Chapter XVII

SAILING INTO THE FJORD.--ASCENT OF PAYER’S PEAK.--DISCOVERY
OF PETERMANN PEAK.--THE RETURN VOYAGE DECIDED ON.[90]

Cape Franklin passed.--Entrance into the Fjord.--Magnificent
scenery of the Kaiser Franz-Joseph’s Fjord.--The
Teufelschloss (Devil’s Castle).--Interminable branchings of
the Fjord.--Great depth of the Fjord.--Payer’s, Copeland’s,
and Ellinger’s mountain ascent and Glacier journey on 12th
of August.--Condition of the Germania’s boilers.--A second
wintering not in accordance with our strict instructions to
avoid risk.--Our return to Germany decided on.--Erection of a
memorial cairn at the anchorage of the Germania.--The Germania
aground.--Cause of the numerous drifting icebergs near the
coast-land.

During our absence the crew of the Germania had been much troubled with the floating ice, which at times was driven in great masses round the Cape; so that Sengstacke was obliged to bring the ship nearer to land. With this exception all had gone on well.

The weather remained fine and clear, with a light west wind; we weighed anchor, and at ten a.m. steamed through the advancing masses of loose land-ice towards the newly discovered Fjord. At first, we had some trouble to steer our way through it; but after passing Bennet’s peninsula the water was more open, and at five p.m. we passed Cape Franklin and ran into the Fjord.

What strange feelings arose within us as we advanced into these lonely waters, as yet uncleft by the keel of any vessel.

At first we steered along the northern bank of the Fjord, stretching in a west-north-westerly direction, and afterwards changing to a north-westerly; but as we noticed a larger branch dividing into several arms running westward, we decided upon following that first, as it would most likely take us deeper into the interior.

Lieutenant Payer gives the following excellent description of this wonderful district:--“We had entered a basin, the shores of which were formed by rocks, which for glorious form and colour I had never seen equalled. Here were congregated all the peculiarities of the Alpine world: huge walls, deep erosion-fissures, wild peaks, mighty crevassed glaciers, raging torrents, and waterfalls; which in Europe, as a rule, come but singly. All these pictures of wild beauty were taken in at a glance. To me the impression given by the high towering rocky mountains of the basin was that of some fairy tale. A colossal cubic rock on the small basis of a tongue of land stretched itself far into the Fjord, rising out of the blue water to a height of at least 5600 feet; regular reddish-yellow, black, and light stripes, showing the different layers of the stone. The terraces and towers on its edges resembled a ruined castle; we therefore called it the Devil’s Castle.

“Never in the Alps had I seen anything even approaching this in grandeur. Here a diminutive Matterhorn rose straight from the water; there rushed a huge mass of water from some glacier over the giant walls deep down into the clear quiet water below.

THE DEVIL’S CASTLE]

“Day and night we stayed on deck, every moment bringing some astonishing scene, conjuring up as it were some natural wonder, our astonished eyes wandering from one point to the other. No sound but that of the monotonous click of the machinery and the rushing of the keel-water broke the solemn stillness. The transparency of the atmosphere showed up every individual feature, and the morning sun warmed the blue air pleasantly, in which the smoke from our chimney floated in horizontal stripes.”

Further, and further we advanced; until, at last, we thought that our discoveries had come to an end, but steering south-west towards the “Devil’s Castle,” there suddenly opened upon us a gateway at least two nautical miles broad, with wondrously beautiful scenery; and to the west, another seemingly endless branch of the Fjord. For some hours longer we continued to advance, when the engineer informed us that the boiler leaked again, and that he must put out the fire.

On the south side of the Fjord we saw what we thought would be a good spot to anchor, which we did in ten fathoms of water at nine a.m. on the 11th of August.

This point, the most westerly that we reached, was in 73° 11´ 6″ N. Lat. and 25° 58´ 6″ W. Long, from Greenwich.

We now decided upon climbing one of the higher mountains, in order that we might have a good general view of the whole neighbourhood. This First-Lieutenant Payer undertook to do; Dr. Copeland climbed to one of the glaciers, to prepare some contrivance for measuring the rate of its motion; Dr. Börgen conveyed all necessary instruments on shore; and Dr. Pansch rambled in the neighbourhood in search of Fauna and Flora.

_Page 554._

MOUNTAIN PEAK BEHIND THE GLACIERS--MORAINE IN THE FOREGROUND.]

An attempt to observe the tides utterly failed, on account of the waves caused by the continual descent of icebergs. A current in any direction, either constant or alternating, we could not, in spite of the most careful observation, be sure of; the icebergs seeming to drift here and there, without being subject to any settled influence, and upon the whole changing their places but very little. A regular rising and falling of the water was however perceptible, and, according to the high-water mark on the shore, the tide evidently rose to the same height as on the outer coast. The depth of the Fjord was considerable, near the land being 100 fathoms and more, and in the middle Mr. Sengstacke did not touch the ground with a 500 fathom line. The surface temperature was high, and rose to 46° Fahr., but at sixty-five fathoms it was only 34°, and still deeper it was lower. The saltness of the water in connexion with its specific gravity, in spite of the amount of fresh melted water, showed no difference from that of the open sea.

The atmospheric temperature between these steep, rocky walls, which had been so warmed from the late steady sunshine, was of course higher than that on the outside coast. On board, where, from the cooling influence of the melting icebergs, it was considerably colder than on land, the mean daily temperature given was--August 11th, 48° Fahr.; August 12th, 45°; August 13th, 44°: the maximum on the 11th of August amounted to 53°, and the minimum on the same day only 42° Fahr.

Only once, on the 1st of July at noon, did the temperature, in the winter harbour under Sabine Island, rise to 56°, and the mean daily temperature on this our warmest day was 47½°. In August a marked decrease is to be noticed. On Sabine Island the difference between the two months amounted to 5.40°, and we might therefore conclude that here in July the temperature of the interior of the Fjord must often rise to 58° or 59° Fahr.; how otherwise can we explain the melting of the entire winter-ice, as in the summer season the interior of the Fjord is not exposed to the influence of the warmer sea water?

On land, in the warm months, the steady sunshine raises the warmth in the valleys and on the mountain slopes still higher, and, for these high latitudes, a luxuriant growth of plants shoots up rapidly. Dr. Pansch thus describes the vegetation:--

“We found it much in the same freshness and vigour as on the higher Alps in Switzerland. As on Clavering Island, all the mountain slopes were green; though there were large spots of low, woody bushes, namely, willow, birch, and bilberry. The willow was the common and only kind met with here, the _Salix arctica_ (Pall.); and in connexion with its very strong growth is the fact that the rings formed in the stem every year had attained .06 of an inch, whilst, as a rule, they are not more than from .004 to .012. Fruit we frequently met with.

“As regards the birch, thick bushes stood alongside the old moraine, rising to the height of from two to three feet; though we could see that in the hollows it attained even a greater height than this. The boughs were thickly interlaced, and in the inside of the bushes mostly leafless. That the climate agreed with this dwarf birch (_Betula nana_, L., _var. genuina_, Regel) we could tell by the number of catkins upon them. Later on we found that a stem of four-tenths of an inch in diameter had sixty-seven rings.

“The commonest of all, however, was the bilberry (_Vaccinium uliginosum_, L.) which covered the slopes, but did not grow very high. Other striking plants were the willow herb (_Epilobium_) and the harebells; of the latter, besides the elsewhere observed _C. uniflora_ (L.), we found the _C. rotundifolia_ (L.), _var. arctica_ (J. Lange), which reached a stately height. Near it flourished the evergreen _Pyrola rotundifolia_ (L.), _var. arenaria_ (Koch).

“Here on the slopes, at a height of from 800 to 900 feet, was the finest and most varied vegetation; and the highest grasses and shrubs mostly in bloom, and some bearing fruit. And as a last surprise, we discovered the Alpine-rose (_Rhododendron lapponicum_, L.), but, unfortunately, the blossoms were over. The same was the case with the bearberry (_Arctostaphylos alpina_, Spreng.), of which, in spite of all our seeking, we could only find a small bush, on which hung some fine ripe fruit. The most interesting find, however, to us, because not previously met with, was the moss _Grimmia lanuginosa_ (C. Müll.), _var. arctica_.

“Besides birds, we also caught an ermine hurrying between the stones, and saw ravens, ducks, hares, and reindeer; of the latter, near Eleanora Bay, was a whole herd. The only traces of the natives were the remains of store-holes and tent-rings or circles.”

On the 12th of August First-Lieutenant Payer, Dr. Copeland, and Peter Ellinger started to climb the glacier. Payer thus describes the excursion:--

“Our outfit consisted of climbing-irons, alpenstocks, and an eighteen-fathom rope.

“The scenery of the valley was simple but imposing; it consisted of massive granite walls, between which tongues of ice were pressed, the torrents from which formed a row of beautiful waterfalls; mighty gateways of ice, and a number of wild _seracs_, which depended from the high glacier peaks in the background like steps. Close by, in the glacier basin, which was about six miles broad, from a basis 3900 feet high rose an isolated pyramid of ice about 2950 feet high sheer into the air.

“At first we kept to a tolerable path, trodden by the reindeer above the left bank of the stream. The end of the largest valley glacier lay 875 feet above the level of the sea; and the edge of the tongue of ice, which was covered with _débris_, was at the commencement convex, and 2950 feet in breadth; then becoming concave, it widened to 7180 feet, and sloped, in a broken surface, down to the adjacent land.

“We took to the glacier at about 2100 feet above the sea’s level. Its surface, like the mountain slopes, was free from snow; and the covering of rubbish, which until now had been in one connected mass, branched upwards into four central moraines. The prevailing colour of the ice here is whitish green; the ice layers the same as those under similar circumstances in the Alps. Very different, however, is the surface of a Greenland glacier. In Europe they split upon going over any mountain step, and the same at the junction of any streams, into a chaos of needles and steps. Our ice, exposed to greater periodical and daily differences of atmospheric temperature, becomes very much denser than can be the case in Greenland, where, for the greater part of the year, the low temperature is stationary. Hence the northern glacier-ice is less glassy and dense, possesses greater elasticity, and greater power of passing over steep descents without breaking.

“Numerous brooks fell spluttering over fathom-deep furrows; the inclination was about four degrees; higher up it was more; in some places twenty; but nowhere did we need the climbing-irons. The glacier, however, from the numerous side streams issuing, from many points, and even at right angles, began to be full of fissures.

“The greatest stream came from the south, flowing from a valley surrounded by craggy granite walls. The long undulations were split into close-lying fissures. We floundered from labyrinth to labyrinth, and were forced to make many circuits, and, though sounding carefully, I repeatedly sank to the shoulder, the icy spikes rattling down into the depths like broken glass. The cords to bind us together were indispensable, as we could never, like European Alpine parties, have been got out of the depths. Sometimes we stood all together on a small band of ice, surrounded by a deceitful covering of snow which concealed a dark abyss.

_Page 560._

GLACIER OF PAYER’S PEAK, AS SEEN FROM THE NORTHERN LATERAL
MORAINE.]

“In the course of my former labours in the Alps it had been granted me many times to gaze in wonder from heights of 9000 to 12,000 feet upon the majestic beauty of those icy uplands. But what a difference! Throughout the whole vast prospect lay the stillness of death; scarcely a sign of life interrupted the rough grandeur of the mountain land. Instead of the luxuriant plains of our own Alpine valleys, with their farms and villages, lay the dark water-surface of the Fjord 6850 feet beneath us. Countless icebergs floated on its surface, looking in the distance like glistening pearls, and the frightful rocky walls seemed to descend perpendicularly into it. From every mountain steep of yonder valley descended gigantic glaciers, and from the high barrier of ice at its lower end the stately icebergs were loosened, and carried onward to the ocean by ebb-tide and current.

“One thing attracted our attention more than anything else, and that was a monstrous pyramid of ice to the west, rising about 4850 feet above a high mountain ridge. This glorious peak could bear none other name than that of Petermann, the honoured originator of the first German Arctic Expedition: its real height must have approached 11,000 feet.

“Along the horizon stretched an Alpine world, with countless summits, exceeding 9700 feet. The Kaiser Franz-Joseph’s Fjord could be traced for about forty miles towards W.S.S.

“For two hours I had been sketching and working with the theodolite on the top of a rocky projection, and in order that I might not slip, had taken off my shoes and stood in my stockings, although they were wet through from the long walk in the snow, and quite frozen. This caused me to suffer more from the cold than I had done during our worst sleighing journeys, when the cold, at 27° Fahr.,[91] had been unnoticed. The temperature, taken on the ship at the same time, was 44.6°, showing a decrease of 2¼° for every 700 feet of height.

“Organic life was confined to a fibrous moss (_Grimmia lanuginosa, var. arctica_), and to the black and yellow osier (_Gyrophora anthracina_), which are also met with on the highest points of the Alps. We left the summit at eleven p.m., taking a new and far shorter way back over the ridge of the mountain, and at seven a.m. reached the ship after one and twenty hours’ absence.”

We now found that reliance could no longer be placed upon the boiler, the machinist informing us that at the utmost it could only last forty-eight hours. This was sad news, as all the steam power now to be obtained must be used for reaching the outer coast; for with sails alone in the heavy calm we should with difficulty be able to work our way out of this rocky basin in time, and a second wintering was expressly forbidden in our “Instructions.” Our time here, therefore, at the latest was until the end of August, but experience had already shown that before that time the mouth of the Fjord was blocked by a setting in of heavy ice.

There were also many reasons against a boat-journey in the short time we had to spare, not more than eight days; we could not, under the most favourable circumstances, advance more than seventy-five English miles; so that the results of a boat excursion would in nowise equal the risk of a second wintering, which must be avoided.

Preparations were now made for departure. Opposite our anchoring-place we erected a heap of stones, in which we laid a document recording our discovery. We then weighed anchor and steamed in a north-easterly direction along the Fjord. A dense fog rose, and we had to find our way by the help of the compass, and keep a sharp look-out for icebergs.

At noon we passed the narrow pass by the Devil’s Castle, and kept close to the land, with the intention, if possible, of anchoring in a fine bay called Eleanor Bay, from whence we could make farther investigation. As we rounded the south cape of the harbour, however, the water shallowed so suddenly that we grounded, and were set fast in the mud. During the night the tide reached its highest, and with some exertions we floated once more, and rode at anchor until the morning, when we steamed eastward.

At the mouth of the Fjord we found the land-ice pretty dense, and between Cape Bennet and Bontekoe Island was such a strong barrier, that even close under the land we could with difficulty force our way through.

At twenty minutes past eleven p.m., on the 14th of August, three nautical miles westward of our former anchorage, we anchored again, to take in necessary ballast and water.

On the 15th the Captain and Mr. Sengstacke climbed the cape, which was more than 2950 feet high, to inspect the position of the ice. To the east the pack-ice was loose enough to steer through, particularly to the east-north-east and south-east. Directly in the east the fields lay denser, but still streams of water could be seen. The horizon seemed strewn with ice. The whole of the coast to the south, as far as the eye could see, was covered with numberless icebergs, chiefly from Kaiser Franz-Joseph’s Fjord, which, however, never appeared upon the open sea.

The reason of this lies in the depth of the water, which, close under the shore and in the interior of the Fjord, is much greater than it is farther out. The same conditions are seen here as on the Norwegian coast, where a channel of more than 200 fathoms deep runs close along the shore, whilst but a little beyond rises the plateau of the North Sea from thirty to forty fathoms deep. Our soundings gave analogous results on the coast of Greenland. Under Shannon Island, only a few miles from land, there was a depth of more than 200 fathoms, whilst beyond there was only 100. The same showed itself near Cape Broer Ruys, and in the Fjord itself it reached the unheard of depth of more than 500 fathoms. This is also the reason that in the Greenland seas no icebergs are met with far from land. To the south, according to Captain Hegemann’s report, they increase in numbers under the land, partly for the reason that there many glaciers discharge themselves straight into the sea, whilst farther to the north they descend only in the interior of Fjords.