■».■■ I-J I »• "I M 1 "

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)W

A VOYAGE

TO

THE POLAE SEA

VOL. I.

v^r

LONDON : PRINTED BY

SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE

AND PARLIAMENT STREET

NAEEATIVE

OP

A VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA

During 1875-6

IN

H.M. SHIPS 'ALERT' AND 'DISCOVERY7

BY

CAPT. (SHpG^S^NAEES, E.K, K.C.B., F.E.S.

COMMANDER OF THE EXPEDITION

WITH NOTES on the NATURAL HISTORY

EDITED BY

H. W. FEILDEN, F.G.S., C.M.Z.S., F.R.G.S.

NATURALIST TO THE EXPEDITION

IN TWO VOLUMES
VOL. I.

LONDON
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON

. CHOWN BUILDINGS, 188 FLEET STREET
~ 1878

All rights reserved

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ins

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706235

THESE VOLUMES ARE INSCRIBED
IN MEMORY OF THE LATE

EIGHT HON. GEOEGE WAED HUNT, M.P.

UNDER WHOSE ADMINISTRATION AS FIRST LORD
OF THE ADMIRALTY

THE ARCTIC EXPEDITION OF 1875

WAS PLANNED AND CARRIED INTO EXECUTION, AND WHOSE

GENEROUS AND CONSISTENT ENCOURAGEMENT AND

SUPPORT WILL EVER BE REMEMBERED

WITH GRATITUDE AND RESPECT

BY

THE AUTHOR.

PREFACE.

In the following narrative I have endeavoured to give
a plain and faithful account of the voyage of H.M.
ships ' Alert ' and ' Discovery ' to and from the Polar
Sea ; together with the results of the explorations
which were made along its shores, and over the ice in
the direction of the North Pole, by means of sledging.

I have written for the information of future Arctic
explorers ; and also under a feeling of duty to the
many, both in this country and abroad, whose earnest
good wishes and kind sympathies were with us during
our absence.

As the expectations which were entertained re-
garding our reaching the North Pole were not realized,
I must, in justice to the gallant men whom I com-
manded, express my firm conviction that it was due
solely. to the fact that the North Pole is unattainable
by the Smith Sound route.

The Illustrations in the present work are either
reproductions of photographs taken by Mr. F. Mitchell,
Paymaster of H.M.S. 'Discovery,' and Mr. George

Vlll PREFACE.

White, Assistant Engineer of H.M.S. ' Alert,' or from
sketches taken on the spot by Dr. Edward Moss, M.D.,
Surgeon of H.M.S. 'Alert,' Lieutenant G. Le C.
Egerton, and Mr. Mitchell.

The Natural History collections made by the two
naturalists who were attached to the Expedition were,
on the recommendation of the President and Council of
the Eoyal Society, submitted to specialists, who have
most kindly and generously drawn up full reports on
the various groups. Many of these papers have already
been published in the proceedings of various learned
societies. In the Appendices to this work, my friend
Captain Feilden, the naturalist attached to the ' Alert,'
in addition to supplying original papers, has arranged
in an abridged form these valuable contributions to
Natural History.

Throughout the narrative the compass bearings
refer to the true meridian ; and the temperature
observations are expressed in degrees of Fahrenheit.

G. S. Nares.

Sttebiton : April, 1878.

LIST

OFFICEES AND MEN.

H.M.S. ' alert;

OFFICERS.

Captain George S. Nares.
Oommander Albert II. Markham.
Captain H. W. Feilden, R.A.,

naturalist.
Senior Lieutenant Pelham Aldrich.
Lieutenant A. A. 0. Parr.
Lieutenant G. A. Giffard.
Lieutenant W. II. May.
Fleet-Surgeon Thomas Colan, M.D.
Surgeon E. L. Moss, M.D.
Rev. W. H. Pullen, chaplain.
Sub-Lieut. George Le C. Egerton.
James Wootton, engineer.
George White, engineer.

George I. Burroughs, ship's steward.
Joseph Good, chief boatswain's mate.
John N. Radmore, chief carpenter's

mate.
Vincent Dominies, ship's cook.
John Thores, ice quartermaster.
James Berrie, ice quartermaster.
David Deuchars, ice quartermaster.
Edwin Lawrence, gunner's mate.
James Doidge, captain foretop.

Daniel W. Harley, captain foretop.
Thomas Stuckberry, captain maintop.
Thomas Rawlins, captain forecastle.
Thomas Jolliffe, captain maintop.
Spero Oapato, captain's steward.
George Keniish, wardroom steward.
John Hawkins, cooper.
John Simmons, 2nd captain maintop.
Adam Ayles, 2nd captain foretop.
Henry Mann, shipwright.
James Self, able seaman.
William Maskell, able seaman.
William P. Woolley, able seaman.
George Cranston, able seaman.
Reuben Francombe, able seaman.
•John Pearson, able seaman.
William Ferbrache, able seaman.
Alfred R. Pearce, able seaman.
David Mitchell, able seaman.
Robert D. Symonds, able seaman.
Thomas H. Simpson, able seaman.
William Malley, able seaman.
George Wlnstone, able seaman.
William Lorimer, able seaman.
James Frederick Cane, armourer.
Robert Joiner, leading stoker.
John Shirley, stoker.
Thomas Stubbs, stoker.
William I. Gore, stoker.

LIST OF THE OFFICERS AND MEN.

William Hunt, wardroom cook.
N. 0. Petersen, Eskimo interpreter.
Frederick, Greenlander

MARINES.

William Wood, colour sergeant.

William Ellard, private.
John Ilollins, private.
Thomas Smith, private.
George Porter, gunner.
Elias Hill, gunner.
Thomas Oakley, gunner.

H.M.S. ' DISCOVERY.'

OFFICERS.

Captain Henry F. Stephenson.

Senior Lieut. Lewis A. Beaumont.

Lieutenant Robert H. Archer.

Lieutenant Wyatt Rawson.

Lieutenant Reginald B. Fulford.

Staff-Surgeon Belgrave Ninnis, M.D.

Surgeon Richard W. Coppinger,
M.D.

Charles E. Hodgson, chaplain.

Chichester Hart, B A., naturalist.

Sub-Lieutenant C. I. M. Conybeare.

Daniel Cartmel, engineer.

Matthew R. Miller, engineer.

Thomas Mitchell, assistant-pay-
master.

MEN.

George R. Sarah, ship's steward.
George W. Emmerson, chief boat-
swain's mate.
E. C. Eddy, chief captain's mate.
Alexander Gray, ice quartermaster.
William Dougall, ice quartermaster.
Edward Taws, ice quartermaster.
George Bryant, captain maintop.
Frank Chatel, captain forecastle.
David Stewart, captain foretop.
Thomas Simmons, captain forecastle.
George Bunyan, ropemaker.
William Ward, armourer.
James Shepherd, cooper.
John E. Smith, sailmaker.

Jonah Gear, wardroom steward.
George Stone, 2nd captain foretop.
James Cooper, 2nd captain maintop.
Henry W. Edwards, able seaman.
Benjamin Wyatt, able seaman.
Daniel Girard, able seaman.
Michael Regan, able seaman.
Thomas Chalkley, able seaman.
John Hodges, able seaman.
James Thornback, able seaman.
Alfred Hindle, able seaman.
Peter Craig, able seaman.
George Leggatt, able seaman.
Robert W. Hitchcock, able seaman.
John S. Saggers, able seaman.
James J. Hand, able seaman.
Charles Paul, able seaman.
Henry Windser, carpenter's crew.
James Phillips, Avardroom cook.
Jeremiah Rourke, leading stoker.
Frank Jones, stoker.
Samuel Bulley, stoker.
William R. Sweet, stoker.
Hans Heindrich, Greenlander.

MARINES.

William C. Wellington, sergeant.
Wilson Dobing, gunner.
John Cropp, gunner.
Elijah Rayner, gunner.
William Waller, private.
Thomas Darke, private.
John Murray, private.
Henry Petty, private.

SAILING OEDEES.

Admiralty, 25th May, 1875.

Sir, — Her Majesty's Government having determined that an
expedition of Arctic exploration and discovery should be under-
taken, My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty have been
pleased to select you for the command of the said expedition, the
scope and primary object of which should be to attain the highest
northern latitude, and, if possible, to reach the North Pole, and
from winter quarters to explore the adjacent coasts within the
reach of travelling parties, the limits of ship navigation being con-
fined within about the meridians of 20° and 90° west longitude.

2. Her Majesty's ships ' Alert ' and ' Discovery ' having bsen
specially fitted out for this service, I am commanded by their
Lordships to signify their direction to you, so soon as the said
vessels shall be in all respects equipped and ready, to take the
' Discovery ' under your orders, and put to sea with both vessels,
calling at Queenstown to complete with coal, or sending in the
' Valorous ' (which will accompany the expedition to Disco), for
that purpose if more convenient, proceeding thence to Disco, in
Davis Strait, and northwards by way of Baffin's Bay and Smith's
Sound, to carry out the special service of discovery and exploration
with which you have been entrusted.

3. Her Majesty's ship ' Valorous ' will receive on board extra
coal and stores, &c, for the expedition, and will be available for
towing when requisite. Captain Loftus Jones has been directed
to consider himself under your orders temporarily, and after tran-
shipping stores, &c. at Disco, he is to return to Devonport in the

Valorous ' in final execution of his orders.

4. The ' Alert ' and ' Discovery ' after leaving Disco should
proceed to the settlements of Proven and TJpernivik for dogs,

/-

xii SAILING ORDEliS.

Eskimo drivers, &c, and then pass up to Smith Sound in the
prosecution of the enterprise, and it will be a question for you to
consider whether you would leave a depot of provisions and a boat
at the Carey Islands on passing.

5. Both shores in the vicinity of Capes Isabella and Alexander
should be examined in order to select a suitable position for the
depot or relief ship which will, in the event of the expedition re-
maining in the Arctic regions, be despatched in 1877 ; but as such
a position cannot be absolutely determined on beforehand, and it
is necessary to decide where information will be found by any ship
which may be subsequently sent out from England, Lyttelton
Island, in the opinion of competent authorities, meets all the
requirements of a fixed point of rendezvous. Here a conspicuous
cairn should be erected ; one record placed in the cairn, another
laid beside it on the north side, and a third buried twenty feet due
north of it. These records should contain proceedings of the
voyage and such information as may be necessary for the com-
mander of the ship to be despatched in 1877.

6. The ships should then proceed up Smith Sound with all
speed, so long as its navigation is not seriously obstructed by ice,
a careful scrutiny being made of its shores for places of security
for the ships, stopping only to erect cairns on such conspicuous
points as may be conveniently landed on. Similar information
should be placed at these cairns, and after the same method as
described for the cairn on Lyttelton Island. It is, moreover,
necessary to be borne in mind that these records of the progress
of the expedition and of any change of plans you may have found
necessary to make, form an important feature in these instructions.

7. It is desirable that these cairns should not be more than
sixty miles apart. By way of illustration, may be named Capes
Frazer, Back, and Beechey on the western shore, and Capes Jack-
son and Bryan on the eastern shore ; to these prominent headlands
the attention of any searching party would naturally be directed.
A small depot of provisions and a boat might also be advan-
tageously left at one or more of these points, to serve either for
exploring parties or to aid in the event of an abandonment of the
ships. Timely endeavours should be made to secure anchorage
suitable for winter quarters, and every precaution during that
rigorous season, which your former experience, as well as that of
other Arctic voyagers, may suggest, is to be taken, for the health

SAILING ORDERS. Xlll

and comfort of the officers and crew. Ample supplies have
accordingly been furnished to the expedition ; and you have been
furnished with a memorandum from the Director- General of the
Medical Department of the Navy on the subject,

8. The general design of the expedition should be, that while
both ships would share as far as possible in the objects of discovery
and exploration, one must be so placed that she would not only
serve for the crew of the other to fall back upon, but also, that
the united crews could, without doubt, escape from her to the
relief ship at the entrance of Smith Sound, by means of their
sledges and boats over the ice. Consequently, the second ship
must not be carried northward of the 82nd parallel ; such a
position would secure this most important object, and also afford
every prospect of exploration into very high latitudes.

9. The eastern or the western shore may be selected for her
winter quarters according to circum stances ; the advantages of the
former are, that animal life has been found to exist there through-
out the winter, and that the ship would be favourably placed for
exploring the northern coast of Greenland, or adjacent land, in the
spring of 1876 : on the other hand, if the land is found to be
more continuous on the western side, it may afford a counter-
balancing advantage in the greater facility and security of com-
munication between the ships, and their co-operation in subsequent
operations ; this point must, therefore, be left to your judgment
to decide ; if you should select the western shore, then you should
be careful in passing, or subsequently, to place a record on the
eastern side of the probable or absolute position of the second
ship ; and in the absence of any conspicuous cairn, a ship or party
visiting the bay wintered in by the 'Polaris/ in about 81° 35'
north, would naturally seek the position of Hall's grave, where,
and at twenty feet due north of it, records would be expected to be
found.

10. The captain of the second ship, wherever placed, would
follow such instructions as he will have received on parting com-
pany, or subsequently, from yourself.

11. It should be a matter for consideration, whether, before
parting, you would leave a depot of some six months' of the
' Alert's ' provisions with your consort, so as to be available for
your own crew should they have to retreat, but time and circum-
stances must govern your decision on this point.

xiv SAILING ORDERS.

1 2. Having assured yourself of the safety of your consort, and
increased your own crew by such portion of her crew as you may
deem necessary to enable you to accomplish a sledging attempt to
reach the Pole (this being the main feature of the expedition), and
also the exploration of your share of the coast-line extending
northwards, you should, as leader of the expedition, then push on
northward, and explore by ship as much of the unknown area as
the season and the state of the ice would permit. But it is not
contemplated that the two ships should winter at a greater distance
apart than about 200 miles ; and if you advance with your ship
beyond that point in 1875, you should use every endeavour to
return within the 200 miles' distance; — or the case may arise, in
which it may be even wise to rejoin your consort and unite the
forces of both ships for exploration in the spring and summer of
1876.

13. Should the advance ship, after leaving her consort, carry
continuous, or nearly continuous land up to a high northern latitude,
you should avail yourself of opportunities to land small depots of
provisions at intervals, with cairns and records as already de-
scribed ; and also to deposit at the most northern station, a depot
of provisions and a boat, for your spring tra veiling parties.

14. Your own crew having been increased as above referred to,
by such portions of the crew of your consort as you may deem
necessary, it is expected that you will have at least six strong
sledge parties, and four dog sledges, with which to commence
further exploration in early spring. All these parties should be
employed in the first instance to push out the North Pole party
(which should be provided with at least one boat), and upon return
from this work, some weeks later, the parties for the exploration
of the coast-lines should be sent out.

15. It must not, however, be lost sight of that, in the absence
of continuous land, sledge travelling has never yet been found
practicable over any considerable extent of unenclosed frozen sea,
although conditions may be found to exist which would enable
parties to travel for limited distances by sledge and boat operations
combined, and for this purpose the best boats and sledges that can
be devised have been supplied.

16. You will be careful to furnish ample instructions to the
captain of the ' Discovery,' especially in regard to the explorations
to be undertaken by him during the spring and summer of 1876,

SAILING ORDERS. XV

should the ships winter apart ; and in this event, the first con-
sideration should be, in the autumn of 1875 or early spring of

1876, to ascertain their respective positions; this, unless under
very unfavourable conditions, would be probably accomplished by
dog parties, without interfering much with the objects of explora-
tion. In connection with this subject, you should bear in mind
the necessity of giving such instructions as would govern his pro-
ceedings in the event of this proving to be a final separation.

17. It has already been mentioned that the limits of ship
navigation should be confined within about the meridians of 20°
and 90° west longitude ; but even within these limits, the possible
contingency of a final separation might arise from some sudden
and unforeseen movement of ice from which one or both of the
ships could not be extricated ; resulting, it may be, in the advanced
ship being carried by the southerly drift passing the eastern shores
of Greenland supposing Greenland to be an island.

18. It will be impossible therefore to give any positive or
detailed instructions for your guidance after quitting your consort,
further than that you should use your best endeavours to rejoin
her in the navigable season of 1876, and in company with her
return to England, provided the spring exploration has been
reasonably successful. But in the event of another season being
absolutely required to complete a reasonable amount of exploration,
still it will be a matter for careful consideration, whether it would
not be advisable that the advanced ship should fall back towards
her consort from any advanced position she may have wintered at ;
and, should it still remain doubtful whether a final retreat could
be effected, the second ship might not be moved southward to such
a position as would secure it.

19. In 1877 you are at full liberty to abandon your ship as
early as convenient, if, in your opinion, the explorations of the
preceding year have been final, or, if from your experience of the
navigable seasons of 1875 and 1876, in your judgment, her
escape in 1877 would be doubtful ; you should in this case so time
this abandonment as to reach the relief ship at the entrance of
Smith Sound not later than the first week in September 1877.

20. In the event of your remaining out in the hope of extri-
cating your own, or it may be both ships, during the summer of

1877, you should consider the propriety of reducing your own or
both crews, sending away all that can be spared to the relief ship

xvi SAILING ORDERS.

at Lyttelton Island. In this case one or both ships would remain
out for the winter of 1877, if unable to extricate themselves in the
summer of that year, a contingency which is hardly possible.

21. You must, however, bear in mind, that it is not desirable,
under any circumstances, that a single ship should be left to
winter in the Arctic regions. If one ship remains up Smith
Sound, a second ship should remain at the rendezvous at its
entrance.

22. In the summer of 1877, a relief or depot ship will be de-
spatched to Smith's Sound, and she will be directed; in the first
instance, to repair to Lyttelton Island, and then to follow such
instructions as you may have deposited in the cairn there. The
instructions you will leave for this ship, so far as they need be
decided on at present, are, that she is to be found at the rendezvous,
specified in the records at the cairn, not later than the last week
in August 1877. She will be equipped and fitted for wintering in
the Polar Seas, and, in the event of there being no tidings of the
expedition nor instructions to the contrary, in the records to be
found at the rendezvous you will have named, she will be ordered
to pass one winter at that rendezvous, returning to England in the
latest part of the navigable season of 1878.

23. If, under the circumstances alluded to in paragraph 20,
the retreating parties should arrive at Lyttelton Island in 1878,
and find no relief ship there, or no intelligence of her, it will be
taken for granted that some unforeseen accident has prevented her
reaching Lyttelton Island, and in that case the retreating parties
must rely on their- own resources for reaching Upernivik, looking
out, of course, for the whalers on their fishing grounds, between the
months of May and August. The expedition will, in any case,
on its return, revisit the cairn on Lyttelton Island, and leave
records.

24. Should the season of 1875 be so unfavourable as to
prevent the expedition from penetrating beyond the 79th parallel,
it is left to your discretion to decide whether the ships shall winter
there, or return to England and renew the attempt the following
year.

25. Although the expedition intrusted to your charge is one of
exploration and discovery, it must be kept in view that detailed
surveys are unnecessary. The requirements of hydrography and
geography will be provided for if the prominent features and

SAILING ORDERS. xvii

general outline of the shores are sketched in as faithfully as cir-
cumstances will admit ; and to ensure their recognition by future
explorers. In the determination of the astronomical position of
the principal points, no doubts should be permitted to exist as to
the fidelity of the results that may be arrived at, so as to ensure
confidence and respect.

26. Further, as the object of the expedition is for the advance-
ment of science and natural knowledge, the memoranda furnished
by the Royal and Royal Geographical Societies of London, at the
request of their Lordships, are supplied for your guidance. The
most approved instruments have been furnished to you for the
purpose of pursuing research in the several branches of physical
science, and as certain of your officers have been specially instructed
in the modes of observing, you will take care to give them every
fair opportunity of adding their contributions thereto.

27. You will also receive assistance from the two gentlemen
who have been appointed as naturalists to the expedition; and
every reasonable facility should be given for the collection and pre-
servation of such specimens of the animal, vegetable, and mineral
kingdoms as can be conveniently stowed on board the ships.
These specimens are to be considered the property of Her Majesty's
Government, and to be at their disposal.

28. In case of any irreparable accident happening to one of
the ships, the officers and crew of the disabled vessel are to be
removed to the other, and such arrangements are to be made as
appear to you to be the most expedient and conducive to the
objects of the expedition.

29. In the event of the 'Alert' being the ship disabled, my
Lords hereby authorise you to take command of the ' Discovery,'
and in the event of any fatal accident happening to yourself,
Captain Stephenson is hereby authorised to take command of the
' Alert,' placing the officer next in seniority in command of the
' Discovery.' Also, in the event of your own inability, by sickness
or otherwise at any period of this service, to continue to carry
these instructions into execution, you are to transfer them to the
officer the next in seniority to you employed in the expedition,
who is hereby required by their Lordships to execute them in the
best manner practicable for the attainment of the objects in view.

30. Every available opportunity is to be taken to communicate
your proceedings to me for their Lordships' information.

vol. i. a

XVlll SAILING ORDERS.

31. On your arrival in England, you are forthwith to repair to
the Admiralty, to lay before their Lordships a full account of your
proceedings ; having previously received from the officers and all
other persons in the expedition the journals or memoranda they
may have kept, and the charts, drawings, and observations which
they may have made. Such of these journals and documents as
may be of an unofficial character will be returned to the writers
when no longer required for the public requirements of the ex-
pedition.

32. In conclusion, my Lords desire me to state, that having
full confidence in your judgment and discretion, and being aware
that you are already familiar with Arctic service, they do not
deem it necessary to furnish you with more definite instructions
than are embraced in the foregoing. With the ample means at
your command, you are at liberty to vary the detail according to
circumstances, but the main points herein laid down for your
guidance should be kept in view, all other objects being subordinate
to them.

I am, Sir,

Your obedient servant
(signed) Robert Hall.

Captain George S. Nares, K.N.,

H.M.S. 'Alert ' at Portsmouth.

CONTENTS

THE FIRST VOLUME.

CHAPTER I.

Departure from Portsmouth — Bantry Bay — Sea birds — Part company
with ' Valorous ' — Heavy gales — Carrier pigeons — Dead whale —
East Greenland drift ice — Sight ' Valorous ' — Seals and walrus
— Description of pack-ice — Antarctic ice — A gale — Discoloura-
tion of sea — Inaccuracy of charts — Sight ' Discovery ' — Dredge
on Torske bank — Cross Arctic circle— Greenland Mer-de-Glace

CHAPTER II.

Cordial reception by the inspector — Appearance of the land — Visit
to Ovifak — Temperature of Disco Bay — Icebergs — Eider ducks
— Crowded state of Arctic ships — Ritenbenk — Waigat Channel
— Last sight of the 'Valorous' — Proven — Upernivik — Leave
Ritenbenk — Fastening to an iceberg — Scenery of coast —
Geological formation — Hans Heindrich — Sanderson's Hope —
Upernivik — Danish officials 15

CHAPTER III.

Leave Upernivik — Intricate navigation — 'Alert' aground — The
'Middle Ice '—Melville Bay— Cape York and the 'North
Water' — Natives of Cape York— Beverley Cliffs — Cary Islands
— Northumberland and Hakluyt Islands — Cape Alexander . 34

a 2

XX CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IV.

PAGE

Ilartstene Bay — Life-boat Cove — ' Polaris ' winter quarters —
Littleton Island — Etah — Cape Isabella — Payer Harbour — Cape
Sabine — Hayes Sound — Alexandra Haven — Twin Glacier Valley
— Eskimo migration 50

CHAPTER V.

Re-enter Smith Sound — Caught in the pack — Escape — Cape
Victoria — Franklin Pierce Bay — Walrus — Norman Lockyer
Island — Cape Hawks — Washington Irving Island — Dobbin Bay
— Dog-sickness — Perilous position of ships — Rounding Cape
Frazer 73

CHAPTER VI.

Cape John Barrow — Cape Collinson — Open water — Cape Constitu-
tion— Bessels Bay — Discovery Harbour — Musk-oxen — Ships
part company — Cape Beechey — In the pack — Perilous position
— Escape — Cape Union 98

CHAPTER VII.

Cape Joseph Henry — Hall's observations — Shut in by the pack —
Rawson and Aldrich start — Markham leaves ship — No land to
the north — Aldrich returns— Furious gale — Markham's return
— Attempt to leave Floeberg Beach — Accident to screw —
Frozen in — Departure of autumn sledge parties . . . 130

CHAPTER VIII.

Rawson's second start — Aldrich's return- — His journey to Cape
Joseph Henry — Heavy snow-fall — Condition of the ice — Rawson
returns — Failure to communicate with ' Discovery ' — Markham's
return — Frost-bites — Results of autumn sledging . . . 153

CHAPTER IX.

Preparations for winter — Dog-sickness — Snow-houses — Ventilation
of Arctic ships — Arctic clothing — Astronomical Observations —
Fire-hole — Aurora — The moon — The ' Ladies' Mile' — Royal
Arctic Theatre — Paraselena— Arctic darkness — High tempera-
ture—Christmas— End of the year .174

CONTENTS. xxi

CHAPTER X.

PAGE

Tidal registers — Returning twilight— Snow-floor — Stars in the
Milky Way — Mercury frozen — Contraction of cables — Health of
the Expedition — Musky flavour of meat — Absence of planets —
A lemming captured — Dog-sledging — Temperature of the sea
— Return of the sun — Banks raised by ice-pressure — Vegetation
at the Pole .217

CHAPTER XL

Geographical discoveries — Absence of land to the north — Decide
on three lines of exploration — Boats for northern party — Adopt
the plan of Sir Edward Parry — Scurvy — Dietaries of sledge
crews — Egerton leaves for Discovery Bay — Petersen's illness —
Dog sledging — Spring visitants — : Wolves and musk-oxen . . 252

CHAPTER XII.

Departure of the sledge parties — News from the ' Discovery ' —
Account of Egerton's journey — Trip to Greenland — Dr. Moss
and Mr. White return —Arrival of sledges from the 'Discovery'
— Archer visits Polaris Bay — Captain Stephenson's arrival —
Giffard's return — His party attacked by scurvy — Egerton and
Feilden return — Excursion to Cape Joseph Henry — Mount
Julia— Return to the < Alert ' 282

CHAPTER XIII.

Increase of scurvy— Conybeare arrives from Discovery Bay — Pro-
ceedings of parties from ' Discovery ' — Lady Franklin Sound —
Boats taken to Greenland — Polaris Bay — Captain Hall's grave
— His last record — Chronometer — Vitality of wheat — Cop-
pinger's journey 331

CHAPTER XIV.

Lieutenant Parr arrives on board ' Alert ' — Distressing condition of
northern division of sledges — Relief party start — Death of
George Porter — Markham's journey 344

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

THE FIEST VOLUME.

PHOTOGBAPHS.

Floebekg Beach— Spring .... Frontispiece

Stopped by the Ice off Cape Prescott . . To face page 84

FLOEBERG AND PRESSED-TTP RUBBLE-ICE . . „ 355

FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATION.

Newly-formed Floebergs (prom a Photograph) „ 133

WOODCUTS.

Godhaab District .....
Group of Arctic Highlanders ....
Beverley Cliffs, ' Crimson Cliffs ' of Sir John Ross
North-west Point, Northumberland Island .
Buchanan Strait, Hayes Sound
Twin Glacier, Buchanan Sound
Amateur Dog-drivers ....

Cape Hawks ......

12
42
43
47

65

68
83

87

XXIV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Cape John Barrow ....

Cape Constitution ....

Bessel8 Bay . .

Head of Musk Ox ....

United States Range — Cape Joseph Henry
Dog-sledge ......

Frozen Chimney ....

The Ladles' Mile .....

Paraselena .....

Mount Hall — North Coast of Greenland
Frozen Beard .....

Sledge lowered over Hummocks
Helping Dog-sledge down a Hummock
Dog-sledge Driving over Hummocks
Diamond Dust .....

Cape Rawson Snow-slope
Grave of Captain Hall

I'AUK

99

104
107
113
131
162
179
194
208
245
280
287
289
294
300
306
336

MAP.
Smith Sound, Kennedy and Robeson Channels . To face page 1

INTRODUCTION.

It has been frequently said that Arctic discovery is
the heritage of our nation ; it was bequeathed some
three centuries since by Davis, Hudson, Baffin, and
other illustrious seamen whose names and deeds will
ever retain an honoured place in their country's
history. It was not, however, until early in the
present century that the legacy was accepted by the
Government. The termination of a long war was not
deemed an unfitting time to renew the encouragement
of that spirit of enterprise and adventure which had
been transmitted from the earliest maritime period,
and had ever been a characteristic of the seafaring
profession.

It is doubtful, however, whether that long series of
brilliant achievements in the frozen North which called
forth so much daring, so much fortitude, so much
endurance, would have adorned the annals of the
British Navy but for the untiring energy and perse-
verance of one man — himself an ardent admirer of
the deeds and sufferings of those ancient Arctic worthies
which his pen has so ably chronicled ; it need scarcely
be said that this individual was the late Sir John
Barrow, whose singular determination of character,

XXVI INTRODUCTION.

coupled with the influential position he occupied in the
naval administration of the country, enabled him to
carry out his favourite enterprise, the renewal of Arctic
discovery. Hence between the years 1817 and 1845
an almost unbroken series of efforts were made by this
country to penetrate the frozen regions within the
Arctic or Antarctic circles. Connected with these
attempts the names of Parry, Franklin, and Eichard-
son, Back, John and James Eoss, Beechey and others
scarcely less eminent, have become famous ; and a band
of officers and seamen have been trained and educated
in a school, the stern necessities of which have been
instrumental in forming and fostering those qualities
of fortitude and habits of self-reliance and self-denial
which are certain to tell with effect at some period or
other of a seaman's career, and which no maritime
nation can afford to hold lightly.

To enter into the briefest relation of the earlier
expeditions of the present century would be to repeat
what has already been frequently said ; nor is it neces-
sary, further than to remark that, with the exception of
Parry's attempt to reach the Pole in 1827, and James
Eoss's expedition to the Antarctic regions in 1840 and
following years, chiefly in the interests of the science
of terrestrial magnetism, they may nearly all be said to
have centred in the solution of the all-absorbing problem
— the discovery of a North-west passage.

The last of these expeditions was the ill-fated one
under Franklin, which left these shores in the month
of May 1845 never to return. Just thirty years had
elapsed when in the same month in 1875 Polar research
was resumed by the despatch of the ' Alert ' and
1 Discovery ' on the voyage which is narrated in the
following pages by its distinguished commander.

INTRODUCTION. XXV11

The expedition under Franklin was in reality the
last which was sent forth by this country in the pursuit
of Arctic discovery. Those which subsequently fol-
lowed, seven in number and consisting of no less than
twenty-four vessels, twenty of which were equipped
by the Government, and which by ship and sledge
traversed the Arctic seas for over ten years, were sent
exclusively in search of the ' Erebus ' and ' Terror,' and
their geographical discoveries were purely incidental
to that search.

Notwithstanding all that has been written con-
cerning this unfortunate expedition, it has so direct a
bearing on the one which has lately returned from an
attempt to reach the Pole, that it is imperative briefly
to recall its main features, and to follow for a time the
footsteps of those who so long and so unsuccessfully
persevered in their attempts to lift the veil which
shrouded all connected with it in the deepest mystery.

Franklin and his companions, like many who pre-
ceded them, went forth to accomplish the North-west
passage, that is to sail north-west from the Atlantic
to the Pacific Ocean ; and wTith the knowledge — or
perhaps it would be more correct to say the ignorance —
which then existed as to the difficulties by which the
task was surrounded, there seemed a fair probability
that their mission would have been successful. At any
rate there were none who doubted that the way they
would go would be open to their safe return. They
had two stout ships, the best ever despatched on such
service. These vessels were furnished with steam
power, though to a limited extent, and their personnel
comprised the flower of the naval service.

It is probable that few, if any, at this time believed
that practical results useful to navigation or commerce

xxviii INTRODUCTION.

would accrue were the passage accomplished ; still
problems of scientific interest, which were less under-
stood then than now, would be solved, and success
could not but redound to the national honour and
renown.

Looking back with our present knowledge it may
well seem unaccountable that the idea of succour
becoming necessary never entered into the minds of
Franklin, or the most experienced of his contemporaries,
and that no single precaution for relief was ever con-
templated before the expedition sailed. We now,
indeed, know that if it had been arranged that in the
summer of 1847 an expedition should proceed to some
appointed rendezvous in Barrow Strait, there to remain
until the autumn of 1848, it is certain that most if not
all the surviving crew would have been rescued ; we
know this now because we know where the ships were
abandoned, and that the spot was within reach of such
succour ; but had they penetrated a hundred miles
further westward it would have taken them out of such
reach ; all attempts however at rescue, at whatever
time undertaken, would have been in vain, unless pre-
arranged with Franklin. This is the fatal mistake
which experience has taught us, and which can never
be repeated ; but had it been recognised as a necessity
to send a second expedition one or two years after the
departure of the first, to secure its safety, would the
' Erebus ' and ' Terror,' it may be asked, have sailed at
all ? Would not the question have arisen, ' Is expedi-
tion to follow expedition while a ship remains absent ? '
and there could probably have been but one reply.
Much has been written by theorists, after the event, to
prove that the long and fruitless search was made in
the wrong direction, and that where Franklin was

INTRODUCTION. XXIX

ordered to go, there he should have been sought. This
is specious enough, but what are the facts ? Instruc-
tions to the leaders of such expeditions can be con-
sidered only as advice to be followed under certain
assumed conditions ; but in the uncertainties of Arctic
navigation, circumstances are almost certain to occur
which may render it impossible to act upon instruc-
tions, however ably conceived. Franklin was indeed
ordered to go to the south-west in the direction of
Cape Walker, but none knew what was beyond that
cape. If baffled there he was to try the Wellington
Channel, only sixty miles to the eastward, which
had been seen and pronounced a promising channel
by Parry, and which being nearer the open sea is
probably always free from ice before the more shel-
tered inlets to the westward. In all probability the
south-west was tried and found closed ; it is certain, as
we know now, that he did ascend the Wellington
Channel to 77° N., and finding the outlet westward
sealed, returned, wintered at Beechey Island, and later
on in the year 1846 succeeded in penetrating to the
S.W. beyond Cape Walker ; but a ship's keel leaves
no track behind, and no scrap of paper was ever found,
or probably ever left, to indicate the course taken by
the ' Erebus ; and ' Terror,' until the fatal one dis-
covered by M'Clintock's parties on King William's
Land, which recorded the abandonment of the ships
and thus revealed the sad story that all must probably
have perished ten years before.

The only clue ever found by the searching ships
previous to this — the three graves on Beechey Island at
the entrance to Wellington Channel — a significant clue
indeed — probably led those who followed, in a direction
at once in the track of the lost expedition, and at the same

XXX INTRODUCTION.

time hopelessly astray. Be this as it may, it must be
confessed, and perhaps with humiliation, that the united
wisdom and judgment of the most experienced Arctic
navigators, and the energy and perseverance of the most
able leaders, were alike at fault, so that it was left for
the solitary little 'Fox,' equipped by Lady Franklin
and her friends, and commanded by M'Clintock, to
solve the mystery, which had previously baffled so
many able commanders (himself among the number),
with means and resources unlimited. His success,
however, complete as it was, detracts in no way from
the credit of those who went before. Working in the
dark, so to say, they did all that undaunted perseve-
rance and devotion could accomplish, in the face of
difficulties and hardships which have rarely been
equalled.

But to return from a digression which to some
may scarcely seem relevant. The special influence
exercised on the renewal of Arctic discovery by the
lost expedition and those which followed in its search
was twofold. The shock which the nation sustained in
the tragic fate of the former, and the disappointment
experienced by the entire failure of the latter, after
ten weary years of effort and an enormous expendi-
ture of money, may be said to have sealed the North-
west passage indefinitely, and thus narrowed the
fields of discovery to the one other point of interest —
the Pole. Again, the search for the missing ships
involved the minute examination of a vast extent of
coast-line, which neither ship nor boat could approach,
and this task could only be accomplished by the
manual labour of dragging heavily laden sledges along
the margin of the frozen sea for weeks or months to-
gether. The art of sledge-travelling in this manner

INTRODUCTION. XXXI

was initiated, and perhaps brought to the highest state
of perfection it is susceptible of, during the progress of
this long search. As much as four hundred miles in
a direct line on an outward journey had been accom-
plished by these means, each man dragging between
two and three hundred pounds, including his pro-
visions, clothing, and equipment, and being absent
from the frozen-in ships frequently from ninety to a
hundred days. It was manifest, then, that if such
distances could be accomplished in search of men in
distress, they could be equally well performed in the
pursuit of geographical discovery, and no stronger
argument than this could have been used in urging
upon the Government the expediency of further ex-
plorations. The effort, however, was a long and uphill
one, and after the abandonment of the Franklin
search, Arctic discovery, so far as this country was
concerned, slumbered for over twenty years.

Yet its advocates never lost heart. They cannot
be said to have been numerous, but they were enthu-
siastic and influential ; and perhaps there is no more
striking instance of perseverance on record than that
with which, year after year, successive presidents of
the Eoyal Geographical Society forced their favourite
project on the notice of that popular assembly, until
it became almost a point of national honour that it
should be carried out. It would be incorrect' to say
that Arctic enterprise had been strictly a popular
sentiment since the loss of the Franklin Expedition ;
indeed, in many respects it was the reverse. The
public press, with few exceptions, gave no counten-
ance to it ; the leading journals were either avowedly
opposed or kept silence ; science held aloof, and was
converted almost against its will ; the naval service

XXX11 INTRODUCTION.

generally could scarcely view it with favour, for the
reason that comparatively but a very inconsiderable
number of its members could hope to share in so small
an enterprise, while the honours and rewards which in
consequence fell to the lot of the favoured few who
could, indirectly tended to check the ordinary flow of
promotion in a service where advancement is proverbi-
ally not too rapid. Yet, against all these and other
obstacles, a few enthusiastic men, principally those
who had been engaged in former voyages, cordially
aided by — or perhaps, more correctly speaking, aiding —
ardent and influential geographers such as Murchison
and Eawlinson, succeeded in carrying their point. It
is probable, however, that without pressure of another
character, success might have been long delayed.
During our protracted inactivity other nations had not
been idle. The United States of America, which had
generously joined with us in the search for Franklin,
made several bold and more or less successful attempts
to reach a high northern latitude, and Hall in this
respect had all but won the palm from Parry. Peter-
mann, the eminent German geographer, had been as
warm and earnest an advocate of Polar research as
some of our own men of science, and had roused the
enthusiasm of his countrymen, who with Sweden and
Austria also entered the held ; and if, with their limited
means, they did not achieve great discoveries, they
proved that they were not less enterprising or less
endowed with those gifts of perseverance and endur-
ance than our own countrymen. Certainly, from a
scientific point of view, they did not accomplish less ;
but what was, perhaps, more convincing still, they
encountered greater perils and underwent more severe
hardships than any expedition from our shores, pro-

INTRODUCTION. xxxi ii

bably because their means and resources were less
ample, and yet they all returned without any fatal
disaster.

This alone was a powerful argument, and went far
to obliterate the deep impression produced by the
disastrous termination to the voyage of Franklin. It
was shown that the ' Erebus ' and ' Terror ' went into
the unknown and the illimitable, without any mis-
giving as to their return, and therefore without any
attempt at provision for their succour. Indeed it was
now apparent that no possible human precautions
could have rendered their safety certain, and it was
proved, beyond reasonable doubt, that an expedition
towards the Pole could be so circumscribed in its area
of discovery, and its succour so certainly provided for,
that the risk was reduced to a minimum. In short,
the public mind was now ripe, and the time had come
at last when this country was to resume her foremost
place, and put forth her whole strength in the renewal
of Arctic discovery.

This decision having been come to, the only diffi-
culty which presented itself was where to find a
commander, for experience in similar service was,
above all, a necessity in the leader of such an enter-
prise. A generation had done its work on those who
had conducted or held responsible posts in former
voyages, and it was not deemed convenient to send a
flag officer into the Arctic regions, or the selection
would have been less limited. After mature consider-
ation it was decided to recall Captain Nares from the
command of the Scientific Expedition then being
carried out in H.M.S. ' Challenger,' and to appoint him
to the chief command. The loss to that expedition,

vol. I. b

XXXIV INTRODUCTION.

however ably his place was filled, could not have
been otherwise than great, but Captain Nares had
gained credit as a very young officer in the last of the
Government searching voyages, and the selection of a
leader with experience was very properly regarded as
the paramount object.

The general plan of operations had been virtually
long decided by consent of all competent authorities.
The first object was, if possible, to reach the Pole.
Many other subordinate and collateral objects there
doubtless were, both of a geographical and a purely
scientific kind, but the main object was the attainment
of the highest possible northern latitude. The subject
had been exhaustively discussed by the Eoyal Geo-
graphical Society for years. Differences of opinion
among the best informed undoubtedly existed. The
physical conformation of the land around the regions of
the polar circle almost forbade the hope of any nearer
approach to the Pole by ships than had already been
attained, unless indeed by the opening between Green-
land and Nova Zembla, which to some offered a promise
of success.

The latter-day theory of an open Polar Sea rested,
however, on no foundation, practical or philosophical.
Even if it could have been shown that a somewhat
higher mean temperature was theoretically due in that
area where the sun is for nearly six consecutive
months above the horizon, and for a similar period
below it, it would avail nothing ; for the dissolu-
tion of the winter's ice is not dependent on the
influence of the summer's heat alone, otherwise the
difficulties of Arctic navigation would disappear, at
any rate for some short period during every season.
A variety of other elements are equally important.

INTRODUCTION. XXXV

Chief among them is the action of the winds and
tides to break up the decaying floes, but paramount
above all others is the necessity for sufficient outlets
for the escape of the ice so broken up throughout the
vast area of the Polar basin. These outlets we know do
not exist ; an insignificant point of land, moreover, will
act as a wedge, or the prevalence of an unfavourable
wind for a few days at the critical period will suffice to
decide the question whether such inlets so important
as Wellington Channel or Smith Sound will be closed
or open during a season. From a ship's mast-head
or a mountain-summit the visible horizon is limited
by the curvature . of the earth, and those who have
navigated in these regions will well remember how
one short hour has carried them from an apparently
open sea to a dead-lock with no streak of water in sight.
Water-skies are delusive ; an insignificant crack or lane
in the ice will produce them, and the only admissible
evidence of a Polynia or navigable Polar basin must
be the fact that a ship has sailed through it.

The probability of the existence of a navigable
Polar Sea was therefore never entertained by those
whose duty it became to consider and advise on the
subject of renewed explorations ; but there did appear
strong reasons for believing that a high northern
latitude, or even the Pole itself, might be reached by
sledging parties. The Americans under Hall had
wintered in 81° 38' N. or within 500 miles of the
Pole, and their reports went far to induce the belief
that the land trended still away to the north, and so to
strengthen the hope of success in this direction. It
was under these circumstances that Smith Sound,
which had always seemed the route of greatest
promise, was finally and unanimously decided upon,

XXXvi INTRODUCTION.

and by Smith Sound the ' Alert ' and ' Discovery ' were
ordered to make their way. They sailed under the
brightest auspices, and with the nation's earnest
wishes and sanguine hopes for their success.

It is not my place to anticipate the narrative of

that memorable expedition. All went well until the

day when Captain Nares placed his ship on the open

shore of the Polar Sea in the latitude of 82° 27', when

the picture darkened, and to his experienced eye at

least, it must have been apparent that so far as the

first great object of the Expedition was concerned, all

hope of success was at an end. From the highest

eminence attainable no land was visible to the north.

Nothing met the eye but a dreary waste of frozen

ocean, the ruggedness of which defied all human

efforts to penetrate it by ship or sledge. Where the

land trended east and west, there alone with any hope

lay the path of the explorers with the return of the

sun in the coming spring.

Much stress has naturally been laid on the superior
equipment of this Expedition, and on the great advan-
tages it possessed over previous ones in being provided
with full steam-power ; but when we come to analyse
these advantages they are more apparent than real-
Doubtless no ships could have been more efficiently
equipped or better provisioned, yet in this respect
there could scarcely have been any appreciable
difference between them and the numerous expeditions
which had been employed previously in the search for
Eranklin. In all their arrangements the Government
were actuated by the one principle — efficiency and
comfort — regardless of expense. Yet we find the
travelling parties of the present Expedition attacked by
malignant scurvy, which almost prostrated them after

INTRODUCTION. XXXvii

one winter in the ice, though happily the mortality
exceeded that of no former expedition. If we turn to
the records of the condition of the crews of Collinson
and M'Clure's ships after three and four winters passed
in a much lower latitude, we find an absence of any
severe cases of the same disease, and so in other
voyages of shorter duration ; but where the exposure
and labour of the travelling parties was excessive, we
find a still more marked exemption ; while, on the other
hand, we learn from the recovered records of Franklin's
fatal expedition, which wintered more than 700 miles
to the south, and whose crews were not subject to the
labour of sledging until they finally quitted their ships,
that before three years had elapsed no less than,
twenty-four deaths had occurred (nine among them
being officers), whether by scurvy or not none can say.
These are significant facts, the causes of which have
hitherto been past man's finding out.

As regards steam-power, its advantages, up to a
certain point, cannot be overrated. Formerly ships
were compelled to hold on where they could by the
fixed land ice, sometimes for weeks, and where they
could not, were drifted to the south, helpless in the
moving pack. With steam-power, where a ship can
find sufficient room to move in an ice-encumbered sea,
she can force her way ; hence a distance which in the
days of sailing ships required some six or eight weeks
to accomplish has been made good with steam in half
the number of days, and the harassing labour of
warping with hawsers and cutting into dock for con-
tinuous days and nights has been entirely spared.
This is much ; but here the advantage ends. When
this partial navigation ceases and the solid floe is
reached, however inconsiderable its thickness, steam is

XXXVlll INTRODUCTION.

of no more avail to penetrate it than it would be to
propel a ship through the crust of the earth.

But if the main object of the explorers was not
attained, it cannot be said that they were less success-
ful than any of their predecessors. The bold and
skilful seamanship which carried the ships to the
extreme limit of navigation, and placed the ' Alert '
alone in a position in which no ship before had ever
passed an Arctic winter, was worthy of the leader,
and an earnest of what would have been accomplished
had it been in man's power to command success. The
subsequent deeds of the officers and crews, under cir-
cumstances of trial and suffering which have rarely
been equalled, can never be surpassed.

If, indeed, the full accomplishment of the objects
sought in such voyages as these were to be taken as
the test of success, then should we look in vain for
success in the annals of Arctic history. The discovery
of a water passage between the two oceans along the
coast of America was the result of the most per-
severing though unsuccessful efforts of officers of the
Hudson's Bay Company and the Eoyal Navy, from the
time when Hearne and M'Kenzie traced the two great
Arctic rivers to the shores of the frozen ocean, until the
last link in the chain of this discovery was furnished
by Franklin in the very hour, so to speak, when he
gave up his life in the cause. Parry, who was perhaps
the most successful of all Arctic voyagers, never passed
west of Melville Island from the Atlantic, and the
intrepid M4Clure, though thirty years later he reached
the winter quarters of the ' Hecla ' and ' Griper ' from
the Pacific with a sledge crew and deposited his record
by the side of his great predecessor's under the same
stone, yet 70 miles of fixed ice intervened between the

INTRODUCTION. xxxix

1 Investigator ' in Mercy Bay, of Bank's Land, and
Parry's farthest on Melville Island. Though the
North-west passage may be said to have been accom-
plished jointly by these two distinguished seamen, in
this high latitude, as the passage further south was
completed by Franklin five years earlier, no ship has
ever yet passed from ocean to ocean. The subsequent
expeditions in search of Franklin were not able to
reach so far west as Parry did from the Atlantic, until
a division of Sir Edward Belcher's squadron under
Kellett did so in 1852, while Belcher with his own
ships penetrated no further than the head of Welling-
ton Channel, which we now know Franklin himself
did with the ' Erebus ' and ' Terror ' in 1845. But for
all this it would be ungenerous as well as unjust to
pronounce these enterprises failures. Perfect success
has never been achieved in these instances, simply
because it is not in the power of man to cope with the
forces of nature in those stern inhospitable regions.
To say that the accomplishment of the North-west
passage will never be realised, or that the attempt to
reach the North Pole will never be renewed, would be
a bold prophecy. Both are objects worthy of the
national enterprise of a maritime people, and it would
be safer to predict that both will be attempted, and, it
may be, eventually accomplished. The former, like
the search for Franklin, was abandoned when but one
route remained untried, and that route, east of King
William's Land, dearly bought experience would, seem
to point out as the one which offers the best hope of
success. The Pole must be sought by ship alone, and
by the only track which has not yet been found im-
possible for steam tp penetrate — by the Sea of Spits-
bergen.

xl INTRODUCTION.

Doubtless no Arctic expedition can ever depart
without a full equipment of sledges, any more than an
ordinary ship can sail on a voyage without her proper
complement of boats, for the reason that sledges are the
only means of locomotion in these regions ; but whether
it is justifiable to equip another essentially sledging
expedition with any lesser objects than these — that is,
to trace the barren outline of desolate coasts probably
wrapped in eternal ice, and never again to be visitedi,
and this at the cost of so much suffering and so much
treasure — is more questionable. Let the nation decide.
Geography has little to gain by it, science perhaps less,
for whatever science has gained by such voyages —
and the gain has been considerable — has been by ex-
ploration in the neighbourhood of the ships' winter-
quarters, and not through the efforts of extended
travelling parties, who have neither the time nor the
means to devote to it. There are wide fields for
geographical and scientific research in other regions,
by which the whole human race would be gainers ; and
though England, as she is bound to do, does more than
any other nation in such work, she is very far in these
respects from fulfilling her mission. Hundreds of her
national ships plough the ocean in time of peace, their
almost sole occupation the training and preparation for
war, and in the very nature of things, so far as scien-
tific research is concerned, they leave no deeper mark
than the track which the sea obliterates behind them,
while the few — too few — grudgingly appropriated from
the largest navy in the world place their ineffaceable
stamp on works of usefulness which last for ever.

George Henry Etchards.

NABRATIVE

OF

A VOYAGE to the POLAE SEA

DURING 18 75-76.

CHAPTEE I.

DEPARTURE FROM PORTSMOUTH BANTRT BAY SEA BIRDS PART

COMPANY WITH ' VALOROUS ' — HEAVY GALES — CARRIER PIGEONS —
DEAD WHALE — EAST GREENLAND DRIFT ICE — SIGHT ' VALOROUS '

SEALS AND WALRUS — DESCRIPTION OF PACK ICE — ANTARCTIC

ICE — A GALE — DISCOLOURATION OF SEA — INACCURACY OF CHARTS

SIGHT ' DISCOVERY ' — DREDGE ON TORSKE BANK — CROSS ARCTIC

CIRCLE — GREENLAND MER-DE-GLACE.

At 4 p.m. of May the 29th, 1875, H.M. ships 'Alert'
and 'Discovery' cast off from the dockyard wharf,
Portsmouth, and proceeded to sea. Shortly before our
departure I had the honour of receiving the following
telegram, elated Balmoral, from Her Most Gracious
Majesty : ' I earnestly wish you and your gallant
companions every success, and trust that you may
safely accomplish the important duty you have so
bravely undertaken.' This special mark of interest
displayed by the Queen towards the Expedition was
speedily communicated to the officers and crews of the

VOL. I. B

2 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. June

vessels under my command, and the great honour con-
ferred by Her Majesty was fully appreciated.

The interest taken by the country at large in the
Arctic Expedition culminated in the demonstrations
attending its departure. No one on board our two
ships can ever forget the farewell given to the discovery
vessels on that occasion. Closely packed multitudes
occupied each pier and jetty on both sides of the har-
bour ; Southsea beach as far as the castle was thronged
to the water's edge ; the troops in garrison paraded
on the common, the men-of-war in port manned their
rigging and as we passed greeted us with deafening
cheers, whilst the air rang with the shouts of the spec-
tators on shore and on board the steamers, yachts, and
small craft which crowded the water.

On passing through Spithead, H.M.S. ' Valorous,'
Captain Loftus Francis Jones, joined company ; the fires
were banked and all sail made before a northerly wind,
several yachts accompanying the squadron. By 8 p.m.
we were south of the Needles, with only one friendly
yacht left, belonging to the Eev. Mr. Conybeare, who as
father of one of the officers of the ' Discovery,' natu-
rally gave us a lingering farewell. By midnight we were
abreast of the Portland Lights, the three ships running
down Channel, under sail, at the rate of six knots an hour.

The following day, on passing the Eddystone, Ad-
miral the Hon. Sir Henry Keppel, Commander-in-chief
at Plymouth, visited the ships. In the evening the
f Valorous ' parted company for Queenstown, to com-
plete her coal, and to bring on the latest letters
to Bantry Bay, where the 'Alert' and 'Discovery'
arrived on June 1.

1875 THE ATLANTIC. 3

Leaving Bantry Bay the following day, the ' Valor-
ous,' which had left Queenstown the previous after-
noon, joined company. After communicating with
her, and receiving our farewell letters and telegrams,
sail was made to a fair wind from off the land. The
ships running quickly to the westward were abreast
of the Bull, Cow and Calf Eocks by 4 p.m. Before
dark, owing to the mist, land was lost sight of astern,
and the Expedition was fairly started on its mission.

The first four days in the Atlantic were fine, with
light airs and calms. Some kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla)
followed us thus far from land, and a few shearwaters
(Puffinus anglorum) were observed passing the ship.
After crossing the 54th parallel of north latitude, we
first met with the fulmar (Procellaria glacialis), and
this bird accompanied us on our voyage until we
entered the ice of Smith Sound.

The Atlantic swell proved to be anything but in
agreement with the period of the heavily laden
'Alert.' Boiling as she did twenty and thirty degrees
each way, it was rather annoying than otherwise to
those on board of her to observe that the ' Valorous '
and ' Discovery ' were comparatively quiet ; their time,
however, was to come. The ' Valorous,' although she
set every possible bit of canvas, and disconnected her
paddles from the engines to permit them to revolve,
could not keep up under sail alone with the Arctic ships ;
I accordingly gave her permission to part company
and to rendezvous at Godhavn, in North Greenland,
early in July.

On the morning of the 9th we experienced a fresh-
ening wind from the northward and rejoiced at last in

4 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. June

a double-reefed topsail breeze sufficiently strong to keep
the ships steady and prevent them from rolling to wind-
ward. During the previous week I had been striving
to get to the northward, in the hope of experiencing the
easterly winds prevailing in about latitude 58° N., but
we were not fated to enjoy any of them.

Next day, the barometer having fallen previously,
the wind shifted to the north-westward and forced us
to stand to the southward ; it also increased con-
siderably, the seas breaking on board the deeply laden
vessels to such an extent that the hatchways were
obliged to be battened down. By the afternoon of the
12th, the gale had evidently blown itself out, and the
sea going down enabled the hatchways to be opened
and the mess deck dried up ; but as we were congratu-
lating ourselves on the prospect of finer weather the
barometer again commenced to fall and the wind to
freshen from the south-west.

For several hours the ships were run to the north-
ward in the hope of getting on the northern side of the
path of the vortex of the new gale ; but the wind quickly
increased and forced sail to be shortened, until there
was nothing set but a close-reefed main topsail and
fore- staysail ; the ' Discovery ' staggering along in her
endeavour to keep station with a reefed foresail in
addition. A great number of storm petrels (Procellaria
pelagica) followed in the wake of the ships, with
fulmars, and a few of the large shearwaters (Puffinus
major). In the early part of the night the barometer
fell very rapidly, and as it was evident that we were
nearing the centre of the cyclone the ' Alert ' was hove
to. At midnight the barometer registered 28*80, the

1875 HEAVY GALES. 5

wind blowing furiously, and the 'Discovery' out of
sight. Expecting a change the ship was wore, but not
without a heavy sea breaking in over the stern, for-
tunately without damage. While lying-to on the star-
board tack the ship rolled very heavily, large quantities
of water coming in alternately over either gunwale ;
at last a sea broke into a whale-boat hanging at the
waist davits outside the ship ; the weight of the water
tearing out one of the bolts by which she was secured ;
the boat was left suspended perpendicularly by the
after fall alone, and by the time that she was again
secured had become so badly damaged as to be beyond
repair.

By the following morning the barometer had risen
slightly, but the heavy sea and strong gale continued
until late in the day. Sail was made as soon as the
violence of the wind permitted, in order if possible to
steady the ship ; but it proved a total failure, she con-
tinued to roll to windward in spite of all we could do
to prevent it. The ' Discovery ' was nowhere in sight,
and as her boats were even more exposed than those
of the ' Alert/ we were naturally somewhat anxious as
to how she had got through the gale. Many thoughts
were also directed towards the live sheep on board
of the ' Valorous,' and doubts were expressed as to
whether their lives could have been saved.

On the 15th we experienced a calm, but owing to
the heavy sea the ship rolled worse than ever. There
was, however, one agreeable advantage in the Arctic
ships, for owing to their very great solidity, the incessant
creaking of each ladder and bulkhead usual in ordinary
ships was completely prevented, and but for the constant

6 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. June

falling of chairs, books &c, we should have enjoyed per-
fect silence. On the 18th a single storm petrel was seen
in lat. 57° 26' N., the most northern point at which this
species was observed by us. After three days of fairly
good weather the barometer again began to fall, and on
the 19th and 20th we had to put up with our third gale
from the westward in as many weeks. The hatchways
being necessarily battened down, it was very dark, wet,
and uncomfortable below, to sav nothing of the close-
ness of the atmosphere. By this time our small stock of
poultry had succumbed to the weather, and drowned
fowls were said to figure prominently on the wardroom
table. On the 21st, although the barometer was still
low, we made good way on our course, and for the
next three days experienced light winds and calms,
Taking advantage of the fine weather, one of a pair
of homing pigeons was granted its liberty, in the hope
that, as the mate was sitting on eggs, it would remain
in attendance ; but after one or two circles round the
ship it deserted us and flew off to the southward to
find, in all probability, a watery grave. The story is
told that a pair of carrier pigeons, despatched by Sir
John Eoss from the Arctic regions, returned to their
home in Scotland. This error has been perpetuated in
more than one popular work on Arctic discovery ; it is
almost needless to say that the tale is not worthy of
serious consideration.

On the 25th we passed Cape Farewell at a distance
of about 100 miles, and sighted a homeward-bound
vessel returning to Scotland with a cargo of cryolite
from the mine at Evigtok. Nearing the land many
birds collected around the ship, kitti wakes reappeared,

1875 THE GREENLAND ICE-STREAM. 7

fulmars and great shearwaters were numerous, and
also a darker and somewhat smaller species (Puffinus
griseus). The next day a large dead whale {Balcena
mysticetus) was seen, floating on its back.

On the 27th, as we approached the cold ice-bearing
current which sweeps round Cape Farewell towards
the north, we experienced a thick fog, the temperature
of the air being from 42° to 36°, and the water 40°.

A fresh northerly wind springing up gave me a
good opportunity to stand in towards the land to
ascertain the distance of the outer edge of the ice-stream
from the shore. As the wind freshened the fog cleared
off, and Ave fell in with the ice in lat. 59° 33' N., long.
49° O'W., the pack being apparently close and unnavi-
gable. The differ ence in the temperature of the water
may be taken as a certain guide to denote the neigh-
bourhood of the ice-stream.

Ten miles outside of the ice-stream the temperature
of the sea- water was as follows : —

Surface 40°'5

5 fathoms 40°

15 ....... . 38°-5

22 „ 38°

At the edge of the ice the surface water was 39°, and
amongst the floes themselves it was 38°. Near the land
it is stated by Graah to be never warmer than 34°, the
cold water therefore hugs the shore line of South
Greenland.

The temperature of the sea ranging from 34° to 38°,
being from four to eight degrees above the melting
point of salt-water ice, the floes in its neighbourhood

8 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Junk

melt with great rapidity. As the ever-decaying pack
drifts to the northward, the breadth of the stream
narrows considerably until at a distance of 180 miles
to the northward of Cape Desolation, there is little
or none of the East Greenland drift ice left unmelted.

Next day the wind prevented our using steam except
at a large expenditure of coal, so I beat to the north-
ward close along the edge of the ice-stream in order
to take advantage of the northerly running current.
We experienced a current of about sixteen miles a day
in our favour, but I think now that had I stood out
farther from the land into the warmer water we should
have found a stronger current. A few small icebergs
were seen occasionally.

During the morning the ' Valorous ' was sighted.
She informed us by signal that ' all was well,' and,
much to the relief of many, that the sheep had not
suffered by their rough voyage across the Atlantic.
In the afternoon the wind dying away, we steamed to
the northward close along the edge of the ice. During
the night we experienced a thick fog.

On the morning of the 29th, when passing at about
forty miles distant from Cape Desolation, off which the
ice naturally accumulates, I found that we had run
deeper into the ice-stream than I had intended, and was
forced to haul out from five to ten miles farther away
from the land. The temperature of the sea surface
ranged from 32° amongst the ice to 37° in the more
open spaces, the temperature of the air being also much
affected by the neighbourhood of the pack, and varying
from 37° to 34°. A few seals and a single walrus
were observed asleep on the ice.

1875 ORIGIN OF THE ICE. 9

Having entered deeply into the pack we had a
good opportunity of judging of its nature. It was
totally different to Baffin's Bay ice, inasmuch as each
piece had a smooth flat top without any sharp hummocks
of pressed-up ice. I remarked in my journal : ' The
pack consists of very old floe-ice, floating frequently from
eight to ten feet, and occasionally twelve feet, above
the water. Each piece is deeply scored horizontally
at the water line, leaving long tongue-pieces projecting
below the surface which form a very large base ; thus
this ice, floating high out of water, has probably one
quarter of its thickness exposed. This estimate would
make it from thirty to forty feet in total thickness. I
am much astonished at its unusual massiveness ; if all the
ice on the East Greenland coast is of a like nature we
may cease to wonder at the misfortune which overtook
the " Hansa " belonging to the German Expedition of
1869-70.'

We are now able to clear up all doubt respecting
the birthplace, age, and thickness of this ice. It is the
last remains of the heavy floes formed originally in
the Polar Sea, which attain upwards of 100 feet in
thickness. These, .drifting south through the main
outlet between Greenland and Spitsbergen, are carried
by the current along the East Greenland coast round
Cape Farewell ; gradually melting as they reach the
warm Atlantic water of Davis Strait, the ice has
all decayed before reaching Godhaab Fiord in lat.
64° N.

As this pack closely resembles that met with in the
Antarctic Ocean, we may conclude that a large pro-
portion of the ice-floes formed there have attained as

]0 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. .Jim:

considerable an age and thickness before they drift
into warmer latitudes as those encountered by us in the
Polar Sea.

During the morning we experienced a dense fog,
which prevented our seeing clearly the most open
channels through the pack. At 10 a.m., after struggling
through a very thick part, which nearly obliged us to
retrace our course for a short distance to the south-
ward, we suddenly entered perfectly clear water at a
temperature of 38° ; the line of demarcation between
the pack-ice and clear water being very decided,
proving that had we kept farther from the land we
should have met with less impediment in the shape of
ice. As we left the pack the thick fog-bank cleared
off, rolling away before a northerly wind, which shortly
afterwards increased to such an extent that we were
forced to lie-to during the following night with a close-
reefed main topsail and trysails. The current running
to the northward against the wind produced a very
short and high sea breaking heavily, and causing the
ship to roll quicker and deeper than she had in the
Atlantic. Many seas broke on board, endangering
the boats, and compelling us to batten down the hatch-
ways.

This northerly gale, occurring with a falling baro-
meter, was peculiar. As we ran out of the pack in
the forenoon the barometer was stationary at 29*50, the
weather calm, with a very decided golden-coloured hazy
appearance to the northward, and a clear sky over-
head ; this lasted for about half-an-hour, and was then
replaced by an arch of clouds which quickly rose and
spread themselves over the sky. At sunset, 1030 p.m.,

1875 DISCOLOURATION OF SEA. 11

by which time the barometer had fallen to 29'10, the
western clouds were remarkably red and windy-looking
from near the horizon to 20° in altitude ; the gale was
then at its height, blowing with a force of seven.

On the morning of the 30th the barometer rose
quickly; the gale dying out by noon was succeeded
by calm and beautiful weather, which enabled us to
proceed to the northward under low steam. When
fifty miles off the coast north of Frederikshaab, the
edge of the pack obliged us to haul out a little farther
from the land, and during the following night, when a
little south of Fiskenoes, we could not get nearer the
shore than fifty miles. Since we had been in the
neighbourhood of Cape Farewell, and near the ice the
water had changed its colour to a dark olive green,
occasioned by the presence of innumerable diatoms ; in
the break of the sea during the gale the crest of the
waves showed a dingy yellowish green colour.

The 1st of July was a magnificent day, the barometer
high and steady. At 9 a.m., when we were in latitude
63° 5' N., at about forty-five miles' distance from land,
we appeared to have passed all the shore ice, but there
may have been some small unimportant streams close
in by the land ; at noon by good observations we were
on the west edge of the Torske Bank, off the Groede
Fiord of Fiskernoes, thirty-eight miles distant from the
land. Expecting to find shallow water we tried for
soundings, but did not reach bottom with 130 fathoms
of line out, the minimum temperature of the water above
that depth being 33°\5 ; at 4 p.m we again failed to
reach the bottom with the same quantity of line out ; it
is therefore evident that this bank is wrongly placed on

12

VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA.

July

the chart. In fact the
whole of the coast-
line, although pro-
bably relatively cor-
rect, is very roughly
delineated, and the
charts must not be
too fully relied on.

Late in the evening

the ' Discovery ' was

sighted, and on the

two ships closing and

comparing notes, we

were much relieved

2 to find that she had

§ not suffered more than

« ourselves. The two

g vessels had never been

o

° more than fifty miles
apart, and had expe-
rienced very similar
weather. In conse-
quence of navigating
farther in-shore than
we did, she had found
herself in the heavy
pack-ice during the
gale of June 29, and
had passed anything
but a pleasant night ;
but fortunately the
pack was drifting to

1875 DAVIS STRAIT. 13

leeward nearly as fast as the ship, and so she escaped
any real damage.

Next day we obtained soundings in thirty fathoms
on the Torske Bank in latitude 65° N. In the hope of
obtaining some fish the ships were stopped. The
' Discovery ' succeeded in catching eight large halibut
weighing from 20 to 25 lbs. each ; the * Alert ' was not
so successful, failing to get on board those hauled up
to the water's edge owing to the want of a boat. The
dredge was also lowered, and on its recovery was
found more than half full of rounded stones and pebbles,
chiefly granites, gneiss, quartz, and, more sparingly,
basalts. The swabs attached to the dredge were
bristling with sea-urchins and star-fish, and its living
contents showed that there is great abundance of
animal life in this part of the ocean.

During the night of the 4th the Arctic circle was
crossed ; the sun at midnight being less than a degree
below the northern horizon, the evening and morning
twilights blended into each other. From this date to
September 3, when we had arrived at the position
which proved to be our winter quarters, and the sun
set to the northward again, we experienced perpetual
day.

During the remainder of the passage to Disco we
experienced remarkably fine weather with occasional
northerly winds. When sufficiently calm the two ships
steamed slowly to the northward at about ten miles'
distance from the land, sail being used whenever the
wind was strong enough to enable us to make head-
way. The dark-coloured lowlands were observed to
be generally bare of snow, with here and there a snow-

14 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. July

filled ravine, but at an altitude of some 600 or 800 feet
there was much unmelted snow still left on the hill
sides. In the upper lands the glacier-filled valleys
bridged the whole into a fairly level white surface,
above which the higher mountain tops occasionally
broke through the clouds, at so great an altitude as
to render their outline scarcely distinguishable.

Only a few stray icebergs were sighted until we
had passed Knight Island in latitude 67° N. ; but
on approaching Disco Bay, the most southern large
birthplace of icebergs on the west Greenland shore, a
great number were met with ; the northerly running
current evidently wedges them away from the Green-
land coast south of Holsteinborg.

1875 DISCO. 15

CHAPTER II.

CORDIAL RECEPTION BY THE INSPECTOR — APPEARANCE OF THE LAND-
VISIT TO OVIFAK — TEMPERATURE OF DISCO BAT — ICEBERGS — EIDER
DUCKS — CROWDED STATE OF ARCTIC SHIPS — RITENBENK — WAIGAT
CHANNEL — LAST SIGHT OF THE 'VALOROUS ' — PROVEN — UPER-
NIVIK — LEAVE RITENBENK — FASTENING TO AN ICEBERG — SCENERY
OF COAST — GEOLOGICAL FORMATION — HANS HE1NDRICH — SANDER-
SON'S HOPE — UPERNIVIK — DANTSH OFFICIALS.

On our arrival on Ju]y 6 at the Danish settlement
of Lievely, situated on the south-western side of the
Island of Disco, we found the ' Valorous ' at anchor in
the outer bay. She had arrived two days previously
after experiencing very similar weather to that which
we had encountered. On rounding Cape Desolation
she had to thread her way through ice-streams, and in
so doing slightly damaged the floats of her paddles ; a
more distant offing would I think lead a vessel north
without any danger from the ice. We were received
at Lievely with a salute from the small battery in front
of the inspector's house, a courtesy winch I could only
return by dipping our ensign.

At Disco I was much pleased to meet Herr In-
spektor Krarup Smith, the governor of North Green-
land. Nothing could be kinder or more courteous
than his reception of the Expedition, and his anxiety
that all our requirements should be provided for. In

16 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. July

order to personally attend to our wants he had most
considerately put off his periodical tour of inspection
to the outlying settlements until after our visit. He
informed us that the previous winter had been a mild
one, followed by a backward spring.

At this date a considerable quantity of snow was
still unmelted on the hill-sides and in the ravines,
whilst, bordering the shore, the snow-drift was still
visible. By the time of our departure from Disco,
July 15, the snow had all melted from the sides of
the hills and but little was left along the beach : the
tints of the fast-growing vegetation bordering each
side of the mountain rivulets with a rich fringe of
bright green moss deepened day by day, or appeared
to do so as we became more accustomed and so more
reconciled to its scantiness. Many patches of snow left
unmelted in the hollows were tinted red from the
presence of Protococcus nivalis. Leaving England in
summer, and arriving at an Arctic port in the month of
July, it is difficult to realise that one has overtaken the
season, that the thaw has only lately commenced, and
that summer will not be at its height for a week or two.
On the 10th Mr. Krarup Smith was anxious to quarry
coal, in readiness for Captain Allen Young, who had
asked me to order a supply for the use of the ' Pandora,'
but the snow was still lying thick, and the ground was
so hard with frost near the coal seams, that they could
not be worked before the 17th.

Whilst on shore, on July 7, with Captain Feilden, we
found a snow-bunting's nest with six eggs in it. The
flowers by that date were fast bursting into bloom ; the
white-blossomed Cassiopeia tetragona gave quite a

1875 OVIFAK. 17

heathy look to the fells, Azalea procumbens, the arctic
poppy, the bright yellow Pedicularis and several saxi-
frages were common ; and in sheltered clefts of the basalt
ridges ferns were unfold ing their bright green fronds.

The settlement of Lievely is built on an ice- worn
islet of syenite, which is separated at high tide from
the island of Disco by a narrow boat-channel ; the high
cliffs of that island protect it in a great measure from
the winds occurring in Davis Strait, and its climate is
considerably milder than that of any of the other
trading ports in North Greenland. Situated in a high
northern latitude and yet free from the presence of the
main pack, it is the most convenient and suitable of the
North Greenland ports for the transhipment of stores.
The neighbouring sea is encumbered with a large
number of icebergs which are discharged from the
Jacobshavn and other glaciers on the east side of the
bay, but no drift-ice need be dreaded after the end of
May, and as the sea is not frozen over until late in
December communication can be maintained, if neces-
sary, for at least six months in the year. Small ice-
bergs, entering through the western channel with the
flood tide, drift about the outer harbour, but those of
sufficient size to endanger a ship become stranded at
the edge of the shallow water before reaching the inner
anchorage.

In the course of conversation with Mr. Krarup Smith,
he mentioned that during the previous summer an
Eskimo passing in his kayak under the cliffs of Ovifak,
had descried two pieces of stone under water, close to
the spot where Professor Nordenskiold discovered the
so-called meteoric iron-stones, which were removed in

vol. I. c

18 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. July

1871 by the Swedish Expedition under Von Otter.
The Greenlander was of opinion that the masses he
detected were precisely similar to those taken away by
the Swedes. I decided to have the place examined,
and on the 9 th, Captain Feilden with Lieutenant Aldrich
and a boat's crew, accompanied by the Greenlander
who gave the information, started for Ovifak. Land-
ing with considerable difficulty at the spot indicated, a
careful search was instituted, but owing to the rough-
ness of the sea, or to the removal of the stones them-
selves by the action of the waves, the search proved
unsuccessful so far as these particular masses were
concerned. Subsequently, we procured some lumps
of iron from the same locality. It appears that the
metallic iron of Ovifak is distributed throughout a
particular basalt, in small grains as well as in masses,
whilst particles of the basalt are freely dispersed
throughout the lumps of iron, thus pointing to the
telluric origin of the mineral.

On Sunday the 11th, the opportunity was taken of
holding a sacrament service in the chapel on shore,
when most of the officers and a number of the crews of
the three ships attended.

While we were near the Greenland coast, farther to
the southward, the temperature of the water was never
above 40°, but in Disco Bay we found it considerably
higher, ranging to 49° in the more open parts of the
sea near the southern shores. With the temperature of
the air occasionally up to 50°, and the water at least
10° above the melting point of fresh- water ice, the
numerous icebergs were melting very rapidly. Large
masses constantly broke asunder and, falling into the

1875 ICEBERGS. 19

sea, caused great commotion. The balance of the ice-
bergs being consequently altered, they rolled backwards
and forwards until equilibrium was restored and they
settled down to a new line of flotation or a position of
poise on the ground. In the latter case, the grooving
effect produced on the bottom by these enormous
masses of ice oscillating to and fro must be very great.
Large quantities of sea-weed (Laminaria) rising to the
surface, show what havoc is caused by the grounding
and overturning of these ice-islands, and the many dead
fish, chiefly Cottus, cast up on the beach of Disco Island,
owe their destruction no doubt to the same agency.

The supply of fresh water having run short and
there being several small berg-pieces studding the
harbour, one was towed alongside the 'Alert' and
broken up, the pieces being transferred to one of the
water-tanks. This proved a mistake ; the cold air in
the tank converted it into a perfect ice-box, and it was
found necessary to pour hot water into the tank in
order to melt the ice.

A number of sealskin over-boots were obtained,
which were afterwards found most comfortable for
wearing in a cabin with a cold draught near the floor,
but owing to some misunderstanding regarding my
wishes, the supply of sealskin soles for the travelling
mocassins was not so plentiful as I afterwards desired.
It is scarcely possible to lay in too large a stock of this
invaluable material, which is far more durable than
ordinary leather ; but a large expedition, such as ours,
should not expect to obtain a sufficient quantity of seal-
skins at the Greenland settlements unless they have
been ordered beforehand.

c 2

20 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. July

Eider ducks of two species (Somateria xpectabilis,
and S. mollissima) were very common around Disco
Island. The natives brought a considerable number to
our ships, and we found them such good eating that a
larger supply would have been deemed acceptable. It
has been stated that eider ducks are uneatable on
account of their fishy taste, but we did not find that to
be the case. The fish obtained from the Greenlanders,
chiefly rock-CGd, and a species of salmon-trout, were
good but not plentiful. Our crews being fully employed
we were unable to use our own nets, or probably we
should have obtained a large supply, the neighbouring
fisheries being very rich.

The light canvas Berthon boats, available for one
or two persons, proved of great service. A few of
the officers became rather expert in the use of the
kayak, but not without one very narrow escape.
When a kayak is overturned it becomes an air-float
acting in the most undesirable manner by preventing
the immersed man from coming to the surface ; in the
case referred to, the officer had the presence of mind to
disentangle himself from his trousers, and wriggle his
body, whilst under water, out of the tight-fitting aper-
ture of the kayak, leaving his nether garments behind.

An endeavour was made to obtain a bearing of the
6 Parry Eock,' lying six or seven miles to the southward
of the harbour ; its existence is undoubted, and situated
in the fairway, if unmarked by icebergs aground, is a
most dangerous reef.

On the evening of the 15th, after obtaining satis-
factory sights for rating our chronometers, and taking
on board twenty-four Eskimo dogs, the Expedition

1875 EITENBENK. 21

started for Eitenbenk, situated at the S.E. end of the
Waigat Strait. Mr. Krarup Smith kindly accompanied
us, to insure our obtaining the remainder of the dogs
we required, and a supply of coal for the 'Valorous,'
Captain Loftus Jones having decided to take some on
board from the coal mine on the western side of the
strait.

The Arctic ships, having on board three years'
supplies, were necessarily very deep in the water, and
the upper decks were much encumbered with stores
of provisions for which room could not be found
below. As it was necessary to keep supplies ready
for immediate use in case of accident to the ships
when navigating through Melville Bay, and Smith
Sound, such provisions as the boats could hold were
stored ready to hand : in addition, a month's supply for
all hands was kept prepared on the deck of each ship,
to be landed at suitable places in the event of the
crews having to retreat south by boat. These were
named respectively the A, and B depots, and had
been prepared in England before the Expedition
started. The positions selected for their deposit were
one of the Cary Islands in Baffin's Bay, and Cape
Frazer in Smith Sound ; the mainland would have been
preferable to the first-named place, had it not been
necessary to take precautions to hide it from the
Eskimo, who inhabit the coast of Greenland between
Cape York and Hartstene Bay.

After a calm but very foggy passage along the
south shore of Disco Island, threading our way amidst
a vast number of icebergs, we arrived at Eitenbenk
at 11 a.m. of the 16th, and anchored in seventeen

22 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. July

fathoms. The derivation of the name of this settlement,
as I was informed, is somewhat fanciful. Founded
about the year 1755, it received the name of Berkentin
after a nobleman of that name, who at the date men-
tioned presided over Greenlandic affairs in Denmark.
The minister by a transposition of the letters of his
name converted it into Ritenbenk.

The anchorage being deep and exposed to drifting
icebergs cannot be deemed a secure one. Whilst ar-
rangements were being made for completing our supplies
a shooting party started for a neighbouring ' loomery,'
on the north-west coast of Arve Prins Island ; they
returned in the evening with seventy-five guillemots and
razor-bills (Alca bruennicki and Alca torda). The loom
or guillemot of the Arctic seas differs from its close
ally Alca troile, found so commonly around the British
Isles, in its short stout bill ; on the wing it would be
impossible to separate the two species. We did not
observe the razor-bill north of the Waigat.

When at Godhavn, Disco, we remarked how
densely each fresh-water pool was inhabited by the
larvse of mosquitoes just on the point of changing their
condition to the winged state. A few days later at
Eitenbenk the mosquitoes on shore were intolerable,
and when getting under weigh, the weather being
calm, these persistent annoyers fairly took possession of
the upper deck.

Before parting company with the 'Valorous,'
owing to the large percentage of officers in the
Expedition, I decided to carry only one paymaster to
superintend the victualling of the two ships. Mr.
Edgar Whiddon, belonging to the 'Alert,' was there-

1875 ESKIMO DOGS. 23

fore ordered to return to England, Mr. G. Le Clerc
Egerton, sub-lieutenant, being appointed to super-
intend the issue of the provisions on board the * Alert/
No serious disadvantage arose from this arrangement.

On leaving Eitenbenk there were thirty Eskimo
dogs on the upper deck of the ' Alert ' and twenty-five
on board of the ' Discovery,' still further encumber-
ing the narrow gangways left available between the
piled-up provisions. My journal thus alluded to these
animals : ' Being in strange quarters they are baying
in concert, the distracting noise frequently diversified
by a sharp howl as a sailor in forcing his way through
their midst uses the toe of his boot. The packs
collected from different settlements are strangers to
each other. The king-dog of each team is necessarily
tied up, his subordinates of both sexes clustering
around, and crouching at his feet In their anxious
endeavours to protect their followers, the females of
whom are rather given to straying, and if possible to
maintain and extend their rights, these king-dogs are
straining their very utmost at the ropes, snarling and
lifting their upper lips, evidently longing for the time
to arrive when they may fight it out, and decide who
is to be ruler over all. By sheer fighting each has
worked his way up to the position he now holds, the
most determined and enduring animals gaining the
day. A long series of combats will be undertaken
before the supreme head is acknowledged, and here-
after many an attempt at revolution will be fought out
by rising aspirants for power, as the old chiefs become
worn out from age or other causes. It would appear
as if fighting were an enjoyment or natural condition

24 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. July

of their existence. In maintaining discipline amongst
the weaker sex, punishment is left entirely in the
hands, or rather mouth, of the favourite queen, who,
except when jealousy may occasionally warp her
judgment, uses her prerogative pretty fairly, whilst it
frequently happens that the king-dog himself submits
without resentment to a snarl from his queen.

Frederick the Eskimo, who joined us at Lievely to
take charge of the dogs, has readily settled down to
his work ; his broad, flat, good-humoured face is
certainly not handsome, but his character is most
excellent, and above all he is unmarried.'

Early on the morning of the 17th we left Eitenbenk
under steam, the ' Discovery ' in tow, bound to the
northward through the Waigat Channel ; the ' Valorous '
having parted company a few hours previously pro-
ceeding to the coal mines on the west side of the
Waigat. After clearing the anchorage the two ships
made sail before a southerly wind : crossing the
entrance of Svarte Yogel Bay, a large ' loomery ' was
sighted on its northern shore. The Waigat Channel
was found to be much encumbered by icebergs and
broken ice, which were streaming out from the
neighbourhood of the Tossukatek Glacier through the
fiord north of Arve Prins Island, and driving quickly
towards the north-west before a breeze of fair strength.
From their dirty unwashed appearance the majority of
these icebergs were evidently newly broken off from
the glacier, and although the temperature of the water
was 40° they had not yet decayed sufficiently to alter
their balance. They were extremely rugged in outline,
and appeared as if formed of a collection of boulder

1875 THE 'valorous; 25

ice refrozen into a solid form, such as would be the
case with a glacier forced over a rough steep incline ;
some were table-topped, as if broken from a smooth-
surfaced glacier sloping at a small angle to the water.

None of these icebergs were more than fifty feet
high, but their number was sufficient to render great
care necessary in choosing a passage between them.
Not expecting to experience such close sailing the
boats had been left hanging to the davits outboard,
and were occasionally endangered when passing through
the narrow water-channels.

When abreast of Atanekerdluk five kayaks, and
an omiak containing women and children, were met ;
they paddled alongside, keeping pace with the ships,
and we had the satisfaction of being able to supply
them with biscuit, no doubt a very welcome addition
to their usual meat and fish diet.

Thinking that the ' Valorous ' with her projecting
paddles would not be able to force a passage through
such ice as we encountered, all hopes of meeting her
again were given up, but during the afternoon she was
sighted lying quietly at anchor off the coaling station,
having found, as we afterwards learnt, a channel much
clearer of ice near the land. Wishing to put on board
our last letters, we hauled to the wind and beat to
windward for her anchorage, but a very thick fog
setting in as the wind moderated, the separation of the
4 Alert ' and ' Discovery ' was feared ; hence we were
forced to abandon our intention of communicating, and
proceeded to the northward. By midnight, when we
had run through the most ice -encumbered part of the
channel, the wind died away, but as the fog continued

26 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. July

very thick, it became necessary either to get up steam
or secure the ships to an iceberg to prevent them
drifting into danger. I adopted the latter course.

When a vessel is under steam nothing is simpler
than for a seaman to descend by a rope ladder from
the bowsprit end on to the ice below, keeping well
away from its edge, but in landing from a boat care is
necessary when scaling the side of a berg. On our
drifting near an apparently convenient piece of ice
a boat's crew were sent to fix the ice-anchor and
hawser. One of the men, in spite of the decayed
condition of the ice, managed to crawl up it in safety ;
but at the first blow from his chisel a large mass broke
off, fortunately shooting clear of the boat and crew
below. The amount disengaged was sufficient to
disturb the equilibrium of the iceberg, which began to
rock backwards and forwards ; the man, naturally
frightened, was obliged to struggle as best he could
along its slippery surface, like a squirrel in a circular
cage, much to the amusement of his shipmates on the
forecastle. The performance, however, involved a
certain element of danger, which I should have pre-
ferred to avoid.

In the Waigat, like all narrow channels bounded
by lofty hills, the winds are very local, and while
blowing with force at the entrance seldom prevail
throughout the whole length ; hence the icebergs
driven before the wind accumulate at the locality
where the breeze ends. With a strong south-east
wind at the southern entrance we found the icebergs
collected in great numbers in the middle of the strait,
but at the north-west entrance near Hare Island few

1875 WAIGAT. 27

were met with. Those seen had melted considerably
since their formation ; floating in water at a temperature
of 40°, deep grooves had been worn horizontally at the
water edge, the many old notation lines thus marked
showed that they had frequently altered their position
in the sea.

The difference of climate, due to the aspect of the
hill sides, was remarkably well displayed in the Waigat.
The Greenland shore, with its southern frontage, had
on the 18th scarcely a trace of snow left on it ; but the
opposite shore of Disco was still snow-covered, with
its mountain summits capped by a perpetual glacier.
Ice cascades were very conspicuous in the upper parts
of the steep gullies, descending like giant steps from
one upland ridge to the next below ; with enormous
boulders plentifully dispersed throughout the descend-
ing streams. The many glacier ice cliffs, with a dis-
tinct overhanging snow covering and yet having no
debris lying at the foot, forms a question for interesting
investigation.

On both sides of the strait some of the smaller
torrents appeared to be still frozen, but I think that
must have been due to abnormal and local difference
of temperature, for when passing the mouth of the
Makkak Eiver, which drains the Noursoak Peninsula,
its muddy and discoloured waters extended three or four
miles out to sea, showing that it was running strongly,
and depositing a large amount of alluvial matter.

A fine breeze from the S.W., with misty weather,
carried us quickly to the north, and on the morning of
the 19th, when abreast of Svarten Huk (Black Cape),
the mist partially cleared off, bringing Skale and

28 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. .July

Kingatak Islands into view, and enabled us to ascer-
tain our position with sufficient accuracy ' to steer in
towards Proven ; but the headlands along the coast
are all so much alike in form and colour that in misty
weather, with only one in sight, a stranger would be
puzzled to ascertain his whereabouts.

After passing between Kingatak and Tukingarsuk
the south-westerly wind died away, and a strong tidal
current obliged us to get up steam. Taking the
' Discovery ' in tow, the harbour was entered about an
hour before midnight, when we were received by the
few inhabitants, who clustered upon the slopes about
the settlement, in their many coloured picturesque
clothing. Following the chart, it would appear prac-
ticable to enter the anchorage direct from the south-
ward, but a sunken reef blocks the channel and
obliges vessels to pass round on the western side of
the outer island and to enter by the northern channel.
The water being very deep, except on one ledge close
to the shore near the settlement, a pilot is necessary to
point out the anchorage, which after all is very rocky
and untrustworthy holding ground. During the night
a southerly wind, force five to six, causing squalls off
the high land, made me rather anxious, but the anchors
held on, the cables, however, grinding a good deal
against the rocky bottom.

The inhabitants of Proven amount to about 106
souls, and were presided over at the time of our visit
by Governor Moldrup, who obligingly assisted us in
completing our supplies. The island on which the
settlement is built is composed of gneiss, but the
islands that lie more to the southward, and the great

1875 PROVEN. 29

peninsula of Svarten Huk, are apparently analogous in
their formation to Disco Island and the Noursoak Penin-
sula. A line drawn W. and E. through the settlement
of Proven and extended inland would roughly define
the limit of the granitoid rocks from those of later
origin. To the northward along the coast, ice- worn
mountains, plentifully sprinkled with enormous erra-
tics, rise in endless succession ; southward the flat-
topped hills, the horizontal bedding and varied coloured
strata, with bands of columnar basalt, show that the
land has, from some cause or other, escaped the tre-
mendous degradation that has obliterated every trace
of the softer tertiary strata, which in all probability
at some former period covered the gneiss hills to
the north of Proven. The whole of the island is be-
strewed with erratics, many of prodigious size ; they
are chiefly gneiss, granites, and syenites, but on the
very summit of the island a few boulders of basalt were
observed. The flora of Proven is by no means as rich
as that of Disco, but Betula nana, the dwarf birch of
the Arctic zone, was common. Snow-buntings were
numerous, and by this date the young in a nest were
well fledged ; several parties of young wheatears
(Saxicola cenanthe) were flying about the rocks near the
shore, their familiar ' chuck chuck ' resounding on all
sides.

My chief object in visiting Proven was to endeavour
to obtain the services of Hans Heindrich, the Green-
lander who had previously accompanied three American
expeditions to Smith Sound. On our arrival he was
absent in charge of a boat, but having seen the ships
approaching, he returned to the settlement with all

30 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. July

speed, and after a short consultation with his wife
agreed to join our Expedition and leave his family
behind. He proved himself to be an admirable hunter
and an excellent dog-driver. Hans when a lad of
nineteen joined Dr. Kane's expedition in 1853. After
rendering invaluable services to his companions during
their two winters' stay at Eensselaer Harbour, Smith
Sound, he married Merkut, the daughter of Shanghu,
one of the 'Arctic Highlanders,' who tended him when
lying sick at Hartstene Bay ; he remained behind with
his wife when Dr. Kane abandoned his vessel and
travelled south to Upernivik in boats. In 1860, after
he had passed five years with the 'Arctic Highlanders,'
Dr. Hayes finding Hans at Cape York, took him and
his wife and child on board his vessel the ' United
States ' ; on the homeward voyage in 1861 he was
landed with his belongings at Upernivik. In 1871 he
joined Captain Hall in the ' Polaris,' taking his wife
and three children with him. He was one of the party
who were separated from the ' Polaris ' in a gale of
wind, and drifted during the long winter of 1872-73
from Smith Sound to the southward of Hudson's
Straits ; during that time he and Joe another Eskimo
preserved the lives of their companions by their
indefatigable and noble exertions in hunting and
procuring seals.

Hans having bid farewell to his wife and children,
we left Proven on the evening of the 21st. The
weather being calm we proceeded to the northward
under low steam with the ' Discovery ' in tow ; having
a pilot on board we adopted the inner passage, and
threaded our way between the numerous islands that

1875 SANDERSON'S HOPE. 31

lie between Proven and Upernivik. The scenery
between these two places is superb ; magnificent cliffs
of gneiss rise sheer from the water's edge to a height
of 1,000 to 1,200 feet ; the rich colouring of the rocks
presented an almost inconceivable richness of hues,
and formed a striking contrast to the glaciers and mer
de glace. Passing a small settlement picturesquely
situated in a little bay on the island of Kasorsoak, of
which Sanderson's Hope forms the western headland,
two men came out from the land to meet us ; paddling
in their kayaks they dexterously picked up the food
thrown to them in parcels buoyed up by empty
bottles.

At midnight we were abreast of the noble headland
of Sanderson's Hope with its noted ' loomery.' Being
desirous of obtaining a supply of birds I stopped the
ships for a couple of hours, and sent the boats away ;
but the result, as compared with the reported successes
of prior visitors, was unsatisfactory, only 122 guillemots
being brought to bag by the united endeavours of
sportsmen from both ships. The razor-bill, which
shared the cliffs at Eitenbenk with the guillemot, was
not observed here. As the boats approached thou-
sands of birds flew from the cliffs sweeping numbers
of eggs off the ledges, which broke as they reached
the water ; at this date the young were nearly ready
for hatching. In spite of the swell one of the party
managed to get on to the rocks, and procured several
eggs ; one was taken from underneath the sitting bird,
who remonstrated by pecking at the hand of the
spoiler. A thick fog setting in obliged me to recall
the boats.

32 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. July

Feeling our way carefully along and trusting
entirely to the chart, for our Greenland pilot became
at a loss in the fog, we entered Upernivik Harbour,
and anchored at five in the morning, before any of the
residents knew of our arrival : indeed the fog was so
dense that the ships approached within a hundred
yards of the settlement before it was sighted. We
found two or three small icebergs aground on the bank
forming the only shallow water anchorage, where they
occupied a considerable part of the available space.
This bank from its steepness is in all probability the
moraine of an ancient glacier. In the early season
before the floe ice has been finally driven off to sea,
the anchorage can scarcely be considered a protected
one, for floating ice must frequently necessitate a
change in the ship's position.

We met at Upernivik Governor Fliescher and
' Sophie ' his wife ; the latter the considerate friend of
all English voyagers since the first of the Franklin
Search Expeditions. I had the pleasure of presenting
her with a thoughtful present of crockery from Sir
Leopold M'Clintock.

I am afraid that few of the transient visitors to
these North Greenland settlements think of the dreary
winters which the Danish inhabitants must necessarily
pass. Disco and Eitenbenk are in the same latitude as
Igloolik, where Sir Edward Parry wintered between
1821 and 1823, and as King William's Land, where
Franklin's ships were lost. Upernivik is very little
south of Lancaster Sound, where so many expeditions
have passed their winters. With a well found naval
expedition newly arrived from southern climes the

1875 UPERNIVIK. 33

monotony of a long dark winter, which appears some-
thing dreadful and dismal in the anticipation, is con-
siderably relieved by the charm of novelty. The Danish
inhabitants, who are obliged to endure a yearly re-
curring period of equal darkness with only one or two
associates, can but contrast the monotony of one
winter with the past ; life under these circumstances
must be hard indeed, and the Danish officials and
missionaries who voluntarily undergo it are entitled
to our liveliest commiseration.

Since 1721, the year of Egede's settlement at
Godhaab in South Greenland, the Danes have con-
sistently endeavoured to improve and ameliorate the
condition of the Eskimo inhabitants of Greenland.
Their efforts have been crowned Avith marked success,
and the paternal rule of the Danish Government has
been conducted with such complete regard for the
interests of the Greenlanders, that we find the native
population scattered along the coasts of that inhospit-
able land enjoying the blessings of religion, law, order,
and a considerable degree of civilization. This en-
lightened policy has been carried out by a succession
of worthy officials and missionaries, whose self-denying
labours reflect the utmost credit on themselves and the
country to which they belong,

VOL i. D

84 VOYAGE TO THE POLAB SEA. July

CHAPTER III.

LEAVE UPERNIVIK — INTRICATE NAVIGATION — ' ALERT ' AGROUND — THE
'MIDDLE ICE' — MELVILLE BAY — CAPE YORK AND THE 'NORTH WATER'
— NATIVES OF CAPE YORK — BEVERLEY CLIFFS— CARY ISLANDS —
NORTHUMBERLAND AND HAKLUYT ISLANDS — CAPE ALEXANDER.

The barometer remaining very steady at 30*5 inches, I
hastened to take advantage of the favourable weather.
Having succeeded in obtaining observations for correct-
ing the chronometers, the Expedition left Upernivik
on the evening of the 22nd. A thick fog to seaward
rendered it very nnadvisable to attempt a passage in
that direction, but the weather being perfectly clear in-
shore, with the assistance of an Eskimo pilot we passed
safely through the narrow and intricate channels leading
to Kangitok. The scenery in this passage is exceedingly
picturesque. At first starting it is necessary to pass
through a narrow rocky channel not more than fifty
yards broad, the dark-coloured rocks rising on the
left hand to above the mastheads, though on the right
sufficiently low to disclose the mainland beyond, which
presents a line of grand rampart-like cliffs rising for at
least 1,000 feet abruptly from the water's edge. The
giant portals on either side of the many glacier-cut
fiords which break the continuity of the coast, are
conspicuously marked by corresponding lines of strati-
fication. This narrow channel continued for about

1875 KANGITOK. 35

two miles, and then widened into a large ice-encum-
bered inland sea. To seaward all but the base of the
nearest islands was enshrouded in dense fog, but in
the direction of the ice-clad mainland of Greenland
the atmosphere was singularly clear, and all objects
remarkably distinct ; although in consequence of the
light reflected from the mer de glace, the sky-line was
ill defined. On the slightly inclined ice-cap, numerous
rounded elevations, conspicuously scored with crevasses,
denoted the undulations of the buried land below.
The coast glaciers were unfortunately hidden from our
view by the outlying rocky islets, and these again
were fronted by innumerable icebergs so completely
reflected in the calm sea as to render it difficult to dis-
tinguish the intermediate water-channels. The whole
scene was brilliantly lighted by an unclouded midnight
sun.

Our Eskimo pilot, who promised to guide us safely
past Kangitok, joined us very willingly at Upernivik,
his kayak being lifted on board ; but as the distance
from his home increased he became very uneasy, and
had I not forcibly detained his means of conveyance
he would certainly have broken his share of the bar-
gain, and left us when amongst a bewildering group
of islands during a thick fog. However, after being
convinced that might was on our side, he became suffi-
ciently reconciled to his fate to be useful, but never
regained complete confidence. So long as we headed
inshore we experienced clear weather, but whenever
we tried to proceed seaward we met the fog. Arriving
near Kangitok, the outlying island of the group, we were
forced to wait for the fog to clear, it being occasionally

D 2

36 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. July

so thick as to hide from our view the ' Discovery,' in
tow astern of us. In vain did I look for an anchorage,

or a suitably grounded iceberg to which to secure
the ships; the first was unobtainable in consequence
of the water a ship's length from the shore being
a hundred fathoms in depth, and the few icebergs
agrouna were so close to the land as to occasion
uncertain eddy currents in their near vicinity. After
drifting about in an unknown neighbourhood for six
anxiously spent hours, a momentary clearance of the
atmosphere took place, and we observed two Eskimo
in their kayaks close alongside. Everything was so
quiet, and the neighbourhood apparently so destitute of
life, that their appearance quite startled us ; and it is
difficult to imagine the first impressions of the natives at
so unexpected a sight as our ships must have presented
on suddenly emerging from the fog. After a short
consultation through Petersen and the pilot they
volunteered to conduct us to an anchorage.

Following the kayaks, at the same time steaming
very slowly and sounding carefully, I suddenly felt the
ship strike the ground ; hailing the ' Discovery,' her
officer of the watch, by smart attention to the helm,
avoided running into us. Before I could take steps to
lighten the ship, the quickly falling tide had fixed her
hard and fast on shore. As it was nearly low- water and
the fog still thick outside, I allowed the ship to
remain quiet where she was, the ' Discovery ' still
hanging to us by the towing hawser. Advantage was
taken of the enforced delay to land the ship's com-
panies. The officers spread themselves over the island,
some taking magnetic observations, others with their

1875 MELVILLE BAY. 37

guns hoping to obtain game ; both king and common
eider ducks were found and females of both species
were shot off their nests. The island is composed of
red gneiss; veins of quartz with large garnets in it
traverse the rock in a north and south direction.

As the tide rose our stragglers were recalled, and
just before noon the ship floated, without having in-
curred any strain or damage. The fog having cleared
considerably, we at once proceeded to sea, discharging
our pilot, greatly to his delight and relief. At 4 p.m.
we were abreast of the Brown Islands, with a sea
perfectly clear of drift-ice. A high and steady baro-
meter denoting that the calm weather which we had
lately experienced would probably continue, and find-
ing the ice at a great distance from the Greenland
shore, I decided to attempt a passage through the
' Middle Ice ' rather than to proceed by the ordinary
route round Melville Bay. Accordingly the two ships
proceeded at full speed to the westward, racing in com-
pany for Cape York, with only about a dozen icebergs
in sight. After midnight, having run sixty miles from
the Brown Islands on a west by north course true,
we sighted the pack, the temperature of the water
falling from 36° to 33°, and at 1.30 a.m. we steamed
into it. The pack consisted of open sailing ice from
one to three and occasionally four feet in thickness ;
the floes first met with were about two hundred and
fifty yards in diameter and very rotten. In order to
shorten the passage between the floes, it became
necessary to force many of the smaller pieces aside,
but beyond the momentary check of speed and the
scratching of the ice along the ship's side, little trouble

38 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. July

was experienced. Occasionally when a thicker piece
than usual refused to succumb to the blow, it would
hang evenly balanced across the stem, and being forced
ahead in front of the ship, collect other pieces, until at
last the accumulation of ice would render it necessary
to stop the engines and turn the ship's bow in another
direction. When we had run thirty miles through
the pack on the same course it gradually became closer
and the floes larger, measuring a mile and more in
diameter, obliging a discriminating selection of the
best leads to be made from the crow's nest. Only
one iceberg, and that a small one, was sighted at this
part of the passage, but it proved a most valuable
mark when steering through the tortuous passages,
towards the more open water-spaces.

Looking from the masthead over a boundless extent
of ice-covered sea, with no prominent objects to direct
a course, it is very easy to run off from the desired
direction without being aware of it. A compass in
the crow's nest materially assists the look-out man on
such occasions.

The lanes of water lying in a north-west and south-
east direction, permitted a rapid advance, and by 8 p.m.
of the 24th we had run sixty miles through the pack.
The ice was never close enough to cause anxiety
that we might be caught in it, but still kept me fully
employed in choosing the best leads from the crow's
nest. The heaviest ice met with was not more than
four feet thick, with hummocks rising some six feet
above it. After 8 p.m. the channels between the floes
became decidedly broader and more numerous, denot-
ing that we had passed through the thickest part of

1875 THE 'MIDDLE ICE. 39

the barrier ; so I gradually altered course to the north-
ward, steering direct for Cape York. After midnight,
when we were in latitude 79° 9' N. and longitude
65° 30' W., 140 miles to the westward of the Devil's
Thumb, the ice was so open that the officer of the
watch could see every obstacle from the bridge, and
was able to direct the ship without the help of a look-
out man in the crow's nest. Officers soon gain ex-
perience in these matters ; the heavy pieces that ought
to be avoided float higher out of the water than the
light ice which may be struck with impunity, and are
consequently readily distinguished. If, however, a
mistake should be made, the shock is sufficient to
bring nervous people on deck, and cannot be good for
the chronometers.

Throughout the night the temperature of the sea was
31°, and young ice formed on the surface to about the
thickness of half-an-inch, showing the partial freshness of
the water. Towards morning, before the daily thaw had
set in, the opening out of the pack during the calm was
rendered apparent by the many water-spaces from which
the young ice had been drifted off, like dross from
quicksilver, leaving a pure unblemished surface which
reflected the hull and rigging of the ships with such
distinctness that it was difficult to determine where
the object and the reflection met. The sharp crackling
sound made by the vessels as they tore their way
through the plates of young ice, was rather agreeable
than otherwise when contrasted with the dead silence
around unbroken even by the hundreds of little auks
(Mergulus alle), swimming close alongside ; these little
birds, scattered in large flocks over the water-spaces,

40 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. July

refused to move until almost touched by the ships,
then they dived in company, propelling themselves
under water with great rapidity, all the individuals
in a flock coming to the surface again at the same
moment. In the ' Middle Ice ' we observed a bear, a
walrus, two species of seals ( Phoca grcenlandica) and
{Phoca hispida) ; amongst the birds many fulmars, a
few ivory gulls (Pagophila eburned), a single dovekie
(Uria grylle), some guillemots, and a diver (Colymbus).
The water was filled with a quantity of diatomaceous
brown flocculent matter, which was also incorporated
in the floes ; this dark substance, absorbing the sun's
rays, exerts a very potent influence during summer
in the destruction of Baffin's Bay ice.

At 9.30 a.m. of the 25th we sighted the high land
about Cape York, and at 11 o'clock, when forty-five
miles directly south of that cape, we were fairly in the
1 North Water,' having passed through the ' Middle
Ice ' in thirty-four hours. Although we made so suc-
cessful a voyage through a locality justly dreaded by
experienced ice-navigators, the conclusion must not
be hastily arrived at that a similar passage can always
be commanded. Had a strong breeze set in while
we were amongst the ice we should have been beset
in the pack and, at the very least, delayed for several
days.

By good observations at noon we found that we
had been set eleven miles to the west-north-west ;
but our frequent change of course, and adopting the
most western of any two leads otherwise equally good,
may have given rise to some of the difference between
the position by log and that by observation.

1875 CAPE YORK. 41

Hans Heindrich being desirous that his brother-in-
law should be allowed to join the Expedition, and think-
ing it also important that the Eskimo who live between
Cape York and Port Fonlke should be aware of onr
presence, I directed Captain Stephenson to proceed to
Cape York and endeavour to communicate with the
natives. Our consort was speedily hidden from our
view behind a vast assemblage of the largest sized
bergs, which were thickly crowded together off the
cape. Many of them were table-topped and therefore
newly launched, most of them were aground. The
majority of these icebergs doubtless derived their origin
from the great glaciers of Melville Bay, and had been
drifted to their present position by the current sweep-
ing towards the north and westward, which continues
its course as far at least as Hartstene Bay at the
entrance to Smith Sound.

Captain Stephenson found most of the Eskimo,
including Hans' brother-in-law, absent from the settle-
ment, which was situated on the eastern side of a bay
to the eastward of Cape York. While the ' Discovery '
was secured to the land-ice inside the grounded ice-
bergs, a female narwhal (Monpdon monoceros), with a
well developed tusk, was killed, also a great number of
little auks. Seventeen natives, fifteen men and two
women, with three dog-sledges, visited the ship. They
appeared poorly clad in hooded seal-skin jumpers, and
bear-skin trousers cut off at the knees ; wearing nothing
underneath, they showed a broad margin of body be-
tween the two garments. On being given some of the
narwhal they ate it in great quantities, tearing the raw
flesh asunder with their teeth. Their hair was long and

42 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. July

matted, but their splendid row of even white teeth
showed to advantage out of the setting formed by the
flat mahogany-coloured visage. They were given a
supply of lucifer matches, biscuits, knives, &c, which
appeared to please them greatly.

In the meantime the ' Alert ' proceeded on her way
towards the Cary Islands, there to establish a depot of
provisions and deposit a boat for use should we un-
fortunately be fated to retreat south from Smith Sound,

GROUP OF AUCTIC HIGHLANDERS.

leaving our vessels behind us, as two out of three
expeditions which preceded us had been forced to
do. Expecting to find a southerly current in the offing,
where there were few icebergs, I steamed along the
Greenland shores within a couple of miles of the land
and inside a long line of immense bergs lying aground
parallel to the coast, trusting to the grounded ice to
point out any hidden dangers. At this season little
snow remained on the Beverley Cliffs, though behind

1875

BEVERLEY GUFFS.

43

them the inland ice-
cap was visible, and
down the ravines
between the dark
walls of rock many
glaciers made then-
way into the sea.
Several of these gla-
ciers showed con-
spicuous medial and
lateral moraines, and
some of the smaller
ones that had not
reached the sea, ter-
minal moraines. A
few patches of red-
coloured snow ap-
peared in sheltered
hollows, but it re-
quired the aid of a
glass to distinguish
it. A yellow lichen
growing over the
cliffs gave a brilliant
colouring to some
of the rocky slopes.
Myriads of little
auks were breeding
in these cliffs ; they
flew from the water
to the land with
their cheeks puffed

44 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. July

out in a most ludicrous manner, from the food contained
in them, which they were carrying to their young.
A few Iceland gulls (Larus leucopterus), were seen
perched on the bergs, and this was the most northern
locality where we recognized that species. Guillemots
were abundant, a large loomery being visible near Cape
Parker Snow. I had intended to pass inside of Conical
Eock, but as we approached it towards midnight, a
strong northerly wind sprang up and enabled me to
make sail, beating to the northward. On standing off
the land at 6 a.m. of the 26th, when twenty-four miles
south-west of Conical Eock, the wind died away, and
observing that the current was apparently carrying us
rapidly to the south, I proceeded again under steam.
It was calm all day, with thick fog. At noon, when
we must have been fifteen miles south-west of Wol-
stenholme Island, the surface temperature rose to 40°.
In the afternoon, not knowing our exact position
with regard to the Cary Islands, and not wishing to
pass them, I stopped, and while waiting for the fog
to clear, got a sounding in three hundred fathoms
with no bottom ; using an ordinary deep-sea thermo-
meter, the warm stratum of water at a temperature of
about 39° was found to extend to a depth of sixty feet ;
at a depth of twenty fathoms the temperature was 29°.
Doubtless had a reversible thermometer been used we
should have found an underlying warmer stratum.
The ' Discovery ' sounding in thirty-two fathoms near
the Cary Islands obtained a temperature of 32° at that
depth, but this was probably due to local causes.

Towards evening the fog cleared and we found our-
selves fifteen miles south-east of the Cary Islands. The

3875 CARY ISLANDS. 45

4 Discovery ' was observed fast approaching us from the
direction of Cape York. At midnight we were along-
side of the most south-eastern island, and immediately
commenced landing a depot of 3,600 rations. These
would have been more convenient if placed on North-
umberland Island or on the mainland, but I was
much afraid of the Eskimo finding and plundering the
depot. Before leaving Disco I left a notice for Captain
Allen Young, or anyone likely to follow our foot-
steps, stating that it was my intention to form this
station on the western island of the Cary group, where
a party from Admiral Austin's expedition in 1857
landed and erected a cairn. But on considering the
probably exhausted condition of a party of men re-
treating southward from perhaps the northern part of
Smith Sound, I decided to alter its destination, and to
place it as near as possible to the line of retreat. Ac-
cordingly having selected a convenient position on the
east end of the south-east island, the provisions and a
boat were placed in a crevice of the rocks above the
wash of the sea or pressure of ice. Another paper and
a few letters were placed in a cairn on the summit of
this island, which attains an altitude of about 600 feet.
Numerous rounded fragments and pebbles of red sand-
stone are strewed over the top of the island, which is
composed of a red-coloured gneiss dipping at a very high
angle to the west. Eider ducks, with their broods of
downy ducklings some four or five days old, were swim-
ming about in the salt water. A large colony of bur-
gomasters (Larus glaueus) were nesting on some bright
green ledges of a steep cliff ; one of our party, having
taken off his coat and shoes, climbed up to the topmost

46 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. July

I cclacs and brought down two nearly full-feathered
young ones. Flowering plants were scanty, the most
conspicuous being the yellow-blossomed Pote?itilla, Coch-
learia officinalis, Papaver nudicaule, and a Br aba, also
a creeping dwarf willow. Traces of foxes and ptar-
migan were observed.

It was high water at the Cary Islands about 5 a.m.
of the 27th. The current from midnight until 2 a.m.,
the first half of the flood-tide, set to the northward, at

3 a.m. it was setting towards the north-east, and from

4 to 6 a.m., when we left, it set to the southward. This
agrees with the supposed set of the current the previous
night, when we were south-west of Conical Eock, the
latter part of the flood-tidal-stream running to the
southward instead of setting to the northward. The
'Discovery,' steering one steady course from Cape
York, also experienced a current which set the ship to
the south and west.

Near the many icebergs stranded on the shallows
about the Cary Islands, the temperature of the
surface water fell from 40° to 31i°, but imme-
diately we left the ice behind us, steering towards the
Greenland coast for Hakluyt Island, it rose again to
38° and 40°, agreeing with the observations of the
previous day. Coupled with the native report that the
sea near Hakluyt Island is never completely frozen
over during the winter, this high temperature is re-
markable.

The 27th brought us a continuation of calm clear
weather. The two ships, one in tow of the other, passed
in the afternoon between Northumberland and Hak-
luyt Islands. A sounding in mid-channel gave 100

1875

NORTHUMBERLAND ISLAND.

47

fathoms with rocky
bottom. The water
was literally black
with the multitudes
of little auks, and
guillemots were nu-
merous ; there is an
immense breeding
station of these birds
on the north-east face
of Hakluyt Island.
The passage between
these two islands is
very imposing ; on
either side rise al-
most perpendicular
cliffs of sandstones
to a height of not
less than 800 feet ;
near to the sea strata
of a bright red sand-
stone predominate,
but higher up the
<'lifFs these alternate
with light yellow,
the whole series
dipping at an angle
of 4° or 5° to the
south. The summit
of Northumberland
Island being covered

with

an ice-cap.

48 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. July

presents a miniature of the Greenland mer de glace ;
many small glaciers descend its flanks, and one of
large size occupies its north-west face. The appearance
of these descending ice-streams presented a marked
contrast to the warm-coloured sandstone cliffs, whilst
the effect was enhanced by the bright green vegetation
growing on the ledges, fertilized by the presence of
innumerable sea-birds.

Passing Inglefield Gulf we noticed the ice stretching
from shore to shore east of Cape Acland, completely
closing it ; but Murchison Sound and Whale Sound
were clear. The Prince of Wales Mountains on Elles-
mere Land, and the coast range from Cape Faraday to
the north were distinctly visible.

To the northward of the Cary Islands, and as
far north as Cape Alexander, the icebergs were of the
largest size, the majority of them being table-topped.
The * Discovery ' measured one rising two hundred
and ninety feet above the water-line.

Cape Acland on its north-western face presents an
escarpment of bright red rock, probably sandstone, and
the cliffs of the mainland as far north as Sontag Bay
show similar coloured horizontal stratification. Early
in the morning of the 28th we were close to Cape
Alexander, and passing Sutherland Island at a distance
of about a mile and a half. This island, composed of
a rough-grained sandstone, appears to have been worn
down by glacier action : I estimated its height at about
300 feet. Cape Alexander is a noble headland pre-
senting a sea face of probably 1,400 feet ; it is separated
from the main by two enormous glaciers, which, de-
scending on either flank, enter Hartstene Bay on the

]875 CAPE ALEXANDER. 49

one side, and on the other submerge directly behind
Sutherland Island. The cape is composed at its base
of a light yellow sandstone, horizontally stratified, mid-
way a band of dark columnar basalt rests upon this
sandstone, and above that point, intercalated beds of
basalts and sandstones continue to its summit. This
same formation extends along the whole south side of
Hartstene Bay.

VOL. I.

50 VOYAGE TO THE POLAIl SEA. July

CHAPTER IV.

HARTSTENE BAY — LIFE-BOAT COVE — ' POLARIS ' WINTER-QUARTERS

LITTLETON ISLAND — ETAH — CAPE ISABELLA — PAYER HARBOUR —
CAPE SABINE — HAYES SOUND — ALEXANDRA HAVEN — TWIN GLACIER
VALLEY ESKIMO MIGRATION.

While we were steering close under Cape Alexander
a breeze sprang up from the northward and retarded
our progress, but by 7 a.m., of the 28th, we were at
anchor in twelve fathoms on the north side of Hart-
stene Bay. The anchorage I selected was a bay on
the southern side of Sunrise Point, a very convenient
halting-place, but only fit for use while northerly or
easterly winds prevail. Generally speaking the shore
was bordered by an ice-foot, but this was not quite
continuous ; a number of detached heavy pieces of
ice, the remains of hummocks formed during previous
gales, lay aground in thirty feet of water, pointing
out the shallows, while many rocks, both above and
below water, studded the shore. A stream of some
volume, which drains the valley lying north of Dodge's
Mountains, empties itself into the bay.

The red gneiss, which forms the basement on
which rest the sedimentary strata and basalts of
Foulke Fiord, forms the shore-line from the settlement
of Etah. Northwards at Cape Ohlsen and Life-Boat

1875 LIFE-BOAT COVE. 51

Cove, and as far as we could see inland, granitoid and
gneissoid rocks prevail.

The total absence of drift-ice between Cape York
and Smith Sound, and the fact that a strong northerly
wind was bringing no ice down, led me to conclude
that the main pack to the northward had not yet
broken up, and that we had arrived at Hartstene Bay
at the most opportune time, when the ice at the head
of Baffin's Bay had drifted south and before the
northern ice, which breaks up later in the season, had
drifted through Smith Sound. A few days subsequently
the sea between Littleton Island and Cape Sabine,
which now permitted free progress, was so ice-encum-
bered as to prevent any vessel crossing the channel.

As a northerly wind prevented our advance except
at a large expenditure of coal, I took the opportunity
to visit Life-Boat Cove, where a part of the crew of
the U.S.S. ' Polaris ' wintered in 1872-73. I was in
hopes of finding the pendulum and other instruments
which were necessarily abandoned on the retreat of
the party, in small boats, to the south.

Leaving the ships at anchor, and accompanied by
Commander Markham, we started in a whale-boat,
Owing to the strong breeze and the ebb-tide running
to the southward we had considerable trouble in
rounding Sunrise Point, but after passing Littleton
Island the wind fell, and the fog ascending, gradually
gave place to a fine bright afternoon. There is so
little depth of water in Life-Boat Cove, that the
4 Polaris ' must have grounded close to the entrance
of the bay. The land being quite free from snow, we
had no difficulty in finding the locality where Polaris

E 2

52 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. July

House stood. No part of that structure remained
intact, but pieces of wood, cases, empty tins,* bits of
clothing, worn-out sea-boots, seal-skins, and a hetero-
geneous collection of odds and ends, marked the site.
The cairn mentioned by Dr. Bessels and Mr. Bryant as
the depository of instruments and boxes of books was
readily discovered, but contained nothing. Numerous
small caches containing seal and walrus-meat were
scattered over the small peninsula and near the
site of the house. Apart from each other, and with-
out any protection, we found four or five boxes, each
covered with heavy stones to prevent the wind moving
them, and having the lids secured on by a rope.
Besides one thermometer, unfortunately not a self-
registering one, they contained scraps of skin-clothing,
old mitts, carpenters' tools, files, needles, and many
small articles of the greatest use to the Eskimo, but
apparently they had not been disturbed since the
abandonment of the place. A few books were found,
which were afterwards forwarded to the United States,
but no pendulum, transit-instrument, or chronometer.
Three skin-boats left on the shore, weighted down
with stones, were in fair order. The smallest one was
taken for conveyance to Cape Sabine.

On our return we landed at Littleton Island, and
on the S.W. brow erected a cairn, and deposited a
notice containing a short account of the movements and
prospects of the Expedition up to that time. There
was not a particle of ice in sight from a high station
on Littleton Island ; but bur sportsmen who roamed over
the higher grounds on the main land reported that
they had distinguished an ice -blink to the northward ;

1875 LITTLETON ISLAND. 53

which news proved to be correct, for ice was met the
next day at a distance of twenty miles from the island.

A great number of eider ducks were nesting on
the north shore of the largest island; the ducklings
were about a week old, but several nests still contained
eggs. With the rising tide the current between the
islands set towards the N.E. The time of high and low-
water agreed with the observations of Dr. Hayes. In the
record left on Littleton Island I stated that it was my
intention to cross direct to the west shore of Smith
Sound, and to proceed northward along that coast.
Anticipating that it might be difficult for a sledge-
party to communicate with the island, I added that
should the cairn not be visited by a party from the
Expedition before June 1876, our despatches would
be found on Cape Isabella, and that I hoped to leave
records at Cape Sabine, Dobbin Bay, Carl Eitter Bay,
and Cape Bellot.

During my absence from the ships, explorations
were made in various directions. Captain Stephenson,
accompanied by several officers, explored Foulke
Fiord to ascertain its suitability as a winter-harbour,
and visited the valley at its head, where Dr. Hayes'
expedition obtained as many reindeer as they could
consume. Our sportsmen were, however, not so for-
tunate, for after a very arduous walk amongst the
valleys at the base of Brother John's Glacier, ascend-
ing it and crossing its face to the other side of the
valley, only seven reindeer were seen and one secured.

The settlement of Etah was visited, but no natives
were there; it consisted of three stone igloos, and
one hut roofed over with canvas spread on spars.

54 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. July

Many relics from the ' Polaris ' were lying about, such
as clothes, pieces of books, ice-chisels, fish-hooks, and
bottles. A large amount of seal and walrus-blubber
was cached in the neighbourhood. A dog-sledge made
entirely of bone, with runners ingeniously constructed
of pieces of tusk of the walrus, was found hidden in a
cleft of the rock ; it was of course not interfered with.
Arrows were found in the Eskimo huts and in the
neighbourhood.

The remains of numerous ancient settlements are
scattered along the shore between Jensen Point and
the village of Etah ; the sites are marked by enormous
quantities of bones lying around, which speaks forcibly
to the animal wealth of this neighbourhood. It would
be difficult to assign any definite age to these remains,
but evidently Port Foulke must have been a favourite
and productive station of the natives for a long course
of years. Eeindeer and walrus bones were the most
prominent in these kitchen-middens. It was remarked
that all the bones of the deer which contained marrow
had been split, the crania had been broken in through
the front of the skull, and sometimes the base had
been knocked off, in order to render easy the extrac-
tion of the brain. Eemains of seals were very abun-
dant, with bones of foxes and hares, also thousands of
the sterna of little auks.

The cliffs on both sides of Foulke Fiord present
bold escarpments, and are a continuation of the strata
which form Cape Alexander.

These formations, which consist of various coloured
sandstones abounding in ripple marks and inter-
bedded with traps and basalts rest unconformably

1675 HARTSTENE BAY. 55

on gneissoid rocks, and have a thickness of about a
thousand feet. Unfortunately no fossil organisms
were found, but a piece of coal was picked up not
far from the head of the fiord. Judging from their
appearance, Captain Feilden is of opinion that these
strata may be an extension of the Miocene deposits
of Disco Island and the Noursoak Peninsula.

Hartstene Bay is the best winter-station on the
North Greenland coast ; its shores are washed by a
warm current coming from the southward, whilst the
projecting promontories of Cape Hatherton and Cape
Ohlsen deflect the Polar current to the other side of
the sound. Owing to the narrowing of the channel
at the entrance of Smith Sound the velocity of the
tidal currents is greatly augmented, and even in winter
large water-spaces are kept open. The moisture and
warmth imparted to the atmosphere by the uncovered
water moderates the climate in its vicinity to some
extent, and consequently we find in the neighbour-
hood of Hartstene Bay a land comparatively well
vegetated and a great abundance of animal life. As
Port Foulke can be visited yearly from the southward
in all but very exceptional seasons, it can be recom-
mended as an important base if further explorations by
Smith Sound are hereafter undertaken.

On the morning of the 29th the ships crossed
Smith Sound under sail, with a northerly wind, steer-
ing direct for Cape Isabella, The snow-clad coast of
Ellesmere Land was very clearly defined, the black
headlands, separated by glacier-filled valleys, standing
out prominently from the white background. Cape
Sabine, which is formed of a red syenite, differs much in

56 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. July

colour from the headlands north and south of it, and is
very conspicuous. I had at first determined to send
the 'Discovery' direct to Cape Sabine, there to estab-
lish a station, while the ■ Alert ' erected a cairn at
Cape Isabella ; but considering it important that all
the officers and men in both ships should be acquainted
with the exact position of each cairn and depot of
provisions, I kept the two vessels in company. How-
ever exact the description of the position of a depot
may be, it is extremely difficult for a traveller
during the spring to find a cairn or mark which has
been established during the period of the year when
the land was wholly or partially free from snow. The
choice of a spot on which to build a cairn that can be
readily found by a stranger is not so easy a matter as
may be supposed. In the present case it was rendered
more difficult in consequence of the necessity of guard-
ing against the depredations of the Eskimo, who are
said to wander round the shores of Ellesmere Land.
To obtain this safety for the provisions destined for
our travellers it was necessary to hide them away in
clefts of the rock at some distance from the cairn
which contained directions for finding the depot.

As we approached the western shore a snowstorm
worked its way over the land from the S.W., and
reached us just as we arrived at the cape. In order
to take advantage of the fair wind, and the snow-
storm preventing those on board the ' Discovery ' seeing
the position chosen for the cairn, I ordered Captain
Stephenson to proceed to Cape Sabine. Commander
Markham accompanied by Captain Feilden landed in
a small bay on the south side of the extreme point of

1875 CAPE ISABELLA. 57

the cape. After an extremely rough scramble up one
of the gullies, a cairn was erected on the outer spur
of Cape Isabella, 700 feet above the water-line ; a
cask for letters and a few cases of preserved meat beino-
hidden away on a lower point, about 300 feet high,
magnetic west of the cairn. Cape Isabella is formed of
a fine-grained grey granite and a coarse orthoclase
granite, the difference in colour between these two
rocks being very distinctly shown on the face of the
cliffs. While the party was on shore the surf on the
rocks prevented the boat remaining at the landing
place; on their return at 5 p.m., we proceeded to the
northward, the weather continuing misty with snow.

At 4 a.m., of the 30th, having run thirty-eight miles
by the patent log, we stopped steaming and waited
for the weather to clear. During the night we had
passed a quantity of loose pack-ice which obliged us
to keep well out from the coast. At 5 a.m., we ob-
served the ' Discovery ' close to the land, with five or
six miles of heavy pack-ice cutting us off both from
her and the shore. Although the land was hidden by
fog the atmosphere at sea was clear and the weather
calm. Perceiving a likely-looking channel leading to
the westward, we steamed towards it, but before
reaching the entrance it closed up and prevented our
-advance. At 9 a.m., an hour before high- water, on
the slackening of the flood or north-running tide, the
ice opened considerably. Observing that the ' Dis-
covery ' was not moving, we bore into the pack, and
at 3.30 p.m., succeeded with a little trouble in gaining
the land and securing the ships in a convenient harbour
formed by a group of rocky islands. These we sup-

58 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. July

posed by our latitude at noon to be near Leconte Island,
but on the atmosphere clearing we found that we were
inside of Brevoort Island and within two miles of
Cape Sabine, which had been placed on the latest
chart ten miles too far north. During our eleven
hours' run from Cape Isabella, half the time with an
ebb and half with a flood-tide, we were set by the
current ten miles to the southward.

The ice through which we had passed consisted
principally of old heavy floes, ten to twelve feet in
thickness and a hundred yards to a quarter of a mile
in diameter. Intermixed with these were others of
one-season ice, so rotten and honeycombed as to show
that they had not recently been subjected to heavy
pressure. Scattered amongst the pack-ice were several
icebergs, nearly all of which were flat-topped ; very
few of them had altered their line of flotation since
they first separated from their parent glaciers.

Finding no bottom at a depth of twenty fathoms
close to the shore, the ships were secured by hawsers
to ice-anchors buried in the level ice-foot or ice-ledge
lining the shore. The northerly wind kept the ships
from swinging broadside against the land, they were
thus ready to start at a moment's notice. The upper
surface of the ice-foot was twenty to forty feet broad,
dependent on the inclination of the land, and level
with the high-water rise of spring-tides. At low- water
the rocks at the base of its vertical sea-face were bare,
leaving a cliff about ten feet high, which when the
tide was out could only be ascended through one of
the slippery passages cut by the water running down
from the land. The harbour, which was named after

1875 PAYER HARBOUR. 59

Lieutenant Julius Payer, the distinguished and success-
ful Arctic traveller, is a most convenient waiting place
for vessels attempting to proceed northward by Smith
Sound. Brevoort Island, a syenitic rock which attains
an altitude of about 500 feet, shelters it completely
from seaward. Stalknecht Island and a long penin-
sula about 150 feet high protect it from the southward.
The harbour has three entrances, one from the north-
ward and two from the southward, one of which is
sure to be clear of ice, whenever the outside pack,
driven off shore by a westerly wind, would permit
navigation. The channels being narrow prevent the
entrance of large floes ; but, owing to the great depth of
water, icebergs readily enter and have to be guarded
against.

During the afternoon Captain Stephenson and the
crew of the ' Discovery ' were engaged landing a depot
of provisions, consisting of 240 rations, for the use of
any sledge-party that might be travelling from the
north towards Littleton Island. This depot was
placed on the peninsula that forms the southern pro-
tection of the harbour. A cairn was built on the
summit of Brevoort Island, in which a record paper
was subsequently placed.

Having established our provision depot and record,
I felt very desirous of ascertaining how far the water in
the middle of Smith Sound would permit our advance
to the northward. The ice in the offing being fairly
open, I accordingly started with the two ships at
10 P.M., just before high- water. We had far greater
trouble in pushing our way through the pack than
when we passed through it the previous morning, and

00 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Jn,v

during the intervening time the ice-stream had doubled
in width. The ships, consequently, did not arrive in
the clear water until past 1 a.m., of the 31st. Follow-
ing the edge of the pack but not entering it, we
were led off to the N.E., for about twenty-five miles ;
it then bent round to the S.E., and effectually cut us
off from the east coast of Greenland.

It was now perfectly certain that our struggles
with the ice were about to commence, and I had to
choose whether to force our way through the pack or
to advance along the eastern or western shores of the
Sound. A middle passage through the heavy pack
drifting to the southward, through an ever-narrowing
channel, was quite out of the question, and Dr. Kane
had fully proved the impossibility of forcing a passage
along the exposed coast-line eastward of Eensselaer
Harbour. I therefore decided to proceed to Cape
Sabine, and endeavour to force our way along the
western shore.

On returning to the western side of the strait, a
heavy snowstorm quite obscured the land and pre-
vented my selecting the best water-channels through
the pack. While waiting for the weather to clear, the
ships were made fast to the lee side of an iceberg, where
the faster drifting surface-ice kept a pool of water
clear. After passing an hour in this position, partly
from the wind shifting and partly by the iceberg
turning round, we found ourselves being forced
against the side of the berg by the pressure of the pack,
and were obliged to make a hurried retreat. For-
tunately our ice -anchors slipped out easily, or we should
have been entrapped.

1875 RETURN TO PAYER HARBOUR. 01

The wind having now freshened from the N.E.,
and the flood-tide preventing the ice drifting to the
southward, there was every probability that the pack
would close together and endanger our reaching the
shore. Accordingly I pushed on through the snow
and mist rather blindly, but was rewarded by suddenly
finding that we were back at the entrance of Payer
Harbour, and before noon, as I thought at the time,
we had bidden a long good-bye to the main pack.
During the afternoon a strong north-westerly wind
and ebb-tide, which carried the ice and icebergs
quickly to the southward, completely imprisoned us ;
but we had the satisfaction of knowing that a large
water-space was forming farther to the north, ready for
our use by-and-by.

The north-westerly wind continued throughout
August 1, and combined with the ebb-tide brought the
ice so fast to the southward that at 9 a.m., there was
no longer any water in sight in the middle of the
strait from our look-out hill. The only pool left was
in the bay immediately south of us, which was kept
open by the slight westing in the wind. To the north-
ward, between our position and Bache Island, not a
single pool of water was to be seen. For a short
time, during the strength of the flood or north-running
tide, both the surface-ice and the icebergs were carried
to the northward against the wind, which was blow-
ing with a force of 2 to 5 ; but from its having less
effect on the deeply immersed icebergs, they were
moving slower than the pack.

At 11 a.m., in a heavy squall, the 'Alert's' ice-
anchors slipped out of their beds in the ice- foot, and

62 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. August

obliged us to let go the bower anchor in twenty-one
fathoms, the ship drifting into thirty-five fathoms.
In the evening the weather cleared up and enabled
me to get a few bearings with a theodolite from the
summit of Cape Sabine, some 1,200 feet above the
sea-level. The Victoria and Albert Mountains, fifty
miles distant, showed very distinctly. The channel
between Ellesmere Land and Bache Tsland was seen to
be nearly closed by a group of rocky islets ; but there
was apparently a northern passage on the westward
side of the island. The islands were named after
Lieutenant Carl Weyprecht, the commander of the
Austrian discovery ship ' TegetthofF.'

The wind was so strong, and my feet so wet and
cold after climbing up the rugged snow-clad hill-side,
that I was forced to content myself with a sketch and
the most important bearings. Not a particle of water
was to be seen, and the sea between Cape Sabine and
Littleton Island, which four days ago was free from
ice, was now completely blocked.

The high water full and change was found to be at
11 h. 56 m., rise and fall about twelve feet.

The red syenite rock forming Cape Sabine and
the islands in the neighbourhood of Payer Harbour
is sterile and barren to the last degree. During the
three days we were detained there, although parties
from the ships explored the whole of the immediate
neighbourhood, very little animal-life was seen. Six
narwhals were on one occasion observed playing in the
harbour, and a colony of glaucous gulls were found
nesting in a steep cliff on Brevoort Island. A few
eider ducks' nests were obtained, and a large seal (Phoca

1875 ICE-BOAT. (J 3

barbata), the oo-sook of the Greenlanders, was shot,
also five eider ducks, one or two dovekies, and a
little auk, a contrast to the large amount of game
obtainable at Port Foulke. Along the margin of the
shore of Payer Harbour were several rings of stones
marking the summer tents of Eskimo. The fragments
of bone scattered about these spots were lichen-covered
and friable, showing that they were of great antiquity.
Traces of a more recent visit were, however, observed,
and a harpoon was found with a tip of wrought iron.

The ice remaining closed during the 2nd, and the
light wind holding out no prospect of its opening, I
thought it advisable to occupy the time by sending a
party round Cape Sabine to ascertain the nature of the
coast-line. I also wanted to see whether a twenty-foot
ice-boat could be carried on an eight-man sledge, the
only one we had ready. The boat having been lashed
on to the sledge, I started with Commander Markham,
Lieutenants Aldrich and May, and five strong men,
but after advancing about a mile, in consequence of
the boat being too long for the sledge and the ice
encountered being extremely rough, we gave up
the attempt and returned on board. The fifteen-foot
boat, which fitted the sledge, was dragged easily
enough, but it was then too late in the day to start
again, as I was in hopes of the evening's flood-tide
opening up the ice, and permitting an advance with
the ships. The evening, however, turned out calm
with a fog, and the ice remained closed.

A light southerly wind on the 3rd, giving hopes
of a change in the ice, kept me anxiously looking out
from the nearest hill-top. At 9 a.m., the north-running

64 VOYAGE TO TIIE POLAR SEA. August

tide having begun to move the ice from the harbour,
and slight cracks appearing in the offing, both ships
were got under sail, in order to be ready to push round
Cape Sabine immediately a passage opened, which I
fully expected would be the case. When starting, being
only a ship's length from the shore, we calculated on a
friendly piece of ice acting as a buffer between the
vessel and the rocks ; but at the important moment
when its services were required, it slipped from the
ship's bow, and the tide carried us so close to the
shore that the heel of the rudder touched for a
moment. By the time we were clear, the cracks in the
ice instead of opening had closed, so the ships were
kept tacking back and forwards, until high- water,
after which, giving up all further hope for the day,
we beat back to our old quarters. The constant
tacking, and the close shaves between the two ships^
as we passed each other, as well as with the rocks
occasionally, created much excitement and did good
to all. In the evening the wind freshened from the
southward and kept a space of water about half a mile
in diameter clear of ice near the, mouth of the har-
bour, but off Cape Sabine the ice still remained closely
packed.

The wind freshening from the southward on the 4th
drifted a quantity of small pieces of ice across to the
northern side of the harbour, where the ships were
anchored, and prevented our communicating with the
shore except by hauling a boat over the ice. At
2 a.m., while I was anxiously watching for and ex-
pecting a change to occur with the ebb-tide, the ice
off Cape Sabine began to move, drifting to the east-

1875

HAYES SOUND.

65

ward out of Hayes
Sound. A signal was
immediately made to
start under sail, get-
ting up steam in the
meantime. By the
time we were outside
the harbour, a clear
channel had opened
round the cape, and
with lightened hearts
and much rejoicing Ave
ran quickly along the
land. Our passage to
the northward still re-
mained blocked by im-
penetrable ice ; so that
whether we pleased or
not, an advance could
only be made in a
north - westerly direc-
tion up Hayes Sound.
Very heavy ice was
piled up more than
thirty feet high against
the extreme northern
point of Cape Sabine,
indicating recent se-
vere pressure from the
pack. The ice met
with between Elles-
mere Land and Bache

VOL. I.

\

66 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA.. August

Island had evidently been formed in the neighbour-
hood during the previous winter, and being in one
unbroken sheet, the water must have been clear of
ice-pieces when the autumn frost set in. It was now
very rotten, had lately broken away from the shore,
and was only waiting for a westerly wind to carry it
off into Smith Sound.

As we advanced under the lee of the land the
wind died away, and rendered steam necessary. We
then ran quickly to the north-west along a slightly in-
dented coast-line, passing Cocked-hat Hill, a very con-
spicuous landmark, situated on an island close to the
shore. The hills on the north coast of Ellesmere Land
are abrupt and rugged, rising to a height of 1,200 to
1,500 feet, with glaciers here and there descending to
the sea. By 9 a.m., we arrived at the end of the water-
channel, where the ice stretching completely across the
strait effectually blocked any further advance. Bam-
ming the ships into the rotten ice, we endeavoured
to form temporary docks ; but as fast as we pushed our
way into the floes their sides split up.

After waiting about an hour, a narrow channel
opened close along shore, through which a push was
made with only an inch or two of spare water under the
ships' keels. We then gained a large water-space which
carried us a few miles farther up the gulf, but then
the ice, locked in by the Weyprecht Islands, formed
a barrier. To the southward of us we had opened a
long fiord, entirely free of ice, running to the S.W.,
about eight miles in depth and three and a half in
width. Snow-capped hills upwards of 2,000 feet high
with steep cliffs formed the shores of the fiord ; glaciers

1875 ALEXANDRA HAVEN. 67

occupied the higher portion of each of the valleys,
but none of them appeared to reach the sea. This
fiord is protected from the entry of any large floes by
an island at its mouth, to which was given the name
of the Three Sisters, from a similar number of con-
spicuous conical hills rising from its base.

Wishing to anchor at the entrance of the fiord
ready to take advantage of any movement in the outer
ice, we sounded our way towards the shore, opposite
to a large valley, off which I expected to find a bank
with shallow water. Instead of this we obtained no
bottom with fifty fathoms at a distance of fifty yards
from the beach. JSTot finding an anchorage, we re-
traced our course about a mile to a small rocky bay
scarcely large enough to receive the two ships, situated
at the extreme end of one of the spurs of the Prince of
Wales Mountains. I named it Alexandra Haven.

As soon as the ships were secured, the sportsmen
started in all directions to explore the neighbourhood.
In the valley off which I had endeavoured to anchor,
was found what in these regions may be termed a
richly vegetated plain extending about two miles back
from the coast, and fronting two valleys each contain-
ing a glacier. These glaciers coming from opposite
directions abut the one against the other, maintaining
a constant struggle. Those amongst us who were for-
tunate enough to visit the locality, which was named
Twin Glacier Valley, were well repaid by the grandeur
of the scene.

The summer thaw of ice and snow had produced a
broad watercourse down the valley, which at this date
was occupied by a pellucid stream of some twenty

F 2

68

VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA.

August

yards in width. The flora was surprisingly rich : large
patches of Epilobium latifolium were growing on sand-
banks in the dry watercourse, its handsome deep pink
blossoms appearing somewhat out of keeping with the
Arctic surroundings. Eecent traces of reindeer and
musk-oxen were very numerous. Had we remained
any length of time in the vicinity we should doubtless
have obtained a fair supply of game ; as it was, only

TWIN GLACIER, BUCHANAN SOUND.

three hares were obtained by the men of the ' Dis-
covery.' It being a fine afternoon the ships' companies
were allowed to wander over the hills : one of the
crew, miscalculating his power of walking in heavy
clothing, had to be carried back on a stretcher. A
report having spread that musk-oxen were in the
vicinity, the appearance on the beach of the men bear-
ing their sick comrade gave rise to the impression on
board the ships that an animal had been shot. When

1875 BESET IN HAYES SOUND. 69

the truth was discovered, the feeling of disappointment
at not obtaining fresh provisions considerably lessened
the sympathy which would otherwise have been be-
stowed on the invalid.

Gneiss and syenite seemed to be the prevailing
rocks along the northern shore of Ellesmere Land ;
but at an elevation of 1,500 feet a dense thin-bedded
limestone was found capping the rocks. In the Twin
Glacier Valley, the stream exposed strata of argilla-
ceous limestone and fine-grained sandstone. No fossils
were obtained, but the locality is geologically interest-
ing, as the point of juncture between the sedimentary
and granitic rocks on the western side of Smith
Sound.

During the night of the 5th the ice opened up a
lead to the westward, and by 9 a.m., the end of the ebb
tide, the passage was quite clear along shore. Having
a fine breeze from the S.W., the ships made a stern-
board out of our small harbour, and rounding Three
Sisters Island, off which was a rocky bank with shallow
water, stood along shore to the westward. In hopes
of obtaining a steadier breeze I kept close to the edge
of the pack, but the wind shortly died away. At
2 p.m., we had advanced under steam beyond the eastern
group of rocky islets. Finding that the strait took a
turn towards the westward, I endeavoured to force our
way across it to the northward where a pool of water
was to be seen near Point Koldewey, from which we
were separated by a quantity of rotten ice. This I
attempted to force, but after an hour's ramming, we
were brought to a standstill and thoroughly beset by
ice in such a decayed condition that it was unsafe to

s

70 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. August

permit men to cross from oue ship to the other.
During the night the weather was calm, and the ships
drifted slowly backwards and forwards at the mercy
of the tidal current, but in the main in an easterly
direction.

On the 6th, with the ebb-tide the ships drifted
to the southward towards the open water near the
shore. In the expectation of obtaining a good view
of the strait, Captain Stephenson and I landed by
dragging a boat over the ice to the water. A number
of the officers also went to explore the neighbour-
hood, but kept within sight of the ships in case of
being recalled. Landing at nearly low- water we had
great difficulty in climbing up the steep and slippery
side of the ice-foot. From an ascent of 1,500 feet we
could not determine the continuation of Hayes Sound,
owing to the interposition of rocky islands ; but by
the trend of the mountain ranges the sound or fiord
may be assumed to run for a long distance to the
westward. There is apparently no water connection
with the opening north of Bache Island, unless a com-
munication exists far to the westward. On turning
to the eastward we had the great satisfaction of seeing
that the ice at the entrance of the sound was clearing
out, and that there would soon be a clear water-
passage between Cape Sabine and Cape Albert. We
accordingly hastened back to our boat, deciding to
push to the northward along the east shore of the so-
called Bache Island.

Our sportsmen only obtained a single ptarmigan
{Lag opus rupestris)^ the first specimen procured by us
in Smith Sound. Insects were not uncommon, the

1875 INSECTS. 71

mosquitoes being particularly annoying. Two species
of butterflies, a Colias and an Argynnis, two kinds of
moths and a humble-bee (Bombus), were captured.
The shores of the coast where we landed were studded
with ancient Eskimo dwellings, numerous caches, and
marks of summer tents. The bones of a large whale,
no doubt Balasna mysticetas, in pieces over five feet
long and a foot broad, had been used as rafters to
one of the igloos or dwelling-places. Numerous
bones of the musk-ox, seal, walrus, and narwhal were
found.

I regret extremely that our short stay prevented
our ascertaining whether Hayes Sound is a channel
leading to a western sea. The flood-tide certainly
ran to the westward inshore ; but Lieutenant Parr,
a very careful observer, reports that on two occasions
when the ship was stationary and he in charge of the
deck, he observed the ice in the offing setting to the
eastward with the flood-tide. This may have been
occasioned by partial winds or an eddy tidal current.
Although we saw no seals in the sound, yet the nume-
rous remains scattered about the old Eskimo dwellings
show that they have been obtained in large numbers in
this locality, and this is seldom the case in an inclosed
bay, where the water is more ready to freeze than in
an open channel. Certainly a large colony of Eskimo
frequented the neighbourhood at one time, and we
may conclude that they travelled from the southward.
It remains to be ascertained whether the route was
along the glacier-lined shore on the western side of
Baffin's Bay, or by a more protected inlet to the west-
ward of Ellesmere Land.

/

72 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. August

Wliile waiting for the return of Captain Stephenson
a sounding was obtained by the ' Discovery ' in forty-
two fathoms, the minimum temperature of the water,
between the surface and that depth, being 29°\5.

This low temperature was afterwards confirmed by
a large number of independent observations.

In Smith Sound, with the exception of a surface
film heated during summer, the temperature of the
seawater, like that in the Antarctic Ocean, always
remains colder than the melting point of freshwater
ice. The icebergs floating in a medium of about 29°*5
can therefore only decay in those parts exposed to the
rays of the sun, and consequently remain table-topped
cubes of ice, with the original surface of the parent
glacier floating uppermost, until they drift into Baffin's
Bay. There, meeting with water at a temperature
above 32°, the submerged portions melt rapidly, and
the icebergs, by frequently altering their line of flota-
tion, as they decay unequally, assume the fantastic
shapes so frequently depicted in views of Arctic
scenery. It is remarkable that no icebergs were met
with in the western waters of Hayes Sound. This
indicates that there are no discharging glaciers on its
shores. Probably the Prince of Wales Mountains
protect them from the moist south-westerly winds.

1875 LEAVE HAYES SOUND. 73

CHAPTEE V.

RE-ENTER SMITH SOUND — CAUGHT IN THE PACK — ESCAPE — CAPE VIC-
TORIA— FRANKLIN PIERCE BAY — WALRUS — NORMAN LOCKTER ISLAND
CAPE HAWKS — WASHINGTON IRVING ISLAND — DOBBIN BAY — DOG-
SICKNESS — PERILOUS POSITION OF SHIPS — BOUNDING CAPE FRAZER.

Shortly after noon of the 6 th, as soon as Captain
Stephenson and I had returned on board our respec-
tive ships, we made sail with a southerly wind blowing
off the land, and ran back to the eastward out of Hayes
Sound and Buchanan Strait. As we advanced, the
water-channel between Ellesmere Land and the pack
which rested against the south shore of Bache Island
widened considerably, until off Cape Camperdown only
a few patches of detached floe-pieces remained, where
three days previously not a pool of water existed. To
the eastward there was much water with an ice-blink on
the horizon pointing out the position of the main pack.
Arriving off Cape Albert, a great number of icebergs
and heavy pieces of ice were observed, either lying
aground on a bank or collected together by eddy
currents. The wind dying away, steam was raised, and
we advanced quickly to the northward with light hearts,
looking in vain for the channel reported to run between
Capes Albert and Victoria, dividing Bache Island into
two. We satisfied ourselves that no channel exists there.

74 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. August

Skirting the pack, we were led away from the land
to about six miles east of Cape Victoria, but there the
edge trended round to the south-east. By retracing our
course a few miles I could have entered a water-channel
near the shore of Bache Island ; there was also a narrow
but very tempting channel about two miles long leading
directly towards Cape Hawks, with only six or eight
miles of ice, apparently open between it and a large
water-space stretching out from the south shore of
Grinnell Land.

It was now 10 pm., the flood-tide was commencing
and the weather was calm. The pack, lately opened
and driven to the eastward by the westerly wind, was
sure, on the subsidence of the pressure, to work its way
back again and in all probability would close up the
water-channels. The northern sun, shining brightly
and casting a dazzling glimmer on ice and water
alike, rendered it difficult to distinguish the most open
channels ; but with such a prospect of reaching the
mainland few could resist the temptation ; so at the
risk of being beset, I pushed on towards the north
through the pack. But, by the time we had reached
the end of the two-mile channel the ice had closed
everywhere, our retreat was cut off and wre were
caught in the trap.

No choice was left me but to secure each ship in a
notch or bight in the heaviest floe that I could reach,
and wait for a change either favourable or otherwise.
No one of the floes was sufficiently large to permit the
two ships being docked near each other ; neither did I
deem it advisable, surrounded as we were by numerous
icebergs, so to imprison the ships.

1875 CAUGHT IN THE PACK. <0

After seeing them secured in a fairly large pool of
water, I had just entered my cabin when the officer of
the watch following me stated that the ice was closing
in on every side. On reaching the deck I found that
the ' Alert ' was surrounded by the ice and drifting
towards an iceberg only a quarter of a mile distant.

Signalling to Captain Stephenson, 'Take care of
iceberg,' he was able to haul the ' Discovery ' a hundred
yards ahead ; but his ship was then similarly caught in
the pack, and immovable either by manual labour or
by steam power.

Both ships were immediately prepared for a severe
nip ; the rudders and screws were raised, the boats
turned inboard, the yards braced fore and aft, and all
possible precautions taken.

At first the ' Discovery ' was apparently in the
more dangerous position ; but shortly the ice by
wheeling round brought the ' Alert ' directly in the
path of the iceberg, against the side of which the inter-
mediate surface ice was piling itself up as it forced its
way past it. Had the pack consisted of ordinary
ice from four to six feet in thickness, which would have
crumbled up against the side of the berg, the danger
would have been even more imminent, but the great
thickness of the floe to which the ships were secured
proved their safety ; for on its advanced edge reaching
the iceberg, it withstood the strain without splitting and
for the moment checked the main drift of the pack.
Yery shortly afterwards the accumulating pressure in
the rear, exerting its force alternately on either side of
the floe as it hung unequally balanced across the face
of the berg, broke off large pieces, some of them one

70 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Arcrsx

hundred feet in diameter. These being heavy enough
in themselves to withstand a considerable pressure,
became collected in front of the iceberg, and formed as
it were a point of heavy ice sufficiently strong to divide
and split up the floe, and to act as a buffer to fend
off the ship ; this it did in our case most successfully.
As the ship began to heel over with the increasing
pressure, and officers and men working alike had given
the last haul to the screw purchases, and when there
was nothing left for anyone to do but to look on
as calmly as possible waiting for what might happen,
the corner of the floe split off and the ship, amidst a
collection of debris ice, slid past the side of the berg
without damage ; the ' Discovery,' hidden from view
on the other side of the iceberg, reading the signal at
the masthead ' All safe.' The ships were then secured
by ice-anchors to the lee side of the iceberg, where
the faster drift of the surface ice left a small pool.

The next thirty hours were spent in constant
struggles with the pack, the ships being moved from
the shelter of one iceberg to another as circumstances
rendered necessary ; and, owing to the unsteady wind
and the variable tidal currents, we were never quiet
for more than an hour at any one time.

Had I allowed the ships to drift with the ice we
should have been carried to the southward deeper into
the pack ; there was therefore no alternative but to get
up full steam and be prepared to take instant advan-
tage of every change that might occur in our favour.
The ships were seldom separated for long, and now,
as on many other occasions, they assisted each other.
The ' Discovery ' was handled in the most masterly and
daring manner combined with great judgment, qualities

1875 CHRONOMETERS. 77

essential in Arctic navigation. She, as well as the
" Alert,' ran not a few hairbreadth escapes. Once m
particular when in following us through a closing chan-
nel between an iceberg and heavy floe-piece, before
getting quite past the danger she was caught and
nipped against the berg, fortunately without suffering
severely.

Having less beam than the ' Alert,' a finer bow and
an overhanging stem, the ' Discovery ' proved to be best
adapted for forcing her way through the pack. Being
backed some distance astern to allow space for the
debris ice from a former blow to float away, and for
the vessel to attain sufficient distance for the accumu-
lation of momentum with which to strike a second,
when forced ahead at her utmost speed she would
break her way into the ice for a distance of about
twenty feet before the force of the blow was expended.
We found that lloes up to four feet in thickness and in
a soft state, melting not freezing, might be charged
with impunity ; thicker or harder ice had to be left
alone.

It speaks well for our chronometers, and the
manner in which they were secured, that their rates
were little affected by the frequent concussions on this
and on many after occasions.

It must be obvious that the commander of an
Arctic expedition can obtain but little rest during the
navigable season. In ice-navigation one false decision
may imperil the chance of farther advance, he there-
fore can depute his responsibility to no one, but must
be constantly on watch himself. Fortunately for his
health an Arctic season lasts only for from three to
six weeks.

78 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. August

On the morning of the 8th the weather was calm
and the ice appeared inclined to open, but we made
little advance until the ebb-tide commenced about
4 a.m. After a large expenditure of manual labour,
gunpowder, and coal, we succeeded in pushing both
ships into more open ice and, by skirting the large
Hoes as much as possible, we found ourselves at 7 a.m.
in a large pool of water with only one neck of ice
between us and the shore water off Cape Victoria.
On arriving near the barrier I found, to my dismay,
that the floes were closing in as fast as we broke away
a passage. After half an hour's rather anxious work,
the two ships frequently charging together, and the
' Alert's ' rudder-head being sprung when necessarily
going astern full speed, I observed that the points of
a turning floe would probably offer a chance of escape
in another direction. Making a hasty flank movement
we arrived just in time to take advantage of the barrier
when at its weakest, and with one charge together, we
broke our way through and escaped, everyone heartily
glad to be in free water once more with no more seri-
ous damage than sprung rudders. Within half an hour
there was not a single pool of water in the four miles'
breadth of ice through which we had lately struggled.

The pack, fortunately for us, consisted generally of
ice from four to six feet in thickness ; yet there were
many heavier floes which must have been from twelve
to twenty feet thick ; the surface of these consisted of
a series of mottled ice-knolls of a blue colour, the
melted down remains of former hummocks, denoting
great age.

Previous to our departure from England, although

1875 THICKNESS OF ICE. 79

ice of a similar description had frequently been met
with, it was popularly supposed that it was formed only
in protected bays which seldom cleared out. One
Arctic authority asked me to endeavour to place it
beyond a doubt whether it were possible for salt-water
ice to attain more than a mean thickness of seven feet ;
and Dr. Hayes, one of the latest explorers and an un-
doubted authority, was of opinion that ice soon reaches
its maximum thickness by direct freezing ; he states,
indeed, that he had never seen an ice-table formed by
direct freezing that exceeded eighteen feet in thickness.
I was, therefore, naturally astonished to see such large
quantities of heavy ice.

Now that we know that the ice in the Polar Sea is
upwards of eighty and one hundred feet thick, it may
be as well to draw attention to the reports of former
navigators on this subject. Scoresby describes the ice
met with in the Spitsbergen seas as ' consisting of a
single sheet of ice, having its surface raised four or six
feet above the level of the water, and its base depressed
to the depth of ten to twenty feet beneath,' thus mak-
ing it twenty-six feet in thickness. Sir Edward Parry,
in 1820, when he had advanced to the westward of
Cape Hay in Melville Island, and was in fact at the
entrance to the Polar Sea, remarks with astonishment
on the thickness of a piece of a regular floe, wdiich
when measured by Captain Beechey was found to be
forty-two feet.

Sir Eobert M'Clure reports the ice off the mouth of
the Mackenzie River and on the west coast of Banks
Land as drawing from forty to fifty feet water, and
sometimes even seventy- eight feet. All the voyagers to

80 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. August

Behring's Straits report the ice as being from five to six
feet high above water, which would allow it to be at
least thirty feet in total thickness. Admiral Sir
Eichard Collinson mentions having observed a floe
aground in forty-two feet of water. And Dr. Kane met
with ice aground near Eefuge Harbour, Smith Sound,
' more like icebergs than hummocks,' one of which
'rose perpendicularly more than sixty feet.'

On our arriving off Cape Victoria, Princess Marie
Bay was found to be full of one season's ice, evidently
formed there during the previous winter and not yet
disturbed. It was very rotten, and in many places the
surface water-pools, separated by winding passages of
apparently weak ice, had eaten their way through the
iloe to the sea below.

The main pack and the stationary land ice met
each other two miles north of the cape and prevented
our farther advance. The ships were therefore secured
at the floe edge and Commander Markham landed to
ascertain the state of the ice on the opposite side of
the bay. A very thick fog and snowstorm, however,
obliged him and Captain Feilden, who accompanied
him, to return unsuccessful. At Cape Victoria the
cliffs are formed of grey limestone resting on a massive
conglomerate. The few fossils procured there were of
Upper Silurian age.

During the afternoon flood-tide, which set to the
westward into the bay, the pack closed in and the thin
decayed ice, now covered with thick wet snow, became
so pressed together that at one time the ' Alert ' was in
great danger of being forced on shore. Captain
Stephenson keeping farther off shore, was able to force

1875 FRANKLIN PIERCE BAY. 81

a passage for the c Discovery ' into more open water.
As the ebb-tide made, the ice in Princess Marie Bay
commenced to drift to the eastward, and water-channels
opened between the ' Alert ' and the coast of Grinnell
Land ; but the ' Discovery ' being then surrounded by
ice we were delayed for a short time. In crossing the
bay the ice was moving so rapidly that the ' Discovery,'
although within a quarter of a mile of the ' Alert,' was
frequently unable to follow her through the same
channels.

Entering by the western side of Norman Lockyer
Island, both ships were safely secured to the land ice in
Franklin Pierce Bay, on the southern shore of Grinnell
Land, at 10 p.m. The ice in the bay being one season
old and very rotten it denoted that there must have
been clear water along the shore when it was frozen
over the previous autumn. To the eastward the pack
being tight against the coast effectually prevented our
farther advance.

Franklin Pierce Bay would afford fairly protected
winter-quarters, but so far as we could judge there is
little game procurable in the neighbourhood.

At 4 a.m. of the 9th I landed half a mile east of
Cape Harrison accompanied by Captain Feilden and
Dr. Moss. A record was placed in a small cairn erected
on the spur of the limestone hills forming the west
side of Franklin Pierce Bay, two hundred feet above
high-water level.

Observing the ice opening in the direction of Cape
Prescott, the ships steamed out of the bay, passing
between Walrus Shoal and the mainland, but after
clearing the shoal a large level floe prevented any

VOL. I. G

82 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. August

farther progress. The weather was perfectly calm with
a temperature ranging from 32° to 39°.

While securing the ships at the edge of the floe
three walruses were observed lying asleep at a short
distance from us. Commander Markham at once started
in a whale-boat with a harpoon gun ; while another of
the party made a short cut across the floe towards
the animals, with a view of obtaining a shot if they
became frightened and made off before the arrival of
the boat. Beyond occasionally raising their heads and
looking round, they took no notice of our movements
and permitted the boat to approach to within a few
feet of them, when the largest one was easily har-
pooned, and the other two hit by several bullets. The
latter, although they were very severely wounded, dis-
appeared into the water and were never seen again.
The animal harpooned was towed back and hoisted
on to the floe. Its dimensions were, length twelve feet
six inches, girth eleven feet six inches, tusks eighteen
and a half inches in length.

The flesh and blubber when cut up filled five casks
of two hundred and fifty pounds weight each. The
meat when fried was much appreciated by all of us,
and the liver was pronounced to be excellent. The
dogs made a hearty meal off the scraps.

The ice remaining stationary, all hands turned out
in the evening on the smooth floe for a game of foot-
ball, the dogs, poor things, also being landed for a run.
Some of them being harnessed gave the novices an
opportunity of practising the art of sledge-driving.

With each dog pulling in a different direction the
starting was a ludicrous sight, and was seldom effected

1875

DOG -DRIVERS.

83

without the aid of a friend enticing the dogs on with a
piece of meat. After struggling on for about half a
mile they invariably obtained their own way, dragging
their would-be-guiders through many water-pools in
spite of the frequent application of the long hide whip
which, in inexperienced hands, was more frequently
felt by the riders than the dogs.

AMATEUR DOG-DRIVERS.

A sounding was obtained in forty-six fathoms, hard
bottom ; the surface temperature was 32°, the minimum
temperature between the surface and the bottom being
29°*5. During the night, ice formed on all the water-
pools and remained unmelted in shady places during
the day.

In high latitudes, during the summer, owing to the
height of the sun above the northern horizon, the
temperature does not fall much at midnight. Conse-
quently the young ice does not form so early in the

G 2

84 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. August

season as it does in Melville Bay and other southern
positions; but when once it begins to form, the sun
being lower at noon it does not thaw so readily during
the day.

The weather Was provokingly calm during the 10th
with light rain falling. In our neighbourhood the ice
remained perfectly still, although in the offing it was ob-
served to be moving with the tidal currents. A second
walrus was harpooned, which gave seven more casks
of meat and insured the dogs being well fed for some
time to come. During the enforced delay an oppor-
tunity was taken to obtain a haul with the dredge and
trawl along the bottom, in a depth of thirteen fathoms,
which proved to be rich in animal life. Five or six
species of fish were obtained : nine or ten species of
Mollusca ; Echinodermata were very numerous, and the
meshes of the trawl entangled many Comaiulce {Ante-
don Eschrichtii). These beautiful crinoids, closing and
opening their pinnules when exposed to the atmosphere,
reminded us of sensitive plants ; Echinus drobachiensis
was most abundant. The tangles came up perfectly
covered, and it required numerous pairs of scissors
and many willing hands to clear them previous to
each descent of the dredge. The variety and richness
of the captures made us regret that the ever-pressing
necessity of advancing northward whenever an opening
in the ice admitted, prevented us from using the dredge
more frequently.

On the 11th the upper clouds were passing from the
N.W., but situated as we were under the lofty cliffs of
Cape Prescott, the weather was perfectly calm with fog
and a light rain. As we expected that calm weather,

1875 NORMAN LOCKYEE ISLAND. 85

combined with tidal movement, would have opened
the ice, the delay in our advance was tantalizing ; and
with a few the ' social barometer ' commenced to fall
rapidly. I landed with an exploring party on Norman
Lockyer Island to obtain a view of the ice in the off-
ing. It was with great difficulty that we forced a
passage for the boat through the young ice which had
formed in sheltered places during the few previous
nights.

The low part of the island, for some 300 feet above
the present sea-level, is a succession of raised beaches,
rising about twenty feet one above the other. The
rock, like the mainland, is a compact grey Silurian
limestone. On the summit, about 900 feet high, the
whole surface of the exposed rock is marked with ice-
scratchings in a north and south direction.

Many ancient Eskimo traces were found near the
beach with great quantities of decayed seal and walrus
bones ; they were particularly plentiful near two small
freshwater ponds situated a short distance from the
beach.

Before we left the summit the fog lifted sufficiently
to enable me to obtain a few bearings. Princess Marie
Bay was observed to be half clear of ice, and there
was a large pool of water off Cape Victoria, but none
towards the N.E. in the direction of Cape Hawks.
In the offing there was nothing to be seen but ice. A
record was left in a cairn on the summit of the island.
A few broods of eider ducks were feeding in the
shallow water between the island and Walrus Shoal,
the young birds being unable to fly. Three eider ducks,
three dovekies, and an Arctic tern were ' shot. On

I

8G VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Augus

the island a few eider ducks' nests were found con-
taining eggs still unhatched.

At 8 p.m., soon after high- water, the ice began to
set slowly to the southward, and shortly before mid-
night it opened sufficiently to induce me to make a
push towards the east. We succeeded in advancing
about half a mile, when the ice closed with the return-
ing Hood-tide and obliged me to secure the ships in a
very exposed position, one mile distant from the land,
which was hidden from our view by a thick fog. As
the flood-tide increased in strength each ship was
slightly nipped.

On the ice easing at high- water, observing that a
crack was inclined to open, I telegraphed to Captain
Stephenson to prepare to start ; but the ' Discovery's '
rudder was found disabled, and before I could move
the ' Alert ' to take her in tow the ice became stationary
again, without having opened a channel. Fortunately the
damage to the rudder was slight and quickly repaired.
At 3 P.M., the fog having cleared off, we had the
satisfaction of perceiving that although the tide was
flowing, the ice in the offing was moving to the south-
ward, which denoted an offshore wind.

At 5.30 pm. a water-channel opened and per-
mitted us to advance by keeping close to the land.
The cliffs rose to a height of 1,500 feet; the upper
parts being precipitous with a narrow-based talus
extending from the water's edge to about 250 feet
up their front. Eastward of Cape d'Urville we crossed
a large bay, which was named after Professor G. J.
Allman, F.K.S., President of the Linnean Society. At
its head was a magnificent glacier reaching to within

1875

EVANS GLACIER.

87

about a mile of the
sea, named after Mr.
John Evans, F.E.S.,
the President of the
Geological society.

Cape Hawks,
forming the west
point of Dobbin Bay,
is a specially fine head-
land rising to a height
of 1,400 feet. As we
rounded it the wea-
ther was extraordi-
narily calm, and every
detail of the rich
brown of the rocky
cliffs was purely re-
flected in the now
broad water-channel,
the substance and re-
flection being pictu-
resquely divided by
the white horizontal
belt formed by the
ice-foot at its base.
It was justly com-
parable to the Eock
of Gibraltar. Such
was the smoothness
of the water that Lieu-
tenant May obtained
an excellent meridian

58 VOYAGE TO THE 1'olai; SEA. August

altitude of the sun below the Pole at midnight by
using the reflected sun in the sea.

After passing through the channel between Wash-
ington Irving Island and Cape Hawks a large quantity
of ice and many small icebergs were met drifting with
the ebb-tide to the southward at the rate of about one
and a half miles an hour. Larger floes nipping against
Cape Schott and the east coast of the island prevented
our progress and obliged me to secure the ships to
some icebergs which were lying aground, about a
quarter of a mile from the shore, in thirty-two fathoms
water. I had intended placing our second large depot
of three thousand rations, for use in the event of a
compulsory retreat without our ships, on the island,
but the passing ice prevented our doing so without
endangering the boats. Accordingly a small protected
bay two miles north of Cape Hawks was chosen.
There the depot and a boat were landed while a party
visited the island to deposit a notice and obtain a view
to the eastward.

On reaching the summit, about 900 feet high,
after a laborious scramble up the steep hill-side, we
found two ancient cairns far too old to have been
erected by Dr. Hayes, the only traveller known to
have visited the neighbourhood. They were built of
conglomerate and rested on a similar base, which in
one case had become undermined by the natural crum-
bling away of the rock, and in. doing so had destroyed
a part of the cairn. Lichens which had spread from
stone to stone also proved that they were of great age.
They contained no records whatever. From our look-
out the only water in sight was in Dobbin Bay with an

1875 DOBBIN BAY. 89

intermediate barrier of ice. To the N.E. the ice was
close everywhere, but here and there in the pack a
few disconnected pools of water were kept open near
the slowly drifting icebergs. On Cape Hawks the
recent traces of a musk-ox or reindeer were observed.
We could find only the very smallest traces of vegeta-
tion ; indeed, any but an enthusiastic botanist would
call the country perfectly barren.

On again ascending the island at 7 a.m. I found that
the channel by which we had advanced was tightly
closed. Not a pool of water was to be seen in that
direction ; but to the northward the ice was fairly open
with only a few narrow necks of ice preventing our
reaching Prince Imperial Island. During the forenoon,
as the ice in the bay was set by the ebb-tide to the
southward, a party was sent to clear away these necks
by blasting. Steaming up just before the tide turned,
we succeeded in forcing our way through and crossed
the bay without much trouble. On arriving at the east
side a large one season's floe was found pressing against
the land near Cape Hilgard. By cutting docks into its
northern edge the ships were secured about one mile
S.E. of Prince Imperial Island and the same distance
from the mainland. Several exploring parties im-
mediately landed, reporting on their return that traces
of hares and ptarmigan and a richer vegetation than
usual had been met with in the valleys.

On each side of the bay precipitous hills, rising
about 1,200 feet, and the very conspicuously coloured
strati lication, at an uniform incline of 20°, dipping to-
wards the N.W., bear the most striking resemblance
to each other. The intermediate area appears to have

90 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. August

been cut away by an old glacier, which has exposed
the correspondence in the stratification of the cliffs
on either side. At the head of the bay the snow-
clad mountains rise to a height of from 3,000 to
4,000 feet. The intervening valleys contain glaciers
in the higher parts, and one of great size extends to
the sea, where it discharges numerous icebergs, a long
string of which were waiting the breaking up of the
last winter's ice, then filling up the bay, to drift out to
sea. The fixed ice extended from Prince Imperial
Island to Cape Schott. Except in the small neighbour-
ing bay near Cape Napoleon, this was the last fixed ice,
left unbroken by the advancing season, which we met,
and doubtless it drifted out of the bay a few days after-
wards. The discharging glacier at the head of the
bay, the largest on the west shore of Smith Sound, was
named after the Empress Eugenie, who had shown a
great personal interest in the Expedition.

During the night of the 13th the ice was pressed
up with great violence against Cape Hilgard, raising
a new pile of hummocks twenty feet high on the ice-
foot at the base of the cliffs.

There being no prospect of our making an immediate
advance, and wishing to ascertain what the ice was
doing off Cape Napoleon, I started, with Feilden and
Aldrich and two men dragging the dingy on a five-man
sledge with one day's provisions, over the ice, the pools
on the surface of which were frozen over hard enough
to bear in most places. Dr. Coppinger, Eawson, and
Mr. Hart, with some men, joined the party from the
' Discovery.'

On reaching Cape Hilgard we found a pool of

1875 CAPE HILGAKD. (Jl

water a quarter of a mile broad across which we were
obliged to ferry, our numbers necessitating three trips
with the small boat. We then sledged along the fairly
level-topped ice-foot until we came to the pitch of the
cape, where the piles of hummocks, pressed up the
previous night, prevented our getting on with the
sledge except at a great sacrifice of time.

In the bay west of Cape Napoleon a small land floe
was still left, kept in its position by some grounded
icebergs, and I found that if I could force the ships
past the nip, near their present position, there was
nothing else to prevent our advancing with the next
ebb-tide.

The raised beaches in the bay between Capes Hil-
gard and Napoleon, formed of limestone debris replete
with fossils, were very marked and evidently corre-
sponded with those on Norman Lockyer Island. A
fine glacier was visited in a valley on the east side of
the bay some two and a half miles from the sea. No
game of any sort was met with, and the country gene-
rally was as bare of vegetation as any I have ever come
across. Feilden obtained a considerable collection of
geological specimens of Upper Silurian age. Dr. Moss
and Lieut. May succeeded in shooting six ptarmigan
and one hare near the ship. Three dovekies were also
shot out of those feeding in the salt-water.

6n the 15th, observing that the water-pool near
Cape Hilgard remained free of ice, all hands were em-
ployed in endeavouring to clear away the intermediate
ice resting against the shore ; but as fast as it was re-
moved the pressure from outside forced in the floe. When
the flood-tide made in the afternoon the ice was quieter,

92 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. August

and on a iiumber of charges of powder being exploded
simultaneously a narrow passage was opened alongshore ;
but so quick was it in closing that after the ' Alert ' had
passed through safely, the ' Discovery ' scraped along the
bottom and for a few moments caused us much anxiety
owing to the dread that the ice would force her up
on the shore. As we advanced out of the bay the ice
was more open and we rounded Cape Louis Napoleon
in a navigable channel half a mile broad.

The pack outside us consisted of very heavy floes
closely pressed together, with the edges of each field
well defined by a hedge-like line of pressed-up ice.
Many icebergs were in the pack : a few grounded here
and there alongshore near Cape Frazer now afforded
our only chance of shelter should the ice force its
way in towards the shore.

Advancing quickly during the 16th with calm
weather, a neck of ice checked us for an hour at 1 a.m :
but on the ebb-tide gaining strength it opened a narrow
channel, and we proceeded, fighting our way along-
shore, until we had arrived, at 6.30 a.m., within a mile
of Cape Hayes. At that point we were completely
stopped in consequence of the flood-tide having carried
the pack in against the land.

The ' Alert ' was then secured inside an iceberg
aground in thirty fathoms ; but as there was not room
for both ships, the 'Discovery' was forced to retreat
about a mile to the westward, where she succeeded in
sheltering herself to a slight extent behind and inshore
of three small bergs.

Shortly afterwards the pack was forced in and we
were completely surrounded. With the boats turned

1875 GOULD BAY. 93

inboard and everything ready for a nip, the ships were
left entirely dependent on the icebergs for shelter
against direct pressure ; but any floe moving alongshore,
small enough to pass between the icebergs and the
land must necessarily have carried off the ship with it
as it forced its way past.

Wishing to see what protection was to be expected
near Cape Frazer, Commander Markham, Feilden, and
I landed during the flood-tide, during which it was
impossible for the ice to open unless assisted by a fresh
wind, and walked three miles along the shore to the
northward. I found Gould Bay full of pack ice with
no protection whatever except what some grounded
icebergs might happen to afford. We obtained a few
fossils from the tains which fronts the cliffs to a height
of about 200 feet. Two ivory gulls were flying about
the cliffs, probably near their nests ; and on the ice-
foot we observed the tracks of a bear.

With the afternoon ebb-tide the ice eased off
slightly. There being no prospect of our rounding
Cape Frazer for the present, and the icebergs having
afforded very poor protection, I decided to secure the
ships to a large floe about a mile to the westward,
which by resting against two large icebergs was held
nearly stationary.

After waiting a short time while the ' Discovery '
was effecting her escape, we succeeded in reaching the
floe and tried to cut docks. The saws, however, proved
to be quite powerless to cut through the ice, which was
from twelve to twenty feet in thickness and heavily
tongued to an unknown depth beneath.

I therefore secured the ships in a bight in the edge

94 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. August

of the floe as well prepared as circumstances permitted
for whatever might happen.

In the event of the ice separating the ships, Captain
Stephenson was ordered to rendezvous in Dobbin Bay.

The weather being calm and the atmosphere clear,
the sun was extremely powerful during the middle of
the day, the temperature rising from 31° at night to
39° at noon. Mount Cary, the highest mountain
on the south shore of Hayes Sound, was observed
seventy miles distant covered with snow and ice.

About this time the dogs on board the ' Discovery '
showed the first signs of disease, owing probably to
close confinement, wet decks, and want of natural
exercise. Fits were frequent, and a few deaths oc-
curred after symptoms of madness. Doctor Colan and
Doctor Ninnis took great trouble to discover the nature
of the disease and to arrest it. It was evident that this
alarming and very often fatal malady could not be true
rabies or hydrophobia, for in several instances the
affected dogs recovered.

Although the weather was calm during the 17th
and the following day, the pack had a general tendency
to drift towards the south-west at the rate of about
five miles a day, moving fast with the ebb-tide and
remaining at rest during the flood. In consequence of
the floe to which we were attached being held sta-
tionary the moving pack outside ground its way past,
tearing off the exposed corners in a very alarming
manner. The dividing line between the fixed and
the moving ice was distinctly marked by a hedge-like
line of newly raised ice-hummocks, at least twenty feet
in height.

1875 RETREAT. 95

As the exposed parts of the border of our floe were
broken up one after another the line of nip was
steadily but surely nearing us ; but as the same kind of
terrific combat was going on a quarter of a mile to the
southward, on the other side of the ships, it was un-
wise to move sooner than we were compelled to.

This was the first time the ice-quartermasters — ex-
perienced men in the ice-navigation of Baffin's Bay —
realized the vast thickness and power of the Polar ice
as compared with that with which they had hitherto
been acquainted. The closing together of two Polar
floes upwards of fifty feet in thickness may be appro-
priately compared to the closing of the two sides of a
dry dock on the doomed vessel.

As the position of the nip advanced so the two
ships gradually retreated before it, losing, much to the
regret of all, a portion of our hard-won advance
towards the north. By the evening of the 18th we
had been forced back into a small pool of water close
to the two grounded icebergs, against which our floe
was resting with the outside pack nipping against the
whole length of its outer edge in anything but a re-
assuring manner.

The water-pool in which the two ships floated was
steadily contracted in size, until at last it became so
small that had a nip occurred both must have been
destroyed at the same moment. Although the greatest
danger was imminent, entrapped as we were, our
anxiety was lessened by the knowledge that as human
beings we were powerless, and must leave the result to
Providence. About midnight when, in endeavouring
to keep the ships as far apart as possible, the ' Alert's '

98 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. August

bowsprit was projecting beyond the side of one of the
icebergs, the closing in of the outer ice ceased. Shortly
afterwards it began to ease off, and at half-past twelve
the water-pool had grown so large that I gave the order
to raise steam and ship the rudders and screws — heartily
glad of a chance to escape from our exposed situation.
The ice continuing to open to the westward, the ships
were moved about a mile in that direction and seemed
in a more protected position inshore of three very
large grounded icebergs, where, although we had lost
ground, we were equally ready to start as soon as an
opportunity occurred to pass Cape Frazer.

In endeavouring to connect the 'Alert's' screw
some of the ice collected in the screw-well prevented
its being lowered to the right depth ; consequently
the ' Discovery,' whose screw gave less trouble, towed
us to our new position.

After the ships were secured, a party of officers
landed, keeping within sight of a recall. The young
ice in all the protected positions had increased in
thickness so much that we had great difficulty in
forcing a passage through it for the boat.

I ascended 2,000 feet up the side of Mount Joy,
and, the atmosphere being clear, obtained a fine
view of the heavy line of icebergs lying apparently
aground in Peabody Bay fronting the Humboldt Glacier.
In their neighbourhood there were many wrater-pools.

The summit of the ice-cap on Washington Land,
dividing the Humboldt and Petermann Glaciers, eighty
miles distant, and estimated as being 6,000 feet
high, was conspicuous, presenting a decided peak with
the sides sloping down at an incline of not more than
two or three degrees.

1875 PASS CAPE FEAZER 97

As I started to descend, I observed that at the last
of the flood-tide the ice near the shore showed signs of
opening. Expecting this to continue with the ebb, I
hurried down and signalled the ships to start, getting
up steam as they advanced under sail.

When the steam was ready the water-channels had
opened considerably, and by pushing out into the pack
for about two miles we entered a channel that led us
to the shore again a little north of Cape Frazer.

This cape, where the Polar and Baffin's Bay tides
meet, had long been considered one of the most difficult
points to pass. On rounding it a fortnight before the
end of the navigable season we were all raised to the
highest state of hope and expectation.

VOL. I. h

98 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. August

CHAPTER VI.

CAPE JOHN BAEEOW — CAPE COLLINSON OPEN WATEE — CAPE CONSTI-
TUTION BESSELS BAT — DISCOVEEY HAEBOUE — MUSK-OXEN — SHIPS

PAET COMPANY — CAPE BEECHET — IN THE PACK — PEEILOUS PO-
SITION— ESCAPE — CAPE UNION.

During the 19th, the water-channel along shore, about
a quarter of a mile in breadth, remained open so long
as the ebb-tide lasted, the pack outside drifting to the
southward at an estimated rate of one and a-half
miles an hour. At 8 p.m., about the time of low- water,
a large floe threatened to block up the water-space, but
after a short delay the passage cleared and by 9.15 p.m.,
we had arrived within two miles of Cape John Barrow.
There the ice prevented farther progress, so the ships
were secured to a floe locked in behind three large
icebergs, lying aground in twenty-two fathoms of
water, and affording protection against the pack.

Although the flood-tide had commenced, the ice
continued to drift towards the southward, proving that
we had passed the neighbourhood where the two
ocean tides meet. While I was taking a short rest,
Commander Markham landed and ascended Cape John
Barrow to watch the movements of the ice. Captain
Feilden and two men accompanied him, and as the
movements of the ice were uncertain, they dragged

1875

CAPE JOHN BARROW.

99

the dingy with them.
At this time of the
season the young ice
covering the pools on
the floe was suffi-
ciently strong to bear
the weight of a man.
On Markham ascend-
ing the cape to a height
of several hundred feet,
he observed much open
water to the northward
and along the shore,
and as there was every
probability of the ship
being able to force her
way into it, he ran
back to the boat, much
to Feilden's disappoint-
ment.

The latter had
found an interesting
stratum of limestone
replete with fossils, and
although as anxious
as anyone to advance
quickly to the north-
ward, and knowing
how important every
moment was in ice-
navigation, he yet man-
fully stuck to his prizes.

H 2

100 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. August

Amid Markham's repeated calls to hasten, he descended
the hill, and scrambled over the ice with his load, even-
tually getting the specimens on board. By the time they
had reached the beach the fickle ice had closed in again,
and gave them much trouble to haul the boat between,
and sometimes over, the newly forming hummocks.

On observing the ice myself I considered its move-
ment so very uncertain as it drifted south that I
decided to wait for high-water before starting, hoping
that the ebb tidal current would then open up a
decidedly clear water-channel. In this I was not disap-
pointed, for on the 20th at 1.15 a.m., about an hour
before high- water, I was able to proceed slowly north-
wards threading our way through the pack. On
nearing Cape Norton Shaw the ice opened out from
the shore as quickly as it had closed in the previous
evening and left several channels for our selection ;
a very decided and agreeable change in the navigation
to what we had experienced since entering the ice oft
Victoria Head, now left about sixty miles behind.

As we passed the large opening forming Scoresby
Bay, the distant shore at the bottom of the bay was so
shrouded in mist that we were unable to ascertain
with certainty the size of the inlet ; it contained much
ice with a large water-pool along its northern shore.

The pack being well open ahead, I left the crow's
nest for a short time, pointing out to the ice-quarter-
master who took my place a perfectly clear and opening
channel. On returning within a quarter of an hour,
I found the channel which we had entered not only
closing fast but our line of retreat cut off, although
on either side other channels were opening. How-

1875 CAPE COLLINSON. 101

ever, after a delay of about half an hour, the 'Discovery '
broke a way for us through the moving pack and we
were enabled to proceed. In this neighbourhood we
had great difficulty in recognizing the land by the
chart. According to latitude, Cape Frazer was more
than ten miles out of position, and Scoresby Bay six-
teen. I have retained these names, as given by Dr.
Kane and Dr. Hayes, and published by the United
States Hydrographic Office on the chart, without regard
to the necessary change in latitude, but at the northern
extremity of Kennedy Channel I have kept the names
given by Dr. Hayes in the latitudes he adopted.

Arriving at Cape Collin son, I found that a large
iceberg, aground two miles distant from the land, had
locked in a floe which reached from the south point of
Eichardson Bay to Cape Collinson. The northern edge
of this floe received the whole pressure of the ice
drifting to the southward on the western side of
Kennedy Channel, and prevented our advance unless I
took the ships off into the middle of the strait. 0 wing-
to the risk of drifting to the southward if beset, I
secured the ships at the southern edge of the stationary
floe, in a pool of water near to the iceberg.

To the northward the ice pressing against the
southern shore of Eichardson Bay was closely packed,
but in the offing it was more open although it could
scarcely be deemed navigable. It set to the southward
during the flood and part of the ebb-tide ; for four
hours of the latter it remained stationary. As there
had been no wind, so far as we knew, to influence it
for several days, this may probably be taken as the
normal state of the current. The ice drifted about

102 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. August

five miles each tide, making ten miles a day, and thus
gave ns the pleasing prospect of meeting more open
water as we advanced north. It also rendered it
certain that Eobeson Channel communicated with the
Polar Sea. We observed that the ice had been forced
high up on the shore on the northern side of Cape
Collinson, but the southern face of the cape presented
no appearance of severe pressure.

During our enforced delay a small depot of 240
rations was landed on Cape Collinson about one
hundred yards inshore and thirty feet above the water-
line. These provisions have not since been disturbed.
During winter they will be deeply buried in snow, and
probably the mark placed over them will have broken
down. The opportunity was taken of letting down
the dredge in seventy fathoms, and some additional
animal forms were added to our list of captures.
The tracks of a bear and the recent footprints of a
hare were seen, but the gloomy weather, with light
snow falling, rendered the land specially desolate in
appearance. In the event of the two ships parting
company Captain Stephenson was ordered to rendez-
vous at Carl Eitter Bay.

At 4 a.m., of the 21st, I determined to try and
advance north through the pack in the offing, but, on
getting two miles from the land, the channels led us so
much towards the south that I returned to the position
we had lately left. We then tried to unlock the
land-ice from the iceberg with the hope of releasing
the ice to the northward, but it is probably fortunate
that we did not succeed, as the berg alone was too
small to afford protection to both ships. In the

1875 KENNEDY CHANNEL. 108

evening the wind having freshened from the north-
ward with a heavy snowstorm, the temperature being
27°, Captain Stephenson and I decided to make
another push for the water which was in sight in the
middle of the strait. Accordingly at 9 p.m., nearly
the time of low-water, we started under steam and
sails, and after an hour's severe struggle succeeded in
forcing our way through the closest part of the pack.
When six miles from the land we entered water suffi-
ciently open to let us choose our own course. Naturally
everyone was in the best possible spirits at our im-
proved prospects ; and hopes were entertained by a few,
that having passed the meeting place of the northern and
southern tides, a sea comparatively clear of ice would
be found to the northward. Arriving in mid-channel,
the wind was blowing so strong directly down the
strait that in order to make any progress we w^ere
obliged to work the ships to windward under fore and
aft sails, the ice compelling us to make short boards,
but by tacking as the leads were observed to favour us
we made good way.

The edges of the noes around showed signs of
having been lately exposed to a much heavier sea
than we were then experiencing, large fragments of
well washed debris ice, rounded by attrition, having
been thrown up on the edges of the floes like pebbles
on to a beach.

During the 22nd, as we advanced up the channel,
there appeared to be less ice on the western than on
the eastern shore. Unfortunately the misty weather
prevented our obtaining a good view of the hill-tops.

By noon we were fairly in Kennedy Channel and

104

VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA.

August

met with apparently a similar
extent of open water to that
seen by Mr. Morton of Kane's
Expedition in the same lo-
cality. Morton's description
of Cape Constitution, with the
relative positions of Franklin
and Crozier Islands, rendered
it easy to recognize the spot
where his remarkable journey
from Eensselaer Harbour ter-
minated in June 1854.

Though our later experi-
ences show that this open
water is caused by the rapidity
of the tidal movements in a
comparatively narrow channel
connecting two large basins,
yet at the time Dr. Kane
wrote, with the incomplete
data at his command, he had
fair reason to believe in the
existence of a very consider-
able extent of open sea. In
justice to the memory of that
distinguished Arctic explorer,
I extract the following from
his volumes, where he re-
views Morton's journey, and
compares with his discoveries
the reported open waters and
seas of other Arctic voyagers :

1875 MORTON'S OPEN WATER. 105

' All these illusory discoveries were no doubt chronicled
with perfect integrity ; and it may seem to others, as
since I have left the field it sometimes does to my-
self, that my own, though on a larger scale, may one
day pass within the same category.'

It not unfrequently falls to the lot of the traveller
to invalidate some of the conclusions of his predecessors
who may not have enjoyed similar opportunities of
observation as himself, but it is equally his duty to
render to those who went before him, the credit when
due, of having given in perfect good faith the result of
their investigations.

In the evening when the two ships were abreast of
Cape Constitution, the wind lulling we took in the fore
and aft sails, and steered onward through the most
open channels, passing to the westward of Franklin
Island. By midnight we were abreast of Hans Island
with perfectly clear water along the eastern land about
John Brown Coast, but streams of ice prevented our
approaching the western shore. Hans Island rises on
its southern face to a cliff about 500 feet high ; both it
and Franklin Island showed signs of great pressure
against their northern points, the ice having been piled
up to a height of fifty or sixty feet, while the southern
shores were free.

The land about Cape Andrew Jackson is bluff but
comparatively low, and sinks as it trends to the east-
ward in the direction of the Humboldt Glacier, the
position of which was very conspicuously marked by a
strong ice-blink as the sun reached its lowest declina-
tion. From Cape Andrew Jackson to Cape Constitu-
tion the coast of Washington Land gradually rises,

106 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Attgubt

culminating at the last-named point, and from thence
gently sinking towards Cape Bryan. The whole of the
coast-line presents an almost precipitous cliff rising to
a height of at least 1,000 feet. No deep fiords cut
through this long line of cliffs, Lafayette Bay being
the only striking indentation, and it does not run far
inland. On the western side of Kennedy Channel
the noble Victoria and Albert Mountains rear their
snow-clad peaks to a height of over 5,000 feet in a
series of isolated cone-shaped hills. Judging by the
eye, the loftiest portion of this range appears to lie to
the south-west of Scoresby Bay, the mountains gradu-
ally diminishing in height towards the head of Lady
Franklin Sound.

Throughout the day we could not cease wondering
why the strong current from the north did not bring
down ice to fill up the open water through which we
were racing. We were also struck with the paucity of
animal life in this region ; during the previous twenty-
four hours only one seal and about a dozen dovekies
were observed, whilst not a single gull or loom was
noticed : this is somewhat remarkable if Kennedy
Channel remains continuously open during the
summer.

At 4 a.m., of the 23rd, steering N.E. by N., the
high land about Cape Lupton near Polaris Bay was
sighted, distant about fifty miles ; the land to the east-
ward being below the horizon presented the appear-
ance of a channel leading to Newman Bay.

On nearing Hall Basin with a southerly wind, ice
was observed stretching across from Cape Lieber to
Joe Island, with a collection of stream-ice extending

1875

BESSELS BAY.

107

out for three miles
from the land on
the western shore
of Kennedy Chan-
nel. After an in-
effectual attempt to
reach a small bay
south of Cape De-
fosse, the ice-streams
being heavy and
moving quickly to
the northward with
the southerly wind
and ebb-tide, I
steered for Cape
Morton to see
whether there were
a lead to the north-
ward on that side
of the channel. For-
tunately as it turned
out afterwards, the
entrance to Peter-
mann Fiord was
completely closed.
Being thus debarred
from advancing
along the eastern
coast, I left the
' Discovery ' to land
a travelling depot
of 240 rations at

1.08 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. August

Cape Morton, and took the ' Alert ' back to Hannah
Island, where we had noticed a fairly protected anchor-
age, On arriving off its entrance we shortened sail
and came to anchor in eight fathoms on a shallow
bank extending to the eastward of the island. Nearer
to the mainland there must be a deeper channel
through which the icebergs formed in Bessels Bay
escape to seaward. The precipitous cliffs on either
shore of the bay are cased in a mer de glace from
which glaciers push their way down each ravine into
the sea, and there discharge their icebergs. This bay
therefore contains a vast assemblage of bergs, and
many lie aground on the shallows near its mouth.
The tide ran with great rapidity over the shallow
bank, and we were obliged to keep our cables ready
for slipping in the event of any heavy piece of ice
being driven against us.

The ' Discovery ' anchored near us in the evening,
having accomplished the task of landing a depot.
Hannah Island was visited and a cask containing a
notice was placed on the summit of the island, a
second notice being placed twenty feet magnetic north
of the cairn. From this position the difference between
the eastern and western shores of Kennedy Channel
was very striking. The summits of the Greenland
hills were buried beneath a nearly level ice-cap, with
each ravine extending from the shore completely filled
by a glacier ; on the other hand, the mountains of
Grinnell Land appeared to be entirely devoid of ice,
their tops only being snow-covered, while the lower
valleys were bared except in sheltered spots where a

1875 VIEW FROM HANNAH ISLAND. 109

few patches of unmelted snow still remained. On the
one side the scenery was monotonous and dreary in the
extreme, on the other the many bright hues of the
stratified rocks varying from black to carmine shades,
and wreathed with patches of snow, looked warm and
cheerful by contrast. The valleys devoid of snow gave
promise of vegetation, and held forth visions of game.
Our finding in these latitudes any land uncovered by
ice or snow brought back to me remembrances of
Melville Island, and its abundant supplies of animal
life. It was, perhaps, the joyful feelings growing out
of our late success in gaining the more open water of
Kennedy Channel that gave birth to these highly
coloured reflections, for on a nearer approach to this
Grinnell Land shore the following year, the same
country appeared to our then more experienced and
critical eyes desolate in the extreme.

From the summit of Hannah Island, some 120 feet
above high-water mark, I observed the loose ice we had
met in Kennedy Channel driving to the northward
before a strong southerly wind, and adding to the pack
accumulated in Hall Basin, thus giving us but a poor
prospect of an immediate advance. The weather being
clear we obtained from Hannah Island our first sight of
Grant Land, north of Cape Lieber.

It was low- water at Bessels Bay at 10.40 p.m. ; the
ebb tidal current ceased at 10 p.m. ; at 11 p.m. the
flood -tide was setting in to the bay with sufficient
strength to swing the ships broadside to the wind. In
the water round us bird life was abundant, dozens of
dovekies nested in the steep limestone cliffs and were

110 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. August

constantly flying from the sea with fish in their bills ;
ninny broods of eider ducks following their mothers
were noticed, and several seals. The dredge was let
down in eight fathoms ; it came up filled with lime-
stone pebbles, doubtless shed from the bergs ; two or
three examples of Trochus clinging to Laminaria, an
Astarte, a starfish, and a couple of annelids were all
the animals obtained. A few Silurian fossils were col-
lected from the massive limestone cliffs that flank
the bay.

At 4 a.m., of the 24th, the officer of the watch
reported that the southerly wind in the channel was
dying away, and hoping that a lead might open near
Cape Lieber, I landed and ascended Cape Morton,
accompanied by Thomas Eawlings, first-class petty
officer, to inspect the condition of the ice. After a
very severe climb up the steep sides to the summit of
the coast ridge, a height of 2,000 feet, we were amply
repaid for our labour and loss of breakfast by the
grandeur of the view.

It was a beautiful morning with scarcely a cloud
in the sky, the cold sharp wind which had benumbed
us at the sea-level was local, for on the summit of the
cape it was perfectly calm, and I was able to work
without gloves though the temperature was down to
20°. After #a quarter of an hour spent in taking
bearings, the warmth engendered by our rapid ascent
passed off, and our clamp underclothing proved any-
thing but agreeable ; we were glad enough to put on
our warm jackets which we had at first discarded.
The panorama was certainly superb. Sixty miles
distant in the S.W., were the Victoria and Albert

1875 VIEW FROM CAPE MORTON. Ill

Mountains of Grinnell Land, fronted by Hans Island
showing clear of Cape Bryan, which had Hannah
Island nestling at its base. Farther north was the
lofty spur from the main range, which rising between
Archer Fiord and Kennedy Channel, forms Daly Pro-
montory, named after the learned President of the
United States Geographical Society. Fronting these
mountains and apparently separated from them by an
extensive valley extending to the northward from
Carl Eitter Bay, was the black buttress- shaped cliff
formiDg Cape Back, the southern extreme of a nearly
straight-running line of flat-topped coast hills ex-
tending for twenty miles to Cape Defosse. From that
point the coast land became more hilly and joining
the Daly Mountains extended to Cape Lieber, a bluff
headland, with Cape Baird a low flat point, jutting out
beyond it. Still farther north were the elevated
mountains of Grant Land, with the steep cliffs about
Cape Union, though seventy miles distant, distinctly
visible, forming the western extreme of Eobeson
Channel. Nearly due north a slight break in the
continuity of the land showed where Eobeson Channel
opened into the Polar Sea. On the eastern side of
the strait at a distance of forty miles, Cape Lupton,
a notable landmark, terminated Polaris Promontory;
then came Polaris Bay, with the low plains leading to
Newman Bay. At my feet lay Cape Tyson, and Cape
Mary Cleverley, on the northern shore of Petermann
Fiord, rising to an elevation of 1,500 feet.

The southerly wind had left fairly open ice in
Kennedy Channel between our position and Cape
Lieber, with a large space of open water in Lady

V

112 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. August

Franklin Sound. Eobeson Channel, Polaris Bay, and
the entrance to Petermann Fiord were closely packed,
though a few pools of water could be seen stretching
in a disconnected line between Cape Beechey and
Cape Lupton.

Offley Island, at the north-western entrance of
Petermann Fiord, being within reasonable proximity
of the localities where the « Polaris ' Expedition pro-
cured their supplies of musk-oxen, had been looked
upon by me as likely to afford good winter-quarters
for the ' Discovery,' although the disadvantage of its
being on the eastern side of the channel was very
great ; but now the condition of the ice preventing
any approach to Offley Island left me no option but to
take both ships to the western shore.

Hurrying to the boat, the ships were signalled to
get under weigh, and I rejoined them as they were
leaving Bessels Bay. We ran quickly across the channel
under sail, experiencing little trouble with the ice until
off Cape Lieber, where the edge of the pack led us
round towards the north shore of Lady Franklin Sound.
On a nearer approach we discovered a large and well
protected bay, inside of an island the outer point of
which formed Cape Bellot. There the ships were
secured close to the shore at 2 a.m. of the morning of
the 25th. Lady Franklin Sound, with its grand pre-
cipitous cliffs, which we hoped would prove to be a
channel leading to a western sea, appeared, to our
regret, to be considerably narrower than it was depicted
on the chart.

I at once saw the value of the harbour we had
attained as a wintering place for the ' Discovery,' but

1875 LADY FRANKLIN SOUND. 113

in consequence of the quantity of newly fallen snow
lying on the ground, the neighbourhood presented so
desolate an appearance that we could not but com-
passionate her crew having to spend a year, if not
longer, in such a place.

Our crossing from Bessels Bay to the western shore
had given an opportunity for a joke about the musk-
ox grounds having been left behind ; but it was destined
to be short-lived, for on entering the harbour, Dr. Moss,

HEAD OF MUSK-OX.

always on the look-out for game, espied a herd of musk-
oxen near the shore. They were at first mistaken by
some for black boulders, but soon our doubts were
removed by the animals moving. Amidst great excite-
ment, half a dozen sportsmen were landed ; being too
eager to submit to much generalship, they had a long
and exciting chase, but at last succeeded in shooting
the entire herd, numbering nine.

Our intense gratification at this result was enhanced

VOL. I.

114 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. A .gust

by the news our sportsmen brought back that the
country was fairly vegetated, and that numerous tracks
of hares, foxes, and ptarmigan had been seen.

No doubt now remained about leaving the ' Dis-
covery ' there, and preparations were at once made for
our parting company. Lieutenant Wyatt Eawson
and a sledge crew joined the 'Alert,' to strengthen her
crew and as far as possible to share the honours of
a struggle towards the Pole between the two ships. If
the vessels did not separate too far, they were to
return to their own ship during the autumn. It was
impossible for two ships' companies to have worked
together for a common end more harmoniously than
those of the ' Alert ' and ' Discovery,' and one and all
regretted that duty rendered our separation necessary.

In the evening I ascended a hill on the north side
of Discovery Harbour, a height of 1200 feet by aneroid.
It was the worst ground for walking over that I ever
met with ; the level plots were cut up by the frost into
large clods, like a deeply ploughed field with cross
ridges ; the whole was covered with a smooth carpet of
snow, which while hiding the irregularities from sight
was not solid enough to bear one's weight. The footing-
was so extremely uncertain that several times I fell
headlong. It was, however, extremely gratifying to
find a loamy soil with abundant sorrel, willow, saxi-
frages and grasses, instead of hard limestone and
gravel plains.

The geological formation of the area around
Discovery Bay differs entirely from the massive Silurian
limestones of Bessels Bay on the opposite side of the
channel. Slates, with thin-bedded hard limestones

1875 DISCOVERY BAY. 115

and indurated shales, compose the surrounding hills.
The strata are highly contorted, often assuming a
vertical position ; veins of quartz and chert were fre-
quently found traversing these rocks. A few species
of wading birds still lingered, but as a rule they were
in flocks and evidently on their way south ; turnstones
(Strepsilas interpret) were the commonest, but small
family parties of the knot (Tringa canutus) were feed-
ing along the beach at low-water. Snow-buntings
were flocking, and they chirped in a sad disconsolate
manner about the frozen streams, trying to extract
a little water from chinks and crevices. Eesidents in
temperate climes, who enjoy throughout the year the
presence of many birds with their joyous notes, can
scarcely realize the feelings of the sojourner in Arctic
Avilds when the first notes of the snow-bunting,
harbinger of summer and returning warmth, awaken in
him vivid recollections of the far-off south. With such
a one, the snow-bunting must ever remain an especial
favourite, and the preparations of this sweet songster
for a departure to more genial regions are a reminder
of approaching darkness and the monotony of an
Arctic winter.

From my look-out hill I noticed that the ice in the
strait was much broken up, with a few water-pools here
and there ; although they were not connected, it was
evident that an offshore wind would immediately open
a channel by which we could advance.

Owing to our high northern position, although the
sun was still above the horizon at midnight, its altitude
at noon was too low to affect the temperature much ;
consequently after August 20th the temperature of the

i 2

116 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Aug is r

air remained steadily below freezing point for the
winter, and the }Toung ice formed at mid-day earlier
than it does farther south. Notwithstanding this,
Arctic navigation is so greatly dependent on wind, that
there was still sufficient of the season left to give us
a reasonable certainty of reaching the northern land
which on the report of the Polaris Expedition had
been placed in latitude 84° N.

On the morning of the 26th, having left my orders
with Captain Stephenson concerning our future move- '
ments, the two ships forming the Expedition separated ;
those in the ' Alert,' if the published charts and state-
ments of our predecessors proved correct, having the
cheering feelings of, in all human probability, suc-
cessfully completing the chief duty assigned us ; those
on board the 'Discovery,' although rejoicing at the
prospects of their comrades, having also the depressing
sensation of being left behind to play what they could
not but consider at the time a secondary part in the
general programme.

On arriving at the entrance of the harbour, the
main pack was found to be resting against the shore
and to have completely filled up Lady Franklin
Sound ; some small floes streaming rapidly into Dis-
covery Bay. In endeavouring to keep clear of these
the ship touched the ground and hung for a short
time ; fortunately, by lowering the boats and lightening
the ship a little, she floated again without damage.

During the afternoon at low- water the pack, which,
apparently uninfluenced by wind, had been moving to
the southward the whole day, drifted slightly off the
land.

1875 ARCTIC TERNS. 117

Immediate advantage was taken of the welcome
channel to proceed north, but on reaching Distant
Cape the pack, which extended completely across the
strait, prevented all farther progress ; there was, there-
fore, no option left me but to return to Discovery
Harbour; where the ship was again secured at the
entrance ready to advance on the first opportunity.

Commander Markham, with Feilden and Eawson,
pulled along shore towards Cape Murchison to watch
the ice, but it remained persistently packed against
the shore. A small family of terns {Sterna macrura)
were found breeding on a rock off Bellot Island, and
at this late period of the season an unfl edged young
bird was discovered in a nest. A brood of eider
ducks unable to fly were also seen.

At this period of our voyage we supposed Eobeson
Channel to be a narrow strait connecting Hall Basin
with a similar sea to the northward, and the difficulties
experienced by the * Polaris ' when navigating this
channel demonstrated that we could not hope to
advance through it except when a westerly wind blew
the ice off the western shore. On the termination of
the westerly wind, or a shift to any other quarter, the
ice would naturally close in again, with the prevailing-
southerly running current.

This afterwards proved to be the general move-
ment of the pack, except in the narrowest part of the
strait between Cape Beechey and Polaris Promontory.
There, with a slight northerly pressure during calms,
the large floes jammed against each other and blocked
the passage. The ice to the south of the block being
carried onwards, water-pools were formed under the

118 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. August

lee of the pressure, and these occasionally would have
permitted the ship to cross the channel, had I wished
to do so. A similar occurrence took place with the
north running tide ; therefore, under a favourable com-
bination of circumstances, a vessel might be navigated
from the neighbourhood of Lincoln Bay to Newman
Bay.

Our enforced delay within sight of the ' Discovery,'
when the season was slipping away so quickly, was
most provoking. Naturally there was no want of
watchers at the masthead or on shore looking
anxiously for a chance of proceeding northward.
Light north-east winds prevailed, with clouds resting
low on the hill-sides, but a clear sky showed over the
eastern land. The pack in the channel continued to
move to the south-westward in a compact body, except
during the height of the ebb-tide, when it was either
stationary or set slowly to the north-east. The dif-
ferent floes of which the pack was composed remained
fairly quiet in juxtaposition, except when passing a
prominent point ; then a momentary disturbance would
take place, pools of water would form under the lee
of the point until the accumulated pressure behind the
floe forced it past the obstruction at more or less
expense to its corners ; the water-space was then
quickly occupied by ice and all would quiet down
again. I did not know it at the time, but this ice
must have been carried up Lady Franklin Sound,
which previous to our arrival had been emptied by a
south-west wind. On ascending the hill at 9 a.m., of
the 27th, about the time of high-water, the ice was
observed moving off from Cape Murchison, but before

1875 THE SHIPS PART COMPANY. 110

steam could be got up it had closed again. In the
evening during flood-tide, a small pool again formed
south of Cape Murchison, but there was no possibility
of our forcing a way through the intermediate ice.

The 28th brought in a beautiful morning with a light
air from the south-east, At 8 a.m. the wind died
away, and the ice seemed decidedly inclined to open.
At 11 p.m.., the commencement of the north-running
tide, we were just about to move when a thick fog
enveloped us ; hiding everything at more than twenty
yards distance, this effectually prevented our starting.
Later in the afternoon it cleared off, but it was then
low- water, and on trying to move the ship I found
that, though afloat, she had settled down with the
falling tide into a basin surrounded on all sides by a
bank of mud. The ship was immediately lightened
by lowering the boats and placing in them such articles
as could be readily hoisted on board again. With
the tantalizing prospect of an open channel before us,
we were forced to wait for three hours, until the rising
water enabled the ship to pass over the obstruction.
Hoisting up the boats and signalling a final ' good-bye '
to the ' Discovery,' we then reached under steam to
within a mile of Cape Beechey ; where in an en-
counter with a heavy Hoe, the rudder-head, which had
been badly sprung some days before, became so injured
that the rudder itself was nearly useless. Observing
that the pack was pressing tight against the cape to
the northward of us, I secured the ship inside what
at the time we supposed to be grounded icebergs, but
which in reality were pieces of Polar floes.

While shifting the rudder the sportsmen, after a

120 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. August

long chase, killed three musk-oxen out of a herd of
five, which were feeding near the edge of a frozen
lake about a mile inland. The coast hills between
St. Patrick's Bay and Cape Beechey are generally un-
dulating and their sides less steep than at other parts
of Eobeson Channel, so probably that neighbourhood
is a fair station for game. North of Cape Beechey the
cliffs rise direct from the sea, and except at the head
of the bays offer no feeding ground for musk-oxen.

If ever again travellers visit that neighbourhood,
they would do well to examine the valley leading to the
north-east behind Cape Beechey, which I believe will
be found to communicate with another, descending
into Wrangel Bay. There is apparently another
valley leading in the same direction connecting Wrangel
and Lincoln Bays, behind Mount Parry and Cape
Frederick VII. Land travelling should usually be
avoided, but I suggest this route on account of the
great difficulties encountered on the ice in the channel
by our sledging parties.

The 29th was a calm bright day, and spring-tides
being near there was every prospect of the ice opening.
The barometer falling also gave signs of a breeze from
the southward.

During the forenoon the pack remained close
against the ice-foot of Cape Beechey. After divine
service, Mr. Pullen, Egerton, and I pulled in a boat
along the shore as far as the ice permitted us, and then
ascended the cape by crawling up a steep ravine. On
arriving at the summit I found that we could not see up
Eobeson Channel, so we were obliged to walk about two
miles along the hill top through the soft snow before

1875 CAPE BEECHEY. 121

we obtained the wished for view. Sinking as we did
into soft snow up to our knees at each step, the ex-
ertion wTas excessive, and the exact manner in which
the footsteps of the leader were followed testified to the
severity of the labour. Egerton, wTho had been chasing
musk-oxen all the previous night over somewhat
similar ground, was fairly tired before we returned on
board. Our scramble bore good fruits, for we had the
pleasing prospect of beholding a water-channel extend-
ing along shore nearly as far as Cape Union, and also
of seeing that the ice resting against Cape Beechey,
which cut us off from the channel, was slowly opening.
During our excursion we secured our first living speci-
men of the lemming (My odes torquatus) which we
afterwards found to be common in Grinnell Land.
Feilden had previously found its remains in the pellets
rejected by the snowy owl (Nyctea scandiaca), in Twin
Glacier Valley, much farther south. I recognized in this
lemming an old acquaintance dating from my former
Melville Island experiences. The distribution of this
little rodent over nearly the whole circumpolar area
is a very interesting fact.

Signalling to the ship to advance, we hastened to
retrace our steps, and got on board just as the vessel
was moving off. Passing Wrangel Bay at 8 p.m., we
arrived off the beetling cliffs forming Cape Frederick
VII., which rise direct from the sea without any
adhering ice-foot. There a very large and heavy Hoe
was driving towards the shore impelled by the
southerly moving pack. It was a close and very
anxious race to pass it without being crushed against
the precipitous cliffs. Lincoln Bay was reached at

122 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. A.«;rsi

10.30 p.m., a little before high-water. The ice would
have permitted us to reach a point two miles farther
north, but there it touched the shore. Expecting that
the ebb-tide would force the pack against the land, I
determined to wait for a more favourable opportunity ;
and it was well that I did so, for very soon after the
ice closed in and not a speck of water was to be seen
anywhere. The ship was secured in twenty- two
fathoms water alongside a floe formed that season,
consisting not of newly frozen smooth ice, but of a
conglomeration of ice of all sizes interlocked above
and below water by pressure and then frozen together,
forming an .extremely hummocky floe some eight or
ten feet in thickness. Already it was so compact as to
be extremely ominous of the approaching winter.

During the forenoon of the 30th the flood-tide
opened the ice sufficiently for a boat to reach the
northern shore of the bay ; the opportunity was taken
to land a depot of provisions for travellers, consisting of
1000 rations. The depot was placed about thirty feet
above the sea on a hill-side fronting the first dip in
the coast hills from the extreme east point of the bay.
A cairn, which can be seen from the ice a mile from
land, was built a few yards inshore of where these
provisions were deposited. This depot was not sub-
sequently interfered with by us, and no doubt still
remains intact.

At noon, about the time of high-water, the ice
commenced to open off shore and set towards the
north ; we immediately got underweigh and with a little
trouble succeeded in getting to within three miles ot
Cape Union. There the ice inshore was closed, but

1875 BESET IN ROBESON CHANNEL. 123

outside it was more open, and with the calm weather
gave promise of letting us get round the Cape.
Accordingly I pushed off and ran three miles into the
pack. At 3 p.m. we could advance no farther, and
instead of returning to the shelter of Lincoln Bay, I
waited in a large pool of water in the hope of its
shortly opening towards the north. In this I was dis-
appointed, for at 4 p.m., with just sufficient warning
to enable me to pick out the softest looking place near
us, the ice completely encircled the ship, and she be-
came hopelessly beset in a very heavy pack, consisting
of floes of eighty feet in thickness and from one to
four miles in diameter. The intervals between the
floes were filled with broken-up ice of all sizes, from
the solid hummocks which, grinding past the ship's
side, endangered the quarter boats, to the smaller pieces
which the nipping together of the heavy floes had
rounded, like boulders or pebbles in a rapid stream.
Fortunately for us, intermixed with the pack was a
vast amount of sludge-ice formed during the last
snowfall.

Since meeting the ice off Cape Sabine I had noticed
a gradual but considerable change taking place in the
nature of the floes as we advanced north. The heaviest
that we first encountered were not more than eight or
ten feet in thickness. Off Cape Frazer were a few still
older pieces, estimated at the time as being twenty
feet thick, but evidently that was far short of the
correct measurement. It was now certain that we
were nearing a sea where the ice was of a com-
pletely different description to that of Baffin's Bay or
Lancaster Sound, and that we were indeed approaching

124 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. An.rsi

the same sea which gave birth to the heavy ice met
with off the coast of America by Collinson and McClure,
and which sealed up the ' Investigator ' for ever in the
Bay of Mercy, after her memorable and perilous
passage along the north-west coast of Banks Land. It
was the same description of ice that Parry encountered
wThen attempting to pass to the westward of Melville
Island in 1820, and which conquered him and his ex-
perienced companions ; that passing down M'Clintock
Channel, beset and never afterwards released the
1 Erebus ' and ' Terror ' under Franklin and Crozier ;
and which streaming along the eastern shore of Green-
land destroyed the ' Hansa ' of the last German Arctic
Expedition.

As our only hope of pushing north against the
general set of the current through such ice (to say
nothing of the extreme hazard of remaining in the
pack) consisted in regaining the shore, both boilers
were lighted and full steam kept ready in order to take
immediate advantage of any opportunity that might
arise At 10.30 p.m., the pack, which previously had
been drifting in a compact body to the southward, eased
a little near the edge of the large and deep-floating
floes, in consequence probably of a difference in speed
between the surface and undercurrent, but before we
were able to clear away a space of water at the stern
sufficiently large to enable the rudder to be shipped,
the ice closed and obliged us to dismantle again. A
second time at 11.30 p.m., just at the top of high- water,
the pack showed signs of opening, but after moving
the ship half her length ahead, we were again obliged
to unship the rudder.

1875 RETURN TO LINCOLN BAY. 125

Fully expecting a change with the flood-tide on the
morning of the 31st, with much labour a working
space was cleared under the stern, but owing to the
rudder being badly balanced we nearly lost our oppor-
tunity. At 9.30 a.m., during a momentary slackening
of the ice, with steam up to its greatest pressure, we
commenced to move. By going ahead and astern
alternately, the ship formed an ever increasing water-
space and at last pushed her way to where the ice was
more open, and shortly afterwards entered a narrow
water-channel which led to Lincoln Bay.

Few occurrences are more trying to the temper of
the commander of an Arctic ship than an accident
which prevents him taking immediate advantage of a
momentary change in the ice, on which the success
or failure of an expedition may depend. Had the
shipping of the rudder delayed us another five minutes,
the ship would in all probability have remained in the
pack during a heavy gale which shortly after set in
from the south, and continued for two days.

When in the pack, I regretted that the ship was
not near a floe to which we might have escaped in
case of being nipped ; for although a large one was
within a quarter of a mile of us, such was the rugged
state of the broken-up intermediate ice, that had the
ship been destroyed, it would have been quite impos-
sible to have transported any provisions or stores to
it, even had we succeeded in reaching it ourselves.

After our late escape all could appreciate Captain
Buddington's recommendation, when the ' Polaris ' was
placed in precisely similar circumstances, to get out of
the Polar pack as quickly as possible. It is either

126 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Septembi

affectation or want of knowledge that can lead anyone
seriously to recommend an attempt being made
navigate through such ice. I can answer for all on
board the ' Alert ' having been most thankful again to
reach the land.

During the late struggle, as well as on many
previous occasions, it was noticeable how futile the
efforts of the crew were to clear away the ice, which
impeded the movement of the ship on the bow or
quarter, compared to the enormous power exerted by
the ship herself when able to ram her way between
the pieces even at ordinary speed. Thus, steamers are
enabled to penetrate through a broken-up pack which
the old voyagers, with their sailing vessels, necessarily
deemed impassable. At the same time there is a limit
to the risks which are advisable to be run ; no ship has
been built which could withstand a real nip between
two pieces of heavy ice.

Shortly after the ship was secured in her former
position to the firm ice in Lincoln Bay, the wind
gradually freshened from the S.W., blowing slightly
off the land ; accompanied with a snowstorm and a
threatening appearance of the weather.

So far as we could distinguish through the snow
and mist, the main pack was driven by the gale to the
northward up the channel ; but knowing that it would
take some hours to produce a navigable passage past
Cape Union, I waited until the morning of September 1,
when with steam at hand ready if requisite, we passed
up the straits, running before a strong gale, nine knots
an hour, between the western shore and the pack,
which was driving quickly to the northward, at about

1875 CAPE SHERIDAN. 127

three miles distance from the land. By noon, having
arrived in latitude 82° 24' N., a more northerly
position than any vessel had ever previously attained,
the ensign was hoisted at the peak amid general
rejoicings.

With such a strong wind blowing off the shore we
enjoyed the pleasing certainty of not being again
stopped by ice so long as the land continued to the
northward. We therefore had very sanguine hopes
that we should at least attain to latitude 84° 20' N.,
the reported position of President's Land, without
another check. At 1 p.m., we came suddenly and
unexpectedly to a block.

On hauling to the westward, at what afterwards
proved to be the northern entrance to Eobeson
Channel and the shore of the Polar Sea, the wind
headed us from the north-westward, and then died
away. The breadth of the water-channel also consider-
ably lessened, until off Cape Sheridan the main pack
was observed to be touching the grounded ice, making
farther progress impossible. Running close up to the
end of the water-channel, the ship was secured to a
large floe which rested against the cape.

The weather at this time remained very misty
During a partial clearance we observed every appear-
ance of land due north, and reasonably supposed that we
had reached Army Fiord of the ' Polaris ' chart, and that
some local cause had prevented the ice being driven off
shore by the gale ; our stay was therefore thought to be
only temporary. At 2 p.m., finding that the ebb-tide
was setting towards the north-west, along the land,
and that in spite of it the pack was slowly nearing the

ER

128 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Septemb:

shore, I moved the ship to a more protected position
inside of some pieces of ice lying aground close to the
beach.

Since entering Smith Sound I had remarked the
almost total absence of a continuous line of shore
hummocks similar to what is usually met with in the
western channels of Lancaster Sound. Such a ridge, by
protecting the water-space from disturbance that lies
between them and the shore, admits of the formation of
perfectly smooth ice.

The advantage in sledge travelling of finding smooth
ice extending between the shore and a line of outside
hummocks is incalculable. I therefore foresaw that
when our sledging parties had to journey along these
unprotected shores, the daily distances travelled would
necessarily fall short of those accomplished during the
Franklin Search Expeditions.

In Eobeson Channel, except in a few places where
the cliffs rise precipitously from the sea and afford no
ledge or step on which the ice can lodge, the shore
line is fronted at a few paces distant by a nearly con-
tinuous ragged-topped wall formed by accumulated
ice pressed up by the pack on top of the original ice-
foot, and rising from fifteen to upwards of thirty-five
feet high. Opposite the large ravines the water carried
down by the summer floods melts a way for itself
through the barrier and occasionally breaks the con-
tinuity of the wall ; but immediately the pack closes
against the shore with pressure, a newly formed pile of
ice is quickly raised and closes up the gap. ' The
debris brought down the valleys, being unable to
escape out to sea, is deposited inside of the ice-barrier,

1875 THE ' ALERTS ' ANCHORAGE. 129

forming a raised beach, which, where the land is steadily
rising and the incline of the shore favourable, attains
a considerable thickness.

To the north of Eobeson Channel, where the land
trends to the north-westward the coast line loses its
steep character, and near Cape Sheridan the heavy Polar
ice becomes stranded at a distance of one hundred to
two hundred yards from the shore, forming a border of
unconnected masses of ice from twenty to upwards of
sixty feet in height lying aground in from eight to
twelve fathoms water.

Off an open coast, with no more protection than
that afforded by such pieces of ice, the ' Alert ' was
fated to pass the winter. Most providentially during
the eleven months she was thus exposed we never
once experienced a gale blowing towards the shore.

VOL. I.

130 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. September

CHAPTER VII.

CAPE JOSEPH HENRY — HALL'S OBSERVATIONS — SHUT IN BY THE PACK
— RAWSON AND ALDRICH START — MARKHAM LEAVES SHIP— NO
LAND TO THE NORTH — ALDRICH RETURNS — -FURIOUS GALE — MARK-
HAM'S RETURN — ATTEMPT TO LEAVE FLOEBERG BEACH — ACCIDENT
TO SCREW — FROZEN IN — DEPARTURE OF AUTUMN SLEDGE PARTIES.

On the afternoon of the 1st the atmosphere cleared
and enabled Commander Markham and myself to ob-
tain a view of the land towards the north-west from
an elevated station.

The coast line was observed to be continuous for
about thirty miles, forming a bay bounded towards the
west by the United States range of mountains, with
Mounts Mary and Julia and Cape Joseph Henry,
agreeing so well with Captain Hall's description that
it was impossible to mistake their identity. Their
bearing also, although differing upwards of thirty
degrees from that on the published chart, agreed pre-
cisely with his original report.

Pack-ice extended close in to Cape Sheridan and
along the shore to the westward, a pool of water being
left on the east or lee side of each projecting point in
the bay; which, however, the intervening ice effectually
prevented our reaching. To the eastward the channel
by which we had advanced was completely blocked

1875

CAPE JOSEPH HENRY

131

by the return of the
ice against the shore ;
and the ship, lying
about one hundred
and fifty yards from
the land, secured on
the inshore side of
some large pieces of
stranded salt-water
ice — afterwards ap-
propriately termed
floebergs by Captain
Feilden — although
in a fairly protected
position, was tho-
roughly embayed by
the pack.

The late snow-
fall had completely
covered the land to
a depth of from six
to twelve inches ;
and the undulating
snow-clad hills, un-
marked by any very
prominent feature,
formed anything but
a cheering land-
scape.

To the north-
ward where it was
thought we had ob-

x 2

132 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. September

served land, it was evident that none existed within a
distance of at least twenty miles.

During the evening, with a falling barometer, the
wind again freshened considerably from the south-
west, the drifting snow hiding the land from our
sight. In a sudden squall the hawsers by which the
ship was secured, carried away and obliged me to let
go a bower anchor ; but before the ship was brought
up she had drifted outside of the barrier of floebergs,
from which the pack was again slowly retreating to-
wards the north-east, being driven off by the gale.

I naturally expected that a water-channel would
open alongshore by which we might advance, but
nothing of the kind occurred ; for although a mag-
nificent sea two miles in breadth formed abreast of
our position, in which a light southerly swell forcing,
its way up Bobeson Channel was perceptible, yet
the pack remained persistently locked against Cape
Sheridan, only a mile and a half to the north-west of
us. Even with the ebb-tide, no offshore movement
occurred, the ice being evidently held tight by some
opposing pressure of wind or current.

At work during a greater portion of the night, we
fully appreciated the advantages we enjoyed by the
sun being still above the northern horizon at midnight ;
in more southern Arctic latitudes it had long since
ceased to be light at that time.

On the morning of the 2nd the wind shifted
suddenly from S.W. to N.W., causing the ship to drift
in amongst the floebergs, and driving the pack rapidly
towards the shore.

The barometer having indicated the probability of
a change occurring, steam had been kept ready, and

1875 SUDDEN SQUALL. 133

after a considerable amount of manoeuvring to clear
the cable from the heavy ice about which it had
become entangled, the ship was removed from her
exposed position.

The protected space available for shelter was so
contracted and shallow, the entrance to it so small,
and the united force of the wind and flood-tide so
powerful, that it was with much labour and no trifling
expense in broken hawsers that the ship was hauled in
stern foremost. It was a close race whether the ice or
the ship would be in first, and my anxiety was much
relieved when I saw the ship's bow swing clear into
safety just as the advancing edge of the heavy pack
closed in against the outside of our friendly barrier of
ice.

From our position of comparative security the
danger we had so narrowly escaped was strikingly
apparent as we gazed with wonder and awe at the
power exerted by the ice, driven past us to the east-
ward with irresistible force by the wind and flood- tide
at the rate of about a mile an hour.

The projecting points of each passing floe which
grounded near the shore in about ten fathoms of water
would be at once wrenched off from its still moving
parent mass ; the pressure continuing, the several
pieces, frequently 30,000 tons in weight, would be
forced up the inclined shore, rising slowly and majesti-
cally ten or twelve feet above their old line of flotation.
Such pieces quickly accumulated until a rampart-like
barrier of solid ice-blocks, measuring about two
hundred yards in breadth and rising fifty feet high,
lined the shore, locking us in, but effectually protecting
us from the overwhelming power of the pack.

134 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. September

During the afternoon the wind was light from the
north-west, blowing along the land with a heavy snow-
fall. So far as we could see through the snow the
pack drifted towards the north-west with the ebb-tide,
and towards the south-east with the flood, opening
slightly off shore in our neighbourhood with the
former, but, as before, never leaving Cape Sheridan.

The heavy fall of snow mixing with the salt in the
water considerably quickened the formation of the
young ice, and before the evening it was so thick we
were scarcely able to communicate with the shore by
boat.

The temperature had fallen to ] 8°, our first experi-
ence of decidedly cold weather.

While walking on shore my anxiety concerning
the security of the ship's position was somewhat re-
lieved by observing that although to the eastward and
westward numerous heaps of gravel had been forced
up above the high- water line by the ice-pressure, yet
in our immediate neighbourhood the beach was per-
fectly free from any such marks.

The rise and fall of the tide was observed to be
very slight and denoted a great change in the configu-
ration of the shore line ; it proved unmistakably that
we had passed out of a narrow channel and had entered
the Polar Sea.

For the three following days we experienced light
westerly winds, with the temperature ranging between
18° and 8°. The pack remained always close against
the coast, moving along the land with the tides, but
drifting on the whole towards the south-east. Pools
of water half a mile long by a quarter broad formed on

1875 LAND PROVISIONS. 135

the south-east side of the larger floes, but they were
always completely isolated from each other by several
miles of heavy ice.

Although a few large floes could be distinguished
in the offing, the pack within five miles of the land
consisted usually of floes less than a mile in diameter
intermixed with a very large proportion of rubble ice.

The newly formed ice was strong enough to bear us
on the 4th. At midnight, on that date, the sun sank
below the north horizon.

Although all regular navigation was now apparently
at an end, I was naturally most anxious to move the
ship from her exposed position before the setting in of
winter ; but the quickly advancing season warned me
that no movement should be made without a reason-
able probability of attaining a sheltered situation.
Accordingly, Commander Markham and Lieut. Aldrich
started on the 5th to look at a bay about eight miles
distant to the westward. On their return they re-
ported that it was a well sheltered harbour, thickly
coated with newly-formed ice, but that the continuous
wall formed by the grounded floebergs across its en-
trance would effectually prevent our entering.

After this report I decided to commence landing-
such provisions and stores as were hampering the
decks of the ship and which would not be required
during the winter should we fortunately be able to
move into safer quarters.

Five eider ducks were shot on the 5th, and a flock
of ptarmigan seen in a valley three miles to the south-
east of our position near Cape Eawson. This headland
was named after Lieutenant Eawson, who belonged to

136 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Septemhku

the fc Discovery/ but was then on board the ' Alert,'
and was destined with his sledge-crew to pass the
winter on board of that ship.

The formidable nature of the Polar pack, so
different in its character to that I had been accustomed
to in my prior Arctic experience, naturally caused me
great solicitude. The following in reference to it is
extracted from my journal of the 5th : —

' This morning a floe about a mile in extent, floating
at least four feet out of water at its lowest part, was
passing to the eastward. It is the first piece of Polar
ice fit for travelling over that we had seen. The main
pack that is usually passing our position, as far to sea-
ward as we can observe, is simply impassable for sledges.
What it may be in the spring when the snow banks
have levelled off some of the irregularities remains to
be ascertained. At present it is quite out of the ques-
tion venturing upon it. Our hope is, that the land will
extend towards the north, and so enable the ship or
sledges to get along near the shore. Whatever our
travellers do, the work must not be compared with our
former Lancaster Sound level floe travelling, the road
is so totally different.'

On the 6th we commenced dragging the provisions
and stores to the land on sledges over the newly formed
ice. The casks piled one on the other formed the
sides of a long shed, which was covered by one of the
large sails ; it was named Markham Hall, and after-
wards formed a valuable storehouse during the winter.

In my journal I remark : ' The temperature remains
at 12°, so in spite of our exposed position I have
decided to winter here ; indeed the ship is now so firmly

1875 A HEAVY FALL OF SNOW. 137

frozen in that I have no option left me. Doctor Moss
shot a fine hare last Sunday ; this is the only sign
of game belonging to the neighbourhood which has
been seen ; indeed, the undulating hills stretching
away for a dozen miles are, apparently, perfectly bare
of anything likely to attract game to visit ns ; a few
hollows are vegetated, but very sparingly so.'

It was vexing to observe, as we proceeded northward
through Smith Sound and Eobeson Channel, that the
number of seal met with gradually decreased. We had
depended upon a supply of these animals for the sup-
port of our dogs, and now their total absence led
me reluctantly to the conclusion that we could not
possibly provide for all of these useful auxiliaries
during the winter. Nothing having the appearance of
meat came amiss to them, but they stedfastly refused
to eat the dog biscuit of which we had a small
quantity.

For three days previous to the 8th we experienced
a heavy fall of snow. On the 2nd we had noticed how
snow falling on the salt water quickened 'the formation
of young ice. But after the ice was once formed it
whs noticeable how the snow tends for a time to retard
its increase in thickness.

When the young ice, three to four inches thick,
became unable to support the accumulated weight of
snow two feet in depth, it was borne down until the
water percolating upwards had risen three inches
above its level. The superficial covering of snow then
afforded such excellent protection that although the
temperature of the air was 15°, the water remained
unfrozen, its temperature being 29°. Finding that the

138 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SKA. September

ice below the snow and water was actually melting,
we were obliged to cease dragging the heavily laden
sledges between the ship and the shore.

Though I did not expect any decided movement of
the ice to occur during the neap-tides, yet before de-
spatching any travellers to a distance, an ample depot
of provisions was landed for their support in the event
of accident happening to the ship, which at the time
I considered highly probable. These arrangements
having been completed, Lieutenant Eawson with seven
men started on a pioneering journey towards Eobeson
Channel. On the 9th, Lieutenant Aldrich with three
sledges and twenty-four dogs, accompanied by Captain
Feilden and Dr. Moss, started to explore the land
towards the north-west.

Lieutenant Eawson returned on the 10th, having
found Cape Eawson impassable by land on account
of the steepness of the cliffs, and by sea in conse-
quence of the continual movement of the pack which
prevented him venturing on it, even with a boat.

At Floeberg Beach, as the land in the vicinity of the
ship was now named, a westerly wind blowing offshore,
force 4, combined with an ebb-tide, opened, for the first
time since our arrival, a narrow channel extending for
half-a-mile beyond Cape Sheridan. On the 11th, the
same wind continuing, the channel widened out until it
was a mile broad, and extended for six miles to the
westward, but ended two miles distant from the shore.
As this offered an opportunity of advancing a large
depot of provisions and boats to the northward, Captain
Markham started with a strong party of men ; having
first to draw the boats across the heavy barrier of ice,

1875 ABSENCE OF NORTHERN LAND. 139

within which the ship was sealed up, apparently frozen
in for the season.

The sky being fairly clear, we were able to set
at rest all doubts concerning the northern land reported
to exist by the ' Polaris ' Expedition. As seen through
light haze, the dark reflection in the sky above the de-
tached pools of water in the offing gave a very decided
appearance of land when there was a mirage, but after
a constant watch, and carefully noting the movements
of the darkened patches, I was obliged reluctantly to
admit that no land existed to the northward within
the limits of our vision.

The absence of any visible land to the northward
was extremely discouraging, and the ice that lay
before us was of such a nature as to convince me, or
any person acquainted with Arctic navigation, that it
would be most unadvisable voluntarily to place a ship
in it. The following extract from my journal of the
11th expressed my views at the time, and I had no
reason to modify them afterwards : —

4 It is perfectly evident that the report of " open
water " having been seen towards the north from the
deck of the " Polaris," when she attained her highest
latitude, meant merely that disconnected water-pools
were observed, but not that a water-channel fit for
navigation existed. In Lancaster Sound or Baffin's
Bay a water-pool in the pack may, under favourable
circumstances, be expected to open out and become
navigable. Here with this decided Polar ice, it is out
of the question that any commander should leave the
shelter of the land, and force his way into the pack
without insuring a retreat if necessary. The term

140 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. September

" open water " is extremely vague. It should only be
used to designate navigable water ; when water-pools
are spoken of, an estimate of their extent should be
given.'

In order to register the temperature of the earth
throughout the winter, a thermometer was buried to
the depth of eighteen inches and then frozen in. This
was the extreme depth to which we were able to
sink a hole in the solidly frozen ground, after three
days' labour. On our arrival at Floeberg Beach we
found a steep bank of a previous season's snow resting
against the northern slope of our look-out hill, which
was 480 feet above high- water mark. Similar patches
were observed in other sheltered positions, showing that
the snow near the sea-level, as well as that on the hill
tops, did not melt entirely during the previous summer.

The 12th brought in a calm day with a temperature
of from 4° to 8°. After divine service, when we took
the opportunity publicly to return thanks to God for
our preservation during our past dangers and labours,
I walked with some officers to Cape Eawson to see the
state of affairs there. The ice was piled up on the ice-
foot to a mean height of about thirty feet, with an
uneven pointed summit, quite useless as a road for dog
or man-sledge. Inside this icy ridge soft snow had col-
lected in undulating banks resting against the cliffs, but
with such steep sides as to necessitate a portage being
made before they could be passed by sledge-travellers.

Wishing to obtain a view of the ice in the offing,
Eawson, Giffard, and I ascended half way up a steep
snow-slope in a gully on the east face of Cape Eaw-
son. Pressing upwards incautiously, it became less

1875 RETURN OF LIEUT. ALDRICH. 141

dangerous to go on than to descend ; we were indeed
fortunate in at last reaching the summit of the cape.
I frequently looked at the place afterwards, but no
one ever again risked his neck there.

The ice in Eobeson Channel was observed to be
tightly pressed against the shore, with a few discon-
nected pools here and there in the offing. In the
neighbourhood of the ship the pack had again closed
in against the Hoebergs.

On the evening of the 12 th, Lieutenant Aldrich's
party returned after an absence of four days. He
had succeeded in establishing a depot of provisions
and exploring the coast-line for a distance of twenty
miles to the north-west. The travelling, owing to the
very rough state of the ice, and the deep snow with
its sticky wet foundation of sludge, was found to be
unusually heavy ; indeed, so bad was it that although
only laden with half weights, all three sledges broke
down. The few patches of young ice met with were
too weak and treacherous to permit sledges being-
dragged over them ; one sledge broke through and
was only recovered with much difficulty.

With the fall of temperature that part of the
lower deck which was at a distance from the galley
fire became damp, but this was at once remedied by
the fitting up of an extra stove.

On the 13th and 14th we experienced a strong
gale from the south-west with a heavy snow-drift and a
low barometer ; the temperature rising to 20° and the
pack drifting away from the land towards the north-
east, leaving a clear water-channel along shore.

On the morning of the latter day the gale was

142 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. September

blowing from off the land, with a decided swell com-
ing up Bobeson Channel, indicating much open water
to the southward. From the look-out hill, which I
ascended with difficulty in consequence of the strong
wind, I observed. a wrater-channel leading for ten miles
towards Cape Joseph Henry, but the land-ice was
still clinging to the shore as persistently as heretofore.

By 10 a.m. the swell commenced breaking up the
ice inshore of the ship, and we had barely time to get
the boats which had been landed on board again, before
the ship was left in clear water, all the light ice and
some of the heaviest pieces near us being driven to sea.

During the height of the gale five men in a whale-
boat mistook their orders, and left the ship to pull
to the shore, but being unable to reach it were carried
by the wind to seaward. Fortunately the boat was
brought up against one of the floebergs, about two
hundred yards distant from that against which the
ship rested. The gale was then blowing so furiously
that the men were unable to cross the intermediate
channel. After much work and great anxiety, we
succeeded in rescuing them from their dangerous
position, by veering another boat astern with a long
line and making the distressed men do the same with
a rope they fortunately had in their boat. Then by
sheering the two boats towards each other they met,
and the wearied and half frozen men were rescued.

In the evening it continued to blow fiercely, with
a blinding snow-drift mixed with sand and small pebbles
which were carried by the fury of the storm. While
thinking anxiously over the condition of our travellers
during such a gale, I observed Commander Markham

I

1875 COMMANDER MARKHAM RETURNS. ]43

on the shore abreast of the ship. Although we were
so close to the land, it was only by double manning
the oars of the cutter that during an opportune lull
Lieutenant Giffard was able to establish a hauling line
between the ship and the shore, and so communicate
with Markham. It appeared that his party had started
in the morning with a moderate wind blowing ; at
mid-day the gale rose, and they pitched their tents with
difficulty on a heavy floe. Shortly after tenting, this
floe commenced to break up and the party had to beat
an immediate retreat to the shore, fortunately crossing
the cracks with all their effects before the ice moved
away from the land. One man then became so greatly
disabled from exhaustion that Markham decided to
carry him to the ship. Having reached a ravine that
afforded some slight shelter, he tented the main party,
and selecting one sledge-crew to drag the sick man,
he himself pushed on in advance.

Though desirous of returning to his sledge-party
and invalid, knowing his fatigued condition I despatched
Lieutenant Giffard and the crew of the cutter to assist
the tired men.

After an hour's search in the snowstorm they met
the party, and, at midnight, by using the cutter's line
as a hauling rope, we had the satisfaction of seeing
the sledge-crew ferried across, and the frozen man's
life saved. This sledge-crew, who had faced the storm
to save their comrade's life, were all so much exhausted
that they did not recover themselves for three or four
days. *

With the morning of the 15th the wind lulled con-
siderably, and the remainder of the travellers, under the

144 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Septembb*

command of Lieutenant Parr, returned, having passed
anything but a pleasant time in their tents during the
gale. On ascending our look-out hill, I observed that
the ice to the westward between the land and the
channel in the pack had drifted to seaward, leaving a
clear road by which we could advance to a place of
shelter. Making a signal to the ship, steam was im-
mediately got ready and the rudder shipped, but on
lowering the screw we found it impossible to enter the
shaft. While raising it again to clear away the ice a
thick snowstorm came on with a blinding mist which,
hiding everything from view, prevented our moving.
Before midnight the gale was blowing as furiously as
ever.

During the night the sea breaking against the shore
became so discoloured by the stirred up mud that the
snow-covered beach over which it broke was darkened
to such an extent that from a distance we mistook it
for the gravel coast-line. On visiting the shore we
picked up a few pieces of seaweed (Laminaria) that
had been cast up, and found that the salt water at. a
temperature of 29° washing over the snow-bank had
solidified it into hard ice.

The barometer rising on the 16 th, I tried to con-
nect the screw ready for a run along the land im-
mediately the gale lulled ; but when the screw-shaft
only wanted an inch of being fixed, the rachet lever
became damaged and the shaft could not then be
moved either in or out. So strong was my desire to
reach what I hoped would prove a more protected
place for wintering, that for a moment I thought of
proceeding under sail,; but we were so hemmed in by

1876 ACCIDENT TO SCREW. 145

the ice that I was obliged to give up the idea of
attempting to beat to windward towards an uncertain
haven and along the edge of a pack, to enter which
would have been certain destruction.

The forenoon was spent by me in frequent and
long visits to the engine room anxiously watching Mr.
Wootton repairing the rachet. It was not completed
before 11.30 a.m. ; on then raising the screw the hole
which receives the end of the shaft was found plugged
with ice, Avhich was so hard and so much discoloured
by rust that when first taken out we all thought that
it was the end of the shaft itself which had broken
off inside the screw. By the time the screw was
fixed and everything was ready for a start under steam
the pack was rapidly nearing the land. At 2 p.m., it
had reached Cape Sheridan and effectually closed us
in for the winter.

After this date the ice never left the shore to the
westward of our position, although to the eastward
a large space of clear water remained between us and
Eobeson Channel whenever the wind prevailed from
the westward.

On examining the coast-line afterwards, both
during the autumn and the following spring, we dis-
covered that there was no harbour sufficiently open to
receive the ship, and that the ice at the entrance of
each bay was far too thick for us to have cut or forced
our way through it before the pack would have closed
in. The accident that happened to the screw and our
consequent detention at Floeberg Beach, although
extremely annoying at the time, was afterwards con-
sidered by all a most fortunate circumstance.
vol. I. l

146 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Sepikubbr

During the latter part of the gale, in addition to
the bower cable holding the ship, she was further
secured by a wire hawser passed from the bow to a
second anchor buried on shore. When laying it out
it was very readily handled in the cutter, and during
the gale, although the strands flattened in the sharp nip
at the hawse-hole, the wire cable held on admirably.
The following is extracted from my journal : —
1 In the evening, although a strong north-west wind
was blowing along the land, it produced very little snow-
drift in consequence of there being no more light snow
left to lly. A large pool of water remains open off Cape
Eawson, which, with this wind, will probably extend
as tar south as Cape Union. The day before the gale
commenced we were preparing an observatory on shore,
but fortunately none of the instruments were landed —
that is supposing we are still successful in moving
farther to the westward into the bay found by Aldrich.
I fear we can scarcely expect another favourable gale
before the season is quite at an end. A long continuous
south-west wind is ^he only power that will ever open
this ice. The " Polaris " had a fortnight's continuous
westerly winds at the end of this month, her time of
full moon ; so we may still have another chance. Were
the question of our advance to the north-west only to
gain northing, irrespective of any other consideration,
unquestionably I could gain ten or twelve miles ; but
at this advanced season other considerations have to be
thought of ; we must be quite sure that we gain a safe
wintering place. These hummocks can scarcely be
considered a desirable or sufficient protection for the
winter

1875 THE POLAR PACK. 147

' Some step should be taken to guard against the
shaft being jammed in the boss of the screw by ice.
Mr. Wootton suggests that a hole might be bored
through the centre of the shaft, through which a jet of
steam could be forced into the screw and the ice readily
melted.

' 17th. — Barometer rising, temperature up to 30°.
Still blowing a fresh gale with squalls from the north-
west ; the pack ice close against Cape Sheridan. On
this side of that point and abreast of our position a
narrow water-channel opens during the ebb-tide ; but
with the Hood the pack closes in, moving very fast to
the south-east. Aldrich estimates its speed at two
miles an hour, but I think one mile is nearer its true
rate. The gale conbined with the rise in temperature
has completely destroyed the young ice formed on the
inshore side of the floebergs.

c Last night, so heavy was the pressure of the pack,
I fully expected that our protecting floebergs would
give way, and that the ship would be forced on shore.
The outer line of our defence was driven in for about
one hundred yards, but fortunately the inner line with-
stood the attack.

6 One heavy floe, a fair sample of those composing
the pack, which we fully expected would carry all be-
fore it, just as it was touching our barrier, fortunately
took the ground itself in twelve fathoms water. Three
large pieces were then wrenched off, and left behind
to add to our protection. The heaviest piece aground,
half way between our position and Cape Sheridan,
standing at least sixty feet high, has withstood the pres-
sure of the pack for the last ten days ; this morning

L i

148 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. September

it was thrown over on its side, breaking in two and
displaying a fine massive block of bine ice the surface
of which was twenty feet above water.

« ISth. — The thermometer last night rose to 36°, a
most unusual occurrence, and the upper deck was in
a dreadfully wet state from the sudden thaw. The
discoloured snow border at the high-water mark on
shore, which had been partially thawed, has to-day,
with a fall of temperature, refrozen and now forms a
broad smooth ice-foot along shore, very convenient for
walking on.

' 19th. — The temperature having fallen to 15°, the
young ice has formed again so rapidly that Markham,
Parr, Aldrich and I had great difficulty in reaching
the shore in a boat. From the look-out hill not a
drop of water is to be seen anywhere. It is quite
impossible that a one-season floe can ever be produced
in this sea. In a protected position at the margin of
an ancient floe, a small area of young ice might be
formed, but no large water-space ever remains long
uncovered by heavy pieces of debris ice.

' The ice at Cape Joseph Henry not leaving the
land with an offshore wind is a most remarkable
phenomenon. If it never does so I can only suppose
that the south-west winds blowing off the land are de-
flected by the United States range of mountains and
changed into westerly winds blowing along the coast.

1 1 have now no longer any doubt that w^e are
on the border of the Polar Sea. Few would credit the
great thickness of these floes, and unless we had seen
our protecting icy barrier being formed out of the
broken-up sea ice, we might have reported that it was

1875 PREPARATIONS FOR AUTUMN TRAVELLING. 149

made up of icebergs. In consequence of the bareness
of the land from snow, the dust has been carried off
by the wind, and has discoloured all the floebergs.
This evidently accounts for the dust sediment left at
the bottom of the water pools on the surface of the
floes, and for that frozen deeply into the ice.

'After three days of constant work, everyone
enjoyed to-day a well-earned rest.'

During the following week the weather remained
calm with a clear atmosphere, and the ship became
firmly frozen in. Preparations were now made for
the autumn travelling, each man finding full employ-
ment in fitting his clothing and preparing the necessary
sledge equipment. The light sails were unbent, the
running rigging unrove, and the ship made as snug
aloft as possible. The heavy sails were left bent to
the yards, and did not suffer in the least from their
exposure. The ship's company's mess deck was en-
larged considerably, and cleared of all the stores and
provisions which had necessarily been stowed there
during our passage from England. The midship part
of the deck was prepared as the main entrance from
the upper deck, and was also fitted as a workshop for
the artificers and others. As a greater security against
possible danger, the powder was deposited in a snow-
house on shore.

Owing to the great improvement in ships' galleys
since the time of previous Arctic expeditions, the heat
of the galley funnel was found to be insufficient to
melt snow in sufficient quantities to provide a supply
of water ; an alteration was made in the tank for the
better, but throughout the winter, in both the * Alert '

150 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Septkmh

and * Discovery,' it was necessary to inch ice in the
coppers in addition to the small quantity of water
obtainable from the snow tanks.

During the damp and variable weather, the dogs
suffered much from cramp, many of them having fits.
Their favourite place for lying down was near the
warm galley funnel ; this being evidently not conducive
to health they were landed, with Frederick to take
care of them, until the ice formed sufficiently strong to
enable our communicating readily with the shore. ■ So
anxious were they to return on board that one was
drowned by breaking through the ice, and several
narrowly escaped. During Lieutenant Aldrich's jour-
ney a dog ran away from the sledge in a fit on
September 12 ; it returned to the ship on the 20th,
naturally in very poor condition but apparently cured
of its disorder.

The darkness by night closed in with unusual
quickness. In high latitudes, though longer delayed,
the darkness increases daily with much greater rapidity
than at positions farther south. A star was seen for
the first time since crossing the Arctic circle at mid-
night of the 20th ; the sun being then six degrees below
the north horizon.

With the object of exploring the land about Cape
Joseph Henry before the arrival of the main party,
Lieutenant Aldrich, with Frederick and two seamen,
Ayles and Simmons, started on the 22nd, with fourteen
dogs dragging two sledges laden with fourteen days
provisions. The dogs were allowanced at the rate of
two pounds of preserved meat daily. Michael, the
dog that had lately been absent on his own resources,

1875 START OF TRAVELLING PARTY. 151

being a billing animal and a good puller, was harnessed
in with the rest.

On the morning of the 26th the main travelling
party was ready to start, with the object of establishing
a depot of provisions as far in advance to the north-
west as possible. The force consisted of two seven-man
sledges and one eleven-man sledge, viz., the ' Marco
Polo/ 4 Victoria,' and ' Hercnles,' under Commander
Markham and Lieutenants Parr and May, and drawn
by twenty-five men ; they were provisioned for twenty
days. At 9 a.m., after prayers on the ice, officers and
men standing round the sledges, they started off in the
best of spirits ; the sledges, weighted to 200 lbs. a man,
running easily over the frozen road on the top of the
ice-foot. On reaching a place where it was necessary
to cross the young ice, which was only five inches thick,
the heaviest sledge, weighing 2,200 lbs., proved to be
too heavy for it, and after proceeding for half a mile
successfully, broke through, wetting most of the gear,
but fortunately not the men's clothes. Eeturning to the
ship and equipping a new seven-man sledge, Parr
started on to overtake his companions.

The temperature at night fell to one degree below
zero, but fortunately it remained calm.

During the 28th the few men left on board were
employed in lifting the chain cable from the bottom
on to the ice, to prevent its being frozen in during
the winter. A second cable was passed from the stern
to an anchor buried on shore. The officers were em-
ployed in making a survey of the neighbouring coast
and in constructing an observatory.

On the 29th, at Floeberg Beach and at Discovery

152 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Ogtohkr

Bay, a long spell of misty weather set in, with frequent
falls of snow, lasting until October 10.

Arctic scenery is naturally expected to be some-
what desolate in appearance, but few are prepared for
the utter dreariness which a long continuance of misty
weather with a snow-charged atmosphere produces.
No shadows or skyline being visible, no measure of
height or distance can be formed. The land and the
ice-covered sea, masked alike with snow, are indis-
tinguishable, and present a foggy appearance which
is only found to be unreal when some dark object
intercepts the view.

During the 30th I engaged in snow-house building,
with Lieutenant Eawson and four men. We were
employed four hours in constructing a dome -shaped
house eight feet in diameter, sufficiently large for four
men to lie full length, with not too much room to spare.
This was a very substantial building and lasted through-
out the winter. Doubtless a lighter one could be con-
structed in much less time when hard snow is procur-
able ; but during half the Arctic travelling season hard
snow is not to be obtained in high northern latitudes ;
and travellers unprovided with a tent would fare badly.
Captain Hall, when travelling with Mr. Chester and two
Eskimo, Hans and Joe, near Newman's Bay, relates
that on October 22, 1871, they were two hours and
forty minutes building their snow-house, nine feet in
diameter and five and a-half feet in height. This is a
long time to keep tired men exposed to severe weather
after dragging a heavy sledge for ten or eleven hours.

1875 RAWSON'S SECOND START. ] 53

CHAPTER VIII.

RAWSON'S SECOND START— ALDRICH'S RETURN — HIS JOURNEY TO CAPE

JOSEPH HENRY — HEAVY SNOW-FALL — CONDITION OF THE ICE

RAWSON RETURNS — FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE WITH ' DISCOVERY '

MARKHAM'S RETURN — FROST-BITES — RESULTS OF AUTUMN

SLEDGING.

Being anxious to communicate with Captain Ste-
phenson, if possible before the winter set in, I des-
patched Lieutenant Rawson on the 2nd of October
with his seven men to inspect the ice in Robeson
Channel and, to ascertain if travelling along the coast-
line was yet practicable. Mr. Egerton, who had ac-
companied Rawson for two miles, reported on his
return that the new ice was still so thin that the sledge
was obliged to take to the land. I therefore could
scarcely expect that Rawson would make a successful
journey. In addition to the thinness of the young
ice, the soft snow which had fallen during the five
previous days formed so great a protection to the
water on the ice which had oozed through from the sea
below, that although the temperature had fallen to 8°
it remained unfrozen. The floe was consequently very
wet and afforded an extremely bad road.

During the 4th, the temperature remaining at 12°,
I was surprised to find that the falling snow crystals,
which are usually very minute at so low a temperature,

154 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA* Octobbb

were large and downy, resembling those which fall
when the temperature is near freezing point,

On the 5th, the weather was still as gloomy as ever,
with thick snow falling In the evening Lieutenant
Aldrich returned, with eleven dogs harnessed to one
sledge on which his light gear was secured. Every-
thing else had been left a few miles behind to enable
him to reach the ship before night.

The dogs, sinking as they frequently did in the soft
snow up to their muzzles, had proved to be nearly
useless, and but for the help of the men the sledge
would have had to be abandoned. The dogs had
suffered much from fits, one had been shot, and two
others had wandered from the party when temporarily
mad. Aldrich had succeeded in reaching Cape Joseph
Henry, and had spent three days in exploring the
neighbourhood. The floebergs and rugged ice piled
directly against the precipitous face of the cliffs, with
an extremely rough pack in constant motion, effectually
prevented sledges being dragged round the cape ; but
fortunately there was a fair prospect of finding a
level road overland to the sea on the other side of the
cape in the spring. It was now too late in the season
for Markham to attempt it,

Commander Markham's party were communicated
with on the 1st, six miles distant from the cape and
travelling towards it. The sledge crews had all ex-
perienced very hard work, occasioned by the thin state
of the new ice having forced them to travel along the
land, to follow every indentation of the shore, and to
haul the sledges across the hills at the back of the pre-
cipitous points. The fact that the travellers continued

1875 EXTRACTS FROM ALDMCH'S JOURNAL. 155

their advance at all under these circumstances will be
fully appreciated by Arctic explorers.

On the 27th September Aldrich had succeeded in
reaching latitude 82° 48' K, a somewhat higher lati-
tude than had ever before been attained, our gallant
predecessors, Sir Edward Parry, Sir James Eoss, Dr.
James Beverly, Admiral Edward Bird, and the cox-
swain James Parker, in their celebrated boat-journey
towards the North Pole from Spitsbergen in 1827,
having advanced a little beyond latitude 82° 45' N.

From the summit of a mountain 2,000 feet high
Aldrich discovered an apparently continuous coast-line
extending towards the north-west for a distance of sixty
miles to latitude 83° 7' N. with lofty mountains in the
interior to the southward. No land was to be seen to
the northward for at least eight or ten miles ; misty
weather prevented his seeing farther in that direction.

The following extracts from Lieutenant Aldrich's
official journal give a description of his journey : —
* # # * #

1 September 22nd. — At 11 a.m. I left the ship, in
command of two dog-sledges, seven dogs in each, two
blue-jackets (Ayles and Simmons), and Frederick the
Eskimo. I arrived at Snow House Point at 4.20 p.m.,
having been delayed a great deal by several of the
dogs falling down in fits, no less than eight of them
being thus attacked, and two or three of them twice
or three times over.

' September 23rd. — Shortly after starting I was
obliged to cut one of Simmons's dogs adrift, and I was
constantly hampered by fits as yesterday. I now had
thirteen dogs left. The second sledge gave way in

156 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Ociobb*

the runner, the tenons of the uprights from being fixtures,
make the sledge too rigid and do not admit of enough
freedom for passing the rough ice. During the whole
of the time I was subsequently away the sledges stood
exceedingly well, and among very heavy and bad ice,
the uprights being unsupported except by the lashings,
and the runner being kept out in its place by a spare
batten used as a lever.

' Crossing Black Cliff Bay, there was a large patch of
new ice, with no snow on it, which evidently showed
where the heavy floes had separated during the gale.
I sounded this with an ice-chisel and found it quite
strong enough to sledge over, congratulating myself
on the rapid progress I was making towards the cliffs
ahead. My triumph was short-lived, for as we got
well into the middle, I observed the ice bending as we
proceeded, and just as I turned round to order an alter-
ation of course towards the old ice between us and the
land the second sledge broke through. Beyond the
discomfort of a damp sleeping-bag and a stiff lower-
robe, I am happy to say nothing of • moment resulted,
though, from the dogs being very much frightened, it
was with some difficulty we hauled the sledge out.
The remainder of the afternoon was passed in finding
our way over and through the hummocks, with deten-
tions caused by the constant breaking down of several
of the dogs, one of which I had on the sledge the
greater part of the day.

c September 24:th. — On examining the dogs in the
morning, I found one so utterly useless and so ill, that
I gave orders to kill it, which reduced the number to
twelve.

1875 EXTRACTS FROM ALDRICH'S JOURNAL. 157

1 A fine morning, with a temperature of 21°, which
I should like to have seen lower, as I had nothing to
do but try and get across the new ice which had turned
me back yesterday afternoon. On reaching its edge I
divided the loads, and by making two trips succeeded
in getting over all right, the runners occasionally
breaking through.

4 The dogs were free from fits during the day,
which promised an improvement much looked for.

' September 2bth. — By aid of drag-belts and half-
loads the overland route to Victoria Lake was accom-
plished, the distance being about a mile, but not
enough snow to render it easy work ; in fact, the land
was nearly bare, except in patches, which we availed
ourselves of as often as possible. On reaching the ice
with the first load, I found it to be a solid floe of
rounded hummocks, bare of snow, and of great age ; it
terminated in a sheet of clear, beautiful ice which I
doubt not is of this season's formation, and which was
about ten inches in thickness, and over nearly six feet
of fresh water. We appreciated the fact of our being
on a freshwater lake most thoroughly, and everyone
turned out to be thirsty.

'By 3.30 p.m. I had to cut another dog adrift, it
being far too constantly ill to do anything ; this left
five in one sledge and six in the other. It may perhaps
be thought more humane to kill rather than desert
dogs ; but I have found from experience that some-
times they follow your tracks, and that they again
become useful ; and on my return to the ship last time,
a dog by name " Michael " went down in a fit within
a couple of miles of the ship ; he was cut adrift and

158 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Octobee

left on the ice, remained away some eight days, during
some of which a furious gale was blowing, and then
returned to do good service on the present journey.
The only harm his absence seems to have done him
is to have given him an unappeasable appetite, for he
is less particular in what he eats than any other of the
creatures ; harness, rope, leather-straps, hide-lashing,
painted canvas, &c, have all suffered from his pecu-
liarity ; and on one occasion he investigated the
frozen contents of the metal ladle with such eagerness
that he bit a piece clean out of it two inches in length.

' On the 27th, accompanied by Ayles, I started off
from the tent, in a W.N.W. direction, and at noon
reached the summit of a hill near Cape Joseph Henry
about 2,300 feet high. The only difficulty was the
snow, which was in some places above the knees, but
the ascent was generally easy except near the top,
which was somewhat steeper.

' The weather did not promise a very good view,
and as we got higher I found a dense mist hanging
some eight or ten miles from the land between N.W.
and N.N.E. Unfortunate in this respect, I was quite
the contrary in the place of observation, for instead of
a long and undulating plain, which often disappoints
one on reaching what is vainly hoped to be the summit,
this ended abruptly on its N.W. side in a precipitous
descent of over 1,000 feet into the snow-clad valley
beneath.

6 The hills immediately beneath me prevented my
seeing the coast-line for some fifteen miles, but beyond
that I got a good view, and good bearing of two well-
defined capes.

1875 VIEW FROM MOUNT JULIA. 159

* Beyond them I saw no land, and as I watched for
over three hours, during portions of which time I had
good views through the fleeting mist, I am inclined to
believe that no land trends to the northward, at all
events for a considerable distance.

' October 1st. — Temperature inside the tent 20° ;
snowing heavily in the morning. Abont 8.30 a.m. it
partially cleared. The bag of biscuit and the remain-
der of our luncheon bacon had been left outside the
sledge trough by mistake, and on going out of the tent
at 5 o'clock, I had the mortification of seeing that the
dogs had eaten all. Fortunately we had the provisions
for the day in the luncheon haversack, and the depot
I had left on the lake I knew I could reach in two days.
But I was obliged to give up a plan I had intended
carrying out of going right round by the coast-line,
and endeavouring to determine the depth of the
different bays, &c, with more accuracy than can be
expected when taking short cuts amid heavy hummocks.
At about 1.30 p.m., I heard, " one, two, three, haul ! "
and I knew I was somewhere in the vicinity of
Commander Markham and his party. From the top
of a hummock I found them about a mile distant,
making standing pulls across very bad ice, in the direc-
tion of View Point. Having attracted their attention,
we altered course towards one another and communi-
cated. The route by which I had come being easier
than that which they were taking, was adopted by them,
but long after we had parted, the " one, two, three,
haul ! " showed me that they had not got through the
short distance of bad ice previous to getting on to the
ice-foot south of View Point, Commander Markham

160 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. October

reported all well, in good spirits, and "working
splendidly," but that he had found the travelling ex-
ceedingly heavy, and had been obliged to resort to
standing pulls for the best part of three days.

' We parted about 2.30 p.m., and half an hour after-
wards, while eating our luncheon, I saw the Commander
struggling back. He had brought us some rum which
they could spare, to fill up the deficiency caused by our
leaving the ship with eight days' for three men, instead
of fourteen days' for four men ; we fully appreciated
this kindness on his part.

1 On the 2nd the weather was foggy, with snow
falling. I steered by compass across the bay, making as
straight a course as possible by marking hummocks.
The increase of snow had entirely altered the appear-
ance of everything, and what appeared before as very
hummocky ice now looked like a level floe. It was
impossible to pick a road, and very slowly we strug-
gled on, sometimes coming suddenly against a hum-
mock, and at other times falling helplessly into deep
holes.

' I picked up my depot at the entrance to the lake,
and pushed on to it, having been looking forward to
get water from it for luncheon. The hills at the sides
of the ravine, and the ravine itself, were knee-deep in
snow, where scarcely any lay when I passed before ;
the clear and polished floe was covered, and we had a
little difficulty in finding out the position of our former
water-hole. A pick-axe soon brought us to beautiful
water ; the ice seemed to have increased in thickness
about two inches, or perhaps a little more. While
drawing some water Frederick noticed some fish

1875 SOFT SNOW. 161

moving about ; on going to investigate I saw some
small ones, about six inches in length, swimming
close under the ice in the hole. I dropped pieces of
biscuit in to see if they would eat it, but they took no
notice of it. However, I had a good hour before me
during luncheon, and I was very anxious to catch a
specimen. This I did with the aid of a bent pin and
a small piece of bacon. In an hour and a-half I got
three of them. They proved to be a kind of charr,
which I packed in snow and brought on board. All
the fish seemed to be much of the same size, and I saw
none larger than those caught.

' October 4:th. — Snowed a great deal during the
night. I vainly imagined on starting we should be on
board in the evening. Steering by compass through a
thick fog, I went as nearly straight as I could. After
luncheon we manned the drag-ropes, and worked with
a will to get on board ; but the dogs were quite done
up, and insensible to persuasion of every kind, some of
them actually dozing off as they sat in the snow ; so
again we had to pitch the tent at a distance from the
ship as far as I could judge of about five miles.

' October bth. — Breakfast at 8.15 a.m., and under
weigh as quickly as possible. Very thick and snowing,
calm. The travelling not at all the better for last
night's snow. Made small progress, so clapped on the
drag-belts ; and, finding that the dogs did not keep
steadily at their work, I shifted the principal weights
on to one sledge, harnessed all the dogs to it, and the
blue-jackets and myself dragged the other one ahead,
thus clearing the snow a little for the dogs, who sank
sometimes above their muzzles in the soft snow. In
vol. I. m

162

VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA.

October

this way we proceeded till 1.30 p.m., when we lunched
off the remains of the biscuit dust and frozen meat, not
caring to wait long enough to cook tea ; after which
we again set off, and, as there appeared no chance of
our reaching the ship with both sledges, I packed one
with the tent, lower robe, coverlet, waterproof sheet,
pick-axe, shovel, and snow-saw, and left it on the far
side of the nearest bay to the ship, about two and a
half miles distant. We now got on a little quicker,

DOG-SLEDGE.

and in due course I rounded the point, and arrived
on board the ship about 8 p.m., finding the ice very
sludgy, but far preferable to what we had been travel-
ling over.

' Dogs are not of much use when the snow becomes
more than twelve inches deep : they are frightened
and unable fairly to exert their powers. On smooth
floes they are very rapid, but where men have to lend
a hand, the unanimity of action which prevails in a

1875 WET STATE OF THE FLOE. 163

man -sledge is lost, and by no means could we get our
dogs to haul when we did. This makes the labour
much greater, and it is not agreeable to find, on
looking round after a hard struggle in the belt to get
the sledge ahead, that some of the dogs are not
hauling, and the others helping them ; and yet ordi-
narily they do a very great deal of work, and if much
may be said against them a great deal may be said for
them.'

At Floeberg Beach on the 6th. The ice was
eight inches in thickness, above it was water one inch
in depth, five inches of sodden snow, and on top of all
eight inches of dry snow. Owing to this accumulation
of snow on the young ice, it suddenly broke away
from the ship's side, and sank about six inches, allow-
ing the water to flow over it to that depth, and render-
ing the surface extremely sloppy ; the water remaining
unfrozen notwithstanding the temperature was at 14°.

On the 7 th we experienced a strong breeze from the
westward, with snow falling and drifting to such an
extent as to hide everything from view that was more
than a ship's length distant. I was very thankful that
Aldrich and the dogs were safe on board, for the light
snow had collected in drifts as high as our hips. On
the land it must have been deeper, but our duties
did not call anyone in that direction. The upper deck
was so deeply buried that it became questionable
whether to house it over with the winter awning, but
closing it in too early meant shutting out the daylight
from below — a very serious loss.

During the evening, the overcast weather clearing

M 2

.

Hi 4 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Ootob

slightly, we obtained a momentary glimpse of the hill-
tops. Although so mneh snow had fallen lately, the
wind had swept them completely bare, carrying the
snow to the sheltered slopes and on to the sea ice.

I remarked in my journal : ' 8th. — Light airs and
calms with snow. The floe is in a most deplorable
state ; the snow, two feet in thickness, covers more
than one foot of wet sludge at a temperature of 27°.
It was with difficulty that we obtained a sledge-load
of ice from the upper surface of a floeberg about one
hundred yards from the ship. A road was cleared for
a short distance with shovels, but as soon as the snow
was removed the uncovered water a foot in depth
above the floe turned into sludge, but refused to freeze
hard. Matters were little better on shore. After more
than half an hour's struggling over the soft snow on
my knees, I reached the observatory which was about
three hundred yards distant from the ship, but I failed
altogether to reach ' Markham Hall.' A road must be
shovelled away before we can communicate with it
unless we use snow-shoes. This soft snow and so long-
continued a fall of it is a new experience to Arctic
men. The German Expedition on the east coast of
Greenland are the only people who have met with
anything like it. Our travellers must be experiencing
very hard work, but fortunately they have plenty of
x provisions. It is difficult to say which is worse, the
soft snow or the continuous misty weather. The dogs
can do nothing in it, and it is quite impossible to put
them into snow-shoes.

' Yesterday's wind forced the pack off the land from
Cape Sheridan to Ca/pe Eawson, leaving a water channel

1875 COMMENCE HOUSING THE SHIP IN. . 165

from two hundred to three hundred yards broad, open
for several hours. The pack still works alongshore
with each tide, but does not move so quickly as it did.

' 9 th. — This morning the weather has completely
changed and the temperature has fallen to minus 10°.
Everyone felt as if a weight were being removed as
the mist rolled away before a light northerly wind,
giving place to a cloudless sky. The travellers will be
very thankful for the change and the fall in tempera-
ture, for we nfay soon expect a dry floe and hard snow.

1 The sun was seen at 8h. 45m. a.m. for a few minutes,
rising above the Greenland hills, and yet so slightly is
its pathway inclined to the horizon that at noon.it was
not more than one degree high. The hills south of us,
being elevated three degrees, hid it completely from
view. It remained more than six hours above the
horizon, nearly as long as during the shortest day in
England, in three days it will have left us altogether
for the winter. To-day we commenced housing the
ship in ; the snow, accumulated on the upper deck
during the last fall, has been levelled off ready to be
covered with gravel when the housing is complete.
At midnight the northern sky was quite bright with an
orange tint which at first was thought to be an aurora,
but as the sun was only ten degrees below the horizon
it was certainly the reflected twilight.

' 10th. — Wishing to place a dark object on Cape
Sheridan to guide the sledge travellers expected back
in a day or two, a cairn built of casks, with a pole,
has been erected there, which will give them something
to steer for should the misty weather return. In the
evening the temperature again rose above zero.

166 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. October

' 12th. — A strong wind blew from the north-west
during the night, but it has turned out a truly magni-
ficent day. Not a particle of cloud or mist in the
orange-coloured sky. At noon the sun, nearly at its
lowest altitude, was shining, on the southern slopes of
the Greenland Hills and United States Mountains, and
gilding the summits of the lofty hummocks three and
four miles north of us. It is as agreeable a contrast
to the late misty weather as anyone could wish for ;
and except for the sake of our absent travellers, we
should forget what is past. To-day I obtained astro-
nomical observations at this position for the first time.
On our first arrival here, no stars were visible, and the
sun itself was at too low an altitude. Since it was dark
at midnight we have only seen one star and then only
for a few moments.

' During the afternoon Eawson returned from a ten
days excursion to the southward, having, as I fully ex-
pected, been unable to force his way along the coast-
line beyond a cliff about twelve miles from the ship.
He found the broken masses of ice forced up on top of
the ice-foot and resting against the cliffs, in many places
more than thirty feet high ; this and the accumulated
deep snow-drifts fronting the valleys caused more than
usually laborious travelling and finally stopped him
altogether. The ice in the channel was in constant
motion ; hence it was out of the question to trust his
party on it even with a boat.

' Having built a snow hut with much trouble caused
by the difficulty in obtaining hard snow — one of a chain
of huts which I hope to construct for the use of travel-
lers journeying between the two ships — he passed the

1875 RAWSON'S JOURNEY. 167

gale of the 7th in comparative comfort. The only draw-
back was the heat inside the hut, which rose from 15°
outside to 45° inside, and naturally melted the roof.
Although the door and a ventilating hole in the upper
part of the dome were both open, the drip from within
could not be stopped.

1 So soft and deep was the snow, that on the return
journey the party were obliged to cut a road for the
greater part of the distance, and only travelled about
one mile a-day with a nearly empty sledge. On two
different occasions Eawson while travelling in Eobe-
son Channel experienced strong southerly winds, while
at the more protected position near Floeberg Beach,
only a few miles distant from where he was, the
weather was nearly calm.

4 13th. — Again a beautiful clear calm day without
a cloud in the sky. Walked to Cape Sheridan with
Feilden in the hope of meeting the travellers, but we
were disappointed. The snow-clad United States Eange,
tinted a pink colour by the sun, looked very grand.

' The strong wind on the 7th having blown away
the snow-blanket covering the sloppy floe, the cold
weather has at last been able to exert its power. The
wind on the 12th removed what dry snow remained,
and to-day we have a hard frozen surface of ice, at
which everyone rejoices. The upper surface of the ice
which was originally formed by the sea freezing, is now,
by measurement, buried ten inches below the surface of
the present floe ; the salt water which oozed up through
the weighted ice produced on mixing with the snow,
salt sludge ; this by freezing has added a stratum of
salt or brackish ice above the original upper surface.

1G8 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SKA. Octobi

When a heavy fall of snow occurs during the autumn,
thin ice is thus ever increasing in thickness superficially,
consequently any article which may be left lying about
becomes frozen in and buried. An old floe being able
to support the weight of the snow, and not admitting
of percolation from below, does not add to its upper
surface in the same manner.

' Although we are surrounded by large pieces of
sea- water ice, of great age, it is difficult to obtain any
that is perfectly free from salt. In many places the
ice when melted is sufficiently pure to drink, and the
salt contained in it cannot be detected by tasting, but
Dr. Colan will not admit it as perfectly pure water.
The ice we have been using for drinking purposes is
obtained from the surface of a gigantic flat-topped
floeberg, eighty feet in thickness, which is lying firmly
aground, after having been forced up the incline of the
sea-bottom and raised about eight feet by the pressure
of the outside pack. At the bottom of the coating of
hard compact snow which lies on its surface, and
which appears to me to have withstood the last
summer's thaw, is a thin stratum of crystallized snow
one inch and a quarter thick. Beneath is a thickness
of from ten to twelve inches of perfectly pure ice lying
above the brackish ice of which the rest of the floeberg
consists. There is a horizontal dividing line between
the fresh and the salt ice, the pure ice being the
whitest of the two ; but the pieces of ice chipped off
from the two parts are precisely alike as regards trans-
parency. Dust spots are plentiful in the salt ice lying
at various depths, but generally in connected layers ;
the fresh ice contains none. Occasionally at the dividing

1875 MARKHAMS RETURN. 169

line there is a layer of granulated ice less solid than
that above and below it. After carefully examining
many floebergs, I conclude that all the pure ice has
been formed from the melted snow being gathered into
pools on the old floes and refrozen. The dust which
was originally intermixed with the snow eats its way
down into the brackish floe-ice at the bottom of the
freshwater pool during the heat of summer.'

On the 14th, Dr. Moss walked out to Dumb-bell
Bay on snow-shoes, ancl there met Commander Mark-
ham and his three sledge crews, struggling homeward
through the deep snow.

I did not expect Markham on board until the
following day ; but so great was the discomfort of
passing another sleepless night in the stiff and shrunken
tents and hard frozen blanket-bags and clothing, that
he made a forced march to get on board, sending
Lieutenant Parr in advance to report his intention. I
ordered a hot meal to be prepared, and all hands from
the ship walked out to meet the travellers. They fell
in with them at Point Sheridan, as they were struggling
through the last of the deep snow before' reaching the
mile and a half of hard ice leading to the ship ; this
was the first level ice they had met with throughout
their journey.

The men were in wonderful spirits, but although
all were able to walk, several were severely frost-bitten.
The journey had been most severe ; but Markham had
nevertheless succeeded in establishing his depot of
provisions at Cape Joseph Henry. All made light of
the numerous unavoidable hardships they had under-
gone, remarking laughingly but truly, 'We could never

170 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. October

have learnt our work except by the actual experience
we have gone through.'

Sledge travelling during the autumn is necessarily
accompanied by greater hardships and discomforts
than that during the spring, to say nothing of its being
usually undertaken by inexperienced men. During
the spring the weather, and consequently the travelling,
is constantly improving, and the equipment, moistened
during the earlier days, can usually be dried before it
becomes very bad. During the autumn the tempera-
ture, too warm at first, steadily falls, and each day adds
its modicum of dampness to the tent, blanket-bags, and
clothing, until at last they contain so much moisture
and become so frozen and contracted in size as to be
almost unserviceable. The sodden blanket-robes fro-
zen as hard as boards can scarcely be unrolled, and
the stockings and foot-wrappers, put on damp in the
morning, are by night frozen so hard into the# canvas
boots as to refuse to separate unless cut apart or melted
inside the blanket-bag by the heat of the body.

Markham's journey of nineteen- days was accom-
panied with rhe usual hardships and sufferings. The
deep soft snow, reaching sometimes above the knee,
was nearly impassable ; being a totally new experience
the travellers were unprepared for it. In the daily
endeavour to advance, the three officers walked in front
of the party, treading down a road through the snow ;
and as the most severe labour devolved on the sledge
which happened to be in front, its crew was augmented.
The order of march was changed daily as well as the
leading men on the drag ropes ; when the snow was very
deep, the whole party of twenty-one men had to drag

1875 AUTUMN SLEDGE TRAVELLING. 171

the sledges forward one at a time. The newly formed
ice was so weak that it became necessary to cross it
with half-loads, and the unfrozen water-spaces near the
shore were so frequent that land travelling along every
bend of the coast-line had to be resorted to. A large
water-pool in the neighbourhood of Cape Eichardson
obliged the travellers to cross a hill 250 feet high.

Out of the party of twenty-one men and three
officers, no less than seven men and one officer returned
to the ship badly frost-bitten, three of these so severely
as to render amputation necessary, the patients being
confined to their beds for the greater part of the
winter.

The sledges with their cargoes on four occasions
broke through the ice, and individual men frequently :
these being made to change their clothing escaped any
bad consequences. The frost-bites were attributable
entirely to the wet sludgy state of some of the ice that
had to be crossed.

The water that had oozed up through the ice
remained unfrozen, although the temperature was
upwards of forty degrees below freezing point ; con-
sequently whenever the travellers, inexperienced as
they were at the time, were forced to drag their
sledges over a road of this nature, their feet became
wet and frost-bitten a considerable time before they
discovered it when changing their foot-gear in the
evening ; by which time the mischief had attained such
an advanced stage as to defy all restoration of the
circulation.

The sledges proved to be too rigid ; but by taking
out the metal pins connecting the uprights to the
upper bearer, and depending upon the hide lashings

j

172

VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA.

October

alone, they afterwards stood the unusually heavy work
admirably.

There was not one day while Markham was travel-
ling that he could have obtained snow of sufficient
consistency to enable him to build snow -houses for
shelter by night.

Subjoined is the weight of the sledge equipments
before starting and on the return of the party ; the
change is due entirely to the constantly increasing
moisture of the articles. The contracted dimensions
by freezing was considerable.

Description

Before Starting

On Beturn

Tent . ....
Sail . . . . . .

Coverlet

Lower rope

Floorcloth (waterproof) .

Sleeping bag

Knapsack

lb. oz.

31 14

9 1

21 1

18 4

11 4

8 2

7 4

lbs.
55
17
48
40
29
17
10

Five hares were shot by Lieutenant Parr on Cape
Kichardson, and traces of ptarmigan were seen there
and at Cape Joseph Henry.

The temperature ranged between 15° above and
22° below zero. The party was prevented travelling on
two days by gales of , wind ; and it is remarkable that
on one of these days, October 3, when they were
detained by a northerly gale at Cape Joseph Henry,
we experienced a calm at Floeberg Beach.

The fall of temperature which was experienced on
board the ship on the 14th appears to have occurred
several hours previously at a position only eight miles
distant towards the north-west.

The usual ration of spirit at lunch was changed for

1875 RESULTS OF AUTUMN SLEDGE JOURNEYS. 173

tea, and this alteration in the diet was reported on favour-
ably by everyone without exception. Doubtless tea
is preferred by the men, but the long halt of at least
an hour, required for boiling water and preparing the
tea, must completely chill the sledgers, and cannot, in
my opinion, be advantageous. On this journey atten-
tion was drawn to the fact that the barrels of the
breech-loading fowling-pieces became contracted by
the cold to such an extent that the paper cartridges
which at a higher temperature fitted well could not
be inserted until the outside paper had been stripped
off.

Markham reported that during the return journey
one of the Eskimo dogs that had been abandoned by
Lieutenant Aldrich joined his party, and prowled about
at a distance of from four to five hundred yards, but
nothing would induce her to approach nearer during
the day. This dog remained near them until the day
before they arrived on board, when she disappeared
and was not seen for several weeks.

The results of the autumn sledge journeys were,
the advance of a large depot of provisions for use in
the following spring, an invaluable additional ex-
perience in Arctic travelling, and further, by our
greater good fortune in finding continuous land over
or near which to travel, we succeeded in wresting from
Sir Edward Parry and his companions their gallantly
achieved distinction of having advanced the British
Flag to the highest northern latitude.

The names of Sir Edward Parry and his followers
have been given to the newly discovered land to the
westward of Cape Joseph Henry in about latitude
82° 45' N., the parallel to which they attained in 1827.

174 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. October

CHAPTER IX.

PREPARATIONS FOR WINTER DOG-SICKNESS — SNOW-HOUSES VENTI-
LATION OF ARCTIC SHIPS ARCTIC CLOTHING — ASTRONOMICAL

OBSERVATIONS — FIRE-HOLE — AURORA — THE MOON — THE ' LADIES'
MILE ' — ROYAL ARCTIC THEATRE — PARASELENA — ARCTIC DARKNESS
— HIGH TEMPERATURE — CHRISTMAS — END OF THE TEAR.

The sun having bidden us farewell, our preparations
for the long winter were actively pushed forward. The
pack-ice outside of our barrier of floebergs still con-
tinued in motion, indicating that the ice in Eobeson
Channel was unfit for travelling on. I was therefore
most reluctantly compelled to give up all hope of
communicating with Captain Stephenson at Discovery
Bay until the following spring. I accordingly informed
Lieutenant Eawson and his sledge crew that they were
to pass the winter on board of the ' Alert ' instead of
returning to their own ship. Having left the ' Dis-
covery ' with the belief that they would only be absent
from her for .a few days, they were unprovided with
winter clothing, but the articles I was unable to
provide out of the ship's stores were readily made up
to them by the liberality of their companions, and they
passed as comfortable and happy a winter as any on
board our ship.

With the exception of the cases of frost-bite the

1875 DOG-SICKNESS. 175

health of all was excellent. The frost-bites certainly
would not have occurred had the travellers been more
experienced. Precept and admonition are of little
avail beforehand ; experience alone will teach men
that a long journey can be performed after the feet
have lost all circulation. The face also may be frost-
bitten without a person being aware of the fact until
informed by a companion that his nose, cheeks, or ears
have become a dead white. So long as the stinging
sensation of being cold is felt all is safe. One of our
worst cases occurred in consequence of the traveller
neglecting to remove his solidly frozen foot-gear,
trying instead to thaw it off inside his blanket-bag.

By this time a heavy mortality had occurred among
our dogs, fifteen out of the thirty originally embarked
having succumbed to disease, run away, or been neces-
sarily destroyed. Though the animals had been
selected with great care from districts in North Green-
land supposed to be uninfected, the mysterious disease
which of late years has prevailed amongst the dogs in
the Danish settlements soon made its appearance in our
packs. Apparently healthy dogs were suddenly seized
with this strange disorder, generally falling down in
fits not unlike epilepsy. The spasms of the poor animals
in these cases were most painful to witness. During
the intervals between the frequent fits they roamed
about unconscious, foaming at the mouth, and snapping
and biting at the other dogs, or at anyone who came
in their way. When in this condition they would go
overboard into the water, or try to run on thin ice,
which in their healthy state they would never have
ventured on. The Eskimo dog has a great horror of

176 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Octob]

getting into the water. I have seen an animal resting
on a sloping snow-bank near the sea suddenly taken
with a fit. Evidently aware of what was coming, it
made the most desperate efforts to escape up the in-
cline, and howled dismally as its limbs refused to
perform their office. Finally dropping into the water,
it would have been drowned had it not been rescued.
The medical officers of the Expedition, Doctors
Thomas Colan and Belgrave Mnnis, paid the utmost
attention to the outbreak, and in several instances
animals that were severely afflicted with fits recovered
under their treatment, and afterwards did good work.
Dr. Ninnis has officially reported on the disease. We
are, I regret, unable to throw much light upon the
origin of this mysterious malady, which in some of its
phases is not unlike the description given of rabies ; but
there is no instance recorded in Greenland of human
beings who have been bitten having suffered from
hydrophobia, and the recovery of the animals in some
instances is entirely opposed to the recorded experience
of true rabies.

After consulting with Doctor Colan regarding the
scale of diet which our stock of provisions would
permit us to issue during the winter, the allowance of
preserved meat was slightly increased, and the ration
of salt meat correspondingly diminished. Our supply
of fresh musk-ox flesh was sufficient for about twenty
days' allowance. Fresh baked bread was issued three
days out of four, biscuit on the remaining day. With
this ration the whole allowance of biscuit was seldom
consumed. As the travellers in the spring could not
possibly carry bottled fruits while absent from the ship.

1875 BRINE AT A LOW TEMPERATURE. 177

the winter ration of that article was increased ; an
arrangement that was much appreciated by everyone.

Substantial snow-houses were built on the floe and
on shore in which to store the salt meat. So long as
the temperature did not fall much below zero the
brine in the meat remained unfrozen and continued to
drip, thus ridding the beef of a large portion of the
salt. This plan proved a most excellent one, the meat
retaining more flavour than when soaked in water.
Mr. Kennedy, when wintering in North Somerset
during 1851-52, adopted a somewhat similar mode-
He remarks : ' On the suggestion of one of our officers,
we have for some days been trying an experiment to
ascertain how far the exposure of our salt provisions
to the frost, and burying them in the snow, would have
the effect of freshening, that is, drawing the salt from
them ; but we have had no reason to put any faith in
it.' They probably did not protect the meat in a snow-
house from too severe a temperature.

The banking up of the ship's sides progressed
but slowly, for the snow within a reasonable distance
was soon exhausted, and it was found necessary to
drag a great quantity on sledges from the shore.
Large and substantial magnetic and astronomical ob-
servatories were constructed on the land, and were at
once named by the men Kew and Greenwich. Fortu-
nately for the architects, the gales in the middle of
September had formed hard snow-banks, out of which
a compact building material was readily procured ; but
the heavy fall of snow early in the month had covered
this completely ; consequently the accumulation of
discarded material round each building was consider-

VOL. i. n

178 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. October

able, and for a long time presented anything but a
tidy appearance. Some of the officers also constructed
smaller snow-houses in which they stored their super-
fluous gear, thus giving themselves more space in their
cabins.

The floebergs forced on shore in our neighbourhood
were as a rule solid masses of sea-water ice; but
in one large one a cave three feet high and six
deep was left, hollowed out of the side below the
former line of flotation. Long after the temperature
had fallen below the freezing point of salt water, icicles
continued to form, hanging from the roof of the cave.
These increased in size and length and continued to
drip-while the temperature remained above minus 15°.
The brine appeared to percolate downwards through
the seemingly solid ice, and while a somewhat purer
portion became frozen and formed the icicle, the salt-
est part of the liquid continued to drip from the end.
When the temperature fell to minus 19° even the saltest
part became solid. Throughout the winter whenever a
rise in temperature above minus 1 9° was experienced,
these icicles commenced to drip, and to contract in size
as the increasing warmth of the atmosphere melted the
purer ice in the middle. The size and degree of salt-
ness of the icicles thus varied as the temperature of the
air rose or fell.

As the season advanced and the temperature de-
creased, the usual troubles of Arctic ships were experi-
enced. The descending cold draughts through the
stove funnels increasing, caused them to smoke badly
and necessitated the removal of the long horizontal
parts which were led under the deck beams for the

187o

FROZEN CHIMNEY.

179

purpose of economising the heat. By introducing tall
upright funnels this annoyance was removed. The
moisture formed by the
meeting of the hot and
cold air inside the funnels
froze and gradually col-
lected sufficiently to lessen
the draught. At the
top of the funnels icicles
formed, blocking up the
apertures and hanging
down outside ; these if
permitted to increase,
would at last close the
funnel entirely. It was
difficult to remove the
ice that accumulated in-
side, except by allow-
ing it to melt naturally
and run out through the

joints in the funnelling, where it was collected in buckets.
The greatest annoyance of all, and which has never
yet been completely avoided in Arctic ships, was the
moisture which collected on the beams of the mess-
deck, to such an extent as to necessitate their being fre-
quently sponged in order to prevent it dripping. The
immediate neighbourhood of the entrance hatchways
and the ' downtakes,' where the rush of cold outer
air caused vapour to form, were the dampest parts.
The steam from the coppers during cooking times also
added considerably to the evil. A thorough mode of

ship is

N 2

FROZEN CHIMNEY.

warming and ventilating the lower deck of a

180 VOYAGE TO THE POL.AR SEA. October

an extremely difficult matter at any time ; in the Arctic
regions, where the inside temperature of the ship
differs from fifty to over a hundred degrees from
that of the outside air, the difficulty is considerably
increased. Every precaution has to be taken to pre-
vent the cold descending air mixing directly with the
warm and rarefied atmosphere of the mess-deck ; for
wherever this takes place the air becomes vaporized
and the moisture is deposited. To effectually warm
the fresh air would consume more coal than an Arctic
ship could possibly carry. If the question were one of
ventilation alone no difficulty would be experienced ;
for with a difference of temperature of fifty degrees
the down rush of fresh air is so strong that the supply
has to be regulated.

Sir Edward Parry, after his third and last voyage
to the Arctic seas, observes : —

6 No means for the production of internal warmth
will prove sufficient, without the most minute attention
to the stopping of every crevice communicating wTith
the external air. There should, on this account, be no
openings whatever, but those for the stove pipes and
the two ladders. ... I have heard a doubt expressed
whether, with all these precautions, there is not a risk of
not admitting enough fresh air for healthy respiration
and to afford draught to the fires. But I do not think
there is any apprehension : enough, and, without great
care, more than enough, for these purposes will always
gain admission by the frequent opening of the doors ; for
it should be remembered that the more warmth is pro-
duced below, the more forcibly will the cold air from
above find its way in to supply the place of that which
is rarefied.'

1875 VENTILATION. 181

With a greater cubic space per man in the ' Alert '
than in any former Arctic discovery ship excepting
the ' North Star,' I hoped that with care the dampness
would be lessened. In this I was not disappointed,
but although every means in our power was taken to
reduce it to a minimum, it still existed to a consider-
able extent.

The object in both ships was to increase the size
and height of the mess-deck as much as possible, by
building snow-houses with wooden roofs over each
hatchway ; also to enlarge the entrance porches at the
top of each communication hatchway. In the ' Alert '
a snow-house was erected on the upper deck above
the galley hatch, fifteen feet long and nine broad ; this
acted admirably as a condenser, collecting the steam as
it rose from the boilers below. The porches on the
upper deck were doubled in size, forming rooms eight
feet square. The walls being composed of hard snow-
blocks and having ventilating holes in them, the tem-
perature of the descending air, by passing through
the warmed snow-chamber, was by this means raised
considerably before it reached the lower deck.

The washing and drying room at the extreme end
of the lower deck was kept quite distinct from where
the men lived ; the forecastle above it being converted
into a snow-condensing chamber, the damp air from
the washing room below ascended into it and passed
out through a ventilating tube.

In our endeavour to get rid of the rarefied air
from the ship several ' uptakes ' were introduced, but
only those above the hatchways answered the purpose
satisfactorily ; many of the rest, being more frequently

I

182 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. October

' downtakes,' had to be closed up again. Openings
made in the stove funnel near the beams were con-
stant and most valuable ' uptakes.'

On the lower deck everything that prevented the
free circulation of the air was removed, the dividing
bulkhead shifted farther aft, and free communication
arranged for between the fore and after parts of the
deck.

After these improvements were completed and the
upper deck covered with a layer of snow two feet in
thickness, the lower deck beams were fairly dry in all
ordinary weather : but in the immediate vicinity of
the ventilating hatchways and in the parts most distant
from the warming stoves, and more especially during
the coldest weather, constant sponging was necessary.
Although the captain's cabin and the wardroom were
perfectly dry, the officers' cabins opening into the ward-
room, not permitting a free circulation of the air,
were as usual the dampest parts of the ship, and each
officer was obliged to construct a waterproof covering
over his bed to catch the frequently falling drops.
The only remedy appears to be to remove as many
bulkheads as possible.

It has been proposed that the air necessary for
ventilating the ship should be passed through a warmed
chamber attached to the stoves ; but when it is con-
sidered how quickly all air-tubes become choked with
the accumulation of frozen moisture, it will be under-
stood how difficult such an arrangement would prove
in practice.

A stove fitted with water-pipes was tried on board
the ' Discovery ' with an excellent result, the warmth

1875 CLOTHING. 183

being distributed and conducted to a distance from the
fire by means of the piping.

Whenever the difference of temperature between
the outside and inside of the ship was greater than
fifty degrees, the ascending rarefied air from the deck
below, on escaping from the top of the ventilating
funnel, became visible on condensing, and appeared
like steam escaping from a boiler.

During the month the temperature of the lower
deck ranged between 35° and 55° ; that of the outer
air being between 21° and minus 32°, a mean difference
of about 55°.

The clothing in wear when on board the ship was
a thick under flannel and pair of drawers and socks ;
a thick woollen shirt with a turn-down collar and a
naval black silk handkerchief, a knitted waistcoat and
a box-cloth waistcoat with sleeves, a pair of seal-skin
trousers and box-cloth shoes ; the ship's company wore
knitted jerseys instead of the waistcoats.

When going on deck or on to the ice, a duck jumper,
or a seal-skin jacket, was worn in addition, with a
naval blue comforter round the neck, a thick pair of
fisherman's stockings, duffle knee-boots with thick soles,
and a leather cap with ear-laps lined with lamb's skin,
with mits as necessary. When the temperature was
below minus 30°, Welsh wigs or the ' Eugenie ' woollen
head-cover and seal-skin caps were worn, with large
hanging mits suspended from the shoulder. A suit of
chamois leather underclothing was worn by some of the
officers when they were taking observations and thus
prevented from taking quick exercise.

The rough duffle cloth leggings on the boots were

184 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Octobi

found to catch the snow badly. Except during very
cold weather the snow turned into ice from the heat of
the leg, and by clinging to the hairy cloth gave much
trouble in removing it.

Very early in the autumn it was found that when
the hammocks were carried from the lower to the upper
deck daily they became so thoroughly cold that on
being taken down to the warm deck the bedding be-
came quite damp from the difference in temperature.
In order to guard against this the hammocks were
necessarily always kept below during the winter.

In fixing up the transit instrument, Lieutenant
Parr observed that owing to the excessive cold, the
spirit in the levelling tube had contracted to such a
degree that the air-bubble extended the whole length
of the tube and was therefore useless for levelling the
instrument.

Throughout the cold weather we were much
troubled by the moisture which collected on the as-
tronomical instruments from the condensation of our
breath and from the warmth of the eye dulling the
telescope glasses. To remove the moisture we found
it best to apply the warm finger, which melted the film
of ice and also dried the glasses ; but as the tempera-
ture of the glass fell again a new film of ice would
collect. Anything is better than trying to remove it by
rubbing, as that puts the instrument out of adjustment.
In fact it was found necessary to obtain the error of
the sextants with each observation.

The fire-hole cut through the ice near the bows of
the ship was domed over with a large snow-covering,
both to keep the drift-snow away and to protect the;

1875 DAILY OCCURRENCES DURING WINTER. 185

water from the cold temperature. The temperature of
the snow-house being twenty degrees warmer than the
outside air, the layer of ice newly frozen each day was
considerably reduced in thickness.

The fire-hole was left open in case the pumps should
become frozen ; but as the supply valve was situated
below the water-line, they remained free from ice and
serviceable throughout the winter; the fire-hole was
therefore really useless except for making tidal obser-
vations.

For the daily occurrences throughout the winter it
will be more convenient to quote from my journal : —

' 22nd. — The young ice is nineteen inches thick. Ten
of these are due to increase on the upper surface from
frozen sludge. On the 1st of this month the ice was eight
inches thick ; therefore the increase by freezing below
the surface, when the ice was protected by snow, has
been only one inch against ten inches of increase up-
wards.

' 2ord. — The temperature rising from minus 25° to
minus 10°, with calm weather, the air is so sensibly
warm that the crew are able to work on the ice with
their hands uncovered. Some officers building a
snow observatory worked without their outer coats and
with merely ordinary black silk handkerchiefs round
their necks for two hours without feeling cold.

6 24dh. — Last night the tide-pole becoming frozen
to the ice was lifted off the bottom by the rise of the
tide. The observations will be now discontinued until
another register is fitted in the fire-hole.

' 26th. — A perfectly calm morning. The magnifi-
cently clear weather we have experienced for the last

1SG VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. October

fortnight somewhat repays us for the previous misty
weather.

' With the sun five degrees below the horizon the
Greenland mountains thirty miles distant, lighted with
a glorious orange-tinted sky, were distinctly visible.
Last night there were flashes of bright colourless
aurora bearing S.E.

This was the first sign of an aurora seen from either
the ' Alert ' or ' Discovery.'

' 27th. — As the spring-tides approach, the ice-hinge
formed between the main part of the floe and the
grounded ice rises and falls with each tide ; the end
resting against the floeberg being forced up higher daily
as the water freezes in the ever-breaking joint.

' Stars were visible to-day at noon.'

1 31st— Since the 21st there has been no movement
in the pack in a line parallel with the shore. The 17th
was the last day that any additional floebergs wrenched
themselves away from the parent floes and by ground-
ing outside contributed to strengthen our position.
A few water-pools have been seen lately in the offing
and yesterday the increased tidal motion opened two
large pools, about one hundred yards in diameter, a
quarter of a mile outside of us. To-day they are
nearly closed again ; so we may conclude that no great
alteration will take place in the pack before it breaks
up next season. I am still anxious about the effect of
a heavy onshore gale ; it would certainly force the
floebergs and the ship high up on the land. The fact
that we are wintering on a perfectly open coast, pro-
tected only by a line of salt-water ice-pieces, will enable
others to realize the heavy nature of the ice better

1875 SCHOOL ESTABLISHED. 187

than anything else. Whatever results may happen
from our wintering in this exposed manner, other voy-
agers should not follow our example. Walked with
Dr. Moss and Aldrich to Cape Sheridan : light wind,
temperature minus 15° ; it was rather stinging to our
faces while crossing the land ; but near the ship our
walk along the floe was more protected, and we scarcely
felt the cold at all.

' The upper deck having been completely housed
over, the thermometer screen has been removed from its
position inboard to a snow pedestal, twenty-three feet
from the ship, raised four and a half feet above the floe.

'November 1st. — After the monthly medical inspec-
tion to-day, Dr. Colan reports everyone in perfect
health with the exception of one man, the wardroom
steward ; he should never have been brought here.
A glass of beer is now issued in the evenings twice a
week. On the other five evenings a second allowance
of rum will be issued during the winter.

' The dinner-hour has been changed from noon to
1 p.m., in order to keep the ship's company out on the
ice during the lightest part of the day.

' On Sunday church is over by 10.30 a.m.; all hands
are then started off for a walk. School was com-
menced this evening on the lower-deck, all the crew
attending. Commander Markham, and Mr. Pullen,
have the general superintendence ; all the officers are
instructors when other work does not prevent their
attending. The lower-deck is dry and very comfort-
able. Only three men in our crew can neither read nor
write; these are instructed by Dr. Colan, who certainly
has the most monotonous work of all.

188 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. NotemotIi

' 3rd. — Yesterday an unusually high barometer,
30 6 5 inches, beginning to fall, accompanied with a
rising temperature and a cloudy sky, foretold a wind
from the southward.

1 At 10 a.m., as soon as it was sufficiently light to
see any distance, I ascended the look-out hill, and
observed a large pool of water a quarter of a mile in
breadth, extending from Cape Eawson to Cape Sheridan.

' The outer edge of the fixed ice formed a continuous
curve from one point of land to the other, and extended
to a distance of half a mile from the shore abreast of
the ship. This movement of the ice proves that there
must have been a southerly wind during the night, al-
though in our protected position under the ]and we
only experienced a rise in temperature. As the light
increased we found that the snow had been blown from
the unsheltered brows of the hills about Cape Eawson.
At noon snow was observed drifting off the top of the
cape from the southward, and very shortly afterwards
the gale reached Floeberg Beach, accompanied, as was
anticipated after calm weather lasting for more than
three weeks, by a very heavy snow-drift. Captain Mark-
ham and Giffard, who were observing in the magnetic
house, were snowed up and obliged to break the door
down to effect their escape. The temperature rose
thirty-four degrees above what it was yesterday ; there
is probably water in Eobeson Channel.

. ' This morning the screw was raised and secured for
the winter. The ice formed in the screw-well protected
from snow-drift was twelve inches in thickness.

4 In consequence of the increasing darkness the maxi-
mum and minimum thermometers were removed from

1875 AMUSEMENTS. 189

the shore and placed on a pedestal four and a half feet
above the ice level and seventy-seven feet from the ship.

' ith. — A calm morning ; the outer pack has closed
in again and the temperature has fallen. A row of
casks, about twenty feet apart, has been established in
a line between the ship and the Greenwich and Kew
observatories. In a thick snow-drift, owing to the ten-
dency to keep one's head down to avoid facing the
sharp snow and cold wind, these marks are of less use
than might be supposed. The black links of the chain
cable between the stern of the ship and the shore are
the best guiding marks in a heavy snow-drift.

' The moon being entirely absent we have only the
mid-day twilight to lighten us. At noon, it was light
enough to put out all the stars except those of the first
magnitude. The clouds in the southern sky were
tinted with a dark brick red. This is probably the
last glimpse of the poet's " blush of dawn " which we
shall experience for a long time.

' hth. — A fresh breeze from the S.W. during the
night has again formed a few water-pools in the offing ;
but it would appear to be now incapable of producing
a long continuous water-channel. ' Shut up as we are,
there is a great difficulty in finding suitable prizes for
winners in games of chance ; one does not wish to
stop cards, backgammon, and other games amongst the
crew ; in fact I encourage these pastimes ; but whereas
the officers can establish a score book at one penny a
point, the men, I fear, cannot so readily institute a
recognized stake. How great a need there is for some
article of currency is shown by games being played in
the wardroom jokingly for lucifer matches. Candles

190 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. November

have been thought of ; but they are of too much im-
portance for their loss to be risked.

'In the evening Guy Fawkes, with a blue light in
his mouth, mounted on a sledge and escorted by the
band playing the " Eogue's March," was dragged to the
top of one of the largest floebergs. Being placed on a
tarred barrel he was set fire to, and after being dis-
membered, as crackers blew his limbs off one by one,
his miseries were finally put an end to when the fire
reached some powder in the interior of his body.
What Frederick the Eskimo thought of the proceed-
ing I could not discover.

' 2th. — The Prince of Wales' health was drunk with
great enthusiasm after dinner. His Eoyal Highness's
thoughtful present to the officers and crew of both
ships of a library of books has been most fully appre-
ciated.

'For the last week the temperature has been
unusually high. To-day it has again fallen below
zero. With the sudden decrease in temperature to
minus 5° the air feels raw and much colder than when
the weather is settled at minus 20°.

' The temperature inside the snow-house situated
above the after hatchway is 35° ; that of the deck below
ranges between 43° and 55°.

' The snow-house over the galley hatchway, receiv-
ing the heated air from below, has melted considerably
and requires frequent repairs. The snow blocks form-
ing the walls have changed into a continuous sheet of
ice. Had we sufficient plank it would be advisable to
form an inner lining of wood.

' The snow has become decidedly harder since the

1875 THE MOON. 191

gale ; we can now cut blocks a foot and a half thick
from the snow-drifts collected on the floe. This is the
first time that we have been able to do so.

4 Yesterday, at noon, it was as dark as any previous
English expedition had experienced. With a perfectly
clear sky the noon twilight was insufficient to enable
us to make out the words in a " Times " leading
article, when the paper was held up facing the south.
We have yet eighty-seven days of more intense dark-
ness to pass through.

4 To-day the moon reappeared above the southern
horizon. Her movements are so important to us that
a monthly bulletin is published giving the precise
account of when she will appear and when depart.
She is truly the " presiding goddess " of the long Arctic
night ; reflecting to us, during each of her visits, the
light of the totally absent sun for ten successive days
and nights as she circles round the heavens without
ever setting. During some period of her stay full
moon occurs, and she displays her greatest beauty. At
the time of new moon, when her light would be of the
least value, she is absent in southern latitudes. Thanks
to her we can never realize what existence would be if
totally deprived of light.

1 10 th. — The temperature has fallen to minus 27°,
showing that the disturbing southerly wind has ceased.
The snow beef-house built on the ice continues at a
steady temperature of 12° unaffected by the change-
able temperature of the air; the beef consequently
must be quickly ridding itself of salt. To-day we
tasted a piece that had been dripping for ten days ;
it was perfectly good and appeared, as already observed,

X

192 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. November

to have more flavour than if it had been soaked in
water.

' We are still at work embanking the ship and build-
ing houses on deck.

' 11th. — To-day a course of lectures, with popular
readings and songs in character, to last about two hours
on each Thursday evening, was commenced. I opened
the course by a lecture on astronomy. At the end
it was scarcely necessary to remind such a steady
thoughtful body of men, that astronomical subjects lead
us to consider how God employs the numberless
objects around us to contribute to our wants, and how
after creating the sun, moon, earth, and stars — " God
saw that it was good."

« 14th. — Misty weather enables us to realize how
very dependent we are on shadow, whether cast by the
moonlight or sunlight. When shadows are prevented
forming, the snow tints are so similar and the lights so
blended that there is an anxious uncertainty attending
each step, similar to that experienced when walking in
the dark, and it is impossible to be sure whether the
next step will not lead one straightforward on the level,
directly against an obstacle, or headlong over a pre-
cipice. In this manner Eawson stepped deliberately into
a chasm some ten feet in depth during his last journey.
In the evening the mist cleared off; we could then read
the newspaper with ease by the light of the full moon.
The shadow of the ship showed every rope and spar
distinctly on the pure snowy ground.

' The frost-bitten patients are all going on well, but
continuous darkness, or rather lamp-light, is evidently
not the best restorative for invalids.

1875 VENTILATION. 193

1 Michael, the Eskimo dog that was lost for eight
clays during the autumn, was found dead yesterday.
He was a very willing strong dog, but always most un-
sociable with the others. He held himself aloof from
the rest of the pack, and they apparently agreed to
keep him in " Coventry."

' Ihth. — In anticipation of the expected darkness
when the moon leaves us on the 20th, a large depot
of fresh ice is being collected near the ship sufficient to
last until her next return. The ice quarry being 300
yards from the ship and the roadway extremely rough,
it is not advisable to send men amongst the heavy
hummocks during the darkness ; moreover, when quar-
rying by candle-light they would probably strike too
deep and give us salt ice instead of fresh.

' The uptakes in the snow porches are a great
success. From the accumulation of frozen moisture con-
stantly collecting on the inside of the pipes they must
also be downtakes, the warm air passing up the middle
of the pipe and the cold air down by the sides. Thus
the cold air becomes warmed before reaching the lower
deck. Frequent brushing is necessary to keep the
pipes clean. The wardroom is the only part of the ship
where there is a continuous downtake ; it is a large
tube leading from eight feet above the upper-deck to
the floor of the wardroom ; it freshens the air consider-
ably but makes the wardroom cold. As this ventilator
acts only as a downtake, no accumulation whatever
collects mside ; but owing • to its conducting the ex-
tremely cold air through the warm atmosphere of the
wardroom, the frozen moisture collects on the outside
of the chilled pipe, forming a white mass of efflorescence
vol, i. o

194

VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA.

November

at least two inches in depth, which rendered it so un-
pleasant and cold a neighbour when placed in the middle
of the wardroom, that it has now been moved and cased
round with wood.

' The snow on the land is at last sufficiently hard to
allow us to extend our walks on shore to wherever we
please ; but the darkness and cold combine to keep us
from straggling far. From Observatory Hill we can see

THE LADIES MIT.E.

one small pool of water at the entrance of Eobeson
Channel about two miles distant from Cape Eawson.

' Dr. Colan has marked out a level walk half a mile
in length with piles of empty preserved meat tins placed
thirty feet apart. This forms an excellent exercising
ground and has been named the " Ladies' Mile/'

c During this calm moonlight weather, although the
features of the land cannot be distinguished, the sharp
definition of the hill-tops against the thin streak of

1875 THE ROYAL ARCTIC THEATRE. 195

pearly twilight in the southern sky at noon is very
clear and decided.

' 18th. — Instead of the usual Thursday readings and
songs, the Eoyal Arctic Theatre was opened this
evening, after a close, I believe, of twenty-three years.
Owing to the large size of the lower deck we are
enabled to erect the stage there with the temperature
of 50°, an advantage appreciated by both actors and
audience. A representation held on the upper deck,
with a temperature of about twenty degrees below
zero, leads everyone to long for the finale at an early
hour.

' The acting was excellent, and everything went off
well. Aldrich's frequent and pleasant performances on
the piano have quite put a stop to the intended for-
mation of a band. He very kindly plays dance music
on Thursday evenings after the usual gathering, much
to the delight of the numerous dancers. The drop
scene was embellished with a representation of Austria,
America, and England struggling for the Pole.'

Owing to the small size of the ' Discovery's ' lower
deck a large snow-house was constructed on the floe,
which served as a theatre and lecture-room.

•ISth. — At 11 a.m. the magnetometer and electro-
meter both showed a disturbance. At 6 30 p.m. there
was a fine clear paraselena, the arch being forty-four and
a half degrees in diameter. Three mock moons were
visible, one above and one on each side of the moon.
The prismatic colours were very decided in the halo pass-
ing through the horizontal mock moon, showing red to-
wards or nearest to the real moon. The upper vertical
reflection was not clearly defined, being merely a bright

196 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. November

blur. The vertical and horizontal reflection forming
a cross passing through the moon was very clear.

1 Sailors being more accustomed to using a hand-
spike than to digging with a spade, cannot resist the
temptation of using the latter as a lever before the
block of snow has been disconnected from the snow
bank ; consequently our few available spades are all
more or less damaged, giving constant work to the
blacksmith, whose forge is erected on the forecastle.'

The ' Discovery ' improved upon this arrangement
and constructed a convenient snow smithy.

4 22nd. — Temperature minus 37°. The after part of
the lower deck is dry overhead ; the fore part fairly so.
The officers' cabins are still bad : the moisture collect-
ing and freezing when it is cold, thaws and drops at
other times. To-day there was a hght air from the
N.W., force 2. A few cheeks and noses were frost-
bitten, but not sufficiently to stop the work outside the
ship. We are still in want of snow for banking up
against the ship's side : since the heavy snowstorm in
September very little has fallen, and owing to the calm
weather deep snow-drifts have not collected near us.

'Last night a bright streak of aurora was seen stretch-
ing through the zenith in a north and south direction.'

About the same time a faint aurora was observed
at Discovery Bay.

' Yesterday, the low mist through which Aldebaran
was glimmering made it appear to move up and down, or
'jump,' as several reported; it was about six degrees
above the horizon and the refraction very changeable ;
this evening there was little or no refraction : the crescent
of the moon skirting close above the southern hills was

1875 MERCURY FROZEN. 197

so slightly distorted that it appeared in its true form
until the points of the upper horn sank behind the land,
not to return to us for thirteen days.

6 23rd. — A cold day with a clear sky. Mercury
frozen for the first time : temperature down to minus 45°.
Being calm, there were no ill effects from the extreme
cold, the work outside the ship being carried on as
usual.

' The cracking noise mentioned by former voyagers
has only lately been heard on board; as the spring- tides
approach the noise increases in frequency ; it is evi-
dently due to the movement of the ice in close contact
with the outer skin of the ship.

' Taking advantage of the cold weather, we com-
pared a number of spirit thermometers with each other ;
although their readings were widely different, yet
when the Kew correction was applied each agreed
fairly with the general mean.

1 2Qth. — This morning we experienced a southerly
wind. During the afternoon the weather was very
squally, but the wind never exceeded force 5 ; the tem-
perature, however, rose nineteen degrees, proving that a
gale was blowing in our near neighbourhood.

'A band of smoky-looking clouds has collected
above Eobeson Channel ; remaining stationary, they
denote that the wind does not extend to any great
height above the hills. I could see no water or water-
smoke at noon from the look-out hill, but by the tem-
perature rising forty degrees there is probably some
water in Eobeson Channel. Immediately the wind
changed from S.S.E. to W. the temperature fell twenty
three degrees.'

198 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. November

We afterwards learnt that during this period the
4 Discovery ' in her protected position experienced calm
and cold weather, only one light puff of wind from the
south-east reaching her at noon of the 26th. As her
highest temperature was minus 10°, I conclude that the
warm blast of air which raised our temperature to 19°
passed up Kobeson Channel from the southward with-
out entering Discovery Bay.

1 During the forenoon a streak of aurora was ob-
served passing through the zenith in a north and south
direction ; it consisted of a continuous straight ribbon
of fairly bright diffused light with distinctly marked
edges extending to within about eight degrees of each
horizon. The stars shone through the aurora as plainly
as those in any other part of the heavens, and the sky at
the border of the ribbon was not darkened in appearance.

' 21th . — The weather having become settled, leaving
an unusually clear sky even for this cloudless region,
with calm weather and a temperature of minus 15°,
everyone was induced to prolong his usual walk.

'28th. — At 1a.m. a bright streak of aurora, composed
of detached feathery streams, stretched across the zenith
in a north and south direction, extending to within about
twenty degrees of each horizon. At the same time,
bearing S.E., there were several bright flashes forming
an arch with a darkly shaded sky below.

8 The streams in the zenith, judging by their lateral
motion as they passed overhead towards the south,
were apparently not far from the earth ; in passing
they partially hid the stars from view, somewhat in the
same manner as a fine cumulus cloud would have done.

' This is the brightest aurora we have experienced

1875 HOMING PIGEONS. 199

but we could detect no disturbance in the magneto-
meter. Contrary to the popular belief, the aurora
gives us no appreciable light.

< 30th.— With the exception of the " Polaris " we
have now experienced a greater degree of darkness
than any of our predecessors. To-day, with a perfectly
clear sky, from a distance of half a mile in a southerly
direction, the ship was distinctly visible from 11 a.m.
to 1 p.m. At noon, just topping the southern hills,
was a faintly tinted pearly green sky, through which
stars of the first magnitude had a difficulty in shining ;
above, it toned off into a slightly brightened light blue
which extended to the zenith ; from thence to the
northern horizon was a distinctly brightened dark
blue sky. When the twilight, after lingering for eight
hours, has left us, the reflection from the prevailing snow
is sufficient, even at midnight, to brighten the heavens
and to render the stars in the " Milky Way " very faint ;
in fact that glorious band, only apparent on dark nights,
is here scarcely visible. When mist or snow-drift
obscures the stars then only is the darkness intense ;
it is never equal to the black gloom of a coal mine. /
The continuousness of the darkness, rather than its
intensity, is the depressing accompaniment of winter in
the Arctic regions.'

After the ship was fixed in winter-quarters an at-
tempt was made to train the carrier-pigeons to return
to the vessel. In doing so one was lost, and the three
remaining were then left to fly about the ship and
accustom themselves to the neighbourhood. As the
cold increased they preferred remaining in their house ;
consequently they were berthed below on the lower-

'200 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Dkcemn!

deck. Afterwards appearing to be sickening they were
again taken on deck, to ascertain if they could with-
stand the cold weather which they would have to
undergo if they were to be of any use to us ; but they
were so sluggish in their movements and so helpless
that the Eskimo dogs caught two of them : the last
survivor was then killed and added to the larder hang-
ing in the mizen rigging. Capt. Stephenson succeeded
in keeping one alive throughout the winter. In July,
when the temperature was above the freezing point, it
was released five miles distant from the ship, but was
never seen again.

These pigeons were sent on board with the belief
of many, that when liberated from captivity from any
distance they would return home ; but in reality, homing
pigeons, like other creatures, have to be taught what is
required of them. After becoming well accustomed to
one neighbourhood, they must first be taken a short
distance from home in the direction of the place whence
they are wanted to make their final flight. The dis-
tance has then to be gradually increased, until at last
they know the whole country above which they have
to return. They are of little or no use during fogs,
strong winds, or heavy rains. Pigeons are therefore
practically useless for explorers advancing over a new
country.

' December 1st — Another magnificent day; calm,
with a bright clear sky overhead and a temperature
at minus 10°, which, after taking one turn along the
Ladies' Mile, made us so thoroughly warm that we
could have dispensed with our inner waistcoats.

' The men are working outside the ship with their

1876 CONTRACTION OF ICE. 201

sealskin jackets off, cutting out the chain cables from
the ice in which they became buried by the sludge and
snow freezing over them in September.

' As the ice is constantly cracking with the tidal
motion and contracting from the cold, I am afraid that
the links of the chain, solidly embedded as they are in
the ice, will be unable to stand the great strain to
which they must be subjected at the parts where the
cable crosses the cracks.

* At the monthly medical inspection to-day Dr. Colan
reports that everyone is in perfect health with the ex-
ception of the wardroom steward, who is very ill.

6 Many of the officers are experiencing a loss of appe-
tite ; a few of the men are also similarly affected, but
as they have more regular outdoor bodily labour to
undergo, they are not so liable to feel the change as
the officers. With the increasing darkness we become
more dependent on each other for companionship, and
it requires more than the usual determination to take
a solitary constitutional walk. The snow embankment
round the ship is at last nearly completed, but owing
to her bow being so high out of the water the weight
is too heavy for the ice, which has settled down so
much that the water has overflowed the fire-hole and
requires to be dammed off to prevent it flooding the
surface of the ice.

' 2nd. — A misty day, light northerly airs with a
temperature minus 8°. The moon being absent we can
scarcely see our way along the Ladies' Mile, the marks
thirty feet apart being barely visible from one to the
other. Except by moonlight, it has long since been
quite impossible to identify anyone, or to distinguish

202 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. December

officers from men, except from some peculiarity in
height or gait. It has been suggested that we should
decorate our seal-skin caps with a distinguishing mark
like the knights of old.

' With the present comparatively high temperature
the roof of the snow-house over the galley is continually
dripping, and has to be rebuilt or patched up about
once a week. By incessant care and attention, the
ventilation of the ship has been much improved, and
there is little now left to wish for except in the officers'
cabins. They are so full of gear that the air cannot
circulate freely, and are therefore very damp. The
mess-deck is ventilated through the midship part of the
lower-deck, where there are three stoves constantly
burning.

fc The total consumption of coal is 1 8 cwt. a week.
The galley fire burns 105 lbs. a day ; captain's fire,
25 lbs. ; ward-room, 28 lbs. ; three midship lower-deck
stoves, 28 lbs. each ; small stove before the galley on the
mess deck, 25 lbs. ; and the washing-room stove, 15 lbs.
With this consumption, the average temperature of the
lower deck is 49°.

' 3rd. — To-day the barometer was falling slowly
with a light breeze from the S.S.E., and a very unusual
rise in the temperature to 25°. I supposed that this
denoted that a strong gale from the southward had
broken up the ice in Kennedy Channel, and that the air
had become raised in temperature by passing over the
uncovered water ; but at 2 p.m. it was reported that the
temperature had risen to 30° ; as this was much higher
than the known temperature of the seawater below the
ice, 28°*5, 1 looked at the thermometer myself to confirm

1875 TEMPERATURE RISES TO 35°. 203

the observation ; but in the meantime the temperature
had fallen to 28°. On going to the observatory I found
that the maximum thermometer, which had been set at
noon at 29°-2, had registered during the interval 34° ;
this corroborated the report, but I thought that a com-
bination of accidents might have introduced some error.

1 then reset the register at 28°, and particularly
observed that it was fixed in its proper position and
immovable by wind or any shaking cause.

* During the afternoon the temperature was ex-
tremely variable, with squally weather from the S.S.E.
At 8 p.m., a second warm blast was experienced.
It fortunately happened that Dr. Moss, Lieutenant
GifFard, and I were comparing some thermometers with
those in general use, and while doing so each of the five
registered 30°. On going to the observatory the two
thermometers there registered the same degree of tem-
perature, thus giving seven independent observations.
Moreover the maximum thermometer set at 28° at

2 p.m. had registered a temperature of 35° in the
interval.

' This proves that the rise in temperature could
not be wholly due to the air passing across open water.

4 The gale must undoubtedly have travelled to the
northward from Baffin's Bay, perhaps from the Atlantic ;
the warm air is at a higher temperature than any water
within 600 miles of our position.

1 Subsequent observations taken by Dr. Moss,
showed that the temperature at the masthead, apart
from the cooling influence of the cold ground and ice,
was two or three degrees warmer than that below.

' At 10 p.m. the wind changing to the northward

204 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Deokmisfu

lowered the temperature immediately ; by midnight it
had fallen to 4°.'

We subsequently learnt that this very warm blast
of air from the southward passed the latitude of Dis-
covery Bay without affecting the temperature there, the
highest registered being only 4°. While we experienced
southerly winds the ' Discovery ' had light north-westerly
airs and calms.

' 4th. — At 6 a.m., after calms and light airs from the
southward for the five or six previous hours, a southerly
squall of half an hour's duration was experienced, the
temperature again rising to 23°. After 8 o'clock the
weather was calm and the temperature below zero.
While walking for exercise, although the temperature
was only minus 12°, everyone complained of the sting-
ing cold air ; when only three days ago, with the
same degree of cold, but after a rise in temperature, we
were actually complaining of the warmth.'

The ' Discovery ' experienced a similar southerly
squall affecting the temperature to the same extent,
but, curiously enough, the disturbance took place there
four hours later in the day.

' Owing to the weight of the snow that has accumu-
lated during the gale in a bank near the bows of the
ship, the ice has sunk down and the water has flooded
it to the depth of six inches.

' As the ice has increased in thickness, so the ship's
situation, only twenty feet distant from a large floeberg,
has caused us annoyance and extra work. Before
securing her for the winter, this trouble was foreseen,
but owing to the shallowness of the water and the

1875 ICE HINGE. 205

proximity of the land I was unable to move farther
away from our disturbing neighbour.

' However cold the temperature may be, the ice
which is subject to the rise and fall of the tide, must
always remain separate from any fixed object such as
the shore or a piece of stranded ice. The sea surface
being greater at high than at low- water, the ice frozen
during the rising tide acts as a wedge to force objects
apart during the falling tide. The ship is thus being
steadily forced away from the floeberg, the pressure
causing her to heel over, away from the berg. The
ice has lately cracked within a few feet of the ship and
formed a hinge-piece which alters its angle as the
tide rises and falls. Consequently the snow embank-
ment on that side of the ship falls away during the
spring-tides and requires constant repairs.

6 6th. — Owing to the extraordinary rise in tempera-
ture a few days ago, the air, being warmer than the
wood and ironwork of the ship, congealed into soft
feathery snow-crystals, forming a beautiful efflorescence
attached to the ship's side and on the bolt-heads.
Until the ship itself became of an equal temperature to
the air, these grew in length, without turning into pure
ice, as the similar formation does which at other times
occurs inside of the ship, but which is affected by a
temperature of about 50°.

'Yesterday, when the temperature fell to minus 20°
the efflorescence gradually evaporated, and to-day the
surface of the ship's side is perfectly clean again.
Owing to the thick embankment of snow outside of the
ship and that on the upper- deck, the temperature of

206 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. December

the lower-deck was not much affected, although every
door was freely open.

4 'Jth. — A calm day, with misty weather, temperature
about zero, everyone complaining of the warmth. The
men working outside the ship and the officers walking
on the ice were obliged to take off their seal-skin coats,
even feeling warm and uncomfortable after doing so.
During very cold weather seal-skin dresses, invaluable
for common wear, cannot be used by anyone engaged
in hard manual labour. When taking violent exer-
cise, or undergoing hard work and perspiring freely,
the warm emanations from the body, being unable to
pass through the skin-dress, collect inside, wetting all
garments alike, the seal-skin amongst the number.
When resting, the then damp outer skin-dress becomes
frozen, hardening like a board, in which it is impossible
to move.

' 13th. — Temperature minus 28° and calm weather.
A glorious day, or I suppose we ought now to say night,
for were it not for the full moon shining brightly in a
clear sky we should be in total darkness. The floe is
lightened up considerably, and the shadows thrown by
the ice hummocks and snow-ridges permit us to walk
forward with confidence. The lumps which we have
been stumbling against during the absence of the
moon are being smoothed down. The temperature of
the beef-house on the ice has remained steady at 12°
for some days. Owing to the brine dripping from the
unfrozen beef on to the ice below, the surface of the
ice has itself become sufficiently salt to thaw at that
temperature ; consequently, under the grating on which
the beef is placed there is a pool of water — a very

1875 GREENLAND EOIIN. 207

unusual sight during the winter in these regions.
During the spring-tide last night the water forced its
way through the crack in the ice near the ship, and
overran the floe on the starboard quarter to the depth
of at least a foot. Yesterday the ice newly frozen this
season was forty and a half inches thick ; the upper
surface was two inches above the water-level, with five
inches of hard snow lying on top of it.

4 The weather has now apparently settled. Any force
that can put in motion so vast a body of air as must be
necessary to affect our temperature fifty degrees, raising
it from minus 20° to 35°, and keeping it above the ave-
rage for eighteen days since November 25, must have
been very considerable, and I cannot but expect that
very severe weather has occurred even in the Atlantic'

After our return to England I learned, through the
investigations of Captain N. Hoffmeyer, Director of the
Meteorological Institution, Copenhagen, that each of
the observing stations on the west coast of Greenland
between Ivigtut and Upernivick had experienced warm
south-easterly winds between November 19 and De-
cember 12, agreeing precisely with the warm tempera-
ture we experienced during the same period, and
proving that the disturbing cause travelled over the
intervening district, embracing an area of at least 1,300
miles.

' 14th. —From the look-out hill we can observe a
small crack in the ice about a mile to seaward, from
Avhich frost smoke is rising every here and there.

8 Since the winter set in there has been no collection
of " barber " on the yards or rigging. The little that
may collect on the thermometers or ship's side never

208

VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA.

December

attains any great thickness, and has always disappeared
by evaporation on the following day.

' In September and October it was far otherwise.
Each rope — even the perpendicular ones — became
incased in frosty ice, and increased to three or four
times its natural size. The absence of this now is
probably due to the great dryness of the atmosphere.

' 17 th. — As the moon sank towards the northern
horizon a misty paraselena formed, of the usual diameter.

PABASEI.ENA.

Observing that the reflection was between us and the
land, I walked until it fell directly on the ship, my posi-
tion being 250 yards from the reflection. Objects at a
greater distance were mistily hidden from view by the
lighted part of the atmosphere ; while other objects
at the same distance, which were seen through the
same misty but unlightened atmosphere, were quite
distinct and presented sharp outlines.

187.-. THE SHORTEST DAY. 209

' The magnetometer has been disturbed slightly for
the last two days, but we have seen little or no appear-
ance of aurora. Probably the moonlight is too bright
to permit such faint auroras as we experience to display
themselves.

' Yesterday our usual Thursday evening's gather-
ing was somewhat changed by Commander Mark-
ham appearing as the " Wizard of the North." His
having taken lessons in the art of legerdemain, and
provided himself with the necessary apparatus, had
been kept secret, and few of us knew who the wizard
was until the drop curtain was raised. All the frost-
bitten patients attended the entertainment. Their
recovery has been slow. With the exception of these
and the steward the doctor's hands have been free all
the winter. With the extremely dry atmosphere no
one complains of colds, coughs, or rheumatism.

' 22nd. — The sun attained its most southern position
this morning, so our first winter is half over. Al-
though we are only 453 miles from the Pole, it is still
no misnomer to call this the shortest day, for at noon
there wras an indistinct greenish tint brightening the
southern sky, and as there was a low bank of mist to
the northward the light was reflected across to that
side of the heavens. The twilight was sufficiently strong
to put out the stars forming the Milky Way within
thirty degrees of the north and south horizon, and only
allowed those overhead in the zenith to be faintly
distinguished. To escape completely beyond the
limit of twilight we must yet journey northward
one hundred and twenty miles before the sun sinks
eighteen degrees below the horizon, the measure by

VOL. I. P

210 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. December

which the garrison twilight-gun is fired throughout the
world.

4 There is a decided change in the complexion of
each of us in consequence of the want of sunlight ; in a
few instances noticeably so.

' 2hth. — Apart from the absence of the sun it was
a splendid Christmas Day, with a perfectly clear starlit
sky, the faintest twilight glimmer at noon, and just
sufficient movement of the air to render our walk
on the ice the more bracing, with a temperature at
minus 34°.

4 Shortly before our departure from England a box
arrived from Queenstown, containing presents for every
one in the Expedition, from Mrs. Coote and her friends,
and other members of Sir Edward Parry's family.
Unfortunately, one parcel had been stowed in a damp
place, and I was obliged to distribute its contents a few
weeks ago; the rest of the presents were given out
to-day, and, expressing as they did the kindly fore-
thought and interest of the donors, I need scarcely
say how greatly they were appreciated.

' The lower-deck was appropriately decorated, the
dinner tables being laden with as good and ample a
meal as any could wish. v Each mess had a joint of
musk-ox or fresh mutton, and an unrestricted allow-
ance of the usual provisions. The fattest musk-ox
had been naturally kept for this dinner. The fat on
the outside of the loin was two inches thick by measure-
ment ; no meat could have been more tender or juicy.'

The ox referred to was killed at the end of
August ; but those killed the following year in July
had very little fat on them.

1875 EETURN OF ESKIMO DOG. 211

' Since the temperature has ranged between minus
30° and minus 40° the ceiling between the beams on
the lower- deck, near the entrance hatchway, has been
damp. It is merely a question of quantity of coal, of
which we have little enough. As no one is livin^ or
sleeping there, I have merely directed, increased atten-
tion to sponging off the dampness, and drying the beams
with cloths.

1 Dr. Colan is, I think, correct in considering that a
temperature of minus 30° is about the limit of cold
bearable unless the weather. is calm. When the tempe-
rature is lower extra precautions have to be taken.

1 The frost-bitten men are now nearly convalescent.
They have had a weary time of it, confined to their beds
for so long a period without sunlight.

' One of the dogs left at a distance from the ship
by Aldrich in October, returned early in December in a
most deplorable condition. She had been seen occa-
sionally wandering about in the neighbourhood, but
would not permit anyone to approach her ; the other
dogs, as in the case of Michael, evidently conspired
together to put her in ' Coventry.' Being at last
captured she was placed on a diet of one pound of
preserved meat a day and what else she could obtain
through compassion, and now. is so fat that her extra
allowance is stopped. So great is the change in popular
opinion consequent on her improved condition that
society has taken her into favour again, and the other
dogs now permit her to mix freely with them.'

This animal afterwards became queen of the team,
and one of the best pullers of the whole pack.

1 During the early part of the month we lost a very

p 2

212 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. December

fine puppy by cramp, the only one which managed to
survive for a time out of six. An Eskimo is anything
but a good nurse, and although Frederick is a valuable
man in other ways he cannot be induced to take suf-
ficient care of the young dogs. A female before pup-
ping can be readily enticed on board and placed in a
kennel ; but at no other time can an Eskimo dog be
induced to sleep in a covered-in place. Two females
are domiciled comfortably enough at present in casks
on the upper-deck.

6 The temperature of the land a foot and a half below
the surface is minus 3°, that of the snow-huts is minus
5° ; and the snow-protected fire-hole remains upwards
of 20° warmer than the outside air,

' It is difficult to keep the heels of the cloth boots
from slipping ; consequently the heels of the socks
and boot-hose wear out very quickly. The officers
walking briskly can wear blanket wrappers and moc-
casins without feeling cold in the feet, but the crew
while at work, having to stand about a great deal, are
necessarily unable to wear the thin- soled moccasins,
and are obliged to keep to the warm but clumsy cork-
soled cloth boots.

'As is usual in Arctic ships, all expected that
during the winter there would be ample time for reading
and writing ; now the general complaint is how little
can be done in that way.

' The men breakfast at 7.30 a.m., then clear up the
lower-deck. After an hour's work on the ice we
muster at divisions, and read daily prayers at a quarter
past 10 a.m. The officers breakfast at 8.30, after
which there is too little time to settle down to any

1875 DAILY ROUTINE. 213

particular occupation before the general muster on deck
about 10 a.m. After prayers, all hands leave the ship,
the men for work, and the officers either for exercise
or to visit the " Kew " or " Greenwich " observatories.
The crew dine at 1 p.m., then out on the ice again
until 4 p.m., when their official work is over for the
day.

' The officers generally remain on the ice until about
1 p.m. ; between which time and dinner at 2.30 p.m. the
time slips away in a surprising manner. After dinner
and a smoke the ship is very quiet, so probably many
take a siesta ; but there is plenty of noise at tea-time at
seven. Then comes school on the lower-deck until
9 P.M., after which one sits down for the first time in
the day perfectly ready for study, and with a certainty
of not being disturbed. We need not wonder then, if
when the regular lamps are put out in the ward-room
at 11 p.m. most of the cabins and the ward-room itself
remain lit by private candles for some time longer,
As this time is really used to a good purpose I do not
complain, but naturally, late hours at night lead to
uncertain hours in the morning ; so it frequently happens
that although all are obliged to attend at the general
muster a few have not appeared at breakfast, but
choose to call the mid-day meal by that name,
making up for the lost meal by a supper at 11 p.m.
on whatever is to be had.'

Were the hours misspent, fault might be found with
this arrangement, but in our case with a studious set
of officers full of resources in themselves it perfectly
succeeded, and throughout the winter I never found it
necessary to change it.

214 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. December

' An early dinner is necessary on account of the want
of fuel obliging us to put out the cooking-fires at 4 p.m.
Tea is made on one of the warming-stoves.

' On Sundays, after church on the lower-deck, the
general muster is held outside the ship, then all hands
scatter over the ice and land ; the distance of their
wanderings being dependent on the temperature and
the amount of moonlight. On sacrament Sundays, by
mustering before church, the service is not interfered
with.

« 3Ls'£. — At noon the ship was clearly visible from
the end of the half-mile walk, and we all noticed a
decided increase in the duration and intensity of the
twilight, or fancied that we did. In a day or two the
moon will return, and except during her fortnight's
absence towards the end of January, we shall have
a fair amount of light daily.

' The old year is dying away calmly. There is
perhaps more excuse for us than for many in looking
forward anxiously to the next one, for if any can be
pardoned for wishing the present time to pass quickly
it is those undergoing their term of voluntary banish-
ment in these regions. Not that the time is hanging
heavily, for I can confidently say that no former col-
lection of officers or men met their monotonous and
lonely Arctic life more cheerfully and contentedly than
those under my command are meeting theirs.

' Making due allowance for the difference of time,
at 7.55 p.m., it being then midnight in England, we
drank a Happy New Year to all absent friends, with
earnest wishes for as happy and successful a coming
year as the old one has proved.'

1875 PROLOGUE SPOKEN NOV. 18, 1875. 215

The following prologue, written by our chaplain,
the Eev. H. W. Pullen, was spoken at the re-opening of
the Eoyal Arctic Theatre, on November 18, 187.5 : —

Kind friends, with kindly greetings met today,
We bid you welcome to our opening Play ;
You, whose indulgent smile forbids the fear
Of scornful wit or captious critic here.
To-day we welcome you, and not To-night,
For all is noon with us — all summer bright ;
And though the southern Sun has ceased to pour
His glittering rays upon our ice-bound shore —
Has ceased awhile to touch with drops of gold
The crystal corners of our hummocks bold ;
We bear a warm soft light that never fades —
A lustrous light amid these Greenland shades ;
All trustful of each other's love, we learn
WTith steady flame our lamp of Hope to burn :
And suns may set, and twilights disappear —
They shall not rob us of our Christmas cheer ;
Nor blinding drift, nor frozen wave, shall chill
Our laughter glad — for laugh, biave boys, we will ;
Kindling yet once again the genial glow
Of happy English homes on Arctic floe.

Yet once again ; for none would here forget
We are but sons of fathers living yet :
In work and play alike, we but renew
The deeds of men who taught us what to do.
And though, more favoured than the rest, we soar
To loftier nights than theirs who went before ;
Though ours the boast, by skilful guidance led,
In virgin climes our shifting scene to spread :
We love to read, on history's faithful page,
Of ancient triumphs on our northern stage,
And boldly for our brave forerunners claim
An Arctic ' cast ' already known to fame,

216 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. December, 1875

Now let the tell-tale Curtain rise, and say
What we have done to wile your hours away.
Such as we have, we bring you of our best,
And to your kind forbearance leave the rest.
One only grief is ours, and you shall share
With us the burden of that gentle care.
One cherished form we miss — one touch alone —
One glance of love — one tender thrilling tone.
Ah ! — in the sweet homes of our native isle,
The dear ones move, and minister, and smile.
We would not wish them here, but this we know—
Their thoughts are with us every step we go ;
Their life sets northward o'er the cold grey sea,
They live in wondering what our life may be ;
And heart draws near to heart, and soul to soul,
Till each has found its true Magnetic Pole.

God bless and keep them in His mighty hand—
Our wives and sweethearts, and the dear old Land !

January, 1870 VARIABLE WEATHER. 21'

CHAPTEE X.

TIDAL REGISTERS — RETURNING TWILIGHT — SNOW- FLOOR STARS IN

THE MILKY- WAY — MERCURY FROZEN — CONTRACTION OF CABLES —
HEALTH OF THE EXPEDITION — MUSKY FLAVOUR OF MEAT — ABSENCE
OF PLANETS — A LEMMING CAPTURED DOG-SLEDGING — TEMPERA-
TURE OF THE SEA RETURN OF THE SUN — BANKS RAISED BY ICE

PRESSURE — VEGETATION AT THE POLE.

On the 3rd of January a long continuance of calm
weather was followed by a squall from the southward
accompanied with a low barometer and a collection of
dark cirro-stratus clouds which gathered above Cape
Eawson at the entrance of Eobeson Channel. The
sky in the zenith was unusually clear but of an
ominously dark appearance. The weather continued
very unsettled until the night of the 10th.

At noon of the 6th and 7th a low misty atmosphere
to the northward, beneath the almost full moon, was
brightened with a distinct orange tint. On the latter
day the temperature fluctuated considerably with every
change of the wind.

On the 8th and 9th, and morning of the 10th,
stormy weather from the southward and a high tem-
perature were experienced. The squalls were accom-
panied with a blinding snow-drift, which prevented
our leaving the ship except during lulls in the storm ;
they also effectually stopped the usual magnetic obser-

218 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. January

vations. The direction of the wind on the night of
the 9th could be alone determined by afterwards
observing the direction of the sastrugi.

It is noticeable that although the readings of the
barometers at Floeberg Beach and Discovery Bay agree
precisely together, none of these squalls at any time
reached the ' Discovery ' in her sheltered position ;
neither were the fluctuations in the temperature so
great there as at the more northern station. For thirty-
six hours, on the 8th and 9th, when the temperature
at Discovery Bay was steady at minus 44°, at Floeberg
Beach it was only minus 8°, a difference of thirty-six
degrees in favour of the northern station. I can only
conclude that the ice must have been then in motion
in Eobeson Channel, and that there were water-pools
to windward of the ' Alert's ' position.

' 10th. — During the late gales the drifted snow has
raised a bank about five feet in height on the western
side of the ship which reaches to the embankment
at the bow and stern. In consequence of the increased
weight the floe in the immediate neighbourhood of
the vessel has sunk considerably ; the water has oozed
up and now flows over the ice. On the starboard
quarter, near the troublesome floeberg, it is at least two
feet in depth.

6 Owing to the weight of the snow bearing down
the ice, the ship tore herself free from the floe last
night, rising suddenly about a foot. This has disturbed
the tidal register considerably ; and unfortunately, when
taking down the ship's awning for repair, the register-
ing wire was removed before I obtained the necessary
correction. When held down by the ice the effect

1876 TIDAL REGISTER. 210

would be to register a lower tide than the true one,
the error continually increasing ; and although the
observations can be corrected for the sudden rise of
the ship, it is difficult to regulate them properly for her
gradual subsidence. The correct mode of registering
the tidal rise and fall would undoubtedly be to observe
the actual height of the water itself as it rises and falls
on the pole ; but owing to the very quick accumula-
tion of ice it is impossible to do this with accuracy.

4 During the height of the gale the ice grounded at
a greater distance from the shore than usual, proving
that the pressure of the wind on the pack had caused an
extremely low tide, the same as it would have done
had the sea not been frozen over.

' The strong wind blew down one of the quarters
of musk-ox meat which was hanging in the rigging.

o o Go o

This was soon discovered by the dogs which had been
allowed on board out of the severe weather ; and a
considerable quantity of the meat, though frozen as
hard as a rock, was devoured before the accident was
rectified. So greatly did they appreciate their meal that
shortly afterwards one dog, in his endeavour to repeat it,
was found entangled at a height of several ratlings up
the rigging, unable to advance or retreat. Frederick
was nothing loath to take advantage of his helpless con-
dition, and from the howls that followed I suspect he
was punished for the sins of the many.

' When walking a short distance up the hill with
Feilden, we thought that we could distinguish a pool
of water in the offing ; but on repeating my visit
during the evening I could see nothing but ice. In
such dim light as ours the shadow cast by a line of

I

\

220 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. January

hummocks may frequently be mistaken for water. At
noon the lofty nimbus clouds, which are only seen
during a gale — evidently driven up here from warmer
regions many hundreds of miles away — were passing
quickly from the S.W. to N.E. At 6 p.m., when it was
calm in the lower regions, their course changed to
S.E., heavy masses collecting about the entrance of
Eobeson Channel.

' 12th. — To-day at noon the sky close to the
horizon displayed a decided tint of green, the first we
have experienced from the returning sun, although we
observed a somewhat similar appearance a week ago
caused by the moon. At 9 a.m. the temperature was
only minus 3°. It may seem strange that we thus
complain of a rise in temperature, but such is the fact.
Everyone rejoiced when the temperature fell yesterday
to minus 20°. The explanation is that a high tem-
perature indicates unsettled weather with wind, a low
temperature means a calm, when the weather, however
cold, is bearable.

' Walked up to the top of our look-out hill with
Feilden. This was the first visit of the year. The
outside floes, lit up by a full moon and the slight mid-
day twilight, look extremely rough and hummocky.
About a mile north of Cape Sheridan was a streak of
water-smoke, rising evidently from a tidal crack. My
companion, forgetting the cold temperature, longed to
be there with a dredge.

' Owing to the comparatively slight snow-fall
during the last few months, there is now far less on
the hill-tops than there was last autumn. In fact, on
the look-out hill the snow, which had then collected

1876 SNOW-DUST. 221

to a depth of two feet, and which had resisted the
September and October winds, has since disappeared,
leaving the ground quite bare, and exposing to view
an ample supply of stones for cairn-building, The
snow blown from the uplands has accnmnlated on the
lower grounds and on the ice. It can now, however,
scarcely be called snow, for it has lost all resemblance
to its original feathery composition. Bounded off and
reduced in size by attrition while being drifted along
by the wind, it would be more appropriate to desig-
nate it snow-dust.

6 All hands are employed in digging out the
entrances to " Greenwich " and " Kew." Fortunately
the snow-houses were solidly built with blocks of snow
two feet thick, for now they are completely buried in
the snow slope which covers the land at the foot of the
hills. The passage ways between the magnetic houses
were roofed with flat slabs of extremely hard snow ;
these are now all bending down with their own weight
and that of the superincumbent snow, but fortunately
when accumulating, the latter solidified sufficiently to
form its own support, and we can now remove the
original flat roof without danger.

4 Since the early part of December we have ceased
to be troubled by soft snow ; our walks . are therefore
only curtailed on account of want of light and the fear
of being caught at a distance from home with a sudden
fall in temperature or a blinding snow-drift.

' The actual footing is hard enough, but that does
not necessarily mean that the snow affords a level road
for walking on. Not only are there the sastrugi or
waves of snow-drift lying in the direction in which the

222 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. JANUARt

prevailing wind has been blowing, but on the table-
lands it has furrowed out numerous short, deep, and
irregular ruts from a few inches to two feet and more
in depth, leaving the surface like an agitated sea
suddenly frozen. The ridges which are left were partly
undermined by the recent winds and give way readily
beneath our feet ; they are sufficiently hard to support
snow-shoes, but if used these would snap with the
weight of the wearer when bridging over the troughs.
When proceeding in the direction of the sastrugi the
walking is tolerable enough, but otherwise it entails
very severe exertion, how severe may be inferred from
the fact, that when, after a hundred yards of rough
walking, a level patch of snow is met with, the same
amount of exertion that was previously necessary
carries us forward for a short distance at a run ; much
in the same manner as when arriving at the summit of
a hill, on crossing the brow we find ourselves for a
few moments speeding along faster than we naturally
would on the flat. The only extensive level snow-
floors are on the side slopes of the hills and at the
bottom of the valleys lying in the direction of the pre-
vailing wind ; there the snow is so hard that we can
walk at our ordinary speed.

< \Qth. — The temperature has again fallen to minus
35°, accompanied as usual with calm, clear weather.
The twilight at noon extinguished all the stars' in the
Milky- Way, as well as those of less than the second
magnitude within twenty degrees of the horizon. The
tint in the sky has increased from a bright pearly green
to a faint yellow hue. The present small amount of
returning twilight enables us to discern how very dark

1876 DARKNESS OF WINTER. 223

it must have been during the latter part of December,
although at the time we hardly realised the fact. In
comparing the number of days' absence of the sun ex-
perienced by different Arctic expeditions it is rather
startling to find how much darker it has been with us,
but here, owing to the small inclination of the sun's
path to our horizon, twilight lasts considerably longer
on either side of noon. In fact the actual amount
of light and darkness experienced during the year at
all places in our hemisphere is precisely the same.
Here we have one long day and one long night ; in
southern latitudes it is far more usefully divided into
the ordinary days and nights.

1 Owing to the overflowing of the fire-hole another
one has been cut farther from the ship. In raising the
tide-pole from the bottom, a quantity of hard grey
mud was found sticking to the end of the pole where
it had been pressed with great force into the ground.
This appears to indicate that the ground at the bottom
is not frozen. At a short distance from the beach,
for as far as the fresh water can by any means per-
colate down through the ground with the temperature
of the sea at 28*5, the bottom is probably frozen.

'During the afternoon we experienced squally
weather from the southward ; the temperature at
minus 40°, rising twenty degrees in as many minutes,
and falling again fourteen degrees in ten minutes.'

It is remarkable that this warm wind passed the
sheltered position of Discovery Bay without affecting
the temperature there. The thermometer at that
place ranged between minus 49° and minus 52°.

' ISth. — While walking at some distance from the

224 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. January

ship a " bear scare " is not uncommon ; but when we
consider how difficult it would be for these animals to
see or capture their prey in the darkness which enve-
lopes us, that there is no open water, and therefore
very few seals in our vicinity, we conclude that it is
almost beyond the range of probability that these
animals should wander in winter to our latitude. Still
there is no certainty in these matters, and few of us
are exempt from a momentary feeling of nervousness
as the returning light now and again discloses sud-
denly some previously unnoticed object.

' The ship is now heeling over from two to three
degrees to port. As the tide rises and falls she is
pressed over by the tidal motion exerted on the thick
ice-hinge lying between us and the floeberg on the
starboard side, and by the weight of the snow bearing
down the ice on the port or inshore side.

' The smokers complain greatly about their tobacco
pipes freezing. Unless the stem is very short it soon
becomes clogged with frozen tobacco juice which
defies all attempts to remove it by wires.

'* When travelling a satisfactory smoke could only
be obtained in the morning, after the pipe had been
thawed near the body during the night. If lighted on
board the ship where the temperature keeps it thawed,
and then taken into the air, it becomes solidly frozen
before it is smoked out ; consequently very little
smoking goes on outside the ship. In addition to this
difficulty, the few who persevere in smoking with
shortened pipes, well covered, complain of shortness
of breath and a choking feeling.

' 20th. — Mercury has been frozen all day. That

1876 EVAPORATION OF SNOW. 225

in the thermometers contracted gradually after freez-
ing, and by so doing registered the actual temperature
tolerably correctly, until it fell to about minus 47 °'5 ;
below that degree the contraction was irregular and
increased considerably.

' The appetites of all are returning in a most mar-
vellous manner ; so much so that instead of the
allowance of meat not being all used as in the fall of
the year, there is now scarcely sufficient, It is difficult
to account for our loss of appetite in • November.
Sir Edward Belcher remarks the same fact as having
occurred on board the "Assistance" in 1852-53.

' While working in a snow-house on shore Dr.
Moss observes that any small quantity of snow left on
the gravel floor of the honse has evaporated before
his return on the following day ; the moisture set free
rising and collecting on the inside of the dome of the
house as rime. This probably explains the nature of
the decay which takes place on the under surface of
the whole extent of the snow covering the ground ;
by which means a clear space is produced some one or
two inches high, giving ample room for the lemmings
to rim about, and free space above the dwarf Arctic
plants, with an uniform temperature many degrees
higher than the atmosphere. If the same decay takes
place below ice it must greatly assist in producing the
downward movement of a glacier.

< 24th.- — A very low barometer, 29*02 inches, with
dark clouds hanging above Cape Eawson, but the
weather continues calm with a temperature down to
minus 58°. Though many noses were frost-bitten we
all " did " the " ladies' mile " as usual, with heads well

vol. I. Q

22G VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. January

wrapped up. Hoods on the sealskin dresses afford
valuable protection, but the edges collect a large amount
of frozen vapour which it is difficult to remove. A
comforter covering the lower part of the face freezes
to the beard and from its hiding the chin is dangerous.
One officer was frost-bitten in this way for some time,
without his companion being able to observe it and
warn him. He is now suffering in. consequence.

' The twilight at noon is increasing very rapidly.
Looking in a southerly direction we can now just
distinguish a man at a distance of one hundred and
twenty-five yards ; looking in a northerly direction
with our backs to the light we can see an individual
at a distance of one hundred and seventy-five yards,
but this applies only to mid-day.

' With the cold weather the ice has contracted and
cracked near the shore : the temperature in each crack
is minus 2°, which may be taken as the maximum tem-
perature of the vapour ascending from the water. I
therefore conclude that unless there is some open
water in our neighbourhood it is impossible for us to
experience a warmer temperature than this before the
return of spring. The amount of contraction is well
marked by the opening of two parallel cracks between
the land and the fioebergs ; these fissures, which are
two and-a-half inches across, being on an average
about three hundred feet apart. A cask, situated on
the intermediate ice, supporting the chain cable which
connects the ship with the shore, has rolled back one
inch. Unless we suppose the ship and the mass of
fioebergs, resting on a base of at least one hundred and
fifty yards broad, to have moved off shore, the cables

1876 CONTRACTION OF CHAIN CABLES. 227

one hundred and eighty yards in length must also
have contracted very considerably, for in the autumn
they were merely stretched fairly tight ; now they are
so much strained that it has been necessary to slack
them eight feet.

' During the evening the southerly wind foretold
by the low barometer reached us ; with as usual a
very fluctuating temperature. At 9 p.m., while it was
almost calm on deck, a sharp squall, force 5, lasting-
fifteen minutes, was heard as it passed through the
rigging aloft. The temperature rose from minus 52°
to minus 30° in fifty-five minutes, and on a sudden
change of wind to the northward it fell twenty-one
degrees in half an hour.

' The frequent fluctuations of temperature which
Ave have experienced during the winter show how
fallacious are comparisons of the temperatures ex-
perienced at different positions in the Arctic regions
when adopted as the sole guide towards ascertaining
the position of greatest cold. A local wind from the
southward, blowing up Smith Sound and Eobeson
Channel, produces a rise in temperature which would
certainly not be experienced at a more sheltered
station fifty miles to the westward of our position.
Our yearly mean temperature is therefore entirely
dependent on the number of southerly disturbing gales
which we may experience.

' Owing to the limited quantity of mist hanging
above Eobeson Channel, I infer that this last gale was
not sufficiently severe to move the ice there, and that
the channel must now be frozen over completely.
With a difference in temperature of eighty degrees

(i 2

228 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. January

between that of the water and the air, the atmosphere
must necessarily be misty near a water-pool.'

Afterwards we found that neither the southerly
wind nor the rise in temperature were experienced at
Discovery Bay, the temperature there ranging between
minus 56° and minus 63°.

' The manner in which wind rebounds from a steep
cliff, leaving it calm at the base, or, in nautical par-
lance, " does not blow home against the weather shore,"
is well indicated here by the collections of snow-drift.
As the wind encounters an obstruction it divides,
passing on either side and above with increased
strength ; but so great is the reflux in front, that the
snow-drift falls and settles there, forming a bank
inclining upwards according to the height of the
obstacle.

1 31st. — Temperature minus 40°. Except for a
short time on the 24th, and again on the 28th, the
mercury in the thermometers has been frozen for the
last eleven days. To-day the barometer is falling and
the stratus clouds, the usual precursors of a southerly
wind, are collecting above Cape Eawson.

' During the recent cold weather the lower-deck was
damper than usual, rendering it necessary to increase
the supply of coal ; at the same time some of the venti-
lating tubes which were " uptakes " in ordinary weather,
when the difference of temperature between the inside
and outside of the ship was only about eighty degrees,
became " downtakes " whenever the difference increased
to above one hundred degrees. When left open too
much cold air comes down, which necessitates extra coal
being used to dry it and prevent it condensing on the
beams overhead.

1876 CONTRACTION OF ICE. 229

4 Throughout the winter the frozen condensation
which collects as ice in the upper part of each entrance
hatchway has had to be removed weekly with sharp
scrapers. Although my cabin is perfectly dry, and
the temperature ranges between 40° and 60°, an iron
bolt which extends through the ship's side conducts the
cold so readily that moisture has collected on the end
of it, forming a projecting round head of solid ice,
like the head of a boiler rivet upwards of an inch in
depth. Spero Capato, my steward, removed it daily
for several weeks, but he has now become reconciled to
its presence.

1 Owing to misty weather the occupation of Mars
was lost.

1 Our nearest friendly, or perhaps unfriendly, floe-
berg has rolled over towards the ship, proving that
the inshore ice is still contracting with the colder
weather, and that there is no offshore motion in the
floebergs. The cracks in the floe are also more open
than before. In consequence of the movement of our
neighbour, the snow embankment has fallen away
from the starboard side of the ship and will require a
considerable amount of labour to repair it,

' The moon will be above both horizons to-morrow,
so although the sun will not return for another month,
we consider our dark period at an end. On the
moon leaving us in a fortnight's time we shall have
sufficient twilight to enable us to read small print for
Upwards of three hours daily when outside of the ship.
During the last few days we have each been straining
our eyes to try and read ordinary print. The near-
sighted men have a great advantage over the others.

230 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Febrfabi

We fancy that our eyesight is stronger than before the
winter commenced, but the presence of the moon will
prevent our deciding the question.

' The beams and ceiling of the mess-deck are
becoming rather black from the lamps so constantly
burning.

' February 1st. — At the monthly medical inspec-
tion to-day, with the exception of two of the crew, all
are reported to me as being in the best of health. The
two men who sleep nearest to the entrance hatchway
complain of the drip from the beams damping their
hammocks during the late cold weather. The remedy
was simply to change their sleeping-places.

' To-day the ice formed this season measured fifty-
one inches in thickness. Since the freezing of the
sodden floe on the 22nd of October no increase or
decrease has taken place on the surface. I certainly
expected to have found the surface of the floe lowered
by evaporation, but such is not the case.'

On the morning of the 2nd, at Floeberg Beach we
experienced a breeze from the N.N.W., force 6, which
lasted twenty-four hours. It was accompanied as usual
by a rising barometer, but strangely enough also by
a heavy fall of snow, and a rise in temperature up to
minus 7° instead of the usual fall. On the 3rd a
return S.S.W. wind blew for eight hours, the baro-
meter still rising, with a high thermometer. At Dis-
covery Bay a somewhat similar rise in temperature was
experienced, with a heavy fall of snow, but as usual
in that locality, with very little wind.

After a short calm, on the morning of the 4th, a
very heavy gale from the northward set in, lasting at

1876 SEVERE GALE. 231

its full strength until 8 a.m. of the 5th. The ' Dis-
covery' then experienced light airs, but at Floeberg
Beach the wind did not lull until the evening. Owing
to the peculiar position of the ' Discovery,' hemmed in
by lofty mountains, the squalls were very heavy and
frequently blew from the southward.

In the log book it was entered, that in consequence
of the weather, prayers were read on the upper deck
instead of on the ice, the first time that it had been
necessary to do so during the winter ; also that snow-
pillars two feet by one, when broadside to the wind,
were blown down and carried about two feet in a
southerly direction. After the gale was over, high
cirro-cumulus clouds were observed moving from the
north-west, a very unusual phenomenon.

It is deserving of notice that on this occasion the
temperature was much higher under the lee of the land
at Discovery Bay than at the position of the ' Alert '
on the weather shore. At the former place the maximum
temperature registered was plus 2° and at the latter
minus 10°.

' 3rd. — The " Thursday Pops," as they are called,
are as much appreciated as ever ; they command
full audiences and show no signs of falling off. The
songs in character are admirably got up, and "the
ladies " have now become perfectly at home in their
dresses. Dr. Colan this evening gave us an interesting
lecture on the composition of the food supplied to us.
He was very happy in making such a dry subject
amusing as well as instructive.

4 Qth. — Sacrament Sunday. Mustered on the ice
by sledge crews for the first time ; but in consequence

232 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Februab*

of misty weather we could not clearly distinguish each
other's faces. Calm weather with a temperature at
minus 20° permitted us all to lengthen our usual daily
walk.

1 The late gale from the northward having raised a
new set of snow ridges at right angles to the usual line
of the sastrugi, which lies in an east and west direction,
has rendered walking more laborious than it was before.
The " ladies' mile " has now many ridges crossing it ;
fortunately the quickly returning light will soon enable
us to leave that well-worn track. Feilden and I
reached the valley under Cape Eawson, but owing
to the deceptive light and want of shadow we ex-
perienced many a slip over the rough places, being
unable to distinguish the raised from the depressed
irregularities in the snow.

' The last of the patients that were frost-bitten in
the autumn got on deck to-day, after spending nearly
four months on the lower-deck and the greater part of
the time in bed.'

It is to be remarked that three out of the four
frost-bitten men, who obtained so little exercise during
the winter, proved themselves in the spring to be in
an excellent state of health, and although they were
not employed on the most extended sledging service,
they were absent from the ship as long and performed
as hard work as any of the other men.

' 8th. — Since the late gales we have enjoyed mag-
nificent weather with a temperature just below the
freezing point of mercury.

' I walked towards Cape Eawson with Mr. Pullen.
The rocky sides of the valley near Cape Eawson, swept

187fl POLAR PACK. 233

clear of snow by the wind, once again gladdened our
eyes with their dark brown colours. Inhabitants
of southern climes, suddenly transported to such a
scene, would doubtless have pronounced it the very
acme of desolation ; but to our eyes, wearied with ever-
present whiteness, these sad-coloured rocks and dingy
precipices seemed to reflect hues of extraordinary
beauty.

' We obtained a very fine view of the pack for a
distance of six miles from the land. The southern side
of each purely white snow- covered hummock was
brilliantly lighted by the orange-tinted twilight. The
stranded floebergs lining the shore extended from half
to three-quarters of a mile off the land. Outside were
old floes with undulating upper surfaces separated
from each other by Sherard Osborn's "hedge rows
of Arctic landscape " or barriers of pressed up ice of
various height and breadth. It will be as difficult to
drag a sledge over such ice as to transport a carriage
directly across country in England.

' When looking down on this icy sea, one of my
companions remarked how impossible it was to realize
that water would ever exist there again.'

During the following spring I arranged with
Captain Stephenson that the three ice-quartermasters
belonging to the ' Discovery,' men experienced in "the
ice navigation of Baffin s Bay, should visit the 'Alert,'
to see for themselves the Polar ice. So completely
was the ship entrapped and surrounded by an ap-
parently massive wall of floebergs and the heavy
Polar pack, that they exclaimed — ' She'll ne'er get out
of that.' With such a view before them the expression

234 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. February

was far from being an unnatural one ; and, indeed, il
the removal of the ice, formed during the nine winter
months, between September and May, while the tem-
perature of the air is below the freezing point of salt
water, were dependent alone on the decay caused by
the heat of the sun during the three months of summer,
the ice in the Polar sea would certainly accumulate
and effectually prevent any navigation.

The due balance in the quantity of ice in the North
Polar sea is preserved, and navigation rendered possible,
by the drifting southward of the pack to a more tem-
perate region, there to dissolve, leaving navigable water
spaces in its rear. There is also a considerable amount
of decay produced by the warmth transported north-
wards by the oceanic currents.

It is only in narrow channels, where, in consequence
of the contraction in the breadth of the stream, the
tidal currents run at a maximum rate, that the ice
dissolves in situ during the summer. In such places as
Eobeson and Kennedy Channels and Bellot Straits,
the ice forms late in the season, and owing to its
weakness, is more readily broken up during heavy
gales ; consequently polynias or water-pools are met
with on rare occasions throughout the winter, and
during the early summer the thin ice decays before
the surrounding ice has broken up.

1 Yesterday we experienced a decided musky taste
in the musk-ox meat. Up to the present time,
although there have been a few complaints, the meat
has been excellent. I heard through my steward that
the ship's company's allowance was tainted. Thinking
that there might be a prejudice against the meat, I

187G MUSK-OX MEAT. 235

waited to see what would happen at the wardroom
table ; but it was soon evident that there was no bias
on the mess-deck, one and all exclaiming about the
musky flavour, but not wishing to lose a fresh meat
meal we all persisted in eating it. The after conse-
quences were far from agreeable, for several of us had
the musky flavour in our mouths all night and this
morning ; in fact last night it was an excuse for an
extra pipe and glass of grog which, however, did not
mend matters. This morning many, even of those
who did not try the corrective, complain of headache.
It is impossible to ascertain with any certainty why
this piece of meat was pervaded with such a strong
musky flavour ; it is supposed not to have been skinned
for four or five hours after it was killed. In nearly all
cases where the carcase was skinned and cleaned im-
mediately after the animal was killed the flesh was
free from taint ; but whether the skinning or cleaning
is the more important operation is an undecided
matter amongst us. With tainted meat the part
nearest the outside has a more musky flavour than that
near the bone.'

So many musk-oxen were shot by the crew of the
' Discovery ' at a distance from the ship, during the
autumn, that they were obliged to be left on the
ground unskinned and uncleaned for several hours,
before being carried on board. Nearly all the meat,
thus left for a time unprepared, " proved to be unfit
for food owing to its musky flavour.

' $th. — Temperature minus 50°. The calm weather
of the autumn seems to have returned to us, but the
severe cold prevents our wandering far from the ship.

236 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Femtoab!

So long as it remains calm we can regulate the heat
of onr bodies very readily by walking faster or slower,
but the slightest breeze conquers us at once. Although
we all carry an additional comforter ready to tie
round our faces, yet we are wearing no extra clothing.

' Only three days ago the sun was the same distance
below our horizon as it was on the shortest day in
Lancaster Sound, where T passed the winters between
1852 and 1854 on board the " Eesolute ; " but to
make up for its longer absence in this latitude the
sun is now returning at the rate of one degree in
every three days. To-day at noon, when there was
a clear sky overhead, stars of the second magni-
tude could be distinguished, but only in the northern
heavens. The southern sky was clear of all stars
except the planet Venus shining as a brilliant white
light close above the southern uplands, sometimes
hiding herself behind a ridge, then appearing again as
she passed a hollow. Ten degrees higher Mars could
just be distinguished by those who knew where to
look. Unfortunately these are the only planets that
have visited us during the winter, and they have but
lately appeared.

4 The light enabling us to extend our walks in
other directions, the " ladies' mile " is nearly deserted.
Eeturning to the ship when we arrive at the end of
this well-known road, it feels like approaching one's
home, and however tired, once on the well-beaten
track we forget that we are weary. Everyone without
exception is coniplaining of shortness of breath. I
certainly do not remember experiencing the same at
Melville Island, but it was probably the case ; we

1876 LEMMINGS. 237

suppose it due to the excessively cold temperature.
In more than one instance severe running has been
followed by blood-spitting from otherwise healthy
men.

' I walked a short distance out to the northward
among the hummocks with Mr. Wootton. Although
the snow-banks are hard, yet it is certainly as rough a
road for sledges as can be imagined.

8 Egerton reports having found the track of a hare
on the land. It will not be long before Dr. Moss, our
most persevering hunter, shoots the poor creature.

' A few pieces of musk-ox meat, left from yesterday,
were again cooked by accident to-day ; detection was
immediate. The musky flavour apparently increases
the more the meat is cooked.

' 12th. — Preparations are being made for the spring
travelling campaign. To-day all the tents were spread
on the ice to ascertain whether further alteration was
necessary. In the autumn we found that none of
them quite reached the full measurement ; they have
now been altered, allowing sixteen and a half inches
to each man, or rather thirty-three inches between
two men sleeping head to foot as they are obliged to
do when sledging. Less space may be conducive to
warmth, but probably also to cram]).

' While walking yesterday with Parr, we found a
hare's burrow in the snow, and to-day Markham has
found another. It is difficult to say how these hares
can protect themselves from the foxes, whose footmarks
Ave have seen lately, but it would appear that there are
very few in the neighbourhood. Lemmings are also
making their appearance ; we find their holes in the

238 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Feiiisi aky

snow everywhere. These holes are apparently made
for the purpose of ventilation or for the little creatures
to look at the returning twilight, for they do not often
appear on the surface of the snow at this season ; still
their tracks which are very pretty, reminding one
of a strip of finely traced embroidery, are to be seen
here and there. They appear to be usually contented
with the exercise they get in the hollow space under
the snow, where the temperature is very little below
zero ; their nests must be considerably warmer. I
have tried to find these, but they are never situated
near to the bottom of the passage by which the lem-
mings come to the surface.

' On examining a plant of Saxifraga oppositifolia,
which has not been protected by any snow, and there-
fore has been exposed to the severest temperature,
green buds were distinctly visible. In 1853 we killed
a ptarmigan at Melville Island in February with green
buds of willow in its crop.

6 To-day, at noon, we could distinguish the outline
of a man at half a mile distant and faint blue and green
tints were observable in the ice-hummocks ; since the
1st of November up to this date the ice has been per-
fectly white and colourless.

' 13th. — All the frost-bitten people have at last
been put out of the sick list. The temperature remains
remarkably steady at about minus 48° with calm
weather. A few of us walked to the southward beyond
the " Gap of Dunloe." The snow is soft in places, but
nowhere is the walking very bad ; the uncertainty in
the footing is, however, most annoying. When an
apparently hard surface turns out to be soft the severe

1876 DOGS 239

shake is much more trying than when walking through
snow of the same depth known to be soft. On our
return, when about a mile distant from the ship, we
experienced a light breeze for about ten minutes ; with
so low a temperature the sensation of stinging cold in
the exposed parts of our faces, was intensely painful.

* Markham's dog " Nelly," that is permitted to live
on the lower-deck, enjoys herself wonderfully when
taken out on the ice, and appears only to feel the
severe cold in her paws, which become clogged with
ice-balls between the toes ; she does not complain much
unless her walk is extended beyond a distance of four
or five miles, when the ice having time to accumulate
cuts into the flesh. The similar troubles of our poor
Eskimo dogs are now close at hand ; they will com-
mence exercising during the coining week.

1 To-day the United States Mountains to the north-
west were visible ; the Greenland hills in the opposite
direction have been very distinct for several days.

' The double doors over the entry hatchways
having been more carefully closed, and the leaks
repaired in the porches, the lower-deck has been much
drier lately, notwithstanding the cold weather.

' The spring-tides continue to split and force up the
ice between the ship and the neighbouring floeberg.
The cold weather has not only cracked the floe in
many places but several of the floebergs have split
through the middle, the cracks opening and the pieces
separating from each other.

' 17th. — Still the same calm, cold weather with a
light mist hanging within about a hundred feet of the
ice ; above that the atmosphere is remarkably clear.

240 \()VA(iE TO THE POLAR SEA. InnRFAR

From the look-out cairn the Greenland hills are to be
seen rising above the mist, the upper surface of which
is perfectly level.

' I have experienced trouble in obtaining the accu-
rate temperature of the sea, in consequence of the ther-
mometer becoming coated with ice immediately it was
taken out of the water and exposed to the air. The
first time the thermometer was lowered, it registered a
temperature of 28°*5, but each time subsequently,
when it was coated with ice, it ranged between 28°
and 28°'2. To-day the thermometer was placed in
warm water between each observation, to insure all
the ice being removed, and not lowered before it
registered a temperature of about 40°. The mean of
seven observations then gave the temperature at the
bottom in forty- two feet of water as 28°'54. At a
depth of two feet below the surface it was the same,
and with the bulb of the thermometer placed in the
freezing sludge, it marked 28° ; which may be taken
as the temperature at which the sea-water was chang-
ing into ice. The instant that any part of the glass
bulb was exposed above the sludge the temperature fell
considerably. The ice which collected on the lowering
rope when out of the water, became thawed and fell
off' when put back into the water at a temperature of
28°-5.

' During the winter several weakly dogs have died
from fits, or have been shot, leaving one strong team
of nine dogs, as many as we can possibly feed on the
ship's ration. Yesterday they commenced exercising,
preparatory to a trip to Discovery Bay early in March.
Eawson and Egerton with Frederick took them beyond

1876 ARCTIC VEGETATION. 241

Cape Eawson ; only one fit occurred during the six
miles' journey over rough ground : this we consider a
satisfactory result. The road round the Cape is re-
ported to have improved, the long slopes of snow at
the base of the cliffs being less abrupt than they were
during the autumn. To-day the journey was extended
to ten miles, the time occupied being about three hours.
Two dogs had fits ; the temperature during the time
they were exercising was minus 55°. Each of these
animals is now receiving two pounds of preserved meat
daily.

1 At noon when the sun was only five degrees below
the horizon there were no stars visible and the blue
tints in the ice were very decided.

6 19th. — After three days' hunting in the twilight
Dr. Moss has shot a hare ; it is in excellent condition,
and has been feeding on the leaves of the purple saxi-
frage, willow and lichens. It is extraordinary how these
animals find sufficient food with which to support life
during the dark season, or how the buds of the plants
can withstand such a low temperature ; even when
protected by the snow, they must endure and survive
a normal temperature slightly below zero. The track
of an ermine has been traced some distance, but no hole
or place of abode was discovered. The lemmings are
evidently feeding under the snow, for the few tracks
they leave on the surface do not point towards the
patches of vegetation left uncovered.

' Yesterday when obtaining a comparison of all the

spirit thermometers, at a mean temperature of minus

56°, the standard was only 0o,2 different from the mean

of ten instruments, only two of which varied more than

vol. I. ft

242 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. February

one degree and a half. Afterwards the temperature
was observed at different heights from the floe, with
the following results :

60 feet above the surface .

o

. minus 52-1

Hf

w

. „ 56-9

Q3

&4 »

V

. „ 57-9

Of

V

. . „ 57-7

Q*

V

. „ 55-8

On the ice .

. . „ 48-9

The first observation, recorded as taken at a height of
sixty feet, was above the stratum of mist that clung to
the floe.

' 21st. — To-day the dogs reached the snow-hut
built by Eawson last autumn ; all the provisions left in
the hut not packed in tin cases had been eaten by a
fox, which appears to have taken up his abode there.
The dogs are getting on very well ; there have been
no fits since the second day's exercise, and their
regular allowance of food keeps them farther away
from the dirt-heap than formerly.

'Yesterday, from the summit of Cape Eawson,
after a difficult climb up the steep snow slope, we
obtained a fine view of Eobeson Channel. The floes
although old are of large size, and will afford a fair
travelling road for at least half way across the channel.

' 22?id. — Markham and I scrambled out, over the
half-mile of rough ice which borders the shore, and
arrived at one of the old floes in the offing, the age of
which — whether it be fifty or five hundred years — we
have no means of determining. The one we reached,
evidently a fair sample of the rest, was about one
mile square, separated from its neighbouring floes by
broad ridges of pressed up ice, rising in many places

1876 POLAR ICE. 243

thirty feet in height and extending to a hundred yards
in width. Here and there, however, the rough parts
continued for a mile or more in the same direction.
The surface of the floe was above our line of sight
when standing on a narrow ridge of young ice, which
itself was about half a foot above the level of the
water. The height of this old floe above water may
therefore be taken at about eight feet ; gaining its
surface we found it covered with slippery ice-knolls of
a dark blue colour from twenty to one hundred feet in
diameter, and rising from ten to twenty feet above the
general- level of the drifted snow which covered the
floe. These knolls generally lay in disconnected ranges
and were evidently the remains of heavy lines of hum-
mocks pressed up years ago, when the floe was in
course of formation, and since melted down into their
present rounded form by repeated summer thaws.
We congratulated ourselves that if a succession of
such floes were met with in the contemplated journey
to the northward the travelling would not be very bad.

' Between the shore hummocks and the floes out-
side we found a crack in the ice, parallel with the coast-
line and eight feet broad, recently frozen over. When
we returned on board we learnt that some of the
crew when wandering about the ice the previous
Sunday, found this crack recently formed, and that one
of the men in trying to jump across had fallen into the
unfrozen water.'

On the return of Captain Markham from his
northern journey over the pack later in the season, he
reported as follows concerning the age of the Polar
floes.

244 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Februar

' It is impossible for us to estimate, or even to
hazard an opinion, regarding the thickness of what we
term the palaeocrystic floes, having no foundation to
form any conjecture upon. On one occasion, at the
edge of a large floe, bounded by young ice, the per-
pendicular height, 'from the top of the floe to the
surface of the young ice, was measured and found to
be from five feet six inches to six feet ten inches, but
we had no opportunity of measuring the height of the
heavier and larger sized floes. On the heavier floes
were 'high hillocks, apparently formed by snow-drift,
the accumulation probably of years, resembling dimi-
nutive snow mountains, and varying from twenty to
over fifty feet in height.' ....

' This afternoon the cold weather broke up with
squalls from the S.S.W., lasting six horns; the tem-
perature rising immediately from minus 50° to within
a few degrees of zero. At midnight a northerly wind
again lowered the temperature to minus 40°. During
the previous sixteen days the mercury has remained
thawed only for forty-eight hours.'

Neither this wind nor the rise in temperature were
experienced at Discovery Bay. After a short calm a
southerly squall raised the temperature both at Floe-
berg Beach and Discovery Bay ; but at the latter
place, although the snow was observed to be drifting
from the southward off the high land, it did not reach
the ship. At noon the temperature at both stations
was minus 14°.

' 2bth. — A beautiful clear day. Walked to Cape
Eawson with Mr. Pullen ; Eawson, Egerton, and Fred-
erick, following us with the dog-sledge. The weather

.

1876

NORTH COAST OF GREENLAND.

9/1 Z

45

being very clear we
could distinguish
that three or four
miles to the south-
ward a very exten-
sive old floe occu-
pied at least half
the breadth of the
channel ; it was evi-
dently so good a
roadway for the
sledges that it was
at once named the
" Crossing Floe."
The north shore of
Greenland was seen
extending to the
eastward for an
unknown distance
until lost in the
mirage.

• When descend-
ing the hard snow-
slope on the hill,
off which the softer
snow had been
carried by the late
gale, Eawson slipped
and slid down the
steep incline head
first for at least
a hundred yards.

246 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. February

Fortunately he had the ability and presence of mind to
steer himself and so landed in a soft place. I at first
thought it a bit of his usual fun, and a quick method
of getting down a slope of snow, but as the rapidity
increased, it was evidently an accident and no laughing
one either.

f A lemming was caught in its winter coat ; when
it saw that escape was hopeless it backed into a hollow
in the snow and attempted to defend itself by striking
vigorously with its fore-feet, uttering a shrill squeak.
Except by quickly retreating to their burrows these
animals have little protection from their enemies the
snowy owls and skua gulls. If caught at a distance from
their retreats a dog or fox can readily run them down.

' When returning to the ship Mr. Pullen and I
followed in the track of the dogs and sledge which had
preceded us. At one spot the sledge had fallen over
a perpendicular snow-bank eight feet in height on to
hard pieces of ice at the bottom — a very awkward
place for an accident. Our anxiety for the drivers was
much relieved by seeing the sledge moving along some
half a mile ahead of us as if nothing had happened.
It appears that the weather being too misty to
permit shadows forming, the edge of the pit was not
seen until the dogs disappeared into it. Egerton and
Frederick rolled off in time, but Eawson found himself
amongst the dogs with the sledge turned over on top
of all. Most fortunately neither sledge, animals, or
human beings suffered in the least.

' During the calm weather which preceded the
late gale the bare patches on the hill-tops had
gradually become whitened with the invisible precipi-

1876 ELEVATION OF POLAR LANDS. 247

tation of fine snow which is constantly taking place.
Now there are again many parts left completely bare.
The fresh deposit of snow-drift which has collected near
the ship gives quite a clean appearance to the floe.

1 At a distance of half a mile inland, we lately
found a raised sea-bed, 150 feet above the present level,
off which the snow had been swept by the wind. It
was strewed over with marine shells, some so well pre-
served that the hinges of the valves were still joined.
We also found two small pieces of wood about five
inches long, which appeared as if they might have
been cut artificially, but shortly afterwards two logs of
drift timber were found, from which they had evidently
become detached.'

The rapid elevation of the shores of Grinnell Land
illustrates in a remarkable degree how powerful is the
agency of the heavy Polar ice in raising banks of mud
and gravel in lines parallel with the coast. Wherever
points of land stretch seaward into water of moderate
depth, lines of grounded floebergs mark very distinctly
where they and their predecessors have pushed up
ridges on the bottom as they were forced on shore.
Where two points are near neighbours the banks
continue to increase with the elevation of the land,
and eventually produce a bar, which extends from
point to point and forms a sheltered bay, into which
the heavy Polar ice can no longer be forced. Year
after year the mountain torrents, charged with mud
and debris, continue to fill up this protected bay,
which, from the continuous elevation of the land,
becomes at last converted into a lake. In course of
time, after the lake has become silted up, the ancient

248 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Februar

bar is cut through, and the torrents again scoop out
the accumulated material, depositing it afresh in a
similar manner at a lower level.

Thus in Grinnell Land we found at various eleva-
tions, to heights of 1,000 feet above the sea-shore,
convincing proofs that during the period which
represents this great elevation of the land, the same
fauna flourished as now exists in the Polar Sea, and
that the deposits alluded to were created under the
same physical conditions as are now present.

c27th. — The crew have lately been employed in
transporting the coal which was stacked on shore in
the autumn, on to the ice near the ship, ready for it
to be put on board during the summer.

' 4 Although the sun is still absent, so bright is the
light at mid-day that on first descending to the lamp-
lit deck it is some time before the retina has accom-
modated itself to the change and enables us to see
our way.

' At the usual Sunday's muster on the ice we all
remarked how quickly the pale complexions have
disappeared; one or two, however, are still rather
white.

' 28th. — A beautiful day ; temperature miuus 48°
with a low mist, but a clear sky overhead. As the
sun would appear above the southern horizon by
refraction, a general holiday was given to enable all
hands to enjoy the sight. The mist, however, pre-
vented anyone being gratified. The crimson and
orange colours in the northern sky, resting above the
blue and purple tints near the horizon, were very
fine and almost made up for our loss. As usual with

.

1876 DOG-SLEDGING. 249

sailors, three men walked beyond the prescribed dis-
tance, and caused a temporary anxiety by not return-
ing for several hours after the main party.

' GrifFarci and Egerton, with Simmons, had a long-
and cold journey to-day with the dogs. They reached
Cape Union, and ascertained that the despatches
which Eawson left there last October have not been
disturbed by any party travelling north from the
" Discovery." This proves that they, like us, were
unable to journey along the shores of Eobeson Channel.

'Experience teaches us in these regions never to
run with a dog-sledge during severe weather, for
although the weather may be perfectly calm, the fast
journeying through the air at a temperature below
minus 50° has naturally the same effect as if a light
breeze were blowing. To-day Simmons became greatly
heated while running behind the sledge to guide it ;
afterwards when sitting down to take his turn to
drive his right arm became uncovered and exposed to
the cold, and before being aware of it he was severely
frost-bitten, so much so that he is now under Doctor
Colan's care.

' 29th. — Eawson and Egerton having taken the
dogs to the hill-top, from thence saw the upper limb
of the sun returning to awake nature from its long
repose.

' At the ship we experienced a light breeze from
the north-west, but on the hills the wind was from the
south-west sufficiently strong at times to create a light
snow-drift. The temperature, curiously enough, was
only minus 51°, whereas that in the neighbourhood of
the ship was minus 60°.'

250 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. February

This was explained afterwards by our learning
that at Discovery Bay, from which direction the wind
was blowing, the ' Discovery ' experienced a similar
temperature of minus 51°.

8 The vaporisation of our breath in the cold air
presents precisely the same appearance as if we were
smoking tobacco ; and when severe work causes
extreme perspiration, the worker becomes surrounded
by a cloud. To-day, when the dogs were approach-
ing with a light favourable wind, they and the sledge
were as completely hidden as a ship is after firing
a salute. In fact, with misty weather and a snowy
background we did not perceive them coming until
they were close alongside.

' The great difficulty that cold air finds in rising,
and warm air in descending, is well exemplified in the
snow-built observatory on shore, where the temperature
without any fire is always above zero. In consequence
of the entrance passage leading up-hill the cold outer
air cannot ascend, and that inside the chamber, warmed
by the candles used when making observations, cannot
force its way down-hill.

' In a similar manner we have experienced a con-
siderable advantage in consequence of the ship floating
in water throughout the winter. By carefully covering
the engine-room hatchway, and preventing the cold air
descending to the ship's holds, the temperature has been
very seldom below 2 8° '5, the same as that of the
water beneath the ship.

'In this we are far more fortunate than Lieu-
tenant Weyprecht and his companions on board the
" Tegetthoff." Completely cradled in ice as that ship

1876 VEGETATION AT THE POLE. 251

was during two winters — between 1872 and 1874 —
the temperature of the holds became so lowered that
most of the provisions froze.

' Now that the midday twilight enables us to extend
our walks to the uplands, which have been wholly or
partially denuded of snow, we find few traces of
flowering plants, though the lichens attain a better
development there than they do nearer to the sea.
The valleys and the coast slopes with a northern
aspect show traces of far more vegetation than might
have been expected.

' This is evidently due to the great power of the
midsummer sun, which remains at an altitude of sixteen
degrees above the horizon for several hours while on a
northern bearing. As the altitude and heat-giving
power would be still further increased nearer to and at
the Pole, and as the amount of light — the other neces-
sary for the production of life — is precisely the same,
we may safely reason that if land exists at the North
Pole it is as richly vegetated as the neighbourhood
of Floeberg Beach.'

252 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. March

CHAPTER XL

geographical discoveries — absence of land to the north —
decide on three lines of exploration — boats for northern

party adopt the plan of sir edward parry — scurvy

dietaries of sledge crews egerton leaves for discovery

bay — Petersen's illness — dog-sledging — spring visitants —
wolves and musk-oxen.

In arranging my plans for the sledge travelling during
the spring, I naturally took into consideration the result
of our previous geographical discoveries. We had
ascertained that the land to the westward of Cape
Joseph Henry trended in a north-westerly direction for
a distance of not less than eighty miles from our
position ; there was no saying whether it might then
stretch towards the north, or turn off to the southward.
The coast of Greenland was in sight trending to the
north-east for about eighty miles ; beyond that distance
its direction was doubtful. Immediately to the north-
ward was a very heavy pack, decidedly impenetrable
for a ship, and of a description which former Arctic
travellers had considered impassable for sledges.

In my orders it was impressed on me that the
primary object was ' to attain the highest northern
latitude, and, if possible, to reach the North Pole.' The
more I considered the character of the ice in our
neighbourhood, the more convinced I became that the

1876 PLANS FOR SPRING EXPLORATION. 253

only way to carry out my instructions was by advancing
along a coast-line ; and that unless we discovered land
trending to the north, neither the ship nor our sledges
would be able to advance far in that direction. Our
great object, therefore was to discover land leading
towards the north.

I accordingly decided to explore the shores that
were in sight, in order to ascertain if either coast
turned in the desired direction, and at the same time
to send a secondary party over the ice to the northward ;
to discover whether or not the pack was in motion in
the offing, and if stationary, whether, in the event of
our not finding land towards the north, it would be
feasible to journey over it the following year with the
combined strength of the crews of the two ships.

When organizing the party to proceed directly to
the north across the pack, little or nothing was known
with certainty regarding the nature or movements of
the ice, but the experience of the ' Polaris ' expedition
led us to expect that if the pack were not already in
motion it would certainly break up early in the season.
Accordingly, in order to insure the return of the party
in the event of the ice breaking up in its rear, and en-
dangering the retreat, it had to be supplied with boats
suitable for navigation. But such a boat weighs within
a few pounds as much as the total amount usually
dragged by a sledge crew, and at once completely dis-
arranges the plans usually adopted in Arctic travelling
along a coast-line.

When a boat is added to the necessary equipment
of the sledge the ' constant weights ' become raised
to about 200 lbs. for each man, and therefore only

254 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. March

allow provisions for two or three days to be added.
To advance fifteen or twenty days the maximum weight
of 240 lbs. a man must be transported. It is thus evident
that if the crew of each sledge is to be provided with
a boat, the usual mode cannot be adopted of pushing
forward one sledge to an extreme distance by pro-
visioning it through a system of relays and supporting
parties, which return to the ship one at a time.

After calculating the weights most carefully, I
finally decided to follow the plan of Sir Edward Parry,
namely, for the travellers to advance the requisite
weights each day by stages ; first dragging forward the
boat, then to return and transport a second sledge
laden with provisions. From my former experience
I well knew, as is stated in the fifteenth paragraph of
my orders, that * in the absence of continuous land,
sledge travelling has never yet been found practicable
over any considerable extent of unenclosed frozen sea!
Nevertheless, I trusted that we might advance such
a distance from the land as would enable us to ascertain
the nature of the pack-ice in the offing, and learn
whether it could ever be travelled over for a reason-
able distance, on a future occasion, with or without
boats. There was also the chance of a northern land
being sighted.

Knowing well how extremely irksome such a
journey would prove to all concerned in it, I deter-
mined to despatch two sledge crews to mutually
support each other.

As the north-western exploration promised to be
the most important, I offered the command of it to
Commander Markham ; but he considering that the

1876 PLANS FOR SPRING EXPLORATION. 255

land would probably not be found to stretch in the
desired direction, elected to take command of the party
whose duty it was to ascertain the nature of the pack-
ice to the northward.

I then arranged for Lieutenants Aldrich and Giffard,
with fourteen men, to explore the coast of Grant Land,
whilst Commander Markham, with Lieutenant Parr
and fifteen men, supported by two additional sledges
until they left the land, were to advance directly
towards the north over the ice. Captain Stephenson
and the officers and crew of the ' Discovery ' were to
explore the northern coast of Greenland, endeavour
to ascertain whether Petermann Fiord was a channel
leading to an eastern sea, and to examine Lady
Franklin Sound, which was reported to be a channel.

The ' Discovery ' being upwards of two hundred
miles north of the arranged rendezvous at Cape
Isabella, I considered that sending a party there would
be so much strength thrown away ; for in the event of a
ship from England visiting Cape Isabella during the
summer of 1876, and finding that we had not com-
municated with the post at the southern entrance of
Smith Sound, it would be at once understood that our
two ships had advanced far to the northward, and were
well placed for exploration. Sir Allen Young on
visiting Cape Isabella in August at once drew this
inference.

In order to communicate my intentions to Captain
Stephenson, Sub-lieutenant Egerton was prepared to
proceed with the dog-sledge to Discovery Bay, as soon
as the sun returned, carrying the necessary instructions.
As Lieutenant Eawson would be employed in the

256 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. March

exploration of the coast of North Greenland, it was
desirable that he should confer with Captain Stephen-
son, under whose directions the Greenland party would
be organized ; accordingly Eawson was to accompany
Mr. Egerton.

As the Expedition subsequently experienced a
severe attack of scurvy, which has been attributed in
some quarters to errors in the sledge dietaries, I may
here conveniently refer to the subject, and give my
reasons for adopting the scale of diet used by the
travellers from the ' Alert ' and ' Discovery.' In doing
this, I fear that I shall leave the actual cause of the
outbreak of scurvy in as undefined a state as others
who have endeavoured to explain it.

On the return of the Expedition to England a
committee, consisting of three admirals and two
medical men, was appointed to enquire into the causes
of the outbreak of scurvy. On the Tth of May, 1877,
they reported, ' We attribute the early outbreak of
scurvy in the spring sledging parties of the Expedition
to the absence of lime-juice from the sledge dietaries.'
The italics are my own.

Soon after the publication of this report Admirals
Sir George H. Eichards and Sir Leopold M'Clintock,
the two surviving members of the Arctic Committee of
1875, and whose experiences in Arctic sledge-travelling
are certainly greater than those of any other living men,
thus expressed their views in the public press. Sir
George Eichards wrote under date of the 20th of
May, 1877 :—

1 This can be no more than an opinion, as it is posi-
tively unsusceptible of proof; but it is entirely opposed

1870 COMMITTEE ON OUTBREAK OF SCURVY. 257

to all former experience on similar service. It appears
in the evidence taken before the Committee that Sir
Leopold M'Clintock in all his varied Arctic journeys,
extending over some thousands of miles, never carried
lime-juice or considered it necessary. Certainly the
evidence of Dr. Kae in regard to his own remarkable
journeys and his long experience as an officer of the
Hudson's Bay Company in Arctic America does not
justify the conclusions arrived at by the Committee.

'For myself I must say that, during some seven
months passed on the ice at different times, and with,
perhaps, larger parties than any one person ever had
the charge of, my crews never used lime-juice. The
same may be said of the early and extended sledging
parties of all previous expeditions. Lime-juice was
undoubtedly used by some of the parties which made
short excursions in moderate temperatures; but there
remains the fact that many previous parties exposed to
the same temperatures and pretty much the same
hardships as those experienced by the late Expedition,
and for considerably longer periods, did not use lime-
juice, and were practically exempt from* scurvy, or the
cases which did occur were so few in number, and of
so mild a character, that opinion actually differs at the
present time among medical men as to Avhether they
were cases of scurvy or not.

c The fact is that it has always been regarded as
unnecessary and impossible to administer frozen lime-
juice to sledge crews, and in the Arctic regions it is
always frozen during the month of April and the greater
part of May ; at any rate the expedient has never been
tried.

vol. I. S

258 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Marcs

' 1 state, moreover, without fear of contradiction,
that there is not one experienced Arctic officer living
who would not have followed precisely the course
Captain Nares did in regard to his sledge diet.'

Sir Leopold M'Clintock wrote : —

' I think it due to Sir George Nares and his officers
that former Arctic experience should not be lost sight
of. If Sir George Nares erred in not having supplied
his sledge parties with lime-juice, then we Arctic
travellers have all likewise erred.

' I have myself made several sledging journeys,
varying in length from 20 to 105 days each, without
either lime-juice or scurvy in any of my parties ; and
the experience of my brother officers in the Franklin
Search agreed with my own. Briefly, we lived upon
pemmican, and enjoyed sound k health. Therefore,
acting as I have always done upon experience when
obtainable in preference to any number of suggestions,
however valuable they may appear, had I been in Sir
George Nares' place I also would have left the lime-
juice behind.'

As two of the members of the Committee appointed
to enquire into the outbreak of scurvy had personal
experience in Arctic travelling, it is to be regretted
that in their report they did not draw conclusions from
the knowledge gained during the numerous sledge
journeys which have been successfully undertaken in
the Arctic regions, on practically similar dietaries and
without any lime-juice whatever ; such as those of
Baron von Wrangell, Parry, Franklin, Eichardson,
Back, Eichards, M'Clintock, Sherard Osborn, M'Clure,
Collinson, Kellett, Eae, Hamilton, Mecham, Hayes,
and many others.

s>

1876 SLEDGE DIETARY. 259

On the other hand, parties commanded by Sir
James Eoss, Allen Young, Mr. Kennedy, and Mons.
Bellot suffered from scurvy.

Sir James Eoss, starting from Port Leopold in 1849
on the 15th of May, when the weather was warm, was
able to issue a daily ration of one ounce of lime-juice
to his sledge crews ; but nevertheless, at the end of
thirty-seven days, his men returned to their ships as
completely prostrated by what is said to have been
debility as the sledge crews of the ' Alert ' and * Dis-
covery ' were from scurvy.

When I had to arrange a diet scale for a crew of
healthy men, most of whom had the previous autumn
performed successful journeys of twenty days' duration
without any sign of disease, I based my arrange-
ments on those which had proved efficient in the nume-
rous previous sledge journeys in the Arctic regions.
A copy of the official reports of these journeys had
been supplied for my information by the Admiralty ;
at the same time was forwarded a memorandum of
recommendations and suggestions drawn up by the
Medical Director-General, one paragraph of which
recommended the use of lime-juice during sledge
journeys ; but inasmuch as the few sledge parties
which had been supplied with lime-juice during the
months of April and early May — viz. those of Sir
Horatio Austin in 1852 and of Sir Edward Belcher in
1854 — had utterly failed to use it as a ration during
the cold weather, owing to its rock-like condition when
frozen ; and moreover, as every one of the many sledge
crews who had not been so supplied had, after per-
forming journeys, some of them 100 days in duration,

s 2

260 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. March

returned safely to their ships, thereby proving that the
diet was fairly suitable, I decided to follow the former
custom, and only to send lime-juice for use during
weather when it could readily be melted. Accord-
ingly, arrangements were made for it to be forwarded
to the most distant depOts for the use of the advanced
sledge crews when returning in May or June, which
was as early a date as any sledge party travelling in
the Arctic regions had ever consumed such a ration.

I take the report of the Committee to mean that in
their opinion had lime-juice been supplied the disease
would nevertheless have broken out at a later period.
If this be . a correct reading of the words ' early out-
break,' then all future Arctic explorers are warned
that they must, sooner or later, expect an attack of
scurvy unless a decided change can be made in the
usual Arctic rations, and some plan devised of keeping
the ship as dry and comfortable as if she were in a
temperate climate.

I fully concur that a change of dietary for the crews
of both ship and sledge is advisable. I am further of
opinion that the numerous successful sledge journeys
performed during the Franklin Search had induced
a dangerous confidence in arctic men, and that former
travellers, without being aware of it, were in reality on
the verge of the same dire disease which attacked our-
selves.

It is possible that the painful experience gained by
us may render Arctic exploration by sledges safer than
it has hitherto been ; but unless for the purpose of
saving life I consider that no one should be called
upon to undergo the fearful privation of an Arctic

1876 SLEDGE DIETARY. 2(U

sledge journey during March' or the early part of
April, when a temperature of more than sixty degrees
below freezing-point is certain to be experienced.

After a careful consideration of all the circum-
stances of the case, the chief difference that I can find
between the experiences of our travellers who suffered,
and those of former expeditions who did not, is the
greater or rather different labour undergone in conse-
quence of the heavy nature of the snow and pack-ice
met with by the parties from the 'Alert' and 'Dis-
covery,' and also the almost total absence of fresh meat ;
whereas most of the former expeditions obtained an
occasional meal of fresh game of one sort or another,
and some were fortunate enough to shoot as much as
they could possibly consume.

I now continue the extracts from my journal re-
lating to the proceedings on board the 'Alert.'

'1st. — The temperature is down to minus G4°, with
a light breeze from the north-west. It is far too cold
for human beings and, judging from the movements of
the dogs, for animals also; although they refuse to
go into an enclosure they are glad enough of any
shelter obtainable between them and the wind. The
weather prevented any work being undertaken outside
the ship except what was absolutely necessary, and
the walking parties were contented with shorter exer-
cise than usual ; every possible kind of face protector
being tried.

' The preserved meat for the use of the dogs while
travelling has been taken out of the tins and broken
up into pieces of about two pounds in weight ; exposed
to the cold this has become frozen as hard as marble,

262 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. March

and in that state has 'been stored ready for use in a
canvas bag. As it is impossible to thaw the food when
travelling, the poor creatures will have to swallow
these lumps of food at a temperature sixty and seventy
degrees below freezing-point ; it is therefore not sur-
prising that fits occur but rather that any dogs are
left alive.

'In consequence of the saving of lime-juice which
will occur during the absence of the travellers in
April, the ration has now been doubled. The evening
issue is not compulsory, but I am sure that very few
will neglect to take it.

.' The mean temperature for February was minus
38°. I am fully certain that at a position a few miles
farther to the westward, out of the range of the warm
southerly winds blowing through Eobeson Channel,
which invariably raise the temperature considerably,
the mean temperature for the month would have been
much lower.

' Owing to the gradual accumulation of newly
formed ice on the starboard side of the ship, caused by
the freezing of the water which overruns the surface
when depressed by the tide, she is now forced over to
port, heeling four and a half degrees ; a very decided
incline. It is quite impossible to remedy matters
before the thaw commences. We must be thankful
that the rise and fall of the tide is not greater ; other-
wise we should be as badly placed as the " Polaris "
was under similar circumstances at Thank God
Harbour.

' 2?id. — The sledge preparations occupying the
whole of each evening, to-day was the last of the

1870 EXTREME DEGREE OF COLD. 263

Thursday evening gatherings for lectures and other
entertainments. These have been kept up throughout
the winter with unflagging interest, everyone attending
without exception.

4 ith. — The sun was seen clearly above the southern
hills at 11.30 a.m. To-day had been fixed for the
departure of the dog- sledge for Discovery Bay, but the
cold weather prevented the start. The mean tempera-
ture for the last two days has been minus 69°* 6 ;
yesterday two reliable thermometers registered below
minus 73°, the mean being minus 73°#75, or more than l
one hundred and five degrees below the freezing point
of fresh water. At noon on the summit of the look-out
hill 480 feet high, the temperature was minus 620,5,
six degrees warmer than the temperature at the ship.
A breeze from the south-west was blowing at the
time on the hill, and a light northerly air near the ship.

' The appearance of the southern slopes of the
Greenland hills which were to-day tinted a warm
crimson afforded a rich treat to all of us, and the feel-
ing of intense cold was greatly modified by feasting
our eyes on the glorious shades of colour.

' Parr and May when observing occultations of stars
found it extremely cold work, and the spirit in the
levelling tubes was so thickened by the cold that it
became useless. In order to compare all the spirit
thermometers together, Eawson, Egerton, and I were
obliged to remain exposed on the ice for about an
hour. Unfortunately, while so employed a light breeze
sprang up, and as the thermometers could not be safely
handled except with hands covered only with the
finest mits, we were obliged to relieve each other con-

\

264 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. March

stantly, running about for at least ten minutes before
our hands recovered their warmth sufficiently to obtain
another observation. Whisky placed on the floe for a
few minutes froze hard ; so a few of us had the rare
opportunity of eating it in a solid state.

' hth. — When falling in for muster on the ice,
although the men were permitted to keep moving
until the last moment, several were frost-bitten about
the face. It is amusing to notice how angry anyone
becomes when informed that his nose is frost-bitten ;
being uncertain whether he is the victim of a joke, or
whether it is really the case. The frozen breath col-
lects so quickly, and the ice is so excellent a conductor
of cold that those who cover their noses and mouths
with a comforter are certain to suffer. Masks for the
face are not to be recommended, it is better to wear
nothing when walking near the ship. Travellers who
are obliged to face the cold know that they must suiFer,
and a projecting hood or blinker worn on the weather-
side of the face is perhaps the safest protector. There
is a widespread popular notion concerning the treat-
ment of a frost-bite by applying snow, but our snow is
far too cold for such a purpose. When frost-bitten
the object is to restore the circulation gradually.
With a superficial frost-bite the best remedy is the
gentle application of the hand to the affected part ; the
slightest friction would certainly remove the skin.

' ftth. — The temperature has risen to minus 58°;
it is the same on the top of the hill as* on the floe. A
thermometer exposed to the sun which was not quite
two degrees above the horizon registered minus 52°.
Frost-bites are very frequent, but now no one moves

1876 TEEATMENT OF A FKOST-BITE. 265

anywhere without a companion at his side ready to
warn him of danger. Fortunately these extremely low
temperatures never occur with a high wind, or no
human being could possibly endure the weather.

' A parhelion with prismatic colours on each side of
the sun was observed to-day. Very light snow-flakes,
or more properly speaking snow-motes, were falling, so
fine that they were only visible as they passed across
the lighted arc, after which they were invisible until they
crossed the corresponding arc on the opposite side of
the sun, showing that each particle of snow between
the eye of the observer and the extreme distance assists
in forming the parhelion. The ray rising perpendicu-
larly from the sun was not prismatic.

1 A puppy born three days ago has mysteriously
disappeared ; it has doubtless been eaten, as usual, but
in this case the mother herself is suspected of being the
culprit.

' 9 ^.—Yesterday on the temperature rising to
minus 45° the dog-sledge was made ready to start, but
to-day it has fallen again to minus 58°, so I have
countermanded the order for its departure. When on
the top of the look-out hill this morning the air was so
perfectly calm, that, notwithstanding the excessive cold,
after becoming thoroughly warm by the exertion of
climbing, I was able to keep my hands bare for ten
minutes whilst sketching ; but that was only during a
very quiet interval, for shortly afterwards, although
the weather was nominally calm, it would have been
impossible to have uncovered the hands for two
minutes. At noon a thermometer backed with a piece
of black cloth, when exposed to the sun, which was

2(16 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. March

three degrees above the horizon, registered twenty- two
degrees higher than when in the shade. The black-bulb
thermometers supplied for measuring solar radiation
are all mercury thermometers and are consequently
useless at present. No one expected that when the
heat from the sun was sufficient to raise the tempera-
ture so considerably the mercury would be frozen and
the instrument perfectly useless.

' The men are employed daily in cutting a ditch in
the ice on the starboard side of the ship, in the hope of
reducing the pressure, and keeping her from heeling
over any farther to port. The ice has again sunk sud-
denly away from the ship at the stern, or rather the
ship has suddenly jumped up one foot, tearing her
stern clear of the ice.

' 12th. — A misty morning with a falling barometer,
and a temperature risen to minus 30°, gave notice that
the extremely cold weather was at an end. Accord-
ingly Mr. Egerton and Lieutenant Eawson, accompanied
by Petersen and nine dogs, started for the " Discovery,"
the sledge being weighted to 51 lbs. per dog.

' When walking with Aldrich we crossed the tracks
made by the dogs when exercising yesterday, and
noticed the numerous frozen pellets of blood lying on
the floe which always form between the toes of these
animals when working during severely cold weather.
The heat of the foot causes the snow to ball, this soon
changes into ice, and, collecting between the toes, cuts
into the flesh. On board the " Eesolute " in 1853, we
endeavoured to fit our dogs with blanket pads on
their feet, but these were found to increase the mis-
chief by first becoming damp and then freezing, when

1876 DOGS. 267

the hardened blanket cut into the sinews at the back
of the leg.

' A piece of heavy ice lying aground, not far from
the ship's bows, was tnrhed completely over last
autumn, leaving the part which had rested on the
ground exposed to view ; it shows distinct groovings
or furrows on its surface and some imbedded ice-
scratched pebbles, proving that floebergs or stranded
ice grinding along the bottom of the sea with the tidal
motion or pressure from the pack produce scratching^
on stone or rock similar to those produced by glaciers.
The long thermometer which was let into a floeberg
with the object of measuring the conduction of ice
has unfortunately become broken in consequence of the
upper portion of the mercury freezing in a defective
part of the tube, while that below remained in a liquid
state and was unable to expand.

6 13th. — We commenced to-day taking down the
upper- deck covering, in order to let in as much light
as possible. The cold will prevent the hatchways or
skylights being uncovered of snow for some time. Dr.
Moss being desirous of seeing the true tints of colour
when painting, has uncovered the skylight in his cabin,
but the frozen condensation accumulates so rapidly
on the inside of the glass that the ice has to be cleared
off constantly, if any benefit is to be derived.

'I4:th. — Blowing in squalls from the south-west
with a force of 8, which will be sure to keep the tra-
vellers in their tent ; but as the temperature has risen
to minus 18° their hardships will not be greater than
those of the many Arctic voyagers who have preceded
them. The grounded ice around us denotes an im-

268 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. March

usually low tide, evidently caused by the pressure
exerted by the gale forcing the water, although covered
with ice; towards the north-east. The ice on the star-
board quarter is unable to fise again, consequently with
the return of the flood the water has overrun it and
risen two feet above the level of the floe.

' To-day I published the programme of the spring
sledging parties. It is eminently satisfactory to find
how every officer and man, after a long and severe
experience during the autumn of what Arctic sledging
really is, has been anxiously pushing his claims for
employment with the advanced parties ; those bound
north over the ice, a journey thoroughly well known
to entail the most trying and tedious work, being
esteemed the most favoured.

6 lhth. — This evening I was astonished at the return
of Mr. Egerton's party, and much distressed to learn
that it was occasioned by the severe illness of Petersen.
He was taken ill on the second march with cramp, and
afterwards, being unable to retain any food whatever,
nothing could keep him warm, and he became badly
frost-bitten. By depriving themselves of their own
warm clothing and at great personal risk the two
officers, his only companions, succeeded in restoring
circulation. The following day, Petersen being no
better, they wisely determined to return with him to
the ship. But the gale of the 14th rendering it impos-
sible to travel and the tent being very cold — tempera-
ture minus 24° — they burrowed out a hole in a snow-
bank, and with the aid of a spirit lamp raised the
temperature inside it to 7°. With a noble disregard of
themselves they succeeded in retaining some slight heat
in the man's body by alternately lying one at a time

1876 ILLNESS OF PETERSEN. .269

alongside of him while the other was recovering his
warmth by exercise. On the morning of the 15th the
patient being slightly better, and the weather permit-
ting, they started to return to the ship with the sledge
lightened to the utmost.

4 During the journey of sixteen miles over a very
rough ground, although frequently very seriously
frost-bitten themselves, they succeeded in keeping life
in the invalid until they arrived on board. He was
badly frost-bitten in the face and feet '

Notwithstanding the professional ability and inces-
sant care of Dr. Colan, Petersen never recovered from
the severe shock which he had received, and eventu-
ally expired from exhaustion three months after-
wards.

During severe weather Arctic travelling of any
sort, at a distance from all other human help, is only
just bearable for strong men when all goes well. The
slightest mishap is sure to entail serious consequences,
and a severe sickness, which providentially has seldom
occurred amongst the hundreds of travelling parties, is
almost certain to terminate fatally.

Mr. Egerton, whose own conduct was beyond all
praise, thus speaks in his official report of Lieut.
Eawson's behaviour on this occasion : —

1 It is with great diffidence that I presume to say
anything regarding the very valuable assistance that I
received from Lieutenant Eawson, but I feel I should
fail in my duty if I omitted to bring to your notice the
great aid I derived from his advice and help ; without
his unremitting exertions and cheerful spirit my own
efforts would have been unavailing to return with my
patient alive to the ship.'

270 • VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. March

The popular supposition that sledge travelling with
dogs in the Arctic regions is a comfortable, expeditious,
and exciting method of locomotion is very far from the
truth. With a light sledge, perfectly smooth ice, and
a good team of dogs, rapid journeys may be made
over great distances where supplies of food for only a
few days have to be carried on the sledge. Dog-
sledging as practised by naval expeditions in districts
where food cannot be obtained on the road, is neces-
sarily of a different nature. The object frequently being
to prolong the journey to the utmost extent, or, in
other words, to enable the sledgers to be absent from
their ship the greatest number of days, the sledge at
starting is loaded to the full amount of provisions and
gear that the dogs can draw with the aid of the men.
The driver walks or runs at the side of the sledge,
guiding the animals with his whip, while another of
the party runs ahead, choosing the best path through
the piled-up hummocks or rough ice, the rest of the
crew pushing the sledge from behind, but very fre-
quently they have to use their drag-belts. 0 wing-
to the repeated delays among rough ice, where the
dogs stubbornly refuse to do any work whatever,
and the men facing the sledge have to drag it three or
four feet at a time by standing pulls, the rate of ad-
vance is seldom over two or three miles an hour. In
fact, the crew of a dog-sledge have even more la-
borious work to undergo than those who drag a man-
sledge.

The dogs should never be permitted to advance
faster than the travellers can walk themselves with
comfort and without losing breath.

187G ARCTIC DOG-SLEDGE. 271

During Egerton s return journey with the lightly-
laden sledge, there was great difficulty in preventing
the dogs running away when they knew that they
were homeward-bound. In passing the deep snow
slope at Cape Eawson, the invalid being fortunately off
the sledge at the time, they could not be restrained,
and the sledge rolled over the side of the bank, a depth
of thirty feet. After the sledge was righted, and while
Egerton was employed clearing the entangled harness,
the dogs suddenly broke away, dragging him more
than a hundred yards, and bruising him severely,
before they were stopped by his body becoming
jammed in between two pieces of ice.

He reports : —

' During the journey all the dogs except " Bruin "
worked very well, and no fits occurred I picketed
them each night, and they remained quiet, only one
dog, " Flo," breaking adrift. I found no difficulty
in giving them their food — two pounds of preserved
meat each, daily — which had been frozen and broken
into pieces before leaving the ship. Though it was
as hard as the ice itself, they appeared to enjoy it
thoroughly.'

« 16th — To-day the skylights above the lower-deck
and my cabin were freed from snow, and daylight
introduced, an inestimable blessing ; but with it the
cold also finds its way in. The difference in tempera-
ture between the inside and outside of the glass was
sufficient to crack one pane before the quickly accumu-
lating frozen vapour on the inside formed in sufficient
thickness to protect the glass. Previous to this taking-
place, owing to the quick conduction of cold through

272 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Marcs

the unprotected glass, snow-flakes formed and an actual
fall of snow took place in my cabin.

< YJth. — A bright sun, but a cold nipping wind,
with squalls from the south-west, atmosphere very
clear. I walked to Cape Eawson with Parr and
George Bryant, the captain of the " Discovery's "
sledge crew, to show him the " Crossing Floe," stretching
for a distance of six or seven miles across Eobeson
Channel.

' In the ravine north of the cape, on the same plot
of sparsely vegetated ground where foot-prints of
ptarmigan were last seen in the autumn, we found
their fresh traces. On the 10th three small birds
were reported to have been seen by one of the crew ;
it is now probable that they were ptarmigan, our first
visitors from the south. The " Polaris " did not ob-
serve any before the 25th of this month.

* At noon, when the temperature in the shade was
minus 20°, the black bulb thermometer in the sun
registered plus 40°. Some snow on a cask, well satu-
rated with salt, melted when exposed to the sun, the
staves being quite wet. At the same time the snow
on the black ship's side was merely evaporating without
wetting the woodwork.

4 We have had great trouble in finding the snow-
house containing the powder which was landed for
greater security in the autumn. During the winter the
house has become covered by snowdrifts, and in the
darkness the pole marking its position has been lost.

8 20th. — A magnificent day ; calm, with a bright
sun and a light violet-tinted mist hanging above the
Greenland hills, a certain indication of fine weather.

1870 EXERCISE OF SLEDGE CREWS. 273

' Mr. Egerton, with Lieutenant Eawson, accompanied
by John Simmons, and Michael Eegan one of the
ciew of the " Discovery," started with a sledge drawn
by seven dogs for Discovery Bay ; the dogs dragging
seventy- eight pounds each.

' The sledge crews have commenced exercising for
their long journeys. In order to utilise their labours
I intend to form a large depot of provisions near the
" Crossing Floe," ready for Beaumont's use.

4 During a walk of about twelve miles the only
tracks of animals met with were those of a fcx and an
ermine. The fox, like our Eskimo dogs, had melted
the snow in its lair, leaving an icy surface.

' The weather was so calm, and the sun so powerful
that, when standing still and facing it, although the
temperature was actually minus 30°, it felt appreciably
warm ; and yet ice formed on our eye-lashes thick
enough to impede our sight considerably. After a
six hours' exposure the cold had penetrated so far
into our dresses that a woollen waistcoat, worn inside
a thick box cloth coat and a duck outer covering,
had ice on it thick enough to brush off. This may
enable people to realise the condition of a traveller's
clothes after eleven hours' hard work and how quickly
his garments, which he can never dry, or indeed ever
change night or day, become saturated with moisture.

4 It is extraordinary how little snow there is left on
the uplands, certainly not more than an average thick-
ness of two feet. Had our winter not been specially
calm even this measurement must have been lessened.

' The fallen snow drifting before the winds in the
form of fine dust is for ever depositing itself in thin
vol. I. T

274 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. March

strata in the hollows or where an obstruction is en-
Countered, forming snow-banks ; the windward side of
these drifts is constantly being removed by the wind,
while on the lee side the snow is depositing. The bank,
therefore, is always changing its position, moving on-
wards with the wind, its decaying edge forming a steep
incline, the other a long slope. With the increasing
heat of the sun the snow is evaporating very fast, par-
ticularly that on the southern sides of exposed boulders.
High clouds coming from the southward this afternoon
are a new feature, and indicate that the atmosphere
is again becoming moist. We may accordingly soon
expect a decided snow-fall, a phenomenon we have
very seldom experienced during the winter.

' 2Uh. — To-day Markham's crews, with their boats
lashed on sledges, went out on to the pack for exercise.
After much labour with the pickaxes they were enabled
to advance one mile and a half in the same number
of hours, but that was with the boats alone. If they
journey at the rate of three miles a day they will do
well ; their worst enemy will be the misty weather.
We hope that as they advance north the floes will
become larger, and hedged with narrower lines of
hummocks than those in our neighbourhood.

' The drifted snow which lies upon the land just
above the sea-level is hard, and will form a fair road
for travelling on ; but we can hope for no level ice-
floes like those met with by former expeditions.

' Yesterday, when walking with Feilden and May,
we endeavoured to reach Mount Pullen, only seven
miles distant from the ship in a direct line. After
three hours' hard walking, and when only one mile

1876 MOUNT PULLEN. 275

from the mount, the ravine up which we had journeyed,
over hard snow, opened out into a shallow basin half a
mile across ; there the snow had collected under the
shelter of the hill, and was so deep and soft that we
were obliged to give up the attempt to cross it, and to
content ourselves with ascending a nearer and smaller
hill which is called the Dean. This hill, which rises
to a height of 1,400 feet above the sea-level, is sepa-
rated from Mount Pullen by a deep ravine which has
all the appearance of a gigantic railway cutting. The
impression left on our minds was that a glacier must
have been the agent that had carved out the gap. The
summit of the Dean hill is strewed with granitic
boulders and erratics of various kinds, the mountain
itself being composed of dark indurated slates, thrown
up at an almost vertical angle, the strike being east and
west. The view from its summit was very fine ; the
pyramid-shaped hills of the United States Eange to the
north-west having every slope sharply defined against
a back-ground of clear sky.

6 2bth. — Temperature minus 37°, and calm weather.
The sun is only ten degrees high at noon, and yet the
glare was intense when walking towards it over the
snow. It afforded much relief to our eyes to occasion-
ally face about and gaze at one's own shadow, the
only dark object to be seen. The accumulation of ice
about our eye-lashes and on the fur caps acts as a
number of prisms, refracting the light into the eyes.

4 There are now many ptarmigan tracks in those
parts of the ravines where the scanty vegetation has
been here and there exposed by the winds ; we meet
witli tracks of hares occasionally, but it is evident that

t2

v

276 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Makcu

few are left in our neighbourhood ; three only have
been killed since the return of light. The heat of the
sun is very powerful ; the exposed surface of each
dark boulder is to-day free from snow, which has
evaporated or thawed away without any melting being-
apparent.

' The white painted boats being objectionable for
snow-blind travellers to gaze on, Dr. Moss has been
painting those belonging to Markham's party with
diversified colours, but the paint does not appear in-
clined to dry. The backs of the travellers' white-
duck jumpers have also been marked with appropriate
designs, in order that when pulling at the sledge-ropes
each man may have some colour to rest his eyes on.
As every individual has been left free to choose his
own crest, the variety and originality displayed is
somewhat quaint.

8 In consequence of the ice having become thick
enough to reach down to the mouth of the discharge-
pipe, we are at last unable to use the ship's pumps,
The fire-engine suction-pipe being lower will remain
free so long as the temperature inside the ship is
above 28°-5.

' While walking to-day with Mr. Pullen near Cape
liawson, we observed that the sea-face of the cape, up
to a height of 200 feet above the present sea-level, had
been ground smooth by the pressure of the floebergs
or of the ice-foot. The rock remaining so distinctly
scored for such a lengthened period as must have
elapsed while the land was rising to the height men-
tioned, is remarkable.

1 We measured a stranded floeberg, forced up on

1876 DIMENSIONS OF A FLOEBERG. 277

its side. It was 120 feet long by 105 feet broad, and
80 feet in depth, the highest part being 63 feet above
the water-line. It was consequently about 25,000
tons in weight, a cubic foot of ice weighing 55*5 lbs.
Although this floeberg was the highest out of the
water, it was by no means the largest in our neigh-
bourhood. When ascending its side, so long as the
slope was at an angle of 30° from the horizon, and
covered with hard snow, we could climb up with the
help of an alpenstock, but it was slippery work
descending. When the angle increased to 35°, we
were obliged to kick steps with our boots ; at 40°, steps
had to be cut with an axe ; and at 50°, although we
could have ascended by means of steps cut in the ice, I
doubt if we could have descended without the help of
a rope.

' For several days past there has been an animated
scene on the cleared part of the lower-deck. One or
other of the officers, and the leader amongst the crew
of his sledge — styled " captain of the sledge " — have
been alternately in possession of the weights and scales,
preparing the provisions for the spring journeys. As
Arctic sledge travellers are entirely dependent for sub-
sistence on what they drag, the preparation of the pro-
visions is a serious undertaking. Once started from
the ship on a journey lasting from eighty to upwards
of a hundred days, there is no means of rectifying a
mistake or neglect, for nothing can be obtained from
the ice but water, and to get that, fuel has to be
carried for melting it. Carrying too much entails
•more weight being added to the already heavily-laden
sledge ; I need not mention the consequences of taking

278 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. March

too little. In a matter of such vital importance the
commander of each party must rely only on himself.
Every article has to be weighed with the greatest nicety,
and the lightest material procurable used for wrapping
up the parcels ; for this purpose a raid has been made
on all the private linen. After three days' work in
weighing out groceries, which were tied up in some
yellow calico, Dr. Moss discovered that the dye used
to colour it contained arsenic, and this wrapping had
to be discarded.

' It is only a month to-day since the sun reappeared,
and yet it is now so light at midnight that stars are
no longer visible.

' 29th. — Lieutenant Parr reports having seen a
snowy owl ; it was very wild, and though pursued
for a long distance would not allpw him to get within
gunshot range.

'A south-west gale last night, force 8, with a
high temperature, was followed with cirro-stratus
clouds, the first decided ones seen this season. To-day
the Fox instrument was taken on shore in order to
obtain base observations ; but the parts froze so solidly
together that the instrument could not be used.

8 No traces of Eskimo have yet been discovered
in our neighbourhood, and as it would be quite impos-
sible for them to sustain life here during winter we can
scarcely expect to find any. Probably at Polaris Bay,
and other favoured places in Smith Sound pools of
water remain open, and seals may be procured ; but
here, since November, and for at least another month
— making half a year altogether — they certainly could*
not be obtained.'

1876 PREPARATION OF SLEDGES. 279

At Discovery Bay a seal was seen in the fire-hole
several times, during January and February, proving
that a few remained in the neighbourhood throughout
the winter.

1 The quicksilver on the reflecting glasses of the
sextants is much affected by the extreme cold Even
at a temperature of minus 30° the film on the back of
one glass has split and requires to be re-silvered.

' 30th. — A very strong mirage over the Greenland
coast enabled me to obtain the bearing of a mountain
apparently to the northward of the iand seen before,
but whether it is so or not will depend on its distance.
In these high latitudes distant land may actually be to
the southward of our position, although bearing to the
northward of east. Land bearing due east must neces-
sarily be farther from the Pole than our position.

8 31st. — To-day, with a temperature of minus 30°
in the shade, but the black bulb thermometer register-
ing plus 40°, we observed that the sun, for the first
time this year, had a visible effect on the surface of the
snow, rendering it glazed and slippery. The mocassins,
soled with the thin npper-leather cut from our long
fisherman's boots are serviceable, so long as we walk
only on snow, but the sharp slaty shingle on the bare
patches of land cuts them sadly.

' The sledges are now drawn up alongside of the
ship, all ready packed for a start on Monday, the 3rd
of April, should the weather be favourable.

* April 1st. — On being called this morning I was
informed that a wolf had been seen near the ship. Dr.
Moss at once started in pursuit, but returning without
having seen the animal, he was naturally greeted with

280 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. April

doubts as to whether advantage had not been taken of
the day to hoax us. However, when walking to Black
Cape we observed the unmistakable footprints of a
wolf, which considerably exceeded in size those of the
largest of our Eskimo dogs. Later in the day more
than one of these animals were seen in the vicinity of
the ship, and in the afternoon Frederick came across
the recent traces of three musk-oxen. A party from

FROZEN BEARI).

the ship at once started in pursuit of them, but were
unsuccessful ; evidently the wolves are following the
musk-oxen.

' The pemmican biscuits, prepared at the recom-
mendation of Mr. Thomas Grant are much liked;
the sledge crews are supplied with a quantity of them
instead of the ordinary ship's biscuit.

' During the last few days officers and men have
clipped all the hair off their faces ready for travelling,

1876 FROZEN BEARD. 281

and it is now difficult to recognise individuals by a
casual glance.'

If the beard and moustaches are worn the moisture
from the breath settles on them and quickly forms into
a fringe of icicles, which after two hours' exposure
have grown large enough to effectually prevent any-
thing being drank out of a tumbler until it has been
thawed off. The comforter worn round the neck also
freezes to the beard, and after returning on board
has to be thawed off before a fire. When such a
circumstance happens in a tent, with the temperature
many degrees below zero, nothing can be done except
to cut the beard away close to the skin. As the eye-
lashes if removed may not grow again, Arctic travellers
have to put up with the annoyance of ice forming on
them ; if not removed this gradually unites at the
corners of the eye and eventually seals up the eyelids.
The usual remedy is to thaw it away every now and
then by the application of the ungloved hand. In
very severe weather when the hands of the travellers
cannot be thus exposed, instances have occurred of
men being temporarily blinded in this manner, and
unable to see their way.

282 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. ArRiL

v

CHAPTEE XII.

DEPARTURE OF THE SLEDGE PARTIES NEWS FROM THE 'DISCOVERY'

— ACCOUNT OF EGERTON's JOURNEY TRIP TO GREENLAND — DR.

MOSS AND MR. WHITE RETURN — ARRIVAL OF SLEDGES FROM THE
'DISCOVERY' — ARCHER VISITS POLARIS BAY CAPTAIN STEPHEN-
SON'S. ARRIVAL — GIFFARD'S RETURN HIS PARTY ATTACKED BY

SCURVY — EGERTON AND FEILDEN RETURN — EXCURSION TO CAPE
JOSEPH HENRY — MOUNT JULIA RETURN TO THE 'ALERT.'

On the morning of the 3rd, the day fixed for the de-
parture of the sledge travellers, general disappointment
was felt at the non-arrival of Eawson and Egerton with
news from the ' Discovery.' We had hoped that the
dog-sledge would have returned by that date, and that
our parties might have left the ship with the gratifying
knowledge that our friends on board the ' Discovery '
had passed a comfortable winter.

The weather, however, being settled and favourable,
with the temperature ranging between minus twenty -
five and minus thirty degrees below zero, the tempera-
ture usually experienced by Arctic travellers early in
April, I gave the order for departure. The party con-
sisted of fifty-three officers and men, all apparently in
robust health ; those remaining on board the ' Alert '
numbered six officers and six men. All hands assem-
bled for prayers on the ice alongside of the laden
sledges, which were drawn up in line, their silk banners

1870 DEPARTURE OF SLEDGE TRAVELLERS. 283

lightly fluttering in the breeze. Every man of our
company was present, the ship being tenanted only by
poor Petersen, who was bearing his sufferings and
trials most patiently. Mr. Pnllen ended the usual daily
prayers with the doxology, in which everyone joined.
It was a most impressive scene ; each heart being
inspired with enthusiasm, and with a feeling of con-
fidence that the labours, privations, and hardships that
the travellers were about to undergo would be man-
fully battled with.

They started at 11 a.m., each man in the northern
division dragging 230 lbs., and those of the western
division 242 lbs. The programme was as follows :
Lieutenant Aldrich, assisted by a sledge crew under
the command of Lieutenant Giffard, was to explore the
shores of Grant Land towards the north and west, along
the coast-line he had discovered in the previous autumn.
Commander Markham, seconded by Lieutenant Parr,
with two boats, and equipped for an absence of seventy
days, was to force his way to the northward over the
ice, starting off from the land near Cape Joseph Henry :
three sledge crews under the commands of Dr. Moss
and Mr. George White, accompanying them as far as
their provisions would allow.

< 4th. — A calm day with a temperature at minus
30°. During last night it fell to minus 45°, which is far
too low a temperature for tent-life, but such risks have
to be run when travelling in these regions. At 8 p.m.
Egerton and Eawson, with their two men and seven
dogs, returned from Discovery Bay, after an extremely
rough and severe journey with a temperature ranging
between minus 44° and minus 15°. They are all in

S

284 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. March

excellent health and spirits, and beyond sore faces and
frost-bitten fingers not much the worse for their expo-
sure. The news received from Captain Stephenson is
most cheering ; with the exception of one man who has
suffered from scurvy all our friends are well and have
passed a happy and comfortable winter. Over thirty
musk-oxen had been shot during last autumn, and
frequent rations of fresh meat have been issued to the
crew throughout the winter. There was naturally
much excitement at Discovery Bay on the receipt of
our news, and great rejoicing on the parts of both
officers and men on learning that they were to join in
the exploration of the northern coasts. Preparations
for sledging were hastened, and Captain Stephenson
immediately despatched a party across Hall Basin to
visit the depot of the " Polaris " at Thank God Harbour,
to ascertain whether the provisions left there by the
Americans would be fit for use by our travelling
parties.

' The sledge crews of the " Discovery " have been
told off as follows : Lieutenants Beaumont and Eawson
and Dr. Coppinger, with three sledges and twenty-one
men, are to explore the north shores of Greenland.
Lieutenant Archer and Mr. Conybeare, with two
sledges and eighteen men, to explore Lady Franklin
Sound. On Conybeare's return to the " Discovery,"
after completing Lieutenant Archer's sledge with
provisions, he and his men are to transport a boat
across Hall Basin, to enable Beaumont to return later
in the season to Discovery Bay, should the ice have
broken up. Captain Stephenson, after seeing the Lady
Franklin Sound party well on their way, intends to

1876 MB. EGERTON'S JOURNEY. 285

visit Floeberg Beach to confer with me, and to see his
Greenland division of sledges fairly started.'

The following extracts from Mr. Egerton's official
report of his journey describe the nature of the travel-
ling met with in Eobeson Channel : —

' March 20th.— Left the ship at 9.45 a.m. ; by 10.40
we had got over the difficulties at Cape Eawson, and
by 11.15 those at the Black Cape, without unpacking
the sledge.

4 Intending to make our first day a short one, en-
camped at 4 p.m., having reached the beginning of the
steep cliffs where the bad travelling commences, for up
to this point, with the exception of rounding Cape
Eawson and the Black Cape, the travelling was very
good.

' By 6 o'clock we were all in our bags, with the
exception of the cook, but as we brought spirits of
wine we are able to cook inside the tent ; this raises
the temperature slightly and is much more comfortable
for the cook, the only objection to it, a very slight one,
being that it makes the air in the tent rather thick ;
between this and four smokers the atmosphere becomes
much like a London fog ; of course we tied up the
ventilating holes, as we had no intention of letting any
warmth inside escape into the cold air without.

' Temperature in the tent minus 7°, in the air minus
42°.

' 21st — Under weigh by 9 a.m. What we consi-
dered difficulties before when returning to the ship with
Petersen, were now comparatively easy, having two
good working hands with us, and by 10 o'clock we had
arrived at the snow-hut, or rather hole, where we were

286 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. MabcB

detained an hour clearing the snow off the sail over the
hole ; and repacking the sledge. The travelling now
became worse ; we were keeping to the land, and the
whole of the drift between the slope of the cliff and the
hummocks was at a considerable angle, sometimes very
steep, up and down hill always ; the latter we did not
object to, though the sledge capsized frequently, but
the former gave us much trouble, and unless there had
been four of us our progress would have been very
slow, for the dogs are of little or no use in this kind of
travelling ; one man walks ahead to lead them, while
the other three, having cut a footing with a pickaxe, sit
down and with " One, two, three, haul ! " drag together,
until the sledge is up, when the dogs, finding the strain
eased, start off at a full swing down the hill the other
side ; the sledge slides down a short way sideways and
then capsizes, sometimes turning over three or four
times ; this style of thing went, on incessantly until we
became rather more knowing, and found it better for
one to walk down the hill very slowly in front of the
dogs with the whip in his hand ; by so doing we some-
times avoided the usual capsize, being able to ease the
sledge down gradually.

6 After half a mile of such work we came to the
conclusion that, although the pack beneath us was
nothing but what is commonly called 'rubble,' it
could not be much worse than what we were then
having, and determined to try it. To get the sledge
down from our position, which was about twenty feet
above the pack, we untoggled the dogs, secured
the drag-ropes and tent guys to the back of the sledge,
and then, all having obtained as firm a footing as

1876

DOG-SLEDGING.

287

possible, we lowered the sledge over ; unfortunately
our backing ropes were not long enough, but there
was nothing for it but to let go, trusting to Providence
for the rest; the sledge being uncommonly strong

SLEDGE LOWERED OVER HUMMOCK.*

stood the blow it received at the bottom splendidly.
After getting the sledge over a short distance of the
boulder ice Ave came to a lane of perfectly smooth ice
running along just underneath the cliffy wall of ice
formed by the grounded hummocks and floebergs, the

288 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. March

outer sides of which were cut as straight, and polished
as smooth as a piece of marble, with parallel lines
scored out by the pack grinding against them when in
motion.

' The travelling over the smooth ice was excellent,
but we seldom came to more than a hundred yards or
so of it without hummocks intervening, which generally
had to be cleared away with pickaxes. As we got
farther on, we found water on the top of this lane of
ice, which appeared to be continuous ; and the pack
being too hummocky to attempt, we were compelled
to take. to the land again just opposite the third ravine
from the cairn on Cape Union. Half a mile farther on
the slopes became too much for us, so we lowered the
sledge on to the floe once more, preferring the " one,
two, three, haul ! " and getting something, to the same
with no result.

' When we came to any good travelling, Lieutenant
Eawson and I walked on ahead, the dogs keeping close
to our heels, while the men took it in turns to sit on
the sledge and to steer. At 6.15 we reached the
depot at Lincoln Bay, and encamped beneath it, men
and dogs pretty tired.

1 Temperature of the air, minus 37° ; tent,
minus 3°.

' 22nd. — Across Lincoln Bay the travelling was very
fair, the line of sastrugi running exactly in our course.
Here we had a slight misfortune ; the toe of the sledge
runner caught under a ridge and sprung. As we
approached Cape Frederick VII., getting under the
land, the travelling became more hummocky, and the
snow was just hard enough not to bear.

1870

DOG-SLEDGING IN MARCH.

289

6 Off the point it was far too hummocky to hold
out any hopes of getting round on the ice, so we took
to the land, but found it as bad as the worst part
yesterday, the dogs being seldom able to do their share

HELPING DOG-SLEDGE DOWN A HUMMOCK.

of the work. Once, when the sledge capsized, the
uprights forming the back caught against a hummock
and both were carried away, causing a short delay.
8 Temperature of the air minus 24°.

VOL. I. U

290 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. March

' 23rd. — We all suffered considerably from cramps
in the legs last night, more so than usual.

1 By ten o'clock we were under weigh. For the

first mile and a half we kept to the land, travelling

on the snow-slopes inside the hummocks ; but this

becoming steeper, we tried the floes again. The

travelling was very rough, and we had continually to

assist the dogs and sledge over the hummocks, but

occasionally we got a smooth piece without any water.

The point at the southern extremity of Wrangel Bay

gave us great trouble to round ; we tried the land, but

found it perfectly impassable, even on foot ; the cliffs

were very steep, coming down to the water level at an

angle of, I should say, 35°; the hummocks were

forced well up on the land, showing considerable

pressure has taken place here. We lowered the sledge

on to the floe, a height of twenty-five feet, after

clearing a way with pickaxes. There being too much

water on the crack, which still continued outside the

hummocks, we struck out more from the land, and

came to one or two very good floes, and, by mounting

hummocks continually, were able to pick a very fair

road.

kAt 6.45 encamped on the floe. Each night we
picketed the dogs, and found it acted very well, none
of them breaking adrift except " Flo," who managed
to get out of her harness, and any other lashings we
put round her, every night, but she always lay down
quietly and gave us no trouble. Though the tempera-
ture was not very low, we all felt very cold, and could
not get warm, do what we would ; the tips of my
fingers, which were frostbitten during my last trip

1876 EGERTON AND RAWSON'S JOURNEY. 291

when clearing harness, have become blistered and are
rather uncomfortable.

' 2£th. — Under weigh by 9.15 a.m. Found a floe
which would take us into the land. Got to Cape
Beechey at 11.10, having come through about half a
mile of very hummocky stuff just off the point. A
glorious day, and the prospect of good travelling before
us. All very thirsty, so halted for a quarter of an hour
to melt some snow.

' All along Shift Rudder Bay we had excellent
travelling on the snow-foot, then came another bay,
deeper than the last and about three miles wide. As
there appeared to be a good even floe in it we struck
across, but found the snow just hard enough not to
bear ; it appears to be getting softer as we get more to
the southward. At 6.15 we pitched at the northern
side of St. Patrick's Harbour.

' Temperature of the air minus 30°.

'2bth. — At 9.15 a.m. started. Crossed St.
Patrick's Harbour on a large blue-topped floe, extend-
ing nearly the whole way across, the snow upon it
soft. Saw a Hutch ensign Hying on a small island,
which we recognised as the place where the " Alert"
touched the ground last year. Took to the land here,
and found a well-beaten track, so we stepped out at
a brisk pace, the dogs getting very excited. After
rounding numerous small points, which shut out the
ship from view, we at length sighted the " Hiscovery,"
and gave three cheers as loud as ever we could. We
were all in very high spirits at the thoughts of seeing
our friends on board, and the prospect of a comfortable
night instead of the usual cold and cramps. We were

v2

292 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. March

about half a mile from the ship when we cheered, and
we could see one or two figures alongside the ship stop
and look in our direction ; we gave another cheer, and
presently we saw all hands running out to meet us, and
shortly afterwards there was shaking of hands and
answering questions by the hundreds. When we could
get a word in we were very glad to hear that they
were .all well, and had spent a very pleasant winter.
At five o'clock we were on board.

' 30th. — At noon left the " Discovery," accompanied
by Lieutenant Eawson. The snow was considerably
harder than on our journey down, which is due to a
westerly gale which has been blowing for the last two
days. Crossed the floe in St. Patrick's Harbour, and
encamped at the north side of it, as there was a sharp
cutting wind, with a good deal oi* drift, and we were
being frost-bitten frequently.

4 Temperature of the air minus 37°.

< 31st. — A splendid morning, without wind. In-
stead of crossing the bay to the south of Shift Eudder
Bay, we kept to the land and had very good travelling
as far as Cape Beechey. A mile farther on we made
straight out for the floes, through half a mile of hum-
mocks, when we came to a small floe, but saw a large
one farther on, so pushed straight out from the land,
and reached a good large floe, snow tolerably hard,
and the line of sastrugi running in the direction we
were travelling. Temperature of the air minus 44°.

4 April 1st — A clear morning, but blowing a little
from the north-east. When getting under weigh it sud-
denly came on to blow much harder. The wind right

1876 RETURN JOURNEY TO 'ALERT.' 293

in our teeth, and a great deal of drift ; could not see
more than a few yards before us, so decided to wait
until the wind went down a little. There being" no
signs of the wind abating, resecured the tent and pre-
pared for a day of misery, for the best part of the day
is when we are on the march ; to be cramped up in
one's bag, or get miserably cold if you get out of it, is
not a pleasant prospect to look forward to. However,
we determined to make the best of it, and having one
book — " The Ingoldsby Legends " — with us, we read,
smoked, sang, and slept all day ; and, excepting the
pains in one's shoulders and legs from cramp, it was
not so bad as we had expected.

' The highest temperature we could raise in the
tent was 10° above zero ; that was while we had the
lamps lighted ; the temperature outside was only
minus 19°.

' 2nd. — The wind has gone, and it is a fine day.
One of the dogs was very unwell to-day ; he refused to
eat anything, and was not able to pull. Slipped him
from the drag-ropes, but as he would not keep up with
us, were obliged to lead him. By keeping well out
from the land we got on very well for the first two
hours, but after that we came to a regular stop. No
more floes in sight, so there was nothing for it but to
make for the land. Between us and the shore there
was nothing but hummocks. After an hour or so at
it we picked up one or two " wrinkles ; " instead of
cutting a broad path for the sledge we simply made a
way for one runner, and then canted the sledge up,
one hand preventing it from capsizing ; by one of us
walking ahead to lead the dogs and pick the way, two

294

VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA.

April

walking, one on either side in front of the sledge to
guide it, and give it a heave over to right or left as
required, and to clear the lines, which frequently catch
in pieces of ice, and the fourth man steering at the
back of the sledge, we got on at a very fair pace, and
reached the land at the north point of Wrangel Bay.
We then travelled on the crack underneath the ice-
wall until we came to an obstruction, when seeing a very

DOG-SLEDGE DRIVING OVER HUMMOCKS.

nice-looking floe not more than a couple of hundred
yards off, we unfortunately were tempted to try it,
finding very good hard snow ; but it led us gradually
away from the land, and by the time we had got to
the end of it we found we were a mile from the shore
hummocks, and with a rough road between. Having
picked out the best route, set to work with pick-
axes to make a way for the sledge, but it was not

1876 EGERTON'S RETURN JOURNEY. 295

until 5.30 that we got to the land again. Travelled on
the slope between the land and grounded bergs to
about a mile from Cape Frederick VII,, where we
camped.

' Temperature of the air minus 40°.

' 3rd. — A fine day, but very misty. Simmons'
ankles a little swollen, and when walking he feels his
" tendon Achilles " a good deal. We knew what to
expect in the way of travelling, so were not disap-
pointed at having an hour's work to get round Cape
Frederick VII. The travelling across the bay was
much the same as we had before. After reaching the
land at the northern side of Lincoln Bay, we had a
very good road as far as the ravine, where we took to
the ice, and kept on the crack as much as possible, but
occasionally we were obliged to leave it, as it was too
narrow to pass. These places were generally caused
by pieces of very heavy floes having grounded outside
the regular line of hummocks, and, having relieved the
latter of the pressure, became piled up with the debris
of the pack as it crushed up against it. When abreast
of Arthur's Seat, we found great difficulty in getting
the sledge over the hummocks on to the land, the
lowest and best place we could find for the purpose
being a straight wall of ice ten feet high, which was so
steep that we had to cut a footing in it to climb up at
all. Then we cut away at the edge, and placed
boulders underneath, slipped the dogs, and hauled the
sledge over. We found the interior of the snow-hut
just as we had left it, hardly any snow having found
its way in. Placed all our gear inside, and then pitched
the tent over the hole. There was ample room inside

296 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Apri

for four of us, and for the cooking apparatus, and
though the temperature of the air outside was minus
42°, we got it up to plus 15° inside while cooking.
We were very much warmer and more comfortable
in this snow-pit than we should have been in the
tent.

' Uh. — A beautiful day ; travelling bad for the first
two hours, the sledge capsized a great many times
down the slopes, being rather top-heavy. Had a very
heavy drag up the slope at the Black Cape ; and the
dogs, evidently knowing they were not very far from
home, were so eager to get on, that we could not
prevent them from tearing down the other side of the
slope at full speed, the sledge overtaking them before
they reached the bottom ; but they contrived to keep
clear of it in the most remarkable way. Just before
reaching Cape Eawson we met Lieutenant May and
Mr. Pullen, who very kindly assisted us round, and we
arrived on board at 8 p.m., very disappointed at finding
the main sledging parties had started, but very thank-
ful for returning to the ship all well.'

On the 6 th I walked with Feilden to Black Cape
to choose the best spot for cutting a road through the
barrier of shore hummocks, in order that a path might
be prepared for the Greenland division. We found
the ice heaped up to a height of from fifteen to twenty
feet above the level of the floe, forming a barrier a
quarter of a mile in width, without one level spot large
enough for a sledge to rest on in an even position.
Simmons brought the dogs along with us as far as the
barrier ; he was now an experienced dog-driver, and
being a stronger man than an Eskimo was more useful

1876 SUN AT MIDNIGHT. 297

when amongst heavy ice, but where manual force is
not the chief requisite, the patience and judgment of
the Eskimo, with their dexterity in handling the long-
lashed whip, places them far beyond the European in
the art of dog -driving.

I again quote from my journal.

' 6th. — Passing the Cape Eawson snow-slope we
came upon the marks of Egerton's sledge and saw
traces of the last of its numerous capsizes. At this
spot the dogs, knowing that they were near home, could
not be restrained and ran away with the nearly empty
sledge although the four men got on it to increase its
weight. After crossing the brow, sledge, dogs, and tra-
vellers rolled down the steep descent, a depth of at
least twentv feet ; wonderful to relate, not the slightest
damage was incurred by the; sledge, men, or animals.
Certainly dog-sledge travelling is not for those who
wear fur coats and mufflers.

6 7 th. — At midnight the upper limb of the sun was
above the north horizon, giving a refraction of more
than thirty minutes. Thus we are experiencing the
anomaly of a sun remaining continually above the
horizon day and night yet with a temperature ranging
from 20° to minus 40°. We must hope for the sake of
the travellers that this severe weather will not continue.
I am also anxious about the silvered glasses in their
sextants.'

Although the mercury back-ground split across
during the cold weather the glasses remained fairly
serviceable.

' Sth. — George Bryant with the sledge "Blood-
hound " returned to-day from the main party of tra-

298 VOYAGE TO THE TOLAR SEA. April

vellers, having accompanied them to Cape Bichardson,
where they had arrived on the 6 th.

' Captain Markham reports that, as usual on first
starting, a few of the men were suffering from the
severe and unaccustomed work, and the want of sleep
occasioned by the extremely cold weather ; and, also as
usual, that a great deal of double manning had been
necessary with the heavy sledges. One of Bryant's
sledge crew returned slightly frost-bitten.

' The ship is dryer but colder between decks since
the departure of the travellers.

' 10th. — The temperature rose to minus 11° in the
middle of the day.

' Lieutenant Eawson and Mr. Egerton started this
evening, with two light sledges, four men, and seven
dogs, to search for an available road across Robeson
Channel, in readiness for the heavier exploring sledges
under Lieutenant Beaumont, expected shortly from the
u Discovery." This party is to travel by night in order
to escape the glare of the mid-day sun which is now
considerable and liable to cause snow-blindness ; and
also for the great advantage of sleeping during the
warmest part of the twenty-four hours. They started
after an afternoon's sleep and a good supper, which
to them was in reality a breakfast. Although
many of those remaining on board were drinking a
glass of spirits and water before going to bed, the
voyagers, both officers and men, preferred tea or
coffee, knowing from experience that spirits are bad to
travel on.

4 Parties starting as these did, with dearly bought
experience, carry neither more nor less weight than is

1876 SNOW-BLINDNESS. 299

actually necessary. The men fully know the value of
taking care of themselves, and of the sledge on which
their lives depend. The most minute attention is given,
therefore, to every article of dress, equipment, and
provisions. The horn spoons occasion many jokes ;
they melt in the hot mess and become nearly flat,
having to be bent into shape again before getting cold,
so that literally each man has to fit his spoon to his
mouth, and when it is spread out nearly flat his mouth
must be stretched to fit his spoon. Metal spoons are
now carried, each man keeping his own as warm as he
can in his bag.

' The sun rising fifteen degrees above the horizon
the glare during the day is becoming very decided, and
owing to the extreme cold it is difficult to protect our
eyes. When wearing neutral-tinted spectacles the
evaporation from the eye condenses so quickly on the
glasses that they have to be taken off and wiped every
few minutes. A gauze veil, from which the conden-
sation cannot be removed, is even more useless.

4 Previous to the sun attaining an altitude of about
fourteen degrees little annoyance is experienced from
its glare and cases of snow-blindness are rare. This is
in consequence of the sun's rays being only refracted by
the snow at and beyond a radius of about twenty- two
degrees from it. At that distance during clear weather,
the most brilliant prismatic colours are displayed by
each minute snow-prism, and in combination form a
sparkling arc on the snow-covered ground, the bright
light from which is too powerful for the unprotected /
eye. The " diamond dust," as we term it, becomes
more open as the length of the radius is increased.

300

VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA.

April

Consequently when the sun is between fourteen and
twenty-three degrees in altitude, the refraction of its
rays is set forth with the greatest effect, and snow-
blindness has to be guarded against. In the bright
arc, while each tiny prism displays its complete set of
colours, the red tint is the most prominent nearest to
the sun, the purple lying on the outside indistinctly
defined.

DIAMOND DUST.

cThe iridescent hues illuminating the high cirro-
cumulus clouds or mackerel sky, which occasionally
favour us, present even a more wondrous effect of
colouring. Each minute crystal component of the
clouds, within a radius of about twenty-two degrees
around the sun, displays all the tints of the spectrum ;
the vast quantity of colouring, blending softly and har-
moniously together, is so intermixed that it is difficult
to determine which hue predominates at any one point

187G TEMPERATURE ABOVE ZERO. 301

or which shines most gloriously in the fairy scene.
After a careful inspection I think that purple is the
most prominent colour near the sun, red is decidedly
the principal colour fringing the outer border of each
cloudlet.

. 11th. — A calm day with the temperature at noon
at last above zero. Clothes hung up in the sun dry
quickly. This is the perfection of weather for the
travellers, and very different to what they must have
experienced during the first week. We were able to
work outside on the ice without adding to the clothes
usually worn on board the ship, merely putting on a
cap without ear-laps. The snow on the land, particu-
larly on the southern slopes, is greatly hardened and
glazed by the sun. The estimated fall during the last
six weeks is only one inch, which is certainly not equal
to the quantity that has evaporated.

' Petersen is progressing favourably ; we look
anxiously at our best vegetated spots for game, hoping
to obtain a ptarmigan for him as they pass us journey-
ing towards the N.W., but we can find nothing.

' A fine circular prismatic halo was seen round the
sun with a distinct prismatic parhelion at the usual
distance on each side and above it, with a second circle
curving upwards through the upper mock sun. The
wardroom skylights have been uncovered and the
sunlight permitted to take the place of the spluttering
lamps. How changed everything appears, but how
dirty !

' 14th. — Doctor Moss and Mr. White with their
sledge crews returned to-day, having accompanied
Commander Markham to the depot at Cape Joseph

302 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. April

Henry and helped him for a short distance beyond.
The appearance of the ice within some six miles of the
cape was anything but cheering to the northern party,
but they hoped that as they got farther from the land
the floes would be larger and less broken up and the
hedges of hummocks narrower. The ice near the land
afforded such a bad travelling road that Aldrich had
determined to cross the land to the southward of the
cape. With the exception of one marine (who, it ap-
pears, was invalided from the Gold Coast), all the men
were well and in the highest spirits. The cold weather
had tried them much, and there had been several cases
of frost-bite, which but for the presence of Doctor
Moss might have become serious. Both Markham
and Parr had suffered from snow-blindness, but had
recovered by changing the hours of travelling from
day to night. Only one hare had been shot, but the
track of a wolf was noticed at Cape Joseph Henry.
The mid-day tea was very highly spoken of; both
officers and men were unanimous in favour of the
change, and willingly put up with the misery of stand-
ing still with cold feet during the long halt needed for
the purpose of boiling the water ; and all agreed that
they worked better after the tea and lunch than
during the forenoon.

' As usual, the appetites of most of the travellers
had been bad for the first two or three days, but all
were recovered before Doctor Moss left them.

' 16^. — Lieutenant Beaumont and Doctor Cop-
pinger, with two sledges and fourteen men, arrived from
the " Discovery " in excellent health and spirits after a
ten days' journey. A light breeze which we experi-

1876 NEWS, FROM DISCOVERY BAY. 303

encecl yesterday from the northward, force 2, proved to
be a gale in the funnel-shaped Eobeson Channel, oblig-
ing the travellers to remain in their tents, one of the most
trying hardships of an Arctic journey. The party,
although dragging only 150 lbs. a man, had experi-
enced great difficulties while travelling amongst the
heavy hummocks. A temperature of minus 45° and
unaccustomed work had at first tried them severely,
but all are now in splendid condition, and after a short
rest they will have the advantage, which no former
Arctic sledge party has ever enjoyed, of starting on
a lengthened journey after ten days' real sledging

exercise.

8 Captain Stephenson reports that Archer and Cop-
pinger, with two seamen, Hans, and a sledge drawn by
twelve dogs pulling fifty-four lbs. each, started on
the 28th of March from Discovery Bay to cross Hall
Basin direct to Polaris Bay. A few hours after starting
the sledge was badly damaged amongst some ice hum-
mocks ; after repairing it, they came to a smoother
road which enabled them to cross the strait to Cape
Lupton without more than ordinary trouble. They
arrived at Hall's Eest early on the 31st, and immediately
held a survey of the provisions, which were found to
be in a serviceable condition, notwithstanding that
they had been exposed to the weather by the roof of
the observatory in which they were stored having
partially fallen in.

' Lieutenant Archer reports that Captain Hall's
grave is in a good state of preservation. At the
head was a board on which was the following inscrip-
tion : —

304 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. April

IN MEMOKY

OP

CHARLES FRANCIS HALL,

LATE COMMANDER U.S. STEAMER ' POLARIS,' NORTH POLE EXPEDITION.

DIED NOVEMBER 8TH, 1871,

AGED 50 TEARS.

* I am the resurrection and the life ; he that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live.'

' A small Hat piece of upright stone was at the
foot, arid the willow mentioned by Captain Tyson as
having been planted there was alive.

' On the 2nd Archer started from Polaris Bay on his
return journey and arrived on board the " Discovery "
on the following day. Hans, who had spent the
winter on board the " Polaris " and was then always
able to hunt for seals in the open water-pools, was
much astonished to find firm ice for the whole distance
across the strait with no water anywhere.

1 ISth. — Since the 14th there has been an occa-
sional snow-fall, estimated at two inches, but it has
collected deeper in protected places. Covering the
hard snow-drift, it hides the inequalities and renders
the footing even to the most experienced very un-
certain. The temperature of the earth which fell to
minus 12° during the winter has now risen gradually
to minus 10°* 5.

4 At noon, when the atmosphere was unusually
clear, Lieutenant Beaumont and I thought that we
could distinguish cliffs forming the Greenland coast
about Cape Stanton, where previously I supposed that

1876 PACK-ICE OFF CAPE BREVOORT. 305

the travellers would find a low shore and fair travelling ;
but as the land is upwards of thirty miles distant, we
hope that we are deceived. In consequence of the drift
of the pack towards the east before the prevailing
winds which appear to blow continuously from the
westward, the coast between Cape Brevoort and Cape
Stanton, lying at right angles to the course of the ice,
is sure to be an extremely wild one with regard to
ice-pressure. Should there be cliffs and the sledges
forced to take to the pack, the travelling will neces-
sarily be extremely heavy.

'Lieutenant Eawson and Mr. Egerton returned
from Greenland this evening, having succeeded in
crossing the strait without more than the usual diffi-
culties amongst the heavy ice hummocks, which they
have now become so accustomed to. They landed on the
coast near the Eepulse Harbour of the chart, and report
the land there to be of the same formation as Grant
Land and that the floebergs near the shore are, if
anything, larger, and denote more pressure from the
pack than those on this shore. The ladder sledge is
stated to be well fitted for the work it was intended
for, namely, travelling over the surface of a glacier.
Much to my disappointment no trace of any game was
seen, one fox-track only being noticed.

6 Lieutenant Beaumont has been busy all day
weighing out provisions for his journey, and also
some for a more lengthened trip in the spring of 1877.
When I can spare men for the duty these will be
taken across the channel and formed into a depot.
Three of his crew are too tall for their blanket bags,
which therefore have to be lengthened.
vol. I. x

306

VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA.

AriuL

4 20th. — Temperature, minus 8°, light snow falling
with a breeze from the northward sufficiently strong
to collect it in the sheltered places and so cause very
heavy travelling. After a four days' rest, which has
enabled his crews to recover from their first experience
of Arctic travelling, Lieutenants Beaumont and Baw-
son, and Doctor Coppinger, with twenty-one men
dragging four sledges weighted to 218 lbs. a man,

«S^-«» mi m -»i^

CAPE RAWSON SNOW-SLOPE.

started at 7 p.m. for the north coast of Greenland ; pick-
ing up their provisions at Cape Eawson, whither they
had been carried by sledge crews of the " Alert " while
exercising preparatory to starting on their journeys.

1 22nd. — Bawson returned unexpectedly from Lieu-
tenant Beaumont's party for a new five-man sledge,
one having hopelessly broken down while crossing the
barrier hummocks, although a roadway had been made

1876 SLEDGES. 307

through them. The heavy eight-man sledges stood the
great strain in what would be a surprising manner
even to the carpenters who made them. The sailors
are even beginning to think that now with the pliable
uprights it is impossible to break them. They are
certainly a great triumph of ingenious workmanship,
but the small sledges are far too slight for our work ;
indeed, they were never intended for it ; even Sir
Leopold M'Clintock never expected that we should
have to travel over such heavy ice. They are
broken by sliding too quickly down an inclined hum-
mock or sastrugi, and striking the front horns against
the next ridges, the weight of the cargo acting like
a battering ram. The drag ropes reversed would of
course enable the sledge to be eased down ; but in
misty weather the snow-road is so deceptive that the
crew do not become aware of the declivity until they
have floundered to the bottom of it themselves, it-
is as much as they can do to escape out of the way of
the descending sledge; fortunately at the bottom of
most of the inclines there is usually soft snow in
which it buries itself and so generally escapes. The
eight-man sledges being longer and stronger are better
fitted for the rough work than the smaller ones.

4 The sledge which has been to the " Discovery "
and also to Greenland and back this season, after all
the perils and numerous capsizes it has gone through
without being much damaged, is naturally a favourite
one with both Egerton and Lieut. Eawson. Many jokes
are made that the latter broke his own before starting
on his long journey on purpose to obtain Egerton's well-
tried one. If so, he was successful, for while Egerton

x 2

308 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. April

was out of the way Eawson obtained possession of .the
coveted article, with which he quickly disappeared to
rejoin his party.

' 2 3rd. — Captain Stephenson and Mr. Mitchell,
Hans the Eskimo, with William Dougall ice quarter-
master, and Henry Petty a marine, arrived with twelve
dogs from the " Discovery,'' having left that ship on
the 18th. They have experienced strong northerly
winds during the journey, and, like the other travellers,
a very rough road ; but, with the exception of the.
leader who is severely attacked with snow-blindness,
all are in excellent health.

' Over rough ice a large team of twelve dogs is
too many for one sledge. If their traces are all of
equal length the dogs become collected too close to-
gether, and those who keep on the outside of the crush
are forced to drag with their trace at a considerable
angle, while several of the weak dogs being unable
to push their way into the crowd cannot tighten their
rope at all.

1 A large party of dogs should certainly have traces
of different lengths ; but then in rough ground those
in advance would turn the corners too' sharply, and get
out of sight of the driver. Amongst hummocks, the
frequent sharp turns require the dogs to be as close to
the sledge as possible.

' Dr. Moss, adopting night travelling, started late
in the evening for Cape Joseph Henry with a depot of
provisions for the return of the main party of travellers,
his crew dragging 207 lbs. a man.

' Captain Stephenson accompanied Lieutenant
Archer for twenty miles on his way up Lady Pranklin

31 1
1876 LADY FRANKLIN SOUND. 0± L

Sound, and saw his men through the first difficulties

which inexperienced travellers must always expect in

these regions. Owing to the sheltered coast-line along

which they journeyed, the snow was found to be very

soft, which rendered the travelling more than usually

laborious. The steel runners of the large eleven-man

sledge had given way, and necessitated a change being

made for the more serviceable eight-man sledge.'

Captain Stephenson states in his report : —

' On the 14th, I went on with them till luncheon

time, when bidding them farewell, accompanied by

Mr. Miller, I retraced my steps over their tracks to

the ship, arriving on board at 4.30 P.M. of the 15th;

just taking me a day and a half to walk the distance

the heavy sledges had occupied six whole days to

accomplish.'

The travellers from the ' Discovery ' had improved
upon the plan of painting a badge on the back of
each man's duck-jumper, in the hope of protecting the
eyesight of the man pulling behind him, by each
sledge crew adopting a well-executed special badge,
which appeared more orderly than the individual taste
in design permitted among the sledge crews of the
1 Alert.' Captain Stephenson's badge was the Prince
of Wales' feathers.

The details of the winter passed on board the
' Discovery/ as learnt from Captain Stephenson, so
closely resemble those of the 'Alert' that it would
entail a great amount of repetition were I to record
them here. A full report by Captain Stephenson will
be found in the Pari. Papers, c. 1636, of 1876, and
further observations will shortly be printed. The

«Qn VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Aruii.

Meteorological Abstract and the Game List are pub-
lished with those of the ' Alert ' in the Appendices.

4 24th. — As the road near the base of the cliffs in
Eobeson Channel will be impracticable for sledges after
the thaw has set in, I have sent Lieutenant May, who
has now quite recovered from the effects of the frost-
bite he received in the autumn, with the dog-sledge to
Lincoln Bay to look for a road overland. Feilden
accompanies him, and Mr. Wootton has joined the
party as a volunteer worker.

' 28th. — The temperature has risen to 5° and the
black bulb thermometer in the sun's rays registers 79° ;
consequently on the black surface of the ship's side,
and on the exposed faces of the snow-capped rocky
cliffs, long icicles have formed. On the southern side
of the floebergs the hitherto transparent ice has become
cloudy, and is covered with a beautiful coating of
efflorescence, consisting of elegant feathery crystals.

4 Where the stratification of the snow-covered floe
has become exposed at a newly-formed crack, the
lower part of the snow is observed to have granulated,
the grains appearing inclined to collect together per-
pendicularly, and to increase in size by amalgamating,
leaving intermediate air-spaces. The snow near the
ship's side granulates in a similar manner, leaving a
space at the back or underneath, proving that the greater
portion of the work is performed by reflected heat.
To-day I noticed a marked evidence of this power :
a piece of wood was coated with a layer four inches in
thickness of clear transparent ice, which when in the
shade could not be removed from it without bringing
away pieces of the wood ; after being exposed to the

1876 DECAY OF SNOW. 311

sun for a few minutes when the temperature was only
5° the ice became separated from the wood, the heat
apparently passing through it and melting the ice only
where it touched the wood.

' The sun being so powerful, articles dry readily
in the open air. On the return of any sledge party
the damp blanket bags and tent robes are hung up on
the south side of the ship. They at once become
coated with numerous minute feathery crystals, which
appear to be ever evaporating and ever forming.
The oftener they are brushed off the better.

' The snow has been cleared off from above all the
skylights and bull's-eyes, but still the lower-deck is
perfectly dark. This is a very great disadvantage;
besides rendering it necessary to expend candles and
oil, it is gloomy work living in the dark, while the sun
is so bright during the whole twenty-four hours that
when on deck we are obliged to wear coloured
spectacles.

'The invalids who are unfit to join the sledges
have a great press of work to perform in the necessary
duties on board the ship. They have far too little
outdoor exercise. The officers are obliged to help
in many ways, and anyone who will turn a hand to
manual labour can readily find useful employment.

' Where dampness was prevalent during the winter
mildew is now collecting, and would do so to a very
prejudicial extent if left undisturbed. This mildew
grows rapidly on the beams, clothes, books, papers, etc.
' Since the 18th I estimate that two more inches of
light snow have fallen, making five inches altogether
since the 1st of March. As the evaporation is now

312 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. April

exceeding the precipitation this does not represent the
total fall. The tops and brows of the hills, which
were quite bare in February and March, are now
hidden under the thin but universal covering of snow.
Any stone projecting through, and against which the
sun has full play, is, however, kept clear by the quick
evaporation; the snow apparently changing first into
ice and then disappearing without wetting the dark
background.

' The ptarmigan passing the neighbourhood are
evidently seeking better feeding-grounds. There are
no willow-plants uncovered by snow near us. All the
tracks we see are those of birds proceeding towards
the north-west, generally in pairs. They light near
any uncovered patch of ground likely to be vegetated,
run across it, winding their way through the snow
furrows in search of the willow or other food. On
gaining the western edge of the cleared ground the
trail is lost by their flying to the next uncovered patch,
where it is sure to be found again.

' 30th. — After a wreek's stay, Captain Stephenson,
with his crew of Hans and two men, with eleven dogs
— one very fine one having died during a fit — started
on his return to the " Discovery," leaving Mr. Mitchell
on board the " Alert."

' In the evening Lieutenant May returned with his
party from Lincoln Bay, having travelled overland to
Cape Union, but from thence he was obliged to follow
the coast-line.

' At the head of Lincoln Bay vegetation was rather
abundant, with numerous traces of hares and ptar-
migan, but no musk-oxen as we had hoped. One hare

1876 LINCOLN BAY. 313

was shot by May and Feilden, after a walk of over
twenty miles in search of game ; it was brought back
for Petersen.

' At midnight Dr. Moss returned from Cape Joseph
Henry, having established the depot of provisions and
secured it from the depredations of animals ; a duty
which, as men's lives depend upon it, requires the
utmost care and forethought. Three of his men are
complaining of their legs being stiff after their quick
travelling ; but there is nothing alarming in this, as
the journal of every Arctic traveller relates similar
troubles.

1 May 1st. — George Emmerson, captain of one of
Beaumont's auxiliary parties, returned from Eepulse
Bay for a second load of provisions. While crossing
Eobeson Channel Beaumont had severe work. Both
the small sledges were damaged and one man had
injured his side by being jammed between the
laden sledge and an ice hummock ; otherwise the
journey had been fairly successful.

' 2nd. — Mr. Egerton, taking charge of the " Dis-
covery's " auxiliary sledge, started for Greenland, the
crew dragging 161 lbs. a man. He carries orders to
Dr. Coppinger to proceed to Polaris Bay, visiting on
his way all the cairns erected by Captain Hall and the
other members of the " Polaris " expedition. Mr.
Egerton also carries over one of Mr. Berthon's canvas
boats for Beaumont's use later in the season.'

Up to this period all had gone well with the
Expedition. J¥e had advanced to the extreme limit of
navigation at the northern end of Smith Sound ; the
ship was admirably placed for exploration and other

314 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. May

purposes, and the sledge crews, formed of men
apparently in full health and strength, had obtained a
fair start on their journeys under as favourable cir-
cumstances as possible considering the heavy nature of
the ice. But on the 3rd Doctor Colan informed me that
five of the crew had undoubted scorbutic symptoms.
However, as each case had some predisposing cause I
was not then seriously alarmed for the general health
of the Expedition.

< 3rd. — This evening Lieutenant Giffard returned,
having left Aldrich thirty miles beyond Cape Joseph
Henry ; he reports all the party well and in the highest
spirits. Owing to the soft snow the travelling had
been very slow. No game had been seen except one
ptarmigan and four hares at Cape Joseph Henry,
which were shot.

8 ith. — Lieutenant May started with the dog-sledge,
weighted to 68 lbs. per dog, for Greenland ; to bring
back Mr. Egerton who is conducting the " Discovery's "
auxiliary sledge across Eobeson Channel. Simmons
being ill, Joseph Self has now taken his place as dog-
driver.

8 To-day the ice was 79| inches thick.'

This proved to be the maximum thickness it
attained throughout the season.

' Last night we experienced a strong breeze from
the northward, with a heavy snow-drift and a fall in
temperature to minus 10° combined with a damp mist ;
the hoar-frost collecting on the rigging for the first
time this season. This damp wind is peculiar; we
trust for Markham's sake that it is not caused by the
ice breaking up.

1876 FIRST APPEARANCE OF SCURVY. 315

' We must now expect a long continuance of foggy-
weather. When the tops of the snow-clad hills blend
with the misty sky without any line of demarcation,
and nothing but ice in sight, it is anything but in-
spiriting to weary travellers. Few can realize what
the northern party are undergoing struggling along
their monotonous road of rugged ice, unable to see
far enough ahead to choose the most level route
through the hummocks. '

This fog was experienced by each of the travellers.
Captain Markham remarks : —

' After advancing for about half-a-mile, which dis-
tance took us nearly four hours to accomplish, we
arrived at such a confused heap of hummocks that in
the present thick state of the weather rendered a farther
advance impossible ; we were therefore compelled to
halt and pitch the tents.' ....

' 7th. — Dr. Colan is becoming very anxious about
poor Petersen, who bears his trials cheerfully and
patiently, but is very weak.

'Lieutenant Giffard started with a sledge crew,
dragging 173 lbs. a man, to complete the depots
of provisions for Lieutenant Aldrich's return. He also
took some provisions to Cape Joseph Henry for Com-
mander Markham, and one of Berthon's collapsable
boats.

'Along the borders of the old lake-bottoms the
mud, which was frozen as hard as any rock during the
winter, is now pulverized ; where a month ago it was
difficult to dig out stones and shells with a metal
instrument, a stick or the finger can now easily be
forced an inch deep into the softened earth ; this

316 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. May

must be entirely due to evaporation. The hoar-frost
collected on the rigging three days ago has disappeared
again, the hair-hygrometer registering ten degrees'
difference of tension.

< 9^. — May and Egerton returned from the Green-
land coast ; this will be the last trip across the north
end of the channel this season. The same road having
now been travelled over by so many sledges, each
party helping to improve it, it is in fair order and
enables a rapid journey to be made. Egerton had met
Dr. Coppinger, returning from Beaumont's advanced
party, at the Eepulse Harbour depot, just in time to
stop him crossing the channel to the " Alert."

' Dr. Coppinger reports that Beaumont's sledges have
experienced even greater difficulties and worse travel-
ling than we expected. From their place of crossing
the Straits, they found that the coast-line for nearly
the entire distance to Cape Stanton, was formed either
by very steep snow-slopes or precipitous cliffs, the
bases of which receive the direct and unchecked
pressure of the northern pack as it drifts from the
north-westward and strikes against that part of the
coast nearly at right angles. The chaos amongst the
floebergs near the shore was something indescribable,
and the travelling the worst that could possibly be
imagined, seven days being occupied in moving for-
ward only twenty miles.

' It was difficult to say which was the better road —
through the wilderness of pressed-up ice or along the
steeply inclined snow-slopes, where a roadway had to
be cut for the entire distance travelled. The party
was, however, persevering with light hearts and deter-

1876 SNOW-BUNTING. 317

mined spirits ; looking forward to the travelling becom-
ing better after they rounded Cape Stanton, then only
two miles from them.

1 Lieutenant May had followed up the M'Cormick
valley lying to the eastward of Cape Brevoort and
leading towards Newman Bay. He discovered a fair
road, with a hard snow-floor and a gentle incline some
two or three miles long, leading up to a dividing plateau
about 400 feet above the sea-level. From the summit
of the cape, 2,000 feet high, he obtained a magnificent
view ; but the heavy climb having necessitated his
taking off his outer coat, he was almost frozen before
he could do more than obtain the most important
bearings.

'The first snow-bunting was seen to-day. Many
are the speculations whether they also will pass us for
more favoured quarters.

8 At noon, water was seen for the first time trickling
down a cliff with a southern aspect, but on reaching
the colder ground at the foot it again froze into ice.
The temperature in the shade during the afternoon rose
to 17°.

' llth. — Mr. Wootton, commanding a sledge crew
with the remainder of Commander Markham's provi-
sions, left to-day for Cape Joseph Henry. On the
completion of this duty all our travellers will be pro-
vided for. I have, therefore, started off Captain
Feilden with Mr. Egerton, Frederick and James Self
and six dogs, for an excursion amongst the United
States Eange of hills. Mr. Mitchell accompanies them
with a few dry photographic plates. We trust that
they will discover the musk-oxen haunts, for we are

318 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. May

sadly in want of fresh meat for our invalids. Strict
orders are given to each sledge party to bring back for
the use of the sick all game shot, even a single ptarmigm i .
To-day there are nine men recommended to have a
change of diet in consequence of showing scorbutic
symptoms. Three of these are the ice-quartermasters,
three are cooks and stewards, and three seamen, one of
whom has, however, been employed as ship's cook on
board the " Discovery " during the winter. One of the
seamen has been ailing for a considerable time ; he is a
most inveterate smoker, and it turns out that he pre-
fers salt to preserved meat, and has eaten very little
of the latter during the winter.

' lith. — Poor Petersen died this evening, passing
away quietly without pain. Dr. Colan has been
incessant in his attendance, not only in a medical
capacity but as a nurse ; so perfectly self-sacrificing is
he that I am seriously alarmed for his own health.

6 Yesterday the snow on the upper-deck above the
cooking-galley melted, the water running out through
the scuppers. It is high time that it was entirely re-
moved, but our few workmen can only be spared to
work occasionally. Owing to the weight of that
which has already been thrown overboard the water
has overflowed the ice in such quantities that we
cannot now approach the ship on the inshore side
without getting wet feet. In the clods of frozen snow
and gravel exposed to the effect of the sun the snow
evaporates quickly without melting or trickling clown.

' The temperature of the earth at a depth of eighteen
inches has risen to minus 5° ; the mean temperature of
the air. is therefore now warmer than that of the earth.

1876 DEATH OF PETERSEN. 319

The snow-fall since the 28th of April is estimated at
one and-a-half inches, making six and a half since the
1st of March.

' 11th. — Doctor Moss shot a snow-bunting to-day.
Although the temperature of the air is only 15°, near
the sunny sides of the floebergs it is above 32°, conse-
quently each is decorated with a hanging necklace of
short graceful icicles.,

1 The snow on the hill-tops is disappearing very fast
by evaporation. The hair-hygrometer continues to
work in an unsatisfactory manner ; after being cleaned
it acts correctly for two or three days, but then remains
fixed in one position.

' IWi. — Niels Christian Petersen was buried to-day
on the brow of a hill a quarter of a mile from the ship
where the snow never collects ; the grave will therefore
always remain conspicuous. No documents are buried
near it, so it need never be disturbed.

1 To-day the gravel exposed to the sun ate its way
down into the snow for the first time, but the ice is not
affected yet. The large flakes of snow that fall now
are conspicuously different from the fine particles which
fell during the cold weather.

' We are all unanimous in favour of a snow-shoe
brigade for journeying overland, but they would be of
no use when sledging over the hard ice such as the
Franklin Search Expeditions met with.

' 21 st. — Mr. Wootton returned this evening from
Cape Joseph Henry with his party in good health. He
brings us two ptarmigan for the invalids, who appear
to make no progress whatever towards recovery, and
evidently require a fresh meat diet.

320 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. May

' Snow-buntings in their summer plumage and a
lemming with his summer dark fur were obtained
to-day.

' 23rd. — The temperature of the sea- water has
risen to 29°, both at the surface and at a depth of
five fathoms. This is a rise of half a degree since the
winter and before the temperature of the air has risen
to anything like the same degree. It is an interesting
problem whence comes the warmth unless by an ocean
current.

' In digging a hole in the ice in order to measure its
thickness it was found to be saturated with water, which
drained into the hole as it does through the earth
into a well. During the cold weather the ice was
perfectly dry.

' When the temperature of the air was 16° a thermo-
meter buried 18 inches in a floeberg registered 11° ; a
lower temperature than that of the air for the last three
or four days. From this we may reason that while an
ordinary piece of ice seven or eight feet thick becomes
saturated with water and readily melts, a floe eighty
feet thick retains its cold temperature and remains
free from water for a long time. I very much regret
the long glacier thermometer having been broken
through the freezing of the mercury during the cold
season, otherwise an important series of observations
might have been obtained.

1 24:th. — Her Majesty's birth-day : dressed the ship
with flags, but I trust we shall be forgiven for putting
off the general holiday for a more opportune season.

'Lieutenant GifFard and his sledge crew re-
turned on board from placing Lieutenant Aldrich's

1876 LIEUTENANT GIFFARD RETURNS. 321

return depot. They have clone their work well and
expeditiously, but unfortunately two of his men have
broken down, with scorbutic symptoms.

' This trip is another instance of how dependent
Arctic travellers are on all the sledging arrangements
being carried out to the letter, and how the failure of
one supporting sledge may entail disaster on the chief
party. Mr. Giffard was obliged to establish the depot
of provisions at the point agreed upon previous to the
return of the advance party under Lieutenant Aldrich.
On his journey to perform this duty two men hopelessly
broke down ; not having sufficient time to return with
them to the ship before the main party would arrive
at the pre-arranged depot, he was necessarily obliged
to leave the invalids for five days in a snow-hut,
made as comfortable, or rather as free from discomfort,
as circumstances permitted. The following extract
from Lieutenant GifFard's journal refers to this
incident :

' On the 12th of May I came to the conclusion
that I must leave Lorrimer behind in a snow-house
whilst we went on to Cape Colan with the depot. He
has been gradually getting worse ever since we left
the ship, and there is not much chance of getting him
olF the sledge again now for some time. On the loth,
whilst luncheon was getting ready, the sledge with a
half load, advanced to James Eoss Bay, and I looked
about for a suitable place to build a snow-house.
Both on the land and bay the snow was too soft ;
however, close to the shore of the bay, was a large
old hummock, which looked promising ; we went up
to it, and found a capital place.
vol. I. Y

322 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Mat

' The following things were left for the use of the two
men who remained : — For the sleeping place, besides
the bags, the lower robe, the sail, and the two duffle
mats ; for cooking, the stewpan and a pannikin for a
lamp, which answers very well, as I knew from having
had it tried during the morning. Amusements : a
book, " Peveril of the Peak," and the two small packs
of cards supplied to each sledge, presented to the Ex-
pedition by the Empress Eugenie. For telling the
time, a compass belonging to one of the men, and a
copy of the true bearings for the month. The rifle,
ammunition, saw, and snow-knife were also left.

' Woolley, not knowing that I intended him to
remain on account of his own stiffness, volunteered to
stay behind to take care of the patient. Lorrimer was
assisted down to the snow-house and put in his bag.
Having said good-bye to the two men, we started across
James Eoss Bay.'

Five days afterwards, on the return journey,
GifFard relates : ' On the 18th Woolley was seen coming
to meet us from the hospital. He told us that
Lorrimer was no better, and would certainly have to
go back to the ship on the sledge ; he took a little
exercise daily, but it has not taken away the stiffness.
The snow all about the hospital and neighbouring
land was too deep and soft to allow of any extended
walk being taken. No living thing was seen during our
absence ; once Woolley thought he heard the scream of
a gull. The hospital . was never too cold, nor did the
wind trouble them at all ; the great discomfort was the
damp from the snow melting inside whilst the men were
asleep. The time had passed very slowly, and would

187G UNITED STATES RANGE. 323

have been very dull had it not been for the Empress's
cards, which afforded great amusement to the men, who
are delighted with them. On reaching the hospital we
all went in to see Lorrimer, who was very glad to see
ns again ; he was very weak and low-spirited, quite
unable to walk, or do anything almost, without help/

During the homeward journey Woolley was ob-
liged to fall out from the drag-ropes, and finally had
to be carried on the sledge. The day following their
arrival at Floeberg Beach a third man was taken ill with
scurvy, while the remaining four appeared in good
health. One, however, was attacked twenty-four days
afterwards ; and another, Stuckberry, forty-four days
after having been placed on the regular ship's ration.

To the westward of Cape Joseph Henry, the snow
in the sheltered hollows had proved to be even softer
than it was earlier in the season ; the sledge was fre-
quently buried, and the men sank knee-deep at every
step. Under such circumstances a flat sledge would
be better than the high-runner sledge ; but for general
service, and more especially for travelling over ice, the
latter is to be preferred. No traveller can afford to
take both.

Mr. Egerton and Captain Feilden returned on the
24th from their exploration in the United States
Eange. Like Giffard they found all the plains and
valleys which were sheltered by mountains from the
westerly winds, to be simply impassable from the
quantity of soft snow collected in them. Selecting a wide
valley that opened up from the coast in lat. 82° 40' N.,
and which stretched in a westerly direction into the
interior, they followed it up for about twenty miles,

324 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. May

but were finally brought to a standstill by soft snow-drifts
which stretched continuously across it. About four
miles beyond the extreme point they reached a wall
of snow or ice, rising perpendicularly to a height
of forty or fifty feet extended across the valley and
sloped upwards to the westwards, until at a distance of
thirty miles the tops of the mountains, at least two
thousand feet high, just appeared above the enormous
snow-slope.

Though the travellers used every effort to reach
this barrier, they failed, owing to the softness of the
snow-drifts, and were unable to determine with cer-
tainty whether it concealed the edge of a glacier or
was a stupendous collection of soft snow. It seems,
however, impossible that such an enormous quantity
of snow, over a thousand feet in thickness, could accu-
mulate without turning into ice through pressure, so
that although we cannot definitely state that we met
with glaciers in Grinnell Land between the eighty-
second and eighty-third parallels of latitude, yet there
is good reason to believe that they do exist in the
interior of the country. Each of the large valleys on
the southern slopes of the United States Eange also,
apparently, contains a glacier ; and a snow-cap was
observed on the most northern land sighted on the
Greenland coast. Eecent traces of musk-oxen were
seen, but none of the animals met with. Four hares
and four ptarmigan were shot ; and a snowy-owl and
several snow-buntings seen. Frederick the Green-
lander returned from this journey attacked with scurvy,
though he had taken his lime-juice regularly both on
board ship and when travelling.

1876 VIEW FROM MOUNT JULIA. 325

As all the depots of provisions for the use of the
travellers on their return journeys had been deposited,
I decided to go to Cape Joseph Henry, to obtain a
view of the northern ice from the lofty mountains in
that locality. Lieutenant May and Captain Feilden
accompanying me, we started from the ship on the 25th.

Following the coast-line as much as possible, we
reached our destination on the 29th. The weather
being remarkably clear, the opportunity was taken to
ascend Mount Julia, the highest peak near the sea,
which rises to an elevation of not less than 2,000 feet.
The climb through the snow was very laborious, and
we were more than five hours reaching the summit
of the hill, its base being four miles from our tent.

The view from the top was superb ; the atmosphere
was surpassingly clear, not a cloud appeared in the
sky from the horizon to the zenith ; in some of the
valleys and along parts of the shore directly below us,
a low mist hung, but a few miles to seaward this
entirely disappeared. Tier upon tier of pyramid-
shaped hills stretched seventy or eighty miles to the
westward, averaging from 2,000 to 5,000 feet high.
The two highest peaks of this range were named
Mounts Eawlinson and Bartle-Frere. To the eastward,
distant not less than a hundred and twenty miles, the
hills of Greenland about Cape Britannia were plainly
seen, but to the northward no land or the faintest ap-
pearance of land was visible.

The interminable pack appeared from our lofty
station to consist of small floes hedged round by broad
barriers of rough ice, until in the extreme distance it
blended with the horizon ; not a pool of water or the

826 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. May

faintest appearance of water-cloud was to be dis-
tinguished within the range of our vision, which em-
braced an arc of a mmdred and sixty degrees. We
were perfectly satisfied that no land of a great elevation
exists within a distance of eighty miles north of Cape
Joseph Henry, and none at all within fifty miles, which
from our look-out bounded the visible horizon. We
may rest assured therefore that from the coast of Grin-
nell Land in latitude 83°, to the eighty-fourth parallel
of latitude, stretches the same formidable pack which
was encountered by Markham and his companions.
Whether or not land exists within the three hundred
and sixty miles which stretch from the limit of our
view . to the northern axis of the globe, is, so far as
sledge travelling is concerned, immaterial. Sixty miles
of such pack as we now know to extend north of Cape
Joseph Henry is an insuperable obstacle to travelling
in that direction with our present appliances ; and I
unhesitatingly affirm that it is impracticable to reach
the North Pole by the Smith Sound route.

To our great disappointment we observed that the
extensive plains, with numerous deep and broad water-
courses leading from the mountains into James Boss
Bay, were covered with deep snow ; not a solitary
rock or boulder was showing above the continuous
white surface. Perhaps in August, when the snow
has melted, there may be good feeding-grounds for
musk-oxen, but the state of the country when we saw
it precluded any hope of meeting with those animals.

After passing more than an hour on the top of the
mountain, taking bearings with a theodolite, we be-
came so intensely cold that we were obliged to desist.

187(1 LIMESTONE FOSSILS. 327

We then built a cairn of sufficient size to be visible
from the shore, and returned to the camp ; though we
descended the hill with great reluctance, for I would
gladly have obtained a fuller series of observations.
Mount Julia is composed of grey mountain limestone ;
and it was a curious reflection to make, as we built
the cairn in the midst of as glacial a scene as can be
imagined, that the shells and corals which were em-
bedded in the rocks we handled, had in the far-off
past inhabited a tropical sea.

Dining the next two days we were partially con-
fined to the tent by a strong westerly gale, with a
continuous heavy fall of snow ; in the midst of our
discomfort it made us realize how exceptionally for-
tunate we had been in obtaining the view we did
from the top of Mount Julia. During the lulls in the
gale, which sometimes lasted for a couple of hours, we
employed ourselves by quarrying in a neighbouring
ravine, where the exposed strata on either side were
replete with fossil forms belonging to the mountain
limestone or sub-carboniferous period. I need scarcely
mention that we loaded up our sledge with these
precious relics, regardless of all consequences, wrapping
up the more delicate specimens in our spare change of
clothing, our only regret being that we had to abandon
a quantity of the original collection. As it was, our
return journey to the ship could only be accomplished
by advancing with half-loads at a time, and so
heavy in many places was the sodden floe that we
were frequently obliged to turn round and face the
lightened sledge, and advance a few feet at a time
with repeated 4 one, two, three, hauls.'

328 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA, May

On Feilden Peninsula there appeared to be a con-
siderable amount of vegetation, judging from the
remains of former seasons, and we came across more
than one skeleton of musk-oxen, so that I have no
doubt that later in the year it is a favourite resort of
these animals.

On the 3rd of June we started on our return to the
ship, burying three hares, the only game that we had
been fortunate enough to procure, in a crack in a floe-
berg, for Markham and his men. Little did we think
at the time that they were actually encamped on the
ice only two miles distant from us, though com-
pletely hidden from our view by a thick mist, which,
shrouding their outward track, had landed them in a
wilderness of heavy ice in a truly deplorable state.

Out of a party of two officers and fifteen once
powerful men, five were lying helpless on the sledges
dragged by the two officers and six men, all of whom
were themselves considerably crippled; whilst four
others, unable to lend a hand at the drag-ropes, just
managed to crawl along, keeping pace with the slow
advance. The boats, and every article of provisions or
clothing which could possibly be spared, had been cast
aside in order to lighten to the utmost the sledges
weighted with the invalids.

In all probability, had we known of their being in
our neighbourhood, the life of poor George Porter,
who died six days afterwards, would have been
spared.

On the 4th, we encamped on a gravel spit forming
the south point of the second bay south of .Cape
Eichardson, greatly enjoying the dry ground after a

1876 ICE IN FKOZEN LAKES. 329

long journey over the sludgy floe. Snow-buntings in
considerable numbers now enlivened us with their
sweet happy song, and several knots (Tringa canutus)
with small parties of turnstones (Strepsilas interpres)
and sanderlings (Calidris arenaria) were feeding on
a patch of well-advanced purple saxifrage.

The bay where we encamped, which I named
Knot Harbour, is the most northern sheltered position
on the coast. It is open to the north-east, but owing
to its narrow entrance, which is not more than a
quarter of a mile wide, no large floe could enter.
Its neighbourhood appears to support more game than
any other position north of Discovery Bay.

On the 6 th we crossed the land behind Cape
Belknap, and encamped on the projecting spit between
the Dumbell Lakes, where we were disappointed to
find both hill and plain completely covered with snow.
In fact, the late snowfall had buried the land deeper
than at any time since the previous autumn.

The ice in Dumbell Lake, which had not yet begun
to thaw, was 91 ^ inches thick, and the water from
below, when reached, rose to within 8| inches of the
surface of the ice. All the water in this lake had
certainly not been frozen during the past winter, and
afterwards we found that it was well stocked with a
small species of charr, Salmo arcturus, Gtinther ; in-
deed, we did not ascertain that any of the lakes that
contained fish froze to the bottom ; the evidence tended
to the contrary.

On the morning of the 7th, Feilden and I started
to walk to the ship, twelve miles distant, where we
arrived in the afternoon. The snow from the last

330 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. May

storm was very soft, wet, and heavy, and rendered the
travelling extremely laborious.

During my absence Mr. Egerton obtained a tem-
perature-sounding half-a-mile distant from the land off
Black Cape, in thirty-two fathoms of water. The
temperature at a depth of two fathoms was 2 8° "5 ; at
fae, 29°-2 ; at twenty, 29° ; and at thirty, 29°*4. The
thickness of the ice, which was a small patch frozen
during the past winter, was 49 \ inches.

At this date, with a mean temperature of the air at
about 30°, a pool of water, which rose and fell with
the tide, encircled each grounded floeberg, causing the
ice in the neighbourhood to decay rapidly. Although
my visit to Cape Joseph Henry was made during the
neap-tides, it was noticeable that there the rise and falL
of the tide was decidedly less than at Floeberg Beach.

1876 INCREASE OF SCURVY. 331

CHAPTER XIII.

INCREASE OF SCURVY — CONYBEARE ARRIVES FROM DISCOVERY BAY —
PROCEEDINGS OF PARTIES FROM ' DISCOVERY ' — LADY FRANKLIN
SOUND — BOATS TAKEN TO GREENLAND — POLARIS BAY — CAPTAIN
HALL'S GRAVE — HIS LAST RECORD — CHRONOMETER — VITALITY OF
WHEAT — COPPINGER'S JOURNEY.

Early in the month of June three more of the crew
were placed under medical treatment with scorbutic
symptoms ; each of these men had been employed with
the sledges, but two had been receiving the regulated
ship's diet with lime-juice for three weeks prior to the
appearance of the disease.

On my return to the ' Alert ' on the 7th there were
fourteen men belonging to that ship, and two belong-
ing to the ' Discovery ' who had been under treatment
for scurvy. Of these only one, a very mild case, had
recovered; the others did not appear to improve
rapidly, although they were given the most complete
change of diet at our disposal ; with the exception of
fresh meat, it was as good as could be desired.

Although one or two men of the sledge crews
employed on former Arctic expeditions had been
attacked by this disease, the generality had entirely
escaped ; therefore, considering the carefully selected
provisions with which we were provided, the outbreak

332 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. May.

was most inexplicable and unlooked-for. It was, how-
ever, encouraging to learn from the reports of our
predecessors how transient the attacks had usually
proved, and how quickly the patients recovered with
rest, the advance of summer, and a change to a more
generous diet. Nevertheless, so serious an outbreak
naturally made me anxious for the health and safety
of the numerous travellers absent from the ship ; but
as they were the strongest men out of two crews
specially selected for Arctic service, I certainly never
contemplated such a complete breakdown as actually
occurred.

Mr. Conybeare arrived on board the ' Alert ' on
the 31st of May, after a journey of nine days from
Discovery Bay. Owing to the water having forced its
way up through the tidal-cracks and overflowed the
ice in many places, he had experienced even greater
difficulty in travelling up Eobeson Channel than any
of his predecessors. Off Cape Frederick VII. he met
with three pools of water, the largest of which was
over three hundred yards in length.

Mr. Conybeare was the bearer of despatches from
Captain Stephenson, which informed me that Lieu-
tenant Archer had returned to the ' Discovery ' on the
2nd of May, after having explored Lady Franklin
Sound to a distance of sixty-seven miles in a south-
west direction from Discovery Bay, where it termi-
nated in two fiords. Mr. Archer reported that —

1 The inlet originally called Lady Franklin Strait
may be described as a deep sound or fiord, which
extends for a distance of sixty-five miles into Grinnell
Land. It is nine miles broad at the mouth, and at a

1876 LADY FRANKLIN SOUND. 333

distance of twenty miles from Distant Cape separates
into two arms. Conybeare Bay, the most northerly of
the two, does not seem to extend more than ten miles
to the west of the Keppel's Head ; it has not, however,
been thoroughly explored. The southern arm is
between four and five miles broad at the mouth, and
forty miles long, trending to the south-west, till at
Eecord Point it divides into the two small bays in
which the sound terminates. For the whole of its
length it is surrounded by steep precipitous cliffs,
which at the farther end are very high, being in one
place over 3,000 feet sheer. A considerable quantity
of the heavy Polar ice was met with till within a few
miles of the head of the bay. The remainder of the
ice was of a small lumpy description, with but few
young floes amongst it.'

In the most southern of the two fiords at the head
of the sound a large glacier was observed in a valley
descending from the Victoria and Albert Mountains,
estimated to be 5,000 feet in height. The glacier
ended at a distance of about ten miles from the shore ;
its end was therefore considerably above the sea-level.

In the northern fiord, Lieutenant Archer, after a
severe climb, which occupied him seven hours, reached
the summit of Mount Neville, 3,800 feet above the sea.
From that elevated point the United States Eange was
sighted to the W.N.W., and a glacier was discovered in
one of the valleys, but ending at a considerable height
above the sea-level; an extensive plain led from
Beatrix Bay some twenty miles inland to the foot of
the United States Eange. To the westward the moun-
tainous land was lower, estimated to be about 2,000

334 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. May

feet high, and extending for an unknown distance.
Mr. Archer remarked that, considering the height
to which he ascended, it was somewhat remarkable
that no high mountains were visible at any great dis-
tance to the westward.

Two small glaciers were observed on the southern
shore of the sound in valleys descending from the
mountains on Judge Daly Peninsula* In both cases
the glaciers ended at a distance of about a mile from
the sea.

A herd of eleven musk-oxen were seen, but none
were procured. The tracks of hares were numerous
in the neighbourhood of Ella Bay and other places ;
two of these animals were shot.

After an, absence of twenty-four days the party
under the command of Lieutenant Archer returned in
good health to Discovery Bay.

Mr. Conybeare, who commanded the auxiliary
sledge in the expedition to Lady Franklin Sound, had
returned to the ' Discovery ' on the 20th of April, after
an absence of twelve days from the ship. His crew of
eleven men were in excellent health with the exception
of one, who was slightly frost-bitten in the foot. The
only fresh meat obtained by this party was a single
hare, which was killed on the southern side of Bellot
Island.

On the 2nd of May Mr. Conybeare left the ' Dis-
covery' with a crew of eleven men to transport a
fifteen-foot ice-boat across Hall's Basin to Polaris Bay.
On the 5th of the same month, Lieutenant Archer's
return having placed a greater number of men at his
disposal, Captain Stephenson decided to send two boats

1876 POLARIS BAY. 335

across the channel to the Greenland shore. A dog-
sledge despatched to recall Mr. Conybeare and his
men overtook them on the 5th, when about six miles
from land.

On the 7th of May Lieutenant Fulford and Mr.
Conybeare finally started from the c Discovery ' with
eighteen men, dragging a twenty-foot ice-boat on a
twelve-man sledge. On the following day they reached
the spot where the boat had been left ; the party was
then divided, eleven men dragging the larger boat
and seven "the smaller one. On the 12th, after five
days' travelling, the boats were safely deposited near
the depot at Polaris Bay, and the same evening Captain
Stephenson accompanied by Mr. Hart likewise arrived
there.

While crossing the channel the weather was thick
and gloomy with a strong breeze from the southward,
which made the journey very unpleasant, but the ice
was the best they had yet travelled over. Some large
floes of young smooth ice were met with in Hall's
Basin, but on both sides of the channel, near the shores,
hummocks and pressed-up ice formed considerable
barriers ; the greatest obstacles being met with on the
Greenland coast.

On the loth of May, in the presence of twenty-
four officers and men, Captain Stephenson hoisted the
American flag over the grave of Captain Hall, and at
the foot erected a brass tablet brought from England.
The inscription read as follows : —

336

VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA.

May

SACKED TO THE MEMORY OF

CAPTAIN C. F. HALL,

of the U.S. Ship ' Polaris,'

Who sacrificed his Life in the Advancement of Science
on November 8th, 1871.

This Tablet has been erected by the British Polar Expedition of 1875,
Who, following in his footsteps, have profited by his experience.

GRAVE OF CAPTAIN HALL.

On the 15th, Doctor Coppinger arrived from Eefuge
Harbour. His party had found Captain Hall's cairn on
the north side of Newman Bay, and brought away
the record, leaving a copy in its stead. They then
crossed the bay and visited the boat-camp on its
southern shore, where a party from the ' Polaris,' under
the command of Mr. Chester, endeavouring to proceed
to the north, spent part of the summer of 1872. The
following extract from Doctor Coppinger 's Eeport gives

187G CAPTAIN HALL'S RECORD. 337

an account of his finding the cairn erected by Hall on
his last journey, and refers to the condition of the boats
and stores left at the boat-camp.

' The point of Newman Bay which I had reached,
after crossing the land from Eepulse Harbour, proved
to be about five miles to the eastward of Cape Brevoort ;
therefore, after coasting about two miles to the west-
ward, I came to the position of Captain Hall's cairn.
Here I found the record in a good state of preserva-
tion, buried ten feet east (true) of a stone at the
margin of the cairn on which was cut " 10 FEET E."
Having taken the original document and deposited in
its stead an accurate copy, accompanied by a brief
account of my past and projected movements, I pro-
ceeded across the mouth of Newman Bay towards
the boat-cam]). The latter I found situated, as ex-
pected, about one and-a-half miles from Cape Sumner,
but only five and-a-half miles from Hall's cairn. We
camped on the floe about a quarter-of-a-mile from
the site of the tent and boats. Although our stay
extended over forty hours, Ave were most of the time
confined to our tents by a gale from the southward,
and consequently unable to make a very complete
examination of the American stores. One tent we
found near the mouth of a ravine, collapsed, frozen to
the ground, and partially covered with snow. The
whale-boat lay bottom upwards on a fiat piece of land
about a hundred yards from the beach, lashed down to
heavy stones and frozen in by mud ; while the canvas
boat was with difficulty discovered, buried in snow,
and lying about eighty yards from the whale-boat and
two hundred from the tent. The whale-boat was
VOL. I. Z

338 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. May

stove in on the starboard bow, for which defects the
materials necessary for repairs were at hand ; in other
respects she was serviceable.

' The stores found under the boat seemed to have
been but little affected by the weather ; for instance,
some biscuit, of which there was about twenty pounds,
lying loose in the lockers, was in good condition. Great
difficulty was experienced in getting at some of the
gear, the bags, for instance, being frozen so stiffly that
it was impossible to examine their contents without
tearing them in pieces.

' Expecting to find two tents to correspond with
the two boats, I searched in various directions for a
second, but in vain. Therefore having made a rough
list of such stores as circumstances would admit of our
examining, having packed upon the sledges the instru-
ments and documents which I could transfer to Polaris
Bay, and having erected a conspicuous cairn and
attached thereto a record of proceedings, we struck
tents, packed up, and proceeded to the eastward.'

Captain Stephenson during his stay at Thank God
Harbour, took the precaution of placing a depot of
provisions on the shore of Newman Bay, in order
to insure relief to the party under the command of
Lieutenant Beaumont, in case the heavy snow lying on
the neck of land between that bay and Hall's Eest
delayed the travellers on their return journey from the
north. This duty was carried out by Lieutenant
Fulford and Doctor Coppinger.

From the 12th to the 15th of May the travellers
at Hall's Eest experienced a gale from the north-
ward. On the 16th the barometer fell, accompanied

1876 POLARIS BAY. 339

by a second gale from the same direction, with a great
deal of snow-drift, which confined them all to their
tents. The drift was so thick that, notwithstanding the
five tents were pitched close together, it was at times
impossible to communicate between them.

On the 17th, Captain Stephenson and his party of
thirty officers and men recrossed the channel in seven-
teen marching hours, leaving Lieutenant Fnlford, Doc-
tor Coppinger, with two men and eight dogs, to explore
Petermann Fiord ; with orders to return to Polaris Bay
before the 15th of June, on which date it was ex-
pected they would meet Lieutenants Beaumont and
Eawson and their men, returning from the exploration
of North Greenland.

The rock in the vicinity of Polaris Bay was found
to be a hard limestone containing no fossils, though
over the entire country fossiliferons drifted limestone
was scattered. Evidences of the recent elevation of the
land, in mud-beds rising to 500 feet and containing
marine shells, were abundant. Traces of fox, lemming,
hare, ptarmigan and snow-bunting were observed.
Eight flowering plants, the remains of last season's
growth, and some mosses and lichens, were collected.

The ice-foot north of Cape Lupton was observed by
Captain Stephenson to be of a more massive construc-
tion, and the pack generally of a heavier description
than that on the western side of the channel.

All the records, and articles brought from Polaris
Bay and the boat-camp in Newman Bay, together with
the American ensign which was hoisted over the grave
of Captain Hall, during the stay of our men in the
neighbourhood, were, on the return of the Expedition

340 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. May

to England, forwarded by the British Admiralty to the
United States Government. The chronometer found
at the boat-camp, after four years' exposure to the
vicissitudes of Arctic temperature, kept excellent time
from the period of its arrival on board the 'Dis-
covery,' until that ship returned to England during
November 1876.

A bag of wheat was found at Polaris Bay, which
was, T understand, sent to the Arctic Eegions from the
Smithsonian Institute of Washington, for the purpose of
ascertaining the power of cereals to resist the extremes
of cold ; after an exposure for at least four successive
winters and three summers at Polaris Bay, out of a
small sample tried at Kew by Sir Joseph Hooker,
sixty-two per cent, germinated ; the rest of this grain
was returned to the Smithsonian Institute.

In order to avoid the heavy pack outside of Cape
Brevoort all the North Greenland division of sledges
crossed the land at the back of the cape, through the
M'Cormick pass, on their return journeys. During
the month of May when the snow-floor, cemented
by the frequent gales, presented a hard road for
sledging, Dr. Coppinger was only a clay and a half in
crossing. Between the 21st and 24th of May, Eawson,
with an invalid on his sledge and himself snow-blind,
wTas a little more than three days in performing the
journey ; and between the 14th and 19th of June,
when most of the snow had melted, and water was
rushing down the southern ravine, Lieutenant Beau-
mont returning with his crippled party crossed in five
days.

I append the following extract from Dr. Coppinger's

1876 M'COKMICK VALLEY. 341

account of his journey through the Pass; the estimated
height of which is about 400 feet,

1 Having completed our work at the Eepulse Bay
depot, we started on the 8th of May, and proceeded
along an excellent ice-foot towards the mouth of
M'Cormick Valley. The cliffs of this coast, under
which we passed, present a bold, unweathered surface of
dark limestone, apparently devoid of fossils, but con-
taining some yellow ore, probably iron pyrites. On
reaching the mouth of the valley we camped on a
low flat piece of land bordered by old raised beaches.
After three hours on the march we made good four
miles, temperature 5°.

' At 10 p.m. started and proceeded along M'Cormick
Valley, which for the first two miles is a plain half a
mile in width, sloping up to the southward by a gentle
gradient, and lined on both sides by unmistakable
raised beaches. On either side rise cliffs and peaked
mountains from 2,000 to 3,000 feet in height ; the cliffs
on the east side being formed of vertical, slightly
contorted layers of a clayey barren limestone. All
about this reach of the valley we found numerous frag-
ments of shells, which mark the area of the old sea-
bed. Some of the raised beaches present clearly cut
sections twenty feet high, showing well-defined alternate
layers a half to two inches thick of stratified mud and
sand.

'As the land loses its marine character, we
entered a narrow winding valley, nearly level, and
bordered by rounded hills of about two hundred feet
in height. While prospecting from the summit of one
of these I picked up a drift fossil, apparently a worn

342 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Mat

cup-coral. Frequently in the sides of the gully we
passed rock in situ, not covered by snow, and consisting
in some places of a calcareous slate ; in others of a
confused mass of clayey limestone in the form of
rectangular sticks one to two feet in length.

8 Following the sinuosities of the valley, the travel-
ling was excellent, and the general direction S. by W.
In about three hours it led us by a gentle rise to an
elevated plateau covered with hard crusted snow.
Having traversed this plateau for about half a mile,
the floe of Newman Bay came into view for the
first time, appearing to be about two miles off. We
now found, right in the course which we had been
pursuing, a ravine leading down towards Newman Bay ;
and expecting to find in it better snow-travelling than
on the land on either side, we determined on following
it. At 7.45 a.m. of the 9th we camped in the ravine.

4 At 9.30 p.m. we started and proceeded down the
ravine, which soon degenerates into a narrow tortuous
gully, whose precipitous sides of clay slate approach
so closely in places as only just to give passage to
the eight-man sledge. The bottom is, however, well
packed with snow-drift, and being sheltered from the
sun by vertical cliffs, probably remains a good road for
sledging until the spring is far advanced. This ravine,
from its commencement in the high plateau, slopes
rapidly to the southward, i.e. towards Newman's Bay.
We spent a great deal of time road-making along the
sides of snow-slopes, cutting down opposing snow-banks,
and with drag-ropes reversed, easing the sledges down
steep inclines. In one place w^e lowered the sledge down
a little snow-precipice sixteen feet deep. At 12.40 a.m.

1876 NEWMAN BAY. 343

of the 10th we reached the shore of the bay and halted
for lunch, having made good two miles.'

Dr. Coppinger found a smooth floe of one season's
ice extending across the mouth of Newman Bay, between
the position of Hall's Cairn and the boat-camp ; both
old and young floes were met with inside the bay.
The entrance must, therefore, have been free from
pack-ice when the frost set in the previous autumn.

The fresh tracks of a bear were observed in the
bay, it is therefore probable that it managed to exist
in the neighbourhood during the previous winter.

On the plains between Polaris Bay and Newman
Bay, estimated to be 300 feet above the sea, the soft
snow rendered the travelling bad, but being favoured
by a strong easterly wind Dr. Coppinger 's party crossed
in two days. He states in his report, ' Our road is
still the same undulating plain, covered everywhere
with soft snow, without a track of bird or beast, and
presenting to the eye as dreary and monotonous an
aspect as can well be imagined.'

344 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Jink

CHAPTER XIV.

LIEUTENANT PARR ARRIVES ON BOARD ' ALERT ' — DISTRESSING CONDI-
TION OF NORTHERN DIVISION OF SLEDGES — RELIEF PARTY START
—DEATH OF GEORGE PORTER — MARKHAM's JOURNEY.

On the evening of the 8 th, Lieutenant Parr made his
appearance on board the 'Alert.' As he crossed the
quarter-deck, silently nodding to the one or two who
chanced to meet him, his grave and weary ex-
pression was unmistakable, andv in a very few
moments the certainty that some sore calamity had
occurred had spread throughout the ship. So travel -
stained was he on entering my cabin that I mistook
him for his more swarthy friend Beaumont, then on the
Greenland coast, and therefore anxiously questioned
him concerning the disaster which had occasioned his
totally unexpected return.

I then received the distressing intelligence that
nearly the whole of Commander Markham's men were
attacked with scurvy and in want of immediate assist-
ance. Markham and the few men who were able to
work had succeeded in conveying the invalids to the
neighbourhood of Cape Joseph Henry, twenty-seven
miles distant from the ship, and were still advancing
slowly ; but each day was rapidly adding to the in-
tensity of the disease and the number of the sick.

187G LIEUTENANT PARR ARRIVES ON BOARD. 345

Under these circumstances Parr nobly volunteered to
bring me the news and so obtain relief for his com-
panions.

Starting with only an alpenstock and a small
allowance of provisions, at the end of twenty miles he
arrived at a shooting tent in Dumbell Bay, where lie
hastily made himself a cup of tea ; pushing on, he
completed his long and solitary walk within twenty-
four hours.

Arrangements were at once made to proceed to
Commander Markham's assistance, and by midnight
two strong parties of officers and men had started ;
Lieutenant May, and Doctor Moss who wore snow-
shoes, pushing on before us, with the dog-sledge laden
with appropriate medical stores. By making a forced
march they reached Markham's camp within fifty
hours of Parr's departure.

Their arrival had naturally a most exhilarating
effect on the stricken men ; but to our great regret
they were unfortunately too late to save the life of
George Porter, who only a few hours previously had
expired : he was buried in the floe by the wayside.

Early on the following day I joined them with the
main relief party, when the hope and trust which had
never deserted them was quickened to the utmost ;
even the prostrate men losing the depression of spirits
induced by the disease that had attacked them, and
which in their case was much intensified by the recent
loss of their comrade.

It is difficult for a stranger to the surrounding cir-
cumstances and scenery to realize the condition and
appearance of these men, who in spite of their truly

346 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Jim;

pitiable state were yet making slow progress towards
the ship.

On my first meeting them Markham and five men
were dragging two sledges, three hands at each ; each
sledge being freighted with two invalids and as much
of the tent furniture as was requisite to keep them
warm and to form as comfortable a couch as the cir-
cumstances and the rough road permitted. Lying on
the top of the third sledge, which was laden with • the
rest of the baggage and the provisions, and left about
half a mile in the rear, was a fifth invalid.

Struggling along over the uneven, snow covered,
ice as best they could, were four other men whose
limbs becoming daily more cramped foretold that
they must shortly succumb ; they were gallantly holding
out to the last in order not to increase by their weight,
a moment sooner than could be avoided, the already
heavy loads being dragged by their very slightly
stronger companions.

These poor fellows were in the habit of starting off
each morning before the main party, knowing that if
they experienced a bad fall or came to an unusually deep
snow-drift they could not recover themselves without
help. Frequently the sledge party overtook them
lying helpless on the ice ; but once raised on their
legs, with a smile and some happy cheerful expression,
again they would start on their painful and weary
journey.

With the exception of Markham, who dragged to
the very last, and in addition had to pioneer a way for
the sledges before the daily start, the others remaining
on the drag-ropes were in a great measure dependent

1876 STATE OF THE NORTHERN PARTY. 347

on the leaders, John Kadmore and Thomas JollifFe.
Although these two men were the most vigorous of the
sledge crews, they were greatly enfeebled ; yet rather
than resign the post of honour as leaders, which entailed
the extra labour of treading down a pathway through
the snow, they journeyed along supporting each other
arm-in-arm, and by keeping the drag-rope taut afforded
a means of support for their more disabled companions
in the rear.

The prevailing good-humour and dutiful submission
of one and all of these men to the severe labour de-
manded of them, their manful and determined struggle
along the roughest road imaginable, is far beyond all
praise. After seeing their condition there is no difficulty
in realizing the statement concerning Sir John Frank-
lin's men, as made by the Eskimo to Sir Leopold
M'Clintock, ' They fell down and died as they walked
along.'

Early on the morning of the 12th the whole party
encamped on the shore at Cape Richardson ; exchang-
ing the dreary prospect of icy desolation afforded by
the confused disarray of ice hummocks, which had
so frequently bounded their view for nearly sixty days,
for the agreeable sight of the newly-sprouting but
sparse vegetation on the sides of the familiar and well-
known hills, now becoming partially cleared of snow.
Equally inspiriting was the change, from the intense
solitude of the inanimate pack, afforded by the frequent
sweet song of snow-buntings collected confidingly near
the tent, the sharp call of some knots which were
flying about in flocks of ten or a dozen, and the oc-
casional deep notes of some geese which had oppor-

348 VOYAGE TO THE POLAft S3 -A. .Tine

timely just arrived from the southward and were
looking for a resting-place.

This total change of circumstances, together witli
the anxious and unremitting care of Dr. Moss, the
alteration of diet, and a plentiful supply of fresh game
and limejuice arrested the disease, and at once pro-
duced a marked improvement in the appearance of
all.

The following is an abridged account of this
memorable sledge journey which is published in the
Parliamentary Blue Book, c. 1636, of 1877.

In addressing the crews of the two sledges previous
to their departure I made the following statement : —

c The work before you, although not more perilous
than Arctic journeys usually are, will undoubtedly be
a very arduous and irksome one, and monotonous in
the extreme. The dai]y advance will necessarily be
slow ; for you must always journey over the same
road twice, and frequently far oftener. You therefore
cannot hope for the exhilarating spur accompanying
quick progress which others will feel ; but are called
on to show that we possess the high quality of resolute
perseverance to overcome whatever obstacles are before
us.

' The only journey to be likened in any way to
yours is the similar attempt of Sir Edward Parry to
reach a high northern latitude, with much the same
equipment, and absent for the same number of days.
We all hope that with God's blessing you will at all
events be as successful.'

Extracts from my orders to Commander Markham ;
dated 3rd of April, 1876 :—

1876 NORTHERN SLEDGE JOURNEY. 849

6 Taking command of the sledges " Marco Polo,"
" Victoria," " Bull-dog," ''Alexandra," and "Blood-
hound," you will proceed to the neighbourhood of
Cape Parry, and from thence force your way to the
northward over the ice, with the two boats which have
been equipped for that purpose, and provisioned for an
absence of about seventy days.

4 The object of your journey is to attain the highest
northern latitude possible ; and to ascertain the possi-
bility of a more fully equipped expedition reaching
the North Pole.

4 At present we know little or nothing concerning
the movement of the ice in the offing. The journey
on which you are about to engage is therefore a far
more arduous one than Arctic journeys usually are.
The heavy nature of the ice across which you have to
travel has hitherto baffled all attempts made to cross
it, and the formidable obstacles it presents at present,
while stationary, must be considerably increased when
once it is in motion. Even during the summer, with
occasional lanes of navigable Avater between the floes,
Parry and Eoss could scarcely average a daily journey
of three miles. .

' Therefore, while, with full confidence in your
ability and discretion, I leave you entirely free as to
the carrying out of your journey in all its details, I
must direct your most serious consideration — first, to
the extreme hazard of attempting an advance beyond
the time when half your provisions will be expended ;
and, secondly, to the danger of separating your party
or of leaving depots of provisions on a road which it is
impossible to mark, and which will probably break-up

350 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. April

iii your rear. It is true that your men on the return
journey will be dragging diminished loads ; but towards
the end of the season the ice will probably be in
motion, and one of your chief enemies, the misty
weather, will be more continuous. Over stationary
ice, however rough, there is a choice of roads ; once it
is in motion, no choice is left.

4 During your absence, should you, contrary to my
present expectations, experience a general break-up of
the ice, or, arriving at the edge of the firm ice, find
the outer pack broken up, you are to consider the
position you will then have attained as the limit of
your advance ; and, after making what observations
are practicable, you are to retreat to the ship.'

Extracts from Commander Markharn's official
journal : —

< 3rd. — Left the ship at 11 a.m. The western
division, under the command of Lieutenant Aldrich, in
company. The travelling by no means good ; snow
deep, and the sledges dragging very heavily. This
being our first march, and the men showing signs of
fatigue, a halt was called at 5.30, and the tents pitched
on the eastern side of the neck of land connecting
Mushroom Point with the main. Men in capital
spirits. Distance made good six miles.

4 Ath. — Commenced the march at 7.30 a.m. Double-
banked all the sledges over the land, which fortunately
for us had a good covering of snow ; nevertheless, we
found it hard work with our heavy sledges ; the
travelling round and beyond Harley Spit excessively
heavy and laborious. Men getting tired, halted at
4.45, and camped. Everything frozen perfectly hard.

1876 NORTHERN SLEDGE JOURNEY. 351

To use Admiral Bichards' simile, our sleeping-bags
resembled sheet-iron, whilst the currie paste, as our
cook observed, was exactly like a piece of brass, and
was equally hard. We were all hungry enough to eat
our full allowance of pemmican at supper, and enjoyed
it. Distance marched ten miles ; made good six
miles. Temperature minus 35°.

' hth. — Although the temperature inside our tent last
night was minus 25°, we all slept a little more com-
fortably, or rather a little less uncomfortably, though
deprived of all feeling in our feet. Travelling much
the same as yesterday, therefore compelled to advance
in the same manner — that is, sledges double-banked.
The men appear a little stiff, and complain of having
suffered a good deal last night from pain in their limbs,
and are to-day suffering from great thirst.

' A wolf's track, seen each day since we left the
ship, has been the only vestige of animal life observed.
Encamped on the floe a short distance from Simmon's
Island. The travelling has not improved, and the
temperature has been as low as minus 45°. Everything
very cold and uncomfortable. Distance marched
twelve miles ; made good four miles.

1 6 th.— Another cold sleepless night over. A
beautifully sunny day, but with a temperature at 35°
below zero. Everything frozen stiff and hard. Dress-
ing by no means an easy operation. Sledges double-
banked as before. Progression slow. Eeached a
stream of young ice extending to Depot Point, the
travelling on which being good, enabled us to single-
bank the crews, and to arrive at Depot Point at 5.30 ;
off which we camped on the floe.

352 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. A run,

' 7th. — The sledge " Bloodhound " having fulfilled
the duties entrusted to her, she was despatched to the
ship at 8 a.m. Gave her three cheers on parting. A
beautiful day, but very cold. A few slight frostbites
were sustained yesterday, but quickly restored. The
travelling to-day is a foretaste of what we are to
expect ; heavy floes fringed with hummocks, through
and over which the sledges have to be dragged. Dr.
Moss was fortunate enough to shoot a hare on Depot
Point, which is to be reserved as a bonne bouche for us
when we attain our highest latitude. Land very much
distorted by mirage. Camped for the night on a floe
off Cape Hercules. Temperature remains extra-
ordinarily low : minus 41°. Distance marched fourteen
miles ; made good four and-a-half.

' Sth. — A charming day, although the temperature
persists in remaining low. Care has to be taken in
selecting the road so as to avoid the hummocks as
much as possible ; occasionally we are brought to a
standstill by a belt of more than ordinarily large ones,
through which we have to cut a road with pickaxes
and shovels. Sledges double-banked as before. The
large sledge, on which is the twenty-foot ice-boat,
drags very heavily. This is caused by the overhanging
weight at the two extremities. Glare from the sun
has been very oppressive ; the snow in places resembles
coarse sand, and appears more crystallised than usual.
A few of the party, including Parr and myself, suffer-
ing from snow-blindness. Distance marched ten miles.
Temperature minus 30°.

4 9 th. — Same system of double-banking the sledges
continues. Parr's snow-blindness is no better, mine no

1870 NORTHERN SLEDGE JOURNEY. 353

worse. The snow goggles are worn by all, and cer-
tainly afford relief to the eyes. Moss is rendering
valuable service by assisting me in the selection of a
road — no easy task whilst going through hummocks.
Although the temperature is minus 30°, the sun has
sufficient influence to dry our blanket wrappers and
other gear ; the yards of the boats being very con-
venient for the purpose of tricing up our robes, &c.
The snow is still very deep on the floes and between
the hummocks, materially retarding our progress.
Halted at seven, and encamped on a heavy floe.
From its north-western edge the depot at Cape Joseph
Henry was plainly visible ; a great relief to our minds,
as thoughts of its being buried in deep snow-drift would
frequently occur to us. Distance marched thirteen
miles ; made good four.

' 10th. — Leaving the tents pitched, we started with
an empty sledge for the depot, distant about two miles.
We experienced heavy work in cutting a road through
the line of shore hummocks that girt the coast, and
did not succeed in reaching the depot until eleven
o'clock. Sending the party back to camp, Aldrich,
Giffard, Moss, and I ascended View Hill (650 feet),
whence we obtained a good look-out. The prospect
was anything but cheering. To the northward was an
irregular sea of ice, composed of small floes and large
hummocks. Our anticipations of slow travelling and
heavy work seem about to be realized. The sun was
so powerful that the snow was thawing, and the water
trickling down on the southern side of the hill. We
shall start to-morrow morning with provisions com-
plete for sixty- three days. Thus loaded, the sledges
VOL. I. A A

354 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. April

will drag uncommonly heavy, and over the rough
hummocks we are certain to encounter our only mode
of advancing will be by a system of double-banking
which simply means one mile made good for every
five actually marched. If we accomplish two miles
a day it will be a fair day's work. On shore we
observed numerous traces of hares and ptarmigan,
but although Dr. Moss followed up the trails of the
former, his attempts to obtain any were not crowned
with success.

'11th. — A dull, overcast day. Snow falling. I was
again greatly indebted to Moss for his efficient aid in
assisting me to choose a road for the sledges, Parr being
still laid up with snow-blindness, and my sight " not
quite the thing." Aldrich has very wisely determined
to return to the land and try his luck through the Snow
valley, instead of rounding Cape Joseph Henry. At one
o'clock, displayed all colours, and parted company
with Aldrich's division and our two supporting sledges
amid much cheering. They were soon lost sight of
amongst the hummocks. Parr in advance with half a
dozen men cutting a road with pickaxes and shovels,
the remainder of the men dragging up the sledges
singly. Got on to a heavy floe and then in amongst
a mass of heavy hummocks, through which appeared
no road or outlet ; but the steady and persevering
exertions of Parr and his road-makers performed
wonders, and the sledges were soon travelling over a
road that had before looked impenetrable and impass-
able. The floes are small, but very heavy. It is
difficult to estimate their thickness, but it must be very
considerable. They appear to have had a terrible

1870 WESTERN DIVISION PARTS COMPANY. 355

conflict one with another, the result being what we are
now encountering, namely, a great expanse of hum-
mocks varying in height from twenty feet to small
round nobbly pieces over which we stagger and fall.
Between these hummocks the snow-drifts are very deep,
and we are continually floundering up to our waists,
but the men struggle bravely on. Possibly when we
leave the vicinity of Cape Joseph Henry, and get well
clear of the land, we may experience better travelling,
larger floes and less snow. One thing is pretty certain,
we cannot have much worse, and this is a consolation.
Encamped amongst the hummocks, after a very hard
and weary day's work. The men appear a good deal
done up. The road-making was incessant the whole
afternoon. Distance marched ten miles ; made good
two and-a-quarter.

' 12th. — An unexpected but most gratifying change
of temperature caused us to pass a comparatively com-
fortable night ; temperature inside our tent as high as
16°, and during supper rose as high as 22°. After
breakfast, commenced with half a dozen road-makers
cutting a road through the hummocks, leaving the
remainder of the party to strike the tents, pack, and
bring up the sledges one by one as far as the road was
practicable. Being a beautifully bright sunny day,
the tent robes and other gear were triced up to the
masts and yards to dry. Parr's eyes are improving,
and he now works like a slave with pickaxe and shovel,
working with and superintending the labours of the
road-makers.

' After lunch emerged from the hummocks on to a
small floe, and then through another mass of hummocks,

A A 2

356 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Anul

having only made about half a mile during the after*
noon.

4 The surface snow on the floes sparkles and glitters
with the most beautiful iridescent colours, the around
on which we walk appearing as if strewn with bright
and lustrous gems ; diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and
sapphires being the most prominent. At 3 P.M. ob-
served the fresh traces of a lemming. It is strange the
little creature should wander so far from the land, the
nearest point being quite three miles off. Crossed
over some streams of young ice, and through a long
fringe of hummocks leading on to a large floe of
" ancient lineage " presenting an undulating surface,
and having on it diminutive ice mountains, or frozen
snow-drifts, from fifteen to twenty feet in height.
Halted at the edge of a belt of hummocks, through
which a road was cut whilst the tents were being-
pitched. Camped for the night, the men being rather
fatigued, having had a hard day's work. We are all
suffering from cracked 'skin, the combined action of sun
and frost, our lips, cheeks, and noses being especially
very sore. The temperature all day has been delight-
ful, ranging from minus 8° to minus 20°. Travelling
through hummocks is most unsatisfactory work ; it is
a succession of standing pulls — one, two, three, haul !
and very little result. Distance marched nine miles ;
made good one and-a-half.

4 loth. — Passed through a fringe of hummocks about
200 yards in breadth, then arrived on a fine large floe
that afforded us capital travelling for about a mile due
north, and then on to another long fringe of large and
troublesome hummocks, until we were completely

187(5 NORTHERN SLEDGE JOURNEY. 357

brought up by enormous masses of ice, piled up, piece
on piece, to the height of over twenty feet. Through
this we resolved to cut a passage, although foreseeing
it would be a long and tedious job ; however, there
appeared no other alternative, so immediately after
lunch the road-makers, always supervised and headed
by Parr, who is not only a first-rate engineer but also
a most indefatigable labourer, set to work to cut a road.
This by 6 p.m. — with such resolution did they work —
was completed, the sledges dragged through and on to
another old floe, girt by more hummocks which were
in their turn attacked by Parr and his gang, and we
had the satisfaction of halting and encamping on a fine
large floe, which promises to give us a good lead for
some way to the north to-morrow. Parr, I am happy
to say, has quite recovered from his snow-blindness.

' lit/i. — Crossed an old floe, having a deep incrus-
tation of frozen snow on its surface, rendering the
dragging very laborious, then through a belt of small
hummocks on to another fair-sized floe. These belts,
or cordons, of hummocks vary in breadth from 50 and
100 yards to as much as a quarter and half-a-mile.
As a rule round the larger floes appear the heavier
hummocks. We have been assailed by an unpleasant
nipping breeze from the northward, our faces being
constantly touched up by Jack Frost. Temperature
minus 28°. We were employed, during the afternoon,
in making a road through a more than ordinary broad
hedge of hummocks, and pulling the sledges through,
we made in consequence little head-way. The wind
freshening and the weather becoming very thick, we
halted earlier than we otherwise would have done.

358 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. A toil

Many frost-bites about the face. John Shirley com
plaining of pain in his ankle and knee was duly treated.
Distance marched eight miles ; made good one and
three quarters.

« lhth. — Blowing a north-westerly gale, with the
temperature 35° below zero, and a considerable drift
which rendered travelling quite out of the question.
Extreme wretchedness and almost abject misery was
our lot to-day. We derived no heat from our robes,
they were frozen so hard, the temperature inside our
tent being minus 22°. It is rather remarkable that
we have this day experienced, during a gale of wind,
a lower temperature than we have had during any gale
the whole winter, which leads one to the conclusion
that it is evident there can be no open water exis ting-
either to the northward or westward of us.

< 16th. — The wind this morning was still blowing
fresh, though it had moderated considerably ; it was,
however, so cutting and piercing, and the drift was so
dense, making it almost impossible for us to see our
way through the hummocks, that it was deemed more
prudent and advisable to remain encamped, however
unpleasant and disagreeable such a course was to all
concerned. We unanimously came to the conclu-
sion that it was the most wretched and miserable
Easter Sunday that any one of us had ever passed.
Forty- eight hours in a bag, in a gale of wind off Cape
Joseph Henry, with a temperature 67° below freezing
point, is not a delightful way of passing the time —
sleep was almost out of the question. In spite of the
cold we did not omit the usual Saturday night's toast
last evening ; and as it was also the first anniversary of

1876 DETAINED BY A GALE. 359

the Ships' commissioning we gave three cheers ; this was
taken up by the " Victoria," and then we commenced
to cheer each other, by way of keeping up our spirits.

1 At five struck the tents and commenced the
march. Shirley being unable to walk, we were obliged
to place Him on one of the sledges, keeping him in his
sleeping bag, and wrapping him well up in the cover-
let and lower robe. This increases our weight to be
dragged, besides diminishing our strength. Crossed
the floe on which we were encamped, and cut our way
through a hedge of hummocks, about one-third of a
mile in breadth, on to another floe of apparently great
thickness. These floes, although of stupendous size
regarding their thickness, are unfortunately for us of
no very great superficial extent, varying only from a
quarter of a mile to a mile in north and south direction.
The recent strong wind, blowing the snow from off
the land to the floes, has made the travelling rather
heavier than it was before. Between some of the
large floes we occasionally meet small patches of young
ice along which the sledges run smoothly ; but, alas !
they are never more than a few yards in extent.
Encamped for the night on a large floe. Men appear-
ing more done up, after lying so long idle in their bags,
than if they had had a hard clay's dragging. Beyond
Cape Parry, which is at present the most distant land
visible to the westward, can be seen two cloud-like
objects that may be Aldrich's " Cooper Key Moun-
tains ; " but again they may be clouds or mirage.
Distance marched seven miles ; made good one and a
quarter.

' 11th. — Commenced the inarch at 11.30 a.m.

360 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. April

Shirley has again to be put on the sledge. Porter is
rendered hors de combat, and is suffering a good deal
of pain. He is just able to hobble after us. Our force
is much weakened by the loss of these two men. A
beautiful sunny day with the temperature as high as
minus 24°. The men are taking kindly to their goggles,
rarely taking them off whilst on the march, and quite
willing to put up with a little inconvenience rather
than be afflicted with snow-blindness. The snow
being deep, we found the travelling on the floes very
heavy indeed ; the large boat comes along very slowly,
and it is seldom we can advance many paces without
resorting to " standing pulls." Arrived at the edge of
a broad belt of hummocks, through which a road had
to be cut, then on to a small floe, then through more
hummocks, which again had to succumb before the
strenuous exertions of Parr and his untiring road-
makers ; then more small floes and more hummocks,
and so it goes on.

6 Some of the floes are thicker than others, and it is
of no infrequent occurrence that we have to lower the
sledges a distance of six or seven feet from the top of
one to the surface of another, or vice versa. After
lunch, George Porter, being unable to walk any far-
ther, had to be carried on the sledge. This is sad
work ; it makes our progress very slow and tedious.
Distance marched nine miles ; made good one and
a-quarter.

' l%th. — Having made a slight alteration in our
weights by lessening those on the heavy sledge, we
resumed the march at noon. Shirley has slightly im-
proved, and is able to walk slowly in our rear. So

187G NORTHERN SLEDGE JOURNEY. 361

hard were our sleeping-bags frozen last night, that the
operation of getting into them was positively painful ;.
the night, however, was comparatively warm, and we
slept pretty comfortably. Our travelling during the
early part of the day was across floes of an uneven
surface, and between hummocks, through which, how-
ever, there was no necessity of cutting a road ; but the
deep snow rendered the dragging exceedingly heavy.
These floes, or the majority of them, are all massed
together, squeezed one against the other, but with few
or no hummocks between ; vastly different from the
huge piled-up masses we had to contend with nearer
the shore. After lunch, the description of ice over
which we were travelling underwent great change, and
it appeared to us that we had at length arrived on the
veritable " palasocrystic " floes. We seem to have
quite got away from the smooth level floes surrounded
by dense hummocks, and have reached those of gigantic
thickness with a most uneven surface, and covered with
deep snow. The travelling has been rough and heavy.
The " Victoria " capsized, but was quickly righted
without damage to either sledge or boat, and without
even giving the invalid, who was securely wrapped
up inside the boat, a shaking. The foremost batten of
the " Marco Polo " was also carried away. A south-
easterly breeze sprang up at 5 p.m., sending the tem-
perature down sharply to minus 33°, and we had to
be cautious about frost-bites. Distance marched ten
miles ; made good one mile.

< l§th. — A fine clear day. Our sleeping-bags last
night were rendered a little more habitable from
having been exposed during the day to the heat of the

362 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. April

sun, which had the effect of extracting from them the
greater part of the moisture. The helmet worsted
caps so kindly and considerately presented to the
Expedition by the Empress, are very warm and com-
fortable for sleeping in, and are much appreciated by
the men, who call them " Eugenies."

' Experienced great difficulty in getting from one
floe on to another, some of them being, with the snow
on their surface, as much as eight and nine feet above
the others. After labouring and toiling for three and
a-half hours, " standing pulls " nearly the whole time,
during which period we had barely advanced 300
yards, I came to the determination of abandoning the
twenty-foot ice-boat. I did not arrive at this decision
until after very mature deliberation, and from my own
conviction that amongst such ice as we were then
encountering, should a disruption occur, the boats
would be of little avail to us, except to be used as a
ferry from one floe to another. For this purpose the
smaller boat will suffice. At 7 p.m. we arrived on
some young ice, between the floes and amongst hum-
mocks, that afforded us capital travelling. On this we
rattled gaily along, accomplishing half a mile in some-
thing like a couple of hours — good work for us.
10.15 p.m. pitched our tents on a regular palseocrystic
floe, having rounded hillocks on its surface from twenty-
live to thirty feet high. Distance marched eight miles ;
made good one mile.

' 20th. — In consequence of an impervious fog we
were unable to make a start until 2 p.m. Even then
the weather was so thick that we experienced great
difficulty in making any head-way. Crossing small

1876 BOAT ABANDONED. 363

floes and through hummocks that appear interminable.
Snow very deep ; prospect anything but cheering, as
nothing but hummocks can be seen. At 8 p.m. the
weather clearing slightly we succeeded in extricating
ourselves from the hummocks, and crossing a large
heavy floe got on to a stream of young ice that afforded
us good travelling for a short distance. The more we
recede from the land, the more young ice do we appear
to meet, yet not to such an extent as to be able to
derive much advantage from its presence. Distance
marched eight miles ; made good one and-a-half .
Temperature minus 14°.

' 21 st. — A thick cloudy day, with a cold, piercing
breeze from the northward. During the early part of
the day our road lay over young ice, on which were
some deep snow-drifts, and occasionally ridges of small
hummocks ; but after marching for about a mile our
good ice terminated, and again our troubles com-
menced, or rather continued. Compelled to deviate
to the eastward of our course in order to avoid a mass
of heavy hummocks, through which it would take days
to cut. Eoad-makers busily employed. After lunch
we were forced to put Shirley on the sledge again in
order to prevent him getting frost-bitten, as he was
unable to move fast enough to keep himself warm.
Although the temperature is only 17° below zero, the
wind is so keen and cutting that the cold feels more
intense to-day than on any day since we left the ship.
It almost cuts one in two. In consequence we halted
an hour earlier than we otherwise would have done.
Numerous superficial frost-bites among the party.

364 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. Aran,

There appears to be a magnificent level floe ahead,
and we predict good travelling for the morrow.

1 Some of the greatest enemies that we have to
contend with in crossing the large floes are the numerous
cracks and fissures that radiate in all directions and are
concealed from view by a treacherous covering of snow.
Into these we frequently fall, sinking up to our waists.
Distance marched nine and-a-half miles ; made good
two miles.

' 22nd. — Invalids slightly improving. Porter still
has to be carried on a sledge, but Shirley, with the
assistance of a staff, is able to walk a little. Wind blew
in heavy squalls last night, and is blowing fresh from the
north-west this morning. Temperature minus 17°. The
men are an uncanny lot to look at — very dirty, faces and
especially noses scarified and disfigured, lips sore and
tips of the fingers senseless from frost-bite — yet they are
all cheerful and happy enough. A dull, cloudy day ; a
thick mist hanging over the land, entirely obscuring it
from view. The floes travelled over to-day are more
level than any we have hitherto crossed, and infinitely
larger, one being quite one mile and three-quarters in
length in a north and south direction and about eight
miles in circumference. This, however, is only a rough
estimate, as it is difficult to judge. The snow is very
deep. These floes appear to have come into contact
with each other in a more amicable manner than those
we have already passed, few or no hummocks lying
between them. At 9 p.m., the weather coming on
very thick, accompanied by driving snow, we crossed
some hummocks, and camped on a level floe. The
wind has been bitterly cold all day, touching up our

1876 NORTHERN SLEDGE JOURNEY. 365

faces considerably. Distance marched nine miles ;
made good two and-a-half.

' 2 ore/. — A beautifully sunshiny day, but misty over
the land. Latitude 82° 58' 37" N. Crossed a heavy
floe with numerous " hillocks " on it, but covered with
deep and soft snow, that made it hard work for our
sledges. It appears to us that the heavier the floes
are, the deeper and softer is the snow on their surface.
The temperature inside our tent this morning, before
the coverlets were removed, was 20°, a decided im-
provement.

' Our travelling to-day has been very heavy, and
consequently our progress has been slow ; much delay
was caused by having to cut our way through various
belts of hummocks. Distance marched six miles ;
made good one and-a-quarter. Temperature minus
32° at midnight.

' 24th. — On walking to the northern extreme of the
floe on which we were encamped, a dismal prospect
met our view. Enormous hummocks from twenty to
thirty feet high, all squeezed up together with ap-
parently no floes beyond. Foreseeing that time and
trouble must necessarily be expended before a road
could be cut through these obstacles, a number of
road-makers, with Parr at their head, were advanced,
whilst the remainder of the party remained in the
tents. This course was adopted in consequence of a
cold wind that was blowing, in which with the low
temperature it would have been unwise to have kept
the men standing about waiting for the pioneers to
complete their work. The hummocks appeared in-
terminable. From the summit of the loftiest no floe of

36G VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. April

any size could be seen — nothing but an uneven range
of shapeless masses of ice. By 4 p.m., with such
energy did our road-makers work, a practicable road,
nearly a mile in length, was completed, and we all
returned to lunch. After this was discussed the tents
were struck, and the march resumed. Although the
keen wind was decidedly unpleasant, by making sail
on the boat, it materially assisted us. Having arrived
at the end of our road, we halted and camped'.
Crossed the 83rd parallel of latitude to-day. Porter
was still obliged to be carried, but Shirley was able to
walk after us. Distance marched five miles ; made
good one and-a-half. Temperature minus 26°.

' 2bth. — A bright day, but with a low temperature,
and just sufficient wind to keep us fully aware, in a by
no means pleasant manner, that we possess noses, or
rather portions of them. The travelling to-day has
been fairly good, we have been able to make a little
more progress, but the snow remains very deep.
Many of the hummocks passed, although smooth and
rounded on the top and on one side, were precipitous
on the other, resembling in a great measure the
grounded floebergs in the vicinity of the ' Alert's '
winter quarters.

' 26th. — Proceeded at noon. Temperature inside
our tent last night as high as 35°, and outside as high
as minus 2°. This is a change for the better. The
drifts are frequently as much as twelve feet high, and
it is a regular case of travelling up and down hill.
The floes are not of any great extent, but are, notwith-
standing, of enormous thickness. They are separated
from each other, apparently having no connection, by

1870 NORTHERN SLEDGE JOURNEY. 367

streams of hummocks from ten to fifty yards in
breadth. Across these we are compelled to cut a
road ; our chief difficulty, however, is in getting the
sledges from off the floe on to our road, and then up
again on to the next floe, so steep and abrupt is the
ascent and descent. Our tents were pitched on the
northern extreme of one of these ponderous floes, with
an apparently impassable sea of hummocks extending
north, east, and west as far as the eye could range. It
looked like the ' end of all things.' Distance marched
six and-a-half miles ; made good one and three-
quarters. The thermometer when exposed to the sun
this afternoon rose to 7°.

4 21th. — Parr, with half-a-dozen road-makers,
started to make a road through the hummocks, leaving
the remainder of the party to strike the tents, pack the
sledges, and drag them on- one by one. By lunch-time
we had advanced a quarter of a mile. At noon the
latitude was 83° 6' 41" N. Our invalids exhibit no
signs of improvement. Hawkins had to be relieved as
much as possible from the drag ropes, and Pearce
suffers from stiff ankles, although he makes a show of
dragging. Both shovels, from constant use, have come
to grief, breaking short off at the handles, but we suc-
ceeded in ' fishing ' them, thus making them service-
able again. At 9.30 halted for the night; Men
thoroughly fatigued. Distance marched seven and-
a-half miles ; made good one and-a-quarter. Tem-
perature minus 9°.

' 28th. — A dull cloudy day and snow falling, but
with, for the first time, a temperature above zero.
Heavy hummocks, deep snow, and thick weather

308 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. April

render our progress slow. Selecting the route is a
work of difficulty, it being impossible to see many
yards ahead — above, below, and around being all of
one uniform colour. Had again the misfortune to
capsize the sledge and boat on which was Porter ; but
luckily no evil resulted, a slight delay being the only
inconvenience. On the surface of a floe crossed during
the evening was a crust of ice about an inch thick
covering the deep snow. To our great surprise, whilst
crossing a fringe of hummocks, we observed the tracks
of a hare. They were apparently recent. The little
creature was evidently exhausted, the steps being short
and close together, and travelling in a southerly direc-
tion. These footprints naturally excited our interest,
as we were fully seventeen miles from the nearest land.
Distance marched six miles ; made good one and-a-
half.

* 29ih. — A fine sunny day, but with a sharp wind
from the north-west. Our work to-day has been very
distressing, and we advance but slowly ; small floes
with huge hummocks, and the snow over our knees.
We are often compelled to deviate considerably to the
eastward or westward of our course, in order to make
progress at all. Occasionally during the latter part of
the day we were able to avail ourselves of a few short
leads of young ice that we constantly met twining
round the heavy floes and between the hummocks, but
never to such an extent as to profit greatly by them.
Distance marched seven and-a-half miles ; made good
one and-a-quarter. Temperature at midnight minus 4°.

« oOth. — Shortly after the tents were pitched last
night the wind freshened, the clouds thickened, and

1876 NORTHERN SLEDGE JOURNEY. 3C)9

snow commenced falling heavily, continuing without
intermission the entire night and all to-day. So thick
is the weather that we are unable to make a move, as
we can scarcely see the length of two sledges ahead.
Surrounded as we are by hummocks, it would be folly
to attempt pushing on. Our patience is sorely tried,
enduring this idleness, especially when we consider
how little we have hitherto accomplished, and the
short period that now remains before we are compelled
to retrace our steps. The rest will do no harm to the
men.

' May 1st. — A fine bright morning has ushered in
the month of May, to our no small pleasure. Latitude
83° 10' 30" K Invalids much the same. Hawkins
totally unfit for duty, and Shirley very weak and
faint. Porter's symptoms appear to be scorbutic.
After lunch arrived on a large level floe that afforded
us a good mile and-a-half travelling in the right direc-
tion ; the snow less deep on it than on other floes,
doubtless on account of its even surface, which pre-
vents the snow from collecting into drifts by the wind.
By nine o'clock we were enveloped in a thick fog.
Camped amongst hummocks, with apparently nothing
but hummocks ahead. Distance marched nine miles ;
made good two and-three-quarters. Temperature
minus 10°.

'.2nd. — The invalids are not improving, and Ave
are inclined to believe that they are all attacked with
scurvy, although we have not been led to suppose that
there is any probability of our being so afflicted, and
are ignorant of the symptoms.

' Our strength is rapidly decreasing. A fine day,

VOL. I. B B

370 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. May

but with a sharp north-westerly wind blowing ; a thick
mist hanging over the land entirely concealing it from
view. So rough was our road and deep the snow-
drifts that we barely advanced half-a-mile before
lunch. The travelling was no better during the latter
part of the day, and we encamped on a small iloe
amidst a pile of hummocks, thoroughly fatigued and
weary. Towards night the temperature fell as low as
minus 17°. Distance marched seven and-a-half miles ;
made good one and-a-quarter.

' 3nZ. — A dull foggy day. The hummocks do not
appear to be massed so close together as those we have
been lately struggling with, although they are equally
large and heavy. The snow-drifts are surprisingly
deep, making the dragging very distressing. On one
occasion the drift was so deep that the boat-sledge was
completely buried in it whilst being pulled through,
and we were forced to unload before we succeeded in
extricating it.

1 A dense fog, but not sufficiently thick to retard
our progress altogether, that has persistently hung
over us all day, materially increased our labour by
adding to the difficulties of selecting a good route
through the hummocks. Pitched our tents on the
edge of a floe, not of any great extent, but to arrive
on which we had to make a considerable detour to the
eastward. Distance marched seven and-a-half miles ;
made good one and-a-quarter.

' 4th. — Snow falling thick and fast. Invalids the
reverse of improving. Francombe so bad that he is
obliged to be put on a sledge. More of the men are
complaining of stiffness and pain in their legs, which,

1876 NORTHERN SLEDGE JOURNEY. 371

we fear, are only the premonitory symptoms. After
advancing for about half-a-mile, which distance took
us nearly four hours to accomplish, we arrived at such
a confused heap of hummocks that in the thick state of
the weather rendered a farther advance impossible.
We were therefore compelled to halt and pitch the
tents. After lunch, the weather clearing slightly, we
pushed on with a strong party of labourers, and suc-
ceeded in making a very fair road three-quarters of a
mile in length. The hummocks appeared interminable ;
the fioes small, not more than fifty to one hundred
yards across. A line of discoloured hummocks ex-
tended for some distance along the edge of one of the
Hoes ; on examination the discolouration was found to
be caused by the adherence of mud or clay. It looked
as if the side of the Hoe had been rubbed against, or in
some manner come into contact with, the shore. Dis-
tance made good a quarter of a mile. Temperature
at noon 4°.

' 5th. — A dull foggy day, and snow falling. Ad-
vanced with one sledge, leaving one tent pitched and
the invalids inside. Arriving at the termination of our
made road of yesterday, the other tent was pitched,
and we returned to bring up another sledge, and so on
until the whole camp was advanced. The weather
remaining thick, all farther progress was quite out of
the question, and, much as we all disliked the forced
inactivity, we were compelled to remain in our bags
for the remainder of the day. A dreary scene sur-
rounded us ; a cold, desolate, and inhospitable-looking
scene. Everything of the same uniform colour ;
nothing to relieve the eye ; nothing but one sombrous,

B B 2

372 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. May

uneven, and irregular sea of snow and ice. The tem-
perature has been about zero all day. Distance
marched four miles ; made good three-quarters of a
mile.

< Qih.—A fine bright sunshiny day. Latitude
83° 16' 36" N. Our sick men are evidently not improv-
ing ; three have now to be carried on the sledges. We
appear to have arrived at a perfect barrier of hum-
mocks and portions of floes, all broken and squeezed
up, and covered with deep snow. It is possible we
may be able to penetrate these obstacles, eventually
reaching larger and more level floes, on which we may
be able to make more rapid progress. We ascended
one large hummock, from the summit of which the
prospect was anything but encouraging — nothing but
one vast illimitable sea of hummocks. The height of
this hummock was ascertained by means of a lead line,
and was found to be from its summit to the surface of
the snow at its base forty- three feet three inches. It
did not appear to be a floeberg, but a mass of hum-
mocks squeezed up and cemented together by several
layers of snow, making it resemble one huge solid
piece. Although the sun has been very warm all day,
the temperature has been down to minus 11°. Dis-
tance marched six miles ; made good one mile.

4 "Jth. — We had scarcely advanced a couple of
hundred yards with one sledge, " standing pulls " the
whole distance, the prospect ahead being heavy hum-
mocks and deep snow-drifts, when it became painfully
evident that neither Pearce nor Shirley were able to
walk. Under these distressing circumstances there was
nothing to be done but to advance with one sledge,

1876 NORTHERN SLEDGE JOURNEY. 373

unload it, return with it empty, and then bring on the
remainder of the gear and invalids. The snow being
very deep, the continual walking backwards and for-
wards is very fatiguing to the men ; they find it easier
to drag a sledge through the deep snow than to walk
without the support of the drag. belt. Distance made
good a quarter of a mile. Temperature minus 9°.

4 Sth. — The interiors of our tents in the evening
have more the appearance of hospitals than the
habitations of strong working-men. In addition to the
" cripples," four men belonging to the " Marco Polo "
are suffering from snow-blindness, although in a mild
form. At noon started all available hands under Parr,
with pick and shovel road-making, as we are desirous
of ascertaining if this apparently interminable line of
hummocks is of great extent. To solve this is all we
can now expect to do. A bright warm day. Aired
and dried all tent gear, &c. Walked on with Parr
towards the end of the day about a mile to the north-
ward, selecting a route for the sledges. At our farther-
most point from the summit of a high hummock we
saw, about two or three degrees to the northward of
Cape Aldrich, either land or the loom of it. The hum-
mocks around us are of different heights and bulk,
varying from small fragments of ice to huge piles over
forty feet high.

< 9 th. — We have at length arrived at the conclusion,
although with a great deal of reluctance, that our sick
men are really suffering from scurvy, and that in no
mild form. Should our surmise be correct, we can
scarcely expect to see any of the afflicted ones improve
until they can be supplied with fresh meat and vege-

374 VOYAGE TO 'THE POLAR SEA. May

tables. We are unwilling for the men to suspect that
they are really suffering from this terrible disease, but
at the same time are issuing to those attacked a small
quantity out of the very little limejuice we brought
away with us. It is given to them in lieu of their
grog, as being a better blood-purifier. We have only
two bottles on each sledge of this excellent anti-scor-
butic. It is another beautifully warm sunny clay, with
the temperature only a degree or two below zero.
Made a start at half-past twelve by advancing with
one sledge with half its load and two invalids upon it.
This was dragged up to the extreme of yesterday's
road-making, a distance of three-quarters of a mile,
wThen the tent w7as pitched, the invalids placed inside,
and the sledge taken back, again loaded, and again
advanced with two more invalids ; v the men returning
and bringing up the other twro sledges, with the re-
mainder of the gear and the fifth invalid, one at a
time. It was past eight o'clock before the last sledge
arrived, and though we had only made good three-
quarters of a mile, so tortuous was our road, winding
round and about the hummocks, that to accomplish
this distance wTe marched between six and seven miles
through very deep snow. After the tents were pitched,
a party of road-makers were advanced to prepare a
road through the hummocks.

< 10^A. — There was a slight fall of snow during
the day, when the temperature rose to 15°. Distance
made good three-quarters of a mile.

' After very serious consideration, I have arrived at
the conclusion, though sorely against my inclination,
that this must be our most northern camp. With fixe

1870 NORTHERN SLEDGE JOURNEY. 375

out of our little force totally prostrate, and four others
exhibiting decided symptoms of the same complaint, it
would be folly to persist in pushing on. In addition
to which the greater half of our provisions have been
expended. To-morrow will be our fortieth day out ;
only thirty-one days' full allowance of provisions
remain, so that prudence and discretion unite against
our own desire of advancing, and counsel a return.
A complete rest to the invalids of a couple of days
may be productive 4of much good, during which time
we may be usefully engaged in making observations in
various interesting matters. With this we must be
content, having foiled so lamentably in attaining a high
northern latitude. It is a bitter ending to all our
aspirations.

6 11th. — As it was desirable to benefit by the heat
of the day during the time we were employed making
our observations, breakfast was ready at half-past
eight. Immediately after, the men were set to work
to cut a hole through some young ice that lay between
the hummocks bordering our floe. This they accom-
plished in three hours, the thickness of the ice being
sixty-four inches. With a hundred-fathom line, we
sounded to ascertain the depth of water, and to our
great surprise obtained soundings in seventy- two
fathoms, the bottom consisting of clay. Arming the
lead, and appending to it various other contrivances
for the purpose of collecting a specimen of the nature
of the bottom, we succeeded in obtaining a small
quantity, which has been carefully preserved in a
small bottle for conveyance to the ship. The hardness
of the substance prevented a large supply being ob-

376 VOYAGE TO THE TOLAR SEA. Mat

tained. A series of temperatures was taken at every
ten fathoms from the surface ; the temperature be-
tween the surface and a depth of twenty fathoms being
280,5, and that between thirty fathoms and the bottom
in seventy-two fathoms being 28°*8.'

The specific gravity of the surface-water as after-
wards ascertained by Dr. Moss was, at a temperature
of 60°, 1-0246 and 1*0211; standard water at 39°
equal unity.

4 Tidal action was apparent, but with the rough
appliances at our disposal it was impossible to make
any accurate observations regarding it, the set being,
as near as we could judge, N.W. and S.E. Improvising
a dredge, and baiting it with the scrapings of our
pannikins, &c, it was lowered down the hole, and on
being hauled up after remaining some hours at the
bottom, was found to be literally swarming with small
crustaceans, apparently of two different kinds. Several
specimens of these were collected, and placed in spirits
of wine for preservation. Hooks were baited and
attempts made to catch fish, but without success.
Took a complete double series of magnetic observa-
tions for inclination and total force.

'12th. — Breakfasted at 8.30, immediately after
which, leaving the cooks behind at the camp to attend
upon the invalids, the remainder of the party carrying
the sextant and artificial horizon, and also the sledge
banners and colours, started northwards.. We had
some very severe walking, struggling through snow up
to our waists, over or through which the labour of
dragging a sledge would be interminable, and occa-
sionally almost disappearing through cracks and fissures,

1876 REACH THE HIGHEST LATITUDE. 377

until twenty minutes to noon, when a halt was called.
The artificial horizon was then set up, and the flags
and banners displayed; these fluttered out bravely
before a fresh S.W. wind, which latter, however, was
decidedly cold and unpleasant. At noon we obtained
a good altitude, and proclaimed our latitude to be
83° 20' 26" N., exactly 399.L miles from the North
Pole. On this being duly announced three cheers
were given, with one more for Captain Nares ; then
the whole party, in the exuberance of their spirits at
having reached their turning point, sang the " Union
Jack of Old England," the " Grand Palseocrystic
Sledging Chorus," winding up, like loyal subjects, with
" God save the Queen." These little demonstrations
had the effect of cheering the men, who nevertheless
enjoy good spirits. The instruments were then packed,
the colours furled, and our steps retraced to the camp.
On arrival the flags were hoisted on our tents and
sledges and kept flying for the remainder of the day
A magnum of whisky that had been sent by the Dean
of Dundee, for the express purpose of being consumed
in the highest northern latitude, was produced, and a
glass of grog served out to all. It is needless to add
his kindness was thoroughly appreciated, nor was he
forgotten in the toast of ' absent friends.'

' We all enjoyed our supper, for we had the hare
shot by Dr. Moss at Depot Point, equally divided
between our two tents, cooked in our allowance of
pemmican, making the latter uncommonly good and
savoury. After supper a cigar, presented to us by
May before leaving the ship, was issued to each man,
and the day was brought to a close with songs, even

378 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SKA. Mat

the invalids joining in. All seemed happy, cheerful,
and contented.

' 13th. — A fresh breeze from the north-west and
much snow-drift. Our outward-bound tracks nearly
obliterated. The invalids appear no better for their
long rest. Started with two sledges, leaving the tents
pitched and the sick inside, and commenced our inarch
to the southward.

4 Having advanced the two sledges for some dis-
tance, they were unpacked and dragged back to camp
empty. The tents were then struck, and putting two
invalids on each of the small sledges, and one in the
boat on the large sledge, again advanced by short
stages, dragging the lighter ones single-banked, six
hands to each, the whole party returning to drag the
heavy one. As this will be our future mode of
travelling, no further reference will be made regarding
the details of our order of marching, unless .an altera-
tion occurs. Distance made good one mile and-a-
quarter.

' lith. — A dull, cloudy day. Sky and ground,
from the equal diffusion of light, appear to be the
same ; and although dark objects are readily dis-
tinguishable at some distance, it is impossible to see
many yards ahead : this makes following the old road
a task of much difficulty. A hummock passed yester-
day, although composed of one piece of ice, was of
two different colours, a deep blue and a pale yellow,
the two colours gradually blending one into the other
without exhibiting any definite line of demarcation.
The yellow colour was doubtless due to the presence
of diatomacese. It is a curious fact that for the last

1876 MARKHAM'S RETURN JOURNEY. 379

week or ten days our appetites have been decreasing
in a marvellous manner. For the first three weeks
after leaving the ship the majority of us were perfectly
ravenous, and could easily at supper-time have devoured
an extra pannikin full of pemmican. Now we are seldom
able to consume what is served out to us, although
little more than half the allowance is cooked. It is
with great difficulty the patients can be induced to eat
anything, their mouths being too tender to eat the
biscuits, although well soaked. Distance made good
one mile. Temperature 11°.

6 loth. — A fine day, but misty over the land. A
sharp south-easterly breeze, and a temperature at 6°
touches us up unpleasantly about the face. We are
still following up our old road, and devoutly trust we
shall be able to adhere to it the entire distance — to
make a new road will cause much detention. Distance
made good one mile and a half.

< 16^A. — Our appetites are still on the decline, and
to rather an alarming degree. At breakfast to-day, in
one tent, scarcely a pannikin full of pemmican was
consumed by the whole party. On the other hand we
seem to be assailed by an unquenchable thirst, that
can only be alleviated at meal-times, as we are unable
to spare fuel to make extra water. Distance made
good one mile and a half. Temperature 4°.

< 17th. — A beautifully sunny day, with a light breeze
from the N.E. The sun was so powerful as to cause
the temperature to rise inside our tent after supper to
50°, whilst all our foot-gear, &c, which was left outside
when we retired, was perfectly dry when put on before
breakfast. After serious thought we have resolved,

380 VOYAGE TO THE TOLAR SEA. Mat

should any more men be compelled to fall out from
the drag ropes, upon abandoning the boat. We look
upon it as a dernier ressort, but an imperative
necessity. If any more men are attacked our only
chance of reaching the shore, before our provisions are
expended, will be by lightening our sledges as much
as possible, and the first thing to be discarded must
be the boat. We must take our chance of the ice
remaining stationary, and hope that no disruption will
take place before we gain the shore. The first part of
the day was occupied in dragging the sledges over our
rough road through the hummocks, but at length we
arrived on our old friend the large floe, over which we
made good travelling. The time and trouble devoted
to making a road during our outward journey is now
amply compensated for.

' " Old Joe," as the men irreverently term Cape
Joseph Henry, is looming larger and darker, and
Mount Pullen was seen to-day for the first time for
some days. Again, strange to say, have we come
across the tracks of a hare, being fully twenty-three
miles from the land. The traces were almost too in-
distinct to determine the direction in which the little
animal was travelling, but it appeared to be going to
the northward, and was, like the one observed on our
outward journey, evidently worn out and tired, the
footsteps being short. Distance made good two miles
and-a-quarter.

8 18th. — The sun is very powerful, and thaws and
dries everything that may happen to be exposed to it
resting on a dark substance. The snow on the floes is
not yet in any way affected by its influence.

1876 MARKHAM'S RETURN JOURNEY. 381

* Our small modicum of limejuice is nearly all
expended, although it has been most carefully hus-
banded, and only issued to the sick every other day.

' The travelling to-day has been very heavy, the
road being rough and the snow deep. On account of
the thick weather we had great difficulty in adhering
to the old track, and on several occasions the sledges
had to be halted until the trail was picked up on the
opposite side of the floe amongst the hummocks.

' Ominous signs, predicting a movement of the ice,
were visible. A crack in some young ice had per-
ceptibly opened since we passed over it three weeks
ago, and layers or flakes of ice from one to three
inches in thickness were squeezed up along the crack.
Not 200 yards from this rent a large portion of a
hummock situated at the extreme end of a floe had
lost its equilibrium and toppled over ; from the marks
left in the snow this must have occurred quite recently.
These movements may be attributed to a slight tidal
motion, but it is a warning for us to get off the pack
as quickly as possible. Distance made good one mile
and-a-half.

< l$th. — A thick overcast day, with snow falling
heavily. Travelling very rough, jolting the invalids
considerably. Passed two more cracks in the ice that
have opened a great deal since they were crossed on
our outward journey. One of these was the opening
between two large floes, conclusive evidence that one
or other, or both, had been in motion. At 10 p.m.
the fog lifted, and the sun shone clear and bright, but
shortly after midnight a dense fog rolled down from
the northward, in which we were completely enveloped

382 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. May

during the remainder of the day. A thick mist or
sleet also prevailed that actually wetted us. Distance
made good one mile and-three-quarters.

1 20th. — Temperature 20°, a thick foggy day
making it extremely difficult to keep to the road.
We must endeavour to adhere to it at all hazards.

' The hummocks have been deprived of a great
deal of their niveous covering since we last passed
them, and have lost in a great measure their resem-
blance to the tops of wedding cakes, and are instead
fringed with long icicles, giving them a picturesque
and fairy-like appearance. Distance made good one
mile and-three-quarters.

' 21st. — A foggy overcast day, and snow falling
more or less the whole time. So difficult was it to
adhere to the old track that on several occasions the
sledges had to be halted for a considerable time,
whilst the officers pushed on ahead to the opposite
end of the floe, and there branching off, one to the east-
ward, the other to the westward, discovered, by skirting
along the line of hummocks fringing the edge of the
floe, the old cutting through. This accomplished, they
would return to assist in dragging the sledges . up.
The continual strain to the eyes is also most trying.
All the party are more or less suffering from stiffness
and aching bones. Distance made good one mile and-
three-quarters.

' 22nd. — After the tents were pitched last night
the temperature rose as high as 33°, and inside the
tent was as much as 61°. Another dull, overcast day.
Several times did we wander off the track, and then,
when found, were compelled to drag the sledges back

1876 H&RKHAlfS RETURN JOURNEY. 383

to get on the trail again. Floundered through some
deep snow-drifts, and passed some enormous hum-
mocks.

' The height of one of the latter that we ascended
was estimated at over fifty feet — the pocket aneroid
determined its height to be a little over that measure-
ment. It appeared to be a floeberg, but was so dis-
guised by its thick covering of snow that we could
only form a conjecture. It was on one side nearly
precipitous, and was surrounded by a number of small
hummocks and broken floe-pieces. The temperature
is so high now that the men get terribly heated whilst
dragging, but during a halt, even for a short time,
they soon get thoroughly chilled. Distance made
good one mile.

' 23rd.— The weather still continues dull and
cloudy, but not quite so thick and overcast as it has
been for the last few days. We can just discern a
portion of Cape Joseph Henry and Conical Hill looming
through the mist. The travelling to-day has been
fairly easy, although the snow has been very deep
in places. Collected for analysis some specimens
of discoloured ice from two separate hummocks, of
a yellowish and brown hue respectively. Distance
made good one mile and-three-quarters.

« 24:th. — A bright sunny day enabled us to follow
our tracks with ease. The land is plainly visible.
We seem to have neared it considerably since we last
obtained a good glimpse of it. Several dark patches
on the hills give undoubted indications of returning
summer, whilst the sides of Joseph Henry are almost
destitute of snow. The fore part of the day we

V

384 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. May

were engaged struggling through a long line of hum-
mocks, after emerging from which the travelling be-
came comparatively good, and we made fair progress.
Being the Queen's birthday, the colours were displayed
at lunch time, the " main brace " spliced, and Her
Majesty's health drunk by her most northern, though
not the less loyal subjects.

' 2hth. — The fine weather of yesterday was too
good to last. To-day there is a great change. Heavy
lowering clouds hang all around — a dull and dismal
day with a sharp keen wind from the S.W. Great
difficulty in keeping to the track ; several times we lost
it, and did not succeed in picking it up again without
expending much time and trouble. Travelling over
an extensive floe, but with deep snow, with numerous
hard snow ridges and hillocks, that made the operation
of dragging the sledges up very laborious, whilst the
coming down was just as bad, as the " cripples " had
scarcely time to jump on one side before the sledge was
on the top of them. Ferbrache appears very bad, but
pluckily sticks to the drag ropes ; not, poor fellow,
that he is of much use there, as he can hardly keep
pace with us, much less pull ; it serves, however, as a
support to him. Eawlings and Simpson are not much
better. Out of thirty-four legs in the whole party we
can only muster eleven good ones — even some of these
are shaky. Distance made good one mile and-a-half.

4 26th. — Blowing a strong S.W. gale, accompanied
by a heavy fall of snow and a dense snow-drift. Called
the cooks and had breakfast, holding ourselves in
readiness for a start should weather permit. In this,
however, we were grievously disappointed and were

1876 SECOND BOAT ABANDONED. 385

again doomed to a day of forced idleness. To pack the
sledges and place the invalids on them without their
being almost buried in the blinding snow-drift was
qnite out of the question, and even if there was a
chance of advancing it was impossible to see a sledge's
length ahead. This delay causes us great anxiety, as
every day, every hour, is of importance to us, as we
know not when we may, one and all, be attacked and
rendered useless for further work.

' 21th. — Wind having moderated, we made a start,
the weather remaining thick and gloomy. The large
quantity of snow that has fallen renders the travelling
very heavy, in addition to which the high temperature,
causing a partial thaw, has made the snow assume a
sludgy consistency, which clings tenaciously to our legs
and sledge-runners, making the dragging very laborious.
The men are no better for their rest of yesterday,
indeed may be said to be worse ; the only two men
at present scatheless, with the exception of the officers,
being Eadmore and Maskell. This diminution of our
force was an event which we were quite prepared for,
therefore preparations were made for abandoning the
boat and all superfluous weights. Our object now
must be to reach the shore as speedily as possible.

' Left the boat as conspicuous as possible, adopting
the same means as we did on the previous occasion,
and depositing a record in a tin cylinder stating the
approximate position of the floe and our reasons for
deserting the boat. Temperature 22°. Distance made
good one mile.

' Our appetites are still on the wane ; scarcely more
than half a pannikin of pemmican is consumed by any
VOL. I, C C

386 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. May

one individual at any meal ; some go without altogether,
and these latter in consequence are not allowed to
smoke or to have their grog. As we possess a surplus
of bacon, this is issued, in addition to the pemmican,
to those who wish it.

' 28th. — Yesterday, a bird was seen by a few of the
sick men who were remaining by the advanced sledges
whilst the party was returning for the heavy sledge,
which from their description appears to have been a
turnstone. The weather cleared up slightly after
lunch, and the sun made vain efforts to pierce the
clouds and murky atmosphere, and the land was
occasionally seen. Travelling across the heavy floes
and the young ice, over which we journeyed on the
21st ult., the snow-drifts are far deeper and more
frequent now than then ; pools of water were form-
ing between the snow-drifts, and a large quantity of
sludge was encountered, that made the travelling
very disagreeable. These pools of water were all
brackish.

' Shortly before the tents were pitched, much ex-
citement was caused by the appearance of a little snow-
bunting, which fluttered around us for a short time,
uttering its to us rather sweet chirp, and then flew
away to the northward and westward, in the direction
of Cape Joseph Henry. This was an event of no small
interest to our party, as it was the first bird seen by the
majority for a period of nine months ; even the sick
men on the sledges requested they might have their
heads uncovered and lifted, so as to obtain a glimpse
of the little warbler. Distance made good two miles.

c 29th. — A glorious day, with the sun shining
/

1876 MARKHAMS RETURN JOURNEY. 387

brightly, which we appreciate the more as we have
been so long deprived of its presence. The tempera-
ture, however, is as low as 5°. At lunch time the
colours were again displayed and the 'main brace'
spliced, to commemorate the first anniversary of our
departure from England. Got on to a heavy floe on
which we had left our 20-foot ice-boat on the 19th
of April, and pitched our tents alongside the boat.
Found her exactly as she had been left, but surrounded
by an embankment of snow. Distance made good
two miles.

« 30th. — -Our usual weather has returned — thick fog
and snow falling. Before lunch a strong breeze sprang
up from the N.W., which quickly freshened into half a
gale of wind. This with a dense snow-drift compelled
us to halt and pitch our tents on the southern edge of a
large floe, having completely lost our track. Walked
with Parr for a long distance along the fringe of
hummocks skirting the floe, but failed to discover our
old cutting through. Distance made good one mile
and a-half.

4 31s£. — Struck camp, and started at 8 p.m.; Parr and
myself having previously walked on to endeavour to
find the old route, which we luckily succeeded in doing,
being, as we anticipated, more than half-a-mile to the
westward of it. Crossed a fringe of hummocks, which
had evidently been in motion since we passed them on
our outward journey ; but what was still more alarm-
ing, whilst dragging the sledges over a small patch of
young ice the heavy sledge broke through, and we had
no little trouble in saving it from a complete immersion,
which might have resulted seriously to one of the un-
ci c 2

388 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. June

fortunate invalids who was securely lashed on the top.
As it was, the whole of the rear part of the sledge was
immersed in the water. The thickness of this ice was
only three or four inches. The wind freshening into a
strong gale, and blowing upon us with all its fury,
precluded any farther advance, and necessitated a halt
at 3.15 a.m., we being then unable to distinguish more
than a couple of sledges' length ahead. We were all
wet through, and very wretched and uncomfortable,
the falling snow and drift thawing on our clothes as
quickly as it fell. Distance made good half-a-mile.

' June 1st. — The wind subsided considerably during
the night, although the weather remained thick, and
snow and wind squalls were prevalent. Our old
track is completely obliterated, and it is only occasion-
ally by seeing evidences of our former journey, such
as bits of tobacco, tin pots, &c, that we know we
are still adhering to it. Travelling altogether very
heavy. Snow in places up to our waists, and very
wet between the hummocks, our foot-gear being
literally soaking. Distance made good two miles.
Temperature 34°.

8 2nd. — A sad list of sick this morning. Eawlings
and Simpson completely done up, and utterly incapable
of further work. It is marvellous how they have kept
on so long. Lawrence is also attacked in his arms as
well as his legs. We are now reduced to only six
men, and they anything but healthy or strong, and two
officers. Five men are carried on the sledges, and four
can just manage to crawl after. Our routine is first to
advance the heavy sledge, which is dragged by the
whole available party, namely, eight ; then return and

1876 MARKHAM'S RETURN JOURNEY. 389

bring up the other two sledges, single banked, four
dragging each.

' The weather has at last proved triumphant, and
has robbed us of our road. The track was lost,
despite our utmost efforts to adhere to it, shortly before
lunch, and we have now to renew the arduous task of
road-making. Unless the weather clears sufficiently to
enable us again to pick up our track, our intention is
to make straight for the land in the direction of^the
Snow Valley. . Camped on a small floe completely
surrounded by hummocks, through which we had to
cut our way. Distance made good one mile and three-
quarters.

' 3rd. — Parr and myself started at 7 '45 p.m. to
select a route, leaving a party of three road-makers to
follow and cut a road in our footsteps, the remaining
three to strike the tents and pack the sledges. Our
way lay entirely through hummocks with no appear-
ance of a floe of any dimensions. The road being
completed, the sledges were advanced until more
hummocks were encountered, when the same system
was adopted. It was very hard work. At 5 a.m. we
succeeded in reaching a magnificent floe, on which we
camped. Distance made good one mile and a-half.

' 4th. — Shortly after starting we were again
enveloped in a dense fog, through which the sun
made ineffectual efforts to penetrate. Arriving at the
edge of the large floe, we had to cut through a long
fringe of hummocks ; then winding about amongst
snow-drifts and young ice, through deep sludge,
emerging on a small floe, on which we halted for
lunch. A skua flying lazily about, apparently steering

390 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. June

in a north-west direction, or towards Conical Hill,
excited a good deal of interest.

' Leaving the road-makers to follow in our track,
Parr and myself pushed on for the shore, which was
reached in about half-an-hour. We here observed the
recent traces of a dog-sledge and human footsteps.
Observed the tracks and heard the howling of a
wolf, but did not succeed in seeing it. On reaching
the,* depot we learned to our disappointment that
the Captain, May, and Feilden had only left for the
ship the previous day. This was very unfortunate.
Twenty-four hours earlier and we should have met
them. They had obtained three hares, which they
kindly cached in a crevice formed between two hum-
mocks for our use. Taking our letters, and carrying
the hares, we returned to our party ; and the road .
being completed, the sledges were dragged through,
and the tents pitched for the night on a small piece of
ice about 300 yards from the shore.

« hth. — A beautifully bright clear day. To see the
sun again in all its glory is indeed a treat ; it seems to
invigorate us all, and appears even to instil new life
and energy into the invalids. Our supper last night
consisted of a hare to each tent, which was much
relished and will doubtless do good. By eleven we
were all once more on terra fir 'ma , after an absence of
over two months.

' A strong south-westerly gale sprang up just before
halting for lunch, which did not add to the comfort of
our meal ; had excessively hard work in dragging the
sledges through the deep snow on the incline of
the hill ; 'blowing very hard, the squalls exceedingly

1876 REACH THE DEPOT. 391

violent with a blinding snow-drift. Halted and camped
abreast of the depot.

' 6th. — Wind moderated during the night, but not
before it had nearly blown our tent down ; one of the
bow lines gave way, and a tent pole started, and we
were momentarily expecting to have our house down
about our ears. Fortunately for us it resisted all
efforts.

' During the latter part of the day, to our great
surprise, one of our Eskimo dogs was seen threading
her way slowly through the hummocks ; on being
called she approached somewhat timidly, but ate
ravenously of some pemmican that was thrown to her.
Poor Flo ! she is wretchedly thin and emaciated ; she
must have escaped from the Captain's dog- team.
After a long consultation with Parr it has been re-
solved that he shall proceed to-morrow morning, if
fine, and walk to the ship. Our only chance of saving
life is by receiving succour as soon as possible.
Although the distance from us to the ship is nearly
thirty miles, over floes covered with deep snow, and
girt by heavy hummocks, he has nobly volunteered to
attempt it, and has confidence in being able to accom-
plish it. He is the only one of the party strong
enough to undertake such a march, and we all have
the utmost confidence in his judgment and ability to
perform it.

' 1th. — A bright sunny day ; the sun so powerful,
although the temperature of the air was two degrees
below freezing-point, as to raise the temperature in my
tent to 82°, rendering it almost unbearable. Having
written to Captain Nares, Parr started off as lightly

392 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. June

accoutred as possible. We all wished him God-speed,
and will be anxious to hear of his safe arrival. All
hands appear very stiff and in pain. Porter is very
low, and is undoubtedly in a very precarious state.

1 8th. — Poor Porter is no more ! He expired at
ten minutes past noon. He was sensible to within a
few minutes of his death, and his end was calm and
quiet. This is a sad calamity, although we were not
totally unprepared for it, and I fear the depressing-
moral effect that this lamentable event will have on
those who are very sick' and who consider themselves
to be in nearly as precarious a condition.

' With the ensign half-mast, and the Union Jack as
a pall, the funeral procession, attended by all but the
four very bad cases, started at nine ; and the burial
service being read, the remains were consigned to
their last icy resting-place in this world. Improvising
a rude cross, formed with a boat's oar and a spare
sledge-batten, it was placed at the head of the grave,
with the following inscription : —

BENEATH THIS CROSS LIE BURIED THE REMAINS

OF

GEO. PORTER, R.M.A.,

" Thy will be done."

' Of all the melancholy and mournful duties I have
ever been called upon to perform, this has been the
saddest. A death in a small party like ours, and
under the present circumstances, is a most distressing

187(5 DEATH OF GEORGE PORTER. 393

event, and is keenly felt by all. During the service
all were more or less affected, and many to tears.

' 9th. — A wild thick day, with a fresh breeze from
the northward. Invalids in a very depressed state,
notwithstanding all efforts made to cheer them. All
eyes eagerly directed to the southward, the quarter
from which we are anxiously expecting succour. We
had advanced the heavy sledge one stage, and had just
returned to drag up the two smaller ones, when some-
thing moving between the hummocks was espied,
which from its rapid motion was soon made out to be
the dog-sledge. Hoisted colours. The men appeared
quite carried away by their feelings, and it was with
difficulty they could muster up a cheer as May and
Moss arrived and shook us heartily by the hands. Our
delight was enhanced on being informed that they
were only the advance of a larger party coming out to
our relief, headed by the Captain himself, and nearly
all the officers. A halt was immediately ordered,
cooking utensils lighted, water made, and we were
soon all enjoying a good draught of limejuice, with
mutton for supper in prospective. Our spirits rose
wonderfully, and, as if nature also wished to partici-
pate in our joy, the weather began to break, and the
sun shone out. Eesumed the march, May pushing on
with his dog-sledge, and camping about half-a-mile to
the southward of us, they not having rested for many
hours so eager was he to afford us relief. The travel-
ling was very good, and we got along famously, every
one apparently much invigorated, cheerful, and in
good spirits.

< IQth. — We all, including the sick, consumed and

\

394 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. June

relished our pannikin full of ox-cheek and mutton that
we had for supper last night, and agreed that it was
one of the most delicious repasts that we had ever par-
taken of. After lunch sighted the main party coming
towards us. Hoisted colours. 12.45, met the Captain
and his party, from all of whom we received a warm
and kind greeting. No time was wasted in asking
questions, but the march renewed — my party, the
lame ducks, dragging one sledge, the relief party
dragging the other two, the invalids who had been
walking being put on the dog-sledge.

' 12th. — May went on with dog-sledge to the ship,
taking Shirley and Pearson. The travelling all day
has been remarkably good, and we succeed in getting
along famously ; our only difficulty is in going through
deep snow, when the men, their legs being so bad, are
compelled to stop and drag them out of the holes
into which they sink. Winstone, with the aid of a
staff, manages to keep up with us.

' 13th. — Legs very stiff, but the idea of soon getting
on board the ship acted as a good restorative. Ob-
served the dog-sledge coming over Mushroom Point.
Hoisted colours. Sent Winstone, Lawrence, and
Harley to the ship on May's sledge. Arrived on Mush-
room Point at 8.30. Deposited, in tent pitched there,
all provisions. Eesumed the march, arriving alongside
the ship at half-past one on the morning of Wednesday
the 14th of June.

' Out of my original party of fifteen men, three only
— namely, Eadmore, Joliffe, and Maskell — were capable
of dragging the sledge ; the remaining eleven having
been carried alongside on the relief sledges.'

1S7G CONCLUSIONS DRAWN FROM THE JOURNEY. 395

After his return Commander Markham reported : —
' I feel it impossible for my pen to depict with
accuracy, and yet be not accused of exaggeration, the
numerous drawbacks that impeded our progress. One
point, however, in my opinion is most definitely settled,
and that is, the utter impracticability of reaching the
North Pole over the floe in this locality ; and in this
opinion my able colleague, Lieutenant Parr, entirely
concurs. I am convinced that with the very lightest
equipped sledges, carrying no boats, and with all the
resources of the ship concentrated in the one direction,
and also supposing that perfect health might be main-
tained, the latitude attained by the party I had the
honour and pleasure of commanding, would not be
exceeded by many miles, certainly not by a degree.'

In this I most fully concur. Markham's journey,
coupled with the experience gained by Sir Edward
Parry in the summer of 1827, and more recently the
memorable retreat of Lieutenant Weyprecht and his
companions after having abandoned the ' TegetthofF'
off the coast of Francis Joseph Land, proves that a
lengthened journey over the Polar pack-ice with a
sledge party equipped with a boat fit for navigable
purposes is impracticable at any season of the year.
The much-to-be-deplored outbreak of scurvy in no
way affects the conclusions to be derived from the
journey.

END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

Spottiswoode & Co., Printers, New-street Square and Parliament Street.

BINDING SECT. AUG 2 11978

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UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY

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670

1875

A36

v.l

Nares, (Sir) George Strong

Narrative of a voyage to
the Polar Sea

77