Chapter X: Historical Sketch of Arctic Discovery (6)

CHART
SHOWING THE DISCOVERIES
OF THE
BRITISH POLAR EXPEDITION
1875–76.

[_From Map accompanying Official Report published in
“Nature.”_]]

Captain Young left Upernavik on the evening of the 19th of July, and stood away to the northward--in bad weather, and with the wind blowing a gale. Through vast fields of ice he threaded his way, sometimes under sail, sometimes under steam, until, on the morning of the 24th, he found his ship completely surrounded, in lat. 75° 10’ N.

No time was lost in endeavouring to effect an escape by charging the ice at full speed,--again and again returning to the onset; and a slow but steady progress was being made, when the field in which they were held fast, drifting before the gale, “collided” with a group of grounded bergs, and exposed the little vessel to such severe pressure, that preparations were made for abandoning her. Provisions, ammunition, camping and travelling gear, all were made ready, and the boats were lowered as far as possible at the davits. Meantime, heavy charges of gunpowder were used to blast the ice where it pressed the ship most severely; and the bergs taking a different direction, the _Pandora_ began to recover herself, and before night settled down nearly to her usual level. In the darkness of the night, with the wind howling, and the snow and sleet driving in heavy showers, she moved ahead with the pack; and in this way continued her progress until the 27th, when the weather cleared, and Captain Young discovered that he had advanced right into the heart of Melville Bay, with no water in sight. Full in view were Capes Walker and Melville, the Peaked Hill, and huge glacier-streams embedded in the intervening valleys. All around was one vast monotonous sheet of rugged ice. It was not until the 29th that the _Pandora_, after many hairbreadth escapes, got into open water, in lat. 75° 50’ N., and long. 64° 55’ W. While thus imprisoned in the grasp of the floe, the explorers killed only one Polar bear, four seals, and a few little auks.

In a clear sea they now stood away to the westward, passing Capes Dudley, Digges, and Athol, and other headlands familiar in the records of Arctic adventure. At noon on the 31st, when off Wolstenholm Island, another gale overtook them, increasing rapidly to almost hurricane fury. This was an unpleasant experience; for the deck was washed by heavy seas, and it was with the greatest difficulty they avoided coming into collision with the icebergs which drifted rapidly through the snow and spray.

Reaching Cary Island, they landed to examine Captain Nares’ depôt of provisions, and found it in good preservation. The cairn had not been visited since Young’s call at the island on the 10th of September in the previous year. Afterwards they made for Sutherland Island, where they found a record of the American explorer, Captain Hartstene, dated August 16, 1855. It is with a curious feeling that, in these regions of almost perpetual winter, the voyager comes upon such faint memorials of men who, like him, have dared all the perils of ice-floes and icebergs, and adventured into seas far beyond the track of ordinary commercial enterprise.

On Littleton Island, a record of the expedition was found. The document was dated July 28, 1875, and signed by Captain Nares; and it indicated the course about to be taken by the ships under his orders. Owing to the ice-encumbered condition of the straits, however, Captain Young could not follow it up; and instead of crossing to Cape Isabella, he resolved to examine the coast in Hartstene Bay, in order to seek a harbour for the relief-ship which the Admiralty had intended to send out in 1877, in case of the non-return of the Polar Expedition. This was found on the 4th of August, not far from the Eskimo settlement of Etah, and named after the _Pandora_. It would seem to offer every advantage as winter quarters for Arctic discovery-ships; the surrounding hills are “dotted with Arctic hares, appearing like snow-balls on the luxurious vegetation.” The little auk breeds in thousands on the cliffs, eider fowl and guillemots haunt the waters, and the adjacent valleys and pastures are frequented by reindeer.

Captain Young next made for Cape Isabella, which he reached on the 6th of August. Watchful eyes soon discovered a large cairn on the summit of this headland. A boat was lowered, and the contents of the cairn soon obtained, while despatches and letters for Captain Nares’ expedition were left in their stead. Then the _Pandora_ steamed to the northward; but, owing to the adverse winds and the accumulated ice, could make no way, and was forced back to Cape Isabella. Another attempt was made to the eastward, and for several days the gallant little ship crossed and recrossed the straits, through the pack, always beset with ice, and frequently enshrouded in impenetrable fogs. No fewer than three times was she compelled to take shelter in Pandora Harbour. On the 19th she was driven back to the northward of Littleton Island, and Captain Young and some of his officers took the opportunity of visiting the _Polaris_ camp. Nothing remained of the house erected by Captain Buddington except a few broken boards. The rocks were strewn with pieces of metal, fragments of clothing, and other waifs and strays. The _cache_ in which the retreating party had deposited their books and instruments was also examined; but the only relics were a brass bowl of a seven-inch compass, a tin tube, and parts of a telescope. Some cases and casks, containing records for the use of Captain Nares, were securely placed among the rocks on the western point of the island; and Captain Young then returned to Cape Isabella.

Finding nothing here of any interest, and convinced that no travelling or boat party had reached that position from the Polar ships, the _Pandora_ bore away to the northward under canvas. “It was very dark and thick,” says Captain Young, “but sufficiently clear to enable us to avoid the heavy ice. By nine A.M. we were up to Lecomte Island, when we were stopped by a fog until eleven o’clock, when I could see from aloft that the main pack extended across the straits into Rosse Bay. We were in a lake of land water, with close-packed and heavy ice all round, from south to north, and again closing on the land from the eastward. Our only chance of moving seemed to be through a narrow lead or slack place, running first to the east-north-east, and then again apparently towards the east coast. We entered the pack, and succeeded by five P.M. in again escaping into the land water in Hartstene Bay.” Such are the experiences of twelve hours in the ice-clogged waters of the North! But we need not delay the reader with these minute particulars, notwithstanding their interest as illustrative of the nature of the struggle waged with so much persistency of purpose by the Arctic explorer. The sea was now covered everywhere with ice and bergs. Storms were of frequent occurrence; and the wind and wave beaten _Pandora_ was forced back into Baffin Bay.

Here, on the 28th of August, her captain could see that the solid ice had filled the straits and the head of the bay right across to Cape Alexander. The way north being thus obstructed, Captain Young resolved on proceeding towards Upernavik, in North Greenland, hoping to find that the last ship had not already sailed for Denmark, and in that case to send an officer home with despatches, while the _Pandora_ returned to Smith Strait.

On the 29th she was off Hakluyt Island, and steered for Bardin Bay in Whale Sound. On entering the bay, a summer tent could be seen, and some Eskimos, with their dogs, running to and fro, evidently with the view of attracting the attention of the visitors. Captain Young accordingly landed, with some of his officers, and accompanied by Christian, his Eskimo interpreter. The natives met them with the utmost confidence and fearlessness, assisting to haul their boat up on the shore. They were ten in number, and all members of one family. Food appeared to be plentiful with them, but they were profuse in their thanks for some walrus-flesh given by Captain Young. Their manners were frank and communicative, and they showed considerable vivacity, rejoicing over the results of a very good hunting season. Neither European ships nor white men had they seen for years; but they said that an old man, who, with his family, inhabited Northumberland Island, told of two ships which had passed to the northward “last summer.” How lonely must be the life led by these poor savages! Never gladdened by the sight of a sail; but, year after year, shut up in their frozen solitudes, and without any other object or purpose before them than to obtain just enough food to avoid a premature and miserable death!

Among their treasures Captain Young observed a ship’s bucket, half the top of a mahogany table, the paddle of a Greenlander’s kayack, much ice-worn, and a piece of packing-case marked “Lime juice--Leith;” all of which, they said, had drifted into the bay at different times from the southward. These people seemed to Captain Young of a kind and simple disposition, while they were evidently robust and healthy. All that they had--and it was little enough--they freely pressed upon their visitor; and when asked what present they would like, their chief selected only some gimlets and a fifteen-foot ash oar. The latter, he said, would split up into spear-shafts; the former he wanted for boring bone and ivory. Captain Young, however, gave them several other useful articles; accepting in return some narwhal horns, specimens of their pot-stone cooking-kettles, and of the iron pyrites which they used for striking fire. An exchange of dogs also took place; five of the dogs belonging to the _Pandora_ being given for three of the finest bear-hunting and tame dogs of the Eskimos.

At Upernavik, the _Pandora_, after a stormy and dangerous passage, arrived on the evening of September the 7th, but found that the last ship had sailed for Europe. As there were no means, therefore, of communicating with England, and as, without such communication, Captain Young did not feel authorized to winter in the North, a supply of fresh water wars taken on board, and the ship steered for home. From the 15th to the 21st she tarried at Goodhav’n, in Disco Island. In Davis Strait she encountered large quantities of heavy Spitzbergen drift-ice, and weathered a severe south-easterly gale. On the 16th of October, in lat. 54° 38’ N., and long. 44° 30’ W., she sighted the Arctic ships, _Alert_ and _Discovery_, and hastened to communicate with them. They kept together until the 19th. On the following day, the _Pandora_ was buffeted by another hurricane; but the rest of her voyage was accomplished in safety, and was marked by no incidents of importance.

Here, for the present, terminates the record of British enterprise and adventure in the Arctic World. It is difficult to believe, however, that the nation will rest until the “heart of the mystery has been plucked out,” the Secret finally mastered, and the British flag hoisted on that remote point which is conventionally known as the NORTH POLE.

INDEX.

Agaricus muscarius, 139.

Agassiz, experiments of, 116.

Alectoria jubata, 137.

Aletsch glacier, the, described, 47.

Algol, or Medusa’s Head, 39.

Arctic Highlanders, 12.

Arctic night, the, characteristics of, 32–34, 93–95.

Arctic region, extent of, 13, 14.

Atmospheric phenomena, 31.

Auk, the, described, 97, 98.

Aurora Borealis, the, phenomena of, 27;
theory of, 29.

Baffin, discoveries of, 227.

Barents, adventures of, 266–269.

Barrens, the, region of, described, 16.

Bear, Polar, natural history of the, 85–93;
hunting seals, 86;
voracity of, 88;
affection for its young, 88, 89.

Beechey, Captain, quoted, 45, 46, 55.

Bell, quoted, 78.

Bellot, Lieutenant, quoted, 123.

Bennet, Stephen, voyage of, 228.

Berkeley, quoted, 140.

Birds, migrations of, 11.

Boötes, constellation of, 40.

Bremer, Frederika, quoted, 138.

Brewster’s, Sir David, experiment with polarised light, 111.

Buddington, Captain, adventures of, 308–311.

Burrough, Stephen, voyage of, 222, 223.

Button, Captain, voyage of, 227.

Bylot, Robert, voyage of, 227.

Carlsen, Captain, voyage of, 270.

Cladonia rangiferina, 137.

Clarke, Dr., quoted, 203.

Clavering, Captain, referred to, 12.

Cochlearia, or scurvy-grass, uses of, 139.

Coleridge, quoted, 69.

Constellations, northern, list of, 37.

Cooley, Mr., quoted, 230.

Corvidæ, the, natural history of, 160.

Cryptogamous plants of the north, 141, 142.

Crystallization, process of, 108.

Cygnus musicus, 161.

D’Almeida, Count, quoted, 205, 206.

Davis, Captain John, voyages of, 224, 225.

Dolphins, the, natural history of, 82, 83.

_Dorothea_, the, narrow escape of, 55.

Dufferin, Lord, quoted, 166, 167, 172.

Eider ducks, the, natural history of, 103;
in Iceland, 104.

Eskimo dog, the, description of, 190.

Eskimo, the, hunting the walrus, 68, 69;
hut of, 76.

Eskimo kayak described, 182.

Eskimo seal-hunt, an, described, 77, 78.

Eskimo sledge, the, described, 192–196.

Eskimos, the, boundaries of, 175;
character, manners, customs, and clothing, 179–196.

Falcon, the, natural history of, 160.

Faraday, ingenious experiment of, 111.

Felinska, Madame, quoted, 211.

Fish in the Arctic seas, 106.

Flora of the Arctic lands, 19.

Fox, Luke, voyage of, 228.

Fox, the Arctic, natural history of, 151–153.

Fox-trap, a, described, 152.

Franklin, Sir J., overland journey of, 231;
last expedition of, 231;
relics of, discovered, 233, 235, 236.

Fritillaria sarrana, the, properties of, 142, 143.

Frobisher, Sir Martin, voyage of, 223.

Frobisher Strait discovered, 223.

Gale, an Arctic, described, 70.

Gârds of Lapland, described, 207.

_Germania_, the, expedition of, 245–265.

Geysers, the, phenomena of, 165–167.

Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, death of, 224.

Glacier-ice, peculiarities of, 112.

Glacier in Smith Strait, 124, 127;
of Sermiatsialik, 128, 129.

Glaciers, characteristics of, 47;
motion of, 113–115;
phenomena connected with, 115–118;
of the Arctic regions, 118–133;
of Spitzbergen, 120, 123.

Godhav’n, 167.

Grampus, the, natural history of, 83, 84.

Greenland, scenery on the coast of, 22.

Guillemot, the, described, 96, 97.

Gull, the, described, 103.

Hall, Captain, expedition and death of, 271, 272.

_Hansa_, the, voyage and loss of, 245–251.

Hans the Hunter, 186–189, 284.

Hare, the Arctic, 154.

Hartwig, Dr., quoted, 15.

Hayes, Dr., quoted, 25, 35, 43, 49, 50, 59, 87, 95, 96, 124, 125,
127, 128, 138, 152, 153, 186, 191, 192, 244;
Arctic expedition of, 244, 245.

Hearne, quoted, 183.

_Hecla_, the, and the _Fury_, danger of, 56.

Hegemann, Captain, 245.

Hekla, eruption of, 164.

Henderson, Dr., quoted, 172.

Hill, Mr., quoted, 213, 214.

Hobson, Lieutenant, discovers Franklin relics, 234–236.

Holland, Mr., quoted, 173.

Hore, Mr., voyage of, 222.

Hudson, Henry, discoveries of, 225–228.

Humboldt Glacier, description of, 131–134, 238.

Hutchinson, Captain, quoted, 205.

Icebergs, their dimensions, 41;
their magnificent appearance, 42, 43;
danger to navigation from, 44, 123;
breaking up of, 49;
range of, 50, 51;
in Baffin Bay, 124.

Ice-fields, extent and character of, 54, 56, 57.

Ice-flowers, characteristics of, 108.

Iceland, dimensions of, 162;
history of, 162;
volcanoes of, 163;
dreary landscapes of, 164;
geysers of, 166, 167;
houses and churches of, 170;
travelling in, 172;
horses of, 173.

Iceland moss, uses of, 138, 139.

Jacobshav’n, 168.

Jakut merchants, the, enterprise of, 217.

Jakuts, the, as bear-hunters, 212;
manners and customs of, 216, 217.

James, Captain Thomas, voyage of, 228.

Joe the Eskimo, with Captain Tyson, 278, _et sqq._

Kamtschatka, fisheries of, 212;
the dog of, 214, 215.

Kamtschatkans, the, characteristics of, 213, 214.

Kane, Dr., quoted, 15, 32, 33, 34, 42, 68, 73, 74, 88, 91, 92,
131–134, 149, 153, 184, 185, 237, 239, 242, 243;
Arctic explorations of, 237–244.

Knots, the, habits of, 11, 12.

Koldewey, Captain, referred to, 12;
voyage of, 245.

Lagopus, the, 161.

Lamont, Mr., quoted, 60, 62.

Lapland, divisions and extent of, 197;
climate of, 197;
inhabitants of, 197;
the reindeer in, 200;
sledging in, 201;
an interior in, 204, 205.

Lapp dialect, the, 206.

Lapp hunters, the, boldness of, 202.

Lapps, the, dress, manners, and customs of, 198.

Lapps, the Mountain, character of, 199, 200.

Lapps of West Bothnia, 206, 207.

Laube, Dr., quoted, 252.

Lemming, the Arctic, 154.

Macmillan, Dr., quoted, 135, 136, 137, 141.

Markham, C., quoted, 10, 175, 225, 226, 273.

Marten, the, 155.

Martins, M. Charles, quoted, 119, 120, 121.

M’Clintock, Captain Sir Roderick, quoted, 148, 151, 181, 265;
voyage of, 234.

M’Clure, Sir Robert, quoted, 81;
discovers North-West Passage, 233.

Mecham, Captain, quoted, 146, 150.

Mer de Glace of Greenland, 127, 128.

Merganser, the natural history of, 99.

Milton, Lord, and Dr. Cheadle, quoted, 158–160.

Moonlight in the Polar World, 26.

Moraines, described, 115.

Moravian mission-stations in Greenland, 179.

Mosses in the Arctic regions, 139.

Musk-ox, the, natural history of, 149, 150.

Mustelidæ family, the, in the Arctic regions, 155.

Nares, Captain, expedition of, 314, _et sqq._

Narwhal, the, natural history of, 82.

Newfoundland colonized, 224.

North-West Passage, utility of, 9.

Novaia Zemlaia, temperature of, 21.

Osborn, Admiral Sherard, quoted, 44, 81, 84, 85, 87, 146, 151,
232, 236, 237.

Ostiaks, the, manners and customs of, 211, 212.

Ostrownoje, trade at, 220.

Oxyria, the, uses of, 141.

Pack-ice, description of, 53.

Parry, Captain, quoted, 44, 46, 56, 230;
voyages of, 228, 229, 230.

Payer, Lieutenant, voyage of, 270, 271.

Penny, Captain, voyage of, 232–234.

Phænogamous plants of the north, 141.

Phocidæ, the.--See SEAL.

Plant-life of Spitzbergen, 142;
of Kamtschatka, 142, 143.

Pleiads, the, 39.

_Polaris_, the, voyage of, 271–313.

Polecat, the, in the Arctic regions, 156, 157.

Pole-Star, the, position of, 36.

Poole, Jonas, voyage of, 228.

Puffin, the, natural history of, 99.

Quenes, or Finns, the, 206.

Rae, Dr., finds relics of Franklin, 233.

Red snow, phenomenon of, explained, 135.

Refraction, phenomena of, 31.

Regelation, what it is, 111.

Reikiavik, description of, 168, 169.

Reindeer, the, natural history of, 144;
usefulness of, 145;
food of, 146;
and wolves, 147;
in Siberia, 218, 219.

Reindeer moss, 137.

Rendu, Bishop, quoted, 114.

Richardson, Sir J., quoted, 145.

Rock-hair, 137.

Rorqual, the, 80.

Ross, Sir James, quoted, 145.

Ross, Sir John, voyages of, 228, 231.

Sabine, Sir Edward, quoted, 10.

Sable, the, natural history of, 156.

Samojedes, the, superstitions of, 208, 209;
manners and customs of, 210, 211.

Schaïtan, an Ostiak idol, 211.

Scoresby, Dr., quoted, 44, 106, 186.

Seal, the, natural history of, 71–73;
flesh of, 73, 74;
different genera of, 75.

Sermiatsialik, glacier of, 127, 128.

Shepherd, Mr., quoted, 104.

Skaptá Jokul, eruption of, 165.

Smew, the, natural history of, 100.

Smith Sound, route by, 228.

Snow, formation of, 108.

Snow-crystals, described, 109.

Snow-line, limit of, 20.

Somerville, Mrs., quoted, 30, 107.

Southey, quoted, 136.

Sporidesmium lepraria, 140.

Spring in the Arctic regions, 34.

Starakis, the, described, 98.

Stephenson, Captain, of the _Discovery_, 314.

Summer in the Arctic regions, 36.

Swan, the wild, natural history of, 105;
the whistling, 161.

Tadebtsios, or Samojede demons, 209.

Tadibe, the Samojede priest, 209.

Tchuktche, the, manners and customs of, 220.

Temperature of Arctic winter, 33.

Tennyson, quoted, 105.

Thingvalla, the, in Iceland, 168.

Thorne, Dr. Robert, Arctic exploration proposed by, 222.

Tripe de roche, 137, 138.

Tundras, the stony, described, 15, 16.

Tungusi, the, characteristics of, 219, 220.

Tyndall, Professor, quoted, 47, 48, 108, 109–111, 112, 113, 115,
117, 118.

Tyson, Captain, narrative of, 278–308.

Unknown Region, extent of, 10.

Upernavik, described, 176.

Ursa Major, constellation of, 36;
description of, 37, 38.

Waigatz, island of, 208.

Walrus, the, natural history of, 63;
courage of, 64;
gradual decay of, 67.

Walrus-hunt, a, described, 68, 69.

Walrus-hunting, how carried on, 60;
proceeds of, 62.

Ware, quoted, 37, 38.

Whale, the, natural history of, 78;
characteristics of the Greenland, 79, 80;
the Razor-backed, 80.

Whalebone, what it is, described, 79.

Whale-fishery of the Eskimos, 81.

Whirlwinds of the north, 31.

Willoughby, Sir Hugh, loss of, 222.

Wolf, the Arctic, natural history of, 148.

Wolverine, the, cunning of, 157;
anecdotes of, 158–160.

Wooded zone of the Arctic regions, 143.

Wrangel, Admiral von, quoted, 20, 81, 218, 221.

Yakutsk, temperature of, 26.

Young, Captain, cruise of, in the _Pandora_, 334.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The _Tringa canutus_ of ornithologists.

[2] _Abies alba et nigra._

[3] _Larix Canadensis._

[4] _Pinus Banksiana._

[5] _Abies Sibirica_, _Larix Sibirica_.

[6] Tyndall, “Forms of Water,” p. 137.

[7] The name given to a plain of ice near Mont Blanc.

[8] Scoresby calculated that it would require 80,000 persons, labouring continuously from the creation of man to the present day, to count the number of organisms contained in two miles of the green water.

[9] So called from its circular form, and because the surface of the leaf is marked with curved lines.

[10] A more moderate estimate says 1300 persons.

[11] _The Academy_, November 4, 1876, p. 453.

[12] “Here let the billows stiffen and have rest.”--COLERIDGE.

[13] The scarcity of animal life in the remote North is shown by the small quantity of game shot by the sportsmen of the expedition after reaching winter quarters:--six musk-oxen, twenty hares, seventy geese, twenty-six ducks, ten ptarmigan, and three foxes.

Transcriber’s Notes:

1. Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling errors have been corrected silently.

2. Where hyphenation is in doubt, it has been retained as in the original.

3. Some hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of the same words have been retained as in the original.

4. Where appropriate, the original spelling has been retained.

5. Italics are shown as _xxx_.