MORE HEROIC EXCURSIONS.
ON the seventh of April, a week after the return of the party just
noted, our explorers were startled by shouts from the shore. Dark
figures were seen standing along the edges of the land ice, or running
to and fro in wild excitement. It was not difficult to make them out as
a company of Esquimo. Dr. Kane, seeing by their wild gesticulations that
they were unarmed, walked out and beckoned to a brawny savage, who
seemed to be a leader, to approach. He understood the sign, and came
forward without fear. He was full a head taller than the doctor, and his
limbs seemed to have the strength of those of the bear. He was dressed
with a fox skin, hooded jumper, white bear-skin trousers, and bear-skin
boots tipped with the claws. Though he had evidently never before seen a
white man, he manifested no fear. His followers soon crowded around and
began to use great freedom, showing an inclination to rush on board the
ship. This they were made to understand they must not do. Petersen came
out and acted as interpreter, and matters went on more smoothly. The
leader, whose name was Metek, was taken on board, while the rest
remained on the ice. They brought up from behind the floes fifty-six
dogs and their sledges, and, thrusting a spear into the ice, picketed
them about the vessel.
While Dr. Kane and Metek were having their interview in the cabin, word
was sent out that others might come on board. Nine or ten mounted the
ladder with boisterous shouts, though ignorant of how Metek had fared.
They went every-where, handled every thing, talked and laughed
incessantly, and stole whatever they could. Finally all hands had to be
mustered, and restraint laid upon the Esquimo to keep them within due
bounds. This they took good naturedly; ran out and in the vessel, ate,
and finally _sat_ down like tired children, their heads drooping upon
their breasts, and slept, snoring the while most famously.
In the morning, before they departed, the commander assembled them on
deck for an official interview. He enlarged upon his wonderful qualities
as a chief, and the great benefits to his visitors of his friendship. He
then entered into a treaty with them, the terms of which were very few
and simple, that it might be understood, and the benefits mutual, that
it might be kept. He then showed his beneficence by buying all their
spare walrus meat and four dogs, enriching them in compensation with a
few needles, beads, and treasures of old cask staves. The Esquimo were
jubilant. They voted, in their way, Dr. Kane a great captain, promised
vociferously to return in a few days with plenty of walrus meat, and
loan their dogs and sledges for the great northern journey, all of which
they never remembered to do.
When the visitors had gone, it was ascertained that an ax, a saw, and
some knives, had gone with them. Besides, the store-house on Butler
Island had been entered, and a careful survey of the vicinity revealed
the fact that a train of sledges were slyly waiting behind some distant
hummocks for a freight of its treasures.
All this had a hard look for friendly relations with the Esquimo; but
our explorers felt that conciliation, with quiet firmness, was their
best policy. The savages could do their sledge excursions much harm,
and, if they would, could greatly aid them.
The next day there came to the vessel five natives--two old men, a
middle aged man, and two awkward boys. They were treated with marked
kindness, some presents were given them, but they were told that no
Esquimo would in future be admitted to the brig until every stolen
article was restored. They were overjoyed at the gifts, and departed,
lifting up their hands in holy horror on the mention of theft; yet in
passing round Butler Island they bore away a coal barrel. M'Gary was
watching them, and he hastened their departure by a charge of fine shot.
Notwithstanding all this, one of the old men, known afterward as
Shung-hu, made a circuit round the hummocks, and came upon an
India-rubber boat which had been left upon the floe, and cut it in
pieces and carried off the wood of the frame-work.
Soon after this a sprightly youth, good-looking, with a fine dog team,
drove up to the vessel in open day. When asked his name, he replied
promptly, "Myouk I am." He spoke freely of his place of residence and
people, but when asked about the stolen articles he affected great
ignorance. Dr. Kane ordered him to be confined in the hold. He took this
very hard, at first refusing food. He soon after began to sing in a
dolorous strain, then to talk and cry, and then to sing again. The
hearts of his captors were made quite tender toward him, and when in the
morning it was found that the prisoner had lifted the hatches and fled,
taking his dogs with him, even the commander secretly rejoiced.
April twenty-fifth, M'Gary and five men started with the sledge "Faith,"
on another exploring excursion. They took a small stock only of
provisions, depending on the supply depots which had been made in the
fall. The plan this time was, to follow the eastern coast line a while,
which run north and west, cross over Smith Sound to the American side,
where it was hoped smooth ice would be found; and once on such a
highway, they anticipated that the Polar Sea would greet their delighted
vision, and may be speak to them of the fate of the lost Franklin.
Two days after M'Gary's party left, Dr. Kane and Godfrey followed with
the dog sledge loaded with additional comforts for the journey, the men
trotting by its side. Only three dogs remained of the original supplies,
which, harnessed with the four purchased of the Esquimo, made a
tolerable team.
Ten men, four in health and six invalids, were left to keep the vessel.
Orders were left by the commander to treat the Esquimo, should they come
again, with fairness and conciliation, but if necessity demanded to use
fire arms, but to waste no powder or shot. The credit of the gun must be
sustained as the bearer of certain death to the white man's enemies.
Dr. Kane and his companions overtook the advanced party in two days.
They pushed forward together with tolerable success for four days more,
when they all became involved in deep snow-drifts. The dogs floundered
about nearly suffocated, and unable to draw the sledge. The men were
compelled to take the load on their backs, and kick a path for the dogs
to follow. In the midst of these toils the scurvy appeared among the
men, and some of the strongest were ready to yield the conflict
altogether. The next day, May fourth, Dr. Kane, while taking an
observation for latitude fainted, and was obliged to ride on the sledge.
Still the party pushed on; but they soon met with an obstacle no heroism
could overcome. They were without food for further journeying! The bears
had destroyed their carefully deposited stores. They had removed stones
which had required the full strength of three men to lift. They had
broken the iron meat casks into small pieces. An alcohol cask, which had
cost Dr. Kane a special journey in the late fall to deposit, was so
completely crushed that a whole stave could not be found.
On the fifth of May Dr. Kane became delirious, and was lashed to the
sledge, while his brave, though nearly fainting, men took the back
track. They arrived at the brig in nine days, and their commander was
borne to his berth, where he lay for many days, between life and death,
with the scurvy and typhoid fever. Thus closed another effort to unlock
the secrets of the extreme polar region.
Hans made himself exceedingly useful at this time. He was promoted to
the post of hunter, and excused from all other duties; he was besides
promised presents to his lady-love on reaching his home at Fiskernaes.
He brought in two deer, the first taken, on the day of this special
appointment. The little snow-birds had come, of which he shot many. The
seal, too, were abundant, and some of them were added to the fresh
provisions. These wonderfully improved those touched by the scurvy.
One day Hans was sent to hunt toward the Esquimo huts, that he might get
information concerning the nearness to the brig of clear water. He did
not come back that night, and Dr. Hays and Mr. Ohlsen were sent with the
dog-sledge to hunt him up. They found him lying on the ice about five
miles from the vessel, rolled up in his furs and sound asleep. At his
side lay a large seal, shot, as usual, in the head. He had dragged this
seal seven hours, and, getting weary, had made his simple camp and was
resting sweetly.
May twentieth, Dr. Hays and Godfrey started with the dog team, to make
another attempt to cross Smith Strait and reach, along the American
side, the unknown north. The doctor was a fresh man, not having been
with any previous party. The dogs were rested, well fed, and full of
wolfish energy. The second day he fortunately struck into a track free
from heavy ice, and made fifty miles! But this success was after the
arctic fashion, made to give bitterness to immediate failure. On the
third day they encountered hummocks, piled in long ridges across their
path; some of them were twenty feet high. Over some of these they
climbed, dragging after them both sledge and dogs. Long diversions were
made at other times, and their path became in this way so very tortuous
that in making ninety miles advance northward they traveled two hundred
and seventy miles!
Snow-blindness seized Dr. Hays in the midst of these toils. But, nothing
daunted, after short halts, in which his sight improved, he pushed on.
But Godfrey soon broke down, though one of the hardiest of explorers.
Their dogs, too, began to droop; the provisions were running low, and so
the homeward track was taken. Before they reached the vessel they were
obliged to lighten their load by throwing away fifty pounds weight of
furs, the heaviest of which had been used as sleeping bags.
This excursion resulted in valuable additions to the extreme northern
coast-line survey.
On the afternoon of June fourth, M'Gary, with four men, started on a
last desperate effort to push the survey, on the Greenland side, a
hundred miles farther, by which Dr. Kane thought the limits of the ice
in that direction might be reached. Morton, one of the company, was to
keep himself as fresh as possible, so that when the rest came to a final
halt he might be able to push on farther. Hans was kept at the vessel
until the tenth, four days later, when he started light with the
dog-sledge to join them. His part was to accompany Morton on the final
run.
The hunter of the vessel being gone, Dr. Kane, who was now much better,
took his rifle to try his skill at seal hunting. This animal is not
easily taken by unpracticed game seekers. He lies near the hole which he
keeps open in the ice, and at the slightest noise plunges out of sight.
Seeing one lying lazily in the sun, the doctor lay down and drew himself
along softly behind the little knobs of ice. It was a cold, tedious
process, but finally getting within a long rifle shot, the seal rolled
sluggishly to one side, raised his head, and strained his neck, as if
seeing something in an opposite direction. Just then the doctor saw with
surprise a rival hunter. A large bear lay, like himself, on his belly,
creeping stealthily toward the game. Here was a critical position. If he
shot the seal, the bear would probably have no scruples about taking it
off his hands, and, perhaps, by way of showing that might makes right,
take him before his rifle could be reloaded. While the doctor was
debating the matter the seal made another movement which stirred his
hunter blood, and he pulled the trigger. The cap only exploded. The
seal, alarmed, descended into the deep with a floundering splash; and
the bear, with a few vigorous leaps, stood, a disappointed hunter,
looking after him from the edge of the hole. Bruin and Dr. Kane were now
face to face. By all the rules of game-taking the bear should have
eaten the man; he was the stronger party, the gun was for the moment
useless, he was hungry, and had lost his dinner probably by the
intrusive coming of the stranger, and, as to running, there was no
danger of his escape in that way. But the bear magnanimously turned and
ran away. Not to be outdone in Courtesy, Dr. Kane turned and ran with
all his might in the opposite direction.
On the twenty-sixth, M'Gary, Bonsall, Hickey, and Riley returned. The
snow had almost made them blind; otherwise they were well. They had been
gone about three weeks, had made valuable surveys, and fully satisfied
the expectations of their commander. Hans caught up with them after two
weeks of heroic travel alone with his dogs and sledge. He and Morton
had, in accordance with the programme, pressed on farther northward.
The returned party had their adventure with a bear to tell. They had all
lain down to sleep in their tent after a wearisome day of travel. The
midnight hour had passed when Bonsall felt something scratching at the
snow near his head, and, starting up, ascertained that a huge bear was
making careful observations around the outside of the tent. He had, in
looking round, already observed, no doubt, the important fact that the
guns, and every thing like a defensive weapon, were left on the sledge
some distance off, though perhaps the importance to him of this fact he
did not appreciate. There was consternation, of course, in the camp, and
a council of war was called. It had hardly convened before bruin, as a
party concerned, thrust his head into the tent door. A volley of lucifer
matches was fired at him, and a paper torch was thrust into his face.
Without minding these discourteous acts, the bear deliberately sat down
and commenced eating a seal which had been shot the day before and
happened to be in his way. By the laws of arctic hospitality this should
have been considered fair by the tent's company, for strangers are
expected to come and go as they please, and eat what they find, not even
saying, "By your leave." But the stranger did not conform to the usage
of the country. Tom Hickey cut a hole in the back of the tent, seized a
boat-hook, which made one of its supporters, and attacked the enemy in
the rear. He turned on his assailant and received a well-aimed blow on
his nose, by which he was persuaded to retire beyond the sledge and
there to pause and consider what to do next. While the bear was thus in
council with himself, Hickey sprang forward, seized a rifle from the
sledge, almost under the nose of the enemy, and fell back upon his
companions. Bonsall took the deadly weapon and sent a ball through and
through the bear, and the disturber of the rest of our explorers
afforded them many bountiful repasts.