Chapter III (3)

The results obtained were judged so important, that the following year, the Dutch States-General entrusted to Jacob van Heemskerke, the command of a fleet of seven vessels, of which Barentz was named chief pilot. After touching at various points upon the coasts of Nova Zembla and of Asia, this squadron was forced by the pack to go back without having made any important discovery, and it returned to Holland on the 18th of September.

As a general rule governments do not possess as much perseverance as do private individuals. The large fleet of the year 1595, had cost a great sum of money, and had produced no results; this was sufficient to discourage the States-General. The merchants of Amsterdam therefore, substituting private enterprise for the action of the government, which merely promised a reward to the man who should first discover the north-east passage--fitted out two vessels, of which the command was given to Heemskerke and to Jan Corneliszoon Rijp, while Barentz, who had only the title of pilot, was virtually the leader of the expedition. The historian of the voyage, Gerrit de Veer, was also on board as second mate.

The Dutchmen sailed from Amsterdam on the 10th of May, 1596, passed by the Shetland and Faroe Islands, and on the 5th of June, saw the first masses of ice, "whereat we were much amazed, believing at first that they were white swans." They soon arrived to the south of Spitzbergen, at Bear Island, upon which they landed on the 11th of June. They collected there a great number of sea-gulls' eggs, and after much trouble killed at some distance inland a white bear, destined to give its name to the land which Barentz had just discovered. On the 19th of June, they disembarked upon some far-spreading land, which they took to be a part of Greenland, and to which on account of the sharp-pointed mountains, they gave the name of Spitzbergen; of this they explored a considerable portion of the western coast. Forced by the Polar pack to go southwards again to Bear Island, they separated there from Rijp, who was once more to endeavour to find a way by the north. On the 11th of July, Heemskerke and Barentz were in the parts of Cape Kanin, and five days later they had reached the western coast of Nova Zembla, which was called Willoughby's Land. They then altered their course, and again going northwards, they arrived on the 19th at the Island of Crosses, where the ice which was still attached to the shore, barred their passage. They remained in this place until the 4th of August, and two days later they doubled Cape Nassau. After several changes of course, which it would take too long to relate, they reached the Orange Islands at the northern extremity of Nova Zembla. They began to descend the eastern coast, but were soon obliged to enter a harbour, where they found themselves completely blocked in by the pack-ice, and in which "they were forced in great cold, poverty, misery, and grief, to stay all the winter." This was on the 26th of August. "On the 30th the masses of ice began to pile themselves one upon another against the ship, with snow falling. The ship was lifted up and surrounded in such a manner, that all that was about her and around her began to crack and split. It seemed as if the ship must break into a thousand pieces, a thing most terrible to see and to hear, and fit to make one's hair stand on end. The ship was afterwards in equal danger, when the ice formed beneath, raising her and bearing her up as though she had been lifted by some instrument." Soon the ship cracked to such a degree, that prudence dictated the debarkation of some of the provisions, sails, gunpowder, lead, the arquebuses as well as other arms, and the erection of a tent or hut, in which the men might be sheltered from the snow and from any attacks by bears. Some days later, some sailors who had advanced from four to six miles inland, found near a river of fresh water, a quantity of drift-wood; they discovered there also the traces of wild goats and of reindeer. On the 11th of September, seeing that the bay was filled with enormous blocks of ice piled one upon the other, and welded together, the Dutchmen perceived that they would be obliged to winter in this place, and resolved, "in order to be better defended against the cold, and armed against the wild beasts," to build a house there, which might be able to contain them all, while they would leave to itself the ship, which became each day less safe and comfortable. Fortunately, they found upon the shore whole trees, coming doubtless from Siberia, and driven here by the current, and in such quantity that they sufficed not only for the construction of their habitation, but also for firewood throughout the winter.

Never yet had any European wintered in these regions, in the midst of that slothful and immovable sea, which according to the very false expressions used by Tacitus, forms the girdle of the world, and in which is heard the uproar caused by the rising of the sun. The Dutchmen, therefore, were unable to picture to themselves the sufferings which threatened them. They bore them, however, with admirable patience, without a single murmur, and without the least want of discipline or attempt at mutiny. The conduct of these brave seamen, quite ignorant of what so apparently dark a future might have in reserve for them, but who with wonderful faith had "placed their affairs in the hands of God," may be always proposed as an example even to the sailors of the present day. It may well be said that they had really in their heart the _aes triplex_ of which Horace speaks. It was owing to the skill, knowledge, and foresight of their leader Barentz, as much as to their own spirit of obedience, that the Dutch sailors ever came forth from Nova Zembla, which threatened to be their tomb, and again saw the shores of their own country.

The bears, which were extremely numerous at that period of the year, made frequent visits to the crew. More than one was killed, but the Dutchmen contented themselves with skinning them for the sake of their fur, and did not eat them, probably because they believed the flesh to be unwholesome. It would have been, however, a considerable addition to their food, and would have saved them from using their salted meat, and thus they might longer have escaped the attacks of scurvy. But that we may not anticipate, let us continue to follow the journal of Gerrit de Veer.

On the 23rd September, the carpenter died, and was interred the next day in the cleft of a mountain, it being impossible to put a spade into the ground, on account of the severity of the frost. The following days were devoted to the transport of driftwood and the building of the house. To cover it in, it was necessary to demolish the fore and aft cabins of the ship; the roof was put on, on the 2nd October, and a piece of frozen snow was set up like a May pole. On the 31st September, there was a strong wind from the north-west, and as far as the eye could reach, the sea was entirely open and without ice. "But we remained as though taken and arrested in the ice, and the ship was raised full two or three feet upon the ice, and we could imagine nothing else but that the water must be frozen quite to the bottom, although it was three fathoms and a half in depth."

On the 12th October, they began to sleep in the house, although it was not completed. On the 21st, the greater part of the provisions, furniture, and everything which might be wanted was withdrawn from the ship, for they felt certain that the sun was about to disappear. A chimney was fixed in the centre of the roof, inside a Dutch clock was hung up, bed-places were formed along the walls, and a wine-cask was converted into a bath, for the surgeon had wisely prescribed to the men frequent bathing as a preservative of health. The quantity of snow which fell during this winter, was really marvellous. The house disappeared entirely beneath this thick covering, which, however, sensibly raised the temperature within. Every time that they wished to go forth, the Dutchmen were obliged to hollow out a long corridor beneath the snow. Each night they first heard the bears, and then the foxes, which walked upon the top of the dwelling, and tried to tear off some planks from the roof, that they might get into the house. So the sailors were accustomed to climb into the chimney, whence, as from a watch-tower they could shoot the animals and drive them off. They had manufactured a great number of snares, into which fell numbers of blue foxes, the valuable fur of which served as a protection against cold, while their flesh enabled the sailors to economize their provisions. Always cheerful and good tempered, they bore equally well the ennui of the long polar night, and the severity of the cold, which was so extreme, that during two of three days, when they had not been able to keep so large a fire as usual, on account of the smoke being driven back again by the wind, it froze so hard in the house, that the walls and the floor were covered with ice to the depth of two fingers, even in the cots where these poor people were sleeping. It was necessary to thaw the sherry, when it was served out, as was done every two days, at the rate of half a pint.

"On the 7th of December, the rough weather continued, with a violent storm coming from the north-east, which produced horrible cold. We knew no means of guarding ourselves against it, and while we were consulting together, what we could do for the best, one of our men in this extreme necessity proposed to make use of the coal which we had brought from the ship into our house, and to make a fire of it, because it burns with great heat and lasts a long time. In the evening we lighted a large fire of this coal, which threw out a great heat, but we did not provide against what might happen, for as the heat revived us completely, we tried to retain it for a long time. To this end we thought it well to stop up all the doors and the chimney, to keep in the delightful warmth. And thus, each went to repose in his cot, and animated by the acquired warmth, we discoursed long together. But in the end, we were seized with a giddiness in the head, some however, more than others; this was first perceived to be the case with one of our men who was ill, and who for this reason, had less power of resistance. And we also ourselves were sensible of a great pain which attacked us, so that several of the bravest came out of their cots and began by unstopping the chimney, and afterwards opening the door. But the man who opened the door fainted, and fell senseless upon the snow, on perceiving which, I ran to him and found him lying on the ground in a fainting fit. I went in haste to seek for some vinegar, and with it I rubbed his face until he recovered from his swoon. Afterwards, when we were somewhat restored, the captain gave to each a little wine, in order to comfort our hearts...."

"On the 11th, the weather continued fine, but so extremely cold, that no one who had not felt it could imagine it; even our shoes, frozen to our feet, were as hard as horn, and inside they were covered with ice in such a manner that we could no longer use them. The garments which we wore were quite white with frost and ice."

On Christmas Day, the 25th December, the weather was as rough as on the preceding days. The foxes made havoc upon the house, which one of the sailors declared to be a bad omen, and upon being asked why he said so, answered, "Because we cannot put them in a pot, or on the spit, which would have been a good omen."

If the year 1596, had closed with excessive cold, the commencement of 1597 was not more agreeable. Most violent storms of snow, and hard frost prevented the Dutchmen from leaving the house. They celebrated Twelfth Night with gaiety, as is related in the simple and touching narrative of Gerrit de Veer. "For this purpose, we besought the captain to allow us a little diversion in the midst of our sufferings, and to let us use a part of the wine which was destined to be served out to us every other day. Having two pounds of flour we made some pancakes with oil, and each one brought a white biscuit, which we soaked in the wine and eat. And it seemed to us that we were in our own country, and amongst our relations and friends; and we were as much diverted as if a banquet had been given in our honour, so much did we relish our entertainment. We also made a Twelfth-Night king, by means of paper, and our master gunner was king of Nova Zembla, which is a country enclosed between two seas, and of the great length of six hundred miles."

After the 21st January, the foxes became less numerous, the bears reappeared, and daylight began to increase, which enabled the Dutchmen, who had been so long confined to the house, to go out a little. On the 24th, one of the sailors, who had been long ill, died, and was buried in the snow at some distance from the house. On the 28th, the weather being very fine, the men all went out, walking about, running for exercise, and playing at bowls, to take off the stiffness of their limbs, for they were extremely weak, and nearly all suffering from scurvy. They were so much enfeebled that they were obliged to go to work several times before they could carry to their house the wood which was needful. At length in the first days of March, after several tempests and driving snowstorms, they were able to verify the fact that there was no ice in the sea. Nevertheless, the weather was still rough and the cold glacial. It was not feasible as yet to put to sea again, the rather because the ship was still embedded in the ice. On the 15th of April, the sailors paid a visit to her and found her in fairly good condition.

At the beginning of May the men became somewhat impatient, and asked Barentz if he were not soon intending to make the necessary preparations for departure. But Barentz answered that he must wait until the end of the month, and then, if it should be impossible to set the ship free, he would take measures to prepare the long-boats and the launch, and to render them fit for a sea voyage. On the 20th of the month the preparations for departure commenced; with what joy and ardour it is easy to imagine. The launch was repaired, the sails were mended, and both boats were dragged to the sea, and provisions put on board. Then, seeing that the water was free, and that a strong wind was blowing, Heemskerke went to seek Barentz, who had been long ill, and declared to him "that it seemed good to him to set out from thence, and in God's name to commence the voyage and abandon Nova Zembla."

"William Barentz had before this written a paper setting forth how we had started from Holland to go towards the kingdom of China, and all that had happened, in order that, if by chance, some one should come after us, it might be known what had befallen us. This note he enclosed in the case of a musket which he hung up in the chimney."

On the 13th June, 1597, the Dutchmen abandoned the ship, which had not stirred from her icy prison, and commending themselves to the protection of God, the two open boats put to sea. They reached the Orange Islands, and again descended the western coast of Nova Zembla in the midst of ceaselessly recurring dangers.

"On the 20th of June Nicholas Andrieu became very weak, and we saw clearly that he would soon expire. The lieutenant of the governor came on board our launch, and told us that Nicholas Andrieu was very much indisposed, and that it was very evident that his days would soon end. Upon which, William Barentz said, 'It appears to me that my life also will be very short.' We did not imagine that Barentz was so ill, for we were chatting together, and William Barentz was looking at the little chart which I had made of our voyage, and we had various discourses together. Finally, he laid down the chart, and said to me, 'Gerard, give me something to drink.' After he had drunk, such weakness supervened that his eyes turned in his head, and he died so suddenly that we had not time to call the captain, who was in the other boat. This death of William Barentz saddened us greatly, seeing that he was our principal leader, and our sole pilot, in whom we had placed our whole trust. But we could not oppose the will of God, and this thought quieted us a little." Thus died the illustrious Barentz, like his successors Franklin and Hall, in the midst of his discoveries. In the measured and sober words of the short funeral oration of Gerrit de Veer may be perceived the affection, sympathy, and confidence which this brave sailor had been able to inspire in his unfortunate companions. Barentz is one of the glories of Holland, so prolific in brave and skilful navigators. We shall mention presently what has been done to honour his memory.

After having been forced several times to haul the boats out of the water when they were on the point of being crushed between the blocks of ice; after having seen on various occasions the sea open, and again close before them; after having suffered both from thirst and hunger, the Dutchmen reached Cape Nassau. One day, being obliged to draw up the long-boat, which was in danger of being stove in upon an iceberg, the sailors lost a part of their provisions and were all deluged with water, for the ice broke away under their feet. In the midst of so much misery they sometimes met with good windfalls. Thus, when they were upon the ice on the Island of Crosses they found there seventy eggs of the mountain-duck. "But they did not know what they should put them in to carry them. At length one man took off his breeches, tying them together by the ends, and having put the eggs into them, they carried them on a pike between two, while the third man carried the musket. The eggs were very welcome, and we eat them like lords." From the 19th July, the Dutchmen sailed over a sea, which, if not altogether free from ice, was at least clear of those great fields of ice which had given them so much trouble to avoid. On the 28th July, when entering the Gulf of St. Lawrence, they met with two Russian vessels, which at first they dared not approach. But when they saw the sailors come to them unarmed and with friendly demonstrations, they put aside all fear, the rather as they recognized in the Russians some people whom they had met with the year before in the neighbourhood of Waigatz. The Dutchmen received some assistance from them, and then continued their voyage, still keeping along the coast of Nova Zembla, and as close in shore as the ice would allow. Upon one occasion when they landed, they discovered the cochlearia (scurvy-grass), a plant of which the leaves and seeds form one of the most powerful of known anti-scorbutics. They eat them, therefore, by handfuls, and immediately experienced great relief. Their provisions were, however, nearly exhausted; they had only a little bread remaining and scarcely any meat. They decided therefore to take to the open sea, in order to shorten the distance which separated them from the coast of Russia, where they hoped to fall in with some fishermen's boats, from which they might obtain assistance. In this hope they were not deceived, although they had still many trials to undergo. The Russians were much touched by their misfortunes, and consented on several occasions to bestow provisions upon them, which prevented the Dutch sailors from dying of hunger. In consequence of a thick fog the two boats were separated from each other, and did not come together again until some distance beyond Cape Kanin on the further side of the White Sea, at Kildyn Island, where some fishermen informed the Dutchmen that at Kola there were three ships belonging to their nation, which were ready to put to sea on their return to their own country. They therefore despatched thither one of their men accompanied by a Laplander, who returned three days afterwards with a letter signed _Jan Rijp_. Great was the astonishment of the Dutch at the sight of this signature. It was only on comparing the letter just received with several others which Heemskerke had in his possession, that they were convinced that it really came from the captain who had accompanied them the preceding year. Some days later, on the 30th September, Rijp himself arrived with a boat laden with provisions, to seek them out and take them to the Kola River, in which his ship was at anchor.

Rijp was greatly astonished at all that they related to him, and at the terrible voyage of nearly 1200 miles which they had made, and which had not taken less than 104 days--namely, from the 13th June to the 25th September. Some days of repose accompanied by wholesome and abundant food sufficed to clear off the last remains of scurvy, and to refresh the sailors after their fatigues. On the 17th September, Jan Rijp left the Kola River, and on the 1st November the Dutch crew arrived at Amsterdam. "We had on," says Gerrit de Veer, "the same garments which we wore in Nova Zembla, having on our heads caps of white fox-skin, and we repaired to the house of Peter Hasselaer, who had been one of the guardians of the town of Amsterdam charged with presiding over the fitting out of the two ships of Jan Rijp and of our own captain. Arrived at this house, in the midst of general astonishment, because that we had been long thought to be dead, and this report had been spread throughout the town, the news of our arrival reached the palace of the prince, where there were then at table the Chancellor, and the Ambassador of the high and mighty King of Denmark and Norway, of the Goths and the Vandals. We were then brought before them by M. l'Ecoutets and two lords of the town, and we gave to the said lord Ambassador, and to their lordships the burgomasters, a narrative of our voyage. Afterwards each of us retired to his own house. Those who had not dwellings in the town, were lodged in an inn until such time as we had received our money, when each went his own way. These are the names of the men who returned from this voyage: Jacob Heemskerke, clerk and captain, Peter Peterson Vos, Gerrit de Veer, mate, Jan Vos, surgeon, Jacob Jansen Sterrenburg, Leonard Henry, Laurence William, Jan Hillebrants, Jacob Jansen Hoochwout, Peter Corneille, Jacob de Buisen, and Jacob Everts."

Of all these brave sailors we have nothing further to record except that De Veer published the following year the narrative of his voyage, and that Heemskerke after having made several cruises to India, received in 1607 the command of a fleet of twenty-six vessels, at the head of which, on the 25th of April, he had a severe battle with the Spaniards under the guns of Gibraltar, in which battle, although the Dutch were the conquerers, Heemskerke lost his life.

The spot where the unfortunate Barentz and his companions had wintered was not revisited until 1871, nearly three hundred years after their time. The first to double the northern point of Nova Zembla, Barentz had remained alone in the achievement until this period. On the 7th September, 1871, the Norwegian Captain, Elling Carlsen, well known by his numerous voyages in the North Sea and the Frozen Ocean, arrived at the ice haven of Barentz, and on the 9th he discovered the house which had sheltered the Dutchmen. It was in such a wonderful state of preservation that it seemed to have been built but a day, and everything was found in the same position as at the departure of the shipwrecked crew. Bears, foxes, and other creatures inhabiting these inhospitable regions had alone visited the spot. Around the house were standing some large puncheons and there were heaps of seal, bear, and walrus bones. Inside, everything was in its place. It was the faithful reproduction of the curious engraving of Gerrit de Veer. The bed-places were arranged along the partition as they are shown in the drawing, as well as the clock, the muskets, and the halberd. Amongst the household utensils, the arms, and the various objects brought away by Captain Carlsen, we may mention two copper cooking-pans, some goblets, gun-barrels, augers and chisels, a pair of boots, nineteen cartridge-cases, of which some were still filled with powder, the clock, a flute, some locks and padlocks, twenty-six pewter candlesticks, some fragments of engravings, and three books in Dutch, one of which, the last edition of Mendoza's "History of China" shows the goal which Barentz sought in this expedition, and a "Manual of Navigation" proves the care taken by the pilot to keep himself well up in all professional matters.

Upon his return to the port of Hammerfest, Captain Carlsen met with a Dutchman, Mr. Lister Kay, who purchased the Barentz relics, and forwarded them to the authorities of the Netherlands. These objects have been placed in the Naval Museum at the Hague, where a house, open in front, has been constructed precisely similar to the one represented in the drawing of Gerrit de Veer, and each object or instrument brought back has been placed in the very position which it occupied in the house in Nova Zembla. Surrounded by all the respect and affection which they merit, these precious witnesses of a maritime event so important as the first wintering in the Arctic regions, these touching reminiscences of Barentz, Heemskerke, and their rough companions, constitute one of the most interesting monuments in the Museum. Beside the clock is placed a copper dial, through the middle of which a meridian is drawn. This curious dial, invented by Plancius, which served without doubt to determine the variations of the compass, is now the only example extant of a nautical instrument which has never been in very general use. For this reason it is as precious as, from another point of view, are the flute used by Barentz, and the shoes of the poor sailor who died during the winter sojourn. It is impossible to behold this curious collection without experiencing poignant emotion.