MAP OF THE NORTH POLAR REGIONS

THE
FROZEN NORTH

AN ACCOUNT OF ARCTIC EXPLORATION FOR USE IN SCHOOLS

BY

EDITH HORTON

REVISED EDITION

D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS
BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO

Copyright 1904 and 1911
By D. C. Heath & Company

PREFACE

While abundant material has been put before children with the purpose of making them familiar with the history and industrial development of various parts of the known world, very little has been written to inform them of the work which is now being done in the comparatively unknown regions of the north, or of the history of the early discoveries which have led to it.

The importance of the present determined search for the North Pole is admitted by all thoughtful people, and the subject is one which must increase in interest until the entire North Frigid Zone is correctly mapped and charted.

Accounts of the pioneers in this work of discovery, of Franklin and of Kane, and in our own day of Nansen and Peary, are available only in such exhaustive works as are unsuitable reading for children, and which sometimes tax the patience of the adult. Hence the work done by these intrepid explorers upon the American continent and north of it remains unstudied and unknown.

It is hoped that this book may give our young people sufficient knowledge of the subject to enable them to read farther with intelligence, and that it may also inspire them with interest in the many expeditions that are being sent out.

The descriptions of the strange people who inhabit these cold countries, their dress, their ways of living, their customs, and their manners, all interest the child, and meet his natural desire to hear about other people than those living in the part of the world about him.

No complete history has been attempted, but rather a series of sketches which, it is hoped, will enable the reader to appreciate the achievements of the brave men who have lent and are lending their best efforts to the task of unlocking and wresting from the Frozen North, the secrets so necessary for the advancement of science.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE
I. [Introduction] 1
II. [Sir John Franklin.] 1818 9
III. [Franklin’s First Land Journey.] 1819–1821 14
IV. [Franklin’s Second Land Journey.] 1825–1827 21
V. [The Erebus and the Terror.] 1845 25
VI. [Elisha Kent Kane.] 1853 32
VII. [Winter in Rensselaer Harbor.] 1853–1854 36
VIII. [The Eskimos.] 1854 40
IX. [Hunting in the Icy North] 45
X. [Home Again.] 1855 51
XI. [Nordenskjöld and the Northeast Passage.] 1878–1879 59
XII. [Voyage of the Jeannette.] 1879–1881 72
XIII. [Greely in Grinnell Land.] 1881–1883 81
XIV. [Farthest North of the Greely Party.] 1882 87
XV. [Lieutenant Schwatka in Alaska.] 1883 94
XVI. [Nansen crosses Greenland.] 1888 104
XVII. [The Voyage of the Fram.] 1893–1896 122
XVIII. [Peary crosses Greenland.] 1891–1897 133
XIX. [Andrée’s Balloon Expedition to the Pole.] 1897 149
XX. [Expeditions of 1902] 154
XXI. [Discovery of the North Pole by Robert E. Peary.] 1909 158

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

The Aurora Borealis.

THE FROZEN NORTH

I. INTRODUCTION

The north polar regions lie within the Arctic circle, and at their center is the North Pole. The distance from the circle to the pole is more than fourteen hundred miles. Intense cold and the hardships of ice navigation have made the discovery and exploration of this region very slow and hazardous.

It is believed that Norsemen from Norway and Sweden, after colonizing Iceland, made settlements on the Greenland coast and carried their seal hunting beyond the Arctic circle, far into the polar regions. But in 1347 a plague broke out in Norway, and the people forgot their far-off colonies. For more than a hundred years after this no attempt was made to enter the Arctic circle.

It is a singular fact that the famous voyage of Columbus in 1492, although made toward the south, should have influenced to some extent discovery in the north polar regions. After Columbus had really proved that the earth was round, navigators believed that by sailing westward far enough they might reach the rich lands of India and Cathay (China).

The only route then known from Europe to India was through the Mediterranean Sea. At Constantinople, the cargoes of metals, woods, and pitch were unloaded and sent on by caravan to the East, while returning caravans brought silks, dyewoods, spices, perfumes, precious stones, ivory, and pearls, to be shipped from Constantinople.

When the Turks, through whose country the merchants passed, began to realize how valuable the Eastern trade was, they sent bands of robbers to seize the caravans, making traffic by this route more difficult and more dangerous as time went on; so that European merchants tried to find some other way of reaching that part of the world.

Sebastian Cabot.

John and Sebastian Cabot, two English navigators, set out in 1497 to sail westward, but finding their way blocked by the American continent, they returned. In 1498 Sebastian Cabot made a second voyage, with the object of finding a passage north of America which would lead to the Spice Islands and rich Cathay. In this way the long hunt for the northwest passage was begun.

The Cabots did not find the northwest passage; and though many voyages were made in search of it by other navigators during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, nobody met with success. The severe cold, added to the difficulties of a voyage through the ice of ages, prevented further investigation in that direction for some time.

Meanwhile, the Spanish and the Portuguese had been active in seeking for southern routes to the East, and had discovered two,—one around the Cape of Good Hope and one through the Strait of Magellan. They guarded these waterways jealously, and would not allow the ships of other nations to pass. Thus they succeeded in controlling all the rich Eastern trade, and were growing very wealthy and powerful.

The English and the Dutch, who were also anxious to obtain a share of the rich commerce with the East, saw the importance of finding a northern route to India; consequently they experimented by sailing northeast along the coast of Europe and Asia. The route which they sought was known as the northeast passage.

England sent out the first expedition in 1553, but the severity of the weather prevented the ships from making much progress. Several other vain attempts were made by the English, and then the Dutch took up the work; but they failed, too, and for a time the search for northern passages to the Indies was abandoned.

The Earth on June 21.

The total absence of the sun from the Arctic regions during a large part of each year makes the climate severe and the country desolate. Direct sun rays are necessary to insure warmth, and the regions within the Arctic circle receive at the best only slanting rays.

The Earth on December 21.

In the temperate zones the sun is never exactly overhead. For people who live within the tropics it is overhead twice every year. At all places along the equator the sun is overhead at noon on the 21st of March. Each day after, it comes overhead at noon at places farther north, until the 21st of June, when it is overhead at the tropic of Cancer. After this the sun appears to turn and go south, and on September 22 it is again overhead at noon at the equator. The sun then continues to move southward each day until December 21, when it is overhead at the tropic of Capricorn. And so it goes back and forth the year round.

While the sun is north of the equator, there is constant day somewhere within the Arctic circle; when the sun is south of the equator, there is constant night somewhere within the Arctic circle. The farther a region is from the equator, the longer are the days and nights at different seasons of the year. At the pole there is a night of six months and a day of six months. The night is sometimes lighted by the moon and sometimes by the aurora borealis.

Daily Motion of the Heavens as seen at the North Pole.

There are but two seasons in the Arctic regions—a long, cold winter and a short, dry summer. It is during the summer that the explorers do their work. Throughout the dark winter they can do nothing. Even in the summer, navigators meet with many perils, for Arctic navigation is not an easy matter. Besides the danger that the vessel may be frozen in an ice pack, or crushed between icebergs, the navigator is often blinded by fogs and snows, and has to face unknown tides and currents.

Daily Motion of the Heavens as seen at the Equator.

The vegetation within the Arctic circle is scanty. During the summer the bright, warm sun causes the plants to spring up and grow rapidly. Willows, dwarf birches, and rush grasses are plentiful in some localities. In southern Greenland, and in some sheltered places along its western coast, yellow poppies and dandelions grow. Farther north only mosses and lichens are to be found, and beyond the moss line there is no trace of vegetation.

Nevertheless there are plenty of animals in this land of ice and snow. The polar bear, Arctic fox, blue fox, wolf, ermine, reindeer, and musk ox are plentiful. Seals and walruses come out of the water upon the ice, during the summer, to enjoy the sun, and thousands of snow buntings, auks, and eider ducks visit the shores of the cold seas to build their nests and catch food. When the summer of three months is over, nearly all outward signs of animal and vegetable life disappear and the entire landscape becomes a dreary, white expanse.

The inhabitants of this cold land are called Eskimos. They find it hard to get a living, and their dwellings are of the rudest and most primitive sort. Many of the tribes move from place to place, building their snow huts wherever game is most plentiful, but never going far inland, because fish forms a large part of their food. The Eskimos do not mind the bitter weather. They are quite accustomed to a temperature of 50° below zero.

Within the Arctic circle are two principal areas of great cold, one in North America and one in Siberia. The mildest winters are at Bering strait and in the Spitzbergen Sea, where there is usually open water. The former is affected by the warm Japan Current and the latter by the Gulf Stream.

We have as yet learned but little about the icy North. Nearly three million square miles of our earth lie within the Arctic circle and are unknown to-day. Much more information must be gained before man can hope to understand the physical laws of this mysterious region.

The Midnight Sun.

For a century and a half after the sailing ships of the sixteenth century had failed to find the northern passages to the East, little was done in the way of Arctic exploration. The whale and cod fishers were the only navigators who ventured into the frozen seas. These fishermen carried on a profitable business in fish and oil. One of them, a Scotch whaler named William Scoresby, succeeded in driving his ship as far north as latitude 81° 12ʹ 42ʺ. He spent all the time that he could spare on this voyage in collecting information about this unknown part of the earth, and on his return to England, he told such wonderful stories that the English people became once more interested in the frozen North.

Accordingly, in 1815, after England’s wars with the United States and France were over, the government offered a reward of £20,000 to any one who would make the northwest passage, and a reward of £5000 to any one who would reach 89° north latitude. This offer of prize money stirred the adventurous blood of seafaring men. In 1818 two expeditions were sent out, and others quickly followed.

The vast area of unexplored space within the Arctic circle stimulated men’s imaginations almost as much as the Western world beyond the Atlantic had done in the days of Columbus. Many a brave sailor was ready to undertake the difficult work. Famous among those who did valuable service was Sir John Franklin.

The Change of Seasons.

II. SIR JOHN FRANKLIN
1818

Sir John Franklin was one of the greatest explorers the world has ever known. We owe to him most of our knowledge of the northern coast of America and of the far North.

Sir John Franklin.

Franklin was born in 1786 at Spilsby, a small town in Lincolnshire, England, about ten miles from the coast. As a boy, he one day visited the seaside, which so delighted him that he then and there made up his mind to be a sailor.

Franklin’s parents wished him to become a clergyman, and in the hope of curing him of his new passion, they sent him on a trial voyage. This plan did not succeed, for the young man learned to love the sea so much that at last the father yielded to his son’s desire, and obtained a position for him in the Royal Navy. While in the navy, John Franklin took part in several of the hardest naval battles the English ever fought. He made a brilliant record as a fearless sailor and a wise and determined leader.

After the wars were over, Franklin began the study of science. But land life was dull for him, and he longed for the dangers and excitement of the sea. When word came that he had been chosen by the government to go in search of the North Pole, he was unspeakably happy. Soon two strong vessels were ready for the voyage. The command of the Dorothea was given to Captain Buchan, while Franklin, with the rank of lieutenant, was put in command of the Trent. Their orders were to proceed northward between the islands of Spitzbergen and Greenland, and if they found the sea free from ice, to push ahead directly for the North Pole. Should they succeed in finding the pole, they were, if possible, to return by way of Bering strait, and thus prove the existence of a northwest passage.

Glacier, English Bay, Spitzbergen.

The ships sailed out of the Thames river April 25, 1818. On May 10 they crossed the Arctic circle, and Franklin beheld for the first time the grand spectacle of the midnight sun. Shortly after the ships had crossed the circle, a terrible gale arose. The weather was bitterly cold, the snow came down fast, blinding the eyes of the sailors, and ice covered the brigs from bow to stern. Every time the bows came up out of the water a fresh layer of ice was formed upon them, and the vessels became so heavy that the sailors were obliged to chop the ice away with axes. The ropes also were frozen over, and in order to keep them ready for instant use, the sailors had continually to beat off the ice with sticks. The ice pack extended on all sides as far as the eye could reach, and little by little it closed around the ships.

A Ship in the Ice Pack.

Notwithstanding this, they managed to enter a bay on the coast of Spitzbergen, where Captain Buchan decided to remain until the pack should break up. Neither officers nor men were idle while at anchor in this bay. Some surveyed the harbor and made a map of it, while others measured the depth of the water with instruments which they had brought for that purpose. The magnetic needle was closely watched, and all its changes noted. Many went hunting and supplied the crew with meat of the seal and walrus. Meantime a close watch was kept upon the ice pack.

Franklin learned to like the rugged Arctic scenery. Close to the shores of Spitzbergen were long, snow-covered valleys and high mountains, and between the mountains stood immense glaciers, glistening in the bright sunlight which had so little power to melt their surfaces.

One day Buchan and Franklin were in a small boat at the foot of a glacier. Suddenly they heard a noise like the report of a great cannon, and looking up, they saw a portion of the glacier sliding down the mountain side. This great mass of ice made a grinding noise as it went, and streams of water flowed after it. At length it plunged into the sea and disappeared from view. The water was greatly disturbed and covered with foam. In a few moments the huge piece of ice rose to the surface and surged up to a great height above the sea. Then Franklin and his companion knew how icebergs are formed. This one was a quarter of a mile around, and rose sixty feet above the water. It must have weighed millions of tons.

Icebergs in the Polar Sea.

Franklin was now more anxious than ever to get to the pole. He knew that thousands of years ago a part of America and Europe was covered with ice just as the Arctic regions now are, and he felt sure that if he remained long enough in this land he would be able to explain many things heretofore unknown, in regard to climate, soil, tides, and winds.

Soon the ships, headed toward the north, put to sea again, but a furious gale arose, and they were once more caught in the ice pack. When the wind went down, the Dorothea was so badly damaged as to be almost unseaworthy, and Captain Buchan decided to turn back. The Trent also had been injured, but Franklin tried hard to induce Captain Buchan to allow him to go northward alone. Captain Buchan refused, and both vessels accordingly returned to England, where they arrived safely on October 12, 1818. We must not regard this expedition as a failure, even though the pole remained undiscovered, for Franklin had gained the experience which later enabled him to accomplish valuable geographical work in the Arctic regions.

III. FRANKLIN’S FIRST LAND JOURNEY
1819–1821

The next year the British government again decided to send two ships northward. One of these ships was put in command of Lieutenant Parry and was ordered to Lancaster sound. From this place Parry was told to sail westward and seek the northwest passage. He did not find the northwest passage, but he succeeded in sailing inside of the Arctic circle farther west than any one had gone before. For this achievement he received a prize of £5000 from the government and on his return to England was highly honored.

The other expedition was put in command of Sir John Franklin, who, together with four companions, was to proceed to Hudson bay on one of the ships belonging to the Hudson Bay Company. From Hudson bay, Franklin was to make a land journey by means of sledges and canoes across the northern part of North America, to the mouth of the Coppermine river. From this point, he was to turn and follow the coast of North America east. The latitude and longitude of various places were to be noted, maps to be drawn, and capes, bays, and rivers located and surveyed.

At this time that part of North America which borders on the Arctic ocean had never been explored. Only two white men, employees of the Hudson Bay Company, had ever looked upon this ocean from the continent of North America. The first, Samuel Hearne, traveled northward with the Indians in 1770, and reached the mouth of a large river which was named the Coppermine, because the Indians said that large mines of copper were to be found along its banks.

The second explorer, Alexander Mackenzie, in 1789 traced to its mouth the river which now bears his name. With the exception of these two river mouths, the entire northern coast of North America was unknown. The map which is to-day covered with names of places, was then a blank.

This was the region which Franklin was to explore. Many men would dread such a journey, but Franklin liked it because of the very dangers involved. Dr. John Richardson, midshipmen Robert Hood and George Back, and a seaman, John Hepburn, were selected to go with Franklin on this trip; they were well chosen, for they were worthy companions of the young leader. On May 23, 1819, he and his men sailed on the Prince of Wales for the Arctic land. The voyage was long and stormy; several times it seemed likely that the Prince of Wales would never touch land again, but at the end of three months she anchored off York Factory, on the southern shore of Hudson bay, one of the posts built by the Hudson Bay Company for the purpose of trading in furs with the Indians.

The people at York Factory received Franklin and his companions kindly and helped them all they could. They gave Franklin a boat for his journey through the lakes and rivers on his way to the sea. The same sort of boat is still in use in that region and is called a York boat. It is forty feet in length, narrow, light, and sharp at both ends. About ten men can manage it. When on lakes or traveling down streams the men use oars, but when traveling against the current of a river they run alongshore and drag the boat after them. This long and narrow boat is well suited for shooting rapids, through which it is guided by means of long poles. Sometimes the rapids are so swift that they cannot be navigated, and falls are often encountered. Then the cargoes are taken out of the boats and carried around the rapids or falls, and afterward the boats also are carried around. Such a place is called a portage.

The officers of the Hudson Bay Company, besides giving Franklin a boat, sent word to other trading posts throughout the country, to look out for him and to help him. The party, having secured boats and stores, started from York Factory to continue their journey. After traveling seven hundred miles, they reached another post called Cumberland House, where Franklin expected to find guides and hunters, but every one refused to undertake a journey so full of peril.

A Post of the Hudson Bay Company.

Franklin, though disappointed, was not discouraged. He left two men at Cumberland House to wait for supplies and to bring them on. Then, with Back and Hepburn, he started out with dog sledges for another trading post on Lake Athabasca. This journey was begun on January 18, 1820, in the middle of an Arctic winter of prolonged darkness. The suffering of these three explorers cannot be described. The temperature fell as low as 38° below zero, blizzards were common, and the party nearly perished. On some days the mercury froze in the thermometers, and the tea froze in the tin pots before it could be drunk.

At Lake Athabasca Franklin was joined by the men he had left at Cumberland House. They had secured some provisions, and now the entire party proceeded down the Slave river to Great Slave lake. They reached Fort Providence, on the northern end of the lake, during the latter part of July, and in a few days the little company departed in four canoes, steering northward into a country which had never before been visited by white men.

Soon Franklin met seventeen canoes filled with Indians, who had promised to go part of the way with him and hunt game for his party. They all proceeded together through a chain of lakes to Winter lake, where they decided to pass the winter. Here they built a house which they called Fort Enterprise, and from this place they made short trips to explore the country northward. One of the exploring parties reached the source of the Coppermine river.

At first game was plentiful at Fort Enterprise, but as winter advanced the reindeer left the place, provisions became scarce, and ammunition was very low. Back offered to return to Lake Athabasca for supplies, and Franklin allowed him to go. He left the party in November, and they did not see him again until March. He had made a journey of eleven hundred miles on snowshoes, sleeping in the shelter of drifts, wrapped in a blanket and a deerskin, and had sometimes been forced to go without food for two or three days. But he had saved the party.

When spring came, Franklin and his company started northward again with two large canoes and several sledges. They must have “made a record” for slow travel, for each man had to carry or drag a load of one hundred and eighty pounds, probably more than the weight of any one of them. At the Coppermine they launched their canoes, and were soon shooting dangerous rapids, and carrying their boats over the portages. Franklin did not stop to search for copper; he had other aims.

On July 18, 1821, the party reached the mouth of the Coppermine and camped on the shore of the Arctic ocean. It was a cold place for a camp, but the men were so delighted to reach this point that they did not complain of the temperature.

Franklin here paid a tribute to famous travelers, and to some of his old friends, by naming the capes and bays after them. This might be called a cold compliment, but doubtless the favored ones appreciated it.

The great ocean must have seemed to these men the end of their journey, yet it was only the beginning. On July 21 the canoes were launched and one of the most daring voyages of exploration was begun that has ever been attempted. Canoes built for use only on lakes and rivers had now to battle with rough waters filled with ice. For several weeks Franklin kept on his perilous way eastward, discovering new islands, bays, and capes.

As freezing weather had already set in, and the provisions showed signs of giving out, Franklin decided to return to Fort Enterprise and spend the winter there, hoping to continue his work along the coast the next summer.

He named the place where he decided to return Point Turnagain. The distance from the Coppermine to Point Turnagain is five hundred and fifty miles, and all that length of coast was traversed and charted by Franklin’s company.

It was decided to go back to Fort Enterprise by way of the Hood river, because that route was thought easier than the other; it proved to be more difficult. Much of the journey had to be made on foot over a stony country. The men were loaded down with boats, tents, and blankets, and, worst of all, the provisions gave out. All that the adventurers could find to eat was a kind of lichen, which grew like moss on the rocks. Often the men were wet to their waists from having to ford streams and tramp through swamps.

After a time they became so weak and footsore that they could scarcely walk, and when at last they reached Fort Enterprise they found it deserted. The Indians who had promised Franklin to remain and stock the place with food for him, had abandoned the fort. This was a terrible blow. Those of the party who were able to walk, started out to search for the Indians, while the rest remained in the hut, expecting death every moment. While these men sat waiting, they saw a herd of reindeer pass close to the hut. Not a man was strong enough to stand and shoot, and the deer passed undisturbed. At last some Indians arrived. They brought plenty of venison with them, and they stayed with the white men and nursed them back to health.

When the sick men were able to travel, the party started again for Hudson bay. They succeeded in reaching Moose Deer island, and there, under the care of the Hudson bay officials, Franklin and his followers grew well and strong.

When they came again to York Factory, Franklin and his men had traveled 5550 geographical miles and explored thousands of miles of country never before visited by civilized men. This journey is one of the most remarkable in history. Only men of the highest courage and the strongest determination could have accomplished it.

When Franklin reached England his countrymen bestowed upon him honors of all sorts. He was promoted to the rank of captain, and made Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

IV. FRANKLIN’S SECOND LAND JOURNEY
1825–1827

After Franklin had been at home about two years, he began to feel restless and to long for action. About this time the English government decided to send Parry, for the third time, in search of the northwest sea passage.

Franklin advised that another land party be sent at the same time to the mouth of the Mackenzie. There, he thought, the party should divide, one branch of it to explore the coast of North America east to the Coppermine river, the other to go westward to Icy cape. Then the entire northern coast of North America would have been covered, and the land party might meet and assist Parry. The government decided to adopt Franklin’s plan, and when he begged to be allowed to command this expedition, granted his request, and more than this, permitted him to make all arrangements for the expedition. He first ordered three boats to be built which should be suitable for travel on both rivers and lakes, as well as on the Arctic ocean. They must combine light weight with great strength. In 1824 Franklin sent these boats, filled with stores and provisions, to Great Bear lake in charge of the Hudson Bay Company; and on February 16, 1825, he and his officers sailed.

They traveled through the United States and Canada to Great Bear lake, where they halted for a few days for the purpose of bargaining with the Indians for supplies of food during the winter. Then the party embarked in canoes and steered for the Mackenzie river.

As the Mackenzie is broad and smooth and without rapids, they quickly reached Fort Norman, the most northern Hudson bay post on the river. It was now early in August, and only a few weeks were left in which to build winter quarters and to lay in a stock of provisions. A place on Great Bear lake was chosen for their village, and Lieutenant Back was given charge of the work of preparation.

Meanwhile Franklin pushed on to the mouth of the Mackenzie. He wished to examine the coast so that he might know just what was needed for travel along that route when spring should come. He found it was an easy journey in his new boat, and when he came to the sea he saw to his joy that it was free from ice and full of seals and whales. When he had made himself acquainted with the character of the coast around the mouth of the river, he returned to the camp on Great Bear lake.

He found that during his absence his companions had named the post Fort Franklin in his honor, and very comfortable arrangements had been made for the winter. Three houses were ready, one for the officers, one for the seamen and Indians, and one for supplies. There were now fifty persons in the party: five officers, nineteen seamen, nine Canadians, two Eskimos, and the rest Indians, including men, women, and children. They were a mixed company, truly, but they passed the season pleasantly together. The officers worked hard collecting important facts about the water, ice, animals, mosses, weather, and sky. They also took charge of a school, which Franklin insisted upon maintaining for the Indians and the Eskimos. Attendance at this school was compulsory, and you may be sure all the pupils preferred hunting and fishing. The seamen turned carpenters and built boats.

No one was sorry when spring came and the journey could be continued. On June 24, 1826, the company divided into two parties and started down the Mackenzie river. At the mouth of the river they separated; one party under command of Franklin proceeded to the west, the other party under Dr. Richardson, to the east. Each had provisions enough to last from eighty to one hundred days.

Franklin and his men soon fell in with an Eskimo tribe numbering about three hundred. These Eskimos proved themselves such thieves that it seemed likely that they might presently murder Franklin and his companions and take all they had. Lieutenant Back ordered the men in his boat to point their muskets at the Eskimos; whereupon they ran away and left the white men in peace.

The journey along the coast was made through blocks of ice, heavy fogs, and high winds, with a temperature often below freezing. Yet this was midsummer!

But the party kept bravely on their way, taking observations of the sun, watching the magnetic needle of the compass, studying tides, stones, plants, and animals. Among the greatest hardships that the men suffered were attacks from swarms of mosquitoes; they dreaded these more than cold or ice packs.

After three hundred and seventy-four miles of coast had been explored, Franklin decided that if he continued the journey, he would not have enough provisions. They had made half the distance between the mouth of the Mackenzie river and Icy cape. To the most western point visited, they gave the name Beechey point. On returning to Fort Franklin they found that the other party, led by Dr. Richardson, had also made a successful journey, having explored eight hundred and sixty-three miles of coast line between the mouth of the Mackenzie and the mouth of the Coppermine, and traveled nineteen hundred and eighty[1] geographical miles.

[1] Franklin’s own book gives 1989 miles. Greely’s Hand Book gives 1709 miles.

The success of these two explorations put the company in good spirits, and the following winter of 1826 was passed pleasantly at Fort Franklin. Franklin started for home in February, and reached England September 26, 1827, after an absence of two years and seven months.

Two months after his arrival he married Jane, daughter of John Griffin, Esq. This lady, Franklin’s second wife, was a very remarkable woman, of whom we shall hear more.

All England was delighted with the results of this second land journey. Franklin and Richardson together had surveyed 37° of longitude along the Arctic shore of North America. The coast from the mouth of the Coppermine westward to Beechey point had been proved to be open for navigation, while from Beechey point to Icy cape it was undoubtedly open.

To complete a northwest passage it was only needful to find a gap to the eastward, connecting this pathway for ships with the older discoveries on the Atlantic side. Over one thousand miles of American coast had been explored, maps and charts had been made, and knowledge in all branches of science had been increased.

The honor of knighthood was conferred upon Captain Franklin, who was afterward to be known as Sir John Franklin. Parry’s expedition in search of the northwest passage had been unsuccessful.

V. THE EREBUS AND THE TERROR
1845

At this time, 1827, England, under the rule of George IV, was occupied with her own troubles. The disputes between Catholics and Protestants engaged the attention of the English people so that interest in exploration waned. After a short rest at home, Sir John Franklin was sent in command of her Majesty’s ship, Rainbow, to the Mediterranean sea. The Greek war of independence was closing, and Franklin distinguished himself by the judgment and skill he showed in following out the work intrusted to him.

Upon his return to England, Franklin was offered the position of Governor of Tasmania, which he accepted, remaining there seven years. When he returned again to England in 1842, he found people once more interested in the discovery of the northwest passage. It was eighteen years since Franklin had returned from the icy North, but the northwest passage had not been found. During those years several expeditions had been at work in the northern part of North America and along the northern coast, thus broadening and increasing the geographical knowledge of the country first entered by Franklin. But the mystery of the northwest passage still stirred men’s imaginations, and the Royal Geographical Society decided to send out another expedition in search of it. The command of this expedition was offered to Sir John Franklin.

Some people thought that Franklin ought not to go again to the northern land. These people told him that he had already done enough for his country, having risked his life three times, and made more discoveries in that region than any other man. They reminded him that he was now sixty years of age, and ought to be willing to remain at home and let a younger man undertake this hard and dangerous journey.

But Franklin rejoiced at the thought of seeing the far North again. He declared that he was only fifty-nine years of age, and that the discovery of the northwest passage was the object nearest his heart. Two ships, called the Erebus and the Terror, were given Franklin for this voyage. These ships, propelled by steam screws, were the first vessels of the kind ever used in the Arctic seas. It was thought that the use of the steam screw instead of the paddle wheel would prove of great value to navigators in seas where ice packs and heavy gales were constantly to be feared. Great results, then, were expected from the expedition fitted out in this improved manner. Franklin himself took command of the Erebus, while Captain Crozier was given command of the Terror. Sufficient provisions were put aboard the vessels to provide for an absence of three years, and nothing was left undone that promised to insure the safety and success of the expedition, or to promote the health and comfort of the explorers.

The ships sailed from England on May 19, 1845. The men were in good spirits and hopeful. They sailed north toward Lancaster sound, and on the 26th of July, 1845, a whaling vessel, called the Prince of Wales, sighted them in Melville bay, stuck fast in the ice. The captain of the whaler received a visit from some of the exploring party, and was invited to dine with Franklin, but a breeze sprang up suddenly, and the ships parted company.

That was the last time the Erebus and the Terror, or any of the men aboard those vessels, were ever seen. They appeared to have dropped off the face of the earth.

When the Erebus and Terror had been absent two years, and no news of them had been heard, many expeditions were sent out to hunt for them. Some traces of the ships were discovered, and it is believed that the vessels sailed northward through Lancaster sound to Beechey island, where they wintered (1845–1846). On this island were found the graves of two seamen marked with headboards showing the date of their death.

In Winter Quarters.

It is thought that when spring came, the ships were released from the ice and proceeded southward toward King William’s Land. While near to King William’s Land the vessels were probably again caught in the pack. The second winter, with its long, dark night, bitter cold, and absence of proper food, must have been a gloomy one for these poor men.

If they were still alive when spring came, how they must have hoped each day for the freeing of the ships! As the days passed and spring grew to summer, summer to autumn, yet with no prospect of release from the cruel pack, the situation became hopeless and intolerable.

All this misery came upon them with greater force because success was so near. Franklin knew that a distance of but one hundred miles separated him from the object of his search. Almost within reach of the goal, here he was, locked in!

Though the ice did not break up, yet during the spring (May 24, 1847) Franklin sent a party under the command of Lieutenant Graham Gore to explore King William’s Land. This party reached Cape Herschel, a point on the southern coast of King William’s Land, and in the distance saw the continent of North America.

A navigable passage was known to exist along the northern coast of America from Boothia to Bering strait. Franklin himself and Richardson had discovered and surveyed the greater part of this extent of country.

Franklin had succeeded in reaching King William’s Land by entering the Arctic from the Atlantic. Thus the discovery of the northwest passage was reduced to the finding of a link which should connect these two known waterways. This link was found by Graham Gore, when from Cape Herschel he saw the American coast across a narrow channel of water. So the credit of the discovery of the northwest passage must be given to Franklin. Had it not been for the fact that his ships were beset in the ice, Franklin would, without doubt, have sailed in 1846 from the Atlantic to the Pacific along the northern coast of North America.

As it was, Lieutenant Gore’s discovery connected the two known passages and established the fact that an open waterway existed. Gore wrote a brief record of what his party had accomplished and left it on the island, where it was found years later by men who were searching for Franklin; but neither Franklin nor any of his heroic band lived to tell in person the news of the discovery.

When Gore returned to the Erebus he found Sir John very ill. He probably came in time to inform Franklin that the northwest passage had really been discovered. Let us hope so. Franklin passed peacefully away June 11, 1847. He had lived a good life and left a glorious name behind him.

Captain Crozier of the Terror now took command of the expedition. The prospect of a third winter in the ice made the bravest of the men shrink, but it was too late in the season for them to leave the ships. To do so would have been certain death. It is best not to try to picture the misery of the third winter.

In the spring of 1848 there were one hundred and five men still living. These half-starved creatures decided to leave the ships and travel by sledges to the North American coast, where they hoped to meet some Indians who would give them food and guide them to the Hudson Bay settlements. Their dreadful march has been traced along the western coast of King William’s Land, and perhaps a few of the party reached the southern end of that island.

A number of Eskimos saw and camped with some of them, but would not remain, fearing that there was not sufficient food for all. There is no doubt that food gave out entirely, and that the men died of starvation. Many years later an old Eskimo woman reported having seen a party of white men traveling to the south. She said, “They fell down and died as they walked along.” It is inspiring to think of the heroism of these brave men who discovered the northwest passage. Their patience, perseverance, and devotion to their work deserve our highest admiration.

In 1847, when, after two years of waiting, no news of the Erebus or the Terror came to England, great anxiety was aroused and many searching expeditions were sent out. Lady Franklin offered a reward of £2000 to any one who would bring her news of her husband or his companions. Her courage and her determined efforts to trace the lost vessels aroused the sympathy of the world. Lady Franklin spent her entire private means in the search, and it is largely owing to her efforts that we have any knowledge at all of her husband’s accomplishment and of his final fate.

The English government also offered a large reward to any one who would find the lost ships or crews. In the autumn of 1850 there were fifteen vessels in the Arctic ocean, hunting for Franklin and his ships. America joined England in the search, and as a result the Arctic regions became far better known than ever before.

Several of these expeditions discovered traces of Franklin. McClintock found the most important records. He erected on Beechey island a marble slab which was sent out by Lady Franklin in memory of her husband and his brave companions.

Relics of the Franklin Expedition.

If you should go to London, you would find in Waterloo Place another monument erected to the memory of Franklin. There is still another at his home in Spilsby. Lady Franklin also erected a monument to her husband in Westminster Abbey.

Although Sir John Franklin deserves the credit of the discovery of the northwest passage, the first man who passed through this passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic was Sir Robert McClure, who made the voyage in 1854. McClure was sent to search for Franklin, and entered the Arctic ocean through Bering strait. Being obliged to abandon his ship, he, together with his crew, crossed the ice of Barrow strait by sledge, where a relief party met them. This was the first and only expedition that ever made the northwest passage, which, for purposes of trade, is useless.

VI. ELISHA KENT KANE
1853

One of the most famous efforts to find Sir John Franklin was made by an American, Mr. Henry Grinnell, of New York City. From his own private means he furnished ships and most of their equipment for two separate expeditions. The first Grinnell expedition, under the command of Lieutenant De Haven, was sent out in 1850. It reached Beechey island on August 27 of the same year, and assisted in the examination of Franklin’s winter quarters there, but returned without wintering.

Elisha Kent Kane.

The second Grinnell expedition went out three years later. This was commanded by a man who became almost as famous as Sir John Franklin himself, Elisha Kent Kane. Kane had been with De Haven in 1850, and thoroughly understood the work of Arctic exploration. He liked the wild, exciting life, and he had an ardent desire to find the brave men who had been lost, and to bring them home with him.

Kane’s plan was to pass up Baffin bay as far north as it was possible to drive the ship. From that point he intended to proceed by boats or sledges toward the pole, examining the coast lines along the way for traces of the lost party.

The strongly built bark Advance was selected for this journey, and Kane set sail from New York with seventeen companions, in May, 1853. After a month the Advance reached Fiskernaes, a town on the Greenland coast, inhabited chiefly by Eskimos. To these people a ship was a very unusual sight, and they swarmed upon the rocks to gaze at the strange newcomers. The Danish official who had charge of the colony welcomed Kane and his companions hospitably.

Fiskernaes, Greenland.

Kane had brought all the dried and salted provisions he could carry, but he knew that his men would need fresh meat in order to keep well in this climate. Besides, they had with them about fifty dogs for the sledge journeys which Kane expected to make when the vessel could no longer push her way through the ice. But Eskimo dogs have large appetites and need plenty of fresh meat to keep them strong; a good Eskimo hunter was needed to supply such food.

There was a boy about nineteen years of age in the town, named Hans Christian, who was known to be very skillful in the use of the kayak and the javelin. Kane called upon Hans to try his skill. Hans threw his javelin and speared a bird on the wing. Kane said, “That is the man for me,” and wished to engage him on the spot. But Hans said, “No, not until you promise to give my mother two barrels of bread and fifty-two pounds of pork.” Kane agreed, and then Hans went cheerfully on board the Advance, certain that his mother would not suffer during his absence.

Kane made one more landing on the Greenland coast, at Sukkertoppen. The natives of this place collected reindeer skins, and had just sent four thousand to Denmark. Kane bought a stock of skins for clothing, also a large supply of sealskins for boots. The party then bade farewell to the governor of the colony and put out to sea.

The ship sailed northward for several days. Every day the weather became colder and the ice thicker. One day a heavy gale arose, and the ship tossed about so among the icebergs and the floating cakes that her escape from being crushed was marvelous. Captain Kane, who was a very ingenious man, devised a method of avoiding this danger from ice crushing. His plan was to attach the vessel to an iceberg and let her float after it, for there is always open water around a berg. The plan sounded very simple, but Kane had not reckoned on the nature of icebergs. After eight hours of hard work the anchors were fastened, but before the men had time to breathe freely, a few crackling sounds were heard and pieces of ice the size of walnuts fell on the deck like hail. The sailors had just time to cast off from the berg when it fell, with a crash, into the water around them.

Not long after this the Advance became so firmly fastened in the ice that they could not push her in any direction. The party then left the brig and explored the country around, traveling forty miles, and at last climbing to the top of an iceberg, a height of eleven hundred feet above the sea. On every side, as far as the eye could reach from this great elevation, spread out a solid sea of ice.

It was now September, and the temperature fell below freezing. It seemed certain that the Advance could not be freed from the ice until the next summer, and the explorers accordingly prepared to pass the winter there. They succeeded in dragging the vessel and wedging it in between two islands. In this harbor, known as Rensselaer bay, the stanch little Advance was frozen solidly in, never to be released.

VII. WINTER IN RENSSELAER HARBOR
1853–1854

The Arctic winter had set in. By the middle of September the thermometer had fallen to 14° and the ice was thickening fast. The long Arctic night was upon the explorers. During that first winter in Rensselaer harbor, the sun was below the horizon one hundred and twenty days, and ninety of these days were totally dark; for the remaining thirty days a faint light like our twilight glimmered during a part of every twenty-four hours.

During the time of darkness little exploring can be done. Explorers are obliged to stay on or near their ship and amuse themselves as best they may until the sun shines again.

Can you fancy a night which lasts as long as ninety of our days? Think of not seeing the sun for more than three months! These men on the Advance suffered from a cold such as we know nothing about, and were often hungry too. Many of them became ill.

Dr. Kane did everything in his power to buoy up their spirits. He was wise enough to know that, if his men had nothing to do, they would become homesick and despairing; so he planned work for all. Some made clothing and boots of the furs and skins they had collected; others made sledges and rope out of hides, or patched up corners of the brig with moss to prevent the cold from entering.

Dr. Kane himself trained the dogs for the sledge journeys. He had ten beautiful Newfoundland dogs which he harnessed to a low, light sled called the “Little Willie.” In a short time these gentle, strong, intelligent animals carried Kane on journeys around the ship with ease. He drove them two abreast, in teams of four or six, guiding them entirely by his voice.

With the Eskimo dogs, Kane was obliged to use other means. Eskimo dogs are not easily managed. They are near relatives of the wolf, and share the wolf’s nature. They are driven in teams of ten or twelve, and must be guided mainly by the whip. Dr. Kane had to use a whip with a lash six yards long, and a handle only sixteen inches in length. It required a sort of “sleight of hand” movement to swing this long lash and hit the right dog with it. Dr. Kane found this driving very lively exercise.

An Eskimo Dog Team.

Sometimes Kane wanted to travel with a heavier load than the dogs could draw. For this purpose he used a larger sledge, thirteen feet long and four feet wide, upon which he could carry fourteen hundred pounds of baggage. This sledge was called the “Faith,” and nine men were often harnessed to it. Each man wore a shoulder belt or, as it was called, a “rue-raddy.” A walrus-skin trace attached this rue-raddy to the sledge.

In this way heavy loads of provisions were drawn over the ice. Kane stored these supplies along the route that he intended to take as soon as the sun should shine again. By thus sending provisions ahead and burying them, Kane hoped to be able to make the journey without fear of starving; for his whole party could never have carried enough at once to last during the time he expected to be gone.

On long expeditions where the men were obliged to remain away from the ship all night, each man carried his bed with him. An Arctic bed is a bag made of fur, into which one crawls, covering up all save one’s nose.

On one occasion some of the men delayed in returning from their trip, and it was feared that they were lost. After waiting twenty days for them to return, Kane harnessed four of his best Newfoundland dogs to the “Little Willie” and started out to search for his missing companions. He took but one man with him. The ice was full of cracks and very dangerous. The dogs galloped swiftly along; whenever they came to a fissure, over it they leaped and over flew the sledge also, simply by reason of its rapid movement. At length the party came to a fissure so wide that the dogs could not leap across it. They were going too fast to stop or turn aside, and dogs and sledge were thrown into the water. The two men, who had been running beside the sledge, quickly cut the harness from the dogs. The faithful animals, freed from the traces, sprang to the ice, and with their intelligent help the sledge was dragged out.

Kane and his companion were wet to the skin with icy cold water, and the temperature was below zero. What could prevent men and dogs from freezing? But not a moment was wasted in thinking about what might happen. They all started on a run for solid ice, and they ran so fast that by the time a safe place was reached, they were quite warm. Several days later they came upon the friends they were seeking. The return to the ship was made more easily, although, while leaping a fissure, one unlucky man was thrown into the water. The rest pulled him out, none the worse for his cold bath.

The men on the Advance were delighted to see Kane and their lost comrades again. They rejoiced because every one was safe. They had also another reason for happiness, for the dreary night was passing away, the twilight was growing longer and brighter, and day—a day as long as the night—was coming. Soon after this Dr. Kane climbed to the top of a high hill to see the sun. It was a hard climb, but who would not have taken it for a first sight of the sun, after a night so long?

Each day the sun came and stayed longer, and with the sun came warmer weather. At last the sun rose so high in the heavens that it could not sink below the horizon at all. Then it shone, not only all day, but also all night.

VIII. THE ESKIMOS
1854

One morning in the spring, the deck watch ran into Dr. Kane’s cabin, crying, “People hallooing ashore!” Dr. Kane hurried to the deck, and through the gloom saw strange figures all around the harbor. Though it was April, the sun had not yet risen high in the sky, and in the twilight these odd figures seemed to be waving weapons.

Kane soon found that these people were the native Eskimos, and that they were tossing their arms wildly about, as if in great excitement. It is no wonder that they were excited, for they had never seen a white man before; yet they showed no fear, and one of them came close to Kane.

This Eskimo was named Metek. He stood a head taller than Dr. Kane, and was well built and strong, with a dark skin and black, piercing eyes.

Metek wore booted trousers of white bearskin. At the toe the boot ended with the claw of the animal. His coat, or jumper, was of white and blue fox fur, and a hood of the same fur was on his head. Around his neck was tied a dirty, greasy strip of deerskin. At first the white men thought this an ornament, Metek was so careful of it. Later, Dr. Kane found that it was tied closely around his neck to keep out the air.

When an Eskimo is fully dressed in his furs, and his deerskin is tied closely around the neck so that no air can enter, he is, as it were, in a bag of fur. The heat from his body keeps him warm. As long as he is incased in air-tight clothing, he is safe from the most severe weather.

All of the Eskimo party were invited to come aboard the Advance. They were large, strong men, and many of them could hunt the white bear and the walrus single-handed.

The Eskimos had with them fifty-six fine dogs, tied by deerskin traces to their sledges, which were made of bone and lashed together by leather strips. The runners were of polished ivory, from the tusks of the walrus, and glistened like steel. The Eskimos’ weapons were knives, which they carried in their boots, and lances, which were lashed on their sledges. They had no wood for the handles of these weapons, because no trees grow in this cold country. All of the handles were made of bone. You would have thought these natives very rude indeed, could you have seen how they behaved on Dr. Kane’s ship. They opened all the doors and rummaged around in the dark corners. They opened boxes, handling everything they saw, and putting all they could inside their jumpers and boots. In fact, they stole so much that Dr. Kane and his companions had to follow them continually and take the things out of their hands.

Eskimos and their Dogs.

At last the Eskimos became tired, and when the white men spread a buffalo skin on the floor near the fire, they threw themselves upon it. For supper each man had a large piece of raw walrus meat, from which he ate until he was tired. Then he went to sleep with the raw meat lying beside him. When he awoke he would seize his meat, eat more of it, then drop off to sleep again. Many slept in a sitting position, with their heads falling forward low on their breasts.

Dr. Kane made a treaty with these people. He bought all the walrus meat they had, giving them needles, beads, and old cask staves for it. They promised to bring Kane more food very soon, and also to lend him their dogs for his journey to the north. Then Metek said they must go, and it did not take them long to get ready. They harnessed the dogs to the sledges quickly, jumped on, cracked their long sealskin whips, and off they went, dashing over the ice at a speed of twenty miles an hour.

Some time later Metek again visited Rensselaer Harbor. This time Dr. Kane decided to go with him to his hut, and bring back a load of walrus meat. Kane and Metek traveled eight miles by sledge, with Metek’s excellent team of twelve wild Eskimo dogs. They rode very swiftly over the ice and snow, until at last Kane saw what looked like two dark spots on the pure white surface. These spots were the entrances to two Eskimo huts.

The Eskimo huts are built of large stones and are heavily sodded with turf or moss. They are shaped like half of an egg, and the entrance is a tunnel, through which the dwellers creep on their hands and knees. The door is a slab of slate or ice. At this time the huts were buried under the snow.

The natives rushed out to meet the travelers. They seemed delighted to see Kane, but the cold soon drove them inside again. Kane and Metek followed, crawling through a tunnel twelve feet in length, which led them into the hut of one room about six by fifteen feet. It was crowded with persons and served for all purposes. The women were cooking large pieces of walrus meat over small lamps, and men and children were lying about half-clothed, calling to one another with uncouth sounds. Others lay stretched upon the floor sleeping.

Interior of an Eskimo Hut.

From a drawing by Dr. Kane.

The thermometer outside registered 30° below zero. Inside the hut the temperature stood at 90°, nor was there any place for fresh air to enter. Poor Dr. Kane was obliged to take off all his fur clothes like the rest. Being very tired, he soon fell asleep, with an Eskimo boy for a pillow, and a little Eskimo baby under his arm.

Dr. Kane slept well. When he awoke he was offered some breakfast of boiled blubber. But, unluckily, he had seen the women cooking this, and they were so careless and dirty that he could not touch it. Instead he ate some pieces of frozen liver which he had brought with him. After breakfast he started on a walrus hunt.

IX. HUNTING IN THE ICY NORTH

The walrus has been called “the lion of the seas.” He is a huge animal, often eighteen feet in length. His head is square, and his cheeks and lips are covered with quills like bristles. From his face also extend the tusks, which on the larger animals are often thirty inches in length, and are prized as ivory. Altogether the walrus is a fierce-looking creature, with a tough hide and an ugly temper.

Like the seal, the walrus has to come to the surface of the water to breathe. So Dr. Kane and his Eskimo friends tried to find open water, or, at least, a place where the ice was thin. The walrus has a habit of bellowing as he lies on the ice, so that hunters are guided by this strange and terrible sound. Every few minutes the hunters took off their fur hoods to listen.

At last a large walrus rose through the ice, breaking it with a loud crash. Just as the animal rose out of the water, Dr. Kane and the Eskimos fell at full length, flat on the ice. As soon as the head of the walrus sank below the water again, the hunters jumped up and ran toward the hole, where they knew it would soon reappear. Every time the head of the animal was seen coming to the surface, the hunters would fall to the ice or hide themselves behind hummocks. In this way—now running, now hiding—they at last came near enough to the walrus to throw their harpoon into its body. Tied to the harpoon was a long rope of walrus hide, which uncoiled rapidly as an Eskimo ran away to solid ice with one end in his hand. When at a safe distance, he drove a spike of bone into the ice and fastened the end of the rope to it.

A Walrus Hunt.

Meanwhile, the powerful walrus had been struggling in the water, breaking up the ice around with a frightful noise. The Eskimos tightened the rope whenever they could, and again the walrus rose and threw his powerful body against the ice, breaking it away; now they had to work fast. First one, and then another, would seize the spike and run with it and the rope to a safe place. In this way they tired the animal out, and were able to give him a second wound.

During this battle the walrus roared hideously, using his tusks fiercely. He rushed toward the men and tore away great pieces of ice with his tusks, but though he received many lance wounds, he never once showed fear or made any attempt to run away.

When the great beast was dead, the Eskimos drew it up on the ice, the flesh was divided, and Dr. Kane packed his share upon his sledge. Then with his own four dogs he set out to return to the brig. He himself ran most of the way home, because the dogs had difficulty in drawing the heavy load. The crew were glad to see Kane once more, and glad, too, for what he had brought. During the winter fresh meat had been so scarce that many of the men became sick with the terrible disease which salt meat produces.

Toward spring Dr. Kane and Hans went hunting for seals. The seal comes up under the ice where it is thinnest, and scratches a hole through it with his sharp claws. Then he hollows out the snow above and makes an opening just large enough to allow the air to pass through; this is his breathing hole. It is so small that often one cannot see it, but the seal makes a blowing noise in breathing, and the hunters have learned to listen for this sound.

Kane and Hans often sat many hours on a block of ice beside a hole, waiting for a seal. When the seal appeared, one of them quickly thrust a spear into him and usually killed him. Then Hans would fasten a thong of walrus hide about the neck of the seal and drag him away, across the ice, to the ship. The meat of the seal is delicious, and great was the rejoicing among the men when a hunting expedition was successful.

When the sun begins to shine, the Eskimos hunt in a different way. They know that the seals like to creep out of the water and lie on the ice in the sunshine. The hunters take with them a sledge with a white screen fastened across it, which they push along in front of them, the screen hiding their bodies from view. A hole in the middle of the screen gives them a chance to see ahead, and provides an opening through which they can point a rifle. When the hunter sees in the distance the bodies of seals lying on the edge of the ice, he pushes his sledge toward them. So quietly and so steadily does he move, that the seals do not become alarmed. They lie still, watching the strange object, until the hunter is near enough to shoot.

A Herd of Seals.

When the summer comes it is still easier to hunt seals, for their eyes are blinded by the bright sun shining on the snow and ice, and the hunters can often walk within gunshot of them without using the screen.

Kane’s party had plenty of fresh seal meat to eat in the summer time. From the fat of each animal they obtained about five gallons of oil, which they used in their lamps. The fur made warm coats and trousers, while the hides were used for covering the boats and for whiplashes. Dr. Kane learned not to waste any part of the seal’s body; even the bones could be used for hooks and for the handles of tools.

There is another animal in the cold regions which hunters are eager to slay. This is the large, fierce polar bear. He has a flat head, a long neck, and smooth, white fur. He is always found near the sea, where he pursues seals both in the water and on ice, and preys upon fishes and birds.

Polar Bears.

Kane had many a chase over the ice after the bears. When a bear track is seen on the ice or snow, the dogs are immediately set upon the trail. The hunters follow the dogs quickly and silently. When they come within sight of the bear, the hunter releases the dogs from their harness, so that they may surround the bear and cut off his retreat. The dogs are carefully trained not to fight the bear, but to annoy him. They run around him in circles and prevent him from making his escape. The bear, when brought to bay, rises on his haunches, seizes the nearest dog in his teeth and tosses him to one side. The dogs instinctively relax their muscles in falling, and are seldom hurt; they usually rise immediately and return to the conflict. In this way the bear is detained until the hunters arrive.

Sometimes two hunters engage one animal, striking at him with their lances. Two men can easily kill a bear. As one man pretends to thrust his lance into the right side, the animal turns, and tries to protect himself with his fore paws. Then the other hunter gives him his death wound in the left side.

A man must have a great deal of skill and courage to be able to kill a polar bear single-handed. The single hunter provokes the bear to follow him by running as if trying to escape. The bear comes down on all four feet and prepares to pursue the man. With a rapid jump to the right, the hunter runs back to his first position. The bear turns in the same way to follow, when the hunter skillfully plunges his lance into the left side just below the shoulder. Even then the most expert hunter sometimes has to leave his spear in the animal’s side and run for his life, though a wound given in that spot is usually fatal. The Eskimos hold in highest esteem the hunter who can kill a bear single-handed.

The flesh of the bear is used for food, and the fur for clothing. Dr. Kane killed so many of these animals that he actually tired of the sport.

X. HOME AGAIN
1855

Dr. Kane and his companions passed two winters in the ice regions, living in a place farther north than any explorers had ever lived in before. Few Arctic explorers at that time had passed two winter seasons in the ice.

During the cold months the average temperature at Rensselaer harbor stood at -29°, during the summer months at 33°. When you consider that the summer was colder than the average winter in the vicinity of New York City, you will understand in part what were the severities of the climate that these men endured. The first winter, with the long, dark night, was dismal and gloomy, and there was a great deal of sickness and suffering among the men. When summer came, Kane hoped that his ship might be released from the ice. He waited a long time, but the ice did not thaw, and again winter came upon them suddenly. It was then too late for the men to escape to the south; so a second winter was passed on board the Advance. It was a sad time: many of the men died and many suffered terribly from disease and want of food.

When the spring of 1855 came, Kane again hoped that the ice around the brig would thaw and leave her free, for he was a good commander and could not bear to desert his ship. At last it became certain that the ice would not break away, and that the Advance could not be released that spring.

Then Kane decided to leave the ship and try to reach some settlement on the Greenland coast. The men promised to follow him and to obey him in all things. They knew the danger of the journey, but they also knew that a third winter on the Advance would probably cost them their lives. At this time the company had provisions enough to last them thirty-six days. These provisions were packed in small boats, ready to be dragged over the ice to open water. All the baggage and the articles necessary for use in cooking, eating, and sleeping, were at last ready to be placed on the sledges. Four of the men were so ill that they also had to be carried.

Each man in the party wore a woolen underdress and an Eskimo suit of fur. The men’s boots were of their own make, fashioned of canvas and lined with walrus hide. Inside of these boots each man wore another pair, made of carpeting which had been taken from the cabin of the Advance. To save themselves from becoming snow-blind, they wore large goggles, made by cutting a small slit in a piece of wood. Some had entire masks made of gutta percha.

It was May when Kane and his companions bade farewell to the brig and set out to cover the thirteen hundred miles of ice and water which lay between them and the place where they hoped to find a settlement. Yet they did not despair. The men who were able to work, dragged sledges and boats as far as the spot selected for a camp. Here they built a hut or erected a tent for the sick, making them as comfortable as they could. Then the workers went back over the same route and brought along the baggage, which had been left behind because they could not carry it all at one time. Thus they were obliged to travel back over each day’s march, and each following day to bring ahead the baggage that could not be carried the first time.

Traveling over the Ice Hummocks.

It was slow progress, but they kept on bravely. Often they were delayed by heavy snowstorms. As they could not drag the sledges through the deep drifts, they crept into their tents and slept, waiting for the storm to pass away. When it became possible for them to travel again, they started out, plowing their way through the snow, often so tired that they could hardly lift their feet. Sometimes they journeyed over thin ice, and many a man fell through and just escaped drowning.

It was near the middle of June when the party reached the shores of Baffin bay and began to launch the boats. The launching took a long time, for the surf beat high along the shore, and great masses of drifting ice were dashed about.

A severe gale arose, and the boats were nearly crushed in the ice, but a day later they succeeded in putting off from the shore. The Faith led the way, with Captain Kane aboard. Then followed the Red Eric, with most of the provisions, and last of all, the Hope. These three small boats were now embarked on a sea in which the hardiest whaling vessel might easily founder.

The party were all hopeful until provisions were exhausted; then the stoutest hearts failed. Even Kane despaired of ever reaching a settlement, but he was too brave a leader to allow his men to know this, and he encouraged them in every way possible. The men grew so weak from want of food that they were scarcely able to guide the boats.

The ice had knocked holes in each of the boats, and they had to be constantly baled to keep them from sinking. When everything looked darkest, one of the party saw a large seal floating on a piece of ice a short distance away. The half-starved men became so excited that they could hardly handle the oars. Every preparation was made to steal quietly toward the animal, which seemed to be asleep. Stockings were placed over the oars to deaden the sound, and a man named Peterson, who was thought to be the best shot of the party, was stationed in the bow with the rifle.

Silently the oarsmen guided the boat toward the piece of ice where the seal was lying. When they were almost within rifle shot, the seal lifted its head and saw the boat. The men were filled with despair as they saw the animal move toward the sea as if to plunge in. They all looked anxiously at Peterson, for their lives depended upon him. Poor Peterson was trembling with nervousness and weakness. His hands shook, but with a great effort he steadied himself and fired. Instantly the seal fell over on its side.

With shouts of delight the men pushed the boat to the ice, climbed upon it, and seized the animal. They were half mad with joy, and ran over the ice, crying and laughing, and waving their knives. Soon every man was eating raw blubber and licking his bloody fingers with relish. It was a savage meal, but starved men may be pardoned for being fierce.

Dragging the Boats over the Ice Floes.

Other seals were shot, and soon land was sighted. Kane directed the course of the boats southward along the coast, and a few nights later the men landed on the rocks for rest and sleep.

One morning Peterson, in great excitement, awoke Kane and told him that he had just seen a native in a kayak, searching among the rocks along the coast for eider down. Peterson knew him, and called to him: “Don’t you know me? I am Carl Peterson.” “No,” the Eskimo answered; “Peterson’s wife says he is dead.” Then he paddled away very fast as if in fear.

A few days later Kane and his companions were rowing along in their boats, when the mast of a vessel loomed in the distance before them. Peterson burst into sobs in his excitement, and in broken English and Danish exclaimed, “It’s the Upernavik oil boat!” Indeed, it was the vessel that goes once a year to Upernavik for a supply of blubber to make oil. Soon the vessel came near enough for the crews to talk to each other. You may be sure that Captain Kane’s party wanted to know what had happened during their long absence from home. The first question Kane asked was whether Franklin had been found.

The sailors told him that some traces of Franklin had been seen, but that it was now supposed that he and all of his companions had perished. This news made Kane very sad, for no one knew better than he what suffering Franklin and his men must have endured.

After learning all that these men could tell him, Kane journeyed on. After another halt for sleep, and another long pull at the oars, the men heard the welcome sound of barking dogs at the settlement.

The people of Upernavik were very kind to Kane and his men. They fitted up a loft for them to sleep in and shared their stores in a liberal manner.

Upernavik, Greenland.

A Danish vessel, starting for home early in September, took Kane and his party on board, promising to land them at the Shetland islands. On the 11th the vessel reached Disco, where another steamer was sighted in the distance. As she drew near Kane’s men saw with joy that she carried the American flag. The vessel proved to be a relief ship sent out by the United States to search for Captain Kane. The men, under command of Lieutenant Hartstene, greeted Kane and his companions with cheers and took them aboard. The Faith, which had done such excellent service, was taken on board also, and may now be seen at the Brooklyn navy yard. Though Kane had been compelled to leave the Advance in the ice, had lost his equipment, and had found no trace of Sir John Franklin, yet his expedition was by no means a failure. The geographical and scientific value of the knowledge which he gained during his stay in the icy North was very great.

Large tracts of country, before unknown, had been discovered and surveyed; the coast of Greenland had been explored as far north as latitude 81°, and the great glacier of Humboldt, with a sea face forty-five miles in length, discovered. New land to the north of Humboldt glacier was also discovered and named Washington Land.

A Greenlander in his Kayak.

A great channel to the northwest, free from ice, was supposed to lead into an open polar sea. The theory of an open polar sea, however, has not yet been proved.

Grinnell Land was discovered, and a survey made of the lands bordering on Smith sound. Valuable facts in relation to the tides, climates, and plants were compiled, and a study was made of the Eskimos of Smith sound. Kane received gold medals from the Queen of England, the Royal Geographical Society of London, the American Congress, and the New York Legislature.

But Kane’s health, never of the best, now began to fail. He went to England, but while there grew rapidly worse. He then sailed for Havana, hoping that the balmy climate would benefit him; but it was too late for him to recover his health, and he died at Havana, February 16, 1857.

XI. NORDENSKJÖLD AND THE NORTHEAST PASSAGE
1878–1879

The next man to journey into the frozen North was Adolf Erik Nordenskjöld.[2] He was born in Finland and educated at its university; but when he was about twenty-two years of age he fell under the suspicion of the Russian government and was compelled to leave his native country. Nordenskjöld then took up his residence in Sweden, and in 1858 began his career as an Arctic explorer by going on a journey to Spitzbergen. Five voyages in the Arctic regions followed, during one of which Nordenskjöld visited Greenland and made an inland journey over the ice.

[2] Pronounced Norʹ den sheld.

The interior of Greenland is believed to be one vast glacier, moving slowly to the sea. This movement causes the formation of deep chasms and clefts which are almost bottomless, and which prevent the traveler from making rapid progress.

Notwithstanding the dangers and hardships of the journey, Nordenskjöld advanced thirty miles over the glacier to a height of twenty-two hundred feet above the level of the sea. Upon returning to the coast, he visited Disco Fiord, and then went home to Sweden.

About the time that Nordenskjöld reached home, the Swedish government decided to send a sledge expedition from Spitzbergen to the North Pole. The nation which should first succeed in reaching the pole would gain the admiration of the civilized world, and Sweden hoped to win this glory.

The government began at once to look for a leader for this expedition, and very naturally selected Nordenskjöld, who had already made Arctic voyages and had thereby gained experience which made him a valuable commander.

The party was sent out in 1872, but did not succeed in advancing far toward the pole; yet the results of the journey were important, for the island of Spitzbergen was explored and a good deal of scientific information was acquired.

When Professor Nordenskjöld returned from Spitzbergen, he gave his attention to the northern coast of Asia. Some few whalers had sailed round Nova Zembla and entered the Kara sea, but the idea prevailed that this sea was always full of ice and dangerous to navigate. Nordenskjöld, however, made up his mind to explore the Kara sea and sail along the coast of Siberia to the mouth of the Yenisei river.

Supported by Mr. Oscar Dickson of Gothenburg, Nordenskjöld sailed on the Proven. He first visited Nova Zembla, and then, passing through Jugor strait, entered the Kara sea, which was entirely free from ice, and reached the Yenisei river without much difficulty. During this journey, he and his assistants made valuable collections of the products of the animal, mineral, and vegetable kingdoms. They succeeded in increasing the number of known insects to be found in Nova Zembla from seven to one hundred, and in the Kara sea, which had been thought barren, they found five hundred species of animal life. Upon reaching the mouth of the Yenisei river, Nordenskjöld sent the Proven home, while he and a few chosen companions proceeded up the river in a small boat.

It was summer time and the tundras were covered with a scanty vegetation. The tundras are the plains of Russia and Siberia which lie between the tree limit and the Arctic ocean. Most persons think of them as entirely barren; in some parts the soil is fertile and would be suitable for cultivation, if the climate permitted. In the winter they are frozen, but in the summer they afford pasture to herds of reindeer.

All Siberia is colder than other places in the same latitude. One of the best-known cold regions on the earth is in Siberia, in latitude 67° 54ʹ N. Here the average temperature of the winter months is often as low as -53°, while some days the thermometer falls to -75° and -85° F.

The tundras are inhabited by a tribe of Siberian Indians called Samoyeds. These natives travel about during the summer, hunting and fishing, setting up their skin tents wherever they find game plentiful. They usually have with them a large number of dogs, which they use for sledging in winter and drawing boats against the current during the summer. The dogs run alongshore and drag the boats after them up the river, very much as mules draw our canal boats. The Samoyeds are small of stature and very dirty. Their hair is matted and unkempt, and they wear clothes of skin, with sometimes a bright-colored cotton shirt over the skin blouse.

Samoyed Huts in Summer.