The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism Volume III Part 8

THE "ALERT" AND "DISCOVERY."

Nares' Expedition-Wonderful Pa.s.sage through Baffin's Bay-Winter Quarters of the _Discovery_-Capital Game-bag-Continued Voyage of the _Alert_-Highest Lat.i.tude ever attained by a s.h.i.+p-"The Sea of Ancient Ice"-Winter Quarters, Employments, and Amus.e.m.e.nts-The Royal Arctic Theatre-Guy Fawkes' Day on the Ice-Christmas Festivities-Unparalleled Cold-Spring Sledging-Attempt to reach the _Discovery_-Illness and Death of Petersen-The Ravages of Scurvy-Tribute to Captain Hall's Memory-Markham and Parr's Northern Journey-Highest Lat.i.tude ever reached-Sufferings of the Men-Brave Deeds-The Voyage Home.

The first official communication received from Captain Nares, and written from Disco, stated that on the voyage out, owing to the heavy lading of the Arctic s.h.i.+ps, they were extremely wet and uneasy, and that the hatchways had to be frequently battened down during the prevalence of the many heavy gales encountered. The _Alert_ and _Discovery_ each lost a whale-boat. A quant.i.ty of loose pack-ice had been met after pa.s.sing Cape Farewell. Mr. Krarup Smith, the Inspector of North Greenland, and the other Danish officials, had been most courteous and obliging, and had engaged to supply from different stations all the Esquimaux dogs they might require.

Pa.s.sing over some intermediate details not generally interesting, we find that Captain Nares decided to force his way through the "middle ice" of Baffin's Bay, instead of proceeding by the ordinary route round Melville Bay. On July 24th they ran into the pack, and had the satisfaction, thirty-four hours afterwards, of having completed the pa.s.sage of the middle ice, an unparalleled feat. "It will ne'er be credited in Peterhead," said the astonished ice-quartermasters. At Cape York, icebergs, many of them grounded, were noted thickly crowded together. At the south-east point of Carey Island a reserve depot of provisions, &c., was formed, and the record we have already mentioned as having been recovered by Captain Young was deposited in a cairn. Later, another note was left at Littleton Island. The first ice, in large quant.i.ties, was sighted off Cape Sabine on the 30th of July. The pack in the offing consisted of floes from five to six feet thick, with occasionally older and heavier floes, ten to twelve feet in thickness, but always much decayed and honeycombed. The s.h.i.+ps were detained at Payer Harbour for three days, watching for an opening in the ice, getting under weigh whenever there appeared the slightest chance of proceeding onwards, but on each occasion being forced to return. On the 4th of August they were enabled to proceed twenty miles up Hayes Sound. A little later, and both s.h.i.+ps were for the time hopelessly entangled, and the rudders and screws had to be uns.h.i.+pped. At this period they barely escaped a serious collision with a large iceberg. The repet.i.tion of many similar dangers, through which, however, the s.h.i.+ps pa.s.sed safely, would be wearisome to the reader. On August 24th, five miles off Cape Lieber, the pack obliged the vessels to enter Lady Franklin's Sound, on the northern sh.o.r.e of which an indentation of the land gave promise of protection. On a nearer approach they discovered a well-protected harbour inside an island immediately west of Cape Bellot, against which the pack-ice of the channel rested. The next morning they were rejoiced to see a herd of nine musk-oxen feeding close by, all of which were killed. The vegetation was considerably richer than at any part of the coast visited north of Port Foulke, which Captain Nares considers "the Elysium of the Arctic regions." The harbour was found to be perfectly suitable for winter quarters, and it was therefore decided to leave the _Discovery_ there, while the _Alert_ should push on alone. The _Discovery_ was embedded in the ice for ten and a half months. Captain Stephenson, of that vessel, stated, in a paper read before the Royal Geographical Society, that their first care was to place on sh.o.r.e six months' provisions and fuel, to guard against any possible accident to the s.h.i.+p. They were particularly fortunate in killing musk-oxen and smaller game. Before the darkness set in they had shot thirty-two of the former, and had at one time as much as 3,053 lbs. of frozen meat hanging up. The captain could not say much for its flavour: "it was so very musk." Snow was piled up outside the s.h.i.+p fifteen to twenty feet thick. This and the layer on deck-mingled with ashes, which formed a kind of macadamised walk-kept the warmth in the vessel, and the temperature of the lower deck ranged from 48 to 56. On October 10th they lost sight of the sun, and did not see it again for 135 days.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WINTER QUARTERS OF THE "DISCOVERY."]

The _Alert_ on her northward pa.s.sage had many a severe tussle with the ice, but pa.s.sed through all dangers successfully. On August 31st Captain Nares had the great satisfaction of having carried his vessel into lat.i.tude 82 24' N., a higher point than ever attained before. The ensign was hoisted at the peak, and there was universal rejoicing on board at this early achievement. It was doubtless regarded as a happy omen of future successes.

At the northern entrance of Robeson Channel the breadth of navigable water became much contracted, until off Cape Sheridan the ice was observed to be touching the sh.o.r.e. In Robeson Channel, except where the cliffs rose precipitously from the sea, and afforded no ledge or step on which the ice could lodge, the sh.o.r.e-line was noted to be fronted, at a few paces distance, by a nearly continuous ragged-topped "ice-wall," from fifteen to thirty-five feet high. It was broken only off the larger ravines. After proceeding some distance north it became evident that their sailing season was rapidly coming to an end. Captain Nares, after a thorough investigation, found that he had to winter in a somewhat exposed place, no harbour being available. He had rounded the north-east point of Grant Land, but instead of finding a continuous coast-line, leading far towards the north, as expected, found himself on the border of an apparently extensive sea, with impenetrable ice on every side. The ice was of most unusual age and thickness, resembling in a marked degree, both in appearance and formation, low floating icebergs rather than ordinary salt-water ice. It has now been termed the "Sea of Ancient Ice." Whereas ordinary ice is usually from two feet to ten feet in thickness, that in the Polar Sea, in consequence of having so few outlets by which to escape to the southward in any appreciable quant.i.ty, gradually increases in age and thickness until it measures from 80 to 120 feet, floating with its surface at the lowest part fifteen feet above the water-line.

Strange as it may appear, the extraordinary thickness of the ice saved the s.h.i.+p from being driven on sh.o.r.e, for, owing to its great depth of flotation, on nearing the shallow beach it grounded, and formed a barrier, inside which the s.h.i.+p was comparatively safe. When two pieces of ordinary ice are driven one against the other and the edges broken up, the crushed pieces are raised by the pressure into a high, long, wall-like hedge of ice. When two of the ancient floes of the Polar Sea meet, the intermediate, lighter, broken-up ice which may happen to be floating about between them alone suffers; it is pressed up between the two closing ma.s.ses to a great height, producing a chaotic wilderness of angular blocks of all shapes and sizes, varying in height up to fifty feet above water, and frequently covering an area of upwards of a mile in diameter. Captain Nares mentions pieces being raised by outward pressure and cras.h.i.+ng together which must have weighed 30,000 tons! A s.h.i.+p between such opposing ma.s.ses would be annihilated in an instant.

As soon as the sh.o.r.e ice was sufficiently strong Commander A. H. Markham, with Lieutenants A. A. C. Parr and W. H. May under his orders, started on the 25th September with three sledges to establish a depot of provisions as far in advance to the north-westward as possible. Lieutenant P. Aldrich left four days previously, with two lightly-equipped dog-sledges, to pioneer the road round Cape Joseph Henry for the larger party. He returned on board on the 5th of October, after an absence of thirteen days, having, accompanied by Adam Ayles, on the 27th September, from the summit of a mountain 2,000 feet high situated in lat.i.tude 82 48' North-somewhat further north than the most northern lat.i.tude attained by their gallant predecessor, Sir Edward Parry, in his celebrated boat and sledge journey towards the North Pole-discovered land extending to the north-westward for a distance of sixty miles to lat.i.tude 83 7', with lofty mountains in the interior to the southward.

On the 14th October, two days after the sun had left them for its long winter's absence, Commander Markham's party returned, after a journey of nineteen days, having with very severe labour succeeded in placing a depot of provisions in lat.i.tude 82 44' north, and of tracing the coast-line nearly two miles further north, thus reaching the exact lat.i.tude attained by Sir Edward Parry.

Being anxious to inform Captain Stephenson of his position, and the good prospects before his travelling parties in the following spring in exploring the north-west coast of Greenland, Captain Nares despatched Lieutenant Rawson to again attempt to open communication between the two vessels, although he had grave doubts of his succeeding. Rawson was absent from the 2nd to the 12th of October, returning unsuccessful on the latter day, having found his road again stopped by unsafe ice within a distance of nine miles of the s.h.i.+p. The broken ma.s.ses of pressed up ice resting against the cliffs, in many places more than thirty feet high, and the acc.u.mulated deep snow-drifts in the valleys, caused very laborious and slow travelling.

During these autumn sledging journeys, with the temperature ranging between 15 above to 22 below zero, the heavy labour, hards.h.i.+ps, and discomforts inseparable from Arctic travelling, caused by the wet soft snow, weak ice, and water s.p.a.ces, which obliged the sledges to be dragged over the hills, combined with constant strong winds and misty weather, were, if anything, much greater than those usually experienced. Out of the northern party of twenty-one men and three officers, no less than seven men and one officer returned to the s.h.i.+p badly frost-bitten, three of these so severely as to render amputation necessary, the patients being confined to their beds for the greater part of the winter.

During the winter Captain Nares, a.s.sisted by his officers, did his very best to keep the crew not merely employed, but amused. A school was organised; and Captain Markham states, to the credit of the Royal Navy, that out of fifty-five men on the _Alert_ there were only two who could not read when they came on board. On both vessels there were small printing presses, which were used specially for printing the programmes of their entertainments, and occasionally even for striking off bills of fare. Each Thursday(15) was devoted to lectures, concerts, readings, and occasional theatrical performances. On the opening night-if any such distinction could be made when all was night-the programme commenced as follows:-"The Royal Arctic Theatre will be re-opened on Thursday next, the 18th inst. (18th November), by the powerful Dramatic Company of the Hyperboreans, under the distinguished patronage of Captain Nares, the Members of the Arctic Exploring Expedition, and all the n.o.bility and Gentry of the neighbourhood."

[Ill.u.s.tration: WINTER QUARTERS OF THE "ALERT."]

Meantime, on the _Discovery_ something very similar was occurring. As soon as the ice would bear it, they commenced erecting houses, including a magnificent observatory, an ice theatre, and a smithy. The theatre was opened on December 1st. It was the plan for plays to be produced by officers and men alternately. The entertainments were varied by songs and recitations, not a few of these being original. On November 5th they had a bonfire on the ice, and burned the "Guy," according to the usual custom, with rockets and blue lights.

The Rev. Charles Hodson, chaplain of the vessel, says:-"As soon as the ice was sufficiently firm, a walk of a mile in length was constructed by shovelling away the snow. This place was generally used as an exercise ground during the winter. We also constructed a skating-rink there. A free hole in the ice was always kept near the s.h.i.+p. From time to time this gradually closed up, and it then had to be sawn with ice saws or else blasted with gunpowder. The dogs lived on the open floe all the winter.

The changes in the temperature are very rapid, and I have known the variation to be as great as 60 in a few hours. The coldest weather we had was in March, when one night the gla.s.s showed 70 below zero.

"And now a few words as to the manner in which we kept Christmas. First of all, in the morning we had Christmas Waits in the usual manner. A sergeant of marines, the chief boatswain's mate, and three others, went round the s.h.i.+p singing Christmas carols suited to the occasion, and made a special stay outside the captain's cabin. On the lower deck in the forenoon there were prayers, and after that captain and officers visited the mess in the lower deck, tasted the pudding, inspected the decorations which had been made, and so on. Then the boxes of presents given by friends in England were brought out, the name of him for whom it was intended having been already fixed to each box, and the presents were then distributed by the captain. Ringing cheers, which sounded strange enough in that lone place, were given for the donors, some of them very dear indeed to the men who were so far away from their homes. Cheers were also given for the captain and for absent comrades in the _Alert_. A choir was then formed, and 'The Roast Beef of Old England' had its virtues praised again. The men had their dinner at twelve o'clock, and the officers dined together at five.

We had brought fish, beef, and mutton, all of which we hung up on one of the masts, and it was soon as hard as a brick, and perfectly preserved. We had also brought some sheep from England with us, and they were killed from time to time. When we arrived in Discovery Bay, as we called it, six of them were alive, but on being landed they were worried by the dogs, and had to be slaughtered. During the winter the men had to fetch ice from a berg about half a mile distant from the s.h.i.+p in order to melt it for fresh water. This used to be brought in sledges.

"The sun returned on the last day in February. From November till February, with the exception of the starlight and occasional moonlight, we had been in darkness, not by any means dense, but sufficiently murky to excuse one for pa.s.sing by a friend without knowing him."

Captain Nares states that one day early in March, during a long continuance of cold weather, the thermometer on the _Alert_ registered a mean or average of minus(16) 73 7', or upwards of 105 below the freezing point of water. On the _Discovery_ for seven consecutive days the thermometer registered a mean temperature of minus 58 17'. On the _Alert_ for thirteen days a mean temperature of minus 58 9' was experienced, and for five days and nine hours a mean temperature of minus 66 29'. During February the mercury remained frozen for fifteen consecutive days, which it could not have done had not the temperature remained at least 39 below zero. Subsequently the mercury was frozen solid for an almost identical period. One curious effect of the cold was that their breech-loading guns sometimes proved useless, for the barrels contracted so much that the cartridges could not be inserted. Nevertheless the huntsmen were often out, and were fairly successful. The _Alert's_ game-bag for winter and early spring included six musk-oxen, twenty hares, seventy geese, twenty-six ducks, ten ptarmigan, and three foxes. That of the _Discovery_, in a lower lat.i.tude, was much larger as regards the oxen and hares. The crew of the latter also killed seven seals.

And now the spring sledging season approached, and Captain Nares, anxious to communicate with the _Discovery_, seized the first favourable opportunity (March 12th, 1876) to despatch Sub-Lieutenant Egerton in charge of a sledge. He was only accompanied by Lieutenant Rawson and Christian Petersen, their interpreter. Four days afterwards the little party returned to the s.h.i.+p, in consequence of the severe illness of poor Petersen, who had succ.u.mbed to a terrible attack of frost-bite and cramp in the stomach. His feet were almost destroyed and utterly useless; his hands were paralysed, and his face raw. Nothing could keep him warm, though the officers, to their credit, deprived themselves of nearly all their thick clothing for his benefit. After very great persistence they could, indeed, to a certain limited extent, restore the circulation to his extremities, but it became obvious that with the existing temperatures it would be folly to proceed with such a drag and enc.u.mbrance on their enterprise. The temperature inside the tent at night was intensely cold, and they had to burrow out a snow hut for the use of the sufferer. Even inside this all the means at their command did not suffice to raise the temperature much above zero, it being 24 below zero at the time in the open air. The hut was simply a hole about six feet by four, and six feet deep, covered over with the tent-sledge, &c., and it had occupied them six hours even to accomplish this much for their patient's comfort. Lieutenant Egerton says, in his report to Captain Nares, that Petersen, when asked if he was warm in his feet and hands, constantly responded in the affirmative, but that when examined by them they were found to be gelid and hard. The fact was that all feeling had departed; and it occupied Egerton and Rawson two hours on one occasion to restore circulation to his feet, which they eventually succeeded in doing by rubbing them with their hands and flannels. Leaving a part of their provisions and outfit, they, at eight o'clock on the morning of March 15th, were under way on their return to the vessel. With some a.s.sistance, Petersen, after taking a dose of thirty drops of sal-volatile and a little rum-the only thing, indeed, which he could keep on his stomach-got over the first portion of the journey, which was the worst; and as soon as the travelling became easier he was lashed on the sledge and covered with robes. His circulation was so feeble that his face and hands were constantly frost-bitten and his limbs cramped, entailing frequent stoppages, while the two officers did their best to restore the affected parts. This happened over and over again; and there can be no doubt that both Egerton and Rawson behaved in the most humane and heroic manner, suffering as they were in some degree from frost-bite themselves, and having the constant care of the sledge and nine unruly dogs, while the preparations for camping and cooking, into the bargain, fell to their lot. On arrival at the s.h.i.+p every care was taken to relieve Petersen, but eventually his feet had to be amputated, while not all the professional skill and unremitting care of Dr. Colan could save his life. He expired from utter exhaustion three months afterwards. The two brave officers just mentioned, accompanied by two seamen, subsequently made a successful trip to and from the _Discovery_, and afterwards there was frequent communication, as well as co-operation, on the part of both crews, in regard to some of the sledging parties.

[Ill.u.s.tration: AN "ALERT" SLEDGE PARTY EN ROUTE TO THE "DISCOVERY."]

It would be undesirable to attempt the description in detail of the whole of the many sledge expeditions which were sent out in various directions from both vessels. Among the more important may be named that under Lieutenant Beaumont, of the _Discovery_, who, crossing the difficult, broken, and sometimes moving ice of Robeson Channel, explored the Greenland sh.o.r.es to lat. 82 18' N. Scurvy made its appearance in a virulent form among his men, only one thoroughly escaping its ravages. The party, in detachments, reached the depot at Polaris Bay with the greatest difficulty, and not before two poor fellows had succ.u.mbed. Soon after the return journey of those who had proceeded furthest had commenced the whole party was attacked by the insidious disease, until at last Lieutenant Beaumont and two others had to drag the other four, who were rendered absolutely _hors de combat_. The sledge, with its living burden, had always to make the journey twice, and often thrice, over the same road, and that a rough and difficult route over broken and hummocky ice.

"Nevertheless," says Captain Nares, "the gallant band struggled manfully onwards, thankful if they made one mile a day, but never losing heart." A relief party, consisting of Lieutenant Rawson and Dr. Coppinger, with Hans, an Esquimaux, and a dog-sledge, went out in search of them, and met them providentially, just as even the two hardiest of the men were giving in. Indeed, for part of the journey the hauling was performed entirely by the three officers. How thankful were they to at length reach a pleasant haven-Polaris Bay, the spot so intimately connected, as we shall hereafter see, with the memory of poor Hall, the American explorer, and where Captain Stephenson, of the _Discovery_, had a little while before performed a thoughtful and graceful act in erecting over his grave a tablet and head-board! At Polaris Bay most of the invalids soon recruited, and some of this happy result was due to the fact that those able to get about were successful in shooting game enough to furnish a daily ration of fresh meat. When they eventually reached their vessel they had been absent 132 days, a long outing in the Arctic regions.

There were so many parties in the field at one time that we must confine ourselves very much to results, as our narrative would otherwise be a series of repet.i.tions. Lieutenant Archer, of the _Discovery_, explored Lady Franklin Sound, proving that it terminates at a distance of sixty-five miles from the mouth with lofty mountains and glacier-filled valleys; while Lieutenant Fulford and Dr. Coppinger examined Petermann Fiord, finding it terminate in the precipitous cliff of a glacier. A seam of excellent coal, 250 yards long and over eight yards thick, was found near the winter quarters of the _Discovery_. Lieutenant Aldrich, of the _Alert_, made a detailed exploration of the northern sh.o.r.es of Grinnell Land for 220 miles, the main gist of his discoveries being that there was no appearance of land to its northward; and no doubt some will see in this another argument in favour of the "open" Polar Sea theory, to which we have already alluded. When, on his return, he was met by a relief party under Lieutenant May, only one of his men was able to drag with him at the ropes. Four men were being carried, while two struggled on by the side of the sledge. The scurvy here, as with all the parties, attacked the men, leaving the officers scatheless.

The journey, however, which we are about to briefly describe, was the most interesting of any undertaken on the expedition under review. Commander Markham and Lieutenant Parr, pus.h.i.+ng forward almost due north, over and among the stupendous ma.s.ses of ice which covered the Polar Sea, after many a weary struggle reached the highest lat.i.tude ever attained-viz., 83 20'

26" N. Parry has now to resign the place of honour which he had held for close on half a century.

This division was known as the "Northern," in contra-distinction to the "Western," the "Greenland," and others, and consisted of thirty-three officers and men, while an additional sledge, with four men, accompanied them for a few days to form a depot of provisions some distance from the s.h.i.+p for use on their return should they have run short. Of the thirty-three engaged, it was not supposed that all would proceed to the furthest point; but Dr. Moss, and Mr. White one of the engineers, having charge of the third and fourth sledges, went with the understanding that they should a.s.sist the party to pa.s.s the heavy barrier of stranded floe-bergs bordering the coast. Each of the sledges had its own name; indeed, this was true of all those employed. Those of the northern division were the _Marco Polo_, _Victoria_, _Bulldog_, and _Alexandra_.

Two boats, equipped and provisioned for seventy days, were taken. In an interesting paper read before a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society by Captain Markham, on December 12th, 1876, he stated that the sledges to which they gave a decided preference were what are commonly called the eight-man sledges, each crew consisting of an officer and seven men. The extreme weight of these when packed and fully equipped for an extended journey, on leaving the s.h.i.+p, was 1,700lbs., or at the rate of 220lbs. to 240lbs. per man to drag. The tents, each sledge crew being provided with one, were eleven feet in length, affording a little under fourteen inches s.p.a.ce for each man to sleep in, the breadth of the tent being about the length of a man. The costume was composed of duffle, a woollen material resembling thick blanket, over which was worn a suit of duck to act as a "snow repeller." Their feet were encased in blanket wrappers, thick woollen hose, and moca.s.sins. Snow spectacles were invariably worn. After their first adoption they were comparatively exempt from snow blindness.

They slept in duffle sleeping bags, and their tent robes were made of the same material. They had three meals a day. Breakfast during the intensely cold weather was always discussed in their bags. It consisted of a pannikin full of cocoa, and the same amount of pemmican with biscuit. The pemmican was always mixed with a proportion of preserved potatoes. After marching for about five or six hours a halt was called for luncheon. This meal consisted of a pannikin of warm tea, with 4ozs. of bacon and a little biscuit to each man. When the weather was intensely cold, or there was any wind, this meal was a very trying one. They were frequently compelled to wait as long as an hour and a half before the tea was ready, during which time they had to keep continually on the move to avoid frost-bite. The question, "Does it boil?" was constantly heard; and the refractory behaviour of the kettle tried the unfortunate cook's temper and patience to the utmost. After the day's march-sometimes ten to eleven, and even twelve working hours-had terminated, and every one was comfortably settled in his bag, supper, consisting of tea and pemmican, was served, after which pipes were lighted, and the daily allowance of spirits issued to those who were not total abstainers. The mid-day tea was found most refres.h.i.+ng and invigorating, and it was infinitely preferred by the men to the old custom of serving half the allowance of grog at that time.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SUNs.h.i.+NE IN THE POLAR REGIONS.]

The party started on April 3rd (1876) from the vessel, and for a few days, although the route was difficult, made fair progress. The men were in good health and spirits, and, except a few trifling cases of snow blindness, there were no casualties to report. The reader will not need to be informed that snow blindness is produced by the intense glitter of the sunlight on the snow crystals. Even as early as April 6th we read in Markham's "Journal"(17) of a beautiful sunny day, when the temperature was 35 below zero, and everything frozen stiff and hard. When as far as the eyes can reach in any direction there is nothing but a dazzlingly white field of snow or snow-covered hummocks, the effect is extremely painful, and, indeed, would soon render them weak and sore, and eventually blind, but for the use of "goggles" in some form. In the various journals of the expedition we read of different kinds, made of coloured or smoked gla.s.s, &c. The writer has seen among the natives of Northern Alaska, and has himself used, _wooden_ goggles. Covering each eye is an oval piece of wood, usually painted black, scooped out like and about the size of the bowl of a dessert-spoon, with a narrow, straight slit cut through the middle. These, with the leather strips by which they are tied on, look clumsy enough, but were found effectual in use. Among natives even, accustomed to the glare on the snow, who had neglected their use in spring, one might often note those with swollen, red, and weak eyes.

To return to our expedition. On reaching a depot made at Cape Joseph Henry (Grinnell Land), the point from which they would leave the land, the party was re-arranged; only fifteen men with three sledges, carrying a weight of 6,079 pounds in all, were to form the northern party, which, under Markham and Parr, would proceed direct "to sea." It is needless to say that it was a sea of ice, and very ancient ice also, making the travelling correspondingly difficult from the enormous size of the hummocks and extent of their fields. Perhaps the entries appended to each day's travel in Markham's "Journal" will give as good an idea of the difficulty and the tortuous nature of their route, and of the frequency of their trips over the same road being duplicated and triplicated, as any direct description.

We find constantly entries like the following:-"Course and distance made good north four miles. Distance marched, thirteen miles." This is a mild example. It was found impossible to move the whole of their heavy loads at one time. Indeed, during a large part of the journey but one sledge at a time could be dragged forward. This entailed returning _twice_, and in effect making _five_ trips over the same route, thus: forward with number one; return and forward with number two; return and forward with number three, the process being repeated as long as the endurance of the party was equal to it. One mile of progress became therefore five of actual travel; in some cases, where the parties on the return journeys had become enfeebled, and had to be carried on the sledges, _three_ returns had to be made by the working members, thus entailing _seven_ trips over the same route. Markham's "Journal" for April 10th has, "Distance made good, one mile. Distance marched, seven." On the 12th it was as one and a half to nine, on the 17th as one and a quarter to nine, and on the 18th as one to ten, the latter taking ten hours to accomplish. The writer can understand all this well, having in a minor degree had the same experiences in Northern Alaska, where the winters are only a shade less severe than in these extreme lat.i.tudes.(18)

The men were now dragging 405 lbs. apiece, and the exertion and severe climate were beginning to tell upon them. The symptoms of scurvy were plain enough, and on the 19th we do not wonder to find Markham determining to leave one of his boats. "Before quitting the boat an oar was lashed to the mast, and the mast stepped, yard hoisted, and decorated with some old clothes," in order that they might be sure to find it on their return. No wonder the men worked a little livelier shortly afterwards, for they were thus relieved of dragging a matter of 800 lbs. Two of them, however, were already prostrated with scurvy, and had to be carried on the sledges. In journeying to the northward the route seldom lay over smooth ice, and the somewhat level floes, or fields, were thickly studded over with rounded, blue-topped ice humps, ten or twenty feet high, laying sometimes in ranges, but more often separated, at a distance of 100 to 200 yards apart, the depressions between being filled with snow, deeply scored into ridges by the wind, the whole composition being well comparable to a suddenly frozen oceanic sea. Separating the floes were "hedges" of ice ma.s.ses, often forty to fifty feet high, or more, thrown together in irregular and chaotic confusion, and where there was little choice of a road over, through, or round about them. Among and around these, again, were steep-sided snow-drifts, sloping down from the highest alt.i.tude of the piled-up ma.s.ses to the general level. "The journey," says Captain Nares in the general report, "was consequently an incessant battle to overcome ever-recurring obstacles, each hard-won success stimulating them for the next struggle. A pa.s.sage way had always to be cut through the squeezed-up ice with pick-axes, an extra one being carried for the purpose, and an incline picked out of the perpendicular side of the high floes, or roadway built up, before the sledges, generally one at a time, could be brought on. Instead of advancing with a steady walk, the usual means of progression, more than half of each day was expended by the whole party facing the sledge and pulling it forward a few feet at a time."

Occasionally a little "young ice," which had formed between the split-up floes of ancient date, would afford them better travelling, but this luxury was not often found. As the warmer weather approached-anything above zero was considered warm-they were much troubled by wind, snow-fall, and foggy weather. On April 30th so thick was it that they could scarcely see the length of two sledges ahead, and as they were surrounded by hummocks they were obliged to halt, for fear of becoming entangled. It would be wearisome to the reader to enlarge upon similar experiences, which were of daily occurrence.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A SLEDGE PARTY STARTING FOR CAPE JOSEPH HENRY.]

They had on May 11th exceeded by several days the time for which they were provisioned, and so many of the men were, from the weakening effects of scurvy, actually _hors de combat_, or as nearly as possible useless, that it was determined to make a camp in which to leave the invalids, while the rest should push on for one final "spurt." On the morning of the 12th, therefore, leaving the cooks to attend upon the sufferers, the remainder of the party, carrying the s.e.xtant and artificial horizon, and also the sledge-banners and colours, started northwards. "We had," says Markham, "some very severe walking, struggling through snow up to our waists, over or through which the labour of dragging a sledge would be interminable, and occasionally almost disappearing through cracks and fissures, until twenty minutes to noon, when a halt was called. The artificial horizon was then set up, and the flags and banners displayed, these fluttering out bravely before a S.W. wind, which latter, however, was decidedly cold and unpleasant. At noon we obtained a good alt.i.tude, and proclaimed our lat.i.tude to be 83 20' 26" N., exactly 399 miles from the North Pole. On this being duly announced, three cheers were given, with one more for Captain Nares; then the whole party, in the exuberance of their spirits at having reached their turning-point, sang the 'Union Jack of Old England,'

the grand Palaecrystic sledging chorus, winding up, like loyal subjects, with 'G.o.d Save the Queen.' These little demonstrations had a good effect on the spirits of the men, and on their return to the camp a second celebration, in which even the invalids joined, occurred, when a magnum of whisky, that had been sent by Scotch friends to be consumed at the highest lat.i.tude attained, was produced, and the steaming grog, so dear to the sailor's heart, was brewed. At supper, a hare, shot by Dr. Moss shortly before they parted company at Depot Point, was added to their usual fare of pemmican, and in the evening, cigars, presented to them by Lieutenant May before leaving the s.h.i.+p, were issued to each man. The day was brought to a close with songs, and general hilarity prevailed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ARRIVAL OF LIEUTENANT PARR ON BOARD THE "ALERT."]

Markham speaks of their attempt almost as a failure. It was, however, the greatest success of the expedition, although unhappily purchased at the expense of one life. Pa.s.sing over the return journey, we find that on the evening of June 8th Lieutenant Parr, who had volunteered to take singly and alone the sad intelligence that nearly the whole party were prostrated with scurvy, arrived at the s.h.i.+p. Commander Markham and the few men who were able to keep on their feet had succeeded by veritable "forced marches" in conveying the invalids to the neighbourhood of Cape Joseph Henry, thirty miles distant from the s.h.i.+p; but each day was adding to the intensity of the disease, and lessening the power of those still able to work. Parr, with brave determination, started alone, with only an alpenstock and a small allowance of provisions, and completed his long and solitary walk over a very rough icy road, deeply covered with newly-fallen snow, within twenty-four hours. If, indeed, a large part of Markham's party could have done it at all, it would have taken them, with their heavy loads, a week to ten days to accomplish the same distance. No time was lost in making arrangements for their succour, and Captain Nares himself, with two strong detachments, started at midnight. By making forced marches, Lieutenant May, Dr. Moss, and a seaman, with a light dog-sledge, laden with appropriate medical stores, reached the camp fifty hours from the time that Lieutenant Parr had left it, but, unfortunately, too late to save the life of George Porter, gunner R.M.A., who had expired a few hours previously, and was already buried in the snow. Of the original seventeen members of the party, only five-the two officers and three of the men-were able to drag the sledges. Three others manfully kept to their feet to the last, but were so weak that they were constantly falling, and sometimes fainting, while the remaining eight had utterly succ.u.mbed, and had to be carried on the sledges.

This is not the place for a medical discussion. Captain Nares' conduct in partially neglecting to supply the parties with sufficient of that great anti-s...o...b..tic, lime-juice, has been severely handled, and not without some show of justice. On the other hand, it must be remembered that the disease attacked a part of the crews who had _remained_ on both vessels and had been well supplied with all dietary and medical necessaries. At one time thirty-six cases were under treatment on the _Alert_, making it resemble a naval hospital.

Captain Nares may be allowed to give in brief his reasons for returning home that season. The enfeebled state of his crew precluded the hope that, even when recovered, they would accomplish as much as, or at all events more than, had been already done. He believes that from any position in Smith's Sound attainable by a s.h.i.+p it would be impossible to advance nearer the Pole by sledges. Furthermore, that all that he could have hoped to accomplish by stopping another winter was perhaps an extended exploration of Grant Land to the south-westward, and Greenland for perhaps fifty miles further to the north-eastward or eastward. And to his credit it must be scored that he brought the vessels home in nearly as good condition as they would have returned from any foreign station. After many a fight with the elements and many an encounter with the ice, the _Alert_ and _Discovery_ reached our sh.o.r.es safely on October 27th, 1876. The reader knows the rest, and if he is of our mind will not grudge the honours bestowed on men who, if they had not accomplished all that was expected, had at least done more than any of their predecessors in the frozen fields of the far north.

CHAPTER XII.

THE FIRST ARCTIC VOYAGES.

Early History of Arctic Discovery-The "Hardy Norseman"-Accidental Discovery of Iceland-Colony Formed-A Fisherman Drifted to Greenland-Eric the Red Head-Rapid Colonisation-Early Intercourse with America-Voyages of the Zeni-Cabot's Attempt at a North-west Pa.s.sage-Maritime Enterprise of this Epoch-Voyage of the _Dominus Vobisc.u.m_-Of the _Trinitie_ and _Minion_-Starvation and Cannibalism-A High-handed Proceeding-Company of the Merchant Adventurers-Attempts at the North-east-Fate of Willoughby-Chancelor, and our First Intercourse with Russia.

And now, having noted the results attained by the latest expedition which has dared to attempt the discovery of the North Pole,(19) let us glance at the progress of northern discovery from the very beginning, and watch the gradual steps by which such discoveries were rendered possible. We shall have to go back to a period when no compa.s.s guided the mariner on his watery way, when s.e.xtants and artificial horizons were undreamed of, when navigation, in a word, was but in its second stage of infancy. And although many of the earlier discoveries were the result of pure accident, we shall see much to admire in the enterprise and hardihood of explorers who ventured almost blindfold into unknown seas, abounding in special obstacles and dangers.

With the discovery of Iceland and Greenland virtually commences our knowledge of the northern and Arctic seas. The Romans, even as late as Pliny's time, had no correct knowledge of the North Sea and Baltic, and whatever they did know seems to have been derived second-hand from the Carthaginians. In the days of our good King Alfred our ancestors did undoubtedly engage in the pursuit of the whale and sea-horse, but it is to the "hardy Norseman," whose

"House of yore Was on the foaming wave,"