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THE
GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION
OF 1869-70,
AND
NARRATIVE OF THE WRECK OF THE “HANSA”
IN THE ICE,
By CAPTAIN KOLDEWEY,
COMMANDER OF THE EXPEDITION, ASSISTED BY MEMBERS OF THE SCIENTIFIC STAFF.
WITH
NUMEROUS WOODCUTS, TWO COLOURED MAPS, TWO PORTRAITS ON STEEL,
AND FOUR CHROMO LITHOGRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS.
TRANSLATED AND ABRIDGED BY THE REV. L. MERCIER, M.A., OXON ;
AND EDITED BY H. W. BATES, F.L.S., ASSISTANT SECRETARY,
ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY.
LonYon :
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, LOW; & SHARLEH,
CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET.
1874,
[All rights reserved. ]
LONDON: i
GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS,
ST. JONN’S SQUARE.
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CONTENTS.
PAGE
Introduction. — Preliminary Observations. — Object and Plan of
the Expedition.—Victualling of the Ships.—Compact between
the Captains. —Instructions for the Second German Arctic
Expedition of 1869, 1870. By Dr. A. Petermann P es |
deg e cup camel
JOINT PASSAGE OF THE TWO SHIPS, AND VOYAGE
OF THE HANSA.
Cuaprter I.—Joint Voyage of the Germania and the Hansa, from
the 15th June to 4th July. By Captain Koldewey and Dr.
Pansch : : : ‘ : % ot
Cuapter II.—Further passage of the two Ships to the fenal
Middle of July. By Captain Koldewey and Dr. Pansch to
‘ Cuarter III.—To the Separation of the Ships on the 20th July.
By Captain Koldewey and Dr. Pansch . ; 64
Cuaprer [V.—Further Voyage of the Hansa up to oe Blockady
in the Coast-ice of East Greenland. 20th aes to 7th Sep-
tember. By Captain Hegemann . : : « 180
Cuarrer V.—From the blocking up of the Hansa to the Settlement
upon the Floe. 7th September to end of October. By Captain
Hegemann, Professor Laube, and others ; : : a. 94
Cuaprer VI.—Drifting to the South.—Christmas time.—A severe
January. November, 1869, to end of January, 1870. By
Captain Hegemann : : : : . 116
1V CONTENTS.
Cuaprer VII.—Post nubila Phoebus. Abandonment of the Floe,
and Boat-Journey to the Island of Illuidlek. a ae to
4th June, 1870. By Captain Hegemann :
Cuapter VIII.—Journey along the Coast of renin from
Illuidlek to Friedrichsthal. June, 1870. By Captain Heye-
mann, with the assistance of Professor Laube and W. Bade .
Cuapter ]X.—Further Stay in Friedrichsthal.—Journey vid
Igikait to Nennortalik. By Professor Laube _ , : :
Cuaptrer X.-—Lichtenau.—Excursion to the Island of Unartuk.—
Journey to Julianeshaab. By Professor Laube . | :
CuartER XI.—In Julianeshaab.—Excursion to Igalliko. By
Professor Laube : :
CuaprreR XII. — Kaksimiut. — iodedokaHaany — Bevel to
Europe. By Professor Laube
Pee Se
VOYAGE OF THE GERMANIA.
Cuarter I.—Continuation of the Voyage of the Germania after
Separation from the Hansa.—Landing of the Germania in
East Greenland. From 21st July to 5th August, 1869. By
Captain Koldewey and Dr. Pansch :
Cuarter II.—Pendulum Island.—State of the Ice Man thse mae
—Landing on Shannon Island. By the same
Cuaprer I[J.—Shannon Island : with the Tell-Platte and Klein-
Pendulum. By Dr. Copeland, First-Lieutenant aes and
Dr. Borgen :
CuartEer 1V.—Further Gansiine Vopeue of the Ger mania. 17th
August to 13th September, 1869. By Captain Koldewey
Cuarrer V.—Sledge-Journey to the Fligely Fjord.—Discovery
of Coal strata on Kuhn Island. 14th to 21st September,
1869. By Captain Koldewey and Lieutenant Payer
CHAPTER VI.—Preparations for Wintering. 1éth September to
7th November, 1869. By Dr. Pansch
PAGE
265
312
324
CONTENTS.
Cuarter VII.—Sledge-Journey to Clavering Island, and Dis-
covery of the Tirol Fjord. 27th October to 4th November,
1869. By First-Lieutenant Payer, with additions by Captain
Koldewey
Cuarrer VIII. Dee Night foe eee 1869, - New
Year’s Day, 1870. By Dr. Pansch
CuarTer IX.—First Month of the year 1870. By be Pantoh. :
CuarTeR X.—Long Sledge-Journey on the Coast Northwards.—
Discovery of King William’s Island. 8th March to 27th
April, 1870. By Lieutenant Payer and Captain Koldewey .
CuarterR XI.—Sledge-Journey to Ardencaple Inlet, from 8th
May to 29th May. By Lieutenant Payer :
Cuaprer XIJI.—Hunting and Animal Life in East @roentemndl
By Lieutenant Payer and Dr. sepa with additions by
Dr. Hartlaub : : :
CuapreR XIII.—Sledge- eis: in Sortie. “Rpt to July,
1870. By Dr. Borgen and Dr. Copeland
Cuaprer XIV.—Excursions to Sabine and Clavering Isl: ae i
examine remains of Esquimaux Settlements. By Dr. Pansch
CuarTer XV.—The Germania steams Northwards. 22nd to 31st
July. By Captain Koldewey
CHAPTER XVI.—Coast Voyage of the Ger mania node Soult
Jackson Island.—Cape Broer Ruys.—Boat-Journey.—Dis-
covery of Francis-Joseph’s Fjord. By Captain Koldewey
Cuaprer XVII.—Sailing into the Fjord.—Ascent of Payer’s
Peak.—Discovery of Petermann’s Peak.—Homeward Voyage
decided on. By Captain Koldewey, Lieutenant Payer, and
Dr. Pansch ‘ ; : ; “ . t :
Cuartrer XVIII.—Return to Bremerhaven. By Captain Kol-
dewey : : :
Conclusion. By Captain Koldewey
Appendix
539
DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
HALF-PAGE WOODCUTS.
PAGE
Killer Dolphins ‘ : : : ; ; : , - +s
Cape Broer Ruys : : : 5 : : : : -) 382
Cape James . d : : : : : : : Ba)
The Flower-Basket . : ‘ : ; : : : L836
The Devils Thumb . : ; d : : ; f ERS
The Brandenburg Gate. : : : . : d Bae |
Hunting the Polar Bear. ; : ; : - : ny oe
Polar Bear as a Watch-dog : : : : ‘ <8
Ice-formations . : : : : : : : - 98
Skating on “Sinai” . : : . : 4 , : . 100
Snow-Sphinx . g : : ; . Lg
Iceberg with Refraction, lig Wins Lowenorn ‘ : ; ) Pes
Toaberg : : : : ; é ; é 5 . ab
Hunting the Polar ear : : : : : : : . 147
Tbe boat Bismarck . ; : : : : : : sis
Iceberg. ‘ : : : : : ; : : 2y ion
The Look-out . ‘ : : ; : : ‘ : s 4524
Sketch of Hansa Haven . 3 ‘ é ‘ é ; » -aiGa
Group of Esquimaux : 2 : ‘ F : : Rees e076
Ruins of Erick Rauda’s House . ! : : ‘ f ~ "985
Ice-drift Formations . , ; . : : : : » 268
First Sight of Land . ; . : E - ; 3 | Be2
Tent for Sledge-journeying : é 2 ; : “ JS lie
Arctic Fox at atrap . : : é ; : : 5 . 802
Tent-quarters . é 5 : : : : 5 ‘ . “860
Young Walrus . ‘ : : : : : ‘ ./ 7369
Surprised by a Bear . : : : ; : : : . 430
Depot on Kuhn Island : : : : d ; : . 460
Hiihnerberg Glacier . : : : : : : : . 489
The Kronenberg ; : : ; : : ; - - 90
Block of Basalt ; ‘ : ; ‘ : ; : :| 497
Fossil from Kuhn Island . - : : 5 4 : . d04
Ruined Esquimaux Huts, &e. . : ‘ : i : . 608
Longitudinal section of Esquimaux Hut. d ; ; . 4509
Portions of Esquimaux Implements . , , 2 ees) by
DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Ruined Huts on Sabine Island
Esquimaux Box -
Regenerated Glacier . :
End of a Glacier . - °
Lower end of the Glaciers .
WHOLE PAGE WOODCUTS.
The Germania :
The Hansa : :
Blocks of Ice with Seals
Warping through the Ice
Ice formations . :
The Liverpool coast .
The Hansa in distress
Wreck of the Hansa
The Hansa House on the Floe
Iceberg
Bivouac in boats : ; :
Dragging the boats to JUuidlek Island
Coast to the South of Iluidlek
The Boats under sail .
Boat-Journeys with Canoes
Lichtenau
In the Pack
The Germania in the Ice
The Germania on Sabine Island
Iceberg near Cape Borlase Warren
On Deck
Deep-snow Travelling
Death of the Musk Ox
Esquimaux Implements
Do. dor : 4 ;
The Germania on the South Coast of Shannon
Mountain Peak behind the Glaciers, &e.
Glacier of Payer’s Peak
STEEL ENGRAVINGS.
Karl Koldewey, Commander of the Expedition, Captain of the
Germania
Paul Friedrich August Hegemann, Captain of the Hansa
Viil DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS.
Arrival of Boats at Friedrichsthal . . : - Frontispiece
Queen Augusta Valley : : : : é : : . 806
Tirol Fjord : : : : 5 2 4 : : . 3863
The Devil’s Castle. - . : : : 5 - . 652
MAPS.
(TO BE PLACED AT THE END.)
Chart of the Northern Portion of East Greenland surveyed on the
Sledge-Journey, from 24th March to 27th April, 1870.
Chart of the Voyage and Discoveries of the Second German Arctic
Expedition, with the aid of previous Charts.
EN TRO DU CLPirON,
First suggestion of the undertaking at a festival given at Bremen in
honour of Dr. Petermann ‘and the First German Arctic Expe-
dition.— Dr. Petermann’s plan of the 30th of October, 1868.—
Dr. Petermann consents to the building of the Germania from
the remaining funds of the Expedition of 1868.—His programme
of the 8th of March, 1869.—Exploration of the Central Arctic
region with the east coast of Greenland as a basis.—Captain
Koldewey’s circuit through the provinces.—Statement of the project.
—Forming of committees in different German towns for the support
of the undertaking.— Assistance of the Newspaper Press.—Forma-
tion of the Bremen Committee.—Opposition to the choice of the
yacht Greenland as the second ship.—The Hamburg Committee.
—Further action.—Definitive resolutions.—Appeal of the 10th of
May.—The commander and the scientific staff of the expedition.
—The steamer Germania.—Fitting the Hansa for the Arctie
voyage. — Outfit. — Scientific instruments. — Captain Koldewey’s
audience in Bremen previous to departure.—Instructions for the
Second German Arctic Expedition.—Activity of the Bremen
Committee in raising funds to cover the cost of the expedition.
On the 24th of October, 1868, a number of gentlemen
were assembled at Bremen, to celebrate the happy return
of the members of the First German Arctic Expedition,
including their commander Captain Karl Koldewey, and
its scientific originator, Dr. A. Petermann. It was on
B
2 INTRODUCTION.
this occasion that expression was first given to the idea
of another expedition to this inhospitable region. Pre-
liminary conferences took place between Dr. Petermann,
Captain Koldewey, Dr. Breusing, and Messrs. Meier and
Rosenthal, the result of which was that the despatch of
a new expedition became only a question of ways and
means. The “Rough sketch of a plan for the German
Arctic Expedition of 1869,” with maps, from Dr. Peter-
mann, was not long wanting. According to his sug-
gestion, the expedition was to consist of two parts,
so as to endeavour to solve two problems at the same
time. A steamer was to land on East Greenland, and
taking it as the basis of the winter operations, should
try to penetrate into the heart of the Polar region; a
second steamer should, at any point between Greenland .
and Nova Zembla, strive to reach the highest latitude
possible. For the carrying out of this plan two steamers
were considered necessary. But the preparations soon
reached a critical point. It was with but small re-
sults for his trouble that Koldewey, whose enthusiasm
and self-sacrifice in the cause became daily more appa-
rent, strove to keep up the interest in it by repeated
consultations in influential quarters. Dr. Petermann
then decided that, in order to render the carrying out of
the exploration practicable that year, he would, with
the money still in hand from the first expedition, com-"
mission the building of a steamer, the dimensions of
which should both meet the requirements of an Arctic
voyage, and keep within the compass of their straitened
means. It became necessary for the promoters to drop
one part of Dr. Petermann’s original plan, and confine
themselves either to exploring the Central Arctic region,
INTRODUCTION. 3
with the coast of Greenland for a basis, or to advancing
towards the North Pole by the open sea between Nova
Zembla and Spitzbergen. Captain Koldewey declared
for the former course, and also for retaining the pro-
eramme of the Expedition of 1868; taking this view of
the case, viz., that it must be a condition sine qua non to
make the coast, in which case they would have a far greater
prospect, even under the most difficult and adverse cir-
cumstances, of making discoveries and scientific investi-
gations, than by advancing on the high sea towards the
Pole.
Dr. Petermann acknowledged the force of this argu-
ment, and agreed that Hast Greenland must be the point
to keep in sight.
A communication dated from Gotha, 8th March, 1869,
brought these proceedings to the knowledge of the friends
of the undertaking. The plan was now nearly as follows:
‘““That the expedition should consist of a newly-built
screw steamer and of the sailing-yacht ‘Greenland,’ a
ship of the pioneer journey of 1868; that the end and
aim of the same should be discovery and exploration
in the Central Arctic region, from 74° N.L. upwards,
the East Greenland coast being the basis. The ‘ Green-
land,’ acting as consort and transport-ship, should return
in the autumn of the same year ; but the return of the chief
ship should not take place until late in the autumn of
1870, after their intended wintermg. That the aim of
the expedition should be scientific, as well as nautical ;
the latter department being under the command of
Captain Karl Koldewey, who the year before had proved
himself so able in every respect, and whose character for
courage, perseverance, and self-sacrifice in- the cause,
B 2
A INTRODUCTION.
called for unhesitating confidence.” The scientific staff
had already been partly chosen. To awaken interest in
this new undertaking, no trouble was thought too great
either by Dr. Petermann or Captain Koldewey, the latter
undertaking circuits through Germany and delivering
lectures in several places, which were sometimes followed
by profitable results, and sometimes gave expectation of
the same. At the same time he circulated a confident,
independent, and well drawn up pamphlet, giving the
nautical view of the question, in one respect differing
slightly from Dr. Petermann’s original plan, namely, that
if the coast of Hast Greenland was not reached until the
middle of August, then the eastern coast of Spitzbergen
and Gillisland should be the object of investigation.
These explanations found their way into the daily press,
exciting great interest. Dr. Petermann, though not quite
agreeing with Koldewey’s proceedings, acted with great
zeal in trying to bring the undertaking to a successful
issue. At his suggestion Dr. Bastian in Berlin, and
Professor Arendts in Munich, formed committees for
receiving subscriptions. The Berlin Committee was
chosen from members of the Berlin Geographical Society,
amongst whom were renowned representatives of science,
who published on the 3rd of April an energetic appeal
for subscriptions. In this appeal attention was particu-
larly drawn to the scientific and great national impor-
tance of the undertaking. Berlin, as the metropolis
of the North German Confederation, the centre of
her national efforts, was called upon, now that an
important object for knowledge and action offered
itself, to issue the first appeal. The sum still wanting
was certain to be soon made up; and if Berlin with
INTRODUCTION. a
cheerful self-sacrifice once led the way, other towns
would not be left behind. The appeal to the inhabitants
of Munich (dated May) was issued by the Geographical
Society, and signed by Professor Dr. Jolly as director,
and Professor Dr. Arendts as secretary. Accordingly,
collections were set on foot throughout the whole of
Bavaria. In Bremen, where the preparations for the
undertaking were to be carried out, and where it would
probably find its best support, people were very favour-
able to the project. Inasuccession of communications in
the daily press, and the Weser-Zeitung particularly, in an
explanatory light article of the 4th of April, the national,
nautical, and scientific importance of the undertaking
were dwelt upon. Hssays of the same kind soon appeared
in the other different German papers. We must not forget
to mention here, that the first favourable notice of the -
expedition came from the Marine Society Concordia, at
Hlsfleth. The chief towns throughout the whole of the
North-Sea and Baltic coasts, beginning at Bremen, were
actively interested in the cause. Before the formation of
the committee at Bremen, Mr. G. Albrecht was induced
by the Consul, H. H. Meier, with Dr. Petermann’s con-
currence, to undertake the management of the accounts.
When Consul Meier afterwards withdrew, Mr. A. G.
Mosle undertook the presidency, offered to him by Mr. G.
Albrecht and M. Lindeman, in order that a committee
might be organized. With this view the first meeting took
place on the 9th of April in the house of Messrs. Schiitting.
It was composed of Captain Koldewey, Mosle, Albrecht,
C. H. Noltenius, director of the pilot-school in Bremen,
Dr. A. Breusing, D. H. Watjen, jun., Ship-builder
F. Tecklenborg, sen., the Recorder of the Commercial
6 INTRODUCTION.
Board H. A. Schumacher, Captain Gutkese from Bremer-
haven, and M. Lindeman, reporter. Captain Karl Kolde-
wey laid the plan of the undertaking before them, and the
choice of the steamer as expedition-ship and the “Green-
land” as transport-ship. Director Breusing declared
that to enable them to accomplish any great result, two
steamers with outfits for three or four years would be
necessary. Some gentlemen were of opinion that, if
possible, a larger ship should be chosen in the place
of the small confined sailing-yacht “ Greenland,’ which
might be richly stored with coals and provisions, so as
to put them in a position to pass more than one winter,
if necessary, and thus, if possible, carry their investiga-
tion further northward. In the next sitting they agreed
that Dr. Petermann and Captain Koldewey being really
the originators of the undertaking, it devolved upon the
committee to support the efforts of these gentlemen to
the utmost of their power. The meeting styled them-
selves ‘The Bremen Committee for the Second North
Arctic Expedition,” and chose A. G. Mosle as president,
G. Albrecht as treasurer, and M. Lindeman as secretary.
The committee, to which Messrs. R. Fritze, W. Nielsen,
and Captain Ludwig Geerken were added, published on
the 17th of April an appeal to their fellow-townsmen for
_ subscriptions, which, among other things, contained the
following :—‘‘ The scientific and maritime importance of
the undertaking is everywhere admitted, and everywhere
the highest interest evinced in it. Bremen will not be
behind in promoting this national work. It rests for
German inquiry to open up new domains, in order to
show that German sailors are as qualified, as bold, and
as persevering as those of other nations.”
INTRODUCTION. Pi
The discussion with Dr. Petermann as to whether a
larger transport-ship should be chosen or not, led to no
satisfactory conclusion. For practical as well as financial
reasons he decided in the negative. But on the other
side were voices of weight and influence in nautical circles
of the North Sea and Baltic coasts, and which must be
heard. People thought it right to raise serious objections
to the insufficient size of the ship. These, with very great
exageeration, found expression in the daily press, so
much so that Captain Koldewey was obliged to inter-
fere by letter to the newspapers. In Hamburg one of
the prime movers in the undertaking, the director of
the North German Marine Observatory, W. v. Freeden,
had resolved to form a committee. A number of repre-
sentatives of respectable firms, the directors of the
Marine and Astronomical Observatories, formed them-
selves into the “ Hamburg Committee for the Northern
Expedition of 1869.” On the 23rd of April an appeal
followed, in which it was represented that Hamburg
had always shown a lively interest in all national
questions, and with regard to this undertaking felt it
incumbent upon it, remembering its antecedents, to
guard its position as the leading seaport of Germany.
The Hamburg Committee also declared, in a sitting
at which Dr. Petermann and Captain Koldewey were
present, for Dr. Petermann’s published plan of the 8th
of March. By degrees the interest of the nation and
the whole of the country began to warm more and more,
New committees were formed in Oldenburg, Hmden,
and Leer, in Rheinhessen (Worms and Oppenheim), at
Karlsruhe, Lubeck, Konigsberg, and Rostock. The
committee of Bremen, in a letter of the 2nd of May
8 INTRODUCTION.
addressed to the Berlin Committee, thus defined its
position with regard to the carrying out of the expe-
dition :—‘* After a lengthy conference between the sea-
faring men belonging to our committee, and the
whale fishermen of the Weser-fleet, and others of the
profession, we have decided that our direct influence
must be directed and confined to the way and manner of
carrying out the following points :—T'o keep in view that
the ships shall be as good as possible, and to care-
fully see to the supply of provisions and coal. Every
other nautical question coming under our consideration
we have laid, and will continue to lay before the com-
mander of the expedition, and thoroughly enter into it
with him, still, however, not considering it our business to
interfere.’ A larger ship than the “ Greenland” having
been proposed, and this proposal approved of by Captain
Koldewey, as well as by Captain Hegemann, who, being
familiar with the Arctic waters, was to take the command
of the second ship, it was agreed to. Amongst other
reasons advanced for this was, that besides the thirty
tons of coal required for heating in winter, the Germania
could at the utmost only carry forty tons for feeding
the engines. On this head alone the choice of a larger
ship was desirable—namely, that the expedition was to
be supplied with provisions for a longer time than was
originally intended. The pending question as to pro-
curing a larger ship instead of the “ Greenland” was
solved at a sitting of the Bremen Committee on the 8th
of May, at which Dr. Petermann, Director W. v. Freeden
from Hamburg, and three other scientific men interested
in the expedition, were present—viz., that a number of
Bremen merchants should be security for the purchase-
INTRODUCTION. 9
money for a larger companion vessel to the amount
of £1500. Dr. Petermann now declared decidedly for
choosing a larger ship instead of the ‘ Greenland,”
and that a sailing ship, on the ground that a suitable
steamer was not easily procurable, and that two scientific
men should be attached to the ship. The following
resolution was drawn up by Dr. Petermann and signed
by all present at the meeting :—
“On the 7th of next month, the Second German Arctic
Expedition, under Captain Karl Koldewey, shall put to
sea. This is the unanimous resolution of the friends
of the undertaking, assembled from far and near, for
the final settlement of the plan, at Bremen, on the 8th
of May. ;
‘It is our unanimous endeavour to render every part
of the equipment as perfect as possible. After strict
trial and inspection, the steamer Germania, the newly-
built chief ship of the expedition, fulfils every expecta-
tion, aS well as the sailors who conduct it and the
men of science who accompany it. The steamer, like
the convoy which accompanies her, will be equipped for
two years.
“‘The Germania’s size is expressly adapted for ice-
navigation ; the accompanying ship, the Hansa, of nearly
the same size, will also be expressly adapted for the
Same purpose, and will be under the command of Cap-
tain Fr. Hegemann, of Oldenburg. If possible, the two
ships will remain with each other, both on the outward
journey, through the winter, and also on the return.
Regard to the greatest. possible security of the expe-
dition has led to this extension of the plan.
“The plan of the originator of the undertaking, Dr.
10 INTRODUCTION.
Petermann, of Gotha, which makes the eastern coast of
Greenland the basis for advancing into the centre of the
Arctic region, is to remain the first aim of this expe-
dition.
“The Bremen Committee have become security for
the necessary means (£1500) for providing the second
ship. We hope that in other parts of Germany the
friends of the undertaking will show the same deter-
mination, as the enlarged plan requires greater means.
** The naval and scientific importance of the expedition
is everywhere acknowledged ; the means for speedily and
fully carrying it out, the interests of the German navy
and of German science demand.
** Bremen, 10th of May, 1869.
«Dr. A. Petermann, A. G. Mosle,
Capt. K. Koldewey, G. Albrecht,
Capt. Fr. Hegemann, OC. H. Noltenius,
W. v. Freeden, Richard Fritze,
Dr. Borgen, D. H. Watjen,
Dr. Copeland, W. Nielsen,
Dr. Med. Pansch, Capt. L. Geerken,
M. Lindeman, Capt. W. Gutkese,
H. H. Meier, Synd. Dr. Schumacher.”
Thus a firm foundation was laid for the whole under-
taking, and the Bremen Committee could undisturbed
make the numberless preparations and give all their
attention and trouble to raising the money—a care
which fell exclusively upon it, and was by no means
small. Dr. Petermann had acted in the same way for
the Expedition of 1868. The committee issrod some
uy
INTRODUCTION, i
thousands of circulars to raise money to meet the
expense, which was now estimated at £10,500.
The scientific staff for the Germania were, partly on
Captain Koldewey’s proposal, chosen and appointed by
Dr. Petermann.
The commander of the whole expedition was Captain
Koldewey, of Bucken, near Hoya, in the province of
Hanover. He was in the thirty-second year of his age.
Brought up in the Pilot School at Bremen, he had been
a sailor sixteen years, that is from 1853. Giving up his
practical business for a time, Koldewey, in order to im-
prove himself, attended the Polytechnic School in Hanover,
and in the winter of 1867 and 1868 the University of
Géttingen, where he studied physics and astronomy, which
after his return from the first Arctic expedition, as far
as the completion of his Report of it would allow, he
took up again.
The scientific members of the expedition, to ship in the
Germania were the following :—
Ist. Dr. Karl N. J. Borgen, born in Schleswig on the
lst of October, 1843. He attended the cathedral school
in that place; was drafted in 1863 to the University of
Copenhagen, in 1864 to the University of Kiel, and in
1865 to that of Gottingen. In 1866, he was assistant in
the observatory of that place; served as a volunteer in
the army of the North German Alliance from January
15th, 1867, to 1868. Obtaining leave of absence for two
years, he received on that occasion from the Prussian
Ministry of Public Instruction a subsidy of £75.
2nd. Dr. R. Copeland, born the 3rd of September,
1837,at Woodplumpton in Lancashire, England. Acquired
a scientific education in his own country, travelled in
12 INTRODUCTION.
foreign countries, and in 1865-67 studied astronomy
in Gottingen. Since 1867 he had worked as voluntary
assistant in the observatory of that place. In the spring
of 1869 Dr. Borgen and himself published jointly a large
astronomical work, together with ‘‘ The History of Arctic
Winterings.” In the present expedition they had under-
taken both astronomical and physical science as well as
ceodesy.
drd. Julius Payer, first lieutenant of infantry in the Im-
perial Austrian army, twenty-seven years old, was born at
Teplitz, in Bohemia, where his father was captain of a regi-
ment of lancers. His education and training he received
in the Neustadt Military Academy, from which he received
his commission as an officer in the army in 1859, followed
by a garrison life in Mainz, Frankfort, Verona, Venice, and
Jigerndorf. In Verona, excited by the neighbourhood
of the Alps, Payer began his studies. There appeared
in Justus Perthes’ Geographische Mittheilungen several
scientific papers from his pen on the Gross-Glockner,
the Adamell group, and the Ortler Alps. Of his other
works, a treatise on the Bocca di Brenta is deserving of
mention. In 1866 Payer took part in the Italian war,
and received the cross of merit at Custozza; in 1868
he was recalled by the Minister of War and was
commissioned to the survey of the inhospitable region
of the mountainous district of Austria. The request
for leave to accompany the Arctic expedition was granted
most graciously by the Minister of War, together with a
supply of fire-arms, a considerable store of gunpowder,
and various scientific instruments. Payer joined the ,
expedition with the prestige of his previous reputation
for activity in the cause of science.
INTRODUCTION. 3
Ath. Adolphus Pansch, M.D., surgeon to the Germania,
to whom were assigned the departments of zoology,
botany, ethnology, and anthropology, was twenty-eight
years old, and studied medicine and physical science in
Berlin, 1860; in 1861, at Heidelberg, physiology and
geology; travelled through Switzerland, attended the
clinical lectures in Berlin and Halle; and later on passed
the prescribed examination in Oldenburg as a practical
physician, and was made demonstrator of anatomy in
July, 1865. In 1866 he acted as private tutor at the
University of Kiel. Pansch had written several scientific
treatises, from amongst which we should specify, from
its practical bearings and its extensive research, a
pamphlet upon the “ Flora of the Seas.” Dr. Pansch
received permission from the government to join the
expedition.
The scientific men on board the Hansa were the two
following :—
Ist. Dr. Buchholz, M.D., and surgeon to the Hansa,
represented the departments of zoology, ethnology, and
anthropology. Whilst serving as tutor at the University
of Greifswald, he received leave to join the expedition,
with a grant from the Minister of Public Instruction and
the University of £75 for his outfit. Dr. Buchholz was
born at Frankfort-on-the-Oder in 1837, studied in Kénigs-
berg and Berlin, and in the Bohemian campaign of 1866
was assistant-surgeon in a hospital of the Prussian
army.
2nd. Dr. Gustavus Laube, Vienna, professor of zoology
and lecturer to the University and Polytechnic School in
Vienna, thirty years old, was born in Teplitz, and studied
in Prague, Munich, and Tibingen. He was afterwards
14 INTRODUCTION.
assistant to Professor Hochstetter, in Vienna, who re-
commended him warmly for the expedition.
The Germania, the chief ship of the expedition, was laid
on the slips for building on the 10th of March, 1869, by
Joh. C. Tecklenborg, of Bremerhaven, and was launched
on the 16th of April. On the 9th of May, Captain
Koldewey and Dr. Petermann went on board, accom-
panied by various members of the Bremen Committee, the
director of the North German Marine Observatory, W. v.
Freeden, and other friends (amongst whom were several
experienced seamen). The ship was thoroughly inspected
in all parts. W.v. Freeden’s report of this inspection,
will form the best description of the ship. He says,
that upon measuring the Germania she was ninety feet
long, twenty-two and a half broad, eleven feet deep, and
143 tons burden: this size,a few years ago, was con-
sidered the highest standard for the best West Indian
fruit or Brazilian coffee schooners. Of course the steamer
was built stronger than required for such purposes as
the above; and the ordinary planking was coated with a
hand-thick sheathing, thus protecting the stem, and in
a ship of 600 tons undiscernible below the water-line.
Over this iron sheathing, which is bolted and riveted,
not simply nailed on, is fastened a layer of sheet-iron.
Thus double provision was made in order that the ice
fretting at the ship’s sides should not force the oakum
out of the seams, so causing a leakage. Over the iron
sheathing, by the bow, heavy iron rods were laid cross-
ways, close together. Notwithstanding this armour, the
ship’s lines were pleasing to the eye, and, on account of
her sharp build, she proved an excellent sailer.
In the interior also, the strength of her build was
“VINVYNUAD AHL
"FL abng
INTRODUCTION. Th
striking, even to landsmen. Such strong beams ‘tween
decks are seldom seen in vessels of 400 tons. They are
only to be found in large barques and full-rigged ships.
The knees were alternately of wood and iron; vertical
supports above and below the middle deck protected it,
together with bands of the strongest iron clamps, from any
side pressure of masses of ice against the ship’s sides, so
that neither keel or deck could be displaced. The sharp
build of the ship would rather have the effect of raising her
on to the ice, than of allowing her to be nipped by it.
The compact machinery was mounted, and the axis
tested in position; the double-flanged screw could be
lifted in and out without trouble. A reserve screw was
also taken. As the ship was to be completely fitted
with sails, the machinery was only to be used amongst
the ice, or when she was obliged to beat against the wind.
The masts furnished were of that sort that no pressure
on the sails nor heavy shock could dismast her. S| M crx
S a [ee
ote SSeUaune
E*| ore
x SS %
= = Paul
So TX
fre &
Hetnrtich
V entilator
Hall, built
of Snow
GROUND-PLAN OF THE “HANSA” HOUSE.
‘aO01d GHL NO ASOOH VSNVH FHL
“GI abo
SS ————
i RAMAN HWA iN} i vii
== = — =
= = =
= =
= =—— = SS
= :
= = = ==
= = =
—
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: = =
= =
BLOCKING UP OF THE HANSA. LS
covering it with sail-cloth, and strewing the snow upon
it to make it more solid. This walk was our larder, and
held nearly all our provisions; whilst the remainder
(enough for about two months) was carefully placed in
the boats. The small firewood which we chopped up
from the masts and spars was set up in piles ; the boats,
first in one place and then in another, as after digging
them out of the snow we had to put them in a more
sheltered spot.
The hatchway we put up to catch the wind before the
door of the coal-house. A man-rope served for descending
into the house, so that it was more like a fox’s hole with
its roof scarcely rising above the level of the snow than
anything else.
The large flag was saved too. At the rear of the house,
on a snow-hill, we put up the topgallant mast as a flag-
staff; and in fine weather hoisted it for our pleasure as
well as for the possible chance of attracting the notice
of any Esquimaux settlement on the coast.
At last, by degrees, order gained the upper hand.
The confused heap of individual belongings had each
found their owner. The warming arrangement was
good, for in an atmospheric temperature of —13° Fahr.
we could in our hut, with the protection of the snow
surrounding us, get a warmth of 723°. Often the firing
necessary for preparing the meals was sufficient also for
heating ; and therefore, to spare the wood, we hardly ever
used the second stove. The damp was remarkably
diminished, for it easily escaped through the dormer-
window, which also let in fresh air,
CHAPTER VI.
DRIFTING TO THE SOUTH. CHRISTMAS, A HARD JANUARY.
NOVEMBER, 1869, TO THE END OF JANUARY, 1870.
View of the coast.—Settling the daily order of our life on the floe.-—
Good health of all.—Revolving of our ice-field.—We come within
four miles of the coast (Egede’s Land).—Christmas festival.—
An iceberg passes us.—Danger of the breaking up of the floe.—
Preparations for decamping.—Portions of the floe destroyed.—The
dangerous bay.—Coast scenery.—Impossibility of reaching the
coast.—The Arctie night.—Catastrophes of the days 11th to 15th
of January.—Destruction of the Hansa house.—Escape in the
boats, and passing the night in the same.—Comfortless quarters.—
Erection of new habitations.—In the channel between Iceland and
Greenland.—Snow-wall on the floe.—Hope of reaching the settle-
ments of West Greenland.
Stow y but steadily our ice-field drifted to the south. By
the 3rd of November we had passed the Liverpool coast,
and had reached Scoresby’s Sound, sometimes being
near the firm land ice, and sometimes far from it, a
movement which would no doubt originate in the ebb
and flow off this large, deep sound. We could distinctly
see the picturesque formation of the rocky coast; and in
two plains lying between two rugged mountain-tops we
thought we could distinguish glaciers covered with snow.
Since the ship had sunk fourteen days before, the
ice had closed in upon us, and even the blocks which had
broken away from our field had frozen to it again. Our
DRIFTING TO THE SOUTH. a7
eyes often rested with sorrow on the spot where the
Hansa went down. Now there was room enough for
her between the field and the land-ice !
At the end of October the sun rose at half-past nine
a.m., and set behind the rocky coast at three p.m. In the
coal-house we could only see to read and write under
the dormer-windows for a few hours each day. We
grew more and more accustomed to the daily round of
things, which so much resembled that on board. The last
night-watch woke us at seven. We rose, threw on our
woollen clothing, washed in melted snow, and enjoyed
our morning coffee with hard bread. Then we all be-
took ourselves to the ever-plentiful stock of work; the
finishing of all sorts of useful and still wanting furni-
ture, sail-sewing, wood-chopping, replacing clothes from
the clothes-store, keeping the diaries, and study. In
clear weather astronomical observations were taken, and
all necessary calculations recorded. At one we dined.
Strong meat-soup formed the substantial part of this
meal ; and as we were in no want of preserved vegetables,
we had plenty of changes prepared forus. Of salt meat
and bacon we eat little. Of all spirits we had to be very
sparing, only allowing ourselves one glass of strengthen-
ing port-wine on Sundays. Our state of health all
through the winter was good. Except the sailor Schmidt’s
attack of fever when the ship went down, which was
soon over, and a frost-bitten toe of the sailor Bittner,
we had no sickness or other bodily discomfort. We
were always actively employed, and daily order and
regularity were rigidly kept up.
Our floe was by degrees thoroughly investigated in
every quarter. We cleared roads, and set up marks for
118 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
short tours. The mass of ice was'’about seven nautical
miles in circumference, and seemed in all directions to
have a diameter of about a little more than two miles.
An excellent picture of the monotony of the landscape
which surrounded us at the end of the year (end of
December and January), can be formed by imagining a
uniform plain, or field, covered with snow. The term
**jfield”’ indicates the size of a connected floating mass
of ice. Smaller pieces are called “floes,” and still smaller
ones “ drifts.” The ice-raft, on which (as Dr. Laube
aptly remarked) ‘we were as the Lord’s passengers,”
drifting for months together between the sea and the
coast, was a solid field composed of these drifts and floes
compacted together. The average thickness of this was
about five feet above the water; a fact which, according
to experience, would allow a submergence of at least
forty feet. Soundings from the edge of the ice were
not possible, as the line was lost in the shipwreck.
The piled-up snow, which was often eight feet high,
had at this time, the beginning of January, filled up:
every hole and crack on the field; so that, without one
single resting-point, the eye wandered over the wearying
uniform white desert. If we were at any distance from
the hut, so deeply buried in the snow, every visible sign
had disappeared except the dark spot or line of the
chimney, the boats, and the staff with the fluttering flag,
which after every whirlwind of snow was again unfurled.
Later in the spring, when the greater part of our field
had disappeared, the plain looked, owing to the pushed-
up pieces of ice and snow-wall, almost like animated
blocks of ice. Upon closer inspection these “ramparts”
seemed to be the fragments of the pushed-up walls of
DRIFTING TO THE -SOUTH. 119
small ice-masses, to which our field had been knitted by
the frost. Here and there were snow-mounds, which
the change from thawing weather to frost had almost
turned into glaciers, forming a firm massive whole. The
side of our field lying to the west and north-west
presented a wild and discouraging view. The grating
and pressing of the driving ice-floes had there heaped up
A SNOW-SPHINX.
walls ten feet high, the snow-crystals glittering in the
sun like millions of diamonds. The morning and evening
Aurora turned the white flakes to pale green. The
nights were beautifully lght, the light streaming
downwards from the heavens; and the snow, with its ;
120 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
receptive and reflective powers glittered so radiantly, that
one could read the finest writing without trouble, and
see far out into the distance. Amongst other things, on
such nights, we always saw the Aurora borealis. As an
instance, on the 5th of December, it shone so intensely
that the starlight waned, and objects on our field cast
shadows. ‘The coast, according as it was near or far
away, was recognizable now as a dark streak of fog, and
now as a rocky form in all its details.
Our settlement at the beginning of November, when
we were not yet snowed up, might be seen from the most
distant point of our field. Near the chief building lay
two snow-houses, which served for washing and drying
ourselves. Boats, heaps of wood, barrels contaming
coals and bacon, surrounded this heart of our colony.
To prevent the entrance of the snow and wind into our
coal-house, we built an entrance-hall with a winding path,
and a roof constructed in the same way as that of the house.
At the beginning of November we observed two strange
natural phenomena. We were about eight nautical miles
from the Liverpool coast, when, as we were walking
along, anumber of small willow-like leaves whirled around
us, which had evidently been carried from the land by the
wind; at ancther place the snow was, for a considerable
distance, covered with a red-stone dust. Dr. Laube
thought it must be of volcanic origin, and that it had
been carried through the air from Iceland, which was
about 180 nautical miles distant.
In November, upon a neighbouring floe, separated from
us by a small piece of frozen water, we saw the shapeless
body of a large walrus lying motionless as arock. The
steersmen, Hildebrandt and Bade, with some others,
DRIFTING TO THE SOUTH. Eh
started for the chase as soon as the boat could be got into
the water, which was done with much trouble, they being
obliged to carry it for some distance over the young ice.
Here, too, the needle-gun proved its value, the ball passing
through the monster’s inch-thick hide. A few shots
killed him, after being badly wounded, and in a fury trying
to smash the young ice on which the hunters stood, and
seize them when once in the water. The further moving
of the colossal carcass for our own purposes was, besides,
no small matter. With the united strength of ten men
and the help of a powerful pulley, it was several hours
before we got the walrus out of the water on to the ice.
Skinning the specimen, too, was dreadfully difficult, for
it soon froze in a cold of ~—20° Fahr. to a hard, stony
mass, over which we had no power. Under the skin
lay a coating three inches thick of fat, which afforded
us very acceptable fuel. The tongue was excellent;
indeed, amongst the whale-fishers of the Behring’s
Straits, salted walrus tongues are a favourite dish. Late .
that same evening a white bear, the first of our winter
campaign, was attracted to the house by the smell
of our walrus’ fat. Three shots greeted him, the
effect of which could not be seen until the following
morning. About 100 yards distant lay the bear, hit in
the side by the bullet, as if asleep, though quite dead,
upon the snow. It was a fine, handsome beast; its well-
developed head lay upon its front paws; the red drops of
blood stood sharply out against the clean white snow: a
. gift from heaven in our present position, as an addition
of fresh meat was greatly to be desired. The four hams,
_ weighing 200 lbs., would form a delicate roast for a suc-
cession of Sundays; at the same time that the skin was a
122 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
further protection for the still sometimes leaking roof.
Some days later we had another visit from master
“Bruin.” As we left the house on the 23rd of November,
we noticed several traces of his presence; he had been
at the boat Bismarck, and standing on his hind feet had
sniffed the provisions lying there, when he had met
with the misfortune of falling through the tightly-spread,
stiffly-frozen sail-cloth. Terrified by this from the inves-
tigation of the contents of the boat, he had turned to the
house, at the entrance of which we found his marks. The
brightness of the lamp, always burning in the snow path,
had then (we supposed) frightened him.
In the beginning of November our drifting was con-
siderable; from the 5th to the 13th of November it
amounted daily to eight nautical miles; from 70° N.L.
and 21° W.l. .to 69° 4:5’ N.L. and) 22°, 440 Wala
At this time the bright northern lghts afforded us daily
an agreeable matter for conversation. The dazzling-
- coloured rays stretched perpendicularly over the whole
horizon, sometimes undulating like the folds of a giant
curtain set in motion by the wind. The down-shooting
colours seemed to touch our field, emitting such a blind-
ing light that our shadows were sharply defined, and the
light of the stars greatly weakened. When, as was often-
times the case, the beautiful appearance was suddenly
manifested, it went slowly through different forms to the
height of its glory.
The rotatory motion of our field was, up to the 22nd
of November, rather slow, as from the 10th it had only |
turned once round. The quicker drift-current had been
more effectual in its working, and had brought about
this revolution in the short space of four days.
DRIFTING TO THE SOUTH. 123
Moreover, until the beginning of January our ice-mass
had experienced no damage. On the 14th of November
we passed in our southward journey the most southerly
point, according to Scoresby, of this stretch of coast, Cape
Barclay, lying in 69° 14’ N.L. and 24° 30’ W.L. From
this time to the most northerly point of Graah’s coast-
journey, Cape Dan, lying in 65° 37’ N.L. and 37° 20’
W.L., we saw an unknown land, the so-called ‘* Kgede’s
Land.” We succeeded at least in determining some points
of this coast, which we approached within four miles.
Unfortunately the very time we found ourselves nearest
to it our lives were in great danger, our ill fate following
us here, and we were obliged to allow the favourable
moment for serving science to pass by unheeded.
From the 2nd to the 4th of November we floated
past Scoresby’s Sound. The discoverer of this rather
considerable Fjord relates that by the strength of a
submarine current icebergs are frequently driven from it.
And, indeed, whilst up to this time we had been unable
to catch sight of one, we saw on the 5th (after having
evidently passed through the current and out of the
Sound, being about ten to fifteen nautical miles from the
coast some days later) for the first time a great iceberg
in the north-west towards Scoresby’s Sound, about four
nautical miles from us.
Icebergs are known to be broken portions of glaciers.
That seen by us was rather long but not high, allowing
us to conclude that the original had considerable breadth
but no great height.
The temperature in November and December showed
great variations: 6th November, — 20° Fahr., fine weather
with a west wind; 20th, 32° Fahr. with driving snow to
124 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
the south-west, and, later, fine rain; evening of the 1st
December, 32.2° Fahr.; 3rd December, 35° Fahr., our
snow-buildings began to thaw; 18th December, — 20°
Fahr. with a light sou’-wester, and the lowest tempera-
ture we ever had, being then in 673° N.L.
On the 16th of December, we greeted a white Arctic
fox as a messenger from land. Its appearance was indis-
putable evidence that the ice reached to the coast. The
fox, white with a black-tipped tail, was particularly con-
fiding, even bold. He scratched up the bear’s flesh
buried in the snow, and had carried it off to eat as we
approached him. He then quite unconstrainedly took a
walk on the roof of our house, and through the small
window convinced himself as to what was goimg on
within. Should we shoot it? No! It was a long time
since we had seen such a fearless creature. At times
we placed nets with a meat-bait to teaze him; but he
always managed to get clear of them at the right time.
November and December passed without anything par-
ticular happening. On the 18th of December strong
northern lights. On the 18th the full moon and spring
tide occurred, and with them, the usual ice pressure
which, in the night of the 20th to the 21st, destroyed
“‘ Sinai,” the locality of one of our walks. On the
afternoon of the 6th, a small white bear showed himself
near our house. We fired, and it fled over the young
ice, leaving traces of blood behind it.
Thus we had passed the shortest day without any
serious danger. Christmas, that beautiful domestic festi-
val, drew near, and we felt inclined, as we were all in
good health, to keep it right festively in the proper spirit.
During the last few days we had had violent storms. On
DRIFTING TO THE SOUTH. 125
Christmas Eve there was a heavy fall of snow which
buried our house so completely, that in the morning we
could walk over the roof as over a flat surface. In the
night from the first to the second day of the holiday,
showers of rain fell, followed by a south-westerly breeze.
Then another whirlwind of snow. The mass of falling
snow whirled over the field by the rushing wind was so
great, that in the open air we could scarcely keep our
eyes open, and in spite of our exertions, it was impossible
to keep the front of our house clear.
In the afternoon, whilst we went for a walk, the steers-
men put up the Christmas-tree; and on our return the
lonely coal-hut shone with wonderful brightness. Keep-
ing Christmas on a Greenland floe! Made of pinewood
and birchbroom, the tree was artistically put together.
For the lights, Dr. Laube had saved some wax candles.
Paper-chains and home-baked gingerbread were not want-
ing. The men had made a knapsack and a revolver
case for the captain; we opened the leaden box of
Christmas gifts from Professor Hochstetter, and the
other from the Geological Reichsanstalt, which caused
much merriment. Then we had a glass of port-wine,
and fell upon the old newspapers in the boxes, and
distributed the gifts, which consisted of small musical
instruments, such as whistles, Jew’s-harps, and trumpets,
also little puppets and games of roulette, cracker bonbons,
&c. In the evening, chocolate and gingerbread-nuts.
“In quiet devotion” (says Dr. Laube in his day-book),
“the festival passed by; the thoughts which passed
through our minds (they were much alike with all), I
will not put down. If this should be the last Christmas
we were to see, it was at least bright enough. If, how-
126 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
ever, we are destined for a happy return home, the next
will be a brighter one; may God grant it!”
Early on the 26th, we were awoke by a shout from
the sailor on the watch. We were drifting to land! an
island straight ahead of us! Amid universal conster-
nation, all rushed out. The air was not clear, but
about three nautical miles distant we could distinguish a
dark mass, which looked like an island. The steersmen
went somewhat in advance to reconnoitre the distance,
and the nature of the appearance. The mass gave no
indication whatever, and we soon made out that what
we saw was an enormous iceberg. The next day we
passed the drifting mass, moving much slower than our
field, and soon lost sight of it. Saint Sylvester we
kept up exactly as they do at home, with salvos of fire-
arms and punch; and at midnight we did not forget
mutual good wishes for the ‘‘ New Year,” with the loud
clink of the glasses.
These good wishes, so often nothing but a_ polite
formula, came here from the heart. Wonderful as our
preservation in great dangers had been up to this
time, we each felt how greatly we needed God’s sup-
port for the future, in strength, endurance, and
health.
The new year, at 16° Fahr., brought us the first clear,
fine weather we had had for a long while. The land
between north-east and south-west, was beautifully in
sight; high sharp mountains and small glaciers. In the
west-sow’-west we saw the dark outline of an island,
the position of which was about 66° 14° N.L. and 33° 45,
W.L. as near as could be determined. The 2nd of January
brought frightfully bad weather; storm from the north-
DRIFTING TO THE SOUTH. $27
nor’-east and continual driving snow at 16°to 14° Fahr.
In the morning, we thought we heard a peculiar rustling
noise as if some one was shuffling his feet on the floor ;
but as it was soon over we took no further notice. In
the afternoon, as we were resting after dinner, we sud-
denly heard the same rustle, but much louder. It was
a scraping, blustering, crackling, sawing, grating, and
jarring sound, as if some unhappy ghost was wandering
under our floe. Perplexed we all jumped up, and went
out; we thought that our store-house had fallen in.
Some of the sailors going in front with the lamp care-
fully searched the path to it. But in whatever direction
the light fell on the sparkling and glittering ice-walls,
we saw nothing. Immovable hung the rigid icicles often
a foot long; evidently nothing was amiss here. We
rummaged in the snow-path before the house. Although
completely snowed up (indeed, the whole house was
buried more than a foot deep in ice), we all rushed out,
but of course we could not see more than ten steps,
nor hear anything but the howling of the storm. Still,
between whiles, we could detect the same rubbing and
grinding. For a change, we laid ourselves flat down
with our ears to the floor, and could then hear a rust-
ling like the singing of ice when closely jammed, and as
if water was running under our great floe. There could
be no doubt but that it stood in great danger of being
smashed to pieces, either from drifting over sunken
rocks and bursting up, or breaking against the ice
border; perhaps both at once.
We packed our furs, and filled our knapsacks with
provisions. Our position, if the floe should be destroyed,
seemed hopeless. Certainly ropes were fastened from the
128 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
house to the boats lying about fifteen steps from us, so that,
in case of a catastrophe, we might be able to reach them.
But the driving snow was so terrible, that we could not
have moved them from the spot, and we should no doubt,
soon have sunk in the depths. At eight, we set a sharp
watch of two men in the pathway. The remainder
stretched themselves on the sacks to sleep, as the un-
earthly rustling was no longer heard. It was a long,
stormy, fearful night, allowing no one to sleep. At nine
the longed-for twilight appeared and an hour later the
wind abated a little. Some of us went out in the
direction of the quay; for thus we had christened the
spot, 500 steps from the house, where the sunken
Hansa lay. They there found a new wall of ice,
and recognized to their horror that this wall was now
the boundary of our floe, whilst on all sides of it large
pieces had been broken off, and rose in dark shapeless
masses out of the drifted snow. The bad weather lasted
with undiminished violence till two in the afternoon. On
the morning of the 4th of January it had. completely
worn itself out; the air was clear, and allowed an open
view over the ice-field to the coast. Our floe had lost con-
siderably in circumference, and changed its round form
into a long one. The diameter which before was two
nautical miles, was now at the utmost but one. On three
sides, our house was only 200 steps from the edge of the
floe. On the fourth it was about 1000 where before it
had been 3000. The distance to the coast amounted to
scarcely two nautical miles. Besides the island seen on
the Ist of January, we caught a glimpse of several others
with different pyramidically rising cliffs in the north-west.
We named them the *“‘ New Year’s Islands,” as we had
DRIFTING TO THE SOUTH. 129
seen the first on the Ist of January. They lay near the
east cape of a deep bay which, from the never-to-be-
forgotten danger we had passed through, we christened
‘Bay of Horrors.” In the background rose snow-covered
mountains, which by the rising sun were ht up with a
beautiful Alpine glow, and here and there in the bay
were small glaciers visible. The extreme land to the
south-west stood out as a steep cape, which we called
Cape Buchholz; another to the west (Hildebrandt) was
close to us, only two nautical miles off; that is the nearest
land. We thus found ourselves in the mouth of the
bay. After the dangers gone through, and as our ice-
raft seemed to afford us less security than formerly,
it was proposed that we should make an attempt to get
to the coast with the boats, and sufficient provisions, so
as to have some prospect of reaching the inhabited part
of Greenland, the south-westerly side, in the mild time
of year. But unfortunately, we found that we could get
no further than the edge of our field. Short broken
fragments succeeded, so covered over with snow, that one
could see neither the gaps or crevasses. To get to the
coast from here seemed impracticable, and, as before, our
ice-field was our only means of deliverance.
The followmg days were pretty good. We got the
boats out of the snow, dug out the fire-wood, and made
swimming jackets and snow-shoes out of cork, to prevent
ourselves sinking up to the hips as we used to do.
As we had already observed, and it now was confirmed,
the pressing and the quick drifting of the ice depended
on the spring-tides, which happen here from ten to fifteen
hours after the new and full moon.
On the 8th of January, we once more obtained an obser-
K
130 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
vation for position, and found we were in 66° 47:2! N.L.,
and 34° 1:°5° W.L., so that from the 27th of December,
that is in twelve days, we had travelled 523 nautical miles
south-west to west three-quarter west. As we lay almost
still in the bay, great and small icebergs floated out to
sea coming from the north, on the highway from Hast
Greenland to the south.
On the 9th of January one of the sailors writes thus in
his day-book :—
“ Thursday, 9th of January, 1870. Northern Hotel.
“The weather in the past night was calm and clear.
The moon shone brilhantly ; the northern lights and the
stars glittered upon the dead beauty of a landscape of ice
and snow. Listening at night, a strange, clear-sounding
tone strikes the ear, then again a sound as of some one
drawing near with slow and measured steps. We listen—
who is it? All still! not a breath stirrmg! Once more
it sounds like a lamentation or a groan. It is the ice;
and now it is still, still as the grave, and from the pale
glance of the moon the ghastly-outlined coast is seen,
from which the giant rocks are looking over to us. Ice,
rocks, and thousands of glittering stars. O thou wonder-
fully ghost-hke night of the north!”
The days from the 11th to the 15th of January were
destined to bring us new horrors. On the 11th, heavy
storm from the north-east with driving snow. At six in
the morning Hildebrandt, who happened to have the
watch, burst in with the alarm, “ All hands turn out!”
An indescribable tumult was heard without. With
furs and knapsacks all rushed out. But the outer
entrance was snowed up; so to gain the outside quickly
DRIFTING TO THE SOUTH. Sa:
we broke through the snow-roof of the front hall.
The tumult of the elements which met us there was
beyond anything we had already experienced. Scarcely
able to leave the spot, we stood huddled together for
protection from the bad weather. Suddenly we heard,
** Water on the floe close by!” The floe surrounding
us split up; a heavy sea arose. Our field again began to
break on all sides. On the spot between our house and
the piled-up store of wood which was about twenty-five
paces distant, there suddenly opened a huge gap. Washed
by the powerful waves, it seemed as if the piece just
broken off was about to fall upon us; and at the same time
we felt the rising and falling of our now greatly reduced
floe. All seemed lost. From our split-up ice-field all the
firewood was drifting into the raging sea. And in like
manner we had nearly lost our boat Bismarck ; even
the whale-boat was obliged to be brought for safety into
the middle of the floe. The large boat, being too heavy -
to handle, we were obliged to give up entirely. All this
in a temp. of — 93°, and a heavy storm, was an arduous
piece of work. The community were divided into two parts.
We bade each other good-bye with a farewell shake of the
hands, for the next moment we might go down. Deep
despondency had taken hold of our scientific friends; the
crew were stilland quiet. Thus we stood or cowered by our
boats the whole day, the fine pricking snow penetrating
through the clothes to the skin. It was a miracle that
just that part of the floe on which we stood should from
its soundness keep together. Our floe, now only 150 feet
in diameter, was the 35 to 40 feet nucleus of the formerly
extensive field to which we had entrusted our preserva-
tion. Towards evening the masses of ice became closely
K 2
132 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
packed again. At the same time the heavy sea had sub-
sided and immediate danger seemed past. Relieved, we
partook of something in the house and lay down, after
setting a good watch. It was past midnight, when we
were roused from our sleep by a cry of terror; the voice
of the sailor on watch exclaiming, ‘ Turn out; we are drift-
ing on to a high iceberg!’’ All rushed to the entrance;
dressed we always were; we had no time to run through
the long snow passage, but burst open the roof, climbed
on to the door, and so out. What a sight! Close
upon us, as if hanging over our heads, towered a huge
mass of ice, of giant proportions. ‘It is past,’ said
the captain. Was it really an iceberg, or the mirage of
one, or the high coast? We could not decide the
question. Owing to the swiftness of the drift, the ghastly
object had disappeared the next moment.
On the 12th and 13th, the weather was good. The
boats, now that the masts and sails were thrown out, so
that we could move them more easily, were put in order,
and the snow shovelled up. On the 12th, we were able
to ascertain our latitude by a lunar altitude. We found
ourselves in 65° 50°7° N.L., so that in four days we had
drifted fifty-six miles southward.
It was on the evening of the 14th of January, at ten
o'clock; outside blew a frightful storm; the watch
came in with news that the ice was once more in motion.
In the immediate neighbourhood of the house, our floe
burst; and the broken ice flew high around us. It was
high time to bring the boat Bismarck and the whale-
boat more into the middle. This we did; but they were
far too heavily laden to bring further.. On this account,
furs, sacks of bread, and clothing were taken out and
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‘DRIFTING TO THE SOUTH. 13s
packed on two sledges, which were, however, soon com-
pletely snowed up. All our labour was rendered heavier
by the storm, which made it almost impossible to breathe.
About eleven we experienced a sudden fissure which threat-
ened to tear our house asunder ; with a thundering noise
an event took place, the consequences of which, in the
first moments, deranged all calculations. God only knows
how it happened that, in our flight mto the open, none
came to harm. But there inthe most fearful weather we
all stood roofless on the ice, waiting for daylight, which
was still ten hours off. The boat King William lay on
the edge of the floe, and might have floated away at any
moment. Fortunately the fissure did not get larger. As
it was somewhat quieter at midnight, most of the men
crept into the captain’s boat, when the thickest sail we had
was drawn over them; some took refuge in the house.
But there, as the door had fallen in, they entered by
the skylight, and in the hurry broke the panes of glass,
so that it was soon full of snow. This night was the
most dreadful one of our adventurous voyage on the floe.
The cold was — 93° Fahr. Real sleep, at least in the boat,
was not to be thought of; it was but a confused, unquiet,
half-slumber, which overpowered us from utter weariness,
and our limbs quivered convulsively as we lay packed like
herrings in our furs. The cook had, in spite of all, found
energy enough in the morning to make the coffee in the
house, and never had the delicious drink awakened more
exhausted creatures to life. The bad weather raged the
whole day. We lay in the boat, half im water, half in
snow, shivering with the frost, and wet to the skin. We
also passed the night of the 15th to the 16th, in the same
comfortless position, and only on the morning of the 16th
134: THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
did the weather begin to mend, allowing us to leave the
shelter of our asylum.
At four in the morning, the second officer, to whom a
longer stay in the boat was painful, caught sight of a
star, and with a thankful heart brought us news of the
good sign. The driving snow had not quite left off, but
one could at least take breath. Our first steps were
directed to the boat King William, which lay on the
other side of the half-foot-broad fissure running through
the house. It was brought to the flag-staff near the two
other boats, which were fast frozen in, in spite of all the
storm. We provided this conveyance with a roof of
boards, covered with sail-cloth, and six of the men made
it their sleeping apartment, whilst the house was cleared
from the snow.
For five nights we slept in the boats. The days to the
19th were employed, it being tolerable weather, in raising
our settlement from its ruins, and laying the foundations
of a necessary and satisfactory abode. Soon a wooden
kitchen was built. A new dweiling-house, exactly like
the one destroyed, but only half as big (14 feet long, 10
broad, 63 high in the middle), was built, with all requisite
arrangements, store room, wooden beds, stove and window,
and soon. Unfortunately the first night we moved in being
stormy weather, the roof flew off; the inside was at once
filled with snow, and we had to migrate to the boats
once more. The mischief was repaired on the following
day. As there was only sleeping room in our new house
for six men, the rest from this time had to sleep in the
boats. Throughout all the discomfort, want, hardship,
danger of all kinds, the frame of mind among the men
was good, undaunted, and exalted. The cook kept a
DRIFTING TO THE SOUTH. ae
right seamanlike humour, even in the most critical mo-
ments. As long as he had tobacco he made no trouble
of anything. On the 3rd of January, during the fright-
ful pressure of the ice which destroyed our floe, and
threatened every minute to sink our house, the cook
happened to be repairing the coffee-kettle. ‘‘ If the floe
would only hold together until he had finished his kettle!
he wished so to make the evening tea in it, so that, before
our departure, we might have something warm.”
Toilet and cleanliness have long since become uncer-
tain ideas with us. Washing is a luxury, which at the
uttermost we can only allow ourselves twice a week, and
which the scientific men have quite given up. The coal-
walls of our house, smoke from the lamp, and dust from
the stove have so blackened us, that we might be taken
for some of the choicest Esquimaux. Hair and beard
were intact from the time we left Bremen. Weeks have
passed since the clothes have left our bodies. The tem-
perature in the first three weeks of the new year, so
pregnant with interest for us, may on the whole be thus
characterized :—that, with northerly and north-easterly
winds, which were generally accompanied by violently
drifting snow, it was tolerably mild, between 23° F. and 9°
F., whilst the few clear days with a south and west wind
brought us zero and 6° below. One of the weightiest
causes of the powerful ice-pressure we had undergone,
seemed to be, together with the temporary influence of
the spring-tides, the fact that at this time we were in the
narrow sea-passage between Iceland and Greenland, where
the ice, carried on by the current (chiefly on account of
the numerous prominent capes on the east coast of Green-
land), must necessarily be pressed close. This movement,
136 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
in its greatest strength, reached as far as Cape Dan, where
the coast falls considerably backwards to the west; and
on the east the boundary of Iceland recedes, thus causing
the ice stoppage to cease. Later we met, farther south-
ward from Cape Dan, a whole chain of icebergs driftmg
in a southerly direction. These had evidently been
affected by the advance of successive masses of ice.
On the 25rd, we could distinguish a hawk and a raven
which flew over us, greeting them as messengers of our
return to hte. A remarkable phenomenon appeared about
the end of January, in the snow-walls which rose around
our floe. During the calm, the floating ice had become
loosened, and the fissures and openings had been filled
up with snow as fine as sand, in gigantic masses
“like sheaves ;’
pressure of the ice began, the masses of snow rose in
b
and when, on the 25th, another close
walls of from twenty to twenty-five feet high, changing
the whole face of our settlément into that of a ravine.
Of course, these snow enclosures were but of short
duration ; they broke up on the lst of February, as
soon as the spring-tide set the ice once more in motion,
and soon melted quite away. On this occasion, a piece
of our floe, which had been divided by a great fissure,
broke off and drifted slowly away. We could then pretty
well estimate the strength of it, as the water was very
transparent, and the shining ice was perceptible at thirty
to thirty-five feet deep. So we might hope, unless
another crisis overtook us, that our floe’s firmness might
last until it brought us into a latitude from which, by
the boat, we might be able to reach the nearest West
Greenland settlement.
| ae
CHAPTER VII.
POST NUBILA PH@BUS. ABANDONMENT OF THE FLOE AND BOAT
JOURNEY TO THM ISLAND OF ILLUIDLEK. FEB. TO JUNE 4, 1870.!
A Fox near the Hansa-house.—Rapid drift of our floe-—Open water
westwards.— Changed aspect of the coast.—A family of seals.—
Numerous glaciers on the coast.—Threatened danger from an
iceberg —tIn the latitude of Nukarbik.— Linnets.—Carpenter
attacked by scurvy.—Keeping Easter Festival.— Considerable ad-
vance of our floe in its southward drift—Attractive aspect of the
coast.—The Puisortok glacier.—Walruses. — Bird life.— Open
water in the direction of land.—Determination to quit the floe and
take to the boats.—Preparations therefor.—-Departure.—Storm
from the north.—Huge appetites and scanty rations.—Excessive
heat.—A fly.—Dragging the boats towards the coast.—Excursion
to the island of Illuidlek.—Difficulty in dragging the boats over
the ice-—Anniversary of our departure from Bremen harbour.—
Prospects for the future.—Great exertions to escape.—Landing on
the island of Lluidlek on 4th June.
On the 1st of February we caught a glimpse of some
seals, the first we had seen for a long time; also a raven,
and some various kinds of sea-gulls. ‘The former came
from the land, the latter from the sea. One morning,
too, a fox appeared before our house. He stayed many
days, and became so bold at last, that he would fetch the
meat which had been thrown from the galley, and allow
himself to be stroked. The creature caused us much fun.
It never entered our heads to capture him.
’ By Captain Hegemann.
138 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
At four p.m. we passed Cape Dan, but the coast was
too far distant for us to discern its outline distinctly.
For the next few days we drifted at the speed of one
nautical mile an hour, passing numerous huge icebergs,
some more than 100 feet high, without receiving any
injury to our floe. Before such a mountain the currents
of course divided, the water rushing on either side.. With
this current our floe regularly went from twenty to
twenty-five paces either to the right or left of the
monster, and thus happily passed it. Bade and Hilde-
brandt made an attempt to climb one of these icebergs,
but under ever increasing difficulties only succeeded in
getting half way up. “Then the smooth, white walls
rose so steep, that we might just as well have tried to
?
climb the bare outer wall of a church tower.” Fragments
of the mighty glaciers of Greenland forced out to sea
“calves”? of the same, these icebergs resemble huge
basaltic rocks in all shades of white and blue.
On the 6th of February, according to our reckoning,
we ought to be near Dan Island. As, however, we could
not see it, we naturally concluded that it had no exist-
ence, and that the marking of it on Graah’s chart must
rest upon the fact that, icebergs being so numerous here,
they must have mistaken one for.an island.
February passed quietly ; the weather throughout was
fine. Floating ice and icebergs, which were more nume-
rous than ever, left our floe undiminished; we supple-
mented many of our arrangements, and above all gained
more confidence in our future. With regard to our
possessions and effects, we have become very indifferent.
The most costly books are torn up for the most trifling
purposes. The gilded frame of our cabin looking-glass has
POST NUBILA PH@BUS. 139
long since been used as firewood, and the glass thrown
on one side. Streams of petroleum and brandy flow in
the course of heating the stove; packets of tobacco
furnish a welcome means of warmth. Why is gun-
pewder of no use tous? We lke letting it off in fire-
works for our pleasure, and to pass away the time! Only
one event, which happened about the beginning of March,
ICEBERG WITH REFRACTION NEAR CAPE LOWENORN.
erieved us sadly; our Dr. Buchholz, who until now had
shown himself courageous and resolute in all moments
of danger, became melancholy, and a nervous disorder
developed itself, which he never lost until he returned
home. Of course we did all we could for him; but our
position on the floe, and later in the boats, without
140 THE GERMAN AROTIC EXPEDITION.
medical advice, was of that kind that we were unable to
follow up any means of cure whatever.
Middle of February, in 64° 40’ N.L., and about twenty
nautical miles from land, we saw, in a westerly direction,
and running parallel with the coast for about eight
nautical miles, a strip of open water. It was evidently of
considerable breadth, and seemed to reach nearly to the
land, for with a westerly wind came up a strong swell.
With an east wind, on the contrary, it remained calm;
and we might therefore conclude that towards the east
the ice lay densely packed. The coast landscape has
become less wild; it looks as though people might be
living there. The sun, which now stands seventeen
degrees high on the meridian, begins to have some power.
It begins to feel quite ike summer. Off with the furs,
and the cramped up sleeves! the men now go about with
bare throats and chests.
Beautiful northern lights brighten the night. Like
the leaves of a fan or a flower, the sheaves of light unroll
themselves over the heavens. Its pole seems to lie
exactly over our house.
March brought abundant snow, and gave us but few
cheerful days. Once we drifted within a short distance of
a small iceberg about sixty feet high, on the top plateau of
which we could see a seal family. The wife had evidently
in this retirement made her lying-in bed: At four p.m. on
the distant horizon, owing to the glistening ice-blink, the
“ Kolberger-Heide” glacier became visible twenty-five
nautical miles from us. On approaching it we could see
from there, as far down as Cape Moesting, one unin-
terrupted row of glaciers, which seemed to reach down
to the sea. The intervening towering rocks were about
POST NUBILA PH@DBUS. 1AL
3000 feet high. In the neighbourhood were countless
icebergs, some of which were fast to the ground. We
passed through the middle of them; and on the 19th,
drifting swiftly along within six nautical miles from
land, we nearly ran on toone. When, however, we were
within twenty-five paces from the monster, the ice-
current stopped, and for three hours we lay completely
still. Then the ice loosened once more, and the journey
began quicker than before. A collision, perhaps the
total destruction of our floe, seemed imminent; for
twenty minutes we were in the greatest danger, and
looked on at the grand spectacle with breathless atten-
tion. The nearest part of the berg was a firm, connected
mass. Farther on its build, under the combined in-
fluence of sun and water, had been worn into magni-
ficent cliffs and gateways. On the south side was an
aperture which seemed broad and high enough to hold
a ship as large as the Hansa. As we came nearer the
mass, we suddenly saw directly above us numerous points
and jagged spikes; one projecting angle indeed we could
grasp. ‘* We are lost !”’ such was the thought of each of
us. But—wonderful! our floe was unshaken ; it did not
even graze it. Small pieces of floating ice which sur-
rounded it served both as “fender” and protector to
our raft from this fatal collision. The berg once behind
us, we drifted for some time in open water, which had
collected itself here as in the wake of a ship.
On the 18th of March, in latitude 64° 2’, we took our
longitude. By the chronometer it was 40° 44’ W. Accord-
ing to the Coast Survey, however, it was 40° 0’ W. So that
the land on Graah’s chart is carried 44’ too far to the east.
On the 29th of March, to our great joy, we found
142 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
ourselves in the latitude of Nukarbik. Was it on this
island that Graah wintered from the 3rd of September,
1829, to the 5th of April, 1850; and where his trouble-
some and dangerous boat journey to the north was
broken off? We had long nourished the hope of starting
from here on a boat voyage to Friedrichsthal, the most
southerly settlement on the western coast, though the
ice lay so thick that two sailors asked permission to go
on land. Fortunately the captain refused his consent;
for a few hours later a change set in, which would have
rendered it fearfully difficult for the men to have reached
us again. On the evening of the 29th of March we
thought we saw a fire on shore, and conjectured that it
came from an Esquimaux settlement. We therefore
sent up some rockets, and the next day hoisted our flag ;
but eventually we saw nothing but some snow-buntings
and ravens. The latter came regularly every morning
from the land to the sea, and returned at sunset. In the
Bight of Nukarbik we had an unwilling stay of four
weeks. We found ourselves two to three nautical miles
from land. Whilst farther out the ice drifted southward
without interruption, our floe tacked now to the south,
now to the north. This was caused by the course of the
current which ran close under the coast. The wind did
not affect it, for we sometimes drove right against it.
The coast is here deeply indented by three important
Fjords. At the flood these land openings exert great
strength of attraction, and our floe neared them. The
ebb drew us back again; the next tide renewed the
forward motion, and thus for weeks together we were
the sport of the currents. At this time the spring flood
of the 3rd of April passed over without any remarkable
POST NUBILA PH@DBUS. 143
effect. The 12th being a bright day, the opportunity pre-
sented itself of observing the ebb and tide. We lay near
an iceberg, which measured 120 feet high, was estimated
at 180 in breadth and 200 in length. From ten a.m.
until four p.m. the current set us slowly towards an iceberg
surrounded by a strip of water, sometimes so near that
we tried to push ourselves from it by poles. During this
time we observed that the flood had risen two feet to the
easily discernible high-water mark on the berg. At
four p.m. the water again began to sink, and we floated
back. We could hear the hissing and thundering of the
ice floes falling after the ebb headlong from the banks.
Small flights of linnets and snow-buntings visited us.
We threw them some oat-groats, which they greedily
devoured ; at the same time being so tame, that we could
catch them with the hand. In the middle of April a
sheht attack of scurvy attacked one of our men, the
carpenter, whose leg was much swollen. We applied
some simple remedies, made him take plenty of exercise,
and he was soon restored.
The Haster Festival fell at the time we lay floating
backwards and forwards in the Bay of Nukarbik. We
spent it cheerfully, m health, and full of hope of
eventual preservation out of all danger and want; to us
it was indeed a real Resurrection Festival. Had we not
often had death before our eyes in its most threatening
form? Nature, too, began to show signs of approaching
spring; the air was considerably milder, the lowest
temperature in the night 23° Fahr.; in the sunshine, which
we often enjoyed while stretched upon the sails of the
boats, the thermometer rose to 543° Fahr. On the first
festival day (17th of April) we had a good meal, pre-
144 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
served meat made into soup, ham, kidney beans, peas,
and a bottle of sherry, which we had carefully kept until
this day. On the second, we were to be released from
our unwelcome position between the steep reddish-brown
retreating cliffs of Cape Moltke and the low island of
Nukarbik. A storm from the north gave to the motion
of our floe a seaward direction, and we once more floated
southward. The next three weeks brought us a long
way forward, for this part of our voyage began on the
18th in 63° 80’ N.L., and on the 6th of May we found
ourselves in 61° 4, almost m the latitude of Bergen.
During this stage, as speedy as it was free from danger,
the evolutions of the ice-floes afforded us much interest,
and our spirits roseimmensely. The coast, with its many
branching mountain chains, which on the southern side
were mostly free from snow, its Fjords, creeks, islands, and
capes formed a highly pleasing prospect. Grand was the
appearance of the “ Puisortok” glacier, a mighty ice-
field extending thirty nautical miles along the coast, from
which protruded the yellowish rocky masses of Cape
Steen Bille. On the 25th, we saw a seal lying on a floe,
whilst from the land a bear with stealthy steps was
nearing it; but the seal soon detected the threatened
danger, and quickly disappeared. Linnets and snow-
buntings are no longer rare. Fearless and confiding,
these small birds seem to like the approach of men.
«Some of them,’ so says Bade’s day-book, “ will almost
perch upon our noses, and in five minutes allowed them-
selves to be caught three times.”
Still no open water! During the first days of May it
rained heavily ; the snow melting, the path to our house )
became a ruin; its roof leaked like a sieve, and the house
POST NUBILA PH@BUS. 145
itself, which formerly stood in a valley; was now upon a
hill! We were obliged to prop it up. From the con-
tinued thaw a heap of things came to light which we
thought were lost. Among them was the carpenter’s
chest.
Hyen on the 6th of May we had no idea that we
should be able to leave our floe on the following day,
much less meet with all sorts of provisions, which would
be useful to our frail settlement destined to destruction.
After the continued rain of the last few days, we broke up
the remainder of the snow-path round the house entirely,
and tried to give additional firmness to our falling
dwelling with the laths and supports which were thereby
set at liberty. These we drove into the floe on the
outer side of the house, and bound together high above
it with ropes, so that it was thoroughly laced in. Be-
tween these supports and the house wall we stuffed sail-
cloth to keep out the draught and rain. The galley,
which was fastened to the flagstaff, had lost its bottom
through the thaw, and slanted sideways in the air. We
loosened it from this aimless connexion and stood it —
once more on the snow.
On the morning of the 7th we were agreeably surprised
to see open water in the direction of land. A stiff south-
easter had cleared the sky during the night, and in the
grey morning the watch heard through the fog a rushing
and roaring sound, which could be nothing but the sea. The
thought had now to be seriously entertained as to whether
the time had not come for our release from the floe. And
it had come. Wind and weather remained favourable. The
strip of water in the south-west came nearer and nearer,
the wind separating masses of small floes and driving
L
146 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
them northwards. At half-past twelve the captain, after
having uninterruptedly observed the ice and the weather
for some time, decided, with the agreement of all the
officers, that according to his opinion, the moment had
come when they should leave the floe and try to save
AN ICEBERG.
themselves by reaching the coast in the boats. But he
did not wish to bear the entire responsibility of such an
important step, believing that if the abandonment of the
floe and the taking to the boats were decided upon with
unanimous consent, or at least with that of the majority of
POST NUBILA PHGBUS. 147
his comrades, their prospect of ultimate preservation would
be greatly enhanced by increased individual exertions.
How well founded this opinion was, time would prove. It
was also found that this day’s observations gave a latitude
of 61° 12’; more northerly than that of yesterday, as
on the 6th we were in 61° 4. This view of the captain’s
HUNTING THE POLAR BEAR.
therefore received unlimited approbation, Dr. Laube only
showing some hesitation, which was overruled. Our
decision stood firm. After a hasty mid-day meal we at
once began to clear the boats. This was troublesome
work. First we took out all the provisions, clothing,
sails, masts, oars, instruments, and so forth, so that the
L 2
‘
148 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
boats might be hauled empty over three floes; and the
whole of the contents were carried after them, partly on
sledges and partly on the back, and they were again
reladen. In feverish haste and impatience this work was
accomplished, and in three hours all was ready. We
took one last thankful look at our faithful floe; through
numerous dangers and calamities, from the region of
terror and death, it had borne us here in 200 days, into
a more hospitable latitude; and now filled with fresh
courage we might hope for a speedy release.
It was about four p.m. as with three hearty cheers
we set sail. The community were divided amongst
the boats in the following manner :—The whale-boat,
which was commanded by Captain Hegemann, took
the two scientific men, the cook, and the sailors
Philipp Heine and Bernhard Giatjen. The boat Bis-
marck was commanded by the first officer, Hildebrandt ;
under him were the two sailors Paul Tilly and Hein-
rich Bittner. The large boat King William was com-
manded by the second officer, Bade; and the carpenter,
Wilhelm Bowe, Fritz Kewell, Max Schmidt, and
Conrad Gierke constituted the crew. We sailed until
nine p.m., at first slowly, but after we had stowed away
better, more rapidly; so that upon hauling the boat up
on a floe, we had left seven nautical miles behind us.
This hauling up was a hard bit of work. After finding a
low spot and first emptying the boat, we lifted it on to
the floe by swinging it backwards and forwards, and then
when it came up the third time, with a strong pull at the
painter a part was raised on to the ice, and afterwards
the whole was hauled up. The provisions and other
equipments of each boat were stacked up close by, and
POST NUBILA PH@BUS. 149
covered over with the oil-skin. The missing sail-roof
of the boat King William had to be replaced by the
insufficient protection afforded by the boat-sail. Some
hours sped by at this work. The evening meal con-
sisted of hard bread and coffee, which the men
prepared in the boats by means of the spirit-lamp. At
THE BOAT BISMARCK.
length, at half-past twelve, we laid down on our furs to
sleep; and at half-past five the next morning, we got up
again. Sailing in a westerly direction brought us to
within four nautical miles from the land. At twelve at
noon, however, the ice was so dense that we were obliged
to pull up ata floe. On this piece of ice, drifting slowly
150 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
southward, we rested in our boats until five p.m. The
sun’s warm rays did us good, but they also produced
that painful evil, snow-blindness. Besides which, from
the constant looking-out against the wind for the chance
of seeing the entrance to a channel, the eyes were so
affected that they could not bear the blinding white of
the light upon the glistening ice-fields. First a great
weariness is felt, and then a burning in the eye, which
soon mounts to unbearable pain. The eye waters vio-
lently, and the head is affected. There is then little else
to do but to wait patiently, and fasten a cloth over the
eyes to keep out every ray of light. After one and a
half to two days the suffering is over, but one must be
careful of a relapse. This sickness shows itself in many
different forms. Some people suffer often and most vio-
lently from it, others only find their eyes shghtly affected.
Later, we tried to guard ourselves by making the green
shading-glasses of the telescope into snow-spectacles.
By this sensible improvised help, and others which we
found, we were able to provide each with this, for an
Arctic voyage, most necessary article. Our sailing journey,
whith at first was through dense ice, had brought us by
the evening one and a half nautical miles nearer, when
suddenly there fell a calm, and the floes before us had
packed themselves into an impenetrable mass. The above-
described work of hauling up the boats exhausted our
streneth again considerably; and after enjoying some
coffee and bread, we fell into a deep sleep, dead tired.
Bad weather, fall of snow and storm, kept us fixed six
days more to the floe. The temperature changed from
363° Fahr. by day, to 21° Fahr. by night.
Yesterday, the 10th of May, in the afternoon, we
POST NUBILA PH@BUS. on
played our usual game at whist in the whale-boat. Our
boat-sail (that belonging to the King William), which
serves as a roof during the night, from its lightness and
transparency keeps but little of the wet off; the rain has.
dropped gently upon us for now nearly twenty-four
hours, as from the rose of a watering-pot. The other
boats are better off in this respect, as they have oil-cloth
FSIE=BRICKHAUS SFA
SS
AN ICEBERG.
sail coverings. The day ended, Mr. Hildebrandt and his
people came to us in the large boat, for company and
also for any alcohol and provisions that we could spare,
with which we were better provided. There were
‘therefore eight men to feed in the large boat. In the
152 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
morning we boiled a kettle of coffee, and eat a piece of
dry bread with it. The mid-day meal consisted of a
portion of soup, and the meat boiled in it. In the
- evening a drink of cocoa refreshed us, of course without
either milk or sugar. We had to be economical with our
provisions; for if we had to lie quiet much longer,
hunger would knock sharper at the door. Our appetite
is extraordinary, but easily accounted for, as the diet of
fresh meat and fat, which is indispensable to this climate,
had to be sparingly weighed out in scales which we
manufactured for the occasion. The store of bacon is
reckoned at 6 lbs. per head; besides which, there are
two hams.
At last, on the 14th, the bad weather broke up, the ice
opened towards the evening for a short distance south-
wards, and we rowed to an iceberg; when, however,
close under its walls, the cold was so intense that we
tried to row round it. As we could not succeed, we
retreated as fast as possible from this uncomfortable
neighbour; and that just at the right time, for the open
water closed behind us once more, and again we saw
ourselves condemned -to another five days’ existence on
the floe. Our latitude was 61° 1’.
“Up to yesterday morning, 29th of May” (so it runs
in the pilot Bade’s day-book), ‘uninterrupted storm
from the north with snow; ice dense, land not often
discernible, temperature. not under 32° Fahr., mostly
32.5° to 41° Fahr.; not moved from the spot; very
wearisome; banished to the boat, as we must not
gct wet. Each one passes the time as well as he can.
Mr. Hildebrandt makes sketches of our boats on and
between the ice; Fritz, as cook of the large boat, makes
POST NUBILA PH@BUS. as
experiments on his fire apparatus in order to insure the
ereatest economy; Konrad composes poems; the carpenter
relates Vegesack stories, and how as captain of a gun-
boat he sailed by the help of a chart of the Mediterranean
from Bremen to Hull, and how by means of soundings he
found himself at Ramsgate; I studied Heine’s poems, or
carved boats, and so on; Max tried his hand at drawing.
Yesterday it gave over snowing; we reviewed our pro-
visions and divided them equally. We have about 27 lbs.
of bread per man, 5 lbs. of bacon, some coffee and cocoa,
which we hope will last us quite a month. Our appetite
is boundless, and the scanty rations to which we are
restricted, prevent us from ever feeling satisfied. I
have made a small pair of scales, in which I weigh the
bread to my crew ; the bacon I cut by my eye in pretty
equal pieces, which is then given out by call to the men.
This is always an exciting moment; all eyes brighten at
the sight of the bacon, and a piece of bread is looked
upon as tenderly as the finest confection. Fritz pretends
to have discovered that one feels much more satisfied by
bolting the little one eats, and not biting it much: it
seems to last longer! We almost look our eyes out after
a seal. Oil and fresh meat would be a delicious addition
to our provisions. It is a peculiar and very mixed
feeling, to think that in six weeks we shall have nothing
to eat; if then we have not reached the land, we must
drop off one after the other ; but serious as is the thought,
there are times when it seems irresistibly comical. Of
tobacco we have plenty, and a good portion is consumed
every day. Fritz is making himself a new pipe. To-day,
the 19th of May, is again lovely weather. Whilst I am
writing this at half-past nine a.m.,the warmth is 724° Fahr.
154 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
Tbe heat is oppressive, the wind calm, the ice quite
dense. In such weather it ought soon go to pieces.
With the telescope we can see the torrents falling from
the steep overhanging rocks on land; fresh water we
find everywhere on the floe. Melting the snow is, thank
God, over now. Our health is good, only Dr. Buchholz
THE LOOK-OUT,
is still suffering. Our eyes have improved these last few
days by sparing their use. The temperature of the sea-
water is 31° Fahr., that of the fresh water on the floe
32° Fahr. At this moment, I am hearing much astonish-
ment expressed over a fly which has settled on the sails ;
in reality, a welcome sign. ‘The month of May is, how-
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POST NUBILA PH@BUS. 155
ever, no month of delight to us here. Setting aside the mild
temperature and the brightness, it differs but little from
January, resembling it in the continued northern storms.
Real nights we have now no longer; the sun rises at
three o’clock and sets shortly before nine; the inter-
mediate period is half twilight. The time must be near
for the birds to choose their quarters and lay their eggs.
This east coast of Greenland is, indeed, a dead, deserted
neighbourhood ; and one may judge how difficult it is to
get at, as, had our lives depended upon it, we could not
once have reached it with the boats.” As no change took
place in the position of the ice, we resolved to drag our
boats to the Island of Iluidlek, about three miles distant, !
which we were obliged to admit was hard work. We
began on the evening of the 20th. The tow-line which
we had made for the purpose during the winter, was
made fast through the thole-holes; and we harnessed
ourselves to it by a band round the shoulders, Only
300 steps did we advance. Snow fell plentifully, but
soon turned to water, so that in our night-quarters in the
boat we suffered much from the damp. On the afternoon
of the 21st, the weather cleared. The captain and
Mr. Hildebrandt undertook a ramble in the direction of
land. They found the ice but little adapted for our
purpose, nothing but burst fragments, high towering
floes, and huge blocks; there were but few fields, and
those not more than 100 paces in extent. It seemed
almost impossible to pull the boats through these laby-
rinths of ice to the land; and we were obliged to agree
to wait for the working of the spring-floods, which would
* In reckoning by miles, nautical miles must be understood, four of
which go to one German mile.
156 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
take place in a few days. The time seemed dreadfully
long. Some sailors practised wood-carving. We amused
ourselves with the chess-board and carving the pieces;
Bade worked at a king in robes and crown; others turned
to some useful employment, such as twisting fishing-lines
eighty fathoms long, in the hope of hauling up a cod fish
wherewith to enrich our pitiful meals.
The 24th of May was glorious weather. The sun shone
on us from a cloudless sky, and where its rays fell the
thermometer was 96° Fahr. It was a welcome oppor-
tunity of drying our washing and clothes thoroughly,
which had been in a chronic state of wet, and we eagerly
embraced it. The boats, too, were laid open, and steamed
under the heat of the sun. All the men turned out.
Mr. Bade, the purser, mindful of his duty, was with some
of the men hunting for something for dinner. But, alas! |
seals would not show themselves, fishes would not take
the bacon-bait, and the stupid northern-divers were at all
events clever enough to keep beyond the reach of
shot. A successful attempt to reach the Island of
Illuidlek, which was about three miles distant, and lay
from 140 to 150 yards high, was made by Mr. Hilde-
brandt and the sailors Philipp and Paul. After three
hours’ exertion, at about one o’clock, they set foot on
firm ground. They were with us again by four o’clock.
Their return was quicker. In the sailor Heine’s day-
book it says:—‘* The fine weather has lasted. Mr.
Hildebrandt, Paul, and I tried to get to land; we suc-
ceeded with great difficulty. We ran more than we
walked, and sometimes sank deep in the snow. We
perspired all over, and the water ran into our boots, so
that we had to empty them continually and wring our
a ee eS
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Bs
POST NUBILA PH@BUS. MY
stockings. The island showed no signs of vegetation, fell
steep and often perpendicularly down, and had many
fissures and gaps. The southern part seemed more
accessible, but we had to: hurry our return, and were
therefore obliged to give up further investigation.”
Heine further reports, as we were led to expect from
Graah’s observations, that a small strip of water ran along
the land, formed by the torrents falling from the coast.
On this swam a few divers. They succeeded in passing
this water by standing on a floe, and by means of the
boat-hooks pushed themselves from one piece of ice to
the other.
The desert, rocky Island of Illuidlek is about ten nau-
tical miles in circumference. They landed on the north-
east side at a spot from which, by the help of the boats,
they could easily reach the south coast, where we might
hope to find protection from the wind and ice drift. There
also seemed a prospect of increasing our provisions by
hunting sea-birds. This, on the whole favourable report,
was given in the captain’s boat, in the presence of the
officers and Dr. Laube, and it served to strengthen
our resolution to try with all our might for a temporary
refuge on this lonely island. No sooner said than
done. As the warmth of the sun was already very
fatiguing when we were at work, and as in addition to
that most of us had not yet recovered from snow-
blindness, we agreed, weather permitting, to drag the
boats by night and rest by day. In this way we hoped
to be on land in eight days. Observations of the 24th
of May gave 60° 59.8’ N.L.
Double altitude of the sun’s limb, 86° 25° 40”.
Chronometer, 12h. 21m. 15s. p.m.; reading of the
158 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
chronometer, 15m. 30.6s., giving the longitude 43° 10.1
W. According to Graah’s chart, however, it should be
42° 20° W., resulting in an error in the latter of about
50m.’ A later comparison of our chronometer with that
of the royal Danish brig Constance, gave an error to us
of —35.4s., whereby our longitudinal observation would
require nine minutes more. The first night with great
exertion we advanced 530 paces ; seven a.m. fall of snow ;
rested until eight p.m. Mr. Hildebrandt and Max had a
severe attack of snow-blindness, and were obliged to remain
quiet in the boat while we pulled it. We were doubtful
whether it would not be better to leave the heavy boat
Kine Wilham behind, but we still dragged it on with
us, as we hoped to find it of great use on our journey by
water.
The 28th was a clear day. We were able to dry our
things once more, and find a path for our dragging the next
night. By seven a.m. we had gained 700 paces, when it
again began to snow. Dragging is fearfully tiring work,
and makes but slow progress, particularly when the boats
have to be hauled now over high lumps of ice, now over
places where the water is only covered with loose snow,
on which occasions it does not give merely wet feet, but
an entire bath. Dr. Laube is very fortunate that way.
I have but one pair of boots, which are so torn with the
ice, that the water runs unhindered in and out. Having
once reached our goal, stockings and shoes are off at
once, and the naked feet put into the fur sleeping-sack,
where they soon get warm. Fortunately, each of us has
2 It must not be forgotten that Graah’s chronometer at that time
had become useless. (Graah, Narrative, &e., English Translation,
p- 65.)
¢ -
POST NUDBILA PILHBUS. 159
about three pairs of stockings to change; though in this
damp weather they dry badly, and often enough we can
only wring them and put them on again stone cold as they
are. We have borne it well up to this time, but I fear
for the consequences. The temperature is seldom below
32° Fahr.
The 27th was Konrad’s birthday. To raise their spirits
somewhat, I gave my men a glass of sherry—a festive
luxury in our poverty, as our whole store consisted of one
bottle of sherry and one of rum. That we might sit dry,
we borrowed the oilskin coats from the “ Hope,” and
hung them up under our sail, which is very thin and lets
the rain through, so that we are much better off. The
carpenter, thank God, is recovered from his scurvy. Our
neighbour, the iceberg, has also changed its form. In
the night one side of it fell with a thundering crash. When
all is quiet, we can hear from the land the splitting
of the perpendicular walls. The nights are light; real
darkness we have none, and the twilight, which breaks
about twelve, resembles that of our own summer evenings
at half-past nine. Water for cooking and drinking we
find plentifully on the floe after the rain, and this is
acceptable, as our brandy would soon come to an end if
we had to melt the snow. “To-day we have been on
our way with the boats twenty-one days, and to-day it is
exactly a year since I left home; what may have hap-
pened there since then? Will the next news be sad or
joyful? What have we accomplished in this time?
what endured? When shall we again see our beloved
country? We all naturally hope for a return.” (Bade’s
day-book.)
The work is getting more difficult. First the boats
160 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
have to be emptied, and pulled to the spot where our next
day’s rest is to be taken, while we frequently have to go
over walls of ice, the slipping downwards being often
more difficult than the pulling up. ‘Then the boats tip over
in the snow, or get caught behind a piece of ice, when it
costs us untold trouble to get them free again. Then,
again, we have to go over rifts in the ice, and weary our-
selves over places where it has fallen in. When this difficult
manoeuvre is happily accomplished, all the things must be
put in again. At this work each has to carry from
100 to 105 Ibs. weight; and one can imagine that, as
with this burden we now sink deep into snow or snow-
water, and now have to climb over closely-packed frag-
ments of floes, all that is not really necessary is left
behind. On the night of the 30th to the 31st of May, we
left the longest distance behind us yet accomplished, viz.
1200 paces. As we had drawn two boats to their desti-
nation, the captain, who had been leading and energetic
the whole night, and also active in dragging the boats,
fainted.
In all this galling work hunger tormented us; and if
night gave us sweet dreams of tables richly provided with
food, on awaking, our murmuring, grumbling stomachs
soon brought us back to reality.
Beginning of June, uninterrupted storms from the north,
and fall of rain as from a bowl since the last three days
and nights. Our bad, thin sail can scarcely stand the
drops which fall like lead upon it. Truly we in the
King William are not to be envied. Our rations, too,
are getting scantier than ever! As there is not even a
distant prospect of increasing our provisions, our meals
are reduced to two in twenty-four hours; and every
POST NUBILA PHQ@BUS. 161
morning at nine I give each a quarter of a pound of bread
and a small bit of bacon, and at six in the evening the
same weight of bread, and to all a half-ration of cold
soup with meat in it. In the morning we could still
have a drink of coffee; but in the evening cocoa only.
Our brandy disappeared rapidly; if we did not soon kill
a seal, to supply oil for fuel, we should be obliged to give
up warm food. Thus one can imagine that we are plagued
with a continual and never-satisfied wolf’s craving. The
bread-bag and remainder of the bacon I have always
by my side for safety’s sake. The conversation turns
upon nothing but eating. Max only wishes he was in the
Exchange Restaurant at Bremen; Konrad would be
contented with a juicy beefsteak with some eggs, and
maintains that he could at once demolish twenty-five eggs
with one pound of butter and sixpennyworth of bread ; at
the same time, the eye falls upon the clock and counts
the hours which must still pass before the scanty meal
will recur.
And how quietly and devotedly is the meal then taken !
how busy is each trying to stifle the gnawing hunger, if
only for a short time! If one could only get rid of the
burdensome feeling by sleep! But scarcely does sleep
come than the water leaks on to our faces, or one of the
coats on the roof glides from the edge of the boat,
scattering the whole of its watery contents upon us.
Konrad was quite sad this morning; in his sleep he
had consumed a portion of ham and some poached eggs
one after the other, but on waking felt so dreadfully
hollow within. The wet cold air of 39° Fahr. in the boat
is very disagreeable; we shiver unccasingly. It is really
wonderful that we are so well, though we feel that our
M
162 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
strength is diminishing. When will open water, either
to sail or row in, appear before us? Shall we even now,
after so many dangers and difficulties overcome, be
destined to a miserable end? Before yesterday the ice
pushed and got into motion, probably on account of the
spring-tide and the storm, but it packed itself closer than
ever, and did not open again. It is to be hoped we shall
soon have better weather. We have moved somewhat
nearer the island, whether to our advantage or not we
do not know.
At length, on the 4th of June, we succeeded in landing
on Itmidlek. This day we dragged the boats 2000 paces
in thirteen hours, and at eight p.m. we were able to
launch them.
CHAPTER VIII.
JOURNEY ALONG THE COAST OF GREENLAND FROM TLLUIDLEK
TO FRIEDRICHSTHAL. JUNE, 1870.!
Description of the Island.—Arrival in the Bay of “ Hansa Haven.”
—Departure for Friedrichsthal.—Desert appearance of the coast.
—The cliffs near Cape Hvidtfeldt—Vegetation and landscape
scenery.—Excursion to the Island of Sedlevik.—A Swiss landscape
in Greenland.—The Bay of Friedrichsthal.—Men upon the shore.
—The Moravian Mission-colony of Friedrichsthal—Dwelling-
houses in Friedrichsthal.—Hospitable reception.—The natives.—
Preparations for returning home.—Commercial dealings with
Denmark.—Travelling in Greenland.—The Esquimaux village.
—FEast-Greenlander frightened. — West-Greenlander. — Beer in
Greenland.
Tae small Island of Iluidlek extends in its longer
axis from south-east to north-west. A dome-shaped,
steep declivity to the north-west, to the south-east a
sloping mountain, form centres round which cluster a
crowd of wild rugged cliffs. A small strait separates
the island from the smaller Ivimiut lying before it, and
Cape Discord.? Inland extends a long chain of rocks,
a very quickset hedge, the innermost end of which
forms a small low island, which we took for that called
Omenarsuk on Graah’s map. Naked and bare of all
vegetation, these grotesque rocks rise into the air. The
1 By Captain Hegemann, with the assistance of Professor Laube and
W. Bade.
? Graah’s map gives Lat. 60° 52’ for Cape Discord. Our own
/
measurement determined it as 61° 0’.
uM 2
164 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
inhabitants of the island, a pair of lonely gulls, watched
with evident curiosity from a rift in the rocks the arrival
of the strange visitors, and some guillemots fluttered
piping around the open water of the strait. It was
between the south-east point of the island, Cape Discord,
and the small Island of Ivimiut. About ten o’clock we
lay in a bay protected from the north wind, and sur-
rounded by high rocks, which we called ‘‘ Hansa Haven.”
Here we wished to pass the night, and had already brought
our things to shore with that intention, when the tide fell
and our boat grounded ; we therefore left the bay at about
twelve at night, pulling up at a piece of ice lying not far
from the land. It was now exactly four weeks since our
departure from the floe, which we had left with such confi-
dent hope of reaching the neighbourimg shore in a few days.
Whitsunday, glorious weather! Messrs. Hildebrandt
and Bade went hunting in the boat Bismarck. They
brought home a small bag of twenty-two divers, the
flesh of which, prepared as a stew, provided us with two
excellent mid-day meals. This, however, only helped for
the moment; and we had, at the utmost, only provisions
for fourteen days! The hunters had been in the upper
part of the island. They saw along the southern coast
a small strip of water. ‘ Everywhere we find nothing
but bare barren cliffs, the higher the wilder, sparingly
clothed with moss and stunted willows. But no trace of
human inhabitants!” Tlluidlek, where Graah fell in with
some natives,’ seems to have been long uninhabited.
On the second day, the 6th of June, we started again,
* « Another family, consisting of six individuals, was established on a
point of land at Illuidlek, opposite Ivimiut.” Graah’s “ Voyage to
Greenland,” p. 70.
Page 164.
THE BOATS UNDER SAIL.
JOURNEY ALONG THE COAST OF GREENLAND. 165
Our aim was Friedrichsthal, the nearest colony on
the south-west coast of Greenland. But we reckoned upon
soon meeting one or the other of the Esquimaux seal-
boats searching the Fjord. We worked, pushing and
rowing laboriously, up the Kangerdleck Fjord, then struck
straight across, and rowed and cruised about from six
o'clock, at which time the ice loosened a little, until eleven
in the evening, against a hard, south-west wind. The
Island of Omenarsuk scarcely rises 125 feet above the sea,
and yet on its north side shows a spot only a few square
feet in size, which is covered with fresh-water ice, and
looks exactly like a diminutive glacier. From its position
it could not possibly be an ice-block hurled there; besides,
it was fresh water, ice from the snow which had been
frozen in the ravines of the island. This inland ice-
formation in such small masses against the neighbouring
powerful ice-current, is an interesting phenomenon. Some
nautical miles from the south point of the above-mentioned
Fjord, which we christened “ Pfingstkap,” we hauled up
the boats on to the firm, even coast ice. The following
sketch will explain the situation :—
The next day, 7th Juneswas
delightful weather. We sailed
pleasantly past “ Pfinestkap,”
the highest rocky point of
which rises boldly in the air,
stretching along the steep coast
southwards. Its aspect was
barren and dreary. The dark-
4 ness of the rocks was broken
: here and there by small strips
of snow, reaching about half
Jitluidlek
166 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
way up; some of which looked grass-green from the
scanty moss growing on the stones. On a low island,
which on Graah’s map bears the name of Kutek Island,
we took our mid-day meal. In the depths of the rocks
we found some beautifully-tasting water, and for once we
drank as much as we wanted. The rocks of Kutek Island
must often have come in hard contact with the ice
drifting from the north; many places distinctly showed
that they had been polished by the ice and worn quite
flat. On many rocks, which were partly covered by the
tide, lay the glistening blue fragments of pieces washed
up, and of crushed ice-floes. In the evening we hauled
up our boats five miles north of Cape Vallée, for the first
time on the rocks of the continent of Greenland. For
the first time, now that we had no longer the crowding
ice to fear, did we give ourselves completely and quietly
up to rest. The light of another bright sunshiny dawn
showed us some signs of vegetation inland. There were
sorrel, dandelion, and cinque-foil, which we sought for
eagerly in the fissures and rents of the rocky ground,
and with which, with the help of some pickle, we im-
provised a salad with the remainder of the divers; got
once more under sail, and in the evening had left twenty
miles behind us. Our quarters this night were close
to the south end of Greenland (60° 34° N.L.), m front
of the Fjord of Lindenow (marked by Graah under the
unpronounceable name of Kangerdlurksoeitsiak).
On the following day we passed the grandly-formed
pyramidical Cape of Hvidtfeldt (Kaningesekasik), more
than a thousand feet high. Before it lay a group of
cliffs, at one of which we pulled up, in order to find the
best channel. On this occasion granite was found
JOURNEY ALONG THE COAST OF GREENLAND. 167
amongst the rocks. Dr Laube reports :—‘‘ We pulled up
to one of the rocks for a short rest, and for our meal. It
was a huge block of granite, and that of the beautiful
large grained kind, the pegmatite, which is known to
come from Siberia and other northern lands. Besides
this, it contained a great number of garnets and carnelians
mixed up together; and from its bosom the waves had
washed a lovely block of rose quartz. I had made no
secret of the presence of sapphires and garnets, and so
came to grief through it, as we all wanted to capture a
large sapphire. Hammer and chisel, which I had always
to borrow, as my case went down with the Hansa, were
scarcely to be obtained, and only with the sacrifice of my
daily meal did J at length succeed in quieting my geologico-
mineralogical mind by the acquisition of some fragments,
when we at once said good-byeto the rock and its treasures,
and went on our way. My mineralogico-geological mind !
How often on the way did it rise in an excitement of
longing to get hold of this or that spot, to climb up, and
laden with stones return to the boat! but I must suppress
such longings. If, as is well known, one cannot study
well upon a full stomach, I can certify that a craving,
gnawing stomach, does not incline one to work. But,
even had I overcome this, a half-hour spent on such
an excursion might have brought the lives of my
waiting companions into danger. For this I would not
be responsible. So that I only allowed my wishes
to prevail when the occasion was warranted by circum-
stances.”
The colour of the mountains, beginning from Cape
Hyvidtfeldt, was quite different from those seen hitherto ;
they looked like melted copper. That explains at once
168 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
the brown colour so often borne by naked rocks; it
may also arise from the weather-beaten stratum of the
peculiar granite of which they are built.* The blue
atmosphere, in which the rocks rise, enhances the
picturesque appearance of this richly-coloured coast
scenery.
The rocks lying almost under Kaningesekasik, are
washed perfectly round ; they lie like giant ice-breakers,
smooth and polished on all sides. Waves and ice have
done their work. These cupola and dome-shaped
rocks we now met constantly on our coasting journey ;
thousands of them lay scattered along the mainland,
a stony outwork against the onward-pressing ice.
Our further voyage showed us a more pleasant land-
scape. To the north of the promontory of Igalalik
appeared, extending for some distance, green. tracts
clothed with short grass. Unfortunately it was very
foggy weather, and the clusters of islands, amid which
we were now steering to find the entrance to Prince
Christian Sound, caused us to miss this mark. The
weather had become bad, and the south-east wind setting
straight in on to shore drove us to seek protection in the
first suitable of the many opening bights. After sailing
in it for some time, the water became smoother; we
were evidently in a strait, and that the one we wanted,
viz. Prince Christian Sound. Lazily we rowed until
twoam. A flat piece of granite, sloping gently down
to the water, afforded us a capital resting-place. Soon
the boats were placed in the usual way, prepared as a
tent couch.
* Is not this coppery colour due to the lichen which overlies the ~
granite, similar to the violet-coloured Byssus colithes of the Brocken ?
JOURNEY ALONG THE COAST OF GREENLAND. 169
More quietly than usual could we give ourselves up to
sleep. The southern point of Greenland was, we thought,
happily reached; in a few days we must be in Friedrichs-
thal. That horrible spectre which had martyred us for
a long four weeks, the prospect of starvation, vanished ;
and we set valiantly to work upon the side of bacon and
the ham. One must not, however, think, says Dr.
Laube, that, on that account, we were careless of our
provisions. Captain Hegemann providently kept the
bread basket somewhat high. It might still happen that
by the ice or some other hindrance we might be de-
layed, and with our store of provisions have to prolong
our lives for a longer time. The long-missing feeling of
satiety, and the joyful knowledge that soon this lingering,
troublesome work of deliverance would be successful,
helped to put us in the happiest frame of mind. It was
already late in the morning, when the voice of the care-
ful cook awoke us out of a refreshing sleep with the cry
of ‘ Schaffen! schaffen !’*
“The next thing was to try, if possible, to ascertain our
exact position; the further journey was,. therefore, put
off until after the mid-day rest. When the accustomed
morning toilette had been gone through (a brook leaping
from the mountains gave an opportunity for a thorough
cleansing), I employed the time in climbing the over-
hanging rocks to look about a little and see what was
here offered to the eye. How different the ground
already looked here! No longer those bare masses of
rock alternating with everlasting ice! green moss spread
6 This is the nautical term for the summons to dinner (eight bells),
and is still kept up at the seamen’s anniversary festivals in Bremen.
170 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
itself around; dwarf birches, creeping willows showed
young shoots, though even here the snow seemed not
long to have disappeared. Indeed, we had no need to
climb very high above the valley to find the winter
carpet still spread. The straits here had more the
character of a lake. From our resting-place straight to
the south opened another in the distance, bordered by an
island. In the east, from whence we had come, rose
long-backed ridges; whilst westward, where the straits
disappeared behind a rocky promontory, rose high moun-
tains. Still and deserted it was on all sides; scarcely
a white gull fluttered over the water, or a snow-bunting
piped its simple song. About mid-day I returned to
the camp. On the broad granite flat the captam and
the pilot had erected a temporary observatory. Ob-
servations gave us 60° 4’ N.L., according to which
we were not in Prince Christian Sound, but some nautical
miles more to the south. Graah’s chart, which had
generally given the run of the coast pretty exactly, had
disappointed us more than once with regard to our
geographical position. With a fresh breeze we sailed
about twelve miles over the supposed Sound, then found
it surrounded by rocks, and after climbing some
heights were convinced that we were in a Fjord and not
in a sea-strait, so we were obliged to row back again.
The scenery on both sides was wildly picturesque, and
grand dark rocky walls, covered on the top with snow,
rose more than a thousand feet high; torrents of the
melted snow rushed from the clefts and fell foaming in
the Fjord. In some places, a sickly mossy covering was
perceptible. Birds were often visible. At six in the
evening, we were once more at the entrance; allowed
JOURNEY ALONG THE COAST OF GREENLAND. 171
ourselves no rest, however, but sailed until midnight in
a south-westerly direction, four miles further, where in
a small safe harbour we landed. On the shore were
many signs that here had passed or lived some human
beings, and (to judge from the bones of the seals) not very
long ago some Esquimaux. Small stones were laid on
the top of each other in the shape of a quadrangle:
fragments of earthenware and seals’ bones lay strewn
around. In this bight, too, the scenery was indescribably
grand. To the left it was bounded by a hilly chain
clothed in green moss. ‘To the right rose a mighty wall
1200 feet high. A rocky pyramid towered in the air,
and broad cataracts shot over the slopes, the waters
collecting at the bottom, and the overflow being borne
to the sea. The background was picturesquely sur-
rounded by mountains, the waters of whose glaciers fell
over a mountain terrace in a mighty torrent thunder-
ing to the sea. I thought of the ‘Traunfall’ in Upper
Austria. No words are equal to the description of this
majestic scenery ; it wants a vivid water-colour drawing
to convey that impression to the reader which this picture
landscape made upon me. Pity that the journey to
this region 1s so uninvitng! If such were not the
case, an artist might not be indisposed to undertake it,
in order to bring home to the world full and glorious
sketches and views of an unknown land abounding in
nature’s beauty.
At eleven in the morning, with a fresh north wind, we
sailed on. At noon we passed the point of Christian
IV. Island, and from thence rowed between the high
island lying north of Cape Farewell, to the important
Island of Sedlevik with its many. far-stretching arms,
172 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
where we passed the night and the following day. Now,
indeed, we had the certainty of knowing that we were
near Friedrichsthal, and might give ourselves up to
the joyful hope of soon being once more among men.
Strangely enough, up to this time, we had not had a
glimpse of an Hsquimaux, though we might reasonably
conclude that they were now busy in these waters catch-
ing the seals. Later we learnt that this (which is for
the Greenlander a weighty business) was carried on to
the south of Cape Farewell. The bank rises from the
spot where we were, in an oblique direction, about 320
feet, forming a wide hilly plateau inland, on the soft,
elastic, mossy carpet of which we stretched ourselves in
the noonday sun and enjoyed some hours of long-wanted
rest. Here and there, half hidden in the mogs, were
small, blue flowers. Some of our party went hunting,
but shot nothing but a few birds.
In the afternoon came the tide, which rose eight feet,
and with a pretty strong north-east wind made such
breakers that would have been dangerous to us, if some
of the men had not been on the spot at the time, and
held the boat, which was driving on to the shore, with
the oars. Towards evening, the water retreated, the
boats lay still, and we laid ourselves down with the
conviction that the next night we should pass under a
roof in Friedrichsthal. The glaciers which hung every
where on the rocks of the island, now like birds’-nests
between the needles and the rocky pinnacles, now of
considerable strength, stretching down the declivities,
no longer reached (so Dr. Laube affirmed) down to the
sea, though in some places they protruded their moraines
low down, and some of the broken ice getting loose
JOURNEY ALONG THE COAST OF GREENLAND. 173
fell over this dam into the sea. The temperature of the
air seemed considerably warmer, and the land bore a far
fresher green; whilst the islands around Cape Farewell
formed a connected, high towering, tattered rocky block.
The northerly Island of Sedlevik, which we had now
reached, showed a level shore; only in the middle did a
high, steep massive mountain rise. -Hyerywhere the bank
rose so high above the sea, that we had to search for
some time before we could find a place suitable for
pullmg up the boats; and this on account of the steep-
ness of the rough rocks was hard work, though it at last
succeeded.
One week had passed since we reached I[luidlek;
more happily than we had ventured to hope had our
journey sped since then; and now we might once more
allow ourselves a day of rest. Sunday, the 12th of June,
we passed on Sedlevik. Although it blew hard from
the north-west, the day was beautifully clear, and we
could scan the land around us at our leisure. A party
went hunting. ‘Less blood-thirsty ”’ (writes Dr. Laube)
*‘ was my excursion; armed with the carpenter’s hammer,
and accompanied by Philipp and Konrad, I undertook
an excursion through the island. How different it was
over the soft, swelling, mossy carpet, in which the feet
often sank up to the ankles, to the hard stony rocks
which we had trodden up to this time! Under the high
mountains of the island, Spring’s first children had been
born to her; amongst blooming willows and birch bushes,
which rose in their succulent green sprays from the
mossy ground like embroidery, the kidney-leaved sorrel
and sweet-smelling angelica, finely indented fan-like ferns,
waved in the air, and on the hanging rocks the
174 THE, GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
low-lying Sibbaldia spread its violet flower-bed. Below,
at our feet, lay the light blue straits; branching off
here and there, and forming deep Fjords stretching into
the mountains, which with the glittering glaciers and
bluish ravines bounded the distant view. I thought of
the glorious Lake of the four Cantons! The small ice-
bergs drifting on the water, gave life to the picture,
looking like a fleet of blinding white sails; but instead
of the smiling banks which delight the eye on that
Swiss lake, it fell upon a desert shore. And yet what a
different impression the landscape made upon me now
to what it did a short time ago, when we were so un-
certain as to our fate, and scarcely ventured to look up,
much less give our souls to the great beauty of a
northern landscape !”
June 13, started at four in the morning. We crossed
between floes, until we had gone round the north point
of the island, ran before the wind through the Straits of
Torsukatek, and then took our course as a calm fell,
rowing westward, remaining as near as possible to the
coast, looking sharply in the direction of Friedrichsthal.
There suddenly, after rounding a low promontory, the |
longed-for bay lay before us! It was a never-to-be-
forgotten moment. The wind was now favourable, so
we at once set sail, and hoisted our flag. A few hundred
steps from the shore, on the green ground, stood a rather
spacious red house, topped by a small tower. It was the
mission-house. More to the side, and somewhat nearer
to the bank, stood a similar smaller building, near which
lay a dark mass of stony heaps; these we conjectured
were the Hsquimaux houses. Further on to the left
opened a broad Fjord running from the north. High
JOURNEY ALONG THE COAST OF GREENLAND. Tp
mountains framed this pleasant landscape picture, which
was closed in the background by dim bluish mountain
chains.
Friedrichsthal (so says Dr. Laube) is one of the
younger mission stations of the Moravian confraternity.
It was established in the year 1827, and lies in
60° N.L., and is, excepting Pamiadluk (which les
some miles to the south of Cape Farewell, and is the
residence of a Danish petty trader) the most southerly
place in Greenland inhabited by Europeans. The com-
munity of Friedrichsthal, which also includes some of ~
the scattered squatters of Hsquimaux in the neighbour-
hood, contains 437 inhabitants. The natives call the mis-
sion ‘‘ Narsak,” that is, level land; definite enough for
the conditions of land in Greenland. Plains are so rare
there, that they answer well for defining places.. But one’s
expectations with regard to this European colony must
not be too high. On a green meadow-land, which rises
gently from the sea, stands the mission-house. On
either side high mountains stretch inland to the north;
the chain to the left is separated from Friedrichsthal by
a parallel-running Fjord, the Narksamiut. From the
high ridge to the right springs a merry brook, called by
the Missionaries “ Kénigsbach.” The generally flat
shores of the bay juts out on the left into anatural mole,
a prominent granite rock, the “Look-out” hill. To
the left again of this rock is the entrance to the Nark-
samiut, a Fjord running deep into the land, from the
waters of which Cape Igikait rises proud and steep.
For some distance, about an English mile, one may follow
the flat land lying along Narksamiut; then the cliffs and
rocks crowd closer together; and only to those who are
176 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
practised in climbing is it possible to penetrate a step
further, when they may reach a rock which suggests
nothing but a retreat or a giddy fall.
This green flat spot of land the Moravian Brotherhood
have chosen for their most southerly mission station.
The Northmen had already lived here. As the brothers’
house was being built, traces were found of their old
settlement in the ground. Friedrichsthal is, deed, one
of the most lovely spots in Greenland. Open and plea-
santly situated on the grassy sward, and enclosed in a
wide semicircle of high mountains, it makes a good im-
pression on all comers; how much more so on us,
comparatively raised from the dead !
Hurrah! hurrah! Huropean houses, Friedrichsthal
Indeed, there lay before us two low, red-painted houses.
At this moment sprang up a most welcome breeze, and
from our flagstaff the German flag fluttered lustily. I
sat behind, with the glass to my eye, viewing the land.
At the door of the mission-house a blue dress was visible
for a moment, and then disappeared ; now came a whole
company from the house down to the strand; they had
seen us. The rocks of the look-out hill, too, were alive.
A Kuropean strode up and down, like an official guardian
of order. Was it possible that in Greenland were
already to be found harbour-masters and other govern-
ment officers? What I had at first conjectured to bea
heap of stones now stood upright. It was a group of
oddly dressed human beings, natives, who crouching close
together, with their skin clothes and fawn-coloured faces,
could not be distinguished from the cliffs. Now the
boats neared the shore. Even the water was alive. A
man approached us in a canoe, but when he saw us would
1??
JOURNEY ALONG THE COAST OF GREENLAND. We7
have turned quickly back again. The call of the Euro-
peans to him from the cliff made him bolder; he came
towards us, greeted us, and nodding pleasantly accom-
panied us into the harbour.
Still it was uncertain whether the missionaries were
Danish, but we heard,—‘ That is the German flag!
GROUP OF ESQUIMAUX.
They are our people! Welcome, welcome to Greenland !”
Germans, Germans in Greenland! ‘The first word after
so long a time heard from strange lips was German; the
first sound, our dear German mother-tongue; and their
N
178 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
people the first to offer us help and refreshment—who
can describe our wonder and delight ?
The land reached, each wanted to be first on the bank.
I sprang into shallow water. We almost forgot the
boats; the men could not finish the work quickly enough.
What hand-shaking and grasping on all sides. Words
died away in the throat, and the voice trembled. The
man from the cliffs, too, and the natives had come up to
greet us. ‘The supposed guardian of public security was
Mr. Starick, the missionary, who with Mr. Gericke super-
intended the Mission. The good people opened their
eyes when they heard some short details of our voyage !
But this was Germany. As a token, we have Mr.
Gericke’s command :—‘ Wives, go and get ready at once
some good coffee ; in the meantime, we men will drink
a bottle of wine as a welcome.” No sooner said than
done. Whilst the men on the strand were busy making
fast and unloading the boats, we followed the missionaries
to the house, relating and listening alternately.
The mission-house is a small one-storied building.
Like most of the European houses in Greenland, it was
made in Denmark, brought piecemeal from the ship to
this place, and at last set up there. It is not larger than
the houses in the Erzgebirge, or the Harz; and from
the red paint resembles the Swedish peasant-houses.
The foundation is a rocky site covered with moss. The
building of that, as well as of the unadorned wooden
church, cost more trouble than the building of many a
palace in Germany. Tediously must every piece have
been brought from Julianeshaab, nearly eighty miles
distant, in the small wniaks or women’s boats.
The dwelling-houses are small, and not adapted for a
oe
JOURNEY ALONG THE COAST OF GREENLAND. 179
numerous family. Some rooms, such as the dining-room
and the kitchen, are used jointly by the missionaries. The
room in which we first were, was the sitting-room of Mr.
Gericke, the superintendent of the community. It was
plainly furnished; a sofa with cushions, a table, and
some stuffed chairs, formed the whole of the furniture.
The walls were decorated with photographs of missio-
naries. Homely and comfortable the room looked to us,
however! It was painted with oil paint, and all looked
elean and orderly. The long dispensed-with Huropean
cleanliness, and the feeling that we were once more in
a circle where a German matron could exercise her
beneficient activity, acted like a charm upon us. Hven
in Greenland, amongst everlasting ice, the German wife,
we now found, had managed to provide a souvenir of her
own country. Some flowers in the windows supplied
a necessity which the coldness of the climate refused
outside; for the garden before the house, the surface of
which, as well as that before the Esquimaux dwell-
ings and other favourable spots, had been ploughed,
looked sad and dreary enough. Turnips, which alone
thrive here, scarcely showed their first green. Entering
the house, after crossing a stone hall, we reached the
sitting-room of Mr. Gericke, which lay to the left. To
the right lay Mr. Starick’s room. Another door led to
the kitchen.
Soon we sat in Mr. Gericke’s room at table, giving an
account of our experiences, to the great astonishment of
our hearers. Mr. Starick is a big, thin man, in his
thirtieth year, a Lusatian, dressed partly in Greenland
fashion (seal stockings and shoes). He is very talkative,
though throughout the friendly conversation, his long
n 2
Sal
180 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
pipe seldom went out. His young wife came from one
of the West Indian islands; she was sent to him by the
mission, Mr. Gericke,a man of about fifty, had a
European wife who was born in Greenland, and had been
brought up at Gnadau, near Magdeburg. Their marriage
is blessed with three children, from two to six years old.
Not long did we have to wait for the women of the house.
A white cloth flew over the table; a heaped-up dish of
rusks had the place of honour, and near it appeared
some beautiful shining butter. 'Then the amiable house-
wives brought in a mighty can of coffee. And for us—
we set to work upon the good things of this life with an
appetite which defies all description. We sat, talked,
drank and eat. To our no little dismay, the contents of
the dish of rusks had disappeared in an indecorously
short space of time. We looked at one another with
signs of astonishment, when lo! another stood before us.
Captain Hegemann could not help saying something
regarding modesty, and so on. But our hosts would not
hear of it; on the contrary, begged us to set to work
again, which friendly invitation a still unfortunate grum-
bling in the stomach made us willingly follow. With
some apology, the contents of the second dish disap-
peared. How the good people rejoiced over our blessed
appetites! I thought it would frighten them to think
how much fourteen famished stomachs could contain !
But not we alone, the men, too, sat in the church-room
at a cheerful meal, and the Schowroggen (ship’s biscuits
made of sifted rye-flour) disappeared there no less
quickly. The good, good missionaries! What they
possessed they brought out to help us, They offered us
linen and clothes, but we had enough of them; what
JOURNEY ALONG THE COAST OF GREENLAND. 181
we greatly needed was a washing-day. As regards cover-
ing for the feet, we were badly off. But that want was
speedily remedied. The store of shoes was brought out,
and soon our pairs of feet were decked with rough
Kamiken (Esquimaux boots made of seal leather).
In a small room, near the church, in the school, we
made our resting-place on the school forms, all packed
close together. The church is really nothing but a
bed-room ; a black covered table marks the spot from
whence the preacher speaks. Near the table is an
harmonium. The men remained in the boats under the
sail-roofing.
In the Greenland village of Friedrichsthal no one was
at home; men, women, and children were out on the
island on the seal-hunt, or at the Fjord for the herring-
fishing; only the female portion of the missionaries’
household was there. They had received us on the cliff
with the others. The first impression made upon us by
the natives was not unfavourable. Certainly these ex-
pressionless and plain physiognomies, with their broad
flat faces, small, black, and somewhat crooked eyes, little
stunted noses, and great swelling mouths, all set in black
strips of hair, were not inviting; but the striking harm-
lessness and good nature of these half-wild people soon
earned our fullest favour. As soon as they saw that we
were friendly people, indeed the countrymen of their
beloved missionaries, they were confiding towards us.
The man who met us had brought the post; he was the
overseer of a Greenland village, Ivalorsoeitsiak, near Cape
Farewell, and was named Jonathan. The missionaries
praised him as a capital seal-hunter and an excellent
man; he was very open-hearted and a great drinker.
182 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
What was meant by open-heartedness, which, oddly
enough, is also (it seems) to be met with in Greenland,
I will not enter into, but the inclination for drink can
certainly only refer to coffee; Jonathan was therefore,
at least in our sense of the word, no “soaker.” Before
anything else, we now wanted a piloy to guide us from
Friedrichsthal further on our way. No one seemed more
suited to this than Jonathan himself, and for this post
he declared himself ready, only begging to be allowed
first to settle his affairs at home. ‘The permission was
willingly granted. Jonathan hurried home. Had he
not also to take the weighty news of our arrival to his
people? and no true Greenlander could have foregone
such an opportunity of showing his importance.
Our friendly hosts would not hear of our immediate
departure; but when we learnt that a royal Danish
colonial ship, the brig Constance, Captain Bang, was
expected in Julianeshaab every moment, and that we
could not reckon upon any other opportunity this year
of returning to Europe, unless the later coming Peru
should take us, or that we should travel northwards
thirty German miles to Ivikit, the place where cryolite
is shipped, we determined to hasten to Julianeshaab, and
if possible make our home voyage in the Constance.
We had thought the ships running from Denmark to
Greenland stopped at every Huropean settlement along the
coast to Cape Farewell, and had so understood the notice
in Maury’s sailing directions. Here in Friedrichsthal,
however, we learned better. A large vessel had never,
on account of the ice, come any further than Julianeshaab.
The southern trading-places and missions, Sudproven,
Lichtenau, Igdlopait, Nennortalik, Ostproven, Friedrichs-
JOURNEY ALONG THE COAST OF GREENLAND. 183
thal, and Pamiidluk had to fetch all their necessaries in
small sailing-boats from Julianeshaab or in the Green-
land women’s boats. Remembering that Julianeshaab is
eighty miles from Friedrichsthal, and that the light,
fragile hide-boats can only be used in fine weather, one
can easily see that it is no easy matter for the poor
Friedrichsthalers to provide their yearly stock of pro-
visions.
We further learned that, for the moment, the mis-
sionaries, on account of the non-arrival of the provision
transports the year before, had but little to spare. The
German mission in Greenland is provided with all and
everything they want for the support of life from Copen-
hagen, by the Moravian Mission Society. LHvery year
one of the ships takes the goods, and in the summer
visits once both South and North Greenland, from whence
the parties concerned provide means of further transport.
The often unfavourable situation of the ice, and some-
times the loss of the ship, prevents the cargo from always
falling into the hands of the rightful owner. To meet
such an emergency, the stations have mostly a year’s
store in advance.
Our friends the Friedrichsthalers, might well find |
that, on account of the ice, they could not reach Ju-
lianeshaab; we ought, therefore, not to make too great
a hole in their provisions. So we resolved that,
as soon as Jonathan returned, we would travel on.
For to-morrow and the next day we would stay where
we were.
About three o’clock, an excellent meal was served up,
upon which we set to work valiantly. This is the menu :
wine-soup, roast kid, with a mess of potatoes (dried
184 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
potatoes) ; then pancakes and pickled gherkins, with light
white wine.
In the afternoon, curiosity moved me to pay another
visit to the Hsquimaux village. All the houses stood
empty ; the windows were taken out, the inside was stiff
with dirt. The huge dung-heap, which here never fails
at any Greenland dwelling, spreads a pestilential odour,
and it is not to be wondered at that millions of flies
crawl in and around, setting the heaps perfectly in
motion. In the absence of men, some goats received us;
and as I seated myself at the other end of the village,
to take a sketch of the mission, the horned fourfooted
beasts took me for some exotic dainty, and nibbled at
me so all over, that I was at last obliged to go away,
followed by a herd of them.
And now it was time for the evening meal—a large
dish of milk-soup, and a mountain of excellent egg-cakes.
The missionaries have chickens, which in the summer,
when the village is deserted, find plenty of nourish-
ment. Over this, of course, much was asked and re-
lated. Strangely enough, we now learned that, quite
unintentionally, we had found the best way from Hast
Greenland. Prince Christian Sound was, according to the
missionaries, quite blocked with ice and difficult to cross,
being filled up with earth as we thought it was not; and
our Fjord was a discovery. We were also enlightened as
to why we had not seen any inhabitants. All Green-
landers have a great dread of the men who live high up
in the north on the east side, and who, according to their
ideas, are cannibals. (See, too, Graah’s communications
on this head.) This idea may be an echo of the old
Norse traditions. Imagine us, therefore, in our three
“aaa
JOURNEY ALONG THE COAST OF GREENLAND. 185
boats, things never before seen coming from the north
along the coast! Must we not have filled the faint-
hearted, superstitious Greenlanders with indescribable
terror, and wherever they saw us, put them to a hurried
flight ? We may have sailed close under their villages ;
it is even possible that, at Sedlevik, we passed the night
close to one of them. But the low, oven-shaped, grass-
overgrown huts can only be seen and recognized when
close against them, or when the eye is familiar with their
appearance; besides which, the Hastlanders go between
the islands to catch the seals. The greater part of them
were, therefore, absent.6 Of their condition the mis-
sionaries knew little. In former times, some intercourse
had been kept up with them, and on Alluk Island there
was every year a sort of exchange market between Hast
and West Greenland. This had long since been given up.
Visits from the east side were very rare.’ The people
are, it is said, finer and stronger than those of West
Greenland, and have light and brown hair. Does not
this remind us of the old Northmen? If it happens
that Hast Greenlanders settle in the west, they must
first be acclimatized; they must go through a skin
disease, which the missionaries call ‘“‘ Eskimokriatze.” It
* In a particularly interesting letter from the missionaries, receive
by our Society on the 4th of Nov., 1871, and written by A. Gericke,
Friedrichsthal, 22nd August, it is said,—‘‘ A short time since a great
number of the heathenish inhabitants of the east coast of Greenland
came to us to barter, as they are in the habit of doing in some years,
They said that they had seen the crew of the Hansa on the ice-floe,
but from terror at such an appearance on their desert shore they had
not ventured to go to them.”
7 See the detailed account of East Greenland by Graah. ‘‘ Voyage to
Greenland,” p. 114.
186 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
is not contagious, and the natives of the west coast
never suffer from it. Amongst the inhabitants of Fried-
richsthal, was-a woman from the east; she and her
children formed the only family unbaptized; alt the
others were Christians. Thus we had much to talk about ;
and it was getting late when we retired to our couch in
the schoolroom. The latter, with the bedroom (the
church), forms an additional building to the mission
house. How wonderful it seemed to us that, for the
first time since the 2nd of January, we could take off
our clothes ere we lay down to rest! How free from
care we could give ourselves up to sleep! How many
anxious terrible nights lay behind us !—now, all was
happily passed! We had already finished our night
toilet when the door opened, and there in his never-
ending goodness came Mr. Starick, laden with beer, in
case we should be thirsty in the night. Beer! What
German could withstand that! The bottles were un-
corked, and soon the foaming drink filled the tankard,
doing all honour to its Greenland brewer.
It was late when sleep overtook us, tired out! Once
more did the picture of the past vividly recur to our
minds, from the tragedy of our shipwreck, to the happy
moment which brought us to Friedrichsthal; and in our
inmost hearts we all ejaculated, ‘“ God be thanked !”’
CHAPTER IX.
FURTHER STAY IN FRIEDRICHSTHAL. JOURNEY VIA IGIKAIT
TO NENNORTALIK.!
Occurrences and impressions in Friedrichsthal,—Intercourse with the
natives.—Matrons and maidens.—Provision cellars in Greenland.—
Good qualities and quickness of the Greenlander.—Delay of our
departure.—Fishery in Narksamiut.—Presents at parting.—Bury-
ing-places near Friedrichsthal.—Farewell and departure from
Friedrichsthal—A European recluse at Igikait.—The Danish
settlers.
Harty the next morning friend Starick appeared with a
bountiful breakfast. The yesterday’s demolition of biscuits
was repeated, only quicker, as we were alone. Then we
set to work upon our morning toilet; one after the other
turned out as much cleansed and “ got-up” as possible.
Our men had done the same, particularly Philipp, who
looked quite grand. No wonder that he at once made
himself master of a Greenland maiden’s heart. Outside,
meanwhile, the women had been washing the linen we had
taken off.
We had not to wait long for new scenes and impres-
sions of the strangest kind. Already some canoes had
come in, and their conductors had approached our boats
quite confidingly. These small, black little fellows, I took
for boys of fourteen, but was told that they were married
people and fathers of families. Of course, everything
that was given to them was useful, and they were soon
: By Professor Laube.
188 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
good friends with our men. . Not a little proudly did each
one bring out his rifle and powder-horn from his canoe; but
when our men took the “ needle-guns” and fired rapidly,
they were dumb with astonishment, and stood with their
mouths wide open. The musical-box which we had with us
caused little less wonderment. It was too ridiculous to
see the amazement of the little men, as well as the women,
at the tinkling box. I think if Mr. Starick himself had
not been there, their thoughts would have turned to the
long-forgotten ‘ Tornik,”’ their evil genius, and we should
have been taken for enchanters; but their friendship
was heartier than ever. The missionary and our pilots
were shooting at the target on the strand, and the natives
kept watch, while others visited the servants in their
houses, who were busy making shoes for those of us who
needed them. I presented each one with a sewing-needle,
and earned a friendly ‘“ Kojunok” (I thank you much
for it), which was the first Greenland word I learnt. I
cannot affirm that the Greenland ladies are bashful, for
during our stay in the women’s house the cook Luise came
in, and quite coolly in our presence made the most critical
alterations in her dress. The girls and women looked
good-natured and dull; there were eight of them, as I
tried to draw them in my pocket-book; and Hva, whom
I fully portrayed, was not a little vain. We also allowed
them to write their names in our note-books, whereat the
2“ Tornik” is the plural of “ Tunek,” originally the Esquimaux
name for the North American Indians a word, therefore, which the
Greenlanders have brought with them from North America. They
apply it now to fabulous creatures, who are supposed to dwell in the
interior, far from the coast. They are twice the size of men, though
of human form; and they are supposed to be generally hostile, though
capable at times of rendering good service. (Rink.)
FURTHER STAY IN FRIEDRICHSTHAL. 189
fair Greenlanders displayed the same naive coyness and
affectation as our lovely ones at home. What a tittering
and whispering, what turning and twisting! At last they
all stood on the page; even the honoured fifty-year old
Miss Sybilla had, with much bashfulness, entered her name.
When we went away they thanked us for our visit.
But a curiosity was still to be seen this morning in the
shape of a Greenland cellar or storehouse. The respected
reader must not think of a similar locality in our country.
The Greenlanders are contented in this respect with an
excavation in the overhanging rock, which they build up
with a stone wall like a swallow’s nest. In this, without
any choice, is heaped all that is good for winter use—dried
fish, seal-bacon, and meat—until the place is full, when
the last hole is blocked up with a stone. Such cellars
the Greenlanders like to have away from their houses.
Accustomed to live from hand to mouth, they are no
friends to saving. They eat as long as there is anything
there, or they see anything. When, however, the cellar
with its store is not near them, and cannot provoke their
appetite, then, in the long winter-time, when there would
often be poor fare, they have something to fall back upon.
It never enters their heads to injure the possessions
of another; so they need never fear that their neighbour
will empty their cellar. The missionaries praised their
converts particularly for their honesty, and assured
us that nothing but the bitterest hunger would occa-
sionally tempt any of them to take anything eatable from
their neighbour.
Even in this respect we had nothing to complain of
but something more I can say to the honour of the good
Greenlanders. There was scarcely one who could not
190 THE GERMAN ARCTIC’ EXPEDITION.
write his own name, and it is really astonishing what fine
recular handwriting is to be met with. Even a poor little
boy, too weak to paddle a canoe, who worked in the
mission as a day-labourer for his meals, could write his
name well and distinctly. I can also call the Green-
landers. a musical community, in spite of compassionate
smiles. The horn-music in their church they provide
themselves; the organ, too, is superintended by a sleek
Greenlander; and more than that, he writes hymns and
composes music himself. Observe also the artistic way
in which the Greenland women ornament leather. With
what trouble and patience they make the finest mosaic of
different coloured leathers no bigger than the head of a
pin, sewing them together to adorn shoes and such like
things ; and how, under good guidance, they acquire a
taste for clean and well-ordered households.
Good guidance is, however, very necessary. The
Greenland men and women whom we saw later, were as
different from those of the mission of Friedrichsthal as
night is from day, and the real specific Greenland house-
hold, we could only learn to know by degrees.
At table to-day our host told us that he had been in-
formed by the natives that, a few days before, they had
heard from the neighbours that some people were coming
from the east, and that they had been much frightened
about it, but were composed now, as we were the expected
arrival. From the first it may be that the news of our
coming had spread among the natives, owing to our
having been seen in the distance among the islands.
But the Greenlanders have the evil propensity of speak-
ing contrary to the truth to please one.
. Thus, later on, we heard that our floe had been met
FURTHER STAY IN FRIEDRICHSTHAL. 191
with, and that, if we hiked, we might satisfy ourselves that
such was the case. They also related how that they had
seen the Germania at full steam near Cape Farewell;
they had begged them to pilot them to Friedrichsthal, or
anywhere to land; but they had not lstened to them, and
the steamer had at once sailed from the coast north-
wards. Strange it always seemed to us; but the mis-
sionaries assured us that they certainly expected to see
some one from the German expedition. Shortly before our
arrival they had said, “‘ Now they must soon come.”
They had mentioned it to the natives, and when they saw
us and prepared to fly, Starick composed them by the
words, “They are our countrymen, who we told you
would come.” They had also rightly concluded that,
from the condition of the ice around Friedrichsthal, we
should have much difficulty in reaching the coast. Ag
during the summer months but little ice had shown itself
at Cape Farewell, all the more must have remained above.
At the same time, it was so thick at the end of September,
that the missionaries were obliged to give up their official
journey. ‘This setting of the ice southward we not long
afterwards traced to the accelerated speed of the drift.
In the afternoon Jonathan’s brother, Esra, came to
visit his friends. We had just retreated to the school-
room, when he peeped curiously in at the window, and
we signed to him to come in.. He did not wait to be
asked twice. How just seemed his claim to a gift!
PY
i}
|
IN THE PACK.
=
ICE SCENERY. APA
spot the ice rose like steep rocky masses, or solitary
columns, points, and peaks, to a height of from twenty
to thirty feet. Forcing our way through this labyrinth,
we were astonished at the sight of a fine broad sea of
clear, light green water. The snow, changed into ice,
covered these floes so thickly that we often sank as if in
soft snow-drifts to the depth of from two to four feet.
We were particularly interested in watching the small
creatures in the sea, which we did by lying flat upon the
ice and looking over the edge of the floe: the stickleback
(Calanus hyperboreus, K.) were turning summersaults up
to the surface, their red feelers coming into strong relief
against the blue background; then came a yellow spot,
gradually increasing until we recognized a small craw-
fish (Lysianassa) hurriedly wending its way to the surface,
and then laying itself in a niche, or on a tongue of ice to
rest, nothing but the constant motion of its webbed feet
showing that the creature lived. Now and again in the
depths, a fine Beroé might be seen moving slowly on its
way.
It was a fine, still midnight, too wonderfully solemn
and grand to be easily forgotten. The fog had almost
entirely disappeared, and lay to the east, like a bank over
the water. ‘The sea was perfectly calm, so that the ice
was clearly reflected, and where the water was visible it
had taken different colours; under the clouds it lay dark,
and from blackish brown to yellowish; and where the
atmosphere was clear it glistened a transparent green.
Even to the brush of an experienced artist, it would be
no light task to render the different colours and lights
truly; this soft red of the sun upon the ice; on the
shady side of the blocks, the softest blue and violet; and
between, the deepest, coldest shadow. Effects such as
AEs THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
these can only be produced in all their beauty by the
midnight sun in a region of ice; indeed, to fully appre-
ciate the peculiar beauty of such a scene, one must see it
with one’s own eyes.
All had long since been hushed on board, but we felt
no fatigue. This wonderful repose of nature, without
either motion or life, overcomes one with a feeling of
boundless desolation and solitude. Now and again the
stillness is broken by a thundering and cracking, softened
by the distance, and suddenly a rushing of water is heard,
accompanied by a groaning and blowing; it is a herd of
narwhals coming to the surface for breath. But the
hours of night are fast running out, and with one more
look we descend to our cabin.
About four a.m., as we were about to start again, a
dense fog rolled up; some hours later, however, it dis-
FIRST APPEARANCE OF LAND.
persed, and we steamed in a northerly direction, as from
that quarter we should most probably sooner see open
water. At half-past eight the fog cleared completely,
and we forced our way through a chain of connected
FIRST SIGHT OF LAND. US
floes, when in a north-westerly direction we found com-
paratively open water; and after making about sixteen
nautical miles, at one a.m. on the 29th saw land dis-
tinctly. From our position, this must have been Cape
Broer Ruys. By four a.m., we had advanced so far, that
only to the east did there seem to be any loose ice; we
therefore stopped at a brash to fill our boiler with fresh
water, and wait fora change. The only living thing we
were likely to see here was a bear; but although our
hunters looked eagerly around, his shining yellow coat
was nowhere to be seen.
As the atmosphere was so clear in the morning, we
made some observations on the degrees of the sun’s
heat. A blackened-bulb thermometer rose to nearly
99.50° Fahr. A common instrument, just above the
snow, showed 50° Fahr.
On the 29th of July, our observations at noon gave
our position as 73° 2° N. Lat., and 16° 19’ W. Long.,
which compared with the log reckoning, showed us to
have made twenty-seven nautical miles more southwards
in two days’ work. This we partly attributed to the
north wind, which had caused a rapid drift of ice.
The attempts of the last few days showed that in
this latitude it was impossible to get through; so, after
being driven back to 73°, the captain determined to keep
clear of the ice and to try again in 74°, as he thought
that the north wind might have made an opening.
Accordingly we steamed eastward, partly through thick
drifting ice. Here we saw two ships, which turned out
to be the Bienenkorb and the Hudson; we advanced to
meet the former, and Captain Hagen and Dr. Dorst
came on board. The captain was disheartened at not
7
Dien THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
having caught a single whale; he considered it impossible
to reach the coast this year, and determined to begin his
homeward journey in a few days. Of the Hansa, durmg
the last nine days, he had seen nothing. At ten p.m. on
the 29th of July, we took leave of the Bienenkorb, and
steered in a northerly direction to try and reach the coast
in 74° N. Lat.
The weather was clear and still, and we had a good
opportunity of observing the refraction of hght and the
mirage. The whole atmosphere was quivering with a kind
of wavy motion, so that the exact outline of the object
was often so distorted as to be unrecognizable. It may
be imagined that pictures of things far beyond our
range of sight could thus be seen. Scoresby relates,
and it was afterwards proved true, that he once saw and
recognized his father’s ship, perfectly, in the mirage when
it was thirty miles distant.
The effects of this phenomenon on the distant ice was
wonderful ; sometimes it appeared like a mighty wall,
and sometimes like a town rich in towers and castles.
On the 30th of July the weather was fine, and the -
wind, to our joy, westerly; the ice was, however, so
impassable that we had to steam still further north, as
the captain found that within the last eight days the ice
barrier had shifted some degrees to the east, and he had
hopes of finding a large opening in the pack-iece.
On the 31st of July, at four p.m., we were in 73° 59
N. Lat., and 13° 3’ W. Long., when we saw a great deal
of loose ice, and forcing our way through, steered in a
westerly direction. Towards evening the wind died
away, and we got up steam, the floes lying loosely
scattered around us. Here, as on other occasions, steam -
PENDULUM ISLAND IN SIGHT. 275
stood us in good stead, and we threaded our way easily
amonest them.
By ten a.m., on the Ist of August, we had steamed
without interruption thirty-six miles, and were of course
so much nearer the coast; here a dense barrier pre-
vented our farther advance. Land was in sight (Pen-
dulum Island), which by a strong refraction seemed
much raised and transfigured. The same refraction also
showed us what appeared to be open water westwards.
Mr. Sengstacke was of opinion that it was only a few
nautical miles distant, but he soon saw his mistake.
That there was open water under the land, there was
scarcely a doubt; but it was separated from us by an
icy barrier, several German miles broad. Under these
circumstances, the captain thought it better to keep our
post and wait for a change in the position of the ice.’
Ross himself lays great stress upon the fact that, in the
ice, a little judgment and a little patience go farther
than advancing headlong, and often save much danger.
Here we increased our zoological collection by a fine
reddish Clio; the dredging net was also let down at 224
fathoms, but brought up nothing but stones.
Universal interest was raised by the mallemuckes
(Mergulus alle), which for some days had followed us in
flocks. Voraciousness is the-chief characteristic of these
birds ; and if a large solid piece of bacon is thrown into
the water, which they cannot swallow at a gulp, a dreadful
battle ensues; sometimes two or three begin upon it at
different ends, working both with beak and claw. We
1 A glance at the chart will show that the Hansa, on her first
advance on the 22nd of July, was nearly on the same spot, but was ice-
blocked, and drifted to the south.
Ne
276 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
often fastened a piece of bacon to a string or hook, and
easily caught one and brought it on deck. The bird is
not ugly; its colour is variable; the young ones are
greyish, whilst the old ones are, with the exception of
the wings, almost always white; its head is the most
peculiar looking part of it, being highly arched; its
strong bluish beak is high and bent like a hook.
On the night of the 2nd of August a thick fog came on,
lasting the whole day, and to prevent our impatience from
gaining the mastery we all had recourse to the ropes.
On the 3rd it was clear; the ice had indeed changed its
position: we were more surrounded than ever by floes,
and to the east still less water could be seen. We, how-
ever, broke through the ice, and steamed in a north-
westerly direction. The floes became larger and larger ;
and at last the endless brashes and boundless ice-fields
came in sight. At ten p.m. we anchored by a large field,
on account of the fog ; we sounded 155 fathoms, nothing
but mud. We were in 74° 18’ N. Lat. and 16° 6’ W. Long.
On the 4th, at a quarter-past eight a.m., we started west-
ward once more; the air was thick with snow; to the west
we saw a dark water sky, and steered between the brashes
and fields in that direction. At nine we came into a
large piece of open water, with a few floes drifting. At
noon we anchored, principally on account of the boiler,
which had to be cleared from the salt. We were in
74° 19° N. Lat. and 16°59’ W. Long., not more than thirty-
one nautical miles from Sabine Island.
On these fields we first saw the bears; there were two
watching our ship with great curiosity. Our first shot
missed, and they hurriedly took to flight.
At ten p.m. fog gradually came on, and we were not
OPEN WATER WESTWARDS. 277
more than five German miles from the coast; but at half-
past ten it cleared again, and the whole group of islands
lay clear and distinct before us. The water was open, and
we made straight for Griper Roads.
We were all greatly excited, and, in spite of the severe
cold, remained nearly the whole night on deck. In the
early morning we had a fall of snow, giving the ship a
thick white covering. A few miles from land a large
brash lay direct in our course; this we sailed round, and
at last anchored in a small bay, which was afterwards our
winter harbour.
On the 5th of August we dropped anchor on Greenland
soil, and a loud “ hurrah!”’ arose as we planted our flag,
which also waved proudly from the mainmast.
In the day-book we find that at the beginning of our
voyage strong north-westerly winds prevailed, which of
course delayed us. Weall noticed the increase of tempe-
rature, both in the atmosphere and the water, from the
coast of Norway until the latitude of the Shetland Islands,
and then a decrease in both after crossing the Arctic
circle. The influence of the warm gulf-stream was
unmistakable, and was observed by both ships.
During the first part of the month of July easterly
winds prevailed, driving the ice up to the borders, and
making it impossible to break through. In the second
part of July northerly and southerly winds alternated
without bringing any great change in the ice; but at the
beginning of August strong westerly winds set in, so
loosening it that we easily made our way through. A
glance at the ship’s course on the chart will show dis-
tinctly how the ice shifted in the beginning of August.
Before this time it had been impossible to reach the coast,
CHAPTER II.
PENDULUM ISLAND. STATE OF THE ICE NORTHWARDS.
LANDING ON SHANNON ISLAND.
Accident to Dr. Pansch.—Boat voyage to the mainland.—Scientific
operations.— Attempt of the Germania to advance northwards.—
Musk-oxen,
THE group of islands known under the name of Pendulum
Islands were first discovered and appropriated by Claver-
ing in the year 1823. He anchored his ship, the Griper,
on the south side of the largest island, between it and
the mainland. On this side of the island is good anchor
ground; several glacier streams debouche here, bringing
with them soil and mud, and the roads are protected from
heavy ice by a small island lying in front, which, from
the number of walrus seen there, we called Walrus Island.
According to our instructions, the position of Sabine’s
Observatory was to be sought for and newly marked, after
which we were to advance northward; this, of course,
caused a stay of some days. The astronomers brought
out their instruments to determine our exact position,
and settling the magnetic constants on land, especially
towards the tongue of land eastward from our harbour
(Cairn Point), where we conjectured Sabine’s Observatory
to have been, but of which, with all our seeking, we could
find not the slightest trace, nor of anything else which
PENDULUM ISLAND. 279
might show that Europeans had ever visited the spot.
First Lieutenant Payer made preparations for surveying
the island; and Dr. Pansch roamed through it as explorer
and naturalist, inspecting the remains of the Esquimaux
huts found by Sabine on the tongue of land to the west
of our stand-point.
In the afternoon the weather, which on our arrival had
been unfriendly and snowy, became fine and clear, with
a perfect calm and a temperature of 41° Fahr. From
the plateau of the neighbouring mountains, the baro-
metrical height of which was 1040 feet, we had an
extensive view over the sea from the north-east round to
the south, as well as over the surrounding land, and along
the coast to the north.
The condition of the ice was here first distinctly seen.
The straits between Sabine Island and the mainland, and
also between the two largest islands, were completely
blocked with apparently old land ice. Farther north,
between Shannon [sland and the mainland, as far as the
eye could reach, the ice was firm, and, from its whole
position, we might well conclude that there would be no
breaking up that year. Along the coast, therefore, we
could not advance further north; the only possible way
remaining was by the eastern side of Shannon Island.
This island was distinctly seen, and seemed to be quite
surrounded with ice ; though to the south side, and also to
the east side of Pendulum Island, there was open water,
only covered with drift-ice.. The pack-ice to the east
was very broad, stretching at least twelve nautical
miles from the coast, but farther southward it made
a considerable curve inward towards the land, and
lay so dense that in 74°, and even more south than
280 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
that, we should with difficulty have been able to pene-
trate it.
Along the coast to the south there was also much open
water, and Gael Hamkes Bay appeared to be free from
ice. For the next few days scientific work kept us fully
employed. In the evening Dr. Pansch unfortunately shot
himself in the arm while following a reindeer, and had to
be brought on board; we found, however, that the ball
had only gone through the muscles, and that no bone
had been injured; but it healed very slowly, and through
the whole of the autumn, Dr. Pansch could take but a
small share in all our scientific explorations.
On the 6th it was slightly foggy, with a south wind;
but the sun seemed bright and clear, and the work
suffered no interruption. Lieutenant Payer roamed all
over the island, topographically interested as well as bent
upon hunting.
_ We found many traces of reindeer, and saw a few
without being fortunate enough to kill one, though we
killed several walrus which stopped in our neighbour-
hood. The fat of these creatures was mostly thrown
into the coal bunk for fuel, in case the Hansa did not join
us again.
On the 7th we made a boat excursion to the mainland,
and took the opportunity of sounding the straits. In the
middle, at eighty-one fathoms, it was muddy; towards
Sabine Island and Cape Wynn the bottom was analogous
to the character of the land. Indeed the soundings along
the coast, as far as the Germania sailed, were uniform,
and the character of the depths mostly indicated by the
land. Shallows in any way dangerous did not exist
along the coast that we sailed by.
PENDULUM ISLAND. 281
On our boat excursion we had a combat with a large
walrus and her young one; the young one was killed
easily, but the other escaped severely wounded. We
found it in the afternoon dead upon a floe, and brought
it on board.
We climbed Cape Wynn, which was rather steep but
not very high, and found on the top a plateau of several
miles in circumference, quite free from snow, but scantily
covered with vegetation. Farther inland we came to a
valley watered by a glacier stream, and showing moss,
erass, and many green spots. Behind this valley the
mountains rose to a height of more than 1850 feet, but,
even here, the summits were perfectly free from snow,
which was only collected in the rifts. The snow-beds
and the falls of snow in Hast Greenland are much smaller
than we expected to find, and even less than in Spitz-
bergen, which hes so near.
During our whole stay on this coast we only once, and
that in June 1870, saw the land with an entire covering
of snow.
The view to the north was bright and clear; in 75}°
N. Lat. we could distinctly see the land edged with firm
ice. Over the sea lay a thick fog, which spread over
all by degrees. We went hunting for a reindeer, but
missed it, and had to content ourselves with a white
hare. We returned on board in the evening. In the
night ice formed in the bay, which is also the case in
summer during a calm witha clear sky, though about the
beginning of August it disappears in the daytime. The
heavy ice in the straits had these last few days drifted
out to sea, and the land ice was more broken up.
Thanks to the continued fine weather, work was
982 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
finished by the 10th of August; the instruments brought
on board, and all made ready to sail, which we did after
piling a heap of stones on the eastern point of land,
and, about 100 to 104 feet to the north of it, depositing
a document containing the chief dates of our voyage.
At six on the followmg morning we weighed anchor,
and steered out of the harbour, with a light southerly
breeze, northwards. We passed the low cliff at eight,
and steamed along the firm ice, which at first stretched
to the north and afterwards to the north-east.
The land ice bordered the whole south side of Shannon
Island, and also Cape Philip Broke, which was its most
south-easterly point. We doubled it at noon, and found
to the east of the island along the land ice, which has here
an average breadth of from three to four nautical miles
from the coast, a channel of from two to three miles broad,
though in some places so blocked with ice that only by the
help of both steam and sail could we make way through.
The border of the land ice was pretty high; in many
places the blocks lay piled up from forty to fifty feet high.
At three p.m. we broke through a chain of brashes, on
the other side of which was again open water. Here the
pack-ice had retreated quite four nautical miles. As the
wind was still south, steam was let off, and we set all sail
to save our coals.
At six p.m. we sighted more ice to the north, which
seemed very thick. The wind shifted to the west and a
dense fog came up, hiding everything from our sight;
we therefore halted until the morning.
We were now upon the most northerly point reached by —
Captain Clavering, but still Shannon Island stretched
further to the north—much further than is given on the
PENDULUM ISLAND. 283
old charts. At first we thought there must be some
mistake in the log’s reckoning, so, as a calm had fallen we
lay-to. Our observations gave 75° 17’ Lat., and 17° 22'
W. Long. from Greenwich by our chronometer, the
standpoint of which was on Sabine Island. Later on we
ascertained that the position of the north-east cape of
the island was 75° 26’ N. Lat., and 18° 0’ W. Long.
The correctness of our reckoning we proved beyond a
doubt, and we were therefore obliged to conclude that it
was impossible for Clavering to have reached the spot
indicated by Dr. Petermann on the chart at 75° 14°
N.W. of the frozen bay, and that most likely the whole
boat journey rested upon some misunderstanding; and
later, upon going through Sabine’s and Clavering’s
original reports, we found that this supposed journey had
never actually taken place.
We stayed by the ice all that day (12th August), partly
to take more observations, and partly because there was
so much ice in the north which could only be penetrated
by a favourable wind or steam.
In the afternoon the current set the ice strong to the
south, at a speed of one and a quarter nautical miles an
hour in a perfect calm; but from four to ten p.m. it
stopped completely, when it began to drift again. It
seemed, therefore, as if there was ebb and flood, but that
the current to the south decidedly prevailed.1| And with
all our late observations we could not prove a decided ebb
and flood, although the tidal wave could regularly be
seen along the coast.
1 According to our later observations the harbour time on this spot
was 12h. Om., consequently high water on this day was at 6h. 41m. ;
the current noticed must therefore be ascribed to some local influence,
especially as the tidal wave ran to the north.--Koldewey.
284 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
In an ice-covered sea it is especially difficult to arrive
at any right conclusion with regard to the currents.
Those on the coast of Hast Greenland we most carefully
noticed. Putting the experience of both ships together,
and that of the floe on which the crew of the Hansa
passed the winter, the following remarks are probably
correct.
Along the outer border of the ice, and among the drift-
ice even as far as the fields themselves, which extend a
long way within the barrier, there exists between the
latitudes 76° and 72° a south-westerly current, the average
speed of which is from eight to ten nautical miles in
twenty-four hours. The direction taken by this current
greatly depends upon the prevailing winds, and therefore
often turns the foremost portion of the drift consider-
ably to the east or west.
Immediately under the coast, according to our observa-
tions, a southerly motion of both ice and water is not to
be denied, but it is far weaker than that on the outer
border; and in summer, when south winds prevail, it
stops altogether, so that at times the ice fields are
stationary, or only move up and down. In winter the
drifting is much more considerable, owing to the pre-
vailing north winds and storms. Regular ebb and tidal
currents the Germania did not meet with in the latitudes
through which she passed, but only a rising and falling of
the water. In the autumn it seems certain that there is
always a setting of the heavy pack-ice to the coast, and
what is termed land-water disappears more and more ;
indeed, the question as regards the continuation of this
land-water along the coast the whole of the summer
cannot be entertained for a moment; its appearance
PENDULUM ISLAND. 285
depends more upon the formation of the coast, the
prevailing winds, and other local influences, than on the
runing off of melted water.
The ice in its drift southwards had turned somewhat
to the east, thus leaving more and more open water
behind it to the north.
We therefore set sail on the 13th of August, and
steered, with a light south wind, along the border
of the firm land ice without meeting with any great
difficulties. A fog bank rose in the south, which soon
spread over Shannon, and the channel which we were
following northward was becoming narrower and nar-
rower; to the east lay boundless fields thick together,
and to the north we soon saw more firm ice, so as the
evening drew on, we lay-to.
On the morning of the 14th the atmosphere was quite
clear, and we saw with dismay that our further advance
northward had come to a sudden halt.
Some nautical miles ahead of us lay a monster ice field,
stretching eastward as far as the eye could see, and
apparently joining the land ice in the west. Far, far to the
north-east behind the fields there seemed to be, judging
from a small dark spot in the heavens, more water ;
further advance, however, was not possible until the field
was set in motion and separated from the land ice.
The weather was fine and clear; we therefore took
some observations, which gave the latitude 75° 30’ 5” and
17° 30° W. Long.; the declination of the compass,
taking the mean of several azimuths, 45° 24’ W.
At night there was mostly a calm, with bright weather.
To the north and north-west there was a very strong
refraction, which showed us that unless a steady wind
286 THE GERMAN ARCTIC. EXPEDITION.
set the sluggish masses in motion, further advance to the
north would be amongst the impossibilities.
We were all of opinion that in order to avoid the
dangerous pressure of the ice fields, we should withdraw
at once to the south side of Shannon Island, investigate
it scientifically, and from the hills watch for a favourable
opportunity of advancing.
As a light breeze from the north-west sprang up on
the morning of the 15th, we set sail to carry out our plan;
but in order to be sure that there was no opening to the
north, we sailed along the northern border of the ice as
far as the closely-packed end in the east, but without
finding a way through.’
At about ten p.m. we were once more to the east of the
island, and the mean height of the firm ice above the
water was from two to five feet, and large blocks of from
thirty to forty feet were piled upon the shore in all direc-
tions—proof of the enormous force of the pressure of the
fields in their revolving motion to the south. Our strait
was very narrow in many places, and we sailed round Cape
1 The question has been raised several times, especially inland, as to
why, being unable to advance along the land ice, I did not re-enter the
pack and work my way through it northwards, and, in a higher latitude,
again try to reach the coast. This is opposed to all experience : it
has long been known that in a stream of heavy ice, in fact in the
so-called pack, never, nor at any place, with the strongest and best
steamer, has any considerable progress been made without the coast
as a support. Had I wished to have reached the coast at a more
northerly point, I should have had to penetrate the ice-barrier, again
to steer along the northern border, and force my way into the pack
once more iv 78°. Such a proceeding would certainly never have been
followed by the desired result, and it would have been unjustifiable to
give up a basis, reached with so much trouble, to follow a phantom.—
Koldewey.
PENDULUM ISLAND. 287
Philip Broke at half-past eleven a.m. on the 16th of
August, and anchored on the south side in six fathoms
of water, between some stranded blocks of ice. Hvery-
thing was at once prepared for the land expedition,
and the captain and Lieutenant Payer started first to
reconnoitre.
We found the remains of some Esquimaux summer-huts
on the shore, with a great deal of moss and weeds. We
climbed a height of about 230 feet, and were busy fixing
a point for observation and building a cairn, when
in the distance we saw a remarkable-looking animal
which could be neither bear nor reindeer. Of musk-oxen
we never thought for a moment, and, when at length we
discovered that such was the creature before us, we were
indeed surprised. It was hunted down, however, and
killed by Peter Iversen.
We afterwards found that the whole of the coast up to
77. was frequented by these ruminating creatures, but that
to the south their numbers decreased. With the rein-
deer the opposite seemed to prevail; north of 753° we
did not see a single one.
In the evening calm. Ice formed everywhere, but dis-
appeared again upon the rising of a southerly breeze.
The following day, on the 17th of August, the land
expedition started. First-Lieutenant Payer received as
helpmates—Mr. Sengstacke, Peter Iversen, and Peter
Ellinger ; and the two astroncmers took ‘Theodor Klentzer.
They were provided with six days’ provisions, and ordered
to return without delay when they saw the flag wave from
the Cape.
CHAPTER III.
SHANNON ISLAND, WITH THE TELL-PLATTE AND KLEIN-
PENDULUM.
Situation, extent, and character of Shannon Island.—Freeden Bay.—
Exploration and measurement of Shannon Island. — Basaltiec
columns. — Arctic fox.— Esquimaux dwellings. — Unsuspected”
neighbourhood of the Hansa.—Sledge journey of Lieutenant Payer
to the Tell-Platte-—A polar bear.—Difficulty in advancing.—
Ascent of the Tell-Platte——Beautiful prospect of the Greenland
Coast.—Low temperature.—Return of Dr. Bérgen’s excursion to
Klein-Pendulum.— Esquimaux utensils——The Stufenberg.
SHannon Island, which, according to our reckoning,
stretches from 74° 56’ to 75° 26° N. Lat., is the lowest
of all the large islands within the range of our coasting.
In the north it reaches the considerable height of 305.2
metres, equal to 972 Rhenish feet’ (barometrical measure-
ment). ‘To the east and south, however, the hills scarcely
exceed 500 feet; and the remaining portion of the
island rises but a few feet above the level of the sea. On
the south side is a somewhat important creek, which
we named Freeden Bay; whilst in the north-east is a
still deeper Fjord, stretching so far into the interior of the
island as almost to reach Freeden Bay, so that the island
is divided into two very unequal parts. Upon the
whole, the shores of these bays are very low, and, as far
1 About 940 English feet. . (Tr.)
SHANNON ISLAND. 289
as we can judge, they are seldom free from an_ icy
covering ; thus one can easily see how difficult it must be
to give their exact limit. In some neighbourhoods it was
no easy task to decide whether we were on land or ice.
in summer time the low-lying lands, when not covered
with snow, are mostly changed into a muddy swamp.
The whole island, with the exception of the northern part
between Cape Copeland and Cape Borgen, where it con-
sists of fine syenite, is of volcanic origin. The party to
which I belonged consisted of three, Dr. Borgen, the
sailor Klentzer, and myself. Our task was to explore the
ground, if possible, completely, and also with regard to
the possibility of measuring a base in such a position as
to start from, and, if necessary, triangulate along the
whole coast. We soon ascertained, however, that it was
not possible here to get a good triangle for the purpose
of measuring.
The 18th of August was at first foeey, but it afterwards
cleared, and we raised a row of stone heaps on the best
spots of ground we could find. One of these spots, in
the north of the peninsula, is a small basaltic dome, and
although only 250 Rhenish feet high, gave us a fine
distant view into the interior of Shannon.
On the 19th we had fog for breakfast again, but in the
afternoon we continued our explorations in a north-
easterly direction. Close to the coast we were astonished
at the sight ofa fine group of basaltic columns; they were
the first we had seen of so regular and distinct a form.
The largest must have been quite twenty feet high.
From here we marched for an hour and a quarter over
to Hast Shannon. The land resembled that by Cape
Philp Broke, but the high levels were more extensive,
U
290 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
and covered with several low, muddy spots. As we were
taking our measurements we saw a musk-ox, which we
shot; we took some of the flesh, and reached the tent by
half-past three.
The 20th of August found us active on the east coast,
in the neighbourhood of the basaltic columns.
For a long time we had seen a large bear in the dis-
tance, investigating the row of hummocks, which showed
the edge of the land-ice, but it did not seem advisable to
follow him. On our return road we saw some snow of a
pale reddish colour; it seemed to be formed of a mixture
of red clay or sandstone dust.’
On the 21st, as we were exploring more to the south
and east, we came upon a small, deep ravine; it ran close
down to the shore, and seemed to be a collecting place
for the drift-wood. One tree, which was certainly broken
in many places, was at least forty feet long. Under the
drift-wood lay the skull of a fine bear, and by the side a
jaw-bone, which now was likely to grace some Huropean
museum. In the evening we returned on board, as the
next day was Sunday. It was not, however, to be a day
of rest, as Captain Koldewey had decided upon sailing
to Cape Desbrowe, from this height to study the state of
the ice, and look out for the Hansa. We, as well as
Lieutenant Payer, Sengstacke, and two sailors, were
therefore again set on shore and left to our fate. The
night before, Klentzer, who had slept alone in the tent,
had suffered from the intrusion of a fox; it had fled in to
him, and not until after several vain attempts to kill his
guest with a bayonet did the creature seek safety in flight.
* The same appearance was also noticed by some of the Hansa men at
the beginning of November.
SHANNON ISLAND. 291
In the afternoon we took a pleasant walk along the
west coast, and discovered a number of “ Tent-rings,” or
circles, and other traces of inhabitants long since disap-
peared.
On the 23rd of August a cold wind blew, with wet fog,
covering everything with rime. The fox visited us
again, and again escaped from our attempt at murder.
We passed our time in fetching drift-wood from the east
coast, whilst Payer conveyed a basaltic column from the
north end of the peninsula to our anchor-ground.
Upon continuing our work on the south end of the
peninsula on the 24th, we found everywhere traces of
very old Esquimaux huts and graves. The huts were
not the usual underground winter-dwellings, but were
built of stones on the flat earth, a block of rock being
taken as the back wall. The largest of these peculiar
dwellings was ten feet in diameter and six feet in height.
In the night Payer, Sengstacke, and two sailors went
to south-west Shannon (Tell-platte), and the next
morning nothing was to be seen either of them or the
Germania. Now we know that at this time the Hansa
lay at no great distance in the ice, and that a part of her
gallant crew had advanced in the boat to within a short
distance of Cape Desbrowe.
Close by the west point of Cape Philip Broke lay
a strange object on the land-ice. The light grey and
whitish colour at first made us think that it was a bear,
but afterwards we found it to be an old walrus; it lay
close to a hole in the ice. We approached it stealthily,
and the first shot took effect. It was about ten feet
long and nine feet in circumference neat the fore-fins.
We were glad of this capture, as in case the voyage should
u 2
292 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
be hindered, we were at least supplied with meat and fuel
for some weeks.
We now collected our apparatus and brought them
down to the Cape, together with the tent. At nine p.m.
we had the pleasure of seeing the little Germania sailing
slowly towards us, though still at some considerable
distance. At midnight it was pretty dark, but we could
see to read inthe tent. Atone a.m. I went out; the ship
was nearer, and a column of smoke showed that she was
under steam. I went far out on to the ice to speak
privately to the captain, but I might have saved myself
the trouble, for those on shore heard every word of the
conversation, the air was so still and clear. The ship
was worked chiefly at low pressure on account of the
young ice, although it was not more than one-half to
three-quarters of an inch thick; but with each motion of
the ship the ice was pushed layer upon layer, until at
last she was brought to a stand-still, and only by backing
and running a-head did they at length reach the anchor-
ground. The rest of the day was passed in measuring and
skinning the walrus. Near the Esquimaux huts we saw a
block of quartz, two feet and a half in diameter, the surface
of which was wonderfully worn and polished. Had it been
used as a sharpening stone, or for what other purpose P
On this day our attention was first drawn to the
pecuhar unearthly moaning and groaning of the ice-floes
as they were forced against the land by the tide, and as
Iwas coming from the ship over the ice to land un-
armed, I cannot deny that a feeling pf terror seized me,
and I looked round to see the unknown animal from
whence the sound proceeded. I afterwards discovered
the true cause, however.
SHANNON ISLAND. 293
On the 27th Payer and his party returned full of the
wonders of the Tell-platte; their tour had been most
satisfactory.
We now held a consultation, and all agreed that for
the moment there was no prospect of getting further
northward; so at four p.m. we steamed for Klein-Pen-
dulum, which we reached at half-past eleven p.m.
Since the 12th of August the sun had again risen and
set for us, and at midnight it was already twilight, so
that for the first time for two months we could see the
bright stars, and at midnight on deck we could see to
‘read the smallest print.
These uniform and uneventful days on Shannon Island
were useful to us, in so far that they showed us the
capabilities as well as deficiencies in our tents, coverings,
cooking apparatus, and so on.
So much for Dr. Copeland and his party. We will
now give some account of Lieutenant Payer’s first sledge
journey to the Tell-platte.
On the 16th of August, on the plateau north of Cape
Philip Broke, Payer had measured a base 1600
fathoms long, and in order to conclude this work he on
the 25th started on a small sledge journey, accompanied
by Sengstacke, EHllinger, and Iversen, to the south-west
of Shannon, called the Tell-platte. They pulled a small
sledge, without either tent or sleeping-sack, across the
monotonous snow-fields of Freeden Bay. .
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Page 331.
THE GERMAINA IN THE ICE.
PREPARATIONS FOR WINTERING. ook
real winter, with cold, storm, and snow, would overtake
us. Our first duty was the ship’s safety and preparations
for passing the winter.
Orders were then given that all the ship’s crew should
once more enjoy the sweet water from the neighbouring
brook, as we wished to avoid as long as possible the use
of melted snow. In spite of the difficulty of fetching
water in the boat, we had just finished in time; as on
the 17th the earth was frozen on the surface, and the
streams showed but little water, and in the course of a
day or two ceased running altogether.
And now ever more menacingly did the harbinger of
winter warn us. Boreas, with his sudden and violent
rising, and the heavy squalls under Pendulum Island,
which we soon learnt to know, burst no fewer than three
times over the ship this week. On the 16th the storm
was so strong that we had to drop the second anchor.
The next day was again a fine, still autumn day. On
the 18th the almost inch-thick covering of ice burst into
several floes, so that we were able to tow our ship further
into the harbour.
That evening and night we had another storm from
the north, which, however, did no harm to the ship, but
broke up all the ice afresh and drifted it away, so that
the Germania was once more free in the water; but it
was for the last time.
The coming Sunday broke still and clear, though the
temperature even at noon was not above 19° Fahr. rising
to 46°. A new icy covering formed, increasing in thick-
ness so quickly that in the night of the 20th and 2Ist,
the rising storm in the creek, with its hurricane gusts,
could not break it. All possibility of going out with the
302 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
boat was now quite at an end. It was on this Sunday
(19th), the same day on which the Hansa, on the floe
120 miles further south, found that she was frozen in ;
but what a difference in circumstances there and here!
It was interesting for us at this time to observe the
life and ways of some of those birds of passage whose
existence depends upon open water. There were from
thirteen to fifteen eider-ducks in the harbour, four of which
were old ones, swimming in two groups. During the follow-
ing days we had frequent opportunities, in the open fissures
and holes at the entrance of the creek, particularly near
the peninsula, where the observatory stood, to watch the
short flights of these birds. They also flew round the
ship and the bay, and then disappeared. On the 20th
these water-holes had disappeared, and with them the
ducks. Only one young thing was left behind, which
timidly waddled by on the slippery ice, and dead-tired
was at last shot out of pity. When later, from the
cutting through of the ship on the 24th, a channel of
open water was formed, ducks again appeared, and
several were killed. The attempt to keep one alive on
board did not, however, succeed.
As in the course of the 21st the weather cleared, and
our comrades had been absent seven days, we began to
be uneasy about them; we anticipated all sorts of mis-
haps, and finally determined to go and meet them the
next day with some provisions.
On the 22nd, therefore, Mr. Sengstacke started early
with two men, to beat the south side of the island. For
the first time they succeeded in getting to land on foot
across the ice, it having frozen so sharply the last few
nights. Our uneasiness was fortunately quite unneces-
PREPARATIONS FOR WINTERING. 3a0
sary. The travellers returned to the island in good
spirits, and Mr. Sengstacke and his companions had the
unexpected good fortune to kill two reindeer.
Thus we were all together once more, and were able
seriously to set to work upon our winter preparations.
It was indeed high time. The thermometer at night
was already below 14° Fahr., and we could expect
nothing but an increase of cold.
The first requisite was to find a secure position for the
ship. It ought not to come in contact with drifting ice,
but remain quietly on the spot where it was frozen in,
until summer should free it from its icy fetters. The
experience of former Arctic explorers had proved that
the most serious dangers and difficulties might arise
under unfavourable circumstances. The eminent Arctic
explorer Kane was in his first voyage blocked in the
pack-ice for nearly nine months; and on the second he
was obliged to leave the frozen-in brig in Rensselaer har-
bour, and make a most difficult journey with the boats.
For ourselves, according to human calculations, we
might look forward to future events without any mis-
giving. Our ship had run at the right time into the
finest winter harbour that we could desire. It seemed
as if nature had made it for the Germania.
Almost circular, with a peculiarly narrow entrance, it
lay on the south-east point of the island. To the north,
the far-spreading land and a mountain chain of more
than 900 feet high formed a continual protection against
the devastating northern storms, as well as from the
rushing current of the pack-ice; and Walrus Island, lying
to the south-east, protected the harbour from the strong
pressing and pushing of the ice, which, drifting by the
334 THE GERMAN ARUTIC EXPEDITION.
sea-breeze or the currents against the neighbouring open
coast, was sometimes followed by frightful results.
This creek was named “ Germania Harbour.” Kolde-
wey would willingly have wintered farther north, in order
to have a more advanced starting-point for the sledge
journeys in the spring, but no safer harbour or anchorage
existed under Shannon Island or Klein-Pendulum ; and
we had cause to be thankful that we were not obliged to
seek shelter farther south, somewhere about Gael Ham-
kes Bay.
On the 24th of September, the ship was brought to
the chosen spot, 300 paces from the western point of
land. For this purpose we had to cut a channel in the
now three-inch-thick ice. The cutting of the ice, and the
song of the sailors as they towed the ship along, sounded
cheerful on this fine winter morning; and before noon
the work was completed. The Germania now lay for
290 days condemned to inactivity, with her bow N.N.W.,
in order, as much as possible, to break the force of the
storm.
The next morning the command, “ Heave anchor!”
sounding so peculiar to every voyager, was heard for the
last time, followed by the regular rattling of the wind-
lass. The anchor was stowed away on board, as we had
no further use for it; and the ship, until it should freeze
in position, was made fast with ropes to the ice and the
neighbouring rock.
She had now to be entirely unfitted, down to the lower
masts and the shrouds, and everything brought on land
that would not be required during the winter. Thus, on
one side, the ship was disburdened, and on the other we
gained considerable space both on deck and in the cabin,
PREPARATIONS FOR WINTERING. aera
which in every respect was, in winter, of the greatest
importance.
First, the sails were taken down and rolled together,
then the yards and the maintopmast, and the sails and all
the rigging dismantled. The foretopmast we purposely
left standing, that we might have a lofty point, which, in
the course of time, might be useful for observing the air-
currents and electricity. Then the deck was cleared, and
the long-boat hoisted from its place. The spare spars and
all utensils and chests were brought to shore, The same
thing was done with all provisions which the frost could not
destroy, except, of course, what we needed for use during
the half-year. The two largest boats we laid with the
yards, &c., on the flat shore at the end of the harbour.
For the provisions, however, we erected a “ depot, ”’ half
way to the observatory on the peninsula. On a layer of
planks we closely packed our chests and vessels, covering
them with sails, the edges of which were kept down by
heavy stones. Thus buried, our belongings seemed able
to defy both storms and bears. But other things re-
mained to be done. One or two men had to help build the
stone houses ; and the engineer and the stoker were busy
taking the machinery to pieces. One of these stone
houses was intended for an observatory. It was built on
the corner of land lying near to the ship, upon the steep
edge of the bank; fo. the other, as a magnetical obser-
vatory, a more north-west position seemed preferable.
The glorious evenings on the ice during these last
September weeks, the first of our winter stay, will ever
be remembered by all.
Seamen and scientific men worked valiantly in the
sweat of their faces the whole day long; and when the
336 THE GERMAN AROTIC EXPEDITION.
longed-for evening meal was over, there remained one or
two hours of enjoyment in each other’s society, which we
generally passed in skating. If the ice had not that
mirror-face which our own fresh-water lakes present, still
it had its charms. We then settled down to friendly
conversation, as we were accustomed to do in our own
country, some adepts, others novices, but all eager to
learn the art.
The fate of the Hansa, too, troubled us, giving us con-
stant room for conjecture, though having but little real
fear for her. For comforting circumstances greatly pre-
ponderated, and it would have been unnatural with such,
if we had not believed in the lucky stars of our comrades
and their tried captain. Added to this, the present had
such constant claims upon us.that we had no time for
moping. To keep out the snow and wind, and also to
keep in the warmth, a tent of strong sail-cloth was
stretched over the ship; and finally a three-inch-thick
iayer of moss was spread over the deck. The tent-roof
had been prepared before our departure, so it had only
to be put up. Where it was bolted we placed upright
supports, so that even there we might walk upright, and
from these the roof rose almost obliquely to the top,
which was composed of the mainboom and the mizzen-
boom placed longitudinally. From the foremast it de-
scended to the forestays, and with that down to the
bows, ending over the stern with a more perpendicular
gable.
As has already been said, this was composed of the
strongest sail-cloth; and the different parts were so
firmly put together that we dared to hope it would resist
the storm; and the more soas the sharp front lay towards
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PREPARATIONS FOR WINTERING. Noe
the north wind. At the back, looking towards the obser-
vatory, was the exit, the only opening in the tent, which
could be closed by a trap-board. Through this small
hole we slipped in and out on to some wooden steps
by which we reached the ice. The favourable weather
was also taken advantage of to tar the ship’s sides.
Whilst the outside was thus putting on its winter
clothing, many alterations were made within. The ques-
tion here was not only the greatest protection from
cold, but the making it really habitable and home-like.
We already found that the warmest half was the fore-
cabin, just abaft the forecastle, and which was built
like a cage in the middle of the hold, which surrounded
it on all four sides. Hereupon a winter cabin for the
captain had to be made, as the former, from its isolated
position in the afterpart of the ship, required too much
coal to warm it.
As it was further desirable, both for work and amuse-
ment during the long winter, to have more room, the
back wall of the cabin was set back three quarters of a
yard; and on a line with this a new room of forty-three
inches m depth was built, connected by an opening, but
with no door. The wooden walls of the cabin were then
covered on the outside with felt, and on the inside with
thick woollen stuff, called “‘ coating.’’ The floor was
partly covered with a carpet, and partly also with felt
and sailcloth nailed over it. The iron stove had then
to change its place and go into the farthest corner, from
whence it could most effectually warm all parts. The
ceilmg was lkewise set up inside, and it was intended
by-and-by to cover the roof with snow for protection.
The skylight, too, could not he, allowed to remain open ;
Z
388 - THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
so we covered it, both out and inside, except im the
brightest hours of the day; and in order that we might
enjoy the light as long as possible, the back part of the
tent roof on the forepart of the ship was always rolled
back until the 9th of October, when lamps were burnt
all day long. Our stove proved excellent. While outside
the temperature stood at from 0° to 4° Fahr., in the cabin
we were able to keep up an agreeable warmth with about
ten pounds of coal.
But, besides the cold, the Huropean wintering in the
North has another enemy awaiting him, which often
brings on illness; this enemy is the damp. The wateri-
ness of the atmosphere, rising from all parts, penetrates
into the rooms, settling naturally upon every relatively
cold object. These are particularly the walls and ceiling
of the cabin. And even with continual airing we did
not succeed in keeping the damp really out of the cabin.
In order, therefore, to accomplish this, we bored large
holes, after Ross’s example, of two inches diameter
through the deck, turning over it a large hollow iron
vessel covered with snow, on the very cold inner surface
of which the watery contents of the atmosphere soon
condensed, forming a crust of ice, which was*removed
from time to time. ‘Two of these condensers we placed
over the cabin, two over the forecastle, and one over the
captain’s cabin.
In the forecastle, as may be supposed, no further heat-
ing was necessary than that caused by the daily cooking
in the caboose. Indeed, at meal-time the heat was so
great that the door had to be opened and the condensing
holes left uncovered for a long time; by these means the
damp was more easily gotrid of.
PREPARATIONS FOR WINTERING. 339
Another contrivance we made for melting the snow.
In the chimney of the caboose we constructed a receiver,
from the bottom of which a pipe ran through the deck
into a barrel, and all snow thrown into the receiver, being
melted by the warmth of the chimney, fell into it.
During all these preparations in September and October
the days had become visibly shorter and the air colder.
As, however, it had not snowed yet, we agreed for the
time to surround the ship with a wall of ice-blocks.
This we did on the 11th of October. After Dr Bérgen had been for some time under Dr. Pansch’s hands,
he remembered that he had the pocket-chronometer (one of Felsing’s, of
Bremen) with him ; so, as it had not come on board, Dr, Copeland and
a guard went in search of it, and found it fast frozen to the surface of the
ice. It had gone on for some time after its fall, but had stopped at last,
owing to the intensity of the cold. After warming it in the hand, it
went on again for some seconds.
BORGEN CARRIED OFF BY A BEAR. Al 1
showing the force of the blow, and also the sail-cloth
boots, which had dropped off while crossing the ice.
*‘'This accident was an additional proof how dangerous
it was ever to go out alone in the dark; for weapons
are but of little avail if one is not aware of the approach
of the animal. This precaution, which was, as a rule,
strictly observed, was in my case neglected simply be-
cause the next day the whole crew were to start on a
sledge expedition to the north, which had now to be
postponed for a day.” °
* Borgen’s wounds healed and cicatrized rapidly. His youth and
vigorous constitution enabled him to throw off all the evil effects of the
bear’s seizure.
CHAPTER X.
LONG SLEDGE JOURNEY ALONG THE COAST NORTHWARDS —
DISCOVERY OF KING WILLIAM’S ISLAND — MARCH 8TH ‘TO
APRIL 27TH, 1870.!
Object and result of these sledge journeys.—Equipment and clothing.—
Tent.—Departure.—Provisions.— Discipline on the march,— Hard-
ships.—Refraction.—Parhelia.— Difficulties of sledge-dragging.—
Tent-pitching.—Snow-blindness.— Return to the ship.—Second
start. — Return of the companion sledge. — Hochstetter’s Fore-
land.—Geological excursion.—Cape Oswald Heer.—Ascent of the
Haystack.— Bear-hunting.—Reaching of 76° N. Lat.—Cape Carl
Ritter.—Remains of Esquimaux summer-huts.—Cape Peschel.—
Roon Bay.—Icebergs.—The Devil’s Cape.—Parhelia in Roon
Bay.—Desert of snow.— Eastern Island.—Dove Bay.— Mountain-
chain and glaciers on the west of it——Erratic blocks on Eastern ©
Island.—Cape Heligoland.—Storm Bay.—Passion-week.— Violent
storm.—77° N. Lat. passed.— Virgin soil.—Erection of a cairn on
the northernmost point reached.— Depositing a document therein.—
Want of necessaries.— Want remedied by killing two musk-oxen.—
Snow-storm.—The midnight sun.—Difliculties of Arctic sledge
journeys.—Geological formation of the Island at Cape Peschel.—
Peter Ellinger taken ill.—Payer and Ellinger on forwards.—First
salutation of spring.—Return to the ship.— Results of the journey.
SLEDGE journeys, particularly in spring-time, are attended
by great expenditure of strength and troubles of all kinds.
A day’s progress by ship would take a week in a sledge ;
indeed, sometimes with almost superhuman strength,
* By Lieut. Payer.
SLEDGE JOURNEY. 413
not more than a few hundred paces can be made in
a day.
Such journeys must also always be made on the frozen
sea or on the Fjords. Overland sledge journeys are
impossible in Hast Greenland, on account of the uneven-
ness of the ground and the insufficiency of snow. The
most favourable time is the autumn. In winter, the long
Arctic night effectually frustrates every excursion. In
spring they are made more difficult by the intensity of
the cold, and for at least three parts of the time by
terrific snow-storms, and in the beginning of summer the
changing of the snow into water, or snow-bog.
For nine months and a half our ship, surrounded and
fast bound by the ice, was the only place of refuge for
such expeditions, during which we could not rely upon
any means of subsistence from land, but only on the
chance good fortune of the hunt. Everything had there-
fore to be taken with us; and the heavily-laden sledge
was indeed the ship of the desert, the loss of which
would carry all with it. The quantity of provisions to be
taken also set a limit upon our excursions, as well as the
knowledge that each man, even under favourable circum-
stances, could only carry two hundred weight.
The north-east coast of Greenland is so completely un-
inhabited, that it was impossible to obtain dog-sledges ;
so we had to drag them ourselves, which we did on five
journeys which occupied three months, and in which we
traversed nearly a thousand nautical miles. Clothing and
outfit also requires great care, as on these expeditions the
explorer has for weeks together to brave a temperature
sometimes below — 24° Fahr. Snow-hoods, masks, coats
of sealskin, boots of sail-cloth (leathern boots are not
41 4 THE GERMAN AROTIC EXPEDITION.
phable, and crack in the frost) lined with flannel, stock-
ings soled with flannel, were prepared, and every precau-
tion taken.
Hach man had two woollen shirts (the under one
having a piece of skin with the hair inside sewn to it),
trousers lined with fur, a thick vest with sleeves, two
pairs of woollen drawers, three pairs of warm stockings,
a water-tight sealskin coat—the hair outside, and by
many drawn over the head, with only the hole at the throat,
to keep out the wind and cold. Besides this, each wore
a knitted hood, fitting close, to which was fastened the
flannel mask, with small openings for the eyes and mouth,
and the nose protected ; over this a large fur hood, only
showing a small portion of the face; a pair of knitted
woollen gloves, inside of which were fur gloves; and,
lastly, a shawl—all this as protection against the cold.
The clothing is provided with large sail-cloth pockets,
the one in the coat being always filled with cartridges.
Snow spectacles were worn on the march, those of a
smoky grey colour being the best.? Our tent was of
light sail-cloth, the weight of which we had brought down
to forty pounds, and was quite filled with the general
sleeping-sack of sheepskin. For preparing our meals
we had a cooking apparatus and a saucepan, with sixty
bottles of spirit as fuel,—wood or coal being too heavy.
The necessary quantity of provisions for each week
was divided into sacks, each containing coffee, chocolate,
boiled beef, ham, butter, suet, salt, dry black bread,
* Snow spectacles, on account of their fragility and metal mountings,
are particularly undesirable, as in intense cold they burn the skin.
Spectacles of india-rubber we found the best, completely enclosing the
eye, which is protected by very fine wire gauze.— Borgen.
SLEDGE JOURNEY. ALD5
pemmican extract of meat, beans, lentils, peas, barley, flour
mixed with melted butter, and twenty bottles of brandy.
The pulse was cooked on board, left on deck to freeze,
then chopped in pieces, and thrown into the sack. Our
medicine-chest only provided for three diseases, frost-bite,
dysentery, and bad eyes; five pounds of private luggage
were allowed for each man, and the three guns, with 200
cartridges, formed what may be termed the dead weight.
Well, it is the 8th of March. Some days before we had
made a trial trip, and it had proved most satisfactory ;
there seemed no prospect of change in the temperature,
which was the lowest we ever observed in Hast Green-
land, being 24° to 35.50° Fahr. below zero, and_ still less
hope of the cessation of those time-thieving, indescribably
dreadful snow-storms. But time is too precious; we
have already ten hours’ daylight; the sledge is packed,
and we begin the journey.
The weather is lovely. A moderate wind blows from
the north over the hard snowy covering, along which the
sledge glides, now with hoarse and now with ringing
tones. At the next rocky projection, beyond which the
ship can no longer be seen, our companions, who have
given us the customary escort, return; and we continue
our journey alone.
The eye soon gets weary of the brightness of the white
surface and the uniformity of the landscape. Chains of
mountains, stretching along the coast from ten to fifteen
nautical miles off, are seen day after day. From insigni-
ficant elevations there rise, in the course of a few hours,
over the endless snowy surface, stately icebergs, behind
which huge snow-drifts have accumulated. A short stay in
the dry cold air causes a painful dryness in the larynx
416 THE GERMAN ARCTIC BXPEDITION.
and mouth, whilst the very cold but slightly damp air is
exhaled with perfect comfort.
It is very difficult to keep a straight course when the
snowy surface is covered with a peculiar layer of low fog,
which, however, seldom happens in the spring, as in a
violent fall of snow nothing can be done but by the
compass, and this tirmg way of proceeding can often
only be employed when an iceberg is for a moment
visible, as offering a direct object of sight.
The great inequality in the warmth of the atmosphere,
or unequal thickness of the atmospheric layers above the
ice, produces the strangest distortions of the land, by
means of refraction, causing objects still below the
horizon to be distinctly seen.
During our voyage in the pack-ice in 1869, we saw some
most astonishing phenomena—column-shaped groups of
ice towering aloft, often resembling the rums of a town;
basins of water shut in by the ice, all of which were
below the edge of the horizon; and once a vessel, which
seemed to stand as four, one above another.
Still more interesting is the effect upon a land picture.
Now appears a high, remote island, without any dis-
figuration of its contour, apparently set up on a phath at
least 900 feet high ; or a completely dome-shaped moun-
tain is turned into a square, the outlines of the ridge
assuming a dreadfully wild character, every top threaten-
ing to fall over; or the distorted picture acquires a rapid
motion, growing as high again; or creating the delusive
picture of a land which certainly existed, but not where
we expected to find it (fata Morgana). Thus, in Lat. 77°
we for a whole day were advancing to a land, the
individual features of which—such as snow-furrows and
SLEDGE JOURNEY. 417
rocks—were incontestably seen by all; but upon leaving
our tents in the evening it had all disappeared.
Nearly resembling this, in a physical point of view, we
frequently observed, during our spring sledge-journey,
parhelia, or mock suns, caused by the refraction of the
sun’s light by the ice-crystals floating in the upper
strata of air. ‘These mock suns sometimes form a double
circle round the sun, with a coloured bow beyond, and
horizontal stripes of ight emanating from the sun itself.
The inner part of this bow is always red, the outer
shading off into pale green and a very light sky-blue.
The first circle is bright yellow within; the second of
a yellowish grey. This phenomenon only takes place in
a yellow, vapourish atmosphere, with horizontal strata,
and a somewhat cloudy sky.
It was, however, too dangerous to give our undivided
attention to this wonderful phenomenon of nature to the
neglect of all surrounding objects; for, though these
appearances are frequent, bears are more frequent still.
Indeed, bear-hunting took its turn in our hunting-roll,
and some of us more than once narrowly escaped being
torn to pieces.
Amongst other disagreeables of an Arctic sledge-
journey is its monotony. The ideas and wishes contained
within the limited horizon of life in the Arctic-world pass
as quickly away as the eye is wearied by the monotony
of the landscape.
Conversation carried on by men straining at the traces
can certainly not be very animated. The frost prevents
smoking, for the pipes freeze. There is a continued
conflict against the loss of warmth; and the cold pene-
trates in a hundred different ways. Now-the chin ig
Ee
418 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
numbed, a painful straining of the forehead sets in, or a
violent pricking of the nostrils, which are exposed to the
wind. Sometimes one stands in danger of the heels, the
toes, or the hands being frost-bitten. The hair of the
face, and even the eyelashes, get hoar with’ frost—
indeed, the eyes are often completely closed—and every
frozen spot on the body must at once be rubbed with
lumps of snow resembling pumice-stone, until a warm,
pricking glow succeeds. When, as in the case of many
of our party, the frozen hands or feet were not rubbed
with snow until too late, it led to numerous blisters.
The fingers swelled up into lumps, and became quite
numbed ; but the noses (the whole eight of which were
frozen) were more fortunate; they emerged from a white
into a red stage of enlarged dimensions, were eventually
covered witha parchment-like skin, remaining for some time
most sensitive, and by slow degrees regained their normal
condition, so that by the time we landed in Europe they
were all right again. The heat of our bodies, which we
did our best to retain by warm woollen clothes, was
carried away in a moment by the slightest wind; and if it
increased, the cold crept between every button of our seal-
skin clothing; the penetrating icy wind was felt at every
stitch, the arms hung down like lead, deadly cold, and no
one dared to walk without a mask. If the wind rose
still more, curtains of penetrating snow-crystals rose
with it from the ground; then a snow-storm, which
always comes from the north, might be _ expected,.
announcing itself by a lofty white appearance in the
south, the violet colour and close proximity of the moun-
tains, and low-hanging clouds. But still we risk the
march forward against the thickening snow, until painful
SLEDGE JOURNEY. 419
breathing and stiffenmg limbs warn us to pitch our
tent.
Under ordinary circumstances this was done about six or
Seven p.m., on a smooth surface. A hole was quickly dug
with shovels, on which the tent was erected, and the dug-
out blocks of snow laid round it for safety against the
storm, and the sledge placed as a shield to the north.
The tent was kept upright by means of four long poles,
each crossed at the top, stretched by ropes fastened to
axes or piles driven into the ground. When the sleepine-
sack had been laid down in the tent, our personal bageage
settled, the kettle filled with blocks of snow by the cook,
the lamp lit, and the rations given out, our comrades, who,
owing to the increased cold since the setting of the sun,
had meanwhile been running and jumping to keep them-
selves warm, were allowed to enter.
During our last half-hour’s march, each man had been
busy thawing his beard with his hands, for it had been
changed into a lump of ice, so that it might not melt
whilst the cooking was going on, and so wet their clothes
and coverings. As soon as all were in their places in the
tent the aperture was closed, and preparations made for
passing the nght.
The stiff sail-cloth boots, fast frozen to the stockings
which were to form our pillows, were thawed between the
hands, and with difficulty taken off; the stockings, thick
with rimy snow, were scraped, then wrung and laid upon
our bodily
the breast, to dry by our only available means
heat—so as to prepare them for the following day’s work.
At last all have wriggled themselves into the sleeping-
sack, each one lying partly on his neighbour, and in this
modest space waiting for the evening meal.
He 2
420 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
The first hour is spent in melting the snow, the second
in preparing the meal, which is devoured eagerly, and as
cool as possible. The development of steam during the
cooking (which in the very cold weather consumed one
bottle of spirit, or 1 lb.) put us into such a vapour-bath
that we could not even see our next neighbour; the tent
walls were completely wet through, and the temperature,
which had been 35° Fahr., rose to 36°. The dampness of
the coverings and clothes, from the condensation of the
steam on the rime, of course increased, and the opening
of the tent-door occasioned a fall of snow within, so that
by the time the cooking was over, all was covered with a
thick coating of ice or crust of snow.
It is about eight or nine o’clock; the small rations of
boiled beef, soup, and vegetables, are no longer enough to
allay the daily increasing hunger ; but sleep buries that, as
well as our burning thirst, in oblivion. Only occasionally
did our sparing supply of spirits allow us to prepare an
extra quantity of water.
During the march each one carried an india-rubber
or tin bottle, full of snow, on his bare body, turned as
much as possible to the sun, and often after many hours
only a few spare spoonfuls (and sometimes nothing)
could be obtained from it.
Last of all, the cook, after cleaning out the kettle, also
fights his way into the sleeping-sack, which thus attains
its proper complement. A side position is the only one
possible—to-night all lie to the left, to-morrow all to the
right. Comfortable positions, such as stretching on one’s
back for example, meet with a miserable protest, as well
as any other after-movement; and when at length silence
falls upon all, the eight men form one single lump.
SLEDGE JOURNEY. 421
oT
The nose acts no longer merely as a condenser, as on
the spring journey; it now becomes a cold-pole, and
leaving it outside the rimy and icy covering is preferable
to burying it in the questionable atmosphere of the sack.
The mouth, as the only outlet of exhalation, must remain
open, but the teeth get so cold that they feel lke icicles,
and the mask, which it is necessary to wear in the night
freezes to the long beard.
Happy were those who, during the lowest temperature
within the first fourteen days of our journey, could really
lose themselves during the hours of rest, if only for a
short time, for they were generally passed in a painful
waiting for a happy release, by—dragging !
This general wakefulness made it unnecessary to set a
special watch for bears and foxes, which occasionally made
a bold raid upon the stores in the sledge, for they had
never yet succeeded in approaching us quite noiselessly.
In spite of all efforts to the contrary, the cutting cold
too soon penetrated the sleeping-sack; within the tent
the temperature sinks from 60° or 65°, to below zero,
and the body has to be again refreshed with artificial
~ warmth, by motion and hot food.
The natural consequences of this state of temperature
is a continually increasing sensation of freezing until the
morning. During the day the sack has got thoroughly
cold on the sledge, and must again be warmed by bodily
heat, being frozen into thick folds as hardasiron. Who-
ever les upon these seems to be lying on laths, which
towards morning begin to lose their sharpness. One or
the other we keep a bottle of snow about us. All
are shivering, scarcely any sleep. For hours together
we are in a state of suffocation, the pressure on either
499 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
side causing a feeling as though the collar-bone was
being forced into the chest, and the shoulders crushed.
Each les upon his arm (which of course goes to
sleep), and is often prevented from breathmg by the
smell of train-oil proceeding from his neighbour’s seal-
skin. The breath condenses over the face and upon the
sloping tent-side, in long snow webs, which fall at the
shehtest movement.
The misery of tent life reaches its maximum during an
uninterrupted snow-storm of sometimes three days’ dura-
tion. So long as this assumes the form of a hurricane,
no one can leave the tent without danger of either beng
suffocated or blown away. These Greenland snow-storms,
which carry small stones with them, greatly resemble
West Indian hurricanes, only that the sun is completely
darkened by the rush of snow.
Of course our tents would soon have been blown over,
if some precautions had not been taken. Great distress
reigned within. The wind greatly lessened the already
small space by pressing in the walls. Through the canvas,
through every stitch or smallest opening, spurts a small
flood of the finest snow, like flour out of a flour-mill, or
collects itself on the inner surface, where its ever-increas-
ing weight at length brings it down like small avalanches.
As long as the storm rages the cold is alleviated from the
equalization of warm air over the sea, though it seldom
allows any heat to remain in the tent, so that we were
still in a cold of from 14° to 5° Fahr.
By degrees a covering of snow at least an inch thick hes
on the sack, under which we must patiently wait till the
storm ceases. We scrape it away with the knife, but it
soon returns again. On some occasions this snow began
SLEDGE JOURNEY. 423
to melt, and penetrate the clothes, making us look like
seals coming up out of the water.
In a steadily rising temperature, too, the snow on which
we lay would melt, and the sack get wet underneath,
not to dry again till the summer, but freeze on the sledge
in those hard folds we dreaded so much. We repeatedly
felt the want of india-rubber coverings.
This state of things often lasted from two to three
days, and we waited with an indifference bordering on
stupidity, sitting squeezed, with numbed hands, mending
the gloves or stockings, almost freezing, masked ; beards
full of ice, stuffed up with a chaos of frozen clothes
and boots, and, worst of all, fasting. The duration of
the journey, as well as the extent of country to be
explored, depended upon the use of the provisions. If,
therefore, some part of the time was lost through storms,
this loss, in spite of hunger, thirst, and loss of strength,
could only be regained by reduced rations, which often
only consisted of a thin soup.
The saucepan has become leaky, a small sea has formed
on the sack, the spirit-lamp runs, and repeatedly threatens
to destroy the tent by fire, which, during the storm,
would be the work of a moment. The cook grumbles,
burns his fingers to-day which were frozen yesterday ;—
urged on by hunger, his cooking is subject to sharp
criticism, as each is waiting for the eventful moment
when the meal shall be ready.
All food was frozen—even brandy began to freeze one
night—meat in the tins or ham had to be chopped with
the axe; butter could, without any fear, be carried in
the waistcoat-pocket, to be enjoyed on the march.
Woe to the unfortunate man who, in a lull of the storm,
494 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
goes into the open air. He is almost torn to pieces,
stifled by the snow-filled air, betrayed into snow-drifts,
and yet not daring to open his eyes. Numbed with cold,
white as a miller, he returns to the tent. Here he isa
subject of horror to his neighbours m the sack, whom he
intends robbing of their warmth to thaw himself. The
snow-powder blown in upon the opening of the tent-door
has penetrated through all the clothes, and the skin has
to be scraped, and any frost-bites that may have set in
have to be dispersed by rubbing. Indeed, the disturbance
and excitement consequent upon a walk in the open air
does not subside for some hours.
But the snow-blind suffer the most from such a state
of things. Out of consideration to them smoking was
dropped.
The irritation caused by the white snow-flakes, which
with us are easily beaten aside, causes great suffering in
Greenland, from the inflamed state of the eyes and the
thick heavy atmosphere, to those who may have been
unfortunate enough to break their snow-spectacles.
Beating them off while on the march is impossible, for
the damp cloth freezes at once to a lump of ice, making
the eyes insupportably cold. The simple bandage, on
the other hand, does not save one from the steady burn-
ing pain, which acts hke needle-pricks. Opening the eye
for a moment is not to be thought of. The blind are
obliged to pull with the others, as the laden sledge cannot
be moved but by our united strength.
As a rule, we break up about five a.m. The thin black
coffee is taken with some ice-cold bread dust,* which effec-
° From loading and unloading the sacks, the hard bread carried with
us falls by degrees into dust.
SLEDGE JOURNEY. 425
tually destroys all its warming properties, mixed into it like
a mash, and then follows laborious packing up of the
clothes, in order to be prepared for all weathers.
The frozen boots must first be thawed with the hands,
and the folds taken out, the tent freed from snow, and
beaten until pliable. The sleeping-sack receives the
same treatment, which, as a sign of our disgust and
its daily-increasing weight from the ice, we named “ the
Walrus.”
‘The soaked sealskin clothing freezes at once in the
air, and damp condenses on the hair in frost-blossoms.
One or the other rubs his face with scraped snow to
refresh his eyes—a novel kind of washing, in default of
water, though with the slightest breath of wind his hands
are in danger of freezing. After every snow-storm, tent
and sledge has to be dug out, and the contents cleaned
with difficulty.
All this business occupies about two hours, when the
traces are taken up with great satisfaction, as a long-
looked-for release from the pam of the nightly couch.
The sledge is loosened from its frozen position, and the
journey continued, which, after twenty-three days,
brought us to 77° of Lat., the most northerly point ever
reached on the east coast of Greenland.
But we will now give an account of this expedition.
It ought really to have begun on the 7th of March; but an
accident happened to one of our comrades, who, on the
evening of the 6th, had been attacked in the darkness
by a bear, and severely injured. This occasioned some
delay, and we started on the morning of the 8th of March.
We had two sledges and ten men. The smaller of the
two was harnessed to four men, and was to accompany
426 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
us for a week, providing us with food, and after laying a
depot on the east coast of Hochstetter’s Promontory, was
to return to the ship.
We judged that our journey would last fifty or sixty
days. The first day our advance was rendered so diffi-
cult by the hard, rough, sharp-edged snow-drifts, that we
could only get the sledges along half laden, thus having
to go over the road three times, and we only reached the
north end of Sabine Island.
The next day, finding the obstacles insurmountable,
we thought to better ourselves by enlarging the tent, in
spite of the fearful cold on the open field, and taking
eight men with us instead of six, the other two returning
to the ship; but even up to the 10th of March no change
for the better set in.
Only with great trouble and in constant danger of
destruction could we get the sledge over the masses of
snow: signs of a heavy storm were also visible; so, not
to expend our time and strength in vain, we determined
to return to the ship, and await a more favourable oppor-
tunity for our undertaking. Upon reaching it, we saw
a hunter chasing a bear, which, with the agility of a cat,
was climbing the slopes of Germania mountain. He and
his companion had besieged the ship for some time.
On the 12th of March we fetched back the sledge from
the north end of Sabine Island, and on this occasion
erected a provision depdt. The dreadful snow-storm of
the next few days made us bewail the loss of time, but
showed us how fruitless the continuation of our journey
would have been.
At last, on the 24th of March, circumstances had, we
thought, taken a more favourable turn; so we left the
MUSK GXEN. 427
vessel at nine a.m. for the second time. Six men—
Hilinger, Herzberg, Mieders, Klentzer, Wagner, the
carpenter, and our commander, Koldewey, and Payer—
dragged the large one; four men—Sengstacke, Krausch-
ner, Iversen, and the boatswain—managed the convoy.
As before, we realized the mildness of the temperature
in the harbour compared with the snowy waste to the
north of Sabine Island.
The whole of Sengstacke’s right foot was frost-bitten
the first day, and rubbing with snow during the whole of
the night was of no use; so the convoy sledge had to
return the following day, which was a great loss for us.
We increased our store of provisions by taking that from
the other sledge, and continued our journey; but on the
97th of March a snow-storm kept us in the tent, and on
the afternoon of the 28th the sledge broke down one of
the curved irons which supported it. With much trouble
this was repaired, but the violence of the storm raging
on the 29th and 30th prevented us from leaving the tent.
On the 31st of March, after a night of torment, we
pulled through the straits between Shannon Island (from
which a herd of musk oxen watched us with astonishment)
and Hochstetter’s Promontory. Upon reaching a large
iceberg to the south-east of the latter, we took advantage
of the sunny weather to shake out our ice-encumbered
sleeping-sack. Unfortunately this brought no relief
for the next night, as the low temperature robbed every
one of sleep. The coast-edge of Hochstetter’s Promon-
tory (stretching direct north and south), we passed near
enough to allow of a fruitless raid upon a herd of musk
oxen. As soon as the hunter was within 200 steps of
them, the animals formed their accustomed square, and,
428 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
placing the young ones in the centre, they all take to
flight, reversing these tactics whenever they are pursued.
A geological excursion to the small clefts m the valley of
the basin-shaped land, which rose a few hundred feet, would
have been well worth the trouble. The completely hori-
zontal strata of micaceous sandstone (containing fossil
bivalves), belonging to the mesozoic* epoch, contained
layers of has coal, dark and sometimes syenitice gneiss,
and a reddish degenerate kind of the same.
In the evening the island of Koldewey, many hundred
feet high, came above the horizon, distorted by the refrac-
tion into wild forms. Against the ever-increasing wind we
sought to warm ourselves by pulling hard at the sledge; but
noses, feet, and hands were all endangered. The distance
travelled lately amounted to from ten to fifteen English
miles daily. We had gone over the north end of Shannon,
and saw icebergs in increasing numbers before us.
On the 2nd of April a snow-storm again kept us in the
tent. On the 3rd we reached the north end of Hoch-
stetter’s Promontory, formed by Cape Oswald Heer, next
to the most northerly boundary of the explored country
in Kast Greenland. The peninsula of Haystack, miscalled
by Clavering an island, forms this boundary with a
pyramidal summit of from 600 to 700 feet high.
Near to this mountain our sledge broke down in the
evening for the second time; this, however, caused no
loss of time, as the ascent of Mount Haystack, a point
so important for the determination of our positions,
could upon no account be left undone. The mountain
is, aS it were, sprinkled with erratic blocks, belonging
partly to a very recent formation, and, like the high ridge
4
i.e. Secondary. (7'r.)
BEAR HUNTING. 429
of the coast consists chiefly of gneiss, with alter-
nate layers of red felspar. The scanty vegetation already
showed signs of budding. From the point one perceives
a large bay (Bessel Bay) to the north, with the mouth of
several fjords ; to the east nothing was to be seen but ice
and the north end of Shannon, with its soft undulating
mountains. The rosy sloping masses of Koldewey
Island, in the north-east, looked in the splendour of the
setting sun like fairy-land. An endless snowy waste of
bluish-grey shadows lay between it and us. Half we
had already traversed.
Near us rose the high, wild, Alpine front of the
geologically interesting island of Kuhn; to the west lay
a rough mountainous district, the interior of which
had never yet been trodden by the foot of man, and in
which Clavering mistakenly makes a fjord (called Rose-
neath Inlet) penetrate, which really never existed.
From Cape Heer to Cape Seebach (west of Haystack)
ran a beautiful bay, opening to the south, which, from its
position, one would be inclined to say would form a
_ perfect harbour for the winter. But what irreparable
danger we should have run if, in the previous summer, we
had found this bay free from ice, and had taken posses-
sion of it, instead of that to the south of Sabine Island!
Now it was blocked with ice—perhaps had been for a
decade—certainly for some years. Even the deep pools
south of Haystack lay upon ice several years old.
In the course of the afternoon’s march we had a bear-
hunt, though an unsuccessful one. A she-bear and her
two cubs—the latter very like poodles, and from their
dirty yellow colour and black noses perceptible for a
long distance—were making quickly towards us, but
430 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
when within about 400 paces, our firmg drove them
back.
On the morning of the 4th of April another bear attacked
us in the tent, but paid for his temerity with his life,
giving us a can of fat (which served as fuel for four days)
and a good deal of meat, which we immediately enjoyed
——— = — ————
— —=
& —= SS ————=
——— SS ——
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SSS = —= = =— =SSS55
———— = —— = =—}
SSS ——= =
Sa ——— = = = SS
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SURPRISED BY A BEAR.
raw. For the first time drowsiness overcame us all, and
first one and then another closed his eyes. In the after-
noon snow again drifted from the north, against which
we marched for some hours, but were eventually obliged
to put up the tent. This lasted to the 5th, and kept us
prisoners. A sudden and unexpected increase of tem-
GEOLOGY AND ICEBERGS. A431
perature, although only lasting some hours, made the
snow melt inside our tent, placing us in a most uncom-
fortable state. On the 6th of April we crossed the 76° of
Lat., and reached the level mountain-foot of a cape
called Karl Ritter, which was bounded to the north by
the beautiful bay of Bessel (named after the great German
astronomer), so rich in fjords. The shore consisted of
mica gneiss, alternating with amphibolite, and a very
coarse-grained granite, with red orthoclase, green oligo-
clase, and black mica. To our great astonishment, on
the south side of the cape, amongst some remains of
bones of sea animals, we came upon some Hsquimaux
dwellings. They were summer tents, marked by a circle
of stones, the hide being held down, and kept upright by
a centre pole.
Our road, in the meantime, had assumed a totally
different character. It consisted of lumps of ice rounded
by evaporation, amongst which we lost our can of bear’s-
grease. Nevertheless, the same evening we reached the
southern exit of a second very large bay (Roon Bay),
north of Cape Peschel, which was marked by the wildest
mountain character.
The icebergs here increased everywhere both in size
and numbers. They are successors of the glaciers, and
are distinguished by their light green colour, their sharp,
craggy formation, and more particularly the layers,
which differ from the bluish and less dense ice of the
sea-formed ice-floe. The appearance of these icebergs on
the open sea is very irregular, as the icing of the bays
stops all communication of the Fjord with the Arctic
currents often for a decade of years, and the icebergs
grow together with the flat ice into masses, until a
432, THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
steady increase of temperature and spring storms open
the latter and release the former. It is also possible that
the released fragments of Hast-Greenland glaciers may
be carried to the west coast by a connexion of the
different fjords and currents, or that by interior channels
they arrive in Scoresby’s or Davis’ Strait.
Straight to the north of us rose an imposing wall,
3280 feet high. Its banks of gneiss, with their varied
colours, sloped at an angle of 15° southwards. We
named this reddish wall the ‘“ Devil’s Cape,” and were
inclined to believe that behind it the Greenland coast,
trending towards the north-west, was probably connected
with Smith Sound.
Towards evening, in the far distance to the north,
appeared fresh monstrous mountain chains, with out-
lying islands. We could not now tell whether we had to
do with an entirely insular opening or with an enormous
bay, as we were not in a position to give a decided
opinion. Under such circumstances, our orders were to
keep to the outer edge of the coast, from which we were
already separated by the far-advancing land of Koldewey
Island. So we continued our course in a north-easterly
direction.
On such a voyage of discovery, it may be laid down as
a useful rule to keep at least from five to ten English
miles from the coast, occasionally landing to climb some
high look-out. Circuitous routes are thus saved, pro-
jecting points only being touched without hugging the
coast-line: wrong roads are in this way avoided; and,
above all, by these means the land-survey is correctly -
and quickly completed.
The nearer one goes to the coast, the narrower will the
PARHELIA AND STORM. 433
horizon become, as much from cliffs as from low undu-
lating shores.
Our new course brought us, still on the 7th of April,
into a huge waste of loose snow, of ever increasing depth,
which stopped our further advance. Mock suns, with
double circles, which hung with wonderful effect in the
afternoon over the colossal rocks of Roon Bay, warned
us of the approach of unfavourable weather.
On the 8th, we continued our journey during a raging
snow-storm. The ‘‘ Devil’s” Cape, only one German mile
distant, appeared with a faint outline, as if seen through
a thick curtain. The snow, in which, in spite of the in-
tense cold, we sank deeper and deeper, hindered us so
much that, even with judicious alterations in the pulling,
we were six hours making five English miles, and the
slides of the sledge acted as a perfect plough. From
increasing dysentery, the loss of the opium bottle was
much felt.
On the night of the 8th to the 9th some foxes attacked
the remains of the frozen bear’s meat on the sledge.
-On the evening of the 9th, after a wearying march, we
reached an island group (Hast Island) 650 feet high, in
the middle of the large bay (Dove Bay), of which we
climbed the highest summit, to inspect the nature of the
land and explore our future course.
The view from the heights showed us that, besides the
one entrance, there was no other means of egress to the
coast but by the narrow straits to the north of Koldewey
Island; but still, in another point of view, the ascent of
this height was of great interest; for we found that the
westerly background of Dove Bay, which is filled with
numerous moderately high-lying islands, formed a high
Ff
4.34 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
mountainous country, separated by a large Fjord, and
extending for sixty miles with glaciers and mountain
tops, which we estimated at 6500 feet high. From the
direction of some of these fjords, we conjectured that the
one at the back of Ardencaple Bay communicated with
the sounds of Bessel and Dove Bays.
On all sides the chain was of wonderful beauty. Glacier
cascades, more than a mile broad, fell from a snow plateau
4800 feet high, in the north-west. Icebergs of monstrous
height, which on that very account we mistook for islands,
were iced up in the interior of the bays.
The rocks of East Island were polished to the summit,
and cast in the most picturesque forms, and often, sup-
ported only by asmall stone, huge erratic blocks rested on
the ridges. These blocks had evidently fallen in the place
and spot, and had not rolled there. Once, perhaps, they
had been borne by ice-floes, dropped to the bottom of the
sea, and this, in the course of time, had risen, or else the
level of the sea might have sunk. At least, this seemed
the only feasible explanation of their erratic appearance
on the summit itself.
Several hours’ drawing and work with the theodolite
had completely numbed me by the time we left the moun-
tain, the snowy slopes of which bore traces of bears and
ptarmigan.
On the 10th of April we kept in an easterly direction,
towards the north end of the most northerly of the
Koldewey Islands. Violently drifting snow, with heavy
atmosphere, increased snow-blindness, and drowsiness
paralyzed all of us. Nearly the whole day long did we
take a ,picture produced by the Fata Morgana for real
land. Cape Heligoland, the north-west corner of the
WANT OF FOOD. 435
rocky island, which we reached in the evening, consists
of very thin layers of hornblende-schist, with distinct -
traces of glacial detritus. For the first time, in spite of
the lowness of the temperature, we saw the snow melt on
the rocks, from the now increasing power of the sun.
On the morning of the 11th of April we had again 27°
Fahr. below zero. In an almost northerly direction, and
after that, by reconnoitring, we had fully convinced our-
selves that any attempt to reach the outer coast edge
would be attended with great loss of time, we continued
our way along the inner part of Dove Bay, and reached
the end of our actual sledge journey m a bay bounded by
an easterly-lying plateau, 975 feet high. This we called
Storm Bay, and not without a cause. The cape bound-
ing Dove Bay, to the east, we named Cape Bismarck
(76° 47’).
On the 12th we climbed to this plateau during a violent
snow-storm, which effectually prevented any great geo-
eraphical acquisition. Returning to the tent, a raging
storm broke over us, and a fresh flood of snow fell, last-
ing three days. During this time we ate almost nothing,
as our store of provisions threatened to disappear alto-
gether. Scarcely ever was the fast of Passion week
(14th April) more strictly observed than it was by us.
Not until the 15th could we leave the tent. The three
days of inactivity had diminished our strength; faint,
hungry, and thirsty, we started upon our last stretch of
journey to the north, leaving the tent behind us, and
taking only a covering. Want of provisions, which neces-
sitated our returning, forbade our extending the journey
further. Some musk oxen, which we came upon un-
expectedly, were clever enough not to prove the range
ie ate
4.36 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
of the rifle, and out-manceuvred Ellinger, who, after
making a wide circuit, thought to come close upon
them. In deep snow we accomplished the thirty
miles there and back to a mountain more than 1080
feet high, which rose above the plateau stretching
along the coast.
We had crossed the 77th degree of latitude! Like so
many of our predecessors, we, too, longed to lift the veil
hanging over the whole of the Arctic world, so opposed
to the mandate, “Thus far shalt thou go, and no further ;”
and, like so many others, found that our object gained fell
far short of our bold flights of fancy ; and that, resting after
endless troubles at the end of our journey, we still looked
in vain for the solution of the many riddles which science
expected of us. The conjecture, once broached, of an open
Arctic Sea, we could, from our stand-point, only reject
as idle. Tothe furthest point of the horizon the sea was
covered with a solid covering of ice, over which, had it
not been for the want of provisions, we could have con-
tinued our sledge journey. The outer coast-line stretched
n an almost northerly direction; to the north-west, the
prospect was closed in by lofty ice-covered mountains,
only a few miles distant.
The question, in which direction Greenland now ex-
tended, had thus far found no solution. The great num-
ber of inland maritime districts, the everywhere striking
division of land which, in a favourable bright evening,
stood out so plainly, gave room to the conjecture that
the chief mass of land (if this should be a continent),
probably trended off to the north-west, in 76° Lat.,
and that we as yet had only to do with outlying islands ;
this, at least, appeared as likely as a north and south
DEPOSITING A RECORD. 437
continuation of the coast, as arbitrarily represented on
charts for many years past.
A feeling of awe steals over the most thoughtless
when his feet stands on virgin ground, and there lies
before him a world on which, from the beginning of time,
no Huropean eye.has ever rested.
The North-German and Austrian flags fluttered in a light
north wind peaceably side by side. We erected a cairn,
which will doubtless remain’ unmoved, though perhaps
never again seen to the end of time, and placed inside it
a box containing a short account of our voyage. The
document ran‘thus: ‘‘This spot, which lies in 77° 1’
North Lat. and 18° 50’ West Long. from Greenwich, was
reached by the German Arctic Expedition in sledges (the
last three German miles on foot) starting from the winter
harbour by Sabine Island, after an absence from the ship
of twenty-two days.”
The storms, which for eight days kept us in the
tent, and partly the great difficulties of the journey, as well
as the want of provisions, prevented us from advancing
further. The coast which falls off rugged to the east
stretches into a plateau for about 1500 feet further
to the north. The sea, as far as the eye could reach
(about seventy-five miles) offered one continuous surface
of ice. The land ice, which is perfectly free from lumps,
and is and has to all appearances been fast for years,
stretches at, least ten miles from the coast. The weather
was very clear at sea, particularly to the east, in which
not a sign of water was perceptible.
Good Friday, 15th April, 1870.
Karl Koldewey, Commander of the Expedition; Julius
Payer, first-lieutenant ; Thomas Klentzer, Peter Ellinger,
438 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
sailors. Captain Koldewey remarks: ‘‘We put up the
telescope of the theodolite on a distant ice-block, and
let it stand for some time, in order to prove the motion of
the ice, if there was any; but the ice-block remained
stationary, as we fully expected, as the heavy sea ice
seemed to be closely joined to the land ice. Fully con-
vinced that perhaps never, or at least only in very
particularly favourable. years, could any ship advance
along this coast, we set out’on our return journey; the ice
eave one the impression of a rampart built for eternity.
With sledges it 1s possible, if the equipment is adequate,
and the strength of the Expedition is concentrated upon
them, to go considerably beyond 80° Lat. This is greatly
facilitated by the quantity of game, by which, to a certain
extent, the stock of provisions may be renewed.
We got nine shots, and at half-past three p.m. began
our return to the tent.
Captain Koldewey had finished his study of the situation
of the ice in the east, and Payer his work of land survey-
ing, and had collected some mosses, lichen, saxifrage, and
some specimens of granite, syenite, and hornblende-gneiss.
The greater part of our return journey was made under
increasing snow falls; and soon after reaching the tent,
completely exhausted, the roaring north wind began,
interrupted by short periods of calm, until it rose to a
regular storm.
From our critical position with regard to provisions
for our return journey to the ship we were in the mean-
time happily freed. ‘Those who had been left behind in
the tent had succeeded in killmg two musk oxen, which.
on our return they triumphantly exhibited. Some willow,
gathered under difficulties, gave us plenty of fuel—and
RETURN JOURNEY. 439
this we might thank for enabling us to obtain water—
which with the meat formed a luxurious meal. Merely the
flesh was cut from the creatures, and together with the
hams packed on the sledge. This, together with a bear
which we killed a few days later, lasted until we reached
the ship. By degrees we had accustomed ourselves to
eat reindeer, walrus, seal, bear, and musk oxen raw, and
indeed fresh killed, for the nourishment contained in the
fresh meat overcame the disagreeable taste of train-oil,
and the great decrease of our stock of spirit compelled
us to do so.
Only at first: did we object: tufts of hair, wool from our -
coverlids, with coffee, bread dust, pepper, and juniper-
berries (the contents of the sacks had become partly
mixed), the remains of bears’ grease, frozen butter, and
the rest of the soup left at the last meal; we were only
too glad to swallow all when at last necessity compelled.
The snow-storm lasted till the 16th April, and the
temperature suddenly rose for a few hours to 17° Fahr.,
which caused the tiresome thawing of the snow in the
tent. Not till five p.m., when we started, was the atmos-
phere still; some feet of fresh snow had fallen, and still
the storm raged; the clouds lay close to the earth—
only occasionally for a moment could we see the long
wall of Devil’s Cape in bluish colours far to the south-
west. The road back to Cape Heligoland was traversed
slowly and silently. Beyond that was the large snowy waste
south of Dove Bay. We waded through it durmg Easter
time, as step by step we sank up to the thighs through
the crusted surface, and in spite of the greatest exertions
could only make a short day’s journey. Panting and
almost bent double we tugged at the traces ; with strug-
440) THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
gles the sledge followed, sinking deep into the snow-dust,
almost as much swimming as gliding.
We did not*now depend much upon the daylight, as
the sun only remained a short time below the horizon.
We slept in the day, marched during the night, and at
midnight had a short rest in’ the tent, rendered very
painful by the frost.
Shortly after midnight the sun rose blood-red above
the faint violet silhouette of the mountain ridge of the
most northerly discovered land (King William’s Land),
and brightly shone the rocky front of Cape Peschel
towering in the waste. Radiant lay the endless snow-
fields in a yellowish rosy shimmer, over which the
wind rolls thick veils of snow, resembling in effect of
colour, from the illumination of the low-lying sun, an
undulating flow of molten steel,’ driving away over the
diamond-sparkling road, and the long bluish shadows of
the men breaking through the snowy masses as they
knocked against each other in their violent and unequal
motion, a spectacle and a work for the cursed, which
Dante might have held up to the coryphees of his infernal
regions.
During the short rests on our return journey we em-
ployed ourselves by splitting the frozen flesh into strips
—as hard as oak—to put into the kettle with the soup
or coffee, that we might the better enjoy it.
Only by enduring the extremes of hunger and thirst,
and enjoying the. smallest possible quantity of sleep, is
the Arctic traveller enabled to reach high latitudes.
After a few weeks his strength greatly decreases, his
* Bessemer-fluth in the original. (7'r.)
EFFECTS OF THE COLD. 441
rations steadily lessen, the baggage he has to draw seems
to increase, the nightly chills, the disturbed digestion
from insufficient nourishment, the cold, and so on, lead
to depression or sickness, particularly to dysentery. The
tongue is often covered with blisters from taking the
food boiling hot. The constant change from wet to frost
leads to wounds in the limbs, to the utter rotting and
destruction of clothes, as well as to other internal evils,
at last we went about in little else than torn stockings.
Upon leaving the tent after several days’ snow-storm one
felt all the feebleness of convalescence. With gnawing
hunger drowsiness was combined, which so overcame
some of our party that they dragged with closed eyes,
only half awake, and between the short pauses sank at
once to sleep. Of course they had to be awakened imme-
diately.
As we struck our tent at six a.m. on the 17th of April,
the hght-lying snow was four feet deep. On the 18th the
cold again reached 13° Fahr., the daily distance made under
the greatest exertions attendant upon great exhaustion,
was but a few nautical miles. For hours together
icebergs already passed seemed unchanged in point of
distance. Not until the 19th did our road improve, when
we slept better than we had done for along time. One
single sunny morning with moderate cold, how it raised
the spirits and quieted the nerves !
Everywhere from the direction of the snow-drifts could
we tell the local change of the prevailing wind. On the
20th, south of Devil’s Cape, we killed a bear which was
on the point of attacking us in the tent ; its fat freed us
for some time (from the increasing want of fuel to melt
the snow) from the fatiguing and precarious task of
44,2, THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
willow-seeking on the neighbouring coast, as well as from
the further destruction of our sledge which had already
been stripped of every available piece of wood.
A short visit to Peschel Island, which les over against
the cape of the same name, during the journey of the
21st, convinced me once more of the great identity of the
geological structure with the old crystal line formation
belonging to the East Greenland coast. The island
consisted of alternate strata of amphibolite and gneiss.
HKverywhere were to be seen large blocks of thirty-three
cubic feet of hornblende-rock, and glacial detritus,
which attained a maximum elevation of 229 feet.
On the 22nd a bear attacked us while dragging, and
was killed. A piece of his skin was taken with us and
the head laid with the remainder. We then had to put
up with drifting snow exactly resembling a storm, though
it did not prevent us from advancing, as we had the
wind at our backs and had made a sail of the empty
sacks, which greatly lightened our load ; indeed, so much
so for some distance, that the sledge ran with but very
moderate pulling. During such snow-drifting it often
happened that we had not the slightest idea where the
land lay.
The snow-drifting lasted through the 23rd, its numbing
influence being increased by some hours’ unsheltered
stay on the peninsula of Haystack, where we tried in
vain to sever the head of a bear, killed some time before,
to take with us.
A troop of foxes, which for weeks had been gnawing
at the frozen flesh, would scarcely be driven away, and
then were constantly returning.
The temperature of the last few days had risen to
EFFECTS OF THE COLD. 4.43
3° Fahr.; but on the 24th and 25th April it fell again
to —13°. )
One of the sailors, a Frankfort man, Peter Ellinger
(called Hans), the heartiest companion and the most
difficult to replace, had greatly suffered® from excessive
exertion and the frost; and as a great deal depended
upon his being with us in the expedition for exploring
the great Fjords to the north-west of Ardencaple Bay
in the next sledge journey (which we were to begin after
eight days’ rest, and which would last for four weeks),
Payer and he left the sledge, in order to reach the ship
and the doctor:as soon as possible.
On the 26th they helped to drag the sledge from
twelve p.m. to half-past eight a.m., when they started
alone with some provisions and melted water, which
however soon froze on their bodies, across the snow-
* Ellinger, with his aspirations and intelligence, might have become
a great support to the German Arctic Expedition, but he unfortunately
died shortly after its return. In December, 1870, he left Rotterdam
on a Dutch ship for Savannah, and after eleven days’ fever, in the
hospital of that place, he died on the 26th February, 1871. Besides
Payer every one connected with the Expedition gave him the most
excellent character. In the official report of the Committee for the
North German Expedition, in Bremen, on the 15th of July, 1871, it runs
thus :—“ Captain Koldewey and Dr. Copeland made honourable mention
of Peter Ellinger, sailor on board the Germania during the second
German Expedition, and who is lately dead. The death of this young
man—he was only twenty-four—is still more to be deplored, as his
_ whole conduct during that time led us to suppose that he would
eventually prove an ornament to the German navy, not only from his
cleverness in all seaman’s work, but also for his great interest in all
nautical science. He thirsted for knowledge, and was very successful in
meteorological and magnetic observations, and also took part in sur-
veying; and being employed in all great undertakings, deserves the
utmost thanks at the hands of the Expedition.”
AAA, THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
fields to the south, the sledge following slowly. The
snow soon began to lose its hardness, and the nearer we
came to land the looser and deeper it became from the
drifts. The sight of the well-known walls and capes
which had become our home, gave to our wishes and
hopes a quiet security.
But our quarter-master had not accomplished the day’s
march of forty miles to the rocky coast of Sabine Island,
on the south-east shore of which the winter harbour lay,
when the dreaded signs of a storm arose. The curtains
of snow began to rise from the ground, causing them to
regret the furs they had left behind; and as they could
neither reach the sledge nor the ship in time, they were
placed in a somewhat serious predicament.
However the storm subsided, the sun came out and
shone brightly over the land as we set foot on the shore
of the island, whilst the softening of the snow compelled
us to raise the tent earlier than usual, and to take our
last disposable meal. We slept at the foot of a cliff
in Clavering Straits. Ellinger laid down on the rugged
edge of the coast, and Payer sat beside to watch, the gun
lying cocked by his side.
With what delight could one enjoy the bright sunshine
in this wild scenery. The strand ice began to whisper
and to crack with the tide—the recollection of awakening
spring at home lay alluringly near. Hans slept softly:
it was a pity to have to wake him in a few minutes,
which we must do for fear he should freeze.
Then a bird’s note’ sounded from the walls above, the
first greeting of the awakening spring! After Payer
had also rested, the journey was continued, avoiding the
long road along the shore ; and, though in stockings, they
RETURN TO THE SHIP. AAD
had to traverse sharp rocky slopes, blocks, and lumps of
snow over high chains of mountains; and from the
summit of the last they looked down upon the winter
harbour.
.There lay the ship still surrounded with ice. The
coast-land, which we had left in its winter dress, had
again donned its characteristic brown, and looked quite
strange.
Payer and Ellinger descended from the mountain.
Full of joyful expectation did they approach the ship,
which struck them (as it did us afterwards) as being
wonderfully large and stately. It was midnight when
the travellers reached it, after a march of twenty-one hours
and a half. A black face looked up astonished from
the engine-room. It was that of the engineer Krauschner,
who was busily cleaning all up for the summer cruise.
The unusual footsteps on deck called Copeland, Borgen,
and Pansch up armed, and the meeting was attended
with as much excitement as if they had been separated
for years.
At Captain Koldewey’s desire, Sengstacke immediately
came back to meet us with provisions, and on the fol-
lowing day (27th April) we all reached the ship together.
After such an expedition there is great danger in
entering suddenly under a warm roof. Upon reaching
the cabin, the blood rushed immediately to the surface.
What a wonder the ship seemed to us! A cabin—
which had now been turned into a carpenter’s shop—in
which one could stand upright; boxes on which we
could sit. Here, after five weeks, we could once more
undress ourselves; here a berth, with mattress and
coverings, invited us instead of the sleeping-sack.
446 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
Our exceptional circumstances caused the cook to
wink at the consumption of his melted snow-water, to
which we applied ourselves unmolested: to satisfy our-
selves was really hard work. For four hours we ate,
without intermission, of everything that came in our way :
large pieces of roasted bears’ flesh (they had been visited
by bears in our absence, and had killed some), bacon,
vegetables, ship’s biscuit, bread, butter, cheese, wine,
chocolate, black coffee, and so on.
The change to rest was with some the beginning or
the climax of ailing symptoms, such as relaxation, rheu-
matic affections, cramp, dysentery, and gastric ailments.
But we were not allowed much time for repose, for a few
days after we started to explore Ardencaple Inlet.
This account of one of our five sledge journeys, which
occupied three months on the whole, will naturally
raise the question whether, after all these privations,
science was in any way the gainer? Such was the case.
The discovery of a land stretching over several degrees of
latitude and longitude ; the reaching the most northerly
point ever yet trodden in Hast Greenland; the conviction
that the land was wonderfully broken up and might
possibly resolve itself into a group of islands; the certainty
from our geodetical work that a future measurement of
degrees would meet with no hindrance from climate,
configuration of ground, or atmospheric condition; the
enriching of the geological knowledge of our terrestrial
globe; the confirmation of the conjecture that the most
recent geological formations were certainly not wanting in
thefar north (as people were at one time inclined to believe);
the discovery of enormous glaciers, the surroundings of
which perfectly agreed with Peschel’s theory of the origin
RESULTS OF THE JOURNEY. 447
of fjords; the proof that the Esquimaux must long since
have deserted the north-east coast,’ and that the land is
completely uninhabited; observations upon the diffusion
of certain plants and animals; upon the almost exclusive
dominions of the north wind; and lastly, the experience
that the navigability of the so-called coast water suffers
great interruption from the ice masses in the Arctic
current, amongst the local islands,—surely these may be
considered as somewhat valuable results.
The following Table gives the observations of tempera-
ture during Captain Koldewey’s journey as compared with
those taken at the same time at the winter quarters on
Sabine Island. The readings took place from a thermo-
meter agreeing with the standard instrument on board,
and noting the time at three and four periods during the
day, from which the simple mean was taken. For Sabine
Island the daily mean was reckoned from the same hours.
" In the interior they cannot exist, as the icing of the straits, and
the consequent departure of their only means of support, the walrus and
the seal, compels them to live on the coast.
4.48 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
Lone Stepcr Journry Norruwarps. Discovery or Kine WIt1iam’s
ISLAND.
Mean Daily Temperature® |_ Excess of
Date Wit Gy pee ae
atitude. on Sabine
on Journey. Talia: tale
March 24 —15°95 — 2°.65 12°.6
5 74° 47! —26°.05 —11°.87 15°.18
3 Ne 56! —24°,47 —19°.07 5°.4
fon — §°.62 — 5°57 4°.05
a 28 i 8 —12°1 — 7°.15 5°.95
3 29 1 — 4°, — 4°.67 — 0°.67
mH ia — 1°.52 — 38°1 == foe
» Bl 14 157 — 7°.37 8°.33
April 1 25! —21°.77 —15°.02 6°.65
a 2 — 2°29 — 3°.55 — 1°.58
a 3 HAS BYE! —12°.77 — 0°.17 12°.65
Mah age 49) eee — 3°.77 3°.83
ze 5 13°.55 6°.35 — 7°.2
” 6 1Go4 6. 9°.95 10°.62 0°.67
5 7 20! — 8°.77 4°11 Coot
- 8 32! —138°.45 ea 10°.70
ns 9 38! —10°.52 — 4°.45 6°.07
=e UD) 42! — 9°.62 — 3°.55 6°.07
pm lk 50! —21°.77 —14°.12 7°.65
pete 50! —11°.65 — 9°.85 1°.80
pean 1S} 183 Coe 0°.57
3, 14 7°.02 8°.82 1°.8
Pe ls FIEND 223 72105 4°95
m. 16 8°.15 8°.15 0°.0
ame 7, 8°.15 725 — 0°.90
i WLS —13°.0 0°.95 11°.05
a Co) 76° 33! 39.9. ery | 4°.5
ae 20 20! Aen 9°79, 4°.95
ei { ae T5242 7°.92
35) emer 7o° 48) 0°85 12:62 1°12
a ae 24! — 4°99 TOSS} 6°.07
Mean temperatures | —5°.80 — 0°.85 4°.95
The mean temperature on the sledge journey was there-
fore 4°95 degrees lower than it was at the same time at
Sabine Island. Hence we concluded that the temperature
decreases towards the north, although the protected
position of the winter harbour was partly the cause
of its greater warmth.
* In degrees of Fahrenheit reduced from Reaumur’s Scale. (Z%r.)
CHAPTER XI.
SLEDGE JOURNEY TO ARDENCAPLE INLET, FROM 8TH 10 29TH
MAY, 1870.}
Fitting out.—High temperature—Bad prospects for the journey.—
Great difficulty of progress in deep snow.—Bears.—Impossibility
of passing Fligely Fjord.—March to the eastern side of Kuhn
Island.—Geological excursion.—Shooting of plants, and animal
life.—Mieders snow-blind.—Bastian Bay passed.—Anchoring by
Cape Bremen.—Ascent of Cape Bremen (3080 feet) by Lieut.
Payer, in company with Herzberg and Wagner.—Alteration in plan
of journey.—Exploration of Kuhn Island.— Erection of a Cairn on
the Peak of Cape Bremen.—Return march commenced.—Geology of
Kuhn Island.—Ascent of 8670 feet up the Black Wall on Kuhn
Island by Lieut. Payer, with Herzberg and Wagner.—Running
water.—Determination of the height of the Black Wall.—Cape
Berlin reached.—Arrival at the ship.
ReturninG from our sledge journey on the 27th April, we
found the ship lying as we had left her, there being still
seven feet thickness of ice in the harbour. Before the
middle of July we could not expect our release from the ice,
and then our exploring expeditions would begin. The in-
terim could not be better employed than by repeated sledge
journeys. The investigation of Ardencaple Inlet and the
fjords opening into it, and then, too, the possible con-
nexion of this bay with the sounds lying north-west of
* By Lieut. Payer.
Gg
450 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
Kuhn Island, formed a most interesting object of mvesti-
gation, and that at no great distance. But above all things
speed was indispensable; for had we not in prospect the
dreadful state of the snowy waste which must inevitably
attend the rapid thaw of an Arctic midsummer ?
After ten days’ rest those who had been sufferimg from
dysentery, cramp, and rheumatism (the effects of the pre-
vious journey), had somewhat recovered ; a further reason
for avoiding longer delay, although we were unfortunately
obliged to leave Klentzer and our brave Hllinger behind.
The hope of finding the ice in Fligely Fjord free from
snow, as in the previous autumn, decided us in choosing
this road to Ardencaple Inlet. The dread of a repetition
of our late sufferings from want of food made us burden
ourselves with all we could take, but the dead-weight was
lightened as much as possible by the general sleeping-
sack heing made of light woollen stuff, and by reducing
the size of the tent. |
Our weapons consisted of three breech-loaders and a
hundred cartridges; our instruments, of a theodolite,
aneroid, and thermometer. We also took thirty bottles
of spirits, sixty lbs. of melted walrus and bear’s fat for
fuel, and nine bottles of ginger in a tin can. Our clothes
were lighter, as we had relieved ourselves of the fur. In
case the loosening of the coast ice should prevent our
reaching the ship, we laid down a provision depot at
Cape Berlin.
Journeys at the end of the spring time are very dif-
ferent from those at the beginning. In the first instance,
one has to suffer from the frost, and in the second, from
the glowing summer heat, although in the shade the
thermometer is still below freezing-point. Very trouble-
SLEDGE JOURNEY CONTINUED. A51
some, too, is the reflected sunlight on the snow-fields on
this journey: the temperature rose in the tent during
the day, on the 9th May, 53° Fahr. ; on the 10th, 65° Fahr. ;
and on the 26th, to 77° Fahr., we were in a steam re-
sembling a pot on the fire. The stony snow-fields change
into pools of water at the end of May and the beginning
of June, making the crossing, at all times troublesome,
still more difficult by the overflowing tide. In the first
days of May the cold decreased; the temperature rose
from 50° to 68° Fahr. ; the sun did not set; and the storms
had suddenly ceased.
So far we could not wish for more favourable conditions
for travelling, as we started five strong, on the 8th May
(Tramnitz, Herzberg, Wagner, Mieders, and Payer), the
others accompanying us as far as the next cape.
Snow had fallen some days before; but, besides this,
the quantity of baggage (14 cwt.) delayed our progress,
so that we were four hours reaching the south-west point
of Sabine Island. A small isthmus covered with snow,
which we had to cross here in order to avoid a wide
circuit, showed us the great difficulty of dragging the
sledge over even a small bit of land. Places quite free
from snow would prevent it entirely. It must, therefore,
be understood that journeys of this kind can only take
place on an ice-covered sea.
We now travelled independent of daylight, as the sun
never sets, so that on the morning of the 9th of May
(2° Fahr.), after reaching the west coast of Sabine Island,
separated from the mainland by Clavering Straits, we
pitched our tents opposite the Kronenberg.
Signs of bad weather increased from the north; grey
and vapourish lay the heavens above us. We slept during
Gg 2
452 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
the day, and travelled in the afternoon. The snow became
deeper and deeper, and it was with great difficulty that
we could bring the sledge along; completely exhausted,
we rested some hours by Cape Berlin. On the 10th of
May, after four hours’ march, we had scarcely made half
a German mile (two miles and a half English), and in this
distance had sunk deep in the snow at every step; only by
*‘ Aussingen,”? with jerks, could one get the sledge along
—a most depressing and fatiguing expedient. But the
prospect in the Fjord, beyond a snow waste, two German
miles and a half broad, which we still had to cross, was
somewhat more favourable, and greatly raised our hopes;
and, indeed, we did find a good road, as on the evening
of the 10th of May (19° Fahr.) we started for Cape Ham-
burg, at the mouth of the Fligely Fjord. Asa rule, we
could now make more than 260 steps within five minutes;
and as on the morning of the 11th (19° Fahr.) we stopped,
the reddish gneiss wall of this promontory, with its winding
strata and masses of granite, was only one nautical mile
and a half distant. At its foot we hoped to find some
smooth ice.
In order to lighten the sledge as much as possible, we
proposed erecting a depdt here, so that all articles of
clothing that could be dispensed with, as well as all pro-
visions for the return journey, were placed in a sack.
In the evening we started again (19.5° Fahr.), but at
the very next step the difficulties increased to such a
pitch that we were almost in despair. From seventy
steps a minute it fell to twenty, and at last we stood siill.
The sledge sank in softened snow, and was scarcely to be
* “ Aussingen” is a seaman’s term for a peculiar rhythm, in time to
which the men pull.
y
| i
Page 152.
DEEP SNOW TRAVELLING.
MPa tai pain
SLEDGE JOURNEY CONTINUED. 453
moved, even by our taking circuits of a wide radius. We
ourselves, during the last three days of great exertion,
had sunk step by step up to our knees. That, under
such circumstances, it was no easy matter to get the
sledge along, need be hardly said. For days together the
monotonous rhythm of the “ Yo! heave, oh!” might be
heard at the foot of the walls.
The bright light of the white flakes worked the ex-
hausted travellers almost to madness. Only the third
part or half of the baggage could be carried at a time;
we were, therefore, obliged to go over the same bit of
road three and sometimes five times. Hvery ten steps
the sledge had to be formally dug out; indeed, the bit
passed over was like a hollow way, and as the snow
became softer, and the tide rose from the edge of the
coast, penetrating the under layers, it became like a
perfect bog, and we could do nothing but kneel and pull
along in the snow. As by this means one could only
advance a few hundred steps daily, and that our last
night’s encampment was still within gunshot, it seemed
almost impossible for us ever to reach the land, although
we had approached the coast within half a nautical mile.
Thus the 11th and 12th of May passed; the snow-storms
of the last few days had lost their terrific character of the
earlier months, and offered no serious hindrance. The
continued jerking forward of the sledge had given us all
a violent headache, the throbbing of which was most
painful. We had carried the greater part of the baggage
800 paces forward—our whole day’s march—and had re-
turned to fetch the tent and the remainder, but, before
taking it down, we rested for half an hour, when, upon
going out, we saw three bears inspecting it, the result of
ADA THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
which might prove its total destruction. Quickly we fired
some alarm shots. This succeeded: but we feared that
they had already had time to do much damage. I was
particularly anxious about my large work, for im it was
the whole material of the geographical discoveries of the
four sledge journeys, and its destruction would have been
an irreparable loss.
Nothing could have impressed us more with the asto-
nishine strength possessed by this creature than the
incredible agility with which it escaped, although sinking
deeply into the bottomless snow; we, on the other hand,
were a long time reaching the place of apprehended
destruction. The straps of my theodolite case had been
torn off, and it had received several bites; the bears had
devoured a piece of sugar and a pound and a half of
cheese, our whole store of these luxuries, as well as every
stearine candle, and had scattered the bread; but they
had only bitten the mouth of the can of ginger flat, before
throwing it away, and had only pulled out the cork of the
spirit-can. Had not the latter, by some lucky chance,
kept upright, the whole of our store would have been
lost. Even the india-rubber bottles were either cut in
pieces or totally eaten up; one corner was bitten out of
a packet of tobacco, but evidently spat out again. The
climbing-pole had been carried some distance by the
young bear, no doubt as a playthmg; we found it again,
but without the straps, which had been eaten. My book
was probably too tough; they had only gnawed it.
Our further advance was not easier on the 13th of May;
the thoroughly softened snow-drifts fell with a rush as
we neared them. The transport of the different lots took
place under endless difficulties; at noon the temperature
SLEDGE JOURNEY CONTINUED. 455
only rose to 21° Fahr., but owing to the directness of the
sun’s rays, it caused a glowing heat.
As at last we arrived at the hummocks of coast ice,
broken by the tide, and also at the foot of the wall, and
had conveyed the sledge with much trouble over ice
barriers and water-pools, we discovered to our horror
that the Fhgely Fjord, instead of being covered, as we
had conjectured, with smooth ice, was filled with endless
snow. Still we need not give up all hope; it was just
possible that the depth of snow might decrease towards
the back of the Fjord. Again we started on a weary
road between the ice barriers and the rocky shore, and at
last landed on a somewhat higher snow surface—a hor-
rible prospect! Did we not know the difficulties hidden
under this seeming smoothness ?
The mountains round the Fjord were, with the excep-
tion of the steep walls, perfectly white ; the winter storms,
in conjunction with much heavier falls than we had had
in our winter harbour, seemed to have borne the masses
of snow along with them, and dropped them on the
front of the mountains, and sprinkled the Fjord at the
same time. Nowhere could we see that stripe coming
from the north caused by the storm, and always so
striking on the snow-fields of the outer coast.
Snow-buntings twittered cheerfully in our neighbour-
hood, a raven croaked from the heights, and we were not
a little astonished at the sight of a musk-ox looking
down at us from a steep overhanging rock several hun-
dred feet high. We had left the sledge behind, and whilst
Waener had wandered in a southerly direction towards
the middle of the Fjord, Tramnitz and Payer went along
the shore, to investigate the possibility of further advance.
456 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
But, as far as we could judge from a good height, as well
as from the great depth of the snow which lay on all
sides, we were convinced of the impossibility of reaching
Ardencaple Inlet through Flgely Sound; so, after many
hours’ fruitless march, we returned to our tent.
There remained, therefore, nothing for it but to return
by the difficult road, and seek to reach our goal by going
round the east side of Kuhn Island. But the exertions of
the last few days had so weakened us that we agreed to
take a short rest before starting, but we had scarcely done
so when we were surprised by a spring-tide, and we had
to pack the sledge and start again, with divided luggage,
at three a.m. on the 14th of May.
Fortunately the sky had clouded in the mean time, and
the temperature had sunk to 10.5° Fahr. The snow-bog
dried, the snow hardened, and we broke through but
seldom, and in three hours we reached the camping-place
which we had left some days before on the border of the
snow waste. At one stroke our spirits rose so, that after
a short sleep we made another long stretch that same
day, and pitched our tent on the 15th of May, at seven
a.m. (5.5° Fahr.)
On the soft easterly hanging slopes of Kuhn Island
we saw twenty head of musk oxen, about 2000 paces
from us. Tramnitz, our cleverest hunter, managed to
creep near them by circuitous ways, whilst Payer and
Herzberg undertook a geological excursion to a deep
ravine on the coast, and made the interesting discovery
that the gneiss granite ridge, which towered in such beau-
tiful forms above the east coast of the island, was rich in
extraordinary petrifactions, in strata of fuller’s clay, coal
loam, and sandstone. The same formation leading to
en
SSS
Page 456.
DEATH OF THE MUSK-OX.
RISE OF TEMPERATURE. A457
coal we had seen the previous summer on the south side
of the island. Tramnitz was less fortunate; he returned
empty-handed, with a broken gun and torn clothing, in-
forming us that he had been thrown down by a musk-ox
and trampled on. In a hunting expedition with Wagner,
somewhat later, one of them was killed.
The rise of the mean temperature, and uninterrupted
daylight had in the meanwhile entirely altered the phy-
siognomy of the land. Organic life woke once more in
the few plants peculiar to the Arctic climate; under the
snow bridges and ice vaults might be heard the whisper
of trickling water; long trains of eider ducks came from
the south; light-grey lemmings rushed terrified over the
stony rubbish; yellowish brown caterpillars crawled with
fruitless industry over the same; white hares revelled
amongst the young shoots of moss; slender reindeer
frequented the deep furrows of the glacier streams; and
over the sunny surface of the water, although some dis-
tance from us, rose the curious head of the seal.
Meanwhile we had lost so much time that the success
of our undertaking depended greatly upon a steady
favourable road for the future, and above all whether the
snow-fields over which our return road lay were acces-
sible. At last we were entirely dependent upon hunting ;
for before the musk-ox was killed, which gave us fifty-
six pounds of meat, our provisions had consisted chiefly
of coffee and hard bread.
-Mieders had become snow-blind ; so upon starting m
the evening we put him in the midst of us to drag
the sledge. The application of wet bandages during
the march, (which a month before had been impossible,)
relieved him in the course of a week from this painful
458 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
evil. The nights were foggy and sultry, and Tramnitz,
who until now had attended to the observations of tem-
perature, was also snow-blind.’
The snow was now soft again; and again began the
horrible “ Aussingen,” and forward jerking of the sledge,
and though we lightened it by leaving a sack behind a
block of rock, we scarcely moved from the spot, and were
obliged to encamp sooner than we intended from sheer
exhaustion.
On the 16th of May the temperature of the snow rose to
25.5° Fahr.; thick fog, and a heavy fall of snow prevented
us starting again until the evening, and during the whole
of that night’s march we could not see ten steps before
us, we were constantly losing our course and were
obliged at last to have recourse to the compass.
On the 17th (14° Fahr.) despite a violent snow-storm
we pressed onward, passed the mouth of the romantic
Bay of Bastian, and arrived on the morning of the 18th
at the foot of Cape Bremen, which forms the south-
easterly corner of Ardencaple Inlet.
The depth of the snow had confined our progress
during the last few days to from three-quarters to one
and a quarter German miles; and our strength from
the exertion of pulling the sledge had greatly decreased.
Icebergs only at a little distanee seemed inacces-
sible.
The period for successful sledge journeys was now quite
over, and we had to climb half-way up to an horizontal
stretching mass of dolerite, in order to decide whether it
would be desirable either to advance through Ardencaple
* A cloudy atmosphere greatly favours this disease of the eyes, as
objects disappear, which serve as a resting-point or change.
SLEDGE JOURNEY CONTINUED. 459
Inlet or undertake a geological examination of Kuhn
Island and finish our trigonometrical survey.
On the 19th therefore Payer, with Herzberg and Wagner
climbed to a steep snow-field, then over a mountain steep
which with rugged walls of gneiss fell in a mountain
ridge towards Ardencaple Bay, the highest point of
which we reached after a three and a half hour’s march.
Clear weather favoured the extensive and highly in-
teresting view from the Sattelberg and the Pendulum
Island, as far as the northern edge of Koldewey Island.
For eight hours we were able to sketch the whole of the
panorama, and complete the triangle of our trigonometrical
measurement. Ardencaple Inlet, far below us, was as
well as Fligely Fjord covered with an uninterrupted sheet
of snow, the nature and depth of which Tramnitz had
undertaken to investigate; the large Fjord opening in
the north-west corner of Ardencaple Bay we could follow
from our standing point for at least fifty miles ; it then
seemed to curve inwards to the west, but thus far it lay
as if sketched upon a map. At its exit west from the im-
posing and evidently crystalline mountain mass of Cape
Klinkerfues, the Wildspitze, and the Matterhorns, lay
countless icebergs enclosed. The existence of large
glaciers in this Fjord could not be doubted, though few
were visible.
The snow surfaces between Kuhn and Shannon Islands
were divided into two parts by a sharp line, the nearer
one distinguished by its smoothness, and the further one
by its undulatory character. But appearances were de-
ceitful; for the smooth surface consisted of perfectly
soft snow.
The increasing difficulties of advancing, the decrease
4.60 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
of our provisions, and lastly the advanced time of year,
all warned us to return to the ship within a week.
During that time it would have been impossible even
under the most favourable condition of the snow, to
investigate the Fjord to any extent, as from our elevated
standing point we could see. We therefore decided to
alter our plans on the spot and to give all the time we
possibly could to the exploration of Kuhn Island. Hvents
showed that we had made a happy choice.
nA
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aaa
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ine
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DEPOT ON KUHN ISLAND.
After raising a trigonometrical signal on the top, about
six feet high, in the shape of a massive stone cone, we
returned to our tent, which had been guarded by Mieders
who was still snow-blind. An attempt to measure the
height of the mountain by the aneroid had failed from its
being disturbed.
GEOLOGIUAL CONFORMATIONS. 461
On the 20th May (17.5° Fahr.) we began our return
march, the deserted camp forming as usual a deep hole in
the snow.
On the 21st (10° Fahr.) we reached the middle of a
segmental projection on the east side of Kuhn Island
which rose in undulations to a height of 1020 feet.
This projection consisted of layers of slaty sandstone
and marl, the petrifactions showing that this deposit
was of the secondary formation, lying like a cloak on
the westerly rising of crystalline stone. The surface of
this formation was covered with an erratic covering of
rubbish of the last-named stone.
On the 22nd and 23rd we explored the individual strata
of the formation ; they showed a perfect agreement with
those on the south side of Kuhn Island, a westerly incline
of 7°, coal clay, petrifactions (Inocerames, Ammonites,
Belemnites, &c.), bluish-grey fuller’s clay, thin stratas of
marl, and rather coarse-grained granite alternated with
each other.
Coal-beds were nowhere to be seen. But about under
the summit of the ‘‘ black wall”? we found some sandstone
and small pieces of coal.
Several masses of dolerite ran horizontally through the
upper bank of the sedimentary layers.
Hochstetter’s Promontory bore the same geological
character, so that both these spots possibly belong to the
later secondary sedimentary rocks, only interrupted by
the sinking of Ardencaple Inlet.
Much damage did our stay here cause amongst a herd
of musk-oxen. On the 21st Tramnitz shot a cow; on the
22nd Wagner surprised the whole herd while sleeping,
and killed a bull; and on the following day another fell
4.62 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
by Payer’s hand, who at once sketched the beast as it lay ;
and lastly Tramnitz brought home a calf and a hare.
On the 24th, shortly before midnight, Payer, Herzberg,
and Wagner started to climb the “ black wall,” to convert
this favourable position of the highest (3675 feet) moun-
tain on the island into use for surveying purposes. ‘The
way led first through a high-lying valley enclosed between
beautiful walls, from the ice basin of which ran slopes of
snow at an inclination of 45°, interrupted at intervals by
projecting rocks ; then over some syenite gneiss and brown
coal sandstone to the summit, after five hours’ march.
This consists of a rugged mass about 155 feet high, in
the shape of a dome, surrounded by slender dolerite
columns. This sort of stone forms here, and in many
other parts of Kuhn Island, a sort of causeway on the
mountain ridge, frequently in connexion with dolerite
amygdaloia.
The climbing of this mountain was rendered parti-
cularly important by the discovery of a new sound, which
seemed to connect the south-west corner of Fhgely
Fjord with Ardencaple Inlet. The pack-ice outside
reached to the outer horizon, though there were several
navigable channels to be seen.
Payer finished his work in six hours; and, after
erecting one massive stone cairn, we started for the tent,
which we reached in four hours and a half.
Not far from this now ran a rushing stream down a
deep cleft filled with snow. It was the first time since
September that we had water without melting, water to’
the full; it was also the first time that we were able to
wash ourselves, and drink as much as we wanted.
On the 25th of May the temperature rose to 32.9° Fahr.
RETURN TO SHIP. 463
The dispersion of the snow went on quickly, and as we
were constantly sinking in it a base was measured on the
surface of the sea-ice, by the help of which we took the
altitude of the Black Wall. Whilst we slept during the
day the temperature rose in the tent to 73.5° Fahr.; we
therefore now slept outside instead of inside the sleeping
- sack. Fhes sunned themselves on the tent-walls, and
the heat was as overpowering as under the leaden roofs
of Venice. Rheumatism, pains in the loins, and similar
affections now made their appearance, as for two months
we had slept on the snow, without interruption, and it
now melted under us from the warmth of the body and
completely wetted us through.
On the 25th, after the last geological excursion had
been made, we began our return to the ship. The
sledge was now as heavy as when we started, from the
collection of petrifactions, musk-ox horns, minerals,
skins, &e.
On the 27th we reached Cape Berlin, after great
exertion, and a slow march lastly through drifting snow
over the snowy waste at the exit of Fligely Fjord.
The deep snow-drifts at the foot of Cape Berlin had in
the meanwhile changed into kind of teeth, from the
warmth and a resisting paste which stuck to the sledge,
making it very heavy. Once more did we suffer (28th
May, 43° Fahr.) the already-described infliction of divided
baggage and the deep sinking in the snow.
Not until Clavering Straits did the road improve;
when near the mouth of Falschen Bay we passed the
night, in order to be ready the next day for the trigono-
metrical and topographical survey of a mountain more
than 2275 feet high, remarkable for its craggy formation.
4.64 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
Thick fog, however, frustrated this intention for the
time, and we began our return to the ship on the 29th
of May.
We reached it after an absence of twenty-one days.
The pool-covered ice of our winter harbour we found in
an advanced stage of melting, which the rain of the next
few days hastened.
The sky soon cleared, and within a few days the ever-
increasing temperature enticed out of the lately frozen
soil of Greenland the first-fruits of a scanty Flora.
CHAPTER XII.
HUNTING AND ANIMAL LIFE IN EAST GREENLAND.!
The Polar bear. —Its aliment.— Migration of the bears. — Natural
History notes on the Polar bear.—Its curiosity.—Precautions to
be adopted in bear-hunting.— Their powerful vital energy. —
Sundry matters. — Arctic foxes.— Their natural history. — The
reindeer.—The musk-ox.—The walrus,—The seal.—The Arctic
hare.—Birds.—Sea animals, &e.
Huntine often begins in Greenland, where it ends with
us—in self-defence; but it possesses scientific interest for
the zoologist, and the food obtained by it enables the
explorer to remain longer away from the ship.
There is the zoological, the geographical, and the plea-
sure hunt; the latter is of the least frequent occurrence,
Hunting the bear or the walrus is attended with con-
siderable danger; that of the musk-ox, reindeer, fox,
birds, and sea-animals affords only amusement.
The polar bear,’ which, with his yellowish-white shaggy
skin and black nose, forms a sharp contrast against the
snow-fields at a long distance off, weighs from ten to
twelve hundredweight, and far surpasses in size those
specimens in zoological gardens or menageries (which are
brought over young, and developed under such unfavour-
* By Lieut. Payer and Dr. Copeland,
* In Greenland language, Nennok.
Hh
4.66 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
able circumstances); it is surpassed by neither the lon
nor the tiger in point of strength, and is quite as dan-
gerous. But the cold zone in which it lives® cools its
blood; it is wary and mistrustful. The contradictory
reports of their courage shows that one must never judge
one specimen by another, but that each individual is
ouided by its need of food at the moment.
It lives chiefly on seals, watching for them through the
ice-fissures, and falls upon them whilst sunning them-
selves, with all the cunning of the tiger, and the same
stealthy step. It also pursues the seal even when diving,
for it is a powerful swimmer, and only the reindeer excels
it in speed. Over jagged rocky declivities it climbs with
cat-like dexterity. ‘The roughness of its soles, its claws,
and hairy paws, insure its safety equally on smooth or
sloping ice-surfaces. Payer skinned the hind-feet of a
bear we had killed, carefully cleaned them from all fat,
rubbed them with alum, and wore them himself—they
were beautiful warm stockings, for the bear had good
soles. Unfortunately they were lost in a fire on board
during the winter.
As the seals remain chiefly among the pack-ice, or on
its outer edge, so also the bear during the summer is a
frequent visitor. It follows the seal-hunters step for step,
in order to devour the skinned animals, or when revelling
in excess swims to the carcase of a whale. The bear
kills its prey before eating it, although it likes to play
with it first. It rides on the floes in the Arctic current
down to Iceland. It is often seen miles from land, and
®° The most northerly point at which a bear has been met with is
81° 380’ N. Lat. It was killed by some of Parry’s men on the pack-
ice,
THE ARCTIC BEAR. 4.67
swims towards boats or ships, until driven back by shots.
When glutted with the enjoyment of fat seals it varies its
diet by ducks’ eggs, and a few hours is quite enough for
it to clear a small island entirely.
It is certainly hard for the Arctic traveller to be
exposed to the tender mercies of a bear’s two-inch
incisors; but a gun, and a pocket filled with cartridges,
are a much more simple process than dragging a dead
seal about after one. If you are unarmed, the slightest
movement disquiets the bear, and provokes him to action.
But it is a much more serious matter to meet him in the
darkness, and be mistaken for a seal, a mistake only
cleared up when it is too late. If you are armed, the
coolness of his adversary inspires the bear with a certain
amount of respect.
But the bear also deserves our compassion. His life is
one continued pursuit of food, although he is protected
from the cold by a layer of fat several inches thick. Once
we found in the stomach of one that had belonged to a
besieging corps (which during the whole of the winter
and spring had watched the frozen ship closely, and had
forced us to be wonderfully cautious), nothing but a
flannel lappet, which our tailor had thrown away, and in
the case of many others it was quite empty. Sometimes
the stomach of a dead bear contains nothing but water,
and large pieces of sea-weed (Laminaria), so that hunger
compels it to eat herbs. It is certainly no trifle in this
world of frost, cold, and darkness, with its horrible
snow-storms, that mountains only can offer sufficient
obstacles to his wanderings for food amidst the chaotic
crowding and towering ice-fields, surrounded by fissures,
or floating out to sea on an ice-floe. Certainly its brown
Hone?
4.68 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
cousin in Hurope lives in luxury compared with him, and
is comparatively to be envied.
In the early part of the year the layer of fat, which
lies under the skin in the summer and autumn, quite
fails. A large male bear, killed near the ship on the Ist of
April, 1870, was dreadfully lean; while a female bear, shot
on Sabine Island, the 7th of July, 1870, was rather fat.
With regard to the much agitated question as to
whether the bear hybernates, we could make no direct
observation. But we can say at what time of year we
saw them. On the 10th of January, 1870, one came to the
ship, and we hunted him, but he escaped; on the 13th
of January, 1870, Theodore Klentzer was pursued by one ;
on the 6th of March, Dr. Borgen was attacked by another ;
afterwards they visited us daily. When I add that Cope-
land fought with one near Cape Borlase Warren, on the
28th of October, 1869, one may easily see that their wmter
sleep, if they have any, must either be very short or very
disturbed. On the 9th of March we saw a bear in a storm,
wandering about with powerful strides, and seeming to
think nothing of the bad weather, although a man, pro-
tected by the best of clothes, could scarcely have moved
from the spot.
The bear which we shot on the Ist of April, about 300
steps from the ship, cost us the greatest exertions to
drag away against the north wind.
The smell of burnt fat draws the creatures from miles
round. In their wanderings they climb high groups of
ice, and one can sometimes see them looking far out,
with their snouts in the air, smelling for food. The
Esquimaux often catch them by it,—a manceuvre, which
requires cleverness and self-possession : and many of them
THE ARCTIC BEAR. 4.69
bear marks of the battle fought under such circumstances.
Head wounds excepted, a shot will sometimes take away
all power of resistance in the strangest manner. Meetings
with bears are attended by very different results. It often
happens that a party of sledge travellers, under peculiar
circumstances, and with but little time to spare, pass
one, or more of them, sometimes but a few steps off,
when they cause no other feeling than that of curiosity
and astonishment.
Krauschner, the engineer, was the snow-purveyor for
the kitchen, and had to go twice a day with his sledge to
the neighbouring glacier. Once a bear attached himself
to him. He walked with dignified steps as an escort
behind the sledge, and not until the engineer had reached
the ship did our shout of alarm make him aware of the
presence of his somewhat doubtful friend.
On the whole, the flesh of the bear (particularly that
of the old animals) is far inferior to that of the brown
bear. Jt is coarse and tough, and tastes more or less of
train oil. Barentz and many others maintain that the
liver is prejudicial to health. The flesh, however, we
have always found wholesome, and the Hsquimaux west
of Davis Straits give it to their dogs.
Sometimes, on our sledge journeys, we were surprised
in the tent; but we never set a thorough watch, chiefly
because we none of us really slept, and a large creature
hike that could not approach without a slight rustle.
A tent is to a bear thoroughly unintelligible, and an
object alike of mistrust and curiosity. One of Kane’s
companions, who was roused by the growling of a bear
and the appearance of its head through the aperture of
the tent, had the presence of mind to put a lighted box of ©
470 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
lucifer-matches under his nose, an insult which he mag-
nanimously forgave, and disappeared at once.
Our first meeting with one was on the 4th of August,
among the pack-ice, the day before we landed in Green-
land. We had laid to by a large ice-floe, when about
300 steps from us we saw two bears. The burning of
seals’ fat had drawn their attention, for their black nozzles
were high in the air, though they were shy of approach-
ing the ship. Copeland, Sengstacke, and Payer got into
the boat, and under cover of the steep floe, rowed towards
them; but the newly-formed ice, which filled a creek in
the floe, only admitted of Payer’s landing. He shot
hurriedly and missed, and they at once disappeared
among the hummocks.
It is not advisable to approach such a powerful enemy,
unless he is completely disabled. We met with bears
which stood as firm as a rock against the shot, although
at every bullet they quivered violently, and streams of
blood flowed from them.*
Void of all fat, and hungry, these beasts of prey
haunted the coast, until upon discovering the ship, the
movements of the men at once drew their attention,
and they never left the neighbourhood of Griper
Roads (the name of the winter harbour). Whoever
went into the open air, though only a few steps from
the ship, during the long polar night, required his
gun at half-cock. One night the engineer, as he came
on deck, heard a great rustle; and in the morning foot-
* It will be interesting to notice that the bear killed on the 7th of
July, after having a ball -4;1b. through both lungs and the thickest
part of the heart, ran forward with powerful leaps for at least sixty
yards before it fell dead.
THE ARCTIC BEAR. AW 1
prints showed that a bear had advanced over the snow
to the tent.
These besiegers also paid repeated visits to our provi-
sions on land; but they played our astronomers the worst
trick, for they carried off the measuring apparatus for
deciding the length of the base. The greatest evil for
sledge-travellers is, that however important a depot they
may make for provisions, they can never leave it secure
from these fere of the ice. The best way is to hang a
sack upon an inaccessible wall of rock. The strength
which the bears possess in digging out anything that is
buried is astonishing. Covering over with frozen sand
and water is better than the heaviest stone, because 1t
blunts the bear’s claws.
In spite of their great numbers seldom more than
three (and that a family) are ever seen together.’ It 1s
always well understood that the old ones must be
killed first, for a she-bear deprived of her cubs 1s a ter-
rible adversary. If they are only wounded, she pushes
them before her or defends them with her own body,
though a cub will never hesitate to devour the flesh of its
mother.
The ice-fields of its native home are pleasant to the
bear, and it will not willingly part from them.
The whaler “* Bienenkorb,”? which we visited in 1869,
had one in a cage.on deck; and when, from the strong
motion of the ship, it caught sight of the ice, it began
to howl dismally. Indeed, the sight of the drift-ice
worked so powerfully on the creature, that they were
® Scoresby reports that once on the coast of Greenland he saw 100
bears, of which at least twenty might have been killed.
472 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.
at last obliged to hang a veil of sail-cloth before the
cage.
On the 23rd of August, on our return voyage, we saw
through the pack-ice, half hidden by the fog, the three
last bears, and as it fell they seemed to be taking leave
of us in a stage tableau.
The Arctic fox (Canis lagopus, L.°) is a very interest-
ing species of its genus. It is either (and that irrespec-
tive of the time of year) bluish white or grey.’ Its coat,
which is wonderfully soft, forms an article of commerce
with the Hudson’s Bay Company. It is considerably
smaller in bulk than the polar hare, which, when
grown up, generally weighs eight pounds and three-
quarters. Its flesh is no delicacy. Barentz, and since
him several other Arctic travellers, have, however,
found it enjoyable, and we (Pansch and Copeland) did
our best to eat it.
The Arctic fox has, with but few exceptions, none of
the cunning attributed to our own Reynard. At least
our recollections of it (except in one or two cases) are
of a most harmless character. During the winter we suc-
ceeded in catching some after the manner of the Hsqui-
maux. Once one was taken out of the trap and laid
down for dead, but after a time it sprang up and rushed
away. Tor the young ducks, for which it has a great
weakness, the fox is a bitter enemy. It lives upon any-
thing it can get in winter, even shell-fish and other salt-
water produce which is brought by the tide on to the
strand-ice. In the summer lemmings seem to be its
chief food.
® In Greenlandish, Verienniak and Kakaka.
" Between which there are varieties or cross-breeds.
ARCTIC FOXES. 473
Nearly the whole of the winter and spring we kept
some prisoners in the engme-room; in such close proxi-
mity to the coals they all turned black. ‘Two of them died
of tubercles on the lungs.
aes ae i eed yee = . j
7 ’ . aa an
r
AE PEN DIX,
DESCRIPTION OF THE ESQUIMAUX IMPLEMENTS
Figured on plates after p. 516.
1. Representation of a human figure in wood. This figure was found
ir a grave on Clavering Island, near Cape Mary. The shape and small
of this grave clearly indicated that of an infant. The absence of
a skeleton did not surprise us, inasmuch as the bones of an infant are
much more easily destructible than those of an adult. We concluded,
therefore, that this figure was a child’s toy. Two similar figures,
roughly carved in wood, were found by Graah on Sneedorft’s Island.
They remind one forcibly of those discovered by Behring amongst the
savages of the North-West coast of America, where they are held as
idols, although (says Graah) they very probably, as in Greenland, are
used simply as children’s toys. This opinion is also confirmed by the
consideration of the religious views of the Esquimaux. The present
fragment was originally more clearly distinguishable than now, as the
softer projecting parts of the wood have somewhai suffered.
2. A wooden figure of some animal found among the Esquimaux huts
on Klein-Penduium, This may also have been a toy, and seems to be
the imitation of a fox or perhaps an ermine.
3. This is also the representation of some animal, thauet: what
species was in the carver’s mind it is difficult to say.
4. a, b, c. A sledgc-bone, i.e. a piece of bone which the Esquimaux
fasten under the slides in place of our usual iron tires. We can see
still the wooden pegs with which the fastening was accomplished. We
see here also the very beautiful bores by which, instead of saws, the
Esquimaux cut the bones and teeth into pieces. The finely-bored cir-
cular holes are plainly to be seen.
5. a, b. A so-called “ woman’s knife” of reddish slate. We found
582 APPENDIX.
many of these in the southern parts. To the smaller and rougher side
a handle of wood or bone was attached, and fastened by means of the
holes bored in it. The knife served the women chiefly for scraping the
fat off the hides.
6—9. Harpoon sockets of walrus teeth, with stone heads. The
harpoon is the principal weapon of the Esquimaux, At the pointed
end of the wooden shaft, which is generally made of a piece of walrus-
tooth, the harpoon-head (siatko) is fixed in a grove made in the stump.
It is attached by means of a cord, the end of which is fastened through
a hole, and it is held taut to the middle of the shaft by a simple
contrivance. At the end a still sharper stone-head is fitted; such a
harpoon is capable of being thrown into a seal or walrus. This being
done, the head is easily loosened from the shaft, so soon as the bight of
the line is detached by a slight jerk of the free end, provided only it
be held tight in the hunter’s hand, or it is furnished with an inflated
bladder.
10. Upper portion of a spear-head of walrus tooth, found on the
shore of Klein-Pendulum.
11. Drawing of a perfect spear, after Kane.
12. One half of a Kajak rudder, found near Cape Borlase Warren.
13. A stick suitable for various purposes. It is not improbable that
it was a kind of bat,’ used by the Esquimaux lads to play with.
14. Handle for a dagger or similar implement (or weapon), found
on Klein-Pendulum. It is very neatly wrought. We see the holes
through which the thongs were passed, by means of which the head of
bone, or tooth, was fastened to the handle.
15. Tusk ofa bear, pierced at the root. Such pierced teeth were
worn by the Esquimaux as ornaments, or possibly occasionally as
amulets.’
16. An object of walrus tooth, the purport of which is unknown,
and which is only depicted here in order to show the very exact and
elegant workmanship.
17, a, 6, c. Similar object, also of walrus tooth.
18. An instrument of bone which probably, fastened to a shaft, served
as a hunting-weapon, or had some other purpose now unknown.
19. Needle made of bone, for sewing the Kajaks.
20. Iren knife found in an Esquimaux hut on Klein-Pendulum. The
1 (?) Hocky, or bandy-stick. (T%.)
2 This conjecture is supported by the fact, that in Ocean I., one of the Kingsmill
group in the South Pacific Ocean, a similar custom prevails. Human teeth, thus
bored, are used: by the native women as necklaces. (T’.)
APPENDIX. 583
handle is of wood and grooved, and the iron blade is inserted, and then
is fastened by means of thongs twisted round it.
A perfectly similar handle was found in another place, but without
any iron in it.
This is the only instance of our finding iron material in North-
East Greenland. Still such iron instruments must always have been
very scarce. Ironis not anywhere found in the land in the form of ore,
but it is real wrought iron imported.
As to its origin, two hypotheses only present themselves. Either
the natives obtain it through exchange with the inhabitants of the
southern districts, and these similarly obtain it from the west coast, in
traffic, which, though not impossible, seems to us still very improbable ;*
or else it is a piece of the iron which Clavering, in 1828, presented to
the natives in the form of knives and other implements.
3 See Parry’s Journal, p. 286.
THE END.
INDEX.
Axxta Isnanp, 241, 245.
Alluk Island, 185.
Angmaksiitten (herrings), 192-3,
231.
Anorak, 251.
Arctic Basin, 64-65.
Circle, 64, 277, 484, 572.
Circle, Crossing the, 46.
Climate, 440-1, 446.
Current, 51, 65, 67.
Day, 493.
Night, 371, 386, 391.
Open Sea, 351-2, 486, 531.
Sea, Boundary of, 65.
Summer, 502.
Winter, 392-3.
Ardencaple Bay and Inlet,318—820,
434, 443,446, 449-50, 458-59,
461-2, 502.
Arsut, 256.
Fjord, 202, 256.
Aurora Borealis, 98, 122, 140, 307,
369, 375, 380, 402, 404.
Aurora harbour, 246.
Barpsen, Ivar, 212.
Barendt’s Sea, 575-6.
Bass Rock, 301.
Bastian’s Bay, 458, 503.
Bears, 78, 97—99, 121-2, 124, 144,
147, 266-7, 314, 329-30,
348-9, 356, 395—397, 429-
30, 442, 465—471, 504.
Beer, and bread-making, 259.
Beerenberg, the, 55.
Behring’s Straits, 64, 121.
Benedictine nunnery, 212.
Bennet Island, 546-7, 550.
Peninsula, 552.
Bessel Bay, 429, 431.
Black Wall, the, 462-3.
Blandings, 196, 201.
Boilers, Leakage of, 533, 538, 562,
565—567.
Bontekoe Island, 544, 563.
Borgen, Dr., his adventure with
a bear, 407—411.
Botany, 204, 209, 216, 245,
343—347, 464, 475-6, 499,
502, 518—524, 530, 534,
536, 540-1, 545, 558, 562.
Brandenburg Gate, 95, 96, 101.
Brattelid, 235-6.
Breakers a-head, 571.
Bremen, 135, 153, 264.
Bremerhaven, 266, 573.
Butterflies, 484, 540.
Carrn Pornt, 376, 397.
Harbour, 278.
Canoes, 193. See Kajak, Umiak.
Cape Barclay, 123.
Bennet, 478, 547, 563.
Berlin, 315, 323, 450, 452, 463.
— Bismarck, 435.
— Borgen, 289.
Borlase Warren, 305, 307,
356-7, 367, 380.
Bremen, 503.
Broer Ruys, 82, 476, 543, 564.
— Buchholz, 129.
—— Copeland, 289.
Dan, 123, 136, 138.
—— Desbrowe, 290-1, 516.
586
Cape Discord, 163-4.
Egede, 192, 203-4.
—_—— Farewell, 65,171-2,175, 181-2,
191, 239.
Franklin, 546-7.
Giesecke, 367.
—— Gladstone, 105.
—— Hamburg, 315-16, 322, 452,
477.
Heer, 429.
— Heligoland, 434, 439.
— Hvidtfeldt, 166-7.
——— Jgikait, 175.
James, 82-3, 299.
— Kaksimiut, 239.
Karl Ritter, 431.
— Klinkerflues, 459.
— Léwendorn, 139.
—— Mary, 357, 520-1, 581.
—— Moesting, 140.
— Moltke, 144.
a Nansanieun 1s
—— Oswald Heer, 428-9.
——- Pansch, 533.
Peebach, 429.
Peschel, 431, 440, 442.
—— Philip Broke, 282, 286-7, 289,
291, 295, 300, 476, 496, 516,
530-1.
—— Steenbille, 144.
Vallée, 166.
— Wymond, 518.
—— Wynn, 280-1, 335, 351-2,
369, 481, 540.
Chalk Alps (Munich), 113.
Christian IV. Island, 171.
- Christmas,124 --126, 382,387—390.
Trees, 125, 387—389.
Church Point, 488, 492-3.
Clavering, Captain, 278, 282-3,
363, 370, 379, 428-9, 513,
515-16, 524, 526, 546.
Island, 351, 354, 357, 361, 363,
490, 520, 546, 557.
Straits, 313, 315, 376, 380,
451, 463, 492, 503, 506, 540.
Copenhagen, 183, 262-3.
Copenhagen, Archeeclogical Society
of, 227.
Corona, 92.
INDEX.
Csardas (Hungarian Dance), 227.
Cyclopian Walls, 236.
Damp, Effects of, 338.
Dan Island, 138-9.
Danes, 199—201, 209-10, 222, 224,
228, 239, 249-50, 252.
Davis’ Sound, 432, 549.
Straits, 64-5, 469, 543.
Devil’s Cape, 432-3, 439, 441.
Castle, the, 552, 554, 563.
Thumb, the, 95, 101.
Doggerbank, the, 262.
Dolphins, 42—44.
Domberg, the, 317-18.
Dove Bay, 433, 439.
Dredging, with nets, 32, 53, 87,
90, 98, 350-1, 545.
Drontheim, 38.
Dufferin, Lord, 56.
East Carr, 542.
Hast Greenland, open coast water
does not exist, 574; not a
proper basis for reaching the
North Pole, ib.
East Island, 433.
Easter, 143.
Egede, Hans, 202.
Egede’s Land, 128.
Higer, the (Switzerland), 361.
Eleanor Bay, 558, 563.
Emperor Francis Joseph’s Fjord,
474, 550, 561-3.
Erick Island, 236.
Fjord, 236.
Rauda, 228, 235.
Erzgebirge, the, and Harz, 178.
Esquimaux (huts, graves, imple-
ments, manners and cus-
toms, remains), 174, 178—
225, 287, 291, 307, 347, 353,
363, 379, 431, 487, 508, 528;
descriptions of plates, 581—
583.
—-— Kritze, what, 185.
Eutin, 59.
Expedition, Plan of, 1—24; fitting
out, crews, &¢., 24—27.
Expeditions, American, 578.
INDEX.
Expeditions, Austrian, 576-7.
English, 515.
German, 578.
Swedish, 578.
FatscHen Bay, 323, 463.
Faroe Island, 572.
Fata Morgana, 416, 434,
Fauna, 484, 558, 578.
Fire on board the Germania, 398.
Fishermen, Dutch, 33—35, 262.
Moravian, 262.
Norwegian, 575.
Fishes, 192, 242.
Fiskerniiss, 260.
Flache Bay, 305, 351-2, 367, 402,
518, 540.
Fligely Fjord, 316,.318, 320, 363,
450, 452,455, 459, 462, 503.
Sound, 456.
Flower-basket, the, 86-87.
Fogs, 49, 57-8, 69, 99, 275, 281,
566—570.
Fossils, 504.
Foxes, 99, 124, 137, 290, 349, 442,
472—474,
Franco-German War, 240 ; tidings
of, 264, 573.
Franklin Peninsula, 548.
Fredericia (Schleswig), 264.
Frederickshaab, 247, 256—258.
Freeden Bay, 288, 293.
Friedrichsthal, 142, 165, 169, 172,
175-6, 181—204, 207, 211,
215-16, 227.
Frost-bites, 112, 117, 418.
GarL Hamxes Bay, 280, 299, 306-
7, 310, 342-3, 354—356,
517, 520, 543.
Gammelgard, 229.
Geology, 167, 215, 289, 294, 306,
315—317, 355,358, 361, 366,
428-9, 431-2, 435, 444, 461,
495, 535.
Germania, the, winters, 333—339.
Germania Bay, 334.
Harbour, 325, 334,
Germaniaberg, the, 325, 343, 388,
395, 400, 491, 523, 529, 539.
587
Glaciers, 183, 138, 140, 144, 215,
247, 255, 260, 265, 363—
366, 378, 434, 488-9, 539.
Glasgow Island, 113.
Gnadau (Magdeburg), 180.
Gnats, 241-2, 247.
Good Friday, 437, 491.
Greenland, Life in, 179—182, 223,
225—227.
Music, &e., 190, 225—-227.
Work, 190, 225.
Worship, 212, 239.
Grinnell Land, 578.
Griper Roads, 277.
Grossglockner, 365.
Gulf Stream, the, 38, 51, 65.
Hattoway Bay, 113.
Hamburg, 264.
Hansa, Voyage of, 80—115.
Return of Crew, 116—261.
Hansa Bay, 343.
Maven, 164,
Harefield, the, 221, 226, 241.
Hares, 483, 525.
Harjulfsniis, 196, 227.
Harpoons, 193.
Hasenberg, the, 325—3827, 345,
400-1, 404, 426, 4.92.
Hayes, 474, 578.
Haystack, Mount, 495.
Peninsula, 428-9, 442.
Hefersteinberg, the, 492—494.
Heligoland, 572.
Helsingor, 262.
Herring Fishery, 215.
Herrnhuter Fraternity, 175-6, 226.
Hochstetter’s Promontory, 319, 426
—428, 461.
Hollanderée, 246.
Horrors, Bay of, 129.
Hihnerberg, the, 487-8, 492-3.
Hull, 153.
Icz sky, 63.
Blink, 63.
Foot, 487
Icebergs, 1238, 130, 132, 138-9,
143, 146, 151, 431, 484, 547,
561, 563.
ei
088
Iceland, 65, 135-6, 572.
Igalliko, 228—238, 251.
Fjord (Eimar), 228, 235, 238-9.
Igalorsoeitsiak, 181.
Igdlopait, 182, 205-6, 211, 215--
217.
Igikait, 196-7, 227.
Mluidlek, 155—157, 162,
Isersarnak, the, 211, 216.
Island of the World, 219.
Ivikat, 210-11, 249.
Ivimiut, 163-4.
164, 173.
Jackson Isnanp, 540.
Jan Mayen, 52, 54—56, 73.
Jordan Hill, 362.
Island, 523.
Julianeshaab, 150, 182, 209, 216-7,
219, 241—245, 251—254.
Jvigtuk, 197.
Kaiser Franz-Joseph’s Fjord. See
Emperor Francis Joseph’s
Fjord.
Kajaks, 193—195, 200, 216, 248-9,
259-60.
Kajalik, 195.
Kakorlok Fjord, 228-9.
Kaksiarsuk, 229, 259.
Kaksimiut, 247—249, 251, 253-4.
Kamiken, 181, 263.
Kane, 102, 333, 474, 578.
Kangerdleck Fjord, 165.
Kangerdlurksoeitsiak, 166.
Kaningesekasik, 166, 168.
Karisch Straits, 575.
Karsok Island, 218.
Kattegat, 262.
Kikertarsoeitsiak Island, 198.
King Charles’s Land, 576-7.
King William visits the Expedition,
24.5,
King William’s Land, 440.
Kingitok Island, 246.
Klentzer, his adventure with a
bear, 395—397.
Koldewey Island, 429, 432-3.
Konigin Augusta Thal. See Queen
Augusta Valley.
Kénigsbach, 175.
INDEX.
| Kronenberg, the, 314, 451, 488,
492, 495.
Kryolite, 182, 202, 211, 249, 256,
258.
Kuhn Island, 312, 429, 450, 456,
459—461, 475-6, 486, 496,
502.
Lemmines, 347-8, 4.84.
Lichtenau, 182, 199, 203—219, 223.
Fjord, 166, 208.
Lichtenfels, 208, 223, 248.
Lindenau Fjord, 166.
Liverpool Coast, 105, 116, 120.
Loch Fine, 546.
Macxenziz Bay, 550.
Inlet, 544—546,
Peninsula, 552.
Malenefjeld, 256.
Matterhorn, the, 459.
McClintock, 102.
Missions and Missionaries, 175-6,
179, 184, 205—208, 217,
224, 239.
Mogul Race, 353.
Moravian Society, 183, 193.
Mosquitos, 544.
Mossel Bay, 577.
Murray Island, 105.
Musk-Oxen, 322, 325—329, 427-8,
455—457, 461, 474—477,
497-8, 503, 544.
NapErsorsoak, 198 n.
Narksamiut Fjord, 175, 192, 196
Narwhals, 81, 106, 267, 272, 485.
Natzek, 208.
Navigation, school of, 381.
Nennortalik, 182, 197, 2038, 210,
220, 251.
Neptune, visit of, 46—48.
Newspaper, the East Greenland,
3/8—380.
New Year, 39, 126.
New Year’s Island, 128.
Nordkapers, 38. See Dolphins.
Nordmeer, 37.
Norse buildings, 227, 231, 237.
Norse traditions, 184.
INDEX.
Norsemen, 176, 185, 196, 202—211,
212, 229.
North Cape, 64.
North Pole, 82,
577—579.
North Sea, 37, 564.
Norway, 277.
Nova Zembla,
575-6.
Nukarbik Bay, 142-3.
Island, 142.
309, 571-2, 575,
61, 65, 309-10,
OxusiKsak, 215.
Olsen, 232.
Omarsuk Island, 219.
Omienarsuk Island, 163, 165.
Ornithology, 38, Al, 49- 50, 68,
(OCS, 76, 82, 87, 93, 105,
137, 143-4, 278-9, 275,
347, 392, 484, 493, 505,
518-9, 525, 541-2, 544.
Ost (Hast) Proven, 182.
Owak, 231.
PaMIADLUKE, 175.
Paraselene, 380.
Pardleet Island, 217, 245-6.
Parhelia, 92-3, 402, 417, 433.
Parry, Captain, 339.
Island, 577.
Passion Week observed, 4:35.
Pasterze, 365.
Pendulum Island, 83, 86,
278-9, 298, 301, 303-4,
306-7, 318, 326, 331, 334,
376, 402-3, 459, 486—488,
492-3, 496, 515, 529-30.
Straits, 496.
Peru Harbour, 246.
Peschel Island, 4.42.
Petermann Point, 561.
Pfingstkap Fjord, 165.
Polaris, the Voyage of the, 578.
Polynje, 575.
Prince Christian Sound, 168, 170,
4,
Provision holes, 514, 516; Maga-
zines, 525.
Pytheas, Sea-lungs of, 57.
So, oh;
589
Queren Aveatsta Valley, 305-6.
Ramseates, 153.
Refraction, Effects of, 84, 139, 273-
4, 294, 416.
Redekam, 229.
Reindeer, 280, 348, 476—478, 527,
BAA,
Rensselaer Harbour, 333.
Reynold’s Island, 105.
Rorquals, 44.
Roon Bay, 431, 433.
Ross, Captain, 338.
Ruthner, Mount, 499.
Sapine, 278-9, 515.
Island, "6, 84, 88, 91, 276, 279-
80, 283, 302, 305, 308, 319,
321, 304.5, 426-7, 429, 4AS,
451, 491-2, 516, 529, 556.
Sattelberg, the, 305-6, 400, 459.
Peninsula, 358.
Schleswig and Holstein, 240.
Scoresby’s Sound, 116, 123, 482,
543.
Scurvy, 143.
Seals, 61-2, 70, 81, 85, 93, 144,
261, 268, 482-3.
Sedan, Battle of, 264
Sedlevik Island, 171—173, 185.
Sermesok, 205.
Shannon Island, 86, 279, 282—28),
298—300, 308, 318-19, 534,
342, 376, 427-8, 459, 475,
531, 533, 564.
Straits, 496.
Shetland Islands, 262, 277, 572.
Siberia, 576.
Sinai, 100, 124.
Skagen, 262.
Skating, 92, 100-1.
Sledge-journeys, 155—162, 314—
323, 394, 409,464; objects
and results of, ‘402 — 432,
Sleeping-sack, 354, 419—421.
Sleeping under Tents, 419—422.
Smith’s Sound, 578-9.
Straits, 432.
Snow Blindness, 81, 150, 158, 457-
8, 460, 492-3 -O.
590
Snow Sphinx, 119.
Storms, 1830—133, 371—376,
383—387, 403.
Spitzbergen, 61, 65, 82, 309, 577.
St. Silvester, 126, 390.
Storefjeld Mount, 221, 241.
Storm Bay, 435.
Storé, 219, 241.
Stufenberg, the, 295-6, 487, 493,
515.
Siid (South) Proven, 152, 218, 220.
Sun, Midnight, 49; reappearance
of the, 400—402.
TAFELBERG, the, 488.
Tellplatte, the, 487, 496-7, 530.
Islands, 291—293.
Temperatures. See Table, p. 448.
Tents, 313, 419; life in, 419—425.
Tent-rings, 513-4.
Tessermiut Fjord, 198 n., 205.
Teufelschloss. See Devil’s Castle.
Texel, 102.
Tirol Fjord, 361—363, 367, 480.
Tnarsoit Island, 256.
Tornik, 188.
Torsukatek, Straits, 174, 256.
INDEX.
Umraks, 193—195, 200, 248.
Unartok Fjord, 211.
Island, 211-12, 214,
VEEGSTEEN, 214.
Vienna, Academy of Science, 575.
Watrus, the, 120-1, 280, 291,
357, 368-9, 478, 480—482,
487.
Walrus Island, 278, 305, 333, 341
—344, 348, 376, 380, 402,
epi:
Wangerooge, 572-3.
Weser River, 390, 571—573.
Whalers, 83-4, 266-7, 273.
Whales, 257, 485,
Wildspitze, the, 459.
Winter-house, Erection of, &c., 102
—104, 111—114, 134-5.
Winter-quarters of the Germania,
334
Wolves, 483-4.
Zootocy, 32, 93, 271, 275, 347,
399.
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