suspiciously through nostril and mustache. Presently you breathe in a
dry, pungent but gracious and agreeable atmosphere. The beard, eyebrows,
eyelashes, and the downy pubescence of the ears acquire a delicate white
and perfectly enveloped cover of venerable hoar-frost. The mustache and
under lip form pendulous beads of dangling ice. Put out your tongue and
it instantly freezes to this icy crusting, and a rapid effort and some
hand aid will be required to liberate it. The less you talk the better.
Your chin has a trick of freezing to your upper jaw by the luting aid of
your beard; even my eyes have often been so glued as to show that even a
wink may be unsafe."
The unfortunate physical condition of the party made Kane's duties most
onerous and wearing. In mid-winter he says:
"Scurvy advanced steadily. This fearful disease, so often warded off
when in a direct attack, now exhibited itself in a cachexy, a depraved
condition of system sad to encounter. Pains diffuse and non-locatable
were combined with an apathy and lassitude which resisted all attempts
at healthy excitement. These, of course, were not confined to the crew
alone: out of twenty-four men but five were without ulcerated gums and
blotched limbs. All the officers were assailed."
The expedition safe in port, the recollection of the horrors and
privations of his mid-winter drift through the polar pack did not deter
Kane from again braving the danger of Arctic exploration, and he was
soon busily engaged in stimulating public opinion to the support of
another expedition. To this end he especially addressed the American
Geographic Society, of which Henry Grinnell was president, presenting a
well-intended but fallacious and illogical plan for continuing the
search for Franklin.
Kane was personally aware, from the experiences of his previous voyage
with DeHaven, that Franklin had wintered at Beechy Island, in 74° 43´
N., 91° 33´ W., and that his positive orders from the admiralty required
him to push southward from the vicinity of Cape Walker to Behring
Strait. A search for him by the way of Smith Sound, four degrees of
latitude to the _northward_ and seventeen degrees of longitude to the
_eastward_ of his last known position, rested on the violent assumption
that Franklin had not only directly disobeyed his positive orders to go
_west_ and _southwest_, but had done so after one-third of the distance
from Greenland to Behring Strait had been accomplished.
Again there had lately been made public in England the last direct
report from the Franklin expedition--a letter from Captain
Fitzjames--who relates that Franklin showed him part of his
instructions, expressed his disbelief in an open sea to the north, and
gave "a pleasant account of his expectations of being able to get
through the ice on the coast of America." Dr. Rae had also reported
finding drift material on the north coast of America, which, having the
broad arrow and red thread of the government, could come from the
quarter where Franklin's orders sent him, thus confirming the belief
that he had gone southwest from Cape Walker. Moreover, the squadrons of
Belcher and Collinson were actively engaged in the search northward of
America.
It was finally decided that a second expedition should be sent, the
United States co-operating, as before, with private enterprise; and to
the command of this expedition Kane was assigned, by orders from the
Secretary of the Navy, in November, 1852. The expedition was fitted out
through the liberality of two Americans, Henry Grinnell, who again
placed the brig Advance at the disposal of the government, and George
Peabody, the American philanthropist, who contributed $10,000, a sum
that practically covered all other expenses of the voyage.
Kane's faith in the existence of an open polar sea and his intention of
reaching it were clearly asserted. Combined with the proposed search for
Franklin was a declared purpose to extend northward the discoveries of
Inglefield, in 1851, on the west coast of Greenland, where, as Kane
says, he contemplated reaching "its most northern attainable point, and
thence pressing on toward the Pole as far as boats or sledges could
carry us, examine the coast lines for vestiges of the lost party."
The expedition sailed from New York May 30, 1853, consisting of eighteen
men, all volunteers, although ten belonged to the United States Navy.
Except as regards scientific instruments, the equipment of the
expedition was in most respects inadequate and unsuitable for Arctic
service, the bulk of the provisions, for instance, being hard bread,
salt beef, and pork, with no canned meats or vegetables.
The Greenland ports were visited, where a moderate amount of fur
clothing and fifty Esquimau dogs were purchased. On June 27th the
Advance entered Melville Bay, and standing boldly to the westward,
although hindered by the loose drifting ice, was favored by an offshore
gale, and in ten days passed into the open sea west of Cape York, known
to Arctic voyagers as the "North Water," the only misfortune being the
loss of a whaleboat. In order to secure retreat Kane, fortunately for
himself as it afterward proved, cached his metallic life-boat, filled
with boat stores, on Littleton Island. Favored by the conditions of the
ice Kane rounded Cape Hatherton, when the main pack setting southward
obliged him to seek shelter in Refuge Harbor, a land-locked cove. Later
the Advance was able, as the ice opened, to make sail and pass around
Cairn Point, but a violent gale broke her from her moorings and nearly
wrecked her. The ice conditions were now so adverse that seven of his
eight officers addressed to him written opinions in favor of a return to
a more southern harbor. Such retrograde movement would have removed them
from the contemplated field of operations, and Kane declined. Every
favorable opportunity of warping the brig--she could be moved in no
other way--was availed of, and despite most difficult conditions of ice
and water, the brig being on her beam-ends at low tide and jammed by
floes at high water, she was moved a number of miles to the eastward,
and on September 9th was put into winter-quarters in Rensselaer Harbor,
78° 37´ N., 71° 14´ W., which, says Kane, "we were fated never to leave
together--a long resting-place to her, for the same ice is around her
still."
[Illustration: The Coming Arctic Night.]
Scarcely were they moored than signs of coming winter crowded fast one
after another; the flowers were blackened by frost; long lines of flying
water-fowl trended southward, leaving solitary the hardy snow-bird; the
sun grew lower from day to day with startling rapidity, and the young
ice cemented the separated old floes into one solid roadway for the
sledgemen. Kane set about exploring the country and travelled some fifty
miles to Mary Minturn River, whence from adjoining high land he had a
view of Washington land, the vicinity of Cape Constitution. During this
journey he first observed the peculiar ice formation now known as the
ice-foot, but then novel. It is best described in his words: "We were on
a table or shelf of ice which clung to the base of rocks overlooking the
sea, ... with huge angular blocks, some many tons in weight, scattered
over its surface." Hayes and Wilson travelled some fifty miles into the
interior till their further progress was stopped by the edge of the
inland ice. McGary and Bonsall, with sledge party of seven, made three
caches to the northeast, the farthest being in 79° 12´ N., 65° 25´ W.,
under the face of an enormous glacier, to which the name of Humboldt was
given.
The winter passed quietly, the officers making tidal, astronomical,
magnetic, and meteorological observations, while the men, engaged in
ordinary pursuits, kept in health. Unfortunately fifty-seven, nearly
all, of the dogs died, thus depriving Kane of his main reliance for
field operations. The extreme cold--the mean temperature for December to
March, inclusive, being thirty-two degrees below zero--had reduced the
fuel so that the allowance was three buckets a day. Other supplies
commenced to show their need or inadequacy; oil for lamps failed, as did
fresh meat from game, and unfortunately there was no canned meat, only
salted.
Despite his loss of dogs Kane decided on laying out new depots, and with
the advance of March he watched eagerly the temperature. From the 10th
to the 19th the cold averaged seventy-six degrees below the
freezing-point. He started his man-sledge on the 20th, under charge of
Brooks, first officer, with seven others at the drag-ropes.
Unfortunately the equipment was either somewhat defective or some of the
party were inexperienced in the methods needful for self-preservation in
such extreme cold. Kane gives no details of the causes of the calamity
save to say that "a heavy gale from the north-northeast broke upon the
party, and the temperature fell to fifty-seven below zero."
The first news of the disaster came from Sontag, Ohlsen, and Petersen,
who suddenly appeared in the cabin, at midnight of March 31st, swollen,
haggard, and hardly able to speak. Kane continues: "They had left their
companions in the ice, risking their own lives to bring us the news;
Brooks, Baker, Wilson, and Pierre, were all lying frozen and disabled.
Where? They could not tell; somewhere among the hummocks to the
northeast; it was drifting heavily around them. Irish Tom had stayed to
care for the others. It was vain to question them, for they were sinking
with fatigue and hunger, and could hardly be rallied enough to tell us
the direction."
Kane instantly organized a relief party of ten men, which, despite his
delicate physique, he headed himself. Taking Ohlsen, the most rational
of the sufferers, in a fur bag, and as lightly equipped as was possible,
the rescuers moved out in a temperature seventy-eight degrees below
freezing. Ohlsen fell asleep, but on awakening was of no use as guide
owing to his delirious condition. Reaching a large level floe Kane put
up his tent and scattered his party to find traces of the lost men.
Eighteen hours had now elapsed and Kane's own party was in a deplorable
state, partly owing to the extreme cold and partly to extreme
nervousness arising from anxiety and sympathy. He says: "McGary and
Bonsall, who had stood out our severest marches, were seized with
trembling fits and short breath, and in spite of all my efforts I
fainted twice on the snow." Fortunately Hans, the Esquimau, found a
sledge-track which led to the camp in a few hours, where Kane found the
four men on their backs, whose welcome greeting, "We expected you: we
were sure you would come," proved how great was their confidence in
their commander. The day was extremely cold and most providentially
clear and sunny, but even with these favoring conditions it was almost a
miracle that they were able to drag the frozen men to the brig. "The
tendency to sleep," says Kane, "could only be overcome by mechanical
violence; and when at last we got back to the brig, still dragging the
wounded men instinctively behind us, there was not one whose mind was
found to be unimpaired." Baker and Schubert died; Wilson and Brooks
finally recovered, losing, however, part of their feet by amputation.
[Illustration: Esquimau Boys Fishing.]
Kane determined to lead the next party himself, and near the end of
April, 1854, with seven men he attempted to lay down an india-rubber
boat high up on the Greenland coast. He had, however, sadly overrated
the strength of his men and of himself. About eighty miles from the
brig, near Dallas Bay, one man broke down entirely and four others were
partly disabled, and their cache was made at that point with many
misgivings, as bears had destroyed the stores laid down the previous
autumn. The troubles of the party now commenced, for Kane, fainting
while making an observation, had to be hauled back by the disabled men.
Despite the moderate temperature Kane's left foot froze, his limbs
became rigid and badly swollen, fainting spells were more frequent, and
he fell into alternate spells of delirium and unconsciousness, in which
state his broken-down sledge crew conveyed him by forced marches to the
brig, where, says Hayes, the surgeon, he arrived nearly insensible and
so swollen by scurvy as to be hardly recognizable, and in such a
debilitated state that an exposure of a few more hours would have
terminated his life. Kane's wonderful recuperative powers speedily
restored him from his nearly helpless condition to a state of
comparative good health, but he could not conceal his evident inability
to personally attempt further sledge journeys that spring.
In this emergency he decided to send his surgeon, Dr. I. I. Hayes, to
explore the western shore of Smith's Strait, from Cape Sabine northward,
and for this purpose detailed Godfrey with the seven best dogs
available.
The ice over Smith's Sound was extremely rough, so that progress was
slow and tedious. Finally, with his provisions nearly exhausted, Hayes
reached land in the vicinity of Dobbin Bay and made his farthest at Cape
Hayes, which, according to his observations, was in about 79° 45´ N.
Hayes was stricken with snow-blindness; the journey was extremely
exhausting; Godfrey broke down, and the dogs were so nearly worn out
that at the last camp they abandoned sleeping-bags, extra clothing, and
everything except arms and instruments. Kane says that both men were
snow-blind on arrival at the brig, and the doctor, in a state of
exhaustion, had to be led to his bedside to make his report.
Impressed with Hayes's success on the west shore of Smith's Sound, Kane
decided to send Morton northward on the Greenland side so as to
determine the extent of the frozen channel seen by Hayes from his
farthest. Morton was supported by a sledge party of four men, who
reached Humboldt glacier after ten days' travel, and were here joined by
Esquimau Hans with a dog-sledge. On the 18th the supporting party turned
homeward, while Morton and Hans, with a dog-sledge, started northward,
travelling about five miles distant from and parallel with the face of
Humboldt glacier.
On June 24th Morton's northward progress was stopped by very high,
perpendicular cliffs washed by open water and free from the customary
ice-foot. All efforts to pass around the projecting cliff, to which the
name of Cape Constitution was given, proved unavailing. Morton says:
"The knob to which I climbed was over five hundred feet in height, and
from it not a speck of ice was to be seen as far as I could observe; the
sea was open, the swell came from the northward, ... and the surf broke
in on the rocks below in regular breakers."
Morton, in his report, described two islands opposite Cape Constitution;
Kennedy Channel as about thirty-five miles wide, running due north and
having an unbroken mountainous land along its western limits. Twenty
miles, estimated, due south of Cape Constitution, Morton made the
latitude, by meridian altitude of the sun, 80° 41´ N., which by dead
reckoning made the cape 81° 1´. Kane gives its latitude, corrected by
triangulation, as 81° 22´ N.
These discoveries, strengthening Kane's belief in an open polar sea,
caused him to put forth on his return such statements and
generalizations as drew forth sharp criticisms, wherein the correctness
and value of all the field work of his expedition were impugned.
It would be most gratifying to Americans if adverse criticisms as to
distances travelled and astronomical positions determined could be
refuted. It is, however, a matter of fact, not of opinion, that nearly
all the given latitudes are much too far to the north, while no
considerable distance was travelled which was not overestimated from
fifty to one hundred per cent. These blemishes on Kane's great work
doubtless arose from two causes: first, his implicit confidence in the
ability and accuracy of his subordinates, and, second, to his poetic
temperament, which transformed into beauty the common things of life and
enhanced their interest by striking contrasts of high lights and deep
shadows.
[Illustration: An Arctic Stream.]
Subsequent expeditions have surveyed and charted Kennedy Channel with an
accuracy leaving little to be desired, and as a result it is now known
that the open "sea" seen by Morton was simply the ice-free water of the
southern half of Kennedy Channel, which condition obtains during a great
part of each year. The descriptions of the region by Morton in his
report, though simple, are yet so accurate and free from exaggeration as
to prove conclusively his entire honesty. When, however, his
astronomical observations and estimates of distances are considered,
Morton's incompetency is apparent, as they are, in common with most of
the other field work, erroneous and misleading. The latitude of Cape
Constitution was overstated fifty-two geographic miles by Kane and
thirty-one miles by Morton, while Kennedy Channel, instead of being
thirty-five miles wide, ranges only from seventeen to twenty-five. The
farthest mountain seen was Mount Ross, on the north side of Carl Ritter
Bay, about 80° 58´ N., more than ninety miles to the southward of its
assumed position. Kane's personal knowledge of Morton's honesty was so
complete that he placed equal confidence in his ability and accuracy, an
error of judgment arising largely from Kane's great affection for his
subordinate.
In the meantime the Etah Esquimaux, most fortunately for Kane, had
discovered and visited the Advance, and through their friendly offices
the expedition profited largely.
The summer of 1854 disclosed the error of wintering in Rensselaer
Harbor, for it passed without freeing the brig from ice. The situation,
Kane relates, was most unpromising, and near the middle of July he
determined on a desperate attempt to communicate with the English
expeditionary vessels supposed to be at Beechy Island, several hundred
miles to the southwest. Kane with five others started in a whaleboat,
but owing to the bad ice returned unsuccessful after an absence of
eighteen days.
On August 18th Kane regards it as an obvious fact that they must look
another winter in the face, and says: "It is horrible--yes, that is the
word--to look forward to another year of disease and darkness to be met
without fresh food or fuel. The physical energies of the party have
sensibly declined; resources are diminished; there are but fifty gallons
of oil saved from the summer seal hunt; we are scant of fuel; our food
consists now of ordinary marine stores and is by no means suited to
dispel scurvy; our molasses is reduced to forty gallons and our dried
fruits seem to have lost their efficiency."
Under these discouraging circumstances came the most trying experiences
of the expedition. The majority of the party entertained the idea that
escape to the south by boats was still practicable despite the lateness
of the summer, although Kane's own experience in the previous month had
shown the futility of such an effort. Conscious, however, that he could
control only by moral influence the majority who were of this opinion,
he decided to appeal to them. On August 24th he assembled the entire
crew, set forth eloquently that such an effort must be exceedingly
hazardous, escape southward almost improbable, and strongly advised them
to forego the project. However, he ended by freely according his
permission to such as were desirous of making the attempt, provided that
they would organize under an officer before starting and renounce in
writing all claims upon the expedition. Nine out of the seventeen,
headed by Petersen, the Danish interpreter, and Dr. Hayes, the surgeon,
decided to attempt the boat journey and left the vessel August 28th.
Kane fitted them out liberally, provided every possible appliance to
facilitate and promote their success, and gave them a written assurance
of a hearty welcome should they be driven to return. One of the party,
Riley, rejoined Kane within a few days, and well into the Arctic winter,
on December 7th, Bonsall and Petersen returned through the aid of the
Esquimaux. They reported to Kane that their associates were some two
hundred miles distant, their energies broken, provisions nearly gone,
divided in their counsel, and desirous of returning to share again the
fortunes of the Advance. Kane immediately sent supplies to the suffering
party by the natives, and took active measures to facilitate their
return, and on December 12th had the great joy of seeing the entire
expedition reunited. In this connection Kane properly notes the humane
actions of the Esquimaux, saying: "Whatever may have been their motives,
their conduct to our friends was certainly full of humanity. They drove
at flying speed; every hut gave its welcome as they halted; the women
were ready without invitation to dry and chafe their worn-out guests."
Kane, it may be added, did not allude in his official report to the
Secretary of the Navy to this temporary division of his command, which,
however, is told, both in his own narrative and in that of Dr. Hayes, in
his "Arctic Boat Journey."
As winter went on they hunted unavailingly for game, and the abundant
supplies hitherto obtained from the Etah Esquimaux failed, owing to the
unfavorable ice conditions, which caused a famine among the natives and
reduced them to the lowest stages of misery and emaciation. Scurvy with
its varying phases also sapped the energies of the crew, while Hayes was
disabled from amputation of a portion of his frozen foot.
When practically the entire crew must be said to have been on the
sick-list, Blake and Godfrey decided to desert and take their chances
with the Esquimaux. The plan being detected by Kane, Blake remained, but
Godfrey deserted, and with Hans, the Esquimau, remained absent nearly a
month. Godfrey, however, contributed to the support of the expedition by
sending supplies of meat, and later returned under duress.
With the returning spring of 1855 the necessity of abandoning the brig
was apparent to all; the ship was practically little more than a shell,
as everything that could possibly be used without making her completely
unseaworthy had been consumed for fire-wood. There remained in April
only a few weeks' supply of food and fuel, while the solidity of the ice
in the vicinity of Rensselaer Harbor indicated the impossibility of an
escape by vessel. It was no slight task to move the necessary stock of
provisions and stores to their boats and to the open water in the
vicinity of Cape Alexander. This was, however, safely accomplished by
the middle of June, the vessel having been formally abandoned on May
17th. The final casualty in the party occurred near Littleton Island,
when Ohlsen, in a tremendous and successful effort to save a loaded
sledge from loss in broken ice, so injured himself internally that he
died within three days. During this retreating journey Kane records the
invaluable assistance of the Esquimaux, who "brought daily supplies of
birds, assisted in carrying boat-stores, and invariably exhibited the
kindliest feelings and strictest honesty." Leaving Cape Alexander on
June 15, 1854, Cape York was passed on July 21st, and, crossing Melville
Bay along the margin of its land ice in five days, Kane reached the
north coast of Greenland on August 3d, forty-seven days from Cape
Alexander.
At Disco the party met Lieutenant Hartstene, whose squadron, sent to
relieve Kane, had already visited Cape Alexander, and learning from the
natives of Kane's retreat by boat to the south turned promptly back to
the Greenland ports. Surrounded by all the comforts and luxuries which
the means or thoughtfulness of their rescuing comrades of the navy could
furnish, Kane and his men made a happy journey southward to meet the
grand ovation that greeted them from their appreciative countrymen in
New York, on October 11, 1855.
Neither the anxiety of countless friends nor the skill of his
professional brethren could long preserve to his family, to the navy,
and to the country the ebbing life of the gallant Kane. The disease
which for twenty years had threatened his life now progressed with
rapidity, and on February 16, 1857, he died at Havana, Cuba.