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If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Arctic regions and the northern whale-fishery - -Author: William Scoresby - -Release Date: November 19, 2022 [eBook #69389] - -Language: English - -Produced by: deaurider, Bob Taylor and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The - Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ARCTIC REGIONS AND THE -NORTHERN WHALE-FISHERY *** - - - - - -Transcriber’s Note -italic text shown as _italic_ - - - - -[Illustration: SPITZBERGEN.] - - - - - THE - - ARCTIC REGIONS - - AND THE - - NORTHERN - - WHALE-FISHERY. - - BY - - CAPTAIN SCORESBY, F.R.S.E. - - - LONDON: THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY: _Instituted 1799_. 56, - PATERNOSTER ROW, AND 65, ST. PAUL’S CHURCHYARD. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -The following pages contain, in an abridged and somewhat modified -form, the substance of the first volume of captain (now the rev. -Dr.) Scoresby’s work on the Arctic Regions and the Whale-fishery, -Edinburgh, 1820; with the omission of the third chapter on the -Hydrographical Survey of the Greenland Sea. It is now issued by the -kind permission of the author; and a wider circulation may thus be -secured for the interesting contents of his volumes than they could -receive in their original and more costly form. Some few materials -have also been collated from the valuable papers by the same author -contributed to the “Edinburgh Philosophical Journal.” - - - - -CONTENTS. - - -CHAPTER I. - -Page - - REMARKS ON THE CELEBRATED QUESTION OF THE EXISTENCE OF A SEA - COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC OCEANS, BY THE NORTH; - WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY IN THE NORTHERN REGIONS 9 - - -CHAPTER II. - - DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF SOME OF THE POLAR COUNTRIES 33 - - -CHAPTER III. - - AN ACCOUNT OF THE GREENLAND OR POLAR ICE 62 - - -CHAPTER IV. - - OBSERVATIONS ON THE ATMOSPHEROLOGY OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS, - PARTICULARLY RELATING TO SPITZBERGEN AND THE ADJACENT - GREENLAND SEA 96 - - -CHAPTER V. - - A SKETCH OF THE ZOOLOGY OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS 139 - - -CHAPTER VI. - - EXPEDITIONS FOR FURTHER DISCOVERY 188 - - - - -THE ARCTIC REGIONS. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -REMARKS ON THE CELEBRATED QUESTION OF THE EXISTENCE OF A SEA -COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC OCEANS, BY THE NORTH; -WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY IN THE NORTHERN REGIONS. - - -The question of the existence of a navigable communication between -the European and the Chinese seas, by the north, is one which has -been long in agitation without being resolved, and has been often -revived, with the most sanguine expectations of success, to be again -abandoned as hopeless. The first attempts to reach China by sea, were -made by steering along the coast of Africa toward the south, and the -next, by proceeding from the European shore in a westerly direction. -The former, which first proved successful, was accomplished by -Vasquez de Gama, a Portuguese, in the year 1497-8; and the latter was -undertaken by the renowned navigator, Columbus, in 1492. The notion -of steering to India by the north-west, as the shortest way, was -suggested about the middle or latter end of the fifteenth century, -by John Vaz Costa Cortereal, who performed a voyage to Newfoundland -about the year 1463-4; or, according to a more general opinion, -by John Cabot, the father of the celebrated Sebastian Cabot, who -attempted the navigation in 1497, and perhaps also in 1494-5. The -idea of a passage to India by the North Pole was suggested by Robert -Thorne, merchant of Bristol, as early as the year 1527; and the -opinion of a passage by the north-east was proposed soon afterwards. - -The universal interest which has been attached to this question of -a sea communication between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, by the -north, ever since it was first suggested, about three hundred and -thirty or three hundred and fifty years ago, is fully proved by the -facts, that the speculation has never but once been abandoned by the -nations of Europe for more than twenty-five years together, and that -there have been only three or four intervals of more than fifteen -years in which no expedition was sent out in search of one or other -of the supposed passages, from the year 1500 down to the present -time. And it is not a little surprising that, after nearly a hundred -different voyages have been undertaken with a view of discovering -the desired communication with the Indian seas, all of which have -failed, Britain should again revive and attempt the solution of this -interesting problem. - -Several facts may be brought forward, on which arguments of no mean -force may be founded, in support of the opinion of the existence of a -sea communication by the north between Europe and China. They may be -enumerated in order. - -1. The prevailing current in the Spitzbergen sea flows, we are -well assured, during nine months of the year, if not all the year -round, from the north-east towards the south-west. The velocity of -this current may be from five to twenty miles per day, varying in -different situations, but is most considerable near the coast of -Old Greenland. The current, on the other hand, in the middle of -Behring’s Strait, as observed by lieutenant Kotzebue, sets strongly -to the north-east, with a velocity, as he thought, of two miles and -a half an hour; which is greater, however, by one-half than the rate -observed by captain Cook. - -2. By the action of the south-westerly current, a vast quantity -of ice is annually brought from the north and east, and conducted -along the east shore of Old Greenland as far as Cape Farewell, -where such masses as still remain undissolved are soon destroyed by -the influence of the solar heat and the force of the sea, to which -they then become exposed from almost every quarter. This ice being -entirely free from salt, and very compact, appears originally to -have consisted of field-ice, a kind which perhaps requires the -action of frost for many years to bring it to the thickness which -it assumes. The quantity of heavy ice, in surface, which is thus -annually dissolved, may, at a rough calculation, be stated to be -about twenty thousand square leagues, while the quantity annually -generated in the regions accessible to the whale-fishers is, -probably, not more than one-fourth of that area. As such, the ice, -which is so inexhaustible, must require an immense surface of sea for -its generation, perhaps the whole or greater part of the so-called -“Polar Basin;” the supply required for replacing what is dissolved -in Behring’s Strait, where the current sets towards the north, -being, probably, of small moment. The current, in opposite parts of -the northern hemisphere, being thus found to follow the same line -of direction, indicates a communication between the two across the -Poles; and the inexhaustible supply of ice, affording about fifteen -thousand square leagues, to be annually dissolved above the quantity -generated in the known parts of the Spitzbergen seas, supports the -same conclusion. - -3. The origin of the considerable quantity of drift-wood, found in -almost every part of the Greenland sea, is traced to some country -beyond the Pole, and may be brought forward in aid of the opinion -of the existence of a sea communication between the Atlantic and -the Pacific; which argument receives additional strength from the -circumstance of some of the drift-wood being worm-eaten. This last -fact I first observed on the shores of the island of Jan Mayen, in -August, 1817, and confirmed it by more particular observation when at -Spitzbergen the year following. Having no axe with me when I observed -the worm-eaten wood, and having no means of bringing it away, I could -not ascertain whether the holes observed in the timber were the work -of a _ptinus_ or a _pholas_. In either case, however, as it is not -known that these animals ever pierce wood in arctic countries, it is -presumed that the worm-eaten drift-wood is derived from a transpolar -region. Numerous facts of this nature might be adduced, all of which -support the same conclusion. - -4. The northern faces of the continents of Europe and Asia, as well -as of that of America, so far as yet known, are such as renders it -difficult even to imagine such a position for the unascertained -regions, as to cut off the communication between the Frozen Sea, near -the meridian of London, and that in the opposite part of the northern -hemisphere, near Behring’s Strait. - -5. Whales, which have been harpooned in the Greenland seas, have been -found in the Pacific Ocean; and whales, with stone lances sticking -in their fat, (a kind of weapon used by no nation now known,) have -been caught both in the sea of Spitsbergen and in Davis’s Strait. -This fact, which is sufficiently authenticated, seems to me the most -satisfactory argument. - -The Russians, it appears, have, at intervals, discovered all the -navigation between Archangel and the Strait of Behring, excepting a -portion of about two hundred miles, occupied by the eastern part of a -noss, or promontory, lying between the rivers Khatanga and Piacina. -The northern extremity of this noss, called Cape Ceverovostochnoi, -appears to have been doubled by lieutenant Prontschitscheff, in the -year 1735, so that ice, and perhaps some small islands, seem in this -place to form the great obstruction to the navigation. As far as can -be well substantiated, the portion of the route between Archangel -and Kamtchatka, which has been hitherto accomplished, clearly proves -that, if a sea communication between the Atlantic and Pacific by the -north-east really exists, it could never be practicable in one year. -Inasmuch as the Russians were five or six years in performing so much -of the navigation as has been accomplished, though they employed a -number of different vessels in the undertaking, it is probable that -the voyage could never be performed in one vessel, unless by mere -accident, in less than eight or ten years. It is clear, therefore, -that the discovery of a “north-east passage” could never be of any -advantage to our commerce with China or India. - -Though, however, the voyages undertaken in search of a north-east -passage by the different nations of Europe have amounted to about -twelve, besides numerous partial attempts by the Russians, and though -all of them have failed in their principal intention, yet they have -not been wholly lost to us; the Spitzbergen whale and seal fisheries, -so valuable to the country, with the trade to Archangel, having -arisen out of them. - -The voyages of Davis, in the years 1585-6 and 1587-8, of Hudson, in -1610, and of Baffin, in 1616, were the source of the greatest part -of the discoveries which have been made in the countries situated -to the northward and westward of the south point of Greenland. -To these regions, consisting of what have been called bays and -straits, the names of these celebrated voyagers have been applied. -All the voyages, indeed, since undertaken for discovery in the -same quarter, amounting to nearly thirty, have done little more -than confirm the researches of these three individuals, and show -how little there was to be found, instead of discovering anything -of moment. The ostensible object of most of these voyages, was the -discovery of a shorter passage to India than that by the Cape of -Good Hope, by the north-west. The existence of such a passage is -not yet either proved or refuted. In an account of “a Voyage to -Hudson’s Bay,” by Henry Ellis, such a passage is inferred to exist -from the following considerations:—the want of trees on the west -side of Hudson’s Bay beyond a certain latitude; the appearance of a -certain ridge of mountains lying near the same coast, and extending -in a direction parallel to it; the direct testimony of the Indians, -that they have seen the sea beyond the mountains, and have observed -vessels navigating therein; and, most particularly, the nature and -peculiarities observed in the tides. This latter argument is by far -the most conclusive. From observations on the winds and tides in the -Baltic, Mediterranean, and other inland seas, Ellis proceeds to show, -that every circumstance with regard to the tides in Hudson’s Bay -is different from what would take place in an inland sea, and then -concludes that Hudson’s Bay is not such a sea, but has some opening -which communicates with the Frozen Ocean on the north-west. - -Other arguments, which have been offered in favour of the separation -of Greenland from America, are deduced from the existence of a -current setting from the north—from the circumstance of icebergs and -drift-wood being brought down by the current—from whales wounded in -the Spitzbergen seas having been caught in Davis’s Strait—from the -position of the land, as represented on skins by the native American -Indians—and from the occurrence of certain plants in Greenland, which -are natives of Europe, but have never been found in any part of the -American continent. - -The opinion appears to be quite incorrect, that if a passage were -discovered, it would, probably, be open above half the year. I -imagine it would be only at intervals of years that it would be open -at all, and then, perhaps, for no longer time than eight or ten -weeks in a season. Hence, as affording a navigation to the Pacific -Ocean, the discovery of a north-west passage would be of no service. -For many reasons, however, the examination of these interesting -countries is an object worthy of the attention of a great nation. -The advantages that have already arisen to Britain from the voyages -undertaken in search of a north-west passage are, the establishment -of the Davis’s Strait’s whale-fishery, and of the trade of the -Hudson’s Bay company, so that the expenditure has not altogether been -lost. - -The adventurous spirit manifested by our early navigators, in -performing such hazardous voyages in small barks, in which we should -be scrupulous of trusting ourselves across the German Ocean, is -calculated to strike us with surprise and admiration, while the -correctness of their investigations gives us a high opinion of their -perseverance and talent. The famous voyage of Baffin, in which the -bay bearing his name was discovered, was performed in a vessel of -only fifty-five tons’ burden; that of Hudson, in which also the bay -called by his name was first navigated, in the very same vessel; and -the voyages of Davis chiefly in vessels of fifty, thirty-five, and -ten tons’ burden. - -In perusing the voyages of our old navigators, it is particularly -gratifying to those who consider religion as the chief business of -this life, to observe the strain of piety and dependence upon Divine -Providence which runs through almost every narrative. Their honest -and laudable acknowledgments of a particular interference of the -Almighty, working out deliverance for them in times of difficulty -and danger, and their frequent declarations expressive of their -reliance upon Providence, for assistance and protection in their -adventurous undertakings, are worthy of our imitation. Thus, while -our modern voyagers are much in the habit of attributing their most -remarkable deliverances to “luck,” “chance,” and “fortune,” those of -old evidenced certainly a more Christian-like feeling, under such -circumstances, by referring their deliverances to that great Being, -from whom alone every good thing must be derived. They only who have -a similar dependence on Providence, and who have been occasionally -in trying situations, can duly appreciate the confidence and comfort -which this belief is calculated to afford under the most appalling -circumstances. - -The class of vessels best adapted for discovery in the Polar seas, -seems to be that of one hundred to two hundred tons’ burden. They -are stronger, more easily managed, in less danger of being stoved or -crushed by ice, and not so expensive as those of larger dimensions. -An increase of size is a diminution of comparative strength; and -hence it is evident, that a vessel intended for discovery should be -just large enough for conveying the requisite stores and provisions, -and for affording comfortable accommodation to the navigators, but -no larger. Perhaps a vessel about one hundred and fifty tons’ burden -would be fully sufficient to answer every purpose. The navigation of -the Polar seas, which is peculiar, requires in a particular manner an -extensive knowledge of the nature, properties, and usual motions of -the ice, and it can only be performed to the best advantage by those -who have had long experience in working a ship in icy situations. -It might be a material assistance to those employed in completing -the examination of Baffin’s Bay, as well as productive of some -interesting information in meteorological phenomena, were a vessel or -two to remain in the northern part of this bay through the winter. -There is very little doubt that the vessel would, by this method, be -released by the ice as early as May or June, and thus be afforded -about double the time of research that could be obtained by wintering -out of the bay. There would not, I imagine, be any very great danger -in making this experiment, provided a sufficient quantity of fresh -provisions, for the prevention of the scurvy among the crew, were -taken out, and certain precautions adopted for the preservation of -the ships. The ingenious apparatus invented by Mr. Thomas Morton -designed to supersede, in repairing vessels, the necessity of dry -docks, might be eminently advantageous. - -In seas perpetually encumbered with ice, and probably crowded with -islands, if not divided by necks of land, the chance of great -discoveries and of extensive navigations towards the north-west, -even under the best arrangements and under the boldest seamen, is -but small. The most certain method of ascertaining the existence of -a communication between the Atlantic and Pacific, along the northern -face of America, would doubtless be by journeys on land. Men there -are who, being long used to travel upon snow in the service of the -Hudson’s Bay company, would readily undertake the journey by the -interior lakes of North America to the Frozen Ocean, or, in case of -a continuity of land being found, to the very Pole itself, of whose -success we should certainly have a reasonable ground of hope. The -practicability of this mode of making discoveries has been fully -proved by the expeditions of Mackenzie and Hearne; and a possibility -of performing very long journeys on snow can be attested, from -personal experience, by those who have wintered a few times in -Hudson’s Bay. - -The plan of performing a journey in this way, for discovering the -northern termination of the American continent, and for tracing -it round to its junction with the coasts of the same country, -washed by the Atlantic, might be in some measure as follows. The -party intended for this expedition, which should consist of as few -individuals as possible, ought, perhaps, in the course of one summer, -to make their way to one of the interior settlements of the Hudson’s -Bay company, or of the Canadian traders, such as Slave Fort, on the -great Slave Lake, situated in the 62nd degree of latitude, or Fort -Chepewyan, near the Athapescow Lake, in latitude 58° 40′, from whence -sir Alexander Mackenzie embarked on his voyage to the Frozen Ocean, -and there abide during the first winter. Supposing the travellers -to winter at Slave Fort, they might calculate on being within the -distance of two hundred leagues, or thirty or forty days’ journey, -moderate travelling, of the Frozen Ocean. In the month of March or -April, the party, consisting of two or three Europeans, one or two -Esquimaux interpreters, and two or more Indian guides, provided with -everything requisite for the undertaking, might set out towards the -north. On the arrival of the travellers among the Esquimaux, their -Indian guides, from fear of this nation, would probably desert them, -but the presence of their Esquimaux interpreters would secure them -a good reception. When once they should meet with this people, they -would have a strong evidence of being near the sea, as it is well -known the Esquimaux never retire far from the coast. On their arrival -at the coast, it will be necessary to associate with the Esquimaux, -to submit in some measure to their mode of living, and, to effect -any considerable discovery, it might be requisite to spend a winter -or two among them, in which case they might trace the line of the -Frozen Ocean to such a length, that the place where it joins the -western coast of Baffin’s Bay, or Hudson’s Bay, or the eastern side -of Greenland, would be determined. Or, if it should be objectionable -to winter among the Esquimaux, several expeditions might be sent out -at the same time from different stations, and on different meridians. -The expense of three or four such expeditions over land would -probably be less than that of one expedition by sea. - -The scheme suggested by Robert Thorne, of Bristol, of finding a -passage to India across the North Pole, about the year 1527, appears -to have been immediately attempted by an expedition, consisting of -two ships, sent out by order of Henry VIII.; one of the ships, we -are informed, was lost; of the nature of the success of the other we -have but a very unsatisfactory account. After this voyage, Barentz, -Heemskerke, and Ryp, attempted the transpolar navigation, in 1596; -Hudson, in 1607; Jonas Poole, in 1610 and 1611; Baffin and Fotherby, -in 1614; Fotherby, in 1615; Phipps, in 1773; and Buchan and Franklin, -in 1818. The highest latitude attained by any of these navigators did -not, it would appear, exceed 81°. My father, in the ship Resolution, -of Whitby, in the year 1806, with whom I then served as chief mate, -sailed to a much higher latitude. Our latitude, on three occasions, -in the month of May, as derived from observations taken with a -sextant by myself and my father, was 80° 50′ 28″, 81° 1′ 53″, and -81° 12′ 42″; after which we sailed so far to the northward as made -it about 81° 30′, which is one of the closest approximations to the -Pole which I conceive has been well authenticated. - -Whatever may be our opinion of the accounts brought forward by some -parties to prove the occasional accessibility of the 83rd or 84th -parallel of north latitude, of this we may be assured, that the -opinion of an open sea round the Pole is altogether chimerical. It -is urged, indeed, that the extraordinary power of the sun, about the -summer solstice, is so far greater at the Pole than at the Equator, -as to destroy all the ice generated in the winter season, and to -render the temperature of the Pole warmer and more congenial to -feeling than it is in some places lying nearer the Equator. So far, -however, from the actual influence of the sun, though acknowledged -at a certain season to be greater at the Pole than at the Equator, -being above what it is calculated to be by the ordinary formulæ for -temperature, it is found by experiment in latitude 78° to be greatly -below it—how then can the temperature of the Pole be expected to -be so very different? From the remarks in the ensuing pages, it -will be shown that ice is annually formed during nine months of the -year in the Spitzbergen sea, and that neither calm weather, nor the -proximity of land, is essential for its formation. Can it, then, be -supposed, that at the Pole, where the mean temperature is probably as -low as 10°, the sea is not full of ice? If the masses of ice, which -usually prevent the advance of navigators beyond the 82nd degree of -north latitude, be extended in a continued series to the Pole, (of -which, unless there be land in the way, there appears no doubt,) -the expectation of reaching the Pole by sea is altogether vain. By -land, however, I do not conceive the journey would be impracticable. -It would not exceed one thousand two hundred miles, (six hundred -miles each way,) and might be performed on sledges, drawn by dogs -or reindeer, or even on foot. Foot travellers would require to draw -the apparatus and provisions, necessary for the undertaking, on -sledges by hand, and in this way, with good dispatch, the journey -would occupy at least two months; but, with the assistance of dogs, -it might, probably, be accomplished in a little less time. With -favourable winds, great advantage might be derived from sails set -upon the sledges, which sails, when the travellers were at rest, -would serve for the erection of tents. Small vacancies in the ice -would not prevent the journey, as the sledges might be adapted so -as to answer the purpose of boats, nor would the usual unevenness of -the ice, nor the depth or softness of the snow, be an insurmountable -difficulty, as journeys of nearly equal length, and under similar -inconveniences, have been accomplished. - -Among many similar accounts, there is one related by Muller, in -his “Voyages from Asia to America,” of a Cossack having actually -performed a journey of about eight hundred miles in a sledge, drawn -by dogs, across a surface of ice lying to the northward of the -Russian dominions, which sufficiently establishes the practicability -of a journey across the ice to the Pole. Alexei Markoff, a Cossack, -was sent to explore the Frozen Ocean, in the summer of the year 1714, -by order of the Russian government, but finding the sea so crowded -with ice that he was unable to make any progress in discovery, he -formed the design of travelling in sledges, during the winter or -spring of the year, over the ice, which might then be expected to be -firm and compact. Accordingly, he prepared several of the country -sledges, drawn by dogs, and accompanied by eight persons, he set -out on the 10th of March from the mouth of the Jana, in latitude -70° 30′, and longitude about 138° east. He proceeded for seven days -northward, as fast as his dogs could draw, which, under favourable -circumstances, is eighty or one hundred versts a day, until his -progress was impeded, about the 78th degree of latitude, by the -ice elevated into prodigious mountains. This prevented his further -advance; at the same time, falling short of provisions for his dogs, -his return was effected with difficulty; several of his dogs died for -want, and were given to the rest for their support. On the 3rd of -April, he arrived at Ust-Jauskoe Simowie, the place from whence he -started, after an absence of twenty-four days, during which time he -appears to have travelled about eight hundred miles. The journey of -Markoff was nearly equal in extent to the projected journey to the -Pole, and there appears no very great reason why a person equally -adventurous with Markoff, and better provided, might not in a similar -manner reach the Pole. - -The first considerable discovery which appears to have been made -in or near the arctic circle, was the result of accident; one of -the numerous Scandinavian depredators, who, in the ninth century, -cruised the northern seas in search of plunder, having been driven, -by a long-continued storm, from the eastward upon the coast of -Iceland, in the year 861. This island, from the quantity of snow seen -on the mountains, was, by its discoverer Naddodd, at first called -_Schnee_, or _Snowland_. It was visited by a Swede of the name of -Gardar Suaffarson, three years after its discovery, and afterwards by -another Swede, Flocke, from whom it received the name of _Iceland_. -It was again visited in the year 874, by Ingolf and Lief, two -Norwegians, and became the seat of a Norwegian colony. - -The coast of Norway, to the entrance of the White Sea, was examined -about this period by a person of the name of Ohthere, a Norwegian, -who himself gave an account of his voyage to Alfred the Great, by -whom it has been handed down to us along with the translation of the -Ormesta of Orosius. - -About the middle, or towards the end of the tenth century, an -extensive country, to the westward of Iceland, was discovered by -one of the colonists of the name of Gunbiorn, which country was -visited, in the year 982, by one Eric Rauda, who had fled from Norway -to Iceland, to avoid the punishment due to the crime of murder -and various other offences. To this country he gave the name of -_Greenland_, and in consequence of his exaggerated account of its -products and appearance, a respectable colony was founded. About -the year 1001, one of the Iceland colonists, Biorn by name, was -accidentally driven by a storm to the southward of Greenland, where -he discovered a new country, covered with wood. Lief, the son of Eric -Rauda, fitted out a vessel, and visited the country. Grapes were -discovered in it, and from this circumstance it was called _Vinland_; -the day was eight hours long in winter, whence it appears that it -must have been somewhere on the coast of North America, probably on -the shore of Newfoundland. - -The Christian religion was introduced into Iceland and Greenland -about the year 1000, and within a hundred years afterwards generally -diffused. Above sixteen churches were then built, and two convents. -These buildings, as well as the habitations of the colonists, -were erected near the southern point of Greenland. They had two -settlements, the most western of which increased up to four parishes, -containing one hundred farms or villages; and the most eastern, to -twelve parishes, one hundred and ninety villages, one bishop’s see, -and two convents. The intercourse between Greenland and the rest of -the world was intercepted about the year 1406, when the seventeenth -bishop attempted to reach his see, but was prevented by ice. Since -the beginning of the fifteenth century, these unfortunate colonists -have been of necessity left to themselves, and not having been heard -of, are supposed to have perished; but whether they were destroyed -by their enemies the Esquimaux, or perished for want of their usual -supplies, or were carried off by a destructive pestilence, as some -have imagined, is still matter of doubt. Various attempts have been -made by order of the Danish government for recovery of this country, -and to ascertain the fate of these colonists, but hitherto without -success. - -Alter the voyages of Columbus, a new stimulus was offered to -the enterprising trader, and to those who might be desirous of -prosecuting the task of discovery, and a Portuguese navigator, John -Vaz Costa Cortereal, about the year 1463 or 1464, tried the passage -to India by the west, on a parallel far to the northward of that -pursued by Columbus. In this voyage the land of Newfoundland appears -to have been seen. The same voyage was attempted by Sebastian Cabot, -a Venetian, in the year 1497, and by Gaspar Cortereal and Michael -Cortereal, sons of the previously named Costa. Both these brothers -perished, and a third brother, who would have followed in search of -them, was prohibited from embarking by the king of Portugal. - -An important voyage of discovery was that of sir Hugh Willoughby, -in the year 1553, in which the coast now called Nova Zembla was -discovered, and the Russian territory on the east side of the -White Sea. In consequence of this expedition, a regular trade was -established with Russia, which was accomplished under various -privileges. In the year 1556, further discoveries in the same quarter -were made by Stephen Burrough. Then followed the voyages of Martin -Frobisher and John Davis; the latter in the year 1585. He proceeded -along the west side of Greenland, and then crossing an open sea to -the north-westward, discovered land in latitude 66° 40′, giving names -to the different parts of the coast which has since been denominated -_Cumberland Island_. In the course of this voyage, they met with a -multitude of natives, whom they found a very tractable people, and -liberal in their mode of trafficking. In the following year, Davis -prosecuted another voyage, but with no discovery of any consequence; -and again also, for the third time, in the year following. - -Amongst several expeditions sent out by the Dutch, to explore a -passage to India and China by the north-east, that of two ships, -under the pilotage of William Barentz, is the most memorable. It -sailed from Amsterdam the 10th of May, 1596. After having discovered -Spitzbergen, the two ships pursued different courses, and Barentz, -while endeavouring to sail round Nova Zembla, became entangled in -the ice. They were, in consequence, compelled to winter in this -desolate and frozen country. “The journal of the proceedings of -these poor people,” as Mr. Barrow beautifully observes, “during -this cold, comfortless, dark, and dreadful winter is intensely and -painfully interesting. No murmuring escapes them in their hopeless -and afflicted situation; but such a spirit of true piety, and a tone -of such mild and subdued resignation to Divine Providence, breathe -throughout the whole narrative, that it is impossible to peruse -the simple tale of their sufferings, and contemplate their forlorn -situation, without the deepest emotion.” Forcibly, indeed, does their -narrative illustrate the mind’s independence of external comforts, -and the peace and joy to be derived from trust in God, and cordial -submission to his appointments. Part of the sufferers made their -escape in two open boats from this dismal country, in the following -summer, and after a perilous and painful voyage, of above one -thousand one hundred miles, arrived in safety at Cola; but Barentz, -with some others, was overcome by the severity of the climate, and -the extraordinary exertions which he was obliged to make, and died. - -In the year 1608, Henry Hudson was employed in search of a north-east -passage; and, in 1610, in a voyage of discovery towards the -north-west, in a vessel of fifty-five tons’ burden. It was on this -occasion that he discovered the bay which bears his name, hauled -his ship on shore in a convenient situation, and wintered there. -They fell short of provisions, and the following summer the crew -mutinied, and abandoned their captain, his son, and others of the -crew, to a most cruel fate. In 1616 was accomplished the remarkable -voyage of William Baffin, attended by discoveries of a most extensive -nature in the bay which bears his name, which, though regarded with -considerable doubt at first, have since been abundantly confirmed by -the labours of captain Ross and lieutenant Parry. - -In March, 1822, the ship Baffin sailed from Liverpool, and reached -80° north latitude without experiencing any frost; on the 27th April, -we arrived within ten miles of Spitzbergen, and were stopped in -latitude 80° 30′ by main ice. Afterwards, we encountered a most heavy -gale, the thermometer falling in the space of sixteen hours 34°, -being the most remarkable change I ever experienced in Greenland -seas. On the 1st May, we advanced to only five hundred and sixty-six -miles’ distance from the Pole, and subsequently discovered the -eastern coast of Greenland, a continuation towards the north of -the coast on which the ancient Icelandic colonies were planted. We -surveyed and named various parts of this coast, to the extent of -about eight hundred miles, and found traces of inhabitants. It was -inferred that Greenland is probably a great group of islands. The -expedition returned on the 18th September, in the same year. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF SOME OF THE POLAR COUNTRIES. - - -Spitzbergen extends furthest towards the north of any country yet -discovered. It is surrounded by the Arctic Ocean, or Greenland -Sea; and, though the occasional resort of persons drawn thither -for purposes of hunting and fishing, does not appear to have been -ever inhabited. It lies between the latitudes 76° 30′ and 80° 7′ -north, and between the longitude of 9°, and, perhaps, 22° east; -but some of the neighbouring islands extend at least as far north -as 80° 40′, and still further towards the east than the mainland -of Spitzbergen. The western part of this country was discovered -by Barentz, Heemskerke, and Ryp, in two vessels, fitted out of -Amsterdam, on the 19th of June, 1596, who, from the numerous peaks -and acute mountains observed on the coast, gave it the appropriate -name of Spitzbergen, signifying “sharp mountains.” It was afterwards -named _Newland_, or _King James’s Newland_, and then _Greenland_, -being supposed to be a continuation towards the east of the country -so-called by the Icelanders. It was re-discovered by Henry Hudson, -an English navigator, in 1607, and four years afterwards became the -resort of the English for the purpose of taking whales, since which -period its shores have annually been visited by one or other of the -nations of Europe, with the same object, to the present time. And -though the soil of the whole of this remote country does not produce -vegetables suitable or sufficient for the nourishment of a single -human being, yet its coasts and adjacent seas have afforded riches -and independence to thousands. - -This country exhibits many interesting views, with numerous examples -of the sublime. Its stupendous hills, rising by steep acclivities -from the very margin of the ocean to an immense height; its surface, -contrasting the native, protruding, dark-coloured rocks, with the -burden of purest snow and magnificent ices, altogether constitute an -extraordinary and beautiful picture. - -The whole of the western coast is mountainous and picturesque, and -though it is shone upon by a four months’ sun every year, its snowy -covering is never wholly dissolved, nor are its icy monuments of -the dominion of frost ever removed. The valleys, opening towards -the coast, and terminating in the background with a transverse -chain of mountains, are chiefly filled with everlasting ice. The -inland valleys, at all seasons, present a smooth and continued bed -of snow, in some places divided by considerable rivulets, but in -others exhibiting a pure unbroken surface for many leagues in extent. -Along the western coast, the mountains take their rise from within -a league of the sea, and some from its very edge. Few tracts of -table-land, of more than a league in breadth, are to be seen, and in -many places the blunt termination of mountain ridges project beyond -the regular line of the coast, and overhang the waters of the ocean. -The southern part of Spitzbergen consists of groups of insulated -mountains, little disposed in chains, or in any determinate order, -having conical, pyramidal, or ridged summits, sometimes round-backed, -frequently terminating in points, and occasionally in acute peaks, -not unlike spires. An arm of a short mountain chain, however, forms -the southern cape, or Point Look-out, but a low flat, in the form of -a fish’s tail, of about forty square miles in surface, constitutes -the termination of the coast. Other promontories, lying nearly north -and south, are of a similar nature. - -To the northward of Charles’s Island the mountains are more -dispersed in chains than they are to the southward. The principal -ridge lies nearly north and south, and the principal valley extends -from the head of Cross Bay to the northern face of the country, -a distance of forty or fifty miles. An inferior chain of hills, -two or three leagues from the coast, runs parallel with the shore, -from which lateral ridges project into the sea, and terminate in -mural precipices. Between these lateral ridges, some of the largest -icebergs on the coast occur. The most remarkable mountains I have -seen are situated near Horn Sound, on Charles’s Island, and near -King’s Bay. Horn Mount, or Hedge-hog Mount, so-called from an -appearance of spires on the top, when seen in some positions, takes -its rise from a small tract of alpine land, on the southern side -of Horn Sound. It has different summits, chiefly in the form of -spires, one of which is remarkably elevated. I had an opportunity of -determining its height in the year 1815. From one set of observations -its altitude came out 1,457 yards, and from another 1,473 yards, the -mean of which is 1,465 yards, or 4,395 feet. Another peak, a few -miles further to the northward, appeared to be 3,306 feet high. - -On Charles’s Island is a curious peak, which juts into the sea. It -is crooked, perfectly naked, being equally destitute of snow and -verdure, and from its black appearance, or pointed figure, has been -denominated the Devil’s Thumb. Its height may be about 1,500 or -2,000 feet. The middle hook of the foreland, as the central part -of the chain of mountains in Charles’s Island is called, is a very -interesting part of the coast. These mountains, which are, perhaps, -the highest land adjoining the sea which is to be met with, take -their rise at the water’s edge, and, by a continued ascent of an -angle at first of about 30°, and increasing to about 45°, or more, -each comes to a point, with the elevation of about six-sevenths of -an English mile. This portion of the chain exhibits five distinct -summits, some of them to appearance are within half a league, -horizontal distance, of the margin of the sea. The points formed by -the top of two or three of them are so fine, that the imagination is -at a loss to conceive of a place on which an adventurer, attempting -the hazardous exploit of climbing one of the summits, might rest. -Were such an undertaking practicable, it is evident it could not be -effected without imminent danger. Besides extraordinary courage and -strength requisite in the adventurer, such an attempt would need -the utmost powers of exertion, as well as the most irresistible -perseverance. Frederick Martens, in his excellent account of a -“Voyage to Spitzbergen,” undertaken in the year 1671, describes -some of the cliffs as consisting of but one stone from the bottom -to the top, and as smelling very sweet where covered with lichens. -In Magdalen Bay, the rocks he describes as lying in a semicircular -form, having at each extremity two high mountains, with natural -excavations, “after the fashion of a breastwork,” and, at their -summits, points and cracks like battlements. - -Some of the mountains of Spitzbergen are well-proportioned, -four-sided pyramids, rising out of a base of a mile, or a mile and -a half, to a league square; others form angular chains, resembling -the roof of a house, which recede from the shore in parallel ridges, -until they dwindle into obscurity in the distant perspective. Some -exhibit the exact resemblance of art, but in a style of grandeur -exceeding the famed pyramids of the east, or even the more wonderful -tower of Babel. An instance of such a regular and magnificent work of -nature is seen near the head of King’s Bay, consisting of three piles -of rocks, of a regular form, known by the name of the Three Crowns. -They rest on the top of the ordinary mountains, each commencing with -a square table, or horizontal stratum of rock, on the top of which -is another of similar form and height, but of smaller area; this is -continued by a third, a fourth, and so on, each succeeding stratum -being less than the next below it, until it forms a pyramid of steps, -almost as regular, to appearance, as if worked by art. - -Many of the mountains of Spitzbergen are inaccessible. The steepness -of the ascent, and the looseness of the rocks, with the numerous -lodgments of ice in the cliffs, or on the sides of the cliffs, -constitute in many places insurmountable obstacles. Some hills, -indeed, may be climbed with tolerable safety, but generally the -attempt is hazardous. Many have fallen and lost their lives, -especially in the descent. When Barentz and Heemskerke discovered -Cherie Island, on their advance towards the north, they also -discovered Spitzbergen, when some daring fellows among their sailors, -who had been collecting birds’ eggs, climbed a high, steep mountain, -resembling those of Spitzbergen, and unexpectedly found themselves -in a most perilous situation, for, on turning to descend, the way -by which they had advanced presented a dismal assemblage of pointed -rocks, perpendicular precipices, and yawning chasms. The view of the -danger of the ascent struck them with terror. No relief, however, -could be afforded them, and they were bewildered among the rocks. -At length, after a most anxious and painful exercise, in which they -found it necessary to slide down the rocks, while lying flat on their -bodies, they reached the foot of the cliff in safety. Barentz, who -had observed their conduct from the shore, gave them a sharp reproof -for their temerity. - -One of the most interesting appearances to be found in Spitzbergen, -is the iceberg. These mountains of ice occur in the valleys adjoining -the coast of Spitzbergen, and other Polar countries. A little to the -northward of Charles’s Island are the _Seven Icebergs_. Each of these -occupies a deep valley, opening towards the sea, formed by hills of -about two thousand feet elevation on the sides, and terminated in -the interior by the chain of mountains, of perhaps three thousand -to three thousand three hundred feet in height, which follows the -line of the coast. They are exactly of the nature and appearance of -glaciers, and there are many others of various sizes along the shores -of this remarkable country. - -It is not easy to form an adequate conception of these truly -wonderful productions of nature. Their magnitude, their beauty, -and the contrast they form with the gloomy rocks around, produce -sensations of lively interest. Their upper surfaces are generally -concave; the higher parts are always covered with snow, and have -a beautiful appearance, but the lower parts, in the latter end of -every summer, present a bare surface of ice. The front of each, which -varies in height from the level of the ocean to four hundred or five -hundred feet above it, lies parallel with the shore, and is generally -washed by the sea. This part, resting on the strand, is undermined -to such an extent by the sea, when any way turbulent, that immense -masses, loosened by the freezing of water, lodged in the recesses -in winter, or by the effect of streams of water running over its -surface and through its chasms in summer, break asunder, and, with a -thundering noise, fall into the sea. - -On an excursion to one of the Seven Icebergs, in July, 1818, I was -particularly successful in witnessing one of the grandest effects -which these Polar glaciers ever present. A strong north-westerly -swell having, for some hours, been beating on the shore, had loosened -a number of fragments attached to the iceberg, and various heaps -of broken ice denoted recent shoots of the seaward edge. As we rode -towards it, with a view of proceeding close to its base, I observed -a few little pieces fall from the top, and, while my eye was fixed -on the place, an immense column, probably fifty feet square, and one -hundred and fifty feet high, began to leave the parent ice at the -top, and leaning majestically forward with an accelerated velocity, -fell with an awful crash into the sea. The water into which it -plunged was converted into an appearance of vapour, or smoke, like -that from a furious cannonading. The noise was equal to that of -thunder, which it nearly resembled. The column which fell was nearly -square, and in magnitude resembled a church. It broke into thousands -of pieces. This circumstance was a happy caution, for we might -inadvertently have gone to the base of the icy cliff, from whence -masses of considerable magnitude were continually breaking. - -This iceberg was full of rents as high as any of our people ascended -upon it, extending in a direction perpendicularly downward, and -dividing it into innumerable columns. The surface was very uneven, -being furrowed and cracked all over. This roughness appeared to -be occasioned by the melting of the snow, some streams of water -being seen running over the surface; and others, having worn away -the superficial ice, could still be heard pursuing their course -through subglacial channels to the front of the iceberg, where, in -transparent streams, or in small cascades, they fell into the sea. In -some places, chasms of several yards in width were seen, in others -they were only a few inches or feet across. One of the sailors, who -attempted to walk across the iceberg, imprudently stepped into a -narrow chasm, filled up with snow to the general level. He instantly -plunged up to his shoulders, and might, but for the sudden extension -of his arms, have been buried in the gulf. - -Icebergs are, probably, formed of more solid ice than glaciers, but, -in every other respect, they are very similar. The ice of which they -consist is, indeed, a little porous, but considerable pieces are -found of perfect transparency. Being wholly produced from rain or -snow, the water is necessarily potable. Icebergs have, probably, the -same kind of origin as glaciers, and the time of their first stratum -is nearly coeval with the land on which they are lodged. Though large -portions may be frequently separated from the lower edge, or, by -large avalanches from the mountain summit, be hurled into the sea, -yet the annual growth replenishes the loss, and, probably, on the -whole, produces a perpetual increase in thickness. - -Spitzbergen and its islands, with some other countries within -the Arctic Circle, exhibit a kind of scenery which is altogether -novel. The principal objects which strike the eye are innumerable -mountainous peaks, ridges, precipices, or needles, rising immediately -out of the sea, to an elevation of three thousand or four thousand -feet, the colour of which, at a moderate distance, appears to be -blackish shades of brown, green, grey, and purple; snow or ice, in -striæ, or patches, occupying the various clefts and hollows in the -sides of the hills, capping some of the mountain summits, and filling -with extended beds the most considerable valleys; and ice of the -glacier-form occurring at intervals all along the coast in particular -situations, as already described, in prodigious accumulations. The -glistening, or vitreous appearance of the iceberg precipices, the -purity, whiteness, and beauty of the sloping expanse, formed by the -adjoining or intermixed mountains and rocks, perpetually “covered -with a mourning veil of black lichens,” with the sudden transitions -into a robe of purest white, where patches or beds of snow occur, -present a variety and extent of contrast altogether peculiar, which, -when enlightened by the occasional ethereal brilliancy of the Polar -sky, and harmonized in its serenity with the calmness of the ocean, -constitute a picture both novel and magnificent. There is, indeed, a -kind of majesty, not to be conveyed in words, in these extraordinary -accumulations of snow and ice in the valleys, and in the rocks -above rocks, and peaks above peaks, in the mountain groups, seen -rising above the ordinary elevation of the clouds, and terminating -occasionally in crests of everlasting snow, especially when you -approach the shore under shelter of the impenetrable density of -a summer fog, in which case the fog sometimes disperses like the -drawing of a curtain, when the strong contrast of light and shade, -brightened by a cloudless atmosphere and powerful sun, bursts on the -senses in a brilliant exhibition. Here are to be beheld the glories -of that one God, who is the Maker of all things in heaven and on -earth, and who, unlike the false deities of heathen nations, is not -confined in his presence and government to any particular zone of -the earth’s surface, but illustrates the skill and excellence of his -creation, both in the beauties of icy and torrid climes. - -A remarkable deception, in the apparent distance of the land, is to -be attributed to the strong contrast of light and shade, and the -great height and steepness of the mountains, displayed in these -regions. Any strangers to the Arctic countries, however capable -of judging of the distance of land generally, must be completely -at a loss in their estimations when they approach within sight of -Spitzbergen. When at the distance of twenty miles, it would be no -difficult matter to induce even a judicious stranger to undertake a -passage in a boat to the shore, from the belief that he was within -a league of the land. At this distance, the portions of rock and -patches of snow, as well as the contour of the different hills, are -as distinctly marked as similar objects in many other countries, -not having snow about them, would be at a fourth or a fifth part of -the distance. Hence we can account, on a reasonable ground, for a -curious circumstance related in a Danish voyage, undertaken for the -recovery of the last colony in Greenland, by Mogens Heinson. This -person, who passed for a renowned seaman in his day, was sent out by -Frederick II., king of Denmark. After encountering many difficulties -and dangers from storms and ice, he got sight of the east coast of -Greenland, and attempted to reach it; but, though the sea was quite -free from ice, and the wind favourable and blowing a fresh gale, he, -after proceeding several hours without appearing to get any nearer -the land, became alarmed, backed about, and returned to Denmark. On -his arrival, he attributed this extraordinary circumstance—magnified, -no doubt, by his fears—to his vessel having been stopped in its -course by “some loadstone rocks hidden in the sea.” The true cause, -however, of what he took to be a submarine magnetic influence, -arose, I doubt not, from the deceptive character of the land, as to -distance, which I have mentioned. - -Spitzbergen abounds with deep bays and extensive sounds, in many -of which are excellent harbours. From Point Look-out to Hackluyt’s -Headland, the west coast forms almost a series of rocks and foul -ground, few parts, excepting the bays, affording anchoring for -ships. Some of these rocks are dry only at low water, or only show -themselves when the sea is high, and are dangerous to shipping; -others are constantly above water, or altogether so below the surface -that they can either be seen and avoided, or sailed over in moderate -weather without much hazard. On the east side of Point Look-out, a -ridge of stony ground stretches five leagues into the sea, towards -the south-east, on which the sea occasionally breaks. - -Horn Sound affords tolerable anchorage; within Bell Sound are -several anchoring places and some rivers, and in Ice Sound, at Green -Harbour, is good anchorage near the bank, in ten to eight fathoms’ -water, or less. In several other places, when not encumbered with -ice, there is pretty good refuge for ships. On the north and east -sides of Spitzbergen are several harbours, some of them very safe -and commodious, but they are not so often free from ice as those -westward, and, therefore, have seldom been visited. - -Though the whale-fishers in the present age generally see the level -of Spitzbergen every voyage, yet not many of them visit the shores. -My father has been several times on shore in different parts. My own -landing, for the first time in an Arctic country, was on Charles’s -Island, or Fair Forehead, at the north-west point. The number of -birds seen on the precipices and rocks adjoining the sea was -immense, and the noise which they made on our approach was quite -deafening. The weather was calm and clear when I went on shore, but -suddenly, a thick fog and breeze of wind commencing, obliged us to -put off with haste, and subjected us to great anxiety before we -reached the ship. - -In the summer of 1818, I was several times on shore on the main, -and landed once in the same season on the north side of King’s Bay. -Being near the land, on the evening of the 23rd of July, the weather -beautifully clear, and all our sails becalmed by the hills, excepting -the top-gallant sails, in which we had constantly a gentle breeze, I -left the ship in charge of an officer, with orders to stand no nearer -than into thirty fathoms’ water, and with two boats and fourteen men -rowed to the shore. We arrived at the beach about half-past seven, -P.M., and landed on a track of low flat ground, extending about -six miles north and south, and two or three east and west. This -table-land lies so low that it would be overflown by the sea, were it -not for a natural embankment of shingle thrown up by the sea. - -After advancing about half a furlong, we met with mica slate, -in nearly perpendicular strata; and a little further on with an -extensive bed of limestone, in small angular fragments. Here and -there we saw large ponds of fresh water, derived from melted ice and -snow; in some places, small remains of snow; and lastly, near the -base of the mountains, a considerable morass, into which we sank -nearly to the knees. Some unhealthy-looking mosses appeared on this -swamp, but the softest part, as well as most of the ground we had -hitherto traversed, was entirely void of vegetation. This swamp had -a moorish look, and consisted, apparently, of black alluvial soil, -mixed with some vegetable remains, and was curiously marked on the -surface with small polygonal ridges, from one to three yards in -diameter, so combined as to give the ground an appearance such as -that exhibited by a section of honeycomb. An ascent of a few yards -from the morass, of somewhat firmer ground, brought us to the foot of -the mountain, to the northward of the Mitre Cape. Here some pretty -specimens of _Saxifraga oppositifolia_ and _Greenlandica_, _Salix -herbacea_, _Draba alpina_, _Papaver alpina_, (of Mr. Don,) etc., -and some other plants in full flower, were found on little tufts of -soil, and scattered about on the ascent. The first hill rose at an -inclination of 45°, to the height of about fifteen hundred feet, and -was joined on the north side to another of about twice the elevation. -We began to climb the acclivity on the most accessible side, at -about 10, P.M.; but, from the looseness of the stones, and the -steepness of the ascent, we found it a most difficult undertaking. -There was scarcely a possibility of advancing by the common movement -of walking in this attempt; for the ground gave way at every step, -and no progress was made; hence, the only method of succeeding -was by the effort of leaping or running, which, under the peculiar -circumstances, could not be accomplished without excessive fatigue. -In the direction we traversed, we met with angular fragments of -limestone and quartz, chiefly of one or two pounds’ weight, and a -few naked rocks protruding through the loose materials, of which the -side of the mountain, to the extent it was visible, was principally -composed. These rocks appeared solid at a little distance, but, on -examination, were found to be full of fractures in every direction, -so that it was with difficulty that a specimen of five or six pounds’ -weight, in a solid mass, could be obtained. Along the side of the -first range of hills, near the summit, was extended a band of ice and -snow, which, in the direct ascent, we tried in vain to surmount. By -great exertion, however, in tracing the side of the hill for about -two hundred yards, where it was so uncommonly steep that at every -step showers of stones were precipitated to the bottom, we found a -sort of angle of the hill, free from ice, by which the summit was -scaled. - -Here we rested until I took a few angles and bearings of the most -prominent parts of the coast, when, having collected specimens of -the minerals, and such few plants as the barren ridge afforded, we -proceeded on our excursion. In our way to the principal mountain -near us, we passed along a ridge of the secondary mountains, which -was so acute that I sat across it with a leg on each side as on -horseback. To the very top it consisted of loose sharp limestones, -of a yellowish or reddish colour, smaller in size than the stones -generally used for repairing high roads, few pieces being above a -pound in weight. The fracture appeared rather fresh. After passing -along this ridge about three or four furlongs, and crossing a -lodgment of ice and snow, we descended by a sort of ravine to the -side of the principal mountain, which arose with a uniformly steep -ascent, similar to that we had already surmounted, to the very -summit. The ascent was now even more difficult than before; we could -make no considerable progress, but by the exertion of leaping and -running, so that we were obliged to rest after every fifty or sixty -paces. No solid rock was met with, and no earth or soil. The stones, -however, were larger, appeared more decayed, and were more uniformly -covered with black lichens; but several plants of the _Saxifraga_, -_Salix_, _Draba_, _Cochlearia_, and _Juncus genera_, which had been -met with here and there for the first two thousand feet of elevation, -began to disappear as we approached the summit. The invariably broken -state of the rocks appeared to have been the effect of frost. On -calcareous rocks, some of which are not impervious to moisture, the -effect is such as might be expected; but how frost can operate in -this way on quartz is not so easily understood. - -As we completed the arduous ascent, the sun had just reached the -meridian below the Pole, and still shed his reviving rays of -unimpaired brilliancy on a small surface of snow, which capped the -mountain summit. A thermometer, placed among stones in the shade -of the brow of the hill, indicated a temperature as high as 37°. -At the top of the first hill, the temperature was 42°; and at the -foot, on the plain, 44° to 46°; so that, at the very peak of the -mountain, estimated at three thousand feet elevation, the power of -the sun at midnight produced a temperature several degrees above the -freezing point, and occasioned the discharge of streams of water from -the snow-capped summit. In Spitzbergen, the frost relaxes in the -months of July and August, and the thawing temperature prevails for -considerable intervals on the greatest heights that have been visited. - -As the capacity of air for heat increases as its density decreases, -and that in such a degree that about every ninety yards of elevation -in the lower atmosphere produces a depression of one degree of -temperature of Fahrenheit, we find that the elevation of some of -the Alps, Pyrenees, and mountains of Nepaul in the temperate zone, -is such, that their summits are above the level where a temperature -of thawing can at any time prevail; and though, by the application -of this principle to the mountains of Spitzbergen, we find that -a thawing temperature may be occasionally expected, yet we do -not see how the prevalence of a thaw should be so continual as to -disperse the winter’s coat of snow, where the mean temperature of -the hottest month in the year must, on a mountain fifteen hundred -feet elevation or upward, probably be below the freezing point. -Perhaps the difficulty is to be thus resolved. The weather, in the -months of June, July, and August, is much clearer at Spitzbergen than -it is near the neighbouring ice, where most of my observations on -temperature were made, and as such the temperature of these months -on shore must be warmer than at sea, and so much higher indeed as is -requisite for occasioning the dissolution of snow even on the tops of -the mountains. - -The highest temperature I ever observed in Spitzbergen was 48°; but -in the summer of 1773, when captain Phipps visited Spitzbergen, -a temperature of 58½° once occurred. Supposing this to be the -greatest, degree of height which takes place, it will require an -elevation of 7,791 feet for reducing that temperature to the freezing -point, and hence we may reckon this to be about the altitude of the -upper line of congelation, where frost perpetually prevails. - -The prospect from the mountain which we ascended was most extensive -and grand. A fine sheltered bay was seen on the east of us, an arm -of the same on the north-east, and the sea, whose glassy surface was -unruffled by the breeze, formed an immense expanse on the west; -the icebergs, rearing their proud crests almost to the tops of the -mountains between which they were lodged, and defying the power of -the solar beams, were scattered in various directions about the -sea-coast, and in the adjoining bays. Beds of snow and ice, filling -extensive hollows, and giving an enamelled coat to adjoining valleys, -one of which, commencing at the foot of the mountain where we stood, -extended in a continued line across the north, as far as the eye -could reach; mountain rising above mountain, until by distance they -dwindled into insignificance; the whole contrasted by a cloudless -canopy of deepest azure, and enlightened by the rays of a blazing -sun, and the effect aided by a feeling of danger, seated as we -were on the pinnacle of a rock, almost surrounded by tremendous -precipices; all united to constitute a picture singularly sublime. - -A gentle breeze of wind, that prevailed on the summit, much refreshed -us, and strengthened us for the descent, which, though we had -regarded it with indifference, we found really a very hazardous, and, -in some instances, a painful undertaking. On the flat of land next -the sea, we met with the horns of reindeer, many skulls and other -bones of sea-horses, whales, narwhales, foxes, and seals, and some -human skeletons, laid in chest-like coffins, exposed naked on the -strand. Two Russian lodges formed of logs of pine, with a third in -ruins, were also seen; the former, from a quantity of fresh chips -about them, and other appearances, gave evidence of having been -recently inhabited. These huts were built upon a ridge of shingle, -adjoining the sea. Among the shingle on the beach were numbers of -nests, containing the eggs of terns, ducks, and burgomasters, and in -some of them were young birds. One of the latter, which we took on -board, was very lively, and grew rapidly, but having taken a fancy to -a cake of white lead, with which the surgeon was finishing a drawing, -he was poisoned. The only insect I saw was a small green fly, which -swarmed upon the shingle about the beach. The sea along the coast -teemed with a species of _helix_, with the _clio borealis_, and -with small shrimps. No animal of the class _Vermes_, and no living -quadruped, was observed. Drift-wood was in some abundance, and, owing -to the prevalence of a strong west wind, the shore was covered in -many places with deep beds of sea-weed. - -Of all the objects, however, that we met with in the course of our -research, none excited so much interest as the carcase of a dead -whale, found stranded on the beach, which, though much swollen, -and not a little putrid, fixed our attention, and diverted us from -objects of mere curiosity. It proved a prize to us of the value of -about £400, but was not secured without much labour. From a harpoon -found in its body, it appeared to have been struck by some of the -fishers on the Elbe, and having escaped from them, it had probably -stranded itself where we found it. - -The climate of Spitzbergen is no doubt more disagreeable to human -feeling than that of any other country yet discovered. Extending -to within ten degrees of the Pole, it is generally intensely cold, -and even in the three warmest months, the temperature not averaging -more than 34½°, it is then subject to a cold of three, four, -or more degrees below the freezing point. It has the advantage, -however, of being visited by the sun for an uninterrupted period -of four months in each year, thus having a summer’s day—if so -long an interval between the rising and setting of the sun may be -so denominated—consisting of one-third part of the year. But its -winter is proportionably desolate; the sun, in the northern parts -of the country, remaining perpetually below the horizon from about -the 22nd of October to about the 22nd of February. This great -winter night, though sufficiently dreary, is by no means so dark as -might be expected, God having, by wise and merciful arrangements, -distributed, with some approach to equality, the blessings of his -providence. The sun, even during its greatest south declination, -approaches within 13½° of the horizon, and affords a faint twilight -for about one-fourth part of every twenty-four hours. Added to -this twilight, the aurora borealis, which sometimes exhibits a -brilliancy approaching a blaze of fire—the stars, which shine with -an uncommon degree of brightness—and the moon, which, in north -declination, appears for twelve or fourteen days together without -setting—altogether have an effect, which, when heightened by the -reflection of a constant surface of snow, generally give sufficient -light for going abroad; but, with the light afforded by the heavens, -when the moon is below the horizon, it is seldom possible to read. - -The first human beings who are known to have passed the winter -in Spitzbergen, were two parties of seamen, belonging to English -whalers, who were left on shore by accident, on two different -occasions; the first party, consisting of nine persons, all perished; -but the latter, composed of eight individuals, survived the rigours -of the winter of 1630-1, and were all rescued. In the year 1633, -seven volunteers, belonging to the Dutch fleet, were induced, by -certain emoluments, to attempt the same enterprise, and succeeded -in passing the winter without sustaining any injury; but, on the -same hazardous experiment being tried by seven other persons the -following winter, they all fell a sacrifice to the ravages of the -scurvy. Some Russians seem to have been the next to attempt this -adventurous exploit, who, from being inured to a winter little less -severe at home, were enabled to accomplish it with more safety. -Four men, who landed on an island on the east side of Spitzbergen, -in the year 1743, and were deprived of the means of getting away -by an unexpected calamity having overtaken the vessel to which they -belonged, remained there some years. Being exposed to uncommon -privations, they were led by their necessities to adopt some most -ingenious devices for providing themselves with food and raiment in -their long and severe banishment. One of their number died; but the -others were relieved, after a stay of three years and six months, by -a vessel providentially driven on the coast, and restored to their -friends, enriched with skins and other produce of the country in -which they had been exiled. - -In modern times, people of the same nation have been in the habit of -submitting to a voluntary transportation, with the object of making -some considerable advantage by the opportunities which such a measure -affords them of hunting and fishing. These persons were formerly -employed in the service of the “White Sea Fishing Company;” but this -company being now no longer in existence, the trade is conducted by -private adventurers. They now proceed from Megen, Archangel, Onega, -Rala, and other places bordering the White Sea, in vessels of sixty -to one hundred and sixty tons, some intended for the summer fishing, -and others for the winter. The former put to sea in the beginning -of June, and sometimes return in September; the latter sail about a -month later, and wintering in the most secure coves of Devil Bay, -Bell Sound, Horn Sound, Cross Bay, Magdalen Bay, Love Bay, and -others, return home in the months of August or September of the -following year. The fishermen reside on shore during the winter, in -huts of the same kind as those used by the peasants in Russia, which, -being taken out with them in pieces, are constructed with but little -trouble, in the most convenient situations. They build their stoves -with bricks, or with clay, found in the country. Their largest hut, -which is erected near the place where their vessels or boats are -laid up, is from twenty to twenty-five feet square, and is used as a -station and magazine; but the huts used by the men who go in quest of -skins, which are erected along shore, are only seven or eight feet -square. The smaller huts are usually occupied by two or three men, -who take care to provide themselves from the store with the necessary -provisions for serving them the whole winter. - -I have visited several of these huts, some constructed of logs, -others of deals, two inches in thickness. During the stay of the -hunters, they employ themselves in killing seals, sea-horses, etc., -in the water; and bears, foxes, deer, or whatever else they meet -with, on land. They are furnished with provisions for eighteen months -by their employers, consisting of rye-flour for bread, oatmeal, -barley-meal, peas, salt beef, salt cod, and salt halibut, together -with curdled milk, honey, and linseed oil; besides which, they -procure for themselves _lion_-deer in winter, and birds in summer. -Their drink chiefly consists of a liquor called _nuas_, made from -rye-flour and water; malt or spirituous liquors being entirely -forbidden, to prevent drunkenness, as these persons, when they -were allowed it, drank so immoderately, that their work was often -altogether neglected. For general purposes, they use spring water -when it is to be had, or, in lieu of it, take water from lakes; -but, when neither can be got, they use melted snow. Their fuel, for -the most part, is brought with them from Russia, and drift-wood is -used for the same purpose. The hunters defend themselves from the -rigour of the frost by a covering made of skin, over which they wear -a garment called _kushy_, made of the skin of rein-deer, with boots -of the same. A warm cap, called a _trucchy_, defends the whole head -and neck, and part of the face; and gloves of sheep-skin, the hands. -They seldom travel far in winter, but the short excursions they have -occasion to make they perform on foot, on snow-skates, and draw their -food after them on hand-sledges, but such as have dogs employ them in -this service. Their huts, in stormy weather, are often buried in the -snow, and in such cases they are obliged to make their way through -the chimney to get out. As an anti-scorbutic, they make use of a herb -produced in the country, a stock of which they generally provide -themselves with on the approach of winter, but sometimes they are -under the necessity of digging through the snow to obtain it. They -either eat it without any preparation, or drink the liquor prepared -from it by infusion in water. For the same purpose, they use a kind -of raspberry, and a decoction of fir-tops. - -Spitzbergen does not afford many vegetables. It may be remarked, -that vegetation goes on uncommonly quick in this country. Most of -the plants spring up, flower, and afford seed in the course of a -month or six weeks. They are chiefly of a dwarfish size. Some of the -flowers are really pretty, but exhibit few colours, excepting yellow, -white, and purple. The only plant I met with partaking of the nature -of a tree, (a _salix_, allied to _S. herbacea_,) grows but to the -height of three or four inches. Although Spitzbergen is probably -rich in minerals, yet so partial has been the examination of it that -nothing of any value, excepting marble and coal, has yet been met -with. The remarks made concerning the appearances and productions of -Spitzbergen apply in general to the islands adjacent. The principal -of these are Moffen Island, Low Island, Hope Island, and Cherie -Island. The last abounds in sea-horses, bears, foxes, and sea-fowl. -Lead ore, in veins at the surface, has been found here, and specimens -of virgin silver. - -Between the latitudes of 70° 49′ and 71° 8′ 20″ north, and between -the longitudes 7° 26′ and 8° 44′, lies the island of Jan Mayen, said -to have been first seen by a Dutch navigator of this name in the year -1611. The west side, affording the greatest number of anchorages, -having the best convenience for landing, and being better sheltered -from the most frequent storms, was selected by the Dutch for their -_boiling_ stations. I was successful, in my passage homeward, in -the year 1817, in effecting a landing. On approaching, the first -object which strikes attention is the peak of Beerenberg, which I -subsequently saw at a distance (by observation) of ninety-five to a -hundred miles. It rears its icy summit to an elevation of 6,780 feet -above the level of the sea. After leaving the sea-shore, fragments -of lava were seen at every step, and numerous undoubted marks of -recent volcanic action. On reaching a summit, estimated at 1,500 feet -above the sea, we beheld a beautiful crater, forming a basin of 500 -or 600 feet in depth, and 600 or 700 yards in diameter. The bottom -of the crater was filled with alluvial matter to such a height that -it presented a horizontal flat of an elliptical form, measuring 400 -feet by 240. In the spring of the following year, some volcano was, I -believe, in action in this neighbourhood, as I observed considerable -jets of smoke discharged from the earth at intervals of every three -or four minutes. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -AN ACCOUNT OF THE GREENLAND OR POLAR ICE. - - -Of the inanimate productions of the Polar Seas, none perhaps excite -so much interest and astonishment in a stranger as the ice in its -great abundance and variety. The stupendous masses known by the name -of icelands or icebergs, common to Davis’s Strait, and sometimes -met with in the Spitzbergen Sea, from their height, various forms, -and the depth of water in which they ground, are calculated to -strike the beholder with wonder; yet the prodigious sheets of ice, -called ice-fields, more peculiar to the Spitzbergen Sea, are not -less astonishing. Their deficiency in elevation is sufficiently -compensated by their amazing extent of surface. Some of them have -been observed extending many leagues in length, and covering an area -of several hundreds of square miles, each consisting of a single -sheet of ice, having its surface raised in general four or six feet -above the level of the water, and its base depressed to the depth of -ten to twenty feet beneath. - -The ice in general is designated by a variety of appellations, -distinguishing it according to the size or shape of the pieces, -their number or form of aggregation, thickness, transparency, -situation, etc. As the different denominations of ice will be -frequently referred to in the course of this work, it may be useful -to give definitions of the terms in use among the whale-fishers for -distinguishing them. - -1. An _iceberg_, or ice-mountain, is a large insulated peak of -floating ice, or a glacier, occupying a ravine or valley, generally -opening towards the sea in an arctic country. - -2. A _field_ is a sheet of ice, so extensive that its limits cannot -be discerned from the ship’s mast-head. - -3. A _floe_ is similar to a field, but smaller, inasmuch as its -extent _can_ be seen. This term, however, is seldom applied to pieces -of ice of less diameter than half-a-mile or a mile. - -4. _Drift-ice_ consists of pieces less than floes, of various shapes -and magnitudes. - -5. _Brash-ice_ is still smaller than drift-ice, and may be considered -as the wreck of other kinds of ice. - -6. _Bay-ice_ is that which is newly-formed on the sea, and consists -of two kinds, common bay-ice and _pancake_-ice; the former occurring -in smooth extensive sheets, and the latter in small circular pieces, -with raised edges. - -7. _Sludge_ consists of a stratum of detached ice crystals, or of -snow, or of the smaller fragments of brash-ice, floating on the -surface of the sea. - -8. A _hummock_ is a protuberance raised upon any plane of ice above -the common level. It is frequently produced by pressure, where one -piece is squeezed upon another, often set upon its edge, and in -that position cemented by the frost. Hummocks are likewise formed -by pieces of ice mutually crushing each other, the wreck being -heaped upon one or both of them. To hummocks, principally, the ice -is indebted for its variety of fanciful shapes, and its picturesque -appearance. They occur in great numbers in heavy packs, on the edges, -and occasionally in the middle of fields and floes, where they often -attain the height of thirty feet or upwards. - -9. A _calf_ is a portion of ice which has been depressed by the same -means as a hummock is elevated. It is kept down by some larger mass, -from beneath which it shows itself on one side. - -10. A _tongue_ is a point of ice projecting nearly horizontally from -a part that is under water. Ships have sometimes run aground upon -tongues of ice. - -11. A _pack_ is a body of drift-ice, of such magnitude that its -extent is not discernible. A pack is _open_ when the pieces of ice, -though very near each other, do not generally touch, or _close_ when -the pieces are in complete contact. - -12. A _patch_ is a collection of drift or bay-ice, of a circular -or polygonal form. In point of magnitude, a pack corresponds with a -field, and a patch with a floe. - -13. A _stream_ is an oblong collection of drift or bay-ice, the -pieces of which are continuous. It is called a _sea-stream_ when it -is exposed on one side to the ocean, and affords shelter from the sea -to whatever is within it. - -14. _Open-ice_, or _sailing-ice_, is where the pieces are so separate -as to admit of a ship sailing conveniently among them. - -15. _Heavy_ and _light_ are terms attached to ice, distinguishable of -its thickness. - -16. _Land-ice_ consists of drift-ice attached to the shore; or -drift-ice which, by being covered with mud or gravel, appears to have -recently been in contact with the shore; or the flat ice resting on -the land, not having the appearance or elevation of icebergs. - -17. A _bight_ is a bay in the outline of the ice. - -18. A _lane_ or _vein_ is a narrow channel of water in packs or other -large collections of ice. - -When the sea freezes, the greatest part of the salt it contains is -deposited, and the frozen mass, however spongy, probably contains no -salt but what is natural to the sea-water filling its pores. Hence -the generality of ice, when dissolved, affords fresh water. As, -however, the ice frozen altogether from sea-water does not appear -so solid and transparent as that procured from snow or rain water, -the whale-fishers distinguish it into two kinds, accordingly as it -affords water that is potable, or the contrary, as it appears to have -been the product of fresh or salt water. - -What is considered as salt-water-ice appears blackish in the water, -but in the air is of a white or grey colour, porous, and in a great -measure opaque, (except when in very thin pieces,) yet transmits the -rays of light with a blue or blueish green shade. When dissolved, -it produces water sometimes perfectly fresh, and at others saltish. -This depends, in a great measure, on the situation from whence it is -taken; such parts as are raised above the surface of the sea, in the -form of hummocks, or which, though below the surface, have been long -frozen, appear to gain solidity, and are commonly _fresh_; whilst -those pieces taken out of the sea, that have been recently frozen, -are somewhat salt. - -Fresh-water-ice of the sailors is distinguished by its black -appearance when floating in small pieces in the sea, and by its -transparency when removed into the air. Fresh-water-ice is fragile, -but hard; the edges of a fractured part are frequently so keen as to -inflict a wound like glass. The most transparent pieces are capable -of concentrating the rays of the sun, so as to produce a considerable -intensity of heat. With a lump of ice, of by no means regular -convexity, I have frequently burned wood, fired gunpowder, incited -lead, and lit the sailors’ pipes, to their great astonishment, all -of whom, who could procure the needful articles, eagerly flocked -around me, for the satisfaction of smoking a pipe ignited by such -extraordinary means. Their astonishment was increased by observing -that the ice remained firm and pellucid, while the solar rays -emerging from it were so hot, that the hand could not be kept longer -in the focus than for the space of a few seconds. In the formation -of these lenses, I roughed them out with a small axe, and then -scraped them with a knife, polishing them merely by the warmth of -the hand, supporting them during the operation in a woollen glove. -I once procured a piece of the purest ice, so large that a lens of -sixteen inches diameter was obtained out of it; unhappily, however, -the sun became obscured before it was completed, and never made its -appearance again for a fortnight, during which time, the air being -mild, the lens was spoiled. - -All young ice, such as bay-ice and light-ice, which form a -considerable part of drift and pack-ice in general, is considered by -Greenland sailors salt-water-ice; while fields, floes, bergs, and -heavy-ice, chiefly consist of fresh-water-ice. Brash-ice likewise -affords fine specimens of the latter, which, when taken out of the -sea, are always found crowded on the surface with sharp points and -conchoidal excavations. - -Ice, when rapidly dissolved, continues solid as long as any remains, -but, when exposed to the air, at a temperature of only two or three -degrees above the freezing point, its solution is effected in a very -peculiar manner. Thus, a large lump of fresh-water-ice, when acted on -by such a process, if placed in the plane of its formation, resolves -itself into considerable columns of a prismatic appearance. These -columns are situated in a perpendicular position, almost entirely -detached, so that when a blow is struck with an axe, the whole mass -frequently falls to pieces. In the land icebergs, these columns are -often of amazing magnitude, so as, when separated, to form floating -icebergs. - -All the ice floating in the sea is generally rough and uneven on the -surface, and during the greater part of the year covered with snow. -Even newly-formed ice, which is free from snow, is so rough and soft -that it cannot be skated upon. Under water the colour of the ice -varies with the colour of the sea; in blue water it is blue, in green -water it is green, and of deeper shades in proportion to its depth. -In the thickest olive-green coloured water, its colour, far beneath -the surface, appears brownish. - -A description of the process of freezing from its commencement may -now be attempted. The first appearance of ice, when in a state of -detached crystals, is called by the sailors _sludge_, and resembles -snow when cast into water that is too cold to dissolve it. This -smooths the ruffled surface of the sea, and produces an effect like -oil in preventing breakers. These crystals soon unite, and would -form a continuous sheet, but, by the motion of the waves, they are -broken in very small pieces, scarcely three inches in diameter. As -they strengthen, many of them coalesce, and form a larger mass. -The undulations of the sea still continuing, these enlarged pieces -strike each other on every side, whereby they become rounded, and -their edges turn up, whence they obtain the name of _cakes_, or -_pan-cakes_. Several of these again unite, and thereby continue to -increase, forming larger flakes, until they become perhaps a foot -in thickness, and many yards in circumference. Every larger flake -retains on its surface the impression of the smaller flakes of which -it is composed, so that when, by the discontinuance of the swell, the -whole is permitted to freeze into an extensive sheet, it sometimes -assumes the appearance of a pavement. But when the sea is perfectly -smooth, the freezing process goes on more regularly, and probably -more rapidly. During twenty-four hours’ keen frost, the ice will -become an inch or two in thickness, and in less than forty-eight -hours’ time capable of sustaining the weight of a man. Both this -kind, and cake-ice, are termed bay-ice. In every opening of the main -body of ice at a distance from the sea, the water is always as smooth -as that of a harbour; and in low temperatures, all that is necessary -for the formation of ice is still water. There is no doubt that a -large quantity of ice is annually generated in the bays and amidst -the islands of Spitzbergen; which bays, towards the end of summer, -are commonly emptied of their contents, from the thawing of the -snow on the mountains causing a current outwards. But this will not -account for the immense fields which are so abundant in Greenland. -These evidently come from the northward, and have their origin -between Spitzbergen and the Pole. - -Ice-fields constitute one of the wonders of the deep. They are often -met with of the diameter of twenty or thirty miles, and when in the -state of such close combination that no interstice could be seen, -they sometimes extend to a length of fifty or a hundred miles. The -ice of which they are composed is generally pure and fresh, and -in heavy fields it is probably of the average thickness of ten to -fifteen feet, and then appears to be flat, low, thin ice; but when -high hummocks occur, the thickness is often forty feet and fifty -feet. The surface before the month of July is always covered with -a bed of snow, from perhaps a foot to a fathom in depth. This snow -dissolves in the end of summer, and forms extensive pools and lakes -of fresh water. Some of the largest fields are very level and smooth, -though generally their surfaces are varied with hummocks. In some, -these hummocks form ridges or chains, in others, they consist of -insulated heaps. I once saw a field which was so free from either -fissure or hummock, that I imagined, had it been free from snow, -a coach might have been driven many leagues over it in a direct -line, without obstruction or danger. Hummocks somewhat relieve the -uniformity of intense light reflected from the surface of fields, -by exhibiting shades of delicate blue in all the hollows, where the -light is partly intercepted by passing through a portion of ice. - -When the surface of snow on fields is frozen, or when the snow is -generally dissolved, there is no difficulty in travelling over them, -even without snow-skates or sledges. But when the snow is soft and -deep, travelling on foot to any distance is a work of labour. The -tribe of Esquimaux, discovered by captain Ross, made use of sledges, -drawn by dogs, for conveying them across the rough land-ice, lying -between the ships and the shore. A journey they performed with such -celerity, that captain Ross conjectured they could travel fifty or -sixty miles a day. If such a distance were practicable on drift-ice, -occurring near shore, it would be much more easy on the smoother ice -of fields. - -This term, _field_, was given to the largest sheets of ice by a Dutch -whale-fisher. It was not until a period of many years after the -Spitzbergen fishery was established, that any navigator attempted to -penetrate the ice, or that any of the most extensive sheets of ice -were seen. One of the ships resorting to Smeerenberg for fishery, put -to sea on one occasion when no whales were seen, persevered westward -to a considerable length, and accidentally fell in with some immense -flakes of ice, which, on his return to his companions, he described -as truly wonderful, and as resembling fields in the extent of their -surface. Hence the application of the term field to this kind of ice. -The discoverer of it was distinguished by the title of “field-finder.” - -Fields commonly make their appearance in the months of May or June, -though sometimes earlier; they are frequently the resort of young -whales. Strong north and westerly winds expose them to the whalers -by driving off the loose ice. The invariable tendency of fields is -to drift to the south-westward, even in calms, which is the means of -many being yearly destroyed. They have frequently been observed to -advance a hundred miles in this direction within the space of one -month, notwithstanding the occurrence of winds from every quarter. -On emerging from amidst the smaller ice, which before sheltered -them, they are soon broken up by the swell, are partly dissolved, -and partly converted into drift-ice. The places of such are supplied -by others from the north. The power of the swell in breaking the -heaviest fields is not a little remarkable. A grown swell, that is -so inconsiderable as not to be observed in open water, frequently -breaks up the largest fields, and converts them wholly into floes -and drift-ice in the space of a few hours; while fields composed of -bay-ice, or light-ice, being more flexible, endure the same swell -without any destructive effort. - -The occasional rapid motion of fields, with the strange effects -produced by such immense bodies on any opposing substance, is one of -the most striking objects the Polar seas present, and is certainly -the most terrific. They not unfrequently acquire a rotatory movement, -whereby their circumference attains a velocity of several miles per -hour. A field thus in motion, coming in contact with another at -rest, or more especially with another having a contrary direction -of movement, produces a dreadful shock. A body of more than ten -thousand millions of tons in weight, meeting with resistance when -in motion, produces consequences which it is scarcely possible to -conceive. The weaker field is crushed with an awful noise; sometimes -the destruction is mutual; pieces of huge dimensions and weight are -not unfrequently piled upon the top, to the height of twenty or -thirty feet, while a proportionate quantity is depressed beneath. -The view of these stupendous effects in _safety_ exhibits a picture -sublimely grand, but where there is danger of being overwhelmed, -terror and dismay must be the predominant feelings. The whale-fishers -at all times require unremitting vigilance to secure their safety, -but scarcely in any situation so much as when navigating amidst -these fields; in foggy weather, they are particularly dangerous, -as their motions cannot then be distinctly observed. It may easily -be imagined, that the strongest ship is but an insignificant -impediment between two fields in motion. Numbers of vessels, since -the establishment of the fishery, have been thus destroyed; some -have been thrown upon the ice, some have had their hulls completely -torn open, or divided in two, and others have been overrun by the -ice, and buried beneath its heaped fragments. The Dutch have lost as -many as twenty-three sail of ships among the ice in one year. In the -season of 1684, fourteen of their ships were wrecked, and eleven more -remained beset during the winter. - -In the month of May, of the year 1814, I witnessed a tremendous -scene. While navigating amidst the most ponderous ice which the -Greenland Sea presents, in the prospect of making our escape from -a state of _besetment_, our progress was unexpectedly arrested by -an isthmus of ice, about a mile in breadth, formed by the coalition -of the point of an immense field on the north, with that of an -aggregation of floes on the south. To the north field we moored the -ship, in the hope of the ice separating in this place. I then quitted -the ship, and travelled over the ice to the point of collision, to -observe the state of the bar, which now prevented our release. I -immediately discovered that the two points had but recently met, that -already a prodigious mass of rubbish had been squeezed upon the top, -and that the motion had not abated. The fields continued to overlay -each other with a majestic motion, producing a noise resembling -that of complicated machinery, or distant thunder. The pressure was -so immense, that numerous fissures were occasioned, and the ice -repeatedly rent beneath my feet. In one of the fissures, I found the -snow on the level three and a half feet deep, and the ice upwards of -twelve. In one place, hummocks had been thrown up to the height of -twenty feet from the surface of the field, and at least twenty-five -feet from the level of the water; they extended fifty or sixty yards -in length, and fifteen in breadth, forming a mass of about two -thousand tons in weight. The majestic, unvaried movement of the ice, -the singular noise by which it was accompanied, the tremendous power -exerted, and the wonderful effects produced—were calculated to excite -in the mind of the most careless spectator admiration of Him with -whom “the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the -small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very -little thing.” - -The term _icebergs_ has commonly been applied to the glaciers -occurring in Spitzbergen, Greenland, and other arctic countries. It -is also as commonly extended to the large peaks, mountains, or islets -of ice that are found floating in the sea. It is the latter kind of -icebergs we purpose to describe. - -Icebergs occur in many places in the arctic and antarctic regions; -some of them of astonishing magnitude. In the Spitzbergen Sea, -indeed, they are neither numerous nor bulky, compared with those -of other regions; the largest I ever met with in this quarter not -exceeding a thousand yards in circumference, and two hundred feet in -thickness. But in Hudson’s Strait, Davis’s Strait, and Baffin’s Bay, -they occur of a prodigious size. Ellis describes them as sometimes -occurring of the thickness of five hundred or six hundred yards. -Frobisher saw one iceberg which was judged to be “near fourscore -fathoms above water.” One berg is described by captain Ross (the -dimensions of which were given in by lieutenant Parry[1]) as having -nine unequal sides, as being aground in sixty-one fathoms, and as -measuring 4,169 yards (paces) long, 3,689 yards broad, and fifty-one -feet high. The weight of this iceberg, taken at somewhat smaller -dimensions, was estimated, by an officer of the Alexander, at -1,292,397,673 tons. This amount, however, is greater than the truth, -the cubical inch of ice being taken at 240 grains, whereas it does -not exceed 231·5 grains. - -The most abundant source of icebergs known in the arctic regions is -Baffin’s Bay. From this remarkable sea they constantly make their -way towards the south, down Davis’s Strait, and are scattered abroad -in the Atlantic to an amazing extent. The banks of Newfoundland are -occasionally crowded with these wonderful productions of the frigid -zone; beyond which they are sometimes conveyed, by the operation of -the southerly under-current, as low as latitude 40° north, and even -lower, a distance of at least two thousand miles from the place of -their origin. - -Icebergs commonly float on a base which is larger in extent than the -upper surface. Hence the proportion of ice appearing above water is -seldom less in elevation than one-seventh of the whole thickness; and -when the summit is conical, the elevation above water is frequently -one-fourth of the whole depth of the berg. Perhaps the most general -form of icebergs is with one high perpendicular side, the opposite -side very low, and the intermediate surface forming a gradual slope. -When of such a form, captain Ross found that the higher end was -generally to windward. Some icebergs have regular flat surfaces, but -most usually they have different acute summits, and occasionally -exhibit the most fantastic shapes. Some have been seen that were -completely perforated, or containing prodigious caverns, or having -many clefts or cracks in the most elevated parts, so as to give -the appearance of several distinct spires. On some icebergs, where -there are hollows, a great quantity of snow accumulates; others are -smooth and naked. The naked sides are often filled with conchoidal -excavations, of various magnitudes; sometimes with hollows the size -of the finger, and as regular as if formed by art. On some bergs, -pools of water occur stagnant; on others, large streams are seen -oozing through crevices into the sea. In a high sea, the waves -break against them as against a rock; and, in calm weather, where -there is a swell, the noise made by their rising and falling is -tremendous. When icebergs are aground, or when there is a superficial -current running to leeward, the motion of other ice past them is so -great that they appear to be moving to windward. Fields of ice, of -considerable thickness, meeting a berg under such circumstances, -are sometimes completely ripped up and divided through the middle. -Icebergs, when acted on by the sun, or by a temperate atmosphere, -become hollow and fragile. Large pieces are then liable to be broken -off, and fall into the sea with a terrible crash, which, in some -places, produces an echo in the neighbouring mountains. When this -circumstance, called _calving_, takes place, the iceberg loses -its equilibrium, sometimes turns on one side, and is occasionally -inverted. The sea is thereby put into commotion, fields of ice in the -vicinity are broken up, the waves extend, and the noise is heard to -the distance of several miles; and sometimes the rolling motion of -the berg not ceasing, other pieces get loosened and detached, till -the whole mass falls asunder like a wreck. - -Icebergs differ a little in colour according to their solidity and -distance, or state of the atmosphere. A very general appearance -is that of cliffs of chalk, or of white or grey marble. The sun’s -rays reflected from them sometimes give a glistening appearance to -their surfaces. Different shades of colour occur in the precipitous -parts, accordingly as the ice is more or less solid, and accordingly -as it contains strata of earth, gravel, or sand, or is free from -any impurity. In the fresh fracture, greenish grey, approaching to -emerald green, is the prevailing colour. In the night, icebergs -are readily distinguished, even at a distance, by their natural -effulgence; and in foggy weather, by a peculiar blackness in the -atmosphere, by which the danger to the navigator is diminished. -As, however, they occur far from land, and often in unexpected -situations, navigators require to be always on the watch for them. -Though often dangerous neighbours, they have occasionally proved -useful auxiliaries to the whale-fishers. Their situation in a smooth -sea is very little affected by the wind; under the strongest gale -they are not perceptibly moved, but, on the contrary, have the -appearance of advancing to windward, because every other description -of ice moves rapidly past them. From the iceberg’s firmness, it often -affords a stable mooring to the ship in strong adverse winds, and the -fisher likewise avails himself of it when his object is to gain a -windward situation more open. He moors under the lee of the iceberg, -loose ice soon forces past, the ship remains nearly stationary, and -the wished-for effect seldom fails to result. Vessels have, however, -often been staved, and sometimes wrecked, by the fall of their icy -mooring; while smaller objects, such as boats, have been repeatedly -overwhelmed, even at a considerable distance, by the vast waves -occasioned by such events. - -All ice becomes exceedingly fragile towards the close of the -whale-fishing season, when the temperate air thaws its surface, -and changes its solid structure into a brittle mass of imperfectly -attached columns. Bergs in this state being struck by an axe, for -the purpose of placing a mooring anchor, have been known to rend -asunder, and precipitate the careless seaman into the yawning -chasm; whilst, occasionally, the masses are hurled apart, and fall -in contrary directions with a prodigious crash, burying boats and -men in one common ruin. The awful effect produced by a solid mass, -many thousands, or even millions, of tons in weight, changing its -situation with the velocity of a falling body, whereby its aspiring -summit is in a moment buried in the ocean, can be more easily -imagined than described. Though a blow with an edge-tool on brittle -ice does not sever the mass, still it is often succeeded by a -crackling noise, proving the mass to be ready to burst from the force -of internal expansion, or from the destruction of its texture by a -warm temperature. It is common, when ships moor to icebergs, to lie -as remote from them as their ropes will allow, and yet accidents -sometimes happen, though the ship ride at the distance of a hundred -yards from the ice. In the year 1812, while the Thomas, of Hull, -captain Taylor, lay moored to an iceberg in Davis’s Strait, a _calf_ -was detached from beneath, and rose with such tremendous force, that -the keel of the ship was lifted on a level with water at the bow, -and the stern was nearly immersed beneath the surface. Fortunately, -the blow was received on the keel, and the ship was not materially -damaged. - -From the deep pools of water found in the summer season on the -depressed surface of some bergs, or from streams running down their -sides, the ships navigating where they abound are presented with -opportunities for watering with the greatest ease and dispatch. For -this purpose, casks are landed upon the lower bergs, filled, and -rolled into the sea; but, from the higher, the water is conveyed by -means of a long tube of canvas, or leather, called a _hose_, into -casks placed in the boats, at the side of the ice, or even upon the -deck of the ship. - -The greater part of the icebergs that occur in Davis’s Strait, and on -the eastern coast of North America, notwithstanding their profusion -and immense magnitude, seem to be merely fragments of the land -icebergs, or glaciers, which exist in great numbers on the coast -forming the boundaries of Baffin’s Bay. These glaciers fill immense -valleys, and extend, in some places, several miles into the sea; in -others, they terminate with a precipitous edge at the general line -formed by the coast. In the summer season, when they are particularly -fragile, the force of cohesion is often overcome by the weight of -the prodigious masses that overhang the sea; and, in winter, the -same effect may be produced by the powerful expansion of the water -filling any excavation, or deep-seated cavity, when its dimensions -are enlarged by freezing, thereby exerting a tremendous force, and -bursting the berg asunder. Pieces thus, or otherwise, detached, -are hurled into the sea with a dreadful crash. When they fall into -sufficiently deep water, they are liable to be drifted off the land, -and down Davis’s Strait, according to the set of the current; but, -if they fall into a shallow sea, they must remain until sufficiently -wasted to float away. - -Spitzbergen is possessed of every character which is supposed to be -necessary for the formation of the largest icebergs; high mountains, -deep extensive valleys, intense frost, occasional thaws, and great -falls of sleet and snow; yet here a berg is rarely met with, and -the largest that occur are not to be compared with the productions -of Baffin’s Bay. The reason of the difference between Spitzbergen -and Old Greenland as to the production of icebergs is, perhaps, -this—that, while the sea is generally deep, and the coast almost -continually sheltered by drift-ice at the foot of the glaciers, in -Baffin’s Bay; in Spitzbergen, on the contrary, they usually terminate -at the water’s edge, or where the sea is shallow, so that no very -large mass, if dislodged, can float away, and they are, at the same -time, so much exposed to heavy swells, as to occasion dismemberments -too frequently to admit of their attaining considerable magnitude. - -That extensive body of ice which, with occasional tracts of land, -occupies the northern extremity of the earth, and prevents all access -to the regions immediately surrounding the Pole, fills, it appears, -on an average, a circle of above two thousand geographical miles -diameter, and presents an outline which, though subject to partial -variations, is found at the same season of each succeeding year to be -generally similar, and often strikingly uniform. The most remarkable -alteration in the configuration of the Polar ice on record, is that -said to have taken place between Iceland and Greenland, in the -beginning of the fifteenth century, whereby the intercourse between -the Icelanders and the colonies in Greenland was interrupted; and, -although many attempts have been made on the part of Denmark for the -recovery of these colonies, and for ascertaining the fate of the -colonists, they have not yet succeeded. In various countries, changes -of climate, to a certain extent, have occurred within the limits -of historical record; these changes have been commonly for the -better, and have been considered as the effects of human industry, in -draining marshes and lakes, felling woods, and cultivating the earth; -but here is an occurrence which, if it be indeed true, is the reverse -of common experience, and concerning the causes of which it is not -easy to offer any conjecture. - -With each recurring spring, the north Polar ice presents the -following general outline. Filling the Bays of Hudson and Baffin, -as well as the Straits of Hudson, and part of that of Davis, it -exhibits an irregular, waving, but generally continuous line, from -Newfoundland or Labrador to Nova Zembla. From Newfoundland it -extends in a northerly direction along the Labrador shore, generally -preventing all access to the land, as high as the mouth of Hudson’s -Strait; then, turning to the north-eastward, forms a bay near the -coast of Greenland, in latitude perhaps 66° or 67°, by suddenly -passing away to the southward to the extremity of Greenland. The -quantity of ice on the east side of Davis’s Strait being often small, -the continuity of its border is liable to be broken, so as to admit -of ships reaching the land; and sometimes the bay of the ice, usually -occurring in the spring, in latitude 66° or 67°, does not exist, but -the sea is open up the strait to a considerable distance beyond it. -After doubling the southern promontory, or Cape Farewell, it advances -in a north-eastern direction along the east coast, sometimes -enveloping Iceland as it proceeds, until it reaches the Island of -Jan Mayen. Passing this island on the north-west, but frequently -inclosing it, the edge of the ice then trends a little more to the -eastward, and usually intersects the meridian of London between the -71st and 73rd degree of latitude. Having reached the longitude of 5° -or 6° east, in some instances as far as 8° or 10°, in the 73rd or -74th degree or north latitude, it joins a remarkable promontory, and -suddenly stretches to the north, sometimes proceeding on a meridian -to the latitude of 80°, at others forming a deep sinuosity, extending -two or three degrees to the northward, and then south-easterly to -Cherie Island, which, having passed, it assumes a more direct course -a little to the southward of east, until it forms a junction with the -Siberian or Nova Zemblan coast. - -During the winter and spring months, the Polar ice seems closely to -embrace the whole of the northern shores of Russia, to the eastward -of Nova Zembla, and filling, in a great measure, Behring’s Strait -and the sea to the northward of it, continues in contact with the -Polar face of the American continent, following the line of the coast -to the eastward, until it effects a junction with the ice in the -Spitzbergen Sea, or in the great north-western bays of Hudson and -Baffin, or is terminated by land yet undiscovered. - -That remarkable promontory midway between Jan Mayen and Cherie -Islands, formed by the sudden stretch of the ice to the north, -constitutes the line of separation between the east, or _whaling_, -and west, or _sealing_, ice of the fishers; and the deep bay lying to -the east of this promontory, which may be called the _Whale-fisher’s -Bight_, invariably forms the only pervious track for proceeding -to fishing latitudes northward. When the ice at the extremity of -this bay occurs so strong and compact as to prevent the approach -to the shores of Spitzbergen, and the advance northward beyond the -latitude of 75° or 76°, it is said to be a _close season_, and, on -the contrary, it is called an _open season_ when an uninterrupted -navigation extends along the western coast of Spitzbergen to -Hackluyt’s Headland. - -The place where whales occur in the greatest abundance is generally -found to be in 78° or 79° of north latitude, though, from the 72nd to -the 81st degree they have been met with. They prefer those situations -which afford them the most secure retreats, and the course of their -flight when scared or wounded is generally towards the nearest or -most compact ice. The place of their retreat, however, is regulated -by various circumstances; it may sometimes depend on the quality or -quantity of food occurring, the disposition of the ice, or exemption -from enemies. Sometimes they seem collected within a small and -single circuit; at others, they are scattered in various hordes -and numerous single individuals over an amazing extent of surface. -In _close seasons_, though the ice joins the south of Spitzbergen, -and thereby forms a _barrier_ against the fishing-stations, yet this -barrier is often of a limited extent, and terminates on the coasts -of Spitzbergen in an open space, either forming or leading to the -retreat of the whales. Such space is sometimes frozen over till the -middle or end of the month of May, but not unfrequently free from -ice. The barrier here opposed to the fisher usually consists of a -body of ice, from twenty to thirty or forty leagues across in the -shortest diameter. It is of importance to pass this barrier of ice as -early as possible in the season. The fisher here avails himself of -every power within his command. The sails are expanded in favourable -winds, and withdrawn in contrary breezes. The ship is urged forward -amongst drift-ice by the force of the wind, assisted with ropes and -saws. Whenever a vein of water appears in the required direction, it -is, if possible, attained. It always affords a temporary relief, and -sometimes a permanent release, by extending itself through intricate -mazes, amidst ice of various descriptions, until at length it opens -into the desired place, void of obstruction, constituting the usual -retreat of the whales. - -The barrier which we have described, when it occurs, is regularly -encountered on the first arrival of the Greenland ships in the -month of April, but is generally removed by natural means as the -season advances. It is usually found separate from the land, and -divided asunder by the close of the month of June; and hence it is -that, however difficult and laborious may have been the ingress -into the fishing country, the egress is commonly effected without -much inconvenience. In the month of May, the severity of the frost -relaxes, and the temperature generally approaches a few degrees of -the freezing point. The salt in the sea then exerts its liquefying -influence, and destroys the tenacity of the bay-ice, makes inroads -in its parts by enlarging its pores into holes, diminishes its -thickness, and, in the language of the whale-fisher, completely rots -it. Packed drift-ice is then liberated, and obeys the slightest -impulses of the winds or currents. The heavier having more stability -than the lighter, an apparent difference of movement obtains among -the pieces, and holes and lanes of water are formed to allow the -entrance and progress of the ships. Bay-ice, though sometimes -serviceable to the whalers in preserving them from the brunt of the -heavy ice, is often the means of besetment, and hence the primary -cause of every calamity. Heavy ice, many feet in thickness, and in -detached pieces of from fifty to a hundred tons’ weight each, though -crowded together in the form of a pack, may be penetrated in a -favourable gale with tolerable dispatch, whilst a sheet of bay-ice, -of a few inches only in thickness, with the same advantage of wind, -will often arrest the progress of the ship, and render her in a few -minutes immovable. If this ice be too strong to be broken by the -weight of the boat, recourse must be had to sawing, an operation slow -and laborious in the extreme. - -When the warmth of the season has rotted the bay-ice, the passage -to the northward can generally be accomplished with a very great -saving of labour. Therefore it was the older fishers seldom or never -used to attempt it before the 10th of May, and foreign fishers -in the present day are in general late. Sometimes late arrivals -are otherwise beneficial, since it frequently happens, in _close -seasons_, that ships entering the ice about the middle of May obtain -an advantage over those preceding them, by gaining a situation more -eligible, on account of its nearness to the land. Their predecessors, -meanwhile, are drifted off to the westward with the ice, and cannot -recover their easting. Hence, it appears, it would be economical -and beneficial to sail so late as not to reach the _country_ before -the middle of May, or to persevere on the sealing stations until -that time. There are, however, some weighty objections to this -method. Open seasons occasionally occur, and great progress may be -made, especially by superior fishers, before that time. A week or a -fortnight’s solitary fishing, under favourable circumstances, has -frequently gained half a cargo. The change which takes place in the -ice, amidst which the whale-fisher pursues his object, is, towards -the close of the _season_, indeed astonishing. For, not only does -it separate into its original individual portions, not only does -it retreat in a body from the western coast of Spitzbergen, but, -in general, that barrier of ice which incloses the fishing-site -in the spring, which costs the fisher immense labour and anxiety -to penetrate, by retarding his advance towards the north, and -his progress in the fishery, for the space of several weeks, -spontaneously divides in the midst about the month of June, and, on -the return of the ships, is not at all to be seen. Then is the sea -rendered freely navigable from the very haunts of the whales to the -expanse of the Atlantic Ocean. - -Our remarks may now be directed, for a few pages, to the properties, -peculiar movements, and drifting of the ice. - -1. The ice always has a tendency to separate during calms. - -2. Openings in packs and among fields, or floes, frequently break -out, or disappear, without any apparent cause. - -3. Fields often open, close, and revolve, in the most extraordinary -manner, in calms as well as in storms. - -4. The amazing changes which take place amongst the most compact ice -are often unaccountable. - -5. When speaking of the currents of the Spitzbergen Sea, it has -been remarked that the Polar ice, in this situation, has a constant -tendency to drift to the south-westward. Near Spitzbergen, indeed, -this tendency is not usually observed, because the influence of the -tide, eddies, peculiar pressures, etc., sometimes produce a contrary -effect; but, at a distance from land, its universal prevalence is -easily illustrated. - -In the beginning of May, 1814, we entered with the ship Esk, -of Whitby, a spacious opening of the ice, in latitude 78° 10′, -longitude 4° east, to a distance of ten or twelve leagues from the -exterior, wherein we were tempted to stay, from the appearance of -a great number of whales. On the 9th of May, the ship became fixed -in the ice, and, until the 16th, we lay immovable. A break of the -bay-ice then appeared about half-a-mile from us, to attain which we -laboured with energy, and, in eight hours, accomplished a passage -for the ship. On the 20th, in attempting to advance, we endured a -heavy pressure of the bay-ice, which shook the ship in an alarming -manner. After a fatiguing effort in passing through the midst of an -aggregation of floes against the wind, we reached a channel, which -led us several miles to the south-eastward; and, on the 23rd, we -lay at rest with four other ships. The day following, having sawn -a place for the ship in a thin floe, we forced forward between two -large masses, where bay-ice, unconsolidated, had been compressed -till it had become ten or twelve feet thick. We were assisted by a -hundred men from the accompanying ships, which followed close in -our rear. After applying all our mechanical powers during eight -or nine hours, we passed the strait of about a furlong in length, -and immediately the ice collapsed, and riveted the ships of our -companions to the spot. We advanced on various winding courses to -the distance of several miles, and then discovered a continuation of -the navigation between two immense sheets of ice, but the channel -was so narrow and intricate, that, for the distance of near a mile, -it did not appear more than from ten to twenty yards in width. The -prospect was, indeed, appalling; but, perceiving indications of the -enlargement of the passage rather than the contrary, we advanced -under a press of sail, driving aside some disengaged lumps of ice -that opposed us, and shortly accomplished our wishes in safety. Here -an enlivening prospect presented itself; to the extreme limits of -the horizon no interruption was visible. We made a predetermined -signal to the ships we had left, indicative of our hope of speedy -release. In two hours, however, we were disappointed by meeting -the fields in the act of collapsing, and completely barring our -progress. As the distance across was scarcely a mile, and the sea, to -appearance, clear beyond it, the interruption was most tantalizing. -We waited at the point of union, and, on the morning of the 26th of -May, our anxiety was happily relieved by the wished-for division -of the ice. The ship, propelled by a brisk wind, darted through the -strait, and entered a sea, which we considered the termination of -our difficulties. After steering three hours to the south-eastward, -we were concerned to discover our conclusions had been premature. -An immense pack opened on our view, stretching directly across our -path. There was no alternative but forcing through it; we therefore -pushed forward into the least connected part. By availing ourselves -of every advantage of sailing, where sailing was practicable, and -_boring_ or drifting where the pieces of ice lay close together, we -at length reached the leeward part of a narrow channel, in which we -had to ply a considerable distance against the wind. When performing -this, the wind, which had hitherto blown a brisk breeze from the -north, increased to a strong gale. The ship was placed in such a -critical situation that we could not, for above an hour, accomplish -any reduction of the sails; and while I was personally engaged -performing the duty of a pilot on the topmast-head, the bending -of the mast was so uncommon that I was seriously alarmed for its -stability. At length, we were enabled to reef our sails, and for -some time proceeded with less danger. Our direction was now east, -then north for several hours, then easterly, ten or fifteen miles; -when, after eighteen hours of the most difficult and occasionally -hazardous sailing, in which the ship received some hard blows from -the ice, after pursuing a tedious course nearly ninety miles, and -accomplishing a distance on a direct north-east course of about forty -miles, we found ourselves at the very margin of the sea, separated -only by a narrow sea-stream. The sea was so great without, and the -wind so violent, that we durst not hazard an attempt to force through -this remaining obstacle. After waiting about thirty hours, on the -morning of the 28th of May, the weather cleared, and the wind abated. -The sea-stream was now augmented to upwards of a mile broad. One -place alone was visible where the breadth was less considerable, and -through it we accomplished our final escape into the open sea. - -I have thus been minute in the relation of our extrication from an -alarming, though not very uncommon state of besetment, in order to -give a faint idea of the difficulties and dangers which those engaged -in the whale-fishery have occasionally to encounter, as well as to -illustrate the manner in which ships are carried away from their -original situation by the regularity of the drift of ice to the -south-westward. The life of the mariner is one always of great labour -and peril, but in navigating these arctic seas he is exposed to -sudden and peculiar dangers. - -It is possible that the title and contents of this volume may allure -to its perusal some who look forward to exposure to dangers such -as those which are here described. They surely will not deem it -intrusive to be reminded that the most important preparation for -such undertakings, as well as for the whole of life, is to surrender -the heart to that Saviour who has died to redeem his servants from -guilt and ruin. The pardon and peace which he freely confers on all -who come to him, are the only safe comforts of a departing soul. It -is his blood only that cleanses from all sin; it is his Spirit that -renews and sanctifies the mind; and whatever pain or accident may -befal the body, there can be “no condemnation” in time or in eternity -“to them which are in Christ Jesus.” The message of God to man is the -offer of a free salvation, through the death of his glorious Son. -This offer must determine the eternal condition of all to whom it is -in God’s mercy revealed. “God so loved the world, that he gave his -only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, -but have everlasting life!” Reader, do you understand, and have you -accepted, this gracious message? - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] Now sir John Ross and sir Edward Parry. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -OBSERVATIONS ON THE ATMOSPHEROLOGY OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS, -PARTICULARLY RELATING TO SPITZBERGEN AND THE ADJACENT GREENLAND SEA. - - -In treating of the subject of this chapter, our remarks shall, in -the first instance, relate to the _climate of the Arctic Regions -and the general effects of cold_. In the autumn and spring seasons, -the climate of Spitzbergen and its adjacent sea is variable and -tempestuous. The temperature passes through its extreme range, which, -probably, exceeds fifty degrees in the same season, or even in the -same month, with a rapidity unknown in countries situate within the -temperate zones. North, west, and east winds bring with them the -extreme cold of the icy regions immediately surrounding the Pole, -whilst a shift of wind to the south-west, south, or south-east, -elevates the temperature towards that of the neighbouring seas. - -An arctic winter consists of the accumulation of almost everything -among atmospheric phenomena that is disagreeable to the feelings, -together with the privation of those bounties of Heaven with which -other parts of the earth, in happier climates, are so plentifully -supplied. During the whole of the winter months, the cheering rays of -the sun are neither seen nor felt, and there are occasional storms of -wind and snow. - -The most severe cold, says Crantz, that occurs in Greenland, sets in, -as in temperate climates, “after the new year; and is so piercing -in February and March, that the stones split in twain, and the sea -reeks like an oven.” On the return of the sun, the months of May, -June, and August, are even occasionally pleasant; but with July, and -partially with June and August, the densest fogs prevail, which are -more depressing to the spirits than even intense cold. - -The temperature of the atmosphere, when the fogs prevail, is -generally near the freezing point, and is not above three or four -degrees higher at midday than at midnight, and sometimes does not -vary above a degree or two for several days together. But, in the -spring and winter seasons, the temperature is subject to very great -and rapid alterations, which are frequently simultaneous with the -greatest changes of pressure. This renders the thermometer a valuable -appendage in the prognostication of the weather. - -The great depression of temperature which takes place in the -proximity of ice with a northerly wind, appears equally as -considerable to the feelings in low as in high latitudes. As great -a degree of cold as ever I noticed in a series of twelve years’ -observations (once excepted) was in latitude 71¼°, April 12, 1814, -when the mean of three thermometers indicated zero; and, on the same -occasion, during an interval of three days, the mean temperature was -less than 5°. The wind in the mean time was continually blowing from -the north-eastward, generally blowing a gale, but sometimes moderate. -On the 25th of April, 1813, in latitude 8°, the thermometer fell to -4°, during a hard gale from the north-east, but on account of the -ship being driven away from the ice it soon rose to 10° or 15°. The -effect of the ice in reducing the temperature is so considerable, -that our proximity to it is often announced by the coldness before -it can be seen. In this manner, the difference of a few leagues in -position sometimes produces a surprising increase of cold. - -The Greenland sailors, being well defended from external cold by -a choice selection of warm clothing, generally support the lowest -temperature, after a few days’ habitude, without much inconvenience. -When, however, its attacks are not gradual, as when a ship, which -has attained the edge of the ice, under a southerly gale, is exposed -suddenly to a northerly breeze, the change of temperature is so great -and rapid, that the most hardy cannot conceal their uneasiness under -its first impression. On one occasion, in the year 1814, there -was between the time of my leaving the deck at night and arising -the following morning an increase in the cold of about 20°. This -remarkable change was attended with singular effects. The circulation -of the blood was accelerated, a sense of parched dryness was excited -in the nose; the mouth, or rather lips, were contracted in all their -dimensions, as by a sphincter, and the articulation of many words was -rendered difficult and imperfect; indeed, every part of the body was -more or less stimulated or disordered by the severity of the cold. -The hands, if exposed, would have been frozen in a few minutes, and -even the face could not have resisted the effects of a brisk wind, -continued for any length of time. A piece of metal, when applied to -the tongue, instantly adhered to it, and could not be removed without -its retaining a portion of the skin; iron became brittle, and such -as was at all of inferior quality might be fractured by a blow; -brandy, of English manufacture and wholesale strength, was frozen; -quicksilver, by a single process, might have been consolidated; the -sea, in some places, was in the act of freezing, and, in others, -appeared to smoke, and produced, in the formation of _frost-rime_, an -obscurity greater than that of the thickest fog. - -The subtle principle of magnetism seemed to be, in some way or other, -influenced by the frost, for the deck compasses became sluggish, or -even motionless, while a cabin compass traversed with celerity. The -ship became enveloped in ice; the bows, sides, and lower rigging, -were loaded; and the rudder, if not repeatedly freed, would, in a -short time, have been rendered immovable. A considerable swell at -this time prevailing, the smoke in the cabin, with the doors closed, -was so intolerable, that we were under the necessity of giving free -admission to the external air to prevent it. The consequence was, -that, in front of a brisk fire, at the distance of a yard and a half -from it, the temperature was 25°; water spilt on the table froze, -and, indeed, congelation took place in one situation at the distance -of only two feet from the stove. Hoar-frost, also, appeared in the -sailors’ bed-cabins, arising from their breath, and was deposited -upon their blankets. - -Under such a temperature, the whale-fishery could not be prosecuted, -for nature could not sustain continued exposure to the pungent force -of the wind. With a calm atmosphere, however, the sensible effects of -cold are singularly diminished; the cold of zero then becomes equally -supportable with the temperature of 10, 15, or even 20 degrees, when -impressed by a brisk wind; hence, the sensations produced on the body -become a very equivocal criterion for estimating the degree of cold. - -The effect of cold in preventing the traversing of compasses, exposed -to its influence, has been noticed by some navigators. As a remedy -against this inconvenience, Ellis, in his voyage to Hudson’s Bay, -suggests the propriety of removing the compasses into a warm place, -by which the needles speedily resume their activity. I have found, -by experiments, that neither the attractive nor directive power of -the magnet suffers diminution by an increase of cold. There appears, -however, to be an increase of friction, or the introduction of some -unknown principle, which, when the degree of cold is very much -increased, occasions a diminution in the mobility of magnetic needles. - -Many remarkable effects of cold are related in the journals of Polar -navigators. Captain James, when wintering in Hudson’s Bay, latitude -52° north, experienced such cold, that, on the 10th December, many -of the sailors had their noses, cheeks, and fingers, frozen as white -as paper. Ellis, who wintered in the same region, latitude 57° 30′, -found, by the 3rd of November, bottled beer, though wrapped in -tow, and placed near a good, constant fire, frozen solid. Many of -the sailors had their faces, ears, and toes frozen; iron adhered -to their fingers; glasses used in drinking stuck to the mouth, and -sometimes removed the skin from the lips or tongue; and a sailor, who -inadvertently used his finger for stopping a spirit-bottle in place -of a cork, while removing it from the house to his tent, had his -finger fast frozen in the bottle, in consequence of which a part of -it was obliged to be taken off to prevent mortification. - -A Hamburgh whaler, beset by the ice, near Spitzbergen, in the year -1769, was exposed to great danger. The effect of the frost was such, -that the seams in the ship’s sides cracked with a noise resembling -the report of a pistol. These openings at first rendered the vessel -very leaky, but after she got free from the ice, and into a milder -climate, they again closed. - -In the interesting narrative, by Pelham, of the preservation of eight -seamen, who were accidentally left in Spitzbergen, in the year 1630, -and wintered there, are some remarks on the effects of cold. The sea -of the bay, where they took up their abode, froze over on the 10th -of October. After the commencement of the new year, the frost became -most intense; it raised blisters in their flesh as if they had been -burned with fire, and if they touched iron at such times it would -stick to their fingers like bird-lime. Sometimes, when they went -out of doors to procure water, they were seized in such a way by -the cold, that their flesh felt as sore as if they had been cruelly -beaten. - -The effects of cold at Disco, as observed by M. Paul Egedé, on the -7th January, 1738, and recorded by David Crantz, in his History of -Greenland, are too striking to be omitted. “The ice and hoar-frost,” -says Egedé, “reach through the chimney to the stove’s mouth, without -being thawed by the fire in the day-time. Over the chimney is an -arch of frost, with little holes, through which the smoke discharges -itself. The doors and walls are as if they were plastered over with -frost, and, which is scarcely credible, beds are often frozen to the -bedsteads. The linen is frozen in the drawers, the upper eider-down -bed and the pillows are quite stiff with frost an inch thick, from -the breath.” - -The terrific power of these mighty agencies of nature illustrate His -perfections, who has all resources at his command, to minister to -the comfort of his servants, or the inevitable destruction of his -enemies. To be hostile to the God of heaven and of earth, is surely -the height of folly as well as of ingratitude. “He sendeth forth his -commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly. He giveth snow -like wool: he scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes. He casteth forth -his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?” - -In these frigid regions, the scurvy becomes a very alarming disease, -and many individuals have perished by it, who have attempted to -winter in Spitzbergen and neighbouring countries. It appears, -however, probable, that this disease is not so much influenced by -the severity of the climate as by the use of improper aliment. An -excellent paper on this subject, by Dr. John Aikin, is published in -the Memoirs of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester. -It affirms, that by the constant use of fresh provisions, the -occasional use of oleaginous substances, together with frequent -exercise, a warm dwelling, and a warm clothing, there would, -probably, be little danger in exposure to the severities of a -Spitzbergen winter. Whenever I have had occasion to expose myself to -severe cold, I have found that the more I am heated the longer I can -resist the cold without inconvenience. The warmth produced by simple -fluids, such as tea or soup, is preferable to that occasioned by -spirits. After the liberal use of tea, I have often sustained a cold -ten degrees at the mast-head for several hours without uneasiness. I -have frequently gone from the breakfast-table, where the temperature -was 50° or 60°, to the mast-head, where it was ten, without any other -additional clothing except a cap, yet I never received any injury, -and seldom much inconvenience, from the uncommon transition. - -The antiseptical property of frost is remarkable. Animal substances -requisite as food, of all descriptions, (fish excepted,) may be taken -to Greenland, and there preserved any length of time, without being -smoked, dried, or salted. Beef, mutton, pork, and fowls, the latter -neither plucked nor drawn, are constantly taken out from England, -Shetland, or Orkney, and preserved in this way. When used, the beef -is best divided by a saw; it is then thawed in cold water, and, -if cooked, when three, four, or five months old, will frequently -appear as profuse of gravy as if it had been recently killed. A -further antiseptical effect is produced by the cold on animal and -vegetable substances, so as to preserve them, if they remain in the -same climate, unchanged for a period of many years. An instance -corroborative of this remark is given by M. Bleau, who, in his Atlas -Historique, informs us, that the bodies of seven Dutch seamen, who -perished in Spitzbergen, in the year 1635, were found twenty years -afterwards by some sailors, who happened to land about the place -where they were interred, in a perfect state, not having suffered the -smallest degree of putrefaction. Wood, indeed, has been met with in -Spitzbergen, which has resisted all injury from the weather during -the lapse of a century. - -Our remarks must now be directed to _meteorology_, and to an -investigation of the temperature of the north Polar regions, and its -constant tendency to equalization. - -Though in a state of rapid improvement, the science of meteorology -is acknowledged to be yet in its infancy. Before the discovery -of the weight of the atmosphere by Torricelli, about the year -1630, no means of registering its variations of pressure could be -known or practised. Hence we can have no very correct idea of the -relative temperature of climates in the present and remote periods, -unless from occasional historical remarks of the formation of ice -in particular lakes, rivers, or parts of the sea, or from the -capability of the earth for producing certain fruits or grain. In -consequence, however, of the use of the thermometer and barometer, -meteorology, as a science, has made considerable advancement. The -records of phenomena, which these instruments indicate, have proved -highly useful. Professor Mayer has given us a formula for determining -the temperature of any situation on the globe, where observations -have not been made. Dr. Hutton has presented us with an ingenious -and plausible theory of rain; and Kirwan, Humboldt, and others, have -advanced our knowledge of the climates of different countries. Dr. -Wells has investigated the phenomena of dew, and professor Leslie -has conducted profound researches on the relations of air to heat -and moisture, and on the propagation of heat and cold through the -atmosphere to distant regions. By the invention, also, of several -curious and useful instruments, especially the hygrometer for the -measurement of the dryness or dampness of the atmosphere, he has -contributed very largely to the advancement of meteorological -knowledge. - -The temperature of the atmosphere in any particular region is one -of those phenomena, which, however they may fluctuate, or whatever -may be their daily, monthly, or yearly variations, and however -unequal and capricious these may be, will, on the average of numerous -corresponding periods, be found to be dependent on certain laws -tending to produce equilibrium; so that the general results are -remarkably uniform. When we experience particularly cold winters, or -particularly hot summers, we might suppose that the mean temperature -of the years in which the former occur, would be greatly below, -and that of years in which the hot summers occur, would be greatly -above, the general standard. But this will seldom be found to be the -case. In temperate climates of the northern hemisphere, the mean -temperature of any one year, derived from the mean of the daily -extremes of heat and cold, or from any particular number of daily -observations, continued through the course of twelve successive -months, seldom differs from the general mean temperature, as derived -from the observation of a great, number of years, more than two or -three degrees. The mean temperature of any single month cannot be -supposed to be equally uniform; this, however, does not differ so -widely from the general mean of the month as might be expected. - -As the mean annual temperature of a country is, therefore, probably -given by one year’s observations only, to within two or three degrees -of the truth, the mean of a period of eight or ten years will, -probably, come within one degree of the truth. By the comparison -of the results of thermometrical observations, made in different -countries, with each other, tracing the changes of temperature, -which appear with certain changes of latitude or situation, some -ingenious and philosophical men have endeavoured, by principles -of analogy and induction, to determine the mean temperature of -every parallel of latitude from the Equator to the north Pole. -These calculations have been considered as near approximations; -and, as long as observations were wanting, served for purposes of -investigation, to complete the scale of the temperature of the globe. -When we reach, however, the regions of perpetual ice, a remarkable -anomaly is discovered, the mean temperature falling below the -estimation in these tables at once 17°. From a series of observations -on the temperature, etc., of the Polar regions, conducted with care -during twelve successive voyages to the Greenland Seas, I am able to -deduce the following conclusions. - -The mean temperature of the months of April, May, June, and July, -are satisfactorily derived from the means of the latitudes and of -the observations of temperature; but the mean temperature of the -whole year, and of the winter months, wherein no observations in -such high latitudes have yet been made, can only be ascertained by -analogy. From the examination of numerous thermometrical registers, -particularly one consisting of 54,750 observations, made in a -succession of fifty years, at Stockholm, it would seem that the -temperature of the year in northern latitudes is indicated by that -of the 27th to 28th of April. I have collated 656 observations, -made on 242 days, in nine different years, extending equally before -and after the 27th of April, from which the mean temperature of the -year, in latitude 76° 45′, near the meridian of London, appears -to be 18° 86′. Reducing all the monthly temperatures derived from -my observations to the parallel of latitude 78° north, by the -application of Mayer’s formula, and allowing for the fact that many -of the observations of April were made at a considerable distance -from the ice, I calculate the temperature of April, latitude 78°, -to be 14° 23′, and the mean of the year in the same proportion -exactly 17°. Having discovered, by observation chiefly, the mean -temperature of the months of April, May, June, and July, and the -probable mean temperature of the year in the icy regions adjoining -Spitzbergen, I conceive it not difficult to calculate the temperature -of the remaining months. The difference between the mean temperature -of the year and that of July, is 21½° in Stockholm, and 20° near -Spitzbergen. Finding not only that the difference of temperature -between the mean of the year and July, near Spitzbergen, but that -the progressive increase of temperature from April to July, also, -bore a strong analogy to the relative circumstances at Stockholm, -I formed a scheme of decimals, connected with a simple formula, by -which the same proportion of change, which has been observed to take -place every month at Stockholm, may be made very readily to apply to -any other country, whence, situations and circumstances being nearly -similar, the temperature of unobserved months may be calculated. The -temperature of January, latitude 78°, comes out—1°; that of February, -O° 7′; March, 6° 1′; August, 34° 9′; September, 27° 8′; October, 18° -5′; November, 9° 8′; and December, 3° 1′. - -Following the example of every generalizing meteorologist, I -may, with some propriety, extend my observations to the probable -temperature of the north Pole, provided I can proceed on data, not -merely arbitrary or fanciful, but founded on observation and analogy. - -It has been observed, that professor Mayer’s theory for ascertaining -the temperature of every latitude, becomes exceedingly wide of the -truth when we approach the regions of perpetual ice, notwithstanding -in most other situations on the sea, or bordering thereon, it holds -sufficiently near. According to it, the mean temperature of latitude -76° 45′, near the western coast of Spitzbergen, would have been 33° -8′, instead of 18° 8′, as shown by my observations; and, according -to it, the mean temperature of the Pole is reckoned to be about 31°. -The 15° difference between the observation and calculation must be -considered as the frigorific effect of the ice, of which, if we can -ascertain the probable measurement at the Pole, we shall be able -to modify Mayer’s calculation, so as to approximate to the mean -temperature. At the Pole, no wind could convey the mild influence -of a temperate climate, because, from whatever direction it should -blow, it must be cooled down by brushing over an extensive surface -of ice; consequently, the full frigorific effect of the ice must be -greater in the Pole than in places situated at or near the borders -of the ice. In a total period of 242 days, the temperature of the -air was, by observation, found to be more or less influenced by the -ice during 173 days of that period. Hence, as 173 is to 15°, the -anomaly occasioned by the mean temperature, so is 242 to 21°, which -is the probable anomaly that may be expected when the temperature is -always influenced by the ice, or the anomaly which may be supposed -to occur at the Pole. Now, if we deduct 21° from 31°, the calculated -temperature of the Pole, the actual mean temperature at the Pole will -be about 10°. - -Concerning the pressure of the atmosphere in Polar latitudes, I would -remark, particularly in the winter and spring months, it is liable -to sudden and very considerable variations, and a careful study and -observation of these is necessary to enable the watchful mariners to -anticipate the approach of storms. - -The following are the relations which, in Polar latitudes, I have -been enabled to trace between the barometer and the weather:— - -1. A hard westerly gale, with snow, occasions the greatest depression -of the mercury; and a light easterly wind, with dry weather, the -greatest elevation. - -2. The rising of the mercury foretells the subsidence of wind or -rain, a change of wind or fine weather; and its falling, rain, snow, -or a change or increase of wind. - -3. The mercury rising unusually high, and then becoming stationary, -indicates, in the months of April and May, a continuance of fine -weather; but in June or July, foggy weather. - -4. If, in the month of April, the mercury fall with some rapidity an -inch or more, a storm will most certainly succeed, however contrary -appearances may be, which will probably be the more severe in -proportion as it approximates the east, and will frequently continue, -with unabated violence, for fifty or sixty hours. - -5. The rising of the mercury usually precedes the cessation of -a storm, but does not invariably determine the period of its -continuance, as storms frequently blow for a day or two after the -first rise of the mercury. - -6. Sudden and repeated fluctuations are indicative of unsettled -weather; but the rapid fall of the mercury is no indication of a -short gale, though, in other regions, the reverse is said to be -the case; for, before storms that continue two or three days, the -barometer frequently falls an inch within twenty-four hours; and -indeed, in a gale as long and as heavy as I almost ever witnessed, -the fall of the mercury was above an inch in twelve hours. - -7. Before very heavy storms, when the barometer falls uncommonly low, -the mercury seems to get below its natural level, and often rises two -or three tenths of an inch as soon as the predicted storm commences; -hence this first rise of the mercury is no indication whatever of an -abatement of the wind. - -8. On account of the different states of the barometer in west and -east winds, the usual level of the mercury, with a moderate wind at -west, not being much higher than with a gale at east, a change of -wind from one of these quarters to the opposite may be accompanied -with the greatest alteration in the strength of the wind, without -producing any effect on the barometer. - -The appearance of the Greenland atmosphere corresponds in some degree -with the winter sky of Britain; the colour of the former is, however, -of a deeper azure, and its transparency, when clear and free from icy -crystals, perhaps more perfect. - -Far within the borders of compact ice the atmosphere, in summer, is -often cloudless, and the weather serenely pleasant, though cold. -But in the usual fishing-stations, and on the exterior of the ice -in general, a clear sky is not frequent; nevertheless, when it does -occur, its transparency is peculiarly beautiful. The sun sometimes -sweeps two or three times round the Pole, without being for a moment -obscured by a cloud. Objects the most remote may be seen perfectly -distinct and clear. A ship’s top-gallant-mast, at the distance of -five or six leagues, may be discerned when just appearing above the -horizon, with a common perspective glass; and the summits of some -mountains are visible at the distance of sixty to a hundred miles. -This perfect clearness occurs most frequently before easterly winds; -in general, however, especially in very cold weather, objects on the -horizon, when viewed with a high magnifier, appear affected with -a perpetual tremor; whence the contemplation of distant objects -is accomplished as perfectly with a good pocket-glass as with the -best telescope. This tremulous motion is evidently produced by the -quantity of delicate icy crystals which, in very low temperatures, -are almost always seen floating in the air. - -The general obscurity of the atmosphere, arising from clouds or -fogs, is such, that the sun is frequently invisible during several -successive days. At such times, when the sun is near the northern -tropic, there is scarcely any sensible variation in the quantity of -light from noon to midnight. Hence, when the sailors have been long -abroad in the boats, or so fully engaged as to be unable to mark the -progress of time, the inquiry, whether it be day or night, is not -unfrequent. - -There is nothing remarkable in the appearance of the sun at midnight, -excepting that, when its altitude is very small, it may be viewed -with the naked eye, without producing any painful sensation; but when -it is more than four or five degrees above the horizon, it generally -appears as effulgent as with the same elevation in Britain. The force -of the sun’s rays is sometimes remarkable. Where they fall upon the -snow-clad surface of the ice or land, they are, in a great measure, -reflected, without producing any material elevation of temperature; -but when they impinge on the black exterior of a ship, the pitch on -one side occasionally becomes fluid, while ice is rapidly generated -on the other; or, while a thermometer, placed against the black -paint-work on which the sun shines, indicates a temperature of 80° or -90°, or even more, on the opposite side of the ship a cold of 20° is -sometimes found to prevail. - -This remarkable force of the sun’s rays is accompanied with a -corresponding intensity of light. A person placed in the centre of -a field or other compact body of ice, under a cloudless atmosphere -and elevated sun, experiences such an extraordinary intensity of -light, that if it be encountered for any length of time, is not only -productive of a most painful sensation in the eyes, but sometimes -of temporary, or even, as I have heard, of permanent blindness. -Under such circumstances, the use of green glasses affords a most -agreeable relief. Some of the Indians of North America defend their -eyes by the use of a kind of wooden spectacles, having, instead of -glasses, a narrow perpendicular slit opposite to each eye. This -simple contrivance, which intercepts, perhaps, nine-tenths of the -light that would reach a naked eye, prevents any painful consequences -in the most intense reflection of light that ever occurs. - -The constant light of the sun during the summer prevents the stars -from being seen; and this, together with the frequency of cloudy -or foggy weather, rarely admits a sight of the moon. Hence, the -longitude, which is of such essential importance in navigation, can -seldom be determined by lunar observations. Chronometers, therefore, -though but little used by the whale-fishers, become of enhanced -value; and even a good watch, well regulated, will, where the degrees -of longitude are so very contracted, point out the meridianal -situation of the ship for short intervals, with a very tolerable -degree of accuracy. - -Though the air in the arctic seas is generally in a state of -dampness, approaching to complete saturation, yet the absolute -quantity of moisture cannot, when the cold is very excessive, be -considerable. It is remarked, that vessels are less apt to rust here -than in any other climate; and this observation, if we consider the -relative humidity of the atmosphere as indicated by the hygrometer, -is certainly correct; but though the air in the Polar regions is -generally damp, yet it is probable there is no habitable situation in -the known world in which such a degree of actual dryness prevails, as -in a house or in the cabin of a ship, well heated, when the external -air is intensely cold. The wainscoting of the cabin of a ship in cold -weather sometimes shrinks, in consequence of the uncommon dryness, as -much as half an inch in a panel of about fifteen inches broad, being -equal to one-thirtieth of the breadth; but, on returning to Britain, -the same panel expands again to almost its original dimensions. - -Few observations, comparatively, seem to have been made on the -electricity of the atmosphere, especially in high latitudes. Perhaps, -some trials that I made in the spring of 1818, on this subject, were -the first that have been attempted within the arctic circle. When -in latitude 68°, I erected an insulated conductor, eight feet above -the maintop-gallant mast-head, connected by a copper wire with a -copper ball, attached by a silk string to the deck. The conductor -consisted of a slender tapering tube of tinned iron, terminated by a -pointed brass wire. It was fixed in an iron socket, supported by a -large cylindrical piece of glass; which glass, by means of another -iron socket, was secured to the top of a long pole, elevated several -feet above the mast-head. A tin cone encompassed the bottom of the -conductor, the mouth of which being downward, defended the rod of -glass from getting wet, so as to injure its insulated property. -The conducting wire, being kept clear of the rigging of the ship, -was expected to exhibit in the ball, where it terminated, any -difference between the state of the electricity of the ship or sea -and that of the atmosphere. The test of electricity was a Bennet’s -gold-leaf electrometer, brought into contact with the ball; but -though trials were made for several successive days, from lat. 78° to -lat. 75°, during clear, cloudy, and showery weather, not the least -excitation was ever observed. That the effect might be rendered more -perceptible, the electrometer was well dried and warmed immediately -before each experiment, without which, indeed, no excitation could be -produced in it, either with glass or sealing-wax. The nights being -light, the aurora borealis could not be seen; but on the evening of -the 20th of May, an appearance was observed, very much resembling the -aurora borealis, yet no signs of electricity were observed in the -electrometer applied to the conductor. - -There are several phenomena of the atmosphere dependent on reflection -and refraction, deserving of notice. _Ice-blinks_ have been already -mentioned, when speaking of the ice. Under certain circumstances, all -objects seen on the horizon seem to be lifted above it a distance -of two to four, or more, minutes of altitude, or so far extended in -height above their natural dimensions. Ice, land, ships, boats, and -other objects, when thus enlarged and elevated, are said to _loom_. -The lower part of _looming_ objects are sometimes connected with the -sensible horizon by an apparent fibrous or columnar extension of -their parts, which columns are always perpendicular to the horizon; -at other times, they appear to be quite lifted into the air, a void -space being seen between them and the horizon. This phenomenon is -observed most frequently on, or before, an easterly wind, and is -generally considered as indicative of such. - -A most extraordinary appearance of the Foreland, or Charles’s Island, -Spitzbergen, occurred on the 16th of July, 1814. While sailing to the -southward, along the coast, with an easterly wind, I observed what -appeared to be a mountain, in the form of a slender, but elevated, -monument. I was surprised that I had never seen it before, and -was more astonished when I saw, not far distant, a prodigious and -perfect arch thrown across a valley, of above a league in breadth. -The neighbouring mountains disclosed the cause, by exhibiting an -unnatural elevation with the columnar structure of looming objects. -Presently, the scene was changed, the mountains along the whole coast -assumed the most fantastical forms; the appearance of castles, with -lofty spires, towers, and battlements, would, in a few minutes, be -converted into a vast arch or romantic bridge. These varied, and -sometimes beautiful, metamorphoses naturally suggested the reality -of fairy descriptions; for the air was perfectly transparent; the -contrast of snow and rocks was quite distinct; even in the substance -of the most uncommon phantasms, though examined with a powerful -telescope, and every object deemed to possess every possible -stability. I never before observed a phenomenon so varied or so -amusing. The land was not alone affected by this peculiar refraction, -since every object between the north-east and south-east points of -the compass was, more or less, deformed by it. A mass of ice on -the horizon appeared of the height of a cliff, and the prismatic -structure of its front suggested the idea of basaltic columns. It -may be remarked, that these phenomena took place on a clear evening, -after an uncommonly warm afternoon. - -I observed many other peculiar effects of refraction. Such phenomena -are frequent on the commencement or approach of easterly winds, -and are probably occasioned by the commixture, near the surface of -the land or sea, of two streams of air of different temperatures, -so as to occasion an irregular deposition of imperfectly condensed -vapour, which, when passing the verge of the horizon, produced these -appearances. - -_Parhelia_, mock suns, and _corona_, haloes, are perhaps not so -frequent in Greenland as in some parts of America. I do not recollect -to have observed them more than thrice. In the first instance, I did -not minutely notice the particulars. I recollect, however, there were -two or three parhelia, and four or five coloured circles, some of -which almost equalled in their colours the brilliancy of the rainbow. -On the second occasion, several parhelia were succeeded by a lunar -halo, together with the aurora borealis, and proved the harbingers -of a tremendous tempest. The last phenomenon of the kind which I -saw, consisted of a large circle of luminous whiteness, passing -through the centre of the sun, in a direction nearly parallel with -the horizon, intersected in various places with coloured circles of -smaller dimensions. - -_Rainbows_ are common in these regions, but the _fog-bow_, or -_fog-circle_, is more rarely observed, and is entitled to our -attention. It is a circle depicted on the fog, which prevails in -the Polar seas, at certain seasons, resting upon the surface of the -water, and seldom reaching to a considerable height. On the 19th -July, 1813, I observed one of about 30° diameter, with bands of vivid -colours depicted on the fog. The centre of the circle was in a line -drawn from the sun, through the point of vision, until it met the -visible vapour in a situation exactly opposite to the sun. The lower -part of the circle descended beneath my feet to the side of the ship, -and although it could not be a hundred feet from the eye, it was -perfect, and the colours distinct. The centre of the coloured circle -was distinguished by my own shadow, the head of which, enveloped by -a halo, was most conspicuously portrayed. I remained a long time -contemplating the beautiful phenomenon before me. - -In the phenomena of the winds, which I am now about to describe, I -cannot be so precise as I have been in my observations on atmospheric -temperature and pressure; being able to give a correct idea only -of their peculiarities and direction, whilst their relative force, -founded on conjecture, I am unable to express otherwise than in the -phraseology of the mariner, which, it must be allowed, is somewhat -ambiguous. - -In proportion as we recede from the equator, we find the winds -become more variable, irregular, and partial. Storms and calms, -in the northern regions, repeatedly alternate, without warning or -progression; forcible winds blow at one place, when, at the distance -of a few leagues, gentle breezes prevail; a storm from the south, on -one hand, exhausts its impetuosity upon the gentle breeze, blowing -from off the ice on the other, without prevailing in the least; -ships, within the circle of the horizon, may be seen enduring every -variety of wind and weather at the same moment; come becalmed, and -tossing about by the violence of the waves; some, under close-reefed -topsails, labouring under the force of a storm; and others, flying -under gentle breezes, from quarters as diverse as the cardinal -points. - -The most general preliminaries to _sudden storms_ are perfect calms; -curiously variable breezes, with strong squalls; singular agitation -of the sea, together with thick snow, which often changes from flakes -to powder, and falls in such profusion, as to occasion an astonishing -gloominess and obscurity in the atmosphere. If the snow clear away, -the gale is often at hand, whilst a luminousness on the horizon, -resembling the ice-blink, sometimes points out its direction, and -a noise in the upper regions of the air announces its immediate -approach. In this variable and occasionally tempestuous climate, -the value of the barometer is satisfactorily proved. My father once -removed his ship from a most dangerous bight in the main ice, where -she would probably have been lost, had she remained a few moments -longer, in consequence of his having heard the rushing of a storm in -the air, while at the mast-head. Before the ship was out of danger, -a heavy gale commenced, but the sails being set, and the ship under -command, she was extricated from the perilous situation. From this -circumstance, he imagined that sudden storms frequently commence at -some height in the atmosphere, and gradually descend to the surface. -_Intermitting gales_ are almost equally common with sudden storms, -and variable winds prevail, in an extraordinary degree, in the frigid -zone. The winds, indeed, among ice, are generally unsteady in their -direction, and attended with strong gusts or squalls, particularly -in very cold weather, and towards the termination of a storm. This -variableness, being the effect of the unequal temperature of the ice -and water, is curious, but the phenomenon that is most calculated to -excite surprise is, that several distinct, and even opposite winds, -with the force, in many instances, of a fresh gale, will occasionally -prevail at the same moment of time, within the range of the horizon. -The situation in which this circumstance occurs, would appear to be -the point where conflicting winds contend for the superiority; and -as, in some instances, their forces are effectually balanced, the -winds, which simultaneously blow from the southward and northward, or -from the eastward and westward, have their energies almost destroyed -at the place of combination. Thus it sometimes happens that ships, -within sight of each other, will, at the same period of time, -experience every variety of weather, from calm to storm, from fair -weather to thickest snow, together with several distinct and contrary -currents of wind. - -On the morning of the 30th of April, 1810, the ship Resolution—in -which I served in the capacity of chief-mate, or harpooner—was, -during thick showers of snow, sailing by the edge of a stream of ice, -with the wind from the north-westward. About ten, A.M., the snow -abated, and several ships were seen within the distance of three or -four miles. As all of these ships were sailing “on a wind,” it was -easy to ascertain the direction of the wind where they were, and -curious to observe its variableness. Two ships, bearing north-east -from us, had the wind at north-east; two, bearing east, had east or -east-north-east; two, bearing south-east, had the wind at south-east; -while, with us, it blew from the north-west. In each of these -situations a fresh breeze prevailed; but in some situations, where -there happened to be no ships, there appeared to be no wind at all. -The clouds above us, at the time, we’re constantly changing their -forms. Showers of snow were seen in various places at a distance. - -Instances of _local storms_ are not uncommon in temperate climates, -but in the arctic regions they are frequent and striking. Their -locality is such, that a calm may occur when a storm is expected and -actually does prevail at a short distance, so that the indication of -the barometer may appear to be erroneous. In such cases, however, the -reality of the storm is often proved by the agitation of the sea. -Swells from various quarters make their appearance, and frequently -prevail at the same time. My father, whose opportunities of -observation have been very numerous, relates the following instance -of the locality of a storm. When commanding the ship Henrietta, he -was on one occasion navigating the Greenland Sea during a tedious -gale of wind, accompanied with snowy weather. As the wind began to -abate, a ship appeared in sight, under all sails, and presently -came up with the Henrietta. The master hailed, and inquired what had -happened that my father’s ship was under close-reefed top-sail in -such moderate weather. On being told that a storm had just subsided, -he declared that he knew nothing of it; he observed, indeed, a swell, -and noticed a black cloud a-head of his ship that seemed to advance -before him until he was overshadowed with it a little while before he -overtook the Henrietta, but he had had fine weather and light winds -the whole day! - -A single instance is given of those sudden gusts and various currents -of wind, which occur at some elevation in the atmosphere, and which -are common to all climates. On a particularly fine day, my father -having landed on the northern part of Charles’s island, incited by -the same curiosity which led him on shore, ascended, though not -without great difficulty and fatigue, a considerable elevation, -the summit of which was not broader than a common table, and which -shelved on one side as steep as the roof of a house, and on the other -formed a mural precipice. Engaged in admiring the extensive prospect -from an eminence of about two thousand feet, he scarcely noticed -the advance of a very small cloud. Its rapid approach and peculiar -form (having somewhat the appearance of a hand) at length excited -his attention, and when it reached the place where he was seated -in a calm air, a torrent of wind assailed him with such violence, -that he was obliged to throw himself on his body and stick his hands -and feet in the snow to prevent himself from being hurled over the -tremendous slope which threatened his instant destruction. The cloud -having passed, the air, to his great satisfaction, became calm, when -he immediately descended by sliding down the surface of snow, and in -a few minutes reached the base of the mountain in safety. - -The course of the seasons, as relates to prevailing winds, is -as follows. In the spring months, north-east and east winds are -frequent, with severe storms from these and other quarters. The -storms from the north-east, east, and south-east, are generally the -most violent. When they occur in March and April, they frequently -continue without intermission for two or three successive days, and -rarely subside till the wind veers round to the north or north-west. -Storms, in the spring of the year, blowing from the south-east, -generally change, before they abate, to the east, north-east, north, -and north-west; but storms commencing at south-west or south, usually -veer, before they subside, in the contrary direction, towards the -north-west, and sometimes continue changing until their strength is -spent in the north or north-east quarter. A storm beginning to blow -from the western quarter seldom continues long; when it blows hard -it commonly veers to the north or north-east, and it is observable -that a very hard southerly or easterly gale is frequently succeeded -within a few days by another from the opposite quarter. With the -advance of the month of May, storms become less frequent, and the -weather becomes sensibly better. The winds then begin to blow more -frequently from the north-west; in June, the most common winds are -north and north-west, south and south-west; and in July, south and -south-westerly winds prevail. At this season, calms or very light -winds also become frequent, and continue sometimes for several days -together. In high northern latitudes, however, very heavy storms -from the southward occur in July, and blow for thirty or forty hours -at a time. In August, north-east winds begin again to prevail. The -south-west and southerly storms of the autumn blow with particular -violence. “The wind rages so vehemently, that the houses quiver -and crack, the tents and lighter boats fly up in the air, and -the sea-water scatters about in the land like snow-dust—nay, the -Greenlanders say that the storm rends off stones a couple of pounds’ -weight, and mounts them in the air. In summer, whirlwinds also spring -up, that draw up the waters out of the sea, and turn a boat round -several times.” - -When the countries of temperate climates suffer under tempests in -frequent succession, Polar regions enjoy comparative tranquillity. -After the autumn gales have passed, a series of calm weather, -attended by severe frosts, frequently succeeds. So striking, indeed, -is the stillness of the northern winter, that there is truth in Dr. -Guthrie’s observation, that nature seems “to have studied perfect -equality in the distribution of her favours, as it is only parts of -the earth which most enjoy the kindly influences of the sun that -suffer by the effects of its superior heat, so that if the atmosphere -of the north is not so genial as that of the south, at least it -remains perfectly quiet and serene, without threatening destruction -to man and the product of his industry as in what are called happier -climates.” - -The principal meteors, not being of the aqueous kind, that remain to -be considered are lightning and the aurora borealis. As we approach -the Pole, the former phenomenon becomes more rare, and the latter -more common. Lightning, indeed, is seldom seen to the northward -of the arctic circle, and when it does occur, it is very seldom -accompanied by thunder. - -In Spitzbergen, neither thunder nor lightning has, I believe, ever -been observed. For my own part, I have never seen lightning northward -of latitude 65°, and only in two instances when at any considerable -distance from land. The aurora borealis occurs independent of land -and of cold, becoming more frequent in its appearance as we approach -the Pole, and enlivening by its brilliancy and peculiar grandeur -the tedious gloom of the long winter nights. Its appearance, though -not very frequently seen in Britain, is very common as far south as -Shetland and Feroe. In Iceland, and other countries bordering on the -arctic circle, the northern lights occur almost every clear night -during the winter. In the summer, they can seldom be seen on account -of the presence of the sun, and in the spring of the year, the -obscurity of the atmosphere prevents their frequent exhibition. In -several instances, I have known stormy weather follow the appearance -of the brilliant aurora, and one of the most tremendous storms I was -ever exposed to, succeeded a splendid exhibition of the northern -lights. Under certain circumstances, especially when they are seen -at a considerable altitude above the horizon, having a red or copper -colour, they are supposed to be indicative of a violent storm. - -Our chapter on atmospherical phenomena must now be concluded by -observations on aqueous meteors; including clouds, rain, hail, snow, -frost-rime, hoar-frost, and fog. - -Very little clear weather occurs in the Greenland seas, for often -when the atmosphere is free from any visible vapour on the land, at -sea it is obscured by frost-rime in the spring of the year, and by -clouds or fog in the summer; so that scarcely one-twentieth of the -season devoted to the whale-fishery can be said to consist of clear -weather. - -The _clouds_ most generally consist of a dense stratum of obscurity, -composed of irregular compact patches covering the whole expanse of -the heavens. The _cirrus_, _cirrocumulus_, and _cirrostratus_, of -Howard’s nomenclature, are occasionally distinct; the _nimbus_ is -partly formed, but never complete: and the grandeur of the _cumulus_ -or thunder-cloud is never seen, unless it be on the land. In the -atmosphere over the coasts in Greenland and Spitzbergen, where the -air is greatly warmed by the concentration and reflection of the -sun’s rays in the sheltered valleys, a small imperfect cumulus is -sometimes exhibited. - -The known agents made use of in the economy of nature for the -production of rain are changes of temperature and electricity. The -latter principle is supposed to act most powerfully in the production -of thunder-showers, in which case it is not unlikely that a portion -of the air of the atmosphere is, by the passing of the lightning from -one cloud to another, converted into water. The former seems to be -the chief agent in the colder regions of the globe, where electricity -is either more equal in its distribution, or not so active in its -operations as in the warmer climates. From the beautiful theory -of the late Dr. James Hutton, supported by the researches of -professor Leslie, it appears, that “while the temperature advances -uniformly in arithmetical progression, the dissolving power which -this communicates to the air mounts with the accelerating rapidity -of a geometrical series;” and this in such a ratio, that the “air -has its dryness doubled at each rise of temperature answering to -fifteen centesimal degrees,” or twenty-seven of Fahrenheit. Hence, -“whatever be the actual condition of a mass of air, there must -always exist some temperature at which it would become perfectly -damp;” and hence whenever two streams of air saturated with moisture -of different temperatures are mixed together, or brush against one -another, in the form of different currents of wind, there must always -be a quantity of moisture precipitated. For if two masses of air, of -different temperatures, but equal in quantity, and both saturated -with moisture, were mixed together, the resulting temperature would -be nearly the mean of the two, but, at that temperature, the capacity -of air for moisture being less than the quantity contained in the two -commixed masses, the surplus must be deposited. - -Rain is by no means common in the Polar countries excepting in the -months of July and August, and then only with southerly or westerly -winds. During all seasons of the year, however, with strong gales -blowing from a southern climate, rain is occasionally observed in -situations near the edge of the ice; but snow or sleet are more -common even under such circumstances; and in remote situations among -ice, near the 80th parallel of latitude, rain seldom or never occurs. - -_Hail_ is a much more familiar meteor in temperate than in frigid -climates. In the Greenland Sea, this aqueous concretion is very -rarely seen; and if we define it as consisting of pellucid spheres of -ice, generated in the atmosphere, it may be said to be unknown in -very high latitudes. This fact is in favour of the electrical origin -of hail, as it is well-known to be common in temperate climates, -where the air is in a high state of electricity, and to be the -frequent concomitant of thunder and lightning. The only substance -resembling hail that is generated in the frigid zone consists of a -white, porous, spherical concretion of light and snowy texture. - -_Snow_ is so very common in the arctic regions, that it may be boldly -stated, that in nine days out of ten, in April, May, and June, -more or less snow falls. With southerly winds, near the borders of -the ice, or in situations where humid air, blowing from the sea, -assimilates with a gelid breeze from the ice, the heaviest falls of -snow occur. In this case, a depth of two or three inches is sometimes -deposited in an hour. The thickest precipitations also frequently -precede sudden storms. The form of the particles of snow presents an -endless variety. When the temperature of the air is within a degree -or two of the freezing point, much snow falls, frequently consisting -of large irregular flakes, such as are common in Britain. Sometimes -it exhibits small granular, or large rough white concretions; at -others, it consists of white spiculæ, or rude stellated crystals. But -in severe frosts, though the sky appears perfectly clear, lamellar -flakes of snow, of the most regular and beautiful forms, are always -seen floating in the air, and sparkling in the sunbeams, and the snow -which falls in general is of most elegant texture and appearance. - -Snow, of a reddish or brownish colour, is not unfrequently seen. -The brownish stain, which occurs on shore, is given by an earthy -substance brought from the mountains by the streams of water, derived -from thawing ice and snow, or the fall of rain. The reddish colour, -as far as I have observed, is given by the mute of birds; though, -in the example met with by captain Ross, in Baffin’s Bay, the stain -appears to have been of a vegetable nature. The little auk, (_Alca -alle_,) which feeds upon shrimps, is found, in some parts of the -Polar seas, in immense numbers. They frequently retreat to pieces -of ice, or surfaces of snow, and stain them all over red with their -mute. Martens saw red snow in Spitzbergen, which he considered as -being stained by rain-water running down by the rocks. - -The extreme beauty and endless variety of the microscopic objects -procured in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, are perhaps fully -equalled, if not surpassed, in both particulars of beauty and -variety, by the crystals of snow. The principal configurations are -the stelliform and hexagonal, though almost every shape, of which -the generating angles of 60° and 12° are susceptible, may, in the -course of a few years’ observation, be discovered. The various -modifications of crystals may be classed under five general kinds, -or genera. - -1. _Lamellar_, infinite in variety, most delicate in structure, and -capable of sub-division into several distinct species. - -2. _A lamellar, or spherical nucleus, with spinous ramifications in -different planes._ This genus also consists of two or three species. - -3. _Fine spiculæ, or six-sided prisms._ The finest specimens resemble -white hair, cut into lengths not exceeding a quarter of an inch. - -4. _Hexagonal pyramids._ I have but once seen this kind of snow -crystal. - -5. _Spiculæ, or prisms having one or both extremities inserted in the -centre of a lamellar crystal._ This genus resembles a pair of wheels, -united by an axle-tree. - -In low temperatures, the greatest proportion of crystals that fall -are, probably, perfect geometrical figures. - -Some of the general varieties in the figures of the crystals may -be referred to the temperature of the air; but the particular and -endless modifications of similar classes of crystals can only be -referred to the pleasure of the great First Cause, whose works, even -the most minute and evanescent, and in regions the most remote from -human observation, bear the impress of His own hand, and display to -his intelligent creatures his vast and beneficent wisdom. If, on -these forms of unintelligent matter, he has bestowed such excellent -workmanship, with how much more transcendent loveliness will he -clothe those who are redeemed by the exceeding riches of his grace, -and who, beyond the history and productions of all worlds, will -reflect the beauty of his glorious countenance! - -_Frost-rime_, or frost-smoke, is a meteor peculiar to those parts of -the globe where a very low temperature prevails for a considerable -time. It consists of a dense frozen vapour, apparently arising out of -the sea, or any large sheet of water, and ascending, in high winds -and turbulent seas, to the height of eighty or one hundred feet, -but, in light breezes and smooth water, creeping along the surface. -The particles of which it consists are as small as dust, and cleave -to the rigging of ships, or almost any substance against which they -are driven by the wind, and afford a coating of an inch or upwards -in depth. These particles adhere to one another until the windward -surface of the ropes is covered, and form long fibres somewhat of a -prismatical or pyramidal shape, having their points directed towards -the wind. Frost-rime adheres readily to articles of clothing; and, -from the circumstance of its lodging in the hair, and giving it the -appearance of being powdered, the sailors humorously style it “the -barber.” Such of the frost-rime as is dislodged from the rigging -whenever the ship is tacked, covers the deck to a considerable -thickness, and, when trod upon, emits an acute sound, resembling the -crushing of fine particles of glass. The cause of this phenomenon, -which generally is not observed until the cold is reduced to 14°, -may perhaps be similar to that producing rain, and may be explained -according to Dr. Hutton’s theory. - -An aqueous vapour, consisting of very minute frozen particles, -sometimes occupies the lower regions of the atmosphere in temperate -and frigid climates, during frosty weather, and is deposited on -the ground, on surfaces of ice, or almost any other substance with -which it comes in contact. This vapour seems to be of the nature of -_hoar-frost_; it generally appears in the evening, after a bright -sunshiny day. - -_Fog_, or mist, is the last meteor that remains to be considered. -This is one of the greatest annoyances that the arctic whalers have -to encounter. It frequently prevails during the greater part of the -month of July, and sometimes, at considerable intervals, in June -and August. Its density is often such, that it circumscribes the -prospect to an area of a few acres, not being pervious to sight at -the distance of a hundred yards. It frequently lies so low that the -brightness of the sun is scarcely at all intercepted; in such cases, -substances warmed by the sun’s rays, give to the air immediately -above them increased capacity for moisture, by which evaporation goes -briskly on during the densest fogs. In Newfoundland, on occasions -when the sun’s rays penetrate the mist, and heat the surface of the -rocks, fish is frequently dried during the thickest fogs. Fogs are -more frequent and more dense at the borders of the ice than near the -coast of Spitzbergen. They occur principally when the mercury, in the -thermometer, is near the freezing point, but they are by no means -uncommon with the temperature of 40° or 45°. They are most general -with south-westerly, southerly, and south-easterly winds. They seldom -occur with high winds, yet in one or two instances I have observed -them very thick, even in storms. Rain generally disperses them. Fogs, -by increasing the apparent distances of objects, appear sometimes to -magnify men into giants, hummocks of ice into mountains, and common -pieces of drift-ice into heavy floes or bergs. They are an especial -annoyance to the whale-fisher, and greatly perplex the navigator, -by preventing him from obtaining observations for the correction -of his latitude and longitude, so that he often sails in complete -uncertainty. Fogs are more common near the ice than in the vicinity -of the land, more frequent in open seasons than in close seasons, and -more intense and more common in the southern fishing-stations than in -the most northern. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -A SKETCH OF THE ZOOLOGY OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS. - - -In the arrangement of the following original observations on, -and descriptions of the more remarkable animals inhabiting, or -frequenting, Spitzbergen and the adjacent seas, I have followed -Linnæus, in combination with La Cepède. The latter author has -published a most voluminous and pleasing account of cetaceous -animals, and has made some judicious changes in the Linnæan -arrangements. By La Cepède, for instance, whales having the dorsal -fin are separated from those without it; the former being called, in -distinction from the latter, _Balænopteræ_, signifying whales with a -fin. - -Our first description must relate to the animals of the _cetaceous -kind_, which frequent the Greenland Seas. - -Of these the first in eminence and of importance to our commerce, -is the _Balæna mysticetus_, the common or Greenland whale. This -animal is productive of more oil than any other of the cetacea, and -being less active, slower in its motion, and more timid than any -other of its kind, of similar, or nearly similar, magnitude, it is -more easily captured. Its size has been much overrated, and, in his -excellent natural history of cetaceous animals, La Cepède has been -guilty of considerable exaggeration. In the age when whales were -regarded with superstitious dread, it is easy to conceive that the -dimensions of an animal inhabiting an element in which it cannot -easily be measured, would be recorded with extravagance. Authors of -the first respectability in the present day give a length of eighty -to one hundred feet to the mysticetus, and remark with unqualified -assertion, that when the captures were less frequent, and the animals -had sufficient time to attain their full growth, specimens were -found of one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet in length, or -even longer; and some ancient naturalists, indeed, have gone so far -as to assert, that whales had been seen of above nine hundred feet -in length. In the present day, however, it is certain that they are -by no means so bulky. Of three hundred and twenty-two individuals, -in the capture of which I have been personally concerned, no one, -I believe, exceeded sixty feet in length, and the largest I ever -measured was fifty-eight feet, from one extremity to the other, -being one of the largest to appearance which I ever saw. An uncommon -whale that was caught near Spitzbergen, about twenty years ago, -the whalebone of which measured almost fifteen feet, was not, I -understand, so much as seventy feet in length; and the longest -actual measurement that I have met with, or heard of, is given by -sir Charles Giesecké, who informs us, that in the spring of 1813, -a whale was killed at Godhaven of the length of sixty-seven feet. -These, however, are very uncommon instances. I therefore conceive -that sixty feet may be considered as the size of the larger animals -of this species, and sixty-five feet in length as a magnitude which -very rarely occurs. - -I believe, too, that whales are now met with of as large dimensions -as at any former period since the commencement of the whale-fishery; -a point which, I think, can be established from various historical -records. - -The greatest circumference of the whale is from thirty to forty feet. -It is thickest a little behind the fins, or in the middle, between -the anterior and posterior extremes of the animal, from whence it -gradually tapers in a conical form towards the tail, and slightly -towards the head. Its form is cylindrical, from the neck to within -ten feet of the tail, beyond which it becomes somewhat quadrangular, -the greatest ridge being upward, or on the back, and running backward -nearly across the middle of the tail. The head has somewhat of a -triangular shape. The under-part, the arched outline of which is -given by the jaw-bones, is flat, and measures sixteen to twenty feet -in length, and ten to twelve in breadth. The lips, extending fifteen -or twenty feet in length, and five or six in height, and forming -the cavity of the mouth, are attached to the under-jaw, and rise -from the jaw-bones at an angle of about 80°, having the appearance, -when viewed in front, of the letter U. The upper-jaw, including the -“crown-bone,” or skull, is bent down at the extremity, so as to -shut the front and upper parts of the cavity of the mouth, and is -overlapped by the lips in a squamous manner at the sides. - -When the mouth is open, it presents a cavity as large as a room, and -capable of containing a merchant-ship’s jolly-boat full of men, being -six or eight feet wide, ten or twelve feet high in front, and fifteen -or sixteen feet long. The fins, two in number, are placed between -one-third and two-fifths of the length of the animal, from the snout, -and about two feet behind the angle of the mouth. They are seven to -nine feet in length, and four or five in breadth; and in the living -animal are capable of considerable flexion. The whale has no dorsal -fin. - -The tail, comprising in a single surface eighty or one hundred square -feet, is a formidable instrument of motion or defence. Its length -is only five or six feet, but its width is eighteen to twenty-four -or twenty-six feet. Its position is horizontal. In its form it is -flat and semi-lunar, indented in the middle, the two lobes somewhat -pointed and turned a little backward. Its motions are rapid and -universal; its strength immense. - -The eyes are situated in the sides of the head, about a foot -obliquely above and behind the angle of the mouth. They are little -larger than those of an ox. The whale has no external ear. The -spiracles or nostrils of the whale are two longitudinal apertures, -six or eight inches in length, from which a moist vapour, mixed -with mucous, is discharged when the animal breathes, but no water -accompanies it unless the breathing takes place under the surface. -The mouth, in place of teeth, contains two extensive rows of “fins,” -or whalebone, which are suspended from the sides of the crown-bone. -Each series, or side of bone, as the whale-fishers term it, consists -of upwards of three hundred laminæ, of which the longest are near the -middle. Ten or eleven feet is the average length, and the greatest -breadth at the gum ten or twelve inches. The interior edges of these -laminæ are covered with a fringe of hair. In the youngest whales, -called suckers, the whalebone is only a few inches long; when the -length reaches six feet or upwards, the whale is said to be of -_size_. The colour of the whalebone is brownish black, or bluish -black, and occasionally striped longitudinally with white. A large -whale sometimes affords a ton and a half of whalebone. The gum, -in which the thick ends of the whalebone are inserted, is white, -fibrous, tender, and tasteless. It cuts like cheese, and has the -appearance of the kernel of the cocoanut. The animal has a large -tongue, a slight beard, and a remarkably narrow throat. - -The milk of the whale resembles that of quadrupeds in appearance, and -is said to be rich and well-flavoured. In the female, two paps are -situated on the abdomen. - -The colour of the mysticetus is velvet black, grey, and white, with -a tinge of yellow, according to the parts of the body. The older -animals contain the most grey and white; under-sized whales are -altogether of a bluish black, and suckers of a pale bluish, or bluish -grey colour. - -The skin of the body is slightly furrowed, but on the tail it is -smooth. That part of the skin, which can be pulled off in sheets -after it has been dried a little in the air, or particularly in the -frost, is not thicker than parchment. The _rete mucosum_ in adults is -about three-fourths of an inch in thickness over most parts of the -body. Under it lies the true skin, white and tough, and immediately -in contact with it the blubber. - -This most valuable portion of the animal encompasses its whole -body. Its colour is yellowish white, yellow, or red; in old animals -sometimes resembling the substance of the salmon. It swims in water. -Its thickness all round the body is eight or ten to twenty inches, -varying in different parts, as well as in different individuals. The -lips are composed almost entirely of blubber, and yield from one to -two tons of pure oil each. The oil appears retained in the blubber -in minute cells, connected by a strong reticulated combination of -tendinous fibres, which are condensed at the surface, and appears -to form the substance of the skin. The oil is expelled when heated. -In its fresh state, the blubber is without unpleasant smell, and it -is only at the end of the voyage that the cargo of a Greenland ship -becomes disagreeable. - -The quantity of oil yielded by a certain quantity of blubber varies -according to the age of the animal; the blubber of the sucker -contains a very small portion. The quantity of oil generally bears a -proportion to the length of the longest blade of whalebone. Four tons -of blubber in measure generally produce three tons of oil; the ton of -oil being two hundred and fifty-two gallons, wine-measure. - -The flesh of the young whale is of a red colour, and, when broiled -and seasoned with pepper and salt, eats like coarse beef. The bones -are very porous, and contain much fine oil. The ribs are thirteen in -number, and are nearly solid, and the bones of the fins, in number -and proportion, are similar to those of the fingers of the human hand. - -A stout whale, of sixty feet in length, is of the enormous weight of -seventy tons; the blubber weighs about thirty tons; the bones of the -head, whalebone, fins, and tail, eight or ten; the carcase thirty or -thirty-two. - -The whale is dull of hearing, but its sense of seeing is acute, -especially when under water. It has no voice, but makes in breathing -or blowing a very loud noise. It blows or breathes about four or -five times a minute, discharging vapour to the height of some yards, -which, at a distance, looks like a puff of smoke. When the animal is -wounded, this vapour is often stained with blood, and on the approach -of death jets of blood are sometimes discharged. The whale being -lighter than the water, can remain at the surface with ease, but -requires considerable exertion to descend. It advances through the -water by means of the tail, which, to attain the greatest velocity, -is moved alternately upward and downward; and, for slower progress, -laterally and obliquely downward, in the manner of _skulling_ a boat. -The fins are used for balancing the animal, and in bearing off their -young. I have observed a whale descending, after I had harpooned -it, to the depth of four hundred fathoms, with the average velocity -of seven or eight miles per hour. The usual rate at which whales -swim, however, seldom exceeds four miles an hour, and though their -extreme velocity may be eight or nine, yet we find this speed never -continues longer than for a few minutes. They sometimes ascend with -such rapidity as to leap entirely out of the water, apparently for -amusement, and to the high admiration of the distant spectator. At -other times they throw themselves into a perpendicular posture, with -their heads downward, and rearing their tails on high in the air, -they beat the water with awful violence; the sea is thrown into foam, -the air is filled with vapours, and the noise in calm weather is -heard to a great distance. Sometimes the whale shakes its tremendous -tail in the air, which, cracking like a whip, resounds to the -distance of two or three miles. - -When it retires from the surface, it first lifts its head, then -plunging it under water, elevates its back, like the segment of a -sphere, deliberately rounds it away towards the extremity, throws its -tail out of the water, and then disappears. Whales usually remain -at the surface to breathe about two minutes, during which time they -“blow” eight or nine times, and then descend for an interval usually -of five or ten minutes, but sometimes, when feeding, fifteen or -twenty. They commonly descend to only a trifling depth; but, when -struck, they have been known, by the quantity of line taken out of -the boat, to descend to the depth of an English mile, and, with such -velocity, as to break their jaw-bones by the blow struck against the -bottom. Occasionally, they may be found sleeping in calm weather -among ice, and some persons are of opinion that, when undisturbed, -they can remain under the surface for many hours at a time. - -The food of the whale consists of various species of _actiniæ_, -_clioncs_, _sepiæ_, _medusæ_, _cancri_, and _helices_, judging from -the fact that some of these genera are always to be seen wherever any -tribe of whales is found stationary. I have only discovered in the -stomachs of dead animals _squillæ_ or shrimps. When the whale feeds, -it swims swiftly through the sea, with its jaws extended; its food is -entangled by the whalebone, which, from its compact arrangement and -thick internal covering of hair, does not allow a particle to escape. - -The whale has one young at a birth. At this time the young one -is said to be at least ten feet long, and continues under the -protection of the mother for probably a year, until, by the growth -of the whalebone, it is able to maintain itself. It probably reaches -the magnitude called _size_, that is, with a six feet length of -whalebone, in twelve years, and attains its full growth at the age -of twenty or twenty-five. Whales live to a great age. The maternal -affection of the whale is very interesting. The cub, being insensible -to danger, is easily harpooned, and is sometimes struck as a snare -to secure the mother. In this case she joins it at the surface -whenever it has occasion to rise for respiration, encourages it to -swim off, assists its flight by taking it under her fin, and seldom -deserts it while life remains. In June, 1811, one of my harpooners -struck a sucker, with the hope of its leading to the capture of the -mother. Presently she arose close by “the fast-boat,” and seizing the -young one, dragged about a hundred fathoms of line out of the boat -with remarkable force and velocity. Again she rose to the surface, -darted furiously to and fro, frequently stopped short, or suddenly -changed her direction, and gave every possible intimation of extreme -agony. For a length of time she continued thus to act, though closely -pursued by the boats; and, inspired with courage and resolution by -her concern for her offspring, seemed regardless of the danger which -surrounded her. At length, one of the boats approached so near that a -harpoon was hove at her. It hit, but did not attach itself. A second -harpoon was struck, this also failed to penetrate, but a third was -more effectual, and held. Still she did not attempt to escape, but -allowed other boats to approach, so that, in a few minutes, three -more harpoons were fastened, and, in the course of an hour afterwards -she was killed. - -There is something deeply interesting in the manner in which the -great Maker of all things, in giving laws to the animal kingdom, has -thus presented so many illustrations of the parental relation. It -is as if he would not leave his intelligent creatures destitute of -memorials of their relation to himself; so that, while in the field -and on the flood, they behold the signs of parental affection and -filial dependence, they may be led to ponder the solemn question of -their tender and faithful Parent in heaven—“If, then, I be a Father, -where is mine honour?” - -The mysticetus occurs most abundantly in the frozen seas of Greenland -and Davis’s Strait, in the bays of Baffin and Hudson, in the sea -to the northward of Behring’s Strait, and along some part of the -northern shores of Asia, and probably America. It is never met with -in the German Ocean, and rarely within two hundred leagues of the -British coast; but along the coasts of Africa and South America it -is met with periodically, in considerable numbers. In these regions, -it is attacked and captured by the southern British and American -whalers, as well as by some of the people inhabiting the coasts to -which it resorts. Whether this whale is precisely of the same kind -as that of Spitzbergen and Greenland is uncertain, though it is -evidently a mysticetus. One striking difference, possibly the effect -of situation and climate, is, that the mysticetus in southern regions -is often covered with barnacles, while those of the Arctic Seas are -free from these shell-fish. - -Besides the formidable inroads made upon the whale by man, it is -subject to annoyance from sharks, and it is also said from the -narwal, sword-fish, and thrasher. The opinion as to the narwal I -am persuaded is incorrect; the sword-fish and thrasher (if such -an animal there be) may be enemies of the whale, and the shark -certainly is hostile to the extent of his ability, which, in -comparison to that of the whale, can hardly be very formidable. - -It is certain that the flesh of the whale is now eaten by savage -nations, and it is also well authenticated that, in the twelfth, -thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, it was used as food -by the Icelanders, the Netherlander, the French, the Spaniards, and, -probably, by the English. Besides forming a choice eatable, the -inferior products of the whale are applied to other purposes by the -Indians and Esquimaux of Arctic countries, and, with some nations, -are essential to their comfort. Some membranes of the abdomen -are used for an upper article of clothing, and the peritoneum in -particular, being thin and transparent, is used instead of glass in -the windows of their huts; the bones are converted into harpoons -and spears for striking the seal, or darting at the sea-birds, and -are also employed in the erection of their tents, and, with some -tribes, in the formation of their boats; the sinews are divided into -filaments, and used as thread, with which they join the seams of -their boats and tent-cloths, and sew, with great taste and nicety, -the different articles of dress they manufacture; and the whalebone -and other superior products, so valuable in European markets, have -also their uses among them. - -The largest animal of the whale tribe is not the mysticetus, but the -_Balæna physalis_ of Linnæus, _Balænoptera gibbar_ of La Cepède, and -razor-back of the whalers. This is, probably, the most powerful and -bulky of created beings. In comparison with the mysticetus, it has -a form less cylindrical, a body longer and more slender, whalebone -shorter, produce in blubber and oil less, colour bluer, fins more -numerous, breathing more violent, speed greater, and actions quicker, -more restless and more bold. Its length is about one hundred feet, -and its greatest circumference thirty or thirty-five. Its colour is -a pale bluish black, or dark bluish grey, in which it resembles the -sucking mysticetus. Besides the two pectoral fins, it has a small -horny protuberance, or rayless and immovable fin on the extremity -of the back. Its greatest velocity in swimming is about twelve -miles an hour. It is by no means a timid animal, yet it does not -appear revengeful or mischievous. When closely pursued by boats, it -manifests little fear, and does not attempt to outstrip them in the -race, but merely endeavours to avoid them by diving or changing its -direction. If harpooned, or wounded, it then exerts all its energies, -and escapes with its utmost velocity, but shows little disposition -to retaliate on its enemies, or to repel their attacks by engaging -in a combat. Unlike the mysticetus, it very rarely, when descending -into the water, throws its tail into the air. Its great speed and -activity render it a difficult and dangerous object of attack, and -the small quantity of inferior oil it affords makes it unworthy the -general attention of the fishers. When struck, it not uncommonly -drags the fast-boat with such speed through the water, that it is -liable to be carried immediately beyond the reach of assistance, and -soon out of sight of both boats and ship. Hence the striker is under -the necessity of cutting the line, and sacrificing his employer’s -property for securing the safety of himself and his companions. In -the year 1818, I ordered a general chase of them, providing against -the danger of having my crew separated from the ship by appointing a -rendezvous on the shore not far distant, and preparing against the -loss of much line by dividing it at two hundred fathoms from the -harpoon, and affixing a buoy to the end of it. Thus arranged, one -of these whales was shot, and another struck. The former dived with -such impetuosity that the line was broken by the resistance of the -buoy, as soon as it was thrown into the water, and the latter was -liberated within a minute by the division of the line, occasioned, -it was supposed, by its friction against the dorsal fin. Both of -them escaped. Another physalis was struck by one of my inexperienced -harpooners, who mistook it for a mysticetus. It dived obliquely with -such velocity that four hundred and eighty fathoms of line were -withdrawn from the boat in about a minute of time. This whale was -also lost by the breaking of the line. - -The physalis occurs in great numbers in the Arctic Seas, especially -along the edge of the ice, between Cherie Island and Nova Zembla, -and also near Jan Mayen. Persons trading to Archangel have often -mistaken it for the common whale. It is seldom seen among much ice, -and seems to be avoided by the mysticetus; hence the fishers view it -with painful concern. It inhabits most generally in the Spitzbergen -quarter the parallels of 70° to 76°; but in the months of June, July, -and August, when the sea is usually open, it advances along the land -to the northward as high as 80° of latitude. In open seasons it is -seen near the headland at an earlier period. A whale, probably of -this kind, one hundred and one feet in length, was stranded on the -banks of the Humber, about the middle of September, 1750. - -Another species of whale frequenting the coasts of Scotland, Ireland, -Norway, etc., is the _Balænoptera rorqual_ of La Cepède, _Balæna -musculus_ of Linnæus, or the broad-nosed whale. - -In many characters, this species resembles the physalis, though, I -think, with an essential difference. The musculus is shorter, having -a larger head and mouth, and a rounder under-jaw than the physalis -and is said to feed principally upon herrings. Several individuals, -apparently of this kind, have been stranded or killed on different -parts of the coast of the United Kingdom. One was embayed and killed -in Balta Sound, Shetland, in the winter of 1817-18, some remains of -which I saw. It was eighty-two feet in length, the jaw-bones were -twenty-one feet long, and the largest lamina of whalebone about three -feet. Instead of hair at the inner edge, and at the point of each -blade of whalebone, it had a fringe of bristly fibres, and it was -stiffer, harder, and more horny in its texture than common whalebone. -It produced only about five tons of oil, all of it of an inferior -quality; some of it viscid and bad. It valued, deducting expenses, no -more than £60 sterling. It had the usual sulci about the thorax, and -a dorsal fin. - -A smaller species of whale is _Balænoptera jubartes_ of La Cepède, -_Balæna boops_ of Linnæus, or the finner of the whale-fishers. - -The following is its description:—Length, about forty-six feet; -greatest circumference of the body, about twenty feet; dorsal -protuberance, or fin, about two feet and a half high; pectoral fins, -four or five feet long externally, and scarcely a foot broad; tail, -about three feet deep and ten broad; whalebone, about three hundred -laminæ on each side, the longest about eighteen inches in length, -the under-jaw about fifteen feet long, or one-third of the whole -length of the animal; sulci, about two dozen in number; two external -blow-holes; blubber on the body two or three inches thick, under the -sulci none. - -The last, and smallest of the whalebone whales, with which I am -acquainted, is the _Balænoptera acuto-rostrata_ of La Cepède, _Balæna -rostrata_ of Linnæus, or the beaked whale. An animal of this kind was -killed in Scalpa Bay, November 14, 1808. Its length was seventeen and -a half feet, circumference twenty. Pectoral fins, two feet long and -seven inches broad; dorsal fin fifteen inches long by four and a half -feet broad. Largest whalebone, about six inches. The rostrata is said -to inhabit principally the Norwegian Seas, and to grow to the length -of twenty-five feet. One of the species was killed near Spitzbergen, -in 1813, and I have some of the whalebone in my possession. - -Three species of narwals are noticed by La Cepède, though I myself -have seen but one, and perhaps the other species are imaginary, for -the animal varies in appearance. It is the _Monodon monoceros_ of -Linnæus, and the narwal, or unicorn, of whalers. - -It is, when full grown, from thirteen to sixteen feet in length, -exclusive of the tusk; and in circumference (two feet behind the -fins, where it is thickest,) eight to nine feet. The form of the -head, with the part of the body before the fins, is paraboloidal; -of the middle of the body, nearly cylindrical; of the hinder-part, -to within two or three feet of tail, somewhat conical, and from -thence a ridge, commencing both at the back and belly; the section -becomes first an ellipse, and then a rhombus, at the junction -of the tail. At the distance of twelve or fourteen inches from -the tail the perpendicular diameter is about twelve inches, the -transverse diameter about seven. The head is about one-seventh of -the whole length of the animal; it is small, blunt, round, and of -a paraboloidal form. The mouth is small and not capable of much -extension. The under-lip is wedge-shaped. The eyes are small, the -largest diameter being only an inch, and are placed in a line with -the opening of the mouth about thirteen inches from the snout. The -blow-hole, which is directly over the eyes, is a single opening, of -a semicircular form, about three and a half inches in diameter, or -breadth, and one and a half radius, or length. The fins are twelve or -fourteen inches long, and six or eight broad; the tail, from fifteen -to twenty inches long, and three to four feet broad. It has no dorsal -fin, but in place of it an irregular, sharpish, fatty ridge. The -colour of the narwal is in the young animal blackish grey, on the -back variegated with numerous darker spots, running into one another; -in the older animals the ground is wholly white, or yellowish white. -The integuments are similar to those of the mysticetus, only thinner. - -A long prominent tusk, with which some narwals are furnished, is -considered as a horn by the whale-fishers, and as such has given -occasion for the name of _unicorn_ being applied to this animal. This -tusk occurs on the left side of the head, and is sometimes found -of the length of nine or ten feet; according to Egedé, fourteen or -fifteen. It springs from the lower part of the upper-jaw, points -forward and a little downward, being parallel in its direction to the -roof of the mouth. It is spirally situated from right to left, is -nearly straight, and tapers to around, blunt point, is of a yellowish -white colour, and consists of a compact kind of ivory. It is usually -hollow from the base to within a few inches of the point. In a five -feet tusk the diameter at the base is two and a quarter inches, and -about three-eighths within an inch of the end. This external tusk is -peculiar to the male, and there is another imbedded in the skull, -on the right side of the head, about nine inches long. Two or three -instances have occurred of male narwals having been taken, which -had two large external tusks. The use of the tusk is ambiguous. It -cannot be essential for procuring their food, nor for defence. Dr. -Barclay is of opinion that it is principally a sexual distinction; -and it appears not improbable that it is used in piercing the ice for -convenience of breathing, without the animal being obliged to retreat -to open water. If this latter supposition be correct, it affords -another illustration of the wisdom of the great Creator, who has -adapted in so many instances the organization of every animal to the -locality which it inhabits. - -A quantity of blubber, from two to three and a half inches in -thickness, and amounting sometimes to above half a ton, encompasses -the whole body of the narwal, and affords a large proportion of -very fine oil. In a fine fatty substance about the internal ears of -the narwal are found multitudes of worms. They are about an inch in -length, some shorter, very slender, and taper both ways, but are -sharper at one end than at the other. They are transparent. The -vertebral column of the narwal is about twelve feet in length. The -cervical vertebræ are seven in number, the dorsal twelve, the lumbar -and caudal thirty-five. The spinal marrow appears to run through the -processes of all the vertebræ from the head to the fortieth, but does -not penetrate the forty-first. The ribs are twelve on each side, six -true and six false, and are small for the size of the animal. The -principal food of the narwal are molluscous animals. I have found -remains of sepiæ in several stomachs which I have examined. Narwals -are quick, active, inoffensive animals, and swim with considerable -velocity. They appear in numerous little herds of half a dozen or -more together, each herd being most frequently composed of animals -of the same sex. When harpooned, the narwal dives with almost the -velocity of the mysticetus, but not to the same extent; on returning -to the surface it is dispatched with a lance in a few minutes. - -Passing now from these tribes, a short space must be allotted to the -description of the dolphins. The first is _Delphinus deductor_, -defined by Dr. Traill, the ca’ing or leading whale. The following are -its specific characters. Body thick, black; one short dorsal fin; -pectoral fins long, narrow; head obtuse; upper jaw bent forward; -teeth subconoid, sharp, and a little bent. - -This animal grows to the length of about twenty-four feet, and is -about ten feet in circumference. The skin is smooth, resembling -oiled-silk; the colour a white blueish black on the back, and -generally whitish on the belly; the blubber is three or four inches -thick. The head is short and round; the upper jaw projects a little -over the lower. Externally it has a single spiracle. The full grown -have generally twenty-two to twenty-four teeth in each jaw, and when -the mouth is shut, the teeth lock between one another like the teeth -of a trap. The tail is about five feet broad, the dorsal fin about -fifteen inches high, cartilaginous, and immovable. - -This kind of dolphin sometimes appears in large herds off the Orkney, -Shetland, and Feroe islands. The main body of the herd follows the -leading whales, and from this property the animal is called in -Shetland the ca’ing whale, and by Dr. Traill the deductor. Many herds -of this animal have been driven on shore at different periods, and -it is recorded that there were taken in two places in the year 1664 -about a thousand; and in modern times extensive slaughters have -taken place on the shores of the British and other northern islands. - -The _Delphinapterus beluga_ of La Cepède, _Delphinus Leucas_ of -Linnæus, _Beluga_ of Pennant, or white whale of the fishers, is -the last of the cetacea to which we shall refer. It is not unlike -the narwal in its general form, but is thicker about the middle of -its body in proportion to its length. Both jaws are furnished with -teeth. It has no dorsal fin. The skin is smooth, the colour white. -A male animal of this kind was taken in the Frith of Forth in June, -1815. The length was thirteen feet four inches, and the greatest -circumference nine feet. The beluga is generally met with in families -or herds of five or ten together. They are plentiful in Hudson’s -Bay, Davis’s Strait, and on some parts of the northern coasts of -Europe and Asia, where they frequent some of the larger rivers. -They are taken for the sake of the oil they produce by harpoons or -strong nets; in the latter case, the nets are extended across the -stream, so as to prevent their escape out of the river, and when -thus interrupted in their course to seaward, they are attacked with -lances, and great numbers are sometimes killed. - -It is now our purpose to give an account of the _quadrupeds_ which -inhabit Spitzbergen and the icy seas adjacent. - -The connecting link between the mammalia of the land and the -water is _Trichecus rosmarus_, walrus, morse, or sea-horse of the -whale-fishers. It corresponds in several of its characters both with -the bullock and the whale. It grows to the bulk of an ox. Its canine -teeth, two in number, are of the length externally of ten to twenty -inches, (some naturalists say three feet,) and extend downward from -the upper jaw, and include the point of the lower jaw between them. -They are incurvated inward. Their full length when cut out of the -skull is commonly fifteen to twenty inches, sometimes almost thirty, -and their weight five to ten pounds each or upward. The walrus -being a slow clumsy animal on land, its tusk seems necessary for -its defence against the bear, and also for enabling it to raise its -unwieldy body upon the ice when its access to the shore is prevented. - -The walrus is found on the shores of Spitzbergen twelve to fifteen -feet in length, and eight to ten feet in circumference. The head is -short, small, and flattened in front. The flattened part of the face -is set with strong bristles. The nostrils are on the upper part of -the snout, through which it blows like a whale. The fore paws, which -are a kind of webbed hand, are two-sevenths of the full length of -the animal from the snout. They are from two to two and a half feet -in length, and being expansive maybe stretched to the breadth of -fifteen to eighteen inches. The hind feet, which form a sort of tail -fin, extend straight backward. They are not united, but detached from -each other. The length of each is about two to two and a half feet; -the breadth, when fully extended, two and a half or three feet; the -termination of each toe is marked by a small tail. - -The skin of the walrus is about an inch thick, and it is covered with -a short, yellowish brown coloured hair. The inside of the paws in -old animals is defended by a rough, horny kind of casing, a quarter -of an inch thick, probably produced by the hardening of the skin in -consequence of coarse usage in climbing over ice and rocks. - -Beneath the skin is a thin layer of fat. At some seasons the produce -is said to be considerable, but I have never met with any that -afforded above twenty or thirty gallons of oil. In the stomachs -of walruses I have met with shrimps, a kind of craw-fish, and the -remains of young seals. - -It is not at all improbable that the walrus has afforded foundation -for some of the stories of mermaids. I have myself seen a sea-horse -in such a position, that it requires little stretch of imagination -to mistake it for a human being; so like, indeed, was it, that the -surgeon of the ship actually reported to me that he had seen a man -with his head just appearing above the surface of the water. - -The walrus is a fearless animal. It pays no regard to a boat, -excepting as an object of curiosity. It is sometimes taken by a -harpoon when in the water. If one attack fails, it often affords -an opportunity for repeating it. The capture cannot be always -accomplished without danger, for, as they go in herds, an attack -made upon one individual draws all its companions to its defence. In -such cases they frequently rally round the boat from which the blow -was struck, pierce its planks with their tusks, and, though resisted -in the most determined manner, sometimes raise themselves upon the -gunwale, and threaten to overset it. The best defence against these -enraged animals is, in such a crisis, sea-sand, which, being thrown -into their eyes, occasions a partial blindness, and obliges them to -disperse. When on shore they are best killed with long sharp-pointed -knives. - -The tusks of the walrus, which are hard, white, and compact ivory, -are employed by dentists in the fabrication of false teeth. The -skin is used in place of mats for defending the yards and rigging -of ships from being chafed by friction against each other. When -cut into shreds and plaited into cordage, it answers admirably for -wheel-ropes, being stronger and wearing much longer than hemp. In -ancient times, most of the ropes of ships, in northern countries -at least, would appear to have been made of this substance. When -tanned, it is converted into a soft porous leather, above an inch in -thickness, but it is by no means so useful or so durable as in its -green or raw state. - -As early as the ninth century, we have accounts of the walrus being -extensively fished for on the western coast of Norway. Prior to the -institution of the Spitzbergen whale-fishery, the capture of this -animal was an object of some commercial importance. It was at first -attacked by the English, on Cherie Island, but being driven from -thence, if not extirpated in that quarter, by the great slaughter -that was carried on, it was then pursued to Spitzbergen. The earliest -attacks made on it were very unsuccessful, but experience rendered -the assailants more skilful, and, in one voyage, nine hundred or -one thousand sea-horses were killed in less than seven hours. The -Russians now, rather than the British, are their enemies. - -With the exception of the head, the general form of the walrus is -similar to the next animal which we describe, the phoca, or seal. - -Several species of seals occur in the Greenland Sea, and resort -to the ice in the neighbourhood of Spitzbergen and Jan Mayen, in -immense herds; but, as the seal frequents the British coast, and is a -well-described and well-known animal, I shall not particularize the -well-known species that are met with in the Arctic Seas. Some few -general observations only will be necessary. - -Seals are generally fat in the spring of the year, and afford several -gallons of blubber; even small seals will then yield about four or -five gallons of oil. The voice of the young seal when in pain or -distress is a whining cry, resembling that of a child. They appear -to hear well under water; music, or particularly a person whistling, -draws them to the surface, and induces them to stretch their necks -to the utmost extent, so as to prove a snare by bringing them within -reach of the shooter. The most effectual way of shooting them is by -the use of small shot, fired into their eyes; when killed with a -bullet they generally sink, and are lost. Seals are often seen on -their passage from one situation to another in very large shoals. -Their general conduct in such cases is such as to amuse spectators, -and the sailors call such a shoal a “seal’s wedding.” The feet of -seals are better adapted for motion in the water than on land. They -feed on birds, crabs, and small fishes, and are very tenacious of -life. - -The uses of the seal are various, and to some nations highly -important. It yields train-oil, and its skin is extensively employed -in making shoes, and, when dressed with the hair, in covering trunks. -To the Esquimaux the seal is everything. Its flesh is food, its fat -gives light, and its skin, dressed so as to be waterproof, is used -for covering for boats and tents, and for garments. - -The _Phoca vitulina_ is the common species in the Greenland -Sea, especially near Jan Mayen. The hooded seal is common near -Spitzbergen. The latter is longer than the former, and is said to -grow to the length of ten or twelve feet. It is also much more -formidable. Seals are not fond of the water, but, when on the ice, -are extremely watchful, and secure their retreat either by reclining -at the edge or by keeping a hole in the ice open for them. The young -ones, however, are not so wary as the old folks. The best situation -for the seal-fishery in the Arctic Sea is in the vicinity of Jan -Mayen, and the best season March and April. The capture of the -seal is the work of a moment. A blow with a seal-club on the nose -immediately stuns it, and affords opportunity of making a prize -of many at a time. Ships fitted out for the whale-fishery have -accidentally obtained in April from two thousand to three thousand -seals, and sometimes more; and vessels sent out for seal-fishery -only, four thousand or five thousand, yielding nearly one hundred -tons of oil. From the ports of the Elbe and Weser a number of sealers -are annually dispatched, but few comparatively on this pursuit alone -sail from Britain. - -Of the dangers of the seal-fishery, arising from the liability to -heavy storms at the season and in the place where seals are taken, -the following narrative will furnish full illustration. - -Fifty-four ships, chiefly Hamburghers, were, in the year 1774, fitted -out for seal-fishery alone from foreign ports. In the spring of -the year they met with several English ships on the borders of the -ice, about sixty miles to the eastward of the island of Jan Mayen. -While the boats of the fleet were in search for seals, a dreadful -storm suddenly arose. Almost all the people who were at a distance -from the ships perished. The Duke of York, captain Peters, had two -boats at that time down. The crews of these by great exertion rowed -up to the ship, got hold of the rudder rings, but were unable to -make their way alongside; they held fast for some time, but the sea -was too strong for them, and they lost their hold and fell astern. -The chief-mate of the ship, seeing that they were too exhausted to -recover their position, determined to attempt their rescue at the -peril of his own life. He manned a boat with six stout seamen beside -himself, and went to their assistance. On reaching them he exchanged -four of his vigorous crew for two of the fainting men in each boat. -Thus reinforced, the three boats, by the exertions of their crews, -were brought to the stern of the ship; but while in this critical -situation, a sea struck the boats, filled and overwhelmed them, on -which the whole of their crews, nineteen men, perished. This was only -a portion of the disasters of the storm. One ship foundered in a -heavy surge, and all hands were lost. Another was wrecked on the ice, -and all hands perished. Many boats and men were washed from several -others, and the results were that about four hundred foreign seamen, -and two hundred British, were drowned, four or five ships lost, and -scarcely any escaped without damage. - -To all those who navigate the treacherous ocean, especially to such -as do business in such dangerous waters, it ought to be of more than -ordinary importance to live in a continued preparation for death and -judgment, and to be the servants of that God who - - “—— rides upon the stormy sky - And manages the seas.” - -Beneath his care the mariner is safe, and whether from the abysses of -its ancient caves, or the foundations of its lofty icebergs, the sea -must surrender unto eternal life the bodies of the disciples of Jesus. - -The Arctic fox, _Canis lagopus_, is an animal known to those who -winter in Spitzbergen, though seldom seen by the whale-fishers. -They are rarely found on the ice, though I have often found their -impressions on the snow. They are of a white colour, and not easily -distinguished. - -A more remarkable animal is the Polar or Greenland bear, _Ursus -maritimus_. He is the sovereign of the quadrupeds of the Arctic -countries. He is powerful and courageous; savage and sagacious; -apparently clumsy, yet not inactive. His senses are extremely acute, -especially his sight and smell. As he traverses extensive fields -of ice, he mounts the hummocks and looks for prey, and on rearing -his head and snuffing the breeze, he can perceive the scent of the -carrion of the whale at an immense distance. Seals are his usual -food, but from their watchfulness he is often obliged to fast. He is -as much at home on the ice as on the land, and is found on field-ice -above two hundred miles from shore. He can swim with the velocity of -three miles an hour, and can dive to a considerable distance. - -Bears occur in Spitzbergen, Nova Zembla, Greenland, and other Arctic -countries, throughout the year. In some places, they are met with in -great numbers. By means of the ice, they often effect a landing on -Iceland, but as soon as they appear, they are generally attacked by -the inhabitants and destroyed. On the east coast of Greenland, they -have appeared like flocks of sheep on a common. - -The size of the bear is generally four or five feet in height, seven -or eight in length, and nearly as much in circumference. Sometimes, -however, the size is much larger. His paws are seven inches in -breadth, and his claws two inches in length. His canine teeth, -exclusive of the part in the jaw, are about an inch and a half in -length. He has been known by the strength of his jaw to bite a lance -in two, though made of iron half an inch in diameter. In the water -he can be captured without much danger, but on land the experiment -is hazardous. When pursued and attacked, he turns upon his enemies. -He always, however, unless urged by hunger, retreats before men. -His general walk is slow, but upon the ice he can easily outrun any -man. If struck with a lance, he is apt to seize it in his mouth, -and either bite it in two, or wrest it out of the hand. If shot -with a ball, unless he is struck in the head, in the heart, or in -the shoulder, he is enraged rather than depressed, and falls with -increased power upon his pursuers. When shot at a distance, and -able to escape, he has been observed to retire to the shelter of a -hummock, and, as if conscious of the styptical effect of cold, apply -snow with his paws to the wound. - -The bear feeds on the kreng, or carcases of the whales, as they are -left by the fishers; on seals, birds, foxes, and deer, when it can -surprise them; on eggs, and indeed on any animal substance that comes -within its power. The skin of the bear, when dressed with the hair -on, forms beautiful mats for a hall or for the bottom of a carriage. -Prepared without being ripped up, and the hairy side turned inward, -it forms a very warm sack bed, and is used as such in some parts of -Greenland. The flesh, when cleared of the fat, is well flavoured and -savoury, especially the muscular part of the ham. I once treated my -surgeon with a dinner of bears ham, and he did not know for above -a month afterwards, but that it was beefsteak. The liver is very -unwholesome. - -Bears are remarkably affectionate towards their young, and peculiarly -sagacious. The female has generally two at a birth. On one occasion, -a mother bear with two cubs was pursued across a field of ice by -a party of armed sailors. At first, she urged her young ones to -increase their speed, but finding the pursuers gaining on them, -she carried or pushed or pitched them alternately forward, until -she effected their escape. The little creatures are said to have -placed themselves across her path to receive her impulse, and when -thrown forward they ran on till she overtook them, when they adjusted -themselves for a second throw. - -Many instances have been observed of the peculiar sagacity of these -animals. A seal, lying on the middle of a large piece of ice, with -a hole just before it, was marked out by a bear for its prey, and -secured by the artifice of diving under the ice, and making its way -to the hole by which the seal was prepared to retreat. The seal, -however, observed its approach, and plunged into the water, but -the bear instantly sprang upon it, and appeared in about a minute -afterwards with the seal in its mouth. - -The captain of one of the whalers being anxious to procure a bear -without wounding the skin, made trial of the stratagem of laying the -noose of a rope in the snow, and placing a piece of kreng within it. -A bear, ranging the neighbouring ice, was soon enticed to the spot -by the smell of burning meat. He perceived the bait, approached, and -seized it in his mouth, but his foot, at the same moment, by a jerk -of the rope being entangled in the noose, he pushed it off with the -adjoining paw, and deliberately retired. After having eaten the piece -he carried away with him he returned. The noose, with another piece -of kreng, being then replaced, he pushed the rope aside, and again -walked triumphantly off with the kreng. A third time the noose was -laid, and this time the rope was buried in the snow and the bait laid -in a deep hole dug in the centre. But Bruin, after snuffing about the -place for a few minutes, scraped the snow away with his paw, threw -the rope aside, and escaped unhurt with his prize. - -In the month of June, 1812, a female bear, with two cubs, approached -the ship I commanded, and was shot. The cubs, not attempting to -escape, were taken alive. These animals, though at first evidently -very unhappy, became at length, in some measure, reconciled to their -situation, and being tolerably tame, were allowed occasionally to go -at large about the deck. While the ship was moored to a floe, a few -days after they were taken, one of them, having a rope fastened round -its neck, was thrown overboard. It immediately swam to the ice, got -upon it, and attempted to escape. Finding itself, however, detained -by the rope, it endeavoured to disengage itself in the following -ingenious way:—Near the edge of the floe was a crack in the ice, of -considerable length, but only eighteen inches or two feet wide, and -three or four feet deep. To this spot the bear returned; and when, -on crossing the chasm, the bight of the rope fell into it, he placed -himself across the opening; then, suspending himself by his hind -feet, with a leg on each side, he dropped his head and most of his -body into the chasm, and, with a foot applied to each side of the -neck, attempted for some minutes to push the rope over his head. -Finding this scheme ineffectual, he removed to the main ice, and -running with great impetuosity from the ship, gave a remarkable pull -on the rope; then, going backward a few steps, he repeated the jerk. -At length, after repeated attempts to escape this way, every failure -of which he announced by a significant growl, he yielded himself -to his hard necessity, and lay down on the ice in angry and sullen -silence. - -Accidents with bears occasionally occur; not so many, however, as -the ferocity of these animals, and the temerity of the sailors, -might lead one to expect. Some of the early voyagers to the Polar -Seas had hard conflicts with them. Barentz’s crew especially were -often in danger from them, but always succeeded either in conquering -or repelling them. Two, however, of the crew of a vessel which had -anchored near Nova Zembla, landed on an island at the mouth of -the Weigats, and, impelled by curiosity, wandered some distance -from the beach; but, whilst unconscious of danger, one of them was -suddenly seized on the back by a bear, and brought to the earth. His -companion ran off, and gave the alarm, and a party of his shipmates -came to their assistance. The bear stood over its prey during their -approach without the least appearance of fear and, on their attack, -sprang upon one of their number, and made him also a victim to its -ferocity and power. The rest now fled in confusion, and could not -be induced to renew the conflict. Three sailors only among the crew -had sufficient courage to combat with this formidable animal; they -attacked it, and, after a dangerous struggle, killed it, and rescued -the mangled bodies of their two unfortunate shipmates. - -Captain Cook, of the Archangel, of Lynn, being near the coast of -Spitzbergen, in the year 1788, landed, accompanied by his surgeon -and mate. While traversing the shore, the captain was unexpectedly -attacked by a bear, which seized him in an instant between its -paws. At this awful juncture, when a moment’s pause must have been -fatal to him, he called to his surgeon to fire; who, with admirable -resolution and steadiness, discharged his piece as directed, and -providentially shot the bear through the head. The captain, by this -prompt assistance, was preserved from being torn to pieces. - -On a more recent occasion, a commander of a whale ship was in a -similar danger. Captain Hawkins, of the Everthorpe, of Hull, when -in Davis’s Strait, in July, 1818, seeing a very large bear, took a -boat, and pushed off in pursuit of it. On reaching it, the captain -struck it twice with a lance in the breast; and, while in the act of -recovering his weapon for another blow, the enraged animal sprang -up, and seized him by the thigh, and threw him over its head into -the water. Fortunately it did not repeat its attack, but exerted -itself to escape. This exertion, when the attention of every one was -directed towards their captain, was not made in vain, for it was -allowed to swim away without further molestation. - -With regard to curious adventures, on one occasion a bear, which was -attacked by a boat’s crew, made such formidable resistance, that it -was enabled to climb the side of the boat and take possession of it, -while the intimidated crew fled for safety to the water, supporting -themselves by the gunwale and rings of the boat, until, by the -assistance of another party from the ship it was shot, as it sat -inoffensively in the stern. With regard to narrow escapes, a sailor, -who was pursued on a field of ice by a bear, when at a considerable -distance from assistance, preserved his life by throwing down an -article of clothing whenever the bear gained upon him, on which it -always suspended the pursuit until it had examined it, and thus gave -him time to obtain some advance. In this way, by means of a hat, a -jacket, and a neckerchief, successively cast down, the progress of -the bear was retarded, and the sailor escaped from the danger that -threatened him, in the refuge afforded him by his vessel. - -The rein-deer, _Cervus tarandus_, deserves to be mentioned amongst -the quadrupeds of the Arctic regions. I have never seen one myself, -though it is known to inhabit almost every part of Spitzbergen. - -Our remarks must now be directed to the _Birds_ which frequent the -sea and coast of Spitzbergen. - -The brent goose and eider duck, _Anas bernicla_ and _Anas -mollissima_, are found in these regions; the former occurring -in considerable numbers near the coast of Greenland, but not in -Spitzbergen, and the latter frequenting all the islands in the -Greenland Sea. The puffin, or Greenland parrot, _Alca arctica_, -feeding on shrimps, is rarely seen out of sight of land, but is very -common near the coast of Spitzbergen. _Alca alle_, also, the little -auk or roach, is an extremely numerous species in some situations in -the Polar Seas. They occur in the water in thousands together, and -sometimes in like abundance on the pieces of ice. They dive quickly -on being alarmed, and on the approach of thick weather they are -particularly noisy. - -The fulmar, _Procellaria glacialis_, is the constant companion of -the whale-fisher. It joins his ship immediately on passing the -Shetland Islands, and accompanies it through the trackless ocean -to the highest accessible latitudes. It keeps an eager watch for -anything thrown overboard; the smallest particle of fatty substance -can scarcely escape it. As such, a hook baited with a piece of fat -meat or blubber, and towed by a long twine over the ship’s stern, is -a means employed by the sailor-boys for taking them. In the spring -of the year, before they have glutted themselves with the fat of the -whale, they are pretty good eating. They are remarkably easy and -swift on the wing, and can fly to windward in the highest storms. -Though very few fulmars should be seen when a whale is about being -captured, yet, as soon as the flensing commences, they rush in -from all quarters, and seize, with great audacity, all the pieces -of fat that come in their way. They frequently glut themselves so -completely as to be unable to fly, in which case, when not relieved -by a quantity being disgorged, they rest on the ice until restored -by digestion. The fulmar is a bold and very hardy bird. Its feathers -being thick, it is not easily killed with a blow. Its bite, from the -crookedness, strength, and sharpness of its bill, is very severe. -Fulmars differ in colour; some are a dirty grey, others much paler, -and totally white on the breast and belly. In size this bird is a -little smaller than a duck. Beneath its feathers is a thick bed of -fine grey down. When carrion is scarce, the fulmar sometimes points -out the whale to the fisher by following in its track. They cannot -make much impression on the dead whale until some more powerful -animal tears away the skin. - -The tysté, or doveca, _Colymbus grylle_, is a beautifully formed -bird, occurring in considerable numbers in icy situations, at various -distances from land. It is so watchful, and so quick at diving, that, -if fired at without precaution to conceal the flash of the powder, it -generally escapes the shot. It feeds on shrimps and small fishes. The -common colour is black, but the feet are all red. - -Almost equally common with the preceding is the _Colymbus troile_, -a clumsy bird, weighing two pounds or upwards, and measuring only -sixteen or seventeen inches in length, and twenty-eight inches across -the wings, when full spread, in breadth. It cannot rise on the -wing in any direction except to windward. If it attempts to fly to -leeward, it runs for a considerable distance along the surface of the -water, and at length falls into it. Both in this instance and that of -the doveca, shortness of tail is compensated for by the feet, which -are used as a rudder in flying. The _Colymbus glacialis_ was seen by -captain Phipps on the coast of Spitzbergen. - -The sea-swallow, or great tern, _Sterna hirundo_, is an elegant bird, -common on the shore of Spitzbergen, but is not met with at a distance -from land. Its length is seven or eight inches, and including the -tail fourteen, and the spread of its wings twenty-nine or thirty -inches. It flies with great ease and swiftness, and to a considerable -height. It defends its eggs and young with great boldness from the -Arctic gull, and even descends within a yard of the head of any -person who ventures to molest them, startling him with its loud -screams. It lays its eggs among the shingle of the beach above -high-water mark, where the full power of the sun falls. - -There are several varieties of the gull tribe. The kittywake, _Larus -rissa_, is seen in every part of the northern Atlantic from Britain -to the highest latitudes. It is a better fisher than its enemy, the -Arctic gull, _Larus parasiticus_, by whom it is pursued until it -gives up the food it has procured. The latter kind of gull lives at -the expense of its neighbours, preying upon their eggs and their -young. _Larus crepidatus_ and _Larus eburneus_ are other varieties. -The latter, remarkable for its immaculate whiteness, is as ravenous -as the fulmar. _Larus glaucus_, burgomaster, is the chief magistrate -of the feathered tribe in the Spitzbergen regions, as none of its -class dare dispute its authority, or refuse at its bidding to -surrender their prey. It is a large and powerful bird, twenty-eight -inches in length, and five inches in breadth across the wings. The -kittywake, snow-bird, and burgomaster, are sometimes shot for the -sake of their feathers. The two latter species are very shy. They -are shot with the greatest ease, however, from a house built of snow -on the ice. The _Tringa hypoleucos_, sandpiper, and the _Emberiza -nivalis_, snow-bunting, are inhabitants also of these regions. A bird -of great delicacy and smallness is _Fringilla linaria_, the lesser -redpole. On our approach to Spitzbergen, several of this species -alighted on the ship, and were, apparently, so wearied by flight -that they allowed themselves to be taken alive. It is difficult to -understand how this small bird manages to perform the journey from -Spitzbergen to a milder climate, without becoming exhausted and -perishing by the way. - -The _Amphibia_, _Fishes_, _Animalcules_, etc., must conclude our -sketch of the zoology of the Arctic regions. - -In the class _Amphibia_, the most notable personage is the Greenland -shark, _Squalus borealis_. It has not, I believe, been described. -The ventral fins are separate. It is without anal fin, but has the -temporal opening, and it belongs, therefore, to the third division of -the genus. The spiracles on the neck are five in number on each side. -The colour is cinereous grey. The eyes are the most extraordinary -part of the animal. The pupil is emerald green, the rest of the -eye blue. To the posterior edge of the pupil is attached a white -vermiform substance, one or two inches in length. Each extremity of -it consists of two filaments, but the central part is single. The -sailors imagine this shark is blind, because it pays not the least -attention to the presence of a man, and is, indeed, so apparently -stupid, that it never draws back when a blow is aimed at it with a -knife or a lance. It is twelve or fourteen feet in length, and six or -eight feet in circumference, and in general form very much resembles -the dog-fish. It is one of the foes of the whale. It bites and annoys -it when living, and feeds on it when dead. With its teeth, which are -serrated in one jaw, and lancet-shaped and denticulated in the other, -it scoops out of the body of the whale pieces as large as a person’s -head, and continues scooping and gorging till its belly is filled. -It is so insensible to pain that, though run through the body with a -knife, it will return to its food, and for some hours after its heart -is taken out, or its body cut in pieces, they will continue to show -signs of life. It does not, so far as I am aware, attack the fishers. - -In the class _Pisces_, _Gadus carbonarius_, the coal-fish, was -procured by captain Phipps, as also of the former class, _Cyclopterus -liparis_, during his stay in the vicinity of Spitzbergen. _Mullus -barbatus_ was taken out of the mouth of a seal by a seaman, near -Spitzbergen. It was boiled by our officers, and proved an excellent -dish. - -In the class _Articulata_ are one or two species of _gammarus_. The -_G. arcticus_ of Leach, the actions of which suggest as a familiar -name, the mountebank shrimp. There are also various crabs, and the -_Oniscus ceti_ of Linnæus, or whale’s louse. This little animal is -about half an inch in diameter, and firmly fixes itself by hooked -claws on the skin of the mysticetus. It is found under the fin, and -wherever the skin is tender, and it is not likely to be dislodged. A -similar animal, though smaller, is found on the body of the narwal. - -In the class _Vermes_ are several species found in various animals -inhabiting the northern seas. The sea-snail, _Clio helicina_, is an -animal covered with a delicately beautiful sheet, similar to that of -the nautilus. The diameter is from two-eighths to three-eighths of an -inch. It is found in great quantities near the coast of Spitzbergen. -The _Clio borealis_ occurs in vast numbers in some situations near -Spitzbergen, but is not found generally in the Arctic Seas. In -swimming, it brings the tips of its fins almost into contact, first -oil one side and then on another. I kept several of them alive in a -glass of sea-water for about, a month, when they gradually wasted -away and died. - -The cuttle-fish, _Sepia_, were found by me in large numbers in the -stomachs of the narwals. - -More than six or seven kinds of _Medusæ_ may be distinguished, -among which may be named, _Medusa pileus_, and the purse-shaped, -bottle-shaped, and orange-coloured _medusæ_. _Medusa pileus_ is one -of the most curious of the tribe. It consists of eight lobes, with a -beautiful, irridescent, finny fringe on the external edge of each. A -canal, four-fifths the length of the animal, penetrates the centre -of it, and two red cirrhi, which may be extended to the length of -nearly a foot, proceed from a crooked cavity in opposite sides. The -animal is semi-transparent, the colour white, and the finny fringes -of deeper red. It is found of various sizes. - -The substance of the purse-shaped medusa is tougher than that of any -other species which I have examined. It has one large open cavity, -and is divided by the finny fringes into eight segments, each -alternate pair of which are similar. The colour is a pale crimson, -with waved purple lines, and the finny fringes deeper crimson. The -animal appeared to be almost without sensation. The only evidence it -gave of feeling was in an increased vibration of the finny fringes. -Though it was cut into pieces, each portion on which there was any -of the fringe continued, by its incessant play, to give evidence of -life during two or three days, after which it became putrescent, and -began to waste away. I have only seen one specimen of this and of -the orange-coloured medusa. The colour of the latter was a brilliant -orange, and it was not transparent. It was not tenacious of life, -having died, to appearance, soon after it was taken. - -The Greenland Sea, frozen and extensive as it is, teems with life. -The variety of the animal creation is not, indeed, very great, but -the quantity of some of the species that occur is truly immense. The -minute medusæ and animalcules, throughout the Spitzbergen Sea, would -exceed all the powers of the mind to conceive. These little creatures -constitute the food of the largest animals in the creation. The -common whale feeds on medusæ, sepiæ, cancri, actiniæ, etc., and these -feed, probably, on the minor medusæ animalcules. The fin-whales and -dolphins feed principally on herrings and other small fishes. These -subsist on the smaller cancri, medusæ, and animalcules. The bear’s -most general food is the seal; the seal subsists on the cancri and -small fishes, and these on lesser animals of the tribe, or on the -minor medusæ and animalcules. Thus the whole of the larger animals -depend on these minute beings, which, until the year 1816, when -I first entered on the examination of the sea-water, were not, I -believe, known to exist in the Polar Seas. - -The manner in which these minute animals are preserved, in a sea -which is surrounded by an atmosphere ten or twelve degrees in mean -temperature below the freezing point of salt water, is curious and -interesting, and illustrates the combined wisdom and goodness of the -Lawgiver of these icy regions, as well as of the entire globe. If the -water of the sea were stationary, the temperature of the atmosphere -would soon freeze it to the very bottom, and destroy all these minute -animals, who have not either instinct or power of motion to retire -into a more southern region. A current, however, is provided, -setting towards the south-west, which carries away the ice into a -parallel where it can be dissolved, and creates a circulation of -water into the frozen regions from a warmer climate; while therefore -the superficial current is carrying away the ice, an under-current, -in a contrary direction, is bringing in warmth beneath. But how, it -may be asked, does it happen that the minor medusæ are not carried -away into the southern region? It is no violation of commonly -received principles to suppose, that whenever the medusæ are carried -to some extent southward, they sink in the water until they reach the -stream of the under-current, and are by it conveyed to their proper -element. The fact that the olive-green water of the sea maintains a -similar position for years together, while surface after surface of -ice is carried away and dissipated, is in support of this conjecture. -Thus, by a most beautiful contrivance, a large portion of the -surface of the globe is rendered habitable, which would otherwise -be a solid mass of ice, and the Polar Sea affords a dwelling-place -for many tribes of animals most useful in supplying the wants, and -contributing to the comfort, of man. - -It is not only, therefore, in those regions where - - “Spices breathe and milder seasons smile,” - -but even in the laws of a less genial climate, that we are called -upon to observe His eternal power and godhead, who gives the -bounties of his providence to the just and the unjust, and pleads -with us, in the gospel of his Son, that we should be reconciled -to him. The mighty whale, the ephemeral insect, and the minute -animalcule, all the productions of his power and skill, have their -wants supplied by his laws, and are subject to his control. In these -he displays the strength of his arm, and the adaptations of his -wisdom, but in man, redeemed and sanctified, “the exceeding riches -of his grace.” Happy, indeed, are we, if whilst, with the ancient -psalmist, we can proclaim that the earth is full of the goodness of -the Lord, “who gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap,” -and “layeth up the depth in store-houses,” we can also, without -presumption, through our union with the great heir of all things, the -Lord Jesus, and by the merit of his life and death, honestly declare -all things are ours, whether ... the world, or life, or death, or -things present, or things to come, all are ours, and we are Christ’s, -and Christ is God’s. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -EXPEDITIONS FOR FURTHER DISCOVERY. - - -Having now completed the account of the Arctic Regions, as given by -captain Scoresby, it may be interesting to the reader to have a brief -statement of some of the principal expeditions for further discovery -down to the present time. - -In 1819, lieutenant Parry sailed with the Hecla and Griper. The -object of his expedition was to examine the great and open bay, known -as sir J. Lancaster’s Sound; and, in case of failure, the Sound of -alderman Jones, and that of sir T. Smith. On the 1st of August, the -ships entered the Sound of sir J. Lancaster, and ran quickly up it, -finding no land across the bottom of the inlet, but arriving at a -strait, which they named Barrow’s Strait, and a magnificent opening -into which it led, Wellington Channel. On the 4th of September, the -expedition crossed the meridian of 110° west longitude, in latitude -74° 44′, becoming entitled to a reward of £5,000. They anchored, and -put into winter-quarters at Melville Island, losing sight of the sun -from 11th November till the 3rd of February, when it became once more -visible from the Hecla’s main-top. With the greatest difficulty, -they managed to escape from the ice during the months of August and -September, arriving at the Orkneys 28th October, 1820. - -The second voyage of Parry was with the Fury and Hecla. His -instructions were to proceed towards, or into, Hudson’s Strait, to -penetrate to the westward through that strait, until he should reach -some portion of the coast of the continent of America. The object was -to discover a way westward from the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean. -The vessels left the Nore 8th May, 1821, and arrived at Resolution -Island, at the entrance of Hudson’s Strait, on 2nd July, attempted -the direct passage through the Frozen Strait, and passed through it -into Repulse Bay. From it no passage was found to the west, and the -ships, after beating about to no profit, were compelled to winter -near Lyon’s Inlet. Here the dreariness of the winter was relieved by -interviews with the inhabitants, who were found to be intelligent -and honest. On 2nd July, the ships left their winter-quarters, and, -after being exposed to the most fearful dangers, arrived at a strait, -called by Parry, the Strait of the Fury and Hecla, and believed by -him to be an opening into the Polar Sea. The ships again went into -winter-quarters, and were frozen in until late in the following year, -but arrived at Lerwick on October 10th, 1823. - -The same ships, under the same commander, sailed on a third -expedition in May, 1824, having for its object to penetrate through -Lancaster Sound, Barrow’s Strait, and Prince Regent’s Inlet, to the -westward. Through detention by the ice, they did not arrive at -Lancaster Sound till 10th September, and went into winter-quarters on -the 27th, in Prince Regent’s Inlet, at Port Bowen. On the breaking up -of the ice, they explored, southerly, close to the westward shore; -but by the accidents to which they were exposed, they were compelled -to abandon the Fury, with her stores, and the Hecla only returned to -England. - -In 1827, captain Parry proposed to reach the North Pole by means of -travelling with sledge-boats over the ice. Two boats were constructed -for the purpose, the one to be commanded by Parry, the other by -lieutenant Ross. They proceeded in the Hecla to Spitzbergen, and -there left the ship, starting in their sledge-boats with seventy-one -days’ provisions. They travelled by night rather than by day; found -the ice very rough, and in some places tender; and after experiencing -great difficulties, arrived only at latitude 82° 45′, and were -compelled to abandon the undertaking as hopeless. - -Captain John Franklin received instructions to explore the northern -coast of America, from the mouth of Copper Mine River to the -eastward. He sailed on 22nd May, 1819, in a ship of the Hudson’s -Bay Company. They arrived at York Factory, in Hudson’s Bay, on 30th -August. Their route was to be by Cumberland House, and through a -chain of posts to the Great Slave Lake. At Cumberland House, it was -arranged that Franklin and others should proceed at once on to the -Athobasca department, to the northward of the Great Slave Lake, and -that the rest of the party should follow in the spring. The place of -meeting was Fort Chepewyan, eight hundred and fifty-seven miles from -Cumberland House; and, by the 20th August, they had advanced to Fort -Enterprise, five hundred and fifty miles from Chepewyan. Here they -wintered, and were exposed to awful hardships; but, on the arrival -of the spring, they prosecuted their journey down the Copper Mine -River, reaching the Polar Sea on the 18th July. They then navigated -the coast to the eastward, in their canoes, exploring Coronation -Gulf. They attempted to return by Hood’s River, and across the land -to Point Lake. After being exposed to the most dreadful sufferings, -they regained their winter-stations, at Fort Enterprise, and returned -to England. - -Notwithstanding the perils and hardships which had already befallen -them, captain Franklin and his companions, Dr. Richardson and -lieutenant Back, undertook a second expedition over the same country, -and left Liverpool 16th February, 1825, arriving at Fort Chepewyan as -early as 15th July. They then descended Mackenzie River to the sea. -Dividing themselves into two parties, they explored the coast east -and west, and the expedition returned home 24th September, 1827. - -Other voyages are those of Ross, of Back, first and second, and of -Dease and Simpson, two officers of the Hudson’s Bay Company, who -surveyed, in 1839, the remainder of the western coast which had been -left by Franklin. Dr. John Rae was dispatched by the Hudson’s Bay -Company in July, 1846, to survey the unexplored portion of the Arctic -coast at the north-eastern angle of the American continent, and -returned successfully in October, 1847. - -An important expedition for discovery in the North Polar regions, -the termination of which is yet awaited with serious anxiety, left -England under sir John Franklin in July, 1845. The ships were -victualled for only three full years, which expired during the summer -of this year. Three expeditions have been sent in search of the lost -travellers. One departed early in February, 1848, for Behring’s -Strait; a second, which sailed in the spring, under sir J. Ross, has -been heard of as having reached Disco Island on the 2nd July; and a -third, under sir John Richardson, accompanied by Dr. Rae, left in -March to proceed overland, and arrived at Lake Superior on 29th of -April. A report has very recently come in from the Esquimaux of their -having seen “two large boats, full of white men, to the east of the -Mackenzie river;” and sir J. Ross has been spoken with by a whaler on -the east side of Baffin’s Bay, in latitude 74° 20′; but no tidings to -relieve the public anxiety have been received to the close of 1848, -concerning the fate of sir J. Franklin and his companions. - - -THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY: INSTITUTED 1799 - - - - - Transcriber’s Note - Hyphenation has been retained as published in the original publication. - Pg 57 Changed Magdalena Bay to Magdalen Bay - Pg 76 Removed quote before: From this remarkable sea - Pg 156 Changed of La Cèpede, to Cepède - Pg 158 Changed according to Egède, to Egedé - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ARCTIC REGIONS AND THE -NORTHERN WHALE-FISHERY *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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