SUMMER CRUISE OF THE NEPTUNE IN 1904.
HUDSON BAY.
The anchor was hoisted and the moorings to the ice cast off at two
o’clock on the morning of the 18th of July, when the _Neptune_ proceeded
to break her way out of Fullerton harbour, after having been nine months
there fast frozen in the ice. Little difficulty was experienced in
breaking the harbour ice, when, following a pilot boat, the narrow
eastern entrance was soon passed and the ship was once more free. Loose
stringers of small ice extended a few miles from the shore, after which
only occasional lumps were seen during the day, as the ship steamed
across to Cape Kendall, and then followed the west coast of Southampton
southward. The southwest point of the island was passed before midnight.
This point lies well to the northward of its position on the chart, or
in about 63° N. latitude.
The low southern shore of Southampton was followed during the night, and
only a few stringers of ice were met with. At four o’clock in the
morning the island was lost to sight, and by noon we were steaming along
the equally low shores of Coats island, with the small but prominent
Walrus island in sight to the northward. Ice to the northward gradually
forced the ship closer to the shores of Coats, where, after passing a
wide bay, partly filled with large, low islands, we coasted within two
miles of a prominent headland about four hundred feet high, which forms
the northeast cape of Coats, and which was named Cape Préfontaine in
honour of the Honourable the Minister of Marine and Fisheries. These
highlands appear to traverse the island diagonally in a southwest
direction, coming out at a lower altitude on the south side of the
island several miles west of Cape Pembroke. This ridge is due to a band
of crystalline rocks, which rises from beneath the low flat limestones
forming the remainder of the island. A large whale was seen while
passing through Fisher strait.
Beyond Cape Préfontaine the ice became more plentiful, and many large
pans were met with. The ice had the appearance of being lately broken
up, and owing to its smooth unrafted condition we judged it came from
Fisher strait, rather than from Fox channel to the northward. During the
night this ice forced the ship southward into the channel between Coats
and Mansfield, so that the western shore of the latter was reached some
twenty-five miles to the south of its northern end.
Open leads in the ice were found from three to five miles from that
island, and no difficulty was experienced in gaining its north end. This
island of limestone is somewhat higher than Coats and Southampton,
rising inland in low broad terraces to an elevation of upwards of a
hundred feet. Small patches of snow were seen under banks and along the
faces of the terraces, but elsewhere the green colour showed that
considerable vegetation covered the greater part of its surface.
[Illustration: MIDNIGHT IN SMITH SOUND.]
Similar lanes of water, between large cakes of ice, afforded an easy
passage from Mansfield to Digges islands. A great amount of ice was seen
to the southward, apparently completely filling the channel between
Mansfield and the mainland. To the northward some open water occurred,
but the patches became smaller and smaller as Digges was approached, and
finally ceased to the eastward of these islands, the southern part of
the western end of Hudson strait being completely filled with ice.
A strong southerly wind had been blowing all day, and it was hoped that
it had loosened the ice along the southern shore of the strait. The ship
was taken under the land, but without success, so that after butting
through the slowly closing ice all night, we were finally tightly beset
in the early morning, about three miles from the eastern Digges island.
The 21st was foggy, with snow flurries in the morning and showers in the
afternoon; the ice remained tight about the ship all day, and she
drifted eastward with the ice, passing Cape Wolstenholme, and in the
evening being about five miles to the east of Erik cove. At that time
considerable open water could be seen about five miles from the ship to
the eastward, with a few narrow lanes in the rear, and other small
openings to the northward, where the dark sky showed considerable open
water beyond our view.
HUDSON STRAIT.
Persistent ramming forced the ship through about five miles of ice on
the morning of the 22nd, when she was again tightly beset until the
evening, at that time being about twenty-five miles to the eastward of
Cape Wolstenholme, this distance having been made by the drift of the
ice. The ice slackened again at eight o’clock in the evening, when after
an hour’s heavy work we got into a lead of open water under the land,
and continued at full speed all night, steaming east in a lane from two
to four miles wide.
At five o’clock next morning we were off Deception bay and the western
end of Charles island. The bold coast along which we had been passing
all night now became less abrupt, and this change was accompanied by
shallower water in the sea fronting it, so that when seven miles from
the mouth of the bay, soundings taken at the edge of the ice only gave
twelve fathoms, with indications of an uneven bottom, where it would be
dangerous to be caught in the ice if the wind should change and force it
upon the land. The ship was turned into the ice, and in an hour had
reached a place of safety. In the afternoon, with clearing weather, the
ice opened, and not much difficulty was experienced in forcing between
the loose pans, first towards the east end of Charles island and later
more easterly, so that when the ice again closed we were about ten miles
northeast of Cape Weggs.
During the night and following morning we continued to drift rapidly to
the eastward. Before noon we were opposite the mouth of Douglas harbour,
having made fully twenty miles of drift during that interval.
The ice began to slacken at ten o’clock, when we got under way, and
forcing the ship towards the north at noon we were in open water, with a
heavy northerly swell, which showed an open sea in that direction. Only
a few small icebergs and broken pans of ice were seen during the
remainder of the trip to Port Burwell, which we reached on the evening
of the 25th, but in crossing Ungava bay the lower temperature and an
ice-glint to the southward indicated some ice in the southern part of
that bay.
The following summary of the condition and extent of the ice met with on
the passage from Fullerton to Port Burwell may prove of interest and
value. The northwestern part of Hudson bay was quite free of ice, and
none to obstruct navigation was found in Fisher and Evans straits. Large
quantities of ice were encountered between the mouth of Evans strait and
Digges at the western end of Hudson strait, but without serious trouble
safe passages were found through it, and there is no doubt that an
ordinary unprotected iron steamship would have passed through it at that
time without trouble or danger. This ice, evidently the product of the
past winter, consisted chiefly, as has been mentioned, of large flat
sheets that had only a short time previously broken from their original
position, for there were no signs that it had been subjected to pressure
or to the action of a swell. The edges of these large cakes had not been
crushed, and many soft thin spots were seen which would disappear with
the slightest pressure or swell. Along with the predominating flat ice
was a considerable amount of rafted ice of the same character, and also
of portions apparently subjected to pressure during the past winter. All
the ice was comparatively light and thin, which led to the belief that
it had come out of Fisher strait, and from the southward up the channel
between Mansfield and the eastern mainland, the meeting of these streams
producing the blockade at the western end of Hudson strait. Owing to its
thinness and rotten character, the greater part of this ice would melt a
few days after we passed it.
The ice in the western part of Hudson strait was somewhat heavier than
that described above. Much of it was rafted ice in small cakes, and
there was a small number of ancient, heavy, discoloured pans that had
evidently come from Fox channel. This ice completely filled the side of
the strait, and probably extended to Nottingham island, but there was
open water on the north side of the strait through which the whaler
_Active_ had already passed on her way into Hudson bay. The important
point to be noted is that during all the times that the _Neptune_ was
beset by the ice during the passage east along the south side of the
strait, there was never any sign of the surrounding ice rafting by the
pressure occasioned at the change of tides, and never was the pressure
about the ship sufficient to cause damage to an unprotected iron ship.
There is little doubt that if a more northerly course had been taken on
the passage eastward much more open water would have been found,
including an unobstructed passage from at least the western end of
Charles island, while to the westward open lanes would probably have
extended from the neighbourhood of Nottingham island.
During the early part of July ships proceeding out of Hudson bay will
probably find on the southern side of Hudson strait, or rather on the
southern side of the mid-channel, the best and safest passage, owing to
the easterly currents of that side. Ships entering Hudson bay at this
time should follow the northern side of the strait, keeping as far as
possible away from the land, especially that of Big island, until that
island is passed, when the mid-channel should be held past Nottingham
island, and from there the course should be laid to pass within easy
distance of the north end of Mansfield island. The strong tides in the
eastern part of the strait, and especially about Big island, cause the
ice to close with considerable pressure at the change of tide, and this
dangerous pressure is most severe close to the land.
We arrived at Port Burwell on the date arranged before leaving Halifax
for meeting the relief ship. By a coincidence the _Erik_, bringing our
supply of coal and fresh provisions, arrived in port only an hour ahead
of the _Neptune_. The ships were soon moored alongside, and the mail
from civilization was distributed to the ship’s company, this being the
first news of the outside world received in eleven months.
[Illustration: ICE OFF CAPE WOLSTENHOLME.]
VOYAGE TO THE ARCTIC ISLANDS.
A week was spent at Port Burwell, transferring the coals and provisions
from the _Erik_ to the _Neptune_, and in landing a large quantity of
coal and provisions for the use of the Northwest Mounted Police. All
this work having been finished, both ships weighed anchor early on the
morning of the 2nd of August, the _Erik_ bound south for Newfoundland
and the _Neptune_ northward for Smith sound.
Major Moodie having decided to return to Ottawa, left on the _Erik_, and
that ship also carried our second steward, who was invalided home, along
with a sailor of the _Era_ who, during the past winter, had nearly died
of scurvy.
The course was laid across the mouth of the strait, and at noon the
snow-covered cliffs of Cape Resolution bore north-northeast, distant
about twenty miles. A few icebergs were passed during the afternoon, but
no field ice was seen until the following evening, when a few heavy pans
were met. As the weather was thick with fog the ship slowed down for the
night, and the course was changed more to the eastward. Thick fog
continued until the afternoon of the 6th, when, the weather clearing, we
found ourselves about twenty miles to the westward of the great island
of Disko, on the coast of Greenland. The scenery of the island is very
grand; the shore-line is deeply indented by narrow bays, from which the
land rises abruptly into irregular mountain masses, terminating in sharp
peaks, whose loftier summits were hidden in the straight line of clouds
formed from the recently risen fog. All the higher valleys were filled
with great glaciers pouring slowly down into a sea dotted with numerous
fantastic icebergs. The contrast between the dark sombre rocks of the
hills and the dazzling whiteness of the glaciers was enhanced by the
streams of sunlight which flooded the interior, while the coast was
veiled by the fog clouds.
The weather remained clear throughout the night and next day, as we
passed northward along the rugged coast of Greenland, catching many
views of its great ice-cap behind the numerous high islands that fringe
the coast. The greater part of the surface of these islands was free
from snow; glaciers were only seen in the higher valleys. The ice in the
long fiords and the channels had broken up and been carried away, so
that only numerous icebergs were seen along the shores. In the afternoon
considerable heavy field ice was passed on the west. Our noon
observation placed us about twenty miles off the Danish settlement of
Upernivik, to the northward of which the sea was filled with great
icebergs, they being especially numerous in the neighbourhood of the
Devils Thumb island, so named on account of the prominent peak bearing
some resemblance to that member.
When the Duck islands had been reached the ship’s course was changed to
westward to cross the dreaded Melville bay. This great bay owes its bad
name to the quantities of heavy ice infesting its waters during the
early summer, and the whalers count themselves lucky if the delay does
not exceed three weeks.
We steamed directly across for Cape York, ahead of a strong gale of wind
accompanied by heavy rain and sleet, and saw no ice until within a short
distance of the cape, where broken floes and icebergs formed a fringe
extending a mile or so from the land. Continuing westward close along
the outer margin of the ice we were abreast of Cape York at three in the
afternoon, having made a record passage across the bay.
[Illustration: PARKER SNOW BAY, NORTH GREENLAND.]
The weather becoming very thick, we shortly after stood inside the outer
stringers of ice, and kept close to the ironbound coast in order to
sight Conical island, and so reach the fine harbour of Parker Snow bay
just inside the island; this was successfully accomplished, and the ship
was brought to anchor near the head of the bay. The wind freshened
during the night, and in the morning blew so strongly that it was
impossible to reach the shore with the ship’s boat. At noon the wind
registered forty-eight miles an hour, and some of the gusts were much
stronger.
The wind fell towards evening, allowing us to land. We were now well
north of the Arctic circle, and a bright sun remained visible all night.
An ascent of one of the glaciers at the head of the bay afforded
valuable information concerning the ice-cap and glacial phenomena,
discussed later in the report. A sharp rocky hill, 960 feet high,
divides the glaciers; this was crossed and the descent made by the
second glacier, where much trouble was experienced crossing the deep
gullies cut into it by surface streams of water. Neither of these
glaciers discharges into the sea, their fronts terminating against high
steep banks of boulder clay brought from above by the moving ice. A
light pink gneiss, cut by many veins of quartz apparently all quite
barren, is the chief rock of these hills. The hills surrounding Parker
Snow bay rise in abrupt cliffs nearly 1,500 feet above the water; the
country then rises less abruptly another thousand feet to the lower
level of the great ice-cap which covers the entire interior of
Greenland.
SMITH SOUND.
On our return to the ship the anchor was raised and we left the bay,
passing the great Petiwik glacier at midnight, with the sun shining over
the top of its five-mile front of ice, which ends in abrupt low cliffs
of ice rising directly from the sea. Large icebergs are frequently
broken from this long face, and hundreds of them are seen aground on
ledges for miles on both sides of the glacier.
The westward course was followed a few miles farther, after which the
ship turned north through the fine channel between Cape Atholl and
Wolstenholm island. A small amount of loose ice was met with in the
channel and in the crossing to Saunders island. The crystalline rocks
which occupy the coast from Cape York give place here and to the
northward to almost horizontal beds of sandstones and lighter coloured
rock, probably limestone. Large masses of dark trap are associated with
these bedded rocks, either as sills injected along the bedding, or as
dikes approaching more or less closely to the vertical.
Cape Parry was passed at eight o’clock on the morning of the 10th, when,
crossing the mouth of Whale sound, we followed the channel between
Northumberland and Herbert islands, having a fine view of their high
cliffs of sandstone and light-coloured rock, which rise almost
perpendicularly from 500 to 1,000 feet above the sea. Similar cliffs
occupy the coast of the mainland from the north side of Inglefield gulf
to the neighbourhood of Etah, at the narrowest part of Smith sound. The
day was very fine, and only a few loose pans of floe ice and many
icebergs embarrassed the course followed by the ship.
The upper portions of Whale sound, Inglefield gulf and McCormick bay
were filled with ice, which from a distance appeared to be still
unbroken from the shores. During the day walrus were frequently seen in
groups upon the floating pans of ice, where many large seals lay basking
in the sun. The walrus were most numerous on the ice between Cape
Alexander and Etah, where attempts were made to photograph the larger
groups, but without success, as it was late in the evening and the
animals were unusually wild.
As the coast is followed northward the cliffs and the mainland behind
become lower, so that about Cape Alexander the general level of the
front of the ice-cap does not appear to be greatly over 1,000 feet in
elevation.
[Illustration: A GLACIER OF BYLOT ISLAND.]
On the trip northward the ship passed close to several of the places
where the Eskimo usually reside during the summer months, but no signs
of them were seen as far north as the Littleton islands, whence we
crossed to Cape Sabine, after making a call into the harbour of Etah,
famous as the most northern human habitation on the earth, being 78° 30´
N. latitude. At Etah we saw a number of deserted underground houses,
where the natives live during the winter, and a small quantity of coal
left by Peary, who used this place as headquarters during one of his
attempts to reach the pole.
Our voyage northward was stopped by heavy sheets of Arctic ice coming
down Smith sound in the vicinity of the Littleton islands. Into this
neighbourhood it would be dangerous and foolish to force the ship for no
definite purpose. A crossing was therefore made to Cape Sabine, and
considerable anxiety for the ship’s safety was felt passing between the
great pans of thick solid ice, some of which were miles in extent, and
rose from three to six feet above the water, with pinnacles of much
greater height. Some very hard knocks were given to the ship as she was
forced through the heavy ice from one lead of water to the next, and
everybody felt relieved when the little harbour at Cape Sabine was
reached in safety.
A landing was made here, and a visit paid to the last winter quarters of
Peary, which are situated near the eastern end of the cape on the side
of Payer harbour, formed by a few small islands lying a short distance
from the cape. The harbour being full of ice, the ship could not enter
it, but stood off under steam, it being dangerous to anchor with the
large sheets of heavy ice passing southward on the tide. The landing was
made about a mile from the house, which was reached by climbing over the
granite cliffs of the shore, at two o’clock on a delightfully calm,
clear morning, with the sun well above the horizon.
The station consists of two small houses, that belonging to Peary being
the old deck-house of his ship the _Windward_, the other, a small
building with single-boarded sides, in which the Stein expedition spent
two winters. The houses were only a few yards apart, both about fifty
yards from the water, and surrounded with the usual heaps of old tin
cans and empty boxes found about northern quarters where the staples of
food are carried in cases. A large amount of putrid walrus blubber was
scattered everywhere about the place, and the smell from it was far
stronger than that of a deserted snowhouse in springtime, which was our
previous limit to pungent and disagreeable odours. On a low rocky hill,
a few yards behind the houses, were the burial-mounds of five Eskimos,
four adults and one child, all wrapped in musk-ox skins and loosely
covered with stones. An old gun, snow knives and other gear belonging to
the dead were placed alongside the graves. These must have been very
pleasant company during the long Arctic night, especially so close to
the scene of the Greely disaster, where many of that party died of
starvation and sickness before relief could reach them.
When one has been at the headquarters of these Arctic expeditions, a
good idea is gained of the difficulties and privations of those engaging
in polar research. Peary was here, over eight hundred miles in a
straight line from the pole, forced to make many trips to transport his
provisions and outfit to the farthest land before he could attempt his
dash across the rough Arctic pack for the pole. The pluck and daring of
such men are to be admired, but the waste of energy, life and money in a
useless and probably unsuccessful attempt to reach the pole can only be
deplored, as no additional scientific knowledge is likely to be gained
by this achievement.
[Illustration: CAPE HERSCHEL, ELLESMERE ISLAND.]
On our return to the boat, we found that a very large floe had come
between us and the ship, and in doing so a corner of it had caught on a
small island and had gone completely over it, showing the momentum of
these great cakes, and the hopelessness of the attempt to build a ship
sufficiently strong to withstand the pressure exerted by such ice moving
on the tide when suddenly arrested by land or by motionless ice. A
narrow lane of water still showed between the floe and the land, and by
hard rowing we got safely through before it closed, when the ship butted
the way through other ice and finally took us on board.
Ross bay was now crossed in order that a record might be left at Cape
Herschel on the mainland of the great island of Ellesmere, Cape Sabine
being on an island separated from the mainland by a narrow strait. When
about a mile from Cape Herschel, going full speed, and while an attempt
was made to pass between two small icebergs, the ship struck heavily on
a sharp point of rock. Luckily she did not hang, but bounced over it,
striking again amidships and finally on the stern post. A sounding taken
within two hundred yards of the rock gave a depth of seventy fathoms,
from which it was concluded that the rock was a sharp submerged peak,
with the icebergs grounded on two sides of it. The pumps were
immediately sounded, but the ship was found to be making very little
water, and the full extent of the damage was not known until the vessel
was placed in dry-dock at Halifax, when it was found that the blow in
the bow had loosened the iron stemplate, which was subsequently lost in
butting the heavy ice, and the lower stem was carried away to the ends
of the planking. Luckily the _Neptune_ is eight feet thick in the bow,
and could stand a great deal of damage there without serious danger to
her floating qualities. Seventy-five feet of the keel was removed by the
second blow and the stern-post twisted and broken by the third.
It took little time to attend to the duties of the landing at Cape
Herschel, where a document taking formal possession in the name of King
Edward VII., for the Dominion, was read, and the Canadian flag was
raised and saluted. A copy of the document was placed in a large cairn
built of rock on the end of the cape.
The return to the ship was made at half past six in the morning, when,
steaming southward, the heavy dangerous ice from Smith sound was soon
left behind. We continued southward all day, passing as close to the
land as the ice would allow, so as to make a chart of this badly
surveyed coast. The survey was carried to a point about fifteen miles to
the south of Cape Isabella, where the weather became foggy, and progress
through the ice was only possible by following leads of open water
running southeast or diagonally away from the coast.
The ice met with during the crossing of Smith sound and for a few miles
southward of Cape Sabine was chiefly large masses of thick Arctic ice,
lately brought south by the northern current from Kennedy channel, where
the fast ice appeared to have broken loose only a short time previous to
our arrival, and was quickly emptying out of the great channel leading
direct to the Arctic sea. All of this ice was solid, and from twenty to
forty feet in thickness, and could not be of the previous winter’s
formation as no ice of that thickness can be formed in one season. The
greater part of it probably had been formed on the surface of the Arctic
ocean, during one or more years’ drift across the polar regions before
it entered the northern part of Kennedy channel, where it had remained
during the past winter, and was now passing south to mingle with the
other ice of the ‘middle pack’ of Baffin bay. Much of the ice met with
to the southward was composed of large sheets of similar heavy Arctic
ice cemented together by thinner ice of one season’s formation,
evidently drifted out of some bay to the southward of Cape Sabine. It
had quite recently broken away in great sheets (one of which took
three-quarters of an hour to steam past) from the mouths of the bays
whose inner surfaces were still tightly frozen as we passed them. The
diverse character of these large sheets is further increased by the
number of small icebergs often seen frozen into the mass along with the
polar sea ice.
The eastern side of Ellesmere island is quite high, the probable general
elevation exceeding 2,000 feet and perhaps 3,000 feet. The coast-line is
broken by many deep bays and prominent headlands. The land rises
precipitously from the frozen sea into irregular mountains, whose partly
rounded peaks are as a rule masked by an ice-cap which appears to be
continuous along this eastern coastal region, although it is said not to
continue for any great distance inland. Great glaciers fill all the
valleys and actively discharge icebergs into the bays. Only the
projecting rocky headlands and some of the lower points facing south in
the bays are free of snow and ice, so that at least nine-tenths of the
surface is permanently covered by an icy mantle. This is in marked
contrast to the Greenland coast opposite, where all the outer cliffs and
the shores are comparatively free from snow and ice. The cause of this
marked difference of climate is probably due to a divergence of
direction of currents along these coasts. On the Greenland side a
southerly current, comparatively free of ice, allows the open sea to
raise the general temperature, while on the Ellesmere side the Arctic
current, with its continuous stream of ice, blocks the bays and does not
allow the open water to ameliorate the cold of the ice-covered lands.
The prevailing easterly winds also carry more moisture to the west side,
causing it to be masked by fog at the time of brilliant sunshine on the
opposite coast.
The 12th proved thick and dirty, with much rain. Land was only seen in
the early morning, and not again until five o’clock in the evening, when
a number of small islands showed our position to be off Cape Horsburg,
the northeastern point of Philpot island, on the northern side of the
entrance to Lancaster sound; we had therefore passed across the mouth of
Jones sound without a sight of the land on either side.
LANCASTER SOUND.
Short glimpses of the land on the north side of Lancaster sound were
obtained when the fog lifted at intervals during the night. These showed
a high country, with many moderately sharp peaks rising in the
foreground above the white mantle of ice of the great glaciers of the
valleys. Discharging glaciers were particularly numerous along the head
of the wide Croker bay.
At eight o’clock in the morning we arrived at the mouth of Cuming creek,
a long narrow bay a few miles west of Croker bay. Being short of fresh
water, and the weather promising to be bad, we proceeded ten miles up
the bay before finding a place sufficiently shallow to drop anchor, but
this was finally done on the edge of a bank formed by the material
brought down by a small river flowing into the head of the bay. We
remained at anchor here until the next evening, the wind during that
time blowing strongly from the eastward, accompanied with thick fog and
occasional flurries of snow.
The crystalline rocks, which occupy the eastern part of the great island
of North Devon, are overlaid by nearly flat-bedded limestones, in the
western part commencing on the west side of Croker bay. This change of
rock is accompanied by a change in the physical character of the coast
as the ragged irregular granite hills of the eastern land are replaced
by a flat tableland which rises in nearly perpendicular cliffs directly
from the sea to elevations varying from 800 to 1,200 feet. Behind these
the land rises in steps to nearly 2,000 feet, where it is lost beneath
the ice-cap of the interior. The cliffs of limestone have been deeply
sculptured by all the streams of water, great and small, so that the
coast resembles on a gigantic scale the banks of a stream flowing
through a clay country. This portion of the coast extending to Beechey
island at the southwest point of North Devon, is deeply indented with
many long narrow bays similar to Cuming creek, in which we were
anchored. While there, landings were made to collect plants and fossils,
and an attempt was made to reach the tableland, but proved unsuccessful
owing to the impossibility of scaling the perpendicular cliff near the
summit. The land about the bay was particularly desolate and barren, the
little vegetation found being along the courses of the small streams. No
trace of land animals was seen. Walruses and seals were observed
sporting in the waters of the bay, and a large colony of Burgomaster
gulls pointed to the presence of fish.
The anchor was lifted at eight o’clock on the evening of the 14th, and
two hours later we were steaming westward close under the cliffs in
order to make a survey of the coast. This was completed to Beechey
island by eleven o’clock next morning, when the ship again came to
anchor.
The cliffs to the westward of Cuming creek gradually become lower, and
the crystalline rocks below the limestones soon disappear beneath the
sea. A few small glaciers discharge into the sea in the neighbourhood of
that place, but as the coast is followed westward the ice-cap retreats
inland, and is finally lost sight of, nothing being left to break the
monotony of the dirty yellow colour of the limestone except a few
patches of struggling vegetation that increase towards the westward
where the climate is evidently milder.
As many of the crew as could be spared were allowed to land at Beechey
island to visit this historic spot, where the ill-fated and heroic
Franklin and the crews of the _Erebus_ and _Terror_ spent their last
winter on land, and where the headquarters of the search party was
established in subsequent years.
Beechey island is comparatively small, being only a square mile or so in
extent. It lies at the southwest end of North Devon, and is connected at
low tide by a narrow neck with the larger island, thus forming the good
anchorage of Erebus harbour. The southern side of the island is a small
hill, from three to four hundred feet high, with steep cliffs facing the
water and less abrupt slopes northward, where it falls to the level of
the low plain of the rest of the island. A flagstaff crowns the summit
of the hill. The lower part of the island rises from the waters of the
harbour in a succession of three or four low terraces each a few feet
above the one in front, and all covered with small loose limestone
shingle, where a few hardy flowers struggle for existence on the dry
barren surface.
The ancient settlement was placed on the edge of the plain, close to the
foot of the hill, and facing eastward. On the shore are the ice-battered
remains of a small sloop, now completely dismantled, and a large
mahogany lifeboat badly broken by the ice. On the first terrace, a few
yards above the high-water mark, stands the frame of the ancient house,
with a low stone wall along its north and west sides. Inside and between
the walls are many casks of provisions, all of which have been broken
open and the contents spoiled. A small platform cart, showing few signs
of its long exposure to the weather, stood beside the house, and was
brought home as a souvenir. Scattered in profusion over the terrace and
along the shore were the empty tins of the notorious Goldner’s Patent,
which had been opened, found rotten and condemned by Franklin, thus
reducing his stock of supposed tinned provisions. Old cask staves and
hoops were mingled with hundreds of leather boot soles, evidently left
by some of the relief expeditions.
[Illustration: FRANKLIN MONUMENT AT BEECHEY ISLAND.]
On the next terrace, a few yards in rear of the house, a wooden cenotaph
surmounted by a round ball and set in a small platform of cemented
limestone was erected to the memory of Franklin and his heroic
associates by one of the subsequent expeditions, and to-day stands in a
fair state of repair. Resting face-downward on the platform, alongside
of the cenotaph, was a large marble slab, inscribed, as a tribute to the
memory of Franklin and the crews of the _Erebus_ and _Terror_, by
citizens of the United States. A brass plate, affixed to the lower part
of the slab, records that it had been brought from Disko to its present
resting place by McClintock in the _Fox_, when he obtained final proof
of the total destruction of Franklin’s ill-fated party. The slab was
raised and photographed, and then replaced on the ground to avoid the
danger of its being broken by the winds. If another expedition visits
this place the material for a suitable foundation for the slab should be
taken, so that it may be erected as originally intended.
On the barren plain, a few hundred yards from the house, are four graves
marked by small wooden crosses, the last resting place of two of
Franklin’s crews and two belonging to the search parties.
A sealed tin case was found attached to the cenotaph, and on opening it
a record of the Norwegian Magnetic Pole Expedition was found. The record
stated that the _Gjoa_, with the expedition on board, had arrived here
in the latter part of August, 1903, after having picked up the
provisions left for them at Dalrymple island by one of the Scotch
whalers, and were proceeding immediately down Peel sound in order to get
their ship as near as possible to the magnetic pole before the sound
became frozen over. As this was the last tidings from this expedition
the record was taken away, and since our return has been forwarded to
the Norwegian government. The _Gjoa_ in which the expedition sailed is a
small but stout sloop, with auxiliary power supplied by a gasolene
engine. The only danger to the party is in event of the _Gjoa_ being
unable to free herself from the ice when the time comes for a return. As
the expedition is aware of the whaling and police establishments in the
northwestern part of Hudson bay a retreat there may be made without
great difficulty, if accompanied by natives.
We were forced to leave Beechey island hurriedly, owing to a large
quantity of ice being driven rapidly out of the harbour by a fresh
breeze and a falling tide, which threatened to separate us from the
ship.
From the island no ice could be seen to the westward or northward in
Wellington channel and Barrow strait. Our instructions limited the
cruise westward in Lancaster sound to our present position, and the
damaged condition of the ship, together with a supply of provisions
insufficient for another winter in the ice, all militated against the
desire to attempt the Northwest Passage, which under favourable
conditions seemed possible in our staunch powerful steamship.
We left Erebus harbour at half-past two in the afternoon, standing
southward across Lancaster sound for North Somerset island. At five
o’clock some loose stringers of ice were met, and the course was changed
to the eastward to avoid them. The north wind freshened to a gale
accompanied by fog, and trouble was experienced in making the channel
between Leopold island and Cape Clarence, at the mouth of Prince Regent
inlet. The cape was passed at ten o’clock. The ship then steamed south,
along the high cliffs of limestone, for Port Leopold, where we arrived
at midnight. These cliffs rise 1,000 feet perpendicularly, being formed
of nearly horizontal beds of limestone of different thicknesses and
various shades of yellow, so that the cliff has a marked horizontal
banding. The rocks appear to have long been submitted to the action of
the weather and of small streams, each of which has cut a more or less
marked gully into the face of the cliff, and the whole, taken together,
give the appearance of vertical fluting, while the weathered tops have a
castellated finish like that of some gigantic fortress. The cliffs fall
away abruptly into a long low point of shingle which partly closes the
mouth of the spacious and safe harbour of Port Leopold.
[Illustration: PROVISIONS LEFT FOR THE ‘GJOA’ AT PORT LEOPOLD.]
As we steamed into the harbour what appeared to be an overturned boat
with a wooden ‘lean-to’ built against it was seen at the end of the low
point, with a small Danish flag flying. The whistle was blown, but no
sign of life appeared about the place, and thinking that the Magnetic
Pole expedition might perhaps have met with some disaster and that the
survivors might be in want, a boat was lowered and the doctor was sent
ashore with stimulants and warm blankets. Happily his services were not
required; the supposed boat proved to be the boiler of a steam launch,
left here by one of the Franklin search parties. Against it were piled a
number of cases of provisions left a few days previously by the whaler
_Windward_ for the _Gjoa_, and marked by a small flag flying above them.
The light-coloured limestone forms the bottom of the harbour, and gives
the water a dangerous looking, light tinge, which is quite misleading,
as the depth is sufficient for the largest ships. The east and west
sides of the harbour are bounded by high cliffs, while at the northern
end the land is low, and it is not far across it to the bay on the
northern coast lying directly west of Cape Clarence.
North Somerset has physical characteristics closely resembling those of
North Devon; the limestone cliffs of the northern shore, however, appear
to be somewhat lower and more broken than those of the northern island,
while the amount of snow and ice of the land is considerably less. The
high perpendicular cliffs of the east side appear to continue far to the
southward down Prince Regent inlet.
The wind increased during the night, and blew a gale all next day,
strong and almost continuous gusts from the high hills sweeping the
crests from the waves and rendering a landing impossible. The wind fell
away towards morning. On the 17th a landing was made on the point, the
flag was hoisted and a copy of the Proclamation and of the Customs
Regulations was left in the boiler. Close alongside lay the wreck of the
launch, destroyed by the ice, only the keel, some of the timbers and
lower planking remaining. Signs of the whalers and of natives were
plentiful on the point, where the circles of stones and fireplaces
marked the tents of the former, and other fireplaces showed where the
whalers had been ‘trying-out’ whale blubber. A curious sled-runner of
teak was picked up on the beach. It was about six feet long and full of
holes bored for lashing on the shoeing, which was of walrus ivory, and
further secured to the runner by wooden pegs. The wood was either from
the wreck of the launch, or more likely from that of the _Fury_, lost
early in last century, some miles to the southward of Port Leopold, on
the western side of Prince Regent inlet. The evidence of great age in
the runner points to the latter origin.
Port Leopold was left shortly before noon, and we were soon tossing in
the head sea caused by the past gale. The wind changed to eastward, and
within an hour of leaving the harbour we were again inclosed in a thick
fog, which rendered a return impossible. The fog lasted until the next
evening. During the interval we steamed cautiously across the mouth of
Prince Regent, Admiralty and Navy Board inlets, and with clearing
weather found ourselves outside the Wollaston islands that lie a few
miles from the northwest corner of Bylot island. A parting between the
lower and upper fog gave a beautiful ribbon-like picture of the rough
snow-covered coast and peaks of Bylot island flooded with bright
sunshine, in marked contrast to the gloomy, foggy weather about the
ship.
A wide belt of heavy field ice, which was dangerous to enter in the low
fog that obscured the shores, lay along the land; consequently the
impressions of the northern part of the island were obtained from a
distant view between the banks of fog. The scenery was characteristic of
the northern lands occupied by the crystalline rocks, the principal
feature being sharp rugged peaks upwards of 1,500 feet in height, rising
above the deep glaciers of the valleys and backed by a continuous
ice-cap a few miles inland.
PONDS INLET.
During the night much field-ice and many icebergs were passed as we
steamed along the shores. Next morning at eleven o’clock, having rounded
Cape Graham Moore, we came to an Eskimo encampment just inside Button
point on the north side of the entrance to Ponds inlet. A landing was
made at the mouth of a small stream, on the clay banks of which were
located thirteen cotton and skin tents of these natives. All the
able-bodied men were away in the whaleboats, either at Erik harbour, on
the south side of the inlet, or some distance up it. There were a large
number of women and children who, with a few sick men, completely filled
a whaleboat in which they visited the ship in search of food. Many were
sick with a disease resembling typhoid-pneumonia, being troubled by
internal bleeding and a high fever.
We secured the services of a very intelligent man as pilot to the place
some miles up the inlet where the Scotch whalers were anchored. From him
we learned that the sloop _Albert_ had wintered in Erik harbour, and
that two small whales had been captured by natives in her boats during
the early summer. Continuing our way up the inlet, a second encampment
of six tents was passed about six miles beyond Button point. From the
pilot we learned that the total native population about Ponds inlet
comprised thirty-five families, or one hundred and forty-four persons.
The only other band on the northern shores of Baffin island lived at
Admiralty inlet, and does not exceed forty persons in all. Members of
this band annually visit Ponds inlet to trade for the necessary supplies
of ammunition, knives and other articles to be obtained from the
whalers. At this time over one-half of the population of Ponds inlet
were away inland to the southwest after a supply of deerskins for winter
clothing, and would not return before the snow fell. The deer country is
free from snow during the summer, and consists partly of rolling
country, with a few high hills, but principally of a plain, cut by many
streams and dotted with numerous lakes, the deer feeding on the grass
and shrubs which are plentiful in the interior.
Bylot island is everywhere high and rough, and supports few deer except
in the northeastern interior. The ice-cap, seen everywhere from the
coast, does not extend far inland, where much of the land is bare in
summer. The natives of Ponds inlet frequently cross to Fox channel and
Repulse bay. During the past winter a party returning from the latter
place brought letters from the whaling station at Repulse bay. They also
occasionally cross to North Somerset, where of late years musk-oxen have
been killed. This journey is at rare intervals continued across
Lancaster sound to North Devon, where many deer and musk-oxen are found
along the western side, while bears and walrus are plentiful among the
ice of Wellington channel. In the winter all congregate at Button point,
where the early part of the season is spent in houses built half into
the ground, the low walls being made of boulders and whalebones cemented
together with clay and sods, the roof being a portion of the summer
tent. The ordinary snowhouse is used, as in other places, after the snow
falls and until the late spring. During the winter food is obtained by
killing narwhals and occasional seals and walrus in the open water at
the edge of the solid ice near the mouth of the inlet. The whales come
in July and sport about the mouth of the inlet until the ice breaks up,
when they either follow the solid edge in its retreat up the inlet, or
pass southward along the coast. In former years at least half of the
whales taken by the Scotch whaling fleet were captured in the vicinity
of Ponds inlet.
[Illustration: CLIFFS OF BYLOT ISLAND.]
Owing to the northwest trend of the south shore the inlet gradually
narrows as it is ascended, so that about fifteen miles above Button
point, where a high rocky island terminates the southern point, the
distance from shore to shore does not greatly exceed three miles.
Farther westward it again broadens to twice that distance, and so
continues until, turning north, it bounds the western side of Bylot
island, where it is known as Navy Board inlet. Two long narrow bays
pierce deep into the comparatively flat country of northern Baffin
island from the neighbourhood of the bend, and a very fine salmon river
empties into the more eastern bay. At the time of our visit the western
end of the inlet was still filled with ice, making it impossible to
visit this portion.
About ten miles beyond the narrows we came to anchor close under the
steep clay banks of the drift plain on the south side of the inlet, and
alongside the Scotch whalers _Eclipse_ and _Diana_. Shortly after, we
were visited by Captain Milne, Captain Adams and Mr. Much of the
_Albert_.
A great deal of valuable information concerning whales and whaling, as
well as about the ice currents and other points relating to the Arctics,
was obtained from these gentlemen, all of whom have had many years’
experience in these regions. Much of this information has been used in
the article on whaling, which is printed later in this report.
Finding that Arctic salmon were plentiful at the mouth of the little
river about a mile from the ships, a small net was borrowed, and two
boats were sent away to secure a supply of fresh fish. They returned
loaded in an hour, having made but four casts of the net, in which over
a thousand splendid fish were taken, varying in weight from three to ten
pounds and aggregating at least 5,000 pounds.
A strong gale from the eastward blew until the evening of the 21st, with
thick banks of fog covering the hills and filling the narrows, while the
weather about the ships remained fine and clear. The _Diana_ broke
adrift during the gale and lost an anchor and thirty fathoms of chain.
During our detention landings were made, and some trips were taken
inland over the high, terraced plain, which extends far to the south and
westward. The lowest terrace is two hundred feet above the sea. The
surface of the plain is uneven, and deeply cut by the valleys of several
small streams. The higher terraces flank the rocky hills to the
eastward, the highest being fully six hundred feet above sea-level. On
the plain and in the valleys there is considerable Arctic vegetation,
from which a very interesting collection of plants was made by Dr.
Borden.
A number of partly underground houses, similar to those already
described, were found at the mouth of a small stream close to the
anchorage. From several ancient graves along the banks of the stream a
short distance from the houses a good collection of skulls was obtained.
When the gale abated, we started down the inlet for Erik harbour,
accompanied by the other ships; the narrows once passed, we had to
literally feel our way to the harbour through the dense fog, and
anchored at its head alongside the whalers _Balaena_ and _Albert_.
A landing was made to collect specimens of the granites and their
associated rocks, which form the hills surrounding the harbour, and to
visit the glacier which fills over two-thirds of its head. The glacier
is a mile wide where it empties into the harbour, the ice along the
front being about a hundred feet thick. As there is now very little
motion to the ice, few icebergs break off, and those that do are too
small to cause danger to the vessels in the anchorage. The southern
corner of the bay is free of ice, and a small river discharges there
from a southern valley. The glacier comes down the northwest valley,
leaving its rocky wall about a mile inland; thence to the sea it is
bounded by a steep ridge of glacial drift full of large boulders; the
crest of this ridge gradually falls from two hundred feet to fifty feet
as it approaches the water. There are large quantities of mud on and
through the ice, so that all the streams discharging from it are very
dirty. At some former time this glacier filled the entire valley
extending to its mouth five miles away, and depositing against the rocky
walls banks of boulder drift to a height of four hundred feet above the
present level of the sea. There is no doubt that in the glacial period
the size and extent of the glaciers of Baffin island were much greater
than at present; at the same time the sharp outlines of the hills,
together with the absence of that intense polishing and striation of the
rocks so common in Labrador and more southern regions, point to a much
thinner ice-cap during the glacial period in these northern regions than
on the continental area to the south. This may be accounted for, in
part, by a smaller precipitation from the narrow, ice-laden seas in the
north.
[Illustration: ESKIMO ENCAMPMENT AT PONDS INLET.]
VOYAGE SOUTHWARD FROM PONDS INLET.
We left Erik harbour late on the afternoon of the 22nd, intending to
proceed southward along the coast in order to correct the chart, which
we were informed was very unreliable to Cumberland gulf. The fog closed
down shortly after leaving, and, soon, large sheets of heavy ice forced
us to the eastward away from the land, which was not seen again until we
were within a few miles of the northern side of Cumberland gulf, on the
morning of the 27th. Meanwhile the ship, continuously battling with
heavy floes of northern ice, had been forced nearly over to the
Greenland coast in the endeavour to find a passage southward, and then
had to work back to the western side in order to visit Cumberland gulf.
Continuing in this heavy ice, which completely filled the gulf, we
finally reached Blacklead island on the 31st, having passed a small
Norwegian brigantine tightly beset in the ice about twenty miles from
that place. We lay alongside this vessel during the night previous, and
were boarded by her captain, who rightly had much fear for the safety of
his small unprotected craft in the heavy pack. All the supplies for the
coming year belonging to the mission and whaling stations of the gulf
were aboard, and if she were crushed everybody living at those stations
would have a hard time until relief reached them in the summer of 1905.
We took on board the mail and ship’s papers for the stations, and left
her still tight in the ice.
At Blacklead we were visited by the Rev. Mr. J. Peck and the agent of
the whaling station, and learned from them that the past year had been
very unprofitable to the whalers and disastrous to the natives. Owing to
the quantity of broken ice that had been tightly jammed into the gulf
throughout the summer, and which prevented the boats from reaching the
open water, no whales had been captured, though a few had been seen. A
succession of heavy easterly gales occurred during the winter, causing a
heavy swell, which from time to time broke up the solid ice of the bay
and prevented the natives from going as usual to the edge of the open
water on their winter chase after seals and walrus; many, consequently,
were in a chronic state of starvation during the winter. The same cause
prevented relief reaching them from the stations, dog-travelling being
impossible. Late in the autumn a heavy gale, in conjunction with an
extra high tide, swept away several tents and other belongings of the
natives who were camped on the lower part of the island, the tide rising
twenty feet above the ordinary high-water mark. In March the heavy swell
broke up ice three feet thick, on which forty Eskimos were encamped.
During their retreat to a place of safety three of these people perished
from exposure or were drowned, while many more suffered from frost-bite
and exposure. All the survivors escaped with their lives only, losing
all their belongings on the ice.
The total returns from the two stations on Cumberland gulf comprise
about three thousand sealskins, twenty tons seal oil, two walrus skins,
one bearskin and a few white-fox skins. The value of the whole is less
than the cost of the provisions consumed.
A large amount of valuable information concerning the Eskimo living on
the eastern part of Baffin island was obtained from the Rev. Mr. Peck.
It has been used in the preparation of the article on the Eskimos.
A number of interesting photographs, some of which are reproduced in
this report, were taken on the following day, when a trip was made to
the summit of the island. From that point the northwestern part of the
gulf could be seen blocked with ice as far as and far beyond Kekerten.
The brigantine had drifted westward with the ice and now lay becalmed in
it, about twelve miles to the northward, with much ice between her and
Blacklead. No special object could be gained by a trip to Kekerten, and
we therefore started, outward bound, early on the afternoon of the 1st
of September. Heavy ice was encountered all the way to Cape Haven, which
was reached on the morning of the 3rd. The ship was stopped at the small
islands about four miles from the station, owing to the danger of
entering the harbour with so much heavy ice drifting about on the strong
tides. A boat load of natives came off to the ship about an hour after
our arrival, and reported that Captain Jackson had left with two boats
about ten days before on his way to Blacklead in search of supplies, all
the provisions at the station being exhausted, and no new supply having
come for the present year. No whales had been captured, and the year’s
hunt comprised a few bear and walrus skins. The same complaints were
made of the ice and easterly gales as at Blacklead, and the prospects of
the station looked very dark. The natives said that a letter for us had
been left at the station. A boat was sent for it, but returned with the
information that it was addressed to the captain of the vessel supposed
to be bringing supplies to the station from Boston.
The heavy Arctic ice, through which the _Neptune_ had been constantly
battling for the past two weeks, was finally left a few miles south of
Cape Haven, greatly to the relief of everybody.
According to the Scotch whaling captains and the people at the stations,
this season was the worst ever known as regards ice on the coast of
Baffin island, and fog and constant southeasterly gales. The last
mentioned account for the prevalence of ice.
Passing across the mouths of Cyrus Field and Frobisher bays, and to the
eastward of Resolution island, Port Burwell was again safely reached on
the 4th. We remained in the harbour three days, taking on board coal and
provisions previously landed for the Mounted Police.
PORT BURWELL TO FULLERTON AND BACK.
Having crossed the mouth of Ungava bay, a strong headwind greatly
delaying the ship, we put into Wakeham bay on the south side of the
strait, to test its capabilities as a harbour. A fine clear passage was
found into the bay on a line from the east end of Prince of Wales island
to the centre of the inlet; there are a few low shoals on both sides of
this line, but all are well beyond the course. A high, rounded point
connected by a sandy neck to the south side of the bay forms an
excellent protected anchorage just inside the heads. A second anchorage
was found about five miles farther up on the same side, opposite to an
Eskimo encampment and close to a good stream of water. Anchoring at the
lower place, we were visited in the evening by a number of natives from
the encampment. Several books, given for distribution by the Rev. Mr.
Peck, were handed out to them, and they immediately held on deck a
service of song and prayer. These natives had never seen a missionary,
but had learned to read from others at Fort Chimo who had come in
contact with the missionaries on the east coast of Hudson bay.
[Illustration: WOMEN’S BOAT AT WAKEHAM BAY.]
A pilot, well acquainted with the southern coast of the strait as far as
Cape Wolstenholme, agreed to accompany us to Fullerton and return again
on the ship.
We started early in the morning of the 8th, and passed through King
George sound, reaching Douglas harbour at eight o’clock, where we were
boarded by two natives, each in his kyak, one of which contained a bear
lately killed. A number of walrus were seen about the small islands a
few miles east of Douglas harbour. Continuing close to the coast,
shallow water was encountered while passing inside of Joy island, a few
miles east of Cape Weggs, where suspiciously low islands fringe the
shore. After considerable difficulty had been experienced in extricating
the ship from this dangerous position, deeper water was followed to the
cape, when the course was laid for Charles island. While steaming along
the island next morning a ship was seen passing out of the strait, but
too far away to signal. She afterwards proved to be the _Strom_,
belonging to the French Fur Company.
The walrus, so plentiful last year about the western end of the island,
were now absent; consequently we were unable to obtain a supply of
dog-food for Fullerton. The course was next directed southward for
Deception bay, in the mainland, opposite the western end of Charles
island. When within a few miles of its mouth the water became shallow
and the bottom uneven, so that the bay could only be approached with
safety by sending the launch ahead to sound. It was thought that too
much precious time would be lost in this undertaking, especially as it
was known that a good harbour existed in the bay, where the whaler
_Arctic_ had twice anchored, so we passed westward close to the land in
order to correct the survey made during the night on the trip eastward.
About thirty miles west of Deception bay the mouth of another long
narrow inlet, known as Sugluk bay, was entered, and the ship continued
five miles up it looking for a convenient place for water. A shallow
place was crossed at the mouth of the bay, probably due to the ship
being too close to the eastern shore, but, inside, the water was found
to be very deep, and an anchorage could only be obtained on the edge of
the narrow mud banks close under the rocky cliffs of both shores.
In the small launch, the survey of the bay was continued to its head,
some five miles beyond, where the ship anchored. At the head of the bay
three families of natives were found, living in a state of destitution.
This was their first direct contact with white men; they were somewhat
shy and frightened, but a present of tobacco and biscuit soon made all
good friends. These people do not visit any of the far away trading
posts, but trade their furs with their neighbours on the east or west
for guns and other articles of civilization.
Considerable difficulty was experienced returning against a very strong
tide, and the ship was not reached until long after dark.
The following afternoon the remainder of the south coast was surveyed to
Cape Wolstenholme, where we arrived at dark; then the ship was headed
north across the strait for Salisbury island, the eastern end of which
was reached early next morning. Following close along the steep rocky
shores of the northern side, the northeast point was reached at noon.
The weather throughout the morning had been bad, a strong northwest
breeze bringing down frequent heavy blinding showers of snow. These
showers became almost continuous, and towards noon only momentary
glimpses of the land were to be obtained at long intervals. The tides
here are very swift, and when the sky cleared a strong ice-glint was to
be seen ahead. It was considered dangerous to attempt to enter the ice
in such weather, with the unknown Mill islands directly in the course;
we therefore turned back to pass south of Nottingham island. This
decision proved wise, for next day the whole mouth of Fox channel was
found completely filled with heavy ice drifted south from the northern
parts of that channel. The condition of the _Neptune’s_ stem did not
warrant any contact with the ice that could possibly be avoided.
The northern side of Salisbury island rises directly from the water in
granite cliffs to elevations varying from 500 to 1,000 feet. The surface
of the island appears to be very rugged and barren. As a rule the shores
are without harbours along this side, but at both ends there are deep
bays protected by rocky islands, where safe harbours would be found if
the water did not prove too deep. In all of the many soundings taken
along the island, no bottom was obtained at two hundred and twenty
fathoms; this is consequently the deepest water in Hudson bay and
strait. Two large icebergs were grounded off the eastern end of the
island, while a third very large one had penetrated to the head of the
bay at the northeastern end and was aground close under the rocks. As
these bergs must have come from Davis strait, there being no glaciers on
the lands fronting on Hudson bay, they show a strong current from the
eastward along the northern side of the strait.
On the 13th, having rounded Salisbury and Nottingham during the night,
ice was met with at nine in the morning, twenty-five miles to the
westward of the last mentioned island. The course was changed to south
of west to skirt the edge of this great pack, and as it continued
unbroken to the westward, the idea of passing through Fisher strait was
abandoned, and the course was laid to the southward of Coats island. The
passage was encumbered by ice until dark, when the ship lay-to awaiting
daylight. The low southern shore of Coats was then followed westward to
Cape Southampton, after which we headed away direct for Fullerton. When
within a few miles of that place, on the evening of the 15th, we came up
with the Scotch whaler _Active_, now bound homeward from Repulse bay.
Captain Murray came on board, seeking the doctor. From him we learned
that the _Active_ had passed us, on our way out, on the 20th of July,
when leaving the eastern entrance to Evans strait. She had come in early
in the month, and after landing a number of miners at Lake harbour, on
the north side of the strait close to the eastern end of Big island, had
taken on board a large number of Eskimos from that place and from the
vicinity of Kings cape, at the entrance to Fox channel. Great difficulty
had been experienced in the ice while crossing Fox channel.
Subsequently, little ice was met with until the ship reached Repulse
bay, which was still solidly frozen, so that the _Active_ did not get
into the harbour there until the 10th of August. Frozen strait remained
full of ice all the season. The _Active_ and the whaling station in
connection with it at Repulse bay both had a successful season. The
catch of the steamer included thirty-three white whales, thirty-six
walrus, and one Right whale affording 1,300 pounds of bone. The returns
of the station were twenty-eight musk-ox skins, thirty white whales, and
one small Right whale with 500 pounds of bone. In 1903 the combined
catch included five Right whales with a total of 40,000 pounds of bone.
The _Active_ on her way out would pass through Fisher strait, in order
to hunt walrus at Walrus island and on the floating ice on the eastern
side of Fox channel. Part of the large crew of natives would be put
ashore at Kings cape and the remainder at the mica mine, where the
results of the season’s mining, some thirteen tons, would be taken on
board, together with the white men there, and the ship would leave for
home about the 1st of October.
The _Era_ had been met in Repulse bay, and had at that time not added to
her catch since we left Fullerton. Captain Comer was again to winter in
Fullerton harbour, and was on his way south to go into winter quarters.
Including the crew, the _Active_ had one hundred and twenty-three
persons on board; the ship is quite small, and the accommodation and
crowding can be imagined.
Fullerton was reached next morning, and we were soon boarded by the
police detachment and our old Eskimo friends of the past winter. During
our absence Staff-Sergeant Dee had made an exciting trip to Repulse bay
in a whaleboat manned by natives.
The day after our arrival the _Era_ entered the harbour, and Captain
Comer reported the lack of success mentioned above.
We remained at Fullerton until the 25th, being busily employed in the
meantime with landing provisions and coals for the police, shifting
coal, and taking aboard ballast. Two of the policemen who had been left
here in the spring were found to be seriously ill, and on the doctor’s
certificate were taken on board invalided home.
The homeward voyage from Fullerton to Port Burwell was made in fine
weather, and the only incident requiring mention was that the ice from
Fox channel had advanced southward and westward nearly twenty miles
since we last saw it. This necessitated our keeping close to Mansfield
island. Our pilot was safely returned to his home in Wakeham bay, and
Port Burwell was reached on the 1st of October.
The ship had not been at anchor in the harbour for an hour, when the
_Arctic_, with Major Moodie and Captain Bernier, came in. Major Moodie
brought the welcome word of recall to the _Neptune_, and after procuring
some articles of equipment from us left again that evening, being in a
great hurry to reach Fullerton before the harbour froze over.
A heavy gale of southeast wind kept us in the harbour until the morning
of the 4th, when we rounded Cape Chidley and turned south bound for
home. A fine passage was made down the Labrador coast, and on the
evening of the 7th we reached Chateau, where telegrams were sent
announcing our safe arrival. The trip across the Gulf of St. Lawrence
and along the coast of Nova Scotia was rough. We arrived in Halifax on
the 12th, looking somewhat weather-beaten, as was only natural after
nearly fifteen months’ absence.
I cannot close this narrative without expressing the deep feelings of
gratitude I bear towards Captain Bartlett and the officers and crew of
the _Neptune_, for their unfailing and cheerful attention to duty
throughout the voyage, an attention which rendered my leadership both
easy and enjoyable.
[Illustration: SOUTH COAST OF NORTH DEVON ISLAND.]