,.'^.. J^' '* c^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1^ 1^ m m III 2. 2.0 1.8 1.25 1.4 Hiotographic Sciences Corporation &< ^/ .5^ .V < **W *«K* K: :%.:S [| r*' -at-t V ii-i? I^lffitt i*. ^M U-ri 'vUi-Jpfevt.^if ^ •*■'' I'illl irr ' .''Ji- y,%^ % i . '■■At r ..afes- ■^s^' .*:v-. J!^.:^ ¥l\ 1** .V^w •f-:; ■i^K^i-tifti*?*'-: ill ?'r;3v ■4\V.- ■ti** ■' 'iff-- 5,-«v.f'**<^ .'•"6'^: \. .fs'S li -^k Vm, -*.*' V. !1 '^ . •* '..ife^H.'^ <^.->.JI v'-i >¥ 'at 1.. ,'^ r I*"-' ^^4^, .-^.. ■■•>*, :x*.j^< > *«?" Wi^t^ .^"^ f;, pi^'^% ;^r J' ^ y i t . 'W« '«,V - >^*tU^^ /H- 73f<^ 0 SCENE IN THE POLAR REGIONS. T. NELSON AND SONS LONDON AND EDINBURGH. "s. i}':.- "■I ^4*'>»> ^''^^ ■■:% 1^1 I 1 V ;■; M I •a* 5? '*i. •rf!-.. :^J%^: ••§#• .^ M' ' t. / ' ^'^ ■: ".K': jNv *.'■ •,«g^.' £liinfaurgf| Gabtnct Eibraip— Kriu fEtiition. DISCOVERY AHD ADVENTURE IN Tiim POLAR SEAS AND REGIONS: WITH ILLUSTRATIONS OV THEIR CLIMATE, GEOLOGY, AND NATURAL HISTORY. By sir JOHN LKSLIE, K.H, Profrssor of Natural Philosophy In the Unlverilty of Edinburgh, and Correaponding Member of the Royal Institute of France. ROBERT JAMESON, Esq., F.RS.E. A L., F.L.S.. M.WS., BegiUi Frofetior orXnturnl Hiitory In the University orEdinburfh, and UUGII MURRAY. Esq., F.R.S.K WITn A HARRATIVE OF TUB RECENT EXPEDITIONS IN SEARCH OV SIR-a*0flN f}l:A-]J15LrS:;*-.: :.'* • • • » • . ••,.*• • • • , •, • • • (•«••*•••• ** • • •••• • ■ • • •• •••• • 1 I • • « •- I • < • • *•. • • • • « 1 : ^ • • • • 1 LONDON: T. NELSON AND SONS. PATERNOSTER ROW; AND EDINBURGH. UUCCCLII. • • • • • • tt • • « t PREFACE TO THE SIXTEENTH EDITION. Tub present Work was undertaken with the view of giving a complete and connected description of the varied phenomena of the Polar world, as well as an ac- count of the more important voyages and expeditions, whether for profit or discovery, through which it has become known to Europe. Such a subject, it is believed, combining much that is interesting in natural scenery and maritime adventure, can hardly fail to jn'ove attrac- tive. In those climates, nature is marked by the most stupendous features, and presenting objects at once su- blime and beautiful, the forms she assumes differ from her aspects in oiu xTiilder latitudes almost as widely as though they belonged to another planet. The tempests and darkness of those wintry realms are strikingly varied by the brief but brilliant summer, the singular magnificence of the celestial and meteorological appear- ances, and the dreary grandeur of those enormous piles of ice which stud the land or float upon the water. Along with a characteristic range of vegetable produc- tions, and a remarkable profusion of animal life won- 8 PREFACE. derfully adapted to sustain existence in the extremity of cold, we are presented with a race of men singulur alike from the circumstances to which thoy have con- formed themselves, the manners and customs thence resulting, and the contrivances whereby they bravo the utmost rigours of the clime. When, moreover, it is considered that in the field of Northern Discovery England laid the foundation of her maritime i)re-emi- nence, and that the men who have earned in it the greatest glory were chiefly British, it will be admitted that the history of their adventures must have a pecu- liar charm for the English reader. The Narrative of these Voyages, down to the close of the ninth chapter, was carefully drawn from the most authentic sources by Mr. Murray, whose labours in a similar department of literature have been received by the public with no common approbation. They include the adventures and exploits of many of tliose naviga- tors of whom their country has the greatest reason to he proud. Such in early times were Willoughby, Chancelor, Frobisher, Davis, Hudson ; more recently Parry, Scoresbj', Ross, the uncle and nephew, witli others of little inferior note. The wild and strange scenes through which their career led, the peculiar perils with which it was beset, the hairbreadth escapes and sometimes tragical events that ensued, give to their narratives an interest similar to that of romance. The tenth and eleventh chapters have been pre- pared for the present edition by an experienced writer. They trace the history of north-western exploration through most eventful recent periods, down to the win- ter of 1860. The former narrates the marvellous ice- PREFACE. \l voyage of Captain (now Sir George) Back, and the completion of discovery round the mysterious coasts of Boothia ; the latter gives the substance of all which has been made known, in volumes, periodicals, and ]iuI)lio documents, respecting the lamented expedition of Sir John Franklin, and the complicated searches for it ; and the two together, it is hoped, will be re- garded by every reader as an important addition to the value of this work. Besides these narratives, several of the most distin- guished men of science in Scotland lent their aid to illustrate the wonderful order of nature prevailing with- in the Arctic Circle. Sir John Leslie commenced the volume with a full examination of the Climate and its Phenomena, — subjects so important as they respect those high latitudes, that without a preliminary know- ledge of them the progress of discovery would be but imperfectly understood. A general survey of all that is known regarding the Geological Structure of the same interesting regions has been given by Professor Jameson. The chapter on Natural History, though the subject be treated by Mr. Murray in a popular rather than in a scientific manner, has received the careful revision of a distinguished naturalist. The whale-fishery forms a striking feature in Arctic iulvcnture, and is, besides, of great national as well as commercial importance. Of its daring operations and its various perils, the description here introduced may be the more acceptable, as it is presumed to be the only one hitherto attempted within a moderate compass. For an account of the successive expeditions, by land \ 10 PSEFACE. or along the coast, to define tlie northern boundaries of the American and Asiatic continents, the reader is re- ferred to the " Pboorbss op Discovery om the more Northern Coasts of America." In that volume are contained interesting descriptions of the wild country through which the different travellers penetrated to the shores of the Polar Sea, of the sufferings they endured, and of the valuable additions made by them to geogra- phical science. The knowV age of these facts is in some degree necessary to a clear comprehension of the objects contemplated in most of the recent voyages. •,,p->.»-,-:,-^ CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. TUB CLTHATE OF THB POLAR REGIONS. General View of the Siojuct— Light thrown on it by Voyages of Discovery — Various Opinions and Observations discussed — Distribution of Heat over the Surface of the Globe— Cur- rents in the Atmosphere— Freezing of the Arctic Sea — Phe- nomena of the Seasons in the Polar Regions— Formation of Icebergs— Changes in the Aspect of the Polar Seas— Sup- posed Alterations in the Climate of Europe— State of the Ice in the Polar Seas— Situation of the Ancient Colonies in Greenland Page 17 CHAPTER II. ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE LIFE IN THE POLAR REGIONS. Remarkable Profusion of Animal Life — Means by which it is supported- The Cetacea : Whale, Narwal, Walrus, Seal — The Herring Land Animals— The Polar Bear ; Its Fero- city ; Anecdotes— The Rdn-deer— Wolf, Fox, Dog— Birds —Vegetable Life— Peculiar Plants— Red Snow 62 CHAPTER IIL ANCIENT VOYAGES TO THE NORTH. Voyage of Pytheas— Norwegian Expeditions ; Ohthere— Colo- nization of Iceland— The Zeni— Quirini 95 12 CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. VOYAGES IN SK&RCU OF A NORTH-EAST PASSAOD. Rise of Maritime Enterprise in England— Plan of a North-east Passage to India — Expedition of Sir Hugh Willoughby ; its Issue — Cliaucelor reaches the White Sea ; Journey to Mos- cow— Voyage of Burroughs— Of Pet and Jackman— Dutch Expeditions— Barentz's First, Second, and Third Voyages ; His Death— Huasou— Wood— Litke Page 103 CHAPTER V. EAULV V0YAGB8 TOWARDS THE NORTH POLE. Plan of a Polar Passage to India— Voyages to Cherie Island — Hud::on— Poole— Baffln—Fotherby U4 CHAPTER Vr. EARtY VOYAGES IN SEARCH OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. The Portuguese ; The Cortereals— The Spaniards ; Gomez- Expeditious under Henry VIII. ; their Issue— Frobisher's First, Second, and Third Voyages— Davis' First, Second, and Third Voyages— Weymouth— Knight— Hudson ; Mu- tiny of his Men ; Disastrous Issue of the Expedition — Voy- ages of Button— Gibbons — Bylot— Baffin — Jens Munk, the Dane— Fox and James— Knight and Barlow — Middleton, &c 156 CHAPTER VII. VOYAGES BY ROSS AND PARRY IN SEARCH OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. Spirited Views of the British Government— Ross's Expedition ; He sails round Baffin's Bay ; Arctic Highlands ; Lancaster l.y .Vsi;:-^-,' CONTENTS. la Sound ; Hi8 Return— Parry's First Expedition ; Entrai.o* into the Arctic Sea ; Regent's Inlet ; North Georgian Islands ; Winters at Melville Island ; Mode of spending the Winter ; North Georgian Theatre ; Gazette ; Disappearance of the Animal Tribes ; Attempt to proceed Westward during the Summer ; His Return to England— Parry's Second Expedi- tion, accompanied by Captain Lyon ; He enters Hudson's Strait ; Savage Islands ; Duke of York's Bay ; Frozen Strait ; Various Inlets discovered ; Ships frozen in for the Winter ; Polar Theatre and School ; Brilliant Appearances of the Aurora Borealis ; Intercourse with a Party of Esqui- maux ; Land Excursions ; Release from the Ice ; Voyage Northward ; Discovery of a Strait named after the Fury and riccla ; Progress arrested ; Second Winter-quarters, at Igloolik ; The Esquimaux ; Symptoms of Scurvy ; Return of the Expedition to England— Parry's Third Expedition ; He winters at Port Bowcn ; Shipwreck of the Fury ; Return of the Hecla Page 212 CHAPTER VIII. Ross's SECOND VOyAGE. Motives which led to the Expedition — DifBculties in equipping it — Expense defrayed by Sir Felix Booth— Accidents on the Coast of Scotland — Passage across the Ocean — Refitted at Holsteinborg— Passage through Barrow's Strait and down Regent's Inlet— Discovery of the Fury's Stores— Difficult Na- vigation— Winter Station in Felix Harbour— Means devised for resisting the Cold — Visit from a Party of Esquimaux — Information respecting the neighbouring Coasts— Expedition to Nei-tycl-le— To Shagavoke— To the Northward — For Cape Turnagain — Obliged to stop at Victory Point — Return Attempt to sail next Summer— Arrested for the Winter — Excursion to the Northward— And across the Country — Commander Ross's Discovery of the Magnetic Pole— Another fruitless Attempt to bring homo the Victory— Determinatiop I 14 CONTENTS. to abandon her— Summary of Observations on the Esqui- maux—Journey along the Coast to Fury Beach— Fruitless Attempt to cross Barrow's Strait — Winter at Somerset House — Succersful Navigation next Summer — Reach the Isabella of Hull— Reception— Return— Joy at their Arrival — Rewards to the Adventurers— General Results of the Voyage— Return of Captain Back Page 271 CHAPTER IX. RECENT VOYAGES TOWARDS THE NORTH POLE. Expedition of Captain Phipps (Lord Mulgrave) ; Progress arrested by the Ice ; His Return— Scorcsby ; Various im- portant Observations m?de by him ; Voyage to the Eastern Coast of Greenland ; Discoveries ; Returns to England— Clavering's Voyage and Discoveries — Expedition of Graah — De Blosseville— Dutaillis— Buchan's Expedition- Parry's Fourth Expedition, in which he attempts to reach the Pole ; Progress along the Coast of Spitzbergen ; The Boats arrive at the Ice ; Mode of Travelling ; Various Obstacles en- countered ; Compelled to return — Question as to the Practi- cability of reaching the Pole 308 CHAPTER X. EXPEDITIONS TO THE SEAS AROUND BOOTHU. Equipment of the Terror ; Dangers in Hudson's Strait ; Besctmont in the Ice near Frozen Strait ; Series of Dreadful Perils off Southampton Island ; Disablement and Return of the Ship — Boat Voyage of Messrs. Dease and Simpson ; Labyrinth Hay ; Open Inlet from the Polar Sea to Back's Estuary ; South Coasts of Boothia and Victoria Land ; He-entrance into the Copper- mine River — Expedition of Mr. Rae ; Wintering at Repulse Bay ; Exploration of the Gulf of Akkolee to Lord Mayor's Bay and to the vicinitv of the Furv and Hecla Strait 341 CONTENTS. 15 t. CHAPTER XI. THE FRANKLIN EXPEDITIOIT. Equipment nnd Sailing of tho Erebus and the Terror; Public anxiety about tlieir Fate; Comprehensive Plan o. Operations to Searcli for them ; Proceedings of the Herald and the Plover by way of Behring's Strait ; Proceedings of an Overland Party on the Central Parts of tho Arctic American Coasts ; Proceedings of the rnt^rprise and the Investigator by way of Lancaster Sound; Supplementary Measures of Search : Increased Public Anxiety and New Searching Expeditions ; Despatch of the Enterprise and the Investigator to Behring's Strait ; Overland Exploration of the Coasts west of Cape Walker ; New Government Expedition up Baffin's Bay to the Northern Archipolago ; Private Expedition under Sir John Ross; Expeditions at the instance of Lady Franklin ; Expedition from America ; The North Star ; Proceed- ings of the Prince Albert; Last view of the Exploring Ships; Traces of Sir John Franklin 370 CHAPTER XII. THE NORTHERN WHAtE-PISHERY. Objects of the Whale-fishery— Early practised on the Coasts of Europe— First Fishing-voyages to the Arctic Sea— Disputes between the different Nations— Accommodation effected— Dutch Fishery- English Fishery ; Its slow Progress and ultimate Success— Various Attempts to form Fishing Settle- ments on the Arctic Shores— Mode of conducting the Fishery —Equipment— Voyage— Attack and Capture of the Whale- Operation of Flensing, &c.— Situations in which tho Fishery is carried on ; Its Dangers— Various Shipwrecks and Acci- dents—Recent Changes in the Fishing-stations ; Increased V 16 CONTENTS. Dangers— Capital invested in the Trade ; Its Produce ; Ports whence it is carried on— Disasters and Shipwrecks of 1830 ; Adventures on the Ice ; Extrication ofthe remaining Vessels ; General Results— Abstract of the Whalo-fishings from 1815 to 1834 inclusive— Statement from 1835 to 1842 -Details for 1843 and 1844 Page 422 OHAPTER Xlir. ARCTIC GEOLOGY. North Cape — Cherio Island, with its Secondary Sandstones, Coal, and Plutonian Rocks — Hope Island, and the Thousand Islands — Spitsbergen, its Moantain-scenery, its Primitive, Transition, Secondary, Tertiary, and Alluvial Rocks— Mot- fen Island, of Recent Formation ; Low Island, of Transition Formation ; Waldou Isle, of Primitive Rocks— Ross's Islet, the most northern known Land, composed of Granite-gneiss, with imbedded Precious Garnet — Remarks— Jan Mayen's Island, a Volcanic Island ; Two Volcanoes described— Old Greenland — East Coast of Greenland, very wild and rugged —Werner Mountains, 6000 Feet high ; Rocks, Primitive, Transition, Secondary, and Plutonian ; Of the Secondary Rocks, the most important, as being intimaioly connected with the Antediluvian Climate of Greenland, are those of ♦he Coal Formation, which Scoresby discovered, forming Jameson's Land— West Coast of Greenland, equally rugged and wild with the East Coast ; Hot Spring there ; the pre- vailing Rocks Primitive, containing rare and beautiful Simple Minerals ; Transition Rocks seldom met with ; Considerable Depositions of Secondary and Tertiary Rocks in some Places — Barrow's Strait— Melville Island interesting to the Geolo- gist, from its containing the old Coal Formation— Port Bowen— Islands and Countries bordering on Hudson's Bay examined and partly discovered by Captain Parry- Con- cluding Remarks 480 • *-', - vv"'' ? V' IKI/ «n 7(1 «(| A(> 4" .V) 20 StntV'ii fii:<»/{ni.(.\ AvA/i'.v •(>..//, Ci^' 'liil'iifl. ..a' :!;'■■ >* »«lliiu>l j.'" a1 ........g^tj^-M^i^f -'••'< t\'i>nnj l\ II A I'i V I N ■ S 'V"//, / t'//iT\/illlt/ll /Vv/i'A 70 l.'llM'll.i fl^,. .Soincrscl Jpy H ^, Hi>.ifnnit/i I «« [ft-nrifllit t, ■■ lYmhiluiii /■■ Scrolls hiL-t/^^-''"*''"""' \' /.IIIIM'II ^' h t'. /hi/Mill Triiin /IIkiiii' fimiiiiii/ )(|»lavv.s' S(iiiii•/.„/> ■' '■ ' " " ' \tirh'' \^'^^\ni:il<>ii^i-r .■7. ,,N \l,liill.s" 'iutlmi.tl lithl r.Cli!!sl,«- 7^ ^ .' k'T '>'"'^'./4 11 , Mies !^ ^ \ II »'! I) S (> N ,S I ,iii£^'''f<'^"""i j I,, tail" .'i '4^ -L fiiehiiumili-t ,^ 80 V|.|iili('l'" C.FillM' •/ .fllllK-Ntlll'sl..^. •iliTI'iUil . .fllllK-Ntlll'sl. ""• l"x o Asia, — a project so often attempted and so long aban- doned,— was by consequence again revived ; and the more daring scheme of penetrating to tho Polo itself had likewise been seriously proposed. Of the complete success of either plan tho hopes of sober thinkers were indeed extremely slender ; yet the prospect held forth seemed to bo more inviting, on the whole, than at any former period when such bold undertakings were attempted. The discovery of a north-west passage, were it e or attainable, could hardly, it is true, be of any i-eal benefit to our commerce ; since in such high latitudes, where alone it could be found, it would at all times be very precarious, and liable to interrup- tion from the prevalence of ice. The scheme of actually reaching that northern point on the surface of our globe which terminates its axis of rotation, however interest- ing in a philosophical view, can only be regarded as an object of pure curiosity, and not likely to lead to any useful or practical results. Yet was it befitting the character of a great maritime nation to embrace every chance of improving geogrorlii?n7 knowledge, as well as of ex( ,ding the basis of nnt'iial c iti'^e ; and '^ro.wd- ingly, about sixty years a' . •' ■ '^<. ^ of Aduilialty resolved to fit out an expeduioii ior the express purpose of exploring the Arctic Ocean. The books and memoirs which contained the latest accounts of the state of the northern seas, either sug- gested the enterprise then pui-sued, or were brought xccssive or thrt'o lipa ein- cnerally I sudden piituroua , it was jr mnny i at last, ani' ("s- (\f --'■ 0 ng uban- and the olo itself complete cere were lelJ forth than at ngs were passage, true, bo in such it would intcrrup- actually our globe interest- ded OS an id to any tting the ace every as well J oooi^vd- dmaalty 3 purpose ;he latest ther sug- brought CLIMATB. 19 forward in consequence '>f its adoption. Th<' Honour- chap. I. able Daincs Harrington, a innn of learning and eoniu i,,,!,,"," ingenuity, embraced with ardour the opinion of those luningtwi. who believed that it was possible to reach the Pole. In successive papers, communicotcd to tlio Royal Society of London, he not only condensed tlio information fur- nished by the older voyagers, but exhibited the results of the numerous queries relating to the same object, which ho had circulated among persons engaged in the Greenland fishery. He thence proved, that, in certain soimnn for favourable seasons, the Arctic Seas are for several weeks voyBKiiiK. 80 open that intrepid navigators might safely ji -net rate to a very liigh latitude. In compliance with iis san- guine representations, the Admiralty in 1773 des^ atched Captain Fhipps to explore those regions ; but thi ' com- mander was unsuccessful in the attempt, having reached only the latitude of 80^ degrees, when his shi| got surrounded by a body of ice near Spitzbergen, and escaped with extreme difficulty, though many of the whalers had in that summer advanced farther. Mr Barrington did not, however, despair ; and, following cxpwimenu. out his views, he induced Mr Nairnc and Dr Higgins to make experiments on the congelation of sea-water. The various facts were collected in a small volume, to which Colonel Beaufoy subjoined an appendix contain- ing the answers made to his queries by Russian hunters (who are accustomed to spend the whole year in Spitz- bergen), relative to the probability of travelling from that island to the Pole during winter, in iledges drawn } Y rein-deer. The reports of these hardy men were | sufficiently discouraging. They pictured the winter ut Spitzbergen as not only severe but extremely bois- terous, the snow falling to the depth of three or five feet, and drifting so much along the shores by the violence of the winds as often to block up all communi- cation. The danger of being surprised and overwhelmed by clouds of snow, raised in sudden gusts, was so great that they never ventured to undertake any long journeys over the ice. Nor did they tlilnk it at all practicable issian utertL 20 CLIMATE. Education CHAP. I. to hare loaded sledges dragged over a surface so rough — and hilly by the force of rein-deer or dogs. Mr. Scovesby. -^t a recent period, the speculations of Mr Scoresby presented more than ordinary claims to attention, as exhibiting the conclusions of a diligent, accurate, and scientific observer. Trained from infancy to the navi- gation of the frozen seas under the direction of his father, a most enterprising and successful leader, he conjoined experience with ingenuity and judgement. For several years, during the intervals of his Greenland voyages, he prosecuted a regular course of study at the University of Edinburgh, which, enriching his mind with liberal attainments, gave a new impulse to his native genius and ardour. It was exceedingly to be regretted, that any jealousies or ofHcial punctilios should have prevented government from intrusting the principal command of the Polar expedition to him who not only proposed it originally, but whose talents and science, joined to his activity, perseverance, and enthu- siasm, afforded assuredly the best promise of its ultimate success. Hans Egede, a benevolent enthusiast, formed a plan Hans Egede. ^f reclaiming the natives of Greenland from the errors of Paganism. After various ineffectual attempts, he at last procured by subscription, in Denmark, the sum of £2000, with which he purchased a vessel, and carried his family and forty settlers to Baal's River, in the Baal s river, q^^)^ degree of north latitude, where he landed on the 3d of July 1721. He was afterwards appointed mis- sionary, with a small salary, by the Danish govern- ment, which occasionally granted some aid to the colony. During his stay, which lasted till 1736, he laboured witli great zeal in his vocation. In 1767, the year before hh death, he printed his Description of Greenland^ in the Danish language, at Copenhagen. A translation of that work, much improved and enlarged, with useful addi- tions by the editor, contains valuable information, tinged with a largo portion of credulity. It is remarkable that two centuries of extreme ac- CLIMATE. 31 m tlvity should have added so little to our knowledge of chap l the Arctic regions. The relations of the earlier navi- Litti^ow- gators who sailed to those parts possess an interest which leUse uc- has not been yet eclipsed. The voyage of Martens from *i'*'''^ Hamburg to Spitsbergen may be cited as still the most instructive. But the best and completest woilj; on the subject of the northern fisheries, is a treatise in three volumes octavo, translated from the Dutch language into French by Bernard de Reste, and published at Paris in 1801, under the title Hietoire des Pechegy des Decouvertes at des EtabUssemens des Hollandais duns les Mers du Nord. The Arctic expedition, which in 1818 attracted the Objects of attention of the public, proposed two distinct objects, peditkit's.^*' — to advance towards the Pole, and to explore a north- west passage to China. These were no doubt splendid schemes ; but, in order to form a right estimate of the plan and some anticipation of its probable results, it was necessary to proceed with caution, and to employ the lights of science. The facts alleged, respecting the viist islands or continents of ice recently separated and dispersed from the Arctic regions, gave occasion to much loose reasoning, to wild and random conjectures, and Conjectiu'ea. visionary declamation. Glowing anticipations were con- fidently formed of the future amelioration of climate, which would scarcely be hazarded even in the dreams of romance. Every person possessing a slight tincture of pliysical science conceives himself qualified to spe- culate concerning the phenomena of weather, in which he feels a deep interest ; and hence a very flimsy and spurious kind of philosophy, however trifling or des- picable it may appear in the eyes of the few who are accustomed to think more profoundly, gained cur- rency among certain classes of men, and engendered uo small share of conceit. Meteorology is a complex „ ^ , ,. u J- X • • 1 Meteorology, science, depending on so many subordmate prmciples tliat require the union of accurate theory with a range of nice and various observations as to have advanced very slowly towards perfection. 22 CLIMATE. CHAP. I. EsuKKi-rated reports. Periodical t'linuation of lee. I'emperature of the earth. With regard to the nature and real extent of the change ^ which had taken place in the condition of the icy seas, the reports were no doubt greatly exaggerated. To re- duce thein to their just amount, it would be necessary to estimate the annual effects produced in those regions, andlikewise to compare the observations of a similar kind made by experienced navigators at former periods. From a critical examination of the various facts left on record, it will perhaps appear that the Arctic Seas have been more than once, in the course of the last lialf-century, as open as they are now represented. To discuss with accuracy the question of the periodical formation and destruction of the Polar ice, it becomea necessary to explain the true principles which regul-^te the distribution of heat over the globe. This I nV-S^ attempt to perform, independently of every hypoliipsis, by a direct appeal to experiment and observation. If at any place we dig into the ground, we shall find, by the insertion of a thermometer, that as we successively descend we approach constantly to some limiting tempe- rature, which under a certain depth continues unchanged. The point of this equilibrium varies in different soils, but seldom exceeds thirty or fifty feet. If the excavation be made about the commencement of winter, the tempera- ture will appear to increase in the lower strata ; but on the contrary, if the pit be formed in the beginning of summer, it will be found to grow colder in proportion as we descend.* Hence it is manifest that the mass of the earth transmits very slowly the impressions of heat or of cold received at its surface. The external tempera- ture of any given day will perhaps take nearly a month * In the dreary climate of Hudson's Bay, it is remarked by the residents, that, even during the summer months, in digging through the ground for a grave, they always come at the depth of a few feet to a stratum of frozen earth. — A singular feature of the remoter Arctic tracts is the frequent appearance of red snow. This deception is occasioned by the interspersed multi- tudes of minute plants, now termed Protococcus Nivalis, a species oiAlgcB, whicli penetrate to a great depth tlirough the snow, aud vegetate in the severest weatner. CLIMATE. 23 to penetrate one foot into the ground. By digging CHAP. I, downwards in summer we soon reach, therefore, the Foriiierlm. impressions of the preceding spring and winter ; but the pressions. same progress into the ground brings us back to the temperatures of the autumn and of the summer. Still lower, all the various fluctuations of heat become inter- mingled and confounded in one common mean. Such observations are more easily and correctly made, Mode of ob- by having thermometers, with long stems, sunk to ^^^''•*^'""- different depths in the ground ; and, from an extensive register, we may conclude that the temperature of the ground is always the mean result of the impressions made at the surface during a series of years. The suc- cessive strata, therefore, at great depths, may be regarded as permanent records of the average state of the weather in distant ages. Perhaps the superficial influence will Descent oi scarcely descend fifty feet in the lapse of a century, infl^e^p "' Copious springs, which percolate the bowels of the earth and rapidly convey the impressions of subterranean heat to the surface, will consequently furnish the most accurate reports of the natural register of climate. These, if rightly chosen, differ not sensibly in their temperature at all seasons ; and, whether they have their seat at a depth of one hundred or of five hundred feet, they affect the thermometer alike.* We are hence entitled to con- clude, that however the weather may have varied from year to year, or changed its character at intervals of short • The celebrated fountain of Vaucluse, situated in the latitude of 43° 55', and 360 feet above the level of the Mediterranean Sea, has been observed to acquire its highest temperature about the first day of September, and to reach the lowest at the be- § inning of April ; the former being SG^.S, and the latter 54°.], y Fahrenheit's scale ; which gives 65°.2 for its mean heat, Tlie waters are collected from the fissures of an extensive limestone rock, and seem to receive the superficial impressions in the space of three months. They burst forth witn such a volume as to form, only a few yards below their source, the translucid Sorgue, a river scarcely inferior, in the quantity of its discharge, to the Tay above the town of Perth. 24 CHAP. I. Mode of ex- plaining the t'ucto. In pits. Source of penimnt:ut lieut. Effect of winds. CLIMATE. periods of years, it has yet undergone no material altera- tion during the lapse of many ages. Some philosophers attempt to explain such facts as are now stated, from the supposed internal heat of the glohe, caused by the action of central fires ; and pretend, in support of their favourite hypothesis, that the tempera- lure always increases near the bottom of very deep mines. But this observation holds only in paiiicular situations, where the warm exhalations from the burning of lamps and the breathing of the workmen are collected and confined under the roofs of the galleries. In the case of an open pit the effect is quite reversed, the bottom being always colder than the mean temperature. This is owing to the tendency of the chill air to descend by its superior density. The superficial impressions of heat and cold are thus not sent equally downwards ; so that the warmth of summer is dissipated at the mouth of the pit, while the rigours of winter are collected below. A similar modification of temperature occura in deep lakes, in consequence of the disposition of the colder and denser portions of the water always to sink down. The permanent heat of the ground is, therefore, pro- duced by the mere accumulation of external impressions received, either directly from the sun's rays, or circuit- ously through the medium of atmospheric influence, But air is better fitted for diffusing than for storing up heat. The whole mass of the atmosphere, it may be easily shown, does not contain more heat than a stratum of water only ten feet thick, or one of earth measuring fifteen feet. According to their relative temperature, the winds, in sweeping along the ground, either abstract or communicate warmth. But the sun is the great and original fountain of heat, which the internal motion excited in the atmosphere only serves to distribute more equally over the earth's surface. The heat imparted to the air, or to the ground, is always proportional to the absorption of the solar beams ; and hence the results are still the same, whether we embrace the simple theory, ,|f--»*. ,.;■. ^\ '■. 1,'^'T'; CLIMATEt 25 pro- that heat is onl}' the subtile fluid of light in a state of chap. i. combination with its substratum, or prefer the opinion that light has always conjoined with it a certain admix- ture of the invisible matter of heat. Owing to the spherical form of the earth, and the Form of the obliquity of its axis, very different quantities of light or ^' '*^ heat are received in the several latitudes. The same portion of heat, which would raise the temperature of 135 pounds of water a degree on Fahrenheit's scale, is only capable of melting one pound of ice. The measure of ice dissolved is therefore the simplest and most correct standard for estimating the quantity of heat expended in that process. If we apply calculation to actual experi- Solar heat at ment, we shall find that the entire and unimpaired light and riiel "^ of the sun would, at the Equator, at the mean latitude of 66°, and at the Pole, respectively, be sufficient to melt a thickness of ice expressed by 38.7, 26.9, and 13.4 feet. Of this enormous action, the greatest portion is no doubt wasted in the vast abyss of the ocean; and, of the remainder, a still larger share is perhaps detained and dissipated in the upper atmosphere, or projected again in a soft phosphorescence. Yet the light which, after those diminutions, finally reaches the surface of the earth, if left to accumulate there, would create such inequality of temperature as must prove quite insup- portable. The slow-conducting quality of the ground, if not Conductinu altered by extraneous influence, would fix the heat fi'iaHty of where it was received, end thus perpetuate the effect of the unequal action of tLe sun's beams. The mobility ot the atmosphere hence performs an important office in the economy of nature, as the great regulator of the system, dispensing moderate warmth, and attempering the extremities of climate over the face of the globe. As the heat accumulates within the tropics, it occasions currents of cold air to rush from the higher latitudes. But the activity of the winds thus raised, being propor- tional to their exciting cause, must prevent it from ever surpassing certain limits. A perpetual commerce of hea^ 26 CLIMATE. CHAP. I. Int(;rchanKe of liiiat and cold. Aerial cur- reuis. I H between the Poles and the Equator is hence maintained by the agency of opposite currents in the atmosphere. These currents often have their direction modified ; and they may still produce the same effects, by pursuing an oblique or devious course. The actual phenomena of climate only require the various winds, throughout the year, to advance southwards or northwards at the mean rate of about two miles an hour, or to perform in effect three journeys of transfer annually from the Equator to either Pole. Not that these currents carry the impres- sions of heat or cold directly from one extremity of the globe to the other, but by their incessant play they contribute, in the succession of ages, to spread them gradually over the intervening space. The system of opposite aerial currents leads to the same law of the gradation of temperature in different latitudes, as the celebrated Professor Mayer of Gottingen deduced from an empirical process.* It would appear that the variation of the mean temperature at the level of the sea is always proportional to the sine of twice the latitude. Thus, for the parallels of every five degrees, the arrangement is simple : — Latitude. Mean Temperature, Latitude. Mean Temperature. 0° 84° 60° 63°.5 6° 83°.8 65° 49°.2 10° 82°.4 60° 46°.0 16° 80°.7 65° 41°.3 20° 77°.9 70° 38°.l 26° 74°.9 75° 35°.6 30° 70°.9 80° 33°.6 36° 67°.0 85° 32°.4 40° 62°.4 90° 32° 46° 68°.0 t • This proposition admits of a mathematical demonstration, but which is too intricate for the present discourse. + Perhaps the gradation of temperature would, in the higher latitudes, require a small modification. Instead of assuming ,32° as the medium at the Pole, it might be more exact to adopt 28°, or the melting-point of the ice of sea-water. But the ro« CLIMATE. 27 System of currents. The arithmetical mean, or 60% corresponds to the CHAP. I. middle latitude of 46° ; but the real mean of the tem- perature over the whole surface of the globe is 67°, which should occur on the parallel of 36° 61^' It thus appear, that the system of currents main- tained in the atmosphere contributes essentially, by its unceasing agency in transferring and dispersing heat, to prevent the excessive inequality of seasons in the higher latitudes. But the motions produced in such a vast mass of fluid must evidently follow, at long intervals, the accumulated causes which excite them. Hence probably the origin of those violent winds which, suc- ceeding to the sultry warmth of summer and the sharp frosts of winter, prevail in the months of September and March, and are therefore called by seamen the Equinoc- Equinoctitii tial Gales. In the Arctic Seas nature has made a fur- gales. ther provision for correcting the excessive irregularity of the action of the sun's rays. This luminary, for several months in winter, is totally withdrawn from that dreary waste ; but, to compensate for his long absence, he continues during an equal period in summer to shine without interruption. Now, from a beautiful arrangement, the surface of the ocean itself, by its alter- nate freezing and thawing, presents a vast substratum, cent voyagers have registered the coldness in advancing north- wards as much more intense. It is evident, however, that their thermometrical observations must have been affected by acme latent and material inaccuracy. Were the mean tem- perature of the Arctic regions really below the point of saline congelation, the annual formation of ice in those seas would exceed the quantity dissolved, and therefore the extension of the frozen fields would, contrary to fact, be constantly pro- gressive. This argument appears to be quite conclusive • til ough some attempts are made to elude its force, by alleging that thick blocks of ice, transmitting the impressions of cold with extreme slowness, may confine and exasperate the atmo spheric rigours. But ice conducts like water near the freezing point, when this fluid conveys the external influence of heat and cold as a solid mass, unassisted by the translocation of its l)articles, which can occur only in the case of sensible expan- sions. The formation and dissolution of ice are therefore simi- lar acts, that contribute equally to mitigate the vicissitudes of thu Arctic climate. 'JS CLIMATE. I !i CHAP. I. on which the excesses of heat and of cold in succession Temperature w^ mutually spent. In ordinary cases, the superficuil of the oceun. water, as it cools and therefore contracts, sinks down into the abyss by its superior gravity ; but when it grows warmer it expands, and consequently floats in- cumbent, communicating afterwards its surplus heat with extreme slowness to the mass below. But the seas within the Arctic circle being always near the verge of congelation, at which limit water scarcely undergoes any sensible alteration of volume even from a consider- able change of temperature, the superficial stratum remains constantly stagnant, and exposed to receive all the variable impressions of the sweeping winds. The piercing cold of winter, therefore, spends its rage in freezing the salt water to a depth proportional to its intensity and continuance.* The prolonged warmth of summer, again, is consumed in melting those fields of ice, every inch of which in thickness requiring aa much absorption of heat as would raise the temperature ot a body of water 10^ feet thick a whole degree. The summer months are hence nearly gone before the sun can dissolve the icy domes, and shoot with entire effect his slanting rays. It may be shown, that under the Pole the action of the solar light is, at the time of the solstice, one -fourth part greater than at the Equator, and sufficient in the course of a day to melt a sheet of ice an inch and a half thick. If horizontal winds serve to balance the unequal ac- tion of the solar beams over the surface of the globe, the rising and descending currents excited in the body of the atmosphere still more effectually maintain the equilibrium of day and night. After the ground has Kent of isuiuuier. rqiiilibrinm ujuiiitained. " At Melville Island, in the hititudo of 74° 45', Captain Parry observed ice to form, of a thickness from three to five inches, around the ship's sides in the space of twenty-four hours ; and in one instance it gained in that time the thickness of 7^ inches, Fahrenheit's thermometer being then 12' below zero. Such power of congelation^ it might be computed, would require the nill refrigerating action of a stratum of air, at that tempera- ture, r&..her raore than a mile in height. CLIMATE. 99 ain the md has ^i; in Parry 5 inches, rs ; ancl inches, . Such uire tho i empera- becoitie heated by the direct illumination of the sun, it CHAr. i. warms the lowest portion of the incumbent air, which, Reaction m being thus dilated, begins to ascend, and therefore oc- the air. cosions the descent of an equal portion of the fluid. But these vertical currents, being once created, will continue their motion long after the primary cause has ceased to impel them, and may protract, during the night, the accumulation of chilled air on the surface of the earth. This effect is further augmented, in general, by the fri- AuRmpnta- gorific impressions which are at all times darted down- ^^!^^^^ "'* wards from a clear sky.* By the operation of this combined system, therefore, the diurnal vicissitudes of heat and cold are diminished in the temperate and torrid zones. Another consequence results from such rapid and continual interchange of the higher and lower strata, that the same absolute quantity of heat must obtain at every altitude in the atmosphere. But this equal distribution of heat at all elevations is >rociif>Mn(t modified by another principle, which causes the regular ^^^^^^ gradation upwards of a decreasing temperature. In fact, air is found to have its capacity or attraction for heat enlarged by rarefaction ; so that any portion of the fluid carried to the higher regions, where it by conse- quence expands, will have its temperature proportionally diminished. The decrease of temperature in ascending the atmosphere, to moderate heights, is not far from being uniform, at tlie rate of about one degree on Fah- renheit's scale for every hundred yards of elevation. + • See Supplement to the Encycbppcdia Britannioa, vol. iii. Eart i. p. 17/ ; or Transactions of the Royal Society of Edin- urgh, vol. viii, part ii. p. 465. t It should be remarked, however, that at great elevations the law of equal decrements of heat suflFcrs a considerable de- viation. In the higher regions of the atmosphere the decrease of temperature advances proportionally faster. Such is the conclusion drawn from some nice experiments, and confirmed by a comparison of numerous actual observations. It may bo sufficient to notice here a few distinct results. Thus, while at the level of tlio sea the mean temperature of the air or the land is, in the tropical regions, one degree colder for each hundred yards of ascent, it suffbra the same decrease at the elevation of one mile for every 92 yards, at two miles for 85 80 CLIMATE. CHAP. I. Limit of per- Iiutual cuii- Kulatlun. Heat of wulcr. P^coliilfatlon of ctild In Peculliir cir- cuiustimces oi the Arctic Scus. IIoDco tho limit of perpetual congelation forms a curve, whlcli is nearly tho same as the Companion of the Cycloidy bonding gradually from the Equator, reverting its in- lloxure at the latitude of 45°, and grazing tho surface lit tlio Pole. The mean heights of eternal frost, under tho Equator, and at the latitudes of 30° and G0°, are re- spectively 16207, 11404, and 3018 feet. It is important to remark, that tho heat of large colleetiona of water seldom agrees precisely with the mean temperature corresponding to tho latitude. The variable impressions received at the surfjice from the atmosphere will not, as on land, ponctratc slowly into the mass, and become mingled and .'qualized at a mo- derate depth. Heat is conducted throajh liquids chiefly by the internal play resulting from their partial expan- sion. In the more temperate regions of the globe, tho superficial waters of lakes or seas, as they grow warmer, and, therefore, specifically lighter, still remain suspended by their acquired buoyancy. But whenever they come to be chilled they suffer contraction, and are precipitated by their greater densi( y. Hence the deep water, both of lakes And of seas, it, always considerably colder than what floats at the surface. The gradation of cold is distinctly traced to the depth of twenty fathoms, below which tho diminished temperature coiitiuues neorly uniform as far as tho sounding-line can reach. In shallow seas, however, the cold substratiun of liquid is brought nearer to the top. The increasing coldness of water, drawn up from tho depth of only a few fathoms, may hence indicate to the navigator who traverses the wide ocean his approach to banks or land. These principles, however, do not apply to the pe- culiar circumstances of the Arctic Seas. Water differs essentially, in its expansion by heat, from mercury, oil, yards, at three miles for 78 yards, at four miles for 72 yards, and at five miles, tho highest s\immit perhaps of our globe, the decrement of a degree for 60' yards. Witlini the Arctic circle tho gradation of cold, iu ascending the atmosphere, must bo dcc^'edlv more rapid. CLIMATE. 31 , of large with the ide. The from the lowly into I at a mo- lds chiefly ial expan- globe, the \v warmer, suspended they come recipitatcd rater, both older than of cold is )ms, below les nearly each. In ' liquid is oldness of ,v fathoms, .verses the to the pe- ater differs rcury, oil, Dr /2 yards, r globe, the Ivctio circle L'C, must bo i or alcohol : Far from dilating uniformly, — a property chap. I. which fits the latter substances for the construction of Expuiision thermometers, — it swells from the point of congelation, by la-ut. or rather a very few degrees above it, with a rapid pro- gression to that of boiling. Near the limit of its greatest contraction, the volume of water is scarcely affected at all by any alteration of heat. When the surface of the ocean is depressed to a temperature between 20 and 44 degrees of Fahrenlieit's scale, it remains almost stagnant, and therefore exposed to the full impression of external cold. Hence the Polar Seas arc always ready, under Aptitiuii! for the action of any frosty wind, to suffer congelation. «"" ! Dissipation of the shoali of Ice. Dantrorous uuvi^'ution Excessive hcut. I'! M and its icy dome broken up with tremendous rupture. The enormous fields of ice, thus set afloat, are, by the violence of wind and currents, again dissevered and dis- persed. Sometimes, impelled in opposite directions, they approach and strike with a mutual shock, like the crash of worlds, — sufficient, if opposed, to reduce to atoms, in a moment, the proudest monuments of human power. It is impossible to picture a situation more awful than that of the crew of a whaler, who see their frail bark thus fa' dly enclosed, expecting immediate and inevitable destruction. Before the end of June, the shoals of ice in the Arctic Seas are commonly divided, scattered, and dissipated. But the atmosphere is then almost continually damp, and loaded with vapour. At this season of tlie year, a dense fog generally covers the surface of the sea, of a milder temperature indeed than the frost-smoke, yet produced by the inversion of the same cause. The lower stratum of air, as it successively touches the colder body of water, becomes chilled, and thence disposed to deposit its moisture. Such thick fogs, with mere gleams of clear weather, infesting the north- em seas during the greater part of the summer, render their navigation extremely dangerous. In the course of the month of July, the superficial water is at last brought to an equilibrium of temperature with the air, and the sun now shines out with a bright and dazzling radiance. For a certain time before the close of the summer, such excessive heat is accumulated in the bays and sheltered spots, that the tar and pitch are sometimes melted, and run down the ships' sides. Notwithstanding the shortness of the summer in the high latitudes, the air on land becomes often oppressive- ly sultry. This excessive heat, being conjoined with moisture, engenders clouds of mosquitoes, from the stings of which the Laplanders are forced to seek refuge in their huts, where they envelop themselves in dense smoke. Humidity marks the general character of the Arctic regions, which are covered during the greater li n CLIMATE. 86 part of the year with chilh'ng fogs. The sky seldom chap, i appears clear except for a few weeks in winter, when ^,,gg~ ^^^ the cold at the surface hecomes most intense. Yet the wind. rigour of that season is not felt so severely as the thermo- meter would indicate. When the temperature is lowest the air is commonlv calm, and therefore abstracts less heat from the body than the exposure to a strong wind of much inferior coldness. The providence of the na- tives serves to mitigate the hardships they have to suffer. The Esquimaux, on the approach of winter, cut the hard ice buiidin© ice into tall square blocks, with which they construct regular spacious domes, connected with other smaller ones, for the various purposes of domestic economy. They shape the inside with care, and give it an even glossy surface by the affusion of water. The snowy wall soon becomes a solid concrete mass, which, being a slow conductor, checks the access of cold, while it admits a sufficient portion of light. It may also be remarked, that the external darkness prevails only during a part of the day. Since twilight obtains when- Twilight ever the sun is less depressed than 18 degrees below the horizon, the limits of entire obscuration occur in the latitudes of 84^° and 48^° ; in the former at mid-day in the winter solstice, and in the latter at midnight in the solstice of summer. Between these extremes the atmosphere at the opposite seasons glows, to a gT3ater or a less extent, from the middle of the day or of the night. Accordingly, Captain Parry's party, during their detention at Melville Island, in the latitude of 74 40', found that, in clear weather about noon, they could easily, in the depth of winter, read the smallest print on deck. This position corresponds to the alternating parallel of 68° 20', which nearly reaches Orkney, where the transparency of the nights in the height of summer is well known.* The approach of twilight is, besides, * This view of the subject deserves perhaps more elucidation. The inhabitant of a temperate climate may hence form a better cuncei)tiou of the progressive glimmer of an Arctic winter. In a high uortberu latitude the dusky glow at uoon in mid-winter 3d CLIMATE. CHAP. I. advanced in the frozen regions by the superior refractive Refraction, power of a very dense atmosphere. The horizontal refraction usually raises the lower limb of the sun and moon about the twelfth part of their diameters, and often gives it a wavy and fantastic outline. Hence the reappearance of those luminaries ia hastened within the Arctic circle, though the quantity of anticipation has been much exaggerated. The ice which obstructs the navigation of the Arctic Seas consists of two very different kinds ; the one pro- duced by the congelation of fresh, and the other by Mid-winter niuun. exactly resembles the summer twilight in some corresponding latitude farther south. Let L and / denote the two northern latitudes, D and d the north or south declination of the sun ; then will the depression of this luminary below the horizon be expressed in winter by d+ L— 90°, and in summer by 90° — D— /. Assuming 23^° for D and d, the depressions at the solstitial points will be respectively L— 66^° and 66^° — /; and conse- quently reckoning the limit of darkness when the sun is 18° below the horizon, L— 66J°=18°, and 66^°— /=18°, and L = 84^°, and /=48^°, being the latitudes where the gleam at mid- day in winter and the twilight at midnight in summer first appear. But in general, the latitudes of equal obscurity or illumination are evidently included in the simple formula L+l = 133". Hence this equivalent table : — At the Pole. 84^° m 85° 48° 86" 47° 87" 46° 88° 45° 89» 44° 90" 43° At the Pole, therefore, it is as dark at noon in the depth of winter as it is at midnight in the summer solstice at the lati- tude of 43°. But a modification may possibly be required. We should probably come nearer the truth to assume, as the limit of darkness, a depression of "20 for the Arctic regions (where the horizontal refraction is so much increased by excessive cold), and only 16° for the milder climates. The table would then stand thus : — BH" 50.3 87° 50° 88" 49° 89" 48° DO" 47° M CLIMATE. 37 that of salt water. In those inhospitahle tracts, the chai» l snow, which annually falls on the islands or continents, Diffe^„j being again dissolved by the progress of the summer's ices, heat, pours forth numerous rills and limpid streams, which collect along the indented shores, and in the deep bays enclosed by precipitous rocks. There this clear and gelid water soon freezes, and every successive year supplies an additional investing crust, till, after the lapse perhaps of several centuries, the icy mass rises at last to the size and aspect of a mountain, com- mensurate with the elevation of the adjoining cliffs. The melting of the snow, which is afterwards deposited Melting of on such enonnous blocks, likewise contributes to their *""^^" growth ; and by filling up the accidental holes or cre- vices, it renders the whole structure compact and uni- form. Meanwhile the principle of destruction has already begun its operations. The ceaseless agitation of the sea gradually wears and undermines the base of the icy mountain, till at length, by the action of its own accumulated weight, when it has perhaps attained an altitude of a thousand or even two thousand feet, it is torn from its frozen chains, and precipitated, with a tremendous plunge, into the abyss below. This mighty launch now floats like a lofty island on the ocean ; till, driven southwards by winds and cun-cnts, it insen- sibly wastes and dissolves away in the wide Atlantic. Such I conceive to be the real origin of the icy oriein of mountains or icebergs, entirely similar in their for-iccbcixa. mation to the glaciers which occur on the flanks of the Alps and the Pyrenees. They consist of a clear, compact, and solid ice, having the fine green tint verg- ing to blue, which ice or water, when very pure and of a sufficient depth, generally assumes. From the cavities of these icebergs, the crews of the northern whalers are accustomed, by means of a hose or flexible tube of canvass, to fill their casks easily with the finest and softest water. Of the same species of ice, the frag- ments which are picked up as they float on the surface 38 CLIMATE. CHAP. L Free;t1n£r .ear the most frequent ; and about Disco Bay, where '.he soundings exceed 300 fathoms, masses of such enormous dimensions ai'e met with, that the Dutch seamen compare them to cities, and often bestow on them the familiar names of Amsterdam or Haerlem. They are carried towards the Atlantic by the current which generally flows from the north-east, and after they reach the warmer water of the lower latitudes they rapidly dissolve, and finally disappear, probably in the space of a few months. The blocks of fresh- water ice appear black as they qqi^^^ ^f j^g^ float, but show a fine emerald or beryl hue when brought up on the deck. Though perfectly transpa- rent like crystal, they sometimes enclose threads or streamlets of air-bubbles, extricated in the act of con- gelation. This pure ice, being only a fifteenth part lighter than fresh water, must consequently project about one-tenth as it swims on the sea. An iceberg of 2000 feet in height would therefore, after it floated, jc"beigi" still rise 200 feet above the surface of the water. Such, perhaps, may be considered as nearly the extreme di- mensions. Those mountains of ice may even acquire more elevation at a distance from land, both from the snow which falls on them, and from the copious vapours which precipitate and congeal on their surface. But in general they are carried forwards by the current which sets from the north-east into the Atlantic, where, bathed in a warmer fluid, they rapidly waste and dissolve. It may be shown by experiment, that if the water in which they float had only the temperature of 42°, the mass of ice would lose the thickness of an inch every 42 CLIMATE. CHAP. I. hour, or two feet in a day. Supposing the surface of Dissoiwtig 01 *''^® ^^ *° ^® ** ^2°» *^^® ^'^^^y diminution of thicknesa icebergs. ii'i Position in the Arctic regions. Siilt-wuter ic& would be doubled, and would therefore amount to four feet. An iceberg having 600 feet of total elevation would hence, on this probable estimate, require 160 days for its dissolution. But the melting of the ice would be greatly accelerated if the mass were impelled through the water by the action of winds. A velocity of only a mile in an hour would triple the ordinary effect. Hence, though large bodies of ice are often found near the banks of Newfoundland, they seldom advance farther, or pass beyond the 48th degree of latitude. Within the Arctic regions those stupendous blocks remain, by their mere inertia, so fixed on the water, as commonly to serve for the mooring of vessels employed in the whale-fishery. In such cases, how- evei', it is a necessary precaution to lengthen the cables, and ride at some distance from the frozen cliff; because the fi'agments of ice, which the seamen term calves^ are frequently detached from the under part of the mass, and, darting upwards, acquire such a velocity in their ascent, that they would infallibly strike holes into the ship's bottom. The ice produced from salt-water is whitish, porous, and almost opaque. It is so dense, from the quantity of strong brine enclosed in its substance, that wheu floating in the sea, it projects only one-fiftieth part above the surface. The porous saline ice has a variable thick- ness, yet seldom exceeding six feet, and which, though during the gi'eater part of the year it covers the Arctic Seas, is annually formed and destroyed ; a small portion only, and at certain seasons, escaping the general wreck. The thaw commonly lasts about three months ; and during that time the heat of the solar itiys, which, though oblique, yet act with unceasing energy, whether applied directly or through the intervention of the air or the water, is sufficient for the dissolution of all the ice pro- duced in the coui'se of the autumn, the winter, and tlie spring. It may be proved by experiment that, imder CLIMATE. 43 the Pole itself, \..ic power of the sun at the solstice could, CHAP. I. in the space of a week, melt a sti-atum of five inches of p ' ice. We may hence fairly compute the annual effect to sun. be sufficient for thawing to the depth of forty inches. It sliould likewise be observed, that, owing to the prevailing haziness of the atmosphere in the northern latitudes, there can scarcely exist those singular cold emanations which always dart from an azure sky, and in the more temperate climates diminish the calorific action of the sun often by one-fifth part. On tliis account, perhaps, the estimate of the annual destruction of Polar ice may be raised to a thickness of four feet. As heat is absorbed in the process of thawing, so it is Huat again evolved in the act of congelation. The annual formation and destruction of ice within the Arctic circle is thus a beautiful provision of Nature for mitigating the excessive inequality of temperature. Had only dry land been there opposed to the sun, it would have been ab- solutely scorched by his incessant beams in summer, yet pinched during the darkness of winter by the most intense and penetrating cold. None of the animal or Etfert ot vegetable tribes could have at all supported such ex- ^'^'^''• tremes. But in the actual arrangement the surplus heat of summer is spent in melting away tha ice ; and its deficiency in winter is partly supplied by the influence of the progress of congelation. As long as ice remains to thaw, or water to freeze, the temperature of the at- mosphere can never vary beyond certain limits. Such is the harmony of the system ; and all experience and observation confirm the belief that it is not subject to any radical change. Some years may chance to fonn Ann„„i more ice than others, or to melt more away ; but it chantjea. were idle to expect any thing like a general or permanent disruption of the glacial crust which binds the regions of the north. Even were this ice once removed, a similar collection would soon succeed, since it is always the eflFect, and not the cause, of the disposition of the atmos- j)here, which it really serves to temper. We should be guilty of the most vicious reasoning in a circle, if we 44 CLIMATE. CIlAl'. I. Influencu oil lower Ittti- tuduik Reduction of ieo. Cliimerical idetis. maintained that ice first cooled the air, and that tliis cold air next increased the fields of ice. But, whatever he the vicissitudes of the Polar ice, they cannot, in any sensible manner, affect the climates of the lower latitudes. The whole circumjacent space where frost holds his reign bears a very small proportion to the surface of the northern hemisphere. Reckoning from the parallel of sixty degrees, it would not exceed the eighth part ; but, since the gelid region hardly extends below the latitude of seventy-five degrees, it may be stated at the thirty-second part of the hemisphere. On the supposition, therefore, that the Arctic cold were all transferred and infused into the atmosphere of the south, it would yet produce no perceptible alteration of climate. Even if we imagined with Mr Scoresby, that, during the years 1816 and 1817, two thousand square leagues of ice disappeared in the Greenland Seas between the parallels of seventy-four and eighty degrees, this extent would still scarcely exceed half the surface of Ireland. It may be calculated, that the loss of heat on our globe, occasioned by a total eclipse of the sun, reckoning this only equivalent to a complete obscuration for the space of a single hour, is as much as would be absorbed by the thawing of a circle of ice 600 miles in diameter and 160 feet thick. This quantity surpasses at least sixty times the ice-fields dispersed from Greenland, allowing them the mean thickness of thirty feet ; and yet the tempera- ture of the air is never depressed more than a degree or two during the continuance of any solar eclipse. But the idea is quite chimerical, that any winds could ever transport the Polar influence to our shores. It may be proved, from the results of accurate experiment, that a current of air flowing over a warmer surface, whether of land or water, becomes, in the space of an hour, pene- trated with the same temperature through a stratum of eighty feet ; though the limit of actual contact, or of mutual attrition, is confined to a surface not exceeding the 600th part of an inch in thickness. If we assign to \S CLIMATE. 45 it the height of a mil", which is a most ample allowance, chap. r. it would lose all its sharp, vess, and acquire tlio standard Effcorof cold heat in the course of sixty-six hours. Admitting this wiiuli. wind to travel at the rate even of twenty miles each hour, it would consequently spend all its frigorific action in a tract of 1320 miles. Tlie gales from tlie remotest north must thus discharge their store of cold into the German Sea or tlie Atlantic Ocean. Nor could such impressions, though continued through a course of ages, have the smallest power to chill the superficial water ; for the moment any portion of this was cooled, it would, from its increased density, sink down into the vast abyss. The surface would not be affected till after the cooling had, in its progress, pervaded the whole mass from the bottom upwards. According to the calculations Deptii of of Laplace, founded on a comparison of the theory of °'^'^'*"' tides with actual observation, the mean depth of the ocean exceeds ten English miles. Supposing, therefore, a wind blowing from some northerly point, and ten degrees colder than the water, were to sweep over the Atlantic six months every year, at the rate of fifteen miles an hour, it would take 220 years to abstract from that vast body of water a single degree of heat.* Some persons have imagined that the mountains or Influence on islands of ice, which are occasionally drifted into the *""' ^''"""'"• Atlantic Ocean, must be sufficient, by their frigorific influence, to modify the character of our climate. One of the first who advanced that opinion was the ingenious Richard Bradley, fello rV of the Royal Society, and pro- fessor of botany in the University of Cambridge. In " A Survey of tlie Ancient Husbandry and Giardening, col- • It is true chat Laplace, on reviewing his intricate analysis, reduced successively the measure he had assigned for the mean depth of the ocean, without coming to any precise conclusion. But even supposing it were only five miles, or equal to the elevation of the highest mountains, the continued and absolutely concentrated action of the northern winds during more than a century would still bo required, though counteracting causes were excluded, to cool down the mass of the Atlantic one degree. 40 CLIMATR. Urndlcy's ui)iiiluiu SIzo of Ivuliui'ga. II •! CHAP. I. lectcd from the Greek and Roman Writers," printed in octavo at London in 1725, he introduces the folio whig remarkable passage : — " I the rather mention the case of winds becoming cold by mixing with the effluvia of snow or ice, because I have made some remarks upon the tempestuous weather, which often happens about the end of May, or in June, which has in all my observations been brought in by westerly winds ; and again, I as surely find, that at such times large islands of ice and snow are passing to the southward in the Western Ocean, as I liavo been in- formed by several captains of ships that were then coming from our plantations to England. Some of these islands are so large aa to measure sixty miles in length, and yielding so great a vapour, that for a day's voyage on one side of them, the weather has been so huzy that the mariners could not discover what they were ; and this was accompanied with so much cold, that they imagined they had mistaken in their accounts, and got several degrees too far towards the north ; but a day or two explained the matter, and gave them an opportunity of surveying what they had been so much surprised at. Now, considering the extraordinary heat of the sun at the season these appear, the vapour must be very con- sidemble that rises from them, and it is no wonder then, that, as it expands itself, it presses the air with violence enough to cause tempests and carry cold along with it." But a little reflection will convince us that such re- mote influence on our climate must be quite insignificant, tlieir effects. At u very wide estimation, the surface of ice exposed to the winds could never exceed the thousandth part of the whole expanse of the Atlantic Ocean ; consequently the general temperature of the air would not be altered the fortieth part of a degree. Nor could this minute im- pression be wafted to our shores, being invariably spent in the length of the voyage. The opinion which Mr Bradley entertained more than a hundred years ago might have been tolerated in the infancy of physical Insljrnifl- Ciiiico of '-7 ■' CLIMATE. 47 science ; but that the same notion should bo revived, CIIAP. I and proclaimed with confidence at this day, may well excite surprise. These reasonings, which suggested themselves on the Conflrmatiott sailing of tlie first expedition sent by government to"*"'*'''''* explore the Arctic Sens, have been singularly confirmed by the results of the late daring voyages. Captain Parry, by the most vigilant exertions indeed, succeeded, during the brief interval of an open season, to advance from iJaffin's Bay, by Lancaster Sound, above 400 miles westwards, through floating masses of ice, on the parallel of 75 degrees ; but this distance is probably not the third part of the whole space between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. All the subsequent attempts of that J;"r^f"*'* able navigator to penetrate any farther in the same di- rection proved unsuccessful ; and his last laborious efFoil to reach the Pole, by dragging boats over an expanse of rough and braken ice, completely failed. The utmost exertions of the crews scarcely enabled him to proceed, in 1827, three degrees northward from Spitzbergen, and attain the latitude of 02° 46', not far beyond the usual resort of the Greenland whalers. Captain W Idell, without ,iy stimulant of national reward, hud, four yeara previously, the resolution to penetrate to a very great iM'ight in the opposite hemisphere, which is always consid<^red colder and less accessible than the northern, having advanced to the latitude of 74° 16' in an open sea. On the hypothesis that the quantities of ice which Hypothesis encumber the Arctic Seas have been accumulating for a ^(*„g""^^' long succession of yeai's, it is assumed as a fact, that throughout Europe a milder and nioie genial climate had formerly prevailed. A closer inspection of the de- tails, however, will show this supposition to be destitute of any solid support. One hoars continual complaints, indeed, of the altered condition of the seasons, especially from elderly pereons, whose bodily frame has become more susceptible to the impressions of cold ; but sunilar 48 CLIMATE. Answer to such fore- bodings. ilil CHAP. L lamentations have been repeated by the poets and the Fanciful don- Vulgar from the earliest times. If we listened implicitly gers. to such querulous declaimers, we should believe that Nature has spent all her fires, and is hastening fast into decay. Immense forests, it is said, anciently clothed the highest tracts of this island and other northern countries, where scarcely a tree can now be made to grow. The period of vintage was in former ages several weeks earlier in France than at present ; vineyards were planted during the time of the Romans in various parts of the south of England, where at this day even the hop-plant is raised with difficulty ; and the sides of many hills in Scotland bear evident traces of the plough, which have been long since abandoned irretrievably to the dusky heath. But, in answer to such allegations, it may be observed, that a patch of wood will not thrive in cold situations, merely for want of the shelter which is afforded by ex- tensive plantations. In Sweden and Norway, which are mostly covered with natural forests, it has become an object of police to prevent their indiscriminate de- struction. The timber in those sylvan countries is cut at stated periods of its growth, and in detached portions ; the vacant spaces being left as nurseries, embosomed amidst an expanse of tall trees. Some places in Sweden, where the forests have been accidentally destroyed by fire, present the image of sterility and of wide desolation. It is probable that the vines grown in ancient times were coarser and hardier plants than those which are now cultivated. A similar observation extends to all the products of gardening. A succession of diligent culture softens the character of the vegetable tribes, and renders them more delicate, while it heightens the fla- vour of the fruit. The Roman soldiers stationed in Britain would naturally prefer wine, their accustomed beverage, however harsh and poor, to the cervisiOf or unpalatable ale brewed by the rude natives. The marks of tillage Icyl on our northern hills prove only the wretched state of agriculture at a remote period. Anciert vines. CLIMATE. 49 For want of a proper system of rotation, and the due chap. t. application of manure, the starving tenantry were then xncienT tempted to tear up with the plough every virgin spot agrictdture. they could find, and, after extracting from it a pitiful crop or two of oats, to abandon it to a periodical sterility. The cattle in those days, having no sort of provender through the winter but dry straw, were quite feeble and exhausted in the spring. The soil, too, was very stiff, from want of repeated and seasonable tillage. Under such circumstances, it afibrds no proof of any great heat, that the slothful peasants, oppressed with a load of clothes, usually began their operations in the field be- fore sunrise, while preparing the ground for the recep- tion of the barley-seed. It is very difficult to ascertain the precise condition Formci tcm- of the weather in distant ages. The thermometer was P*'"'*'"''*'- not invented tiU 1690, by the celebrated Sanctorio ; nor was that valuable instrument reduced to a correct standard before the year 1724, by the skill of Fahren- lieit. We have hence no observations of temperature which go further back than a century. Prior to this period, we must glean our information from the loose iind scanty notices which are scattered through the old chronicles relative to the state of the harvest, the quality of the vintage, or the endurance of frost and snow in the winter. Great allowance, however, should be made for the spirit of exaggeration and the love of the marvellous whicl' infect all those rude historical monuments. On glancing over the incidental notices of the state unchanffiiig of the weather, it is obvious that no material change ha*- climate m taken place for the last the isand years in the climate ol Europe ; but we may conjecture that it has gradually acquired rather a milder character ; at least instances of excessive severity appear on the whole to be of rarer oc- currence. The weather seems not to affect any precise course of succession, although two or more years of re- markable heat or cold often follow consecutively ; yet there can be no doubt that atmospheric changes, how- ever complicated and perplexing, are as determinate in a 50 CLIMATE. Rotation of seasons. H<)t years. i CUAP. L their nature as the revolutions of the celestial bodies. Meteoroio- When the science of meteorology is more advanced, we gicui science, shall, perhaps, by discovering a glimpse of those vast cycles which result from the varied aspects of the sun combined with the feebler influence of the moon, be at length enabled to predict, with some degree of proba* bility, the condition of future seasons. The intermediate period of nine years proposed by Toaldo, or the semi- revolution nearly of the lunar nodes and apogee, seema not to be altogether destitute of foundation. Thus, of the years remarkably cold, 1622 was succeeded, after an interval of four periods or 36 years, by 1658, whose se- verity lasted through the following season. The same interval brings us to 1695, and five periods more reach to 1740, — a year very famous for cold ; three periods now come down to 1767, nine years more to 1776, and eighteen years more to 1794, the cold continuing through J 795. Of the hot years it may be observed, that four periods of nine years extend from 1616 to 1662, and three such again to 1679. From T701 to 1718 there was an interval of 17 years, or very nearly two periods, while three periods reach to 1745, another period to 1754, and one more falls on 1763 ; and from 1779 to 1788 there are just nine years. The year 1818 would there- fore correspond to 1701, 1719, and 1746, and conse- quently very nearly to 1718. Again, the years 1784, 1793, 1802, and 1811, at the intervals of successive periods, were all of them remarkably warm. The dry season of 1819, and the hot summer of 1831, follow nearly the same sequence. A cycle of 54 years, there- fore, including six of these subordinate periods, has lately been proposed with much confidence, but ap- parently on very slender grounds. If the climate had undergone any real change in the more temperate parts of Europe, a corresponding alter- ation, with very distinct features, must inevitably have taken place in the Arctic regions. But a dispassionate inquiry discovers no circumstances which at all clearly point at such a conclusion. Ou this head we may lifl.ntive alteration. CLIMATE. 51 readily satisfy ourselves by a short retrospect of the chap. i. principal fiicts which have been recorded by voyagers. — Greenland, in its position and general outline, appears areenlaucL to resemble the vast promontory of South America. From Cape Farewell, the Staaten Hoek (States* Pro- montory) of Dutch navigators, situated on a small is- land in the latitude of 60", it stretches, in a north-west- erly direction, to Cape Desolation, and then neai'ly northwards to Good Hope in latitude 64° 10', where it inclines almost a point towards the east, so far as the island of Disco, which occupies a spacious bay in Davis* Strait, between the latitudes of 68° 30' and 71°. Thence the continent extends about due north, beyon''. the lati- tude of 76°, till it is lost in the recesses of Baffin's Bay, On the other side Greenland stretches north-north-east 800 miles, till nearly opposite Iceland, in the latitude of 64°, and then advances almost north-east to the lati- tude of 76°, when, suddenly bending to the north, it holds this direction beyond Spitzbergen and the latitude of 80°. The coast is every where bold and rocky, like Bold coast that of Norway ; and the interior of the country consists of lofty mountains covered with eternal snows. But the western side, which forms Davis' Strait, is indented with numerous bights, creeks, a.nd fiords or firths, which, for the space of two or three months each year, look verdant, and yield tolerable pasturage. The eastern shore, again, which properly bounds the Greenland Seas, can rarely be approached by the whalers, as the accu- mulated stream of ice, which in summer is constantly drifting from the north-east, creates a formidable barrier. The position of this icy boundary, though nearly parallel to the land, is not absolutely fixed, but varies within certain limits in different years. The late survey by Mr Scoresby was therefore not very satisfactory. In Davis' Strait the whalers generally resort to Disco Disco Bay Bay, or push farther north; sometimes as far as the latitude of 76°, to the variable margin of the great icy continent. On the other side of Greenland, about the meridian of eight degrees east from Greenwich, the ice, \ 52 CLIMATE. .<:'• CHAP. I. Whnle- flshei's. Season. Peviod of sailing. Extent of ica in warm seasons, retires to the latitude of 80°, beyond Hakluyt's Headland at the extremity of Spitzbergen ; whiV at other times it advances as far south on the same line as the latitude of 70°, enveloping the whole of that island, bat forming below it a wide bay, called the Whalefisher's Bights on the parallel of Bear Island. The former are called open and the latter cloae seasons. In open seasons the ships employed in these fisheries find a channel from 20 to 60 leagues wide, through which they shoot forward along the shores of Spitzber- gen, till they reach the latitude of 78" or 79", where the whales are most abundant. The chase of these ani- mals, in the Greenland Seas at least, seldom lasts above two months, commencing generally at the end of April and terminating with June, when they usually disap- pear, and the prevalence of dense fogs renders the navi- gation very dangerous. In Davis' Strait the fishery continues often for two or even three months longer. Mr Scoresby thinks it were better if our Greenland ships, like the Dutch and other foreigners, began their voyage somewhat later than has become the practice. In close seasons the hardy navigator is obliged, with imminent peril and hazard, to impel his ship by boringy under a press of sail and assisted by ropes and saws, through the drift-ice which borders the great barrier, endeavouring to follow every vein of water that runs nearly in the required direction. If he fail in this at- tempt, he must forego the chance of a profitable voyage, and content himself with the humbler pursuit of catch- ing seals. The space over which the line of ice may be supposed to oscillate in the Greenland Seas, extends 1400 miles from Cape Farewell to 200 miles beyond Jan Mayen's Island, which it includes, and has a mean breadth of about 80 miles. Such is the extent of the mere surplus ice formed and dissolved from year to year, — exceeding the whole surface of Great Britain. Hence the quantity melted or liberated during the years 1816 and 1817 bore no very considerable proportion to the ordinary fluctu- Jr^ CLIMATE. 53 ating mass. It is therefore evident that, whatever may CHAP. L be the casual variations of the frozen expanse, no mighty alteration has yet taken place in the climate and con- dition of the Arctic Seas. If we compare the journals of former navigators, we Periodical shall be convinced that all the changes of the Polar ice <*^so«. are periodical, and are again repeated at no very distant intervals of time. We may pass over the pretensions of some Dutch captains, who alleged that they had been carried by winds or currents as far north as the latitude of 88°, or even that of 89° 40', and consequently only twenty miles from the Pole ; since their estimate, at all times rude from observations with the fore-staff, was then founded on mere dead reckoning after a continua- tion of foggy weather. Davis, in 1687, ascended, in tlie cnpjn^n strait which deservedly bears his name, to the latitude Davis, of 72° 12', where he found the variation of the compass to be 82° west, or nearly the same as at present. In 1616, Baffin advanced, in the same quarter as high as the latitude of 78 degrees. Hudson, nine years before, had penetrated in the Greenland Seas to the latitude of 81°, and seen supposed land as high as that of 82° lying to the north-east of Spitzbergen. But it is mortifying to remark how little progress has been made in geo- graphical discovery since those early and intrepid adven- turers explored the A.rctic regions with their humble barks, which seldom exceeded tlie bize of fifty tons. We must pass over a very long interval to obtain authentic information. In 1751 Captain M*Callam, whom Mr Barrington calls a scientific seaman, sailed without jj*{^,|"]j"^ obstruction from Hakluyt's Headland as high as the latitude of 83^°, where he found an open sea ; and ti .e weather being fine, nothing hindered him from proceed- ing farther but his responsibility to its owners for tlie safety of the ship. Captain Wilson, about the end of June 1764, having traversed floating ice from the latitude of 74° to 81°, at last found the sea quite clear iis far as he could descry ; and he advanced to the latitude of 83°, till not meeting with any whales, and 54 CLIMATE. CHAP. I. Cuptolu Guy. Atlvnnce of (ii-ci'iilund Vi liulum Alteration of Ivozen bor- der. beginning to apprehend some danger, he shaped back his course. At this very time, Captain Guy, after four days of foggy weather, was likewise carried to the same point. The Polar Sens at that period must indeed have been remarkably open ; for one of the most extraordi- nary and best-authenticated vovages was performed in 1764 by Mr Stephens, a very skilful and accurate observer, whose testimony is put beyond all manner of doubt by the cool judgment of the late astronomer- royal, i^r Maskclyne. This navigator informed him, that about the end of May he was driven off Spitzbergcn by a southerly wind, which blew several days, till ho had reached the latitude of 84^°, and that in the whole of this run he met with little ice and no drift-wood, and did not find the cold to be anywise excessive. In different years, since that date, the Greenland whalers have advanced to the latitude of 81 or 82 degrees. This was accomplished even in 1766 ; although, according to Kerguelen, the wliole space between Iceland aiul the opposite coast was then frozen over. Tlie year 1773, or that in which Captain Phipps performed his voyage, was still more favourable for approaching towards the North Pole. In 1806 tlie elder Mr Scoresby ascended to the latitude of 81° 60' ; but in the following year he could not proceed farther than the parallel of 784°. In 1811 the higher latitudes were again accessible; and, after a short interval, the summers of 1816, 181G, and 1817, are represented as opon seasons ; though none of the whalers penetrated so far into the north as had been done in many former years, and particularly in 1764. In this plain statement one can perceive no decided symptoms of any general or progressive tendency to- wards a dissolution of the Polar ice. The frozen border alters its position from one year to another, and probably returns again to the same limits after certain short periods of time. Such fluctuations are analogous to the incessant changes which affect the state of the weather in the more temperate regions. The complex system of winds CLIMATE. 55 moulds the climate, and varies the features of the seasons chap. L over the globe. It is a common remark of those who ResnuTof a frequent the Arctic Seas, that t.hey find the least oh- oevere win- Btruction from ii ^ when the preceding winter has been **'^' very severe in the more southern latitudes. In the year 1766, though the fro&t had proved most intense through the rest of Europe, the whalers reached a high latitude ; and, not to multiply instances, the three - seasons preceding 1818, reckoned very open, succeeded to winters notoriously cold and protracted. Nor is it difficult to discern the reason of this Bceming paradox ; for our severe winters are oncRbioncd by the prevalence of northerly winds, which must arrive at the Polar Seas from the South, and consequently transport so much warmth to them as may check the usual rigour of the frost. The main argument, however, brought to prove the Norse colony deterioration of the Arctic climate, is drawn from the ^n^'*^""" siijtposed existence of a colony which had once flourished on the eastern coast of Greenland, but has for several centuries been extinct ; all access to its remains being nt length completely barred by the accumulation of ice. This tale, which seems to have owed its birth to Tor- ik'us, Ihe historian of Norway, has obtained very general credence. Yet a sober examination of the early Sagat, or northern chyonicles, so full of wonder and fable, will show that there is no solid reason for entertaining such n notion, or believing that the first settlement of Green- land was made on the east side of the continent. The whole contexture of the original narrative indicates the very opposite conclusion. After the North had ceased to send forth her numer- Scandinavian ous swarms upon the fertile provinces of the Roman "*"°""- empire, the Scandinavian nations, prompted by their peculiar situaUon, betook themselves to a life of mu.l- time adventure. Those bold and h.irdy pirates visited every sea, and pillaged, during a course of nearly three hundred ycivrs, all the coasts of Europe, from the ex- tixniity of Scotland to the shores of Sicily. During 56 CLIMATE. Kx tensive conquests. Voyages of (llscovsry. Snowlnnd CHAP. I. the first half of the ninth century, they conquered the Orkneys, the Shetland and Western Isles— obtamed possession of Ireland — ^plundered England and France — and extended their ravages to Italy. In 876 the Northmen, or Normans, extorted from the weakness of the French king the cession of the fine province of Neustria, where they quietly settled; while another party of these fierce invaders had occupied the fertile coast of Esthonia, on the south side of the Baltic. Bu b the visits of those intrepid navigators were not confined to the richer countries of the South. They earned ravens with them, for the purpose of discovering distant land by the direction in which these powerful and sagacious birds took their flight. In 861 Nad tdd, a roving pirate, in one of his voyages in the northern seas, happened to be cast away on an island which he called Snowland. Three years afterwards, Garder and Flocke, two Swedes, visited it; and having found a great quantity of drift-ice collected on the north side of it, they gave it the name of Iceland, which it still bears. But in 874 Ingolf and Leif, two famous Norwegian adventurers, carried a colony to this inhospitable region, — the latter having enriched it with the booty which he had ravaged fi-om England. Other emigrants, whom the disorders of the times drove successively from home, resorted in crowds to the new settlement, which became very considerable in the space of a few years. Iceland itself was able, after the progress of about a century, to send out likewise her colonies. Thorwald, a proud and opulent Norwegian chief, who had been lately banished thither from the court for some murder committed by liim, soon died in exile, leaving his wealth and his restless spirit to his son Eric Raude, or the Red. This youth, actuated by the same vengeful passions, killed one of his neighbours in a fight, and was obliged to withdraw himself from Iceland for the space of three years. In 982 Eric sailed in quest of adventure and discovery. Instructed by the reports of former navi- gators, he directed his course towards the south-west. Toeltind. CLIMA.TE. 67 Shirt navi- -west. After a quick run, he descried two lofty mountains, the chap. I. one covered with snow and the other cased with ice, wiiiresiiirt which he called Huitaerken and Blaaserken, or the White 211','.}""" Shirt and the Blue Shirt, und soon reached a headland which he doubled ; and having entered a spacious creek, he spent the winter on a pleasant adjacent island. In the following season, pursuing his discoveries, he ex- plored the continent, and was delighted with the fresh- ness and verdure of its coast. Contrasting this new country with the dark rocks of Iceland, he bestowed on it the flattering appellation of Oreenland; and on Orecnidnd. his return invited settlers to join him, by circulating the most glowing and exagijerated descriptions. With twenty-five vessels he sailed back again ; but of these only fourteen reached their destination. This colony was soon augmented by the arrival of numerous adven- turers, not only from Iceland, but from the Orkneys and other islands planted by the Norwegians. In the year 999, Leif, a son of Eric Raude, having visited the court of Norway, was induced, by the zealous and earnest solicitation of King Olaf Tryggeson, to embrace the Christian faith; and, carrying with him some monks, he foimd, t)irough their ministry, no great difficulty in persuading his father and the vest of the settlers to forsake the rites of paganism. The first colony having extended itself along the rastern co- coast to a wide firth, another settlement beyond that '""^" boundary was established farther towards the west. The former called Oestre Bygd, or the Eastern Settlement, is said to have included, in its most flourisliing state, twelve pujrishes and two convents ; and the latter, termed Vesti-e Bygd, or the Western Settlement, con- Wfistem co- tained four parishes. The colonists of Greenland were io"y- compelled to lead a life of hardship and severe privation. They dwelt in hovels surrounded by mountains ot perpetual ice ; they never tasted bread, but subsisted on the fish which they caught, joined to a little milk obtained from their starving cows ; and with seal-skins and the tusks of the walrus they purchased from the ll 68 CLIMATE. I'ogUlon of tliu colony. Esf|uiniaux ill\u^iun. CHAP. L traders who occasionally visited them the wood required for fuel and the construction of their huta. Combining the several circumstances together, it seems clear that the original colony of Greenland began about the southern promontory, near Cape Farewell, and stretched along the coast in a north- westerly direction. Farther north, and probably ua high as tlie latitude of C0°, the second settlement was formed.* For some centuries both of them maintained a sort of commercial intercourse with Norway; but this tmde became afterwards very much reduced, in consequence of its being seized as an exclusive privilege of the Danish court. About the year 1376, the natives of the count" V, or Esquimaux invaders, whom the Nor- wegian settlors had in contempt called Skreellings or Dwarfsy attacked the western colony, which now claimed the assistance of its older brother. The scanty population, however, was enfeebled by such repeated alarms ; and that dreadful pestilence, termed Black Death, the Blaclc Death, which raged throughout Europe from the year 1402 to 1404, at last extended its ravages to Greenland, and nearly completed the devastation. In fertile regions the waste of the human species is alw. yj quickly repaired ; but poor and barren countries can seldom recover from the depression caused by such severe calamities. The colonics which occupied Green- land appear to have languished near one hundred years afterwards, till they became finally extinct about the commencement of the sixteenth century. But a notion has very generally prevailed, that only the western settlement of Greenland had perished, while the eastern was merely secluded from communication Destruction of both settlcmcDta " A curious monument has been lately discorered, that attests the zeal with which the early Scandinavian adventur- ers pushed their settlements to the most northern parts of Greenland. It is a stone carved with Runic characters, found in 1824, planted erect in the ground on the island of Kingik- torsoak, under the parallel of 73°. The inscription ha-j been translated by Dr Rafn, Secretary of the Royal Antiquarian Society of Copenhagen, as follows : — CLIMATE. 69 with the rest of the world hy a vast barrier of ice, wliich CHAP. i. liari at length accumulated on its shores. The only " Erling Sigratson, and Bjame Thordarson, and Endride Odd- Scandlnaviao son, erected these memorial- stones and cleared the place, on runic in- Saturday before Gagndag (the 2hth of A pril), in the year 1 1«A " «="?"««»• Those enterprising settlers must therefore have, as early as the twelfth century, come into communication with the Ebqui- maiix of North America. Allowing for the difference of style at that epoch (being three days for every four centuries), the stone was erected on the 1st of May, at which time the ground seems to have been covered with snow. For this curious notice the author is indebted to his very «n- gpnious, learned, and amiable friend, Dr T. Stewart Traill of Liverpool.* * Dr Traill has, since tlie date of this aclcnowledgment by Sir Jotin T.r^slie, lipPTi appointed Professor of Medical Jurisprudence in the Univer* ■ili' uf Ediiilmrgli. M 1 Kate of the lUttltill, 00 OLIMATK. CHAP. I. question lately entui-toined was, whether these ill-fated colonists survived the catastrophe, or wore suddenly entombed in ice and snow, as the unhappy citizens of llerculaneum were anciently involved in a dense shower of volcanic ashes. Tremendous stories are told of the cast side of Greenland being now tenanted by giants and stalking ghosts. For more tlum n century past the court of Denmark has, at different times, despatched ships to search after ■ lost colony, the crews of which, evidently under tlu impression of superstitious awe, found it impossible to penetrate on that enchanted coast farther than Cape Discord, in the latitude of 61°. But in favourable seasons sniiill boats can, without much difficulty, creep along the shore to a much higher par- allel. If any settlers Lid ever occupied the narrow bays, they might surely have escaped either in their canoes or in sledges. The supposed existence of a colony on the east side of Greenland is clearly a fable, originating in a misap- prehension of the import of the designations applied severally to the two settlements. The one first made lay no doubt to the east, as well as to the south of the other ; but the ships which resorted from Norway held a westerly course for them both. Between them a I'aliiJoii* accuuuti But such was the scrupulous anxiety of tho publishers to procure the most accurate information, that they stopped the press to consult ajeentleman in this country, aecply skilled in the Runic,— Mr Repp of the Advocates' Library,— who has obligingly furnished the following reading of the inscription, with a translation somewhat diJerent :— "Oelligr Siguathssonr ok Baaos Tortarson ok Oenrithi Os- Bon : Laugardagin fyrir ga^idag hldthu Varda dis ok rytu." (The five last figures of the inscription are utterlv unknoum.) That is, " Oelligr Sighwathson, and Baaoa Tortarson, and Oenrithi Osson, on the Saturday before Gagndag* erected Thorvard^s monument, and wrote this." {Ana then the com- pound characters.) * Uagndagr, In nominative, of wlucli wo have here the aoctuative case Gagndag, were t'vo holidays of the Catholic Churcli in Iceland. There was a greater and a letter. — (Oagndagrin Meiri ok Minni). Ab to the cxiut time when they occurrea, »ce " Fiiini Joliaimaji Historia Eccleaiastica Ulandias," under the word Gagndag in tJie Index, vol. iv. Il.tli CtTMATT?. 61 .ttiuiiientai mutual intercourse appears likewise to have been main- chap. T. taincd, which surely could not have taken place had intg~i,^- they been divided by a chain of lofty and impassable with Nur- mountaiiib covered with eternal snow. Dcsides, traces ^'*^' of those ancient settlements are observed, even at pre- sent, scattered along the western sliures of Greenland, ns low down as the latitude of 61% though not corres. ponding ultogether with the poetical descriptions of fhe Icelandic Sagas. Except the very scanty ruins of a church, the only vestiges now remaining consist of low naked walls, which must have served as pens for shel- tering the cattle. It may be safely affirmed that the settlements which, *fodcni during the last hundred years, the Danes have been forming at various pomts on the w^estern side of Greeri- lund are more numerous and thriving than those which existed at any former period. They consist • '' ♦^venty- *■ one colonies, stretching over au extent of 800 1 ulet The first establishment is only a single family, oocu^ Arctic world is found in the genus Medusa of Linnaeus, which the sailors graphically describe as sea-blubber. This is a soft, elastic, gelatinous substance, specimens of which may often be seen lying on our own shores, exhibiting no signs of life except that of shrinking when touched. Beyond the Arctic circle this production increases in an extraordinary degree, and is eagerly devoured by all the finny tribes. By far the most numerous, however, of the medusan races are of dimensions too small to be discerned without the aid of the microscope, — the application of which instrument shows them to be the cause of a pe- culiar tinge observed over a great extent of the Greenland Sea. This colour is olive-green, and the water is dark and opaque compared to that which bcai-s the common ', f if \ 64 AMMAL LIFE. CHAP. ir. cerulean hue. The portion of the ocean so distinguishod Colour of the ^^0^^*^ ^ "^t less than 20,000 square miles ; and hence sea. C ustncca. Cctacoa. the number of animalcules which that space contains ia far beyond calculation. Mr Scoresby estimates that two square miles comprehend 23,888,000,000,000,000 ; and as such an amount is above the range of human words and conceptions, he illustrates it by observing that 80,000 persons would have been employed since the creation in counting it. This green sea may be considered as the Polar pasture-ground, where whales are always seen in the gi-eatest numbers. These prodigious creatures, it is true, cannot derive any direct subsistence from particles so very small ; but these last foi-m the food of other minute fishes, which in their turn support a third series, till at length, as has been already remarked, animals are produced of such size as to afford a morsel for the mighty devourers. The genus Cancer, of the same writer, or members of the class Crustacea, appear to' rank second in number and importance. They present themselves under the various species of thu crab, and, above all, of the shrimp, whose multitudes rival those of the medusa, and wliich in all quarters are seen either pursuing their prey, or becoming the food of a higher class of marine animals. So carnivorous, indeed, are the northern shrimps, that joints of mea!. bung out by Captain Parry's crew from the sides of the ship were in a few nights picked to tlie very bone. Many of the zoophy- tical and molluscous orders, too, particularly Actinia, Sepia, and several species of marine worms, are employed by Natui'e as the means of supplying food to various inhabitants of the deep possessing a more perfect organi- zation. Among the numberless tribes of living things which peonle the northern seas, one order stands highly con- spit lous. These are the Cetacea, comprehending tho largest of existing animals, and having a structure whoUy distinct from every other species. Although their home be entirely in the depth of the waters, they have several features in common with quadrupeds, and, in fact, belong if is i ANIMAl- Lli'ii. 67 to the Linneean class of Mammaliay or suck-giving ere i- OHAP il. tures. They produce their youn» alive ; their skin is y — j, ^ smooth and without scales ; their blood is v^arm ; and whale. the flesh tastes somewhat like coarse beef. They have a heart with two ventricles, and lungs through which they respire ; and being unable to separate the air from the water, as fishes do by means of their gills, they must come to the surface in order to breathe. It is thus by Not a flsh. no means strictly scieni-ific to call the whale a fish ; yet ho is entirely an inhabitant of the sea, having a tail, though placed in a different position from that of ordinary fishes, while his front limbs much more resemble fins than legs, and are solely used for pawing the deep. Hence the vulgar, following a natural and descriptive classification, obstinately continue to give the name oi fish to these watery monsters. But the most characte*- Blubber. istic and important feature of the Cetacea, consists in a thick layer of fatty substance, called blubber, lodged beneath the skin and surrounding the body, which yields, on expression, nearly its own bulk of thick, coarse, viscid oil. It is by this covering that Providence enables them to defy the utmost extremity of cold, and to preserve a strong animal heat even under the eternal ice of the Pole. Yet this substance, being subservient to the uses of man, has roused a dreadful and deadly enemy, who employs against them the resources of art, — a power which mere brutal force seeks in vain to oppose. He pursues them through ice and tempest, and dyes the seas with their blood. They themselves are meek, peacef il, sluggish ; and man, in the contest which he wages with them, is almost alway- the aggressor ; though the resistance which he then encounters is sometimes terrible, and his life is occasionally the foifeit. Among the cetaceous tribes the chief place is due to chief of the the whale, of ,: ^ animals "mightiest that swim the c'^.t|'<'«oii8 tribes* ocean stream." Enormous as hi 5 bulk is, rumour en'^ the love of the marvellous have represented it as bei^v; at one time much greatei, and the existing race as only !!i ■ ^n ANIMAL LIFE. Extreme lungtli. Wuglit tKiiiatu >ize ol lioad. CHAP. II. Ihe degenemte remnant of mightier idiceatois. Mr Scoresby, however, by collecting vfiviotu good a,( thori ties, iv^a proved that sixty feet wn>. al>> avs jiea.ly tii« utmost length of the mysticetus, or g.csai Gveenland ivhale. Of 322 individuals i i the c-ioture of vbi' 'i. thnt gentlem^m was concerned, ;ione occurred of i* ienglh exceeding 68 feet ; auJ he th' refore i.^aces no reliance on the ifpoH of any li, vecimen txr.-eding 70 feet. Even 60 feet imp] i OS a weigiu of 70 tons, being nearly that of 300 fat oxen. Of this ;ust miiss, the oil ni -t '.ch whale compORPS about fliirty iuns, and when, as wa< ihe raiie some years ago, that ai iicl*. brought JlTi' or i.60 jior tun, we may fonn some idee of tht flfreat "^ alue of tli:e prize. The bones of the head, fins, a:.d tail, which ive also valuable, weigh eight or ten tons. The olea- ginous substance, or blubber, forms a complete wrapper rourjy notches in the bone, which seem not, however, very distinctly ascertained, the whale docs not attain his full gn wth under twenty-five years, and is said to rcacli !i v(;ry great age. I'liere is a considerable variety of these animals. The Bakcna phymlis (^UaUcnoptera gibbar of La Cepede), called by the sailors razorbnck, is considerably longer than the mysticetus ; and, though his circumference bo smaller, he is on the whole larger and much more powerful. He is also swifter, swimming at the rate of twelve mile" an hour ; and Mr Scoresby has seen one, when struck with a harpoon, run tjflF 480 fathoms of line in a minute. An individual ot this species, found dead in Davis' Strait, measured 106 feet in length. It is, as might be apprehended, extremely dangerous to attack him ; for, by the extreme rapidity of his motion, he often breaks the line, or obliges the sailors to cut it di order to escape destruction. Martens mentions an instance of one which dragged a boat with its crew among loose ice where they all perished. Besides, as this fish contains only ten or twelve tuns of oil, of an inferior quality, the whalers generally shun the encoun- ter, unless when they are disposed for a daring adveu- Vnriotlps of *.\\>f whale. ANIMAL lAVE. 71 turc, or mistake him, as they frequently do, for a CHAP. ir. mysticetuB. Besides the two pectoral fins, ho has a nttiif~ horny protul)cranco or fin at tho extremity of the back, niuNcuiiw. which part of the body, instead of being round as in tho other variety, rises into a narrow ridge. Tho Balttna niuscutus or broad-nosed wlmle, the Balama rostrata or beaked whale, and the liaUenn hoops or finner, may bo considered as razorbacks on a smaller scale, with certain specific distinctions. It is usually individuals of tho kinds now described that frequent the coosts of Norway and Shetland, aud sometimes make their appearance in the British firths; but neither they nor tlie physalis ever attract the attention of an experienced fisher. The only species, besides the mysticetus, regularly cacimiot sought after, is the cachalot (^Physeter niicrops) or sper- maceti whale. This variety occurs occasionnlly in tlio northern seas, especially on the American coast, but abounds chiefly in the waters bordering on the Antarctic zone, and is the main object of pursuit in tlic southern fishery. The cachalot docs not seem to have met Mr Scoresby's ol)servation, although a male w.is thrown ashore at Limekilns on the Forth, as described by Sir Robert Sibbnld ; but, according to tlic descript' ' De Reste and others, this sjiccics is distinguished j a long row of teeth on the lower and none on the upper jaw ; the back has a peculiar form, with a small bunch behind ; and the tail is of extraordinary breadth. They appear in large herds ; while the mysticetus, called by iiwiu our fishers the right whale, u generally found single. 'J'hese bands very often amount to two hundred, which are said to be for the most part female, and usually under the guidance of a male of very large dimensions. 'J'o attack them is a formidable undertaking; • ^"^ suc- cess is very advantageous, since ten or twelve ; 1 mes fall in one encounter. The perils of this fishery are described as almost exceeding belief ; for which reason, it is to be regretted that Captain Day's modesty makes liim decline recounting any of thobe which he witnessed. 'J'he quantity of oil is much smallir than in the mys- Fonnd in «( » A»s ^ 1 ' ' r 72 ANIMAL LIFE. Ciur II. V'iiliio of N.trwttl. Aiii|ilill)ious species. Walrus. i ticetus, usually not exceeding three tuns ; but, from ita 'i *' ?? mixed with the substance called spermaceti, L far ju iij^' in value. When warm it is fluid; but on bfci ig poured into water it congeals into large flakes. This whale yields also the peculiar aromatic subbtance called ambergrid, formed under certain circumstances in tho rectum, and voided as feces. Another species, called the narwal, about sixteen feet long and ci";!' . .oumference, appears to differ little from a ymall whale, except in a tusk projecting from his upper jaw three to ten feet in lengtli, which, snor- gesting to the sailors the idea of a horn, has procured for him the appellation of the sea-unicorn. He is swift, yet is taken without much difficulty, and yields two or three tuns of very fine oil. The dolphin, another ceta- ceous animal of poetic fame, occasionally occurs ; and the grampus often appears in numerous herds, guided by some of lanjer size. The beluga, or white whale, is also a separate species, distinguislied chiefly by its pecu- liar colour. All the shores and borders of tb. Ai*ctic zone arc crowded with amphibious species, wiiith appear to form an intermediate link between whales and quadrupeds. — the Mammalia of the sea and those of the land. Among these is to be distinguished the morse or walrus (Tn- checus rosmarus), which bears such a resemblance to our domestic quadrupeds that sailors, according to their vari'^us impressions, have given it the title of sea-horse or sea-cow. Tt is a large, shapeless, unwieldy creature, 12 to 15 fecr in length and from 8 to 10 in circum- ferc'ico; the lead small, the limbs short, of an inter- mediate character between fins and legs. As a defence against the extreme cold, these animals not only have skins an inch 'hick, covered with close hair, but enjoy, iike the other Getacec, a coating < ? oily iat, with which their bodies b-t completely enveloped. Thus cased, they lie retcned on the ice in the depth of winter, without Terin.j any inconvenience. The most re- markabl ^ E ? to c o D 'v^*""r «■■ ■i. I ANIMAL LIFE. 77 actual discovery of this place of meeting can ascertain its existence. However, about the end of September they reach their destination beneath tho ice of the Polar regions, where they remain tliree months, — all the rest of the year being spent in wandering over the face of the ocean. Such is the theory of the annual appearance of the Herring, which has been adopted without sufficient in- vestigation by many popular writers. Later observa- tion, accordingly, has thrown doubts upon the principle of Arctic migration, and referred this periodical ap- pearance upon the coasts of Europe to that instinctive impulse which guides the finny tribes, at the season of reproduction, to places where the spawn may be deposited and the young find food. When this is ac- complished, they retire from the shores to their habita- tion in deeper waters. The female, when taken in our seas, is commonly found to contain a roe ; and as this comprises the embryo of ten thousand future herrings, such a prodigious fecundity easily repairs all the havock committed upon the species, not only by their brethren of the deep, but also by the ingenuity of man, constantly exerted for their capturo and destruction. The other animals which frequent the Polar regions belong chiefly or wholly to the land. In caves, or in the hollows of the ice, dwells the most formidable of Arctic quadrupeds, the Greenland bear. This tyrant of the cliffs and snows unites the strength of the lion with th.^ untameable fierceness of the hyena. A long shaggy covering of white soft hair and a copious supply of fat enable him to defy the winter of this rigorous climate. Hence, when ex- posed even to the moderate heat of Britain, he appears to iabour under great uneasiness. Pennant saw one, over whom it was necessary from time to time to pour large pailfuls of water. Another, kept for some years by Professor Jameson, evidently suffered severely from the comparative warmth of an Edinburgh su mmer. The haunt of tliis voracious inhabitant of the Polar region* CHAP. It Northern rendezvous La Prodi'inus fecundity. Greenland, bear. Endurance of cold. \ 7B ANIMAL LIFE. CHAP. II. Jfode of ci'osslng the sea. His i)icy. PriTnrious Biipiiiies. ("onHict.i with t!\e puhir bear. is on the frozen shore, or on mountains of ice, some- times two hundred miles from land ; yet he is not, strictly speaking, amphibious. He cannot remain under water above a few moments, and he makes his way to sea only by swimming from one icy fragment to an- other. Mr Scoresby limits his powers in this respect to three or four miles; yet Parry found one in the centre of Barrow's Strait, where it was forty miles across. His prey consists chiefly of the smaller cetacea and of seals, which, unable to contend with him. .Jiun their fate by keeping strict watch, and plunging into the deep waters. With the wali is he wages a fierce and doubtful war ; and that powerful animal, with Lis enormous tusks, frequently beats him off with great damage. The whale he dares not attack, but watches anxiously for the huge carcass in a dead state, which affords him a prolonged and delicious feast : he scents it at the distance of miles. All these sources of supply being precarious, he is sometimes left for weeks v.'ithout food, and the fury of his hunger tlien becomes ticmen- dous. At such periods man, viewed by him always as his pi'cy, is attacked with peculiar fierceness. The amials of northern navigation are filled with accounts of the most perilous and fatal conflicts with the Polar bear. The first, and one of the most tragical, was sustained by Barentz and Heeniskerke, in 1596, during their voyage for the discovery of the north-east passage. Having anchored at an island near t?xe Strait of Waygatz, two of the men landed, and were walkmg on shore, when one of them felt himself closely hugged from behind. Thinking this a frolic of one of his com- panions, he called out, in a jocular tone, " Who's there 1 pray stand off." His comrade looked and screamed out, " A bear ! a bear !" then running to the ship alarmed the cr'^w with loud cries. The sailors ran co t^e spot, armed with pikes and muskets. On their approach the animal very coolly quitted the mangled corpse, sprang upon one of the assailants, cairied him off, and plunging his t'Ceth into his body, began drinking his ANIMAL LIFE. 70 blood at long draughts. Hereupon the whole party, cfiap. ii. struck with terror, turned their backs, and fled pre--.^ — cipitately to their vessel. On arriving there they began a bear. to look at each other, ashamed in some measure of their pusillanimous conduct. Three of them immediately re- solved to avenge the fate of their countrymen, and to secure for their remains the rites of burial. They advanced, but fired at first from so great a distance that all of them missed. The purser then courage- ously proceeded in front of his companions, and, taking a close aim, pierced the monster's skull, immediately below the eye. The bear, however, merely lifted his head, and ran toward ^ them, holding still in his mouth the victim whom he was devouring ; but seeing him stagger, the three rushed on with sahre and bayonet, and soon despatched him. They collected and be- stowed decent sepultu e on the mangled limbs of their com^ ades ; while the sL i of the animal, thirteen feet long, became the prize of him who fired the successful shot. The history of whale-fishing records a number of remarkable escapes from the Polar bear. In 1668, fi^'J'^;;; f'"'^- Jonge Kees, the master of a Dutch ship, undertook with two canoes to attack one, and with a lanco gave him so dreadful a wound in the belly that his immediate death seemed inevitable. Arxious, there- fore, not to irjure the skin, Kees merely followed the imimal till he should droi) down dead. The quad- ruped, however, having climbed a little rock, made a spring from the distance of twenty-four feet upon tlie skipper, who, taken conpletely by surprise, lost i'<'i;i'mis hold of the lance, and fell beneath his assailant, which, ^"'^' '"^ placing both paws on his breast, opened two rows of tremendous teeth., and pp.ased for a moment, as if to show him all the horrors of his situation. At this critical instant a sailor, rushing forwai'd with only a scoop, succeeded in alarming the monster, which made off, leaving the captain without the slightest injury. In 1780, Captain Cook of the Archangel, when near the coast of Spitzbergen, found himself suddenly at- 80 ANIMAL LIFB. esviii.i). Wd-Ip of aitauk. CHAC. H. tacked by a bear. He instantly colled on the surgeon Reniarkabie ^^° accompanied him to fire ; which the latter did with such admirable promptitude and precision, that he shot the beast through the head, and delivered his commander. Mr Hawkins of the Everthorpc, in July 1810, having pu"8ucd and twice struck a large one, had raised his lance for a third blow, when it sprang forward, seized him by the thigh, and tlirew hun over its head into the wotor. Fortunately it used this advantage only to cflFec its own escape. Captain Scorcsby mentions a boat'.'i crew which attacked a bear in the Gr^jenland Soft ; but the animal having succeeded in clinibin^j tl'.r sides of the boat, all the men dropped thnr'sclves for safety into the waves, where they hung i)y the gunwale. The victor entered triumphantly, and took possession of the barge, where it sat quietly till it was shot by another party. 'J'iio same writer mentions the ingenious contrivance of a Sfiilor, who, being chased by one of these creatures, threw down successively his hat, jacket, handkerchief, and every other article in his possession, wlien tho pursuer pausing at each, gave tlio seaman always a certain advantage, and enabled him finally to legain the vessel, Tliough the voracity of this savage creature is such that he has been known to feed on his own species, yet maternal tenderness is as conspicuous in tho female as in other inluibitants of the frozen regions. There is no exertion which she will not make for the supply of her progeny. A shc-beu", with lier Lwo cubs, being hunted by some sailors across a field of ico, and finding that, neither by example nor by a peculiar voice and action, she could urge them to the requisite speed, applied her paws and pitched them alternately forward. Tlie little creatures, as she came up, threw themselves before her to receive the impulse, and thus both slie and they escaped from danger. None of the varieties, indeed, are devoid of intel- ligence ; while their schemes for entrapping seals and Mn'oriu.l ANIMAL LIFE. »1 other animals on which they feed often display con- CHAP II. fiiderahle ingenuity. The roanncr in which the Polar ingenuity, bear Burpribos his victim is thus described by Captain Lyon :• — On seeing liis intended prey he gets quietly into the water, and swims to a leeward position, from whence, by frequent short dives, ho silently makes his approaches, and so arranges his distance, that at tile hist dive he comes to the spot where the seal is lying. If tlic poor animal attempts to escape by roll- cntciiing ing into the water, he faiid into the paws of his enemy ; seals, if, on the contrary, he lies still, his destroyer makes a powerful spring, kills him on the ice, and devours him at leisure. Some sailors, endeavouring to catch a bear, plac^^i the noose of a rope under the snow, baited with a ])iccc of whale's flesh. He, however, contrived, three successive times, to push the noose aside, and unhurt to carry oif the bait. Captain Scoresby hud half- tamed two cubs, which used ever to walk the deck ; l)ut they fehowed themselves always restless under this confinement, and finally sought relief in their native element. According to Pennant and other writers, the bear Hibernation, forms chambers in the great iec-mountains, where he sleeps during the long Arctic night, undisturbed by the roar of the ten. pest ; but tliis regular hibernation is doubted by many recent observers. The fact seems to be, that the males roam about all whiter in search of prey, not being under the siime necessity of sub- mitting to the torpid state as the black bear of America, which feeds chiefly on vegetables ; but the females, who are usually pregnant in the more rigorous season, seclude themselves nearly the whole time in their dens. The animals which belong entirely to the land, iicrbivoioiu and feed on herbage, are, in a climate covered witli ""^"'^'*- snow nine months in the year, necessarily few both in number and species. The rein-deer, a most patient and useful crcaturcj an inhi.bitant of the Polar regions, may be said to subsist as far north as animal life can ^ i\ I i i fit 02 ANIMAL LIFE. CHAIMI Rulii duur. Ita wcs. Erisy oap ture Mu»k-ox. be maintained. To the Laplander he is all in all ; and in that dreary portion of the globe he can always dig from under the snow the moss or lichen, his favourite food. Even in the severer climates he carries his summer-excursions as far as men have yet penetrated ; but at the end of October the intense frost no longer allows him to reach even the simple pasture in which he delights. It is then that large herds are observed to assemble and migrate to the southward. From Melville Island they were seen crossing the frozen surface of the sea, to giun a milder climate on the American shore. The people within the Arctic zone do not tame the roin-deer, nor yoke it in the sledge ; it is not even for them the staflF oi life ; but it affords a favourite object of summer-hunting, gives an agree- able variety to their meals, and yields their wannest and most valuable winter-robes. The fur- skin becomes always richer and more copious in proportion to the intensity of the cold, against, which it forms the only defence. In the chase the deer fall easy victims, even to the rude archery of the Esquimaux, being so simple and curious, that if a man merely walks away from them, they follow. Some of these animals, which joined Captain Parry's crews on Melville Island, played round them like lapdogs, and at setting out in the morning used to gambol by rearing on their hind-legs. The musk-ox, the only member of the bovine species which penetrates the Arctic zone, though in smaller numbers, constitutes also a wholesome food. Its un- wieldly form is protected from the cold by an immense profusion of hair, which envelops its whole limbs and figure, and also by an interior layer of wool, that ap- peared to Pennant the finest he had ever seen, and made, he was told, stockings superior to the richest silk. This last, we suspect, is a temporary clothing. The canine race presents several species which brave the most extreme severity of cold, and remain after every other land-quadruped, except the bear, has taken its flight to the southward. Wolves, in considerable ANIMAL LIFE. 83 numbers, continue to seek their prey in the utmost chap, il depths of the Polar winter. It seems difficult to dis- woivesT cover what food they find at that season ; but a re- gular pack attended the English discovery-ships, watch- ing for whatever ofFal might be found exposed, and serenading them with nightly bowlings. As if by a soil of tacit convention, they did not presume to attack the sailors ; but they advanced in the most daring manner to the sides of the vessels, and sometimes even entered the huts of the Esquimaux, whose dogs they esteemed a regular prize, and very speedily devoured them. The natives catch them by traps formed of little J^^^" '^'^'^ sheds of ice, at the entrance of which is a portcullis of the same material, connected in such a manner with the bait within, that when tlie latttr is seized by the animal the suspended portion drops, and the wolf is taken. Their tenacity of life is such, that after ap- parent death they often revive and occasion danger. The Arctic fox, a small beautiful white animal, with ^'"^ woolly hair like fi, little shock-dog, occurs in still greater numbers. About a hundred were caught in Captain Parry's secord voyage, some of which were half tamed and made pets of ; while others, by a harder fate, were dressed for table ; and their flesh, somewhat resembling kid, afforded an agreeable relief from the constant \ise of salted meat. The dog, however, is the most important quadruped Dog. of the Arctic world, and the most valuable possessioii of its people, who have succeeded in taming and render- ing it equally useful for draught and for hunting. Those of the Greenlander, the Esquimaux, and the Kamtschadale, are large, and of a somewhat wild aspect. Captain Lyon describes them as resembling in form the shepherd's dog, rising to the height of the New- foundland, but broad like the mastiff; having short pricked ears, a furry coat, and a bushy tail. In general they arc observed to bear a strong resemblance to the wolf, and the opinion is even prevalent that the former exliibit only the latter in a tame state. Parry and i 84 ANIMAL LIFR. Tjcs and WolVOR, Esquimaux CHAP. IL Richardson both mention instances in which domestic dogs were seduced away by the attrnctions of female wolves ; yet the avidity with which the wolf devours his supposed brethren does not seem quite consistent with 80 close an affinity. Nature, with provident care, defends them against the cold, not only by a profusion of long hair, but by a soft do\^Ty covering, formed beneath it at the commencement of v/inter, and shed ft the approach of liie milder season. The Esquimaux are much re})roached for their harsh treatment of these valuable servants ; yet, when young, they are used with tenderness, the women often taking them into bed, and feeding them from their own mouths. As soon as they can walk they are yoked to a small sledge ; in endeavouring to shake off which encum- brance tliey leani to draw it. Severe and frequent beatings, however, are necessary to train them for act- ing as a regular team. But their greatest sufferings respect the want of food ; of which, during the season of scarcity, they obtain a portion barely sufficiont to maintain life, and not at all to prevent them from falling into a state the most meagre and debilitated. Their hunger is manifested by the nature of the substances M'ith which they sometimes seek to assuage it. Captain Parry saw one which ate a large piece of canvass, n cotton handkerchief laid out to dry, and a piece of a linen shirt. The Esquimaux, we must recollect, are subject to painful scarcities, and the food of the dogs being the same with their own, the animals, on such emergencies, can scarcely expect to be placed on a footing of equality. But this rough usage docs not seem incompatible with a certain degree of attach- ment and commiseration. For example, they refused to sell them to the English, till assured that they would not be killed. They rejoiced greatly to see a house built for them • and at every visit a friendly recognition took place between each dog and his old master. When tlie ^e animals are yoked in the sledge, a whip of twenty feet long enforces obedience ; while I- n perfect I'i'uvisicns. T' Tidness for tLtra. ANIMAL LTFR. m p<^r->Miir cries indicate Ihe riglit or left,, to turn or to chap. it. stc';\ Three dogs can draw a sh dge weighing 100 lbs. sip,iZ7^fu„. at the rate of a mile in six minutes, and one leader is \uk. said to have transported 196 lbs. the same distance in eight minutes. A full team, however, comprises eight or ten ; though seven have been known to draw a loaded sledge at the rate of a mile in four minutes and a half ; while nine, employed in conveying stores from the Ilecla to the Fury, drew 1611 lbs. in nine minutes. Captain Lyon reports most favourably of the team that he himself formed, which used to carry him from ship to ship, a mile distant, in the deepest darkness and amid clouds of snow-drift, with the most perfect precision, when he could not have found his own way a hundred steps. Their services in hunting are also of great value ; they can snufF the seul in I'.is hole, or the deer on the mountains, from a surprising dis- tance. Assembled in packs, they face even the Polar i)ear, keeping him at bay till their masters come uj with spears to the attack. The air in those dreary regions is, almost as much as P'"" 'i the waters, peopled with its appropriate inhabitants, which fill it continually with sound and life. Here, too, t)ie species are nearly all different from those that wing their flight through the temperate skies. They do not shine with the L' I jht hues of the humming-bird, nor breathe the soft not>.6 ^f the nightingale, nor do they charm the ear with the rich melody of our woodland choirs ; but the auk, the petrel, and the gull, clustering in myriads, cause all the rocks and shores of the North Auk, petiei to echo with their wild clang. They are almost all rapacious and carnivorous ; the vast collections of shell- fish and marine insectu with which those seas abound, and the carcasses of tho huge animals that are killed, either in conflicts with each other or with man, affording them an inexhaustible supply of nutriment. The fulmar, or petrel (^Procellaria glacialis), is the p-tn-i. close attendant of the ■■ hale-ships in every stage of their progress. Terraid emphatically the bird of storm, i m 80 ANIMAL LII'E. Flnoks of iVti'uls. Amusing CHAP. IL it faces the northern temp< s' hen raving with its utmost fury, and seats itself on the agitated crest of the mountain-wave as calmly as if resting on the surface of an untroubled lake. It follows with one uniform object, — that of snatching and feasting on portions of blul)bcr. As soon as a whale is fastened to the side of the ship, and begins to be cut up, an immense muster takes place, sometimes exceeding a thousand, all stationed in the rear, watching for the fragments which are wafted to leeward. The peculiar chuckling noise by which they express their eager expectation, the voracity with which they seize on the fat, and the huge morsels which they swallow, — the envy shown toward those that have obtained the largest of these delicate morsels, and often the violent measures taken to wrest it from them, — afford to the sailors a variety of amusing scenes. The surface of the sea is occasionally so completely covered with them, that a stone cannot be thrown without one being struck. When an alarm is given, innumerable wings are instantly in movement, and the birds, striking their feet against the water to aid their flight, cause a loud and thundering plash. The petrel, however, docs not enjoy alone this delici- ous ocean-festival. It is sought with equal avidity by the various species of the Larua or gull, — the Arctic gull, the kittiwake, and tho snow-bird (Lams eburneus), which last excites admiration by the pure and beautiful white of its plumage ; but the elegance of its taste does not correspond to that of its appearance, fat blubber being its choicest luxury, while it utters a loud and disagreeable scream. All these ravening tribes of the northern sky, however, liave a terrible rival in the blue gull (Larus glaucus), which, while i'u equals them in rapacity, surpasses them all in strength. In considera- tion of this, the Dutch have invested him with the title of burgomaster ; but that sage magistrate uses, we trust; his power in a very different manner from his winged representative, who employs it solely in wresting from the vreakor species whatever he sees them possess, and Alt lie gnll. Jiliu' gull, ANIMAL LIFE. 87 efiteems desirable. He is usually hovering high in the chap. ir. ftir, or seated on thf" loftit t icy pinnacles, whence, p^^ ' — ^ having fixed hia eye uii a dainty morsel, ho darts down wuokurbiiJft on the poss'^ssor, which, whether fulmar, snow-bird, or kittiwako, u, 4 Happily for • aes^ , small in numb< , < whom he tyran The genus A, and the duck, large, traverse in vast fliglu vntlv -iign the coveted prize. 0 Oiirgomaster class is very d to the multitudes over binding the swan, the goose, |^^;""' >•" '^»' ., and often beautiful fowls, i the northern seas and inlets. Like the vest of the Ansereit, they have all webbed feet, consisting of branching toes connected by a membrane, which enable them to move with equal facility on the water as on land. The swan, with its stately plumage, frequents chiefly the inland seas and lakes, of which it lias been called the peaceful monarch. The goose, a Miftvatinnn less elegant but more valn;ible bird, migrates in vast ° ^^^''''' numbers every spring to breed on the Arctic shores and Ulands, and affords a valuable supply of food to all the northern settlements. The Hudson's Bay Company salt three or four thousand annually for winter. The Indians celebrate the month of their arrival under the title of the goose-moon. Migration during the rigorous season, resorted to even by quadrupeds, becomes the still more natural resource of the feathered creation. In Septem- ber the flocks of geese, winging their way to the south- ward, supplied a warning to Captain Franklin of the winter that was closing in upon him. The duck reaches a still higher latitude than the Duck, goose, and endures still severer cold. Great flocks of that species called the eider arrive m spring on the most northern shores of Greenland. All the birds that fly over the frozen seas are provided by nature with a rich and ample plumage, and a lining of soft down beneath ; and the people of those countries find their skins, with the feathers inside, to be one of their most comfortable articles of clothing. But the down of all tlie other species is surpassed in fineness by that of the i l! IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I ^ US. 12.0 1.8 1-25 1.4 1.6 ■« 6" ► Photographic Sciences Corporation ?3 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 -rt..'. -, % ^ ^■^^..^'^ ® ""i ..f^;', 88 ANIMAL LIFE. Duck down. Terns. CHAP. II. duck now named, the delicious softness of which fits it for the couch of kings. A pound of eider-down, accord- ing to Sir Charles Giesecke, is usually sold for a pound sterling. The best is that which the birds pluck from their breast to furnish the interior of their nest. The Greenlander, watching his time, removes this precious lining as soon as it is completed, whereupon the poor animals form a second, destined to share the same fate. Among Arctic birds are included the terns, which on the American coast are so very numerous, that an island has been named from the immense flocks with which it is annually filled. They produce the most delicate eggs of any water-fowl. We may add the Colymhua (guillemot), whose skin affords a peculiarly comfortable clothing, — the Tringa (sandpiper), — the Charadrius (plover), — the Tetrao (grouse and ptarmigan), of which a species, much valued on account of the delicacy of its Ptarmigans flesh, occupies the interior of Greenland. All ptarmi- gans change their colour, from mottled gray or brown in summer to pure white during the winter months. According to De Reste, the dark summer-covering is shed at the end of autumn, and a new plumage shoots out, which is white, till darkened by the warmth of the following spring, — or, to speak more accurately, a partial moult takes place towards the close of the year, during which all the coloured feathers are thrown out, and their places supplied by white ones; while in spring most of these last are again shed, to make room for others adorned by the richer and more varied hues of .' summer. Captain Parry saw this change go on so rapidly among the grouse on Melville Island as to be ocrceptiblt from day to day. Voj^'t'table Ufti. The vegetable world does not, in this dark and outer boundary of the earth, possess such an important char- acter as the animal. Nature, without departing wholly from her ordinary laws, could not clothe with verdure a soil which during nine months of the year is frozen as hard as rock, and covered with snow many feet deep. YEOETABLK LIFE. 89 Foliage. The plants of more genial climates, indeed, when inserted CHAr IL at the commencement of the short bright summer, spring exouT' up and wear for some time a promising appearance ; but plants. they are all nipt by the surly winter. Still, in the northern regions, especially when approaching the Arc- tic zone, she does employ resources similar to those by ' which animal life is preserved. The fir, the pine, and pi^ ^^^ j,i„Q other trees peculiar to the climate, on being pierced, ti-eea distil, not the balmy and fragrant gums of Arabia and India, but rich, thick, coarse juices, whereby their internal heat is maintained, and which, in the shape of pitch, tar, and turpentine, serve many valuable purposes. - ^ Through the cherishing influences of these juices, die lakes of North America are bordered with tall dark forests, which afford to the agricultural countries an inexhaustible supply of useful timber. Even their gloomy foliage, while the forests of the south are every autumn strewing the ground with their faded leaves, braves through the winter all the fury of the northern tempct. Before reaching, however, the inclement sky of the Arctic regions, this magnificent growth decays. Trees gradually dwindle into meagre and stunted shrubs. Beyond the Polar circle, these monarchs of the wood, if they appear at all, rise only to the height of a few feet, throwing out lateral branches. On Melville Pen- insula, dwarf- willow and the A ndromeda tetragona [;^^" aflbrd to the Esquimaux their only material for arms and utensils. Considerable quantities of drift-timber are, no doubt, frequently found on those remote shores, supposed to have floated originally from the mouths of rivers, on the Asiatic as well as the American continent. The species which abound most in those dreary climates belong to the tribes of mosses and lichens, — ^c^^il" ** the Cryptogamia of Linnseus, the Acotyledones of Jussieu. The meagre vegetation with which the surface of the earth is covered, thus appears rather as if it were an exudation from the rocks than the produce of the soil ; yet the plants no.' specified are not only produced in abundance, but possess a nutritious and salutary quality D\vai"f \\il« ! ii m VEGETABLE LIFE. CHAP. II. Lichun food. Mashrooni. Marine botany. Snmmnr llowers. not displayed in more fortunate regions. One species of lichen (X. rangiferinus) forms, as it were, the main staff of life to the Laplander ; it supports the rein-deer, and the rein-deer supports him. The lichen of Iceland, again, whether boiled in soup or converted into bread, is to the natives a principal part of their subsistence. Farther north, where the depth of the snow and the continuance of frost drive the inhabitants to the shore and to the use of animal food, these vegetables still afford nourishment to the various quadrupeds which they set apart for this purpose. It is also with a pecu- liar species of moss that they trim their lamps. The fungus or mushroom, that is seen to vegetate without the aid of a proper root, and the filices or ferns, which consist o-^ly of one spreading leaf, the middle rib of which forms all their stalk, find the means of existence even in Greenland. The order Alga^ and especially the tribe of Fvci^ comprehending nearly all the variety of marine botany, grow in vast abundance on the northern shores. These rude plants, which have little or no distinction of stem, root, or leaves, and whose fructification is often included within the substance of the frond, cover the Greenland coast with meadows under the level of the sea. The ConfervcBy too, another division of the same order, with their numerous filaments, spring up in great abundance. A few plants, not belonging to this imperfect order of vegetation, embellish, during the short summer, those northern fields. Indeed, at this season, under the bright influence of the sun, some of the most beautiful among the floral tribes expand their petals. The ranunculus and anemone display their rich and varied tints ; several species of saxifrage put forth their flowers ; and the yellow poppy has even a gaudy appearance, — so that the genus Papaver, which enriches the plains of Hindostan, is among the last to expire under the snows of the Pole. The nobler fruits do not ripen under this ungenial sky ; yet shrubs producing delicious berries appear on the borders at least of the Arctic zone in matchless nrofu- -Z'.'y t:\' VEGETABLE LIFE. 91 sion. The northern Indians consider the fruit of a bush chaf. IL called the Aronia ovalis as the most agreeable food ; j-puiJ^ besides which they have the strawberry, raspberry, red whortleberry, and various others. Several of these are covered beneath the first snows of winter, which are supposed to mellow them, and, when disclosed by the return of spring, the berries are seen still hanging on the branches, while the buds of the others are bursting,^ the whole producing a delightful impression, unknown to those who have not witnessed the desolation tluit immediately preceded. Those climates enjoy, besides, a precious boon in the Antiwovhn- plants which act as an antidote to scurvy, and which " ^ """*' defy the severest cold of the Arctic zone. The Cochleariay a thick-tufted juicy plant of extreme fecundity, is em- phatically called scurvy-grass ; and the different species of sorrel, especially the Rumex digynus, were found by Captain Parry flourishing under the snow at the very farthest limit of vegetation. The extraordinary phenomenon of red-snow^ observed ucd-snow. by Captain Ross and other Arctic voyagers, naturally excited the greatest interest both at home and abroad. This singular tint in a substance, with which we never fail to associate an idea of the purest and most radiant whiter 'las been ascertained to result from an assem- blage ry minute bodies, belonging to the class of -cryptogamic plants and the natural order called Algts. They form the species named Protococcus Nivalis by oridn und A-gardh, which is synonymous with the Uredo Nivalis of ""'"»■«. Mr Bauer. This production seems by no means peculiar to the Arctic mountains, but occurs on limestone rocks in the island of Lismore in Scotland, as well as among the Alps and other countries of Europe. Saussure ob- served it so long ago as the year 17G0 on Mount Breven A\ Switzerland, and so frequently after that period, that he expresses his surprise at its having escaped the notice of Scheuchzer and other learned travellers. Ramond, whose observations so beautifully combine the precision of scii nee with the perception of the picturesque, found 1 i I i 92 VEGETABLE LIFE. CHAP. II. Red snow In tlio Pyre- nees. Observations b y Cuptaln Uuss. Tiri'd propa- gation. Sinttidar cuinciikuca red snow in the Pyrenees, as did Sommerfeldt, the bo- tanist, on the hills of Norway. In the year 1818 vast masses of the same substance overspread both the Apen- nines and the Italian Alps ; and it is recorded, that ten years prior to that period the vicinity of Belluno and Feltri was covered to the depth of twenty centimetres with rose -coloured snow. According to Captain Ross, the ridges on which he observed this phenomenon are about 600 feet high, and extend eight miles in length. The depth to which the colour penetrates has been variously stated by different observers. Some found that it descended many feet beneath the surface, while others never saw it spread beyond one or two inches. There is no reason to suppose that the colouring matter itself, as well as the snow, is a meteorological product, although Humboldt certainly mentions a shower of red hail which fell at Paramo de Guanacos, in South America. Moisture is no doubt essential to the production of this plant, as it is to that of all the other Algce; but, when once formed, it seems to possess the power of continued vegetation, even on rocks and stones, w^ith only an occasional supply of fluid. The propagation of minute vegetable forms, like that of animalcules, is eff^ected, under favourable circumstances, with a rapidity of development truly astonishing ; and the most probable conjecture seems to be, that snow is not the natural situation of the Protococcus Nivalis^ but merely that, from its great tenacity of life, it can preserve its vitality on so chilly and ungenial a surface. If such be the case, it is easy to suppose how a wide expanse may be covered with this red suffusion, during the occa- sional flowing of the snowy waters. When once esta- blished, its particles become more numerous than the sands of the ocean ; and, increasing in density from year to year, it presents at last to the astonished navigator a sight more surprising in its reality than any of the fabled wonders of an Arabian tale. A singular coincidence has been observed by botanists to exist between a white ground and a red flower. Thus ''^■•■■.>'';-:v VEQETAULE LIFE. 93 the rich and brilliant variety of Anthy His vulnaria is onlj CHAP. IT. found on a chalky surface ; and many of the higher coJq^^j t,,^ orders of flowering plants show a decided tendency to snow plant. produce red-coloured petals when they happen to spring up on white limestone. " How much more forcibly, then," says Agardh, " must this law operate upon plants like the Algee, in which colour is an essential part." That excess of light produces the peculiar or at least prevailing colour of the snow-plunt, may be said to be demonstrated by this singular fact, that the red colour gradually changes to green as it occurs more or less secluded from the action of light among the fissures of rocks, or beneath the hollows or under-surfaces of stones. This being the case, it will appear the less incomprehen- sible that the same plant which is produced amid the snows of the Arctic regions or the highly elevated Alps of more southern countries, should be occasionally de- tected, even during the heat of summer, covering the brilliant white limestone of the plains. In the last- named locality it was discovered by the Baron Wrangel in the province of Nerike, and named by him Lepraria kermesina ; and the two supposed species have been since ascertained to be one and the same. In concluding our notice of this singular substance, we Effects of re. may observe, that when the warmth of the returning sun Warmth. has partially dissolved the surface of the snow, and thus contributed to the formation and development of these microscopical plants, the vivifying power of the solar light, aided by some peculiar and as yet unknown pro- perty belonging to the natural whiteness of the snow itself, is highly influential in the production of the beautiful colour by which they are distinguished.* * Mr Scoresby conjectured that the rod colour of the Arctic snow derived its origin from innumerable multitudes of very minute creatures belonging to the order Radiata. He had frequently observed the ice to be tinged with an orange colour, obviously resulting from an assemblage of small transparent animals of about the size of a pin's head, resembling the Beroe globulosa of Lamarck. Other observers have thought them- selves authorized to trace the red colour to the dung of the t 94 VKGKTADLE LIFE. CHAP. II. little auk (.Uria alle), which abounds on many of the barren shores of the North. But neither of these supposed causes Gould produce the phenomenon alluded to, as observed amon^ the central Alps or Europe, where marine radiata and littlo auks arc alike unknown. AlfCIENT VOYAGES. 1}£ CHAPTER in. Ancient Voyages to the North, Voyage of Pytheas— Norwegian Expeditions ; Ohthero — Colo- nization of Iceland— Tlie Zeni— Quirini. The voyages to the North, undertaken prior to the CHAP^IH great era of maritime enterprise and the invention of Ancient the compass, were few in number, and scarcely extended voyages. into those circumpolar regions which form the special subject of the present volume. It will be enough, therefore, to take a rapid sketch of the steps by which discovery proceeded towards those remote and almost inaccessible quarters. The Mediterranean, the shores of which constituted Earliest the first civilized portion of the "West, was the quarter maritime where European navigation originated. As Tyre, situ- ated in the depth of that sea, was the earliest seat of commerce, Carthage, the daughter of Tyre, was doubtless the first state which undertook any extensive discoveries upon the ocean. These, however, were shrouded in deep mystery, prompted by the jealous and monopolizing temper of this people, once so powerful and opulent. The clas»c writers give only some slight and detached notices of the voyage of Himilco, who appears to have HimUja sailed along the exterior coasts of Spain and France, and to have reached the southern extremity of Britain. This, it is probable, was only the first of a series of voyages carried on with the view of procuring tin, — a metal rare and highly valued in those days. The Cas- siterides, or Tin-islands, which appear to be Cornwall 06 ANCIENT VOYAGES. B.'Uieas. Stniho, CHAP. III. and the Scilly Isles combined together, were celebrated — among the primitive authors of Europe. The most distinguished of the Greek navigators who penetrated into the North was Pytheas, a citizen of Marseilles, a Greek colony, which, favoured by its situ- ation, had become the chief emporium of the commerce of Britain, already esteemed of some importance. He seems to have been the first wl^o, inspired by motives of intelligent curiosity, endeavoured to reach the British coast, and the remotest extremities of the sea by which it is washed. Our knowledge of this voyage is indeed imperfect, being almost entirely due to Strabo, who, while he relates it, derides the whole as a palpable for- gery ; yet the very particulars on which he founds this charge go far to establish the fact he questions. Pytheas appears to have passed the Straits, and sailed along the western coasts of France and Spain, which, from pre- vious misconception, he confounds together. Thence he seems to have directed his course through the English Channel, and along the eastern coasts of Britain, till he reached the northern parts of the island. Not content with this achievement, he continued to sail onwards into the depths of ocean, till in six days he arrived at Thule, an island where it appeared to him that perpetual light reigned at midsummer throughout the night as well as the day. Immediately beyond, his progress was arrested by a barrier of a peculiar nature — by something which v/as neither earth, air, nor sky, but a compound of all the three ; forming a thick viscid substance, through which it was impossible to penetrate. These statements have afforded much advantage to sceptical readers ; yet the summer days of Shetland are really very long, and the thick and gloomy mists, with which the Noithern Sea is often loaded, might make a pe- culiar impression on the mind of a man who had ven- tured into this unknown ocean so far beyond the limit of former navigation : they might make him prone to believe that he had arrived at the farthest boundaries of Tliule. Northern mists. ANCIENT VOYAGES. 97 nature. It seems difficult, however, to suppose, with chai. ii(. Bougainville, that he proceeded as far as Iceland ; though ^^^^' there is little douht that he entered the Baltic, and also brought home a correct account of its shores, then known to the people on the Mediterranean almost solely by the qualities of the amber which was thence imported. The enterprise of Py theas, though apparently quite Results of authentic, did not lead to any change in the course of tiiu voyiiKoi the Massylian trade. It was probably found both cheaper and more convenient to transport the produc- tions of Britain through Gaul, than to convey them by means of such a lengthened and perilous voyage. The only other additions to ancient knowledge respecting tlic northern seas were made by the Romans, who, in Older to conquer, were obliged to explore the earth. Agricola, before undertaking the campaign which was to reduce Scotland into a province, sent fleets to explore Agvicol* its most northern shores and bays. His countrymen, however, do not appear to have sent in that direction, nor perhaps in any other, naval expeditions having dis- covery alone for their object. Their delineation of Caledonia itself is excessively rude ; and though they had traced the shores of Europe eastward as far as Russia, the great peninsula of Scandinavia appeared to them only as a cluster of islands. In the decline of the Roman empire, that country, scandlna^1a. formerly so little regarded, became the seat of a most for- midable maritime power. Norway, under the terrible dominion of Harold the Fairhaired, Denmark, under Gorm and Canute, sent forth fleets which pillaged all the coasts of Europe, and reduced many of them to subjec- tion. Their movements, however, were from the North, not to the North ; and their objects were not science, but ravage and conquest. The Runic tribes, indeed, were not without some tincture of letters and poetry ; though their sagas or poetical chronicles celebrated only the exploits of their mighty sea-kings and rovers, not any undertaking connected with commerce and the arts of peace. Yet a communication with these adventurers F \ 08 ANCIENT VOYAGES. AlfuiL Ohtlioi-e. ViivrtRo to till' North cupo. CHAP. iir. enabled Alfred, that illustrious monarch, to collect in- formation respecting those extremities of the earth which had remained unknown to the Greeks and Ro- mans. Ohthcro, a chief who had como from the upper tracts of Norway, afforded some intelligence respecting a voyage performed by himself along the Arctic shores of Europe. This traveller was considered a rich man in his own country, being owner of twenty oxen, twenty sheep, and six hundred tome rein-deer. Fired by a spirit of liberal research, ho put to sea in order to discover the regions that loy northward of the high latitude in which his domain was situated. He sailed six days in that direc- tion, at the end of which he appears to huvo reached the North Cape, the farthest point of Europe ; ho then turned three days towards the east, and afterwards fivo days to the south. All this while the land on his right was desolate, traversed only by a few wandering shep- herds and hunters of Finnish race. Then, however, he reached a large river, the opposite side of which was somewhat densely inhabited by the Biarmians, or people of Northern Russia, who showed such a hostile disposi- tion as obliged him to return. The fishery of the horse-whale (walrus) was found to be carried on here with so great advantage, that many individuals were ofterwards induced to repair thither. Forster delineates the course of Ohthere as extending to the interior of the White Sea : but we do not think the period of eight days from the North Cape could have carried him farther than the river Kola, which agrees olso with the supposition of his having been arrested on the fron- tier of Russian Lapland. In pursuing their favourite objects of conquest and plunder, the Northmen always bent their sails towards the south. To quit their bleak regions in search of others still more bleak, would have been wholly foreign to their views ; yet, as the sea was covered with their ships, chance and tempest sometimes drove them in an opposite direction. In 861, Nadodd, during a piratical Vovaires t>f tlie NorUi men. ANCIENT VOYAOES. 90 excursion, unexpectedly discovered Iceland ; and though CHAP. HI. tikb country liod little to tempt a nation of freebooters, Di„ci^ry it so chanced that there existed materials for its colo- of icuiaud. nizatiou. Harold, in making himself master of all Norway, had deprived of their rights and domains nu- merous petty chieftains, and thereby created a large body of malccontents. But he was willing to grant, and they to accept, a permanent refuge in this frozen clime ; and, accordingly, successive bands of emigrants colontzatioo. proceeded thither, where they were organized into a free and independent community. They even crossed to the opposite coast of Greenland, and formed settle- ments, which for some time were tolerably flourishing, though they have since either perished or lost all com- munication with the parent state. During the eleventh century, however, chance or enterprise led them south- ward to another coast, which they called Vinland, and „. . . which has been very generally believed to be America, though, after a careful examination of the authorities on which this opinion rests, we are satisfied that the new country was merely a more southern point of Greenland. The limits of the present work, however, will not admit any detailed account of these settlements. The republican cities of Italy, during the middle ages. Medieval ' revived the fainting spirit of commerce and navigation, voyagera. which they ciHStd to a dogree of prosperity, equal, pro- bably, to ihti attti'iicd ))y Tyre, n^iOi. tarrh/igc /"W''thiii; the ^ Mediterranean, , f specially its eastern bcrdQi', 'w1iitb*er.Weie*'»>rcught o^'^ei'land," py by the Red Sea, the commodities of India. Few V7er& dis- posed to quit this bright and golden track to face the tempests of the northern ocean ; yet were there not wanting some adventurous spirits who incurred all the hazai'ds of penetrating into its remote and dangerous waters. Nicolo Zeno, a noble merchant of Venice, undertook, nicoIo Zena in 1380, a voyage to Flanders, during which a tempest drove him upon a coast that he calls Friesland. The ■ttM \ l. - ■■ 100 ANCIENT VOYAOFS. Frieslund. Prince. Zii-limnL Voymre to Greenlund. CUAP. m. position of this unknown shore has been a 8u1)joct of controversy ; and some have even had recourse to the hypothesis of its having been since swallowed up by the ocean. When, however, we find that Friesland was in fact a cluster of islands, to which are applied the names, Talas, Broas, Bres, Iscant, easily converted into Zeal, Brassa, Unst, we may conclude with Forster that it was probably one of the Shetland Isles. Being cast ashore in a state completely destitute, he was received with great kindness by the Prince Zichmni ; who, finding him eminently skilled in naval affairs, reposed in him the highest confidence, and placed under his command various expeditions. So pleased was the Venetian with the favour of this northern potentate, that he invited his brother Antonio to join him. The only voyage, however, which seems to have carried him far to the north, was one to Greenland, and he gives a somewhat romantic account of a religious establishment already formed in that country. The convent was built on the Bide of a hill, whence burst a copious spring, whose boiling waters enabled the monks to vanquish all the evils of the climate. When spread on the frozen soil, it contributed to the production of the most useful herbs and culinary plants ; and when introduced into the houses, it served for warming the apartments and cooking the vic,tuals^ .Th?y > wevQ 'likewise supplied from the cpvintry/wjtU abunddncex)^ fisa^ vtiin-deer, and wild-fowl^ .ji(id.,vHS«eis trom Nuiway brought to them the luxuries ojF life. ,Zeno performed pihev voyages in a cfi|l^rei>t,.(iirftctioB, Avjiich ha/e«v^/iiUeen supposed to re4(^v as far as -Ameiica ; but we' incline to think that the notices which have suggested this conclusion aie partly misunderstood and partly interpolated.* Quirini, af.other Italian nobleman, in 1431, engaged in a similar enterprise, and was likewise driven by a tempest on the coast of Norway. The crew arrived in • A recent writer views the whole narrative as a complete forijery, — a conclusion to which we are not willing to accede. Supposed voyuRu to Aineriua. ANCIENT VOYAGES. 101 the most miserable plight, having lost the ship, and been CHAP. iiL obliged to take to their boats, after the greater part of QuiiinL~ them had perished by hunger, cold, and thirst. They were thrown first on a small umnhabited island, where, having erected two tents, and found a large fish, they contrived to support life. After some days, a fisherman j^atjyg and two boys coming in a boat to the island, were at flshermca. . first terrified at the sight of the strangers ; but, by soothing language and importunity, were at length pre- vailed upon to take with them two of the sailors, — Gerard of Lyons and Cola of Otranto. They rowed to a village on the neighbouring island of Rost, where they met the kindest reception ; and, as it chanced to be Sunday, the priests exhorted the congregation to afford all the assistance in their power to these unfortunate strangers. Six boats were fitted out, the appearance of [iogpi;aiity which filled Quirini with joy ; and his satisfaction was still farther increased by receiving a supply of bread and beer, as well as a cordial invitation to proceed with his deliverers to Rost. He and his people were treated with uninterrupted kindness durhig a stay of three months, in which time they completely recovered from all their distress and fatigue. The natives of this little island, about 120 in number, subsisted on salt fish, >f«five pro- which they carried to the market of Bergen, where """' purchasers arrived from Germany and other countries ; also on sea-fowl, which in vast flocks covered all the surrounding rocks, and even built on the sides of the houses. Many of these birds were so tame that, when the natives walked up to their nests, they were wont to step off, allow two or three eggs to be taken, and then resume their seat. The people were most strict in their attention to religious duties, and carried their resignation to the will of Providence so very far that they rejoiced, and sometimes even held a festival, at the death of near relations. The Italians, accustomed to the feelings of southern jealousy, were extremely surprised to see all ^"w.*'*"'° the members of a family sleeping together in one apart- ment, which they themselves were permitted to share 102 ANCIENT VOYAGES. maunen. CHAP. III. without the remotest feeling of impropriety. In sun« Simplicity of ™®^» ^*^ sexes walked naked to the nearest pool, and bathed promiscuously, all in perfect innocence, and without awakening any suspicion, — ^a practice, indeed, which pretty generally prevails in the northern coun- tries of Europe at the present day. The summer having arrived, Quirini took occasion to go with the annual ship to Drontheim, and, travel- ling thence by land to Sweden, he found a vessel bound for Rostcck, in which he finally returned to Italy by way of England. \ A-- KORTH-EAST VOYAGES. 102J CHAPTER IV. Voyages in Search of a North-east Passage. Rise of Maritime Enterprise in England— Plan of a North-east Passage to India — Expedition of Sir Hugh Willoughby ; its Issue — Chancelor reaches the White Sea ; Journey to Mos- cow— Voyage of Burroughs — Of Pet and Jackman — Dutch Expeditions — Barontz's First, Second, and Third Voyages ; His Death— Hudson — Wood — Litke. The latter part of the fifteenth century may be fixed CHAP, iv upon as that period in the history of the world when GroaTmaru uiaritime discovery was prosecuted on the greatest scale, time under- and with the most splendid results. Travellers and *' navigators of the present day have displayed an enter- • ])rise which cannot be exceeded ; but there remained for their efforts only the distant boundaries of ocean, or the interior of barbarous continents. On the contrary, vast kingdoms, new worlds, regions teeming with un- bounded wealth, rewarded the daring career of Gama and Columbus. A new direction was given to human ambition and industry ; and the discovery of distant regions became not only a commercial speculation with individuals, but one of the grandest objects of national policy. England had always shown herself ready to embark Enciuh ad. in every scheme of adventure and utility ; yet she was "*'*"'*"'^^ not altogether prepared for these extensive undertakings. The nations of southern Europe were then nearly a century in advance of those ruder states which lay behind the Alps and the Pyrenees. Venice, Genoa, Seville, Lisbon, and not London or Amsterdam, were I i i .T^tch:,%t>A/:'JrsT-.--ji. .1 Wii TIltftilfiTl I 11 104 NORTH-EAST VOYAGES. Henry VII. CHAP. IV. the great schools of commerce and navigation. Tlie Early schools l^&hits and ideas of the feudal system, its proud indolence of imviga- and contempt of mechanical pursuits, were only in the course of being superseded ; and the mercantile interest possessed as yet only a small share of that importance to which it has since attained. Henry VII., amid these unfavourable circumstanoes, and with nothing of the heroic or adventurous in his composition, possessed qualities which enabled him to appreciate the advantages of maritime discovery. Every thing which promised to fill his coiFers was congenial to his taste ; and for this reason he showed himself ready to meet the views of Columbus with greater zeal than any other monarch of the age. Thut great navigator, after vain solicitation at the courts of Spain and Portu- gal, sent his brother Bartholomew to make propositions to the English sovereign, which were very favourably listened to ; but before his messenger returned to Castile, the Genoese captain, under the auspices of Isabella, was already crossing the Atlantic. It was afterwards with the countenance of Henry, though not at his expense, that John Cabot, in 1497, made that important voyage in which he discovered Newfound- land,— an Island which, though not fitted for culture, has become the seat of one of the greatest fisheries in the world. He was also the first European who came into contact with any part of the American continent. The same prince, in 1498, furnished to him the means of fitting out another expedition, which appears to have been conducted by his son Sebastian. He subsequently granted to Richard Warde, Thomas Ashehurst, and Jolin Thomas, merchants of Bristol, in conjunction with three natives of Portugal, letters-patent, to undertake the discovery of lands and regions unknown ; but the result of their expedition is not recorded. Notwithstanding these proceedings, England had not yet thoroughly imbibed the true spirit of maritime enterprise. Kindled at a foreign shrine, the flame, when deprived of external support, gradually Ian- John Cabot. Bristol Com' pany. NORTH-EASl VOYAGES. 105 guLshed ; and it became nearly extinct during the long chap IV. reign of Henry VIII. Considering the character of this K^n^ vill. despot, full of bustle, needy of money, and not devoid of intelligence, he might have been supposed rather prompt to embark in such undertakings ; but, involved in numerous disputes, domestic and theological, and studying, though with little skill, to hold the balance between the two great continental rivals, Charles and Francis, he was insensible to the glory and advantages to be derived from naval expeditions.* Sebastian Cabot, Scbnirtlan in order to obtain employment, was obliged to quit England and repair to Spain, where he was received with much favour, and spent the greater part of his life, either in attempts at discovery, or in a quiet resi- dence at Seville, where he was consulted and revered as a nautical oracle. After a long slumber the maritime genius of England * This passage has drawn forth the indignation of a lato Kxpodltlonn author (Memoir of Sebastian Cabot, Lond. 1831), who repro- under Huni-y bents the writer of this department of the work, in conjunction ^^^'* with his illustrious predecessors, Robertson and Forster, aa wholly disregarding " the evidence which strikingly evinces the earnest and continued exertions of Henry VIII. in reference to this project" (p. 281). Yet his utmost research has only proved that this prince, in the course of a reign of thirty -eight years, while all Europe was filled with the enthusiasm of maritime discoverv, fitted out two expeditions, both seemingly in compliance with very urgent representations. Mr Thome, the chief English promoter of naval discovery, entirely concurs with us when he says to Henry, in a letter written during the eighteenth year of his reign, " Perceiving that your Grace may at your pleasure, to your greater glory, by a godly meane, with little cost, perill, or labour to your Grace or any of your sub- jects, amplifie and inrich this your sayd rcalme, I know it is my bounaen duety to manifest this secret unto your GTSiCO,which hitherto, as I suppose, hath beene Aid."— Hakluyt, i. 213. Tho single expedition fitted out in the course of the succeeding twenty years could not materially alter the character of Henry as a promoter of discovery. A consideration of the simple fact, that Sebastian Cabot, during nearly the whole reign of this monarch, was obliged to seek patronage in a foreign country, is surely decisive as to his pretended zeal in tho cauue of discovery. Ihere does not therefore appear the slightest ground for any alteration in the passage as it stands m tho text. ■ wmamtiamtM mtmm riMMM 106 NORTH-EAST VOYAGES. CHAP. IV. Eawurd VL Cabot Royal interest A'soclntlon formed. F^ale oi pro- lyl lation. was suddenly roused ; bursting forth under a young prince of high hope and promise. In 1663, the sixth year of the reign of Edward VI., the merchants of London, among whom are said to have been " men of great wisdom and gravity," felt an unwonted and ex- treme ardour in the cause of discovery. There chanced at that critical moment to be in their city no less a person than Sebastian Cabot, with whom they entered into deep consultation, and with his assistance formed the general plan of a voyage, having in view to reach, by way of the north and north-east, the celebrated regions of India and Cathay, The obstacles to such an undertaking could not yet be fully appreciated ; no just idea having been formed of the immense breadth of Asia, its extension towards the north, and the en- ormous masses of ice with which its shores are encum- bered. The youthful monarch, whether he had any influence in inspiring this general ardour, or whether he caught the flame from his people, showed the most eager in- terest in the cause. He had already named Sebastian grand pilot of England, with a salary, considerable in that age, of £166. It was not by royal munificence, however, that the funds were supplied for prosecuting this arduous enterprise. An association, or senate as it is called, was formed, who judged it most advisable to divide the concern into shares of £26, by which means the sum of six thousand pounds was easily raised, and employed in the construction and equipment of three vessels fitted for northern navigation. The preparations, with a due regard to the formidable character and length of the voyage, were made on a scale of which there had been no previous example. Cabot says, " The like was never in any realm seen, used, or known." The timbera were made of extraordinary strength, by the best ship- wrights ; the keel was covered with thin sheets of lead, — a contrivance then practised for the first time, — and provisions for eighteen months were put on board. The grand pilot, though unable, probably from his age, to NORTH-EAST VOYAGES. 107 »ccompany the expedition, drew out a series of instruc- chap. IV. tions, in which the whole conduct to be observed by the codeoTin- officers and crew is minutely laid down. He enjoins stmctions. strict attention to morals ; that morning and evening prayers be read on board each ship, either by the chap- lain or master ; and that there be no ** ribaldry or ungodly talk, dicing, carding, tabling, nor other devilish games." He prohibits all acts tending to the breach of discipline, "conspiracies, part-takings, factions, false tales, which be the very seeds and fruits of contention." Naval subordination being in that age only imperfectly established, and the tendency to mutiny very strong, these exhortations were most seasonable. All questions „^ ^ ^^ ^^ respecting the steering of the ship were to be decided twelve, by a council of twelve, the captain having only a double vote. Persons skilled in writing were, in each vessel, to keep a daily record of the course of navigation, the celestial observations, the aspect of the lands along which they sailed, with every other interesting occurrence. The diiFerent masters were to meet weekly, compare these records, and enter the result in a common ledger. Directions were even given for adjusting weekly ac- counts, keeping the cook-room and other parts of the ship clean, and preventing any liquor from being spilled upon them. The natives of the countries which they visited were " to be considered advisedly, and treated towards with gentleness and courtesy, without any disdain, foreigner laughing, or contempt." Particular endeavours were to be made by fair means to allure some one on board, where he was to be well clothed and treated, so as to attract others ; but we cannot so much apnlaud the liint, that " if he be made drunk with ymir wioe or beer, you shall know the secrets of his heart." The mariners are exhorted, however, to use the utmost circumspection in their dealings with these strangers, and, if invited to dine with any lord or ruler, to go well armed, and in a posture of defence. The liveries lurnished to the sailors were to be carefully kept by the mercantile agents, and to be worn only when their MHanu i 108 NORTH-EAST VOYAGES. Naval UvurioiL Sir UiiRii W'illoiigUby, CHAP. IV. captain considered it an object to show them "in good army for the advancement and lionour of the voyage." He warns the mariners not to be too much alarmed when they saw the natives dressed in lions' and bears* ikins, with long bows and arrows, as this formidable appearance was often assumed merely to inspire terror. However, he seems to suggest a still more chimerical fear, when he tolls them that there are persons armed with bows, who swim naked, in various sens, havens, and rivers, " desirous of the bodies of men, which tlicy covet for meat," and against whom diligent watch must be kept night and day. Wo know not whether some confused rumour of the shark and alligator had an in- fluence in suggesting this strange precaution. It now became necessary to elect a suitable com- mander, and many offers were made both by persons qualified and unqualified. The choice for the supreme direction fell on Sir Hugh Willoughby. His recom- mendations, as mentioned by Adams, were high birth, tall and handsome person, valiant conduct and sklJl in war, — merits probably enhanced by admiration of the heroism which impelled him to engage in this new and dai'ing career. No mention being made of nautical experience, it may be suspected that, amid so many brilliant qualities, this most essential requisite was not duly taken into account. The charge of the next vessel was confided to Richard Chancelor, an ^leve of Henry Sidney, father of Sir Philip, and who first gave lustre to that great name. Sidney stood high in the favour of the king, and wns animated with the most ardent zeal for the promotion of the voyage. Chancelor is specially commended for " the many good parts of wit in him," tending to inspire the most sanguine hopes of his success. The preparations being completed, Edward drew up Koyai kt.er. a letter addressed to all "kings, princes, rulers, judges, and governors of the earth ;" which, if composed by himself, certainly reflects very considerable credit upon his spirit and judgment. He observes to these unknown Iiicxperl eiice. Richard Clmncellor, NORTII-BAST VOYAGES. 109 potentates, that " the great and Almighty God hath chap, iv given unto mankind, above all other living creatures, objecu of such a heart and desire that every man desireth to join the voyonat friendship with otlier, to love and to be loved, also to give and receive mutual benefits." He represents, therefore, the duty of showing kindness to strangers, and especially to "merchants, who wander about the world, search both the land and the sea, to carry such good and profitable things as are found in their countries to remote regions and kingdoms." With this view, it is stated that a valiant knight. Sir Hugh Willoughby, and other trusty and faithful servants, had depailed from England. "We therefore desire you, kings and princes, and all other to whom there is any power on earth, to permit unto these our servants free passage by your regions and dominions, for they shall not touch any thing of yours unwilling unto you." If such kindness were shown, he concludes, "We promise, by the God of all things that ai'e contained in heaven, earth, and the sea, and by the life and tranquillity of our kingdoms, that we will with like humanity accept your sei-vants, if at any time they shall come to our kingdoms." It was judged inexpedient to delay the sailing of the j^^^ ^^ ^^^^ vessels beyond the 10th of May, lest they should be ing. overtaken by winter in the northern latitudes. All the members of the expedition took a solemn and tender leave of their relations, kindred, and "friends dearer than kindred," and were at their station on the ap- pointed day. Early in the morning they dropped down from Ratcliffe to Greenwich, where the court, and, as it were, the nation, were assembled to witness their departure. The king himself was confined by illness. Departure. but the principal courtiers stood at the palace- windows, the rest of the household mounted the towers, while the people in crowds lined the shore. The sliips fired their guns, causing the hills and valleys to resound ; and "the mariners shouted in such sort that the sky rung with the noise thereof. In short, it was a very mtatistm (I i^l no NORTH-EAST VOYAGES. Number of Tossols. Contrary wiiida. CHAP. IV. triumph." The thought of the distant and unknown 8003, into which thoy were ao perilously plunging, was cither forgotten in this moment of exultation, or served only to heighten its enthusiasm. The expedition, which consisted of three vessels, after stopping a few days at Dlackwall, sailed down to Gravesend, and thence to the coast of Essex, where contrary winds unfortunately detained them till the 23d. Then, with a favouring gale, they quitted Eng- land and shaped their course into the open expanse of the German Seo ; the sailors fixing their eyes on their native land as it gradually receded, and many, unaccustomed tc these distant voyages, dropped a few natural tears at the thought that they were seeing it perhaps for the last time. Sir Hugh was desirous of touching at the coast of Scotland ; but this was rendered impossible by con- trary winds, which obliged him also to make frequent changes of course, " traversing and tracing the seas." On the 14th July he found himself involved in that labyrinth of isles which stud the coast of Norway between the 66th and 68th degrees of latitude. The ships then altered their course and proceeded till they came to the larger range of the Lofoot (LofFoden) Isles. The people, subject to Denmark, were gentle and courteous ; but the English, evidently ignorant of this coast, sought in vain to learn how these islands were situated with regard to the Norwegian shore. They proceeded onward to the large island of Seynam or Senjan, where they endeavoured without success to procure a pilot. They were now approaching the North Cape, and saw before them the abyss of the Arctic Ocean stretching onwards to the Pole, and soon to be filled with snows and tempests. In this critical conjuncture Sir Hugh assembled the commanders, and exhorted them to keep close together ; but, in case of separation, appointed their rendezvous at Wardhuys, understood to be the principal port of Finmark. The wisdom of this precaution soon appeared ; for, before Conree of voyage. MOUTU-BAST VOYAGES. Ill they could enter a harbour, there arose such " flaws chap. iv. of wind and terrible whirlwinds," that they were obliged separatTr.n of to stand out to the open sea, and allow the vessels the thifh. to drift at the mercy of the waves. Amid the thick mists of the next stormy night the two principal ships separated, and never again met. Clement Adams, who was with Chancelor, says, that as they were driving before the gale, the admiral loudly and earnestly called upon them to keep close to him ; but that he himself carried so much sail, and his vessel was so superior, that the other could not possibly obey this order. Willoughby's pinnace was dashed to pieces amid the tempest ; and next morning, when light dawned, ho Tempest could see neither of his companions ; but, discovering at length the smaller vessel called the Confidence, he continued his voyage. He now sailed nearly two hun- dred miles north-east and by north, but was astonished and bewildered at not discovering any appearance of a shore ; whence it was manifest that " the land lay not as the globe made mention." The imperfect maps of those days appear not to have shown that rapid bend towards the south which the coast takes near the great opening of the Waranger Fiord, on which Wardhuys is situated. Instead, therefore, of approach- ing the borders of Norway, he was plunging deeper and deeper into the abysses of the Northern Ocean. At length the soundings, indicating a depth of 160 fathoms, proved that, as the navigators were out at sea, they must have fallen into some great and perilous error. They then for some time steered to the south- uncertainty east, yet afterwards again turned to the north, and "^^ ^^*^^- continued shifting their courses amid doubt and un- certainty. As they groped their way in this manner through those vast and stormy seas, land at length appeared, but high, desolate, and covered with snow, while no sound could be wafted over the waves except the crash of its falling ice, and the hungry roar of its monsters. This coast was evidently that of Nova Zembla ; but there was no point at which a landing could 112 nortim:asi fo^' ^oBt. luiid. CHAP. IV. be made. After another attempt to push to the noith- ward, the mariners became f^^^^^^hle that Norway must RiiMian Up- bo sought in an opposite iiS|n*rtJrti. They turned to the south-west, ond havinjj 1 I wed that course for a number of days, saw the coua- 'f^ Russian Liiplnnd. At this point they must have been* / 'vy near the opening of the White Sea, into which /wd fortune guided their sails, they would have reached Archangel, have had a joyful meeting with their comrades, and spent the winter in comfort and security. An evil destiny led them westward, in the hope, probably, of reaching Wardhuys, the only point in those im- mense seas of which they had any distinct knowledge. The coast was naked, uninhabited, and destitute of shelter, except at one point, where they found it bold and rocky, but with some good harbours. Here, though it was only tlie middle of September, they felt already all the rigours of a northern season ; intense frost, snow, and ice, driving through the air aa though it had been the depth of winter. For these reasons, the officers conceived it inexpedient to starch any longer along those desolate 'ihores, but to take up their quarters in this haven till the ensuing spring. They were sur- prised by the appearances of rein-deer, foxes. Polar bears, and " divers beasts to them unknown, and there- fore wonderful." The narrative here closes, and the darkest gloom involves the fate of this first English expedition, for neither the commander nor any of his brave com- panions ever returned to their native land. After long suspense and anxiety, tidings reaches home that some Russian sailors, as they wandered along those dreary tracts, had been astonished by the view of two large ships, which they entered, and found the gallant crews all lifeless. There was only the journal of the voyage, with a note written in January, showing that at that date they were still alive. What was the immediate cause of a catastrophe so dismal and so complct^^ — whether it was the extremity of cold, famine, or diset. or vi'hether Loss of the expeiUtiun. NORTH-EAST VOYAGES. lid ' all those ills united at once to assail them,— can now cii *" nr. only be a mat ier of wvd conjecture, Thomsou thus pathe- pocti7~ tictUly laments their fate : — lament Misorable they, Who, hero ontanp;1od in tho gathering ice, Tako thoir last look of tho (icHCoiuIiiiK Hun ; Whilo full of death, and fierce wllh t« fold frost, Tliu long long uight, incumbon* ) <.r iL' ir heads, Falls horrible. Such was tho AJi i'.' nV l';\,te, As with AVa/ prow (what ^ :ive tint Bruons dared !) Ho for tho passage sou{;hi, >=i"'' to avoid them, under the pretext that he was in extreme haste ; but, on receiving a glass, two pewter spoons, and two knives, he presented seventeen wild geese, and gave much information. He told them that they were on the coast of the wild Samoiedes, who owned no subjection to the czar, but " will shoot at all men to the uttermost of their power that cannot speak their speech ;" it was even said that they ate the Russians. He then conducted Burroughs to a place left by these people, where there were still three hundred of their idols, the rudest work- Native iJoia. manship he ever saw. They consisted of figures of men, women, and children, " very grossly wrought ; the eyes, mouths, and other parts, stained with blood." We may hero mention that Johnson, one of the party, when at 116 NORTH-EAST VOYAGES. Native magic. Mnaical trickii. CHAP. IV. the Pechora, had been present at a mighty seen* of magical incantation, performed by one of the great northern wizards. This personage first took a great sieve, somewhat resembling a drum, then he began to sing " as we use in England to halloo, whoop, and shout at hounds," to which the company responded with — ighOf ighOy igha f At length the magician fell into con- vulsions, and dropped down as if dead, though he could still be heard breathing. The visiter having asked the meaning of all this, was told — ^* Now doth our God tell him what we shall do !" Having thus allowed him to remain for a short time, the people began to cry aghao, aghao ! whereupon he rose and again began to sing. He next took a sword and thrust it through his body, causing it to enter at the breast and issue at the back. Johnson saw it go into the shirt before and come out at the shirt behind, but does not seem to have scrutinized with any diligence its actual passage through the person. The magician then sat down with a vessel of hot water before him, and a line or rope of deer-skin passed round his body, over all which, as well as himself, a spacious mantle was spread. The ends of the line being left outside the robe, were drawn tight by two men, till something was heard falling into the dish. The English- man, asking what this was, learned with horror that it was the magician's head, shoulder, and left arm, severed from the body by the violent pulling of the rope. He entreated that he might be allov/ed to lift the cloak and view this awful spectacle, but was assured that no one could do so and live. After the multitude had sung and hallooed for some time, the covering was removed, when the wizard came forth perfectly entire, all the parts cut asunder having it seems been miraculously replaced. This imposture, however gross and obvious, appears to have completely succeeded with the ignorant natives. Burroughs had passed fifteen leagues beyond the mouth of the Pechora, and the soundings indicated an approach to Nova Zembla, when he came to the conclusion that all attempts to penetrate farther this year would be Ridiculous crodulity. NOKTH-EAST VOYAGES. 117 abortive. Among other causes, he mentions the un- chap. iv. towai'd north and north-easterly wmds, which were obstacles en- more powerful than in any other place he ever knew ; countered. the great and terrible abundance of ice, of which he had reaison always to expect greater store ; the nights waxing dark, and Winter with his storms beginning to draw on. Under these considerations he determined to return and pass the gloomy season at Colmogro, stating his intention to resume next summer the attempt to penetrate east- ward ; but this, in consequence of other employment, was never carried into eflPect. There occurred now a tragical incident connected with Tragical in- northem discovery. The czar, Ivan Vasilovitch, sent °^ ^^ with Chancelor an ^rx'^' issador and orator, as he is termed, Osep Nepea Grcgoro,. vich, in charge of four ships heavily laden with fun, vviix, train-oil, and other Russian com- modities, to the value of upwards of £20,000, which belonged partly to the merchants and partly to the im- perial envoy himself. On this homeward voyage, two wreck of of the vessels were wrecked on the coast of Norway, a ^^^^ third reached the Thames, but the Edward Bonaventure, in which the chiefs of the expedition had embarked, was driven by the tempest into the Bay of Pitsligo, in the north of Scotland, where it went entirely to pieces. The English captain attempted, in a very dark night, to con- vey himself and the ambassador ashore in a boat ; but the skiff was overwhelmed by the waves, and the former drowned, while the latter with great difficulty succeeded in reaching the land. He thence proceeded to London, where Philip and Mary gave him a splendid reception. From these events, an apprehension of disaster and j^^^ feeling of dismay were associated with all such voyages projects. along the northern boundary of Europe and Asia. This would not probably have damped the high spirit of enterprise by which the British were then animated ; but the Muscovy Company, at the same period, had their attention diverted by the project of opening a communication with Persia and India across the Caspian, and by ascending the Oxus to Bokhara. Tliis object ■■ :■';■ ' 118 NORTU-EAST VOYAGES. Asiatic re sedTclies. CHAP. IV. they prosecuted at great expense, and by a series of bold adventures, in the course of which Jenkinson, Johnson, Alcocke, and others, penetrated deeply into the interior of Asia. An unusual degree of courage was indeed ne- cessary to undertake this expedition, which was to be begun by passing round the North Cape to the White Sea; then, by a land journey and voyage down the Volga, across the whole breadth of the Russian empire to Astracan, before they could even embark on the noidness n ^^^P^^^' -^^^ truth is, such a scheme was marked by ignorance, the ignorance not less tlian by the boldness of early mercantile enterprise. It was soon ascertained that no goods could bear the cost of so long a carriage by sea and land ; that the products of India could be brought, and those of Europe returned, much cheaper and more com- modiously, by the way of Aleppo and the Mediterranean, than by this vast circuit round the stormy North. It the former conveyance, therefore, could not stand a competition with the water-carriage by the Cape of Good Hope, how could the latter ? It was abandoned, and no attempt for a long time was made to revive it. This channel of intercourse with India having failed, the attention of commercial and nautical adventureis was again attracted to the possibility of effecting a pas- sage by the north and east of Asia. Intelligence had just been received respecting the river Oby, which was reported to enter the ocean by seventy mouths, and therefore seemed likely to communicate with the most important countries in the interior. John Balak, who had taken up his residence at Duisburg, on the Osella, wrote to Gei*ard Mercator, the famous cosmographer, a particular account of this river, and of the efforts made by Assenius, a native of the Netherlands, to penetrate eastward along the Asiatic coast. He mentions in par- ticular another river, described as a tributary of the Oby, but which, from the details, appears rather to have been the Yenisei, down which came " great vessels laden with rich and precious merchandise, brought by black or swart people." In ascending this river, men came to the lai'ge Renewed n:iitliern projects. Ji.h'.i Btilak. NORTH-EAST VOYAGES. 119 lake of Kittay (Baikal ?), on whose banks were the chap. iv. Kara Kalmucks, who, he asserts, were the very people ^j^^ y^igei of Cathay. It was added, that on the shores of this lake had been heard sweet harmony of bells, and that stately and large buildings had been seen therein. Hence Mcr- cator, in a letter to Hakluyt, infers that a very small progress beyond the limit already reached by navigators would cany them to the spacious realms of Japan and China. He maintained that the cape bounding the Gulf i^jf^'**"* of Oby was no other than the great promontory of Tabis, which, according to Pliny, formed the north- eastern boundary of Asia; which being turned, the fortunate mariner would bear down direct upon Scrica, Cathay, Cambalu, — ^those regions with which ancient and modem rumour had identified the position of the Chineso empire. This was underrating the breadth of Asia by a hundred degrees of longitude, or more than a fourth of the circumference of the globe ; yet so imperfect were the sources of knowledge in those days, that the error, however immense, cannot be considered as &tal to the reputation of this great geographer. To realize these views, Arthur Pet and Charles Jack- Tiio ncorce man were supplied in 1680 with two vessels, the George ^""^ wiiiiam. and the William. On the 23d June they arrived at Wardhuys; from which they sailed on the 1st July. Approaching Nova Zembla they found themselves en- closed in a bay of ice, whence they were obliged to come out as they entered, and had much trouble before they were able to round the large field to which it belonged. On the 19th of the same month they saw Waygatz, and Waygoti. endeavoured to steer along its southern coast ; but found the water so shallow that they were compelled to turn and make a circuit by the north. Proceeding onwards they came to a fair low island, and found a passage between the ice and the shore, which, however, at length closed, and they could advance no farther. At the same time the ships were separated by large fields of ice, and could communicate only by beating drums and firing muskets, till they were able to put about and rejoin 120 NORTU-EAST VOYAQES. CHAP. IV. Impeding MO. Great dan- ger. Fatal error The United Provinces. each other. They enjoyed now the most favoiirahlo breeze ; but all was rendered vain by the state of the ice, " Winds we have had at will, but ice and fogs too much against our wills, if it had pleased the Lord God other- wise." The captains therefore determined to return to Waygatz, where they might confer together, and endea- vour to find a more open passage. They were now obliged to warp from one piece of ice to another, some of thcni 80 largo tliat they could not see beyond them from the topmast. They were repeatedly enclosed by these masses, enveloped with dark fogs, and obliged to make fast to icebergs, where, " abiding the Lord's leisure, they oon- inued with patience." On the 13th Ai^gust they were involved among loose ice, a fragment of which broke the stock of their anchor, " and many other great blows we had against the same, that it was marvellous the ship was able to abide them." The boat, being between the floe and the brig, was struck, its side driven in, and the vessel itself was made to recoil backward . Pet and Jack- man did not reach Waygatz till the 16th August ; by which time, it being found impracticable to penetmto again to the eastward, they sought only to repass the North Cape. They appear to have been zealous, well- intentioned men ; but, not duly acquainted with the phenomena of ice, they adhered too closely to the land, whence large masses are continually detached or carried down by the rivers, while the open sea might have afforded better hopes of a prosperous navigation. The United Provinces^ when roused to resistance by the ferocious bigotry of Philip and by the cruelties of the remorseless Alva, after a long, hard, and glorious struggle, succeeded in establishing their little territory as an independent republic. Thenceforth they began to look to the sea as the source of their greatness and pro- sperity. This element surrounded thci** country on all sides, — it towered, as it were, above them ; and they had employed its inundations to defend their small domain against immensely superior forces. Commerce, — a com- merce embracing the globe, — was necessary to compensate II r NORTH-EAST VOYAGES. 121 for the narrow limits within which they were hemmed, chap. iv. and to raise them to the Arst rank among European i^ccMBUy for states. The East was the most promising quarter ; hut commerce. its approaches were strictly guarded, and they had not yet a fleet which could cope with the mighty armadas of Spain in the Atlantic ond Indian Oceans. The North alone wos open to their enterprise ; and, hy passing its frozen houndaries, they hoped to arrive at the rich and celehrated empires whence so ample a tide of wealth had flowed into Europe. The first expedition was undertaken hy a private Private society of merchants, upon asking permission only of the "ssociation. States and their high admiral, Prince Maurice. Three vessels, with a small yacht, were equipped at Amsterdam, Enchuysen, and Zealand. The pilot of the ship belonging to the capital, and to whose guidance the expedition was generally intrusted, was William Barentz, one of the most expert nautical men of the age. The squadron sailed from the Texcl on the 5th June First cxpwil- 1694, and on the 23d arrived at the island of Kilduin * °"' in Muscovy. Approaching Nova Zembla it was formed into two divisions, one of which attempted to pass by the old route of the Strait of Waygatz ; but Barentz liimsclf, taking a bolder course, endeavoured to pass round to the northward of Nova Zembla, that great insular mass which opposed, like a barrier, his eastward progress. Here he coasted the Bay of Loms, so called Bay of Lomst from the numerous flocks of the bird of that name, probably the penguin, with wings so small, compared to its ample body, that it seemed astonishing how they could support the creature's motion in the air. Passing the Black Cape and William's Isle, his people saw various features characteristic of the Arctic world ; among others the walrus in large herds, of which they give a very good description. Subsequently, at the Orange Isles, they came upon two or three hundred lying in heaps upon the sand, and basking in the sun. Having o inumi. Const (f Xnvn Zcllllllll. CHAP. IV. lemnly averred, that, while standing on deck, they saw a mermaid. This inhabitant of the deep ia described as having a back and breast like a woman, a very white skin, and long black hair flowing behind ; but on her turning round they descried a tail as of a poi-poise, and speckled like a mackerel. It seems uncertain which of the cetaceous tribe suggested this resemblance to the human form. Hudson continued to push on eastward, varyingaocord- ing to the wind, between the latitudes of 74° and 76°. On the 25th, however, heavy north and north-easterly gales, accompanied with fog and snow, obliged him to steer south-easterly ; and this course, on the 26th, brought him to the coast of Nova Zembla, in lat. 72" 25'. Here, with premature resignation, as June was not yet closed, he concluded that it were fruitless to hold this year a more northerly course ; in ])lace of which he resolved to try the old route of the Waygatz. From this he was diverted by the view of a large sound, which appeared to afford an equally promising opening. On its shores also were numerous herds of the sea-horse, from the capture of which he hoped to defray the ex- pense of the voyage. Nova Zembla, on the whole, seen at midsummer, presented to liim somewhat of a gay aspect. He says, it is " to man's eye a pleasant land ; much mayne land, with no snow on it, looking in some places green, and deer feeding thereon." The sound, however, as might have been conjectured from the strong current which flowed down, terminated in a large river, and the boats soon came to anchorage in one fathom. The morses also, though seen in great num- bers, could never bo brought to close quarters. The ice now came in great masses from the south, " veiy fearful to look on ;** and though, " by the mercy of God anc? his mighty help," he escaped the danger, yet by Rehirn to *^^ ^^^ ^^ July he was " void of hope of a north-east SngiaiKi. passage ;" and, detennining to put his employers to no farther expense, hastened home to England. We know not whether the Muscovy merchants were Ploflsnrt Buniiner aspect. NORTH-KAST V0YA0E8. 141 fully satisfied with the zeal displayed l>y Hudson in thia expedition ; for we find him in 1G09 setting sail from the Texel under the auspiees of the Duteh East India Company, whose hopes of a northern passage had again revived. On the 6th May he passed the North Cape, and on the 19th came in view of Wardhuys. It may be remarked, however, that our countryman, though so excellent a navigator, is a most unsatisfactory writer. His narrative, amid vague complaints of fog and ice, ehows nothing distinctly but that he determined to repass the North Cape, whence he steered across the Atlantic to America. Forster says that he reached Nova Zcmbla, — an assertion directly contrary to the captain's own narrative, and inconsistent with the time spent in this part of the voyage. According to Constan- tin, the crew, consisting chiefly of seamen accustomed to sail to India by the Cape of Good Hope, were soon alanned by the tempests and floating ice of the North. The truth is, the commander's own mind seems to have been fixed on north-western discovery. This ap- pears fi'om several hints in his second narrative ; and he was probably inclined to content himself with a mere show of proceeding eastward, that, apparently ba^ j, he might follow his favourite direction. He seems to have been impressed with the expectation of fiiuiing an open sea between Virginia and Newfoundland ; axid in fact he discovered the important bay which receives the river, called after him the Hudson, and on which New York was afterwards built ; but this lies out of our present sphere. The Russia Company, at a subsequent period, made some attempts to establish a factory on the Pechora ; but after persevering for two or three seasons, they relinquished the undei*taking. In 1676, Captain John Wood, on his own sanguine representations as to the great probability of a north- eastern passage, was sent out by the Admiralty in the Speedwell. On the farther coast of Nova Zembla, how- ever, his vessel went to pieces, and the crew, cast on CHAP. IV. Employment of Ihulsoii by! the Dutch. Hudson's nuiTutlve. His own views of success. Discovery (if the river Hudson. Captain John AYiiOd. »■ f , ' 71;/:? . Hi 142 NORTH-EAST VOYAGES. Captain Litke. CHAP. IV. shore, with difficulty reached their consort, the Pros- siiipwreck of P6'<*"^ Pink, which afforded them a passage home. Wood Wood, though he had done nothing to throw light on the subject, brought back an impression respecting it so very gloomy, that the plan of penetrating to India in this direction was thenceforward given up, and has not been revived even in the eras of the most enthusiastic enterprise. Attempts by j^ may be proper in this place to notice the attempts government, recently made by the Russian government to complete the survey and exploration of Nova Zembla, to our knowledge of which little addition had been made since the time of Barentz. To effect this object an expedi- tion was despatched in 1819 under Lieutenant Lazaref ; but it encountered such formidable masses of ice, that he was obliged to return without in any degree effecting liis object. Captain Litke was employed in the same undertaking in 1821, but the issue was almost equally unfavourable. In the following year, however, the same officer WIS again sent to sea; and, after an extensive survey of the coast of Lapland, came, on the 8th August, in view of Nova Zembla. During his progress along the western shore, he found it in general to coiTcspond with the delineation given by Barentz, recognising in par- ticular Admiralty Isle ; after which he reached a head- land supposed to be the Cape Desire of that navigator, but differing by about 16 degrees from the longitude which he had assigned to it. Litke was intrusted with a similar command a third time in 1823, when he ascertained that the promontory which he had imagined to be Barentz's Cape Desire, was in fact his Cape Nassau, and that the description of it given by this celebrated d-^coverer was quite correct. In the same voyage he had an opportunity of examining the great strait, called Matotchkin Schar, which divides *the island into fwo parts, and found its length to be about 52 English miles. His generad conclusions are, that the southern section of the coast is low and flat ; but that about lat. 73" there Third voy- age NORTH-EAST VOYAGES. 143 commences a chain of somewhat lofty mountains, the chap. iv. summits of which are covered with snow. The appear- conciusiona ance of the country is dreary and miserable in the ex- arrived at. treme ; notwithstanding which, the idea entertained by those who consider it as a mere mass of ice, partially sprinked with soil, was found quite erroneous. Captain Litke brought home with him specimens of the different rocks and earths of which it is composed. The same navigator was appointed once more in 1824, Voyai?e to with instructions to examine the eastern coast ; but eastern" '* in endeavouring to penetrate between Spitzbergen and coast. Nova Zambia he was completely repulsed by the masses of ice with which the sea was encumbered ; while his attempt to make a passage by the Strait of Waygatz was equally defeated by contrary winds and calms. Hence, notwithstanding these spirited efforts on the part of the Russian government, no great accession has been made to our knowledge of that insular territory. 144 EARLY POLAR VOYAGES. CHAPTER V. Early Voyages towards the North Pole, Plan of a Polar Passage to Indiar- Voyages to Cherie Island- - Hudson— Poole— Baffin— Fotherby. CHAP. V. The attention of the public, it has appeared, was early SciiermTof a drawn towards a Polar passage, whichj by striking di- ^oiar pas- rec'tly across the Arctic ocean, might bring the navigator by a shorter route than any other to the golden realms of the East. Mr Robert Thome, a zealous promoter of discovery, in his memorials to Henry VIII. and other great men, always placed foremost the scheme of reaching India by this improved course. It is not wonderful, however, that such a voyage should not have been among the first which were attempted. A century had elapsed from the discovery of the passage by the Cape of Good Hope, and half that period since the commencement of the naval career of Britain, before her seamen, despairing of success by the more circuitous tracks hitherto followed, put forth all their strength to cross the icy waters which surround the northern pole of the earth. Discovery of Barentz, as already noticed, had in his third voyage spitzbeigen. discovered Spitzbergeii ; but it was in pursuit of the fishery that the English were first attracted into the high latitudes of the Greenland or Polar Sea. In 1603, Alderman Sir Francis Cherie of London fitted out the Godspeed, under the command of Stephen Bennet, ap- parently with the vague idea of exploring the Arctic shores, and ascertaining their sources of commercial wealth. The captain at first followed the beaten track EARLY POLAR VOYAGES. 145 of the North Cape, Wardhuys, and Kola ; after which, chap. V. reveraing his direction, he pushed north and north-west captdnT into the ocean. On the 16th August, at two o*clock, he Beunet descried two hills which seemed to rise above the clouds. In four hours he reached the Bear Island of BarenV and not having heard, it should seem, of its previova discovery by that navigator, gave to it, in honour of his own employer, the name of Cherie. Here the sailors ^'^^^^ '"^^ caught only two foxes and a few fishes ; for though caught they saw the teeth of a morse, proving that those ani- mals did " use there," the season was considered too far advanced to commence operations against them. He directed his course homeward by Kola and the North Cape, and reached the Thames on the 16th October, Sir Francis, on the return of the ship, though it came Second empty, was so far satisfied as to cr*i'' 't out next year under the same commander. Bei , accordingly, not only went out a second time, but i. .. several successive voyages, in which the capture of the morse was carried on with considerable success. While these things were going on, Henry Hudson, Hudson dis- in 1607, was despatched by the Muscovy Company to the'^Mmcovy penetrate, if possible, directly across the Pole. This Company, bold enterprise had not been before attempted, and it constitutes the first recorded voyage of the eminent navigator to whose skill it was confided. Having sailed on the 1st May, he passed the latitude of Iceland, and took a direction westward, being desirous to survey the northern boundaries of Greenland, thinking there might be an open sea in that direction as likely as in any other. On the 13 til June the ships were involved in thick fog, their shrouds and sails being frozen ; but, when it cleared next morning, 'the sailors descried a high and bold head- land mostly covered with snow, behind which rose castellated mountaui, named the Mount of God's Mercy, Rain now fell, and the air felt temperi te and agreeable. They steered eastward to clear this coast ; but, after being for some time enveloped in mists, aga n saw land, very high and bold, and without snow even on the loftiest I 116 EARLY POLAR VOYAGES. CHAF. V. mountains. To this cape, situated in 73°, they gave the — name of Hold-with-Hope. Passing ^^ i^ow took a north-eastward direction, and on the Spitzbergen. 27th faintly perceived the coast of Sf /.zhergen. He still pushed northward, till he passed the 79th degree of latitude, where, though the sun at this season did not descend lower than ten degrees above the horizon, the weather was piercingly cold, and the shrouis and sails often frozen. The ice obliged him to steer in various directions; but, embracing every opportunity, he pushed on, as appeared to him, to 81^°, and saw land stretching without interruption as far as 82®. But as the extremity of Spitsbergen does not lie beyond 81**, he must have committed some mistake, either in his latitudes or in mistaking for land extensive fields of ice. It has been supposed that he had again reached the opposite coast of nrcenJand. Greenland ; but this seems inconsistent with his bear- ings, which are always more or less to the eastward. The sea, in the latitudes of 81** and 82°, he considers to be so completely barred with ice as certainly to defeat all attempts at a passage to the Pole in this direction ; though, in his opinion, it night be frequented with great advantage on account of the 'Timense multitude of seals with which it abounds. He retui-ned, coasting along Spitzbergen, some parts of which appeared very agree- able ; and on the If th September arrived in the Thames. Enterprise cf The Muscovy Company, still the most enterprising the Muscovy body in England, determined to fit out another expedi- ompany. ^.^^ ^^^ Polar discovery. They intrusted it to Jonas Poole, who had distinguished himself in the Cherie Island voyages ; and it was hinted to him, that though discovery was to be his main object, yet he might catch at intervals some morses, and even one or two whales, to make the voyage defray its own expenses. He took his departure in due season, sailing from Blackwall on the Ist March 1610. By the 16th he had reached the coast of Norway, in lat. 65°, but the wind then blew from the north so " extreme fierce, with great store oi snow and frost," and the vessel was so laden with ice, EARLY POLAR VOYAGES. 147 that it could not maintain a "fore course," and was chap.\. driven back as far as Scotland. Kere he remained till _ ^~ the 12th April, when, favoured by a southerly breeze, Jonas Poola he again set sail, and after many storms, snows, and ex- treme frosts, came in view, on the 2d May, of the North Cape. He then steered for Cherie Island, near which he judged himself to be on the 6th ; but the fog was such that he could not see a cable's length, and " the ship had many a knock ; but, thanks be to God, no hann was done !" Continuing to beat about in this ob- scurity, he entirely missed his object, and the first land seen by him was in 76*^ 50', being the shores of an inlet on the coast of Spitzbergen, which, from the deer's horns found there, he named Horn Sound. He pushed on to "^rn Sound 77" 26', where he found the air more temperate than he had formerly felt it at the North Cape at the same sea- son. Soon, however, there was a complete reverse ; the ship was involved in thick fogs, — and wind, frost, snow, and cold, seemed to strive for the mastery. After many a sore stroke he got the vessel through ; but the main- sail was still " frozen as hard as ever he found any cloth," and could with great difficulty be set. He discovered an island, which he called Blackpoint, and the nearest promontory he named Cape Cold ; but next day the weather changed so entirely that he gave to a Eimilar projection the milder appellation of Fair Foreland. His Fair foro- views continued to brighten, when he found that the^*""** sun, as the season advanced, gave a most powerful heat ; that the ice was melted on the ponds and lakes ; while that which still floated on the sea was not nearly so huge as he had seen it in 73 degrees. He conceived favourable hopes, therefore, even after so sharp a be- ginning, and judged that a passage by the Pole was as likely to be found in this as in any otiher meridian. He might therefore have been expected to apply himself in p„„nif ^f the most zealous and determined manner to make the morwis. discovery. A large herd of morses, however, having come in sight, he despatched his crew in pursuit of them ; and from this time there is not another word of prose- 148 EARLY POLAR VOYAGES. Seductive- ness of the ctiase. Mildness of Spitzbergin Satisfaotion with the voyage. CHAP. V. cuting the research. The taking of the vralms and tho deer, and now and then an attack on the whale, absorbed his whole attention. He met with some dangers. One day he attacked a herd of morses lying on ice, which proved hollow, and suddenly broke, whereon ice and beasts slid into the sea together, and the crew had great difficulty in not going along with them, especially one man ; for, besides being crushed by the weight of the carcasses, the animals that were alive struck at him in the water, and severely bruised him. Upon the whole he judged Spitzbcrgen to be milder than Cherie Island, and was not less surprised at the great n amber of deer, than at the care of Providence, wliich enabled them to subsist on so little pasturage, with only the rocks for a house, the starry canopy for a covering, and not a bush or a tree to shelter them from tho nipping cold of winter. Although Poole returned from this voyage without having done or almost attempted any thing, yet, as he brought a considerable store of oil and teeth, his em- ployers were not ill satisfied. They fitted him out next year in tlie Elizabeth of fifty tons, and in their instruc- tions distinctly informed him that discovery was to be his main object; yet intimated, as before, that as he proceeded with the Mary Margaret, destined for the whale-fishery, he might begin by joining her in taking a few whales, and in his course along the coast kill as many morses as might chance to present themselves. Having extracted the oil, he was to iioor the hold with their skins, which a tanner had agreed to purchase of the Company ; but all this was only to lighten the cost of discovery, and not to be in any degree a primary pursuit. The vessels set sail early in April 1611, but were soon separated by fogs and storms ; and when Poole reached the coast of Spitzbergen, he found oiJy three boats escaped from the wreck of the Mary Margaret. In the rest of his proceedings we ne/er hear a single word of discovery ; but applying himself most diligently New expedi- tion planned- Wreck of the M.iry Mar- EARLY POLAR VOYAGES. 110 to the secondary object, by the 3d of August he had chap. V, accumulated oil, morse-skins, and teeth, to the extent s„c^.~'^ui of 29 tons, — a good lading, he observes, for a ship of 50. fishery. Accordingly it proved her ruin. As the last package was brought in, she went entirely to one side, and all the skins, which lay loose in the hold, slipping in the same direction, carried her altogether under water. Poole, who sat in the cabin, considered himself as Fata' onso- having only the choice of being drowned by remaining, '^''''°'^** or, in attempting to escape, of being killed by the casks, staves, and divers other things which were traversing the ship in every direction. He chose the latter alter- native as the least certain, and, though twice beaten down, was plucked from the jaws of death, being en- abled to crawl out with his skull laid open, and his ears, back, and ribs severely bruised. The crew, who all escaped, were taken on board a Hull ship commanded Escape of tiie crew by Thomas Mannaduke, of whom Poole makes many complaints ; which Purchas, thinking too diffuse, has omitted. As to Greenland, he observes, in general, that when he first went, the mountains and plains were almost entirely white with snow ; afterwards they ap- peared green with grass and a little mosb ; but, lastly, the sun with his powerful heat dissolved the ice, and exhaled such a profusion of vapours, that the day differed little fi'om the darkest night elsewhere. He was, nevertheless, sent out a third voyage in 1612, Tiiiid voy- with two vessels, the Whale and the Sea-horae ; but he *^°" seems on this occasion also to have busied himself solely in the capture of whales, which he killed to the amount of thirteen. No mention is made of anything being either attempted or projected in relation to discovery ; though he states that Marmaduke penetrated to the latitude of 82°. No detail, however, is given, nor have we any narrative from that captain himself ; which is to be regretted, as he seems to have been more deeply imbued with the spirit of research than any other mar liner of that time. The next expedition took place in 1613, luuier 150 EARLY POLAR VOYAGES. CHAP. V. William' Itaffln. Oppressive Interference, Unruason- ab'c proceed inga. egl«ct ot discovery. William Baffin, the most learned navigator of the age, and one of the greatest names in northern adventure. It was not, however, by this voyage that he obtained his reputation, though he was provided with six good and well-armed ships; the object of it appearing to have been little else than to chase from the Greenland seas all other vessels that might attempt to use them for fishery. Their practice was, whenever they fell in with a foreigner, to summon the master on board, show the king's commission granted to the worshipful Com- pany, and desire him to depart, on pain of having a cannonade immed lately opened upon him. The strength of the English being in general decidedly superior to that of any other squadron in those seas, these terms were usually acceded to without opposition. At one time, indeed, five vessels, Dutch and French, including a large one of 700 tons from Biscay, mustered, and showed signs of offering battle ; but the Spaniard having lost courage and yielded, the rest were obliged to follow his example. On another occasion a Dutchman haviilg refused, and endeavoured to make oflF, so brisk a fire was opened upon him, that he had nearly run on shore, and was fain to submit. A considerable number of English sailors seem to have been on board the&o foreign ships, who were all forcibly taken out. It seems difficult to discover on what ground the subjects of King James attempted to establish their right to these coasts, since they had neither been the first dis- co veiers, nor held them in any sort of occupation. In fact, they were not able ultimately to make good the prt tensions which they urged in so violent a manner. There is no mention of any effort on the part of Baffin for the purpose of discovery. On the contrary, Marmaduke, who had again endeavoured to penetrate to the north of Spitzbergen, was chidden for having thereby hindered fhe voyage, and was prohibited from any farther attempts he kind during th^ season. The former, howevsi , •? some curious observations on the effijcts of rt i. ' ' n high northern latitudes. m mmtmmmmmiulm ■jakoi. EARLY POLAR VOYAGES. 151 The Company still did not consider the question of a chap. v. northern passage decided, as, indeed, since the time of c„pf"~[^ Hudson, it cculd not be said to have been seriously at- itobuit tempted. In 1614 they appointed Robert Fotherby, in ^'othciby. the Thomasine, to accompany il'air Greenland fleet of ten ships and two pinnaces, with instructions, while the rest were fishing, to devote himself mainly to discovery. Baffin accompanied him as pilot. After considerable obstructions, eleven vessels being at one time fast itmong the ice, the captain, by the 6th of June, pushed on to Hakluyt's Headland. He endeavoured to penetrate through Magdalen. Bay, which he calls Maudlen Sound ; but the weather was foul, and the ice lay unbroken from shore to shore. On the 10th he stood farther out, Cow-se pur- and succeeded in passing to the north of the headland, '' when he again encountered an impenetrable barrier. He then steered westward, in hopes of discovering a more favourable opening; but the ice trending south- west, he sailed twenty-eight leagues without success, and then returned to the Foreland. About the middle of July, the air becon'ing clear and favourable, he and Baffin ascended a hign hill, to see what prospect there was of getting forward ; but as far as they could dis- cern, ice lay upon the sea, which indeed seemed wholly wiiaie flsu- " bound with ice," though in the extreme distance there ^^' was an appearance of open water, that inspired some hope. After amusing themselves for some days killing whales, they again mounted a very lofty eminence, from which they saw an extensive channel, but much im- peded with ice. This was Sir Thomas Smith's Sound, wliich they afterwards ascended to its head, and found a good harbour, very advantageously situated for the whale-fishery. It was now the 9th of August, and Fotherby saw two Persever- Dutch ships, which had been sent out for northern dis- ^^^^' covery, making their way homeward, after relinquishing the undertaking in despair ; but he was determined not to be baffled in his attempt without some farther struggle. He pushed towards the north from Capo X. r 152 EARLY POLAR VOYAGES. Sinfifular grievance. CHAP. V. Barren, and had made twenty-four leagues, when he Interruption ^/?**n "^ct the ice. He coasted along it two days, hoping from Ice. to find an opening among its shattered fragments ; but a north wind sprang up, with heavy snow, and every thing being cold, thick, and winter-like, he was forced once more into harbour. The shore and hill being now covered with snow, the crew were seized with the desire of returning to England ; but the captain was still un- willing to depart without some farther satisfaction. He went in a boat up Redcliffe Sound, and though ice was newly formed upon it, of about the thickness of a half- crown piece, he pierced through, and got into open water. The snow, however, continued to fall thick, and the cast wind blew in the ice so forcibly, that he was glad to return to the ship. Passing a point, it was ob- served that a cross which our countrymen had erected, with the king's arms and a sixpence nailed upon it, had been taken down, " sixpence and all," by the Dutch, and Prince Maurice's arms substituted ; this grievance, however, was speedily redressed. About the end of August a gale sprang up from the south-west, and brought milder weather than at any former period of the season ; and the strength of the thaw was proved by huge masses falling from the snowy banks into the sea with a sound like that of thunder. Conceiving better hopes, the navigator pushed out again, in a north-west direction, till he came nearly to the latitude of 80°, when he heard a mighty noise of the waves, as it were, breaking on an extensive shore. It proved, however, that he was now on the margin of the great northern ice. He coasted for some time along that grand barrier; but was so'^a embayed, whence it was not without difficulty that he extricated himself. The season advancing, he took the benefit of a fair wind to steer homewards, and on the 4th October arrived at Wapping, with his whole crew of twenty-six men in perfect health. Fotherby, having recommended himself on this voy- age by spirit and diligence, was sent out next year South-west gule. Return. i-Mib'iii' aiirlil mfam=t»mmm, J^ EARLY POLAR VOYAGES. 153 (1616) by the worshipful Company, in the Richard, a CHAP v. pinnace of only twenty tons. After many conflicts with secoiidvoy- ice and fog, he reached Hakluyt's Headland about the ?Ke of beginning of July. He forthwith began his career of discovery ; but a strong southerly gale driving him upon the ice, shattered his bark considerably, and obliged him to return. As soon as his vessel was refitted, he endeavoured, by a westerly course, to find an opening among the ice, which projected in various points and capes, but remained still fixed, and he found himself pushed by it southwards to the latitude of 76". How- ever, he sailed still farther west, towards what he thought should have been the southern part of Hud- son's Greenland ; and seafowls in vast flocks seemed to indicate land, but the fog lay so thick, " that he might easier hear land than see it." When about lat. 71 4°, the air cleared, and he descried a snowy hill very high amid the clouds, while the fog lying on each side made it appear like a great continent. It proved, however, j^^ Mayen to be only an island, probably Jan Mayen ; and as the island. shores presented nothing but drift-wood, and appeared as if fortified with castles and bulwarks of rock, no shelter was afforded from a heavy gale which began to blow. This induced him to stand out to sea, when he regained the northern point of Spitzbergen, and began to beat for a Polar passage. The wind, however, blew so strong from the north-north-east, that he gave up the attempt, only resolving, on his way home, to take a survey of Hudson's Hold-with-Hope. He came to the place where it ouglit to have been, but finding no land, he insisted that his predecessor must have been mistaken En^and." in the position assigned to it, — a suspicion which has been recently confirmed by Mr Scoresby. Availing himself then of a brisk northerly breeze, he shaped his course for England. Fotherby, on being asked his opinion as to the pro- bability of a passage through the Arctic Ocean, replied, that though he had not attained in this respect his de- sire, nothing yet appeared to exclude hope. There was, \ lo4 EARLY POLAR VOYAOES. CHAP. V. he rumnrkcd, a Bpacioiis sea between Greenland and Continued Spitzbergen, though much pestered with ice ; and there- ^ iinpnii of RUG- fore he would not dissuade the worshipful Company from a yearly adventure of £160, or £200 at the most. The little pinnace, with ten men, in which he hod sailed two thousand leagues, appeared to him more convenient for that purpose than vessels ^f larger dimensions. A very long period, however, t lapsed before any attempt of this nature was resumed. MHIiiMiiW*«a -■'•- ^^" -j^ ,'/ BARLY NORTH-WEST VOYAGES. iri5 CHAPTER VI. Early Voyages in Search of a North-wett Postage. Tho Portugiioso ; The Corterealea— The Spaniards ; Gomez- Expeditions under Henry VIII. ; their Issue— Frobisher'a First, Second, and Third Voyages— Davis' First, Second, and Third Voyages— Weymouth— Knight— Hudson ; Mu- tiny of his Mon ; Disastrous Issue of tho Expedition — Voy- ages of Button — Gibbons — Bylot— Baffin— Jens Munk, the Dane— Fox and James — Knight and Barlow— Middleton, &c. NoTwiTHsTANDTNo the repeated efforts to find a passage chap, vt by the east and north-east, the west finally became the pavouTfor scene of the grandest naval enterprises, and flattered the the North- nation longest with the hope of this signal discovery.*®'*^'*'"***" The maritime world were not yet aware of the immense breadth of America at its northern limit. That conti- nent was imagined to terminate in a cape, after rounding which, and passing through the Strait of Anian, — an imaginary channel, supposed by the early geographers to separate America from Asia, — ^an entrance would be opened at once into the Pacific, in which the navigator might proceed full sail to Japan, China, the Spice Is- lands, and all the other regions abounding in Oriental wealth. Of the European nations, Portugal was the first to PortuRnoca embark in the career of ocean-discovery. Her monarchs «°forprise. and nobles employed their utmost exertions to double the southern point of Africa, and thereby to overcome the obstacles opposed by that continent to a direct com- merce with India. Their efforts were crowned with M I \ \ 156 EARLY NORTH-WEST VOYAGES. CHAP. VI. Cortereal's entUoslasm Claims of John Vaz. Giispar Coi'tercaL Reaching the coast of Labrador. success ; and the passage by the Cape would have been the most brilliant exploit ever performed, had it not been rivalled by the contemporaneous discovery of America. Enough might seem to have been done, both for the benefit and the glory of the nation, without di- recting their efforts into any other channel ; yet one of the most illustrious houses of that kingdom, with much enthusiasm and no small loss, devoted itself to western navigation. W j allude to that of Cortereal ; for a member of which, named John Vaz, claims, though somewhat doubtful, have been advanced for the honour of having reaf^hed the shores of Newfoundland some time before t!ie celebrated voyages of Columbus or Ca- bot. In 1600, his son Gaspar, immediately upon hearing of the successful labours of the former of these com- manders, resolved to follow his steps. Having obtained from the king two vessels, he touched at Terceira, one of the Azores, and proceeded in a north-west direction, endeavouring to find his way to India by some of the higher latitudes. Respecting the details of this voyage there remain only detached notices, which Mr Barrow has collected with his usual learning and diligence. He reached the coast v f America about the parallel of 60°, probably on the nonhem shore of Newfoundland, where he found a bay containing numerous islands which he calls the Golfo Quadrado,—- conjectured to be the Straits of Belleisle. He then steered northwards, and passed along a coast which Europeans have since commonly called Labrador, but which in the early maps bears from him the name of Corterealis. In some of the nar- ratives it is designated Terra Verde (Greenland), but it has nothing in common with the country to which Eu- ropeans have still more improperly affixed that appella- tion. The territory is represented as amply stocked with timber, — a description which applies to the spa- cious forests of fir and pine that clothe the region con- tiguous to Canada on the north. The natives are correctly described as a mild and laborious race ; — and no less than fifty-seven being allured or carried on J EARLY NORTH-WEST VOYAGES. 157 board, were conveyed to Portugal. After a ran along chap. vi. tliis shore, estimated at about 700 miles, Cortcreal camo HighesT to a point which seemed to preclude all farther progress, latitude Ramusio, indeed, states that the highest latitude he at- "*'*"'***• tained was only 00°, which would coincide nearly with the entrances into Hudson's Bay. But the season was now somewhat advanced ; and the approach of the Polar winter, the iloating mountains of ice, the thick snows which filled the air, — the gloomy characteristics of an Arctic climate, — must, to a crew accustomed to warm Terrible and temperate seas, have appeared peculiarly terrible, aspect of the It was therefore judged absolutely necessary to return winter.™ home, and Cortereal arrived at Lisbon on the 8th Octo- ber 1501.* That this necessity, however, was con- • The view here taken of Cortereal's voyage, as extending along the coast of Labrador, has been lately contested, and even treated as an " absurd hypothesis," by the anonymous author of " A Memoir of Sebastian Cabot." He maintains that the most northern point reached by that navigator waw in the Gulf of St Lawrence, or at farthest the southern extremity of La- brador. This question, relating to one of the most illustrious martyrs in the cause of early discovery, seems to merit some attention. It may be premised, that this hypothesis can with no propriety be called ours, since it is the general belief of mo- dern geographers, expressed by the very names of Corterealis and Labrador, always applied to this coast. Doubtless it was perfectly open for the author, if he could, to disprove this opi- nion and establish his own ; but it is conceived that a very few observations, founded in a great measure on documents pro- duced by himself, will prove it to be palpably erroneous. First, The voyage is allowed on all hands to have been di- rected towards the north, and with a view to northern disco- very. But as the objects lay westward, the direction would of course be modified accordingly, and we may accept the state- ment of the Italian arabassaaor, that it was tra maestro e pon- ente (between north-west and west). But such a course, either from Lisbon or Terceira, could scarceiy be compatible with his reaching any point south of the St Lawrence, certainly not one which would admit of 600 or 700 miles of northerly navigation before reaching that river. By supposing one degree of north- ern for every four of western sailing, we should make him reach America in about the latitude of 50 degrees, which would place him on the northern coast of Newfoundland. Second, The mild and laborious character ascribed to the natives (molto mansueti—excellentia da fatiga), prosents the most striking contrast to the fierce and proud indolence of the 158 EARLY NORTH-WEST VOYAGES. CHAP. VL sidered to arise from the season only, and that no panic was struck into the mind of this intrepid navigator, was Undaunted courage. ' t North American Indians ; it applies exclusively to the Esaui- maux tribes. The habit of suDsisting almost wholly on nsh, the clothing formed almost entirely of seal-skin, the roofing of the huts with skins of fishes, are features which, occurring to. such an extent, become strikingly characteristic of shores in- habited by Esquimaux. These two first observations concur to render our conclusion lighly probable ; the third seems to remove every shadow of doubt. After sailing along this coast six or seven hundred I- '• H, the navigator was arrested by a frozen sea and prodi- gii Ub tails of snow {mare ar/liazato e infinita copia de neve) ; e then sailed homewards, and arrived at Lisbon on the 8th of October. Hence the above phenomena, marking the setting in of the utmost severity of an Arctic winter, must have presented themselves not later than the middle of September. Surely no one at all acquainted with the phenomena of climate can con- cur with the author of the Memoir in the supposition that at that season the expedition could be arrested, in the mannei above described, in the Gulf of St Lawrence. Respecting the latitude reached by Cortereal, there occur two different statements. Some make it 50°, others 60°. The authoi zealously adopts the former, considering it as the ulti- mate point reached oy that navigator. So anxious is he to accumulate authorities upon this head, that he quotes first Gomara and then Fumee, as if they had been separate authors, although he knows the one to be only the translator of the other. The truth is, there is not the slightest discrepancy be- tween the statements. There are tv.'o positions to bie con- sidered ; that at which Cortereal first touched the American coast ; and the one where, after sailing 600 or 700 miles, he terminated his coasting- voyage. The latitude of 50° seems evidently to correspond to the first point, where he found the Golfo Quadrado, the extensive pine-forests, and the country wearing a smiling aspect. The very expression of Galvano, that " he sailed into that climate which standeth under the north in 50 degrees," clearly implies this as the latitude at which America was reached ; and this, as already observed, agrees exactly with the direction in which Cortereal sailed from Portugal. The latitude of 60° again appears as clearly to be the most northern point, where his progress was arres' '^d by the frozen sea, and the air filled with wintry tempes* i ; a d it is remarkable, that ten degrees, the difference between these two latitudes, corresi)onds exactly with the space of 600 or 700 miles, which he is represented to have sailed along the American coast. The only feature that seems at all to support our author's hypothesij, and on which indeed he seems to place his solo re- liance, is the verdant and smiling aspect whicu the navigators EARLY NOllTH-WEST VOYAGES. 159 sufficiently testified by his appearing on the sea next chap. VI. season with two vessels, which he steered directly to ^ ~ — the most northerly point attained in the former voyage, attempt Here he is described as entering a strait, Hudson's per- haps, or more probably Frobisher's ; but at this critical moment the two ships were separated by a tempest, . amid the floating ice with which these narrows are in- ofthesidp* fested. One of them succeeded in extricating itself, and searched for some time in vain for its consort ; but this last, which had on board the gallant leader of the expe- dition, was seen no more, and no intelligence could ever be obtained of its fate,* ascribed to this region. This does not exactly correspond with our ideas on the subject ; but the truth is, that certain tracts wholly uncultivated, even in the neighbourhood of the Arctic circle, exhibit, when arrayed in their summer robe, an appearance peculiarly pleasing. The varied veget.;.tion, the Profusion of wild flowers, and the bushes loaded with delicious erries, compose a gayer scene than is displayed on more southern shores that are covered with the dark luxuriance of tropical foliage. • We consider it a somewhat hasty conclusion formed by the author of the Memoir of Cabot, that it " cannot be doubted that the objects of Cortereal's second voyage were timber and slaves." This seems to harmonize very ill with the character of the navigator, and the lofty spirit of Emanuel, by whom he was employed. These objects appear, indeed, from the letter of a Venetian ambassador, to have been mentioned, but chiefly, we suspect, to satisfy that class of persons who considered mercantile profit as the only legitimate object of maritime dis- covery. Osorio, a very eminent Portuguese historian^ who wrote the history of Emanuel's reign under the sanction of one of his sons, gives a very opposite view of the motives of Cortereal. He says, in regard to the first voyage, " Gloriae cu^iditate vehemeuter incensus, ad sui nominis memoriam pos- teris aliquo facto memorabili prodendam pertinere arbitratus est." (Powerfully inflamed by the desire of glory, he thought it concerned him to transmit his name to posterity by some memorable exploit.) With regard to the second voyage, the observation is : — " Cum ad spem multo plura cognoscendi ra- poretur— ut latius littora illius omnia pervagaretur, et gentis mores et instituta perdisceret." (Being urged b]^ the hope of obtaining more extensive knowledge— that h« might traverse more widely all the shores of that country, and might learn thoroughly the manners and customs of the people.) — De Rebut Emanuelis, &c., 63. ■""«»"«W^»W*W»" 160 BARLY NORTH-WEST VdYAOEfl. Mfpruel CorcereaL Arrival at the moutli of Hudson's Bay. '^\ CHAP. vi. Wlien these gloomy tidings were conveyed to Por- tugal, Miguel Cortereal, a younger brother, animated with the most tender affection for Gaspar, and with a congenial spirit of enterprise, determined to put to sea in search of him. Having equipped three vessels, he sailed on the 10th May 1602 from the port of Lisbon. On arriving at the numerous openings into Hudson's Bay, the captains adopted the plan of explor- ing separately tlie various inlets. This, however pro- mising in some respects, was an imprudent step ; for nothing coiild have conduced more to their mutual safety than to keep close together, and be ready to aid each other in those dreadful exigencies to which this navigation is liable. It proved a fatal measure ; two of them, indeed, met and returned ; but Miguel and his crew shared the fate of those whom they had gone to seek ; and it was never known where or how thej' perished. The survivors reported at Lisbon this heavy aggravation of the former distress. Fra- ternal affection and daring courage seem to have char- acterized the whole of this noble race. There was still a third brother, Vasco Eanes, who besought of the Vttsco Banc king permission to search for his lost kindred amid the abysses of the northern ocean ; but on this project a royal veto was absolutely imposed ; his majesty de- claring that it was more than enough to have lost in this cause two of his best and most faithful servants. After a commence ment so gloomy, and such gallant efforts made in vain, it does not appear that the project of effecting a passage in the Arctic sea was ever re- vived in Portugal. Spain, which had made the discovery of America, and from that success derived so much glory and wealth, might have been expected to take ;i deep in- terest in every thing connected with its farther explora- tion. The fact, howccr, appears to be, that revel- ling amidst the rich plains and glittering treasures of Mexico and Peru, she felt little attraction towards the bleak confines of the Northern Pole. Only one Inertness of Spiiin . 1 i W; EARLY NORTH-WEST VOYAOES. 161 voyage is mentioned, that, namely, which was under- chap, vl tiiken in 1624 by Gomez, with the view of seeking a voyagTof shorter passage to the Moluccas. He is understood Oomcz. to have touched at Newfoundland, sailed along the coast of New England as far as the 40th degree of latitude, and returned, after a voyage of ten months, bringing with him a few of the natives, but without making any material addition to the infoimation col- lected by Cabot. Britain at last assumed the task of discovery, and J;''''';''' made it almost exclusively her own. Her efforts, indeed, were long in vain ; — ^the barriers of nature were too mighcy ; — and America, str proceed any further. By the unsuccessful issu*; of iidn yoyVf-'e., the inoQarch seems to have been conJiiraed hi his !>;•"( ious iiulifFer- eijce to discovery. Cabot was jigair; 'liigaJ to have recourse to Spain, and was soon after ti<;at i grand pilot of that kingdom; nor did ho retxixTi ♦ j> Eugland till the period of Henry's death. Tec years after this fciUurej };.l3 Hkijesty, urged by a stroijg representation on the part of Mr Thome of Bristol, ^vho seems to hint that on account of hia apathy on thio subject he waft unworthy to reign, was induced to fit out another expe of it are most Imperfect ; though the author of the " M emoir " has found that the names of the vesseh were tho ?fary and the Sampson, iind that they reached the lati'ide of 63" N. ; but, having probably set out too early in the season, they were arrested there by ice and snow, and turned to the southward. One of them appears afterwards to have touched at Porto Hico. This nndertakuig was followed, at the distance of nine years, by another, v/hich was set on foot by Mr Hore of London, a wealthy individual, who easily induced thirty young gentlemen of family and fortune, fl -ne of whom were fro n the Inns of Court, to embark along with iiim. In ihh casu also Hakluyt had to lament tlie absence of written records ; but he found out Mr Oliver Dawbeny, who sailed in one of the Ramon- strance of Mr. Thoino of Bristol. Mr. Horo of Londoa // *- EARLY NORTH-WEST VOYAGES. 163 yp'wels ; and having learned that a son of Sir William CHAP. VI Bu t,8 of Norfolk' had been of the party, and was still gonrce of ali-t'e, he rode two hundred miles for the purpose of imVnnotiin. coii«^v>rsing with /'at gentleman. From these sources he -wf::" JjR^o !iit'i t'> .fc th'^ band of volunteers mustered in miiitaiy army u Gravesend, and, having taken the f.vcrament, went on board. They had a long and tedious voyage, during which their buoyant spirits con- siderably flagged. At the end of two months they readied Ciiptj JBrecan, then held as part of the West CapeBretoa Indies ; wheiK'o, in fulfilment of their views, they endttiYoi d to shape a more northerly course. They reat:'t>cd Ptngum Island, the same probably since called Birds* Island, abotmduig in fowls as large as a goose, and even in bears, which made such tolerable food that all their wants were supplied. Having proceeded to Newfoundland, Dawbeny one day called on his comrades to come and view a boat with the " natural Newfound- people of the country," whom they had earnestly 'anti- desired to see. A barge was fitted out to treat with them ; but the savages, alarmed, fled precipitately, relinquishing the side of a bear which they had been rodsting; and all attempts to overtake them were fruitless. The country, indeed, appears to have been singularly barren and desolate. Food, it was said, could be procured only by purloining from the nest scarcity of of an ospray the fish collected for her young. It seems ^<""^ strange that they shoul ive remained on this shore, where famine soon rose tu such a pitch as to drive them to a most frightful extremity. Several of them waylaid a companion, killed him, and deposited his flesh in a secret ;>lace, to which they repaired, and having roasted it in successive portions, eagerly fed upon it. An accident betrayed this dreadful secret. One of the crew, walking with a comrade who ad shared in the cannibal feast, smelt the ; ► ,our of nroiled n:.it and reproached him with .oeping a pri\ato 1^' ;^ -d, while otliers were in sucl; learfid want. They to high words, when the guilty person said, 'i;t « 1 \ 164 ^ARLY NORTH-WEST VOYAGES. Capture of a Freticli vessel I CHAR VI «c Well, ff you wUl hav« it, it is a piece of 's Rcmon flesh." This being reported to tlie captain, he called captain."^"'* together the ship's company; and solemnly represent- ing to them the dreadful crime they had committed, obtained a promise that it chould be carried no farther. The famine, however, becoming tilways more pressing, they were at length driven to the necessity of pursuing this horrible expedient systematically, and had ar- ranged the casting of lots to decide whose life should be sacrificed to save the rest, when a French ship appeared in view. Finding it to be well stored witl» provisions, they scrupled not to attack and seize it, recommending the ejected cvew to the ill-provided bark which they themselves had left. They made their way in all haste home, which they reached in the most squalid and miserable state. So changed was young Bute that neither Sir William nor his mother could recognise him, till he displayed a secret maik ^ie"Fi-enih-^* which proved him to be their son. Meantime the Frenchmen arrived in their own country, and raised loud compijnts against the cruel and unwarrantab u manner in which they had been treated. Henry, un- able to deny the extreme hardship of their case, yet moved with pity towards his own subjects, whom he was unwilling to punish, liberally paid from his private purse the full extent of the loss. From so slight a narrative it were rash to form any very positive conclusion ; yet we cannot help observing, that there is little appearance of the adventurers having gone out duly prepared for their arduous undertaking, and little display of nautical skill, prudence, or good conduct, in the whole of the expedition. After so disastrous an issue, the spirit of western discovery slumbered. The great zeal kindled in the succeeding reign of Edward VI. turned wholly to the eastward, producing the voyages of Sir Hugh W'llough- by and others, which have been recorded in a former chapter. It was otherwise during the government of Queen Elizabeth ; though that princess, however much men, Wnnt of BklU Bliowri. Abandon- reent of the western ex- ploration. EARLY NORTH-WEST VOYAGES. 1G5 prn Ihe Ihe r' ier J of Ich inclined to favour whatever might contribute to the glory nud interests of her kingdom, did not origmate any of these schemes. Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Mr Richard Willis wrote treatises, where learned observations were combined with fanciful reasonings and erroneous reports ; but all calculated to influence the public mind in sup- port of such undertakings. The first voyage was planned and conducted by Martin Frobisher, an officer who afterwards distinguished himself by naval exploits in every quarter of the globe, but who earned his early fame by contending with the snows and tempests of the northern deep. Regarding the western passage as the only great thing in the world still left undone, he solicited during fifteen years, in city and court, the means of equipping a small flotilla capable of accom- plishing this important object. The mercantile bodies manifested a coldness very unlike the ardour displayed on former occasions ; but some influential pereons proved at length more favourable, and, through the interest of the Earl of Warwick, he was enabled, in the year 1676, to fit out three vessels, respectively of 36, 30, and 10 tons. These little barks, or rather boats, seemed ill fitted for navigating the Arctic deep ; yet Mr Scoresby haa observed, that such vessels are better calculated for threading their way through channels obstructed by ice, and even for withstanding somewhp.t rude shocks from it, than larger and more unwieldy fabrics. Irobisher, on the 8th June, dropped down from Deptford to Greenwich, where the court then resided, and, in passing the palace, fired a round in his best style. The queen looked from the windows, cheering and waving her hand, and Secretary Walsingham went on board, wished the captain success, and exhorted the crews to good order and obedience. Having on the 19th reached Yarmouth, he thence stood out to sea, and on the 26th saw before him Sumburgh Head, a bold pro- montory in Shetland, while he had Fair Isle to the north-west. In the I'emainder of his course, he only gives Iiis distances, latitudes, and dire, tl'ns. On the CHAP. VI. TreatlseR of Gilbert and WUlis. Mar In lrobi.-hcr. Intercfit of tlie Earl of Warwick. Depaiturt! Frobistier. riil ■'ll ^.^Jtt. • jm»'-jm i^" \ 166 EARLY NORTH-WEST VOYAGES. Stopyii' 1 by the icu. CHAP. VL 11th July he saw a range of precipitous summits which, FiMtligiit of even in the height of summer, were all white with snow, oreeuiaud. Hg concluded this coast to be the Friesland of Zrmo hat in fact it was the southern point of GreenlaTui, j* u' Cape Farewell. A boat put out towards th*.- .oas't J at found it so barred with ice and obscured by fog that it was impossible to land. The navigators now steered westward, suffering severely from northerly gales. Dn the 14th the wind shattered their fore-yard, and 9 bore the mizzenmast overboard ; and on the IGth the topmast with its sail broke off, and fell into the sea. They continued, however, to prea? on ; and upon the 22d a thick mist dispersing, show^^l a long line of coast, conjectured to be Labrador. Ice_, however, formed an impassable barrier between them and the land, while the lead went down 100 father s without touching the ground. The current was very strong, but from the im- possibility of coming to anchor, could not be measured ; yet it seemed not less than a league and a half an hour. On the 1st August the discoverers approached to make observations on a large island of ice, which, as they were viewing it, went to pieces, and fell into the sea with a tremendous crash. Having on the 18th reached a more accessible coast, they were desirous to ascertain if it was inhabited. Seeing seven boats plying along the beach, they sent out one of their own, the crew of which, by holding up a white cloth, induced a canoe to appi'oach ; but on seeing the ship the natives immediately turned biick. Frobisher then went on shore, and, by the dist •ution of several little presents, enticed one of them to come on board. This person being well treated with meat and tlriiik, made when he landed so favourable a repor* tliac Appearance, nineteen followed his example. The sailors had then a full opportunity of observing this Esquimaux race. They are described as " like to Tartars, with long black hair, broad faces, and flat noses, having boats of seal-skin, with a keel of wood within the skin." Next day they appeared more shy, and with some difficulty one of them. Interview vltli the imiives. EARLY NORTH-WEST V0YA0E8. 167 In, by -the allurement of a bell, was drawn on board. The chap. vi. captain, having no ntention to detain him, sent a boat j^oss'oTflvo with five men to put him on shore at the angle of a meiu rock ; but these, urged by curiosity and blinded by false confidence, went on to join the main body of the natives — a fatal step ; they were never allowed to return Frobisher spent two days firing guns, and making inquiries at every point, but without success. On tlie 26th August, without any very particular Return reason assigned, the navigator turned his face towards home, and reached Harwich in the beginning of October. He had made little progress towards a western passage ; yet, having with such slender means penetrated thus far and discovered a new country, dignified with the title of Meta Incognita, his voyage was considered highly creditable, and as affording good promise for the future. The public interest was t cited by another circumstance of a very illusory nature. All liis friends importuned him to give them something or other which had come Meta incogs from Meta Incognita. At a loss to satisfy this desire, he ""^ cast b' • eyes on a la/g'^ stone which, f'om its glittering appearunce, he hud beeii nduced to ke on board. He broke it into pieces, an listribuua them among the circle of his acquaintances. One portion was received by a lady, who happened t < ., op it into the fire, where, after burning for some time, it apf oared to glitter like gold. Being thereupon submittr ' > the goldsmiths, they were so ignorant, or so mislet, oy tho enthusiasm of the moment, as to pronounce it a valuable ore of the most precious of metals. This false decision threw all False hopoa England into a ferment of joy. There was no difficulty now in equipping an expedition. The queen contributed the ship Ayde of 180 tons, besides means for enabling FrobishcT to fit out two other vessels, the Michael and Gabrinl, of 30 tons each. Being invited to visit the queen at Lord Warwick's seat in Essex, he was allowed to kiss her majesty's hand, and heard from her Ips many gracious expressions. He sailed again on the 2Gth May lo77, with such a 1 IfiB EARLY NOUTn-WEST VOYAQE*. CHAP. VI Second voyage Continuous Ugbt FrioUincl I#,bra:"e. hearing of all the crew, that he never saw this coast before. The commodore still persevered, sailing along a country more populous, more verdant, and better stocked with birds, than the one formerly visited. In fact this was probably the main entrance into Hudson's Bay, by continuing in which he woulO have made the most important discoveries. But all his ideas of mineral wealth and a successful passage to India were associated with the old channel ; and, on being obliged to own that this was a different one, he resolved to turn back, In this reii'eat the fleet was so involved in fogs and violent currents, and so beset with rocks and islands, that the sailors attributed to a special interposition of Providence the fact of their getting out in safety. When they had Return to tlie reached the open sea, and arrived at the mouth of the ^'P^'" *"-'*• desired strait, it was almost as difficult to find an en- trance. However, the resolute navigator was constantly on the watcb, and wherever there appeared any opening, it is Siiid, " he got in at one gap and out at another," till at length he reached his purposed haven in the ft ! I l> I \ 176 EARLY NORTH-WEST VOYAGES, 3HAP. VI, r»rdy arrival at tlio desired locality Obstacles to coloaizutioiL Failure of the expedi- tion Ms^n Incog- nita. depths of the North. But, before the crews were oonK pletftly landed, the 9th of August had come, thick snows were falling, and it behoved them to hold a solemn consultation as to the expediency of persevering in the establishment of the projected colony. There remained of the house only the materials of the south and east sides ; the rest had either gone down in the Dennis, or been shattered into fragments while suspended from the ships to meet the strokes of the ice. Great part of the bread Wtis spoiled, and the liquors had sustained a woful leakage ; in short, thero was no longer an adequate provision for a hundred in en during a whole year. In these circumstances Captain Fenton of the Judith sug- gested, that what remained of the house might be formed into a hut for six^v H»en, with whom he undertook to pass the winter, -ut the carpenters being consulted, declared that such a structure could not be erected in less than two months, w o their stay could not possibly be protracted beyond twenty-six days. Renouncing the idea of settlement, Frftbisher still asked his officers whether they might not, during the remaining interval, attempt some discovery to throw a redeeming lustre on their unfortunate enterprise ; but in reply, they urged the advanced season, the symptoiui, of winter already approaching, and the danger of being enclosed in these naiTow inlets, where they would be in the most immi- nent danger of perishing ; — in short, that nothing was no'v to be thought of but a speedy return homewards. This was at length effected, not without the dispersion of the fleet, and considerable damage to some of the vessels. The record of these voyages contains notices of the country and people, which strikingly agree with those collected by recent navigatoi-s. This Meta Incognita, which includes only the countries near the entrances of Hudson's Bay, is considered as a cluster of large islands, separated by narrow inlets, — an idea perhaps not so un- founded as was for some time supposed, — and consisting of high lands, covered with snow even in the midst of EARLY NOUTII-WEST VOYAGES. 177 nativus Food Bummcv. The navigators were surprised to find in lati- CHAP. VL tude 60° and 61° a cold much more intense than at the Appearance North Cape and Wardhuys in latitude 72°. The people «fj[;e ^ are described as of a ripe olive complexion, with long black hair, broad faces, and flat noses, much resembling Tartars, or, more strictly, Samoiedcs, to whom, accord- ing to the best information Frobisher could obtain, they were also similar in their habits of life. The land could scarcely yield either grain or fruit, and the inhabitants made no attempt to cultivate them, eating merely shrubs and grass, " even as our kine do ;" or, as Settle ex- presses it, " such grass as the country produceth they pluck up and eat, not daintily or saladwise, but like brute beasts devouring the same." In other respects, he oliderves, they seek " by their hunting, fishing, and fowling, to satisfy their greedy paunches, which is their only glory." They use neither seat, table, nor cloth ; but, " when they arc imbrued with blood knuckle deep, they use their tongues as apt instruments to lick them clean." From the disgusting manner in which they devoured their meat, very often in a putrid state, with- out any attempt at cookery, an inference is somewhat rashly drawn, that they would not make the least hesi- tation to partake of human flesh. Frobisher saw only their summer-houses, which are described as poor caves, like ovens, having for doors holes resembling those of a Summer- fox or cony burrow. They are said to be formed of pieces of wiialebone meeting at top, and covered with seal-skin, and to have in the inside a layer of moss, which serves for beds to sleep on. At the same time they were found to be sharp-witted, and showed by signs great readiness, both in their understanding and replies. If they could give no information on any subject, they shut their -^yes ; if they did not comprehend what was said to them, they stopped their ears. They took the greatest delight in music ; repeating? and keeping time to any tune Love of witii voice, head, hand, and foot. Their darts, arrows, and other weapons, were skilfully contrived, and used with a courage amounting even to despv.*ation, of which iriutic 178 EARLY NOUTH-WEST VOYAGES. CHAP. VI, Skin boatSi Native cap- tiVL'a. P-'^ults of failure. Kayak, or Greenliindcr's Canoe. repeated instunces have been given. Their little boats of skin (kayak) were moved by one oar, with a swift- ness which no English sailor could match. The as- tonishment of one of them was very great when he saw himself in a mirror. " He was upon the sudden much amazed thereat, and beliolding advisedly the same with silence a good while, at length began to question with him as with his companion ; and finding him dumb, seemed to suspect him as one disdainful, and would have grown into choler, until at last, by feeling and handling, he found the deceit, and then, with great noise and cries, ceased not wondering, thinking that wc could make men live and die at our pleasure." Great signs of mutual attachment appeared between the male and female captives who were b. »ught home on the second voyage. She killed and dressed the dogs for him, and tended him carefully when sick, while he, on the other hand, picked out the sweetest and fattest mor- sels, and laid them before her ; yet they lived entirely as brother and sister, without the slightest impropriety. Our naval records do not inform us of the feelings excited in the nation by the return from this perilous and unsuccessful voyage. The failure of repeated at- tempts, and especially of one gov. up with so much cost, probably produced the usual effect of indifference and despondency. The glittering stone, which was to have converted this northern Meta into another Peru, was never more heard of; a few careful assays having doubtless established its utter insignificance. Frobisher recomm(!nded strongly a trial of the first inlet which he i EAULY NORTH-WEST VOYAGES. 170 bad entered, as being, in comparison of tlic other, chap. VI. broader, and every way more promising ; but the j ..'io Krobisiicr'a could by no means be roused to any farther efforts, and plans. he was obliged to seek in other climates employment for his daring and active spirit. He accompanied Sir Francis Drake to the West Indies ; he commanded one of the lai-gest ships in the fleet which opposed the Spanish Armada ; and fought with such bravery that he wfis decorated with the honours of knighthood. Being afterwards sent to assist Henry IV. against th», Leagi ., he was employed in the attack of a small fort on the coast of France, wliere he received a wound from a ball, which, through unskilful treatment, proved fatal in November 1694. Seven yeara after Frobisher's last voyage, the spirit New cxpedi- of the nation was again roused. Divers opulent mer- ""*" chants of London and of the west determined to " cast in their adventure ;" and, leaving wholly out of view the delusive hopes of gold which had misled the captain now named, directed theirs entirely to the discovery oi a passage to India. They fitted out two vessels, the Sunshine and Moonshine, of 60 and 36 tons respectively, which were placed imder the command of John Davis, captain John a steady and determined seaman. He was endowed also ^'*^'* with a large portion of good humour, by which he was likely to render himself acceptable to the rude natives of those inhospitable shores ; and to promote still farther this important object, he was provided, not only with an ample supply of the gifts most suited to their taste, but with a band of music to cheer and recreate their spirits. On the 7th June 1686 he set sail from Dart- mouth ; and on the 19th July, as he approached the Arctic boundary, the seamen heard, amid a calm sea covered with thick mist, a mighty roarings as of waves dashing on a rocky shore. Though the soundings gave 300 fathoms, the captain and master pushed off in the boat to examine this supposed beach, and were much sui-prised to find themselves involved amid numerous icebergs, and that all this noise had been caused by the \ 180 EARLY NORTH-WEST VOYAGES. CoHSt of Gi'ccnlunn- tinucd their friendly salutations, wlvilo the Esquimaux CHAP. VT. -. U showed signs of jealousy and alarm, when at length prioiidly one of them began to point towards the sun and beat iiitoiviow. his breast. These signs being returned by John Ellis, master of the Moonshine, they were Induced to approach ; when, on being presented with caps, stockings, gloves, and other articles, their fears gave place to the most cordial ninity. Next day there appeared thirty-seven canoes, the crews of which kindly invited the strangei-s on sliore, expressing the utmost impatience at their delay. Davis manned his boats and went to them ; upon which one of their number, after shaking his hand, kissed it, and all resigned themselves to confidence and affection. I'he barbarians parted with every thing, the clothes ivoomiity of from off their backs, consisting of seal-skins, and birds' ^' "'*''^"*- skins with the feathers on them, their buskins of well- dressed leather, their darts, oars, and five canoes, accept- ing cheerfully in return whatever their new visiters chose to give, and kindly aiding each other under the jjrivations thus occasioned. They offered to return next day with an ample store of furs and skins, which they saw the foreigners value so highly ; but a favour- able breeze springing up, the captain very properly determined to allow nothing to interfere with his Sthenics of discovery. He steered directly across the strait, or rather sea, which still bears his own name. Davis* On the 6th August he discovered high land, which ^"■'''^*' he named Mount Raleigh, being part of Cumberland Island. Here, anchoring in a fine road, the seamen saw three white animals, which seemed to be goats. De- birous of fresh victuals and sport, they pursued them, wiien they soon perceived that they were in chase of three monstrous bears. The animals rushed on Avith great fury, till, beuig received with several balls, they retreated, apparently not much hurt, but were followed and at last killed. There were no symptoms of their having fed on any thing except grass ; but it was ne- cessary to clear away a very large quantity of fat before tlie flesh could be eaten. 1 .^, >:^.^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) A ^ .*^ 1.0 I.I 1^ ill 2.2 12.0 41 1.25 1.4 1 A .4 6" ► Photographic Sciences Corporation 'C>' 23 WE' MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ''i^ M- f. o^ 182 BARLY NORTH-WEST VOYAGES. Native dogs. CHAP. VI. Daris, after coasting about for some days, again found raTie^,oa'!, Jiimself at the cape which he had at first reached on his Mercy. crossing from the opposite shore of Greenland. This promontory, which he called God's Mercy, he now turned, when he entered a sound stretching north-west- ward, twenty or thirty leagues broad, free from ice, and its waters having the colour and quality of the main ocean. After proceeding sixty leagues, he observed an island in the mid-channel, which still, however, afibrded an open passage ; so that his hopes daily increased, till about the end of August, when being involved in fogs and contrary winds, he determined to suspend operations for the season and return to England. On one of the islands in this sound the seamen heard dogs howling, and at length saw twenty of them approach, having the appearance of wolves. Impressed, however, with the idea that only animals of prey could be found on these shores, they fired and killed two, round one of whose necks they found a collar, and soon afterwards discovered the sledge to which he had been yoked, Davis observed abundauce of the black and glittering stone of Frobisher, and many of the rocks appeared " orient like gold ;" but little attention was now excited by these delusive appearances. Although nothing was actually done by this expedi- tion, yet the views which it had opened up inspired sanguine hopes, and facilitated the equipment of a fresh expedition. To the slender armament of the Sunshine and Moonshine was now added the Mermaid of 120 tons, with a boat or pinnace. Davis sailed again from Dart- mouth on the 7th May, and on the 15th June came in view of the southern extremity of Greenland ; but, owing to severe storms, it was the 29th before he reached the land formerly visited in lat. 64°. As he approached, the natives came out in their canoes at first with shouts and cries ; but, recognising their companions of the preceding year, they hastened forward, and hung round the vessel with every expression of joy and wel- come. Seeing them in such favourable dispositions, the Effects of the expedition. EARLY NORTH-WEST VOYAGES. lua hung wel- the captain went ashore and distributed in presents twenty CHAP. Vl knives, refusing the offer of skins in return. The most Meeting with intimate acquaintance was now resumed ; yet they never the native* met the strangers anew without crying " Iliaout /" beat- ing their breasts and lifting their hands to the sun, by which a fresh treaty was ratified. The two parties amused themselves by contests in bodily exercises. The Esquimaux could not match their opponents in leaping ; but in wrestling they showed themselves strong and skil- Ail, and threw some of the best among the sailors. By de- grees they began to manifest less laudable qualities. They exercised many and solemn incantations, though, Davis thanks God, without any effect. They kindled a fire by rubbing two sticks against each other, and invited him to pass through it ; but he, in contempt of their sorcery, caused the fire to be trodden out and the embers thrown into the sea. They also showed the very inconvenient Thefts, propensity of appropriating every article, especially iron, which came under their notice. Perhaps it was impru- dent ever to have made presents, thus suggesting the idea, wliich does not seem to have before entered their minds, that any thing might be obtained without an equivalent. Be this as it may, they soon reached the highest pitch of audacity ; they stole a spear, a gun, a sword, cut the cables, and even the Moonshine's boat from her stem. The principal officers remonstrated with the captain, and reminded him, that for their security he must *' dissolve this new friendship, and leave the company of those thievish miscreants." He fired two pieces over their heads, which " did sore amazo Alarm of the them," and they fled precipitately. But in ten hours "*'^^^* they again appeared, with many promises and presents of skins ; when, on seeimg iron, " they could in nowise forbear stealing." The commander was again besieged with the complaints of his crew ; however, " it only ministered to him an occasion of laughter," and he bid his men look vigilantly to the safety of their own goods, and not deal hardly with the natives, who could scarcely be expected in so short a time "to know their evils," CHAP. VI. Exepditlon to the in- terior. Moderation in dealing with the natives. 184 EARLY NOBTH-WEST VOYAGES. Cavtiive of a Dutive Davis now undertook an expedition to observe some- what of the interior. He sailed up what appeared a broad river, but which proved only a strait or creek. A violent gust of wind having obliged him to seek the shelter of land, he attempted to ascend a very lofty peak ; but " the mountains were so many and so mighty, that his purpose prevailed not." While the men were gathering muscles for supper, he was amused by viewing, for the first time in his life, a waterspout, which he de- scribes as a powerful whirlwind, taking up the water and whisking it round for three hours without intermission. Next day he re-embarked, and penetrated higher up the channel ; but was surprised to find, instead of the huge unbroken continent which he had supposed, only waste and desert isles, with deep sounds and inlets passing between sea and sea. During the captain's absence matters had become worse with the Esquimaux, and on bis return the sailors opened a fearful budget ; stating that the natives had stolen an anchor, cut the cable, and even thrown stones of half a pound weight against the Moonshine ; and he was asked if he would still endure these injuries. Davis, who probably suspected that their own dealings had not been very gentle, bid them have patience, and all shoixld be well. He invited a r of the savages on board, made them various littl- jents, taught them to run to the topmast, and dismissed them apparently quite pleased. Yet no sooner bad the sun set than they began to " practise their devil hh nature," and threw stones into the Moonshine, one of which knocked down the boatswain. His meek spirit was at length kindled to wrath, and he issued orders for two boats to chase the culprits ; but they rowed so swiftly that the pursuers soon returned with " small content." Two days after, five of them presented themselves with overtures for a fresh truce ; upon which the master came to Davis, de- claring that one of them was " the chief ringleader, a master of mischief," and urged vehemently not to let him go. He was made captive, and a fair wind suddenly ,i-i% EARLY NORTH-WEST VOYAGES. l{]o , de- ., a let sued. springing up, the discoverers set sail, and carried hire chap. Vl 1 away, many doleful signs heing exchanged between him cheerfWness and one of his countrymen ; however, on being well of the cap., treated, and supplied with a new suit of frieze, his spirits "^°' revived, he became a pleasant companion, and used occasionally to assist the sailors. Davis, finding the wind favourable, pushed across the V'^yaRo vw- bay, in hopes of attaining the object of his voyage. On the l7th July the ship's company descried a land diver- sified with hills, bays, and capes, and extending farther than the eye could reach ; but what was their disap- pointment on approaching, to find that it was only " a most mighty and strange quantity of ice 1" It was, in fact, that immense barrier which often, for a great part of the season, fills the middle of Baffin's Bay. As they coasted along this wide field a fog came on, by which the ropes, shrouds, and sails, were all fast frozen, — a pheno- menon which, on the 24th July, appeared more than strange. Dismayed by these appearances, the seamen considered the passage hopeless, and, in a respectful yet fii-m tone, warned Davis, that by " his over-boldness he might cause their widows and fatherless children to give him bitter curses." He was not unwilling to consider their case ; yet, anxious not to abandon so great an ^rseveran.^ enterprise, he determined to leave behind him the Mer- maid, as a vessel less convenient and nimble, and to push on in the Moonshine with the boldest part of his crew. Having found a favourable breeze, he at last, on the 1st August, turned the ice, and in lat. 66** S3' reached land ; along which he now coasted southwards for about ten degrees, entangled among a number of islands, and missing in his progress the difierent inlets which afforded an entrance into Hudson's Bay. The shores were crowded with incredible flocks of gulls and seamews, and the water so abounded in fish that, though their tackle was very indifferent, in the running of an hour-glass the crew caught a hundred cod. On reaching I^brador, the coast was seen covered with ample forests yf pine, yew, and birch ; but five men who landed were of Davis. 186 EARLY NORTH-WEST VOYAGES. CHAi^ VL beset by the natives, and all killed or wounded except Return. Kew ezpedi tion. one. The ship, too, being exposed to a violent tempest, and September now approaching, the captain judged it wisest to return to England. The public mind was considerably damped by the issue of this expedition ; so that Davis found no small difficulty in obtaining the means for equipping another. He was obliged to hold out the inducement that, by proper arrangements, the outlay might be defrayed by fishing, and no additional expense incurred on account of discovery. By these arguments, and by the exertions of his zealous friend, Mr Sanderson, he succeeded in fitting out the Sunshine, the Elizabeth, and a pinnace. This last, to which he mainly trusted for discovery, an- swered very ill the character which had been given of it, and was found to move through the water like a cart drawn by oxen. On the 16th June 1687 the adven- turers arrived at their old coast, and were received by the natives as before with the cry of ilihout and the exhibition of skins. These savages, however, lost no time in renewing their former system of thieving ; for which great opportunities were afforded during the putting together of a boat consisting of materials brought from England. They carried off the deals, and when fired at placed them before their bodies as shields, thus securing both their planks and persons. It was now Plan ofdis- arranged that the two large vessels should remain to covery. ^^^i^ while Davis in the pinnace stretched out into a Iiigher latitude with a view to discovery. In pursuance of this plan he took his departure ; and, continuing to range the coast to the northward, on the 28th he reached a point, which he named Sanderson's Hope, in upwards of 72 degrees, still finding a wide open sea to the west and north. Here, the wind having shifted, he resolved to hold on a western tack across this sea, and proceeded forty leagues without sight of land or any other obstruc- tion, when he was arrested by the usual barrier of ice. He first endeavoured to round it by the north, but, seeing no passage on that side, turned to the south, beating EAPLY NORTH-WEST VOYAGES. 187 about several days without success. Tempted by an chap. VI apparent opening, he involved himself in a bay of ice, Dangers from which he was not extricated without much diffi- ^om ice. culty and some danger ; being obliged to wait till the sea beating and the sun shining ou this mighty mass should effect its dissolution or removal. At length, on the 19th July, he came in view of Mount Raleigh, and at midnight found himself at the mouth of the inlet discovered in the first voyage, and which has since been called Cumberland Strait. On the morrow he sailed across its entrance, and in the two following days as- Cumberland cended its northern shore, till he was again involved Strait, among numerous islands. He seems now to have con- cluded that this strait must be an enclosed gulf, and shaped his course to reach the sea; but, being becalmed in the bottom of the bay, he could not till the 29th, by coasting along the southern shore, eff^'tct his retreat. Frobisher's Strait was now passed, seemingly without being recognised as such, but was called Lumley's Inlet. He next crossed the mouth of an extensive gulf, in one part of which his vessel was carried along by a violent current, while in another the water was w^hirling and roaring as is usual at the meeting of tides. This recess, being terminated by Cape Chidley, was evidently the cape ciiid- grand entrance afterwards penetrated by Hudson. Hav- ^^' ing now, however, only half a hogshead of water left, he hastened to the point of rendezvous fixed with the two other vessels; when, to his deep disappointment and just indignation, he found that they had departed. It was not without hesitation that, with the slender store remaining in his little bark, he ventured to sail for England ; but having scarcely any alternative, he imder- took the voyage, and happily accomplished it. Davis wrote once more to Mr Sanderson in sanguine High cxpuo. and almost exulting terms. He had reached a much ***'°"'^ higher latitude than any former navigator, and with the exception of the barrier of ice on one side, had found the sea open, blue, of vast extent and unfathom- able depth. He considered, therefore, that the success |ajj'*%,..^l'y.,-Jf '*--"vf^- - 18a EARLY NORTH-WEST VOYAGES. Public interest ex- liaustcd. Tlie Levant Company. CHAP. VL of a spirited attempt was almost infallible. But the interest taken by the public in such enterprises seems only capable of being sustained for a certain period. Three failures had exhausted that interest, and made men indisposed to listen or inquire further into the sabject. It became the cry, as he informs us, — " This Davis hath been three times employed ; why hath he not found the passage 1" The death of Secretary w'3*!'"h Walsingham, occurring at this period, was a severe ' blow to the cause ; while the invasion by the Spanish Armada soon followed, and engrossed for a space all the thoughts and energies of the nation. Mr Sander- son still continued the steady friend of the navigator ; but, unable to obtain resources for a new attempt, he could only employ Molyneux, the best artist of his time, to construct a globe which comprised all his friend's discoveries, and is still preserved in the library of the Middle Temple. In 1602 the spirit of enterprise rcArived. To the Muscovy Company, who had taken the lead in all the early schemes of discovery, was now added the Levant Company ; and these two great bodies, finding the course to India by the Cape still beset with many dangers, determined upon a joint effort to penetrate thither by the north-west. They sent out Captain George Weymouth with two vessels, the Discovery and God-speed, which they called fly-boats, though they were respectively of 70 and 60 tons. He left London on the 2d May, and on the 18th June came in view of the coast of Greenland, wliich appeared to liim "a main bank of ice." The water was in many places as thick as puddle, making him imagine himself among shallows, till the sounding-line gave 120 fathoms without any ground. This, which was formerly observed by Davis, is probably the green cloudy sea of Scoresby, thickened by the infusion of numberless animalcules. "Weymouth having made sail westward with a fa- vourable breeze, came on the 28th in sight of the New expedi- tion. EARLY N0nTII-WE8T VOYAGES. 189 m me ave was coast of America. There appeared a promontory covered chai- VL with snow, which he concluded to be Warwick's Fore- captliiii land ; but the vessels were tossed to and fro by violent Weymouth. currents, or overfalls, as he calls them, and involved in fogs so thick, that they were once quite close to a bank of ice before it was perceived. However being in want of water, the party landed, loaded theij boat with ice, and found it to make very palatable drink. The attention of the crews was arrested by a loud sound like the dashing of waves on the shore ; and on approaching the place they were dismayed to find it "the noise of a great quantity of ice, which was very loathsome to be heard." The mist became Thick foge, so thiek that they could not see two ships' length, and determined to take down the sails ; but were petrified to find them so fast frozen to the ri^^'.iig, that, in "this chiefest time of summer, they could not bo moved." Next morning they renewed th