THE CROWNING SLEDGE JOURNEY.
"THE glorious sun" reappeared February eighteenth, tarrying only a
moment, but giving a sure prophecy of a coming to stay. Scarcely less
welcome was the appearance soon after of Kalutunah, Tattarat, and Myouk,
all old acquaintance whom the reader will not fail to recognize.
Kalutunah was Angekok and Nalegak--priest and chief. His gruff old
rival, who advised the starvation policy toward the escaping party in
the miserable old hut, had been harpooned in the back and buried alive
under a heap of stones. These comers brought the much-desired dogs, and
they were followed by other old friends from Northumberland Island with
additional dog-teams. These natives were treated with consideration--the
were made content with abundant food and flattered with presents, all of
which told favorably upon the success of the enterprise of the generous
donors.
In the middle of March the northward excursions commenced. The first
consisted of a party of three, Dr. Hayes and Kalutunah driving a team of
six dogs, and Jensen with a sledge of nine. It was to be a trial trip,
and the experiment began rather roughly. A few miles only had been made
when Jensen, whose team was ahead, broke through the ice, and dogs and
man went floundering together into a cold bath. The other team,
fortunately, was just at hand, so they were drawn out, and all returned
to the vessel for a fresh and warm start. The next trial they were gone
four days, and traversed the Greenland shore to Cape Agassiz and to the
commencement of the Great Glacier. The cold at one time was sixty-eight
and a half degrees below zero. Yet the sun's rays through even such an
atmosphere blistered the skin! The grains of snow became like gravel,
and the sledge runners grated over it as if running on the summer sand
of our own sea-shore. Kalutunah had an ingenious remedy for this. He
dissolved snow in his mouth, and pouring the water into his hand coated
the runners with it. It instantly freezing, made something like a glass
plating for them.
Kalutunah was greatly puzzled in attempting to understand why this
journey was made. But his perplexity took the form of disgust when the
fresh tracks were seen of a bear and cub, and the white chief forbade
the chase. He argued in the interest of Dr. Hayes, who might thereby
have a new fur coat, pointed to the hungry dogs, and finally pleaded for
his own family, who were longing for bear meat. But all in vain. The
circumstances had changed since, in the same spot nearly, he had urged
the dogs after a bear in spite of Dr. Kane, and thus defeated the
purpose of his long trip.
On their return they turned into Van Rensselaer Harbor, the place made
so famous by Dr. Kane's expedition. Every thing there was changed.
Instead of smooth ice, over which Dr. Kane's party came and went so
often, there were hummocks piled up every-where in the wildest
confusion. Where the "Advance" was left when her men took a last look at
her was an ice-pile towering as high as were her mast-heads. Old
localities were undiscernible from the snow and icy aggressions. A small
piece of a deck-plank picked up near Butler Island was all that could be
found of the "Advance." The Esquimo told nearly as many diverse stories
of her history after the white men left her as there were persons to
testify, and some individuals, apparently to increase the chance of
saying some item of truth, told many different stories. According to
these witnesses she drifted out to sea and sunk, (the most probable
statement,) she was knocked to pieces so far as possible and carried off
by the Esquimo, and she was accidentally set on fire and burned. The
graves of Baker and Pierre remained undisturbed, but the beacon built
over them was broken down and scattered.
The result of this experimental trip was the decision of the commander
not to attempt to reach the Open Polar Sea by the Greenland shore, but
to cross Smith Sound at Cairn Point, a few miles north of the schooner.
To this point provisions were immediately carried on the sledges for the
summer journey beyond.
On the third of April the grand effort to reach the North Pole
commenced. The party consisted of twelve persons, who were early at
their assigned positions alongside of the schooner. Jensen was at the
head of the line of march, on the sledge "Hope," to which were harnessed
eight dogs; Knorr came next, "the whip" of the "Perseverance," with six
dogs. Then came a metallic life-boat with which the Polar Sea was to be
navigated, mounted on a sledge and drawn by men each with shoulder strap
and trace. Flags fluttered from boat and sledges, all was enthusiasm,
and at the word "march" the dogs dashed away, the men bent bravely to
their earnest work, the "swivel" on deck thundered its good-bye, and the
party were soon far away.
The very first day's exposure nearly proved fatal to several of the
party. One settled himself down in the snow muttering, "I'm freezing,"
and would have proved in a half hour his declaration had not two more
hardy men taken him in charge. The spirits of the men ran low, and they
were two hours in building a snow-hut in which to hide from the pitiless
wind. A rest at Cairn Point and increased experience gave them more
energy, and the next snow-hut was made in less than one hour. They
proved the snow-shovel a fine heat generator. On the fifth night out
they were overtaken by a storm, and were detained two days in their hut.
This was a pit in the snow eighteen feet long, eight wide, and four
deep. Across its top were placed the boat-oars; across these the sledge
was laid; over the sledge was thrown the boat's sails; and over the
sails snow was shoveled. They crawled into this hut through a hole which
they filled up after them with a block of snow. Over the floor--a
leveled snow floor--they spread an India-rubber cloth; on this was laid
a carpet of buffalo-skins, and over this another of equal size. Between
these they crept to sleep, the outside man of the row having no little
difficulty in preventing his companions from "pulling the clothes off."
The wind without blew its mightiest blow, and piled the snow up over the
poor dogs, which were huddled together for mutual warmth, and were kept
restless in poking their noses above the drift. The cooks were obliged
to call to their help the commander in order to keep the lamp from being
puffed out, and two hours were consumed in getting a steaming pot of
coffee. But after a while the bread and coffee, and dried meat and
potato hash, were abundantly and regularly served, and the men contrived
to pass in talk and song and sleep the hours of the really dreary
imprisonment.
Before the storm had fully subsided, the party went on the back track to
bring up to this point a part of the provisions they had been obliged to
deposit. This done, they put their faces to the opposite, or American
side of the sound. But the difficulties were truly fearful. The ice,
like great bowlders, was scattered over the entire surface, now piled in
ridges ten, twenty, and even a hundred feet high, and then scattered
over a level area with only a narrow and ever-twisting way between them.
Over these ridges the sledges had to be lifted, the load often taken off
and carried up in small parcels, and the sledges and boat drawn up and
let down again. Frequently in the midst of this toil a man would fall
into a chasm up to his waist; another would go out of sight in one.
These terrible traps were so covered with a crust of snow that they
could not be discerned. The boat was, of course, capsized often, and
much battered. When a ridge had been scaled, and the party had picked
their way for a time through the winding path among the ice-bowlders,
they would come to a sudden impassable barrier, and be obliged to
retrace their steps. A whole day of gigantic exertion, and of many miles
of zigzag travel, would sometimes advance them only a rifle-shot in a
straight line.
Of course it was simply impossible to carry the boat, and it was
abandoned. They were yet only about thirty miles from Cairn Point, but
had traveled perhaps five times that distance.
For several days after this the heroic explorers struggled on. A fresh
snow with a half-frozen crust was added to their other obstacles.
Hummocks and ridges and pitfalls grew worse and worse. The sledges
broke, the limbs of the men were bruised and sprained, their strength
exhausted, and at last their spirits failed. They had toiled twenty-five
days, advanced half way across the sound, and brought along about eight
hundred pounds of food.
On the twenty-eighth of April the main party were sent homeward. Dr.
Hayes, Knorr, M'Donald, and Jensen, pushed on toward the American shore.
Their way was, as one of the party remarked, like a trip through New
York over the tops of the houses. They progressed a mile and a half,
and traveled at least twelve, carrying their provisions over the ground
by repeating the journey many times. Such was the daily experience,
varied by many exciting incidents. Jensen sprained a leg which had been
once broken; the dogs were savage as the wildest wolves with hunger,
though having a fair amount of food; once Knorr in feeding them stumbled
and fell into the midst of the pack, and would have doubtless been
devoured as a generous morsel of food tossed to them, had not M'Donald
pounced upon them at the moment with lusty blows from a whip-stock. All
four of the explorers held out bravely in this fearful strain on mind
and body, even young Knorr never shrinking from the hardest work, nor
the longest continued exertions.
On the eleventh of May the party encamped under the shadow of Cape
Hawkes, on Grinnell Land, off the American coast. The distance from
Cairn Point, in a straight line northwest, was eighty miles. They had
been traveling thirty-one days, and made a twisting and clambering route
of five hundred miles.
The travel up the coast had the usual variety of dangers, hair-breadth
escapes, and exhausting toil. A little flag-staff, planted by Dr. Hayes
during the Kane expedition, was found bravely looking out upon the drear
field it was set to designate, but the flag it bore had been blown away.
Remains of Esquimo settlements long deserted were found. A raven croaked
a welcome to the strangers, or it may be a warning, and followed them
several days.
On the fourth day up the coast Jensen, the hardiest of the vessel's
company, utterly failed. He had strained his back as well as leg, and
groaned with pain. What could be done? The party could not proceed with
a sick man, nor would they for a moment think of leaving him alone. So
the following course was adopted by the commander: M'Donald was left in
the snow-hut with Jensen, with five days' food and five dogs, with
orders to remain five days, and then, if Hayes and Knorr, who were to
continue on, had not returned, to make his best way with Jensen back to
the vessel.
The journey of Dr. Hayes and Knorr was continued two full days. On the
morning of the third day they had proceeded but a few miles when they
came to a stand. They had on their left the abrupt, rocky, ice-covered
cliffs of the shore; on their right were high ridges of ice, through
which the waters of an open sea broke here and there into bays and
inlets which washed the shore. Farther progress north by land or ice was
impossible. They climbed a cliff which towered eight hundred feet above
the sea, whose dark waters were lost in the distance toward the
north-east. North, standing against the sky, was a noble headland, the
most northern known land, and only about four hundred and fifty miles
from the North Pole. The spot on which our explorers stood was about one
degree farther north than that occupied by Morton, of Kane's
Expedition, yet on the shore of the same open water. Now, if they only
had the boat they were obliged to leave among the hummocks in Smith
Sound, with the provisions and men they had _hoped_ to bring to this
point, how soon would they solve the mystery locked up from the
beginning, and in the keeping of his Frosty Majesty of the Pole itself!
But, alas! there were neither boat nor provisions, and the movement of
the treacherous floes warned the daring strangers that the bridge of ice
over which they had come to this side might soon be torn away, and make
a return impossible. They built a monument of stones, raised on it a
flag of triumph, deposited beneath it a record of their visit placed in
a bottle, and turned their faces homeward.