1868–9 in the region where Hall, if living would probably be,
and it is hoped that in October of this year, 1869, before these pages
will be before the reader, this vessel, bearing the brave explorer,
will have reached the American shores.
FOOTNOTES
[1] See Chapter XXXII.
[2] In 1855, Iceland imported, among others, 65,712 pieces
of timber, 148,038 lbs. of iron, 37,700 lbs. hemp, 15,179
fishing-lines, 20,342 lbs. salt, 6539 tons of coal.
The chief exportations of the same year were, tallow, 932,906 lbs.,
wool, 1,569,323 lbs., 69,305 pairs of stockings, 27,109 pairs of
gloves, 12,712 salted sheepskins, 4116 lbs. eider-downs, 25,000
lbs. other feathers, 244 horses, and 24,079 ship’s pounds (the
ship’s pound = 320 lbs.) salt fish.
[3] Barrow, “Visit to Iceland,” 1834.
[4] “Journal of a Tour in Iceland,” p. 110.
[5] All the clergymen are blacksmiths, for a reason that will be
stated hereafter.
[6] Their number in 1860 was 991. During his voyage to Iceland in
1850 Prince Napoleon was named honorary president, a distinction he
shares with the Bishop of Reykjavik. Among the 46 honorary members
I find the name of Lord Dufferin.
[7] In 1866 the total catch of cod was 21,000,000, about 12,000,000
of which were salted (clip fish), and the remainder dried
(stock-fish); each fish making on an average 2 lbs. of clip-fish,
and one-fourth less of stock-fish.
[8] Within the last few years, no less than three scientific
expeditions have been sent out to Spitzbergen at the expense of the
Swedish Government. During the summer of 1858, Messrs. Otto Torell,
Guennerstedt, and Nordenskjold visited the western parts of the
archipelago. In 1861 the whole coast, from Ice Sound to Dove Bay
in North-east Land was accurately investigated by Messrs. Torell,
Malmgren, Chydenius, etc., and in 1864 Messrs. Nordenskjold, Duner,
and Malmgren visited the southern shores and Wjde Jan’s Water. A
fourth expedition has just left the port of Gothenburg (June, 1868).
[9] _Reisen in Lappland, etc._
[10] The verst is about three-fifths of a mile.
[11] The poud is equal to 40 pounds. The poud is divided into 96
solotniks.
[12] A species of sturgeon highly esteemed by epicures.
[13] Humboldt likewise mentions an artisan of Breslau whose
sight was so sharp as to enable him to point out the position of
Jupiter’s satellites.
[14] Since last year [1867] the Russian Government has sold her
American possessions to the United States, but as it is not yet
known how far the interests of the Russian Fur Company have been
affected by the change, I may be allowed to speak of her in the
present tense.
[15] Captain Hall, who in his search after the remains of the
Franklin expedition has now spent several years among the
Esquimaux, has so far acquired their appetite that he is able to
consume 9 lbs. of meat a day without any inconvenience.
[16]
1850–1854. “Investigator,” Captain M’Clure, } Bering’s Straits.
1850–1855. “Enterprise,” Captain Collinson, }
1850, 1851. “Resolute,” Captain Austin, } Lancaster Strait and
1850, 1851. “Assistance,” Captain Ommaney, } Cornwallis Island.
Accompanied by two steam tenders, officered by
Lieutenant Sherard Osborne and Lieutenant
F. L. M’Clintock.
1850, 1851. “Lady Franklin,” Master Penny, accompanied by the
“Sophia,” Master A. Stewart, under Admiralty
Orders, to Lancaster Strait and Wellington Channel.
1850. “Prince Albert,” Captain Forsyth, belonging to Lady
Franklin, to Regent’s Inlet and Beechey Island.
1850, 1851. “Advance,” Lieutenant De Haven, U.S.N.}
1850, 1851. “Rescue,” S. P. Griffin, Esq., U.S.N. }
Fitted at the expense of H. Grinnell, Esq., of New
York, to Lancaster Strait and Wellington Channel.
[17]
1852. “Isabel,” Captain E. Inglefield. Lady Franklin’s vessel.
1852–1854. “Assistance,” Sir Edward Belcher, to Lancaster Sound,
Wellington Channel.
1852–1854. “Resolute,” Captain Kellett, Lancaster Strait, Melville,
and Banks’s Island.
1852–1854. “Pioneer,” Lieutenant Sherard Osborne.
1852–1854. “Intrepid,” Captain M’Clintock.
1852–1854. “North Star,” Captain Pullen.
[18] These two vessels had been sent in the year 1847 to the Polar
Sea beyond Bering’s Straits, when they discovered the “Herald” and
“Plover” Islands.
[19] Rensselaer Harbor is situated 1° 46´ higher than Sir E.
Belcher’s winter-quarters in Northumberland Sound, 76° 52´.
[20] “Athenæum,” Dec. 3, 1853.
[21] For an account of the similar phenomena of the “Buffadero,” on
the Mexican coast, and of the “Souffleur,” Mauritius, see “The Sea
and its Living Wonders,” 3d ed. p. 52.
[22] “Excursions in Newfoundland.”
[23] “The Sea and its Living Wonders,” p. 403.
[24] Voyage of the Swedish ship “Eugénie.”
[25] _Arctic Researches, and Life among the Esquimaux._ By CHARLES
FRANCIS HALL. New York, 1866.
INDEX.
A.
Adélie, Terre, discovery of, 402.
Agouti, the, of Patagonia, 419.
Agriculture, state of, in Iceland, 79.
Aigun, treaty of, 196.
Air, remarkable moisture of the, in Taimurland, 225.
----, its perpetual motion in the Arctic zones, 225.
Akurig, eider-ducks of, 81.
Alaska, discovery of, 202.
----, climate of the, 269.
----, mountains and forests of, 269.
----, purchase of, by the Americans, 277.
----, telegraph through, 278.
----, travelling in, 278–289.
----, natives of, 278–289.
----, climate of, 284.
----, food in, 287.
Albasin, the Russian fort of, built, 195.
----, destroyed by the Chinese, but rebuilt, 196.
Albatross, wandering, of the Antarctic seas, 395.
Alcyonians on the coasts of Greenland, 59.
Aleutian Islands, causes which led to the discovery of the, 201.
----, extent of the, 270.
Aleuts, their wretched condition under their masters, 273.
----, their skill and intrepidity in hunting, 273–276.
Alexander, Cape, discovery of, 365.
---- Island, discovery of, 401.
Algerine pirates, ravages of, in Iceland, 95;
and in the Westman Islands, 119.
Almannagja, description of the, 73.
Altai Mountains, crossed by the Cossacks, 195.
Alten, copper mines of, 128.
Altenfjord, vegetation of the borders of the, 128.
America, North, treeless zone of, 18–22.
----, character of the Coniferæ of, 23, 24.
----, range of the caribou, or reindeer, of, 36–39.
----, the musk-ox of, 41.
----, the white dolphin in the rivers of, 61.
----, the black dolphin of, 61.
----, walruses of the shores of, 64.
----, history of the fur-trade of, 307 _et seq._
----, first discoverers and settlers of, 335.
America, North, destruction of the Greenland colonies, 335.
----, subsequent discoveries, 335 _et seq._
----, attempts to discover the north-western passage to India,
342 _et seq._
America, Russian, its transfer to the United States, 272, _note_.
Amoor, river, discovery of the, by the Russians, who relinquish it to
the Chinese, 195, 196.
----, the country annexed by Russia, 196.
Anakerdluk, in North Greenland, buried forest of, 29.
Angekoks, or priests of the Esquimaux, 301.
Animals, comparatively small number of, in the Arctic regions, 25.
----, the forests the head-quarters of many, 41.
---- of the Arctic Seas, 59.
---- of the coasts of Spitzbergen, 134.
----, fur-bearing, of Siberia, 209.
----, the, of Taimurland, 227.
---- of Nishne-Kolymsk, 235.
---- of Newfoundland, 378.
----, no land, in the Antarctic region, 394.
---- of Patagonia, 418.
Aniuj, vegetation of the valley of the, 235.
----, chief resource of the people of the, 237.
Anjou, Lieut., his Arctic explorations, 233.
Archangel, foundation of, 192.
----, New, site of the town of, 272.
----, fur-trade of, 273.
----, medium of exchange at, 276.
Archers, the Ostiaks as, 187.
Arctic regions, rivers of the, 17.
----, limits of the, 18.
----, the forests of the, 18–23.
----, their treeless wastes, or Tundra, 18.
----, in summer and winter, 19.
----, their extent and boundaries, 21.
----, animal life in the, 25.
----, influence of the sea and winds on the severity of the
winter of the, 27.
----, the lowest temperatures felt by man, 27, 28.
----, how man becomes accustomed to the rigors of the winter of the, 28.
----, proofs of a former milder climate in the northern regions of
the globe, 29.
----, beauties of Nature in the, 31–33.
----, land quadrupeds and birds of the, 34.
----, the seas of the, 49.
---- compared with the Antarctic regions, 391.
Arctic voyages of discovery, history of, 335 _et seq._
Are Thorgilson, his Icelandic works, 94.
Argali (_Ovis argali_) of Siberia, 41.
Arrows of the Ostiaks, 187, 188.
Ascidians on the coasts of Greenland, 59.
Ash, the, in the Arctic regions, 24.
Asia, treeless zone of, 18–22.
Athabascan Indians, hunting-grounds of the, 327.
Atlassoff, the Cossack, his treatment of the natives of Kamchatka, 198.
Atmosphere, transparency of the, in the Polar regions, 54, 55.
----, phenomena of, reflection and refraction, and their probable
causes, 55.
Auk, the giant, its rarity at present in Iceland. 85.
Aurora borealis, 33.
----, splendor of the, in the Arctic regions, 33.
Aurora borealis, terror of the Lapps at the, 157.
----, at Nulato, 281.
Austin, Captain, his search for Franklin, 357.
Avalanches of ice in Spitzbergen, 135.
Awaklok and Myouk, their imprisonment on an iceberg, 298.
Awatscha Bay, sea-birds of, 255.
----, its magnificence and extent, 256.
B.
Baaty Khan, his subjection of Russia, 191.
Bachelor river, the, 412.
Back (Mr., afterwards Sir George), his Arctic voyages, 346, 347, 349.
----, his search for Captain Ross, 354.
----, his discovery of Great Fish River, 355.
----, voyage in 1835, 355.
Back’s river, discovery of, 355.
Badarany, desert of swamps, the, 234.
Baer, Herr von, his scientific journey to Nova Zembla, 151.
Baffin, his voyages of discovery, 343.
Baffin’s Bay, probable influence of the northerly winds on the
depression of the temperature of, 27.
Baffin’s Bay, walruses of the coasts of, 64.
----, discovery of, 343.
Balleny, his discoveries in the Antarctic ocean, 401.
---- Islands, discovery of, 401.
Banks’s Land, proofs of a former milder temperature in, 29.
Bards, or Scalds, of Iceland, 94.
Barentz, William, visit of, to Spitzbergen, 138.
----, his voyages of discovery, 339.
----, his winter in Nova Zembla, 340.
----, his death, 342.
Barley, cultivation of, in Norway, 124.
Barren grounds, barrens, or tundri, Arctic belt of the, 18.
----, causes of their barrenness, 18.
----, their appearance in winter and in summer, 19.
----, indistinct and irregular boundaries of the, 21.
----, those of Newfoundland, 377.
Barrow Point, traffic of, 302.
Barter Reef, traffic of, 302.
Bear, black, muskwa (_Ursus americanus_), value of the fur
of the, 315.
----, description of him, 315, 318.
----, brown, of North America, 315.
----, value of the skins of the young brown bear, 211.
----, grizzly, of the Rocky Mountains (_Ursus ferox_), 315.
----, his skin, 315.
----, the polar, his mode of hunting, 65, 446, 448.
----, his favorite food and mode of seizing it, 65, 447, 450, 451.
----, anecdote of one, 65.
----, instances of his sagacity, 65.
----, parental care of the she-bear, 65.
----, her winter nursery, 65, 66.
----, her internal store of food for her hibernation, 66.
----, immense strength of claws and teeth, 66, 67.
----, his unwelcome visits to Iceland, 81.
----, of Spitzbergen, 137.
----, of Nova Zembla, 149.
----, Lapp mode of hunting the, 164–166.
----, Esquimaux methods of hunting the, 163.
Bear of Newfoundland, 378.
----, abundance of, in Kamchatka, 258.
----, sea-, value of the skins of the, in China, 374.
----, chase of the, in the Pribilow Islands, 274.
---- families and battles, 274, 275.
----, the Austral sea-, 399.
----, hunted by dogs, 453.
Bear Island, or Cherie Island, account of, 143.
----, climate of, 144.
----, walruses of, 144.
----, boat-voyages of Norwegian sailors from, 145.
----, discovery of, 340.
----, surveyed by the Russians, 200.
Beaver (_Castor fiber_), its skin the standard of exchange with the
Canadian Indians, 313.
----, former enormous trade in the fur of the, 317.
---- of Newfoundland, 378.
Beaver Indians, their hunting-grounds, 327.
Bee, sand (_Andrena_), of Nova Zembla, 154.
Beech, Antarctic (_Fagus betuloides_), 410.
Beechey, Captain, his voyage to Bering’s Straits, 350.
Beerenberg mountain, 146.
Bering, Titus, never passed through the straits bearing his name, 197.
----, his second voyage, 201.
----, his second voyage of discovery, 248, 249.
----, his bad conduct, 250.
----, his death, 252.
Bering Island, Bering and Steller on, 251.
---- Sea, description of the, 268.
----, barren lands at, 22.
----, seals and walruses of, 63, 64.
----, its climate, 269.
----, character of the shores of the, 270.
----, animals of the, 271.
Bering’s Straits, view of the Old and New worlds in the, 271.
----, Captain Beechey’s voyage to, 350.
Belcher, Sir Edward, his search for Franklin, 359.
Bellinghausen, his discovery of the islands Paul the First and
Alexander, 401.
Bellot, Lieut., his gallant search for Franklin, 359.
----, his death and monument, 362.
Beluga, or white dolphin (_Delphinus leucas_), description of the, 61.
----, domain of the, 61.
Beluga Bay, visit of Von Baer’s party to, 151.
Bennet, Stephen, his visit to Bear Island, 143, 144.
Berry-gathering in Nishne-Kolymsk, 238.
Bilberries of the Arctic regions, 24.
Billings, voyage of, on the coast of Siberia, 201.
Birch, paper, value of the, in North America, 304.
Birch-trees in the Arctic regions, 24.
Birds, flights of wild, in summer months, in the Tundra, 19.
----, their migrations to and from high latitudes, 43, 44, 67.
----, the polar singing-bird, the snow-bunting, 43.
----, raptorial, of the Arctic regions, 43.
----, enormous numbers of, along the Arctic shores, 67.
----, Icelandic, 81.
---- of the coast of Norway, 124.
---- of Spitzbergen, 133, 134, 137.
---- of Nova Zembla, 154.
----, a bird bazar, 154.
----, abundance of sea-fowl on the coast of Kamchatka, 255.
----, Esquimaux mode of bird-catching, 295.
----, abundance of, on the coast of Greenland, 388.
Birds of the coasts of the Antarctic sea, 394.
---- of Patagonia, 419.
Birkarls, their final subjugation of the Lapps, 156.
Biscoe, his discovery of Enderby Land, and of Graham Land, 401.
Black death, ravages of the, in the North, 383.
Blackfeet Indians, their wars with the Tinné and Crees, 319, 320.
Bloody Falls, on the Coppermine river, 294.
Boats of the Esquimaux, 293.
----, the birch-bark canoes of North America, 304.
Bogberries of the Arctic regions, 24.
Booth, Sir Felix, his Arctic expedition, 251.
Bougainville, his voyage through the Strait of Magellan, 414.
Brandt, the Danish forester, his journey with Von Middendorff, 220.
Brandy, fondness of the Samoïedes for, 171–173.
---- drunk at Kolymsk, 238.
Brant Ysbrantzoon, his voyages of discovery, 339.
Bread of the poor Icelanders, 79.
Bredal, Eric, his education of Lapps in Christianity, 156.
Bridges, swing, of Iceland, 111.
Browne, T. Ross, 74, 95, 104, 115.
Buchan, Captain, his Arctic voyage, 344.
Bunting, its migrations to and from the north, 43.
----, the Lapland (_Centrophanes Lapponicus_), latitudes inhabited by
the, 43, 44.
Bunting, the snow, the polar singing-bird, 44.
Bunting, its nest and food, 44.
---- of Iceland, 81.
---- of Spitzbergen, 137.
Burglars, treatment of, in Russia, 206.
Burrough, Stephen, his voyage to discover the north-eastern
passage, 336.
Busa, Jelissei, his ascent of the rivers Lena and Olekma, 195.
----, his discovery of the Tana, 195.
----, his residence among the Jukahirs, 195.
Butter made from the reindeer milk, 36.
Butterflies in Taimurland, 227.
Byron, Commodore, his voyage through the Strait of Magellan, 414.
C.
Cabot, John and Sebastian, their re-discovery of parts of North
America, 335.
----, their re-discovery of Newfoundland, 379.
Canada, enterprise of the French settlers in, 306.
----, results of the English conquest of, 306.
----, history of the fur-trade of, 307.
Cano, Sebastian el, his voyage round the globe, 413.
Canoes, birch-bark, of North America, 304, 305.
Cape, North, description of the, 129, 130.
Caribou, or reindeer of North America, range of the, 36.
Carrancha, the, of Patagonia, 419, 420.
Cartier, Jacques, his voyages, 335.
Caryophyllæ, the, of the treeless zone, 21.
Cascades of Iceland, 78.
Castor and Pollux river, discovery of, 356.
Castrén, Matthias Alexander, account of him and of his journeys, 168–178.
Catherine’s Foreland, Queen, 409.
Cattle, value of, to the Icelands, 80.
Cavendish, his voyages, 414.
Chancellor, his discovery of the passage from England to the
White Sea, 192.
Chancellor, his voyage to discover the north-eastern route
to China, 336.
----, his visit to Moscow, and subsequent fate, 336.
Charles IX., King of Sweden, his kindness to the Lapps, 156.
Chatanga river, scanty population of the, 220.
----, Middendorff’s journey to the, 220, 221.
Chatangsk, Middendorff’s journey to, 221
Cheese made from reindeer milk, 36.
Cherie Island, account of, 144.
Chess-players of the Tungusi, 246.
Chickweed, the, on the Mary Minturn river, 20.
Chimengo, the, of Patagonia, 419.
China, Castrén’s journey over the mountains into, 177.
Chinese take the Russian fort of Albasin, 195;
and make the treaty of Nertschinsk with the Russians, 196.
----, the treaty broken by the Russians, who compel the Chinese to
give them the Amoor, 196.
Chinga (_Mephitis chinga_), its fœtid secretion, 316.
Christian IV., King of Denmark, his treatment of the Lapp priests and
sorcerers, 156.
----, his expedition to Greenland, 383.
Christianity, introduction of, into Iceland, 92.
Churches of the Icelanders, 104.
Clavering, his voyage to Greenland, 386.
Clergy of the Lapps, their poverty and self-denial, 157.
----, their sermons, 157.
----, those of Iceland all blacksmiths, 101, _note_, 106.
----, their poverty, 106.
Coal, does not exist in Iceland, 88.
---- of Spitzbergen, 137.
---- in Coal Bay, 145.
Coal Bay, 145.
Cochlearia fenestrata, the only esculent plant in Spitzbergen, 136, 142.
Cod and cod-fishing of the coast of Iceland, 86, 87.
----, the, called stockfish, 87.
----, the cod-fishery of Norway, 125–130.
----, wretched state of the fishermen, 127.
----, exports of, to various countries, 129.
----, cod-fishery of Greenland, 388.
----, value of the cod-fishery of Newfoundland, 379, 380.
----, mode of fishing and curing the cod, 380.
----, dangers of the fishery, 381.
----, immense numbers of, 381.
Cod-liver oil of Tromsö, 128.
Collinson, Captain, his search for Franklin, 359, 361.
Commodore Islands, chase of the sea-bear on the, 274.
Condor, the, of Patagonia, 420.
Coniferæ, Arctic forests almost confined to the, 24.
----, difference between the European and Asiatic and American
species, 24.
Constitution, Cape, discovery of, 369.
Cook, his attempt to discover the northwest passage, 344.
Cook, Captain, his discovery of South Georgia, 393.
----, his Antarctic voyages, 401.
Copper mines near Drontheim, 124.
---- of Alten, 128.
---- of Raipass, 128.
Coppermine river, Dr. Richardson’s voyage to the, 349.
Cornelius Ryp, his voyages of discovery, 340, 341.
Cornelius Corneliszoon, his voyages of discovery, 339.
Corniculariæ, carpets of, and the treeless zone, 21.
Cortereal, his voyages of discovery, 325.
Cossacks, Don, their depredations, 192.
----, their conquest of Siberia for the Czar, 193.
----, their privileges and duties in Nishne-Kolymsk, 236.
Coureur des bois, the, of North America, 304.
Cranberries of the Arctic regions, 24.
Cree Indians, uses of the paper-birch-tree to the, 305.
----, range of the various tribes of, 319.
----, their conquests of the Tinné, but subsequent defeat, 319, 320.
----, their wars with the Blackfeet, 320, 321
----, their character, 321.
----, their customs, habits, and dress, 321, 322, 323.
----, their wives and families, 323.
----, their cradles, 323.
----, their wigwams, or tents, 324.
----, their medicine-men and vapor-baths, 324.
----, their games and sports, 324, 325.
----, their wooden figures for worship, 325.
----, their malicious or capricious spirit, called Kepoochican, 325.
----, their notion of the Great Spirit and of the Deluge, 325.
----, their Tartarus and Elysium, 325.
----, prospects of Christianity amongst them, 326.
Cross, the game of, of the Cree Indians, 325.
Crowe, Mr., his copper mines at Alten, 128.
Crozier, Captain, his last voyage, 356.
----, the last heard of him, 364.
----, his Antarctic voyages, 402.
Cruciferæ, the, of the treeless zone, 20.
Crustaceans, immense numbers of, on the coast of Greenland, 59.
Cumberland Strait, Davis’s discovery of, 337, 338.
Currents, magnificent system of, and their effects on the accumulation
of ice, 56, 57.
D.
Dances of the Tchuktchi, 266.
Darwin, Mr., his ascent of Mount Tarn, 411.
Davis, John, his voyages to discover an Arctic passage to India, 337.
----, his visit to Labrador, 338.
----, his subsequent life, 338.
Davis’s Straits, probable influence of the northerly winds on the
depression of the temperature of, 27.
----, Sebastian Cabot’s discovery of, 335.
Dead, reverence paid to the, by the Samoïedes, 181.
Dease, Peter Warren, his land Arctic expedition, 355.
Death, black, its ravages in Iceland, 95.
Deception Island, account of, 393.
Deer, red (_Cervus elaphus_), its habitat and uses to man, 40.
Deer of Vogelsang and Treurenberg Bay, 137.
Deluge, Cree legend of the, 325.
Demidoff, foundation of the family of, 219.
----, their enormous wealth, 219.
Deschnew, Semen, his the first and last voyage through Bering’s
Strait, 197.
Desolation, South, 412.
Detti-foss, an Icelandic cascade, Mr. Gould’s description of the, 78.
Disco bay, icebergs formed in, 49.
Divers, their migrations to and from the north, 42.
Dog-rib Indians, hunting-grounds of the, 327.
----, their character, dress, and customs, 327, 329.
----, their want of hospitality, 329.
----, their honesty, 329.
----, their notions of a future life, 329.
Dog, the reindeer of the Lapps, 161.
----, Wrangell’s dog-sledges on the Polar sea, 239.
----, Icelandic, 80.
----, the, of the people of Kolymsk, 236.
----, the Kamchatkan, and dog-sledges, 258, 259.
----, their mode of foretelling storms, 259.
----, mode of training sledge-dogs, 259.
----, trained by Esquimaux to attack the bear, 297.
----, description of the, and dog-sledges of the Esquimaux, 299.
----, Dr. Kane’s Newfoundland and Esquimaux, 367.
----, epidemic amongst the Esquimaux, 372.
Dolgorouky, Prince, his exile to Siberia, 205.
Dolphin, white, or beluga, of Nova Zembla, 155.
----, Greenland fishery of the, 387.
Dolphins of the Polar seas, 61, 398.
----, the beluga, or white dolphin, 61.
----, the black dolphin, “ca’ing” whale, or grind, 61.
----, the orc, or grampus, 62.
---- of Spitzbergen, 137.
Drake, Sir Francis, his voyage through the Strait of Magellan, 414.
Drifanda Foss, an icelandic cascade, 114.
Drontheim, the red deer near, 40.
----, description of, 124.
Ducks, wild, of the Arctic regions, 19.
----, their migrations to and from the north, 42.
---- of Iceland, 81, 84.
Dudinka, Castrén’s visit to, 176.
Dungeness, Point, 409.
Durfoorth, his voyage and death, 336.
D’Urville, Dumont, his discoveries in the Antarctic ocean, 402.
Dutch, their expeditions to discover an Arctic passage to India, 339.
E.
Eagle, the sea- (_Haliætus albicilla_), of the north, 44.
----, his food, 44.
----, white-tailed, of Iceland, 85.
----, value of the skins of the, 85.
----, the, on the coast of Norway, 125.
----, in the Tundra in summer, 19.
Ebierbing, 441, 466.
Egede, Hans, his voyage to Greenland, 384.
Egg-väre of the coast of Norway, 124.
Egilson, Olaf, the Westman clergyman, his slavery in Algiers, 118.
Eider-duck, its migrations to and from the north, 43.
---- of Iceland, 81.
----, breeding of, 83.
----, Mr. Shepherd’s visit to one of its head-quarters, 83.
Elder, the, in the Arctic regions, 24.
Elephant, sea-, of the Antarctic ocean, 399.
Elk, or moose deer, of the forests of the north, 38.
----, Cæsar’s account of it, 39.
----, its food and present habitat, 40.
Elk, its mode of defending itself, 40.
Enara, Lake of, the Fisher Lapps of, 166.
----, description of the, 169.
Enderby Land, discovery of, 401.
English pirates, ravages of, in Iceland, 95.
Erebus, mount, eruption of, 403.
Eric the Red, his visit to Greenland, 382.
Ermine (_Mustela erminea_) beauty and importance of the fur
of the, 210.
----, those of the Hudson’s Bay Territory, 316.
Esk, volcano, 146.
Esquimaux (_see also_ Innuits), their wide extension, 290.
----, their own name of Innuit, 290.
----, character of the regions they inhabit, 290.
----, their physical character, habits, and manners, 290, 291.
---- women, 291.
----, their dress and snow-huts, 291, 292.
----, their boat, the kayak or baidar, 293.
----, their weapons, and fishing and hunting implements, 293, 294.
----, enmity between them and the Red Indians, 294.
----, their chase of the reindeer, and bird-catching, 295.
----, their whale and seal hunts, 295, 296.
----, their “keep kuttuk,” 296.
----, their bear and walrus hunts, 296, 298.
----, their dogs and dog-sledges, 299.
----, their games and sports, 300.
----, constitution of their society, 300.
----, their angekoks, or priests, 300, 301.
----, their moral character, self-reliance, and intelligence, 301, 302.
----, their maps, and predilection for commercial pursuits, 302.
----, their voracity, and seasons of abundance and distress, 302, 303.
----, their dépôts of food, 302, 303.
----, their wars with the Kutchin Indians, 333.
----, their attack of Franklin’s boats, 349.
----, their hunting expeditions with Dr. Kane’s party, 370.
----, their ravages on the Greenland coast, 383.
Europe, treeless zone of, 18–24.
Evil Spirit of the woods of the Laplanders, 157.
Exiles, Siberian, 204, 205.
----, annual number of, 206.
Eyjafialla, eruption of, in 1821, 96.
Eystein, King, his benevolence, 126.
F.
Faeroe Islands, chase of the black dolphin, or “ca’ing” whale,
in the, 61.
Falkland Islands, climate of, 394.
Famine, Port, rich vegetation of, 410, 414.
Festuca of the Arctic regions, 20.
Finback whales of Spitzbergen, 137.
Finches in the Tundra in summer, 19.
Finmark, trade and fisheries of the coast of, 129.
Finnur Johnson, the Icelander, his “Ecclesiastical History of
Iceland,” 98.
Fir, different species of, in Europe, Asia, and America, 24.
Fish, and fishing season of Iceland, 86.
----, abundance of, in Kamchatka, 255.
---- of Newfoundland, 379.
---- of Greenland, 387.
Fish river, Great, Back’s discovery of, 355.
Fisher Lapps, account of the, 166.
Fiskernasset, cod-fishery of, 388.
Fitzroy, Captain, his surveys of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, 415.
Fjall Lappars, or Mountain Lapps, account of the, 159.
Flatey, eider-ducks of, 81, 82.
Flat-fish, abundance of, on the coasts of Iceland, 87.
Floki, the Viking, his visit to Iceland, 90.
Flora of Spitzbergen, 136.
Flowers of the Arctic regions, 20.
---- of the island of St. Lawrence, 271.
---- of Taimurland, 226.
---- of Unalaschka, 269.
Fogs of the Arctic seas in summer, 54.
---- near the island of St. Lawrence, 270.
---- off Newfoundland, 380.
Food, amount of, required by man in the Arctic regions, 28.
Forest regions, Arctic, 18.
----, extent of the, 22.
----, character of the trees of the, 24.
----, distinctive character of the forests, 25.
----, characters of the Arctic forests of the Miocene period, 28, 29.
----, legions of gnats in the, 25.
----, changes being effected by the agency of man, 25.
Forests, the, head-quarters of many of the Arctic fauna, 41.
----, more _in_ than _above_ the earth in Nova Zembla, 153.
----, of Newfoundland, 376.
Forget-me-not found in Nova Zembla, 153.
Forster, Captain, his expedition to the Antarctic sea, 393.
Fossils, Arctic, in New Siberia, 203.
Foulke, Port, Dr. Hayes’s winter at, 372.
Fox, the Arctic (_Canis lagopus_), its mode of protecting itself from
the most intense cold, 42.
Fox, the Arctic, its food and enemies, 42.
---- of Spitzbergen, 137.
---- in Nova Zembla, 154.
---- found in Taimurland, 227.
---- of Newfoundland, 378.
----, black, of Siberia, value of the fur of the, 211.
----, the Brazilian (_Canis Azaræ_), of Patagonia, 419.
---- red (_Vulpes fulvus_), the, 211, 317.
---- value of the fur of the, 317.
Fox Islands, discovery of the, 201.
France, right of the people of, to fish on the banks of
Newfoundland, 379.
Franklin, Lieut. (afterwards Sir John), his first Arctic voyage, 344.
----, his first land journey, 346.
----, his second land journey to the shores of the Polar sea, 349.
----, loss of his first wife, 350.
----, his last voyage, 356.
----, searching expeditions sent for him, 356.
----, his fate and that of his companions, 362–364.
Franklin Island, discovery of, 403.
Fraser river, voyage of Mackenzie down the, 308.
Frederick II., King of Denmark, his expedition to Greenland, 383.
Frederick IV., his foundation of the Finmark mission, 156.
Friedrich, the Saxon bishop, introduces Christianity into Iceland, 92.
Fritillaria Sarrana, used as food in Kamchatka, 258.
Frobisher, Martin, his endeavors to discover an Arctic passage
to India, 337.
----, discovery of relics of, 466.
----, his subsequent career, 337.
Froward, Cape, scenery of, 410.
Frozen sailor, 464.
Fruits of the Arctic regions, 21.
Fuego, Tierra del, climate of, 393.
----, origin of the name, 413.
----, Captain Fitzroy’s survey of, 415.
----, account of the Fuegians, 425.
----, degradation of the Fuegians, 425, 426.
----, their powers as mimics, 426.
----, their notions of trade, 427.
----, causes of their low state of civilization, 427.
----, their food, 428.
----, their dress, huts, arms, and ornaments, 428, 429.
----, their cannibalism, 430.
----, their language, 430.
----, Captain Fitzroy’s three Fuegians, 430, 431.
----, missionary labors, 431.
----, Captain Gardiner, 431.
Fuel, kinds of, used in Iceland, 89.
Fur, account of the Russian Fur Company, and its operations, 272.
----, account of the fur-trade of the Hudson’s Bay Company,
304 _et seq._
----, trade in, at the fair of Obdorsk, 189.
---- of Siberia, 208.
----, importance of the trade in, 212.
---- of the Tchuktchi, 264.
G.
Gabriel Channel, williwaws of, 412.
Gadflies which attack the reindeer, 38.
Galictis vittata, the, of Patagonia, 418.
Gambling of the Cree Indians, 324.
Gardar, the northern pirate, his the first circumnavigation of
Iceland, 90.
Gardar’s Holm, or Gadar’s Island, Iceland so called, 90.
Gardiner, Captain, his mission to Fuegia, and melancholy end, 431.
Gawrilow, produce of the gold mine of, 218.
Geese, wild, of the Arctic regions, 19.
----, snow, their migrations to and from the north, 43.
---- of Iceland, 81.
“George Henry,” the ship, 436.
George, St., climate of the island of, 270.
----, sea-lions and guillemots of, 271.
Georgia, South, discovery of, 393.
Germany, the elk or moose-deer of, in the time of Cæsar, 39.
Geysir, the Great, description of the, 71.
Gheritz, Dirck, his discovery of the New Shetland Islands, 392.
Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, takes possession of Newfoundland, 379.
Ginkloti, or children’s disease, in the Westman Islands, 118.
Gissur, his work on his voyages to the East, 94.
----, the Icelander, his learning and travels, 98.
Gjas, or chasms, in Iceland, 76, 77.
Glacier, the great, in the Gulf of Penas, 394.
Glaciers, enormous dimensions of the, of the polar regions, 50.
Glaciers of Magdalena Bay, 135;
ice cliffs and avalanches of, 135.
---- of the Beerenberg mountain, 146.
Glottoff, Stephen, his discovery of Kadiak, 202.
Gloves, reindeer, of Tornea, 37.
Glutton, or wolverine, strength and fierceness of the, 37.
Glutton, its attack of the reindeer, 37, 38.
----, its voracity, 38.
----, found in Taimurland, 227.
----, those of North America, 316.
----, value and uses of the fur of the, 316.
Gnats, legions of, in the forests and swamps, 26.
Goda-foss, the, an Icelandic cascade, 78.
Gold diggings of Eastern Siberia, 208.
----, description of the gold-fields, 214.
Gomez, his voyages of discovery, 335.
Goose, bean (_Anser segetum_), of Nova Zembla, 155.
Goose, Brent, its migrations to and from the north, 43.
----, its rapid flight, 43.
Graah, Captain, his explorations of the coast of Greenland, 386.
Graham Land, discovery of, 401.
Grampus, or orc (_Delphinus orca_), description of the, 62.
----, his ferocity and mode of ploughing the seas, 62.
---- of Nova Zembla, 155.
---- of the Antarctic Ocean, 398.
----, conflict of one with a whale, 398.
Grasses, tufted, of the Arctic regions, 20.
---- of the treeless zone, 21.
----, paramount importance of the grasses in Iceland, 79.
---- of Taimurland, 226.
Greenland, vast ice-fields of, 27.
----, proofs of a former milder climate in, 29.
----, enormous dimensions of the glaciers of, 50.
----, the, whale, 60.
----, transparency of the water on the coast of, 59.
----, abundance of animal life in the seas of, 60.
----, walruses of the coasts of the north of, 64.
----, Kane’s sledge journey along the coast of, 367.
----, unknown extent of, 382.
----, ancient Scandinavian colonists of, 382.
----, the name of, given to it, 382.
----, introduction of Christianity in, 382.
----, decline and fall of the country, 383.
----, subsequent explorations of, 383.
----, Hans Egede, the pastor, his voyage to, 384.
----, foundation of Godthaab in, 384.
----, arrival of Herrenhuth missionaries in, 384.
----, explorations of the coast of, 385.
----, present Danish settlements of, 386.
----, scanty population of, 386.
----, mode of life of the people of, 386, 387, 389.
----, fisheries of, 388.
----, poorness of the land in, 388.
----, quantities of drift-wood at, 388.
----, minerals of, 389.
----, Christianity in, 389.
----, climate, mountains, and fjords of, 389.
----, ice-caves of the coast of, 390.
----, the capital of, 437.
Greenlanders, their discovery of, and colonies in America, 335.
----, destruction of their colonies, 335.
----, their habits, 437.
Greiffenfeld, his imprisonment in Munkholm, 124.
Grinds. _See_ Dolphins, black.
Grinnell Land, vegetation of, 20.
----, Dr. Hayes’s discoveries in, 372–374.
Guanaco, the, of Patagonia, 419.
Guano, circumstances which favor the deposit of, 418.
Guillemot, on the Pribilow Islands, 271.
Gulf Stream, influence of, on the south and west coasts of
Iceland, 79;
and on the climate of Norway, 121.
Gull, Ross’s, distance north at which it has been seen, 67.
Gull, ivory, in Taimurland, 227.
Gustavus I., King of Sweden, his kind treatment of the Lapps, 156.
Gustavus Adolphus, his foundation of a school for the Lapps, 156.
H.
Haddocks, abundance of, on the coast of Iceland, 87.
Hakon, King of Norway, his annexation of Iceland, 95.
Hall, Charles Francis, his Arctic expedition, 433–467.
----, James, his voyage to Greenland, 383.
Hammerfest, description of the town of, 129.
----, traffic of, 129.
----, the people of, 129.
----, cargoes of walruses and seals brought from Spitzbergen, 143.
Hare, the fur of the, of Siberia, 212.
----, ice (_Lepus glacialis_), 317.
----found in Taimurland, 227.
Hare Indians, hunting-grounds of the, 327.
----, their women, 328.
Harold Haafager, or the Fair-haired, his establishment of an absolute
monarchy in Norway, 90.
----, exodus caused by his tyranny, 91.
Harp-seal of the Polar seas, 62.
Hatherton, Cape, discovery of, 365.
Haven, Lieut, de, his search for Franklin, 357, 358.
Hawks in the Tundra, in summer, 19.
Hayes, Dr., his sledge journey over Kennedy Channel, 368.
----, his Arctic voyage in 1860, 372–374.
----, his opinion as to what may be done in the Arctic regions, 374.
Hecla, eruptions of, since the colonization of Iceland, 95–97.
“Hecla” and “Fury” Straits, discovery of, 348.
Heemskerk, his voyages of discovery, 340.
Heineson, Mogens, the “sea-cock,” his voyage towards Greenland, 383.
Hepburn, John, the sailor, his overland journey, 346.
Herald Island, discovery of, 360.
Heimaey, or Home Island, description of, 116.
Herring, the fishery of the coast of Norway, 125.
----, food for the rorqual, or fin-whales, 61.
----, abundance of the, on the coasts of Iceland, 87.
Hesperis, the, on the Mary Minturn river, 20.
Hildringen, agriculture of, 124.
Hobson, Lieut., his search for Franklin, 362, 364.
Holme, the, of Norway, 124.
Hood, Robert, his Arctic journey, 346.
----, murdered, 347.
Horn, Cape, discovery of the passage round, 414.
Horse, the, in Iceland, 80.
---- of the Jakuts, 230–232.
Hrafnagja, 75.
Hudson, Henry, visit of, to Spitzbergen, 138.
----, his the first attempt to sail across the North Pole, 342.
----, his subsequent voyages and discoveries, 342.
----, his melancholy end, 343.
Hudson’s Bay, barren lands of, 22.
----, characters of the Coniferæ of, 24.
----, walruses of the coasts of, 64.
----, discovery of, 312.
Hudson’s Bay Company, account of the fur-trade of the, 304.
----, the old coureur des bois and the modern voyageur of, 304, 305.
----, history of the, 307.
----, formation of a rival company, and subsequent amalgamation of the
two, 307–310.
----, palmy days of the, 310.
----, its reconstruction in 1863, 310.
----, its trading-posts, and their management, 310, 311.
----, its efforts to civilize the native tribes, 312.
----, the standard of exchange, the beaver-skin, 313.
----, extent of the fur-trade of, 313.
----, account of the fur-bearing animals of the Territory, 313, 314.
Hudson river, discovery of the, 342.
Hudson’s Straits, Sebastian Cabot’s discovery of, 335.
Humboldt Glacier, the Great, 50.
----, Kane’s description of the, 367.
Humming-bird on the peninsula of Aliaska, 269.
---- in Newfoundland, 378.
---- of Patagonia, 420.
Huts of the Esquimaux, 293.
---- of the Icelanders, 102.
Hvalö, island of, 129.
Hvita river, in Iceland, 78.
I.
Ice, vast fields of, in the plateaus of Spitzbergen, Greenland, and
Nova Zembla, 27.
----, floating masses of, in the Polar seas, 45.
----, enormous extent of the Polar glaciers, 49, 50.
----, causes which prevent the accumulation of Polar ice, 55, 56.
----, a bad conductor of heat, 57.
----, ice-fields of Iceland, 69.
----, glaciers, ice-cliffs, and avalanches of Spitzbergen, 135, 136.
----, impediments offered by the hummocks to travellers on the
Polar sea, 240.
----, icebergs of the Antarctic sea, 392.
----, ice-caves of Greenland, 390.
----, the great ice-barrier of the Antarctic Ocean, 403.
----, pack-ice of the Antarctic Ocean, 404, 405.
Icebergs, 46.
----, forms and size of, 48.
----, origin of, 48.
----, localities in which most of the icebergs of the North Atlantic
are formed, 49.
----, Dr. Hayes’s description of, in a midnight sun, 50.
----, how distinguished at night and in fogs, 52.
----, dangers of collisions with, 52.
----, protection to ships afforded by, 53.
----, dangers of anchoring to, 53.
Icebergs, “calving” of, 54.
----, crumbling of, 54.
Ice-blink, description of the phenomenon of, 54.
----, its advantages to the Arctic navigator, 54.
Ice-fields, 46.
----, hummocks on, 46.
----, collision of, 48.
----, dangers caused by, to ships, 48.
Ice-grotto of Surts-hellir, 77.
Iceland, volcanic origin of, 68.
----, the country in winter and in summer, 68, 79.
----, sterile portions of the island, 69.
----, its immense ice-fields, 69.
----, its lava-streams, 69, 77.
----, the burning mountains of Krisuvik, 69.
----, the mud-caldrons and hot springs, 70.
----, the Great Geysir, 71.
----, the Strokkr, 72.
----, crystal pools, 73.
----, the Almannagja, 73, 74.
----, the Surts-hellir, or caves of Surtur, 77.
----, rivers and cascades of, 78.
----, influence of the ocean currents on the climate, 78.
----, mean annual temperature, 79.
----, absence of trees in, 79.
----, vegetation and condition of agriculture, 79.
----, indigenous land quadrupeds, 80.
----, cattle of the Icelanders, 80.
----, beverages, 80.
----, mode of shearing sheep, 80.
----, characteristics and number of horses, 80.
----, the reindeer, 80, 81.
----, the polar bear, 81.
----, the eider-duck, 81, 88.
----, the giant auk, 85, 86.
----, Icelandic fish and fishing season, 86, 87.
----, hospitality of the people, 87.
----, minerals of the country, 88.
----, fuel used by the Icelanders, 88.
----, history of, 89.
----, Naddodr’s discovery of the Ice Land, 89;
which he named Snowland, 99.
----, circumnavigated by the pirate Gadar, and called by him
Gardar’s holm, 90.
----, visited by the viking Floki, and called by him Iceland, 90.
----, foundation of Reykjavik by Ingolfr and Leif, 90.
----, exodus from Norway to, 91.
----, introduction of the Norwegian language and customs, 91.
----, code of laws of Uffliot the Wise, 91.
----, the ancient Althing at Thingvalla, 91, 92.
----, introduction of Christianity into the island, 92.
----, the golden age of Icelandic literature, 94.
----, history of, annexation of the island to Norway, 95.
----, its subsequent misfortunes, 95.
----, volcanic eruptions, 95.
----, misery caused by the curse of monopoly, 97.
----, hope for the future of the islanders, 97.
----, account of the Icelanders of the present day, 98.
----, Skalkott, the former capital of the island, 98.
----, the present capital, Reykjavik, 100.
----, state of trade in, 100.
----, the merchant and the peasant, 101.
----, temperate habits of the people, 101.
----, condition of agriculture, 102.
Iceland, a harvest home, 102.
----, winter life, 102, 108, 109.
----, huts of the Icelanders, 102, 103.
----, churches, 104.
----, clergymen all blacksmiths, 101, _note_, 106;
their poverty, 106–108.
----, the Iceland poet, John Thorlakson, 107.
----, education of the clergy and children, 108, 109.
----, industry and thirst for knowledge of the people, 109;
their language, 109.
----, the library of Reykjavik, 109.
----, the Icelandic Literary Society, 110.
----, Icelandic newspapers, 110.
----, health of the people, 110.
----, difficulties and expense of travelling, 110–113.
---- moss, eaten and exported by the Icelanders, 79.
---- moss, food for the deer of Spitzbergen, 137.
----, in the treeless zone, 21.
Idols of the Samoïedes, 180.
Igloolik, island of, 348.
Iligliuk, the Esquimaux, her intelligence and passion for music, 348.
Indians, Red, their enmity with the Esquimaux, 294.
----, their decimation by smallpox and drunkenness, 308.
----, efforts of the Hudson’s Bay Company to civilize them, 312, 313.
----, the beaver skin their standard of exchange with the Company, 313.
Inglefield, Captain, his search for Franklin, 359.
----, his discoveries, 365.
Ingolfr, the Norwegian yarl, his visit to Iceland, and foundation of
Reykjavik, 90.
Innuits, the, _see also_ Esquimaux, 433, 467.
----, their character, 439, 461.
----, amusement of, 440.
----, their dwellings, 443, 457, 462.
----, distress in winter, 444.
----, seal, feasts of, 445.
----, mode of capturing seals, 446, 448, 452.
----, their dogs, 445, 450, 454.
----, their opinion of the bear, 451.
----, mode of hunting the walrus, 454.
----, their implements, 456.
----, mode of constructing an igloo, 457.
----, their use of the reindeer, 458.
----, their clothing, 460.
----, reindeer feasts, 459.
----, food and mode of eating, 460.
----, their religious ideas, 460.
----, treatment of the sick, 461.
----, gradual extinction, 462.
Insects of Taimurland, 227.
Irish colonists on the Westman Islands, 115.
Irkutsk, extreme cold of, 208.
----, Wrangell’s visit to, 233.
----, summer flowers of, 233.
Iron mines near Drontheim, 124.
Isabella, Cape, discovery of, 365.
Ishemsk, Castrén’s visit to, 174.
----, the Isprawnik of, and his wife, 174, 176.
Islands within the Arctic Circle, barren grounds of the, 18.
Isleif, the oldest chronicler of the North, 98.
Issakow, of Kem, rounds the north-eastern extremity of Nova
Zembla, 150.
Itälmenes, cruelty of their conquerors, the Russians, 198.
Ivan Wasiljewitsch I., first Czar of Russia, his defeat of the
Tartars, 191.
Ivan Wasiljewitsch I., subdues the Great Novgorod, 191.
----, becomes head of the Greek orthodox Church and the first Czar, 192.
----, Chancellor’s visit to him at Moscow, 336.
Ivan Wasiljewitsch II., his conquest of Kasan, 192.
----, his surname of the Terrible, 192.
Ivory, fossil, in the islands of New Siberia, 202.
Iwalo river, in Lapland, Castrén’s journey on the, 169.
J.
Jakowlew family, 219.
----, their enormous wealth in gold mines, 219.
Jakuts, the, confirmed by the Czar in their possessions, 199.
----, their snares and traps, 213.
----, their energy and cunning, 228.
----, their language, origin, character, and personal appearance, 228.
----, their summer and winter huts, 229.
----, their horses, 230.
----, their powers of endurance and sharpness of vision, 230.
----, their manufactures and articles of dress, 231.
----, their gluttony, 231.
----, the universal carriers to the east of the Lena, 231.
----, their superstitions, 232.
----, their offerings of horsehair to the spirit of the mountains, 232.
----, their songs, 232.
----, wretched condition of the river, 252.
Jakutsk, mean temperature of, in summer and winter, 27.
----, extreme cold of, 208.
----, gloomy appearance of the town, 233.
----, trade of, 233.
Jan Meyen, description of, 146.
Jelly, made from the horns and claws of the reindeer, 37.
Jelly-fish (_Pleurobrachia pileus_) in the sea of Kara, 151.
Jenissei river, Castrén’s journey to the, 176.
Jeniseisk, Castrén’s visit to, 177.
----, the ostrog of, founded, 195.
Jyrfalcon (_Falco gyrfalco_), its head-quarters in Iceland, 85.
----, former trade in the, 85.
Jilibeambaertje, or Num, the Supreme Being of the Samoïedes, 179.
“John, Gentleman,” the English pirate, 118.
John’s, St., capital of Newfoundland, 378.
Jökuls, or ice-mountains of Iceland, 68.
Jökulsa i Axarfirdi river, in Iceland, 78.
Jökulsa river, in Iceland, 78.
Jones’s Sound, discovery of the entrance to, 343.
Jukahires, chief resource of those of the Aniuj, 237.
----, Jelissei Busa’s residence among the, 195.
K.
Kadiak, island of, discovery of the, 202.
Kaiak, island of, landing of Stella on the, 249.
“Kalewala,” Castrén’s Swedish translation of the, 170.
Kamchatka, subjugation of, by the Russians, 198.
----, cruelty of the conquerors, 198.
Kamchatka, Steller’s scientific journey to, 248.
----, its climate and fertility, 254.
----, abundance of fish in the rivers, 255.
----, bird-catchers of, 255.
----, population, 255.
----, mountain chain and volcanoes, 256.
----, climate and mineral springs, 256.
----, harbors and population, 256.
----, healthiness of the people, 257.
----, their food, 258.
----, their animals, 258, 260.
----, character of the people, 260, 261.
Kane, Dr., his Arctic voyages, 365.
----, his account of his first winter in Rensselaer Bay, 365.
----, his description of the Polar night, 366.
----, his sledge journey along the coast of Greenland, 367.
----, his illness on the voyage and recovery, 368.
----, resolves to winter a second time in Rensselaer Bay, 369.
----, departure and return of part of his crew, 369, 370.
----, sufferings of his party, 371.
----, abandonment of his ship, and boat journey to Upernavik, 371.
----, his return to New York, and death, 372.
Kara Gate, reached by Stephen Burrough, 336.
Kara, Sea of, 147.
----, expeditions to the, 147.
Kasan, Russian conquest of, 192.
Kellett, Captain, his search for Franklin, 359.
Kendall, Lieut., his voyage to the Coppermine river, 349.
----, his account of Deception Island, 393.
Kennedy, William, his search for Franklin, 358.
----, his sledge journey with Bellot, 359.
Kennedy Channel, Dr. Hayes’s sledge journey across, 368.
----, his voyage across, 373.
Kerguelen Land, climate of, 393.
Khipsack, destruction of the empire of the Khans of, 191.
King, Captain, his survey of the Magellan Strait, 415.
King William’s Island, coast of, traced by Mr. Thomas Simpson, 356.
Klofa jökul, extent of the, 69.
Knight, John, his melancholy Arctic voyage, 341.
----, murdered by the Esquimaux, 342.
Koldewey, Captain, his journey towards the North Pole, 374.
Kolwa, Castrén’s visit to, 174.
Kolyma river, inundations of the, 237.
Kolymsk, Nishnei, foundation of the town of, 197.
----, Wrangell’s visit to, 234.
----, situation and climate of, 234.
----, vegetable and animal life, 235.
----, population of the district, 236.
----, dwellings of the Russian residents, 236.
----, mode of life of the natives, 236, 237.
----, their dogs, 236, 237.
----, berry-gathering in the district, 238.
----, famine of the people, 238.
----, social parties at, 238.
Koriaks, the, confirmed by the Czar in their possessions, 199.
Koronnoie Filippowskoi, Von Middendorff’s journey to, 221.
Kostin Schar, visit of Von Baer to, 152.
----, storm in, 152.
Kötlugja, eruptions of, since the colonization of Iceland, 95, 97.
Krasnojarsk, Castrén’s visit to, 175, 176.
----, extravagance of the gold aristocracy of, 218.
Krenitzin, his discovery of the peninsula of Aljaska, 202.
Kresdowosdwishensk, produce of the gold mine of, 218.
Krisuvik, burning mountains of, 69.
Krotow, Lieutenant, lost off Nova Zembla, 147.
Kutchin Indians, their dwelling-place, 331.
----, their personal appearance and dress, 331.
----, their medium of exchange, 331.
----, their women and children, 332.
----, their amusements, 332.
----, their wars with the Esquimaux, 333.
----, their suspicious and timorous lives, 333.
----, their mode of pounding the moose-deer, 333.
----, their frequent distress, 334.
----, their huts, 334.
Kutchum Khan, his conquest of Siberia, 192.
----, defeated by Yermak the robber, at Tobolsk, 193, 194.
----, his revenge, 194.
L.
Labrador, barren lands of, 22.
----, effect of the icy seas and cold currents on the climate of, 22.
----, discovered and colonized by Greenlanders, 335.
Lächow Islands, discovery of the, 202.
Lagarfliot river, in Iceland, 78.
Lakes of Newfoundland, 377.
Lambert, M. Gustave, his opinion as to the route to the Pole, 375.
Lancaster Sound, discovery of the entrance to, 343.
Lapps, their history and conversion to Christianity, 156.
----, poverty and self-denial of their clergy, 157.
----, their ancient gods and present superstitions, 156, 157.
----, Evil Spirit of the woods, 157.
----, sorcery and witchcraft, 158.
----, their personal appearance, 158.
Lappars, the Fjall, or Mountain Lapps, 159.
----, their dwellings, 159.
----, their reindeer pens, 160.
----, their summer and winter encampments, 161.
----, their sledges and skates, 161.
----, natural beauties of their country, 162.
----, their love of home, 162.
----, their mode of hunting the bear and the wolf, 163, 164.
----, the wealthy, and their mode of living, 164.
----, their annual visits to the fairs, 165.
----, their drunkenness, 165.
----, their worship of mammon, treasure hoarding, 165.
----, their fondness for brandy and tobacco, 165.
----, their affectionate disposition, 166.
----, the Skogslappars, or Forest Lapps, 166.
----, the Fisher, 166.
Laptew, Lieut. Cheriton, his explorations of the coasts of
Taimurland, 200.
----, his explorations to the east of the Lena, 200.
Larch, the, of Siberia, 24.
----, of the Hudson’s Bay Territory, 24.
Lawrence, St., climate and vegetation of the island of, 271.
Lava streams of Iceland, 69, 77.
----, streams of, thrown out by the great eruption of Skaptar
Jökul, 95–97.
Laxaa, or Salmon river, abundance of fish caught in the, 87.
Leif, the Norwegian jarl, his visit to Iceland, 90.
----, murdered by his Irish slaves, 91.
Lemming, its habitat and food. 42.
----, exaggerations of Olaus Magnus and Pontoppidan respecting the, 42.