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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/36802-8.txt b/36802-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..62806eb --- /dev/null +++ b/36802-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8669 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Romance of Polar Exploration, by G. Firth Scott + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Romance of Polar Exploration + Interesting Descriptions of Arctic and Antarctic Adventure + from the Earliest Time to the Voyage of the “Discovery” + +Author: G. Firth Scott + +Release Date: July 20, 2011 [EBook #36802] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROMANCE OF POLAR EXPLORATION *** + + + + +Produced by Steven Gibbs, Martin Pettit and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +THE ROMANCE OF POLAR EXPLORATION + +INTERESTING DESCRIPTIONS OF ARCTIC AND +ANTARCTIC ADVENTURE FROM THE EARLIEST +TIME TO THE VOYAGE OF THE "DISCOVERY" + +BY + +G. FIRTH SCOTT +AUTHOR OF "FROM FRANKLIN TO NANSEN," "THE ROMANCE +OF AUSTRALIAN EXPLORING," "COLONIAL BORN," _&c._ + + +WITH TWENTY-FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS + + +LONDON +SEELEY AND CO. LIMITED +38 GREAT RUSSELL STREET +1909 + + +[Illustration: THE _STELLA POLARE_ NIPPED IN THE ICE. + +"The stores were unloaded with the greatest rapidity."] + + +_UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME_ + +THE LIBRARY OF ROMANCE + +_Extra Crown 8vo. With many illustrations. 5s. each_ + + +"Splendid volumes."--_The Outlook._ + +"This series has now won a considerable and well deserved +reputation."--_The Guardian._ + +"Each volume treats its allotted theme with accuracy, but at the same +time with a charm that will commend itself to readers of all ages. The +root idea is excellent, and it is excellently carried out, with full +illustrations and very prettily designed covers."--_The Daily +Telegraph._ + + +By Prof. G. F. SCOTT ELLIOT, M.A., B.Sc. + +THE ROMANCE OF SAVAGE LIFE +THE ROMANCE OF PLANT LIFE +THE ROMANCE OF EARLY BRITISH LIFE + + +By EDWARD GILLIAT, M.A. + +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN SIEGES + + +By JOHN LEA, M.A. + +THE ROMANCE OF BIRD LIFE + + +By JOHN LEA, M.A., & H. COUPIN, D.Sc. + +THE ROMANCE OF ANIMAL ARTS AND CRAFTS + + +By SIDNEY WRIGHT + +THE ROMANCE OF THE WORLD'S FISHERIES + + +By the Rev. J. C. LAMBERT, M.A., D.D. + +THE ROMANCE OF MISSIONARY HEROISM + + +By G. FIRTH SCOTT + +THE ROMANCE OF POLAR EXPLORATION + + +By ARCHIBALD WILLIAMS, B.A. (Oxon.), F.R.G.S. + +THE ROMANCE OF EARLY EXPLORATION +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN EXPLORATION +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN MECHANISM +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN INVENTION +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN ENGINEERING +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN LOCOMOTION +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN MINING + + +By CHARLES R. GIBSON, A.I.E.E. + +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN PHOTOGRAPHY +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN ELECTRICITY + + +By EDMUND SELOUS + +THE ROMANCE OF THE ANIMAL WORLD +THE ROMANCE OF INSECT LIFE + + +By AGNES GIBERNE + +THE ROMANCE OF THE MIGHTY DEEP + + +By E. S. GREW, M.A. + +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN GEOLOGY + +SEELEY & CO., LIMITED + + + + +Preface + + +While stories of the Polar explorers and their efforts to reach the +Poles have been told again and again, the constant renewal of +expeditions adds, every year, fresh incidents to the record, until it +may almost be said that the fascination of the frozen regions is as +inexhaustible as the list of Polar heroes is illimitable. Nor is the +interest confined solely to the achievement of modern explorers. However +great the results of their exertions may be, the fact that, in spite of +all the advantages conferred by recent scientific discovery and modern +appliances, the explorers of to-day have failed to penetrate the +uttermost secrets of the worlds of ice, renders more impressively heroic +the struggles of the earlier travellers, whose equipment, viewed in +comparison with that of modern man, was apparently so inadequate and +often inappropriate. + +No series of Polar adventure stories would be complete without a +prominent place being given to the earlier explorers, and especially to +that British hero, Franklin, whose name is so inseparably associated +with the history of Arctic exploration. The account of his daring +voyages and of his tragic end, at the moment of victory, has already +been given in many a form; but the tale is one which will stand +re-telling for generations yet to come. In the present instance it has +been of necessity briefly written, but in such a manner as will, it is +hoped, without loss of interest, render clear a comparison of the +conditions under which he and his brave companions worked and fought to +their death, with those that existed for later expeditions and +especially the expeditions of Nansen, Peary, and Abruzzi. + +The Antarctic, equally with the Arctic, now commands the attention of +man. In the South, as in the North, the British race has again produced +explorers who have fought their way into the icy fastnesses. From the +time that Captain Cook sailed round the unknown southern ocean, more +than a century ago, the British flag has waved in the forefront of the +advance. The work which Sir James Ross began, over half a century since, +has now been carried farther than ever it was anticipated it could be. +By the voyage of the _Discovery_, the Antarctic continent has been +revealed to within five hundred miles of the Pole, and in the gallant +exploits of the commander, Captain Robert Scott, there are many who see +a repetition of all that made the name of Franklin so immortal. + +The source of the information on which these stories are based (as is +frequently mentioned in the text) is the personal narrative of the +explorer concerned, where available; and if the interest aroused in any +of them requires more to satisfy it than the exigencies of space renders +possible in this volume, the attention which will thereby be drawn to +the more comprehensive records will stand as a slight acknowledgment of +the indebtedness of the writer of these re-told stories to the authors +of the original narratives. + +G. FIRTH SCOTT. + +LONDON, 1906. + + + + +Publishers' Note + + + Our thanks are due to Lieut. Shackleton, R.N.R., of the + _Discovery_, for the use of the original drawing facing page 344, + and also for permission to use the Illustrations facing pages 310, + 340, 348. To Messrs. Alston Rivers, Limited, for permission to use + the Illustration facing page 320 from Dr. H. R. Mill's "Siege of + the South Pole." To Messrs. Hutchinson and Co., for the use of + Illustrations facing pages 28 and 272, and Frontispiece, from "The + Voyage of the Polar Star," by the Duke of the Abruzzi. To Messrs. + Geo. Newnes, Limited, for the Illustration facing page 305 from + "First on the Antarctic Continent," by C. E. Borchgrevinck. To + Messrs. Longmans, Green & Co., for permission to reproduce the + Illustration facing page 256 from "New Land," by Otto Sverdrup. + + + + +Contents + + +CHAPTER I + +THE ARCTIC REGION + + PAGE + +The Mystery of the North Pole--The First Explorer--"The Great +Dark Wall at the End of the World"--"Frost-Smoke"--The +Lights and Sounds of the North--The Aurora Borealis--Mock +Moons--The Early Adventurers: Willoughby, Frobisher, Davis, +Hudson, Baffin, Ross, and Parry--The North-West Passage 17 + + +CHAPTER II + +SIR JOHN FRANKLIN + +Young Franklin--His Dreams of Adventure--He becomes a Sailor--His +First Arctic Expedition--Fails to get through Behring +Straits--Explores Baffin's Bay--The 1845 Expedition--The +_Erebus_ and _Terror_--The "Good-bye" at Greenland--Wellington +Channel--They select Winter Quarters--Discovery of the +North-West Passage--Death of Franklin--Prisoned in the Ice--The +Crew Abandon the Ships--Defeat and Death 25 + + +CHAPTER III + +THE SEARCH FOR FRANKLIN + +Captain Parker's Report--Government offers a Reward--Dr. Rae's +Expedition--Captain McClure's Voyage in the _Investigator_--Hardships +and Perils--The Meeting with the _Herald_--Lady Franklin still +Hopeful--Sir F. L. McClintock's Expedition in the _Fox_ with Lieutenant +Hobson--Their Sad and Fatal Discoveries--Lieutenant Schwatka recovers +the Body of Lieutenant Irving 42 + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE VOYAGE OF THE _POLARIS_ + +Death of Captain Hall--Crew determine to Return--Are Frozen in--A +Party take to the Ice and are Cast Away--They build themselves +Snow Huts--They find some Seals--An Adventure with Bears--The +Perils of the Spring--They sight the _Tigress_ and are +Saved--The Ship-party's Story and Rescue 69 + + +CHAPTER V + +THE _ALERT_ AND _DISCOVERY_ + +Sir George Nares appointed to the _Alert_ and _Discovery_--Overtaking +a Season--Red Snow--The Greenland Mosquito--Peculiarities +of Eskimo Dogs--And Dog Whips--Dangers of Kayaks--Advantages +of Steam for Polar Regions--An Unpleasant Experience--A Huge +Walrus--Arctic Scenery--A Big "Bag"--The Ships part +Company--The _Alert_ reaches the Polar Sea--Winter Quarters--The +North Pole attempted--Adventures and Sufferings of the +Party--Lieutenant Parr's Heroism--Deliverance--The Greenland +Attempt--Scurvy and Snow--Repulse Bay--In Pitiable +Plight--Lieutenant Rawson to the Rescue 83 + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE GREELY EXPEDITION + +The Scheme of the Expedition--Fort Conger--Arctic Wolves--Atmospheric +Marvels--A Terrific Storm--Influence of the Sun--Lieutenant +Lockwood's Expedition--The Second Winter--Preparations +for Departure--They leave Fort Conger--A Remarkable Ice +Passage--They fail to make Cape Sabine--A New Camp--Rations running +Short--Fruitless Efforts to reach Food Depôts--Starvation and +Death--A Bitter Blow--The Arrival of the _Thetis_ 114 + + +CHAPTER VII + +PEARY IN GREENLAND + +The Greenland Question--Departure of the _Kite_--Peary breaks his +Leg--A Camp made--Habits of the Eskimo--A Brush with +Walrus--"Caching" Food--An Arctic Christmas Feast--Peary starts +for the Great Ice-Cap--A Snow Sahara--The Ice-Cap Crossed--A +Marvellous Discovery--Sails on Sledges--A Safe Return 146 + + +CHAPTER VIII + +NANSEN AND THE _FRAM_ + +Nansen's Theories of Arctic Currents and Shipbuilding--His Theories +adopted--The _Fram_ Built--A Start made--The Kara Sea +reached--Good Hunting--The Ice Current reached--Frozen +in--A Raid by a Bear--Will the _Fram_ stand the Pressure?--Preparing +for Calamity--A Conclusive Test--Causes of Ice +Movements--Life on the _Fram_--Nansen and Johansen leave +the _Fram_--They reach their "Farthest North"--Incidents of +their Return Journey--Some Narrow Escapes--The Meeting +with Jackson--Arrival of the _Fram_ 173 + + +CHAPTER IX + +FRANZ JOSEF LAND AND SPITZBERGEN + +The Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition--Object of the Expedition--An +Interesting Experiment--The Franz Josef Land Question settled--A Group +of Islands, not a Continent--Conway at Spitzbergen--Ancient +History--Bygone Splendours--Scenery in the Making--The Romance of +Andrée--Another Riddle 220 + + +CHAPTER X + +THE POLAR METEORITES + +Eskimo Iron--A Mystery of 1818--Search and Failure--Peary and +his Huskies--The Secret revealed--An Eskimo Legend--At +the Iron Mountain--Removing the Trophies--A Massive Giant--Attack +and Defence--The Giant Objects--A Narrow Escape--Conquered 236 + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE SECOND VOYAGE OF THE _FRAM_ + +Norwegian Enterprise--Mapping the Islands--Nearly Frozen--A Novel +Warming-Pan--Eskimo Melody--Arctic Bull Fights--Death of the +Doctor--Fire on the _Fram_--New Lands--Prehistoric People 249 + + +CHAPTER XII + +ITALY CLAIMS THE RECORD + +Norwegian Aid--A Northerly Station--Premature Enthusiasm--Cold +Comfort--An Arctic Greeting--A Hasty Landing--Disorganised +Plans--Homeless Dogs--Making Fresh Plans--The Leader +Frost-bitten--The Start for the Pole--Driven Back by Cold--A +Second Start--First Detachment Lost--Anxiety for the Second--A +Struggle for Life--Third Detachment Overdue--Fears of +Disaster--Safe at Last--Italy sets the Record 265 + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE ANTARCTIC REGION + +The Mystery of the South Pole--Ignored by Early Navigators--An +Accidental Dutch Discovery--Captain Cook Sets Sail--Discouraged +by the Ice--Turns back in Despair--A Second Accidental +Discovery--Weddell breaks the Barrier--Antarctic Land +revealed--British resume the Search 283 + + +CHAPTER XIV + +VOYAGES OF THE _EREBUS_ AND _TERROR_ + +A Fortunate Choice--Characteristic Southern Bergs--First Sight of +the Continent--More British Territory--A Mighty Volcanic +Display--Nearing the Magnetic Pole--The Antarctic Barrier--A +Myth dispelled--A Second Attempt--Held by the Ice--Third +and Last Voyage--A Double Discovery 294 + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE _SOUTHERN CROSS_ EXPEDITION + +British continue the Work--Carrier Pigeons in the Ice--Withstanding +a Nip--A Sea-quake--Cape Adare Station--A Cosy Camp--Edible +Fish--Death visits the Camp--Penguin Peculiarities--A Derelict +Blue-bottle--The Welcome Postman--A Thrilling Episode 305 + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE REVIVAL OF ANTARCTIC INTEREST + +Modern Means and Methods--Private Enterprise leads--The +_Valdavia_--The _Belgica_ Expedition--International Action +adopted--The German Expedition--An Ice-bound Land--Fresh +Trade-Winds 318 + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE SWEDISH EXPEDITION + +Sails in the _Antarctica_--Argentine Co-operation--First Antarctic +Fossil--Building the Winter Station--A Breezy Corner--Electric +Snow--A Spare Diet--New Year Festivities--The Missing +Ship--Relief that never Came--A Devastating Nip--Castaway--The +Unexpected Happens--A Dramatic Meeting--Rescued 323 + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +BRITAIN HOLDS HER OWN + +A Capable Crew--A Modern Franklin--Early Discoveries--Frozen +in--An Historic Journey--The Record of "Farthest South"--How +the Record was Won--Speedy Travelling--Receding Ice +Limits--A Dying Glacier--The Secret of the Barrier--A Fatal +Gale--Lost in the Snow--An Antarctic Chute--Prolonged +Slumber--Antarctic Coal--Home with Honour 339 + + + + +List of Illustrations + + +THE _STELLA POLARE_ NIPPED IN THE ICE _Frontispiece_ + +W. E. PARRY'S ATTEMPT TO REACH THE POLE _Facing page_ 28 + +AN IMMENSE ICEBERG " " 48 + +AN ADDITION TO THE EXPLORERS' SUPPLY OF PROVISIONS " " 78 + +SHOOTING MUSK OX IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS " " 116 + +GROUP OF SMITH SOUND ESKIMO " " 152 + +TWO NORTH GREENLAND HUNTERS " " 160 + +MAP OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS SHOWING ROUTE +OF NANSEN AND THE _FRAM_ " " 173 + +THE _FRAM_ IN THE ICE " " 185 + +NANSEN AND JOHANSEN START ON THEIR DASH FOR THE POLE " " 198 + +THE MEETING OF JACKSON AND NANSEN " " 216 + +THE FRONT EDGE OF KING'S GLACIER, WESTERN SPITZBERGEN " " 230 + +ESKIMO ARMS AND TOOLS " " 240 + +ESKIMO VISITORS TO THE _FRAM_ IN NIGHT ATTIRE " " 256 + +ONE OF THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED +BY THE _STELLA POLARE_ " " 272 + +SKETCH MAP SHOWING CAPTAIN AGNI'S FARTHEST NORTH " " 280 + +THE _SOUTHERN CROSS_ IN THE ICE PACK " " 305 + +THE AURORA AUSTRALIS " " 310 + +EMPEROR PENGUINS " " 312 + +POLAR OUTFIT USED BY THE _BELGICA_ EXPEDITION " " 320 + +MAP OF SOUTH POLAR REGIONS " " 339 + +THE _DISCOVERY_ LYING IN WINTER QUARTERS, FROZEN IN " " 340 + +THE FARTHEST SOUTH SLEDGE PARTY IN A BLIZZARD " " 344 + +A DRIFTING ICE FLOE ATTACHED TO THE +_DISCOVERY_ BY A ROPE " " 348 + + + + +The Romance of Polar Exploration + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE ARCTIC REGION + + The Mystery of the North Pole--The First Explorer--"The Great Dark + Wall at the End of the World"--"Frost-Smoke"--The Lights and Sounds + of the North--The Aurora Borealis--Mock Moons--The Early + Adventurers: Willoughby, Frobisher, Davis, Hudson, Baffin, Ross, + and Parry--The North-West Passage. + + +In all the range of romantic adventure to be found in the history of +man, there is, perhaps, none which appeals so strongly to the +imagination as the search for the Poles. In all the tales of daring +courage and patient, persistent bravery, two qualities which stand +foremost in the admiration of every English-speaking boy, the tales of +the fearless explorers who have faced the terrors and the mystery of the +frozen regions are without a rival. + +Just as it was the record of his struggles to penetrate into the unknown +region of the ice-bound North-West Passage which made the name of Sir +John Franklin famous fifty years ago, so is it to-day that the names of +Nansen, Peary, and Andrée are household words by reason of the hardihood +and indomitable courage shown in their efforts to reach the great +unknown Pole. Who is there who has not lingered over the adventures of +the _Fram_, that sturdy Norseman's vessel, which combined in herself all +the best qualities of previous Arctic ships, and comported herself, +whether in the ice or out of it, with a dignity that told of her proud +descent and prouder destiny? Who has not marvelled at the sublime +audacity of the gallant little band of three who challenged undying fame +by seeking the Pole in a balloon, abandoning all the old-fashioned +notions about ice-ships and dog-sledges, and trusting themselves and +their enterprise to the four winds of heaven and the latest scientific +scheme? Who has not been thrilled with the daring shown by Nansen and +his trusty lieutenant when, leaving ship and comrades, with their lives +literally in their hands, they made their historic dash and emerged with +what was then the record of "Farthest North," and which has since been +beaten by only twenty miles? + +Full of pluck and daring are all the records of Polar exploration, and, +in addition to that attraction, there is something else about the +subject which fascinates and holds the imagination. There is a mystery +about the cold, white, silent region; the mystery of, as yet, an +unsolved problem; the mystery of being one of the few spots on the +world's surface where the foot of adventurous man has never trodden. +Everywhere else man has gone; everywhere else men of our own race have +subdued Nature and wrested her close-kept secrets from her; everywhere +else save the Poles, and there not even the grandeur of modern inventive +genius has enabled man to become the master. We may be nearer now than +ever before; we may have made many places familiar which, less than +fifty years ago, were unknown; and we may, in recent years, have +disproved the theories of many an ancient explorer; but the Poles still +elude us as they eluded those who were searchers a thousand years ago. + +It is no modern idea, this search for the North Pole. King Alfred the +Great is credited with having sent expeditions towards it, and long +before his day men had sailed as far as they could to the North, far +enough for them to return with marvellous tales of wonder and mystery. +The earliest of whom there is any record is an ancient Greek mariner, +Pytheas, who sailed North until he came to an island which he named the +Land of Thule. This may have been the Shetlands; it may have been +Iceland; but whatever it was, this ancient mariner was by no means +pleased with it, in spite of the fact that the sun never set all the +time he was there. This prolonged daylight caused him considerable +uneasiness, and he hastened away from it farther to the North, and the +farther he went the more curious he found the region to be. The sun, +which at first refused to set, now refused to rise, and he found himself +in perpetual darkness instead of perpetual day. More than that, he tells +how he came to a great dark wall rising up out of the sea, beyond which +he could discern nothing, while at the same time something seized and +held his ship motionless on the water, so that the winds could not move +it and the anchor would not sink. He was quite convinced in his own mind +where he had come; the wall in front of him was the parapet which ran +round the edge of the world to prevent people from falling over, and, +like a wise man, he hastened home and told his friends that he had +penetrated to the limits of the earth. + +What the Arctic regions were then, they are to-day; but we, with a +greater knowledge, are able to understand what was incomprehensible to +the ancient Greek navigator. At the North Pole itself it is known the +sun rises and sets only once in twelve months. From March 21 to +September 23 daylight continues; from September 23 to March 21 the sun +is never visible. The heat at midsummer is probably never above freezing +point; at midwinter the cold is so intense that one's eyes would freeze +in their sockets if exposed to it. + +At the limit of the ice two phenomena are met with which explain the +fanciful legend of Pytheas. As summer gives place to the cold of autumn, +and as winter gives way to the mild temperature of spring, there comes +down upon the water a dense mass of fog, to which the name "frost-smoke" +is given. It would appear, as it rolled along the surface of the ocean, +a veritable wall to one accustomed to the clear atmosphere of the +Mediterranean, and a thin sheet of ice might give the meaning to the +"something" which held the ship stationary. Modern explorers have known +the sea to freeze an inch thick in a single night, and ice an inch thick +would probably be enough to check the progress of such a vessel as +Pytheas would command. + +Later navigators, curious to learn whether his story were true or not, +followed his course. Some of them went on until they were caught in the +rigours of the Arctic winter and perished in the crashing ice-floes. +Occasionally some came home again, after having reached far enough to +see the great icebergs, floating with all their stately majesty in the +blue waters and towering as high as mountains, their summits a mass of +glittering pinnacles and their sides scored and grooved with cavities +and caverns. Some of them saw the animals which live in that cold, +barren region; the great white bear, with its coat of thick shaggy fur, +its long ungainly figure and heavy swaying neck; the walrus, with its +gleaming tusks hanging down from its upper jaws; the seals, with their +great round eyes staring at the unknown intruders; above all, the huge +whales, spouting and floundering in the sea, coming to the surface with +a snort which sent the spray flying high in the air, and disappearing +again with a splash that was like a crashing billow. Little wonder that +those who returned from seeing such sights and hearing such strange +sounds should tell wonderful stories about the weird creatures +inhabiting the place. + +The sounds must have been as terrifying and mystifying as the sights, +for in the clear, intense atmosphere of the winter months, noise travels +over almost incredible distances. When Parry was on Melville's Island, +he records having heard the voices of men who were talking not less than +a mile away. In the depth of winter, when the great cold has its icy +grip on everything, the silence is unbroken along the shores of the +Polar Sea; but when the frost sets in, and again when the winter gives +way to spring, there is abundance of noise. As the frost comes down +along the coast, rocks are split asunder with a noise of big guns, and +the sound goes booming away across the frozen tracts, startling the +slouching bear in his lonely haunts, and causing him to give vent to his +hoarse, barking roar in answer. The ice, just forming into sheets, +creaks and cracks as the rising or falling tide strains it along the +shore; fragments, falling loose upon it, skid across the surface with +the ringing sound which travels so far. In the spring the melting +ice-floes groan as they break asunder; with a mighty crash the +unbalanced bergs fall over, churning the water into foam with their +plunge, and bears and foxes and all the other Arctic animals call and +bark to one another as they awaken from their winter sleep. Just as +these incidents occur to-day, so did they occur a thousand years ago; +and if to modern ears they sound weird and awe-inspiring, what must they +have been to the men who succeeded Pytheas? + +Nor does this exhaust the marvel of this bleak and fascinating region. +In the long winter nights the aurora borealis glares and blazes in the +sky, "roaring and flashing about a ship enough to frighten a fellow," as +an old quartermaster, who was with Sir F. L. McClintock in his search +for Sir John Franklin, used to tell the midshipmen. In the prolonged +sunset and sunrise the sky is ablaze with colour, and, when the sun has +gone, the rarefied atmosphere produces many curious astronomical +figures. As explorers penetrated farther into the great ice-bound region +they encountered fresh peculiarities. The moon, which shone continuously +during the three weeks of its course, frequently appeared surrounded by +belts and bands of light, in which mock moons were visible. Long after +the sun had disappeared a mock sun would shine in the sky, and in the +twilight, when shadows were no longer cast, men and dogs were liable to +walk over cliffs and fall down crevices in the ice through being unable +to distinguish them. Penetrating farther into the ice world, they +learned that throughout the winter the ice heaved and crashed upon +itself, making an incessant uproar as it groaned and creaked. The +experience of Nansen and the _Fram_ emphasised this, but in the earlier +days of Polar research silence was presumed to reign in the vicinity of +the Arctic basin. + +In those early days the expeditions usually kept close to the northern +coasts of either Europe, Asia, or America. Sir Hugh Willoughby, who +sailed from England in 1553, confined himself to seeking the north-east +passage from Behring Sea to Greenland along the north coast of Canada. +In 1576 Frobisher explored part of the region, the work being continued +by Davis, who in 1585-8 discovered and explored the strait which still +bears his name, to the west of Greenland. In 1610 Hudson, an intrepid +trader and explorer, sailed into Hudson's Bay, and five years later +Baffin sailed into and through Baffin's Bay. The result of these two +discoveries was to open up a very valuable fur trade, and for the next +two hundred years, fur traders and whalers were practically the only men +who went into the frozen North. In 1818 the British Navy again entered +the field for the purpose of mapping out the northern coasts of America. +Captains Ross and Parry were sent out in two vessels, with the result +that knowledge of the locality was extended by the discovery of +Lancaster Sound, Prince Regent Inlet, Barrow Strait, and Melville +Island. The location of these islands and straits aroused still keener +curiosity as to whether there was or was not a passage for ships leading +from the Pacific to the Atlantic Oceans along the north coast of +America. The search for the North-West Passage was the dream of every +Arctic explorer at this period. It fell to the lot of one man to prove +the existence of the passage, at a price, however, of his own life, and +the lives of all his companions, as well as the loss of his two ships. +This was Sir John Franklin, whose Polar exploits form the subject of the +succeeding chapter. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +SIR JOHN FRANKLIN + + Young Franklin--His Dreams of Adventure--He becomes a Sailor--His + First Arctic Expedition--Fails to get through Behring + Straits--Explores Baffin's Bay--The 1845 Expedition--The _Erebus_ + and _Terror_--The "Good-Bye" at Greenland--Wellington Channel--They + select Winter Quarters--Discovery of the North-West Passage--Death + of Franklin--Prisoned in the Ice--The Crew Abandon the + Ships--Defeat and Death. + + +Sir John Franklin was born at Spilsby, in Lincolnshire, on April 16, +1786, and was one of a family of ten. It is said that his father +originally intended him for the clergy, but the boy had too restless and +roving a nature to look with contentment upon a quiet, uneventful life. +Nelson was the idol of his heart, and although a hundred years ago boys +were not quite so well provided with books and stories of their heroes +as they are to-day, young Franklin managed to acquire enough knowledge +of the doings of Nelson, and the other great British Admirals, to make +his heart thrill with enthusiasm for them, and for the element upon +which their greatness had been achieved. + +His home was not so many miles away from the coast but that he had a +personal acquaintance, from early boyhood, with the scent of salt water +and the sight of the open sea. That, combined with what he learned of +Nelson, and the romantic yarns spun to him by any old sailor he chanced +upon, exerted over him the spell which, in all ages, has so powerfully +influenced British boys. The long stretch of moving water, which rolled +between him and the skyline, was the home of all that was wonderful and +glorious; the ships which sailed over it were, to his enthusiastic mind, +palaces of delight, journeying into realms of mystery, adventure, and +beauty. Over that sea lay the lands where the coco-palms grew, where +Indians hunted and fought, and where mighty beasts of strange and +fantastic shapes roamed through the palm groves. Over that sea, also, +lay the realms of ice and snow, of which more marvellous tales were told +than of the golden islands of the Southern Seas. And to sail over that +sea a great yearning came upon him. The life on shore, in peaceful, +steady-going Lincolnshire, was too dreary and hopeless for him; nowhere +could he be happy save on that boundless ocean, with room to breathe, +and surrounded by all the glamour of romance. + +Fortunately for the glory of British naval history, the elder Franklin +did not shut his eyes to the attractions the sea had for his son, but, +as a wise parent, he regarded the wish to follow the sea as merely a +boyish whim. It would be better to let the boy have a taste of the +realities of the life at once, and so cure the fancy which threatened to +interfere with the paternal desires as regards the clergy. Every one +knew how attractive a sailor's life looked from the shore, and most +people knew how much more attractive life on shore looked from the sea. +If John wanted to see what a sailor's life was like, he should have his +opportunity, and the father, in arranging for his son to sail in a +trading vessel to Lisbon and back, probably felt satisfied that the +rough fare and hard work he would experience would effectually cure him +of any desire for more. But the future Arctic hero was made of sterner +stuff than to be turned away from his ambition by such trivial +circumstances. He returned from the Lisbon trip more enthusiastic than +ever for a sailor's life. His father gave way before so much +determination, and young Franklin shortly afterwards entered the Navy. +His first ship was H.M.S. _Polyphemus_, and he was present on board at +the battle of Copenhagen, under the supreme command of his idol Nelson. + +His first Arctic experience did not come until 1818, when he had reached +the rank of lieutenant and was second in command of an expedition sent +out to find a way through Behring's Straits. Two vessels formed the +expedition--the _Dorothea_, 370 tons, under Captain Buchan, and the +_Trent_, 250 tons, under Lieutenant Franklin, the latter carrying a crew +of ten officers and twenty-eight men. Their instructions were to sail +due North, from a point between Greenland and Spitzbergen, making their +way, if possible, through Behring's Straits. The ships, which would +to-day only rank as small coasting craft, were soon imprisoned in the +ice and so severely crushed that as soon as the winter passed and escape +was possible, they were turned towards home. The practical results of +the expedition were valueless, and only one circumstance in connection +with it saved it from being a failure. This was the introduction of +Franklin to that sphere of work which, during the remainder of his life, +he was fated so brilliantly to adorn. + +The following year, 1819, saw him again facing the North, this time in +company with Captain Parry, and with a well-arranged plan of operations. +Parry was to remain in the ships and explore at sea, while Franklin was +to push along the shores of Baffin's Bay, making as complete a survey as +possible. For three years the work was continued, until, by 1822, the +party had travelled over 5550 miles of previously unexplored country +along the North American coast. Returning to England, Franklin enjoyed a +well-earned rest, until, in 1825, he was placed in charge of an +expedition to complete the surveys of the coast along which the +North-West Passage was supposed to run. With the experience of his +former expedition, he was able to work more rapidly on this occasion, +and by 1827 he was back again in England with his task completed. Not +alone had all the surveys been carried out, but he had demonstrated his +qualities as a leader of Polar expeditions by returning with the loss of +only two men. + +[Illustration: W. E. PARRY'S ATTEMPT TO REACH THE POLE, 1827.] + +In spite of this, however, nearly twenty years were to elapse before he +was again entrusted with a command in the Arctic regions. He was sent, +meanwhile, to be governor of the colony of Tasmania, or, as it was then +called, Van Diemen's Land, a large island to the south of Australia. +Here in the metropolis, Hobart, a statue of Franklin stands in Franklin +Square, and it is curious to think that the man whose work in the +Northern Hemisphere is an immortal monument of his name in the region of +the North Pole should have his memory perpetuated by a statue nearer the +South Pole than any in the Southern Hemisphere. Verily, a world-wide +reputation. + +In 1845 the expedition started which, more than anything else, tended to +make Franklin the popular hero he has become. The _Erebus_ and _Terror_, +which formed the fleet, had already proved their capacity for +withstanding the strain and pressure of the ice-floes. They each carried +a crew numbering sixty-seven officers and men, and while Franklin took +charge of the _Erebus_ with Captain Fitz-James, the _Terror_ was +commanded by Captain Crozier. The ships were provisioned for three +years, and the task set them was to discover and sail through the +passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. The intention of the +Government was to ascertain whether or not this passage existed, and +Franklin was instructed to go by Lancaster Sound to Cape Walker (lat. +74° N.; long. 98° W.) and thence south and west to push through +Behring's Straits to the other ocean. + +Franklin was full of enthusiasm as to the outcome of the expedition. +That it would prove the existence of the passage he had no doubt, and +subsequent events justified him. But he had bigger notions than merely +proving the passage. "I believe it is possible to reach the Pole over +the ice by wintering at Spitzbergen and going in the spring before the +ice breaks up," he said before starting, and no one would have been +surprised had he returned in the three years with a record of the +journey. Public interest was thoroughly aroused in the enterprise, and +when the two vessels set sail from Greenhithe on May 19, 1845, they had +a brilliant send-off. On June 1 they arrived at Stromness in the Orkney +Islands, and on July 4 at Whale Fish Island, off the coast of Greenland, +where the despatch-boat _Barreto Junior_ parted company with them to +bring home Franklin's despatches to the Admiralty, reporting "All Well." +Later on came the news that Captain Dannett, of the whaler _Prince of +Wales_, had spoken to them in Melville Bay. + +Then the months passed and grew into years, and still no sign or token +was received from them. Public opinion, stimulated by the interest taken +in the departure of the expedition, began to grow anxious at the +prolonged silence; but the last despatches had been received and the +last tidings direct from the ships had come to hand. Over their +subsequent actions and adventures the heavy veil of the Frozen North +hung until intrepid searchers raised it and learned the sad but gallant +story of how the North-West Passage was discovered and the route to the +Pole marked clearer. + +When the _Erebus_ and _Terror_ parted company with the despatch-boat on +July 4, they shaped their course through Baffin's Bay towards Lancaster +Sound. Continuing their way, they passed Cape Warrender and ultimately +reached Beechy Island at the entrance of the then unexplored waters of +Wellington Channel. They passed through the channel, taking such +observations as were necessary as they went, until they had sailed 150 +miles. Further progress being stopped by the ice, they passed into +another unexplored channel between Cornwallis Island and Bathurst Island +which led them into Barrow's Straits, nearly 100 miles west of the +entrance to Wellington Channel. + +The ice was now forming thickly around them, and attention was directed +to discovering a comfortable haven where they could come to rest and +remain while the ice closed in around them during the long winter +months. A suitable harbour was found on the northeasterly side of Beechy +Island and the ships were made snug. All the spars that could be sent +down were lowered on to the decks, and the rigging and sails stowed away +below before the ice surrounded them, so that when the floes began to +pack and lifted the hulls of the vessels, there should be no +"top-hamper" to list them over. On the frozen shore huts were built for +the accommodation of shore parties, and, as the ice spread around and +the snow fell, the men found exercise and amusement in heaping it up +against the sides of the vessels as an extra protection against the +cold, the thick mass of frozen snow preventing the escape of the warmth +from the inside of the ships. But where there were fires always going to +maintain the temperature of the cabins, the danger of an outbreak of +fire had to be zealously guarded against. With all the ship's pumps +rendered useless by the frost, and the water frozen solid all around, a +conflagration on board a vessel in the Arctic seas is one of the +grimmest of terrors. The safeguard is the maintenance, in the ice near +the vessel's side, of a "fire hole," that is, a small space kept open by +constant attention down to the level of unfrozen water. + +During the long winter months there was plenty of time to estimate the +progress they had made, and there must have been considerable +satisfaction on all sides at what they had accomplished. They had +circumnavigated Cornwallis Island and had reached to within 250 miles of +the western end of the passage. + +The first Christmas festival of the voyage was kept up with high revel. +If fresh beef was not available, venison was, and there was plenty of +material for the manufacture of the time-honoured "duff." The officers +and men, clad in their thick, heavy fur garments, clustered together as +the simple religious service was read, and over the silent white +covering of sea and land the sound of their voices rolled as they sang +the hymns and carols which were being sung in their native land. Then +came the merrymaking and the feasting in cabins decked with bunting, for +no green stuff was available for decorating. + +The first New Year's Day was saddened by the death of one of their +comrades, and the silent ice-fields witnessed another impressive sight +when the crews of both vessels slowly marched ashore to the grave dug in +the frozen soil of Beechy Island. The body, wrapped in a Union Jack, was +borne by the deceased man's messmates, the members of his watch headed +by their officers following, and after them the remainder of the +officers and crew. The bells of each ship tolled as the _cortège_ passed +over the ice, the crunching of the crisp snow under foot being the only +other sound till the grave was reached. There the solemn and impressive +service of a sailor's funeral was said, the mingled voices as they +repeated the responses passing as a great hum through the still, cold +air. A momentary silence followed as the flag-swathed figure was lowered +into the grave, and then a quick rattle of firearms as the last salute +was paid echoed far and wide among the icebergs. + +Twice more was that scene repeated before the ships cleared from the +ice, and one of the first signs discovered by the searchers after +Franklin were the three headstones raised on that lonely isle to the +memory of W. Braine, John Hartwell, and John Torrington, who died while +the ships were wintering in the cold season of 1845-6. + +By July the ice had broken up and the voyage was resumed and passed +without any exceptional incident, up to the middle of September 1846, +when they were again caught by the ice, but 150 miles nearer their +destination than the year before. Only 100 miles more to be sailed over +and they would be the conquerors--but that 100 miles was too firmly +blocked with ice-floes for them ever to sail over. + +The winter of 1846-7 was passed just off the most extreme northerly +point of King William's Land. The ice was particularly heavy, and hemmed +the vessels in completely, the surface being too rugged and uneven to +permit of travelling in the immediate vicinity even of hunting parties. +This was the more unfortunate because the provisions were growing scant, +and supplies brought in by hunters would have been of great assistance. +At the time of starting, the vessels had only been provisioned for three +years. Two had now passed, so that only a twelvemonth's stock of food +remained in the holds. It might occupy them all the next summer in +working through the remaining 100 miles of the passage, and that would +leave them with another winter to face, unless they were sufficiently +fortunate in finding open water when they reached the end. But, on the +other hand, they might not be able to get through in the time, or the +passage might not be navigable. Either possibility was full of very +grave anxiety for those in command, for it was a terrible prospect of +being left, with 130 men to feed, in the midst of the frozen sea, "a +hundred miles from everywhere." + +The anxiety felt was shown by the despatch, as early as May, or two +months before the first flush of summer was due, of a specially selected +party of quick travellers to push forward over the ice and spy out the +prospects ahead. Lieutenant Graham Gore, of the _Erebus_, commanded the +party, which consisted of Charles des Voeux, ship's mate, and six +seamen. They carried only enough stores to last them on their journey, +and each one had to contribute his share to the labour of hauling the +hand-sledges over the jagged ridges of broken ice. Skirting along the +coast of King William's Land, they arrived at a point from the top of +which they were able to discern the mainland coast trending away to the +horizon, with a sea of ice in front. It was the long-dreamed-of end of +the North-West Passage. + +To commemorate the fact the little party built a cairn upon the summit +of the point, which they named Point Victory, and enclosed in a tin +canister they deposited, under the cairn, a record of their trip and its +result. Twelve years later this record was found, and by it the honour +due to Franklin for the discovery of the passage was confirmed. But the +manner of its finding must be told later on. + +Elated with the success of their efforts, Lieutenant Gore and his +companions retraced their way back to the ships, for with the end of +their journey so near at hand, all fears of the provisions running short +were at an end. As soon as the ice broke up they would be away into the +sea they had seen from Point Victory, and sailing home with their +mission accomplished, their task completed, and nothing but honour and +glory waiting them at home. As soon as they came within sight of the two +ships, perched up among the ice ridges, they shouted out to their +comrades to let them know of the success achieved. Round about the ships +they saw men standing in groups, but instead of answering cheers, the +men only looked in their direction. Unable to understand why so much +indifference was displayed, Lieutenant Gore and his companions hurried +forward, and, as they came nearer, some of the men separated themselves +from the groups and came to meet them with slow steps. + +Soon the cause of their depression was made known to the returned +explorers. The leader of the expedition lay dying in his cabin on board +the _Erebus_. + +Lieutenant Gore, his enthusiasm at his success sadly damped, went on +board the flagship at once, hoping that the news of victory might still +be given to Sir John before he died. He was led into the cabin and +briefly told the story of his journey, and how, from Point Victory, he +had looked out over to the coast of the mainland. The news, the last +which Sir John Franklin was to hear on earth, was perhaps the sweetest +he had ever known, for it meant that he had triumphed and had won a +lasting name and memory for his services to Sovereign and State. On June +11, 1847, his life ended at the moment of his brightest achievement. + +Captain Crozier, of the _Terror_, assumed command of the expedition, +and as summer was at hand, everything was made ready against the time +when the ice would break up. Ice-saws were fixed ready to cut passages +through the floes when they began to separate, and ice-anchors were run +out so that the vessels could be warped along whenever an opening +occurred. Daily the crews mustered on board and looked over the ice for +some sign of the breaking of their imprisonment, for some loosening of +the iron grip of the ice round their vessel's sides, but all in vain. +The two ships were wedged in a vast mass of ice, through which it was +impossible to cut their way. Instead of breaking up in lesser fields and +floes of ice, the mass remained packed, creaking, crashing, and +straining by night and day as it slowly made its way nearer the coast of +the mainland, carrying the ships with it until they were within 15 miles +of Point Victory, and 60 miles of the mainland coast. + +Soon the short summer months had passed and the dark period of winter +was upon them again, with the provisions daily growing scarcer, and the +hope of getting their ships out of the ice fainter. Another evil came +upon them when among the members of the crew scurvy, the dreaded enemy +of the early Polar explorers, broke out. By the following April twenty +of their number had succumbed to it, nine being officers, one of whom +was Lieutenant Gore. + +On April 22, 1848, the remaining 105 officers and men gathered on the +ice around the two ships. They had with them sledges laden with what +provisions were left, and two whale-boats. Slowly and sorrowfully they +bade farewell to the vessels which had been their homes for nearly three +years, and set out to march over the ice to the mainland. Their plan was +to push on until they reached the Great Fish River, where they might +obtain succour either from travelling bands of Indians or at some +outlying station of the Hudson Bay Company. Travelling at the rate of +five miles a day, so rough and difficult was the route, they arrived on +April 25 at the cairn where Lieutenant Gore had left the record of his +journey over a year before. The canister in which it was enclosed was +opened, and round the margin was written this brief, pathetic story:-- + +"April 25, 1848. H.M.S. _Terror_ and _Erebus_ were deserted on April 22, +five leagues N.N.W. of this point, having been beset since September 12, +1846. The officers and men, consisting of 105 souls, under the command +of Captain F. R. M. Crozier, landed here in lat. 69° 37' 42" N., long. +98° 41' W. The paper was found by Lieutenant Irving in a cairn supposed +to have been built by Sir James Ross in 1831, four miles to the north, +where it had been deposited by the late Commander Gore in June 1847. Sir +James Ross's pillar has not, however, been found, and the paper has been +transferred to this position, which, it is thought, is where Sir James +Ross's pillar was erected. Sir John Franklin died on June 11, 1847, and +the total loss of life by death in the expedition has been to this date +nine officers and fifteen men. Start to-morrow, April 26, for Back's +Fish River." + +The record, left as a sign, should it ever be found, of the direction +they had taken, the party resumed their dreary march over the frozen +shores of King William's Land. The men formed themselves into teams for +the purpose of dragging the sledges and whale-boats, and the officers +marched beside them, helping them and encouraging them. Even the snail's +pace of five miles a day became too severe a strain for many of the men, +weakened as they were by attacks of scurvy and reduced rations. Soon it +became evident that if a place were to be reached where help and food +could be obtained before the provisions were absolutely exhausted, it +would be necessary for the stronger to push forward at a more rapid +rate. + +A council was held, and it was decided that the strongest should take +enough supplies to last them for a time and push forward as rapidly as +possible, while the remainder should follow at a slower rate and by +shorter stages. The majority were in the latter division, and only a few +days elapsed after the smaller band, numbering about thirty, had left, +before the ravages of scurvy and semi-starvation made it impossible for +even less than five miles a day to be covered. So debilitated were all +the members that further advance was abandoned until they had, by +another long rest, tried to recuperate their energies. But the terrible +bleakness of the place where they were wrought havoc among them, and +every day men fell down never to rise again, until the only hope for the +survivors lay in returning to the ships, where, at least, they would +have shelter. Wearily they staggered over the rugged ice ridges, each +man expending his remaining energies in striving to carry the +provisions, without which only death awaited them. Men fell as they +walked, unnoticed by their companions, whose only aim was to get back to +the ships, and whose faculties were too dimmed to understand anything +else. Blindly, but doggedly, they stumbled onward, silent in their +agony, brave to the last when worn-out nature gave way and they sank +down, one after the other, till none was left alive, and only the still +figures, lying face downwards on the frozen snow, bore mute witness of +how they had neither faltered nor wavered in their duty, but had died, +as Britons always should die, true to the end. + +Their comrades who had left them to push forward for help were equally +stolid in their struggle against overwhelming odds. As they were +crossing the ice between King William's Land and the mainland, a great +cracking of the floes startled them with the fear that the ice was +breaking up. Hastily placing their stores in the whale-boat, which they +had been dragging in addition to the hand-sledges, they abandoned +everything else, fearful lest the sudden opening of the floes might cut +them off from a further advance. Harnessing themselves to ropes, they +toiled and struggled onward with the boat. They reached the mainland, +but at a terrible sacrifice, for in their haste they had left much of +their scanty supplies behind. Their food ran out and hope was almost +dead, when they espied a small camp of Eskimo. + +Fresh life came to them as they learned that they were nearly up to the +Great Fish River, and they bartered away some spoons and forks, Sir John +Franklin's star, part of a watch and some other metal articles to the +Eskimo for a recently killed seal. Had they waited longer with the +natives, they might have obtained more food and have recovered somewhat +from their fatigue, but in the mind of each was the memory of their +stricken comrades toiling on behind, and hoping from day to day for the +arrival of relief. Personal feelings were forgotten before that memory, +and the gallant little party resumed its way, fighting with all the +dauntless bravery of heroes to win help for their weaker +friends--fighting till their limbs refused to move, till their starving +bodies were numbed and frozen. Then, falling in their own footsteps, +they passed away, one by one, silent and uncomplaining, to the list of +Britain's honoured dead. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE SEARCH FOR FRANKLIN + + Captain Parker's Report--Government offers a Reward--Dr. Rae's + Expedition--Captain McClure's Voyage in the + _Investigator_--Hardships and Perils--The Meeting with the + _Herald_--Lady Franklin still Hopeful--Sir F. L. McClintock's + Expedition in the _Fox_ with Lieutenant Hobson--Their Sad and Fatal + Discoveries--Lieutenant Schwatka recovers the Body of Lieutenant + Irving. + + +The enthusiasm which was aroused over the departure of Sir John +Franklin's expedition gave place to a deep national anxiety as the years +passed without any word being received of its whereabouts. On October 4, +1849, the _Truelove_ arrived at Hull from Davis Straits, and her +commander, Captain Parker, reported that he had heard from some Eskimo +that the _Erebus_ and the _Terror_ had been seen in the previous March +fixed in the ice, and apparently abandoned in Prince Regent's Inlet. No +confirmation was ever obtained for this report, but it served to excite +public anxiety still more, and expeditions began to be organised for the +relief of the missing explorers. In all, twenty-one expeditions were +sent, of which eighteen were British and three American, to search the +neighbourhood where it was anticipated Sir John and his gallant band +would be. Coals, provisions, clothing, and other necessaries were +deposited at different spots in the hopes that they would be found by, +and be of use to, the castaways. But, as has already been stated, none +were able to give succour to the men for whose use they were intended. + +A great deal of valuable and highly interesting work, however, was done, +and in addition to at length discovering enough relics of the party to +show that all the members had perished while carrying out their duty, an +amount of knowledge was acquired which made the North-West Passage +familiar, located the Magnetic Pole, and opened the way for more recent +and equally brilliant journeys towards the Pole itself. The general +public, as well as the Government, were responsible for search +expeditions; but to stimulate the enterprise, the British Government +offered a sum of £20,000 to any party of any country that should render +efficient service to the crews of the missing _Erebus_ and _Terror_. +Half that reward was paid to Dr. Rae, who discovered the relics of the +party, now at the Greenwich Museum, consisting of Sir John Franklin's +star, some spoons and forks, the remains of a watch, and some other +metallic odds and ends. + +The story of this discovery was briefly told by Dr. Rae in a letter to +the Admiralty. He was, in 1854, surveying the coast of the mainland +immediately south of King William's Land, when he encountered a small +party of Eskimo hunters. He asked them whether they had ever met other +white men, and they told him that four summers before (1850) a number of +white men had been encountered by some Eskimo who were catching seals +off the south coast of King William's Land. The white men came from over +the ice, and were dragging a boat behind them. By signs they made the +hunters understand that they were hungry, and a seal was exchanged for +the articles Dr. Rae was shown. Then the white men went on walking over +the ice, dragging the boat behind them, one walking in front alone, and +all the rest pulling the ropes attached to the boat. A few weeks later +they were seen again, this time on the mainland, but all were dead. The +place where they were found was about one day's journey from the Great +Fish River, and all had evidently died of cold and starvation. They had +erected tents and had turned the boat over for a shelter, and some of +the men lay under the boat, while others were in and around the tents. +One man was some distance away with a telescope slung over his +shoulders, and underneath his body was a double-barrelled gun. This man, +they said, was the chief of the party. + +About the encampment there were plenty of guns and ammunition, but no +food. More than likely the unfortunate castaways were too weak from want +to be able to hunt, for Dr. Rae, in his reports, stated: "I may add that +with our guns and nets we obtained an ample supply of provisions last +autumn, and my small party passed the winter in snow houses in +comparative comfort, the skins of the deer shot affording abundant warm +clothing and bedding." + +Next to the story of Dr. Rae's discovery comes the account of the +finding by Lieutenant Hobson, on May 6, 1859, of the record left on +Point Victory, and after that again, the recovery, in 1879, by +Lieutenant Schwatka, of the United States Navy, of the bodies of several +of the _Erebus_ and _Terror_ crews. But meanwhile a glance may be taken +at some of the thrilling adventures which befell the different relief +expeditions. The account of Captain McClure's voyage in the +_Investigator_, graphically told by himself in his reports to the +Admiralty, is full of typical Arctic adventure. + +The _Investigator_ was one of several ships forming one of the +expeditions. After sailing in company for some time they separated to +work over set areas. The _Investigator_ entered the Polar Sea and sailed +along the North-East Passage. She was soon amongst the ice, and sailed +on in a depth of 150 feet of water until the pack showed a solid +unbroken line in front from east to west. Then she sailed along it, in +the hopes of finding an opening; but all that could be seen, beyond the +ice, was a vast number of walrus, lying upon it huddled together like +sheep. Between the ice and the land, however, there was open water, and +here the _Investigator_ shaped her course, keeping well in towards the +shore on the look-out for natives. There was an interpreter on board, +Miertsching by name, so that whenever any natives were encountered +inquiries could be made for tidings of the missing explorers. At Cape +Bathurst, near the Mackenzie River, a part Franklin had explored many +years before, a large tribe was observed, and at once a boat party put +off from the ship. + +As they approached the shore, thirty tents and nine winter-houses were +seen. Immediately the boats were run ashore a tremendous stir was caused +in the village, the men running to and fro and then charging down a +steep slope to where the boats were aground on the beach. As they drew +near it was seen that each man carried a drawn knife in his hand, as +well as bows and arrows, and their warlike intentions were still more +clearly shown when they fitted arrows to the bows and began to aim at +the white men. The interpreter Miertsching, clad in native costume, +advanced from the explorers towards the angry Eskimo, holding his hands +above his head in the position which expresses peace amongst these +primitive people. + +They paused as they saw him, and waited until he came up; but although +they put back their bows and arrows when he told them no one wished to +harm them, they would not relinquish their knives. As they crowded down +to the boats, the captain told him to explain to them that they must put +their knives away; but the chief of the tribe immediately retorted, "So +we will, when you put down your rifles." To prove their peaceful +intentions, one of the rifles was given to the chief to carry while the +explorers remained with them, and this action so effectually satisfied +them that no harm would be done to them that they offered to let their +visitors take charge of their knives. + +The village contained over three hundred men, women, and children, and +was formed for hunting purposes. The mass of ice showing across the open +passage, they said, was the land of the white bear, an animal which, +they explained, was very plentiful and of which they were greatly in +fear. Several tales were told of the savagery of these creatures, a +woman pitifully bewailing the loss of her little child, who was carried +off by one of them when playing at the water's edge within her sight. A +less mournful story was that of a seal hunter who, having speared one +seal, was sitting by the side of his victim waiting for the mate to +appear above the water, when he felt a tap on the back. Suspecting a +trick by a fellow-huntsman, he did not turn round, whereupon he received +a heavy blow on the side of the head which sent him sprawling. As he +scrambled to his feet, angry at his comrade's roughness, he saw a big +bear walking off with his seal. + +Upon the interpreter explaining how the white men's rifles could kill +the bears, the chief at once invited him to come and live with them, +offering as inducements his own daughter, a pleasant-looking girl of +about fifteen, a fully furnished tent, and all the other necessary +possessions of a well-to-do Eskimo. Failing in that, they invited the +explorers to a feast of roast whale and venison, salmon, blubber, and +other delicacies; but instead of taking from them, the explorers +presented them with a number of gifts, and left them on the best of +terms. + +A few days later and farther along the coast another small band was +encountered, one of whom was wearing a brass button in his ear. The +button was off a sailor's jacket, and upon being asked how he obtained +it, the man replied it had been taken from a white man who had been +killed by the tribe. He was asked for further particulars, in case the +unfortunate might turn out to be one of Franklin's men. The Eskimo +replied that it might have been done a year ago or when he was a child, +but the huts the white men had built were still standing. The explorers +at once persuaded him to take them to the spot, but on arrival they +found the huts so weather-worn and overgrown with moss that more than a +generation must have passed since they were built. + +[Illustration: AN IMMENSE ICEBERG. + +This berg was photographed off the coast of Newfoundland. It had +probably made its way there from the glaciers of Greenland. + +_Photo by Parsons._] + +This was not the only occasion when hopes were raised that some of the +missing expedition were about to be discovered. As the _Investigator_ +continued her voyage along the coast, heavy volumes of smoke were seen +rising from a bluff, and the man on the look-out in the crow's-nest at +the top of the foremast cried out that he could see white tents and men +with white shirts on near them. At once everybody was on the alert. +Boats were lowered and rowed quickly to the shore, but on close +inspection the white tents were found to be conical mounds of volcanic +formation, and the smoke, which was also volcanic, was rising from +fissures in the ground. + +Winter was now setting in, and as there was no suitable harbour at hand, +Captain McClure determined to pass the season amongst the ice-floes. His +decision was largely due to the fact that as the ice was forming around +them, a great mass of old ice, over six miles in length and drifting at +the rate of two miles an hour, came upon them. Its enormous weight +crushed everything out of its way, and the ship could only manoeuvre +sufficiently to graze it with her starboard bow. Fortunately on the +other side of her there was only freshly formed and comparatively thin +ice, otherwise she would have been hopelessly crushed at once. As it +was, the gradual drifting past of the mass was disconcerting, and it was +decided to make fast to it. A great mass which they ascertained extended +downwards for forty-eight feet below the surface of the sea was +selected, and with heavy cables the _Investigator_ was made secure to +it. Throughout the winter she remained moored to it, though not without +more than one experience of danger. + +Soon after making fast to the ice, the first bear of the season was +shot. He was a magnificent specimen, measuring over seven feet, but upon +being cut up considerable speculation was roused as to the contents of +his stomach. In it was found raisins, tobacco, pork, and some adhesive +plasters. For some time the combined intellect of the ship's company +was exercised to explain where the bear could have obtained such a +varied diet and many suggestions were advanced in explanation. +Franklin's ships might be near, some said, or the crews might be +encamped on the neighbouring land, and Bruin might have looted their +stores. No one struck the correct solution of the mystery until some +days later a hunting party came upon a preserved meat tin partly filled +with the same sort of articles as were found in the bear's stomach. He +had evidently found the tin and sampled its contents, not entirely to +his enjoyment, as he had left the larger portion behind. But whence the +tin had come they never learned. + +The winter having passed without mishap they began to watch for the +breaking of the ice. When it began, they had a very narrow escape from +destruction. A light breeze springing up the day after open water +appeared among the floes, the pack to which the _Investigator_ was +attached began to drift. It was carried towards a shoal upon which a +huge mass of ice was stranded. A corner of the pack came in contact with +the great stationary mass with a grinding shock that sent pieces of +twelve and fourteen feet square flying completely out of the water, and, +as the immense weight of the moving pack pressed forward, there was a +sound as of distant thunder as it crushed onwards. The weight at the +back caused an enormous mass to upheave in the middle of the pack, as +though under the influence of a volcanic eruption. The great field was +rent asunder, the block to which the _Investigator_ was attached taking +the ground and remaining fixed, while the lighter portion swung round +and, with accelerated speed, came directly towards the vessel's stern. + +To let go every cable and hawser which held her to the block was the +work of a moment, for every one was on deck keenly on the look-out. The +moving mass caught her stem and forced her ahead and from between the +moving floe and the stationary mass. The two came into grinding +collision and the men on the deck of the vessel saw the great bulk to +which the ship had been attached slowly rise. It went up and up until it +had risen thirty feet above the surface and hung perpendicularly above +the ship. It towered higher than the foreyard, presenting a spectacle +that was at once grandly impressive but terribly dangerous, for if it +fell over upon the _Investigator_ she would be crushed to atoms. For a +few moments the suspense was awful, till the weight of the floe broke +away a mass from the great bulk, which rolled back with a tremendous +roar and rending, and, with some fearful heaves, resumed its former +position. But no longer could it withstand the pressure, and it was +hurried forward with the rest of the floe, grinding along the surface of +the shoal. + +The pack having set in towards the shore, the only hopes of safety lay +in keeping with the ice, for, if the _Investigator_ were pushed ashore +by it, there would be little chance of her ever floating again. She was +consequently made fast again and carried along, though with a +tremendous strain on her stern and rudder. It was discovered that the +latter was damaged, but there was no possibility of unshipping it for +repairs while the ice was moving. Towards the afternoon the wind +dropped, the drift became less, and for five hours the rudder received +attention. + +Scarcely had it been replaced when once more the ice began to move, and +the crew saw that they were being forced directly upon a large piece of +the broken floe which had grounded. Feeling certain that if the ship +were caught between the grounded mass and the moving floe nothing could +save her from being crushed to pieces, a desperate effort was made to +remove the great mass. The chief gunner, provided with a big canister of +powder, went on to the ice and struggled over the rugged surface until +he reached the stationary mass. He intended to lower the canister under +the mass before exploding it, but the ice was too closely packed around +it to permit of this being done. There was no time to consider any other +plan, so he fixed the blast in a cavity and, firing the fuse, scrambled +back to the ship. + +The charge exploded just as the pressure of the floe was beginning to +tell, but the result was apparently valueless. The _Investigator_ by +this time was within a few yards of the great mass, and there seemed to +be no hope of escaping from the crush. Every one on deck was in a state +of anxious suspense, waiting for what was evidently the crisis of their +fate. + +Most fortunately the ship went stem-on, as sailors term it, and the +pressure was directed along her whole length instead of along her sides. +Every plank seemed to feel the shock, and the beams groaned as the +pressure increased. The masts trembled, and crackling sounds came from +the bulwarks as she strained under the tension. Momentarily the men +expected that she would collapse under them, when the result of the +gunner's blast was made manifest. It had cracked the mass in three +places, and the pressure of the ship's stern forced the cracks open. The +liberation from the obstacle was at once evident as the mass slowly +divided and, falling over, floated off the shoal. The cable holding the +vessel to the floe parted as she surged forward and the ice-anchors drew +out, while the blocks of ice, as they turned over, lifted her bows out +of the water and heeled her over; but the cheer which broke from the +assembled crew drowned all other noise, for it was as though they had +been snatched from the very jaws of death. + +Subsequent examination of the vessel showed that she had escaped +practically without serious injury. Several sheets of her copper were +stripped off and rolled up like scraps of paper; but as no leaks were +discovered, the loss of the copper was not greatly deplored. + +After escaping from these dangers it was hoped that open water would be +found, so that the voyage might be continued to other areas which had +to be searched, and, as the _Investigator_ drifted along amongst the +partly broken up floes, she encountered some rolling swells, which +increased the hopes that open water was not far ahead. But in this the +crew were disappointed, for although the water near the land was +sufficiently free from ice to enable sail to be made, out toward the +Polar Sea the pack was heavy and close. + +They rounded Cape Lambton on Banks' Land, a promontory which they found +rose a thousand feet precipitously. The land beyond gradually lost the +bold character of the rugged cape, the island presenting a view of hills +in the interior which gradually sloped to the shore, having fine valleys +and extensive plains, over and through which several small and one +considerable sized stream flowed. A great deal of drift-wood lay along +the beach, and the land was covered with verdure upon which large flocks +of geese were feeding, while ducks were flying in great numbers. Two +small islands were passed off the coast, one of which afforded an +example of the force exerted by a drifting Polar Sea ice-floe. The +island rose about forty feet above the surface of the sea, and broken +masses of ice, which had formed a floe, had been driven entirely over +it. + +The pack still presented an impassable barrier to their course away from +the land, and as the season was getting late they decided that they +would make winter quarters. A suitable bay was found on the north of the +island, and there they spent, not one, but two winters, for the ice +remained so thick during the ensuing short summer that it was impossible +to move. In the summer, however, if they could not get to sea, they +could travel on to the land, and as game was plentiful they were able to +keep themselves well supplied with fresh meat. But when winter again +came upon them with its cold darkness, the game was scarcer, and, what +was worse, the ship's stores were decreasing. + +As perhaps another twelve months would have to be faced, every one went +on reduced rations, so that the stores should be made to last as long as +possible. The approach of the milder weather Captain McClure determined +should be made the occasion of a daring expedition. A few of the men +were beginning to show signs of sickness, and the captain decided that +they should set out in April for the mainland with enough provisions to +carry them through. The ship was so slightly affected by the buffeting +she had received that the leader could not bring himself to think of +abandoning her while he had any stores left and men who were ready to +remain with him. Only the least robust of the crew were to go as the +overlanding party, and they were to travel to the nearest station of the +Hudson Bay Company, and from thence press on to England with despatches +for the Admiralty requesting help and provisions for those who remained +by the ship. Everything was arranged, even to the date of departure, +which was settled as April 15. But before that day arrived another +incident was to transpire. + +On April 10, Captain McClure and his first lieutenant were walking over +the ice near the ship, discussing the serious turn events had taken, for +one of the men had just died from scurvy, and some of the others were in +a bad state of health. This was the first death which had occurred, and +it naturally cast a gloom over every one. As the two walked, they espied +a man coming rapidly towards them from over the ice. He was hastening so +much that they thought he must be flying from a bear, and they went +forward to meet him. But as they approached him, they saw that he was +not one of their own ship's company, for he was of a different build to +any of their men, in addition to which his face showed black from +between his furs, and he was waving his arms wildly. They stopped, +doubtful what to make of him, and he rushed up, still gesticulating and +articulating wildly. + +"Who are you, and where do you come from?" McClure exclaimed sternly. + +"Lieutenant Pim, of the _Herald_, Captain Kellett," the strange figure +managed to reply, as he seized McClure's hands and shook them +frantically. + +Rapidly he told the astounded couple his story, for Captain Kellett, of +the _Herald_, had bid McClure God-speed as he was entering the Polar Sea +three years before, and the commander of the _Investigator_ could not +understand how he could have reached Banks' Land. + +The _Herald_ was one ship of another expedition which had come in search +of the gallant Franklin. She had wintered at Melville's Island, and +Lieutenant Pim had set out across the straits with a sledge party on +March 10. For a month they had been wandering, and he had happened to be +on ahead of his men when he caught sight of the _Investigator_ in the +distance. He had pushed on to ascertain who she was, when he saw and +recognised Captain McClure. His astonishment and excitement overmastered +him and he could only halloo and shout and jump about in his glee. + +The noise of his shouts reached the vessel where the crew, hearing a +strange voice, came tumbling up from below to see who it was that had +arrived. The sight of the _Herald_ sledge party soon afterwards +completed their surprise and gratification, for it meant that close at +hand was all the help they needed to successfully insure their +liberation. + +The whole ship's company journeyed across to where the _Herald_ lay, +and, in the interchange of yarns and the assurance of abundance of food +and rest till the ice broke up, they found just the requisite stimulus +to overcome all the evil effects of their past trials and privations. +With a few men from the _Herald_ to relieve the members of his crew who +were on the sick-list, Captain McClure returned to the _Investigator_ +after a few days, and when the summer arrived he worked his vessel out +into open water. Then he joined company with the _Herald_ and sailed for +England, whither his despatches and reports had already preceded him and +earned him fame. + +The return of Captain McClure and the result of his discoveries, +together with those of other expeditions, and Dr. Rae's find of Franklin +relics, satisfied the British Government that further search was +unavailing. As the account of Sir John Franklin's voyage had not yet +been found, the honour of proving the existence of the North-West +Passage was, for the time being, accorded to McClure, and the Admiralty, +satisfied that all the members of the Franklin expedition had perished, +and the ships either been abandoned or destroyed, ceased despatching +further search parties. + +There were, however, a large number of people who were by no means +satisfied that everything possible had been learned as to the fate of +the _Erebus_ and _Terror_. Lady Franklin, Sir John's second wife, was +one who refused to give up hopes, and, largely through her efforts, yet +another vessel was sent out. This was the _Fox_, under the command of +Sir L. F. McClintock, and the voyage was more profuse in the obtaining +of evidence as to the fate of the Franklin party than all the rest put +together. + +McClintock made his way directly to King William's Land, with a definite +programme in view. He and his first lieutenant, Hobson, were each to +journey with sledge parties along the coast of that island and examine +everything which suggested a chance of learning the fate of the vanished +explorers. Especially were they to seek for any natives and glean from +them, by means of presents and barter, any knowledge they might have, or +any _relics_ which might remain amongst them, of the two ill-fated +ships. + +The _Fox_ was a screw steamer, a fact which very largely contributed to +the success of the expedition, as she was able to make steady progress, +whereas a sailing vessel would have had to wait for favourable winds and +so probably lose a great deal of very valuable time. She sailed from +Aberdeen on July 1, 1857, and returned on September 22, 1859, +accomplishing, in her two years' absence, an amount of discovery which +placed all question of the fate of the _Erebus_ and _Terror_ and their +crews beyond a doubt. + +As soon as the _Fox_ was made snug in winter quarters, McClintock and +Hobson set out over the ice in search of some Eskimo. They were +fortunate in discovering a couple of seal hunters, who told them that +some distance away there was a larger party, amongst whom was a man with +knowledge of the missing explorers. They set out with their two friends, +but as night was coming on while yet they had not reached the camp, they +decided to stay where they were till the morning. The two Eskimo, for +one needle apiece, built a snow hut for them in an hour. All of them +went inside the shelter, which they found very acceptable, and prepared +their supper. The food they carried consisted of salt pork and biscuits, +but the two Eskimo would not look at it. Their supper consisted of a +piece of bear's blubber. When they had consumed it they squatted on +their haunches and, with their heads drooped forward on their knees, +went off to sleep for the night. + +The following day the main camp was reached, and the white men at once +realised, by the number of articles of European manufacture in the +possession of the Eskimo, that they must have found and looted the +abandoned ships. One of the men told them, through the interpreter, that +several years before there was a ship in the ice off the coast, but that +when the ice melted it had sunk in deep water. He pointed out the +direction where the ship had been, and where there had been a lot of +drift-wood thrown up on the beach--wood out of which, he explained, they +had made their spear handles and tent poles. Other relics were gradually +forthcoming, upon the production by the white men of the barter they had +with them, and a brisk trade was carried on, knives and needles being +exchanged for spoons, forks, and other objects unmistakably from the +wrecked ships. In addition to the relics, some dogs were also secured. + +The latter purchase afforded them considerable amusement and often +excitement before they were entirely masters in the art of dog-team +driving. Like everything else worth doing, it has to be learned, and in +his account of his journeyings McClintock quotes one or two instances +where experience was his only teacher. He found, for instance, that when +a dog team is harnessed up to a sledge, every dog does not pull his +hardest, and a suggestion from the whip is advisable. The dog, however, +is inclined to resent it, and at once bites his neighbour by way of +protest. The neighbour in turn bites his neighbour, who does the same, +until the whole team has received the sting arising from the first lash, +and every dog is howling and snapping and jumping over each other. The +application of the whip handle instead of the whip lash is then +necessary, and when at length quiet is restored, the driver has to set +to work to unplait the harness, which has been twisted and tied into a +terrible tangle by the antics of the team. When, at the expense of a +great deal of patience and time, everything is ready for a fresh start, +the inexperienced driver is able to estimate the value of cracking the +whip over, instead of on, the back of a lazy dog. + +Even then, however, it is not all plain sailing. The dogs possess a +wisdom of their own, and they never act so well together as when they +reach a piece of particularly rough ice over which the sledge does not +move easily. Directly they find that they have to lean heavily against +the collar to pull the load forward, they, with one accord, turn round, +sit down, and look at the driver. If he is inexperienced, he lays about +him with his whip and the dogs fight and tangle the harness; if he knows +his animals, he puts his shoulder to the sledge, pushes it forward on to +the toes of the team, whereupon each one gets up, hurries out of the way +of the threatening sledge-runners, and, together, pull it easily over +the rough place. + +Another peculiarity of the dogs is their extraordinary appetite for +leather. Shark skin the Eskimo consider to be bad for them because of +its excessive roughness, but birds' skins, with the feathers on, are +greatly relished by the insatiable feeders, and, as has been said, +leather is an especial luxury. The dogs are incorrigible thieves and +frequently sneak into the tents, or, if on board ship, into the cabins, +in search of plunder. They are generally greeted with a kick, but should +it be sufficiently energetic to dislodge the kicker's shoe, the dog at +once seizes the delicacy and makes for a quiet spot on the ice where he +can devour it at his leisure. + +The dogs, however, which McClintock was able to obtain from the Eskimo +were genuinely useful to him when he and Lieutenant Hobson began their +prolonged search, and his only regret was that he could not get more. +Later explorers have profited by his experience, for now an expedition +is never considered complete that does not carry at least one team. + +After leaving the Eskimo encampment, search was continued along the +southern coast of King William's Land, but without very much success. +Returning, they again met the same tribe of Eskimo, and discovered that +when one of the race speaks he does not necessarily tell all that he +knows. During a conversation between the interpreter and one of the +young men, the latter made a reference to the ship that came ashore. As +the man who had previously mentioned the ship said that it sank in deep +water, the young man was asked how it could have come ashore under those +circumstances. The other one sank, he said; the one he meant came +ashore, where he had seen it. + +Further inquiries showed that both the ships had been seen and visited +by the Eskimo while they were yet in the ice. One of them they could not +find how to enter, so they made a hole in her side, with the result that +when the ice melted she filled and sank. In one of the bunks they found +a man lying dead, but no other bodies were right near the ship. + +Now that they had been discovered in their attempt to evade the truth, +the Eskimo spoke readily enough, giving the exact locality where the +ship had come ashore. Thither McClintock and his companions at once +proceeded. They found enough evidence in the drift-wood on the beach to +show them where the vessel had gone to pieces; but whether it was the +_Erebus_ or the _Terror_, there was nothing to show. They had now, +however, a definite point from whence to commence their search, and +they laid out the probable routes by which the escaping crews would have +travelled. Separating into two parties, so as to cover as much ground as +possible, they started, Lieutenant Hobson leading. + +On May 25, 1859, McClintock, while walking along a sandy ridge from +whence the snow had disappeared, noticed something white shining through +the sand. He stooped to examine it, thinking it to be a round white +stone, but closer inspection showed it to be the back of a skull. Upon +the sand being removed, the entire skeleton was found, lying face +downwards, with fragments of blue cloth still adhering to its bleached +bones. The man had evidently been young, lightly built, and of the +average height. Near by were found a small pocket brush and comb, and a +pocket-book containing two coins and some scraps of writing. He had +evidently fallen forward as he was walking, and never risen. As an old +Eskimo woman told Dr. Rae, "they fell down and died as they walked +along," overcome with cold, hunger, and sickness. + +The explorers were now in the region where all their finds were to be +made. Five days later McClintock came upon a boat which he found, from a +note attached to it, that Hobson had already examined. It had evidently +escaped the notice of the Eskimo, and, until the white men found it, had +probably not been touched by human hands from the moment its occupants +had died. It was mounted on a sledge, as though it had been hauled over +the ice; but from the fact that its bows pointed towards the spot where +the ships had been, it was surmised that the men were dragging it back +to the vessels when they were overcome. Inside were two bodies, one +lying on its side, under a pile of clothing, towards the stern, and the +other in the bows, in such a position as to suggest that the man had +crawled forward, had laboriously pulled himself up to look over the +gunwale, and had then slipped down and died where he fell. Beside him +were two guns, loaded and ready cocked, as though the man had been +apprehensive of attack. There were also as many as five watches, several +books (mostly with the name of Graham Gore or initials G. G. in them), +abundance of clothes and other articles such as knives, pieces of +sheet-lead, files, sounding leads and lines, spoons and forks, oars, a +sail, and two chronometers, but of food only some tea and chocolate. + +The story mutely told by these relics was only too plain. Weary with +hauling it, the majority of the men had left the boat in order to get +back to the ships and obtain a fresh supply of provisions, leaving two, +who were too weak to struggle on, in the boat, as comfortable as they +could be made until some of the others could get back to help them. Then +the days had passed until the store of provisions had been consumed and +the two sufferers had grown weary with waiting, so weary that one had +slept and died under his wraps, and the other, with his remaining +vestige of strength, had crawled forward to peep out once more for the +help that was so long in coming. But only ice had met his gaze, and, +sinking down, he had also passed into that overwhelming sleep, and had +lain undisturbed for twelve years under the covering of the Arctic +snows. + +Close search was made in the vicinity of the boat for the remains of any +other of the lost explorers, but nothing was discovered except +drift-wood. The spot where the boat was found was about fifty miles from +Point Victory, sixty-five from the place where the ship had gone ashore, +and seventy from the skeleton that McClintock had discovered on the +ridge. + +A few days' march farther on, a cairn was noticed upon the brow of a +point near Cape Victoria. On ascending to it, McClintock found another +note from Hobson, stating that he had already examined it and recovered +from it the record which the crews had deposited there upon the +desertion of the ships, and which is given in the account of the +Franklin voyages. This was the final triumph of the search, for it +conclusively proved that Sir John had been dead before the ships were +abandoned, that he, and not McClure, was the real discoverer of the +North-West Passage, and that the expedition had ended in a disaster as +pitiful as the commencement had been brilliant. Round the cairn were +strewn innumerable relics, showing that the three days which had elapsed +from the time of their leaving the ships had been sufficient to further +decrease the strength and vitality of the scurvy-stricken unfortunates. + +No other discovery of moment was made after the unearthing of the vital +record, but Lieutenant Hobson had some experience of what the Franklin +explorers must have suffered. He had abundance of food with him, and +that the best and most nutritious, but he developed scurvy on his +journey, and when he reached the _Fox_ he could not walk without +assistance. No wonder, then, that Franklin's men, starving as well as +sick, should have died by the way. + +The return of the _Fox_ in September 1859 effectually set at rest all +doubts as to the fate of the _Erebus_ and _Terror_, and no more search +expeditions were sent out. But in 1879 Lieutenant Schwatka, of the +United States Navy, made an overland journey to that part of King +William's Land where the crews had perished. He found many more +skeletons, doubtless of members of the ill-fated expedition, and +wherever he found one lying above ground he buried it with proper +ceremony, except in a single instance. + +This was in the case of an open grave of stones in which the remains of +a skeleton, with some blue cloth adhering to it and some coarse canvas +around it, was lying. Near the remains he found a silver medal bearing +the words, "Awarded to John Irving, Midsummer, 1830, Second Mathematical +Prize." + +The presence of the medal identified the remains as being those of +Lieutenant Irving of the _Terror_. As this was the only instance where +identification was possible, Lieutenant Schwatka carefully and +reverently gathered them together and carried them to New York, from +whence they were forwarded to Edinburgh, Irving's native town. There +they were accorded a public funeral on January 7, 1881. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE VOYAGE OF THE _POLARIS_ + + Death of Captain Hall--Crew determine to Return--Are Frozen in--A + Party take to the Ice and are Cast Away--They build themselves Snow + Huts--They find some Seals--An Adventure with Bears--The Perils of + the Spring--They sight the _Tigress_ and are Saved--The + Ship-Party's Story and Rescue. + + +The Government of the United States, in June 1871, despatched the +_Polaris_ to explore and survey the passage between Grinnel Land and +Greenland, and also, if possible, to push on to the Pole. + +The _Polaris_, under the command of Captain Hall, sailed from New York +on June 29, 1871, with a crew of thirty-three, and provisioned for some +years. She succeeded in passing through Smith's Sound and Robeson +Channel, and on August 31 she had reached as high a latitude as 82° 11' +N. Returning to the southward, she went into winter quarters; but on +November 8 her captain was struck down with apoplexy. Upon his death all +idea of going further to the North was abandoned, and, as soon as the +spring of 1872 commenced, preparations were made to return to New York. + +The ice was particularly heavy, however, and very slow progress was made +when, by August, the _Polaris_ became entangled with some big floes +which checked her in every direction. On August 14, when off the +entrance of Kennedy Channel, in latitude 80°, the ice closed round her +and fixed her so firmly that every effort made by the crew to release +her was without avail. A series of floes had closed one upon the other, +and had so compressed themselves together, that all hope of extricating +the _Polaris_ until the ice itself broke up was reluctantly abandoned. +The pack in which she was involved continued to slowly drift to the +South until, two months after her capture, the ship had drifted in the +ice to 78° 28' N. At this point a violent gale occurred, which resulted +in the series of adventures for her crew that has made the voyage of the +_Polaris_ so notable. + +As the gale increased in intensity, the huge field of heavy ice in which +the vessel was imprisoned began to heave and grind in an alarming +manner. The masses joined together by the force of earlier collisions +broke asunder under the strain of the wind, but only to close in again +with terrific force and crashing. Every time that separated portions of +the pack came together with a crash, the ice around the vessel creaked +and moved, and the _Polaris_ herself strained in every timber under the +trial. + +A sudden parting asunder of the pack where she was encased liberated her +for the moment. Freed from the grip of the ice, the force of the wind +was more evident, and she heeled over to the gale as it caught her in +the temporarily open water. Before she could right herself, the ice +closed in again upon her sides. The rending and crashing which followed +the "nip" convinced all on board that the vessel was too crushed ever to +float again, and, while the floe held together and she was kept from +foundering, the crew set about putting stores, tents, clothing, arms, +and anything else they could lay hands on, over the side on to the ice. +They feared that with the next split the vessel would be in the water +again, and there was no doubt in any one's mind but that she would then +sink like a stone. No one knew how long it might be before that split +came, and in the meantime every one worked at the only means of saving +their lives. Nineteen of the ship's company scrambled out on to the +pack, and, as their comrades passed out the various stores and articles +they were able to seize, those on the ice stacked them, as well as they +could, on a massive hummock. + +Through the wind and the cold they worked, neither pausing for rest nor +refreshment. All around them the ice was heaving and grinding, and over +them the cold northerly gale was blowing and driving great clouds of +snow; but they worked on, knowing only too well that in every barrel of +food they rolled into security was contained a week of life for them. +The driving snow made it more and more difficult to see, until the air +was almost dark. With fearful force the wind howled across the icy +expanse, and those on the pack crouched for some shelter behind the +stores they had piled up by the hummock, waiting till the gale should +have exhausted its fury. + +The faint sound of a cry came to them from the direction of the ship and +they peered out through the gloom. Then a cry of despair broke from +their lips--they forgot the force of the wind and the cold of the +driving snow as they sprang from behind their shelter. The ice had +parted again, and, down the long lane of open water which had been +formed, the hull of the ship loomed as it swung away into the darkness. + +Anxiously the castaways watched for the coming together again of the +divided packs, in the hope that the _Polaris_ would again be caught and +held. Those who remained on board were equally anxious, for they knew +the vessel must be leaking terribly, and to be left much longer in the +open water meant that she would founder and they be drowned. A man ran +to the rudder and tried to bring her round to the ice which glimmered +through the snow-storm, but the rudder was damaged too much for steering +and the ship drifted on. Soon it was obscured from those on the pack, +and the truth of their position dawned on them. Whether the ship had +foundered or not they did not know, but this was clear: they were adrift +on an ice-pack which might at any moment split asunder and precipitate +them into the freezing water, or, if it held together, carry them till +they died of cold and starvation. + +Either alternative was sufficiently gloomy to depress the spirits of +the bravest; as the nineteen cowered behind their stack of provisions +for shelter from the keen snow-filled wind, into the mind of each there +came a grim determination to fight while there was an ounce of food in +the casks or a vestige of ice to float them. In the morning, when the +storm had abated and the air was clear, they emerged from their shelter +and looked about for a sign of the vessel. Some of them clambered up on +to the top of the highest hummocks so as to command a wider field of +vision, but they saw no more than those who remained below. All around +them was ice, piled in heaps, or stretching out in flat expanses; but +always ice, as far as the eye could reach, and nowhere a vestige or a +sign of the _Polaris_. + +They gathered together round the heap of stores and looked at one +another in silence, each one reading the other's thoughts and always +finding them the same as his own. The ship had probably gone to the +bottom, with all on board, as soon as she broke away from the ice. The +packs had closed again over the spot where she had disappeared, so that +there was no chance of any spars or timber floating to the surface and +confirming their suspicions. Everything was under the ice, everything +except the scanty supply of provisions that had been put overboard. + +At length one man spoke. It was no use mincing matters, he told his +comrades. They would do well to realise the position they were in, and, +looking at it from the worst side, make the best of it and fight to the +end. The vessel had gone, and all they had to keep them from starvation +and death was the heap of stores and their own energy. There was no +timber to build a raft, so that they could float if the ice broke up; +there was no wood to waste on a fire. But as they had to keep afloat and +warm if they were going to escape, he considered that first of all they +should remove their stores to the thickest, heaviest ice they could +find, and then set to work to build snow huts for shelter. Winter was +coming on with its long spell of darkness, and there was no time to +waste. It was every one's business to help one another and to do the +best they could, working together and sharing whatever came, whether it +was short rations or plenty. + +The sentiments appealed to all the men, and they formed themselves into +parties to carry out the scheme. Fortunately they had just passed one +winter in the Arctic regions and knew, therefore, what was in front of +them, and also how to carry out the building of snow huts and the other +necessary makeshifts. A massive hummock, which apparently was too strong +to be crushed, and solid enough to last through several summers without +melting, was selected as the site of the encampment. The snow which had +fallen during the gale was not quite hard enough for building huts at +the moment, so while some of the party were overhauling the stores and +arranging to move them to the hummock, the others were clearing away +the snow from the site of the camp and banking it up all round as a +break-wind. + +By the time the stores were placed in the enclosure, canvas shelters +were erected for a temporary covering, pending the time when the snow +became hard enough to cut for building blocks. It is only when the snow +has become compressed by its own weight and frozen nearly solid by the +cold that it can be cut into slabs or blocks for a hut. When it has +become hard enough, the blocks are cut and the building commences. First +a circle is laid, with a small space vacant where the doorway is to be. +On either side of this opening the blocks are laid so as to form the +plan of a porch, one side of which, in the present instance, was +continued at right angles so as turn the entrance passage towards the +stack of provisions and thus shelter the doorway from the wind. As soon +as the ground plan of the hut was laid, the surface of the blocks was +moistened and other blocks laid upon them, and so on until the walls +rose some five feet, the moisture making the blocks freeze hard to one +another. The layers were now gradually lapped over the interior until a +dome roof was formed. Both inside and outside were then moistened and +smoothed, and the cold air, freezing the moisture, glazed the entire +structure with a covering of ice. + +All the clothing, bedding, and weapons were taken inside. A lamp was +constructed out of an empty preserved meat tin; it was filled with fat, +and, with a piece of twisted tow for a wick, it lit up the interior of +the hut and afforded some warmth as well. Heavy canvas curtains were +suspended across the opening out of the hut at the inner wall, at the +bend in the passage, and at the outer opening. Such of the packages of +stores as were suitable were also brought into the hut, and upon them +the blankets and furs were laid so as to make the sleeping places as +comfortable as possible. The quarters were thus as good as the men could +make them, but one anxiety still remained. The lamp would have to be +kept going all the twenty-four hours, and especially during the long +Arctic night; but the supply of fat was limited. + +A hunting party was organised to search the pack for seals or walrus or +any animal from which blubber could be obtained. Here again the +experience of the previous winter and its hunting exploits served them. +A small opening in the pack was discovered a mile or so from the camp, +and on the ice around the water three seals were resting, having +evidently been caught in the ice when it closed. With great care the +hunters crept over the ice towards the animals, whose sacrifice meant so +much to the castaways. Only two had rifles, the others carrying harpoons +they had made from the tent-poles, and which were anything but reliable +weapons. Steady aim was taken by the two men who had the rifles at the +two larger of the seals. Firing together, one seal fell dead; the one +which was not aimed at plunged into the water, and the other, badly +wounded, hobbled to the edge of the ice. In another moment he would +have been over and probably have sunk to the bottom, had not one of the +men flung away his harpoon, and, springing forward, managed to seize the +hind flippers of the wounded creature. His comrades rushed to his +assistance and dragged both him and the seal back from the opening on to +the ice, where the latter was quickly despatched. + +They were harnessing themselves to their victims in order to drag them +over to the camp, when a loud snort from the opening caused them to +start round just in time to see the third seal disappearing under the +water. At once they understood the situation. The opening was the only +one for miles, and the seal was compelled to come to the surface there +to breathe, as he could not reach the top anywhere else for the ice. It +was at once decided to wait for him, but as, if he were shot while in +the water, he would inevitably sink to the bottom and be lost to them, +they determined to lay a trap for him. The seals already killed were +placed in natural attitudes near the water, and the men hastily retired +to sheltering hummocks, to wait the return. The men with the rifles were +both to fire upon the seal as soon as he emerged on to the ice, for he +was too valuable to be lost. They had not waited very long before he +reappeared and, raising his head high out of the water, looked around. +Seeing nothing but the two seals on the ice, he swam leisurely round and +round the opening before scrambling up on to the ice. As he reached it +and moved towards his two companions, the men, who had been carefully +aiming at him, fired and killed him. + +With the three seals, the party returned to the camp in high spirits, +their arrival being the signal for general rejoicing, for not only would +the blubber of the seals keep the lamp supplied with oil, but their +skins were very welcome additions to the stock of warm coverings, and +the meat was an invaluable addition to the larder. + +Really it was more, but of that they were not aware until two days +later, when one of the men was awakened by the short barking roar of a +bear. He quickly roused his companions and they made their way out of +the hut with what weapons they possessed. + +The flesh of the seals had been suspended on a line between two poles +near the other provisions so as to protect it from any chance visit by +wolves or bears. As the first man peered out from the hut opening, he +saw, in the dim twilight, two bears standing underneath the line of +meat, sniffing up at it and growling. They had, it was afterwards +learned, picked up the trail where the dead seals had been dragged from +the opening in the ice, and had followed it to the camp. + +[Illustration: AN ADDITION TO THE EXPLORERS' SUPPLY OF PROVISIONS.] + +The man whispered back to his companions what he saw, and another man, +armed with a rifle, crept to his side. Aiming together behind the +shoulder of the larger of the bears, they fired simultaneously and +brought their quarry down. Immediately the other bear turned towards the +opening and, with snarling teeth, advanced. A third rifle was fired +point-blank at its head, but the bullet failed to penetrate the massive +skull, though it made the beast change its direction. As it turned away +the men realised what its escape would mean to them. There was a rush +after it, the men loading and firing as quickly as they could load, so +as to secure it before it disappeared in the dim grey twilight. It fell +wounded, and was despatched by means of the impromptu spears. + +This adventure not only made a notable break in the monotony of the life +on the pack, but gave the men a subject for conversation during the long +weary period of darkness, as well as increasing their store of fat, +fresh meat, and warm covering. No further animals were seen or heard, +although every one was constantly on the alert, and the opening where +the seals were killed was visited daily until it froze over. Then the +last vestige of twilight vanished and darkness settled down upon the +ice. + +For eighty-three days the sun was absent, and during that time the cold +was intense. The lamp was the only means of artificial heat they +possessed, and even of that they had to be careful, for the supply of +fat was not inexhaustible, and no one knew when it could be replenished. +In the coldest weather the men huddled together under their blankets and +furs, anxious and weary. They had no means of finding out in what +direction they were moving, for the constant creaking of the floe led +them to believe that they were drifting somewhere. Whether it was to the +North or to the South they could not tell, and yet upon the direction in +which they were moving their salvation depended. + +Never, perhaps, was the return of the sun more welcomed than by the +desolate castaways on the floe. But its appearance and the commencement +of spring was not entirely an unmixed blessing. The rising temperature +naturally caused the ice to break up, and as the floe upon which they +were marooned gradually decreased in size, fresh anxiety was caused to +them by the possible danger of their haven being broken up. As the days +passed, they saw their food supply growing smaller and smaller, until +starvation stared them in the face, and hope was almost dead. April +came, and with it all the privation and suffering consequent upon +insufficient food and wearying, helpless, and almost hopeless, +inactivity. The last day of the month arrived and found them with the +last morsel of food consumed. A man clambered to the summit of the +hummock in the hopes of seeing a seal somewhere on the ice. His comrades +thought that he had lost his senses when he shouted wildly and, +clambering down, ran towards them, dancing and shouting. + +Over the top of the hummock he had caught sight of a ship, and the +excitement caused by his news was soon eclipsed as the castaways saw the +signals they made answered from the vessel. Boats put off for them and +took them on board the ship, which was the _Tigress_, a sealer from +Labrador. + +They found that in the 196 days they had spent on the floe they had +drifted over 1500 miles from the latitude in which the _Polaris_ was +beset on October 12. For the time they believed they were the only +survivors of the expedition, but in this they were wrong. The remainder +of the party also escaped, though without undergoing quite the same +hardships as themselves. + +When the _Polaris_ broke away from the ice, she did not sink, but +drifted rapidly before the gale through the open channel. Captain +Budington, who had assumed command when Captain Hall died, and the +twelve men who remained on board, managed to keep the disabled vessel +afloat, but they could do no more until she again became involved in the +ice. By that time all hopes of returning to the place where the other +men were on the ice was abandoned, and, as the water was fairly open, +the efforts of the crew were mainly directed to warping the ship towards +the coast. By good fortune she managed to escape from the crushing +packs, and, with tireless effort and great care, she was at length +brought within sight of land. Then she was caught in the ice along the +shore and so severely nipped that her ruin was complete. She, however, +did not sink, and her crew were able to reach the land. + +Selecting a site for an encampment, they removed thither enough timber +from the broken-up vessel to construct a house, to which they also +removed enough stores to last them. When these necessaries were secured, +they brought more timber ashore, and, during the long winter night, they +employed themselves in constructing a couple of boats. It was a +laborious task, and but slow progress was made until daylight returned. +Then they were able to carry on the work faster; but it was the middle +of May before they had them finished and seaworthy. + +As soon as the ice began to break up, they launched the boats, which +were fully provisioned from the wreck, and on June 3 they sailed away to +the South. Three weeks later they sighted a whaler, the _Ravenscraig_, +who took them aboard, and within a few months of their comrades, whom +they thought had all perished, landing in America from the _Tigress_, +the boat party also landed, having saved, in addition to themselves, all +the records of the surveys and observations made by the expedition. +These were of great geographical value, making known much of the +neighbourhood of the straits between Greenland and Grant's Land. The +expedition, although attaining to a high latitude, did not succeed in +reaching the Pole, but their adventures made a fascinating chapter in +the history of Polar research. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE _ALERT_ AND _DISCOVERY_ + + Sir George Nares appointed to the _Alert_ and + _Discovery_--Overtaking a Season--Red Snow--The Greenland + Mosquito--Peculiarities of Eskimo Dogs--And Dog Whips--Dangers of + Kayaks--Advantages of Steam for Polar Regions--An Unpleasant + Experience--A Huge Walrus--Arctic Scenery--A Big "Bag"--The Ships + part Company--The _Alert_ reaches the Polar Sea--Winter + Quarters--The North Pole attempted--Adventures and Sufferings of + the Party--Lieutenant Parr's Heroism--Deliverance--The Greenland + Attempt--Scurvy and Snow--Repulse Bay--In Pitiable + Plight--Lieutenant Rawson to the Rescue. + + +"Her Majesty's Government, having determined that an expedition of +Arctic exploration and discovery should be undertaken, My Lords +Commissioners of the Admiralty have been pleased to select you for the +command of the said expedition, the scope and primary object of which +should be to attain the highest northern latitude and, if possible, to +reach the North Pole." + +Such was the opening sentence of the official instructions sent to Sir +George Nares to take command of the _Alert_ and _Discovery_, two steam +vessels, which constituted the first expedition the British Government +had sent to the Arctic regions since the search parties for Sir John +Franklin. It was confidently expected that the introduction of the +screw steamer into Arctic navigation would result in startling +achievements, and those expectations were fully justified. + +The two ships, with H.M.S. _Valorous_ in consort with provisions, &c., +on board, left Portsmouth on May 29, 1875. They were home again by +November 2, 1876, and during the intervening eighteen months they had +reached the most northerly point attained by man up to that period, and +only since exceeded, on the sea, by the _Fram_. + +No greater contrast can be given of the enormous strides which had been +made in navigation during the thirty years which had elapsed since +Franklin sailed away on his last and fatal voyage, than the fact that +whereas after six weeks' journeying Franklin had barely reached the +region of drift ice, in six weeks from the date of leaving Portsmouth +the _Alert_ and _Discovery_ were almost in the region of perpetual ice. +And all owing to the application of steam to ocean travelling. + +The route laid down for the expedition was along the western coast of +Greenland and as far through Robeson Channel, which divides Grinnel Land +from Greenland, as it was possible to get. Disko Bay, half-way up the +Greenland coast, was the spot where the _Alert_ and _Discovery_ were to +part company with the _Valorous_. They entered the Bay on July 4, having +had, on the voyage to the North, the peculiar experience of chasing and +overtaking a season. When they left Portsmouth at the end of May, +summer was well in; but when they arrived at Disko Bay they found that +the mild weather which forms the spring had not yet set in sufficiently +to melt all the winter's snows. So that they had travelled quicker than +the summer, having started after it had begun in England, and arrived in +Greenland before it was due. + +The early spring flowers were just commencing to bloom on the slopes +around Disko, wherever the snow had melted, while higher up on the +hills, where the winter's snow still lay, the explorers had an +opportunity of looking upon that curious phenomenon, red snow. A minute +animalcule (_Protococcus nivalis_) generates in the frozen covering of +the earth, and increases so rapidly and in such vast numbers that it +gives to its cold white habitat the hue of its own microscopic body. +Another minute creature also breeds in enormous numbers in these bleak +regions, the mosquito, which one usually associates with dense tropical +jungles and fever-breeding swamps. All along the Greenland coast, +wherever there is a pool of fresh water which thaws from the ice-grip, +the larvæ of the mosquito appear in swarms in the spring, and, very +shortly after, the full-fledged insect emerges in the utmost vigour of +irritating stinging life. As the time is short between the period when +the ice melts and when the water freezes again, the Greenland mosquito +has to be active to work out his life mission before he is frozen off, +and the skin of all visitors to his locality gives ample evidence how +well he utilises his opportunities. + +In addition to taking on board the surplus stores from the _Valorous_, +the two Arctic ships also took on board teams of dogs for sledging +purposes. Fifty-five in all were shipped, their quarters being situated +on the main deck, where they were necessarily cramped for room, and, +what was worse from their point of view, were unable to get at one +another's throats owing to their being chained to bolts. Consequently +they kept up a constant chorus of snarls and yaps, varied now and again +with a howl as one or another received a remonstrating kick from a +sailor. + +This interminable uproar was explained by the Eskimo dog driver, who was +also taken on board, as being due to the fact that most of the dogs were +strangers to one another, and no one was as yet the properly constituted +king. + +When Captain McClintock purchased a team of dogs from the Eskimo of King +William's Land, he had a good deal to learn about their peculiarities; +but the people on the _Alert_ and the _Discovery_, having a great many +more dogs than he was able to obtain, had also a great deal more to +learn about them. Sir George Nares, in his account of the expedition, +gives some particulars which were furnished by his Eskimo dog driver, +and these show that the sledge dog is quite as wise as one might expect +from Captain McClintock's experiences. + +In every team of dogs, one is the king. He holds that position by +prowess only, and has to fight and thrash every other dog in the team +before he can assume the leadership. When he has once assumed it, he has +to keep it by the same means; for revolutions may at any moment occur, +through some younger dog aspiring to the ruling position. But while a +dog has the position of authority, he exercises his rights with +decision, and the remainder of the team cluster round him and support +him in emergencies, or lie at his feet in times of leisure. The only one +who is allowed to snarl at him without at once being bitten is the +queen. She is among her sex what the king is among his; for though she +depends more upon him for her prominent position than to her own +fighting qualities, she maintains it, when once obtained, by a free use +of her jaws upon encroachers. + +Consequently, when a number of teams were brought together on the decks +of the vessels, all strangers to one another, there was a tremendous +amount of fighting in prospect before peace could be granted. Firstly, +the kings of the various teams were anxious to tussle for the supremacy; +and with the prospect of some of them getting badly mauled, there were +several inferiors in each team ready to do battle with their injured +monarch, and, when he was disposed of, with one another, for the +leadership. But their new masters, instead of letting them all loose to +settle their various degrees of authority in their own hereditary +fashion, tied them up where they could see and hear one another without +exchanging a bite. The kings, naturally warlike and ferocious, could +only snap at their inferiors as they bayed in their rage, and the +inferiors could only bay in their pain, and so between them the ship's +company were kept awake by night and annoyed by day. + +When at length opportunity occurred for liberating the dogs and giving +them some exercise over the ice, great care had to be taken so as to +prevent a wholesale mêlée. Each team, as they were freed from their deck +chains, were led on to the ice and made fast to a sledge, two men being +in charge of each sledge for the purpose of learning how to drive. And a +highly exciting time they had of it, for not only did every dog want to +start in its own direction as soon as they were harnessed, but every +team wanted to attack every other team directly they appeared. + +Nor were the troubles of the drivers limited to the dogs. The whip which +is used for sledge teams consists of a very short handle and a very long +lash. In the hands of an expert it is a most effective weapon, being +capable of producing a resounding crack or a stinging blow wherever the +wielder desires. But in the hands of a novice it is, like the Australian +stock-whip, prone to do everything that the wielder does not wish. The +amateur driver of a team, growing impatient as his dogs set off at full +speed in various directions, and, besides tangling the harness, upset +the sledge and themselves and very nearly himself as well, lashed out +viciously at the worst offender; but the lash, instead of bringing the +creature to his senses, curled back and hit the striker across the face, +or twined round the legs of his companion, with disastrous results. +Meanwhile the Eskimo driver was going from one group to another, trying +to explain the mysteries of the art, much to the amusement of the +onlookers and the indignation of the inexperienced amateurs. + +During the wait at Disko, another form of Arctic travelling was +practised by the officers of the expedition. This was the use of the +Eskimo kayak. + +The kayak is a long narrow canoe, entirely covered in with a waterproof +covering. The voyager sits in the middle in a small round hole, the +covering lapping over the edges and being fastened round the waist. The +kayak is thus made as buoyant as a life-belt, whether floating on an +even keel or upside down. By reason of their build, they are peculiarly +"cranky" craft, turning over at the least provocation, and so require +extremely careful handling, unless one is an adept at swimming and +diving. The experience of one of the officers made this clear. He had +securely strapped himself in, when, by a false stroke of the paddle, he +overturned the kayak. He could not get it back again and was unable to +loosen the cover; there was only one way of escape, and that possible +alone to a man familiar with being under water. Loosening his clothes, +he wriggled out of them and came to the surface just in time to avoid +drowning. + +Having taken on board all the stores that the _Valorous_ carried, as +well as a full supply of coal, the _Alert_ and the _Discovery_ started +in company for the North. The advantages of steam navigation were made +even more apparent as they proceeded, for the ships were able to steam +through ice-encumbered water which would have been quite impassable for +sailing vessels. Depending so much upon the wind, a sailing vessel is +only able to make headway amongst heavy drifting floes by means of long +hawsers, run out and made fast to a mass of ice and then slowly hauled +in at the capstan. Steamers, on the other hand, experience no difficulty +in forcing their way past and between the lesser floes, and Sir George +Nares, who had had a great deal of experience of sailing vessels in the +ice regions, was frequently astounded at the ease with which the two +steamers rammed their way, clearing from out of their course lumps of +ice which would have been difficult obstacles to a sailing ship. + +Those on board, however, were not to escape without some experience of +the peculiarities of ice movements. The vessels were going to make fast +for the night, and a boat's crew was sent from the _Alert_ to carry an +anchor to a large, heavy mass not far distant. On near approach it was +seen that the lump was very rotten, and, as no hold for the anchor +could be found near the water-line, one of the men volunteered to +clamber up to the top and, with an ice chisel, make a hold for it. He +clambered on to the slippery, treacherous mass, and, after a great deal +of very careful exertion, succeeded in reaching a point high enough for +his purpose. He began lustily to drive in the chisel, but so rotten was +the ice, that instead of merely chipping out a crevice, he cracked the +top of the lump. Another blow, and, to his intense amazement, a huge +mass in front of him slid away. Gliding down the side, fortunately away +from the boat, it splashed into the sea. But the removal of so much from +the top of the berg upset its balance, with the result that it swayed +from one side to the other as it recovered its equilibrium. The +unfortunate sailor, with nothing to cling to, had to scramble up and +over the summit as the berg dipped down; but no sooner was he over the +top than the berg swung the other way, and he had to scramble back +again. There was no means of escape until the berg settled down once +more, and in the meantime his companions in the boat and on the steamer +were shouting with laughter at the antics of what they called their +squirrel on the iceberg. + +While he was in his lofty if unsteady position, however, he noticed on a +floe not far distant three walrus, and as soon as he returned to the +ship and reported his discovery, a boat with a harpoon and two rifles +was despatched. The three animals lay contentedly enough on the ice, +paying scarcely any heed to the advancing boat, with the result that all +were hit. The two that were shot slid off into the water and sank, but +the one that was harpooned could not escape. He was an immense creature, +measuring over twelve feet in length and eleven feet round the thickest +part; his tusks were over eighteen inches long, and, when cut up, he +yielded five casks of meat, weighing 1250 lbs. + +As the two vessels advanced farther to the North they found that the +character of the ice was very different from that met with in the +neighbourhood of Baffin's Bay and Lancaster Sound. It was more massive +and heavy, a berg they passed towering nearly 300 feet above the +water-line, and floes frequently occurring some miles in length and +standing 50 feet out of the water. The possibility of being caught +between such masses and "nipped" was a constant danger, for no vessel +could possibly withstand the tremendous pressure exerted by two floes of +that size colliding. A constant look-out had to be maintained from the +crow's-nest for any sign ahead of the floes closing in, and by careful +navigation anything like a severe "nip" was avoided. + +By August 24 they had made such excellent progress as to be nearly at +the end of the hitherto explored channel. A southerly wind was helping +them along, but about four in the afternoon it began to die away. They +were then in Bessel Bay, and in order to see how the ice was ahead, Sir +George Nares decided to land and climb to the top of Cape Morton, which +is some 2000 feet in height. From the summit a magnificent view was +obtained, of which the following description is given by Sir George +Nares in his account of the expedition:-- + +"It was a beautiful morning, with scarcely a cloud in the sky. The cold, +sharp wind which had benumbed us at the sea-level was local, for, on the +summit of the cape, it was perfectly calm. Sixty miles distant in the +south-west were the Victoria and Albert mountains of Grinnel Land, +fronted by Hans Island showing clear of Cape Bryan, which had Hannah +Island nestling at its base. Farther north was an elevated spur from the +main range which, rising between Archer Fjord and Kennedy Channel, +formed Daly Promontory. Fronting these mountains, and directly separated +from them by an extensive valley extending to the northward from Carl +Ritter Bay, was the black buttress-shaped cliff forming Cape Back, the +southern extremity of the nearly straight running line of flat-topped +coast hills extending twenty miles to Cape Defosse. From that point the +coast line became more hilly, and, joining the Daly mountains, extended +to Cape Lieber, a bluff headland, with Cape Baird, a low, flat point, +jutting out beyond it. Still farther north were the lofty mountains of +Grant's Land with steep cliffs about Cape Union, though seventy miles +distant distinctly visible, forming the western extremity of Robeson +Channel. Nearly due north a slight break in the continuity of the land +showed where Robeson Channel opened into the Polar Sea. On the eastern +side of the strait, at a distance of forty miles, was Cape Lupton, the +notable landmark denominated Polaris Promontory; then came Polaris Bay +with the low plains leading to Newman Bay. At my feet lay Cape Tyson and +Cape Mary Cleverly on the north shore of Petermann Fjord, rising to an +elevation of 1500 feet." + +In this district, picturesque and beautiful as portrayed by the +explorer's description, the _Discovery_ wintered, while the _Alert_ went +on farther North. The spot where the _Discovery_ was left, and which was +named Discovery Bay, was a large, well-protected inlet inside an island, +the outer point of which formed Cape Bellot. In the summer it was +sparsely covered with loose ice, but in the winter, sea, hills, cape, +and plains were all covered in the one white garb. As the two vessels +entered the bay early on the morning of August 25, what at first were +taken to be nine boulders were observed on the shore; but as the vessels +swung to their anchors, the boulders were observed to move away. At once +the cry of "musk oxen" was raised, and boats were hastily lowered, +filled with sportsmen keen for the chase. The oxen, disturbed by the +noise, made for the higher ground, where they were followed by the +enthusiastic shooting party until every one of the nine was brought to +the ground. + +The following day, August 26, the ships parted company, the _Alert_ +taking with her an officer and a sledge team of men from the +_Discovery_, with the idea of sending them back overland when winter +quarters were selected, an idea which had to be abandoned by reason of +the impassable nature of the country. On the last day of the month the +_Alert_ met a particularly heavy floe, the ice forming it being of the +massive character which denoted that its origin was the Polar Sea. Once +the grinding mass of hummocks, rising higher than the vessel's decks, +threatened to catch her. There would have been no hope of escape if they +had, and only by persistently ramming her way through some of the looser +ice did she escape in towards the shore. Next day a strong gale sprang +up from the south-west, and the _Alert_ went along at ten miles an hour +in an open channel between the land and the heavy pack which was +drifting about three miles out. By midday they reached latitude 82° 24' +N., and the flags were run up to the mastheads amid general rejoicing, +for it was the farthest point North to which a ship had yet sailed. + +With the channel showing clear ahead of them and the spanking breeze +astern, expectation was high on board that they would be able to sail +right up to latitude 84°, but within an hour their hopes were suddenly +and thoroughly checked. On hauling to the westward they rounded a +promontory and found that the land trended away to the west. The wind +veered round to the north-west and drove the ice in upon the channel, +which gradually became narrower until, when off Cape Sheridan, the main +pack was observed to be touching the grounded ice and effectually +barring all further progress. The _Alert_ was run close up to the end of +the channel, and then, when it was certain that there was no chance of +getting through the barrier, she was anchored to a floe which rested +aground off the cape. The next day, as the heavy ice of the pack was +grinding against the stranded floe, and an opening just large enough for +the vessel to get in was observed in the floe, she was warped into the +basin. + +She was barely inside when a solid hummock crushed against the opening, +forming a great barrier between the vessel and the outer moving pack. +Had it struck there a few minutes earlier the vessel would have been +severely injured by the "nip," but as it was the hummock formed an +admirable shelter from the pressure of the pack. This was often so +severe that masses over 30,000 tons in weight were broken off and forced +up the inclined shore, rising twelve and fourteen feet higher out of the +water as they crunched along the ground. + +On September 4 new ice formed on the water in which the ship was +floating, and from observations taken from high land inshore all doubt +was removed as to where they were. They had navigated to the end of +Robeson Channel and were now in the Polar Sea. No land could be seen to +the north; nothing but a vast wilderness of huge masses of Polar ice, +most of which had evidently been frozen for years. At midnight on the +same day they saw the last of the sun as it sank below the northern +horizon. + +Winter was now upon them, and they set to work to make their quarters as +comfortable as possible. Snow came down heavily for some days, but not +for a week or so was it hard enough to cut into the blocks suitable for +building snow houses. When these were built, stores were removed to them +and observatories fitted up for recording the various conditions of the +atmosphere. On September 14 a severe gale sprang up, which caused the +ice to move so much that the thin new ice in the basin was broken up and +a boat's crew were drifted away on to a floe-berg 200 yards from the +ship, from whence they were only rescued after great difficulty and in a +half-frozen condition. + +Some days subsequently, while a sledge party was on shore, one man was +badly frost-bitten. He did not know it until some time after, but he had +tried to thaw his frozen foot-wraps in his sleeping-bag instead of first +removing them. The loss of feeling and then of use in his legs crippled +him, and when he was brought on board it was seen what was wrong. This +is one of the several evils men have to carefully guard against in the +excessive cold. So long as they experience the stinging sensation of +cold, they are free from a frost-bite; but a man may have his face +bitten and not realise it until he is told that he has turned dead +white. Circulation has then been arrested, and immediate steps have to +be taken to bring it back, or the flesh becomes dead. + +The dogs also began to suffer from a disease which sent them into fits, +and which puzzled the Eskimo driver and the doctors. Some of them +wandered away over the ice and others died, until only fifteen remained +out of thirty, and many of those were thin and weakly. Then, as the cold +increased, ice formed in the chimneys, and damp settled on the beams and +walls between decks every time the cold air was admitted, so that it had +to be constantly sponged up, while the officers had to spread waterproof +coverings over their beds to protect themselves from it when they slept. + +On November 8 it was so dark at midday that a newspaper could not be +read, nor could a man be distinguished a dozen yards away. For +eighty-seven days more the sun would be absent, but the moon visited the +dark, cold skies, appearing for ten days without setting, and then going +out of sight for thirteen. On November 13 the cold was so intense that +the mercury froze in the thermometer. + +But if it was dark and cold outside, the ship's company made themselves +comfortable. A school was started, a theatre was opened--the Royal +Arctic--and every Thursday they had popular concerts. Exercise was daily +taken and the general health was excellent, only one man being on the +sick-list, and he from a constitutional cause. The men were warmly clad +when "between decks," as the temperature there was never what one might +term hot; but before going outside they had to wrap themselves up in a +variety of thick heavy fur garments, for there was often a difference of +nearly one hundred degrees to be experienced. + +The long stretch of winter's darkness was varied by the appearance, from +time to time, of the aurora. This was the phenomenon which so greatly +puzzled, and not infrequently terrified, the early explorers. Assuming a +variety of forms, sometimes like the fringe of a vast curtain hanging in +the sky, at others appearing as bands and streaks of light, waving and +flickering over the heavens, but always with this peculiarity, that +however bright they appeared, no light was given to the surrounding +atmosphere, they were a source of constant interest to the men. + +And so the winter passed, not entirely without its pleasures, in spite +of the prolonged darkness. With the beginning of spring active +preparations were made for the sledging trips, which were to carry out +the work of surveying the surrounding land and penetrating farther to +the North than it was possible for the vessels to go. The great majority +of the officers and men on the _Alert_ were told off for these +expeditions, six officers and six men remaining on board, while +fifty-three were split up into two parties, one to survey the coast of +Grant's Land, and the other, under Commander Markham and Lieutenant +Parr, to go North--to the Pole if possible. + +The day the start was made the two parties were drawn up in line +alongside the ship, and the chaplain read prayers, after which, with +cheers for one another and the men left behind, they started. + +Both did good service, the survey party carrying the survey round the +coast well on to the western side. The North Pole party pressed on in +the face of terrible difficulties until they reached the farthest point +North that had yet been recorded. + +In addition to the sledges laden with stores, they dragged with them two +whale-boats in case they should meet with open water. But there was no +sign of it as far as they went. On the contrary, their route lay over +such excessively rough ice that although they travelled as a rule about +ten miles a day, so much of it was spent in getting round inaccessible +hummocks, that the actual progress towards the North rarely exceeded one +mile a day. + +When on April 11 they bade their comrades farewell, they had provisions +for seventy days, and all were in good health and spirits. The work of +dragging the boats and sledges up and down the great masses of rugged +ice which covered the Polar Sea was terribly trying, however, and by the +time the ten miles were covered every one was ready to creep into the +sleeping-bags and rest. As the sun began to rise above the horizon it +made the snow and ice sparkle and glitter so much that their eyes, +accustomed for so long to darkness, could not stand it. Goggles had to +be worn to protect the sight, but before they were adopted by all the +members several were affected, and Lieutenant Parr for some days +suffered from snow-blindness, an affliction which fortunately passed +away in time. + +As the days went by, the toil of dragging the sledges over the +interminable and monotonous ice became more and more wearying. There was +no variety in the work, no change in the surroundings; and although the +men stuck at their task with true British obstinacy, it began to tell +upon them. One man fell sick, growing weaker and weaker until he was no +longer able to pull, and then was unable to walk. One of the boats was +abandoned, and the sick man laid on a sledge. His condition was more +than disquieting to the leaders, for it was evident he was suffering +from scurvy, and no one could say who would be the next to develop it. + +On April 23 they only added a mile and a quarter to their distance, for +they had come upon clumps of ice hummocks which made their progress so +difficult that they had to combine forces to haul first one sledge and +then another over the obstacles. On April 28, when they were seventeen +miles from the shore, they found the track of a hare in the snow, going +towards the land, but with the footprints so close together that the +animal was evidently very weak. Where it had come from, or how it had +got so far from the shore, were riddles they could not solve. + +As May came in signs of scurvy made themselves only too evident among +the members of the crew, and on May 11 the leaders decided that the next +day they would have to turn to the south once more. They started with a +light sledge in the morning and pushed on till noon, when they took +their bearings. They had reached latitude 83° 20' 26" N., and were then +only 399½ miles from the Pole itself, having beaten all other records of +Arctic explorations. + +The little band, weary and sickening, forgot their woes in the presence +of their achievement. A jorum of whisky had been presented to the +expedition by the Dean of Dundee on condition that it was opened in the +highest latitude reached. It was now produced, and the success of their +efforts was toasted, the while each man smoked a cigar, also sent for +consumption in the "farthest North." + +A hole was cut in the ice and soundings were taken, the sea being +seventy-two fathoms (432 feet) deep below them, with a clay bottom, the +surface temperature being 28.5° and the temperature at the bottom 28.8°. +Then they turned their backs upon the cold, bleak, ice-bound North, and +began the journey home again, a journey which was to prove more trying +than that which they had already accomplished. + +The man who had first sickened, and whose name was Porter, had become so +weak that he could not move from the sledge on which he lay wrapped in +a sleeping-bag. Gradually one man after another began to lose his +strength, until three or four were only able to support themselves, and +could give no assistance in hauling the sledges, with the result that +the labour pressed all the more heavily on the remainder of the party, +all of whom were more or less affected by scurvy. The first fortnight of +the return journey was a terribly wearying time to the leaders, for they +saw their men becoming weaker every day, so that the progress was slower +and more difficult, while at the same time the only hope of escape was +to reach land. On the coast it would be possible for relief to meet +them, but out amongst the rugged hummocks of the Polar Sea the whole +ship's company would not be able to find them. The extra work thrown +upon those who were not entirely incapacitated told severely upon their +already enfeebled systems. The toil no longer encouraged their +appetites; instead, the sight of food became nauseous to them, until +towards the end of the month half a pannikin of pemmican was more than +each man could manage to eat. But the toil was still as weary, and the +cold as intense, and without sufficient food to keep up their strength, +the outlook was almost hopeless. + +Still, however, the little band of seventeen struggled on, setting an +example of courage, determination, and absolute devotion to discipline +and duty which has won for them as deep an admiration as their +achievement of the "farthest North" record. On June 2 only six men and +the two officers were able to do anything in the way of labour. Five men +lay sick and helpless on the already laden sledges, and four more were +just able to stagger along from point to point after the dreary +procession of sledges. The progress was very slow now, as it required +all the strength which was left in the eight, who alone were able to do +anything, to move one sledge at a time. The second boat had been +abandoned, as it could not be dragged farther, and the strain of moving +the three sledges that remained was so great that when, on June 5, land +was reached after an absence of two months, the entire party was in a +state of collapse. + +The next day they rested and debated what was the best course to adopt +to obtain help, for it was outside of their power to drag the sledges +any farther. Porter was almost at death's door, and unless help came +very soon several more would be in a similar condition. Lieutenant Parr +was the strongest, but even he was in a very low condition. That, +however, did not rob him of his courage, nor of his readiness to give +the rest of his life, if necessary, for the rescue of his comrades. + +He volunteered to set out alone for the ship, to carry word of the +terrible plight of the party and the need for instant relief. It was +almost a hopeless task, and the heavy hearts of the stricken men, +beating more hopefully at the token of such manly bravery, drooped again +as they remembered the dreary miles of snow and ice which would have to +be covered, and saw the weakened state of their would-be rescuer's +strength. But he was not to be gainsaid; weak as he was, he was yet the +strongest of the party, and he would make the attempt. + +On June 7 he started, the little band watching him as he trudged bravely +away, giving him as hearty a cheer as they could. Slowly he made his way +over the frozen shore, and, when he had passed out of sight, the men +looked at one another and wondered. How far would he get before death +overtook him? How long before they all yielded to the same conqueror? + +By the next morning one had already gone, Porter passing away after +nearly two months' fighting against the scourge. Commander Markham, and +the four who were alone able to help him, paid the last honours to their +deceased comrade. The British ensign was lowered to half-mast on the +pole of the big sledge and a Union Jack was carefully wrapped round the +body. With great exertion, in their emaciated condition, a place was +hollowed out in the frozen soil, and there they placed him, the funeral +service being read by Commander Markham, who, in his diary, thus wrote +of the ceremony: "Of all the melancholy and mournful duties I have ever +been called upon to perform, this has been the saddest. A death in a +small party like ours, and under the present circumstances, is a most +depressing event, and is keenly felt by all. During the service all +were more or less affected, and many to tears." + +A rude cross was fashioned out of a boat's oar and a spare sledge +batten, and it was placed at the head of the grave with the following +inscription: "Beneath this cross lie buried the remains of GEORGE +PORTER, R.M.A., who died June 8, 1876. 'Thy will be done!'" + +Anxiously they waited during the rest of the day, wondering as to the +fate of Lieutenant Parr, and half expecting to see him stagger back to +the camp, his splendid courage overcome by the difficulties of his +journey. But he did not return, and the men crept into their +sleeping-bags under the tents scarcely daring to think what the morrow +would bring forth. One or two of the sick men were visibly worse since +the death of Porter, and the next day might mean the end of their lives. +If their gallant rescuer managed to make his way at all, he could not +reach the ship in time for relief to come for another day or two, and no +man dared to speak of what might occur in that interval. + +The shouts of men's voices while they were yet within their +sleeping-bags on the morning of June 9 were so unexpected, that, at +first, those who heard them blamed their ears for playing them false. +But it was no deception. Lieutenant Parr, with a magnificent heroism +that deserves honour even among the many brave deeds which British +sailors have performed, struggled on after leaving the camp without a +stop until he came in sight of the _Alert_. Directly he was discovered +he told of his comrades waiting helpless and sick. Relief parties were +formed on the moment, and two officers, Lieutenants May and Moss, with a +dog-team sledge laden with lime-juice and restoratives, started away +while the other sledges were loading. + +They pressed on without a halt until they saw the tents of the camp, +when they shouted, as no one was to be seen about the place. They were +up to the tents before any one came out, and when they did it was as +though new life had been given to each man. The lime-juice, of which +they were in such dire want--for by an oversight it had been omitted +from the stores--was at once served round, giving fresh energy to those +who were still able to move about, and greatly relieving those who were +incapacitated. + +On the arrival of the remainder of the relief party, the invalids were +all removed to the ship and attended to, every man recovering, under +medical treatment, before the _Alert_ weighed anchor for the South. This +was done in August, when she rejoined the _Discovery_, the officers of +which had also done splendid service in surveying the interior of +Grinnel Land, behind Discovery Bay, and also along the northern coast of +Greenland. + +While the _Discovery_ was lying in her winter quarters a successful +attempt was made by Lieutenant Beaumont, accompanied by Dr. Coppinger +and sixteen men, dragging two sledges, to communicate with the _Alert_. +They started away on April 6, while the cold was still nearly 70° below +zero, a temperature which made sleeping almost impossible, as they had +constantly to exercise to maintain their bodily heat. In spite of these +drawbacks, however, the _Alert_ was reached. + +The intention was to continue the journey across Robeson Channel over to +Greenland, and to explore as much of the northern coast as was possible. +Reinforced by Lieutenant Rawson and five men, the party started on April +20, from the _Alert_, with four sledges and provisions for fifty-six +days. As they approached the Greenland coast the ice was very rough and +tumbled about in irregular blocks, with heavy snow lying ankle deep. +Arriving at Polaris Bay, a depôt of stores was made and a detachment +left in charge, the journey then being resumed; but the ice became more +and more difficult, and the snow deeper. The strength of the whole party +was taxed to the utmost to make any progress, and at the end of each +day's work every one was wearied out with fatigue. Falls were frequent, +owing to the unevenness of the ice, and one man, Hand, was particularly +unfortunate in this respect. By the time that Cape Stanton was reached +he was suffering considerably from stiffness, which was at first +attributed to his tumbles; but when pain began to be manifest in his +legs and gums, the truth of the matter became evident. He was affected +with scurvy. + +This discovery was made on May 10, and the leader at once decided to +send him back to Polaris Bay with Lieutenant Rawson and six men. The +remainder of the men were asked to say whether they fancied they were +affected; but all maintained the contrary, and asked to be allowed to +continue the journey. + +With six men Lieutenant Beaumont continued the route to the North, while +Lieutenant Rawson returned to the depôt at Polaris Bay. On his way other +members of his party developed scurvy, and their plight was so +distressful that for some days before they reached the depôt, which they +did on June 3, Lieutenant Rawson and one man alone were able to drag the +sledge, the former being so severely afflicted with snow-blindness that +he had to walk for days with his eyes covered by a bandage. Hand, the +first man affected, died as the sledge came within sight of the camp. + +In the meantime Lieutenant Beaumont's party pushed on, difficulties +increasing with every mile. The snow became deeper as they advanced, +until they sank at every step over their knees. Describing it, the +leader said: "The hard crust on the top would only just _not_ bear you, +while the depth prevented you from pushing forward through it, each leg +sinking to about three inches above the knee, and the effort of lifting +them so high as to extricate them from the deep footholes soon began to +tell upon the men." The sun shining on the snow seemed to be unusually +warm, while the exertion made them intensely thirsty, besides so +exhausting them that they had to stop every fifty yards to rest and +recover their breath. They were crossing a wide bay at the time, +striving to reach the other shore, which did not seem to be more than a +mile away. But the clearness of the atmosphere was very deceiving as to +distance, for they struggled on for two days and still the coast only +seemed to be a mile distant. + +In order to make the way easier the men were marched four abreast, the +sledge being left until a road was forced through the snow. For five +miles the march was continued, and at the end of that distance the coast +did not appear a yard nearer. + +Sending the men back to the sledge with orders to rest till he rejoined +them, Lieutenant Beaumont and one man went forward. But after some hours +of trying effort they did not reach the coast, and were compelled to +turn back, having been able to observe that the shore was composed of +great towering cliffs with the snow piled up at the base. When they +returned to the spot where the sledge had been left, they were +thoroughly worn out by their exertions. As comfortable an encampment as +could be arranged was made, and for two days the party remained resting. + +Symptoms of scurvy were making themselves apparent among the men under +the fatigue brought on by their excessive toil; but no word of +complaint was spoken, every man being ready and willing to do his duty. +In the retreat of Commander Markham and his men from the "farthest +North," a splendid example of British heroism and discipline was given. +The story of Lieutenant Beaumont's party furnishes another. + +The growing sickness of some of the men and the decreasing store of +provisions brought home to the leader the necessity of a return being +made. At the end of the two days' rest the sledge was turned in the +direction of Polaris Bay and the men retraced their steps, finding the +travelling somewhat easier now that they could use the road they had +made by their previous passage through the snow. But the leader wanted +to be able to form some idea of the coast line beyond where they had +been turned back, and, time after time, he made ineffectual efforts to +reach the shore and scale some high hill. At last he was successful, +after tremendous exertion, in reaching the summit of Dragon Point, an +altitude of 3700 feet. From here he was able to command an extensive +view, the land extending away as far as he could see into a cape which +he named Britannia Cape. + +On June 13 they arrived at Repulse Bay depôt, and the state of the +health of the men is best shown by the record Lieutenant Beaumont left, +and which was recovered by members of the Greely expedition six years +later. The record, dated June 13, 1876, reads:-- + + "Three of us have returned from the camp half a mile south to + fetch the remainder of the provisions. Dobing has failed altogether + this morning; Jones is much worse, and cannot last more than two or + three days; Craig is nearly helpless; therefore we cannot hope to + reach Polaris Bay without assistance. Two men cannot do it, so we + will go as far as we can, and live as long as we can. God help us. + L. A. BEAUMONT." + +The discovery of this record, and the simple, manly faith and courage it +betokened, was destined to be of great service to another band of +English-speaking explorers in later years, and their opinion of it, and +the admiration they felt for the man who wrote it, will be told in the +account of the Greely expedition. + +Meanwhile that Lieutenant Beaumont was making his heroic efforts to save +the men of his party, Lieutenant Rawson was growing anxious as to their +position. As they did not appear, he, on June 22, in company with one of +the Eskimo and a dog-team sledge, started along the coast in search of +them. Three days later they were met--on the last march they could have +made, for they were at the end of their strength. Lieutenant Beaumont, +in his account, says: "On the evening of the 24th we started for our +last journey with the sledge; for, finding that Jones and Gray were +scarcely able to pull, I had determined on reaching the shore to pitch +the tent for the sick men and walk over to Polaris Bay by myself, and +see if there was any one there to help us. If not, to come back and send +Jones and Gray, who could still walk, to the depôt, while I remained +with the sick and got them on as best I could." + +When Lieutenant Rawson met them, he found the intrepid Beaumont +straining at the sledge, with the two sick men helping him as much as +they could, while on the sledge lay the four helpless invalids, made as +comfortable as circumstances would permit. No time was lost in removing +them to Polaris Bay, where, under medical treatment, all recovered save +one. After a brief rest at Polaris Bay the journey back to the +_Discovery_ was successfully carried out, and Lieutenant Beaumont had +the pleasure of learning that his expedition had added considerably to +the geographical knowledge of Northern Greenland. + +Shortly after the return of the sledge parties the _Alert_ rejoined the +_Discovery_, and, towards the end of August, both vessels weighed anchor +and started for England, where they arrived on November 2, 1876, having +been absent for seventeen months, during which time they had carried the +British flag to the "farthest North," and had brought within the +knowledge of man localities previously unknown. They had not reached the +Pole, and had come to the conclusion, after their experiences, that to +do so was beyond the range of human possibility. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE GREELY EXPEDITION + + The Scheme of the Expedition--Fort Conger--Arctic + Wolves--Atmospheric Marvels--A Terrific Storm--Influence of the + Sun--Lieutenant Lockwood's Expedition--The Second + Winter--Preparations for Departure--They leave Fort Conger--A + Remarkable Ice Passage--They fail to make Cape Sabine--A New + Camp--Rations running Short--Fruitless Efforts to reach Food + Depôts--Starvation and Death--A Bitter Blow--The Arrival of the + _Thetis_. + + +In 1881 the Government of the United States determined to send out +another expedition towards the North Pole, and a vote of $25,000 having +been passed by Congress for the purpose, Lieutenant Adolphus Washington +Greely was appointed to the command. Lieutenant Greely, who was an +officer in the 5th Cavalry regiment, had, as his companions, three +officers and twenty-one men selected from the United States army. + +The scheme of the expedition was to proceed by steamer as far north as +Lady Franklin Bay, where they were to form a depôt on Grinnel Land, and, +using it as a base, push forward, by means of dog-sledges over the ice, +and by steam launch over the open water, as far north as it was possible +to get. + +The steamer _Proteus_, a vessel 467 tons and 110 horse-power, was +chartered by the explorers to convey them from New York to Lady +Franklin Bay. They sailed in June and proceeded to Upernavik, in +Greenland, where they took on board their sledge dogs and two Eskimo, +Jens and Frederick, to look after them. On July 1 they resumed their +journey in fairly open water. The season was especially mild, and they +were able to make excellent travelling through the unimpeded water. On +the way they stopped at Cary Islands and examined the records left there +by Sir George Nares in 1875, and which had been examined once before by +Sir Allen Young, in 1876. The sea was full of white whales, narwhals, +and grampus. The latter has the reputation of being a voracious feeder, +one authority stating that a dead grampus was found, choked by a seal he +had attempted to swallow, although, when he was opened, his stomach was +found to contain no fewer than thirteen porpoises and fourteen seals. + +On August 4 the _Proteus_, for the first time during the voyage, was +stopped by the ice. Being built specially for navigating the ice-covered +seas, she was very powerful in the bows, which were further embellished +by a strong iron prow. Thus she was able to force her way through ice +which would have been impassable to a lighter craft. Her method, when +she was faced by moderately thin ice which was yet thick enough to stop +her ordinary progress, was to steam astern for a couple of hundred yards +and then rush full speed at the ice. The strength of the iron prow and +the force of her powerful engines drove her into the floe, but the +operation was one that required great care. As she approached the floe, +the crew, running from one side of the deck to the other, caused her to +roll as she struck, the engines being reversed directly her prow +penetrated the ice, so as to prevent her wedging herself in. This +exciting operation was repeated several times when she met the floe in +Lady Franklin Bay, and only by its means was she able to ram her way +through and reach the destination of the expedition. + +A site for landing was selected on the north of Discovery Bay (where the +_Discovery_ wintered in 1876), and on August 11, 1881, Greely landed, +and proceeded to the cairn which had been erected by the Nares +expedition. Here he found two copper cases labelled "Reports and General +Information." The date upon them, which showed when they were deposited, +was August 11, 1876, exactly five years before to a day. + +Proceeding a little distance from the spot where the _Discovery_ winter +quarters had been erected, a suitable situation was marked out for "Fort +Conger," which was to form the base of the operations pending the time +when the relief ship was due to take the expedition home again. + +[Illustration: SHOOTING MUSK OX IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS. + +These animals form a welcome addition to the larder of the Arctic +explorer.] + +During the following week every one was hard at work erecting the frame +house which was to form their home during the next two years, unloading +stores and other articles belonging to the expedition, arranging the +heavy casks and cases of imperishable provisions near the house, and +exploring and hunting over the surrounding country. The hunting was a +necessary part of the business, for winter would soon be in and no fresh +meat would then be obtainable. So a few of the best shots spent their +time in the valleys round the bay, where a large number of musk oxen and +other game frequented. + +On August 18, all the stores, &c., belonging to the party were landed +from the _Proteus_, and that vessel, being discharged, got up steam and +bade farewell. She was, however, prevented from getting out of sight +until August 26, the ice setting in rapidly and strongly. The men of the +party worked with such a will that they had their house built, the +recording instruments erected in proper localities, the provisions +stacked, and everything in order sufficiently early to permit them to +carry out some surveys while the weather was yet mild enough for sledge +travelling. Attention was also given to obtaining as much game as +possible, and by the time that the temperature was cold enough to +warrant their going into winter quarters and giving up outside work at +any distance from Fort Conger, they had obtained for their larder +twenty-six musk oxen and ten ducks, besides hare, seal, and ptarmigan, +in all 6000 lbs. of fresh meat for their own food, and an equal amount +for the dogs. + +In the middle of September they were visited by a large pack of wolves. +These were first discovered prowling over the ice on the harbour in +front of the encampment, and, fearing the loss of some of the dogs, as +well as provisions, a hunting party went out to shoot them. But the +wolves were too cunning, keeping out of range until the men were tired +out. They were frequently fired at, but none fell, although, as +subsequent events proved, this might not have been due to bad +marksmanship. The Arctic wolves, as was discovered later, are perhaps +the most tenacious of life of any of the Northern animals. + +One was seen, a day or so later, within a hundred yards of the house. It +was immediately fired at, and rolled over with a bullet through the +body; but before the marksman could get over to where it lay, the +apparently dead creature scrambled to its feet and made off, bleeding +profusely. The trail left by the blood was distinctly visible on the +snow, although the wolf itself, being covered with pure white fur, was +quite invisible. For over an hour the trail was followed, and when at +last the dead body was found, it lay practically bloodless, having +struggled on while there was a drop of blood in its veins. In view of +the difficulty of shooting them, the men resolved to poison them. But +here, again, the wolves were not to be caught. + +The first time that poisoned meat was put out it was left untouched. +Some good meat was added, and at once disappeared, though the pieces +containing poison were still left alone. The poisoned baits were then +taken up, and only good meat put down, the wolves always taking it +until, their confidence being aroused, a few poisoned baits were mixed +with the other. The experiment succeeded so well that when the baits +were next visited four wolves and one fox were found dead. The others, +evidently alarmed, made off and did not again return. + +As October passed the phenomena of the solar halo and aurora began to +make their appearance. The observation of atmospheric conditions being +one of the objects of the expedition, great attention was paid to these +displays, and some excellent descriptions were given of them. One which +occurred on October 21 and lasted five hours is thus described by the +leader of the expedition:-- + +"It consisted of two concentric rings, distant 23° and 46° respectively +from the sun, which were marked by five mock suns where the rainbow +tints were most clearly displayed. This was followed at evening by the +first aurora display, in the form of a delicate convoluted ribbon of +colourless light. On the 24th there was another halo. This was a double +one, there being two perfect concentric half-circles, distant 23° and +46° from the sun, each half-circle having a contact arch of magnificent +clearness. No fewer than six mock suns appeared, two on either hand and +two above the real sun, with prismatic colours in each case as vivid, +and clear as in any rainbow, the heavens being filled with a great glow +and wealth of colour." + +After the sun had gone and the twilight of the long winter night had +set in, the sky was vivid, at one time, with a wide sweep of red, +yellow, and blue, marked by bars of white light running up and down. +Later, when the moon had risen, further atmospheric marvels were +recorded. + +On one occasion the moon was surrounded by two circles, 22° and 46° +above the horizon. Both were topped by contact arches, and within them +six mock moons were present, two on each side of the true moon, and two +directly above it, all of which were brilliant with the colours of the +rainbow. Spires of light proceeded from the moon vertically, reaching +downwards to the horizon, and upwards to the outer circle. In addition +to these, a brilliant streak of white clear light extended from the +moon, horizontally, on both sides, completely round the horizon, and now +and again a faint mock moon of rainbow colours appeared high over the +whole, and another very low under it, making eight mock moons all +visible at the same moment round the real one. The moon was also seen +surrounded by a corona of four distinct bands of coloured light, the +first white, the second yellow, the third blue, and the outer one red. + +But all the experiences of the winter were not so gratifying as these +aerial displays. As soon as the snow lay thick on the ground the men +banked it up against the sides of the house until they were completely +covered in up to the eaves. It then froze on the outside, and the house +was practically covered in with ice. This was of very great value in +preventing the loss of heat from the interior, and, later on, in saving +the house from being blown away in a terrific hurricane which occurred. +But even with the protection of the frozen snow outside, and the +constant burning of fires and lamps inside, the temperature of the house +was, in midwinter, so cold that any water accidentally spilled on the +floor turned to ice, and unless the ink-bottle was kept near a burning +lamp, the ink froze at once. Outside everything except alcohol was +frozen solid, the mercury being hard in the thermometers, and even the +rum getting thick as syrup. The lime-juice, of which a daily ration was +taken, was frozen into tablets, and so quickly did any liquid turn to +ice that some of the sledge-dog puppies were frozen to the ground +through running on to the place where the warm contents of the +slush-bucket were thrown. + +Early in January the barometer, falling very rapidly, warned them that a +severe storm was approaching. Suddenly a fierce gust of wind swept over +the house, followed by a steady blow, the apparatus for registering the +velocity of the wind showing it to be at the rate of eighteen miles an +hour. The barometer continuing to fall, a man was sent out to take an +observation from an outside station, but the force of the wind had +increased so much that he could not face it alone, and two men had to +go. The air was soon filled with driving snow, and the rate of the wind +reached fifty miles an hour. It was now only possible for six men, +supporting one another, to stand against the dense volumes of snow which +the wind carried. When the velocity attained to sixty-five miles an +hour, fears were entertained as to the safety of the house. But still +the wind increased until, in a series of terrific gusts and squalls, the +house rocked and trembled as the register marked ninety miles an hour. +It was a moment of intense anxiety for the members of the party, for the +destruction of the house at that period of the year would almost +inevitably have meant their own destruction. Fortunately it was securely +built and so well protected by the banked-up snow, that it withstood the +fury of the hurricane. + +This furious outburst was the final effort of the winter, for within a +few days of its occurrence the sky began to show signs of the +approaching sunrise; with the advent of light the spirits of the party, +necessarily depressed by the prolonged darkness, rapidly resumed their +normal contentment. When at last enough natural light existed for the +men to see one another, they were amused at the appearance of their +faces. The prolonged absence of sunlight had entirely robbed their +cheeks of any semblance of ruddiness, their complexions having changed +to a ghastly yellowy green tint, as though each one was suffering from a +severe attack of sea-sickness. The murky light of the lamps had not +revealed the change, and the more vainglorious were considerably +disturbed at their bleached cheeks, fearful lest the pallor should +always remain, like the whiteness of the bear's fur. But it passed off +under the influence of the sunshine. + +Nor was this the only change produced by the sun. The effect of it upon +the land was so pronounced as almost to seem marvellous. Directly spring +set in sledge parties were despatched in all directions to survey and +spy out the country. One was led by Greely himself, its course being +along the route marked out, for a certain distance, by one of the +_Discovery_ parties in 1876. + +Passing beyond the limits of the previous exploration, a large river, +entirely frozen over, was discovered, and along its course the party +made their way. The ice was wonderfully smooth in comparison with that +on the salt water, and excellent travelling was made, the men and +sledges frequently being able to slide for a hundred yards at a time. At +the head of the river they found an enormous glacier completely blocking +up the valley, extending five miles from side to side, and 175 feet +high. This was late in April, and everywhere the ground was covered with +ice and snow, desolate and motionless, with no sign of life, and no +sound, save the faint gurgle of running water which was occasionally +noticed under the ice on the river. + +Early in July, little more than two months later, this valley was again +visited, but so great was the change in its appearance that the men +might have doubted its identity with the cold, desolate place they had +previously seen, but for the existence of the sparkling glacier. The +river now flowed along, glittering in the bright sunlight, between banks +covered with flowering plants. Bright yellow poppies gleamed all over +the verdure-clad slopes, with sturdy heath blooms, daisies, and other +blossoms mingling, and over them were flitting innumerable white and +yellow butterflies. Humble bees droned, and flies, including the +familiar daddy-long-legs, were everywhere present, as well as their +arch-enemies, the spiders. Ptarmigan, their white plumage somewhat +speckled with dark feathers, plovers, and birds of smaller size, were +seen on the wing; while over the verdant sides of the valley and along +the banks of the river, large herds of musk oxen were browsing, with +calves following the cows. The sky was brilliantly blue and almost free +from clouds. In the face of so much that was beautiful and full of life, +it was difficult to realise that a few weeks later the valley would +again be desolate and deserted, owning once more the supremacy of the +icy grip of the frost and snow. + +Exploring the valley carefully, some very interesting discoveries were +made of ancient Eskimo dwellings. A number of relics were obtained, some +of them being implements which were quite unintelligible to the +Greenland Eskimos who were with the party. The remains of the houses +showed that they had originally been substantial structures, built of +slate, and must have been permanent residences rather than mere summer +quarters. + +While the interior of the country was being explored, other sledge +parties set out over the frozen sea. One of these journeyed North, and +reached the spot where the _Alert_ had passed the winter in 1875. It was +intended to continue the journey over the ice towards the Pole similarly +to the sledge party Commander Markham and Lieutenant Parr had led, but +the ice was too rough for them. They passed beyond Cape Sheridan and set +out towards the North, but turned back, finding "nothing but an +inextricable mass of huge bergs, and enormous hummocks piled up in a +similar manner as when journeyed over by Commander Markham." The +scientific instruments they had with them had to be abandoned at one +place, owing to a sudden opening of the ice, but they approximated their +highest latitude as being 82° 56' N. From the summit of a high berg, +they fancied they saw open water to the North, and then they returned to +the land, finding cliffs which rose 2000 feet straight out of the water, +and along the base of which the ice lay piled in tremendous heaps. + +Another party, under Lieutenant Lockwood, the second in command of the +expedition, set out in the early spring across the frozen straits to +Greenland. This was over a similar route to that taken by Lieutenant +Beaumont of the _Discovery_; but the later expedition, not having to +struggle against the affliction of scurvy which had proved so disastrous +to the _Discovery_ party, was able to reach a far higher latitude. + +The party consisted of Lieutenant Lockwood, Sergeant Brainard, and the +Eskimo Frederick, and they succeeded in reaching the most northerly +point that had yet been discovered, not only on the coast of Greenland, +but also in the Arctic regions. The latitude recorded was 83° 23' 8" N., +and thus the honour, which for three hundred years had been the boast of +the British, the honour of having attained the nearest point to the +North Pole reached by man, was wrested from the British Lion by its +cousin, the American Eagle. + +Although only three men were in the party which reached this high +latitude, the party which set out from Fort Conger comprised thirteen +men and five sledges. The experience gained by the members of the Nares +expedition was of the utmost value to subsequent explorers, and the +members of the Greely expedition always made acknowledgment of this +fact, coupled with very complimentary references to the skill, the +courage, and the devotion of those whom they termed "our kin from over +the sea." Thus it was that in laying the plans for this northerly trip +they provided for a series of food depôts and relief parties all along +the route. Several of the former had been placed in position during the +early spring, and there is no doubt that this arrangement contributed +very materially to the success of the enterprise. The last depôt was +formed when nearly in sight of Cape Britannia, and from thence the small +party of three pushed forward. The dog team saved them an enormous +amount of labour by dragging the sledge for them, but even then they +found the travelling exceedingly difficult. Their sleeping-bags were +damp, and consequently they were always compelled to rest in great +discomfort. As they approached Cape Britannia the route became more +difficult, and their best march was sixteen miles in ten hours. Beyond +the cape an island was reached, to which the name of the leader, +Lieutenant Lockwood, was given, and the extreme point of which furnished +their "farthest North." The coast line still showed beyond, and to the +most distant point the name of Cape Washington was given. Then the small +band turned back, having succeeded in reaching a few miles nearer the +Pole than Commander Markham, whose journey, however, was over the frozen +sea, whereas the other was along the Greenland coast. + +The following spring, to anticipate the course of the narrative, another +effort was made to reach Cape Washington, but so rapid a thaw set in +that the party had to turn back before reaching as far as Lockwood +Island. They, however, secured all the relics of Lieutenant Beaumont's +party, including a British ensign, which were faithfully preserved +throughout the terrible privations the expedition was fated to undergo. +These relics were subsequently forwarded by the United States Government +to the British and are now in the Greenwich Museum with the Franklin +mementoes, treasured not only as emblems of British courage but also of +American good-will. Of the memorable record left by Lieutenant Beaumont +at Repulse Bay, its perusal by the members of the Greely expedition is +thus described by the leader:-- + +"This brilliant record of British courage, discipline, devotion to duty +and endurance, must ever affect deeply all who may read its full +details. To the men of the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition, who justly +appreciated the terrible contingencies of the situation, and who bore +similar dangers, this story, as told by the gallant Beaumont, was full +of deep and assuring interest." + +The American festival of "Decoration Day" occurred while the party were +at Polaris Bay, the place where the two _Discovery_ men who died were +buried. The festival is one for the commemoration of American heroes, +and on that day throughout the United States all the graves of their +heroes are decorated. Here on the bleak, barren Greenland coast they +remembered the festival, and kept it by taking the Stars and Stripes +from the sledge poles and draping them over the rough monuments erected +above the remains of the two British sailors. + +The second winter that was passed at Fort Conger was monotonous and +gloomy. The experience of the previous period of darkness was of great +service, inasmuch as the comfort of the expedition was improved in many +ways. The piled-up snow which had formed so useful a protection the year +before was carried right over the roof, considerably increasing the +warmth and snugness of the interior. But there was one fact which +weighed somewhat heavily on the minds of every one. A relief steamer was +expected before the winter set in, and it had not arrived. There was +still an abundant supply of food, and no alarm was felt on that score; +but the novelty of the surroundings having worn off, the prospect of the +long, weary stretch of darkness had a depressing influence. It, however, +passed without any untoward incident, and with the return of the sun +field work was resumed. The most notable journey was that of Lieutenant +Lockwood and his companion on the "farthest North" trip, Sergeant +Brainard, who, in one month, covered 437 miles of the hitherto +unexplored interior parts of Grinnel Land, discovering numerous lakes +and glaciers. One of the latter was of particular interest by reason of +the vari-coloured face it presented. The top layer, which overhung +slightly, was of dull opaque white, that immediately beneath it ranging +in colour from pale green to a clear blue, while the next and thickest +layer was of a rich chocolate colour, due to the soil which had been +frozen in with the water. The lowest streak was similar to the topmost, +dull opaque white. + +In their absence the remainder of the explorers were busily engaged in +establishing food depôts to the south, along the route they would be +compelled to take in the event of a retreat being necessary. The +non-arrival of the relief steamer prior to the winter gave rise to some +speculation whether it would arrive in the spring, and a plan was +arranged for a retreat to the south being carried out, if no relief ship +came, in the boats the expedition possessed. These consisted of a steam +launch 27 feet long, an iceboat which had been abandoned by Lieutenant +Beaumont in 1876, and two whale-boats. A depôt of forty days' full +rations was placed at Cape Baird and another of twenty days' rations at +Cape Collinson, as soon as the ice was open enough to allow the launch +to proceed. Then when it had returned and all the survey parties were +in, a decision was come to that if no steamer arrived by July 31 the +retreat would be commenced. + +July passed and August arrived, but there were no signs of the approach +of any relief steamer, and, on August 9, with the boats loaded with the +records of the work done and as much food as could be stored in them, +the party bade farewell to Fort Conger and started on their memorable +journey. The lateness of the season made navigation extremely difficult +for such small craft, and they were frequently impeded by ice which +would have offered no obstacle to a big steamer. They had scarcely got +out of sight of the house where they had passed the two long dark +winters before they were so beset with loose ice that progress was +almost impossible. Then new ice formed round them, and they were hard +and fast. The fact that they only carried a limited supply of fuel made +their position more serious, and when, on August 18, a temporary +breaking in the floes enabled them to move forward, there was a general +rejoicing. But it was soon checked on discovering that they were forced +inside of a huge mass of ice over fifty feet high and extending right up +to the solid floe. It was impossible to turn back and fight through the +drifting ice behind them, and the only hope of escape seemed to be to +steam on in case there might be a channel through the floe ahead. + +As they passed along the great wall of ice they were amazed at seeing a +crevice run into it. Arriving opposite to it, they found that it was a +cleavage which went right through the mass, and they turned into it. The +enormous berg had grounded and had split asunder, leaving a passage a +hundred yards long and barely twelve feet wide, the sides of which were +sheer fifty feet high on either hand. Such a formation was unique, even +in the Arctic regions, and the steaming through it was an adventure +without a parallel. + +It led them into fairly open water, and they were able to push on into +Rawlings Bay before they were again beset. This time it was not the new +ice but the closing in of the floes that caught them. So quickly did +the masses close in that the boats were caught and "nipped" before +anything could be done to save them. The men at once scrambled out on to +the ice, striving to lift the lighter boats on to the floe and unloading +the provisions from the others as fast as they could, lest the crack +should open again and everything be lost. The nip, however, had not been +so severe as to endanger the floating capacity of the boats, but the ice +had closed too firmly to allow of any hopes of their being able to force +their way through. A strong wind from the north, in spite of the snow +and cold it would have brought, would have been welcome; but the days +were provokingly calm, and the ice only moved south at its ordinary slow +rate. By August 26 they had travelled 300 miles from Fort Conger and +were within fifty miles of Cape Sabine, a headland where there was a +large supply of stores left by Sir George Nares in 1876. If they were +able to reach there before the winter night set in, there was some +chance of their existing through the dreary period which, it was now +evident, they were doomed to pass in that locality. And yet the spirits +of the party were as bright as though a steamer were within sight of +them. One of them, in his diary, wrote: "Adversity in any form would +fail, I think, to dampen the spirits of the men. Our situation is +desperate. Any moment the ice may crumble beneath our feet and the sea +swallow up the entire party. Still, while exercising on the ice this +evening, the men danced and sang as merrily as they would have done in +their own homes. They are irrepressible in the face of all this +uncertainty and perhaps starvation." + +The end of the month found them still beset, and with barely fifty days' +rations. The opinion was now divided as to the best course to adopt, +whether to remain in the boats and wait on the off-chance of their +drifting near Cape Sabine, or to take to the sledges and push on over +the rough ice to the shore. They had been drifting for thirty miles, and +only twenty now lay between them and the cape with its store of +provisions. The leader was averse to leaving the boats at once, and the +days dragged on until, on September 10, it was evident that the sledge +journey would have to be undertaken if the shore was to be reached and a +camp formed before the darkness set in. + +Unfortunately when they did abandon the boats the weather changed, and a +cold wind with driving snow came to make their struggle still more +difficult. They tried at first to drag two of the boats with them, but +one soon had to be abandoned and the party struggled on. Their +sleeping-bags froze and filled with drifting snow so that they were able +to obtain but little rest when they halted, and when they were moving +they were always cold and miserable. Until September 28 they were +struggling over the rough, difficult ice, and then their trials were +further increased. They were nearing the shore, and the force of the +tide, backed up by the pressure of the ice grinding along before the +wind, caused the floe to crack and break up. Only by the most persistent +energy and exertion were they able to get their stores and themselves on +shore, though still some distance from Cape Sabine. + +They had now travelled 500 miles since they left Fort Conger, and not +only were the men considerably exhausted by their recent struggle, but +winter was setting in very rapidly with constant and heavy storms. It +was therefore decided to form a camp where they were, while the snow had +not frozen too hard for them to get some stones for a shelter. They had +been compelled, on their journey over the ice, to abandon everything in +the way of covering save their sleeping-bags, and unless they built a +hut of some description the rigour of the winter would inevitably be +fatal to all. + +Such stones as could be found were collected and built into a low wall +forming a square of about sixteen feet. The stones were difficult to +obtain, and the wall could only be made three feet high. An opening was +left in one of the sides of the square and a passage way constructed, so +that the entrance to the interior did not open directly on to the frozen +exterior. Across the top of the walls the boat they had dragged with +them over the ice was laid keel uppermost, the oars being laid under it +so as to maintain it in position, the open spaces between the sides of +the boat and the walls being covered with such canvas as they had. +Around the stone walls and over the top, snow was piled, and their +living house was complete. It sheltered them from the wind and from the +extreme bitterness of the cold, but beyond that nothing could be claimed +for it. Every one had to enter it on hands and knees, and, once inside, +no one could stand up, while the taller men of the party were only able +to sit up in the middle of the hut where the boat made the roof slightly +higher. + +The men arranged their sleeping-bags against the walls with the feet +towards the middle of the floor, and when they had crept in through the +narrow entrance, they groped their way into the bags. Then, half lying +and half sitting, with their shoulders against the stones behind them, +they made themselves as comfortable as they could during the long period +of darkness. They divided themselves into messes for the purpose of +feeding, and two cooks prepared the food, an operation that was always +difficult and unpleasant. It had, of necessity, to be carried on inside +the hut, and when the two men were kneeling in a cramped-up position +over the make-shift for a stove in the middle of the floor, there was no +room for any one else to stretch his legs. Every one had to huddle up as +closely as possible, and as all the smoke from the stove had to find its +way out of the hut the best way it could, the atmosphere during cooking +time was far from refreshing. The heat from the stove also thawed the +ground immediately under it, and the snow on the canvas over it, with +the result that the cooking of every meal meant a thorough wetting as +well as a choking for the cooks. + +As soon as the hut was finished, a small party pushed on towards Cape +Sabine in order to locate the provisions stored there. On October 9 they +returned with the news that despatches had been found, stating the +_Proteus_ had foundered in the ice on July 24 just off the cape, and +that the crew and relief party had started to the south so as to meet +the second relief steamer _Yantic_, or a Swedish steamer which was known +to be in the locality, and send on help to the Greely expedition. + +The little party also discovered some provisions and the whale-boat, +previously abandoned on the ice, which had drifted ashore near the cape. +This was subsequently used as firewood when all other fuel was +exhausted. + +The news of the disaster to the _Proteus_ was a serious blow to the +expedition, as it meant that no help would be able to reach them until +the following spring at the earliest, and, in the meantime, they would +be compelled to exist as best they could upon their meagre stock of +provisions. The relief party who had visited the cape on their way from +the wreck of the _Proteus_ had very considerably reduced the stores +which the Greely party counted on finding, and when they obtained the +remnants which were left, part of the bread was found to be a mass of +green slimy mildew. The men had now been on reduced rations for many +days, and so hungry were the members of the band sent to convey the +stores from Cape Sabine to the hut that when the green mouldy stuff was +thrown out by the officer in charge, the men flung themselves on to it +and devoured it despite all he could do to persuade them from such a +course. + +The question of the strictest economy in the management of the food +supplies was now a matter of life or death, and very seriously the +leaders debated it. On October 26 the sun sank beneath the horizon, and +in the ensuing darkness, which lasted for 110 days, there would be no +chance of obtaining any game. A few blue foxes had been killed since the +camp was formed, and half the number were set aside for subsequent +consumption, those consumed at once being devoured to the bones, every +part being put into the stew. + +Meagre as the rations were, it was necessary to reduce them still +further if the food was to last until the spring. By a further reduction +it was calculated that the party could exist until March 1, when the +available supplies would amount to ten days' rations. But no relief +could possibly reach them until a couple of months later than that, and +how were they to live after March 10, when the last crumb of their +supplies had been consumed? + +There was only one course open for them, and that was explained by the +leader. On November 1, the allowance for each man would be fourteen +ounces, given out every twenty-four hours, and on March 1, as soon as +there was light, they would take their remaining ten days' supply and +set out across the frozen straits in the forlorn hope of reaching an +outlying camp of Etah Eskimo on the Greenland coast. + +The terrible prospect of such a scheme to men situated as they were can +scarcely be imagined. For over a month they had already been slowly +starving on an amount of food for daily consumption which an ordinary +man could comfortably eat at one meal, and now that amount was to be +decreased to less than a pound of food a day and in a climate where the +cold was so intense that water could not be kept from freezing inside +the hut excepting it was over the stove. For four months they would have +to face that rigid diet, suffering the pangs of starvation constantly, +almost entirely in the dark, and always huddled up in the sleeping-bags +against the walls of their low-roofed hut. Yet they accepted the scheme +without a murmur. + +Seldom have men shown themselves so absolutely courageous, for at the +best it was merely slow starvation so as to be able to make an almost +hopeless dash for freedom and food in four months' time. The suffering +during those four months was terrible. Men, as soon as they got hold of +their day's rations, were tempted to devour them at once, and so still +for a time the ceaseless gnawing of their hunger; but to do so meant +that in an hour's time the pain would be back again with no means of +staying it until twenty-three hours had passed. Calmly and bravely they +faced the ordeal, dividing their scanty store into regular meals, and +when, by an accident one of them upset his can, spilling his few +mouthfuls of tea on the ground, the others contributed from their share +so that he should not go entirely without. Nothing could exceed the +touching fidelity which characterised their bearings, one to the other, +during this period of unexampled suffering. + +At Cape Isabella, a stock of 140 lbs. of meat was known to have been +left by Sir George Nares, and a party of four set out in the hopes of +securing it. For a week before they started they were allowed an extra +ration in order to strengthen them for the trial of a journey in the +dark over rough ice and with the temperature at 34° below zero. The +extra ration consisted of two ounces a day. + +For five days they battled their way through the darkness against a +heavy wind laden with snow, and at last found the place where the food +was. Piling it on their sledge, they turned back home again, and for +fourteen hours laboured with it, only consuming a little warm tea during +that time, for they had no means of heating more. One of the four was +badly bitten by the frost, and was soon so stricken that he could not +even stagger along. A piercing wind was blowing, and to save their +comrade's life, the others abandoned the sledge and tried to support +him. Soon two of them became exhausted, and the remaining one, Sergeant +Rice, pushed on alone to the camp in order to bring help. For sixteen +hours he was fighting his way over the twenty-five miles that lay +between him and the hut. When he arrived there his lips were too frozen +for him to be able to speak at once. + +Weary and weak as the whole party was, eight of the strongest at once +started off in rescue. When they picked the other three up, they found +them lying under the sleeping-bag with the sick man between them, and +the bag frozen so hard over them that it had to be cut open before they +could be got out. Then they resumed their way to the camp, which they +reached after forty-four hours' absence, in which time they had covered +forty miles. + +The frost-bitten man, Elison, was almost dead, his face, feet, and hands +being absolutely frozen, but so determined were they all to survive as +long as possible that he was tended with all the care they could +command. He was kept alive in spite of his sufferings, which, during the +first week after his rescue, were so severe that he daily called on his +comrades to end his misery. + +Meanwhile the memory of the abandoned sledge laden with meat was +constantly in the minds of the starving men, whose hunger was now so +great that in the darkness after the lamp was put out--economy compelled +them to use it only for cooking--men crept to the stove and devoured any +rancid fat left in the lamp. But still discipline held them together, +and they made no mention of their sufferings to one another. The success +of the journey across the ice on March 1 was what they looked forward +to, and with the arrival of that date they believed their sufferings +would be over. + +On January 18 the first one of the party to die passed away, really of +starvation, although the men, to keep the ugly word away from their +minds, accepted the doctor's statement that it was of an effusion of +water at the heart that the man had died. His end made a deep impression +on the gallant little band, all the same, and by the beginning of +February several more men were in a critical condition, including +Lieutenant Lockwood, who refused to accept an extra ration of two ounces +a day from the diminished stores. + +Sergeant Rice, accompanied by the Eskimo Jens, made a plucky effort to +reach Littleton Island, where an outlying camp of Eskimo might be found; +but Jens could not stand the journey, and, five days after starting, +they returned. Every one was now impressed with the necessity of +husbanding their energies for the great effort to be made on the first +day of March, and as February slowly passed away, the emaciated +creatures grew enthusiastic as they sought to cheer one another up by +detailing the tremendous feasts they would have when they returned to +civilisation. At length the first of March dawned, and the brave hearts, +which had kept up so long against starvation and despair, shrank before +the terrible blow they received. The ice had broken, and open water +rolled where they had planned to cross on the ice. Nothing was said, for +the courage of the men was only equalled by their consideration for one +another, but the effect of the great disappointment sank deep into the +minds of many. + +The food remaining was eked out through the month with the aid of some +blue foxes and a ptarmigan, which were eaten to the bones, and April +found them with only a few days even of the starvation rations +remaining. Several of the men were so weak that they could barely turn +over in their sleeping-bags. The Eskimo Frederick was found dead in his +bag, and another of the little party followed the next day. Then +Sergeants Rice and Fredericks insisted on making an effort to reach the +meat abandoned when Elison was frost-bitten. It is difficult to +understand why the effort had not been made before; but many errors of +judgment are conspicuous after a campaign which are not so apparent in +the moment of struggle. + +Now that it was made it failed, through the cold freezing wind +penetrating the starved bodies of the two men. Rice, who throughout the +terrible ordeal of their captivity had never spared himself, was the +first to feel it. A strong wind was blowing, bringing down heavy snow +squalls. Suddenly Rice began to talk wildly and then staggered. +Fredericks grasped him by the arm and tried to keep him up, but the cold +and starvation had too tight a hold upon their victim. He vainly +endeavoured to pull himself together, but only for a moment; then he +sank down on the snow, babbling about the feast he was going to enjoy. + +His comrade tried to restore him by giving him some of the stimulants +they had with them, and did not hesitate to strip off his own fur coat +to lay upon the other, sitting the while, holding his hands, and exposed +to all the biting fury of the Arctic wind, in his shirt sleeves. But +everything was useless; Rice was too worn out and too weak to fight +further, and died as he faintly talked of the food he fancied he was +eating. + +The shock to Fredericks was almost overwhelming, for he was miles away +from the camp, chilled to the bone, and with only a little coffee and +spirits of ammonia to revive his own drooping vitality. Yet he would not +leave his dead comrade until he had reverently laid him in a shallow +resting-place in the snow, though it almost cost him his life to pay +this last tribute. + +When he at last managed to reach the camp with his sad tidings he was +almost gone, and the news he brought plunged every one into the lowest +depths of sorrow, for Rice had always been one of the bravest and best +of the party. Those who were able to do so, attended to Fredericks and +revived him. + +To those who were weakest the end of Rice was a fatal blow, and the next +day or so saw three or four pass away, one of whom was the intrepid +Lockwood. A very few more days and all would have gone but for a gleam +of good fortune. A young bear was killed, and the 400 pounds of meat +obtained from it was the salvation of the survivors. + +Several seals were seen in the straits and a few walrus, and all who +could still handle a gun were daily striving to obtain fresh supplies +for the larder. Eskimo Jens, who hunted assiduously, succeeded in +killing a small seal; but in a chase after another his kayak was injured +in the ice and he was drowned. + +After his death only misfortune attended the hunting, and, failing to +replenish their stock of game, they were reduced to such a terrible +plight that they had only the thick skin of the seal on which to +subsist. Even this fare was carefully divided and measured out, so that +life might be maintained as long as possible in case a relief vessel +came. One day it was found that somebody was stealing. All the party was +assembled, but no one would admit the theft. It was decided that the +thief should be shot if discovered. One man, being suspected, was +watched. He was caught and executed. + +A fortnight later, the last few square inches of the seal's skin was +gone, and the men, now little more than living skeletons, lay in their +sleeping-bags looking at one another with hollow eyes, wondering, +perhaps, who would be the last to go, when a steamer's whistle sounded +over the straits. + +At first they dared not trust their ears. It must have been a gull +crying, or a bear, they said, and the only man with strength enough to +crawl crept out to see. The others lay where they were, straining their +ears to catch again the sound which had so moved them, but the minutes +passed on in silence. The man who had gone out did not come back, and +their hopes fell. No one spoke, for it was too plain they had been +deceived, and a profound silence reigned. Then they heard a great +shouting, and before their minds could understand how it was done, they +were surrounded by men of their own race, who were administering +restoratives as quickly as they dared. + +The _Thetis_, commanded by Captain Schley, of the United States Navy, +had reached them, and so, on June 23, 1884, the survivors of the Greely +expedition were saved. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +PEARY IN GREENLAND + + The Greenland Question--Departure of the _Kite_--Peary breaks his + Leg--A Camp made--Habits of the Eskimo--A Brush with + Walrus--"Caching" Food--An Arctic Christmas Feast--Peary starts for + the Great Ice-Cap--A Snow Sahara--The Ice-Cap Crossed--A Marvellous + Discovery--Sails on Sledges--A Safe Return. + + +The disaster and suffering which characterised the termination of the +Greely and _Polaris_ expeditions did not tend to recommend Arctic +exploration as a national enterprise to the Government of the United +States. A vast amount of highly valuable information had been obtained, +not only by these expeditions, but also by the expedition sent out by +the British Government under the command of Sir George Nares. And, in +addition to the information, a further knowledge had been gained, the +knowledge that the same spirit of indomitable pluck, the same tireless +energy, and the same loyalty and devotion to duty dominated both +branches of the great English-speaking race. The magnificent heroism +displayed by the explorers from the _Alert_ and _Discovery_ found a +parallel in the later experiences and exploits of the American +expeditions, and both British and American Governments felt that, for a +time at least, they were justified in resting on the laurels their +gallant sons had won. + +But if the Governments were satisfied, the restless spirit of the race +could not remain quiet while secrets still remained in the keeping of +the frozen North. The Pole was still untouched, and, more than that, +there were secrets to be wrested from localities not quite so remote. + +The discoveries along the north coast of Greenland opened up the very +interesting question whether the land did not extend right up to the +Pole itself. As far as any one had penetrated to the north of the coast, +land was still to be seen farther on; it was an open question whether +this great ice-covered country was an island, with its northern shores +swept by the Polar ice-floes, or whether it extended almost to the +dimensions of a continent in the Polar region. + +The problem appealed strongly to two explorers whose names, by reason of +their exploits during recent years, have become familiar. They are +Nansen and Peary. The former, by his dash for the Pole, during which he +surpassed all previous records of the "farthest North," has dwarfed his +Greenland performances; the latter, by his journey of 1300 miles over +the ice-crowned interior of Greenland, decided the insular character of +the country. It is that journey which forms the subject of this chapter. + +Lieutenant Robert E. Peary, an officer in the engineering department of +the United States Navy, failing to obtain Government support for his +scheme of an overland journey to the northern coast of Greenland, was +supported by the Philadelphia Academy of National Science. The +expedition was necessarily small, but that did not affect its utility. +It was, moreover, unique, by the inclusion of Lieutenant Peary's wife as +one of its members; the account which she has given of her sojourn in +high latitudes is one of the most interesting of books on the Arctic +regions. + +The party left New York on June 6, 1891, on board the steamer _Kite_, +for Whale Sound, on the north-west coast of Greenland. The voyage was +satisfactory in every way until June 24, when an unfortunate accident +befell the leader. + +The _Kite_ had encountered some ice which was heavy enough to check her +progress, and, to get through it, the captain had to ram his ship. This +necessitated a constant change from going ahead to going astern, and, as +there was a good deal of loose ice floating about, the rudder frequently +came into collision with it when the vessel was backing. Lieutenant +Peary, who was on deck during one of these manoeuvres, went over to the +wheelhouse to see how the rudder was bearing the strain. As he stood +behind the wheelhouse, the rudder struck a heavy piece of ice and was +forcibly jerked over, the tiller, as it swung, catching Lieutenant Peary +by the leg and pinning him against the wall of the house. There was no +escape from the position, and the pressure of the tiller gradually +increased until the bone of the leg snapped. + +The doctor, who formed one of the party, immediately set the limb; but +the sufferer refused to return home, and when, a few days later, the +_Kite_ reached McCormick Bay, he was carried ashore strapped to a plank. + +The material for a comfortably-sized house was part of the outfit of the +expedition, and this was in course of erection the day that Lieutenant +Peary was landed. For the accommodation of himself and wife, a tent was +put up behind the half-completed house, and, as a high wind arose, the +remainder of the party returned on board the _Kite_. + +As the hours passed away the wind became stronger. The tent swayed to +and fro, and Mrs. Peary, as she sat beside her invalid and sleeping +husband, realised what it was to be lonely and helpless. She and her +husband were the only people on shore for miles; her husband was unable +to move, and she was without even a revolver with which to defend +herself. What, she asked herself, would be the result if a bear came +into the tent? She could not make the people on board the _Kite_ hear, +and she was without a weapon. Throughout the stay in the North, Mrs. +Peary proved herself not only to be a woman of strong nerve and +self-reliance, but also an excellent shot with either gun, rifle, or +revolver. It was, however, as much as she could stand when her anxious +ears caught the sound of heavy breathing outside the tent. + +For a time she sat still, fearing to disturb her husband, until the +continuance of the sound compelled her to look out. A school of white +whales were playing close inshore, and it was the noise of their +blowing, softened by the wind, which had so disturbed her. But so +self-possessed was she over it that her husband did not know till long +afterwards the anxiety she had experienced during the first night she +spent on the Greenland shore. + +The following day rapid progress was made with the house, and some of +the party stayed on shore for the night, so that there was always some +one within call of the invalid's tent until the house was completed and +he was removed into it. By that time the _Kite_ had started home again, +and the little party of seven were left to make all their arrangements +for the winter. + +They had determined to rely entirely upon their own exertions for the +supply of meat for the winter and also to obtain their fur clothing on +the spot, killing the animals necessary for the material and engaging +some of the local Eskimo to make up the suits. Deer would give both meat +and fur, and as there was every prospect of the neighbourhood affording +them in plenty, as soon as the house was up and the stores packed, the +majority started away in search of game. + +The spot where they were landed, and where they had erected their camp, +was on a verdure-covered slope lying between the sea and the high range +of bluff hills which towered about 1000 feet over them. In the spring +the ground was covered with grass and flowers; the bay in front was full +of seal, walrus, whales, and other marine inhabitants, and along the +hills behind experience showed that game was present in abundance. The +Etah Eskimo, the most northerly people in existence, lived their quaint, +out-of-the-world lives along the shores of the bay and neighbouring +inlets, and, as soon as the camp was settled, they were kept busily +employed in the making of fur garments, proving themselves docile and +peaceful. It was often difficult for the members of the expedition to +realise that the site of their camp, with the abundance of food to be +had, was only from fifty to eighty miles from the spots where the +castaways of the _Polaris_ suffered so acutely and the members of the +Greely expedition slowly starved, many of them to death. For more than a +year the little party of seven lived in good health, without a +suggestion of scurvy making its appearance and with only one fatality, +which, moreover, was accidental. + +The first hunting expedition was in search of deer, and everybody took +part in it except the leader, who was still crippled by his injured leg +and confined to his room, and his wife. For two or three days the +hunters were away, for they were fortunate in discovering a herd of deer +which they followed until all were bagged. Then, with as many as they +could convey, leaving the others to be fetched later, they set out for +the camp. Their approach was duly signalled, and upon hearing that they +were returning laden, Lieutenant Peary, for the first time, hobbled out +of the house on crutches. As they came up he rested on one leg and his +crutches, while he photographed them and their trophies, after which the +double occasion was celebrated by a banquet in which venison played an +important part. + +The deer skins were very important additions to the stock of material +from which the winter clothing was to be made, but other varieties were +needed, especially of the marine animals, as well as some native tailors +to fashion them into coats, hoods, mittens, and all the other articles +of Arctic wear. A boat party was therefore despatched along the shores +of Inglefield Gulf, to spy out the localities where walrus was to be +found, and to induce some of the natives of a village, seen from the +_Kite_, to come over to the camp and sew the new garments. + +[Illustration: GROUP OF SMITH SOUND ESKIMO. + +The most northerly inhabitants of the world. Lieut. Peary records that +the tribe numbered 253 on September 1st, 1895. Between that date and +August 1, 1896, an epidemic of influenza had reduced them to 229. In +August 1897, they numbered 234.] + +The party was successful in both instances, for a number of walrus were +seen and an Eskimo family came back by the boat. The "huskies" consisted +of a man, his wife, and two little children, and they moved with all +their belongings. They were little people, under five feet in height and +almost as broad as they were long, clad in fur jumpers and short +breeches with sealskin boots reaching over their knees. The costume of +both adults was very similar, the only practical difference being in the +tunic or jumper, that of the woman having the hood longer and deeper for +the accommodation of her infant. They had broad, good-natured faces, not +especially handsome nor intelligent in appearance, but distinctly dirty. +In fact, the use of water, other than for drinking, did not appear to be +known to the primitive people, and it was very much a question whether +they had ever tried the experiment of a wash. Once Mrs. Peary was +tempted to give one of the little ones a bath, and she records how +intensely amazed it was at being put into the water, although it was +more than two years old. Surviving the shock, however, it manifested its +pleasure by lustily kicking and splashing. Perhaps later it enjoyed a +well-merited honour amongst its own people as the only one of the tribe +who ever passed through the extraordinary ordeal of soap and water. + +In consequence of their innocence of water as a cleansing medium, the +"huskies," as the Peary party affectionately termed them, had two very +distinguishing characteristics not entirely pleasing to more civilised +people. They carried around with them a distinctly impressive aroma, and +also thriving colonies of what are politely termed parasites. + +In the matter of clothes they carry their wardrobes on their backs. Fur +garments do not wear out very rapidly, and, when a "husky" is full +grown, the suit of clothes, made in honour of the event, remains in +constant wear until one of two things happens. If the man kills a bear, +he has a costume made of the skin and discards the ordinary sealskin +suit for it. If he does not kill a bear, he wears the sealskin suit +until it no longer keeps him warm, when he gets another. In their snow +houses during the winter and storms, if the temperature is too warm for +them in their thick clothing, they take the clothing off; being a +primitive people, their manners are as simple as their minds. + +The first arrivals at the Peary camp were, however, very useful people. +There being no trees in this far northern region, and wood, +consequently, being one of their most valued treasures, they were for +some time unable to comprehend how so much timber had been acquired to +build the house. When they saw a fire made in the stove of refuse bits +of wood they were still more amazed. Never before had they seen so much +fire all at once, and the man, growing curious, kept on feeling the +stove to see what the effect would be. When it was hot enough to burn +his hand he developed a wholesome respect for it, and preferred to +regard the, to him, uncanny object from a distance. + +The problem of how the sewing was to be done was rather a difficult one +to the white people for a time. To allow the furs to be taken into the +Eskimo tent was to invite the introduction of an insect population of +which it would be impossible to get rid later. On the other hand, to +allow the huskies to enter the house too frequently was equally +dangerous from the sanitary point of view. A compromise was effected, by +the Eskimo woman doing the sewing near the door of the house with some +one always keeping an eye on her. Later on, when it was found that +little danger existed from the spread of insects if reasonable care were +taken, the workers sat inside the house. They were fairly deft in +handling the needle, and the suits they made for the party were all +excellent and serviceable. These were made on the native pattern, and +the experience of Lieutenant Peary and his comrade Astrup in their +journey over the great ice-cap proved that the native pattern was the +best. + +When the woman was set to work, a boat expedition in search of walrus +was organised, with the Eskimo as guide, Lieutenant Peary and his wife +also going. They had not proceeded very many miles up Inglefield Gulf +before a light breeze when they saw, on a floating piece of ice, a dozen +or so of the animals huddled together apparently asleep. Sailing gently +towards them, every one with a rifle ready, a sudden puff of wind sent +the boat ahead quicker and farther than was intended, and it struck the +ice. The walrus, never having seen a sailing boat before, looked round +at it without paying any more attention than if it had been another +piece of ice. But the sight of so many valuable creatures within reach +of his harpoon was too much for the little Eskimo, and he buried the +weapon into the nearest. + +At once the attitude of the walrus changed. The wounded member of the +tribe tried to escape, bellowing in its pain, and the rest slid off the +ice into the water and surrounded the boat. Others from neighbouring ice +patches charged rapidly on to the scene, and the situation of the boat +and its occupants was dangerous in the extreme. The poor Eskimo, his +face showing the terror he felt, crouched down in the boat, evidently +expecting to be annihilated by the furious animals that surged round. As +they came up to the boat, they tried to get their great powerful tusks +over the gunwales, and, had one succeeded in doing so, there would have +been slight hopes of any one escaping. Had the boat been capsized, no +one could possibly have survived, and to keep the angry crowd off was no +easy matter. + +All around they swarmed, and not less than 250 were estimated to be +engaged in the attack. Lieutenant Peary, with his injured leg, sat in +the stern of the boat, firing at them, and the other white men also kept +up a fusillade, Mrs. Peary, again giving evidence of her strong nerve +and courage, sitting beside her husband and loading the weapons as soon +as they were emptied. The walrus came on in bunches to the attack, and, +immediately they were fired at, all those nearest to the boat leaped out +of the water, and then plunged out of sight. There was always the danger +of one of the huge creatures rising under the boat, and so capsizing it; +but the occupants had no time to think of this. Directly one batch +jumped and disappeared, another batch hastened forward to greet the +volley of bullets in the same way as the others, and be in turn +succeeded by another batch! + +The boat was meanwhile gradually approaching the shore, and as the water +became more shallow the walrus exhibited less desire to come to close +quarters, until, at last, the adventurers found that they had beaten off +the last of the swarm. The main body had retreated far up the gulf, only +a few remaining near. Several of those which had been shot, however, +were floating on the surface of the water, and it was decided to go back +and secure them, even at the risk of another attack. Already some of +them were sinking, and many must have gone down while the fight was in +progress. There was a necessity for haste if any of the slain were to be +secured, and with rifles loaded and ready for a fresh attack, the boat +was headed towards the floating carcases. + +The operation of securing them was performed without any interruption +from the survivors, and a run was then made for the shore, where the +Eskimo said a lot of seal-skins were "cached." This is the term used in +the Arctic regions to denote the local method of storing food or +possessions. A space is hollowed out in the ground, which, even in the +summer time, is frozen hard a few feet below the surface. The articles +to be stored having been placed in the space, it is covered over with +stones, and the "cache" is completed. Throughout the winter the contents +become frozen into a solid mass, which, protected by the stones or other +covering, does not thaw out during the short summer, and so remains in a +good state of preservation for an almost indefinite period. + +Occasionally the "cache" fails to preserve the articles of food entirely +in that state which by the European is termed "fresh"; but as they +rarely have recourse to "cached" provisions, it does not matter very +much. The Eskimo, who constantly preserves his winter supplies in this +manner, has, happily for himself, easier notions about the state and +quality of his food. This was brought home to the party very forcibly. +They had visited several "caches," and obtained enough seal-skin for +their purpose, and, having enjoyed some refreshment, were considering +their return. The Eskimo, Ikwa, then told them that, as all the flesh at +the camp was recently killed, he and his family did not like it. There +was, he said, a fine seal cached in the neighbourhood, which would form +a delicious store for him and his family, and if the leader allowed him +to move it to the boat, and convey it to the encampment, he would be +prepared to yield some of it to the members of the party for their own +special enjoyment. The seal was a beauty, he said, and just in the very +pink of condition. The necessary permission having been given, Ikwa +hurried away for his treasure. + +Shortly after, the members of the party noticed a strange penetrating +odour in the air which they at first attributed to the flayed walrus. It +steadily increased, until they were unable to tolerate it, and started +out to seek the cause. As they emerged from under the shelter of the +jutting rock where they had been resting, they descried the little +Eskimo staggering towards them under the burden of a seal almost as +large as himself. The creature had been "cached" about two years, and +was in such a state that gentles fell from it at every step the man +took, and, as Mrs. Peary recorded in her diary, both the sight and the +scent of it overpowered the white people. But to Ikwa it was just in +good condition for eating, and he was especially indignant when he was +made to relinquish it. His clothes, however, would not part with the +odour, and for many days the members of the expedition had reason to +remember that Eskimo like their game high. + +As the time passed, and winter approached, every one was kept busy +preparing for the long dark night, and for the journey over the ice-cap +which was to be undertaken directly spring began. Several families of +Eskimo were now residing near the encampment, the women mostly engaged +in making winter fur garments for the members of the expedition, and the +men in hunting. As dogs were required for the sledging expedition, +constant bartering went on between the Eskimo and the white men, and the +latter undertook occasional journeys to localities where other members +of the tribe were encamped. + +A great deal of very interesting information was thus derived about the +natives, who are, as has been said, the most northerly living people in +the world. Mrs. Peary, as the first white woman they had ever seen, was +a particular object of attention. As their custom is for men and women +to dress very much alike, they could not quite understand Mrs. Peary's +costume, and when the first arrivals saw her and Lieutenant Peary +together, they looked from one to the other, and ultimately had to ask +which of the two was the white woman. + +[Illustration: TWO NORTH GREENLAND HUNTERS.] + +The tribe did not number 300 in all; they held no communication with the +Eskimo farther south, and, except for the occasional visit of a sealer +or a whaler, knew nothing of the outer world. None had ever seen a tree +growing, nor had they ever penetrated over the ridge of land which lay +back from the coast, and over which glimpses were caught of the great +ice-cap. The latter, they said, was where the Eskimo went when they +died, and if any man attempted to go so far the spirits would get hold +of him and keep him there. They consequently warned Lieutenant Peary +against venturing. There was no seal up there; no bear; no deer; only +ice and snow and spirits, so what reason had a man for going? + +Their belongings were extremely simple. A kayak, a sledge, one or two +dogs, a tent made of walrus-hide or seal-skin, some weapons, and a stone +lamp, comprised, with the clothes they wore, their property. Wood was +the most valuable article they knew, because they could use it for so +many purposes, and had so little of it. The possession of knives and +needles was greatly desired; but scissors did not appeal to them, since +what they could not cut with a knife they could bite with their close +even teeth. Money had neither a suggestion nor a use with them; trade, +if carried on at all, was merely the bartering of one article for +another. + +The animals they liked best were dogs and seals; the former being their +beast of burden and constant companion, the latter the provider of food, +raiment, covering, and light. Every seal killed belonged to the man who +killed it, but the rules of the tribe required that all larger animals +should be shared among the members in the neighbourhood; the skin of a +bear, however, remaining in the possession of the man who secured it. +But so unsophisticated and easy-going are the contented little people +that individual property scarcely exists with them; every one is ready +and willing to share what he has with another if need be. The articles +borrowed, however, are always returned, or made good if broken or lost. +No one can either read or write; the boys are taught how to hunt, how to +manage the kayak and sledge, and how to make and use the weapons of the +chase, while the girls are taught how to sew the fur garments, and keep +the stone lamp burning with blubber and moss, so as to prepare the +drinking water and the frizzled seal flesh they eat. For the rest, their +chief desire is to live as happily as they can, and this, according to +those who have been amongst them, they manage to do merrily and well. + +During the visits paid to the different encampments by Lieutenant Peary +and his wife, about a score of dogs were obtained, a number which would +be sufficient to carry out the work of the ensuing spring. They were +usually obtained in exchange for needles and knives, but the purpose for +which they were needed always formed a subject of wonder to the +unambitious "huskies." + +By the time that a return was made to the house--Redcliff, as the +explorers named it--the season was well advanced towards winter. The +roof and sides were all covered with walrus hide, and moss, gathered in +the early autumn, was stuffed into any crevice through which the cold +wind might find a way. The drifting snow soon piled up round the walls +and over the roof, and the extra covering added to the warmth and +comfort of those within. Fur clothing was now worn generally, and the +little party, keeping in good health and spirits, managed to pass the +gloomy period of winter without anything to mar their contentment. + +Christmas they celebrated in proper form by having a sumptuous dinner, +the menu of which, preserved by Mrs. Peary, is worthy of being quoted, +as showing what can be done in a place where shops are unknown and +darkness reigns at midday. The feast consisted of salmon, rabbit pie and +green peas, venison with cranberry sauce, corn and tomatoes, +plum-pudding and brandy sauce, apricot pie, pears, sweets, nuts, +raisins, and coffee: a very creditable repast to be put on the table of +an Arctic residence. + +When every one had satisfied the demands of appetite, the table was +cleared, and then re-spread for the benefit of the "huskies," who were +bidden to partake of Christmas fare. A somewhat different assortment was +prepared for the visitors, the dishes consisting of milk punch, venison +stew, cranberry tart, biscuits, sweets, raisins, and coffee. This was +certainly a variation to their ordinary food of seal or walrus flesh and +water, and they showed their appreciation of it by leaving no crumbs and +sticking to their seats until, at half-past ten, they were gently told +that it was time they went home. Then they left, but the next day they +came again, and were perhaps not the first who, having enjoyed a hearty +Christmas dinner, felt disposed to complain that Christmas can only come +once a year. + +At the first approach of spring the dogs were given plenty of exercise +in the sledges, and by the middle of April all was ready for the great +journey over the ice-cap. Lieutenant Peary had quite recovered from the +injury to his leg, and was impatient to be off. The plan of operations +was for himself and a young Norwegian, named Astrup, to push on with one +sledge over the unknown interior, but for the first part of the journey +a supporting party and sledge accompanied them. + +April 30 saw them start from the house towards the bluff range which ran +along the coast. The two sledges, each with a team of ten dogs, were +laden with supplies and scientific instruments. Mrs. Peary, who was +staying behind at the house, watched them slowly go out of sight, the +Eskimo women consoling her with the opinion that none of the party would +ever come back. The return of the supporting sledge a few weeks later +was rather a blow to the prophecy, but they tried to make up for the +first mistake by asserting their confidence that the other sledge was +doomed. + +The two parties kept together until the coastal range was surmounted, +and the beginning of the ice-cap was reached. Here the sledge which was +to do the great journey was laden with a full load, and the two +explorers started forward, Lieutenant Peary leading the way with a staff +to which was attached a silk banner--the Stars and Stripes--worked by +Mrs. Peary. + +The first of the ice-cap was a stretch of some fifteen miles of ice, +formed into enormous dome-shaped masses. They toiled up one side but +travelled easily down the other, and so on, up and down, until they had +attained an altitude of nearly 9000 feet above the sea-level, when they +found that they were on a vast expanse of snow. The white unbroken +surface stretched away as far as the eye could reach, unbroken by a +ridge or rise, everywhere flat, white and immense. This was the great +ice-cap, the frozen covering of the interior of Greenland, the unknown +region where no man had yet set foot. + +But it was a mistake to term it an ice-cap. They found it to be rather a +desert, a Sahara with dry drifting snow instead of the dry burning sand. +And, like Sahara, it had its days of storm, when the snow whirled in +clouds just as the sand rises before the scorching blast of the simoom. +Very wonderful was the first experience of this Greenland dust-storm. +The sky overhead was filled with dull grey clouds, heavy and opaque, and +the gloom spread all around, so that whichever way one looked there was +the same impenetrable veil of grey gloomy haze. The snow lost its +dazzling whiteness and took instead the tint of the gloom of the +surrounding atmosphere. Then the wind came, at first in fitful gusts but +later growing into a steady blow, the opening squalls lifting the dry +surface snow and whirling it up in the air. The steady breeze caught it +and carried it along in a constantly moving stream some two feet deep, +and it was then that the effect of the storm was most pronounced. The +drifting particles of snow made a curious rustling noise as they moved, +and as they whirled round the travellers' legs the feet were hidden +beneath the dense moving veil. As a result, it was as though one were +walking on nothing and going nowhere, for the grey gloom all around made +one unconscious of either direction or space, and the moving snow +prevented one seeing the feet or realising that there was anything solid +under them. + +The steady hum of the drifting snow, together with its movement, made +the brain dizzy, and the two explorers generally found it necessary to +form a camp when such a storm came on, the snow soon piling up against +their shelter tent and effectually protecting them from the wind. Then, +when the breeze had died away and the snow ceased moving, they were able +to dig out their sledge and proceed. + +A distinct contrast to these stormy days was given by the period of +clear sunshine. Then the sky, innocent of a cloud, was a wonderful blue +vault overhead, while the snow-covered plateau stretched away on all +sides until it was lost in the distance of the horizon. The wonderfully +clear air enabled the explorers to see a great distance ahead. At the +end of the second day's march after reaching this great snow desert, +they found that the surface was gradually sloping north and south. They +were on the dividing ridge and, as they passed over on to the downward +slope, their progress was naturally at a more rapid rate. A storm, such +as has been described, accompanied by falling snow, overtook them, and +for three days they had to stay in their shelter. When at length the +weather moderated and they were able to get out again they discovered, +before resuming the journey, that the dogs meanwhile had eaten six +pounds of cranberry jam and the foot off one of the sleeping-bags--a +fairly good example of a dog's appetite during a snowstorm. + +On May 31 in magnificently clear weather they looked out upon a scene on +which no white man had ever yet gazed. In his description of the journey +the leader wrote: "We looked down into the basin of the Petermann +Glacier, the greatest amphitheatre of snow and rugged ice that human eye +has ever seen." Away beyond it, a range of black mountains towered in +dome-shaped hills, and they made their camp with the expectation of +being able to see more of the distant range at the end of another march. +But by the time they were able to resume their march a thick fog had +come into the air, and for three days they could only see the snow at +their feet. They directed their course entirely by compass, but as they +were unable to see long distances ahead, they were unprepared for a +change in the surface. Before they could avoid it, they found themselves +amongst rough ice and open crevices. They were getting on to the Sherard +Osborne Glacier, and, in the misty weather they were experiencing, it +was difficult to get back on to the smooth ice again. Over a fortnight +was spent in getting beyond this rough ground, and at length, on the +weather clearing, they found that straight ahead of them a range of +hills showed along the horizon above the ice-cap. The appearance of the +hills directly in their path decided them to turn their course from due +east to south-east, and they were soon able to make out the line of a +deep channel running from the north-east to the south-west. + +On July 1, after fifty-seven days of travel, they came to the limits of +the ice-cap and stood, silent and amazed, looking down from the summit +of the snow desert across a wide open plain covered with vegetation, +with here and there a snow drift showing white, and with herds of musk +oxen contentedly grazing over it. Such a discovery was absolutely so +unexpected that at first they could scarcely believe their eyes. There +was no sign of any human habitation on the land, and for all that could +be learned to the contrary, they were the first human beings who had +ever trodden upon that plain, on which the yellow Arctic poppies were +waving in bloom and over which the drone of the humble bee sounded, +though for hundreds of miles around it the accumulated snow of centuries +lay frozen into the great mysterious snow-cap and its glaciers. + +Having proved that they really were not dreaming, they shot a musk ox, +which they used for their own and their dogs' refreshment. Then they +stacked their stores and set out with reduced loads across the plain. +They walked for four days, exploring, surveying, and examining; and on +the fourth of July, the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence +by the United States, they stood on the summit of a magnificent range of +cliffs, 3500 feet high, overlooking a large bay, which, in honour of the +date, they named Independence Bay. + +The latitude was nearly 82° N., and Lieutenant Peary, writing of the +discovery, says: "It was almost impossible for us to believe that we +were standing on the northern shore of Greenland as we gazed from the +summit of this precipitous cliff with the most brilliant sunshine all +about us, with yellow poppies growing between the rocks around our feet +and a herd of musk oxen in the valley behind us. In that valley we had +also found the dandelion in bloom and had heard the heavy drone and seen +the bullet-like flight of the humble bee." + +For a week the two remained in this northern valley, surveying and +making observations and finding it difficult to believe that a distance +of 600 miles of frozen snow separated them from the nearest living +people. Not a vestige of a human habitation was found, and nothing to +show that man had ever been there before. At the end of the week, with a +good supply of fresh meat from the musk oxen and a collection of +specimens of plants and insects packed on the sledges, the return +journey was commenced. Both dogs and men were invigorated by the rest +they had had, and they were able to travel homewards at the rate of +thirty miles a day over the smooth surface of the ice-cap. + +They carefully adhered to a recognised routine of work. When they had +travelled the regulation number of hours they halted for their rest. The +one whose turn it was to prepare the supper set to work to arrange what +they termed their kitchen, while the other attended to the dogs, feeding +them and removing them from their harness. The "kitchen" was constructed +by removing snow in blocks from a space eight feet long by three feet +wide by eighteen inches deep. The snow-blocks were built up along one +side and half another, so as to form an angle presented towards that +quarter from whence the wind was blowing. Over the top of this a canvas +was stretched, forming a well-sheltered nook, in which the spirit stove +was lighted and the meal prepared. For supper they had usually, half a +pound of pemmican (a preparation of finely chopped lean meat with +raisins and wheaten flour), one cup of preserved milk, tea, and +biscuits. The morning meal, or breakfast, consisted of pemmican, +biscuits, two ounces of butter, and two cups of tea, and after +travelling from four to six hours, they stopped for lunch, which +consisted of more pemmican and tea. + +As soon as supper was ready the two enjoyed it together, and very soon +afterwards they crept into their sleeping-bags, the one who was acting +as cook having also to keep an eye on the dogs, in order to prevent them +making attacks on the stores. To obviate this, after the first few days, +the dogs were usually tethered for the night. + +Occasionally, when the wind was favourable, sails were erected on the +sledges and the progress was then very easy and rapid; but when the wind +was from the opposite direction both dogs and men had an arduous task. +The return journey was accomplished with greater facility than the +outward trip, and on August 8, as they reached the top of one of the +dome-like formations near the coastal range, they saw, on the slope of +the next dome, a party of men approaching. The Kite had meantime +returned to Inglefield Gulf to take the expedition back to the United +States, and several of those who had come up in her set out to meet the +two explorers. By the time that the combined parties reached the shore, +every one was on board the _Kite_ waiting to welcome the two wanderers, +whose enterprise had terminated so successfully, not the least delighted +being Mrs. Peary, whose patience had been somewhat tried by the +persistent way in which the "huskies" had foretold disaster to her +husband. But all is well that ends well, and in his return, victorious, +the long lonely hours were forgotten. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +NANSEN AND THE _FRAM_ + + Nansen's Theories of Arctic Currents and Shipbuilding--His Theories + adopted--The _Fram_ built--A Start made--The Kara Sea reached--Good + Hunting--The Ice Current reached--Frozen in--A Raid by a Bear--Will + the _Fram_ stand the Pressure?--Preparing for Calamity--A + Conclusive Test--Causes of Ice Movements--Life on the + _Fram_--Nansen and Johansen leave the _Fram_--They reach their + "Farthest North"--Incidents of their Return Journey--Some Narrow + Escapes--The Meeting with Jackson--Arrival of the _Fram_. + + +In 1879 the _Jeannette_, an American yacht commanded by Lieutenant de +Long, of the United States Navy, was beset in the ice in latitude 71° +35' N. and longitude 175° 6' E. So firmly was she frozen that it was +found impossible to liberate her, and on June 12, 1881, she was so badly +crushed in a break up of the pack that she foundered. In the meantime +she had drifted with the ice to 77° 15' N. latitude and 154° 59' E. +longitude, a point to the north of the New Siberian Islands. In 1884 +articles undoubtedly belonging to members of her crew were found in +floating ice off the coast of Greenland. + +[Illustration: MAP OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS SHOWING ROUTE OF NANSEN AND THE +_FRAM_.] + +These facts caused a very great deal of discussion among Arctic +explorers, and the general opinion expressed was that a strong and +steady current evidently flowed along the course taken first by the +_Jeannette_, and secondly by the relics. To arrive at that conclusion +was not very difficult; to utilise the knowledge thus gained, and profit +by it, was the point, and only one man in the world was possessed of the +necessary amount of insight, backed up by intellect and courage, to +enable him to do so. This man was Fridtjof Nansen. + +As a student of Arctic phenomena, and as one who had crossed Greenland +from east to west, the existence of this current was full of suggestive +possibilities. It seemed to him that if a vessel were built of +sufficient strength to withstand the pressure of the winter ice, and +provisioned for a sufficiently long period, there was every chance of it +drifting along the entire course of the current, perhaps to within a +measurable distance of the Pole, and certainly well within that region +which had hitherto been unexplored. The area affected by the current +would have to be entered as near the outside edge as possible, so as to +participate in the full sweep of its curve, and, in order to avoid the +terrible crushing pressure of the winter ice, the vessel would have to +be so built as to enable it to slip upwards from the ice, when the +pressure became too severe, and rest always on the top. + +On the publication of these views, they were not supported by the Arctic +veterans. Some went so far as to characterise the whole scheme as being +unworthy of serious consideration, while others, less overbearingly +prejudiced, were aghast at the daring and audacity of the scheme. The +possibility of the drift passing over the route suggested by Nansen was +not gainsaid by those whose close knowledge of Arctic problems, and +desire for general information, made them more tolerant than the keen +opponents of the scheme--the latter, strangely enough, being men whose +own exploits had not been the most successful in Polar exploration. The +hero of the _Alert_ sledge journey admitted the feasibility of the drift +theory, but shook his head at the idea of any ship withstanding the +winter pressure of the great ice packs in the far North. A ship once +caught and frozen in became part of the ice itself, and when the +pressure crushed masses a hundred feet thick into minute fragments and +powder, what chance would a vessel, held in such a mass, have of +escaping? + +But Nansen was not to be discouraged. He had the true insight of genius, +that insight which gave him the confidence in his own idea and which +needed something more than verbal reasons to overthrow it. His idea also +recommended itself to a Norwegian shipbuilder, Mr. Colin Archer, who +expressed his readiness to construct such a vessel as Nansen had +described. The Norwegian Government also were impressed by the scheme +and voted over £11,000 towards the cost of carrying it out, and other +support being forthcoming, the intrepid explorer was at length able to +take definite steps to prove or disprove his contention. + +The building of the _Fram_ was at once commenced. She was built of wood +and of tremendous strength, her beams and sides being of the utmost +thickness, while on the outside of the hull not a single angle was +allowed to remain. Every projection was carefully rounded off and +smoothed, so that there should not be as much as half an inch protruding +and capable of affording the ice a holding place. Even the keel was +sacrificed to the general idea of avoiding possible holding places for +the ice. The lines of the ship were necessarily different from those of +the ordinary vessel. Her sides bulged outwards and the stern and stem +sloped away, so that whichever way the ice exerted the pressure, the +_Fram_ would present a smooth surface to the ice, inclined in such a way +that the tendency of the ice would be to get under it and so lift the +vessel up. This did not improve her qualities as a sea boat, and the way +in which she pitched, plunged, and rolled, whenever she came into a +moving sea, tried the seafaring capacities of every one on board. + +She was fitted with engines and a screw, and was rigged as a +three-masted fore-and-aft schooner. Electric light was laid on all over +her, the power being generated by a windmill when the engine was not +working. Every available crevice was utilised for the storing of coals +and provisions. + +By the middle of June 1893 the thirteen men who formed the expedition +had succeeded in finding a place for everything, though not without +some difficulty, for the quantity of the stores which had to be packed +was enormous. By a delay in delivery, just as they were congratulating +themselves that everything was stowed away, a shipment of dog biscuits +arrived. The ship was full already, but the biscuits had to be stored +somewhere, so one of the men wriggled right up into the bows, and +between the beams and the ribs he packed away the troublesome late +arrivals. Everything was at last on board and stored, and on June 24, +1893, the _Fram_ started on her memorable journey. + +Leaving North Cape, she headed for Kharbarova, on the Northern Siberian +coast, and the point where the team of Siberian sledge dogs were to be +taken on board. On July 29 she dropped anchor off the quaint little +settlement and found the dogs duly waiting. A ship with coal ought also +to have been there, but it did not arrive up to the time that the +_Fram_, having shipped the dogs, was compelled to leave. She would soon +be in the Kara Sea, where a year would have to be spent if she were +caught in the ice. The season was passing rapidly, and no time could be +lost if the Kara Sea were to be passed before winter set in, so the +anchor was weighed and the _Fram_ steamed away without her extra supply +of coal. + +On August 4 the Kara Sea was reached. The ice, although not heavy enough +to prevent further progress, with the adverse currents caused +considerable delays, and the crew utilised their enforced leisure by +visiting the neighbouring land and laying in a store of fresh meat. They +were successful in obtaining reindeer venison and ducks, and it was here +also that the first bear was killed. + +It happened on the Kjellman Islands. The _Fram_ had come to anchor under +their shelter, when some one raised the cry that there were reindeer on +the shore. Immediately a hunting party was formed, and eight of the +members rowed ashore. They separated into couples and spread out in +search of the deer, which, however, were extremely shy. Two of the +hunters, failing to get near the herd, decided to sit down and wait +until the other members succeeded in stalking round the deer and turning +them back. Suddenly one of the two, looking round towards the shore, +espied a bear coming towards them. They waited for him to come within +easy range, when they fired together, striking him in the right foreleg. +He turned back at once towards the shore, and another bullet in one of +his hind-legs did not stop him. Fearing that he might escape, one of the +two ran after him and managed to put a bullet in his shoulder, which +brought him to the ground. The bear staggered to his feet again, and in +turning towards his assailants presented his unwounded side to them, +with the result that another bullet was discharged into it, and he fell +to the ground unable to move; but to make certain that he was not +"foxing," yet another bullet was put into his head. + +The result of the day's shooting was excellent, the bag consisting of +bear, deer, seal, and duck, providing plenty of fresh meat for the +members of the expedition, as well as a good supply of food for the +dogs. Within a few days they were able to add to the larder by killing +some walrus, a feat which was not achieved without some danger and loss. + +The _Fram_ had come to anchor in consequence of the ice lying rather +thickly ahead, when a group of walrus was seen on a floating mass of +ice. A boat was immediately lowered, and with one man armed with a +harpoon in the bows, and Nansen armed with a rifle in the stern, it was +cautiously rowed towards the listless walrus. They did not show any sign +of life until the boat was close upon them, when the sentinel raised his +head and looked towards the boat. When a number are basking, one is +always on duty as a sentinel to give the alarm and warn the others of +approaching danger. Directly those in the boat saw which was the +sentinel, they kept a close watch upon him, remaining as still as +possible when he raised his head and only urging the boat forward gently +when he resumed his former lazy attitude. By very careful manoeuvring +they were able to creep close up to the ice. The sentinel again raised +his head and looked at them, but as no one moved he seemed to be +satisfied and lowered his head once more. + +A sharp stroke of the oars drove the boat right on to the ice, and the +man with the harpoon let drive at the group. Due, perhaps, to the +movement of the boat, his aim was too high, and instead of plunging into +the great body of the nearest monster, the harpoon glanced off his back +and over the backs of the others. They were roused at once and turned +upon the boat, bellowing loudly. Nansen fired upon the leader, a bull +with tremendous tusks, and he fell over, but the others did not stop. +The boat was pushed off, and at the same moment Nansen shot a second +bull. The remainder of the herd plunged into the water from off the ice +and swam after the boat, rising up alongside it and attempting to drag +it down with their huge tusks. For a time the fight was furious, but the +three men were too strong, and those of the walrus that were not killed +made off under water. The two shot on the ice were secured, but those +shot in the water sank before they could be reached. + +As the men were getting the two from the ice into the boat, an +unfortunate lurch jerked the rifle Nansen had been using overboard. It +was a favourite weapon which he was very loth to lose, and for hours +efforts were made to drag it up, but without success. It was hopelessly +lost, and the first brush with the walrus thus became memorable. A year +or two later there was another adventure with them which was even more +memorable, but many were to be slain by the explorers in the meantime, +and many miles were to be covered before that adventure came to pass. + +On September 10 the _Fram_ had made her way through the ice-encumbered +sea as far as Cape Chelyuskin, the most northerly point of Europe. There +was great rejoicing on board, for the fact that such a point had been +reached meant that they would be in the region of the current before +winter set in, and that, when the _Fram_ became frozen in, it would be +in the ice affected by the drift. A week later, the course was altered, +and the _Fram_ was headed for the North. The ice became heavier and +closer as she advanced towards the limit of the ice-floes, and as the +sun was sinking nearer and nearer the horizon, the cold became more +intense at every mile. As long as there was open water ahead the +energetic crew kept working their vessel so as to get her as high up as +possible into the area affected by the current; but when they had passed +the line which marks the limit of the floes, they soon found that +further navigation was impossible. The _Fram_ was soon fast in the ice +and, with winter upon them, the crew made themselves and the ship as +comfortable as they could. + +The builder of the _Fram_ had given attention not alone to the exterior +of the vessel; he had also made the internal arrangements as complete as +possible for the comfort of the explorers during the prolonged period +they were to remain in the ice. Now that they were in the pack, they +realised how well their comfort had been considered. For the matter of +that, they had always found their quarters cosy, even when the _Fram_ +displayed her capabilities of rolling and tossing. The main cabin, in +which they lived, was always warm, and the passage-ways leading from it +to the outside were so skilfully arranged that those on board did not +experience the distressing moisture which was so troublesome on the +_Alert_ and _Discovery_. The electric light as a substitute for lamps +was also an admirable innovation, for the interior of the cabin was +always brightly lit without the air becoming heavy, as would have been +the case with exposed lamps. A great deal of thought had also been given +to ventilation, with the result that the cabins were never close. + +Over the deck a large screen was erected, tent shape, and above it there +was reared the windmill which drove the electric motor and generated the +electricity for the lights. As the ship was to remain in the ice until +it drifted out again, everything was made snug for a long stay. On the +ice alongside various observatories were erected and scientific +instruments placed to make complete records, and later, a row of +comfortable kennels was made for the accommodation of the dogs. + +These animals at first had been somewhat troublesome. They were so +savage that it was necessary to keep them all tied up on deck, and +during the voyage along the coast they were frequently wet and +miserable, and incessantly howling. Once, rope muzzles were made, and +when each dog was fitted they were allowed loose; but an Arctic dog +requires something stronger than a rope to keep its jaws closed when let +loose among a lot of other Arctic dogs. The result of the experiment was +not a success, except from a dog-fight point of view; when at length the +struggling, snarling, snapping pack were separated, they were tied up +again to the deck until the ship was fast in the ice. + +By that time they were somewhat reconciled to one another; when they had +been allowed to have a scamper or two, with plenty of opportunity to +find out who were the kings and who were not, they settled down into a +big happy family, even making common cause when a stray bear came on +board later in the winter. + +This happened at a time when every one was below in the cabin. Each man +took it in turn to look round the deck every now and again. The man +whose watch it was had not long returned to the cabin when a tremendous +hubbub started among the dogs. The watch returned on deck with a lamp, +but failed to see any cause for the disturbance, and attributed it to a +new election of a king or some other canine ceremony. Later it broke out +once more, and a further inspection was made, when it was discovered +that two dogs were missing. + +The man on watch, carrying his lantern, and accompanied by another +member of the crew, set out over the ice, following what appeared to be +a track in the snow. They had not proceeded far when they found +themselves face to face with a bear. It was difficult to say which was +the more surprised, the bear or the men; but as the latter had no weapon +with them they decided that a return to the ship was the best course to +pursue. They turned and started at a run, the man with the lantern, +having heavier boots on, being the slower of the two. More than that, he +was not so agile as his companion, and stumbled frequently. Once he went +down full length, and when he regained his feet he was astounded to see +in the dim twilight, and between himself and the ship, the form of the +bear. + +For a moment they stood looking at one another, the dogs at a +respectable distance baying and howling. Then the bear advanced and made +a snap at the man, nipping him in the thigh. The lantern was not a very +heavy one, but it was all the man had with which to defend himself, and, +swinging it round with all his strength, he brought it down on the +bear's head. It made him let go his hold, and a few of the dogs rushing +nearer to him caused him to turn towards them, thus giving the man a +chance to resume his flight, which he immediately did. + +By the time he was able to scramble up on to the vessel he found half of +the crew tumbling out of the cabin with rifles. They ranged themselves +along the side of the ship, and taking a steady aim at the bear, which +could be dimly seen in the twilight, all pulled their triggers. They had +forgotten, in the hurry of the moment, how well the firearms had been +greased to prevent them rusting, and so the volley failed to fire a +single shot. Meanwhile the dogs surrounded the bear, snarling and +barking, but not going near enough to bite or get bitten. He looked +wisely round the ring and then started off at a slouching walk, just as +Nansen reached the deck with his rifle. His weapon did not misfire, and +a bullet checked the bear's flight, and, some of the other guns now +being effective, several more were put into him and laid him low. +Subsequent search revealed the remains of the two dogs a little distance +away from the _Fram_, whither they had been dragged by the bear. + +[Illustration: THE _FRAM_ IN THE ICE. + +"The _Fram_ was in 78° 50' N. latitude when she was first frozen in" for +the beginning of the great drift.] + +The _Fram_ was in 78° 50' N. latitude when she was first frozen in, and +the observations for the next few days were watched with a good deal of +interest, as every one was anxious to know whether they were in the +drift, and at what rate they were travelling. A very great surprise was +therefore experienced when it became known that instead of travelling, +as they expected they would, in a north-westerly direction, they were +going south-east. For several days they speculated whether they had +misjudged the place where they would meet the north drift, and had, +instead, become fast in ice which would carry them away, rather than +towards their goal. It was a very unpleasant uncertainty, and when the +discovery was made that the direction had changed and the vessel was +slowly but surely drifting northward, there was general rejoicing on +board. The ice around the _Fram_ was now over thirty feet in thickness, +and, as it was constantly moving in the drift, so was it also subject to +the pressure which made it heave and pile itself in great rugged broken +masses. There was a constant creaking and groaning in the vast pack +which made it evident that the pressure had begun. Throughout the winter +it would continue, getting more and more severe as the cold became more +intense. Would the _Fram_ justify her designer and builder under the +trial? + +It was a very anxious question for those on board. One authority had +said she would become so securely frozen in as to be, to all intents and +purposes, a part of the ice body, and that then, if the ice immediately +in her vicinity began to move and work, nothing could save her from +being crushed into matchwood by the enormous pressure. Well, she was now +frozen into such a mass, and frozen so firmly that she did not budge an +inch when the groaning and creaking told of the straining that was going +on. The surface of the ice, as far as the explorers could see, was +constantly undergoing a change, as the force of the movement pressed +great blocks up in one place, and ground them away in another. Jagged, +rugged masses reared themselves up before the irresistible power, until +they stood forty and fifty feet high. Sometimes they were forced up so +high that they overbalanced and crashed down upon the lower masses with +the roar and rattle of thunder. And yet the _Fram_ never moved. + +Was the expert opinion going to be verified? Would the ship, held by the +grip of the pack, be slowly crushed into fragments directly she was +caught in the line of movement? It was evidently not impossible, and +precautions were taken so as to insure escape if she were to be caught +and crushed. All the boats were taken out on to the ice and filled with +provisions; the dogs were put in kennels also on the ice where they +would be free to escape, and every one was constantly on the alert for +the first sign of the "nip." + +At last it came. They were all at meals when the increased uproar of the +moving ice told them that the movement was nearing the vessel. Then, for +the first time, they heard the ominous sounds of creaking timber. The +_Fram_ was being "nipped." + +Every one hurried out of the cabin to see to the boats and the dogs and +the stores. When they reached the open they found that, close upon her +port side, the ice was heaving and piling up into a great massive wall, +while all around the noise of the fracturing and cracking of huge blocks +was deafening. Slowly the wall rose in the air higher than the vessel's +deck, higher than the bulwarks, and then it began steadily to glide +towards her. For the moment it seemed that nothing could save her, and +that the stupendous weight of the gliding wall would soon grind her +solid timbers into splinters, while part of it crashed over her decks +and swept spars and everything away. + +Silent the members of the crew stood on the ice on the starboard side +watching and expecting every second to see the moving mass creep up to +her and pulverise the bold little _Fram_, rendering them homeless and +shipless. Some of the crushed ice, pushed forward in a huge roll like a +frozen billow, was actually against her side and rising over the tent +covering on the deck. The line of pressure had now reached exactly where +she lay in the ice, and if she did not yield to it and slip from the +grip that held her, she was doomed. + +There was a sound of rending; a groaning crash; the _Fram_ shivered till +the breathless watchers thought they saw her spars tremble. Then, with a +mighty wrench, she broke from the bonds that held her, and slowly rose +from her nest in the ice, slipping upwards and away from the crushing +force. A cheer burst from the lips of every one as she moved, for it +meant not only the realisation of the hopes and ideals of those +concerned in her construction and the complete vindication of their +faith in her, but also the guarantee that the explorers were safely and +securely housed, whatever might transpire. + +When the movement in the ice had subsided, it was found that the _Fram_ +had slipped out of harm's way in a marvellous manner. So firmly had she +been frozen in that the spot from whence she had been driven contained a +complete mould of her shape, every seam and mark being reproduced in the +ice. This proved that the test had not only been a severe one, but +conclusive as well, since the vessel had really been frozen so solid +into a mass of ice as to be a part of the mass. Her escape was an +overwhelming disproof of the adverse theories expressed against her, and +an entire victory for Nansen. There was now no question in any one's +mind as to the result of the expedition; the _Fram_, having stood one +test, would stand any, and nothing could stop her emerging in due course +out on to the open sea again, having drifted very near to the Pole, if +not quite up to it. + +With a feeling of absolute security against further pressures and +movements, the crew returned on board, and once more the cabin echoed to +the light-hearted laughter which had been interrupted by the "nip." The +hardy Norsemen who formed the party were as happy as they were brave, +and throughout the years they were together there was nothing but +good-humour and merriment among them. After the preliminary experience +of how the _Fram_ conducted herself during a "nip," little attention was +paid to the ceaseless noise and roaring set up by the moving ice. Often +she was forced up out of the line of movement, but the men in her cabin +sat quiet; she was able to "sail herself" without any help on that +ice-locked sea. + +The existence of this constant movement of the ice formed a very +important discovery in Arctic knowledge. A brief explanation of the +causes and the effects may make this clear, and, at the same time, show +how it is that such huge mountains of ice are formed in the depth of +winter when the Polar Sea was currently supposed to be frozen into one +great silent moveless ice-field. + +As winter sets in within the Arctic Circle, the sea which flows between +the northern coasts of Europe, Asia, and America becomes covered with +ice to the shores, thus forming an enormous field of ice some two +thousand miles across. This, lying on the surface of the water, often +having a thickness of from thirty to fifty feet, checks, but cannot +control the tides. The ebb, on one hand, leaves vast tracks of ice, +previously afloat, straining on the ground, cracking so as to form +enormous fissures and weakening the surface resistance. On the other +hand, the flood tide is welling and pressing against the overlying +barrier of ice and lifting it up until it cracks and opens, the pressure +underneath lifting the separated masses on to their neighbours, which in +turn resist with all their weight and grind back upon the masses beyond, +until with the turn of the tide the forced-up masses gravitate down +again, tumbling, crashing, bounding and rebounding one upon the other. +Meanwhile the ice lowered by the ebb tide has formed a restricted crust +against which the flood tide, backed up by the weight of the disturbed +masses, uses its energy as a man uses his shoulder to lift a load. It is +a battle between the resistance and the energy of nature, and usually +energy wins along the line of the least resistance. Here, when once a +point gives way, the accumulated energy concentrates. The "point" may be +an area of ice a hundred miles square and fifty feet thick, and this +tremendous mass, moved by the immeasurable force of the water pressure +beneath it, grinds upon its surroundings and upon itself. Huge masses +are pushed up on to the surface of the pack, crushing, grinding, and +splintering as they go, their weight causing the under ice to bend and +crack, and so add to the confusion of the struggle. Mass meets mass in a +test of strength, and, failing to climb over one another, crush +together, closer and higher, until there is a diminution of the pressure +from below and they surge back, shattering themselves in the commotion +and yet binding themselves into a single unit strong enough to resist +the next onslaught of the tidal energy. + +Along the shores, where the solid compactness of beetling cliffs holds +back the sweep of the tide, the ice piles itself in mountainous ridges +and chains. Those of greater bulk, taking the ground, offer a resistance +against which the lesser masses can only strain and grind; but away out +in the unfathomable depths of the Polar Sea there is no chance of the +ice ever grounding. It is always floating, and so always susceptible to +the force of wind, tide, and current. Consequently it is always moving +and feeling the pressure of the water below, of the grinding strain of +the drift, and of the surface disturbances brought about by the constant +displacement. + +Any one who has seen a pond in winter, when the ice round the edge is +rotten and when a breeze blows across it, is aware how the loose sheet +which covers the centre creaks and groans as it is driven against the +bank. The edge is shivered into small flakes before the resistance can +stop the forward movement, and then the sheet moves back against the +breeze until once more the power of the wind controls it, and there is a +renewed straining along the bank, the previously broken flakes either +being forced up on to the bank, or else under, or over, the edge of the +sheet. Pieces a yard square slowly rise up on end before the pressure +and, falling back, shiver into fragments which scurry across the smooth +surface of the sheet until they are arrested and become frozen to the +main surface. Everywhere when the forward movement is on there is noise +of creaking, groaning, and cracking, and everywhere on the ice sheet +there is evidence of the force exerted. + +The Arctic Ocean may be likened to such a pond, only two thousand miles +across and with ice upon its surface which never melts and is always +being forced one way or the other by tide, wind, or current. The rugged, +piled-up fragments of one winter's fight are smoothed over somewhat +later on by the heavy snows of spring and summer, or, more correctly +speaking, of the period of daylight, for in this region the year is +divided between the time when the sun is seen and when the sun is not +seen. Along the shores of the continents which surround it, open water +forms in the time of sunshine, and so there is room for the energy of +the tides to escape. The currents can also, from time to time, break off +great areas into floes and packs which drift away to the warmer South +until they melt, leaving more room for the enormous stretch of tumbled +ruggedness behind them to swing and drift in obedience to the driving +currents. It will be remembered that it was at this period of the year +when the _Alert_ party travelled over the ice and found it so broken and +rugged that barely a mile a day was covered. It was while this sort of +ice was being formed that the _Fram_ and her crew rested in the North, +the vessel braving every nip by slipping upwards from the pressure; the +crew, confident in her capabilities, living in merry good-humour in her +cabin. What the confusion of the ice was like may be gathered from the +opinion of those who saw it when the return of the sun enabled them to +do so, and also relieved the pressure. "Imagine a stormy sea, all broken +waves and flying billows, suddenly frozen solid into ice, and you have +some idea, on a small scale, of the piled-up hummocks on the pack." + +And so the first winter passed, the members of the expedition keeping +not alone in good temper and spirits, but in good health also. There was +always something doing; observations of temperature and ice movements to +be taken, and records to be kept of the atmospheric and astronomical +phenomena, on the scientific side; and on the every-day side of life, +there were meals to get ready, stores to be overhauled and distributed, +dogs to be fed, and a dozen other items to attend to. One of the +happiest features of this expedition was the sincere and thorough +good-fellowship which existed between all the members. Some of them took +turn about in the cook's galley, each one trying to produce some dish +which would come as a surprise to the mess and a variety to the usual +bill of fare. Then they were excellently supplied with books to read and +indoor games to fill in the odd hours of leisure. A newspaper was +started, and although it was somewhat deficient in foreign news, there +was plenty of local intelligence to keep it going until the return of +the sun. Inside the cabin there was constantly heard the hearty laugh as +some jest passed round, and under the illumination of the electric light +and the spell of good-fellowship, but little heed was paid to the +constant noise made outside in the darkness of the Arctic night by the +ever-moving ice. + +When the sun's approach was heralded by a gradually increasing twilight, +every one was full of curiosity to learn how far they had drifted in +the ice during the winter, and whether the current had maintained its +northerly direction. There was no chance of proving that during the long +hours of darkness, and when, with the appearance of the sun above the +horizon, observations were taken to verify calculations already made, +with the result that a great advance to the North was shown, there was +general rejoicing. If the direction were maintained during the coming +summer and the following winter, it was not impossible that in a year's +time the _Fram_ might be drifting over the very Pole itself. The flag of +Norway was run up to the masthead in honour of the occasion, and at the +supper-table speeches were made foreshadowing the glory which would be +won if the direction of the current were maintained. + +With the return of sunlight a great deal had to be done in the +verification of the observations taken during the winter. As the weather +became warmer it was possible to penetrate through the ice so as to +enable them to take soundings as to the depth of the sea. Photographs of +the ice-field were taken, so as to form companion pictures of what it +was before and after the winter pressure had been exerted, and short +expeditions by dog-sledge and snow-shoes (_ski_, as the Norwegian form +is termed) were taken. A bear track was seen one day, but as Bruin did +not seem desirous of approaching the ship, Captain Sverdrup, who +commanded the vessel, set to work and devised a highly ingenious trap +for him. The trap was fixed up on a hummock in the vicinity, where it +could be watched from the _Fram_, but where it would be quiet enough to +tempt the bear. A strong-smelling bait was fastened to it, so that when +the bear seized the bait he would spring the jaws of the trap and get +caught round the neck. Then, when all was ready, a constant watch was +kept for Bruin to appear. He came when every one was about the ship, and +as he was seen slouching over the hummocks, all eyes were turned upon +him. Scenting the bait, he quickened his steps and went up to the trap, +holding his head high up and sniffing for the bait. Having caught sight +of it, he walked slowly round the trap until he came opposite the bait +again, when he slowly rose on to his hind-legs and reached out for the +morsel. Every one on board held their breath in anticipation of seeing +him caught, but there was something about the concern which aroused his +suspicions. Probably he had never seen such an animal before and doubted +its quality, for he drew his head back, lowered himself on to all-fours, +and slowly trotted away. The bear-trap was no success for killing bears, +but it afforded excellent entertainment during this occasion, and formed +a never-failing source of good-natured chaff afterwards. + +As the short summer passed, the drift turned persistently to the west, +and in view of its continuing in that direction, preparations were made +for a dash by sledge to the North in the following period of sunlight. +The framework of two kayaks were on board, and these were brought out +and put together on the ice alongside the vessel. When they were covered +with skins, they were packed on two light sledges, and experiments were +made as to the amount of provisions that could be stored on the sledges +in addition. With a third sledge for stores, it was found that +twenty-eight dogs would be able to drag enough food to last two men for +one hundred days and the dogs thirty days, besides the kayaks, guns, +ammunition, and other necessaries. + +It was a critical venture to undertake, for once the sledge party left +the ship and journeyed to the North, it was almost an absolute +impossibility that they would be able to find the ship again. All they +would be able to do was to go as far as they could and then turn back +again, shaping their course to the Spitzbergen Islands, where it was +anticipated the _Fram_ would eventually drift. Whether they would be +able to traverse the distance before their food gave out, and whether +they would be able to replenish their provisions by shooting game, were +two very important problems, and, in addition, there was also the +question how they would be able to withstand the intense cold of the +winter if compelled to spend it on the ice. + +As the darkness set in again, the discussion frequently turned to the +prospects of the dash being successful. Nansen decided that he should +be one of the two, selecting Lieutenant Hjalmar Johansen, of the +Norwegian Navy, as his companion. Lieutenant Johansen had joined the +expedition as stoker, subsequently acting as the meteorological +assistant, and his choice by the leader was amply justified by results. +The winter having passed without mishap, the reappearance of the sun +verified the fears as to the direction of the drift. All through the +winter they had travelled more to the West than the North. The dash by +sledge was imperative. + +On March 14, 1895, the two adventurers, with their three sledges, two +kayaks, and twenty-eight dogs, bade adieu to their comrades, who had +come out a part of the way with them from the _Fram_, and started due +north along the 100th parallel of East longitude. The _Fram_ had already +drifted to the 84th parallel of latitude, farther North than had yet +been attained. + +[Illustration: NANSEN AND JOHANSEN START ON THEIR DASH FOR THE POLE. + +On March 14, 1895, they left the _Fram_, and returned to Norway in the +_Windward_ on August 13, 1895, having reached 86° 14' N. lat., the +highest point, up to that time, attained by man.] + +For the first few days travelling was slow, heavy, and laborious, the +ice being excessively rough and rugged. Time after time the two men had +to haul the sledges, one after another, over the broken hummocks; but +always at the end of each period of travel when they formed their camp, +the Pole was nearer. On March 22 they reached 85° 10' N. lat. The ice +they were journeying over now was not only rough but was constantly +moving, the noise being incessant as the masses ground and strained +against one another. But still they pushed on, taking such rest as they +could and working hard, when not in camp, from the moment they started +until the moment the camp was made. On April 7 they had reached 86° 14' +N. lat., the highest point ever, up to that time, attained by man, and +only some two hundred miles from the Pole. + +The ice was indescribably rugged and broken, necessitating the lifting +of the sledges at almost every yard; the temperature averaged 40° below +zero; their clothes were frozen into hard suits of mail, and their +sleeping-bags were also frozen stiff. They had to sleep in the frozen +bags out in the open, the temperature once being as low as 49° below +zero. They had reached the "farthest North," and had learned enough to +satisfy them that up to the Pole there was nothing but a continuation of +the broken, rugged ice, straining and breaking under the pressure of the +drift, and they decided to turn back, making towards the nearest land +for winter quarters. + +This was Franz Josef Land, lying to the south-west of where they were, +and if they reached it in time to pass the winter on shore, they would +be able, they believed, to resume their journey to Spitzbergen in the +following summer. Arrived there, they did not anticipate any difficulty +in getting home on board a Norwegian whaler, if the _Fram_ had not +meantime arrived. + +They were now travelling in continual daylight, with a task before them +every hour of surmounting the steep sides of hummocks. For hours they +toiled on, making as much progress as they could between the camps. The +work they were performing was scarcely, one would think, likely to make +them forget when it was time to sleep. And yet there was an occasion +when for thirty-six hours they struggled on without a sleep. The food +for the dogs was daily growing scarcer, and they were anxious to get on +as far as possible before it was finished. When, therefore, they came +upon a stretch of fairly smooth ice, they made the most of it, and only +when they and their dogs were dead tired did they stop. It was their +custom to always wind up their watches when they crept into their +sleeping-bag; on this occasion when they took them from under their +heavy clothing they discovered that both had stopped. In their anxiety +to push forward they had forgotten to wind them up, and the springs had +run down during the thirty-six hours. There was nothing to do but guess +at what the time ought to be, and so they overcame this difficulty as +they overcame all others, by making the best of it. + +Their next trouble was the failure of the dog food. When the first dog +died they kept him, for unless they fell in with a bear and killed it, +the bodies of the weaker dogs was all that they could give the stronger +ones to keep them alive. At first the dogs turned away from the remains +of their comrade, but soon their hunger overcame their scruples, and the +ravenous creatures fought over the carcase as soon as it was offered to +them. Then came the necessity of killing one of them every now and again +to feed the others; much as it went against their natures to do it, the +explorers had to choose between it and death to themselves. + +By the end of April they expected to reach land, but April passed and +May passed, and still only the rugged ice was in view. One by one the +dogs had to be sacrificed until only two remained. The weight of the +sledges was also very considerably reduced by this time. The third +sledge had been abandoned, and now each man, assisted by one dog, +dragged a sledge on which rested his kayak, his _ski_, firearms, and +other necessaries, as well as a moiety of the remaining stores. June +came in and still no land was in sight, but the character of the ice was +changing, though not very much for the better. It was not so rugged and +hummocky, but it was frequently intersected by channels mostly full of +floating pieces. It was useless taking to the kayaks to cross them, and +often impossible to go round, so they adopted the method of jumping from +piece to piece, and drawing their sledges after them. On June 22 they +came upon a seal, which they succeeded in shooting and securing, a fact +which was so memorable that they rested for a day, giving the dogs an +ample supply of the meat. But the rest was scarcely idleness, for they +were visited by three bears, all of which also fell under bullets. They +now had abundance of food, both for themselves and the dogs, to last a +few weeks if they did not come in sight of the land. Two days later, +however, they saw it, lying ahead of them, and they pushed on till a +wide, open channel stopped them. + +It was evident that the kayaks would have to be used in getting across, +and they were taken from the sledges and examined. The result of the +rough handling they had undergone in the journey over the ice was +manifest in many a crack and hole in the skin-covering, but how to +repair them was a question which taxed even the ingenuity and enterprise +of the two intrepid Norsemen. They had enough skins to make patches, and +twine with which to stitch them on. It was the making of some waterproof +coating for the stitch-holes that puzzled them. They possessed a little +train-oil, and by fixing up an arrangement over their spirit cooking +stove, they obtained a little soot, which was mixed with the oil and +used as paint. It was not a very artistic compound, but it was the best +they could make, and it kept the water out. Then the kayaks were +carefully fastened together by the _ski_, and upon them was laid the +sledges and the stores. + +When everything had been made fast, the explorers prepared to launch +them. Johansen was behind Nansen, and stooping down, when he heard +something moving at his back. Thinking it was only one of the dogs, he +did not look round, and the next thing he knew was that something hit +him beside the head, so that, in his own words, "he saw fireworks." He +fell forward, and immediately felt a heavy body upon him. He managed to +turn partly round, and saw just above his face the head of a huge bear. + +Nansen, ignorant of what had occurred, was bending over his end of the +kayak, when he heard Johansen exclaim, "Get a gun." Glancing round, he +saw his comrade lying under the bear, gripping its throat with both +hands. + +With everything securely tied to the kayaks, it was no easy matter to +extricate the weapon, and Nansen was pulling and tugging at the cords to +get them loose, so as to drag the rifle from its place, when he heard +Johansen say, "You will have to hurry if you don't want to be too late." + +The two dogs, all that were left of the twenty-eight, were standing +snarling at the bear, and as Johansen spoke the one which always +travelled with him approached nearer. The bear, having his attention for +the moment distracted, stepped off Johansen, who immediately wriggled +away and scrambled to his feet. Just as the bear turned on to the dog, +Nansen wrenched a gun from the piled-up stores. Swinging round, he found +the bear close beside him, and he pulled the first trigger he touched. +It fired the barrel loaded with shot, but so near was the bear that the +charge entered behind the ear without having time to scatter, and +brought him down dead between Nansen and Johansen. + +The former was terribly afraid that his companion had been seriously +injured, but the only mark the bear had left was a streak across the +face where the dirt had been scraped away. As they had not washed their +faces since they left the _Fram_, there was a thick covering of dirt on +them, and the bear's claw, as it passed over Johansen's face, had +scraped this away, leaving the white skin to show through. The bear was +a mother, and had two cubs following it. The explorers took away the +skin and some of the meat, the cubs meanwhile standing some distance +away whining and growling. A shot was fired which wounded one, whereupon +they made off, though only to return and follow the travellers in the +distance, until a wide, long channel turned them back. + +When the stores had been repacked, the two men, with the two dogs, +entered the kayaks and paddled away down the channel, landing some hours +later on the other side. The land they had first seen appeared to be the +outlying point of an island, but growing mists obscured it for a day or +so, and in the meantime they were somewhat puzzled to locate it. The +fact that their watches had stopped earlier on the journey made them +uncertain as to the exact locality they were in. The direction in which +they had noticed the land, and its appearance, also puzzled them, for +there was no land marked on their map at the place where they believed +they were. Possibly they might be near a hitherto undiscovered island, +and with that thought uppermost in their minds they hastened forward as +quickly as the broken character of the ice would allow. For the +remainder of June, and the whole of July, they were battling against +broken ice and irregular channels, and the distance covered was as +nothing compared with the amount of toil experienced. The land, whenever +it appeared, was still unlike anything previously recorded, for it now +seemed to be of considerable extent. + +On August 6 they came upon a stretch of open water, on the other side of +which they saw four islands, the heights of which were covered with +glacier. They determined that they would winter on the shore of one of +the four, and the kayaks were launched and laden with everything for the +journey across the open water. It was more perilous than merely crossing +channels in the ice, and when they had stored all their provisions, +weapons, and other necessaries on the two frail little craft, they found +that it would not be safe to carry the dogs as well. But they could not +bring themselves to leave the faithful creatures on the ice; they +elected rather to shoot them, scanty as their supply of ammunition was, +and upon this decision they acted, each one shooting the dog which had +been the other's comrade. It was the saddest task that their +difficulties had imposed upon them, and only the absolute necessity for +their safety and the completion of their journey induced them to do it. + +Sailing down the open water, they skirted along the coast of the strange +land, on the lookout for a favourable spot to pitch their camp. As soon +as they came to a place which recommended itself to them, they ran +ashore and landed their kayaks and stores. The place was merely a +barren, rocky coast, sheltered somewhat by the high ground behind, but +without a trace of vegetation. On the beach one piece of drift-wood was +found. In addition, there were plenty of small boulders, but such +material was scarcely sufficient for the building of a hut in which to +pass the dreary, cold, dark winter. + +They overhauled their stores, and found they possessed two guns, some +cartridges, a small hatchet, and two knives. With the hatchet, after +considerable labour, they cut through the piece of drift-wood, and +rejoiced in the possession of a suitable ridge-pole for the centre of +the roof. Stones were collected and built into a low wall, within which +all their property, except the guns, kayaks, and knives, was placed. +Then, with the unstored articles, they set out along the coast and the +floating ice to seek the wherewithal to complete the house. + +Walrus was the first essential, for the hide would afford a covering +for the roof, the blubber would furnish fuel for the stove, and the meat +would be useful as food. They spied two lying at the edge of a piece of +ice, and approaching with the utmost caution, succeeded in shooting +both. Their weight, however, as they fell over, caused them to slide +from the ice, and they were in the water before the men could reach +them. They secured the carcases, so as to prevent them from either +sinking or drifting away, and essayed to haul them up on to the ice +again so as to remove the hides and blubber. But the combined strength +of the two men was insufficient to pull one of the huge carcases up on +to the ice again, and they were compelled to strip the skin and blubber +off as the walrus lay in the water. This necessitated their lying upon +the floating carcases, and by the time the operation was completed, +their already travel-stained clothing was rendered still more +uncomfortable by being saturated with blood and fat. + +Returning to the camp with their walrus hides and blubber, they explored +the ridge lying behind the spot, and were fortunate in finding some +moss, which they carefully gathered and carried away to assist in the +building of the hut. The walls they had made of the stones allowed for +an internal space of about ten feet long by not quite six feet wide. The +crevices between the stones they filled in with moss and gravel, and +then stretching the walrus hides over the ridge-pole, they weighted +them down with more stones. Over all of it they heaped snow and ice, and +in order to avoid suffocation by the smoke of their blubber cooking +stove, they constructed an ice-chimney, which, however, did not always +carry off the smoke, while it frequently thawed at the base, and made +the interior very draughty. Their guns, _ski_, and other articles and +stores, they placed inside the hut, leaving the kayaks outside; and when +everything was stored conveniently, they built a wall as a screen to +keep the wind from out of the door, and hung a curtain of skins across +the doorway. The floor of the hut was composed of stones which no +ingenuity of theirs could render smooth or even, and upon it their +sleeping-bag, the fur of which was almost worn entirely away, was +stretched. + +As soon as the hut was finished the two set out on foot in search of +bears for winter provisions, and were happy in finding sufficient to +enable them to fill their larder with enough meat to last them well into +the following summer. This they stored on the top of the hut, and during +the long winter night they often heard foxes over their heads gnawing at +the frozen mass. They had not enough cartridges to waste on shooting +them, and as there was more meat than they would want, they let the +foxes feed in peace. Bear's meat, fried at night and boiled in the +morning, was the only food they had; when the long dark night set in, +with the temperature inside the hut barely above freezing point, they +lay in their sleeping-bag side by side, generally for twenty-two hours +out of the twenty-four. The inside of the walrus-hide roof became +covered with frost and ice, upon which the black from the blubber-fed +stove settled; the stone floor was so uneven that they gave up trying to +make it smooth, and lay as comfortably as they could under the +circumstances, with their feet nearly touching one side of the hut and +their heads the other. From November until the following March they were +undisturbed, except by the sounds of the foxes on the roof and the +howling of the wind, and a picturesque glimpse is given by Nansen of +their life in his diary entry made on December 24, 1895, when the +temperature inside the hut was 11° below zero. + +"And this is Christmas Eve; cold and blowy out of doors, and cold and +draughty indoors. How desolate it is here! We have never had such a +Christmas before. The bells are now ringing in the Christmas festival at +home; I can hear the sound of them swinging out through the air from the +church towers. How beautiful it sounds! Now the candles are being lit on +the Christmas trees, and flocks of children are let in and dance round +in exuberant glee. Must have a Christmas party for children when I get +home. We, too, are keeping the festival in our little way. Johansen has +turned his shirt, and has put the outer one inside. I have done the +same, and have changed my drawers as well, and put on the others which I +had wrung out in warm water. And then I have washed myself in a quarter +of a cup of warm water, using the discarded drawers as sponge and towel. +I feel like a new being; my clothes do not stick to my body as much as +they did. Then for supper we had fish 'gratin,' made of potted fish and +Indian meal, with train-oil for butter--fried or boiled both equally +dry--and as sweets we had bread fried in train-oil. To-morrow morning we +are going to have chocolate and bread." + +Where a turned shirt and a bath in a tea-cup formed the physical +luxuries, and bread fried in train-oil and chocolate comprised the +feast, in celebration of Christmas Day, it is not difficult to picture +the amount of enjoyment available for every-day use, nor is it difficult +to understand that they sighed even for a railway time-table to peruse. +But yet they kept their health, their spirits, and their tempers. The +rough stones under their sleeping-bag seem to have been the only thing +they could not turn into a jest. When one snored too loudly to allow the +other to sleep, it was only necessary for the victim to move; they lay +so close together for warmth that a movement was equal to a dig in the +back, and that meant waking the snorer by changing his position on the +knobbly boulders from ease to discomfort. + +At length the approach of the sun became manifest by the gradually +brightening twilight, and the arrival of a flock of little auks reminded +them that spring was at hand. They celebrated the occasion by boiling +their clothes, one article at a time, in the only pot they possessed, +and then scraping the grease and dirt from them by the aid of a knife, +so as to render them soft enough for travelling, as it was beyond the +question to get them clean. The sooty smoke from the winter's cooking +had thoroughly begrimed their faces, and all they could do to get clean +was first to try and scrape the dirt off with the knife, and then rub +themselves all over with bear's grease and wipe it off with moss. + +By the middle of May the water along the shore was sufficiently open to +permit of their starting in the kayaks on the journey which they +expected would end at Spitzbergen. On May 19, 1896, they bade adieu to +their winter camp, having packed everything on the kayaks, which they +fastened together for convenience and stability. Sometimes they had to +get out on to the ice which blocked the channel and drag the kayaks over +to the open water on the other side; sometimes they sailed and sometimes +they paddled. They passed numbers of walrus lying on the ice, the great +monsters paying no heed to them whatever. Once they landed on a mass of +ice which rose high out of the water, in order to climb to the top of it +and examine the coast line, for they were still in very great doubt +whether they were off the shore of a hitherto undiscovered island or +not. + +They made the kayaks fast to a projecting piece of ice, and together +climbed up to the top of the hummocks. As they reached the summit they +looked back to the spot where they had left the kayaks, and were +horrified to see them adrift. Already they were some distance away from +the ice, and, being tied together, they were going rapidly down the +channel. For a moment the sight held the two men motionless, for the +kayaks represented their only means of escape. Everything beyond the +clothes in which they stood was stored on board, and to be left on the +ice without food, arms, or shelter, was almost certain death. + +There was only one desperate means of salvation, and that Nansen took. +Dashing down the hummock, he plunged into the ice-cold water and struck +out after the retreating kayaks. + +Weighted by his stiff, heavy, grease-sodden clothes, he had the utmost +difficulty in swimming at all; but there was a greater handicap even +than his clothes in the low temperature of the water. It struck through +him with a chill which reached to his bones, numbing his muscles, and +making his joints lose their suppleness. The breeze which was blowing +helped the kayaks along, but only increased his discomfort. Soon he felt +that the fight was only a matter of minutes for as the coldness numbed +him more and more, he realised that unless he overtook the kayaks +quickly he would go to the bottom like a stone. The cold penetrated to +his lungs, so that he gasped for breath; his hands and feet lost all +feeling, and his eyes were growing blurred as he nerved himself for a +final desperate struggle. Swimming as hard as his strength of will and +muscle could command, he succeeded in coming within touch of the light +drifting craft. The fact that the two were fastened together was of the +utmost importance under the circumstances, for had they been separate he +could never have clambered into one in his benumbed and exhausted +condition. As it was, he managed to get one arm over the _ski_ which +formed the coupling between the kayaks. His hands were too cold to grip +and he hung for a few seconds resting, till the growing chill in his +limbs warned him of the danger he was in of becoming frozen. With a +superb effort of determination, he raised himself until he was able to +lift a leg over the side of one of the kayaks, and then struggled on +board, where he lay for a minute or so trying to recover his breath. + +Still fearing the cold, he grasped a paddle and set to work vigorously +to force the kayaks back to the ice on which Johansen was standing. The +exertion caused his blood to circulate once more, and, by the time he +had reached the ice, the deadly chill was out of his frame. There were +no dry clothes to put on in place of his wet ones, and all that could be +done was to wring them out, and then, working hard to keep up his +circulation, wait till they dried on his back. + +In order to prevent another such occurrence, the kayaks were freed from +each other, Nansen occupying one with half the provisions and stores, +and Johansen the other. Two days after the break away they had reason to +be thankful they had made this arrangement. They were skirting along the +ice at the time, and suddenly came upon a herd of walrus. Instead of +quietly watching them go past, as was usually the case, a huge bull slid +off the ice with a roar, and swam rapidly towards Nansen's kayak. + +Diving as he came near to it, Nansen anticipated that he intended rising +immediately underneath it, and so capsizing it. He therefore paddled as +hard as he could, when the walrus rose by his side. It reared high out +of the water, towering over the kayak and its occupant, and only by the +quickest of manoeuvres was Nansen able to avoid having it fall upon him. +Baulked in that attempt, the walrus swam alongside and, plunging its +tusks through the frail covering of the kayak, strove to upset it with +its flipper. + +Nansen swung his paddle in the air, and bringing it down with all his +strength on the monster's head, caused it again to rear in the water. +Paddling furiously directly the brute's tusks were withdrawn, he +managed to elude it till it sank, when he made for the ice, reaching it +just in time, the water having almost swamped the kayak through the +holes the walrus had made with his tusks. + +When the damaged kayak was taken out of the water, the injury was found +to be more extensive than at first supposed. The two explorers +determined to stay where they were for a few days, so as to thoroughly +overhaul and repair their kayaks, and have a good rest before commencing +the difficult journey which was to be negotiated before they could +arrive at Spitzbergen. They made as comfortable a camp as they could on +the ice, and, after supper, got into the sleeping-bag and rested +peacefully. Nansen was first awake, and, having crept out of the bag, +set to work preparing breakfast. It was ready before Johansen was, and +not wishing to disturb his comrade, Nansen put on his _ski_ and set out +for a "constitutional" over the ice. He had not proceeded far when he +heard a sound which made his heart jump. It was the bark of a dog. + +Hurrying back, he told Johansen, and then set out in the direction +whence the sound had come, in search of, as he believed, a whaling ship. +He had not gone very far when he saw in the distance two moving specks. +There was evidently a whaler in the neighbourhood, he told himself, and +redoubled his efforts. As he approached the two specks they became +clearer, until he saw distinctly that one was a man and the other a +dog. + +The man noticed him and waved his hat, to which Nansen replied by waving +his; as they came nearer, he heard the man speak to his dog in English. + +"How do you do?" he said to Nansen when they met. + +"How do you do?" Nansen answered, as they shook hands. "Are you +wintering near here?" + +"Yes; our camp is over there. Won't you come across?" the other replied. +"I think we can find room for you, if you will." + +Nansen, never dreaming but that he was recognised, assented, although he +wondered why the man did not ask him about the _Fram_. Presently his +companion looked at him closely and said: "Are you Nansen?" + +"Of course I am," the explorer answered, and at once both his hands were +clasped in a hearty grasp as his companion quickly expressed his +congratulations. + +"I was not certain," he explained. "When I saw you in London you were a +fair man with light hair, but now your face and hair are black, and for +the moment I did not know you. My name is Jackson." + +[Illustration: THE MEETING OF JACKSON AND NANSEN. + +Nansen and Jackson returned to Norway in the _Windward_, the ship of the +Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition, on August 13, 1896.] + +Nansen had forgotten that his face and hair were still begrimed with the +dirt and grease of months of travel, and that his own family might have +been forgiven for not recognising in the unkempt, travel-stained, +long-haired man, the smart, well-set-up Norwegian doctor. Now, however, +that he was known, he listened with great interest to the information +that his companion, Mr. F. G. Jackson, leader of the Jackson-Harmsworth +expedition, was able to give him. When they reached the encampment of +the party on Cape Flora, every one turned out in answer to the leader's +call and gave the intrepid explorer a characteristic British greeting. +Then they photographed him, as he stood, before they took him into the +house and supplied him with the luxury he had not known for more than a +year--of a cake of soap and a change of clothes. + +While he was enjoying his bath, his hosts exchanged opinions. The fact +that he had arrived on foot and alone suggested to them the idea that he +was the only survivor of the thirteen who had set out in the _Fram_, and +they decided to make no reference to what might be a very unhappy +memory. Consequently, when Nansen reappeared, clean and comfortably +clad, they had a meal ready for him, and urged him to set to at once. He +looked at them and asked where his comrade Johansen was. Had they not +brought him in? Of course they knew nothing about Johansen; they +believed Nansen was the only survivor, and he had been so long out of +the world that it had never occurred to him it was necessary to tell +them Johansen was waiting for him to return to breakfast. When two men +see no one else but themselves for more than a year, it is not to be +wondered at that they forget the rest of the world is not in touch with +them. + +As soon as he mentioned the fact that Johansen was in the neighbourhood, +a party at once started off to fetch him, and the worthy lieutenant was +as much surprised as they had been when they came upon him. They at once +took charge of him and his belongings, and a few hours later he and +Nansen, well washed, well clad, and well fed, were smoking cigars in +comfortable chairs in the dining-room of the hospitable Jackson's +quarters, the heroes of the occasion. + +Three weeks later they were sailing south to Norway in the _Windward_, +and arrived at Vardo on August 13, 1896. A week later the _Fram_ entered +the same port, with all her crew in good health, and with nearly three +years' supplies still on board. + +The record of her voyage, after the departure of Nansen and Johansen on +March 14, 1895, was very satisfactory. She drifted steadily in the ice +towards the north-west until she touched as high as 85° 57' N. At the +end of February 1896 she became stationary, and remained so until the +middle of July, when the crew forced a passage through the ice into open +water, and from thence the _Fram_ sailed to Norway. The first news the +crew received on arrival at Vardo was that Nansen and Johansen had +reached there just a week before. They had had some misgivings as to +the safety of their two adventurous comrades, and the news of their +return cleared away the only sign of uneasiness from the otherwise happy +minds of the men who formed one of the most successful expeditions that +has ever set out in search of the North Pole. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +FRANZ JOSEF LAND AND SPITZBERGEN + + The Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition--Object of the Expedition--An + Interesting Experiment--The Franz Josef Land Question settled--A + Group of Islands, not a Continent--Conway at Spitzbergen--Ancient + History--Bygone Splendours--Scenery in the Making--The Romance of + Andrée--Another Riddle. + + +The interest and admiration aroused by the brilliant achievements of the +Nansen expedition eclipsed in the public mind, for the time being, the +work of other and contemporary expeditions, the members of which, +nevertheless, were doing admirable service to the cause of science in +and about the Arctic Circle. Prominent among these may be mentioned the +Jackson-Harmsworth expedition to Franz Josef Land (whose presence there +was of such signal service to Nansen and Johansen when, as is related in +the preceding chapter, they emerged from their historic dash for the +Pole), the Conway exploration of Spitzbergen, and the aeronautical +attempt to reach the Pole made by Herr Andrée. + +The Jackson-Harmsworth expedition left London on July 11, 1894, in the +steam yacht _Windward_, Captain Browne, for Franz Josef Land, and +comprised the leader, Mr. Frederick G. Jackson; Lieutenant Armitage, +R.N.R., astronomer; Dr. Kottlitz, medical officer; Mr. W. S. Bruce, +zoologist; and Messrs. Wilton and Heywood. A complete outfit, with +stores and provisions for three years was taken. It is an interesting +fact that this undertaking was the first instance of an individual +London newspaper proprietor displaying the generous enterprise which +owners of great American journals had already shown. Lord Northcliffe +(then Mr. Alfred Harmsworth) contributed to the expedition the most +necessary factor for a prolonged stay in the Arctic regions, the sinews +of war. + +On arrival at Franz Josef Land, a site for the camp was selected near +Cape Flora, and the camp, to which the name Elmwood was given, was laid +out. It consisted of a Russian log-house and several canvas houses, as +the first intention was to lodge the members in the canvas structures. +But very little experience showed that canvas was not the most +comfortable material for residential purposes in Arctic regions, so the +whole party moved into the log-house, using the canvas structures for +warehousing stores. Here they lived during the three years that the +expedition was away, and so well off were they that during the whole +period not one member had a day's illness. As the leader said on his +return to England in 1897, "a jollier, healthier, and busier little +community never existed." They were always busy, and every moment of the +day was occupied. Even in the dark winter period they found constant +employment for their hands and minds. + +In the high latitude where they were the sun set for the last time about +the middle of October, and was not again visible until the latter end of +February. From the day the sun went below the horizon until the middle +of November there was about a couple of hours faint twilight at "noon," +but, after that, midday and midnight were not to be distinguished by any +change in the light of the sky. It was always dark. + +During this period, when the members were in winter quarters, they kept +very regular hours. At 8.30 A.M. they had breakfast, and when the meal +was over each one took up some part of the household duties--washing the +dishes, making the beds, sweeping the rooms, feeding the dogs, and such +like. Unless the weather was very stormy, a couple of hours was spent in +exercise over the snow on _ski_, or if the weather was too inclement to +allow them to go far away, they spent the two hours in exercising round +the house. At 2 P.M. they gathered again round the dining-table and +partook of tea, bread and butter, and cheese, spending the afternoon in +making tents and harness for the sledge dogs, or anything else that was +wanted. At 7.30 P.M. they had dinner, passing the remainder of the +evening in reading, smoking, games, &c., until 11.30 P.M., when they +retired to their bunks. + +Of food they always had plenty, living very largely on the game killed. +During the last winter they were at Elmwood a chief article of diet was +an Arctic bird, the loon. Great numbers of these visited the islands in +the mild seasons, and in the autumn before the expedition returned 1400 +were shot and frozen for winter food. As the loons only arrive during +the mild season and disappear as soon as winter sets in, Mr. Jackson, in +the last autumn he was at Elmwood, caught a number both of loons and +kittiwakes, and having attached a copper label to each, with the letter +J. engraved upon it, liberated the lot. By this means it is hoped to +learn where the birds go to in the winter, for should any bird bearing a +copper label be shot in Scotland, Norway, or elsewhere, it will show +where their refuge is situated. + +The primary object of the expedition was to make a complete exploration +of Franz Josef Land, which was formerly considered to be merely the +southern extremity of a vast tract of land, possibly a second Greenland, +and extending up towards the Pole. The result of the three years' work +was to effectually disprove this opinion by showing that in place of a +continent there was only a group of small scattered islands. Various +voyagers had returned from time to time and reported observations of +land in the locality, with high mountain ranges. Gillies Land, Petermann +Land, and King Oscar Land all had existence on the maps; but the +Jackson-Harmsworth party could only find scattered islands where the +coast of Franz Josef Land was charted, and hummocks of piled-up ice +where mountain ridges had been seen. Of Gillies Land, Petermann Land, +and King Oscar Land no trace could be found. When the expedition went on +board the _Windward_ to return to England, the vessel steamed north-west +for fifty miles without seeing any indication of land, the water being +open and with less ice than would have been probable had land been near. +And yet they were in the locality where Gillies Land was marked on the +chart. A journey was also made to within ten miles of the spot where +Eastern Johannessen Land was placed on the chart, but no signs of land +were visible, although the weather was clear at the time. + +During the three years spent at Elmwood, exploring and surveying +journeys were frequent in the mild seasons, and the arduous nature of +the work done is well shown in the account of the last two journeys +undertaken prior to returning to England. On March 16, 1897, a party +consisting of Jackson and Armitage, with sledges, thirteen dogs, a pony, +and a canoe, set out from the log-house with the intention of going +round the western side of Franz Josef Land in order to define its +limits. From the start they had to face stormy weather, while the snow +was both deep and soft, and the ice rough and treacherous. After a +fortnight's travelling, during which they came upon a hitherto +undiscovered headland and fjord, they rounded the north-eastern +extremity of the western land. Continuing their journey westward, they +had to battle against the severity of the weather, the temperature going +as low as 40° below zero, and proving disastrous to the animals. By +April 7 nearly all the dogs were dead, and progress was very slow and +difficult. Three days later the nature of the ice along the shores +compelled them to turn inland, and they had to make the best of their +way over glaciated land 1500 feet high. Out to sea there was open water, +and as they progressed they found that the water was free from ice right +up to the glacier face. Then the pony died, and with only their +diminished team of dogs to haul, they were obliged to abandon everything +that was not absolutely necessary to maintain them during the remainder +of their journey. The weather grew worse and worse, and for days they +were surrounded by thick heavy mists, with strong gales and drifting +snow. They tried to find a way along the shore, leaving the high glacier +summit, but what ice there was on the coast was breaking up so rapidly +that they were compelled once more to climb to the high level, +abandoning the canoe, as there was no chance of their being able to use +it. + +While regaining the higher level, they came upon the only bear met with +during the whole journey, and they were careful not to allow him to +escape, his flesh and fat being welcome additions to their stock of +food and fuel. The gales now became more severe, until they found it +impossible to travel when one was blowing. Consequently they had to +press forward as fast and as far as they could in between the blows, and +on one occasion were marching for twenty-four hours at a stretch. The +ice was also terribly trying, and so rough was it in places that they +frequently had to go three times over the same track before they could +find a way over or round some awkward obstacle. At one time they were +pushing across the ice of a bay, when they were suddenly stopped by the +ice opening on to free water, and, after retracing their steps, they had +to climb and haul their stores up the steep sides of the glacier to the +summit, forty-five feet above the sea-level. + +When they set out, it was arranged that a relief party should meet them +at Bell Island the third week in April, but so many delays had been +caused that they were not able to reach the rendezvous until a fortnight +after the time fixed. The relief party had been waiting for them, +considerably anxious at their non-appearance. In the two months they had +been travelling, they had had only thirteen and a half fine days. + +After returning to Elmwood and resting for ten days, the two again set +out to the eastward. They were travelling over the ice, on the second +day out, when it gave way under the sledge. They lost all their stores +and equipment, and saturated their cartridges. They had at once to turn +back, but the ice was growing so thin that they had great difficulty in +reaching the shore. For nearly twenty-six hours they had to keep +marching before they covered the forty-two miles which lay between the +scene of their disaster and Elmwood. This was the last journey +undertaken prior to their departure in the _Windward_ for England a +month or so later. + +The account of the achievements of this expedition would be incomplete +were no mention made of two open-water discoveries. One was that of the +British Channel, an open-water tract extending from the islands into an +open sea, which formed the second discovery, and was named Queen +Victoria Sea in honour of the then reigning sovereign. This sea was +observed to be free from ice all the time the expedition was on the +islands, and the information thus obtained was of considerable service +to the Italian explorers who, a few years later, made an ineffectual +dash to reach the Pole over the ice-fields. + +Further valuable information was obtained by geological observations of +the islands. These demonstrated that the islands were an archipelago, +formed from the remains of a fairly extensive tableland, the surface of +which was composed of basalt so similar in character as to be almost +identical with the basalts of the north of Scotland. To the scientific +mind this suggests that at one time these far-outlying islands were +connected with lands from which they are now separated by enormous +stretches of sea, and were subject, in that distant period, to the same +volcanic outbursts and covered by the same basaltic flows that resulted. +It must have been a period of enormous volcanic activity, for the beds +of basalt overlying the fossil-bearing strata averaged six hundred feet +in thickness, while evidence of successive flows is found in the +existence of sedimentary fossil-bearing rocks sandwiched between layers +of basalt. + +Raised beaches were frequently noticed. In one case, on a beach fifty +feet above the present sea-level, a pine tree, evidently of considerable +age and about twenty feet in length, was found where it had obviously +been thrown up by the tide in the bygone years when the beach formed the +shore of the sea. Under this beach there was a bed of sandstone showing +fossils of plant remains, while above it towered basalt cliffs five +hundred feet high. Lignite and bituminous shale were met with in the +sandstone under the basalt, and, in muddy stretches of country, horns +and other remains of reindeer were found, though there are no living +representatives of these animals now on the islands. Among the fossils +brought away was one of a plant long since extinct in all parts of the +world save Japan, where the tree is still a flourishing variety. + +While Franz Josef Land was being explored and mapped, a private +expedition formed by Sir Martin Conway visited Spitzbergen. It was this +island which Sir John Franklin advocated should be the base of +operations for an expedition to the Pole. The reason for this opinion +was the belief that Spitzbergen was merely the most southerly point of a +chain of islands, if not of an island continent, stretching away to the +north. A similar idea, held in regard to Franz Josef Land, was dispelled +by the Jackson-Harmsworth expedition; the information which was made +available on the return of the Conway party also dispelled the Franklin +view. + +Curiously enough the objective of the expedition is one of the most +anciently discovered lands in the Arctic regions, and one that has a +history full of incident; yet the interior was unknown to man from the +time of its discovery in the sixteenth century to the time when Sir +Martin Conway and his companions pushed their way in from the coast. +Owing to the tail-end of the Gulf Stream reaching as far as its shores, +the seas round Spitzbergen are freer from ice than any other seas in +equally high latitudes. Situated in from 80° to 82° N., the group of +islands, to which the single name is given, was first discovered by two +Dutch navigators, Barendszoon and Heemskirk, who, in the year 1596, were +trying to find a way of reaching China through the Arctic Sea. Eleven +years later, Hudson sailed among the islands while trying for a northern +route to the Indies. Failing in his attempt to get round by the north, +he returned to Spitzbergen and saw how the waters were literally teeming +with whales, walrus, seals, and other oil-giving animals. A flourishing +fishery was started, and for years proved a bone of contention among the +various maritime nations. No one country caring to annex the islands, +they were practically a no-man's land, where each little colony of +fishers were as a law unto themselves, though not necessarily to any one +else. Consequently fights were frequent and much ill-will engendered, +until the Dutch and the British Governments stepped in and came to a +mutual understanding on the matter. About this time the fishery trade +was so important that one colony numbered over 20,000 inhabitants during +the season; but it was not a settled population, and a few years after +the understanding had been arrived at, the colony was deserted owing to +the ruthless slaughter of all marine animals having practically +exterminated them in the vicinity. From that time the islands have been +neglected, save for the occasional visits of a few trappers, until Sir +Martin Conway and his companions penetrated to the interior, and came +back with so many delightful experiences that an enterprising company +was formed to make this snow-laden district a place for summer resort. + +[Illustration: THE FRONT EDGE OF KING'S GLACIER, WESTERN SPITZBERGEN. + +The thickness of the ice showing above the sea-level is about 100 feet. + +_Photo by E. J. Garwood._] + +From a geological point of view the main island is full of interest, +for the interior, which is characterised by mountain chains and rugged +peaks, is covered with ice, and is sending down glaciers to the coast, +where they come under the influence of the warmth generated by the Gulf +Stream and rapidly melt. The result is that the constant rush of +torrents from the melting glaciers and snowfields is carving out valleys +and river-ways, and stripping away mountain sides to make coastal plains +so rapidly as to form an admirable object-lesson of physical geography +in the making. + +During the season Sir Martin Conway and his companions spent on the +island they set a record for energy and achievement. They spent +thirty-six days in the interior, sleeping either in small tents or in +the open, the one being little different to the other, for the tents +never kept the rain out and rarely the snow. Then they voyaged in a +twelve-ton steamer up and down the coast for a distance of something +like a thousand miles, though the steamer cabin was so small a place +that when all the five members of the party were down below together, +only one of them could stand up at a time. By the date their trip had +ended they had crossed the island four times, had made thirteen mountain +ascents, had made a rough survey of six hundred square miles of country, +had steamed a thousand miles among heavy ice along coasts, through +straits, and up bays, for the most part never before visited, and had +located innumerable streams, hills, and glaciers. + +More romantic and mysterious, but less replete with scientific value, +ranks the expedition of Herr Andrée, perhaps the most novel of all +Arctic expeditions, inasmuch as it was undertaken by balloon. The idea +which actuated Herr Andrée in his enterprise was to utilise the current +of air which, in July, almost invariably blows over Dane's Island to the +North. Being an experienced balloonist, he realised that, could he once +rise into that current in a balloon, he would be carried right across +the Polar region in a few days. From the balloon car he would be able to +observe the character of the region below him, and set at rest the +question whether perpetual ice, open water, or land, occupied the +extreme northerly spot of the world's surface. + +With two companions, Dr. Strindberg and Herr Fraenkel, and a specially +prepared balloon, an attempt was made to get away in July 1896, but was +unsuccessful, and the start was postponed for a year. In July 1897 the +members of the expedition were again ready, and on July 11 they were cut +loose and floated away out of sight to the North. Since then no +authentic news has been heard of them. + +They went away prepared to face a long detention in the frozen world. In +the car of the balloon they carried weapons, ammunition, and material +wherewith to build a shelter, should the balloon collapse and leave +them on the ice. An aluminium boat was also carried, so that the party +could escape by sea if necessary. Several carrier pigeons were taken, +and were to be liberated at intervals on the passage; but although one +pigeon is said to have been shot in the Far North, it is doubtful +whether it was one of the Andrée birds. + +The balloon, when it went out of sight, was travelling at a speed which +would have carried it over the Pole in a few days, and probably have +enabled it to descend in Siberia in about a week. For the first +fortnight after it had started, therefore, interest all over the world +was keenly excited for further news. But the fortnight passed without +any reliable intelligence being received, and a month followed, and so +on until a year had gone by. Then relief and search parties were talked +about, and the Swedish Geographical Society sent one out to look for the +missing balloonists in Siberia. It did not meet with Andrée, nor did it +obtain any reliable information respecting him. News was certainly +published in every civilised country to the effect that some outlying +hunting tribes had come upon a huge bag, having a mass of cordage +attached to it, together with the remains of some human bodies. The +Russian, Swedish, and Norwegian Governments immediately sent forward +auxiliary search parties, but their only success was to trace the origin +of the report, and find that a Siberian trader had, in a moment of +mischievous humour, hoaxed a too confiding telegraph agent. + +Later, on September 12th, 1899, a Swedish sloop, the _Martha_, reached +Hammerfest with the information that a buoy, branded with the name of +the Andrée expedition, had been found to the north-east of King Charles +Islands. The buoy had lost the screw plug from the top, and had been so +damaged by coming in contact with some hard substance that the interior +cylinder was too dented to permit of an examination being made of the +inside. + +Andrée was well supplied with these buoys, and at any time one may be +discovered containing a record of his doings from the moment he +disappeared with his balloon sailing towards the north. It is not +likely; it is scarcely probable that any sign will ever be discovered of +the balloon or its occupants. For years the frozen North held all traces +of the Franklin expedition from the eyes of the searchers who were able +to conduct their operations along the route they knew Franklin had +followed. No search party can knowingly follow the route Andrée and his +comrades took. Their fate will probably be for ever a mystery, for so +many things might have happened that no one theory can claim for itself +more probability than another. All that is certain is that the party +went out of sight drifting towards the north. They carried their lives +in their hands, and knew that they did so. Had they succeeded, they +would have achieved a mighty triumph; they failed, and in doing so set +their names as indelibly on the scroll of Fame as any hero who has laid +down his life in the contest with the measureless mystery of the Pole. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE POLAR METEORITES + + Eskimo Iron--A Mystery of 1818--Search and Failure--Peary and his + Huskies--The Secret revealed--An Eskimo Legend--At the Iron + Mountain--Removing the Trophies--A Massive Giant--Attack and + Defence--The Giant Objects--A Narrow Escape--Conquered. + + +When Captain Ross was in the Arctic regions in the year 1818, he +encountered, in Melville Bay, a tribe of Eskimos who lived near Cape +York, entirely cut off from communication with all other tribes, and who +had not, so far as he could learn, ever met white men before. He was, +therefore, astounded to find them in possession of iron implements. +These consisted of rudely made knives, the cutting edges of which were +fashioned out of very hard iron; harpoons and spears, tipped with iron +points. Questioning the natives as to how they had become possessed of +the iron, they explained that it had been obtained from what they termed +the "iron mountain" on the coast near the bay. Ross sought for the +mountain, and tried to induce the Eskimo to tell him exactly where it +was situated, but failed in each case. He secured some of the iron +knives and spear heads, and, on his return to Great Britain, the +articles were submitted to analysis, when the metal was found to contain +a percentage of nickel mixed with the iron. + +Considerable curiosity was excited over the matter, and every succeeding +British exploration party proceeding to the Arctic kept a sharp lookout +for any trace of iron in the possession of Eskimo which could not have +been obtained from whalers or visiting ships, as well as making every +inquiry in order to ascertain where the mysterious iron mountain was +situated. In no instance were they successful, and the question where +the Cape York Eskimo had obtained their supply of iron became one of the +riddles of the North. + +When Peary went to the neighbourhood of Cape York to establish the +station from whence he started on his brilliant march across the +ice-cap, he came closely in contact with the tribe of Eskimo living +there. The members of this tribe, isolated from the world and out of +communication with all their kindred tribes, were, he felt assured, the +descendants of those with whom Ross was associated earlier in the +century. In his successive visits to the place Peary became on very +friendly terms with the people, and gained their confidence in a way +that no other explorer had yet done. This is hardly to be wondered at, +when it is remembered that his presence among them, from time to time, +raised them from the stress of hardship and poverty, often starvation +itself, into a happy, well-to-do, and, for an Eskimo tribe, prosperous +community. When he first went among them, the man who owned a wooden +shaft for his harpoon was regarded as a rich man, while the woman who +had a steel sail-needle was an heiress for whose hand the bravest and +best strove in fierce rivalry. The possession of a gun was beyond the +wildest dreams of the most imaginative, just as the possession of a +steel knife was the highest glory to which ambition aspired. When Peary +left his encampment, at the end of his first visit, the timber of the +house and fittings left behind alone made the tribe wealthy, for they +believed the world must have been ransacked to bring so much wood +together; while the distribution of needles, knives, scissors, and such +like trifles, changed the whole status of the people and made them rich +beyond their fondest hopes. + +On the next visit, Peary took some guns and ammunition for the leading +men of the tribe, and there was then nothing they were not prepared to +do for their benefactor. They worked, hunted, acted as guides, +porters--anything, in fact, the white men wanted them to do. It was at +this time Peary sought for information about the mysterious iron +mountain, and, as may be expected, got it. + +First he was told the story of the origin of the iron, a story they had +had from their fathers, as those fathers, in their turn, had had it from +theirs. The iron lay across the bay where a high peak stood out against +the sky, pointing the way to the Saviksoahs. These--the "Iron +Ones"--rested on the mountain where they had fallen, ages and ages ago, +when they were thrown out of their village in the sky by Tornarsuk, the +enemy. There were three of them, a man, a woman, and a dog. The man was +deep in the ground, the woman partly so, and the dog lay on the surface. +As the woman fell, she sat up, and her head had first been seen. A +strange tribe came over the ice one year and, in greed, broke off the +head and sought to carry it away with them in their kayaks, so that they +should have a store of the iron always with them. But Tornarsuk would +not allow this to be, and as soon as the kayaks, lashed together to make +them strong enough to carry the head, were out in deep water, the head +plunged through them, sinking out of sight and smashing the kayaks so +that the men who were in them barely escaped with their lives. After +that no one tried to take away a larger supply of iron than they +actually wanted for knives and harpoon tips. Later, when whaler and +other ships came to the seas in the summer time, there was no need to go +to the Saviksoahs for iron, though all the tribes knew where they were. + +In the spring of 1894 Peary induced one of the tribe to lead him to the +place where the Saviksoahs were. The journey led them to a hill, on the +summit of which there was an overhanging mass of rock which justified +the Eskimo description of it. Describing the discovery, Peary wrote: +"After passing some five hundred yards up a narrow valley, Tallakotteah +began looking about until a bit of blue trap-rock, projecting above the +snow, caught his eyes. Kicking aside the snow, he exposed more pieces, +saying this was a pile of the stones used in pounding fragments from the +iron mountain. He then indicated a spot four or five feet distant, as +the location of the long-sought object. Returning to the sledge for the +saw-knife, he began excavating the snow, and at last, after digging a +pit, some three feet deep and five feet in diameter, just at 5.30 Sunday +morning, May 27, 1894, the brown mass, rudely awakened from its winter +sleep, found, for the first time in its cycles of existence, the eyes of +a white man gazing upon it." + +[Illustration: ESKIMO ARMS AND TOOLS. + +(a) Bow with Strings and Arrows. (b) Knives with Walrus Handles. (c) +Lance for Walrus and Bear. (d) Harpoon for Sealing. (e) Stone Axe with +Bone Handle. (f) Snow Knife with Walrus Teeth.] + +This was "the woman," a mass of meteoric iron weighing, as was +subsequently proved, three tons. Originally it was said to have been +twice that size, the removal of the "head" having considerably reduced +it, while in addition there had been generations of Eskimo chipping it +for knives and spear tips. The amount of iron which had been broken from +it in this way was shown by the pile of stones lying around it. The +Eskimo maintained that these stones had all been brought there by the +men who came for iron; but if that were true, the Saviksoah must have +been chipped for ages, judging by the accumulation of stones. + +About thirty yards away from the "woman" there lay the "dog," a smaller +mass weighing only half a ton. The "man" was some miles away, as became +his dignity and size, for he was found to be a mighty mass, one hundred +tons in weight, rugged in form, and so intractable when attempts were +made to move him, that his removal forms a tale so full of romance as +almost to suggest fiction. + +As it was late in the season when Peary's ship, the _Kite_, arrived, +there was only time to remove the "woman" and the "dog," the "man" being +located but untouched pending the return of another season. The removal +of the "dog" did not offer any great difficulty, and the "woman" was +levered out of the ground and conveyed to the ship on rollers without +giving more than the ordinary amount of trouble experienced in handling +heavy masses of inert material. Not so the "man." + +With the two smaller meteorites safely conveyed to New York, a return of +the _Kite_ to Melville Island to effect the removal of the "man" was +arranged. Accompanied by a party of scientists and an engineer, Peary +sailed north the following year and immediately attacked the problem of +excavating and placing on the _Kite_ the largest of the three masses. +The exact size was not at the time known, but as soon as the work of +excavation commenced it was obvious that the task in hand was much +greater than was anticipated. The portion first revealed was found to be +four feet in length, two feet high, and one and a half feet broad. This, +however, was merely a fin-like excrescence on the main mass, which, as +the excavation proceeded, was shown to measure twelve feet long by eight +feet in width, on the upper face, while a trench three feet round it did +not reach to the base. It was then realised that the task of +transferring such a huge mass from the place where it lay in the ground +to the ship was one requiring great engineering skill and the use of +appliances of much greater strength than the _Kite_ had brought with +her. The mass was about three hundred yards from high-water mark and +eighty feet above it. A shelf of rock ran out into the sea immediately +below the spot where the meteorite reposed, and the water was +sufficiently deep alongside the shelf to make it a natural pier or wharf +where the ship could make fast for the mass to be loaded on board, when +it had been moved from its resting-place and conveyed to the edge of the +sea. While the rocky pier was all that could be desired from the point +of view of loading, it was entirely unprotected from the ice which, in +the early approach of winter, rapidly accumulated in the bay. It was +clear, therefore, that the removal and shipment of the mass must be +carried out with rapidity if all risk of disaster were to be avoided. + +By the time the mass had been excavated and its full dimensions were +revealed, the season was too far advanced for any serious attempt being +made to get it on board the ship. It was estimated to weigh not less +than one hundred tons, while the rugged and angular form it presented +made it an extremely difficult object to handle. All the time available +was devoted to making the preliminary arrangements for the definite work +of removal in the following season, and, as soon as the ice began to +gather in the bay, the _Kite_ sailed back to the south. The meteorite +being so much larger than was anticipated, a larger vessel than the +_Kite_ was required to convey it to New York; it was also necessary to +have still heavier appliances wherewith to handle it. + +The following year, on board the _Hope_, Peary returned to the attack +and set to work to carry off his treasure. With the aid of the male +members of the Eskimo tribe, in addition to the men he had with him and +the crew of the steamer, the plan of operations was commenced. As Peary +wrote, in describing the experience: "The first thing to be done was to +tear the heavenly visitor from its frozen bed of centuries, and, as it +rose inch by inch under the resistless lift of the hydraulic jacks, +gradually displaying its ponderous sides, it grew upon us as Niagara +grows upon the observer, and there was not one of us unimpressed by the +enormousness of this lump of metal. The expressions of the Eskimo about +the Saviksoah (Great Iron) were low but earnest, and it, and the other +wonderful 'Great Irons' (the jacks) which could tear it from its bed, +awed them to the utmost." + +When it was out of the nest where it had rested so long, the method +adopted was to tilt it up from one side, by means of the jacks and steel +cables, until it stood on end, and then to force it over until its own +weight made it fall forward. The spectacle, as it fell, brought home to +the onlookers the enormous power it represented. As it slowly moved, the +stones lying immediately under it were ground into powder, and, as it +lurched forward, the hard masses of rock were rent and split, while a +shower of sparks burst from the meteorite itself wherever it came in +contact with a more than usually hard piece of rock. The irregularities +in its form added to the difficulties, for it was almost impossible to +secure firm holds for the jacks, and anything approaching a slip on the +part of the mass was tantamount to death or destruction to any one +within reach of it. Day and night the struggle went on, the mass seeming +to resist every inch of the way, settling itself into awkward corners +and crevices; cutting its way, as it fell, through the baulks of timber +set to form a bed for it; bending and notching steel rails, when they +were substituted for the wood; and generally giving as much trouble as +it was possible to give, almost to the extent of suggesting conscious +design. Hard as every one worked to win, the meteorite proved too much +for them, and it was only conveyed as far as the rocky pier where the +ship lay ready to take it on board when the ice came drifting into the +bay, and for another winter the meteorite had to be left in its frozen +habitat. + +"It was the last night of our stay at the island," Peary wrote, "a night +of such savage wildness as is possible only in the Arctic regions.... +The wild gale was howling out of the depths of Melville Bay through the +_Hope's_ rigging and the snow was driving in horizontal lines. The white +slopes of the hill down which the meteorite had been brought showed a +ghastly grey through the darkness; the fire, round which the fur-clad +forms of the Eskimo were grouped, spread its bright red glare for a +short distance; a little to one side was a faint glow of light through +the skin wall of a solitary tupik. Working about the meteorite was my +own little party, and, in the foreground, the central figure, the +_raison d'être_ of it all, the 'Saviksoah,' the 'Iron Mountain,' +towering above the human figures about it and standing out, black and +uncompromising. While everything else was buried in snow, the Saviksoah +was unaffected. The great flakes vanished as they touched it, and the +effect was very impressive. It was as if the giant were saying, 'I am +apart from all things; I am heaven-born, and still carry in my heart +some of the warmth of those long-gone days before I was hurled upon +this frozen desert.' To strengthen this fancy that the meteorite still +held some of its celestial fire and feeling, if a sledge, ill aimed in +the darkness at wedge or block, chanced to strike it, a spouting jet of +scintillating sparks lit the gloom, and a deep note, sonorous as a bell, +a Polar tocsin, or the half-pained, half-enraged bellow of a lost soul, +answered the blow." + +Yet another year--1897--saw Peary again at work, this time with the +meteorite ready alongside the natural wharf. It was the month of August +that the _Hope_ made fast opposite the meteorite, but already the ice +had begun to drift into the bay, as though even that were going to +dispute the right of man to carry off the mighty trophy. Without loss of +a day, work was commenced and a bridge of huge timbers was constructed +along which to warp the mass from the shore on to the ship. The bridge +completed, forty-eight hours were consumed in getting the mass on to it. +The pressure of its enormous weight put so great a strain on the +woodwork that it visibly gave as the mass came on to it, and more than +once a collapse seemed imminent. Once a slip of less than an inch upset +the equilibrium of everything to such an extent that the stays and +supports were apparently within an ace of giving way. It was a curious +coincidence that this single slip occurred at a moment and a place +where, had anything given way, there was nothing to prevent the mass +rolling over the edge of the rock and sinking, presumably for ever, +into deep water. As it turned out, the slip was taken up in time to +avert disaster, and thereafter the mass was forced, slowly but surely, +on to the deck of the ship. + +The Eskimo were greatly disturbed at the spectacle of the meteorite +passing from the shore to the ship. They all left the vessel, saying +that even if it was forced on to the deck, directly it arrived there it +would smash its way through the vessel and plunge into the sea, carrying +the ship and all on board with it. From the time work was recommenced on +the task of removing the mass, storms and gales had persisted and the +sun had not been seen. The Eskimo were, therefore, deeply impressed +when, just as the Saviksoah reached the planking arranged for it above +the main hold and the tackles were cast loose, the sun shone out, a ray +falling from behind a cloud directly on the meteorite and changing it +from the dull brown-hued mass into a gleaming bronze. + +As though it had yielded itself to the inevitable, the meteorite gave no +further trouble. It was gradually lowered into the hold and wedged so +tightly into position that it was impossible for it to move, however +much the ship rolled or pitched. Fortunate it was this work was so well +done, for when the return journey was commenced the _Hope_ had to fight +her way through a series of the most severe gales and storms that any on +board had experienced. The meteorite had yielded, but the Spirit of the +Arctic evidently had serious objections to it being carried off. But the +years of persistent effort had won. The mysterious source of the ancient +Eskimo iron had been discovered, and, at the same time, the greatest +meteorite the world was known to contain was revealed. It was a fitting +result that the trophy should be carried from the darkness of the Arctic +into the light of civilisation. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE SECOND VOYAGE OF THE _FRAM_ + + Norwegian Enterprise--Mapping the Islands--Nearly Frozen--A Novel + Warming-Pan--Eskimo Melody--Arctic Bull Fights--Death of the + Doctor--Fire on the _Fram_--New Lands--Prehistoric People. + + +The expedition which formed the second visit of the _Fram_ to the Arctic +regions was equipped by private Norwegian enterprise, and sailed from +Larvick on June 24, 1898, the day known in Norway as St. Hans Day. The +party consisted of sixteen, all told, under the command of Captain +Sverdrup, who, with two other members of the party, were in the _Fram_ +with Nansen on her previous voyage. The plan of operations was to +proceed to the most southerly point of Greenland, sail to the north +along the western coast to Smith Sound, where the ship was to push as +far to the north as possible and form a headquarters, whence sledge +expeditions were to be sent out in all directions to explore and survey +the immediate locality, and, at the same time, to observe and record all +natural phenomena of a scientific nature. As to the exact localities to +which chief attention was to be paid, the commander of the expedition +was to use his own judgment; but on one point the instructions were +definite and emphatic--there was to be no attempt at a dash for the +Pole. + +On August 21 the _Fram_ reached a suitable place for winter quarters. On +the way along the Greenland coast the explorers had to take on board +dogs for the sledge teams, and also to obtain a store of walrus meat +wherewith to feed them, so that it was not until the date mentioned they +were able to reach Rice Strait, which afforded them all the facilities +they needed for winter quarters. As Peary was already to the north, +engaged in mapping out the land in that direction, the Norwegians +decided to give their attention to the land lying on the western side of +the Strait, in the vicinity of Hayes Sound, where Nares, in 1875, had +done considerable work. They completed the survey of the coast line +running round Robeson Channel, and, during their stay, not only mapped +out an area of one hundred thousand square miles, but also located +hitherto undiscovered land, which was named after King Oscar of Norway +and taken possession of in his name. Valuable additions were also made +to the zoological, geological, meteorological, and botanical records, +while the story of the expedition abounds in interesting experiences. + +The sun set on October 16 for the remainder of the winter. A party was +out taking observations over some mountains behind the bay in which the +_Fram_ was anchored, and had returned to camp for the evening meal as +the sun was going down. One of the party drew the attention of the +others to it, and they gathered at the door of the tent and watched it +in silence. "We were looking at the sun for the last time that year," +Captain Sverdrup wrote in his account of the expedition. "Its pale light +lay dying over the 'inland ice'; its disc, light red, was veiled on the +horizon; it was like a day in the land of the dead. All light was so +hopelessly cold; all life so far away. We stood and watched it till it +sank; then everything became so still that it made one shudder--as if +the Almighty had deserted us and shut the gates of Heaven. The light +died away across the mountains and slowly vanished, while over us crept +the great shades of the Polar night, the night that kills all life." + +With a stretch of four months' darkness before them, it was impossible +to avoid recalling the records of others who had gone through the lonely +period of darkness and cold. It was a disquieting subject. Franklin, +with 138 men under his command, had seen the sun go down into the Polar +night, and not a man of all the party had lived to tell the tale. +Greely, with twenty-five men, had seen the silent darkness come on near +where they were situated at the moment--six had lived to see the dawn. +Nordenskjold, wintering in White Bay, had seventeen men die of scurvy, +with an abundance of food around them, for when the last victim was +found, lying where he fell, he had a piece of salt pork still clutched +in his fingers, while in the camp there were scores of tins of preserved +fresh meat unopened. True it was that science, since then, had made vast +strides, and prejudice and ignorance had been largely overcome; but when +men find themselves absolutely cut off from all communication with the +outside world, and with all sorts of possible dangers and disasters +hidden in the future, it is only the fool-hardy who fails to realise +them. The brave man does not shut his eyes to dangers; he looks them +squarely in the face and determines to overcome them. Such a man usually +wins. It is the man who shuts his eyes to what is in front of him who is +defeated. + +The winter passed without any fatality among them, although there was an +occasion when one of the members nearly came to his end. Various trips +were taken when the moon was up to try and locate the site where Greely +made his historic camp on Pim Island. In February two men set out to +look for it, and, as they did not intend to be long away, they took +neither food nor sleeping-bags with them. The weather was clear and +cold, with the thermometer at -40° Fahr., but the men experienced no ill +effects from it on their journey. They found some pieces of rope and +sail-cloth scattered about at a spot on the north side of the island, +and came to the conclusion that this must have been the site of the +camp. Having examined the place, they were about to return to the +_Fram_, when one of them sank to the ground. His companion strove to +lift him up, but without avail; he had suddenly become exhausted, and +his strength gave out so entirely that he could not remain on his feet. +It was a serious situation. A few hours of inactivity in such a +temperature, without an excess of fur clothing and warm food, meant +freezing to death. His companion was in doubt whether to wait and strive +to rouse him, or to run to the ship for help. He adopted the latter +course, and sped away as fast as his legs could carry him. Arrived at +the _Fram_, he raised the alarm, and every one turned out and hastened +to the rescue. A sledge was quickly harnessed to a dog team, and on it +were placed furs and food. The place where the man had collapsed was +about a mile away, and the rescuers were soon at his side. He lay in a +heap on the frozen snow, too far gone to recognise any one. He was +pushed into a sleeping-bag, placed on the sledge, and driven off at top +speed to the ship, where he was promptly put into his bunk and +restoratives administered to him. Soon the efforts were successful, and +he sank into a sleep from which he awakened, many hours after, little +the worse for his adventure. He escaped without even a touch of +frost-bite. + +A few days after this episode the temperature fell rapidly, until the +thermometer registered as low as -58° Fahr. Peary, the American +explorer, was at the time some fifteen miles to the north of the +_Fram_, and the temperature in his locality went down to -67° Fahr., a +cold so intense that, hardened as he was to the rigours of Arctic +weather, he had seven toes so severely frost-bitten that they had to be +amputated. A small party from the _Fram_ was out on the ice at the time, +and the cold was so trying to them that they squeezed into their +sleeping-bags clad, as they were, in heavy fur garments. Still they were +unable to get warm, so they lit their oil stove to raise the temperature +in the tent. While this was being done, one man complained bitterly of +the cold in his back, and a comrade, seeking a cause for it, found that +the moisture from his body had turned to white frost on the inside of +his thick woollen jersey. To thaw it, they put the lighted stove between +the jersey and the man's back, whereupon he exclaimed, "Ah, that's not +quite so cold." + +Yet the way in which mankind can adapt themselves to all varieties of +climate, by use and custom, was shown by a visit they had from one of +Peary's Eskimo. He reached the _Fram_ on a day when the temperature was +at -40° Fahr. Invited on board, he said he must first change his +travelling clothes, and, in the open air, he stripped to the waist to +remove his heavy furs and put on a lighter suit. He was apparently as +unaffected by the intense cold on his naked flesh as one of the +Norwegians would have been had the thermometer stood at forty degrees +above instead of forty degrees below zero. + +The visit of the Eskimo proved an enjoyable break to the explorers, +though their generosity in giving him presents, at the time of his +departure, resulted in so many more coming to visit them that they had +rather too much of a good thing. But when he first arrived the visitor +was peculiarly welcome. They entertained him to various amusements, +commencing with dinner and concluding with a concert. To the latter the +Eskimo contributed his share. He was greatly taken with a toy drum +belonging to one of the party, and played his own idea of a melody upon +it. As his hosts did not manifest any displeasure at his +performances--whatever they may have felt--he became bolder and offered +to sing them a song. + +To the accompaniment of the drum, he commenced with a weird, wild wail, +which gradually developed in volume of sound and variety of intonation +until the listeners began to feel shivers running up and down their +spines. At that point the singer, who had so far sat rigid, began to +sway his body from side to side, while he tossed his head backwards and +forwards. He had long dank black hair, and, as he moved quicker and +quicker, in time with the drum and the staccato wails, his hair was +tossed over his face until the features were obscured. This appeared to +be the critical moment in the performance, for he raised himself from +his seat, and, with his hair tossing, his voice wailing, his body +swaying, and his hands thumping vigorously at the drum, he completed the +discomfiture of his hosts, who, disposed to smile at the beginning of +the performance, were distinctly uncomfortable at the finish. The +performer, however, was by no means dissatisfied with himself. He was a +great singer, he told them, perhaps the greatest in the tribe. They had +only to ask some of the others of his tribe to sing to realise the truth +of what he said, he added. But the Norwegians were satisfied with the +one experience. + +[Illustration: ESKIMO VISITORS TO THE _FRAM_ IN NIGHT ATTIRE.] + +During the sledge journeys numerous indications were found of musk oxen +being in the neighbourhood of the sheltered valleys in the interior of +the islands. As a supply of fresh beef was always desirable, +considerable attention was paid to these animals, and, from time to +time, the larder was kept well supplied with their meat. On these +hunting expeditions some interesting observations were made on the +habits of the oxen. One of the most interesting was as to the manner in +which they met attack. When they were disturbed in feeding, the herd +would retreat slowly and in order; but if they saw they were being +pursued, they moved towards any vantage ground, such as a rise or hill +summit, there to form themselves into a square. Each animal took up its +position as though by word of command, until they stood, shoulder to +shoulder, with their heads outward and so close together that their +horns often linked, while within the square were sheltered any young +calves there might be with the herd. + +As the enemy approached one of the oxen, usually the oldest bull in the +herd, dashed out from his place in the square and bounded towards the +foe, with head down, horns brandished with sidelong tosses of the head, +snorting and bellowing defiance. As he left the square the ranks closed +up and remained so until he returned, when the ranks opened enough for +him to back into his place, while another charged out to carry on the +combat in front of the square. These movements were executed with +lightning rapidity, every animal dashing out in turn to seek single +combat, the one to advance being always the one to the right of the +returned champion. Usually the advance was for a distance of a dozen +yards, but there were occasions when the explorers saw the challenging +ox advance over a hundred yards from the main body. + +When there were sufficient bulls in the herd to form the outer lines, +the cows were placed, with the calves, inside the square; but if the +bulls were not numerous enough to complete the outer ranks, then the +cows took their places beside the bulls. In one instance, where the herd +consisted of cows and calves only, the cows formed the square and +carried on the fight while the calves were sheltered within. + +The courage displayed by the oxen was not restricted to their defence. +They appeared to be actuated by an _esprit de corps_ which could only be +likened to the heroism which animates men of fanatical fighting tribes. +They were apparently incapable of fear, even to that extent which makes +the saving of one's self a first consideration. When the square was once +formed it never broke. Every beast in it might be killed, one by one, +but there was never a sign of a break-away or a stampede. If only a few +were killed, the square stood its ground until the attackers retreated, +when, with an open field, the square slowly retired, still in formation, +and still ready, at the first signal, to halt and renew the fight. In +one instance, where every beast had been shot save one, that one made +his sortie, pranced round in defiance, and retired to the heap of slain, +all that remained of his gallant comrades. + +Their method of defence was capable of repelling the attack of any +animal now inhabiting the Arctic regions, and more complete in its +system than appeared to be needed to repel any of the animals likely to +attack them. It was unnecessary for the repelling of bears; foxes would +never attack animals so large; the only animals likely to challenge a +contest were the wolves operating in a pack. But the Arctic wolves, as a +rule, hunt singly, or in pairs. There may have been a time, however, +when they formed themselves into packs, and from such a time the +defensive tactics of the oxen may date. Certainly the formation would +prove invulnerable against such an attack, as was evidenced by the way +in which a herd of oxen could hold at bay the dogs from the sledge +teams. As soon as oxen were sighted it was the practice to let the dogs +loose. They at once made for the oxen, and, as soon as the latter caught +sight of them, they formed into a square and remained so until the +explorers came up and selected such of the herd as they required for the +larder. In no instance did the dogs succeed in harming an ox, though +more than once a dog, venturing too near a prancing champion, was spun +up into the air to fall to the ground a sad and subdued creature, if it +were so fortunate as to escape with its life. + +The return of summer, during the first year of their stay, was marred by +the death of the doctor. Early in June the shores of Hayes Sound were +being surveyed. The ice still covered the sea and the land was deep in +snow. One night, when the surveying party had returned to their tent and +were sitting round the oil stove eating their supper, they heard a man +outside asking if he might come in. They opened the tent flap and +discovered the doctor standing outside. He was evidently ill, and, as +they soon realised, snow-blind. He had missed his way while out after +specimens and had accidentally stumbled on the camp. He was taken in and +given warm food, which revived him somewhat, afterwards being put in a +sleeping-bag and made as comfortable as they could make him. In the +morning he pronounced himself much better, and said he would stay at the +camp, resting, for the day. The party left him with no misgivings, but +on their return in the evening they found him dead in the sleeping-bag. + +Camp was struck the following morning and, with the body of the doctor +on the sledge, the party started back to the ship. It was a sad journey. +Not only was it the first time in the history of the _Fram_ that a +member of the ship's company had died, but the loss of the doctor was a +serious matter to the explorers, who were thus left without any +qualified expert to attend to them in the event of either sickness or +accident occurring. The procession reached the ship on June 15, and the +next morning the whole company formed up in funeral array to convey the +remains of the doctor to their last resting-place. They gave him a +sailor's burial. The national flag covered the body and bier, and the +explorers, walking slowly, two and two, proceeded down Rice Strait over +the ice to a spot where a hole had been cut through the ice to the open +water. The body was lowered to the water's edge, where it was held while +prayers were read and a hymn sung. "Then followed the moment when he +slowly slipped into the deep. We shall never forget it. We sang a hymn +and said the Lord's Prayer," Captain Sverdrup wrote. + +As the survey work advanced to the west of the Sound, the discovery of +several inaccuracies in former maps led to the hope that new land might +be located in that direction. Ellesmere Land having been explored and +Sir Robert Inglis Peak shown to be non-existent, advantage was taken of +the opening of the ice in the summer seasons to push the _Fram_ farther +to the west, so as to enable the sledge parties to reach still greater +distances over the ice in that direction. It was by this means the +crowning triumph of the expedition was achieved, though at the time of +its achievement an event happened which very nearly brought about a +tragic ending. This was no less than a fire on the _Fram_. + +There were, at the time, only nine men on board. For the winter, an +awning had been spread over the deck, below the shelter of which +numerous articles were stored, including the ammunition and +powder-boxes, a number of kayaks, spare wood for repairing sledges and +making _ski_, the oil barrels, and an iron tank full of spirits. The +chimney from the galley rose above this awning, and one day a spark fell +upon it. At once the canvas burst into flame. + +On the first alarm, the mate, who was in charge, gave his attention to +the removal of the oil and explosives; but while these were being +dragged out of danger the flames spread rapidly from the awning to the +rigging, reaching the mainsail, which also became ignited. Then the fire +reached the kayaks, the coverings of which were all saturated with +grease. The blaze that followed set all the spare wood alight. The iron +tank, full of spirits, was thus surrounded by flames. It was impossible +to beat them back, and the men realised that if the tank burst and the +spirits caught fire, the ship was doomed. With despairing energy they +attacked the fire with buckets of water, and, despite the primitive +nature of the weapon, they succeeded in subduing the flames before +irreparable damage was done. The tank, fortunately, withstood the heat, +though it was badly warped. The kayaks were destroyed, as well as all +the spare wood, the rigging and sails on the mainmast, the awning, and +some stores on the lower deck, where the flames also penetrated. But the +ship was saved. + +On October 13, 1900, the news was brought to the ship that the hopes of +discovering new land were likely to be realised. A party who had been +far out to the west had seen in the distance what appeared to be land at +a place where none was shown on the maps. Five days later, with a picked +band, Captain Sverdrup was hastening to the place indicated. As the +winter was near at hand, they could not do more than verify the news. In +the distance they saw what appeared to be new land, while near at hand +they found traces of large herds of oxen and reindeer. The larder was in +need of being replenished, and as it was impossible to proceed with the +survey of the newly discovered territory before the spring, the members +of the party secured as much beef and venison as they could for winter +supply. By the time they returned to the ship they had enough fresh +meat, not only for themselves but also for the dogs, to last until the +following spring. + +On April 8, 1901, Sverdrup and his picked companions set out again to +explore the new territory. After pushing on as far as the outer limit of +the coast, they came upon what appeared to be a large bay. The land they +had descried lay on the far side of it, and for the moment they feared +that, after all, it was only a portion of the old, though making the +area of that much larger than had hitherto been believed. To prove or +disprove their fears they commenced to cross the ice in the bay. As they +proceeded, the land, at the head of the bay, was seen to suddenly open +out and reveal a sound running between two islands. It was new land +which lay before them, and with great jubilation they named the channel +Eureka Sound and the island after the King of Norway. The position was +78° 50' N. lat. and 84° W. long. + +Close examination of this island led to the discovery of remains of +extensive Eskimo settlements, showing that at one time there had been a +considerable population where now not a single Eskimo was to be found. +The presence of whale bones among the ruins of the huts told of a still +further change that had occurred, for whales are now quite extinct in +that part, and have been so for a long period. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +ITALY CLAIMS THE RECORD + + Norwegian Aid--A Northerly Station--Premature Enthusiasm--Cold + Comfort--An Arctic Greeting--A Hasty Landing--Disorganised + Plans--Homeless Dogs--Making Fresh Plans--The Leader + Frost-bitten--The Start for the Pole--Driven Back by Cold--A Second + Start--First Detachment Lost--Anxiety for the Second--A Struggle + for Life--Third Detachment Overdue--Fears of Disaster--Safe at + Last--Italy sets the Record. + + +For the first time in the history of their country, the Italians entered +the field of Arctic exploration in the year 1899, when an expedition +under the command of the Duke of Abruzzi sailed in the _Stella Polare_, +and by means of dogs and sledges carried the Italian flag to higher +latitudes than any other explorers had succeeded in reaching. The record +up to the time of this expedition was that set by Nansen, who, with his +companion Johansen, attained to 86° 14' N. The Italians reached 86° 34' +N., or twenty geographical miles further north than the Norwegians. + +The scheme of operations under which the Abruzzi expedition set out was +to sail as far north as possible along some coast line, establish winter +quarters, and, in the spring, to travel by sledges towards the Pole. The +expedition was composed of Italians and Norwegians, the men of the +latter race being taken to navigate the ship, the leader wisely +recognising that inasmuch as Italians were not used to navigation in +ice-bound seas, it would be hazardous to risk the safety of the whole +expedition in the early stages of the journey by manning the vessel with +them. The sledge party who attained the highest latitude were all +Italians, but the Norwegians shared the honours won, for without their +assistance the sledge party would have had little chance of penetrating +as far to the north as it did. In fairness, also, to all other men who +have striven so hard to unveil the secrets of the Arctic, it must be +admitted that the Italian success was based entirely on the knowledge +gained by other nations. The scheme of a dash by sledges was the scheme +that Peary had conceived and announced; the main depôt of the Italians +was that which had already been established at Cape Flora by the +Jackson-Harmsworth expedition; the route taken by the sledge party was +in the vicinity of the route Nansen and Johansen followed; the ship was +Norwegian built and Norwegian manned; the men who set out for the dash +to the Pole had, therefore, all the hard work done for them. Yet with +all these advantages they only reached twenty miles further, an +achievement not to be compared with that of Nansen and Johansen. + +The expedition practically commenced its journey from Archangel, whence +good progress was made to Cape Flora, a food depôt being established in +the huts of the Jackson-Harmsworth party, which were found still +standing intact. After an ineffectual attempt to pass through +Nightingale Sound, the _Stella Polare_ got out of the ice on August 7, +and succeeded in reaching 82° 4' N. latitude in open water. This was to +the north of Prinz Rudolf Island. + +As there were indications that the ice would soon be setting along the +coast, it was decided to sail to Teplitz Bay on Prinz Rudolf Island and +establish quarters for the winter. This bay is open towards the south +and west, while the land on the north is level but rocky. The ship +forced her way through the thin coast ice and came to anchor near enough +to the shore to permit the landing of stores to be easily carried out. A +more experienced leader might have had some doubts as to the security of +the situation as a place for a ship to remain during the winter +movements of the ice. With the bay open on two sides, it was scarcely +possible for it to escape from the pressure of moving floes outside; but +the opinion was held that the ice along the shores was strong enough to +withstand any pressure from the open sea, and so the _Stella Polare_ was +allowed to become fixed in the ice close to the shore. + +Brief journeys along the coast and over the highest land which could be +reached--Cape Habermann was found to be 2900 feet high--effectually +disposed of the claims of Petermann Land and King Oscar Land. There was +no sign of either, and there is little doubt but that the explorers who +believed they had discovered these lands were deceived by massive bodies +of ice. The rectification of the maps to this extent was a valuable +service. + +By September all their arrangements for spending the winter on the ship +were completed, and with the material which would be required for the +preliminary sledge expeditions to the north, and the establishment of +food depôts, all on shore, the explorers made merry on the evening of +the 7th in discussing the achievements which would result from the +working out of their plans. The difficulties which beset other +explorers, often from the very commencement of their journeys, had not +been experienced by them, and now, with their vessel almost as high to +the north as any vessel had yet been, with their complete outfit at one +of the most northerly stations yet established, and with everything snug +and secure for the winter, it is not surprising that they should have +allowed their enthusiasm to run away with them. It was the first time +that Italy had entered into the contest of winning fame from the +mysteries of the Arctic, and the outlook was so rosy that it almost +appeared as if they were going to signalise the fact by carrying the +flag to the Pole itself and showing to the world that the all-conquering +spirit of ancient Rome still animated the race. Men of colder +temperaments, the sons of the cold-blooded North, would probably have +postponed their rejoicings until the battle had been won, but the +enthusiasm of the South needed more than the gloom of an approaching +Arctic winter to subdue it. Wherefore the Arctic moved, and the children +of the South learned in a few brief hours something of the power and +might and majesty of the realms they had come to conquer. + +An ice-floe, drifting in the sea beyond the bay, caught the edge of the +shore ice, in which the _Stella Polare_ lay at rest, as it passed. The +shore ice groaned at the strain, and along its length there ran a ridge +of hummock ice as the pressure sought relief. The line of the pressure +passed through the spot where the _Stella Polare_ was made fast. The +hummock rose against her bows and forced her ninety feet away from where +she had been, while, at the same moment, an increase in the pressure +caught her by the sides, heeled her over, and cracked her timbers till +those on board rushed to the deck under the belief that the vessel was +about to collapse. The rigging of the foremast was torn away, the planks +of the exposed side showed spaces of three inches between them, and +water poured in so rapidly to the holds that it was feared the ship +would go down. The hand-pumps were manned and worked, while the fires +were lit so as to get up steam and set the steam-pumps going, every one +else, who was not required for these jobs, working with might and main +to get all stores and provisions out of the ship and on to the ice, lest +she went down and left them stranded and foodless. The glamour of the +evening before was as a dream; the gloom of the present was a stern +reality to which they had awakened. The Arctic was giving a +characteristic and rugged greeting to the visitors from the South. + +The stores were landed with the greatest rapidity, the activity with +which every one worked being still further stimulated by the news from +below that the one hand-pump, which was being worked by four men, could +not keep the water back, and that already it was almost touching the +bars of the furnaces. At one time it looked as though there would be no +chance of saving the fires, and had the water once reached them and so +prevented steam being got up, the plight of the explorers would have +been critical in the extreme. As it was, the Norwegian engineers worked +like heroes, and managed to have enough steam to start the steam-pumps +just as the water touched the fires in one of the boiler furnaces. The +steam-pump, assisting the hand-pump, was sufficient to keep the water +from rising further, but not enough to keep it back altogether. Neither +the steam nor the hand pump, by itself, could prevent the water from +rising. Both had to be kept going, therefore, although the number of men +thus taken away from unloading stores and provisions made that work +very much slower than was desired. But if the water reached to the fires +and put them out, there seemed to be little chance of saving enough to +keep the party alive during the winter. So they worked on with a brave +persistence, Italian and Norwegian alike, until they had all the stores +out on the ice, together with spars, ropes, sails, and all other things +needed for the construction of a shelter in which to pass the winter. +This was only completed after twenty-four hours of toil, and when it was +finished the worn-out party sought a brief respite in sleep. As soon as +the pumps ceased working the waters rose in the holds and over the +furnace bars, putting out the fires. Contrary to expectations, the ship +did not go down, the ice being sufficiently strong to sustain it from +sinking, and the water stopped rising when it had covered the furnaces. + +Although the ship was now secure from sinking, it was heeled over to +such an extent that it was impossible to remain on board of it, so a hut +was erected ashore, and the stores stacked round it for the winter. For +ten days the entire party laboured at this work, and when it was +finished it was realised that all the plans for the preliminary sledge +trips must be abandoned. Instead of giving attention to reaching the +Pole, it was first of all necessary to see what could be done in the way +of repairing the ship so as to be able to get away before a second +winter could come upon them. A close examination revealed the fact that +the pressure of the ice had considerably affected the form of the ship. +The crank shaft was bent out of the straight, and the heavy iron beams +which had been put in to strengthen the vessel amidships were all bent +and twisted. The planks at the sides were started and gaped in many +places. The water, which had got in, had frozen, so that the furnaces +were covered in by a sheet of solid ice, while the same thing existed in +the hold. As the hand-pump could not lower the water alone, it was +decided to use a boiler and pump which formed part of the balloon +equipment. Although the use of these articles effectually terminated any +hopes of balloon experiments, it enabled them to get the water down +sufficiently to permit of repairs being effected. From the beginning of +October to the middle of November, the repairs fully occupied them; but +they succeeded in making the ship water-tight and available for +departure when the winter had passed. The bay, by this time, was frozen +over sufficiently to preclude any fears of further nips occurring. + +[Illustration: ONE OF THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY THE _STELLA +POLARE_.] + +On November 20 the last vestige of daylight went, and thenceforward the +explorers were in all the gloom of the Arctic night. A heavy snow-storm +entirely covered the dog kennels, so that the animals had to run loose +for a time. This was not satisfactory, for those of the creatures which +were unable to squeeze into shelter near the hut, were frozen to the +ice as they slept. To overcome this, big holes were dug in the ground, +and the dogs driven in, and the entrances walled up. But the Arctic dog +is a creature of resource, and when the men in charge of them went in +due time to feed them, they found that the dogs had made an outlet for +themselves by burrowing through the snow, and were again at liberty. A +wall of biscuit tins was then built round the inside of the holes, and +the entire mass frozen by pouring water over the tins. But the dogs +again burrowed their way out, and they were then left to their own +devices, the holes being left open, so that there should be some shelter +available for the dogs if they liked to use it. Mostly they did not +like, preferring to squeeze in between the sides of the hut and the +kitchen, and contribute their share to the entertainment by occasional +howling choruses during the long dark hours of winter. + +During the long night the plans for the sledge expeditions to the North, +which had been so effectively interrupted by the nipping of the ship, +were further considered. As the original scheme could no longer be +carried out, a modified plan was adopted. Under this, it was determined +to send out three parties, which were to start about the middle of +February and press forward towards the Pole. Each party was to consist +of three Italians. One was to carry provisions for thirty days, the +second for sixty days, and the third for ninety days. The second and +third parties were to carry kayaks. + +At the commencement of the expedition it was intended that the Duke of +Abruzzi should lead the detachments as the head of the third party, the +one which would have the honour of proceeding the longest way; but early +in January he had two fingers of his right hand frost-bitten so severely +that the two top joints had to be amputated. This debarred him from +taking his place at the head of the enterprise, and he appointed Captain +Cagni to the lead in his stead. As at first arranged, the other parties +were commanded, the first by Dr. Cavalli, and the second by Lieutenant +Querini. A fourth party was to follow the other three for a couple of +days, as an auxiliary, so as to allow of a saving in the consumption of +provisions carried by the others. It was also arranged that twenty-five +days after the start of the expedition, those of the company who +remained behind at Teplitz Bay should send a watch party to Cape +Fligely, in order to be ready to set out and meet, and, if necessary, +render any assistance which the returning members of the first +detachment might require. From the top of Cape Fligely a distance of +eight miles could be seen over the ice to the north, and a signal-post, +erected on the cape, would be visible as a guide to the returning +explorers as they approached over the ice. The watch party was to be on +the cape again fifty-five days after the departure of the second +detachment, and eighty-five days after the departure of the third +detachment. + +The date of departure was ultimately fixed for the 19th of February. The +detachments, when ready to start, numbered, in all, twelve men, with +thirteen sledges, drawn by 104 dogs, each sledge weighing, with its load +of provisions, 617 lbs. The weather, at the time of the start, was +intensely cold, there having been a gale blowing for some days before. +When all was ready for the march to begin, the detachments set out, +after hearty farewells from those who remained behind, and who watched +them slowly pass out of sight over the ice and into the cold mysteries +of the white region lying towards the north. + +The camp at Teplitz Bay was strangely quiet after their departure, the +absence of the dogs, no less than the absence of the men, rendering the +place lonely and deserted. It was not expected that the auxiliary +detachment would be back again for some days, and it was with very great +surprise that the Duke of Abruzzi, while walking near the hut one day, +heard the sounds of dogs barking near at hand. He hastened in the +direction whence the sounds came, and was astounded to see Lieutenant +Querini coming towards him. Immediately he came to the conclusion that +disaster had overtaken the expedition soon after starting, and that the +lieutenant was the bearer of ill news, if not the only survivor of the +detachments. The facts were, however, not quite so bad as this. What had +happened was that the cold had become so intense, after leaving Cape +Fligely, that not only the men, but the dogs also, suffered severely, +and were almost incapacitated. The experience of a few days revealed +many points where improvement could be made in the arrangement of the +sledges and their loading, and the commander, realising that only +valuable time would be lost, and perhaps the entire expedition +jeopardised, by pushing on under the circumstances, decided to return to +the main camp, so as to overhaul the arrangements, and reorganise the +detachments in the light of their experiences. + +By the time the detachments were again ready to start, February had +passed and March 10 had arrived. The loss of time, consequent on their +return, necessitated an alteration in the programme of all the parties, +and when they set out the second time the order of march was for the +first detachment to return after twelve days' march, the second in +twenty-four, and the third in thirty-six. The detachments were also +varied, so that the main detachment should number four instead of three +men. A Norwegian, the engineer of the ship, was included in the first +detachment at his earnest request. + +The second start was made on Sunday, March 11, and this time there was +no turning back. On March 28 the Duke of Abruzzi went, with the watch +party, to Cape Fligely, and constructed a shelter wherein to remain in +readiness to greet the first detachment on their return, the date of +which was expected to be April 4. On that date, and for some days +before, an anxious watch was kept from the lookout point towards the +north, but no signs were seen of the returning explorers. For a day or +so this did not cause any grave anxiety, as it was quite possible that +there might be a brief delay, but as the days went by without a sign, +and the days grew into weeks, there was serious uneasiness at the +continued non-appearance of the men. The time arrived when the second +detachment was due, and still the watchers saw no signs of the returning +men. Uneasiness gave place to grave anxiety, and the few who remained at +the camp were beginning to wonder whether they alone would return home, +with the summer, with only a tale of loss and disaster to bear to their +country, when a man of the second party reached the camp in a state of +great exhaustion. His story was that his detachment, the second, had +parted with the third on March 31, and had successfully negotiated the +return journey up to April 15, when an open channel in the ice near the +island had stopped their forward march. For days they had sought a way +round it, but, failing, the leader had despatched the man in the kayak +to reach the watch party, and summon assistance of a boat to convey the +remainder over the channel. The man had attempted to land at a point +where the ice was some fifteen feet high, but while he was testing it to +see if he could clamber up, the kayak slipped away from him and left him +clinging, with no hope of escape if he slipped into the water below. He +was one of the Alpine guides, and, with his ice-axe, he managed to cut a +way up the ice to the summit, though the struggle was a terrible strain +on his strength and skill. When, at last, he reached the summit, he was +met with a new difficulty. He did not know where he was, nor in which +direction the camp lay. He was without food, or refreshment, but he made +his way to a higher point, from whence he was, fortunately, able to see +the top of the ship's masts showing over the ice. This gave him the +direction of the camp at Teplitz Bay, and he made his way thither, with +as much speed as he could. When he arrived, he had been battling his way +for over twenty-four hours, from the time he lost his kayak, a feat of +very great endurance. + +In answer to anxious questions as to the first detachment, he said he +and all the rest believed the first detachment was in the camp, for it +had left the main body in time to reach Cape Fligely by April 2. At the +time it started back, owing to the drift of the ice, the island could be +distinctly seen, so that there could be no difficulty as to the men +knowing which way to go. Moreover, a change had been made in the +command, and the first detachment had left under the command of +Lieutenant Querini, Dr. Cavalli having been placed at the head of the +second detachment owing to his showing greater staying powers on the +march than the lieutenant. + +As soon as the rest of the detachment had been conveyed from the ice +pack to the camp, Dr. Cavalli corroborated the story and shared, with +the rest of the expedition, the anxiety at the non-arrival of the little +band. His detachment, he said, had parted with the main party on 31st +March, and had seen Captain Cagni and his companions continue their way +to the north, with a train of six sledges and forty-eight dogs. The +first detachment might, he suggested, have been carried away to the +east, and, as they had no kayak with them, they might have been cut off +by an open channel and so prevented from reaching the island. Relief +parties were immediately sent out to search the ice in that direction, +and also to see whether the men had taken refuge on the islands, further +to the north-east, where Nansen and Johansen had passed their winter. +The search was continued until May 10, when the parties returned, having +searched far and wide but without finding any trace of the missing +detachment. It was then hoped that they had made their way to Cape +Flora, where there was an abundance of food and other necessaries, but +when the _Stella Polare_ touched there, on her way home, no signs were +found of the missing men, and it was then realised that they were lost. +How, or when, or where, they had met their end, no one could form any +opinion. A break in the ice may have precipitated them into a channel; +cold may have overcome them as they slept; moving hummocks may have +overwhelmed them, or a sudden snow-storm may have caused them to lose +their direction, and have led them into dangers they were not able to +escape. When no trace could be found of them, and no vestige of their +outfit discovered on the ice, or the islands, there was only one thing +the survivors could realise, and that was that their comrades had gone +out of the world in silence, in mystery, and in sacrifice to the +knowledge of humanity. + +[Illustration: SKETCH MAP + +Showing Captain Cagni's farthest north 86° 34', being 20' beyond the +point reached by Nansen.] + +As the month of May gradually passed, the members of the expedition +gathered at Cape Fligely so as to maintain a steady watch for the return +of the main detachment. In addition to the watch party there was also a +party at Teplitz Bay, and word was sent from one place to the other as +the days went by, while short journeys were constantly being taken along +the shores on the lookout for the return of Captain Cagni and his +companions. The provisions they had with them were only calculated to +last until May 26, but the leader had expressed his intention, if he had +not succeeded in reaching far enough to the north, of proceeding on +reduced rations so as to attain as high a latitude as possible before +returning. On the reduced scale they would be able to subsist until +June 10, but when that date arrived and still there was no sign of them, +the remainder of the expedition became alarmed. The silent disappearance +of Lieutenant Querini and his companions did not tend to alleviate their +anxiety. A week passed without any sign; June 20th came and went, and +the next two days saw the little community depressed and sad at what +they regarded as the fatal silence. On the 23rd they barely exchanged +words with one another, lest they should add to each other's sorrow by +expressing the almost hopeless fear that every one felt. On the evening +of that day the watch party at Cape Fligely had retired to their shelter +when they heard the barking of dogs. Hastily going outside, they saw a +man, with a sledge, advancing from the direction of Teplitz Bay. They +waited in silence for him to come up, fearing he brought news of +disaster. But their fears were turned to joy when he shouted the news +that the third detachment had safely returned to camp, having penetrated +as far as 86° 34' N., and so established the "farthest north" record of +any expedition yet despatched to the Arctic. + +The story Captain Cagni had to tell was one of persistent courage and +determination. The straits to which he and his companions were reduced +were shown by the condition of their equipment. They had a single +sledge in a very damaged state, a bottomless saucepan, a broken cooking +lamp, and a ragged tent. Their dogs were reduced to seven, the others +having been killed to feed the survivors as well as the men. On the +return journey the drift of the ice had carried them to the west, so +that when they reached the latitude of Teplitz Bay they were many miles +to the west of it. The condition of the ice had compelled them to go +still further away before they were able to turn and head direct for the +camp. + +From March 11 to April 24 they marched steadily towards the north, and +covered something like six hundred miles in ninety-five days. For the +whole period of 104 days they marched 753 miles. During the first stage +of the journey they maintained a speed of five miles a day, but during +the second stage they doubled that, and covered, on an average, ten +miles a day. From their experience they argued it was impossible to +reach the Pole from any such base as that at Teplitz Bay while dog +sledges were the only available means of transport. + +With the return of this detachment the work of the expedition was at an +end. The vessel was freed from the ice after a little difficulty, and, +proving to be seaworthy, steamed out of the bay on August 14. They +arrived at Hammerfest without mishap on September 5. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE ANTARCTIC REGION + + The Mystery of the South Pole--Ignored by Early Navigators--An + Accidental Dutch Discovery--Captain Cook Sets Sail--Discouraged by + the Ice--Turns Back in Despair--A Second Accidental + Discovery--Weddell breaks the Barrier--Antarctic Land + revealed--British resume the Search. + + +While the desire to penetrate into the mysteries of the North held the +mind of mankind from the earliest times, the very existence of a similar +world of ice, at the opposite pole, was undreamed of until a few +centuries back. At the time when the world was generally held to be a +flat disc, this is not to be wondered at, seeing that there could only +be one other side possible under that belief, and that side the "under +world," into which it was not desirable that human beings should ever +penetrate. But the time came when the world was demonstrated to be a +sphere, and the more thoughtful of men realised the necessity of having +some theory wherewith to explain what form the world would take at the +opposite pole to the North. The theory which found most general +acceptance was that which contended for a similar distribution of sea +and land at the South as was currently supposed to exist at the North +Pole. It was argued that only by such a distribution could the balance +of the earth be maintained. Nor did the theorists stop there. The +ancient geographers delighted their hearts by imagining a southern +division of land and sea inhabited by identical animals, covered with +the same kind of verdure and plants, and occupied by similar races of +men to the North. In the absence of any evidence to contradict it, this +theory held for many years. + +In the Middle Ages, when the Portuguese and Spaniards were sailing from +sea to sea, and later, when their successors, the Dutch, roamed the +ocean, carrying their flags to the East and the West, none seem to have +penetrated into the ice-bound regions of the South. The Cape of Good +Hope was doubled. Cape Horn was sailed round. Australia was located, and +even the south of Tasmania was visited. But further south the world was +still unknown. + +An explanation of this may be found in the fact that in southern +latitudes the drift of ice is very much further away from the Pole than +is the case in the north. In the northern hemisphere massive ice-floes +are not encountered until the 70th parallel of latitude has been passed, +while it is not until the 75th parallel is passed that the ice becomes +so packed as to appear to be stationary. In the southern latitudes, on +the other hand, drift ice is encountered in the 50th parallel, and by +the time the 60th parallel is reached, the ice is found to be as close +set as it is in the 80th parallel in the north. In the islands off +Tierra del Fuego the mountains remain covered with snow down to the +water's edge through all the summer months, though the latitude is only +54° S. + +This may be due, in a large measure, to the small quantity of land +existing in the south, as compared with the north. The heat of the sun +does not radiate from the sea with the same intensity as it does from +the earth, whence the ice, drifting from the south into the oceans +nearer the equator, melts more slowly, and is consequently enabled to +travel longer distances, thus lowering the temperature of the +surrounding atmosphere and still further delaying the melting process. +At a comparatively recent period, the limit of the floes, in the +southern oceans, was much nearer the equator than it is to-day, for the +most southerly parts of Africa, Australia, and America all show +unmistakable evidences of having, within recent times, been under a +great ice covering. + +It was not until 1600 that the first contact was made with the southern +world of ice. Dirk Gerritz, a Dutch navigator, sailing with a squadron +for the East Indies, was separated from his other ships while passing +through the Straits of Magellan and was driven as far as 64° S. He +discovered, in that latitude, a rocky coast line covered with snow. The +discovery did not excite any great interest at the time, and, for a +period of nearly two centuries, nothing was done to probe further into +the mysteries of the South. In 1769 an expedition was sent out under +Captain Kerguellen to explore the regions lying to the south of the Cape +of Good Hope. He was successful in locating the group of islands, still +known as Kerguellen Islands, and sailed thence to Australia, +demonstrating that no land, other than these islands, existed between +the Cape of Good Hope and Australia. + +In 1772, Captain Cook, who had already done so much to reveal the +southern hemisphere to the knowledge of man, left the Cape of Good Hope +with two ships, the _Resolution_ and the _Adventure_, in search of the +continent believed to exist somewhere beyond the regions hitherto +visited. In 48° 41' S. latitude, and 18° 24' E. longitude, a sudden fall +in the temperature from 67° to 38° Fahr. was experienced. On the +following day an iceberg, fifty feet in height and nearly half a mile in +length, was sighted. The course was continued to the south, but the +third day after sighting the first berg the sea had become so full of +ice that no further progress to the south was possible, although the +latitude was only 54° 50' S., the corresponding latitude in the northern +hemisphere being that of the city of Hull. + +Skirting the ice-packs and working always to the southward, the vessels +managed to reach 55° 16' S. during the next three days, some few seals, +penguins, and other birds being seen on the floating ice as the ships +passed. The temperature was never above freezing, the sails were frozen +and the rigging covered with icicles. The fact that the ice was found to +be composed of fresh water, convinced Cook that there must be land still +further to the south, lying behind the ice-floes. He, therefore, kept on +to the east, always sailing as far to the south as the line of the ice +permitted. In reality, he was sailing round the Antarctic, from west to +east, skirting along the ice limit. In January 1773 the vessels were in +61° S. and 139° E. longitude. A month later he was nearly five hundred +miles to the south of the course Tasman had sailed when he discovered +Tasmania, but still no land was seen amongst the ice. This being the +summer season in the southern hemisphere, it was necessary to seek +winter quarters to the north if the ships were to escape imprisonment in +the ice for the season. + +After a winter passed in the Pacific Ocean, Captain Cook took his ships +again to the south, towards the end of the year, and by January 30, +1774, they were in 71° 10' S. latitude and 106° 54' W. longitude. +Further progress to the south was barred by a line of high ice cliffs. +Describing the circumstances Captain Cook wrote:-- + +"At four o'clock A.M. we perceived the clouds, over the horizon to the +south, to be of an unusual snow-white brightness, which we knew +announced our approach to field ice. Soon after, it was seen from the +topmast head, and at eight o'clock we were close to its edge. It +extended east and west, far beyond the reach of our sight. In the +situation we were in, just the southern half of our horizon was +illuminated by the rays of light, reflected from the ice, to a +considerable height. Ninety-seven ice hills were distinctly seen within +the ice-field, besides those on the outside. Many of them were large and +looking like a ridge of mountains rising one above another till they +were lost in the clouds. The outer, or northern, edge of this immense +field was composed of loose or broken ice, close packed together, so +that it was not possible for anything to enter it. This was about a mile +broad, within which was solid ice in one continued compact body. It was +rather low and flat (except the hills), but seemed to increase in height +as you traced it to the south, in which direction it extended beyond our +sight.... I, who had ambition, not only to go further than any one had +gone before, but as far as it was possible for man to go, was not sorry +at meeting with this interruption, as in some measure it relieved us, at +least, shortened the dangers and hardships inseparable from the +navigation of the southern polar regions." + +Returning again to the Pacific in order that his men might recuperate +after their hardships in the ice region, Captain Cook made a third +attack upon the Antarctic problem the following year--1775--when he +sailed to the south along the 27th meridian of west longitude. In +latitude 59° S. three rocky islets were discovered. They rose to a +considerable height, one of them terminating in a lofty peak shaped like +a sugar-loaf, to which the name of Freezeland Point was given, not, as +it might very well have been, in description of the land itself, but +after the man who first sighted it. Far to the east of this peak there +appeared a long coast line with lofty, snow-capped mountains, the +summits often rising higher than the clouds. To the extremity of this +coast the name of Cape Bristol was given. Land sighted still more to the +south was named Southern Thule. + +As there appeared to be more probability of success being won on this +voyage, the ships proceeded to explore the seas in the neighbourhood of +these new lands; but a repetition of the trials and difficulties met in +the previous year brought the hopes to nought. Whichever way they sailed +they encountered ice, either in massive bergs, or lines of cliffs, miles +in length. On February 6, 1775, the cold hostility of the region daunted +even the brave heart of Captain Cook. He decided to turn back, writing +in his log: "The risk one runs in exploring a coast in these unknown and +icy seas is so great, that I can be bold enough to say that no man will +ever venture further than I have done, and that the lands which lie to +the south will never be explored." + +Modern achievement in the Antarctic regions forms a curious commentary +on this outspoken opinion of so intrepid an explorer as the man who +laid the great island-continent of Australia open for the colonisation +of the British. But for the time being the opinion ranked sufficiently +with the authorities to put an end to all attempts to solve the mystery +of the Antarctic. Years passed without anything being done to penetrate +into the unknown, until, in 1819, Captain William Smith, commanding the +brig _William_, on a voyage from Monte Video to Valparaiso, was driven +as far to the south as 62° 30', in which latitude and longitude 60° W. +he discovered a group of islands and named them the South Shetlands. The +discovery was reported to the commander of H.M.S. _Andromache_, who at +once sailed to the locality and further explored the islands. These were +found to be a scattered group lying between 61° and 63° S., consisting +of twelve fairly large isles, and a number of small rocky islets. +Several of the isles were mountainous, and one peak was observed which +was estimated to be 2500 feet high. Beyond this brief expedition nothing +was done by the Navy, but during the next few years a considerable +amount of knowledge was gained by whaling captains who penetrated +further to the south. + +Amongst others, Powell, in 1821, discovered land to the south of the +South Shetlands, naming it Trinity Land; while Palmer, an American +skipper, sailed along a coast to which he gave the name Palmer's Land. +A Russian navigator, Bellinghausen, exploring to the south and west of +the South Shetlands, located Alexander's Land, still more to the south +than Palmer's Land. + +These repeated additions to the general knowledge gradually discredited +Captain Cook's assertion. The newly opened areas were found to be +replete with whales, seals, and other commercially valuable animals, and +ships of the mercantile marine continued to push nearer and nearer the +Pole. In 1822 a firm of traders sent out two vessels to the Antarctic +under the command of Captain Weddell, after whom the great Antarctic +seal is named. The vessels were small ships in comparison with the +modern build. One, the larger, was the _Jane_, a brig of 160 tons, and +the other a cutter, the _Beaufoy_, 65 tons. As Captain Weddell had +already done much geographical service in the South, his employers +instructed him to do all he could to discover fresh lands, and to +penetrate as far into the ice to the South as was possible. He succeeded +so well in carrying out the latter part of his instructions that, on +February 28, 1823, he carried the flag to 74° 1' S. + +For some years nothing more of note was done, but in 1831, Captain +Biscoe, on board the brig _Tula_, located land--named Enderby's Land, +after his employers--in 65° 57' S. latitude and 47° 20' E. longitude. +Wind and storms intervening, he was unable to do more than identify one +promontory, which he named Cape Ann. The year following Biscoe added to +his record the discovery of Adelaide Island, Graham's Land, and a range +of mountains he named after himself, Biscoe's Range. He landed on the +newly discovered territory on February 21, 1832, and took possession of +it in the name of Great Britain. Seven years later, on board the _Eliza +Scott_, Biscoe found an island in 66° 44' S. latitude and 165° 45' E. +longitude, the shores of which were so precipitous that no landing could +be effected. Describing it, he wrote: "But for the bare rocks from where +the icebergs had broken, we should scarcely have known it for land, but +as we stood in for it we plainly perceived smoke arising from the +mountain tops. It is evidently volcanic, as specimens of stones, or +rather cinders, will prove." + +Two years earlier the French Government had taken up the work the +British Government had neglected from the time of Captain Cook's +condemnation, and had despatched two ships, the _Astrolabe_ and the +_Zelée_, to try and get into higher latitudes than those reached by +Weddell. The Government of the United States also sent out vessels to +continue the work already so successfully done by American whaling +skippers. The voyages did not add materially to the discovery of land, +although some valuable scientific facts were observed and recorded. + +The British Government then bestirred itself, and two ships, the +_Erebus_ and _Terror_, were placed under the command of Sir James C. +Ross, with Captain Crozier as second in command, to proceed to the +Antarctic regions and explore them. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +VOYAGES OF THE _EREBUS_ AND _TERROR_ + + A Fortunate Choice--Characteristic Southern Bergs--First Sight of + the Continent--More British Territory--A Mighty Volcanic + Display--Nearing the Magnetic Pole--The Antarctic Barrier--A Myth + Dispelled--A Second Attempt--Held by the Ice--Third and Last + Voyage--A Double Discovery. + + +The American and French expeditions having already selected areas for +their operations, Sir James Ross, not wishing to clash with them in any +way, directed his attention to that part of the Antarctic lying to the +south of Australia and New Zealand as his sphere of operations. Fortune +favoured him in this selection, for it is at this part of the Antarctic +region--situated between the meridians of 160° E. and 160° W. +longitude--that open water extends farthest into the high latitudes. He +chose the meridian of 170° E. as the line on which to sail to the south. +It was on this meridian that Balleny, in 1839, had found open water as +high as 69° S. The _Erebus_ and _Terror_ were equally fortunate, and +they were well to the south before they encountered sufficient ice to +prove difficult to navigation. Mostly they encountered icebergs, and +they were thus afforded excellent opportunities to note the +peculiarities of the southern bergs, and to compare them with those of +the Arctic. There was a manifest difference in both form and structure. +Those of the Antarctic showed little variety in shape, and in this they +were in marked contrast to the Arctic bergs. The bergs of the South were +very solid in appearance, with perpendicular grooves on the sides, and +level table-top summits. In size they ranged from 120 to 180 feet in +height, with a length varying from a few hundred yards to a couple of +miles. + +Land was first sighted on January 11, 1841, when the ships were in lat. +70° 23' S. and long. 174° 50' E. The appearance of the land suggested +the tops of mountain peaks fully a hundred miles away. As the ships +sailed on, other peaks showed above the horizon, both to the east and +the west, and the majesty of their size left no room for doubt that they +were part of an area of land attaining to continental proportions. In +his account of the expedition, Sir James Ross wrote: "It was a +beautifully clear evening, and we had a most enchanting view of the two +magnificent ranges of mountains, whose lofty peaks, perfectly covered +with eternal snow, rose to elevations varying from 7000 to 10,000 feet +above the level of the ocean. The glaciers that filled their intervening +valleys, and which descended from near the mountain summits, projected, +in many places, several miles into the sea, and terminated in lofty, +perpendicular cliffs. In a few places the rock broke through the icy +covering, by which alone we could be assured that land formed the +nucleus of this, to appearance, enormous iceberg." + +The range was named Admiralty Mountains, and the various peaks after the +different Lords of the Admiralty. With patriotic pride the leader +recorded that "the discovery of this land restored to Great Britain the +honour of having discovered the southernmost known land, which had been +so nobly won by the intrepid Bellinghausen, and for more than twenty +years retained by Russia." + +The amount of ice along, and off, the shore prevented a landing being +made, but it was found to be possible to get ashore on an island not far +away from the mainland. The island was named Possession Island, in +commemoration of the fact that on its shores the ceremony of taking +possession of the newly discovered lands in the name of Great Britain +was duly celebrated. Situated in lat. 71° 56' S. and long. 171° 7' E., +the island was found to be of igneous formation and accessible only on +its western shore. There were no signs of vegetation on the bare +volcanic rocks, "but myriads of penguins completely and densely covered +the whole surface of the island, along the ledges of the precipices, and +even to the summits of the hills, attacking us vigorously as we waded +through their ranks, and pecking at us with their sharp beaks, disputing +possession; which, with their loud, coarse notes and the insuperable +stench from the deep bed of guano, which had been forming for ages, and +which may, at some time, be valuable to the agriculturists of our +Australian colonies, made us glad to get away again, after having loaded +our boats with geological specimens and penguins." + +As the voyage continued, the height of the mountains lying further to +the south of Admiralty Mountains was observed to be from 12,000 to +14,000 feet, the majority being obviously of volcanic origin. While +noting these characteristics, a phenomenon was witnessed which, for the +moment, suggested that they were in the presence of a mighty volcanic +upheaval. An angle was being measured, when, in the line of sight, an +island, about one hundred feet high, suddenly seemed to rise from the +ocean. All eyes were turned upon it, the dark colour of the new arrival +standing out in such pronounced contrast with the whiteness of the ice +around it. Then one, more observant than the rest, drew attention to the +fact that a large berg previously observed at the place where the island +had risen, had completely disappeared. At once the riddle was solved. +The berg had turned over, and, as the lower portion was composed of +earth-stained ice, it stood out in such strong relief against the other +ice that the mistake was easily accounted for. + +One of the mountains slowly coming into view on the horizon as the ships +continued their way was so remarkably like Mount Etna in appearance that +it was so named by the members of the expedition, but official +requirements of the case necessitated another name being given to it. +It was entered in the record as Mount Melbourne, while another, lying +beyond it, was named Mount Monteagle. These were the highest mountains +seen up to that time, and presented an imposing appearance. Yet others +were sighted in the course of a few days which quite eclipsed them. +These were the two volcanoes which were named after the two vessels, +Mount Erebus and Mount Terror. + +Mount Erebus, 12,400 feet high, was in active eruption when first seen, +and has been so on every occasion that man has looked upon it since. At +the time of its discovery it was giving a display that was +extraordinarily grand, the more so by reason of its surroundings. It was +snow-clad to within a few hundred feet of its conical summit, while its +huge base rested on a wide stretch of ice, gleaming and shimmering in +the sunlight. Between the ice wall, hundreds of feet high, which marked +the coast line, and the vessels, the water was blue and clear, +reflecting the hue of the sky above. From the crater alternate bursts of +smoke and flame were flung up, the rumbling sound of the explosions +floating down through the frozen stillness in a faint echo like that of +heavy distant artillery fire. In the official account it is described as +follows:-- + +"A volume of dense smoke was projected at each successive jet with great +force, in a vertical column to a height of between 1500 and 2000 feet +above the mouth of the crater, when, condensing at its upper part, it +descended in mist or snow, to be succeeded by another splendid +exhibition of the same kind in about half-an-hour afterwards, although +the intervals between the eruptions were by no means regular. The +diameter of the column of smoke was between 200 and 300 feet, as near as +we could measure it. Whenever the smoke cleared away, the bright red +flames that filled the mouth of the crater were clearly perceptible, and +some of the officers believed they could see streams of lava pouring +down its side until lost beneath the snow, which descended from a few +hundred feet below the crater and projected its perpendicular icy cliffs +several miles into the ocean." + +So far as the leader of the expedition was concerned, there was another +circumstance in connection with the position in which the ships were +that appealed to him very particularly. He had, a few years earlier, +succeeded in locating the North Magnetic Pole. Bearings, taken in the +neighbourhood of the two volcanoes, revealed the fact that the South +Magnetic Pole was only about 170 miles distant. An effort was made to +penetrate to the South so as to sail over, or otherwise locate, the +exact position of the magnetic pole; but the weather conditions, which +had been so favourable to them up to that point, now told severely +against them. The thermometer fell rapidly, and the temperature went so +low that the spray, flung up by the ships, froze, as it fell, into solid +ice on the bows. Men were kept constantly breaking it away, but still +it accumulated, considerably interfering with the speed of the ships. +Then they found in front of them a great wall of ice rising out of the +sea, without a break or opening, to a height of some hundreds of feet. +They sailed along it for miles, but the only change was that it +increased in height until it towered a thousand feet above the level of +the ocean. + +Although it was then midsummer, and the warmest part of the year, the +highest temperature during the day was never above twenty degrees below +freezing. At the corresponding period of the season in the Arctic, every +iceberg gives evidence of the warmer weather by commencing to melt, so +that from all of them streams of water are to be seen pouring down the +sides. But the bergs in the Antarctic showed no such streams of water. +All were solid, and the heat of the sun at midday was not able to cause +even the surface to thaw. During a gale, encountered in this locality, +the waves, as they broke over the sides, covered the rigging and sails +with hard, clear ice until it was almost impossible to handle the ropes +or furl the sails. + +As February went by and they were still unable to work nearer the site +of the magnetic pole, the leader sought for a haven where the ships +could pass the winter, so as to be ready to recommence the work directly +the weather moderated with the approach of spring. But no such place was +to be found, the mighty barrier of ice stretching away to the horizon +with never a break in its massive towering front. Nothing was to be done +except turn the vessels to the North and make the best of their way into +milder latitudes until the winter had passed. + +On the voyage towards the North, one of those accidents occurred to the +_Terror_ which, fortunately for the welfare of sailors, are not possible +nowadays. The bobstay of the bowsprit was smashed by coming in contact +with a mass of floating ice. At the time the temperature was such that +the bows of the vessel, as well as the bowsprit and its rigging, were +all covered with ice, which the men had to be continually trying to keep +clear. With the ship pitching to a heavy head sea, this was by no means +easy, yet it was simple compared to the work of repairing the damaged +bobstay. The men carrying out this work had to be slung over the bows, +and every time the ship pitched, they were plunged into the freezing +water, often being entirely immersed. The temperature of the sea at the +time was twelve degrees below freezing, and two hours were occupied in +effecting the repairs, man after man going over the bows to take the +places of those who were literally frozen out. The commander, with +pardonable pride, commented upon the pluck and hardy determination of +his men in carrying out this arduous task. + +As they sailed to their winter quarters in an easterly course, they +passed the locality where the ships of the American expedition had +reported a discovery of land forming part of the great Antarctic +continent. A sharp lookout was kept for it, but no indications were +seen, and, when the two ships sailed over the spot where the continent +was supposed to exist, the conclusion was forced upon the leaders that +the Americans had been misled, as they had themselves on more than one +occasion, into regarding the combination of ice and cloud as land. So +suggestive of land did this combination often appear, that it was only +by the most careful and critical observation that similar mistakes were +not to be recorded against the _Erebus_ and _Terror_. + +Early in April they arrived at Tasmania, leaving that colony in the +following July for New Zealand, where they stayed until December, when +they sailed once more to the Antarctic. + +It was the intention of Ross to sail to the South along the 146th +meridian of west longitude, but the existence of heavy pack ice proved +an effectual obstacle to their progress. The ships became involved in +the pack, and only managed to force their way clear by the beginning of +February. This meant a great loss of valuable time, for they were only +able to reach 76° 42' S. latitude before they had to return. They +sighted the great barrier of ice lying to the south, with what appeared +to be high mountains, snow covered, rising behind. As no definite +observations could be made to demonstrate whether the heights were +mountains or only the summit of the Antarctic ice-cap, the discovery was +not claimed as being new land. + +The vessels made their way to the Falkland Islands, where they passed +the winter, and on December 17, 1842, they sailed, for the third time, +to the South. The object of this voyage was to further explore Louis +Philippe Land and reach as high as Weddell had done. Excellent progress +was made, and, on the last day of the year, they sighted an island to +which the name Etna Island was given, as it was a volcano greatly +resembling, in miniature, the great volcano of Sicily. Further to the +south high peaks appeared, and, with the new year, a number of islands, +as well as what appeared to be portions of the mainland, were +discovered. Amongst others, the expedition found and named Paulet +Island, Cockburn Island, Snow Hill Island, and Mount Haddington, places +which were to be made still more familiar over half a century later by +the dramatic events which occurred to the Swedish expedition in 1901-3. + +In addition to the discovery of land, it was also found that the waters +off this coast abounded with whales, and, by the time that the two ships +returned to the Cape of Good Hope, in March, they were able to claim, +for the record of the third trip, the double discovery of land and of +all the essentials for a profitable whaling industry. The ships had +circumnavigated the Antarctic region, and for many years thereafter +whalers were the main visitors. Until 1898 no official British +expedition sailed for the Antarctic, though there was a brief stay, just +within the Antarctic Circle, of H.M.S. _Challenger_ in 1874. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE _SOUTHERN CROSS_ EXPEDITION + + British continue the Work--Carrier Pigeons in the Ice--Withstanding + a Nip--A Sea-quake--Cape Adare Station--A Cosy Camp--Edible + Fish--Death visits the Camp--Penguin Peculiarities--A Derelict + Blue-bottle--The Welcome Postman--A Thrilling Episode. + + +The first British expedition for many years was that which sailed from +the Thames in 1898 on board the _Southern Cross_, under the leadership +of C. E. Borchgrevinck, with the object of penetrating as far as was +possible to the south and exploring the Antarctic continent, or as much +of it as could be visited during a year's stay in those latitudes. + +[Illustration: THE _SOUTHERN CROSS_ IN THE ICE PACK. + +At work with the Theodolite.] + +The leader of the party had already been on this continent in 1894, when +he voyaged into the Antarctic on board a whaler. He had landed on South +Victoria Land and Possession Island, and had reached as far south as 74° +10' S. He had discovered a sheltered beach, near Cape Adare, which he +recognised as an ideal site for the headquarters of an exploring party +equipped for a prolonged stay. On the same occasion he was fortunate in +finding a lichen growing on the rocks of Cape Adare, which was the first +instance of terrestrial plant life being observed in the Antarctic. +Imbued with enthusiasm as to the prospects of successful observation +being carried out from this point, he strove to arouse public interest +in the project. He found plenty of interest but not much financial +support, until he had the good fortune to meet Sir George Newnes, Bart., +in 1898. That gentleman caught some of the enthusiasm which actuated +Borchgrevinck, and undertook to provide the necessary capital to enable +the expedition to be formed and despatched. Thereafter there was no +delay in the matter of organising the expedition. The _Southern Cross_, +a small barque-rigged steamer of 276 tons, and built by Colin Archer, +the builder of the _Fram_, was secured, and placed under the command of +Captain Bernhard Jensen. With stores and equipment for some years, a +crew of Norwegians, an efficient scientific staff, and a large kennel of +Arctic dogs, she left St. Katherine's Dock on August 22, 1898, amid much +popular demonstration and sailed for Tasmania. + +Arriving at Hobart early in December, she took in further supplies, and +sailed again, on December 19, for the Antarctic. On December 30, in +latitude 61° 56' S. and longitude 153° 53' E., she encountered the first +ice, and a few days later was among the floes. Some carrier pigeons had +been taken on board at Hobart, and they were liberated when the vessel +was well within the ice limit. One was absent for about a week before it +returned to the ship, but the majority returned almost at once. + +On January 14, 1899, land--Balleny Island--was sighted in latitude 65° +44' S. and longitude 163° 38' E., and the _Southern Cross_ was soon fast +in a pack. Advantage was taken of the opportunity to lay in a store of +seal flesh for the dogs. Two varieties were met with on the ice, leopard +seals and white seals, both so unaccustomed to the presence of man that +the explorers had no difficulty in walking up to them and killing them +as they lay on the ice. + +After being held for a week the first nip was experienced. The movement +in the ice was very pronounced, and high pressure-ridges were thrown up. +When the pressure caught the ship there was some uneasiness in the minds +of those on board as to how she would stand the strain. She disposed of +all fears, so far as she was concerned, by rising a clear four feet when +the nip was at its worst, thereby adding another instance to the record +of her builder as a cunning designer of ships for ice navigation. + +For a period of forty-eight days they were held in the pack, and the ice +then becoming more broken it was decided not to try any further to reach +to the south of Balleny Island; instead, it was determined to go direct +to Cape Adare, and establish the headquarters while the summer was still +with them. On February 12, a few days after getting into open water, and +when the vessel was making good progress under sail and steam, she was +noticed to shake violently. No ice was in sight, nor anything else that +could account for it, but there came a tremor which lasted for a couple +of seconds, followed by another after an interval of three seconds. The +phenomenon was noticed by men in all parts of the ship, and no +explanation could be given for it. A couple of days later they ran into +heavy weather, during which the temperature fell so low that everything +became covered with ice, an experience which was very similar to that +which befell the ships forming Sir James Ross's expedition in 1842. The +ship had to lay-to for two days until the weather abated, and, on the +second day after resuming her course, land was sighted, and the +_Southern Cross_ steamed into Robertson Bay in sight of Cape Adare and +the spot where the headquarters of the expedition were to be built. + +The camp consisted of four huts, which were promptly erected and filled +with the stores and equipment. The landing party, consisting of ten, +made their home in one of the huts, utilising the others for the storage +of provisions, equipment, and other impedimenta. The dwelling-hut was +constructed with three doors, opening inwards, so as to facilitate the +escape of the residents should they become snowed in. Between the outer +and the middle doors there was a four-foot lobby, off which a small room +opened on either side. One of these was devoted to the development of +photographs and the storage of the more delicate instruments, while the +other was the taxidermist's studio. Both these rooms were lined with +wool and fur, and were entered through small sliding trap-doors two +feet above the ground. The interior of the hut formed one room, fifteen +feet square, and with ten bunks constructed along the north and east +walls, each bunk being closed in, so that the occupant could lie within, +out of sight of the others, a very serviceable arrangement under +circumstances where ten men are compelled to be in one another's company +morning, noon, and night for several months at a stretch. The windows +faced the west, and were double framed, with a space of three inches +between the frames. The walls were also double, with _papier-mâché_ +packing between, while the ceiling was seven feet above the floor, also +packed with _papier-mâché_, and had above it an attic where stores which +required keeping fairly warm were placed. + +Before they had everything completed on shore, a furious gale sprang up, +and from February 23 to 26 all the energies of the party were required +to keep the ship from being lost. She dragged her anchor and drifted +dangerously near the coast before steam could be got up, and even when +the engines were at full speed, she could barely do more than hold her +own. Once, two steel cables and a hawser were run out round a jutting +rock to afford her some stay, but they snapped like threads when the +puff caught her, and for the rest of the time she was kept standing off +and on under the lee of Cape Adare. During the winter the explorers had +further experience of the character of these southern gales, the wind +often attaining a velocity of eighty-five miles an hour, representing a +force capable of lifting up and carrying bodily away such a thing as a +whale-boat; while the air was, at such times, filled with pebbles and +small stones blown from the high lands behind the camp. On one occasion, +so fierce was the strength of the wind, that it was found impossible to +crawl on hands and knees, and with the assistance of a guide-rope, from +the hut to the thermometer-box a couple of hundred yards away. The +heaviest member of the party, a man over thirteen stone, was blown from +the rope and nearly lost while attempting the journey. + +On March 2 everything was in order at the huts, and the shore party +landed to take up their residence. The flag presented to the expedition +by the Duke of York was hoisted, the _Southern Cross_ dipped her ensign +to it, everybody cheered, and the vessel steamed out of the bay for New +Zealand, leaving the devoted ten the only occupants of the great unknown +continent which lies 2500 miles to the south of Australia. + +[Illustration: THE AURORA AUSTRALIS. + +_Drawn by Dr. E. A. Wilson._] + +They were not long before they commenced work. Cape Adare was explored +and its height determined to be 3670 feet above sea-level. Vegetation, +in the form of lichens, was traced up to a thousand feet, to which level +it was found the penguins made their crude nests and hatched their +young. Snow lay deep after three thousand feet, but no signs of life, +vegetable or animal, were discovered at that altitude. In the waters +below and around the cape several specimens of algæ, medusa, hydroids, +and other low forms of marine life were secured. In addition to these +specimens it was also discovered that there was abundance of fish in the +deeper waters of the bay. These were caught, both by net and line, and +the members of the expedition were agreeably surprised when it was found +that they were nearly all edible, for a constant diet of preserved food +soon palls, even on the healthiest appetites. As the ice spread farther +out over the bay the fishing was conducted through a hole cut through +the ice, and it was no uncommon experience of the fisher to be suddenly +confronted with the startled eyes of a seal which had risen from the +depth below, under the belief that the opening was a blow-hole for his +convenience. + +On May 15 they saw the sun disappear below the horizon, above which it +would not reappear until July 27. The sun, as it disappeared, presented +a curious optical phenomenon. Its reflection appeared as a large red +elliptical glowing body which gradually changed into a cornered square, +while the sky, in its immediate vicinity, revelled in a blaze of +colours. As the sun slowly sank, the colours grew in intensity, reaching +the height of their vivid beauty as the last of the globe sank out of +sight. The Aurora Australis continued to give them displays of +colouring throughout the time when the moon was not shining and the sky +was otherwise dark. The temperature sank very low, at times, during the +night, -25° Fahr. being recorded, soon after the sun went below the +horizon, while later on the records were as low as -57° Fahr. Inside the +hut, however, the cold was not severely felt, the construction proving +excellent for the comfort of the men. The numbers of seals killed for +the dogs enabled them to cover the roof with the skins before it became +snowed over, while the ample supply of fur and woollen clothing kept the +expedition well clad. + +[Illustration: EMPEROR PENGUINS. + +The most southerly inhabitants of the Globe. + +_From "The Siege of the South Pole," by Dr. H. R. Mill. By permission of +Messrs. Alston Rivers, Ltd._] + +With one exception the winter passed without an untoward incident, the +exception being the illness of the zoologist of the party, who, after +being carefully nursed by the doctor and all the others, succumbed to +internal complications and died on October 13. This was the only +fatality during the expedition, and the loss of one out of so small a +party naturally had a saddening effect on the survivors. Before he died, +he indicated a spot a thousand feet up the slope of Cape Adare where he +wished to be buried, and, needless to add, his comrades loyally carried +out his last wishes. He died just at the time when the penguins, the +study of which had so engrossed him, were returning over the ice to +their nesting quarters. The first one arrived a few hours before his +death, and it was taken to him, at his request. The place where he +sleeps is on the line where vegetation ceases and above which the +penguins do not build. + +It was a pity he did not live to see the return of the penguins, for +they came in myriads with the approach of spring. They advanced over the +ice in a long line, walking in single file, and apparently in +detachments of about sixty birds in each. They must have marched for +many miles, as there was no open water nearer from whence they could +have come, and they are not able to fly. As soon as they reached the +land they spread out in such a way as to suggest that each pair went to +the nest they had occupied before. These were simple affairs, consisting +of little more than a few pebbles arranged in a ring on beds of guano. +As a rule, two eggs were laid in each nest, and, for a month, male and +female shared the labour of sitting on them, commencing in November and +remaining on the nests until the young came out in December. The chicks +were fed by the parent birds until they were fairly well grown, when +they were driven into packs and left to look after themselves, with only +occasional help from the older birds. When they were able to look after +themselves, without further assistance, the parents departed. On such +occasions a curious habit was observed. The birds of a detachment seemed +to wait for one another until all were ready, when they would strut, in +a solemn procession, to the water's edge. Usually the white breasts of +the birds were spotlessly clean, but the time they spent on the nests +made them very dingy in appearance. As they strutted down to the water's +edge they were all sadly in need of a bath, yet, on arrival at the edge, +they would stand about, shiver, flap their diminutive wings, and +manifest all the hesitation which is shown by timid bathers when about +to take a plunge. Nothing would induce them to enter the water until +they were ready in their own good time, attempts, on the part of the +explorers, to drive them in, merely resulting in the birds turning round +and strutting on to the land again. When at length the time came for the +plunge, one would flap his wings, utter a cry, and take a header, +whereupon the others would follow, one after the other, all in line and +so rapidly that they presented the appearance of a stream being poured +out of a bottle. The plunge over, they returned to the shore, spotless +and clean. + +As the gales were not over when the birds were sitting, they were +watched to see how they would prevent themselves from being blown away +by the fierce gusts. Almost as soon as the barometer gave indications of +the approach of a gale, the birds were seen to turn their heads towards +the south-east, the quarter from whence the wind came, and lie close to +the ground, with their heads down and their breasts pressed close to it. +On no occasion was a bird seen to be blown away from the nest. + +During December, when the weather became milder, the interesting +discovery was made that insect life exists on the Antarctic land. Some +specimens were found among the mosses growing on the shore, and the +excitement which followed the discovery led one of the Finns, two of +whom were included in the party, to unconsciously play an effective +practical joke on the others. He found a dead blow-fly in a case of jam +and brought it to the hut as a trophy. For a time there was even greater +excitement, until some one thought to ask where the fly had been +captured. + +On January 29, 1900, the _Southern Cross_ returned. She arrived in the +bay at a time when the explorers were sleeping after some heavy +journeys. The captain landed, and walking up to the hut, pushed the door +open and entered. He had the mail-bag with him, and flung it on the +table with a loud cry of "Post." In a moment the bunks were empty, the +sound of a strange voice rousing all the men, to say nothing of the +prospect of receiving news from the world out of which they had been so +long. + +As there was no time to be lost, if they were to penetrate further to +the South before the mild weather passed, they moved on board the ship +as soon as they could, and by February 2 the _Southern Cross_ steamed +away again with all on board. They made excellent progress, passing +Mount Melbourne on February 6, approaching near enough to the coast +opposite to Mount Terror to permit them to land, after which they +steamed along the great ice-barrier until they found an opening, into +which they steamed, so as to enable a sledge party to land and push +forward to the South. It was this sledge party which reached "farthest +South," being on February 16 in latitude 78° 50' S., the highest +latitude reached up to that time. + +But it was while they were ashore at Mount Terror that one of the most +exciting incidents of the whole journey occurred. The party landed at a +small beach which lay under cliffs towering five hundred feet above. In +order to get photographs of it, the boat was despatched back to the ship +for a camera, while Borchgrevinck and Jensen remained ashore. The boat +had not gone very far when a great roar sounded in the air. Those on +shore feared for the moment that a slide had begun in the cliffs over +their heads; but it was not the rocks that were moving. A mighty +glacier, which entered the sea near where they were standing, was +shedding an iceberg from the parent mass, and the noise was caused by +the rending of the ice as the millions of tons mass tore itself free. +The beach was barely four feet above the water, and, as the berg crashed +into the sea, it sent up a great wave that swept along the coast. The +men on the beach barely saw it coming before it was over them. Pressing +themselves against the face of the cliff at the highest point they could +reach, they held on for dear life while the icy water surged up and +over them. After the first wave had passed, others followed, though +these only reached up to their arm-pits, and had it not been for a +projecting point of rock, which served to break the force of the waves, +there is little doubt but that both would have been swept away. The full +force of the waves was shown only a few yards away from where the two +had stood, stones being torn loose and the mark of the water being left +twenty feet up the face of the cliff. + +Having reached "farthest South," the homeward journey was begun on +February 19, and three days later the _Southern Cross_ steamed into Port +Ross, in the Island of Auckland. The expedition was then practically at +an end, having succeeded so well in its objects that it was able to +claim that it had located the Southern Magnetic Pole as being in +latitude 73° 20' S. and longitude 146° E.; had discovered insect and +plant life on the Antarctic continent; had reached the farthest South, +and had added very considerably to the geographical and scientific +knowledge of the world. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE REVIVAL OF ANTARCTIC INTEREST + + Modern Means and Methods--Private Enterprise leads--The + _Valdavia_--The _Belgica_ Expedition--International Action + adopted--The German Expedition--An Ice-bound Land--Fresh + Trade-Winds. + + +Towards the end of the last century there was a distinct revival, in +European scientific circles, of interest in the still unsolved problems +of the frozen South. Many causes contributed to this. The gradual +narrowing of the northern sphere, and the activity displayed in that +region by the Americans, to whom it especially appealed, led the +European geographers to remember the great amount of work yet to be done +in the South. The achievements of the Ross expedition, which had +satisfied public curiosity for the time being, now only stimulated +curiosity as to how much more could be ascertained by the use of modern +steamships and all the other improved appliances that had done so much +to help in Arctic work. + +For a time private enterprise operated, and several vessels were +despatched, from time to time, some with excellent results; but +something more than private enterprise, working individually, was +required if all the benefits of a thorough exploration were to be +obtained. In her brief experience in 1874, H.M.S. _Challenger_ examined, +by means of sounding and dredging, the floor of the ocean to the south +of Kerguellen Island. The evidence collected pointed to the existence, +still further to the south, of an area of land approaching continental +dimensions. In 1898 a German steamer, the _Valdavia_, with Professor +Carl Chun on board, left Cape Town, rediscovered Bouvet Island, which +had not been visited from the time it was first seen by Captain Cook, +and collected further evidence, by sounding and dredging, of the +existence of extensive land nearer the Pole. + +A Belgian, M. Adrien de Gerlache, fitted out a ship, the _Belgica_, and +sailed from Antwerp, in 1897, to explore the area lying to the south of +South America. In the early part of the voyage a new strait was +discovered between Danco Land and Palmer Land, but in February 1898 the +ship became involved in the ice and remained in it for a year, drifting +between 69° 40' and 71° 35' S. latitude and 80° 30' and 102° 10' W. +longitude. During the winter they had a period of seventy days' +darkness, spent on board, the effect of which was extremely depressing +to their spirits and injurious to their health. It was found that the +sea floor had shoaled up to the shallow depth of from 200 to 300 +fathoms, suggesting the proximity of a large area of land, the actual +existence of which, however, the members of the expedition were not +able to observe. + +An international agreement was then arrived at, through the influence of +the International Geographical Conference, under which three nations, +Germany, Sweden, and Great Britain, undertook to despatch to the +Antarctic, three separate expeditions, one from each country. They were +to sail from Europe in 1901, and while working on similar lines, and as +much in common as was possible, each was to have its distinct sphere of +operations. The British undertook the exploration of that area south of +Australia, where Ross had located the volcanoes Mount Erebus and Mount +Terror; the Swedes selected the lands lying to the south of South +America, while the Germans gave their attention to the seas already +visited by the _Valdavia_. + +[Illustration: POLAR OUTFIT USED BY THE _BELGICA_ EXPEDITION. + +Tent, Sledge and Snow Shoes.] + +The German expedition sailed from Kiel on August 11, 1901, on board the +_Gauss_, and was under the command of Professor Erich von Drygalski. +Their first objective was Kerguellen Island, and the chief work carried +out was of a purely scientific character. It was originally intended +that all the expeditions should return to Europe after passing one +winter in the Antarctic. The Germans did so, but both the Swedes and the +British were unable to carry out this part of the programme, the former +in consequence of the loss of their ship in the ice, the latter because +their ship was hard and fast in the southern ice. The Germans were more +fortunate in escaping the ill effects of what was an unusually severe +ice season; but the other nations, by the longer stay they had in the +frozen regions, were able to return with a much more comprehensive +collection of information. + +Leaving a small party at Kerguellen Island, the _Gauss_ sailed to her +allotted area, already revealed by the voyages of Cook, Bellinghausen, +Biscoe, and Kemp. The ice barrier prevented her reaching a very high +latitude, but the connection between Knox Land and Kemp Land, appearing +as isolated coasts on the old maps, was proved. On this land, during the +winter, large quantities of ice are formed, to drift out to sea in the +form of huge packs which effectually guard the shore from intrusion. +Forcing a way through the pack, the _Gauss_ found a brief stretch of +open water, the depth of which was found to shoal rapidly from 1500 to +120 fathoms. This led them to a rugged, steep coast line, occupying the +position of what Ross had defined in 1841 as "ice cliffs." The land was +too high and steep to permit them to land, and the ship, becoming +involved in the ice within sight of it, winter quarters were established +on the ice. + +Severe gales hampered them in their work, but otherwise the winter +passed without any untoward incidents. The rocks composing the cliffs of +the coast were found to be ancient crystalline formations. The interior +of the land was entirely covered, so far as could be seen, by a solid +ice-cap forming one of the most extensive glacial regions now known to +exist. It seemed to be slightly receding, though no definite evidence of +this could be obtained in so short a time as that at the disposal of the +explorers. + +One of the most useful observations made was that relating to the +direction of the winds. The trade-winds blowing in the "roaring +forties," and which serve so good a purpose in carrying ships round Cape +Horn and the Cape of Good Hope to and from Australia, blow from the west +towards the east. At the position occupied by the _Gauss_, inside the +Antarctic Circle, it was noticed that the prevailing winds were from +east to west. Thus, if a clear passage could be found, vessels sailing +round the southern ocean could select either an easterly or a westerly +route as suited them best, instead of having, as at present, to follow +that indicated by the wind. + +At the expiration of the period allotted to them for their stay, the +explorers were able to get free from the ice, and return to Germany. In +this, as has been said, they were the only one of the three expeditions +keeping to time. They arrived home after an absence of twenty-eight +months, fourteen of which were passed in the South Polar ice. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE SWEDISH EXPEDITION + + Sails in the _Antarctica_--Argentine Co-operation--First Antarctic + Fossil--Building the Winter Station--A Breezy Corner--Electric + Snow--A Spare Diet--New Year Festivities--The Missing Ship--Relief + that never Came--A Devastating Nip--Castaway--The Unexpected + Happens--A Dramatic Meeting--Rescued. + + +The expedition to explore the land lying in the Antarctic region to the +south of South America, which, under the international arrangement of +1895, was allotted to Sweden, was placed under the command of Professor +Otto Nordenskjold, with whom was associated Professor Johan Andersson, +both members of Swedish Universities. The steam barque _Antarctica_, +Captain C. A. Larsen, who had already had considerable experience in the +Polar regions, was selected as the vessel in which the expedition was to +proceed to the field of operations. The original plan was for the +expedition to leave Europe in 1901, and to be back in Sweden by May +1903. + +The detailed plan was to leave Sweden as early as possible in the autumn +of 1901 for the South Shetlands, whence the vessel was to go to the east +coast of the land known to lie to the south of those islands. +Penetrating as far to the south as possible, a station was to be +established at any convenient point and a party of six left there, with +the necessary stores, apparatus, and equipment, to spend the winter, +while the ship was to return north to the Falkland Islands and spend the +winter with the remainder of the expedition carrying out scientific +investigations at Tierra del Fuego and South Georgia. On the arrival of +spring the _Antarctica_ was to pick up the members of the expedition who +might be in Tierra del Fuego and South Georgia and proceed south to the +winter station, take on board the members who had passed the winter +there, and return at once to Sweden. + +Unfortunately for the successful carrying out of the plans, the summer +of 1902-3, in the Antarctic regions, was the coldest and the worst for +ice conditions that has ever been recorded, and the expedition, instead +of being able to carry out the plans laid down, experienced, instead, a +series of unexpected happenings which was fatal to the exact working out +of detail, but was rich in exciting and romantic episode. The Frozen +South, like the Frozen North, will not yield its secrets to the first +comer who demands them. The resources of the ice world, at either pole, +are too vast to be overcome without a fierce and prolonged struggle. + +Instead of one winter, the Swedish expedition spent two in the ice +region, while, during the second, all the members of it were living on +the ice, though as three separate parties, each within a few miles of +the other, and all, more or less, ignorant of the proximity of their +comrades. The peculiar circumstances under which they became separated, +their experiences during that time, and the dramatic manner in which +they were reunited and rescued, will form the chief incidents of the +following pages. + +Leaving Sweden on October 17, 1901, the _Antarctica_ proceeded to South +America, where, at the request of the Argentine Government, a +representative of that country, in the person of Lieutenant Sobral, of +the Navy, joined the expedition. In return for this courtesy the +Argentine Government offered to do all it could to assist the +expedition. How magnificently it carried out its promise will be seen +later. + +Early in January the ship was amongst the ice, making her way as fast as +she could to the neighbourhood of Erebus and Terror Gulf, where it was +hoped a suitable site would be found for the winter station. The state +of the ice, however, was not favourable to this scheme, and, by the time +Seymour Island was sighted, it was evident there was little chance of +working into more southern latitudes. Nearly ten years before Captain +Larsen had visited this island, and had taken from it specimens of +fossil wood and molluscs, the first fossils ever discovered in the +Antarctic. + +Before landing on it and seeking for more geological specimens, the +leader determined to try whether there was any chance of penetrating to +the South from a more westerly longitude. The ship was turned on to a +westerly course and kept on it until the beginning of February, but as +no opening was to be seen through the ice to the south, her head was +turned to the east once more, and she returned to the neighbourhood of +Seymour Island. On February 10 the vessel was in Sydney Herbert Bay, +which formed the hitherto unvisited part of Erebus and Terror Gulf. As +it was obviously impossible to get farther to the south, Nordenskjold +decided to establish the winter station on one of the islands in this +vicinity. + +A brief visit to Seymour Island did not reveal the wealth of +fossil-bearing strata that was expected. Paulet Island was visited and +an interesting circular lake was discovered, lying in a circular range +of hills. The banks of the lake bore ample evidences that at one time +there had been great volcanic activity at the place, and the lake was +evidently formed in the hollow of the extinct crater. The place did not +appeal to them as a site for the winter station, and, as further +journeys revealed another island on the other side of Seymour Island, +where there was a beach which appeared to be sheltered from the +southward, the point whence the most violent winds blew, it was decided +to build the hut there. + +The _Antarctica_ anchored in the bay opposite the beach and rapidly +unloaded the camp equipment. When everything was almost landed, a +movement in the ice at the mouth of the bay compelled the ship to stand +out into open water, so the party of six, who were to spend the winter +on the island, hastened ashore, where they had their hut to build and +all preparations to make without the help, which had been counted upon, +of the crew of the vessel. But this did not weigh heavily upon them, and +they set to work with a will. In the course of a week, the _Antarctica_ +was able to get into the bay again and to land the remaining stores; but +by that time the hut was up and the adventurous six were almost settled +down to their routine work. + +A day or so after landing, Nordenskjold discovered that the island they +were on--named Snow Hill Island--was peculiarly interesting from a +geological point of view, for he found fossils of ammonites, a token of +ancient life of the region which alone would have made the expedition +memorable. + +During the first month of their sojourn, the party were fully occupied +in organising their scientific work and in taking preliminary trips +through the island. At an early date they satisfied themselves that +Admiralty Bay is a Sound, and that the portion of the continent +extending to the vicinity was more in the nature of a group of scattered +islands, with deep sounds passing between them, than a continuous +stretch of mainland. The microscopical examination of the soil revealed +the presence of numerous bacteria, while the examination of the waters +showed that the lower forms of life were well represented. On the land +there were abundance of penguins, seals, and migratory birds; but +otherwise there was an absence of the animals found throughout the +Arctic regions. + +On one point they had reason to be dissatisfied with the position +selected for the station. At the time the site was chosen it was +believed that they would be well sheltered from the force of the gales. +The reverse was found to be the case. Gales came from the south-west for +days together and blew with a velocity that was astounding. On one +occasion a large bag of fossils, left on the steps of the hut, was blown +yards away; while on another, a barrel of bread was carried off, and a +whale-boat was lifted over a second boat and flung against a mass of +ice, a distance of twenty-one yards. When the boat was found, after the +storm had abated, it was lying keel upwards, with the greater part of +one side smashed in. The oars, thwarts, and inside planks were scattered +and broken, even the zinc plating being stripped off and blown away. + +A curious phenomenon was observed during the progress of these gales. +The air became saturated with electricity to such an extent that the +metal parts of the instruments gave shocks to the fingers when touched, +while the tips of a man's fingers glowed with luminosity when outside +the hut in the dark. As a similar thing occurs in the Sahara during the +progress of a simoon or sand-storm, it was considered that the amount of +electricity was caused by the friction set up by the particles of snow +carried along in a never-ending cloud by the gale. The rate at which the +dry particles of snow moved was tremendous. An extra severe gale +carrying away the wind-gauge, it was not possible to keep a complete +record of the velocity of the gales, but from the records secured, it +was demonstrated that, during the first half of June, if the hut had +travelled with the same velocity as the wind rushed past it, a distance +of 14,900 miles would have been covered, or as far as from the hut to +Sweden and half-way back. + +As winter approached, the storms obscured the sky and the sun was not +often seen. They were not far enough south to lose it altogether, and +all through the winter they had the benefit of its presence, though not +for many hours at a time. When it did come, however, it came with great +magnificence. After a series of storms they saw it rise one morning, and +the spectacle is described as gorgeous and beautiful. "The morning was +so clear and bright that I absolutely do not know with what to compare +it," Nordenskjold wrote. "A faint violet light lay along the horizon and +over Cockburn Island, which forms the central point of view from the +station. The sky gleams with a darker blue, and across it float long +streamers of ribbon-like clouds, which shine and flame in red. But ever +in the colours there is something pale, a paleness which predominates +with indescribable delicateness of tone in the tints of the horizon, and +in the blue and white shades of the stretches of land, which contrast so +strongly with the dull brown of our immediate neighbourhood, and even +with the sharply defined ice wall of Snow Hill. At about ten o'clock a +glowing spot begins to be visible on the horizon, and, presaged by a +perpendicular pillar of fire, there rises what would be the orb of the +sun, but which, in consequence of refraction, appears to us to be a +broad flaming moving belt of fire. On each side of the sun there are two +shining, intensely rainbow-coloured belts, forming parts of a ring, +which, however, can be seen but imperfectly. The sun rises higher in the +heavens and assumes by degrees his ordinary appearance, whereupon these +accessory phenomena disappear, together with the moon, whose crescent +has been visible in the sky until the last possible moment." + +The winter passed without misfortune, and with the approach of spring +preparations were made for the first long sledge journey. On this, and +other journeys, they succeeded in travelling long distances over what +was often heavy ice, on two meals a day. The first, which was the more +substantial of the two, consisted of pemmican made into a thick +porridge-like soup, the nutritious qualities of which were felt even as +it was being eaten. This was followed by coffee, meat, biscuits, butter +and sugar. On such a meal the men existed and travelled all day, making +no stop until the evening, when they had their dinner, consisting merely +of pease or lentil soup, meat, chocolate, bread, butter, and, sometimes, +bacon. Immediately they had eaten this frugal repast they were in their +sleeping-bags and asleep. + +After climbing the ice ridges, which rose along the shores of the +mainland, they succeeded in reaching the land itself on October 18, +though the only evidence of it was the appearance of some dark-coloured +rocks which showed above the ice. They were then in 56° 48' S. and 62° +11' W. This was as far as they penetrated, and the rapidity of their +movements is shown by the record they set of thirty-eight and a half +miles in one day. Other shorter trips taken over the islands in the +vicinity of Snow Hill Island resulted in the discovery of important +fossils, including the bones of an unknown vertebrate animal, some +mammoth penguins, as well as the leaves of different kinds of pine trees +and several ferns. These were all regarded as belonging to the Tertiary +period. + +With the New Year of 1903 they indulged in festivities, not only on +account of the season, but also in anticipation of the early arrival of +the _Antarctica_. As they had no idea of spending two winters in +succession in the station, they had not been rigidly economical with +their stores. There was no shortage in anything, but there was not +enough to last them during a second winter on the same scale that they +had lived during the first. When the days went by and grew into weeks, +and no ship appeared, they began to take note of these things. For a +time they kept on the lookout, and, at night, would conjecture at what +hour on the following day the _Antarctica_ would appear, and by whom she +would first be seen, but as the month slipped by and no ship appeared, +they dropped the subject, with one accord, and, instead of discussing +when the vessel would arrive, they talked about the best way of spending +their second winter at the station. The penguin roosts were visited and +large numbers of the birds were killed and stored away for winter food, +while seals were slaughtered to provide food for the dogs and clothing +for the men. Although they never discussed it, the idea each man had +about the non-arrival of the _Antarctica_ was that she had become caught +in the ice, and so prevented from reaching them until it was too late in +the season. What had actually occurred never suggested itself. + +After passing the winter as was arranged, the _Antarctica_ had proceeded +to Tierra del Fuego and South Georgia, had picked up all the members of +the expedition, and had steamed away to the South so as to reach the +winter station early in January. As she advanced, however, she found the +sea so blocked with ice that she could not follow the course she had +sailed the previous year. When she arrived at Hope Bay, some miles to +the north of the station, Professor Andersson and two companions landed +with sledges and sufficient provisions to last nine men for two months. +It was their intention to proceed over the ice to the station, while the +_Antarctica_ steamed away to the west, in the hopes of finding an +opening through the ice which would enable her to reach the station. If, +on the arrival of the relief party at the station, the _Antarctica_ had +not appeared, they were to return, with the other six, and wait for the +ship at Hope Bay. + +Before proceeding over the ice to the station the three built a small +stone hut, where they stored the greater portion of the stores, and with +the remainder on their sledge they started on their march. But the ice, +which had been too compact for the ship to penetrate, was not compact +enough for them to traverse. Delay after delay was caused by leads and +channels, until it was forced upon them that they would not be able to +reach the station until the summer was over and the ice formed solid +over the sea. As by that time the _Antarctica_ ought to have arrived at +the station, they decided their best course was to return to the depôt +at Hope Bay and await her advent. They did so, but no ship appeared, +and, with the end of summer, it was clear to them that something had +happened either to the ship or at the station, and that the only thing +left for them to do was to make themselves as comfortable as they could. +With the limited store of provisions they had with them it was necessary +to go on short rations at once, though the capture of some penguins, the +shooting of seals, and the catching of fish by means of a hook made from +a strap buckle and a line of sealskin torn into strips, augmented their +stock of food and gave them, also, in the blubber of the seals, fuel and +light. Cooped up in their little stone hut, which was only built large +enough, in the first instance, as a place to hold their stores, they +went through the dreary months of winter with a contentment which was +the very acme of heroism. + +Meanwhile the _Antarctica_ had steamed away to the west, and then, a +chance offering itself, had stood to the south until she was in the +latitude of Paulet Island. She turned to the east, heading in the +direction of the station on Snow Hill Island, when the ice caught her. +For days she remained in the pack, those on board chafing at the delay +and trying every device to get her free. But the ice was too strong, and +at last they were forced to admit that they were caught for the winter. +This was bad enough, but there was worse to follow. A movement began in +the pack, and a pressure-ridge started directly for the ship. It was +upon them almost before they realised it, and the crash with which she +heeled over told its own tale. The ice had torn a length of her keel +away, and had made a hole in her which it was impossible to repair. + +Everything that could be got out was thrown on to the ice, and the +ship's company formed themselves into sledge parties to convey as much +as they could to the nearest land. This was Paulet Island, where they +arrived after an arduous march and at once set to work to construct a +shelter for the winter, which was now upon them. There they stayed, +within a few miles of the station, and of the other party at Hope Bay, +but all in ignorance of the proximity of one another, and quite unable +to communicate. + +With the first sign of approaching spring the men at the station made +arrangements to resume their expeditions and complete the survey of the +islands in their immediate vicinity. The first trip was in the direction +of Hope Bay, and the party had been out some days when, in the dim +light, one thought he saw an unusual dark patch on the ice in the +distance. He drew his companion's attention to it, but neither cared to +trust their eyes. As they approached nearer, the dark patch resolved +itself into the figures of men, and a still nearer view revealed two +such extraordinary creatures that one of the men from the station +thought it would be as well to have a revolver ready in case of +emergencies. The two figures were in black garments, with black caps on +their heads, and their hands and faces were as black as their clothes, +while the upper parts of their faces were hidden by curious-looking +masks. Beside them was a sledge. + +With considerable uncertainty the men from the station approached, and +were not reassured when they were asked, in English, how they were. +"Thanks; how are you?" they replied. "Don't you know us?" one of the +strange-looking creatures asked. "We're the relief party. Have you seen +the ship?" Then a third figure appeared from behind an ice hummock where +he had been preparing a meal. They were Professor Andersson and his +companions, who were on their way, for the second time, to the station. + +Without loss of time the reunited comrades made their way to the +station, where soap and water and a fresh supply of clothes soon +transformed the appearance of the three who had had so trying a time in +the little stone hut at Hope Bay. But the situation was still fraught +with anxiety, now that both parties realised something very serious had +happened to the _Antarctica_. It was impossible for them to determine +whether she had gone to the bottom, or had been beset in the ice. Only +one thing was clear, and that was, that they would all have to stay +where they were until some help came to them. While they were still +debating what chances there were of any coming before another winter +went by, they were startled, one day, by the arrival of visitors. These +proved to be a search party from the Argentine cruiser _Uruguay_, which +the Argentine Government had despatched as the _Antarctica_ had not +returned at her appointed time. Help had come at a time and from a +quarter least expected. + +But the news that the cruiser brought added very much to the fears the +explorers entertained as to the safety of the _Antarctica_ and her crew. +If she had been beset, some of her company could have reached the +station over the ice while it was still compact, or, if she was still +afloat, she ought herself to have been able to reach them. The absence +of all news made the members of the expedition gathered at the station +more than uneasy as to the fate of their comrades. + +The morning after the Argentine officers arrived, one of the men, +looking out of the hut, exclaimed that eight men were coming over the +ice. Under the impression that they were some of the cruiser's crew sent +to assist in removing the baggage from the station to the ship, he went +out to meet them, walking slowly, as he tried to decide what was to be +done if they could not speak any language he knew. The others in the +hut, watching him, saw him suddenly leap forward and then turn to them +and wave his arms. "Larsen! Larsen is here!" they heard him shout. + +With one accord they rushed out after him, and in a few moments were +eagerly shaking hands with the eight men, who were a detachment sent out +from the camp on Paulet Island to ascertain whether the party at the +station was still intact or whether it had been rescued. The news was +sent to the cruiser, and soon all the members of the expedition and +their baggage were on board and the ship was steaming for Paulet Island. + +On arrival off the coast no signs of the remainder of the crew of the +_Antarctica_ were to be seen, so the whistle was blown. The men at the +time were all in the shelter, sleeping, and the sudden sound of the +whistle roused them. For the moment they could not believe their ears. +Then one of them looked out and saw the ship, and the shout with which +he and his companions greeted the sight rang far out over the water. + +Professor Andersson and his two comrades had left the _Antarctica_ on +December 29, 1902; the ship was nipped on January 10, 1903; and the +castaways arrived at Paulet Island at the end of February. They had +lived in the shelter they constructed, subsisting mostly on penguin, +until November, when the Argentine cruiser arrived. Only one man had +died. + +The expedition reached Buenos Aires on November 30, 1903, having, during +the time they had been in the Antarctic, collected a mass of interesting +and valuable scientific information. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +BRITAIN HOLDS HER OWN + + A Capable Crew--A Modern Franklin--Early Discoveries--Frozen in--An + Historic Journey--The Record of "Farthest South"--How the Record + was Won--Speedy Travelling--Receding Ice Limits--A Dying + Glacier--The Secret of the Barrier--A Fatal Gale--Lost in the + Snow--An Antarctic Chute--Prolonged Slumber--Antarctic Coal--Home + with Honour. + + +The British Expedition, despatched under the international agreement, +was destined, not only to surpass the achievements of the other two, but +also to establish a series of records superior to anything that has yet +been accomplished in Polar exploration, either in the northern or +southern hemispheres. + +The members of the expedition, consisting of Naval officers and men, +officers of the Mercantile Marine (Royal Naval Reserve), and civilian +scientists, sailed from Cowes on August 6, 1901, on board the +_Discovery_, a vessel specially built for the purpose. The ship +proceeded to New Zealand, and left there on November 28, 1901, for +Victoria Land. They arrived there December 24. + +[Illustration: MAP OF SOUTH POLAR REGIONS. + +The black line marks the voyage of the _Discovery_; the dotted line the +course of the record-making Southern sledge journey. On the right of the +map are seen the winter quarters of the German Expedition under Prof. +von Drygalski.] + +In selecting the members of the expedition, great care had been +exercised, and the excellent results of the voyage may, in a great +measure, be attributed to this. No other qualification than fitness was +allowed to rank with the selecting committee, so that every one on board +the _Discovery_ knew what he had to do and was capable of doing it. This +is particularly true in regard to the commander, Captain Robert F. +Scott, R.N., of whom the President of the Royal Geographical Society +justly said: "the skilful and bold navigator, the ideal director of a +scientific staff, the organiser of measures securing the health and good +spirits of his people, and the beloved commander of the chosen band of +explorers who are ready to face hardships and dangers to secure his +approval." Throughout the entire period the expedition was away, the +attitude of the commander was entirely in keeping with the grandest +traditions of the service to which he belonged, and would serve to place +his name in the brilliant list of Polar heroes quite apart from the +splendid feats he personally performed while in the Antarctic. Prominent +amongst these stands the record of "farthest South," achieved by Scott +and two comrades, in September 1902, when the flag was carried to 82° +17' S., or some 250 miles nearer the Pole than it had yet been. + +[Illustration: THE _DISCOVERY_ LYING IN WINTER QUARTERS, FROZEN IN. + +The large hut could accommodate the whole crew, and was built in case of +a disaster to the ship. The smaller huts in the foreground were used for +magnetic and astronomical observations.] + +The first point touched by the _Discovery_ on her voyage along the coast +of Victoria Land was Cape Adare, where the Newnes expedition, under +Borchegrevinck, passed the winter of 1899. Here a brief landing was +effected, a collection made of the rocks in the neighbourhood, and a +cairn built to hold a record for the information of the relief ship, +which was to be sent out in the following year. Continuing the voyage to +the South, the explorers visited Wood Bay, and, subsequently, discovered +an excellent harbour as far south as 76° 31' S. + +Landing at Cape Crozier on January 22, and leaving another record there +for the information of the relief ship, the _Discovery_ went east along +the ice barrier until the 165th meridian of longitude was passed, when +the barrier was found to trend to the north, the sea becoming rapidly +more shoal. The coast line was followed to 76° S., or 150 miles further +than the expeditions before had gone. The ship was then turned, and, in +174° E. longitude, a place was seen where an inlet ran into the barrier. +A sledge party went on the ice and penetrated as far as 78° 50' S., the +point reached by Borchegrevinck in his sledge trip. + +By this time it was realised that winter quarters must be selected, and +the _Discovery_ sailed to that part of the sea where Mount Erebus and +Mount Terror reared their lofty heads on the land. Examining the land +for a suitable site for the camp, it was learned that both Erebus and +Terror are situated on an island, and not, as was formerly believed, on +the mainland. At the opposite end of the island another smaller volcanic +mount was seen, with a still smaller one between it and the two giants. +The larger of these was named Mount Discovery, and, near its base, the +site of the camp was chosen. The ship was worked in as close to the +shore as was possible before the heavy frost set in, and, as she was +well constructed to withstand the pressure of ice, she remained in this +position until, after the second winter had been passed, the relief ship +arrived with sufficient explosives to blast a way out of the ice. + +As soon as the members of the expedition had settled down and all was +made snug, trips were taken in all directions along the coast and over +the ice. The longest trip, taken in the following September, was +arranged for, food depôts being established as far to the south as the +stores could be conveyed. + +On this trip, the historic one of the expedition, only three went. These +were Captain Scott, Lieutenant Shackleton, and Dr. Wilson. They had dogs +with them at the start, but the animals grew sick and weak, and were, at +last, quite useless in dragging the sledges. The three harnessed +themselves to the sledges in place of the dogs, and, handicapped with +this weight of 240 lbs. each, they pushed on until they reached 82° 17' +S. From the position they then occupied they were able to see as far as +83° 20' S., and would have gone as far, if not farther, but for an +insuperable obstacle that confronted them. The route they followed was +over rough ice, often yawning with deep crevasses, down which the +sledges had to be lowered and then hauled up on the other side. Some of +them were veritable chasms, but they faded into insignificance when +compared with the one which opened before the explorers at the end of +the march. For a time they examined this mighty ice ravine to see if it +were not possible, one way or another, to get across. The descent might +have been possible, and there was no great difficulty in crossing the +floor of it, but the far side rose in an unbroken precipice, and they +recognised it as insurmountable, even to such daring and intrepid +climbers as themselves. + +From the latitude they had attained they were able to learn that +Victoria Land is traversed by a range of high mountains, which, in 82° +S., were from 10,000 to 14,000 feet high. A line of foot-hills, closely +resembling Admiralty Mountains in appearance, rose in longitude 160° E. +The route gradually ascended, as the party progressed, until a level +unbroken plain was reached, the altitude of which was 9000 feet. The +coast line could be seen stretching away due south to the 83rd parallel. + +On the way back Lieutenant Shackleton unfortunately ruptured a +blood-vessel during an unusually heavy strain at the sledges. The +strength of all the party was severely taxed by the hardships of the +journey, and the sudden incapacitating of one of the three was a matter +of grave anxiety. He was relieved of the weight of his sledge, but they +all realised that if they were to get back alive to the ship, Lieutenant +Shackleton would have to walk, as the other two were utterly unable to +drag the sledges, with the food and supplies, and his weight as well. +With heroic determination he followed them on foot, only complaining +that his injury effectively prevented him from doing his share in the +hard work. So they journeyed, arriving at the ship after an absence of +ninety-four days, during which they must have covered quite a thousand +miles. The speed at which they travelled, when the ice conditions would +allow them to proceed, was as high as thirty-two miles a day, a speed +far greater than has been attained by other explorers, with one +exception, even when the sledges have been drawn by dog-teams. + +[Illustration: THE "FARTHEST SOUTH" SLEDGE PARTY IN A BLIZZARD. + +_Drawn by Stanley L. Wood._] + +The exception was the record set by another party of the _Discovery_ +explorers, who, without dogs, and with heavy sledges (240 lbs. a man), +covered thirty-three miles a day over the inland ice. This party went +out in a westerly direction and passed over the interior of Victoria +Land, which they found covered with an ice-cap forming a great plain +9000 feet above the sea-level. They were fifty-three days absent, and, +at their farthest, were 142 miles from the ship. When they turned back, +the plain on the horizon seemed to be higher than where they stood, and +rocks occasionally showed. Between this plain and the coast they had +several magnificent views of glaciers. In following one down they had an +interesting evidence of the fact that the ice in these regions is +receding, though at a rate that will require many centuries to pass +before it is all melted and the land made available for human +settlement. + +They had followed down the glacier for a day, and the ice became so very +rough they were obliged to leave their sledges behind them and proceed +with the greatest care. As they continued to descend, the glacier +gradually dwindled and then suddenly ended in a low wall of ice. In the +valley beyond were some frozen lakes, beyond which the valley changed +into a series of deep, narrow gorges, filled with long lines and +confused heaps of stones and other débris, shed from the glacier as it +melted. Perhaps in this valley, more than anywhere else, lay the +evidences of what was happening and what had been. There lay the +glacier, inert and dead, while the summer sun was gradually wasting its +huge mass. On either side its shrinking tributaries had already severed +their connection with it, and receded up the mountain sides. Everything +pointed to receding glaciation. Not only were the gorges filled with the +stones and débris of the moraines, but thousands of feet up the +hill-sides they lay in clear-cut lines, showing how vast the proportions +of the glacier had once been. + +Other glaciers observed gave the same indications. One of these, named +the Ferrar Glacier, after the discoverer, was described as containing +probably as much ice as any hitherto known in the world. Two others, the +Barnes and the Shackleton Glaciers, each contained a great deal more; +but all were greatly shrunk from the tremendous proportions they must +once have had, and which could be traced by the lines of moraines. It +was from observing these glaciers and speculating upon the immeasurable +quantity of ice that once must have slowly flowed along them to the sea, +that a theory was formed as to the real significance of the great ice +barrier lying to the south of the Antarctic Circle. The opinion was +generally entertained that the ice in this barrier is afloat. It had +receded from the time when Ross first discovered it. Even while the +expedition was in the neighbourhood it receded. In September 1902, a +depôt was established on the ice at a line drawn between a volcanic peak +at the extreme end of Minna Bluff and the top of Mount Discovery. In +November 1903, this spot was found to have moved 608 yards out of the +alignment, moving east of north. On the sides of Mount Terror, 800 feet +above the existing surface of the barrier, moraines marked its original +height. From these facts it was reasoned that at one time the ice +forming the cap over the Antarctic continent was enormously deeper than +it is to-day, and that it then extended out into the Antarctic Ocean for +probably hundreds of miles further than it now reaches. The slow but +steady flow of the great ice stream had absolutely filled the sea off +the coast of Victoria Land, and the barrier, now existing, was the +remains of this once mighty mass. + +It was on one of these exploring journeys that a curious experience +befell one party, a member of which, unfortunately, lost his life in +consequence. The party were out with sledges and had halted for the +midday meal when a violent gale sprang up. As usual, the wind set the +snow in motion, and soon the men found themselves in a whirling cloud of +finely powdered snow which entirely shut out their view in all +directions. Believing themselves to be in the vicinity of the ship, they +left the sledges and set out to march to the vessel. Soon they found +themselves on a slope which they fancied they recognised as the one that +led down to where the ship lay in the ice. As they cautiously advanced, +one of the men missed his footing. What with the force of the wind, the +insecure foothold on the moving snow, and the declivity of the slope, he +was unable to stop himself, and slipped past his comrades and out of +sight in the whirling snow with the speed of lightning. + +The officer in charge halted the other men, and all crouched down, +expecting their comrade to rejoin them as soon as he secured his +footing. After waiting some time without his appearing, the officer +advanced to find him. With the first step he also went out of sight as +though he had been shot from a gun. Then a third went forward, and was +at once lost to the sight of the others in the same way. The remainder +of the men, after waiting for some time, concluded the three had +reached the ship, and determined to set out after them. One man, a young +New Zealander named Hare, set off to reach the sledges and recover his +mittens. In the confusion of the whirling snow his absence was not +noted, and the rest of the party set out for the ship, which they were +satisfied was quite near. As a matter of fact, they were entirely out of +their bearings. The man who took the lead walked very cautiously down +the slope. He had heavy tacks in the boots he was wearing, and was thus +enabled to get a firm hold of the snow. To this he owed his life, for, +through the drifting snow, he suddenly saw an open chasm yawn at his +feet. He threw himself back and shouted to those behind to stop. All +tried to do so, but the man next to the leader was unable to pull up. +His feet shot from under him, and he was seen to dash past them like a +flash. + +Out of the nine who had originally formed the party, four now remained +together. Warned by the sudden disappearance of the man Vince, who had +shot past them over the precipice, the four moved with the greatest +deliberation and caution. At length they were able to reach the shore +and locate the ship, whither they hastened with the news. + +[Illustration: A DRIFTING ICE FLOE ATTACHED TO THE _DISCOVERY_ BY A +ROPE, WHILE THE CREW ARE DIGGING SUFFICIENT ICE TO REPLENISH THE FRESH +WATER SUPPLY OF THE SHIP.] + +The alarm was at once given, steam was got up, the siren was set to +work, and its shrill notes penetrated far and wide, while relief parties +were organised and despatched. Knowing the route the men were to have +taken, no difficulty was experienced in tracking down the abandoned +sledges. But on arrival there the relief party was astounded to find the +officer and the two men who had vanished from the others while +descending the snow slope. The astonishment was increased when not one +of the three could explain how they had succeeded in returning to the +sledges. They remembered their experiences as they were hurled down the +snow slope, and each one told the same tale. Immediately they had stood +up against the gale they felt their feet go from under them, they rushed +forward with incredible speed, so fast, indeed, as to have absolutely no +control over themselves, and then they plunged into a mass of soft snow. +There they found themselves and one another. They were still dazed when +found. Subsequent examination showed that the slope down which they had +been hurled extended for a distance of five hundred yards and terminated +with the bank of snow, into which they had plunged. The bank was within +fifteen feet of a cliff which had a clear drop of two hundred feet to +the shore-ice below. + +It was over this cliff that Vince had gone, and no trace of the +unfortunate fellow was ever found. Nor were the relief parties +successful in discovering Hare, the New Zealander. When all had returned +to the ship he was also given up as lost, but to the amazement of every +one he was seen returning to the ship on the second day after the gale. +He explained that on his way back to the sledges he had fallen in the +snow and had lost consciousness, returning to his senses some time after +to find himself completely buried in a snow-drift. He had struggled out +and made his way to the ship. It was his turn to be amazed when he was +told he had been searched for during the whole of the previous day. It +was some time before he would believe that what he referred to as to-day +was in reality yesterday. He had lain in the snow for a period of +thirty-six hours. When he fell, the heavy snow had apparently covered +him, and so kept the heat of his body from leaving him. He had thus sunk +into a heavy snow-sleep, and his physical stamina had done the rest in +helping him towards recovery. His escape, without even a frost-bite, is +unique in the annals of Polar experiences. + +During the second year of their stay, a discovery was made, which, from +a geological point of view, exceeded in value all the others put +together. It was in October that a sledge party set out to penetrate +into the interior of Victoria Land. They travelled over the ice plain at +an average altitude of 9000 feet until, in 78° S. and 146° 30' E., they +were at a distance of 270 miles from the ship. The interior of the land +seemed to stretch in a vast continental plateau continuously at a height +of 9000 feet. In one of the many ravines examined, sandstone strata were +discovered, in one of which there was a narrow seam of fossil plants. +The "coal measure" was only one-eighth of an inch in thickness, but +within it were found specimens of plants belonging to the Miocene +period. + +In February 1904 the relief ship _Morning_ arrived at the station, and, +with the explosives she brought with her, the _Discovery_ was freed from +the ice and commenced her homeward journey. She had completed a stay of +two winters in a latitude 500 miles further South than any other ship +had wintered, while the expedition had reaped a success such as no other +expedition has ever achieved in either Arctic or Antarctic regions. + +THE END + + +Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. +Edinburgh & London + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Romance of Polar Exploration, by G. 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Firth Scott + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Romance of Polar Exploration + Interesting Descriptions of Arctic and Antarctic Adventure + from the Earliest Time to the Voyage of the “Discovery” + +Author: G. Firth Scott + +Release Date: July 20, 2011 [EBook #36802] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROMANCE OF POLAR EXPLORATION *** + + + + +Produced by Steven Gibbs, Martin Pettit and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p> + +<h1><span>THE ROMANCE OF<br /> +POLAR EXPLORATION<br /><br /><span class="smaller">INTERESTING DESCRIPTIONS OF ARCTIC AND<br /> +ANTARCTIC ADVENTURE FROM THE EARLIEST<br />TIME TO THE VOYAGE OF THE "DISCOVERY"</span></span> +<br /><span id="id1">BY</span> <span>G. FIRTH SCOTT</span></h1> + +<p class="bold">AUTHOR OF "FROM FRANKLIN TO NANSEN," "THE ROMANCE<br /> +OF AUSTRALIAN EXPLORING," "COLONIAL BORN," <i>&c.</i></p> + +<p class="tbrk"> </p> + +<p class="bold">WITH TWENTY-FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS</p> + +<p class="tbrk"> </p> + +<p class="bold">LONDON<br />SEELEY AND CO. LIMITED<br /> +38 GREAT RUSSELL STREET<br />1909</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="center"><a name="frontispiece.jpg" id="frontispiece.jpg"></a><img src="images/frontispiece.jpg" width='478' height='700' alt="THE STELLA POLARE NIPPED IN THE ICE" /></div> + +<p class="bold">THE <i>STELLA POLARE</i> NIPPED IN THE ICE.<br /><br /> +"The stores were unloaded with the greatest rapidity."</p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span></p> + +<div class="block"><p class="bold"><i>UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME</i></p> + +<p class="bold">THE LIBRARY OF ROMANCE</p> + +<p class="center"><i>Extra Crown 8vo. With many illustrations. 5s. each</i></p> + +<p class="center">"Splendid volumes."—<i>The Outlook.</i></p> + +<p>"This series has now won a considerable and well deserved +reputation."—<i>The Guardian.</i></p> + +<p>"Each volume treats its allotted theme with accuracy, but at the same +time with a charm that will commend itself to readers of all ages. The +root idea is excellent, and it is excellently carried out, with full +illustrations and very prettily designed covers."—<i>The Daily Telegraph.</i></p> + +<p class="bold">By Prof. G. F. SCOTT ELLIOT, M.A., B.Sc.</p> + +<p>THE ROMANCE OF SAVAGE LIFE<br />THE ROMANCE OF PLANT LIFE<br /> +THE ROMANCE OF EARLY BRITISH LIFE</p> + +<p class="bold">By EDWARD GILLIAT, M.A.</p> + +<p>THE ROMANCE OF MODERN SIEGES</p> + +<p class="bold">By JOHN LEA, M.A.</p> + +<p>THE ROMANCE OF BIRD LIFE</p> + +<p class="bold">By JOHN LEA, M.A., & H. COUPIN, D.Sc.</p> + +<p>THE ROMANCE OF ANIMAL ARTS AND CRAFTS</p> + +<p class="bold">By SIDNEY WRIGHT</p> + +<p>THE ROMANCE OF THE WORLD'S FISHERIES</p> + +<p class="bold">By the Rev. J. C. LAMBERT, M.A., D.D.</p> + +<p>THE ROMANCE OF MISSIONARY HEROISM</p> + +<p class="bold">By G. FIRTH SCOTT</p> + +<p>THE ROMANCE OF POLAR EXPLORATION</p> + +<p class="bold">By ARCHIBALD WILLIAMS, B.A. (Oxon.), F.R.G.S.</p> + +<p>THE ROMANCE OF EARLY EXPLORATION<br />THE ROMANCE OF MODERN EXPLORATION<br /> +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN MECHANISM<br />THE ROMANCE OF MODERN INVENTION<br /> +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN ENGINEERING<br />THE ROMANCE OF MODERN LOCOMOTION<br /> +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN MINING</p> + +<p class="bold">By CHARLES R. GIBSON, A.I.E.E.</p> + +<p>THE ROMANCE OF MODERN PHOTOGRAPHY<br />THE ROMANCE OF MODERN ELECTRICITY</p> + +<p class="bold">By EDMUND SELOUS</p> + +<p>THE ROMANCE OF THE ANIMAL WORLD<br />THE ROMANCE OF INSECT LIFE</p> + +<p class="bold">By AGNES GIBERNE</p> + +<p>THE ROMANCE OF THE MIGHTY DEEP</p> + +<p class="bold">By E. S. GREW, M.A.</p> + +<p>THE ROMANCE OF MODERN GEOLOGY</p> + +<p class="tbrk"> </p> + +<p class="bold">SEELEY & CO., LIMITED</p></div> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span>Preface</span></h2> + +<p>While stories of the Polar explorers and their efforts to reach the +Poles have been told again and again, the constant renewal of +expeditions adds, every year, fresh incidents to the record, until it +may almost be said that the fascination of the frozen regions is as +inexhaustible as the list of Polar heroes is illimitable. Nor is the +interest confined solely to the achievement of modern explorers. However +great the results of their exertions may be, the fact that, in spite of +all the advantages conferred by recent scientific discovery and modern +appliances, the explorers of to-day have failed to penetrate the +uttermost secrets of the worlds of ice, renders more impressively heroic +the struggles of the earlier travellers, whose equipment, viewed in +comparison with that of modern man, was apparently so inadequate and +often inappropriate.</p> + +<p>No series of Polar adventure stories would be complete without a +prominent place being given to the earlier explorers, and especially to +that British hero, Franklin, whose name is so inseparably associated +with the history of Arctic exploration. The account<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> of his daring +voyages and of his tragic end, at the moment of victory, has already +been given in many a form; but the tale is one which will stand +re-telling for generations yet to come. In the present instance it has +been of necessity briefly written, but in such a manner as will, it is +hoped, without loss of interest, render clear a comparison of the +conditions under which he and his brave companions worked and fought to +their death, with those that existed for later expeditions and +especially the expeditions of Nansen, Peary, and Abruzzi.</p> + +<p>The Antarctic, equally with the Arctic, now commands the attention of +man. In the South, as in the North, the British race has again produced +explorers who have fought their way into the icy fastnesses. From the +time that Captain Cook sailed round the unknown southern ocean, more +than a century ago, the British flag has waved in the forefront of the +advance. The work which Sir James Ross began, over half a century since, +has now been carried farther than ever it was anticipated it could be. +By the voyage of the <i>Discovery</i>, the Antarctic continent has been +revealed to within five hundred miles of the Pole, and in the gallant +exploits of the commander, Captain Robert Scott, there are many who see +a repetition of all that made the name of Franklin so immortal.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p><p>The source of the information on which these stories are based (as is +frequently mentioned in the text) is the personal narrative of the +explorer concerned, where available; and if the interest aroused in any +of them requires more to satisfy it than the exigencies of space renders +possible in this volume, the attention which will thereby be drawn to +the more comprehensive records will stand as a slight acknowledgment of +the indebtedness of the writer of these re-told stories to the authors +of the original narratives.</p> + +<p class="right">G. FIRTH SCOTT.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">London, 1906.</span></p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span>Publishers' Note</span></h2> + +<p>Our thanks are due to Lieut. Shackleton, R.N.R., of the +<i>Discovery</i>, for the use of the original drawing facing page 344, +and also for permission to use the Illustrations facing pages 310, +340, 348. To Messrs. Alston Rivers, Limited, for permission to use +the Illustration facing page 320 from Dr. H. R. Mill's "Siege of +the South Pole." To Messrs. Hutchinson and Co., for the use of +Illustrations facing pages 28 and 272, and Frontispiece, from "The +Voyage of the Polar Star," by the Duke of the Abruzzi. To Messrs. +Geo. Newnes, Limited, for the Illustration facing page 305 from +"First on the Antarctic Continent," by C. E. Borchgrevinck. To +Messrs. Longmans, Green & Co., for permission to reproduce the +Illustration facing page 256 from "New Land," by Otto Sverdrup.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span>Contents</span></h2> + +<table summary="CONTENTS"> + <tr> + <th colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER I</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="center">THE ARCTIC REGION</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td>PAGE</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left">The Mystery of the North Pole—The First Explorer—"The Great<br /> +Dark Wall at the End of the World"—"Frost-Smoke"—The<br /> +Lights and Sounds of the North—The Aurora Borealis—Mock<br /> +Moons—The Early Adventurers: Willoughby, Frobisher, Davis,<br /> +Hudson, Baffin, Ross, and Parry—The North-West Passage</td> + <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER II</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="center">SIR JOHN FRANKLIN</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left">Young Franklin—His Dreams of Adventure—He becomes a<br />Sailor—His +First Arctic Expedition—Fails to get through Behring<br /> +Straits—Explores Baffin's Bay—The 1845 Expedition—The<br /> +<i>Erebus</i> and <i>Terror</i>—The "Good-bye" at Greenland—Wellington<br /> +Channel—They select Winter Quarters—Discovery of the<br /> +North-West Passage—Death of Franklin—Prisoned in the<br />Ice—The +Crew Abandon the Ships—Defeat and Death</td> + <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_25">25</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER III</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="center">THE SEARCH FOR FRANKLIN</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left">Captain Parker's Report—Government offers a Reward—Dr. Rae's<br /> +Expedition—Captain McClure's Voyage in the <i>Investigator</i>—Hardships<br /> +and Perils—The Meeting with the <i>Herald</i>—Lady +Franklin still<br />Hopeful—Sir F. L. McClintock's Expedition in +the <i>Fox</i> with<br />Lieutenant Hobson—Their Sad and Fatal Discoveries—Lieutenant<br /> +Schwatka recovers the Body of Lieutenant Irving</td> + <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_42">42</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER IV</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="center">THE VOYAGE OF THE <i>POLARIS</i></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left">Death of Captain Hall—Crew determine to Return—Are Frozen in—A<br /> +Party take to the Ice and are Cast Away—They build<br /> +themselves Snow Huts—They find some Seals—An Adventure<br /> +with Bears—The Perils of the Spring—They sight the <i>Tigress</i><br /> +and are Saved—The Ship-party's Story and Rescue</td> + <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER V</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="center">THE <i>ALERT</i> AND <i>DISCOVERY</i></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left">Sir George Nares appointed to the <i>Alert</i> and <i>Discovery</i>—Overtaking<br /> +a Season—Red Snow—The Greenland Mosquito—Peculiarities<br /> +of Eskimo Dogs—And Dog Whips—Dangers of Kayaks—Advantages<br /> +of Steam for Polar Regions—An Unpleasant +Experience—A Huge<br />Walrus—Arctic Scenery—A Big "Bag"—The +Ships part Company—The<br /><i>Alert</i> reaches the Polar Sea—Winter +Quarters—The North Pole<br />attempted—Adventures +and Sufferings of the Party—Lieutenant Parr's<br />Heroism—Deliverance—The +Greenland Attempt—Scurvy and<br />Snow—Repulse +Bay—In Pitiable Plight—Lieutenant Rawson to the Rescue</td> + <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_83">83</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER VI</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="center">THE GREELY EXPEDITION</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left">The Scheme of the Expedition—Fort Conger—Arctic Wolves—Atmospheric<br /> +Marvels—A Terrific Storm—Influence of the Sun—Lieutenant +Lockwood's<br />Expedition—The Second Winter—Preparations +for Departure—They<br />leave Fort Conger—A +Remarkable Ice Passage—They fail to make<br />Cape Sabine—A +New Camp—Rations running Short—Fruitless Efforts<br />to reach +Food Depôts—Starvation and Death—A Bitter Blow—The<br /> +Arrival of the <i>Thetis</i></td> + <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_114">114</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER VII</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="center">PEARY IN GREENLAND</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left">The Greenland Question—Departure of the <i>Kite</i>—Peary breaks his<br /> +Leg—A Camp made—Habits of the Eskimo—A Brush with<br /> +Walrus—"Caching" Food—An Arctic Christmas Feast—Peary<br /> +starts for the Great Ice-Cap—A Snow Sahara—The Ice-Cap<br /> +Crossed—A Marvellous Discovery—Sails on Sledges—A Safe Return</td> + <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_146">146</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER VIII</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="center">NANSEN AND THE <i>FRAM</i></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left">Nansen's Theories of Arctic Currents and Shipbuilding—His Theories<br /> +adopted—The <i>Fram</i> Built—A Start made—The Kara Sea<br /> +reached—Good Hunting—The Ice Current reached—Frozen<br /> +in—A Raid by a Bear—Will the <i>Fram</i> stand the Pressure?—Preparing<br /> +for Calamity—A Conclusive Test—Causes of Ice +Movements—Life<br />on the <i>Fram</i>—Nansen and Johansen leave +the <i>Fram</i>—They reach their<br />"Farthest North"—Incidents of +their Return Journey—Some Narrow<br />Escapes—The Meeting +with Jackson—Arrival of the <i>Fram</i></td> + <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_173">173</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER IX</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="center">FRANZ JOSEF LAND AND SPITZBERGEN</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left">The Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition—Object of the Expedition—An<br /> +Interesting Experiment—The Franz Josef Land Question +settled—A<br />Group of Islands, not a Continent—Conway at Spitzbergen—Ancient<br /> +History—Bygone Splendours—Scenery in the +Making—The Romance<br />of Andrée—Another Riddle</td> + <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_220">220</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER X</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="center">THE POLAR METEORITES</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left">Eskimo Iron—A Mystery of 1818—Search and Failure—Peary and<br /> +his Huskies—The Secret revealed—An Eskimo Legend—At<br /> +the Iron Mountain—Removing the Trophies—A Massive Giant—Attack<br /> +and Defence—The Giant Objects—A Narrow Escape—Conquered</td> + <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_236">236</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER XI</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="center">THE SECOND VOYAGE OF THE <i>FRAM</i></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left">Norwegian Enterprise—Mapping the Islands—Nearly Frozen—A<br /> +Novel Warming-Pan—Eskimo Melody—Arctic Bull Fights—Death<br /> +of the Doctor—Fire on the <i>Fram</i>—New Lands—Prehistoric People</td> + <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_249">249</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER XII</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="center">ITALY CLAIMS THE RECORD</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left">Norwegian Aid—A Northerly Station—Premature Enthusiasm—Cold<br /> +Comfort—An Arctic Greeting—A Hasty Landing—Disorganised<br /> +Plans—Homeless Dogs—Making Fresh Plans—The +Leader<br />Frost-bitten—The Start for the Pole—Driven Back by +Cold—A<br />Second Start—First Detachment Lost—Anxiety for +the Second—A<br />Struggle for Life—Third Detachment Overdue—Fears +of<br />Disaster—Safe at Last—Italy sets the Record</td> + <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_265">265</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER XIII</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="center">THE ANTARCTIC REGION</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left">The Mystery of the South Pole—Ignored by Early Navigators—An<br /> +Accidental Dutch Discovery—Captain Cook Sets Sail—Discouraged<br /> +by the Ice—Turns back in Despair—A Second +Accidental<br />Discovery—Weddell breaks the Barrier—Antarctic +Land<br />revealed—British resume the Search</td> + <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_283">283</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER XIV</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="center">VOYAGES OF THE <i>EREBUS</i> AND <i>TERROR</i></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left">A Fortunate Choice—Characteristic Southern Bergs—First Sight of<br /> +the Continent—More British Territory—A Mighty Volcanic<br /> +Display—Nearing the Magnetic Pole—The Antarctic Barrier—A<br /> +Myth dispelled—A Second Attempt—Held by the Ice—Third<br /> +and Last Voyage—A Double Discovery</td> + <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_294">294</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER XV</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="center">THE <i>SOUTHERN CROSS</i> EXPEDITION</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left">British continue the Work—Carrier Pigeons in the Ice—Withstanding<br /> +a Nip—A Sea-quake—Cape Adare Station—A Cosy Camp—Edible<br /> +Fish—Death visits the Camp—Penguin Peculiarities—A<br /> +Derelict Blue-bottle—The Welcome Postman—A Thrilling Episode</td> + <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_305">305</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER XVI</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="center">THE REVIVAL OF ANTARCTIC INTEREST</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left">Modern Means and Methods—Private Enterprise leads—The<br /> +<i>Valdavia</i>—The <i>Belgica</i> Expedition—International Action +adopted—The<br />German Expedition—An Ice-bound Land—Fresh Trade-Winds</td> + <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_318">318</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER XVII</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="center">THE SWEDISH EXPEDITION</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left">Sails in the <i>Antarctica</i>—Argentine Co-operation—First Antarctic<br /> +Fossil—Building the Winter Station—A Breezy Corner—Electric<br /> +Snow—A Spare Diet—New Year Festivities—The +Missing<br />Ship—Relief that never Came—A Devastating Nip—Castaway—The<br /> +Unexpected Happens—A Dramatic Meeting—Rescued</td> + <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_323">323</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER XVIII</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="center">BRITAIN HOLDS HER OWN</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left">A Capable Crew—A Modern Franklin—Early Discoveries—Frozen<br /> +in—An Historic Journey—The Record of "Farthest South"—How<br /> +the Record was Won—Speedy Travelling—Receding Ice<br /> +Limits—A Dying Glacier—The Secret of the Barrier—A Fatal<br /> +Gale—Lost in the Snow—An Antarctic Chute—Prolonged<br /> +Slumber—Antarctic Coal—Home with Honour</td> + <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_339">339</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span>List of Illustrations</span></h2> + +<table summary="List of Illustrations"> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">The <i>Stella Polare</i> Nipped in the Ice</span></td> + <td><a href="#frontispiece.jpg"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">W. E. Parry's Attempt to Reach the Pole</span></td> + <td><i>Facing page</i> <a href="#fp028.jpg">28</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">An Immense Iceberg</span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s2"> </span><a href="#fp048.jpg">48</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">An Addition to the Explorers' Supply of Provisions</span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s2"> </span><a href="#fp078.jpg">78</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Shooting Musk Ox in the Arctic Regions</span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s1"> </span> <a href="#fp116.jpg">116</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Group of Smith Sound Eskimo</span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s1"> </span> <a href="#fp152.jpg">152</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Two North Greenland Hunters</span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s1"> </span> <a href="#fp160.jpg">160</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Map of the Arctic Regions Showing Route of Nansen and the <i>Fram</i></span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s1"> </span> <a href="#fp172.jpg">172</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">The <i>Fram</i> in the Ice</span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s1"> </span> <a href="#fp184.jpg">184</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Nansen and Johansen Start on their Dash for the Pole</span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s1"> </span> <a href="#fp198.jpg">198</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">The Meeting of Jackson and Nansen</span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s1"> </span> <a href="#fp216.jpg">216</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">The Front Edge of King's Glacier, Western Spitzbergen</span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s1"> </span> <a href="#fp230.jpg">230</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Eskimo Arms and Tools</span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s1"> </span> <a href="#fp240.jpg">240</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Eskimo Visitors to the <i>Fram</i> in Night Attire</span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s1"> </span> <a href="#fp256.jpg">256</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span><span class="smcap">One of the Difficulties Encountered by the <i>Stella Polare</i></span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s1"> </span> <a href="#fp272.jpg">272</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Sketch Map Showing Captain Agni's Farthest North</span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s1"> </span> <a href="#fp280.jpg">280</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">The <i>Southern Cross</i> in the Ice Pack</span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s1"> </span> <a href="#fp304.jpg">304</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">The Aurora Australis</span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s1"> </span> <a href="#fp310.jpg">310</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Emperor Penguins</span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s1"> </span> <a href="#fp312.jpg">312</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Polar Outfit Used by the <i>Belgica</i> Expedition</span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s1"> </span> <a href="#fp320.jpg">320</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Map of South Polar Regions</span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s1"> </span> <a href="#fp338.jpg">338</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">The <i>Discovery</i> Lying in Winter Quarters, Frozen in</span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s1"> </span> <a href="#fp340.jpg">340</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">The Farthest South Sledge Party in a Blizzard</span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s1"> </span> <a href="#fp344.jpg">344</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="left"><span class="smcap">A Drifting Ice Floe Attached to the <i>Discovery</i> by a Rope</span></td> + <td>"<span class="s2"> </span>"<span class="s1"> </span> <a href="#fp348.jpg">348</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span></p> + +<p class="bold2">The Romance of Polar<br />Exploration</p> + +<h2><span>CHAPTER I</span> <span class="smaller">THE ARCTIC REGION</span></h2> + +<blockquote><p>The Mystery of the North Pole—The First Explorer—"The Great Dark +Wall at the End of the World"—"Frost-Smoke"—The Lights and Sounds +of the North—The Aurora Borealis—Mock Moons—The Early +Adventurers: Willoughby, Frobisher, Davis, Hudson, Baffin, Ross, +and Parry—The North-West Passage.</p></blockquote> + +<p>In all the range of romantic adventure to be found in the history of +man, there is, perhaps, none which appeals so strongly to the +imagination as the search for the Poles. In all the tales of daring +courage and patient, persistent bravery, two qualities which stand +foremost in the admiration of every English-speaking boy, the tales of +the fearless explorers who have faced the terrors and the mystery of the +frozen regions are without a rival.</p> + +<p>Just as it was the record of his struggles to penetrate into the unknown +region of the ice-bound North-West Passage which made the name of Sir +John Franklin famous fifty years ago, so is it to-day that the names<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> of +Nansen, Peary, and Andrée are household words by reason of the hardihood +and indomitable courage shown in their efforts to reach the great +unknown Pole. Who is there who has not lingered over the adventures of +the <i>Fram</i>, that sturdy Norseman's vessel, which combined in herself all +the best qualities of previous Arctic ships, and comported herself, +whether in the ice or out of it, with a dignity that told of her proud +descent and prouder destiny? Who has not marvelled at the sublime +audacity of the gallant little band of three who challenged undying fame +by seeking the Pole in a balloon, abandoning all the old-fashioned +notions about ice-ships and dog-sledges, and trusting themselves and +their enterprise to the four winds of heaven and the latest scientific +scheme? Who has not been thrilled with the daring shown by Nansen and +his trusty lieutenant when, leaving ship and comrades, with their lives +literally in their hands, they made their historic dash and emerged with +what was then the record of "Farthest North," and which has since been +beaten by only twenty miles?</p> + +<p>Full of pluck and daring are all the records of Polar exploration, and, +in addition to that attraction, there is something else about the +subject which fascinates and holds the imagination. There is a mystery +about the cold, white, silent region; the mystery of, as yet, an +unsolved problem; the mystery of being one of the few spots on the +world's surface where the foot of adventurous man has never trodden. +Everywhere else man has gone; everywhere else men of our own race<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> have +subdued Nature and wrested her close-kept secrets from her; everywhere +else save the Poles, and there not even the grandeur of modern inventive +genius has enabled man to become the master. We may be nearer now than +ever before; we may have made many places familiar which, less than +fifty years ago, were unknown; and we may, in recent years, have +disproved the theories of many an ancient explorer; but the Poles still +elude us as they eluded those who were searchers a thousand years ago.</p> + +<p>It is no modern idea, this search for the North Pole. King Alfred the +Great is credited with having sent expeditions towards it, and long +before his day men had sailed as far as they could to the North, far +enough for them to return with marvellous tales of wonder and mystery. +The earliest of whom there is any record is an ancient Greek mariner, +Pytheas, who sailed North until he came to an island which he named the +Land of Thule. This may have been the Shetlands; it may have been +Iceland; but whatever it was, this ancient mariner was by no means +pleased with it, in spite of the fact that the sun never set all the +time he was there. This prolonged daylight caused him considerable +uneasiness, and he hastened away from it farther to the North, and the +farther he went the more curious he found the region to be. The sun, +which at first refused to set, now refused to rise, and he found himself +in perpetual darkness instead of perpetual day. More than that, he tells +how he came to a great dark wall rising<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> up out of the sea, beyond which +he could discern nothing, while at the same time something seized and +held his ship motionless on the water, so that the winds could not move +it and the anchor would not sink. He was quite convinced in his own mind +where he had come; the wall in front of him was the parapet which ran +round the edge of the world to prevent people from falling over, and, +like a wise man, he hastened home and told his friends that he had +penetrated to the limits of the earth.</p> + +<p>What the Arctic regions were then, they are to-day; but we, with a +greater knowledge, are able to understand what was incomprehensible to +the ancient Greek navigator. At the North Pole itself it is known the +sun rises and sets only once in twelve months. From March 21 to +September 23 daylight continues; from September 23 to March 21 the sun +is never visible. The heat at midsummer is probably never above freezing +point; at midwinter the cold is so intense that one's eyes would freeze +in their sockets if exposed to it.</p> + +<p>At the limit of the ice two phenomena are met with which explain the +fanciful legend of Pytheas. As summer gives place to the cold of autumn, +and as winter gives way to the mild temperature of spring, there comes +down upon the water a dense mass of fog, to which the name "frost-smoke" +is given. It would appear, as it rolled along the surface of the ocean, +a veritable wall to one accustomed to the clear atmosphere of the +Mediterranean, and a thin sheet of ice might give the meaning to the +"something" which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> held the ship stationary. Modern explorers have known +the sea to freeze an inch thick in a single night, and ice an inch thick +would probably be enough to check the progress of such a vessel as +Pytheas would command.</p> + +<p>Later navigators, curious to learn whether his story were true or not, +followed his course. Some of them went on until they were caught in the +rigours of the Arctic winter and perished in the crashing ice-floes. +Occasionally some came home again, after having reached far enough to +see the great icebergs, floating with all their stately majesty in the +blue waters and towering as high as mountains, their summits a mass of +glittering pinnacles and their sides scored and grooved with cavities +and caverns. Some of them saw the animals which live in that cold, +barren region; the great white bear, with its coat of thick shaggy fur, +its long ungainly figure and heavy swaying neck; the walrus, with its +gleaming tusks hanging down from its upper jaws; the seals, with their +great round eyes staring at the unknown intruders; above all, the huge +whales, spouting and floundering in the sea, coming to the surface with +a snort which sent the spray flying high in the air, and disappearing +again with a splash that was like a crashing billow. Little wonder that +those who returned from seeing such sights and hearing such strange +sounds should tell wonderful stories about the weird creatures +inhabiting the place.</p> + +<p>The sounds must have been as terrifying and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> mystifying as the sights, +for in the clear, intense atmosphere of the winter months, noise travels +over almost incredible distances. When Parry was on Melville's Island, +he records having heard the voices of men who were talking not less than +a mile away. In the depth of winter, when the great cold has its icy +grip on everything, the silence is unbroken along the shores of the +Polar Sea; but when the frost sets in, and again when the winter gives +way to spring, there is abundance of noise. As the frost comes down +along the coast, rocks are split asunder with a noise of big guns, and +the sound goes booming away across the frozen tracts, startling the +slouching bear in his lonely haunts, and causing him to give vent to his +hoarse, barking roar in answer. The ice, just forming into sheets, +creaks and cracks as the rising or falling tide strains it along the +shore; fragments, falling loose upon it, skid across the surface with +the ringing sound which travels so far. In the spring the melting +ice-floes groan as they break asunder; with a mighty crash the +unbalanced bergs fall over, churning the water into foam with their +plunge, and bears and foxes and all the other Arctic animals call and +bark to one another as they awaken from their winter sleep. Just as +these incidents occur to-day, so did they occur a thousand years ago; +and if to modern ears they sound weird and awe-inspiring, what must they +have been to the men who succeeded Pytheas?</p> + +<p>Nor does this exhaust the marvel of this bleak<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> and fascinating region. +In the long winter nights the aurora borealis glares and blazes in the +sky, "roaring and flashing about a ship enough to frighten a fellow," as +an old quartermaster, who was with Sir F. L. McClintock in his search +for Sir John Franklin, used to tell the midshipmen. In the prolonged +sunset and sunrise the sky is ablaze with colour, and, when the sun has +gone, the rarefied atmosphere produces many curious astronomical +figures. As explorers penetrated farther into the great ice-bound region +they encountered fresh peculiarities. The moon, which shone continuously +during the three weeks of its course, frequently appeared surrounded by +belts and bands of light, in which mock moons were visible. Long after +the sun had disappeared a mock sun would shine in the sky, and in the +twilight, when shadows were no longer cast, men and dogs were liable to +walk over cliffs and fall down crevices in the ice through being unable +to distinguish them. Penetrating farther into the ice world, they +learned that throughout the winter the ice heaved and crashed upon +itself, making an incessant uproar as it groaned and creaked. The +experience of Nansen and the <i>Fram</i> emphasised this, but in the earlier +days of Polar research silence was presumed to reign in the vicinity of the Arctic basin.</p> + +<p>In those early days the expeditions usually kept close to the northern +coasts of either Europe, Asia, or America. Sir Hugh Willoughby, who +sailed from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> England in 1553, confined himself to seeking the north-east +passage from Behring Sea to Greenland along the north coast of Canada. +In 1576 Frobisher explored part of the region, the work being continued +by Davis, who in 1585-8 discovered and explored the strait which still +bears his name, to the west of Greenland. In 1610 Hudson, an intrepid +trader and explorer, sailed into Hudson's Bay, and five years later +Baffin sailed into and through Baffin's Bay. The result of these two +discoveries was to open up a very valuable fur trade, and for the next +two hundred years, fur traders and whalers were practically the only men +who went into the frozen North. In 1818 the British Navy again entered +the field for the purpose of mapping out the northern coasts of America. +Captains Ross and Parry were sent out in two vessels, with the result +that knowledge of the locality was extended by the discovery of +Lancaster Sound, Prince Regent Inlet, Barrow Strait, and Melville +Island. The location of these islands and straits aroused still keener +curiosity as to whether there was or was not a passage for ships leading +from the Pacific to the Atlantic Oceans along the north coast of +America. The search for the North-West Passage was the dream of every +Arctic explorer at this period. It fell to the lot of one man to prove +the existence of the passage, at a price, however, of his own life, and +the lives of all his companions, as well as the loss of his two ships. +This was Sir John Franklin, whose Polar exploits form the subject of the succeeding chapter.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span>CHAPTER II</span> <span class="smaller">SIR JOHN FRANKLIN</span></h2> + +<blockquote><p>Young Franklin—His Dreams of Adventure—He becomes a Sailor—His +First Arctic Expedition—Fails to get through Behring +Straits—Explores Baffin's Bay—The 1845 Expedition—The <i>Erebus</i> +and <i>Terror</i>—The "Good-Bye" at Greenland—Wellington Channel—They +select Winter Quarters—Discovery of the North-West Passage—Death +of Franklin—Prisoned in the Ice—The Crew Abandon the +Ships—Defeat and Death.</p></blockquote> + +<p>Sir John Franklin was born at Spilsby, in Lincolnshire, on April 16, +1786, and was one of a family of ten. It is said that his father +originally intended him for the clergy, but the boy had too restless and +roving a nature to look with contentment upon a quiet, uneventful life. +Nelson was the idol of his heart, and although a hundred years ago boys +were not quite so well provided with books and stories of their heroes +as they are to-day, young Franklin managed to acquire enough knowledge +of the doings of Nelson, and the other great British Admirals, to make +his heart thrill with enthusiasm for them, and for the element upon +which their greatness had been achieved.</p> + +<p>His home was not so many miles away from the coast but that he had a +personal acquaintance, from early boyhood, with the scent of salt water +and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> sight of the open sea. That, combined with what he learned of +Nelson, and the romantic yarns spun to him by any old sailor he chanced +upon, exerted over him the spell which, in all ages, has so powerfully +influenced British boys. The long stretch of moving water, which rolled +between him and the skyline, was the home of all that was wonderful and +glorious; the ships which sailed over it were, to his enthusiastic mind, +palaces of delight, journeying into realms of mystery, adventure, and +beauty. Over that sea lay the lands where the coco-palms grew, where +Indians hunted and fought, and where mighty beasts of strange and +fantastic shapes roamed through the palm groves. Over that sea, also, +lay the realms of ice and snow, of which more marvellous tales were told +than of the golden islands of the Southern Seas. And to sail over that +sea a great yearning came upon him. The life on shore, in peaceful, +steady-going Lincolnshire, was too dreary and hopeless for him; nowhere +could he be happy save on that boundless ocean, with room to breathe, +and surrounded by all the glamour of romance.</p> + +<p>Fortunately for the glory of British naval history, the elder Franklin +did not shut his eyes to the attractions the sea had for his son, but, +as a wise parent, he regarded the wish to follow the sea as merely a +boyish whim. It would be better to let the boy have a taste of the +realities of the life at once, and so cure the fancy which threatened to +interfere<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> with the paternal desires as regards the clergy. Every one +knew how attractive a sailor's life looked from the shore, and most +people knew how much more attractive life on shore looked from the sea. +If John wanted to see what a sailor's life was like, he should have his +opportunity, and the father, in arranging for his son to sail in a +trading vessel to Lisbon and back, probably felt satisfied that the +rough fare and hard work he would experience would effectually cure him +of any desire for more. But the future Arctic hero was made of sterner +stuff than to be turned away from his ambition by such trivial +circumstances. He returned from the Lisbon trip more enthusiastic than +ever for a sailor's life. His father gave way before so much +determination, and young Franklin shortly afterwards entered the Navy. +His first ship was H.M.S. <i>Polyphemus</i>, and he was present on board at +the battle of Copenhagen, under the supreme command of his idol Nelson.</p> + +<p>His first Arctic experience did not come until 1818, when he had reached +the rank of lieutenant and was second in command of an expedition sent +out to find a way through Behring's Straits. Two vessels formed the +expedition—the <i>Dorothea</i>, 370 tons, under Captain Buchan, and the +<i>Trent</i>, 250 tons, under Lieutenant Franklin, the latter carrying a crew +of ten officers and twenty-eight men. Their instructions were to sail +due North, from a point between Greenland and Spitzbergen, making their +way, if possible, through Behring's Straits. The ships, which would +to-day<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> only rank as small coasting craft, were soon imprisoned in the +ice and so severely crushed that as soon as the winter passed and escape +was possible, they were turned towards home. The practical results of +the expedition were valueless, and only one circumstance in connection +with it saved it from being a failure. This was the introduction of +Franklin to that sphere of work which, during the remainder of his life, +he was fated so brilliantly to adorn.</p> + +<p>The following year, 1819, saw him again facing the North, this time in +company with Captain Parry, and with a well-arranged plan of operations. +Parry was to remain in the ships and explore at sea, while Franklin was +to push along the shores of Baffin's Bay, making as complete a survey as +possible. For three years the work was continued, until, by 1822, the +party had travelled over 5550 miles of previously unexplored country +along the North American coast. Returning to England, Franklin enjoyed a +well-earned rest, until, in 1825, he was placed in charge of an +expedition to complete the surveys of the coast along which the +North-West Passage was supposed to run. With the experience of his +former expedition, he was able to work more rapidly on this occasion, +and by 1827 he was back again in England with his task completed. Not +alone had all the surveys been carried out, but he had demonstrated his +qualities as a leader of Polar expeditions by returning with the loss of +only two men.</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp028.jpg" id="fp028.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp028.jpg" width='700' height='490' alt=">W. E. PARRY'S ATTEMPT TO REACH THE POLE, 1827" /></div> + +<p class="bold">W. E. PARRY'S ATTEMPT TO REACH THE POLE, 1827.</p> + +<p>In spite of this, however, nearly twenty years were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> to elapse before he +was again entrusted with a command in the Arctic regions. He was sent, +meanwhile, to be governor of the colony of Tasmania, or, as it was then +called, Van Diemen's Land, a large island to the south of Australia. +Here in the metropolis, Hobart, a statue of Franklin stands in Franklin +Square, and it is curious to think that the man whose work in the +Northern Hemisphere is an immortal monument of his name in the region of +the North Pole should have his memory perpetuated by a statue nearer the +South Pole than any in the Southern Hemisphere. Verily, a world-wide reputation.</p> + +<p>In 1845 the expedition started which, more than anything else, tended to +make Franklin the popular hero he has become. The <i>Erebus</i> and <i>Terror</i>, +which formed the fleet, had already proved their capacity for +withstanding the strain and pressure of the ice-floes. They each carried +a crew numbering sixty-seven officers and men, and while Franklin took +charge of the <i>Erebus</i> with Captain Fitz-James, the <i>Terror</i> was +commanded by Captain Crozier. The ships were provisioned for three +years, and the task set them was to discover and sail through the +passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. The intention of the +Government was to ascertain whether or not this passage existed, and +Franklin was instructed to go by Lancaster Sound to Cape Walker (lat. +74° N.; long. 98° W.) and thence south and west to push through +Behring's Straits to the other ocean.</p> + +<p>Franklin was full of enthusiasm as to the outcome of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> the expedition. +That it would prove the existence of the passage he had no doubt, and +subsequent events justified him. But he had bigger notions than merely +proving the passage. "I believe it is possible to reach the Pole over +the ice by wintering at Spitzbergen and going in the spring before the +ice breaks up," he said before starting, and no one would have been +surprised had he returned in the three years with a record of the +journey. Public interest was thoroughly aroused in the enterprise, and +when the two vessels set sail from Greenhithe on May 19, 1845, they had +a brilliant send-off. On June 1 they arrived at Stromness in the Orkney +Islands, and on July 4 at Whale Fish Island, off the coast of Greenland, +where the despatch-boat <i>Barreto Junior</i> parted company with them to +bring home Franklin's despatches to the Admiralty, reporting "All Well." +Later on came the news that Captain Dannett, of the whaler <i>Prince of +Wales</i>, had spoken to them in Melville Bay.</p> + +<p>Then the months passed and grew into years, and still no sign or token +was received from them. Public opinion, stimulated by the interest taken +in the departure of the expedition, began to grow anxious at the +prolonged silence; but the last despatches had been received and the +last tidings direct from the ships had come to hand. Over their +subsequent actions and adventures the heavy veil of the Frozen North +hung until intrepid searchers raised it and learned the sad but gallant +story of how the North-West Passage was discovered and the route to the +Pole marked clearer.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span></p><p>When the <i>Erebus</i> and <i>Terror</i> parted company with the despatch-boat on +July 4, they shaped their course through Baffin's Bay towards Lancaster +Sound. Continuing their way, they passed Cape Warrender and ultimately +reached Beechy Island at the entrance of the then unexplored waters of +Wellington Channel. They passed through the channel, taking such +observations as were necessary as they went, until they had sailed 150 +miles. Further progress being stopped by the ice, they passed into +another unexplored channel between Cornwallis Island and Bathurst Island +which led them into Barrow's Straits, nearly 100 miles west of the +entrance to Wellington Channel.</p> + +<p>The ice was now forming thickly around them, and attention was directed +to discovering a comfortable haven where they could come to rest and +remain while the ice closed in around them during the long winter +months. A suitable harbour was found on the northeasterly side of Beechy +Island and the ships were made snug. All the spars that could be sent +down were lowered on to the decks, and the rigging and sails stowed away +below before the ice surrounded them, so that when the floes began to +pack and lifted the hulls of the vessels, there should be no +"top-hamper" to list them over. On the frozen shore huts were built for +the accommodation of shore parties, and, as the ice spread around and +the snow fell, the men found exercise and amusement in heaping it up +against the sides of the vessels as an extra protection against the +cold, the thick mass of frozen snow preventing the escape of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> the warmth +from the inside of the ships. But where there were fires always going to +maintain the temperature of the cabins, the danger of an outbreak of +fire had to be zealously guarded against. With all the ship's pumps +rendered useless by the frost, and the water frozen solid all around, a +conflagration on board a vessel in the Arctic seas is one of the +grimmest of terrors. The safeguard is the maintenance, in the ice near +the vessel's side, of a "fire hole," that is, a small space kept open by +constant attention down to the level of unfrozen water.</p> + +<p>During the long winter months there was plenty of time to estimate the +progress they had made, and there must have been considerable +satisfaction on all sides at what they had accomplished. They had +circumnavigated Cornwallis Island and had reached to within 250 miles of +the western end of the passage.</p> + +<p>The first Christmas festival of the voyage was kept up with high revel. +If fresh beef was not available, venison was, and there was plenty of +material for the manufacture of the time-honoured "duff." The officers +and men, clad in their thick, heavy fur garments, clustered together as +the simple religious service was read, and over the silent white +covering of sea and land the sound of their voices rolled as they sang +the hymns and carols which were being sung in their native land. Then +came the merrymaking and the feasting in cabins decked with bunting, for +no green stuff was available for decorating.</p> + +<p>The first New Year's Day was saddened by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> death of one of their +comrades, and the silent ice-fields witnessed another impressive sight +when the crews of both vessels slowly marched ashore to the grave dug in +the frozen soil of Beechy Island. The body, wrapped in a Union Jack, was +borne by the deceased man's messmates, the members of his watch headed +by their officers following, and after them the remainder of the +officers and crew. The bells of each ship tolled as the <i>cortège</i> passed +over the ice, the crunching of the crisp snow under foot being the only +other sound till the grave was reached. There the solemn and impressive +service of a sailor's funeral was said, the mingled voices as they +repeated the responses passing as a great hum through the still, cold +air. A momentary silence followed as the flag-swathed figure was lowered +into the grave, and then a quick rattle of firearms as the last salute +was paid echoed far and wide among the icebergs.</p> + +<p>Twice more was that scene repeated before the ships cleared from the +ice, and one of the first signs discovered by the searchers after +Franklin were the three headstones raised on that lonely isle to the +memory of W. Braine, John Hartwell, and John Torrington, who died while +the ships were wintering in the cold season of 1845-6.</p> + +<p>By July the ice had broken up and the voyage was resumed and passed +without any exceptional incident, up to the middle of September 1846, +when they were again caught by the ice, but 150 miles nearer their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> +destination than the year before. Only 100 miles more to be sailed over +and they would be the conquerors—but that 100 miles was too firmly +blocked with ice-floes for them ever to sail over.</p> + +<p>The winter of 1846-7 was passed just off the most extreme northerly +point of King William's Land. The ice was particularly heavy, and hemmed +the vessels in completely, the surface being too rugged and uneven to +permit of travelling in the immediate vicinity even of hunting parties. +This was the more unfortunate because the provisions were growing scant, +and supplies brought in by hunters would have been of great assistance. +At the time of starting, the vessels had only been provisioned for three +years. Two had now passed, so that only a twelvemonth's stock of food +remained in the holds. It might occupy them all the next summer in +working through the remaining 100 miles of the passage, and that would +leave them with another winter to face, unless they were sufficiently +fortunate in finding open water when they reached the end. But, on the +other hand, they might not be able to get through in the time, or the +passage might not be navigable. Either possibility was full of very +grave anxiety for those in command, for it was a terrible prospect of +being left, with 130 men to feed, in the midst of the frozen sea, "a +hundred miles from everywhere."</p> + +<p>The anxiety felt was shown by the despatch, as early as May, or two +months before the first flush of summer was due, of a specially selected +party of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> quick travellers to push forward over the ice and spy out the +prospects ahead. Lieutenant Graham Gore, of the <i>Erebus</i>, commanded the +party, which consisted of Charles des Voeux, ship's mate, and six +seamen. They carried only enough stores to last them on their journey, +and each one had to contribute his share to the labour of hauling the +hand-sledges over the jagged ridges of broken ice. Skirting along the +coast of King William's Land, they arrived at a point from the top of +which they were able to discern the mainland coast trending away to the +horizon, with a sea of ice in front. It was the long-dreamed-of end of +the North-West Passage.</p> + +<p>To commemorate the fact the little party built a cairn upon the summit +of the point, which they named Point Victory, and enclosed in a tin +canister they deposited, under the cairn, a record of their trip and its +result. Twelve years later this record was found, and by it the honour +due to Franklin for the discovery of the passage was confirmed. But the +manner of its finding must be told later on.</p> + +<p>Elated with the success of their efforts, Lieutenant Gore and his +companions retraced their way back to the ships, for with the end of +their journey so near at hand, all fears of the provisions running short +were at an end. As soon as the ice broke up they would be away into the +sea they had seen from Point Victory, and sailing home with their +mission accomplished, their task completed, and nothing but honour<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> and +glory waiting them at home. As soon as they came within sight of the two +ships, perched up among the ice ridges, they shouted out to their +comrades to let them know of the success achieved. Round about the ships +they saw men standing in groups, but instead of answering cheers, the +men only looked in their direction. Unable to understand why so much +indifference was displayed, Lieutenant Gore and his companions hurried +forward, and, as they came nearer, some of the men separated themselves +from the groups and came to meet them with slow steps.</p> + +<p>Soon the cause of their depression was made known to the returned +explorers. The leader of the expedition lay dying in his cabin on board the <i>Erebus</i>.</p> + +<p>Lieutenant Gore, his enthusiasm at his success sadly damped, went on +board the flagship at once, hoping that the news of victory might still +be given to Sir John before he died. He was led into the cabin and +briefly told the story of his journey, and how, from Point Victory, he +had looked out over to the coast of the mainland. The news, the last +which Sir John Franklin was to hear on earth, was perhaps the sweetest +he had ever known, for it meant that he had triumphed and had won a +lasting name and memory for his services to Sovereign and State. On June +11, 1847, his life ended at the moment of his brightest achievement.</p> + +<p>Captain Crozier, of the <i>Terror</i>, assumed command<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> of the expedition, +and as summer was at hand, everything was made ready against the time +when the ice would break up. Ice-saws were fixed ready to cut passages +through the floes when they began to separate, and ice-anchors were run +out so that the vessels could be warped along whenever an opening +occurred. Daily the crews mustered on board and looked over the ice for +some sign of the breaking of their imprisonment, for some loosening of +the iron grip of the ice round their vessel's sides, but all in vain. +The two ships were wedged in a vast mass of ice, through which it was +impossible to cut their way. Instead of breaking up in lesser fields and +floes of ice, the mass remained packed, creaking, crashing, and +straining by night and day as it slowly made its way nearer the coast of +the mainland, carrying the ships with it until they were within 15 miles +of Point Victory, and 60 miles of the mainland coast.</p> + +<p>Soon the short summer months had passed and the dark period of winter +was upon them again, with the provisions daily growing scarcer, and the +hope of getting their ships out of the ice fainter. Another evil came +upon them when among the members of the crew scurvy, the dreaded enemy +of the early Polar explorers, broke out. By the following April twenty +of their number had succumbed to it, nine being officers, one of whom +was Lieutenant Gore.</p> + +<p>On April 22, 1848, the remaining 105 officers and men gathered on the +ice around the two ships. They had with them sledges laden with what +provisions<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> were left, and two whale-boats. Slowly and sorrowfully they +bade farewell to the vessels which had been their homes for nearly three +years, and set out to march over the ice to the mainland. Their plan was +to push on until they reached the Great Fish River, where they might +obtain succour either from travelling bands of Indians or at some +outlying station of the Hudson Bay Company. Travelling at the rate of +five miles a day, so rough and difficult was the route, they arrived on +April 25 at the cairn where Lieutenant Gore had left the record of his +journey over a year before. The canister in which it was enclosed was +opened, and round the margin was written this brief, pathetic story:—</p> + +<p>"April 25, 1848. H.M.S. <i>Terror</i> and <i>Erebus</i> were deserted on April 22, +five leagues N.N.W. of this point, having been beset since September 12, +1846. The officers and men, consisting of 105 souls, under the command +of Captain F. R. M. Crozier, landed here in lat. 69° 37' 42" N., long. +98° 41' W. The paper was found by Lieutenant Irving in a cairn supposed +to have been built by Sir James Ross in 1831, four miles to the north, +where it had been deposited by the late Commander Gore in June 1847. Sir +James Ross's pillar has not, however, been found, and the paper has been +transferred to this position, which, it is thought, is where Sir James +Ross's pillar was erected. Sir John Franklin died on June 11, 1847, and +the total loss of life by death in the expedition has been to this date +nine officers and fifteen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> men. Start to-morrow, April 26, for Back's +Fish River."</p> + +<p>The record, left as a sign, should it ever be found, of the direction +they had taken, the party resumed their dreary march over the frozen +shores of King William's Land. The men formed themselves into teams for +the purpose of dragging the sledges and whale-boats, and the officers +marched beside them, helping them and encouraging them. Even the snail's +pace of five miles a day became too severe a strain for many of the men, +weakened as they were by attacks of scurvy and reduced rations. Soon it +became evident that if a place were to be reached where help and food +could be obtained before the provisions were absolutely exhausted, it +would be necessary for the stronger to push forward at a more rapid rate.</p> + +<p>A council was held, and it was decided that the strongest should take +enough supplies to last them for a time and push forward as rapidly as +possible, while the remainder should follow at a slower rate and by +shorter stages. The majority were in the latter division, and only a few +days elapsed after the smaller band, numbering about thirty, had left, +before the ravages of scurvy and semi-starvation made it impossible for +even less than five miles a day to be covered. So debilitated were all +the members that further advance was abandoned until they had, by +another long rest, tried to recuperate their energies. But the terrible +bleakness of the place<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> where they were wrought havoc among them, and +every day men fell down never to rise again, until the only hope for the +survivors lay in returning to the ships, where, at least, they would +have shelter. Wearily they staggered over the rugged ice ridges, each +man expending his remaining energies in striving to carry the +provisions, without which only death awaited them. Men fell as they +walked, unnoticed by their companions, whose only aim was to get back to +the ships, and whose faculties were too dimmed to understand anything +else. Blindly, but doggedly, they stumbled onward, silent in their +agony, brave to the last when worn-out nature gave way and they sank +down, one after the other, till none was left alive, and only the still +figures, lying face downwards on the frozen snow, bore mute witness of +how they had neither faltered nor wavered in their duty, but had died, +as Britons always should die, true to the end.</p> + +<p>Their comrades who had left them to push forward for help were equally +stolid in their struggle against overwhelming odds. As they were +crossing the ice between King William's Land and the mainland, a great +cracking of the floes startled them with the fear that the ice was +breaking up. Hastily placing their stores in the whale-boat, which they +had been dragging in addition to the hand-sledges, they abandoned +everything else, fearful lest the sudden opening of the floes might cut +them off from a further advance. Harnessing themselves to ropes, they +toiled and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> struggled onward with the boat. They reached the mainland, +but at a terrible sacrifice, for in their haste they had left much of +their scanty supplies behind. Their food ran out and hope was almost +dead, when they espied a small camp of Eskimo.</p> + +<p>Fresh life came to them as they learned that they were nearly up to the +Great Fish River, and they bartered away some spoons and forks, Sir John +Franklin's star, part of a watch and some other metal articles to the +Eskimo for a recently killed seal. Had they waited longer with the +natives, they might have obtained more food and have recovered somewhat +from their fatigue, but in the mind of each was the memory of their +stricken comrades toiling on behind, and hoping from day to day for the +arrival of relief. Personal feelings were forgotten before that memory, +and the gallant little party resumed its way, fighting with all the +dauntless bravery of heroes to win help for their weaker +friends—fighting till their limbs refused to move, till their starving +bodies were numbed and frozen. Then, falling in their own footsteps, +they passed away, one by one, silent and uncomplaining, to the list of Britain's honoured dead.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span>CHAPTER III</span> <span class="smaller">THE SEARCH FOR FRANKLIN</span></h2> + +<blockquote><p>Captain Parker's Report—Government offers a Reward—Dr. Rae's +Expedition—Captain McClure's Voyage in the +<i>Investigator</i>—Hardships and Perils—The Meeting with the +<i>Herald</i>—Lady Franklin still Hopeful—Sir F. L. McClintock's +Expedition in the <i>Fox</i> with Lieutenant Hobson—Their Sad and Fatal +Discoveries—Lieutenant Schwatka recovers the Body of Lieutenant +Irving.</p></blockquote> + +<p>The enthusiasm which was aroused over the departure of Sir John +Franklin's expedition gave place to a deep national anxiety as the years +passed without any word being received of its whereabouts. On October 4, +1849, the <i>Truelove</i> arrived at Hull from Davis Straits, and her +commander, Captain Parker, reported that he had heard from some Eskimo +that the <i>Erebus</i> and the <i>Terror</i> had been seen in the previous March +fixed in the ice, and apparently abandoned in Prince Regent's Inlet. No +confirmation was ever obtained for this report, but it served to excite +public anxiety still more, and expeditions began to be organised for the +relief of the missing explorers. In all, twenty-one expeditions were +sent, of which eighteen were British and three American, to search the +neighbourhood where it was anticipated Sir John and his gallant band +would be. Coals, provisions, clothing, and other necessaries were +deposited at different spots in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> hopes that they would be found by, +and be of use to, the castaways. But, as has already been stated, none +were able to give succour to the men for whose use they were intended.</p> + +<p>A great deal of valuable and highly interesting work, however, was done, +and in addition to at length discovering enough relics of the party to +show that all the members had perished while carrying out their duty, an +amount of knowledge was acquired which made the North-West Passage +familiar, located the Magnetic Pole, and opened the way for more recent +and equally brilliant journeys towards the Pole itself. The general +public, as well as the Government, were responsible for search +expeditions; but to stimulate the enterprise, the British Government +offered a sum of £20,000 to any party of any country that should render +efficient service to the crews of the missing <i>Erebus</i> and <i>Terror</i>. +Half that reward was paid to Dr. Rae, who discovered the relics of the +party, now at the Greenwich Museum, consisting of Sir John Franklin's +star, some spoons and forks, the remains of a watch, and some other +metallic odds and ends.</p> + +<p>The story of this discovery was briefly told by Dr. Rae in a letter to +the Admiralty. He was, in 1854, surveying the coast of the mainland +immediately south of King William's Land, when he encountered a small +party of Eskimo hunters. He asked them whether they had ever met other +white men, and they told him that four summers before (1850) a number of +white men had been encountered by some Eskimo<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> who were catching seals +off the south coast of King William's Land. The white men came from over +the ice, and were dragging a boat behind them. By signs they made the +hunters understand that they were hungry, and a seal was exchanged for +the articles Dr. Rae was shown. Then the white men went on walking over +the ice, dragging the boat behind them, one walking in front alone, and +all the rest pulling the ropes attached to the boat. A few weeks later +they were seen again, this time on the mainland, but all were dead. The +place where they were found was about one day's journey from the Great +Fish River, and all had evidently died of cold and starvation. They had +erected tents and had turned the boat over for a shelter, and some of +the men lay under the boat, while others were in and around the tents. +One man was some distance away with a telescope slung over his +shoulders, and underneath his body was a double-barrelled gun. This man, +they said, was the chief of the party.</p> + +<p>About the encampment there were plenty of guns and ammunition, but no +food. More than likely the unfortunate castaways were too weak from want +to be able to hunt, for Dr. Rae, in his reports, stated: "I may add that +with our guns and nets we obtained an ample supply of provisions last +autumn, and my small party passed the winter in snow houses in +comparative comfort, the skins of the deer shot affording abundant warm +clothing and bedding."</p> + +<p>Next to the story of Dr. Rae's discovery comes the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> account of the +finding by Lieutenant Hobson, on May 6, 1859, of the record left on +Point Victory, and after that again, the recovery, in 1879, by +Lieutenant Schwatka, of the United States Navy, of the bodies of several +of the <i>Erebus</i> and <i>Terror</i> crews. But meanwhile a glance may be taken +at some of the thrilling adventures which befell the different relief +expeditions. The account of Captain McClure's voyage in the +<i>Investigator</i>, graphically told by himself in his reports to the +Admiralty, is full of typical Arctic adventure.</p> + +<p>The <i>Investigator</i> was one of several ships forming one of the +expeditions. After sailing in company for some time they separated to +work over set areas. The <i>Investigator</i> entered the Polar Sea and sailed +along the North-East Passage. She was soon amongst the ice, and sailed +on in a depth of 150 feet of water until the pack showed a solid +unbroken line in front from east to west. Then she sailed along it, in +the hopes of finding an opening; but all that could be seen, beyond the +ice, was a vast number of walrus, lying upon it huddled together like +sheep. Between the ice and the land, however, there was open water, and +here the <i>Investigator</i> shaped her course, keeping well in towards the +shore on the look-out for natives. There was an interpreter on board, +Miertsching by name, so that whenever any natives were encountered +inquiries could be made for tidings of the missing explorers. At Cape +Bathurst, near the Mackenzie River, a part<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> Franklin had explored many +years before, a large tribe was observed, and at once a boat party put +off from the ship.</p> + +<p>As they approached the shore, thirty tents and nine winter-houses were +seen. Immediately the boats were run ashore a tremendous stir was caused +in the village, the men running to and fro and then charging down a +steep slope to where the boats were aground on the beach. As they drew +near it was seen that each man carried a drawn knife in his hand, as +well as bows and arrows, and their warlike intentions were still more +clearly shown when they fitted arrows to the bows and began to aim at +the white men. The interpreter Miertsching, clad in native costume, +advanced from the explorers towards the angry Eskimo, holding his hands +above his head in the position which expresses peace amongst these primitive people.</p> + +<p>They paused as they saw him, and waited until he came up; but although +they put back their bows and arrows when he told them no one wished to +harm them, they would not relinquish their knives. As they crowded down +to the boats, the captain told him to explain to them that they must put +their knives away; but the chief of the tribe immediately retorted, "So +we will, when you put down your rifles." To prove their peaceful +intentions, one of the rifles was given to the chief to carry while the +explorers remained with them, and this action so effectually satisfied +them that no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> harm would be done to them that they offered to let their +visitors take charge of their knives.</p> + +<p>The village contained over three hundred men, women, and children, and +was formed for hunting purposes. The mass of ice showing across the open +passage, they said, was the land of the white bear, an animal which, +they explained, was very plentiful and of which they were greatly in +fear. Several tales were told of the savagery of these creatures, a +woman pitifully bewailing the loss of her little child, who was carried +off by one of them when playing at the water's edge within her sight. A +less mournful story was that of a seal hunter who, having speared one +seal, was sitting by the side of his victim waiting for the mate to +appear above the water, when he felt a tap on the back. Suspecting a +trick by a fellow-huntsman, he did not turn round, whereupon he received +a heavy blow on the side of the head which sent him sprawling. As he +scrambled to his feet, angry at his comrade's roughness, he saw a big +bear walking off with his seal.</p> + +<p>Upon the interpreter explaining how the white men's rifles could kill +the bears, the chief at once invited him to come and live with them, +offering as inducements his own daughter, a pleasant-looking girl of +about fifteen, a fully furnished tent, and all the other necessary +possessions of a well-to-do Eskimo. Failing in that, they invited the +explorers to a feast of roast whale and venison, salmon, blubber, and +other delicacies; but instead of taking from them,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> the explorers +presented them with a number of gifts, and left them on the best of terms.</p> + +<p>A few days later and farther along the coast another small band was +encountered, one of whom was wearing a brass button in his ear. The +button was off a sailor's jacket, and upon being asked how he obtained +it, the man replied it had been taken from a white man who had been +killed by the tribe. He was asked for further particulars, in case the +unfortunate might turn out to be one of Franklin's men. The Eskimo +replied that it might have been done a year ago or when he was a child, +but the huts the white men had built were still standing. The explorers +at once persuaded him to take them to the spot, but on arrival they +found the huts so weather-worn and overgrown with moss that more than a +generation must have passed since they were built.</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp048.jpg" id="fp048.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp048.jpg" width='700' height='450' alt="AN IMMENSE ICEBERG" /></div> + +<p class="bold">AN IMMENSE ICEBERG.</p> + +<p class="bold">This berg was photographed off the coast of Newfoundland. It had probably made its way +there from the glaciers of Greenland.</p> + +<p class="bold"><i>Photo by Parsons.</i></p> + +<p>This was not the only occasion when hopes were raised that some of the +missing expedition were about to be discovered. As the <i>Investigator</i> +continued her voyage along the coast, heavy volumes of smoke were seen +rising from a bluff, and the man on the look-out in the crow's-nest at +the top of the foremast cried out that he could see white tents and men +with white shirts on near them. At once everybody was on the alert. +Boats were lowered and rowed quickly to the shore, but on close +inspection the white tents were found to be conical mounds of volcanic +formation, and the smoke, which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> was also volcanic, was rising from +fissures in the ground.</p> + +<p>Winter was now setting in, and as there was no suitable harbour at hand, +Captain McClure determined to pass the season amongst the ice-floes. His +decision was largely due to the fact that as the ice was forming around +them, a great mass of old ice, over six miles in length and drifting at +the rate of two miles an hour, came upon them. Its enormous weight +crushed everything out of its way, and the ship could only manœuvre +sufficiently to graze it with her starboard bow. Fortunately on the +other side of her there was only freshly formed and comparatively thin +ice, otherwise she would have been hopelessly crushed at once. As it +was, the gradual drifting past of the mass was disconcerting, and it was +decided to make fast to it. A great mass which they ascertained extended +downwards for forty-eight feet below the surface of the sea was +selected, and with heavy cables the <i>Investigator</i> was made secure to +it. Throughout the winter she remained moored to it, though not without +more than one experience of danger.</p> + +<p>Soon after making fast to the ice, the first bear of the season was +shot. He was a magnificent specimen, measuring over seven feet, but upon +being cut up considerable speculation was roused as to the contents of +his stomach. In it was found raisins, tobacco, pork, and some adhesive +plasters. For some time the combined intellect of the ship's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> company +was exercised to explain where the bear could have obtained such a +varied diet and many suggestions were advanced in explanation. +Franklin's ships might be near, some said, or the crews might be +encamped on the neighbouring land, and Bruin might have looted their +stores. No one struck the correct solution of the mystery until some +days later a hunting party came upon a preserved meat tin partly filled +with the same sort of articles as were found in the bear's stomach. He +had evidently found the tin and sampled its contents, not entirely to +his enjoyment, as he had left the larger portion behind. But whence the +tin had come they never learned.</p> + +<p>The winter having passed without mishap they began to watch for the +breaking of the ice. When it began, they had a very narrow escape from +destruction. A light breeze springing up the day after open water +appeared among the floes, the pack to which the <i>Investigator</i> was +attached began to drift. It was carried towards a shoal upon which a +huge mass of ice was stranded. A corner of the pack came in contact with +the great stationary mass with a grinding shock that sent pieces of +twelve and fourteen feet square flying completely out of the water, and, +as the immense weight of the moving pack pressed forward, there was a +sound as of distant thunder as it crushed onwards. The weight at the +back caused an enormous mass to upheave in the middle of the pack, as +though under the influence of a volcanic eruption.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> The great field was +rent asunder, the block to which the <i>Investigator</i> was attached taking +the ground and remaining fixed, while the lighter portion swung round +and, with accelerated speed, came directly towards the vessel's stern.</p> + +<p>To let go every cable and hawser which held her to the block was the +work of a moment, for every one was on deck keenly on the look-out. The +moving mass caught her stem and forced her ahead and from between the +moving floe and the stationary mass. The two came into grinding +collision and the men on the deck of the vessel saw the great bulk to +which the ship had been attached slowly rise. It went up and up until it +had risen thirty feet above the surface and hung perpendicularly above +the ship. It towered higher than the foreyard, presenting a spectacle +that was at once grandly impressive but terribly dangerous, for if it +fell over upon the <i>Investigator</i> she would be crushed to atoms. For a +few moments the suspense was awful, till the weight of the floe broke +away a mass from the great bulk, which rolled back with a tremendous +roar and rending, and, with some fearful heaves, resumed its former +position. But no longer could it withstand the pressure, and it was +hurried forward with the rest of the floe, grinding along the surface of the shoal.</p> + +<p>The pack having set in towards the shore, the only hopes of safety lay +in keeping with the ice, for, if the <i>Investigator</i> were pushed ashore +by it, there would be little chance of her ever floating again. She was +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>consequently made fast again and carried along, though with a +tremendous strain on her stern and rudder. It was discovered that the +latter was damaged, but there was no possibility of unshipping it for +repairs while the ice was moving. Towards the afternoon the wind +dropped, the drift became less, and for five hours the rudder received attention.</p> + +<p>Scarcely had it been replaced when once more the ice began to move, and +the crew saw that they were being forced directly upon a large piece of +the broken floe which had grounded. Feeling certain that if the ship +were caught between the grounded mass and the moving floe nothing could +save her from being crushed to pieces, a desperate effort was made to +remove the great mass. The chief gunner, provided with a big canister of +powder, went on to the ice and struggled over the rugged surface until +he reached the stationary mass. He intended to lower the canister under +the mass before exploding it, but the ice was too closely packed around +it to permit of this being done. There was no time to consider any other +plan, so he fixed the blast in a cavity and, firing the fuse, scrambled back to the ship.</p> + +<p>The charge exploded just as the pressure of the floe was beginning to +tell, but the result was apparently valueless. The <i>Investigator</i> by +this time was within a few yards of the great mass, and there seemed to +be no hope of escaping from the crush. Every one on deck was in a state +of anxious suspense, waiting for what was evidently the crisis of their fate.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span></p><p>Most fortunately the ship went stem-on, as sailors term it, and the +pressure was directed along her whole length instead of along her sides. +Every plank seemed to feel the shock, and the beams groaned as the +pressure increased. The masts trembled, and crackling sounds came from +the bulwarks as she strained under the tension. Momentarily the men +expected that she would collapse under them, when the result of the +gunner's blast was made manifest. It had cracked the mass in three +places, and the pressure of the ship's stern forced the cracks open. The +liberation from the obstacle was at once evident as the mass slowly +divided and, falling over, floated off the shoal. The cable holding the +vessel to the floe parted as she surged forward and the ice-anchors drew +out, while the blocks of ice, as they turned over, lifted her bows out +of the water and heeled her over; but the cheer which broke from the +assembled crew drowned all other noise, for it was as though they had +been snatched from the very jaws of death.</p> + +<p>Subsequent examination of the vessel showed that she had escaped +practically without serious injury. Several sheets of her copper were +stripped off and rolled up like scraps of paper; but as no leaks were +discovered, the loss of the copper was not greatly deplored.</p> + +<p>After escaping from these dangers it was hoped that open water would be +found, so that the voyage might be continued to other areas which had +to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> be searched, and, as the <i>Investigator</i> drifted along amongst the +partly broken up floes, she encountered some rolling swells, which +increased the hopes that open water was not far ahead. But in this the +crew were disappointed, for although the water near the land was +sufficiently free from ice to enable sail to be made, out toward the +Polar Sea the pack was heavy and close.</p> + +<p>They rounded Cape Lambton on Banks' Land, a promontory which they found +rose a thousand feet precipitously. The land beyond gradually lost the +bold character of the rugged cape, the island presenting a view of hills +in the interior which gradually sloped to the shore, having fine valleys +and extensive plains, over and through which several small and one +considerable sized stream flowed. A great deal of drift-wood lay along +the beach, and the land was covered with verdure upon which large flocks +of geese were feeding, while ducks were flying in great numbers. Two +small islands were passed off the coast, one of which afforded an +example of the force exerted by a drifting Polar Sea ice-floe. The +island rose about forty feet above the surface of the sea, and broken +masses of ice, which had formed a floe, had been driven entirely over it.</p> + +<p>The pack still presented an impassable barrier to their course away from +the land, and as the season was getting late they decided that they +would make winter quarters. A suitable bay was found on the north of the +island, and there they spent, not one, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> two winters, for the ice +remained so thick during the ensuing short summer that it was impossible +to move. In the summer, however, if they could not get to sea, they +could travel on to the land, and as game was plentiful they were able to +keep themselves well supplied with fresh meat. But when winter again +came upon them with its cold darkness, the game was scarcer, and, what +was worse, the ship's stores were decreasing.</p> + +<p>As perhaps another twelve months would have to be faced, every one went +on reduced rations, so that the stores should be made to last as long as +possible. The approach of the milder weather Captain McClure determined +should be made the occasion of a daring expedition. A few of the men +were beginning to show signs of sickness, and the captain decided that +they should set out in April for the mainland with enough provisions to +carry them through. The ship was so slightly affected by the buffeting +she had received that the leader could not bring himself to think of +abandoning her while he had any stores left and men who were ready to +remain with him. Only the least robust of the crew were to go as the +overlanding party, and they were to travel to the nearest station of the +Hudson Bay Company, and from thence press on to England with despatches +for the Admiralty requesting help and provisions for those who remained +by the ship. Everything was arranged, even to the date of departure, +which was settled as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> April 15. But before that day arrived another +incident was to transpire.</p> + +<p>On April 10, Captain McClure and his first lieutenant were walking over +the ice near the ship, discussing the serious turn events had taken, for +one of the men had just died from scurvy, and some of the others were in +a bad state of health. This was the first death which had occurred, and +it naturally cast a gloom over every one. As the two walked, they espied +a man coming rapidly towards them from over the ice. He was hastening so +much that they thought he must be flying from a bear, and they went +forward to meet him. But as they approached him, they saw that he was +not one of their own ship's company, for he was of a different build to +any of their men, in addition to which his face showed black from +between his furs, and he was waving his arms wildly. They stopped, +doubtful what to make of him, and he rushed up, still gesticulating and articulating wildly.</p> + +<p>"Who are you, and where do you come from?" McClure exclaimed sternly.</p> + +<p>"Lieutenant Pim, of the <i>Herald</i>, Captain Kellett," the strange figure +managed to reply, as he seized McClure's hands and shook them frantically.</p> + +<p>Rapidly he told the astounded couple his story, for Captain Kellett, of +the <i>Herald</i>, had bid McClure God-speed as he was entering the Polar Sea +three years before, and the commander of the <i>Investigator</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> could not +understand how he could have reached Banks' Land.</p> + +<p>The <i>Herald</i> was one ship of another expedition which had come in search +of the gallant Franklin. She had wintered at Melville's Island, and +Lieutenant Pim had set out across the straits with a sledge party on +March 10. For a month they had been wandering, and he had happened to be +on ahead of his men when he caught sight of the <i>Investigator</i> in the +distance. He had pushed on to ascertain who she was, when he saw and +recognised Captain McClure. His astonishment and excitement overmastered +him and he could only halloo and shout and jump about in his glee.</p> + +<p>The noise of his shouts reached the vessel where the crew, hearing a +strange voice, came tumbling up from below to see who it was that had +arrived. The sight of the <i>Herald</i> sledge party soon afterwards +completed their surprise and gratification, for it meant that close at +hand was all the help they needed to successfully insure their liberation.</p> + +<p>The whole ship's company journeyed across to where the <i>Herald</i> lay, +and, in the interchange of yarns and the assurance of abundance of food +and rest till the ice broke up, they found just the requisite stimulus +to overcome all the evil effects of their past trials and privations. +With a few men from the <i>Herald</i> to relieve the members of his crew who +were on the sick-list, Captain McClure returned to the <i>Investigator</i> +after a few days, and when the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> summer arrived he worked his vessel out +into open water. Then he joined company with the <i>Herald</i> and sailed for +England, whither his despatches and reports had already preceded him and earned him fame.</p> + +<p>The return of Captain McClure and the result of his discoveries, +together with those of other expeditions, and Dr. Rae's find of Franklin +relics, satisfied the British Government that further search was +unavailing. As the account of Sir John Franklin's voyage had not yet +been found, the honour of proving the existence of the North-West +Passage was, for the time being, accorded to McClure, and the Admiralty, +satisfied that all the members of the Franklin expedition had perished, +and the ships either been abandoned or destroyed, ceased despatching +further search parties.</p> + +<p>There were, however, a large number of people who were by no means +satisfied that everything possible had been learned as to the fate of +the <i>Erebus</i> and <i>Terror</i>. Lady Franklin, Sir John's second wife, was +one who refused to give up hopes, and, largely through her efforts, yet +another vessel was sent out. This was the <i>Fox</i>, under the command of +Sir L. F. McClintock, and the voyage was more profuse in the obtaining +of evidence as to the fate of the Franklin party than all the rest put together.</p> + +<p>McClintock made his way directly to King William's Land, with a definite +programme in view. He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> and his first lieutenant, Hobson, were each to +journey with sledge parties along the coast of that island and examine +everything which suggested a chance of learning the fate of the vanished +explorers. Especially were they to seek for any natives and glean from +them, by means of presents and barter, any knowledge they might have, or +any <i>relics</i> which might remain amongst them, of the two ill-fated ships.</p> + +<p>The <i>Fox</i> was a screw steamer, a fact which very largely contributed to +the success of the expedition, as she was able to make steady progress, +whereas a sailing vessel would have had to wait for favourable winds and +so probably lose a great deal of very valuable time. She sailed from +Aberdeen on July 1, 1857, and returned on September 22, 1859, +accomplishing, in her two years' absence, an amount of discovery which +placed all question of the fate of the <i>Erebus</i> and <i>Terror</i> and their +crews beyond a doubt.</p> + +<p>As soon as the <i>Fox</i> was made snug in winter quarters, McClintock and +Hobson set out over the ice in search of some Eskimo. They were +fortunate in discovering a couple of seal hunters, who told them that +some distance away there was a larger party, amongst whom was a man with +knowledge of the missing explorers. They set out with their two friends, +but as night was coming on while yet they had not reached the camp, they +decided to stay where they were till the morning. The two Eskimo, for +one needle apiece, built a snow hut for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> them in an hour. All of them +went inside the shelter, which they found very acceptable, and prepared +their supper. The food they carried consisted of salt pork and biscuits, +but the two Eskimo would not look at it. Their supper consisted of a +piece of bear's blubber. When they had consumed it they squatted on +their haunches and, with their heads drooped forward on their knees, +went off to sleep for the night.</p> + +<p>The following day the main camp was reached, and the white men at once +realised, by the number of articles of European manufacture in the +possession of the Eskimo, that they must have found and looted the +abandoned ships. One of the men told them, through the interpreter, that +several years before there was a ship in the ice off the coast, but that +when the ice melted it had sunk in deep water. He pointed out the +direction where the ship had been, and where there had been a lot of +drift-wood thrown up on the beach—wood out of which, he explained, they +had made their spear handles and tent poles. Other relics were gradually +forthcoming, upon the production by the white men of the barter they had +with them, and a brisk trade was carried on, knives and needles being +exchanged for spoons, forks, and other objects unmistakably from the +wrecked ships. In addition to the relics, some dogs were also secured.</p> + +<p>The latter purchase afforded them considerable amusement and often +excitement before they were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> entirely masters in the art of dog-team +driving. Like everything else worth doing, it has to be learned, and in +his account of his journeyings McClintock quotes one or two instances +where experience was his only teacher. He found, for instance, that when +a dog team is harnessed up to a sledge, every dog does not pull his +hardest, and a suggestion from the whip is advisable. The dog, however, +is inclined to resent it, and at once bites his neighbour by way of +protest. The neighbour in turn bites his neighbour, who does the same, +until the whole team has received the sting arising from the first lash, +and every dog is howling and snapping and jumping over each other. The +application of the whip handle instead of the whip lash is then +necessary, and when at length quiet is restored, the driver has to set +to work to unplait the harness, which has been twisted and tied into a +terrible tangle by the antics of the team. When, at the expense of a +great deal of patience and time, everything is ready for a fresh start, +the inexperienced driver is able to estimate the value of cracking the +whip over, instead of on, the back of a lazy dog.</p> + +<p>Even then, however, it is not all plain sailing. The dogs possess a +wisdom of their own, and they never act so well together as when they +reach a piece of particularly rough ice over which the sledge does not +move easily. Directly they find that they have to lean heavily against +the collar to pull the load forward, they, with one accord, turn round,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> +sit down, and look at the driver. If he is inexperienced, he lays about +him with his whip and the dogs fight and tangle the harness; if he knows +his animals, he puts his shoulder to the sledge, pushes it forward on to +the toes of the team, whereupon each one gets up, hurries out of the way +of the threatening sledge-runners, and, together, pull it easily over the rough place.</p> + +<p>Another peculiarity of the dogs is their extraordinary appetite for +leather. Shark skin the Eskimo consider to be bad for them because of +its excessive roughness, but birds' skins, with the feathers on, are +greatly relished by the insatiable feeders, and, as has been said, +leather is an especial luxury. The dogs are incorrigible thieves and +frequently sneak into the tents, or, if on board ship, into the cabins, +in search of plunder. They are generally greeted with a kick, but should +it be sufficiently energetic to dislodge the kicker's shoe, the dog at +once seizes the delicacy and makes for a quiet spot on the ice where he +can devour it at his leisure.</p> + +<p>The dogs, however, which McClintock was able to obtain from the Eskimo +were genuinely useful to him when he and Lieutenant Hobson began their +prolonged search, and his only regret was that he could not get more. +Later explorers have profited by his experience, for now an expedition +is never considered complete that does not carry at least one team.</p> + +<p>After leaving the Eskimo encampment, search was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> continued along the +southern coast of King William's Land, but without very much success. +Returning, they again met the same tribe of Eskimo, and discovered that +when one of the race speaks he does not necessarily tell all that he +knows. During a conversation between the interpreter and one of the +young men, the latter made a reference to the ship that came ashore. As +the man who had previously mentioned the ship said that it sank in deep +water, the young man was asked how it could have come ashore under those +circumstances. The other one sank, he said; the one he meant came +ashore, where he had seen it.</p> + +<p>Further inquiries showed that both the ships had been seen and visited +by the Eskimo while they were yet in the ice. One of them they could not +find how to enter, so they made a hole in her side, with the result that +when the ice melted she filled and sank. In one of the bunks they found +a man lying dead, but no other bodies were right near the ship.</p> + +<p>Now that they had been discovered in their attempt to evade the truth, +the Eskimo spoke readily enough, giving the exact locality where the +ship had come ashore. Thither McClintock and his companions at once +proceeded. They found enough evidence in the drift-wood on the beach to +show them where the vessel had gone to pieces; but whether it was the +<i>Erebus</i> or the <i>Terror</i>, there was nothing to show. They had now, +however, a definite<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> point from whence to commence their search, and +they laid out the probable routes by which the escaping crews would have +travelled. Separating into two parties, so as to cover as much ground as +possible, they started, Lieutenant Hobson leading.</p> + +<p>On May 25, 1859, McClintock, while walking along a sandy ridge from +whence the snow had disappeared, noticed something white shining through +the sand. He stooped to examine it, thinking it to be a round white +stone, but closer inspection showed it to be the back of a skull. Upon +the sand being removed, the entire skeleton was found, lying face +downwards, with fragments of blue cloth still adhering to its bleached +bones. The man had evidently been young, lightly built, and of the +average height. Near by were found a small pocket brush and comb, and a +pocket-book containing two coins and some scraps of writing. He had +evidently fallen forward as he was walking, and never risen. As an old +Eskimo woman told Dr. Rae, "they fell down and died as they walked +along," overcome with cold, hunger, and sickness.</p> + +<p>The explorers were now in the region where all their finds were to be +made. Five days later McClintock came upon a boat which he found, from a +note attached to it, that Hobson had already examined. It had evidently +escaped the notice of the Eskimo, and, until the white men found it, had +probably not been touched by human hands from the moment<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> its occupants +had died. It was mounted on a sledge, as though it had been hauled over +the ice; but from the fact that its bows pointed towards the spot where +the ships had been, it was surmised that the men were dragging it back +to the vessels when they were overcome. Inside were two bodies, one +lying on its side, under a pile of clothing, towards the stern, and the +other in the bows, in such a position as to suggest that the man had +crawled forward, had laboriously pulled himself up to look over the +gunwale, and had then slipped down and died where he fell. Beside him +were two guns, loaded and ready cocked, as though the man had been +apprehensive of attack. There were also as many as five watches, several +books (mostly with the name of Graham Gore or initials G. G. in them), +abundance of clothes and other articles such as knives, pieces of +sheet-lead, files, sounding leads and lines, spoons and forks, oars, a +sail, and two chronometers, but of food only some tea and chocolate.</p> + +<p>The story mutely told by these relics was only too plain. Weary with +hauling it, the majority of the men had left the boat in order to get +back to the ships and obtain a fresh supply of provisions, leaving two, +who were too weak to struggle on, in the boat, as comfortable as they +could be made until some of the others could get back to help them. Then +the days had passed until the store of provisions had been consumed and +the two sufferers had grown weary with waiting, so weary that one had +slept and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> died under his wraps, and the other, with his remaining +vestige of strength, had crawled forward to peep out once more for the +help that was so long in coming. But only ice had met his gaze, and, +sinking down, he had also passed into that overwhelming sleep, and had +lain undisturbed for twelve years under the covering of the Arctic snows.</p> + +<p>Close search was made in the vicinity of the boat for the remains of any +other of the lost explorers, but nothing was discovered except +drift-wood. The spot where the boat was found was about fifty miles from +Point Victory, sixty-five from the place where the ship had gone ashore, +and seventy from the skeleton that McClintock had discovered on the ridge.</p> + +<p>A few days' march farther on, a cairn was noticed upon the brow of a +point near Cape Victoria. On ascending to it, McClintock found another +note from Hobson, stating that he had already examined it and recovered +from it the record which the crews had deposited there upon the +desertion of the ships, and which is given in the account of the +Franklin voyages. This was the final triumph of the search, for it +conclusively proved that Sir John had been dead before the ships were +abandoned, that he, and not McClure, was the real discoverer of the +North-West Passage, and that the expedition had ended in a disaster as +pitiful as the commencement had been brilliant. Round the cairn were +strewn innumerable relics, showing that the three days which had elapsed +from the time of their leaving the ships had been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> sufficient to further +decrease the strength and vitality of the scurvy-stricken unfortunates.</p> + +<p>No other discovery of moment was made after the unearthing of the vital +record, but Lieutenant Hobson had some experience of what the Franklin +explorers must have suffered. He had abundance of food with him, and +that the best and most nutritious, but he developed scurvy on his +journey, and when he reached the <i>Fox</i> he could not walk without +assistance. No wonder, then, that Franklin's men, starving as well as +sick, should have died by the way.</p> + +<p>The return of the <i>Fox</i> in September 1859 effectually set at rest all +doubts as to the fate of the <i>Erebus</i> and <i>Terror</i>, and no more search +expeditions were sent out. But in 1879 Lieutenant Schwatka, of the +United States Navy, made an overland journey to that part of King +William's Land where the crews had perished. He found many more +skeletons, doubtless of members of the ill-fated expedition, and +wherever he found one lying above ground he buried it with proper +ceremony, except in a single instance.</p> + +<p>This was in the case of an open grave of stones in which the remains of +a skeleton, with some blue cloth adhering to it and some coarse canvas +around it, was lying. Near the remains he found a silver medal bearing +the words, "Awarded to John Irving, Midsummer, 1830, Second Mathematical Prize."</p> + +<p>The presence of the medal identified the remains as being those of +Lieutenant Irving of the <i>Terror</i>.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> As this was the only instance where +identification was possible, Lieutenant Schwatka carefully and +reverently gathered them together and carried them to New York, from +whence they were forwarded to Edinburgh, Irving's native town. There +they were accorded a public funeral on January 7, 1881.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span>CHAPTER IV</span> <span class="smaller">THE VOYAGE OF THE <i>POLARIS</i></span></h2> + +<blockquote><p>Death of Captain Hall—Crew determine to Return—Are Frozen in—A +Party take to the Ice and are Cast Away—They build themselves Snow +Huts—They find some Seals—An Adventure with Bears—The Perils of +the Spring—They sight the <i>Tigress</i> and are Saved—The +Ship-Party's Story and Rescue.</p></blockquote> + +<p>The Government of the United States, in June 1871, despatched the +<i>Polaris</i> to explore and survey the passage between Grinnel Land and +Greenland, and also, if possible, to push on to the Pole.</p> + +<p>The <i>Polaris</i>, under the command of Captain Hall, sailed from New York +on June 29, 1871, with a crew of thirty-three, and provisioned for some +years. She succeeded in passing through Smith's Sound and Robeson +Channel, and on August 31 she had reached as high a latitude as 82° 11' +N. Returning to the southward, she went into winter quarters; but on +November 8 her captain was struck down with apoplexy. Upon his death all +idea of going further to the North was abandoned, and, as soon as the +spring of 1872 commenced, preparations were made to return to New York.</p> + +<p>The ice was particularly heavy, however, and very slow progress was made +when, by August, the <i>Polaris</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> became entangled with some big floes +which checked her in every direction. On August 14, when off the +entrance of Kennedy Channel, in latitude 80°, the ice closed round her +and fixed her so firmly that every effort made by the crew to release +her was without avail. A series of floes had closed one upon the other, +and had so compressed themselves together, that all hope of extricating +the <i>Polaris</i> until the ice itself broke up was reluctantly abandoned. +The pack in which she was involved continued to slowly drift to the +South until, two months after her capture, the ship had drifted in the +ice to 78° 28' N. At this point a violent gale occurred, which resulted +in the series of adventures for her crew that has made the voyage of the +<i>Polaris</i> so notable.</p> + +<p>As the gale increased in intensity, the huge field of heavy ice in which +the vessel was imprisoned began to heave and grind in an alarming +manner. The masses joined together by the force of earlier collisions +broke asunder under the strain of the wind, but only to close in again +with terrific force and crashing. Every time that separated portions of +the pack came together with a crash, the ice around the vessel creaked +and moved, and the <i>Polaris</i> herself strained in every timber under the trial.</p> + +<p>A sudden parting asunder of the pack where she was encased liberated her +for the moment. Freed from the grip of the ice, the force of the wind +was more evident, and she heeled over to the gale as it caught her in +the temporarily open water. Before<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> she could right herself, the ice +closed in again upon her sides. The rending and crashing which followed +the "nip" convinced all on board that the vessel was too crushed ever to +float again, and, while the floe held together and she was kept from +foundering, the crew set about putting stores, tents, clothing, arms, +and anything else they could lay hands on, over the side on to the ice. +They feared that with the next split the vessel would be in the water +again, and there was no doubt in any one's mind but that she would then +sink like a stone. No one knew how long it might be before that split +came, and in the meantime every one worked at the only means of saving +their lives. Nineteen of the ship's company scrambled out on to the +pack, and, as their comrades passed out the various stores and articles +they were able to seize, those on the ice stacked them, as well as they +could, on a massive hummock.</p> + +<p>Through the wind and the cold they worked, neither pausing for rest nor +refreshment. All around them the ice was heaving and grinding, and over +them the cold northerly gale was blowing and driving great clouds of +snow; but they worked on, knowing only too well that in every barrel of +food they rolled into security was contained a week of life for them. +The driving snow made it more and more difficult to see, until the air +was almost dark. With fearful force the wind howled across the icy +expanse, and those on the pack crouched for some shelter behind the +stores they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> had piled up by the hummock, waiting till the gale should +have exhausted its fury.</p> + +<p>The faint sound of a cry came to them from the direction of the ship and +they peered out through the gloom. Then a cry of despair broke from +their lips—they forgot the force of the wind and the cold of the +driving snow as they sprang from behind their shelter. The ice had +parted again, and, down the long lane of open water which had been +formed, the hull of the ship loomed as it swung away into the darkness.</p> + +<p>Anxiously the castaways watched for the coming together again of the +divided packs, in the hope that the <i>Polaris</i> would again be caught and +held. Those who remained on board were equally anxious, for they knew +the vessel must be leaking terribly, and to be left much longer in the +open water meant that she would founder and they be drowned. A man ran +to the rudder and tried to bring her round to the ice which glimmered +through the snow-storm, but the rudder was damaged too much for steering +and the ship drifted on. Soon it was obscured from those on the pack, +and the truth of their position dawned on them. Whether the ship had +foundered or not they did not know, but this was clear: they were adrift +on an ice-pack which might at any moment split asunder and precipitate +them into the freezing water, or, if it held together, carry them till +they died of cold and starvation.</p> + +<p>Either alternative was sufficiently gloomy to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>depress the spirits of +the bravest; as the nineteen cowered behind their stack of provisions +for shelter from the keen snow-filled wind, into the mind of each there +came a grim determination to fight while there was an ounce of food in +the casks or a vestige of ice to float them. In the morning, when the +storm had abated and the air was clear, they emerged from their shelter +and looked about for a sign of the vessel. Some of them clambered up on +to the top of the highest hummocks so as to command a wider field of +vision, but they saw no more than those who remained below. All around +them was ice, piled in heaps, or stretching out in flat expanses; but +always ice, as far as the eye could reach, and nowhere a vestige or a +sign of the <i>Polaris</i>.</p> + +<p>They gathered together round the heap of stores and looked at one +another in silence, each one reading the other's thoughts and always +finding them the same as his own. The ship had probably gone to the +bottom, with all on board, as soon as she broke away from the ice. The +packs had closed again over the spot where she had disappeared, so that +there was no chance of any spars or timber floating to the surface and +confirming their suspicions. Everything was under the ice, everything +except the scanty supply of provisions that had been put overboard.</p> + +<p>At length one man spoke. It was no use mincing matters, he told his +comrades. They would do well to realise the position they were in, and, +looking at it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> from the worst side, make the best of it and fight to the +end. The vessel had gone, and all they had to keep them from starvation +and death was the heap of stores and their own energy. There was no +timber to build a raft, so that they could float if the ice broke up; +there was no wood to waste on a fire. But as they had to keep afloat and +warm if they were going to escape, he considered that first of all they +should remove their stores to the thickest, heaviest ice they could +find, and then set to work to build snow huts for shelter. Winter was +coming on with its long spell of darkness, and there was no time to +waste. It was every one's business to help one another and to do the +best they could, working together and sharing whatever came, whether it +was short rations or plenty.</p> + +<p>The sentiments appealed to all the men, and they formed themselves into +parties to carry out the scheme. Fortunately they had just passed one +winter in the Arctic regions and knew, therefore, what was in front of +them, and also how to carry out the building of snow huts and the other +necessary makeshifts. A massive hummock, which apparently was too strong +to be crushed, and solid enough to last through several summers without +melting, was selected as the site of the encampment. The snow which had +fallen during the gale was not quite hard enough for building huts at +the moment, so while some of the party were overhauling the stores and +arranging to move them to the hummock, the others<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> were clearing away +the snow from the site of the camp and banking it up all round as a break-wind.</p> + +<p>By the time the stores were placed in the enclosure, canvas shelters +were erected for a temporary covering, pending the time when the snow +became hard enough to cut for building blocks. It is only when the snow +has become compressed by its own weight and frozen nearly solid by the +cold that it can be cut into slabs or blocks for a hut. When it has +become hard enough, the blocks are cut and the building commences. First +a circle is laid, with a small space vacant where the doorway is to be. +On either side of this opening the blocks are laid so as to form the +plan of a porch, one side of which, in the present instance, was +continued at right angles so as turn the entrance passage towards the +stack of provisions and thus shelter the doorway from the wind. As soon +as the ground plan of the hut was laid, the surface of the blocks was +moistened and other blocks laid upon them, and so on until the walls +rose some five feet, the moisture making the blocks freeze hard to one +another. The layers were now gradually lapped over the interior until a +dome roof was formed. Both inside and outside were then moistened and +smoothed, and the cold air, freezing the moisture, glazed the entire +structure with a covering of ice.</p> + +<p>All the clothing, bedding, and weapons were taken inside. A lamp was +constructed out of an empty preserved meat tin; it was filled with fat, +and, with a piece of twisted tow for a wick, it lit up the interior<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> of +the hut and afforded some warmth as well. Heavy canvas curtains were +suspended across the opening out of the hut at the inner wall, at the +bend in the passage, and at the outer opening. Such of the packages of +stores as were suitable were also brought into the hut, and upon them +the blankets and furs were laid so as to make the sleeping places as +comfortable as possible. The quarters were thus as good as the men could +make them, but one anxiety still remained. The lamp would have to be +kept going all the twenty-four hours, and especially during the long +Arctic night; but the supply of fat was limited.</p> + +<p>A hunting party was organised to search the pack for seals or walrus or +any animal from which blubber could be obtained. Here again the +experience of the previous winter and its hunting exploits served them. +A small opening in the pack was discovered a mile or so from the camp, +and on the ice around the water three seals were resting, having +evidently been caught in the ice when it closed. With great care the +hunters crept over the ice towards the animals, whose sacrifice meant so +much to the castaways. Only two had rifles, the others carrying harpoons +they had made from the tent-poles, and which were anything but reliable +weapons. Steady aim was taken by the two men who had the rifles at the +two larger of the seals. Firing together, one seal fell dead; the one +which was not aimed at plunged into the water, and the other, badly +wounded, hobbled to the edge of the ice.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> In another moment he would +have been over and probably have sunk to the bottom, had not one of the +men flung away his harpoon, and, springing forward, managed to seize the +hind flippers of the wounded creature. His comrades rushed to his +assistance and dragged both him and the seal back from the opening on to +the ice, where the latter was quickly despatched.</p> + +<p>They were harnessing themselves to their victims in order to drag them +over to the camp, when a loud snort from the opening caused them to +start round just in time to see the third seal disappearing under the +water. At once they understood the situation. The opening was the only +one for miles, and the seal was compelled to come to the surface there +to breathe, as he could not reach the top anywhere else for the ice. It +was at once decided to wait for him, but as, if he were shot while in +the water, he would inevitably sink to the bottom and be lost to them, +they determined to lay a trap for him. The seals already killed were +placed in natural attitudes near the water, and the men hastily retired +to sheltering hummocks, to wait the return. The men with the rifles were +both to fire upon the seal as soon as he emerged on to the ice, for he +was too valuable to be lost. They had not waited very long before he +reappeared and, raising his head high out of the water, looked around. +Seeing nothing but the two seals on the ice, he swam leisurely round and +round the opening before<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> scrambling up on to the ice. As he reached it +and moved towards his two companions, the men, who had been carefully +aiming at him, fired and killed him.</p> + +<p>With the three seals, the party returned to the camp in high spirits, +their arrival being the signal for general rejoicing, for not only would +the blubber of the seals keep the lamp supplied with oil, but their +skins were very welcome additions to the stock of warm coverings, and +the meat was an invaluable addition to the larder.</p> + +<p>Really it was more, but of that they were not aware until two days +later, when one of the men was awakened by the short barking roar of a +bear. He quickly roused his companions and they made their way out of +the hut with what weapons they possessed.</p> + +<p>The flesh of the seals had been suspended on a line between two poles +near the other provisions so as to protect it from any chance visit by +wolves or bears. As the first man peered out from the hut opening, he +saw, in the dim twilight, two bears standing underneath the line of +meat, sniffing up at it and growling. They had, it was afterwards +learned, picked up the trail where the dead seals had been dragged from +the opening in the ice, and had followed it to the camp.</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp078.jpg" id="fp078.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp078.jpg" width='477' height='700' alt="AN ADDITION TO THE EXPLORERS' SUPPLY OF PROVISIONS" /></div> + +<p class="bold">AN ADDITION TO THE EXPLORERS' SUPPLY OF PROVISIONS.</p> + +<p>The man whispered back to his companions what he saw, and another man, +armed with a rifle, crept to his side. Aiming together behind the +shoulder of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> the larger of the bears, they fired simultaneously and +brought their quarry down. Immediately the other bear turned towards the +opening and, with snarling teeth, advanced. A third rifle was fired +point-blank at its head, but the bullet failed to penetrate the massive +skull, though it made the beast change its direction. As it turned away +the men realised what its escape would mean to them. There was a rush +after it, the men loading and firing as quickly as they could load, so +as to secure it before it disappeared in the dim grey twilight. It fell +wounded, and was despatched by means of the impromptu spears.</p> + +<p>This adventure not only made a notable break in the monotony of the life +on the pack, but gave the men a subject for conversation during the long +weary period of darkness, as well as increasing their store of fat, +fresh meat, and warm covering. No further animals were seen or heard, +although every one was constantly on the alert, and the opening where +the seals were killed was visited daily until it froze over. Then the +last vestige of twilight vanished and darkness settled down upon the ice.</p> + +<p>For eighty-three days the sun was absent, and during that time the cold +was intense. The lamp was the only means of artificial heat they +possessed, and even of that they had to be careful, for the supply of +fat was not inexhaustible, and no one knew when it could be replenished. +In the coldest weather the men huddled together under their blankets and +furs, anxious and weary. They had no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> means of finding out in what +direction they were moving, for the constant creaking of the floe led +them to believe that they were drifting somewhere. Whether it was to the +North or to the South they could not tell, and yet upon the direction in +which they were moving their salvation depended.</p> + +<p>Never, perhaps, was the return of the sun more welcomed than by the +desolate castaways on the floe. But its appearance and the commencement +of spring was not entirely an unmixed blessing. The rising temperature +naturally caused the ice to break up, and as the floe upon which they +were marooned gradually decreased in size, fresh anxiety was caused to +them by the possible danger of their haven being broken up. As the days +passed, they saw their food supply growing smaller and smaller, until +starvation stared them in the face, and hope was almost dead. April +came, and with it all the privation and suffering consequent upon +insufficient food and wearying, helpless, and almost hopeless, +inactivity. The last day of the month arrived and found them with the +last morsel of food consumed. A man clambered to the summit of the +hummock in the hopes of seeing a seal somewhere on the ice. His comrades +thought that he had lost his senses when he shouted wildly and, +clambering down, ran towards them, dancing and shouting.</p> + +<p>Over the top of the hummock he had caught sight of a ship, and the +excitement caused by his news was soon eclipsed as the castaways saw the +signals<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> they made answered from the vessel. Boats put off for them and +took them on board the ship, which was the <i>Tigress</i>, a sealer from Labrador.</p> + +<p>They found that in the 196 days they had spent on the floe they had +drifted over 1500 miles from the latitude in which the <i>Polaris</i> was +beset on October 12. For the time they believed they were the only +survivors of the expedition, but in this they were wrong. The remainder +of the party also escaped, though without undergoing quite the same +hardships as themselves.</p> + +<p>When the <i>Polaris</i> broke away from the ice, she did not sink, but +drifted rapidly before the gale through the open channel. Captain +Budington, who had assumed command when Captain Hall died, and the +twelve men who remained on board, managed to keep the disabled vessel +afloat, but they could do no more until she again became involved in the +ice. By that time all hopes of returning to the place where the other +men were on the ice was abandoned, and, as the water was fairly open, +the efforts of the crew were mainly directed to warping the ship towards +the coast. By good fortune she managed to escape from the crushing +packs, and, with tireless effort and great care, she was at length +brought within sight of land. Then she was caught in the ice along the +shore and so severely nipped that her ruin was complete. She, however, +did not sink, and her crew were able to reach the land.</p> + +<p>Selecting a site for an encampment, they removed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> thither enough timber +from the broken-up vessel to construct a house, to which they also +removed enough stores to last them. When these necessaries were secured, +they brought more timber ashore, and, during the long winter night, they +employed themselves in constructing a couple of boats. It was a +laborious task, and but slow progress was made until daylight returned. +Then they were able to carry on the work faster; but it was the middle +of May before they had them finished and seaworthy.</p> + +<p>As soon as the ice began to break up, they launched the boats, which +were fully provisioned from the wreck, and on June 3 they sailed away to +the South. Three weeks later they sighted a whaler, the <i>Ravenscraig</i>, +who took them aboard, and within a few months of their comrades, whom +they thought had all perished, landing in America from the <i>Tigress</i>, +the boat party also landed, having saved, in addition to themselves, all +the records of the surveys and observations made by the expedition. +These were of great geographical value, making known much of the +neighbourhood of the straits between Greenland and Grant's Land. The +expedition, although attaining to a high latitude, did not succeed in +reaching the Pole, but their adventures made a fascinating chapter in +the history of Polar research.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span>CHAPTER V</span> <span class="smaller">THE <i>ALERT</i> AND <i>DISCOVERY</i></span></h2> + +<blockquote><p>Sir George Nares appointed to the <i>Alert</i> and +<i>Discovery</i>—Overtaking a Season—Red Snow—The Greenland +Mosquito—Peculiarities of Eskimo Dogs—And Dog Whips—Dangers of +Kayaks—Advantages of Steam for Polar Regions—An Unpleasant +Experience—A Huge Walrus—Arctic Scenery—A Big "Bag"—The Ships +part Company—The <i>Alert</i> reaches the Polar Sea—Winter +Quarters—The North Pole attempted—Adventures and Sufferings of +the Party—Lieutenant Parr's Heroism—Deliverance—The Greenland +Attempt—Scurvy and Snow—Repulse Bay—In Pitiable +Plight—Lieutenant Rawson to the Rescue.</p></blockquote> + +<p>"Her Majesty's Government, having determined that an expedition of +Arctic exploration and discovery should be undertaken, My Lords +Commissioners of the Admiralty have been pleased to select you for the +command of the said expedition, the scope and primary object of which +should be to attain the highest northern latitude and, if possible, to +reach the North Pole."</p> + +<p>Such was the opening sentence of the official instructions sent to Sir +George Nares to take command of the <i>Alert</i> and <i>Discovery</i>, two steam +vessels, which constituted the first expedition the British Government +had sent to the Arctic regions since the search parties for Sir John +Franklin. It was confidently expected that the introduction of the +screw<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> steamer into Arctic navigation would result in startling +achievements, and those expectations were fully justified.</p> + +<p>The two ships, with H.M.S. <i>Valorous</i> in consort with provisions, &c., +on board, left Portsmouth on May 29, 1875. They were home again by +November 2, 1876, and during the intervening eighteen months they had +reached the most northerly point attained by man up to that period, and +only since exceeded, on the sea, by the <i>Fram</i>.</p> + +<p>No greater contrast can be given of the enormous strides which had been +made in navigation during the thirty years which had elapsed since +Franklin sailed away on his last and fatal voyage, than the fact that +whereas after six weeks' journeying Franklin had barely reached the +region of drift ice, in six weeks from the date of leaving Portsmouth +the <i>Alert</i> and <i>Discovery</i> were almost in the region of perpetual ice. +And all owing to the application of steam to ocean travelling.</p> + +<p>The route laid down for the expedition was along the western coast of +Greenland and as far through Robeson Channel, which divides Grinnel Land +from Greenland, as it was possible to get. Disko Bay, half-way up the +Greenland coast, was the spot where the <i>Alert</i> and <i>Discovery</i> were to +part company with the <i>Valorous</i>. They entered the Bay on July 4, having +had, on the voyage to the North, the peculiar experience of chasing and +overtaking a season. When they left Portsmouth at the end of May, +summer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> was well in; but when they arrived at Disko Bay they found that +the mild weather which forms the spring had not yet set in sufficiently +to melt all the winter's snows. So that they had travelled quicker than +the summer, having started after it had begun in England, and arrived in +Greenland before it was due.</p> + +<p>The early spring flowers were just commencing to bloom on the slopes +around Disko, wherever the snow had melted, while higher up on the +hills, where the winter's snow still lay, the explorers had an +opportunity of looking upon that curious phenomenon, red snow. A minute +animalcule (<i>Protococcus nivalis</i>) generates in the frozen covering of +the earth, and increases so rapidly and in such vast numbers that it +gives to its cold white habitat the hue of its own microscopic body. +Another minute creature also breeds in enormous numbers in these bleak +regions, the mosquito, which one usually associates with dense tropical +jungles and fever-breeding swamps. All along the Greenland coast, +wherever there is a pool of fresh water which thaws from the ice-grip, +the larvæ of the mosquito appear in swarms in the spring, and, very +shortly after, the full-fledged insect emerges in the utmost vigour of +irritating stinging life. As the time is short between the period when +the ice melts and when the water freezes again, the Greenland mosquito +has to be active to work out his life mission before he is frozen off, +and the skin of all visitors to his locality<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> gives ample evidence how +well he utilises his opportunities.</p> + +<p>In addition to taking on board the surplus stores from the <i>Valorous</i>, +the two Arctic ships also took on board teams of dogs for sledging +purposes. Fifty-five in all were shipped, their quarters being situated +on the main deck, where they were necessarily cramped for room, and, +what was worse from their point of view, were unable to get at one +another's throats owing to their being chained to bolts. Consequently +they kept up a constant chorus of snarls and yaps, varied now and again +with a howl as one or another received a remonstrating kick from a sailor.</p> + +<p>This interminable uproar was explained by the Eskimo dog driver, who was +also taken on board, as being due to the fact that most of the dogs were +strangers to one another, and no one was as yet the properly constituted king.</p> + +<p>When Captain McClintock purchased a team of dogs from the Eskimo of King +William's Land, he had a good deal to learn about their peculiarities; +but the people on the <i>Alert</i> and the <i>Discovery</i>, having a great many +more dogs than he was able to obtain, had also a great deal more to +learn about them. Sir George Nares, in his account of the expedition, +gives some particulars which were furnished by his Eskimo dog driver, +and these show that the sledge dog is quite as wise as one might expect +from Captain McClintock's experiences.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span></p><p>In every team of dogs, one is the king. He holds that position by +prowess only, and has to fight and thrash every other dog in the team +before he can assume the leadership. When he has once assumed it, he has +to keep it by the same means; for revolutions may at any moment occur, +through some younger dog aspiring to the ruling position. But while a +dog has the position of authority, he exercises his rights with +decision, and the remainder of the team cluster round him and support +him in emergencies, or lie at his feet in times of leisure. The only one +who is allowed to snarl at him without at once being bitten is the +queen. She is among her sex what the king is among his; for though she +depends more upon him for her prominent position than to her own +fighting qualities, she maintains it, when once obtained, by a free use +of her jaws upon encroachers.</p> + +<p>Consequently, when a number of teams were brought together on the decks +of the vessels, all strangers to one another, there was a tremendous +amount of fighting in prospect before peace could be granted. Firstly, +the kings of the various teams were anxious to tussle for the supremacy; +and with the prospect of some of them getting badly mauled, there were +several inferiors in each team ready to do battle with their injured +monarch, and, when he was disposed of, with one another, for the +leadership. But their new masters, instead of letting them all loose to +settle their various degrees<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> of authority in their own hereditary +fashion, tied them up where they could see and hear one another without +exchanging a bite. The kings, naturally warlike and ferocious, could +only snap at their inferiors as they bayed in their rage, and the +inferiors could only bay in their pain, and so between them the ship's +company were kept awake by night and annoyed by day.</p> + +<p>When at length opportunity occurred for liberating the dogs and giving +them some exercise over the ice, great care had to be taken so as to +prevent a wholesale mêlée. Each team, as they were freed from their deck +chains, were led on to the ice and made fast to a sledge, two men being +in charge of each sledge for the purpose of learning how to drive. And a +highly exciting time they had of it, for not only did every dog want to +start in its own direction as soon as they were harnessed, but every +team wanted to attack every other team directly they appeared.</p> + +<p>Nor were the troubles of the drivers limited to the dogs. The whip which +is used for sledge teams consists of a very short handle and a very long +lash. In the hands of an expert it is a most effective weapon, being +capable of producing a resounding crack or a stinging blow wherever the +wielder desires. But in the hands of a novice it is, like the Australian +stock-whip, prone to do everything that the wielder does not wish. The +amateur driver of a team, growing impatient as his dogs set off at full +speed in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> various directions, and, besides tangling the harness, upset +the sledge and themselves and very nearly himself as well, lashed out +viciously at the worst offender; but the lash, instead of bringing the +creature to his senses, curled back and hit the striker across the face, +or twined round the legs of his companion, with disastrous results. +Meanwhile the Eskimo driver was going from one group to another, trying +to explain the mysteries of the art, much to the amusement of the +onlookers and the indignation of the inexperienced amateurs.</p> + +<p>During the wait at Disko, another form of Arctic travelling was +practised by the officers of the expedition. This was the use of the Eskimo kayak.</p> + +<p>The kayak is a long narrow canoe, entirely covered in with a waterproof +covering. The voyager sits in the middle in a small round hole, the +covering lapping over the edges and being fastened round the waist. The +kayak is thus made as buoyant as a life-belt, whether floating on an +even keel or upside down. By reason of their build, they are peculiarly +"cranky" craft, turning over at the least provocation, and so require +extremely careful handling, unless one is an adept at swimming and +diving. The experience of one of the officers made this clear. He had +securely strapped himself in, when, by a false stroke of the paddle, he +overturned the kayak. He could not get it back again and was unable to +loosen the cover; there was only one way of escape, and that possible +alone to a man familiar with being<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> under water. Loosening his clothes, +he wriggled out of them and came to the surface just in time to avoid drowning.</p> + +<p>Having taken on board all the stores that the <i>Valorous</i> carried, as +well as a full supply of coal, the <i>Alert</i> and the <i>Discovery</i> started +in company for the North. The advantages of steam navigation were made +even more apparent as they proceeded, for the ships were able to steam +through ice-encumbered water which would have been quite impassable for +sailing vessels. Depending so much upon the wind, a sailing vessel is +only able to make headway amongst heavy drifting floes by means of long +hawsers, run out and made fast to a mass of ice and then slowly hauled +in at the capstan. Steamers, on the other hand, experience no difficulty +in forcing their way past and between the lesser floes, and Sir George +Nares, who had had a great deal of experience of sailing vessels in the +ice regions, was frequently astounded at the ease with which the two +steamers rammed their way, clearing from out of their course lumps of +ice which would have been difficult obstacles to a sailing ship.</p> + +<p>Those on board, however, were not to escape without some experience of +the peculiarities of ice movements. The vessels were going to make fast +for the night, and a boat's crew was sent from the <i>Alert</i> to carry an +anchor to a large, heavy mass not far distant. On near approach it was +seen that the lump was very rotten, and, as no hold for the anchor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> +could be found near the water-line, one of the men volunteered to +clamber up to the top and, with an ice chisel, make a hold for it. He +clambered on to the slippery, treacherous mass, and, after a great deal +of very careful exertion, succeeded in reaching a point high enough for +his purpose. He began lustily to drive in the chisel, but so rotten was +the ice, that instead of merely chipping out a crevice, he cracked the +top of the lump. Another blow, and, to his intense amazement, a huge +mass in front of him slid away. Gliding down the side, fortunately away +from the boat, it splashed into the sea. But the removal of so much from +the top of the berg upset its balance, with the result that it swayed +from one side to the other as it recovered its equilibrium. The +unfortunate sailor, with nothing to cling to, had to scramble up and +over the summit as the berg dipped down; but no sooner was he over the +top than the berg swung the other way, and he had to scramble back +again. There was no means of escape until the berg settled down once +more, and in the meantime his companions in the boat and on the steamer +were shouting with laughter at the antics of what they called their +squirrel on the iceberg.</p> + +<p>While he was in his lofty if unsteady position, however, he noticed on a +floe not far distant three walrus, and as soon as he returned to the +ship and reported his discovery, a boat with a harpoon and two rifles +was despatched. The three animals lay<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> contentedly enough on the ice, +paying scarcely any heed to the advancing boat, with the result that all +were hit. The two that were shot slid off into the water and sank, but +the one that was harpooned could not escape. He was an immense creature, +measuring over twelve feet in length and eleven feet round the thickest +part; his tusks were over eighteen inches long, and, when cut up, he +yielded five casks of meat, weighing 1250 lbs.</p> + +<p>As the two vessels advanced farther to the North they found that the +character of the ice was very different from that met with in the +neighbourhood of Baffin's Bay and Lancaster Sound. It was more massive +and heavy, a berg they passed towering nearly 300 feet above the +water-line, and floes frequently occurring some miles in length and +standing 50 feet out of the water. The possibility of being caught +between such masses and "nipped" was a constant danger, for no vessel +could possibly withstand the tremendous pressure exerted by two floes of +that size colliding. A constant look-out had to be maintained from the +crow's-nest for any sign ahead of the floes closing in, and by careful +navigation anything like a severe "nip" was avoided.</p> + +<p>By August 24 they had made such excellent progress as to be nearly at +the end of the hitherto explored channel. A southerly wind was helping +them along, but about four in the afternoon it began to die away. They +were then in Bessel Bay, and in order to see how the ice was ahead, Sir +George<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> Nares decided to land and climb to the top of Cape Morton, which +is some 2000 feet in height. From the summit a magnificent view was +obtained, of which the following description is given by Sir George +Nares in his account of the expedition:—</p> + +<p>"It was a beautiful morning, with scarcely a cloud in the sky. The cold, +sharp wind which had benumbed us at the sea-level was local, for, on the +summit of the cape, it was perfectly calm. Sixty miles distant in the +south-west were the Victoria and Albert mountains of Grinnel Land, +fronted by Hans Island showing clear of Cape Bryan, which had Hannah +Island nestling at its base. Farther north was an elevated spur from the +main range which, rising between Archer Fjord and Kennedy Channel, +formed Daly Promontory. Fronting these mountains, and directly separated +from them by an extensive valley extending to the northward from Carl +Ritter Bay, was the black buttress-shaped cliff forming Cape Back, the +southern extremity of the nearly straight running line of flat-topped +coast hills extending twenty miles to Cape Defosse. From that point the +coast line became more hilly, and, joining the Daly mountains, extended +to Cape Lieber, a bluff headland, with Cape Baird, a low, flat point, +jutting out beyond it. Still farther north were the lofty mountains of +Grant's Land with steep cliffs about Cape Union, though seventy miles +distant distinctly visible, forming the western extremity of Robeson +Channel. Nearly due north a slight<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> break in the continuity of the land +showed where Robeson Channel opened into the Polar Sea. On the eastern +side of the strait, at a distance of forty miles, was Cape Lupton, the +notable landmark denominated Polaris Promontory; then came Polaris Bay +with the low plains leading to Newman Bay. At my feet lay Cape Tyson and +Cape Mary Cleverly on the north shore of Petermann Fjord, rising to an +elevation of 1500 feet."</p> + +<p>In this district, picturesque and beautiful as portrayed by the +explorer's description, the <i>Discovery</i> wintered, while the <i>Alert</i> went +on farther North. The spot where the <i>Discovery</i> was left, and which was +named Discovery Bay, was a large, well-protected inlet inside an island, +the outer point of which formed Cape Bellot. In the summer it was +sparsely covered with loose ice, but in the winter, sea, hills, cape, +and plains were all covered in the one white garb. As the two vessels +entered the bay early on the morning of August 25, what at first were +taken to be nine boulders were observed on the shore; but as the vessels +swung to their anchors, the boulders were observed to move away. At once +the cry of "musk oxen" was raised, and boats were hastily lowered, +filled with sportsmen keen for the chase. The oxen, disturbed by the +noise, made for the higher ground, where they were followed by the +enthusiastic shooting party until every one of the nine was brought to the ground.</p> + +<p>The following day, August 26, the ships parted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> company, the <i>Alert</i> +taking with her an officer and a sledge team of men from the +<i>Discovery</i>, with the idea of sending them back overland when winter +quarters were selected, an idea which had to be abandoned by reason of +the impassable nature of the country. On the last day of the month the +<i>Alert</i> met a particularly heavy floe, the ice forming it being of the +massive character which denoted that its origin was the Polar Sea. Once +the grinding mass of hummocks, rising higher than the vessel's decks, +threatened to catch her. There would have been no hope of escape if they +had, and only by persistently ramming her way through some of the looser +ice did she escape in towards the shore. Next day a strong gale sprang +up from the south-west, and the <i>Alert</i> went along at ten miles an hour +in an open channel between the land and the heavy pack which was +drifting about three miles out. By midday they reached latitude 82° 24' +N., and the flags were run up to the mastheads amid general rejoicing, +for it was the farthest point North to which a ship had yet sailed.</p> + +<p>With the channel showing clear ahead of them and the spanking breeze +astern, expectation was high on board that they would be able to sail +right up to latitude 84°, but within an hour their hopes were suddenly +and thoroughly checked. On hauling to the westward they rounded a +promontory and found that the land trended away to the west. The wind +veered round to the north-west and drove the ice in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> upon the channel, +which gradually became narrower until, when off Cape Sheridan, the main +pack was observed to be touching the grounded ice and effectually +barring all further progress. The <i>Alert</i> was run close up to the end of +the channel, and then, when it was certain that there was no chance of +getting through the barrier, she was anchored to a floe which rested +aground off the cape. The next day, as the heavy ice of the pack was +grinding against the stranded floe, and an opening just large enough for +the vessel to get in was observed in the floe, she was warped into the basin.</p> + +<p>She was barely inside when a solid hummock crushed against the opening, +forming a great barrier between the vessel and the outer moving pack. +Had it struck there a few minutes earlier the vessel would have been +severely injured by the "nip," but as it was the hummock formed an +admirable shelter from the pressure of the pack. This was often so +severe that masses over 30,000 tons in weight were broken off and forced +up the inclined shore, rising twelve and fourteen feet higher out of the +water as they crunched along the ground.</p> + +<p>On September 4 new ice formed on the water in which the ship was +floating, and from observations taken from high land inshore all doubt +was removed as to where they were. They had navigated to the end of +Robeson Channel and were now in the Polar Sea. No land could be seen to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> +the north; nothing but a vast wilderness of huge masses of Polar ice, +most of which had evidently been frozen for years. At midnight on the +same day they saw the last of the sun as it sank below the northern horizon.</p> + +<p>Winter was now upon them, and they set to work to make their quarters as +comfortable as possible. Snow came down heavily for some days, but not +for a week or so was it hard enough to cut into the blocks suitable for +building snow houses. When these were built, stores were removed to them +and observatories fitted up for recording the various conditions of the +atmosphere. On September 14 a severe gale sprang up, which caused the +ice to move so much that the thin new ice in the basin was broken up and +a boat's crew were drifted away on to a floe-berg 200 yards from the +ship, from whence they were only rescued after great difficulty and in a +half-frozen condition.</p> + +<p>Some days subsequently, while a sledge party was on shore, one man was +badly frost-bitten. He did not know it until some time after, but he had +tried to thaw his frozen foot-wraps in his sleeping-bag instead of first +removing them. The loss of feeling and then of use in his legs crippled +him, and when he was brought on board it was seen what was wrong. This +is one of the several evils men have to carefully guard against in the +excessive cold. So long as they experience the stinging sensation of +cold, they are free from a frost-bite; but a man<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> may have his face +bitten and not realise it until he is told that he has turned dead +white. Circulation has then been arrested, and immediate steps have to +be taken to bring it back, or the flesh becomes dead.</p> + +<p>The dogs also began to suffer from a disease which sent them into fits, +and which puzzled the Eskimo driver and the doctors. Some of them +wandered away over the ice and others died, until only fifteen remained +out of thirty, and many of those were thin and weakly. Then, as the cold +increased, ice formed in the chimneys, and damp settled on the beams and +walls between decks every time the cold air was admitted, so that it had +to be constantly sponged up, while the officers had to spread waterproof +coverings over their beds to protect themselves from it when they slept.</p> + +<p>On November 8 it was so dark at midday that a newspaper could not be +read, nor could a man be distinguished a dozen yards away. For +eighty-seven days more the sun would be absent, but the moon visited the +dark, cold skies, appearing for ten days without setting, and then going +out of sight for thirteen. On November 13 the cold was so intense that +the mercury froze in the thermometer.</p> + +<p>But if it was dark and cold outside, the ship's company made themselves +comfortable. A school was started, a theatre was opened—the Royal +Arctic—and every Thursday they had popular concerts. Exercise was daily +taken and the general health was excellent, only one man being on the +sick-list,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> and he from a constitutional cause. The men were warmly clad +when "between decks," as the temperature there was never what one might +term hot; but before going outside they had to wrap themselves up in a +variety of thick heavy fur garments, for there was often a difference of +nearly one hundred degrees to be experienced.</p> + +<p>The long stretch of winter's darkness was varied by the appearance, from +time to time, of the aurora. This was the phenomenon which so greatly +puzzled, and not infrequently terrified, the early explorers. Assuming a +variety of forms, sometimes like the fringe of a vast curtain hanging in +the sky, at others appearing as bands and streaks of light, waving and +flickering over the heavens, but always with this peculiarity, that +however bright they appeared, no light was given to the surrounding +atmosphere, they were a source of constant interest to the men.</p> + +<p>And so the winter passed, not entirely without its pleasures, in spite +of the prolonged darkness. With the beginning of spring active +preparations were made for the sledging trips, which were to carry out +the work of surveying the surrounding land and penetrating farther to +the North than it was possible for the vessels to go. The great majority +of the officers and men on the <i>Alert</i> were told off for these +expeditions, six officers and six men remaining on board, while +fifty-three were split up into two parties, one to survey the coast of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> +Grant's Land, and the other, under Commander Markham and Lieutenant +Parr, to go North—to the Pole if possible.</p> + +<p>The day the start was made the two parties were drawn up in line +alongside the ship, and the chaplain read prayers, after which, with +cheers for one another and the men left behind, they started.</p> + +<p>Both did good service, the survey party carrying the survey round the +coast well on to the western side. The North Pole party pressed on in +the face of terrible difficulties until they reached the farthest point +North that had yet been recorded.</p> + +<p>In addition to the sledges laden with stores, they dragged with them two +whale-boats in case they should meet with open water. But there was no +sign of it as far as they went. On the contrary, their route lay over +such excessively rough ice that although they travelled as a rule about +ten miles a day, so much of it was spent in getting round inaccessible +hummocks, that the actual progress towards the North rarely exceeded one mile a day.</p> + +<p>When on April 11 they bade their comrades farewell, they had provisions +for seventy days, and all were in good health and spirits. The work of +dragging the boats and sledges up and down the great masses of rugged +ice which covered the Polar Sea was terribly trying, however, and by the +time the ten miles were covered every one was ready to creep into the +sleeping-bags and rest. As the sun began to rise above the horizon it +made the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> snow and ice sparkle and glitter so much that their eyes, +accustomed for so long to darkness, could not stand it. Goggles had to +be worn to protect the sight, but before they were adopted by all the +members several were affected, and Lieutenant Parr for some days +suffered from snow-blindness, an affliction which fortunately passed away in time.</p> + +<p>As the days went by, the toil of dragging the sledges over the +interminable and monotonous ice became more and more wearying. There was +no variety in the work, no change in the surroundings; and although the +men stuck at their task with true British obstinacy, it began to tell +upon them. One man fell sick, growing weaker and weaker until he was no +longer able to pull, and then was unable to walk. One of the boats was +abandoned, and the sick man laid on a sledge. His condition was more +than disquieting to the leaders, for it was evident he was suffering +from scurvy, and no one could say who would be the next to develop it.</p> + +<p>On April 23 they only added a mile and a quarter to their distance, for +they had come upon clumps of ice hummocks which made their progress so +difficult that they had to combine forces to haul first one sledge and +then another over the obstacles. On April 28, when they were seventeen +miles from the shore, they found the track of a hare in the snow, going +towards the land, but with the footprints so close together that the +animal was evidently very weak. Where it had come from, or how it had +got<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> so far from the shore, were riddles they could not solve.</p> + +<p>As May came in signs of scurvy made themselves only too evident among +the members of the crew, and on May 11 the leaders decided that the next +day they would have to turn to the south once more. They started with a +light sledge in the morning and pushed on till noon, when they took +their bearings. They had reached latitude 83° 20' 26" N., and were then +only 399½ miles from the Pole itself, having beaten all other records +of Arctic explorations.</p> + +<p>The little band, weary and sickening, forgot their woes in the presence +of their achievement. A jorum of whisky had been presented to the +expedition by the Dean of Dundee on condition that it was opened in the +highest latitude reached. It was now produced, and the success of their +efforts was toasted, the while each man smoked a cigar, also sent for +consumption in the "farthest North."</p> + +<p>A hole was cut in the ice and soundings were taken, the sea being +seventy-two fathoms (432 feet) deep below them, with a clay bottom, the +surface temperature being 28.5° and the temperature at the bottom 28.8°. +Then they turned their backs upon the cold, bleak, ice-bound North, and +began the journey home again, a journey which was to prove more trying +than that which they had already accomplished.</p> + +<p>The man who had first sickened, and whose name was Porter, had become so +weak that he could not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> move from the sledge on which he lay wrapped in +a sleeping-bag. Gradually one man after another began to lose his +strength, until three or four were only able to support themselves, and +could give no assistance in hauling the sledges, with the result that +the labour pressed all the more heavily on the remainder of the party, +all of whom were more or less affected by scurvy. The first fortnight of +the return journey was a terribly wearying time to the leaders, for they +saw their men becoming weaker every day, so that the progress was slower +and more difficult, while at the same time the only hope of escape was +to reach land. On the coast it would be possible for relief to meet +them, but out amongst the rugged hummocks of the Polar Sea the whole +ship's company would not be able to find them. The extra work thrown +upon those who were not entirely incapacitated told severely upon their +already enfeebled systems. The toil no longer encouraged their +appetites; instead, the sight of food became nauseous to them, until +towards the end of the month half a pannikin of pemmican was more than +each man could manage to eat. But the toil was still as weary, and the +cold as intense, and without sufficient food to keep up their strength, +the outlook was almost hopeless.</p> + +<p>Still, however, the little band of seventeen struggled on, setting an +example of courage, determination, and absolute devotion to discipline +and duty which has won for them as deep an admiration as their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> +achievement of the "farthest North" record. On June 2 only six men and +the two officers were able to do anything in the way of labour. Five men +lay sick and helpless on the already laden sledges, and four more were +just able to stagger along from point to point after the dreary +procession of sledges. The progress was very slow now, as it required +all the strength which was left in the eight, who alone were able to do +anything, to move one sledge at a time. The second boat had been +abandoned, as it could not be dragged farther, and the strain of moving +the three sledges that remained was so great that when, on June 5, land +was reached after an absence of two months, the entire party was in a +state of collapse.</p> + +<p>The next day they rested and debated what was the best course to adopt +to obtain help, for it was outside of their power to drag the sledges +any farther. Porter was almost at death's door, and unless help came +very soon several more would be in a similar condition. Lieutenant Parr +was the strongest, but even he was in a very low condition. That, +however, did not rob him of his courage, nor of his readiness to give +the rest of his life, if necessary, for the rescue of his comrades.</p> + +<p>He volunteered to set out alone for the ship, to carry word of the +terrible plight of the party and the need for instant relief. It was +almost a hopeless task, and the heavy hearts of the stricken men, +beating more hopefully at the token of such manly bravery, drooped again +as they remembered the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> dreary miles of snow and ice which would have to +be covered, and saw the weakened state of their would-be rescuer's +strength. But he was not to be gainsaid; weak as he was, he was yet the +strongest of the party, and he would make the attempt.</p> + +<p>On June 7 he started, the little band watching him as he trudged bravely +away, giving him as hearty a cheer as they could. Slowly he made his way +over the frozen shore, and, when he had passed out of sight, the men +looked at one another and wondered. How far would he get before death +overtook him? How long before they all yielded to the same conqueror?</p> + +<p>By the next morning one had already gone, Porter passing away after +nearly two months' fighting against the scourge. Commander Markham, and +the four who were alone able to help him, paid the last honours to their +deceased comrade. The British ensign was lowered to half-mast on the +pole of the big sledge and a Union Jack was carefully wrapped round the +body. With great exertion, in their emaciated condition, a place was +hollowed out in the frozen soil, and there they placed him, the funeral +service being read by Commander Markham, who, in his diary, thus wrote +of the ceremony: "Of all the melancholy and mournful duties I have ever +been called upon to perform, this has been the saddest. A death in a +small party like ours, and under the present circumstances, is a most +depressing event, and is keenly felt by all. During the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> service all +were more or less affected, and many to tears."</p> + +<p>A rude cross was fashioned out of a boat's oar and a spare sledge +batten, and it was placed at the head of the grave with the following +inscription: "Beneath this cross lie buried the remains of <span class="smcap">George +Porter</span>, R.M.A., who died June 8, 1876. 'Thy will be done!'"</p> + +<p>Anxiously they waited during the rest of the day, wondering as to the +fate of Lieutenant Parr, and half expecting to see him stagger back to +the camp, his splendid courage overcome by the difficulties of his +journey. But he did not return, and the men crept into their +sleeping-bags under the tents scarcely daring to think what the morrow +would bring forth. One or two of the sick men were visibly worse since +the death of Porter, and the next day might mean the end of their lives. +If their gallant rescuer managed to make his way at all, he could not +reach the ship in time for relief to come for another day or two, and no +man dared to speak of what might occur in that interval.</p> + +<p>The shouts of men's voices while they were yet within their +sleeping-bags on the morning of June 9 were so unexpected, that, at +first, those who heard them blamed their ears for playing them false. +But it was no deception. Lieutenant Parr, with a magnificent heroism +that deserves honour even among the many brave deeds which British +sailors have performed, struggled on after leaving the camp<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> without a +stop until he came in sight of the <i>Alert</i>. Directly he was discovered +he told of his comrades waiting helpless and sick. Relief parties were +formed on the moment, and two officers, Lieutenants May and Moss, with a +dog-team sledge laden with lime-juice and restoratives, started away +while the other sledges were loading.</p> + +<p>They pressed on without a halt until they saw the tents of the camp, +when they shouted, as no one was to be seen about the place. They were +up to the tents before any one came out, and when they did it was as +though new life had been given to each man. The lime-juice, of which +they were in such dire want—for by an oversight it had been omitted +from the stores—was at once served round, giving fresh energy to those +who were still able to move about, and greatly relieving those who were incapacitated.</p> + +<p>On the arrival of the remainder of the relief party, the invalids were +all removed to the ship and attended to, every man recovering, under +medical treatment, before the <i>Alert</i> weighed anchor for the South. This +was done in August, when she rejoined the <i>Discovery</i>, the officers of +which had also done splendid service in surveying the interior of +Grinnel Land, behind Discovery Bay, and also along the northern coast of Greenland.</p> + +<p>While the <i>Discovery</i> was lying in her winter quarters a successful +attempt was made by Lieutenant Beaumont, accompanied by Dr. Coppinger<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> +and sixteen men, dragging two sledges, to communicate with the <i>Alert</i>. +They started away on April 6, while the cold was still nearly 70° below +zero, a temperature which made sleeping almost impossible, as they had +constantly to exercise to maintain their bodily heat. In spite of these +drawbacks, however, the <i>Alert</i> was reached.</p> + +<p>The intention was to continue the journey across Robeson Channel over to +Greenland, and to explore as much of the northern coast as was possible. +Reinforced by Lieutenant Rawson and five men, the party started on April +20, from the <i>Alert</i>, with four sledges and provisions for fifty-six +days. As they approached the Greenland coast the ice was very rough and +tumbled about in irregular blocks, with heavy snow lying ankle deep. +Arriving at Polaris Bay, a depôt of stores was made and a detachment +left in charge, the journey then being resumed; but the ice became more +and more difficult, and the snow deeper. The strength of the whole party +was taxed to the utmost to make any progress, and at the end of each +day's work every one was wearied out with fatigue. Falls were frequent, +owing to the unevenness of the ice, and one man, Hand, was particularly +unfortunate in this respect. By the time that Cape Stanton was reached +he was suffering considerably from stiffness, which was at first +attributed to his tumbles; but when pain began to be manifest in his +legs and gums, the truth of the matter became evident. He was affected with scurvy.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span></p><p>This discovery was made on May 10, and the leader at once decided to +send him back to Polaris Bay with Lieutenant Rawson and six men. The +remainder of the men were asked to say whether they fancied they were +affected; but all maintained the contrary, and asked to be allowed to +continue the journey.</p> + +<p>With six men Lieutenant Beaumont continued the route to the North, while +Lieutenant Rawson returned to the depôt at Polaris Bay. On his way other +members of his party developed scurvy, and their plight was so +distressful that for some days before they reached the depôt, which they +did on June 3, Lieutenant Rawson and one man alone were able to drag the +sledge, the former being so severely afflicted with snow-blindness that +he had to walk for days with his eyes covered by a bandage. Hand, the +first man affected, died as the sledge came within sight of the camp.</p> + +<p>In the meantime Lieutenant Beaumont's party pushed on, difficulties +increasing with every mile. The snow became deeper as they advanced, +until they sank at every step over their knees. Describing it, the +leader said: "The hard crust on the top would only just <i>not</i> bear you, +while the depth prevented you from pushing forward through it, each leg +sinking to about three inches above the knee, and the effort of lifting +them so high as to extricate them from the deep footholes soon began to +tell upon the men." The sun shining on the snow seemed to be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> unusually +warm, while the exertion made them intensely thirsty, besides so +exhausting them that they had to stop every fifty yards to rest and +recover their breath. They were crossing a wide bay at the time, +striving to reach the other shore, which did not seem to be more than a +mile away. But the clearness of the atmosphere was very deceiving as to +distance, for they struggled on for two days and still the coast only +seemed to be a mile distant.</p> + +<p>In order to make the way easier the men were marched four abreast, the +sledge being left until a road was forced through the snow. For five +miles the march was continued, and at the end of that distance the coast +did not appear a yard nearer.</p> + +<p>Sending the men back to the sledge with orders to rest till he rejoined +them, Lieutenant Beaumont and one man went forward. But after some hours +of trying effort they did not reach the coast, and were compelled to +turn back, having been able to observe that the shore was composed of +great towering cliffs with the snow piled up at the base. When they +returned to the spot where the sledge had been left, they were +thoroughly worn out by their exertions. As comfortable an encampment as +could be arranged was made, and for two days the party remained resting.</p> + +<p>Symptoms of scurvy were making themselves apparent among the men under +the fatigue brought on by their excessive toil; but no word of +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>complaint was spoken, every man being ready and willing to do his duty. +In the retreat of Commander Markham and his men from the "farthest +North," a splendid example of British heroism and discipline was given. +The story of Lieutenant Beaumont's party furnishes another.</p> + +<p>The growing sickness of some of the men and the decreasing store of +provisions brought home to the leader the necessity of a return being +made. At the end of the two days' rest the sledge was turned in the +direction of Polaris Bay and the men retraced their steps, finding the +travelling somewhat easier now that they could use the road they had +made by their previous passage through the snow. But the leader wanted +to be able to form some idea of the coast line beyond where they had +been turned back, and, time after time, he made ineffectual efforts to +reach the shore and scale some high hill. At last he was successful, +after tremendous exertion, in reaching the summit of Dragon Point, an +altitude of 3700 feet. From here he was able to command an extensive +view, the land extending away as far as he could see into a cape which +he named Britannia Cape.</p> + +<p>On June 13 they arrived at Repulse Bay depôt, and the state of the +health of the men is best shown by the record Lieutenant Beaumont left, +and which was recovered by members of the Greely expedition six years +later. The record, dated June 13, 1876, reads:—</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p><blockquote><p>"Three of us have returned from the camp half a mile south to +fetch the remainder of the provisions. Dobing has failed altogether +this morning; Jones is much worse, and cannot last more than two or +three days; Craig is nearly helpless; therefore we cannot hope to +reach Polaris Bay without assistance. Two men cannot do it, so we +will go as far as we can, and live as long as we can. God help us. +<span class="smcap">L. A. Beaumont.</span>"</p></blockquote> + +<p>The discovery of this record, and the simple, manly faith and courage it +betokened, was destined to be of great service to another band of +English-speaking explorers in later years, and their opinion of it, and +the admiration they felt for the man who wrote it, will be told in the +account of the Greely expedition.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile that Lieutenant Beaumont was making his heroic efforts to save +the men of his party, Lieutenant Rawson was growing anxious as to their +position. As they did not appear, he, on June 22, in company with one of +the Eskimo and a dog-team sledge, started along the coast in search of +them. Three days later they were met—on the last march they could have +made, for they were at the end of their strength. Lieutenant Beaumont, +in his account, says: "On the evening of the 24th we started for our +last journey with the sledge; for, finding that Jones and Gray were +scarcely able to pull, I had determined on reaching the shore to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> pitch +the tent for the sick men and walk over to Polaris Bay by myself, and +see if there was any one there to help us. If not, to come back and send +Jones and Gray, who could still walk, to the depôt, while I remained +with the sick and got them on as best I could."</p> + +<p>When Lieutenant Rawson met them, he found the intrepid Beaumont +straining at the sledge, with the two sick men helping him as much as +they could, while on the sledge lay the four helpless invalids, made as +comfortable as circumstances would permit. No time was lost in removing +them to Polaris Bay, where, under medical treatment, all recovered save +one. After a brief rest at Polaris Bay the journey back to the +<i>Discovery</i> was successfully carried out, and Lieutenant Beaumont had +the pleasure of learning that his expedition had added considerably to +the geographical knowledge of Northern Greenland.</p> + +<p>Shortly after the return of the sledge parties the <i>Alert</i> rejoined the +<i>Discovery</i>, and, towards the end of August, both vessels weighed anchor +and started for England, where they arrived on November 2, 1876, having +been absent for seventeen months, during which time they had carried the +British flag to the "farthest North," and had brought within the +knowledge of man localities previously unknown. They had not reached the +Pole, and had come to the conclusion, after their experiences, that to +do so was beyond the range of human possibility.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span>CHAPTER VI</span> <span class="smaller">THE GREELY EXPEDITION</span></h2> + +<blockquote><p>The Scheme of the Expedition—Fort Conger—Arctic +Wolves—Atmospheric Marvels—A Terrific Storm—Influence of the +Sun—Lieutenant Lockwood's Expedition—The Second +Winter—Preparations for Departure—They leave Fort Conger—A +Remarkable Ice Passage—They fail to make Cape Sabine—A New +Camp—Rations running Short—Fruitless Efforts to reach Food +Depôts—Starvation and Death—A Bitter Blow—The Arrival of the +<i>Thetis</i>.</p></blockquote> + +<p>In 1881 the Government of the United States determined to send out +another expedition towards the North Pole, and a vote of $25,000 having +been passed by Congress for the purpose, Lieutenant Adolphus Washington +Greely was appointed to the command. Lieutenant Greely, who was an +officer in the 5th Cavalry regiment, had, as his companions, three +officers and twenty-one men selected from the United States army.</p> + +<p>The scheme of the expedition was to proceed by steamer as far north as +Lady Franklin Bay, where they were to form a depôt on Grinnel Land, and, +using it as a base, push forward, by means of dog-sledges over the ice, +and by steam launch over the open water, as far north as it was possible to get.</p> + +<p>The steamer <i>Proteus</i>, a vessel 467 tons and 110 horse-power, was +chartered by the explorers to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> convey them from New York to Lady +Franklin Bay. They sailed in June and proceeded to Upernavik, in +Greenland, where they took on board their sledge dogs and two Eskimo, +Jens and Frederick, to look after them. On July 1 they resumed their +journey in fairly open water. The season was especially mild, and they +were able to make excellent travelling through the unimpeded water. On +the way they stopped at Cary Islands and examined the records left there +by Sir George Nares in 1875, and which had been examined once before by +Sir Allen Young, in 1876. The sea was full of white whales, narwhals, +and grampus. The latter has the reputation of being a voracious feeder, +one authority stating that a dead grampus was found, choked by a seal he +had attempted to swallow, although, when he was opened, his stomach was +found to contain no fewer than thirteen porpoises and fourteen seals.</p> + +<p>On August 4 the <i>Proteus</i>, for the first time during the voyage, was +stopped by the ice. Being built specially for navigating the ice-covered +seas, she was very powerful in the bows, which were further embellished +by a strong iron prow. Thus she was able to force her way through ice +which would have been impassable to a lighter craft. Her method, when +she was faced by moderately thin ice which was yet thick enough to stop +her ordinary progress, was to steam astern for a couple of hundred yards +and then rush full speed at the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> ice. The strength of the iron prow and +the force of her powerful engines drove her into the floe, but the +operation was one that required great care. As she approached the floe, +the crew, running from one side of the deck to the other, caused her to +roll as she struck, the engines being reversed directly her prow +penetrated the ice, so as to prevent her wedging herself in. This +exciting operation was repeated several times when she met the floe in +Lady Franklin Bay, and only by its means was she able to ram her way +through and reach the destination of the expedition.</p> + +<p>A site for landing was selected on the north of Discovery Bay (where the +<i>Discovery</i> wintered in 1876), and on August 11, 1881, Greely landed, +and proceeded to the cairn which had been erected by the Nares +expedition. Here he found two copper cases labelled "Reports and General +Information." The date upon them, which showed when they were deposited, +was August 11, 1876, exactly five years before to a day.</p> + +<p>Proceeding a little distance from the spot where the <i>Discovery</i> winter +quarters had been erected, a suitable situation was marked out for "Fort +Conger," which was to form the base of the operations pending the time +when the relief ship was due to take the expedition home again.</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp116.jpg" id="fp116.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp116.jpg" width='700' height='454' alt="SHOOTING MUSK OXEN IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS" /></div> + +<p class="bold">SHOOTING MUSK OXEN IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS.</p> + +<p class="bold">These animals form a welcome addition to the larder of the Arctic explorer.</p> + +<p>During the following week every one was hard at work erecting the frame +house which was to form their home during the next two years, unloading<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> +stores and other articles belonging to the expedition, arranging the +heavy casks and cases of imperishable provisions near the house, and +exploring and hunting over the surrounding country. The hunting was a +necessary part of the business, for winter would soon be in and no fresh +meat would then be obtainable. So a few of the best shots spent their +time in the valleys round the bay, where a large number of musk oxen and +other game frequented.</p> + +<p>On August 18, all the stores, &c., belonging to the party were landed +from the <i>Proteus</i>, and that vessel, being discharged, got up steam and +bade farewell. She was, however, prevented from getting out of sight +until August 26, the ice setting in rapidly and strongly. The men of the +party worked with such a will that they had their house built, the +recording instruments erected in proper localities, the provisions +stacked, and everything in order sufficiently early to permit them to +carry out some surveys while the weather was yet mild enough for sledge +travelling. Attention was also given to obtaining as much game as +possible, and by the time that the temperature was cold enough to +warrant their going into winter quarters and giving up outside work at +any distance from Fort Conger, they had obtained for their larder +twenty-six musk oxen and ten ducks, besides hare, seal, and ptarmigan, +in all 6000 lbs. of fresh meat for their own food, and an equal amount for the dogs.</p> + +<p>In the middle of September they were visited by a large pack of wolves. +These were first discovered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> prowling over the ice on the harbour in +front of the encampment, and, fearing the loss of some of the dogs, as +well as provisions, a hunting party went out to shoot them. But the +wolves were too cunning, keeping out of range until the men were tired +out. They were frequently fired at, but none fell, although, as +subsequent events proved, this might not have been due to bad +marksmanship. The Arctic wolves, as was discovered later, are perhaps +the most tenacious of life of any of the Northern animals.</p> + +<p>One was seen, a day or so later, within a hundred yards of the house. It +was immediately fired at, and rolled over with a bullet through the +body; but before the marksman could get over to where it lay, the +apparently dead creature scrambled to its feet and made off, bleeding +profusely. The trail left by the blood was distinctly visible on the +snow, although the wolf itself, being covered with pure white fur, was +quite invisible. For over an hour the trail was followed, and when at +last the dead body was found, it lay practically bloodless, having +struggled on while there was a drop of blood in its veins. In view of +the difficulty of shooting them, the men resolved to poison them. But +here, again, the wolves were not to be caught.</p> + +<p>The first time that poisoned meat was put out it was left untouched. +Some good meat was added, and at once disappeared, though the pieces +containing poison were still left alone. The poisoned baits were then +taken up, and only good meat put down, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> wolves always taking it +until, their confidence being aroused, a few poisoned baits were mixed +with the other. The experiment succeeded so well that when the baits +were next visited four wolves and one fox were found dead. The others, +evidently alarmed, made off and did not again return.</p> + +<p>As October passed the phenomena of the solar halo and aurora began to +make their appearance. The observation of atmospheric conditions being +one of the objects of the expedition, great attention was paid to these +displays, and some excellent descriptions were given of them. One which +occurred on October 21 and lasted five hours is thus described by the +leader of the expedition:—</p> + +<p>"It consisted of two concentric rings, distant 23° and 46° respectively +from the sun, which were marked by five mock suns where the rainbow +tints were most clearly displayed. This was followed at evening by the +first aurora display, in the form of a delicate convoluted ribbon of +colourless light. On the 24th there was another halo. This was a double +one, there being two perfect concentric half-circles, distant 23° and +46° from the sun, each half-circle having a contact arch of magnificent +clearness. No fewer than six mock suns appeared, two on either hand and +two above the real sun, with prismatic colours in each case as vivid, +and clear as in any rainbow, the heavens being filled with a great glow +and wealth of colour."</p> + +<p>After the sun had gone and the twilight of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> long winter night had +set in, the sky was vivid, at one time, with a wide sweep of red, +yellow, and blue, marked by bars of white light running up and down. +Later, when the moon had risen, further atmospheric marvels were recorded.</p> + +<p>On one occasion the moon was surrounded by two circles, 22° and 46° +above the horizon. Both were topped by contact arches, and within them +six mock moons were present, two on each side of the true moon, and two +directly above it, all of which were brilliant with the colours of the +rainbow. Spires of light proceeded from the moon vertically, reaching +downwards to the horizon, and upwards to the outer circle. In addition +to these, a brilliant streak of white clear light extended from the +moon, horizontally, on both sides, completely round the horizon, and now +and again a faint mock moon of rainbow colours appeared high over the +whole, and another very low under it, making eight mock moons all +visible at the same moment round the real one. The moon was also seen +surrounded by a corona of four distinct bands of coloured light, the +first white, the second yellow, the third blue, and the outer one red.</p> + +<p>But all the experiences of the winter were not so gratifying as these +aerial displays. As soon as the snow lay thick on the ground the men +banked it up against the sides of the house until they were completely +covered in up to the eaves. It then froze on the outside, and the house +was practically covered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> in with ice. This was of very great value in +preventing the loss of heat from the interior, and, later on, in saving +the house from being blown away in a terrific hurricane which occurred. +But even with the protection of the frozen snow outside, and the +constant burning of fires and lamps inside, the temperature of the house +was, in midwinter, so cold that any water accidentally spilled on the +floor turned to ice, and unless the ink-bottle was kept near a burning +lamp, the ink froze at once. Outside everything except alcohol was +frozen solid, the mercury being hard in the thermometers, and even the +rum getting thick as syrup. The lime-juice, of which a daily ration was +taken, was frozen into tablets, and so quickly did any liquid turn to +ice that some of the sledge-dog puppies were frozen to the ground +through running on to the place where the warm contents of the +slush-bucket were thrown.</p> + +<p>Early in January the barometer, falling very rapidly, warned them that a +severe storm was approaching. Suddenly a fierce gust of wind swept over +the house, followed by a steady blow, the apparatus for registering the +velocity of the wind showing it to be at the rate of eighteen miles an +hour. The barometer continuing to fall, a man was sent out to take an +observation from an outside station, but the force of the wind had +increased so much that he could not face it alone, and two men had to +go. The air was soon filled with driving snow, and the rate of the wind +reached fifty miles an hour. It was now<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> only possible for six men, +supporting one another, to stand against the dense volumes of snow which +the wind carried. When the velocity attained to sixty-five miles an +hour, fears were entertained as to the safety of the house. But still +the wind increased until, in a series of terrific gusts and squalls, the +house rocked and trembled as the register marked ninety miles an hour. +It was a moment of intense anxiety for the members of the party, for the +destruction of the house at that period of the year would almost +inevitably have meant their own destruction. Fortunately it was securely +built and so well protected by the banked-up snow, that it withstood the +fury of the hurricane.</p> + +<p>This furious outburst was the final effort of the winter, for within a +few days of its occurrence the sky began to show signs of the +approaching sunrise; with the advent of light the spirits of the party, +necessarily depressed by the prolonged darkness, rapidly resumed their +normal contentment. When at last enough natural light existed for the +men to see one another, they were amused at the appearance of their +faces. The prolonged absence of sunlight had entirely robbed their +cheeks of any semblance of ruddiness, their complexions having changed +to a ghastly yellowy green tint, as though each one was suffering from a +severe attack of sea-sickness. The murky light of the lamps had not +revealed the change, and the more vainglorious were considerably +disturbed at their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> bleached cheeks, fearful lest the pallor should +always remain, like the whiteness of the bear's fur. But it passed off +under the influence of the sunshine.</p> + +<p>Nor was this the only change produced by the sun. The effect of it upon +the land was so pronounced as almost to seem marvellous. Directly spring +set in sledge parties were despatched in all directions to survey and +spy out the country. One was led by Greely himself, its course being +along the route marked out, for a certain distance, by one of the +<i>Discovery</i> parties in 1876.</p> + +<p>Passing beyond the limits of the previous exploration, a large river, +entirely frozen over, was discovered, and along its course the party +made their way. The ice was wonderfully smooth in comparison with that +on the salt water, and excellent travelling was made, the men and +sledges frequently being able to slide for a hundred yards at a time. At +the head of the river they found an enormous glacier completely blocking +up the valley, extending five miles from side to side, and 175 feet +high. This was late in April, and everywhere the ground was covered with +ice and snow, desolate and motionless, with no sign of life, and no +sound, save the faint gurgle of running water which was occasionally +noticed under the ice on the river.</p> + +<p>Early in July, little more than two months later, this valley was again +visited, but so great was the change in its appearance that the men +might have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> doubted its identity with the cold, desolate place they had +previously seen, but for the existence of the sparkling glacier. The +river now flowed along, glittering in the bright sunlight, between banks +covered with flowering plants. Bright yellow poppies gleamed all over +the verdure-clad slopes, with sturdy heath blooms, daisies, and other +blossoms mingling, and over them were flitting innumerable white and +yellow butterflies. Humble bees droned, and flies, including the +familiar daddy-long-legs, were everywhere present, as well as their +arch-enemies, the spiders. Ptarmigan, their white plumage somewhat +speckled with dark feathers, plovers, and birds of smaller size, were +seen on the wing; while over the verdant sides of the valley and along +the banks of the river, large herds of musk oxen were browsing, with +calves following the cows. The sky was brilliantly blue and almost free +from clouds. In the face of so much that was beautiful and full of life, +it was difficult to realise that a few weeks later the valley would +again be desolate and deserted, owning once more the supremacy of the +icy grip of the frost and snow.</p> + +<p>Exploring the valley carefully, some very interesting discoveries were +made of ancient Eskimo dwellings. A number of relics were obtained, some +of them being implements which were quite unintelligible to the +Greenland Eskimos who were with the party. The remains of the houses +showed that they had originally been substantial structures,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> built of +slate, and must have been permanent residences rather than mere summer quarters.</p> + +<p>While the interior of the country was being explored, other sledge +parties set out over the frozen sea. One of these journeyed North, and +reached the spot where the <i>Alert</i> had passed the winter in 1875. It was +intended to continue the journey over the ice towards the Pole similarly +to the sledge party Commander Markham and Lieutenant Parr had led, but +the ice was too rough for them. They passed beyond Cape Sheridan and set +out towards the North, but turned back, finding "nothing but an +inextricable mass of huge bergs, and enormous hummocks piled up in a +similar manner as when journeyed over by Commander Markham." The +scientific instruments they had with them had to be abandoned at one +place, owing to a sudden opening of the ice, but they approximated their +highest latitude as being 82° 56' N. From the summit of a high berg, +they fancied they saw open water to the North, and then they returned to +the land, finding cliffs which rose 2000 feet straight out of the water, +and along the base of which the ice lay piled in tremendous heaps.</p> + +<p>Another party, under Lieutenant Lockwood, the second in command of the +expedition, set out in the early spring across the frozen straits to +Greenland. This was over a similar route to that taken by Lieutenant +Beaumont of the <i>Discovery</i>; but the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> later expedition, not having to +struggle against the affliction of scurvy which had proved so disastrous +to the <i>Discovery</i> party, was able to reach a far higher latitude.</p> + +<p>The party consisted of Lieutenant Lockwood, Sergeant Brainard, and the +Eskimo Frederick, and they succeeded in reaching the most northerly +point that had yet been discovered, not only on the coast of Greenland, +but also in the Arctic regions. The latitude recorded was 83° 23' 8" N., +and thus the honour, which for three hundred years had been the boast of +the British, the honour of having attained the nearest point to the +North Pole reached by man, was wrested from the British Lion by its +cousin, the American Eagle.</p> + +<p>Although only three men were in the party which reached this high +latitude, the party which set out from Fort Conger comprised thirteen +men and five sledges. The experience gained by the members of the Nares +expedition was of the utmost value to subsequent explorers, and the +members of the Greely expedition always made acknowledgment of this +fact, coupled with very complimentary references to the skill, the +courage, and the devotion of those whom they termed "our kin from over +the sea." Thus it was that in laying the plans for this northerly trip +they provided for a series of food depôts and relief parties all along +the route. Several of the former had been placed in position during the +early spring, and there is no doubt that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> this arrangement contributed +very materially to the success of the enterprise. The last depôt was +formed when nearly in sight of Cape Britannia, and from thence the small +party of three pushed forward. The dog team saved them an enormous +amount of labour by dragging the sledge for them, but even then they +found the travelling exceedingly difficult. Their sleeping-bags were +damp, and consequently they were always compelled to rest in great +discomfort. As they approached Cape Britannia the route became more +difficult, and their best march was sixteen miles in ten hours. Beyond +the cape an island was reached, to which the name of the leader, +Lieutenant Lockwood, was given, and the extreme point of which furnished +their "farthest North." The coast line still showed beyond, and to the +most distant point the name of Cape Washington was given. Then the small +band turned back, having succeeded in reaching a few miles nearer the +Pole than Commander Markham, whose journey, however, was over the frozen +sea, whereas the other was along the Greenland coast.</p> + +<p>The following spring, to anticipate the course of the narrative, another +effort was made to reach Cape Washington, but so rapid a thaw set in +that the party had to turn back before reaching as far as Lockwood +Island. They, however, secured all the relics of Lieutenant Beaumont's +party, including a British ensign, which were faithfully preserved +throughout the terrible privations the expedition<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> was fated to undergo. +These relics were subsequently forwarded by the United States Government +to the British and are now in the Greenwich Museum with the Franklin +mementoes, treasured not only as emblems of British courage but also of +American good-will. Of the memorable record left by Lieutenant Beaumont +at Repulse Bay, its perusal by the members of the Greely expedition is +thus described by the leader:—</p> + +<p>"This brilliant record of British courage, discipline, devotion to duty +and endurance, must ever affect deeply all who may read its full +details. To the men of the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition, who justly +appreciated the terrible contingencies of the situation, and who bore +similar dangers, this story, as told by the gallant Beaumont, was full +of deep and assuring interest."</p> + +<p>The American festival of "Decoration Day" occurred while the party were +at Polaris Bay, the place where the two <i>Discovery</i> men who died were +buried. The festival is one for the commemoration of American heroes, +and on that day throughout the United States all the graves of their +heroes are decorated. Here on the bleak, barren Greenland coast they +remembered the festival, and kept it by taking the Stars and Stripes +from the sledge poles and draping them over the rough monuments erected +above the remains of the two British sailors.</p> + +<p>The second winter that was passed at Fort Conger was monotonous and +gloomy. The experience of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> the previous period of darkness was of great +service, inasmuch as the comfort of the expedition was improved in many +ways. The piled-up snow which had formed so useful a protection the year +before was carried right over the roof, considerably increasing the +warmth and snugness of the interior. But there was one fact which +weighed somewhat heavily on the minds of every one. A relief steamer was +expected before the winter set in, and it had not arrived. There was +still an abundant supply of food, and no alarm was felt on that score; +but the novelty of the surroundings having worn off, the prospect of the +long, weary stretch of darkness had a depressing influence. It, however, +passed without any untoward incident, and with the return of the sun +field work was resumed. The most notable journey was that of Lieutenant +Lockwood and his companion on the "farthest North" trip, Sergeant +Brainard, who, in one month, covered 437 miles of the hitherto +unexplored interior parts of Grinnel Land, discovering numerous lakes +and glaciers. One of the latter was of particular interest by reason of +the vari-coloured face it presented. The top layer, which overhung +slightly, was of dull opaque white, that immediately beneath it ranging +in colour from pale green to a clear blue, while the next and thickest +layer was of a rich chocolate colour, due to the soil which had been +frozen in with the water. The lowest streak was similar to the topmost, +dull opaque white.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span></p><p>In their absence the remainder of the explorers were busily engaged in +establishing food depôts to the south, along the route they would be +compelled to take in the event of a retreat being necessary. The +non-arrival of the relief steamer prior to the winter gave rise to some +speculation whether it would arrive in the spring, and a plan was +arranged for a retreat to the south being carried out, if no relief ship +came, in the boats the expedition possessed. These consisted of a steam +launch 27 feet long, an iceboat which had been abandoned by Lieutenant +Beaumont in 1876, and two whale-boats. A depôt of forty days' full +rations was placed at Cape Baird and another of twenty days' rations at +Cape Collinson, as soon as the ice was open enough to allow the launch +to proceed. Then when it had returned and all the survey parties were +in, a decision was come to that if no steamer arrived by July 31 the +retreat would be commenced.</p> + +<p>July passed and August arrived, but there were no signs of the approach +of any relief steamer, and, on August 9, with the boats loaded with the +records of the work done and as much food as could be stored in them, +the party bade farewell to Fort Conger and started on their memorable +journey. The lateness of the season made navigation extremely difficult +for such small craft, and they were frequently impeded by ice which +would have offered no obstacle to a big steamer. They had scarcely got +out of sight of the house where they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> had passed the two long dark +winters before they were so beset with loose ice that progress was +almost impossible. Then new ice formed round them, and they were hard +and fast. The fact that they only carried a limited supply of fuel made +their position more serious, and when, on August 18, a temporary +breaking in the floes enabled them to move forward, there was a general +rejoicing. But it was soon checked on discovering that they were forced +inside of a huge mass of ice over fifty feet high and extending right up +to the solid floe. It was impossible to turn back and fight through the +drifting ice behind them, and the only hope of escape seemed to be to +steam on in case there might be a channel through the floe ahead.</p> + +<p>As they passed along the great wall of ice they were amazed at seeing a +crevice run into it. Arriving opposite to it, they found that it was a +cleavage which went right through the mass, and they turned into it. The +enormous berg had grounded and had split asunder, leaving a passage a +hundred yards long and barely twelve feet wide, the sides of which were +sheer fifty feet high on either hand. Such a formation was unique, even +in the Arctic regions, and the steaming through it was an adventure +without a parallel.</p> + +<p>It led them into fairly open water, and they were able to push on into +Rawlings Bay before they were again beset. This time it was not the new +ice but the closing in of the floes that caught them. So<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> quickly did +the masses close in that the boats were caught and "nipped" before +anything could be done to save them. The men at once scrambled out on to +the ice, striving to lift the lighter boats on to the floe and unloading +the provisions from the others as fast as they could, lest the crack +should open again and everything be lost. The nip, however, had not been +so severe as to endanger the floating capacity of the boats, but the ice +had closed too firmly to allow of any hopes of their being able to force +their way through. A strong wind from the north, in spite of the snow +and cold it would have brought, would have been welcome; but the days +were provokingly calm, and the ice only moved south at its ordinary slow +rate. By August 26 they had travelled 300 miles from Fort Conger and +were within fifty miles of Cape Sabine, a headland where there was a +large supply of stores left by Sir George Nares in 1876. If they were +able to reach there before the winter night set in, there was some +chance of their existing through the dreary period which, it was now +evident, they were doomed to pass in that locality. And yet the spirits +of the party were as bright as though a steamer were within sight of +them. One of them, in his diary, wrote: "Adversity in any form would +fail, I think, to dampen the spirits of the men. Our situation is +desperate. Any moment the ice may crumble beneath our feet and the sea +swallow up the entire party. Still, while exercising on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> ice this +evening, the men danced and sang as merrily as they would have done in +their own homes. They are irrepressible in the face of all this +uncertainty and perhaps starvation."</p> + +<p>The end of the month found them still beset, and with barely fifty days' +rations. The opinion was now divided as to the best course to adopt, +whether to remain in the boats and wait on the off-chance of their +drifting near Cape Sabine, or to take to the sledges and push on over +the rough ice to the shore. They had been drifting for thirty miles, and +only twenty now lay between them and the cape with its store of +provisions. The leader was averse to leaving the boats at once, and the +days dragged on until, on September 10, it was evident that the sledge +journey would have to be undertaken if the shore was to be reached and a +camp formed before the darkness set in.</p> + +<p>Unfortunately when they did abandon the boats the weather changed, and a +cold wind with driving snow came to make their struggle still more +difficult. They tried at first to drag two of the boats with them, but +one soon had to be abandoned and the party struggled on. Their +sleeping-bags froze and filled with drifting snow so that they were able +to obtain but little rest when they halted, and when they were moving +they were always cold and miserable. Until September 28 they were +struggling over the rough, difficult ice, and then their trials were +further increased. They were nearing the shore, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> the force of the +tide, backed up by the pressure of the ice grinding along before the +wind, caused the floe to crack and break up. Only by the most persistent +energy and exertion were they able to get their stores and themselves on +shore, though still some distance from Cape Sabine.</p> + +<p>They had now travelled 500 miles since they left Fort Conger, and not +only were the men considerably exhausted by their recent struggle, but +winter was setting in very rapidly with constant and heavy storms. It +was therefore decided to form a camp where they were, while the snow had +not frozen too hard for them to get some stones for a shelter. They had +been compelled, on their journey over the ice, to abandon everything in +the way of covering save their sleeping-bags, and unless they built a +hut of some description the rigour of the winter would inevitably be fatal to all.</p> + +<p>Such stones as could be found were collected and built into a low wall +forming a square of about sixteen feet. The stones were difficult to +obtain, and the wall could only be made three feet high. An opening was +left in one of the sides of the square and a passage way constructed, so +that the entrance to the interior did not open directly on to the frozen +exterior. Across the top of the walls the boat they had dragged with +them over the ice was laid keel uppermost, the oars being laid under it +so as to maintain it in position, the open spaces between the sides of +the boat and the walls being<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> covered with such canvas as they had. +Around the stone walls and over the top, snow was piled, and their +living house was complete. It sheltered them from the wind and from the +extreme bitterness of the cold, but beyond that nothing could be claimed +for it. Every one had to enter it on hands and knees, and, once inside, +no one could stand up, while the taller men of the party were only able +to sit up in the middle of the hut where the boat made the roof slightly higher.</p> + +<p>The men arranged their sleeping-bags against the walls with the feet +towards the middle of the floor, and when they had crept in through the +narrow entrance, they groped their way into the bags. Then, half lying +and half sitting, with their shoulders against the stones behind them, +they made themselves as comfortable as they could during the long period +of darkness. They divided themselves into messes for the purpose of +feeding, and two cooks prepared the food, an operation that was always +difficult and unpleasant. It had, of necessity, to be carried on inside +the hut, and when the two men were kneeling in a cramped-up position +over the make-shift for a stove in the middle of the floor, there was no +room for any one else to stretch his legs. Every one had to huddle up as +closely as possible, and as all the smoke from the stove had to find its +way out of the hut the best way it could, the atmosphere during cooking +time was far from refreshing. The heat from the stove also thawed the +ground<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> immediately under it, and the snow on the canvas over it, with +the result that the cooking of every meal meant a thorough wetting as +well as a choking for the cooks.</p> + +<p>As soon as the hut was finished, a small party pushed on towards Cape +Sabine in order to locate the provisions stored there. On October 9 they +returned with the news that despatches had been found, stating the +<i>Proteus</i> had foundered in the ice on July 24 just off the cape, and +that the crew and relief party had started to the south so as to meet +the second relief steamer <i>Yantic</i>, or a Swedish steamer which was known +to be in the locality, and send on help to the Greely expedition.</p> + +<p>The little party also discovered some provisions and the whale-boat, +previously abandoned on the ice, which had drifted ashore near the cape. +This was subsequently used as firewood when all other fuel was exhausted.</p> + +<p>The news of the disaster to the <i>Proteus</i> was a serious blow to the +expedition, as it meant that no help would be able to reach them until +the following spring at the earliest, and, in the meantime, they would +be compelled to exist as best they could upon their meagre stock of +provisions. The relief party who had visited the cape on their way from +the wreck of the <i>Proteus</i> had very considerably reduced the stores +which the Greely party counted on finding, and when they obtained the +remnants which were left, part of the bread was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> found to be a mass of +green slimy mildew. The men had now been on reduced rations for many +days, and so hungry were the members of the band sent to convey the +stores from Cape Sabine to the hut that when the green mouldy stuff was +thrown out by the officer in charge, the men flung themselves on to it +and devoured it despite all he could do to persuade them from such a course.</p> + +<p>The question of the strictest economy in the management of the food +supplies was now a matter of life or death, and very seriously the +leaders debated it. On October 26 the sun sank beneath the horizon, and +in the ensuing darkness, which lasted for 110 days, there would be no +chance of obtaining any game. A few blue foxes had been killed since the +camp was formed, and half the number were set aside for subsequent +consumption, those consumed at once being devoured to the bones, every +part being put into the stew.</p> + +<p>Meagre as the rations were, it was necessary to reduce them still +further if the food was to last until the spring. By a further reduction +it was calculated that the party could exist until March 1, when the +available supplies would amount to ten days' rations. But no relief +could possibly reach them until a couple of months later than that, and +how were they to live after March 10, when the last crumb of their +supplies had been consumed?</p> + +<p>There was only one course open for them, and that was explained by the +leader. On November 1,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> the allowance for each man would be fourteen +ounces, given out every twenty-four hours, and on March 1, as soon as +there was light, they would take their remaining ten days' supply and +set out across the frozen straits in the forlorn hope of reaching an +outlying camp of Etah Eskimo on the Greenland coast.</p> + +<p>The terrible prospect of such a scheme to men situated as they were can +scarcely be imagined. For over a month they had already been slowly +starving on an amount of food for daily consumption which an ordinary +man could comfortably eat at one meal, and now that amount was to be +decreased to less than a pound of food a day and in a climate where the +cold was so intense that water could not be kept from freezing inside +the hut excepting it was over the stove. For four months they would have +to face that rigid diet, suffering the pangs of starvation constantly, +almost entirely in the dark, and always huddled up in the sleeping-bags +against the walls of their low-roofed hut. Yet they accepted the scheme +without a murmur.</p> + +<p>Seldom have men shown themselves so absolutely courageous, for at the +best it was merely slow starvation so as to be able to make an almost +hopeless dash for freedom and food in four months' time. The suffering +during those four months was terrible. Men, as soon as they got hold of +their day's rations, were tempted to devour them at once, and so still +for a time the ceaseless gnawing of their hunger;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> but to do so meant +that in an hour's time the pain would be back again with no means of +staying it until twenty-three hours had passed. Calmly and bravely they +faced the ordeal, dividing their scanty store into regular meals, and +when, by an accident one of them upset his can, spilling his few +mouthfuls of tea on the ground, the others contributed from their share +so that he should not go entirely without. Nothing could exceed the +touching fidelity which characterised their bearings, one to the other, +during this period of unexampled suffering.</p> + +<p>At Cape Isabella, a stock of 140 lbs. of meat was known to have been +left by Sir George Nares, and a party of four set out in the hopes of +securing it. For a week before they started they were allowed an extra +ration in order to strengthen them for the trial of a journey in the +dark over rough ice and with the temperature at 34° below zero. The +extra ration consisted of two ounces a day.</p> + +<p>For five days they battled their way through the darkness against a +heavy wind laden with snow, and at last found the place where the food +was. Piling it on their sledge, they turned back home again, and for +fourteen hours laboured with it, only consuming a little warm tea during +that time, for they had no means of heating more. One of the four was +badly bitten by the frost, and was soon so stricken that he could not +even stagger along. A piercing wind was blowing, and to save their +comrade's life, the others abandoned the sledge and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> tried to support +him. Soon two of them became exhausted, and the remaining one, Sergeant +Rice, pushed on alone to the camp in order to bring help. For sixteen +hours he was fighting his way over the twenty-five miles that lay +between him and the hut. When he arrived there his lips were too frozen +for him to be able to speak at once.</p> + +<p>Weary and weak as the whole party was, eight of the strongest at once +started off in rescue. When they picked the other three up, they found +them lying under the sleeping-bag with the sick man between them, and +the bag frozen so hard over them that it had to be cut open before they +could be got out. Then they resumed their way to the camp, which they +reached after forty-four hours' absence, in which time they had covered forty miles.</p> + +<p>The frost-bitten man, Elison, was almost dead, his face, feet, and hands +being absolutely frozen, but so determined were they all to survive as +long as possible that he was tended with all the care they could +command. He was kept alive in spite of his sufferings, which, during the +first week after his rescue, were so severe that he daily called on his +comrades to end his misery.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the memory of the abandoned sledge laden with meat was +constantly in the minds of the starving men, whose hunger was now so +great that in the darkness after the lamp was put out—economy compelled +them to use it only for cooking—men crept to the stove and devoured any +rancid fat left<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> in the lamp. But still discipline held them together, +and they made no mention of their sufferings to one another. The success +of the journey across the ice on March 1 was what they looked forward +to, and with the arrival of that date they believed their sufferings would be over.</p> + +<p>On January 18 the first one of the party to die passed away, really of +starvation, although the men, to keep the ugly word away from their +minds, accepted the doctor's statement that it was of an effusion of +water at the heart that the man had died. His end made a deep impression +on the gallant little band, all the same, and by the beginning of +February several more men were in a critical condition, including +Lieutenant Lockwood, who refused to accept an extra ration of two ounces +a day from the diminished stores.</p> + +<p>Sergeant Rice, accompanied by the Eskimo Jens, made a plucky effort to +reach Littleton Island, where an outlying camp of Eskimo might be found; +but Jens could not stand the journey, and, five days after starting, +they returned. Every one was now impressed with the necessity of +husbanding their energies for the great effort to be made on the first +day of March, and as February slowly passed away, the emaciated +creatures grew enthusiastic as they sought to cheer one another up by +detailing the tremendous feasts they would have when they returned to +civilisation. At length the first of March dawned, and the brave hearts, +which had kept up so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> long against starvation and despair, shrank before +the terrible blow they received. The ice had broken, and open water +rolled where they had planned to cross on the ice. Nothing was said, for +the courage of the men was only equalled by their consideration for one +another, but the effect of the great disappointment sank deep into the minds of many.</p> + +<p>The food remaining was eked out through the month with the aid of some +blue foxes and a ptarmigan, which were eaten to the bones, and April +found them with only a few days even of the starvation rations +remaining. Several of the men were so weak that they could barely turn +over in their sleeping-bags. The Eskimo Frederick was found dead in his +bag, and another of the little party followed the next day. Then +Sergeants Rice and Fredericks insisted on making an effort to reach the +meat abandoned when Elison was frost-bitten. It is difficult to +understand why the effort had not been made before; but many errors of +judgment are conspicuous after a campaign which are not so apparent in +the moment of struggle.</p> + +<p>Now that it was made it failed, through the cold freezing wind +penetrating the starved bodies of the two men. Rice, who throughout the +terrible ordeal of their captivity had never spared himself, was the +first to feel it. A strong wind was blowing, bringing down heavy snow +squalls. Suddenly Rice began to talk wildly and then staggered. +Fredericks grasped him by the arm and tried to keep him up, but the cold +and starvation had too tight a hold upon their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> victim. He vainly +endeavoured to pull himself together, but only for a moment; then he +sank down on the snow, babbling about the feast he was going to enjoy.</p> + +<p>His comrade tried to restore him by giving him some of the stimulants +they had with them, and did not hesitate to strip off his own fur coat +to lay upon the other, sitting the while, holding his hands, and exposed +to all the biting fury of the Arctic wind, in his shirt sleeves. But +everything was useless; Rice was too worn out and too weak to fight +further, and died as he faintly talked of the food he fancied he was eating.</p> + +<p>The shock to Fredericks was almost overwhelming, for he was miles away +from the camp, chilled to the bone, and with only a little coffee and +spirits of ammonia to revive his own drooping vitality. Yet he would not +leave his dead comrade until he had reverently laid him in a shallow +resting-place in the snow, though it almost cost him his life to pay this last tribute.</p> + +<p>When he at last managed to reach the camp with his sad tidings he was +almost gone, and the news he brought plunged every one into the lowest +depths of sorrow, for Rice had always been one of the bravest and best +of the party. Those who were able to do so, attended to Fredericks and revived him.</p> + +<p>To those who were weakest the end of Rice was a fatal blow, and the next +day or so saw three<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> or four pass away, one of whom was the intrepid +Lockwood. A very few more days and all would have gone but for a gleam +of good fortune. A young bear was killed, and the 400 pounds of meat +obtained from it was the salvation of the survivors.</p> + +<p>Several seals were seen in the straits and a few walrus, and all who +could still handle a gun were daily striving to obtain fresh supplies +for the larder. Eskimo Jens, who hunted assiduously, succeeded in +killing a small seal; but in a chase after another his kayak was injured +in the ice and he was drowned.</p> + +<p>After his death only misfortune attended the hunting, and, failing to +replenish their stock of game, they were reduced to such a terrible +plight that they had only the thick skin of the seal on which to +subsist. Even this fare was carefully divided and measured out, so that +life might be maintained as long as possible in case a relief vessel +came. One day it was found that somebody was stealing. All the party was +assembled, but no one would admit the theft. It was decided that the +thief should be shot if discovered. One man, being suspected, was +watched. He was caught and executed.</p> + +<p>A fortnight later, the last few square inches of the seal's skin was +gone, and the men, now little more than living skeletons, lay in their +sleeping-bags looking at one another with hollow eyes, wondering, +perhaps, who would be the last to go, when a steamer's whistle sounded over the straits.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p><p>At first they dared not trust their ears. It must have been a gull +crying, or a bear, they said, and the only man with strength enough to +crawl crept out to see. The others lay where they were, straining their +ears to catch again the sound which had so moved them, but the minutes +passed on in silence. The man who had gone out did not come back, and +their hopes fell. No one spoke, for it was too plain they had been +deceived, and a profound silence reigned. Then they heard a great +shouting, and before their minds could understand how it was done, they +were surrounded by men of their own race, who were administering +restoratives as quickly as they dared.</p> + +<p>The <i>Thetis</i>, commanded by Captain Schley, of the United States Navy, +had reached them, and so, on June 23, 1884, the survivors of the Greely expedition were saved.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span>CHAPTER VII</span> <span class="smaller">PEARY IN GREENLAND</span></h2> + +<blockquote><p>The Greenland Question—Departure of the <i>Kite</i>—Peary breaks his +Leg—A Camp made—Habits of the Eskimo—A Brush with +Walrus—"Caching" Food—An Arctic Christmas Feast—Peary starts for +the Great Ice-Cap—A Snow Sahara—The Ice-Cap Crossed—A Marvellous +Discovery—Sails on Sledges—A Safe Return.</p></blockquote> + +<p>The disaster and suffering which characterised the termination of the +Greely and <i>Polaris</i> expeditions did not tend to recommend Arctic +exploration as a national enterprise to the Government of the United +States. A vast amount of highly valuable information had been obtained, +not only by these expeditions, but also by the expedition sent out by +the British Government under the command of Sir George Nares. And, in +addition to the information, a further knowledge had been gained, the +knowledge that the same spirit of indomitable pluck, the same tireless +energy, and the same loyalty and devotion to duty dominated both +branches of the great English-speaking race. The magnificent heroism +displayed by the explorers from the <i>Alert</i> and <i>Discovery</i> found a +parallel in the later experiences and exploits of the American +expeditions, and both British and American Governments felt that, for a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> +time at least, they were justified in resting on the laurels their +gallant sons had won.</p> + +<p>But if the Governments were satisfied, the restless spirit of the race +could not remain quiet while secrets still remained in the keeping of +the frozen North. The Pole was still untouched, and, more than that, +there were secrets to be wrested from localities not quite so remote.</p> + +<p>The discoveries along the north coast of Greenland opened up the very +interesting question whether the land did not extend right up to the +Pole itself. As far as any one had penetrated to the north of the coast, +land was still to be seen farther on; it was an open question whether +this great ice-covered country was an island, with its northern shores +swept by the Polar ice-floes, or whether it extended almost to the +dimensions of a continent in the Polar region.</p> + +<p>The problem appealed strongly to two explorers whose names, by reason of +their exploits during recent years, have become familiar. They are +Nansen and Peary. The former, by his dash for the Pole, during which he +surpassed all previous records of the "farthest North," has dwarfed his +Greenland performances; the latter, by his journey of 1300 miles over +the ice-crowned interior of Greenland, decided the insular character of +the country. It is that journey which forms the subject of this chapter.</p> + +<p>Lieutenant Robert E. Peary, an officer in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> engineering department of +the United States Navy, failing to obtain Government support for his +scheme of an overland journey to the northern coast of Greenland, was +supported by the Philadelphia Academy of National Science. The +expedition was necessarily small, but that did not affect its utility. +It was, moreover, unique, by the inclusion of Lieutenant Peary's wife as +one of its members; the account which she has given of her sojourn in +high latitudes is one of the most interesting of books on the Arctic regions.</p> + +<p>The party left New York on June 6, 1891, on board the steamer <i>Kite</i>, +for Whale Sound, on the north-west coast of Greenland. The voyage was +satisfactory in every way until June 24, when an unfortunate accident befell the leader.</p> + +<p>The <i>Kite</i> had encountered some ice which was heavy enough to check her +progress, and, to get through it, the captain had to ram his ship. This +necessitated a constant change from going ahead to going astern, and, as +there was a good deal of loose ice floating about, the rudder frequently +came into collision with it when the vessel was backing. Lieutenant +Peary, who was on deck during one of these manœuvres, went over to +the wheelhouse to see how the rudder was bearing the strain. As he stood +behind the wheelhouse, the rudder struck a heavy piece of ice and was +forcibly jerked over, the tiller, as it swung, catching Lieutenant Peary +by the leg and pinning him against the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> wall of the house. There was no +escape from the position, and the pressure of the tiller gradually +increased until the bone of the leg snapped.</p> + +<p>The doctor, who formed one of the party, immediately set the limb; but +the sufferer refused to return home, and when, a few days later, the +<i>Kite</i> reached McCormick Bay, he was carried ashore strapped to a plank.</p> + +<p>The material for a comfortably-sized house was part of the outfit of the +expedition, and this was in course of erection the day that Lieutenant +Peary was landed. For the accommodation of himself and wife, a tent was +put up behind the half-completed house, and, as a high wind arose, the +remainder of the party returned on board the <i>Kite</i>.</p> + +<p>As the hours passed away the wind became stronger. The tent swayed to +and fro, and Mrs. Peary, as she sat beside her invalid and sleeping +husband, realised what it was to be lonely and helpless. She and her +husband were the only people on shore for miles; her husband was unable +to move, and she was without even a revolver with which to defend +herself. What, she asked herself, would be the result if a bear came +into the tent? She could not make the people on board the <i>Kite</i> hear, +and she was without a weapon. Throughout the stay in the North, Mrs. +Peary proved herself not only to be a woman of strong nerve and +self-reliance, but also an excellent shot with either gun, rifle, or +revolver. It was, however, as much as she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> could stand when her anxious +ears caught the sound of heavy breathing outside the tent.</p> + +<p>For a time she sat still, fearing to disturb her husband, until the +continuance of the sound compelled her to look out. A school of white +whales were playing close inshore, and it was the noise of their +blowing, softened by the wind, which had so disturbed her. But so +self-possessed was she over it that her husband did not know till long +afterwards the anxiety she had experienced during the first night she +spent on the Greenland shore.</p> + +<p>The following day rapid progress was made with the house, and some of +the party stayed on shore for the night, so that there was always some +one within call of the invalid's tent until the house was completed and +he was removed into it. By that time the <i>Kite</i> had started home again, +and the little party of seven were left to make all their arrangements +for the winter.</p> + +<p>They had determined to rely entirely upon their own exertions for the +supply of meat for the winter and also to obtain their fur clothing on +the spot, killing the animals necessary for the material and engaging +some of the local Eskimo to make up the suits. Deer would give both meat +and fur, and as there was every prospect of the neighbourhood affording +them in plenty, as soon as the house was up and the stores packed, the +majority started away in search of game.</p> + +<p>The spot where they were landed, and where they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> had erected their camp, +was on a verdure-covered slope lying between the sea and the high range +of bluff hills which towered about 1000 feet over them. In the spring +the ground was covered with grass and flowers; the bay in front was full +of seal, walrus, whales, and other marine inhabitants, and along the +hills behind experience showed that game was present in abundance. The +Etah Eskimo, the most northerly people in existence, lived their quaint, +out-of-the-world lives along the shores of the bay and neighbouring +inlets, and, as soon as the camp was settled, they were kept busily +employed in the making of fur garments, proving themselves docile and +peaceful. It was often difficult for the members of the expedition to +realise that the site of their camp, with the abundance of food to be +had, was only from fifty to eighty miles from the spots where the +castaways of the <i>Polaris</i> suffered so acutely and the members of the +Greely expedition slowly starved, many of them to death. For more than a +year the little party of seven lived in good health, without a +suggestion of scurvy making its appearance and with only one fatality, +which, moreover, was accidental.</p> + +<p>The first hunting expedition was in search of deer, and everybody took +part in it except the leader, who was still crippled by his injured leg +and confined to his room, and his wife. For two or three days the +hunters were away, for they were fortunate in discovering a herd of deer +which they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> followed until all were bagged. Then, with as many as they +could convey, leaving the others to be fetched later, they set out for +the camp. Their approach was duly signalled, and upon hearing that they +were returning laden, Lieutenant Peary, for the first time, hobbled out +of the house on crutches. As they came up he rested on one leg and his +crutches, while he photographed them and their trophies, after which the +double occasion was celebrated by a banquet in which venison played an important part.</p> + +<p>The deer skins were very important additions to the stock of material +from which the winter clothing was to be made, but other varieties were +needed, especially of the marine animals, as well as some native tailors +to fashion them into coats, hoods, mittens, and all the other articles +of Arctic wear. A boat party was therefore despatched along the shores +of Inglefield Gulf, to spy out the localities where walrus was to be +found, and to induce some of the natives of a village, seen from the +<i>Kite</i>, to come over to the camp and sew the new garments.</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp152.jpg" id="fp152.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp152.jpg" width='700' height='430' alt="GROUP OF SMITH SOUND ESKIMO" /></div> + +<p class="bold">GROUP OF SMITH SOUND ESKIMO.</p> + +<p class="bold">The most northerly inhabitants of the world. Lieut. Peary records that +the tribe numbered 253 on September 1st, 1895. Between that date and +August 1, 1896, an epidemic of influenza had reduced them to 229. In +August 1897, they numbered 234.</p> + +<p>The party was successful in both instances, for a number of walrus were +seen and an Eskimo family came back by the boat. The "huskies" consisted +of a man, his wife, and two little children, and they moved with all +their belongings. They were little people, under five feet in height and +almost as broad as they were long, clad in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> fur jumpers and short +breeches with sealskin boots reaching over their knees. The costume of +both adults was very similar, the only practical difference being in the +tunic or jumper, that of the woman having the hood longer and deeper for +the accommodation of her infant. They had broad, good-natured faces, not +especially handsome nor intelligent in appearance, but distinctly dirty. +In fact, the use of water, other than for drinking, did not appear to be +known to the primitive people, and it was very much a question whether +they had ever tried the experiment of a wash. Once Mrs. Peary was +tempted to give one of the little ones a bath, and she records how +intensely amazed it was at being put into the water, although it was +more than two years old. Surviving the shock, however, it manifested its +pleasure by lustily kicking and splashing. Perhaps later it enjoyed a +well-merited honour amongst its own people as the only one of the tribe +who ever passed through the extraordinary ordeal of soap and water.</p> + +<p>In consequence of their innocence of water as a cleansing medium, the +"huskies," as the Peary party affectionately termed them, had two very +distinguishing characteristics not entirely pleasing to more civilised +people. They carried around with them a distinctly impressive aroma, and +also thriving colonies of what are politely termed parasites.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span></p><p>In the matter of clothes they carry their wardrobes on their backs. Fur +garments do not wear out very rapidly, and, when a "husky" is full +grown, the suit of clothes, made in honour of the event, remains in +constant wear until one of two things happens. If the man kills a bear, +he has a costume made of the skin and discards the ordinary sealskin +suit for it. If he does not kill a bear, he wears the sealskin suit +until it no longer keeps him warm, when he gets another. In their snow +houses during the winter and storms, if the temperature is too warm for +them in their thick clothing, they take the clothing off; being a +primitive people, their manners are as simple as their minds.</p> + +<p>The first arrivals at the Peary camp were, however, very useful people. +There being no trees in this far northern region, and wood, +consequently, being one of their most valued treasures, they were for +some time unable to comprehend how so much timber had been acquired to +build the house. When they saw a fire made in the stove of refuse bits +of wood they were still more amazed. Never before had they seen so much +fire all at once, and the man, growing curious, kept on feeling the +stove to see what the effect would be. When it was hot enough to burn +his hand he developed a wholesome respect for it, and preferred to +regard the, to him, uncanny object from a distance.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span></p><p>The problem of how the sewing was to be done was rather a difficult one +to the white people for a time. To allow the furs to be taken into the +Eskimo tent was to invite the introduction of an insect population of +which it would be impossible to get rid later. On the other hand, to +allow the huskies to enter the house too frequently was equally +dangerous from the sanitary point of view. A compromise was effected, by +the Eskimo woman doing the sewing near the door of the house with some +one always keeping an eye on her. Later on, when it was found that +little danger existed from the spread of insects if reasonable care were +taken, the workers sat inside the house. They were fairly deft in +handling the needle, and the suits they made for the party were all +excellent and serviceable. These were made on the native pattern, and +the experience of Lieutenant Peary and his comrade Astrup in their +journey over the great ice-cap proved that the native pattern was the best.</p> + +<p>When the woman was set to work, a boat expedition in search of walrus +was organised, with the Eskimo as guide, Lieutenant Peary and his wife +also going. They had not proceeded very many miles up Inglefield Gulf +before a light breeze when they saw, on a floating piece of ice, a dozen +or so of the animals huddled together apparently asleep. Sailing gently +towards them, every one with a rifle ready, a sudden puff of wind sent +the boat ahead quicker<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> and farther than was intended, and it struck the +ice. The walrus, never having seen a sailing boat before, looked round +at it without paying any more attention than if it had been another +piece of ice. But the sight of so many valuable creatures within reach +of his harpoon was too much for the little Eskimo, and he buried the +weapon into the nearest.</p> + +<p>At once the attitude of the walrus changed. The wounded member of the +tribe tried to escape, bellowing in its pain, and the rest slid off the +ice into the water and surrounded the boat. Others from neighbouring ice +patches charged rapidly on to the scene, and the situation of the boat +and its occupants was dangerous in the extreme. The poor Eskimo, his +face showing the terror he felt, crouched down in the boat, evidently +expecting to be annihilated by the furious animals that surged round. As +they came up to the boat, they tried to get their great powerful tusks +over the gunwales, and, had one succeeded in doing so, there would have +been slight hopes of any one escaping. Had the boat been capsized, no +one could possibly have survived, and to keep the angry crowd off was no easy matter.</p> + +<p>All around they swarmed, and not less than 250 were estimated to be +engaged in the attack. Lieutenant Peary, with his injured leg, sat in +the stern of the boat, firing at them, and the other white men also kept +up a fusillade, Mrs. Peary, again giving <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>evidence of her strong nerve +and courage, sitting beside her husband and loading the weapons as soon +as they were emptied. The walrus came on in bunches to the attack, and, +immediately they were fired at, all those nearest to the boat leaped out +of the water, and then plunged out of sight. There was always the danger +of one of the huge creatures rising under the boat, and so capsizing it; +but the occupants had no time to think of this. Directly one batch +jumped and disappeared, another batch hastened forward to greet the +volley of bullets in the same way as the others, and be in turn +succeeded by another batch!</p> + +<p>The boat was meanwhile gradually approaching the shore, and as the water +became more shallow the walrus exhibited less desire to come to close +quarters, until, at last, the adventurers found that they had beaten off +the last of the swarm. The main body had retreated far up the gulf, only +a few remaining near. Several of those which had been shot, however, +were floating on the surface of the water, and it was decided to go back +and secure them, even at the risk of another attack. Already some of +them were sinking, and many must have gone down while the fight was in +progress. There was a necessity for haste if any of the slain were to be +secured, and with rifles loaded and ready for a fresh attack, the boat +was headed towards the floating carcases.</p> + +<p>The operation of securing them was performed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> without any interruption +from the survivors, and a run was then made for the shore, where the +Eskimo said a lot of seal-skins were "cached." This is the term used in +the Arctic regions to denote the local method of storing food or +possessions. A space is hollowed out in the ground, which, even in the +summer time, is frozen hard a few feet below the surface. The articles +to be stored having been placed in the space, it is covered over with +stones, and the "cache" is completed. Throughout the winter the contents +become frozen into a solid mass, which, protected by the stones or other +covering, does not thaw out during the short summer, and so remains in a +good state of preservation for an almost indefinite period.</p> + +<p>Occasionally the "cache" fails to preserve the articles of food entirely +in that state which by the European is termed "fresh"; but as they +rarely have recourse to "cached" provisions, it does not matter very +much. The Eskimo, who constantly preserves his winter supplies in this +manner, has, happily for himself, easier notions about the state and +quality of his food. This was brought home to the party very forcibly. +They had visited several "caches," and obtained enough seal-skin for +their purpose, and, having enjoyed some refreshment, were considering +their return. The Eskimo, Ikwa, then told them that, as all the flesh at +the camp was recently killed, he and his family did not like it. There +was, he said, a fine seal cached in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> neighbourhood, which would form +a delicious store for him and his family, and if the leader allowed him +to move it to the boat, and convey it to the encampment, he would be +prepared to yield some of it to the members of the party for their own +special enjoyment. The seal was a beauty, he said, and just in the very +pink of condition. The necessary permission having been given, Ikwa +hurried away for his treasure.</p> + +<p>Shortly after, the members of the party noticed a strange penetrating +odour in the air which they at first attributed to the flayed walrus. It +steadily increased, until they were unable to tolerate it, and started +out to seek the cause. As they emerged from under the shelter of the +jutting rock where they had been resting, they descried the little +Eskimo staggering towards them under the burden of a seal almost as +large as himself. The creature had been "cached" about two years, and +was in such a state that gentles fell from it at every step the man +took, and, as Mrs. Peary recorded in her diary, both the sight and the +scent of it overpowered the white people. But to Ikwa it was just in +good condition for eating, and he was especially indignant when he was +made to relinquish it. His clothes, however, would not part with the +odour, and for many days the members of the expedition had reason to +remember that Eskimo like their game high.</p> + +<p>As the time passed, and winter approached, every<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> one was kept busy +preparing for the long dark night, and for the journey over the ice-cap +which was to be undertaken directly spring began. Several families of +Eskimo were now residing near the encampment, the women mostly engaged +in making winter fur garments for the members of the expedition, and the +men in hunting. As dogs were required for the sledging expedition, +constant bartering went on between the Eskimo and the white men, and the +latter undertook occasional journeys to localities where other members +of the tribe were encamped.</p> + +<p>A great deal of very interesting information was thus derived about the +natives, who are, as has been said, the most northerly living people in +the world. Mrs. Peary, as the first white woman they had ever seen, was +a particular object of attention. As their custom is for men and women +to dress very much alike, they could not quite understand Mrs. Peary's +costume, and when the first arrivals saw her and Lieutenant Peary +together, they looked from one to the other, and ultimately had to ask +which of the two was the white woman.</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp160.jpg" id="fp160.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp160.jpg" width='430' height='700' alt="TWO NORTH GREENLAND HUNTERS" /></div> + +<p class="bold">TWO NORTH GREENLAND HUNTERS.</p> + +<p>The tribe did not number 300 in all; they held no communication with the +Eskimo farther south, and, except for the occasional visit of a sealer +or a whaler, knew nothing of the outer world. None had ever seen a tree +growing, nor had they ever penetrated over the ridge of land which lay +back from the coast, and over which glimpses were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> caught of the great +ice-cap. The latter, they said, was where the Eskimo went when they +died, and if any man attempted to go so far the spirits would get hold +of him and keep him there. They consequently warned Lieutenant Peary +against venturing. There was no seal up there; no bear; no deer; only +ice and snow and spirits, so what reason had a man for going?</p> + +<p>Their belongings were extremely simple. A kayak, a sledge, one or two +dogs, a tent made of walrus-hide or seal-skin, some weapons, and a stone +lamp, comprised, with the clothes they wore, their property. Wood was +the most valuable article they knew, because they could use it for so +many purposes, and had so little of it. The possession of knives and +needles was greatly desired; but scissors did not appeal to them, since +what they could not cut with a knife they could bite with their close +even teeth. Money had neither a suggestion nor a use with them; trade, +if carried on at all, was merely the bartering of one article for another.</p> + +<p>The animals they liked best were dogs and seals; the former being their +beast of burden and constant companion, the latter the provider of food, +raiment, covering, and light. Every seal killed belonged to the man who +killed it, but the rules of the tribe required that all larger animals +should be shared among the members in the neighbourhood; the skin of a +bear, however, remaining in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> the possession of the man who secured it. +But so unsophisticated and easy-going are the contented little people +that individual property scarcely exists with them; every one is ready +and willing to share what he has with another if need be. The articles +borrowed, however, are always returned, or made good if broken or lost. +No one can either read or write; the boys are taught how to hunt, how to +manage the kayak and sledge, and how to make and use the weapons of the +chase, while the girls are taught how to sew the fur garments, and keep +the stone lamp burning with blubber and moss, so as to prepare the +drinking water and the frizzled seal flesh they eat. For the rest, their +chief desire is to live as happily as they can, and this, according to +those who have been amongst them, they manage to do merrily and well.</p> + +<p>During the visits paid to the different encampments by Lieutenant Peary +and his wife, about a score of dogs were obtained, a number which would +be sufficient to carry out the work of the ensuing spring. They were +usually obtained in exchange for needles and knives, but the purpose for +which they were needed always formed a subject of wonder to the unambitious "huskies."</p> + +<p>By the time that a return was made to the house—Redcliff, as the +explorers named it—the season was well advanced towards winter. The +roof and sides were all covered with walrus hide, and moss, gathered in +the early autumn, was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> stuffed into any crevice through which the cold +wind might find a way. The drifting snow soon piled up round the walls +and over the roof, and the extra covering added to the warmth and +comfort of those within. Fur clothing was now worn generally, and the +little party, keeping in good health and spirits, managed to pass the +gloomy period of winter without anything to mar their contentment.</p> + +<p>Christmas they celebrated in proper form by having a sumptuous dinner, +the menu of which, preserved by Mrs. Peary, is worthy of being quoted, +as showing what can be done in a place where shops are unknown and +darkness reigns at midday. The feast consisted of salmon, rabbit pie and +green peas, venison with cranberry sauce, corn and tomatoes, +plum-pudding and brandy sauce, apricot pie, pears, sweets, nuts, +raisins, and coffee: a very creditable repast to be put on the table of +an Arctic residence.</p> + +<p>When every one had satisfied the demands of appetite, the table was +cleared, and then re-spread for the benefit of the "huskies," who were +bidden to partake of Christmas fare. A somewhat different assortment was +prepared for the visitors, the dishes consisting of milk punch, venison +stew, cranberry tart, biscuits, sweets, raisins, and coffee. This was +certainly a variation to their ordinary food of seal or walrus flesh and +water, and they showed their appreciation of it by leaving no crumbs and +sticking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> to their seats until, at half-past ten, they were gently told +that it was time they went home. Then they left, but the next day they +came again, and were perhaps not the first who, having enjoyed a hearty +Christmas dinner, felt disposed to complain that Christmas can only come once a year.</p> + +<p>At the first approach of spring the dogs were given plenty of exercise +in the sledges, and by the middle of April all was ready for the great +journey over the ice-cap. Lieutenant Peary had quite recovered from the +injury to his leg, and was impatient to be off. The plan of operations +was for himself and a young Norwegian, named Astrup, to push on with one +sledge over the unknown interior, but for the first part of the journey +a supporting party and sledge accompanied them.</p> + +<p>April 30 saw them start from the house towards the bluff range which ran +along the coast. The two sledges, each with a team of ten dogs, were +laden with supplies and scientific instruments. Mrs. Peary, who was +staying behind at the house, watched them slowly go out of sight, the +Eskimo women consoling her with the opinion that none of the party would +ever come back. The return of the supporting sledge a few weeks later +was rather a blow to the prophecy, but they tried to make up for the +first mistake by asserting their confidence that the other sledge was doomed.</p> + +<p>The two parties kept together until the coastal range was surmounted, +and the beginning of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> ice-cap was reached. Here the sledge which was +to do the great journey was laden with a full load, and the two +explorers started forward, Lieutenant Peary leading the way with a staff +to which was attached a silk banner—the Stars and Stripes—worked by +Mrs. Peary.</p> + +<p>The first of the ice-cap was a stretch of some fifteen miles of ice, +formed into enormous dome-shaped masses. They toiled up one side but +travelled easily down the other, and so on, up and down, until they had +attained an altitude of nearly 9000 feet above the sea-level, when they +found that they were on a vast expanse of snow. The white unbroken +surface stretched away as far as the eye could reach, unbroken by a +ridge or rise, everywhere flat, white and immense. This was the great +ice-cap, the frozen covering of the interior of Greenland, the unknown +region where no man had yet set foot.</p> + +<p>But it was a mistake to term it an ice-cap. They found it to be rather a +desert, a Sahara with dry drifting snow instead of the dry burning sand. +And, like Sahara, it had its days of storm, when the snow whirled in +clouds just as the sand rises before the scorching blast of the simoom. +Very wonderful was the first experience of this Greenland dust-storm. +The sky overhead was filled with dull grey clouds, heavy and opaque, and +the gloom spread all around, so that whichever way one looked there was +the same impenetrable veil of grey gloomy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> haze. The snow lost its +dazzling whiteness and took instead the tint of the gloom of the +surrounding atmosphere. Then the wind came, at first in fitful gusts but +later growing into a steady blow, the opening squalls lifting the dry +surface snow and whirling it up in the air. The steady breeze caught it +and carried it along in a constantly moving stream some two feet deep, +and it was then that the effect of the storm was most pronounced. The +drifting particles of snow made a curious rustling noise as they moved, +and as they whirled round the travellers' legs the feet were hidden +beneath the dense moving veil. As a result, it was as though one were +walking on nothing and going nowhere, for the grey gloom all around made +one unconscious of either direction or space, and the moving snow +prevented one seeing the feet or realising that there was anything solid under them.</p> + +<p>The steady hum of the drifting snow, together with its movement, made +the brain dizzy, and the two explorers generally found it necessary to +form a camp when such a storm came on, the snow soon piling up against +their shelter tent and effectually protecting them from the wind. Then, +when the breeze had died away and the snow ceased moving, they were able +to dig out their sledge and proceed.</p> + +<p>A distinct contrast to these stormy days was given by the period of +clear sunshine. Then the sky, innocent of a cloud, was a wonderful blue<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> +vault overhead, while the snow-covered plateau stretched away on all +sides until it was lost in the distance of the horizon. The wonderfully +clear air enabled the explorers to see a great distance ahead. At the +end of the second day's march after reaching this great snow desert, +they found that the surface was gradually sloping north and south. They +were on the dividing ridge and, as they passed over on to the downward +slope, their progress was naturally at a more rapid rate. A storm, such +as has been described, accompanied by falling snow, overtook them, and +for three days they had to stay in their shelter. When at length the +weather moderated and they were able to get out again they discovered, +before resuming the journey, that the dogs meanwhile had eaten six +pounds of cranberry jam and the foot off one of the sleeping-bags—a +fairly good example of a dog's appetite during a snowstorm.</p> + +<p>On May 31 in magnificently clear weather they looked out upon a scene on +which no white man had ever yet gazed. In his description of the journey +the leader wrote: "We looked down into the basin of the Petermann +Glacier, the greatest amphitheatre of snow and rugged ice that human eye +has ever seen." Away beyond it, a range of black mountains towered in +dome-shaped hills, and they made their camp with the expectation of +being able to see more of the distant range at the end of another march. +But by the time they were able<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> to resume their march a thick fog had +come into the air, and for three days they could only see the snow at +their feet. They directed their course entirely by compass, but as they +were unable to see long distances ahead, they were unprepared for a +change in the surface. Before they could avoid it, they found themselves +amongst rough ice and open crevices. They were getting on to the Sherard +Osborne Glacier, and, in the misty weather they were experiencing, it +was difficult to get back on to the smooth ice again. Over a fortnight +was spent in getting beyond this rough ground, and at length, on the +weather clearing, they found that straight ahead of them a range of +hills showed along the horizon above the ice-cap. The appearance of the +hills directly in their path decided them to turn their course from due +east to south-east, and they were soon able to make out the line of a +deep channel running from the north-east to the south-west.</p> + +<p>On July 1, after fifty-seven days of travel, they came to the limits of +the ice-cap and stood, silent and amazed, looking down from the summit +of the snow desert across a wide open plain covered with vegetation, +with here and there a snow drift showing white, and with herds of musk +oxen contentedly grazing over it. Such a discovery was absolutely so +unexpected that at first they could scarcely believe their eyes. There +was no sign of any human habitation on the land, and for all that could +be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> learned to the contrary, they were the first human beings who had +ever trodden upon that plain, on which the yellow Arctic poppies were +waving in bloom and over which the drone of the humble bee sounded, +though for hundreds of miles around it the accumulated snow of centuries +lay frozen into the great mysterious snow-cap and its glaciers.</p> + +<p>Having proved that they really were not dreaming, they shot a musk ox, +which they used for their own and their dogs' refreshment. Then they +stacked their stores and set out with reduced loads across the plain. +They walked for four days, exploring, surveying, and examining; and on +the fourth of July, the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence +by the United States, they stood on the summit of a magnificent range of +cliffs, 3500 feet high, overlooking a large bay, which, in honour of the +date, they named Independence Bay.</p> + +<p>The latitude was nearly 82° N., and Lieutenant Peary, writing of the +discovery, says: "It was almost impossible for us to believe that we +were standing on the northern shore of Greenland as we gazed from the +summit of this precipitous cliff with the most brilliant sunshine all +about us, with yellow poppies growing between the rocks around our feet +and a herd of musk oxen in the valley behind us. In that valley we had +also found the dandelion in bloom and had heard the heavy drone and seen +the bullet-like flight of the humble bee."</p> + +<p>For a week the two remained in this northern<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> valley, surveying and +making observations and finding it difficult to believe that a distance +of 600 miles of frozen snow separated them from the nearest living +people. Not a vestige of a human habitation was found, and nothing to +show that man had ever been there before. At the end of the week, with a +good supply of fresh meat from the musk oxen and a collection of +specimens of plants and insects packed on the sledges, the return +journey was commenced. Both dogs and men were invigorated by the rest +they had had, and they were able to travel homewards at the rate of +thirty miles a day over the smooth surface of the ice-cap.</p> + +<p>They carefully adhered to a recognised routine of work. When they had +travelled the regulation number of hours they halted for their rest. The +one whose turn it was to prepare the supper set to work to arrange what +they termed their kitchen, while the other attended to the dogs, feeding +them and removing them from their harness. The "kitchen" was constructed +by removing snow in blocks from a space eight feet long by three feet +wide by eighteen inches deep. The snow-blocks were built up along one +side and half another, so as to form an angle presented towards that +quarter from whence the wind was blowing. Over the top of this a canvas +was stretched, forming a well-sheltered nook, in which the spirit stove +was lighted and the meal prepared. For supper they had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> usually, half a +pound of pemmican (a preparation of finely chopped lean meat with +raisins and wheaten flour), one cup of preserved milk, tea, and +biscuits. The morning meal, or breakfast, consisted of pemmican, +biscuits, two ounces of butter, and two cups of tea, and after +travelling from four to six hours, they stopped for lunch, which +consisted of more pemmican and tea.</p> + +<p>As soon as supper was ready the two enjoyed it together, and very soon +afterwards they crept into their sleeping-bags, the one who was acting +as cook having also to keep an eye on the dogs, in order to prevent them +making attacks on the stores. To obviate this, after the first few days, +the dogs were usually tethered for the night.</p> + +<p>Occasionally, when the wind was favourable, sails were erected on the +sledges and the progress was then very easy and rapid; but when the wind +was from the opposite direction both dogs and men had an arduous task. +The return journey was accomplished with greater facility than the +outward trip, and on August 8, as they reached the top of one of the +dome-like formations near the coastal range, they saw, on the slope of +the next dome, a party of men approaching. The Kite had meantime +returned to Inglefield Gulf to take the expedition back to the United +States, and several of those who had come up in her set out to meet the +two explorers. By the time that the combined parties reached the shore, +every one was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> on board the <i>Kite</i> waiting to welcome the two wanderers, +whose enterprise had terminated so successfully, not the least delighted +being Mrs. Peary, whose patience had been somewhat tried by the +persistent way in which the "huskies" had foretold disaster to her +husband. But all is well that ends well, and in his return, victorious, +the long lonely hours were forgotten.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span>CHAPTER VIII</span> <span class="smaller">NANSEN AND THE <i>FRAM</i></span></h2> + +<blockquote><p>Nansen's Theories of Arctic Currents and Shipbuilding—His Theories +adopted—The <i>Fram</i> built—A Start made—The Kara Sea reached—Good +Hunting—The Ice Current reached—Frozen in—A Raid by a Bear—Will +the <i>Fram</i> stand the Pressure?—Preparing for Calamity—A +Conclusive Test—Causes of Ice Movements—Life on the +<i>Fram</i>—Nansen and Johansen leave the <i>Fram</i>—They reach their +"Farthest North"—Incidents of their Return Journey—Some Narrow +Escapes—The Meeting with Jackson—Arrival of the <i>Fram</i>.</p></blockquote> + +<p>In 1879 the <i>Jeannette</i>, an American yacht commanded by Lieutenant de +Long, of the United States Navy, was beset in the ice in latitude 71° +35' N. and longitude 175° 6' E. So firmly was she frozen that it was +found impossible to liberate her, and on June 12, 1881, she was so badly +crushed in a break up of the pack that she foundered. In the meantime +she had drifted with the ice to 77° 15' N. latitude and 154° 59' E. +longitude, a point to the north of the New Siberian Islands. In 1884 +articles undoubtedly belonging to members of her crew were found in +floating ice off the coast of Greenland.</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp172.jpg" id="fp172.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp172.jpg" width='498' height='700' alt="MAP OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS SHOWING ROUTE OF NANSEN AND THE FRAM" /></div> + +<p class="bold">MAP OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS SHOWING ROUTE OF NANSEN AND THE <i>FRAM</i>.</p> + +<p>These facts caused a very great deal of discussion among Arctic +explorers, and the general opinion expressed was that a strong and +steady current evidently flowed along the course taken first by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> +<i>Jeannette</i>, and secondly by the relics. To arrive at that conclusion +was not very difficult; to utilise the knowledge thus gained, and profit +by it, was the point, and only one man in the world was possessed of the +necessary amount of insight, backed up by intellect and courage, to +enable him to do so. This man was Fridtjof Nansen.</p> + +<p>As a student of Arctic phenomena, and as one who had crossed Greenland +from east to west, the existence of this current was full of suggestive +possibilities. It seemed to him that if a vessel were built of +sufficient strength to withstand the pressure of the winter ice, and +provisioned for a sufficiently long period, there was every chance of it +drifting along the entire course of the current, perhaps to within a +measurable distance of the Pole, and certainly well within that region +which had hitherto been unexplored. The area affected by the current +would have to be entered as near the outside edge as possible, so as to +participate in the full sweep of its curve, and, in order to avoid the +terrible crushing pressure of the winter ice, the vessel would have to +be so built as to enable it to slip upwards from the ice, when the +pressure became too severe, and rest always on the top.</p> + +<p>On the publication of these views, they were not supported by the Arctic +veterans. Some went so far as to characterise the whole scheme as being +unworthy of serious consideration, while others, less overbearingly +prejudiced, were aghast at the daring<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> and audacity of the scheme. The +possibility of the drift passing over the route suggested by Nansen was +not gainsaid by those whose close knowledge of Arctic problems, and +desire for general information, made them more tolerant than the keen +opponents of the scheme—the latter, strangely enough, being men whose +own exploits had not been the most successful in Polar exploration. The +hero of the <i>Alert</i> sledge journey admitted the feasibility of the drift +theory, but shook his head at the idea of any ship withstanding the +winter pressure of the great ice packs in the far North. A ship once +caught and frozen in became part of the ice itself, and when the +pressure crushed masses a hundred feet thick into minute fragments and +powder, what chance would a vessel, held in such a mass, have of escaping?</p> + +<p>But Nansen was not to be discouraged. He had the true insight of genius, +that insight which gave him the confidence in his own idea and which +needed something more than verbal reasons to overthrow it. His idea also +recommended itself to a Norwegian shipbuilder, Mr. Colin Archer, who +expressed his readiness to construct such a vessel as Nansen had +described. The Norwegian Government also were impressed by the scheme +and voted over £11,000 towards the cost of carrying it out, and other +support being forthcoming, the intrepid explorer was at length able to +take definite steps to prove or disprove his contention.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span></p><p>The building of the <i>Fram</i> was at once commenced. She was built of wood +and of tremendous strength, her beams and sides being of the utmost +thickness, while on the outside of the hull not a single angle was +allowed to remain. Every projection was carefully rounded off and +smoothed, so that there should not be as much as half an inch protruding +and capable of affording the ice a holding place. Even the keel was +sacrificed to the general idea of avoiding possible holding places for +the ice. The lines of the ship were necessarily different from those of +the ordinary vessel. Her sides bulged outwards and the stern and stem +sloped away, so that whichever way the ice exerted the pressure, the +<i>Fram</i> would present a smooth surface to the ice, inclined in such a way +that the tendency of the ice would be to get under it and so lift the +vessel up. This did not improve her qualities as a sea boat, and the way +in which she pitched, plunged, and rolled, whenever she came into a +moving sea, tried the seafaring capacities of every one on board.</p> + +<p>She was fitted with engines and a screw, and was rigged as a +three-masted fore-and-aft schooner. Electric light was laid on all over +her, the power being generated by a windmill when the engine was not +working. Every available crevice was utilised for the storing of coals and provisions.</p> + +<p>By the middle of June 1893 the thirteen men who formed the expedition +had succeeded in finding a place for everything, though not without<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> +some difficulty, for the quantity of the stores which had to be packed +was enormous. By a delay in delivery, just as they were congratulating +themselves that everything was stowed away, a shipment of dog biscuits +arrived. The ship was full already, but the biscuits had to be stored +somewhere, so one of the men wriggled right up into the bows, and +between the beams and the ribs he packed away the troublesome late +arrivals. Everything was at last on board and stored, and on June 24, +1893, the <i>Fram</i> started on her memorable journey.</p> + +<p>Leaving North Cape, she headed for Kharbarova, on the Northern Siberian +coast, and the point where the team of Siberian sledge dogs were to be +taken on board. On July 29 she dropped anchor off the quaint little +settlement and found the dogs duly waiting. A ship with coal ought also +to have been there, but it did not arrive up to the time that the +<i>Fram</i>, having shipped the dogs, was compelled to leave. She would soon +be in the Kara Sea, where a year would have to be spent if she were +caught in the ice. The season was passing rapidly, and no time could be +lost if the Kara Sea were to be passed before winter set in, so the +anchor was weighed and the <i>Fram</i> steamed away without her extra supply of coal.</p> + +<p>On August 4 the Kara Sea was reached. The ice, although not heavy enough +to prevent further progress, with the adverse currents caused +considerable delays, and the crew utilised their <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>enforced leisure by +visiting the neighbouring land and laying in a store of fresh meat. They +were successful in obtaining reindeer venison and ducks, and it was here +also that the first bear was killed.</p> + +<p>It happened on the Kjellman Islands. The <i>Fram</i> had come to anchor under +their shelter, when some one raised the cry that there were reindeer on +the shore. Immediately a hunting party was formed, and eight of the +members rowed ashore. They separated into couples and spread out in +search of the deer, which, however, were extremely shy. Two of the +hunters, failing to get near the herd, decided to sit down and wait +until the other members succeeded in stalking round the deer and turning +them back. Suddenly one of the two, looking round towards the shore, +espied a bear coming towards them. They waited for him to come within +easy range, when they fired together, striking him in the right foreleg. +He turned back at once towards the shore, and another bullet in one of +his hind-legs did not stop him. Fearing that he might escape, one of the +two ran after him and managed to put a bullet in his shoulder, which +brought him to the ground. The bear staggered to his feet again, and in +turning towards his assailants presented his unwounded side to them, +with the result that another bullet was discharged into it, and he fell +to the ground unable to move; but to make certain that he was not +"foxing," yet another bullet was put into his head.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span></p><p>The result of the day's shooting was excellent, the bag consisting of +bear, deer, seal, and duck, providing plenty of fresh meat for the +members of the expedition, as well as a good supply of food for the +dogs. Within a few days they were able to add to the larder by killing +some walrus, a feat which was not achieved without some danger and loss.</p> + +<p>The <i>Fram</i> had come to anchor in consequence of the ice lying rather +thickly ahead, when a group of walrus was seen on a floating mass of +ice. A boat was immediately lowered, and with one man armed with a +harpoon in the bows, and Nansen armed with a rifle in the stern, it was +cautiously rowed towards the listless walrus. They did not show any sign +of life until the boat was close upon them, when the sentinel raised his +head and looked towards the boat. When a number are basking, one is +always on duty as a sentinel to give the alarm and warn the others of +approaching danger. Directly those in the boat saw which was the +sentinel, they kept a close watch upon him, remaining as still as +possible when he raised his head and only urging the boat forward gently +when he resumed his former lazy attitude. By very careful manœuvring +they were able to creep close up to the ice. The sentinel again raised +his head and looked at them, but as no one moved he seemed to be +satisfied and lowered his head once more.</p> + +<p>A sharp stroke of the oars drove the boat right<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> on to the ice, and the +man with the harpoon let drive at the group. Due, perhaps, to the +movement of the boat, his aim was too high, and instead of plunging into +the great body of the nearest monster, the harpoon glanced off his back +and over the backs of the others. They were roused at once and turned +upon the boat, bellowing loudly. Nansen fired upon the leader, a bull +with tremendous tusks, and he fell over, but the others did not stop. +The boat was pushed off, and at the same moment Nansen shot a second +bull. The remainder of the herd plunged into the water from off the ice +and swam after the boat, rising up alongside it and attempting to drag +it down with their huge tusks. For a time the fight was furious, but the +three men were too strong, and those of the walrus that were not killed +made off under water. The two shot on the ice were secured, but those +shot in the water sank before they could be reached.</p> + +<p>As the men were getting the two from the ice into the boat, an +unfortunate lurch jerked the rifle Nansen had been using overboard. It +was a favourite weapon which he was very loth to lose, and for hours +efforts were made to drag it up, but without success. It was hopelessly +lost, and the first brush with the walrus thus became memorable. A year +or two later there was another adventure with them which was even more +memorable, but many were to be slain by the explorers in the meantime,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> +and many miles were to be covered before that adventure came to pass.</p> + +<p>On September 10 the <i>Fram</i> had made her way through the ice-encumbered +sea as far as Cape Chelyuskin, the most northerly point of Europe. There +was great rejoicing on board, for the fact that such a point had been +reached meant that they would be in the region of the current before +winter set in, and that, when the <i>Fram</i> became frozen in, it would be +in the ice affected by the drift. A week later, the course was altered, +and the <i>Fram</i> was headed for the North. The ice became heavier and +closer as she advanced towards the limit of the ice-floes, and as the +sun was sinking nearer and nearer the horizon, the cold became more +intense at every mile. As long as there was open water ahead the +energetic crew kept working their vessel so as to get her as high up as +possible into the area affected by the current; but when they had passed +the line which marks the limit of the floes, they soon found that +further navigation was impossible. The <i>Fram</i> was soon fast in the ice +and, with winter upon them, the crew made themselves and the ship as +comfortable as they could.</p> + +<p>The builder of the <i>Fram</i> had given attention not alone to the exterior +of the vessel; he had also made the internal arrangements as complete as +possible for the comfort of the explorers during the prolonged period +they were to remain in the ice. Now that they were in the pack, they +realised how<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> well their comfort had been considered. For the matter of +that, they had always found their quarters cosy, even when the <i>Fram</i> +displayed her capabilities of rolling and tossing. The main cabin, in +which they lived, was always warm, and the passage-ways leading from it +to the outside were so skilfully arranged that those on board did not +experience the distressing moisture which was so troublesome on the +<i>Alert</i> and <i>Discovery</i>. The electric light as a substitute for lamps +was also an admirable innovation, for the interior of the cabin was +always brightly lit without the air becoming heavy, as would have been +the case with exposed lamps. A great deal of thought had also been given +to ventilation, with the result that the cabins were never close.</p> + +<p>Over the deck a large screen was erected, tent shape, and above it there +was reared the windmill which drove the electric motor and generated the +electricity for the lights. As the ship was to remain in the ice until +it drifted out again, everything was made snug for a long stay. On the +ice alongside various observatories were erected and scientific +instruments placed to make complete records, and later, a row of +comfortable kennels was made for the accommodation of the dogs.</p> + +<p>These animals at first had been somewhat troublesome. They were so +savage that it was necessary to keep them all tied up on deck, and +during the voyage along the coast they were frequently wet and +miserable, and incessantly howling. Once, rope<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> muzzles were made, and +when each dog was fitted they were allowed loose; but an Arctic dog +requires something stronger than a rope to keep its jaws closed when let +loose among a lot of other Arctic dogs. The result of the experiment was +not a success, except from a dog-fight point of view; when at length the +struggling, snarling, snapping pack were separated, they were tied up +again to the deck until the ship was fast in the ice.</p> + +<p>By that time they were somewhat reconciled to one another; when they had +been allowed to have a scamper or two, with plenty of opportunity to +find out who were the kings and who were not, they settled down into a +big happy family, even making common cause when a stray bear came on +board later in the winter.</p> + +<p>This happened at a time when every one was below in the cabin. Each man +took it in turn to look round the deck every now and again. The man +whose watch it was had not long returned to the cabin when a tremendous +hubbub started among the dogs. The watch returned on deck with a lamp, +but failed to see any cause for the disturbance, and attributed it to a +new election of a king or some other canine ceremony. Later it broke out +once more, and a further inspection was made, when it was discovered +that two dogs were missing.</p> + +<p>The man on watch, carrying his lantern, and accompanied by another +member of the crew, set out over the ice, following what appeared to be +a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> track in the snow. They had not proceeded far when they found +themselves face to face with a bear. It was difficult to say which was +the more surprised, the bear or the men; but as the latter had no weapon +with them they decided that a return to the ship was the best course to +pursue. They turned and started at a run, the man with the lantern, +having heavier boots on, being the slower of the two. More than that, he +was not so agile as his companion, and stumbled frequently. Once he went +down full length, and when he regained his feet he was astounded to see +in the dim twilight, and between himself and the ship, the form of the bear.</p> + +<p>For a moment they stood looking at one another, the dogs at a +respectable distance baying and howling. Then the bear advanced and made +a snap at the man, nipping him in the thigh. The lantern was not a very +heavy one, but it was all the man had with which to defend himself, and, +swinging it round with all his strength, he brought it down on the +bear's head. It made him let go his hold, and a few of the dogs rushing +nearer to him caused him to turn towards them, thus giving the man a +chance to resume his flight, which he immediately did.</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp184.jpg" id="fp184.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp184.jpg" width='700' height='481' alt="THE FRAM IN THE ICE" /></div> + +<p class="bold">THE <i>FRAM</i> IN THE ICE.</p> + +<p class="bold">"The <i>Fram</i> was in 78° 50' N. latitude when she was first frozen in" for +the beginning of the great drift.</p> + +<p>By the time he was able to scramble up on to the vessel he found half of +the crew tumbling out of the cabin with rifles. They ranged themselves +along the side of the ship, and taking a steady aim at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> the bear, which +could be dimly seen in the twilight, all pulled their triggers. They had +forgotten, in the hurry of the moment, how well the firearms had been +greased to prevent them rusting, and so the volley failed to fire a +single shot. Meanwhile the dogs surrounded the bear, snarling and +barking, but not going near enough to bite or get bitten. He looked +wisely round the ring and then started off at a slouching walk, just as +Nansen reached the deck with his rifle. His weapon did not misfire, and +a bullet checked the bear's flight, and, some of the other guns now +being effective, several more were put into him and laid him low. +Subsequent search revealed the remains of the two dogs a little distance +away from the <i>Fram</i>, whither they had been dragged by the bear.</p> + +<p>The <i>Fram</i> was in 78° 50' N. latitude when she was first frozen in, and +the observations for the next few days were watched with a good deal of +interest, as every one was anxious to know whether they were in the +drift, and at what rate they were travelling. A very great surprise was +therefore experienced when it became known that instead of travelling, +as they expected they would, in a north-westerly direction, they were +going south-east. For several days they speculated whether they had +misjudged the place where they would meet the north drift, and had, +instead, become fast in ice which would carry them away, rather than +towards their goal. It was a very unpleasant uncertainty, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> when the +discovery was made that the direction had changed and the vessel was +slowly but surely drifting northward, there was general rejoicing on +board. The ice around the <i>Fram</i> was now over thirty feet in thickness, +and, as it was constantly moving in the drift, so was it also subject to +the pressure which made it heave and pile itself in great rugged broken +masses. There was a constant creaking and groaning in the vast pack +which made it evident that the pressure had begun. Throughout the winter +it would continue, getting more and more severe as the cold became more +intense. Would the <i>Fram</i> justify her designer and builder under the trial?</p> + +<p>It was a very anxious question for those on board. One authority had +said she would become so securely frozen in as to be, to all intents and +purposes, a part of the ice body, and that then, if the ice immediately +in her vicinity began to move and work, nothing could save her from +being crushed into matchwood by the enormous pressure. Well, she was now +frozen into such a mass, and frozen so firmly that she did not budge an +inch when the groaning and creaking told of the straining that was going +on. The surface of the ice, as far as the explorers could see, was +constantly undergoing a change, as the force of the movement pressed +great blocks up in one place, and ground them away in another. Jagged, +rugged masses reared themselves up before the irresistible<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> power, until +they stood forty and fifty feet high. Sometimes they were forced up so +high that they overbalanced and crashed down upon the lower masses with +the roar and rattle of thunder. And yet the <i>Fram</i> never moved.</p> + +<p>Was the expert opinion going to be verified? Would the ship, held by the +grip of the pack, be slowly crushed into fragments directly she was +caught in the line of movement? It was evidently not impossible, and +precautions were taken so as to insure escape if she were to be caught +and crushed. All the boats were taken out on to the ice and filled with +provisions; the dogs were put in kennels also on the ice where they +would be free to escape, and every one was constantly on the alert for +the first sign of the "nip."</p> + +<p>At last it came. They were all at meals when the increased uproar of the +moving ice told them that the movement was nearing the vessel. Then, for +the first time, they heard the ominous sounds of creaking timber. The +<i>Fram</i> was being "nipped."</p> + +<p>Every one hurried out of the cabin to see to the boats and the dogs and +the stores. When they reached the open they found that, close upon her +port side, the ice was heaving and piling up into a great massive wall, +while all around the noise of the fracturing and cracking of huge blocks +was deafening. Slowly the wall rose in the air higher than the vessel's +deck, higher than the bulwarks, and then it began steadily to glide +towards her.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> For the moment it seemed that nothing could save her, and +that the stupendous weight of the gliding wall would soon grind her +solid timbers into splinters, while part of it crashed over her decks +and swept spars and everything away.</p> + +<p>Silent the members of the crew stood on the ice on the starboard side +watching and expecting every second to see the moving mass creep up to +her and pulverise the bold little <i>Fram</i>, rendering them homeless and +shipless. Some of the crushed ice, pushed forward in a huge roll like a +frozen billow, was actually against her side and rising over the tent +covering on the deck. The line of pressure had now reached exactly where +she lay in the ice, and if she did not yield to it and slip from the +grip that held her, she was doomed.</p> + +<p>There was a sound of rending; a groaning crash; the <i>Fram</i> shivered till +the breathless watchers thought they saw her spars tremble. Then, with a +mighty wrench, she broke from the bonds that held her, and slowly rose +from her nest in the ice, slipping upwards and away from the crushing +force. A cheer burst from the lips of every one as she moved, for it +meant not only the realisation of the hopes and ideals of those +concerned in her construction and the complete vindication of their +faith in her, but also the guarantee that the explorers were safely and +securely housed, whatever might transpire.</p> + +<p>When the movement in the ice had subsided, it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> was found that the <i>Fram</i> +had slipped out of harm's way in a marvellous manner. So firmly had she +been frozen in that the spot from whence she had been driven contained a +complete mould of her shape, every seam and mark being reproduced in the +ice. This proved that the test had not only been a severe one, but +conclusive as well, since the vessel had really been frozen so solid +into a mass of ice as to be a part of the mass. Her escape was an +overwhelming disproof of the adverse theories expressed against her, and +an entire victory for Nansen. There was now no question in any one's +mind as to the result of the expedition; the <i>Fram</i>, having stood one +test, would stand any, and nothing could stop her emerging in due course +out on to the open sea again, having drifted very near to the Pole, if +not quite up to it.</p> + +<p>With a feeling of absolute security against further pressures and +movements, the crew returned on board, and once more the cabin echoed to +the light-hearted laughter which had been interrupted by the "nip." The +hardy Norsemen who formed the party were as happy as they were brave, +and throughout the years they were together there was nothing but +good-humour and merriment among them. After the preliminary experience +of how the <i>Fram</i> conducted herself during a "nip," little attention was +paid to the ceaseless noise and roaring set up by the moving ice. Often +she was forced up out of the line of movement, but the men in her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> cabin +sat quiet; she was able to "sail herself" without any help on that ice-locked sea.</p> + +<p>The existence of this constant movement of the ice formed a very +important discovery in Arctic knowledge. A brief explanation of the +causes and the effects may make this clear, and, at the same time, show +how it is that such huge mountains of ice are formed in the depth of +winter when the Polar Sea was currently supposed to be frozen into one +great silent moveless ice-field.</p> + +<p>As winter sets in within the Arctic Circle, the sea which flows between +the northern coasts of Europe, Asia, and America becomes covered with +ice to the shores, thus forming an enormous field of ice some two +thousand miles across. This, lying on the surface of the water, often +having a thickness of from thirty to fifty feet, checks, but cannot +control the tides. The ebb, on one hand, leaves vast tracks of ice, +previously afloat, straining on the ground, cracking so as to form +enormous fissures and weakening the surface resistance. On the other +hand, the flood tide is welling and pressing against the overlying +barrier of ice and lifting it up until it cracks and opens, the pressure +underneath lifting the separated masses on to their neighbours, which in +turn resist with all their weight and grind back upon the masses beyond, +until with the turn of the tide the forced-up masses gravitate down +again, tumbling, crashing, bounding and rebounding one upon the other. +Meanwhile the ice lowered by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> ebb tide has formed a restricted crust +against which the flood tide, backed up by the weight of the disturbed +masses, uses its energy as a man uses his shoulder to lift a load. It is +a battle between the resistance and the energy of nature, and usually +energy wins along the line of the least resistance. Here, when once a +point gives way, the accumulated energy concentrates. The "point" may be +an area of ice a hundred miles square and fifty feet thick, and this +tremendous mass, moved by the immeasurable force of the water pressure +beneath it, grinds upon its surroundings and upon itself. Huge masses +are pushed up on to the surface of the pack, crushing, grinding, and +splintering as they go, their weight causing the under ice to bend and +crack, and so add to the confusion of the struggle. Mass meets mass in a +test of strength, and, failing to climb over one another, crush +together, closer and higher, until there is a diminution of the pressure +from below and they surge back, shattering themselves in the commotion +and yet binding themselves into a single unit strong enough to resist +the next onslaught of the tidal energy.</p> + +<p>Along the shores, where the solid compactness of beetling cliffs holds +back the sweep of the tide, the ice piles itself in mountainous ridges +and chains. Those of greater bulk, taking the ground, offer a resistance +against which the lesser masses can only strain and grind; but away out +in the unfathomable depths of the Polar Sea there is no chance of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> +ice ever grounding. It is always floating, and so always susceptible to +the force of wind, tide, and current. Consequently it is always moving +and feeling the pressure of the water below, of the grinding strain of +the drift, and of the surface disturbances brought about by the constant displacement.</p> + +<p>Any one who has seen a pond in winter, when the ice round the edge is +rotten and when a breeze blows across it, is aware how the loose sheet +which covers the centre creaks and groans as it is driven against the +bank. The edge is shivered into small flakes before the resistance can +stop the forward movement, and then the sheet moves back against the +breeze until once more the power of the wind controls it, and there is a +renewed straining along the bank, the previously broken flakes either +being forced up on to the bank, or else under, or over, the edge of the +sheet. Pieces a yard square slowly rise up on end before the pressure +and, falling back, shiver into fragments which scurry across the smooth +surface of the sheet until they are arrested and become frozen to the +main surface. Everywhere when the forward movement is on there is noise +of creaking, groaning, and cracking, and everywhere on the ice sheet +there is evidence of the force exerted.</p> + +<p>The Arctic Ocean may be likened to such a pond, only two thousand miles +across and with ice upon its surface which never melts and is always +being forced one way or the other by tide, wind, or current. The rugged, +piled-up fragments of one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> winter's fight are smoothed over somewhat +later on by the heavy snows of spring and summer, or, more correctly +speaking, of the period of daylight, for in this region the year is +divided between the time when the sun is seen and when the sun is not +seen. Along the shores of the continents which surround it, open water +forms in the time of sunshine, and so there is room for the energy of +the tides to escape. The currents can also, from time to time, break off +great areas into floes and packs which drift away to the warmer South +until they melt, leaving more room for the enormous stretch of tumbled +ruggedness behind them to swing and drift in obedience to the driving +currents. It will be remembered that it was at this period of the year +when the <i>Alert</i> party travelled over the ice and found it so broken and +rugged that barely a mile a day was covered. It was while this sort of +ice was being formed that the <i>Fram</i> and her crew rested in the North, +the vessel braving every nip by slipping upwards from the pressure; the +crew, confident in her capabilities, living in merry good-humour in her +cabin. What the confusion of the ice was like may be gathered from the +opinion of those who saw it when the return of the sun enabled them to +do so, and also relieved the pressure. "Imagine a stormy sea, all broken +waves and flying billows, suddenly frozen solid into ice, and you have +some idea, on a small scale, of the piled-up hummocks on the pack."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span></p><p>And so the first winter passed, the members of the expedition keeping +not alone in good temper and spirits, but in good health also. There was +always something doing; observations of temperature and ice movements to +be taken, and records to be kept of the atmospheric and astronomical +phenomena, on the scientific side; and on the every-day side of life, +there were meals to get ready, stores to be overhauled and distributed, +dogs to be fed, and a dozen other items to attend to. One of the +happiest features of this expedition was the sincere and thorough +good-fellowship which existed between all the members. Some of them took +turn about in the cook's galley, each one trying to produce some dish +which would come as a surprise to the mess and a variety to the usual +bill of fare. Then they were excellently supplied with books to read and +indoor games to fill in the odd hours of leisure. A newspaper was +started, and although it was somewhat deficient in foreign news, there +was plenty of local intelligence to keep it going until the return of +the sun. Inside the cabin there was constantly heard the hearty laugh as +some jest passed round, and under the illumination of the electric light +and the spell of good-fellowship, but little heed was paid to the +constant noise made outside in the darkness of the Arctic night by the ever-moving ice.</p> + +<p>When the sun's approach was heralded by a gradually increasing twilight, +every one was full of curiosity to learn how far they had drifted in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> +the ice during the winter, and whether the current had maintained its +northerly direction. There was no chance of proving that during the long +hours of darkness, and when, with the appearance of the sun above the +horizon, observations were taken to verify calculations already made, +with the result that a great advance to the North was shown, there was +general rejoicing. If the direction were maintained during the coming +summer and the following winter, it was not impossible that in a year's +time the <i>Fram</i> might be drifting over the very Pole itself. The flag of +Norway was run up to the masthead in honour of the occasion, and at the +supper-table speeches were made foreshadowing the glory which would be +won if the direction of the current were maintained.</p> + +<p>With the return of sunlight a great deal had to be done in the +verification of the observations taken during the winter. As the weather +became warmer it was possible to penetrate through the ice so as to +enable them to take soundings as to the depth of the sea. Photographs of +the ice-field were taken, so as to form companion pictures of what it +was before and after the winter pressure had been exerted, and short +expeditions by dog-sledge and snow-shoes (<i>ski</i>, as the Norwegian form +is termed) were taken. A bear track was seen one day, but as Bruin did +not seem desirous of approaching the ship, Captain Sverdrup, who +commanded the vessel, set to work and devised a highly ingenious<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> trap +for him. The trap was fixed up on a hummock in the vicinity, where it +could be watched from the <i>Fram</i>, but where it would be quiet enough to +tempt the bear. A strong-smelling bait was fastened to it, so that when +the bear seized the bait he would spring the jaws of the trap and get +caught round the neck. Then, when all was ready, a constant watch was +kept for Bruin to appear. He came when every one was about the ship, and +as he was seen slouching over the hummocks, all eyes were turned upon +him. Scenting the bait, he quickened his steps and went up to the trap, +holding his head high up and sniffing for the bait. Having caught sight +of it, he walked slowly round the trap until he came opposite the bait +again, when he slowly rose on to his hind-legs and reached out for the +morsel. Every one on board held their breath in anticipation of seeing +him caught, but there was something about the concern which aroused his +suspicions. Probably he had never seen such an animal before and doubted +its quality, for he drew his head back, lowered himself on to all-fours, +and slowly trotted away. The bear-trap was no success for killing bears, +but it afforded excellent entertainment during this occasion, and formed +a never-failing source of good-natured chaff afterwards.</p> + +<p>As the short summer passed, the drift turned persistently to the west, +and in view of its continuing in that direction, preparations were made<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> +for a dash by sledge to the North in the following period of sunlight. +The framework of two kayaks were on board, and these were brought out +and put together on the ice alongside the vessel. When they were covered +with skins, they were packed on two light sledges, and experiments were +made as to the amount of provisions that could be stored on the sledges +in addition. With a third sledge for stores, it was found that +twenty-eight dogs would be able to drag enough food to last two men for +one hundred days and the dogs thirty days, besides the kayaks, guns, +ammunition, and other necessaries.</p> + +<p>It was a critical venture to undertake, for once the sledge party left +the ship and journeyed to the North, it was almost an absolute +impossibility that they would be able to find the ship again. All they +would be able to do was to go as far as they could and then turn back +again, shaping their course to the Spitzbergen Islands, where it was +anticipated the <i>Fram</i> would eventually drift. Whether they would be +able to traverse the distance before their food gave out, and whether +they would be able to replenish their provisions by shooting game, were +two very important problems, and, in addition, there was also the +question how they would be able to withstand the intense cold of the +winter if compelled to spend it on the ice.</p> + +<p>As the darkness set in again, the discussion frequently turned to the +prospects of the dash being<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> successful. Nansen decided that he should +be one of the two, selecting Lieutenant Hjalmar Johansen, of the +Norwegian Navy, as his companion. Lieutenant Johansen had joined the +expedition as stoker, subsequently acting as the meteorological +assistant, and his choice by the leader was amply justified by results. +The winter having passed without mishap, the reappearance of the sun +verified the fears as to the direction of the drift. All through the +winter they had travelled more to the West than the North. The dash by +sledge was imperative.</p> + +<p>On March 14, 1895, the two adventurers, with their three sledges, two +kayaks, and twenty-eight dogs, bade adieu to their comrades, who had +come out a part of the way with them from the <i>Fram</i>, and started due +north along the 100th parallel of East longitude. The <i>Fram</i> had already +drifted to the 84th parallel of latitude, farther North than had yet been attained.</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp198.jpg" id="fp198.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp198.jpg" width='700' height='465' alt="NANSEN AND JOHANSEN START ON THEIR DASH FOR THE POLE" /></div> + +<p class="bold">NANSEN AND JOHANSEN START ON THEIR DASH FOR THE POLE.</p> + +<p class="bold">On March 14, 1895, they left the <i>Fram</i>, and returned to Norway in the +<i>Windward</i> on August 13, 1895, having reached 86° 14' N. lat., the +highest point, up to that time, attained by man.</p> + +<p>For the first few days travelling was slow, heavy, and laborious, the +ice being excessively rough and rugged. Time after time the two men had +to haul the sledges, one after another, over the broken hummocks; but +always at the end of each period of travel when they formed their camp, +the Pole was nearer. On March 22 they reached 85° 10' N. lat. The ice +they were journeying over now was not only rough but was constantly +moving, the noise being incessant as the masses ground and strained +against one another. But still they pushed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> on, taking such rest as they +could and working hard, when not in camp, from the moment they started +until the moment the camp was made. On April 7 they had reached 86° 14' +N. lat., the highest point ever, up to that time, attained by man, and +only some two hundred miles from the Pole.</p> + +<p>The ice was indescribably rugged and broken, necessitating the lifting +of the sledges at almost every yard; the temperature averaged 40° below +zero; their clothes were frozen into hard suits of mail, and their +sleeping-bags were also frozen stiff. They had to sleep in the frozen +bags out in the open, the temperature once being as low as 49° below +zero. They had reached the "farthest North," and had learned enough to +satisfy them that up to the Pole there was nothing but a continuation of +the broken, rugged ice, straining and breaking under the pressure of the +drift, and they decided to turn back, making towards the nearest land +for winter quarters.</p> + +<p>This was Franz Josef Land, lying to the south-west of where they were, +and if they reached it in time to pass the winter on shore, they would +be able, they believed, to resume their journey to Spitzbergen in the +following summer. Arrived there, they did not anticipate any difficulty +in getting home on board a Norwegian whaler, if the <i>Fram</i> had not meantime arrived.</p> + +<p>They were now travelling in continual daylight, with a task before them +every hour of surmounting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> the steep sides of hummocks. For hours they +toiled on, making as much progress as they could between the camps. The +work they were performing was scarcely, one would think, likely to make +them forget when it was time to sleep. And yet there was an occasion +when for thirty-six hours they struggled on without a sleep. The food +for the dogs was daily growing scarcer, and they were anxious to get on +as far as possible before it was finished. When, therefore, they came +upon a stretch of fairly smooth ice, they made the most of it, and only +when they and their dogs were dead tired did they stop. It was their +custom to always wind up their watches when they crept into their +sleeping-bag; on this occasion when they took them from under their +heavy clothing they discovered that both had stopped. In their anxiety +to push forward they had forgotten to wind them up, and the springs had +run down during the thirty-six hours. There was nothing to do but guess +at what the time ought to be, and so they overcame this difficulty as +they overcame all others, by making the best of it.</p> + +<p>Their next trouble was the failure of the dog food. When the first dog +died they kept him, for unless they fell in with a bear and killed it, +the bodies of the weaker dogs was all that they could give the stronger +ones to keep them alive. At first the dogs turned away from the remains +of their comrade, but soon their hunger overcame their scruples, and the +ravenous creatures fought over<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> the carcase as soon as it was offered to +them. Then came the necessity of killing one of them every now and again +to feed the others; much as it went against their natures to do it, the +explorers had to choose between it and death to themselves.</p> + +<p>By the end of April they expected to reach land, but April passed and +May passed, and still only the rugged ice was in view. One by one the +dogs had to be sacrificed until only two remained. The weight of the +sledges was also very considerably reduced by this time. The third +sledge had been abandoned, and now each man, assisted by one dog, +dragged a sledge on which rested his kayak, his <i>ski</i>, firearms, and +other necessaries, as well as a moiety of the remaining stores. June +came in and still no land was in sight, but the character of the ice was +changing, though not very much for the better. It was not so rugged and +hummocky, but it was frequently intersected by channels mostly full of +floating pieces. It was useless taking to the kayaks to cross them, and +often impossible to go round, so they adopted the method of jumping from +piece to piece, and drawing their sledges after them. On June 22 they +came upon a seal, which they succeeded in shooting and securing, a fact +which was so memorable that they rested for a day, giving the dogs an +ample supply of the meat. But the rest was scarcely idleness, for they +were visited by three bears, all of which also fell<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> under bullets. They +now had abundance of food, both for themselves and the dogs, to last a +few weeks if they did not come in sight of the land. Two days later, +however, they saw it, lying ahead of them, and they pushed on till a +wide, open channel stopped them.</p> + +<p>It was evident that the kayaks would have to be used in getting across, +and they were taken from the sledges and examined. The result of the +rough handling they had undergone in the journey over the ice was +manifest in many a crack and hole in the skin-covering, but how to +repair them was a question which taxed even the ingenuity and enterprise +of the two intrepid Norsemen. They had enough skins to make patches, and +twine with which to stitch them on. It was the making of some waterproof +coating for the stitch-holes that puzzled them. They possessed a little +train-oil, and by fixing up an arrangement over their spirit cooking +stove, they obtained a little soot, which was mixed with the oil and +used as paint. It was not a very artistic compound, but it was the best +they could make, and it kept the water out. Then the kayaks were +carefully fastened together by the <i>ski</i>, and upon them was laid the +sledges and the stores.</p> + +<p>When everything had been made fast, the explorers prepared to launch +them. Johansen was behind Nansen, and stooping down, when he heard +something moving at his back. Thinking it was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> only one of the dogs, he +did not look round, and the next thing he knew was that something hit +him beside the head, so that, in his own words, "he saw fireworks." He +fell forward, and immediately felt a heavy body upon him. He managed to +turn partly round, and saw just above his face the head of a huge bear.</p> + +<p>Nansen, ignorant of what had occurred, was bending over his end of the +kayak, when he heard Johansen exclaim, "Get a gun." Glancing round, he +saw his comrade lying under the bear, gripping its throat with both hands.</p> + +<p>With everything securely tied to the kayaks, it was no easy matter to +extricate the weapon, and Nansen was pulling and tugging at the cords to +get them loose, so as to drag the rifle from its place, when he heard +Johansen say, "You will have to hurry if you don't want to be too late."</p> + +<p>The two dogs, all that were left of the twenty-eight, were standing +snarling at the bear, and as Johansen spoke the one which always +travelled with him approached nearer. The bear, having his attention for +the moment distracted, stepped off Johansen, who immediately wriggled +away and scrambled to his feet. Just as the bear turned on to the dog, +Nansen wrenched a gun from the piled-up stores. Swinging round, he found +the bear close beside him, and he pulled the first trigger he touched. +It fired the barrel loaded with shot, but so near was the bear that the +charge<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> entered behind the ear without having time to scatter, and +brought him down dead between Nansen and Johansen.</p> + +<p>The former was terribly afraid that his companion had been seriously +injured, but the only mark the bear had left was a streak across the +face where the dirt had been scraped away. As they had not washed their +faces since they left the <i>Fram</i>, there was a thick covering of dirt on +them, and the bear's claw, as it passed over Johansen's face, had +scraped this away, leaving the white skin to show through. The bear was +a mother, and had two cubs following it. The explorers took away the +skin and some of the meat, the cubs meanwhile standing some distance +away whining and growling. A shot was fired which wounded one, whereupon +they made off, though only to return and follow the travellers in the +distance, until a wide, long channel turned them back.</p> + +<p>When the stores had been repacked, the two men, with the two dogs, +entered the kayaks and paddled away down the channel, landing some hours +later on the other side. The land they had first seen appeared to be the +outlying point of an island, but growing mists obscured it for a day or +so, and in the meantime they were somewhat puzzled to locate it. The +fact that their watches had stopped earlier on the journey made them +uncertain as to the exact locality they were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> in. The direction in which +they had noticed the land, and its appearance, also puzzled them, for +there was no land marked on their map at the place where they believed +they were. Possibly they might be near a hitherto undiscovered island, +and with that thought uppermost in their minds they hastened forward as +quickly as the broken character of the ice would allow. For the +remainder of June, and the whole of July, they were battling against +broken ice and irregular channels, and the distance covered was as +nothing compared with the amount of toil experienced. The land, whenever +it appeared, was still unlike anything previously recorded, for it now +seemed to be of considerable extent.</p> + +<p>On August 6 they came upon a stretch of open water, on the other side of +which they saw four islands, the heights of which were covered with +glacier. They determined that they would winter on the shore of one of +the four, and the kayaks were launched and laden with everything for the +journey across the open water. It was more perilous than merely crossing +channels in the ice, and when they had stored all their provisions, +weapons, and other necessaries on the two frail little craft, they found +that it would not be safe to carry the dogs as well. But they could not +bring themselves to leave the faithful creatures on the ice; they +elected rather to shoot them, scanty as their supply of ammunition was, +and upon this decision<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> they acted, each one shooting the dog which had +been the other's comrade. It was the saddest task that their +difficulties had imposed upon them, and only the absolute necessity for +their safety and the completion of their journey induced them to do it.</p> + +<p>Sailing down the open water, they skirted along the coast of the strange +land, on the lookout for a favourable spot to pitch their camp. As soon +as they came to a place which recommended itself to them, they ran +ashore and landed their kayaks and stores. The place was merely a +barren, rocky coast, sheltered somewhat by the high ground behind, but +without a trace of vegetation. On the beach one piece of drift-wood was +found. In addition, there were plenty of small boulders, but such +material was scarcely sufficient for the building of a hut in which to +pass the dreary, cold, dark winter.</p> + +<p>They overhauled their stores, and found they possessed two guns, some +cartridges, a small hatchet, and two knives. With the hatchet, after +considerable labour, they cut through the piece of drift-wood, and +rejoiced in the possession of a suitable ridge-pole for the centre of +the roof. Stones were collected and built into a low wall, within which +all their property, except the guns, kayaks, and knives, was placed. +Then, with the unstored articles, they set out along the coast and the +floating ice to seek the wherewithal to complete the house.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span></p><p>Walrus was the first essential, for the hide would afford a covering +for the roof, the blubber would furnish fuel for the stove, and the meat +would be useful as food. They spied two lying at the edge of a piece of +ice, and approaching with the utmost caution, succeeded in shooting +both. Their weight, however, as they fell over, caused them to slide +from the ice, and they were in the water before the men could reach +them. They secured the carcases, so as to prevent them from either +sinking or drifting away, and essayed to haul them up on to the ice +again so as to remove the hides and blubber. But the combined strength +of the two men was insufficient to pull one of the huge carcases up on +to the ice again, and they were compelled to strip the skin and blubber +off as the walrus lay in the water. This necessitated their lying upon +the floating carcases, and by the time the operation was completed, +their already travel-stained clothing was rendered still more +uncomfortable by being saturated with blood and fat.</p> + +<p>Returning to the camp with their walrus hides and blubber, they explored +the ridge lying behind the spot, and were fortunate in finding some +moss, which they carefully gathered and carried away to assist in the +building of the hut. The walls they had made of the stones allowed for +an internal space of about ten feet long by not quite six feet wide. The +crevices between the stones they filled in with moss and gravel, and +then stretching the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> walrus hides over the ridge-pole, they weighted +them down with more stones. Over all of it they heaped snow and ice, and +in order to avoid suffocation by the smoke of their blubber cooking +stove, they constructed an ice-chimney, which, however, did not always +carry off the smoke, while it frequently thawed at the base, and made +the interior very draughty. Their guns, <i>ski</i>, and other articles and +stores, they placed inside the hut, leaving the kayaks outside; and when +everything was stored conveniently, they built a wall as a screen to +keep the wind from out of the door, and hung a curtain of skins across +the doorway. The floor of the hut was composed of stones which no +ingenuity of theirs could render smooth or even, and upon it their +sleeping-bag, the fur of which was almost worn entirely away, was stretched.</p> + +<p>As soon as the hut was finished the two set out on foot in search of +bears for winter provisions, and were happy in finding sufficient to +enable them to fill their larder with enough meat to last them well into +the following summer. This they stored on the top of the hut, and during +the long winter night they often heard foxes over their heads gnawing at +the frozen mass. They had not enough cartridges to waste on shooting +them, and as there was more meat than they would want, they let the +foxes feed in peace. Bear's meat, fried at night and boiled in the +morning, was the only food they had; when the long dark night set in, +with the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> temperature inside the hut barely above freezing point, they +lay in their sleeping-bag side by side, generally for twenty-two hours +out of the twenty-four. The inside of the walrus-hide roof became +covered with frost and ice, upon which the black from the blubber-fed +stove settled; the stone floor was so uneven that they gave up trying to +make it smooth, and lay as comfortably as they could under the +circumstances, with their feet nearly touching one side of the hut and +their heads the other. From November until the following March they were +undisturbed, except by the sounds of the foxes on the roof and the +howling of the wind, and a picturesque glimpse is given by Nansen of +their life in his diary entry made on December 24, 1895, when the +temperature inside the hut was 11° below zero.</p> + +<p>"And this is Christmas Eve; cold and blowy out of doors, and cold and +draughty indoors. How desolate it is here! We have never had such a +Christmas before. The bells are now ringing in the Christmas festival at +home; I can hear the sound of them swinging out through the air from the +church towers. How beautiful it sounds! Now the candles are being lit on +the Christmas trees, and flocks of children are let in and dance round +in exuberant glee. Must have a Christmas party for children when I get +home. We, too, are keeping the festival in our little way. Johansen has +turned his shirt, and has put the outer one inside.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> I have done the +same, and have changed my drawers as well, and put on the others which I +had wrung out in warm water. And then I have washed myself in a quarter +of a cup of warm water, using the discarded drawers as sponge and towel. +I feel like a new being; my clothes do not stick to my body as much as +they did. Then for supper we had fish 'gratin,' made of potted fish and +Indian meal, with train-oil for butter—fried or boiled both equally +dry—and as sweets we had bread fried in train-oil. To-morrow morning we +are going to have chocolate and bread."</p> + +<p>Where a turned shirt and a bath in a tea-cup formed the physical +luxuries, and bread fried in train-oil and chocolate comprised the +feast, in celebration of Christmas Day, it is not difficult to picture +the amount of enjoyment available for every-day use, nor is it difficult +to understand that they sighed even for a railway time-table to peruse. +But yet they kept their health, their spirits, and their tempers. The +rough stones under their sleeping-bag seem to have been the only thing +they could not turn into a jest. When one snored too loudly to allow the +other to sleep, it was only necessary for the victim to move; they lay +so close together for warmth that a movement was equal to a dig in the +back, and that meant waking the snorer by changing his position on the +knobbly boulders from ease to discomfort.</p> + +<p>At length the approach of the sun became <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span>manifest by the gradually +brightening twilight, and the arrival of a flock of little auks reminded +them that spring was at hand. They celebrated the occasion by boiling +their clothes, one article at a time, in the only pot they possessed, +and then scraping the grease and dirt from them by the aid of a knife, +so as to render them soft enough for travelling, as it was beyond the +question to get them clean. The sooty smoke from the winter's cooking +had thoroughly begrimed their faces, and all they could do to get clean +was first to try and scrape the dirt off with the knife, and then rub +themselves all over with bear's grease and wipe it off with moss.</p> + +<p>By the middle of May the water along the shore was sufficiently open to +permit of their starting in the kayaks on the journey which they +expected would end at Spitzbergen. On May 19, 1896, they bade adieu to +their winter camp, having packed everything on the kayaks, which they +fastened together for convenience and stability. Sometimes they had to +get out on to the ice which blocked the channel and drag the kayaks over +to the open water on the other side; sometimes they sailed and sometimes +they paddled. They passed numbers of walrus lying on the ice, the great +monsters paying no heed to them whatever. Once they landed on a mass of +ice which rose high out of the water, in order to climb to the top of it +and examine the coast line, for they were still in very<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> great doubt +whether they were off the shore of a hitherto undiscovered island or not.</p> + +<p>They made the kayaks fast to a projecting piece of ice, and together +climbed up to the top of the hummocks. As they reached the summit they +looked back to the spot where they had left the kayaks, and were +horrified to see them adrift. Already they were some distance away from +the ice, and, being tied together, they were going rapidly down the +channel. For a moment the sight held the two men motionless, for the +kayaks represented their only means of escape. Everything beyond the +clothes in which they stood was stored on board, and to be left on the +ice without food, arms, or shelter, was almost certain death.</p> + +<p>There was only one desperate means of salvation, and that Nansen took. +Dashing down the hummock, he plunged into the ice-cold water and struck +out after the retreating kayaks.</p> + +<p>Weighted by his stiff, heavy, grease-sodden clothes, he had the utmost +difficulty in swimming at all; but there was a greater handicap even +than his clothes in the low temperature of the water. It struck through +him with a chill which reached to his bones, numbing his muscles, and +making his joints lose their suppleness. The breeze which was blowing +helped the kayaks along, but only increased his discomfort. Soon he felt +that the fight was only a matter of minutes for as the coldness numbed +him more and more, he realised<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> that unless he overtook the kayaks +quickly he would go to the bottom like a stone. The cold penetrated to +his lungs, so that he gasped for breath; his hands and feet lost all +feeling, and his eyes were growing blurred as he nerved himself for a +final desperate struggle. Swimming as hard as his strength of will and +muscle could command, he succeeded in coming within touch of the light +drifting craft. The fact that the two were fastened together was of the +utmost importance under the circumstances, for had they been separate he +could never have clambered into one in his benumbed and exhausted +condition. As it was, he managed to get one arm over the <i>ski</i> which +formed the coupling between the kayaks. His hands were too cold to grip +and he hung for a few seconds resting, till the growing chill in his +limbs warned him of the danger he was in of becoming frozen. With a +superb effort of determination, he raised himself until he was able to +lift a leg over the side of one of the kayaks, and then struggled on +board, where he lay for a minute or so trying to recover his breath.</p> + +<p>Still fearing the cold, he grasped a paddle and set to work vigorously +to force the kayaks back to the ice on which Johansen was standing. The +exertion caused his blood to circulate once more, and, by the time he +had reached the ice, the deadly chill was out of his frame. There were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> +no dry clothes to put on in place of his wet ones, and all that could be +done was to wring them out, and then, working hard to keep up his +circulation, wait till they dried on his back.</p> + +<p>In order to prevent another such occurrence, the kayaks were freed from +each other, Nansen occupying one with half the provisions and stores, +and Johansen the other. Two days after the break away they had reason to +be thankful they had made this arrangement. They were skirting along the +ice at the time, and suddenly came upon a herd of walrus. Instead of +quietly watching them go past, as was usually the case, a huge bull slid +off the ice with a roar, and swam rapidly towards Nansen's kayak.</p> + +<p>Diving as he came near to it, Nansen anticipated that he intended rising +immediately underneath it, and so capsizing it. He therefore paddled as +hard as he could, when the walrus rose by his side. It reared high out +of the water, towering over the kayak and its occupant, and only by the +quickest of manœuvres was Nansen able to avoid having it fall upon +him. Baulked in that attempt, the walrus swam alongside and, plunging +its tusks through the frail covering of the kayak, strove to upset it +with its flipper.</p> + +<p>Nansen swung his paddle in the air, and bringing it down with all his +strength on the monster's head, caused it again to rear in the water. +Paddling furiously directly the brute's tusks were withdrawn,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> he +managed to elude it till it sank, when he made for the ice, reaching it +just in time, the water having almost swamped the kayak through the +holes the walrus had made with his tusks.</p> + +<p>When the damaged kayak was taken out of the water, the injury was found +to be more extensive than at first supposed. The two explorers +determined to stay where they were for a few days, so as to thoroughly +overhaul and repair their kayaks, and have a good rest before commencing +the difficult journey which was to be negotiated before they could +arrive at Spitzbergen. They made as comfortable a camp as they could on +the ice, and, after supper, got into the sleeping-bag and rested +peacefully. Nansen was first awake, and, having crept out of the bag, +set to work preparing breakfast. It was ready before Johansen was, and +not wishing to disturb his comrade, Nansen put on his <i>ski</i> and set out +for a "constitutional" over the ice. He had not proceeded far when he +heard a sound which made his heart jump. It was the bark of a dog.</p> + +<p>Hurrying back, he told Johansen, and then set out in the direction +whence the sound had come, in search of, as he believed, a whaling ship. +He had not gone very far when he saw in the distance two moving specks. +There was evidently a whaler in the neighbourhood, he told himself, and +redoubled his efforts. As he approached the two specks they became +clearer, until he saw<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> distinctly that one was a man and the other a +dog.</p> + +<p>The man noticed him and waved his hat, to which Nansen replied by waving +his; as they came nearer, he heard the man speak to his dog in English.</p> + +<p>"How do you do?" he said to Nansen when they met.</p> + +<p>"How do you do?" Nansen answered, as they shook hands. "Are you +wintering near here?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; our camp is over there. Won't you come across?" the other replied. +"I think we can find room for you, if you will."</p> + +<p>Nansen, never dreaming but that he was recognised, assented, although he +wondered why the man did not ask him about the <i>Fram</i>. Presently his +companion looked at him closely and said: "Are you Nansen?"</p> + +<p>"Of course I am," the explorer answered, and at once both his hands were +clasped in a hearty grasp as his companion quickly expressed his congratulations.</p> + +<p>"I was not certain," he explained. "When I saw you in London you were a +fair man with light hair, but now your face and hair are black, and for +the moment I did not know you. My name is Jackson."</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp216.jpg" id="fp216.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp216.jpg" width='506' height='700' alt="THE MEETING OF JACKSON AND NANSEN" /></div> + +<p class="bold">THE MEETING OF JACKSON AND NANSEN.</p> + +<p class="bold">Nansen and Jackson returned to Norway in the <i>Windward</i>, the ship of the +Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition, on August 13, 1896.</p> + +<p>Nansen had forgotten that his face and hair were still begrimed with the +dirt and grease of months of travel, and that his own family might have +been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> forgiven for not recognising in the unkempt, travel-stained, +long-haired man, the smart, well-set-up Norwegian doctor. Now, however, +that he was known, he listened with great interest to the information +that his companion, Mr. F. G. Jackson, leader of the Jackson-Harmsworth +expedition, was able to give him. When they reached the encampment of +the party on Cape Flora, every one turned out in answer to the leader's +call and gave the intrepid explorer a characteristic British greeting. +Then they photographed him, as he stood, before they took him into the +house and supplied him with the luxury he had not known for more than a +year—of a cake of soap and a change of clothes.</p> + +<p>While he was enjoying his bath, his hosts exchanged opinions. The fact +that he had arrived on foot and alone suggested to them the idea that he +was the only survivor of the thirteen who had set out in the <i>Fram</i>, and +they decided to make no reference to what might be a very unhappy +memory. Consequently, when Nansen reappeared, clean and comfortably +clad, they had a meal ready for him, and urged him to set to at once. He +looked at them and asked where his comrade Johansen was. Had they not +brought him in? Of course they knew nothing about Johansen; they +believed Nansen was the only survivor, and he had been so long out of +the world that it had never occurred to him it was necessary to tell +them Johansen was waiting for him to return to breakfast. When two men +see no one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> else but themselves for more than a year, it is not to be +wondered at that they forget the rest of the world is not in touch with them.</p> + +<p>As soon as he mentioned the fact that Johansen was in the neighbourhood, +a party at once started off to fetch him, and the worthy lieutenant was +as much surprised as they had been when they came upon him. They at once +took charge of him and his belongings, and a few hours later he and +Nansen, well washed, well clad, and well fed, were smoking cigars in +comfortable chairs in the dining-room of the hospitable Jackson's +quarters, the heroes of the occasion.</p> + +<p>Three weeks later they were sailing south to Norway in the <i>Windward</i>, +and arrived at Vardo on August 13, 1896. A week later the <i>Fram</i> entered +the same port, with all her crew in good health, and with nearly three +years' supplies still on board.</p> + +<p>The record of her voyage, after the departure of Nansen and Johansen on +March 14, 1895, was very satisfactory. She drifted steadily in the ice +towards the north-west until she touched as high as 85° 57' N. At the +end of February 1896 she became stationary, and remained so until the +middle of July, when the crew forced a passage through the ice into open +water, and from thence the <i>Fram</i> sailed to Norway. The first news the +crew received on arrival at Vardo was that Nansen and Johansen had +reached there just a week before. They had had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> some misgivings as to +the safety of their two adventurous comrades, and the news of their +return cleared away the only sign of uneasiness from the otherwise happy +minds of the men who formed one of the most successful expeditions that +has ever set out in search of the North Pole.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span>CHAPTER IX</span> <span class="smaller">FRANZ JOSEF LAND AND SPITZBERGEN</span></h2> + +<blockquote><p>The Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition—Object of the Expedition—An +Interesting Experiment—The Franz Josef Land Question settled—A +Group of Islands, not a Continent—Conway at Spitzbergen—Ancient +History—Bygone Splendours—Scenery in the Making—The Romance of +Andrée—Another Riddle.</p></blockquote> + +<p>The interest and admiration aroused by the brilliant achievements of the +Nansen expedition eclipsed in the public mind, for the time being, the +work of other and contemporary expeditions, the members of which, +nevertheless, were doing admirable service to the cause of science in +and about the Arctic Circle. Prominent among these may be mentioned the +Jackson-Harmsworth expedition to Franz Josef Land (whose presence there +was of such signal service to Nansen and Johansen when, as is related in +the preceding chapter, they emerged from their historic dash for the +Pole), the Conway exploration of Spitzbergen, and the aeronautical +attempt to reach the Pole made by Herr Andrée.</p> + +<p>The Jackson-Harmsworth expedition left London on July 11, 1894, in the +steam yacht <i>Windward</i>, Captain Browne, for Franz Josef Land, and +comprised the leader, Mr. Frederick G. Jackson; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span>Lieutenant Armitage, +R.N.R., astronomer; Dr. Kottlitz, medical officer; Mr. W. S. Bruce, +zoologist; and Messrs. Wilton and Heywood. A complete outfit, with +stores and provisions for three years was taken. It is an interesting +fact that this undertaking was the first instance of an individual +London newspaper proprietor displaying the generous enterprise which +owners of great American journals had already shown. Lord Northcliffe +(then Mr. Alfred Harmsworth) contributed to the expedition the most +necessary factor for a prolonged stay in the Arctic regions, the sinews of war.</p> + +<p>On arrival at Franz Josef Land, a site for the camp was selected near +Cape Flora, and the camp, to which the name Elmwood was given, was laid +out. It consisted of a Russian log-house and several canvas houses, as +the first intention was to lodge the members in the canvas structures. +But very little experience showed that canvas was not the most +comfortable material for residential purposes in Arctic regions, so the +whole party moved into the log-house, using the canvas structures for +warehousing stores. Here they lived during the three years that the +expedition was away, and so well off were they that during the whole +period not one member had a day's illness. As the leader said on his +return to England in 1897, "a jollier, healthier, and busier little +community never existed." They were always busy, and every moment of the +day was occupied. Even<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> in the dark winter period they found constant +employment for their hands and minds.</p> + +<p>In the high latitude where they were the sun set for the last time about +the middle of October, and was not again visible until the latter end of +February. From the day the sun went below the horizon until the middle +of November there was about a couple of hours faint twilight at "noon," +but, after that, midday and midnight were not to be distinguished by any +change in the light of the sky. It was always dark.</p> + +<p>During this period, when the members were in winter quarters, they kept +very regular hours. At 8.30 <span class="smaller">A.M.</span> they had breakfast, and when the meal +was over each one took up some part of the household duties—washing the +dishes, making the beds, sweeping the rooms, feeding the dogs, and such +like. Unless the weather was very stormy, a couple of hours was spent in +exercise over the snow on <i>ski</i>, or if the weather was too inclement to +allow them to go far away, they spent the two hours in exercising round +the house. At 2 <span class="smaller">P.M.</span> they gathered again round the dining-table and +partook of tea, bread and butter, and cheese, spending the afternoon in +making tents and harness for the sledge dogs, or anything else that was +wanted. At 7.30 <span class="smaller">P.M.</span> they had dinner, passing the remainder of the +evening in reading, smoking, games, &c., until 11.30 <span class="smaller">P.M.</span>, when they +retired to their bunks.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span></p><p>Of food they always had plenty, living very largely on the game killed. +During the last winter they were at Elmwood a chief article of diet was +an Arctic bird, the loon. Great numbers of these visited the islands in +the mild seasons, and in the autumn before the expedition returned 1400 +were shot and frozen for winter food. As the loons only arrive during +the mild season and disappear as soon as winter sets in, Mr. Jackson, in +the last autumn he was at Elmwood, caught a number both of loons and +kittiwakes, and having attached a copper label to each, with the letter +J. engraved upon it, liberated the lot. By this means it is hoped to +learn where the birds go to in the winter, for should any bird bearing a +copper label be shot in Scotland, Norway, or elsewhere, it will show +where their refuge is situated.</p> + +<p>The primary object of the expedition was to make a complete exploration +of Franz Josef Land, which was formerly considered to be merely the +southern extremity of a vast tract of land, possibly a second Greenland, +and extending up towards the Pole. The result of the three years' work +was to effectually disprove this opinion by showing that in place of a +continent there was only a group of small scattered islands. Various +voyagers had returned from time to time and reported observations of +land in the locality, with high mountain ranges. Gillies Land, Petermann +Land, and King Oscar Land all had existence on the maps; but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> the +Jackson-Harmsworth party could only find scattered islands where the +coast of Franz Josef Land was charted, and hummocks of piled-up ice +where mountain ridges had been seen. Of Gillies Land, Petermann Land, +and King Oscar Land no trace could be found. When the expedition went on +board the <i>Windward</i> to return to England, the vessel steamed north-west +for fifty miles without seeing any indication of land, the water being +open and with less ice than would have been probable had land been near. +And yet they were in the locality where Gillies Land was marked on the +chart. A journey was also made to within ten miles of the spot where +Eastern Johannessen Land was placed on the chart, but no signs of land +were visible, although the weather was clear at the time.</p> + +<p>During the three years spent at Elmwood, exploring and surveying +journeys were frequent in the mild seasons, and the arduous nature of +the work done is well shown in the account of the last two journeys +undertaken prior to returning to England. On March 16, 1897, a party +consisting of Jackson and Armitage, with sledges, thirteen dogs, a pony, +and a canoe, set out from the log-house with the intention of going +round the western side of Franz Josef Land in order to define its +limits. From the start they had to face stormy weather, while the snow +was both deep and soft, and the ice rough and treacherous. After a +fortnight's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span> travelling, during which they came upon a hitherto +undiscovered headland and fjord, they rounded the north-eastern +extremity of the western land. Continuing their journey westward, they +had to battle against the severity of the weather, the temperature going +as low as 40° below zero, and proving disastrous to the animals. By +April 7 nearly all the dogs were dead, and progress was very slow and +difficult. Three days later the nature of the ice along the shores +compelled them to turn inland, and they had to make the best of their +way over glaciated land 1500 feet high. Out to sea there was open water, +and as they progressed they found that the water was free from ice right +up to the glacier face. Then the pony died, and with only their +diminished team of dogs to haul, they were obliged to abandon everything +that was not absolutely necessary to maintain them during the remainder +of their journey. The weather grew worse and worse, and for days they +were surrounded by thick heavy mists, with strong gales and drifting +snow. They tried to find a way along the shore, leaving the high glacier +summit, but what ice there was on the coast was breaking up so rapidly +that they were compelled once more to climb to the high level, +abandoning the canoe, as there was no chance of their being able to use it.</p> + +<p>While regaining the higher level, they came upon the only bear met with +during the whole journey, and they were careful not to allow him to +escape,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> his flesh and fat being welcome additions to their stock of +food and fuel. The gales now became more severe, until they found it +impossible to travel when one was blowing. Consequently they had to +press forward as fast and as far as they could in between the blows, and +on one occasion were marching for twenty-four hours at a stretch. The +ice was also terribly trying, and so rough was it in places that they +frequently had to go three times over the same track before they could +find a way over or round some awkward obstacle. At one time they were +pushing across the ice of a bay, when they were suddenly stopped by the +ice opening on to free water, and, after retracing their steps, they had +to climb and haul their stores up the steep sides of the glacier to the +summit, forty-five feet above the sea-level.</p> + +<p>When they set out, it was arranged that a relief party should meet them +at Bell Island the third week in April, but so many delays had been +caused that they were not able to reach the rendezvous until a fortnight +after the time fixed. The relief party had been waiting for them, +considerably anxious at their non-appearance. In the two months they had +been travelling, they had had only thirteen and a half fine days.</p> + +<p>After returning to Elmwood and resting for ten days, the two again set +out to the eastward. They were travelling over the ice, on the second +day out, when it gave way under the sledge. They lost all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> their stores +and equipment, and saturated their cartridges. They had at once to turn +back, but the ice was growing so thin that they had great difficulty in +reaching the shore. For nearly twenty-six hours they had to keep +marching before they covered the forty-two miles which lay between the +scene of their disaster and Elmwood. This was the last journey +undertaken prior to their departure in the <i>Windward</i> for England a +month or so later.</p> + +<p>The account of the achievements of this expedition would be incomplete +were no mention made of two open-water discoveries. One was that of the +British Channel, an open-water tract extending from the islands into an +open sea, which formed the second discovery, and was named Queen +Victoria Sea in honour of the then reigning sovereign. This sea was +observed to be free from ice all the time the expedition was on the +islands, and the information thus obtained was of considerable service +to the Italian explorers who, a few years later, made an ineffectual +dash to reach the Pole over the ice-fields.</p> + +<p>Further valuable information was obtained by geological observations of +the islands. These demonstrated that the islands were an archipelago, +formed from the remains of a fairly extensive tableland, the surface of +which was composed of basalt so similar in character as to be almost +identical with the basalts of the north of Scotland. To the scientific +mind this suggests that at one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> time these far-outlying islands were +connected with lands from which they are now separated by enormous +stretches of sea, and were subject, in that distant period, to the same +volcanic outbursts and covered by the same basaltic flows that resulted. +It must have been a period of enormous volcanic activity, for the beds +of basalt overlying the fossil-bearing strata averaged six hundred feet +in thickness, while evidence of successive flows is found in the +existence of sedimentary fossil-bearing rocks sandwiched between layers of basalt.</p> + +<p>Raised beaches were frequently noticed. In one case, on a beach fifty +feet above the present sea-level, a pine tree, evidently of considerable +age and about twenty feet in length, was found where it had obviously +been thrown up by the tide in the bygone years when the beach formed the +shore of the sea. Under this beach there was a bed of sandstone showing +fossils of plant remains, while above it towered basalt cliffs five +hundred feet high. Lignite and bituminous shale were met with in the +sandstone under the basalt, and, in muddy stretches of country, horns +and other remains of reindeer were found, though there are no living +representatives of these animals now on the islands. Among the fossils +brought away was one of a plant long since extinct in all parts of the +world save Japan, where the tree is still a flourishing variety.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span></p><p>While Franz Josef Land was being explored and mapped, a private +expedition formed by Sir Martin Conway visited Spitzbergen. It was this +island which Sir John Franklin advocated should be the base of +operations for an expedition to the Pole. The reason for this opinion +was the belief that Spitzbergen was merely the most southerly point of a +chain of islands, if not of an island continent, stretching away to the +north. A similar idea, held in regard to Franz Josef Land, was dispelled +by the Jackson-Harmsworth expedition; the information which was made +available on the return of the Conway party also dispelled the Franklin view.</p> + +<p>Curiously enough the objective of the expedition is one of the most +anciently discovered lands in the Arctic regions, and one that has a +history full of incident; yet the interior was unknown to man from the +time of its discovery in the sixteenth century to the time when Sir +Martin Conway and his companions pushed their way in from the coast. +Owing to the tail-end of the Gulf Stream reaching as far as its shores, +the seas round Spitzbergen are freer from ice than any other seas in +equally high latitudes. Situated in from 80° to 82° N., the group of +islands, to which the single name is given, was first discovered by two +Dutch navigators, Barendszoon and Heemskirk, who, in the year 1596, were +trying to find a way of reaching China through the Arctic Sea. Eleven<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> +years later, Hudson sailed among the islands while trying for a northern +route to the Indies. Failing in his attempt to get round by the north, +he returned to Spitzbergen and saw how the waters were literally teeming +with whales, walrus, seals, and other oil-giving animals. A flourishing +fishery was started, and for years proved a bone of contention among the +various maritime nations. No one country caring to annex the islands, +they were practically a no-man's land, where each little colony of +fishers were as a law unto themselves, though not necessarily to any one +else. Consequently fights were frequent and much ill-will engendered, +until the Dutch and the British Governments stepped in and came to a +mutual understanding on the matter. About this time the fishery trade +was so important that one colony numbered over 20,000 inhabitants during +the season; but it was not a settled population, and a few years after +the understanding had been arrived at, the colony was deserted owing to +the ruthless slaughter of all marine animals having practically +exterminated them in the vicinity. From that time the islands have been +neglected, save for the occasional visits of a few trappers, until Sir +Martin Conway and his companions penetrated to the interior, and came +back with so many delightful experiences that an enterprising company +was formed to make this snow-laden district a place for summer resort.</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp230.jpg" id="fp230.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp230.jpg" width='700' height='382' alt="THE FRONT EDGE OF KING'S GLACIER, WESTERN SPITZBERGEN" /></div> + +<p class="bold">THE FRONT EDGE OF KING'S GLACIER, WESTERN SPITZBERGEN.</p> + +<p class="bold">The thickness of the ice showing above the sea-level is about 100 feet.</p> + +<p class="bold"><i>Photo by E. J. Garwood.</i></p> + +<p>From a geological point of view the main island<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> is full of interest, +for the interior, which is characterised by mountain chains and rugged +peaks, is covered with ice, and is sending down glaciers to the coast, +where they come under the influence of the warmth generated by the Gulf +Stream and rapidly melt. The result is that the constant rush of +torrents from the melting glaciers and snowfields is carving out valleys +and river-ways, and stripping away mountain sides to make coastal plains +so rapidly as to form an admirable object-lesson of physical geography in the making.</p> + +<p>During the season Sir Martin Conway and his companions spent on the +island they set a record for energy and achievement. They spent +thirty-six days in the interior, sleeping either in small tents or in +the open, the one being little different to the other, for the tents +never kept the rain out and rarely the snow. Then they voyaged in a +twelve-ton steamer up and down the coast for a distance of something +like a thousand miles, though the steamer cabin was so small a place +that when all the five members of the party were down below together, +only one of them could stand up at a time. By the date their trip had +ended they had crossed the island four times, had made thirteen mountain +ascents, had made a rough survey of six hundred square miles of country, +had steamed a thousand miles among heavy ice along coasts, through +straits, and up bays, for the most<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> part never before visited, and had +located innumerable streams, hills, and glaciers.</p> + +<p>More romantic and mysterious, but less replete with scientific value, +ranks the expedition of Herr Andrée, perhaps the most novel of all +Arctic expeditions, inasmuch as it was undertaken by balloon. The idea +which actuated Herr Andrée in his enterprise was to utilise the current +of air which, in July, almost invariably blows over Dane's Island to the +North. Being an experienced balloonist, he realised that, could he once +rise into that current in a balloon, he would be carried right across +the Polar region in a few days. From the balloon car he would be able to +observe the character of the region below him, and set at rest the +question whether perpetual ice, open water, or land, occupied the +extreme northerly spot of the world's surface.</p> + +<p>With two companions, Dr. Strindberg and Herr Fraenkel, and a specially +prepared balloon, an attempt was made to get away in July 1896, but was +unsuccessful, and the start was postponed for a year. In July 1897 the +members of the expedition were again ready, and on July 11 they were cut +loose and floated away out of sight to the North. Since then no +authentic news has been heard of them.</p> + +<p>They went away prepared to face a long detention in the frozen world. In +the car of the balloon they carried weapons, ammunition, and material +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span>wherewith to build a shelter, should the balloon collapse and leave +them on the ice. An aluminium boat was also carried, so that the party +could escape by sea if necessary. Several carrier pigeons were taken, +and were to be liberated at intervals on the passage; but although one +pigeon is said to have been shot in the Far North, it is doubtful +whether it was one of the Andrée birds.</p> + +<p>The balloon, when it went out of sight, was travelling at a speed which +would have carried it over the Pole in a few days, and probably have +enabled it to descend in Siberia in about a week. For the first +fortnight after it had started, therefore, interest all over the world +was keenly excited for further news. But the fortnight passed without +any reliable intelligence being received, and a month followed, and so +on until a year had gone by. Then relief and search parties were talked +about, and the Swedish Geographical Society sent one out to look for the +missing balloonists in Siberia. It did not meet with Andrée, nor did it +obtain any reliable information respecting him. News was certainly +published in every civilised country to the effect that some outlying +hunting tribes had come upon a huge bag, having a mass of cordage +attached to it, together with the remains of some human bodies. The +Russian, Swedish, and Norwegian Governments immediately sent forward +auxiliary search parties, but their only success was to trace the origin +of the report, and find that a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> Siberian trader had, in a moment of +mischievous humour, hoaxed a too confiding telegraph agent.</p> + +<p>Later, on September 12th, 1899, a Swedish sloop, the <i>Martha</i>, reached +Hammerfest with the information that a buoy, branded with the name of +the Andrée expedition, had been found to the north-east of King Charles +Islands. The buoy had lost the screw plug from the top, and had been so +damaged by coming in contact with some hard substance that the interior +cylinder was too dented to permit of an examination being made of the inside.</p> + +<p>Andrée was well supplied with these buoys, and at any time one may be +discovered containing a record of his doings from the moment he +disappeared with his balloon sailing towards the north. It is not +likely; it is scarcely probable that any sign will ever be discovered of +the balloon or its occupants. For years the frozen North held all traces +of the Franklin expedition from the eyes of the searchers who were able +to conduct their operations along the route they knew Franklin had +followed. No search party can knowingly follow the route Andrée and his +comrades took. Their fate will probably be for ever a mystery, for so +many things might have happened that no one theory can claim for itself +more probability than another. All that is certain is that the party +went out of sight drifting towards the north. They carried their lives +in their hands, and knew that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> they did so. Had they succeeded, they +would have achieved a mighty triumph; they failed, and in doing so set +their names as indelibly on the scroll of Fame as any hero who has laid +down his life in the contest with the measureless mystery of the Pole.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span>CHAPTER X</span> <span class="smaller">THE POLAR METEORITES</span></h2> + +<blockquote><p>Eskimo Iron—A Mystery of 1818—Search and Failure—Peary and his +Huskies—The Secret revealed—An Eskimo Legend—At the Iron +Mountain—Removing the Trophies—A Massive Giant—Attack and +Defence—The Giant Objects—A Narrow Escape—Conquered.</p></blockquote> + +<p>When Captain Ross was in the Arctic regions in the year 1818, he +encountered, in Melville Bay, a tribe of Eskimos who lived near Cape +York, entirely cut off from communication with all other tribes, and who +had not, so far as he could learn, ever met white men before. He was, +therefore, astounded to find them in possession of iron implements. +These consisted of rudely made knives, the cutting edges of which were +fashioned out of very hard iron; harpoons and spears, tipped with iron +points. Questioning the natives as to how they had become possessed of +the iron, they explained that it had been obtained from what they termed +the "iron mountain" on the coast near the bay. Ross sought for the +mountain, and tried to induce the Eskimo to tell him exactly where it +was situated, but failed in each case. He secured some of the iron +knives and spear heads, and, on his return to Great Britain,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> the +articles were submitted to analysis, when the metal was found to contain +a percentage of nickel mixed with the iron.</p> + +<p>Considerable curiosity was excited over the matter, and every succeeding +British exploration party proceeding to the Arctic kept a sharp lookout +for any trace of iron in the possession of Eskimo which could not have +been obtained from whalers or visiting ships, as well as making every +inquiry in order to ascertain where the mysterious iron mountain was +situated. In no instance were they successful, and the question where +the Cape York Eskimo had obtained their supply of iron became one of the +riddles of the North.</p> + +<p>When Peary went to the neighbourhood of Cape York to establish the +station from whence he started on his brilliant march across the +ice-cap, he came closely in contact with the tribe of Eskimo living +there. The members of this tribe, isolated from the world and out of +communication with all their kindred tribes, were, he felt assured, the +descendants of those with whom Ross was associated earlier in the +century. In his successive visits to the place Peary became on very +friendly terms with the people, and gained their confidence in a way +that no other explorer had yet done. This is hardly to be wondered at, +when it is remembered that his presence among them, from time to time, +raised them from the stress of hardship and poverty, often starvation +itself, into a happy, well-to-do,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> and, for an Eskimo tribe, prosperous +community. When he first went among them, the man who owned a wooden +shaft for his harpoon was regarded as a rich man, while the woman who +had a steel sail-needle was an heiress for whose hand the bravest and +best strove in fierce rivalry. The possession of a gun was beyond the +wildest dreams of the most imaginative, just as the possession of a +steel knife was the highest glory to which ambition aspired. When Peary +left his encampment, at the end of his first visit, the timber of the +house and fittings left behind alone made the tribe wealthy, for they +believed the world must have been ransacked to bring so much wood +together; while the distribution of needles, knives, scissors, and such +like trifles, changed the whole status of the people and made them rich +beyond their fondest hopes.</p> + +<p>On the next visit, Peary took some guns and ammunition for the leading +men of the tribe, and there was then nothing they were not prepared to +do for their benefactor. They worked, hunted, acted as guides, +porters—anything, in fact, the white men wanted them to do. It was at +this time Peary sought for information about the mysterious iron +mountain, and, as may be expected, got it.</p> + +<p>First he was told the story of the origin of the iron, a story they had +had from their fathers, as those fathers, in their turn, had had it from +theirs.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> The iron lay across the bay where a high peak stood out against +the sky, pointing the way to the Saviksoahs. These—the "Iron +Ones"—rested on the mountain where they had fallen, ages and ages ago, +when they were thrown out of their village in the sky by Tornarsuk, the +enemy. There were three of them, a man, a woman, and a dog. The man was +deep in the ground, the woman partly so, and the dog lay on the surface. +As the woman fell, she sat up, and her head had first been seen. A +strange tribe came over the ice one year and, in greed, broke off the +head and sought to carry it away with them in their kayaks, so that they +should have a store of the iron always with them. But Tornarsuk would +not allow this to be, and as soon as the kayaks, lashed together to make +them strong enough to carry the head, were out in deep water, the head +plunged through them, sinking out of sight and smashing the kayaks so +that the men who were in them barely escaped with their lives. After +that no one tried to take away a larger supply of iron than they +actually wanted for knives and harpoon tips. Later, when whaler and +other ships came to the seas in the summer time, there was no need to go +to the Saviksoahs for iron, though all the tribes knew where they were.</p> + +<p>In the spring of 1894 Peary induced one of the tribe to lead him to the +place where the Saviksoahs were. The journey led them to a hill, on the +summit of which there was an overhanging<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> mass of rock which justified +the Eskimo description of it. Describing the discovery, Peary wrote: +"After passing some five hundred yards up a narrow valley, Tallakotteah +began looking about until a bit of blue trap-rock, projecting above the +snow, caught his eyes. Kicking aside the snow, he exposed more pieces, +saying this was a pile of the stones used in pounding fragments from the +iron mountain. He then indicated a spot four or five feet distant, as +the location of the long-sought object. Returning to the sledge for the +saw-knife, he began excavating the snow, and at last, after digging a +pit, some three feet deep and five feet in diameter, just at 5.30 Sunday +morning, May 27, 1894, the brown mass, rudely awakened from its winter +sleep, found, for the first time in its cycles of existence, the eyes of +a white man gazing upon it."</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp240.jpg" id="fp240.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp240.jpg" width='461' height='700' alt="ESKIMO ARMS AND TOOLS" /></div> + +<p class="bold">ESKIMO ARMS AND TOOLS.</p> + +<p class="bold">(a) Bow with Strings and Arrows. (b) Knives with Walrus Handles. (c) +Lance for Walrus and Bear. (d) Harpoon for Sealing. (e) Stone Axe with +Bone Handle. (f) Snow Knife with Walrus Teeth.</p> + +<p>This was "the woman," a mass of meteoric iron weighing, as was +subsequently proved, three tons. Originally it was said to have been +twice that size, the removal of the "head" having considerably reduced +it, while in addition there had been generations of Eskimo chipping it +for knives and spear tips. The amount of iron which had been broken from +it in this way was shown by the pile of stones lying around it. The +Eskimo maintained that these stones had all been brought there by the +men who came for iron; but if that were true, the Saviksoah must have +been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> chipped for ages, judging by the accumulation of stones.</p> + +<p>About thirty yards away from the "woman" there lay the "dog," a smaller +mass weighing only half a ton. The "man" was some miles away, as became +his dignity and size, for he was found to be a mighty mass, one hundred +tons in weight, rugged in form, and so intractable when attempts were +made to move him, that his removal forms a tale so full of romance as +almost to suggest fiction.</p> + +<p>As it was late in the season when Peary's ship, the <i>Kite</i>, arrived, +there was only time to remove the "woman" and the "dog," the "man" being +located but untouched pending the return of another season. The removal +of the "dog" did not offer any great difficulty, and the "woman" was +levered out of the ground and conveyed to the ship on rollers without +giving more than the ordinary amount of trouble experienced in handling +heavy masses of inert material. Not so the "man."</p> + +<p>With the two smaller meteorites safely conveyed to New York, a return of +the <i>Kite</i> to Melville Island to effect the removal of the "man" was +arranged. Accompanied by a party of scientists and an engineer, Peary +sailed north the following year and immediately attacked the problem of +excavating and placing on the <i>Kite</i> the largest of the three masses. +The exact size was not at the time known, but as soon as the work of +excavation<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> commenced it was obvious that the task in hand was much +greater than was anticipated. The portion first revealed was found to be +four feet in length, two feet high, and one and a half feet broad. This, +however, was merely a fin-like excrescence on the main mass, which, as +the excavation proceeded, was shown to measure twelve feet long by eight +feet in width, on the upper face, while a trench three feet round it did +not reach to the base. It was then realised that the task of +transferring such a huge mass from the place where it lay in the ground +to the ship was one requiring great engineering skill and the use of +appliances of much greater strength than the <i>Kite</i> had brought with +her. The mass was about three hundred yards from high-water mark and +eighty feet above it. A shelf of rock ran out into the sea immediately +below the spot where the meteorite reposed, and the water was +sufficiently deep alongside the shelf to make it a natural pier or wharf +where the ship could make fast for the mass to be loaded on board, when +it had been moved from its resting-place and conveyed to the edge of the +sea. While the rocky pier was all that could be desired from the point +of view of loading, it was entirely unprotected from the ice which, in +the early approach of winter, rapidly accumulated in the bay. It was +clear, therefore, that the removal and shipment of the mass must be +carried out with rapidity if all risk of disaster were to be avoided.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span></p><p>By the time the mass had been excavated and its full dimensions were +revealed, the season was too far advanced for any serious attempt being +made to get it on board the ship. It was estimated to weigh not less +than one hundred tons, while the rugged and angular form it presented +made it an extremely difficult object to handle. All the time available +was devoted to making the preliminary arrangements for the definite work +of removal in the following season, and, as soon as the ice began to +gather in the bay, the <i>Kite</i> sailed back to the south. The meteorite +being so much larger than was anticipated, a larger vessel than the +<i>Kite</i> was required to convey it to New York; it was also necessary to +have still heavier appliances wherewith to handle it.</p> + +<p>The following year, on board the <i>Hope</i>, Peary returned to the attack +and set to work to carry off his treasure. With the aid of the male +members of the Eskimo tribe, in addition to the men he had with him and +the crew of the steamer, the plan of operations was commenced. As Peary +wrote, in describing the experience: "The first thing to be done was to +tear the heavenly visitor from its frozen bed of centuries, and, as it +rose inch by inch under the resistless lift of the hydraulic jacks, +gradually displaying its ponderous sides, it grew upon us as Niagara +grows upon the observer, and there was not one of us unimpressed by the +enormousness of this lump of metal. The expressions of the Eskimo<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> about +the Saviksoah (Great Iron) were low but earnest, and it, and the other +wonderful 'Great Irons' (the jacks) which could tear it from its bed, +awed them to the utmost."</p> + +<p>When it was out of the nest where it had rested so long, the method +adopted was to tilt it up from one side, by means of the jacks and steel +cables, until it stood on end, and then to force it over until its own +weight made it fall forward. The spectacle, as it fell, brought home to +the onlookers the enormous power it represented. As it slowly moved, the +stones lying immediately under it were ground into powder, and, as it +lurched forward, the hard masses of rock were rent and split, while a +shower of sparks burst from the meteorite itself wherever it came in +contact with a more than usually hard piece of rock. The irregularities +in its form added to the difficulties, for it was almost impossible to +secure firm holds for the jacks, and anything approaching a slip on the +part of the mass was tantamount to death or destruction to any one +within reach of it. Day and night the struggle went on, the mass seeming +to resist every inch of the way, settling itself into awkward corners +and crevices; cutting its way, as it fell, through the baulks of timber +set to form a bed for it; bending and notching steel rails, when they +were substituted for the wood; and generally giving as much trouble as +it was possible to give, almost to the extent of suggesting conscious +design. Hard as every one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> worked to win, the meteorite proved too much +for them, and it was only conveyed as far as the rocky pier where the +ship lay ready to take it on board when the ice came drifting into the +bay, and for another winter the meteorite had to be left in its frozen habitat.</p> + +<p>"It was the last night of our stay at the island," Peary wrote, "a night +of such savage wildness as is possible only in the Arctic regions.... +The wild gale was howling out of the depths of Melville Bay through the +<i>Hope's</i> rigging and the snow was driving in horizontal lines. The white +slopes of the hill down which the meteorite had been brought showed a +ghastly grey through the darkness; the fire, round which the fur-clad +forms of the Eskimo were grouped, spread its bright red glare for a +short distance; a little to one side was a faint glow of light through +the skin wall of a solitary tupik. Working about the meteorite was my +own little party, and, in the foreground, the central figure, the +<i>raison d'être</i> of it all, the 'Saviksoah,' the 'Iron Mountain,' +towering above the human figures about it and standing out, black and +uncompromising. While everything else was buried in snow, the Saviksoah +was unaffected. The great flakes vanished as they touched it, and the +effect was very impressive. It was as if the giant were saying, 'I am +apart from all things; I am heaven-born, and still carry in my heart +some of the warmth of those long-gone days before I was hurled upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> +this frozen desert.' To strengthen this fancy that the meteorite still +held some of its celestial fire and feeling, if a sledge, ill aimed in +the darkness at wedge or block, chanced to strike it, a spouting jet of +scintillating sparks lit the gloom, and a deep note, sonorous as a bell, +a Polar tocsin, or the half-pained, half-enraged bellow of a lost soul, +answered the blow."</p> + +<p>Yet another year—1897—saw Peary again at work, this time with the +meteorite ready alongside the natural wharf. It was the month of August +that the <i>Hope</i> made fast opposite the meteorite, but already the ice +had begun to drift into the bay, as though even that were going to +dispute the right of man to carry off the mighty trophy. Without loss of +a day, work was commenced and a bridge of huge timbers was constructed +along which to warp the mass from the shore on to the ship. The bridge +completed, forty-eight hours were consumed in getting the mass on to it. +The pressure of its enormous weight put so great a strain on the +woodwork that it visibly gave as the mass came on to it, and more than +once a collapse seemed imminent. Once a slip of less than an inch upset +the equilibrium of everything to such an extent that the stays and +supports were apparently within an ace of giving way. It was a curious +coincidence that this single slip occurred at a moment and a place +where, had anything given way, there was nothing to prevent the mass +rolling<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> over the edge of the rock and sinking, presumably for ever, +into deep water. As it turned out, the slip was taken up in time to +avert disaster, and thereafter the mass was forced, slowly but surely, +on to the deck of the ship.</p> + +<p>The Eskimo were greatly disturbed at the spectacle of the meteorite +passing from the shore to the ship. They all left the vessel, saying +that even if it was forced on to the deck, directly it arrived there it +would smash its way through the vessel and plunge into the sea, carrying +the ship and all on board with it. From the time work was recommenced on +the task of removing the mass, storms and gales had persisted and the +sun had not been seen. The Eskimo were, therefore, deeply impressed +when, just as the Saviksoah reached the planking arranged for it above +the main hold and the tackles were cast loose, the sun shone out, a ray +falling from behind a cloud directly on the meteorite and changing it +from the dull brown-hued mass into a gleaming bronze.</p> + +<p>As though it had yielded itself to the inevitable, the meteorite gave no +further trouble. It was gradually lowered into the hold and wedged so +tightly into position that it was impossible for it to move, however +much the ship rolled or pitched. Fortunate it was this work was so well +done, for when the return journey was commenced the <i>Hope</i> had to fight +her way through a series of the most severe gales and storms that any on +board had experienced.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> The meteorite had yielded, but the Spirit of the +Arctic evidently had serious objections to it being carried off. But the +years of persistent effort had won. The mysterious source of the ancient +Eskimo iron had been discovered, and, at the same time, the greatest +meteorite the world was known to contain was revealed. It was a fitting +result that the trophy should be carried from the darkness of the Arctic +into the light of civilisation.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span>CHAPTER XI</span> <span class="smaller">THE SECOND VOYAGE OF THE <i>FRAM</i></span></h2> + +<blockquote><p>Norwegian Enterprise—Mapping the Islands—Nearly Frozen—A Novel +Warming-Pan—Eskimo Melody—Arctic Bull Fights—Death of the +Doctor—Fire on the <i>Fram</i>—New Lands—Prehistoric People.</p></blockquote> + +<p>The expedition which formed the second visit of the <i>Fram</i> to the Arctic +regions was equipped by private Norwegian enterprise, and sailed from +Larvick on June 24, 1898, the day known in Norway as St. Hans Day. The +party consisted of sixteen, all told, under the command of Captain +Sverdrup, who, with two other members of the party, were in the <i>Fram</i> +with Nansen on her previous voyage. The plan of operations was to +proceed to the most southerly point of Greenland, sail to the north +along the western coast to Smith Sound, where the ship was to push as +far to the north as possible and form a headquarters, whence sledge +expeditions were to be sent out in all directions to explore and survey +the immediate locality, and, at the same time, to observe and record all +natural phenomena of a scientific nature. As to the exact localities to +which chief attention was to be paid, the commander of the expedition +was to use his own judgment; but on one point the instructions were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> +definite and emphatic—there was to be no attempt at a dash for the Pole.</p> + +<p>On August 21 the <i>Fram</i> reached a suitable place for winter quarters. On +the way along the Greenland coast the explorers had to take on board +dogs for the sledge teams, and also to obtain a store of walrus meat +wherewith to feed them, so that it was not until the date mentioned they +were able to reach Rice Strait, which afforded them all the facilities +they needed for winter quarters. As Peary was already to the north, +engaged in mapping out the land in that direction, the Norwegians +decided to give their attention to the land lying on the western side of +the Strait, in the vicinity of Hayes Sound, where Nares, in 1875, had +done considerable work. They completed the survey of the coast line +running round Robeson Channel, and, during their stay, not only mapped +out an area of one hundred thousand square miles, but also located +hitherto undiscovered land, which was named after King Oscar of Norway +and taken possession of in his name. Valuable additions were also made +to the zoological, geological, meteorological, and botanical records, +while the story of the expedition abounds in interesting experiences.</p> + +<p>The sun set on October 16 for the remainder of the winter. A party was +out taking observations over some mountains behind the bay in which the +<i>Fram</i> was anchored, and had returned to camp for the evening meal as +the sun was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> going down. One of the party drew the attention of the +others to it, and they gathered at the door of the tent and watched it +in silence. "We were looking at the sun for the last time that year," +Captain Sverdrup wrote in his account of the expedition. "Its pale light +lay dying over the 'inland ice'; its disc, light red, was veiled on the +horizon; it was like a day in the land of the dead. All light was so +hopelessly cold; all life so far away. We stood and watched it till it +sank; then everything became so still that it made one shudder—as if +the Almighty had deserted us and shut the gates of Heaven. The light +died away across the mountains and slowly vanished, while over us crept +the great shades of the Polar night, the night that kills all life."</p> + +<p>With a stretch of four months' darkness before them, it was impossible +to avoid recalling the records of others who had gone through the lonely +period of darkness and cold. It was a disquieting subject. Franklin, +with 138 men under his command, had seen the sun go down into the Polar +night, and not a man of all the party had lived to tell the tale. +Greely, with twenty-five men, had seen the silent darkness come on near +where they were situated at the moment—six had lived to see the dawn. +Nordenskjold, wintering in White Bay, had seventeen men die of scurvy, +with an abundance of food around them, for when the last victim was +found, lying where<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> he fell, he had a piece of salt pork still clutched +in his fingers, while in the camp there were scores of tins of preserved +fresh meat unopened. True it was that science, since then, had made vast +strides, and prejudice and ignorance had been largely overcome; but when +men find themselves absolutely cut off from all communication with the +outside world, and with all sorts of possible dangers and disasters +hidden in the future, it is only the fool-hardy who fails to realise +them. The brave man does not shut his eyes to dangers; he looks them +squarely in the face and determines to overcome them. Such a man usually +wins. It is the man who shuts his eyes to what is in front of him who is defeated.</p> + +<p>The winter passed without any fatality among them, although there was an +occasion when one of the members nearly came to his end. Various trips +were taken when the moon was up to try and locate the site where Greely +made his historic camp on Pim Island. In February two men set out to +look for it, and, as they did not intend to be long away, they took +neither food nor sleeping-bags with them. The weather was clear and +cold, with the thermometer at -40° Fahr., but the men experienced no ill +effects from it on their journey. They found some pieces of rope and +sail-cloth scattered about at a spot on the north side of the island, +and came to the conclusion that this must have been the site of the +camp. Having examined<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> the place, they were about to return to the +<i>Fram</i>, when one of them sank to the ground. His companion strove to +lift him up, but without avail; he had suddenly become exhausted, and +his strength gave out so entirely that he could not remain on his feet. +It was a serious situation. A few hours of inactivity in such a +temperature, without an excess of fur clothing and warm food, meant +freezing to death. His companion was in doubt whether to wait and strive +to rouse him, or to run to the ship for help. He adopted the latter +course, and sped away as fast as his legs could carry him. Arrived at +the <i>Fram</i>, he raised the alarm, and every one turned out and hastened +to the rescue. A sledge was quickly harnessed to a dog team, and on it +were placed furs and food. The place where the man had collapsed was +about a mile away, and the rescuers were soon at his side. He lay in a +heap on the frozen snow, too far gone to recognise any one. He was +pushed into a sleeping-bag, placed on the sledge, and driven off at top +speed to the ship, where he was promptly put into his bunk and +restoratives administered to him. Soon the efforts were successful, and +he sank into a sleep from which he awakened, many hours after, little +the worse for his adventure. He escaped without even a touch of frost-bite.</p> + +<p>A few days after this episode the temperature fell rapidly, until the +thermometer registered as low as -58° Fahr. Peary, the American +explorer, was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> at the time some fifteen miles to the north of the +<i>Fram</i>, and the temperature in his locality went down to -67° Fahr., a +cold so intense that, hardened as he was to the rigours of Arctic +weather, he had seven toes so severely frost-bitten that they had to be +amputated. A small party from the <i>Fram</i> was out on the ice at the time, +and the cold was so trying to them that they squeezed into their +sleeping-bags clad, as they were, in heavy fur garments. Still they were +unable to get warm, so they lit their oil stove to raise the temperature +in the tent. While this was being done, one man complained bitterly of +the cold in his back, and a comrade, seeking a cause for it, found that +the moisture from his body had turned to white frost on the inside of +his thick woollen jersey. To thaw it, they put the lighted stove between +the jersey and the man's back, whereupon he exclaimed, "Ah, that's not quite so cold."</p> + +<p>Yet the way in which mankind can adapt themselves to all varieties of +climate, by use and custom, was shown by a visit they had from one of +Peary's Eskimo. He reached the <i>Fram</i> on a day when the temperature was +at -40° Fahr. Invited on board, he said he must first change his +travelling clothes, and, in the open air, he stripped to the waist to +remove his heavy furs and put on a lighter suit. He was apparently as +unaffected by the intense cold on his naked flesh as one of the +Norwegians would have been had the thermometer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> stood at forty degrees +above instead of forty degrees below zero.</p> + +<p>The visit of the Eskimo proved an enjoyable break to the explorers, +though their generosity in giving him presents, at the time of his +departure, resulted in so many more coming to visit them that they had +rather too much of a good thing. But when he first arrived the visitor +was peculiarly welcome. They entertained him to various amusements, +commencing with dinner and concluding with a concert. To the latter the +Eskimo contributed his share. He was greatly taken with a toy drum +belonging to one of the party, and played his own idea of a melody upon +it. As his hosts did not manifest any displeasure at his +performances—whatever they may have felt—he became bolder and offered +to sing them a song.</p> + +<p>To the accompaniment of the drum, he commenced with a weird, wild wail, +which gradually developed in volume of sound and variety of intonation +until the listeners began to feel shivers running up and down their +spines. At that point the singer, who had so far sat rigid, began to +sway his body from side to side, while he tossed his head backwards and +forwards. He had long dank black hair, and, as he moved quicker and +quicker, in time with the drum and the staccato wails, his hair was +tossed over his face until the features were obscured. This appeared to +be the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> critical moment in the performance, for he raised himself from +his seat, and, with his hair tossing, his voice wailing, his body +swaying, and his hands thumping vigorously at the drum, he completed the +discomfiture of his hosts, who, disposed to smile at the beginning of +the performance, were distinctly uncomfortable at the finish. The +performer, however, was by no means dissatisfied with himself. He was a +great singer, he told them, perhaps the greatest in the tribe. They had +only to ask some of the others of his tribe to sing to realise the truth +of what he said, he added. But the Norwegians were satisfied with the one experience.</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp256.jpg" id="fp256.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp256.jpg" width='700' height='570' alt="ESKIMO VISITORS TO THE FRAM IN NIGHT ATTIRE" /></div> + +<p class="bold">ESKIMO VISITORS TO THE <i>FRAM</i> IN NIGHT ATTIRE.</p> + +<p>During the sledge journeys numerous indications were found of musk oxen +being in the neighbourhood of the sheltered valleys in the interior of +the islands. As a supply of fresh beef was always desirable, +considerable attention was paid to these animals, and, from time to +time, the larder was kept well supplied with their meat. On these +hunting expeditions some interesting observations were made on the +habits of the oxen. One of the most interesting was as to the manner in +which they met attack. When they were disturbed in feeding, the herd +would retreat slowly and in order; but if they saw they were being +pursued, they moved towards any vantage ground, such as a rise or hill +summit, there to form themselves into a square. Each animal took up its +position<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> as though by word of command, until they stood, shoulder to +shoulder, with their heads outward and so close together that their +horns often linked, while within the square were sheltered any young +calves there might be with the herd.</p> + +<p>As the enemy approached one of the oxen, usually the oldest bull in the +herd, dashed out from his place in the square and bounded towards the +foe, with head down, horns brandished with sidelong tosses of the head, +snorting and bellowing defiance. As he left the square the ranks closed +up and remained so until he returned, when the ranks opened enough for +him to back into his place, while another charged out to carry on the +combat in front of the square. These movements were executed with +lightning rapidity, every animal dashing out in turn to seek single +combat, the one to advance being always the one to the right of the +returned champion. Usually the advance was for a distance of a dozen +yards, but there were occasions when the explorers saw the challenging +ox advance over a hundred yards from the main body.</p> + +<p>When there were sufficient bulls in the herd to form the outer lines, +the cows were placed, with the calves, inside the square; but if the +bulls were not numerous enough to complete the outer ranks, then the +cows took their places beside the bulls. In one instance, where the herd +consisted of cows and calves only, the cows formed the square and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> +carried on the fight while the calves were sheltered within.</p> + +<p>The courage displayed by the oxen was not restricted to their defence. +They appeared to be actuated by an <i>esprit de corps</i> which could only be +likened to the heroism which animates men of fanatical fighting tribes. +They were apparently incapable of fear, even to that extent which makes +the saving of one's self a first consideration. When the square was once +formed it never broke. Every beast in it might be killed, one by one, +but there was never a sign of a break-away or a stampede. If only a few +were killed, the square stood its ground until the attackers retreated, +when, with an open field, the square slowly retired, still in formation, +and still ready, at the first signal, to halt and renew the fight. In +one instance, where every beast had been shot save one, that one made +his sortie, pranced round in defiance, and retired to the heap of slain, +all that remained of his gallant comrades.</p> + +<p>Their method of defence was capable of repelling the attack of any +animal now inhabiting the Arctic regions, and more complete in its +system than appeared to be needed to repel any of the animals likely to +attack them. It was unnecessary for the repelling of bears; foxes would +never attack animals so large; the only animals likely to challenge a +contest were the wolves operating in a pack. But the Arctic wolves, as a +rule, hunt<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> singly, or in pairs. There may have been a time, however, +when they formed themselves into packs, and from such a time the +defensive tactics of the oxen may date. Certainly the formation would +prove invulnerable against such an attack, as was evidenced by the way +in which a herd of oxen could hold at bay the dogs from the sledge +teams. As soon as oxen were sighted it was the practice to let the dogs +loose. They at once made for the oxen, and, as soon as the latter caught +sight of them, they formed into a square and remained so until the +explorers came up and selected such of the herd as they required for the +larder. In no instance did the dogs succeed in harming an ox, though +more than once a dog, venturing too near a prancing champion, was spun +up into the air to fall to the ground a sad and subdued creature, if it +were so fortunate as to escape with its life.</p> + +<p>The return of summer, during the first year of their stay, was marred by +the death of the doctor. Early in June the shores of Hayes Sound were +being surveyed. The ice still covered the sea and the land was deep in +snow. One night, when the surveying party had returned to their tent and +were sitting round the oil stove eating their supper, they heard a man +outside asking if he might come in. They opened the tent flap and +discovered the doctor standing outside. He was evidently ill, and, as +they soon realised, snow-blind. He had missed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> his way while out after +specimens and had accidentally stumbled on the camp. He was taken in and +given warm food, which revived him somewhat, afterwards being put in a +sleeping-bag and made as comfortable as they could make him. In the +morning he pronounced himself much better, and said he would stay at the +camp, resting, for the day. The party left him with no misgivings, but +on their return in the evening they found him dead in the sleeping-bag.</p> + +<p>Camp was struck the following morning and, with the body of the doctor +on the sledge, the party started back to the ship. It was a sad journey. +Not only was it the first time in the history of the <i>Fram</i> that a +member of the ship's company had died, but the loss of the doctor was a +serious matter to the explorers, who were thus left without any +qualified expert to attend to them in the event of either sickness or +accident occurring. The procession reached the ship on June 15, and the +next morning the whole company formed up in funeral array to convey the +remains of the doctor to their last resting-place. They gave him a +sailor's burial. The national flag covered the body and bier, and the +explorers, walking slowly, two and two, proceeded down Rice Strait over +the ice to a spot where a hole had been cut through the ice to the open +water. The body was lowered to the water's edge, where it was held while +prayers were read and a hymn sung. "Then followed the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span> moment when he +slowly slipped into the deep. We shall never forget it. We sang a hymn +and said the Lord's Prayer," Captain Sverdrup wrote.</p> + +<p>As the survey work advanced to the west of the Sound, the discovery of +several inaccuracies in former maps led to the hope that new land might +be located in that direction. Ellesmere Land having been explored and +Sir Robert Inglis Peak shown to be non-existent, advantage was taken of +the opening of the ice in the summer seasons to push the <i>Fram</i> farther +to the west, so as to enable the sledge parties to reach still greater +distances over the ice in that direction. It was by this means the +crowning triumph of the expedition was achieved, though at the time of +its achievement an event happened which very nearly brought about a +tragic ending. This was no less than a fire on the <i>Fram</i>.</p> + +<p>There were, at the time, only nine men on board. For the winter, an +awning had been spread over the deck, below the shelter of which +numerous articles were stored, including the ammunition and +powder-boxes, a number of kayaks, spare wood for repairing sledges and +making <i>ski</i>, the oil barrels, and an iron tank full of spirits. The +chimney from the galley rose above this awning, and one day a spark fell +upon it. At once the canvas burst into flame.</p> + +<p>On the first alarm, the mate, who was in charge, gave his attention to +the removal of the oil and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span> explosives; but while these were being +dragged out of danger the flames spread rapidly from the awning to the +rigging, reaching the mainsail, which also became ignited. Then the fire +reached the kayaks, the coverings of which were all saturated with +grease. The blaze that followed set all the spare wood alight. The iron +tank, full of spirits, was thus surrounded by flames. It was impossible +to beat them back, and the men realised that if the tank burst and the +spirits caught fire, the ship was doomed. With despairing energy they +attacked the fire with buckets of water, and, despite the primitive +nature of the weapon, they succeeded in subduing the flames before +irreparable damage was done. The tank, fortunately, withstood the heat, +though it was badly warped. The kayaks were destroyed, as well as all +the spare wood, the rigging and sails on the mainmast, the awning, and +some stores on the lower deck, where the flames also penetrated. But the ship was saved.</p> + +<p>On October 13, 1900, the news was brought to the ship that the hopes of +discovering new land were likely to be realised. A party who had been +far out to the west had seen in the distance what appeared to be land at +a place where none was shown on the maps. Five days later, with a picked +band, Captain Sverdrup was hastening to the place indicated. As the +winter was near at hand, they could not do more than verify the news. In +the distance they saw what appeared to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> be new land, while near at hand +they found traces of large herds of oxen and reindeer. The larder was in +need of being replenished, and as it was impossible to proceed with the +survey of the newly discovered territory before the spring, the members +of the party secured as much beef and venison as they could for winter +supply. By the time they returned to the ship they had enough fresh +meat, not only for themselves but also for the dogs, to last until the following spring.</p> + +<p>On April 8, 1901, Sverdrup and his picked companions set out again to +explore the new territory. After pushing on as far as the outer limit of +the coast, they came upon what appeared to be a large bay. The land they +had descried lay on the far side of it, and for the moment they feared +that, after all, it was only a portion of the old, though making the +area of that much larger than had hitherto been believed. To prove or +disprove their fears they commenced to cross the ice in the bay. As they +proceeded, the land, at the head of the bay, was seen to suddenly open +out and reveal a sound running between two islands. It was new land +which lay before them, and with great jubilation they named the channel +Eureka Sound and the island after the King of Norway. The position was +78° 50' N. lat. and 84° W. long.</p> + +<p>Close examination of this island led to the discovery of remains of +extensive Eskimo <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span>settlements, showing that at one time there had been a +considerable population where now not a single Eskimo was to be found. +The presence of whale bones among the ruins of the huts told of a still +further change that had occurred, for whales are now quite extinct in +that part, and have been so for a long period.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span>CHAPTER XII</span> <span class="smaller">ITALY CLAIMS THE RECORD</span></h2> + +<blockquote><p>Norwegian Aid—A Northerly Station—Premature Enthusiasm—Cold +Comfort—An Arctic Greeting—A Hasty Landing—Disorganised +Plans—Homeless Dogs—Making Fresh Plans—The Leader +Frost-bitten—The Start for the Pole—Driven Back by Cold—A Second +Start—First Detachment Lost—Anxiety for the Second—A Struggle +for Life—Third Detachment Overdue—Fears of Disaster—Safe at +Last—Italy sets the Record.</p></blockquote> + +<p>For the first time in the history of their country, the Italians entered +the field of Arctic exploration in the year 1899, when an expedition +under the command of the Duke of Abruzzi sailed in the <i>Stella Polare</i>, +and by means of dogs and sledges carried the Italian flag to higher +latitudes than any other explorers had succeeded in reaching. The record +up to the time of this expedition was that set by Nansen, who, with his +companion Johansen, attained to 86° 14' N. The Italians reached 86° 34' +N., or twenty geographical miles further north than the Norwegians.</p> + +<p>The scheme of operations under which the Abruzzi expedition set out was +to sail as far north as possible along some coast line, establish winter +quarters, and, in the spring, to travel by sledges towards the Pole. The +expedition was composed of Italians and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span>Norwegians, the men of the +latter race being taken to navigate the ship, the leader wisely +recognising that inasmuch as Italians were not used to navigation in +ice-bound seas, it would be hazardous to risk the safety of the whole +expedition in the early stages of the journey by manning the vessel with +them. The sledge party who attained the highest latitude were all +Italians, but the Norwegians shared the honours won, for without their +assistance the sledge party would have had little chance of penetrating +as far to the north as it did. In fairness, also, to all other men who +have striven so hard to unveil the secrets of the Arctic, it must be +admitted that the Italian success was based entirely on the knowledge +gained by other nations. The scheme of a dash by sledges was the scheme +that Peary had conceived and announced; the main depôt of the Italians +was that which had already been established at Cape Flora by the +Jackson-Harmsworth expedition; the route taken by the sledge party was +in the vicinity of the route Nansen and Johansen followed; the ship was +Norwegian built and Norwegian manned; the men who set out for the dash +to the Pole had, therefore, all the hard work done for them. Yet with +all these advantages they only reached twenty miles further, an +achievement not to be compared with that of Nansen and Johansen.</p> + +<p>The expedition practically commenced its journey from Archangel, whence +good progress was made<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span> to Cape Flora, a food depôt being established in +the huts of the Jackson-Harmsworth party, which were found still +standing intact. After an ineffectual attempt to pass through +Nightingale Sound, the <i>Stella Polare</i> got out of the ice on August 7, +and succeeded in reaching 82° 4' N. latitude in open water. This was to +the north of Prinz Rudolf Island.</p> + +<p>As there were indications that the ice would soon be setting along the +coast, it was decided to sail to Teplitz Bay on Prinz Rudolf Island and +establish quarters for the winter. This bay is open towards the south +and west, while the land on the north is level but rocky. The ship +forced her way through the thin coast ice and came to anchor near enough +to the shore to permit the landing of stores to be easily carried out. A +more experienced leader might have had some doubts as to the security of +the situation as a place for a ship to remain during the winter +movements of the ice. With the bay open on two sides, it was scarcely +possible for it to escape from the pressure of moving floes outside; but +the opinion was held that the ice along the shores was strong enough to +withstand any pressure from the open sea, and so the <i>Stella Polare</i> was +allowed to become fixed in the ice close to the shore.</p> + +<p>Brief journeys along the coast and over the highest land which could be +reached—Cape Habermann was found to be 2900 feet high—effectually<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> +disposed of the claims of Petermann Land and King Oscar Land. There was +no sign of either, and there is little doubt but that the explorers who +believed they had discovered these lands were deceived by massive bodies +of ice. The rectification of the maps to this extent was a valuable service.</p> + +<p>By September all their arrangements for spending the winter on the ship +were completed, and with the material which would be required for the +preliminary sledge expeditions to the north, and the establishment of +food depôts, all on shore, the explorers made merry on the evening of +the 7th in discussing the achievements which would result from the +working out of their plans. The difficulties which beset other +explorers, often from the very commencement of their journeys, had not +been experienced by them, and now, with their vessel almost as high to +the north as any vessel had yet been, with their complete outfit at one +of the most northerly stations yet established, and with everything snug +and secure for the winter, it is not surprising that they should have +allowed their enthusiasm to run away with them. It was the first time +that Italy had entered into the contest of winning fame from the +mysteries of the Arctic, and the outlook was so rosy that it almost +appeared as if they were going to signalise the fact by carrying the +flag to the Pole itself and showing to the world that the all-conquering +spirit of ancient Rome still animated the race. Men of colder<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> +temperaments, the sons of the cold-blooded North, would probably have +postponed their rejoicings until the battle had been won, but the +enthusiasm of the South needed more than the gloom of an approaching +Arctic winter to subdue it. Wherefore the Arctic moved, and the children +of the South learned in a few brief hours something of the power and +might and majesty of the realms they had come to conquer.</p> + +<p>An ice-floe, drifting in the sea beyond the bay, caught the edge of the +shore ice, in which the <i>Stella Polare</i> lay at rest, as it passed. The +shore ice groaned at the strain, and along its length there ran a ridge +of hummock ice as the pressure sought relief. The line of the pressure +passed through the spot where the <i>Stella Polare</i> was made fast. The +hummock rose against her bows and forced her ninety feet away from where +she had been, while, at the same moment, an increase in the pressure +caught her by the sides, heeled her over, and cracked her timbers till +those on board rushed to the deck under the belief that the vessel was +about to collapse. The rigging of the foremast was torn away, the planks +of the exposed side showed spaces of three inches between them, and +water poured in so rapidly to the holds that it was feared the ship +would go down. The hand-pumps were manned and worked, while the fires +were lit so as to get up steam and set the steam-pumps going, every one +else, who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> was not required for these jobs, working with might and main +to get all stores and provisions out of the ship and on to the ice, lest +she went down and left them stranded and foodless. The glamour of the +evening before was as a dream; the gloom of the present was a stern +reality to which they had awakened. The Arctic was giving a +characteristic and rugged greeting to the visitors from the South.</p> + +<p>The stores were landed with the greatest rapidity, the activity with +which every one worked being still further stimulated by the news from +below that the one hand-pump, which was being worked by four men, could +not keep the water back, and that already it was almost touching the +bars of the furnaces. At one time it looked as though there would be no +chance of saving the fires, and had the water once reached them and so +prevented steam being got up, the plight of the explorers would have +been critical in the extreme. As it was, the Norwegian engineers worked +like heroes, and managed to have enough steam to start the steam-pumps +just as the water touched the fires in one of the boiler furnaces. The +steam-pump, assisting the hand-pump, was sufficient to keep the water +from rising further, but not enough to keep it back altogether. Neither +the steam nor the hand pump, by itself, could prevent the water from +rising. Both had to be kept going, therefore, although the number of men +thus taken away<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> from unloading stores and provisions made that work +very much slower than was desired. But if the water reached to the fires +and put them out, there seemed to be little chance of saving enough to +keep the party alive during the winter. So they worked on with a brave +persistence, Italian and Norwegian alike, until they had all the stores +out on the ice, together with spars, ropes, sails, and all other things +needed for the construction of a shelter in which to pass the winter. +This was only completed after twenty-four hours of toil, and when it was +finished the worn-out party sought a brief respite in sleep. As soon as +the pumps ceased working the waters rose in the holds and over the +furnace bars, putting out the fires. Contrary to expectations, the ship +did not go down, the ice being sufficiently strong to sustain it from +sinking, and the water stopped rising when it had covered the furnaces.</p> + +<p>Although the ship was now secure from sinking, it was heeled over to +such an extent that it was impossible to remain on board of it, so a hut +was erected ashore, and the stores stacked round it for the winter. For +ten days the entire party laboured at this work, and when it was +finished it was realised that all the plans for the preliminary sledge +trips must be abandoned. Instead of giving attention to reaching the +Pole, it was first of all necessary to see what could be done in the way +of repairing the ship so as to be able to get<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> away before a second +winter could come upon them. A close examination revealed the fact that +the pressure of the ice had considerably affected the form of the ship. +The crank shaft was bent out of the straight, and the heavy iron beams +which had been put in to strengthen the vessel amidships were all bent +and twisted. The planks at the sides were started and gaped in many +places. The water, which had got in, had frozen, so that the furnaces +were covered in by a sheet of solid ice, while the same thing existed in +the hold. As the hand-pump could not lower the water alone, it was +decided to use a boiler and pump which formed part of the balloon +equipment. Although the use of these articles effectually terminated any +hopes of balloon experiments, it enabled them to get the water down +sufficiently to permit of repairs being effected. From the beginning of +October to the middle of November, the repairs fully occupied them; but +they succeeded in making the ship water-tight and available for +departure when the winter had passed. The bay, by this time, was frozen +over sufficiently to preclude any fears of further nips occurring.</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp272.jpg" id="fp272.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp272.jpg" width='700' height='514' alt="ONE OF THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY THE STELLA POLARE" /></div> + +<p class="bold">ONE OF THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY THE <i>STELLA POLARE</i>.</p> + +<p>On November 20 the last vestige of daylight went, and thenceforward the +explorers were in all the gloom of the Arctic night. A heavy snow-storm +entirely covered the dog kennels, so that the animals had to run loose +for a time. This was not satisfactory, for those of the creatures which +were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span> unable to squeeze into shelter near the hut, were frozen to the +ice as they slept. To overcome this, big holes were dug in the ground, +and the dogs driven in, and the entrances walled up. But the Arctic dog +is a creature of resource, and when the men in charge of them went in +due time to feed them, they found that the dogs had made an outlet for +themselves by burrowing through the snow, and were again at liberty. A +wall of biscuit tins was then built round the inside of the holes, and +the entire mass frozen by pouring water over the tins. But the dogs +again burrowed their way out, and they were then left to their own +devices, the holes being left open, so that there should be some shelter +available for the dogs if they liked to use it. Mostly they did not +like, preferring to squeeze in between the sides of the hut and the +kitchen, and contribute their share to the entertainment by occasional +howling choruses during the long dark hours of winter.</p> + +<p>During the long night the plans for the sledge expeditions to the North, +which had been so effectively interrupted by the nipping of the ship, +were further considered. As the original scheme could no longer be +carried out, a modified plan was adopted. Under this, it was determined +to send out three parties, which were to start about the middle of +February and press forward towards the Pole. Each party was to consist +of three Italians. One was to carry provisions for thirty<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span> days, the +second for sixty days, and the third for ninety days. The second and +third parties were to carry kayaks.</p> + +<p>At the commencement of the expedition it was intended that the Duke of +Abruzzi should lead the detachments as the head of the third party, the +one which would have the honour of proceeding the longest way; but early +in January he had two fingers of his right hand frost-bitten so severely +that the two top joints had to be amputated. This debarred him from +taking his place at the head of the enterprise, and he appointed Captain +Cagni to the lead in his stead. As at first arranged, the other parties +were commanded, the first by Dr. Cavalli, and the second by Lieutenant +Querini. A fourth party was to follow the other three for a couple of +days, as an auxiliary, so as to allow of a saving in the consumption of +provisions carried by the others. It was also arranged that twenty-five +days after the start of the expedition, those of the company who +remained behind at Teplitz Bay should send a watch party to Cape +Fligely, in order to be ready to set out and meet, and, if necessary, +render any assistance which the returning members of the first +detachment might require. From the top of Cape Fligely a distance of +eight miles could be seen over the ice to the north, and a signal-post, +erected on the cape, would be visible as a guide to the returning +explorers as they approached over the ice. The watch party was to be on +the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> cape again fifty-five days after the departure of the second +detachment, and eighty-five days after the departure of the third detachment.</p> + +<p>The date of departure was ultimately fixed for the 19th of February. The +detachments, when ready to start, numbered, in all, twelve men, with +thirteen sledges, drawn by 104 dogs, each sledge weighing, with its load +of provisions, 617 lbs. The weather, at the time of the start, was +intensely cold, there having been a gale blowing for some days before. +When all was ready for the march to begin, the detachments set out, +after hearty farewells from those who remained behind, and who watched +them slowly pass out of sight over the ice and into the cold mysteries +of the white region lying towards the north.</p> + +<p>The camp at Teplitz Bay was strangely quiet after their departure, the +absence of the dogs, no less than the absence of the men, rendering the +place lonely and deserted. It was not expected that the auxiliary +detachment would be back again for some days, and it was with very great +surprise that the Duke of Abruzzi, while walking near the hut one day, +heard the sounds of dogs barking near at hand. He hastened in the +direction whence the sounds came, and was astounded to see Lieutenant +Querini coming towards him. Immediately he came to the conclusion that +disaster had overtaken the expedition soon after starting, and that the +lieutenant was the bearer of ill news, if not the only<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> survivor of the +detachments. The facts were, however, not quite so bad as this. What had +happened was that the cold had become so intense, after leaving Cape +Fligely, that not only the men, but the dogs also, suffered severely, +and were almost incapacitated. The experience of a few days revealed +many points where improvement could be made in the arrangement of the +sledges and their loading, and the commander, realising that only +valuable time would be lost, and perhaps the entire expedition +jeopardised, by pushing on under the circumstances, decided to return to +the main camp, so as to overhaul the arrangements, and reorganise the +detachments in the light of their experiences.</p> + +<p>By the time the detachments were again ready to start, February had +passed and March 10 had arrived. The loss of time, consequent on their +return, necessitated an alteration in the programme of all the parties, +and when they set out the second time the order of march was for the +first detachment to return after twelve days' march, the second in +twenty-four, and the third in thirty-six. The detachments were also +varied, so that the main detachment should number four instead of three +men. A Norwegian, the engineer of the ship, was included in the first +detachment at his earnest request.</p> + +<p>The second start was made on Sunday, March 11, and this time there was +no turning back. On March 28 the Duke of Abruzzi went, with the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> watch +party, to Cape Fligely, and constructed a shelter wherein to remain in +readiness to greet the first detachment on their return, the date of +which was expected to be April 4. On that date, and for some days +before, an anxious watch was kept from the lookout point towards the +north, but no signs were seen of the returning explorers. For a day or +so this did not cause any grave anxiety, as it was quite possible that +there might be a brief delay, but as the days went by without a sign, +and the days grew into weeks, there was serious uneasiness at the +continued non-appearance of the men. The time arrived when the second +detachment was due, and still the watchers saw no signs of the returning +men. Uneasiness gave place to grave anxiety, and the few who remained at +the camp were beginning to wonder whether they alone would return home, +with the summer, with only a tale of loss and disaster to bear to their +country, when a man of the second party reached the camp in a state of +great exhaustion. His story was that his detachment, the second, had +parted with the third on March 31, and had successfully negotiated the +return journey up to April 15, when an open channel in the ice near the +island had stopped their forward march. For days they had sought a way +round it, but, failing, the leader had despatched the man in the kayak +to reach the watch party, and summon assistance of a boat to convey the +remainder over the channel. The man had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> attempted to land at a point +where the ice was some fifteen feet high, but while he was testing it to +see if he could clamber up, the kayak slipped away from him and left him +clinging, with no hope of escape if he slipped into the water below. He +was one of the Alpine guides, and, with his ice-axe, he managed to cut a +way up the ice to the summit, though the struggle was a terrible strain +on his strength and skill. When, at last, he reached the summit, he was +met with a new difficulty. He did not know where he was, nor in which +direction the camp lay. He was without food, or refreshment, but he made +his way to a higher point, from whence he was, fortunately, able to see +the top of the ship's masts showing over the ice. This gave him the +direction of the camp at Teplitz Bay, and he made his way thither, with +as much speed as he could. When he arrived, he had been battling his way +for over twenty-four hours, from the time he lost his kayak, a feat of +very great endurance.</p> + +<p>In answer to anxious questions as to the first detachment, he said he +and all the rest believed the first detachment was in the camp, for it +had left the main body in time to reach Cape Fligely by April 2. At the +time it started back, owing to the drift of the ice, the island could be +distinctly seen, so that there could be no difficulty as to the men +knowing which way to go. Moreover, a change had been made in the +command, and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span> first detachment had left under the command of +Lieutenant Querini, Dr. Cavalli having been placed at the head of the +second detachment owing to his showing greater staying powers on the +march than the lieutenant.</p> + +<p>As soon as the rest of the detachment had been conveyed from the ice +pack to the camp, Dr. Cavalli corroborated the story and shared, with +the rest of the expedition, the anxiety at the non-arrival of the little +band. His detachment, he said, had parted with the main party on 31st +March, and had seen Captain Cagni and his companions continue their way +to the north, with a train of six sledges and forty-eight dogs. The +first detachment might, he suggested, have been carried away to the +east, and, as they had no kayak with them, they might have been cut off +by an open channel and so prevented from reaching the island. Relief +parties were immediately sent out to search the ice in that direction, +and also to see whether the men had taken refuge on the islands, further +to the north-east, where Nansen and Johansen had passed their winter. +The search was continued until May 10, when the parties returned, having +searched far and wide but without finding any trace of the missing +detachment. It was then hoped that they had made their way to Cape +Flora, where there was an abundance of food and other necessaries, but +when the <i>Stella Polare</i> touched there, on her way home, no signs were +found of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> the missing men, and it was then realised that they were lost. +How, or when, or where, they had met their end, no one could form any +opinion. A break in the ice may have precipitated them into a channel; +cold may have overcome them as they slept; moving hummocks may have +overwhelmed them, or a sudden snow-storm may have caused them to lose +their direction, and have led them into dangers they were not able to +escape. When no trace could be found of them, and no vestige of their +outfit discovered on the ice, or the islands, there was only one thing +the survivors could realise, and that was that their comrades had gone +out of the world in silence, in mystery, and in sacrifice to the knowledge of humanity.</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp280.jpg" id="fp280.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp280.jpg" width='491' height='700' alt="SKETCH MAP" /></div> + +<p class="bold">SKETCH MAP</p> + +<p class="bold">Showing Captain Cagni's farthest north 86° 34', being 20' beyond the +point reached by Nansen.</p> + +<p>As the month of May gradually passed, the members of the expedition +gathered at Cape Fligely so as to maintain a steady watch for the return +of the main detachment. In addition to the watch party there was also a +party at Teplitz Bay, and word was sent from one place to the other as +the days went by, while short journeys were constantly being taken along +the shores on the lookout for the return of Captain Cagni and his +companions. The provisions they had with them were only calculated to +last until May 26, but the leader had expressed his intention, if he had +not succeeded in reaching far enough to the north, of proceeding on +reduced rations so as to attain as high a latitude as possible before +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span>returning. On the reduced scale they would be able to subsist until +June 10, but when that date arrived and still there was no sign of them, +the remainder of the expedition became alarmed. The silent disappearance +of Lieutenant Querini and his companions did not tend to alleviate their +anxiety. A week passed without any sign; June 20th came and went, and +the next two days saw the little community depressed and sad at what +they regarded as the fatal silence. On the 23rd they barely exchanged +words with one another, lest they should add to each other's sorrow by +expressing the almost hopeless fear that every one felt. On the evening +of that day the watch party at Cape Fligely had retired to their shelter +when they heard the barking of dogs. Hastily going outside, they saw a +man, with a sledge, advancing from the direction of Teplitz Bay. They +waited in silence for him to come up, fearing he brought news of +disaster. But their fears were turned to joy when he shouted the news +that the third detachment had safely returned to camp, having penetrated +as far as 86° 34' N., and so established the "farthest north" record of +any expedition yet despatched to the Arctic.</p> + +<p>The story Captain Cagni had to tell was one of persistent courage and +determination. The straits to which he and his companions were reduced +were shown by the condition of their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> equipment. They had a single +sledge in a very damaged state, a bottomless saucepan, a broken cooking +lamp, and a ragged tent. Their dogs were reduced to seven, the others +having been killed to feed the survivors as well as the men. On the +return journey the drift of the ice had carried them to the west, so +that when they reached the latitude of Teplitz Bay they were many miles +to the west of it. The condition of the ice had compelled them to go +still further away before they were able to turn and head direct for the camp.</p> + +<p>From March 11 to April 24 they marched steadily towards the north, and +covered something like six hundred miles in ninety-five days. For the +whole period of 104 days they marched 753 miles. During the first stage +of the journey they maintained a speed of five miles a day, but during +the second stage they doubled that, and covered, on an average, ten +miles a day. From their experience they argued it was impossible to +reach the Pole from any such base as that at Teplitz Bay while dog +sledges were the only available means of transport.</p> + +<p>With the return of this detachment the work of the expedition was at an +end. The vessel was freed from the ice after a little difficulty, and, +proving to be seaworthy, steamed out of the bay on August 14. They +arrived at Hammerfest without mishap on September 5.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span>CHAPTER XIII</span> <span class="smaller">THE ANTARCTIC REGION</span></h2> + +<blockquote><p>The Mystery of the South Pole—Ignored by Early Navigators—An +Accidental Dutch Discovery—Captain Cook Sets Sail—Discouraged by +the Ice—Turns Back in Despair—A Second Accidental +Discovery—Weddell breaks the Barrier—Antarctic Land +revealed—British resume the Search.</p></blockquote> + +<p>While the desire to penetrate into the mysteries of the North held the +mind of mankind from the earliest times, the very existence of a similar +world of ice, at the opposite pole, was undreamed of until a few +centuries back. At the time when the world was generally held to be a +flat disc, this is not to be wondered at, seeing that there could only +be one other side possible under that belief, and that side the "under +world," into which it was not desirable that human beings should ever +penetrate. But the time came when the world was demonstrated to be a +sphere, and the more thoughtful of men realised the necessity of having +some theory wherewith to explain what form the world would take at the +opposite pole to the North. The theory which found most general +acceptance was that which contended for a similar distribution of sea +and land at the South as was currently supposed to exist at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> the North +Pole. It was argued that only by such a distribution could the balance +of the earth be maintained. Nor did the theorists stop there. The +ancient geographers delighted their hearts by imagining a southern +division of land and sea inhabited by identical animals, covered with +the same kind of verdure and plants, and occupied by similar races of +men to the North. In the absence of any evidence to contradict it, this +theory held for many years.</p> + +<p>In the Middle Ages, when the Portuguese and Spaniards were sailing from +sea to sea, and later, when their successors, the Dutch, roamed the +ocean, carrying their flags to the East and the West, none seem to have +penetrated into the ice-bound regions of the South. The Cape of Good +Hope was doubled. Cape Horn was sailed round. Australia was located, and +even the south of Tasmania was visited. But further south the world was still unknown.</p> + +<p>An explanation of this may be found in the fact that in southern +latitudes the drift of ice is very much further away from the Pole than +is the case in the north. In the northern hemisphere massive ice-floes +are not encountered until the 70th parallel of latitude has been passed, +while it is not until the 75th parallel is passed that the ice becomes +so packed as to appear to be stationary. In the southern latitudes, on +the other hand, drift ice is encountered in the 50th parallel, and by +the time<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span> the 60th parallel is reached, the ice is found to be as close +set as it is in the 80th parallel in the north. In the islands off +Tierra del Fuego the mountains remain covered with snow down to the +water's edge through all the summer months, though the latitude is only 54° S.</p> + +<p>This may be due, in a large measure, to the small quantity of land +existing in the south, as compared with the north. The heat of the sun +does not radiate from the sea with the same intensity as it does from +the earth, whence the ice, drifting from the south into the oceans +nearer the equator, melts more slowly, and is consequently enabled to +travel longer distances, thus lowering the temperature of the +surrounding atmosphere and still further delaying the melting process. +At a comparatively recent period, the limit of the floes, in the +southern oceans, was much nearer the equator than it is to-day, for the +most southerly parts of Africa, Australia, and America all show +unmistakable evidences of having, within recent times, been under a +great ice covering.</p> + +<p>It was not until 1600 that the first contact was made with the southern +world of ice. Dirk Gerritz, a Dutch navigator, sailing with a squadron +for the East Indies, was separated from his other ships while passing +through the Straits of Magellan and was driven as far as 64° S. He +discovered, in that latitude, a rocky coast line covered with snow. The +discovery did not excite any great interest at the time, and, for a +period of nearly two centuries,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> nothing was done to probe further into +the mysteries of the South. In 1769 an expedition was sent out under +Captain Kerguellen to explore the regions lying to the south of the Cape +of Good Hope. He was successful in locating the group of islands, still +known as Kerguellen Islands, and sailed thence to Australia, +demonstrating that no land, other than these islands, existed between +the Cape of Good Hope and Australia.</p> + +<p>In 1772, Captain Cook, who had already done so much to reveal the +southern hemisphere to the knowledge of man, left the Cape of Good Hope +with two ships, the <i>Resolution</i> and the <i>Adventure</i>, in search of the +continent believed to exist somewhere beyond the regions hitherto +visited. In 48° 41' S. latitude, and 18° 24' E. longitude, a sudden fall +in the temperature from 67° to 38° Fahr. was experienced. On the +following day an iceberg, fifty feet in height and nearly half a mile in +length, was sighted. The course was continued to the south, but the +third day after sighting the first berg the sea had become so full of +ice that no further progress to the south was possible, although the +latitude was only 54° 50' S., the corresponding latitude in the northern +hemisphere being that of the city of Hull.</p> + +<p>Skirting the ice-packs and working always to the southward, the vessels +managed to reach 55° 16' S. during the next three days, some few seals, +penguins, and other birds being seen on the floating ice as the ships +passed. The temperature was never<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> above freezing, the sails were frozen +and the rigging covered with icicles. The fact that the ice was found to +be composed of fresh water, convinced Cook that there must be land still +further to the south, lying behind the ice-floes. He, therefore, kept on +to the east, always sailing as far to the south as the line of the ice +permitted. In reality, he was sailing round the Antarctic, from west to +east, skirting along the ice limit. In January 1773 the vessels were in +61° S. and 139° E. longitude. A month later he was nearly five hundred +miles to the south of the course Tasman had sailed when he discovered +Tasmania, but still no land was seen amongst the ice. This being the +summer season in the southern hemisphere, it was necessary to seek +winter quarters to the north if the ships were to escape imprisonment in +the ice for the season.</p> + +<p>After a winter passed in the Pacific Ocean, Captain Cook took his ships +again to the south, towards the end of the year, and by January 30, +1774, they were in 71° 10' S. latitude and 106° 54' W. longitude. +Further progress to the south was barred by a line of high ice cliffs. +Describing the circumstances Captain Cook wrote:—</p> + +<p>"At four o'clock <span class="smaller">A.M.</span> we perceived the clouds, over the horizon to the +south, to be of an unusual snow-white brightness, which we knew +announced our approach to field ice. Soon after, it was seen from the +topmast head, and at eight o'clock we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> were close to its edge. It +extended east and west, far beyond the reach of our sight. In the +situation we were in, just the southern half of our horizon was +illuminated by the rays of light, reflected from the ice, to a +considerable height. Ninety-seven ice hills were distinctly seen within +the ice-field, besides those on the outside. Many of them were large and +looking like a ridge of mountains rising one above another till they +were lost in the clouds. The outer, or northern, edge of this immense +field was composed of loose or broken ice, close packed together, so +that it was not possible for anything to enter it. This was about a mile +broad, within which was solid ice in one continued compact body. It was +rather low and flat (except the hills), but seemed to increase in height +as you traced it to the south, in which direction it extended beyond our +sight.... I, who had ambition, not only to go further than any one had +gone before, but as far as it was possible for man to go, was not sorry +at meeting with this interruption, as in some measure it relieved us, at +least, shortened the dangers and hardships inseparable from the +navigation of the southern polar regions."</p> + +<p>Returning again to the Pacific in order that his men might recuperate +after their hardships in the ice region, Captain Cook made a third +attack upon the Antarctic problem the following year—1775—when he +sailed to the south along the 27th meridian of west longitude. In +latitude 59° S. three rocky<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> islets were discovered. They rose to a +considerable height, one of them terminating in a lofty peak shaped like +a sugar-loaf, to which the name of Freezeland Point was given, not, as +it might very well have been, in description of the land itself, but +after the man who first sighted it. Far to the east of this peak there +appeared a long coast line with lofty, snow-capped mountains, the +summits often rising higher than the clouds. To the extremity of this +coast the name of Cape Bristol was given. Land sighted still more to the +south was named Southern Thule.</p> + +<p>As there appeared to be more probability of success being won on this +voyage, the ships proceeded to explore the seas in the neighbourhood of +these new lands; but a repetition of the trials and difficulties met in +the previous year brought the hopes to nought. Whichever way they sailed +they encountered ice, either in massive bergs, or lines of cliffs, miles +in length. On February 6, 1775, the cold hostility of the region daunted +even the brave heart of Captain Cook. He decided to turn back, writing +in his log: "The risk one runs in exploring a coast in these unknown and +icy seas is so great, that I can be bold enough to say that no man will +ever venture further than I have done, and that the lands which lie to +the south will never be explored."</p> + +<p>Modern achievement in the Antarctic regions forms a curious commentary +on this outspoken<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> opinion of so intrepid an explorer as the man who +laid the great island-continent of Australia open for the colonisation +of the British. But for the time being the opinion ranked sufficiently +with the authorities to put an end to all attempts to solve the mystery +of the Antarctic. Years passed without anything being done to penetrate +into the unknown, until, in 1819, Captain William Smith, commanding the +brig <i>William</i>, on a voyage from Monte Video to Valparaiso, was driven +as far to the south as 62° 30', in which latitude and longitude 60° W. +he discovered a group of islands and named them the South Shetlands. The +discovery was reported to the commander of H.M.S. <i>Andromache</i>, who at +once sailed to the locality and further explored the islands. These were +found to be a scattered group lying between 61° and 63° S., consisting +of twelve fairly large isles, and a number of small rocky islets. +Several of the isles were mountainous, and one peak was observed which +was estimated to be 2500 feet high. Beyond this brief expedition nothing +was done by the Navy, but during the next few years a considerable +amount of knowledge was gained by whaling captains who penetrated +further to the south.</p> + +<p>Amongst others, Powell, in 1821, discovered land to the south of the +South Shetlands, naming it Trinity Land; while Palmer, an American +skipper, sailed along a coast to which he gave the name<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span> Palmer's Land. +A Russian navigator, Bellinghausen, exploring to the south and west of +the South Shetlands, located Alexander's Land, still more to the south than Palmer's Land.</p> + +<p>These repeated additions to the general knowledge gradually discredited +Captain Cook's assertion. The newly opened areas were found to be +replete with whales, seals, and other commercially valuable animals, and +ships of the mercantile marine continued to push nearer and nearer the +Pole. In 1822 a firm of traders sent out two vessels to the Antarctic +under the command of Captain Weddell, after whom the great Antarctic +seal is named. The vessels were small ships in comparison with the +modern build. One, the larger, was the <i>Jane</i>, a brig of 160 tons, and +the other a cutter, the <i>Beaufoy</i>, 65 tons. As Captain Weddell had +already done much geographical service in the South, his employers +instructed him to do all he could to discover fresh lands, and to +penetrate as far into the ice to the South as was possible. He succeeded +so well in carrying out the latter part of his instructions that, on +February 28, 1823, he carried the flag to 74° 1' S.</p> + +<p>For some years nothing more of note was done, but in 1831, Captain +Biscoe, on board the brig <i>Tula</i>, located land—named Enderby's Land, +after his employers—in 65° 57' S. latitude and 47° 20' E. longitude. +Wind and storms intervening, he was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> unable to do more than identify one +promontory, which he named Cape Ann. The year following Biscoe added to +his record the discovery of Adelaide Island, Graham's Land, and a range +of mountains he named after himself, Biscoe's Range. He landed on the +newly discovered territory on February 21, 1832, and took possession of +it in the name of Great Britain. Seven years later, on board the <i>Eliza +Scott</i>, Biscoe found an island in 66° 44' S. latitude and 165° 45' E. +longitude, the shores of which were so precipitous that no landing could +be effected. Describing it, he wrote: "But for the bare rocks from where +the icebergs had broken, we should scarcely have known it for land, but +as we stood in for it we plainly perceived smoke arising from the +mountain tops. It is evidently volcanic, as specimens of stones, or +rather cinders, will prove."</p> + +<p>Two years earlier the French Government had taken up the work the +British Government had neglected from the time of Captain Cook's +condemnation, and had despatched two ships, the <i>Astrolabe</i> and the +<i>Zelée</i>, to try and get into higher latitudes than those reached by +Weddell. The Government of the United States also sent out vessels to +continue the work already so successfully done by American whaling +skippers. The voyages did not add materially to the discovery of land, +although some valuable scientific facts were observed and recorded.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span></p><p>The British Government then bestirred itself, and two ships, the +<i>Erebus</i> and <i>Terror</i>, were placed under the command of Sir James C. +Ross, with Captain Crozier as second in command, to proceed to the +Antarctic regions and explore them.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span>CHAPTER XIV</span> <span class="smaller">VOYAGES OF THE <i>EREBUS</i> AND <i>TERROR</i></span></h2> + +<blockquote><p>A Fortunate Choice—Characteristic Southern Bergs—First Sight of +the Continent—More British Territory—A Mighty Volcanic +Display—Nearing the Magnetic Pole—The Antarctic Barrier—A Myth +Dispelled—A Second Attempt—Held by the Ice—Third and Last +Voyage—A Double Discovery.</p></blockquote> + +<p>The American and French expeditions having already selected areas for +their operations, Sir James Ross, not wishing to clash with them in any +way, directed his attention to that part of the Antarctic lying to the +south of Australia and New Zealand as his sphere of operations. Fortune +favoured him in this selection, for it is at this part of the Antarctic +region—situated between the meridians of 160° E. and 160° W. +longitude—that open water extends farthest into the high latitudes. He +chose the meridian of 170° E. as the line on which to sail to the south. +It was on this meridian that Balleny, in 1839, had found open water as +high as 69° S. The <i>Erebus</i> and <i>Terror</i> were equally fortunate, and +they were well to the south before they encountered sufficient ice to +prove difficult to navigation. Mostly they encountered icebergs, and +they were thus afforded excellent opportunities to note the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span>peculiarities of the southern bergs, and to compare them with those of +the Arctic. There was a manifest difference in both form and structure. +Those of the Antarctic showed little variety in shape, and in this they +were in marked contrast to the Arctic bergs. The bergs of the South were +very solid in appearance, with perpendicular grooves on the sides, and +level table-top summits. In size they ranged from 120 to 180 feet in +height, with a length varying from a few hundred yards to a couple of miles.</p> + +<p>Land was first sighted on January 11, 1841, when the ships were in lat. +70° 23' S. and long. 174° 50' E. The appearance of the land suggested +the tops of mountain peaks fully a hundred miles away. As the ships +sailed on, other peaks showed above the horizon, both to the east and +the west, and the majesty of their size left no room for doubt that they +were part of an area of land attaining to continental proportions. In +his account of the expedition, Sir James Ross wrote: "It was a +beautifully clear evening, and we had a most enchanting view of the two +magnificent ranges of mountains, whose lofty peaks, perfectly covered +with eternal snow, rose to elevations varying from 7000 to 10,000 feet +above the level of the ocean. The glaciers that filled their intervening +valleys, and which descended from near the mountain summits, projected, +in many places, several miles into the sea, and terminated in lofty, +perpendicular cliffs. In a few places the rock broke through the icy +covering, by which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span> alone we could be assured that land formed the +nucleus of this, to appearance, enormous iceberg."</p> + +<p>The range was named Admiralty Mountains, and the various peaks after the +different Lords of the Admiralty. With patriotic pride the leader +recorded that "the discovery of this land restored to Great Britain the +honour of having discovered the southernmost known land, which had been +so nobly won by the intrepid Bellinghausen, and for more than twenty +years retained by Russia."</p> + +<p>The amount of ice along, and off, the shore prevented a landing being +made, but it was found to be possible to get ashore on an island not far +away from the mainland. The island was named Possession Island, in +commemoration of the fact that on its shores the ceremony of taking +possession of the newly discovered lands in the name of Great Britain +was duly celebrated. Situated in lat. 71° 56' S. and long. 171° 7' E., +the island was found to be of igneous formation and accessible only on +its western shore. There were no signs of vegetation on the bare +volcanic rocks, "but myriads of penguins completely and densely covered +the whole surface of the island, along the ledges of the precipices, and +even to the summits of the hills, attacking us vigorously as we waded +through their ranks, and pecking at us with their sharp beaks, disputing +possession; which, with their loud, coarse notes and the insuperable +stench from the deep bed of guano, which had been forming for ages, and +which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span> may, at some time, be valuable to the agriculturists of our +Australian colonies, made us glad to get away again, after having loaded +our boats with geological specimens and penguins."</p> + +<p>As the voyage continued, the height of the mountains lying further to +the south of Admiralty Mountains was observed to be from 12,000 to +14,000 feet, the majority being obviously of volcanic origin. While +noting these characteristics, a phenomenon was witnessed which, for the +moment, suggested that they were in the presence of a mighty volcanic +upheaval. An angle was being measured, when, in the line of sight, an +island, about one hundred feet high, suddenly seemed to rise from the +ocean. All eyes were turned upon it, the dark colour of the new arrival +standing out in such pronounced contrast with the whiteness of the ice +around it. Then one, more observant than the rest, drew attention to the +fact that a large berg previously observed at the place where the island +had risen, had completely disappeared. At once the riddle was solved. +The berg had turned over, and, as the lower portion was composed of +earth-stained ice, it stood out in such strong relief against the other +ice that the mistake was easily accounted for.</p> + +<p>One of the mountains slowly coming into view on the horizon as the ships +continued their way was so remarkably like Mount Etna in appearance that +it was so named by the members of the expedition, but official +requirements of the case<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span> necessitated another name being given to it. +It was entered in the record as Mount Melbourne, while another, lying +beyond it, was named Mount Monteagle. These were the highest mountains +seen up to that time, and presented an imposing appearance. Yet others +were sighted in the course of a few days which quite eclipsed them. +These were the two volcanoes which were named after the two vessels, +Mount Erebus and Mount Terror.</p> + +<p>Mount Erebus, 12,400 feet high, was in active eruption when first seen, +and has been so on every occasion that man has looked upon it since. At +the time of its discovery it was giving a display that was +extraordinarily grand, the more so by reason of its surroundings. It was +snow-clad to within a few hundred feet of its conical summit, while its +huge base rested on a wide stretch of ice, gleaming and shimmering in +the sunlight. Between the ice wall, hundreds of feet high, which marked +the coast line, and the vessels, the water was blue and clear, +reflecting the hue of the sky above. From the crater alternate bursts of +smoke and flame were flung up, the rumbling sound of the explosions +floating down through the frozen stillness in a faint echo like that of +heavy distant artillery fire. In the official account it is described as follows:—</p> + +<p>"A volume of dense smoke was projected at each successive jet with great +force, in a vertical column to a height of between 1500 and 2000 feet +above the mouth of the crater, when, condensing at its upper<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span> part, it +descended in mist or snow, to be succeeded by another splendid +exhibition of the same kind in about half-an-hour afterwards, although +the intervals between the eruptions were by no means regular. The +diameter of the column of smoke was between 200 and 300 feet, as near as +we could measure it. Whenever the smoke cleared away, the bright red +flames that filled the mouth of the crater were clearly perceptible, and +some of the officers believed they could see streams of lava pouring +down its side until lost beneath the snow, which descended from a few +hundred feet below the crater and projected its perpendicular icy cliffs +several miles into the ocean."</p> + +<p>So far as the leader of the expedition was concerned, there was another +circumstance in connection with the position in which the ships were +that appealed to him very particularly. He had, a few years earlier, +succeeded in locating the North Magnetic Pole. Bearings, taken in the +neighbourhood of the two volcanoes, revealed the fact that the South +Magnetic Pole was only about 170 miles distant. An effort was made to +penetrate to the South so as to sail over, or otherwise locate, the +exact position of the magnetic pole; but the weather conditions, which +had been so favourable to them up to that point, now told severely +against them. The thermometer fell rapidly, and the temperature went so +low that the spray, flung up by the ships, froze, as it fell, into solid +ice on the bows. Men<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span> were kept constantly breaking it away, but still +it accumulated, considerably interfering with the speed of the ships. +Then they found in front of them a great wall of ice rising out of the +sea, without a break or opening, to a height of some hundreds of feet. +They sailed along it for miles, but the only change was that it +increased in height until it towered a thousand feet above the level of the ocean.</p> + +<p>Although it was then midsummer, and the warmest part of the year, the +highest temperature during the day was never above twenty degrees below +freezing. At the corresponding period of the season in the Arctic, every +iceberg gives evidence of the warmer weather by commencing to melt, so +that from all of them streams of water are to be seen pouring down the +sides. But the bergs in the Antarctic showed no such streams of water. +All were solid, and the heat of the sun at midday was not able to cause +even the surface to thaw. During a gale, encountered in this locality, +the waves, as they broke over the sides, covered the rigging and sails +with hard, clear ice until it was almost impossible to handle the ropes +or furl the sails.</p> + +<p>As February went by and they were still unable to work nearer the site +of the magnetic pole, the leader sought for a haven where the ships +could pass the winter, so as to be ready to recommence the work directly +the weather moderated with the approach of spring. But no such place was +to be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span> found, the mighty barrier of ice stretching away to the horizon +with never a break in its massive towering front. Nothing was to be done +except turn the vessels to the North and make the best of their way into +milder latitudes until the winter had passed.</p> + +<p>On the voyage towards the North, one of those accidents occurred to the +<i>Terror</i> which, fortunately for the welfare of sailors, are not possible +nowadays. The bobstay of the bowsprit was smashed by coming in contact +with a mass of floating ice. At the time the temperature was such that +the bows of the vessel, as well as the bowsprit and its rigging, were +all covered with ice, which the men had to be continually trying to keep +clear. With the ship pitching to a heavy head sea, this was by no means +easy, yet it was simple compared to the work of repairing the damaged +bobstay. The men carrying out this work had to be slung over the bows, +and every time the ship pitched, they were plunged into the freezing +water, often being entirely immersed. The temperature of the sea at the +time was twelve degrees below freezing, and two hours were occupied in +effecting the repairs, man after man going over the bows to take the +places of those who were literally frozen out. The commander, with +pardonable pride, commented upon the pluck and hardy determination of +his men in carrying out this arduous task.</p> + +<p>As they sailed to their winter quarters in an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span> easterly course, they +passed the locality where the ships of the American expedition had +reported a discovery of land forming part of the great Antarctic +continent. A sharp lookout was kept for it, but no indications were +seen, and, when the two ships sailed over the spot where the continent +was supposed to exist, the conclusion was forced upon the leaders that +the Americans had been misled, as they had themselves on more than one +occasion, into regarding the combination of ice and cloud as land. So +suggestive of land did this combination often appear, that it was only +by the most careful and critical observation that similar mistakes were +not to be recorded against the <i>Erebus</i> and <i>Terror</i>.</p> + +<p>Early in April they arrived at Tasmania, leaving that colony in the +following July for New Zealand, where they stayed until December, when +they sailed once more to the Antarctic.</p> + +<p>It was the intention of Ross to sail to the South along the 146th +meridian of west longitude, but the existence of heavy pack ice proved +an effectual obstacle to their progress. The ships became involved in +the pack, and only managed to force their way clear by the beginning of +February. This meant a great loss of valuable time, for they were only +able to reach 76° 42' S. latitude before they had to return. They +sighted the great barrier of ice lying to the south, with what appeared +to be high mountains, snow covered, rising behind. As no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span> definite +observations could be made to demonstrate whether the heights were +mountains or only the summit of the Antarctic ice-cap, the discovery was +not claimed as being new land.</p> + +<p>The vessels made their way to the Falkland Islands, where they passed +the winter, and on December 17, 1842, they sailed, for the third time, +to the South. The object of this voyage was to further explore Louis +Philippe Land and reach as high as Weddell had done. Excellent progress +was made, and, on the last day of the year, they sighted an island to +which the name Etna Island was given, as it was a volcano greatly +resembling, in miniature, the great volcano of Sicily. Further to the +south high peaks appeared, and, with the new year, a number of islands, +as well as what appeared to be portions of the mainland, were +discovered. Amongst others, the expedition found and named Paulet +Island, Cockburn Island, Snow Hill Island, and Mount Haddington, places +which were to be made still more familiar over half a century later by +the dramatic events which occurred to the Swedish expedition in 1901-3.</p> + +<p>In addition to the discovery of land, it was also found that the waters +off this coast abounded with whales, and, by the time that the two ships +returned to the Cape of Good Hope, in March, they were able to claim, +for the record of the third trip, the double discovery of land and of +all the essentials for a profitable whaling industry. The ships had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span> +circumnavigated the Antarctic region, and for many years thereafter +whalers were the main visitors. Until 1898 no official British +expedition sailed for the Antarctic, though there was a brief stay, just +within the Antarctic Circle, of H.M.S. <i>Challenger</i> in 1874.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span>CHAPTER XV</span> <span class="smaller">THE <i>SOUTHERN CROSS</i> EXPEDITION</span></h2> + +<blockquote><p>British continue the Work—Carrier Pigeons in the Ice—Withstanding +a Nip—A Sea-quake—Cape Adare Station—A Cosy Camp—Edible +Fish—Death visits the Camp—Penguin Peculiarities—A Derelict +Blue-bottle—The Welcome Postman—A Thrilling Episode.</p></blockquote> + +<p>The first British expedition for many years was that which sailed from +the Thames in 1898 on board the <i>Southern Cross</i>, under the leadership +of C. E. Borchgrevinck, with the object of penetrating as far as was +possible to the south and exploring the Antarctic continent, or as much +of it as could be visited during a year's stay in those latitudes.</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp304.jpg" id="fp304.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp304.jpg" width='700' height='442' alt="THE SOUTHERN CROSS IN THE ICE PACK" /></div> + +<p class="bold">THE <i>SOUTHERN CROSS</i> IN THE ICE PACK.</p> + +<p class="bold">At work with the Theodolite.</p> + +<p>The leader of the party had already been on this continent in 1894, when +he voyaged into the Antarctic on board a whaler. He had landed on South +Victoria Land and Possession Island, and had reached as far south as 74° +10' S. He had discovered a sheltered beach, near Cape Adare, which he +recognised as an ideal site for the headquarters of an exploring party +equipped for a prolonged stay. On the same occasion he was fortunate in +finding a lichen growing on the rocks of Cape Adare, which was the first +instance of terrestrial plant life being observed in the Antarctic. +Imbued with <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span>enthusiasm as to the prospects of successful observation +being carried out from this point, he strove to arouse public interest +in the project. He found plenty of interest but not much financial +support, until he had the good fortune to meet Sir George Newnes, Bart., +in 1898. That gentleman caught some of the enthusiasm which actuated +Borchgrevinck, and undertook to provide the necessary capital to enable +the expedition to be formed and despatched. Thereafter there was no +delay in the matter of organising the expedition. The <i>Southern Cross</i>, +a small barque-rigged steamer of 276 tons, and built by Colin Archer, +the builder of the <i>Fram</i>, was secured, and placed under the command of +Captain Bernhard Jensen. With stores and equipment for some years, a +crew of Norwegians, an efficient scientific staff, and a large kennel of +Arctic dogs, she left St. Katherine's Dock on August 22, 1898, amid much +popular demonstration and sailed for Tasmania.</p> + +<p>Arriving at Hobart early in December, she took in further supplies, and +sailed again, on December 19, for the Antarctic. On December 30, in +latitude 61° 56' S. and longitude 153° 53' E., she encountered the first +ice, and a few days later was among the floes. Some carrier pigeons had +been taken on board at Hobart, and they were liberated when the vessel +was well within the ice limit. One was absent for about a week before it +returned to the ship, but the majority returned almost at once.</p> + +<p>On January 14, 1899, land—Balleny Island—was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span> sighted in latitude 65° +44' S. and longitude 163° 38' E., and the <i>Southern Cross</i> was soon fast +in a pack. Advantage was taken of the opportunity to lay in a store of +seal flesh for the dogs. Two varieties were met with on the ice, leopard +seals and white seals, both so unaccustomed to the presence of man that +the explorers had no difficulty in walking up to them and killing them +as they lay on the ice.</p> + +<p>After being held for a week the first nip was experienced. The movement +in the ice was very pronounced, and high pressure-ridges were thrown up. +When the pressure caught the ship there was some uneasiness in the minds +of those on board as to how she would stand the strain. She disposed of +all fears, so far as she was concerned, by rising a clear four feet when +the nip was at its worst, thereby adding another instance to the record +of her builder as a cunning designer of ships for ice navigation.</p> + +<p>For a period of forty-eight days they were held in the pack, and the ice +then becoming more broken it was decided not to try any further to reach +to the south of Balleny Island; instead, it was determined to go direct +to Cape Adare, and establish the headquarters while the summer was still +with them. On February 12, a few days after getting into open water, and +when the vessel was making good progress under sail and steam, she was +noticed to shake violently. No ice was in sight, nor anything else that +could account for it, but there came<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span> a tremor which lasted for a couple +of seconds, followed by another after an interval of three seconds. The +phenomenon was noticed by men in all parts of the ship, and no +explanation could be given for it. A couple of days later they ran into +heavy weather, during which the temperature fell so low that everything +became covered with ice, an experience which was very similar to that +which befell the ships forming Sir James Ross's expedition in 1842. The +ship had to lay-to for two days until the weather abated, and, on the +second day after resuming her course, land was sighted, and the +<i>Southern Cross</i> steamed into Robertson Bay in sight of Cape Adare and +the spot where the headquarters of the expedition were to be built.</p> + +<p>The camp consisted of four huts, which were promptly erected and filled +with the stores and equipment. The landing party, consisting of ten, +made their home in one of the huts, utilising the others for the storage +of provisions, equipment, and other impedimenta. The dwelling-hut was +constructed with three doors, opening inwards, so as to facilitate the +escape of the residents should they become snowed in. Between the outer +and the middle doors there was a four-foot lobby, off which a small room +opened on either side. One of these was devoted to the development of +photographs and the storage of the more delicate instruments, while the +other was the taxidermist's studio. Both these rooms were lined with +wool and fur,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span> and were entered through small sliding trap-doors two +feet above the ground. The interior of the hut formed one room, fifteen +feet square, and with ten bunks constructed along the north and east +walls, each bunk being closed in, so that the occupant could lie within, +out of sight of the others, a very serviceable arrangement under +circumstances where ten men are compelled to be in one another's company +morning, noon, and night for several months at a stretch. The windows +faced the west, and were double framed, with a space of three inches +between the frames. The walls were also double, with <i>papier-mâché</i> +packing between, while the ceiling was seven feet above the floor, also +packed with <i>papier-mâché</i>, and had above it an attic where stores which +required keeping fairly warm were placed.</p> + +<p>Before they had everything completed on shore, a furious gale sprang up, +and from February 23 to 26 all the energies of the party were required +to keep the ship from being lost. She dragged her anchor and drifted +dangerously near the coast before steam could be got up, and even when +the engines were at full speed, she could barely do more than hold her +own. Once, two steel cables and a hawser were run out round a jutting +rock to afford her some stay, but they snapped like threads when the +puff caught her, and for the rest of the time she was kept standing off +and on under the lee of Cape Adare. During the winter the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span>explorers had +further experience of the character of these southern gales, the wind +often attaining a velocity of eighty-five miles an hour, representing a +force capable of lifting up and carrying bodily away such a thing as a +whale-boat; while the air was, at such times, filled with pebbles and +small stones blown from the high lands behind the camp. On one occasion, +so fierce was the strength of the wind, that it was found impossible to +crawl on hands and knees, and with the assistance of a guide-rope, from +the hut to the thermometer-box a couple of hundred yards away. The +heaviest member of the party, a man over thirteen stone, was blown from +the rope and nearly lost while attempting the journey.</p> + +<p>On March 2 everything was in order at the huts, and the shore party +landed to take up their residence. The flag presented to the expedition +by the Duke of York was hoisted, the <i>Southern Cross</i> dipped her ensign +to it, everybody cheered, and the vessel steamed out of the bay for New +Zealand, leaving the devoted ten the only occupants of the great unknown +continent which lies 2500 miles to the south of Australia.</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp310.jpg" id="fp310.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp310.jpg" width='700' height='437' alt="THE AURORA AUSTRALIS" /></div> + +<p class="bold">THE AURORA AUSTRALIS.</p> + +<p class="bold"><i>Drawn by Dr. E. A. Wilson.</i></p> + +<p>They were not long before they commenced work. Cape Adare was explored +and its height determined to be 3670 feet above sea-level. Vegetation, +in the form of lichens, was traced up to a thousand feet, to which level +it was found the penguins made their crude nests and hatched their +young. Snow<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span> lay deep after three thousand feet, but no signs of life, +vegetable or animal, were discovered at that altitude. In the waters +below and around the cape several specimens of algæ, medusa, hydroids, +and other low forms of marine life were secured. In addition to these +specimens it was also discovered that there was abundance of fish in the +deeper waters of the bay. These were caught, both by net and line, and +the members of the expedition were agreeably surprised when it was found +that they were nearly all edible, for a constant diet of preserved food +soon palls, even on the healthiest appetites. As the ice spread farther +out over the bay the fishing was conducted through a hole cut through +the ice, and it was no uncommon experience of the fisher to be suddenly +confronted with the startled eyes of a seal which had risen from the +depth below, under the belief that the opening was a blow-hole for his convenience.</p> + +<p>On May 15 they saw the sun disappear below the horizon, above which it +would not reappear until July 27. The sun, as it disappeared, presented +a curious optical phenomenon. Its reflection appeared as a large red +elliptical glowing body which gradually changed into a cornered square, +while the sky, in its immediate vicinity, revelled in a blaze of +colours. As the sun slowly sank, the colours grew in intensity, reaching +the height of their vivid beauty as the last of the globe sank out of +sight. The Aurora Australis continued to give<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span> them displays of +colouring throughout the time when the moon was not shining and the sky +was otherwise dark. The temperature sank very low, at times, during the +night, -25° Fahr. being recorded, soon after the sun went below the +horizon, while later on the records were as low as -57° Fahr. Inside the +hut, however, the cold was not severely felt, the construction proving +excellent for the comfort of the men. The numbers of seals killed for +the dogs enabled them to cover the roof with the skins before it became +snowed over, while the ample supply of fur and woollen clothing kept the +expedition well clad.</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp312.jpg" id="fp312.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp312.jpg" width='700' height='486' alt="EMPEROR PENGUINS" /></div> + +<p class="bold">EMPEROR PENGUINS.</p> + +<p class="bold">The most southerly inhabitants of the Globe.</p> + +<p class="bold"><i>From "The Siege of the South Pole," by Dr. H. R. Mill. By permission of +Messrs. Alston Rivers, Ltd.</i></p> + +<p>With one exception the winter passed without an untoward incident, the +exception being the illness of the zoologist of the party, who, after +being carefully nursed by the doctor and all the others, succumbed to +internal complications and died on October 13. This was the only +fatality during the expedition, and the loss of one out of so small a +party naturally had a saddening effect on the survivors. Before he died, +he indicated a spot a thousand feet up the slope of Cape Adare where he +wished to be buried, and, needless to add, his comrades loyally carried +out his last wishes. He died just at the time when the penguins, the +study of which had so engrossed him, were returning over the ice to +their nesting quarters. The first one arrived a few hours before his +death, and it was taken to him, at his request. The place where<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span> he +sleeps is on the line where vegetation ceases and above which the +penguins do not build.</p> + +<p>It was a pity he did not live to see the return of the penguins, for +they came in myriads with the approach of spring. They advanced over the +ice in a long line, walking in single file, and apparently in +detachments of about sixty birds in each. They must have marched for +many miles, as there was no open water nearer from whence they could +have come, and they are not able to fly. As soon as they reached the +land they spread out in such a way as to suggest that each pair went to +the nest they had occupied before. These were simple affairs, consisting +of little more than a few pebbles arranged in a ring on beds of guano. +As a rule, two eggs were laid in each nest, and, for a month, male and +female shared the labour of sitting on them, commencing in November and +remaining on the nests until the young came out in December. The chicks +were fed by the parent birds until they were fairly well grown, when +they were driven into packs and left to look after themselves, with only +occasional help from the older birds. When they were able to look after +themselves, without further assistance, the parents departed. On such +occasions a curious habit was observed. The birds of a detachment seemed +to wait for one another until all were ready, when they would strut, in +a solemn procession, to the water's edge. Usually the white breasts of +the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span> birds were spotlessly clean, but the time they spent on the nests +made them very dingy in appearance. As they strutted down to the water's +edge they were all sadly in need of a bath, yet, on arrival at the edge, +they would stand about, shiver, flap their diminutive wings, and +manifest all the hesitation which is shown by timid bathers when about +to take a plunge. Nothing would induce them to enter the water until +they were ready in their own good time, attempts, on the part of the +explorers, to drive them in, merely resulting in the birds turning round +and strutting on to the land again. When at length the time came for the +plunge, one would flap his wings, utter a cry, and take a header, +whereupon the others would follow, one after the other, all in line and +so rapidly that they presented the appearance of a stream being poured +out of a bottle. The plunge over, they returned to the shore, spotless and clean.</p> + +<p>As the gales were not over when the birds were sitting, they were +watched to see how they would prevent themselves from being blown away +by the fierce gusts. Almost as soon as the barometer gave indications of +the approach of a gale, the birds were seen to turn their heads towards +the south-east, the quarter from whence the wind came, and lie close to +the ground, with their heads down and their breasts pressed close to it. +On no occasion was a bird seen to be blown away from the nest.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span></p><p>During December, when the weather became milder, the interesting +discovery was made that insect life exists on the Antarctic land. Some +specimens were found among the mosses growing on the shore, and the +excitement which followed the discovery led one of the Finns, two of +whom were included in the party, to unconsciously play an effective +practical joke on the others. He found a dead blow-fly in a case of jam +and brought it to the hut as a trophy. For a time there was even greater +excitement, until some one thought to ask where the fly had been captured.</p> + +<p>On January 29, 1900, the <i>Southern Cross</i> returned. She arrived in the +bay at a time when the explorers were sleeping after some heavy +journeys. The captain landed, and walking up to the hut, pushed the door +open and entered. He had the mail-bag with him, and flung it on the +table with a loud cry of "Post." In a moment the bunks were empty, the +sound of a strange voice rousing all the men, to say nothing of the +prospect of receiving news from the world out of which they had been so long.</p> + +<p>As there was no time to be lost, if they were to penetrate further to +the South before the mild weather passed, they moved on board the ship +as soon as they could, and by February 2 the <i>Southern Cross</i> steamed +away again with all on board. They made excellent progress, passing +Mount Melbourne on February 6, approaching near enough to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span> coast +opposite to Mount Terror to permit them to land, after which they +steamed along the great ice-barrier until they found an opening, into +which they steamed, so as to enable a sledge party to land and push +forward to the South. It was this sledge party which reached "farthest +South," being on February 16 in latitude 78° 50' S., the highest +latitude reached up to that time.</p> + +<p>But it was while they were ashore at Mount Terror that one of the most +exciting incidents of the whole journey occurred. The party landed at a +small beach which lay under cliffs towering five hundred feet above. In +order to get photographs of it, the boat was despatched back to the ship +for a camera, while Borchgrevinck and Jensen remained ashore. The boat +had not gone very far when a great roar sounded in the air. Those on +shore feared for the moment that a slide had begun in the cliffs over +their heads; but it was not the rocks that were moving. A mighty +glacier, which entered the sea near where they were standing, was +shedding an iceberg from the parent mass, and the noise was caused by +the rending of the ice as the millions of tons mass tore itself free. +The beach was barely four feet above the water, and, as the berg crashed +into the sea, it sent up a great wave that swept along the coast. The +men on the beach barely saw it coming before it was over them. Pressing +themselves against the face of the cliff at the highest point they could +reach, they held on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span> for dear life while the icy water surged up and +over them. After the first wave had passed, others followed, though +these only reached up to their arm-pits, and had it not been for a +projecting point of rock, which served to break the force of the waves, +there is little doubt but that both would have been swept away. The full +force of the waves was shown only a few yards away from where the two +had stood, stones being torn loose and the mark of the water being left +twenty feet up the face of the cliff.</p> + +<p>Having reached "farthest South," the homeward journey was begun on +February 19, and three days later the <i>Southern Cross</i> steamed into Port +Ross, in the Island of Auckland. The expedition was then practically at +an end, having succeeded so well in its objects that it was able to +claim that it had located the Southern Magnetic Pole as being in +latitude 73° 20' S. and longitude 146° E.; had discovered insect and +plant life on the Antarctic continent; had reached the farthest South, +and had added very considerably to the geographical and scientific +knowledge of the world.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span>CHAPTER XVI</span> <span class="smaller">THE REVIVAL OF ANTARCTIC INTEREST</span></h2> + +<blockquote><p>Modern Means and Methods—Private Enterprise leads—The +<i>Valdavia</i>—The <i>Belgica</i> Expedition—International Action +adopted—The German Expedition—An Ice-bound Land—Fresh +Trade-Winds.</p></blockquote> + +<p>Towards the end of the last century there was a distinct revival, in +European scientific circles, of interest in the still unsolved problems +of the frozen South. Many causes contributed to this. The gradual +narrowing of the northern sphere, and the activity displayed in that +region by the Americans, to whom it especially appealed, led the +European geographers to remember the great amount of work yet to be done +in the South. The achievements of the Ross expedition, which had +satisfied public curiosity for the time being, now only stimulated +curiosity as to how much more could be ascertained by the use of modern +steamships and all the other improved appliances that had done so much +to help in Arctic work.</p> + +<p>For a time private enterprise operated, and several vessels were +despatched, from time to time, some with excellent results; but +something more than private enterprise, working individually, was +required<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span> if all the benefits of a thorough exploration were to be +obtained. In her brief experience in 1874, H.M.S. <i>Challenger</i> examined, +by means of sounding and dredging, the floor of the ocean to the south +of Kerguellen Island. The evidence collected pointed to the existence, +still further to the south, of an area of land approaching continental +dimensions. In 1898 a German steamer, the <i>Valdavia</i>, with Professor +Carl Chun on board, left Cape Town, rediscovered Bouvet Island, which +had not been visited from the time it was first seen by Captain Cook, +and collected further evidence, by sounding and dredging, of the +existence of extensive land nearer the Pole.</p> + +<p>A Belgian, M. Adrien de Gerlache, fitted out a ship, the <i>Belgica</i>, and +sailed from Antwerp, in 1897, to explore the area lying to the south of +South America. In the early part of the voyage a new strait was +discovered between Danco Land and Palmer Land, but in February 1898 the +ship became involved in the ice and remained in it for a year, drifting +between 69° 40' and 71° 35' S. latitude and 80° 30' and 102° 10' W. +longitude. During the winter they had a period of seventy days' +darkness, spent on board, the effect of which was extremely depressing +to their spirits and injurious to their health. It was found that the +sea floor had shoaled up to the shallow depth of from 200 to 300 +fathoms, suggesting the proximity of a large area of land, the actual +existence of which,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span> however, the members of the expedition were not +able to observe.</p> + +<p>An international agreement was then arrived at, through the influence of +the International Geographical Conference, under which three nations, +Germany, Sweden, and Great Britain, undertook to despatch to the +Antarctic, three separate expeditions, one from each country. They were +to sail from Europe in 1901, and while working on similar lines, and as +much in common as was possible, each was to have its distinct sphere of +operations. The British undertook the exploration of that area south of +Australia, where Ross had located the volcanoes Mount Erebus and Mount +Terror; the Swedes selected the lands lying to the south of South +America, while the Germans gave their attention to the seas already +visited by the <i>Valdavia</i>.</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp320.jpg" id="fp320.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp320.jpg" width='700' height='433' alt="POLAR OUTFIT USED BY THE BELGICA EXPEDITION" /></div> + +<p class="bold">POLAR OUTFIT USED BY THE <i>BELGICA</i> EXPEDITION.</p> + +<p class="bold">Tent, Sledge and Snow Shoes.</p> + +<p>The German expedition sailed from Kiel on August 11, 1901, on board the +<i>Gauss</i>, and was under the command of Professor Erich von Drygalski. +Their first objective was Kerguellen Island, and the chief work carried +out was of a purely scientific character. It was originally intended +that all the expeditions should return to Europe after passing one +winter in the Antarctic. The Germans did so, but both the Swedes and the +British were unable to carry out this part of the programme, the former +in consequence of the loss of their ship in the ice, the latter because +their ship was hard and fast in the southern ice. The Germans were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span> more +fortunate in escaping the ill effects of what was an unusually severe +ice season; but the other nations, by the longer stay they had in the +frozen regions, were able to return with a much more comprehensive +collection of information.</p> + +<p>Leaving a small party at Kerguellen Island, the <i>Gauss</i> sailed to her +allotted area, already revealed by the voyages of Cook, Bellinghausen, +Biscoe, and Kemp. The ice barrier prevented her reaching a very high +latitude, but the connection between Knox Land and Kemp Land, appearing +as isolated coasts on the old maps, was proved. On this land, during the +winter, large quantities of ice are formed, to drift out to sea in the +form of huge packs which effectually guard the shore from intrusion. +Forcing a way through the pack, the <i>Gauss</i> found a brief stretch of +open water, the depth of which was found to shoal rapidly from 1500 to +120 fathoms. This led them to a rugged, steep coast line, occupying the +position of what Ross had defined in 1841 as "ice cliffs." The land was +too high and steep to permit them to land, and the ship, becoming +involved in the ice within sight of it, winter quarters were established on the ice.</p> + +<p>Severe gales hampered them in their work, but otherwise the winter +passed without any untoward incidents. The rocks composing the cliffs of +the coast were found to be ancient crystalline formations. The interior +of the land was entirely covered, so far as could be seen, by a solid +ice-cap<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span> forming one of the most extensive glacial regions now known to +exist. It seemed to be slightly receding, though no definite evidence of +this could be obtained in so short a time as that at the disposal of the explorers.</p> + +<p>One of the most useful observations made was that relating to the +direction of the winds. The trade-winds blowing in the "roaring +forties," and which serve so good a purpose in carrying ships round Cape +Horn and the Cape of Good Hope to and from Australia, blow from the west +towards the east. At the position occupied by the <i>Gauss</i>, inside the +Antarctic Circle, it was noticed that the prevailing winds were from +east to west. Thus, if a clear passage could be found, vessels sailing +round the southern ocean could select either an easterly or a westerly +route as suited them best, instead of having, as at present, to follow +that indicated by the wind.</p> + +<p>At the expiration of the period allotted to them for their stay, the +explorers were able to get free from the ice, and return to Germany. In +this, as has been said, they were the only one of the three expeditions +keeping to time. They arrived home after an absence of twenty-eight +months, fourteen of which were passed in the South Polar ice.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span>CHAPTER XVII</span> <span class="smaller">THE SWEDISH EXPEDITION</span></h2> + +<blockquote><p>Sails in the <i>Antarctica</i>—Argentine Co-operation—First Antarctic +Fossil—Building the Winter Station—A Breezy Corner—Electric +Snow—A Spare Diet—New Year Festivities—The Missing Ship—Relief +that never Came—A Devastating Nip—Castaway—The Unexpected +Happens—A Dramatic Meeting—Rescued.</p></blockquote> + +<p>The expedition to explore the land lying in the Antarctic region to the +south of South America, which, under the international arrangement of +1895, was allotted to Sweden, was placed under the command of Professor +Otto Nordenskjold, with whom was associated Professor Johan Andersson, +both members of Swedish Universities. The steam barque <i>Antarctica</i>, +Captain C. A. Larsen, who had already had considerable experience in the +Polar regions, was selected as the vessel in which the expedition was to +proceed to the field of operations. The original plan was for the +expedition to leave Europe in 1901, and to be back in Sweden by May 1903.</p> + +<p>The detailed plan was to leave Sweden as early as possible in the autumn +of 1901 for the South Shetlands, whence the vessel was to go to the east +coast of the land known to lie to the south of those islands. +Penetrating as far to the south as possible,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span> a station was to be +established at any convenient point and a party of six left there, with +the necessary stores, apparatus, and equipment, to spend the winter, +while the ship was to return north to the Falkland Islands and spend the +winter with the remainder of the expedition carrying out scientific +investigations at Tierra del Fuego and South Georgia. On the arrival of +spring the <i>Antarctica</i> was to pick up the members of the expedition who +might be in Tierra del Fuego and South Georgia and proceed south to the +winter station, take on board the members who had passed the winter +there, and return at once to Sweden.</p> + +<p>Unfortunately for the successful carrying out of the plans, the summer +of 1902-3, in the Antarctic regions, was the coldest and the worst for +ice conditions that has ever been recorded, and the expedition, instead +of being able to carry out the plans laid down, experienced, instead, a +series of unexpected happenings which was fatal to the exact working out +of detail, but was rich in exciting and romantic episode. The Frozen +South, like the Frozen North, will not yield its secrets to the first +comer who demands them. The resources of the ice world, at either pole, +are too vast to be overcome without a fierce and prolonged struggle.</p> + +<p>Instead of one winter, the Swedish expedition spent two in the ice +region, while, during the second, all the members of it were living on +the ice, though as three separate parties, each within a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span> few miles of +the other, and all, more or less, ignorant of the proximity of their +comrades. The peculiar circumstances under which they became separated, +their experiences during that time, and the dramatic manner in which +they were reunited and rescued, will form the chief incidents of the following pages.</p> + +<p>Leaving Sweden on October 17, 1901, the <i>Antarctica</i> proceeded to South +America, where, at the request of the Argentine Government, a +representative of that country, in the person of Lieutenant Sobral, of +the Navy, joined the expedition. In return for this courtesy the +Argentine Government offered to do all it could to assist the +expedition. How magnificently it carried out its promise will be seen later.</p> + +<p>Early in January the ship was amongst the ice, making her way as fast as +she could to the neighbourhood of Erebus and Terror Gulf, where it was +hoped a suitable site would be found for the winter station. The state +of the ice, however, was not favourable to this scheme, and, by the time +Seymour Island was sighted, it was evident there was little chance of +working into more southern latitudes. Nearly ten years before Captain +Larsen had visited this island, and had taken from it specimens of +fossil wood and molluscs, the first fossils ever discovered in the Antarctic.</p> + +<p>Before landing on it and seeking for more geological specimens, the +leader determined to try<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span> whether there was any chance of penetrating to +the South from a more westerly longitude. The ship was turned on to a +westerly course and kept on it until the beginning of February, but as +no opening was to be seen through the ice to the south, her head was +turned to the east once more, and she returned to the neighbourhood of +Seymour Island. On February 10 the vessel was in Sydney Herbert Bay, +which formed the hitherto unvisited part of Erebus and Terror Gulf. As +it was obviously impossible to get farther to the south, Nordenskjold +decided to establish the winter station on one of the islands in this vicinity.</p> + +<p>A brief visit to Seymour Island did not reveal the wealth of +fossil-bearing strata that was expected. Paulet Island was visited and +an interesting circular lake was discovered, lying in a circular range +of hills. The banks of the lake bore ample evidences that at one time +there had been great volcanic activity at the place, and the lake was +evidently formed in the hollow of the extinct crater. The place did not +appeal to them as a site for the winter station, and, as further +journeys revealed another island on the other side of Seymour Island, +where there was a beach which appeared to be sheltered from the +southward, the point whence the most violent winds blew, it was decided +to build the hut there.</p> + +<p>The <i>Antarctica</i> anchored in the bay opposite the beach and rapidly +unloaded the camp equipment.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span> When everything was almost landed, a +movement in the ice at the mouth of the bay compelled the ship to stand +out into open water, so the party of six, who were to spend the winter +on the island, hastened ashore, where they had their hut to build and +all preparations to make without the help, which had been counted upon, +of the crew of the vessel. But this did not weigh heavily upon them, and +they set to work with a will. In the course of a week, the <i>Antarctica</i> +was able to get into the bay again and to land the remaining stores; but +by that time the hut was up and the adventurous six were almost settled +down to their routine work.</p> + +<p>A day or so after landing, Nordenskjold discovered that the island they +were on—named Snow Hill Island—was peculiarly interesting from a +geological point of view, for he found fossils of ammonites, a token of +ancient life of the region which alone would have made the expedition memorable.</p> + +<p>During the first month of their sojourn, the party were fully occupied +in organising their scientific work and in taking preliminary trips +through the island. At an early date they satisfied themselves that +Admiralty Bay is a Sound, and that the portion of the continent +extending to the vicinity was more in the nature of a group of scattered +islands, with deep sounds passing between them, than a continuous +stretch of mainland. The microscopical examination of the soil revealed +the presence of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span> numerous bacteria, while the examination of the waters +showed that the lower forms of life were well represented. On the land +there were abundance of penguins, seals, and migratory birds; but +otherwise there was an absence of the animals found throughout the Arctic regions.</p> + +<p>On one point they had reason to be dissatisfied with the position +selected for the station. At the time the site was chosen it was +believed that they would be well sheltered from the force of the gales. +The reverse was found to be the case. Gales came from the south-west for +days together and blew with a velocity that was astounding. On one +occasion a large bag of fossils, left on the steps of the hut, was blown +yards away; while on another, a barrel of bread was carried off, and a +whale-boat was lifted over a second boat and flung against a mass of +ice, a distance of twenty-one yards. When the boat was found, after the +storm had abated, it was lying keel upwards, with the greater part of +one side smashed in. The oars, thwarts, and inside planks were scattered +and broken, even the zinc plating being stripped off and blown away.</p> + +<p>A curious phenomenon was observed during the progress of these gales. +The air became saturated with electricity to such an extent that the +metal parts of the instruments gave shocks to the fingers when touched, +while the tips of a man's fingers glowed with luminosity when outside +the hut in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span> the dark. As a similar thing occurs in the Sahara during the +progress of a simoon or sand-storm, it was considered that the amount of +electricity was caused by the friction set up by the particles of snow +carried along in a never-ending cloud by the gale. The rate at which the +dry particles of snow moved was tremendous. An extra severe gale +carrying away the wind-gauge, it was not possible to keep a complete +record of the velocity of the gales, but from the records secured, it +was demonstrated that, during the first half of June, if the hut had +travelled with the same velocity as the wind rushed past it, a distance +of 14,900 miles would have been covered, or as far as from the hut to +Sweden and half-way back.</p> + +<p>As winter approached, the storms obscured the sky and the sun was not +often seen. They were not far enough south to lose it altogether, and +all through the winter they had the benefit of its presence, though not +for many hours at a time. When it did come, however, it came with great +magnificence. After a series of storms they saw it rise one morning, and +the spectacle is described as gorgeous and beautiful. "The morning was +so clear and bright that I absolutely do not know with what to compare +it," Nordenskjold wrote. "A faint violet light lay along the horizon and +over Cockburn Island, which forms the central point of view from the +station. The sky gleams with a darker blue, and across it float long<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span> +streamers of ribbon-like clouds, which shine and flame in red. But ever +in the colours there is something pale, a paleness which predominates +with indescribable delicateness of tone in the tints of the horizon, and +in the blue and white shades of the stretches of land, which contrast so +strongly with the dull brown of our immediate neighbourhood, and even +with the sharply defined ice wall of Snow Hill. At about ten o'clock a +glowing spot begins to be visible on the horizon, and, presaged by a +perpendicular pillar of fire, there rises what would be the orb of the +sun, but which, in consequence of refraction, appears to us to be a +broad flaming moving belt of fire. On each side of the sun there are two +shining, intensely rainbow-coloured belts, forming parts of a ring, +which, however, can be seen but imperfectly. The sun rises higher in the +heavens and assumes by degrees his ordinary appearance, whereupon these +accessory phenomena disappear, together with the moon, whose crescent +has been visible in the sky until the last possible moment."</p> + +<p>The winter passed without misfortune, and with the approach of spring +preparations were made for the first long sledge journey. On this, and +other journeys, they succeeded in travelling long distances over what +was often heavy ice, on two meals a day. The first, which was the more +substantial of the two, consisted of pemmican made into a thick +porridge-like soup, the nutritious<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span> qualities of which were felt even as +it was being eaten. This was followed by coffee, meat, biscuits, butter +and sugar. On such a meal the men existed and travelled all day, making +no stop until the evening, when they had their dinner, consisting merely +of pease or lentil soup, meat, chocolate, bread, butter, and, sometimes, +bacon. Immediately they had eaten this frugal repast they were in their +sleeping-bags and asleep.</p> + +<p>After climbing the ice ridges, which rose along the shores of the +mainland, they succeeded in reaching the land itself on October 18, +though the only evidence of it was the appearance of some dark-coloured +rocks which showed above the ice. They were then in 56° 48' S. and 62° +11' W. This was as far as they penetrated, and the rapidity of their +movements is shown by the record they set of thirty-eight and a half +miles in one day. Other shorter trips taken over the islands in the +vicinity of Snow Hill Island resulted in the discovery of important +fossils, including the bones of an unknown vertebrate animal, some +mammoth penguins, as well as the leaves of different kinds of pine trees +and several ferns. These were all regarded as belonging to the Tertiary period.</p> + +<p>With the New Year of 1903 they indulged in festivities, not only on +account of the season, but also in anticipation of the early arrival of +the <i>Antarctica</i>. As they had no idea of spending two<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span> winters in +succession in the station, they had not been rigidly economical with +their stores. There was no shortage in anything, but there was not +enough to last them during a second winter on the same scale that they +had lived during the first. When the days went by and grew into weeks, +and no ship appeared, they began to take note of these things. For a +time they kept on the lookout, and, at night, would conjecture at what +hour on the following day the <i>Antarctica</i> would appear, and by whom she +would first be seen, but as the month slipped by and no ship appeared, +they dropped the subject, with one accord, and, instead of discussing +when the vessel would arrive, they talked about the best way of spending +their second winter at the station. The penguin roosts were visited and +large numbers of the birds were killed and stored away for winter food, +while seals were slaughtered to provide food for the dogs and clothing +for the men. Although they never discussed it, the idea each man had +about the non-arrival of the <i>Antarctica</i> was that she had become caught +in the ice, and so prevented from reaching them until it was too late in +the season. What had actually occurred never suggested itself.</p> + +<p>After passing the winter as was arranged, the <i>Antarctica</i> had proceeded +to Tierra del Fuego and South Georgia, had picked up all the members of +the expedition, and had steamed away to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span> South so as to reach the +winter station early in January. As she advanced, however, she found the +sea so blocked with ice that she could not follow the course she had +sailed the previous year. When she arrived at Hope Bay, some miles to +the north of the station, Professor Andersson and two companions landed +with sledges and sufficient provisions to last nine men for two months. +It was their intention to proceed over the ice to the station, while the +<i>Antarctica</i> steamed away to the west, in the hopes of finding an +opening through the ice which would enable her to reach the station. If, +on the arrival of the relief party at the station, the <i>Antarctica</i> had +not appeared, they were to return, with the other six, and wait for the +ship at Hope Bay.</p> + +<p>Before proceeding over the ice to the station the three built a small +stone hut, where they stored the greater portion of the stores, and with +the remainder on their sledge they started on their march. But the ice, +which had been too compact for the ship to penetrate, was not compact +enough for them to traverse. Delay after delay was caused by leads and +channels, until it was forced upon them that they would not be able to +reach the station until the summer was over and the ice formed solid +over the sea. As by that time the <i>Antarctica</i> ought to have arrived at +the station, they decided their best course was to return to the depôt +at Hope Bay and await her advent.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span> They did so, but no ship appeared, +and, with the end of summer, it was clear to them that something had +happened either to the ship or at the station, and that the only thing +left for them to do was to make themselves as comfortable as they could. +With the limited store of provisions they had with them it was necessary +to go on short rations at once, though the capture of some penguins, the +shooting of seals, and the catching of fish by means of a hook made from +a strap buckle and a line of sealskin torn into strips, augmented their +stock of food and gave them, also, in the blubber of the seals, fuel and +light. Cooped up in their little stone hut, which was only built large +enough, in the first instance, as a place to hold their stores, they +went through the dreary months of winter with a contentment which was +the very acme of heroism.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the <i>Antarctica</i> had steamed away to the west, and then, a +chance offering itself, had stood to the south until she was in the +latitude of Paulet Island. She turned to the east, heading in the +direction of the station on Snow Hill Island, when the ice caught her. +For days she remained in the pack, those on board chafing at the delay +and trying every device to get her free. But the ice was too strong, and +at last they were forced to admit that they were caught for the winter. +This was bad enough, but there was worse to follow. A movement began in +the pack, and a pressure-ridge<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span> started directly for the ship. It was +upon them almost before they realised it, and the crash with which she +heeled over told its own tale. The ice had torn a length of her keel +away, and had made a hole in her which it was impossible to repair.</p> + +<p>Everything that could be got out was thrown on to the ice, and the +ship's company formed themselves into sledge parties to convey as much +as they could to the nearest land. This was Paulet Island, where they +arrived after an arduous march and at once set to work to construct a +shelter for the winter, which was now upon them. There they stayed, +within a few miles of the station, and of the other party at Hope Bay, +but all in ignorance of the proximity of one another, and quite unable to communicate.</p> + +<p>With the first sign of approaching spring the men at the station made +arrangements to resume their expeditions and complete the survey of the +islands in their immediate vicinity. The first trip was in the direction +of Hope Bay, and the party had been out some days when, in the dim +light, one thought he saw an unusual dark patch on the ice in the +distance. He drew his companion's attention to it, but neither cared to +trust their eyes. As they approached nearer, the dark patch resolved +itself into the figures of men, and a still nearer view revealed two +such extraordinary creatures that one of the men from the station +thought it would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span> be as well to have a revolver ready in case of +emergencies. The two figures were in black garments, with black caps on +their heads, and their hands and faces were as black as their clothes, +while the upper parts of their faces were hidden by curious-looking +masks. Beside them was a sledge.</p> + +<p>With considerable uncertainty the men from the station approached, and +were not reassured when they were asked, in English, how they were. +"Thanks; how are you?" they replied. "Don't you know us?" one of the +strange-looking creatures asked. "We're the relief party. Have you seen +the ship?" Then a third figure appeared from behind an ice hummock where +he had been preparing a meal. They were Professor Andersson and his +companions, who were on their way, for the second time, to the station.</p> + +<p>Without loss of time the reunited comrades made their way to the +station, where soap and water and a fresh supply of clothes soon +transformed the appearance of the three who had had so trying a time in +the little stone hut at Hope Bay. But the situation was still fraught +with anxiety, now that both parties realised something very serious had +happened to the <i>Antarctica</i>. It was impossible for them to determine +whether she had gone to the bottom, or had been beset in the ice. Only +one thing was clear, and that was, that they would all have to stay +where they were until some help came to them. While they were still +debating what<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span> chances there were of any coming before another winter +went by, they were startled, one day, by the arrival of visitors. These +proved to be a search party from the Argentine cruiser <i>Uruguay</i>, which +the Argentine Government had despatched as the <i>Antarctica</i> had not +returned at her appointed time. Help had come at a time and from a +quarter least expected.</p> + +<p>But the news that the cruiser brought added very much to the fears the +explorers entertained as to the safety of the <i>Antarctica</i> and her crew. +If she had been beset, some of her company could have reached the +station over the ice while it was still compact, or, if she was still +afloat, she ought herself to have been able to reach them. The absence +of all news made the members of the expedition gathered at the station +more than uneasy as to the fate of their comrades.</p> + +<p>The morning after the Argentine officers arrived, one of the men, +looking out of the hut, exclaimed that eight men were coming over the +ice. Under the impression that they were some of the cruiser's crew sent +to assist in removing the baggage from the station to the ship, he went +out to meet them, walking slowly, as he tried to decide what was to be +done if they could not speak any language he knew. The others in the +hut, watching him, saw him suddenly leap forward and then turn to them +and wave his arms. "Larsen! Larsen is here!" they heard him shout.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span></p><p>With one accord they rushed out after him, and in a few moments were +eagerly shaking hands with the eight men, who were a detachment sent out +from the camp on Paulet Island to ascertain whether the party at the +station was still intact or whether it had been rescued. The news was +sent to the cruiser, and soon all the members of the expedition and +their baggage were on board and the ship was steaming for Paulet Island.</p> + +<p>On arrival off the coast no signs of the remainder of the crew of the +<i>Antarctica</i> were to be seen, so the whistle was blown. The men at the +time were all in the shelter, sleeping, and the sudden sound of the +whistle roused them. For the moment they could not believe their ears. +Then one of them looked out and saw the ship, and the shout with which +he and his companions greeted the sight rang far out over the water.</p> + +<p>Professor Andersson and his two comrades had left the <i>Antarctica</i> on +December 29, 1902; the ship was nipped on January 10, 1903; and the +castaways arrived at Paulet Island at the end of February. They had +lived in the shelter they constructed, subsisting mostly on penguin, +until November, when the Argentine cruiser arrived. Only one man had +died.</p> + +<p>The expedition reached Buenos Aires on November 30, 1903, having, during +the time they had been in the Antarctic, collected a mass of interesting +and valuable scientific information.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span>CHAPTER XVIII</span> <span class="smaller">BRITAIN HOLDS HER OWN</span></h2> + +<blockquote><p>A Capable Crew—A Modern Franklin—Early Discoveries—Frozen in—An +Historic Journey—The Record of "Farthest South"—How the Record +was Won—Speedy Travelling—Receding Ice Limits—A Dying +Glacier—The Secret of the Barrier—A Fatal Gale—Lost in the +Snow—An Antarctic Chute—Prolonged Slumber—Antarctic Coal—Home +with Honour.</p></blockquote> + +<p>The British Expedition, despatched under the international agreement, +was destined, not only to surpass the achievements of the other two, but +also to establish a series of records superior to anything that has yet +been accomplished in Polar exploration, either in the northern or +southern hemispheres.</p> + +<p>The members of the expedition, consisting of Naval officers and men, +officers of the Mercantile Marine (Royal Naval Reserve), and civilian +scientists, sailed from Cowes on August 6, 1901, on board the +<i>Discovery</i>, a vessel specially built for the purpose. The ship +proceeded to New Zealand, and left there on November 28, 1901, for +Victoria Land. They arrived there December 24.</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp338.jpg" id="fp338.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp338.jpg" width='443' height='700' alt="MAP OF SOUTH POLAR REGIONS" /></div> + +<p class="bold">MAP OF SOUTH POLAR REGIONS.</p> + +<p class="bold">The black line marks the voyage of the <i>Discovery</i>; the dotted line the +course of the record-making Southern sledge journey. On the right of the +map are seen the winter quarters of the German Expedition under Prof. von Drygalski.</p> + +<p>In selecting the members of the expedition, great care had been +exercised, and the excellent results of the voyage may, in a great +measure, be attributed to this. No other qualification than fitness was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span> +allowed to rank with the selecting committee, so that every one on board +the <i>Discovery</i> knew what he had to do and was capable of doing it. This +is particularly true in regard to the commander, Captain Robert F. +Scott, R.N., of whom the President of the Royal Geographical Society +justly said: "the skilful and bold navigator, the ideal director of a +scientific staff, the organiser of measures securing the health and good +spirits of his people, and the beloved commander of the chosen band of +explorers who are ready to face hardships and dangers to secure his +approval." Throughout the entire period the expedition was away, the +attitude of the commander was entirely in keeping with the grandest +traditions of the service to which he belonged, and would serve to place +his name in the brilliant list of Polar heroes quite apart from the +splendid feats he personally performed while in the Antarctic. Prominent +amongst these stands the record of "farthest South," achieved by Scott +and two comrades, in September 1902, when the flag was carried to 82° +17' S., or some 250 miles nearer the Pole than it had yet been.</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp340.jpg" id="fp340.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp340.jpg" width='700' height='480' alt="THE DISCOVERY LYING IN WINTER QUARTERS, FROZEN IN" /></div> + +<p class="bold">THE <i>DISCOVERY</i> LYING IN WINTER QUARTERS, FROZEN IN.</p> + +<p class="bold">The large hut could accommodate the whole crew, and was built in case of +a disaster to the ship. The smaller huts in the foreground were used for +magnetic and astronomical observations.</p> + +<p>The first point touched by the <i>Discovery</i> on her voyage along the coast +of Victoria Land was Cape Adare, where the Newnes expedition, under +Borchegrevinck, passed the winter of 1899. Here a brief landing was +effected, a collection made of the rocks in the neighbourhood, and a +cairn built to hold a record for the information of the relief ship,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span> +which was to be sent out in the following year. Continuing the voyage to +the South, the explorers visited Wood Bay, and, subsequently, discovered +an excellent harbour as far south as 76° 31' S.</p> + +<p>Landing at Cape Crozier on January 22, and leaving another record there +for the information of the relief ship, the <i>Discovery</i> went east along +the ice barrier until the 165th meridian of longitude was passed, when +the barrier was found to trend to the north, the sea becoming rapidly +more shoal. The coast line was followed to 76° S., or 150 miles further +than the expeditions before had gone. The ship was then turned, and, in +174° E. longitude, a place was seen where an inlet ran into the barrier. +A sledge party went on the ice and penetrated as far as 78° 50' S., the +point reached by Borchegrevinck in his sledge trip.</p> + +<p>By this time it was realised that winter quarters must be selected, and +the <i>Discovery</i> sailed to that part of the sea where Mount Erebus and +Mount Terror reared their lofty heads on the land. Examining the land +for a suitable site for the camp, it was learned that both Erebus and +Terror are situated on an island, and not, as was formerly believed, on +the mainland. At the opposite end of the island another smaller volcanic +mount was seen, with a still smaller one between it and the two giants. +The larger of these was named Mount Discovery, and, near its base, the +site of the camp was chosen. The ship was worked in as close to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span> the +shore as was possible before the heavy frost set in, and, as she was +well constructed to withstand the pressure of ice, she remained in this +position until, after the second winter had been passed, the relief ship +arrived with sufficient explosives to blast a way out of the ice.</p> + +<p>As soon as the members of the expedition had settled down and all was +made snug, trips were taken in all directions along the coast and over +the ice. The longest trip, taken in the following September, was +arranged for, food depôts being established as far to the south as the +stores could be conveyed.</p> + +<p>On this trip, the historic one of the expedition, only three went. These +were Captain Scott, Lieutenant Shackleton, and Dr. Wilson. They had dogs +with them at the start, but the animals grew sick and weak, and were, at +last, quite useless in dragging the sledges. The three harnessed +themselves to the sledges in place of the dogs, and, handicapped with +this weight of 240 lbs. each, they pushed on until they reached 82° 17' +S. From the position they then occupied they were able to see as far as +83° 20' S., and would have gone as far, if not farther, but for an +insuperable obstacle that confronted them. The route they followed was +over rough ice, often yawning with deep crevasses, down which the +sledges had to be lowered and then hauled up on the other side. Some of +them were veritable chasms, but they faded into<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span> insignificance when +compared with the one which opened before the explorers at the end of +the march. For a time they examined this mighty ice ravine to see if it +were not possible, one way or another, to get across. The descent might +have been possible, and there was no great difficulty in crossing the +floor of it, but the far side rose in an unbroken precipice, and they +recognised it as insurmountable, even to such daring and intrepid +climbers as themselves.</p> + +<p>From the latitude they had attained they were able to learn that +Victoria Land is traversed by a range of high mountains, which, in 82° +S., were from 10,000 to 14,000 feet high. A line of foot-hills, closely +resembling Admiralty Mountains in appearance, rose in longitude 160° E. +The route gradually ascended, as the party progressed, until a level +unbroken plain was reached, the altitude of which was 9000 feet. The +coast line could be seen stretching away due south to the 83rd parallel.</p> + +<p>On the way back Lieutenant Shackleton unfortunately ruptured a +blood-vessel during an unusually heavy strain at the sledges. The +strength of all the party was severely taxed by the hardships of the +journey, and the sudden incapacitating of one of the three was a matter +of grave anxiety. He was relieved of the weight of his sledge, but they +all realised that if they were to get back alive to the ship, Lieutenant +Shackleton would have to walk, as the other two were utterly unable to +drag<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span> the sledges, with the food and supplies, and his weight as well. +With heroic determination he followed them on foot, only complaining +that his injury effectively prevented him from doing his share in the +hard work. So they journeyed, arriving at the ship after an absence of +ninety-four days, during which they must have covered quite a thousand +miles. The speed at which they travelled, when the ice conditions would +allow them to proceed, was as high as thirty-two miles a day, a speed +far greater than has been attained by other explorers, with one +exception, even when the sledges have been drawn by dog-teams.</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp344.jpg" id="fp344.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp344.jpg" width='700' height='442' alt="THE FARTHEST SOUTH SLEDGE PARTY IN A BLIZZARD" /></div> + +<p class="bold">THE "FARTHEST SOUTH" SLEDGE PARTY IN A BLIZZARD.</p> + +<p class="bold"><i>Drawn by Stanley L. Wood.</i></p> + +<p>The exception was the record set by another party of the <i>Discovery</i> +explorers, who, without dogs, and with heavy sledges (240 lbs. a man), +covered thirty-three miles a day over the inland ice. This party went +out in a westerly direction and passed over the interior of Victoria +Land, which they found covered with an ice-cap forming a great plain +9000 feet above the sea-level. They were fifty-three days absent, and, +at their farthest, were 142 miles from the ship. When they turned back, +the plain on the horizon seemed to be higher than where they stood, and +rocks occasionally showed. Between this plain and the coast they had +several magnificent views of glaciers. In following one down they had an +interesting evidence of the fact that the ice in these regions is +receding, though at a rate that will require many centuries to pass<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span> +before it is all melted and the land made available for human settlement.</p> + +<p>They had followed down the glacier for a day, and the ice became so very +rough they were obliged to leave their sledges behind them and proceed +with the greatest care. As they continued to descend, the glacier +gradually dwindled and then suddenly ended in a low wall of ice. In the +valley beyond were some frozen lakes, beyond which the valley changed +into a series of deep, narrow gorges, filled with long lines and +confused heaps of stones and other débris, shed from the glacier as it +melted. Perhaps in this valley, more than anywhere else, lay the +evidences of what was happening and what had been. There lay the +glacier, inert and dead, while the summer sun was gradually wasting its +huge mass. On either side its shrinking tributaries had already severed +their connection with it, and receded up the mountain sides. Everything +pointed to receding glaciation. Not only were the gorges filled with the +stones and débris of the moraines, but thousands of feet up the +hill-sides they lay in clear-cut lines, showing how vast the proportions +of the glacier had once been.</p> + +<p>Other glaciers observed gave the same indications. One of these, named +the Ferrar Glacier, after the discoverer, was described as containing +probably as much ice as any hitherto known in the world. Two others, the +Barnes and the Shackleton Glaciers, each contained a great deal more; +but all were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span> greatly shrunk from the tremendous proportions they must +once have had, and which could be traced by the lines of moraines. It +was from observing these glaciers and speculating upon the immeasurable +quantity of ice that once must have slowly flowed along them to the sea, +that a theory was formed as to the real significance of the great ice +barrier lying to the south of the Antarctic Circle. The opinion was +generally entertained that the ice in this barrier is afloat. It had +receded from the time when Ross first discovered it. Even while the +expedition was in the neighbourhood it receded. In September 1902, a +depôt was established on the ice at a line drawn between a volcanic peak +at the extreme end of Minna Bluff and the top of Mount Discovery. In +November 1903, this spot was found to have moved 608 yards out of the +alignment, moving east of north. On the sides of Mount Terror, 800 feet +above the existing surface of the barrier, moraines marked its original +height. From these facts it was reasoned that at one time the ice +forming the cap over the Antarctic continent was enormously deeper than +it is to-day, and that it then extended out into the Antarctic Ocean for +probably hundreds of miles further than it now reaches. The slow but +steady flow of the great ice stream had absolutely filled the sea off +the coast of Victoria Land, and the barrier, now existing, was the +remains of this once mighty mass.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span></p><p>It was on one of these exploring journeys that a curious experience +befell one party, a member of which, unfortunately, lost his life in +consequence. The party were out with sledges and had halted for the +midday meal when a violent gale sprang up. As usual, the wind set the +snow in motion, and soon the men found themselves in a whirling cloud of +finely powdered snow which entirely shut out their view in all +directions. Believing themselves to be in the vicinity of the ship, they +left the sledges and set out to march to the vessel. Soon they found +themselves on a slope which they fancied they recognised as the one that +led down to where the ship lay in the ice. As they cautiously advanced, +one of the men missed his footing. What with the force of the wind, the +insecure foothold on the moving snow, and the declivity of the slope, he +was unable to stop himself, and slipped past his comrades and out of +sight in the whirling snow with the speed of lightning.</p> + +<p>The officer in charge halted the other men, and all crouched down, +expecting their comrade to rejoin them as soon as he secured his +footing. After waiting some time without his appearing, the officer +advanced to find him. With the first step he also went out of sight as +though he had been shot from a gun. Then a third went forward, and was +at once lost to the sight of the others in the same way. The remainder +of the men, after waiting for some time, concluded the three had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span> +reached the ship, and determined to set out after them. One man, a young +New Zealander named Hare, set off to reach the sledges and recover his +mittens. In the confusion of the whirling snow his absence was not +noted, and the rest of the party set out for the ship, which they were +satisfied was quite near. As a matter of fact, they were entirely out of +their bearings. The man who took the lead walked very cautiously down +the slope. He had heavy tacks in the boots he was wearing, and was thus +enabled to get a firm hold of the snow. To this he owed his life, for, +through the drifting snow, he suddenly saw an open chasm yawn at his +feet. He threw himself back and shouted to those behind to stop. All +tried to do so, but the man next to the leader was unable to pull up. +His feet shot from under him, and he was seen to dash past them like a flash.</p> + +<p>Out of the nine who had originally formed the party, four now remained +together. Warned by the sudden disappearance of the man Vince, who had +shot past them over the precipice, the four moved with the greatest +deliberation and caution. At length they were able to reach the shore +and locate the ship, whither they hastened with the news.</p> + +<div class="center"><a name="fp348.jpg" id="fp348.jpg"></a><img src="images/fp348.jpg" width='700' height='461' alt="A DRIFTING ICE FLOE ATTACHED TO THE DISCOVERY" /></div> + +<p class="bold">A DRIFTING ICE FLOE ATTACHED TO THE <i>DISCOVERY</i> BY A +ROPE, WHILE THE CREW ARE DIGGING SUFFICIENT ICE TO REPLENISH THE FRESH +WATER SUPPLY OF THE SHIP.</p> + +<p>The alarm was at once given, steam was got up, the siren was set to +work, and its shrill notes penetrated far and wide, while relief parties +were organised and despatched. Knowing the route the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span> men were to have +taken, no difficulty was experienced in tracking down the abandoned +sledges. But on arrival there the relief party was astounded to find the +officer and the two men who had vanished from the others while +descending the snow slope. The astonishment was increased when not one +of the three could explain how they had succeeded in returning to the +sledges. They remembered their experiences as they were hurled down the +snow slope, and each one told the same tale. Immediately they had stood +up against the gale they felt their feet go from under them, they rushed +forward with incredible speed, so fast, indeed, as to have absolutely no +control over themselves, and then they plunged into a mass of soft snow. +There they found themselves and one another. They were still dazed when +found. Subsequent examination showed that the slope down which they had +been hurled extended for a distance of five hundred yards and terminated +with the bank of snow, into which they had plunged. The bank was within +fifteen feet of a cliff which had a clear drop of two hundred feet to +the shore-ice below.</p> + +<p>It was over this cliff that Vince had gone, and no trace of the +unfortunate fellow was ever found. Nor were the relief parties +successful in discovering Hare, the New Zealander. When all had returned +to the ship he was also given up as lost, but to the amazement of every +one he was seen returning to the ship on the second day after the gale. +He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span> explained that on his way back to the sledges he had fallen in the +snow and had lost consciousness, returning to his senses some time after +to find himself completely buried in a snow-drift. He had struggled out +and made his way to the ship. It was his turn to be amazed when he was +told he had been searched for during the whole of the previous day. It +was some time before he would believe that what he referred to as to-day +was in reality yesterday. He had lain in the snow for a period of +thirty-six hours. When he fell, the heavy snow had apparently covered +him, and so kept the heat of his body from leaving him. He had thus sunk +into a heavy snow-sleep, and his physical stamina had done the rest in +helping him towards recovery. His escape, without even a frost-bite, is +unique in the annals of Polar experiences.</p> + +<p>During the second year of their stay, a discovery was made, which, from +a geological point of view, exceeded in value all the others put +together. It was in October that a sledge party set out to penetrate +into the interior of Victoria Land. They travelled over the ice plain at +an average altitude of 9000 feet until, in 78° S. and 146° 30' E., they +were at a distance of 270 miles from the ship. The interior of the land +seemed to stretch in a vast continental plateau continuously at a height +of 9000 feet. In one of the many ravines examined, sandstone strata were +discovered, in one of which there was a narrow seam of fossil plants. +The "coal measure"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span> was only one-eighth of an inch in thickness, but +within it were found specimens of plants belonging to the Miocene period.</p> + +<p>In February 1904 the relief ship <i>Morning</i> arrived at the station, and, +with the explosives she brought with her, the <i>Discovery</i> was freed from +the ice and commenced her homeward journey. She had completed a stay of +two winters in a latitude 500 miles further South than any other ship +had wintered, while the expedition had reaped a success such as no other +expedition has ever achieved in either Arctic or Antarctic regions.</p> + +<p class="tbrk"> </p> + +<p class="center">THE END</p> + +<p class="tbrk"> </p> + +<p class="center">Printed by <span class="smcap">Ballantyne, Hanson & Co.</span><br /> +Edinburgh & London</p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Romance of Polar Exploration, by G. 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Firth Scott + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Romance of Polar Exploration + Interesting Descriptions of Arctic and Antarctic Adventure + from the Earliest Time to the Voyage of the "Discovery" + +Author: G. Firth Scott + +Release Date: July 20, 2011 [EBook #36802] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROMANCE OF POLAR EXPLORATION *** + + + + +Produced by Steven Gibbs, Martin Pettit and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +THE ROMANCE OF POLAR EXPLORATION + +INTERESTING DESCRIPTIONS OF ARCTIC AND +ANTARCTIC ADVENTURE FROM THE EARLIEST +TIME TO THE VOYAGE OF THE "DISCOVERY" + +BY + +G. FIRTH SCOTT +AUTHOR OF "FROM FRANKLIN TO NANSEN," "THE ROMANCE +OF AUSTRALIAN EXPLORING," "COLONIAL BORN," _&c._ + + +WITH TWENTY-FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS + + +LONDON +SEELEY AND CO. LIMITED +38 GREAT RUSSELL STREET +1909 + + +[Illustration: THE _STELLA POLARE_ NIPPED IN THE ICE. + +"The stores were unloaded with the greatest rapidity."] + + +_UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME_ + +THE LIBRARY OF ROMANCE + +_Extra Crown 8vo. With many illustrations. 5s. each_ + + +"Splendid volumes."--_The Outlook._ + +"This series has now won a considerable and well deserved +reputation."--_The Guardian._ + +"Each volume treats its allotted theme with accuracy, but at the same +time with a charm that will commend itself to readers of all ages. The +root idea is excellent, and it is excellently carried out, with full +illustrations and very prettily designed covers."--_The Daily +Telegraph._ + + +By Prof. G. F. SCOTT ELLIOT, M.A., B.Sc. + +THE ROMANCE OF SAVAGE LIFE +THE ROMANCE OF PLANT LIFE +THE ROMANCE OF EARLY BRITISH LIFE + + +By EDWARD GILLIAT, M.A. + +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN SIEGES + + +By JOHN LEA, M.A. + +THE ROMANCE OF BIRD LIFE + + +By JOHN LEA, M.A., & H. COUPIN, D.Sc. + +THE ROMANCE OF ANIMAL ARTS AND CRAFTS + + +By SIDNEY WRIGHT + +THE ROMANCE OF THE WORLD'S FISHERIES + + +By the Rev. J. C. LAMBERT, M.A., D.D. + +THE ROMANCE OF MISSIONARY HEROISM + + +By G. FIRTH SCOTT + +THE ROMANCE OF POLAR EXPLORATION + + +By ARCHIBALD WILLIAMS, B.A. (Oxon.), F.R.G.S. + +THE ROMANCE OF EARLY EXPLORATION +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN EXPLORATION +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN MECHANISM +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN INVENTION +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN ENGINEERING +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN LOCOMOTION +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN MINING + + +By CHARLES R. GIBSON, A.I.E.E. + +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN PHOTOGRAPHY +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN ELECTRICITY + + +By EDMUND SELOUS + +THE ROMANCE OF THE ANIMAL WORLD +THE ROMANCE OF INSECT LIFE + + +By AGNES GIBERNE + +THE ROMANCE OF THE MIGHTY DEEP + + +By E. S. GREW, M.A. + +THE ROMANCE OF MODERN GEOLOGY + +SEELEY & CO., LIMITED + + + + +Preface + + +While stories of the Polar explorers and their efforts to reach the +Poles have been told again and again, the constant renewal of +expeditions adds, every year, fresh incidents to the record, until it +may almost be said that the fascination of the frozen regions is as +inexhaustible as the list of Polar heroes is illimitable. Nor is the +interest confined solely to the achievement of modern explorers. However +great the results of their exertions may be, the fact that, in spite of +all the advantages conferred by recent scientific discovery and modern +appliances, the explorers of to-day have failed to penetrate the +uttermost secrets of the worlds of ice, renders more impressively heroic +the struggles of the earlier travellers, whose equipment, viewed in +comparison with that of modern man, was apparently so inadequate and +often inappropriate. + +No series of Polar adventure stories would be complete without a +prominent place being given to the earlier explorers, and especially to +that British hero, Franklin, whose name is so inseparably associated +with the history of Arctic exploration. The account of his daring +voyages and of his tragic end, at the moment of victory, has already +been given in many a form; but the tale is one which will stand +re-telling for generations yet to come. In the present instance it has +been of necessity briefly written, but in such a manner as will, it is +hoped, without loss of interest, render clear a comparison of the +conditions under which he and his brave companions worked and fought to +their death, with those that existed for later expeditions and +especially the expeditions of Nansen, Peary, and Abruzzi. + +The Antarctic, equally with the Arctic, now commands the attention of +man. In the South, as in the North, the British race has again produced +explorers who have fought their way into the icy fastnesses. From the +time that Captain Cook sailed round the unknown southern ocean, more +than a century ago, the British flag has waved in the forefront of the +advance. The work which Sir James Ross began, over half a century since, +has now been carried farther than ever it was anticipated it could be. +By the voyage of the _Discovery_, the Antarctic continent has been +revealed to within five hundred miles of the Pole, and in the gallant +exploits of the commander, Captain Robert Scott, there are many who see +a repetition of all that made the name of Franklin so immortal. + +The source of the information on which these stories are based (as is +frequently mentioned in the text) is the personal narrative of the +explorer concerned, where available; and if the interest aroused in any +of them requires more to satisfy it than the exigencies of space renders +possible in this volume, the attention which will thereby be drawn to +the more comprehensive records will stand as a slight acknowledgment of +the indebtedness of the writer of these re-told stories to the authors +of the original narratives. + +G. FIRTH SCOTT. + +LONDON, 1906. + + + + +Publishers' Note + + + Our thanks are due to Lieut. Shackleton, R.N.R., of the + _Discovery_, for the use of the original drawing facing page 344, + and also for permission to use the Illustrations facing pages 310, + 340, 348. To Messrs. Alston Rivers, Limited, for permission to use + the Illustration facing page 320 from Dr. H. R. Mill's "Siege of + the South Pole." To Messrs. Hutchinson and Co., for the use of + Illustrations facing pages 28 and 272, and Frontispiece, from "The + Voyage of the Polar Star," by the Duke of the Abruzzi. To Messrs. + Geo. Newnes, Limited, for the Illustration facing page 305 from + "First on the Antarctic Continent," by C. E. Borchgrevinck. To + Messrs. Longmans, Green & Co., for permission to reproduce the + Illustration facing page 256 from "New Land," by Otto Sverdrup. + + + + +Contents + + +CHAPTER I + +THE ARCTIC REGION + + PAGE + +The Mystery of the North Pole--The First Explorer--"The Great +Dark Wall at the End of the World"--"Frost-Smoke"--The +Lights and Sounds of the North--The Aurora Borealis--Mock +Moons--The Early Adventurers: Willoughby, Frobisher, Davis, +Hudson, Baffin, Ross, and Parry--The North-West Passage 17 + + +CHAPTER II + +SIR JOHN FRANKLIN + +Young Franklin--His Dreams of Adventure--He becomes a Sailor--His +First Arctic Expedition--Fails to get through Behring +Straits--Explores Baffin's Bay--The 1845 Expedition--The +_Erebus_ and _Terror_--The "Good-bye" at Greenland--Wellington +Channel--They select Winter Quarters--Discovery of the +North-West Passage--Death of Franklin--Prisoned in the Ice--The +Crew Abandon the Ships--Defeat and Death 25 + + +CHAPTER III + +THE SEARCH FOR FRANKLIN + +Captain Parker's Report--Government offers a Reward--Dr. Rae's +Expedition--Captain McClure's Voyage in the _Investigator_--Hardships +and Perils--The Meeting with the _Herald_--Lady Franklin still +Hopeful--Sir F. L. McClintock's Expedition in the _Fox_ with Lieutenant +Hobson--Their Sad and Fatal Discoveries--Lieutenant Schwatka recovers +the Body of Lieutenant Irving 42 + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE VOYAGE OF THE _POLARIS_ + +Death of Captain Hall--Crew determine to Return--Are Frozen in--A +Party take to the Ice and are Cast Away--They build themselves +Snow Huts--They find some Seals--An Adventure with Bears--The +Perils of the Spring--They sight the _Tigress_ and are +Saved--The Ship-party's Story and Rescue 69 + + +CHAPTER V + +THE _ALERT_ AND _DISCOVERY_ + +Sir George Nares appointed to the _Alert_ and _Discovery_--Overtaking +a Season--Red Snow--The Greenland Mosquito--Peculiarities +of Eskimo Dogs--And Dog Whips--Dangers of Kayaks--Advantages +of Steam for Polar Regions--An Unpleasant Experience--A Huge +Walrus--Arctic Scenery--A Big "Bag"--The Ships part +Company--The _Alert_ reaches the Polar Sea--Winter Quarters--The +North Pole attempted--Adventures and Sufferings of the +Party--Lieutenant Parr's Heroism--Deliverance--The Greenland +Attempt--Scurvy and Snow--Repulse Bay--In Pitiable +Plight--Lieutenant Rawson to the Rescue 83 + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE GREELY EXPEDITION + +The Scheme of the Expedition--Fort Conger--Arctic Wolves--Atmospheric +Marvels--A Terrific Storm--Influence of the Sun--Lieutenant +Lockwood's Expedition--The Second Winter--Preparations +for Departure--They leave Fort Conger--A Remarkable Ice +Passage--They fail to make Cape Sabine--A New Camp--Rations running +Short--Fruitless Efforts to reach Food Depots--Starvation and +Death--A Bitter Blow--The Arrival of the _Thetis_ 114 + + +CHAPTER VII + +PEARY IN GREENLAND + +The Greenland Question--Departure of the _Kite_--Peary breaks his +Leg--A Camp made--Habits of the Eskimo--A Brush with +Walrus--"Caching" Food--An Arctic Christmas Feast--Peary starts +for the Great Ice-Cap--A Snow Sahara--The Ice-Cap Crossed--A +Marvellous Discovery--Sails on Sledges--A Safe Return 146 + + +CHAPTER VIII + +NANSEN AND THE _FRAM_ + +Nansen's Theories of Arctic Currents and Shipbuilding--His Theories +adopted--The _Fram_ Built--A Start made--The Kara Sea +reached--Good Hunting--The Ice Current reached--Frozen +in--A Raid by a Bear--Will the _Fram_ stand the Pressure?--Preparing +for Calamity--A Conclusive Test--Causes of Ice +Movements--Life on the _Fram_--Nansen and Johansen leave +the _Fram_--They reach their "Farthest North"--Incidents of +their Return Journey--Some Narrow Escapes--The Meeting +with Jackson--Arrival of the _Fram_ 173 + + +CHAPTER IX + +FRANZ JOSEF LAND AND SPITZBERGEN + +The Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition--Object of the Expedition--An +Interesting Experiment--The Franz Josef Land Question settled--A Group +of Islands, not a Continent--Conway at Spitzbergen--Ancient +History--Bygone Splendours--Scenery in the Making--The Romance of +Andree--Another Riddle 220 + + +CHAPTER X + +THE POLAR METEORITES + +Eskimo Iron--A Mystery of 1818--Search and Failure--Peary and +his Huskies--The Secret revealed--An Eskimo Legend--At +the Iron Mountain--Removing the Trophies--A Massive Giant--Attack +and Defence--The Giant Objects--A Narrow Escape--Conquered 236 + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE SECOND VOYAGE OF THE _FRAM_ + +Norwegian Enterprise--Mapping the Islands--Nearly Frozen--A Novel +Warming-Pan--Eskimo Melody--Arctic Bull Fights--Death of the +Doctor--Fire on the _Fram_--New Lands--Prehistoric People 249 + + +CHAPTER XII + +ITALY CLAIMS THE RECORD + +Norwegian Aid--A Northerly Station--Premature Enthusiasm--Cold +Comfort--An Arctic Greeting--A Hasty Landing--Disorganised +Plans--Homeless Dogs--Making Fresh Plans--The Leader +Frost-bitten--The Start for the Pole--Driven Back by Cold--A +Second Start--First Detachment Lost--Anxiety for the Second--A +Struggle for Life--Third Detachment Overdue--Fears of +Disaster--Safe at Last--Italy sets the Record 265 + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE ANTARCTIC REGION + +The Mystery of the South Pole--Ignored by Early Navigators--An +Accidental Dutch Discovery--Captain Cook Sets Sail--Discouraged +by the Ice--Turns back in Despair--A Second Accidental +Discovery--Weddell breaks the Barrier--Antarctic Land +revealed--British resume the Search 283 + + +CHAPTER XIV + +VOYAGES OF THE _EREBUS_ AND _TERROR_ + +A Fortunate Choice--Characteristic Southern Bergs--First Sight of +the Continent--More British Territory--A Mighty Volcanic +Display--Nearing the Magnetic Pole--The Antarctic Barrier--A +Myth dispelled--A Second Attempt--Held by the Ice--Third +and Last Voyage--A Double Discovery 294 + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE _SOUTHERN CROSS_ EXPEDITION + +British continue the Work--Carrier Pigeons in the Ice--Withstanding +a Nip--A Sea-quake--Cape Adare Station--A Cosy Camp--Edible +Fish--Death visits the Camp--Penguin Peculiarities--A Derelict +Blue-bottle--The Welcome Postman--A Thrilling Episode 305 + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE REVIVAL OF ANTARCTIC INTEREST + +Modern Means and Methods--Private Enterprise leads--The +_Valdavia_--The _Belgica_ Expedition--International Action +adopted--The German Expedition--An Ice-bound Land--Fresh +Trade-Winds 318 + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE SWEDISH EXPEDITION + +Sails in the _Antarctica_--Argentine Co-operation--First Antarctic +Fossil--Building the Winter Station--A Breezy Corner--Electric +Snow--A Spare Diet--New Year Festivities--The Missing +Ship--Relief that never Came--A Devastating Nip--Castaway--The +Unexpected Happens--A Dramatic Meeting--Rescued 323 + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +BRITAIN HOLDS HER OWN + +A Capable Crew--A Modern Franklin--Early Discoveries--Frozen +in--An Historic Journey--The Record of "Farthest South"--How +the Record was Won--Speedy Travelling--Receding Ice +Limits--A Dying Glacier--The Secret of the Barrier--A Fatal +Gale--Lost in the Snow--An Antarctic Chute--Prolonged +Slumber--Antarctic Coal--Home with Honour 339 + + + + +List of Illustrations + + +THE _STELLA POLARE_ NIPPED IN THE ICE _Frontispiece_ + +W. E. PARRY'S ATTEMPT TO REACH THE POLE _Facing page_ 28 + +AN IMMENSE ICEBERG " " 48 + +AN ADDITION TO THE EXPLORERS' SUPPLY OF PROVISIONS " " 78 + +SHOOTING MUSK OX IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS " " 116 + +GROUP OF SMITH SOUND ESKIMO " " 152 + +TWO NORTH GREENLAND HUNTERS " " 160 + +MAP OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS SHOWING ROUTE +OF NANSEN AND THE _FRAM_ " " 173 + +THE _FRAM_ IN THE ICE " " 185 + +NANSEN AND JOHANSEN START ON THEIR DASH FOR THE POLE " " 198 + +THE MEETING OF JACKSON AND NANSEN " " 216 + +THE FRONT EDGE OF KING'S GLACIER, WESTERN SPITZBERGEN " " 230 + +ESKIMO ARMS AND TOOLS " " 240 + +ESKIMO VISITORS TO THE _FRAM_ IN NIGHT ATTIRE " " 256 + +ONE OF THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED +BY THE _STELLA POLARE_ " " 272 + +SKETCH MAP SHOWING CAPTAIN AGNI'S FARTHEST NORTH " " 280 + +THE _SOUTHERN CROSS_ IN THE ICE PACK " " 305 + +THE AURORA AUSTRALIS " " 310 + +EMPEROR PENGUINS " " 312 + +POLAR OUTFIT USED BY THE _BELGICA_ EXPEDITION " " 320 + +MAP OF SOUTH POLAR REGIONS " " 339 + +THE _DISCOVERY_ LYING IN WINTER QUARTERS, FROZEN IN " " 340 + +THE FARTHEST SOUTH SLEDGE PARTY IN A BLIZZARD " " 344 + +A DRIFTING ICE FLOE ATTACHED TO THE +_DISCOVERY_ BY A ROPE " " 348 + + + + +The Romance of Polar Exploration + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE ARCTIC REGION + + The Mystery of the North Pole--The First Explorer--"The Great Dark + Wall at the End of the World"--"Frost-Smoke"--The Lights and Sounds + of the North--The Aurora Borealis--Mock Moons--The Early + Adventurers: Willoughby, Frobisher, Davis, Hudson, Baffin, Ross, + and Parry--The North-West Passage. + + +In all the range of romantic adventure to be found in the history of +man, there is, perhaps, none which appeals so strongly to the +imagination as the search for the Poles. In all the tales of daring +courage and patient, persistent bravery, two qualities which stand +foremost in the admiration of every English-speaking boy, the tales of +the fearless explorers who have faced the terrors and the mystery of the +frozen regions are without a rival. + +Just as it was the record of his struggles to penetrate into the unknown +region of the ice-bound North-West Passage which made the name of Sir +John Franklin famous fifty years ago, so is it to-day that the names of +Nansen, Peary, and Andree are household words by reason of the hardihood +and indomitable courage shown in their efforts to reach the great +unknown Pole. Who is there who has not lingered over the adventures of +the _Fram_, that sturdy Norseman's vessel, which combined in herself all +the best qualities of previous Arctic ships, and comported herself, +whether in the ice or out of it, with a dignity that told of her proud +descent and prouder destiny? Who has not marvelled at the sublime +audacity of the gallant little band of three who challenged undying fame +by seeking the Pole in a balloon, abandoning all the old-fashioned +notions about ice-ships and dog-sledges, and trusting themselves and +their enterprise to the four winds of heaven and the latest scientific +scheme? Who has not been thrilled with the daring shown by Nansen and +his trusty lieutenant when, leaving ship and comrades, with their lives +literally in their hands, they made their historic dash and emerged with +what was then the record of "Farthest North," and which has since been +beaten by only twenty miles? + +Full of pluck and daring are all the records of Polar exploration, and, +in addition to that attraction, there is something else about the +subject which fascinates and holds the imagination. There is a mystery +about the cold, white, silent region; the mystery of, as yet, an +unsolved problem; the mystery of being one of the few spots on the +world's surface where the foot of adventurous man has never trodden. +Everywhere else man has gone; everywhere else men of our own race have +subdued Nature and wrested her close-kept secrets from her; everywhere +else save the Poles, and there not even the grandeur of modern inventive +genius has enabled man to become the master. We may be nearer now than +ever before; we may have made many places familiar which, less than +fifty years ago, were unknown; and we may, in recent years, have +disproved the theories of many an ancient explorer; but the Poles still +elude us as they eluded those who were searchers a thousand years ago. + +It is no modern idea, this search for the North Pole. King Alfred the +Great is credited with having sent expeditions towards it, and long +before his day men had sailed as far as they could to the North, far +enough for them to return with marvellous tales of wonder and mystery. +The earliest of whom there is any record is an ancient Greek mariner, +Pytheas, who sailed North until he came to an island which he named the +Land of Thule. This may have been the Shetlands; it may have been +Iceland; but whatever it was, this ancient mariner was by no means +pleased with it, in spite of the fact that the sun never set all the +time he was there. This prolonged daylight caused him considerable +uneasiness, and he hastened away from it farther to the North, and the +farther he went the more curious he found the region to be. The sun, +which at first refused to set, now refused to rise, and he found himself +in perpetual darkness instead of perpetual day. More than that, he tells +how he came to a great dark wall rising up out of the sea, beyond which +he could discern nothing, while at the same time something seized and +held his ship motionless on the water, so that the winds could not move +it and the anchor would not sink. He was quite convinced in his own mind +where he had come; the wall in front of him was the parapet which ran +round the edge of the world to prevent people from falling over, and, +like a wise man, he hastened home and told his friends that he had +penetrated to the limits of the earth. + +What the Arctic regions were then, they are to-day; but we, with a +greater knowledge, are able to understand what was incomprehensible to +the ancient Greek navigator. At the North Pole itself it is known the +sun rises and sets only once in twelve months. From March 21 to +September 23 daylight continues; from September 23 to March 21 the sun +is never visible. The heat at midsummer is probably never above freezing +point; at midwinter the cold is so intense that one's eyes would freeze +in their sockets if exposed to it. + +At the limit of the ice two phenomena are met with which explain the +fanciful legend of Pytheas. As summer gives place to the cold of autumn, +and as winter gives way to the mild temperature of spring, there comes +down upon the water a dense mass of fog, to which the name "frost-smoke" +is given. It would appear, as it rolled along the surface of the ocean, +a veritable wall to one accustomed to the clear atmosphere of the +Mediterranean, and a thin sheet of ice might give the meaning to the +"something" which held the ship stationary. Modern explorers have known +the sea to freeze an inch thick in a single night, and ice an inch thick +would probably be enough to check the progress of such a vessel as +Pytheas would command. + +Later navigators, curious to learn whether his story were true or not, +followed his course. Some of them went on until they were caught in the +rigours of the Arctic winter and perished in the crashing ice-floes. +Occasionally some came home again, after having reached far enough to +see the great icebergs, floating with all their stately majesty in the +blue waters and towering as high as mountains, their summits a mass of +glittering pinnacles and their sides scored and grooved with cavities +and caverns. Some of them saw the animals which live in that cold, +barren region; the great white bear, with its coat of thick shaggy fur, +its long ungainly figure and heavy swaying neck; the walrus, with its +gleaming tusks hanging down from its upper jaws; the seals, with their +great round eyes staring at the unknown intruders; above all, the huge +whales, spouting and floundering in the sea, coming to the surface with +a snort which sent the spray flying high in the air, and disappearing +again with a splash that was like a crashing billow. Little wonder that +those who returned from seeing such sights and hearing such strange +sounds should tell wonderful stories about the weird creatures +inhabiting the place. + +The sounds must have been as terrifying and mystifying as the sights, +for in the clear, intense atmosphere of the winter months, noise travels +over almost incredible distances. When Parry was on Melville's Island, +he records having heard the voices of men who were talking not less than +a mile away. In the depth of winter, when the great cold has its icy +grip on everything, the silence is unbroken along the shores of the +Polar Sea; but when the frost sets in, and again when the winter gives +way to spring, there is abundance of noise. As the frost comes down +along the coast, rocks are split asunder with a noise of big guns, and +the sound goes booming away across the frozen tracts, startling the +slouching bear in his lonely haunts, and causing him to give vent to his +hoarse, barking roar in answer. The ice, just forming into sheets, +creaks and cracks as the rising or falling tide strains it along the +shore; fragments, falling loose upon it, skid across the surface with +the ringing sound which travels so far. In the spring the melting +ice-floes groan as they break asunder; with a mighty crash the +unbalanced bergs fall over, churning the water into foam with their +plunge, and bears and foxes and all the other Arctic animals call and +bark to one another as they awaken from their winter sleep. Just as +these incidents occur to-day, so did they occur a thousand years ago; +and if to modern ears they sound weird and awe-inspiring, what must they +have been to the men who succeeded Pytheas? + +Nor does this exhaust the marvel of this bleak and fascinating region. +In the long winter nights the aurora borealis glares and blazes in the +sky, "roaring and flashing about a ship enough to frighten a fellow," as +an old quartermaster, who was with Sir F. L. McClintock in his search +for Sir John Franklin, used to tell the midshipmen. In the prolonged +sunset and sunrise the sky is ablaze with colour, and, when the sun has +gone, the rarefied atmosphere produces many curious astronomical +figures. As explorers penetrated farther into the great ice-bound region +they encountered fresh peculiarities. The moon, which shone continuously +during the three weeks of its course, frequently appeared surrounded by +belts and bands of light, in which mock moons were visible. Long after +the sun had disappeared a mock sun would shine in the sky, and in the +twilight, when shadows were no longer cast, men and dogs were liable to +walk over cliffs and fall down crevices in the ice through being unable +to distinguish them. Penetrating farther into the ice world, they +learned that throughout the winter the ice heaved and crashed upon +itself, making an incessant uproar as it groaned and creaked. The +experience of Nansen and the _Fram_ emphasised this, but in the earlier +days of Polar research silence was presumed to reign in the vicinity of +the Arctic basin. + +In those early days the expeditions usually kept close to the northern +coasts of either Europe, Asia, or America. Sir Hugh Willoughby, who +sailed from England in 1553, confined himself to seeking the north-east +passage from Behring Sea to Greenland along the north coast of Canada. +In 1576 Frobisher explored part of the region, the work being continued +by Davis, who in 1585-8 discovered and explored the strait which still +bears his name, to the west of Greenland. In 1610 Hudson, an intrepid +trader and explorer, sailed into Hudson's Bay, and five years later +Baffin sailed into and through Baffin's Bay. The result of these two +discoveries was to open up a very valuable fur trade, and for the next +two hundred years, fur traders and whalers were practically the only men +who went into the frozen North. In 1818 the British Navy again entered +the field for the purpose of mapping out the northern coasts of America. +Captains Ross and Parry were sent out in two vessels, with the result +that knowledge of the locality was extended by the discovery of +Lancaster Sound, Prince Regent Inlet, Barrow Strait, and Melville +Island. The location of these islands and straits aroused still keener +curiosity as to whether there was or was not a passage for ships leading +from the Pacific to the Atlantic Oceans along the north coast of +America. The search for the North-West Passage was the dream of every +Arctic explorer at this period. It fell to the lot of one man to prove +the existence of the passage, at a price, however, of his own life, and +the lives of all his companions, as well as the loss of his two ships. +This was Sir John Franklin, whose Polar exploits form the subject of the +succeeding chapter. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +SIR JOHN FRANKLIN + + Young Franklin--His Dreams of Adventure--He becomes a Sailor--His + First Arctic Expedition--Fails to get through Behring + Straits--Explores Baffin's Bay--The 1845 Expedition--The _Erebus_ + and _Terror_--The "Good-Bye" at Greenland--Wellington Channel--They + select Winter Quarters--Discovery of the North-West Passage--Death + of Franklin--Prisoned in the Ice--The Crew Abandon the + Ships--Defeat and Death. + + +Sir John Franklin was born at Spilsby, in Lincolnshire, on April 16, +1786, and was one of a family of ten. It is said that his father +originally intended him for the clergy, but the boy had too restless and +roving a nature to look with contentment upon a quiet, uneventful life. +Nelson was the idol of his heart, and although a hundred years ago boys +were not quite so well provided with books and stories of their heroes +as they are to-day, young Franklin managed to acquire enough knowledge +of the doings of Nelson, and the other great British Admirals, to make +his heart thrill with enthusiasm for them, and for the element upon +which their greatness had been achieved. + +His home was not so many miles away from the coast but that he had a +personal acquaintance, from early boyhood, with the scent of salt water +and the sight of the open sea. That, combined with what he learned of +Nelson, and the romantic yarns spun to him by any old sailor he chanced +upon, exerted over him the spell which, in all ages, has so powerfully +influenced British boys. The long stretch of moving water, which rolled +between him and the skyline, was the home of all that was wonderful and +glorious; the ships which sailed over it were, to his enthusiastic mind, +palaces of delight, journeying into realms of mystery, adventure, and +beauty. Over that sea lay the lands where the coco-palms grew, where +Indians hunted and fought, and where mighty beasts of strange and +fantastic shapes roamed through the palm groves. Over that sea, also, +lay the realms of ice and snow, of which more marvellous tales were told +than of the golden islands of the Southern Seas. And to sail over that +sea a great yearning came upon him. The life on shore, in peaceful, +steady-going Lincolnshire, was too dreary and hopeless for him; nowhere +could he be happy save on that boundless ocean, with room to breathe, +and surrounded by all the glamour of romance. + +Fortunately for the glory of British naval history, the elder Franklin +did not shut his eyes to the attractions the sea had for his son, but, +as a wise parent, he regarded the wish to follow the sea as merely a +boyish whim. It would be better to let the boy have a taste of the +realities of the life at once, and so cure the fancy which threatened to +interfere with the paternal desires as regards the clergy. Every one +knew how attractive a sailor's life looked from the shore, and most +people knew how much more attractive life on shore looked from the sea. +If John wanted to see what a sailor's life was like, he should have his +opportunity, and the father, in arranging for his son to sail in a +trading vessel to Lisbon and back, probably felt satisfied that the +rough fare and hard work he would experience would effectually cure him +of any desire for more. But the future Arctic hero was made of sterner +stuff than to be turned away from his ambition by such trivial +circumstances. He returned from the Lisbon trip more enthusiastic than +ever for a sailor's life. His father gave way before so much +determination, and young Franklin shortly afterwards entered the Navy. +His first ship was H.M.S. _Polyphemus_, and he was present on board at +the battle of Copenhagen, under the supreme command of his idol Nelson. + +His first Arctic experience did not come until 1818, when he had reached +the rank of lieutenant and was second in command of an expedition sent +out to find a way through Behring's Straits. Two vessels formed the +expedition--the _Dorothea_, 370 tons, under Captain Buchan, and the +_Trent_, 250 tons, under Lieutenant Franklin, the latter carrying a crew +of ten officers and twenty-eight men. Their instructions were to sail +due North, from a point between Greenland and Spitzbergen, making their +way, if possible, through Behring's Straits. The ships, which would +to-day only rank as small coasting craft, were soon imprisoned in the +ice and so severely crushed that as soon as the winter passed and escape +was possible, they were turned towards home. The practical results of +the expedition were valueless, and only one circumstance in connection +with it saved it from being a failure. This was the introduction of +Franklin to that sphere of work which, during the remainder of his life, +he was fated so brilliantly to adorn. + +The following year, 1819, saw him again facing the North, this time in +company with Captain Parry, and with a well-arranged plan of operations. +Parry was to remain in the ships and explore at sea, while Franklin was +to push along the shores of Baffin's Bay, making as complete a survey as +possible. For three years the work was continued, until, by 1822, the +party had travelled over 5550 miles of previously unexplored country +along the North American coast. Returning to England, Franklin enjoyed a +well-earned rest, until, in 1825, he was placed in charge of an +expedition to complete the surveys of the coast along which the +North-West Passage was supposed to run. With the experience of his +former expedition, he was able to work more rapidly on this occasion, +and by 1827 he was back again in England with his task completed. Not +alone had all the surveys been carried out, but he had demonstrated his +qualities as a leader of Polar expeditions by returning with the loss of +only two men. + +[Illustration: W. E. PARRY'S ATTEMPT TO REACH THE POLE, 1827.] + +In spite of this, however, nearly twenty years were to elapse before he +was again entrusted with a command in the Arctic regions. He was sent, +meanwhile, to be governor of the colony of Tasmania, or, as it was then +called, Van Diemen's Land, a large island to the south of Australia. +Here in the metropolis, Hobart, a statue of Franklin stands in Franklin +Square, and it is curious to think that the man whose work in the +Northern Hemisphere is an immortal monument of his name in the region of +the North Pole should have his memory perpetuated by a statue nearer the +South Pole than any in the Southern Hemisphere. Verily, a world-wide +reputation. + +In 1845 the expedition started which, more than anything else, tended to +make Franklin the popular hero he has become. The _Erebus_ and _Terror_, +which formed the fleet, had already proved their capacity for +withstanding the strain and pressure of the ice-floes. They each carried +a crew numbering sixty-seven officers and men, and while Franklin took +charge of the _Erebus_ with Captain Fitz-James, the _Terror_ was +commanded by Captain Crozier. The ships were provisioned for three +years, and the task set them was to discover and sail through the +passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. The intention of the +Government was to ascertain whether or not this passage existed, and +Franklin was instructed to go by Lancaster Sound to Cape Walker (lat. +74 deg. N.; long. 98 deg. W.) and thence south and west to push through +Behring's Straits to the other ocean. + +Franklin was full of enthusiasm as to the outcome of the expedition. +That it would prove the existence of the passage he had no doubt, and +subsequent events justified him. But he had bigger notions than merely +proving the passage. "I believe it is possible to reach the Pole over +the ice by wintering at Spitzbergen and going in the spring before the +ice breaks up," he said before starting, and no one would have been +surprised had he returned in the three years with a record of the +journey. Public interest was thoroughly aroused in the enterprise, and +when the two vessels set sail from Greenhithe on May 19, 1845, they had +a brilliant send-off. On June 1 they arrived at Stromness in the Orkney +Islands, and on July 4 at Whale Fish Island, off the coast of Greenland, +where the despatch-boat _Barreto Junior_ parted company with them to +bring home Franklin's despatches to the Admiralty, reporting "All Well." +Later on came the news that Captain Dannett, of the whaler _Prince of +Wales_, had spoken to them in Melville Bay. + +Then the months passed and grew into years, and still no sign or token +was received from them. Public opinion, stimulated by the interest taken +in the departure of the expedition, began to grow anxious at the +prolonged silence; but the last despatches had been received and the +last tidings direct from the ships had come to hand. Over their +subsequent actions and adventures the heavy veil of the Frozen North +hung until intrepid searchers raised it and learned the sad but gallant +story of how the North-West Passage was discovered and the route to the +Pole marked clearer. + +When the _Erebus_ and _Terror_ parted company with the despatch-boat on +July 4, they shaped their course through Baffin's Bay towards Lancaster +Sound. Continuing their way, they passed Cape Warrender and ultimately +reached Beechy Island at the entrance of the then unexplored waters of +Wellington Channel. They passed through the channel, taking such +observations as were necessary as they went, until they had sailed 150 +miles. Further progress being stopped by the ice, they passed into +another unexplored channel between Cornwallis Island and Bathurst Island +which led them into Barrow's Straits, nearly 100 miles west of the +entrance to Wellington Channel. + +The ice was now forming thickly around them, and attention was directed +to discovering a comfortable haven where they could come to rest and +remain while the ice closed in around them during the long winter +months. A suitable harbour was found on the northeasterly side of Beechy +Island and the ships were made snug. All the spars that could be sent +down were lowered on to the decks, and the rigging and sails stowed away +below before the ice surrounded them, so that when the floes began to +pack and lifted the hulls of the vessels, there should be no +"top-hamper" to list them over. On the frozen shore huts were built for +the accommodation of shore parties, and, as the ice spread around and +the snow fell, the men found exercise and amusement in heaping it up +against the sides of the vessels as an extra protection against the +cold, the thick mass of frozen snow preventing the escape of the warmth +from the inside of the ships. But where there were fires always going to +maintain the temperature of the cabins, the danger of an outbreak of +fire had to be zealously guarded against. With all the ship's pumps +rendered useless by the frost, and the water frozen solid all around, a +conflagration on board a vessel in the Arctic seas is one of the +grimmest of terrors. The safeguard is the maintenance, in the ice near +the vessel's side, of a "fire hole," that is, a small space kept open by +constant attention down to the level of unfrozen water. + +During the long winter months there was plenty of time to estimate the +progress they had made, and there must have been considerable +satisfaction on all sides at what they had accomplished. They had +circumnavigated Cornwallis Island and had reached to within 250 miles of +the western end of the passage. + +The first Christmas festival of the voyage was kept up with high revel. +If fresh beef was not available, venison was, and there was plenty of +material for the manufacture of the time-honoured "duff." The officers +and men, clad in their thick, heavy fur garments, clustered together as +the simple religious service was read, and over the silent white +covering of sea and land the sound of their voices rolled as they sang +the hymns and carols which were being sung in their native land. Then +came the merrymaking and the feasting in cabins decked with bunting, for +no green stuff was available for decorating. + +The first New Year's Day was saddened by the death of one of their +comrades, and the silent ice-fields witnessed another impressive sight +when the crews of both vessels slowly marched ashore to the grave dug in +the frozen soil of Beechy Island. The body, wrapped in a Union Jack, was +borne by the deceased man's messmates, the members of his watch headed +by their officers following, and after them the remainder of the +officers and crew. The bells of each ship tolled as the _cortege_ passed +over the ice, the crunching of the crisp snow under foot being the only +other sound till the grave was reached. There the solemn and impressive +service of a sailor's funeral was said, the mingled voices as they +repeated the responses passing as a great hum through the still, cold +air. A momentary silence followed as the flag-swathed figure was lowered +into the grave, and then a quick rattle of firearms as the last salute +was paid echoed far and wide among the icebergs. + +Twice more was that scene repeated before the ships cleared from the +ice, and one of the first signs discovered by the searchers after +Franklin were the three headstones raised on that lonely isle to the +memory of W. Braine, John Hartwell, and John Torrington, who died while +the ships were wintering in the cold season of 1845-6. + +By July the ice had broken up and the voyage was resumed and passed +without any exceptional incident, up to the middle of September 1846, +when they were again caught by the ice, but 150 miles nearer their +destination than the year before. Only 100 miles more to be sailed over +and they would be the conquerors--but that 100 miles was too firmly +blocked with ice-floes for them ever to sail over. + +The winter of 1846-7 was passed just off the most extreme northerly +point of King William's Land. The ice was particularly heavy, and hemmed +the vessels in completely, the surface being too rugged and uneven to +permit of travelling in the immediate vicinity even of hunting parties. +This was the more unfortunate because the provisions were growing scant, +and supplies brought in by hunters would have been of great assistance. +At the time of starting, the vessels had only been provisioned for three +years. Two had now passed, so that only a twelvemonth's stock of food +remained in the holds. It might occupy them all the next summer in +working through the remaining 100 miles of the passage, and that would +leave them with another winter to face, unless they were sufficiently +fortunate in finding open water when they reached the end. But, on the +other hand, they might not be able to get through in the time, or the +passage might not be navigable. Either possibility was full of very +grave anxiety for those in command, for it was a terrible prospect of +being left, with 130 men to feed, in the midst of the frozen sea, "a +hundred miles from everywhere." + +The anxiety felt was shown by the despatch, as early as May, or two +months before the first flush of summer was due, of a specially selected +party of quick travellers to push forward over the ice and spy out the +prospects ahead. Lieutenant Graham Gore, of the _Erebus_, commanded the +party, which consisted of Charles des Voeux, ship's mate, and six +seamen. They carried only enough stores to last them on their journey, +and each one had to contribute his share to the labour of hauling the +hand-sledges over the jagged ridges of broken ice. Skirting along the +coast of King William's Land, they arrived at a point from the top of +which they were able to discern the mainland coast trending away to the +horizon, with a sea of ice in front. It was the long-dreamed-of end of +the North-West Passage. + +To commemorate the fact the little party built a cairn upon the summit +of the point, which they named Point Victory, and enclosed in a tin +canister they deposited, under the cairn, a record of their trip and its +result. Twelve years later this record was found, and by it the honour +due to Franklin for the discovery of the passage was confirmed. But the +manner of its finding must be told later on. + +Elated with the success of their efforts, Lieutenant Gore and his +companions retraced their way back to the ships, for with the end of +their journey so near at hand, all fears of the provisions running short +were at an end. As soon as the ice broke up they would be away into the +sea they had seen from Point Victory, and sailing home with their +mission accomplished, their task completed, and nothing but honour and +glory waiting them at home. As soon as they came within sight of the two +ships, perched up among the ice ridges, they shouted out to their +comrades to let them know of the success achieved. Round about the ships +they saw men standing in groups, but instead of answering cheers, the +men only looked in their direction. Unable to understand why so much +indifference was displayed, Lieutenant Gore and his companions hurried +forward, and, as they came nearer, some of the men separated themselves +from the groups and came to meet them with slow steps. + +Soon the cause of their depression was made known to the returned +explorers. The leader of the expedition lay dying in his cabin on board +the _Erebus_. + +Lieutenant Gore, his enthusiasm at his success sadly damped, went on +board the flagship at once, hoping that the news of victory might still +be given to Sir John before he died. He was led into the cabin and +briefly told the story of his journey, and how, from Point Victory, he +had looked out over to the coast of the mainland. The news, the last +which Sir John Franklin was to hear on earth, was perhaps the sweetest +he had ever known, for it meant that he had triumphed and had won a +lasting name and memory for his services to Sovereign and State. On June +11, 1847, his life ended at the moment of his brightest achievement. + +Captain Crozier, of the _Terror_, assumed command of the expedition, +and as summer was at hand, everything was made ready against the time +when the ice would break up. Ice-saws were fixed ready to cut passages +through the floes when they began to separate, and ice-anchors were run +out so that the vessels could be warped along whenever an opening +occurred. Daily the crews mustered on board and looked over the ice for +some sign of the breaking of their imprisonment, for some loosening of +the iron grip of the ice round their vessel's sides, but all in vain. +The two ships were wedged in a vast mass of ice, through which it was +impossible to cut their way. Instead of breaking up in lesser fields and +floes of ice, the mass remained packed, creaking, crashing, and +straining by night and day as it slowly made its way nearer the coast of +the mainland, carrying the ships with it until they were within 15 miles +of Point Victory, and 60 miles of the mainland coast. + +Soon the short summer months had passed and the dark period of winter +was upon them again, with the provisions daily growing scarcer, and the +hope of getting their ships out of the ice fainter. Another evil came +upon them when among the members of the crew scurvy, the dreaded enemy +of the early Polar explorers, broke out. By the following April twenty +of their number had succumbed to it, nine being officers, one of whom +was Lieutenant Gore. + +On April 22, 1848, the remaining 105 officers and men gathered on the +ice around the two ships. They had with them sledges laden with what +provisions were left, and two whale-boats. Slowly and sorrowfully they +bade farewell to the vessels which had been their homes for nearly three +years, and set out to march over the ice to the mainland. Their plan was +to push on until they reached the Great Fish River, where they might +obtain succour either from travelling bands of Indians or at some +outlying station of the Hudson Bay Company. Travelling at the rate of +five miles a day, so rough and difficult was the route, they arrived on +April 25 at the cairn where Lieutenant Gore had left the record of his +journey over a year before. The canister in which it was enclosed was +opened, and round the margin was written this brief, pathetic story:-- + +"April 25, 1848. H.M.S. _Terror_ and _Erebus_ were deserted on April 22, +five leagues N.N.W. of this point, having been beset since September 12, +1846. The officers and men, consisting of 105 souls, under the command +of Captain F. R. M. Crozier, landed here in lat. 69 deg. 37' 42" N., long. +98 deg. 41' W. The paper was found by Lieutenant Irving in a cairn supposed +to have been built by Sir James Ross in 1831, four miles to the north, +where it had been deposited by the late Commander Gore in June 1847. Sir +James Ross's pillar has not, however, been found, and the paper has been +transferred to this position, which, it is thought, is where Sir James +Ross's pillar was erected. Sir John Franklin died on June 11, 1847, and +the total loss of life by death in the expedition has been to this date +nine officers and fifteen men. Start to-morrow, April 26, for Back's +Fish River." + +The record, left as a sign, should it ever be found, of the direction +they had taken, the party resumed their dreary march over the frozen +shores of King William's Land. The men formed themselves into teams for +the purpose of dragging the sledges and whale-boats, and the officers +marched beside them, helping them and encouraging them. Even the snail's +pace of five miles a day became too severe a strain for many of the men, +weakened as they were by attacks of scurvy and reduced rations. Soon it +became evident that if a place were to be reached where help and food +could be obtained before the provisions were absolutely exhausted, it +would be necessary for the stronger to push forward at a more rapid +rate. + +A council was held, and it was decided that the strongest should take +enough supplies to last them for a time and push forward as rapidly as +possible, while the remainder should follow at a slower rate and by +shorter stages. The majority were in the latter division, and only a few +days elapsed after the smaller band, numbering about thirty, had left, +before the ravages of scurvy and semi-starvation made it impossible for +even less than five miles a day to be covered. So debilitated were all +the members that further advance was abandoned until they had, by +another long rest, tried to recuperate their energies. But the terrible +bleakness of the place where they were wrought havoc among them, and +every day men fell down never to rise again, until the only hope for the +survivors lay in returning to the ships, where, at least, they would +have shelter. Wearily they staggered over the rugged ice ridges, each +man expending his remaining energies in striving to carry the +provisions, without which only death awaited them. Men fell as they +walked, unnoticed by their companions, whose only aim was to get back to +the ships, and whose faculties were too dimmed to understand anything +else. Blindly, but doggedly, they stumbled onward, silent in their +agony, brave to the last when worn-out nature gave way and they sank +down, one after the other, till none was left alive, and only the still +figures, lying face downwards on the frozen snow, bore mute witness of +how they had neither faltered nor wavered in their duty, but had died, +as Britons always should die, true to the end. + +Their comrades who had left them to push forward for help were equally +stolid in their struggle against overwhelming odds. As they were +crossing the ice between King William's Land and the mainland, a great +cracking of the floes startled them with the fear that the ice was +breaking up. Hastily placing their stores in the whale-boat, which they +had been dragging in addition to the hand-sledges, they abandoned +everything else, fearful lest the sudden opening of the floes might cut +them off from a further advance. Harnessing themselves to ropes, they +toiled and struggled onward with the boat. They reached the mainland, +but at a terrible sacrifice, for in their haste they had left much of +their scanty supplies behind. Their food ran out and hope was almost +dead, when they espied a small camp of Eskimo. + +Fresh life came to them as they learned that they were nearly up to the +Great Fish River, and they bartered away some spoons and forks, Sir John +Franklin's star, part of a watch and some other metal articles to the +Eskimo for a recently killed seal. Had they waited longer with the +natives, they might have obtained more food and have recovered somewhat +from their fatigue, but in the mind of each was the memory of their +stricken comrades toiling on behind, and hoping from day to day for the +arrival of relief. Personal feelings were forgotten before that memory, +and the gallant little party resumed its way, fighting with all the +dauntless bravery of heroes to win help for their weaker +friends--fighting till their limbs refused to move, till their starving +bodies were numbed and frozen. Then, falling in their own footsteps, +they passed away, one by one, silent and uncomplaining, to the list of +Britain's honoured dead. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE SEARCH FOR FRANKLIN + + Captain Parker's Report--Government offers a Reward--Dr. Rae's + Expedition--Captain McClure's Voyage in the + _Investigator_--Hardships and Perils--The Meeting with the + _Herald_--Lady Franklin still Hopeful--Sir F. L. McClintock's + Expedition in the _Fox_ with Lieutenant Hobson--Their Sad and Fatal + Discoveries--Lieutenant Schwatka recovers the Body of Lieutenant + Irving. + + +The enthusiasm which was aroused over the departure of Sir John +Franklin's expedition gave place to a deep national anxiety as the years +passed without any word being received of its whereabouts. On October 4, +1849, the _Truelove_ arrived at Hull from Davis Straits, and her +commander, Captain Parker, reported that he had heard from some Eskimo +that the _Erebus_ and the _Terror_ had been seen in the previous March +fixed in the ice, and apparently abandoned in Prince Regent's Inlet. No +confirmation was ever obtained for this report, but it served to excite +public anxiety still more, and expeditions began to be organised for the +relief of the missing explorers. In all, twenty-one expeditions were +sent, of which eighteen were British and three American, to search the +neighbourhood where it was anticipated Sir John and his gallant band +would be. Coals, provisions, clothing, and other necessaries were +deposited at different spots in the hopes that they would be found by, +and be of use to, the castaways. But, as has already been stated, none +were able to give succour to the men for whose use they were intended. + +A great deal of valuable and highly interesting work, however, was done, +and in addition to at length discovering enough relics of the party to +show that all the members had perished while carrying out their duty, an +amount of knowledge was acquired which made the North-West Passage +familiar, located the Magnetic Pole, and opened the way for more recent +and equally brilliant journeys towards the Pole itself. The general +public, as well as the Government, were responsible for search +expeditions; but to stimulate the enterprise, the British Government +offered a sum of L20,000 to any party of any country that should render +efficient service to the crews of the missing _Erebus_ and _Terror_. +Half that reward was paid to Dr. Rae, who discovered the relics of the +party, now at the Greenwich Museum, consisting of Sir John Franklin's +star, some spoons and forks, the remains of a watch, and some other +metallic odds and ends. + +The story of this discovery was briefly told by Dr. Rae in a letter to +the Admiralty. He was, in 1854, surveying the coast of the mainland +immediately south of King William's Land, when he encountered a small +party of Eskimo hunters. He asked them whether they had ever met other +white men, and they told him that four summers before (1850) a number of +white men had been encountered by some Eskimo who were catching seals +off the south coast of King William's Land. The white men came from over +the ice, and were dragging a boat behind them. By signs they made the +hunters understand that they were hungry, and a seal was exchanged for +the articles Dr. Rae was shown. Then the white men went on walking over +the ice, dragging the boat behind them, one walking in front alone, and +all the rest pulling the ropes attached to the boat. A few weeks later +they were seen again, this time on the mainland, but all were dead. The +place where they were found was about one day's journey from the Great +Fish River, and all had evidently died of cold and starvation. They had +erected tents and had turned the boat over for a shelter, and some of +the men lay under the boat, while others were in and around the tents. +One man was some distance away with a telescope slung over his +shoulders, and underneath his body was a double-barrelled gun. This man, +they said, was the chief of the party. + +About the encampment there were plenty of guns and ammunition, but no +food. More than likely the unfortunate castaways were too weak from want +to be able to hunt, for Dr. Rae, in his reports, stated: "I may add that +with our guns and nets we obtained an ample supply of provisions last +autumn, and my small party passed the winter in snow houses in +comparative comfort, the skins of the deer shot affording abundant warm +clothing and bedding." + +Next to the story of Dr. Rae's discovery comes the account of the +finding by Lieutenant Hobson, on May 6, 1859, of the record left on +Point Victory, and after that again, the recovery, in 1879, by +Lieutenant Schwatka, of the United States Navy, of the bodies of several +of the _Erebus_ and _Terror_ crews. But meanwhile a glance may be taken +at some of the thrilling adventures which befell the different relief +expeditions. The account of Captain McClure's voyage in the +_Investigator_, graphically told by himself in his reports to the +Admiralty, is full of typical Arctic adventure. + +The _Investigator_ was one of several ships forming one of the +expeditions. After sailing in company for some time they separated to +work over set areas. The _Investigator_ entered the Polar Sea and sailed +along the North-East Passage. She was soon amongst the ice, and sailed +on in a depth of 150 feet of water until the pack showed a solid +unbroken line in front from east to west. Then she sailed along it, in +the hopes of finding an opening; but all that could be seen, beyond the +ice, was a vast number of walrus, lying upon it huddled together like +sheep. Between the ice and the land, however, there was open water, and +here the _Investigator_ shaped her course, keeping well in towards the +shore on the look-out for natives. There was an interpreter on board, +Miertsching by name, so that whenever any natives were encountered +inquiries could be made for tidings of the missing explorers. At Cape +Bathurst, near the Mackenzie River, a part Franklin had explored many +years before, a large tribe was observed, and at once a boat party put +off from the ship. + +As they approached the shore, thirty tents and nine winter-houses were +seen. Immediately the boats were run ashore a tremendous stir was caused +in the village, the men running to and fro and then charging down a +steep slope to where the boats were aground on the beach. As they drew +near it was seen that each man carried a drawn knife in his hand, as +well as bows and arrows, and their warlike intentions were still more +clearly shown when they fitted arrows to the bows and began to aim at +the white men. The interpreter Miertsching, clad in native costume, +advanced from the explorers towards the angry Eskimo, holding his hands +above his head in the position which expresses peace amongst these +primitive people. + +They paused as they saw him, and waited until he came up; but although +they put back their bows and arrows when he told them no one wished to +harm them, they would not relinquish their knives. As they crowded down +to the boats, the captain told him to explain to them that they must put +their knives away; but the chief of the tribe immediately retorted, "So +we will, when you put down your rifles." To prove their peaceful +intentions, one of the rifles was given to the chief to carry while the +explorers remained with them, and this action so effectually satisfied +them that no harm would be done to them that they offered to let their +visitors take charge of their knives. + +The village contained over three hundred men, women, and children, and +was formed for hunting purposes. The mass of ice showing across the open +passage, they said, was the land of the white bear, an animal which, +they explained, was very plentiful and of which they were greatly in +fear. Several tales were told of the savagery of these creatures, a +woman pitifully bewailing the loss of her little child, who was carried +off by one of them when playing at the water's edge within her sight. A +less mournful story was that of a seal hunter who, having speared one +seal, was sitting by the side of his victim waiting for the mate to +appear above the water, when he felt a tap on the back. Suspecting a +trick by a fellow-huntsman, he did not turn round, whereupon he received +a heavy blow on the side of the head which sent him sprawling. As he +scrambled to his feet, angry at his comrade's roughness, he saw a big +bear walking off with his seal. + +Upon the interpreter explaining how the white men's rifles could kill +the bears, the chief at once invited him to come and live with them, +offering as inducements his own daughter, a pleasant-looking girl of +about fifteen, a fully furnished tent, and all the other necessary +possessions of a well-to-do Eskimo. Failing in that, they invited the +explorers to a feast of roast whale and venison, salmon, blubber, and +other delicacies; but instead of taking from them, the explorers +presented them with a number of gifts, and left them on the best of +terms. + +A few days later and farther along the coast another small band was +encountered, one of whom was wearing a brass button in his ear. The +button was off a sailor's jacket, and upon being asked how he obtained +it, the man replied it had been taken from a white man who had been +killed by the tribe. He was asked for further particulars, in case the +unfortunate might turn out to be one of Franklin's men. The Eskimo +replied that it might have been done a year ago or when he was a child, +but the huts the white men had built were still standing. The explorers +at once persuaded him to take them to the spot, but on arrival they +found the huts so weather-worn and overgrown with moss that more than a +generation must have passed since they were built. + +[Illustration: AN IMMENSE ICEBERG. + +This berg was photographed off the coast of Newfoundland. It had +probably made its way there from the glaciers of Greenland. + +_Photo by Parsons._] + +This was not the only occasion when hopes were raised that some of the +missing expedition were about to be discovered. As the _Investigator_ +continued her voyage along the coast, heavy volumes of smoke were seen +rising from a bluff, and the man on the look-out in the crow's-nest at +the top of the foremast cried out that he could see white tents and men +with white shirts on near them. At once everybody was on the alert. +Boats were lowered and rowed quickly to the shore, but on close +inspection the white tents were found to be conical mounds of volcanic +formation, and the smoke, which was also volcanic, was rising from +fissures in the ground. + +Winter was now setting in, and as there was no suitable harbour at hand, +Captain McClure determined to pass the season amongst the ice-floes. His +decision was largely due to the fact that as the ice was forming around +them, a great mass of old ice, over six miles in length and drifting at +the rate of two miles an hour, came upon them. Its enormous weight +crushed everything out of its way, and the ship could only manoeuvre +sufficiently to graze it with her starboard bow. Fortunately on the +other side of her there was only freshly formed and comparatively thin +ice, otherwise she would have been hopelessly crushed at once. As it +was, the gradual drifting past of the mass was disconcerting, and it was +decided to make fast to it. A great mass which they ascertained extended +downwards for forty-eight feet below the surface of the sea was +selected, and with heavy cables the _Investigator_ was made secure to +it. Throughout the winter she remained moored to it, though not without +more than one experience of danger. + +Soon after making fast to the ice, the first bear of the season was +shot. He was a magnificent specimen, measuring over seven feet, but upon +being cut up considerable speculation was roused as to the contents of +his stomach. In it was found raisins, tobacco, pork, and some adhesive +plasters. For some time the combined intellect of the ship's company +was exercised to explain where the bear could have obtained such a +varied diet and many suggestions were advanced in explanation. +Franklin's ships might be near, some said, or the crews might be +encamped on the neighbouring land, and Bruin might have looted their +stores. No one struck the correct solution of the mystery until some +days later a hunting party came upon a preserved meat tin partly filled +with the same sort of articles as were found in the bear's stomach. He +had evidently found the tin and sampled its contents, not entirely to +his enjoyment, as he had left the larger portion behind. But whence the +tin had come they never learned. + +The winter having passed without mishap they began to watch for the +breaking of the ice. When it began, they had a very narrow escape from +destruction. A light breeze springing up the day after open water +appeared among the floes, the pack to which the _Investigator_ was +attached began to drift. It was carried towards a shoal upon which a +huge mass of ice was stranded. A corner of the pack came in contact with +the great stationary mass with a grinding shock that sent pieces of +twelve and fourteen feet square flying completely out of the water, and, +as the immense weight of the moving pack pressed forward, there was a +sound as of distant thunder as it crushed onwards. The weight at the +back caused an enormous mass to upheave in the middle of the pack, as +though under the influence of a volcanic eruption. The great field was +rent asunder, the block to which the _Investigator_ was attached taking +the ground and remaining fixed, while the lighter portion swung round +and, with accelerated speed, came directly towards the vessel's stern. + +To let go every cable and hawser which held her to the block was the +work of a moment, for every one was on deck keenly on the look-out. The +moving mass caught her stem and forced her ahead and from between the +moving floe and the stationary mass. The two came into grinding +collision and the men on the deck of the vessel saw the great bulk to +which the ship had been attached slowly rise. It went up and up until it +had risen thirty feet above the surface and hung perpendicularly above +the ship. It towered higher than the foreyard, presenting a spectacle +that was at once grandly impressive but terribly dangerous, for if it +fell over upon the _Investigator_ she would be crushed to atoms. For a +few moments the suspense was awful, till the weight of the floe broke +away a mass from the great bulk, which rolled back with a tremendous +roar and rending, and, with some fearful heaves, resumed its former +position. But no longer could it withstand the pressure, and it was +hurried forward with the rest of the floe, grinding along the surface of +the shoal. + +The pack having set in towards the shore, the only hopes of safety lay +in keeping with the ice, for, if the _Investigator_ were pushed ashore +by it, there would be little chance of her ever floating again. She was +consequently made fast again and carried along, though with a +tremendous strain on her stern and rudder. It was discovered that the +latter was damaged, but there was no possibility of unshipping it for +repairs while the ice was moving. Towards the afternoon the wind +dropped, the drift became less, and for five hours the rudder received +attention. + +Scarcely had it been replaced when once more the ice began to move, and +the crew saw that they were being forced directly upon a large piece of +the broken floe which had grounded. Feeling certain that if the ship +were caught between the grounded mass and the moving floe nothing could +save her from being crushed to pieces, a desperate effort was made to +remove the great mass. The chief gunner, provided with a big canister of +powder, went on to the ice and struggled over the rugged surface until +he reached the stationary mass. He intended to lower the canister under +the mass before exploding it, but the ice was too closely packed around +it to permit of this being done. There was no time to consider any other +plan, so he fixed the blast in a cavity and, firing the fuse, scrambled +back to the ship. + +The charge exploded just as the pressure of the floe was beginning to +tell, but the result was apparently valueless. The _Investigator_ by +this time was within a few yards of the great mass, and there seemed to +be no hope of escaping from the crush. Every one on deck was in a state +of anxious suspense, waiting for what was evidently the crisis of their +fate. + +Most fortunately the ship went stem-on, as sailors term it, and the +pressure was directed along her whole length instead of along her sides. +Every plank seemed to feel the shock, and the beams groaned as the +pressure increased. The masts trembled, and crackling sounds came from +the bulwarks as she strained under the tension. Momentarily the men +expected that she would collapse under them, when the result of the +gunner's blast was made manifest. It had cracked the mass in three +places, and the pressure of the ship's stern forced the cracks open. The +liberation from the obstacle was at once evident as the mass slowly +divided and, falling over, floated off the shoal. The cable holding the +vessel to the floe parted as she surged forward and the ice-anchors drew +out, while the blocks of ice, as they turned over, lifted her bows out +of the water and heeled her over; but the cheer which broke from the +assembled crew drowned all other noise, for it was as though they had +been snatched from the very jaws of death. + +Subsequent examination of the vessel showed that she had escaped +practically without serious injury. Several sheets of her copper were +stripped off and rolled up like scraps of paper; but as no leaks were +discovered, the loss of the copper was not greatly deplored. + +After escaping from these dangers it was hoped that open water would be +found, so that the voyage might be continued to other areas which had +to be searched, and, as the _Investigator_ drifted along amongst the +partly broken up floes, she encountered some rolling swells, which +increased the hopes that open water was not far ahead. But in this the +crew were disappointed, for although the water near the land was +sufficiently free from ice to enable sail to be made, out toward the +Polar Sea the pack was heavy and close. + +They rounded Cape Lambton on Banks' Land, a promontory which they found +rose a thousand feet precipitously. The land beyond gradually lost the +bold character of the rugged cape, the island presenting a view of hills +in the interior which gradually sloped to the shore, having fine valleys +and extensive plains, over and through which several small and one +considerable sized stream flowed. A great deal of drift-wood lay along +the beach, and the land was covered with verdure upon which large flocks +of geese were feeding, while ducks were flying in great numbers. Two +small islands were passed off the coast, one of which afforded an +example of the force exerted by a drifting Polar Sea ice-floe. The +island rose about forty feet above the surface of the sea, and broken +masses of ice, which had formed a floe, had been driven entirely over +it. + +The pack still presented an impassable barrier to their course away from +the land, and as the season was getting late they decided that they +would make winter quarters. A suitable bay was found on the north of the +island, and there they spent, not one, but two winters, for the ice +remained so thick during the ensuing short summer that it was impossible +to move. In the summer, however, if they could not get to sea, they +could travel on to the land, and as game was plentiful they were able to +keep themselves well supplied with fresh meat. But when winter again +came upon them with its cold darkness, the game was scarcer, and, what +was worse, the ship's stores were decreasing. + +As perhaps another twelve months would have to be faced, every one went +on reduced rations, so that the stores should be made to last as long as +possible. The approach of the milder weather Captain McClure determined +should be made the occasion of a daring expedition. A few of the men +were beginning to show signs of sickness, and the captain decided that +they should set out in April for the mainland with enough provisions to +carry them through. The ship was so slightly affected by the buffeting +she had received that the leader could not bring himself to think of +abandoning her while he had any stores left and men who were ready to +remain with him. Only the least robust of the crew were to go as the +overlanding party, and they were to travel to the nearest station of the +Hudson Bay Company, and from thence press on to England with despatches +for the Admiralty requesting help and provisions for those who remained +by the ship. Everything was arranged, even to the date of departure, +which was settled as April 15. But before that day arrived another +incident was to transpire. + +On April 10, Captain McClure and his first lieutenant were walking over +the ice near the ship, discussing the serious turn events had taken, for +one of the men had just died from scurvy, and some of the others were in +a bad state of health. This was the first death which had occurred, and +it naturally cast a gloom over every one. As the two walked, they espied +a man coming rapidly towards them from over the ice. He was hastening so +much that they thought he must be flying from a bear, and they went +forward to meet him. But as they approached him, they saw that he was +not one of their own ship's company, for he was of a different build to +any of their men, in addition to which his face showed black from +between his furs, and he was waving his arms wildly. They stopped, +doubtful what to make of him, and he rushed up, still gesticulating and +articulating wildly. + +"Who are you, and where do you come from?" McClure exclaimed sternly. + +"Lieutenant Pim, of the _Herald_, Captain Kellett," the strange figure +managed to reply, as he seized McClure's hands and shook them +frantically. + +Rapidly he told the astounded couple his story, for Captain Kellett, of +the _Herald_, had bid McClure God-speed as he was entering the Polar Sea +three years before, and the commander of the _Investigator_ could not +understand how he could have reached Banks' Land. + +The _Herald_ was one ship of another expedition which had come in search +of the gallant Franklin. She had wintered at Melville's Island, and +Lieutenant Pim had set out across the straits with a sledge party on +March 10. For a month they had been wandering, and he had happened to be +on ahead of his men when he caught sight of the _Investigator_ in the +distance. He had pushed on to ascertain who she was, when he saw and +recognised Captain McClure. His astonishment and excitement overmastered +him and he could only halloo and shout and jump about in his glee. + +The noise of his shouts reached the vessel where the crew, hearing a +strange voice, came tumbling up from below to see who it was that had +arrived. The sight of the _Herald_ sledge party soon afterwards +completed their surprise and gratification, for it meant that close at +hand was all the help they needed to successfully insure their +liberation. + +The whole ship's company journeyed across to where the _Herald_ lay, +and, in the interchange of yarns and the assurance of abundance of food +and rest till the ice broke up, they found just the requisite stimulus +to overcome all the evil effects of their past trials and privations. +With a few men from the _Herald_ to relieve the members of his crew who +were on the sick-list, Captain McClure returned to the _Investigator_ +after a few days, and when the summer arrived he worked his vessel out +into open water. Then he joined company with the _Herald_ and sailed for +England, whither his despatches and reports had already preceded him and +earned him fame. + +The return of Captain McClure and the result of his discoveries, +together with those of other expeditions, and Dr. Rae's find of Franklin +relics, satisfied the British Government that further search was +unavailing. As the account of Sir John Franklin's voyage had not yet +been found, the honour of proving the existence of the North-West +Passage was, for the time being, accorded to McClure, and the Admiralty, +satisfied that all the members of the Franklin expedition had perished, +and the ships either been abandoned or destroyed, ceased despatching +further search parties. + +There were, however, a large number of people who were by no means +satisfied that everything possible had been learned as to the fate of +the _Erebus_ and _Terror_. Lady Franklin, Sir John's second wife, was +one who refused to give up hopes, and, largely through her efforts, yet +another vessel was sent out. This was the _Fox_, under the command of +Sir L. F. McClintock, and the voyage was more profuse in the obtaining +of evidence as to the fate of the Franklin party than all the rest put +together. + +McClintock made his way directly to King William's Land, with a definite +programme in view. He and his first lieutenant, Hobson, were each to +journey with sledge parties along the coast of that island and examine +everything which suggested a chance of learning the fate of the vanished +explorers. Especially were they to seek for any natives and glean from +them, by means of presents and barter, any knowledge they might have, or +any _relics_ which might remain amongst them, of the two ill-fated +ships. + +The _Fox_ was a screw steamer, a fact which very largely contributed to +the success of the expedition, as she was able to make steady progress, +whereas a sailing vessel would have had to wait for favourable winds and +so probably lose a great deal of very valuable time. She sailed from +Aberdeen on July 1, 1857, and returned on September 22, 1859, +accomplishing, in her two years' absence, an amount of discovery which +placed all question of the fate of the _Erebus_ and _Terror_ and their +crews beyond a doubt. + +As soon as the _Fox_ was made snug in winter quarters, McClintock and +Hobson set out over the ice in search of some Eskimo. They were +fortunate in discovering a couple of seal hunters, who told them that +some distance away there was a larger party, amongst whom was a man with +knowledge of the missing explorers. They set out with their two friends, +but as night was coming on while yet they had not reached the camp, they +decided to stay where they were till the morning. The two Eskimo, for +one needle apiece, built a snow hut for them in an hour. All of them +went inside the shelter, which they found very acceptable, and prepared +their supper. The food they carried consisted of salt pork and biscuits, +but the two Eskimo would not look at it. Their supper consisted of a +piece of bear's blubber. When they had consumed it they squatted on +their haunches and, with their heads drooped forward on their knees, +went off to sleep for the night. + +The following day the main camp was reached, and the white men at once +realised, by the number of articles of European manufacture in the +possession of the Eskimo, that they must have found and looted the +abandoned ships. One of the men told them, through the interpreter, that +several years before there was a ship in the ice off the coast, but that +when the ice melted it had sunk in deep water. He pointed out the +direction where the ship had been, and where there had been a lot of +drift-wood thrown up on the beach--wood out of which, he explained, they +had made their spear handles and tent poles. Other relics were gradually +forthcoming, upon the production by the white men of the barter they had +with them, and a brisk trade was carried on, knives and needles being +exchanged for spoons, forks, and other objects unmistakably from the +wrecked ships. In addition to the relics, some dogs were also secured. + +The latter purchase afforded them considerable amusement and often +excitement before they were entirely masters in the art of dog-team +driving. Like everything else worth doing, it has to be learned, and in +his account of his journeyings McClintock quotes one or two instances +where experience was his only teacher. He found, for instance, that when +a dog team is harnessed up to a sledge, every dog does not pull his +hardest, and a suggestion from the whip is advisable. The dog, however, +is inclined to resent it, and at once bites his neighbour by way of +protest. The neighbour in turn bites his neighbour, who does the same, +until the whole team has received the sting arising from the first lash, +and every dog is howling and snapping and jumping over each other. The +application of the whip handle instead of the whip lash is then +necessary, and when at length quiet is restored, the driver has to set +to work to unplait the harness, which has been twisted and tied into a +terrible tangle by the antics of the team. When, at the expense of a +great deal of patience and time, everything is ready for a fresh start, +the inexperienced driver is able to estimate the value of cracking the +whip over, instead of on, the back of a lazy dog. + +Even then, however, it is not all plain sailing. The dogs possess a +wisdom of their own, and they never act so well together as when they +reach a piece of particularly rough ice over which the sledge does not +move easily. Directly they find that they have to lean heavily against +the collar to pull the load forward, they, with one accord, turn round, +sit down, and look at the driver. If he is inexperienced, he lays about +him with his whip and the dogs fight and tangle the harness; if he knows +his animals, he puts his shoulder to the sledge, pushes it forward on to +the toes of the team, whereupon each one gets up, hurries out of the way +of the threatening sledge-runners, and, together, pull it easily over +the rough place. + +Another peculiarity of the dogs is their extraordinary appetite for +leather. Shark skin the Eskimo consider to be bad for them because of +its excessive roughness, but birds' skins, with the feathers on, are +greatly relished by the insatiable feeders, and, as has been said, +leather is an especial luxury. The dogs are incorrigible thieves and +frequently sneak into the tents, or, if on board ship, into the cabins, +in search of plunder. They are generally greeted with a kick, but should +it be sufficiently energetic to dislodge the kicker's shoe, the dog at +once seizes the delicacy and makes for a quiet spot on the ice where he +can devour it at his leisure. + +The dogs, however, which McClintock was able to obtain from the Eskimo +were genuinely useful to him when he and Lieutenant Hobson began their +prolonged search, and his only regret was that he could not get more. +Later explorers have profited by his experience, for now an expedition +is never considered complete that does not carry at least one team. + +After leaving the Eskimo encampment, search was continued along the +southern coast of King William's Land, but without very much success. +Returning, they again met the same tribe of Eskimo, and discovered that +when one of the race speaks he does not necessarily tell all that he +knows. During a conversation between the interpreter and one of the +young men, the latter made a reference to the ship that came ashore. As +the man who had previously mentioned the ship said that it sank in deep +water, the young man was asked how it could have come ashore under those +circumstances. The other one sank, he said; the one he meant came +ashore, where he had seen it. + +Further inquiries showed that both the ships had been seen and visited +by the Eskimo while they were yet in the ice. One of them they could not +find how to enter, so they made a hole in her side, with the result that +when the ice melted she filled and sank. In one of the bunks they found +a man lying dead, but no other bodies were right near the ship. + +Now that they had been discovered in their attempt to evade the truth, +the Eskimo spoke readily enough, giving the exact locality where the +ship had come ashore. Thither McClintock and his companions at once +proceeded. They found enough evidence in the drift-wood on the beach to +show them where the vessel had gone to pieces; but whether it was the +_Erebus_ or the _Terror_, there was nothing to show. They had now, +however, a definite point from whence to commence their search, and +they laid out the probable routes by which the escaping crews would have +travelled. Separating into two parties, so as to cover as much ground as +possible, they started, Lieutenant Hobson leading. + +On May 25, 1859, McClintock, while walking along a sandy ridge from +whence the snow had disappeared, noticed something white shining through +the sand. He stooped to examine it, thinking it to be a round white +stone, but closer inspection showed it to be the back of a skull. Upon +the sand being removed, the entire skeleton was found, lying face +downwards, with fragments of blue cloth still adhering to its bleached +bones. The man had evidently been young, lightly built, and of the +average height. Near by were found a small pocket brush and comb, and a +pocket-book containing two coins and some scraps of writing. He had +evidently fallen forward as he was walking, and never risen. As an old +Eskimo woman told Dr. Rae, "they fell down and died as they walked +along," overcome with cold, hunger, and sickness. + +The explorers were now in the region where all their finds were to be +made. Five days later McClintock came upon a boat which he found, from a +note attached to it, that Hobson had already examined. It had evidently +escaped the notice of the Eskimo, and, until the white men found it, had +probably not been touched by human hands from the moment its occupants +had died. It was mounted on a sledge, as though it had been hauled over +the ice; but from the fact that its bows pointed towards the spot where +the ships had been, it was surmised that the men were dragging it back +to the vessels when they were overcome. Inside were two bodies, one +lying on its side, under a pile of clothing, towards the stern, and the +other in the bows, in such a position as to suggest that the man had +crawled forward, had laboriously pulled himself up to look over the +gunwale, and had then slipped down and died where he fell. Beside him +were two guns, loaded and ready cocked, as though the man had been +apprehensive of attack. There were also as many as five watches, several +books (mostly with the name of Graham Gore or initials G. G. in them), +abundance of clothes and other articles such as knives, pieces of +sheet-lead, files, sounding leads and lines, spoons and forks, oars, a +sail, and two chronometers, but of food only some tea and chocolate. + +The story mutely told by these relics was only too plain. Weary with +hauling it, the majority of the men had left the boat in order to get +back to the ships and obtain a fresh supply of provisions, leaving two, +who were too weak to struggle on, in the boat, as comfortable as they +could be made until some of the others could get back to help them. Then +the days had passed until the store of provisions had been consumed and +the two sufferers had grown weary with waiting, so weary that one had +slept and died under his wraps, and the other, with his remaining +vestige of strength, had crawled forward to peep out once more for the +help that was so long in coming. But only ice had met his gaze, and, +sinking down, he had also passed into that overwhelming sleep, and had +lain undisturbed for twelve years under the covering of the Arctic +snows. + +Close search was made in the vicinity of the boat for the remains of any +other of the lost explorers, but nothing was discovered except +drift-wood. The spot where the boat was found was about fifty miles from +Point Victory, sixty-five from the place where the ship had gone ashore, +and seventy from the skeleton that McClintock had discovered on the +ridge. + +A few days' march farther on, a cairn was noticed upon the brow of a +point near Cape Victoria. On ascending to it, McClintock found another +note from Hobson, stating that he had already examined it and recovered +from it the record which the crews had deposited there upon the +desertion of the ships, and which is given in the account of the +Franklin voyages. This was the final triumph of the search, for it +conclusively proved that Sir John had been dead before the ships were +abandoned, that he, and not McClure, was the real discoverer of the +North-West Passage, and that the expedition had ended in a disaster as +pitiful as the commencement had been brilliant. Round the cairn were +strewn innumerable relics, showing that the three days which had elapsed +from the time of their leaving the ships had been sufficient to further +decrease the strength and vitality of the scurvy-stricken unfortunates. + +No other discovery of moment was made after the unearthing of the vital +record, but Lieutenant Hobson had some experience of what the Franklin +explorers must have suffered. He had abundance of food with him, and +that the best and most nutritious, but he developed scurvy on his +journey, and when he reached the _Fox_ he could not walk without +assistance. No wonder, then, that Franklin's men, starving as well as +sick, should have died by the way. + +The return of the _Fox_ in September 1859 effectually set at rest all +doubts as to the fate of the _Erebus_ and _Terror_, and no more search +expeditions were sent out. But in 1879 Lieutenant Schwatka, of the +United States Navy, made an overland journey to that part of King +William's Land where the crews had perished. He found many more +skeletons, doubtless of members of the ill-fated expedition, and +wherever he found one lying above ground he buried it with proper +ceremony, except in a single instance. + +This was in the case of an open grave of stones in which the remains of +a skeleton, with some blue cloth adhering to it and some coarse canvas +around it, was lying. Near the remains he found a silver medal bearing +the words, "Awarded to John Irving, Midsummer, 1830, Second Mathematical +Prize." + +The presence of the medal identified the remains as being those of +Lieutenant Irving of the _Terror_. As this was the only instance where +identification was possible, Lieutenant Schwatka carefully and +reverently gathered them together and carried them to New York, from +whence they were forwarded to Edinburgh, Irving's native town. There +they were accorded a public funeral on January 7, 1881. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE VOYAGE OF THE _POLARIS_ + + Death of Captain Hall--Crew determine to Return--Are Frozen in--A + Party take to the Ice and are Cast Away--They build themselves Snow + Huts--They find some Seals--An Adventure with Bears--The Perils of + the Spring--They sight the _Tigress_ and are Saved--The + Ship-Party's Story and Rescue. + + +The Government of the United States, in June 1871, despatched the +_Polaris_ to explore and survey the passage between Grinnel Land and +Greenland, and also, if possible, to push on to the Pole. + +The _Polaris_, under the command of Captain Hall, sailed from New York +on June 29, 1871, with a crew of thirty-three, and provisioned for some +years. She succeeded in passing through Smith's Sound and Robeson +Channel, and on August 31 she had reached as high a latitude as 82 deg. 11' +N. Returning to the southward, she went into winter quarters; but on +November 8 her captain was struck down with apoplexy. Upon his death all +idea of going further to the North was abandoned, and, as soon as the +spring of 1872 commenced, preparations were made to return to New York. + +The ice was particularly heavy, however, and very slow progress was made +when, by August, the _Polaris_ became entangled with some big floes +which checked her in every direction. On August 14, when off the +entrance of Kennedy Channel, in latitude 80 deg., the ice closed round her +and fixed her so firmly that every effort made by the crew to release +her was without avail. A series of floes had closed one upon the other, +and had so compressed themselves together, that all hope of extricating +the _Polaris_ until the ice itself broke up was reluctantly abandoned. +The pack in which she was involved continued to slowly drift to the +South until, two months after her capture, the ship had drifted in the +ice to 78 deg. 28' N. At this point a violent gale occurred, which resulted +in the series of adventures for her crew that has made the voyage of the +_Polaris_ so notable. + +As the gale increased in intensity, the huge field of heavy ice in which +the vessel was imprisoned began to heave and grind in an alarming +manner. The masses joined together by the force of earlier collisions +broke asunder under the strain of the wind, but only to close in again +with terrific force and crashing. Every time that separated portions of +the pack came together with a crash, the ice around the vessel creaked +and moved, and the _Polaris_ herself strained in every timber under the +trial. + +A sudden parting asunder of the pack where she was encased liberated her +for the moment. Freed from the grip of the ice, the force of the wind +was more evident, and she heeled over to the gale as it caught her in +the temporarily open water. Before she could right herself, the ice +closed in again upon her sides. The rending and crashing which followed +the "nip" convinced all on board that the vessel was too crushed ever to +float again, and, while the floe held together and she was kept from +foundering, the crew set about putting stores, tents, clothing, arms, +and anything else they could lay hands on, over the side on to the ice. +They feared that with the next split the vessel would be in the water +again, and there was no doubt in any one's mind but that she would then +sink like a stone. No one knew how long it might be before that split +came, and in the meantime every one worked at the only means of saving +their lives. Nineteen of the ship's company scrambled out on to the +pack, and, as their comrades passed out the various stores and articles +they were able to seize, those on the ice stacked them, as well as they +could, on a massive hummock. + +Through the wind and the cold they worked, neither pausing for rest nor +refreshment. All around them the ice was heaving and grinding, and over +them the cold northerly gale was blowing and driving great clouds of +snow; but they worked on, knowing only too well that in every barrel of +food they rolled into security was contained a week of life for them. +The driving snow made it more and more difficult to see, until the air +was almost dark. With fearful force the wind howled across the icy +expanse, and those on the pack crouched for some shelter behind the +stores they had piled up by the hummock, waiting till the gale should +have exhausted its fury. + +The faint sound of a cry came to them from the direction of the ship and +they peered out through the gloom. Then a cry of despair broke from +their lips--they forgot the force of the wind and the cold of the +driving snow as they sprang from behind their shelter. The ice had +parted again, and, down the long lane of open water which had been +formed, the hull of the ship loomed as it swung away into the darkness. + +Anxiously the castaways watched for the coming together again of the +divided packs, in the hope that the _Polaris_ would again be caught and +held. Those who remained on board were equally anxious, for they knew +the vessel must be leaking terribly, and to be left much longer in the +open water meant that she would founder and they be drowned. A man ran +to the rudder and tried to bring her round to the ice which glimmered +through the snow-storm, but the rudder was damaged too much for steering +and the ship drifted on. Soon it was obscured from those on the pack, +and the truth of their position dawned on them. Whether the ship had +foundered or not they did not know, but this was clear: they were adrift +on an ice-pack which might at any moment split asunder and precipitate +them into the freezing water, or, if it held together, carry them till +they died of cold and starvation. + +Either alternative was sufficiently gloomy to depress the spirits of +the bravest; as the nineteen cowered behind their stack of provisions +for shelter from the keen snow-filled wind, into the mind of each there +came a grim determination to fight while there was an ounce of food in +the casks or a vestige of ice to float them. In the morning, when the +storm had abated and the air was clear, they emerged from their shelter +and looked about for a sign of the vessel. Some of them clambered up on +to the top of the highest hummocks so as to command a wider field of +vision, but they saw no more than those who remained below. All around +them was ice, piled in heaps, or stretching out in flat expanses; but +always ice, as far as the eye could reach, and nowhere a vestige or a +sign of the _Polaris_. + +They gathered together round the heap of stores and looked at one +another in silence, each one reading the other's thoughts and always +finding them the same as his own. The ship had probably gone to the +bottom, with all on board, as soon as she broke away from the ice. The +packs had closed again over the spot where she had disappeared, so that +there was no chance of any spars or timber floating to the surface and +confirming their suspicions. Everything was under the ice, everything +except the scanty supply of provisions that had been put overboard. + +At length one man spoke. It was no use mincing matters, he told his +comrades. They would do well to realise the position they were in, and, +looking at it from the worst side, make the best of it and fight to the +end. The vessel had gone, and all they had to keep them from starvation +and death was the heap of stores and their own energy. There was no +timber to build a raft, so that they could float if the ice broke up; +there was no wood to waste on a fire. But as they had to keep afloat and +warm if they were going to escape, he considered that first of all they +should remove their stores to the thickest, heaviest ice they could +find, and then set to work to build snow huts for shelter. Winter was +coming on with its long spell of darkness, and there was no time to +waste. It was every one's business to help one another and to do the +best they could, working together and sharing whatever came, whether it +was short rations or plenty. + +The sentiments appealed to all the men, and they formed themselves into +parties to carry out the scheme. Fortunately they had just passed one +winter in the Arctic regions and knew, therefore, what was in front of +them, and also how to carry out the building of snow huts and the other +necessary makeshifts. A massive hummock, which apparently was too strong +to be crushed, and solid enough to last through several summers without +melting, was selected as the site of the encampment. The snow which had +fallen during the gale was not quite hard enough for building huts at +the moment, so while some of the party were overhauling the stores and +arranging to move them to the hummock, the others were clearing away +the snow from the site of the camp and banking it up all round as a +break-wind. + +By the time the stores were placed in the enclosure, canvas shelters +were erected for a temporary covering, pending the time when the snow +became hard enough to cut for building blocks. It is only when the snow +has become compressed by its own weight and frozen nearly solid by the +cold that it can be cut into slabs or blocks for a hut. When it has +become hard enough, the blocks are cut and the building commences. First +a circle is laid, with a small space vacant where the doorway is to be. +On either side of this opening the blocks are laid so as to form the +plan of a porch, one side of which, in the present instance, was +continued at right angles so as turn the entrance passage towards the +stack of provisions and thus shelter the doorway from the wind. As soon +as the ground plan of the hut was laid, the surface of the blocks was +moistened and other blocks laid upon them, and so on until the walls +rose some five feet, the moisture making the blocks freeze hard to one +another. The layers were now gradually lapped over the interior until a +dome roof was formed. Both inside and outside were then moistened and +smoothed, and the cold air, freezing the moisture, glazed the entire +structure with a covering of ice. + +All the clothing, bedding, and weapons were taken inside. A lamp was +constructed out of an empty preserved meat tin; it was filled with fat, +and, with a piece of twisted tow for a wick, it lit up the interior of +the hut and afforded some warmth as well. Heavy canvas curtains were +suspended across the opening out of the hut at the inner wall, at the +bend in the passage, and at the outer opening. Such of the packages of +stores as were suitable were also brought into the hut, and upon them +the blankets and furs were laid so as to make the sleeping places as +comfortable as possible. The quarters were thus as good as the men could +make them, but one anxiety still remained. The lamp would have to be +kept going all the twenty-four hours, and especially during the long +Arctic night; but the supply of fat was limited. + +A hunting party was organised to search the pack for seals or walrus or +any animal from which blubber could be obtained. Here again the +experience of the previous winter and its hunting exploits served them. +A small opening in the pack was discovered a mile or so from the camp, +and on the ice around the water three seals were resting, having +evidently been caught in the ice when it closed. With great care the +hunters crept over the ice towards the animals, whose sacrifice meant so +much to the castaways. Only two had rifles, the others carrying harpoons +they had made from the tent-poles, and which were anything but reliable +weapons. Steady aim was taken by the two men who had the rifles at the +two larger of the seals. Firing together, one seal fell dead; the one +which was not aimed at plunged into the water, and the other, badly +wounded, hobbled to the edge of the ice. In another moment he would +have been over and probably have sunk to the bottom, had not one of the +men flung away his harpoon, and, springing forward, managed to seize the +hind flippers of the wounded creature. His comrades rushed to his +assistance and dragged both him and the seal back from the opening on to +the ice, where the latter was quickly despatched. + +They were harnessing themselves to their victims in order to drag them +over to the camp, when a loud snort from the opening caused them to +start round just in time to see the third seal disappearing under the +water. At once they understood the situation. The opening was the only +one for miles, and the seal was compelled to come to the surface there +to breathe, as he could not reach the top anywhere else for the ice. It +was at once decided to wait for him, but as, if he were shot while in +the water, he would inevitably sink to the bottom and be lost to them, +they determined to lay a trap for him. The seals already killed were +placed in natural attitudes near the water, and the men hastily retired +to sheltering hummocks, to wait the return. The men with the rifles were +both to fire upon the seal as soon as he emerged on to the ice, for he +was too valuable to be lost. They had not waited very long before he +reappeared and, raising his head high out of the water, looked around. +Seeing nothing but the two seals on the ice, he swam leisurely round and +round the opening before scrambling up on to the ice. As he reached it +and moved towards his two companions, the men, who had been carefully +aiming at him, fired and killed him. + +With the three seals, the party returned to the camp in high spirits, +their arrival being the signal for general rejoicing, for not only would +the blubber of the seals keep the lamp supplied with oil, but their +skins were very welcome additions to the stock of warm coverings, and +the meat was an invaluable addition to the larder. + +Really it was more, but of that they were not aware until two days +later, when one of the men was awakened by the short barking roar of a +bear. He quickly roused his companions and they made their way out of +the hut with what weapons they possessed. + +The flesh of the seals had been suspended on a line between two poles +near the other provisions so as to protect it from any chance visit by +wolves or bears. As the first man peered out from the hut opening, he +saw, in the dim twilight, two bears standing underneath the line of +meat, sniffing up at it and growling. They had, it was afterwards +learned, picked up the trail where the dead seals had been dragged from +the opening in the ice, and had followed it to the camp. + +[Illustration: AN ADDITION TO THE EXPLORERS' SUPPLY OF PROVISIONS.] + +The man whispered back to his companions what he saw, and another man, +armed with a rifle, crept to his side. Aiming together behind the +shoulder of the larger of the bears, they fired simultaneously and +brought their quarry down. Immediately the other bear turned towards the +opening and, with snarling teeth, advanced. A third rifle was fired +point-blank at its head, but the bullet failed to penetrate the massive +skull, though it made the beast change its direction. As it turned away +the men realised what its escape would mean to them. There was a rush +after it, the men loading and firing as quickly as they could load, so +as to secure it before it disappeared in the dim grey twilight. It fell +wounded, and was despatched by means of the impromptu spears. + +This adventure not only made a notable break in the monotony of the life +on the pack, but gave the men a subject for conversation during the long +weary period of darkness, as well as increasing their store of fat, +fresh meat, and warm covering. No further animals were seen or heard, +although every one was constantly on the alert, and the opening where +the seals were killed was visited daily until it froze over. Then the +last vestige of twilight vanished and darkness settled down upon the +ice. + +For eighty-three days the sun was absent, and during that time the cold +was intense. The lamp was the only means of artificial heat they +possessed, and even of that they had to be careful, for the supply of +fat was not inexhaustible, and no one knew when it could be replenished. +In the coldest weather the men huddled together under their blankets and +furs, anxious and weary. They had no means of finding out in what +direction they were moving, for the constant creaking of the floe led +them to believe that they were drifting somewhere. Whether it was to the +North or to the South they could not tell, and yet upon the direction in +which they were moving their salvation depended. + +Never, perhaps, was the return of the sun more welcomed than by the +desolate castaways on the floe. But its appearance and the commencement +of spring was not entirely an unmixed blessing. The rising temperature +naturally caused the ice to break up, and as the floe upon which they +were marooned gradually decreased in size, fresh anxiety was caused to +them by the possible danger of their haven being broken up. As the days +passed, they saw their food supply growing smaller and smaller, until +starvation stared them in the face, and hope was almost dead. April +came, and with it all the privation and suffering consequent upon +insufficient food and wearying, helpless, and almost hopeless, +inactivity. The last day of the month arrived and found them with the +last morsel of food consumed. A man clambered to the summit of the +hummock in the hopes of seeing a seal somewhere on the ice. His comrades +thought that he had lost his senses when he shouted wildly and, +clambering down, ran towards them, dancing and shouting. + +Over the top of the hummock he had caught sight of a ship, and the +excitement caused by his news was soon eclipsed as the castaways saw the +signals they made answered from the vessel. Boats put off for them and +took them on board the ship, which was the _Tigress_, a sealer from +Labrador. + +They found that in the 196 days they had spent on the floe they had +drifted over 1500 miles from the latitude in which the _Polaris_ was +beset on October 12. For the time they believed they were the only +survivors of the expedition, but in this they were wrong. The remainder +of the party also escaped, though without undergoing quite the same +hardships as themselves. + +When the _Polaris_ broke away from the ice, she did not sink, but +drifted rapidly before the gale through the open channel. Captain +Budington, who had assumed command when Captain Hall died, and the +twelve men who remained on board, managed to keep the disabled vessel +afloat, but they could do no more until she again became involved in the +ice. By that time all hopes of returning to the place where the other +men were on the ice was abandoned, and, as the water was fairly open, +the efforts of the crew were mainly directed to warping the ship towards +the coast. By good fortune she managed to escape from the crushing +packs, and, with tireless effort and great care, she was at length +brought within sight of land. Then she was caught in the ice along the +shore and so severely nipped that her ruin was complete. She, however, +did not sink, and her crew were able to reach the land. + +Selecting a site for an encampment, they removed thither enough timber +from the broken-up vessel to construct a house, to which they also +removed enough stores to last them. When these necessaries were secured, +they brought more timber ashore, and, during the long winter night, they +employed themselves in constructing a couple of boats. It was a +laborious task, and but slow progress was made until daylight returned. +Then they were able to carry on the work faster; but it was the middle +of May before they had them finished and seaworthy. + +As soon as the ice began to break up, they launched the boats, which +were fully provisioned from the wreck, and on June 3 they sailed away to +the South. Three weeks later they sighted a whaler, the _Ravenscraig_, +who took them aboard, and within a few months of their comrades, whom +they thought had all perished, landing in America from the _Tigress_, +the boat party also landed, having saved, in addition to themselves, all +the records of the surveys and observations made by the expedition. +These were of great geographical value, making known much of the +neighbourhood of the straits between Greenland and Grant's Land. The +expedition, although attaining to a high latitude, did not succeed in +reaching the Pole, but their adventures made a fascinating chapter in +the history of Polar research. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE _ALERT_ AND _DISCOVERY_ + + Sir George Nares appointed to the _Alert_ and + _Discovery_--Overtaking a Season--Red Snow--The Greenland + Mosquito--Peculiarities of Eskimo Dogs--And Dog Whips--Dangers of + Kayaks--Advantages of Steam for Polar Regions--An Unpleasant + Experience--A Huge Walrus--Arctic Scenery--A Big "Bag"--The Ships + part Company--The _Alert_ reaches the Polar Sea--Winter + Quarters--The North Pole attempted--Adventures and Sufferings of + the Party--Lieutenant Parr's Heroism--Deliverance--The Greenland + Attempt--Scurvy and Snow--Repulse Bay--In Pitiable + Plight--Lieutenant Rawson to the Rescue. + + +"Her Majesty's Government, having determined that an expedition of +Arctic exploration and discovery should be undertaken, My Lords +Commissioners of the Admiralty have been pleased to select you for the +command of the said expedition, the scope and primary object of which +should be to attain the highest northern latitude and, if possible, to +reach the North Pole." + +Such was the opening sentence of the official instructions sent to Sir +George Nares to take command of the _Alert_ and _Discovery_, two steam +vessels, which constituted the first expedition the British Government +had sent to the Arctic regions since the search parties for Sir John +Franklin. It was confidently expected that the introduction of the +screw steamer into Arctic navigation would result in startling +achievements, and those expectations were fully justified. + +The two ships, with H.M.S. _Valorous_ in consort with provisions, &c., +on board, left Portsmouth on May 29, 1875. They were home again by +November 2, 1876, and during the intervening eighteen months they had +reached the most northerly point attained by man up to that period, and +only since exceeded, on the sea, by the _Fram_. + +No greater contrast can be given of the enormous strides which had been +made in navigation during the thirty years which had elapsed since +Franklin sailed away on his last and fatal voyage, than the fact that +whereas after six weeks' journeying Franklin had barely reached the +region of drift ice, in six weeks from the date of leaving Portsmouth +the _Alert_ and _Discovery_ were almost in the region of perpetual ice. +And all owing to the application of steam to ocean travelling. + +The route laid down for the expedition was along the western coast of +Greenland and as far through Robeson Channel, which divides Grinnel Land +from Greenland, as it was possible to get. Disko Bay, half-way up the +Greenland coast, was the spot where the _Alert_ and _Discovery_ were to +part company with the _Valorous_. They entered the Bay on July 4, having +had, on the voyage to the North, the peculiar experience of chasing and +overtaking a season. When they left Portsmouth at the end of May, +summer was well in; but when they arrived at Disko Bay they found that +the mild weather which forms the spring had not yet set in sufficiently +to melt all the winter's snows. So that they had travelled quicker than +the summer, having started after it had begun in England, and arrived in +Greenland before it was due. + +The early spring flowers were just commencing to bloom on the slopes +around Disko, wherever the snow had melted, while higher up on the +hills, where the winter's snow still lay, the explorers had an +opportunity of looking upon that curious phenomenon, red snow. A minute +animalcule (_Protococcus nivalis_) generates in the frozen covering of +the earth, and increases so rapidly and in such vast numbers that it +gives to its cold white habitat the hue of its own microscopic body. +Another minute creature also breeds in enormous numbers in these bleak +regions, the mosquito, which one usually associates with dense tropical +jungles and fever-breeding swamps. All along the Greenland coast, +wherever there is a pool of fresh water which thaws from the ice-grip, +the larvae of the mosquito appear in swarms in the spring, and, very +shortly after, the full-fledged insect emerges in the utmost vigour of +irritating stinging life. As the time is short between the period when +the ice melts and when the water freezes again, the Greenland mosquito +has to be active to work out his life mission before he is frozen off, +and the skin of all visitors to his locality gives ample evidence how +well he utilises his opportunities. + +In addition to taking on board the surplus stores from the _Valorous_, +the two Arctic ships also took on board teams of dogs for sledging +purposes. Fifty-five in all were shipped, their quarters being situated +on the main deck, where they were necessarily cramped for room, and, +what was worse from their point of view, were unable to get at one +another's throats owing to their being chained to bolts. Consequently +they kept up a constant chorus of snarls and yaps, varied now and again +with a howl as one or another received a remonstrating kick from a +sailor. + +This interminable uproar was explained by the Eskimo dog driver, who was +also taken on board, as being due to the fact that most of the dogs were +strangers to one another, and no one was as yet the properly constituted +king. + +When Captain McClintock purchased a team of dogs from the Eskimo of King +William's Land, he had a good deal to learn about their peculiarities; +but the people on the _Alert_ and the _Discovery_, having a great many +more dogs than he was able to obtain, had also a great deal more to +learn about them. Sir George Nares, in his account of the expedition, +gives some particulars which were furnished by his Eskimo dog driver, +and these show that the sledge dog is quite as wise as one might expect +from Captain McClintock's experiences. + +In every team of dogs, one is the king. He holds that position by +prowess only, and has to fight and thrash every other dog in the team +before he can assume the leadership. When he has once assumed it, he has +to keep it by the same means; for revolutions may at any moment occur, +through some younger dog aspiring to the ruling position. But while a +dog has the position of authority, he exercises his rights with +decision, and the remainder of the team cluster round him and support +him in emergencies, or lie at his feet in times of leisure. The only one +who is allowed to snarl at him without at once being bitten is the +queen. She is among her sex what the king is among his; for though she +depends more upon him for her prominent position than to her own +fighting qualities, she maintains it, when once obtained, by a free use +of her jaws upon encroachers. + +Consequently, when a number of teams were brought together on the decks +of the vessels, all strangers to one another, there was a tremendous +amount of fighting in prospect before peace could be granted. Firstly, +the kings of the various teams were anxious to tussle for the supremacy; +and with the prospect of some of them getting badly mauled, there were +several inferiors in each team ready to do battle with their injured +monarch, and, when he was disposed of, with one another, for the +leadership. But their new masters, instead of letting them all loose to +settle their various degrees of authority in their own hereditary +fashion, tied them up where they could see and hear one another without +exchanging a bite. The kings, naturally warlike and ferocious, could +only snap at their inferiors as they bayed in their rage, and the +inferiors could only bay in their pain, and so between them the ship's +company were kept awake by night and annoyed by day. + +When at length opportunity occurred for liberating the dogs and giving +them some exercise over the ice, great care had to be taken so as to +prevent a wholesale melee. Each team, as they were freed from their deck +chains, were led on to the ice and made fast to a sledge, two men being +in charge of each sledge for the purpose of learning how to drive. And a +highly exciting time they had of it, for not only did every dog want to +start in its own direction as soon as they were harnessed, but every +team wanted to attack every other team directly they appeared. + +Nor were the troubles of the drivers limited to the dogs. The whip which +is used for sledge teams consists of a very short handle and a very long +lash. In the hands of an expert it is a most effective weapon, being +capable of producing a resounding crack or a stinging blow wherever the +wielder desires. But in the hands of a novice it is, like the Australian +stock-whip, prone to do everything that the wielder does not wish. The +amateur driver of a team, growing impatient as his dogs set off at full +speed in various directions, and, besides tangling the harness, upset +the sledge and themselves and very nearly himself as well, lashed out +viciously at the worst offender; but the lash, instead of bringing the +creature to his senses, curled back and hit the striker across the face, +or twined round the legs of his companion, with disastrous results. +Meanwhile the Eskimo driver was going from one group to another, trying +to explain the mysteries of the art, much to the amusement of the +onlookers and the indignation of the inexperienced amateurs. + +During the wait at Disko, another form of Arctic travelling was +practised by the officers of the expedition. This was the use of the +Eskimo kayak. + +The kayak is a long narrow canoe, entirely covered in with a waterproof +covering. The voyager sits in the middle in a small round hole, the +covering lapping over the edges and being fastened round the waist. The +kayak is thus made as buoyant as a life-belt, whether floating on an +even keel or upside down. By reason of their build, they are peculiarly +"cranky" craft, turning over at the least provocation, and so require +extremely careful handling, unless one is an adept at swimming and +diving. The experience of one of the officers made this clear. He had +securely strapped himself in, when, by a false stroke of the paddle, he +overturned the kayak. He could not get it back again and was unable to +loosen the cover; there was only one way of escape, and that possible +alone to a man familiar with being under water. Loosening his clothes, +he wriggled out of them and came to the surface just in time to avoid +drowning. + +Having taken on board all the stores that the _Valorous_ carried, as +well as a full supply of coal, the _Alert_ and the _Discovery_ started +in company for the North. The advantages of steam navigation were made +even more apparent as they proceeded, for the ships were able to steam +through ice-encumbered water which would have been quite impassable for +sailing vessels. Depending so much upon the wind, a sailing vessel is +only able to make headway amongst heavy drifting floes by means of long +hawsers, run out and made fast to a mass of ice and then slowly hauled +in at the capstan. Steamers, on the other hand, experience no difficulty +in forcing their way past and between the lesser floes, and Sir George +Nares, who had had a great deal of experience of sailing vessels in the +ice regions, was frequently astounded at the ease with which the two +steamers rammed their way, clearing from out of their course lumps of +ice which would have been difficult obstacles to a sailing ship. + +Those on board, however, were not to escape without some experience of +the peculiarities of ice movements. The vessels were going to make fast +for the night, and a boat's crew was sent from the _Alert_ to carry an +anchor to a large, heavy mass not far distant. On near approach it was +seen that the lump was very rotten, and, as no hold for the anchor +could be found near the water-line, one of the men volunteered to +clamber up to the top and, with an ice chisel, make a hold for it. He +clambered on to the slippery, treacherous mass, and, after a great deal +of very careful exertion, succeeded in reaching a point high enough for +his purpose. He began lustily to drive in the chisel, but so rotten was +the ice, that instead of merely chipping out a crevice, he cracked the +top of the lump. Another blow, and, to his intense amazement, a huge +mass in front of him slid away. Gliding down the side, fortunately away +from the boat, it splashed into the sea. But the removal of so much from +the top of the berg upset its balance, with the result that it swayed +from one side to the other as it recovered its equilibrium. The +unfortunate sailor, with nothing to cling to, had to scramble up and +over the summit as the berg dipped down; but no sooner was he over the +top than the berg swung the other way, and he had to scramble back +again. There was no means of escape until the berg settled down once +more, and in the meantime his companions in the boat and on the steamer +were shouting with laughter at the antics of what they called their +squirrel on the iceberg. + +While he was in his lofty if unsteady position, however, he noticed on a +floe not far distant three walrus, and as soon as he returned to the +ship and reported his discovery, a boat with a harpoon and two rifles +was despatched. The three animals lay contentedly enough on the ice, +paying scarcely any heed to the advancing boat, with the result that all +were hit. The two that were shot slid off into the water and sank, but +the one that was harpooned could not escape. He was an immense creature, +measuring over twelve feet in length and eleven feet round the thickest +part; his tusks were over eighteen inches long, and, when cut up, he +yielded five casks of meat, weighing 1250 lbs. + +As the two vessels advanced farther to the North they found that the +character of the ice was very different from that met with in the +neighbourhood of Baffin's Bay and Lancaster Sound. It was more massive +and heavy, a berg they passed towering nearly 300 feet above the +water-line, and floes frequently occurring some miles in length and +standing 50 feet out of the water. The possibility of being caught +between such masses and "nipped" was a constant danger, for no vessel +could possibly withstand the tremendous pressure exerted by two floes of +that size colliding. A constant look-out had to be maintained from the +crow's-nest for any sign ahead of the floes closing in, and by careful +navigation anything like a severe "nip" was avoided. + +By August 24 they had made such excellent progress as to be nearly at +the end of the hitherto explored channel. A southerly wind was helping +them along, but about four in the afternoon it began to die away. They +were then in Bessel Bay, and in order to see how the ice was ahead, Sir +George Nares decided to land and climb to the top of Cape Morton, which +is some 2000 feet in height. From the summit a magnificent view was +obtained, of which the following description is given by Sir George +Nares in his account of the expedition:-- + +"It was a beautiful morning, with scarcely a cloud in the sky. The cold, +sharp wind which had benumbed us at the sea-level was local, for, on the +summit of the cape, it was perfectly calm. Sixty miles distant in the +south-west were the Victoria and Albert mountains of Grinnel Land, +fronted by Hans Island showing clear of Cape Bryan, which had Hannah +Island nestling at its base. Farther north was an elevated spur from the +main range which, rising between Archer Fjord and Kennedy Channel, +formed Daly Promontory. Fronting these mountains, and directly separated +from them by an extensive valley extending to the northward from Carl +Ritter Bay, was the black buttress-shaped cliff forming Cape Back, the +southern extremity of the nearly straight running line of flat-topped +coast hills extending twenty miles to Cape Defosse. From that point the +coast line became more hilly, and, joining the Daly mountains, extended +to Cape Lieber, a bluff headland, with Cape Baird, a low, flat point, +jutting out beyond it. Still farther north were the lofty mountains of +Grant's Land with steep cliffs about Cape Union, though seventy miles +distant distinctly visible, forming the western extremity of Robeson +Channel. Nearly due north a slight break in the continuity of the land +showed where Robeson Channel opened into the Polar Sea. On the eastern +side of the strait, at a distance of forty miles, was Cape Lupton, the +notable landmark denominated Polaris Promontory; then came Polaris Bay +with the low plains leading to Newman Bay. At my feet lay Cape Tyson and +Cape Mary Cleverly on the north shore of Petermann Fjord, rising to an +elevation of 1500 feet." + +In this district, picturesque and beautiful as portrayed by the +explorer's description, the _Discovery_ wintered, while the _Alert_ went +on farther North. The spot where the _Discovery_ was left, and which was +named Discovery Bay, was a large, well-protected inlet inside an island, +the outer point of which formed Cape Bellot. In the summer it was +sparsely covered with loose ice, but in the winter, sea, hills, cape, +and plains were all covered in the one white garb. As the two vessels +entered the bay early on the morning of August 25, what at first were +taken to be nine boulders were observed on the shore; but as the vessels +swung to their anchors, the boulders were observed to move away. At once +the cry of "musk oxen" was raised, and boats were hastily lowered, +filled with sportsmen keen for the chase. The oxen, disturbed by the +noise, made for the higher ground, where they were followed by the +enthusiastic shooting party until every one of the nine was brought to +the ground. + +The following day, August 26, the ships parted company, the _Alert_ +taking with her an officer and a sledge team of men from the +_Discovery_, with the idea of sending them back overland when winter +quarters were selected, an idea which had to be abandoned by reason of +the impassable nature of the country. On the last day of the month the +_Alert_ met a particularly heavy floe, the ice forming it being of the +massive character which denoted that its origin was the Polar Sea. Once +the grinding mass of hummocks, rising higher than the vessel's decks, +threatened to catch her. There would have been no hope of escape if they +had, and only by persistently ramming her way through some of the looser +ice did she escape in towards the shore. Next day a strong gale sprang +up from the south-west, and the _Alert_ went along at ten miles an hour +in an open channel between the land and the heavy pack which was +drifting about three miles out. By midday they reached latitude 82 deg. 24' +N., and the flags were run up to the mastheads amid general rejoicing, +for it was the farthest point North to which a ship had yet sailed. + +With the channel showing clear ahead of them and the spanking breeze +astern, expectation was high on board that they would be able to sail +right up to latitude 84 deg., but within an hour their hopes were suddenly +and thoroughly checked. On hauling to the westward they rounded a +promontory and found that the land trended away to the west. The wind +veered round to the north-west and drove the ice in upon the channel, +which gradually became narrower until, when off Cape Sheridan, the main +pack was observed to be touching the grounded ice and effectually +barring all further progress. The _Alert_ was run close up to the end of +the channel, and then, when it was certain that there was no chance of +getting through the barrier, she was anchored to a floe which rested +aground off the cape. The next day, as the heavy ice of the pack was +grinding against the stranded floe, and an opening just large enough for +the vessel to get in was observed in the floe, she was warped into the +basin. + +She was barely inside when a solid hummock crushed against the opening, +forming a great barrier between the vessel and the outer moving pack. +Had it struck there a few minutes earlier the vessel would have been +severely injured by the "nip," but as it was the hummock formed an +admirable shelter from the pressure of the pack. This was often so +severe that masses over 30,000 tons in weight were broken off and forced +up the inclined shore, rising twelve and fourteen feet higher out of the +water as they crunched along the ground. + +On September 4 new ice formed on the water in which the ship was +floating, and from observations taken from high land inshore all doubt +was removed as to where they were. They had navigated to the end of +Robeson Channel and were now in the Polar Sea. No land could be seen to +the north; nothing but a vast wilderness of huge masses of Polar ice, +most of which had evidently been frozen for years. At midnight on the +same day they saw the last of the sun as it sank below the northern +horizon. + +Winter was now upon them, and they set to work to make their quarters as +comfortable as possible. Snow came down heavily for some days, but not +for a week or so was it hard enough to cut into the blocks suitable for +building snow houses. When these were built, stores were removed to them +and observatories fitted up for recording the various conditions of the +atmosphere. On September 14 a severe gale sprang up, which caused the +ice to move so much that the thin new ice in the basin was broken up and +a boat's crew were drifted away on to a floe-berg 200 yards from the +ship, from whence they were only rescued after great difficulty and in a +half-frozen condition. + +Some days subsequently, while a sledge party was on shore, one man was +badly frost-bitten. He did not know it until some time after, but he had +tried to thaw his frozen foot-wraps in his sleeping-bag instead of first +removing them. The loss of feeling and then of use in his legs crippled +him, and when he was brought on board it was seen what was wrong. This +is one of the several evils men have to carefully guard against in the +excessive cold. So long as they experience the stinging sensation of +cold, they are free from a frost-bite; but a man may have his face +bitten and not realise it until he is told that he has turned dead +white. Circulation has then been arrested, and immediate steps have to +be taken to bring it back, or the flesh becomes dead. + +The dogs also began to suffer from a disease which sent them into fits, +and which puzzled the Eskimo driver and the doctors. Some of them +wandered away over the ice and others died, until only fifteen remained +out of thirty, and many of those were thin and weakly. Then, as the cold +increased, ice formed in the chimneys, and damp settled on the beams and +walls between decks every time the cold air was admitted, so that it had +to be constantly sponged up, while the officers had to spread waterproof +coverings over their beds to protect themselves from it when they slept. + +On November 8 it was so dark at midday that a newspaper could not be +read, nor could a man be distinguished a dozen yards away. For +eighty-seven days more the sun would be absent, but the moon visited the +dark, cold skies, appearing for ten days without setting, and then going +out of sight for thirteen. On November 13 the cold was so intense that +the mercury froze in the thermometer. + +But if it was dark and cold outside, the ship's company made themselves +comfortable. A school was started, a theatre was opened--the Royal +Arctic--and every Thursday they had popular concerts. Exercise was daily +taken and the general health was excellent, only one man being on the +sick-list, and he from a constitutional cause. The men were warmly clad +when "between decks," as the temperature there was never what one might +term hot; but before going outside they had to wrap themselves up in a +variety of thick heavy fur garments, for there was often a difference of +nearly one hundred degrees to be experienced. + +The long stretch of winter's darkness was varied by the appearance, from +time to time, of the aurora. This was the phenomenon which so greatly +puzzled, and not infrequently terrified, the early explorers. Assuming a +variety of forms, sometimes like the fringe of a vast curtain hanging in +the sky, at others appearing as bands and streaks of light, waving and +flickering over the heavens, but always with this peculiarity, that +however bright they appeared, no light was given to the surrounding +atmosphere, they were a source of constant interest to the men. + +And so the winter passed, not entirely without its pleasures, in spite +of the prolonged darkness. With the beginning of spring active +preparations were made for the sledging trips, which were to carry out +the work of surveying the surrounding land and penetrating farther to +the North than it was possible for the vessels to go. The great majority +of the officers and men on the _Alert_ were told off for these +expeditions, six officers and six men remaining on board, while +fifty-three were split up into two parties, one to survey the coast of +Grant's Land, and the other, under Commander Markham and Lieutenant +Parr, to go North--to the Pole if possible. + +The day the start was made the two parties were drawn up in line +alongside the ship, and the chaplain read prayers, after which, with +cheers for one another and the men left behind, they started. + +Both did good service, the survey party carrying the survey round the +coast well on to the western side. The North Pole party pressed on in +the face of terrible difficulties until they reached the farthest point +North that had yet been recorded. + +In addition to the sledges laden with stores, they dragged with them two +whale-boats in case they should meet with open water. But there was no +sign of it as far as they went. On the contrary, their route lay over +such excessively rough ice that although they travelled as a rule about +ten miles a day, so much of it was spent in getting round inaccessible +hummocks, that the actual progress towards the North rarely exceeded one +mile a day. + +When on April 11 they bade their comrades farewell, they had provisions +for seventy days, and all were in good health and spirits. The work of +dragging the boats and sledges up and down the great masses of rugged +ice which covered the Polar Sea was terribly trying, however, and by the +time the ten miles were covered every one was ready to creep into the +sleeping-bags and rest. As the sun began to rise above the horizon it +made the snow and ice sparkle and glitter so much that their eyes, +accustomed for so long to darkness, could not stand it. Goggles had to +be worn to protect the sight, but before they were adopted by all the +members several were affected, and Lieutenant Parr for some days +suffered from snow-blindness, an affliction which fortunately passed +away in time. + +As the days went by, the toil of dragging the sledges over the +interminable and monotonous ice became more and more wearying. There was +no variety in the work, no change in the surroundings; and although the +men stuck at their task with true British obstinacy, it began to tell +upon them. One man fell sick, growing weaker and weaker until he was no +longer able to pull, and then was unable to walk. One of the boats was +abandoned, and the sick man laid on a sledge. His condition was more +than disquieting to the leaders, for it was evident he was suffering +from scurvy, and no one could say who would be the next to develop it. + +On April 23 they only added a mile and a quarter to their distance, for +they had come upon clumps of ice hummocks which made their progress so +difficult that they had to combine forces to haul first one sledge and +then another over the obstacles. On April 28, when they were seventeen +miles from the shore, they found the track of a hare in the snow, going +towards the land, but with the footprints so close together that the +animal was evidently very weak. Where it had come from, or how it had +got so far from the shore, were riddles they could not solve. + +As May came in signs of scurvy made themselves only too evident among +the members of the crew, and on May 11 the leaders decided that the next +day they would have to turn to the south once more. They started with a +light sledge in the morning and pushed on till noon, when they took +their bearings. They had reached latitude 83 deg. 20' 26" N., and were then +only 3991/2 miles from the Pole itself, having beaten all other records of +Arctic explorations. + +The little band, weary and sickening, forgot their woes in the presence +of their achievement. A jorum of whisky had been presented to the +expedition by the Dean of Dundee on condition that it was opened in the +highest latitude reached. It was now produced, and the success of their +efforts was toasted, the while each man smoked a cigar, also sent for +consumption in the "farthest North." + +A hole was cut in the ice and soundings were taken, the sea being +seventy-two fathoms (432 feet) deep below them, with a clay bottom, the +surface temperature being 28.5 deg. and the temperature at the bottom 28.8 deg.. +Then they turned their backs upon the cold, bleak, ice-bound North, and +began the journey home again, a journey which was to prove more trying +than that which they had already accomplished. + +The man who had first sickened, and whose name was Porter, had become so +weak that he could not move from the sledge on which he lay wrapped in +a sleeping-bag. Gradually one man after another began to lose his +strength, until three or four were only able to support themselves, and +could give no assistance in hauling the sledges, with the result that +the labour pressed all the more heavily on the remainder of the party, +all of whom were more or less affected by scurvy. The first fortnight of +the return journey was a terribly wearying time to the leaders, for they +saw their men becoming weaker every day, so that the progress was slower +and more difficult, while at the same time the only hope of escape was +to reach land. On the coast it would be possible for relief to meet +them, but out amongst the rugged hummocks of the Polar Sea the whole +ship's company would not be able to find them. The extra work thrown +upon those who were not entirely incapacitated told severely upon their +already enfeebled systems. The toil no longer encouraged their +appetites; instead, the sight of food became nauseous to them, until +towards the end of the month half a pannikin of pemmican was more than +each man could manage to eat. But the toil was still as weary, and the +cold as intense, and without sufficient food to keep up their strength, +the outlook was almost hopeless. + +Still, however, the little band of seventeen struggled on, setting an +example of courage, determination, and absolute devotion to discipline +and duty which has won for them as deep an admiration as their +achievement of the "farthest North" record. On June 2 only six men and +the two officers were able to do anything in the way of labour. Five men +lay sick and helpless on the already laden sledges, and four more were +just able to stagger along from point to point after the dreary +procession of sledges. The progress was very slow now, as it required +all the strength which was left in the eight, who alone were able to do +anything, to move one sledge at a time. The second boat had been +abandoned, as it could not be dragged farther, and the strain of moving +the three sledges that remained was so great that when, on June 5, land +was reached after an absence of two months, the entire party was in a +state of collapse. + +The next day they rested and debated what was the best course to adopt +to obtain help, for it was outside of their power to drag the sledges +any farther. Porter was almost at death's door, and unless help came +very soon several more would be in a similar condition. Lieutenant Parr +was the strongest, but even he was in a very low condition. That, +however, did not rob him of his courage, nor of his readiness to give +the rest of his life, if necessary, for the rescue of his comrades. + +He volunteered to set out alone for the ship, to carry word of the +terrible plight of the party and the need for instant relief. It was +almost a hopeless task, and the heavy hearts of the stricken men, +beating more hopefully at the token of such manly bravery, drooped again +as they remembered the dreary miles of snow and ice which would have to +be covered, and saw the weakened state of their would-be rescuer's +strength. But he was not to be gainsaid; weak as he was, he was yet the +strongest of the party, and he would make the attempt. + +On June 7 he started, the little band watching him as he trudged bravely +away, giving him as hearty a cheer as they could. Slowly he made his way +over the frozen shore, and, when he had passed out of sight, the men +looked at one another and wondered. How far would he get before death +overtook him? How long before they all yielded to the same conqueror? + +By the next morning one had already gone, Porter passing away after +nearly two months' fighting against the scourge. Commander Markham, and +the four who were alone able to help him, paid the last honours to their +deceased comrade. The British ensign was lowered to half-mast on the +pole of the big sledge and a Union Jack was carefully wrapped round the +body. With great exertion, in their emaciated condition, a place was +hollowed out in the frozen soil, and there they placed him, the funeral +service being read by Commander Markham, who, in his diary, thus wrote +of the ceremony: "Of all the melancholy and mournful duties I have ever +been called upon to perform, this has been the saddest. A death in a +small party like ours, and under the present circumstances, is a most +depressing event, and is keenly felt by all. During the service all +were more or less affected, and many to tears." + +A rude cross was fashioned out of a boat's oar and a spare sledge +batten, and it was placed at the head of the grave with the following +inscription: "Beneath this cross lie buried the remains of GEORGE +PORTER, R.M.A., who died June 8, 1876. 'Thy will be done!'" + +Anxiously they waited during the rest of the day, wondering as to the +fate of Lieutenant Parr, and half expecting to see him stagger back to +the camp, his splendid courage overcome by the difficulties of his +journey. But he did not return, and the men crept into their +sleeping-bags under the tents scarcely daring to think what the morrow +would bring forth. One or two of the sick men were visibly worse since +the death of Porter, and the next day might mean the end of their lives. +If their gallant rescuer managed to make his way at all, he could not +reach the ship in time for relief to come for another day or two, and no +man dared to speak of what might occur in that interval. + +The shouts of men's voices while they were yet within their +sleeping-bags on the morning of June 9 were so unexpected, that, at +first, those who heard them blamed their ears for playing them false. +But it was no deception. Lieutenant Parr, with a magnificent heroism +that deserves honour even among the many brave deeds which British +sailors have performed, struggled on after leaving the camp without a +stop until he came in sight of the _Alert_. Directly he was discovered +he told of his comrades waiting helpless and sick. Relief parties were +formed on the moment, and two officers, Lieutenants May and Moss, with a +dog-team sledge laden with lime-juice and restoratives, started away +while the other sledges were loading. + +They pressed on without a halt until they saw the tents of the camp, +when they shouted, as no one was to be seen about the place. They were +up to the tents before any one came out, and when they did it was as +though new life had been given to each man. The lime-juice, of which +they were in such dire want--for by an oversight it had been omitted +from the stores--was at once served round, giving fresh energy to those +who were still able to move about, and greatly relieving those who were +incapacitated. + +On the arrival of the remainder of the relief party, the invalids were +all removed to the ship and attended to, every man recovering, under +medical treatment, before the _Alert_ weighed anchor for the South. This +was done in August, when she rejoined the _Discovery_, the officers of +which had also done splendid service in surveying the interior of +Grinnel Land, behind Discovery Bay, and also along the northern coast of +Greenland. + +While the _Discovery_ was lying in her winter quarters a successful +attempt was made by Lieutenant Beaumont, accompanied by Dr. Coppinger +and sixteen men, dragging two sledges, to communicate with the _Alert_. +They started away on April 6, while the cold was still nearly 70 deg. below +zero, a temperature which made sleeping almost impossible, as they had +constantly to exercise to maintain their bodily heat. In spite of these +drawbacks, however, the _Alert_ was reached. + +The intention was to continue the journey across Robeson Channel over to +Greenland, and to explore as much of the northern coast as was possible. +Reinforced by Lieutenant Rawson and five men, the party started on April +20, from the _Alert_, with four sledges and provisions for fifty-six +days. As they approached the Greenland coast the ice was very rough and +tumbled about in irregular blocks, with heavy snow lying ankle deep. +Arriving at Polaris Bay, a depot of stores was made and a detachment +left in charge, the journey then being resumed; but the ice became more +and more difficult, and the snow deeper. The strength of the whole party +was taxed to the utmost to make any progress, and at the end of each +day's work every one was wearied out with fatigue. Falls were frequent, +owing to the unevenness of the ice, and one man, Hand, was particularly +unfortunate in this respect. By the time that Cape Stanton was reached +he was suffering considerably from stiffness, which was at first +attributed to his tumbles; but when pain began to be manifest in his +legs and gums, the truth of the matter became evident. He was affected +with scurvy. + +This discovery was made on May 10, and the leader at once decided to +send him back to Polaris Bay with Lieutenant Rawson and six men. The +remainder of the men were asked to say whether they fancied they were +affected; but all maintained the contrary, and asked to be allowed to +continue the journey. + +With six men Lieutenant Beaumont continued the route to the North, while +Lieutenant Rawson returned to the depot at Polaris Bay. On his way other +members of his party developed scurvy, and their plight was so +distressful that for some days before they reached the depot, which they +did on June 3, Lieutenant Rawson and one man alone were able to drag the +sledge, the former being so severely afflicted with snow-blindness that +he had to walk for days with his eyes covered by a bandage. Hand, the +first man affected, died as the sledge came within sight of the camp. + +In the meantime Lieutenant Beaumont's party pushed on, difficulties +increasing with every mile. The snow became deeper as they advanced, +until they sank at every step over their knees. Describing it, the +leader said: "The hard crust on the top would only just _not_ bear you, +while the depth prevented you from pushing forward through it, each leg +sinking to about three inches above the knee, and the effort of lifting +them so high as to extricate them from the deep footholes soon began to +tell upon the men." The sun shining on the snow seemed to be unusually +warm, while the exertion made them intensely thirsty, besides so +exhausting them that they had to stop every fifty yards to rest and +recover their breath. They were crossing a wide bay at the time, +striving to reach the other shore, which did not seem to be more than a +mile away. But the clearness of the atmosphere was very deceiving as to +distance, for they struggled on for two days and still the coast only +seemed to be a mile distant. + +In order to make the way easier the men were marched four abreast, the +sledge being left until a road was forced through the snow. For five +miles the march was continued, and at the end of that distance the coast +did not appear a yard nearer. + +Sending the men back to the sledge with orders to rest till he rejoined +them, Lieutenant Beaumont and one man went forward. But after some hours +of trying effort they did not reach the coast, and were compelled to +turn back, having been able to observe that the shore was composed of +great towering cliffs with the snow piled up at the base. When they +returned to the spot where the sledge had been left, they were +thoroughly worn out by their exertions. As comfortable an encampment as +could be arranged was made, and for two days the party remained resting. + +Symptoms of scurvy were making themselves apparent among the men under +the fatigue brought on by their excessive toil; but no word of +complaint was spoken, every man being ready and willing to do his duty. +In the retreat of Commander Markham and his men from the "farthest +North," a splendid example of British heroism and discipline was given. +The story of Lieutenant Beaumont's party furnishes another. + +The growing sickness of some of the men and the decreasing store of +provisions brought home to the leader the necessity of a return being +made. At the end of the two days' rest the sledge was turned in the +direction of Polaris Bay and the men retraced their steps, finding the +travelling somewhat easier now that they could use the road they had +made by their previous passage through the snow. But the leader wanted +to be able to form some idea of the coast line beyond where they had +been turned back, and, time after time, he made ineffectual efforts to +reach the shore and scale some high hill. At last he was successful, +after tremendous exertion, in reaching the summit of Dragon Point, an +altitude of 3700 feet. From here he was able to command an extensive +view, the land extending away as far as he could see into a cape which +he named Britannia Cape. + +On June 13 they arrived at Repulse Bay depot, and the state of the +health of the men is best shown by the record Lieutenant Beaumont left, +and which was recovered by members of the Greely expedition six years +later. The record, dated June 13, 1876, reads:-- + + "Three of us have returned from the camp half a mile south to + fetch the remainder of the provisions. Dobing has failed altogether + this morning; Jones is much worse, and cannot last more than two or + three days; Craig is nearly helpless; therefore we cannot hope to + reach Polaris Bay without assistance. Two men cannot do it, so we + will go as far as we can, and live as long as we can. God help us. + L. A. BEAUMONT." + +The discovery of this record, and the simple, manly faith and courage it +betokened, was destined to be of great service to another band of +English-speaking explorers in later years, and their opinion of it, and +the admiration they felt for the man who wrote it, will be told in the +account of the Greely expedition. + +Meanwhile that Lieutenant Beaumont was making his heroic efforts to save +the men of his party, Lieutenant Rawson was growing anxious as to their +position. As they did not appear, he, on June 22, in company with one of +the Eskimo and a dog-team sledge, started along the coast in search of +them. Three days later they were met--on the last march they could have +made, for they were at the end of their strength. Lieutenant Beaumont, +in his account, says: "On the evening of the 24th we started for our +last journey with the sledge; for, finding that Jones and Gray were +scarcely able to pull, I had determined on reaching the shore to pitch +the tent for the sick men and walk over to Polaris Bay by myself, and +see if there was any one there to help us. If not, to come back and send +Jones and Gray, who could still walk, to the depot, while I remained +with the sick and got them on as best I could." + +When Lieutenant Rawson met them, he found the intrepid Beaumont +straining at the sledge, with the two sick men helping him as much as +they could, while on the sledge lay the four helpless invalids, made as +comfortable as circumstances would permit. No time was lost in removing +them to Polaris Bay, where, under medical treatment, all recovered save +one. After a brief rest at Polaris Bay the journey back to the +_Discovery_ was successfully carried out, and Lieutenant Beaumont had +the pleasure of learning that his expedition had added considerably to +the geographical knowledge of Northern Greenland. + +Shortly after the return of the sledge parties the _Alert_ rejoined the +_Discovery_, and, towards the end of August, both vessels weighed anchor +and started for England, where they arrived on November 2, 1876, having +been absent for seventeen months, during which time they had carried the +British flag to the "farthest North," and had brought within the +knowledge of man localities previously unknown. They had not reached the +Pole, and had come to the conclusion, after their experiences, that to +do so was beyond the range of human possibility. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE GREELY EXPEDITION + + The Scheme of the Expedition--Fort Conger--Arctic + Wolves--Atmospheric Marvels--A Terrific Storm--Influence of the + Sun--Lieutenant Lockwood's Expedition--The Second + Winter--Preparations for Departure--They leave Fort Conger--A + Remarkable Ice Passage--They fail to make Cape Sabine--A New + Camp--Rations running Short--Fruitless Efforts to reach Food + Depots--Starvation and Death--A Bitter Blow--The Arrival of the + _Thetis_. + + +In 1881 the Government of the United States determined to send out +another expedition towards the North Pole, and a vote of $25,000 having +been passed by Congress for the purpose, Lieutenant Adolphus Washington +Greely was appointed to the command. Lieutenant Greely, who was an +officer in the 5th Cavalry regiment, had, as his companions, three +officers and twenty-one men selected from the United States army. + +The scheme of the expedition was to proceed by steamer as far north as +Lady Franklin Bay, where they were to form a depot on Grinnel Land, and, +using it as a base, push forward, by means of dog-sledges over the ice, +and by steam launch over the open water, as far north as it was possible +to get. + +The steamer _Proteus_, a vessel 467 tons and 110 horse-power, was +chartered by the explorers to convey them from New York to Lady +Franklin Bay. They sailed in June and proceeded to Upernavik, in +Greenland, where they took on board their sledge dogs and two Eskimo, +Jens and Frederick, to look after them. On July 1 they resumed their +journey in fairly open water. The season was especially mild, and they +were able to make excellent travelling through the unimpeded water. On +the way they stopped at Cary Islands and examined the records left there +by Sir George Nares in 1875, and which had been examined once before by +Sir Allen Young, in 1876. The sea was full of white whales, narwhals, +and grampus. The latter has the reputation of being a voracious feeder, +one authority stating that a dead grampus was found, choked by a seal he +had attempted to swallow, although, when he was opened, his stomach was +found to contain no fewer than thirteen porpoises and fourteen seals. + +On August 4 the _Proteus_, for the first time during the voyage, was +stopped by the ice. Being built specially for navigating the ice-covered +seas, she was very powerful in the bows, which were further embellished +by a strong iron prow. Thus she was able to force her way through ice +which would have been impassable to a lighter craft. Her method, when +she was faced by moderately thin ice which was yet thick enough to stop +her ordinary progress, was to steam astern for a couple of hundred yards +and then rush full speed at the ice. The strength of the iron prow and +the force of her powerful engines drove her into the floe, but the +operation was one that required great care. As she approached the floe, +the crew, running from one side of the deck to the other, caused her to +roll as she struck, the engines being reversed directly her prow +penetrated the ice, so as to prevent her wedging herself in. This +exciting operation was repeated several times when she met the floe in +Lady Franklin Bay, and only by its means was she able to ram her way +through and reach the destination of the expedition. + +A site for landing was selected on the north of Discovery Bay (where the +_Discovery_ wintered in 1876), and on August 11, 1881, Greely landed, +and proceeded to the cairn which had been erected by the Nares +expedition. Here he found two copper cases labelled "Reports and General +Information." The date upon them, which showed when they were deposited, +was August 11, 1876, exactly five years before to a day. + +Proceeding a little distance from the spot where the _Discovery_ winter +quarters had been erected, a suitable situation was marked out for "Fort +Conger," which was to form the base of the operations pending the time +when the relief ship was due to take the expedition home again. + +[Illustration: SHOOTING MUSK OX IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS. + +These animals form a welcome addition to the larder of the Arctic +explorer.] + +During the following week every one was hard at work erecting the frame +house which was to form their home during the next two years, unloading +stores and other articles belonging to the expedition, arranging the +heavy casks and cases of imperishable provisions near the house, and +exploring and hunting over the surrounding country. The hunting was a +necessary part of the business, for winter would soon be in and no fresh +meat would then be obtainable. So a few of the best shots spent their +time in the valleys round the bay, where a large number of musk oxen and +other game frequented. + +On August 18, all the stores, &c., belonging to the party were landed +from the _Proteus_, and that vessel, being discharged, got up steam and +bade farewell. She was, however, prevented from getting out of sight +until August 26, the ice setting in rapidly and strongly. The men of the +party worked with such a will that they had their house built, the +recording instruments erected in proper localities, the provisions +stacked, and everything in order sufficiently early to permit them to +carry out some surveys while the weather was yet mild enough for sledge +travelling. Attention was also given to obtaining as much game as +possible, and by the time that the temperature was cold enough to +warrant their going into winter quarters and giving up outside work at +any distance from Fort Conger, they had obtained for their larder +twenty-six musk oxen and ten ducks, besides hare, seal, and ptarmigan, +in all 6000 lbs. of fresh meat for their own food, and an equal amount +for the dogs. + +In the middle of September they were visited by a large pack of wolves. +These were first discovered prowling over the ice on the harbour in +front of the encampment, and, fearing the loss of some of the dogs, as +well as provisions, a hunting party went out to shoot them. But the +wolves were too cunning, keeping out of range until the men were tired +out. They were frequently fired at, but none fell, although, as +subsequent events proved, this might not have been due to bad +marksmanship. The Arctic wolves, as was discovered later, are perhaps +the most tenacious of life of any of the Northern animals. + +One was seen, a day or so later, within a hundred yards of the house. It +was immediately fired at, and rolled over with a bullet through the +body; but before the marksman could get over to where it lay, the +apparently dead creature scrambled to its feet and made off, bleeding +profusely. The trail left by the blood was distinctly visible on the +snow, although the wolf itself, being covered with pure white fur, was +quite invisible. For over an hour the trail was followed, and when at +last the dead body was found, it lay practically bloodless, having +struggled on while there was a drop of blood in its veins. In view of +the difficulty of shooting them, the men resolved to poison them. But +here, again, the wolves were not to be caught. + +The first time that poisoned meat was put out it was left untouched. +Some good meat was added, and at once disappeared, though the pieces +containing poison were still left alone. The poisoned baits were then +taken up, and only good meat put down, the wolves always taking it +until, their confidence being aroused, a few poisoned baits were mixed +with the other. The experiment succeeded so well that when the baits +were next visited four wolves and one fox were found dead. The others, +evidently alarmed, made off and did not again return. + +As October passed the phenomena of the solar halo and aurora began to +make their appearance. The observation of atmospheric conditions being +one of the objects of the expedition, great attention was paid to these +displays, and some excellent descriptions were given of them. One which +occurred on October 21 and lasted five hours is thus described by the +leader of the expedition:-- + +"It consisted of two concentric rings, distant 23 deg. and 46 deg. respectively +from the sun, which were marked by five mock suns where the rainbow +tints were most clearly displayed. This was followed at evening by the +first aurora display, in the form of a delicate convoluted ribbon of +colourless light. On the 24th there was another halo. This was a double +one, there being two perfect concentric half-circles, distant 23 deg. and +46 deg. from the sun, each half-circle having a contact arch of magnificent +clearness. No fewer than six mock suns appeared, two on either hand and +two above the real sun, with prismatic colours in each case as vivid, +and clear as in any rainbow, the heavens being filled with a great glow +and wealth of colour." + +After the sun had gone and the twilight of the long winter night had +set in, the sky was vivid, at one time, with a wide sweep of red, +yellow, and blue, marked by bars of white light running up and down. +Later, when the moon had risen, further atmospheric marvels were +recorded. + +On one occasion the moon was surrounded by two circles, 22 deg. and 46 deg. +above the horizon. Both were topped by contact arches, and within them +six mock moons were present, two on each side of the true moon, and two +directly above it, all of which were brilliant with the colours of the +rainbow. Spires of light proceeded from the moon vertically, reaching +downwards to the horizon, and upwards to the outer circle. In addition +to these, a brilliant streak of white clear light extended from the +moon, horizontally, on both sides, completely round the horizon, and now +and again a faint mock moon of rainbow colours appeared high over the +whole, and another very low under it, making eight mock moons all +visible at the same moment round the real one. The moon was also seen +surrounded by a corona of four distinct bands of coloured light, the +first white, the second yellow, the third blue, and the outer one red. + +But all the experiences of the winter were not so gratifying as these +aerial displays. As soon as the snow lay thick on the ground the men +banked it up against the sides of the house until they were completely +covered in up to the eaves. It then froze on the outside, and the house +was practically covered in with ice. This was of very great value in +preventing the loss of heat from the interior, and, later on, in saving +the house from being blown away in a terrific hurricane which occurred. +But even with the protection of the frozen snow outside, and the +constant burning of fires and lamps inside, the temperature of the house +was, in midwinter, so cold that any water accidentally spilled on the +floor turned to ice, and unless the ink-bottle was kept near a burning +lamp, the ink froze at once. Outside everything except alcohol was +frozen solid, the mercury being hard in the thermometers, and even the +rum getting thick as syrup. The lime-juice, of which a daily ration was +taken, was frozen into tablets, and so quickly did any liquid turn to +ice that some of the sledge-dog puppies were frozen to the ground +through running on to the place where the warm contents of the +slush-bucket were thrown. + +Early in January the barometer, falling very rapidly, warned them that a +severe storm was approaching. Suddenly a fierce gust of wind swept over +the house, followed by a steady blow, the apparatus for registering the +velocity of the wind showing it to be at the rate of eighteen miles an +hour. The barometer continuing to fall, a man was sent out to take an +observation from an outside station, but the force of the wind had +increased so much that he could not face it alone, and two men had to +go. The air was soon filled with driving snow, and the rate of the wind +reached fifty miles an hour. It was now only possible for six men, +supporting one another, to stand against the dense volumes of snow which +the wind carried. When the velocity attained to sixty-five miles an +hour, fears were entertained as to the safety of the house. But still +the wind increased until, in a series of terrific gusts and squalls, the +house rocked and trembled as the register marked ninety miles an hour. +It was a moment of intense anxiety for the members of the party, for the +destruction of the house at that period of the year would almost +inevitably have meant their own destruction. Fortunately it was securely +built and so well protected by the banked-up snow, that it withstood the +fury of the hurricane. + +This furious outburst was the final effort of the winter, for within a +few days of its occurrence the sky began to show signs of the +approaching sunrise; with the advent of light the spirits of the party, +necessarily depressed by the prolonged darkness, rapidly resumed their +normal contentment. When at last enough natural light existed for the +men to see one another, they were amused at the appearance of their +faces. The prolonged absence of sunlight had entirely robbed their +cheeks of any semblance of ruddiness, their complexions having changed +to a ghastly yellowy green tint, as though each one was suffering from a +severe attack of sea-sickness. The murky light of the lamps had not +revealed the change, and the more vainglorious were considerably +disturbed at their bleached cheeks, fearful lest the pallor should +always remain, like the whiteness of the bear's fur. But it passed off +under the influence of the sunshine. + +Nor was this the only change produced by the sun. The effect of it upon +the land was so pronounced as almost to seem marvellous. Directly spring +set in sledge parties were despatched in all directions to survey and +spy out the country. One was led by Greely himself, its course being +along the route marked out, for a certain distance, by one of the +_Discovery_ parties in 1876. + +Passing beyond the limits of the previous exploration, a large river, +entirely frozen over, was discovered, and along its course the party +made their way. The ice was wonderfully smooth in comparison with that +on the salt water, and excellent travelling was made, the men and +sledges frequently being able to slide for a hundred yards at a time. At +the head of the river they found an enormous glacier completely blocking +up the valley, extending five miles from side to side, and 175 feet +high. This was late in April, and everywhere the ground was covered with +ice and snow, desolate and motionless, with no sign of life, and no +sound, save the faint gurgle of running water which was occasionally +noticed under the ice on the river. + +Early in July, little more than two months later, this valley was again +visited, but so great was the change in its appearance that the men +might have doubted its identity with the cold, desolate place they had +previously seen, but for the existence of the sparkling glacier. The +river now flowed along, glittering in the bright sunlight, between banks +covered with flowering plants. Bright yellow poppies gleamed all over +the verdure-clad slopes, with sturdy heath blooms, daisies, and other +blossoms mingling, and over them were flitting innumerable white and +yellow butterflies. Humble bees droned, and flies, including the +familiar daddy-long-legs, were everywhere present, as well as their +arch-enemies, the spiders. Ptarmigan, their white plumage somewhat +speckled with dark feathers, plovers, and birds of smaller size, were +seen on the wing; while over the verdant sides of the valley and along +the banks of the river, large herds of musk oxen were browsing, with +calves following the cows. The sky was brilliantly blue and almost free +from clouds. In the face of so much that was beautiful and full of life, +it was difficult to realise that a few weeks later the valley would +again be desolate and deserted, owning once more the supremacy of the +icy grip of the frost and snow. + +Exploring the valley carefully, some very interesting discoveries were +made of ancient Eskimo dwellings. A number of relics were obtained, some +of them being implements which were quite unintelligible to the +Greenland Eskimos who were with the party. The remains of the houses +showed that they had originally been substantial structures, built of +slate, and must have been permanent residences rather than mere summer +quarters. + +While the interior of the country was being explored, other sledge +parties set out over the frozen sea. One of these journeyed North, and +reached the spot where the _Alert_ had passed the winter in 1875. It was +intended to continue the journey over the ice towards the Pole similarly +to the sledge party Commander Markham and Lieutenant Parr had led, but +the ice was too rough for them. They passed beyond Cape Sheridan and set +out towards the North, but turned back, finding "nothing but an +inextricable mass of huge bergs, and enormous hummocks piled up in a +similar manner as when journeyed over by Commander Markham." The +scientific instruments they had with them had to be abandoned at one +place, owing to a sudden opening of the ice, but they approximated their +highest latitude as being 82 deg. 56' N. From the summit of a high berg, +they fancied they saw open water to the North, and then they returned to +the land, finding cliffs which rose 2000 feet straight out of the water, +and along the base of which the ice lay piled in tremendous heaps. + +Another party, under Lieutenant Lockwood, the second in command of the +expedition, set out in the early spring across the frozen straits to +Greenland. This was over a similar route to that taken by Lieutenant +Beaumont of the _Discovery_; but the later expedition, not having to +struggle against the affliction of scurvy which had proved so disastrous +to the _Discovery_ party, was able to reach a far higher latitude. + +The party consisted of Lieutenant Lockwood, Sergeant Brainard, and the +Eskimo Frederick, and they succeeded in reaching the most northerly +point that had yet been discovered, not only on the coast of Greenland, +but also in the Arctic regions. The latitude recorded was 83 deg. 23' 8" N., +and thus the honour, which for three hundred years had been the boast of +the British, the honour of having attained the nearest point to the +North Pole reached by man, was wrested from the British Lion by its +cousin, the American Eagle. + +Although only three men were in the party which reached this high +latitude, the party which set out from Fort Conger comprised thirteen +men and five sledges. The experience gained by the members of the Nares +expedition was of the utmost value to subsequent explorers, and the +members of the Greely expedition always made acknowledgment of this +fact, coupled with very complimentary references to the skill, the +courage, and the devotion of those whom they termed "our kin from over +the sea." Thus it was that in laying the plans for this northerly trip +they provided for a series of food depots and relief parties all along +the route. Several of the former had been placed in position during the +early spring, and there is no doubt that this arrangement contributed +very materially to the success of the enterprise. The last depot was +formed when nearly in sight of Cape Britannia, and from thence the small +party of three pushed forward. The dog team saved them an enormous +amount of labour by dragging the sledge for them, but even then they +found the travelling exceedingly difficult. Their sleeping-bags were +damp, and consequently they were always compelled to rest in great +discomfort. As they approached Cape Britannia the route became more +difficult, and their best march was sixteen miles in ten hours. Beyond +the cape an island was reached, to which the name of the leader, +Lieutenant Lockwood, was given, and the extreme point of which furnished +their "farthest North." The coast line still showed beyond, and to the +most distant point the name of Cape Washington was given. Then the small +band turned back, having succeeded in reaching a few miles nearer the +Pole than Commander Markham, whose journey, however, was over the frozen +sea, whereas the other was along the Greenland coast. + +The following spring, to anticipate the course of the narrative, another +effort was made to reach Cape Washington, but so rapid a thaw set in +that the party had to turn back before reaching as far as Lockwood +Island. They, however, secured all the relics of Lieutenant Beaumont's +party, including a British ensign, which were faithfully preserved +throughout the terrible privations the expedition was fated to undergo. +These relics were subsequently forwarded by the United States Government +to the British and are now in the Greenwich Museum with the Franklin +mementoes, treasured not only as emblems of British courage but also of +American good-will. Of the memorable record left by Lieutenant Beaumont +at Repulse Bay, its perusal by the members of the Greely expedition is +thus described by the leader:-- + +"This brilliant record of British courage, discipline, devotion to duty +and endurance, must ever affect deeply all who may read its full +details. To the men of the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition, who justly +appreciated the terrible contingencies of the situation, and who bore +similar dangers, this story, as told by the gallant Beaumont, was full +of deep and assuring interest." + +The American festival of "Decoration Day" occurred while the party were +at Polaris Bay, the place where the two _Discovery_ men who died were +buried. The festival is one for the commemoration of American heroes, +and on that day throughout the United States all the graves of their +heroes are decorated. Here on the bleak, barren Greenland coast they +remembered the festival, and kept it by taking the Stars and Stripes +from the sledge poles and draping them over the rough monuments erected +above the remains of the two British sailors. + +The second winter that was passed at Fort Conger was monotonous and +gloomy. The experience of the previous period of darkness was of great +service, inasmuch as the comfort of the expedition was improved in many +ways. The piled-up snow which had formed so useful a protection the year +before was carried right over the roof, considerably increasing the +warmth and snugness of the interior. But there was one fact which +weighed somewhat heavily on the minds of every one. A relief steamer was +expected before the winter set in, and it had not arrived. There was +still an abundant supply of food, and no alarm was felt on that score; +but the novelty of the surroundings having worn off, the prospect of the +long, weary stretch of darkness had a depressing influence. It, however, +passed without any untoward incident, and with the return of the sun +field work was resumed. The most notable journey was that of Lieutenant +Lockwood and his companion on the "farthest North" trip, Sergeant +Brainard, who, in one month, covered 437 miles of the hitherto +unexplored interior parts of Grinnel Land, discovering numerous lakes +and glaciers. One of the latter was of particular interest by reason of +the vari-coloured face it presented. The top layer, which overhung +slightly, was of dull opaque white, that immediately beneath it ranging +in colour from pale green to a clear blue, while the next and thickest +layer was of a rich chocolate colour, due to the soil which had been +frozen in with the water. The lowest streak was similar to the topmost, +dull opaque white. + +In their absence the remainder of the explorers were busily engaged in +establishing food depots to the south, along the route they would be +compelled to take in the event of a retreat being necessary. The +non-arrival of the relief steamer prior to the winter gave rise to some +speculation whether it would arrive in the spring, and a plan was +arranged for a retreat to the south being carried out, if no relief ship +came, in the boats the expedition possessed. These consisted of a steam +launch 27 feet long, an iceboat which had been abandoned by Lieutenant +Beaumont in 1876, and two whale-boats. A depot of forty days' full +rations was placed at Cape Baird and another of twenty days' rations at +Cape Collinson, as soon as the ice was open enough to allow the launch +to proceed. Then when it had returned and all the survey parties were +in, a decision was come to that if no steamer arrived by July 31 the +retreat would be commenced. + +July passed and August arrived, but there were no signs of the approach +of any relief steamer, and, on August 9, with the boats loaded with the +records of the work done and as much food as could be stored in them, +the party bade farewell to Fort Conger and started on their memorable +journey. The lateness of the season made navigation extremely difficult +for such small craft, and they were frequently impeded by ice which +would have offered no obstacle to a big steamer. They had scarcely got +out of sight of the house where they had passed the two long dark +winters before they were so beset with loose ice that progress was +almost impossible. Then new ice formed round them, and they were hard +and fast. The fact that they only carried a limited supply of fuel made +their position more serious, and when, on August 18, a temporary +breaking in the floes enabled them to move forward, there was a general +rejoicing. But it was soon checked on discovering that they were forced +inside of a huge mass of ice over fifty feet high and extending right up +to the solid floe. It was impossible to turn back and fight through the +drifting ice behind them, and the only hope of escape seemed to be to +steam on in case there might be a channel through the floe ahead. + +As they passed along the great wall of ice they were amazed at seeing a +crevice run into it. Arriving opposite to it, they found that it was a +cleavage which went right through the mass, and they turned into it. The +enormous berg had grounded and had split asunder, leaving a passage a +hundred yards long and barely twelve feet wide, the sides of which were +sheer fifty feet high on either hand. Such a formation was unique, even +in the Arctic regions, and the steaming through it was an adventure +without a parallel. + +It led them into fairly open water, and they were able to push on into +Rawlings Bay before they were again beset. This time it was not the new +ice but the closing in of the floes that caught them. So quickly did +the masses close in that the boats were caught and "nipped" before +anything could be done to save them. The men at once scrambled out on to +the ice, striving to lift the lighter boats on to the floe and unloading +the provisions from the others as fast as they could, lest the crack +should open again and everything be lost. The nip, however, had not been +so severe as to endanger the floating capacity of the boats, but the ice +had closed too firmly to allow of any hopes of their being able to force +their way through. A strong wind from the north, in spite of the snow +and cold it would have brought, would have been welcome; but the days +were provokingly calm, and the ice only moved south at its ordinary slow +rate. By August 26 they had travelled 300 miles from Fort Conger and +were within fifty miles of Cape Sabine, a headland where there was a +large supply of stores left by Sir George Nares in 1876. If they were +able to reach there before the winter night set in, there was some +chance of their existing through the dreary period which, it was now +evident, they were doomed to pass in that locality. And yet the spirits +of the party were as bright as though a steamer were within sight of +them. One of them, in his diary, wrote: "Adversity in any form would +fail, I think, to dampen the spirits of the men. Our situation is +desperate. Any moment the ice may crumble beneath our feet and the sea +swallow up the entire party. Still, while exercising on the ice this +evening, the men danced and sang as merrily as they would have done in +their own homes. They are irrepressible in the face of all this +uncertainty and perhaps starvation." + +The end of the month found them still beset, and with barely fifty days' +rations. The opinion was now divided as to the best course to adopt, +whether to remain in the boats and wait on the off-chance of their +drifting near Cape Sabine, or to take to the sledges and push on over +the rough ice to the shore. They had been drifting for thirty miles, and +only twenty now lay between them and the cape with its store of +provisions. The leader was averse to leaving the boats at once, and the +days dragged on until, on September 10, it was evident that the sledge +journey would have to be undertaken if the shore was to be reached and a +camp formed before the darkness set in. + +Unfortunately when they did abandon the boats the weather changed, and a +cold wind with driving snow came to make their struggle still more +difficult. They tried at first to drag two of the boats with them, but +one soon had to be abandoned and the party struggled on. Their +sleeping-bags froze and filled with drifting snow so that they were able +to obtain but little rest when they halted, and when they were moving +they were always cold and miserable. Until September 28 they were +struggling over the rough, difficult ice, and then their trials were +further increased. They were nearing the shore, and the force of the +tide, backed up by the pressure of the ice grinding along before the +wind, caused the floe to crack and break up. Only by the most persistent +energy and exertion were they able to get their stores and themselves on +shore, though still some distance from Cape Sabine. + +They had now travelled 500 miles since they left Fort Conger, and not +only were the men considerably exhausted by their recent struggle, but +winter was setting in very rapidly with constant and heavy storms. It +was therefore decided to form a camp where they were, while the snow had +not frozen too hard for them to get some stones for a shelter. They had +been compelled, on their journey over the ice, to abandon everything in +the way of covering save their sleeping-bags, and unless they built a +hut of some description the rigour of the winter would inevitably be +fatal to all. + +Such stones as could be found were collected and built into a low wall +forming a square of about sixteen feet. The stones were difficult to +obtain, and the wall could only be made three feet high. An opening was +left in one of the sides of the square and a passage way constructed, so +that the entrance to the interior did not open directly on to the frozen +exterior. Across the top of the walls the boat they had dragged with +them over the ice was laid keel uppermost, the oars being laid under it +so as to maintain it in position, the open spaces between the sides of +the boat and the walls being covered with such canvas as they had. +Around the stone walls and over the top, snow was piled, and their +living house was complete. It sheltered them from the wind and from the +extreme bitterness of the cold, but beyond that nothing could be claimed +for it. Every one had to enter it on hands and knees, and, once inside, +no one could stand up, while the taller men of the party were only able +to sit up in the middle of the hut where the boat made the roof slightly +higher. + +The men arranged their sleeping-bags against the walls with the feet +towards the middle of the floor, and when they had crept in through the +narrow entrance, they groped their way into the bags. Then, half lying +and half sitting, with their shoulders against the stones behind them, +they made themselves as comfortable as they could during the long period +of darkness. They divided themselves into messes for the purpose of +feeding, and two cooks prepared the food, an operation that was always +difficult and unpleasant. It had, of necessity, to be carried on inside +the hut, and when the two men were kneeling in a cramped-up position +over the make-shift for a stove in the middle of the floor, there was no +room for any one else to stretch his legs. Every one had to huddle up as +closely as possible, and as all the smoke from the stove had to find its +way out of the hut the best way it could, the atmosphere during cooking +time was far from refreshing. The heat from the stove also thawed the +ground immediately under it, and the snow on the canvas over it, with +the result that the cooking of every meal meant a thorough wetting as +well as a choking for the cooks. + +As soon as the hut was finished, a small party pushed on towards Cape +Sabine in order to locate the provisions stored there. On October 9 they +returned with the news that despatches had been found, stating the +_Proteus_ had foundered in the ice on July 24 just off the cape, and +that the crew and relief party had started to the south so as to meet +the second relief steamer _Yantic_, or a Swedish steamer which was known +to be in the locality, and send on help to the Greely expedition. + +The little party also discovered some provisions and the whale-boat, +previously abandoned on the ice, which had drifted ashore near the cape. +This was subsequently used as firewood when all other fuel was +exhausted. + +The news of the disaster to the _Proteus_ was a serious blow to the +expedition, as it meant that no help would be able to reach them until +the following spring at the earliest, and, in the meantime, they would +be compelled to exist as best they could upon their meagre stock of +provisions. The relief party who had visited the cape on their way from +the wreck of the _Proteus_ had very considerably reduced the stores +which the Greely party counted on finding, and when they obtained the +remnants which were left, part of the bread was found to be a mass of +green slimy mildew. The men had now been on reduced rations for many +days, and so hungry were the members of the band sent to convey the +stores from Cape Sabine to the hut that when the green mouldy stuff was +thrown out by the officer in charge, the men flung themselves on to it +and devoured it despite all he could do to persuade them from such a +course. + +The question of the strictest economy in the management of the food +supplies was now a matter of life or death, and very seriously the +leaders debated it. On October 26 the sun sank beneath the horizon, and +in the ensuing darkness, which lasted for 110 days, there would be no +chance of obtaining any game. A few blue foxes had been killed since the +camp was formed, and half the number were set aside for subsequent +consumption, those consumed at once being devoured to the bones, every +part being put into the stew. + +Meagre as the rations were, it was necessary to reduce them still +further if the food was to last until the spring. By a further reduction +it was calculated that the party could exist until March 1, when the +available supplies would amount to ten days' rations. But no relief +could possibly reach them until a couple of months later than that, and +how were they to live after March 10, when the last crumb of their +supplies had been consumed? + +There was only one course open for them, and that was explained by the +leader. On November 1, the allowance for each man would be fourteen +ounces, given out every twenty-four hours, and on March 1, as soon as +there was light, they would take their remaining ten days' supply and +set out across the frozen straits in the forlorn hope of reaching an +outlying camp of Etah Eskimo on the Greenland coast. + +The terrible prospect of such a scheme to men situated as they were can +scarcely be imagined. For over a month they had already been slowly +starving on an amount of food for daily consumption which an ordinary +man could comfortably eat at one meal, and now that amount was to be +decreased to less than a pound of food a day and in a climate where the +cold was so intense that water could not be kept from freezing inside +the hut excepting it was over the stove. For four months they would have +to face that rigid diet, suffering the pangs of starvation constantly, +almost entirely in the dark, and always huddled up in the sleeping-bags +against the walls of their low-roofed hut. Yet they accepted the scheme +without a murmur. + +Seldom have men shown themselves so absolutely courageous, for at the +best it was merely slow starvation so as to be able to make an almost +hopeless dash for freedom and food in four months' time. The suffering +during those four months was terrible. Men, as soon as they got hold of +their day's rations, were tempted to devour them at once, and so still +for a time the ceaseless gnawing of their hunger; but to do so meant +that in an hour's time the pain would be back again with no means of +staying it until twenty-three hours had passed. Calmly and bravely they +faced the ordeal, dividing their scanty store into regular meals, and +when, by an accident one of them upset his can, spilling his few +mouthfuls of tea on the ground, the others contributed from their share +so that he should not go entirely without. Nothing could exceed the +touching fidelity which characterised their bearings, one to the other, +during this period of unexampled suffering. + +At Cape Isabella, a stock of 140 lbs. of meat was known to have been +left by Sir George Nares, and a party of four set out in the hopes of +securing it. For a week before they started they were allowed an extra +ration in order to strengthen them for the trial of a journey in the +dark over rough ice and with the temperature at 34 deg. below zero. The +extra ration consisted of two ounces a day. + +For five days they battled their way through the darkness against a +heavy wind laden with snow, and at last found the place where the food +was. Piling it on their sledge, they turned back home again, and for +fourteen hours laboured with it, only consuming a little warm tea during +that time, for they had no means of heating more. One of the four was +badly bitten by the frost, and was soon so stricken that he could not +even stagger along. A piercing wind was blowing, and to save their +comrade's life, the others abandoned the sledge and tried to support +him. Soon two of them became exhausted, and the remaining one, Sergeant +Rice, pushed on alone to the camp in order to bring help. For sixteen +hours he was fighting his way over the twenty-five miles that lay +between him and the hut. When he arrived there his lips were too frozen +for him to be able to speak at once. + +Weary and weak as the whole party was, eight of the strongest at once +started off in rescue. When they picked the other three up, they found +them lying under the sleeping-bag with the sick man between them, and +the bag frozen so hard over them that it had to be cut open before they +could be got out. Then they resumed their way to the camp, which they +reached after forty-four hours' absence, in which time they had covered +forty miles. + +The frost-bitten man, Elison, was almost dead, his face, feet, and hands +being absolutely frozen, but so determined were they all to survive as +long as possible that he was tended with all the care they could +command. He was kept alive in spite of his sufferings, which, during the +first week after his rescue, were so severe that he daily called on his +comrades to end his misery. + +Meanwhile the memory of the abandoned sledge laden with meat was +constantly in the minds of the starving men, whose hunger was now so +great that in the darkness after the lamp was put out--economy compelled +them to use it only for cooking--men crept to the stove and devoured any +rancid fat left in the lamp. But still discipline held them together, +and they made no mention of their sufferings to one another. The success +of the journey across the ice on March 1 was what they looked forward +to, and with the arrival of that date they believed their sufferings +would be over. + +On January 18 the first one of the party to die passed away, really of +starvation, although the men, to keep the ugly word away from their +minds, accepted the doctor's statement that it was of an effusion of +water at the heart that the man had died. His end made a deep impression +on the gallant little band, all the same, and by the beginning of +February several more men were in a critical condition, including +Lieutenant Lockwood, who refused to accept an extra ration of two ounces +a day from the diminished stores. + +Sergeant Rice, accompanied by the Eskimo Jens, made a plucky effort to +reach Littleton Island, where an outlying camp of Eskimo might be found; +but Jens could not stand the journey, and, five days after starting, +they returned. Every one was now impressed with the necessity of +husbanding their energies for the great effort to be made on the first +day of March, and as February slowly passed away, the emaciated +creatures grew enthusiastic as they sought to cheer one another up by +detailing the tremendous feasts they would have when they returned to +civilisation. At length the first of March dawned, and the brave hearts, +which had kept up so long against starvation and despair, shrank before +the terrible blow they received. The ice had broken, and open water +rolled where they had planned to cross on the ice. Nothing was said, for +the courage of the men was only equalled by their consideration for one +another, but the effect of the great disappointment sank deep into the +minds of many. + +The food remaining was eked out through the month with the aid of some +blue foxes and a ptarmigan, which were eaten to the bones, and April +found them with only a few days even of the starvation rations +remaining. Several of the men were so weak that they could barely turn +over in their sleeping-bags. The Eskimo Frederick was found dead in his +bag, and another of the little party followed the next day. Then +Sergeants Rice and Fredericks insisted on making an effort to reach the +meat abandoned when Elison was frost-bitten. It is difficult to +understand why the effort had not been made before; but many errors of +judgment are conspicuous after a campaign which are not so apparent in +the moment of struggle. + +Now that it was made it failed, through the cold freezing wind +penetrating the starved bodies of the two men. Rice, who throughout the +terrible ordeal of their captivity had never spared himself, was the +first to feel it. A strong wind was blowing, bringing down heavy snow +squalls. Suddenly Rice began to talk wildly and then staggered. +Fredericks grasped him by the arm and tried to keep him up, but the cold +and starvation had too tight a hold upon their victim. He vainly +endeavoured to pull himself together, but only for a moment; then he +sank down on the snow, babbling about the feast he was going to enjoy. + +His comrade tried to restore him by giving him some of the stimulants +they had with them, and did not hesitate to strip off his own fur coat +to lay upon the other, sitting the while, holding his hands, and exposed +to all the biting fury of the Arctic wind, in his shirt sleeves. But +everything was useless; Rice was too worn out and too weak to fight +further, and died as he faintly talked of the food he fancied he was +eating. + +The shock to Fredericks was almost overwhelming, for he was miles away +from the camp, chilled to the bone, and with only a little coffee and +spirits of ammonia to revive his own drooping vitality. Yet he would not +leave his dead comrade until he had reverently laid him in a shallow +resting-place in the snow, though it almost cost him his life to pay +this last tribute. + +When he at last managed to reach the camp with his sad tidings he was +almost gone, and the news he brought plunged every one into the lowest +depths of sorrow, for Rice had always been one of the bravest and best +of the party. Those who were able to do so, attended to Fredericks and +revived him. + +To those who were weakest the end of Rice was a fatal blow, and the next +day or so saw three or four pass away, one of whom was the intrepid +Lockwood. A very few more days and all would have gone but for a gleam +of good fortune. A young bear was killed, and the 400 pounds of meat +obtained from it was the salvation of the survivors. + +Several seals were seen in the straits and a few walrus, and all who +could still handle a gun were daily striving to obtain fresh supplies +for the larder. Eskimo Jens, who hunted assiduously, succeeded in +killing a small seal; but in a chase after another his kayak was injured +in the ice and he was drowned. + +After his death only misfortune attended the hunting, and, failing to +replenish their stock of game, they were reduced to such a terrible +plight that they had only the thick skin of the seal on which to +subsist. Even this fare was carefully divided and measured out, so that +life might be maintained as long as possible in case a relief vessel +came. One day it was found that somebody was stealing. All the party was +assembled, but no one would admit the theft. It was decided that the +thief should be shot if discovered. One man, being suspected, was +watched. He was caught and executed. + +A fortnight later, the last few square inches of the seal's skin was +gone, and the men, now little more than living skeletons, lay in their +sleeping-bags looking at one another with hollow eyes, wondering, +perhaps, who would be the last to go, when a steamer's whistle sounded +over the straits. + +At first they dared not trust their ears. It must have been a gull +crying, or a bear, they said, and the only man with strength enough to +crawl crept out to see. The others lay where they were, straining their +ears to catch again the sound which had so moved them, but the minutes +passed on in silence. The man who had gone out did not come back, and +their hopes fell. No one spoke, for it was too plain they had been +deceived, and a profound silence reigned. Then they heard a great +shouting, and before their minds could understand how it was done, they +were surrounded by men of their own race, who were administering +restoratives as quickly as they dared. + +The _Thetis_, commanded by Captain Schley, of the United States Navy, +had reached them, and so, on June 23, 1884, the survivors of the Greely +expedition were saved. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +PEARY IN GREENLAND + + The Greenland Question--Departure of the _Kite_--Peary breaks his + Leg--A Camp made--Habits of the Eskimo--A Brush with + Walrus--"Caching" Food--An Arctic Christmas Feast--Peary starts for + the Great Ice-Cap--A Snow Sahara--The Ice-Cap Crossed--A Marvellous + Discovery--Sails on Sledges--A Safe Return. + + +The disaster and suffering which characterised the termination of the +Greely and _Polaris_ expeditions did not tend to recommend Arctic +exploration as a national enterprise to the Government of the United +States. A vast amount of highly valuable information had been obtained, +not only by these expeditions, but also by the expedition sent out by +the British Government under the command of Sir George Nares. And, in +addition to the information, a further knowledge had been gained, the +knowledge that the same spirit of indomitable pluck, the same tireless +energy, and the same loyalty and devotion to duty dominated both +branches of the great English-speaking race. The magnificent heroism +displayed by the explorers from the _Alert_ and _Discovery_ found a +parallel in the later experiences and exploits of the American +expeditions, and both British and American Governments felt that, for a +time at least, they were justified in resting on the laurels their +gallant sons had won. + +But if the Governments were satisfied, the restless spirit of the race +could not remain quiet while secrets still remained in the keeping of +the frozen North. The Pole was still untouched, and, more than that, +there were secrets to be wrested from localities not quite so remote. + +The discoveries along the north coast of Greenland opened up the very +interesting question whether the land did not extend right up to the +Pole itself. As far as any one had penetrated to the north of the coast, +land was still to be seen farther on; it was an open question whether +this great ice-covered country was an island, with its northern shores +swept by the Polar ice-floes, or whether it extended almost to the +dimensions of a continent in the Polar region. + +The problem appealed strongly to two explorers whose names, by reason of +their exploits during recent years, have become familiar. They are +Nansen and Peary. The former, by his dash for the Pole, during which he +surpassed all previous records of the "farthest North," has dwarfed his +Greenland performances; the latter, by his journey of 1300 miles over +the ice-crowned interior of Greenland, decided the insular character of +the country. It is that journey which forms the subject of this chapter. + +Lieutenant Robert E. Peary, an officer in the engineering department of +the United States Navy, failing to obtain Government support for his +scheme of an overland journey to the northern coast of Greenland, was +supported by the Philadelphia Academy of National Science. The +expedition was necessarily small, but that did not affect its utility. +It was, moreover, unique, by the inclusion of Lieutenant Peary's wife as +one of its members; the account which she has given of her sojourn in +high latitudes is one of the most interesting of books on the Arctic +regions. + +The party left New York on June 6, 1891, on board the steamer _Kite_, +for Whale Sound, on the north-west coast of Greenland. The voyage was +satisfactory in every way until June 24, when an unfortunate accident +befell the leader. + +The _Kite_ had encountered some ice which was heavy enough to check her +progress, and, to get through it, the captain had to ram his ship. This +necessitated a constant change from going ahead to going astern, and, as +there was a good deal of loose ice floating about, the rudder frequently +came into collision with it when the vessel was backing. Lieutenant +Peary, who was on deck during one of these manoeuvres, went over to the +wheelhouse to see how the rudder was bearing the strain. As he stood +behind the wheelhouse, the rudder struck a heavy piece of ice and was +forcibly jerked over, the tiller, as it swung, catching Lieutenant Peary +by the leg and pinning him against the wall of the house. There was no +escape from the position, and the pressure of the tiller gradually +increased until the bone of the leg snapped. + +The doctor, who formed one of the party, immediately set the limb; but +the sufferer refused to return home, and when, a few days later, the +_Kite_ reached McCormick Bay, he was carried ashore strapped to a plank. + +The material for a comfortably-sized house was part of the outfit of the +expedition, and this was in course of erection the day that Lieutenant +Peary was landed. For the accommodation of himself and wife, a tent was +put up behind the half-completed house, and, as a high wind arose, the +remainder of the party returned on board the _Kite_. + +As the hours passed away the wind became stronger. The tent swayed to +and fro, and Mrs. Peary, as she sat beside her invalid and sleeping +husband, realised what it was to be lonely and helpless. She and her +husband were the only people on shore for miles; her husband was unable +to move, and she was without even a revolver with which to defend +herself. What, she asked herself, would be the result if a bear came +into the tent? She could not make the people on board the _Kite_ hear, +and she was without a weapon. Throughout the stay in the North, Mrs. +Peary proved herself not only to be a woman of strong nerve and +self-reliance, but also an excellent shot with either gun, rifle, or +revolver. It was, however, as much as she could stand when her anxious +ears caught the sound of heavy breathing outside the tent. + +For a time she sat still, fearing to disturb her husband, until the +continuance of the sound compelled her to look out. A school of white +whales were playing close inshore, and it was the noise of their +blowing, softened by the wind, which had so disturbed her. But so +self-possessed was she over it that her husband did not know till long +afterwards the anxiety she had experienced during the first night she +spent on the Greenland shore. + +The following day rapid progress was made with the house, and some of +the party stayed on shore for the night, so that there was always some +one within call of the invalid's tent until the house was completed and +he was removed into it. By that time the _Kite_ had started home again, +and the little party of seven were left to make all their arrangements +for the winter. + +They had determined to rely entirely upon their own exertions for the +supply of meat for the winter and also to obtain their fur clothing on +the spot, killing the animals necessary for the material and engaging +some of the local Eskimo to make up the suits. Deer would give both meat +and fur, and as there was every prospect of the neighbourhood affording +them in plenty, as soon as the house was up and the stores packed, the +majority started away in search of game. + +The spot where they were landed, and where they had erected their camp, +was on a verdure-covered slope lying between the sea and the high range +of bluff hills which towered about 1000 feet over them. In the spring +the ground was covered with grass and flowers; the bay in front was full +of seal, walrus, whales, and other marine inhabitants, and along the +hills behind experience showed that game was present in abundance. The +Etah Eskimo, the most northerly people in existence, lived their quaint, +out-of-the-world lives along the shores of the bay and neighbouring +inlets, and, as soon as the camp was settled, they were kept busily +employed in the making of fur garments, proving themselves docile and +peaceful. It was often difficult for the members of the expedition to +realise that the site of their camp, with the abundance of food to be +had, was only from fifty to eighty miles from the spots where the +castaways of the _Polaris_ suffered so acutely and the members of the +Greely expedition slowly starved, many of them to death. For more than a +year the little party of seven lived in good health, without a +suggestion of scurvy making its appearance and with only one fatality, +which, moreover, was accidental. + +The first hunting expedition was in search of deer, and everybody took +part in it except the leader, who was still crippled by his injured leg +and confined to his room, and his wife. For two or three days the +hunters were away, for they were fortunate in discovering a herd of deer +which they followed until all were bagged. Then, with as many as they +could convey, leaving the others to be fetched later, they set out for +the camp. Their approach was duly signalled, and upon hearing that they +were returning laden, Lieutenant Peary, for the first time, hobbled out +of the house on crutches. As they came up he rested on one leg and his +crutches, while he photographed them and their trophies, after which the +double occasion was celebrated by a banquet in which venison played an +important part. + +The deer skins were very important additions to the stock of material +from which the winter clothing was to be made, but other varieties were +needed, especially of the marine animals, as well as some native tailors +to fashion them into coats, hoods, mittens, and all the other articles +of Arctic wear. A boat party was therefore despatched along the shores +of Inglefield Gulf, to spy out the localities where walrus was to be +found, and to induce some of the natives of a village, seen from the +_Kite_, to come over to the camp and sew the new garments. + +[Illustration: GROUP OF SMITH SOUND ESKIMO. + +The most northerly inhabitants of the world. Lieut. Peary records that +the tribe numbered 253 on September 1st, 1895. Between that date and +August 1, 1896, an epidemic of influenza had reduced them to 229. In +August 1897, they numbered 234.] + +The party was successful in both instances, for a number of walrus were +seen and an Eskimo family came back by the boat. The "huskies" consisted +of a man, his wife, and two little children, and they moved with all +their belongings. They were little people, under five feet in height and +almost as broad as they were long, clad in fur jumpers and short +breeches with sealskin boots reaching over their knees. The costume of +both adults was very similar, the only practical difference being in the +tunic or jumper, that of the woman having the hood longer and deeper for +the accommodation of her infant. They had broad, good-natured faces, not +especially handsome nor intelligent in appearance, but distinctly dirty. +In fact, the use of water, other than for drinking, did not appear to be +known to the primitive people, and it was very much a question whether +they had ever tried the experiment of a wash. Once Mrs. Peary was +tempted to give one of the little ones a bath, and she records how +intensely amazed it was at being put into the water, although it was +more than two years old. Surviving the shock, however, it manifested its +pleasure by lustily kicking and splashing. Perhaps later it enjoyed a +well-merited honour amongst its own people as the only one of the tribe +who ever passed through the extraordinary ordeal of soap and water. + +In consequence of their innocence of water as a cleansing medium, the +"huskies," as the Peary party affectionately termed them, had two very +distinguishing characteristics not entirely pleasing to more civilised +people. They carried around with them a distinctly impressive aroma, and +also thriving colonies of what are politely termed parasites. + +In the matter of clothes they carry their wardrobes on their backs. Fur +garments do not wear out very rapidly, and, when a "husky" is full +grown, the suit of clothes, made in honour of the event, remains in +constant wear until one of two things happens. If the man kills a bear, +he has a costume made of the skin and discards the ordinary sealskin +suit for it. If he does not kill a bear, he wears the sealskin suit +until it no longer keeps him warm, when he gets another. In their snow +houses during the winter and storms, if the temperature is too warm for +them in their thick clothing, they take the clothing off; being a +primitive people, their manners are as simple as their minds. + +The first arrivals at the Peary camp were, however, very useful people. +There being no trees in this far northern region, and wood, +consequently, being one of their most valued treasures, they were for +some time unable to comprehend how so much timber had been acquired to +build the house. When they saw a fire made in the stove of refuse bits +of wood they were still more amazed. Never before had they seen so much +fire all at once, and the man, growing curious, kept on feeling the +stove to see what the effect would be. When it was hot enough to burn +his hand he developed a wholesome respect for it, and preferred to +regard the, to him, uncanny object from a distance. + +The problem of how the sewing was to be done was rather a difficult one +to the white people for a time. To allow the furs to be taken into the +Eskimo tent was to invite the introduction of an insect population of +which it would be impossible to get rid later. On the other hand, to +allow the huskies to enter the house too frequently was equally +dangerous from the sanitary point of view. A compromise was effected, by +the Eskimo woman doing the sewing near the door of the house with some +one always keeping an eye on her. Later on, when it was found that +little danger existed from the spread of insects if reasonable care were +taken, the workers sat inside the house. They were fairly deft in +handling the needle, and the suits they made for the party were all +excellent and serviceable. These were made on the native pattern, and +the experience of Lieutenant Peary and his comrade Astrup in their +journey over the great ice-cap proved that the native pattern was the +best. + +When the woman was set to work, a boat expedition in search of walrus +was organised, with the Eskimo as guide, Lieutenant Peary and his wife +also going. They had not proceeded very many miles up Inglefield Gulf +before a light breeze when they saw, on a floating piece of ice, a dozen +or so of the animals huddled together apparently asleep. Sailing gently +towards them, every one with a rifle ready, a sudden puff of wind sent +the boat ahead quicker and farther than was intended, and it struck the +ice. The walrus, never having seen a sailing boat before, looked round +at it without paying any more attention than if it had been another +piece of ice. But the sight of so many valuable creatures within reach +of his harpoon was too much for the little Eskimo, and he buried the +weapon into the nearest. + +At once the attitude of the walrus changed. The wounded member of the +tribe tried to escape, bellowing in its pain, and the rest slid off the +ice into the water and surrounded the boat. Others from neighbouring ice +patches charged rapidly on to the scene, and the situation of the boat +and its occupants was dangerous in the extreme. The poor Eskimo, his +face showing the terror he felt, crouched down in the boat, evidently +expecting to be annihilated by the furious animals that surged round. As +they came up to the boat, they tried to get their great powerful tusks +over the gunwales, and, had one succeeded in doing so, there would have +been slight hopes of any one escaping. Had the boat been capsized, no +one could possibly have survived, and to keep the angry crowd off was no +easy matter. + +All around they swarmed, and not less than 250 were estimated to be +engaged in the attack. Lieutenant Peary, with his injured leg, sat in +the stern of the boat, firing at them, and the other white men also kept +up a fusillade, Mrs. Peary, again giving evidence of her strong nerve +and courage, sitting beside her husband and loading the weapons as soon +as they were emptied. The walrus came on in bunches to the attack, and, +immediately they were fired at, all those nearest to the boat leaped out +of the water, and then plunged out of sight. There was always the danger +of one of the huge creatures rising under the boat, and so capsizing it; +but the occupants had no time to think of this. Directly one batch +jumped and disappeared, another batch hastened forward to greet the +volley of bullets in the same way as the others, and be in turn +succeeded by another batch! + +The boat was meanwhile gradually approaching the shore, and as the water +became more shallow the walrus exhibited less desire to come to close +quarters, until, at last, the adventurers found that they had beaten off +the last of the swarm. The main body had retreated far up the gulf, only +a few remaining near. Several of those which had been shot, however, +were floating on the surface of the water, and it was decided to go back +and secure them, even at the risk of another attack. Already some of +them were sinking, and many must have gone down while the fight was in +progress. There was a necessity for haste if any of the slain were to be +secured, and with rifles loaded and ready for a fresh attack, the boat +was headed towards the floating carcases. + +The operation of securing them was performed without any interruption +from the survivors, and a run was then made for the shore, where the +Eskimo said a lot of seal-skins were "cached." This is the term used in +the Arctic regions to denote the local method of storing food or +possessions. A space is hollowed out in the ground, which, even in the +summer time, is frozen hard a few feet below the surface. The articles +to be stored having been placed in the space, it is covered over with +stones, and the "cache" is completed. Throughout the winter the contents +become frozen into a solid mass, which, protected by the stones or other +covering, does not thaw out during the short summer, and so remains in a +good state of preservation for an almost indefinite period. + +Occasionally the "cache" fails to preserve the articles of food entirely +in that state which by the European is termed "fresh"; but as they +rarely have recourse to "cached" provisions, it does not matter very +much. The Eskimo, who constantly preserves his winter supplies in this +manner, has, happily for himself, easier notions about the state and +quality of his food. This was brought home to the party very forcibly. +They had visited several "caches," and obtained enough seal-skin for +their purpose, and, having enjoyed some refreshment, were considering +their return. The Eskimo, Ikwa, then told them that, as all the flesh at +the camp was recently killed, he and his family did not like it. There +was, he said, a fine seal cached in the neighbourhood, which would form +a delicious store for him and his family, and if the leader allowed him +to move it to the boat, and convey it to the encampment, he would be +prepared to yield some of it to the members of the party for their own +special enjoyment. The seal was a beauty, he said, and just in the very +pink of condition. The necessary permission having been given, Ikwa +hurried away for his treasure. + +Shortly after, the members of the party noticed a strange penetrating +odour in the air which they at first attributed to the flayed walrus. It +steadily increased, until they were unable to tolerate it, and started +out to seek the cause. As they emerged from under the shelter of the +jutting rock where they had been resting, they descried the little +Eskimo staggering towards them under the burden of a seal almost as +large as himself. The creature had been "cached" about two years, and +was in such a state that gentles fell from it at every step the man +took, and, as Mrs. Peary recorded in her diary, both the sight and the +scent of it overpowered the white people. But to Ikwa it was just in +good condition for eating, and he was especially indignant when he was +made to relinquish it. His clothes, however, would not part with the +odour, and for many days the members of the expedition had reason to +remember that Eskimo like their game high. + +As the time passed, and winter approached, every one was kept busy +preparing for the long dark night, and for the journey over the ice-cap +which was to be undertaken directly spring began. Several families of +Eskimo were now residing near the encampment, the women mostly engaged +in making winter fur garments for the members of the expedition, and the +men in hunting. As dogs were required for the sledging expedition, +constant bartering went on between the Eskimo and the white men, and the +latter undertook occasional journeys to localities where other members +of the tribe were encamped. + +A great deal of very interesting information was thus derived about the +natives, who are, as has been said, the most northerly living people in +the world. Mrs. Peary, as the first white woman they had ever seen, was +a particular object of attention. As their custom is for men and women +to dress very much alike, they could not quite understand Mrs. Peary's +costume, and when the first arrivals saw her and Lieutenant Peary +together, they looked from one to the other, and ultimately had to ask +which of the two was the white woman. + +[Illustration: TWO NORTH GREENLAND HUNTERS.] + +The tribe did not number 300 in all; they held no communication with the +Eskimo farther south, and, except for the occasional visit of a sealer +or a whaler, knew nothing of the outer world. None had ever seen a tree +growing, nor had they ever penetrated over the ridge of land which lay +back from the coast, and over which glimpses were caught of the great +ice-cap. The latter, they said, was where the Eskimo went when they +died, and if any man attempted to go so far the spirits would get hold +of him and keep him there. They consequently warned Lieutenant Peary +against venturing. There was no seal up there; no bear; no deer; only +ice and snow and spirits, so what reason had a man for going? + +Their belongings were extremely simple. A kayak, a sledge, one or two +dogs, a tent made of walrus-hide or seal-skin, some weapons, and a stone +lamp, comprised, with the clothes they wore, their property. Wood was +the most valuable article they knew, because they could use it for so +many purposes, and had so little of it. The possession of knives and +needles was greatly desired; but scissors did not appeal to them, since +what they could not cut with a knife they could bite with their close +even teeth. Money had neither a suggestion nor a use with them; trade, +if carried on at all, was merely the bartering of one article for +another. + +The animals they liked best were dogs and seals; the former being their +beast of burden and constant companion, the latter the provider of food, +raiment, covering, and light. Every seal killed belonged to the man who +killed it, but the rules of the tribe required that all larger animals +should be shared among the members in the neighbourhood; the skin of a +bear, however, remaining in the possession of the man who secured it. +But so unsophisticated and easy-going are the contented little people +that individual property scarcely exists with them; every one is ready +and willing to share what he has with another if need be. The articles +borrowed, however, are always returned, or made good if broken or lost. +No one can either read or write; the boys are taught how to hunt, how to +manage the kayak and sledge, and how to make and use the weapons of the +chase, while the girls are taught how to sew the fur garments, and keep +the stone lamp burning with blubber and moss, so as to prepare the +drinking water and the frizzled seal flesh they eat. For the rest, their +chief desire is to live as happily as they can, and this, according to +those who have been amongst them, they manage to do merrily and well. + +During the visits paid to the different encampments by Lieutenant Peary +and his wife, about a score of dogs were obtained, a number which would +be sufficient to carry out the work of the ensuing spring. They were +usually obtained in exchange for needles and knives, but the purpose for +which they were needed always formed a subject of wonder to the +unambitious "huskies." + +By the time that a return was made to the house--Redcliff, as the +explorers named it--the season was well advanced towards winter. The +roof and sides were all covered with walrus hide, and moss, gathered in +the early autumn, was stuffed into any crevice through which the cold +wind might find a way. The drifting snow soon piled up round the walls +and over the roof, and the extra covering added to the warmth and +comfort of those within. Fur clothing was now worn generally, and the +little party, keeping in good health and spirits, managed to pass the +gloomy period of winter without anything to mar their contentment. + +Christmas they celebrated in proper form by having a sumptuous dinner, +the menu of which, preserved by Mrs. Peary, is worthy of being quoted, +as showing what can be done in a place where shops are unknown and +darkness reigns at midday. The feast consisted of salmon, rabbit pie and +green peas, venison with cranberry sauce, corn and tomatoes, +plum-pudding and brandy sauce, apricot pie, pears, sweets, nuts, +raisins, and coffee: a very creditable repast to be put on the table of +an Arctic residence. + +When every one had satisfied the demands of appetite, the table was +cleared, and then re-spread for the benefit of the "huskies," who were +bidden to partake of Christmas fare. A somewhat different assortment was +prepared for the visitors, the dishes consisting of milk punch, venison +stew, cranberry tart, biscuits, sweets, raisins, and coffee. This was +certainly a variation to their ordinary food of seal or walrus flesh and +water, and they showed their appreciation of it by leaving no crumbs and +sticking to their seats until, at half-past ten, they were gently told +that it was time they went home. Then they left, but the next day they +came again, and were perhaps not the first who, having enjoyed a hearty +Christmas dinner, felt disposed to complain that Christmas can only come +once a year. + +At the first approach of spring the dogs were given plenty of exercise +in the sledges, and by the middle of April all was ready for the great +journey over the ice-cap. Lieutenant Peary had quite recovered from the +injury to his leg, and was impatient to be off. The plan of operations +was for himself and a young Norwegian, named Astrup, to push on with one +sledge over the unknown interior, but for the first part of the journey +a supporting party and sledge accompanied them. + +April 30 saw them start from the house towards the bluff range which ran +along the coast. The two sledges, each with a team of ten dogs, were +laden with supplies and scientific instruments. Mrs. Peary, who was +staying behind at the house, watched them slowly go out of sight, the +Eskimo women consoling her with the opinion that none of the party would +ever come back. The return of the supporting sledge a few weeks later +was rather a blow to the prophecy, but they tried to make up for the +first mistake by asserting their confidence that the other sledge was +doomed. + +The two parties kept together until the coastal range was surmounted, +and the beginning of the ice-cap was reached. Here the sledge which was +to do the great journey was laden with a full load, and the two +explorers started forward, Lieutenant Peary leading the way with a staff +to which was attached a silk banner--the Stars and Stripes--worked by +Mrs. Peary. + +The first of the ice-cap was a stretch of some fifteen miles of ice, +formed into enormous dome-shaped masses. They toiled up one side but +travelled easily down the other, and so on, up and down, until they had +attained an altitude of nearly 9000 feet above the sea-level, when they +found that they were on a vast expanse of snow. The white unbroken +surface stretched away as far as the eye could reach, unbroken by a +ridge or rise, everywhere flat, white and immense. This was the great +ice-cap, the frozen covering of the interior of Greenland, the unknown +region where no man had yet set foot. + +But it was a mistake to term it an ice-cap. They found it to be rather a +desert, a Sahara with dry drifting snow instead of the dry burning sand. +And, like Sahara, it had its days of storm, when the snow whirled in +clouds just as the sand rises before the scorching blast of the simoom. +Very wonderful was the first experience of this Greenland dust-storm. +The sky overhead was filled with dull grey clouds, heavy and opaque, and +the gloom spread all around, so that whichever way one looked there was +the same impenetrable veil of grey gloomy haze. The snow lost its +dazzling whiteness and took instead the tint of the gloom of the +surrounding atmosphere. Then the wind came, at first in fitful gusts but +later growing into a steady blow, the opening squalls lifting the dry +surface snow and whirling it up in the air. The steady breeze caught it +and carried it along in a constantly moving stream some two feet deep, +and it was then that the effect of the storm was most pronounced. The +drifting particles of snow made a curious rustling noise as they moved, +and as they whirled round the travellers' legs the feet were hidden +beneath the dense moving veil. As a result, it was as though one were +walking on nothing and going nowhere, for the grey gloom all around made +one unconscious of either direction or space, and the moving snow +prevented one seeing the feet or realising that there was anything solid +under them. + +The steady hum of the drifting snow, together with its movement, made +the brain dizzy, and the two explorers generally found it necessary to +form a camp when such a storm came on, the snow soon piling up against +their shelter tent and effectually protecting them from the wind. Then, +when the breeze had died away and the snow ceased moving, they were able +to dig out their sledge and proceed. + +A distinct contrast to these stormy days was given by the period of +clear sunshine. Then the sky, innocent of a cloud, was a wonderful blue +vault overhead, while the snow-covered plateau stretched away on all +sides until it was lost in the distance of the horizon. The wonderfully +clear air enabled the explorers to see a great distance ahead. At the +end of the second day's march after reaching this great snow desert, +they found that the surface was gradually sloping north and south. They +were on the dividing ridge and, as they passed over on to the downward +slope, their progress was naturally at a more rapid rate. A storm, such +as has been described, accompanied by falling snow, overtook them, and +for three days they had to stay in their shelter. When at length the +weather moderated and they were able to get out again they discovered, +before resuming the journey, that the dogs meanwhile had eaten six +pounds of cranberry jam and the foot off one of the sleeping-bags--a +fairly good example of a dog's appetite during a snowstorm. + +On May 31 in magnificently clear weather they looked out upon a scene on +which no white man had ever yet gazed. In his description of the journey +the leader wrote: "We looked down into the basin of the Petermann +Glacier, the greatest amphitheatre of snow and rugged ice that human eye +has ever seen." Away beyond it, a range of black mountains towered in +dome-shaped hills, and they made their camp with the expectation of +being able to see more of the distant range at the end of another march. +But by the time they were able to resume their march a thick fog had +come into the air, and for three days they could only see the snow at +their feet. They directed their course entirely by compass, but as they +were unable to see long distances ahead, they were unprepared for a +change in the surface. Before they could avoid it, they found themselves +amongst rough ice and open crevices. They were getting on to the Sherard +Osborne Glacier, and, in the misty weather they were experiencing, it +was difficult to get back on to the smooth ice again. Over a fortnight +was spent in getting beyond this rough ground, and at length, on the +weather clearing, they found that straight ahead of them a range of +hills showed along the horizon above the ice-cap. The appearance of the +hills directly in their path decided them to turn their course from due +east to south-east, and they were soon able to make out the line of a +deep channel running from the north-east to the south-west. + +On July 1, after fifty-seven days of travel, they came to the limits of +the ice-cap and stood, silent and amazed, looking down from the summit +of the snow desert across a wide open plain covered with vegetation, +with here and there a snow drift showing white, and with herds of musk +oxen contentedly grazing over it. Such a discovery was absolutely so +unexpected that at first they could scarcely believe their eyes. There +was no sign of any human habitation on the land, and for all that could +be learned to the contrary, they were the first human beings who had +ever trodden upon that plain, on which the yellow Arctic poppies were +waving in bloom and over which the drone of the humble bee sounded, +though for hundreds of miles around it the accumulated snow of centuries +lay frozen into the great mysterious snow-cap and its glaciers. + +Having proved that they really were not dreaming, they shot a musk ox, +which they used for their own and their dogs' refreshment. Then they +stacked their stores and set out with reduced loads across the plain. +They walked for four days, exploring, surveying, and examining; and on +the fourth of July, the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence +by the United States, they stood on the summit of a magnificent range of +cliffs, 3500 feet high, overlooking a large bay, which, in honour of the +date, they named Independence Bay. + +The latitude was nearly 82 deg. N., and Lieutenant Peary, writing of the +discovery, says: "It was almost impossible for us to believe that we +were standing on the northern shore of Greenland as we gazed from the +summit of this precipitous cliff with the most brilliant sunshine all +about us, with yellow poppies growing between the rocks around our feet +and a herd of musk oxen in the valley behind us. In that valley we had +also found the dandelion in bloom and had heard the heavy drone and seen +the bullet-like flight of the humble bee." + +For a week the two remained in this northern valley, surveying and +making observations and finding it difficult to believe that a distance +of 600 miles of frozen snow separated them from the nearest living +people. Not a vestige of a human habitation was found, and nothing to +show that man had ever been there before. At the end of the week, with a +good supply of fresh meat from the musk oxen and a collection of +specimens of plants and insects packed on the sledges, the return +journey was commenced. Both dogs and men were invigorated by the rest +they had had, and they were able to travel homewards at the rate of +thirty miles a day over the smooth surface of the ice-cap. + +They carefully adhered to a recognised routine of work. When they had +travelled the regulation number of hours they halted for their rest. The +one whose turn it was to prepare the supper set to work to arrange what +they termed their kitchen, while the other attended to the dogs, feeding +them and removing them from their harness. The "kitchen" was constructed +by removing snow in blocks from a space eight feet long by three feet +wide by eighteen inches deep. The snow-blocks were built up along one +side and half another, so as to form an angle presented towards that +quarter from whence the wind was blowing. Over the top of this a canvas +was stretched, forming a well-sheltered nook, in which the spirit stove +was lighted and the meal prepared. For supper they had usually, half a +pound of pemmican (a preparation of finely chopped lean meat with +raisins and wheaten flour), one cup of preserved milk, tea, and +biscuits. The morning meal, or breakfast, consisted of pemmican, +biscuits, two ounces of butter, and two cups of tea, and after +travelling from four to six hours, they stopped for lunch, which +consisted of more pemmican and tea. + +As soon as supper was ready the two enjoyed it together, and very soon +afterwards they crept into their sleeping-bags, the one who was acting +as cook having also to keep an eye on the dogs, in order to prevent them +making attacks on the stores. To obviate this, after the first few days, +the dogs were usually tethered for the night. + +Occasionally, when the wind was favourable, sails were erected on the +sledges and the progress was then very easy and rapid; but when the wind +was from the opposite direction both dogs and men had an arduous task. +The return journey was accomplished with greater facility than the +outward trip, and on August 8, as they reached the top of one of the +dome-like formations near the coastal range, they saw, on the slope of +the next dome, a party of men approaching. The Kite had meantime +returned to Inglefield Gulf to take the expedition back to the United +States, and several of those who had come up in her set out to meet the +two explorers. By the time that the combined parties reached the shore, +every one was on board the _Kite_ waiting to welcome the two wanderers, +whose enterprise had terminated so successfully, not the least delighted +being Mrs. Peary, whose patience had been somewhat tried by the +persistent way in which the "huskies" had foretold disaster to her +husband. But all is well that ends well, and in his return, victorious, +the long lonely hours were forgotten. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +NANSEN AND THE _FRAM_ + + Nansen's Theories of Arctic Currents and Shipbuilding--His Theories + adopted--The _Fram_ built--A Start made--The Kara Sea reached--Good + Hunting--The Ice Current reached--Frozen in--A Raid by a Bear--Will + the _Fram_ stand the Pressure?--Preparing for Calamity--A + Conclusive Test--Causes of Ice Movements--Life on the + _Fram_--Nansen and Johansen leave the _Fram_--They reach their + "Farthest North"--Incidents of their Return Journey--Some Narrow + Escapes--The Meeting with Jackson--Arrival of the _Fram_. + + +In 1879 the _Jeannette_, an American yacht commanded by Lieutenant de +Long, of the United States Navy, was beset in the ice in latitude 71 deg. +35' N. and longitude 175 deg. 6' E. So firmly was she frozen that it was +found impossible to liberate her, and on June 12, 1881, she was so badly +crushed in a break up of the pack that she foundered. In the meantime +she had drifted with the ice to 77 deg. 15' N. latitude and 154 deg. 59' E. +longitude, a point to the north of the New Siberian Islands. In 1884 +articles undoubtedly belonging to members of her crew were found in +floating ice off the coast of Greenland. + +[Illustration: MAP OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS SHOWING ROUTE OF NANSEN AND THE +_FRAM_.] + +These facts caused a very great deal of discussion among Arctic +explorers, and the general opinion expressed was that a strong and +steady current evidently flowed along the course taken first by the +_Jeannette_, and secondly by the relics. To arrive at that conclusion +was not very difficult; to utilise the knowledge thus gained, and profit +by it, was the point, and only one man in the world was possessed of the +necessary amount of insight, backed up by intellect and courage, to +enable him to do so. This man was Fridtjof Nansen. + +As a student of Arctic phenomena, and as one who had crossed Greenland +from east to west, the existence of this current was full of suggestive +possibilities. It seemed to him that if a vessel were built of +sufficient strength to withstand the pressure of the winter ice, and +provisioned for a sufficiently long period, there was every chance of it +drifting along the entire course of the current, perhaps to within a +measurable distance of the Pole, and certainly well within that region +which had hitherto been unexplored. The area affected by the current +would have to be entered as near the outside edge as possible, so as to +participate in the full sweep of its curve, and, in order to avoid the +terrible crushing pressure of the winter ice, the vessel would have to +be so built as to enable it to slip upwards from the ice, when the +pressure became too severe, and rest always on the top. + +On the publication of these views, they were not supported by the Arctic +veterans. Some went so far as to characterise the whole scheme as being +unworthy of serious consideration, while others, less overbearingly +prejudiced, were aghast at the daring and audacity of the scheme. The +possibility of the drift passing over the route suggested by Nansen was +not gainsaid by those whose close knowledge of Arctic problems, and +desire for general information, made them more tolerant than the keen +opponents of the scheme--the latter, strangely enough, being men whose +own exploits had not been the most successful in Polar exploration. The +hero of the _Alert_ sledge journey admitted the feasibility of the drift +theory, but shook his head at the idea of any ship withstanding the +winter pressure of the great ice packs in the far North. A ship once +caught and frozen in became part of the ice itself, and when the +pressure crushed masses a hundred feet thick into minute fragments and +powder, what chance would a vessel, held in such a mass, have of +escaping? + +But Nansen was not to be discouraged. He had the true insight of genius, +that insight which gave him the confidence in his own idea and which +needed something more than verbal reasons to overthrow it. His idea also +recommended itself to a Norwegian shipbuilder, Mr. Colin Archer, who +expressed his readiness to construct such a vessel as Nansen had +described. The Norwegian Government also were impressed by the scheme +and voted over L11,000 towards the cost of carrying it out, and other +support being forthcoming, the intrepid explorer was at length able to +take definite steps to prove or disprove his contention. + +The building of the _Fram_ was at once commenced. She was built of wood +and of tremendous strength, her beams and sides being of the utmost +thickness, while on the outside of the hull not a single angle was +allowed to remain. Every projection was carefully rounded off and +smoothed, so that there should not be as much as half an inch protruding +and capable of affording the ice a holding place. Even the keel was +sacrificed to the general idea of avoiding possible holding places for +the ice. The lines of the ship were necessarily different from those of +the ordinary vessel. Her sides bulged outwards and the stern and stem +sloped away, so that whichever way the ice exerted the pressure, the +_Fram_ would present a smooth surface to the ice, inclined in such a way +that the tendency of the ice would be to get under it and so lift the +vessel up. This did not improve her qualities as a sea boat, and the way +in which she pitched, plunged, and rolled, whenever she came into a +moving sea, tried the seafaring capacities of every one on board. + +She was fitted with engines and a screw, and was rigged as a +three-masted fore-and-aft schooner. Electric light was laid on all over +her, the power being generated by a windmill when the engine was not +working. Every available crevice was utilised for the storing of coals +and provisions. + +By the middle of June 1893 the thirteen men who formed the expedition +had succeeded in finding a place for everything, though not without +some difficulty, for the quantity of the stores which had to be packed +was enormous. By a delay in delivery, just as they were congratulating +themselves that everything was stowed away, a shipment of dog biscuits +arrived. The ship was full already, but the biscuits had to be stored +somewhere, so one of the men wriggled right up into the bows, and +between the beams and the ribs he packed away the troublesome late +arrivals. Everything was at last on board and stored, and on June 24, +1893, the _Fram_ started on her memorable journey. + +Leaving North Cape, she headed for Kharbarova, on the Northern Siberian +coast, and the point where the team of Siberian sledge dogs were to be +taken on board. On July 29 she dropped anchor off the quaint little +settlement and found the dogs duly waiting. A ship with coal ought also +to have been there, but it did not arrive up to the time that the +_Fram_, having shipped the dogs, was compelled to leave. She would soon +be in the Kara Sea, where a year would have to be spent if she were +caught in the ice. The season was passing rapidly, and no time could be +lost if the Kara Sea were to be passed before winter set in, so the +anchor was weighed and the _Fram_ steamed away without her extra supply +of coal. + +On August 4 the Kara Sea was reached. The ice, although not heavy enough +to prevent further progress, with the adverse currents caused +considerable delays, and the crew utilised their enforced leisure by +visiting the neighbouring land and laying in a store of fresh meat. They +were successful in obtaining reindeer venison and ducks, and it was here +also that the first bear was killed. + +It happened on the Kjellman Islands. The _Fram_ had come to anchor under +their shelter, when some one raised the cry that there were reindeer on +the shore. Immediately a hunting party was formed, and eight of the +members rowed ashore. They separated into couples and spread out in +search of the deer, which, however, were extremely shy. Two of the +hunters, failing to get near the herd, decided to sit down and wait +until the other members succeeded in stalking round the deer and turning +them back. Suddenly one of the two, looking round towards the shore, +espied a bear coming towards them. They waited for him to come within +easy range, when they fired together, striking him in the right foreleg. +He turned back at once towards the shore, and another bullet in one of +his hind-legs did not stop him. Fearing that he might escape, one of the +two ran after him and managed to put a bullet in his shoulder, which +brought him to the ground. The bear staggered to his feet again, and in +turning towards his assailants presented his unwounded side to them, +with the result that another bullet was discharged into it, and he fell +to the ground unable to move; but to make certain that he was not +"foxing," yet another bullet was put into his head. + +The result of the day's shooting was excellent, the bag consisting of +bear, deer, seal, and duck, providing plenty of fresh meat for the +members of the expedition, as well as a good supply of food for the +dogs. Within a few days they were able to add to the larder by killing +some walrus, a feat which was not achieved without some danger and loss. + +The _Fram_ had come to anchor in consequence of the ice lying rather +thickly ahead, when a group of walrus was seen on a floating mass of +ice. A boat was immediately lowered, and with one man armed with a +harpoon in the bows, and Nansen armed with a rifle in the stern, it was +cautiously rowed towards the listless walrus. They did not show any sign +of life until the boat was close upon them, when the sentinel raised his +head and looked towards the boat. When a number are basking, one is +always on duty as a sentinel to give the alarm and warn the others of +approaching danger. Directly those in the boat saw which was the +sentinel, they kept a close watch upon him, remaining as still as +possible when he raised his head and only urging the boat forward gently +when he resumed his former lazy attitude. By very careful manoeuvring +they were able to creep close up to the ice. The sentinel again raised +his head and looked at them, but as no one moved he seemed to be +satisfied and lowered his head once more. + +A sharp stroke of the oars drove the boat right on to the ice, and the +man with the harpoon let drive at the group. Due, perhaps, to the +movement of the boat, his aim was too high, and instead of plunging into +the great body of the nearest monster, the harpoon glanced off his back +and over the backs of the others. They were roused at once and turned +upon the boat, bellowing loudly. Nansen fired upon the leader, a bull +with tremendous tusks, and he fell over, but the others did not stop. +The boat was pushed off, and at the same moment Nansen shot a second +bull. The remainder of the herd plunged into the water from off the ice +and swam after the boat, rising up alongside it and attempting to drag +it down with their huge tusks. For a time the fight was furious, but the +three men were too strong, and those of the walrus that were not killed +made off under water. The two shot on the ice were secured, but those +shot in the water sank before they could be reached. + +As the men were getting the two from the ice into the boat, an +unfortunate lurch jerked the rifle Nansen had been using overboard. It +was a favourite weapon which he was very loth to lose, and for hours +efforts were made to drag it up, but without success. It was hopelessly +lost, and the first brush with the walrus thus became memorable. A year +or two later there was another adventure with them which was even more +memorable, but many were to be slain by the explorers in the meantime, +and many miles were to be covered before that adventure came to pass. + +On September 10 the _Fram_ had made her way through the ice-encumbered +sea as far as Cape Chelyuskin, the most northerly point of Europe. There +was great rejoicing on board, for the fact that such a point had been +reached meant that they would be in the region of the current before +winter set in, and that, when the _Fram_ became frozen in, it would be +in the ice affected by the drift. A week later, the course was altered, +and the _Fram_ was headed for the North. The ice became heavier and +closer as she advanced towards the limit of the ice-floes, and as the +sun was sinking nearer and nearer the horizon, the cold became more +intense at every mile. As long as there was open water ahead the +energetic crew kept working their vessel so as to get her as high up as +possible into the area affected by the current; but when they had passed +the line which marks the limit of the floes, they soon found that +further navigation was impossible. The _Fram_ was soon fast in the ice +and, with winter upon them, the crew made themselves and the ship as +comfortable as they could. + +The builder of the _Fram_ had given attention not alone to the exterior +of the vessel; he had also made the internal arrangements as complete as +possible for the comfort of the explorers during the prolonged period +they were to remain in the ice. Now that they were in the pack, they +realised how well their comfort had been considered. For the matter of +that, they had always found their quarters cosy, even when the _Fram_ +displayed her capabilities of rolling and tossing. The main cabin, in +which they lived, was always warm, and the passage-ways leading from it +to the outside were so skilfully arranged that those on board did not +experience the distressing moisture which was so troublesome on the +_Alert_ and _Discovery_. The electric light as a substitute for lamps +was also an admirable innovation, for the interior of the cabin was +always brightly lit without the air becoming heavy, as would have been +the case with exposed lamps. A great deal of thought had also been given +to ventilation, with the result that the cabins were never close. + +Over the deck a large screen was erected, tent shape, and above it there +was reared the windmill which drove the electric motor and generated the +electricity for the lights. As the ship was to remain in the ice until +it drifted out again, everything was made snug for a long stay. On the +ice alongside various observatories were erected and scientific +instruments placed to make complete records, and later, a row of +comfortable kennels was made for the accommodation of the dogs. + +These animals at first had been somewhat troublesome. They were so +savage that it was necessary to keep them all tied up on deck, and +during the voyage along the coast they were frequently wet and +miserable, and incessantly howling. Once, rope muzzles were made, and +when each dog was fitted they were allowed loose; but an Arctic dog +requires something stronger than a rope to keep its jaws closed when let +loose among a lot of other Arctic dogs. The result of the experiment was +not a success, except from a dog-fight point of view; when at length the +struggling, snarling, snapping pack were separated, they were tied up +again to the deck until the ship was fast in the ice. + +By that time they were somewhat reconciled to one another; when they had +been allowed to have a scamper or two, with plenty of opportunity to +find out who were the kings and who were not, they settled down into a +big happy family, even making common cause when a stray bear came on +board later in the winter. + +This happened at a time when every one was below in the cabin. Each man +took it in turn to look round the deck every now and again. The man +whose watch it was had not long returned to the cabin when a tremendous +hubbub started among the dogs. The watch returned on deck with a lamp, +but failed to see any cause for the disturbance, and attributed it to a +new election of a king or some other canine ceremony. Later it broke out +once more, and a further inspection was made, when it was discovered +that two dogs were missing. + +The man on watch, carrying his lantern, and accompanied by another +member of the crew, set out over the ice, following what appeared to be +a track in the snow. They had not proceeded far when they found +themselves face to face with a bear. It was difficult to say which was +the more surprised, the bear or the men; but as the latter had no weapon +with them they decided that a return to the ship was the best course to +pursue. They turned and started at a run, the man with the lantern, +having heavier boots on, being the slower of the two. More than that, he +was not so agile as his companion, and stumbled frequently. Once he went +down full length, and when he regained his feet he was astounded to see +in the dim twilight, and between himself and the ship, the form of the +bear. + +For a moment they stood looking at one another, the dogs at a +respectable distance baying and howling. Then the bear advanced and made +a snap at the man, nipping him in the thigh. The lantern was not a very +heavy one, but it was all the man had with which to defend himself, and, +swinging it round with all his strength, he brought it down on the +bear's head. It made him let go his hold, and a few of the dogs rushing +nearer to him caused him to turn towards them, thus giving the man a +chance to resume his flight, which he immediately did. + +By the time he was able to scramble up on to the vessel he found half of +the crew tumbling out of the cabin with rifles. They ranged themselves +along the side of the ship, and taking a steady aim at the bear, which +could be dimly seen in the twilight, all pulled their triggers. They had +forgotten, in the hurry of the moment, how well the firearms had been +greased to prevent them rusting, and so the volley failed to fire a +single shot. Meanwhile the dogs surrounded the bear, snarling and +barking, but not going near enough to bite or get bitten. He looked +wisely round the ring and then started off at a slouching walk, just as +Nansen reached the deck with his rifle. His weapon did not misfire, and +a bullet checked the bear's flight, and, some of the other guns now +being effective, several more were put into him and laid him low. +Subsequent search revealed the remains of the two dogs a little distance +away from the _Fram_, whither they had been dragged by the bear. + +[Illustration: THE _FRAM_ IN THE ICE. + +"The _Fram_ was in 78 deg. 50' N. latitude when she was first frozen in" for +the beginning of the great drift.] + +The _Fram_ was in 78 deg. 50' N. latitude when she was first frozen in, and +the observations for the next few days were watched with a good deal of +interest, as every one was anxious to know whether they were in the +drift, and at what rate they were travelling. A very great surprise was +therefore experienced when it became known that instead of travelling, +as they expected they would, in a north-westerly direction, they were +going south-east. For several days they speculated whether they had +misjudged the place where they would meet the north drift, and had, +instead, become fast in ice which would carry them away, rather than +towards their goal. It was a very unpleasant uncertainty, and when the +discovery was made that the direction had changed and the vessel was +slowly but surely drifting northward, there was general rejoicing on +board. The ice around the _Fram_ was now over thirty feet in thickness, +and, as it was constantly moving in the drift, so was it also subject to +the pressure which made it heave and pile itself in great rugged broken +masses. There was a constant creaking and groaning in the vast pack +which made it evident that the pressure had begun. Throughout the winter +it would continue, getting more and more severe as the cold became more +intense. Would the _Fram_ justify her designer and builder under the +trial? + +It was a very anxious question for those on board. One authority had +said she would become so securely frozen in as to be, to all intents and +purposes, a part of the ice body, and that then, if the ice immediately +in her vicinity began to move and work, nothing could save her from +being crushed into matchwood by the enormous pressure. Well, she was now +frozen into such a mass, and frozen so firmly that she did not budge an +inch when the groaning and creaking told of the straining that was going +on. The surface of the ice, as far as the explorers could see, was +constantly undergoing a change, as the force of the movement pressed +great blocks up in one place, and ground them away in another. Jagged, +rugged masses reared themselves up before the irresistible power, until +they stood forty and fifty feet high. Sometimes they were forced up so +high that they overbalanced and crashed down upon the lower masses with +the roar and rattle of thunder. And yet the _Fram_ never moved. + +Was the expert opinion going to be verified? Would the ship, held by the +grip of the pack, be slowly crushed into fragments directly she was +caught in the line of movement? It was evidently not impossible, and +precautions were taken so as to insure escape if she were to be caught +and crushed. All the boats were taken out on to the ice and filled with +provisions; the dogs were put in kennels also on the ice where they +would be free to escape, and every one was constantly on the alert for +the first sign of the "nip." + +At last it came. They were all at meals when the increased uproar of the +moving ice told them that the movement was nearing the vessel. Then, for +the first time, they heard the ominous sounds of creaking timber. The +_Fram_ was being "nipped." + +Every one hurried out of the cabin to see to the boats and the dogs and +the stores. When they reached the open they found that, close upon her +port side, the ice was heaving and piling up into a great massive wall, +while all around the noise of the fracturing and cracking of huge blocks +was deafening. Slowly the wall rose in the air higher than the vessel's +deck, higher than the bulwarks, and then it began steadily to glide +towards her. For the moment it seemed that nothing could save her, and +that the stupendous weight of the gliding wall would soon grind her +solid timbers into splinters, while part of it crashed over her decks +and swept spars and everything away. + +Silent the members of the crew stood on the ice on the starboard side +watching and expecting every second to see the moving mass creep up to +her and pulverise the bold little _Fram_, rendering them homeless and +shipless. Some of the crushed ice, pushed forward in a huge roll like a +frozen billow, was actually against her side and rising over the tent +covering on the deck. The line of pressure had now reached exactly where +she lay in the ice, and if she did not yield to it and slip from the +grip that held her, she was doomed. + +There was a sound of rending; a groaning crash; the _Fram_ shivered till +the breathless watchers thought they saw her spars tremble. Then, with a +mighty wrench, she broke from the bonds that held her, and slowly rose +from her nest in the ice, slipping upwards and away from the crushing +force. A cheer burst from the lips of every one as she moved, for it +meant not only the realisation of the hopes and ideals of those +concerned in her construction and the complete vindication of their +faith in her, but also the guarantee that the explorers were safely and +securely housed, whatever might transpire. + +When the movement in the ice had subsided, it was found that the _Fram_ +had slipped out of harm's way in a marvellous manner. So firmly had she +been frozen in that the spot from whence she had been driven contained a +complete mould of her shape, every seam and mark being reproduced in the +ice. This proved that the test had not only been a severe one, but +conclusive as well, since the vessel had really been frozen so solid +into a mass of ice as to be a part of the mass. Her escape was an +overwhelming disproof of the adverse theories expressed against her, and +an entire victory for Nansen. There was now no question in any one's +mind as to the result of the expedition; the _Fram_, having stood one +test, would stand any, and nothing could stop her emerging in due course +out on to the open sea again, having drifted very near to the Pole, if +not quite up to it. + +With a feeling of absolute security against further pressures and +movements, the crew returned on board, and once more the cabin echoed to +the light-hearted laughter which had been interrupted by the "nip." The +hardy Norsemen who formed the party were as happy as they were brave, +and throughout the years they were together there was nothing but +good-humour and merriment among them. After the preliminary experience +of how the _Fram_ conducted herself during a "nip," little attention was +paid to the ceaseless noise and roaring set up by the moving ice. Often +she was forced up out of the line of movement, but the men in her cabin +sat quiet; she was able to "sail herself" without any help on that +ice-locked sea. + +The existence of this constant movement of the ice formed a very +important discovery in Arctic knowledge. A brief explanation of the +causes and the effects may make this clear, and, at the same time, show +how it is that such huge mountains of ice are formed in the depth of +winter when the Polar Sea was currently supposed to be frozen into one +great silent moveless ice-field. + +As winter sets in within the Arctic Circle, the sea which flows between +the northern coasts of Europe, Asia, and America becomes covered with +ice to the shores, thus forming an enormous field of ice some two +thousand miles across. This, lying on the surface of the water, often +having a thickness of from thirty to fifty feet, checks, but cannot +control the tides. The ebb, on one hand, leaves vast tracks of ice, +previously afloat, straining on the ground, cracking so as to form +enormous fissures and weakening the surface resistance. On the other +hand, the flood tide is welling and pressing against the overlying +barrier of ice and lifting it up until it cracks and opens, the pressure +underneath lifting the separated masses on to their neighbours, which in +turn resist with all their weight and grind back upon the masses beyond, +until with the turn of the tide the forced-up masses gravitate down +again, tumbling, crashing, bounding and rebounding one upon the other. +Meanwhile the ice lowered by the ebb tide has formed a restricted crust +against which the flood tide, backed up by the weight of the disturbed +masses, uses its energy as a man uses his shoulder to lift a load. It is +a battle between the resistance and the energy of nature, and usually +energy wins along the line of the least resistance. Here, when once a +point gives way, the accumulated energy concentrates. The "point" may be +an area of ice a hundred miles square and fifty feet thick, and this +tremendous mass, moved by the immeasurable force of the water pressure +beneath it, grinds upon its surroundings and upon itself. Huge masses +are pushed up on to the surface of the pack, crushing, grinding, and +splintering as they go, their weight causing the under ice to bend and +crack, and so add to the confusion of the struggle. Mass meets mass in a +test of strength, and, failing to climb over one another, crush +together, closer and higher, until there is a diminution of the pressure +from below and they surge back, shattering themselves in the commotion +and yet binding themselves into a single unit strong enough to resist +the next onslaught of the tidal energy. + +Along the shores, where the solid compactness of beetling cliffs holds +back the sweep of the tide, the ice piles itself in mountainous ridges +and chains. Those of greater bulk, taking the ground, offer a resistance +against which the lesser masses can only strain and grind; but away out +in the unfathomable depths of the Polar Sea there is no chance of the +ice ever grounding. It is always floating, and so always susceptible to +the force of wind, tide, and current. Consequently it is always moving +and feeling the pressure of the water below, of the grinding strain of +the drift, and of the surface disturbances brought about by the constant +displacement. + +Any one who has seen a pond in winter, when the ice round the edge is +rotten and when a breeze blows across it, is aware how the loose sheet +which covers the centre creaks and groans as it is driven against the +bank. The edge is shivered into small flakes before the resistance can +stop the forward movement, and then the sheet moves back against the +breeze until once more the power of the wind controls it, and there is a +renewed straining along the bank, the previously broken flakes either +being forced up on to the bank, or else under, or over, the edge of the +sheet. Pieces a yard square slowly rise up on end before the pressure +and, falling back, shiver into fragments which scurry across the smooth +surface of the sheet until they are arrested and become frozen to the +main surface. Everywhere when the forward movement is on there is noise +of creaking, groaning, and cracking, and everywhere on the ice sheet +there is evidence of the force exerted. + +The Arctic Ocean may be likened to such a pond, only two thousand miles +across and with ice upon its surface which never melts and is always +being forced one way or the other by tide, wind, or current. The rugged, +piled-up fragments of one winter's fight are smoothed over somewhat +later on by the heavy snows of spring and summer, or, more correctly +speaking, of the period of daylight, for in this region the year is +divided between the time when the sun is seen and when the sun is not +seen. Along the shores of the continents which surround it, open water +forms in the time of sunshine, and so there is room for the energy of +the tides to escape. The currents can also, from time to time, break off +great areas into floes and packs which drift away to the warmer South +until they melt, leaving more room for the enormous stretch of tumbled +ruggedness behind them to swing and drift in obedience to the driving +currents. It will be remembered that it was at this period of the year +when the _Alert_ party travelled over the ice and found it so broken and +rugged that barely a mile a day was covered. It was while this sort of +ice was being formed that the _Fram_ and her crew rested in the North, +the vessel braving every nip by slipping upwards from the pressure; the +crew, confident in her capabilities, living in merry good-humour in her +cabin. What the confusion of the ice was like may be gathered from the +opinion of those who saw it when the return of the sun enabled them to +do so, and also relieved the pressure. "Imagine a stormy sea, all broken +waves and flying billows, suddenly frozen solid into ice, and you have +some idea, on a small scale, of the piled-up hummocks on the pack." + +And so the first winter passed, the members of the expedition keeping +not alone in good temper and spirits, but in good health also. There was +always something doing; observations of temperature and ice movements to +be taken, and records to be kept of the atmospheric and astronomical +phenomena, on the scientific side; and on the every-day side of life, +there were meals to get ready, stores to be overhauled and distributed, +dogs to be fed, and a dozen other items to attend to. One of the +happiest features of this expedition was the sincere and thorough +good-fellowship which existed between all the members. Some of them took +turn about in the cook's galley, each one trying to produce some dish +which would come as a surprise to the mess and a variety to the usual +bill of fare. Then they were excellently supplied with books to read and +indoor games to fill in the odd hours of leisure. A newspaper was +started, and although it was somewhat deficient in foreign news, there +was plenty of local intelligence to keep it going until the return of +the sun. Inside the cabin there was constantly heard the hearty laugh as +some jest passed round, and under the illumination of the electric light +and the spell of good-fellowship, but little heed was paid to the +constant noise made outside in the darkness of the Arctic night by the +ever-moving ice. + +When the sun's approach was heralded by a gradually increasing twilight, +every one was full of curiosity to learn how far they had drifted in +the ice during the winter, and whether the current had maintained its +northerly direction. There was no chance of proving that during the long +hours of darkness, and when, with the appearance of the sun above the +horizon, observations were taken to verify calculations already made, +with the result that a great advance to the North was shown, there was +general rejoicing. If the direction were maintained during the coming +summer and the following winter, it was not impossible that in a year's +time the _Fram_ might be drifting over the very Pole itself. The flag of +Norway was run up to the masthead in honour of the occasion, and at the +supper-table speeches were made foreshadowing the glory which would be +won if the direction of the current were maintained. + +With the return of sunlight a great deal had to be done in the +verification of the observations taken during the winter. As the weather +became warmer it was possible to penetrate through the ice so as to +enable them to take soundings as to the depth of the sea. Photographs of +the ice-field were taken, so as to form companion pictures of what it +was before and after the winter pressure had been exerted, and short +expeditions by dog-sledge and snow-shoes (_ski_, as the Norwegian form +is termed) were taken. A bear track was seen one day, but as Bruin did +not seem desirous of approaching the ship, Captain Sverdrup, who +commanded the vessel, set to work and devised a highly ingenious trap +for him. The trap was fixed up on a hummock in the vicinity, where it +could be watched from the _Fram_, but where it would be quiet enough to +tempt the bear. A strong-smelling bait was fastened to it, so that when +the bear seized the bait he would spring the jaws of the trap and get +caught round the neck. Then, when all was ready, a constant watch was +kept for Bruin to appear. He came when every one was about the ship, and +as he was seen slouching over the hummocks, all eyes were turned upon +him. Scenting the bait, he quickened his steps and went up to the trap, +holding his head high up and sniffing for the bait. Having caught sight +of it, he walked slowly round the trap until he came opposite the bait +again, when he slowly rose on to his hind-legs and reached out for the +morsel. Every one on board held their breath in anticipation of seeing +him caught, but there was something about the concern which aroused his +suspicions. Probably he had never seen such an animal before and doubted +its quality, for he drew his head back, lowered himself on to all-fours, +and slowly trotted away. The bear-trap was no success for killing bears, +but it afforded excellent entertainment during this occasion, and formed +a never-failing source of good-natured chaff afterwards. + +As the short summer passed, the drift turned persistently to the west, +and in view of its continuing in that direction, preparations were made +for a dash by sledge to the North in the following period of sunlight. +The framework of two kayaks were on board, and these were brought out +and put together on the ice alongside the vessel. When they were covered +with skins, they were packed on two light sledges, and experiments were +made as to the amount of provisions that could be stored on the sledges +in addition. With a third sledge for stores, it was found that +twenty-eight dogs would be able to drag enough food to last two men for +one hundred days and the dogs thirty days, besides the kayaks, guns, +ammunition, and other necessaries. + +It was a critical venture to undertake, for once the sledge party left +the ship and journeyed to the North, it was almost an absolute +impossibility that they would be able to find the ship again. All they +would be able to do was to go as far as they could and then turn back +again, shaping their course to the Spitzbergen Islands, where it was +anticipated the _Fram_ would eventually drift. Whether they would be +able to traverse the distance before their food gave out, and whether +they would be able to replenish their provisions by shooting game, were +two very important problems, and, in addition, there was also the +question how they would be able to withstand the intense cold of the +winter if compelled to spend it on the ice. + +As the darkness set in again, the discussion frequently turned to the +prospects of the dash being successful. Nansen decided that he should +be one of the two, selecting Lieutenant Hjalmar Johansen, of the +Norwegian Navy, as his companion. Lieutenant Johansen had joined the +expedition as stoker, subsequently acting as the meteorological +assistant, and his choice by the leader was amply justified by results. +The winter having passed without mishap, the reappearance of the sun +verified the fears as to the direction of the drift. All through the +winter they had travelled more to the West than the North. The dash by +sledge was imperative. + +On March 14, 1895, the two adventurers, with their three sledges, two +kayaks, and twenty-eight dogs, bade adieu to their comrades, who had +come out a part of the way with them from the _Fram_, and started due +north along the 100th parallel of East longitude. The _Fram_ had already +drifted to the 84th parallel of latitude, farther North than had yet +been attained. + +[Illustration: NANSEN AND JOHANSEN START ON THEIR DASH FOR THE POLE. + +On March 14, 1895, they left the _Fram_, and returned to Norway in the +_Windward_ on August 13, 1895, having reached 86 deg. 14' N. lat., the +highest point, up to that time, attained by man.] + +For the first few days travelling was slow, heavy, and laborious, the +ice being excessively rough and rugged. Time after time the two men had +to haul the sledges, one after another, over the broken hummocks; but +always at the end of each period of travel when they formed their camp, +the Pole was nearer. On March 22 they reached 85 deg. 10' N. lat. The ice +they were journeying over now was not only rough but was constantly +moving, the noise being incessant as the masses ground and strained +against one another. But still they pushed on, taking such rest as they +could and working hard, when not in camp, from the moment they started +until the moment the camp was made. On April 7 they had reached 86 deg. 14' +N. lat., the highest point ever, up to that time, attained by man, and +only some two hundred miles from the Pole. + +The ice was indescribably rugged and broken, necessitating the lifting +of the sledges at almost every yard; the temperature averaged 40 deg. below +zero; their clothes were frozen into hard suits of mail, and their +sleeping-bags were also frozen stiff. They had to sleep in the frozen +bags out in the open, the temperature once being as low as 49 deg. below +zero. They had reached the "farthest North," and had learned enough to +satisfy them that up to the Pole there was nothing but a continuation of +the broken, rugged ice, straining and breaking under the pressure of the +drift, and they decided to turn back, making towards the nearest land +for winter quarters. + +This was Franz Josef Land, lying to the south-west of where they were, +and if they reached it in time to pass the winter on shore, they would +be able, they believed, to resume their journey to Spitzbergen in the +following summer. Arrived there, they did not anticipate any difficulty +in getting home on board a Norwegian whaler, if the _Fram_ had not +meantime arrived. + +They were now travelling in continual daylight, with a task before them +every hour of surmounting the steep sides of hummocks. For hours they +toiled on, making as much progress as they could between the camps. The +work they were performing was scarcely, one would think, likely to make +them forget when it was time to sleep. And yet there was an occasion +when for thirty-six hours they struggled on without a sleep. The food +for the dogs was daily growing scarcer, and they were anxious to get on +as far as possible before it was finished. When, therefore, they came +upon a stretch of fairly smooth ice, they made the most of it, and only +when they and their dogs were dead tired did they stop. It was their +custom to always wind up their watches when they crept into their +sleeping-bag; on this occasion when they took them from under their +heavy clothing they discovered that both had stopped. In their anxiety +to push forward they had forgotten to wind them up, and the springs had +run down during the thirty-six hours. There was nothing to do but guess +at what the time ought to be, and so they overcame this difficulty as +they overcame all others, by making the best of it. + +Their next trouble was the failure of the dog food. When the first dog +died they kept him, for unless they fell in with a bear and killed it, +the bodies of the weaker dogs was all that they could give the stronger +ones to keep them alive. At first the dogs turned away from the remains +of their comrade, but soon their hunger overcame their scruples, and the +ravenous creatures fought over the carcase as soon as it was offered to +them. Then came the necessity of killing one of them every now and again +to feed the others; much as it went against their natures to do it, the +explorers had to choose between it and death to themselves. + +By the end of April they expected to reach land, but April passed and +May passed, and still only the rugged ice was in view. One by one the +dogs had to be sacrificed until only two remained. The weight of the +sledges was also very considerably reduced by this time. The third +sledge had been abandoned, and now each man, assisted by one dog, +dragged a sledge on which rested his kayak, his _ski_, firearms, and +other necessaries, as well as a moiety of the remaining stores. June +came in and still no land was in sight, but the character of the ice was +changing, though not very much for the better. It was not so rugged and +hummocky, but it was frequently intersected by channels mostly full of +floating pieces. It was useless taking to the kayaks to cross them, and +often impossible to go round, so they adopted the method of jumping from +piece to piece, and drawing their sledges after them. On June 22 they +came upon a seal, which they succeeded in shooting and securing, a fact +which was so memorable that they rested for a day, giving the dogs an +ample supply of the meat. But the rest was scarcely idleness, for they +were visited by three bears, all of which also fell under bullets. They +now had abundance of food, both for themselves and the dogs, to last a +few weeks if they did not come in sight of the land. Two days later, +however, they saw it, lying ahead of them, and they pushed on till a +wide, open channel stopped them. + +It was evident that the kayaks would have to be used in getting across, +and they were taken from the sledges and examined. The result of the +rough handling they had undergone in the journey over the ice was +manifest in many a crack and hole in the skin-covering, but how to +repair them was a question which taxed even the ingenuity and enterprise +of the two intrepid Norsemen. They had enough skins to make patches, and +twine with which to stitch them on. It was the making of some waterproof +coating for the stitch-holes that puzzled them. They possessed a little +train-oil, and by fixing up an arrangement over their spirit cooking +stove, they obtained a little soot, which was mixed with the oil and +used as paint. It was not a very artistic compound, but it was the best +they could make, and it kept the water out. Then the kayaks were +carefully fastened together by the _ski_, and upon them was laid the +sledges and the stores. + +When everything had been made fast, the explorers prepared to launch +them. Johansen was behind Nansen, and stooping down, when he heard +something moving at his back. Thinking it was only one of the dogs, he +did not look round, and the next thing he knew was that something hit +him beside the head, so that, in his own words, "he saw fireworks." He +fell forward, and immediately felt a heavy body upon him. He managed to +turn partly round, and saw just above his face the head of a huge bear. + +Nansen, ignorant of what had occurred, was bending over his end of the +kayak, when he heard Johansen exclaim, "Get a gun." Glancing round, he +saw his comrade lying under the bear, gripping its throat with both +hands. + +With everything securely tied to the kayaks, it was no easy matter to +extricate the weapon, and Nansen was pulling and tugging at the cords to +get them loose, so as to drag the rifle from its place, when he heard +Johansen say, "You will have to hurry if you don't want to be too late." + +The two dogs, all that were left of the twenty-eight, were standing +snarling at the bear, and as Johansen spoke the one which always +travelled with him approached nearer. The bear, having his attention for +the moment distracted, stepped off Johansen, who immediately wriggled +away and scrambled to his feet. Just as the bear turned on to the dog, +Nansen wrenched a gun from the piled-up stores. Swinging round, he found +the bear close beside him, and he pulled the first trigger he touched. +It fired the barrel loaded with shot, but so near was the bear that the +charge entered behind the ear without having time to scatter, and +brought him down dead between Nansen and Johansen. + +The former was terribly afraid that his companion had been seriously +injured, but the only mark the bear had left was a streak across the +face where the dirt had been scraped away. As they had not washed their +faces since they left the _Fram_, there was a thick covering of dirt on +them, and the bear's claw, as it passed over Johansen's face, had +scraped this away, leaving the white skin to show through. The bear was +a mother, and had two cubs following it. The explorers took away the +skin and some of the meat, the cubs meanwhile standing some distance +away whining and growling. A shot was fired which wounded one, whereupon +they made off, though only to return and follow the travellers in the +distance, until a wide, long channel turned them back. + +When the stores had been repacked, the two men, with the two dogs, +entered the kayaks and paddled away down the channel, landing some hours +later on the other side. The land they had first seen appeared to be the +outlying point of an island, but growing mists obscured it for a day or +so, and in the meantime they were somewhat puzzled to locate it. The +fact that their watches had stopped earlier on the journey made them +uncertain as to the exact locality they were in. The direction in which +they had noticed the land, and its appearance, also puzzled them, for +there was no land marked on their map at the place where they believed +they were. Possibly they might be near a hitherto undiscovered island, +and with that thought uppermost in their minds they hastened forward as +quickly as the broken character of the ice would allow. For the +remainder of June, and the whole of July, they were battling against +broken ice and irregular channels, and the distance covered was as +nothing compared with the amount of toil experienced. The land, whenever +it appeared, was still unlike anything previously recorded, for it now +seemed to be of considerable extent. + +On August 6 they came upon a stretch of open water, on the other side of +which they saw four islands, the heights of which were covered with +glacier. They determined that they would winter on the shore of one of +the four, and the kayaks were launched and laden with everything for the +journey across the open water. It was more perilous than merely crossing +channels in the ice, and when they had stored all their provisions, +weapons, and other necessaries on the two frail little craft, they found +that it would not be safe to carry the dogs as well. But they could not +bring themselves to leave the faithful creatures on the ice; they +elected rather to shoot them, scanty as their supply of ammunition was, +and upon this decision they acted, each one shooting the dog which had +been the other's comrade. It was the saddest task that their +difficulties had imposed upon them, and only the absolute necessity for +their safety and the completion of their journey induced them to do it. + +Sailing down the open water, they skirted along the coast of the strange +land, on the lookout for a favourable spot to pitch their camp. As soon +as they came to a place which recommended itself to them, they ran +ashore and landed their kayaks and stores. The place was merely a +barren, rocky coast, sheltered somewhat by the high ground behind, but +without a trace of vegetation. On the beach one piece of drift-wood was +found. In addition, there were plenty of small boulders, but such +material was scarcely sufficient for the building of a hut in which to +pass the dreary, cold, dark winter. + +They overhauled their stores, and found they possessed two guns, some +cartridges, a small hatchet, and two knives. With the hatchet, after +considerable labour, they cut through the piece of drift-wood, and +rejoiced in the possession of a suitable ridge-pole for the centre of +the roof. Stones were collected and built into a low wall, within which +all their property, except the guns, kayaks, and knives, was placed. +Then, with the unstored articles, they set out along the coast and the +floating ice to seek the wherewithal to complete the house. + +Walrus was the first essential, for the hide would afford a covering +for the roof, the blubber would furnish fuel for the stove, and the meat +would be useful as food. They spied two lying at the edge of a piece of +ice, and approaching with the utmost caution, succeeded in shooting +both. Their weight, however, as they fell over, caused them to slide +from the ice, and they were in the water before the men could reach +them. They secured the carcases, so as to prevent them from either +sinking or drifting away, and essayed to haul them up on to the ice +again so as to remove the hides and blubber. But the combined strength +of the two men was insufficient to pull one of the huge carcases up on +to the ice again, and they were compelled to strip the skin and blubber +off as the walrus lay in the water. This necessitated their lying upon +the floating carcases, and by the time the operation was completed, +their already travel-stained clothing was rendered still more +uncomfortable by being saturated with blood and fat. + +Returning to the camp with their walrus hides and blubber, they explored +the ridge lying behind the spot, and were fortunate in finding some +moss, which they carefully gathered and carried away to assist in the +building of the hut. The walls they had made of the stones allowed for +an internal space of about ten feet long by not quite six feet wide. The +crevices between the stones they filled in with moss and gravel, and +then stretching the walrus hides over the ridge-pole, they weighted +them down with more stones. Over all of it they heaped snow and ice, and +in order to avoid suffocation by the smoke of their blubber cooking +stove, they constructed an ice-chimney, which, however, did not always +carry off the smoke, while it frequently thawed at the base, and made +the interior very draughty. Their guns, _ski_, and other articles and +stores, they placed inside the hut, leaving the kayaks outside; and when +everything was stored conveniently, they built a wall as a screen to +keep the wind from out of the door, and hung a curtain of skins across +the doorway. The floor of the hut was composed of stones which no +ingenuity of theirs could render smooth or even, and upon it their +sleeping-bag, the fur of which was almost worn entirely away, was +stretched. + +As soon as the hut was finished the two set out on foot in search of +bears for winter provisions, and were happy in finding sufficient to +enable them to fill their larder with enough meat to last them well into +the following summer. This they stored on the top of the hut, and during +the long winter night they often heard foxes over their heads gnawing at +the frozen mass. They had not enough cartridges to waste on shooting +them, and as there was more meat than they would want, they let the +foxes feed in peace. Bear's meat, fried at night and boiled in the +morning, was the only food they had; when the long dark night set in, +with the temperature inside the hut barely above freezing point, they +lay in their sleeping-bag side by side, generally for twenty-two hours +out of the twenty-four. The inside of the walrus-hide roof became +covered with frost and ice, upon which the black from the blubber-fed +stove settled; the stone floor was so uneven that they gave up trying to +make it smooth, and lay as comfortably as they could under the +circumstances, with their feet nearly touching one side of the hut and +their heads the other. From November until the following March they were +undisturbed, except by the sounds of the foxes on the roof and the +howling of the wind, and a picturesque glimpse is given by Nansen of +their life in his diary entry made on December 24, 1895, when the +temperature inside the hut was 11 deg. below zero. + +"And this is Christmas Eve; cold and blowy out of doors, and cold and +draughty indoors. How desolate it is here! We have never had such a +Christmas before. The bells are now ringing in the Christmas festival at +home; I can hear the sound of them swinging out through the air from the +church towers. How beautiful it sounds! Now the candles are being lit on +the Christmas trees, and flocks of children are let in and dance round +in exuberant glee. Must have a Christmas party for children when I get +home. We, too, are keeping the festival in our little way. Johansen has +turned his shirt, and has put the outer one inside. I have done the +same, and have changed my drawers as well, and put on the others which I +had wrung out in warm water. And then I have washed myself in a quarter +of a cup of warm water, using the discarded drawers as sponge and towel. +I feel like a new being; my clothes do not stick to my body as much as +they did. Then for supper we had fish 'gratin,' made of potted fish and +Indian meal, with train-oil for butter--fried or boiled both equally +dry--and as sweets we had bread fried in train-oil. To-morrow morning we +are going to have chocolate and bread." + +Where a turned shirt and a bath in a tea-cup formed the physical +luxuries, and bread fried in train-oil and chocolate comprised the +feast, in celebration of Christmas Day, it is not difficult to picture +the amount of enjoyment available for every-day use, nor is it difficult +to understand that they sighed even for a railway time-table to peruse. +But yet they kept their health, their spirits, and their tempers. The +rough stones under their sleeping-bag seem to have been the only thing +they could not turn into a jest. When one snored too loudly to allow the +other to sleep, it was only necessary for the victim to move; they lay +so close together for warmth that a movement was equal to a dig in the +back, and that meant waking the snorer by changing his position on the +knobbly boulders from ease to discomfort. + +At length the approach of the sun became manifest by the gradually +brightening twilight, and the arrival of a flock of little auks reminded +them that spring was at hand. They celebrated the occasion by boiling +their clothes, one article at a time, in the only pot they possessed, +and then scraping the grease and dirt from them by the aid of a knife, +so as to render them soft enough for travelling, as it was beyond the +question to get them clean. The sooty smoke from the winter's cooking +had thoroughly begrimed their faces, and all they could do to get clean +was first to try and scrape the dirt off with the knife, and then rub +themselves all over with bear's grease and wipe it off with moss. + +By the middle of May the water along the shore was sufficiently open to +permit of their starting in the kayaks on the journey which they +expected would end at Spitzbergen. On May 19, 1896, they bade adieu to +their winter camp, having packed everything on the kayaks, which they +fastened together for convenience and stability. Sometimes they had to +get out on to the ice which blocked the channel and drag the kayaks over +to the open water on the other side; sometimes they sailed and sometimes +they paddled. They passed numbers of walrus lying on the ice, the great +monsters paying no heed to them whatever. Once they landed on a mass of +ice which rose high out of the water, in order to climb to the top of it +and examine the coast line, for they were still in very great doubt +whether they were off the shore of a hitherto undiscovered island or +not. + +They made the kayaks fast to a projecting piece of ice, and together +climbed up to the top of the hummocks. As they reached the summit they +looked back to the spot where they had left the kayaks, and were +horrified to see them adrift. Already they were some distance away from +the ice, and, being tied together, they were going rapidly down the +channel. For a moment the sight held the two men motionless, for the +kayaks represented their only means of escape. Everything beyond the +clothes in which they stood was stored on board, and to be left on the +ice without food, arms, or shelter, was almost certain death. + +There was only one desperate means of salvation, and that Nansen took. +Dashing down the hummock, he plunged into the ice-cold water and struck +out after the retreating kayaks. + +Weighted by his stiff, heavy, grease-sodden clothes, he had the utmost +difficulty in swimming at all; but there was a greater handicap even +than his clothes in the low temperature of the water. It struck through +him with a chill which reached to his bones, numbing his muscles, and +making his joints lose their suppleness. The breeze which was blowing +helped the kayaks along, but only increased his discomfort. Soon he felt +that the fight was only a matter of minutes for as the coldness numbed +him more and more, he realised that unless he overtook the kayaks +quickly he would go to the bottom like a stone. The cold penetrated to +his lungs, so that he gasped for breath; his hands and feet lost all +feeling, and his eyes were growing blurred as he nerved himself for a +final desperate struggle. Swimming as hard as his strength of will and +muscle could command, he succeeded in coming within touch of the light +drifting craft. The fact that the two were fastened together was of the +utmost importance under the circumstances, for had they been separate he +could never have clambered into one in his benumbed and exhausted +condition. As it was, he managed to get one arm over the _ski_ which +formed the coupling between the kayaks. His hands were too cold to grip +and he hung for a few seconds resting, till the growing chill in his +limbs warned him of the danger he was in of becoming frozen. With a +superb effort of determination, he raised himself until he was able to +lift a leg over the side of one of the kayaks, and then struggled on +board, where he lay for a minute or so trying to recover his breath. + +Still fearing the cold, he grasped a paddle and set to work vigorously +to force the kayaks back to the ice on which Johansen was standing. The +exertion caused his blood to circulate once more, and, by the time he +had reached the ice, the deadly chill was out of his frame. There were +no dry clothes to put on in place of his wet ones, and all that could be +done was to wring them out, and then, working hard to keep up his +circulation, wait till they dried on his back. + +In order to prevent another such occurrence, the kayaks were freed from +each other, Nansen occupying one with half the provisions and stores, +and Johansen the other. Two days after the break away they had reason to +be thankful they had made this arrangement. They were skirting along the +ice at the time, and suddenly came upon a herd of walrus. Instead of +quietly watching them go past, as was usually the case, a huge bull slid +off the ice with a roar, and swam rapidly towards Nansen's kayak. + +Diving as he came near to it, Nansen anticipated that he intended rising +immediately underneath it, and so capsizing it. He therefore paddled as +hard as he could, when the walrus rose by his side. It reared high out +of the water, towering over the kayak and its occupant, and only by the +quickest of manoeuvres was Nansen able to avoid having it fall upon him. +Baulked in that attempt, the walrus swam alongside and, plunging its +tusks through the frail covering of the kayak, strove to upset it with +its flipper. + +Nansen swung his paddle in the air, and bringing it down with all his +strength on the monster's head, caused it again to rear in the water. +Paddling furiously directly the brute's tusks were withdrawn, he +managed to elude it till it sank, when he made for the ice, reaching it +just in time, the water having almost swamped the kayak through the +holes the walrus had made with his tusks. + +When the damaged kayak was taken out of the water, the injury was found +to be more extensive than at first supposed. The two explorers +determined to stay where they were for a few days, so as to thoroughly +overhaul and repair their kayaks, and have a good rest before commencing +the difficult journey which was to be negotiated before they could +arrive at Spitzbergen. They made as comfortable a camp as they could on +the ice, and, after supper, got into the sleeping-bag and rested +peacefully. Nansen was first awake, and, having crept out of the bag, +set to work preparing breakfast. It was ready before Johansen was, and +not wishing to disturb his comrade, Nansen put on his _ski_ and set out +for a "constitutional" over the ice. He had not proceeded far when he +heard a sound which made his heart jump. It was the bark of a dog. + +Hurrying back, he told Johansen, and then set out in the direction +whence the sound had come, in search of, as he believed, a whaling ship. +He had not gone very far when he saw in the distance two moving specks. +There was evidently a whaler in the neighbourhood, he told himself, and +redoubled his efforts. As he approached the two specks they became +clearer, until he saw distinctly that one was a man and the other a +dog. + +The man noticed him and waved his hat, to which Nansen replied by waving +his; as they came nearer, he heard the man speak to his dog in English. + +"How do you do?" he said to Nansen when they met. + +"How do you do?" Nansen answered, as they shook hands. "Are you +wintering near here?" + +"Yes; our camp is over there. Won't you come across?" the other replied. +"I think we can find room for you, if you will." + +Nansen, never dreaming but that he was recognised, assented, although he +wondered why the man did not ask him about the _Fram_. Presently his +companion looked at him closely and said: "Are you Nansen?" + +"Of course I am," the explorer answered, and at once both his hands were +clasped in a hearty grasp as his companion quickly expressed his +congratulations. + +"I was not certain," he explained. "When I saw you in London you were a +fair man with light hair, but now your face and hair are black, and for +the moment I did not know you. My name is Jackson." + +[Illustration: THE MEETING OF JACKSON AND NANSEN. + +Nansen and Jackson returned to Norway in the _Windward_, the ship of the +Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition, on August 13, 1896.] + +Nansen had forgotten that his face and hair were still begrimed with the +dirt and grease of months of travel, and that his own family might have +been forgiven for not recognising in the unkempt, travel-stained, +long-haired man, the smart, well-set-up Norwegian doctor. Now, however, +that he was known, he listened with great interest to the information +that his companion, Mr. F. G. Jackson, leader of the Jackson-Harmsworth +expedition, was able to give him. When they reached the encampment of +the party on Cape Flora, every one turned out in answer to the leader's +call and gave the intrepid explorer a characteristic British greeting. +Then they photographed him, as he stood, before they took him into the +house and supplied him with the luxury he had not known for more than a +year--of a cake of soap and a change of clothes. + +While he was enjoying his bath, his hosts exchanged opinions. The fact +that he had arrived on foot and alone suggested to them the idea that he +was the only survivor of the thirteen who had set out in the _Fram_, and +they decided to make no reference to what might be a very unhappy +memory. Consequently, when Nansen reappeared, clean and comfortably +clad, they had a meal ready for him, and urged him to set to at once. He +looked at them and asked where his comrade Johansen was. Had they not +brought him in? Of course they knew nothing about Johansen; they +believed Nansen was the only survivor, and he had been so long out of +the world that it had never occurred to him it was necessary to tell +them Johansen was waiting for him to return to breakfast. When two men +see no one else but themselves for more than a year, it is not to be +wondered at that they forget the rest of the world is not in touch with +them. + +As soon as he mentioned the fact that Johansen was in the neighbourhood, +a party at once started off to fetch him, and the worthy lieutenant was +as much surprised as they had been when they came upon him. They at once +took charge of him and his belongings, and a few hours later he and +Nansen, well washed, well clad, and well fed, were smoking cigars in +comfortable chairs in the dining-room of the hospitable Jackson's +quarters, the heroes of the occasion. + +Three weeks later they were sailing south to Norway in the _Windward_, +and arrived at Vardo on August 13, 1896. A week later the _Fram_ entered +the same port, with all her crew in good health, and with nearly three +years' supplies still on board. + +The record of her voyage, after the departure of Nansen and Johansen on +March 14, 1895, was very satisfactory. She drifted steadily in the ice +towards the north-west until she touched as high as 85 deg. 57' N. At the +end of February 1896 she became stationary, and remained so until the +middle of July, when the crew forced a passage through the ice into open +water, and from thence the _Fram_ sailed to Norway. The first news the +crew received on arrival at Vardo was that Nansen and Johansen had +reached there just a week before. They had had some misgivings as to +the safety of their two adventurous comrades, and the news of their +return cleared away the only sign of uneasiness from the otherwise happy +minds of the men who formed one of the most successful expeditions that +has ever set out in search of the North Pole. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +FRANZ JOSEF LAND AND SPITZBERGEN + + The Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition--Object of the Expedition--An + Interesting Experiment--The Franz Josef Land Question settled--A + Group of Islands, not a Continent--Conway at Spitzbergen--Ancient + History--Bygone Splendours--Scenery in the Making--The Romance of + Andree--Another Riddle. + + +The interest and admiration aroused by the brilliant achievements of the +Nansen expedition eclipsed in the public mind, for the time being, the +work of other and contemporary expeditions, the members of which, +nevertheless, were doing admirable service to the cause of science in +and about the Arctic Circle. Prominent among these may be mentioned the +Jackson-Harmsworth expedition to Franz Josef Land (whose presence there +was of such signal service to Nansen and Johansen when, as is related in +the preceding chapter, they emerged from their historic dash for the +Pole), the Conway exploration of Spitzbergen, and the aeronautical +attempt to reach the Pole made by Herr Andree. + +The Jackson-Harmsworth expedition left London on July 11, 1894, in the +steam yacht _Windward_, Captain Browne, for Franz Josef Land, and +comprised the leader, Mr. Frederick G. Jackson; Lieutenant Armitage, +R.N.R., astronomer; Dr. Kottlitz, medical officer; Mr. W. S. Bruce, +zoologist; and Messrs. Wilton and Heywood. A complete outfit, with +stores and provisions for three years was taken. It is an interesting +fact that this undertaking was the first instance of an individual +London newspaper proprietor displaying the generous enterprise which +owners of great American journals had already shown. Lord Northcliffe +(then Mr. Alfred Harmsworth) contributed to the expedition the most +necessary factor for a prolonged stay in the Arctic regions, the sinews +of war. + +On arrival at Franz Josef Land, a site for the camp was selected near +Cape Flora, and the camp, to which the name Elmwood was given, was laid +out. It consisted of a Russian log-house and several canvas houses, as +the first intention was to lodge the members in the canvas structures. +But very little experience showed that canvas was not the most +comfortable material for residential purposes in Arctic regions, so the +whole party moved into the log-house, using the canvas structures for +warehousing stores. Here they lived during the three years that the +expedition was away, and so well off were they that during the whole +period not one member had a day's illness. As the leader said on his +return to England in 1897, "a jollier, healthier, and busier little +community never existed." They were always busy, and every moment of the +day was occupied. Even in the dark winter period they found constant +employment for their hands and minds. + +In the high latitude where they were the sun set for the last time about +the middle of October, and was not again visible until the latter end of +February. From the day the sun went below the horizon until the middle +of November there was about a couple of hours faint twilight at "noon," +but, after that, midday and midnight were not to be distinguished by any +change in the light of the sky. It was always dark. + +During this period, when the members were in winter quarters, they kept +very regular hours. At 8.30 A.M. they had breakfast, and when the meal +was over each one took up some part of the household duties--washing the +dishes, making the beds, sweeping the rooms, feeding the dogs, and such +like. Unless the weather was very stormy, a couple of hours was spent in +exercise over the snow on _ski_, or if the weather was too inclement to +allow them to go far away, they spent the two hours in exercising round +the house. At 2 P.M. they gathered again round the dining-table and +partook of tea, bread and butter, and cheese, spending the afternoon in +making tents and harness for the sledge dogs, or anything else that was +wanted. At 7.30 P.M. they had dinner, passing the remainder of the +evening in reading, smoking, games, &c., until 11.30 P.M., when they +retired to their bunks. + +Of food they always had plenty, living very largely on the game killed. +During the last winter they were at Elmwood a chief article of diet was +an Arctic bird, the loon. Great numbers of these visited the islands in +the mild seasons, and in the autumn before the expedition returned 1400 +were shot and frozen for winter food. As the loons only arrive during +the mild season and disappear as soon as winter sets in, Mr. Jackson, in +the last autumn he was at Elmwood, caught a number both of loons and +kittiwakes, and having attached a copper label to each, with the letter +J. engraved upon it, liberated the lot. By this means it is hoped to +learn where the birds go to in the winter, for should any bird bearing a +copper label be shot in Scotland, Norway, or elsewhere, it will show +where their refuge is situated. + +The primary object of the expedition was to make a complete exploration +of Franz Josef Land, which was formerly considered to be merely the +southern extremity of a vast tract of land, possibly a second Greenland, +and extending up towards the Pole. The result of the three years' work +was to effectually disprove this opinion by showing that in place of a +continent there was only a group of small scattered islands. Various +voyagers had returned from time to time and reported observations of +land in the locality, with high mountain ranges. Gillies Land, Petermann +Land, and King Oscar Land all had existence on the maps; but the +Jackson-Harmsworth party could only find scattered islands where the +coast of Franz Josef Land was charted, and hummocks of piled-up ice +where mountain ridges had been seen. Of Gillies Land, Petermann Land, +and King Oscar Land no trace could be found. When the expedition went on +board the _Windward_ to return to England, the vessel steamed north-west +for fifty miles without seeing any indication of land, the water being +open and with less ice than would have been probable had land been near. +And yet they were in the locality where Gillies Land was marked on the +chart. A journey was also made to within ten miles of the spot where +Eastern Johannessen Land was placed on the chart, but no signs of land +were visible, although the weather was clear at the time. + +During the three years spent at Elmwood, exploring and surveying +journeys were frequent in the mild seasons, and the arduous nature of +the work done is well shown in the account of the last two journeys +undertaken prior to returning to England. On March 16, 1897, a party +consisting of Jackson and Armitage, with sledges, thirteen dogs, a pony, +and a canoe, set out from the log-house with the intention of going +round the western side of Franz Josef Land in order to define its +limits. From the start they had to face stormy weather, while the snow +was both deep and soft, and the ice rough and treacherous. After a +fortnight's travelling, during which they came upon a hitherto +undiscovered headland and fjord, they rounded the north-eastern +extremity of the western land. Continuing their journey westward, they +had to battle against the severity of the weather, the temperature going +as low as 40 deg. below zero, and proving disastrous to the animals. By +April 7 nearly all the dogs were dead, and progress was very slow and +difficult. Three days later the nature of the ice along the shores +compelled them to turn inland, and they had to make the best of their +way over glaciated land 1500 feet high. Out to sea there was open water, +and as they progressed they found that the water was free from ice right +up to the glacier face. Then the pony died, and with only their +diminished team of dogs to haul, they were obliged to abandon everything +that was not absolutely necessary to maintain them during the remainder +of their journey. The weather grew worse and worse, and for days they +were surrounded by thick heavy mists, with strong gales and drifting +snow. They tried to find a way along the shore, leaving the high glacier +summit, but what ice there was on the coast was breaking up so rapidly +that they were compelled once more to climb to the high level, +abandoning the canoe, as there was no chance of their being able to use +it. + +While regaining the higher level, they came upon the only bear met with +during the whole journey, and they were careful not to allow him to +escape, his flesh and fat being welcome additions to their stock of +food and fuel. The gales now became more severe, until they found it +impossible to travel when one was blowing. Consequently they had to +press forward as fast and as far as they could in between the blows, and +on one occasion were marching for twenty-four hours at a stretch. The +ice was also terribly trying, and so rough was it in places that they +frequently had to go three times over the same track before they could +find a way over or round some awkward obstacle. At one time they were +pushing across the ice of a bay, when they were suddenly stopped by the +ice opening on to free water, and, after retracing their steps, they had +to climb and haul their stores up the steep sides of the glacier to the +summit, forty-five feet above the sea-level. + +When they set out, it was arranged that a relief party should meet them +at Bell Island the third week in April, but so many delays had been +caused that they were not able to reach the rendezvous until a fortnight +after the time fixed. The relief party had been waiting for them, +considerably anxious at their non-appearance. In the two months they had +been travelling, they had had only thirteen and a half fine days. + +After returning to Elmwood and resting for ten days, the two again set +out to the eastward. They were travelling over the ice, on the second +day out, when it gave way under the sledge. They lost all their stores +and equipment, and saturated their cartridges. They had at once to turn +back, but the ice was growing so thin that they had great difficulty in +reaching the shore. For nearly twenty-six hours they had to keep +marching before they covered the forty-two miles which lay between the +scene of their disaster and Elmwood. This was the last journey +undertaken prior to their departure in the _Windward_ for England a +month or so later. + +The account of the achievements of this expedition would be incomplete +were no mention made of two open-water discoveries. One was that of the +British Channel, an open-water tract extending from the islands into an +open sea, which formed the second discovery, and was named Queen +Victoria Sea in honour of the then reigning sovereign. This sea was +observed to be free from ice all the time the expedition was on the +islands, and the information thus obtained was of considerable service +to the Italian explorers who, a few years later, made an ineffectual +dash to reach the Pole over the ice-fields. + +Further valuable information was obtained by geological observations of +the islands. These demonstrated that the islands were an archipelago, +formed from the remains of a fairly extensive tableland, the surface of +which was composed of basalt so similar in character as to be almost +identical with the basalts of the north of Scotland. To the scientific +mind this suggests that at one time these far-outlying islands were +connected with lands from which they are now separated by enormous +stretches of sea, and were subject, in that distant period, to the same +volcanic outbursts and covered by the same basaltic flows that resulted. +It must have been a period of enormous volcanic activity, for the beds +of basalt overlying the fossil-bearing strata averaged six hundred feet +in thickness, while evidence of successive flows is found in the +existence of sedimentary fossil-bearing rocks sandwiched between layers +of basalt. + +Raised beaches were frequently noticed. In one case, on a beach fifty +feet above the present sea-level, a pine tree, evidently of considerable +age and about twenty feet in length, was found where it had obviously +been thrown up by the tide in the bygone years when the beach formed the +shore of the sea. Under this beach there was a bed of sandstone showing +fossils of plant remains, while above it towered basalt cliffs five +hundred feet high. Lignite and bituminous shale were met with in the +sandstone under the basalt, and, in muddy stretches of country, horns +and other remains of reindeer were found, though there are no living +representatives of these animals now on the islands. Among the fossils +brought away was one of a plant long since extinct in all parts of the +world save Japan, where the tree is still a flourishing variety. + +While Franz Josef Land was being explored and mapped, a private +expedition formed by Sir Martin Conway visited Spitzbergen. It was this +island which Sir John Franklin advocated should be the base of +operations for an expedition to the Pole. The reason for this opinion +was the belief that Spitzbergen was merely the most southerly point of a +chain of islands, if not of an island continent, stretching away to the +north. A similar idea, held in regard to Franz Josef Land, was dispelled +by the Jackson-Harmsworth expedition; the information which was made +available on the return of the Conway party also dispelled the Franklin +view. + +Curiously enough the objective of the expedition is one of the most +anciently discovered lands in the Arctic regions, and one that has a +history full of incident; yet the interior was unknown to man from the +time of its discovery in the sixteenth century to the time when Sir +Martin Conway and his companions pushed their way in from the coast. +Owing to the tail-end of the Gulf Stream reaching as far as its shores, +the seas round Spitzbergen are freer from ice than any other seas in +equally high latitudes. Situated in from 80 deg. to 82 deg. N., the group of +islands, to which the single name is given, was first discovered by two +Dutch navigators, Barendszoon and Heemskirk, who, in the year 1596, were +trying to find a way of reaching China through the Arctic Sea. Eleven +years later, Hudson sailed among the islands while trying for a northern +route to the Indies. Failing in his attempt to get round by the north, +he returned to Spitzbergen and saw how the waters were literally teeming +with whales, walrus, seals, and other oil-giving animals. A flourishing +fishery was started, and for years proved a bone of contention among the +various maritime nations. No one country caring to annex the islands, +they were practically a no-man's land, where each little colony of +fishers were as a law unto themselves, though not necessarily to any one +else. Consequently fights were frequent and much ill-will engendered, +until the Dutch and the British Governments stepped in and came to a +mutual understanding on the matter. About this time the fishery trade +was so important that one colony numbered over 20,000 inhabitants during +the season; but it was not a settled population, and a few years after +the understanding had been arrived at, the colony was deserted owing to +the ruthless slaughter of all marine animals having practically +exterminated them in the vicinity. From that time the islands have been +neglected, save for the occasional visits of a few trappers, until Sir +Martin Conway and his companions penetrated to the interior, and came +back with so many delightful experiences that an enterprising company +was formed to make this snow-laden district a place for summer resort. + +[Illustration: THE FRONT EDGE OF KING'S GLACIER, WESTERN SPITZBERGEN. + +The thickness of the ice showing above the sea-level is about 100 feet. + +_Photo by E. J. Garwood._] + +From a geological point of view the main island is full of interest, +for the interior, which is characterised by mountain chains and rugged +peaks, is covered with ice, and is sending down glaciers to the coast, +where they come under the influence of the warmth generated by the Gulf +Stream and rapidly melt. The result is that the constant rush of +torrents from the melting glaciers and snowfields is carving out valleys +and river-ways, and stripping away mountain sides to make coastal plains +so rapidly as to form an admirable object-lesson of physical geography +in the making. + +During the season Sir Martin Conway and his companions spent on the +island they set a record for energy and achievement. They spent +thirty-six days in the interior, sleeping either in small tents or in +the open, the one being little different to the other, for the tents +never kept the rain out and rarely the snow. Then they voyaged in a +twelve-ton steamer up and down the coast for a distance of something +like a thousand miles, though the steamer cabin was so small a place +that when all the five members of the party were down below together, +only one of them could stand up at a time. By the date their trip had +ended they had crossed the island four times, had made thirteen mountain +ascents, had made a rough survey of six hundred square miles of country, +had steamed a thousand miles among heavy ice along coasts, through +straits, and up bays, for the most part never before visited, and had +located innumerable streams, hills, and glaciers. + +More romantic and mysterious, but less replete with scientific value, +ranks the expedition of Herr Andree, perhaps the most novel of all +Arctic expeditions, inasmuch as it was undertaken by balloon. The idea +which actuated Herr Andree in his enterprise was to utilise the current +of air which, in July, almost invariably blows over Dane's Island to the +North. Being an experienced balloonist, he realised that, could he once +rise into that current in a balloon, he would be carried right across +the Polar region in a few days. From the balloon car he would be able to +observe the character of the region below him, and set at rest the +question whether perpetual ice, open water, or land, occupied the +extreme northerly spot of the world's surface. + +With two companions, Dr. Strindberg and Herr Fraenkel, and a specially +prepared balloon, an attempt was made to get away in July 1896, but was +unsuccessful, and the start was postponed for a year. In July 1897 the +members of the expedition were again ready, and on July 11 they were cut +loose and floated away out of sight to the North. Since then no +authentic news has been heard of them. + +They went away prepared to face a long detention in the frozen world. In +the car of the balloon they carried weapons, ammunition, and material +wherewith to build a shelter, should the balloon collapse and leave +them on the ice. An aluminium boat was also carried, so that the party +could escape by sea if necessary. Several carrier pigeons were taken, +and were to be liberated at intervals on the passage; but although one +pigeon is said to have been shot in the Far North, it is doubtful +whether it was one of the Andree birds. + +The balloon, when it went out of sight, was travelling at a speed which +would have carried it over the Pole in a few days, and probably have +enabled it to descend in Siberia in about a week. For the first +fortnight after it had started, therefore, interest all over the world +was keenly excited for further news. But the fortnight passed without +any reliable intelligence being received, and a month followed, and so +on until a year had gone by. Then relief and search parties were talked +about, and the Swedish Geographical Society sent one out to look for the +missing balloonists in Siberia. It did not meet with Andree, nor did it +obtain any reliable information respecting him. News was certainly +published in every civilised country to the effect that some outlying +hunting tribes had come upon a huge bag, having a mass of cordage +attached to it, together with the remains of some human bodies. The +Russian, Swedish, and Norwegian Governments immediately sent forward +auxiliary search parties, but their only success was to trace the origin +of the report, and find that a Siberian trader had, in a moment of +mischievous humour, hoaxed a too confiding telegraph agent. + +Later, on September 12th, 1899, a Swedish sloop, the _Martha_, reached +Hammerfest with the information that a buoy, branded with the name of +the Andree expedition, had been found to the north-east of King Charles +Islands. The buoy had lost the screw plug from the top, and had been so +damaged by coming in contact with some hard substance that the interior +cylinder was too dented to permit of an examination being made of the +inside. + +Andree was well supplied with these buoys, and at any time one may be +discovered containing a record of his doings from the moment he +disappeared with his balloon sailing towards the north. It is not +likely; it is scarcely probable that any sign will ever be discovered of +the balloon or its occupants. For years the frozen North held all traces +of the Franklin expedition from the eyes of the searchers who were able +to conduct their operations along the route they knew Franklin had +followed. No search party can knowingly follow the route Andree and his +comrades took. Their fate will probably be for ever a mystery, for so +many things might have happened that no one theory can claim for itself +more probability than another. All that is certain is that the party +went out of sight drifting towards the north. They carried their lives +in their hands, and knew that they did so. Had they succeeded, they +would have achieved a mighty triumph; they failed, and in doing so set +their names as indelibly on the scroll of Fame as any hero who has laid +down his life in the contest with the measureless mystery of the Pole. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE POLAR METEORITES + + Eskimo Iron--A Mystery of 1818--Search and Failure--Peary and his + Huskies--The Secret revealed--An Eskimo Legend--At the Iron + Mountain--Removing the Trophies--A Massive Giant--Attack and + Defence--The Giant Objects--A Narrow Escape--Conquered. + + +When Captain Ross was in the Arctic regions in the year 1818, he +encountered, in Melville Bay, a tribe of Eskimos who lived near Cape +York, entirely cut off from communication with all other tribes, and who +had not, so far as he could learn, ever met white men before. He was, +therefore, astounded to find them in possession of iron implements. +These consisted of rudely made knives, the cutting edges of which were +fashioned out of very hard iron; harpoons and spears, tipped with iron +points. Questioning the natives as to how they had become possessed of +the iron, they explained that it had been obtained from what they termed +the "iron mountain" on the coast near the bay. Ross sought for the +mountain, and tried to induce the Eskimo to tell him exactly where it +was situated, but failed in each case. He secured some of the iron +knives and spear heads, and, on his return to Great Britain, the +articles were submitted to analysis, when the metal was found to contain +a percentage of nickel mixed with the iron. + +Considerable curiosity was excited over the matter, and every succeeding +British exploration party proceeding to the Arctic kept a sharp lookout +for any trace of iron in the possession of Eskimo which could not have +been obtained from whalers or visiting ships, as well as making every +inquiry in order to ascertain where the mysterious iron mountain was +situated. In no instance were they successful, and the question where +the Cape York Eskimo had obtained their supply of iron became one of the +riddles of the North. + +When Peary went to the neighbourhood of Cape York to establish the +station from whence he started on his brilliant march across the +ice-cap, he came closely in contact with the tribe of Eskimo living +there. The members of this tribe, isolated from the world and out of +communication with all their kindred tribes, were, he felt assured, the +descendants of those with whom Ross was associated earlier in the +century. In his successive visits to the place Peary became on very +friendly terms with the people, and gained their confidence in a way +that no other explorer had yet done. This is hardly to be wondered at, +when it is remembered that his presence among them, from time to time, +raised them from the stress of hardship and poverty, often starvation +itself, into a happy, well-to-do, and, for an Eskimo tribe, prosperous +community. When he first went among them, the man who owned a wooden +shaft for his harpoon was regarded as a rich man, while the woman who +had a steel sail-needle was an heiress for whose hand the bravest and +best strove in fierce rivalry. The possession of a gun was beyond the +wildest dreams of the most imaginative, just as the possession of a +steel knife was the highest glory to which ambition aspired. When Peary +left his encampment, at the end of his first visit, the timber of the +house and fittings left behind alone made the tribe wealthy, for they +believed the world must have been ransacked to bring so much wood +together; while the distribution of needles, knives, scissors, and such +like trifles, changed the whole status of the people and made them rich +beyond their fondest hopes. + +On the next visit, Peary took some guns and ammunition for the leading +men of the tribe, and there was then nothing they were not prepared to +do for their benefactor. They worked, hunted, acted as guides, +porters--anything, in fact, the white men wanted them to do. It was at +this time Peary sought for information about the mysterious iron +mountain, and, as may be expected, got it. + +First he was told the story of the origin of the iron, a story they had +had from their fathers, as those fathers, in their turn, had had it from +theirs. The iron lay across the bay where a high peak stood out against +the sky, pointing the way to the Saviksoahs. These--the "Iron +Ones"--rested on the mountain where they had fallen, ages and ages ago, +when they were thrown out of their village in the sky by Tornarsuk, the +enemy. There were three of them, a man, a woman, and a dog. The man was +deep in the ground, the woman partly so, and the dog lay on the surface. +As the woman fell, she sat up, and her head had first been seen. A +strange tribe came over the ice one year and, in greed, broke off the +head and sought to carry it away with them in their kayaks, so that they +should have a store of the iron always with them. But Tornarsuk would +not allow this to be, and as soon as the kayaks, lashed together to make +them strong enough to carry the head, were out in deep water, the head +plunged through them, sinking out of sight and smashing the kayaks so +that the men who were in them barely escaped with their lives. After +that no one tried to take away a larger supply of iron than they +actually wanted for knives and harpoon tips. Later, when whaler and +other ships came to the seas in the summer time, there was no need to go +to the Saviksoahs for iron, though all the tribes knew where they were. + +In the spring of 1894 Peary induced one of the tribe to lead him to the +place where the Saviksoahs were. The journey led them to a hill, on the +summit of which there was an overhanging mass of rock which justified +the Eskimo description of it. Describing the discovery, Peary wrote: +"After passing some five hundred yards up a narrow valley, Tallakotteah +began looking about until a bit of blue trap-rock, projecting above the +snow, caught his eyes. Kicking aside the snow, he exposed more pieces, +saying this was a pile of the stones used in pounding fragments from the +iron mountain. He then indicated a spot four or five feet distant, as +the location of the long-sought object. Returning to the sledge for the +saw-knife, he began excavating the snow, and at last, after digging a +pit, some three feet deep and five feet in diameter, just at 5.30 Sunday +morning, May 27, 1894, the brown mass, rudely awakened from its winter +sleep, found, for the first time in its cycles of existence, the eyes of +a white man gazing upon it." + +[Illustration: ESKIMO ARMS AND TOOLS. + +(a) Bow with Strings and Arrows. (b) Knives with Walrus Handles. (c) +Lance for Walrus and Bear. (d) Harpoon for Sealing. (e) Stone Axe with +Bone Handle. (f) Snow Knife with Walrus Teeth.] + +This was "the woman," a mass of meteoric iron weighing, as was +subsequently proved, three tons. Originally it was said to have been +twice that size, the removal of the "head" having considerably reduced +it, while in addition there had been generations of Eskimo chipping it +for knives and spear tips. The amount of iron which had been broken from +it in this way was shown by the pile of stones lying around it. The +Eskimo maintained that these stones had all been brought there by the +men who came for iron; but if that were true, the Saviksoah must have +been chipped for ages, judging by the accumulation of stones. + +About thirty yards away from the "woman" there lay the "dog," a smaller +mass weighing only half a ton. The "man" was some miles away, as became +his dignity and size, for he was found to be a mighty mass, one hundred +tons in weight, rugged in form, and so intractable when attempts were +made to move him, that his removal forms a tale so full of romance as +almost to suggest fiction. + +As it was late in the season when Peary's ship, the _Kite_, arrived, +there was only time to remove the "woman" and the "dog," the "man" being +located but untouched pending the return of another season. The removal +of the "dog" did not offer any great difficulty, and the "woman" was +levered out of the ground and conveyed to the ship on rollers without +giving more than the ordinary amount of trouble experienced in handling +heavy masses of inert material. Not so the "man." + +With the two smaller meteorites safely conveyed to New York, a return of +the _Kite_ to Melville Island to effect the removal of the "man" was +arranged. Accompanied by a party of scientists and an engineer, Peary +sailed north the following year and immediately attacked the problem of +excavating and placing on the _Kite_ the largest of the three masses. +The exact size was not at the time known, but as soon as the work of +excavation commenced it was obvious that the task in hand was much +greater than was anticipated. The portion first revealed was found to be +four feet in length, two feet high, and one and a half feet broad. This, +however, was merely a fin-like excrescence on the main mass, which, as +the excavation proceeded, was shown to measure twelve feet long by eight +feet in width, on the upper face, while a trench three feet round it did +not reach to the base. It was then realised that the task of +transferring such a huge mass from the place where it lay in the ground +to the ship was one requiring great engineering skill and the use of +appliances of much greater strength than the _Kite_ had brought with +her. The mass was about three hundred yards from high-water mark and +eighty feet above it. A shelf of rock ran out into the sea immediately +below the spot where the meteorite reposed, and the water was +sufficiently deep alongside the shelf to make it a natural pier or wharf +where the ship could make fast for the mass to be loaded on board, when +it had been moved from its resting-place and conveyed to the edge of the +sea. While the rocky pier was all that could be desired from the point +of view of loading, it was entirely unprotected from the ice which, in +the early approach of winter, rapidly accumulated in the bay. It was +clear, therefore, that the removal and shipment of the mass must be +carried out with rapidity if all risk of disaster were to be avoided. + +By the time the mass had been excavated and its full dimensions were +revealed, the season was too far advanced for any serious attempt being +made to get it on board the ship. It was estimated to weigh not less +than one hundred tons, while the rugged and angular form it presented +made it an extremely difficult object to handle. All the time available +was devoted to making the preliminary arrangements for the definite work +of removal in the following season, and, as soon as the ice began to +gather in the bay, the _Kite_ sailed back to the south. The meteorite +being so much larger than was anticipated, a larger vessel than the +_Kite_ was required to convey it to New York; it was also necessary to +have still heavier appliances wherewith to handle it. + +The following year, on board the _Hope_, Peary returned to the attack +and set to work to carry off his treasure. With the aid of the male +members of the Eskimo tribe, in addition to the men he had with him and +the crew of the steamer, the plan of operations was commenced. As Peary +wrote, in describing the experience: "The first thing to be done was to +tear the heavenly visitor from its frozen bed of centuries, and, as it +rose inch by inch under the resistless lift of the hydraulic jacks, +gradually displaying its ponderous sides, it grew upon us as Niagara +grows upon the observer, and there was not one of us unimpressed by the +enormousness of this lump of metal. The expressions of the Eskimo about +the Saviksoah (Great Iron) were low but earnest, and it, and the other +wonderful 'Great Irons' (the jacks) which could tear it from its bed, +awed them to the utmost." + +When it was out of the nest where it had rested so long, the method +adopted was to tilt it up from one side, by means of the jacks and steel +cables, until it stood on end, and then to force it over until its own +weight made it fall forward. The spectacle, as it fell, brought home to +the onlookers the enormous power it represented. As it slowly moved, the +stones lying immediately under it were ground into powder, and, as it +lurched forward, the hard masses of rock were rent and split, while a +shower of sparks burst from the meteorite itself wherever it came in +contact with a more than usually hard piece of rock. The irregularities +in its form added to the difficulties, for it was almost impossible to +secure firm holds for the jacks, and anything approaching a slip on the +part of the mass was tantamount to death or destruction to any one +within reach of it. Day and night the struggle went on, the mass seeming +to resist every inch of the way, settling itself into awkward corners +and crevices; cutting its way, as it fell, through the baulks of timber +set to form a bed for it; bending and notching steel rails, when they +were substituted for the wood; and generally giving as much trouble as +it was possible to give, almost to the extent of suggesting conscious +design. Hard as every one worked to win, the meteorite proved too much +for them, and it was only conveyed as far as the rocky pier where the +ship lay ready to take it on board when the ice came drifting into the +bay, and for another winter the meteorite had to be left in its frozen +habitat. + +"It was the last night of our stay at the island," Peary wrote, "a night +of such savage wildness as is possible only in the Arctic regions.... +The wild gale was howling out of the depths of Melville Bay through the +_Hope's_ rigging and the snow was driving in horizontal lines. The white +slopes of the hill down which the meteorite had been brought showed a +ghastly grey through the darkness; the fire, round which the fur-clad +forms of the Eskimo were grouped, spread its bright red glare for a +short distance; a little to one side was a faint glow of light through +the skin wall of a solitary tupik. Working about the meteorite was my +own little party, and, in the foreground, the central figure, the +_raison d'etre_ of it all, the 'Saviksoah,' the 'Iron Mountain,' +towering above the human figures about it and standing out, black and +uncompromising. While everything else was buried in snow, the Saviksoah +was unaffected. The great flakes vanished as they touched it, and the +effect was very impressive. It was as if the giant were saying, 'I am +apart from all things; I am heaven-born, and still carry in my heart +some of the warmth of those long-gone days before I was hurled upon +this frozen desert.' To strengthen this fancy that the meteorite still +held some of its celestial fire and feeling, if a sledge, ill aimed in +the darkness at wedge or block, chanced to strike it, a spouting jet of +scintillating sparks lit the gloom, and a deep note, sonorous as a bell, +a Polar tocsin, or the half-pained, half-enraged bellow of a lost soul, +answered the blow." + +Yet another year--1897--saw Peary again at work, this time with the +meteorite ready alongside the natural wharf. It was the month of August +that the _Hope_ made fast opposite the meteorite, but already the ice +had begun to drift into the bay, as though even that were going to +dispute the right of man to carry off the mighty trophy. Without loss of +a day, work was commenced and a bridge of huge timbers was constructed +along which to warp the mass from the shore on to the ship. The bridge +completed, forty-eight hours were consumed in getting the mass on to it. +The pressure of its enormous weight put so great a strain on the +woodwork that it visibly gave as the mass came on to it, and more than +once a collapse seemed imminent. Once a slip of less than an inch upset +the equilibrium of everything to such an extent that the stays and +supports were apparently within an ace of giving way. It was a curious +coincidence that this single slip occurred at a moment and a place +where, had anything given way, there was nothing to prevent the mass +rolling over the edge of the rock and sinking, presumably for ever, +into deep water. As it turned out, the slip was taken up in time to +avert disaster, and thereafter the mass was forced, slowly but surely, +on to the deck of the ship. + +The Eskimo were greatly disturbed at the spectacle of the meteorite +passing from the shore to the ship. They all left the vessel, saying +that even if it was forced on to the deck, directly it arrived there it +would smash its way through the vessel and plunge into the sea, carrying +the ship and all on board with it. From the time work was recommenced on +the task of removing the mass, storms and gales had persisted and the +sun had not been seen. The Eskimo were, therefore, deeply impressed +when, just as the Saviksoah reached the planking arranged for it above +the main hold and the tackles were cast loose, the sun shone out, a ray +falling from behind a cloud directly on the meteorite and changing it +from the dull brown-hued mass into a gleaming bronze. + +As though it had yielded itself to the inevitable, the meteorite gave no +further trouble. It was gradually lowered into the hold and wedged so +tightly into position that it was impossible for it to move, however +much the ship rolled or pitched. Fortunate it was this work was so well +done, for when the return journey was commenced the _Hope_ had to fight +her way through a series of the most severe gales and storms that any on +board had experienced. The meteorite had yielded, but the Spirit of the +Arctic evidently had serious objections to it being carried off. But the +years of persistent effort had won. The mysterious source of the ancient +Eskimo iron had been discovered, and, at the same time, the greatest +meteorite the world was known to contain was revealed. It was a fitting +result that the trophy should be carried from the darkness of the Arctic +into the light of civilisation. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE SECOND VOYAGE OF THE _FRAM_ + + Norwegian Enterprise--Mapping the Islands--Nearly Frozen--A Novel + Warming-Pan--Eskimo Melody--Arctic Bull Fights--Death of the + Doctor--Fire on the _Fram_--New Lands--Prehistoric People. + + +The expedition which formed the second visit of the _Fram_ to the Arctic +regions was equipped by private Norwegian enterprise, and sailed from +Larvick on June 24, 1898, the day known in Norway as St. Hans Day. The +party consisted of sixteen, all told, under the command of Captain +Sverdrup, who, with two other members of the party, were in the _Fram_ +with Nansen on her previous voyage. The plan of operations was to +proceed to the most southerly point of Greenland, sail to the north +along the western coast to Smith Sound, where the ship was to push as +far to the north as possible and form a headquarters, whence sledge +expeditions were to be sent out in all directions to explore and survey +the immediate locality, and, at the same time, to observe and record all +natural phenomena of a scientific nature. As to the exact localities to +which chief attention was to be paid, the commander of the expedition +was to use his own judgment; but on one point the instructions were +definite and emphatic--there was to be no attempt at a dash for the +Pole. + +On August 21 the _Fram_ reached a suitable place for winter quarters. On +the way along the Greenland coast the explorers had to take on board +dogs for the sledge teams, and also to obtain a store of walrus meat +wherewith to feed them, so that it was not until the date mentioned they +were able to reach Rice Strait, which afforded them all the facilities +they needed for winter quarters. As Peary was already to the north, +engaged in mapping out the land in that direction, the Norwegians +decided to give their attention to the land lying on the western side of +the Strait, in the vicinity of Hayes Sound, where Nares, in 1875, had +done considerable work. They completed the survey of the coast line +running round Robeson Channel, and, during their stay, not only mapped +out an area of one hundred thousand square miles, but also located +hitherto undiscovered land, which was named after King Oscar of Norway +and taken possession of in his name. Valuable additions were also made +to the zoological, geological, meteorological, and botanical records, +while the story of the expedition abounds in interesting experiences. + +The sun set on October 16 for the remainder of the winter. A party was +out taking observations over some mountains behind the bay in which the +_Fram_ was anchored, and had returned to camp for the evening meal as +the sun was going down. One of the party drew the attention of the +others to it, and they gathered at the door of the tent and watched it +in silence. "We were looking at the sun for the last time that year," +Captain Sverdrup wrote in his account of the expedition. "Its pale light +lay dying over the 'inland ice'; its disc, light red, was veiled on the +horizon; it was like a day in the land of the dead. All light was so +hopelessly cold; all life so far away. We stood and watched it till it +sank; then everything became so still that it made one shudder--as if +the Almighty had deserted us and shut the gates of Heaven. The light +died away across the mountains and slowly vanished, while over us crept +the great shades of the Polar night, the night that kills all life." + +With a stretch of four months' darkness before them, it was impossible +to avoid recalling the records of others who had gone through the lonely +period of darkness and cold. It was a disquieting subject. Franklin, +with 138 men under his command, had seen the sun go down into the Polar +night, and not a man of all the party had lived to tell the tale. +Greely, with twenty-five men, had seen the silent darkness come on near +where they were situated at the moment--six had lived to see the dawn. +Nordenskjold, wintering in White Bay, had seventeen men die of scurvy, +with an abundance of food around them, for when the last victim was +found, lying where he fell, he had a piece of salt pork still clutched +in his fingers, while in the camp there were scores of tins of preserved +fresh meat unopened. True it was that science, since then, had made vast +strides, and prejudice and ignorance had been largely overcome; but when +men find themselves absolutely cut off from all communication with the +outside world, and with all sorts of possible dangers and disasters +hidden in the future, it is only the fool-hardy who fails to realise +them. The brave man does not shut his eyes to dangers; he looks them +squarely in the face and determines to overcome them. Such a man usually +wins. It is the man who shuts his eyes to what is in front of him who is +defeated. + +The winter passed without any fatality among them, although there was an +occasion when one of the members nearly came to his end. Various trips +were taken when the moon was up to try and locate the site where Greely +made his historic camp on Pim Island. In February two men set out to +look for it, and, as they did not intend to be long away, they took +neither food nor sleeping-bags with them. The weather was clear and +cold, with the thermometer at -40 deg. Fahr., but the men experienced no ill +effects from it on their journey. They found some pieces of rope and +sail-cloth scattered about at a spot on the north side of the island, +and came to the conclusion that this must have been the site of the +camp. Having examined the place, they were about to return to the +_Fram_, when one of them sank to the ground. His companion strove to +lift him up, but without avail; he had suddenly become exhausted, and +his strength gave out so entirely that he could not remain on his feet. +It was a serious situation. A few hours of inactivity in such a +temperature, without an excess of fur clothing and warm food, meant +freezing to death. His companion was in doubt whether to wait and strive +to rouse him, or to run to the ship for help. He adopted the latter +course, and sped away as fast as his legs could carry him. Arrived at +the _Fram_, he raised the alarm, and every one turned out and hastened +to the rescue. A sledge was quickly harnessed to a dog team, and on it +were placed furs and food. The place where the man had collapsed was +about a mile away, and the rescuers were soon at his side. He lay in a +heap on the frozen snow, too far gone to recognise any one. He was +pushed into a sleeping-bag, placed on the sledge, and driven off at top +speed to the ship, where he was promptly put into his bunk and +restoratives administered to him. Soon the efforts were successful, and +he sank into a sleep from which he awakened, many hours after, little +the worse for his adventure. He escaped without even a touch of +frost-bite. + +A few days after this episode the temperature fell rapidly, until the +thermometer registered as low as -58 deg. Fahr. Peary, the American +explorer, was at the time some fifteen miles to the north of the +_Fram_, and the temperature in his locality went down to -67 deg. Fahr., a +cold so intense that, hardened as he was to the rigours of Arctic +weather, he had seven toes so severely frost-bitten that they had to be +amputated. A small party from the _Fram_ was out on the ice at the time, +and the cold was so trying to them that they squeezed into their +sleeping-bags clad, as they were, in heavy fur garments. Still they were +unable to get warm, so they lit their oil stove to raise the temperature +in the tent. While this was being done, one man complained bitterly of +the cold in his back, and a comrade, seeking a cause for it, found that +the moisture from his body had turned to white frost on the inside of +his thick woollen jersey. To thaw it, they put the lighted stove between +the jersey and the man's back, whereupon he exclaimed, "Ah, that's not +quite so cold." + +Yet the way in which mankind can adapt themselves to all varieties of +climate, by use and custom, was shown by a visit they had from one of +Peary's Eskimo. He reached the _Fram_ on a day when the temperature was +at -40 deg. Fahr. Invited on board, he said he must first change his +travelling clothes, and, in the open air, he stripped to the waist to +remove his heavy furs and put on a lighter suit. He was apparently as +unaffected by the intense cold on his naked flesh as one of the +Norwegians would have been had the thermometer stood at forty degrees +above instead of forty degrees below zero. + +The visit of the Eskimo proved an enjoyable break to the explorers, +though their generosity in giving him presents, at the time of his +departure, resulted in so many more coming to visit them that they had +rather too much of a good thing. But when he first arrived the visitor +was peculiarly welcome. They entertained him to various amusements, +commencing with dinner and concluding with a concert. To the latter the +Eskimo contributed his share. He was greatly taken with a toy drum +belonging to one of the party, and played his own idea of a melody upon +it. As his hosts did not manifest any displeasure at his +performances--whatever they may have felt--he became bolder and offered +to sing them a song. + +To the accompaniment of the drum, he commenced with a weird, wild wail, +which gradually developed in volume of sound and variety of intonation +until the listeners began to feel shivers running up and down their +spines. At that point the singer, who had so far sat rigid, began to +sway his body from side to side, while he tossed his head backwards and +forwards. He had long dank black hair, and, as he moved quicker and +quicker, in time with the drum and the staccato wails, his hair was +tossed over his face until the features were obscured. This appeared to +be the critical moment in the performance, for he raised himself from +his seat, and, with his hair tossing, his voice wailing, his body +swaying, and his hands thumping vigorously at the drum, he completed the +discomfiture of his hosts, who, disposed to smile at the beginning of +the performance, were distinctly uncomfortable at the finish. The +performer, however, was by no means dissatisfied with himself. He was a +great singer, he told them, perhaps the greatest in the tribe. They had +only to ask some of the others of his tribe to sing to realise the truth +of what he said, he added. But the Norwegians were satisfied with the +one experience. + +[Illustration: ESKIMO VISITORS TO THE _FRAM_ IN NIGHT ATTIRE.] + +During the sledge journeys numerous indications were found of musk oxen +being in the neighbourhood of the sheltered valleys in the interior of +the islands. As a supply of fresh beef was always desirable, +considerable attention was paid to these animals, and, from time to +time, the larder was kept well supplied with their meat. On these +hunting expeditions some interesting observations were made on the +habits of the oxen. One of the most interesting was as to the manner in +which they met attack. When they were disturbed in feeding, the herd +would retreat slowly and in order; but if they saw they were being +pursued, they moved towards any vantage ground, such as a rise or hill +summit, there to form themselves into a square. Each animal took up its +position as though by word of command, until they stood, shoulder to +shoulder, with their heads outward and so close together that their +horns often linked, while within the square were sheltered any young +calves there might be with the herd. + +As the enemy approached one of the oxen, usually the oldest bull in the +herd, dashed out from his place in the square and bounded towards the +foe, with head down, horns brandished with sidelong tosses of the head, +snorting and bellowing defiance. As he left the square the ranks closed +up and remained so until he returned, when the ranks opened enough for +him to back into his place, while another charged out to carry on the +combat in front of the square. These movements were executed with +lightning rapidity, every animal dashing out in turn to seek single +combat, the one to advance being always the one to the right of the +returned champion. Usually the advance was for a distance of a dozen +yards, but there were occasions when the explorers saw the challenging +ox advance over a hundred yards from the main body. + +When there were sufficient bulls in the herd to form the outer lines, +the cows were placed, with the calves, inside the square; but if the +bulls were not numerous enough to complete the outer ranks, then the +cows took their places beside the bulls. In one instance, where the herd +consisted of cows and calves only, the cows formed the square and +carried on the fight while the calves were sheltered within. + +The courage displayed by the oxen was not restricted to their defence. +They appeared to be actuated by an _esprit de corps_ which could only be +likened to the heroism which animates men of fanatical fighting tribes. +They were apparently incapable of fear, even to that extent which makes +the saving of one's self a first consideration. When the square was once +formed it never broke. Every beast in it might be killed, one by one, +but there was never a sign of a break-away or a stampede. If only a few +were killed, the square stood its ground until the attackers retreated, +when, with an open field, the square slowly retired, still in formation, +and still ready, at the first signal, to halt and renew the fight. In +one instance, where every beast had been shot save one, that one made +his sortie, pranced round in defiance, and retired to the heap of slain, +all that remained of his gallant comrades. + +Their method of defence was capable of repelling the attack of any +animal now inhabiting the Arctic regions, and more complete in its +system than appeared to be needed to repel any of the animals likely to +attack them. It was unnecessary for the repelling of bears; foxes would +never attack animals so large; the only animals likely to challenge a +contest were the wolves operating in a pack. But the Arctic wolves, as a +rule, hunt singly, or in pairs. There may have been a time, however, +when they formed themselves into packs, and from such a time the +defensive tactics of the oxen may date. Certainly the formation would +prove invulnerable against such an attack, as was evidenced by the way +in which a herd of oxen could hold at bay the dogs from the sledge +teams. As soon as oxen were sighted it was the practice to let the dogs +loose. They at once made for the oxen, and, as soon as the latter caught +sight of them, they formed into a square and remained so until the +explorers came up and selected such of the herd as they required for the +larder. In no instance did the dogs succeed in harming an ox, though +more than once a dog, venturing too near a prancing champion, was spun +up into the air to fall to the ground a sad and subdued creature, if it +were so fortunate as to escape with its life. + +The return of summer, during the first year of their stay, was marred by +the death of the doctor. Early in June the shores of Hayes Sound were +being surveyed. The ice still covered the sea and the land was deep in +snow. One night, when the surveying party had returned to their tent and +were sitting round the oil stove eating their supper, they heard a man +outside asking if he might come in. They opened the tent flap and +discovered the doctor standing outside. He was evidently ill, and, as +they soon realised, snow-blind. He had missed his way while out after +specimens and had accidentally stumbled on the camp. He was taken in and +given warm food, which revived him somewhat, afterwards being put in a +sleeping-bag and made as comfortable as they could make him. In the +morning he pronounced himself much better, and said he would stay at the +camp, resting, for the day. The party left him with no misgivings, but +on their return in the evening they found him dead in the sleeping-bag. + +Camp was struck the following morning and, with the body of the doctor +on the sledge, the party started back to the ship. It was a sad journey. +Not only was it the first time in the history of the _Fram_ that a +member of the ship's company had died, but the loss of the doctor was a +serious matter to the explorers, who were thus left without any +qualified expert to attend to them in the event of either sickness or +accident occurring. The procession reached the ship on June 15, and the +next morning the whole company formed up in funeral array to convey the +remains of the doctor to their last resting-place. They gave him a +sailor's burial. The national flag covered the body and bier, and the +explorers, walking slowly, two and two, proceeded down Rice Strait over +the ice to a spot where a hole had been cut through the ice to the open +water. The body was lowered to the water's edge, where it was held while +prayers were read and a hymn sung. "Then followed the moment when he +slowly slipped into the deep. We shall never forget it. We sang a hymn +and said the Lord's Prayer," Captain Sverdrup wrote. + +As the survey work advanced to the west of the Sound, the discovery of +several inaccuracies in former maps led to the hope that new land might +be located in that direction. Ellesmere Land having been explored and +Sir Robert Inglis Peak shown to be non-existent, advantage was taken of +the opening of the ice in the summer seasons to push the _Fram_ farther +to the west, so as to enable the sledge parties to reach still greater +distances over the ice in that direction. It was by this means the +crowning triumph of the expedition was achieved, though at the time of +its achievement an event happened which very nearly brought about a +tragic ending. This was no less than a fire on the _Fram_. + +There were, at the time, only nine men on board. For the winter, an +awning had been spread over the deck, below the shelter of which +numerous articles were stored, including the ammunition and +powder-boxes, a number of kayaks, spare wood for repairing sledges and +making _ski_, the oil barrels, and an iron tank full of spirits. The +chimney from the galley rose above this awning, and one day a spark fell +upon it. At once the canvas burst into flame. + +On the first alarm, the mate, who was in charge, gave his attention to +the removal of the oil and explosives; but while these were being +dragged out of danger the flames spread rapidly from the awning to the +rigging, reaching the mainsail, which also became ignited. Then the fire +reached the kayaks, the coverings of which were all saturated with +grease. The blaze that followed set all the spare wood alight. The iron +tank, full of spirits, was thus surrounded by flames. It was impossible +to beat them back, and the men realised that if the tank burst and the +spirits caught fire, the ship was doomed. With despairing energy they +attacked the fire with buckets of water, and, despite the primitive +nature of the weapon, they succeeded in subduing the flames before +irreparable damage was done. The tank, fortunately, withstood the heat, +though it was badly warped. The kayaks were destroyed, as well as all +the spare wood, the rigging and sails on the mainmast, the awning, and +some stores on the lower deck, where the flames also penetrated. But the +ship was saved. + +On October 13, 1900, the news was brought to the ship that the hopes of +discovering new land were likely to be realised. A party who had been +far out to the west had seen in the distance what appeared to be land at +a place where none was shown on the maps. Five days later, with a picked +band, Captain Sverdrup was hastening to the place indicated. As the +winter was near at hand, they could not do more than verify the news. In +the distance they saw what appeared to be new land, while near at hand +they found traces of large herds of oxen and reindeer. The larder was in +need of being replenished, and as it was impossible to proceed with the +survey of the newly discovered territory before the spring, the members +of the party secured as much beef and venison as they could for winter +supply. By the time they returned to the ship they had enough fresh +meat, not only for themselves but also for the dogs, to last until the +following spring. + +On April 8, 1901, Sverdrup and his picked companions set out again to +explore the new territory. After pushing on as far as the outer limit of +the coast, they came upon what appeared to be a large bay. The land they +had descried lay on the far side of it, and for the moment they feared +that, after all, it was only a portion of the old, though making the +area of that much larger than had hitherto been believed. To prove or +disprove their fears they commenced to cross the ice in the bay. As they +proceeded, the land, at the head of the bay, was seen to suddenly open +out and reveal a sound running between two islands. It was new land +which lay before them, and with great jubilation they named the channel +Eureka Sound and the island after the King of Norway. The position was +78 deg. 50' N. lat. and 84 deg. W. long. + +Close examination of this island led to the discovery of remains of +extensive Eskimo settlements, showing that at one time there had been a +considerable population where now not a single Eskimo was to be found. +The presence of whale bones among the ruins of the huts told of a still +further change that had occurred, for whales are now quite extinct in +that part, and have been so for a long period. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +ITALY CLAIMS THE RECORD + + Norwegian Aid--A Northerly Station--Premature Enthusiasm--Cold + Comfort--An Arctic Greeting--A Hasty Landing--Disorganised + Plans--Homeless Dogs--Making Fresh Plans--The Leader + Frost-bitten--The Start for the Pole--Driven Back by Cold--A Second + Start--First Detachment Lost--Anxiety for the Second--A Struggle + for Life--Third Detachment Overdue--Fears of Disaster--Safe at + Last--Italy sets the Record. + + +For the first time in the history of their country, the Italians entered +the field of Arctic exploration in the year 1899, when an expedition +under the command of the Duke of Abruzzi sailed in the _Stella Polare_, +and by means of dogs and sledges carried the Italian flag to higher +latitudes than any other explorers had succeeded in reaching. The record +up to the time of this expedition was that set by Nansen, who, with his +companion Johansen, attained to 86 deg. 14' N. The Italians reached 86 deg. 34' +N., or twenty geographical miles further north than the Norwegians. + +The scheme of operations under which the Abruzzi expedition set out was +to sail as far north as possible along some coast line, establish winter +quarters, and, in the spring, to travel by sledges towards the Pole. The +expedition was composed of Italians and Norwegians, the men of the +latter race being taken to navigate the ship, the leader wisely +recognising that inasmuch as Italians were not used to navigation in +ice-bound seas, it would be hazardous to risk the safety of the whole +expedition in the early stages of the journey by manning the vessel with +them. The sledge party who attained the highest latitude were all +Italians, but the Norwegians shared the honours won, for without their +assistance the sledge party would have had little chance of penetrating +as far to the north as it did. In fairness, also, to all other men who +have striven so hard to unveil the secrets of the Arctic, it must be +admitted that the Italian success was based entirely on the knowledge +gained by other nations. The scheme of a dash by sledges was the scheme +that Peary had conceived and announced; the main depot of the Italians +was that which had already been established at Cape Flora by the +Jackson-Harmsworth expedition; the route taken by the sledge party was +in the vicinity of the route Nansen and Johansen followed; the ship was +Norwegian built and Norwegian manned; the men who set out for the dash +to the Pole had, therefore, all the hard work done for them. Yet with +all these advantages they only reached twenty miles further, an +achievement not to be compared with that of Nansen and Johansen. + +The expedition practically commenced its journey from Archangel, whence +good progress was made to Cape Flora, a food depot being established in +the huts of the Jackson-Harmsworth party, which were found still +standing intact. After an ineffectual attempt to pass through +Nightingale Sound, the _Stella Polare_ got out of the ice on August 7, +and succeeded in reaching 82 deg. 4' N. latitude in open water. This was to +the north of Prinz Rudolf Island. + +As there were indications that the ice would soon be setting along the +coast, it was decided to sail to Teplitz Bay on Prinz Rudolf Island and +establish quarters for the winter. This bay is open towards the south +and west, while the land on the north is level but rocky. The ship +forced her way through the thin coast ice and came to anchor near enough +to the shore to permit the landing of stores to be easily carried out. A +more experienced leader might have had some doubts as to the security of +the situation as a place for a ship to remain during the winter +movements of the ice. With the bay open on two sides, it was scarcely +possible for it to escape from the pressure of moving floes outside; but +the opinion was held that the ice along the shores was strong enough to +withstand any pressure from the open sea, and so the _Stella Polare_ was +allowed to become fixed in the ice close to the shore. + +Brief journeys along the coast and over the highest land which could be +reached--Cape Habermann was found to be 2900 feet high--effectually +disposed of the claims of Petermann Land and King Oscar Land. There was +no sign of either, and there is little doubt but that the explorers who +believed they had discovered these lands were deceived by massive bodies +of ice. The rectification of the maps to this extent was a valuable +service. + +By September all their arrangements for spending the winter on the ship +were completed, and with the material which would be required for the +preliminary sledge expeditions to the north, and the establishment of +food depots, all on shore, the explorers made merry on the evening of +the 7th in discussing the achievements which would result from the +working out of their plans. The difficulties which beset other +explorers, often from the very commencement of their journeys, had not +been experienced by them, and now, with their vessel almost as high to +the north as any vessel had yet been, with their complete outfit at one +of the most northerly stations yet established, and with everything snug +and secure for the winter, it is not surprising that they should have +allowed their enthusiasm to run away with them. It was the first time +that Italy had entered into the contest of winning fame from the +mysteries of the Arctic, and the outlook was so rosy that it almost +appeared as if they were going to signalise the fact by carrying the +flag to the Pole itself and showing to the world that the all-conquering +spirit of ancient Rome still animated the race. Men of colder +temperaments, the sons of the cold-blooded North, would probably have +postponed their rejoicings until the battle had been won, but the +enthusiasm of the South needed more than the gloom of an approaching +Arctic winter to subdue it. Wherefore the Arctic moved, and the children +of the South learned in a few brief hours something of the power and +might and majesty of the realms they had come to conquer. + +An ice-floe, drifting in the sea beyond the bay, caught the edge of the +shore ice, in which the _Stella Polare_ lay at rest, as it passed. The +shore ice groaned at the strain, and along its length there ran a ridge +of hummock ice as the pressure sought relief. The line of the pressure +passed through the spot where the _Stella Polare_ was made fast. The +hummock rose against her bows and forced her ninety feet away from where +she had been, while, at the same moment, an increase in the pressure +caught her by the sides, heeled her over, and cracked her timbers till +those on board rushed to the deck under the belief that the vessel was +about to collapse. The rigging of the foremast was torn away, the planks +of the exposed side showed spaces of three inches between them, and +water poured in so rapidly to the holds that it was feared the ship +would go down. The hand-pumps were manned and worked, while the fires +were lit so as to get up steam and set the steam-pumps going, every one +else, who was not required for these jobs, working with might and main +to get all stores and provisions out of the ship and on to the ice, lest +she went down and left them stranded and foodless. The glamour of the +evening before was as a dream; the gloom of the present was a stern +reality to which they had awakened. The Arctic was giving a +characteristic and rugged greeting to the visitors from the South. + +The stores were landed with the greatest rapidity, the activity with +which every one worked being still further stimulated by the news from +below that the one hand-pump, which was being worked by four men, could +not keep the water back, and that already it was almost touching the +bars of the furnaces. At one time it looked as though there would be no +chance of saving the fires, and had the water once reached them and so +prevented steam being got up, the plight of the explorers would have +been critical in the extreme. As it was, the Norwegian engineers worked +like heroes, and managed to have enough steam to start the steam-pumps +just as the water touched the fires in one of the boiler furnaces. The +steam-pump, assisting the hand-pump, was sufficient to keep the water +from rising further, but not enough to keep it back altogether. Neither +the steam nor the hand pump, by itself, could prevent the water from +rising. Both had to be kept going, therefore, although the number of men +thus taken away from unloading stores and provisions made that work +very much slower than was desired. But if the water reached to the fires +and put them out, there seemed to be little chance of saving enough to +keep the party alive during the winter. So they worked on with a brave +persistence, Italian and Norwegian alike, until they had all the stores +out on the ice, together with spars, ropes, sails, and all other things +needed for the construction of a shelter in which to pass the winter. +This was only completed after twenty-four hours of toil, and when it was +finished the worn-out party sought a brief respite in sleep. As soon as +the pumps ceased working the waters rose in the holds and over the +furnace bars, putting out the fires. Contrary to expectations, the ship +did not go down, the ice being sufficiently strong to sustain it from +sinking, and the water stopped rising when it had covered the furnaces. + +Although the ship was now secure from sinking, it was heeled over to +such an extent that it was impossible to remain on board of it, so a hut +was erected ashore, and the stores stacked round it for the winter. For +ten days the entire party laboured at this work, and when it was +finished it was realised that all the plans for the preliminary sledge +trips must be abandoned. Instead of giving attention to reaching the +Pole, it was first of all necessary to see what could be done in the way +of repairing the ship so as to be able to get away before a second +winter could come upon them. A close examination revealed the fact that +the pressure of the ice had considerably affected the form of the ship. +The crank shaft was bent out of the straight, and the heavy iron beams +which had been put in to strengthen the vessel amidships were all bent +and twisted. The planks at the sides were started and gaped in many +places. The water, which had got in, had frozen, so that the furnaces +were covered in by a sheet of solid ice, while the same thing existed in +the hold. As the hand-pump could not lower the water alone, it was +decided to use a boiler and pump which formed part of the balloon +equipment. Although the use of these articles effectually terminated any +hopes of balloon experiments, it enabled them to get the water down +sufficiently to permit of repairs being effected. From the beginning of +October to the middle of November, the repairs fully occupied them; but +they succeeded in making the ship water-tight and available for +departure when the winter had passed. The bay, by this time, was frozen +over sufficiently to preclude any fears of further nips occurring. + +[Illustration: ONE OF THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY THE _STELLA +POLARE_.] + +On November 20 the last vestige of daylight went, and thenceforward the +explorers were in all the gloom of the Arctic night. A heavy snow-storm +entirely covered the dog kennels, so that the animals had to run loose +for a time. This was not satisfactory, for those of the creatures which +were unable to squeeze into shelter near the hut, were frozen to the +ice as they slept. To overcome this, big holes were dug in the ground, +and the dogs driven in, and the entrances walled up. But the Arctic dog +is a creature of resource, and when the men in charge of them went in +due time to feed them, they found that the dogs had made an outlet for +themselves by burrowing through the snow, and were again at liberty. A +wall of biscuit tins was then built round the inside of the holes, and +the entire mass frozen by pouring water over the tins. But the dogs +again burrowed their way out, and they were then left to their own +devices, the holes being left open, so that there should be some shelter +available for the dogs if they liked to use it. Mostly they did not +like, preferring to squeeze in between the sides of the hut and the +kitchen, and contribute their share to the entertainment by occasional +howling choruses during the long dark hours of winter. + +During the long night the plans for the sledge expeditions to the North, +which had been so effectively interrupted by the nipping of the ship, +were further considered. As the original scheme could no longer be +carried out, a modified plan was adopted. Under this, it was determined +to send out three parties, which were to start about the middle of +February and press forward towards the Pole. Each party was to consist +of three Italians. One was to carry provisions for thirty days, the +second for sixty days, and the third for ninety days. The second and +third parties were to carry kayaks. + +At the commencement of the expedition it was intended that the Duke of +Abruzzi should lead the detachments as the head of the third party, the +one which would have the honour of proceeding the longest way; but early +in January he had two fingers of his right hand frost-bitten so severely +that the two top joints had to be amputated. This debarred him from +taking his place at the head of the enterprise, and he appointed Captain +Cagni to the lead in his stead. As at first arranged, the other parties +were commanded, the first by Dr. Cavalli, and the second by Lieutenant +Querini. A fourth party was to follow the other three for a couple of +days, as an auxiliary, so as to allow of a saving in the consumption of +provisions carried by the others. It was also arranged that twenty-five +days after the start of the expedition, those of the company who +remained behind at Teplitz Bay should send a watch party to Cape +Fligely, in order to be ready to set out and meet, and, if necessary, +render any assistance which the returning members of the first +detachment might require. From the top of Cape Fligely a distance of +eight miles could be seen over the ice to the north, and a signal-post, +erected on the cape, would be visible as a guide to the returning +explorers as they approached over the ice. The watch party was to be on +the cape again fifty-five days after the departure of the second +detachment, and eighty-five days after the departure of the third +detachment. + +The date of departure was ultimately fixed for the 19th of February. The +detachments, when ready to start, numbered, in all, twelve men, with +thirteen sledges, drawn by 104 dogs, each sledge weighing, with its load +of provisions, 617 lbs. The weather, at the time of the start, was +intensely cold, there having been a gale blowing for some days before. +When all was ready for the march to begin, the detachments set out, +after hearty farewells from those who remained behind, and who watched +them slowly pass out of sight over the ice and into the cold mysteries +of the white region lying towards the north. + +The camp at Teplitz Bay was strangely quiet after their departure, the +absence of the dogs, no less than the absence of the men, rendering the +place lonely and deserted. It was not expected that the auxiliary +detachment would be back again for some days, and it was with very great +surprise that the Duke of Abruzzi, while walking near the hut one day, +heard the sounds of dogs barking near at hand. He hastened in the +direction whence the sounds came, and was astounded to see Lieutenant +Querini coming towards him. Immediately he came to the conclusion that +disaster had overtaken the expedition soon after starting, and that the +lieutenant was the bearer of ill news, if not the only survivor of the +detachments. The facts were, however, not quite so bad as this. What had +happened was that the cold had become so intense, after leaving Cape +Fligely, that not only the men, but the dogs also, suffered severely, +and were almost incapacitated. The experience of a few days revealed +many points where improvement could be made in the arrangement of the +sledges and their loading, and the commander, realising that only +valuable time would be lost, and perhaps the entire expedition +jeopardised, by pushing on under the circumstances, decided to return to +the main camp, so as to overhaul the arrangements, and reorganise the +detachments in the light of their experiences. + +By the time the detachments were again ready to start, February had +passed and March 10 had arrived. The loss of time, consequent on their +return, necessitated an alteration in the programme of all the parties, +and when they set out the second time the order of march was for the +first detachment to return after twelve days' march, the second in +twenty-four, and the third in thirty-six. The detachments were also +varied, so that the main detachment should number four instead of three +men. A Norwegian, the engineer of the ship, was included in the first +detachment at his earnest request. + +The second start was made on Sunday, March 11, and this time there was +no turning back. On March 28 the Duke of Abruzzi went, with the watch +party, to Cape Fligely, and constructed a shelter wherein to remain in +readiness to greet the first detachment on their return, the date of +which was expected to be April 4. On that date, and for some days +before, an anxious watch was kept from the lookout point towards the +north, but no signs were seen of the returning explorers. For a day or +so this did not cause any grave anxiety, as it was quite possible that +there might be a brief delay, but as the days went by without a sign, +and the days grew into weeks, there was serious uneasiness at the +continued non-appearance of the men. The time arrived when the second +detachment was due, and still the watchers saw no signs of the returning +men. Uneasiness gave place to grave anxiety, and the few who remained at +the camp were beginning to wonder whether they alone would return home, +with the summer, with only a tale of loss and disaster to bear to their +country, when a man of the second party reached the camp in a state of +great exhaustion. His story was that his detachment, the second, had +parted with the third on March 31, and had successfully negotiated the +return journey up to April 15, when an open channel in the ice near the +island had stopped their forward march. For days they had sought a way +round it, but, failing, the leader had despatched the man in the kayak +to reach the watch party, and summon assistance of a boat to convey the +remainder over the channel. The man had attempted to land at a point +where the ice was some fifteen feet high, but while he was testing it to +see if he could clamber up, the kayak slipped away from him and left him +clinging, with no hope of escape if he slipped into the water below. He +was one of the Alpine guides, and, with his ice-axe, he managed to cut a +way up the ice to the summit, though the struggle was a terrible strain +on his strength and skill. When, at last, he reached the summit, he was +met with a new difficulty. He did not know where he was, nor in which +direction the camp lay. He was without food, or refreshment, but he made +his way to a higher point, from whence he was, fortunately, able to see +the top of the ship's masts showing over the ice. This gave him the +direction of the camp at Teplitz Bay, and he made his way thither, with +as much speed as he could. When he arrived, he had been battling his way +for over twenty-four hours, from the time he lost his kayak, a feat of +very great endurance. + +In answer to anxious questions as to the first detachment, he said he +and all the rest believed the first detachment was in the camp, for it +had left the main body in time to reach Cape Fligely by April 2. At the +time it started back, owing to the drift of the ice, the island could be +distinctly seen, so that there could be no difficulty as to the men +knowing which way to go. Moreover, a change had been made in the +command, and the first detachment had left under the command of +Lieutenant Querini, Dr. Cavalli having been placed at the head of the +second detachment owing to his showing greater staying powers on the +march than the lieutenant. + +As soon as the rest of the detachment had been conveyed from the ice +pack to the camp, Dr. Cavalli corroborated the story and shared, with +the rest of the expedition, the anxiety at the non-arrival of the little +band. His detachment, he said, had parted with the main party on 31st +March, and had seen Captain Cagni and his companions continue their way +to the north, with a train of six sledges and forty-eight dogs. The +first detachment might, he suggested, have been carried away to the +east, and, as they had no kayak with them, they might have been cut off +by an open channel and so prevented from reaching the island. Relief +parties were immediately sent out to search the ice in that direction, +and also to see whether the men had taken refuge on the islands, further +to the north-east, where Nansen and Johansen had passed their winter. +The search was continued until May 10, when the parties returned, having +searched far and wide but without finding any trace of the missing +detachment. It was then hoped that they had made their way to Cape +Flora, where there was an abundance of food and other necessaries, but +when the _Stella Polare_ touched there, on her way home, no signs were +found of the missing men, and it was then realised that they were lost. +How, or when, or where, they had met their end, no one could form any +opinion. A break in the ice may have precipitated them into a channel; +cold may have overcome them as they slept; moving hummocks may have +overwhelmed them, or a sudden snow-storm may have caused them to lose +their direction, and have led them into dangers they were not able to +escape. When no trace could be found of them, and no vestige of their +outfit discovered on the ice, or the islands, there was only one thing +the survivors could realise, and that was that their comrades had gone +out of the world in silence, in mystery, and in sacrifice to the +knowledge of humanity. + +[Illustration: SKETCH MAP + +Showing Captain Cagni's farthest north 86 deg. 34', being 20' beyond the +point reached by Nansen.] + +As the month of May gradually passed, the members of the expedition +gathered at Cape Fligely so as to maintain a steady watch for the return +of the main detachment. In addition to the watch party there was also a +party at Teplitz Bay, and word was sent from one place to the other as +the days went by, while short journeys were constantly being taken along +the shores on the lookout for the return of Captain Cagni and his +companions. The provisions they had with them were only calculated to +last until May 26, but the leader had expressed his intention, if he had +not succeeded in reaching far enough to the north, of proceeding on +reduced rations so as to attain as high a latitude as possible before +returning. On the reduced scale they would be able to subsist until +June 10, but when that date arrived and still there was no sign of them, +the remainder of the expedition became alarmed. The silent disappearance +of Lieutenant Querini and his companions did not tend to alleviate their +anxiety. A week passed without any sign; June 20th came and went, and +the next two days saw the little community depressed and sad at what +they regarded as the fatal silence. On the 23rd they barely exchanged +words with one another, lest they should add to each other's sorrow by +expressing the almost hopeless fear that every one felt. On the evening +of that day the watch party at Cape Fligely had retired to their shelter +when they heard the barking of dogs. Hastily going outside, they saw a +man, with a sledge, advancing from the direction of Teplitz Bay. They +waited in silence for him to come up, fearing he brought news of +disaster. But their fears were turned to joy when he shouted the news +that the third detachment had safely returned to camp, having penetrated +as far as 86 deg. 34' N., and so established the "farthest north" record of +any expedition yet despatched to the Arctic. + +The story Captain Cagni had to tell was one of persistent courage and +determination. The straits to which he and his companions were reduced +were shown by the condition of their equipment. They had a single +sledge in a very damaged state, a bottomless saucepan, a broken cooking +lamp, and a ragged tent. Their dogs were reduced to seven, the others +having been killed to feed the survivors as well as the men. On the +return journey the drift of the ice had carried them to the west, so +that when they reached the latitude of Teplitz Bay they were many miles +to the west of it. The condition of the ice had compelled them to go +still further away before they were able to turn and head direct for the +camp. + +From March 11 to April 24 they marched steadily towards the north, and +covered something like six hundred miles in ninety-five days. For the +whole period of 104 days they marched 753 miles. During the first stage +of the journey they maintained a speed of five miles a day, but during +the second stage they doubled that, and covered, on an average, ten +miles a day. From their experience they argued it was impossible to +reach the Pole from any such base as that at Teplitz Bay while dog +sledges were the only available means of transport. + +With the return of this detachment the work of the expedition was at an +end. The vessel was freed from the ice after a little difficulty, and, +proving to be seaworthy, steamed out of the bay on August 14. They +arrived at Hammerfest without mishap on September 5. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE ANTARCTIC REGION + + The Mystery of the South Pole--Ignored by Early Navigators--An + Accidental Dutch Discovery--Captain Cook Sets Sail--Discouraged by + the Ice--Turns Back in Despair--A Second Accidental + Discovery--Weddell breaks the Barrier--Antarctic Land + revealed--British resume the Search. + + +While the desire to penetrate into the mysteries of the North held the +mind of mankind from the earliest times, the very existence of a similar +world of ice, at the opposite pole, was undreamed of until a few +centuries back. At the time when the world was generally held to be a +flat disc, this is not to be wondered at, seeing that there could only +be one other side possible under that belief, and that side the "under +world," into which it was not desirable that human beings should ever +penetrate. But the time came when the world was demonstrated to be a +sphere, and the more thoughtful of men realised the necessity of having +some theory wherewith to explain what form the world would take at the +opposite pole to the North. The theory which found most general +acceptance was that which contended for a similar distribution of sea +and land at the South as was currently supposed to exist at the North +Pole. It was argued that only by such a distribution could the balance +of the earth be maintained. Nor did the theorists stop there. The +ancient geographers delighted their hearts by imagining a southern +division of land and sea inhabited by identical animals, covered with +the same kind of verdure and plants, and occupied by similar races of +men to the North. In the absence of any evidence to contradict it, this +theory held for many years. + +In the Middle Ages, when the Portuguese and Spaniards were sailing from +sea to sea, and later, when their successors, the Dutch, roamed the +ocean, carrying their flags to the East and the West, none seem to have +penetrated into the ice-bound regions of the South. The Cape of Good +Hope was doubled. Cape Horn was sailed round. Australia was located, and +even the south of Tasmania was visited. But further south the world was +still unknown. + +An explanation of this may be found in the fact that in southern +latitudes the drift of ice is very much further away from the Pole than +is the case in the north. In the northern hemisphere massive ice-floes +are not encountered until the 70th parallel of latitude has been passed, +while it is not until the 75th parallel is passed that the ice becomes +so packed as to appear to be stationary. In the southern latitudes, on +the other hand, drift ice is encountered in the 50th parallel, and by +the time the 60th parallel is reached, the ice is found to be as close +set as it is in the 80th parallel in the north. In the islands off +Tierra del Fuego the mountains remain covered with snow down to the +water's edge through all the summer months, though the latitude is only +54 deg. S. + +This may be due, in a large measure, to the small quantity of land +existing in the south, as compared with the north. The heat of the sun +does not radiate from the sea with the same intensity as it does from +the earth, whence the ice, drifting from the south into the oceans +nearer the equator, melts more slowly, and is consequently enabled to +travel longer distances, thus lowering the temperature of the +surrounding atmosphere and still further delaying the melting process. +At a comparatively recent period, the limit of the floes, in the +southern oceans, was much nearer the equator than it is to-day, for the +most southerly parts of Africa, Australia, and America all show +unmistakable evidences of having, within recent times, been under a +great ice covering. + +It was not until 1600 that the first contact was made with the southern +world of ice. Dirk Gerritz, a Dutch navigator, sailing with a squadron +for the East Indies, was separated from his other ships while passing +through the Straits of Magellan and was driven as far as 64 deg. S. He +discovered, in that latitude, a rocky coast line covered with snow. The +discovery did not excite any great interest at the time, and, for a +period of nearly two centuries, nothing was done to probe further into +the mysteries of the South. In 1769 an expedition was sent out under +Captain Kerguellen to explore the regions lying to the south of the Cape +of Good Hope. He was successful in locating the group of islands, still +known as Kerguellen Islands, and sailed thence to Australia, +demonstrating that no land, other than these islands, existed between +the Cape of Good Hope and Australia. + +In 1772, Captain Cook, who had already done so much to reveal the +southern hemisphere to the knowledge of man, left the Cape of Good Hope +with two ships, the _Resolution_ and the _Adventure_, in search of the +continent believed to exist somewhere beyond the regions hitherto +visited. In 48 deg. 41' S. latitude, and 18 deg. 24' E. longitude, a sudden fall +in the temperature from 67 deg. to 38 deg. Fahr. was experienced. On the +following day an iceberg, fifty feet in height and nearly half a mile in +length, was sighted. The course was continued to the south, but the +third day after sighting the first berg the sea had become so full of +ice that no further progress to the south was possible, although the +latitude was only 54 deg. 50' S., the corresponding latitude in the northern +hemisphere being that of the city of Hull. + +Skirting the ice-packs and working always to the southward, the vessels +managed to reach 55 deg. 16' S. during the next three days, some few seals, +penguins, and other birds being seen on the floating ice as the ships +passed. The temperature was never above freezing, the sails were frozen +and the rigging covered with icicles. The fact that the ice was found to +be composed of fresh water, convinced Cook that there must be land still +further to the south, lying behind the ice-floes. He, therefore, kept on +to the east, always sailing as far to the south as the line of the ice +permitted. In reality, he was sailing round the Antarctic, from west to +east, skirting along the ice limit. In January 1773 the vessels were in +61 deg. S. and 139 deg. E. longitude. A month later he was nearly five hundred +miles to the south of the course Tasman had sailed when he discovered +Tasmania, but still no land was seen amongst the ice. This being the +summer season in the southern hemisphere, it was necessary to seek +winter quarters to the north if the ships were to escape imprisonment in +the ice for the season. + +After a winter passed in the Pacific Ocean, Captain Cook took his ships +again to the south, towards the end of the year, and by January 30, +1774, they were in 71 deg. 10' S. latitude and 106 deg. 54' W. longitude. +Further progress to the south was barred by a line of high ice cliffs. +Describing the circumstances Captain Cook wrote:-- + +"At four o'clock A.M. we perceived the clouds, over the horizon to the +south, to be of an unusual snow-white brightness, which we knew +announced our approach to field ice. Soon after, it was seen from the +topmast head, and at eight o'clock we were close to its edge. It +extended east and west, far beyond the reach of our sight. In the +situation we were in, just the southern half of our horizon was +illuminated by the rays of light, reflected from the ice, to a +considerable height. Ninety-seven ice hills were distinctly seen within +the ice-field, besides those on the outside. Many of them were large and +looking like a ridge of mountains rising one above another till they +were lost in the clouds. The outer, or northern, edge of this immense +field was composed of loose or broken ice, close packed together, so +that it was not possible for anything to enter it. This was about a mile +broad, within which was solid ice in one continued compact body. It was +rather low and flat (except the hills), but seemed to increase in height +as you traced it to the south, in which direction it extended beyond our +sight.... I, who had ambition, not only to go further than any one had +gone before, but as far as it was possible for man to go, was not sorry +at meeting with this interruption, as in some measure it relieved us, at +least, shortened the dangers and hardships inseparable from the +navigation of the southern polar regions." + +Returning again to the Pacific in order that his men might recuperate +after their hardships in the ice region, Captain Cook made a third +attack upon the Antarctic problem the following year--1775--when he +sailed to the south along the 27th meridian of west longitude. In +latitude 59 deg. S. three rocky islets were discovered. They rose to a +considerable height, one of them terminating in a lofty peak shaped like +a sugar-loaf, to which the name of Freezeland Point was given, not, as +it might very well have been, in description of the land itself, but +after the man who first sighted it. Far to the east of this peak there +appeared a long coast line with lofty, snow-capped mountains, the +summits often rising higher than the clouds. To the extremity of this +coast the name of Cape Bristol was given. Land sighted still more to the +south was named Southern Thule. + +As there appeared to be more probability of success being won on this +voyage, the ships proceeded to explore the seas in the neighbourhood of +these new lands; but a repetition of the trials and difficulties met in +the previous year brought the hopes to nought. Whichever way they sailed +they encountered ice, either in massive bergs, or lines of cliffs, miles +in length. On February 6, 1775, the cold hostility of the region daunted +even the brave heart of Captain Cook. He decided to turn back, writing +in his log: "The risk one runs in exploring a coast in these unknown and +icy seas is so great, that I can be bold enough to say that no man will +ever venture further than I have done, and that the lands which lie to +the south will never be explored." + +Modern achievement in the Antarctic regions forms a curious commentary +on this outspoken opinion of so intrepid an explorer as the man who +laid the great island-continent of Australia open for the colonisation +of the British. But for the time being the opinion ranked sufficiently +with the authorities to put an end to all attempts to solve the mystery +of the Antarctic. Years passed without anything being done to penetrate +into the unknown, until, in 1819, Captain William Smith, commanding the +brig _William_, on a voyage from Monte Video to Valparaiso, was driven +as far to the south as 62 deg. 30', in which latitude and longitude 60 deg. W. +he discovered a group of islands and named them the South Shetlands. The +discovery was reported to the commander of H.M.S. _Andromache_, who at +once sailed to the locality and further explored the islands. These were +found to be a scattered group lying between 61 deg. and 63 deg. S., consisting +of twelve fairly large isles, and a number of small rocky islets. +Several of the isles were mountainous, and one peak was observed which +was estimated to be 2500 feet high. Beyond this brief expedition nothing +was done by the Navy, but during the next few years a considerable +amount of knowledge was gained by whaling captains who penetrated +further to the south. + +Amongst others, Powell, in 1821, discovered land to the south of the +South Shetlands, naming it Trinity Land; while Palmer, an American +skipper, sailed along a coast to which he gave the name Palmer's Land. +A Russian navigator, Bellinghausen, exploring to the south and west of +the South Shetlands, located Alexander's Land, still more to the south +than Palmer's Land. + +These repeated additions to the general knowledge gradually discredited +Captain Cook's assertion. The newly opened areas were found to be +replete with whales, seals, and other commercially valuable animals, and +ships of the mercantile marine continued to push nearer and nearer the +Pole. In 1822 a firm of traders sent out two vessels to the Antarctic +under the command of Captain Weddell, after whom the great Antarctic +seal is named. The vessels were small ships in comparison with the +modern build. One, the larger, was the _Jane_, a brig of 160 tons, and +the other a cutter, the _Beaufoy_, 65 tons. As Captain Weddell had +already done much geographical service in the South, his employers +instructed him to do all he could to discover fresh lands, and to +penetrate as far into the ice to the South as was possible. He succeeded +so well in carrying out the latter part of his instructions that, on +February 28, 1823, he carried the flag to 74 deg. 1' S. + +For some years nothing more of note was done, but in 1831, Captain +Biscoe, on board the brig _Tula_, located land--named Enderby's Land, +after his employers--in 65 deg. 57' S. latitude and 47 deg. 20' E. longitude. +Wind and storms intervening, he was unable to do more than identify one +promontory, which he named Cape Ann. The year following Biscoe added to +his record the discovery of Adelaide Island, Graham's Land, and a range +of mountains he named after himself, Biscoe's Range. He landed on the +newly discovered territory on February 21, 1832, and took possession of +it in the name of Great Britain. Seven years later, on board the _Eliza +Scott_, Biscoe found an island in 66 deg. 44' S. latitude and 165 deg. 45' E. +longitude, the shores of which were so precipitous that no landing could +be effected. Describing it, he wrote: "But for the bare rocks from where +the icebergs had broken, we should scarcely have known it for land, but +as we stood in for it we plainly perceived smoke arising from the +mountain tops. It is evidently volcanic, as specimens of stones, or +rather cinders, will prove." + +Two years earlier the French Government had taken up the work the +British Government had neglected from the time of Captain Cook's +condemnation, and had despatched two ships, the _Astrolabe_ and the +_Zelee_, to try and get into higher latitudes than those reached by +Weddell. The Government of the United States also sent out vessels to +continue the work already so successfully done by American whaling +skippers. The voyages did not add materially to the discovery of land, +although some valuable scientific facts were observed and recorded. + +The British Government then bestirred itself, and two ships, the +_Erebus_ and _Terror_, were placed under the command of Sir James C. +Ross, with Captain Crozier as second in command, to proceed to the +Antarctic regions and explore them. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +VOYAGES OF THE _EREBUS_ AND _TERROR_ + + A Fortunate Choice--Characteristic Southern Bergs--First Sight of + the Continent--More British Territory--A Mighty Volcanic + Display--Nearing the Magnetic Pole--The Antarctic Barrier--A Myth + Dispelled--A Second Attempt--Held by the Ice--Third and Last + Voyage--A Double Discovery. + + +The American and French expeditions having already selected areas for +their operations, Sir James Ross, not wishing to clash with them in any +way, directed his attention to that part of the Antarctic lying to the +south of Australia and New Zealand as his sphere of operations. Fortune +favoured him in this selection, for it is at this part of the Antarctic +region--situated between the meridians of 160 deg. E. and 160 deg. W. +longitude--that open water extends farthest into the high latitudes. He +chose the meridian of 170 deg. E. as the line on which to sail to the south. +It was on this meridian that Balleny, in 1839, had found open water as +high as 69 deg. S. The _Erebus_ and _Terror_ were equally fortunate, and +they were well to the south before they encountered sufficient ice to +prove difficult to navigation. Mostly they encountered icebergs, and +they were thus afforded excellent opportunities to note the +peculiarities of the southern bergs, and to compare them with those of +the Arctic. There was a manifest difference in both form and structure. +Those of the Antarctic showed little variety in shape, and in this they +were in marked contrast to the Arctic bergs. The bergs of the South were +very solid in appearance, with perpendicular grooves on the sides, and +level table-top summits. In size they ranged from 120 to 180 feet in +height, with a length varying from a few hundred yards to a couple of +miles. + +Land was first sighted on January 11, 1841, when the ships were in lat. +70 deg. 23' S. and long. 174 deg. 50' E. The appearance of the land suggested +the tops of mountain peaks fully a hundred miles away. As the ships +sailed on, other peaks showed above the horizon, both to the east and +the west, and the majesty of their size left no room for doubt that they +were part of an area of land attaining to continental proportions. In +his account of the expedition, Sir James Ross wrote: "It was a +beautifully clear evening, and we had a most enchanting view of the two +magnificent ranges of mountains, whose lofty peaks, perfectly covered +with eternal snow, rose to elevations varying from 7000 to 10,000 feet +above the level of the ocean. The glaciers that filled their intervening +valleys, and which descended from near the mountain summits, projected, +in many places, several miles into the sea, and terminated in lofty, +perpendicular cliffs. In a few places the rock broke through the icy +covering, by which alone we could be assured that land formed the +nucleus of this, to appearance, enormous iceberg." + +The range was named Admiralty Mountains, and the various peaks after the +different Lords of the Admiralty. With patriotic pride the leader +recorded that "the discovery of this land restored to Great Britain the +honour of having discovered the southernmost known land, which had been +so nobly won by the intrepid Bellinghausen, and for more than twenty +years retained by Russia." + +The amount of ice along, and off, the shore prevented a landing being +made, but it was found to be possible to get ashore on an island not far +away from the mainland. The island was named Possession Island, in +commemoration of the fact that on its shores the ceremony of taking +possession of the newly discovered lands in the name of Great Britain +was duly celebrated. Situated in lat. 71 deg. 56' S. and long. 171 deg. 7' E., +the island was found to be of igneous formation and accessible only on +its western shore. There were no signs of vegetation on the bare +volcanic rocks, "but myriads of penguins completely and densely covered +the whole surface of the island, along the ledges of the precipices, and +even to the summits of the hills, attacking us vigorously as we waded +through their ranks, and pecking at us with their sharp beaks, disputing +possession; which, with their loud, coarse notes and the insuperable +stench from the deep bed of guano, which had been forming for ages, and +which may, at some time, be valuable to the agriculturists of our +Australian colonies, made us glad to get away again, after having loaded +our boats with geological specimens and penguins." + +As the voyage continued, the height of the mountains lying further to +the south of Admiralty Mountains was observed to be from 12,000 to +14,000 feet, the majority being obviously of volcanic origin. While +noting these characteristics, a phenomenon was witnessed which, for the +moment, suggested that they were in the presence of a mighty volcanic +upheaval. An angle was being measured, when, in the line of sight, an +island, about one hundred feet high, suddenly seemed to rise from the +ocean. All eyes were turned upon it, the dark colour of the new arrival +standing out in such pronounced contrast with the whiteness of the ice +around it. Then one, more observant than the rest, drew attention to the +fact that a large berg previously observed at the place where the island +had risen, had completely disappeared. At once the riddle was solved. +The berg had turned over, and, as the lower portion was composed of +earth-stained ice, it stood out in such strong relief against the other +ice that the mistake was easily accounted for. + +One of the mountains slowly coming into view on the horizon as the ships +continued their way was so remarkably like Mount Etna in appearance that +it was so named by the members of the expedition, but official +requirements of the case necessitated another name being given to it. +It was entered in the record as Mount Melbourne, while another, lying +beyond it, was named Mount Monteagle. These were the highest mountains +seen up to that time, and presented an imposing appearance. Yet others +were sighted in the course of a few days which quite eclipsed them. +These were the two volcanoes which were named after the two vessels, +Mount Erebus and Mount Terror. + +Mount Erebus, 12,400 feet high, was in active eruption when first seen, +and has been so on every occasion that man has looked upon it since. At +the time of its discovery it was giving a display that was +extraordinarily grand, the more so by reason of its surroundings. It was +snow-clad to within a few hundred feet of its conical summit, while its +huge base rested on a wide stretch of ice, gleaming and shimmering in +the sunlight. Between the ice wall, hundreds of feet high, which marked +the coast line, and the vessels, the water was blue and clear, +reflecting the hue of the sky above. From the crater alternate bursts of +smoke and flame were flung up, the rumbling sound of the explosions +floating down through the frozen stillness in a faint echo like that of +heavy distant artillery fire. In the official account it is described as +follows:-- + +"A volume of dense smoke was projected at each successive jet with great +force, in a vertical column to a height of between 1500 and 2000 feet +above the mouth of the crater, when, condensing at its upper part, it +descended in mist or snow, to be succeeded by another splendid +exhibition of the same kind in about half-an-hour afterwards, although +the intervals between the eruptions were by no means regular. The +diameter of the column of smoke was between 200 and 300 feet, as near as +we could measure it. Whenever the smoke cleared away, the bright red +flames that filled the mouth of the crater were clearly perceptible, and +some of the officers believed they could see streams of lava pouring +down its side until lost beneath the snow, which descended from a few +hundred feet below the crater and projected its perpendicular icy cliffs +several miles into the ocean." + +So far as the leader of the expedition was concerned, there was another +circumstance in connection with the position in which the ships were +that appealed to him very particularly. He had, a few years earlier, +succeeded in locating the North Magnetic Pole. Bearings, taken in the +neighbourhood of the two volcanoes, revealed the fact that the South +Magnetic Pole was only about 170 miles distant. An effort was made to +penetrate to the South so as to sail over, or otherwise locate, the +exact position of the magnetic pole; but the weather conditions, which +had been so favourable to them up to that point, now told severely +against them. The thermometer fell rapidly, and the temperature went so +low that the spray, flung up by the ships, froze, as it fell, into solid +ice on the bows. Men were kept constantly breaking it away, but still +it accumulated, considerably interfering with the speed of the ships. +Then they found in front of them a great wall of ice rising out of the +sea, without a break or opening, to a height of some hundreds of feet. +They sailed along it for miles, but the only change was that it +increased in height until it towered a thousand feet above the level of +the ocean. + +Although it was then midsummer, and the warmest part of the year, the +highest temperature during the day was never above twenty degrees below +freezing. At the corresponding period of the season in the Arctic, every +iceberg gives evidence of the warmer weather by commencing to melt, so +that from all of them streams of water are to be seen pouring down the +sides. But the bergs in the Antarctic showed no such streams of water. +All were solid, and the heat of the sun at midday was not able to cause +even the surface to thaw. During a gale, encountered in this locality, +the waves, as they broke over the sides, covered the rigging and sails +with hard, clear ice until it was almost impossible to handle the ropes +or furl the sails. + +As February went by and they were still unable to work nearer the site +of the magnetic pole, the leader sought for a haven where the ships +could pass the winter, so as to be ready to recommence the work directly +the weather moderated with the approach of spring. But no such place was +to be found, the mighty barrier of ice stretching away to the horizon +with never a break in its massive towering front. Nothing was to be done +except turn the vessels to the North and make the best of their way into +milder latitudes until the winter had passed. + +On the voyage towards the North, one of those accidents occurred to the +_Terror_ which, fortunately for the welfare of sailors, are not possible +nowadays. The bobstay of the bowsprit was smashed by coming in contact +with a mass of floating ice. At the time the temperature was such that +the bows of the vessel, as well as the bowsprit and its rigging, were +all covered with ice, which the men had to be continually trying to keep +clear. With the ship pitching to a heavy head sea, this was by no means +easy, yet it was simple compared to the work of repairing the damaged +bobstay. The men carrying out this work had to be slung over the bows, +and every time the ship pitched, they were plunged into the freezing +water, often being entirely immersed. The temperature of the sea at the +time was twelve degrees below freezing, and two hours were occupied in +effecting the repairs, man after man going over the bows to take the +places of those who were literally frozen out. The commander, with +pardonable pride, commented upon the pluck and hardy determination of +his men in carrying out this arduous task. + +As they sailed to their winter quarters in an easterly course, they +passed the locality where the ships of the American expedition had +reported a discovery of land forming part of the great Antarctic +continent. A sharp lookout was kept for it, but no indications were +seen, and, when the two ships sailed over the spot where the continent +was supposed to exist, the conclusion was forced upon the leaders that +the Americans had been misled, as they had themselves on more than one +occasion, into regarding the combination of ice and cloud as land. So +suggestive of land did this combination often appear, that it was only +by the most careful and critical observation that similar mistakes were +not to be recorded against the _Erebus_ and _Terror_. + +Early in April they arrived at Tasmania, leaving that colony in the +following July for New Zealand, where they stayed until December, when +they sailed once more to the Antarctic. + +It was the intention of Ross to sail to the South along the 146th +meridian of west longitude, but the existence of heavy pack ice proved +an effectual obstacle to their progress. The ships became involved in +the pack, and only managed to force their way clear by the beginning of +February. This meant a great loss of valuable time, for they were only +able to reach 76 deg. 42' S. latitude before they had to return. They +sighted the great barrier of ice lying to the south, with what appeared +to be high mountains, snow covered, rising behind. As no definite +observations could be made to demonstrate whether the heights were +mountains or only the summit of the Antarctic ice-cap, the discovery was +not claimed as being new land. + +The vessels made their way to the Falkland Islands, where they passed +the winter, and on December 17, 1842, they sailed, for the third time, +to the South. The object of this voyage was to further explore Louis +Philippe Land and reach as high as Weddell had done. Excellent progress +was made, and, on the last day of the year, they sighted an island to +which the name Etna Island was given, as it was a volcano greatly +resembling, in miniature, the great volcano of Sicily. Further to the +south high peaks appeared, and, with the new year, a number of islands, +as well as what appeared to be portions of the mainland, were +discovered. Amongst others, the expedition found and named Paulet +Island, Cockburn Island, Snow Hill Island, and Mount Haddington, places +which were to be made still more familiar over half a century later by +the dramatic events which occurred to the Swedish expedition in 1901-3. + +In addition to the discovery of land, it was also found that the waters +off this coast abounded with whales, and, by the time that the two ships +returned to the Cape of Good Hope, in March, they were able to claim, +for the record of the third trip, the double discovery of land and of +all the essentials for a profitable whaling industry. The ships had +circumnavigated the Antarctic region, and for many years thereafter +whalers were the main visitors. Until 1898 no official British +expedition sailed for the Antarctic, though there was a brief stay, just +within the Antarctic Circle, of H.M.S. _Challenger_ in 1874. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE _SOUTHERN CROSS_ EXPEDITION + + British continue the Work--Carrier Pigeons in the Ice--Withstanding + a Nip--A Sea-quake--Cape Adare Station--A Cosy Camp--Edible + Fish--Death visits the Camp--Penguin Peculiarities--A Derelict + Blue-bottle--The Welcome Postman--A Thrilling Episode. + + +The first British expedition for many years was that which sailed from +the Thames in 1898 on board the _Southern Cross_, under the leadership +of C. E. Borchgrevinck, with the object of penetrating as far as was +possible to the south and exploring the Antarctic continent, or as much +of it as could be visited during a year's stay in those latitudes. + +[Illustration: THE _SOUTHERN CROSS_ IN THE ICE PACK. + +At work with the Theodolite.] + +The leader of the party had already been on this continent in 1894, when +he voyaged into the Antarctic on board a whaler. He had landed on South +Victoria Land and Possession Island, and had reached as far south as 74 deg. +10' S. He had discovered a sheltered beach, near Cape Adare, which he +recognised as an ideal site for the headquarters of an exploring party +equipped for a prolonged stay. On the same occasion he was fortunate in +finding a lichen growing on the rocks of Cape Adare, which was the first +instance of terrestrial plant life being observed in the Antarctic. +Imbued with enthusiasm as to the prospects of successful observation +being carried out from this point, he strove to arouse public interest +in the project. He found plenty of interest but not much financial +support, until he had the good fortune to meet Sir George Newnes, Bart., +in 1898. That gentleman caught some of the enthusiasm which actuated +Borchgrevinck, and undertook to provide the necessary capital to enable +the expedition to be formed and despatched. Thereafter there was no +delay in the matter of organising the expedition. The _Southern Cross_, +a small barque-rigged steamer of 276 tons, and built by Colin Archer, +the builder of the _Fram_, was secured, and placed under the command of +Captain Bernhard Jensen. With stores and equipment for some years, a +crew of Norwegians, an efficient scientific staff, and a large kennel of +Arctic dogs, she left St. Katherine's Dock on August 22, 1898, amid much +popular demonstration and sailed for Tasmania. + +Arriving at Hobart early in December, she took in further supplies, and +sailed again, on December 19, for the Antarctic. On December 30, in +latitude 61 deg. 56' S. and longitude 153 deg. 53' E., she encountered the first +ice, and a few days later was among the floes. Some carrier pigeons had +been taken on board at Hobart, and they were liberated when the vessel +was well within the ice limit. One was absent for about a week before it +returned to the ship, but the majority returned almost at once. + +On January 14, 1899, land--Balleny Island--was sighted in latitude 65 deg. +44' S. and longitude 163 deg. 38' E., and the _Southern Cross_ was soon fast +in a pack. Advantage was taken of the opportunity to lay in a store of +seal flesh for the dogs. Two varieties were met with on the ice, leopard +seals and white seals, both so unaccustomed to the presence of man that +the explorers had no difficulty in walking up to them and killing them +as they lay on the ice. + +After being held for a week the first nip was experienced. The movement +in the ice was very pronounced, and high pressure-ridges were thrown up. +When the pressure caught the ship there was some uneasiness in the minds +of those on board as to how she would stand the strain. She disposed of +all fears, so far as she was concerned, by rising a clear four feet when +the nip was at its worst, thereby adding another instance to the record +of her builder as a cunning designer of ships for ice navigation. + +For a period of forty-eight days they were held in the pack, and the ice +then becoming more broken it was decided not to try any further to reach +to the south of Balleny Island; instead, it was determined to go direct +to Cape Adare, and establish the headquarters while the summer was still +with them. On February 12, a few days after getting into open water, and +when the vessel was making good progress under sail and steam, she was +noticed to shake violently. No ice was in sight, nor anything else that +could account for it, but there came a tremor which lasted for a couple +of seconds, followed by another after an interval of three seconds. The +phenomenon was noticed by men in all parts of the ship, and no +explanation could be given for it. A couple of days later they ran into +heavy weather, during which the temperature fell so low that everything +became covered with ice, an experience which was very similar to that +which befell the ships forming Sir James Ross's expedition in 1842. The +ship had to lay-to for two days until the weather abated, and, on the +second day after resuming her course, land was sighted, and the +_Southern Cross_ steamed into Robertson Bay in sight of Cape Adare and +the spot where the headquarters of the expedition were to be built. + +The camp consisted of four huts, which were promptly erected and filled +with the stores and equipment. The landing party, consisting of ten, +made their home in one of the huts, utilising the others for the storage +of provisions, equipment, and other impedimenta. The dwelling-hut was +constructed with three doors, opening inwards, so as to facilitate the +escape of the residents should they become snowed in. Between the outer +and the middle doors there was a four-foot lobby, off which a small room +opened on either side. One of these was devoted to the development of +photographs and the storage of the more delicate instruments, while the +other was the taxidermist's studio. Both these rooms were lined with +wool and fur, and were entered through small sliding trap-doors two +feet above the ground. The interior of the hut formed one room, fifteen +feet square, and with ten bunks constructed along the north and east +walls, each bunk being closed in, so that the occupant could lie within, +out of sight of the others, a very serviceable arrangement under +circumstances where ten men are compelled to be in one another's company +morning, noon, and night for several months at a stretch. The windows +faced the west, and were double framed, with a space of three inches +between the frames. The walls were also double, with _papier-mache_ +packing between, while the ceiling was seven feet above the floor, also +packed with _papier-mache_, and had above it an attic where stores which +required keeping fairly warm were placed. + +Before they had everything completed on shore, a furious gale sprang up, +and from February 23 to 26 all the energies of the party were required +to keep the ship from being lost. She dragged her anchor and drifted +dangerously near the coast before steam could be got up, and even when +the engines were at full speed, she could barely do more than hold her +own. Once, two steel cables and a hawser were run out round a jutting +rock to afford her some stay, but they snapped like threads when the +puff caught her, and for the rest of the time she was kept standing off +and on under the lee of Cape Adare. During the winter the explorers had +further experience of the character of these southern gales, the wind +often attaining a velocity of eighty-five miles an hour, representing a +force capable of lifting up and carrying bodily away such a thing as a +whale-boat; while the air was, at such times, filled with pebbles and +small stones blown from the high lands behind the camp. On one occasion, +so fierce was the strength of the wind, that it was found impossible to +crawl on hands and knees, and with the assistance of a guide-rope, from +the hut to the thermometer-box a couple of hundred yards away. The +heaviest member of the party, a man over thirteen stone, was blown from +the rope and nearly lost while attempting the journey. + +On March 2 everything was in order at the huts, and the shore party +landed to take up their residence. The flag presented to the expedition +by the Duke of York was hoisted, the _Southern Cross_ dipped her ensign +to it, everybody cheered, and the vessel steamed out of the bay for New +Zealand, leaving the devoted ten the only occupants of the great unknown +continent which lies 2500 miles to the south of Australia. + +[Illustration: THE AURORA AUSTRALIS. + +_Drawn by Dr. E. A. Wilson._] + +They were not long before they commenced work. Cape Adare was explored +and its height determined to be 3670 feet above sea-level. Vegetation, +in the form of lichens, was traced up to a thousand feet, to which level +it was found the penguins made their crude nests and hatched their +young. Snow lay deep after three thousand feet, but no signs of life, +vegetable or animal, were discovered at that altitude. In the waters +below and around the cape several specimens of algae, medusa, hydroids, +and other low forms of marine life were secured. In addition to these +specimens it was also discovered that there was abundance of fish in the +deeper waters of the bay. These were caught, both by net and line, and +the members of the expedition were agreeably surprised when it was found +that they were nearly all edible, for a constant diet of preserved food +soon palls, even on the healthiest appetites. As the ice spread farther +out over the bay the fishing was conducted through a hole cut through +the ice, and it was no uncommon experience of the fisher to be suddenly +confronted with the startled eyes of a seal which had risen from the +depth below, under the belief that the opening was a blow-hole for his +convenience. + +On May 15 they saw the sun disappear below the horizon, above which it +would not reappear until July 27. The sun, as it disappeared, presented +a curious optical phenomenon. Its reflection appeared as a large red +elliptical glowing body which gradually changed into a cornered square, +while the sky, in its immediate vicinity, revelled in a blaze of +colours. As the sun slowly sank, the colours grew in intensity, reaching +the height of their vivid beauty as the last of the globe sank out of +sight. The Aurora Australis continued to give them displays of +colouring throughout the time when the moon was not shining and the sky +was otherwise dark. The temperature sank very low, at times, during the +night, -25 deg. Fahr. being recorded, soon after the sun went below the +horizon, while later on the records were as low as -57 deg. Fahr. Inside the +hut, however, the cold was not severely felt, the construction proving +excellent for the comfort of the men. The numbers of seals killed for +the dogs enabled them to cover the roof with the skins before it became +snowed over, while the ample supply of fur and woollen clothing kept the +expedition well clad. + +[Illustration: EMPEROR PENGUINS. + +The most southerly inhabitants of the Globe. + +_From "The Siege of the South Pole," by Dr. H. R. Mill. By permission of +Messrs. Alston Rivers, Ltd._] + +With one exception the winter passed without an untoward incident, the +exception being the illness of the zoologist of the party, who, after +being carefully nursed by the doctor and all the others, succumbed to +internal complications and died on October 13. This was the only +fatality during the expedition, and the loss of one out of so small a +party naturally had a saddening effect on the survivors. Before he died, +he indicated a spot a thousand feet up the slope of Cape Adare where he +wished to be buried, and, needless to add, his comrades loyally carried +out his last wishes. He died just at the time when the penguins, the +study of which had so engrossed him, were returning over the ice to +their nesting quarters. The first one arrived a few hours before his +death, and it was taken to him, at his request. The place where he +sleeps is on the line where vegetation ceases and above which the +penguins do not build. + +It was a pity he did not live to see the return of the penguins, for +they came in myriads with the approach of spring. They advanced over the +ice in a long line, walking in single file, and apparently in +detachments of about sixty birds in each. They must have marched for +many miles, as there was no open water nearer from whence they could +have come, and they are not able to fly. As soon as they reached the +land they spread out in such a way as to suggest that each pair went to +the nest they had occupied before. These were simple affairs, consisting +of little more than a few pebbles arranged in a ring on beds of guano. +As a rule, two eggs were laid in each nest, and, for a month, male and +female shared the labour of sitting on them, commencing in November and +remaining on the nests until the young came out in December. The chicks +were fed by the parent birds until they were fairly well grown, when +they were driven into packs and left to look after themselves, with only +occasional help from the older birds. When they were able to look after +themselves, without further assistance, the parents departed. On such +occasions a curious habit was observed. The birds of a detachment seemed +to wait for one another until all were ready, when they would strut, in +a solemn procession, to the water's edge. Usually the white breasts of +the birds were spotlessly clean, but the time they spent on the nests +made them very dingy in appearance. As they strutted down to the water's +edge they were all sadly in need of a bath, yet, on arrival at the edge, +they would stand about, shiver, flap their diminutive wings, and +manifest all the hesitation which is shown by timid bathers when about +to take a plunge. Nothing would induce them to enter the water until +they were ready in their own good time, attempts, on the part of the +explorers, to drive them in, merely resulting in the birds turning round +and strutting on to the land again. When at length the time came for the +plunge, one would flap his wings, utter a cry, and take a header, +whereupon the others would follow, one after the other, all in line and +so rapidly that they presented the appearance of a stream being poured +out of a bottle. The plunge over, they returned to the shore, spotless +and clean. + +As the gales were not over when the birds were sitting, they were +watched to see how they would prevent themselves from being blown away +by the fierce gusts. Almost as soon as the barometer gave indications of +the approach of a gale, the birds were seen to turn their heads towards +the south-east, the quarter from whence the wind came, and lie close to +the ground, with their heads down and their breasts pressed close to it. +On no occasion was a bird seen to be blown away from the nest. + +During December, when the weather became milder, the interesting +discovery was made that insect life exists on the Antarctic land. Some +specimens were found among the mosses growing on the shore, and the +excitement which followed the discovery led one of the Finns, two of +whom were included in the party, to unconsciously play an effective +practical joke on the others. He found a dead blow-fly in a case of jam +and brought it to the hut as a trophy. For a time there was even greater +excitement, until some one thought to ask where the fly had been +captured. + +On January 29, 1900, the _Southern Cross_ returned. She arrived in the +bay at a time when the explorers were sleeping after some heavy +journeys. The captain landed, and walking up to the hut, pushed the door +open and entered. He had the mail-bag with him, and flung it on the +table with a loud cry of "Post." In a moment the bunks were empty, the +sound of a strange voice rousing all the men, to say nothing of the +prospect of receiving news from the world out of which they had been so +long. + +As there was no time to be lost, if they were to penetrate further to +the South before the mild weather passed, they moved on board the ship +as soon as they could, and by February 2 the _Southern Cross_ steamed +away again with all on board. They made excellent progress, passing +Mount Melbourne on February 6, approaching near enough to the coast +opposite to Mount Terror to permit them to land, after which they +steamed along the great ice-barrier until they found an opening, into +which they steamed, so as to enable a sledge party to land and push +forward to the South. It was this sledge party which reached "farthest +South," being on February 16 in latitude 78 deg. 50' S., the highest +latitude reached up to that time. + +But it was while they were ashore at Mount Terror that one of the most +exciting incidents of the whole journey occurred. The party landed at a +small beach which lay under cliffs towering five hundred feet above. In +order to get photographs of it, the boat was despatched back to the ship +for a camera, while Borchgrevinck and Jensen remained ashore. The boat +had not gone very far when a great roar sounded in the air. Those on +shore feared for the moment that a slide had begun in the cliffs over +their heads; but it was not the rocks that were moving. A mighty +glacier, which entered the sea near where they were standing, was +shedding an iceberg from the parent mass, and the noise was caused by +the rending of the ice as the millions of tons mass tore itself free. +The beach was barely four feet above the water, and, as the berg crashed +into the sea, it sent up a great wave that swept along the coast. The +men on the beach barely saw it coming before it was over them. Pressing +themselves against the face of the cliff at the highest point they could +reach, they held on for dear life while the icy water surged up and +over them. After the first wave had passed, others followed, though +these only reached up to their arm-pits, and had it not been for a +projecting point of rock, which served to break the force of the waves, +there is little doubt but that both would have been swept away. The full +force of the waves was shown only a few yards away from where the two +had stood, stones being torn loose and the mark of the water being left +twenty feet up the face of the cliff. + +Having reached "farthest South," the homeward journey was begun on +February 19, and three days later the _Southern Cross_ steamed into Port +Ross, in the Island of Auckland. The expedition was then practically at +an end, having succeeded so well in its objects that it was able to +claim that it had located the Southern Magnetic Pole as being in +latitude 73 deg. 20' S. and longitude 146 deg. E.; had discovered insect and +plant life on the Antarctic continent; had reached the farthest South, +and had added very considerably to the geographical and scientific +knowledge of the world. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE REVIVAL OF ANTARCTIC INTEREST + + Modern Means and Methods--Private Enterprise leads--The + _Valdavia_--The _Belgica_ Expedition--International Action + adopted--The German Expedition--An Ice-bound Land--Fresh + Trade-Winds. + + +Towards the end of the last century there was a distinct revival, in +European scientific circles, of interest in the still unsolved problems +of the frozen South. Many causes contributed to this. The gradual +narrowing of the northern sphere, and the activity displayed in that +region by the Americans, to whom it especially appealed, led the +European geographers to remember the great amount of work yet to be done +in the South. The achievements of the Ross expedition, which had +satisfied public curiosity for the time being, now only stimulated +curiosity as to how much more could be ascertained by the use of modern +steamships and all the other improved appliances that had done so much +to help in Arctic work. + +For a time private enterprise operated, and several vessels were +despatched, from time to time, some with excellent results; but +something more than private enterprise, working individually, was +required if all the benefits of a thorough exploration were to be +obtained. In her brief experience in 1874, H.M.S. _Challenger_ examined, +by means of sounding and dredging, the floor of the ocean to the south +of Kerguellen Island. The evidence collected pointed to the existence, +still further to the south, of an area of land approaching continental +dimensions. In 1898 a German steamer, the _Valdavia_, with Professor +Carl Chun on board, left Cape Town, rediscovered Bouvet Island, which +had not been visited from the time it was first seen by Captain Cook, +and collected further evidence, by sounding and dredging, of the +existence of extensive land nearer the Pole. + +A Belgian, M. Adrien de Gerlache, fitted out a ship, the _Belgica_, and +sailed from Antwerp, in 1897, to explore the area lying to the south of +South America. In the early part of the voyage a new strait was +discovered between Danco Land and Palmer Land, but in February 1898 the +ship became involved in the ice and remained in it for a year, drifting +between 69 deg. 40' and 71 deg. 35' S. latitude and 80 deg. 30' and 102 deg. 10' W. +longitude. During the winter they had a period of seventy days' +darkness, spent on board, the effect of which was extremely depressing +to their spirits and injurious to their health. It was found that the +sea floor had shoaled up to the shallow depth of from 200 to 300 +fathoms, suggesting the proximity of a large area of land, the actual +existence of which, however, the members of the expedition were not +able to observe. + +An international agreement was then arrived at, through the influence of +the International Geographical Conference, under which three nations, +Germany, Sweden, and Great Britain, undertook to despatch to the +Antarctic, three separate expeditions, one from each country. They were +to sail from Europe in 1901, and while working on similar lines, and as +much in common as was possible, each was to have its distinct sphere of +operations. The British undertook the exploration of that area south of +Australia, where Ross had located the volcanoes Mount Erebus and Mount +Terror; the Swedes selected the lands lying to the south of South +America, while the Germans gave their attention to the seas already +visited by the _Valdavia_. + +[Illustration: POLAR OUTFIT USED BY THE _BELGICA_ EXPEDITION. + +Tent, Sledge and Snow Shoes.] + +The German expedition sailed from Kiel on August 11, 1901, on board the +_Gauss_, and was under the command of Professor Erich von Drygalski. +Their first objective was Kerguellen Island, and the chief work carried +out was of a purely scientific character. It was originally intended +that all the expeditions should return to Europe after passing one +winter in the Antarctic. The Germans did so, but both the Swedes and the +British were unable to carry out this part of the programme, the former +in consequence of the loss of their ship in the ice, the latter because +their ship was hard and fast in the southern ice. The Germans were more +fortunate in escaping the ill effects of what was an unusually severe +ice season; but the other nations, by the longer stay they had in the +frozen regions, were able to return with a much more comprehensive +collection of information. + +Leaving a small party at Kerguellen Island, the _Gauss_ sailed to her +allotted area, already revealed by the voyages of Cook, Bellinghausen, +Biscoe, and Kemp. The ice barrier prevented her reaching a very high +latitude, but the connection between Knox Land and Kemp Land, appearing +as isolated coasts on the old maps, was proved. On this land, during the +winter, large quantities of ice are formed, to drift out to sea in the +form of huge packs which effectually guard the shore from intrusion. +Forcing a way through the pack, the _Gauss_ found a brief stretch of +open water, the depth of which was found to shoal rapidly from 1500 to +120 fathoms. This led them to a rugged, steep coast line, occupying the +position of what Ross had defined in 1841 as "ice cliffs." The land was +too high and steep to permit them to land, and the ship, becoming +involved in the ice within sight of it, winter quarters were established +on the ice. + +Severe gales hampered them in their work, but otherwise the winter +passed without any untoward incidents. The rocks composing the cliffs of +the coast were found to be ancient crystalline formations. The interior +of the land was entirely covered, so far as could be seen, by a solid +ice-cap forming one of the most extensive glacial regions now known to +exist. It seemed to be slightly receding, though no definite evidence of +this could be obtained in so short a time as that at the disposal of the +explorers. + +One of the most useful observations made was that relating to the +direction of the winds. The trade-winds blowing in the "roaring +forties," and which serve so good a purpose in carrying ships round Cape +Horn and the Cape of Good Hope to and from Australia, blow from the west +towards the east. At the position occupied by the _Gauss_, inside the +Antarctic Circle, it was noticed that the prevailing winds were from +east to west. Thus, if a clear passage could be found, vessels sailing +round the southern ocean could select either an easterly or a westerly +route as suited them best, instead of having, as at present, to follow +that indicated by the wind. + +At the expiration of the period allotted to them for their stay, the +explorers were able to get free from the ice, and return to Germany. In +this, as has been said, they were the only one of the three expeditions +keeping to time. They arrived home after an absence of twenty-eight +months, fourteen of which were passed in the South Polar ice. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE SWEDISH EXPEDITION + + Sails in the _Antarctica_--Argentine Co-operation--First Antarctic + Fossil--Building the Winter Station--A Breezy Corner--Electric + Snow--A Spare Diet--New Year Festivities--The Missing Ship--Relief + that never Came--A Devastating Nip--Castaway--The Unexpected + Happens--A Dramatic Meeting--Rescued. + + +The expedition to explore the land lying in the Antarctic region to the +south of South America, which, under the international arrangement of +1895, was allotted to Sweden, was placed under the command of Professor +Otto Nordenskjold, with whom was associated Professor Johan Andersson, +both members of Swedish Universities. The steam barque _Antarctica_, +Captain C. A. Larsen, who had already had considerable experience in the +Polar regions, was selected as the vessel in which the expedition was to +proceed to the field of operations. The original plan was for the +expedition to leave Europe in 1901, and to be back in Sweden by May +1903. + +The detailed plan was to leave Sweden as early as possible in the autumn +of 1901 for the South Shetlands, whence the vessel was to go to the east +coast of the land known to lie to the south of those islands. +Penetrating as far to the south as possible, a station was to be +established at any convenient point and a party of six left there, with +the necessary stores, apparatus, and equipment, to spend the winter, +while the ship was to return north to the Falkland Islands and spend the +winter with the remainder of the expedition carrying out scientific +investigations at Tierra del Fuego and South Georgia. On the arrival of +spring the _Antarctica_ was to pick up the members of the expedition who +might be in Tierra del Fuego and South Georgia and proceed south to the +winter station, take on board the members who had passed the winter +there, and return at once to Sweden. + +Unfortunately for the successful carrying out of the plans, the summer +of 1902-3, in the Antarctic regions, was the coldest and the worst for +ice conditions that has ever been recorded, and the expedition, instead +of being able to carry out the plans laid down, experienced, instead, a +series of unexpected happenings which was fatal to the exact working out +of detail, but was rich in exciting and romantic episode. The Frozen +South, like the Frozen North, will not yield its secrets to the first +comer who demands them. The resources of the ice world, at either pole, +are too vast to be overcome without a fierce and prolonged struggle. + +Instead of one winter, the Swedish expedition spent two in the ice +region, while, during the second, all the members of it were living on +the ice, though as three separate parties, each within a few miles of +the other, and all, more or less, ignorant of the proximity of their +comrades. The peculiar circumstances under which they became separated, +their experiences during that time, and the dramatic manner in which +they were reunited and rescued, will form the chief incidents of the +following pages. + +Leaving Sweden on October 17, 1901, the _Antarctica_ proceeded to South +America, where, at the request of the Argentine Government, a +representative of that country, in the person of Lieutenant Sobral, of +the Navy, joined the expedition. In return for this courtesy the +Argentine Government offered to do all it could to assist the +expedition. How magnificently it carried out its promise will be seen +later. + +Early in January the ship was amongst the ice, making her way as fast as +she could to the neighbourhood of Erebus and Terror Gulf, where it was +hoped a suitable site would be found for the winter station. The state +of the ice, however, was not favourable to this scheme, and, by the time +Seymour Island was sighted, it was evident there was little chance of +working into more southern latitudes. Nearly ten years before Captain +Larsen had visited this island, and had taken from it specimens of +fossil wood and molluscs, the first fossils ever discovered in the +Antarctic. + +Before landing on it and seeking for more geological specimens, the +leader determined to try whether there was any chance of penetrating to +the South from a more westerly longitude. The ship was turned on to a +westerly course and kept on it until the beginning of February, but as +no opening was to be seen through the ice to the south, her head was +turned to the east once more, and she returned to the neighbourhood of +Seymour Island. On February 10 the vessel was in Sydney Herbert Bay, +which formed the hitherto unvisited part of Erebus and Terror Gulf. As +it was obviously impossible to get farther to the south, Nordenskjold +decided to establish the winter station on one of the islands in this +vicinity. + +A brief visit to Seymour Island did not reveal the wealth of +fossil-bearing strata that was expected. Paulet Island was visited and +an interesting circular lake was discovered, lying in a circular range +of hills. The banks of the lake bore ample evidences that at one time +there had been great volcanic activity at the place, and the lake was +evidently formed in the hollow of the extinct crater. The place did not +appeal to them as a site for the winter station, and, as further +journeys revealed another island on the other side of Seymour Island, +where there was a beach which appeared to be sheltered from the +southward, the point whence the most violent winds blew, it was decided +to build the hut there. + +The _Antarctica_ anchored in the bay opposite the beach and rapidly +unloaded the camp equipment. When everything was almost landed, a +movement in the ice at the mouth of the bay compelled the ship to stand +out into open water, so the party of six, who were to spend the winter +on the island, hastened ashore, where they had their hut to build and +all preparations to make without the help, which had been counted upon, +of the crew of the vessel. But this did not weigh heavily upon them, and +they set to work with a will. In the course of a week, the _Antarctica_ +was able to get into the bay again and to land the remaining stores; but +by that time the hut was up and the adventurous six were almost settled +down to their routine work. + +A day or so after landing, Nordenskjold discovered that the island they +were on--named Snow Hill Island--was peculiarly interesting from a +geological point of view, for he found fossils of ammonites, a token of +ancient life of the region which alone would have made the expedition +memorable. + +During the first month of their sojourn, the party were fully occupied +in organising their scientific work and in taking preliminary trips +through the island. At an early date they satisfied themselves that +Admiralty Bay is a Sound, and that the portion of the continent +extending to the vicinity was more in the nature of a group of scattered +islands, with deep sounds passing between them, than a continuous +stretch of mainland. The microscopical examination of the soil revealed +the presence of numerous bacteria, while the examination of the waters +showed that the lower forms of life were well represented. On the land +there were abundance of penguins, seals, and migratory birds; but +otherwise there was an absence of the animals found throughout the +Arctic regions. + +On one point they had reason to be dissatisfied with the position +selected for the station. At the time the site was chosen it was +believed that they would be well sheltered from the force of the gales. +The reverse was found to be the case. Gales came from the south-west for +days together and blew with a velocity that was astounding. On one +occasion a large bag of fossils, left on the steps of the hut, was blown +yards away; while on another, a barrel of bread was carried off, and a +whale-boat was lifted over a second boat and flung against a mass of +ice, a distance of twenty-one yards. When the boat was found, after the +storm had abated, it was lying keel upwards, with the greater part of +one side smashed in. The oars, thwarts, and inside planks were scattered +and broken, even the zinc plating being stripped off and blown away. + +A curious phenomenon was observed during the progress of these gales. +The air became saturated with electricity to such an extent that the +metal parts of the instruments gave shocks to the fingers when touched, +while the tips of a man's fingers glowed with luminosity when outside +the hut in the dark. As a similar thing occurs in the Sahara during the +progress of a simoon or sand-storm, it was considered that the amount of +electricity was caused by the friction set up by the particles of snow +carried along in a never-ending cloud by the gale. The rate at which the +dry particles of snow moved was tremendous. An extra severe gale +carrying away the wind-gauge, it was not possible to keep a complete +record of the velocity of the gales, but from the records secured, it +was demonstrated that, during the first half of June, if the hut had +travelled with the same velocity as the wind rushed past it, a distance +of 14,900 miles would have been covered, or as far as from the hut to +Sweden and half-way back. + +As winter approached, the storms obscured the sky and the sun was not +often seen. They were not far enough south to lose it altogether, and +all through the winter they had the benefit of its presence, though not +for many hours at a time. When it did come, however, it came with great +magnificence. After a series of storms they saw it rise one morning, and +the spectacle is described as gorgeous and beautiful. "The morning was +so clear and bright that I absolutely do not know with what to compare +it," Nordenskjold wrote. "A faint violet light lay along the horizon and +over Cockburn Island, which forms the central point of view from the +station. The sky gleams with a darker blue, and across it float long +streamers of ribbon-like clouds, which shine and flame in red. But ever +in the colours there is something pale, a paleness which predominates +with indescribable delicateness of tone in the tints of the horizon, and +in the blue and white shades of the stretches of land, which contrast so +strongly with the dull brown of our immediate neighbourhood, and even +with the sharply defined ice wall of Snow Hill. At about ten o'clock a +glowing spot begins to be visible on the horizon, and, presaged by a +perpendicular pillar of fire, there rises what would be the orb of the +sun, but which, in consequence of refraction, appears to us to be a +broad flaming moving belt of fire. On each side of the sun there are two +shining, intensely rainbow-coloured belts, forming parts of a ring, +which, however, can be seen but imperfectly. The sun rises higher in the +heavens and assumes by degrees his ordinary appearance, whereupon these +accessory phenomena disappear, together with the moon, whose crescent +has been visible in the sky until the last possible moment." + +The winter passed without misfortune, and with the approach of spring +preparations were made for the first long sledge journey. On this, and +other journeys, they succeeded in travelling long distances over what +was often heavy ice, on two meals a day. The first, which was the more +substantial of the two, consisted of pemmican made into a thick +porridge-like soup, the nutritious qualities of which were felt even as +it was being eaten. This was followed by coffee, meat, biscuits, butter +and sugar. On such a meal the men existed and travelled all day, making +no stop until the evening, when they had their dinner, consisting merely +of pease or lentil soup, meat, chocolate, bread, butter, and, sometimes, +bacon. Immediately they had eaten this frugal repast they were in their +sleeping-bags and asleep. + +After climbing the ice ridges, which rose along the shores of the +mainland, they succeeded in reaching the land itself on October 18, +though the only evidence of it was the appearance of some dark-coloured +rocks which showed above the ice. They were then in 56 deg. 48' S. and 62 deg. +11' W. This was as far as they penetrated, and the rapidity of their +movements is shown by the record they set of thirty-eight and a half +miles in one day. Other shorter trips taken over the islands in the +vicinity of Snow Hill Island resulted in the discovery of important +fossils, including the bones of an unknown vertebrate animal, some +mammoth penguins, as well as the leaves of different kinds of pine trees +and several ferns. These were all regarded as belonging to the Tertiary +period. + +With the New Year of 1903 they indulged in festivities, not only on +account of the season, but also in anticipation of the early arrival of +the _Antarctica_. As they had no idea of spending two winters in +succession in the station, they had not been rigidly economical with +their stores. There was no shortage in anything, but there was not +enough to last them during a second winter on the same scale that they +had lived during the first. When the days went by and grew into weeks, +and no ship appeared, they began to take note of these things. For a +time they kept on the lookout, and, at night, would conjecture at what +hour on the following day the _Antarctica_ would appear, and by whom she +would first be seen, but as the month slipped by and no ship appeared, +they dropped the subject, with one accord, and, instead of discussing +when the vessel would arrive, they talked about the best way of spending +their second winter at the station. The penguin roosts were visited and +large numbers of the birds were killed and stored away for winter food, +while seals were slaughtered to provide food for the dogs and clothing +for the men. Although they never discussed it, the idea each man had +about the non-arrival of the _Antarctica_ was that she had become caught +in the ice, and so prevented from reaching them until it was too late in +the season. What had actually occurred never suggested itself. + +After passing the winter as was arranged, the _Antarctica_ had proceeded +to Tierra del Fuego and South Georgia, had picked up all the members of +the expedition, and had steamed away to the South so as to reach the +winter station early in January. As she advanced, however, she found the +sea so blocked with ice that she could not follow the course she had +sailed the previous year. When she arrived at Hope Bay, some miles to +the north of the station, Professor Andersson and two companions landed +with sledges and sufficient provisions to last nine men for two months. +It was their intention to proceed over the ice to the station, while the +_Antarctica_ steamed away to the west, in the hopes of finding an +opening through the ice which would enable her to reach the station. If, +on the arrival of the relief party at the station, the _Antarctica_ had +not appeared, they were to return, with the other six, and wait for the +ship at Hope Bay. + +Before proceeding over the ice to the station the three built a small +stone hut, where they stored the greater portion of the stores, and with +the remainder on their sledge they started on their march. But the ice, +which had been too compact for the ship to penetrate, was not compact +enough for them to traverse. Delay after delay was caused by leads and +channels, until it was forced upon them that they would not be able to +reach the station until the summer was over and the ice formed solid +over the sea. As by that time the _Antarctica_ ought to have arrived at +the station, they decided their best course was to return to the depot +at Hope Bay and await her advent. They did so, but no ship appeared, +and, with the end of summer, it was clear to them that something had +happened either to the ship or at the station, and that the only thing +left for them to do was to make themselves as comfortable as they could. +With the limited store of provisions they had with them it was necessary +to go on short rations at once, though the capture of some penguins, the +shooting of seals, and the catching of fish by means of a hook made from +a strap buckle and a line of sealskin torn into strips, augmented their +stock of food and gave them, also, in the blubber of the seals, fuel and +light. Cooped up in their little stone hut, which was only built large +enough, in the first instance, as a place to hold their stores, they +went through the dreary months of winter with a contentment which was +the very acme of heroism. + +Meanwhile the _Antarctica_ had steamed away to the west, and then, a +chance offering itself, had stood to the south until she was in the +latitude of Paulet Island. She turned to the east, heading in the +direction of the station on Snow Hill Island, when the ice caught her. +For days she remained in the pack, those on board chafing at the delay +and trying every device to get her free. But the ice was too strong, and +at last they were forced to admit that they were caught for the winter. +This was bad enough, but there was worse to follow. A movement began in +the pack, and a pressure-ridge started directly for the ship. It was +upon them almost before they realised it, and the crash with which she +heeled over told its own tale. The ice had torn a length of her keel +away, and had made a hole in her which it was impossible to repair. + +Everything that could be got out was thrown on to the ice, and the +ship's company formed themselves into sledge parties to convey as much +as they could to the nearest land. This was Paulet Island, where they +arrived after an arduous march and at once set to work to construct a +shelter for the winter, which was now upon them. There they stayed, +within a few miles of the station, and of the other party at Hope Bay, +but all in ignorance of the proximity of one another, and quite unable +to communicate. + +With the first sign of approaching spring the men at the station made +arrangements to resume their expeditions and complete the survey of the +islands in their immediate vicinity. The first trip was in the direction +of Hope Bay, and the party had been out some days when, in the dim +light, one thought he saw an unusual dark patch on the ice in the +distance. He drew his companion's attention to it, but neither cared to +trust their eyes. As they approached nearer, the dark patch resolved +itself into the figures of men, and a still nearer view revealed two +such extraordinary creatures that one of the men from the station +thought it would be as well to have a revolver ready in case of +emergencies. The two figures were in black garments, with black caps on +their heads, and their hands and faces were as black as their clothes, +while the upper parts of their faces were hidden by curious-looking +masks. Beside them was a sledge. + +With considerable uncertainty the men from the station approached, and +were not reassured when they were asked, in English, how they were. +"Thanks; how are you?" they replied. "Don't you know us?" one of the +strange-looking creatures asked. "We're the relief party. Have you seen +the ship?" Then a third figure appeared from behind an ice hummock where +he had been preparing a meal. They were Professor Andersson and his +companions, who were on their way, for the second time, to the station. + +Without loss of time the reunited comrades made their way to the +station, where soap and water and a fresh supply of clothes soon +transformed the appearance of the three who had had so trying a time in +the little stone hut at Hope Bay. But the situation was still fraught +with anxiety, now that both parties realised something very serious had +happened to the _Antarctica_. It was impossible for them to determine +whether she had gone to the bottom, or had been beset in the ice. Only +one thing was clear, and that was, that they would all have to stay +where they were until some help came to them. While they were still +debating what chances there were of any coming before another winter +went by, they were startled, one day, by the arrival of visitors. These +proved to be a search party from the Argentine cruiser _Uruguay_, which +the Argentine Government had despatched as the _Antarctica_ had not +returned at her appointed time. Help had come at a time and from a +quarter least expected. + +But the news that the cruiser brought added very much to the fears the +explorers entertained as to the safety of the _Antarctica_ and her crew. +If she had been beset, some of her company could have reached the +station over the ice while it was still compact, or, if she was still +afloat, she ought herself to have been able to reach them. The absence +of all news made the members of the expedition gathered at the station +more than uneasy as to the fate of their comrades. + +The morning after the Argentine officers arrived, one of the men, +looking out of the hut, exclaimed that eight men were coming over the +ice. Under the impression that they were some of the cruiser's crew sent +to assist in removing the baggage from the station to the ship, he went +out to meet them, walking slowly, as he tried to decide what was to be +done if they could not speak any language he knew. The others in the +hut, watching him, saw him suddenly leap forward and then turn to them +and wave his arms. "Larsen! Larsen is here!" they heard him shout. + +With one accord they rushed out after him, and in a few moments were +eagerly shaking hands with the eight men, who were a detachment sent out +from the camp on Paulet Island to ascertain whether the party at the +station was still intact or whether it had been rescued. The news was +sent to the cruiser, and soon all the members of the expedition and +their baggage were on board and the ship was steaming for Paulet Island. + +On arrival off the coast no signs of the remainder of the crew of the +_Antarctica_ were to be seen, so the whistle was blown. The men at the +time were all in the shelter, sleeping, and the sudden sound of the +whistle roused them. For the moment they could not believe their ears. +Then one of them looked out and saw the ship, and the shout with which +he and his companions greeted the sight rang far out over the water. + +Professor Andersson and his two comrades had left the _Antarctica_ on +December 29, 1902; the ship was nipped on January 10, 1903; and the +castaways arrived at Paulet Island at the end of February. They had +lived in the shelter they constructed, subsisting mostly on penguin, +until November, when the Argentine cruiser arrived. Only one man had +died. + +The expedition reached Buenos Aires on November 30, 1903, having, during +the time they had been in the Antarctic, collected a mass of interesting +and valuable scientific information. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +BRITAIN HOLDS HER OWN + + A Capable Crew--A Modern Franklin--Early Discoveries--Frozen in--An + Historic Journey--The Record of "Farthest South"--How the Record + was Won--Speedy Travelling--Receding Ice Limits--A Dying + Glacier--The Secret of the Barrier--A Fatal Gale--Lost in the + Snow--An Antarctic Chute--Prolonged Slumber--Antarctic Coal--Home + with Honour. + + +The British Expedition, despatched under the international agreement, +was destined, not only to surpass the achievements of the other two, but +also to establish a series of records superior to anything that has yet +been accomplished in Polar exploration, either in the northern or +southern hemispheres. + +The members of the expedition, consisting of Naval officers and men, +officers of the Mercantile Marine (Royal Naval Reserve), and civilian +scientists, sailed from Cowes on August 6, 1901, on board the +_Discovery_, a vessel specially built for the purpose. The ship +proceeded to New Zealand, and left there on November 28, 1901, for +Victoria Land. They arrived there December 24. + +[Illustration: MAP OF SOUTH POLAR REGIONS. + +The black line marks the voyage of the _Discovery_; the dotted line the +course of the record-making Southern sledge journey. On the right of the +map are seen the winter quarters of the German Expedition under Prof. +von Drygalski.] + +In selecting the members of the expedition, great care had been +exercised, and the excellent results of the voyage may, in a great +measure, be attributed to this. No other qualification than fitness was +allowed to rank with the selecting committee, so that every one on board +the _Discovery_ knew what he had to do and was capable of doing it. This +is particularly true in regard to the commander, Captain Robert F. +Scott, R.N., of whom the President of the Royal Geographical Society +justly said: "the skilful and bold navigator, the ideal director of a +scientific staff, the organiser of measures securing the health and good +spirits of his people, and the beloved commander of the chosen band of +explorers who are ready to face hardships and dangers to secure his +approval." Throughout the entire period the expedition was away, the +attitude of the commander was entirely in keeping with the grandest +traditions of the service to which he belonged, and would serve to place +his name in the brilliant list of Polar heroes quite apart from the +splendid feats he personally performed while in the Antarctic. Prominent +amongst these stands the record of "farthest South," achieved by Scott +and two comrades, in September 1902, when the flag was carried to 82 deg. +17' S., or some 250 miles nearer the Pole than it had yet been. + +[Illustration: THE _DISCOVERY_ LYING IN WINTER QUARTERS, FROZEN IN. + +The large hut could accommodate the whole crew, and was built in case of +a disaster to the ship. The smaller huts in the foreground were used for +magnetic and astronomical observations.] + +The first point touched by the _Discovery_ on her voyage along the coast +of Victoria Land was Cape Adare, where the Newnes expedition, under +Borchegrevinck, passed the winter of 1899. Here a brief landing was +effected, a collection made of the rocks in the neighbourhood, and a +cairn built to hold a record for the information of the relief ship, +which was to be sent out in the following year. Continuing the voyage to +the South, the explorers visited Wood Bay, and, subsequently, discovered +an excellent harbour as far south as 76 deg. 31' S. + +Landing at Cape Crozier on January 22, and leaving another record there +for the information of the relief ship, the _Discovery_ went east along +the ice barrier until the 165th meridian of longitude was passed, when +the barrier was found to trend to the north, the sea becoming rapidly +more shoal. The coast line was followed to 76 deg. S., or 150 miles further +than the expeditions before had gone. The ship was then turned, and, in +174 deg. E. longitude, a place was seen where an inlet ran into the barrier. +A sledge party went on the ice and penetrated as far as 78 deg. 50' S., the +point reached by Borchegrevinck in his sledge trip. + +By this time it was realised that winter quarters must be selected, and +the _Discovery_ sailed to that part of the sea where Mount Erebus and +Mount Terror reared their lofty heads on the land. Examining the land +for a suitable site for the camp, it was learned that both Erebus and +Terror are situated on an island, and not, as was formerly believed, on +the mainland. At the opposite end of the island another smaller volcanic +mount was seen, with a still smaller one between it and the two giants. +The larger of these was named Mount Discovery, and, near its base, the +site of the camp was chosen. The ship was worked in as close to the +shore as was possible before the heavy frost set in, and, as she was +well constructed to withstand the pressure of ice, she remained in this +position until, after the second winter had been passed, the relief ship +arrived with sufficient explosives to blast a way out of the ice. + +As soon as the members of the expedition had settled down and all was +made snug, trips were taken in all directions along the coast and over +the ice. The longest trip, taken in the following September, was +arranged for, food depots being established as far to the south as the +stores could be conveyed. + +On this trip, the historic one of the expedition, only three went. These +were Captain Scott, Lieutenant Shackleton, and Dr. Wilson. They had dogs +with them at the start, but the animals grew sick and weak, and were, at +last, quite useless in dragging the sledges. The three harnessed +themselves to the sledges in place of the dogs, and, handicapped with +this weight of 240 lbs. each, they pushed on until they reached 82 deg. 17' +S. From the position they then occupied they were able to see as far as +83 deg. 20' S., and would have gone as far, if not farther, but for an +insuperable obstacle that confronted them. The route they followed was +over rough ice, often yawning with deep crevasses, down which the +sledges had to be lowered and then hauled up on the other side. Some of +them were veritable chasms, but they faded into insignificance when +compared with the one which opened before the explorers at the end of +the march. For a time they examined this mighty ice ravine to see if it +were not possible, one way or another, to get across. The descent might +have been possible, and there was no great difficulty in crossing the +floor of it, but the far side rose in an unbroken precipice, and they +recognised it as insurmountable, even to such daring and intrepid +climbers as themselves. + +From the latitude they had attained they were able to learn that +Victoria Land is traversed by a range of high mountains, which, in 82 deg. +S., were from 10,000 to 14,000 feet high. A line of foot-hills, closely +resembling Admiralty Mountains in appearance, rose in longitude 160 deg. E. +The route gradually ascended, as the party progressed, until a level +unbroken plain was reached, the altitude of which was 9000 feet. The +coast line could be seen stretching away due south to the 83rd parallel. + +On the way back Lieutenant Shackleton unfortunately ruptured a +blood-vessel during an unusually heavy strain at the sledges. The +strength of all the party was severely taxed by the hardships of the +journey, and the sudden incapacitating of one of the three was a matter +of grave anxiety. He was relieved of the weight of his sledge, but they +all realised that if they were to get back alive to the ship, Lieutenant +Shackleton would have to walk, as the other two were utterly unable to +drag the sledges, with the food and supplies, and his weight as well. +With heroic determination he followed them on foot, only complaining +that his injury effectively prevented him from doing his share in the +hard work. So they journeyed, arriving at the ship after an absence of +ninety-four days, during which they must have covered quite a thousand +miles. The speed at which they travelled, when the ice conditions would +allow them to proceed, was as high as thirty-two miles a day, a speed +far greater than has been attained by other explorers, with one +exception, even when the sledges have been drawn by dog-teams. + +[Illustration: THE "FARTHEST SOUTH" SLEDGE PARTY IN A BLIZZARD. + +_Drawn by Stanley L. Wood._] + +The exception was the record set by another party of the _Discovery_ +explorers, who, without dogs, and with heavy sledges (240 lbs. a man), +covered thirty-three miles a day over the inland ice. This party went +out in a westerly direction and passed over the interior of Victoria +Land, which they found covered with an ice-cap forming a great plain +9000 feet above the sea-level. They were fifty-three days absent, and, +at their farthest, were 142 miles from the ship. When they turned back, +the plain on the horizon seemed to be higher than where they stood, and +rocks occasionally showed. Between this plain and the coast they had +several magnificent views of glaciers. In following one down they had an +interesting evidence of the fact that the ice in these regions is +receding, though at a rate that will require many centuries to pass +before it is all melted and the land made available for human +settlement. + +They had followed down the glacier for a day, and the ice became so very +rough they were obliged to leave their sledges behind them and proceed +with the greatest care. As they continued to descend, the glacier +gradually dwindled and then suddenly ended in a low wall of ice. In the +valley beyond were some frozen lakes, beyond which the valley changed +into a series of deep, narrow gorges, filled with long lines and +confused heaps of stones and other debris, shed from the glacier as it +melted. Perhaps in this valley, more than anywhere else, lay the +evidences of what was happening and what had been. There lay the +glacier, inert and dead, while the summer sun was gradually wasting its +huge mass. On either side its shrinking tributaries had already severed +their connection with it, and receded up the mountain sides. Everything +pointed to receding glaciation. Not only were the gorges filled with the +stones and debris of the moraines, but thousands of feet up the +hill-sides they lay in clear-cut lines, showing how vast the proportions +of the glacier had once been. + +Other glaciers observed gave the same indications. One of these, named +the Ferrar Glacier, after the discoverer, was described as containing +probably as much ice as any hitherto known in the world. Two others, the +Barnes and the Shackleton Glaciers, each contained a great deal more; +but all were greatly shrunk from the tremendous proportions they must +once have had, and which could be traced by the lines of moraines. It +was from observing these glaciers and speculating upon the immeasurable +quantity of ice that once must have slowly flowed along them to the sea, +that a theory was formed as to the real significance of the great ice +barrier lying to the south of the Antarctic Circle. The opinion was +generally entertained that the ice in this barrier is afloat. It had +receded from the time when Ross first discovered it. Even while the +expedition was in the neighbourhood it receded. In September 1902, a +depot was established on the ice at a line drawn between a volcanic peak +at the extreme end of Minna Bluff and the top of Mount Discovery. In +November 1903, this spot was found to have moved 608 yards out of the +alignment, moving east of north. On the sides of Mount Terror, 800 feet +above the existing surface of the barrier, moraines marked its original +height. From these facts it was reasoned that at one time the ice +forming the cap over the Antarctic continent was enormously deeper than +it is to-day, and that it then extended out into the Antarctic Ocean for +probably hundreds of miles further than it now reaches. The slow but +steady flow of the great ice stream had absolutely filled the sea off +the coast of Victoria Land, and the barrier, now existing, was the +remains of this once mighty mass. + +It was on one of these exploring journeys that a curious experience +befell one party, a member of which, unfortunately, lost his life in +consequence. The party were out with sledges and had halted for the +midday meal when a violent gale sprang up. As usual, the wind set the +snow in motion, and soon the men found themselves in a whirling cloud of +finely powdered snow which entirely shut out their view in all +directions. Believing themselves to be in the vicinity of the ship, they +left the sledges and set out to march to the vessel. Soon they found +themselves on a slope which they fancied they recognised as the one that +led down to where the ship lay in the ice. As they cautiously advanced, +one of the men missed his footing. What with the force of the wind, the +insecure foothold on the moving snow, and the declivity of the slope, he +was unable to stop himself, and slipped past his comrades and out of +sight in the whirling snow with the speed of lightning. + +The officer in charge halted the other men, and all crouched down, +expecting their comrade to rejoin them as soon as he secured his +footing. After waiting some time without his appearing, the officer +advanced to find him. With the first step he also went out of sight as +though he had been shot from a gun. Then a third went forward, and was +at once lost to the sight of the others in the same way. The remainder +of the men, after waiting for some time, concluded the three had +reached the ship, and determined to set out after them. One man, a young +New Zealander named Hare, set off to reach the sledges and recover his +mittens. In the confusion of the whirling snow his absence was not +noted, and the rest of the party set out for the ship, which they were +satisfied was quite near. As a matter of fact, they were entirely out of +their bearings. The man who took the lead walked very cautiously down +the slope. He had heavy tacks in the boots he was wearing, and was thus +enabled to get a firm hold of the snow. To this he owed his life, for, +through the drifting snow, he suddenly saw an open chasm yawn at his +feet. He threw himself back and shouted to those behind to stop. All +tried to do so, but the man next to the leader was unable to pull up. +His feet shot from under him, and he was seen to dash past them like a +flash. + +Out of the nine who had originally formed the party, four now remained +together. Warned by the sudden disappearance of the man Vince, who had +shot past them over the precipice, the four moved with the greatest +deliberation and caution. At length they were able to reach the shore +and locate the ship, whither they hastened with the news. + +[Illustration: A DRIFTING ICE FLOE ATTACHED TO THE _DISCOVERY_ BY A +ROPE, WHILE THE CREW ARE DIGGING SUFFICIENT ICE TO REPLENISH THE FRESH +WATER SUPPLY OF THE SHIP.] + +The alarm was at once given, steam was got up, the siren was set to +work, and its shrill notes penetrated far and wide, while relief parties +were organised and despatched. Knowing the route the men were to have +taken, no difficulty was experienced in tracking down the abandoned +sledges. But on arrival there the relief party was astounded to find the +officer and the two men who had vanished from the others while +descending the snow slope. The astonishment was increased when not one +of the three could explain how they had succeeded in returning to the +sledges. They remembered their experiences as they were hurled down the +snow slope, and each one told the same tale. Immediately they had stood +up against the gale they felt their feet go from under them, they rushed +forward with incredible speed, so fast, indeed, as to have absolutely no +control over themselves, and then they plunged into a mass of soft snow. +There they found themselves and one another. They were still dazed when +found. Subsequent examination showed that the slope down which they had +been hurled extended for a distance of five hundred yards and terminated +with the bank of snow, into which they had plunged. The bank was within +fifteen feet of a cliff which had a clear drop of two hundred feet to +the shore-ice below. + +It was over this cliff that Vince had gone, and no trace of the +unfortunate fellow was ever found. Nor were the relief parties +successful in discovering Hare, the New Zealander. When all had returned +to the ship he was also given up as lost, but to the amazement of every +one he was seen returning to the ship on the second day after the gale. +He explained that on his way back to the sledges he had fallen in the +snow and had lost consciousness, returning to his senses some time after +to find himself completely buried in a snow-drift. He had struggled out +and made his way to the ship. It was his turn to be amazed when he was +told he had been searched for during the whole of the previous day. It +was some time before he would believe that what he referred to as to-day +was in reality yesterday. He had lain in the snow for a period of +thirty-six hours. When he fell, the heavy snow had apparently covered +him, and so kept the heat of his body from leaving him. He had thus sunk +into a heavy snow-sleep, and his physical stamina had done the rest in +helping him towards recovery. His escape, without even a frost-bite, is +unique in the annals of Polar experiences. + +During the second year of their stay, a discovery was made, which, from +a geological point of view, exceeded in value all the others put +together. It was in October that a sledge party set out to penetrate +into the interior of Victoria Land. They travelled over the ice plain at +an average altitude of 9000 feet until, in 78 deg. S. and 146 deg. 30' E., they +were at a distance of 270 miles from the ship. The interior of the land +seemed to stretch in a vast continental plateau continuously at a height +of 9000 feet. In one of the many ravines examined, sandstone strata were +discovered, in one of which there was a narrow seam of fossil plants. +The "coal measure" was only one-eighth of an inch in thickness, but +within it were found specimens of plants belonging to the Miocene +period. + +In February 1904 the relief ship _Morning_ arrived at the station, and, +with the explosives she brought with her, the _Discovery_ was freed from +the ice and commenced her homeward journey. She had completed a stay of +two winters in a latitude 500 miles further South than any other ship +had wintered, while the expedition had reaped a success such as no other +expedition has ever achieved in either Arctic or Antarctic regions. + +THE END + + +Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. +Edinburgh & London + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Romance of Polar Exploration, by G. 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