High water on full and change, at three hours; rise and fall 8 feet.
I found it is very much influenced by the wind, and when it blows
strongly from the N. W. it rises considerably higher.
“The town of Hammerfest is situated on the island of Qualoon, 25
Danish miles in extent, and is one of the departments of West Finmark,
which contains 25,000 souls. This province is divided into parishes,
each having its priest, and over the whole is a bishop, to enforce
the duties of the Lutheran religion. There are 200 regular soldiers
scattered in different quarters of the province, commanded by a
captain, who governs the whole country. About thirty houses compose
the town of Hammerfest, with about 200 inhabitants; with one church,
one hospital, a customhouse, and some public and private stores. The
customhouse has regular established officers appointed from Copenhagen.
The captain of the port is under the same appointment, and wears the
uniform of the Danish navy.
“The principal trade of this place is in furs and fish, which are all
sent into Russia. The extent of the imports and exports I was not
able accurately to learn, but suppose them, in time of peace, to be
something considerable. I was told by the captain of the port, that in
1808, 200 sail had been seen here at one time. The Russian merchants
have their agents scattered all over West as well as East Finmark.
They make their purchases from the Finmarkers, with flour, brandy,
sail-cloth, fishing-lines, coarse cloth, and other articles of that
kind, for enabling them to carry on the fishing and hunting business. I
was informed that 3000 boats were yearly employed by the Finmarkers in
fishing; for as soon as the hunting season is over, they devote their
whole attention to the fisheries. Four or five men are attached to each
boat.
“Cod and herrings abound on this coast, and are the finest I ever saw,
being of a much firmer and better texture than those caught on the
banks of Newfoundland.
“As the Finmarker dries his fish in the sun, without salt, it must be
but a very poor employment: but, as all his wants are easily supplied,
with this kind of commerce he is satisfied, and thinks money of little
consideration. Perhaps, after all, they are more happy than the lower
orders of more enlightened nations.
“Perhaps a fishing establishment at Hammerfest might be attended
with considerable advantage. The deepness of the water would render
a departure from the mode of fishing observed on the banks of
Newfoundland indispensable. The hook and line are here of little
consequence. The Finmarkers all fish with nets, and we adopted the
same method with considerable success. No place is better adapted than
this for curing with salt. From its situation, embosomed by hills,
the thermometer in the summer, as our observations show, often reaches
a very high degree of temperature. With proper management, a cod
might then have been prepared for the market in three days, while at
Newfoundland, in the best weather, it requires five.
“At Newfoundland, they have only from twelve to fourteen hours sun;
at Hammerfest, nearly four months. The advantages, therefore, as
to climate, on the side of Hammerfest, are most obvious. Perhaps,
too, an establishment in the North might, in time of war, be of some
importance, as it would the better enable us to prevent our enemies
enjoying any share of so lucrative a trade as the whale fishing.
“The cold is by no means so intense in winter as might be expected.
The inner harbour, though seldom agitated by winds, was never seen
frozen over; and the moonlight is sufficiently strong to render labour
practicable. Nature has been very provident with respect to fuel, the
whole country abounding with good turf. The severity of the climate
diminishes the vital principle in the human race; the men soon get old,
and the women are past child-bearing at thirty-five.
“The chase of the bear, who is never killed before January or February,
when they are in the best condition, sets the courage and cool
deliberation of the Finmarker in a most conspicuous point of view.
In October, the Finmarker carefully watches the haunts of the bear,
who, at that time, seeks for a winter retreat; and having marked it,
returns in January to the attack. Having prepared a lance, to which a
_cross-bar_ is affixed, about one foot from the point, the Finmarker,
when the wind is in a favourable direction, makes a large fire before
the bear’s den; the smoke soon irritating the animals, they rush
out, one by one: at this critical moment the Finmarker, concealing
his lance, places himself behind the fire, and the bear, rearing on
his hind legs, in order to seize him, he plunges his lance up to the
cross-bar in his breast.[37] The rest are served in the same manner.
[37] The intrepidity of the Finmarker, and the dangers he has to
encounter in the chase of the seal, are well described in Acerbi’s
excellent Travels in the North, vol. i. p. 291.
“The rein deer are here extremely plenty, and very dear; we paid L.2
for one of them. Certainly they had heard something of the wealth of
John Bull.
“Some of the better sort of people at Hammerfest, possessed a few cows
and sheep. The cows were not larger than a bull-dog, and the sheep like
a good tom-cat.
“The female beauty of this place had sufficient attraction to induce
the gentlemen of the Princess Carolina and Sybyll to give them a ball
and supper. The invitation was quite general, and the whole went off
with great eclat.
“Most of the Russian agents and merchants spoke the English language;
but they were by no means anxious to communicate information which they
thought might, one day or other, ruin their commercial pursuits. It was
only when they got a good dinner, and plenty of wine, that any thing
particular could be drawn from them.
“The Sybyll and Princess Carolina sailed from the Downs on the 6th of
May, and on the 18th of August arrived in Long Hope Sound. Our highest
latitude was 78° 16´, where we saw many of the Greenland ships. We
sailed as far east as 32° 44´, and experienced one continued series of
good weather. The thermometer never was below 26° in the night, and
seldom above 44° in the day, with the exception of the time we were at
Hammerfest.”
+-----+-------------+---------+---------+--------------+-------------+
| | | | | [Sun] | | |
|Mon. |A.M.| | |Amplitude| | |
|Day, | or |Latitude|Longitude|corrected| Ship’s | Magnetic |
|and |P.M.| in. | in. |for dip, | head. | amplitude. |
|Year.| | | | &c. | | |
+-----+-------------+---------+---------+--------------+-------------+
| 1814| | | | | | |
| May | | North. | East. | | | |
| 11 |A.M.| 53° 38 | 2° 22 | 24° 12 | N.W. |S. 61° 15´ E.|
| 12 |A.M.| 54 34 | 2 37 | 23 59 | N.W._b_N. |S. 61 20 E.|
| 16 |A.M.| 57 2 | 3 37 | 24 1 | N.N.E. |S. 66 45 E.|
| 16 |P.M.| 57 53 | 2 21 | 21 32 | N_b_W.½W. |N. 62 50 W |
| 17 |A.M.| 59 4 | 0 32 | 14 42 | N._b_W. |S. 75 20 E.|
| 24 |P.M.| 60 27 | 1 58 | 15 21 | N.E._b_E. |N. 50 15 W |
| 25 |A.M.| 60 27 | 2 0 | 27 6 | N._b_W. |S. 60 40 E.|
| 26 |P.M.| 60 52 | 2 50 | 18 33 | N.E. |N. 58 40 W |
|June | | | | | |
| 2 |P.M.| 73 14 | 18 10 | 17 50 | N.E._b_N. |N. 60 30 W |
| 4 |P.M.| 74 27 | 19 58 | 19 9 | W.S.W. |N. 60 30 W |
| 8 |P.M.| 73 59 | 29 55 | 18 20 | N.E._b_N. |N. 66 15 W |
| 8 |P.M.| 74 0 | 29 52 | 15 22 | W.S.W. |N. 48 40 W |
| 13 |P.M.| 71 10 | 27 10 | 8 52 | S.W.½S. |N. 25 0 W |
| 18 |P.M.| 75 22 | 18 21 | 15 2 | N._b_E. |N. 37 50 W |
| 26 |P.M.| 78 11 | 6 55 | 20 38 | E.S.E. |N. 55 0 W |
|July | | | | | | |
| 3 |A.M.| 72 53 | 21 21 | 17 47 | S.S.E. |S. 78 40 E.|
| 22 |P.M.| 70 27 | 10 38 | 17 14 | E.S.E. |N. 61 30 W |
|Aug. | | | | | | |
| 1 |P.M.| 68 58 | 10 25 | 15 26 | W.½N. |N. 52 40 W |
| 2 |A.M.| 68 33 | 9 10 | 13 40 | W.½_b_S.S. |S. 79 32 E.|
| | | | | | | |
| 2 |P.M.| 68 20 | 8 59 | 14 32 | S.S.W. |N. 55 30 W |
| 2 |P.M.| 68 20 | 8 59 | 13 50 | West. |N. 51 16 W |
| 2 |P.M.| 68 20 | 8 59 | 12 57 | N.E._b_N. |N. 56 20 W |
| | | | | | |
| 8 |P.M.| 67 37 | 3 20 | 15 6 | South, |N. 57 35 W |
| 11 |A.M.| 62 10 | 0 20 | 13 48 | W._b_N. |S. 65 55 E.|
| | | | West, | | | |
| 14 |A.M.| 61 23 | 0 6 | 20 18 | W.½S. |S. 52 30 E.|
| 14 |P.M.| 60 57 | 0 23 | 15 47 | E.S.E. |N. 60 0 W |
| 14 |P.M.| 60 57 | 0 10 | 3 00 | W._b_S. |N. 34 30 W |
| 15 |P.M.| 60 25 | 0 28 | 11 52 | E.S.E. |N. 62 0 W |
| 17 |P.M.| 59 7 | -- -- | 13 23 | W._b_S. |N. 55 30 W |
|Sept.| | | West, | | | |
| 2 |A.M.| 58 17 | 8 31 | 6 58 | N.W. |S. 61 15 E.|
| 2 |A.M.| 58 17 | 8 31 | 8 26 | North. |S. 62 17 E.|
| | | | | | | |
| 13 |P.M.| 49 59 | 6 22 | 8 12 | S.E._b_E. |N. 71 30 W |
| | | | | | | |
| 14 |A.M.| 49 6 | -- -- | 19 5 | . . . |S. 46 30 E.|
| | | | | | | |
| 14 |P.M.| -- -- | -- -- | -- -- | . . . |N. 57 0 W |
+-----+-------------+---------+---------+--------------+-------------+
+-----+----------+-------+--------------------------------------------
|Mon. | | |
|Day, |Variation.|Differ-| _Remarks, &c. &c._
|and | | ence. |
|Year.| | |
+-----+----------+-------+--------------------------------------------
| 1814| | |
| May | | |
| 11 | 24° 49´ W| |Very good sights.
| 12 | 26 18 | | -- --
| 16 | 21 35 } | 5° 25| -- --
| 16 | 27 0 } | | -- --
| 17 | 27 40 | | -- --
| 24 | 24 49 | | -- --
| 25 | 24 4 | | -- --
| 26 | 20 14 | | -- --
|June | | |
| 2 | 11 35 | |Very good. Sounded 100 fathoms, fine mud.
| 4 | 14 28 | |Not very good.
| 8 | 4 55 } | 6 25|Very good.} Both sights were equally good.
| 8 | 11 20 } | |Very good.} The ship was immediately put on
| | | | the other tack.
| 13 | 13 10 | |Very good. North Cape N.W._b_W.½W. 5 leagues.
| 18 | 16 12 | |Very good.
| 26 | 19 6 | |Very good. Ship surrounded with ice.
|July | | |
| 3 | 9 22 | |Very good.
| 22 | 16 6 | |Very good.
|Aug. | | |
| 1 | 26 42 | |Very good. Ship some motion.
| 2 | 25 14 | |Very good.
| | | |
| 2 | 22 4 } | |All these sights were equally good. The evening
| 2 | 25 11 } | 7 37| was remarkably fine, with a light air from the
| 2 | 17 34 } | | S.E. The first set was taken with the ship’s
| | | | head S.S.W.; 2d set at West; and 3d set at
| | | | N.E._b_N. The ship was put round in this
| | | | manner for the purpose.
| 8 | 26 43 | |The mean of six sets all good. The weather calm
| | | | and fine.
| 11 | 31 15 | |The mean of two sets ship steady. Longitude
| | | | obtained by [sun], [moon], and chronometer.
| 14 | 30 36 } | 5 8|Very good.
| 14 | 25 28 } | |Very good. North end of Shetland, S. 11° E.
| | | | 5 or 6 leagues.
| 14 | 30 40 } | 10 25|Very good. North end of Shetland, S. 48° W.
| | | | 4 or 5 leagues.
| 15 | 20 15 } | |Very good. Outer Skerry, Shetland, S.S.W.
| | | | 2 miles.
| 17 | 30 32 | |Very good. Lamb Head, Orkneys, W.½S. 4 or
| | | | 5 miles.
|Sept.| | |
| 2 | 33 1 } | |Both these sights were good, and the ship was
| 2 | 29 31 } | 3 30| put on the courses, as given purposely. St.
| | | | Kilda Island S. 9° W. 8 or 9 leagues. No
| | | | soundings at 180 fathoms.
| 13 | 22 30 | |At anchor in St. Mary’s. St. Agnes’s
| | | | Light-House W. 54° S. Castle E. 51° S.
| 14 | 27 16 | |This azimuth was taken on shore at St. Agnes’s
| | | | Light-House, with false horizon.
| 14 | 27 31 | |This amplitude was taken on shore at St. Mary’s
| | | | flag-staff.--Most excellent.
+-----+----------+-------+--------------------------------------------
[Transcriber's Note: The table was laid out in the original with the
data on one page and the Remarks on the next, this table has been
divided to fit the page constraints. The date column has been repeated
for ease of reference. [sun] and [moon] are represented by symbols in
the original.]
No. IV.
In the Appendix to the second volume of Flinders’ Voyage, which has
lately been published, there is an article of considerable length
and ability, on the Variation of the Compass. In that article,
the observations made by that excellent sailor, corroborate, in a
remarkable degree, and accord with those made in the Sybyll. I have
selected a few of the most decisive instances.
+---------+----------+---------------+----------+------------+-------+
| 1802. | Lat. | Long. | Course. | Var. | Diff. |
+---------+----------+---------------+----------+------------+-------+
| April | | | | | |
|22. A.M. | 39° 38´S.| 141° 40´E. az.| W.S.W. | 11° 52´E. }| |
|24. | 39 38 | 144 1 | S. | 7 59 }| 3° 53´|
| July | | | | | |
|15. P.M. | 34 5 | 135 9 | S.E._b_E.| 1 33 W. }| |
|-- | 34 6 | 135 9 ampl. | S.W._b_W.| 3 56 E. }| 5 39 |
|28. | 25 0 | 153 23 | N.W._b_N.| 9 39 }| |
|29. | 24 43 | 153 27 | S.E.½S. | 6 33 }| 3 6 |
+---------+----------+---------------+----------+------------+-------+
After such a coincidence, the fact of the variations depending greatly
on the ship’s course cannot possibly be called in question; though it
is certainly surprising that it has not been sooner attended to in the
way that it deserves, by other navigators; for it did not altogether
escape their observations. Mr. Wales, astronomer to Captain Cook’s
ship, the Resolution, had made the same observations in a pretty
accurate manner; and M. Entrecasteaux, though without assigning any
cause, says, that the “Compass showed differences of several degrees in
variation at sea, though observed with the greatest care, and within
the space of a few minutes.”
After a more enlarged series of observations shall have been taken,
and after the attention of astronomers is directed to this fact, we
may confidently expect a most important improvement in the science of
navigation.
No. V.
The following article, “ON THE TREMENDOUS CONCUSSIONS OF THE FIELDS
OF ICE,” in the Arctic Sea, is extracted from Mr. Scoresby’s valuable
Memoir on “Polar Ice” in the Wernerian Society’s Transactions.
“The occasional rapid motion of fields, with the strange effects
produced on any opposing substance, exhibited by such bodies, is one
of the most striking objects this country presents, and is certainly
the most terrific. They not unfrequently acquire a rotatory movement,
whereby their circumference attains a velocity of several miles per
hour. A field, thus in motion, coming in contact with another at rest,
or more especially with a contrary direction of movement, produces a
dreadful shock. A body of more than ten thousand millions of tons in
weight,[38] meeting with resistance, when in motion, the consequences
may possibly be conceived!
[38] A field of thirty nautical miles square surface, and thirteen
feet in thickness, would weigh somewhat more than is here mentioned.
Allowing it to displace the water in which it floats, to the depth of
eleven feet, the weight would appear to be 10,182,857,142, nearly in
the proportion of a cubic foot of sea water to 64 lbs.
“The weaker field is crushed with an awful noise: sometimes the
destruction is mutual. Pieces of huge dimensions and weight are not
unfrequently piled upon the top, to the height of twenty or thirty
feet, whilst doubtless a proportionate quantity is depressed beneath.
The view of those stupendous effects in _safety_, exhibits a picture
sublimely grand, but where there is danger of being overwhelmed, terror
and dismay must be the predominant feelings. The whale-fishers at
all times require unremitting vigilance to secure their safety, but
scarcely in any situation, so much as when navigating amidst those
fields. In foggy weather they are particularly dangerous, as their
motion cannot then be distinctly observed. It may easily be imagined,
that the strongest ship can no more withstand the shock of the contact
of two fields, than a sheet of paper can stop a musket ball. Numbers
of vessels, since the establishment of the fishery, have been thus
destroyed. Some have been thrown upon the ice; some have had their
hulls completely torn open; and others have been buried beneath the
heaped fragments of the ice.
“In the year 1804, I had a good opportunity of witnessing the effects
produced by the lesser masses in motion. Passing between two fields
of bay-ice, about a foot in thickness, they were observed rapidly to
approach each other, and before our ship could pass the strait, they
met, with a velocity of three or four miles per hour; the one overlaid
the other, and presently covered many acres of surface. The ship
proving an obstacle to the course of the ice, it squeezed up on both
sides, shaking her in a dreadful manner, and producing a loud grinding,
or lengthened and acute tremulous noise, accordingly as the degree of
pressure was diminished or increased, until it had risen as high as
the deck. After about two hours, the velocity was diminished to a state
of rest; and, soon afterwards, the two sheets of ice receded from each
other nearly as rapidly as they had before advanced. The ship, in this
case, did not receive any injury; but had the ice been only half a foot
thicker, she would probably have been wrecked.
“In the month of May of the present year (1813) I witnessed a more
tremendous scene. Whilst navigating amidst the most ponderous ice which
the Greenland seas present, in the prospect of making our escape from
a state of _besetment_, our progress was unexpectedly arrested by an
isthmus of ice, about a mile in breadth, formed by the coalition of the
point of an immense _field_ on the north, with that of an aggregation
of _floes_ on the south. To the north field we moored the ship, in the
hope of the ice separating in this place. I then quitted the ship, and
travelled over the ice to the point of collision, to observe the state
of the bar which now prevented our release. I immediately discovered
that the two points had but recently met; that already a prodigious
mass of rubbish had been squeezed upon the top, and that the motion had
not abated. The fields continued to overlay each other with a majestic
motion, producing a noise resembling that of complicated machinery, or
distant thunder. The pressure was so immense, that numerous fissures
were occasioned, and the ice repeatedly rent beneath my feet. In one
of the fissures, I found the snow on the level to be three and a half
feet deep, and the ice upwards of twelve. In one place, hummocks had
been thrown up to the height of twenty feet from the surface of the
field, and at least twenty-five feet from the level of the water;
they extended fifty or sixty yards in length, and fifteen in breadth,
forming a mass of about two thousand tons in weight. The majestic
unvaried movement of the ice--the singular noise with which it was
accompanied--the tremendous power exerted--and the wonderful effects
produced--were calculated to excite sensations of novelty and grandeur,
in the mind of even the most careless Spectator!
“Sometimes these motions of the ice may be accounted for. Fields
are disturbed by currents--the wind--or the pressure of other ice
against them. Though the set of the current be generally towards the
south-west, yet it seems occasionally to vary; the wind forces all ice
to leeward, with a velocity nearly in the inverse proportion to its
depth under water; light ice consequently drives faster than heavy ice,
and loose ice than fields: loose ice meeting the side of a field in its
course, becomes deflected, and its re-action causes a circular motion
of the field. Fields may approximate each other from three causes:
_First_, If the lighter ice be to windward, it will, of necessity,
be impelled towards the heavier; _secondly_, As the wind frequently
commences blowing on the windward side of the ice, and continues
several hours before it is felt a few miles distant to leeward, the
field begins to drift before the wind can produce any impression on
ice, on its opposite side; and, _thirdly_, Which is not an uncommon
case, by the two fields being impelled towards each other, by winds
acting on each from opposite quarters.
“The closing of heavy ice, encircling a quantity of bay ice, causes it
to run together with such force, that it overlaps wherever two sheets
meet, until it sometimes attains the thickness of many feet. Drift
ice does not often coalesce with such a pressure as to endanger any
ship which may happen to be _beset_ in it: when, however, land opposes
its drift, or the ship is a great distance immured amongst it, the
pressure is sometimes alarming.”
No. VI.
_On the approximation towards the Poles, and on the possibility of
reaching the North Pole. From Mr. Scoresby’s paper in the Wernerian
Society’s Transactions._
“We have already remarked, that the 80th degree of north latitude is
almost annually accessible to the Greenland whale-fishers, and that
this latitude, on particular occasions, has been exceeded. In one of
the first attempts which appears to have been made to explore the
circumpolar regions, in the year 1607, Henry Hudson penetrated the
ice on the north-western coast of Spitzbergen to the latitude of 80°
23´ N. In 1773, Captain Phipps, in “a voyage towards the North Pole,”
advanced, on a similar track, to 80° 37´ of north latitude. In the year
1806, the ship Resolution of Whitby, commanded by my father, (whose
extraordinary perseverance and nautical ability are well appreciated by
those in the Greenland trade, and proved by his never-failing success,)
was forced, by astonishing efforts, through a vast body of ice, which
commenced in the place of the usual _barrier_, but exceeded its general
extent, by at least a hundred miles. We[39] then reached a navigable
sea, and advanced without hindrance, to the latitude of 81½ north, a
distance of only 170 leagues from the pole; which is, I imagine, one of
the most extraordinary approximations yet realized.”
[39] “I accompanied my father, on this voyage, in the capacity of
chief mate.”
* * * * *
“The southern hemisphere, towards the pole, was explored by Captain
Cook, in various meridians, and with indefatigable perseverance. In
his first attempt, in 1772, they met with ice in about 51° south, and
longitude 21° east. They saw great fields in 55° south, on the 17th of
January, 1773, and, on February the 24th, were stopped by field-ice in
62° south latitude, and 95° east longitude.
“Again, on the second attempt, in December of the same year, they first
met with ice in about 62° south latitude, and 172-173° west longitude;
and on the 15th, saw field-ice in 66°. On the 30th January, 1774, they
were stopped by immense ice-fields in latitude 71° 10´ 30´´ and 107°
west longitude, which was the most considerable approximation towards
the south pole that had ever been effected.
“Thus, it appears, that there subsists a remarkable difference between
the two hemispheres, with regard to the approach of the ice towards
the equator; the ice of the southern being much less pervious, and
extending to much lower latitudes than that of the northern hemisphere.
“That the 73d or 74th degree of north latitude can be attained at any
season of the year, whereas the 71st degree of south latitude has been
but once passed.--And,
“That, whilst the antarctic _ne plus ultra_ appears to be the 72d
degree of latitude, that of the arctic extends full 600 miles farther;
the nearest approach to the southern pole being a distance of 1130
miles, but to the north, only 510 miles.
“With regard to the probability of exploring the regions more
immediately in the vicinity of the pole than has yet been accomplished,
or even of reaching the pole itself, I anticipate, that, without
reference to the reasoning on which the opinion is grounded, it might
be deemed the frenzied speculation of a disordered fancy. I flatter
myself, however, that I shall be able to satisfy the Society, that
the performance of a journey over a surface of ice, from the north of
Spitzbergen to the pole, is a project which might be undertaken, with
at least a probability of success.
“It must be allowed, that many known difficulties would require to be
surmounted--many dangers to be encountered--and that some circumstances
might possibly occur, which would at once annul the success of the
undertaking. Of these classes of objections, the following strike me
as being the most formidable, which, after briefly stating, I shall
individually consider in their order.
1. The difficulty of performing a journey of 1200 miles, 600 going
and 600 returning, over a surface of ice--of procuring a sufficient
conveyance--and of carrying a necessary supply of provisions and
apparatus, as well as attendants.
“The difficulties may be increased by
(_a._) Soft snow;
(_b._) Want of continuity of the ice;
(_c._) Rough ice; and
(_d._) Mountainous ice.
“2. The difficulty of ascertaining the route, and especially of the
return, arising from the perpendicularity of the magnetical needle.
“3. Dangers to be apprehended,
(_a._) From excessive cold;
(_b._) From wild beasts.“
“4. Impediments which would frustrate the scheme;
(_a._) Mountainous land;
(_b._) Expanse of sea;
(_c._) Constant cloudy atmosphere.
“1. It is evident that a journey of 1200 miles, under the existing
difficulties, would be too arduous a task to be undertaken and
performed by human exertions alone, but would require the assistance of
some fleet quadrupeds, accustomed to the harness.
“Rein-deer, or dogs, appear to be the most appropriate. If the former
could sustain a sea-voyage, they might be refreshed in the northern
part of Spitzbergen, which affords their natural food. They could be
yoked to sledges framed of the lightest materials, adapted for the
accommodation of the adventurers, and the conveyance of the requisites.
The provision for the adventurers, for compactness, might consist
of portable soups, potted meats, &c. and compressed lichen for the
rein-deer. The instruments and apparatus might be in a great measure
confined to indispensables, and those of the most portable kinds; such
as tents, defensive weapons, sextants, chronometers, magnetic needles,
thermometers, &c.
“As the rein-deer is, however, a delicate animal, difficult to guide,
and might be troublesome if thin or broken ice were required to be
passed; dogs would seem, in some respects, to be preferable. In either
case, the animals must be procured from the countries wherein they are
trained, and drivers would probably be required with them. The journey
might be accelerated, by expanding a sail to every favourable breeze,
at the same time, the animals would be relieved from the oppression
of their draughts. It would appear, from the reputed speed of the
rein-deer, that, under favourable circumstances, the journey might be
accomplished even in a fortnight, allowing time for rest and accidental
delays. It would require a month or six weeks with dogs, at a moderate
speed; and, in the event of the failure of these animals on the
journey, it does not seem impossible that the return should be effected
on foot, with sledges for the provisions and apparatus.
“(_a._) Soft snow would diminish the speed, and augment the fatigue of
the animal; to avoid which, therefore, it would be necessary to set
out by the close of the month of April, or the beginning of May; or at
least, some time before the severity of the frost should be too greatly
relaxed.
“(_b._) Want of continuity of the ice would certainly occasion a
troublesome interruption; it might nevertheless be overcome, by having
the sledges adapted to answer the purpose of boats[40]; and it is to
be expected, that although openings amidst the ice should occur, yet a
winding course might in general be pursued, so as to prevent any very
great stoppage.
[40] The sledges might consist of slender frames of wood, with the
ribs of some quadruped, and coverings of water-proof skins, or other
materials equally light.
“(_c._) Many of the most prodigious fields are entirely free from
abrupt hummocks from one extremity to the other, and field ice, as it
appears in general, would be easily palpable.
“(_d._) The degree of interruption from mountainous ice would depend on
the quality of its surface. If, as is most probable, it were smooth,
and free from abrupt slopes, it would not prevent the success of the
expedition.
“2. The direct route would be pointed out, for some part of the way at
least, by the magnetic needle; and when its pole should be directed
towards the zenith, should that position ever obtain, the sun would
be the only guide. Or, the position of the true north being once
ascertained, three sledges in a line, at a convenient distance apart,
might enable the leading one to keep a direct course. A chronometer
would be an indispensable requisite, as the opportunity for lunar
observations could not be expected to occur sufficiently often. Were
the Pole gained, the bearing of the sun at the time of noon, by a
chronometer adjusted to the meridian of north-west Spitzbergen, would
afford a line of direction for the return; and, the position, in regard
to longitude, (were the sun visible) could be corrected, at least twice
a-day, as the latitude decreased. The degrees of longitude being so
contracted, any required position would be pointed out by the watch
with the greatest precision.
“3. (_a._) Among the dangers to be apprehended, the coldness of the
air stands prominent. As, however, the cold is not sensibly different,
between the latitudes of 70° and 80° with a strong north wind, it may
be presumed that at the Pole itself, it would be very little more
oppressive than at the borders of the main ice, in the 81st degree
of north latitude, under a hard northerly gale: And since this cold
is supportable, that of the Pole may be deemed so likewise. The
injurious effects of the severity of the weather might be avoided by
a judicious choice of woollen clothing, the external air being met by
an outward garment of varnished silk, and the face defended by a mask,
with eyes of glass. The exterior garment, would, at the same time, be
water-proof, and thus capable of shielding the body from accidental
moisture.
“(_b._) The white bear is the only ferocious animal known to inhabit
those regions, and he rarely makes an attack upon man. At any rate,
he might be repulsed by any offensive weapon. And, as the prey of the
bears is scarce in the most northern latitudes, they would not probably
occur in any abundance.
“4. Hitherto no insurmountable objection has been presented: a few
serious obstacles, should they occur, remain to be considered.
“(_a._) Mountainous land, like mountainous ice, would check the
progress of the expedition, in proportion to the ruggedness of its
surface and the steepness of its cliffs. Its occurrence would,
nevertheless, form an interesting discovery.
“(_b._) From the pretended excursions of the Dutch, many have believed
that the sea at the Pole is free from ice. Were this really the case,
the circumstance would certainly be an extraordinary one; but I
consider it too improbable to render it necessary to hazard any opinion
concerning it.
“(_c._) From the facts stated in pages 319, 320, of this paper, I think
we derive a sanction for calculating on clear weather at all times, but
with southerly storms; and, as these occur but rarely, the progress of
the journey would not probably be suspended by an obscure sky, except
for short periods, and at distant intervals.
“Notwithstanding I have now distinctly considered every obvious
objection and difficulty to be surmounted, I am nevertheless sensible,
that in the realising of any project or discovery, whether by sea or on
land, there will occur many adventitious circumstances, which may tend
to mar the progress of the best regulated expedition. Therefore, it
may not be improper to confirm and strengthen the whole, by directing
the attention to what has been done, in journeying under difficulties
which may bear a comparison with the undertaking here alluded to, and
occasionally under circumstances the most unfavourable to success.
“1st, When treating of icebergs, I alluded to the journey of ALEXEI
MARKOFF, in which it appears, that he performed near eight hundred
miles across a surface of packed ice, in the spring of 1715, in a
sledge drawn by dogs; and consequently, that he might be supposed to
have encountered the principal difficulties that could be expected in
the proposed scheme, whilst we have the advantage of improving by his
experience.
“2d, Speaking of the south-western tendency of the ice, I have also
noticed the loss of several of the Dutch Greenland fleet in 1777, from
which we learn, that part of the unfortunate suffering crews, under
every privation of provision and clothing, and exposed to the severity
of an Arctic winter, accomplished a journey on foot, along the coasts
of Old Greenland, from the east side, near Staten Hook, to the Danish
settlements on the west, a distance of near a hundred leagues.
“3d, On contrasting the projected polar journey with the catalogue of
marvellous occurrences, and wonderful preservations which are exhibited
in the records of maritime disasters,[41] the difficulties of the
undertaking in a great measure vanish, and its dangers are eclipsed
by the wonderful results which necessity has, in various instances
accomplished.”
[41] “See Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea.”