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diff --git a/39343.txt b/39343.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5c09ad0 --- /dev/null +++ b/39343.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15843 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, +Peril, & Heroism. Volume 3 by Frederick Whymper + + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no +restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under +the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or +online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license + + + +Title: The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism. Volume 3 + +Author: Frederick Whymper + +Release Date: April 1, 2012 [Ebook #39343] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: US-ASCII + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SEA: ITS STIRRING STORY OF ADVENTURE, PERIL, & HEROISM. VOLUME 3*** + + + + + + [Illustration: MORGAN'S ATTACK ON GIBRALTAR.] + + + + + + THE SEA + + _Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism._ + + + BY + + F. WHYMPER, + AUTHOR OF "TRAVELS IN ALASKA," ETC. + + +_ILLUSTRATED._ + + +* * * + + +CASSELL, PETTER, GALPIN & CO.: +_LONDON, PARIS & NEW YORK_. +[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED] + + + + + + CONTENTS. + + +CHAPTER I. +THE PIRATES AND BUCANIERS. PAGE +Who was the First Pirate?--The Society of Bucaniers--Home of the 1 +Freebooters--Rise of the Band--Impecunious Spanish Governors and +their Roguery--Great Capture of Spanish Treasure--An Unjust +Seizure, but no Redress--Esquemeling's Narrative--Voyage from +Havre--"Baptism" of the French Mariners--Other Ceremonies--At +Tortuga--Occupied and Reoccupied by French and Spanish--The French +West India Company--Esquemeling twice Sold as a Slave--He Joins the +Society of Pirates--Wild Boars and Savage Mastiffs--How the Wild +Dogs came to the Islands--Cruelty of the Planters--A Terrible Case +of Retribution--The Murderer of a Hundred Slaves--The First +Tortugan Pirate--Pierre le Grand--A Desperate Attack--Rich Prize +Taken--Rapid Spread of Piracy--How the Rovers Armed their +Ships--Regulations of their Voyages--"No Prey, no Pay"--The +richly-laden Vessels of New Spain--The Pearl Fisheries--An +Enterprising Pirate--Success and Failure--His Final Surrender +CHAPTER II. +THE PIRATES AND BUCANIERS (_continued_). +The Pirate Portuguez--Another Successful Boat Attack--Re-taken--A 13 +Gibbet or Life--Escape--Saved by Two Wine-jars--Helped by the +Pirates--Rich again--And suddenly Poor--A Dutch Pirate--From Sailor +to Captain--A Grand Capture--And a brutal Commander--No Surrender to +the Spaniards--Victory and Horse-flesh--The Rover's Prodigality--A +Stratagem--Worse than Ever--The Spaniards reduce their +Commerce--Lewis Scot--John Davis--Outrages at Nicaragua--Piratical +Gains--Lolonois the Bad and Brave--His First Wounds--And his Early +Successes--Six Hundred and Sixty Pirates--The Capture of Maracaibo +and Gibraltar--Division of the Gains--His Brutalities--And Deserved +Death +CHAPTER III. +THE PIRATES AND BUCANIERS (_continued_). +The Second Lolonois--Captain Henry Morgan--His first Successes--A 29 +Pirate Fleet of Seven Hundred Men--Attack on a Cuban Town--Morgan's +Form--Not to be Beaten--Puerto Bello--Morgan's Strategy--The Castle +taken--Extravagant Demands--The Governor of Panama Derided--Return +to Jamaica--Their Dissipation--A Fresh Start--Maracaibo re-taken--A +Chance for Guy Fawkes--Gibraltar again--Cruel Tortures inflicted on +Prisoners--Horrible Brutalities--Arrival of a Spanish +Fleet--Morgan's Insolence--Letter from the Spanish Admiral--"To the +Death!" +CHAPTER IV. +THE PIRATES AND BUCANIERS (_continued_). +Attack resolved--The Fire-ship--Morgan passes the Castle--Off for 40 +St. Catherine's--Given up by a Stratagem--St. Catherine's an Easy +Prey--Power of Fire--Thirty in Three Hundred Saved--The March on +Panama--A Pirate Band of Twelve Hundred--Sufferings on the Way--A +Pipe for Supper--Leather and Cold Water--Panama at Last--The First +Encounter--Resolute Fighting--Wild Bulls in Warfare--Victory for the +Pirates--Ruthless Destruction of Property--Cruelty to +Prisoners--Searching for Treasure--Dissatisfaction at the +Dividend--The Last of Morgan +CHAPTER V. +THE PIRATES AND BUCANIERS (_continued_). +The Exploits of Captain Sawkins--Three Ships Attacked by 51 +Canoes--Valiant Peralta--Explosion on Board--Miserable Sight on Two +Ships' Decks--Capture of an Empty Ship--Dissatisfaction among the +Pirates--Desertion of Many--Message from the Governor of Panama--The +Pirate Captain's Bravado--His Death--Fear inspired on all the +Southern Coasts--Preparations for Punishing and Hindering the +Bucaniers--Captain Kidd--His First Commission as Privateer--Turns +Pirate--The Mocha Fleet--Almost a Mutiny on Board--Kills his +Gunner--Capture of Rich Prizes--A Rich Ransom Derided--Grand +Dividend--Kidd Deserted by some of his Men--Proclamation of +Pardon--Kidd Excepted--Rushes on his Doom--Arrested in New +York--Trial at the Old Bailey--Pleadings--Execution with Six +Companions +CHAPTER VI. +THE PIRATES OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. +Difference between the Pirates of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth 59 +Centuries--Avery's brief Career--A Captain all at Sea--Capture of +his Ship--Madagascar a Rendezvous for Pirates--A Rich Prize--The +Great Mogul's Ship Taken--Immense Spoils--The Great Mogul's +Rage--Avery's Treachery--His Companions abandon their Evil Ways--The +Water-rat beaten by Land-rats--Avery dies in abject Poverty--A +Pirate Settlement on Madagascar--Roberts the Daring--Sails among a +Portuguese Fleet, and selects the best Vessel for his Prey--His +Brutal Destruction of Property--His End--Misson and +Caraccioli--Communistic Pirates--Their Captures--High Morality and +Robbery Combined--Their Fates +CHAPTER VII. +THE PIRATES OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY (_concluded_). +Mary Read, the Female Pirate--As Male Servant, Soldier, and 67 +Sailor--Her Bravery and Modesty--The Pirate Vane--No Honour among +Thieves--Delivered to Justice--The brief Career of Captain +Worley--The Biter Bit--A more than usually brutal Pirate--Captain +Low's Life of Villainy--His Wonderful Successes--An unfortunate +Black Burned to Death--Torture of a Portuguese Captain--Of Two +Portuguese Friars--The Results of Sympathy--Low's Cupidity defeated +by a Portuguese--Eleven Thousand Moidores dropped out of a Cabin +Window--An Unpunished Fiend +CHAPTER VIII. +PAUL JONES AND DE SOTO. +Paul Jones, the Privateer--A Story of his Boyhood--He Joins the 71 +American Revolutionists--Attempt to Burn the Town and Shipping of +Whitehaven--Foiled--His Appearance at St. Mary's--Capture of Lady +Selkirk's Family Plate--A Letter from Jones--Return of the Plate +several Years after--A Press-gang Impressed--Engagement with the +_Ranger_--A Privateer Squadron--The Fight off Scarborough--Brave +Captains Pearson and Piercy--Victory for the Privateers--Jones Dies +in abject Poverty--A Nineteenth Century Freebooter--Benito de +Soto--Mutiny on a Slave Ship--The Commander left Ashore and the +Mate Murdered--Encounters the _Morning Star_--A Ship without a +Gun--Terror of the Passengers--Order to spare no Lives--A Terrified +Steward--De Soto's Commands only partially observed, and the Ship +Saved--At Cadiz--Failure of the Pirate's Plans--Captured, Tried, and +Hanged at Gibraltar +CHAPTER IX. +OUR ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS. +Our Latest Arctic Expedition--Scene at Portsmouth--Departure of the 84 +_Alert_ and _Discovery_--Few Expeditions really ever pointed to +the Pole--What we know of the Regions--Admitted and Unadmitted +Records--Dutch Yarns--A Claimant at the Pole--Life with the +Esquimaux--A Solitary Journey--Northmen Colony--The Adventurer +kindly treated--Their King--Sun-worshippers--Believers in an Arctic +Hell--The Mastodon not Extinct--Domesticated Walruses--The whole +story a nonsensical _Canard_ +CHAPTER X. +CRUISE OF THE _PANDORA_. +The Arctic Expedition of 1875-6--Its Advocates--The _Alert_ and 91 +_Discovery_--Cruise of the _Pandora_--Curious Icebergs--The First +Bump with the Ice--Seal Meat as a Luxury--Ashore on a Floe--Coaling +at Ivigtut--The Kryolite Trade--Beauty of the Greenland Coast in +Summer--Festivities at Disco--The Belles of Greenland--A Novel +Ball-room--The dreaded Melville Bay--Scene of Ruin at +Northumberland House--Devastation of the Bears--An Arctic +Graveyard--Beset by the Ice--An Interesting Discovery--Furthest +Point Attained--Return Voyage--A Dreadful Night--The Phantom +Cliff--Home again +CHAPTER XI. +THE _ALERT_ AND _DISCOVERY_. +Nares' Expedition--Wonderful Passage through Baffin's Bay--Winter 99 +Quarters of the _Discovery_--Capital Game-bag--Continued Voyage of +the _Alert_--Highest Latitude ever attained by a Ship--"The Sea of +Ancient Ice"--Winter Quarters, Employments, and Amusements--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 Latitude ever reached--Sufferings of the +Men--Brave Deeds--The Voyage Home +CHAPTER XII. +THE FIRST ARCTIC VOYAGES. +Early History of Arctic Discovery--The Hardy Norseman--Accidental 115 +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 Passage--Maritime Enterprise of this Epoch--Voyage of +the _Dominus Vobiscum_--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 +CHAPTER XIII. +EARLY ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS. +Attempts at the North-West Passage--Sir Humphrey Gilbert's 123 +Advocacy--The One thing left undone--Frobisher's Expeditions--Arctic +"Diggins"--A Veritable Gold Excitement--Large Fleet +Despatched--Disaster and Disappointment--Voyages of John +Davis--Intercourse with the Natives--His Reports concerning Whales, +&c.--The Merchants Aroused--Opening of the Whaling +Trade--Maldonado's Claim to the Discovery of the North-West +Passage +CHAPTER XIV. +THE VOYAGES OF BARENTS. +North-Eastern Voyages of the Dutch--Barents reaches Nova 129 +Zembla--Adventures with the Polar Bears--Large Trading Expedition +organised--Failure of the Venture--Reward Offered for the Discovery +of a North-East Passage--Third Voyage--Dangers of the Ice--Forced to +Winter on Nova Zembla--Erection of a House--Intense +Cold--Philosophical Dutchmen--Attacks from Bears--Returning +Spring--The Vessel Abandoned--Preparations for a Start--The Company +Enfeebled and Down-hearted--Voyage of 1,700 miles in Two Small +Boats--Death of Barents and Adrianson--Perils of Arctic +Navigation--Enclosed in the Ice--Death of a Sailor--Meeting with +Russians--Arrival in Lapland--Home once more--Discovery of the +Barents Relics by Carlsen--Voyages of Adams, Weymouth, Hall, and +Knight +CHAPTER XV. +VOYAGES OF HUDSON AND HIS SUCCESSORS. +Henry Hudson's Voyages--Projected Passage over the Pole--Second 144 +Expedition--A Mermaid Sighted--Third Voyage in the Dutch +Service--Discovery of the Hudson River--Last Voyage--Discovery of +Hudson's Bay--Story of an Arctic Tragedy--Abacuk Pricket's +Narrative--Their Winter Stay--Rise of a Mutiny--Hudson and Nine +Companions Set Adrift and Left to Die--Retribution--Four of the +Mutineers Killed--Sufferings from Starvation--Death of a +Ringleader--Arrival in Ireland--Suspicious Circumstances--Baffin's +Voyages--Danish Expeditions to Greenland--Jens Munk and his +Unfortunate Companions--Sixty-one Persons Starved to Death--Voyage +of Three Survivors across the Atlantic--An unkingly King--Death of +Munk--Moxon's Dutch Beer-house Story--Wood and Flawes--Wreck of +Wood's Vessel--Knight's Fatal Expedition--Slow Starvation and Death +of the whole Company--The Middleton and Dobbs' Agitation--L20,000 +offered for the Discovery of the North-West Passage +CHAPTER XVI. +EXPEDITIONS IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. +Paucity of Arctic Expeditions in the Eighteenth Century--Phipps' 154 +Voyage--Walls of Ice--Ferocious Sea-horses--A Beautiful +Glacier--Cook's Voyage--A Fresh Attempt--Extension of the Government +Rewards--Cape Prince of Wales--Among the Tchuktchis--Icy +Cape--Baffled by the Ice--Russian Voyages--The two Unconquerable +Capes--Peter the Great--Behring's Voyages--Discovery of the +Straits--The Third Voyage--Scurvy and Shipwreck--Death of the +Commander--New Siberia--The Ivory Islands +CHAPTER XVII. +THE EXPEDITIONS OF ROSS AND PARRY. +Remarkable Change in the Greenland Ice-Fields--Immense Icebergs 162 +found out of their Latitudes--Ross the First's +Expedition--Festivities among the Danes--Interviews with +Esquimaux--Crimson Snow--A Mythical Discovery--The Croker +Mountains--Buchan's Expedition--Bursting of Icebergs--Effects of +Concussion--The Creation of an Iceberg--Spitzbergen in +Summer--Animated Nature--Millions of Birds--Refuge in an +Ice-pack--Parry and his Exploits--His Noble Character--First Arctic +Voyage--Sails over the Croker Mountains +CHAPTER XVIII. +PARRY'S EXPEDITIONS (_continued_). +Five Thousand Pounds Earned by Parry's Expedition--Winter 170 +Quarters--Theatre--An Arctic Newspaper--Effects of Intense Cold--The +Observatory Burned Down--Return to England--Parry's Second +Expedition--"Young" Ice--Winter at Lyon's Inlet--A Snow Village in +Winter and Spring--Break-up of the Ice--The Vessels in a Terrible +Position--Third Winter Quarters--Parry's Fourth Winter--The _Fury_ +Abandoned--The Old _Griper_ and her Noble Crew +CHAPTER XIX. +PARRY'S BOAT AND SLEDGE EXPEDITION. +Parry's Attempt at the Pole--Hecla Cove--Boat and Sledge 178 +Expedition--Mode of Travelling--Their Camps--Laborious +Efforts--Broken Ice--Midnight Dinners and Afternoon +Breakfasts--Labours of Sisyphus--Drifting Ice--Highest Latitude +Reached--Return Trip to the Ship--Parry's Subsequent +Career--Wrangell's Ice Journeys +CHAPTER XX. +THE MAGNETIC POLE--A LAND JOURNEY TO THE POLAR SEA. +Sir John Ross and the _Victory_--First Steam Vessel Employed in 186 +the Arctic--Discovery of the Magnetic Pole--The British Flag Waving +over it--Franklin and Richardson's Journeys to the Polar Sea--The +Coppermine River--Sea voyage in Birch-bark Canoes--Return +Journey--Terrible Sufferings--Starvation and Utter +Exhaustion--Deaths by the Way--A Brave Feat--Relieved at +Length--Journey to the Mouth of the Mackenzie--Fracas with the +Esquimaux--Peace Restored +CHAPTER XXI. +VOYAGE OF THE _TERROR_. +Back's effort to reach Repulse Bay--Nine Months in the Ice--The 196 +_Terror_ Nipped and Crushed--A General Disruption--Extreme +Peril--Increase of Pressure--Providential Delivery--Another Nip--Bow +of the Ship Split--Preparations for Emergencies--The Crew--An early +Break-up--Frozen Again--A Tremendous Rush of Ice--The Day of Release +CHAPTER XXII. +FRANKLIN'S LAST VOYAGE. +Sir John Franklin and his Career--His Last Expedition--Takes the 201 +Command as his Birthright--The last seen of his Ships--Alarm at +their Long Absence--The Search--A few Faint Traces Discovered by +Parry--A Fleet beset in the Ice--Efforts made to Communicate with +Franklin--Rockets and Balloons--M'Clure's Expedition--Discovery of +the North-West Passage--Strange Arrival of Lieutenant Pim over the +Ice--The _Investigator_ Abandoned--Crew Saved--Reward of L10,000 to +M'Clure and his Ship's Company +CHAPTER XXIII. +THE FRANKLIN SEARCH. +The Franklin Expedition--The First Relics--Dr. Rae's 215 +Discoveries--The Government Tired of the Search--Noble Lady +Franklin--The Voyage of the _Fox_--Beset in the Ice for Eight +Months--Enormous Icebergs--Seal and Bear Hunts--Unearthly Noises +under the Floes--Guy Fawkes in the Arctic--The Fiftieth Seal Shot--A +Funeral--A Merry Christmas--New Year's Celebration--Winter +Gales--Their Miraculous Escape--Experience of a Whaler--Breakfast +and Ship Lost together +CHAPTER XXIV. +THE LAST TRACES. +M'Clintock's Summer Explorations--The Second Winter--Sledging 223 +Parties--Snow Huts--Near the Magnetic Pole--Meeting with +Esquimaux--Franklin Relics Obtained--Objection of Esquimaux to +Speak of the Dead--Hobson's Discovery of the Franklin Records--Fate +of the _Erebus_ and _Terror_--Large Quantity of Relics Purchased +from the Natives--The Skeleton on the Beach--Fate of Crozier's +Party--"As they Fell they Died"--The Record at Point Victory--Boat +with Human Remains Discovered--The Wrecks never Seen--Return of the +_Fox_ +CHAPTER XXV. +KANE'S MEMORABLE EXPEDITION. +Dr. Kane's Expedition--His short but eventful Career--Departure of 232 +the _Advance_--Dangers of the Voyage--Grinding Ice--Among the +Bergs--A Close Shave--Nippings--The Brig towed from the +Ice-beach--Smith's Sound--Rensselaer Harbour--Winter Quarters--Return +of an Exploring Party--Fearful Sufferings--To the +Rescue--Saved--Curious Effects of Intense Cold +CHAPTER XXVI. +KANE'S EXPEDITION (_continued_). +Arrival of Esquimaux at the Brig--A Treaty Concluded--Hospitality 238 +on Board--Arctic Appetites--Sledge Journeys--A Break-down--Morton's +Trip--The Open Sea--The Brig hopelessly Beset--A Council +Called--Eight Men stand by the _Advance_--Departure of the +Rest--Their Return--Terrible Sufferings--A Characteristic Entry--Raw +Meat for Food--Fruitless Journeys for Fresh Meat--A Scurvied +Crew--Starving Esquimaux--Attempted Desertion--A Deserter brought +back from the Esquimaux Settlements +CHAPTER XXVII. +KANE'S EXPEDITION (_concluded_). +A Sad Entry--Farewell to the Brig--Departure for the South--Death of 247 +Ohlsen--Difficult Travelling--The Open Water--The Esquimaux of +Etah--A Terrible Gale--Among the broken Floes--A Greenland Oasis--The +Ice Cliff--Eggs by the Hundred--An Anxious Moment--A Savage +Feast--The First Sign of Civilisation--Return to the +Settlements--Home once more +CHAPTER XXVIII. +HAYES' EXPEDITION--SWEDISH EXPEDITIONS. +Voyage of the _United States_--High Latitude attained--In Winter 255 +Quarters--Hardships of the Voyage--The dreary Arctic Landscape--Open +Water once more--1,300 Miles of Ice traversed--Swedish +Expeditions--Perilous Position of the _Sofia_ +CHAPTER XXIX. +THE SECOND GERMAN EXPEDITION. +The First German Expedition--Preparations for a Second--Building of 258 +the _Germania_--The _Hansa_--The Emperor William's Interest in the +Voyage--The Scientific Corps--Departure from Bremerhaven--Neptune at +the Arctic Circle--The Vessels Separated among the Ice--Sport with +Polar Bears--Wedged in by the Grinding Ice--Preparations to Winter +on the Floe--The _Hansa_ lifted Seventeen Feet out of the Water--A +Doomed Vessel--Wreck of the _Hansa_ +CHAPTER XXX. +ON AN ICE-RAFT. +A Floating Ice-Raft--The Settlement--Christmas in a New 263 +Position--Terrible Storms--Commotion under the Ice--The Floe breaks +up--House Ruined--Water on the Floe--A Spectre Iceberg--Fresh Dangers +and Deliverances--Drifted 1,100 Miles--Resolution to Leave the +Ice--Open Water--Ice again--Tedious Progress--Reach Illuidlek +Island--Welcome at the Greenland Settlements--Home in +Germany--Voyage of the _Germania_--Discovery of Coal--A New +Inlet--Home to Bremen +CHAPTER XXXI. +HALL'S EXPEDITION--THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EXPEDITION--NORDENSKJOeLD. +Captain Hall's Expedition--High Latitude Attained--Open Water 268 +Seen--Death of Hall--The _Polaris_ Beset--An Abandoned Party--Six +Months on a Floating Ice-floe--Rescue--Loss of the +Steamer--Investigation at Washington--The Austro-Hungarian +Expedition--The _Tegethoff_ hopelessly Beset in the Ice--Two Long +Weary Years--Perils from the Ice Pressure--Ramparts raised round +the Ship--The Polar Night--Loss of a Coal-hut--Attempts to Escape--A +Grand Discovery--Franz Josef Land--Sledging Parties--Gigantic +Glaciers--The Steamer Abandoned--Boat and Sledge Journey to the Bay +of Downs--Prof. Nordenskjoeld's Voyage--The North-East Passage an +accomplished Fact +CHAPTER XXXII. +THE ANTARCTIC REGIONS. +Has the South Pole been Neglected?--The Antarctic even more 276 +Inhospitable than the Arctic--The Antarctic Summer--Search for the +_Terra Australis_--Early Explorers--Captain Cook's +Discoveries--Watering at Icebergs--The Southern Thule--Smith's +Report--Weddell's Voyage--Dead Whale Mistaken for an +Island--D'Urville's Adelie Land--Wilkes Land--Voyages of James +Ross--High Land Discovered--Deep Beds of Guano--Antarctic +Volcanoes--Mounts Erebus and Terror--Victoria Land +CHAPTER XXXIII. +DECISIVE VOYAGES IN HISTORY.--DIAZ--COLUMBUS. +An Important Epoch in the History of Discovery--King John II. of 281 +Portugal and his Enterprises--Diaz the Bold--Ventures out to +Sea--Rounds the Cape--Ignorant of the Fact--The Cape of Storms--King +John re-christens it--Columbus and the Narrative of his Son--His +Visit to Portugal--Marriage--An un-royal Trick--Sends his Brother to +England--His Misfortune--Columbus in Spain--A prejudiced and +ignorant Report--The One Sensible Ecclesiastic--Again Repulsed--A +Friend at Court--Queen Isabella Won to the Cause--Departure of the +Expedition--Out in the Broad Atlantic--Murmurs of the Crews--Signs +of Land--Disappointment--Latent Mutiny--Land at Last--Discovery of +St. Salvador--Cuba--Natives Smoking the Weed--Utopia in +Hispaniola--Columbus Wrecked--Gold Obtained--First Spanish +Settlement--Homeward Voyage--Storms and Vows--Arrival in +Europe--Triumphant Reception at Barcelona +CHAPTER XXXIV. +DECISIVE VOYAGES IN HISTORY.--COLUMBUS--VASCO DA GAMA. +Columbus and his Enemies--Unsuitable Settlers--Outrageous Conduct 294 +of the Colonists--The Second Expedition of Columbus--Discovery of +Jamaica--Dangerous Illness of Columbus--Return to Spain--The +Excitement over--Difficulty of Starting a New Expedition--Third +Voyage--Columbus reaches the Mainland of America--Insurrection in +Hispaniola--Machinations at Home--Columbus brought to Spain in +Chains--Indignation in Spain--His Fourth Voyage--Ferdinand's +Ingratitude--Death of the Great Navigator--Estimate of his +Character--Vasco da Gama--First Voyage--The Cape reached--First Sight +of India--At Calicut--Friendship of the King of Cananore--Great +Profits of the Expedition--Second Voyage--Vengeance on the Ruler of +Calicut--His Brutality--Subsequent History of Da Gama +CHAPTER XXXV. +THE COMPANIONS AND FOLLOWERS OF COLUMBUS. +The Era of Spanish Discovery--Reasons for its Rapid 300 +Development--Ojeda's First Voyage--Fighting the Caribs--Indians and +Cannon--Pinzon's Discovery of Brazil--A Rough Reception--Bastides +the Humane--A New Calamity--Ships leaking like Sieves--Economical +Generosity of King Ferdinand--Ojeda's Second Voyage--The disputed +Strong-Box--Ojeda Entrapped--Swimming in Irons--Condemned +Abroad--Acquitted at Home--A Triumphant Client, but a Ruined Man--A +Third Voyage--Worthy La Cosa--Rival Commanders--A Foolish Challenge +CHAPTER XXXVI. +THE COMPANIONS AND FOLLOWERS OF COLUMBUS (_concluded_). +Nicuesa and the Duns of San Domingo--Indian Contempt for a Royal 308 +Manifesto--La Cosa's Advice Disregarded--Ojeda's Impetuosity--A +Desperate Fight--Seventy Spaniards Killed--La Cosa's Untimely +End--Ojeda found Exhausted in the Woods--A Rival's Noble +Conduct--Avenged on the Indians--A New Settlement--Ojeda's Charm +fails--A Desperate Remedy--In Search of Provisions--Wrecked on +Cuba--A Toilsome March--Kindly Natives--Ojeda's Vow Redeemed--Dies in +Abject Poverty--The Bachelor Enciso and Balboa--Smuggled on Board +in a Tub--Leon and his Search for the Fountain of Youth--Discovery +of Florida--Magellan--Snubbed at Home--Warmly Seconded by the +Spanish Emperor--His Resolute Character--Discovery of the +Straits--His Death--The First Voyage round the World--Captain Cook's +Discoveries--His Tragical Death--Vancouver's Island + + + + + + LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + + + PAGE +Morgan's Attack on Gibraltar _Frontispiece_ +Pirate Vessels (17th century) 4 +Pierre Le Grand taking the Spanish Vessel 8 +Pierre Francois attacking the Vice-Admiral 9 +Escape of Portuguez 13 +Brasiliano's Escape _To face page_ 15 +Map of Central America and the West India Islands 17 +The Struggle with the Pirates at Gibraltar 21 +Lolonois' Fight with the Spaniards 25 +On the Coast of Costa Rica 32 +Blowing up of the French Pirate Ship 36 +Morgan's Attack on Maracaibo 40 +Captain Henry Morgan 41 +Captain Morgan's Escape from Maracaibo 44 +Burning of Panama 48 +View of Panama 52 +Avery chasing the Great Mogul's Ship 61 +Death of "Captain" Roberts 65 +The Female Pirates 68 +Paul Jones and Lady Selkirk 73 +Paul Jones 77 +De Soto chasing the _Morning Star_ 80 +Cadiz 81 +Captain Nares conducting H.R.H. The Prince of Wales +over the _Alert_ at Portsmouth +Departure of the _Alert_ and _Discovery_ from _To face page_ 85 +Portsmouth +Sir George Nares 85 +Cape Desolation 88 +Map of the North Polar Regions 89 +The Arctic Yacht _Pandora_ +The Arctic Store Ship _Valorous_ +Disco 93 +Entrance to the Music Hall, Disco 96 +Explorers Crossing Hummocks _To face page_ 97 +The Monument to Bellot 97 +Winter Quarters of the _Discovery_ 101 +Winter Quarters of the _Alert_ 104 +An _Alert_ Sledge Party _en route_ to the _Discovery_ 108 +Sunshine in the Polar Regions 109 +A Sledge Party starting for Cape Joseph Henry 112 +Arrival of Lieutenant Parr on board the _Alert_ 113 +Sebastian Cabot 120 +Frobisher passing Greenwich 124 +An Arctic Scene: Floating Ice 125 +Martin Frobisher 128 +An Iceberg breaking up _To face page_ 129 +Nova Zembla, showing the route taken by Barents and 131 +his Followers +Mock Suns, seen on 4th June, 1596, by Barents and his 132 +Followers +Transporting Wood on Sledges for Building the House 133 +Attacked by Bears 136 +Repairing the Boat 137 +Unloading, Dragging, and Carrying Boats and Goods 140 +View on the Hudson 144 +The Remnants of Knight's Expedition 145 +In Smith's Sound 149 +Mock Suns 152 +Encounter with Sea-horses 156 +Tchuktchi Indians Building a Hut 157 +Sir John Ross 161 +Fiskernaes, South Greenland 164 +The _Dorothea_ and the _Trent_ in the Ice 165 +Magdalena Bay, Spitzbergen _To face page_ 166 +The North Cape 169 +Esquimaux of West Greenland 172 +An Esquimaux Snow Village 173 +Captain Lyon and his Crew offering Prayers for their 177 +Preservation +The Edge of the Pack 180 +Dr. (afterwards Sir) John Richardson 185 +Fort Enterprise 188 +Richardson's Adventure with White Wolves 189 +Perrault Dividing his Little Store 192 +Esquimaux Kaiyacks and Boat 196 +The _Terror_ Nipped in the Ice 197 +Back Addressing the Seamen 201 +Sir John Franklin 205 +The _Erebus_ and the _Terror_ among Icebergs _To face page_ 207 +Cutting Ice Docks 208 +Ice Mountains 209 +Captain Robert Le Mesurier M'Clure 213 +The Sledge Party of the _Resolute_, under Lieut. +Bedford Pim, Finding the _Investigator_ +Back's Great Fish River 217 +Esquimaux Catching Seals 220 +A Natural Arch in the Arctic Regions 221 +Captain (afterwards Sir Leopold) M'Clintock 224 +An Esquimaux Sledge and Team of Dogs _To face page_ 225 +Cape York, Melville Bay 228 +Relics brought back by the Franklin Search Expedition 229 +Whale Sound, Greenland 233 +Dr. Kane 236 +Morton Discovers the Open Sea 241 +Esquimaux Snow Houses 244 +Kalutunah 245 +Cape Alexander, Greenland 249 +The Home of the Eider Duck 252 +Godhavn, a Danish Settlement in Disco Island, +Greenland +The Schooner, _United States_, at Port Foulke 256 +The House of the _Hansa_ on the Ice _To face page_ 260 +A Young Bear chained to an Anchor 261 +The Sun at Midnight in the Arctic Regions 264 +The Funeral of Captain Hall 269 +Start of Lieutenant Payer's Sledge Expedition 272 +Fall of the Sledge into a Crevasse 273 +View of Cape Horn 277 +Lisbon in the 16th Century 281 +Bartholomew Diaz on his Voyage to the Cape 284 +Christopher Columbus 285 +Caravels of Columbus 288 +Columbus's First Sight of Land 289 +Discovery of the Isle of Spain 292 +Reception of Columbus by Ferdinand and Isabella _To face page_ 293 +Ancient Gold-washing at St. Domingo 293 +Columbus under Arrest 297 +View of Calicut in the 15th Century 300 +Vasco da Gama 301 +Ojeda's Attempted Escape 305 +The Death of La Cosa 309 +Arrival of Ojeda and his Followers at the Indian 312 +Village +Ferdinand de Magellan 317 + + + + + + + [Illustration] + + + THE SEA. + + + + + + CHAPTER I. + + + THE PIRATES AND BUCANIERS. + + + Who was the First Pirate?--The Society of Bucaniers--Home of the + Freebooters--Rise of the Band--Impecunious Spanish Governors and + their Roguery--Great Capture of Spanish Treasure--An Unjust Seizure, + but no Redress--Esquemeling's Narrative--Voyage from Havre--"Baptism" + of the French Mariners--Other Ceremonies--At Tortuga--Occupied and + re-occupied by French and Spanish--The French West India + Company--Esquemeling twice sold as a Slave--He joins the Society of + Pirates--Wild Boars and Savage Mastiffs--How the Wild Dogs came to + the Islands--Cruelty of the Planters--A Terrible Case of + Retribution--The Murderer of a Hundred Slaves--The First Tortugan + Pirate--Pierre le Grand--A Desperate Attack--Rich Prize taken--Rapid + Spread of Piracy--How the Rovers armed their Ships--Regulations of + their Voyages--"No Prey, no Pay"--The richly-laden Vessels of New + Spain--The Pearl Fisheries--An Enterprising Pirate--Success and + Failure--His Final Surrender. + + +Who was the first pirate is a question easier to ask than to answer. We +may be sure, however, that not long after navigation had become a +recognised art the opportunities for robbery on the sea produced a breed +of "water-rats," who infested the ocean, and were the terror of the honest +shipowner. That "hardy Norseman," of whom we sing so pleasantly, was in +very truth nothing better; while some of the great names among the +mariners of the middle ages are, practically, those of pirates, whose +occupation bore the stamp of semi-legality from royal sanction, directly +given or implied. + +But the society of pirates, of which the following chapters will furnish +some account, was, _sui generis_, the greatest on record, and was +formidable even to the great Powers of Europe. "It preserved itself +distinct from all the more regular and civilised classes of mankind, in +defiance of the laws and constitutions by which other nations and +societies were governed. In their history we find a perpetual mixture of +justice and cruelty, fair retaliation and brutal revenge, of rebellion and +subordination, of wise laws and desperate passions, such as no other +confederacy ever exhibited, and which kept them together as a body, until +the loss of their bravest and best leaders, who could not be replaced, +obliged them to return to the more peaceable arts of life, and again to +mix with nations governed by law and discipline."(1) The origin of the +term _bucaneer_, or _bucanier_, is not to be very easily traced; it has an +allusion to those who dried the flesh of wild cattle and fish after the +manner of the Indians, and was first applied to the French settlers of St. +Domingo, who had at first no other employment than that of hunting bulls +or wild boars, in order to sell their hides or flesh. Many of them +subsequently became pirates, and the term was permanently applied to them. + +The West Indies, for good reason, were long the especial home of the +freebooters. They abounded--as indeed they still abound--in little +uninhabited islands and "keys," _i.e._, low sandy islands, appearing a +little distance above the surface of the water, with only a few bushes or +grass upon them. These islands have any quantity of harbours, convenient +for cleansing and provisioning vessels. Water and sea fowl, turtle and +turtle eggs, shell and other fish, were abundant. The pirates would, +provided they had plenty of strong liquor, want for nothing as regards +indulgence; and in these secluded nooks they often held high revel, whilst +many of them became the hiding-places for their ill-gotten treasures. From +them they could dart out on the richly-laden ships of Spain, France, or +England; while men-of-war found it difficult to pursue them among the +archipelago of islands, sand-banks, and shallows. + +The rise of these rovers, or at least the great increase of them in the +West Indies, was very much due to the impecunious Spanish governors--hungry +courtiers, who would stick at no peculation or dishonesty that could +enrich them. They granted commissions--practically letters of marque--to +great numbers of vessels of war, on pretence of preventing interlopers +from interfering with their trade, with orders to seize all ships and +vessels whatsoever within five leagues of their coasts. If the Spanish +captains exceeded their privileges, the victims had an opportunity of +redress in the Spanish courts, but generally found, to their sorrow, that +delays and costs swallowed up anything they might recover. The frequent +losses sustained by English merchants during the latter half of the +seventeenth century led to serious reprisals in after years; a prominent +example occurred in 1716. + +About two years previously, the Spanish galleons, or plate fleet, had been +cast away in the Gulf of Florida, and several vessels from the Havannah +(Cuba) had been at work with diving apparatus to fish up the lost +treasure. The Spaniards had recovered some millions of dollars, and had +carried it to the Havannah; but they had some 350,000 pieces on the spot, +and were daily taking out more. In the meantime, two ships and three +sloops, fitted out from Jamaica, Barbadoes, &c., under Captain Henry +Jennings, sailed to the gulf, and found the Spaniards then upon the wreck, +the silver before mentioned being deposited on shore in a storehouse, +under a guard. The rovers surprised the place, landing 300 men, and seized +the treasure, which they carried off to Jamaica. On their way they fell in +with a richly-laden Spanish ship, bound for the Havannah, having on board +bales of cochineal, casks of indigo, 60,000 pieces of silver, and other +valuable cargo, "which," says the chronicler, "their hand being in, they +took," and having rifled the vessel, let her go. They went away to Jamaica +with their booty, and were followed in view of the port by the Spaniards, +who, having seen them thither, went back to the Governor of the Havannah +with their complaints. He immediately sent a vessel to the Governor of +Jamaica, making representations as regards this robbery, and claiming the +goods. As it was in a time of peace, and contrary to all justice and right +that this piracy had been committed, the Governor of Jamaica could do +nothing else but order their punishment. They, however, escaped to sea +again, but not until they had disposed of their cargo to good advantage; +and being thus made desperate, they turned pirates, robbing not the +Spaniards only, but the vessels of any nation they met. They were joined +by other desperadoes, notably by a gang of logwood cutters from the Bays +of Campechy and Honduras. The Spaniards had attacked them and carried off +the logwood, but had humanely given them three sloops to carry them home. +But the men thought they could do better in piracy, and joined the +before-mentioned rovers. + +And now to one of the historians, Joseph Esquemeling, whose record is +incorporated in the work on which these pages are founded, and who was +afterwards in company with such noted pirates as Lolonois, Pierre le +Grand, Roche Brasiliano, and others. He says:-- + +"Not to detain the reader any longer with these particulars, I shall +proceed to give an account of our voyage from Havre de Grace in France, +from whence we set sail, in a ship called _St. John_, May the 2nd, 1666. +Our vessel was equipped with twenty-eight guns, twenty marines, and two +hundred and twenty passengers, including those whom the Company sent as +free passengers. Soon after we came to an anchor under the Cape of +Barfleur, there to join seven other ships of the same West India Company +which were to come from Dieppe, under convoy of a man-of-war, mounted with +thirty-seven guns and two hundred and fifty men. Of these ships two were +bound for Senegal, five for the Caribbee Islands, and ours for Tortuga. +Here gathered to us about twenty sail of other ships, bound for +Newfoundland, with some Dutch vessels going for Nantz, Rochelle, and St. +Martin's, so that in all we made thirty sail. Here we put ourselves in a +posture of defence, having notice that four English frigates, of sixty +guns each, waited for us near Alderney. Our admiral, the Chevalier +Sourdis, having given necessary orders, we sailed thence with a favourable +gale, and some mists arising, totally impeded the English frigates from +discovering our fleet. We steered our course as near as we could to the +coast of France, for fear of the enemy. As we sailed along, we met a +vessel of Ostend, who complained to our admiral that a French privateer +had robbed him that very morning, whereupon we endeavoured to pursue the +said pirate; but our labour was in vain, not being able to overtake him. + + [Illustration: PIRATE VESSELS (17TH CENTURY).] + +"Our fleet, as we sailed, caused no small fears and alarms to the +inhabitants of the coasts of France, these judging us to be English, and +that we sought some convenient place for landing. To allay their fright we +hung out our colours, but they would not trust us. After this we came to +an anchor in the Bay of Conquet, in Brittany, near Ushant, there to take +in water. Having stored ourselves with fresh provisions here, we +prosecuted our voyage, designing to pass by the Pas of Fontenau, and not +expose ourselves to the Sorlingues, fearing the English that were cruising +thereabouts. The river Pas is of a current very strong and rapid, which, +rolling over many rocks, disgorges itself into the sea on the coast of +France, in 48 deg. 10 min. latitude, so that this passage is very +dangerous, all the rocks as yet not being thoroughly known." + +Esquemeling mentions the ceremony which, at this passage and some other +places, was used by mariners, and by them called "baptism." The master's +mate clothed himself with a ridiculous sort of garment which reached to +his feet, and put on his head a comically constructed cap, made very +burlesque; in his right hand he had a naked wooden sword, and in his left +a pot full of ink. His face was horribly blacked with soot, and his neck +adorned with a collar of many little pieces of wood. Thus apparelled he +ordered every one to be called who had never passed through that dangerous +place before, and then, causing them to kneel down, he made the sign of +the cross on their forehead with ink, and gave every one a stroke on the +shoulder with his wooden sword. Meanwhile, the standers-by threw a bucket +of water over each man's head, and so ended the ceremony. But that done, +each of the baptised was obliged to give a bottle of brandy, placing it +near the mainmast, without speaking a word. If the vessel never passed +that way before, the captain was compelled to distribute some wine amongst +the mariners and passengers; other gifts, which the newly baptised +frequently offered, were divided among the old seamen, and of them they +made a banquet among themselves. + +"The Hollanders likewise, not only at this passage, but also at the rocks +called Berlingues, nigh the coast of Portugal, in 39 deg. 40 min. (being a +passage very dangerous, especially by night, when in the dark the rocks +are not distinguishable, the land being very high), they use some such +ceremony; but their manner of baptising is very different to that of the +French, for he that is to be baptised is fastened and hoisted up thrice at +the mainyard's end, as if he were a criminal. If he be hoisted the fourth +time, in the name of the Prince of Orange or of the captain of the vessel, +his honour is more than ordinary. Thus every one is dipped several times +in the main ocean, but he that is dipped first has the honour of being +saluted with a gun. Such as are not willing to fall must pay twelve pence +for ransom; if he be an officer, two shillings; and if a passenger, at +their own pleasure. If the ship never passed that way before, the captain +is to give a small rundlet of wine, which, if he denies, the mariners may +cut off the stern of the vessel. All the profit accruing by this ceremony +is kept by the master's mate, who, after reaching their port, usually laid +it out in wine, which was drunk amongst the ancient seamen. Some say that +this ceremony was instituted by the Emperor Charles V., though it is not +amongst his laws." After recording some similar ceremonies, we find +Esquemeling at Tortuga, their desired port, where they landed the goods +belonging to the West India Company. + +Our chronicler, after describing the abundant fruits and fine trees, the +flocks of wild pigeons and abundance of turtle--from which the island +derives its name, being supposed to resemble one in the general outline of +its coasts--speaks of the multitudes of large crabs, both of land and sea. +"These," naively says the narrator, "are good to feed servants and slaves, +whose palates they please, but are very hurtful to the sight; besides, +being eaten too often they cause great giddiness in the head, with much +weakness of the brain, so that very frequently they are deprived of sight +for a quarter of an hour." + +The French, having settled on the Isle of St. Christopher, planted there +some large trees, of which they built long boats, and in which they +proceeded to discover neighbouring islands. They first reached Hispaniola, +where they landed, and found large quantities of cattle, horses, and wild +boars, but did not stop there, as there was already a considerable colony +of Spaniards. They proceeded to the neighbouring island of Tortuga, which +they seized without difficulty, there being not more than ten or twelve +Spaniards in possession. The French were afterwards obliged to abandon it. +In 1664 it was occupied by the West India Company of France, who sent +thither Monsieur Ogeron as governor. The company expected considerable +trade, and even went so far as to give a large amount of trust both to the +pirates and to traders. This, as might be expected, did not answer, and +they had to resort to force of arms in order to collect some of their +payments. To make a long story short, the Company eventually recalled +their factors, and sold the servants as slaves. On this occasion +Esquemeling was also sold, being a servant of the said Company, and +received very hard usage from his first master, the lieutenant-general of +the island. Fortunately for himself, he fell sick, and his master, fearing +to lose him altogether, sold him cheaply to a surgeon, who treated him +humanely, and he soon recovered his health. After having served him one +year, he was offered his liberty on a promise to pay a ransom when he was +in a position to do so. "Being," says the chronicler, "now at liberty, +though like Adam when he was just created--that is, naked and destitute of +all human necessaries--not knowing how to get my living, I determined to +enter into the order of pirates or robbers at sea. Into this society I was +received with common consent, both of the superior and vulgar sort, where +I continued till 1672. Having assisted them in all their designs and +attempts, and served them in many notable exploits, I returned to my own +native country." + +After some very graphic descriptions of the alligators and other animals, +he gives some interesting particulars respecting the numerous wild +mastiffs and boars of the island, the former of which were introduced by +the bucaniers. He says:-- + +"The Governor of Tortuga, Monsieur Ogeron, finding that the wild dogs +killed so many of the wild boars that the hunters of that island had much +ado to find any, fearing lest that common sustenance of the island should +fail, sent for a great quantity of poison from France to destroy the wild +mastiffs. This was done anno 1668, by commanding horses to be killed and +empoisoned, and laid open at certain places where the wild dogs used to +resort. This being continued for six months, there were killed an +incredible number; and yet all this could not exterminate and destroy the +race, or scarce diminish them, their number appearing almost as large as +before. These wild dogs are easily tamed among men, even as tame as +ordinary house-dogs. The hunters of those parts, whenever they find a wild +bitch with whelps, commonly take away the puppies and bring them home, +which, being grown up, they hunt much better than other dogs. + +"But here the curious reader may perhaps inquire how so many wild dogs +came here. The occasion was, the Spaniards having possessed these isles, +found them peopled with Indians--a barbarous people, sensual and brutish, +hating all labour, and only inclined to killing and making war against +their neighbours: not out of ambition, but only because they agreed not +with themselves in some common terms of language; and perceiving the +dominion of the Spaniards laid great restrictions upon their lazy and +brutish customs, they conceived an irreconcilable hatred against them, but +especially because they saw them take possession of their kingdoms and +dominions. Hereupon they made against them all the resistance they could, +opposing everywhere their designs to the utmost; and the Spaniards, +finding themselves cruelly hated by the Indians, and nowhere secure from +their treacheries, resolved to extirpate and ruin them, since they could +neither tame them by civility nor conquer them with the sword. But the +Indians--it being their custom to make the woods their chief places of +defence--at present made these their refuge whenever they fled from the +Spaniards. Hereupon, those first conquerors of the new world made use of +dogs to range and search the intricatest thickets of woods and forests for +those their implacable and unconquerable enemies; thus they forced them to +leave their old refuge, and submit to the sword, seeing no milder usage +would do it; hereupon they killed some of them, and, quartering their +bodies, placed them in the highways, that others might take warning from +such a punishment. But this severity proved of ill consequence, for +instead of frighting them and reducing them to civility, they conceived +such horror of the Spaniards that they resolved to detest and fly their +sight for ever; hence the greatest part died in caves and subterraneous +places of the woods and mountains, in which places I myself have often +seen great numbers of human bones. The Spaniards, finding no more Indians +to appear about the woods, turned away a great number of dogs they had in +their houses, and they, finding no masters to keep them, betook themselves +to the woods and fields to hunt for food to preserve their lives; thus by +degrees they became unacquainted with houses, and grew wild. This is the +truest account I can give of the multitudes of wild dogs in these parts. + +"But besides these wild mastiffs, here are also great numbers of wild +horses everywhere all over the island; they are but low of stature, +short-bodied, with great heads, long necks, and big or thick legs: in a +word, they have nothing handsome in their shape. They run up and down +commonly in troops of 200 or 300 together, one going always before to lead +the multitude. When they meet any person travelling through the woods or +fields, they stand still, suffering him to approach until he can almost +touch them, and then, suddenly starting, they betake themselves to flight, +running away as fast as they can. The hunters catch them only for their +skins, though sometimes they preserve their flesh likewise, which they +harden with smoke, using it for provisions when they go to sea. + +"Here would be also wild bulls and cows in great number, if by continual +hunting they were not much diminished; yet considerable profit is made to +this day by such as make it their business to kill them. The wild bulls +are of a vast bigness of body, and yet they hurt not any one except they +be exasperated. Their bodies are from eleven to thirteen feet long." + +The cruelty of many of the planters to their slaves, some of whom were +kidnapped Europeans, was revolting. A terrible case is that of one of them +who had behaved so brutally to a servant that the latter ran away; after +having taken refuge in the woods for some days, he was captured, and +brought back to the wicked Pharaoh. No sooner had he got him than he +commanded him to be tied to a tree, where he gave him so many lashes on +his back that his body ran with an entire stream of blood. Then, to make +the smart of his wounds the greater, he anointed him with lemon-juice +mixed with salt and pepper. In this miserable posture he left him tied to +the tree for four-and-twenty hours, after which he began his punishment +again, lashing him again so cruelly that the miserable wretch gave up the +ghost, with these dying words:--"I beseech the Almighty God, creator of +heaven and earth, that He permit the wicked spirit to make thee feel as +many torments before thy death as thou hast caused me to feel before +mine!" The sequel is worthy the attention of those who believe in earthly +retribution. "Scarce three or four days were past after this horrible fact +when the Almighty Judge, who had heard the cries of that tormented wretch, +suffered the evil one suddenly to possess this barbarous and inhuman +homicide, so that those cruel bonds which had punished to death his +innocent servant were the tormentors of his own body; for he beat himself +and tore his own flesh after a miserable manner till he lost the very +shape of a man, not ceasing to howl and cry without any rest by day or +night. Thus he continued raving mad till he died. Many other examples of +this kind I could rehearse. The planters of the Caribbee Islands are +rather worse and more cruel to their servants than the former. In the Isle +of St. Christopher a planter was known to have killed above a hundred of +his slaves with blows and stripes." And, if Esquemeling is to be believed, +the English planters of the period were little better. + + [Illustration: PIERRE LE GRAND TAKING THE SPANISH VESSEL.] + +The first pirate of Tortuga was Pierre le Grand, or Peter the Great. He +was born at Dieppe, in Normandy. The action which rendered him famous was +his taking the vice-admiral's ship of the Spanish fleet, near the Cape of +Tiburon, on the west side of Hispaniola; this he performed with only one +boat and twenty-eight men. Until that time the Spaniards had passed and +re-passed with all security through the channel of Bahama; so that Pierre +le Grand, setting out to sea by the Caycos, took this grand ship with all +the ease imaginable. The Spaniards found aboard were set ashore, and the +vessel was sent to France. "The manner how this undaunted spirit attempted +and took this large ship," says the narrator, "I shall give you out of the +journal of the author in his own words, 'The boat,' says he, 'wherein +Pierre le Grand was with his companions had been at sea a long time +without finding any prize worth his taking, and their provisions beginning +to fail, they were in danger of starving. Being almost reduced to despair, +they spied a great ship of the Spanish flota separated from the rest; this +vessel they resolved to take, or die in the attempt. Hereupon they sailed +towards her to view her strength. And though they judged the vessel to be +superior to theirs, yet their covetousness and the extremity they were +reduced to made them venture. Being come so near that they could not +possibly escape, they made an oath to their captain, Pierre le Grand, to +stand by him to the last. 'Tis true, the pirates did believe they should +find the ship unprovided to fight, and therefore the sooner master her. It +was in the dusk of the evening they began to attack; but before they +engaged they ordered the surgeon of the boat to bore a hole in the sides +of it, that their own vessel sinking under them, they might be compelled +to attack more vigorously, and endeavour more hastily to board the ship. +This was done accordingly; and without any other arms than a pistol in one +hand and a sword in the other, they immediately climbed up the sides of +the ship, and ran altogether into the great cabin, where they found the +captain, with several of his companions, playing at cards. Here they set a +pistol to his breast, commanding him to deliver up the ship. The +Spaniards, surprised to see the pirates on board their ship, cried, +"Jesus, bless us! Are these devils, or what are they?" Meanwhile some of +them took possession of the gun-room, and seized the arms, killing as many +as made any opposition; whereupon the Spaniards presently surrendered. +That very day the captain of the ship had been told by some of the seamen +that the boat which was in view cruising was a boat of pirates, whom the +captain slightly answered, "What, then, must I be afraid of such a pitiful +thing as that is? No! though she were a ship as big and as strong as mine +is." As soon as Pierre le Grand had taken this rich prize, he detained in +his service as many of the common seamen as he had need of, setting the +rest ashore, and then set sail for France, where he continued without ever +returning to America again.'" + +The planters and hunters of Tortuga had no sooner heard of the rich prize +those pirates had taken than they resolved to follow their example. Many +of them left their employments, and endeavoured to get some small boats +wherein to exercise piracy; but not being able to purchase or build them +in Tortuga, they set out in their canoes, and sought them elsewhere. With +these they cruised at first upon Cape de Alvarez, where the Spaniards used +to trade from one city to another in small vessels, in which they carried +hides, tobacco, and other commodities to the Havannah, and to which the +Spaniards from Europe frequently resorted. + +Here it was that those pirates at first took a great many boats laden with +the before-mentioned commodities; these they used to carry to Tortuga, and +sell the whole purchase to the vessels that waited for their return or +accidentally happened to be there. With the gains of these prizes they +provided themselves with necessaries wherewith to undertake other voyages, +some of which were made to Campechy, and others toward Hispaniola, in both +which the Spaniards then drove a good trade. Upon those coasts they found +great numbers of trading vessels, and often ships of great burden. Two of +the biggest of these vessels, and two great ships which the Spaniards had +laden with plate in the port of Campechy to go to the Caraccas, they took +in less than a month's time, and carried to Tortuga, when the people of +the whole island, encouraged by their success--especially seeing in two +years the riches of the country so much increased--they augmented the +number of freebooters so fast, that in a little time there were in that +small island and port above twenty pirate-ships. The Spaniards, not able +to bear their robberies any longer, equipped two large men-of-war, both +for the defence of their own coasts and to cruise upon the enemy's. We +shall see the result. + +Before the pirates went to sea they gave notice to all concerned of the +day on which they were to embark, obliging each man to bring as many +pounds of powder and ball as they thought necessary. Being all come +aboard, they consulted as to where to get provisions, especially flesh, +seeing they scarcely used anything else: this was ordinarily pork and +tortoise, which they salted a little; sometimes they robbed the hog-yards, +where the Spaniards often had a thousand head of swine together. They +approached these places in the night, and having beset the keeper's lodge, +would force him to rise and give them as many head as they desired, +threatening to kill him if he refused or made any noise; and these menaces +were oftentimes executed on the miserable swine-keepers or any other +person that endeavoured to hinder their robberies. + +Having got flesh sufficient for their voyage, they returned to the ship. +Here every one was allowed, twice a day, as much as he could eat, without +weight or measure; nor did the steward of the vessel give any more flesh, +nor anything else, to the captain than to the meanest mariner. "The ship +being well victualled, they would deliberate whether they should go to +seek their desperate fortunes, and likewise agree upon certain articles, +which were put in writing, which every one was bound to observe; and all +of them, or the chiefest part, set their hands to it. Here they set down +distinctly what sums of money each particular person ought to have for +that voyage, the fund of all the payments being what was netted by the +whole expedition, for otherwise it was the same law among these people as +other pirates--'No prey, no pay.' First, therefore, they calculated how +much the captain was to have for his ship; next the salary of the +carpenter or shipwright who careened, mended, and rigged the vessel; this +commonly amounted to one hundred or one hundred and fifty pieces of +eight,(2) according to the agreement. Afterwards, for provisions and +victualling, they drew out of the same common stock about two hundred +pieces of eight; also a salary for the surgeon and his medicine chest, +which usually is rated at two hundred or two hundred and fifty pieces of +eight. Lastly, they agreed what rate each one ought to have that was +either wounded or maimed in his body, or should suffer the loss of any +limb: as, for the loss of a right arm, six hundred pieces of eight, or six +slaves; for the left arm, five hundred pieces of eight, or five slaves; +for a right leg, five hundred pieces of eight, or five slaves; for the +left leg, four hundred pieces of eight, or four slaves; for an eye, one +hundred pieces of eight, or one slave; for a finger, the same as for an +eye: all which sums were taken out of the common stock of what was +gathered by their piracy, and a very exact and equal dividend was made of +the remainder. They had also regard to qualities and places; thus, the +captain or chief was allotted five or six portions to what the ordinary +seamen had, the master's mate only two, and other officers proportionately +to their employ; after which they drew equal parts, from the highest to +the lowest mariner, the boys not being omitted, who drew a half share, +because when they take a better vessel than their own it was the boys' +duty to fire the former vessel, and then retire to the prize." + +They observed among themselves very good order; for in the prizes which +they took it was severely prohibited to any one to take anything for +themselves; hence all they got was equally divided. They took a solemn +oath to each other not to conceal the least thing they might find among +the prizes; and if any one was found false to his oath he was immediately +turned out of the society. They were very kind and charitable to each +other, so that if any one wanted what another had, he was immediately +supplied. As soon as these pirates had taken a prize, they immediately set +ashore the prisoners, detaining only some few for their own help and +service, whom also they released after two or three years. They refreshed +themselves at one island or another, but especially at those on the south +of Cuba; here they careened their vessels, while some went hunting, and +others cruised in canoes for prizes. They often took the poor turtle +fishermen, and made them work during their pleasure. + + [Illustration: PIERRE FRANCOIS ATTACKING THE _VICE-ADMIRAL_.] + +The inhabitants of New Spain and Campechy were wont to lade their best +merchandise in ships of great bulk; the vessels from Campechy sailed in +the winter to Caraccas, the Trinity Isles, and that of Margarita, and +returned back again in the summer. The pirates, knowing these seasons (and +thoroughly alive to the situation), always cruised between the places +above-mentioned; but in case they lighted on no considerable booty, +commonly undertook some more hazardous enterprise; "one remarkable +instance of which," says our chronicler, "I shall here give you. A certain +pirate, called Pierre Francois, or Peter Francis, waiting a long time at +sea with his boat and twenty-six men for the ships that were to return +from Maracaibo to Campechy, and not being able to find any prey, at last +he resolved to direct his course to Rancheiras, near the River de la +Plata, in 121/2 deg. north latitude. Here lies a rich bank of pearl, to the +fishery whereof they yearly sent from Carthagena twelve vessels, with a +man-of-war for their defence. Every vessel has at least two negroes, who +are very dexterous in diving to the depth of six fathoms, where they find +good store of pearls. On this fleet, called the Pearl Fleet, Pierre +Francois resolved to venture rather than go home empty. They then rode at +anchor at the mouth of the River de la Hacha, the man-of-war scarce half a +league distant from the small ships, and the wind very calm. Having spied +them in this posture, he presently pulled down his sails and rowed along +the coast, feigning to be a Spanish vessel coming from Maracaibo; but no +sooner was he come to the pearl-bank, when suddenly he assaulted the +_Vice-Admiral_, of eighty guns and sixty men, commanding them to +surrender. The Spaniards made a good defence for some time, but at last +were forced to submit. Having thus taken the _Vice-Admiral_, he resolved +to attempt the man-of-war, with which addition he hoped to master the rest +of the fleet. To this end he presently sunk his own boat, putting forth +the Spanish colours, and weighed anchor with a little wind which then +began to stir, having with threats and promises compelled most of the +Spaniards to assist him; but so soon as the man-of-war perceived one of +his fleet to sail, he did so too, fearing lest the mariners designed to +run away with the riches they had on board. The pirates on this +immediately gave over the enterprise, thinking themselves unable to +encounter force to force; hereupon they endeavoured to get out of the +river and gain the open seas by making as much sail as they could; which +the man-of-war perceiving, he presently gave them chase, but the pirates +having laid on too much sail, and a gust of wind presently rising, their +mainmast was brought by the board, which disabled them from escaping. + +"This unhappy event much encouraged those in the man-of-war, they gaining +upon the pirates every moment, and at last overtook them; but they, +finding they had twenty-two sound men, the rest being either killed or +wounded, resolved to defend themselves as long as possible. This they +performed very courageously for some time, till they were forced by the +man-of-war, on condition that they should not be used as slaves to carry +stones, or be employed in other labours for three or four years, as they +served their negroes, but that they should be set safe on shore on free +land. On these articles they yielded, with all they had taken, which was +worth in pearls alone above 100,000 pieces of eight, besides the vessel, +provisions, goods, &c., all of which would have made this a greater prize +than he could desire: which he had certainly carried off if his mainmast +had not been lost, as we said before." + + [Illustration: ESCAPE OF PORTUGUEZ.] + + + + + + CHAPTER II. + + + THE PIRATES AND BUCANIERS (_continued_). + + + The Pirate Portuguez--Another Successful Boat Attack--Re-taken--A + Gibbet or Life--Escape--Saved by Two Wine-jars--Helped by the + Pirates--Rich again--And suddenly Poor--A Dutch Pirate--From Sailor to + Captain--A grand Capture--And a brutal Commander--No Surrender to the + Spaniards--Victory and Horse-flesh--The Rover's Prodigality--A + Stratagem--Worse than ever--The Spaniards reduce their + Commerce--Lewis Scot--John Davis--Outrages at Nicaragua--Piratical + Gains--Lolonois the Bad and Brave--His First Wounds--And his Early + Successes--Six Hundred and Sixty Pirates--The Capture of Maracaibo + and Gibraltar--Division of the Gains--His Brutalities--And Deserved + Death. + + +Bold attempts were the order of the day. A certain pirate named Portuguez +was cruising off the Cape Coriente in Cuba, where he met a ship from +Maracaibo and Carthagena bound to the Havannah provided with twenty +"great" guns of the period, and seventy passengers and crew. This ship he +attacked, and was at first beaten off. The assault was renewed on the part +of the pirates, and after a long and dangerous fight the rovers became the +victors. The Portuguese lost only ten men and had four wounded. But the +Spaniards had a much larger force in those waters. + +Being very near the cape before-named, they unexpectedly met with three +vessels coming from New Spain, and bound for the Havannah; by these, not +being able to escape, they were easily re-taken, both ship and pirates, +and all made prisoners, and stripped of all the riches they had taken just +before. The cargo consisted of 120,000 weight of cocoa-nuts,(3) the chief +ingredient of chocolate, and 70,000 pieces of eight. Two days after this +misfortune there arose a great storm, which separated the ships from one +another. The great vessel, where the pirates were, arrived at Campechy, +where a number of merchants resided. The Portuguese pirate was well known +there for the outrages he had committed. The next day after their arrival, +the magistrates of the city sent to demand certain prisoners, but fearing +the Portuguese pirate might escape, kept him guarded on board, while they +erected a gibbet on shore, expecting to hang him next day. Bartholomew +Portuguez was too much for them, and managed to escape, after stabbing his +sentinel, and swimming ashore with the help of two wine-jars, as he was a +bad swimmer. He took to the woods, living on wild herbs, and secreted +himself for days in the hollow of a tree, while his enemies were searching +for him. Eventually he escaped, after travelling some forty leagues, a +fortnight after, half starved and exhausted, to Del Golpho Triste. He had +on his way made a boat or raft from a plank and some osiers. But at Golpho +Triste he met some of his own kidney--pirates of his own kind. They +naturally sympathised, and gave him a boat and twenty men. Eight days +after he accomplished his will. He took the boat to Campechy, and "with an +undaunted courage, and without any noise, he assaulted the said ship; +those on board thought it was a boat from land that came to bring +contraband goods, and so were not in no posture of defence; which +opportunity the pirates laying hold of, assaulted them so resolutely, that +in a little time they compelled the Spaniards to surrender. Being masters +of the ship, they immediately weighed anchor and set sail for the port, +lest they should be pursued by other vessels. This they did with the +utmost joy, seeing themselves possessors of so brave a ship; especially +Portuguez, who by a second turn of fortune was become rich and powerful +again, who was so lately in that same vessel a prisoner condemned to be +hanged. With this purchase he designed greater things which he might have +alone," and so forth. Piracy did not prosper with him in the end, for his +vessel was afterwards lost, and he was never fortunate again. + +"Not less considerable," wrote Esquemeling, "are the actions of another +pirate who now lives at Jamaica, who on several occasions has performed +very surprising things. He was born at Groninghen, in the United +Provinces. His own name not being known, his companions gave him the name +of Roche Brasiliano, by reason of his long residence in Brazil; hence he +was forced to fly when the Portuguese took those countries from the Dutch, +several nations then inhabiting at Brazil (as English, French, Dutch, and +others) being constrained to seek new fortunes. + +"This person fled to Jamaica, where, being at a stand how to get his +living, he entered into the society of pirates, where he served as a +private mariner for some time, and behaved himself so well that he was +beloved and respected by all. One day some of the mariners quarrelled with +that degree that they left the boat. Brasiliano, following them, was +chosen their leader, who, having fitted out a small vessel, they made him +captain." + +Within a few days after he took a rich plate ship coming from New Spain, +and carried it to Jamaica. This action brought him great reputation, and +he was, for the time, a great man ashore. He was, however, a terrible +brute when drunk--the average condition of the pirate on land--and would run +wildly about the streets, insulting, beating, or wounding any one he +chanced to meet. Pleasant Brasiliano! + + [Illustration: BRASILIANO'S ESCAPE.] + +To the Spaniards he was always barbarous and cruel, out of an inveterate +hatred against their nation. On several occasions he commanded men to be +roasted alive on wooden spits, for not showing hog-yards where he might +steal swine. After committing many such cruelties, as he was cruising on +the coasts of Campechy, a dismal tempest surprised him so violently that +his ship was wrecked upon the coasts, the mariners only escaping with +their muskets and some few bullets and powder, which were the only things +they could save. The ship was lost between Campechy and the Golpho Triste; +here they got ashore in a canoe, and, marching along the shore with all +the speed they could, directed their course towards Golpho Triste, the +common refuge of the pirates. On their journey, all very exhausted and +hungry, they were pursued by a troop of 100 Spaniards. The pirates were +but thirty; yet, seeing their brave commander resolute, they fought +bravely, and facing the troop of Spaniards, discharged their muskets on +them so dexterously that they killed one horseman almost with every shot. +The fight continued for an hour, till at last the Spaniards were put to +flight. They stripped the dead, and took from them what was most for their +use; such as were not quite dead they despatched with the ends of their +muskets. + +"Having vanquished the enemy, they mounted on horses they found in the +field, and continued their journey, Brasiliano having lost but two of his +companions in this bloody fight, and had two wounded. Prosecuting their +way, before they came to the port they spied a boat at anchor from +Campechy, well manned, protecting a few canoes that were lading wood; +hereupon they sent six of their men to watch them, who next morning, by a +wile, possessed themselves of the canoes. Having given notice to their +companions, they boarded them, and also took the little man-of-war, their +convoy. Being thus masters of the fleet, they wanted only provisions, of +which they found little aboard those vessels; but this defect was supplied +by the horses, which they killed and salted, which by good fortune the +wood-cutters had brought with them, with which they supported themselves +till they could get better. + +"They took also another vessel going from New Spain to Maracaibo, laden +with divers sorts of merchandise and pieces of eight, designed to buy +cocoa-nuts for their lading home; all these they carried to Jamaica, where +they safely arrived, and, according to custom, wasted all in a few days in +taverns and disorderly houses. Some of these pirates will spend two or +three thousand pieces of eight in a night, not leaving themselves a good +shirt to wear in the morning. My own master," says Esquemeling, "would buy +sometimes a pipe of wine, and placing it in the street, would force those +that passed by it to drink with him, threatening also to pistol them if +they would not. He would do the like with barrels of beer or ale, and very +often he would throw these liquors about the streets and wet people's +clothes, without regarding whether he spoiled their apparel. + +"Among themselves these pirates are very liberal; if any one has lost all, +which often happens in their manner of life, they freely give him of what +they have. In taverns and alehouses they have great credit; but at Jamaica +they ought not to run very deep in debt, seeing the inhabitants there +easily sell one another for debt. This happened to my patron, to be sold +for a debt of a tavern wherein he had spent the greater part of his money. +This man had, within three months before, three thousand pieces of eight +in ready cash, all which he wasted in that little time, and became as poor +as I have told you." + +The history of a pirate is that of many another man made suddenly rich. +Brasiliano, after having spent all, naturally went to sea again, and set +forth for the coast of Campechy. Fifteen days after his arrival he took a +canoe, and went to examine the port, but his fortune failed, and he and +all his men were taken and committed to a dungeon. Doubtless they would +have all been hanged but for a stratagem of Brasiliano, which saved their +lives. He wrote a letter to the governor in the names of his fellow +pirates at sea, warning him of their power, and that their blood would be +on his head. The governor was frightened out of his wits, and released +them on the bare promise that they would not be pirates again. As a +nominal punishment, he sent them as drafts on the Spanish galleons, and +they went to Spain. They returned, to be worse pirates than ever. + +The Spaniards about this period became so tired of sending vessels to sea +only to lose them, that they diminished the number considerably. But this +was of no avail, for the pirates then turned their attention to the +Spanish towns and settlements. One Lewis Scot sacked the city of Campechy, +which he almost ruined; another pirate, named Mansvelt, invaded New +Granada; while John Davis gave his unwelcome attentions to Nicaragua. + +This freebooter, having long been unfortunate in his enterprises, resolved +on a desperate expedient. Leaving his ship hidden on the coast, he took +eighty out of ninety men which he had in all, and divided them in three +canoes. In the dark of night they entered the river leading to the city; +proceeding cautiously, they hid themselves by day under the thickly wooded +banks. On the third night they arrived at the city, at the outposts of +which, on the river, the guard allowed them to pass, as most of them spoke +Spanish, and he took them for fishermen. They had with them an Indian +guide who had run away from his master in Nicaragua, and he went ashore +and speedily despatched the sentinel. The pirate band then entered the +city, and knocked softly at the houses of several chief citizens, who, +believing them to be friends, opened their doors. The pirates soon +convinced them to the contrary, and rifled them of all the money and plate +they could find. The churches were pillaged and profaned. Meantime the +citizens collected their forces, and the pirates saw that they must get +away with the prisoners they had taken; "these they led away, that if any +of them should be taken by the Spaniards they might use them for ransom. +Thus they got to their ships, and with all speed put to sea, forcing the +prisoners, before they let them go, to procure as much flesh as was +necessary for their voyage to Jamaica. But no sooner had they weighed +anchor when they saw a troop of about 500 Spaniards, all well armed, at +the sea-side; against these they let fly several guns, wherewith they +forced them to quit the sands and retire, with no small regret to see +these pirates carry away so much plate of their churches and houses, +though distant at least forty leagues from the sea." Davis and his men +divided the Spanish coin and jewels, to the value of about ten thousand +pounds in English money. The captain was afterwards chosen admiral of +seven or eight vessels, and pillaged a town in Florida, named St. +Augustine, although it possessed a castle protected by 200 men. + +One of the most famous--or, more properly speaking, infamous--pirates of the +day was Francis Lolonois, a native of France. "In his youth he was +transported to the Caribee Islands, in quality of servant or slave, +according to custom, of which we have already spoken. Being out of his +time, he came to Hispaniola, where he joined for some time the hunters, +before he began his robberies upon the Spaniards, till his unfortunate +death." These are Esquemeling's words; some of his victims would hardly +endorse the latter opinion. + +At first he made two or three voyages as a common mariner, and behaved +himself so courageously as to gain the favour of the Governor of Tortuga, +Monsieur de la Place, insomuch that he gave him a ship in which he might +seek his fortune, which was very favourable to him at first; for in a +short time he acquired a considerable amount of wealth. + + [Illustration: MAP OF CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE WEST INDIA ISLANDS.] + +"But his cruelties to the Spaniards were such that the latter in his time +would rather die, or sink fighting, than surrender, knowing they should +have no mercy at his hands. But he was overtaken by a reverse of fortune, +and lost his ship on the coast of Campechy. The men were all saved, but +upon landing, the Spaniards pursued them and killed the greater part, +wounding also Lolonois. Not knowing how to escape, he saved his life by a +stratagem: mingling sand with the blood of his wounds, he besmeared his +face and other parts of his body, and hiding himself dexterously among the +dead, continued there till the Spaniards quitted the field. + +"They being gone, he retired to the woods, and bound up his wounds as well +as he could. These being pretty well healed, he took his way to Campechy, +having disguised himself in a Spanish habit; here he enticed certain +slaves, to whom he promised liberty if they would obey him and trust to +his conduct. They accepted his promises, and, stealing a canoe, went to +sea with him. Now the Spaniards having made several of his companions +prisoners, kept them close in a dungeon, while Lolonois went about the +town and saw what passed. These were often asked, 'What has become of your +captain?' To whom they constantly answered, 'He is dead;' which rejoiced +the Spaniards, who made bonfires, and, knowing nothing to the contrary, +gave thanks to God for their deliverance from such a cruel pirate. +Lolonois, having seen these rejoicings for his death, made haste to +escape, with the slaves above-mentioned, and came safe to Tortuga, the +common refuge of all sorts of wickedness, and the seminary, as it were, of +pirates and thieves. Though now his fortune was low, yet he got another +ship with craft and subtilty, and in it twenty-one men. Being well +provided with arms and necessaries, he set forth for Cuba, on the south +whereof is a small village called De los Cayos. The inhabitants drive a +great trade in tobacco, sugar, and hides, and all in boats, not being able +to use ships, by reason of the little depth of the sea. + +"Lolonois was persuaded he should get here some considerable prey; but by +the good fortune of some fishermen who saw him, and the mercy of God, they +escaped him; for the inhabitants of the town despatched immediately a +vessel overland to the Havannah, complaining that Lolonois was come to +destroy them with two canoes. The governor could scarcely believe this, +having received letters from Campechy that he was dead; but at their +importunity he sent a ship to their relief, with ten guns and ninety men +well armed, giving them this express command, 'that they should not return +into his presence without having totally destroyed those pirates.' To this +effect he gave them a negro to serve them for a hangman, and orders that +they should immediately hang every one of the pirates excepting Lolonois, +their captain, whom they should bring alive to the Havannah. This ship +arrived at Cayos, of whose coming the pirates were advertised beforehand, +and, instead of flying, went to seek it in the river Estera, where she +rode at anchor. The pirates seized some fishermen, and forced them by +night to show them the entry of the port, hoping soon to obtain a greater +vessel than their two canoes, and thereby to mend their fortune. They +arrived, after two in the morning, very nigh the ship; and the watch on +board the ship asking them whence they came, and if they had seen any +pirates abroad, they caused one of the prisoners to answer that they had +seen no pirates nor anything else; which answer made them believe that the +pirates had fled upon hearing of their coming. + +"But they soon found the contrary, for about break of day the pirates +assaulted the vessel on both sides with their two canoes with such vigour +that though the Spaniards behaved themselves as they ought, and made as +good defence as they could, making some use of their great guns, yet they +were forced to surrender, being beaten by the pirates, with sword in hand, +down under the hatches. From thence Lolonois commanded them to be brought +up one by one, and in this order caused their heads to be struck off. +Among the rest came up the negro designed to be the pirates' executioner. +This fellow implored mercy at his hands very dolefully, telling Lolonois +he was constituted hangman of that ship, and if he would spare him he +would tell him faithfully all that he should desire. Lolonois, making him +confess what he thought fit, commanded him to be murdered with the rest. +Thus he cruelly and barbarously put them all to death, reserving only one +alive, whom he sent back to the Governor of the Havannah, with this +message in writing: 'I shall never henceforth give quarter to any Spaniard +whatsoever, and I have great hopes I shall execute on your own person the +very same punishment I have done upon them you sent against me. Thus I +have retaliated the kindness you designed to me and my companions.' The +governor, much troubled at this sad news, swore in the presence of many +that he would never grant quarter to any pirate that should fall into his +hands. But the citizens of the Havannah desired him not to persist in the +execution of that rash and rigorous oath, seeing the pirates would +certainly take occasion from thence to do the same, and they had a hundred +times more opportunity for revenge than he; that being necessitated to get +their livelihood by fishery, they should hereafter always be in danger of +their lives. By these reasons he was persuaded to bridle his anger, and +remit the severity of his oath. + +"Now Lolonois had got a good ship, but very few provisions and people in +it; to purchase both which he determined to cruise from one port to +another. Doing thus for some time without success, he determined to go to +the port of Maracaibo. Here he surprised a ship laden with plate and other +merchandise, outward bound to buy cocoa-nuts. With this prize he returned +to Tortuga, where he was received with joy by the inhabitants, they +congratulating his happy success and their own private interest. He stayed +not long there, but designed to equip a fleet sufficient to transport five +hundred men and necessaries. Thus provided, he resolved to pillage both +cities, towns, and villages, and finally to take Maracaibo itself. For +this purpose he knew the island of Tortuga would afford him many resolute +and courageous men, fit for such enterprises; besides, he had in his +service several prisoners well acquainted with the ways and places +designed upon." + +Lolonois gave notice to a large number of the pirates, and gathered +together in a little while above 400 men, among whom was then in Tortuga +another freebooter, named Michael de Basco, who, by his piracy, had become +rich enough to live at ease and go no more abroad, having withal the offer +of major of the island. But seeing the great preparations that Lolonois +made for this expedition, he joined him, and offered him that if he would +make him his chief captain by land (seeing he knew the country very well, +and all its approaches) he would share in his fortunes and go with him. +This precious pair of thieves agreed, to the great joy of Lolonois, who +knew that Basco had done great things in Europe, and had the repute of +being a good soldier. Then they all embarked in eight vessels, that of +Lolonois being the greatest, having ten guns. + +All things being ready, and the whole company on board, they set sail +together about the end of April, being in all about six hundred and sixty +persons. They steered for the port of Bayala, north of Hispaniola. Here +they took into their company some French hunters, who volunteered, and +provided themselves with victuals and necessaries for their voyage. + +"From hence they sailed again the last of July, and steered directly to +the eastern cape of the isle called Punta d' Espada. Hereabouts espying a +ship from Puerto Rico, bound for New Spain, laden with cocoa-nuts, +Lolonois commanded the rest of the fleet to wait for him near Savona, on +the east of Cape Punta d' Espada, he alone intending to take the said +vessel. The Spaniards, though they had been in sight two hours, and knew +them to be pirates, yet would not flee, but prepared to fight, being well +armed and provided. The combat lasted three hours, and then they +surrendered. This ship had sixteen guns and fifty fighting men aboard. +They found in her 120,000 weight of cocoa, 40,000 pieces of eight, and the +value of 10,000 more in jewels. Lolonois sent the vessel presently to +Tortuga to be unladed, with orders to return as soon as possible to +Savona, where he would wait for them. Meanwhile, the rest of the fleet +being arrived at Savona met another Spanish vessel coming from Coman, with +military provisions to Hispaniola, and money to pay the garrisons there. +This vessel they also took, without any resistance, though mounted with +eight guns. In it were 7,000 weight of powder, a great number of muskets +and like things, with 12,000 pieces of eight." + +These successes emboldened the pirates, and we find their next exploit +that of taking a town of no inconsiderable size, that of Maracaibo in +Venezuela. The island on which it is situated is divided by a gulf or bay +from two others; on one was placed a watch-tower, while on the other was a +castle, and as the water about was often shallow, with many dangerous +sand-banks, vessels had to come in very close to it. Maracaibo, the city +or town, had some 3,000 or 4,000 Spanish inhabitants, and about 800 able +to bear arms. There was a large church, four monasteries, and one +hospital; the trade of the town was largely in tobacco, hides, and to an +extent flesh, which they exchanged for cocoa-nuts, oranges, lemons, and +other fruits, with a town named Gibraltar, situated some distance in the +country on the Lake of Maracaibo. The latter is described as delightfully +situated among plantations of sugar, and cocoa, and woods, the timber of +which was often large enough for ship and boat building. The whole country +abounded in rivers and brooks, while the tobacco grown had a high +reputation in Europe, being known as _tobacco de sacerdotes_, or priests' +tobacco. + +Lolonois arrived at the Gulf of Venezuela, and cast anchor out of sight of +the watch-tower already mentioned; next morning he made in for the Lake of +Maracaibo, which communicates with the sea, and cast anchor again. Then a +number of the men landed to attack the fortress which commanded the bar, +and which was merely composed of earthworks. The governor, however, knew +of their approach, and had placed an ambuscade to cut them off behind, +while he should attack them in front. This the pirates discovered, and +manoeuvred so successfully and fought so desperately that not a man could +retreat to the castle. This done, Lolonois, with his followers, advanced +immediately to the fort, and after a desperate fight of nearly three hours +completely mastered it, without any other arms than swords and pistols. +While this fight was in progress, the routed ambuscade, not being able to +get into the castle, retired into Maracaibo in great confusion and +disorder, crying out, "The pirates will presently be here with two +thousand men and more!" The city had been formerly sacked by pirates, and +the people knew well of what quality was their mercy. There was then a +general stampede in boats and canoes to Gibraltar, with such of the +portable wealth as could be taken. Arrived there, they spread the dismal +news, and there was general dismay. + +The castle thus taken by the pirates, they signalled to the ships their +victory, that they should come further in without fear of danger. The rest +of the day was spent in ruining and demolishing the castle. They nailed(4) +the guns, and burnt as much as they could not carry away, burying the +dead, and sending the wounded on board the fleet. Next day, very early, +they weighed anchor, and steered altogether towards Maracaibo, about six +leagues distant from the fort; but the wind failing, they could advance +little, being forced to wait for the tide. Next morning they came in sight +of the town, and prepared for landing under the protection of their own +guns, fearing the Spaniards might have laid an ambuscade in the woods; +they put their men into canoes, brought for the purpose, and landed where +they thought most convenient, shooting still furiously with their great +guns. Of those in the canoes half only went ashore, the other half +remaining aboard. They fired from the ships as fast as possible towards +the woody part of the shore, but could discover nobody. Then they entered +the town, the inhabitants of which had retired to the woods and Gibraltar +with their families. Their houses were found well provided with victuals, +as flour, bread, pork, brandy, wines, and poultry, with which the pirates +fell to, making high havoc; having had no opportunity for four weeks +before of filling their stomachs with such good cheer. + +"They instantly possessed themselves of the best houses in the town," says +the narrator, "and placed sentinels wherever they thought convenient; the +great church serving them for their main guard. Next day they sent out 160 +men to find out some of the inhabitants in the woods thereabouts; these +returned the same night, bringing with them 20,000 pieces of eight, +several mules laden with household goods and merchandise, and twenty +prisoners, men, women, and children. Some of these were put to the rack to +make them confess where they had hid the rest of the goods; but they could +extort very little from them. Lolonois, who valued not murdering, though +in cold blood, ten or twelve Spaniards, drew his cutlass, and hacked one +to pieces before the rest, saying, 'If you do not confess and declare +where you have hid the rest of your goods, I will do the like to all your +companions.' At last, amongst these horrible cruelties and inhuman +threats, one promised to show the place where the rest of the Spaniards +were hid; but those that were fled, having intelligence of it, changed +place, and buried the remnant of their riches, so that the pirates could +not find them out. Besides, the Spaniards flying from one place to another +every day, and often changing woods, were jealous even of each other, so +as the father durst scarce trust his own son." + + [Illustration: THE STRUGGLE WITH THE PIRATES AT GIBRALTAR.] + +After the pirates had been fifteen days in Maracaibo they made up their +minds to capture Gibraltar, not a task quite so difficult as the taking of +that other which guards the portals of the Mediterranean, but still +sufficiently troublesome. The inhabitants had received intelligence of +their approaching advent, and that they afterwards intended to attempt the +capture of Merida, another city of that country, and they therefore +informed the governor, who was a brave soldier, and had served in +Flanders. His answer was, "he would have them take no care, for he hoped +in a little while to exterminate the said pirates;" whereupon he brought a +force of 400 well-armed men to Gibraltar, ordering at the same time the +inhabitants to arm. He soon had a force of 800 fighting men. With the same +speed he raised a battery, mounting twenty guns, and covered with great +baskets of earth. In another place he constructed a smaller battery of +eight guns, and this done, he barricaded a narrow passage, an approach to +the town, through which the pirates must pass; at the same time he opened +another, through morasses of dirt and mud, into the wood, totally unknown +to the freebooters. + +"The pirates, ignorant of these preparations, having embarked all their +prisoners and booty, took their way towards Gibraltar. Being come in sight +of the place, they saw the Royal Standard hanging forth, and that those of +the town designed to defend their houses. Lolonois seeing this, called a +council of war, what they ought to do, telling his officers and mariners +'that the difficulty of the enterprise was very great, seeing the +Spaniards had had so much time to put themselves in a posture of defence, +and had got a good body of men together, with much ammunition; but +notwithstanding,' said he, 'have a good courage; we must either defend +ourselves like good soldiers, or lose our lives with all the riches we +have got. Do as I shall do who are your captain. At other times we have +fought with fewer men than we have in our company at present, and yet we +have overcome greater numbers than there possibly can be in this town; the +more there are, the more glory and the greater riches we shall gain.' The +pirates supposed that all the riches of the inhabitants of Maracaibo were +transported to Gibraltar, or at least the greater part. After this speech +they all promised to follow and to obey him. Lolonois made answer, 'It is +well; but know ye, withal, that the first man who shall show any fear, or +the least apprehension thereof, I will pistol him with my own hands!' + +"With this resolution they cast anchor nigh the shore, near three-quarters +of a league from the town; next day, before sun-rise, they landed 380 men, +well provided, and armed every one with a cutlass and one or two pistols, +and sufficient powder and bullets for thirty charges. Here they all shook +hands, in testimony of good courage, and began their march, Lolonois +speaking thus:--'Come, my brethren, follow me, and have good courage.' They +followed their guide, who, believing he led them well, brought them to the +way which the governor had barricaded. Not being able to pass that way, +they went to the other newly made in the wood among the mire, which the +Spaniards could shoot into at pleasure; but the pirates, full of courage, +cut down the branches of trees and threw them on the way, that they might +not stick in the dirt. Meanwhile, those of Gibraltar fired with their +great guns so furiously that they could scarce hear nor see for the noise +and smoke. Being past the wood, they came on firm ground, where they met +with a battery of six guns, which immediately the Spaniards discharged +upon them, all loaded with small bullets and pieces of iron; and the +Spaniards, sallying forth, set upon them with such fury as caused the +pirates to give way, few of them caring to advance towards the fort, many +of them being already killed and wounded. This made them go back to seek +another way, but the Spaniards having cut down many trees to hinder the +passage, they could find none, but were forced to return to that they had +left. Here the Spaniards continued to fire as before; nor would they sally +out of their batteries to attack them any more. Lolonois and his +companions not being able to grimp up the baskets of earth, were compelled +to use an old stratagem, wherewith at last they deceived and overcame the +Spaniards. + +"Lolonois retired suddenly with all his men, making show as if he fled, +whereupon the Spaniards, crying out, 'They flee, they flee! let us follow +them!' sallied out with great disorder to the pursuit. Being drawn to some +distance from the batteries, which was the pirates' only design, they +turned upon them unexpectedly, sword in hand, and killed above 200 men, +and thus fighting their way through those who remained, they possessed +themselves of the batteries. The Spaniards that remained abroad, giving +themselves over for lost, fled to the woods; those in the battery of eight +guns surrendered themselves, obtaining quarter for their lives. The +pirates being now become masters of the town, pulled down the Spanish +colours and set up their own, taking prisoners as many as they could find. +These they carried to the great church, where they raised a battery of +several great guns, fearing lest the Spaniards that were fled should rally +and come upon them again; but next day, being all fortified, their fears +were over. They gathered the dead to bury them, being above 500 Spaniards, +besides the wounded in the town and those who died of their wound in the +woods. The pirates had also above 150 prisoners and nigh 500 slaves, many +women and children." + +Of their own companions only forty were killed and about eighty wounded, +of whom, however, the greater part died through the pestilential air of +the place. They put the slain Spaniards into two great boats, and towing +them a quarter of a league to sea, they sunk the boats. This done, they +gathered all the plate, valuables generally, and merchandise they could, +or thought convenient to carry away. "The Spaniards who had anything left +had hid it carefully; but the unsatisfied pirates, not content with the +riches they had got, sought for more goods and merchandise, not sparing +those who lived in the fields, such as hunters and planters. They had +scarce been eighteen days on the place when the greater part of the +prisoners died of hunger; for in the town there were few provisions, +especially of flesh, though they had some, but no sufficient quantity of +flour, and this the pirates had taken for themselves, as they also took +the swine, cows, and poultry, without allowing any share to the poor +prisoners; for these they only provided some small quantity of mule's and +ass's flesh; and many who could not eat of that loathsome provision died +of hunger, their stomachs not being accustomed to such sustenance. Only +some women were allowed better cheer, but not for the best reasons." Of +the prisoners, many also died under the tortures sustained to make them +give up their money or jewels; many died, accordingly, who possessed +neither, or would not admit the facts. + +After having been in possession of the town four entire weeks, they sent +four of their prisoners to the Spaniards that were fled to the woods, +demanding of them a ransom of 10,000 pieces; they threatened to reduce it +to ashes. The Spaniards were unable or indisposed to bring in a sum so +considerable in the stipulated time--namely, only two days--and the pirates +fired the town in several places, whereupon the inhabitants begged them to +help extinguish the fire, and the ransom should be readily paid. The +pirates agreed, but in spite of all their best endeavours one part of the +town was ruined. The church belonging to the monastery was burned down. +After they had received the sum fixed they carried on board all the riches +they had gathered, with a great number of slaves which had not paid the +ransom. Thence they returned to Maracaibo, where they found a general +consternation in the city, which was not quieted when they demanded 50,000 +pieces of eight to be brought on board, or the inhabitants' houses should +be sacked anew. Meantime the pirates stripped the great church of all its +valuables. At last a compromise was effected, that on payment of 20,000 +pieces of eight, and 500 cows, the pirates would depart peaceably. Both +these demands being paid, the fleet set sail. But three days afterwards, +the townspeople's fears were renewed at seeing the pirates appear again, +and re-enter the port with all their ships. Their alarm subsided when they +found that the pirates only required a pilot to take them over the bar and +banks at the entrance of the Lake of Maracaibo. + +At Hispaniola the freebooters made a division of their gains, according to +the order and rank of every one. They found that they had considerably +over a _quarter of a million_ pieces of eight to share, besides any +quantity of rich spoils. Those who had been wounded received their +proportion for the loss of their limbs after the first general division. +Then they weighed the plate, allowing ten pieces of eight (ten dollars) to +a pound. The jewels were frequently, no doubt, either greatly over-valued +or under-valued by reason of their ignorance. This done, every one was put +to his oath again that he had not concealed anything from the rest or +smuggled anything from the common stock. The shares of those who had died +in battle or otherwise were carefully given to the proper relatives or +friends--honour among thieves with a vengeance! The dividends having been +arranged, they started for Tortuga, where these _nouveaux riches_ were +received with great rejoicings. Two French ships, laden with wine and +brandy, &c., had arrived shortly before, and these liquors were +comparatively cheap when the pirates sailed into harbour; a week or two +afterwards prices had increased wonderfully, and the larger part of the +bucaniers had not a dollar to bless themselves wherewith. The governor of +the island purchased a ship-load of cocoa from them for about a twentieth +part of its worth; and in a week or two the tavern-keepers, gamblers, and +loafers, had acquired a good proportion of the riches, so hardly and +bravely, albeit so dishonestly, earned. + +Lolonois was now the great man of Tortuga, as he brought wealth to the +town, and all men flocked to his standard; he had no difficulty in +obtaining all the volunteers he desired. He resolved, therefore, on +another voyage to Nicaragua, that country, as the reader may be reminded, +which in later days has been the scene of the exploits of Walker the +filibuster, and which may some day hold a prominent place in the eyes of +the world in connection with a great ship canal between the Atlantic and +Pacific. Having promulgated his new programme, some seven hundred men +enrolled themselves under him. Of these he put about three hundred on the +great prize ship he took at Maracaibo, and the rest on five smaller +vessels. Fancy an expedition of seven hundred men starting on such an +errand, even in these days! What harm might they not accomplish? + + [Illustration: LOLONOIS' FIGHT WITH THE SPANIARDS.] + +The expedition being ready, Lolonois proceeded to a port in Hispaniola to +take in provisions, and afterwards to Matamana, on the south coast of +Cuba, where he intended to rob the poor turtle-hunters of their canoes. +They captured as many as they wanted, to the sorrow of their owners, but +to their own satisfaction, as they were always useful in shallow waters, +and the port to which they were directing their course came under that +category. Hence they steered for the Cape Gracias a Dios, and being at sea +were becalmed for a long while, and were carried by the currents into the +Gulf of Honduras. The ship which carried the commander of the expedition +could not keep up with the rest, and what was worse, they were running +short of provisions, so that they were obliged to send their canoes to the +river Xagua, where there were a number of Indians, whom they first killed. +After that, as a mere matter of secondary importance, they thought it no +harm to carry off the hogs, hens, and millet, of their settlements, which +were found in abundance. They resolved further to remain there till the +bad weather was over, and pillage all the villages and towns on the coast +of the gulf, but were not particularly successful till they came to Puerto +Cavallo. Here the Spaniards had two storehouses, where they kept the +produce of the country till the arrival of their ships. There was then in +the port a Spanish ship of twenty-four guns and sixteen pedreros, or +mortar-pieces. This ship was immediately seized by the pirates, and the +two storehouses burned with all the rest of the houses there. Many of the +inhabitants were made prisoners, and they committed upon them the most +inhuman cruelties that ever heathens invented, putting them to the +cruellest tortures they could devise. "It was the custom of Lolonois that, +having tormented persons not confessing, he would instantly cut them in +pieces with his hanger, and pull out their tongues, desiring to do so, if +possible, to every Spaniard in the world. It often happened that some of +these miserable prisoners, being forced by the rack, would promise to +discover the place where the fugitive Spaniards lay hid, which not being +able afterwards to perform, they were put to more cruel deaths than they +who were dead before. + +"The prisoners being all dead but two (whom they reserved to show them +what they desired), they marched hence to the town of San Pedro, or St. +Peter, ten or twelve leagues from Puerto Cavallo, being three hundred men +whom Lolonois led, leaving behind him Moses Van Vin, his lieutenant, to +govern the rest in his absence. Being come three leagues on his way, they +met with a troop of Spaniards, who lay in ambuscade for their coming; +these they set upon with all the courage possible, and at last totally +defeated. Howbeit, they behaved themselves very manfully at first, but not +being able to resist the fury of the pirates, they were forced to give way +and save themselves by flight, leaving many pirates dead in the place, +some wounded, and some of their own party maimed by the way. These +Lolonois put to death without mercy, having asked them what questions he +thought fit for his purpose." + +There were still some five prisoners not wounded; these were asked by +Lolonois, if any more Spaniards remained farther on in ambuscade? They +answered there were. Then, being brought before him one by one, he asked +if there was no other way to the town but that? this he did to avoid those +ambuscades, if possible. But they all constantly answered him they knew +none. Having asked them all, and finding they could show him no other way, +Lolonois grew outrageously passionate, so that he drew his cutlass, and +with it cut open the breast of one of those poor Spaniards, and pulling +out his heart began to bite and gnaw it with his teeth, like a ravenous +wolf, saying to the rest, "I will serve you all alike if you show me not +another way!" The poor wretches promised to show him another way, but +averred that it was a most difficult route. He tried it and found that +they were right. He was so exasperated that he swore the horrible +oath--_Mort Dieu, les Espagnols me le payeront!_ Next day he kept his word, +for meeting an ambuscade of Spaniards, he attacked them with such fury +that few remained to tell the tale. The Spaniards hoped by these +ambuscades to destroy the pirates in detail. Later he met another and a +stronger party, more advantageously placed, but the pirates attacking them +with much vigour, and using fire-balls in great numbers, forced the +remnant to flee leaving the larger part killed and wounded. There was but +one path that led to the town, and this was very well barricaded, while +the settlement was surrounded by planted shrubs of a prickly and pointed +nature, probably something of the cactus variety. The Spaniards, posted +behind their defences, plied the pirates with their artillery, and were +answered with showers of fire-balls; the latter were for the present +unable to advance. A second attack was made, the pirates' orders being not +to fire until very close to the enemy; and in this they were successful, +as every shot told. The conflict continued raging till night, when the +Spaniards hoisted the white flag and desired to parley, the only +conditions they required being that the pirates should give the +inhabitants quarter for two hours. This was a _ruse_ to enable them to +carry off and hide their valuables. Granting this request, the pirates +marched into the town, and continued there the two hours without +committing the least outrage; but the time past, Lolonois ordered that the +inhabitants should be followed, robbed of all they had carried away, and +made prisoners. They had succeeded, however, knowing the country, in +making such good use of their time that the pirates could only capture a +few sacks of indigo. Having remained there a few days, committing all +kinds of outrages and stealing all they could, they returned to the coast, +rejoining some of their companions, who had been engaged in robbing the +poor fishermen of the coast, and others who came from Guatemala. A vessel +from Spain was daily expected to arrive off this river, and they left two +canoes to attack her, whilst they went over to some islands on the other +side of the gulf to careen and cleanse their ships and obtain provisions, +they knowing well that turtle abounded. They also made a number of ropes +and nets from the rind of the macoa-tree, and obtained a quantity of a +kind of bitumen or pitch, useful on board ship. In short, these islands +would seem to supply nearly all that was required for the seaman's use. + +The pirates, having been in the gulf three months, received advice that +the expected Spanish ship had arrived, and hastened to the spot where she +lay unloading her merchandise. They had previously sent away some of the +boats to seek for a smaller vessel, also expected, richly laden with +plate, indigo, and cochineal. Meanwhile the ship's crew, expecting an +attack, had prepared for a good defence. Her armament consisted of +forty-two guns, and she had on board one hundred and thirty well-armed +men. Lolonois simply laughed at all this, and assaulted them with great +courage. His own ship had but twenty-two guns. The Spaniards behaved +excellently, and forced the pirates to retire momentarily, but Lolonois +was still equal to the occasion. Taking advantage of the dense smoke +caused by the bad powder of those days, he again attacked the ship, +boarded her from all sides, and forced the Spaniards to surrender. They +were considerably chagrined to find that their fight had been almost for +nothing--piratically considered--for they found on board little more than +fifty bars of iron, a small parcel of paper, and some earthen jars of +wine. + +Lolonois now called a council of war, and stated that he was bound for +Guatemala. A division of opinion immediately arose, and he was especially +opposed by some of the men who were but "green hands" in the art of +piracy, and who had expected long ere this to have become wealthy, or, as +the chronicler puts it, had expected "that pieces of eight were gathered +as easy as pears from a tree." Many of these immediately seceded and left +the fleet, returning home as best they might. Another section averred that +they would rather starve than return without plenty of prize money. The +major part did not approve of the proposed voyage, and separated from +Lolonois and his adherents. Their ring-leaders, Moses Vanclein and Pierre +le Picard, on the voyage home, pillaged a town in Costa Rica, but only +gained some seven or eight pounds of native gold. + +Lolonois, thus deserted by the larger number of his companions, remained +alone in the Gulf of Honduras, where all suffered severely from want of +provisions. Roast monkey was their main sustenance. At last, near Cape +Gracias a Dios, his ship struck on a sandbank near the little island, one +of the group named De las Puertas, and although they threw overboard the +guns, iron, and other weighty things on the ship, she stuck fast, and no +art could remove her. They were forced to break her up, and build +themselves a boat to get away. The islands were inhabited by some Indians, +who are described as being very tall and nimble, running as fast as a +fleet horse, and enormously strong; "at diving also," says the chronicler, +"they are very dexterous and hardy. From the bottom of the sea I saw them +take up an anchor of six hundred-weight, tying a cable to it with great +dexterity, and pulling it from a rock." Their arms were of wood, and in +place of iron points crocodiles' teeth were often used. They had +plantations of bananas, potatoes, and other fruits and vegetables. They +occasionally indulged in cannibalism. Two of the men, a Frenchman and a +Spaniard, went into the woods, where they lost themselves. A party of +Indians pursued them. They defended themselves with their swords, but were +at last forced to flee; the nimbler of the two, the Frenchman, escaped, +but the Spaniard was taken. Some days after, twelve well-armed pirates, +conducted by the above-mentioned Frenchman, reached the place where the +Spaniard had been left. Here they found the evidences that the Indians had +camped and made a fire, and at a small distance discovered a man's bones +well roasted, and with shreds of flesh, ill scraped off, adhering to them. +A human hand, with but two fingers remaining, was also found, and they +could only conclude that these were the last of the poor Spaniard, as he +was never heard of again. + +Their boat was now finished, and they determined to make for the river of +Nicaragua. She could not hold the number, and to avoid disputes they cast +lots who should go or stay. Lolonois and half his men embarked in the +long-boat and in the skiff which they had before, the other half remaining +ashore. At the river of Nicaragua that ill-fortune assailed the pirate +leader which of long time had been reserved for him as a punishment due to +the multitude of horrible crimes committed in his wicked and licentious +life. Here he met with both Spaniards and Indians, who, jointly setting +upon him and his companions, were killed on the place. Lolonois with those +that remained alive, had much ado to escape aboard their boats; yet, +notwithstanding this great loss, he resolved not to return to those he had +left at the Isle of Puertas without taking some boats such as he sought. +To this effect he determined to go on to the coasts of Carthagena; but +"God Almighty," says Esquemeling--"the time of His divine justice being now +come--had appointed the Indians of Darien to be the instruments and +executioners thereof. These Indians of Darien were esteemed as bravoes, or +wild savage Indians, by the neighbouring Spaniards, who never could +civilise them. Hither Lolonois came (brought by his evil conscience that +cried for punishment), thinking to act his cruelties; but the Indians, +within a few days after his arrival, took him prisoner, and tore him in +pieces alive, throwing his body limb by limb into the fire, and his ashes +into the air, that no trace or memory might remain of such an infamous, +inhuman creature. One of his companions gave me an exact account of the +tragedy, affirming that himself had escaped the same punishment with the +greatest difficulty. He believed also that many of his comrades who were +taken in that encounter by those Indians were, as their cruel captain, +torn in pieces and burnt alive. Thus ends the history, the life, and +miserable death of that infernal wretch Lolonois, who, full of horrid, +execrable, and enormous deeds, and debtor to so much innocent blood, died +by cruel and butcherly hands, such as his own were in the course of his +life." Those that remained on the island De las Puertas waiting for their +companions' return were later taken off on the ship of another pirate. The +united crews, now in number 500, made for the river at Gracias a Dios, +which they entered in canoes. They took little provision, expecting to +"find"--in the pirate's meaning, steal--plenty ashore. In this they were +disappointed, for the Indians had got notice of their coming, and had +fled. They were thus reduced to extreme necessity and hunger, and a few +green herbs formed their only sustenance. After a laborious search in the +woods for food, during which time they were reduced to eat their own boots +and the leather sheaths of their swords and knives, and at which period +they also vowed to sacrifice any Indians they might meet to appease their +own appetites--which, fortunately for the Indians, did not happen--their +courage oozed out, and they returned to the ships. The greater part of +them subsequently perished from hunger and exhaustion, or in the same +manner as had their commander Lolonois not long before. + +And now to the deeds of another famous freebooter, "who," as Esquemeling +says, "may deservedly be called the second Lolonois, not being unlike or +inferior to him either in achievements against the Spaniards or in +robberies of many innocent people." The notorious pirate Captain Morgan +now appears upon the scene. + + + + + + CHAPTER III. + + + THE PIRATES AND BUCANIERS (_continued_). + + + The Second Lolonois--Captain Henry Morgan--His first Successes--A + Pirate Fleet of Seven Hundred Men--Attack on a Cuban Town--Morgan's + Form--Not to be Beaten--Puerto Bello--Morgan's Strategy--The Castle + taken--Extravagant Demands--The Governor of Panama Derided--Return to + Jamaica--Their Dissipation--A Fresh Start--Maracaibo re-taken--A + Chance for Guy Fawkes--Gibraltar again--Cruel Tortures inflicted on + Prisoners--Horrible Brutalities--Arrival of a Spanish Fleet--Morgan's + Insolence--Letter from the Spanish Admiral--"To the Death!" + + +Captain Henry Morgan was born in Wales; his father was in easy +circumstances, as many who bear that name in Wales were and are known to +be. Morgan, when young, had no inclination for the calling of his father, +and therefore left the country and came to the sea-coast, to seek some +other employment more suitable to his aspirations. He volunteered on board +a vessel bound for Barbadoes, the captain of which, according to the +frequent practice of those times, sold him as soon as he went ashore. "He +served his time at Barbadoes, and, obtaining his liberty, betook himself +to Jamaica, there to seek new fortunes. Here he found two vessels of +pirates ready to go to sea; and being destitute of employment he went with +them, with intent to follow the exercises of that sort of people; and he +soon learnt their mode of living so exactly that, having performed three +or four voyages with profit and success, he agreed with some of his +comrades, who had got by the same voyages a little money, to join stocks +and buy a ship. The vessel being bought they unanimously chose him captain +and commander." + +With this ship he left Jamaica, and off the coast of Campechy took several +prizes, with which he returned triumphantly. He next met an old pirate, +Mansvelt by name, who was then engaged in forming and manning a fleet, and +who offered Morgan the post of vice-admiral in his expedition, which the +latter accepted. There was no nonsense about the piracy of those days; for +we read that the freebooters' fleet consisted of no less than fifteen +vessels, great and small, manned by 500 adventurers. They first proceeded +to the Isle of St. Catherine, near the coast of Costa Rica, where they +landed most of their men, and soon "forced all the forts and castles +thereof," which they instantly demolished, except one, which they +garrisoned with 100 men of their own, and all the slaves taken from the +Spaniards. With the rest of their forces they proceeded to a neighbouring +island, so close, indeed, that in a few days they made a bridge and +carried over all the captured ordnance. Having ruined with fire and sword +both the islands, they put to sea again with the intention of pillaging +all the towns and villages on the coast of Costa Rica. The Governor of +Panama learned of these proceedings, and made preparations to meet the +pirates, of which fact they also learned, and they retired, finding the +whole country was alarmed. They returned to St. Catherine, where the +governor whom they had left in charge--a Frenchman, Le Sieur Simon by +name--had made good use of his charge by putting the greater island in an +excellent state of defence, while he had cultivated the lesser one to such +an extent that he was able to re-victual the fleet. Mansvelt was very much +bent on keeping these islands, as they were conveniently situated for +piracy, and easily defended. He laid the matter before the Governor of +Jamaica, who rejected his plans. He then proceeded to Tortuga for +volunteers to man the island with supplies, but here death put an end to +his wicked life, leaving all things in suspense. The new Governor of Costa +Rica did not approve of the islands remaining in the hands of pirates; but +before taking action offered easy terms to Le Sieur Simon, promising him +good reward should he give them up. The latter, after some small show of +resistance, delivered them up to Spain. + +Captain Morgan was now entirely in command of the pirate fleet, and had +under his command no less than 700 men, part English and part French, on +twelve vessels. A council was called, and some recommended an attempt on +the City of Havannah, while others, who had been prisoners there, thought +it useless to try any such scheme with less than 1,500 men. They finally +resolved to attack the town of El Puerto del Principe, an inland town of +Cuba, tolerably near the coast, where the inhabitants were wealthy, and +had never yet been attacked by the pirates. They made sail, steering +toward the coast nearest that town. At a bay named El Puerto del Santa +Maria, a Spanish prisoner on board the fleet swam ashore by night, and +succeeded in reaching the threatened town, where he gave the inhabitants +information of the coming attack, and they, of course, immediately began +to hide and carry away their riches and movables. The governor immediately +enrolled all the males of the town, about 800, and posted part of them in +a position where by necessity the pirates must pass, while he made other +preparations for hindering them, by cutting down trees and laying them +across the roads. He placed ambuscade parties with cannon to harass them +on their march. + +"Captain Morgan with his men now on the march found the avenues to the +town impassable; hereupon they took their way through the wood, traversing +it with great difficulty, whereby they escaped divers ambuscades; at last +they came to the place from its figure called by the Spaniards La Savanna, +or the Sheet. The governor seeing them come, detached a troop of horse to +charge them in the front, thinking to disperse them, and to pursue them +with his main body; but this design succeeded not, for the pirates marched +in very good order at the sound of their drums, and with flying colours. +Coming near the horse, they drew into a semicircle, and so advanced +towards the Spaniards, who charged them vehemently for a while; but the +pirates being very dexterous at their arms, and their governor and many of +their companions being killed, they retreated towards the wood, to save +themselves with more advantage; but before they could reach it most of +them were killed. Thus they left the victory to these new-come enemies, +who had no considerable loss of men in the battle, and but very few +wounded. The skirmish lasted four hours; after which they entered the +town, not without very great resistance of such as were within, who +defended themselves as long as possible, and many seeing the enemy in the +town shut themselves up in their own houses and thence made several shots +upon the pirates, who therefore threatened them, saying, 'If you surrender +not voluntarily, you shall soon see the town in a flame, and your wives +and children torn in pieces before your faces.' Upon these menaces, the +Spaniards submitted to the discretion of the pirates, believing they could +not continue there long." + +As soon as the pirates had captured the town, they imprisoned all the +Spaniards--men, women, children, and slaves--in several churches, and +pillaged all the goods they could find. They then searched the country +round about, bringing in daily prisoners, goods, and provision. "With this +they fell to making great cheer, after their old custom, without +remembering the poor prisoners, whom they let starve in the churches, +though they tormented them daily and inhumanly to make them confess where +they had hid their goods, money, &c., though little or nothing was left +them; not sparing the women and children; giving them nothing to eat, +whereby the greater part perished. + +"Pillage and provisions growing scarce, they thought convenient to depart +and seek new fortunes in other places. They told the prisoners they should +find money to ransom themselves, or else they should all be transported to +Jamaica; and beside, if they did not pay a second ransom for the town, +they would burn every house to the ground." The Spaniards hereupon +nominated among themselves four fellow-prisoners to go and seek for the +above-named contributions; but the pirates, to the intent they should +return presently with those ransoms, tormented several cruelly in their +presence before they departed. After a few days the Spaniards returned, +telling Captain Morgan, "We have run up and down and searched all the +neighbouring woods and places we most suspected, and yet have not been +able to find any of our own party, nor consequently any fruit of our +embassy; but if you are pleased to have a little longer patience with us, +we shall certainly cause all that you demand within fifteen days;" which +Captain Morgan granted. But not long after, there came into the town seven +or eight pirates who had been ranging in the woods and fields, and got +considerable booty. These brought, amongst other prisoners, a negro, whom +they had taken with letters. Captain Morgan having perused them, found +they were from the Governor of Santa Iago, being written to some of the +prisoners, wherein he told them:--"They should not make too much haste to +pay any ransom for their town or persons or any other pretext; but, on the +contrary, they should put off the pirates as well as they could with +excuses and delays, expecting to be relieved by him in a short time, when +they would certainly come to their aid." Upon this intelligence, Captain +Morgan ordered all their plunder to be carried aboard; and withal, he told +the Spaniards that the very next day they should pay their ransoms, for he +would not wait a moment longer, but reduce the whole town to ashes if they +failed of the sum he demanded. + +"With this intimation Captain Morgan made no mention of the letters he had +intercepted. They answered--'That it was impossible for them to give such a +sum of money in so short a space of time, seeing their fellow-townsmen +were not to be found in all the country thereabouts.' Captain Morgan knew +full well their intentions, but thought it not convenient to stay there +any longer, demanding only of them 500 oxen or cows, with sufficient salt +to powder them, with this condition, that they should carry them on board +his ships. Thus he departed with all his men, taking with him only six of +the principal prisoners as pledges. Next day the Spaniards brought the +cattle and salt to the ships, and required the prisoners; but Captain +Morgan refused to deliver them till they had helped his men to kill and +salt the beeves. This was performed in great haste, he not caring to stay +there any longer, lest he should be surprised; and having received all on +board, he liberated the hostages." + +Captain Morgan was hardly to be disconcerted by any defection on the part +of his late allies, and he therefore immediately rallied his remaining +men, who swore to stick by him to death. Another pirate captain joined +him, and in a few days he had collected a fleet of nine sail, manned by +four hundred and sixty fighting men. Morgan immediately steered for the +coast of Costa Rica, keeping his intended plan of action closely locked +within his own bosom. + + [Illustration: ON THE COAST OF COSTA RICA.] + +The land was now in sight, and a council of war was called. Morgan +informed his company that he intended to plunder Puerto Bello by night, +and put the whole city to the sack. He recalled to them the fact that he +had kept the matter entirely secret, and that his victims could therefore +have had no notice. Some thought that they had not a sufficient number of +men to successfully attack the town. Morgan's answer was characteristic. +"If our numbers are small," said he, "our hearts are great, and the fewer +persons we are, the more union, and the better shares we shall have in the +spoil." The attack was settled. + +The city or town of Puerto Bello was in those days one of the strongest of +the Spanish main, or West Indian isles, Havannah and Carthagena alone +out-ranking it. Two forts defended the entrance to its harbour; it had a +garrison of 300 soldiers; and was inhabited by some 400 families. The +merchants did not generally reside there, owing to the unhealthiness of +the climate, but stopped at Panama, and brought their commodities over at +regular seasons, when the Spanish galleons or slave-ships were expected. +Captain Morgan, who knew the neighbouring country thoroughly, anchored his +vessels some little distance from the town to be attacked, and leaving a +few men on board to bring them into port next day, proceeded with the bulk +of his company in boats and canoes. About midnight they reached a place +called Estera longa Lemos, where they all went on shore, and marched to +the city. They had with them an Englishman who had formerly been a +prisoner there, and he with three or four others contrived to seize the +sentinel before he had time to give any warning. The latter was brought +with his hands bound to Captain Morgan, and closely interrogated as to the +strength of the place, with threats of death if he did not speak truly. +Then, having gathered all the information they could, they marched up to +the castle or fort near the city, and closely surrounded it. Let +Esquemeling now describe to us the sequence. + +"Being posted under the walls of the castle, Captain Morgan commanded the +sentinel whom they had taken prisoner to speak to those within, charging +them to surrender to his discretion, otherwise they should all be cut in +pieces without quarter. But they, regarding none of these threats, began +instantly to fire, which alarmed the city; yet, notwithstanding, though +the governor and soldiers of the said city made as great resistance as +could be, they were forced to surrender. Having taken the castle, they +resolved to be as good as their words, putting the Spaniards to the sword, +thereby to strike a terror into the rest of the city. Whereupon, having +shut up all the officers and soldiers into one room, they set fire to the +powder (whereof they found great quantity) and blew up the castle into the +air, with all the Spaniards that were within. This done, they pursued the +course of their victory, falling upon the city, which, as yet, was not +ready to receive them. Many of the inhabitants cast their precious jewels +and money into wells and cisterns, or hid them in places underground, to +avoid as much as possible being totally robbed. One party of the pirates, +being assigned to this purpose, ran immediately to the cloisters, and took +as many religious men and women(5) as they could find. The governor of the +city, not being able to rally the citizens through their great confusion, +retired to one of the castles remaining, and thence fired incessantly at +the pirates; but these were not in the least negligent either to assault +him or to defend themselves, so that amidst the horror of the assault they +made very few shots in vain; for, aiming with great dexterity at the +mouths of the guns, the Spaniards were certain to lose one or two men +every time they charged each gun anew. This continued very furious from +break of day till noon; yea, about this time of day the case was very +dubious which party should conquer or be conquered. At last, the pirates +perceiving they had lost many men, and yet advanced but little towards +gaining either this or the other castles, made use of fire-balls, which +they threw with their hands, designing to burn the doors of the castles; +but the Spaniards from the walls let fall great quantities of stones, and +earthen pots full of powder and other combustibles, which forced them to +desist. Captain Morgan, seeing this generous defence made by the +Spaniards, began to despair of success. Hereupon many faint and calm +meditations came into his mind; neither could he determine which way to +turn him in that strait. Being thus puzzled he was suddenly animated to +continue the assaults by seeing English colours put forth in one of the +lesser castles, then entered by his men, of whom he presently afterwards +spied a troop coming to meet him, proclaiming victory with loud shouts of +joy. This instantly put him on new resolutions of taking the rest of the +castles, especially seeing the chiefest citizens were fled to them, and +had conveyed thither great part of their riches, with all the plate +belonging to the churches and divine service. + +"To this effect he ordered ten or twelve ladders to be made in all haste, +so broad that three or four men at once might ascend them. These being +finished, he commanded all the religious men and women whom he had taken +prisoners to fix them against the walls of the castle. This he had before +threatened the governor to do if he delivered not the castle, but his +answer was, 'He would never surrender himself alive.' Captain Morgan was +persuaded the governor would not employ his armed force, seeing the +religious women and ecclesiastical persons exposed in front of the +soldiers to the greatest danger. Thus the ladders, as I have said, were +put into the hands of religious persons of both sexes, and these were +forced at the head of the companies to raise and apply them to the walls; +but Captain Morgan was fully deceived in his judgment, for the governor, +who acted like a brave soldier in the performance of his duty, used his +utmost endeavour to destroy whosoever came near the walls. The religious +men and women ceased not to cry to him, and beg of him by all the saints +of Heaven, to deliver the castle, and spare both his and their lives; but +nothing could prevail with his obstinacy and fierceness. Thus, many of the +religious men and nuns were killed before they could fix the ladders, +which at last being done, though with great loss of the said religious +people, the pirates mounted them in great numbers, and with not less +valour, having fire-balls in their hands, and earthen pots full of powder; +all which things being now at the top of the walls, they kindled and cast +in among the Spaniards. + +"This effort of the pirates was very great, inasmuch as the Spaniards +could no longer resist nor defend the castle, which was now entered. +Hereupon they all threw down their arms, and craved quarter for their +lives. Only the governor would crave no mercy, but killed many of the +pirates with his own hands, and not a few of his own soldiers, because +they would not stand to their arms. And though the pirates asked him if he +would have quarter, yet he constantly answered, 'By no means; I would +rather die as a valiant soldier than be hanged as a coward!' They +endeavoured as much as they could to take him prisoner, but he defended +himself so obstinately that they were forced to kill him, notwithstanding +all the cries and tears of his own wife and daughter, who begged him on +their knees to demand quarter and save his life." + +The pirates now gave themselves up to all kinds of debauchery, some of the +details of which shall not disgrace these pages. The chronicler says that +at this time fifty determined men could easily have re-taken the city. The +President of Panama sent a body of men to the rescue, who were met by the +pirates and put to flight. He later sent a message full of threats, at +which Morgan only laughed, and sent word that he would demolish the forts +and burn the town unless he should immediately receive 100,000 pieces of +eight (over L20,000), and it was eventually paid. The Governor or +President of Panama was puzzled to learn how 400 men, without ordnance, +could have taken a town so well fortified as Puerto Bello, and sent to +Morgan, asking for some small patterns of his arms. The pirate captain +forwarded by the messenger a pistol and some small bullets, and desired +the president "to accept that slender pattern of the arms wherewith he had +taken Puerto Bello, and keep them a twelvemonth; after which time he +promised to come to Panama and fetch them away." The governor returned the +presents, sending him back a golden ring, and desiring him not to trouble +himself about Panama, as he might obtain a warmer reception than he +expected. The results of this expedition comprised a quarter of a million +dollars, besides merchandise in silk, linen, and cloth. The +tavern-keepers, traders, and gamblers of Jamaica reaped the larger part of +these enormous gains. + +Morgan's next enterprise, in which he was joined by many other pirate +commanders, was against the already unfortunate city of Maracaibo. A +French pirate-ship, carrying thirty-six guns, was then at Jamaica, and +Morgan tried to induce the commander and his men to join them. This the +French refused; whereupon he invited the captain and several of his men to +dine with him, and treacherously made them prisoners. + +This unjust action of Captain Morgan was followed by very swift +retribution. Captain Morgan, immediately after he had taken these French +prisoners, called a council to deliberate what place they should select +for this new expedition. It was determined to go to the Isle of Savona, to +wait for the fleet then expected from Spain, and take any of the Spanish +vessels straggling from the rest. This resolution being made, they began +to feast aboard the prize in expectation of their new voyage. They drank +many healths and discharged many guns--common signs of mirth among the +pirates. Most of the men being drunk--by what accident is not known--the +ship was suddenly blown up, with 350 Englishmen, besides the French +prisoners in the hold; of whom only thirty men escaped, who were in the +main cabin, at some distance from the full force of the powder. Many more, +it is thought, might have escaped had they not taken too much wine. The +French prisoners were accused of having fired the vessel, and Morgan a +little later seized their ship and crew. + + [Illustration: BLOWING UP OF THE FRENCH PIRATE SHIP.] + +"Eight days after the loss of the said ship, Captain Morgan commanded the +bodies of the miserable wretches who were blown up to be searched for as +they floated on the sea: not to afford them Christian burial, but for +their clothes and attire; and if any had gold rings on their fingers these +were cut off, leaving them exposed to the voracity of the monsters of the +sea. At last they set sail for Savona, the place of their assignation. +There were in all fifteen vessels, Captain Morgan commanding the biggest, +of only fourteen small guns. His number of men was 960. Few days after +they arrived at the Cabo de Lobos, south of Hispaniola, between Cape +Tiburon and Cape Punta de Espada. Hence they could not pass, by reason of +contrary winds, for three weeks, in spite of every effort to do so. Then +Captain Morgan doubled the cape, and spied an English vessel at a +distance. Having spoken to her, they found she came from England, and +bought of her, for ready money, some provisions they wanted. + +"Captain Morgan proceeded on his voyage till he came to the port of Ocoa; +here he landed some men, sending them into the woods to seek water and +provisions, the better to spare such as he had already on board. They +killed many beasts, and among others some horses. But the Spaniards, not +well satisfied at their hunting, laid a stratagem for them, ordering three +or four hundred men to come from Santo Domingo, not far distant, and +desiring them to hunt in all the parts thereabout near the sea, that so if +the pirates should return they might find no subsistence. Within few days +the pirates returned to hunt, but finding nothing to kill, a party of +about fifty straggled farther on into the woods. The Spaniards, who +watched all their motions, gathered a great herd of cows, and set two or +three men to keep them. The pirates, having spied them, killed a +sufficient number; and though the Spaniards could see them at a distance, +yet they could not hinder them at present; but as soon as they attempted +to carry them away they set upon them furiously, crying--'Mata, mata!' +which is, 'Kill, kill!' Thus the pirates were compelled to quit the prey, +and retreat to their ships; but they did it in good order, retiring by +degrees, and when they had opportunity discharging full volleys on the +Spaniards, killing many of their enemies, though with some loss. + +"The Spaniards, seeing their damage, endeavoured to save themselves by +flight and carry off their dead and wounded companions. The pirates +perceiving them flee would not content themselves with what hurt they had +already done, but pursued them speedily into the woods, and killed the +greatest part of those that remained. Next day Captain Morgan, extremely +offended at what had passed, went himself, with 200 men, into the woods to +seek for the rest of the Spaniards, but finding nobody, he revenged +himself on the houses of the poor and miserable rustics that inhabited +those scattering fields and woods, of which he burnt a great number; with +this he returned to his ship, somewhat more satisfied in his mind for +having done some considerable damage to the enemy, which was always his +most ardent desire." + +Captain Morgan having waited impatiently for some of his ships which had +not yet joined company, was recommended by a French captain who had served +with Lolonois to make an attempt with his present forces--eight ships and +about 500 men--on Maracaibo. The Spaniards had built another fort since the +action with Lolonois, and when the pirates arrived gave them a very warm +reception, which lasted till evening. In the obscurity of the night Morgan +and his men crept up to the fort, when they found that the Spaniards had +deserted it. They had left, however, a train of powder with match burning, +with the intention of playing Guy Fawkes with the pirates, and had not +Morgan discovered it in time they would undoubtedly have suffered great +loss. The freebooters found a considerable amount of powder and muskets, +with which they furnished the fleet, and they spiked sixteen cannons. Next +day they proceeded in boats and canoes to the town, which, with an +adjacent fort, was found deserted. + +"As soon as they had entered the town the pirates searched every corner, +to see if they could find any people who were hid who might offend them +unawares; not finding anybody, every party, as they came out of their +several ships, chose what several houses they pleased. The church was +deputed for the common corps du guard, where they lived, after their +military manner, very insolently. Next day after they sent a troop of 100 +men to seek for the inhabitants and their goods. These returned next day, +bringing with them thirty persons--men, women, and children--and fifty mules +laden with good merchandise. All these miserable people were put to the +rack, to make them confess where the rest of the inhabitants were and +their goods. Among other tortures, one was to stretch their limbs with +cords and then to beat them with sticks and other instruments. Others had +burning matches placed between their fingers, which were thus burnt alive. +Others had slender cords or matches placed about their heads till their +eyes burst out. Those who would not confess, or had nothing to declare, +died under the hands of those villains. These tortures and racks continued +for three whole weeks, in which time they sent out daily parties to seek +for more people to torment and rob, they never returning without booty and +new riches. + +"Captain Morgan having now gotten into his hands about a hundred of the +chief families, with all their goods, at last resolved for Gibraltar, as +Lolonois had done before. With this design he equipped his fleet, +providing it sufficiently with all necessaries. He put likewise on board +all the prisoners, and weighing anchor, set sail with resolution to hazard +a battle. They had sent before some prisoners to Gibraltar to require the +inhabitants to surrender, otherwise Captain Morgan would put them all to +the sword without any quarter. Arriving before Gibraltar, the inhabitants +received him with continued shooting of great cannon bullets; but the +pirates, instead of fainting hereat, ceased not to encourage one another, +saying--'We must make one meal upon bitter things before we come to taste +the sweetness of the sugar this place affords.'" + +Next day, early in the morning, they landed all their men, and being +guided by the Frenchman beforenamed, they marched towards the town, not by +the ordinary way, but crossing through woods, which way the Spaniards did +not expect they would have come, for at the beginning of their journey +they pretended to march the next and open way to the town, hereby to +deceive the Spaniards; "but these remembering full well what Lolonois had +done but two years before, thought it not safe to expect a second brunt, +and hereupon all fled out of the town as fast as they could, carrying all +their goods and riches, as also all their powder, and having nailed all +the great guns; so as the pirates found not one person in the whole city +but one poor innocent man who was born a fool. This man they asked whither +the inhabitants had fled, and where they had hid their goods. To all which +questions and the like he constantly answered--'I know nothing, I know +nothing!' but they presently put him to the rack, and tortured him with +cords, which torments forced him to cry out--'Do not torture me any more, +but come with me and I will show you my goods and my riches!' They were +persuaded, it seems, he was some rich person disguised under those clothes +so poor and that innocent tongue; so they went along with him, and he +conducted them to a poor miserable cottage, wherein he had a few earthen +dishes and other things of no value, and three pieces of eight, concealed +with some other trumpery under ground. Then they asked him his name, and +he readily answered, 'My name is Don Sebastian Sanchez, and I am brother +unto the Governor of Maracaibo.' This foolish answer, it must be +conceived, these inhuman wretches took for truth; for no sooner had they +heard it but they put him again upon the rack, lifting him up on high with +cords, and tying large weights to his feet and neck. Besides which they +burnt him alive, applying palm-leaves burning to his face." They sent out +parties, and captured some prisoners, several of whom were tortured or +killed. Among others there was a Portuguese, who was falsely reported by a +negro to be very rich. This man was commanded to produce his riches. His +answer was that he had no more than 100 pieces of eight in the world, and +these had been stolen from him two days before by his servant. The pirates +would not believe him, but dragged him to a rack without any regard to his +age of sixty years, and stretched him with cords, breaking both his arms +behind his shoulders. "This cruelty went not alone, for he not being able +or willing to make any other declaration, they put him to another sort of +torment more barbarous; they tied him with small cords by his two thumbs +and great toes to four stakes fixed in the ground at a convenient +distance, the whole weight of his body hanging by these cords. Not +satisfied yet with their cruel torture, they took a stone of above 200 +pounds and laid it on his belly, as if they intended to press him to +death; they also kindled palm-leaves and applied the flame to the face of +this unfortunate Portuguese, burning with them the whole skin, beard, and +hair. At last, seeing that neither with these tortures nor others they +could get anything out of him, they untied the cords, and carried him, +half-dead, to the church, where was their corps du guard; here they tied +him anew to one of the pillars thereof, leaving him in that condition +without giving him either to eat or drink, unless very sparingly and so +little that would scarce sustain life, for some days. Four or five being +past, he desired one of the prisoners might come to him, by whose means he +promised he would endeavour to raise some money to satisfy their demands. +The prisoner whom he desired was brought to him, and he ordered him to +promise the pirates 500 pieces of eight for his ransom; but they were deaf +and obstinate at such a small sum, and instead of accepting it beat him +cruelly with cudgels, saying, 'Old fellow, instead of 500, 5,000 pieces of +eight; otherwise you shall here end your life.' Finally, after a thousand +protestations that he was but a miserable man, and kept a poor tavern for +his living, he agreed with them for 1,000 pieces of eight. These he +raised, and having paid them, got his liberty, though so horribly maimed, +that it is scarce to be believed he could survive many weeks." Morgan +proceeded later to Gibraltar, and his proceedings there are but a +repetition of his former acts. And yet in searching the interior he and +some of his men were at one time in such straits that a couple of score or +so of Spaniards could have annihilated them. + +And now they returned to Maracaibo, where an unpleasant surprise awaited +them. They learned from a poor old Spaniard that three large Spanish ships +had arrived off the bar, and were awaiting the exit of the pirates; and, +further, that the castle at the entrance had been repaired, well provided +with guns and ammunition, and thoroughly manned. Morgan sent a boat down +to find out how far this was true, and the report was that its crew had +ventured so near that they were in great danger of being shot; that there +were three great ships, mounting respectively forty, thirty, and +twenty-four guns. Morgan disguised the apprehension he must have felt, and +sent a message, couched in his usual style of braggadocia, demanding a +heavy ransom for not putting the city of Maracaibo to the flames. Here +follows the answer of the Spanish Admiral:-- + + + + + + + "_The letter of Don Alonso del Campo y Espinosa, Admiral of the Spanish + Fleet, to Captain Morgan, Commander of the Pirates:_-- + +"Having understood by all our friends and neighbours the unexpected news +that you have dared to attempt and commit hostilities in the countries, +titles, towns, and villages belonging to the dominions of his Catholic +Majesty, my Sovereign Lord and Master, I let you understand by these lines +that I am come to this place, according to my obligation, near that castle +which you took out of the hands of a parcel of cowards, where I have put +things into a very good posture of defence, and mounted again the +artillery which you nailed and dismounted. My intent is to dispute with +you your passage out of the lake, and follow and pursue you everywhere, to +the end you may see the performance of my duty. Notwithstanding, if you be +contented to surrender with humility all that you have taken, together +with the slaves and all other prisoners, I will let you freely pass, +without trouble or molestation, on condition that you retire home +presently to your own country. But if you make any resistance or +opposition to what I offer you, I assure you I will command boats to come +from Caraccas, wherein I will put my troops, and coming to Maracaibo, will +put you every man to the sword. This is my last and absolute resolution. +Be prudent, therefore, and do not abuse my bounty with ingratitude. I have +with me very good soldiers, who desire nothing more ardently than to +revenge on you and your people all the cruelties and base infamous actions +you have committed upon the Spanish nation in America. Dated on board the +royal ship named the _Magdalen_, lying at anchor at the entry of the lake +of Maracaibo, the 24th April, 1669. + + "DON ALONSO DEL CAMPO Y ESPINOSA." + + + + + + + [Illustration: MORGAN'S ATTACK ON MARACAIBO.] + + + + + + CHAPTER IV. + + + THE PIRATES AND BUCANIERS (_continued_). + + + Attack resolved--The Fire-ship--Morgan passes the Castle--Off for St. + Catherine's--Given up by a Stratagem--St. Catherine's an Easy + Prey--Power of Fire--Thirty in Three Hundred Saved--The March on + Panama--A Pirate Band of Twelve Hundred--Sufferings on the Way--A + Pipe for Supper--Leather and Cold Water--Panama at last--The First + Encounter--Resolute Fighting--Wild Bulls in Warfare--Victory for the + Pirates--Ruthless Destruction of Property--Cruelty to + Prisoners--Searching for Treasure--Dissatisfaction at the + Dividend--The last of Morgan. + + +On receipt of the captain's letter Morgan called his men together and +asked them whether they were going to fight or surrender. They answered +unanimously that they would fight to the last drop of blood rather than +surrender so easily the booty they had obtained with so much danger. +"Among the rest one said to Captain Morgan, 'Take you care for the rest, +and I will undertake to destroy the biggest of those ships with only +twelve men; the manner shall be by making a _brulot_, or fire-ship, of +that vessel we took in the river of Gibraltar, which, to the intent she +may not be known for a fire-ship, we will fill her decks with logs of +wood, standing with hats and montera caps, to deceive their sight with the +representation of men. The same we will do at the port-holes that serve +for the guns, which shall be filled with counterfeit cannon. At the stern +we will hang out English colours, and persuade the enemy she is one of our +best men-of-war going to fight them.' This proposition was approved. +Attempts were afterwards made to compromise with Don Alonso, but he would +not listen to them, and sent them a peremptory message, which, simply +translated, meant that they must give in, or give up. + + [Illustration: CAPTAIN HENRY MORGAN. + (_From Captain C. Johnson's __"__Lives of Famous Highwaymen, Pirates, + &c.__"_)] + +"No sooner had Captain Morgan received this message from Don Alonso than +he put all things in order to fight, resolving to get out of the lake by +main force, without surrendering anything. First, he commanded all the +slaves and prisoners to be tied and guarded very well, and gathered all +the pitch, tar, and brimstone they could find in the whole town for the +fire-ship above-mentioned. Then they made several inventions of powder and +brimstone with palm-leaves well anointed with tar. They covered very well +their counterfeit cannon, laying under every piece many pounds of powder; +besides, they cut down many outworks of the ship, that the powder might +exert its strength the better; breaking open also new port-holes, where, +instead of guns, they placed little drums used by the negroes. Finally, +the decks were handsomely beset with many pieces of wood, dressed up like +men, with hats or monteras, and armed with swords, muskets, and +bandeleers." + +The fire-ship being fitted, they prepared to proceed to the entry of the +port. All the prisoners were put into one great boat, and in another all +the women were placed, with the plate, jewels, and other rich things; into +others they put the bales of goods, merchandise, and bulky articles. Each +of these boats had twelve armed men aboard; the _brulot_ had orders to go +before the rest of the vessels, and presently to fall foul of the great +ship. All things being ready, Captain Morgan exacted an oath of his +comrades, making them promise to defend themselves to the last drop of +blood without demanding quarter; promising, withal, that whoever behaved +himself thus should be well rewarded. + +With this resolution they set sail to meet the Spaniards. On April 30th, +1669, they found the Spanish fleet riding at anchor in the middle of the +entry of the lake. "Captain Morgan, it being now late and almost dark, +commanded all his vessels to an anchor, designing to fight even all night +if they forced him to it. He ordered a careful watch to be kept aboard +every vessel till morning, they being almost within shot, as well as +within sight, of the enemy. The day dawning, they weighed anchor and +sailed again, steering directly towards the Spaniards, who, seeing them +move, did instantly the same. The fire-ship, sailing before the rest, fell +presently upon the great ship and grappled her, which the Spaniards (too +late) perceiving to be a fire-ship, they attempted to put her off, but in +vain; for the flame seizing her timber and tackling, soon consumed all the +stern, the fore-part sinking into the sea, where she perished. The second +Spanish ship perceiving the _Admiral_ to burn, not by accident, but by +industry of the enemy, escaped towards the castle, where the Spaniards +themselves sunk her, choosing to lose their ship rather than to fall into +the hands of those pirates. The third, having no opportunity to escape, +was taken by the pirates." + +The pirates were, we can well believe, rejoiced at this easy victory, and +they now attempted to take the castle. This was thoroughly well garrisoned +and provided, whereas they had nothing but muskets and a few hand +grenades. They consequently failed; the Spaniards gave them volley after +volley, and they at last retired, with a loss of thirty killed and as many +wounded. The attack was not renewed. From a pilot who was taken prisoner +the following day Captain Morgan learned that the expedition, which had +been sent out by the Supreme Council of State in Spain, consisted of six +well-equipped men-of-war, with instructions to root out the English +pirates. It had been organised in Spain, upon the receipt of the news of +the loss of Puerto Bello and other places, after fruitless representations +had been made to the King of England, who simply disclaimed any connivance +with the pirates. Two of the principal vessels had returned to Spain, +being considered too large for the enterprise, and one had been lost in a +gale. This pilot entered the service of Captain Morgan, and informed him +that in the ship which was sunk there was a great quantity of treasure, +and that he could see for himself that the Spaniards, in boats, were +endeavouring to rescue some of it. Morgan again sent a message to the +admiral, who had escaped to the castle, demanding a ransom, or he would +fire Maracaibo. This was at first, of course, indignantly refused, and the +pirate chief renewed his threats, when the Spanish settlers, down-hearted +at their constant ill-fortune, consented to pay the sum of 20,000 pieces +and 500 head of cattle, though the admiral, Don Alonso, sternly objected. + +Morgan, in spite of his successes, rather feared passing the castle at the +entrance of the lake, and he endeavoured, by means of the prisoners he +held, to secure his escape, by sending some of them to Don Alonso with a +promise to give them all up if he would not fire, or hang them if he did. +A deputation of prisoners waited on the admiral, urging his consent; but +Don Alonso told them, "If you had been as loyal to your king in hindering +the entry of these pirates as I shall do their going out, you had never +caused these troubles, neither to yourselves nor to our whole nation, +which hath suffered so much through your pusillanimity. In a word, I shall +never grant your request, but shall endeavour to maintain that respect +which is due to my king according to my duty." Thus the poor wretched +prisoners had to return to Morgan, and report the failure of their +mission. His reply was, in his usual vein, that he would find the means of +accomplishing his object in spite of Don Alonso. + +The stratagem employed was as follows:--During the day that they hoped to +escape after dark they put a number of their men in canoes, and rowed +towards the shore, as if they intended to land. There they hid themselves +among the trees and by lying down in the boats. Then the canoes returned +to the ships, two or three men rowing in each, and the rest remaining at +the bottom concealed. Thus much only could be observed from the castle, +and the ruse was repeated several times, the impression given being that +the pirates intended to scale the walls by night from the land. This +caused the Spaniards to place most of their greater guns on the land side, +with the principal part of the garrison, leaving the side towards the sea +almost destitute of defence. Night being come they weighed anchor, and by +moonlight, without setting sail, the tide gently took them towards the +entrance near the castle. Having arrived off the latter, they spread their +sails with all speed. The Spaniards, perceiving this, brought their guns +over to the sea side, but the pirates, being favoured by this loss of time +and also with a good breeze, escaped almost scatheless. Just as they were +departing, Morgan ironically saluted the castle with a volley from seven +of his largest guns. + + [Illustration: CAPTAIN MORGAN'S ESCAPE FROM MARACAIBO.] + +His next expedition, in which he was joined by many other pirates, +assembled on the south side of Tortuga on October the 24th, 1670, when a +council of ways and means was convened, the principal lack being in +provisions. This, however, was to them a small matter, and they resolved +to rob and rifle the towns and settlements of the mainland. Four vessels +were despatched on this errand to the River de la Hacha, where a village +was situated which was usually well provided with corn. Meanwhile, another +party was despatched into the woods, and the hunters were very successful. +The rest remained in the ships to clean and re-fit them. The river +expedition was becalmed off the coast, which gave the Spaniards ashore +time to hide and take away their goods. A large ship from Carthagena was +lying in the river, laden with maize (Indian corn), ready to depart. The +pirates soon made short work of this vessel, the crew of which was easily +mastered. The Spaniards peppered them from a battery when they landed, but +the freebooters drove them back to a fortified village, whence, after some +little resistance, the former were driven into the woods. They captured, +tortured, and robbed a number of these unfortunate settlers, who at length +were glad to get rid of them by paying a ransom of 4,000 bushels of maize. +Morgan had begun to despair of their return, when they arrived with the +captured ship and an enormous supply of the needed corn. + +Captain Morgan having divided the maize, and the flesh which the hunters +brought in, among the ships according to their number of men, he departed, +having inspected beforehand every ship. "Thus he set sail, and stood for +Cape Tiburon, where he resolved to determine what enterprise he should +take in hand. No sooner were they arrived, but they met some other ships +newly come to join them from Jamaica; so that now their fleet consisted of +thirty-seven ships, wherein were 2,000 fighting men, beside mariners and +boys. + +"Captain Morgan having such a number of ships, divided the whole fleet +into two squadrons, constituting a Vice-Admiral and other officers of the +second squadron distinct from the first. To these he gave letters patent, +or commissions to act all manner of hostilities against the Spanish +nation, and take of them what ships they could, either abroad at sea or in +the harbours, as if they were open and declared enemies (as he termed it) +of the King of England, his pretended master. This done, he called all his +captains and other officers together, and caused them to sign some +articles of agreement betwixt them, and in the name of all. Herein it was +stipulated that he should have the hundredth part of all that was gotten +to himself; that every captain should draw the shares of eight men for the +expenses of his ship besides his own. To the surgeon, besides his pay, 200 +pieces of eight for his chest of medicaments. To every carpenter, above +his salary, 100 pieces of eight. The rewards were settled in this voyage +much higher than before: as, for the loss of both hands, 1,800 pieces of +eight, or eighteen slaves; for one leg, whether right or left, 600 pieces +of eight, or six slaves; for a hand as much as for a leg; and for the loss +of an eye 100 pieces of eight or one slave. Lastly, to him that in any +battle should signalise himself, either by entering first any castle, or +taking down the Spanish colours and setting up the English, they allotted +fifty pieces of eight for a reward. All which extraordinary salaries and +rewards to be paid out of the first spoil they should take, as every one +should occur to be either rewarded or paid." The first captain who should +take a Spanish vessel was to receive the tenth part of its value. One of +three cities was to be attacked--Carthagena, Panama, or Vera Cruz; and +after a council had been held the lot fell on Panama. They resolved to +first visit the Isle of St. Catherine, there to obtain guides for the +enterprise. + +As soon as Captain Morgan approached the island he sent one of his best +sailing vessels to examine the entrance of the river, and see whether +there were any foreign ships there, and next day they anchored in a +neighbouring bay, where the Spaniards had built a battery, which made no +resistance. Morgan landed about 1,000 men, and marched them through the +woods, where they discovered another deserted battery, the Spaniards +having retired to the smaller and adjacent island, which was thoroughly +fortified. As soon as the pirates got in range the Spaniards opened a +furious fire upon them, and the former were that day compelled to retreat +to a hungry camp, as they had come utterly unprovided, while about +midnight the rain somewhat damped their ardour. They passed a miserable +and shelterless night; nor did the weather improve next day, when they +found in the fields an old lean and diseased horse, which they killed and +ate, but this was not anything like sufficient to satisfy the cravings of +their hunger, as it afforded only a morsel each for a part of them, some +being compelled to go entirely without. But nothing could daunt Morgan, +and he had the audacity to send a canoe with a flag of truce to the +Spanish governor, telling him that he would put the Spaniards to the +sword, without quarter, if they did not instantly submit. + +In the afternoon the canoe returned with this answer:--"That the governor +desired two hours' time to deliberate with his officers about it, which +having passed he would give his positive answer." This time elapsed, the +governor sent two canoes with white colours, having on board two persons +to treat with Captain Morgan; but, before they landed, they demanded of +the pirates two men as hostages. These were readily granted by Captain +Morgan, who delivered up two of his captains for a pledge of the security +required. The Spaniards then announced that they had resolved to deliver +up the island, not being provided with sufficient forces to defend it +against a fleet. Morgan was asked to use a stratagem of war, for the +better saving of their credit, which was as follows:--That he would come +with his troops by night to the bridge that joined the smaller island to +the principal one, and there attack the fort of St. Jerome; that at the +same time all his fleet would draw near the castle of Santa Teresa and +attack it by land, landing in the meantime more troops near the battery of +St. Matthew; that these troops being landed, should by this means +intercept the governor as he endeavoured to pass to St. Jerome's fort, and +then take him prisoner, making pretence as if they had forced him to +deliver the castle, and that he would lead the English into it under +colour of being his own troops. That on both sides there should be +continual firing carried on, but without bullets, or at least that they +should be fired only into the air, so that no side might be hurt. That +thus having obtained two such considerable forts, the chiefest of the +isle, he need not take care for the rest, which must fall of course into +his hands. + +These propositions were granted by Captain Morgan, and, soon after, he +commanded the whole fleet to enter the port, and his men to be ready to +assault that night the Castle of St. Jerome. Thus the false battle began, +with incessant firing from both the castles against the ships, but without +bullets, as was agreed. Then the pirates landed, and assaulted the lesser +island by night, which they took, with both the fortresses, forcing the +Spaniards, in appearance, to fly to the church. + +St. Catherine's thus became an easy prey to Morgan and his followers, and +the first few days were simply spent in riotous feasting. The prisoners +which they had taken numbered 459 souls; and besides all kinds of plunder +they secured no less than thirty thousand pounds of powder, together with +large quantities of other ammunition. The fortresses were, with one +exception, demolished. + +Morgan's next enterprise was against the important city of Panama. He took +with him 1,200 men, five boats laden with artillery, and thirty-two +canoes. But the Chagres river of the time was very like that of to-day--a +shallow stream, except in the freshet season--and after a few days of +tedious progress, they left it, preferring to continue their journey by +land. On this trip a pipe of tobacco was the only supper that many of them +could obtain, while a piece of leather, washed down by a draught of muddy +water, formed, by comparison, a splendid meal. + +On the ninth day of that tedious journey, Captain Morgan marched on while +the fresh air of the morning lasted, a common practice in very hot +countries. The way was now more difficult than before; but after two +hours' march they observed some Spaniards in the distance, who watched +their motions. They endeavoured to catch some of them, but could not, as +they would suddenly disappear, and hide themselves in caves among the +rocks, unknown to the pirates. At last, ascending a high hill, the latter +saw in the distance the blue waters of the Pacific, then known as the +South Sea. This happy sight, as it seemed the end of their labours, caused +great joy among them; they could see, also, one ship and six boats, which +were sailing from Panama, and proceeded to the Islands of Torvoga and +Tavogilla; then they came to a valley, where they found cattle in +abundance, of which they killed a number. There, while some killed and +flayed horses, cows, bulls, and asses, others kindled fires, and got wood +to roast them; then cutting the flesh into convenient pieces, or gobbets, +they threw them into the fire, and, half burnt or roasted, they devoured +them with greedy appetite. Such was their hunger, they behaved as though +they were rather cannibals than Europeans, "the blood many times running +down from their beards to their waists." + +A little while after they came in sight of the highest steeple in Panama; +and one can imagine their satisfaction. All their trumpets were sounded, +and drums beat. Then they pitched their camp for that night; the whole +army waiting with impatience for the morning, when they intended to attack +the city. During the evening fifty horse appeared, who came out of the +city on the noise of the drums and trumpets, to observe the enemy's +position, and came almost within musket-shot of the army. Those on +horseback hallooed to the pirates, and threatened them, saying, "Perros! +nos veremos!"--that is, "Ye dogs! we shall meet ye!" They then returned to +the city, except only seven or eight horsemen, who hovered about to watch +the pirates. "Immediately after the city fired, and ceased not to play +their biggest guns all night long against the camp, but with little or no +harm to the pirates, whom they could not easily reach. Now also the 200 +Spaniards, whom the pirates had seen in the afternoon, appeared again, +making a show of blocking up the passages, that no pirates might escape +their hands. But the pirates, though in a manner besieged, instead of +fearing their blockades, as soon as they had placed sentinels about their +camp, opened their satchels, and, without any napkins or plates, fell to +eating very heartily the pieces of bulls' and horses' flesh which they had +reserved since noon. This done they laid themselves down to sleep on the +grass, with great repose and satisfaction, expecting only with impatience +the dawning of the next day. + +"The tenth day, betimes in the morning, they put all their men in order, +and, with drums and trumpets sounding, marched directly towards the city; +but one of the guides directed Captain Morgan not to take the common +highway, lest they should find in it many ambuscades. He took his advice, +and chose another way through the wood, though very irksome and difficult. +The Spaniards, perceiving the pirates had taken another way they scarce +had thought of, were compelled to leave their barricades and batteries, +and come out to meet them. The Governor of Panama put his forces in order, +consisting of two squadrons, four regiments of foot, and a large number of +wild bulls, which were driven by a large number of Indians, with some +negroes and others to help them." + +The pirates, now upon their march, came to the top of a low hill, whence +they had a prospect of the city and champaigne country underneath. Here +they found the forces of the people of Panama in battle array to be so +numerous that they were rather alarmed. Much doubting the fortunes of the +day, most of them wished themselves at home, or at least free from the +obligation of fighting at that moment, but it was obvious that they must +either fight resolutely or die; for no quarter could be expected from an +enemy on whom they had committed so many cruelties. They divided +themselves into three battalions, sending in advance two hundred +bucaniers, who were good shots. Descending the hill they marched directly +towards the Spaniards, who waited for their coming. As soon as they +approached, the Spaniards began to shout and cry, "Viva el Roy!" ("God +save the King!") and immediately their horse moved against the pirates; +but the fields being full of quagmires, soft under foot, they could not +wheel about as they desired. The two hundred bucaniers who went before, +each putting one knee to the ground, began the battle briskly with a full +volley of shot; the Spaniards defended themselves courageously, doing all +they could to disorder the enemy. Their infantry endeavoured to second the +cavalry, but were constrained by the pirates to leave them. Finding +themselves baffled, they attempted to drive a number of half-wild bulls +against them behind, to put them into disorder; but the cattle ran away +frightened with the noise of the battle; some few broke through the +English companies, and only tore the colours in pieces, while the +bucaniers shot every one of them dead. + +The battle having continued two hours, the greater part of the Spanish +horse was routed, and almost all killed; the rest fled, which the foot +seeing, and finding that they could not possibly prevail, they discharged +the shot they had in their muskets, and throwing them down, fled away, +every one as he could. The pirates could not follow them, being too much +harassed and wearied with their long journey. Many, not being able to fly +whither they desired, hid themselves temporarily among the shrubs of the +sea-side, but very unfortunately, for most of them being found by the +pirates were instantly killed, without any quarter. Some priests were +brought prisoners before Captain Morgan, but he was deaf to their cries, +and commanded them all to be pistolled, which was done. Soon after they +brought a captain to him, whom he examined very strictly as to the forces +of Panama. He answered, their whole strength consisted in four hundred +horse, twenty-four companies of foot, each of one hundred men complete; +sixty Indians and some negroes, who were to drive two thousand wild bulls +upon the English, and thus, by breaking their files, put them into a total +disorder; besides, that in the city they had made trenches and raised +batteries in several places; and that at the entry of the highway leading +to the city, they had built a fort mounted with eight great brass guns, +defended by fifty men. The pirates were now, however, both elated by their +successes and furious at their losses, and that same day the city fell +completely into their hands. Strict injunctions were given to the +freebooters not to even taste the wine they found, as the captain feared +that a considerable amount of debauchery must ensue after the privations +they had endured. He gave out, however, that he had been informed that the +wine was poisoned. Captain Morgan, as soon as he had placed the necessary +guards, commanded twenty-five men to seize a large boat, which had stuck +in the mud of the port, for want of water, at a low tide. The same day, +about noon, he fired privately several great edifices of the city, nobody +knowing who was the author of the outrage; the fire increased so that +before night the greater part of the city was in flames. Captain Morgan +pretended that the Spaniards had done it, finding that his own people +blamed him for the action. Many of the Spaniards, and some of the pirates, +did what they could either to quench the flames, or, by blowing up houses +with gunpowder, and pulling down others, to stop it, but almost in vain, +for in less than half an hour it consumed a whole street. All the houses +of the city were then built of cedar. + + [Illustration: BURNING OF PANAMA.] + +Next day Captain Morgan despatched away two troops, of 150 men each, to +seek for the inhabitants who had escaped. Above 200 prisoners, men, women, +and slaves, were taken. Three other boats were also taken. But all these +prizes they would willingly have given for one galleon, which miraculously +escaped, richly laden with the king's plate, jewels, and other precious +goods of the best and richest merchants of Panama; a number of nuns also +had embarked with them all the ornaments of their church, consisting of +gold, plate, and other things of great value. "The strength of this +galleon was inconsiderable, having only seven guns and ten or twelve +muskets, and very ill provided with victuals, necessaries, and fresh +water." They subsequently took a tolerably rich prize, having on board +20,000 dollars in coin. + +February 24th, 1671, Captain Morgan departed from Panama, or rather from +the place where Panama had once stood.(6) The spoils included 175 beasts +of burden, laden with silver and gold, besides about 600 prisoners, men, +women, children, and slaves. + +When the march began, the cries and shrieks of the unfortunate prisoners +were renewed, which did not worry Captain Morgan. They marched in the same +order as before, one party of the pirates in the van, the prisoners in the +middle, and the rest of the pirates in the rear, by whom the miserable +Spaniards were abused, punched, and thrust in their backs and sides, to +make them walk faster. A beautiful and virtuous lady, the wife of a +merchant, was led prisoner by herself, between two pirates. Her +lamentations pierced the skies, seeing herself carried away into +captivity, often crying to the pirates, and telling them "that she had +given orders to two religious persons, in whom she had relied, to go to a +certain place, and fetch so much as her ransom did amount to; that they +had promised faithfully to do it, but having obtained the money, instead +of bringing it to her, they had employed it another way, to ransom some of +their own and particular friends." This Captain Morgan found to be true, +and he gave the lady her liberty; otherwise he had designed to transport +her to Jamaica. But he detained the monks as prisoners in her place, using +them according to their deserts. Many of the prisoners ransomed themselves +later, while others were taken to Jamaica and sold. About half-way across +the Isthmus Morgan had his men searched, going through the form himself. +This was to see whether any one had secreted valuables for his own use. +The French pirates of Morgan's expedition took great offence at this, but +they were forced to submit. At Chagres the dividend was made, and there +was a considerable amount of dissatisfaction, his own companions telling +him to his face that he had reserved the best jewels for himself. It +appears likely that he had done so, and at all events, at this period he +suddenly sailed away from the larger part of his pirate-associates, and +left them in the lurch. Indeed, afterwards, some of them suffered great +privations before they reached the common rendezvous in Jamaica. + +Many of Morgan's former associates vowed to murder him if they could catch +him, believing that he had enriched himself greatly at their expense. He, +for the nonce, settled in Jamaica, and married the daughter of a wealthy +man. Long after this the pirates sought means to punish him, and hearing +that he intended to retire to the island of St. Catherine, vowed among +themselves to waylay him on the voyage. An unexpected incident saved +Morgan. At this very crisis a new governor (Lord Vaughan) arrived at Port +Royal, Jamaica, bringing a royal order for the successful bucanier to be +sent to England, to answer the complaints of the King of Spain, in regard +to the depredations made on his subjects. Of his trial little or nothing +is known, but he was soon after knighted by Charles II., and appointed +Commissioner for the Admiralty at Jamaica! Furthermore, in the autumn of +1680, the Earl of Carnarvon, then Governor of Jamaica, returning to +England, left the _ci-devant_ pirate as his deputy, and Morgan seized the +opportunity to hang many of his old comrades! In the next reign he was +thrown into prison--wherefore, precisely is not known, and his final fate +is uncertain. So much for the vicissitudes of a pirate's life. + + + + + + CHAPTER V. + + + THE PIRATES AND BUCANIERS (_continued_). + + + The Exploits of Captain Sawkins--Three Ships attacked by + Canoes--Valiant Peralta--Explosion on Board--Miserable Sight on Two + Ship's Decks--Capture of an Empty Ship--Dissatisfaction among the + Pirates--Desertion of many--Message from the Governor of Panama--The + Pirate Captain's Bravado--His Death--Fear inspired on all the + Southern Coasts--Preparations for punishing and hindering the + Bucaniers--Captain Kidd--His first Commission as Privateer--Turns + Pirate--The Mocha Fleet--Almost a Mutiny on Board--Kills his + Gunner--Capture of Rich Prizes--A Rich Ransom derided--Grand + Dividend--Kidd deserted by some of his Men--Proclamation of + Pardon--Kidd excepted--Rushes on his Doom--Arrested in New York--Trial + at the Old Bailey--Pleadings--Execution with Six Companions. + + +Among the great bucaniers of the seventeenth century were Captains Coxon, +Harris, Bournano, Sawkins, and Sharp, of the exploits of only one or two +of whom we shall have space to speak. On one of their principal +expeditions they started with nine vessels, having on board 460 men, and, +after a desertion of two of the ships' companies, had still three-fourths +of the number left. Their march from the coast of Darien--the point of +destination being the unfortunate city of Panama--presented similar +difficulties to those already experienced by Morgan, and the narration of +them would be, therefore, tedious. On the way they took the town of Santa +Maria, but did not obtain much booty. From thence they proceeded by river, +in thirty-five canoes and a boat, to the Pacific Ocean. At the mouth of +the river, and on the rocks outside, some of them were shipwrecked, and +for a time the company became separated, although almost all of them were +able afterwards to rejoin. On the morning of April 23rd, 1680 (St. +George's Day), they arrived within sight of the city of Panama, and also +in full view of some Spanish men-of-war ready for the fray, as they +immediately weighed anchor and sailed towards them. Some of the canoes +were sailing faster than the boats, and there was every fear that the +former would be run down by the ships. When the fight commenced, the +pirates had only sixty-eight men to contend against 228, Biscayans, +mulattoes, and negroes. + + [Illustration: VIEW OF PANAMA.] + +Captain Sawkins's canoe, and also that on which was the narrator of the +fight, were much to leeward of the rest, so that one of the Spanish ships +came between the two and fired on both, wounding, with these broadsides, +five men in the two canoes. But the commander paid dearly for his passage +between them, as he was not quick in coming about again, and making the +same way; for the pirates killed, with their first volley, several of his +men upon the decks. Thus they got also to windward, as the rest were +before. The admiral of this armadilla (or little fleet) came up with them +instantly, scarce giving time to charge, thinking to pass by them all with +as little damage as the first of the ships had done. But, as it happened, +it turned out much the worse for him; for they were so fortunate as to +kill the man at the helm, so that his ship ran into the wind, and her +sails lay aback. By this means they all had time to come up under her +stern, and, firing continually into his vessel, they killed all that came +to the helm; besides which slaughter they cut asunder his mainsheet and +brace with their shot. At this time the third vessel was coming to the aid +of their general. Hereupon Captain Sawkins, who had changed his canoe and +had gone into one of the boats, left the admiral to four canoes (for his +own was quite disabled), and met the captain of the second ship. "Between +him and Captain Sawkins," says the chronicler, "the dispute was very hot, +lying aboard each other, and both giving and receiving death as fast as +they could charge. While we were thus engaged the first ship tacked about, +and came up to relieve the admiral; but, we perceiving it, and foreseeing +how hard it would go with us if we should be beaten from the admiral's +stern, determined to prevent his design. Hereupon two of our canoes, to +wit, Captain Springer's and my own, stood off to meet him. He made up +directly towards the admiral, who stood upon the quarter-deck waving unto +him with a handkerchief so to do; but we engaged him so closely in the +middle of his way, that had he not given us the helm, and made away from +us, we had certainly been on board him. We killed so many of the men that +the vessel had scarce men enough left alive, or unwounded, to carry her +off; yet, the wind now blowing fresh, they made shift to get away from us, +and save their lives. + +"The vessel which was to relieve the admiral being thus put to flight, we +came about again upon the admiral, and all together gave a loud halloo, +which was answered by our men in the periagua (large boat), though at a +distance from us. At that time we came so close under the stern of the +admiral, that we wedged up the rudder; and withal killed both the admiral +himself and the chief pilot of his ship; so that now they were almost +quite disabled and disheartened likewise, seeing what a bloody massacre we +had made among them with our shot. Hereupon, two-thirds of his men being +killed, and many others wounded, they cried for quarter, which had several +times been offered to them, and as stoutly denied till then. Captain Coxon +boarded the admiral, and took with him Captain Harris, who had been shot +through both his legs as he boldly adventured up along the side of the +ship. This vessel being thus taken we put on board her all our wounded +men, and instantly manned two of our canoes to go and aid Captain Sawkins, +who had now been three times beaten from on board Peralta, such valiant +defence had he made; and, indeed, to give our enemies their due, no men in +the world did ever act more bravely than these Spaniards. + +"Thus coming close under Peralta's side, we gave him a full volley of +shot, and expected to have the like return from him again; but on a sudden +we saw his men blown up that were abaft the mast, some of them falling on +the deck and others into the sea. This disaster was soon perceived by +their valiant captain Peralta; but he leaped overboard, and, in spite of +all our shot got several of them back into the ship again, though he was +much burnt in both his hands himself. But as one misfortune seldom cometh +alone, meanwhile he was recovering these men to reinforce his ship withal +and renew the fight, another jar of powder took fire forward, and blew up +several others upon the forecastle. Among this smoke, and under the +opportunity thereof, Captain Sawkins laid them on board, and took the +ship." + +Soon after they were taken the narrator went on board Captain Peralta's +vessel to see what condition they were in, and a miserable sight it was; +for there was not a man that was not either killed, desperately wounded, +or horribly burnt with powder. Their dark skins were frequently turned +white, the powder having torn it from their flesh and bones. On the +admiral's ship there were but twenty-five men alive out of eighty-six. Of +these twenty-five men only eight were able to bear arms, all the rest +being desperately wounded and by their wounds totally disabled to make any +resistance, or defend themselves. Their blood ran down the decks in whole +streams, and scarce one place in the ship was found that was free from +blood. + +Having possessed themselves of these two vessels, Captain Sawkins asked +the prisoners how many men there were on board the greatest ship, lying in +the harbour of the island of Perico, as also on the others that were +something smaller. Captain Peralta hearing these questions, dissuaded him +as much as he could, saying that in the biggest alone there were three +hundred and fifty men, and that he would find the rest too well provided +for defence against his small number. But one of the men who lay dying +upon the deck contradicted Peralta as he was speaking, and told Captain +Sawkins there was not one man on board those ships that were in view, for +they had all been taken out of them to fight the pirates, in the three +vessels just taken. These words were credited as proceeding from a dying +man; and steering their course to the island they went on board them, and +found, as he had said, not one person there. The largest of the ships, +which was called _La __Santissima Trinidad_, they had set on fire. They +had also made a hole in her, and loosened her fore-sail. But they quenched +the fire with all speed, and stopped the leak. This being done they put +their wounded men on board her, and made her for the present their +hospital. + +Having surveyed their own loss, they found eighteen of their men had been +killed in the fight, and twenty-two wounded. The three captains against +whom they had fought had been esteemed by the Spaniards the bravest in all +the "South Seas"; neither was their reputation undeserved, as may easily +be inferred from the narrative given of the engagement. As the third ship +was running away from the fight, she met with two more coming out to their +assistance; but gave them so little encouragement that they turned back +and dared not engage the pirates. The fight began about half an hour after +sunrise, and by noon the battle was finished. Captain Peralta, while he +was their prisoner, would often break out into admiration of their valour, +and say that surely "Englishmen were the most valiant men in the whole +world, who endeavoured always to fight openly, whilst all other nations +invented all the ways imaginable to barricade themselves, and fight as +close as they could." + +Other vessels were shortly afterwards taken. But in spite of their +successes, there was dissatisfaction among some of the pirates, and +Captain Coxon was openly branded as a coward by some of them, for the +small part he had taken in the engagement. He immediately deserted with +seventy of the men. Soon afterwards other pirates, however, joined the +forces. + +Eight days after their arrival at Tavoga (now called Toboga), they took a +ship that was coming from Truxillo, and bound for Panama. In this vessel +they found two thousand jars of wine, fifty jars of gunpowder, and +fifty-one thousand pieces of eight. This money had been sent from that +city to pay the soldiers belonging to the garrison of Panama. From the +prize they had information that there was another ship coming from Lima +with one hundred thousand pieces of eight more, which vessel was to sail +ten or twelve days after them, and which, they said, could not be long +before she arrived at Panama. Within two days after this intelligence they +took another ship laden with flour from Truxillo, and the men on this +prize confirmed what the first had told them, and said that the rich +vessel might be expected there in the space of eight or ten days. + +While they lay at Tavoga the President or Governor of Panama sent a +message by some merchants to them to know what they came for. To this +message Captain Sawkins made answer that "he came to assist the King of +Darien, who was the true lord of Panama and all the country thereabouts, +and that since he had come so far it was reasonable that they should have +some satisfaction. So that if he pleased to send five hundred pieces of +eight for each man and one thousand for each commander, and would not any +further annoy the Indians, but suffer them to use their own power and +liberty, as became the true and natural lords of the country, that then +they would desist from further hostilities, and go away peaceably; +otherwise, that he should stay there, and get what he could, causing the +Spaniards what damage was possible." From the Panama merchants they +learned there lived there as Bishop of Panama, one who had formerly been +Bishop of Santa Martha, and who had been prisoner to Captain Sawkins when +he took the place about four or five years before. The captain having +received this intelligence sent two loaves of sugar to the bishop as a +present. The next day the merchant who carried them, returning to Tavoga, +brought the captain a gold ring, and a message to Captain Sawkins from the +President above mentioned, to know farther of him, since they were +Englishmen, "From whom they had their commission, and to whom he ought to +complain for the damages they had already done them?" To this message +Captain Sawkins sent back for an answer, "that as yet all his company were +not come together, but that when they were come up, they would come and +visit him at Panama, and bring their commissions on the muzzles of their +guns; at which time he should read them as plain as the flame of gunpowder +could make them." But Sawkins's bravado never came to anything, and he was +shortly afterwards killed at Puebla Nueva. + +But the impression made by the pirates' deeds had spread far and wide. +Some time afterwards, when Captain Sharp, who succeeded Sawkins, and had +made several captures in the meantime, took a vessel of the Spanish armada +on that coast (not the Great Armada, gentle reader; the word simply +signifies "fleet") the captain proved to them in a speech how the fame and +fear of the pirates had pervaded the South Pacific, and what preparations +had been made to resist them. He said, "Gentlemen, I am now your prisoner +of war by the overruling providence of Fortune; and, moreover, am very +well satisfied that no money whatsoever can procure my ransom, at least +for the present, at your hands; hence I am persuaded it is not my interest +to tell you a lie, which if I do, I desire you to punish me as severely as +you think fit. We heard of your taking and destroying our armadilla and +other ships at Panama, about six weeks after that engagement, by two +several barks which arrived here from thence; but they could not inform us +whether you designed to come any farther to the southward, but rather +desired we would send them speedily all the help by sea that we possibly +could; hereupon we sent the rumour of your being in these seas to Lima, +desiring they would expedite what succour they could send to join with +ours. We had at that time in our harbour two or three great ships, but all +of them very unfit to sail; for this reason, at Lima, the Viceroy of Peru +pressed three large merchant-ships, into the biggest of which he put +fourteen brass guns, into the second ten, and in the other six. Unto these +he added two barks, and put 750 men on board them all. Of this number of +men they landed eight score at Point St. Helen, all the rest being carried +down to Panama, with design to fight you there. Besides these forces two +other men-of-war, bigger than the afore-mentioned, are still lying at +Lima, and fitting out with all speed to follow and pursue you. One of +these men-of-war is equipped with thirty-six brass guns, and the other +with thirty; these ships, besides their complement of seamen, have 400 +soldiers added to them by the viceroy. Another man-of-war belonging to +this number, and lesser than the afore-mentioned, is called the _Patache_. +This ship carries twenty-four guns, and was sent to Arica to fetch the +king's plate from thence; but the viceroy having received intelligence of +your exploits at Panama, sent for this ship back from thence in such haste +that they came away and left the money behind them. Hence the _Patache_ +now lies at the port of Callao, ready to sail on the first occasion, or +news of your arrival thereabout; they having for this purpose sent to all +parts very strict orders to keep a good look-out on all sides, and all +places along the coast. Since this, from Manta, they sent us word that +they had seen two ships at sea pass by that place; and from the Goat Key +also we heard that the Indians had seen you, and that they were assured +that one of your vessels was the ship called _La Trinidad_, which you had +taken before Panama, as being a ship well known in these seas. From hence +we concluded that your design was to ply and make your voyage thereabouts. +Now this bark wherein you took us prisoners being bound for Panama, the +Governor of Guayaquil sent us out before her departure, if possible, to +discover you; which, if we did, we were to run the bark on shore and get +away, or else to fight you with these soldiers and fire-arms that you see. +As soon as we heard of your being in the seas we built two forts, the one +of six guns, and the other of four, for the defence of the town. At the +last muster taken, in the town of Guayaquil, we had there 850 men of all +colours; but when we came out we left only 250 men that were actually +under arms." The story of Sharp and others of the pirates, after this, +shows that the Spanish preparations had a very decided effect on the +spoils they were able to acquire. Their gains were small; and apart from +the dangers of the sea, a number barely escaped being massacred ashore at +the Island of Plate. When they attempted to return by the Straits of +Magellan, they were tempest-tossed and sorely tried. They could not find +the entrance to the straits, and eventually rounded America by what is +described as "an unknown way." That unknown route was unmistakably _via_ +Cape Horn. + +Among the notorious pirates probably no one is better known in England +than Captain Robert Kidd, whose trial and execution formed the subject of +many once popular ballads. He commenced life in the king's service, and +had so far distinguished himself, that we find him in the first month of +1695 receiving a commission from His Majesty William III. to command a +"private" man-of-war to "apprehend, seize, and take" certain American +pirates. The privateer was actually fitted out at the expense of Lord +Bellamont, at one time Governor of Barbadoes, and others, who knew the +wealth that the pirates had acquired; and they obtained the king's +commission, partly with the view of keeping the men under better command, +and also to give their enterprise some sort of sanction of legality. Kidd +sailed for New York, where he engaged more men, increasing his officers +and crew to a total of 150. Each man was to have one share in any division +of spoil, while he reserved for himself and owners forty shares. This +vessel was the _Adventure_ galley, of thirty guns. + +After calling at Madeira and the De Verde Islands for provisions and +necessaries, he set sail for Madagascar, then a rendezvous of the Indian +Ocean pirates. After cruising on that and the Malabar coasts, where he was +not at first successful in meeting with any of the pirate vessels, he +touched at a place called Mabbee, on the Red Sea, where he helped himself +to a quantity of the natives' corn, without offering payment. Hitherto he +had acted strictly in his capacity as a legalised privateer, but he now +began to show his true colours. The Mocha fleet was expected shortly to +pass that way, and when he proposed to his crew that they should attack +it, one and all agreed. He thereupon sent a well-manned boat to +reconnoitre, which returned in a few days with the news that there were +fourteen or fifteen ships about to sail. It will be understood that the +Mocha fleet had nothing to do with American pirates, but was a commercial +fleet, in this case consisting of English, Dutch, and Moorish vessels, +convoyed by a vessel or vessels of war, in the fashion of those days. The +man at the masthead soon announced its approach, and Kidd, getting into +the midst of the vessels, fired briskly at a Moorish ship. Two men-of-war, +however, bore down upon him, and knowing he was not a match for them, Kidd +reluctantly put on all sail, and ran away. Shortly afterwards he took a +small vessel belonging to Moorish owners, the master being an Englishman, +whom he forced into his service as pilot. He used the men brutally, having +them hoisted by the arms and drubbed with a cutlass, to find out whether +or no any valuables were on board. As there was next to nothing to be +found, he seized some quantity of coffee and pepper, and let the vessel +go. When he touched shortly afterwards at a Moorish port, he found that he +was suspected, and soon after this he discovered that many places along +the coast had become alarmed. A Portuguese man-of-war was despatched after +him, and met him; he fought her gallantly for about six hours, when he +again became convinced that prudence, in his case, was the better part of +valour, and made good his escape. + +Not long after this he encountered a Moorish vessel, having for master a +Dutch "schipper." Kidd chased her under French colours, and hailed her in +the same language. A Frenchman on board answered, when he was told, "you +are the captain," meaning, "you must be." Kidd's reason for this was that +he held, in addition to his commission against pirates, one called a +"commission of reprisal" against French vessels. At this time he seems to +have been almost doubtful as to his course of action, for while he took +the cargo of the last-named ship, he refused to attack a Dutch vessel +which he met some time afterwards. In this case there was almost a mutiny +on board, a majority being in favour of attack. Many threatened even to +man a boat and seize her, which Kidd prevented by swearing that if they +did they would never come on board his ship again. His gunner shortly +afterwards reproached him with this matter, and said that he had ruined +them all. Kidd, whose career might have ended much sooner than it did, if +the mutinous ones had been so disposed, was equal to the emergency. +Politely calling his gunner "a dog," he raised a bucket and broke it over +the unfortunate man's skull, who died a day after. A Portuguese prize of +tolerable value, containing Indian goods, jars of butter, bags of rice, +wax, &c., was taken shortly afterwards, and this put the crew in better +humour, which was vastly increased when he fell in with the _Quieda +Merchant_, a richly-laden Moorish ship of 400 tons, having for master an +Englishman named Wright. Kidd chased her under French colours, and took +her without a struggle. There were hardly any Europeans on board, but +there were a number of Armenian merchants. The pirate at first proposed +that they should pay a ransom, and that he would let them depart in peace. +They offered a sum something under L3,000, at which he laughed, and seized +the vessel, selling the cargo at various points, where he also left the +crew. When the division of the spoil was made, each man netted about L200, +while his forty shares amounted to a total of L8,000. In spite of these +enormous gains he was not above cheating some poor natives shortly +afterwards, who up to that time had been accustomed to look upon even +pirates as fair dealers in petty matters. + +With the _Quieda Merchant_ and _Adventure_ he sailed once more for +Madagascar, where he, unfortunately for himself, met with some Englishmen +who knew him. Among them was a pirate named Culliford. When they met, they +told him that they had been informed he was sent out to take them and hang +them. Kidd laughed at their fears, and told them that they might look upon +him as a brother, pledging them in wine. The _Adventure_ was now old and +leaky, and Kidd shifted his guns and stores to the prize. Here he acted +fairly to his men, by dividing such of the cargo, &c., which was +available; a number of them returned the compliment by deserting him, +others remaining in the country, and some going on board Captain +Culliford's ship. + +At Amboyna, where he touched soon afterwards, he learnt that his +proceedings were understood in England, and that he had been declared a +pirate. The fact was that questions had been asked in Parliament regarding +the commission which had been given to him, and those who had fitted out +the vessel. The discussion seemed to Lord Bellamont to bear hardly on him, +and after Kidd's execution, he published a pamphlet defending his course. +But to stop the piracy so common in those days, a free pardon was offered +to those pirates who had been engaged in the Eastern African waters who +should surrender their persons any time prior to the 30th April, 1699. +Kidd and Avery, the latter of whom we shall hereafter meet, were excepted +distinctly in the proclamation. When Kidd left Amboyna he most certainly +did not know this fact, or he would not have rushed into the lion's jaw. +Trusting to his money, and his influence with Lord Bellamont, he sailed +for New York, where on arrival he was arrested with other of his +companions, and sent to England for trial. + +A solemn session of Admiralty was that which met at the Old Bailey, in +May, 1701, when Captain Kidd and nine others were arraigned for piracy and +robbery on the high seas. All were found guilty except three, who were +proved to have been apprentices. Kidd was also tried for the murder of his +gunner, and found guilty. The men pleaded variously, and two of them had +undoubtedly surrendered themselves within the time limited by the +proclamation. Colonel Bass, the Governor of West Jersey (now the state of +New Jersey, adjoining that of New York), corroborated this statement. It +was shown that they had not surrendered to a commission of four specially +sent over for the purpose, and they were condemned to die. This was, as +far as the writer can judge, a hard case. Another seaman, Darby Mullins, +said in his defence that he served under the king's commission, and had no +right to disobey any commands of his superior officer; that, in fact, the +men were never allowed to question his authority, because it would destroy +all discipline; and that even if unlawful acts were committed, the +officers were the persons to answer it, not the men. He was answered that +serving as he did only entitled him to do that which was lawful, not that +which was unlawful. He replied that the case of a seaman must be bad +indeed, if he were punished in both cases, for obeying and for not obeying +his officers, and that if he were allowed to dispute his superior's +orders, there would be no such thing as command on the high seas. This +ingenious defence availed him nothing; he had taken a share of the +plunder, and had mutinied, showing no regard to the commission; and +further, had acted in accordance with the customs of pirates and +freebooters. The jury brought him in guilty with the rest. + +Kidd's defence was not strong, as a matter of legal argument. He insisted +that he had been more sinned against than sinning. He said that he went +out on a laudable employment, and had no occasion, being then in good +circumstances, to go a pirating; that the men had frequently mutinied, and +that he had been threatened in his own cabin, and that ninety-five +deserted him at one time and set fire to his boat, so that he was disabled +from bringing his ship home, or the prizes he took, to have them regularly +condemned, which prizes, he said, were taken under virtue of his +commission, they having French passes (false). A witness, Colonel Hewson, +spoke highly of his previous reputation for bravery. So much of his own +statement was doubtful or false that he was found guilty. When the judge +put on the black cap, Kidd stood up and said: "My lord, it is a very hard +sentence. For my part I am the most innocent person of them all, and have +been sworn against by perjured persons." A week after the bodies of Kidd +and six of his men were seen by the passers-by on the river, hanging high, +suspended by chains, a warning especially to the seamen of and entering to +the port of London not to turn pirates. + + + + + + CHAPTER VI. + + + THE PIRATES OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. + + + Difference between the Pirates of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth + Centuries--Avery's brief Career--A Captain all at Sea--Capture of his + Ship--Madagascar, a Rendezvous for Pirates--A Rich Prize--The Great + Mogul's Ship taken--Immense Spoils--The Great Mogul's Rage--Avery's + Treachery--His Companions abandon their Evil Ways--The Water-rat + beaten by Land-rats--Avery dies in abject Poverty--A Pirate + Settlement on Madagascar--Roberts the Daring--Sails among a + Portuguese Fleet, and selects the best Vessel for his Prey--His + Brutal Destruction of Property--His End--Misson and + Caraccioli--Communistic Pirates--Their Captures--High Morality and + Robbery combined--Their Fates. + + +As we have seen, the seventeenth century presented innumerable examples of +piracy on a grand scale. The eighteenth presents no examples of formidable +organisations; on the contrary, each pirate, as a rule, worked for +himself, and relied on the unaided strength of himself and crew. An +example is afforded by Avery. Captain Avery's brief career was, +piratically considered, brilliant enough. In 1715 we find him mate of a +vessel starting from Bristol, and designed for a privateer. The commander, +Captain Gibson, was a convivial sailor, fond of his bottle, and in port +was usually found ashore. On the evening on which the event about to be +described took place, he was on board, but having taken his usual dose or +doses of strong liquor, had retired to his berth. The crew not in the +secret were also below, leaving on deck only a few conspirators with whom +Avery had made a compact. At the time agreed some other conspirators came +off in a long-boat, and Avery hailed them, and was answered in the +following terms: "Is your drunken boatswain aboard?"--the watch-word +previously arranged. Avery replied in the affirmative, and the boat, +manned by sixteen stout fellows, came alongside, and in a few minutes the +hatches were secured, and the ship put to sea. There were several vessels +in port, and a Dutch skipper was offered a considerable reward to pursue +Avery, but he declined. When Captain Gibson awoke he rang his bell, and +Avery and one of the men going into the cabin, found him only half awake. +He inquired what was the matter with the ship: "Does she drive? What +weather is it?" He thought she was still in port. "No, no," answered +Avery; "we are at sea." "At sea!" said the captain. "How is that?" "Come, +come," said Avery, "put on your clothes, and I'll let you into a secret. +You must know that I am captain now, and this is my cabin; therefore you +must walk out!" He then explained his intentions of proceeding to +Madagascar on a piratical venture. The captain was terribly frightened, +but Avery reassured him by saying that he could either go ashore, or, if +he chose to make one of them, and keep sober, he might in time be raised +to the dignity of lieutenant. Gibson preferred the former alternative, +and, with four or five men of the same mind, was put on shore. + +Avery sailed for Madagascar, where he was joined by two sloops, the +sailors on board which were themselves well inclined to his enterprise, +having just before run away with the vessels from the East Indies. They +sailed in company, and off the mouth of the Indus the man at the masthead +espied a sail, and they gave chase. She was evidently a fine tall vessel, +possibly an East Indiaman. She proved something better, for, when they +fired a shot at her, she hoisted Mogul colours, and appeared ready for a +fight. The sloops first attacked, with Avery for a support. The men of the +sloops attacked on either quarter, and boarded her; she immediately +afterwards struck her colours. She was one of the Great Mogul's own ships, +having on board many distinguished persons of his own court, including one +of his daughters, going on a pilgrimage to the Holy City, Mecca. They were +carrying with them rich offerings to present at the shrine of Mahomet. +They were travelling in full Eastern magnificence, with retinues and +slaves, immense sums of money, jewellery, and plate. The spoil which they +obtained was immense, and after rifling the ship of everything valuable, +the pirates allowed her to depart. The news soon reached the Great Mogul, +and he was so enraged that he threatened to extirpate the English on the +Indian coast. The East India Company had enough to do to pacify him, and +only succeeded in doing so by promising to use every endeavour to punish +the pirates. Avery's name and fame soon after reached Europe, and, as +might have been expected, all kinds of wild fables were circulated +concerning him. + + [Illustration: AVERY CHASING THE GREAT MOGUL'S SHIP.] + +On the voyage to Madagascar Avery proposed to the commanders of the sloops +that the treasures taken should be collectively stored on board his own +ship, as being by far the strongest and safest place, until an opportunity +should occur for a division on land. They acceded, and the treasure was +brought on board, and, with what he had, deposited in three great chests. +Avery having got it on his own ship, suggested to his men that they had +now on board sufficient to make them all happy, and he proposed that they +should immediately make for some country where they were not known, and +where they might live in plenty. They soon understood his hint, and +pressing on all sail, left the sloops' crews to curse their perfidy. They +proceeded to America, and at the Island of Providence, then newly settled, +divided the spoils, and Avery pretending that his vessel had been an +unsuccessful privateer, sold her readily. He then purchased a sloop, in +which he and his companions sailed, and most of them landed on various +parts of the American coasts, and settled. They dispersed over that +country. + +Avery, however, had carefully concealed the greater part of the jewels and +other valuable articles, so that his riches were considerable. Arriving at +Boston he was almost induced to settle there; but as the greater part of +his wealth consisted of diamonds, he feared that if he attempted to +dispose of them at that place he should certainly be arrested as a pirate. +He resolved, therefore, to sail for the north of Ireland, where he +dispersed his men, some of whom obtained the pardon of King William, and +eventually became peaceable Irish settlers. + +He found, however, that it was as difficult to dispose of his diamonds in +Ireland, without rendering himself suspected, as in Boston. It, therefore, +occurred to him that Bristol might be a likely place to suit his purpose, +and he accordingly proceeded to Devonshire, having previously made +arrangements to meet one of his friends at Bideford. The so-called friend +introduced him to others, and the latter persuaded him that the safest +plan would be to place his effects in the hands of some wealthy merchants +who would make no inquiry as to how he came by them. One of these persons +informed him that he knew merchants who would not bother him with +inquiries, and Avery, falling easily into the trap, assented to this +proposal. Accordingly the merchants who had been named paid him a visit at +Bideford, where, after protestations of honour and integrity on their +part, he delivered his diamonds and gold to them. After giving him a +little money for his immediate support, they departed. + +The old pirate changed his name, and lived quietly at Bideford, so that no +notice was taken of him. The first sum of money he had received from the +supposed merchants was soon spent, and for some time he heard nothing from +the latter, though he wrote to them repeatedly. At length they sent him a +small supply, but it was not sufficient to pay his debts. He therefore +resolved to go at once to Bristol and have a personal interview with the +merchants themselves. However, on arriving there he met with a mortifying +repulse; for when he desired them to account with him, they silenced him +by threatening to disclose his real character; thus proving themselves as +good land-rats as he had been a water-rat. + +Avery went again to Ireland, and from thence solicited the merchants very +strongly, but to no purpose, so that he was reduced to utter beggary. Next +we find him on board a trading vessel working his passage over to +Plymouth, from whence he travelled on foot to Bideford. He had been there +but a few days when he fell sick, and died, "not being worth as much money +as would buy him a coffin." Such was the end of a man who had, in his +brief career, astonished and alarmed not merely the Great Mogul of all the +Indies, and the great East India Company, but had become a hero of romance +in Europe. + +And now to return to the unfortunate sloops. Their provisions were nearly +exhausted, and although fish and fowl were readily obtainable at +Madagascar, whither they returned, they had no salt to cure them for a +long voyage. They therefore made an encampment on the coast, where they +were joined by other piratical Englishmen who had selected the island as a +permanent place of settlement. When the pirates first settled there many +of the native princes were very friendly, and the former, having +fire-arms, which in those days the latter had not, often joined in the +inter-tribal wars, carrying terror wherever they went. Half a dozen +pirates with a small native army would put a much larger number of the +enemy to flight, and they were therefore great personages, and were almost +worshipped. + +By these means they became in a little time very formidable, and such +prisoners as they took in war were employed in cultivating the ground, and +the most beautiful of the women they married; nor were they contented with +one wife, but often adopted the practice of polygamy. The natural result +was, that they separated, each of them choosing a convenient place for +himself, where he lived in princely style, surrounded by his family, +slaves, and dependents. Nor was it long before jarring interests excited +them to draw the sword against each other, and they appeared in the field +of battle, at the head of their respective clans as it were. In these +civil wars their number and strength were very soon greatly lessened. + +These pirates, in the strange manner elevated to the dignity of petty +princes, and being destitute of honourable principles, used their power +with the most wanton barbarity. The most trifling offences were punished +with death; the victim was led to a tree, and instantly shot through the +head. The negroes at length, exasperated by continual oppression, formed +the determination to exterminate their masters in the course of a single +night; and this was not apparently a very difficult matter to accomplish, +so much were they divided. Fortunately, however, for them, a negro woman +who was partial to them ran twenty miles in three hours, and warning them +of their danger, they were united in arms to oppose the negroes before the +latter had assembled. This narrow escape made them more cautious. By +degrees the original stock of course died out, and when Captain Woods +Rodgers called there about thirty years after, there were only eleven of +them left, surrounded by a numerous progeny of half-breed children. The +circumstance will remind our readers of the descendants of the mutineers +of the _Bounty_ on Pitcairn Island. + +A little later we find a remarkable pirate on the field of action. Captain +Bartholomew Roberts seems at first to have been really averse to the line +of life to which he afterwards took so kindly. When his commander, Captain +Davis, a pirate, died, the crew, in solemn conclave, selected Roberts. He +accepted the dignity, and told them that "since he had dipped his hands in +muddy water, and must be a pirate, it was better being a commander than a +private." Very shortly afterwards he captured two vessels, the first Dutch +and the second English. The crew of the latter joined him, and emptied and +burned the vessel. On the Brazilian coast they were not successful, but +among the West Indian Islands they encountered a fleet of forty-two sail +of Portuguese ships, waiting for two men-of-war to convoy them. Roberts, +with his one little vessel, determined to have one or more of them, and he +sailed among the fleet, keeping the larger part of his men concealed. He +steered his ship almost alongside one of them, hailed her, and ordered her +master to come on board quietly, threatening to give no quarter if the +least resistance were made, or even if a signal of distress were +displayed. The Portuguese, perceiving a sudden flash of cutlasses on board +the pirate ship--a _coup de theatre_ arranged by Roberts--submitted at once. +The newly-fledged pirate saluted the captain courteously, and told him +that he should go scot-free if he indicated which was the richest ship in +the fleet. He gladly pointed to a large vessel, and, although very much +superior in size and apparent strength to his own, made towards her, +carrying with him the poor Portuguese captain, for reasons which will at +once appear. Coming alongside, Roberts made his unwilling prisoner ask in +Portuguese how Seignior Capitano did, and to invite him on board, as he +had a matter of great importance to impart. He was answered in the +affirmative, but Roberts perceiving an unusual movement on board, and +expecting that they meant to give him a broadside, forestalled them by +pouring in a shower of shot, and then grappled, boarded, and took her. She +proved herself a rich prize, laden with tobacco, sugar, skins, and a +goodly number of golden moidores. Roberts was not long in securing the +better part of her cargo, and speedily sailed away. + +After touching at various points, they sailed for Newfoundland, entering +the harbour of Trepassi with the black flags flying, and drums and +trumpets sounding. The original account says that there were twenty-two +"ships" lying there, but it probably means large fishing boats. The men +aboard abandoned them, and the pirates burnt or sunk them all, besides +doing enormous damage ashore. Roberts here took a small Bristol vessel, +which he fitted and manned for his own service. Shortly afterwards he +destroyed ten French "ships" (probably meaning, as before, large fishing +boats) on the banks of Newfoundland, and after that a number of prizes of +more value. At Martinique it had been the custom of Dutch traders, when +they approached the island, to hoist their jacks. Roberts knew the signal, +and imitated it, and the poor people believing that a profitable market +was at hand, vied with each other who should first row out to the ship. As +they one by one approached he fired into and sunk them, determined to do +them as much damage as possible. This was in retaliation; he had heard +that some cruisers had been sent out to punish him. + +But the end of this brute was at hand. One morning, soon after leaving +Martinique, while he was at breakfast, he was informed that a man-of-war +was at hand. He took little notice, and his men were undetermined whether +she was a Portuguese ship or a French vessel. As she came nearer, she, +however, hoisted English colours, and proved to be the _Swallow_, a +man-of-war of no inconsiderable size. Roberts knew his danger, but +determined to get clear, or die in the attempt. A man on board, who was a +deserter from the _Swallow_, informed him that she sailed best upon the +wind, and that the pirate-ship should, therefore, go before it. The +resolution was made to pass close to the _Swallow_ under all sail, and to +receive her broadside before they returned a shot; if seriously injured, +to run on the shore to which they were close; or, should both fail, to +blow up together, and balk the enemy. The greater part of his men were at +this time drunk, for they had captured a quantity of liquor not long +before, and their brandy-courage was likely to prove of the Dutch order. +Roberts was determined to die game, and dressed himself in his best +uniform--a rich crimson damask waistcoat and breeches, and a red feather in +his hat, a gold chain and diamond cross, two pairs of pistols in a silk +sling hung over his shoulders, and his sword in hand. In short, he was +just the typical kind of showy pirate of whom boys delight to read. + +The _Swallow_ approached, and poured in her fire; Roberts hoisted the +black flag, and passed her with all sail. But for a fatal mistake he might +have got clear away; but either by bad steering, or in not keeping his +vessel before the wind, she again came up very near him. He was preparing +for action, when a grape-shot struck him directly in the throat, and he +fell back dead on the tackles of a gun. The man at the helm, one +Stephenson, not at first thinking he was wounded, swore at him, and +upbraided him as a coward; but, almost immediately afterwards, when he +found that his captain was indeed dead, burst into tears, and wished +himself dead. The pirate-ship almost immediately surrendered. His men +threw his body overboard, with all his finery and arms on, as he had +repeatedly ordered during his lifetime. Thus, at about forty years of age, +perished a brave and daring, though utterly reckless and unprincipled, +man, who, under better auspices, might have been of the greatest service +to his country. + + [Illustration: DEATH OF "CAPTAIN" ROBERTS.] + +One of the most remarkable pirates of the century was Captain Misson, who +commenced life in the French navy. When on leave at Rome he met one +Caraccioli, a priest, who had imbibed some peculiar religious and social +views, and who was afterwards, through his influence, admitted on board +the man-of-war on which he was then serving. Both on several occasions +showed a considerable amount of bravery. Caraccioli was a very ambitious +man, and freely aired his peculiar ideas before both his friend Misson and +the crew. His social views were of the communistic order; he believed that +every man had as much right to that which would properly support him as to +the air he breathed, and that wealth and poverty were both wrong, and that +the world needed remodelling. It will be understood that he considered +himself one of the men to do it, and was by no means strict in his regard +for the rightful property of others. In a word, he meant to reform as much +of the world as possible by means of piracy! + +So far, however, both men were serving in the legitimate navy of France, +but an opportunity occurred of which they made the most. Off Martinique, +their vessel, the _Victoire_, encountered an English man-of-war, the +_Winchelsea_, and a smart engagement followed, during which the French +captain and his four principal officers were killed. The master +(presumably the navigating officer) would have struck, but Misson took up +the sword, ordering Caraccioli to act as lieutenant, and, encouraging his +men, fought for three hours, when the powder-magazine of the _Winchelsea_ +exploded, and only one man, who died shortly afterwards, was saved for the +moment. After this unexpected termination, Caraccioli came to Misson, +saluting him as captain, and, in a very French manner, reminding him what +Mahomet and Darius had become from very small beginnings, showed him how +he might become sovereign of the Southern Seas, and enjoy a life of +liberty. Misson, who probably did not need a great deal of convincing, +agreed, and calling all hands together, told them that any who would not +follow his fortunes should be set ashore at places whence they might +easily return to France, but recommended them to adopt the freebooter's +life. One and all cried, "Vive le Capitaine Misson et son Lieutenant le +savant Caraccioli," and the _Victoire_ was at once transformed from a +vessel of the royal navy of France to a pirate-ship. + +The crew selected their officers; and then came the question as to what +colours they should fight under. The boatswain advised black, as the most +terrifying. Caraccioli strenuously opposed this, saying that they were no +pirates, but men who were resolved to assert that liberty which nature had +given them, and own no subjection to any one, further than for the common +good of all; that they would wage war on the immensely rich, and defend +the wretched. In short, he defined his mission as a kind of piratical +knight-errantry. He was to be the Don Quixote of the ocean. He advised +that, as they did not proceed upon the same grounds with pirates, who were +men of dissolute lives and no principles, they should not adopt their +colours. "Ours," said he, "is a brave, a just, an innocent, and a noble +cause--the cause of liberty." He advised a white ensign, with the motto +"For God and liberty" inscribed upon it. The valuable property on board +was put under lock and key, for the general benefit. When the plate +belonging to the late captain was going to the chest, the men unanimously +voted it for Misson's use. Misson then spoke to the assembled crew; and +the observations of this moral robber are worthy of note. He said that, +"since they had resolved unanimously to seize upon and defend their +liberty, which ambitious men had usurped, and that this could not be +esteemed by impartial judges other than a brave and just resolution, he +was under an obligation to recommend to them a brotherly love to each +other, the banishment of all private piques and grudges, and a strict +agreement and harmony among themselves; that in throwing off the yoke of +tyranny, of which the action spoke abhorrence, he hoped none would follow +the example of tyrants, and turn his back upon justice; for when equity +was trodden under foot, misery, confusion, and distrust naturally +followed. He also advised them to remember that there was a Supreme Being, +the adoration of whom reason and gratitude prompted us to, and our own +interest would engage us ... to conciliate; that he was satisfied that men +born and bred in slavery, by which their spirits were broken and made +incapable of so generous a way of thinking; who, ignorant of their +birthright, and the sweets of liberty, dance to the music of their +chains--which was, indeed, the greater part of the inhabitants of the +globe--would brand this generous crew with the invidious name of pirates, +and think it meritorious to be instrumental in their destruction. +Self-preservation, therefore, and not a cruel disposition, obliged him to +declare war against all such as should refuse the entry of their ports, +and against all who should not immediately surrender and give up what +their necessities required; but in a more particular manner against all +European ships and vessels as concluded implacable enemies. And I do now," +said he, "declare such war, and at the same time recommend to you, my +comrades, a humane and generous disposition towards your prisoners, which +will appear by so much more the effects of a noble soul, as we are +satisfied we should not meet the same treatment should our ill-fortune, or +more properly our disunion, or want of courage, give us up to their +mercy." + +And strangest of all to tell, the pirate kept very closely to his creed. +If he took a small vessel, he would often let it go, after taking from the +crew their ammunition, or some comparatively trifling matters; he was +generous with his prisoners, and always spared life, except in open +fighting. Compared with some of the pirates whose lives have been recorded +in these pages he was an angel of light. Perhaps nothing will better +exemplify this than his conduct after taking a large Dutch ship, the +_Nieuwstadt_, which had on board seventeen slaves and some gold-dust. He +ordered them to be clothed, and told his men that trading in those of our +own species could never be right. He ordered them to be divided among the +messes, that they might sooner learn the French language. The Dutch +prisoners soon developed their latent tendencies for hard swearing and +drinking; and Misson found that his own men were becoming demoralised. He +addressed them all on board, and gave them a most serious lecture on the +sin of swearing. + +Vessel after vessel was taken by him, the commanders of which were +generally patted on the back by Misson for their gallant defence, and +always treated with courteous hospitality. His greatest prize, among +dozens of others, was a Portuguese vessel of fifty guns. The vessels were +locked together. His crew found that instead of having it all their own +way, they were vigorously attacked. Expecting no quarter, they contended +fiercely, cleared the decks, and a number followed the Portuguese on board +their own ship. Misson seeing this called out, "_Elle est a nous; a +l'abordage!_" and a crowd of his men boarded. He engaged the captain, +struck him so that he fell down the main-hatch, and the Portuguese almost +immediately struck. Misson lost fifty-six men, and netted nearly L200,000 +for himself and crew.(7) + + + + + + CHAPTER VII. + + + THE PIRATES OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. + + + Mary Read, the Female Pirate--As Male Servant, Soldier, and + Sailor--Her Bravery and Modesty--The Pirate Vane--No Honour among + Thieves--Delivered to Justice--The brief Career of Captain + Worley--The Biter Bit--A more than usually Brutal Pirate--Captain + Low's Life of Villainy--His Wonderful Successes--An unfortunate + Black Burned to Death--Torture of a Portuguese Captain--Of Two + Portuguese Friars--The Results of Sympathy--Low's Cupidity Defeated + by a Portuguese--Eleven Thousand Moidores dropped out of a Cabin + Window--An Unpunished Fiend. + + +One of the most remarkable pirates of the century under review was, +strange as it may appear, a female! Mary Read acted first as a male page, +then volunteered as a sailor, was afterwards a cadet in a Flanders +regiment, and eventually returned to the sea to become a pirate. Her first +impersonation of a boy was undertaken at her mother's command. The latter +had been twice married, and a son born of the first husband had died. When +the poor woman was in great destitution she thought of that husband's +mother, who was in easy circumstances, and passed off her second child +Mary as a boy, thereby obtaining some pecuniary assistance. In the army +Mary Read is said to have behaved with great bravery, and when she retired +she married a young Fleming who had been a comrade in the field. They set +up a restaurant, or tavern, and for a time flourished in their business, +but the husband dying suddenly, and peace being concluded, she was obliged +to seek some other employment, and after a short lapse of time we find her +a sailor on a vessel bound to the West Indies. This ship was captured by +English pirates, and Mary was found to be the only English person on +board, so they detained her, letting the rest go, after they had stripped +the vessel of all they wanted. This was her first introduction to such +company, and it is said that in after life she stated that it was +compulsion and necessity which led her to follow the career of a pirate, +and not any desire on her part. But some of her actions looked as though +she had taken rather kindly to that unlawful profession. + + [Illustration: THE FEMALE PIRATES. (_From an Old Print._)] + +When the royal pardon was granted to all pirates in the West Indies who +should abandon their mode of life before a given date, the crew with whom +Mary was serving availed themselves of it, and for some little time +afterwards we find Mary working on a privateer. The crew on this vessel +soon after mutinied, and turned her into a pirate ship, on which Mary is +said to have behaved with almost ferocious bravery. When the vessel was at +last captured, she, with another female pirate, named Anne Bonney, and one +male, were the last three on deck, the others having fled below. Mary on +this occasion is said to have fired a pistol among the cowardly sailors, +killing one and wounding another. It is just to her to say that in her +intercourse with others she was modest to the last degree, and her sex was +undiscovered by the sailors. In fact, the before-named Anne Bonney, +thinking Mary Read was a handsome young man, fell violently in love with +her, and the latter was obliged to disclose her sex. She was a strong, +robust woman, and although the course of life she had undertaken made her +practically a criminal of the worst description--a robber and a +murderer--she had, if all accounts are true, many very good qualities. +Captain Rackam, another pirate, not knowing at the time her sex, asked her +one day why she--or, as he thought, he--had chosen a life so dangerous, and +one which exposed her to the risk of being hanged at any time. She +answered that as to the hanging she thought it no very great hardship, +"for were it not for that every cowardly fellow would turn pirate, and so +infest the seas, while men of courage might starve; that if it were put to +her choice she would not have the punishment less than death, the fear of +which kept some dastardly rogues honest; that many of those who are now +cheating the widows and orphans, and oppressing their poor neighbours who +have no money to obtain justice, would then rob at sea, and the ocean +would be as crowded with rogues as the land." Curious argument! Mary Read +came near tasting the quality of hanging when at last she was captured, +but an illness, fortunately for herself, intervened, and she died a +natural death. Woman's mission in life rarely takes her to sea as a +practical sailor. + +A prominent pirate of the seventeenth century was Captain Charles Vane, +the details of whose career would, however, read much like some already +given in the lives of earlier freebooters. One incident at the end of his +life is presented, to show how much distrust often existed among the +pirates themselves. Vane was at last wrecked on a small uninhabited island +near the Bay of Honduras; his vessel was completely lost and most of his +men drowned. He resided there some weeks, being reduced to great straits. + +While Vane was upon this island a ship put in there from Jamaica for +water, the captain of which, one Holford, an old pirate, happened to be an +acquaintance of Vane's. He thought this a good opportunity to get off, and +accordingly applied to his friend; but Holford absolutely refused him, +saying to him, "Charles, I can't trust you on board my ship unless I carry +you as a prisoner, for I shall have you caballing with my men, knocking me +on the head, and running away with my ship pirating." Vane made all the +protestations of honour in the world to him; but it seems Captain Holford +was too intimately acquainted with him to place any confidence in his +words or oaths. He told him he might easily get off if he had a mind to +it. "I am going down the bay," said he, "and shall return hither in about +a month; and if I find you upon the island when I come back, I will carry +you to Jamaica and there hang you!" "How can I get away?" answered Vane. +"Are there not fishermen's dories upon the beach? Can't you take one of +them?" replied Holford. "What!" replied Vane; "would you have me steal a +dory, then?" "Do you make it a matter of conscience?" replied Holford, "to +steal a dory, when you have been a common robber and pirate, stealing +ships and cargoes, and plundering all mankind that fell in your way? Stay +here if you are so squeamish;" and he left him to consider the matter. + +After Captain Holford's departure another ship put into the small island, +on her way home, for some water. None of the company knowing Vane, he +easily passed his examination, and so was shipped for the voyage. One +would be apt to think that Vane was now pretty safe, and likely to escape +the fate which his crimes had merited; but here a cross accident happened +which ruined all. Holford, returning from the bay, was met by this ship, +and the captains being very well acquainted with each other, Holford was +invited to dine aboard, which he did. As he passed along to the cabin he +chanced to cast his eye down in the hold, and there saw Charles Vane at +work. He immediately spoke to the captain, saying, "Do you know whom you +have aboard there?" "Why," said he, "I shipped the man the other day at an +island where he had been cast away, and he seems to be a brisk hand." "I +tell you," replied Captain Holford, "it is Vane, the notorious pirate." +"If it be he," replied the other, "I won't keep him." "Why, then," said +Holford, "I'll send and take him aboard, and surrender him at Jamaica." +This being settled, Captain Holford, as soon as he returned to his ship, +sent his mate, armed, to Vane, who had his pistol ready cocked, and told +him he was his prisoner. No man daring to make opposition, he was brought +aboard and put into irons; and when Captain Holford arrived at Jamaica he +delivered up his old acquaintance to justice, at which place he was tried, +convicted, and executed, as was, some time before, Vane's companion, +Robert Deal, who was brought thither by one of the men-of-war. "It is +clear," says the original narrator, "from this how little ancient +friendship will avail a great villain when he is deprived of the power +that had before supported and rendered him formidable." + +Another pirate of the same period was Captain Worley, who commenced +business by leaving New York, in September, 1718, in a small open boat, +with eight men, six muskets, a few pounds of biscuit and dried tongues, +and a keg of water. He took first a shallop laden with household goods and +plate, and later three sloops. He was becoming formidable enough to cause +uneasiness to the authorities, who despatched two armed sloops after him. +Worley saw them off the coast of Virginia, and believing that they were +two vessels bound for the James River, hastened to get into its mouth +first. Meantime the inhabitants of James Town, supposing that all three +were pirates, made every preparation ashore to defend themselves. Their +surprise must have been great indeed when they saw the pirates were +fighting among themselves. Worley had waited in the entrance of the river, +with the black colours flying, when he discovered that the approaching +vessels hoisted English colours, and that he was entrapped. The pirate and +his men fought bravely, and when the action was over Worley and only one +man out of twenty-five survived. As they would probably have died of their +wounds in a short time they were brought ashore in irons, and hanged +almost immediately. Worley's career as a pirate had lasted less than five +months. + +Yet another example. Captain Edward Low had, as a boy, shown peculiarly +brutal qualities. He had bullied, and in low games had cheated, every one +he could, so that it was not surprising that when grown to man's estate he +developed into a successful but specially obnoxious villain. After sundry +vicissitudes he had entered among the company of a ship bound to Honduras +for logwood, and when arrived there was employed in bringing it on shore +in command of a party of twelve armed men. One day the boat came alongside +the ship just a little before dinner-time, and Low desired that they +should remain for the meal, while the captain wanted them to make one more +trip, and offered them a bottle of rum. Low and some of the men became +enraged, and the former took a loaded musket and fired at the captain, +missing him, but injuring another man. They then ran away with the boat, +and only next day took a small vessel, on which they hoisted the black +flag. + +Fortune now constantly favoured him, and he was joined by many others. At +the Azores he captured a French ship of thirty-four guns, taking her with +his own two vessels. Entering St. Michael's roadstead, he captured seven +sail without firing a gun. He then sent ashore to the governor for water +and provisions, promising to release the vessels if his demands were +conceded, and burn them if they were not. The request was instantly +granted, and six of the vessels were returned. But a French vessel being +among them, they took away all her guns and men, except the cook, whom +they said, "being a greasy fellow, would fry well." The brutes then bound +the unfortunate wretch to the mast, and set fire to the ship. + +"The next who fell in their way was Captain Garren, in the _Wright_ +galley, who, because he showed some inclination to defend himself, was cut +and mangled in a barbarous manner. There were also two Portuguese friars, +whom they tied to the foremast, and several times let them down before +they were dead, merely to gratify their ferocious dispositions. Meanwhile, +another Portuguese beholding this cruel scene expressed some sorrow in his +countenance, upon which one of the wretches said he did not like his +looks, and so giving him a stroke across the body with his cutlass he fell +upon the spot. Another of the miscreants aiming a blow at a prisoner +missed his aim, and struck Low upon the under jaw. The surgeon was called, +and stitched up the wound; but Low finding fault with the operation, the +surgeon gave him a blow which broke all the stitches, and left him to sew +them himself. After he had plundered this vessel some of them were for +burning her, as they had done the Frenchman; but instead of that, they cut +her cables, rigging, and sails to pieces, and set her adrift to the mercy +of the waves." + +On another occasion he had taken a fine Portuguese vessel, but could not +find the treasure, and he accordingly tortured some of the men to make +them inform him. He was told that during the chase the captain had hung a +sack containing eleven thousand moidores out of the cabin window, and that +when they were taken he had cut the rope, and let it drop to the bottom of +the sea. One can imagine Low's rage. He ordered the unfortunate captain's +lips to be cut off and broiled before his eyes. He then murdered him and +the whole crew in cold blood. The narrative of Low's career is one +continuous succession of such stories; nor can the writer discover that he +met with punishment in this world. + + + + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + + PAUL JONES AND DE SOTO. + + + Paul Jones, the Privateer--A Story of his Boyhood--He joins the + American Revolutionists--Attempt to Burn the Town and Shipping of + Whitehaven--Foiled--His Appearance at St. Mary's--Capture of Lady + Selkirk's Family Plate--A Letter from Jones--Return of the Plate + several years after--A Press-gang Impressed--Engagement with the + _Ranger_--A Privateer Squadron--The Fight off Scarborough--Brave + Captains Pearson and Piercy--Victory for the Privateers--Jones dies + in abject Poverty--A Nineteenth Century Freebooter--Benito de + Soto--Mutiny on a Slave Ship--The Commander left ashore and the Mate + Murdered--Encounters the _Morning Star_--A Ship without a Gun--Terror + of the Passengers--Order to spare no Lives--A terrified Steward--De + Soto's commands only partially observed, and the Ship saved--At + Cadiz--Failure of the Pirate's Plans--Captured, Tried, and Hanged at + Gibraltar. + + +A celebrated character now appears on the scene; and the writer must avow +that Paul Jones has hardly been treated fairly in many works of fiction(8) +and so-called history. He was not a pirate in the true sense of the word, +although very generally regarded as such, but was a privateer, employed by +colonies rebelling against the mother country. + +John Paul--for such was his real name--was born on the estate of Lord +Selkirk, near Kirkcudbright, Scotland, in 1728, his father being head +gardener. Young Paul worked with his father for some length of time, and +there is a story recorded of the elder Paul which showed him to possess a +good sense of humour. In the gardens were two summer-houses, exactly alike +in build and size. One day Lord Selkirk, while strolling about the walks, +observed a young man locked up in one of the summer-houses and looking out +of the window. In the other house young Paul appeared, looking out of the +corresponding window. His lordship inquired why the lads were confined, to +which the gardener replied, "My lord, I caught the rascal stealing your +lordship's fruit." "But," said the nobleman, "there are two of them. What +has your son done? is he also guilty?" "Oh no, please your lordship," old +Paul coolly replied, "I just put him in for the sake of symmetry!" But it +appears that afterwards young Paul got himself in serious trouble, and +deserved to have been locked up in some stronger place than a +summer-house, and on other grounds than symmetry, and after some specially +knavish trick he was dismissed from his employment, and almost immediately +took to a seafaring life. He speedily rose to be mate, and soon after +master. + +In 1777, when the rupture broke out between America and Great Britain, he +was in New England, and he immediately enlisted among the revolutionists, +who appointed him commander of the _Ranger_ privateer, mounting eighteen +guns and several swivels, and manned with a picked crew of 150 hardy men. + +In the course of the following winter he put to sea, and made two +captures, which were sold in a French port, and in 1778 made an attempt to +burn and destroy the town and shipping of Whitehaven. Having got near the +land, he kept cautiously in the offing, but at midnight, having proceeded +nearer, he despatched his boats with thirty daring sailors. A little +battery at the entrance of the harbour was easily taken, and the small +garrison made prisoners before they could raise an alarm, and the guns +spiked. The vessels inside were laying close together at low water, and as +no enemy was expected there were no watches kept. The privateers deposited +combustibles, trains of powder, and matches, ready primed, on the decks +and about the rigging, and all was ready for the signal to be given, when +a commotion and loud knocking was heard in the main street, and crowds +came running to the piers, attracted by the lights which were being +hastily thrown on the ships by the enemy. The attacking party could only +just manage to get away and back to the ship, when, on the muster being +called, one man was missing. He it was who, either from hopes of great +reward, or, let us hope, from some purer motive of humanity, had started +the alarm, and saved both town and shipping, for only one vessel was +seriously scorched. + + [Illustration: PAUL JONES AND LADY SELKIRK.] + +Paul Jones therefore left Whitehaven: the expedition had been a most +complete failure. He next made for the harbour of Kirkcudbright, at the +entrance of the river Dee--on which that "jolly miller" once lived of whom +we sing. A little distance from the sea the Dee expands into an estuary, +in which is the island of St. Mary, the very place on which Lord Selkirk's +castle and estate stood. Early in the morning the privateer, with her guns +and generally warlike appearance, had been observed, but her character was +not known. Few vessels of size ever entered the river, and in this case +she was supposed to be an English man-of-war, possibly bent on +"impressing" men for the navy, and as the male population there, as +elsewhere, objected strongly to being torn away from their families and +employments, a number of them hid themselves, as did, indeed, Lady +Selkirk's men-servants, who obtained temporary leave of absence. A boat +from the privateer landed a number of men immediately, who strolled about +leisurely, without having apparently any special object in view, and later +returned to the ship. The alarm of those who watched their movements from +a distance had hardly subsided when the boat, with a strong body of armed +men, again put in for shore. + +"They did not now stroll about as before, but forming in regular order, +marched directly to the castle; and then, for the first time, a suspicion +of the real character of such unexpected and unwelcome guests was excited. +Lady Selkirk and her children were then the only members of the family +resident in the castle. Her ladyship had just finished breakfast when she +received a summons, but under considerable apprehensions of danger, which +were not abated upon a nearer approach to inspection of the party, whose +ferocious appearance and ragged dress too plainly betokened their hostile +purpose; and, as it now appeared plunder was their chief object, the worst +might be expected should any resistance be offered. The diversity of arms +with which the party were equipped further confirmed the bad opinion +entertained of the marauders. These consisted of muskets, pistols, swords, +&c., and one fellow bore an American tomahawk over his shoulder. There +were two officers in command of the party: the one rude in language and +rough in his manner; the other, on the contrary, was not only courteous +and respectful, but even apologised to her ladyship, regretting the +unpleasant duty in which it was unfortunately his lot to appear as the +principal. + +"The first inquiry was for the appearance of Lord Selkirk; and on being +assured that he was not in that part of the country they expressed +considerable disappointment. After a short pause, the officer who had +treated her ladyship with the most respect said he must request the +production of all the plate which was in her possession. She answered that +the plate which was in the castle was small in quantity, but, such as it +was, they should have it. + +"Accordingly the whole was laid before them--even the silver teapot which +was used at breakfast, and which had not been since washed out. The +officer on receiving it ordered his men to pack it all, again respectfully +apologising for his conduct on this occasion, which he called a dirty +business, and then taking his leave of her ladyship, he retired with his +party, and returned to his ship, leaving the family not a little pleased +at their escape from a worse fate, which they apprehended. Still, however, +as the ship did not immediately get under weigh, her ladyship, +entertaining fears of a second visit, lost no time in sending off her +children, and removing to a place of security whatever property was likely +to induce them to pay her another visit." In a few hours she was gratified +by seeing the privateer getting under weigh, and proceeding to sea without +offering any further violence. Lady Selkirk received, a few days after, a +letter from Jones, written in a romantic and almost poetical style, in +which he entreated her ladyship's pardon for the late affront, assuring +her that, so far from having been suggested or sanctioned by him, he had +exerted his influence in order to prevent its taking place; but his +officers and crew had insisted on the enterprise, in the hope of getting +possession of the person of Lord Selkirk, for whose ransom they +anticipated a considerable sum might be realised. This, Jones declared, +was the object of their first visit, in which having failed, they began to +murmur on their return on board, and insisted on their landing again and +plundering the castle; he was therefore reluctantly obliged to give his +assent. He added that he would endeavour to buy the plunder they had so +disgracefully brought away, and transmit the whole, or such as he could +obtain, to her ladyship. + +"Several years elapsed without hearing anything from Jones, and all hope +of realisation of his promises had vanished; but in the spring of the year +1783, to the great and agreeable surprise of her ladyship, the whole of +the plate was returned, carriage paid, precisely in the same condition in +which it had been taken away, and to every appearance without having ever +been unpacked, the tea-leaves remaining in the silver teapot, as they were +left after breakfast on the morning of the plunderers' visit to the +castle." It is hardly to be doubted that Jones was sincere in this matter, +and that the real state of the case was that he had spoken before the +others of Lord Selkirk's estate and his early experiences, until they had +become inflamed with a desire to plunder the castle, and, if possible, +secure the person of that nobleman, with the hope of obtaining a large +ransom. This, at first sight the most piratical act of Paul's life, really +shows him to advantage, and that he had some humanity left for his early +associates. Lord Selkirk himself received the news in London, with a few +additions, to the effect that his castle had been burned to the ground and +his family taken prisoners. Those were not the days of special +correspondents and telegraphy. About half-way on his journey he, however, +obtained a more correct version of the affair. + +Jones now made for the Irish coast, where in the Belfast Loch he burned or +captured several fishing-boats. A sloop-of-war, the _Drake_, under the +command of Captain Burden, was lying there. The commander thought that the +_Ranger_ was a merchantman, and sent off a boat's crew to impress some of +her men for the navy. Jones allowed them to come on board, and then +impressed _them_! He did not, however, wish to risk an engagement just +then, and therefore put about and crowded on all sail. Captain Burden, +finding that his boat did not return, at last suspected something wrong, +gave chase, and, coming up with the privateer, opened a sharp fire. The +night was so dark that the firing could not be continued with any prospect +of success. Next morning the engagement was renewed, and at the end of +over an hour's gallant fighting on both sides--by which time Captain +Burden, his first lieutenant, and some of the crew, being killed, and more +disabled, and the ship much damaged--the _Drake_ surrendered to the +_Ranger_. Jones took his prize into Brest--and communicated his success to +Dr. Franklin,(9) then the American diplomatic agent in Paris. + +In the following winter we find Jones in command of a frigate, the _Bonne +Homme Richard_, of forty guns, with a complement of 370 men, having under +him another frigate, the _Alliance_, of nearly equal size, a brig, and a +cutter, all acting in the service of the American Congress. A French +frigate, the _Pallas_, also formed one of the squadron. Some of his first +essays were failures. Landing a boat's crew on the coast of Kerry to take +some sheep, the farmers and people defended their property bravely, and +the aggressors were sent to Tralee gaol. So, when he conceived the bold +idea of burning the shipping in Leith harbour, a gale blew his ship to +sea. It is said that laying off Kirkaldy, Jones sent a summons to the +townspeople to make up a ransom, or he would fire the town. A number of +the inhabitants had collected on the beach, among whom was a venerable +minister, who offered up a prayer to the Almighty, and exhorted the people +to courage and trustfulness. Soon after the wind increased to the gale +above-mentioned, and the privateer had to be let go before the wind. Not +long previous to this, however, Jones had captured several prizes, all of +which were sent to French ports. + +But off Scarborough Jones and his squadron fell in with a British convoy +of merchantmen from the Baltic, under escort of H.M.S. _Serapis_ +(forty-four guns), in the command of Captain Pearson, and the _Countess of +Scarborough_ (twenty guns), Captain Piercy. The result was a brilliant +engagement, in which the British captains behaved most gallantly, although +the privateer force was in excess of their own. Captain Pearson, while a +prisoner on the _Pallas_, communicated a full account to the Lords of the +Admiralty, of which the following narrative contains some verbatim +extracts:-- + +On the 23rd September, 1799, the privateer squadron and the two English +ships were in sight of each other. Captain Pearson's first anxiety was to +get between the merchant-ships he was convoying and the privateers, which +he successfully accomplished. Shortly after the action commenced the +muzzles of the guns of the _Serapis_ and _Alliance_ actually touched each +other. "In this position," wrote Captain Pearson, "we engaged from +half-past eight till half-past ten, during which time, from the great +quantity and variety of combustible matter which they threw upon our +decks, cabins, and, in short, into every part of the ship, we were on fire +no less than ten or twelve times in different parts of the ship, and it +was with the greatest difficulty and exertion imaginable, at times, that +we were able to get it extinguished. At the same time the largest of the +two frigates kept sailing round us during the whole action, and raking us +fore and aft, by which means she killed or wounded almost every man on the +quarter and main decks. At half-past nine, either from a hand-grenade +being thrown in at one of our lower deck ports or from some other +accident, a cartridge of powder was set on fire, the flames of which, +running from cartridge to cartridge all the way aft, blew up the whole of +the officers and crew that were quartered abaft the mainmast; from which +unfortunate circumstance all those guns were rendered useless for the +remainder of the action. + +"At ten o'clock they called for quarter from the ship alongside, and said +they had struck. Hearing this, I called upon the captain to say if they +had struck, or if he asked for quarter, but receiving no answer after +repeating my words two or three times, I called for the boarders, and +ordered them to board, which they did; but the moment they were on board +her they discovered a superior number lying under cover, with pikes in +their hands, ready to receive them, on which our people retreated +instantly into our own ship, and returned to their guns again until +half-past ten, when the frigate coming across our stern, and pouring her +broadside into us again without our being able to bring a gun to bear on +her, I found it in vain, and in short impracticable, from the situation we +were in, to stand out any longer with any prospect of success. I therefore +struck; our mainmast at the same time went by the board. + + [Illustration: PAUL JONES.] + +"The first lieutenant and myself were immediately escorted into the ship +alongside, when we found her to be an American ship-of-war, called the +_Bonne Homme Richard_, of forty guns and 375 men, commanded by Captain +Paul Jones; the other frigate which engaged us to be the _Alliance_, of +forty guns and 300 men; and the third frigate, which engaged and took the +_Countess of Scarborough_ after two hours' action, to be the _Pallas_, a +French frigate, of thirty guns and 274 men; the _Vengeance_, an armed brig +of twelve guns and seventy men: all in Congress service, under the command +of Paul Jones. They fitted and sailed from Port l'Orient the latter end of +July, and then came north. They have on board 300 English prisoners, which +they have taken in different vessels in their way round since they left +France, and have ransomed some others. On my going on board the _Bonne +Homme Richard_ I found her in the greatest distress, her quarters and +counter on the lower deck being entirely drove in, and the whole of her +lower deck guns dismounted; she was also on fire in two places, and six or +seven feet of water in her hold, which kept increasing upon them all night +and next day, till they were obliged to quit her. She had 300 men killed +and wounded in the action. Our loss in the _Serapis_ was also very great." +Captain Pearson concludes with a proper tribute to the bravery of Captain +Piercy, who with his small frigate had engaged the _Pallas_, a much larger +vessel, and to the men in general. The honour of knighthood was afterwards +conferred on Captain Pearson, while Piercy and the officers were suitably +promoted. The Royal Exchange Insurance Company presented both captains +with services of plate. It need not be said that Paul Jones was for the +nonce a much-appreciated man in America. + +His subsequent career does not possess much interest for the general +reader. He was, in 1786, employed in diplomatic service, and he crossed +the Atlantic with despatches for London in the then remarkable time of +twenty-two days, and, having performed his duty, he remained a few hours +only, and then immediately started on the return voyage. American +go-a-headedness was fast developing at that early period. When peace was +concluded he entered into the service of Russia for a short period, after +which he was in Paris at the period of the Revolution. Here he sought, but +failed in obtaining, employment in the French navy; and he soon became a +man as dejected and downcast as he had once been buoyant and resolute. He +died in abject poverty; and he would hardly have been decently interred +but for the sympathy of a friend, who succeeded in raising a small +subscription for the purpose. + +The full history of piracy would occupy a small library of volumes, and +would possess many elements of sameness in its full narration. In the +present volume only leading examples can be given, for space would fail us +to record the crimes committed by Algerian, Spanish, Indian, Chinese, and +other pirates, many of them in times not long gone by. But the example of +unbridled brutality and villany about to be presented could not be omitted +in any fair account of the subject. Sad to say, it occurred in this +present century of general enlightenment. The career of the infamous +Benito de Soto is the subject of the following pages.(10) + +Benito de Soto was a Portuguese sailor, and up to the year 1827 appears to +have followed the ordinary avocations of his profession. In the above year +a slaver was being fitted out for a voyage to the coast of Africa. In the +horrible traffic in which the vessel was engaged a strong crew was +required, and, among a considerable number of sailors, De Soto was +engaged. It was the intention of the captain to run to a part of the +African coast not usually visited, where he hoped to obtain them cheaper +than elsewhere, or perhaps get them by force. His crew consisted +principally of French, Spanish, and Portuguese renegades, who made no +objection to sail with him on his evil voyage. + +The captain of the slave-ship arrived at his destination, and obtained a +considerable number of natives, who were closely battened down in the +hold. One day he went ashore to make arrangements for completing his +cargo, when the mate, who was a bold, reckless, and thoroughly +unprincipled man, and who had perceived in Benito de Soto a kindred +spirit, proposed to the latter a design he had long contemplated for +running away with the vessel and becoming a pirate. De Soto at once agreed +to join in the mutiny, and declared that he had himself been contemplating +a similar enterprise. The pair of rogues shook hands, and lost no time in +maturing the plot. A large part of the crew joined in the conspiracy, but +a number held out faithfully to the captain, and the mate was despairing +of success, when De Soto took the matter in hand, thoroughly armed the +conspirators, declared the mate captain, and told the others, "There is +the African coast: this is our ship; one or other must be chosen by every +man on board within five minutes." The well-disposed would not, however, +join the mutinous, and they were immediately hustled into a boat, and left +to the mercy of the waves with one pair of oars. Had the weather continued +calm the boat would have made the shore by dusk; but unhappily a strong +gale of wind set in shortly after her departure, and she was seen by De +Soto and his gang struggling with the billows and approaching night at a +considerable distance from the land. All on board agreed in opinion that +the boat could not live, as they flew away from her at the rate of ten +knots an hour, under close-reefed topsails, leaving their unhappy +messmates to their inevitable fate. Those of the pirates who were +afterwards executed at Cadiz declared that every soul in the boat +perished. A drunken revel reigned on board that night. The mate soon +proved a tyrant; and De Soto, who had only waited for the opportunity, +shot him while in a drunken sleep, and constituted himself commander. The +slaves were taken to the West Indies, and a good price obtained for them; +one, a boy, De Soto reserved for himself. That boy lived to be a witness +against him, and before he left Cadiz saw the full penalty of the law +executed on his brutal master. + +The pirates now commenced their villanous designs in good earnest, and +plundered a number of vessels. Amongst others they took an American brig, +and having secured all the valuables on board, hatched down all hands in +the hold except one poor black man--probably the cook--who was allowed to +remain on deck for the special purpose of affording by his tortures the +horrible amusement De Soto and his fellow fiends desired. The heart +sickens at the remainder of the story. They set fire to the brig, and then +lay to at a short distance to observe the progress of the flames, knowing +that a number of their fellow-creatures were being roasted to death in the +hold. The poor African ran from rope to rope, now clinging to the shrouds, +even climbing up to the mast-head, till he fell exhausted in the flames, +and the tragedy was over. + +Exploit after exploit, marked by heartless butchery, followed, and +culminated in the event which led to their overthrow. It was an evil day +when they met, off the Island of Ascension, the _Morning Star_, a vessel +then on her voyage from Ceylon to England, having on board a valuable +cargo and a number of passengers, civilian and military, the latter +principally invalided soldiers. There were also several ladies on board. +De Soto at first took her for a French ship, but when he was assured that +she was English he said with glee, "So much the better, we shall find the +more booty," and ordered the sails squared for the chase. + +His vessel, the _Defensor de Pedro_, was a fast sailer, but for some time +could not gain much on the _Morning Star_, and De Soto broke out in almost +ungovernable fits of rage. When his poor little cabin-boy came to ask him +whether he would have his morning cup of chocolate, he received a violent +blow from a telescope as his reward. While the crew were clearing the +decks for action he walked up and down with gloomy brow and folded arms, +maturing his plan of attack; and woe to the man who interrupted his +meditations! But when he found that he was gaining on his intended victim +he became calm enough to eat his breakfast, and then sat down to smoke a +cigar. + +And now they had gained sufficiently on the other ship to enable De Soto +to fire a charge of blank cartridge for the purpose of bringing her to. +This, however, had no effect, although he hoisted British colours; and he +then shouted out, "Shoot the long gun, and give it her point-blank!" The +shot was fired, but fell short of its aim, and the gunner was cursed as a +bungler. He then ordered them to load with canister-shot, and, waiting +till he was abreast of the vessel, discharged the gun himself with fatal +accuracy, while one of his men ran down the falsely-displayed British +colours, and De Soto then himself hauled up the Columbian colours, and +cried out through the speaking-trumpet for the captain to come on board. + + [Illustration: DE SOTO CHASING THE "MORNING STAR."] + +One can imagine the alarm on the _Morning Star_ among the helpless +passengers, when they found that their captain had neither guns nor small +arms. Although there were twenty-five soldiers on board and a commanding +officer, they were all cripples or feeble invalids. The captain was, as +will afterwards appear, a brave and true officer, but by a general +council, hurriedly held, he was advised to allow one of the passengers to +volunteer for the service of going on board the pirate ship. It may be +imagined how he was received. When they found that he was not the captain, +they beat him, as well as the sailors with him, in a brutal manner, and +then sent him back with the message that if the captain did not instantly +come on board they would blow the ship out of the water. This, of course, +decided the captain, and he immediately put off in a boat, with his second +mate, three sailors, and a boy, and was rowed to the pirate ship. On going +on board, De Soto, who stood near the mainmast, cutlass in hand, desired +the captain to approach, while the mate was ordered to go forward. Both of +these unfortunate individuals obeyed, and were instantly massacred. + +A number of the pirates--picked men--were ordered to descend into the boat, +Barbazan, De Soto's right hand in villainy, accompanying them. To him the +leader gave his orders to spare no lives, and sink the ship. The pirates +were all armed alike, each carrying a brace of pistols, a cutlass, and a +long knife. Their dress consisted of coarse chequered cotton, and red +woollen caps. They were all athletic men, and evidently suited for their +sanguinary work. A man stood by the long gun with a lighted match, ready +to support the boarding, if necessary, with a shot that would sweep the +deck. The terror of the poor females and most of the rest on the _Morning +Star_ may well be imagined; nor could the fears of the former be allayed +by the vain hopes which some expressed that the pirates would simply +plunder the vessel and then leave them. Vain hopes indeed, for the pirates +commenced cutting right and left immediately they boarded. The villains +were soon masters of the decks. "Beaten, bleeding, terrified, the men lay +huddled together in the hold, while the pirates proceeded in their work of +pillage and brutality. Every trunk was hauled forth; every portable +article of value heaped for the plunder: money, plate, charts, nautical +instruments, and seven parcels of valuable jewels, which formed part of +the cargo; these were carried from below on the backs of those men whom +the pirates selected to assist them, and for two hours they were thus +employed, during which time De Soto stood on his own deck watching the +operations, for the vessels were within a hundred yards of each other." +The scene in the cabin was one of unbridled license; the passengers were +stripped of their clothes, while the females were locked up together in +the round-house on deck. + +The steward was detained, to serve the pirates with wine and eatables, and +their labours being now concluded, they held high revel, preparatory to +carrying out the diabolical orders of their leader. A more terrible group +of ruffians, the poor steward afterwards declared, could not well be +imagined. In one instance his life was in great jeopardy, when one of the +pirates demanded to know where the captain had kept his money. He might as +well have asked him to perform a miracle; but pleading the truth was of no +use, and a pistol was snapped at his breast, which, fortunately, missed +fire. He re-cocked, and presented it, when the weapon was struck aside by +Barbazan, who possibly thought that the services of the steward might yet +be required. The females were afterwards ordered into the cabin, and +treated with great brutality. + +Whether Barbazan had any spark of humanity left in his bosom, or whether +it was a forgetfulness of the orders given to him by De Soto, caused by +the wine he had taken, is not known, but after a series of outrages, he +contented himself by ordering his men to fasten the women in the cabin, +heap lumber on the hatches of the hold, and bore holes in the ship below +the water-line. This may seem strange mercy, but it left some chance, if +by any possibility any of those on board could get free and stop the +leaks. His orders, it will be remembered, had been to put all to death, as +well as sink the ship. + +Whatever Barbazan's motives may have been, his course of action saved the +ship, for the women contrived to force their way out of the cabin, and +release the men in the hold. When they came on deck they anxiously peered +out into the darkness, and had the satisfaction of seeing the pirate-ship, +with all sails set, bearing away in the far distance. Their delight was, +however, somewhat checked when they found that the vessel had six feet of +water in her; but at length work at the pumps told, and the vessel was +kept afloat. Yet they were still in a helpless condition, for the pirates +had sawn away the masts and cut the rigging. Fortunately, however, they +fell in with a vessel next day: their troubles were over, and they were +brought in safety to England. + +To return to De Soto. It was only next morning that he learned that the +crew and passengers had been left alive. This excited his utmost rage, and +he declared that now there could be no security for their lives. He +determined to put back, but providentially he could find no trace of the +vessel, and at last he consoled himself with the belief that she had gone +to the bottom. He then set sail for Europe, and on his voyage met a brig, +boarded, plundered, and sank her, having first murdered the crew, with the +exception of one individual, whom he took with him as a pilot, as he +professed to know the course to Corunna. As soon as he had come within +sight of that port, De Soto came up to the unfortunate sailor, and said, +"You have done your duty well, and I am obliged to you for your services." +He then immediately shot him dead, and flung his body overboard! Polite +and humane De Soto! + + [Illustration: CADIZ.] + +At Corunna he obtained papers under a false name, sold most of his +ill-gotten spoils, and set sail for Cadiz, where he expected to easily +dispose of the remainder. The winds were favourable and the voyage good +till he was actually in sight of the famed old Spanish port, off which he +arrived in the evening. He therefore determined to lay to, intending to +reach his anchorage in the morning, when the wind shifted, culminating in +a gale, which blew right on land. He exerted all his seamanship to weather +a point that stretched outwards, but his lee-way carried him towards the +land, and the vessel became an utter wreck. Soto soon arranged a plan. +They were to pass themselves off as honest men to the authorities of +Cadiz; Soto was to take upon himself the office of mate to an imaginary +captain, and thus obtain their sanction in disposing of the vessel. In +their assumed character the whole proceeded to Cadiz, and presented +themselves before the proper officers of the marine. Their story was +listened to with sympathy, and for a few days everything went on to their +satisfaction. Soto had succeeded so well as to conclude the sale of the +wreck with a broker for the sum of one thousand seven hundred and fifty +dollars. The contract was signed, but, fortunately, the money was not yet +paid, when suspicion arose, from some inconsistencies in the pirates' +account of themselves, and six of them were arrested by the authorities. +De Soto and one of the crew instantly disappeared from Cadiz, and +succeeded in arriving at the neutral ground before Gibraltar, and six more +made their escape to Caracas. + +De Soto's companion wisely kept to the neutral ground at Gibraltar, while +he foolishly ventured into the city, his object being to obtain money for +a letter of credit he had obtained at Cadiz. The former man was the only +one of the whole gang who escaped punishment. + +De Soto secured his admission into Gibraltar by a false pass, and took up +his residence at a low tavern in one of the narrow lanes in which the +place abounds. "The appearance of this house," says the writer of the +interesting letter from which this account is derived, "was in grim +harmony with the worthy Benito's life. I have occasion to pass the door +frequently at night, for our barrack, the casement, is but a few yards +from it. I never look out at the place without feeling an involuntary +sensation of horror.... + +"In this den the villain remained for a few weeks, and during this time he +seemed to enjoy himself as if he had never committed a murder. The story +he told Bosso of the circumstances was that he came to Gibraltar on his +way from Cadiz to Malaga, and was merely awaiting the arrival of a friend. + +"He dressed expensively, generally wore a white hat of the best English +quality, silk stockings, white trousers, and blue frock coat. His whiskers +were large and bushy, and his hair was black, profuse, long, and curled. +He was deeply browned with the sun, and had an air and gait expressive of +his bold, enterprising, and desperate mind. Indeed, when I saw him in his +cell and at his trial, although his frame was attenuated almost to a +skeleton, the colour of his face a pale yellow, his eyes sunken, and his +hair closely shorn, he still exhibited strong traces of what he had been, +still retained his erect and fearless carriage, his quick, fiery, and +malevolent eye, his hurried and concise speech, and his close and +pertinent style of remark." After he had been confronted in court with a +dirk that had belonged to one of his victims, a trunk and clothes taken +from another, and the pocket-book containing the handwriting of the +_Morning Star's_ ill-fated captain, and which were proved to have been +found in his room; and when the maid-servant had proved that she found the +dirk under his pillow, and again when he was confronted by his own black +slave boy between two wax lights, the countenance of the villain appeared +in its true nature, not depressed or sorrowful, but diabolically +ferocious; and when Sir George Don passed the just sentence of the law +upon him his face was a study of concentrated venom. + +The wretched man persisted up to the day of his execution in asserting his +innocence; but the certainty of his doom seemed to make some impression on +him, and he at last made an unreserved confession of his crimes, giving up +to the keeper a razor-blade which he had secreted in his shoes for the +avowed purpose of committing suicide. The narrator of his life seems to +have believed that he was really penitent. + +On the day of his execution he walked firmly at the tail of the fatal +cart, gazing alternately at the crucifix he held in his hand and at his +coffin, and repeated the prayers spoken in his ears by the attendant +clergyman with apparent devotion. The gallows was erected fronting the +neutral ground, and he mounted the cart as firmly as he had walked, +holding up his face to heaven in the beating rain, apparently calm and +resigned. Finding the halter too high for his neck, he boldly stepped upon +his coffin and placed his head in the noose, bidding adieu to all around +him. Thus died Benito de Soto, the pirate of the nineteenth century, whose +crimes had hardly been exceeded by the freebooters of any previous period. + + + + + + CHAPTER IX. + + + OUR ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS. + + + The Latest Arctic Expedition--Scene at Portsmouth--Departure of the + _Alert_ and _Discovery_--Few Expeditions really ever pointed to the + Pole--What we know of the Regions--Admitted and unadmitted + Records--Dutch Yarns--A Claimant at the Pole--Life with the + Esquimaux--A Solitary Journey--Northmen Colony--The Adventurer kindly + treated--Their King--Sun-worshippers--Believers in an Arctic Hell--The + Mastodon not extinct--Domesticated Walruses--The whole story a + nonsensical _Canard_. + + +On the afternoon of May 29th, 1875, the old town of Portsmouth presented +in an unusual degree that gala aspect which it can so readily assume at +short notice. It is true that it was the official anniversary of Her +Majesty's birthday, and a military review had been announced; but granting +full credit to the loyalty of Hants, there was still something to be +explained, for visitors had crowded into the town by tens and tens of +thousands, and the jetties, piers, and shores presented the aspect of a +popular holiday, so lined were they with well-dressed and evidently +expectant masses of people. The shipping in the harbour and out to +Spithead displayed the flags of the whole signalling code, while from the +flag-posts of every public, and hundreds of private, buildings, the +coastguard stations, forts, and piers, depended a perfect wealth of +bunting. What was the cause of this enthusiasm? + +In the dockyard a quieter scene explained the reason. Two vessels, of no +great size, and which at any other time would not have attracted special +attention, were lying, with full steam up and bows pointed to the stream, +ready for immediate departure. They bore the names of the _Alert_ and +_Discovery_, and were about to start on a prolonged Arctic voyage. On the +jetty the relatives and friends of some 120 officers and blue-jackets were +assembled to bid the last farewell, the last God-speed to men about to +encounter many known and unknown dangers in a field of action where peril +is the daily concomitant of existence. We can well believe that the fate +of Franklin and his gallant band--in numbers almost literally identical +with the two ships' companies about to depart--_would_ recur to the minds +of some, and that many a mother prayed that night, and later-- + + "O Heaven, my child in mercy spare! + O God, where'er he be; + O God, my God, in pity spare + My boy to-night at sea!" + +We shall not attempt to depict a scene familiar to all who have voyaged or +who know much of seaport life, although this was a special case. + + [Illustration: CAPTAIN NARES CONDUCTING H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES OVER + THE _ALERT_ AT PORTSMOUTH.] + + "A sailor's life must be + Spent away on the far, far sea, + And little of him his wife may see," + +Sings Dr. Bennett; and the partings were not confined to mother or wife, +but were shared by many a father, brother, sister, and sweetheart, who +were nevertheless proud of the service in which their sailor-boy was to be +engaged. Still prouder were they as, at four o'clock, the vessels steamed +out of the harbour; "such cheers upon cheers rent the air" as, said our +leading journal, "were never before heard in Portsmouth," while "an +unbroken mass of waving hats and fluttering handkerchiefs" extended on the +jetties, piers, and shore away to and beyond the breakwater. The ships of +war and the training ship _St. Vincent_ presented a sight not soon to be +forgotten, covered as they were by living masses from bulwarks to sky-sail +yards of actual and embryo comrades in the service, delighting to honour +these adventurous men, departing for unknown seas and for an unknown +period of time. If there were any of those croakers present who tell us +that the service has gone to the dogs, and that the "true British sailor" +is no more, they must have been silenced; while the enthusiasm of those +who had come from far and near to witness the departure of the expedition +was but one more example of that special interest always displayed by +England in all matters pertaining to geographical discovery. The same love +of adventure, and the spirit to do and dare, which characterise our +voyagers and travellers, permeates very largely the masses of those who +stay at home, for they are Britons still. + + [Illustration: SIR GEORGE NARES.] + +The expedition, under the command of Captain Nares, the departure of which +we have briefly described, was, as we all know, distinctly organised for +the exploration of the polar region, and with the hope of reaching the +North Pole itself. One point in this connection is often overlooked, +thereby leading to grave mistake, and it may fairly be considered before +entering upon the narration of this Arctic voyage. There are those among +us who, being "nothing if not practical," aver that too many voyages have +been instigated for the discovery of the North Pole, which is to them a +worthless aim. The answer to such croakers is direct. Of the hundreds of +expeditions, British and foreign, despatched to the Arctic regions, very +few indeed have been organised for that discovery, or even for the +exploration of the polar region proper. Those instituted with that special +object, as will be hereafter shown, scarcely exceed a dozen in number. +Strange as it may seem, commerce was for a long period almost the only +motive for Arctic exploration. The larger part of the earlier attempts at +north-west and north-east passages were instigated with the distinct +object of reaching the Orient--China, India, and the Spice Islands--for +commercial purposes, by what seems now-a-days a most roundabout if not +utterly ridiculous manner, but which at the time appeared quite +comprehensible and defensible. The rich productions of the countries named +in those days reached us overland; and not till the very close of the +fifteenth century, when Vasco di Gama doubled the Cape of Good Hope, was a +comparatively easy sea-route found to Eastern Asia. The opening of +extensive fisheries, the fur-trade, reported mineral discoveries, and, in +a limited degree, colonisation, have been among the main causes in bygone +days of hundreds of Arctic voyages, the organisers whereof cared nothing +for the North Pole. The many Arctic expeditions of the present century +have been mainly instituted for geographical discovery and scientific +research; and, as we all know, a number of them would not have had their +being but for the sad tragedy which involved the search for Franklin and +his ill-starred companions. Now-a-days, indeed, as the writer has +elsewhere said,(11) "we have no need for an icy route to Cathaia; we have +no expectation of commercial advantage from the exploration of the North +Pole." The solution of a most important geographical problem was the aim +of Captain Nares' expedition, as it was that of _several_, but _not_, as +will be proved, that of _many_ previous ones. If it ever is to be done, +England should do it. + +[Illustration: DEPARTURE OF THE "ALERT" AND "DISCOVERY" FROM PORTSMOUTH.] + +It will be interesting, and somewhat important, to note briefly, before +entering on the consideration of the great Arctic voyages, just how much +and how little we know about the polar region proper. The undiscovered +region covers an area of scarcely less than a million and a half square +miles; while between explored points on either side it is in certain +directions as much as 1,500 miles across. Parry, in 1827, reached by a +mixed boat and sledge journey as high a latitude as 82 deg. 45' N., while +Captain Hall, the American, succeeded in _taking his vessel_, in 1871, as +high as 82 deg. 16' N. in Smith's Sound. As we shall hereafter see, both these +exploits have now been beaten by the expedition under Captain (now Sir +George S.) Nares. In general terms, we may say that the vast tract between +70 deg. and 80 deg. of north latitude has been pretty thoroughly explored on the +European and American sides of the polar region, while much less is known +of the same latitudes on the Asiatic side. How much of the in-lying region +is land, or how far covered with water, has yet to be determined. In spite +of the very positive utterances of many explorers and scientists, all we +really know is that there _is_ much open water, or at all events +ice-covered water, and that it _may_ extend to the Pole. No weight +whatever can be attached to the once popular "open polar sea" theory, +which rested principally on the statements of those who had, after +reaching given points, been unable to see anything but open water before +them. How would that wiseacre be esteemed, who, looking seaward from +different parts of our coast, saw nought but ocean, and thereon +immediately built a theory that no land existed in the direction of his +gaze? America must be swept from _his_ map entirely, while even +Continental Europe would have a poor chance--except on a fine day, and even +then from but a few points of our south coast. + +Whilst the claims of Parry, Hall, and Nares, as the three explorers who +have approached nearer the Pole than any others, must be admitted by all +authorities, we may note _en passant_ that other and stronger claims have +been put forth in days gone by. The Hon. Daines Barrington, somewhat of an +authority in his day, read before the Royal Society, late in the last +century, a series of papers devoted to polar subjects,(12) in which he +records the cases of whalers and others who were said to have almost +reached the North Pole. He cites with some substantiatory evidence the +case of a Dutch ship-of-war, superintending the Greenland fisheries, which +had reached the latitude of 88 deg. N., or within 120 miles of the Pole. He +gives the case of an English captain--one Johnson, or Monson (Buffon +records the same case)--who had also reached 88 deg. N. He further offers us +the "Relation of Two Dutch Masters" to one Captain Goulden, who asserted +that they had reached 89 deg., and caps the climax with a "Dutch relation" to +a Mr. Grey, in which the Hollander claims to have been within half a +degree (thirty geographical miles) of the Pole. These claims were +seriously discussed at the time, and were not put forward by an ignorant +or careless writer. Nevertheless, no credit is given to them by present +Arctic authorities, although they would seem to deserve some little +examination and attention. + +One other claim to the discovery of a continent immediately surrounding +the North Pole remains to be considered, albeit not seriously. It has been +very naturally ignored here, but was calmly discussed some years since in +America, where it was first published. The present writer presents it in a +condensed form simply as a novelty; it is only too evidently a sailor's +"yarn," invented by some one familiar with Arctic works, or possibly with +the Arctic regions themselves. But as it will serve to enliven our +narrative at this juncture, the reader will pardon its introduction. + +The editor of the following narrative commences by stating that a log, +squared and much water-soaked, was found floating in Hudson's Bay in the +year 1866 by an American sailor. On examination, a small piece of wood was +discovered to be morticed in its side, and this being picked out, a +manuscript, written on skin sewn together with sinews, was found enclosed +in a seal-skin cover. The story inscribed on it was in substance as +follows. The writer begins by stating that he has discovered a new +continent at the Pole. Being desirous of leaving England, he had shipped +before the mast on the _Erebus_, under the command of Sir John Franklin. +He had done so under an assumed name, his true name being William North. +Describing briefly the events preceding Franklin's death, he goes on to +say that they abandoned the ships in April, 1848, Captain Crozier hoping +to reach Hudson's Bay (Territory is meant, presumably), their provisions +being exhausted. All but himself perished, and he lay on the snow +insensible till rescued by some Esquimaux, with whom he lived for several +years. From observations he became convinced there was a habitable land +further north. The birds and animals often came in large numbers from that +direction, and then suddenly returned. The Indians all had a superstitious +fear of going far north, and none who did so were ever seen again. It was +supposed that they perished of cold and starvation; but more than one old +Esquimaux told him that they were killed by the inhabitants beyond the +mountains. + + [Illustration: CAPE DESOLATION.] + +"As I could never get back to England," says he, "even if I had desired, I +concluded to push to the north, and reach the North Pole or perish in the +attempt." No one would go with him, so he went alone, taking two dogs and +a boat which he had rigged on runners. The Indians said that he would +never return. + + [Illustration: MAP OF THE NORTH POLAR REGIONS.] + +"This was on the Greenland shore, as far north as the ice mountains, known +to navigators as the glaciers. ['Ice rivers' would be the more appropriate +term; but the story is evidently written by a half-educated man.] It was +the early spring of 1860, according to my reckoning; the season was the +most favourable I had ever seen, and in two months I must have travelled +fully six hundred miles, myself and the dogs living on game and seals +killed by the way. + +"My theory was that I should suddenly emerge into a warm and fertile +country as soon as I should reach the point at which, according to all the +books, the earth was flattened, and on which the sun in summer never sets. +It seemed to me that if the sun should remain for six months above the +horizon, without any nights, the effect would be to give a very warm +climate. I had a good silver watch, of which I had always taken the +greatest care, and I kept a record of every day, so that I should not lose +my reckoning. I will not dwell on the perils and privations of my journey, +except to say that with streaming eyes I had killed my faithful dogs to +save me from starvation, when on the 20th of June, 1860, according to my +calendar, I passed out of a crevice or gorge between two great walls of +ice, just in time to escape death from a falling mass larger than a ship, +into an open space of table-land, from which I could see below me, and +stretching away as far as the eye could reach, a land more beautiful than +England or any other country I had ever seen." + +The narrator says that his feelings becoming calmer after the surprise he +had experienced, he descended the mountain, at the foot of which was a +village, where the people were celebrating a festival or carnival. +Overcome by the heat and excitement, he fainted, and some time afterwards +found himself closely guarded in the house of some priests, where, +however, he was kindly treated. The curious things which he had in his +possession convinced them that their prisoner was worth keeping alive. He +explained their use by signs, in which they were greatly interested. The +watch pleased them the most, and they easily understood the division of +time. When he drew a figure of the earth, with the parallels of latitude +and longitude, pointing out the positions of the various countries, +including their own, they were greatly astonished, and treated him with +increased kindness. + +He was taken before their chief--the Jarl--who lives in a stone palace, +built as solidly as the pyramids. "Glass is unknown, and curtains or +draperies take its place in the windows. Oil-lamps are used, except in the +palaces of the nobility and in public places, where an electric light, +much brighter than gas, is substituted." Precious stones, gold, and +silver, abound. "The Jarl drives out with four large moose, or mastodon, +attached to his chariot, which are harnessed in pairs, the inside horns of +each being cut so that they will not interlock. His pleasure barge is +drawn by walruses." Barges and boats were commonly drawn by domesticated +seals and walruses. Their arts and productions are described in detail, +and are about the same as those of Northern Europe a thousand years ago. +The people are numerous, and live in peace and happiness. The sun is their +great spirit; shut in by eternal snow and ice, although their own climate +is not very severe, they naturally look upon cold as the essence of all +that is evil, and ice as its embodiment. When the genial rays of the sun +disperse the ice and snow they worship and rejoice. And carrying out the +same idea, the infernal regions are stated to be cold, not hot. We all +remember the worthy divine in the north of Scotland, who knowing that he +could not terrify his shivering congregation by depicting the terrors of +fire, painted in its place an Arctic Hell. So Dante, in "The Divine +Comedy," makes the frozen Lake of Cocytus a place where the traitors to +kindred and country endure a new torment. So again Shakespeare, in the +well-known soliloquy-- + + "Ay, but to die, and go we know not where; + To lie in cold obstruction and to rot; + This sensible warm motion to become + A kneaded clod; and the de-lighted(13) spirit + To bathe in fiery floods, or to reside + In thrilling regions of thick-ribbed ice." + +The narrator goes on to say that it is usual to make ice idols or ice +demons for their carnivals; and ice palaces like those often constructed +in Russia are also common in winter. He further says that Greenland +extends to the Pole and far beyond it, and ends his narrative by stating +that at the date on which he writes--May 22nd, 1861--he had been eleven +months on the polar continent, and had no desire to leave it. + +So much for a _canard_, amusing at least from the mock earnestness of the +writer. But that a detached colony of descendants from the Northmen +_might_ be found at some more distant point of Greenland with which we are +at present not familiar, is at least possible, and that the climate of the +Pole is comparatively temperate has been the belief of some authorities, +although, most assuredly, the intense cold experienced by the expedition +under Captain Nares at the high latitude attained will not bear out the +assertion. + + [Illustration: THE ARCTIC YACHT _PANDORA_.] + + + + + + CHAPTER X. + + + CRUISE OF THE "PANDORA." + + + The Arctic Expedition of 1875-6--Its Advocates--The _Alert_ and + _Discovery_--Cruise of the _Pandora_--Curious Icebergs--The First + Bump with the Ice--Seal Meat as a Luxury--Ashore on a Floe--Coaling + at Ivigtut--The Kryolite Trade--Beauty of the Greenland Coast in + Summer--Festivities at Disco--The Belles of Greenland--A novel + Ball-room--The dreaded Melville Bay--Scene of Ruin at Northumberland + House--Devastation of the Bears--An Arctic Graveyard--Beset by the + Ice--An Interesting Discovery--Furthest Point attained--Return + Voyage--A Dreadful Night--The Phantom Cliff--Home again. + + +The Arctic expedition of 1875-6 has been the subject of very general +interest, and has led to much comment and some adverse criticism. With the +latter we have little or nothing to do. If a certain amount of +disappointment exists regarding the still undiscovered Pole, let the +reader remember that no Arctic expedition whatever has yet fulfilled all +the promises and hopes of its youth, and that our brave seamen _have_ +taken our flag to a higher point than ever attained before. Britain is +again foremost, and the names of Nares and Markham stand worthily by the +side of Hall and Parry. The conditions under which they made their success +were, in some respects, of unparalleled difficulty and hardship. + +The renewal of English enterprise in the direction of the Pole was not due +to sudden caprice, but was greatly stimulated by the generous rivalry of +other nations. Several members of the Royal Geographical Society, +prominent among whom were the late Admiral Sherard Osborne and Sir +Roderick I. Murchison, so long the president of the body, advocated it +with all their strength and might, while that noble-hearted lady, the late +Lady Franklin, took the deepest interest in its promotion. + +Their representations had due effect on the Government; the necessary +votes were passed, and the expedition organised. The vessels employed were +probably as well adapted for Arctic navigation as any that have left our +shores for that purpose. The _Alert_ is a royal navy steam sloop of 751 +tons and 100 horse-power, and was greatly strengthened for her intended +voyage. The commander of the expedition, Captain Nares, who had only just +been recalled from the memorable voyage of the _Challenger_, was a man of +considerable experience, and had been in Arctic service previously. With +him was associated Commander A. H. Markham, who had a considerable amount +of previous Arctic experience. The second vessel of the expedition, the +_Discovery_, had been a Dundee steam whaler, was purchased by the +Government, and put under the command of Captain H. F. Stephenson. The +total complement of officers and crews on the two vessels consisted of 120 +men, the very pick of the navy and whaling marine, many of whom had served +in polar seas before. A store ship, the _Valorous_, accompanied them to +Greenland, and returned safely in time to enable Mr. Clements R. Markham, +a relative of Captain Markham's, who had made a trip on her, to lay before +the British Association meeting at Bristol, on August 31st, the earliest +news from the expedition. On the voyage to Disco they had encountered +heavy weather; but on arrival there it was considered that it would prove +a favourable season for Arctic exploration. The _Valorous_, having +transferred the stores, &c., intended for the use of the Arctic ships, had +parted company on July 16th, leaving the expedition in good health and +excellent spirits. + + [Illustration: THE ARCTIC STORE SHIP _VALOROUS_.] + +For the present let us leave them to pursue their researches in the polar +regions while we speak of the expedition which followed close in their +wake, and, indeed, was partly intended to be the means of a last +communication with them. We refer to the interesting voyage of the +_Pandora_, which brought home very late news from them, and which, +considering the brief time in which it was made, deserves to be chronicled +as a most successful "dash" into the Arctic regions. + +The _Pandora_ was bought from the Navy Department by Captain Allen Young, +and specially fitted out by him for Arctic navigation. This was no small +matter. Although built for a gunboat, she had to be considerably +strengthened. Heavy iron beams and knees were put in amidships, to +increase her resisting powers to a squeeze or "nip" in the ice; her hull +was enveloped in an outer casing of American elm four and a half inches +thick, to strengthen her sides; her bows were encased in solid iron. These +changes, while injuring her sailing qualities somewhat, enabled her to +work her way among ice, where an ordinary ship would be crushed like an +egg-shell. She was a small barque-rigged vessel, of 438 tons register, +with steam-power which could on emergencies be worked up to 200 +horse-power. The crew and officers numbered thirty men, all told. She was +provisioned for eighteen months. + +"The promoters of our expedition," says Mr. J. A. MacGahan, who +accompanied it as correspondent of the _New York Herald_, and has since +collected his notes in a most interesting book,(14) "were Captain Allen +Young, on whom fell the principal burden and expense; Mr. James Gordon +Bennett, whom I had the honour to represent; Lieutenant Innes Lillingston, +R.N., who went as second in command; and the late Lady Franklin. She had +insisted on contributing to the expenses of the expedition, almost against +Captain Young's wishes, who felt by no means confident of doing anything +that would entitle him to accept her willing contribution." It will be +remembered that Captain Young had been navigating officer with the +memorable McClintock expedition in 1857-9, and that during that time he +had made many perilous sledge-journeys. A representative of the Dutch +royal navy, Lieutenant Beynen, accompanied them, and was sent out by his +Government to report on the expedition, and gain experience in Arctic +navigation. Probably, at some future time Holland may resume the thread of +Arctic exploration where it was dropped by Barentz, the old Dutch +navigator, 300 years ago. + +On the morning of the 28th of July they arrived in sight of Cape Farewell, +and were surrounded on all sides by a field of floating ice. The horizon +was white with it, while near the ships great pieces, of every imaginable +shape and size, went drifting by in dangerous proximity. There were old +castles with broken ruined towers, battlements, and loopholes; castellated +fortresses; cathedrals with fantastic Gothic carving, and delicate +tracery, and triumphal arches. The narrator says that the animal and +vegetable kingdoms were represented by huge mushrooms with broad drooping +tops, supported on a single slender stem, and great masses of ice-foliage +that crowned groups of beautifully-carved columns, like immense +bread-fruit trees, covered with ice. There were swans with long slender +necks gracefully poised in the water; there were dragons, lions, eagles; +in short, almost every fantastic form that could be imagined, sparkling +and gleaming in the bright morning sun. In the path of the vessel great +flat pieces, or floes, presented themselves, and grew closer and thicker +together, with but very narrow channels of water between them. At last +they came to a place where there was no passage at all, unless they went +two or three miles out of their route. + +Toms, the old gunner, who was out with Captain Young in the _Fox_, was on +the bridge conducting the vessel's course, and instead of going around +they drove straight at the floe. What had been taken by some on board for +a solid field of ice was in reality two large floes joined together at one +spot, and thus forming a narrow isthmus only a few feet wide. It was this +isthmus that old Toms was going to charge. The wind in the course of the +morning had sprung up from the east, and they had it, consequently, on the +starboard quarter. The _Pandora_ was coming smoothly along under reefed +topsails, at the rate of about five knots. In a moment her prow plunged +into the ice with the force of a battering-ram. There was a loud crash; +the ship quivered and shook; the masts, with the sails pulling at them, +bent and creaked; the ice rolled up before her in great blocks, that fell +splashing in the water, and the _Pandora_ stopped quite still for the +moment, completely jammed. But it was for a moment only. Her sharp iron +prow had quite demolished the neck of ice, and it only remained to squeeze +herself between the floes into clear water beyond. She wriggled through +like an eel, and then shot gaily forward, as though eager for another +encounter. + +"That was rather a hard bump, Toms, wasn't it?" said somebody. + +"Oh, bless you! that's nothing," replied the old sea-dog, with a smile. +"We'll have harder ones nor that before we gets through the north-west +passage." And so they did, as the narrative abundantly shows. + +The seals, with their round smooth heads just barely above the surface, +are described as looking like plum-puddings floating in the water. As they +had been living on salt provisions for twenty days, a great longing for +fresh meat came over them. Seal's liver with bacon is said to form an +excellent dish. On one occasion they had nearly killed a seal, when a man +was sent after it to finish the business. His weight, when he arrived on +the floe, broke the ice, and both fell in together. The seal was lost, but +happily the sailor was rescued. Later they were more successful. The +officers took to the seal-flesh most kindly, but the sailors were by far +too dainty to feed on such unusual food. It is a curious fact that men on +Arctic expeditions will often refuse to touch seal or walrus meat, as well +as preserved or tinned beef and mutton. The result is the scurvy, which +often enough proves fatal. + +Captain Young, on the way up to Ivigtut, a little Danish settlement on the +west coast of Greenland, brought his vessel alongside a large floe on +which five seals were observed, apparently asleep. Thirty gun-barrels were +soon levelled on the hapless animals, which lay quite still as the ship +came up, apparently unconscious of their danger. As about two hundred +rounds were fired, and yet three of the seals got away, their bravado was +partially excusable. One of those killed was perfectly riddled with shot. +This animal takes a great deal of killing unless hit exactly in the brain. +Soon the ship was moored to the floe, and the officers and men were out to +secure their game. On this floating island of ice they found a little lake +of water, and having been on short allowance for some days, they hailed it +with delight. They took a long drink first of all, then a run over the +island and a good roll in the snow, as pleased as schoolboys out for a +holiday. After this the ship was watered, amid a great amount of fun and +frolic, everybody being so glad to stretch their legs. At Ivigtut the +officers went on shore to visit the few Danes of the colony while the +vessel was being coaled, and an amusing account is given of the +hospitality extended to them. The chronicler mentions very particularly an +insinuating drink called "banko," which was ordinarily mingled with layers +of sherry, and sometimes claret and sherry. It had a mild, pleasant taste, +quite disproportionate to the powerful effects it produced. The governor +had entertained the officers of the _Tigress_ when she came here in search +of the crew of the _Polaris_, Captain Hall's vessel, and they had also +drunk banko punch till some of them had been observed to stir it up with +their cigars for tea-spoons, and then to express astonishment at the +cigars appearing damp! It is at this settlement that the kryolite mines +are worked by a Danish company. The mineral is used for a variety of +purposes, but principally for making soda, and in the United States for +preparing aluminium. McClintock's little steam yacht, the _Fox_, so +celebrated in Arctic history in connection with the Franklin search, is +now in the employ of this Company. + +The Greenland coasts at this season are described as beautiful in the +extreme, a broken, serrated line of high, rugged mountains rising abruptly +out of the water to a height of 3,000 feet. Over these the sun and +atmosphere combine to produce the most fantastic effects of colour, while +ever and anon glimpses of that mighty sea of ice which has overwhelmed +Greenland are to be caught. Captain Young, in his progress up the coasts +was met by several kyacks--skin canoes--whose occupants had travelled, or +rather voyaged, fifteen miles at sea merely to barter their fish for +tobacco, biscuit, or coffee. "Imagine a man getting into a canoe and +paddling across the English Channel from Dover to Boulogne or Calais in +order to sell half-a-dozen trout!" They were thoroughly drenched with the +water dashing over them, but had very little in the kyacks, so closely +does the skin jacket they wear fit the round hole in the top of the canoe. +They were rewarded with a glass of rum, and sold about fifty-five pounds +of delicious fish for half a pound of tobacco and a couple of dozen small +sea biscuits. + + [Illustration: DISCO.] + +At Disco they were again warmly welcomed by the Danes; and if MacGahan has +not been carried away by the enthusiasm of the moment, the young ladies +must indeed be something delightful. He avers that their small hands and +feet would make an English or American girl die with envy, and that they +dance like sylphs. Of one he says, gushingly, "It was a pure delight to +watch her little feet flitting over the ground like butterflies, or +humming-birds, or rosebuds, or anything else that is delicate and sweet +and delightful. It was not dancing at all: it was flying; it was floating +through the air on a wave of rhythm, without even so much as touching +ground." What more could be said after this? He states, however, that they +were all very well behaved. They allowed the men not even a kiss or a +squeeze of the hand, and knew as well how to maintain their dignity and +keep people at a proper distance as any other young ladies. They are all +good Christians and church-going people, belonging, as do all the +Esquimaux of Greenland, to some form of the Lutheran faith, to which they +have been converted by the mild and beneficent influence of the kindly +Danes. + + [Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE MUSIC HALL, DISCO.] + +The ball-room in which their first entertainment was given was rather +small for forty or fifty people to dance in, being only twelve feet by +fifteen. It was also, perhaps, a little dark, being lighted by only one +small window, for as it was broad daylight at ten o'clock in the evening +at that period it was not thought worth while to bring in candles. The +ceiling was barely six feet high, and in fact the festive hall was no +other than the workshop of Disco's lonely carpenter, which had been +cleaned out for the occasion. Over its "dore" the inscription shown in the +above illustration was found, intimating that it would "opn" at 8 o'clock. + + [Illustration: EXPLORERS CROSSING "HUMMOCKS."] + +At Upernavik, the last Danish station at which the _Pandora_ stopped, and +that only long enough to obtain some dogs, they learned that the English +expedition had sailed thence on the 22nd of July. In north latitude 74 deg. +they had a glimpse of the grandest of Greenland's glaciers, which is +described as a great inclined plane, seventy or eighty miles long, +extending back to the interior in one vast icy slope. Immense as was this +field of ice, they knew that it was nothing but a small corner of the +great, lone, silent, dreary world beyond. Now they entered the dreaded +Melville Bay, which is in some years never free from ice. It is often only +towards the end of August that ships can get through it. Here, in the +middle of that month, the little steam yacht _Fox_, of McClintock's +memorable expedition, was caught in the ice, carried down Baffin's Bay and +Davis Straits, only to be freed 242 days afterwards by a miracle. The fact +of a bear swimming in the sea betokened that ice was not far off, and so +it proved. It was not, however, at first very formidable, consisting only +of thin, loose floes, that offered little resistance to the sharp prow of +the _Pandora_. On the evening of the 19th of August they were at the Carey +Islands, where a bootless search was made for a cairn of stones believed +to have been erected by Captain Nares. They found, however, two cairns +erected by a whaler in 1867, in one of which he had left half a bottle of +rum, which, having undergone eight successive freezings, had become as +mild as fine old Rhine wine. It is needless to say that the whaling +captain's health was drunk therewith and forthwith. Two barrels of letters +for the _Alert_ and _Discovery_ were left there. + + [Illustration: THE MONUMENT TO BELLOT.] + +At Beechey Island, visited at different periods by (Sir John) Ross, +Belcher, and Franklin, they found the yacht _Mary_, left by the former in +1851, in good condition. Northumberland House, erected by Sir Edward +Belcher in 1854 as a depot for stores, had evidently been broken into. The +ground outside was strewn with tins of preserved meats and vegetables, +forty-pound tins of pemmican, great rolls of heavy blue cloth, hundreds of +pairs of socks and mittens, bales of blankets and clothing, all scattered +over the ground in the most admired disorder. The ruin and destruction was +so great that the place resembled the scene of a disastrous railway +accident. Who were the marauders, these burglars that left their booty +behind them; these housebreakers that not merely broke into a house, but +spoiled nearly everything in it out of sheer wantonness? Evidently the +Polar bears. The marks of their claws were everywhere and on everything. +They had even gnawed into two or three barrels of salt beef, which they +had quite emptied, and it was their claws that had punched holes in the +heavy pemmican tins. Polar bears seem to be possessed of the very genius +of destruction. Near the house is the monument of Lieutenant Bellot, the +brave young French officer who lost his life when on the search for +Franklin. Here also is a marble slab, the tombstone of brave Sir John +himself. Both monuments were sent out in the _Fox_, at the expense of Lady +Franklin. Three miles farther up the bay the graves of five seamen, of the +crews of the _Erebus_, _Terror_, and _North Star_, were also found. "This +Arctic graveyard is situated on a gravelly slope, which rises up from the +little bay towards the foot of a high bluff, that frowns down upon it as +though resenting the intrusion of human dead in this lonely world. Sad +enough looked the poor head-boards as the low-sinking sun threw its yellow +rays athwart them, casting long shadows over the shingly slope; silent, +sad, and mournful as everything else in this dreary Arctic world." + +On the evening of August 27th they arrived at the entrance of Peel Strait, +where a heavy pack of ice was encountered, so dense that it was hopeless +to attempt a passage. A little later and it became evident that they were +hourly in danger of being beset, and, once beset, imprisoned for the +winter, and perhaps for more than one, without a harbour, with no +opportunity of accomplishing anything. Neither were they provisioned for a +length of time sufficient to run the risk of stopping in that +neighbourhood. + +On the shores of North Somerset they made an interesting discovery. The +_Pandora_ had attained the furthest point reached by Ross and McClintock +when coming down the coast on foot from the north in 1849, at which time +they had built a cairn, and left a record addressed to Sir John Franklin, +stating that they had been despatched for his succour. Poor Franklin never +found it, but it was reserved for Captain Young to receive it twenty-eight +years later. Ross had at that time been within two hundred miles of the +spot where the wrecks of Franklin's vessels had been abandoned. + +The _Pandora_ at length succeeded in reaching La Roquette Island, and the +expedition had, therefore, in a very brief space of time, attained a +position only 120 miles from Franklin's farthest point. Success had +crowned their efforts so far. All on board were sanguine that they would +ere long be basking in the warmth of a Californian autumn, and enjoying +the good things of San Francisco. It was fated otherwise. They found an +unbroken ice-field before them, extending for, so far as they could judge, +an indefinite distance. They cruised about the island for three days, but +matters only grew worse, and, indeed, the ice was moving slowly towards +them. Reluctantly Captain Young decided to give up his attempt at a +north-west passage, and return to England. On the way out of Peel Strait, +with squalls, snow, and darkness, they had a most difficult task in +handling the vessel, having to run races with the driving ice-packs so as +to avoid being shut in. The ice-pack at Cape Rennel prevented a passage +round it. Suddenly, a snowstorm which had been beating down upon them for +the whole night, abated, and disclosed high precipitous cliffs hanging +almost over them as it seemed, and "presenting," says Captain Young in his +"Journal," "a most ghostly appearance, the horizontal strata seeming like +the huge bars of some gigantic iron cage, and standing out from the snow +face. In fact, it was the skeleton of a cliff, and we appeared to be in +its very grasp. For a few minutes only we saw this apparition, and then +all was again darkness." They barely had room to pass between this cliff +and the ice-pack, and then hastily ranged about, seeking some escape. +After three hours of intense anxiety, a slight movement in the pack was +reported from aloft, indicating a weak place in it, and through this gap +the vessel at length forced her way. On September 10th they passed through +a terrible gale; the heavy seas froze as they fell on the vessel's sides, +and the _Pandora_ became "one huge icicle." On reaching the Carey Islands +they found, at a different spot to that previously visited, a cairn, +erected by Captain Nares, from which they obtained a tin tube addressed to +the Admiralty. The _Pandora_ reached Portsmouth safely on October 16th, +1865, her cruise having been, all in all, one of the most successful of +any made in the Arctic seas in a period of time so short. + + + + + + CHAPTER XI. + + + THE "ALERT" AND "DISCOVERY." + + + Nares' Expedition--Wonderful Passage through Baffin's Bay--Winter + Quarters of the _Discovery_--Capital Game-bag--Continued Voyage of + the _Alert_--Highest Latitude ever attained by a Ship--"The Sea of + Ancient Ice"--Winter Quarters, Employments, and Amusements--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 Latitude 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 ships, 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 quantity of loose pack-ice had been met after passing 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. + +Passing 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 passage 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 quantities, 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 ships 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 +ships were for the time hopelessly entangled, and the rudders and screws +had to be unshipped. At this period they barely escaped a serious +collision with a large iceberg. The repetition of many similar dangers, +through which, however, the ships passed 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 shore 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 shore six +months' provisions and fuel, to guard against any possible accident to the +ship. 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 ship 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 deg. to 56 deg.. On October 10th they lost sight of the sun, and +did not see it again for 135 days. + + [Illustration: WINTER QUARTERS OF THE "DISCOVERY."] + +The _Alert_ on her northward passage had many a severe tussle with the +ice, but passed through all dangers successfully. On August 31st Captain +Nares had the great satisfaction of having carried his vessel into +latitude 82 deg. 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 shore. 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 shore-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 quantity, 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 +ship from being driven on shore, for, owing to its great depth of +flotation, on nearing the shallow beach it grounded, and formed a barrier, +inside which the ship 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 +masses 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 crashing +together which must have weighed 30,000 tons! A ship between such opposing +masses would be annihilated in an instant. + +As soon as the shore 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 latitude 82 deg. 48' North--somewhat +further north than the most northern latitude 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 latitude 83 deg. 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 latitude 82 deg. 44' north, and of tracing the coast-line +nearly two miles further north, thus reaching the exact latitude 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 ship. The broken masses of pressed up ice resting +against the cliffs, in many places more than thirty feet high, and the +accumulated deep snow-drifts in the valleys, caused very laborious and +slow travelling. + +During these autumn sledging journeys, with the temperature ranging +between 15 deg. above to 22 deg. below zero, the heavy labour, hardships, and +discomforts inseparable from Arctic travelling, caused by the wet soft +snow, weak ice, and water spaces, 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 ship badly frost-bitten, three of +these so severely as to render amputation necessary, the patients being +confined to their beds for the greater part of the winter. + +During the winter Captain Nares, assisted 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 Nobility and +Gentry of the neighbourhood." + + [Illustration: 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 ship. 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 deg. in a few hours. The coldest weather we had +was in March, when one night the glass showed 701/2 deg. 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 +ship 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 ship 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 passing 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 deg. 7', or upwards of 105 deg. below the freezing +point of water. On the _Discovery_ for seven consecutive days the +thermometer registered a mean temperature of minus 58 deg. 17'. On the _Alert_ +for thirteen days a mean temperature of minus 58 deg. 9' was experienced, and +for five days and nine hours a mean temperature of minus 66 deg. 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 deg. 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 latitude, 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 ship, in consequence of the severe illness of poor +Petersen, who had succumbed 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 encumbrance 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 deg. 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 assistance, 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 ship 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. + + [Illustration: 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 shores to lat. 82 deg. 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 succumbed. 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 repetitions. 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 shores 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, pushing forward almost due north, over and +among the stupendous masses of ice which covered the Polar Sea, after many +a weary struggle reached the highest latitude ever attained--viz., 83 deg. 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 +ship 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 assist the party to pass 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 ship, 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 +space 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 mocassins. 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 +refreshing and invigorating, and it was infinitely preferred by the men to +the old custom of serving half the allowance of grog at that time. + + [Illustration: SUNSHINE 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 deg. 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 glass, +&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 latitudes.(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 masses, +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 altitude of the +piled-up masses 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 passage 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. + + [Illustration: 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 sextant 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 altitude, and proclaimed our +latitude to be 83 deg. 20' 26" N., exactly 3991/2 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 'God 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 +latitude 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 ship, were issued to each man. The day was brought +to a close with songs, and general hilarity prevailed. + + [Illustration: 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. Passing 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 ship. 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 ship; 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 +succumbed, 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-scorbutic, 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 ship 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 shores 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 + Passage--Maritime Enterprise of this Epoch--Voyage of the _Dominus + Vobiscum_--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 compass guided the mariner on his +watery way, when sextants 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," + +that we are indebted for the first great discoveries. Conquering and +ravaging wherever they went, spreading not merely terror and ruin, but +also population and some of the ruder forms of civilisation, these +Scandinavian pirates were the only rulers of the main in the eighth, +ninth, and tenth centuries, during which they incessantly ravaged our +coasts, penetrated the very heart of France, established settlements, and +even levied tribute on the reigning monarch. These bold Northmen ventured +in vessels which now-a-days would be regarded as unsuitable for the most +trifling sea voyages. In the year 861, Naddodr, a Norwegian Viking, bent +on a piratical trip to the Faroe Islands, was driven by an easterly gale +so far to the north-westward that he reached an utterly unknown island. +Its mountains were snow-covered, and the first name suggested by this +fact, and which he bestowed on the island, was Sneeland (Snowland). +Certain Swedes ventured there three years afterwards, and on their return +gave such a very lively account of its vegetation and soil that an +emigration followed. One of the first adventurers thither was Flokko. The +secret of the magnetic power, as applied to the compass, although known +apparently in the earliest ages to the Chinese, was entirely unknown to +the Scandinavians; and Flokko had provided himself with a raven, or, as +some accounts say, four ravens, which, Noah-like, he let loose, and which +guided him to the land of which he was in quest. He passed a winter there, +and from the large quantity of drift-ice which encumbered the northern +bays and coasts, changed its name to that which it at present +bears--Iceland. In the year 874, Ingolf and other Norwegians, sick of the +tyranny of their king, Harold, determined to settle in the new-found +island. On approaching the coast, the leader, determining to be guided by +chance in his selection of a locality, threw overboard a wooden door, +which floated into a fiord on the southern side of the island, and the +emigrants landed there. Others soon joined the little colony, bringing +with them their cattle, implements, and household goods. From very early +Icelandic records it is interesting to learn that these Norwegians found +indications that others had preceded them, as on the shore were discovered +crosses, bells, and books, and other relics of the Christian worship of +those days. It is very generally believed that these were of Irish origin. +While the new colony was yet young, one Gunbioern, a fisherman, was drifted +in his boat far to the westward, and he may perhaps be regarded as the +real discoverer of Greenland, but, although he sighted the land, he did +not attempt to explore it. About the year 982, Eric Rauda, or Eric the Red +Head, a man who had been convicted of manslaughter in Iceland, was +banished from the island for a term of years. Sailing with some companions +to the westward, he reached Greenland, and spent three years in its +examination, returning at the end of that time to Iceland, where he spread +a somewhat high-flown account of "its green and pleasant meadows" and of +its extensive fisheries. No less than twenty-five vessels were despatched +from Iceland for the newly-discovered land, a significant proof of the +early progress of the former colony. One-half of these were lost; the +others reached Greenland in safety. + +By accident or design these Scandinavians were the great explorers of +their day, and the colonisation of Greenland virtually led to the first +European intercourse with North America. An Icelandic settler, one Bjarni, +on a voyage by which he hoped to reach Greenland, encountered severe +weather, and was driven on a part of the American coast, now believed to +have been that of Nantucket Island, south of the State of Massachusetts. +The account he gave on his return inflamed the ambition of Heif, or Heifr, +the son of that Eric who had founded the colony on Greenland. He equipped +a vessel, and set sail for the New World. On approaching the coast they +observed a barren and rocky island, which they named _Helleland_, and to a +low sandy shore beyond it, which was covered with wood, they gave the name +_Markland_. "Two days after this they fell in with a new coast of land, to +the northward of which they observed a large island. They ascended a +river, the banks of which were covered with shrubs, bearing fruits of a +most agreeable and delicious flavour. The temperature of the air felt soft +and mild to the Greenland adventurers, the soil appeared to be fertile, +and the river abounded with fish, and particularly with excellent +salmon."(20) To the island they gave the name _Vinland_, because wild +grapes, or berries resembling grapes, were found there. They had reached +some part of the coast of Newfoundland, in all probability. The +intercourse between Greenland and America was kept up to the fourteenth +century, principally for the purpose of obtaining wood, but no colony was +formed. Meantime the Greenland colonies grew and flourished. Sixteen +churches were erected, and nearly three hundred hamlets formed on the east +and west sides. That on the west had increased till it numbered four +parishes, containing one hundred villages, but being engaged in perpetual +hostility with the native Esquimaux, then known as Skroelings, the colony +was ultimately destroyed. In 1721, when the excellent missionary, Hans +Egede, visited that country, on its being re-colonised by the Greenland +Company, the ruins of their edifices were still to be found. The fate of +the eastern colony was, if possible, still more deplorable. It had, for a +time, a greater population than that of the western side. "A succession of +sixteen bishops is recorded in the Iceland annals," says Barrow, "but when +the seventeenth was proceeding from Norway, in 1406, to take possession of +his see, a stream of ice had fixed itself to the coast, and rendered it +completely inaccessible; and from that period to the present time no +intercourse whatever has been had with the unfortunate colonists." It is +related in the "History of Greenland" by Thormoder Torfager, that Amand, +Bishop of Skalholt, in Iceland, in returning to Norway from that island, +about the middle of the sixteenth century, was driven by a storm near to +the east coast of Greenland, and got so close that the inhabitants could +be seen driving their cattle, but they did not attempt to land. The fate +of the East Greenland colony has been the cause of much discussion, some +contending that it never was on the eastern side, but on the western; but +that there were two distinct colonies cannot be doubted. A field of ice +has apparently blocked the eastern coast for centuries, and all attempts +made to penetrate it have failed, as we shall see in the progress of our +narrative. Up to the end of the last century, the Esquimaux of the western +side spoke of a foreign race, taller than themselves, and of whom they +were greatly afraid, regarding them as cannibals and as their natural +enemies. When they had met, the former had always fled, the latter +shooting after them with arrows. Crantz, a great authority on Greenland, +says:--"If this report can be depended upon, we might suppose that these +men were descended from the old Norwegians, had sheltered themselves from +the savages in the mountains, lived in enmity to them out of resentment +for the destruction of their ancestors, pillaged them in the spring when +sustenance failed them, and were looked upon by the savages as man-eaters, +and fabulously represented through excess of fear." + +The above introduction to our subject will pave the way for the period +when the history of Arctic and northern voyages becomes more and more +definite. We begin with those of the Zeni brothers, from which the mists +of obscurity and error have only recently been cleared, through the +patient researches of a most careful student and geographer. + +The voyages of the Zeni have generally been either ignored or considered +worse than mythical. For some three centuries these noble Venetian +adventurers have indeed been subjected to an amount of contumely and abuse +sufficient to have made them turn in their graves. But a champion has +arisen in the person of R. H. Major, Esq., F.S.A., one of the secretaries +of the Royal Geographical Society, who, clearing their narratives from +subsequent interpolations, has shown that their own voyages, and those of +others recorded by them were both genuine and important. Their history, in +brief, is as follows:--Towards the close of the fourteenth century, Nicolo +Zeno, a member of a distinguished Venetian family, sailed on a voyage of +discovery in the northern seas. Wrecked on the Faroe Islands, Sinclair, +the Earl of Orkney and Caithness, a noble pirate, ambitious as any +sovereign for conquest, took him into his service as pilot, and, later, +Nicolo was joined by his brother Antonio. Many of the journals and +documents of the Zeni were subsequently lost, and their narrations were +edited by a descendant, who mixed with them much of the false geography of +the day and conjectures of his own. This was the point of trouble. The +narrative cleared of a mass of error by Mr. Major's investigations, there +can now be no doubt that Nicolo visited Greenland, where he found a +monastery of friars, preachers, and a church of St. Thomas close by a +volcanic hill. There was also a hot-water spring, which the monks used for +heating the church and the entire monastery, and by which they cooked +their meat and baked their bread. By a judicious use of this hot water +they raised in their small covered gardens the flowers, fruits, and herbs +of more temperate climates, thereby gaining much respect from their +neighbours, who brought them presents of meat, chickens, &c. They were +indebted, the narrative says, to the volcano for the very materials of +their buildings, for by throwing water on the burning stones while still +hot they converted them into a tenacious and indestructible substance, +which they used as mortar. They had not much rain, as there was a settled +frost all through their nine months' winter. They lived on wild fowl and +fish, which were attracted by the warmth of that part of the sea into +which the hot water fell, and which formed a commodious harbour. The +houses were built all round the hill, and were circular in form and +tapering to the top, where was a little hole for light and air, the ground +below supplying all necessary heat. In summer time they were visited by +ships from the neighbouring islands and from Trondheim, which brought them +corn, cloths, and other necessaries in exchange for fish and skins. The +narrative goes on to speak of the fishermen's boats, in shape like a +weaver's shuttle, and made of the skins and bones of fishes, and other +points indicating a confirmation of the facts already mentioned concerning +the early history of Greenland. On the death of Nicolo Zeno, his brother +Antonio succeeded to his property, dignities, and honours, with which +latter, it seems, he would have gladly dispensed, wishing to return to his +own country, but the earl would not hear of it. Antonio therefore remained +in his service, and has recorded the accounts of some fishermen who had +undoubtedly reached North America; as also a voyage made by the Earl +Sinclair and himself, wherein the former at least appears to have reached +Newfoundland and Labrador. A part of these voyages may with more propriety +be considered when we come to the discoveries in regard to the New World +made by Columbus and the Cabots. And here a fact little known may be +briefly recorded, on account of the absence of almost any history, that +Cristoforo Colon (Columbus), prior to those great voyages which have made +his name immortal, did undoubtedly make a northern voyage, visiting both +Greenland and Iceland. The object of this voyage is unknown; but, judging +from the ruling ambition of the navigators of those days, it was to +attempt a north-west or north-east passage to the Indies. As our next +voyage will show, it is a question to whom belongs the honour of having +first made this attempt. + +Giovanni Cabota, or Cabot, a Venetian, had settled in Bristol during the +reign of Henry VII., and being a skilful pilot and navigator, the king +encouraged him to attempt discoveries by granting him a patent, in virtue +whereof he had leave to go in search of strange lands, and to conquer and +settle them. One-fifth of the profits was to be the king's. The patent +bears date March 5th, 1496, and is granted to Cabot and his three sons, +Ludovico, Sebastian, and Sancio. There is some little difficulty in +collating the various accounts collected by Hakluyt, but the voyage +reported by Sebastian to the Pope's legate in Spain is distinct enough. He +says in effect that the discoveries of Columbus had inflamed his desire to +attempt to reach India by the north-west. By studying the +globe--"understanding by reason of the sphere," he terms it--he thought that +he must, theoretically at least, reach India that way, if no land +intervened. He, of course, knew nothing of the icy barriers that stopped +Franklin and M'Clure from actually taking a vessel that way. The king +favoured his ideas, "and immediately commanded two caravels to bee +furnished with all things appertayning to the voyage," which was made, as +far as he could remember, in 1496. Sailing to the north-west, he +encountered land in latitude 56 deg.. Then, despairing to find the passage, he +turned back, sailing down the coast of America as far as Florida, when, +his provisions failing, he returned to England. The Cabots brought home +three natives of Newfoundland, who "were clothed in beasts' skins, and did +eate raw flesh, and, spake such speach that no man could understand them; +and in their demeanour like to bruite beastes." The attempt of Cabot +furnishes a clue to the object of many subsequent voyages, which were +intended to have been made _via_ the Arctic Seas to the Pacific and Indian +Oceans. It must be remembered that it was not till 1498 that the route to +the Indies _via_ the Cape of Good Hope was discovered. That _via_ Cape +Horn, as we shall see, was discovered still later. + +In Hakluyt's collection of voyages a very curious poem is reprinted, +complaining of the neglect of the navy in the time of Henry VI., and +praising highly "the policee of keeping the see in the time of the +merveillous werriour and victorious prince, King Henry the Fift." The fact +is that for some little time the spirit of maritime adventure seems to +have slumbered, subsequent to the voyages just recorded. It, however, +broke out in full force in the reign of Henry VIII., and flourished still +more particularly in that of Queen Elizabeth. In 1527, "King Henry VIII. +sent two faire ships, well manned and victualled, having in them divers +cunning men, to seek strange regions, and so they set forth out of the +Thames the 20th day of May, in the 19th yeere of his raigne." This voyage +was despatched at the instance of Master Robert Thorne, of Bristol, who, +in his "exhortation" to the king, gave "very weighty and substantial +reasons to set forth a discoverie, even to the North Pole." One of the +vessels was lost "about the great opening between the north parts of +Newfoundland and Meta incognita, or Greenland," and the other returned, +having accomplished nought, about the beginning of October. Hakluyt tried +hard to discover the names of the vessels, and of the "cunning men" aboard +them. He could only learn that one of the ships was called the _Dominus +Vobiscum_, and that a wealthy canon of St. Paul's, a very scientific +person, had accompanied the expedition. "This," writes Hakluyt, evidently +in no happy frame of mind, "is all that I can hitherto learne or finde out +of this voyage, by reason of the great negligence of the writers of those +times, who should have used more care in preserving of the memories of the +worthy actes of our nation." Master Thorne deserves, however, the credit +of having been the first distinct advocate of Polar exploration in the +full sense of the term, or, is at least, the first of whom we have any +record. + +The general interest felt in the subject of the North-west Passage about +this period may be inferred from the relation of the next voyage, that of +the _Trinitie_ and _Minion_ in 1536, where several gentlemen of the Inns +of Court and Chancery, "and divers others in good worship, desirous to see +the strange things of the world," accompanied the expedition. Of +"sixe-score persons" in the "two tall ships," thirty were private +gentlemen. The voyage was instigated by Master Hore, of London, "a man of +goodly stature and of great courage, and given to the study of +cosmographie," and was directly encouraged by Henry VIII. After a tedious +voyage of two months, they reached Cape Breton, and later Penguin Island +and Newfoundland, where they encountered some of "the naturall people of +the countrey," who fled from them. The history of this voyage was given to +Hakluyt by Mr. Oliver Dawbeney, a merchant, who was one of the adventurers +on the _Minion_. Laying in a harbour of Newfoundland, their provisions +began to get very scarce, and "they found small reliefe, more than that +they had from the nest of an osprey, that brought hourely to her yong +great plentie of divers sorts of fishes. But such was the famine that +increased amongst them from day to day, that they were forced to seek to +relieve themselves off raw herbes and rootes that they sought on the main; +but the famine increasing, and the reliefe of herbes being to little +purpose to satisfie their insatiable hunger, in the fieldes and deserts +here and there, the fellow killed his mate while he stooped to take up a +roote for his reliefe, and cutting out pieces of his bodie whom he had +murthered, broyled the same on the coles and greedily devoured them. + +"By this meane the company decreased, and the officers knew not what had +become of them; and it fortuned that one of the company, driven with +hunger to seeke abroade for reliefe, found out in the fieldes the savour +of broyled flesh, and fell out with one for that he would suffer him and +his fellowes to sterve, enjoying plentie as he thought; and this matter +growing to cruell speaches, he that had the broyled meate burst out into +these wordes:--'If thou wouldest needes know, the broyled meat I had was a +piece of such a man's buttocke.' The report of this brought to the ship, +the captaine found what had become of those that were missing, and was +perswaded that some of them were neither devoured with wilde beastes nor +yet destroyed with savages; and hereupon he stood up and made a notable +oration, containing howe much these dealings offended the Almightie, and +vouched the Scriptures from first to last what God had, in cases of +distresse, done for them that called upon Him, and told them that the +power of the Almightie was then no lesse than in al former time it had +bene. And added, that if it had not pleased God to have holpen them in +that distresse, that it had been better to have perished in body, and to +have lived everlastingly, than to have relieved for a poore time their +mortal bodyes, and to be condemned everlastingly both body and soule to +the unquenchable fire of hell. And thus having ended to that effect, he +began to exhort to repentance, and besought all the company to pray, that +it might please God to look upon their present miserable state, and for +His owne mercie to relieve the same." The famine increasing, it was agreed +that they should cast lots who should be killed, but fortunately, that +very night a French vessel arrived in that port, and the chronicler coolly +and amusingly adds, "such was the policie of the English that they became +masters of the same, and changing ships and vittailing them they set sayle +to come into England." It is but just to the king to add that he +afterwards recompensed the Frenchmen. + + [Illustration: SEBASTIAN CABOT.] + +The return of Sebastian Cabot to England, after he had done good service +to Spain in various maritime enterprises, was very much the cause of +awakening the merchants of London to renewed efforts for discovery. This +great navigator was introduced by the Duke of Somerset to Edward VI., soon +after his succession to the throne, and the young king was so charmed by +his conversation and intelligence that he created him, by patent, Pilot +Major, and settled on him the large annual pension--for those days--of L166 +13s. 4d., "in consideration of the good and acceptable services done and +to be done." He was also constituted "Governour of the mysterie and +companie of the marchant adventurers for the discoverie of regions, +dominions, islands and places unknowen." By his suggestion a voyage was +instituted in the year 1553, for the discovery of a _north-east_ passage +to Cathaia; and three vessels--the _Bona Esperanza_, the _Edward +Bonadventure_, and the _Bona Confidentia_--under Sir Hugh Willoughby, as +captain-general of the fleet, were made ready for their eventful voyage. +So certain were the promoters of the expedition that the vessels would +reach the Indian Seas, that they caused them to be sheathed with lead as a +protection against the worms in those waters, which they understood were +destructive of wooden bottoms, and this is believed to be the first +instance of metal sheathing being used. On May 20th the ships were towed +to Gravesend, "the mariners being all apparalled in watchet or +skie-coloured cloth," and the shores being thick with spectators. The +expedition started with an amount of _eclat_ which contrasts sadly with +the events which followed. Sir Hugh Willoughby, with the whole of the +merchants, officers, and companies of two of the ships, perished miserably +on the coast of Lapland, from the effects of cold and starvation. Their +dead bodies were found the following year by some Russian fishermen. + +Master Richard Chancelor, the second in command, whose vessel had become +separated from the others, was more fortunate. After waiting vainly at +Wardhuys, in Norway, for the rest of the squadron, he held on his course +till he reached a "very great bay," where he learned from the fishermen +that their country was Muscovy or Russia. He made a land journey of +fifteen hundred miles to Moscow, where he was well received, and from an +abortive attempt at making the north-east passage sprung that extensive +commerce with Russia which has continued, almost uninterruptedly, ever +since. + +The events which immediately followed have little bearing on arctic +history, excepting that while our merchants were fully alive to the +importance of the new commerce opening to their vision they did not +neglect exploration. Chancelor and his companions, on a second voyage to +Russia, whither they went as commissioners to arrange the treaties and +immunities which the Czar might be pleased to grant, were instructed "to +use all wayes and meanes possible to learn howe men may passe from Russia, +either by land or sea, to Cathaia." They did not even wait the result of +his voyage, but despatched a small vessel, the _Serchthrift_, in command +of Steven Burrowe, for north-eastern discovery. On the 27th April, 1556, +the vessel being ready at Gravesend, it was visited by many distinguished +ladies and gentlemen, including old Cabot, then in his ninety-seventh +year, who "gave to the poore most liberall almes; and then, at the sign of +the Christopher, hee and his friends banketted," and "entered into the +dance himselfe amongst the rest of the young and lusty company." The +_Serchthrift_ reached the Cola and Petchora rivers, Nova Zembla (the New +Land), and the island of Weigats. In proceeding to the eastward they +encountered much ice, in which they became entangled, and "which," says +the narrative, "was a fearful sight to see." But on June 25th they met +their first whale, which seems to have inspired more terror even than the +ice. The account given of it is amusing. "On St. James his day, bolting to +the windewardes, we had the latitude at noon in seventy degrees, twentie +minutes. The same day, at a south-west sunne, there was a monstrous whale +aboord of us, so neere to our side that we might have thrust a sworde or +any other weapon in him, which we durst not doe for feare he should have +overthrowen our shippe; and then I called my company together, and all of +us shouted, and with the crie that we made he departed from us; there was +as much above water of his backe as the bredth of our pinnesse, and at his +falling downe he made such a terrible noise in the water, that a man would +greatly have marvelled, except he had known the cause of it; but, God be +thanked, we were quietly delivered of him." Burrowe returned to England in +the autumn, having reached in an eastward direction a further point than +any of his predecessors. Meantime, Chancelor, returning to England in +company with the newly-appointed Russian ambassador, was wrecked in +Pitsligo Bay, Scotland, the former losing his life, and the latter being +saved with difficulty. + + + + + + CHAPTER XIII. + + + EARLY ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS. + + + Attempts at the North-west Passage--Sir Humphrey Gilbert's + advocacy--The one thing left undone--Frobisher's Expeditions--Arctic + "Diggins"--A Veritable Gold Excitement--Large Fleet + Despatched--Disaster and Disappointment--Voyages of John + Davis--Intercourse with the Natives--His Reports concerning Whales, + &c.--The Merchants aroused--Opening of the Whaling Trade--Maldonado's + Claim to the Discovery of the North-west Passage. + + +While these attempts at a north-east passage were being made, the +north-west question was by no means forgotten. Several learned men, +including Sir Humphrey Gilbert, employed their pens in arguing the +practicability of such a passage. In his defence of such an attempt he +spoke of a friar of Mexico who had actually performed the journey, but +who, on telling it to the King of Portugal, had been forbidden to make it +known, lest it should reach England. Whatever the facts of this case, some +enthusiasm on the subject was the result, and Martin Frobisher spoke of it +as _the_ one thing "left undone." But although he also persisted in his +advocacy, it took fifteen years of perseverance and constant effort before +he could find any one who would give him the assistance he needed. At +last, when hope was nearly dead within him, Dudley Earl of Warwick, came +to the rescue, and aided him to fit out two small barques, the _Gabriel_ +and the _Michael_, thirty-five and thirty tons burthen respectively. With +these small craft--mere cockle-shells for such a voyage--he left the Thames. +As he passed Greenwich Palace, on the 8th of June, 1576, Queen Elizabeth +waved her farewell from a window. Briefly, they reached what is believed +to have been the southern part of Greenland and Labrador, where they could +not land because of the icy field surrounding the coast. Sailing to the +northward, Frobisher met with a gigantic iceberg, which fell in pieces +within their sight, making as much noise as though a high cliff had fallen +into the sea. They saw a number of Esquimaux, and perhaps the description +given of them by the commander is as good as any ever given in few +words:--"They be like to Tartars, with long black hair, broad faces, and +flatte noses, and taunie in colour, wearing seale skinnes; and so doe the +women, not differing in the fashion, but the women are marked in the face +with blewe streekes downe the cheekes and round about the eyes." They came +near the ship timidly, and after a while one of them ventured into the +ship's boat, when Frobisher presented him with a bell and a knife, and +sent him back with five of the crew. They were directed to land him apart +from the spot where a number of his countrymen were assembled, but they +disobeyed his orders, and were seized by the natives, together with the +boat, and none of them were heard of more. Returning to the same spot a +few days afterwards, one of the natives was enticed alongside the vessel, +when Frobisher, a very powerful man, caught him fast, "and plucked him +with maine force, boate and all, into his barke out of the sea. Whereupon, +when he found himself in captivity, for very choler and disdaine he bit +his tongue in twaine within his mouth; notwithstanding he died not +thereof, but lived until he came to England, and then he died of cold +which he had taken at sea." With this "strange infidele" Frobisher set +sail for home, arriving at Harwich on October 2nd. It is very questionable +whether this, the first of Frobisher's arctic voyages, would not have been +his last, but for one little circumstance, which had been overlooked until +the return of the expedition. + + [Illustration: FROBISHER PASSING GREENWICH.] + +Every one who visits a strange place likes to bring home some little +memento, and several of the men on this voyage had collected +trifles--flowers, moss, grass, pebbles, or what not. One of them had +obtained a piece of stone, "much like to a sea-cole in colour," which +being given to one of the adventurer's wives, she threw it in the fire, +doubtless to see whether it would burn. Whether from accident or not, she +threw some vinegar on it to quench the heat, when "it glistered with a +bright marquesset of golde." This incident soon became known abroad, and +the stone was assayed, the "gold finers" reporting it to contain a +considerable quantity of gold. It seems almost ridiculous to think of a +fever, a veritable "excitement," in connection with Arctic "diggins." +Nevertheless, the next voyage of Frobisher was instigated purely for the +further discovery of the precious metal. Queen Elizabeth seems to have +been infected with the same fever, and Frobisher on taking his leave of +her Majesty had the honour of kissing her hand, and being dismissed with +"gracious countenance and comfortable words." He was furnished with "one +tall ship" of her Majesty's, named the _Ayde_, of 180 tons or so, and two +barques of about thirty tons each. On the way north they observed some +enormous icebergs, more than half a mile in circuit, and seventy to eighty +fathoms (210 to 240 yards) under water. The ice being perfectly fresh, +Frobisher came to the conclusion that they "must be bredde in the sounds, +or in some land neere the Pole." It is now admitted that icebergs properly +so called, are but the _ends of glaciers_, broken off. Furthermore, he was +the first to record that "the maine sea freeseth not, therefore there is +no _mare glaciale_, as the opinion hitherto hath bene." They loaded up +with the ore from Hall's greater island and on a small island in +Frobisher's Strait. "All the sands and cliffs did so glister, and had so +bright a marquesite, that it seemed all to be gold, but upon tryall made +it prooved no better than black-lead, and verified the proverbe, 'All is +not gold that glistereth.'" We shall see that it was only iron pyrites, a +sulphuret of iron. They also professed to have found on another island a +mine of silver, and more gold ore. + + [Illustration: AN ARCTIC SCENE: FLOATING ICE.] + +On this expedition they had several altercations with the natives, and in +one skirmish in Yorke Sound killed five or six of them. It is said that +they found here some of the apparel of their five unfortunate companions +who had been seized the previous year by the natives. By means of two +captives they brought about some degree of intercourse with the Esquimaux, +and left a letter, understanding that their own sailors were still alive, +but they were never more seen. Having loaded with about 200 tons of the +supposed gold ore, they set sail for England, where they arrived safely, +to the great delight of the queen and court, who considered that there +were now great hopes of riches and profit. It was determined that a third +expedition should be despatched the following year (1578). + +The fleet on this occasion consisted of no less than fifteen vessels. One +hundred persons were taken to form a settlement and remain there the +complete year, keeping three of the vessels for their own use; the others +were to bring back cargoes of the ore. Frobisher was appointed admiral and +general. From first to last the voyage was disastrous. In the straits +named after Frobisher, one of their larger barques struck so violently on +a mass of ice that she sank in sight of the whole fleet, and although all +the people on board were saved, a part of the house intended for the +settlers went down with the wreck. A violent storm next ensued, which +dispersed the fleet, some of the vessels being fixed in the ice of the +strait, others being swept away to sea. It was a severe season, and they +were bewildered by fogs, snow, and mist. After many perils, a large part +of the fleet assembled in the Countess of Warwick's Sound, when a council +was held. It was at first determined to plant the colony on the adjoining +island, but on examination so much of the wooden house was missing, and so +great a quantity of the stores and provisions were on the ships which had +parted company, that the idea was abandoned. "A great black island," where +so much black ore was found that it "might suffice all the gold gluttons +of the world," was discovered by one of the captains, and was named after +him, "Best's Blessing." It was at length decided that each captain should +load his ship with ore and set homewards. The fleet arrived in England on +or about October 1st, having lost some forty persons. The ore being now +carefully examined proved worthless pyrites; and the Arctic gold mines +seem to have proved a "fizzle" as great as any of the worst which have +succeeded them. One Michael Lok, who had advanced money and become +security for Frobisher, was ruined, and cast into the Fleet prison. One of +the accounts mentions the fact that when the ore was first examined, one +of the assayers, "by coaxing nature, as he privately admitted to Michael +Lok," _pretended_ to make the discovery of its precious qualities. It +seems that the Master of the Mint had reported on it adversely; but the +favourable opinion of others and the lust for wealth overcame all reason +and judgment, until queen, courtiers, and subjects were sobered by the +complete disappointment, which ended all further search for the time. +Frobisher did good service for his country afterwards, and fought with +such bravery against the Spanish Armada that he was knighted. He died from +the effect of a shot-wound received at the assault of Croyson, during the +war with Henry IV. of France. + + [Illustration: MARTIN FROBISHER.] + +The disastrous voyage of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, with its melancholy +termination, has been already described; but the merchants of London and +elsewhere, being still persuaded "of the likelyhood of the discoverie of +the north-west passage," only two years later subscribed for fresh +attempts. John Davis--a name inseparably associated with arctic +enterprise--received the appointment of captain and chief pilot of the new +expedition. Two small vessels, the _Sunshine_ and _Moonshine_, were +employed, and on one of them four musicians were taken. They left +Dartmouth on the 7th of June, 1585, and on the 19th of July were off the +west coast of Greenland, where they noted "a mighty great roaring of the +sea," which was found to proceed from the "rowling together of islands of +ice." As they proceeded northward, the fog, which had hampered their +movements, clearing away, they observed "a rocky and mountainous land, in +form of a sugar-loaf," its summit, covered with snow, appearing, as it +were, above the clouds. The aspect of all around was so uninviting that +Davis named it "The Land of Desolation." He could not land there, owing to +the coast ice, and after sundry explorations to the southward, and again +to the north-westward, discovered an archipelago of islands, "among which +were many free sounds, and good roads for shipping," to which he gave the +title of Gilbert's Sound. Here a multitude of natives approached in their +canoes, on which the musicians began to perform, and the sailors to dance +and make signs of friendship. This delighted the "salvages," and the +sailors obtained from them almost whatever they wished--canoes, clothing, +bows, and native implements. After other explorations they reached a fine +open passage (Cumberland Strait) between Frobisher's Archipelago and the +land now called Cumberland's Island, entirely free from ice, "and the +water of the colour, nature, and quality of the main ocean." They +proceeded up it a distance of sixty leagues, when they found a cluster of +islands in the middle of the passage, and the weather being bad and the +season late, they, after a week's further stay, determined to sail for +England, where they arrived safely on September 30th. + +The reports given by Davis respecting the vast number of whales and seals +observed, and the peltries to be obtained from the Esquimaux, aroused the +enterprise of the merchants, and several persons in Exeter and other parts +of the West of England combined to add a trading vessel, the _Mermaid_, of +one hundred and twenty tons, to those which had been employed the previous +season. Davis again reached the west coast of Greenland, where much +intercourse was held with the natives, who came off to the vessels +sometimes in as many as one "hundred canoes at a time ... bringing with +them seale skinnes, stagge skinnes, white hares, seale fish, samon peale, +smal cod, dry caplin, with other fish, and birds such as the country did +yield." The natives do not seem to have made quite so favourable an +impression as on the former occasion, and were described as thievish and +mischievous, prone to steal everything on which they could lay their +hands. After some remarks on their diet, we are gravely informed that they +"drink salt water," and eat grass and ice as luxuries. They were found to +be extremely nimble and strong, and fond of leaping and wrestling, in +which they beat the best of the crew, who were west-country wrestlers. In +the middle of July the adventurous navigators were alarmed at the +appearance of a most "mighty and strange quantity of yce in one entire +masse," so large that Davis was afraid to mention its dimensions, lest he +should not be believed. The same modesty and diffidence has not been +observed, to any marked degree, in the narratives of most modern voyagers +and travellers! They coasted the ice till the end of July, and the cold +was so severe, even in this month, that the shrouds, ropes, and sails were +frozen, and the air was loaded with a thick fog. Sickness prevailed among +the men, and they commenced to murmur. They "advised their captain, +through his overboldness, not to leave their widows and fatherless +children to give him bitter curses." He therefore left the _Mermaid_ to +remain where she was, in readiness to return, while with the _Moonshine_ +he would proceed round the ice. Davis made several discoveries of some +geographical importance, and thought that off the Labrador coast, in +latitude 54 deg. N., he had actually discovered the opening to the north-west +passage. Two of his vessels, the _Sunshine_ and _North Star_, had been +despatched previously to seek a passage northward, between Greenland and +Iceland, as far as latitude 80 deg.. They proceeded some little distance +north, being much hampered by the ice, but in effect accomplished nothing. +The latter vessel was lost on the passage home. + +The second voyage of Davis had not been particularly prosperous either as +regards commerce or discovery, but his persistency and perseverance +induced the merchants to despatch a third expedition in 1587. On this +voyage he proceeded as far north as 73 deg., and discovered the strait which +now bears his name. The merchant adventurers would doubtless have +continued these voyages, even in part for discovery, had they been +reasonably profitable. But although Davis tried very zealously to persuade +them, they now declined most absolutely. We find him eight years after +appealing for the same object to Her Majesty's Privy Council in a little +work entitled, "The Worlde's Hydrographicall Discription," a book of which +it is believed there are not over three copies in existence. Among the +headings to the various divisions is one to this effect: "That under the +Pole is the greatest place of dignitie." Davis made no more arctic +voyages, but was employed by the Dutch in the East Indian service. + + [Illustration: AN ICEBERG BREAKING UP.] + +While there are so many well-authenticated voyages to record, we shall not +be blamed if those of a doubtful nature are here omitted. The so-called +voyage of Maldonado, in which he claimed to have effected a north-west +passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific in 1588, and back again the +following year, is universally discredited, and the narrative bears every +indication of being an utter forgery. The genuine voyage of Juan de Fuca, +in 1592, who, while searching for the same imaginary "Straits of Anian," +of which Maldonado wrote, discovered the straits which now bear his own +name, belongs properly to voyages in the Pacific Ocean, and will be +considered in its place. + + + + + + CHAPTER XIV. + + + North-eastern Voyages of the Dutch--Barents reaches Nova + Zembla--Adventures with the Polar Bears--Large Trading Expedition + organised--Failure of the Venture--Reward offered for the Discovery + of a North-east Passage--Third Voyage--Dangers of the Ice--Forced to + Winter on Nova Zembla--Erection of a House--Intense + Cold--Philosophical Dutchmen--Attacks from Bears--Returning + Spring--The Vessel abandoned--Preparations for a Start--The Company + enfeebled and down-hearted--Voyage of 1,700 miles in two small + Boats--Death of Barents and Adrianson--Perils of Arctic + Navigation--Enclosed in the Ice--Death of a Sailor--Meeting with + Russians--Arrival in Lapland--Home once more--Discovery of the + Barents Relics by Carlsen--Voyages of Adams, Weymouth, Hall, and + Knight. + + +"The True and Perfect Description of Three Voyages, so strange and +woonderfull that the like hath neuer been heard of before," albeit bearing +a somewhat sensational title, is by a long way the most complete of early +Arctic narratives. The work is a translation, by one William Phillip, from +the Dutch of Gerrit de Veer, and describes three voyages undertaken by the +Hollanders towards the close of the sixteenth century, with the view of +reaching China by a north-east passage. The narrative of the last +expedition in particular, during the progress of which they met so many +disasters, were obliged to spend ten months in the inhospitable region of +Nova Zembla, abandon their vessel, and make their homeward voyage of +seventeen hundred miles in two small open boats through all the perils of +the Arctic seas, will be found most interesting. Our account is compiled +from the edition edited by Dr. Beke, and issued by the Hakluyt Society. + +In the year 1594 the United Provinces determined to send out an expedition +in the hopes of finding a northern route to China and India. The city of +Amsterdam contributed two vessels: Zeelandt and Enkhuysen one each. Willem +Barents(21), "a notable, skillfull, and wise pilote," represented +Amsterdam, while the other vessels were respectively commanded by Cornelis +Cornelison and Brand Ysbrants. The vessels left the Texel on June 5th, and +soon after separated. Following first the fortunes of Cornelison and +Ysbrants, we find that they reached Lapland on the 23rd, and, proceeding +eastward, found the weather in the middle of July as hot as in Holland +during the dog days, and the mosquitoes extremely troublesome. Reaching +Waigatz Island they met enormous quantities of drift-wood, which was also +piled up on the shores. Passing the southern end of the island, they +observed three or four hundred wooden idols, men, women, and children, +their faces generally turned eastward. Sailing through Waigatz Strait, +they found and were impeded much by large quantities of floating ice; +later they reached an open sea perfectly clear of it. The land to the +southward was in sight, and trended apparently to the south-east. Without +more ado they concluded that they had discovered an open passage round +Northern Asia to China, and turned their vessels' bows homewards, in order +to be the first to bring the good news to Holland. Meanwhile, Barents, in +the _Messenger_, crossed the White Sea, and eventually made the west coast +of Nova Zembla, proceeding thence northwards, naming several headlands and +islands. About latitude 77 deg. 25' they encountered an immense field of ice, +of which they could see no end from the mast-head, and they had to turn +back. After becoming entangled in drift-ice, and experiencing misty, cold, +and tempestuous weather, the crew began to murmur, and then refused +positively to proceed. On the homeward voyage, after they had arrived at +Maltfloe and Delgoy Islands, they met the other ships, the commanders of +which were jubilant with the idea that they had discovered the North-east +Passage. At all events, on their return, the reports given by them were so +favourably considered, that preparations were immediately made for a +second expedition. + +Near one of the islands off the coast of Nova Zembla Barents and a +boat-load of his men were almost swamped by an enormous white she-bear, +which they had wounded, and secured by a rope. The animal, in its pain and +fury, more than seconded their efforts to get it on board--for they had +fancied that they might take her alive to Holland--and a panic ensued. +Fortunately the rope caught round a rung or hook of the rudder, and one of +the bolder men then struck her into the water. The rest immediately got to +their oars and rowed so rapidly to the ship, that the bear was pretty well +half drowned by the time they arrived there, and she was easily +despatched. De Veer, the principal historian of these voyages, gives us +some graphic descriptions of the walrus. A female walrus almost succeeded +in swamping one of the boats, as Madam Bruin had before, but fled when a +good round volley of Dutch execrations were levelled at her. Some of the +men, tempted by the ivory tusks apparently within their easy reach, went +ashore with the intention of killing some of these animals, but the +sea-horses "brake all their hatchets, curtle-axes, and pikes in pieces," +and they could not kill any of them, but succeeded in performing dentistry +on a rough scale by knocking out some of their teeth. The resemblance of +the front part of the head of a young walrus to a human face has been +often remarked, and, as we shall hereafter show, has had much to do with +sailors' stories concerning mermaids and mermen. More than once has the +cry, "A man overboard!" been caused by the sudden appearance of the head +of a young walrus above the water near a ship's side. + +The second expedition consisted of seven vessels: six laden with wares, +merchandise, and money, and factors to act as traders; the seventh, a +small pinnace, was to accompany the rest for part of the voyage, and bring +back news of the proceedings. These extensive preparations were rendered +nearly useless by the dilatoriness of those who had the matter in hand. +The vessels did not leave the Texel till July 2nd, 1595, nor reach Nova +Zembla before the middle of August. The coasts of that island were found +to be unapproachable on account of the ice. In few words, they returned to +Holland, having accomplished little or nothing. + +When off Waigatz some of the men had landed to search for supposed +precious stones, which they fondly believed were diamonds, but which were +doubtless pieces of rock crystal. As two of the men were taking a little +rest, a "great leane white beare" suddenly stole upon them, and caught one +fast by the neck. The other, seeing the cause, ran away. "The beare," says +the quaint narrative, "at the first faling upon the man, bit his head in +sunder, and suckt out his blood," whereupon some twenty of the men ran to +the place, and charged the animal with their pikes and muskets. Bruin, +nothing daunted, seized another of the men and tore him in pieces, the +rest, seized with terror, running away. A number of sailors, seeing all +this, immediately came on shore, and a second charge was made. Many shots +were fired, but missed; at length the purser shot the animal between the +eyes, when she began to stagger. Two of the men broke their axes over her, +and yet she would not leave the bodies of their comrades. At length one of +them succeeded in stunning her with a well-directed blow, and then cut her +throat. + + [Illustration: NOVA ZEMBLA, SHOWING THE ROUTE TAKEN BY BARENTS AND HIS + FOLLOWERS. + (_After an Authentic Map made by Gerrit de Veer._)] + + [Illustration: MOCK SUNS, SEEN ON THE 4TH JUNE, 1596, BY BARENTS AND HIS + FOLLOWERS. + (_After a Stamp published in 1609 at Amsterdam._)] + +On the return of the second expedition from a voyage so fruitless, the +General States of the United Provinces declined to repeat the experiment, +but offered a large reward to any one who might make it "apparant that the +sayd passage was to be sayled." The merchants of Amsterdam thereupon +prepared two vessels, and selected mostly single men for their crews, +_i.e._, men unhampered by family ties, offering them great rewards if the +objects they sought were accomplished. One of the vessels was commanded by +Jacob Heemskerke Hendrickson, the master of the second being Cornelison +Rijp; Barents was appointed chief pilot. The expedition sailed from +Amsterdam on May 10th, 1596, and on June 1st was in a latitude high enough +to have no night. On the 4th, in lat. 71 deg., they observed two parahelia, or +mock suns, which are thus described in the narrative:--"On each side of the +sunne there was another sunne and two raine-bowes, that past cleane thorow +the three sunnes, and then two raine-bowes more, the one compassing round +about the sunnes, and the other crosse thorow the great rundle." On the +5th they fell in with the first floating ice, which at a distance they +mistook for white swans, and on the 7th they were in lat. 74 deg., sailing +through the ice "as if betweene two lands." They found quantities of the +eggs of red geese on an island. The narrator makes these birds, when +flying away, cry out "Rot, rot, rot" (red), as though describing +themselves. They also killed several bears, one of which they pursued in +their boats while "foure glasses were run out (_i.e._, for two hours), for +their weapons seemed powerless to do her hurt. One of the men struck her +with an axe, which stuck fast in her back, and with which she swam away. +They followed, and at length a well-directed blow split her skull." They +appear to have been much hampered in proceeding further north from the +constantly accumulating ice. By their latitude at this time they were near +Amsterdam Island, on which is that cape or foreland since so well known to +whalers as Hakluyt's Headland. On July 1st the commanders mutually agreed +to part company: Cornelison Rijp, who now disappears from the scene, being +of opinion that by sailing back to Spitzbergen, which they had just left, +he would find a passage near its east side; while Barents favoured an +eastward course in a lower parallel, and steered for Waigatz Strait and +Nova Zembla, which latter he reached on July 17th. As far as the ice would +permit they stood to the northwards, and at the end of the first week of +August doubled Point Nassau, where, the wind being contrary, they made the +ship fast to an iceberg, thirty-six fathoms (216 feet) under water, and +sixteen fathoms (96 feet) above it. This berg suddenly, without warning, +broke up: "with one great cracke it burst into foure hundred pieces at the +least." Ships have often been overwhelmed in this manner. Ice in all forms +now surrounded them; the ship's rudder was smashed to pieces, and their +boat crushed like a nutshell, while a similar fate was expected constantly +for the vessel herself, which had become much strained. They had equally +to give up all hopes of proceeding or returning that season, and with +great difficulty they got to the west side of a harbour on Nova Zembla, +named by them Ice Haven. Here, as we shall see, they had to pass a long +winter, under circumstances of great hardship and danger. + +On August 27th the ice drove with great force on the ship's bows, and +lifted her up several feet. They feared that she must be capsized. Shortly +afterwards the ship burst out of the ice, "with such a noyse and so great +a crack" that all on board feared their last hour was come. On the 30th, +during a heavy snow and boisterous weather, the ice masses commenced +driving and grinding together with greater force than before; the ship was +lifted up bodily, almost upright, and then dashed into the water again. We +cannot wonder to learn that the hairs of their heads also stood "vpright +with feare" amid such scenes. + +And so it went on from day to day, the vessel being strained and cracked +in many places, and leaking badly. On September 5th they held a council, +and determined to commence the work of removing the stores ashore. They +carried off their old foresail, and "other furniture" on land to make a +tent; powder, lead, muskets, with bread and wine, and some tools to mend +their boat. "The 11 of September," says the narrative, "it was calme +wether, and 8 of vs went on land, euery man armed, to see if that were +true, as our other three companions had said that there lay wood about the +riuer; for that seeing we had so long wound and turned about, sometime in +the ice, and then againe got out, and thereby were compelled to alter our +course, and at last saw that we could not get out of the ice, but rather +became faster, and could not loose our ship, as at other times we had +done, as also that it began to be winter, we took counsell together what +we were best to doe according to the time that we might winter there, and +attend such aduenture as God would send vs; and after we had debated vpon +the matter, to keepe and defend our selues both from the cold and the wild +beasts, we determined to build a house vpon the land to keep vs therein as +well as we could, and so to commit ourselues vnto the tuition of God." As +they had little wood on board, and there were no trees on land, they were +most rejoiced when they found "certaine trees, roots and all," which had +been driven upon the shore (drift-wood, probably, brought down by one of +the great rivers of Asiatic Siberia, floated out to sea, and deposited on +the shores of Nova Zembla). "We were much comforted," says the narrator, +"being in good hope that God would show vs some further fauour; for that +wood serued vs not onely to build our house, but also to burne and serue +vs all the winter long; otherwise, without all doubt, we had died there +miserably with extreame cold." + + [Illustration: TRANSPORTING WOOD ON SLEDGES FOR BUILDING THE HOUSE.] + +The party as it now stood consisted of seventeen persons, of whom one, the +carpenter, who of all could least be spared at this juncture, died towards +the end of September, and another was prostrated with sickness. They had +to haul the wood in sledges for a considerable distance over ice and snow, +and it was so intensely cold that the skin was often taken off their hands +and faces. "As wee put a naile into our mouthes," says De Veer "(as +carpenters use to do) there would ice hang thereon when wee took it out +againe, and make the bloud follow." The present writer saw precisely the +same thing happen more than once at a Russian trading post in Alaska some +years ago, and knows well what it is to have his own mouth and nostrils +nearly frozen up by the breath congealing about the moustache, lips, &c., +more especially when camped in the "open" at night. These good Dutchmen +seem to have been most resigned and philosophical during "their cold, +comfortlesse, darke, and dreadful winter," determining to make the best of +their hard lot. The narrative of De Veer is told in a plain, unvarnished, +and manly style, and, as Dr. Beke(22) has well remarked, "we may perceive +that the reliance of himself and his comrades on the Almighty was not less +firm or sincere because His name was not incessantly on their lips. +Cheerfulness, and even frequent hilarity, could not fail to be the +concomitants of so wholesome a tone of mind." + +On September 15th two bears made their appearance, and there was great +excitement, the men being anxious to shoot them. A tub or barrel of salt +beef was standing on the ice near the ship, and one of the bears put his +head into it to get out a joint of the meat. But "she fared therewith," +says the narrator, "as the dog did with ye pudding;(23) for as she was +snatching at the beefe she was shot into the head, wherewith she fell +downe dead and neuer stir'd (there we saw a curious sight); the other +beare stood still, and lokt vpon her fellow (as if wondering why she +remained so motionless), and when she had stood a good while she smelt her +fellow, and perceiuing that she lay still and was dead, she ran away, and +all pursuit was vain." + + [Illustration: ATTACKED BY BEARS.] + +At length their house was completed; it had been built partly from the +drift-wood, and partly from the deck timbers and other portions of the +ship. The original illustration, a very quaint picture, shows the fire in +the middle of the floor, and a large chimney immediately over it. In other +illustrations in De Veer's works the chimney is surmounted by a barrel, +which served the same purpose for the "look out" as the "crow's nest" or +observatory in modern Arctic vessels. An oil lamp swung in the centre of +the room, and a large bench, with divisions, served for resting places by +night. The old Dutch clock, the works of which became frozen during the +winter, is shown hanging on the wall, while the large twelve-hour +sand-glass, which replaced it, is also included. A large wine-vat or +barrel, standing on end, requires explanation. It was used as a vapour or +steam bath, a hole in the side being cut both for air and as a door or +opening for ingress or egress. The steam was in all probability made by +placing hot stones in a small quantity of water at the bottom of the +barrel. The writer has in Alaska (formerly Russian America) often used a +steam bath of a construction almost as primitive, where in a small room +the required vapour was raised by throwing water on a little furnace or +fire-place, built of stones, which were kept at a white heat by a fire +inside. Round the walls of the room were shelves or benches, on which one +could recline, and by selecting the upper or lower ones, as the case might +be, enjoy a greater or a lesser degree of heat. + +On November 4th the last feeble rays of the sun took leave of them, and +intense cold followed. Their wine and spruce-beer became frozen, and +separated into two parts, the water being ice, and the remainder a thick +glutinous liquid. Melted together again, they were nearly undrinkable. +Wood does not appear to have been scarce till later in the winter, +although they had to fetch some of it a distance of several miles. They +once tried a fire of coal in the middle of their room, but the experiment +was not repeated, as the sulphurous smoke nearly suffocated them. Their +thickest European clothing was utterly insufficient for the climate they +had to endure. During the winter they killed and trapped a few bears and +foxes, and some of their skins were of course utilised. The former, +however, disappeared with the sun, and only reappeared when it again +showed itself. + +The record of their monotonous winter life, almost entirely confined to +the house, would be as tedious in the recital as it was in reality. Their +wretched habitation was nearly buried in snow, and they felt as much out +of the world as though they had really left it. Outside, gale succeeded +gale, and howling winds and drifting snow prevented the possibility of +hunting, exercise, or amusement. Inside, as the record tells us, they used +all the means in their power to preserve warmth: put hot stones and heated +cannon-balls at their feet, and smothered themselves in every article of +clothing or bedding they had, but with little avail; their cots and the +walls were covered with frost, and themselves as stiff and white as +corpses. The narrative says quaintly that as they sat before a great fire +their shins burned on the fore side, while their backs were frozen. +Nevertheless they repined not, but took everything in the spirit of calm +philosophy. On December 26th De Veer, when an unusually severe day had set +in, writes that they comforted themselves that the sun had gone as low as +it could, and must now return. The quaintness and simplicity of this +narrative is well illustrated by the following entry for the last day of +1596:--"The 31 of December it was still foule wether, with a storme out of +the north-west, whereby we were so fast shut vp into the house as if we +had beene prisoners, and it was so extreame cold that the fire almost cast +no heate; for as we put our feete to the fire we burnt our hose +(stockings) before we could feele the heate, so that we had constantly +work enough to do to patch our hose. And, which is more, if we had not +sooner smelt than felt them, we should haue burnt them quite away ere we +had knowne it." + +On January 5th they even celebrated Twelfth Night, making merry with a +small quantity of wine, pancakes, and white biscuit. They drew lots for a +master of revels, and it fell to the gunner, who was made King of Nova +Zembla. All this, after all, was more sensible than giving way to the +despondency which they could not help feeling at times. On February 12th +they shot a bear, the first for the year. The first bullet fired, passing +through her body, "went out againe at her tayle, and was as flat as a +counter that had been beaten out with a hammer." This was a god-send to +them, as now they were enabled to keep their lamps constantly burning, +which previously they had often been unable to do for want of grease. The +bear yielded a hundred pounds of fat. In the latter part of winter the +bears came round the house, and attempted to break in the door, while one +almost succeeded in entering by the chimney. + + [Illustration: REPAIRING THE BOAT.] + +At the beginning of March they saw open water, and were greatly rejoiced, +looking hopefully forward to the day of release. In April the ice hummocks +on the coast were "risen and piled vp one vpon the other, that it was +wonderfull in such manner as if there had bin whole townes made of ice, +with towres and bulwarkes round about them." In May their provisions were +getting very low, and they themselves were both weakened by inaction and +insufficiency of food, while the scurvy had made its appearance among some +of the number. Impatient of their long and dreary sojourn, the men, on the +9th and 11th of May, came to Barents, praying him to speak to "the maister +(skipper) to make preparations to goe from thence." On the 15th they +consulted together and decided to leave at the end of the month, if "the +ship could not be loosed," which gladdened the hearts of the men. Next +they began to repair their clothes; and on May 29th the boat and yawl were +cleared of the snow which buried them. The narrative shows how enfeebled +they had become. Ten of them went to the boat, to repair it and make it +ready. When they had got it out of the snow, and thought themselves able +to drag it up to the house, their united efforts were not sufficient. De +Veer says, "We could not doe it because we were too weake." They became, +we cannot wonder, wholly out of heart, for unless the boats could be got +ready they would, as the master told them, have to remain as burghers or +citizens of Nova Zembla, and make their graves there. But, as the +narrative continues, there was no want of goodwill in them, but only +strength. After a rest they did, by slow degrees manage to repair and +heighten the gunwales of the boat. Their work was impeded by the bears, +one of which they killed, and the liver of which having eaten, they were +"exceeding sicke," so much so that of three of the men it is stated that +"all their skins came off from the foote to the head." Although bear's +meat is perfectly wholesome and far from uneatable, the same fact has very +frequently been noticed in regard to the poisonous qualities of the liver, +at least at certain seasons. In this case, the captain took what was left +and threw it away, for as De Veer candidly admits, they "had enough of the +sawce thereof." + +It now became obvious that the ship, which was completely bilged, must be +abandoned, and their time, after repairing and strengthening the boats, +was fully employed in moving and packing their goods, including the more +valuable of the merchandise they had brought for trading purposes from the +house, and in stripping the ship of everything of value. On June 12th they +went with hatchets, pick-axes, shovels, and all kinds of implements, to +make a clear wide shoot or way from the house, passing the ship, to the +water. The ice was full of hummocks, knobs, and hills, and this was not +the lightest of their labours. Then Barents and the skipper wrote letters, +detailing the circumstances of their ten months' stay, and that they were +forced to abandon the ship and put to sea in two open boats, to which all +of the men subscribed except four, who from sickness or inability could +not write. Barents' letter was put in a place of safety in their deserted +house, and each of the boats was furnished with a copy of the captain's +letter, in case they should be separated or one or other lost. The yawl +and boat having been launched and loaded, Barents and a man named +Adrianson, both of whom had been long invalids, were carried on a sledge +to the water's edge. There were now fifteen men in all, and their +provisions were reduced to limited rations of bread, one barrel of Dutch +cheese, one flitch of bacon, and some small runlets of wine, oil, and +vinegar. + +To the narrative which follows the compiler can hardly do justice, whilst +an exact reprint of the quietly and unsensationally told story of Gerrit +de Veer would have to be closely studied before the reader would +understand and feel the adventurous and desperate nature of the exploit +performed. These fifteen poor Dutchmen, gaunt and exhausted as we know +they were, weakened by semi-starvation and disease, badly provisioned at +this most critical time, two of their number dying, bravely encountered a +voyage of some seventeen hundred miles, eleven at least of which were +amongst the worst dangers of the Arctic seas. The larger of their two +craft was a fishing yawl of the smallest size. For eighty days they +struggled through an unknown and frozen ocean, in the ice, over the ice, +and through the sea, exposed to all the ordinary dangers of wave and +tempest, liable to be crushed at any moment by the grinding ice masses, or +swamped by the disintegration of icebergs, constantly having to unload, +haul up, and re-launch their boats, and further, exposed to severe cold, +wet, fatigue, and famine, as well as to the constant attacks of savage +animals. They persevered, for although their hearts often sank within +them, it was for dear life, and at length their heroic efforts were +rewarded. Some few extracts from the work already so often quoted will +give a faint idea of the dangers through which they passed and over which +they finally triumphed. + +The boats, sailing in company, left Ice Haven on June 14th, 1597, at first +slowly, making their course from one cape or headland to another. At the +very start they became entangled in the floating ice, which, however, on +the following day was more sparsely scattered. On June 16th they set sail +again (having stopped off Cape Desire for the night), and got to the +Islands of Orange. There they went on land with two small barrels and a +kettle to melt snow, as also to seek for birds and eggs for their sick +men. Of the former they only obtained three. "As we came backe againe," +says the narrator, "our maister fell into the ice, where he was in great +danger of his life, for in that place there ran a great streame ('strong +current' is Dr. Beke's translation); but, by God's helpe, he got out +againe and came to vs, and there dryed himselfe by the fire that we had +made, at which fire we drest the birds, and carried them to the scute to +our sicke men." Putting to sea again, with a south-east wind and a +mizzling rain, they were soon all wet to the skin. Off Ice Point, the most +northerly cape or point of Nova Zembla, the skipper called to Barents to +ask him how he did, to which he answered, "I still hope to run before we +get to Wardhuus." Then he turned to De Veer, and said, "Gerrit, if we are +near the Ice Point just lift me up again. I must see that point once +more." These were almost the last words of this brave man, who undoubtedly +felt at the time that not merely he should never see Ice Point again, but +that he was not long for this world. He was dying fast, and his courageous +words were meant for his companions' comfort. "Next day," says the +narrator, "when we had broken our fastes, the ice came so frightfully upon +vs that it made our haires stand vpright vpon our heades, it was so +fearefull to behold; by which meanes we could not make fast our scutes, so +that we thought verily that it was a foreshewing of our last end; for we +draue away so hard with the ice, and were so sore prest between a flake of +ice, that we thought verily the scutes would burst in a hundredth peeces, +which made vs look pittifully one upon the other, for no counsell nor +aduise was to be found, but every minute of an houre we saw death before +our eies." At last, in desperation, De Veer managed to jump on a piece of +ice, and creeping from one to another of the grinding masses, at length +secured a rope to one of the hummocks. "And when we had gotten thither," +says he, "in all haste we tooke our sicke men out and layd them vpon the +ice, laying clothes and other things vnder them, and then tooke all our +goods out of the scutes, and so drew them vpon the ice, whereby for that +time we were deliuered from that great danger, making account that we had +escaped out of death's clawes, as it was most true." + +The boats having been repaired, they were delayed some days by the ice, +which shut them in. On June 20th Adrianson "began to be extreme sick," and +the boatswain came to inform the others that he could not live long; +"whereupon," says De Veer, "William Barents spake and said, I think I +shall not liue long after him; and yet we did not ivdge William Barents to +be so sicke, for we sat talking one with the other, and spake of many +things, and William Barents looked at my little chart which I had made of +our voyage (and we had some discussion about it). At last he laid away the +chart and spake vnto me, saying, Gerrit, give me some drinke; and he had +so sooner drunke but he was taken with so sodaine a qualme that he turned +his eies in his head and died presently, and we had no time to call the +maister out of the other scute to speak vnto him; and so he died before +Claes Adrianson (who died shortly after him). The death of William Barents +put us in no small discomfort, as being the chiefe guide and only pilot on +whom we reposed our selues next under God; but we could not striue against +God, and therefore we must of force be content." Other passages indicate +that Barents had inspired great affection in the hearts of his companions, +and that his loss was felt with much poignancy. + + [Illustration: UNLOADING, DRAGGING, AND CARRYING BOATS AND GOODS.] + +The following passage is only one of many indicating the laborious nature +of their undertaking:--"The 22 of June in the morning it blew a good gale +out of the south-east, and then the sea was reasonably open, but we were +forced to draw our scutes ouer the ice to get vnto it, which was great +paine and labour unto vs; for first we were forced to draw our scutes over +a peece of ice of 50 paces long, and then put them into the water, and +then againe to draw them vp vpon other ice, and after draw them at the +least 300 paces more ouer the ice, before we could bring them to a good +place, where we might easily get out." On the 25th and 26th of June a +tempest raged, and they were driven to sea, being unable, as they had +sometimes done before, to tie the boats to fast or grounded ice. They were +nearly swamped at this time by the great seas which constantly broke over +their open boats, and for some little time were separated in a fog, but by +firing muskets at length found out each other's position and joined +company. One of the boats got into a dangerous place between fixed and +driving ice, and the men had to unload it, and take it and the goods +bodily across the masses to more open water. On June 28th, the narrative +continues, "We laid all our goods vpon the ice, and then drew the scutes +vpon the ice also, because we were so hard prest on all sides with the +ice, and the wind came out of the sea vpon the land, and therefore we were +in feare to be wholly inclosed with the ice, and should not be able to get +out thereof againe. And being vpon the ice, we laid sailes ouer our +scutes, and laie down to rest, appointing one of our men to keepe watch; +and when the sun was north there came three beares towards our scutes, +wherewith he that kept the watch cried out lustily, 'Three beares! Three +beares!' at which noise we leapt out of our boates with our muskets, that +were laden with small shot to shoote at birds, and had no time to reload +them, and therefore shot at them therewith; and although that kinde of +shot could not hurt them much, yet they ranne away, and in the meane time +they gaue vs leisure to lade our muskets with bullets, and by that meanes +we shot one of the three dead.... The 29th of June, the sun being +south-south-west, the two beares came againe to the place where the dead +beare laie, when one of them tooke the dead beare in his mouth, and went a +great way with it ouer the rugged ice, and then began to eate it; which we +perceauing, shot a musket at her, but she, hearing the noise thereof, ran +away and let the dead beare lie. Then foure of vs went thither, and saw +that in so short a time she had eaten almost the halfe of her." It was as +much as these four could do to carry away the half of the body left, +although the bear had just before dragged the whole of it over the rough +and hummocky ice with little exertion. + +On July 1st they were again in great danger among the driving, grinding +ice, their boats were much crushed, and they lost a quantity of goods, +and, what was of vital importance at the time, a large proportion of their +remaining provisions. A few days afterwards their little company was still +further reduced by the death of one of the sailors. On July 11th, and a +week afterwards, they were enclosed by ice, from which they could not +extricate themselves. During this enforced delay they shot a bear, whose +fat ran out at the holes made by the bullets, and floated on the water +like oil. They obtained some seventy duck eggs on a neighbouring island, +and for a time feasted royally. "The 18 of July," says the narrator, +"about the east sunne, three of our men went vp vpon the highest part of +the land to see if there was any open water in the sea; at which time they +saw much open water, but it was so farre from the land that they were +almost out of comfort, because it lay so farre from the land and the fast +ice." They had on this occasion to row to an ice-field, unload, and drag +and carry boats and goods at least three-fourths of a mile across; they +then loaded and set sail, but were speedily entangled again, and had to +repeat their previous experiences. + +And so it went on for forty-four days, until, in St. Laurence Bay, behind +a projecting point, they suddenly came on two Russian vessels with which +they had met the previous year, and the crews of which wondered to see +them in their present plight, "so leane and bare" and broken down. They +exchanged courtesies, and provided them with a trifling supply of rye +bread and smoked fowls, then sailing away on their own affairs. For +thirty-five days longer they sailed westward, repeating many of their +previous experiences, till at length, on September 2nd, they arrived at +Kola, in Russian Lapland, and their troubles were really over. +Cornelison's ship happened to be in the port, and they rejoiced and made +merry with their old companions, who had long given them up for lost. + +Thus ended this remarkable voyage of nearly eighty days in two small open +boats. It would seem nowadays utter madness to think of making a long +voyage in such frail and unsuitable craft, and our adventurers had had the +special perils of the Arctic seas superadded to the more ordinary dangers +of the ocean. Eight weeks later they were enjoying the calm pleasures of +their own firesides, after having been entertained at the Hague by the +Prince of Orange. + +A further interest attaches to the voyage from the recent discovery made +by Captain Carlsen, while circumnavigating Nova Zembla, of the very house +erected at Ice Haven by these adventurers, with many interesting relics, +which had remained in tolerable preservation, and had been evidently +unvisited for this great length of time. "No man," says Mr. Markham, "had +entered the lonely dwelling where the famous discoverer of Spitzbergen had +sojourned during the long winter of 1596 for nearly three centuries. There +stood the cooking-pans over the fireplace, the old clock against the wall, +the arms, the tools, the drinking-vessels, the instruments, and the books +that had beguiled the weary hours of that long night, 278 years ago.... +Perhaps the most touching is the pair of small shoes. There was a little +cabin-boy among the crew, who died, as Gerrit de Veer tells us, during the +winter. This accounts for the shoes having been left behind. There is a +flute, too, once played by that poor boy, which will still give out a few +notes."(24) The relics brought home by Carlsen were eventually taken to +the Hague, where they are now preserved with jealous care. + +In chronological order, a voyage of which there is little record left +comes next. There is little doubt that William Adams--who, afterwards cast +away on the coast of Japan, is inseparably connected with the history of +that country, and whose adventures will be considered in the proper +place--did, in 1595 or 1596, make an attempt at the north-east passage. The +Prince of Orange had ordered him to try for a northern route to Japan, +China, and the Moluccas, considering that it would be shorter, and safer +from the attacks of the pirates and corsairs who infested the more +southern seas. Adams averred that he had reached 82 deg. N., but that "the +cold was so excessive, with so much sleet and snow driving down those +straits, that he was compelled to return." And he asserted that if he had +kept close to the coast of Tartary, and had run along it to the eastward, +to the opening of Anian, between the land of Asia and America, he might +have succeeded in his undertaking. + +Next comes the attempt of George Weymouth in 1602. He was despatched by +the worshipful merchants of the Muscovy and Turkey Companies to attempt a +north-west passage to China. This voyage was an utter failure, and he +never reached a higher latitude than 63 deg. 53' N. While proceeding to the +north-west they passed four islands of ice "of a huge bignesse," and about +this time the fog was so thick that they could not see two ships' lengths +before them, and the sails, shrouds, and ropes were frozen so stiff that +they could not be handled. On July 19th the crew mutinied, and conspired +to keep the captain confined to his cabin, while they reversed the ship's +course and bore for England. Weymouth discovered this, and punished the +ringleaders. The boats were on one occasion sent to an iceberg, to load +some of it for fresh water, and as the men were breaking it "the great +island of ice gave a mightie cracke two or three times, as though it had +been a thunderclappe; and presently the island began to overthrow," which +nearly swamped the boats. The whole account of Weymouth's voyage is +confused and indefinite, but he evidently did nothing beyond cruising +among the islands north of Hudson's Strait, and off Labrador. + +In 1605, 1606, and 1607, three expeditions, of which James Hall, an +Englishman, was pilot, were despatched to the Greenland coasts by the King +of Denmark. They fancied on the first voyage that they had discovered a +silver mine in Cunningham's Fiord, Greenland, and the second voyage was +instigated in the hopes of filling the royal coffers with the precious +metal. These voyages were in effect most fruitless. Several natives were +carried off by Hall, who in return left three Danish malefactors on the +Greenland coasts, a severe mode of banishment. While these voyages were in +progress, the Muscovy and East India merchants had despatched a small +barque, under the command of John Knight, for the discovery of the +north-west passage. Near Cape Guinington, on the coast of Labrador, a +northerly gale, which brought down large quantities of drift ice, did much +damage to the vessel, and she lost her rudder. Knight took the vessel into +the most accessible cove in order to repair her, and went ashore with the +mate and four sailors, all well armed, to endeavour to find some more +suitable harbour. On landing, Knight, the mate, and another, went up +towards the highest part of the island, leaving the others to take charge +of the boat. The latter waited some thirteen hours, but the captain and +his companions did not return. Next day, a well-armed party from the ship +went in search of them, but were unable to reach the island on account of +the ice. No tidings were ever gleaned concerning their fate, but it was +concluded that the savage natives had killed them, as later a number of +these people came down and attacked the crew with great ferocity. They had +large canoes, and the narrator describes them as "very little people, +tawnie coloured, thin or no beards, and flat-nosed, and man-eaters." After +patching up their vessel, they steered for Newfoundland, and later for +England, which they reached in safety. + + [Illustration: VIEW ON THE HUDSON.] + + + + + + CHAPTER XV. + + + Henry Hudson's Voyages--Projected Passage over the Pole--Second + Expedition--A Mermaid Sighted--Third Voyage in the Dutch + Service--Discovery of the Hudson River--Last Voyage--Discovery of + Hudson's Bay--Story of an Arctic Tragedy--Abacuk Pricket's + Narrative--Their Winter Stay--Rise of a Mutiny--Hudson and Nine + Companions Set Adrift and left to Die--Retribution--Four of the + Mutineers Killed--Sufferings from Starvation--Death of a + Ringleader--Arrival in Ireland--Suspicious Circumstances--Baffin's + Voyages--Danish Expeditions to Greenland--Jens Munk and his + Unfortunate Companions--Sixty-one Persons Starved to Death--Voyage + of three Survivors Across the Atlantic--An unkingly King--Death of + Munk--Moxon's Dutch Beer-house Story--Wood and Flawes--Wreck of + Wood's Vessel--Knight's Fatal Expedition--Slow Starvation and Death + of the whole Company--The Middleton and Dobbs' Agitation--L20,000 + offered for the Discovery of the North-west Passage. + + +So many previous failures do not seem to have discouraged the London +merchants, who, in 1607, renewed the search for a northern route to China +and Japan. Hitherto neither the north-east nor north-west had held out +much hopes of success, and they now determined on a bold and novel attempt +at _sailing over the Pole itself_. For this expedition Henry +Hudson--already known as an experienced and intrepid seaman, and +well-skilled in nautical science--was chosen commander. This adventurous +navigator left Gravesend on May 1st, in a small barque, with only ten men +and a boy. The very name and tonnage of the vessel have been forgotten, +but it is known to have been of the tiniest description. In the second +week of June Hudson fell in with land--a headland of East Greenland--the +weather at the time being foggy, and the sails and shrouds frozen. He +examined other parts of this coast, feeling doubtful whether he might not +reach open water to the northward, and sail round Greenland, a voyage +never made up to this day. Later he reached Spitzbergen, where the ice to +the north utterly baffled all his efforts to force a passage, and being +short of supplies, he set sail for England. Next year we find him +attempting a north-east passage. He landed on Nova Zembla, and as he says +himself, his "purpose was by the Waygats (Strait) to passe by the mouth of +the river Ob (or Obi), and to double that way the north cape of Tartaria, +or to give reasons wherefore it will not be." Finding quantities of morse +or walrus, he delayed somewhat, hoping to defray part of the expenses of +the voyage by obtaining ivory. Meantime he despatched a party up a large +river flowing from the north-eastward, fancying, apparently, that it was +an arm of the sea, which might lead them to the solution of the problem +they sought. On this voyage, "one of our company," says Hudson, "looking +overboard, saw a mermaid, and calling up some of the companie to see her +once more come up, and by that time shee was come close to the ship's +side, looking earnestly on the men; a little after a sea came and +overturned her; from the navill upwards her backe and breasts were like a +woman's (as they say that saw her), her body as big as one of us; her skin +very white, and long haire hanging down behind, of colour blacke; in her +going downe they saw her tayle, which was like the tayle of a porposse, +and speeckled like a macrell. Their names that saw her were Thomas Hilles +and Robert Rayner." All this is only another version of some walrus story. +On this as on the previous voyage, Hudson made some observations on the +inclination or "dip" of the magnetic needle, and he is probably the first +Englishman who had done so. + +The following year (1609) we find Hudson on a third voyage of discovery, +in the service of the Dutch. His movements were very erratic, and the only +record left us does not explain them. He first doubled the North Cape, as +though again in quest of the north-east passage; then turned westward to +Newfoundland; thence again south as far as Charleston (South Carolina); +then north to Cape Cod, soon after which he discovered the beautiful +Hudson River, at the mouth of which New York is now situated. Hudson's +fourth and last voyage is that most intimately associated with his name on +account of the cruel tragedy which terminated his life, and lost England +one of her bravest and most energetic explorers. + +Several gentlemen of influence, among them Sir John Wolstenholme and Sir +Dudley Digges, were so satisfied of the feasibility of making the +north-west passage, that they fitted out a vessel at their own expense, +and gave the command to Henry Hudson. For reasons which will appear as we +proceed, the accounts of the voyage itself are meagre. We know, however, +that he discovered the Strait and "Mediterranean" Sea (the latter of which +has since been called a bay, although somewhat improperly), and both of +which still bear his name. The vessel appropriated for this service had +the same name as one of those on Captain Nares' late expedition--_The +Discovery_--and was of fifty-five tons burden, victualled only, as it +seems, for six months. She left the Thames on April 17th, 1610, and on +June 9th was off the entrance of Frobisher's Strait, where Hudson was +compelled to ply to the westward, on account of the ice and contrary +winds. During July and the early part of August several islands and +headlands were sighted and named, and at length they discovered a great +strait formed by the north-west point of Labrador and a cluster of +islands, which led them into an extensive sea. Here Hudson's own testimony +ends, and we are dependent on the narrative of one Abacuk Pricket, which +is perfectly useless as regards any discoveries made, but which is +probably correct as regards the mutiny about to be described, and the +circumstances which preceded and followed it. The reader will, we imagine, +form his own conclusions very speedily in regard to Pricket's own share in +this brutal transaction, in spite of his constant protestations. The story +in its sequel furnishes a significant example of the condition to which +mutiny and lawlessness on board ship may bring the perpetrators. + +Abacuk Pricket says that Hudson, being closely beset in the ice, and +doubtful whether he should ever escape from it, brought out his chart, and +showed the company that he had entered the strait a hundred leagues +further than any Englishman before him, and, in spite of the dangers, very +naturally wished to follow up his discoveries. He, however, put it to them +whether they should sail forward or turn the ship's head towards England. +No decision appears to have been obtained, some wishing themselves at +home, and others, sailor-like, saying they cared not where they were so +long as they were out of the ice. The narrator admits, however, that +"there were some who then spake words which were remembered a great while +after." + +The slumbering embers of mutiny appear to have been first fanned into a +flame when Hudson displaced the mate and boatswain "for words spoken when +in the ice," and appointed others. Still sailing southward, they entered a +bay on Michaelmas day, and here the discontent was increased by Hudson +insisting on weighing the anchor, while the crew was desirous of remaining +there. Having voyaged for three months "in a labyrinth without end," they +at length, on November 1st, found a suitable place to winter, and were +soon frozen in. Hudson had taken into his house in London, apparently from +sheer kindheartedness, a young man named Greene, of good and respectable +parentage, but of a very dissolute and abandoned life, and had brought him +to act as a kind of captain's clerk on this voyage. Greene was most +undoubtedly an irreclaimable vagabond, as well as a most ungrateful +person. He quarrelled with the surgeon and others on board, and was the +leading conspirator in the mutinous proceedings against his benefactor, +which were now fast ripening to a conclusion. Pricket speaks well of his +"manhood"--which it is to be hoped he meant only as regarded his physical +qualifications--"but for religion, he would say he was cleane paper, +whereon he might write what he would." Although the ship's provisions were +nearly exhausted, they obtained, during the first three months, as many as +a hundred dozen white partridges, and, with more difficulty, in the early +spring, a few swans, geese, and ducks. A little later these failed them, +and they were reduced to eating moss and frogs. Later again, when the ice +broke up, seven men were sent out with the boat, and returned with five +hundred fish as big as good herrings. They were, however, unsuccessful +afterwards, and when the ship left the bay in which they had wintered, had +nothing left but short rations of bread for a fortnight, and five cheeses +which gave three pounds and a half to each man. These were carefully and +fairly divided by Hudson, and, as we are told in the narrative, "he wept +when he gave it unto them." + +The vessel stood to the north-west, and on June 21st, 1611, while +entangled in the drift ice, Pricket says that Wilson the boatswain and +Greene came to him and told him that they and the crew meant to turn the +master and all the sick into the boat, and leave them to shift for +themselves; that they had not eaten anything for three days, that there +were not fourteen days' provisions left for the whole crew, and that they +were determined "either to mend or end; and what they had begun they would +go through with it or die." Pricket says that he attempted to dissuade +them, but that they threatened him, and Greene bade him hold his tongue, +for he himself would rather be hanged at home than starved abroad. A +little later, five or six of the mutineers came to Pricket--he lying, as he +says, lame in his cabin--and administered the following oath to him:--"You +shall swear truth to God, your prince, and country; you shall do nothing +but to the glory of God, and the good of the action in hand, and harm to +no man." The signification of all this soon appeared, for on Hudson coming +out of the cabin they seized him, and bound his arms behind him. He +demanded what they meant, when he was told that he would find out when he +was in the boat. The boat was hauled alongside, and Hudson, his son, and +seven "sicke and lame men" were hustled into it; a fowling-piece, some +powder and shot, a few pikes, an iron pot, a little meal, and some other +articles, were thrown in at the same time. Only one man, John King, the +carpenter, had the courage to face these fiends in human shape, and +remonstrate with them. He wasted his words and efforts, and, determining +not to abandon his captain, jumped into the boat, and the mutineers cut it +adrift among the ice. We know the horrors that have overtaken strong and +hearty men when obliged to trust to the boats in mid-ocean; in this case, +of ten persons seven at least were helpless and crippled; and sad as is +the fact, we can hardly wonder to find that nothing was ever gleaned +concerning their fate. One shudders to think of their hopeless and +inevitable doom, and that among them was lost one of the bravest and most +intrepid of England's seamen. + +But to this Arctic tragedy there was a sequel. As soon as the boat was out +of sight Pricket says that Greene came to him and told him that he, +Pricket, had been elected captain, and that he should take the master's +cabin, which he pretends that he did with great reluctance. The mutineers +soon began to quarrel about their course, and were for a whole fortnight +shut in the ice, at the end of which time their provisions were all gone. +They had to subsist on cockle-grass, which they found on some neighbouring +islands. They now began to fear that England would be no safe place for +them, and blustering "Henry Greene swore the shippe should not come into +any place but keep the sea still, till he had the king's majesties hand +and seale to shew for his safety." Greene shortly after dispossessed +Pricket, and became captain, a position he did not enjoy long. Going +ashore on an island near Cape Digges to get some more grass and shoot some +gulls, a quarrel ensued with a number of the natives, wherein Greene was +killed, and three others died shortly afterwards from wounds received in +the scuffle. Pricket, after fighting bravely, according to his own +statement, was also severely wounded. The survivors were now in a fearful +plight, and, except some sea-fowl which they managed to procure, were +almost entirely without provisions. They, however, stood out to sea, +shaping their course for Ireland. At length all their supplies were gone, +and they were reduced to eating candles and fried skins and bones. Just +before reaching Galloway Bay one of the chief mutineers died of sheer +starvation. + + [Illustration: IN SMITH'S SOUND.] + +Such are the main points of Pricket's story, and possibly out of +compassion for the sufferings they had undoubtedly endured, no inquiry or +punishment followed their arrival. But a very suspicious circumstance has +to be related: Hudson's journal, instead of terminating at the date, June +21st, on which he was thrust into the boat, finished on August 3rd of the +previous year. Pricket had charge of the master's chest, and there can be +little doubt but that all portions of the journal which might have +implicated them had been destroyed. A subsequent navigator shrewdly +remarks of these transactions: "Well, Pricket, I am in great doubt of thy +fidelity to Master Hudson." Nevertheless, his character seems not to have +suffered in the eyes of the merchant adventurers; for we find him employed +next year in a voyage under Captain (afterwards Sir) Thomas Button, one +object of which seems to have been to follow Hudson's track. They +discovered and wintered in Hudson's River, but found no traces of the +great navigator or his unfortunate companions. James Hall, who in 1612 +left England on a voyage of northern discovery, and was mortally wounded +by the dart of a Greenland Esquimaux, was accompanied by William Baffin, +one of the most scientific navigators of his time. This expedition is +noteworthy for having been the first on record where _longitudes_ were +taken by observation of the heavenly bodies. Baffin accompanied Bylot in +1615 on a voyage to the north-west. After sighting and leaving Greenland, +many enormous icebergs were met, some upwards of two hundred feet out of +the water. Baffin records one two hundred and forty feet high above the +sea, and says that on the usual computation,(25) it must have been "one +thousand sixe hundred and eightie foote from the top to the bottome." A +voyage made by the same navigators in 1616 is principally interesting on +account of the discovery of Sir Thomas Smythe's (now-a-days abbreviated to +"plain" Smith) Sound. About this period also the pursuit of the whale and +walrus was creating great attention from the large profits accruing to the +merchants and companies engaged in it. Baffin accompanied an expedition +sent out by the Muscovy Company, consisting of six ships and a pinnace, +and off Spitzbergen they encountered no less than eight Spanish, four +French, two Dutch, and some Biscayan vessels. Nevertheless, "the English +having taken possession of the whole country in the name of his Majesty, +prohibited all the others from fishing, and sent them away, excepting such +as they were pleased to grant leave to remain." Baffin expected that the +Spanish would, at all events, have objected to this rather high-handed +course, and "fought with us, but they submitted themselves unto the +generall." About this period there was a very large number of more or less +important voyages made, which may be termed of a mixed character. Although +sent out for purely commercial purposes, they were the means of adding +something to our knowledge of geography. Baffin made more than one voyage +after this, accompanying one whaling expedition which consisted of ten +ships and two pinnaces. The results of some of these voyages will be more +particularly mentioned when we come to consider the inhabitants of the +Sea. + +In 1619 Christian IV. of Denmark sent out an expedition to Greenland, and +for northern discovery generally, under the command of Jens Munk, an +experienced seaman. The two vessels employed were mainly manned by English +sailors who had served on previous Arctic voyages. Munk left Elsinore on +May 18th, and a month afterwards made Cape Farewell. He endeavoured to +stand up Davis's Strait, but the ice preventing he retraced his course, +eventually passing through Hudson's Strait, to which, with the northern +part of Hudson's Bay, he attached new names, in apparent ignorance of +previous discoveries. He made the coast of America in latitude 63 deg. 20', +where he was compelled to seek shelter in an opening of the land, which he +named Munk's Winter Harbour. To the surrounding country he gave the name +of New Denmark. The year being advanced--it was now September 7th--huts were +immediately constructed, and his company were at first very successful in +obtaining game--partridges, hares, foxes, and white bears. Several mock +suns were observed, and on December 18th an eclipse of the moon occurred, +during which this luminary was surrounded by a transparent circle, within +which was a cross quartering the moon. This phenomenon was regarded with +alarm, and as a harbinger of the misfortunes which soon followed. The +weather was intensely cold; their wine, beer, and brandy, were frozen, and +the casks burst. The scurvy made its appearance in virulent form, and a +Danish authority states it was mostly occasioned by the too free use of +spirituous liquors. Their bread and provisions became exhausted, and none +of them had strength to hunt or seek other supplies. One by one they +succumbed, till out of sixty-four persons hardly one remained. When Munk, +who, reduced to a skeleton, had remained for some time alone in a little +hut in an utterly hopeless and broken-hearted condition, ventured to crawl +out, he found only two others alive. But the spring had come, and, making +one last effort, they went forth, and removing the snow found some roots +and plants, which they eagerly devoured. They succeeded in obtaining a few +fish, and, later, killed some birds. Their strength returning, they +equipped the smaller vessel as well as they were able, and set sail on an +apparently hopeless voyage, but in spite of storms and other perils +succeeded at length in reaching Norway, where they were received as men +risen from the grave. Munk must have possessed an undaunted spirit, for we +find him almost immediately proposing to make an attempt at the north-west +passage, in spite of all the sufferings he had just undergone. A +subscription was raised, and a vessel prepared. On taking leave of the +court, the king, in admonishing him to be more cautious, appeared to +ascribe the loss of his crew to some mismanagement. Munk replied hotly, +and the king, forgetting his own proper dignity, struck the brave +navigator with a cane. The old sailor left the presence of this unkingly +king, smarting under a sense of outrage which he could not forget; and we +are told that he took to his bed and died of a broken heart very shortly +afterwards. The story, however, is discredited by some authorities. Some +thirty years later Denmark again furnished an expedition, under the +command of Captain Danells, to explore East Greenland. He could rarely +approach the ice-girt coast nearer than eighteen or twenty miles, and +subsequent attempts have been little more successful. + + [Illustration: MOCK SUNS.] + +The establishment of the Hudson's Bay Company, in 1669, appears to have +diverted the spirit of adventure and discovery from the far north, and we +hear of few voyages to the Arctic at this period, and for some time +afterwards, although the discovery of a northern passage to the Pacific is +really included in the objects for which the charter to that Corporation +was granted. + +One attempt at a north-eastern passage in 1676 deserves to be mentioned, +principally on account of the circumstances which brought it about. There +was a considerable amount of rivalry in the East Indian, Chinese, and +Japanese trade at that time, between the Dutch and ourselves, and some +reports had reached England that a company of merchants in Holland was +agitating the subject of a north-eastern passage to the Orient once more. +Further, Mr. Joseph Moxon, a Fellow of the Royal Society, had just +published his "Brief Discourse," wherein he records the following story, +from which he concluded "that there is a free and open sea under the very +pole." "Being about twenty-two years ago in Amsterdam," says he, "I went +into a drinking-house to drink a cup of beer for my thirst, and sitting by +the public fire among several people, there happened a seaman to come in, +who seeing a friend of his there whom he knew went in the Greenland +voyage, wondered to see him, because it was not yet time for the Greenland +fleet to come home, and asked him what accident brought him home so soon; +his friend (who was the steer-man aforesaid in a Greenland ship that +summer) told him that their ship went not out to fish that summer but only +to take in the lading of the whole fleet, and bring it to an early market. +But, said he, before the fleet had caught fish enough to lade us, we, by +order of the Greenland Company, sailed unto the north pole, and came back +again. Whereupon (his relation being novel to me) I entered into discourse +with him, and seemed to question the truth of what he said; but he did +ensure me it was true, and that the ship was then in Amsterdam, and many +of the seamen belonging to her to justify the truth of it; and told me, +moreover, that they had sailed two degrees beyond the Pole." The Hollander +also stated that they had an open sea, free from ice, and that the weather +was warm. Whatever amount of truth there might be in this beerhouse story, +its publication had an influence at the time, and an expedition, partly +provided by the Government and partly by the Duke of York and several +other noblemen and gentlemen, was despatched at the end of May, 1676. The +_Speedwell_ and _Prosperous_, under the command respectively of Captains +Wood and Flawes, were the vessels employed. The first struck on a ledge of +rocks off Nova Zembla, and Wood had scarcely time to get the bread and +carpenter's tools ashore before she went to pieces. Two of the crew were +lost, and the rest safely landed. They had almost concluded to attempt a +boat voyage, similar to that made by the brave Hollanders of Barents' +third expedition, when the _Prosperous_, attracted by a great fire which +they had made on the shore, hove in sight, and took them on board. The two +crews reached England safely, and the voyage, in the words of a +distinguished writer, "seems to have closed the long list of unfortunate +northern expeditions in that century; and the discovery, if not absolutely +despaired of, by being so often missed, ceased for many years to be sought +for." + +Nor did the eighteenth century open much more auspiciously. Mr. Knight, an +old servant of the Hudson's Bay Company, and for a long time governor of +their leading establishment on Nelson's River, had learned from the +Indians that in the extreme north of their territory, and on the banks of +a navigable river, there was a rich mine of native copper. Knight was so +impressed with the value of this information, that, after much trouble, he +induced the Company to send out an expedition for the purpose of +investigating the matter. Knight himself, nearly eighty years of age, had +a general charge of the expedition, the vessels of which were commanded by +Captains Barlow and Vaughan. The expedition left in the spring of 1719, +and never returned; it was not till forty-eight years afterwards that any +information was gleaned concerning the melancholy fate of the whole party. +In the year 1767 some of the Company's men employed in whaling near Marble +Island stood in close to the shore, where in a harbour they discovered the +remains of a house, the hulls of two ships under water, and guns, anchors, +cables, an anvil, and other heavy articles, which had not been removed by +the natives. The following, from a work by Samuel Hearne,(26) sufficiently +indicates the misery to which the party had been reduced, before death +terminated their sufferings. It was obtained through the medium of an +Esquimaux interpreter from the natives. + +When the vessels arrived at Marble Island it was very late in the fall, +and in getting them into the harbour the largest received much damage, but +on being fairly in the English began to build the house; their number at +that time seeming to be about fifty. As soon as the ice permitted in the +following summer (1720), the Esquimaux paid them another visit, by which +time the number of the English was very greatly reduced, and those that +were living seemed very unhealthy. According to the account given by the +Esquimaux, they were then very busily employed, but about what they could +not easily describe, probably in lengthening the long boat, for at a +little distance from the house there was now lying a great quantity of oak +chips, which had been made most assuredly by carpenters. + +A sickness and famine occasioned such havoc among the English that by the +setting in of the second winter their number was reduced to twenty. That +winter (1720) some of the Esquimaux took up their abode on the opposite +side of the harbour to that on which the English had built their houses, +and frequently supplied them with such provisions as they had, which +chiefly consisted of whale's blubber, seal's flesh, and train oil. When +the spring advanced the Esquimaux went to the continent, and on their +visiting Marble Island again, in the summer of 1721, they only found five +of the English alive, and those were in such distress for provisions that +they eagerly ate the seal's flesh and whale's blubber quite raw as they +purchased it from the natives. This disordered them so much that three of +them died in a few days, and the other two, though very weak, made a shift +to bury them. Those two survived many days after the rest, and frequently +went to the top of an adjacent rock and earnestly looked to the south and +east, as if in expectation of some vessels coming to their relief. After +continuing there a considerable time together, and nothing appearing in +sight, they sat down close together and wept bitterly. At length one of +the two died, and the other's strength was so far exhausted that he fell +down and died also in attempting to dig a grave for his companion. + + [Illustration: THE REMNANTS OF KNIGHT'S EXPEDITION.] + +In 1741 Captain Middleton made a northern voyage of little importance, and +on his return was publicly accused by one Mr. Arthur Dobbs, of having +acted in bad faith to the Government, and of having taken a bribe of +L5,000 from the Hudson's Bay Company, his old employers, not to make +discoveries. The captain denied having accepted any bribe, but almost +admitted that he had said no one should be much the wiser if he did make +the north-west passage. The agitation, however, stirred by Dobbs, led to +the passing of an Act of Parliament offering the large sum of L20,000 for +the discovery of a north-western route to the Indies. Two vessels--the +_Dobb's Galley_ and _California_--were equipped by subscription, and left +in the spring of 1746. The expedition wintered near Fort York, but +although absent seventeen months, virtually accomplished nothing. The +result was that the ardour of the public as well as of explorers received +a decided check, and for nearly thirty years we hear of no Arctic voyage +being despatched for purposes of discovery. + + + + + + CHAPTER XVI. + + + Paucity of Arctic Expeditions in the Eighteenth Century--Phipps' + Voyage--Walls of Ice--Ferocious Sea-horses--A Beautiful + Glacier--Cook's Voyage--A Fresh Attempt--Extension of the Government + Rewards--Cape Prince of Wales--Among the Tchuktchis--Icy Cape--Baffled + by the Ice--Russian Voyages--The Two Unconquerable Capes--Peter the + Great--Behring's Voyages--Discovery of the Straits--The Third + Voyage--Scurvy and Shipwreck--Death of the Commander--New Siberia--The + Ivory Islands. + + +The eighteenth century was not remarkable for the number of northern +voyages instigated in England for geographical research. This was partly +due to the many previous failures, but still more to important discoveries +which were being made in other parts of the world, and which for the time +threw Arctic adventure in the shade. The land and river expeditions of +Samuel Hearne and Alexander Mackenzie to the shores or neighbourhood of +the Arctic Ocean do not come within the scope of this work, and strong +doubts have been expressed as to whether either of these explorers really +reached salt water, although both were undoubtedly near it. + +The northern voyage of Captain Constantine John Phipps (afterwards Lord +Mulgrave) deserves some notice, inasmuch as it was a distinct attempt to +reach the North Pole. The Hon. Daines Barrington and others had, prior to +1773, agitated the subject before the Royal Society, and the President and +Council of that learned body had memorialised the Government to fit out an +expedition for the purpose, which His Majesty was pleased to direct should +be immediately undertaken. Two vessels, the _Racehorse_ and the _Carcass_, +were selected, the former having ninety and the second eighty men on +board. The ships left the Nore on June 10th, 1773, and seventeen days +later had reached the latitude of the southern part of Spitzbergen, +without having met ice or experiencing cold. But from the 5th of July +onwards, when off Spitzbergen, they met immense fields, almost "one +compact, impenetrable body," and the most heroic and persevering efforts +failed to penetrate it or find an opening. In Waigatz Strait, where some +of the officers landed on a low, flat island, large fir-trees, roots and +all, and in other cases timber which had been hewn with an axe, were +noticed on the shore. These had, undoubtedly, drifted out from some of the +great rivers of the mainland. While here they wounded a sea-horse, which +immediately dived, and brought up a whole army of others to the rescue. +They attacked the boat, which was nearly upset and stove in, and wrested +an oar from one of the sailors. + + [Illustration: ENCOUNTER WITH SEA-HORSES.] + +On July 30th the weather was exceedingly lovely, and the scene around +them, says Captain Phipps, "beautiful and picturesque; the two ships +becalmed in a large bay, with three apparent openings between the islands +that formed it, but everywhere surrounded with ice as far as we could see, +with some streams of water; not a breath of air; the water perfectly +smooth; the ice covered with snow, low and even, except a few broken +pieces near the edges; the pools of water in the middle of the pieces were +frozen over with young ice." On August 1st the ice began to press in, and +places which had before been flat and almost level with the water were +forced _higher than the main-yards_ of the vessels. The crews were set to +work to try and cut out the ships, and they sawed through ice sometimes as +much as twelve feet thick, but without effecting their escape. Meantime +the ships drifted with the ice into fourteen fathoms, and Captain Phipps, +greatly alarmed, at one time proposed to abandon the ships and betake to +the boats. On August 7th, keeping their launch out and ready for +emergencies, they crowded all sail on the vessels, and three days later, +after incurring much danger, reached the open water, and anchored in Fair +Haven, Spitzbergen. A remarkably grand iceberg,(27) or, more properly, +glacier, was observed here. The face towards the sea was nearly +perpendicular, and about 300 feet high, with a cascade of water issuing +from it. The contrast of the dark mountains and white snow, with the +beautiful green colour of the near ice, made a very pleasing and uncommon +picture. Phipps describes an iceberg which had floated from this glacier +and grounded in twenty-four fathoms (144 feet). It was fifty feet above +the surface of the water. + +Captain Phipps did not pursue his investigations farther, but bore for +England, which he reached late in September. The unfavourable termination +of his voyage did not deter the Government from other efforts. Another +voyage was ordered, and the celebrated navigator, Captain James Cook, +appointed to the command. The object was to attempt once more the +north-west passage, but in a new manner. Hitherto all efforts had been +made from the Atlantic side; on this occasion the plan was reversed, and +the vessels were to enter the Polar seas from the Pacific Ocean. The two +vessels employed, the _Resolution_ and _Discovery_, are now historically +famous from the extensive voyages made in them, in the Pacific more +particularly. The first was commanded by Cook, and the latter by Captain +Clerke. By an Act of Parliament then outstanding a reward of L20,000 was +held out to ships belonging to any of His Majesty's subjects which should +make the passage, but it excluded the vessels of the Royal Navy. This was +now amended to include His Majesty's ships, and a further reward of L5,000 +offered to any vessel which should approach within one degree of the North +Pole. + +The two ships, after making many discoveries in the Pacific, entered +Behring Strait on August 9th, 1779, and anchored near a point of land +which has been subsequently found to be the extreme western point of North +America, and to which Cook gave the name Cape Prince of Wales. Some +elevations, like stages, and others like huts, were seen on this part of +the coast, and they thought also that some people were visible. A little +later Cook stood over to the Asiatic coast, where, entering a large bay, +he found a village of the natives known now-a-days as Tchuktchis. They +were found to be peaceable and civil, and several interchanges of presents +were made. + +In 1865 and 1866 the writer of these pages, when in the service of the +Russian-American Telegraph Expedition, had an opportunity of visiting an +almost identical village in Plover Bay, Eastern Siberia.(28) The bay +itself, sometimes called Port Providence, has generally passed by the +former name since the visit of H.M.S. _Plover_, which laid up there in the +winter of 1848-9, when employed on the search for Sir John Franklin. Bare +cliffs and rugged mountains hem it in on three sides, and a long spit, on +which the native village is situated, shelters it on the ocean (or Behring +Sea) side. The Tchuktchis live in skin tents. _The remains of underground +houses are seen, but the people who used them have passed away._ The +present race makes no use of such houses. Although their skin dwellings +appear outwardly rough, and are patched with every variety of hide--walrus, +seal, and reindeer--with here and there a fragment of a sail obtained from +the whalers, they are in reality constructed over frames built of the +larger bones of whales and walruses, and very admirably put together. In +this most exposed of villages the wintry blasts must be fearful, yet these +people are to be found there at all seasons. Wood they have none,(29) and +blubber lamps are the only means they have for warming their tents. The +frames of some of their skin canoes are also of bone. On either side of +these craft, which are the counterpart of the Greenland canoes it is usual +to find a sealskin blown out tight and the ends secured. These serve as +floats to steady the canoe. They have very strong fishing-nets, made of +thin strips of walrus hide. + + [Illustration: TCHUKTCHI INDIANS BUILDING A HUT.] + +The Tchuktchis are a strongly-built race, although the inhabitants of this +particular village, from intercourse with whaling vessels, have been much +demoralised. One of these natives was seen carrying the awkward burden of +a carpenter's chest weighing two hundred pounds without apparently +considering it a great exertion. They are a good-humoured people, and not +greedier than the average of natives; they are very generally honest. They +were of much service to a large party of men who wintered there in 1866-7, +at the period when it was proposed to cross Behring Straits with a +submarine cable in connection with the land lines then partly under +construction by the Western Union Telegraph Company of America. + +"The children are so tightly sewn up in reindeer-skin clothing that they +look like walking bags, and tumble about with the greatest impunity. All +of these people wear skin coats, pantaloons, and boots, excepting only on +high days in summer, when you may see a few old garments of more civilised +appearance that have seen better days, and have been traded off by the +sailors of vessels calling there. + +"The true Tchuktchi method of smoking is to swallow all the fumes of the +tobacco; and I have seen them after six or eight pulls at a pipe fall +back, completely intoxicated for the time being. Their pipes are +infinitely larger in the stem than in the bowl; the latter, indeed, holds +an infinitesimally small amount of tobacco. + +"It is said that the Tchuktchis murder the old and feeble, but only with +the victim's consent! They do not appear to indulge in any unnecessary +cruelty, but endeavour to stupify the aged sacrifice before letting a +vein. This is said to be done by putting some substance up the nostrils; +but the whole statement must be received with caution, although we derived +it from a shrewd native who had been much employed by the captains of +vessels in the capacity of interpreter, and who could speak in broken +English. + +"This native, by name 'Nau-Kum,' was of service on various occasions, and +was accordingly much petted by us. Some of his remarks are worthy of +record. On being taken down into the engine-room of the steamer _Wright_, +he examined it carefully, and then shaking his head, said solemnly, '_Too_ +muchee wheel, makee man too muchee think!' His curiosity when on board was +unappeasable. 'What's that fellow?' was his constant query with regard to +anything, from the 'donkey-engine' to the mainmast. On one occasion he +heard two men discussing rather warmly, and could not at all understand +such unnecessary excitement. 'That fellow crazy?' said he. Colonel Bulkley +(engineer-in-chief of the telegraph enterprise) gave him a suit of clothes +with gorgeous brass buttons, and many other presents. The whalers use such +men on occasions as pilots, traders, and interpreters, and to Naukum in +particular I know as much as five barrels of villanous whiskey have been +entrusted, for which he accounted satisfactorily. The truth-loving +Chippewa, when asked, 'Are you a Christian Indian?' promptly replied, 'No, +I whishkey Injen!' and the truthful Tchuktchi would say the same. They all +appear to be intensely fond of spirits. The traders sell them liquors of +the most horrible kind, not much superior to the 'coal oil' or 'kerosene' +used for lamps." So much for natives, who, in Captain Cook's time, were +doubtless much more innocent and unsophisticated. + +To resume our narrative: Cook again crossed to the northern American +coast, and on August 17th reached a point encumbered with ice, which +formed an impenetrable field. To this point he gave the name Icy Cape, and +it was the furthest east he was able to proceed. While he made every +effort to fulfil the object of his mission he was baffled at every point, +and on August 30th he turned the vessels' bows southward. After many +explorations of both the Asiatic and American coasts, it will be +remembered that he lost his life at the Sandwich Islands. He was succeeded +by Captain Clerke, who in 1779 again attempted to make the passage, but +with even less success than had been attained by Captain Cook. + +In order that the various sections of this subject should not become +confused or involved, mention of many Russian voyages, which had for their +aim the exploration of the coasts of Northern Asia, and among which were +several direct attempts at making the north-east passage, has been +purposely omitted till now. As early as 1648 Deshneff undoubtedly made a +voyage from the mouth of the Kolyma round the extreme eastern point of +Asia, and through Behring Straits to the Anadyr. In very early times the +Russians used to creep along the coast at the other end of the continent, +from Archangel to the Obi, and in the eighteenth century, in particular, +many efforts were made to extend the explorations eastward. In brief, +several explorers, Lieutenants Maravief, Malgyn, and Shurakoff, between +the years 1734 and 1738, sailed from Archangel to the Obi, doubling the +promontory; Lieutenant Koskelof made a successful voyage from the Obi to +the Yenesei in 1738; and in 1735 Lieutenant Pronchishchef, who was +accompanied by his wife, got very close to Cape Chelyuskin (or North-east +Cape) on its eastern side, his vessel being frozen in near that point. +Both himself and his wife died there. In 1742 Lieutenant Chelyuskin +reached the northernmost cape, which bears his name, by a sledge journey. +The North East Cape (Cape Chelyuskin) and the neighbouring Cape Taimyr(30) +had never been rounded, till Professor Nordenskjoeld only the other day +succeeded in passing both, thus making the long-sought north-east passage. +From the Lena eastward to the Kolyma voyages have often been made, and, as +we have seen, Deshneff had completed the circuit of the coast from the +Kolyma eastward at a very early period. The records of this voyage were +entirely overlooked for a century, when they were unearthed at Yakutsk, in +Siberia, by Mueller, the historian of the voyages about to be narrated. + +Inseparably connected with the history of Arctic voyages are those of +Vitus Behring, an explorer who deserves to rank among the greatest of his +century, although his several adventurous attempts are comparatively +little known. Behring was a Dane who had been attracted into the Russian +service by the fame of Peter the Great, and his expeditions had been +directly planned by that enterprising and sagacious monarch. The emperor, +however, did not live to see them consummated. Their main objects were to +determine whether Asia and America did or did not join at some northern +point and form one continent; and if detached, how nearly the coasts +approached each other. "The Empress Catherine," says Mueller, the historian +of Behring's life, "as she endeavoured in all points to execute most +precisely the plans of her deceased husband, in a manner began her reign +with an order for the expedition to Kamtschatka." Behring was appointed +commander, having associated with him Lieutenants Spanberg and +Tschirikoff. They took their final orders on February 5th, 1725, and +proceeded overland through Siberia to the Ochotsk Sea. It certainly gives +some idea of the difficult nature of the trip in those days when we find +that it occupied them _two years_ to transport their stores and outfit to +Ochotsk. A vessel was specially constructed, in which they crossed to +Bolcheretsk, in Kamchatka,(31) and the following winter their provisions +and naval stores were transported to Nishni (new) Kamchatka, a small town, +or rather village, which is still one of the few settlements in that great +peninsula. "On the 4th of April, 1728," says Mueller, "a boat was put upon +the stocks, like the packet-boats used in the Baltick, and on the 10th of +July was launched, and named the boat _Gabriel_." On the 20th of the same +month Behring left the river, and following the east coasts of Kamchatka +and Siberia, reached as far north as 67 deg. 18' in the straits which now bear +his name. Here, finding the land trend to the west, he came to the +conclusion that he had reached the extreme point of Asia, and that the +continent of America, although contiguous, did not join it. Of course we +know that in the latter and main point he was right. He discovered St. +Laurence Island, and in the autumn returned successfully to the town from +which he had sailed. In a second voyage contrary winds baffled all his +efforts to reach and examine the coasts of America, and eventually he +doubled the southern point of Kamchatka, and returned via the Siberian +overland route to St. Petersburg. + +It is to the third voyage of Behring that the greatest interest attaches. +His first attempt had been successful in its main object, and both the +leader and his officers were fired with an ambition to distinguish +themselves in further explorations. Mueller says:--"The design of the first +voyage was not brought on the carpet again upon this occasion, since it +was looked upon as completed; but instead of that, orders were given to +make voyages, as well eastward to the continent of America as southward to +Japan, and to discover, if possible, at the same time, _through the frozen +sea the north passage_ (the italics are ours--ED.), which had been so +frequently attempted by the English and Dutch. The Senate, the Admiralty +Office, and the Academy of Sciences, all took their parts to complete this +important undertaking." Behring and his faithful lieutenants were +promoted, and a number of naval officers were ordered to join the +expedition. Several scientific professors, John George Gmelin, Lewis de +Lisle de la Croyere, S. Mueller, and one Steller, a student, volunteered to +accompany Behring. Two of these latter never went to sea--a probably +fortunate circumstance for themselves, as the sequel will show--but +confined themselves to land researches in Siberia. + +After long and tedious journeyings, and great trouble in transporting +their stores across the dreary wilds of Siberia, they at length reached +Petropaulovski, Kamchatka, and having constructed vessels, left that port +on July 4th, 1741, on their eventful voyage. Early in its history the +ships became separated during the continuance of a terrible gale. Behring +discovered many of the Aleutian and other islands nearer the American +coast. The scurvy making its appearance, this brave commander endeavoured +to return to Kamchatka. The sickness increased, and they became so +exhausted that "two sailors who used to be at the rudder were obliged to +be led in by two others who could hardly walk. And when one could sit and +steer no longer, another, in little better condition, supplied his place. +Many sails they durst not hoist, because there was nobody to lower them in +case of need." At last land appeared, and they endeavoured to sail towards +it; getting near it, the anchor was dropped. A violent gale arose, and the +vessel was driven on the rocks, which she touched; they cast a second +anchor, but its cable was snapped before it took ground. Their little +barque was thrown bodily over the rocks by a sea which threatened to +overwhelm them, but, fortunately, inside the reef the water was calmer, +and the crew, having rested, managed to launch their boat, and some of +them reached the shore. There was scarcely any drift-wood on the beach, +and no trees on the island; hence they determined to roof over some small +ravines or gullies near the beach. On the "8th of November a beginning was +made to land the sick, but some died as soon as they were brought from +between-decks in the open air, others during the time they were on the +deck, some in the boat, and many more as soon as they were brought on +shore." The following day the commander, Behring--himself terribly +prostrated with scurvy--was brought ashore on a hand-barrow, and a month +later died on the island which is now known by his name. "He may be said +to have been buried half alive, for the sand rolling down continually from +the side of the ditch in which he lay, and covering his feet, he at last +would not suffer it to be removed, and said that he felt some warmth from +it, which otherwise he should want in the remaining parts of his body; and +thus the sand increased to his belly, so that after his decease they were +obliged to scrape him out of the ground in order to inter him in a proper +manner." Poor Behring! It was a melancholy end for an explorer so great. + +Their vessel, lying unprotected, became an utter wreck, and the larger +part of their stores and provisions was lost. They subsisted for a +considerable time on dead whales which had been driven ashore. At last, in +the spring they resolved to construct a small vessel from the wreck, which +was at length completed, and they left the dreary scene of their +sufferings. Never were shipwrecked mariners more rejoiced than when once +more they sighted and reached the coast of Kamchatka. Behring's companion, +Tschirikoff, had preceded them the previous autumn, having lost twenty-one +men by scurvy; and the Professor de la Croyere, who had lingered till the +last moment, died in sight of Petropaulovski. + +In 1770 a Russian merchant, named Liakhof, crossed on the ice from the +mainland to the islands in the Polar Ocean which now bear his name, +although sometimes called New Siberia. Immense quantities of mammoth bones +were discovered, and he obtained from the Empress Catherine the exclusive +right of digging for them. As late as the year 1821 as much as nine to ten +tons per annum of this fossil ivory were being obtained from this source. +Hedenstroem, in 1809, and Anjou, in 1821, examined these islands in detail. +The latter travelled out on the ice to a considerable distance north of +the islands, and found _open water_. + + + + + + CHAPTER XVII. + + + THE EXPEDITIONS OF ROSS AND PARRY. + + + Remarkable Change in the Greenland Ice-fields--Immense Icebergs + found out of their Latitude--Ross the First's + Expedition--Festivities among the Danes--Interviews with + Esquimaux--Crimson Snow--A Mythical Discovery--The Croker + Mountains--Buchan's Expedition--Bursting of Icebergs--Effects of + Concussion--The Creation of an Iceberg--Spitzbergen in + Summer--Animated Nature--Millions of Birds--Refuge in an + Ice-pack--Parry and his Exploits--His Noble Character--First Arctic + Voyage--Sails over the Croker Mountains. + + +The long series of interesting voyages which have been made to the Arctic +regions during the present century were commenced in 1818, after a +considerable period of inaction and apathy had existed in regard to +northern exploration. The renewal of these attempts was not brought about +by accident or caprice, but was due to a great change, which had been +noted by many whalers and navigators. Sir John Barrow, one of the most +consistent and persistent advocates of Arctic exploration, as well as one +of the most intelligent writers of his day, says: "The event alluded to +was the disappearance of the whole, or greater part, of the vast barrier +of ice which for a long period of time--perhaps for centuries--was supposed +to have maintained its firm-rooted position on the eastern coast of Old +Greenland, and its reappearance in a more southerly latitude, where it was +met with, as was attested by various persons worthy of credit, in the +years 1815, 1816, and 1817, by ships coming from the East Indies and +America, by others going to Halifax and Newfoundland, and in different +parts of the Atlantic, as far down as the 40th parallel of latitude." +Large islands of ice had impeded some voyagers for days together; icebergs +miles in extent, and from one to two hundred feet high, had been reported. +A vessel had been beset for eleven days on the coast of Labrador in floes +of ice mixed with icebergs, many of which had huge rocks, gravel, soil, +and wood upon them. In short, there was so much testimony from various +sources to the vast break-up which had occurred that it created a great +deal of attention among scientific men and navigators. + +It was perfectly understood whence the larger part of this ice must be +derived. Scoresby the younger, in a letter to Sir Joseph Banks, recorded +the fact that some 18,000 square miles of the surface of the Greenland +seas included between the parallels of 74 deg. and 80 deg. were known to be void +of ice, and that this immense change had been effected within two years. +Intelligence received at Copenhagen in 1816 from Iceland indicated that +the ice had broken loose from the opposite coast of Greenland, and floated +away to the southward, after surrounding the shores of Iceland and filling +all the creeks and bays of that island. This was repeated in 1817. + + [Illustration: SIR JOHN ROSS.] + +The public notice taken of the above facts led to two expeditions being +ordered, the first of which, under Commander (afterwards Sir) John Ross, +was remarkable for the number of officers who accompanied it, and who, +later, acquired distinction in the Arctic explorations of this century. +Parry, J. C. Ross (the commander's nephew), Sabine (long President of the +Royal Society, and a most distinguished _savan_), then a captain of the +Royal Artillery, Hoppner, and others, were among the number. The ships +employed were the _Isabella_ and _Alexander_, and the commander's +instructions were to attempt the north-west passage by the western route. + +On the 1st of June, 1818, they had reached the eastern side of Davis's +Strait, but detained by ice, and it was not till the 3rd of the following +month that they arrived at the Women's Islands. The delay did not prevent +them from having some pleasant intercourse with the Danes and Esquimaux of +the Greenland settlements. Extempore balls were organised, where their +interpreter, Jack Sackhouse (or Saccheous), was of great value. Jack +combined in his person the somewhat discordant qualifications of seaman, +interpreter, draughtsman, and master of ceremonies, with those of a fisher +of seals and a successful hunter of white bears. + +A favourable breeze sprang up, and Ross was anxious to leave, as the ice +began to separate. Jack had gone ashore, and when a boat was sent for him +he was found in one of the huts with his collar-bone broken, from having +greatly overloaded and discharged his gun. His idea was, as he expressed +it, "Plenty powder, plenty kill!" Proceeding northward, and passing many +whalers, he examined and named Melville Bay. On August 10th, the ships +being at anchor near shore, eight sledges of Esquimaux were observed, and +Saccheous was despatched with a flag and some presents in order to parley +with them, they being on one side of a field of ice, in which was a canal +or chasm. After much shouting and gesticulating, Saccheous held out his +presents, and called to them in their own language to approach. The reply +was "No, no; go away!" and one man said, "Go away; I can kill you!" +holding up a knife. The interpreter, however, threw them an English knife, +which they accepted, and _pulled their noses_, which Ross represents to +mean a sign of friendship. They soon became more familiar, and pointing to +the ships, asked, "What great creatures these are. Do they come from the +sun or the moon? Do they give us light by day or by night?" To which +Saccheous replied, "They are houses made of wood." The natives would not +believe this, answering, "No, they are alive; we have seen them move their +wings." Ross entitles these natives the "Arctic Highlanders." There is a +good deal of rather doubtful matter in the narrative of Ross, and it is +certainly more than likely that these people had often seen whale-ships. + + [Illustration: FISKERNAES, SOUTH GREENLAND.] + +Not far from Cape Dudley Digges Ross observed some of the cliffs covered +with the _crimson_ snow often mentioned in other Arctic narratives, and +indeed noted by Saussure in the Alps. "This snow," he says, "was +penetrated even down to the rock, in many places to a depth of ten or +twelve feet, by colouring matter." Some of this having been bottled, was +analysed on their return by Mr. Brande, the celebrated chemist, who, +detecting uric acid, pronounced it to be no other than the excrement of +birds. Other authorities considered it to be of vegetable origin, judging +it to be probably the drainage from some particular kind of moss, the +roots of which are of that colour. + +The results of this voyage were not extensive. Ross only reached Sir James +Lancaster's Sound, where an imaginary discovery of his has since given +rise to much ridicule. He fancied that he saw at the bottom of a bay an +extensive range of mountains, the which he somewhat unfortunately named +after Mr. Croker, the then Secretary of the Admiralty. The site of the +Croker Mountains was a year afterwards sailed over by Parry! It is certain +that either clouds, mirage, or some other phenomenon of nature, had misled +him. A very similar fact was noted by Captain Nares in his expedition. + +The second of the two expeditions was that performed under the command of +Captain David Buchan, who had associated with him a number of officers, +including John Franklin, Frederick Beechey, and George Back, who +afterwards distinguished themselves in various branches of the Arctic +service. Buchan himself was a first-rate navigator, particularly well +acquainted with the dangers of the northern seas, more especially on the +Newfoundland station. He had also made a remarkable journey across the ice +and snow of that island in order to communicate with the natives, and was +the first European who had so done. Subsequent to the expedition about to +be recorded, he lost his life on the _Upton Castle_, a vessel making the +voyage from India, and the exact fate of which was never known. + + [Illustration: THE "DOROTHEA" AND THE "TRENT" IN THE ICE.] + +The two vessels employed on this service were the _Dorothea_ and the +_Trent_. The instructions directed Buchan to proceed to the northward, +between Spitzbergen and Greenland, without delay on the way, and use his +best endeavours to reach the North Pole or its neighbourhood. On May 24th +the expedition had reached Cherie Island, on the coasts of which the +walruses were so numerous that at about that period as many as 900 or +1,000 had been captured by the crew of a single vessel in seven hours' +time. Many interesting traits of walrus character--if the expression may be +used--were observed on this expedition. "We were greatly amused," says +Captain Beechey, the historian of the voyage, "by the singular and +affectionate conduct of a walrus towards its young. In the vast sheet of +ice that surrounded the ships there were occasionally many pools, and when +the weather was clear and warm, animals of various kinds would frequently +rise and sport about in them, or crawl from thence upon the ice to bask in +the warmth of the sun. A walrus rose in one of these pools close to the +ship, and finding everything quiet, dived down and brought up its young, +which it held by its breast by pressing it with its flipper. In this +manner it moved about the pool, keeping in an erect posture, and always +directing the face of the young towards the vessel. On the slightest +movement on board the mother released her flipper and pushed the young one +under water, but when everything was again quiet, brought it up as before, +and for a length of time continued to play about in the pool, to the great +amusement of the seamen, who gave her credit for abilities in tuition +which, though possessed of considerable sagacity, she hardly merited." + + [Illustration: MAGDALEN BAY, SPITZBERGEN.] + +On May 28th, the weather being severe, with heavy fogs, the ships +separated, to rejoin at Magdalena Bay, Spitzbergen, a few days later. The +harbour was full of ice in a rapidly decaying state. This bay is +remarkable for four glaciers, the smallest of which, called the Hanging +Iceberg, is 200 feet above the sea-level at its termination. The largest +extends several miles inland, and, owing to the immense rents in its +surface, was called the Waggon Way. In the vicinity of the icebergs, which +had become detached from these glaciers, the observance of strict silence +was necessary, and the concussion produced by the discharge of a gun (not +its "explosion," as Sir John Barrow says) would often detach large masses. +Beechey notes the effects of such a discharge: A musket had been fired at +half a mile distance, which not merely brought down an immense piece of +ice, but which was the cause of a ship's launch being carried ninety-six +feet by the wave produced, filled with water, and landed on a beach, where +it was badly stove, the men barely escaping with their lives. They also +had the rare opportunity of noting the creation of an iceberg. An immense +piece of the front of a glacier was observed sliding down from the height +of at least 200 feet into the sea, dispersing the water in every +direction. This discharge was accompanied by a loud grinding noise, and +the ice was followed by quantities of water, which, being previously +lodged in the fissures, now made its escape in numberless small cataracts +from the face of the glacier. Some idea may be formed of the disturbance +caused by its plunge and the rollers which agitated the bay when we learn +that the _Dorothea_, then careening on her side at a distance of _four +miles_, righted herself. This mass dived wholly under water, and then +reappeared, rearing its head a hundred feet high, accompanied by the +boiling of the sea and clouds of spray. Its circumference was found to be +nearly a quarter of a mile, while its weight was computed at over 400,000 +tons. + +In summer the coasts of Spitzbergen were found perfectly alive with +animated nature. The shores reverberated with the cries of the little +auks, cormorants, divers, and gulls. Walruses were basking in the sun, +mingling their roar with the bark of the seal. Beechey describes an +uninterrupted line of little auks flying in the air three miles in length, +and so close together that thirty fell at one shot. He estimated their +number at 4,000,000, allowing sixteen to a cubic yard. This number appears +very large; yet Audubon, in describing the passenger-pigeons on the banks +of the Ohio, speaks of one single flock of 1,115,000,000. Audubon's +character for veracity is too unquestioned for us to inquire how he made +the calculation. + +The surrounding islands were thick with reindeer, Vogel Sang, in +particular, yielding the expedition forty carcases. The king eider-ducks +were found in such numbers that it was impossible almost to walk without +treading on their nests, which they defended with determined resolution; +but, in fact, all nature was alive at this time, and birds of many kinds, +foxes, and bears, were everywhere found on the shore and on the ice, while +amphibious animals, from whales downwards, abounded in the water. + +On the 7th of June the ships left Magdalena Bay, and were greatly hampered +in the ice. Indeed, they learned from several whale-ships that the ice to +the westward was very thick, and that fifteen vessels were beset in it. +Proceeding northward themselves, they became entangled in a floe of ice, +where they had to remain thirteen days, after which the field broke up, +and they got into an open sea. Several attempts were made to prosecute +their voyage in a northerly direction, but without success; and Captain +Buchan, being satisfied that he had given the ice a fair trial in the +vicinity of Spitzbergen, resolved on bearing for the coast of Greenland. +Having arrived at the edge of the pack, a gale came on so suddenly that +they were at once reduced to storm staysails. The vessels were reduced to +take refuge among the ice, a proceeding often rendered necessary in those +latitudes, though extremely dangerous. The _Trent_, following the +_Dorothea_, dashed into the unbroken line of furious breakers, in which +immense masses of ice were crashing, heaving, and subsiding with the +waves. The noise was so great that the officers could scarcely be heard by +the crew. "If ever the fortitude of seamen was fairly tried it was +assuredly not less so on this occasion; and I would not," says Beechey, +"conceal the pride I felt in witnessing the bold and decisive tone in +which the orders were issued by the commander of our little vessel +(Franklin), and the promptitude and steadiness with which they were +executed by the crew. Each person instinctively secured his own hold, and, +with his eyes fixed upon the masts, awaited in breathless anxiety the +moment of the concussion. It soon arrived; the brig, cutting her way +through the light ice, came in violent contact with the main body. In an +instant we all lost our footing, the masts bent with the impetus, and the +cracking timbers from below bespoke a pressure which was calculated to +awaken our serious apprehensions." So great was the motion of the vessel +that the ship's bells tolled continually, and they were ordered to be +muffled; the heaviest gale of wind had never before made them strike. +After many dangers from the ice the pack broke up sufficiently to release +the ships, both of which were greatly disabled, while the _Dorothea_ was +in a foundering condition. They proceeded as well as they could to Fair +Haven, Spitzbergen, where the damages were in some sort repaired, and they +sailed for home. + +The character of Sir William Edward Parry, who carried the Union Jack +nearer the Pole than any explorer prior to Markham and Parr, was truly +admirable, while his services to his country were as brilliant as they +were numerous. In every way he was an honour to the British navy, such a +union of lofty heroism, consummate nautical skill, and calm daring, is +almost without parallel. The amiability and benevolence of his manners +endeared him to all ranks of the service, and made him the idol of his +men, whom he never failed to encourage by all the means in his power. His +name, though written in snow and ice, is imperishable, for his heart was +in his work, and he always believed in its future success. In the four +voyages made under his command to the Arctic seas he was most careful of +the health and comfort of his followers, and lost fewer hands than any +other commander in these parts; and when we remember the kind of vessels +he sometimes sailed in (the _Griper_, in particular, being about as +unseaworthy a ship as could well be sent out of dock), we can only wonder +at his patience under difficulties and the persevering energy which kept +him "pegging away." + +The son of a celebrated physician, Dr. Caleb Hillier Parry, he was born at +Bath on the 19th of December, 1760, and was intended originally for his +father's profession; but circumstances having occurred to alter his +determination, he was appointed to the _Ville de Paris_, the flagship of +Admiral Cornwallis's Channel Fleet, as a volunteer of the first class. +Here he remained for three years, during which period he was engaged in an +action off Brest Harbour. Fortunate in making his first essay of a +seaman's life under officers who were desirous of winning the esteem and +affection of those beneath them, he soon became a favourite, and the +admiral, on his leaving the ship, thus records his opinion of him:--"Parry +is a fine, steady lad. I never knew any one so generally approved of. He +will receive civility and kindness from all while he continues to conduct +himself as he has done, which, I dare believe, will be as long as he +lives." He was afterwards appointed to the _Tribune_ frigate and to the +_Vanguard_, and was frequently engaged with the Danish gun-boats in the +Baltic. + +In 1810 he gained his epaulet, and joined the _Alexandria_ frigate, in +which, after serving in the Baltic, he made his first acquaintance with +polar ice between North Cape and Bear Island; and he subsequently joined +the _La Hogue_ at Halifax. In 1814 he commanded a boat in a successful +expedition up the Connecticut river, for which service he received a +medal. Three years later he was recalled to England in consequence of the +severe illness of his father, who had been seized with a paralytic stroke. +His father's illness and his own despair of promotion made this the +gloomiest period of our young hero's life. But dark is the hour before the +dawn, and an incident occurred which threw a gleam of hope upon his +professional prospects, and proved the forerunner to his future success. +At the close of 1817 he wrote to a friend on the subject of an expedition +that was about starting to explore the River Congo. The letter was +written, but not posted, when his eye fell on a paragraph in the newspaper +relative to an expedition about to be fitted out to the northern regions. +He seized the pen, and added, by way of postscript, that, as far as he was +concerned, "hot or cold it was all one to him, Africa or the Pole." This +letter was shown to Mr. Barrow, the then Secretary of the Admiralty, and +in a few days he was appointed to the command of the _Alexander_, +discovery ship, under the orders of Commander John Ross, as recorded in +the first voyage of the present series. + + [Illustration: THE NORTH CAPE.] + +In 1819-20 Parry made a second voyage to the Arctic, this being the first, +however, in which he had the chief command. The _Hecla_ and the _Griper_ +were the vessels employed, and the expedition left the river on May 11th, +reaching Davis's Strait at the end of June, where icebergs of large size +and in great numbers were encountered. Fifty or sixty _per diem_ was not +an unusual allowance, and Parry counted eighty-eight large ones from the +crow's nest on one occasion, besides a profusion of smaller ones. Some +most important explorations in Sir James Lancaster's Sound were made, and +the land which Ross had supposed extended across the bottom of this inlet +was found to be open water. The expedition sailed across the site of the +Croker Mountains, as has been before mentioned. Barrow's Strait, +Wellington Channel, Melville Island, and many others, were first +discovered and named on this voyage. + + + + + + CHAPTER XVIII. + + + PARRY'S EXPEDITIONS (_continued_). + + + Five Thousand Pounds earned by Parry's Expedition--Winter + Quarters--Theatre--An Arctic Newspaper--Effects of Intense Cold--The + Observatory Burned down--Return to England--Parry's Second + Expedition--"Young" Ice--Winter at Lyon's Inlet--A Snow Village in + Winter and Spring--Break-up of the Ice--The Vessels in a Terrible + Position--Third Winter Quarters--Parry's Fourth Winter--The _Fury_ + Abandoned--The Old _Griper_ and her Noble Crew. + + +A very important event--at least, so far as concerned the members of +Parry's expedition--was that which occurred on September 4th, 1819. On that +day the commander had the satisfaction of announcing to officers and crew +that they had crossed the meridian of 110 W. from Greenwich, by which they +had become entitled to the reward of L5,000 offered by the Government to +"such of His Majesty's subjects as might succeed in penetrating thus far +to the westward within the Arctic circle." To a bluff headland near this +point the appropriate name of Cape Bounty was given. After many perils in +the ice, a secure harbour was selected for their winter quarters at +Melville Island, but before they could enter it a canal, two and one-third +miles, had to be cut through the ice. This feat was performed in three +days by the united efforts of "all hands" from both vessels; and as they +would probably have to remain eight or nine months in that spot, Parry +began the arrangements for promoting the comfort and health of his crews, +the wisdom of which has often since been admitted and imitated by others, +but which were not very commonly understood then. Parry, however, has +hardly had a superior in these matters since. The vessels were well housed +in, and all that was possible done for warming and ventilating the decks +and cabins. An anti-scorbutic beer was brewed, and issued in lieu of +spirits. Some difficulty was experienced in the very cold weather in +making it ferment sufficiently to become palatable. A theatre was +organised on board the _Hecla_, in the arrangements for which Parry took a +part himself, "considering," says he, "that an example of cheerfulness, by +giving a direct countenance to everything that could contribute to it, was +not the least essential part of my duty, under the peculiar circumstances +in which we were placed." A little weekly newspaper, _The North Georgia +Gazette and Winter Chronicle_, edited by the since illustrious Sabine, was +organised, and helped to employ many contributors, and divert their minds +"from the gloomy prospect which would sometimes obtrude itself on the +stoutest heart." For this desolate spot was destined, as it proved, to be +their home for nearly ten months. The animals had nearly all left; seals +were not found in the neighbourhood; even gulls and ducks avoided Melville +Island, where the only vegetation consisted of stunted grasses and +lichens. The cold was intense, and such experiences as the following did +not offer much inducement for prolonged trips from the vessels. + +One John Pearson, a marine, had imprudently gone out without his mittens, +to attempt hunting, and with a musket in his hands. A party from the ships +found him, although the night was very dark, just as he had fallen down a +bank of snow, and was beginning to feel that degree of torpor and +drowsiness which, if indulged, inevitably proves fatal. "When he was +brought on board," says Parry, "his fingers were quite stiff, and bent +into the shape of that part of the musket which he had been carrying; and +the frost had so far destroyed the animation in his fingers on one hand +that it was necessary to amputate three of them a short time after, +notwithstanding all the care and attention paid to him by the medical +gentlemen. The effect which exposure to severe frost has in benumbing the +mental as well as the corporeal faculties was very striking in this man, +as well as in two of the young gentlemen who returned after dark, and of +whom we were anxious to make inquiries respecting Pearson. When I sent for +them into my cabin, they looked wild, spoke thick and indistinctly, and it +was impossible to draw from them a rational answer to any of our +questions. After being on board for a short time the mental faculties +appeared gradually to return with the returning circulation; and it was +not till then that a looker-on could easily persuade himself that they had +not been drinking too freely." At other times excursions were made when +the thermometer was 40 deg. or 50 deg. below zero without special inconvenience. +The fact is that one's safety or danger much depends on the absence or +prevalence of wind. Even the natives of extreme latitudes have been frozen +to death during its prevalence. On February 24th, 1820, a fire broke out +in their house ashore, and in their anxiety to save the valuable +instruments it contained, sixteen men incurred frost-bite, the thermometer +on that day being from -43 deg. to -44 deg. (76 deg. below freezing). One man, by +incautiously leaving his gloves off, had afterwards to suffer the +amputation of most of his fingers. When he arrived on board his hands were +plunged in cold water, the surface of which was immediately covered with a +skin of ice by the cold suddenly communicated! "The appearance," says +Parry, "which our faces presented at the fire was a curious one, almost +every nose and cheek having become quite white with frost-bites in five +minutes after being exposed to the weather; so that it was deemed +necessary for the medical gentlemen, together with some others appointed +to assist them, to go constantly round while the men were working at the +fire, and to rub with snow the parts affected, in order to restore +animation." + +On the 16th day of February the greatest degree of cold was experienced, +the thermometer having descended to -55 deg., and remained for fifteen hours +at -54 deg.; the less to have been expected as the old year had closed with +mild weather. On the following day, Parry says, "notwithstanding the low +temperature of the external atmosphere, the officers contrived to act, as +usual, the play announced for this evening; but it must be confessed that +it was almost too cold for either the actors or the audience to enjoy it, +especially those of the former who undertook to appear in female dresses." +As early as March the snow commenced to melt, according to Parry's +statement. This, however, could only possibly mean under the rays of the +midday sun, as, at the same time, we are told that the thermometer stood +at -22 deg. to -25 deg. in the shade (the latter 57 deg. below the freezing point of +water). In May the ships were again afloat, the men having cut the ice +around them. But the sea, as far as the eye could reach, was still "one +unbroken and continuous surface of solid and impenetrable ice," not less +than six or seven feet in thickness. It was not till the very last day of +July that the ice broke up, and on August 1st the ships stood out to sea. +Many a "nip" and "heavy rub," as Parry describes it, did the ships sustain +after this; but in spite of perils from the ice, which would become +monotonous in the telling, the expedition reached England safely in the +latter part of October; and, in spite of all casualties, but one man out +of ninety-four had died during their eighteen months' absence--a fact which +certainly speaks volumes for Parry's unremitting care and attention to the +health of his crews. + + [Illustration: ESQUIMAUX OF WEST GREENLAND.] + +In 1821-3 we again find the indefatigable Parry in the field, this, the +second voyage under his direct command, being undertaken for the discovery +of a north-west passage. The vessels employed were the _Fury_ and the +_Hecla_, and the expedition left the Nore on May 8th, 1821. Most of the +experiences recorded in his work were similar to those already mentioned; +and only a few general facts and extracts from his journal are therefore +presented. Two winters were passed by him among the frozen realms on this +voyage, and several geographical examinations of importance made. The +Frozen Strait, Repulse Bay, and many islands of the same neighbourhood, +were carefully explored. Parry, in his journal of October 8th, gives the +following interesting description of the formation of "young" ice upon the +surface of the sea, and the obstacle which it forms to navigation. + +"The formation of young ice upon the surface of the water is the +circumstance which most decidedly begins to put a stop to the navigation +of these seas, and warns the seaman that his season of active operations +is nearly at an end. It is indeed scarcely possible to conceive the degree +of hindrance occasioned by this impediment, trifling as it always appears +before it is encountered. When the sheet has acquired the thickness of +about half an inch, and is of considerable extent, a ship is liable to be +stopped by it, unless favoured by a strong and free wind; and even when +retaining her way through the water at the rate of a mile an hour her +course is not always under the control of the helmsman, though assisted by +the nicest attention to the action of the sails; but it depends upon some +accidental increase or decrease in the thickness of the sheet of ice with +which one bow or the other comes in contact. Nor is it possible in this +situation for the boats to render their usual assistance by running out +lines or otherwise; for having once entered the young ice, they can only +be propelled slowly through it by digging the oars and boat-hooks into it, +at the same time breaking it across the bows, and by rolling the boat from +side to side. After continuing this laborious work for some time with +little good effect, and considerable damage to the planks and oars, a boat +is often obliged to return the same way that she came, backing out in the +canal thus formed to no purpose. A ship in this helpless state, her sails +in vain expanded to a favourable breeze, her ordinary resources failing, +and suddenly arrested in her course upon the element through which she has +been accustomed to move without restraint, has often reminded me of +Gulliver tied down by the feeble hands of Lilliputians; nor are the +struggles she makes to effect a release, and the apparent insignificance +of the means by which her efforts are opposed the least just or the least +vexatious part of the resemblance." + + [Illustration: AN ESQUIMAUX SNOW VILLAGE.] + +It was now again time to fix upon winter quarters, and in an extensive +opening of the American mainland, which they named Lyon's Inlet, a +suitable harbour was selected. The arrangements for the comfort and +employment of the crews were much as before. The Sabbath was carefully +observed, schools and harmless amusements provided, while the interests of +science were not neglected. An observatory and house were erected for +magnetic and astronomical observations. On February 1st a number of +Esquimaux arrived, who had erected a temporary village some two miles from +the ships. They, unlike some before seen in the vicinity of Hudson's +Strait, who had become debased and demoralised by their constant +intercourse with whaling vessels, were of the unsophisticated order, and +were quiet, peaceable, and, strange to say, reasonably clean. Some of the +women, having handsome garments, which attracted the attention of those on +board, began, to their astonishment and consternation, to divest +themselves of some of their outer clothes, although the thermometer stood +at the time at 20 deg. below zero; but every individual among them having on a +complete double suit of deer-skin, they did not apparently suffer much in +consequence. Parry's description of their little snow village is graphic +and interesting. Not a single material was used in the construction of the +huts but snow and ice. The inner apartments of each were circular, with +arched domes about seven or eight feet high, and arched passage-ways +leading into them. The interior of these presented a very uniform +appearance. The women were seated on the beds at the side of the huts, +each having her little fireplace, a blubber lamp, with all her domestic +arrangements and domestic chattels, including all the children and some of +the dogs, about her. When first erected these huts had a neat and even +comfortable appearance. How differently did they look when the village was +broken up at the end of winter. Parry thus describes them:--"On going out +to the village we found one-half of the people had quitted their late +habitations, taking with them every article of their property, and had +gone over the ice, we knew not where, in quest of more abundant food. The +wretched appearance which the interior of the huts now presented baffles +all description. In each of the larger ones some of the apartments were +either wholly or in part deserted, the very snow which composed the beds +and fireplaces having been turned up, that no article might be left +behind. Even the bare walls, whose original colour was scarcely +perceptible for lamp-black, blood, and other filth, were not left perfect, +large holes having been made in sides and roofs for the convenience of +handing out the goods and chattels. The sight of a deserted habitation is +at all times calculated to excite in the mind a sensation of dreariness +and desolation, especially when we have lately seen it filled with +cheerful inhabitants; but the feeling is even heightened rather than +diminished when a small portion of these inhabitants remain behind to +endure the wretchedness which such a scene exhibits. This was now the case +at the village, where, though the remaining tenants of each hut had +combined to occupy one of the apartments, a great part of the bed-places +were still bare, and the wind and drift blowing in through the holes which +they had not yet taken the trouble to stop up. The old man Hikkeiera and +his wife occupied a hut to themselves, without any lamp or a single ounce +of meat belonging to them, while three small skins, on which the former +was lying, were all that they possessed in the way of blankets. Upon the +whole, I never beheld a more miserable spectacle, and it seemed a charity +to hope that a violent and constant cough with which the old man was +afflicted would speedily combine with his age and infirmities to release +him from his present sufferings. Yet in the midst of all this he was even +cheerful, nor was there a gloomy countenance to be seen in the village." + +It was not till July 2nd that the ships were enabled to move from their +icy dock, and they at first starting encountered severe dangers. Captain +Lyon, Parry's associate in command, thus speaks of the situation of the +_Hecla_:-- + +"The flood-tide, coming down loaded with a more than ordinary quantity of +ice, pressed the ship very much between six and seven A.M., and rendered +it necessary to run out the stream cable, in addition to the hawsers which +were fast to the land ice. This was scarcely accomplished when a very +heavy and extensive floe took the ship on her broadside, and, being backed +by another large body of ice, gradually lifted her stern as if by the +action of a wedge. The weight every moment increasing obliged us to veer +on the hawsers, whose friction was so great as nearly to cut through the +bilt-heads, and ultimately set them on fire, so that it became requisite +for people to attend with buckets of water. The pressure was at length too +powerful for resistance, and the stream cable, with two six and one five +inch hawsers, went at the same moment. Three others soon followed. The sea +was too full of ice to allow the ship to drive, and the only way by which +she could yield to the enormous weight which oppressed her was by leaning +over the land ice, while her stern at the same time was entirely lifted +more than five feet out of the water. The lower deck beams now complained +very much, and the whole frame of the ship underwent a trial which would +have proved fatal to any less strengthened vessel. At this moment the +rudder was unhung with a sudden jerk, which broke up the rudder-case and +struck the driver-boom with great force. In this state I made known our +situation by telegraph, as I clearly saw that, in the event of another +floe backing the one which lifted us, the ship must inevitably turn over +or part in midships. The pressure which had been so dangerous at length +proved our friend, for by its increasing weight the floe on which we were +borne burst upwards, unable to resist its force. The ship righted, and, a +small slack opening in the water, drove several miles to the southward +before she could be again secured to get the rudder hung; circumstances +much to be regretted at the moment, as our people had been employed, with +but little intermission, for three days and nights attending to the safety +of the ship in this dangerous tideway." + +The _Fury_ experienced nearly the same dangers, and for days the situation +of both vessels was most precarious. Later, the ice having cleared to some +extent, they were enabled to make good headway, and on July 16th they +discovered a great deal of high land to the northward and eastward. This, +from the inspection of a rude chart which had been constructed by an +intelligent Esquimaux, was decided to be that island between which and the +mainland lay a strait leading into the Polar Sea, of which they had heard +much from the natives. Several land journeys were made, and one attempt at +taking the ships through, but though it was abundantly determined to be a +passage, they were obliged again to go into winter quarters before they +had succeeded. They were not extricated till nearly _one year_ afterwards, +and then not until a broad canal, 1,100 yards in length, had been cut +through the ice to the sea. The scurvy had made its appearance among the +crew, and Parry, after consultation with his officers, reluctantly turned +the vessels' bows in a homeward direction. + +Parry made a third voyage in 1824-5, passing his _fourth_ winter in the +Arctic regions. The same vessels were employed; and at the end of winter +the _Fury_ was so terribly damaged by the ice that she had to be +abandoned. But Parry, however disappointed with the results of this +voyage, once more, as we shall see hereafter, braved the perils of the +Arctic; but we must first record the circumstances connected with a +northern expedition which in chronological order comes properly before it. + + [Illustration: CAPTAIN LYON AND HIS CREW OFFERING PRAYERS FOR THEIR + PRESERVATION.] + +In 1824 Captain George F. Lyon was despatched, in the _Griper_, to +complete surveys of north-east America, but not specially to attempt +discovery. The _Griper_ was an old tub of a vessel, utterly unfitted for +its work, and it is rather of the voyage itself, as displaying the +advantages of perfect naval discipline under great disadvantages, than for +any other reason, this unfortunate expedition is recorded. The vessel was +a bad sailer, and constantly shipped seas which threatened to sweep +everything from the decks. In Sir Thomas Rowe's Welcome--the passage +between Southampton Island and the mainland--fogs and heavy seas were +encountered, while no trust could be placed in the compasses, and the +water was fast shallowing. Lyon was obliged to bring the vessel "up with +three bowers and a stream anchor in succession," but not before the water +had shoaled to five and a half fathoms, the ship all the while pitching +bows under. So perilous was their position that the boats were stored with +arms, ammunition, and provisions; the officers drew lots for their +respective boats, although two of the smaller ones would have inevitably +been swamped the moment they were lowered. Heavy seas continued to sweep +the decks, and when the fog lifted a little a low beach was discovered +astern of the ship, on which the surf was running to an awful height, and +where, says Lyon, "no human power could save us if driven upon it." +Immediately afterwards the ship, lifted by a tremendous sea, struck with +great violence the whole length of the keel, and her total wreck was +momentarily expected. In the midst of all their misery the crew remained +twenty-four hours on the flooded decks, and Lyon himself did not leave for +his berth till exhausted after three nights' watching. Few on board +expected to survive the gale. Still, every precaution was taken for the +comfort of the men, who were ordered to put on their best and warmest +clothing to support life as long as possible. The officers each secured +some useful instrument for future work, if, indeed, the slightest hope +remained. "And now," says Lyon, "that everything in our power had been +done, I called all hands aft, and to a merciful God offered prayers for +our preservation. I thanked every one for their excellent conduct, and +cautioned them, as we should, in all probability, soon appear before our +Maker, to enter His presence as men resigned to their fate. We then all +sat down in groups, and, sheltered from the wash of the sea by whatever we +could find, many of us endeavoured to obtain a little sleep. Never, +perhaps, was witnessed a finer scene than on the deck of my little ship, +when all hope of life had left us. Noble as the character of the British +sailor is always allowed to be in cases of danger, yet I did not believe +it to be possible that among forty-one persons not one repining word +should have been uttered. The officers sat about wherever they could find +shelter from the sea, and the men lay down, conversing with each other +with the most perfect calmness. Each was at peace with his neighbour and +all the world; and I am firmly persuaded that the resignation which was +then shown to the will of the Almighty was the means of obtaining His +mercy. God was merciful to us; and the tide almost miraculously fell no +lower." They were spared, and on the weather clearing discovered that they +were about the centre of the Welcome. The spot where they had been in such +imminent danger was named appropriately the Bay of God's Mercy. + +In the middle of September, when off the mouth of the Wager River, a gale +arose, and the sluggish _Griper_ made no progress, but "remained actually +pitching forecastle under, with scarcely steerage way." The ship was +brought up, and the anchors fortunately held. Thick-falling sleet covered +the decks to some inches in depth, and withal the spray froze as it fell. +The night was pitchy dark; several streams of drift ice came driving down +upon the ship. Lyon says that it was not possible to stand below decks, +while on deck ropes had to be stretched from side to side for the men to +hold by. Great seas washed over them every minute, and the temporary +warmth this gave them was most painfully checked by the water immediately +freezing on their clothes. At dawn on the 13th their best bower anchor +parted, and later all the cables gave way. The ship was lying on her +broadside. Nevertheless, each man stood to his station, and in the end +seamanship triumphed; the crippled ship was brought safely to England. The +cool, unflinching courage of the men and the undisturbed conduct of the +officers were matters for highest praise. The royal navy could not be +proud of the _Griper_, but could, most assuredly, of the _Griper's_ crew. + + + + + + CHAPTER XIX. + + + PARRY'S BOAT AND SLEDGE EXPEDITION. + + + Parry's Attempt at the Pole--Hecla Cove--Boat and Sledge + Expedition--Mode of Travelling--Their Camps--Laborious Efforts--Broken + Ice--Midnight Dinners and Afternoon Breakfasts--Labours of + Sisyphus--Drifting Ice--Highest Latitude Reached--Return Trip to the + Ship--Parry's Subsequent Career--Wrangell's Ice Journeys. + + +Undaunted by the comparative failure of his last voyage, we find Parry in +1826 proposing an attempt to reach the North Pole with sledge-boats over +the ice. The reports of several navigators who had visited Spitzbergen +agreed in one point--that the ice to the northward was of a nature +favourable to such a project. In the two narratives descriptive of Captain +Phipps's expedition in 1773 the ice was mentioned as "flat and unbroken," +"one continued plain," and so forth. Scoresby the younger, speaking of the +ice in the same region, stated that he once saw a field so free from +fissure or hummock that he imagined, "had it been free from snow, a coach +might have been driven many leagues over it in a direct line without +obstruction or danger." Franklin had previously mooted a very similar +proposition to that now made by Parry, and his plans were followed in many +essential particulars when the sanction of the Admiralty had been given to +the attempt. Two twenty-feet boats were specially constructed, nearly +resembling what were called "troop-boats," having great flatness of floor, +with an even width almost to bows and stern. They were provided with +strong "runners," shod with steel in the manner of a sledge, and their +construction generally was such as to combine lightness with strength. A +bamboo mast, a large sail--answering also for an awning--fourteen paddles, a +steer-oar, and a boat-hook, formed an essential part of the equipment of +each. + +The _Hecla_ left the Nore April 4th, 1827, on this her fourth Arctic +voyage; and the expedition reached Hammerfest April 19th, where eight +reindeer(32) were taken on board, with a supply of moss for their +provender. A number of snow-shoes and "kamoogas" (leather shoes, intended +to be worn with the former) were also obtained. On May 14th the _Hecla_ +reached Hakluyt's Headland, where a severe gale was encountered, which +almost laid the ship on her beam-ends, and her canvas had to be reduced to +her maintop-sail and storm-sails. Shortly afterwards the vessel was driven +into a most perilous position, almost on to the packed ice. It was deemed +advisable to try the dangerous and almost last resort of running the ship +into the pack, and a tolerably open part of the margin having been found, +the ship was forced into it under all sail. The plan succeeded, and the +_Hecla_ was soon in a secure situation half a mile inside the ice-field, +with which she drifted vaguely about for many days. It was not till June +18th that a secure harbour for the vessel was found on the northern +Spitzbergen coast, which was named accordingly Hecla Cove. + +Having made all necessary arrangements for the safety of the vessel, Parry +left the station on June 21st with the two boats, which were named the +_Enterprise_ and the _Endeavour_, Lieutenant (afterwards Sir) James Clarke +Ross having command of the second. Lieutenant Crozier accompanied the +boats to Low and Walden Islands, where depots of provisions were made. +Provisions for seventy-one days were taken, which, including the boats and +all necessary gear, made up a weight of 260 lbs. per man. Four officers +and twenty-four men constituted the party. The boats made good progress +until stopped by the ice at noon on the 24th, when they were hauled upon a +small floe, the latitude by observation being 81 deg. 12' 51". The plan of +travelling on the ice was much as follows: Night--if the term can be used +at all in connection with the long Arctic summer day--was selected for +travelling, partly because the snow was harder, and they also avoided the +glare on its surface produced by the rays of the sun at its greatest +altitude, which is the immediate cause of snow blindness. Greater warmth +was enjoyed during the hours of rest, and it also gave them a better +chance of drying their clothes. "This travelling by night and sleeping by +day," says Parry, "so completely inverted the natural order of things that +it was difficult to persuade ourselves of the reality. Even the officers +and myself, who were all furnished with pocket chronometers, could not +always bear in mind at what part of the twenty-four hours we had arrived; +and there were several of the men who declared--and I believe truly--that +they never knew night from day during the whole excursion." The day was +always commenced by prayers, after which they took off their fur +sleeping-dresses, and put on those for travelling. Breakfast was rather a +light meal, consisting only of warm cocoa and biscuit. After stowing the +boats, &c., so as to secure them from wet, they usually travelled five to +five and a half hours, halted an hour for dinner, and then again travelled +four, five, or even six hours. After this they halted for the +"night,"--usually early in the morning--selecting the largest surface of ice +in the vicinity for hauling the boats on, in order to lessen the danger of +collision with other masses or from its breaking up. The boats were placed +close alongside each other, and the sails, supported by the bamboo masts +and three paddles, formed awnings over them. Supper over, the officers and +men smoked their pipes, usually raising the temperature of their lodging +10 deg. or 15 deg.; the men told their stories and "fought all their battles o'er +again, and the labours of the day, unsuccessful as they too often were, +were forgotten." The day was concluded with prayer, after which they +retired for the night, a watch being set for bears or for the breaking up +of the ice. The cook roused them with a bugle call after seven hours' +rest, and the work of the day commenced as before. The dietary scale seems +to have been very light for such hard work in that severe climate--ten +ounces of biscuit, nine ounces of pemmican, and one ounce of sweetened +cocoa-powder, with one gill of rum per day each man. The fuel used +consisted exclusively of spirits of wine, the cocoa, or pemmican soup, +being cooked in an iron pot over a shallow lamp with seven wicks. + + [Illustration: THE EDGE OF THE PACK.] + +The journey commenced with very slow and laborious travelling, the pieces +of ice at the margin of the pack being of small extent and very rugged. +This obliged them to make three, and sometimes four, journeys with the +boats and baggage, and to launch frequently over narrow pools of water. In +other words, in making a distance of two miles they had to travel six or +eight, and their progress was very tedious. Fog and rain hindered them +somewhat, while the condition of much of the ice over which they passed +rendered their journey very fatiguing. Much of it "presented a very +curious appearance and structure, being composed, on its upper surface, of +numberless irregular, needle-like crystals, placed vertically and nearly +close together, their length varying, in different pieces of ice, from +five to ten inches." A vertical section of it resembled satin-spar and +asbestos when falling to pieces. This kind of ice affords pretty firm +footing early in the season, but as the summer advances the needles become +loose and movable, rendering progress very difficult, besides cutting into +the boots and feet. The men called these ice-spikes "pen-knives." This +peculiar formation of ice Parry attributed to the infiltration of +rain-water from above. The water was standing in pools on the ice, and +they had often to wade through it. On the 28th the party arrived at a floe +covered with high and rugged hummocks in successive tiers, and the boats +had to be dragged up and down places which were almost perpendicular. +While performing this laborious work, one of the men was nearly crushed by +a boat falling upon him from one of the hummocks. As an example of the +harassing nature of this service, we find them on the 29th, in making a +mile of northing by a circuitous route among the ice-masses and open +pools, travelling and re-travelling about _ten_ miles in order to keep the +party and supplies together. They tried for soundings, and found no bottom +at two hundred fathoms (1,200 feet); later, a four hundred fathom line +gave no bottom. On the 30th snowy and inclement weather rendered the +atmosphere so thick that they were obliged to halt; later in the same day +they made five miles by rowing in a very winding channel. + +"As soon," says Parry, "as we landed on a floe-piece, Lieutenant Ross and +myself generally went on ahead, while the boats were unloading and hauling +up, in order to select the easiest road for them. The sledges then +followed in our track, Messrs. Beverly and Bird accompanying them, by +which the snow was much trodden down, and the road thus improved for the +boats. As soon as we arrived at the other end of the floe, or came to any +difficult place, we mounted one of the highest hummocks of ice near at +hand (many of which were from fifteen to five-and-twenty feet above the +sea), in order to obtain a better view around us; and nothing could well +exceed the dreariness which such a view presented. The eye wearied itself +in vain to find an object but ice and sky to rest upon; and even the +latter was often hidden from our view by the dense and dismal fogs which +so generally prevailed. For want of variety, the most trifling +circumstances engaged a more than ordinary share of our attention--a +passing gull or a mass of ice of unusual form became objects which our +situation and circumstances magnified into ridiculous importance; and we +have since often smiled to remember the eager interest with which we +regarded many insignificant occurrences. It may well be imagined, then, +how cheering it was to turn from this scene of inanimate desolation to our +two little boats in the distance, to see the moving figures of our men +winding among the hummocks, and to hear once more the sound of human +voices breaking the stillness of this icy wilderness. In some cases +Lieutenant Ross and myself took separate routes to try the ground, which +kept us almost continually floundering among deep snow and water." The +soft snow encountered was a great hindrance; on one occasion it took the +party two hours to make a distance of 150 yards! They had been deviating +from their night travelling, and were otherwise feeling the effects of it +in that inflammation of the eyes which ends in snow-blindness. The night +travelling was therefore resumed. On July 3rd their way at first lay +across a number of small loose pieces of ice, most of which were from five +to twenty yards apart, or just sufficiently separated to give them all the +trouble of launching and hauling up the boats _without_ the advantage of +making any progress by water. Sometimes the boats were used as a kind of +bridge, by which the men crossed from one mass to another. By this means +they at length reached a floe about a mile in length, on which the snow +lay to the depth of five inches or so, under which, again, there was about +the same depth of water. Parry says that snow-shoes would not have been of +the least service, as the surface was so irregular that the men would have +been thrown down at every other step. Among the hummocks noted at this +time were smooth, regular cones of ice, "resembling in shape the aromatic +pastiles sold by chemists; this roundness and regularity of form indicate +age, all the more recent ones being sharp and angular." + +Day after day they laboured on, with little variation in the circumstances +detailed above. The men worked with great cheerfulness and goodwill, +"being animated with the hope of soon reaching the more continuous body +which had been considered as composing the 'main ice' to the northward of +Spitzbergen," which Captain Lutwidge had described as "one continued plain +of smooth, unbroken ice, bounded only by the horizon."(33) They certainly +deserved to reach it, if it existed at all; but it is more than probable +that this apparently continuous level, mentioned by several navigators, +had been seen from an elevation, the "crow's nest" on board ship, or some +hill ashore, and that a nearer inspection would have shown it to be full +of hummocks and breaks. + +It is amusing to read of them _breakfasting_ at five p.m., _dining_ at +midnight, and _taking supper_ at six or seven o'clock in the morning! On +July 11th, having halted an hour at midnight for dinner, they were again +harassed by a heavy rainfall, but although drenched to the skin they made +better progress soon after, traversing twelve miles, and making seven and +a half in a northerly direction. They had now reached the latitude of 82 deg. +11' 51". Next day's exertions only enabled them to make three and a half +miles of direct northing, and the following day but two and a half. Much +thin ice was encountered; it was often a nervous thing to see their whole +means of subsistence lying on a decayed sheet, with holes quite through +it, and which would have broken up with the slightest motion among the +surrounding masses. One day the ice on one side of a boat, heavy with +provisions and stores, gave way, almost upsetting her; a number of the men +jumped upon the ice and restored the balance temporarily. A rain-storm of +twenty-one hours' duration is recorded on the 14th and 15th, which was, as +generally the case, succeeded by a thick wet fog. On the 16th the +narrative records "the unusual comfort of putting on dry stockings, and +the no less rare luxury of delightfully pleasant weather." It was so warm +in the sun that the tar exuded from the seams of the boats. Even the +sea-water, though loaded with ice, had a temperature of 34 deg.. At this time +the ice-floes were larger, though none are recorded over three miles in +length. On the 18th, after eleven hours' actual labour, "requiring, for +the most part," says Parry, "our whole strength to be exerted, we had +travelled over a space not exceeding four miles, of which only two were +made good in a NNW. direction." The men, exhausted by their day's work, +were treated to a little extra hot cocoa. They were also put into good +spirits by having killed a small seal, which next night gave them an +excellent supper. "The meat of these young animals is tender," says Parry, +"and free from oiliness; but it certainly has a smell and a look which +would not have been agreeable to any but very hungry people like +ourselves." They utilised its blubber for fuel, after the Esquimaux +manner. Some few birds--rotges, dovekies, looms, mollemucks, and ivory and +Ross gulls--were very occasionally seen and shot; and one day _a couple of +small flies_ were found upon the ice, which to them was an event of +ridiculous importance, and as so is recorded in the narrative. This at +least gives an insight into the terrible monotony of their existence at +this period. + +Hitherto they had been favoured by the wind, but on the 19th a northerly +breeze set in, which, while it was the means of opening several lanes of +water, counterbalanced this advantage by drifting the ice--and, by +consequence, the party on it--in a southerly direction. Great was their +mortification at noon on the 20th to find by observation that since the +same hour on the 17th they had only advanced five miles in a northerly +direction. Although they had apparently made good progress in the +intervening time, their efforts had been nullified by the ice drifting +southward. These facts were carefully concealed from the men. On the 21st +the floe broke under the weight of the boats and sledges; some of the men +went completely through, and one of them was only held up by his drag-belt +being attached to a sledge which happened to be on firmer ice. This day +they made nearly seven miles by travelling, and drifted back four and a +half; or, in other words, their observation of the latitude showed them to +have, in reality, advanced only two miles and a quarter. Under these +circumstances we can understand their anxiety when, after a calm of short +duration, fog-banks were observed rising both to the southward and north. +Which would prevail? That from the south came first, with a light air from +that quarter, but soon after the weather became perfectly calm and clear. +Next night they made the best travelling during the expedition. The floes +were large and tolerably level, and some good lanes of water occurring, +they believed that they must have _advanced_ ten or eleven miles in a NNE. +direction, having traversed a distance of about seventeen. They had done +so--_on the ice_; but the ice itself had drifted so much to the southward +that they found, to their great disappointment and disgust, by observation +of the latitude, that they had only made _four_ miles. Still worse was it +on the 26th, when they found themselves in latitude 82 deg. 40' 23"; since +their last observation on the 22nd they had, though travelling almost +incessantly, _lost_ by drift no less than thirteen miles and a half, and +were more than three miles to the southward of their earlier position. The +men unsuspiciously remarked that they "were a long time getting to this +83 deg.!" ignorant of the fact that the current was now taking them faster +south than all their labours advanced them north. Unlike Sisyphus, they +were but exerting an honourable ambition, but like him they were rolling a +stone up-hill which constantly rolled back again. The eighty-third +parallel had been for some time past the limit of Parry's ambition, but +although he never reached it, he had the proud satisfaction of having +hoisted the British flag in a higher latitude than ever attained before. +Markham has since beaten him. Parry reached 82 deg. 45', and in reaching it +the party had, in the necessarily circuitous course taken, and counting +the constant retracing of their steps, travelled a distance nearly +sufficient to have reached the North Pole itself in a direct line. + +It became evident that the nature and drift of the ice were such as to +preclude the possibility of a final success greater than that recorded. +They had now been absent from the ship thirty-five days, and one-half +their supplies were exhausted. Parry therefore determined to give the +party a day's rest, and then set out on the return. He says:--"Dreary and +cheerless as were the scenes we were about to leave, we never turned +homewards with so little satisfaction as on this occasion." Still, the +southern current was now an advantage, and they knew that every mile would +tell. The return was made successfully and without any very serious +casualties. Lieutenant Ross shot a fat she-bear which had approached +within twenty yards. Before the animal had done biting the snow, one of +the men was alongside of her with an open knife, cutting out the heart and +liver for the pot which happened to be then boiling their supper. Hardly +had the bear been dead an hour when all hands were employed in discussing +its merits as a viand, and some of them very much over-gorged themselves, +and were ill in consequence, though they "attributed this effect to the +quality, and not the quantity, of meat they had eaten." On the morning of +August 11th the first sound of the ocean swell was heard under the hollow +margins of the ice, and they soon reached the open sea, which was dashing +with heavy surges against the outer masses. Sailing and paddling, fifty +miles further brought them to Table Island, where they found that bears +had devoured all the bread left at the depot, as arranged at the +commencement of their voyage. The men naively remarked, says Parry, that +"Bruin was only square with us." From a document deposited there during +his absence, he learned that on July 7th the _Hecla_ had been forced on +shore by the ice breaking up, but that she had been hove off safely. +Taking advantage of a favourable breeze, they steered their boats for +Walden Island, but _en route_ had bad weather, reaching it completely +drenched and worn-out, having had no rest for fifty-six hours. They had +barely strength to haul the boats ashore above the surf; but a hot supper, +a blazing fire of drift-wood, and a few hours' quiet rest soon restored +them. The party arrived at the ship on August 21st, having been absent +sixty-one days. Allowing for the number of times they had to return for +their baggage during most of the journeys on the ice, Parry estimated +their actual travelling at eleven hundred and twenty-seven statute miles; +and as they were constantly exposed to wet, cold, and fatigue, as well as +to considerable peril, it was matter for thankfulness that all of the +party returned in excellent health, two only requiring some little medical +care for trifling ailments. + +The future career of Parry was of a very different nature. After being +knighted, and feted by the people of England, in the spring of 1829 he was +appointed Commissioner of the Australian Agricultural Company in New South +Wales; and one who visited the country a few years later wrote:--"At Port +Stephens Sir Edward Parry found a wilderness, but left a land of hope and +promise." Returning to England in 1835, he was appointed Assistant +Commissioner of Poor Law in the county of Norfolk, but after a year and a +half was forced to resign through ill-health. He was afterwards made +Comptroller of Steam Machinery to the Admiralty, a post which he held for +nearly nine years, during which time the duties of his office became every +day more arduous; and in December, 1846, he received the appointment to +the post of Captain Superintendent of the Royal Clarence Yard and of the +Naval Hospital at Haslar. He took a prominent part in the founding of a +sailors' home at Portsmouth; and in 1852 had to resign his post at Haslar +in consequence of attaining his rear-admiral's flag. At the close of the +following year he was made Governor of Greenwich Hospital, and died on the +8th of July, 1855, at Ems. His remains were brought to England and buried +in the mausoleum at Greenwich Hospital. + +Parry's Polar journey can hardly be dismissed without some reference to +the remarkable expeditions made by Wrangell, the great Russian explorer. +Between 1820 and 1823 inclusive he made four expeditions on the ice +northward from the Siberian coast, starting from the town or settlement of +Nijni Kolymsk, on the Kolyma River. These excursions were made with dog +sledges, and the condition of the ice must therefore have been much +superior to that encountered by Parry, who found that the reindeers he had +intended for the same purpose could not be employed at all. The provisions +taken by Wrangell were rye-biscuit, meat, and portable soup; smoked fish; +the great Russian speciality, tea; spirits; and tobacco. A conical tent of +reindeer skin, _inside_ of which a fire was lighted, was part of the +outfit. He proceeded on one occasion 140 miles, and on another 170 miles, +from the land to the margin of the open sea, having often to cross ridges +of broken and hummocky ice sometimes eighty and ninety feet above the +general level. At the edge of the frozen field the ice was found to be +rotten and unsafe; and on his last journey, when the ice on which he +travelled was broken up by a gale while he was seventy miles from land, +nothing but the swiftness of his dogs, who tore over the opening gaps, +saved him from destruction. A very thankful man was Wrangell when he +reached _terra firma_ once more. + + + + + + CHAPTER XX. + + + THE MAGNETIC POLE.--A LAND JOURNEY TO THE POLAR SEA. + + + Sir John Ross and the _Victory_--First Steam Vessel employed in the + Arctic--Discovery of the Magnetic Pole--The British Flag waving over + it--Franklin and Richardson's Journeys to the Polar Sea--The + Coppermine River--Sea Voyage in Birch-bark Canoes--Return + Journey--Terrible Sufferings--Starvation and Utter Exhaustion--Deaths + by the Way--A Brave Feat--Relieved at length--Journey to the Mouth of + the Mackenzie--Fracas with the Esquimaux--Peace Restored. + + +Immediately after the return of Parry's expedition in 1827, Sir John Ross +submitted to the Admiralty the plans for the voyage of which we are about +to speak. Hitherto all voyages of discovery in the Arctic seas had been +made in sailing vessels. Ross deserves the credit of having been the first +to urge the employment of a steam-ship in that service. His proposals were +not accepted, and he therefore laid the scheme before a wealthy friend, +Mr. Sheriff Booth. At that time the Parliamentary reward of L20,000 was +still outstanding to the discoverer of a north-west passage, and Mr. Booth +declined to embark "in what might be deemed by others a mere mercantile +speculation." Not long afterwards, the Government reward being withdrawn, +Mr. Booth immediately empowered Ross to provide, at his own private +expense, all that was necessary for the expedition. A paddle-wheel +steamer, the _Victory_, was purchased. The vessel was strengthened and +many other improvements made. She was provisioned for a thousand days, and +was to have been accompanied for some distance by a store-ship. The men on +the latter mutinied at Loch Ryan, and the larger part of them immediately +left the ship, which, to make a long story short, never proceeded on this +voyage. Misfortune befell the _Victory_; her engines proved a total +failure, and at the commencement of the voyage were the cause of much +anxiety and worry to the commander. It must be remembered that _sea-going_ +steamers were then of very recent introduction, while long _ocean voyages_ +in steam-ships were almost unthought of. Symington's first _river_ steamer +had indeed made her first trip on the Clyde as early as 1788, but the +earliest _sea-going_ steamboat of which we have record did not make a trip +till 1815. The voyage was only from Glasgow to London. As we have seen, an +American steamer crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Liverpool in 1819; but it +was not till 1838, when the _Great Western_ and _Sirius_ crossed the +Atlantic, that this great steamship route was really opened. Ross was +therefore very early in the field, and should be regarded as a man of +penetration for his epoch. Nowadays, as we all know, vessels with at least +auxiliary, if not complete steam power, are nearly always employed in +Government expeditions, and even by whalers in the Arctic seas. + +The expedition left England May 23rd, 1829, and arrived home again on +October 18th, 1833, having thus been absent for the lengthened period of +four years and five months. The coast surveys made by Ross of King +William's Land and Boothia Felix (named after the munificent merchant who +had so liberally provided the expedition) were careful, and doubtless +accurate, but not very extensive. The most interesting feature of all was +the determination of the exact locality of the Magnetic Pole, which was +accomplished by the nephew of Sir John Ross (later Sir James Ross) on June +1st, 1831. + +Before leaving the vessel it was perfectly understood that they were in +the immediate vicinity of the Magnetic Pole; and, indeed, it was +afterwards proved that Commander Ross had been, in a preceding land +journey in 1830, within ten miles of the spot, but had been unprovided +with the necessary instruments to determine that fact. The weather on the +trip was tempestuous and blustering, but no special disaster occurred, and +on the morning of May 31st they found themselves within fourteen miles of +the calculated position. Leaving behind the larger part of their baggage +and provisions on the beach, the party hurried forward in a state of +excitement pardonable under the circumstances. At eight o'clock the next +morning their journey was at an end, and never, doubtless, were exhausted +men more thoroughly happy. It will interest the reader to learn how the +Magnetic Pole looks. + +"The land," wrote Ross the younger, "at this place is very low near the +coast, but it rises into ridges of fifty or sixty feet high about a mile +inland. We could have wished that a place so important had possessed more +of mark or note. It was scarcely censurable to regret that there was not a +mountain to indicate a spot to which so much of interest must ever be +attached; and I could even have pardoned any one among us who had been so +romantic or absurd as to expect that the Magnetic Pole was an object as +conspicuous and mysterious as the fabled mountain of Sinbad, that it was +even a mountain of iron, or a magnet as large as Mont Blanc. But Nature +had here erected no monument to denote the spot which she had chosen as +the centre of one of her great and dark powers, and where we could do +little ourselves toward this end.... We were, however, fortunate in here +finding some huts of Esquimaux that had not long been abandoned." A series +of scientific observations were at once made, the most conspicuous results +of which were as follows:--At their observatory the amount of the dip, as +indicated by the dipping-needle, was 89 deg. 59', being thus within one minute +of the vertical, while the proximity of the Magnetic Pole was confirmed by +the absolute inaction of the several horizontal needles. "These were +suspended in the most delicate manner possible, but there was not one +which showed the slightest effort to move from the position in which it +was placed." In other words, the magnetic force was dead in that very spot +to which millions of compasses are ever pointing. + +The British flag was fixed on the spot, and the discoverers took +possession of the Magnetic Pole in the name of Great Britain and King +William IV. A limestone cairn was erected, in which a canister containing +the record of the visit of Ross and his companions was deposited. Ross +says that "had it been a pyramid as large as that of Cheops, I am not +quite sure that it would have done more than satisfy our ambition under +the feelings of that exciting day. The latitude of this spot is 70 deg. 5' +17", and its longitude 96 deg. 46' 45" W." On the return journey to the ship +they encountered blinding snow-storms, but eventually reached it in +safety, after an absence of twenty-eight days. + + [Illustration: DR. (AFTERWARDS SIR) JOHN RICHARDSON.] + + [Illustration: FORT ENTERPRISE.] + + [Illustration: RICHARDSON'S ADVENTURE WITH WHITE WOLVES.] + +In 1819-22 Franklin made a most remarkable and perilous land and river +journey to the shores of the Polar Sea, which will be only briefly noticed +here for obvious reasons. The party consisted of Franklin, Dr. Richardson, +Back, Hood, and a sailor named Hepburn, who is very highly commended in +the narrative. They left England May 22nd, 1819, and reached York Factory, +Hudson's Bay, at the end of August. Thence they proceeded to Cumberland +House, whence Franklin, Back, and Hepburn, travelled to Carlton House and +Chipewyan, a winter journey of 857 miles; the others followed, and a +number of _voyageurs_ were engaged. In the spring they again started, +reaching Fort Providence on July 28th, 1820, from which place they +proceeded to a point situated by Winter Lake, where they determined to +erect a house and pass the winter. The house, or post, was named Fort +Enterprise. Back and others travelled backwards and forwards this winter +1,104 miles in order to fetch up a sufficient quantity of provisions for +their next summer's work, and suffered severely from the intense cold and +from something like starvation on many occasions. The last day of June, +1821, the party reached and embarked upon the Coppermine River, and +eighteen days later reached the sea-coast, about 317 miles from their last +winter quarters. The canoes and baggage had been dragged over snow and ice +for 117 miles of this distance, and they had successfully passed many +rapids. They were now in the country of the Esquimaux, and exposed to +fresh anxieties from the unfriendly feeling which existed between them and +the Indians. Dr. Richardson, one night, whilst on the first watch, had +seated himself on a hill overhanging the river; his thoughts were possibly +engaged with far distant scenes, when he was roused by an indistinct noise +behind him, and, on looking round, perceived that nine white wolves had +ranged themselves in the form of a crescent, and were advancing, +apparently with the intention of driving him into the river. On his rising +up they halted, and when he advanced, they made way for his passage down +to the tents. He had his gun in his hand, but forbore to fire, lest he +should alarm any Esquimaux who might possibly be in the neighbourhood. The +Canadian _voyageurs_ were delighted with their first view of the sea, and +amused at the sight of the seals gambolling and swimming about, but were +not unnaturally terrified at the idea of the voyage, through an icy sea, +now proposed by Franklin. On July 21st, with only fifteen days' provisions +on board, they commenced an eastward trip of 550 miles, which is little +less than the direct distance between the Coppermine River and Repulse +Bay, which Franklin had at one time fondly hoped to reach. Storms arose; +their canoes were badly shattered and their provisions nearly exhausted, +and at a position now marked on the map as Point Turnagain they desisted +from further attempts. He determined to steer westward at once for Arctic +Sound, and by Hood's River attempt to reach their old quarters at Fort +Enterprise. They had a somewhat chilling prospect before them, for as +early as August 20th the pools were frozen over, snow on the ground, and +the thermometer down to freezing point at noon. The hunters were +unsuccessful, and they made "a scanty meal off a handful of pemmican, +after which only half a bag remained." Bad as were the canoes, and worse +as was the weather, they managed to paddle along bravely till, on the +26th, they reached Hood's River. "Here," says Franklin, "terminated our +voyage on the Arctic Sea, during which we had gone over 650 geographical +miles." "Our Canadian voyagers," Franklin mentions, "could not restrain +their joy at having turned their backs on the sea, and they spent the +evening in talking over their past adventures with much humour and no +little exaggeration. It is due to their character to mention that they +displayed much courage in encountering the dangers of the sea, magnified +to them by their novelty." They proceeded a few miles up the river, and +then encamped. + +Two small canoes having been constructed from the remains of the older and +now almost useless ones, they, on the 1st of September, left the river, +the commander having determined to make a direct line for Point Lake, 149 +miles distant. Having proceeded a dozen or so miles, they encountered a +severe snow-storm, which obliged them to encamp, and it raged so violently +that they were obliged to stop there, muffled up in their blankets and +skins, for nearly a week. On the 3rd of September the _last_ piece of +pemmican and a small quantity of arrowroot were served out, and with no +fire, a temperature below freezing, and wet garments, they were in a +miserable plight. The storm abated on the 7th, but when they attempted to +proceed Franklin was seized with a fainting fit, in consequence of sudden +exposure and exhaustion. Several of the men, with much kindness, urged him +to eat a morsel of portable soup, the small and only remaining meal, +which, after much hesitation, he did, and was much revived. The +canoe-carriers were so weak that they were constantly blown down, and one +of their little boats was crushed to pieces by a fall. They utilised it by +making a fire to cook the remnant of portable soup and arrowroot--their +last meal. For the next two days they had to live on the lichen named by +the Canadians _tripe de roche_, but on the 10th they killed a large musk +ox--which, by-the-bye, was a cow--and they enjoyed a good meal. Soon again +all supplies failed them, and a fatal despondency settled upon many of the +men, who, giving up all hope, left behind articles of incalculable value +to the expedition, including the second canoe and their fishing-nets. It +must be remembered that they were passing over a most rugged country, +where they had constantly to cross streams and rivers, and were living +mainly on a scanty supply of _tripe de roche_. At this depressing moment a +fine trait of disinterestedness occurred. As the officers stood together +round a small fire, enduring the very intensity of hunger, Perrault, one +of the Canadians, presented each of them with a piece of meat out of a +little store which he had saved from his allowance. "It was received," +says Franklin, "with great thankfulness, and such an instance of +self-denial and kindness filled our eyes with tears." Back, the most +active and vigorous of the party, was sent forward with some of the +hunters to apprise the people at Fort Enterprise of the approach of the +rest. Credit and Junius followed them, also to hunt. Credit returned, but +Junius was missing and was never after heard of. They had now reached a +branch of the Coppermine River, and it became necessary to make a raft of +willows, which occupied them to the 29th. Then all attempts to cross the +river in it failed. + + [Illustration: PERRAULT DIVIDING HIS LITTLE STORE.] + +"In this hopeless condition," says Franklin, "with certain starvation +staring them in the face, Dr. Richardson, actuated by the noble desire of +making a last effort for the safety of the party, and of relieving his +suffering companions from a state of misery which could only terminate, +and that speedily, in death, volunteered to make the attempt to swim +across the stream, carrying with him a line by which the raft might be +hauled over. + +"He launched into the stream with the line round his middle, but when he +had got to a short distance from the opposite bank his arms became +benumbed with cold, and he lost the power of moving them; still he +persevered, and turning on his back, had nearly gained the opposite shore, +when his legs also became powerless, and to our infinite alarm we beheld +him sink; we instantly hauled upon the line, and he came again on the +surface, and was gradually drawn ashore in an almost lifeless state. Being +rolled up in blankets, he was placed before a good fire of willows, and +fortunately was just able to speak sufficiently to give some slight +directions respecting the manner of treating him. He recovered strength +gradually, and through the blessing of God was enabled in the course of a +few hours to converse, and by the evening was sufficiently recovered to +remove into the tent. We then regretted to learn that the skin of his +whole left side was deprived of feeling, in consequence of exposure to too +great heat. He did not perfectly recover the sensation of that side until +the following summer. I cannot describe what every one felt at beholding +the skeleton which the doctor's debilitated frame exhibited when he +stripped; the Canadians simultaneously exclaimed, '_Ah! que nous sommes +maigres!_' I shall best explain his state and that of the party by the +following extract from his journal:-- + +"'It may be worthy of remark that I should have had little hesitation in +any former period of my life at plunging into water even below 38 deg. +Fahrenheit; but at this time I was reduced almost to skin and bone, and, +like the rest of the party, suffered from degrees of cold that would have +been disregarded in health and vigour. During the whole of our march we +experienced that no quantity of clothing would keep us warm whilst we +fasted; but on those occasions on which we were enabled to go to bed with +full stomachs we passed the night in a warm and comfortable manner.'" +Franklin adds:--"In following the detail of our friend's narrow escape, I +have omitted to mention that when he was about to step into the water he +put his foot on a dagger, which cut him to the bone; but this misfortune +could not stop him from attempting the execution of his generous +undertaking." + +But although they had crossed the river they had much before them, and a +fearful amount of despondency prevailed. Franklin wishing one day to reach +one of his men three-quarters of a mile distant, spent _three hours_ in a +vain attempt to wade through the snow. Hood was reduced to a perfect +skeleton, Richardson was lame as well as exhausted, and even Back, the +energetic and unconquerable, had to use a stick. The _voyageurs_ were +somewhat stronger, but seem to have given up all hope; Hepburn alone seems +to have remained cheerful and resigned, and he was indefatigable in +collecting _tripe de roche_. On October 4th it was determined that +Franklin, with eight of his party, should push forward, and endeavour to +send back assistance. Four of these broke down almost immediately, and +endeavoured to return to the last camp; only one arrived; the other three +_were no more heard of_. Franklin succeeded in reaching Fort Enterprise, +where they found neither inhabitants nor supplies. On the way they had +literally eaten a part of their boots, and at the house were only too glad +to boil bones and pieces of skin for their sustenance. It is almost +impossible to give the reader in few words a fair idea of the terrible +condition in which they were. Franklin determined to push forward to the +next fort, but found that he had made but four miles in the first six +hours' travel, and he, therefore, reluctantly returned to the house, +letting two of the Canadians proceed. Eighteen days elapsed, and then Dr. +Richardson and Hepburn arrived. Mr. Hood had, meantime, been shot by +Michel, one of their Indians, who it was believed had also been the +murderer of the three exhausted men who had been missing. He had remained +in strong and vigorous condition when the rest were utterly exhausted. Dr. +Richardson, being thoroughly convinced of these facts, killed Michel with +a pistol-shot shortly afterwards. "The emaciated countenances of the +doctor and Hepburn" gave evidence of their debilitated state. "The +doctor," says Franklin, "particularly remarked the sepulchral tones of our +voices, which he requested of us to make more cheerful, if possible, +unconscious that his own partook of the same key." Hepburn had shot a +partridge on the way, and the _sixth part of this_ was the first morsel of +flesh Franklin and his three companions had tasted for thirty-one days. At +length the long-expected relief from Back arrived by three Indians, but +not till two of the Canadians had succumbed. Back himself, in spite of his +splendid constitution, had suffered privations hardly second to those +recorded above. But from this period no great difficulties were +encountered on the return to Fort York, and Franklin and his brave +companions, poor Hood excepted, eventually reached England in safety. + +Many would have been content to rest on their laurels; not so Franklin, +Richardson, or Back, who almost immediately afterwards volunteered to +again dare the perils of these same regions. The "second expedition to the +shores of the Polar Sea" was not marked by those disasters which had +befallen the previous one, but was none the less remarkable and daring. It +was, however, much better provided. Three light boats were built at +Woolwich specially for this expedition, and a fourth, covered with +india-rubber canvas, called the _Walnut Shell_, was taken for the purpose +of crossing rivers and for easy transportation. + +Passing over all previous matters, suffice it to say that Franklin and his +party successfully reached the mouth of the great Mackenzie River, where, +on Garry Island, says Franklin's narrative, "the men had pitched the tent +on the beach, and I caused the silk union flag to be hoisted which my +deeply-lamented wife(34) had made and presented to me as a parting gift, +under the express injunction that it was not to be unfurled before the +expedition reached the sea. I will not attempt to describe my emotions as +it expanded to the breeze; however natural, and, for the moment, +irresistible, I felt that it was my duty to suppress them, and that I had +no right, by an indulgence of my own sorrows, to cloud the animated +countenances of my companions. Joining, therefore, with the best grace +that I could command, in the general excitement, I endeavoured to return, +with corresponding cheerfulness, their warm congratulations on having thus +planted the British flag on this remote island of the Polar Sea. + +"Some spirits which had been saved for the occasion were issued to the +men, and with three fervent cheers they drank to the health of our beloved +monarch and to the continued success of our enterprise. Mr. Kendall and I +had also reserved a little of our brandy in order to celebrate this +interesting event; but Baptisto, in his delight at beholding the sea, had +set before us some salt water, which, having been mixed with the brandy +before the mistake was discovered, we were reluctantly obliged to forego +the intended draught, and to use it in the more classical form of a +libation poured on the ground." + +Severe weather compelled them to return up the river to their station at +Fort Franklin on this occasion, but they returned to the mouth of the +Mackenzie in the following season, where they nearly had a serious +difficulty with the natives. Franklin had been ashore, and had noted on +one of the islands a number of tents, with Esquimaux strolling about. He +hastened back to the boats to prepare presents for them. Some +seventy-three canoes and five large skin boats were soon seen approaching, +with perhaps three hundred persons on board. They speedily showed a great +desire to trade. Augustus, the interpreter, explained the objects of the +visit, and that if they should succeed in finding a navigable channel for +large ships a great trade would be opened with them. This delighted them, +and they shouted with the greatest vigour. Unfortunately, just after this, +"a kaiyack being overset by one of the _Lion's_ (the leading boat) oars, +its owner was plunged into the water with his head in the mud, and +apparently in danger of being drowned. We instantly extricated him from +his unpleasant situation, and took him into the boat until the water could +be thrown out of his kaiyack; and Augustus, seeing him shivering with +cold, wrapped him up in his own great-coat. At first he was exceedingly +angry, but soon became reconciled to his situation, and, looking about, +discovered that we had many bales and other articles in the boat, which +had been concealed from the people in the kaiyacks by the coverings being +carefully spread over all. He soon began to ask for everything he saw, and +expressed much displeasure on our refusing to comply with his demands. He +also, we afterwards learned, excited the cupidity of others by his account +of the inexhaustible riches in the _Lion_, and several of the younger men +endeavoured to get into both our boats, but we resisted all their +attempts." + +They, however, tried hard to steal everything on which they could lay +hands. One of the crew noticed that the native who had been upset had +stolen a pistol from Lieutenant Back, which he endeavoured to conceal +under his shirt, and the thief, finding it was observed, jumped out of the +boat into the shallow water, and escaped. + +"Two of the most powerful men," says Franklin, "jumping on board at the +same time, seized me by the wrists, and forced me to sit between them; and +as I shook them loose two or three times, a third Esquimaux took his +station in front to catch my arm whenever I attempted to lift my gun or +the broad dagger which hung by my side. The whole way to the shore they +kept repeating the word '_teyma_' beating gently on my left breast with +their hands and pressing mine against their breasts. As we neared the +beach two oomiaks, full of women, arrived, and the '_teymas_' and +vociferations were redoubled. The _Reliance_ was first brought to the +shore, and the _Lion_ close to her a few seconds afterwards. The three men +who held me now leaped ashore, and those who had remained in their canoes, +taking them out of the water, carried them a little distance. A numerous +party then, drawing their knives and stripping themselves to the waist, +ran to the _Reliance_, and, having first hauled her as far up as they +could, began a regular pillage, handing the articles to the women, who, +ranged in a row behind, quickly conveyed them out of sight." In short, +Lieutenant Back, who had desisted from any violence up to this period, now +ordered his men to level their muskets on them, but not to fire till the +word of command. The effect was magical as a stage effect: in a few +minutes not an Esquimaux was to be seen. They made for the shore, and hid +behind the piles of drift-wood on the beach. Augustus, the interpreter, +subsequently made speech to them, showing them that their conduct had been +very bad, and that the "white man" could well take care of himself. "Do +not deceive yourselves," said he, "and suppose they are afraid of you. I +tell you they are not, and that it is entirely owing to their humanity +that many of you were not killed to-day; for they have all guns, with +which they can destroy you either when near or at a distance. I also have +a gun, and can assure you that if a white man had fallen I would have been +the first to have revenged his death." The language, of course, is +Franklin's; but these were the general sentiments expressed in their +tongue. It was received with shouts of applause; and a little later they +pleaded that having seen so many fine things new to them they could not +resist the temptation of stealing. They promised better behaviour, and, +what is more to the point, restored the articles which they had purloined. +Thus, what might have proved a serious affray was prevented. The +Esquimaux, like all unsophisticated natives, are, or were then, mere +children, but children capable of doing much harm. + + [Illustration: ESQUIMAUX KAIYACKS AND BOAT.] + +Franklin traced the coast in a westerly direction to latitude 70 deg. 24' N., +longitude, 149 deg. 37' W., and discovered several large rivers. Fogs, gales, +rain, and drift ice interrupted their progress, but they were enabled to +examine close on 400 miles of a new coast. Dr. Richardson meantime traced +the coast eastward from the Mackenzie to the Coppermine River, afterwards +travelling by land and river to Fort Franklin. Thanks to the excellent +arrangements made, his party endured no great privations, and this second +series of journeys to the Polar Sea formed a pleasant sequel to the first, +which were marked by so many disasters. + + + + + + CHAPTER XXI. + + + VOYAGE OF THE "TERROR." + + + Back's effort to reach Repulse Bay--Nine Months in the Ice--The + _Terror_ Nipped and Crushed--A General Disruption--Extreme + Peril--Increase of Pressure--Providential Delivery--Another Nip--Bow + of the Ship split--Preparations for Emergencies--The Crew--An early + break-up--Frozen again--A Tremendous Rush of Ice--The Day of Release. + + +Captain Back was in 1836 appointed to the command of an expedition to the +Arctic, partly formed for purposes of survey. He was instructed to proceed +to Repulse or Wager Bay, as the case might be; thence he was to take a +party across the intervening land to the eastern shore of Prince Regent's +Islet. Among other explorations he was to examine the coast line as far as +the Point Turnagain of Franklin. It is unnecessary to go into further +details, as the expedition, geographically considered, was a failure. But +the voyage is, nevertheless, one of the most interesting on record, and +gives us a vivid picture, or series of pictures, of the dangers incurred +in the Arctic seas. The now historical _Terror_ was the vessel employed, +and the expedition left England on June 14th, 1836, crossing Davis' +Straits six weeks later, where an enormous iceberg, "the perpendicular +face of which was not less than 300 feet high," was sighted. The vessel +soon became entangled in the ice-floes, and this was only the forerunner +of their subsequent experiences. For nine months they were wedged up with +massive ice, and four months of this time were, as Back expresses it, on +"an icy cradle," lifted out of the water. On September 5th there was a +calm, and the whole of the officers and men were despatched to the only +open water at all near, where with axes, ice-chisels, hand-spikes, and +long poles, they began the laborious process of cutting away the "sludge" +that bound the broken ice together, and removing them into the clear +space. In this service they were frequently obliged to fasten lines to the +heavier masses and haul them out, but though slipping and tumbling about, +"the light-hearted fellows pulled in unison to a cheerful song, and +laughed and joked with the unreflecting merriment of schoolboys. Every now +and then some luckless wight broke through the thin ice and plunged up to +his neck; another endeavouring to remove a piece of ice by pushing against +a larger mass, would set himself adrift with it, and every such adventure +was followed by shouts of laughter and vociferous mirth." These efforts at +releasing the ship were only partially successful, and she was soon again +surrounded by the ice. On the morning of September 20th a fresh breeze +stirred up the masses. "Shortly after 9 a.m. a floe piece split in two, +and the extreme violence of the pressure curled and crumbled up the +windward ice in an awful manner, forcing it against the beam fully +eighteen feet high. The ship creaked as it were in agony, and strong as +she was must have been stove and crushed had not some of the smaller +masses been forced under her bottom, and so diminished the strain by +actually lifting her bow nearly two feet out of the water. In this +perilous crisis steps were taken to have everything in readiness for +hoisting out the barge, and, without creating unnecessary alarm, the +officers and men were called on the quarter-deck, and desired, in case of +emergency, to be active in the performance of their duties at the +respective stations then notified to them. It was a serious moment for +all, as the pressure still continued, nor could we expect much, if any, +abatement until the wind changed. + + [Illustration: THE "TERROR" NIPPED IN THE ICE.] + +"At noon the weather and our prospects remained the same. The barometer +was falling, and the temperature was 26 deg.-, with unceasing snow. Much ice +had been sunk under her bottom, and a doubt existed whether it was not +finding its way beneath the lee floe also; for the uplifted ruins, within +fifty paces of the weather beam, were advancing slowly towards us like an +immense wave fraught with destruction. Resistance would not, could not, +have been effectual beyond a few seconds; for what of human construction +could withstand the impact of an icy continent driven onward by a furious +storm? In the meantime symptoms too unequivocal to be misunderstood +demonstrated the intensity of the pressure. The butt-ends began to start, +and the copper in which the galley apparatus was fixed became creased, +sliding-doors refused to shut, and leaks found access through the +bolt-heads and bull's-eyes. On sounding the well, too, an increase of +water was reported, not sufficient to excite apprehension in itself, but +such as to render hourly pumping necessary. Moved by these indications, +and to guard against the worst, I ordered the provisions and preserved +meats, with various other necessaries, to be got up from below and stowed +on deck, so as to be ready at a moment to be thrown upon the large floe +alongside. To add to our anxiety night closed prematurely, when suddenly, +from some unknown cause, in which, if we may so deem without presumption, +the finger of Providence was manifest, the floe which threatened instant +destruction turned so as in a degree to protect us against an increase of +pressure, though for several hours after the same creaking and grinding +sounds continued to annoy our ears. The barometer and the other +instruments fell with a regularity unprecedented, yet the gale was broken, +and by midnight it had abated considerably. + +"Sept. 21st. There was a lateral motion in some pieces of the surrounding +ice, and, after several astounding thumps under water against the bottom, +the ship, which had been lifted high beyond the line of flotation, and +thrown somewhat over to port, suddenly started up and almost righted. +Still, however, she inclined more than was agreeable to port, nor was it +until one mass of ponderous dimensions burst from its imprisonment below +that she altogether regained her upright position. On beholding the walls +of ice on either side between which she had been nipped, I was astonished +at the tremendous force she had sustained." Her mould was stamped as +perfectly as in a die. Astonishment, however, soon yielded to a more +grateful feeling, an admiration of the genius and mechanical skill by +which the _Terror_ had been so ably prepared for this service. There were +many old Greenland seamen on board, and they were unanimously of opinion +that no ship they had ever seen could have resisted such a pressure. On +sounding the well she was found not to leak, though the carpenters had +employment enough in caulking the seams on deck. + +They had now been a month beset, and were about to attempt the cutting of +a dock in the ice round the ship, when there was a general commotion, and +the entire body by which they were hampered separated into single pieces, +tossing into heaps, and grinding to powder whatever interrupted its +course. The ship bore well up against this hurly-burly, but the situation +was not improved. For several days the _Terror_ was in a helpless +condition, her stern raised seven and a half feet above its proper +position, and her bows correspondingly depressed, by the pressure of huge +ice-masses. Her deck was in consequence a slippery and dangerous inclined +plane. + +On October 1st the vessel gradually righted, and the men were kept +employed in building snow-walls round the ship, and in the erection of an +observatory on the floe. "Meantime," says Back, "we were not unobservant +of the habits and dispositions of the crew, hastily gathered together, and +for the most part composed of people who had never before been out of a +collier. Some half a dozen, indeed, had served in Greenland vessels, but +the laxity which is there permitted rendered them little better than the +former. A few men-of-wars-men who were also on board were worth the whole +put together. The want of discipline and of attention to personal comfort +was most conspicuous; and though the wholesome regulations practised in +His Majesty's service were most rigidly attended to in the _Terror_, yet +such was the unsociability, though without any ill-will, that it was only +by a steady and undeviating system pursued by the first lieutenant that +they were brought at all together with the feeling of messmates. At first, +though nominally in the same mess, and eating at the same table, many of +them would secrete their allowance, with other unmanly and unsailor-like +practices. This was another proof added to the many I had already +witnessed, how greatly discipline improves the mind and manners, and how +much the regular service men are to be preferred for all hazardous or +difficult enterprises. Reciprocity of kindnesses, a generous and +self-denying disposition, a spirit of frankness, a hearty and above-board +manner--these are the true characteristics of the British seaman, and the +want of these is seldom compensated by other qualities. In our case--and I +mention this merely to show the difference of olden and modern times--there +were only three or four in the ship who could not write. All read, some +recited whole pages of poetry, others sang French songs. Yet, with all +this, had they been left to themselves I verily believe a more unsociable, +suspicious, and uncomfortable set of people could not have been found. Oh, +if the two are incompatible, give me the old Jack Tar, who would stand out +for his ship, and give his life for his messmates." Back, in common with +so many Arctic commanders before and since, saw the necessity of occupying +and amusing his men; and on the 22nd October a general masquerade was held +on board, which gave rise to much hilarity and fun. Later, theatrical +entertainments were organised. + +Some observations by Back on the gradual growth of ice, by layers forced +together above or underneath, will explain the apparent discrepancies in +Arctic works, where one reads of ice of so many different thicknesses +formed in the same winter. It is probable that the very thick ice found in +many parts of floes is formed by an accumulation of such layers, cemented +together in bights or bays, sheltered by projecting capes or headlands, +and less liable to disturbance from currents and tides; for they had +ocular demonstration, that with a very low temperature and calm weather, +in the severest portion of the winter, no addition of bulk takes place +from the surface downwards when protected, as their floe was, by a hard +coating of snow and drift. The doubling and packing of ice during gales of +wind and when exposed to severe pressure, as well as the growth and the +extensive fields, are phenomena which the attentive observations of modern +voyagers have rendered familiar; and by an extension of the above remark, +another explanation besides the action of the waves (for the mere heat of +the sun has little influence) is afforded as to how the destruction of the +immense fields of ice is effected, not, indeed, by pointing out the agents +of the destruction, but by showing how little may in many instances be +added in successive winters to the bulk to be destroyed. The fact that no +new deposition takes place underneath seems also at once to account for +the decayed and wasting appearance, which every one accustomed to polar +navigation must have noticed in what is called the old ice, of which +sailors will sometimes say--"Aye, sir, that piece is older than I am, but +it cannot last above another summer." The writer well remembers the idea +of age, in another form, being associated with snow: "That there snow," +said one of the sailors to him, "is three hundred year old, if it's a day. +Why, don't you see the wrinkles all over the face of it?" Every one has +noticed the wrinkles and ridges in snow, but the idea of associating great +age with them was original. + +The winter passed slowly, with many false and some true alarms of the ice +being in motion. On February 20th they were in imminent peril. For three +hours after midnight the ice opened and shut, threatening to crack the +vessel like a nutshell. At 4 a.m. the whole of the ice was in motion, +great fissures opening on every side. Back writes:--"After 8 a.m. we had +some quiet; and at divisions I thought it necessary to address the crew, +reminding them, as Christians and British seamen, they were called upon to +conduct themselves with coolness and fortitude, and that independently of +the obligations imposed by the Articles of War, every one ought to be +influenced by the still higher motive of a conscientious desire to perform +his duty. I gave them to understand that I expected from one and all, in +the event of any disaster, an implicit obedience to and energetic +execution of every order that they might receive from the officers, as +well as kind and compassionate help to the sick. On their observance of +these injunctions, I warned them, our ultimate safety might depend. Some +fresh articles of warm clothing were then dealt out to them; and as the +moment of destruction was uncertain, I desired that the small bags in +which those things were contained should be placed on deck with the +provisions, so as to be ready at an instant. The forenoon was spent in +getting up bales of blankets, bear-skins, provisions, pyroligneous acid +for fuel, and, in short, whatever might be necessary if the ship should be +suddenly broken up; and spars were rigged over, the quarters to hoist them +out. Meanwhile the ice moved but little, though the hour of full moon was +passed; but at noon it began to drift slowly to the northward. We were now +from five to eight miles of the nearest land. + + [Illustration: BACK ADDRESSING THE SEAMEN.] + +"Though I had seen vast bodies of ice from Spitzbergen to 150 deg. west +longitude under various aspects, some beautiful, and all more or less +awe-inspiring, I had never witnessed, nor even imagined, anything so +fearfully magnificent as the moving towers and ramparts that now frowned +on every side. Had the still extensive pieces of which the floe was formed +split and divided like those further off, the effect would have been far +less injurious to the ship; but though cracked and rent, the parts, from +some inexplicable cause, closed again for a time, and drove with +accelerated and almost irresistible force against the defenceless vessel. +In the forenoon the other boats were hoisted higher up, to save them from +damage in the event of the ship being thrown much over on her broadside. +For three hours we remained unmolested, though the ice outside of the floe +was moving in various directions, some pieces almost whirling round, and +of course, in the effort, disturbing others. At 5 p.m., however, the piece +near the ship having previously opened enough to allow of her resuming a +nearly upright position, collapsed again with a force that made every +plank complain; and further pressure being added at 6 o'clock, an ominous +cracking was heard, that only ceased on her being lifted bodily up +eighteen inches. The same unwelcome visitation was repeated an hour +afterwards in consequence of the closing of a narrow lane directly astern. +The night was very fine, but the vapour which arose from the many cracks +as well as from the small open space alongside, quickly becoming converted +into small spiculae of snow, rendered the cold intolerably keen to those +who faced the wind. Up to midnight we were not much annoyed, and for four +hours afterwards, on February 21st, all was quiet. Every man had gone to +rest with his clothes on, and was agreeably surprised on being so long +undisturbed by the usual admonitory grinding. However, at 4 a.m. a +commotion was heard, which appeared to be confined to the angle contained +between west and north-west. On looking round at daybreak it was found +that the ship had been released by the retreating of the ice, and had +nearly righted; but at 5 a.m. she rose eighteen inches as before; she was +then at intervals jerked up from the pressure underneath, with a groan +each time from the woodwork." And so it went on from day to day, Back and +his men being kept incessantly at their duties, and constantly at work +examining, and, where it was possible, strengthening the ship. Up to the +middle of March they were, however, still safe, but on the 15th they were +destined to witness trials of a more awful nature. + +"While we were gliding quickly along the land," says Back--"which I may +here remark, had become more broken and rocky, though without obtaining an +altitude of more than perhaps one or two hundred feet--at 1.45 p.m., +without the least warning, a heavy rush came upon the ship, and, with a +tremendous pressure on the larboard quarter, bore her over upon the heavy +mass upon her starboard quarter. The strain was severe in every part, +though from the forecastle she appeared to be moving in the easiest manner +towards the land ice. Suddenly, however, a loud crack was heard below the +mainmast, as if the keel were broken or carried away; and simultaneously +the outer stern-post from the ten-feet mark was split down to an unknown +extent, and projected to the larboard side upwards of three feet. The ship +was thrown up by the stern to the seven-and-a-half feet mark; and that +damage had been done was soon placed beyond doubt by the increase of +leakage, which now amounted to three feet per hour. Extra pumps were +worked, and while some of the carpenters were fixing diagonal shores +forward, others were examining the orlops and other parts. It was reported +to me by the first lieutenant, master, and carpenter, that nothing could +be detected inside, though apprehensions were entertained by the two +former that some serious injury had been inflicted. In spite of the +commotion the different pieces of our floe still remained firm; but being +unable to foresee what might take place in the night, I ordered the +cutters and two whale-boats to be lowered down, and hauled with their +stores to places considered more secure; this was accordingly done, though +not under two hours and a half, even with the advantage of daylight. The +ship was still setting fast along shore, and much too close to the fixed +ice; but it was not till past 8 p.m. that any suspicious movement was +noticed near us; then, however, a continually increasing rush was heard, +which at 10.45 p.m. came on with a heavy roar towards the larboard +quarter, upturning in its progress and rolling onward with it an immense +wall of ice. This advanced so fast that though all hands were immediately +called they had barely time, with the greatest exertion, to extricate +three of the boats, one of them, in fact, being hoisted up when only a few +feet from the crest of the solid wave, which held a steady course directly +for the quarter, almost overtopping it, and continuing to elevate itself +until about twenty-five feet high. A piece had just reached the rudder +slung athwart the stern, and at the moment when, to all appearances, both +that and a portion at least of the framework were expected to be staved in +and buried beneath the ruins, the motion ceased; at the same time the +crest of the nearest part of the wave toppled over, leaving a deep wall +extending from thence beyond the quarter. The effect of the whole was a +leak in the extreme run, oozing, as far as could be ascertained, from +somewhere about the sternpost. It ran in along the lining like a rill for +about half an hour, when it stopped, probably closed by a counter +pressure. The other leaks could be kept under by the incessant use of one +pump. + +"Our intervals of repose were now very short, for at 12.50 a.m., March +16th, another rush drove irresistibly on the larboard quarter and stern, +and, forcing the ship ahead, raised her upon the ice. A chaotic ruin +followed; our poor and cherished courtyard, its walls and arched doors, +gallery, and well-trodden paths, were rent, and in some parts ploughed up +like dust. The ship was careened fully four streaks, and sprang a leak as +before. Scarcely were ten minutes left us for the expression of our +astonishment that anything of human build could outlive such assaults, +when, at 1 a.m., another equally violent rush succeeded; and, in its way +towards the starboard quarter, threw up a rolling wave thirty feet high, +crowned by a blue square mass of many tons, resembling the entire side of +a house, which, after hanging for some time in doubtful poise on the +ridge, at length fell with a crash into the hollow, in which, as in a +cavern, the after-part of the ship seemed imbedded. It was indeed an awful +crisis, rendered more frightful from the mistiness of the night and +dimness of the moon. The poor ship cracked and trembled violently; and no +one could say that the next minute would not be her last, and, indeed, his +own too, for with her our means of safety would probably perish. The leak +continued, and again (most likely as before, from counter pressure) the +principal one closed up. When all this was over, and there seemed to be a +chance of a respite, I ordered a double allowance of preserved meat, &c., +to be issued to the crew, whose long exposure to the cold rendered some +extra stimulant necessary. Until 4 a.m. the rushes still kept coming from +different directions, but fortunately with diminished force. From that +hour to 8 a.m. everything was still, and the ice quite stationary, +somewhat to the westward of the singular point, terminating as it were in +a knob, which was the farthest eastern extreme yesterday. We certainly +were not more than three miles from the barren and irregular land abeam, +which received the name of Point Terror. To this was attached a rugged +shelf of what for the time might be called shore ice, having at its +seaward face a mural ridge of unequal, though in many parts imposing, +height, certainly not less than from fifty to sixty feet." + +At last the long-delayed day of release drew nigh. The ship had now been +three-fourths of a year enclosed in the ice, with which it had drifted +several hundred miles, when, on July 11th, "the crew had resumed their +customary labour, and, as they drew nearer to the stern-post, various +noises and crackings beneath them plainly hinted that something more than +usual was in progress. After breakfast I visited them and the other +parties as previously stated. Scarcely had I taken a few turns on deck and +descended to my cabin when a loud rumbling notified that the ship had +broken her icy bonds, and was sliding gently down into her own element. I +ran instantly on deck, and joined in the cheers of the officers and men, +who, dispersed on different pieces of ice, took this significant method of +expressing their feelings. It was a sight not to be forgotten. Standing on +the taffrail, I saw the dark bubbling water below, and enormous masses of +ice gently vibrating and springing to the surface; the first lieutenant +was just climbing over the stern, while other groups were standing apart, +separated by this new gulf; and the spars, together with working +implements, were resting half in the water, half on the ice, whilst the +saw, the instrument whereby this sudden effect had been produced, was bent +double, and in that position forcibly detained by the body it had +severed." Having cut to within four feet of the stern-post, the crew had +ceased work for a few moments, when the disruption took place, barely +giving them time to clamber up as they could for safety. Shortly +afterwards a very curious incident occurred. The _Terror_ was almost +capsized by a small submerged berg which had been released by the breaking +up of the floe. On July 14th the ship righted; and from that time to their +arrival in England, after they had managed to patch up, caulk, and render +her seaworthy, little of special interest occurred. It is questionable +whether any vessel has ever gone through more of the special perils which +beset ice navigation than did the _Terror_; but although terribly +shattered, we shall meet her again staunchly braving the dangers of the +Arctic. + + + + + + CHAPTER XXII. + + + FRANKLIN'S LAST VOYAGE. + + + Sir John Franklin and his Career--His Last Expedition--Takes the + Command as his Birthright--The last seen of his Ships--Alarm at + their long absence--The Search--A few faint traces discovered by + Parry--A Fleet beset in the Ice--Efforts made to communicate with + Franklin--Rockets and Balloons--M'Clure's Expedition--Discovery of + the North-West Passage--Strange Arrival of Lieutenant Pim over the + Ice--The _Investigator_ abandoned--Crew Saved--Reward of L10,000 to + M'Clure and his Ship's Company. + + +The name of Sir John Franklin, whose sad destiny it was to perish at the +moment of triumph, stands pre-eminent as one of the brightest ornaments in +our long list of naval heroes. Peculiarly adapted by the bent of his mind +to the profession he had adopted, he brought to his aid the love of +adventure, a perfect knowledge of seamanship, and a zeal for geographical +discovery, combined with an integrity of purpose and a hardy intrepidity, +that, even in the service he so highly adorned, have never been surpassed. +Tried alike in peace and war, and illustrious in both, this noble +knight-errant of the northern seas, irresistible as one of those icebergs +that tried to bar his way, was always ready to do his duty for his native +land. Whether on the quarter-deck, in the midst of the enemy's hottest +fire, or daring the dangers of the frozen ocean, among ice and snow, +blinded by dense fogs and endless nights, without guides or sea room, he +always showed the same fearless spirit, unwearied perseverance, and love +for the welfare of his country which caused him to succeed in the end, +although that success was so dearly bought. + + [Illustration: SIR JOHN FRANKLIN.] + +The purest heroism of England has been found in that land of desolation +which a wealth of valour has consecrated, and the hearts of the tars who +fought under Nelson were not more brave than those who sailed to meet +their fate under "good Sir John." Setting little value on his own personal +comfort, but never neglecting the well-being of his crew, he made himself +beloved and respected by all, and when he passed away to "the undiscovered +country, from whose bourn no traveller returns," he left behind him the +memory of his brave deeds as an example to the youth of his fatherland. +The most triumphant death is that of a martyr; the most glorious martyr is +he who dies for his fellow-men. Successful in death, Franklin and his +brave followers reached the goal, and perished. Well may the inscription +on their monument say, "They forged the last link with their lives."(35) + +Sir John Franklin, a native of Spilsby, in Lincolnshire, was destined for +the Church by his father, who purchased an advowson for him. While at the +Louth Grammar School, during a holiday walk, he first saw the sea. This +was the turning-point of his life, and he determined henceforth to be a +sailor. In the hope of disgusting him his father sent him on a trial +voyage in a merchantman to Lisbon, but this trip only confirmed his +decision, and he joined the _Polyphemus_, in the year 1800, the vessel +which, under Captain Lawford, led the line in the glorious battle of +Copenhagen. Two months after this engagement he was transferred to the +_Investigator_, commanded by his relative, Captain Flinders, and set out +on his first voyage of discovery to Australia, where he obtained a +correctness in astronomical observations and a skill in surveying that +became of the greatest service to him in his future career. Returning home +in the _Porpoise_, he was wrecked on a coral reef, and, with ninety-four +persons, remained on a narrow bank of sand only four feet above the level +of the water for fifty days, until Captain Flinders, who made the voyage +of 250 leagues to Port Jackson in an open boat, returned to their rescue. +On reaching England Franklin joined the _Bellerophon_, and performed the +duties of signal-midshipman with the greatest coolness, in the memorable +battle of Trafalgar, where all his companions on the poop were, with +exception of four or five, killed or wounded. In his next ship, the +_Bedford_, he attained the rank of lieutenant, served in the blockade of +Flushing, and was wounded in the disastrous attack on New Orleans. Shortly +afterwards he entered on that career in the Arctic regions with which his +name is so intimately identified, and which has been recorded. We now come +to the last sad closing scene of that grand life. + +In 1845 a new expedition was organised by the Admiralty to make one more +attempt at the North-west Passage. For more than a year previously many of +the leading scientific men and old Arctic explorers had been urging it +upon the attention of the Government, and many were the volunteers who +desired to join it. The late Admiral Sherard Osborn, Franklin's +biographer, tells us that it was at one time intended that Fitzjames, +whose genius and energy marked him for no common officer, should have the +command; but just about this time Sir John Franklin was heard to say that +he considered it his birthright, as the senior Arctic explorer in England. +He had then only recently returned from Tasmania, where he had been acting +as Lieutenant-Governor, and where he had held an unthankful post, owing to +some unmerited and disagreeable treatment from the then Secretary for the +Colonies. "Directly it was known," says Osborn, "that he would go if +asked, the Admiralty were, of course, only too glad to avail themselves of +the experience of such a man; but Lord Haddington, with that kindness +which ever distinguished him, suggested that Franklin might well rest at +home on his laurels. 'I might find a good excuse for not letting you go, +Sir John,' said the peer, 'in the telling record which informs me that you +are sixty years of age.' 'No, no, my lord,' was Franklin's rejoinder, 'I +am only fifty-nine.' Before such earnestness all scruples ceased. The +offer was officially made, and accepted. To Sir John Franklin was confided +the Arctic expedition, consisting of H.M.S. _Erebus_, in which he hoisted +his pennant, and H.M.S. _Terror_, commanded by Captain Crozier, who had +recently accompanied Sir James Ross in his wonderful voyage to the +antarctic seas." + + [Illustration: THE _EREBUS_ AND THE _TERROR_ AMONG ICEBERGS.] + +The two vessels were completely overhauled and much strengthened, +auxiliary screws, engines, and fuel provided, and they were provisioned +for three years. The vessels left Greenhithe on May 19th, and by the third +week of July reached a point near Disco, Greenland, where a transport +which had accompanied them took on board the last letters of officers and +crews for home. They were seen on July 26th by a whaler, and were at that +date moored to an iceberg, waiting for a favourable opportunity to enter +the ice of Baffin's Bay. From that day to the present no one of that +gallant band has ever been seen alive except by the wandering Esquimaux, +and not till 1854 was anything certain gleaned concerning their fate. Even +the meagre outlines then obtained were not filled in till 1859, when +M'Clintock made his memorable discoveries, and brought to light one of the +saddest of modern tragedies. + +Subsequent researches enable us to state that their first winter was +passed near Beechey Island, where they lost three men. They had reached it +by sailing through a channel discovered between Cornwallis and Bathurst +Islands, and thence by Barrow's Straits. For a year and a half after the +expedition had left no anxiety about it was felt; but after a council of +naval officers had been called by the Admiralty, it was decided that +should no news arrive that summer, preparations should be made for its +relief. This was done. Light boats and supplies were forwarded to Hudson's +Bay, and in 1848, when the public alarm became general, several +expeditions were sent out. Later, as we all know, the Government fitted +out a whole series of vessels; the Hudson's Bay Company sent forth several +land parties; Lady Franklin spent the larger part of her private fortune, +and America came bravely to the rescue. No less than thirty-two vessels +were sent out on the search by England up to 1859, and three by the United +States, while there were five land expeditions provided in large part by +the Hudson's Bay Company. We must necessarily only speak of the more +interesting of these gallant attempts. Strangely enough, as we shall see, +almost the only information of value concerning the fate of Franklin and +his brave band was obtained by private enterprise, in spite of the gallant +efforts of so many in the royal navy. + +One of the very first attempts made to communicate with the missing party +was sent in 1848, _via_ Behring Straits. Captain Kellett, of H.M.S. +_Herald_, and Captain Moore, H.M.S. _Plover_, added much to our knowledge +of the northern coasts of Siberia and north-western America; and +Lieutenant Pullen, of the _Herald_, made an adventurous boat journey from +Behring Straits to the mouth of the Mackenzie. But not the merest spark of +information was obtained concerning Franklin. + +Some few traces were discovered by Captain Penny in 1850, at a period when +the fears of all were at their culminating point. In this and the +following year several vessels were sent out by Government, among them +H.M.S. _Resolute_, Captain Austin; H.M.S. _Assistance_, Captain Ommaney; +_Lady Franklin_, W. Penny, master; _Sophia_, A. Stewart, master; H.M.S. +_Pioneer_, Lieut. Osborn; also, at the expense of the Hudson's Bay +Company, the yacht _Felix_, Rear-Admiral Sir John Ross. The whole of these +entered the Arctic regions from the Atlantic side, and either met at +various times or were in company. Osborn has recorded many facts and +incidents concerning them, from which we shall only cull a few of the more +interesting. + +Describing the feat of cutting docks in the ice, to partially avoid the +pressure of the floes when they come crashing together, he says:--"Smart +things are done in the navy, but I do not think anything could excel the +alacrity with which the floe was suddenly peopled by about 300 men (crews +of whalers chiefly), triangles rigged, and the long saws, called ice-saws, +manned. + + [Illustration: CUTTING ICE DOCKS.] + +"A hundred songs from hoarse throats resounded through the gale, the sharp +chipping of the saws told that the work was flying, and the laugh and +broad witticisms of the crews mingled with the words of command and +encouragement to exertion given by the officers. + +"The pencil of a Wilkie could hardly convey the characteristics of such a +scene, and it is far beyond my humble pen to tell of the stirring +animation exhibited by twenty ships' companies, who knew that on their own +exertions depended the safety of their vessels and the success of their +voyage. The ice was of an average thickness of three feet, and to cut +this, saws of ten feet long were used, the length of stroke being about as +far as the men directing the saw could reach up and down. A little powder +was used to break up the pieces that were cut, so as to get them easily +out of the mouth of the dock--an operation which the officers of our +vessels performed while the men cut away with the saws. In a very short +time all the vessels were in safety, the pressure of the pack expending +itself on a chain of bergs some ten miles north of our present position. +The unequal contest between floe and iceberg exhibited itself there in a +fearful manner; for the former, pressing onward against the huge grounded +masses, were torn into shreds, and thrown back piecemeal, layer on layer +of many feet in elevation, as if mere shreds of some flimsy material, +instead of solid, hard ice, every cubic yard of which weighed nearly a +ton." + + [Illustration: ICE MOUNTAINS.] + +They were not always so fortunate. A little later they were again beset, +and escape seemed hopeless. The commander, called from his berth to deck, +found the vessel thrown considerably over by the pressure of the ice on +one side, while every timber was straining, cracking, and groaning. "On +reaching the deck," says Osborn, "I saw, indeed, that the poor _Pioneer_ +was in sad peril: the deck was arching with the pressure on her sides, the +scupper pieces were turned up out of the mortices, and a quiver of agony +wrung my craft's frame from stem to taffrail, whilst the floe, as if +impatient to overwhelm its victim, had piled up as high as the bulwark in +many places. The men who, whaler fashion, had without orders brought their +clothes on deck, ready to save their little property, stood in knots +waiting for directions from their officers, who, with anxious eyes, +watched the floe-edge as it ground past the side to see whether the strain +was easing. Suddenly it did so, and we were safe. But a deep dent in the +_Pioneer's_ side, extending for some forty feet, and the fact, as we +afterwards learned, of twenty-one timbers being broken on one side, proved +that the trial had been a severe one." + +After overtaking Captain Penny, Osborn learned of the former's discoveries +on Beechey Island, the first wintering place of Sir John Franklin, and on +August 29th paid a visit to the spot. "It needed not," says he, "a dark +wintry sky or a gloomy day to throw a sombre shade around my feelings as I +landed on Beechey Island and looked down upon the bay on whose bosom had +ridden Her Majesty's ships _Erebus_ and _Terror_. There was a sickening +anxiety of the heart as one involuntarily clutched at every relic which +they of Franklin's squadron had left behind, in the vain hope that some +clue as to the route they had taken hence might be found." The hope was +vain: no document of any kind was discovered, although a carefully +constructed cairn, formed of meat-tins filled with gravel, was found and +carefully searched. There was the embankment of a house, with a +carpenter's and armourer's workshops, coal-bags, tubs, pieces of old +clothing, rope, cinders, chips, &c.; the remnants of a garden, probably +made in joke, but with neat borders of moss and lichens, and even poppies +and anemones transplanted from some more genial part of the island. The +graves of three of the crews of the _Erebus_ and _Terror_, bearing the +dates of 1845 and 1846, proved conclusively that the expedition had +wintered there. + +Osborn's description of an Arctic dinner is interesting. "'The pemmican is +all ready, sir,' reports our Soyer. In troth, appetite need wait on one, +for the greasy compound would pall on moderate taste or hunger. Tradition +said that it was composed of the best rump-steaks and suet, and cost 1s. +6d. per pound. To our then untutored tastes it seemed composed of +broken-down horses and Russian tallow. If not sweet in savour, it was +strong in nourishment, and after six table-spoonfuls we cried, 'Hold! +enough!' But there came a day when we sat hungry and lean, longing for +this coarse mess, and eating a pound of it with avidity, and declaring it +to be delicious!" Frozen cold pork was found delicious with biscuit and a +steaming cup of tea. + +During the long winter, fancying it possible they were in the +neighbourhood of Franklin's party, rockets were fired and small balloons +sent off. The latter carried slow matches five feet long, which, as they +burned, let loose pieces of coloured paper, on which were printed their +position and other information. A carrier pigeon, despatched on one +occasion by Sir John Ross from his quarters in the Arctic in 1850, reached +its old home in Ayr, Scotland, in five days, having flown 3,000 miles! +Numerous sledging parties were despatched from the various ships +above-named, but without obtaining any further information regarding +Franklin. + +M'Clure's expedition has been generally regarded only in connection with +the discovery of the North-west Passage, but he also engaged in the search +for Franklin. With him was associated Captain Collinson, and both were +ordered to proceed _via_ Behring Straits to the Arctic. The _Enterprise_, +commanded by the latter, proceeded a little in advance of the +_Investigator_, commanded by M'Clure, which left Plymouth on January 20th, +1850. Late in July the Arctic Circle was crossed, and shortly afterwards, +at different dates, the _Plover_ and _Herald_ were met. Captain Kellett, +of the latter, reported the discovery of the new land north of Behring +Straits since always associated with his name. It was covered with lofty +and broken peaks, and Kellett thought it to be the same as described by +Wrangell, the Russian explorer, on the authority of natives. Some doubt +has at times been thrown on this discovery, but it has been since sighted +by an American whaler. + +On August 21st the _Investigator_ reached the Pelly Islands, and crossed +the mouth of the great Mackenzie River. Little did M'Clure think that the +day after, Lieutenant Pullen, H.M.S. _Herald_, with a boat's crew, was +returning from a visit to Cape Bathurst, and must have passed at a +distance of a few miles, a convincing proof of the easiness of missing one +another in the Arctic seas. Shortly afterwards they met a number of +natives, and held some communication with them. Osborn says that "when +asked why they did not trade with the white men up the big river (_i.e._, +the Mackenzie), the reply was they had given the Indians a water which had +killed a great many of them, and had made others foolish, and they did not +want any of it!" This statement is rather doubtful, as the Hudson's Bay +Company does not, as the writer well knows, trade in spirits, at least in +those remote districts; and further, if they did, it would be a very +unusual circumstance for natives to decline it, as the whalers and traders +on the coast know full well. + +"On September 17th the _Investigator_ had reached her farthest eastward +position in long. 117 deg. 10'; and a couple of days afterwards, it was +decided, instead of returning to seek a harbour, to winter in the pack +ice. It was a dangerous, though a daring experiment, but the fact that it +might facilitate expeditions for the relief of Franklin seems to have been +uppermost in the commander's mind. The ice was not yet strong enough to +remain tranquil, and M'Clure had provisions and fuel on deck, and boats +ready, in case of the vessel being crushed. On September 27th a change of +wind set the ice in motion, and drove the vessel towards some abrupt and +dangerous cliffs, 400 feet high, where there was no beach, and not a ledge +where a goat could get a foothold. Should the vessel strike their only +hope was in the boats. Happily the ice current changed, and swept them +past the rocks. At this period the crashing of the ice and creaking and +straining of the vessel's timbers were deafening, and the officer of the +watch when speaking had to put his mouth close to his commander's ear, and +shout out. The neighbouring land was searched for game, the unpleasant +discovery having been made that nearly 500 pounds of their preserved meat +had become putrid." + +The 26th of October, 1850, was an important day in the history of Arctic +adventure. Five days before, M'Clure, with six men and a sledge, had left +the ship, and had since travelled through Barrow's Straits. On the clear +and cloudless morning of the 26th they ascended a hill before dawn. "As +the sun rose the panorama slowly unveiled itself. First, the land called +after H.R.H. Prince Albert showed out on an easterly bearing, and from a +point, since called after the late Sir Robert Peel, it evidently turned +away to the east, and formed the northern entrance to the channel upon +that side. The coast of Bank's Land, on which the party stood, terminated +at a low point about twelve miles further on.... Away to the north, and +across the entrance of Prince of Wales Straits, lay the frozen waters of +Barrow, or, as it is now called, Melville Straits, and raised as our +explorers were, at an altitude of 600 feet above its level, the eyesight +embraced a distance which precluded the possibility of any land lying in +that direction between them and Melville Island. _A north-west passage_ +was discovered. All doubt as to the existence of a water communication +between the two great oceans was removed." On the return journey M'Clure, +hastening forward to order a warm meal for his men at the ship, lost his +way in a snow-storm and had to wander about all night. In the morning he +found that he had passed the _Investigator_ by four miles. + +The winter passed away, and, as the spring advanced, preparations were +made for continuing the voyage. On May 21st a curious event occurred. +"About 10.30 a large bear was passing the ship, when Captain M'Clure +killed it with a rifle shot. On examining the stomach, great was the +astonishment of all present at the medley it contained. There were raisins +that had not been long swallowed, a few small pieces of tobacco leaf, bits +of pork fat cut into cubes, which the ship's cook declared must have been +used for making mock turtle soup, an article often found on board a ship +in a preserved form; and, lastly, fragments of sticking-plaster, which, +from the forms into which they had been cut, must evidently have passed +through the hands of a surgeon." Better evidences of the proximity of some +other vessel or exploring party could not be afforded. But from which of +them had this miscellaneous collection been derived? + +On July 17th the vessel got out of the ice, and soon passed round the +south end of Bank's Land; but, after many perils, did not succeed in +making a further eastward progress, and had again to go into winter +quarters towards the end of September. This was a severe winter for them. +The scurvy made its appearance, and the provisions were running short. +M'Clure had now decided to keep only thirty men in the vessel, and send +the remainder in two divisions, one up Mackenzie River, the other to +Beechey Island, where Captain Pullen, of H.M.S. _North Star_ was stationed +for purposes of relief. At the beginning of April all the preparations for +these sledge parties had been made, when an unexpected event occurred, +which M'Clure's own words will best describe:-- + + [Illustration: CAPTAIN ROBERT LE MESURIER M'CLURE.] + +While walking near the ship with the first lieutenant "we perceived a +figure walking rapidly towards us from the rough ice at the entrance of +the bay. From his pace and gestures we both naturally supposed at first +that he was some one of our party pursued by a bear; but, as we approached +him, doubts arose as to who it could be. He was certainly unlike any of +our men; but, recollecting that it was possible some one might be trying +on a new travelling dress preparatory to the departure of our sledges, and +certain that no one else was near, we continued to advance. When within +about two hundred yards of us, this strange figure threw up his arms, and +made gesticulations resembling those used by Esquimaux, besides shouting, +at the top of his voice, words which, from the wind and intense excitement +of the moment, sounded like a wild screech, and this brought us fairly to +a standstill. The stranger came quietly on, and we saw that his face was +as black as ebony; and really at the moment we might be pardoned for +wondering whether he was a denizen of this or the other world; and had he +but given us a glimpse of a tail or a cloven hoof, we should assuredly +have taken to our legs. As it was, we gallantly stood our ground; and, had +the skies fallen upon us we could hardly have been more astonished than +when the dark stranger called out-- + +"'I'm Lieutenant Pim, late of the _Herald_, and now in the _Resolute_. +Captain Kellett is in her at Dealy Island!' + +"To rush at and seize him by the hand was the first impulse, for the heart +was too full for the tongue to speak. The announcement of relief being +close at hand, when none was supposed to be within the Arctic Circle, was +too sudden, unexpected, and joyous, for our minds to comprehend it at +once. The news flew with lightning rapidity. The ship was all in +commotion; the sick, forgetful of their maladies, leaped from their +hammocks; the artificers dropped their tools, and the lower deck was +cleared of men; for they all rushed for the hatchway, to be assured that a +stranger was actually amongst them, and that his tale was true. +Despondency fled from the ship, and Lieutenant Pim received a welcome +which he will never forget." + + [Illustration: THE SLEDGE PARTY OF THE _RESOLUTE_, UNDER LIEUT. BEDFORD + PIM, FINDING THE _INVESTIGATOR_.] + +Of course M'Clure immediately started to visit Captain Kellett. At first +there were some hopes of saving the _Investigator_; but the reports of +both ships' surgeons on the state of the crew were so unfavourable, that +the men were at once transferred to the _Resolute_ and _Intrepid_, and the +former abandoned. These also had in their turn to be abandoned; but the +united crews in the end reached England in safety. A court-martial was +held on M'Clure, and he was, of course, honourably acquitted. In the +following session a reward of L10,000 was awarded to the officers and crew +of the _Investigator_, and every one of its brave company received a medal +from the Queen, which, doubtless, they have treasured as a memento of the +three dreary yet eventful winters passed by them on the ice.(36) + +Among the earlier vessels employed in the search for Franklin were the +_Advance_ and _Rescue_, sent out from America in 1850, at the expense of +H. Grinnell, Esq., a noble-hearted New York merchant. Lieutenant De Haven +had charge of the expedition, while the afterwards celebrated Dr. Kane +accompanied him as surgeon. De Haven fell in with Ross and Penny, and +examined the first winter quarters of Franklin's party, discovered by the +latter, and of which mention has been already made. He was very much +hampered by the ice, and at the end of the season returned to the United +States from a somewhat fruitless expedition. In addition to the several +expeditions already briefly mentioned here, many attempts, both by land +and sea, to rescue Franklin's band were made between 1851 and 1855. +Captains Inglefield, Frederick, Sir Edward Belcher, Kellett, M'Clintock +(first voyage), Pullen, Maguire, Dr. Kane, and others, sought in vain for +traces of the lost expedition. As we shall see in our succeeding chapter, +Dr. John Rae, an indefatigable and experienced traveller, was more +successful; whilst the crowning discoveries, which for ever settled the +fate of Franklin, were reserved for the gallant M'Clintock of the ever +memorable _Fox_ expedition. + + + + + + CHAPTER XXIII. + + + THE FRANKLIN SEARCH. + + + The Franklin Expedition--The First Relics--Dr. Rae's Discoveries--The + Government tired of the Search--Noble Lady Franklin--The Voyage of + the _Fox_--Beset in the Ice for Eight Months--Enormous Icebergs--Seal + and Bear Hunts--Unearthly Noises under the Floes--Guy Fawkes in the + Arctic--The Fiftieth Seal Shot--A Funeral--A Merry Christmas--New Year + Celebration--Winter Gales--Their Miraculous Escape--Experience of a + Whaler--Breakfast and Ship lost together. + + +In October, 1854, the startling news came from Dr. Rae that he had at +length found some definite traces of the lost expedition. For several +years he had been engaged in the search--principally at the expense of the +Hudson's Bay Company--during which time he had descended the Mackenzie and +Coppermine Rivers, and explored the shores and islands of the Polar Ocean +without success. During his last journey, however, in 1853-4, he had +obtained positive evidence from the Esquimaux regarding the fate of the +_Erebus_ and _Terror_ and their crews. Six years before, in the +spring-time, some forty white men had been seen painfully straggling over +the ice, dragging with them a boat and sledges. They had indicated by +signs that their vessels had been crushed in the ice, and that they were +now trying to reach a habitable part of the country where they might find +game. They were much emaciated from the effects of starvation, exposure, +and unwonted exertion. Later in the same year the corpses of some thirty +persons and some graves were discovered by the Esquimaux on the mainland, +and five other bodies were subsequently found on an island close to it, +and about a day's journey north-west of Back's Great Fish River. Several +of them had died in their tents, and one, believed to have been an +officer, was described as lying on his double-barrelled gun, with his +telescope yet strapped to his shoulders. Dr. Rae obtained a number of +relics from the Esquimaux, including pieces of plate and other articles +known to have belonged to the officers. The Government was satisfied that +these facts indicated the entire loss of the party, and the long +outstanding reward of L10,000 offered to any one who should bring +intelligence of their fate was paid to Dr. Rae and his party. Next season, +Mr. John Anderson, a chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company, while +making a canoe voyage down Great Fish River to Montreal Island and Point +Ogle, obtained some confirmatory evidence and a few more relics from the +natives. + + [Illustration: BACK'S GREAT FISH RIVER.] + +The Government had now become tired of the search, and perhaps for good +reason, for its own officers had not been, as we have seen, successful in +obtaining the desired information, while there had been an immense +expenditure of the public money in fruitless expeditions. It cannot, +however, be wondered at that Lady Franklin had not abandoned all hope, and +that she, in common with many others, was not satisfied with the meagre +evidence of their fate so far obtained. That it pointed to the loss of the +larger part of the officers and men could not be doubted, but there was +yet the possibility of some of them surviving at some distant point it +might be among the Esquimaux. Backed by distinguished naval officers and +men of science and influence, she appealed to the Government to make one +more last effort. It was in vain, and there was nothing for it but a +private expedition. Lady Franklin purchased the steam-yacht _Fox_, and +aided, in a limited degree only, by private subscriptions and some +Government aid, fitted her out most completely. She was soon gratified by +obtaining the willing and gratuitous services of several distinguished +officers. Captain (now Sir) F. L. M'Clintock, who had braved the dangers +of the Arctic with (James) Ross, Austin, and Kellett; Lieutenant W. R. +Hobson, an officer of much experience; Captain Allen Young, of the +merchant marine, who not merely threw his services into the cause, but +subscribed L500 in furtherance of it; and Dr. David Walker, an +accomplished surgeon and scientific man--were all volunteers whose services +were secured. "Many worthy old shipmates," says M'Clintock, "my companions +in the previous Arctic voyages, most readily volunteered their services, +and were as gratefully accepted, for it was my anxious wish to gather +around me well-tried men, who were aware of the duties expected of them +and accustomed to naval discipline. Hence, out of the twenty-five souls +composing our small company, seventeen had previously served in the Arctic +search." Just before starting, Carl Petersen, now so well known to Arctic +readers on account of his subsequent connection with Dr. Kane's +expedition, joined the vessel as interpreter. The vessel was amply +provisioned for twenty-eight months, and the supplies included preserved +vegetables, lemon-juice, and pickles, for daily consumption. The Admiralty +caused 6,682 lbs. of pemmican(37) to be prepared for the expedition, and +the Board of Ordnance furnished the arms, powder and shot, rockets, and +powder for ice blasting. M'Clintock, being anxious to retain for his +vessel the privileges she formerly enjoyed as a yacht, was enrolled as a +member of several of the leading clubs. + +The _Fox_ left England on the last day of June, 1857, and after visiting +some of the Greenland settlements, turned seawards. Seventy miles to the +west of Upernavik the edge of the "middle ice" was reached, and the vessel +caught in its margin of loose ice. They soon steamed out of what might +have been to a sailing vessel a serious predicament, and closely examined +the field for forty miles without finding an opening. M'Clintock, being +satisfied that he could not force a passage through it across Baffin's +Bay, steered to the northward, and on August 12th was in Melville Bay, +where the vessel was made fast to an iceberg which was _grounded_ in +fifty-eight fathoms (348 feet) of water. Here they were again beset by the +ice. Alas! this was but the commencement of their troubles. For 242 +days--or, in other words, for eight months after this--the little _Fox_ was +helplessly and, as it often appeared, hopelessly, drifting with the ice +packed and piled around her, with but a feeble chance of escape, and with +a very strong probability of being crushed to nothing without a moment's +warning. Some extracts from M'Clintock's journal will be found interesting +at this juncture. + +"20th. No favourable ice-drift; this detention has become most painful. +The _Enterprise_ reached the open water upon this day in 1848, within +fifty miles of our present position. Unfortunately, our prospects are not +so cheering. There is no relative motion in the floes of ice, except a +gradual closing together, the small spaces and streaks of water being +still further diminished. The temperature has fallen, and is usually below +the freezing point. I feel most keenly the difficulty of my position. We +cannot afford to lose many more days. + +"The men enjoy a game of rounders on the ice each evening. Petersen and +Christian are constantly on the look-out for seals, as well as Hobson and +Young occasionally. If in good condition and killed instantaneously the +seals float. Several have already been shot. The liver fried with bacon is +excellent. + +"Birds have become scarce. The few we see are returning southward. How +anxiously I watch the ice, weather, barometer, and thermometer! Wind from +any other quarter than south-east would oblige the floe-pieces to +re-arrange themselves, in doing which they would become loose, and then +would be our opportunity to proceed. + +"24th. Fine weather, with very light northerly winds. We have drifted +seven miles to the west in the last two days. The ice is now a close pack, +so close that one may walk for many miles over it in any direction by +merely turning a little to the right or left to avoid the small water +spaces. My frequent visits to the crow's-nest are not inspiriting. How +absolutely distressing this imprisonment is to me no one without similar +experience can form any idea. As yet the crew have but little suspicion +how blighted our prospects are. + +"The dreaded reality of wintering in the pack is gradually forcing itself +upon my mind; but I must not write on this subject: it is bad enough to +brood over it unceasingly. We can see the land all round Melville Bay, +from Cape Walker nearly to Cape York. Petersen is indefatigable at seal +shooting; he is so anxious to secure them for our dogs. He says they must +be hit in the head; 'if you hit him in the beef that is not good,' meaning +that a flesh wound does not prevent their escaping under the ice. Petersen +and Christian practise an Esquimaux mode of attracting the seals. They +scrape the ice, thus making a noise like that produced by a seal in making +a hole with its flippers, and then place one end of a pole in the water +and put their mouths close to the other end, making noises in imitation of +the snorts and grunts of their intended victims. Whether the device is +successful or not I do not know, but it looks laughable enough. + +"Christian came back a few days ago, like a true seal hunter, carrying his +kaiyack on his head, and dragging a seal behind him. Only two years ago +Petersen returned across this bay with Dr. Kane's retreating party. He +shot a seal, which they devoured, and which, under Providence, saved their +lives. Petersen is a good ice pilot, knows all these coasts as well as, or +better than, any man living, and, from long experience and habits of +observation, is almost unerring in his prognostications of the weather. +Besides his great value to us as interpreter, few men are better adapted +for Arctic work--an ardent sportsman, an agreeable companion, never at a +loss for occupation or amusement, and always contented and sanguine. But +we have, happily, many such dispositions in the _Fox_. + +"30th. The whole distance across Melville Bay is 170 miles; of this we +have performed about 120, forty of which we have drifted in the last +fourteen days. + +"Yesterday we set to work as usual to warp the ship along, and moved her +ten feet. An insignificant hummock then blocked up the narrow passage. As +we could not push it before us, a two-pound blasting charge was exploded, +and the surface ice was shattered; but such an immense quantity of broken +ice came up from beneath that the difficulty was greatly increased instead +of being removed. This is one of the many instances in which our small +vessel labours under very great disadvantages in ice navigation; we have +neither sufficient manual power, steam power, nor impetus to force the +floes asunder. I am convinced that a steamer of moderate size and power, +with a crew of forty or fifty men, would have got through a hundred miles +of such ice in less time than we have been beset." + +And so it went on from day to day, M'Clintock knowing that it was fast +becoming hopeless to expect a release, but, nevertheless, keeping his men +well employed in preparations for wintering and sledge-travelling. Every +now and then a "lane" of water opening in the ice would mock their hopes. +On one occasion such an opening appeared within 170 yards of the vessel, +and by the aid of steam and blasting powder they advanced 100 yards +towards it, when the floes again closed up tightly, and they had their +trouble for their pains. Numerous large icebergs were around them. Allen +Young examined one, which was 250 feet high, and aground in 83 fathoms +(498 feet) of water. In other words, the enormous mass was nearly 750 feet +from top to bottom. The reader can judge of such dimensions by comparison: +St. Paul's is only 370 feet in height. The looser ice drifting past this +berg was crushed, and piled up against its sides to a height of fifty +feet. + +Meantime they were very successful in the hunt. Seals were caught in +numbers, and their twenty-nine dogs kept in good condition on the meat. +The dogs were at this period kept on the ice outside the ship, and +occasionally one would start out on a solitary expedition, remaining away +all night, but invariably returning for meal-time. On the evening of +November 2nd there was a sudden call "to arms," and every one, whether +"sleeping, prosing, or schooling"--for Dr. Walker held a school on +board--flew to the ice, where a large he-bear was seen struggling with the +dogs. He had approached within twenty-five yards of the ship before the +quartermaster's eye detected his indistinct outline against the snow. In +crossing some very thin ice he broke through into the water, where he was +surrounded by yelping dogs. Hobson, Young, and Petersen, had each lodged a +bullet in him, but these only seemed to increase his rage. At length he +got out of the water, and would doubtless have demolished some of the +dogs, when M'Clintock, with a well-directed shot, put a bullet through his +brain. The bear was a large one, and its carcase fed the dogs for nearly a +month. M'Clintock says:--"For the few moments of its duration the chase and +death was exciting. And how strange and novel the scene! A misty moon +affording but scanty light, dark figures gliding singly about, not daring +to approach each other, for the ice trembled under their feet, the enraged +bear, the wolfish, howling dogs, and the bright flashes of the deadly +rifles." + +About this period, and while the weather was reasonably fair, unearthly +noises were heard under the ice, and alarming disruptions occurred close +to the ship. Of one of the former occasions M'Clintock writes:--"A renewal +of ice-crushing within a few hundred yards of us; I can hear it in my bed. +The ordinary sound resembles the roar of distant surf breaking heavily and +continuously; but when heavy masses come in collision with much impetus it +fully realises the justness of Dr. Kane's descriptive epithet, 'ice +artillery.' Fortunately for us, our poor little _Fox_ is well within the +margin of a stout old floe; we are therefore undisturbed spectators of +ice-conflicts which would be irresistible to anything of human +construction. Immediately about the ship all is still, and, as far as +appearances go, she is precisely as she would be in a secure harbour, +housed all over, banked up with snow to the gunwales. In fact, her winter +plumage is so complete that the masts alone are visible." + +Whenever it was possible to employ or amuse the men among these dreary +scenes M'Clintock was most desirous that it should be done. Dr. Walker's +school was a genuine success, and the rather old school-boys most diligent +in their studies, which were at first confined to the three R's--reading, +'riting, and 'rithmetic. Later, however, lectures and readings were +organised, and subjects adapted to interest the crew, such as the trade +winds, the atmosphere, the uses of the thermometer, barometer, and so +forth, were chosen. Healthful exercise was afforded to the men in banking +up the ship with snow. On November 5th, says M'Clintock, "in order to vary +our monotonous routine, we determined to celebrate the day." Extra grog +was issued, and one of Lady Franklin's thoughtful presents, in the shape +of preserved plum-pudding, helped to mark the occasion. In the evening a +procession was organised, and the crew sallied forth, with drum, gong, and +discord, to burn a huge effigy of Guy Fawkes upon the ice. "Their +blackened faces, extravagant costumes, glaring torches, and savage yells, +frightened away all the dogs; nor was it till after the fireworks were let +off and the traitor consumed that they crept back again. It was +school-night, but the men were up for fun, so gave the Doctor a holiday." + + [Illustration: ESQUIMAUX CATCHING SEALS.] + +On November 15th Captain Young shot the fiftieth seal, an event which was +celebrated by the drinking of _the_ bottle of champagne which had been +reserved for the occasion of reaching the North Water--an unhappy failure, +the more keenly felt from being so very unexpected. On November 16th +"Petersen saw and fired a shot into a narwhal which brought the blubber +out. When most Arctic creatures are wounded in the water, blubber more +frequently appears than blood, particularly if the wound is superficial; +it spreads over the surface of the water like oil. Bills of fare vary much +in Greenland. I have inquired of Petersen, and he tells me that the +Greenland Esquimaux (there are many Greenlanders of Danish origin) are not +agreed as to which of their animals affords the most delicious food; some +of them prefer reindeer venison, others think more favourably of young +dog, the flesh of which, he asserts, is 'just like the beef of sheep.' He +says a Danish captain, who had acquired the taste, provided some for his +guests, and they praised his _mutton_! After dinner he sent for the skin +of the animal, which was no other than a large red dog! This occurred in +Greenland, where his Danish guests had resided for many years, far removed +from European _mutton_. Baked puppy is a real delicacy all over Polynesia; +at the Sandwich Islands I was once invited to a feast, and had to feign +disappointment as well as I could when told that puppy was so extremely +scarce it could not be procured in time, and therefore sucking-pig was +substituted!" + +On December 2nd an event occurred which cast a gloom over the little +party. One of the engineers, Mr. Scott, had fallen down a hatchway, and +died shortly afterwards from the effect of internal injuries then +received. "A funeral at sea," says M'Clintock, "is always peculiarly +impressive; but this evening, at seven o'clock, as we gathered around the +sad remains of poor Scott, reposing under a Union Jack, and read the +Burial Service by the light of lanterns, the effect could not fail to +awaken very serious emotions. + + [Illustration: A NATURAL ARCH IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS.] + +"The greater part of the Church Service was read on board, under shelter +of the housing; the body was then placed upon a sledge, and drawn by the +messmates of the deceased to a short distance from the ship, where a hole +through the ice had been cut; it was then 'committed to the deep,' and the +service completed. What a scene it was! I shall never forget it. The +lonely _Fox_, almost buried in snow, completely isolated from the +habitable world, her colours half-mast high, and bell mournfully tolling; +our little procession slowly marching over the rough surface of the frozen +sea, guided by lanterns and direction-posts, amid the dark and dreary +depth of Arctic winter; the death-like stillness, the intense cold, and +threatening aspect of a murky overcast sky; and all this heightened by one +of those strange lunar phenomena which are but seldom seen even here--a +complete halo encircling the moon, through which passed a horizontal band +of pale light that encompassed the heavens; above the moon appeared the +segments of two other halos, and there were also mock moons, to the number +of six. The misty atmosphere lent a very ghastly hue to this singular +display, which lasted for rather more than an hour. + +"27th. Our Christmas was a very cheerful, merry one. The men were supplied +with several additional articles, such as hams, plum-puddings, preserved +gooseberries and apples, nuts, sweetmeats, and Burton ale. After Divine +Service they decorated the lower deck with flags, and made an immense +display of food. The officers came down with me to see their preparations. +We were really astonished! Their mess-tables were laid out like the +counters in a confectioner's shop, with apple and gooseberry tarts, plum +and sponge cakes in pyramids, besides various other unknown puffs, cakes, +and loaves of all sizes and shapes. We bake all our own bread, and +excellent it is. In the background were nicely-browned hams, meat-pies, +cheeses, and other substantial articles. Rum-and-water in wine-glasses and +plum cake were handed to us. We wished them a happy Christmas, and +complimented them on their taste and spirit in getting up such a display. +Our silken sledge-banners had been borrowed for the occasion, and were +regarded with deference and peculiar pride. + +"In the evening the officers were enticed down amongst the men again, and +at a late hour I was requested, as a great favour, to come down and see +how much they were enjoying themselves. I found them in the highest +good-humour with themselves and all the world. They were perfectly sober, +and singing songs, each in his turn. I expressed great satisfaction at +having seen them enjoying themselves so much and so rationally; I could +therefore the better describe it to Lady Franklin, who was deeply +interested in everything relating to them. I drank their healths, and +hoped our position next year would be more suitable for our purpose. We +all joined in drinking the healths of Lady Franklin and Miss Cracroft, and +amid the acclamations which followed I returned to my cabin, immensely +gratified by such an exhibition of genuine good-feeling, such veneration +for Lady Franklin, and such loyalty to the cause of the expedition. It was +very pleasant also that they had taken the most cheering view of our +future prospects. I verily believe I was the happiest individual on board +that happy evening." New Year's Day was a second edition of Christmas. At +midnight on December 31st the arrival of 1858 was announced by the band, +consisting of two flutes and an accordion, striking up at the cabin door. +It was accompanied by _other_ music from frying-pans, gridirons, kettles, +pots, and pans, in the hands of the crew, who were determined to have as +much fun as possible under the circumstances. + +The monotonous winter passed on, and still the _Fox_ remained enclosed in +the pack, although occasional disruptions of the ice occurred, some of +them of an alarming nature. The field one day cracked within ten yards of +the ship, and on another occasion M'Clintock, returning from a visit to an +iceberg, was cut off close to the vessel by the sudden opening of a long +streak of water, and had to run a considerable distance before he found a +crossing place, where the jagged edges of the floe met. The little yacht +bore out bravely, although one day hurled up at bows and the next at +stern. Strong gales now and again blew furiously, and drifting, whirling +snow prevented them from seeing or hearing a few yards off. On March 25th, +with a strong north-west wind blowing, the ship rocked in the ice and +rubbed against it, straining and groaning in a manner which caused some +alarm. The boats, provisions, sledges, knapsacks, and other equipments, +were kept ready for a hasty departure. As long as their friendly barrier +lasted there was little cause for fear; but who could tell the moment when +it might be demolished, and the ship crack like a nutshell among the +grinding, crashing ice masses? On the 27th and 28th strong gales broke up +the ice to some extent, and in two days the _Fox_ drifted thirty-nine +miles. But the story would be as monotonous in the telling as was their +life in reality were we to detail it day by day. Suffice it to say, on +April 24th, after they had drifted 1,385 miles, the vessel, although not +by any means clear of the ice, which was dashed against it by the swell, +and which often choked their screw and brought the engines to a dead stop, +was out of imminent danger. Their escape had been little short of +miraculous, and a sailing vessel, however strong, would probably never +have so successfully braved the dangers of the pack as did the little +steam-yacht _Fox_. Its commander writes feelingly on the 26th:--"At sea! +How am I to describe the events of the last two days? It has pleased God +to accord to us a deliverance in which His merciful protection +contrasts--how strongly!--with our own utter helplessness; as if the +successive mercies vouchsafed to us during our long winter and mysterious +ice-drift had been concentrated and repeated in a single act. Thus +forcibly does His great goodness come home to the mind!" Their troubles, +anxieties, and doubts, were over, and two days later they were safely +anchored off Holsteinborg, enjoying the hospitalities of the Danes. + +M'Clintock refers, _apropos_ of his own experience, to a whaler, whose +vessel, nipped in the ice, was lost in little less time than it takes to +tell the story. "It was a beautiful morning; they had almost reached the +North Water, and were anticipating a very successful voyage; the steward +had just reported breakfast ready, when Captain Deuchars, seeing the floes +closing together ahead of the ship, remained on deck to see her pass +safely between them. But they closed too quickly; the vessel was _almost_ +through when the points of ice caught her sides, abreast of the +mizen-mast, and, passing through, held the wreck up for a few minutes, +barely long enough for the crew to escape and save their boats! Poor +Deuchars thus suddenly lost his breakfast and his ship; within _ten +minutes_ her royal yards disappeared beneath the surface." The vessel was +a strong one, supposed to be exactly adapted for whaling, but the powerful +nip she received was too much for her. The _Fox_, in spite of her long +imprisonment, was far more fortunate. + + + + + + CHAPTER XXIV. + + + THE LAST TRACES. + + + M'Clintock's Summer Explorations--The Second Winter--Sledging + Parties--Snow Huts--Near the Magnetic Pole--Meeting with + Esquimaux--Franklin Relics obtained--Objection of Esquimaux to Speak + of the Dead--Hobson's Discovery of the Franklin Records--Fate of the + _Erebus_ and _Terror_--Large Quantity of Relics Purchased from the + Natives--The Skeleton on the Beach--Fate of Crozier's Party--"As they + Fell they Died"--The Record at Point Victory--Boat with Human + Remains Discovered--The Wrecks never Seen--Return of the _Fox_. + + +During the summer of 1858 M'Clintock made several detailed examinations of +Eclipse Sound, Pond's Bay, Peel Strait, Regent's Inlet, and Bellot Strait, +without discovering the faintest trace of the lost party. The _Fox_ was +again to winter in the Arctic--this time, however, under favourable +circumstances--Port Kennedy, a harbour of Bellot Strait, being selected. +The early winter of 1858-9 passed away without any occurrences of great +importance, the ship being safely placed and the crew still well +provisioned. One important member of the expedition, Mr. Brand, the chief +engineer, died of apoplexy on November 7th, and, in consequence, +M'Clintock himself had, at a later period, not merely to navigate the +vessel, but to manage the engines. + + [Illustration: CAPTAIN (AFTERWARDS SIR LEOPOLD) M'CLINTOCK.] + +Again their Christmas was spent in the happiest manner, and, says +M'Clintock, "with a degree of loyalty to the good old English custom at +once spirited and refreshing. All the good things which could possibly be +collected together appeared upon the snow-white deal tables of the men as +the officers and myself walked, by invitation, round the lower deck. +Venison, beer, and a fresh supply of clay pipes, appeared to be the most +prized luxuries; but the abundance and variety of the eatables, tastefully +laid out, were such as well might support the delusion which all seemed +desirous of imposing upon themselves--that they were in a land of plenty--in +fact, _all but_ at home! We contributed a large cheese and some preserves, +and candles superseded the ordinary smoky lamps. With so many comforts, +and the existence of so much genuine good feeling, their evening was a +joyous one, enlivened also by songs and music." Without, the scene was +widely different. A fierce nor'-wester howled through the rigging, the +snow-drift rustled swiftly past, no star appeared through the oppressive +gloom, and the thermometer varied between 76 deg. and 80 deg. _below the freezing_ +point. At one time it was impossible to visit the magnetic observatory, +although only 210 yards distant, and with a rope stretched along, breast +high, upon poles the whole way. After making all proper arrangements, +M'Clintock and Young started out on February 17th, in different +directions, with sledges and searching parties. The cold was intense: on +the 18th the thermometer registered 48 deg. (80 deg. below freezing); and even the +poor dogs felt the effects, their feet becoming lame and sore in +consequence of the hardness of the snow. + + [Illustration: AN ESQUIMAUX SLEDGE AND TEAM OF DOGS.] + +We are now approaching the _denoument_--the climax of the painful story +which tells us of the sad fate of two whole ships' companies amid the +perils and horror of the frozen seas. We cannot do better than present the +narrative for the most part in the graphic words of M'Clintock. "On the +1st of March," he writes, "we halted to encamp at about the position of +the Magnetic Pole, for no cairn remains to mark the spot. I had almost +concluded that my journey would prove to be a work of labour in vain, +because hitherto no traces of Esquimaux had been met with, and in +consequence of the reduced state of our provisions and the wretched +condition of the poor dogs--six out of the fifteen being quite useless--I +could only advance one more march. + +"But we had done nothing more than look _ahead_; when we halted and turned +round, great indeed was my surprise and joy to see four men walking after +us. Petersen and I immediately buckled on our revolvers, and advanced to +meet them. The natives halted, made fast their dogs, laid down their +spears, and received us without any evidence of surprise.... + +"We gave them to understand that we were anxious to barter with them, and +very cautiously approached the real object of our visit. A naval button +upon one of their dresses afforded the opportunity; it came, they said, +from some white people who were starved upon an island where there are +salmon (that is, in a river), and that the iron of which their knives were +made came from the same place. One of these men said he had been to the +island to obtain wood and iron, but none of them had seen the white men. +Another man had been to 'Ei-wil-lik' (Repulse Bay), and counted on his +fingers seven individuals of Rae's party whom he remembered having +seen.... + +"Despite the gale which howled outside, we spent a comfortable night in +our roomy hut. + +"Next morning the entire village population arrived, amounting to about +forty-five souls, from aged people to infants in arms, and bartering +commenced very briskly. First of all we purchased all the relics of the +lost expedition, consisting of six silver spoons and forks, a silver medal +the property of Mr. A. McDonald, assistant surgeon, part of a gold chain, +several buttons, and knives made of the iron and wood of the wreck; also +bows and arrows constructed of materials obtained from the same source. +Having secured these, we purchased a few frozen salmon, some seal's +blubber, and venison, but could not prevail upon them to part with more +than one of their fine dogs. One of their sledges was made of two stout +pieces of wood, which might have been a boat's keel. + +"All the old people recollected the visit of the _Victory_. An old man +told me his name was 'Ooblooria.' I recollected that Sir James Ross had +employed a man of that name as a guide, and reminded him of it; he was, in +fact, the same individual, and he inquired after Sir James by his +Esquimaux name of 'Agglugga.' + +"I inquired after the man who was furnished with a wooden leg by the +carpenter of the _Victory_; no direct answer was given, but his daughter +was pointed out to me. Petersen explained to me that they do not like +alluding in any way to the dead, and that, as my question was not +answered, it was certain the man was no longer amongst the living." + +M'Clintock returned to the _Fox_, having travelled 420 miles in their +twenty-five days' absence, and having also completed the survey of the +coast line of continental America, thereby adding about 120 miles to our +charts. On reaching the ship the crew was at once assembled, and the +information obtained laid before the men, M'Clintock pointing out that one +of the ships still remained unaccounted for, and that they must carry out +to the full all the projected lines of search. + +After several sledge journeys to the various depots previously made, to +collect provisions deposited there, the search was resumed, M'Clintock and +Hobson leading two parties in different directions. + +On their return M'Clintock writes as follows, under date of June 24th:--"I +have visited Montreal Island, completed the exploration and circuit of +King William's Island, passing on foot through the only feasible +North-west Passage; but all this is as nothing to the interest attached to +the _Franklin records_ picked up by Hobson, and now safe in my possession. +We now know the fate of the _Erebus_ and _Terror_. The sole object of our +voyage has at length been completed, and we anxiously await the time when +escape from these bleak regions will become practicable." + +On April 20th two families of the same people previously encountered at +Cape Victoria were found in their snow huts upon the ice. M'Clintock +says:--"After much anxious inquiry we learned that two ships had been seen +by the natives of King William's Island: one of them was seen to sink in +deep water, and nothing was obtained from her, a circumstance at which +they expressed much regret; but the other was forced on shore by the ice, +where they suppose she still remains, but is much broken. From this ship +they have obtained most of their wood, &c., and Oot-loo-lik is the name of +the place where she grounded. + +"Formerly many natives lived there, now very few remain. All the natives +have obtained plenty of wood. + +"The most of this information was given us by the young man who sold the +knife. Old Oo-na-lee, who drew the rough chart for me in March to show +where the ship sank, now answered our questions respecting the one forced +on shore; not a syllable about her did he mention on the former occasion, +although we asked whether they knew of only one ship. I think he would +willingly have kept us in ignorance of a wreck being upon their coasts, +and that the young man unwittingly made it known to us. + +"The latter also told us that the body of a man was found on board the +ship; that he must have been a very large man, and had long teeth: this is +all he recollected having been told, for he was quite a child at the time. + +"They both told us it was in the fall of the year--that is, August or +September--when the ships were destroyed; that all the white people went +away to the 'large river,' taking a boat or boats with them, and that in +the following winter their bones were found there."(38) + +On May 7th, to avoid snow-blindness, the party commenced night marching. +Crossing over from Matty Island towards the King William's Island shore, +they continued their march southward until midnight, when they had the +good fortune to arrive at an inhabited snow village. They halted at a +little distance, and pitched their tent, the better to secure small +articles from being stolen whilst they bartered with them. M'Clintock +purchased from them six pieces of silver plate bearing the crests or +initials of Franklin, Crozier, Fairholme, and McDonald; they also sold +them bows and arrows of English woods, uniform and other buttons, and +offered a heavy sledge made of two short stout pieces of curved wood, +which no mere boat could have furnished them with; but this, of course, +could not be taken away; the silver spoons and forks were readily sold for +four needles each. The narrative continues:-- + +"Having obtained all the relics they possessed, I purchased some seal's +flesh, blubber, frozen venison, dried and frozen salmon, and sold some of +my puppies. They told us it was five days' journey to the wreck--one day up +the inlet still in sight, and four days overland: this would carry them to +the western coast of King William's Land; they added that but little now +remained of the wreck which was accessible, their countrymen having +carried almost everything away. In answer to an inquiry, they said she was +without masts; the question gave rise to some laughter amongst them, and +they spoke to each other about _fire_, from which Petersen thought they +had burnt the masts through close to the deck in order to get them down. + +"There had been _many books_, they said, but all have long ago been +destroyed by the weather. The ship was forced on shore in the fall of the +year by ice. She had not been visited during this past winter, and an old +woman and a boy were shown to us who were the last to visit the wreck; +they said they had been at it during the winter of 1857-8. + +"Petersen questioned the woman closely, and she seemed anxious to give all +the information in her power. She said many of the white men dropped by +the way as they went to the Great River; that some of them were buried and +some were not. They did not themselves witness this, but discovered their +bodies during the winter following." + +Having examined Montreal and King William's Island, they started on the +return journey. After three weeks' travel M'Clintock continues:--"We were +now upon the shore along which the retreating crews must have marched. My +sledges, of course, travelled upon the sea-ice close along the shore; and +although the depth of snow which covered the beach deprived us of almost +every hope, yet we kept a very sharp look-out for traces; nor were we +unsuccessful. Shortly after midnight of the 25th of May, when slowly +walking along a gravel ridge near the beach, which the winds kept +partially bare of snow, I came upon a human skeleton, partly exposed, with +here and there a few fragments of clothing appearing through the snow. The +skeleton--now perfectly bleached--was lying upon its face, the limbs and +smaller bones either dissevered or gnawed away by small animals. + +"A most careful examination of the spot was, of course, made, the snow +removed, and every scrap of clothing gathered up. A pocket-book afforded +strong grounds for hope that some information might be subsequently +obtained respecting the unfortunate owner and the calamitous march of the +lost crews, but at the time it was frozen hard. The substance of that +which we gleaned upon the spot may thus be summed up:-- + + [Illustration: CAPE YORK, MELVILLE BAY.] + +"This victim was a young man, slightly built, and perhaps above the common +height; the dress appeared to be that of a steward or officer's servant, +the loose bow-knot in which his neck-handkerchief was tied not being used +by officers or seamen. In every particular the dress confirmed our +conjectures as to his rank or office in the late expedition--the blue +jacket with slashed sleeves and braided edging, and the pilot-cloth +great-coat with plain covered buttons. We found a clothes-brush near and a +horn pocket-comb. This poor man seems to have selected the bare ridge-top +as affording the least tiresome walking, and to have fallen on his face in +the position in which we found him. + +"It was a melancholy truth that the old woman spoke when she said, 'They +fell down and died as they walked along.' + +"I do not think the Esquimaux had discovered this skeleton, or they would +have carried off the brush and comb. Superstition prevents them from +disturbing their own dead, but would not keep them from appropriating the +property of the white man, if in any way useful to them. Dr. Rae obtained +a piece of flannel marked 'F. D. V., 1845,' from the Esquimaux of Boothia +or Repulse Bay; it had doubtless been a part of poor Des Voeux's garments." + +It is impossible with the space at command to give in detailed form the +interesting narrative of M'Clintock's and Hobson's careful explorations. +"The Voyage of the _Fox_" should be read in the original by all interested +in Arctic adventure, for the modest and graphic account of it given by +M'Clintock bears the impress of absolute truth, without the slightest +attempt at fine writing or exaggeration. + + [Illustration: RELICS BROUGHT BACK BY THE FRANKLIN SEARCH EXPEDITION.] + +About twelve miles from Cape Herschel M'Clintock found a small cairn, +built by Hobson's party, and containing a note for the commander. He had +reached this, his extreme point, six days previously, without having seen +anything of the wreck or of natives, but he had found a record--the record, +so ardently sought for, of the Franklin expedition--at Point Victory, on +the north-west coast of King William's Land. It read as follows:-- + + + + + + +"'_28th May, 1847._--H.M. ships _Erebus_ and _Terror_ wintered in the ice +in lat. 70 deg. 05' N., long. 98 deg. 23' W. + +"'Having wintered, in 1846-7, at Beechey Island, in lat. 74 deg. 43' 28" N., +long. 91 deg. 39' 15" W., after having ascended Wellington Channel to lat. +77 deg., and returned by the west side of Cornwallis Island. + +"'All well. + +"'Party, consisting of two officers and six men, left the ships on Monday, +24th May, 1847. + + "'GM. GORE, Lieut. + "'CHAS. F. DES VOEUX, Mate.' + + + + + + +"Had this been all, it would have been the record of a grand success. But, +alas! round the margin of the paper upon which Lieutenant Gore, in 1847, +wrote those words of hope and promise another had subsequently written the +following words:-- + + + + + + +"'_April 25th, 1848._--H.M. ships _Terror_ and _Erebus_ were deserted on +the 22nd April, five leagues NNW. of this, having been beset since 12th +September, 1846. The officers and crews, consisting of 105 souls, under +the command of Captain F. R. M. Crozier, landed here in lat. 69 deg. 37' 42", +long. 98 deg. 41' W. Sir John Franklin died on the 11th June, 1847; and the +total loss by deaths in the expedition has been, to this date, nine +officers and fifteen men. + +"'(Signed) "'(Signed) +"'F. R. M. CROZIER, "'JAMES FITZJAMES, +"'Captain, and Senior Officer. "'Captain H.M.S. + _Erebus_. +"'And start (on) to-morrow, 26th, for +Back's Fish River.'(39) + + + + + + +"In the short space of twelve months how mournful had become the history +of Franklin's expedition! how changed from the cheerful 'All well' of +Graham Gore! The spring of 1847 found them within ninety miles of the +known sea off the coast of America; and to men who had already, in two +seasons, sailed over 500 miles of previously unexplored waters, how +confident must they have then felt that that forthcoming navigable season +of 1847 would see their ships pass over so short an intervening space! It +was ruled otherwise. Within a month after Lieutenant Gore placed the +record on Point Victory the much-loved leader of the expedition, Sir John +Franklin, was dead; and the following spring found Captain Crozier, upon +whom the command had devolved, at King William's Land, endeavouring to +save his starving men, 105 souls in all, from a terrible death, by +retreating to the Hudson's Bay territories up the Back or Great Fish +River. + +"A sad tale was never told in fewer words. There is something deeply +touching in their extreme simplicity, and they show in the strongest +manner that both the leaders of this retreating party were actuated by the +loftiest sense of duty, and met with calmness and decision the fearful +alternative of a last bold struggle for life rather than perish without +effort on board their ships. We well know that the _Erebus_ and _Terror_ +were only provisioned up to July, 1848." + +M'Clintock reached the western extremity of King William's Island on May +29th, and on the following day encamped alongside a deserted boat of +considerable size, which had already been examined by Hobson, who had left +a note. A quantity of tattered clothing, &c., remained near it. + +"But," says M'Clintock, "all these were after observations; there was that +in the boat that transfixed us with awe. It was portions of two human +skeletons. One was that of a slight young person; the other of a large, +strongly-made, middle-aged man. The former was found in the bow of the +boat, but in too much disturbed a state to enable Hobson to judge whether +the sufferer had died there; large and powerful animals, probably wolves, +had destroyed much of this skeleton, which may have been that of an +officer. Near it we found the fragment of a pair of worked slippers.... +Besides these slippers there were a pair of small, strong, shooting +half-boots. The other skeleton was in a somewhat more perfect state(40), +and was enveloped with clothes and furs; it lay across the boat, under the +after thwart. Close beside it were found five watches; and there were two +double-barrelled guns--one barrel in each loaded and cocked--standing muzzle +upwards against the boat's side. It may be imagined with what deep +interest these sad relics were scrutinised, and how anxiously every +fragment of clothing was turned over in search of pockets and +pocket-books, journals, or even names. Five or six small books were found, +all of them Scriptural or devotional works, except the 'Vicar of +Wakefield.' One little book, 'Christian Melodies,' bore an inscription on +the title-page from the donor to G. G. (Graham Gore?). A small Bible +contained numerous marginal notes and whole passages underlined. Besides +these books, the covers of a New Testament and Prayer Book were found. + +"Amongst an amazing quantity of clothing there were seven or eight pairs +of boots of various kinds--cloth winter boots, sea-boots, heavy +ankle-boots, and strong shoes. I noted that there were silk +handkerchiefs--black, white, and figured--towels, soap, sponge, tooth-brush, +and hair-combs; macintosh gun-cover marked outside with paint A 12, and +lined with black cloth. Besides these articles we found twine, nails, +saws, files, bristles, wax-ends, sailmakers' palms, powder, bullets, shot, +cartridges, wads, leather cartridge-case, knives--clasp and dinner +ones--needle and thread cases, slow-match, several bayonet-scabbards cut +down into knife-sheaths, two rolls of sheet-lead, and, in short, a +quantity of articles of one description and another truly astonishing in +variety, and such as, for the most part, modern sledge-travellers in these +regions would consider a mere accumulation of dead weight, but slightly +useful, and very likely to break down the strength of the sledge crews. + +"The only provisions we could find were tea and chocolate: of the former +very little remained, but there were nearly forty pounds of the latter. +These articles alone could never support life in such a climate, and we +found neither biscuit nor meat of any kind. A portion of tobacco, and an +empty pemmican-tin capable of containing twenty-two pounds weight, were +discovered. The tin was marked with an E; it had probably belonged to the +_Erebus_. None of the fuel originally brought from the ships remained in +or about the boat, but there was no lack of it, for a drift-tree was lying +on the beach close at hand, and had the party been in need of fuel they +would have used the paddles and bottom boards of the boat." In the after +part of the boat twenty-six pieces of plate--spoons and forks--were found, +bearing the crests or initials of Franklin and his officers. The reader +can see all these interesting relics at Greenwich Hospital, and he will +hardly examine them without dropping a tear at the remembrances they +recall. + +Although M'Clintock and Hobson put forth almost superhuman effort to +discover the wrecks, they were never found, and the probability is that +they had broken up and were carried to sea at the disruption of the ice. +After making every attempt possible to discover further traces of the lost +party, M'Clintock and the rest returned to the _Fox_. On August 10th the +vessel's bows were pointed homewards, and forty days later she reached the +English Channel, after one of the most remarkable and successful Arctic +voyages ever made. + +The narrative is finished. It records one of the saddest tragedies of +modern days. Amidst all the perils of wreck, and fire, and flood, there +has generally been a loophole of escape for some few; here every man of +those gallant crews perished, the larger part while helplessly +endeavouring to reach a haven of safety. "They fell down and died as they +walked along." + +The Arctic medal was awarded to all the officers and crew of the _Fox_, +and one of the first uses made by the men of their pay was to purchase for +Captain M'Clintock a handsome gold chronometer. That brave and successful +explorer was deservedly feted and honoured wherever he went, and, as most +readers are aware, was subsequently knighted. + + + + + + CHAPTER XXV. + + + KANE'S MEMORABLE EXPEDITION. + + + Dr. Kane's Expedition--His short but eventful Career--Departure of + the _Advance_--Dangers of the Voyage--Grinding Ice--Among the Bergs--A + Close Shave--Nippings--The Brig towed from the Ice-beach--Smith's + Sound--Rensselaer Harbour--Winter Quarters--Return of an Exploring + Party--Fearful Sufferings--To the Rescue--Saved--Curious Effects of + Intense Cold. + + +Although the expedition about to be described left the United States in +1852--several years before M'Clintock's memorable voyage--and although it +was organised especially for the Franklin search, its consideration has +been deferred till now, in order not to interfere with the narrative of +the discoveries relative to the lost expedition. Dr. Kane was not, indeed, +to share with Rae and M'Clintock the honour of determining the fate of +Franklin and his brave companions, but he was, and long must be, destined +to hold a foremost place among the great Arctic explorers of all ages, +while his work is one of the classics of Arctic literature.(41) + +Dr. Kane was in the field of action he eventually chose one of the most +ardent and enthusiastic workers; indeed, the untiring energy and +perseverance with which he laboured in the face of all difficulties +entitle him to be considered a model explorer. His short life had been +full of adventure. Born on February 3rd, 1820, he became at a very early +age an assistant-surgeon in the United States navy, and visited most parts +of the world, including China, India, Ceylon, and the coasts of Africa. At +a station of the latter he was stricken down with "coast fever," and never +entirely recovered from the effects. He was engaged in the Mexican war +with the United States, and succeeded in passing through the enemy's lines +with an oral despatch to the American head-quarters, when several others +had failed. On the voyage from New Orleans to Mexico he was shipwrecked, +and was afterwards laid low with typhus fever in the latter country. His +first visit to the Arctic was, as already mentioned, in company with +Lieutenant De Haven. He died at Havana, shortly after his return from the +expedition we are about to record. His slight frame had been too severely +tested; the flesh was weaker than the spirit; and at the early age of +thirty-seven he passed away, leaving behind a reputation scarcely second +to that of any Arctic explorer. Ambitious always, he was nevertheless one +of the most thoughtful and humane of commanders. When his men were almost +starving, he travelled, sometimes alone, long distances on the ice and +snow for succour and relief; when nearly every member of his party was +stricken down with scurvy, he nursed, cooked, and cared for them, +oft-times when enfeebled, downhearted, and scarcely able to stand himself. +His naval education had made him appreciate the value of discipline, but +where humanity was concerned self-abnegation was his leading +characteristic. Kane could most assuredly be termed a _practical_ +Christian. All honour to his memory! + + [Illustration: WHALE SOUND, GREENLAND] + +Dr. Kane received special orders in December, 1852, from the then +Secretary of the United States navy, "to conduct an expedition to the +Arctic seas in search of Sir John Franklin." The noble-hearted American +merchant, Mr. Grinnell of New York, who had organised De Haven's +expedition, placed a brig, the _Advance_, at his disposal. Mr. Peabody, +the American benefactor of the London poor, contributed handsomely to the +outfit, which was aided by several scientific institutions. The United +States Government detailed ten officers and men from the navy, which with +seven others made up the full complement of the expedition. Leaving New +York on May 30th, 1853, South Greenland was reached on July 1st. Several +Danish settlements were visited on the way north, where they received much +hospitality, and obtained skins, fur clothing, and native dogs. + +As we have already seen, Baffin was the discoverer of Smith's Sound. From +the year 1616, the date of his visit, until Kane explored it, no European +or American had sailed over its waters. The voyage of the _Advance_ +thither was one of peril and difficulty. Storm succeeded storm; the little +brig was constantly beset and nearly crushed in the ice, and sometimes +heeled over to such an extent that it seemed a miracle when she righted. +Dr. Kane's description of some of the dangers through which they passed is +very graphic. + +"At seven in the morning we were close on to the piling masses. We dropped +our heaviest anchor with the desperate hope of winding the brig; but there +was no withstanding the ice-torrent that followed us. We had only time to +fasten a spar as a buoy to the chain, and let her slip. So went our best +bower. + +"Down we went upon the gale again, helplessly scraping along a lee of ice +seldom less than thirty feet thick; one floe, measured by a line as we +tried to fasten to it, more than forty. I had seen such ice only once +before, and never in such rapid motion. One upturned mass rose above our +gunwale, smashing in our bulwarks, and depositing half a ton of ice in a +lump upon our decks. Our staunch little brig bore herself through all this +wild adventure as if she had a charmed life. + +"But a new enemy came in sight ahead. Directly in our way, just beyond the +line of floe-ice against which we were alternately sliding and thumping, +was a group of bergs. We had no power to avoid them; the only question +was, whether we were to be dashed in pieces against them, or whether they +might not offer us some providential nook of refuge against the storm. But +as we neared them we perceived that they were at some distance from the +floe-edge, and separated from it by an interval of open water. Our hopes +rose as the gale drove us towards this passage and into it; and we were +ready to exult when, from some unexplained cause--probably an eddy of the +wind against the lofty ice-walls--we lost our headway. Almost at the same +moment we saw that the bergs were not at rest, that with a momentum of +their own they were bearing down upon the other ice, and that it must be +our fate to be crushed between the two. + +"Just then a broad sconce-piece, or low water-washed berg, came driving up +from the southward. The thought flashed upon me of one of our escapes in +Melville Bay; and as the sconce moved rapidly alongside us, M'Garry +managed to plant an anchor on its slope and hold on to it by a whale line. +It was an anxious moment. Our noble tow-horse, whiter than the pale horse +that seemed to be pursuing us, hauled us bravely on, the spray dashing +over his windward flanks, and his forehead ploughing up the lesser ice as +if in scorn. The bergs encroached upon us as we advanced; our channel +narrowed to a width of perhaps forty feet; we braced the yards to clear +the impending ice-walls.... We passed clear, but it was a close shave--so +close that our port quarter-boat would have been crushed if we had not +taken it in from the davits--and found ourselves under the lee of a berg, +in a comparative open lead. Never did heart-tried men acknowledge with +more gratitude their merciful deliverance from a wretched death." And so +the narrative continues--a long series of hairbreadth escapes from the +nippings and crushing of the ice. Kane says at this juncture:-- + +"During the whole of the scenes I have been trying to describe I could not +help being struck by the composed and manly demeanour of my comrades. The +turmoil of ice under a heavy sea often conveys the impression of danger +when the reality is absent; but in this fearful passage the parting of our +hawsers, the loss of our anchors, the abrupt crushing of our stoven +bulwarks, and the actual deposit of ice upon our decks, would have tried +the nerves of the most experienced ice-man. All--officers and men--worked +alike. Upon each occasion of collision with the ice which formed our lee +coast, efforts were made to carry out lines, and some narrow escapes were +incurred by the zeal of the parties leading them into positions of danger. +Mr. Bonsall avoided being crushed by leaping to a floating fragment; and +no less than four of our men at one time were carried down by the drift, +and could only be recovered by a relief party after the gale had subsided. + +"As our brig, borne on by the ice, commenced her ascent of the berg, the +suspense was oppressive. The immense blocks piled against her, range upon +range, pressing themselves under her keel and throwing her over upon her +side, till, urged by the successive accumulations, she rose slowly, and as +if with convulsive efforts, along the sloping wall. Still there was no +relaxation of the impelling force. Shock after shock, jarring her to her +very centre, she continued to mount steadily on her precarious cradle. But +for the groaning of her timbers and the heavy sough of the floes we might +have heard a pin drop; and then as she settled down into her old position, +quietly taking her place among the broken rubbish, there was a deep +breathing silence, as though all were waiting for some signal before the +clamour of congratulation and comment should burst forth." After the storm +had abated, the crew went on the ice-beach and towed the vessel a +considerable distance, being harnessed up, as Kane says, "like mules on a +canal." Shortly afterwards a council was called to consider the +feasibility of proceeding northward or returning southward to find a +wintering place, and the latter idea was the more favourably received. +After some further discussion it was resolved to cross the bay in which +they now were to its northern headland, and thence despatch sledging +parties in quest of a suitable spot to "dock" the brig. On the way across +the vessel grounded and heeled over, throwing men out of their berths and +setting the cabin-deck on fire by upsetting the stove. She was surrounded +with ice, which piled up in immense heaps. These alarming experiences were +repeated on several occasions. Dr. Kane meantime took a whale-boat, well +sheathed with tin, ahead of the brig, and after about twenty-four hours +came to a solid ice-shelf or table, clinging round the base of the cliffs. +They hauled up the boat and then prepared for a sledge journey. The rough +and difficult nature of their icy route may be inferred from the fact that +it took them five days to make a _direct_ distance of forty miles, while +they had travelled twice that distance in reality. They then arrived at a +bay into which a large river fell. This Kane considers the largest stream +of North Greenland; its width at the mouth was three-fourths of a mile. +Its course was afterwards pursued to an interior glacier, from the base of +which it was found to issue in numerous streams. By the banks of this +river they encamped, lulled by the unusual music of running waters. +"Here," says Kane, "protected from the frost by the infiltration of the +melted snows, and fostered by the reverberation of solar heat from the +rocks, we met a flower growth, which, though drearily Arctic in its type, +was rich in variety and colouring. Amid festuca and other tufted grasses +twinkled the purple lychnis, and the white star of the chickweed; and, not +without its pleasing associations, I recognised a solitary hesperis--the +Arctic representative of the wallflowers of home." After a careful +examination of the bays and anchorages, Rensselaer Harbour, the spot where +he had left the _Advance_, was chosen for their winter quarters, and a +storehouse and observatory were erected ashore. + +The return of an exploring party, which had suffered severely, is well +described by Kane. "We were at work cheerfully, sewing away at the skins +of some mocassins by the blaze of our lamps, when, towards midnight, we +heard the noise of steps above, and the next minute Sontag, Ohlsen, and +Petersen, came down into the cabin. Their manner startled me even more +than their unexpected appearance on board. They were swollen and haggard, +and hardly able to speak. + +"Their story was a fearful one. They had left their companions in the ice, +risking their own lives to bring us the news. Brooks, Baker, Wilson, and +Pierre, were all lying frozen and disabled. Where? They could not tell. +Somewhere in among the hummocks to the north and east. It was drifting +heavily round them when they parted. Irish Tom had stayed by to feed and +care for the others, but the chances were sorely against them. It was in +vain to question them further. They had evidently travelled a great +distance, for they were sinking with fatigue and hunger, and could hardly +be rallied enough to tell us the direction in which they had come." + + [Illustration: DR. KANE.] + +Kane's promptness saved the party. A sledge was hastily loaded, Ohlsen +deposited upon it, wrapped in furs, and an immediate departure made. The +thermometer stood at 76 deg. below freezing. For sixteen hours they struggled +on, till at length they came to a place where Ohlsen had to acknowledge he +was quite "at sea," and could not recognise the landmarks. Kane +continues:--"Pushing ahead of the party, and clambering over some rugged +ice-piles, I came to a long level floe, which I thought might probably +have attracted the eyes of weary men in circumstances like our own. It was +a light conjecture, but it was enough to turn the scale, for there was no +other to balance it. I gave orders to abandon the sledge, and disperse in +search of footmarks. We raised our tent, placed our pemmican in cache, +except a small allowance for each man to carry on his person, and poor +Ohlsen, now just able to keep his legs, was liberated from his bag. The +thermometer had fallen by this time to minus 49 deg. 3' and the wind was +setting in sharp from the north-west. It was out of the question to halt; +it required brisk exercise to keep us from freezing. The men 'extended' in +skirmishing order, but kept nervously closing up; several were seized with +trembling fits, and Dr. Kane fainted twice from the effect of the intense +cold. At length a sledge track was discovered, which followed, brought +them in sight of a small American flag fluttering from a hummock, and +lower down a little masonic banner, hanging from a tent-pole hardly above +the drift. It was the camp of our disabled comrades; we reached it after +an unbroken march of twenty-one hours. + +"The little tent was nearly covered.... As I crawled in, and coming upon +the darkness, heard before me the burst of welcome gladness that came from +the four poor fellows stretched on their backs, and then for the first +time the cheer outside, my weakness and my gratitude together almost +overcame me. They had expected me; they were sure I would come!" The tent +only being capable of holding eight, while there were fifteen souls in +all, they had to take "watch and watch" by turns. When sufficiently rested +and refreshed, the sick men were sewn up in reindeer skins and placed on +the sledge. Although they left all superfluous articles behind, the load +was eleven hundred pounds. "We made by vigorous pulls and lifts nearly a +mile an hour.... Almost without premonition, we all became aware of an +alarming failure of our energies. I was of course familiar with the +benumbed and almost lethargic sensation of extreme cold.... But I had +treated the _sleepy comfort_ of freezing as something like the +embellishment of romance. I had evidence now to the contrary. + +"Bonsall and Morton, two of our stoutest men, came to me, begging +permission to sleep. 'They were not cold, the wind did not enter them now; +a little sleep was all they wanted.' Presently Hans was found nearly stiff +under a drift, and Thomas, bolt upright, had his eyes closed, and could +hardly articulate. At last John Blake threw himself into the snow, and +refused to rise. They did not complain of feeling cold, but it was in vain +that I wrestled, boxed, ran, argued, jeered, or reprimanded--an immediate +halt could not be avoided." The tent was pitched with much difficulty, and +then Kane with one man pushed on to a tent and cache left the previous +day, his object being to prepare some hot food before the rest arrived. He +continues:--"I cannot tell how long it took us to make the nine miles, for +we were in a strange kind of stupor, and had little apprehension of time. +It was probably about four hours. We kept ourselves awake by imposing on +each other a continued articulation of words; they must have been +incoherent enough! I recall these hours as amongst the most wretched I +have ever gone through. We were neither of us in our right senses, and +retained a very confused recollection of what preceded our arrival at the +tent. We both of us, however, remember a bear who walked leisurely before +us, and tore up as he went a jumper that Mr. M'Garry had improvidently +thrown off the day before. He tore it into shreds and rolled it into a +ball, but never offered to interfere with our progress. I remember this, +and with it a confused sentiment that our tent and buffalo robe might +probably share the same fate." This was a really wonderful example of the +almost _intoxicating_ and bewildering effect of intense cold, frequently +noted by arctic explorers. They were dazed, and walked as in a dream. But +they arrived safely at the tent, and by the time the others came up had a +good steaming pemmican soup ready. When they again started, Kane tried the +effect of brief _three-minute_ naps in the snow, the men taking it in +turns to wake each other, and he considered the result satisfactory. After +many a halt they reached the brig. Two of the men had to undergo +amputation of parts of the foot, and two died, in spite of unremitting +care. The searching party had been out seventy-two hours, during which +they had only rested eight. + + + + + + CHAPTER XXVI. + + + KANE'S EXPEDITION (_continued_). + + + Arrival of Esquimaux at the Brig--A Treaty Concluded--Hospitality on + Board--Arctic Appetites--Sledge Journeys--A Break-down--Morton's + Trip--The Open Sea--The Brig hopelessly Beset--A Council Called--Eight + Men stand by the _Advance_--Departure of the Rest--Their + Return--Terrible Sufferings--A Characteristic Entry--Raw Meat for + Food--Fruitless Journeys for Fresh Meat--A Scurvied Crew--Starving + Esquimaux--Attempted Desertion--A Deserter brought back from the + Esquimaux Settlements. + + +The arrival and visit of a number of Esquimaux at the brig caused some +little excitement. They were fine specimens of the race, and evidently +inclined for friendship. At first only one of them was admitted on board. +His dress is described as a kind of hooded capote or jumper of mixed blue +and white fox-skins arranged with some taste, and booted trousers of white +bear-skin, which at the end of the foot were made to terminate with the +claws of the animal. Kane soon came to an understanding with this +individual, and the rest were admitted to the brig, where they were +hospitably treated. When offered, however, good fresh wheaten bread and +corned pork, and large lumps of white sugar, they could not be induced to +touch them, but much preferred gorging on walrus meat. They were greatly +amazed at the coal on board--too hard for blubber, and so unlike wood. They +were allowed to sleep in the hold. Next morning a treaty was made whereby +they pledged themselves, before departing, to return in a few days with +more meat, and to allow Kane to use their dogs and sledges in the proposed +excursions. + +Kane with a party attempted in the spring of 1854 a journey to the great +glacier of Humboldt, from which point he had hoped "to cross the ice to +the American side." They had made some progress when the winter's scurvy +reappeared painfully among the party. The now soft snow made travelling +very difficult for both men and dogs; indeed, the former sank to their +waists, and the latter were nearly buried. Three of the men were taken +with snow blindness; one was utterly, and another partially disabled. Kane +was, while taking an observation for latitude, seized with a sudden pain, +and fainted. His limbs became rigid, and he had to be strapped on the +sledge. On May 5th he became delirious, and fainted every time he was +taken from the tent to the sledge. The last man to give in, he owns that +on this occasion he succumbed entirely, and that to five brave men--Morton, +Riley, Hickey, Stephenson, and Hans--themselves scarcely able to travel, he +owed his preservation. They carried him back to the brig by forced +marches, and he long lay there in a very critical state. A few days after +the return of the party, Schubert, one of the merriest and best liked of +the little band, died. Dr. Hayes, the surgeon of the ship, worked +zealously in the discharge of his duties, and with the better diet +obtained in the summer--fresh seal-meat, reindeer, ptarmigan, and +rabbits--the invalids gradually recovered strength, and set about their +duties. + +The most important sledge journey undertaken at this time was that made by +Morton. After travelling a considerable distance, "due north over a solid +area choked with bergs and frozen fields, he was startled by the growing +weakness of the ice; its surface became rotten, and the snow wet and +pulpy. His dogs, seized with terror, refused to advance. Then for the +first time the fact broke upon him that a long dark band seen to the north +beyond a protruding cape, Cape Andrew Jackson, was water." He retraced his +steps, and leaving Hans and his dogs, passed between Sir John Franklin +Island and the narrow beach line, the coast becoming more wall-like and +dark masses of porphyritic rock abutting into the sea. With growing +difficulty he managed to climb from rock to rock in hopes of doubling the +promontory and sighting the coasts beyond, but the water kept encroaching +more and more on his track. + +"It must have been an imposing sight as he stood at this termination of +his journey looking out upon the great waste of waters before him. Not 'a +speck of ice,' to use his own words, could be seen. There, from a height +of 480 feet, which commanded a horizon of almost forty miles, his ears +were gladdened with the novel music of dashing waves; and a surf breaking +in among the rocks at his feet, stayed his further progress.... The high +ridges to the north-west dwindled off into low blue knobs, which blended +finally with the air. Morton called the cape which baffled his labours +after his commander, but I have given it the more enduring name of 'Cape +Constitution.' I do not believe there was a man among us who did not long +for the means of embarking upon its bright and lonely waters. But he who +may be content to follow our story for the next few months will feel as we +did, that a controlling necessity made the desire a fruitless one." + +Morton had undoubtedly seen an open sea, but the water which he described +we now know to be simply Kennedy Channel, a continuation of Smith Sound. +He had reached a latitude (about 80 deg. 30') further north than any previous +explorer of the Greenland coast. + + [Illustration: MORTON DISCOVERS THE OPEN SEA.] + +A year and three months had passed since the starting of the expedition, +and still the little brig was fast in the ice. The men were, as Kane calls +it, "scurvy riddled" and utterly prostrated, their supplies were rapidly +becoming exhausted, and Kane determined to hold a council of both officers +and crew. At noon of August 26th all hands were called, and the situation +fully explained to them, the doctor, however, counselling them to stay by +the brig, although he gave them full permission to make any attempt at +escape they might deem feasible. Eight out of seventeen resolved to stand +by the vessel. Dr. Hayes and eight others determined to make an effort to +reach the settlements. Kane divided their remaining resources, and they +left on the 28th. One of them, George Riley, returned a few days +afterwards, and, three and a half months later, the rest were only too +glad to rejoin the vessel, after enduring many sufferings. On December +12th, says Kane, "Brooks awoke me with the cry of 'Esquimaux again!' I +dressed hastily, and groping my way over the pile of boxes that leads up +from the hold to the darkness above, made out a group of human figures, +masked by the hooded jumpers of the natives. They stopped at the gangway, +and, as I was about to challenge, one of them sprang forward and grasped +my hand. It was Dr. Hayes. A few words, dictated by suffering, certainly +not by any anxiety as to his reception, and at his bidding the whole party +came upon deck. Poor fellows! I could only grasp their hands, and give +them a brother's welcome." The thermometer stood at -50 deg. (82 deg. below +freezing); they were covered with rime and snow, and were fainting with +hunger. It was necessary to use caution in taking them in to the warm +cabin, or it would have prostrated them completely. "Poor fellows," says +Kane, "as they threw open their Esquimaux garments by the stove, how they +relished the scanty luxuries which we had to offer them! The coffee and +the meat biscuit soup, and the molasses and the wheat bread, even the salt +pork which our scurvy forbade the rest of us to touch--how they relished it +all! For more than two months they had lived on frozen seal and walrus +meat." They were all in danger of collapse, and had long to be nursed very +carefully. Dr. Hayes was much prostrated, and three of his frost-bitten +toes had to suffer amputation. + +Their hope at starting was that they might reach Upernavik, the nearest +Danish settlement in Greenland, a distance of about one thousand miles, +and that they might, at all events next spring, send succour to the party +left behind. Dr. Kane furnished them with such necessaries as could be +properly spared, with sledges: they were to take a life-boat previously +deposited near Lyttelton Island, and a whale-boat which had been left at +the Six-mile Ravine--a spot so called from being that distance from the +brig. Before leaving Dr. Kane called them into the cabin, where in some +nook or corner of the aft locker the careful steward had stowed a couple +of bottles of champagne, the existence of which was only known to the +commander and himself. One of these was drawn from its hiding-place, and +in broken-handled tea-cups they exchanged mutual pledges. + +Their hopes had been to reach open water at about ten miles from the brig, +but in this they were entirely disappointed, and they had to drag their +boats, sledges, and provisions, over ice so rough and broken, that in one +place it took them three days to make six miles. Little wonder if some of +them thought of returning almost as soon as they started! + +The reader would not thank us were we to record the long series of weary +marches over the ice which form the bulk of Dr. Hayes' narrative. Winter +was fast approaching, their provisions were nearly exhausted, and it +behoved them to erect some place of shelter. A hut was constructed of +boulders, a sail doing duty for roof, and a piece of greased linen--part of +an old shirt--for window-glass. Like Franklin and Richardson, they tried to +eke out their supplies by eating _tripe de roche_, the rock lichen, which, +as it most commonly does, produced diarrhoea, and weakened them still more. +Esquimaux visitors arrived at the hut, and brought them some limited +supplies of blubber, but declined altogether to sell their dogs or help +them to Upernavik. Whether or no Hayes was mistaken, he did not trust much +to that innocence and simplicity which are supposed to be the prevailing +characteristics of the Esquimaux; and on one or two occasions he seems to +have had very good reason for his doubts. Petersen and Godfrey, on the +way, during November, to the brig for succour, overheard some natives +plotting their destruction, and immediately started from the settlement +with their sledge. The Esquimaux followed them with savage cries, but the +determined front shown to them seemed to have altered their minds. + +"I now," says Hayes, "repeated to Kalutunah a request which had been made +on previous occasions, viz., that his people should take us upon their +sledges and carry us northward to the Oomeaksoak. His answer was the same +as it had been hitherto. It was then proposed to him and his companions +that we should hire from them their teams; but this they also declined to +do. No offers which we could make seemed to produce the slightest +impression upon them, and it was clear that nothing would induce them to +comply with our wishes, nor even give us any reason for their refusal. In +fact, they thoroughly understood our situation; and we now entertained no +doubt that they had made up their minds, with a unanimity which at an +earlier period seemed improbable, to abandon us to our fate and to profit +by it. + +"The question to be decided became a very plain one. Here were six +civilised men, who had no resort for the preservation of their lives, +their usefulness, and the happiness of their families, except in the aid +of sledges and teams which the savage owners obstinately refused to sell +or to hire. The expectation of seizing, after we should have starved or +frozen to death, our remaining effects, was the only motive of the +refusal. The savages were within easy reach of their friends, and could +suffer little by a short delay of their return. For their property +compensation could be made after our arrival at the brig. For my own part, +before attempting to negotiate with Kalutunah I had determined that his +party should not escape us in case of failure in our application to them +for aid. + +"My comrades were not behind me in their inclinations; indeed, it is to +their credit that in so desperate an extremity they were willing to +restrain themselves from measures of a kind to give us at the time far +less trouble than those which I suggested. Being unwilling that any +unnecessary harm should come to the Esquimaux, I proposed to put them to +sleep with opium; then taking possession of their dogs and sledges, to +push northward as rapidly as possible, and leaving them to awaken at their +leisure; to stop for a few hours of rest among our friends at +Northumberland Island; then to make directly for Cape Alexander, with the +hope of getting so far the start of Kalutunah and his companions that +before they could arrive at Netlik and spread the alarm we should be +beyond their reach. + +"This plan met with the unanimous sanction of the party, and we prepared +to put it into immediate execution. In the way of this were some +difficulties. Our guests were manifesting great uneasiness, and a decided +disinclination to remain. Many threatening glances and very few kind words +had been bestowed upon them, and they were evidently beginning to feel +that they were not in a safe place. It became now our first duty to +reassure them, and accordingly the angry looks gave place to friendly +smiles. The old, familiar habits of our people were resumed. Many presents +were given to them. I tore the remaining pictures from my 'Anatomy,' and +the picture of the poor footsore boy who wanted washing from +'Copperfield,' and gave them to Kalutunah for his children. Such pieces of +wood as remained to us were distributed amongst them. Each received a +comb. This last they had sometimes seen us use, and they proceeded +immediately to comb out their matted hair, or rather to attempt that work; +but forty years of neglect, blubber, and filth, had so glued their locks +together that there was no possibility of getting a comb through them. The +jests excited by these attempts to imitate our practices did more to +restore confidence than anything else. + +"At length was reached the climax of our hospitalities. The stew which we +had been preparing for our guests was ready and was placed before them, +and they were soon greedily devouring it. This proceeding was watched by +us with mingled anxiety and satisfaction, for while the pot was over the +fire I had turned into it unobserved the contents of a small vial of +laudanum. The soup, of course, contained the larger part of the opium, but +being small in quantity it had been made so bitter that they would not eat +more than the half of it. In order to prevent either of them from getting +an over-dose we divided the fluid into three equal portions, and then with +intense interest awaited the result, apprehensive that the narcotic had +not been administered in sufficiently large quantity to ensure the desired +effect. + +"After an interval of painful watchfulness on the part of my companions +the hunters began to droop their eyelids, and asked to be allowed to lie +down and sleep. We were not long in granting their wish, and never before +had we manifested more kindly dispositions towards them. We assisted them +in taking off their coats and boots, and then wrapped them up in our +blankets, about which we were no longer fastidious. + +"Our guests were in a few minutes asleep, but I did not know how much of +their drowsiness was due to fatigue (for they had been hunting), and how +much to the opium; nor were we by any means assured that their sleep was +sound, for they exhibited signs of restlessness which greatly alarmed us. +Every movement had, therefore, to be conducted with the utmost +circumspection. + +"To prepare for starting was the work of a few minutes. We were in full +travelling dress--coats, boots, and mittens, and some of us wore masks; the +hunters' whips were in our hands, and nothing remained to be done but to +get a cup from the shelf. The moment was a critical one, for if the +sleepers should awake our scheme must be revealed. Godfrey reached up for +the desired cup, and down came the whole contents of the shelf, rattling +to the ground. I saw the sleepers start, and, anticipating the result, +instantly sprang to the light and extinguished it with a blow of my +mittened hand. As was to be expected, the hunters were aroused. Kalutunah +gave a grunt, and inquired what was the matter. I answered him by throwing +myself upon the breck, and, crawling to his side, hugged him close, and +cried 'Singikpok' (sleep). He laughed, muttered something which I could +not understand, and, without having suspected that anything was wrong, +again fell asleep." Dr. Hayes and his companions made their escape. + + [Illustration: KALUTUNAH.] + +The dogs, however, gave them a great deal of trouble; and they were not +surprised when, after a halt for coffee, and to make some necessary +repairs, they saw the prisoners left in the snow hut coming after them in +full pursuit. There was nothing for it but a determined front. Hayes and +his companions got their rifles ready, and on the approach of the natives, +levelled them, ready to fire. This brought the Esquimaux to their senses, +and with many deprecatory gestures they promised to do all that was asked +of them. The affair ended, happily, without bloodshed, and the natives +accompanied Hayes to the brig, which he reached safely, as before +recorded, after many adventures. + +Kane makes the following characteristic entry for January 6th, 1855:--"If +this journal ever gets to be inspected by other eyes, the colour of its +pages will tell of the atmosphere it is written in. We have been emulating +the Esquimaux for some time in everything else; and now, last of all, this +intolerable temperature and our want of fuel have driven us to rely on our +lamps for heat. Counting those which I have added since the wanderers came +back, we have twelve constantly going, with the grease and soot everywhere +in proportion. I can hardly keep my charts and registers in anything like +decent trim. Our beds and bedding are absolutely black, and our faces +begrimed with fatty carbon like the Esquimaux of South Greenland." + +Still the scurvy kept a number of the men in an unserviceable condition. +Some of Kane's remarks on the use of raw meats _apropos_ of their value in +a medicinal sense, are interesting:--"I do not know," says he, "that my +journal anywhere mentions our habituation to raw meats, nor does it dwell +upon their strange adaptation to scorbutic disease. Our journeys have +taught us the wisdom of the Esquimaux appetite, and there are few amongst +us who do not relish a slice of raw blubber or a chunk of frozen +walrus-beef. The liver of a walrus (awuktanuk) eaten with little slices of +his fat, of a verity it is a delicious morsel! Fire would ruin the curt, +pithy expression of vitality which belongs to its uncooked pieces. Charles +Lamb's roast pig was nothing to awuktanuk. I wonder that raw beef is not +eaten at home. Deprived of extraneous fibre, it is neither indigestible +nor difficult to masticate. With acids and condiments it makes a salad +which an educated palate cannot help relishing; and as a powerful and +condensed heat-making and anti-scorbutic food it has no rival.... + +"My plans for sledging, simple as I once thought them, and simple +certainly as compared with those of the English parties, have completely +changed. Give me an eight-pound reindeer-fur bag to sleep in, an Esquimaux +lamp with a lump of moss, a sheet-iron snow-melter or a copper soup-pot, +with a tin cylinder to slip over it and defend it from the wind, a good +_piece de resistance_ of raw walrus-beef, and I want nothing more for a +long journey, if the thermometer will keep itself as high as minus 30 deg.. +Give me a bear-skin bag, and coffee to boot, and with the clothes on my +back I am ready for minus 60 deg., but no wind. + + [Illustration: ESQUIMAUX SNOW HOUSES.] + +"The programme runs after this fashion:--Keep the blood in motion, without +loitering on the march; and for the halt raise a snow-house; or, if the +snow lies scant or impracticable, ensconce yourself in a burrow or under +the hospitable lee of an inclined hummock-slab. The outside fat of your +walrus sustains your little moss fire; its frozen slices give you bread, +its frozen blubber gives you butter, other parts make the soup. The snow +supplies you with water; and when you are ambitious of coffee there is a +bagful stowed away in your boot. Spread out your bear-bag, your only heavy +movable; stuff your reindeer-bag inside, hang your boots up outside, take +a blade of bone and scrape off all the ice from your furs. Now crawl in, +the whole party of you, feet foremost, draw the top of your dormitory +close headlong to leeward. Fancy yourself in Sybaris, and, if you are only +tired enough, you may sleep--like St. Lawrence on his gridiron, or even a +trifle better." + +On January 17th Kane sadly admits that the "present state of things cannot +last." They required meat above all things, and he determined to make a +sledge journey to the Esquimaux huts at Etah in search of it. The +preparations made, he started on the 22nd, Hans Christian being the only +available man to accompany him, the rest being nearly all prostrated with +scurvy, and some in a most dangerous condition. His journal gives a +graphic account of the attempt, which was a failure. + +"Washington's birthday, February 22nd, was, however, a day of better omen. +Hans had had a shot--a long shot--at a deer, but he had wounded him, and the +injured animal, they knew, would not run far. Next morning Hans was out +early on the trail of the wounded deer. Rhina, the least barbarous of the +sledge dogs, assisted him. He was back by noon with the joyful news, 'The +tukkuk dead only two miles up big fiord!' The cry found its way through +the hatch, and came back in a broken huzza from the sick men. + +"We are so badly off for strong arms that our reindeer threatened to be a +great embarrassment to us. We had hard work with our dogs carrying him to +the brig, and still harder, worn down as we were, in getting him over the +ship's side. But we succeeded, and were tumbling him down the hold, when +we found ourselves in a dilemma like the Vicar of Wakefield with his +family picture. It was impossible to drag the prize into our little +moss-lined dormitory; the _tossut_ was not half big enough to let him +pass; and it was equally impossible to skin him anywhere else without +freezing our fingers in the operation. + +"It was a happy escape from the embarrassments of our hungry little +council to determine that the animal might be carved before skinning as +well as he could be afterwards; and, in a very few minutes we proved our +united wisdom by a feast on his quartered remains. + +"It was a glorious meal, such as the compensations of Providence reserve +for starving men alone. We ate, forgetful of the past, and almost heedless +of the morrow; cleared away the offal wearily, and now, at 10 P.M., all +hands have turned in to sleep, leaving to their commanding officer the +solitary honour of an eight hours' vigil. + +"The deer was among the largest of all the northern specimens I have seen. +He measured five feet one inch in girth, and six feet two inches in +length, and stood as large as a two years' heifer. We estimated his weight +at three hundred pounds." + +But such a happy experience was quite exceptional at this time. Other +expeditions to the Esquimaux at this time demonstrated that they +themselves were in a starving condition. On March 20th two of the men +attempted to desert, but Kane had learned of their intentions, and +confronted them as they were about to leave the vessel. One man, Godfrey, +however, did succeed, his intention being apparently to reach the +settlement at Etah Bay, and robbing Hans, their hunter, of sledge and +dogs, proceed south to Netlik. He afterwards returned to the brig with +this very sledge, reporting that Hans was lying sick at Etah, and that he +himself intended to settle down among the Esquimaux. Both Bonsall and Kane +were at this time hardly able to walk, while the rest, thirteen in all, +were down with the scurvy. Shots were fired at him to make him change his +mind, but he again escaped, and this circumstance, with Hans' continued +absence, naturally caused the commander much anxiety. Kane, though weak +and dispirited, determined to go in search of both. The sequel was, that +disguising himself as an Esquimaux, he succeeded in deceiving the deserter +when he arrived at the village, and handcuffing him made him yield +unconditionally; he returned to the brig as a prisoner. Hans, however, had +been really ill. + + + + + + CHAPTER XXVII. + + + KANE'S EXPEDITION (_concluded_). + + + A Sad Entry--Farewell to the Brig--Departure for the South--Death of + Ohlsen--Difficult Travelling--The Open Water--The Esquimaux of Etah--A + Terrible Gale--Among the broken Floes--A Greenland Oasis--The Ice + Cliff--Eggs by the Hundred--An Anxious Moment--A Savage Feast--The + First Sign of Civilisation--Return to the Settlements--Home once + more. + + +Kane had now been two years in the arctic regions, and the day of release, +so far at least as their little brig was concerned, seemed as far off as +ever. Nearly all the men were invalids, and it took all the doctor's +unremitting attention to keep them from utter despondency; others, again, +wanted only strength to become mutinous. Kane writes at the beginning of +March that his journal "is little else than a chronicle of sufferings." +Brooks, his first officer, "as stalwart a man-o'-war's-man as ever faced +an enemy," burst into tears when he first saw himself in the glass. On the +4th their last remnant of fresh meat had been doled out, and the region +about their harbour ceased to yield any game. + +May arrived, and with returning spring, and some supplies obtained from +the natives, the crew were so far restored to health that all but three or +four could take some part in the preparations for an immediate start to +the southward. It had become only too evident that their vessel, now +almost dismantled to the water's edge--the woodwork having been needed for +fuel--_must_ be abandoned. But one month's provisions remained, and they +were thirteen hundred miles from the nearest Danish settlement. + +The last farewell to the brig was made with some degree of solemnity. It +was Sunday. After prayers and a chapter of the Bible had been read, Kane +addressed his men, not affecting to disguise from them the difficulties +still to be overcome, but reminding them how often an unseen Power had +already rescued them from peril. He was met in a right spirit, and a +memorial was shortly afterwards brought to him, signed by the whole +company, which stated that they entirely concurred in his attempt to reach +the south by means of boats, and that they were convinced of the necessity +of abandoning the brig. All then went on deck. The flags were hoisted and +hauled down again, and the men walked once or twice around the brig, +looking at her timbers, and exchanging comments upon the scars, which +reminded them of every stage of her dismantling. The figure-head--the fair +Augusta, the little blue girl with pink cheeks, who had lost her breast by +an iceberg and her nose by a nip off Bedevilled Reach--was taken from the +bows. "She is at any rate wood," said the men, when Kane hesitated about +giving them the extra burden, "and if we cannot carry her far we can burn +her." + +Their boats were three in number, all of them well battered by exposure to +ice and storm, almost as destructive of their seaworthiness as the hot sun +of other regions. Two of them were cypress whale-boats, twenty-six feet +long, with seven feet beam, and three feet deep. These were strengthened +with oak bottom-pieces and a long string-piece bolted to the keel. A +washboard of light cedar, about six inches high, served to strengthen the +gunwale and give increased depth. A neat housing of light canvas was +stretched upon a ridge-line sustained fore and aft by stanchions. The +third boat was the little _Red Eric_. They mounted her on the old sledge, +the _Faith_, hardly relying on her for any purposes of navigation, but +with the intention of cutting her up for firewood in case their guns +should fail to give them a supply of blubber. Indeed, in spite of all the +ingenuity of the carpenter, Mr. Ohlsen, well seconded by the persevering +labours of M'Garey and Bonsall, not one of the boats was positively +seaworthy. The _Hope_ would not pass even charitable inspection, and they +expected to burn her on reaching water. The planking of all of them was so +dried up that it could hardly be made tight by caulking. The three boats +were mounted on the sledges, the provisions stowed snugly under the +thwarts; the chronometers, carefully boxed and padded, placed in the +stern-sheets of the _Hope_, in charge of Mr. Sontag. With them were such +of the instruments as they could venture to transport. Their powder and +shot, upon which their lives depended, were carefully distributed in bags +and tin canisters. + +"There was," says Kane, "no sign or affectation of spirit or enthusiasm +upon the memorable day when we first adjusted the boats to their cradles +on the sledges, and moved them off to the ice-foot. But the ice +immediately around the vessel was smooth, and as the boats had not +received their lading, the first labour was an easy one. As the runners +moved, the gloom of several countenances was perceptibly lightened. The +croakers had protested that we could not stir an inch. These cheering +remarks always reach a commander's ears, and I took good care, of course, +to make the onset contradict them. By the time we reached the end of our +little level the tone had improved wonderfully, and we were prepared for +the effort of crossing the successive lines of the belt-ice, and forcing a +way through the smashed material which interposed between us and the +ice-foot. + +"This was a work of great difficulty, and sorrowfully exhausting to the +poor fellows not yet accustomed to heave together. But in the end I had +the satisfaction, before twenty-four hours were over, of seeing our little +arks of safety hauled up on the higher plane of the ice-foot, in full time +for ornamental exhibition from the brig; their neat canvas housing rigged +tent-fashion over the entire length of each; a jaunty little flag, made +out of one of the commander's obsolete linen shirts, decorated in stripes +from a disused article of stationery--the red-ink bottle--and with a very +little of the blue-bag in the star-spangled corner. All hands after this +returned on board. I had ready for them the best supper our supplies +afforded, and they turned in with minds prepared for their departure next +day. + +"They were nearly all of them invalids, unused to open air and exercise. +It was necessary to train them very gradually. We made but two miles the +first day, and with a single boat; and, indeed, for some time after this I +took care that they should not be disheartened by overwork. They came back +early to a hearty supper and warm beds, and I had the satisfaction of +marching them back each recurring morning refreshed and cheerful. The +weather, happily, was superb." + +Repeated sledge journeys back to the brig, and afterwards from station to +station, were made, as they could not transport all their goods at one +time in their enfeebled state. No one worked harder than did the commander +himself. On one of his last visits to the brig, he, with the aid of Morton +and an Esquimaux, baked 150 lbs. of bread, and performed other culinary +operations for the benefit of the whole party. + +Their journey was one of peril and difficulty, and constantly interrupted +by gales. The reflection would now and again force itself upon their minds +that a single storm might convert the precarious platform on which they +travelled into a tumultuous ice-pack. While crossing a weak part of the +ice one of their sledge-runners broke through, and but for the presence of +mind of Ohlsen, the load, boat and all, would have gone under. He saw the +ice give way, and by a violent exercise of strength, passed a capstan-bar +under the sledge, and thus bore the load till it was hauled on to safer +ice. He was a very powerful man, and might have done this without injuring +himself; but it would seem his footing gave way under him, forcing him to +make a still more desperate effort to extricate himself. It cost him his +life: he died three days afterwards, from the strain on his system. + +But there were times when travelling was not so difficult, and when they +could hoist their sails, and run rapidly before the wind over solid ice. +It was a new sensation to the men. Levels which, under the slow labour of +the drag-rope, would have delayed them for hours, were glided over without +a halt, and the speed of the sledges made rotten ice nearly as available +as sound. They made more progress in one day in this manner than they had +previously in five. The spirits of the men rose; "the sick mounted the +thwarts; the well clung to the gunwale; and, for the first time for nearly +a year, broke out the sailors' chorus, 'Storm along, my hearty boys!'" + +"Though the condition of the ice assured us," says Kane, writing several +days later, "that we were drawing near the end of our sledge-journeys, it +by no means diminished their difficulty or hazards. The part of the field +near the open water is always abraded by the currents, while it remains +apparently firm on the surface. In some places it was so transparent that +we could even see the gurgling eddies below it; while in others it was +worn into open holes that were already the resort of wild fowl. But in +general it looked hard and plausible, though not more than a foot or even +six inches in thickness. + +"This continued to be its character as long as we pursued the Lyttelton +Island channel, and we were compelled, the whole way through, to sound +ahead with the boat-hook or narwal-horn. We learned this precaution from +the Esquimaux, who always move in advance of their sledges when the ice is +treacherous, and test its strength before bringing on their teams. Our +first warning impressed us with the policy of observing. We were making +wide circuits with the whale-boats to avoid the tide-holes, when signals +of distress from men scrambling on the ice announced to us that the _Red +Eric_ had disappeared. This unfortunate little craft contained all the +dearly-earned documents of the expedition. There was not a man who did not +feel that the reputation of the party rested in a great degree upon their +preservation. It had cost us many a pang to give up our collections of +natural history, to which every one had contributed his quota of labour +and interest; but the destruction of the vouchers of the cruise--the +log-books, the meteorological registers, the surveys, and the +journals--seemed to strike them all as an irreparable disaster. + +"When I reached the boat everything was in confusion. Blake, with a line +passed round his waist, was standing up to his knees in sludge, groping +for the document-box, and Mr. Bonsall, dripping wet, was endeavouring to +haul the provision-bags to a place of safety. Happily the boat was our +lightest one, and everything was saved. She was gradually lightened until +she could bear a man, and her cargo was then passed out by a line and +hauled upon the ice. In spite of the wet and the cold and our thoughts of +poor Ohlsen, we greeted its safety with three cheers. + +"It was by great good fortune that no lives were lost. Stephenson was +caught as he sank by one of the sledge-runners, and Morton while in the +very act of drifting under the ice was seized by the hair of the head by +Mr. Bonsall, and saved!" + +On June 16th their boats were at the open water. "We see," says Kane, "its +deep indigo horizon, and hear its roar against the icy beach. Its scent is +in our nostrils and our hearts." They had their boats to prepare now for a +long and adventurous navigation. They were so small and heavily laden as +hardly to justify much confidence in their buoyancy; but, besides this, +they were split with frost and warped by sunshine, and fairly open at the +seams. They were to be caulked, and swelled, and launched, and stowed, +before they could venture to embark in them. A rainy south-wester too, +which had met them on arrival, was now spreading with its black nimbus +over the sky as if they were to be storm-stayed on the precarious +ice-beach. It was a time of anxiety. + + [Illustration: CAPE ALEXANDER, GREENLAND.] + +Kane writes on July 18th, "The Esquimaux are camped by our side--the whole +settlement of Etah congregated around the 'big caldron' of Cape Alexander, +to bid us good-bye. There are Meteh and Mealik his wife, our old +acquaintance Mrs. Eiderduck, and their five children, commencing with +Myouk my body-guard, and ending with the ventricose little Accomadah. +There is Nessark and Anak his wife; and Tellerk, 'the right-arm,' and +Amannalik his wife; and Sip-see, and Marsumah, and Aniugnah--and who not? I +can name them every one, but they know us as well. We have found brothers +in a strange land." + +For many days after leaving their Esquimaux friends they were more or less +beset with broken floating ice, and the weather was often extremely bad. +Kane describes a gale, during which the boats were nearly swamped. At +length they reached a cleft or cave in the cliff, and were shoring up +their boat with blocks of ice, when they saw the welcome sight of a flock +of eider ducks, and they knew that they were at their breeding grounds. + + [Illustration: THE HOME OF THE EIDER DUCK.] + +"We remained almost three days in our crystal retreat, gathering eggs at +the rate of 1,200 a day. Outside the storm raged without intermission, and +our egg-hunters found it difficult to keep their feet; but a merrier set +of gourmands than were gathered within never surfeited in genial diet." It +was the 18th of July before the ice allowed them to depart. In launching +the _Hope_ she was precipitated into the sludge below, carrying away rail +and bulwark, tumbling their best shot-gun into the sea, and, worst of all, +their kettle--soup-kettle, paste-kettle, tea-kettle, water-kettle, all in +one--was lost overboard. For some days after they made fair progress. + +A little later and matters had not improved. The ice was again before them +in an almost unbroken mass. "Things grew worse and worse with us," says +Kane; "the old difficulty of breathing came back again, and our feet +swelled to such an extent that we were obliged to cut open our canvas +boots. But the symptom which gave me most uneasiness was our inability to +sleep. A form of low fever which hung by us when at work had been kept +down by the thoroughness of our daily rest. All my hopes of escape were in +the refreshing influences of the halt. + +"It must be remembered that we were now in the open bay, in the full line +of the great ice-drift to the Atlantic, and in boats so frail and +unseaworthy as to require constant baling to keep them afloat. + +"It was at this crisis of our fortunes that we saw a large seal +floating--as is the custom of these animals--on a small patch of ice, and +seemingly asleep. It was an ussuk, and so large that I at first mistook it +for a walrus. Signal was made for the _Hope_ to follow astern, and, +trembling with anxiety, we prepared to crawl down upon him. + +"Petersen, with the large English rifle, was stationed in the bow, and +stockings were drawn over the oars as mufflers. As we neared the animal +our excitement became so intense that the men could hardly keep stroke. I +had a set of signals for such occasions, which spared us the noise of the +voice; and when about three hundred yards off the oars were taken in, and +we moved on in deep silence with a single scull astern. + +"He was not asleep, for he reared his head when we were almost within +rifle-shot; and to this day I can remember the hard, careworn, almost +despairing expression of the men's thin faces as they saw him move: their +lives depended on his capture. + +"I depressed my hand nervously, as a signal for Petersen to fire. M'Gary +hung upon his oar, and the boat, slowly but noiselessly sagging ahead, +seemed to me within certain range. Looking at Petersen, I saw that the +poor fellow was paralysed by his anxiety, trying vainly to obtain a rest +for his gun against the cut-water of the boat. The seal rose on his +fore-flippers, gazed at us for a moment with frightened curiosity, and +coiled himself for a plunge. At that instant, simultaneously with the +crack of our rifle, he relaxed his long length on the ice, and, at the +very brink of the water, his head fell helpless to one side. + +"I would have ordered another shot, but no discipline could have +controlled the men. With a wild yell, each vociferating according to his +own impulse, they urged both boats upon the floes. A crowd of hands seized +the seal, and bore him up to safer ice. The men seemed half crazy: I had +not realised how much we were reduced by absolute famine. They ran over +the floe, crying and laughing, and brandishing their knives. It was not +five minutes before each man was sucking his bloody fingers, or mouthing +long strips of raw blubber. + +"Not an ounce of this seal was lost. The intestines found their way into +the soup-kettles without any observance of the preliminary home processes. +The cartilaginous parts of the fore-flippers were cut off in the _melee_ +and passed round to be chewed upon; and even the liver, warm and raw as it +was, bade fair to be eaten before it had seen the pot. That night, on the +large halting-floe, to which, in contempt of the dangers of drifting, we +happy men had hauled our boats, two entire planks of the _Red Eric_ were +devoted to a grand cooking-fire, and we enjoyed a rare and savage +feast.... + +"Two days after this a mist had settled down upon the islands which +embayed us, and when it lifted we found ourselves rowing in lazy time, +under the shadow of Karkamoot. Just then a familiar sound came to us over +the water. We had often listened to the screeching of the gulls or the +bark of the fox, and mistaken it for the 'Huk' of the Esquimaux; but this +had about it an inflection not to be mistaken, for it died away in the +familiar cadence of a 'halloo.' + +"'Listen, Petersen! oars, men!' 'What is it?'--and he listened quietly at +first, and then, trembling, said, in a half whisper, 'Dannemarkers!' + +"I remember this the first tone of Christian voice which had greeted our +return to the world. How we all stood up and peered into the distant nook; +and how the cry came to us again, just as, having seen nothing, we were +doubting whether the whole was not a dream; and then how, with long +sweeps, the white ash cracking under the spring of the rowers, we stood +for the cape that the sound proceeded from, and how nervously we scanned +the green spots, which our experience, grown now into instinct, told us +would be the likely camping-ground of wayfarers! + +"By-and-by--for we must have been pulling for a good half-hour--the single +mast of a small shallop showed itself; and Petersen, who had been very +quiet and grave, burst out into an incoherent fit of crying, only relieved +by broken exclamations of mingled Danish and English. ''Tis the Upernavik +oil-boat, the _Fraulein Flaischer_! Carlie Mossyn, the assistant cooper, +must be on his road to Kingatok for blubber. The _Mariane_ (the one annual +ship) has come, and Carlie Mossyn'--and here he did it all over again, +gulping down his words and wringing his hands. + +"It was Carlie Mossyn, sure enough. The quiet routine of a Danish +settlement is the same year after year, and Petersen had hit upon the +exact state of things. The _Mariane_ was at Proven, and Carlie Mossyn had +come up in the _Fraulein Flaischer_ to get the year's supply of blubber +from Kingatok. + +"Here we first got our cloudy vague idea of what had passed in the world +during our absence. The friction of its fierce rotation has not much +disturbed this little outpost of civilisation, and we thought it a sort of +blunder as he told us that France and England were leagued with the +Mussulman against the Greek Church. He was a good Lutheran, this assistant +cooper, and all news with him had a theological complexion. + +"'What of America? eh, Petersen?'--and we all looked, waiting for him to +interpret the answer. + +"'America?' said Carlie; 'we don't know much of that country here, for +they have no whalers on the coast; but a steamer and a barque passed up a +fortnight ago, and have gone out into the ice to seek your party.' + +"How gently all the lore of this man oozed out of him! he seemed an +oracle, as, with hot tingling fingers pressed against the gunwale of the +boat, we listened to his words. 'Sebastopol aint taken.' Where and what +was Sebastopol? + +"But 'Sir John Franklin?' There we were at home again--our own delusive +little speciality rose uppermost. Franklin's party, or traces of the dead +which represented it, had been found nearly a thousand miles to the south +of where we had been searching for them. He knew it; for the priest +(Pastor Kraag) had a German newspaper which told all about it. And so we +'out oars' again, and rowed into the fogs. + +"Another sleeping halt was passed, and we have all washed clean at the +fresh-water basins, and furbished up our ragged furs and woollens. +Kasarsoak, the snow top of Sanderson's _Hope_, shows itself above the +mists, and we hear the yelling of the dogs. Petersen had been foreman of +the settlement, and he calls my attention, with a sort of pride, to the +tolling of the workmen's bell. It is six o'clock. We are nearing the end +of our trials. Can it be a dream? + +"We hugged the land by the big harbour, turned the corner by the +brewhouse, and, in the midst of a crowd of children, hauled our boats for +the last time upon the rocks. + +"For eighty-four days we had lived in the open air. Our habits were hard +and weatherworn. We could not remain within the four walls of a house +without a distressing sense of suffocation. But we drank coffee that night +before many a hospitable threshold, and listened again and again to the +hymn of welcome, which, sung by many voices, greeted our deliverance." +They had been eighty-four days on the trip. + +Kane and his party received all manner of kindness from the Danes of +Upernavik. After stopping there nearly a month, and recruiting their +health, they left for Godhavn on a Danish vessel, the captain of which had +engaged to drop them at the Shetland Islands, should no other or better +opportunity occur. Just as they were leaving Godhavn, however, the +look-out man at the hill-top announced a steamer in the distance. It drew +near, with a barque in tow, and they soon recognised the stars and stripes +of their own country. All the boats of the settlement put out to her. +"Presently," says the interesting narrative we have followed, "we were +alongside. An officer whom I shall ever remember as a cherished friend, +Captain Hartstene, hailed a little man in a ragged flannel shirt, 'Is that +Dr. Kane?' and with the 'Yes!' that followed the rigging was manned by our +countrymen, and cheers welcomed us back to the social world of love which +they represented." This U.S. man-of-war which had been sent especially to +search for them, had been several weeks among the northward ice before +they returned, so fortunately, to Godhavn. A few weeks later Kane was +being honoured as only Americans honour those whom they highly esteem. +Later, in many ways, he received the fullest recognition in our own +country. It is sad to know that he, who had laboured so hard for the +welfare of his men, and not merely for science or personal ambition, was +the first to pass away. His slight frame could not stand the many drafts +which had been put on its endurance, and scarcely fourteen months elapsed +from the period of his return till the sad news of his death shocked not +merely the world of science but a world of friends, many of whom had never +known him in the flesh, but who, from his writings and good report, had +learned to love him. + + [Illustration: GODHAVN, A DANISH SETTLEMENT IN DISCO ISLAND, GREENLAND.] + + + + + + CHAPTER XXVIII. + + + HAYES' EXPEDITION--SWEDISH EXPEDITIONS. + + + Voyage of the _United States_--High Latitude attained--In Winter + Quarters--Hardships of the Voyage--The dreary Arctic Landscape--Open + Water once more--1,300 Miles of Ice traversed--Swedish + Expeditions--Perilous Position of the _Sofia_. + + +It will be remembered that Dr. Hayes was associated with Dr. Kane at the +period when Morton discovered that open water which seemed to many +scientific men of the day positive proof of the existence of an "open +polar sea." Dr. Hayes was an evident believer in the theory, and his +enthusiastic advocacy of it induced many in the United States to come +forward and lend material aid towards the solution of the problem. A +private subscription, to which that worthy New Yorker Mr. Grinnell, who +had already done so much to further Arctic exploration, contributed +largely, enabled Dr. Hayes to purchase and fit a schooner--the _United +States_--for the arduous work in which she was to be engaged. The vessel +was of no great size, merely some 130 tons burden, but was considerably +strengthened and suitably provided for her coming struggle with the ice. +The expedition, which numbered only fourteen persons all told, left Boston +on July 6th, 1860. + +Hayes' idea at starting was to proceed _via_ Smith Sound and Kennedy +Channel as far north as might be; then to winter on the Greenland coast, +and attempt to reach with sledges the northern water. Dangers, the +description of which would be but a recapitulation of previous accounts +recorded in these pages, were passed successfully, and eventually he laid +up the vessel in Port Foulke, where the winter was passed in comparative +ease. In the months of April and May, 1861, he made an important +exploration, at the end of which he had the pleasure of reaching a point +north of that attained by Morton. The journey was one of the very greatest +peril. Gales, fogs, and drifting snows; hummocks and broken ice; opening +seams and pools of water--such were a few of the dangers and difficulties +encountered. Some of the men succumbed utterly, and had to be sent back to +the schooner: it occupied the doctor and his companions a clear month to +cross Smith Sound. In Kennedy Channel the ice was becoming rotten and full +of water-holes, and through the soft and now melting snow they travelled +with the greatest difficulty. The dreariness and desolation of an Arctic +landscape are well described by Hayes. "As the eye wandered from peak to +peak of the mountains as they rose one above the other, and rested upon +the dark and frost-degraded cliffs, and followed along the ice-foot and +overlooked the sea, and saw in every object the silent forces of Nature +moving on--through the gloom of winter and the sparkle of summer--now, as +they had moved for countless ages, unobserved but by the eye of God +alone--I felt how puny indeed are all men's works and efforts; and when I +sought for some token of living thing, some track of wild beast--a fox, or +bear, or reindeer, which had elsewhere always crossed me in my +journeyings--and saw nothing but two feeble men and struggling dogs, it +seemed indeed as if the Almighty had frowned upon the hills and seas." +Still they pushed on, till the old ice came suddenly to an end, and the +unerring instinct of the dogs warned them of approaching danger. They were +observed for some time to be moving with unusual caution, and at last they +scattered right and left, and refused to proceed. Hayes walked on ahead, +and soon came to the conclusion that they must retrace their steps, for +his staff gave way on the ice. After camping, and enjoying a refreshing +sleep, he climbed a steep hill-side to the summit of a rugged cliff, about +800 feet above the sea level, from which he soon understood the cause of +their arrested progress. "The ice was everywhere in the same condition as +in the mouth of the bay across which I had endeavoured to pass. A broad +crack, starting from the middle of the bay, stretched over the sea, and +uniting with other cracks as it meandered to the eastward, it expanded as +the delta of some mighty river discharging into the ocean, and under a +water-sky, which hung upon the northern and eastern horizon, it was lost +in the open sea. + + [Illustration: THE SCHOONER "UNITED STATES" AT PORT FOULKE.] + +"Standing against the dark sky at the north, there was seen in dim outline +the white sloping summit of a noble headland, the most northern known land +upon the globe. I judged it to be in the latitude of 82 deg. 30', or 450 miles +from the North Pole. Nearer, another bold cape stood forth, and nearer +still the headland, for which I had been steering my course the day +before, rose majestically from the sea, as if pushing up into the very +skies, a lofty mountain peak, upon which the winter had dropped its diadem +of snows. There was no land visible except the coast upon which I stood. + +"The sea beneath me was a mottled sheet of white and dark patches, these +latter being either soft decaying ice, or places where the ice had wholly +disappeared. These spots were heightened in intensity of shade and +multiplied in size as they receded, until the belt of the water-sky +blended them all together into one uniform colour of dark blue. The old +and solid floes (some a quarter of a mile, and others miles across) and +the massive ridges and wastes of hummocked ice which lay piled between +them and around their margins, were the only parts of the sea which +retained the whiteness and solidity of winter." + +Hayes returned from this expedition firmly convinced that he had stood +upon the shores of the Polar basin. The arguments have been before +indicated for and against this theory, but they are certainly not +conclusive. The journey had been one of a most arduous nature; and more +than 1,300 miles of ice had been traversed before he regained the +schooner. On his return to the United States shortly afterwards, at the +climax of the great American war, Hayes immediately volunteered in the +Northern army, a pretty decided proof of the energy and bravery of the +man. + +Between the years 1858 and 1872 Sweden sent out five expeditions to the +Arctic, the results of which were important in many directions, although +no geographical discoveries of great mark were made. The first was +provided at the expense of Otto Torell, a gentleman of means, and who has +deservedly earned a high scientific reputation. The expenses of the others +were defrayed partly by private subscription and partly by Government aid. +The whole of them were under the direction of Professor Nordenskjoeld, and +a very decided addition to our knowledge of Spitzbergen has been the +result. The Swedes reached a latitude of 81 deg. 42' N. during the 1868 +voyage. An attempt to pass northward from the Seven Isles is thus +described by the Professor:-- + +"Northward lay vast ice masses, it is true as yet broken, but still so +closely packed that not even a boat could pass forward, and we were +therefore obliged to turn to the south-west and seek for another opening +in the ice; but we found on the contrary, that the limit of the ice +stretched itself more and more to the south.... On the way we had in +several places met with ice black with stones, gravel, and earth, which +would seem to indicate the existence of land still farther north. + +"The ice itself had, moreover, a very different appearance from that which +we had met in these tracts at the end of August. It consisted now, not +only of larger ice-fields, but also of huge ice-blocks.... Already, in the +beginning of September, the surface of the ocean, after a somewhat heavy +fall of snow, had shown itself between the ice masses, covered with a +coating of ice, which, however, was then thin, and scarcely hindered the +vessel's progress. Now it was so thick that it was not without difficulty +that a way could be forced through it." On October the 4th, during the +prevalence of a gale and heavy sea, their ship, the _Sofia_, was thrown +bodily upon an iceberg, and commenced to leak so badly that when they +reached Amsterdam Island, and after eleven hours of incessant work at the +pumps, the water stood two feet above the cabin floor. The engine-room, +thanks to water-tight bulkheads, was with great difficulty kept so free +from water that the fires were not extinguished. Had this not been the +case, the ship must have become a prey to the raging elements. At +Amsterdam Island the vessel was careened, and the leak provisionally +stopped, so that they were able a little later to proceed to a more secure +harbour, King's Bay, where they hauled close to the land, and at ebb tide +succeeded in making the ship water-tight. Two ribs were broken by the +shock which caused the leak, and an immediate return home was their only +safe course. The description, however, gives some idea of the dangers of +Arctic ice navigation. + + + + + + CHAPTER XXIX. + + + THE SECOND GERMAN EXPEDITION. + + + The First German Expedition--Preparations for a Second--Building of + the _Germania_--The _Hansa_--The Emperor William's Interest in the + Voyage--The Scientific Corps--Departure from Bremerhaven--Neptune at + the Arctic Circle--The Vessels Separated among the Ice--Sport with + Polar Bears--Wedged in by the Grinding Ice--Preparations to Winter + on the Floe--The _Hansa_ lifted Seventeen Feet out of the Water--A + Doomed Vessel--Wreck of the _Hansa_. + + +On the 24th of October, 1868, a number of gentlemen were assembled round a +festive board in Bremen to celebrate the happy return of the first German +expedition, under Captain Karl Koldewey. Among the guests was Dr. A. +Petermann, the eminent geographer, to whose exertions in great part the +inauguration of the expedition had been due. Its object had been to reach +as near the North Pole as might be, the route selected being that between +Greenland and Spitzbergen. Baffled by an icy barrier off the South Cape of +Spitzbergen, at which time a terrific storm was raging, he had steered to +the eastward, passing among clusters of icebergs, some of which were +taller than his vessel's masts. After passing safely through many perils, +he returned to the South Cape, and coasted Spitzbergen to the north-west; +later he had endeavoured to make the ice-girt shores of East Greenland, +but not succeeding, again returned to Spitzbergen, and after sundry +explorations, turned his vessel's head towards home. + +It was at the banquet above-mentioned that expression was first given to +the idea of a second expedition to the inhospitable regions of the far +North. There had been some slight surplus of funds left from the first +expedition, and it was determined to make an appeal to German liberality +to complete a sum sufficient to build a steamer specially adapted for +Arctic waters. Committees were formed in Berlin, Munich, Bremen, Hamburg, +and numerous other cities, and the result in the end was very +satisfactory. The _Germania_, a steamer of 143 tons burden, was laid on +the stocks at Bremerhaven on March 10th, 1869, and thirty-six days +afterwards was launched. She was about the average size of a Brazilian or +West Indian fruit or coffee schooner, ninety feet long, twenty-two and a +half feet broad, and eleven feet deep. Although, therefore, an extremely +small steamer, she had been built in the strongest manner, with extra +beams, thick iron sheathing, and every other improvement which might +render her comparatively safe in the ice. Her sharp build proved +subsequently of great advantage to her when sailing. Including the +machinery and ship's fittings, the _Germania_ cost L3,150. A second +vessel, the purchase-money for which had been guaranteed by some Bremen +merchants, although eventually the subscriptions released them, was a +Prussian schooner of 763/4 tons burden, which was re-christened the _Hansa_, +and was meant to be, in some sense, a tender to the _Germania_, although +fate eventually decreed otherwise. Great care was taken with the +victualling and equipment of the ships; but little salt or dried meat was +taken. Many presents of "the good Rhine wine" and other luxuries, as well +as books, instruments, and other kindly remembrances, came in from friends +of the expedition. + +The officers and scientific members of the expedition counted among their +number several men who had previously or have since become famous. The +commander of the whole was Captain Koldewey, a Hanoverian, who had long +been a sailor, and who, to fit himself for his new duties, temporarily +gave up his profession, in the winters of 1867-8 and 1868-9, to study +physics and astronomy at the University of Gottingen. With him were +associated Dr. Karl N. J. Borgen, and Dr. R. Copeland, an Englishman, who +were conjointly to take scientific observations, &c.; also Julius Payer, a +lieutenant in the Imperial Austrian army, on leave. The latter, in +particular, joined the expedition with a considerable amount of prestige, +derived from an active life spent in the cause of science. Although only +twenty-seven years old, he had made and recorded many expeditions in the +Alps, and in the mountainous districts of Austria. He had also taken an +active part in 1866 in the Italian war. Lastly, to Dr. Adolphus Pansch, +surgeon of the _Germania_, were assigned the departments of zoology, +botany, and ethnology. Nearly all of the above had earned their laurels in +the scientific literature of Germany. The captain of the _Hansa_ was Paul +Friedrich August Hegemann, an experienced navigator; with him were +associated two scientific gentlemen, Dr. Bucholz and Dr. Gustavus Laube. + +On May 28th, 1869, Captain Koldewey had an audience of his Majesty King +William, at Babelsberg, who expressed his gratification at having secured +the services of a leader so energetic. The departure of the expedition +took place from Bremerhaven on the 15th of June following, in the presence +of the King, his Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg Schwerin, +Count (now Prince) Bismarck, General von Moltke, and other distinguished +men. The King heartily shook the hands of the commander and his scientific +corps, and inspected the vessels with much satisfaction. The parting +moment at length arrived, and amid the salutes of artillery and hearty +cheers from the crowds ashore, the vessels made for the mouth of the +Weser, and put to sea. + +The first part of the voyage was not specially eventful. The vessels +several times parted company, but rejoined afterwards. The dense fogs +which infest those latitudes were the cause of much anxiety on the part of +the commanders. On July the 4th Dr. Copeland shot a gull, which fell in +the sea, and was nearly the cause of a serious disaster. A sailor, without +undressing, jumped overboard after it, and the vessel sailing rapidly was +soon a considerable distance from him. He was almost on the point of +sinking, when a boat, which had been hastily launched, reached him, and he +was drawn out of the water. "Like a drowned poodle," says the narrative, +"the sinner stood once more amongst us, receiving as a reward a sound +lecture from the captain, followed by a good draught of brandy." On July +the 5th they passed the Arctic circle (66 deg. 33'), the _Hansa_ being the +first in the race, and the first to unfurl the North German flag. +"Conformably to the custom," says Koldewey, "as on crossing the equator, +Neptune came on board to welcome us, and wish us success on our voyage; of +course not without all those who had not yet crossed the Arctic circle +having to undergo the rather rough shaving and christening customary on +such occasions.... Universal grog and good fellowship on board both ships +brought the ceremony to a close." + +After a separation of many days the vessels again joined on July 18th. A +prize of a bottle of wine had been offered on board the _Germania_ to the +individual who should first sight the _Hansa_. Soon after breakfast on +that day a sail is discovered from the topmast. It is a schooner, and as +the whale fishers do not use such craft it must be the _Hansa_! A little +later, and by getting up steam on board the larger vessel, they rejoined, +and the officers met and compared notes. They parted that evening full of +confident hopes for the future. Little did they think that the vessels +would never meet again, and that although as comrades they _would_ meet, a +fourteen months' interval must elapse! By the misunderstanding of a signal +the _Hansa_ set all sail and parted company when off the east coast of +Greenland in lat. 70 deg. 46' N., long. 10 deg. 51' W., and soon became entangled +in the ice, while they looked in vain from the "crow's nest" for an +opening. We shall now follow the fortunes of the _Hansa_. + +That vessel was soon inextricably wedged in the ice. The coast of East +Greenland was often in sight, and several unsuccessful attempts were made +to reach it. During this period they had some sport with the polar bears. +On September 12th a she bear and cub approached the vessel, the former +being speedily shot. The young one was caught, escaped again, and at last +was brought back swimming, and was chained to the ice-anchor. It was very +much frightened, but nevertheless devoured its mother's flesh when it was +thrown to it. The men built it a snow house, and offered it a couch of +shavings, but young Bruin, as a genuine inhabitant of the Arctic seas, +despised such luxuries, and made its bed in the snow. Some days later it +had disappeared, together with the chain, which must have become loosened +from the anchor. From the weight of the iron alone the poor creature must +soon have sunk. Other Arctic guests visited the _Hansa_. With a brisk wind +came two white foxes from the coast, a certain proof that the ice must +extend thither. + + [Illustration: A YOUNG BEAR CHAINED TO AN ANCHOR.] + +Towards the end of September the necessity of wintering on the floating +ice off the coast was decided upon, and they resolved on the erection of a +winter house. Bricks were ready in the shape of "coal-tiles," while water +or snow was to form the mortar. Before anything else was done, the boats +were cleaned out, covered with a roofing, and provisions placed ready for +them in case of emergency. Captain Hegemann sketched the plan for the +building, which was to have an area of 20 x 14 feet, with low roof. +Wall-building has to be given up in frosty weather on land, not so on the +ice. Finely-powdered snow was strewn between the interstices, and water +poured upon it, which in ten minutes became solid ice-mortar. The roof was +at first composed of sail-cloth and matting. Meantime the ice was grinding +and surging around them, and threatening to crush the vessel at any +moment. Underneath the ice-field it groaned and cracked, "now sounding +like the banging of doors, now like many human voices raised one against +the other, and lastly like the drag on the wheel of a railway engine." The +apparent cause was that the drifting ice was pressing in upon the fixed +coast ice. Meantime the _Hansa_ quivered in every beam, and the masts +swayed to and fro. Provisions and stores were moved to the house in case +of sudden disaster. + + [Illustration: THE HOUSE OF THE _HANSA_ ON THE ICE.] + +On the morning of the 19th a NNW. gale with snow-storm foreboded mischief. +The air was gloomy and thick, and the coast four miles off could not be +seen. The ice came pressing upon the vessel, and before noon the position +became serious. The piled-up masses of "young ice," four feet thick, +pressed heavily on the outer side, and the vessel became tilted upwards at +the bows. The men took their meals on deck, not knowing what might happen +next. "Soon," says the narrator, "some mighty blocks of ice pushed +themselves under the bow of the vessel, and although they were crushed by +it, they forced it up, slowly at first, then quicker, until it was raised +seventeen feet out of its former position upon the ice. This movement we +tried to ease as much as possible by shovelling away the ice and snow from +the larboard side. The rising of the ship was an extraordinary and awful, +yet splendid spectacle, of which the whole crew were witnesses from the +ice. In all haste the clothing, nautical instruments, journals and cards +[the translator means charts] were taken over the landing-bridge. The +after part of the ship, unfortunately, would not rise, and therefore the +stern-post had to bear the most frightful pressure, and the conviction +that the ship must soon break up forced itself upon our minds." At the end +of the afternoon the ice retreated, and the vessel was once more again in +her native element. The pumps were set to work, and it was soon made clear +that all their exertions would not save the schooner, for the water +steadily gained upon them. The fate of the _Hansa_ was sealed, and the +coal-house on the ice was destined to be their only refuge, may-be their +grave. + +The work of removing everything available went on steadily. A snow-storm +had raged during the day, but it cleared in the evening; the moon shed her +cold light over the dreary ice-fields, and ever and anon the Northern +lights flashed over them in many changing colours. The men, whether at the +pumps, or engaged in removing the stores, had a hard time of it. The decks +were thick with ice, and those at the pumps stood in tubs to keep dry and +warm. Night allowed the crew some few hours of welcome rest, and at early +dawn all set to work again. "But the catastrophe was near; at 8 A.M. the +men who were busy in the fore-peak, getting out firewood, came with +anxious faces, with the news that the wood was already floating below. +When the captain had ascertained the truth of this intelligence, he +ordered the pumping to cease. It was evident that the ship was sinking, +and that it must be abandoned. + +"The first thing to be done was to bring all necessary and useful things +from the 'tween decks on to the ice--bedding, clothing, more provisions, +and coal. Silently were all the heavy chests and barrels pushed over the +hatchway. First comes the weighty iron galley, then the two stoves are +happily hoisted over; their possession ensures us the enjoyment of warm +food, the heating of our coal-house, and other matters indispensable for a +wintering on the floe. At three o'clock the water in the cabin had reached +the table, and all movable articles were floating. The fear that we should +not have enough fuel made us grasp at every loose piece of wood and throw +it on to the ice. The sinking of the vessel was now almost imperceptible; +it must have found support on a tongue of ice or some promontory of our +field. There was still a small medicine-chest and a few other things +which, in our future position, would be great treasures--such as the +cabin-lamp, books, cigars, boxes of games, &c. The snow-roof, too, and the +sails were brought on to the ice; but still all necessary work was not yet +accomplished. Round about the ship lay a chaotic mass of heterogeneous +articles, and groups of feeble rats struggling with death, and trembling +with the cold! All articles, for greater safety, must be conveyed over a +fissure to about thirty paces farther inland. The galley we at once took +on a sledge to the house, as we should want it to give us warm coffee in +the evening. We then looked after the sailor Max Schmidt, who was +suffering from frost-bite, and brought him on planks under the fur +covering to the coal-house. By 9 A.M. all were in the new asylum, which +was lit by the cabin-lamp, and looked like a dreary tomb. Pleased with the +completion of our heavy day's work, though full of trouble for the future, +we prepared our couch. A number of planks were laid upon the ground, and +sail-cloth spread over them. Upon these we lay down, rolled in our furs. A +man remained to watch the stove, as the temperature in the room had risen +from 2 deg. Fahr. to 271/2 deg. Fahr. It was a hard, cold bed; but sleep soon fell +upon our weary, over-worked limbs. On the morning of the 21st we went +again to the ship to get more fuel. The coal-hole was, however, under +water. We therefore chopped down the masts, and hauled them with the whole +of the tackle on to the ice--a work which took us nearly the whole day. At +eleven the foremast fell, at three the mainmast followed; and now the +_Hansa_ really looked a complete, comfortless wreck. For the last time the +captain and steersman went on deck, and about six o'clock loosed the +ropes, which, by means of the ice-anchor held the ship to the field, as we +feared that our floe, which bore all our treasures, might break." The +scientific collections and photographs had to be utterly abandoned. On the +night of the 21st and 22nd the wreck sank, about six miles from the coast +of Greenland. The jolly-boat, which stood loose on deck, floated, and was +drawn on the ice. + + + + + + CHAPTER XXX. + + + ON AN ICE-RAFT. + + + A Floating Ice-Raft--The Settlement--Christmas in a New + Position--Terrible Storms--Commotion under the Ice--The Floe breaks + up--House Ruined--Water on the Floe--A Spectre Iceberg--Fresh Dangers + and Deliverances--Drifted 1,100 Miles--Resolution to Leave the + Ice--Open Water--Ice again--Tedious Progress--Reach Illuidlek + Island--Welcome at the Greenland Settlements--Home in Germany--Voyage + of the _Germania_--Discovery of Coal--A New Inlet--Home to Bremen. + + +Slowly but steadily their ice-field drifted to the south, and by November +3rd they had reached Scoresby's Sound, sometimes being near the coasts and +sometimes far from them. Since the ship had sunk, fourteen days before, +the ice had closed in upon them, and even the blocks which had broken away +from their field had frozen to it again. Their floating ice-raft was by +degrees investigated in every quarter, roads cleared, and marks set up for +short tours. The mass of ice was at this time about seven nautical miles +in circumference, and seemed to have a diameter in all directions of over +two miles. The ice-raft, on which (as Dr. Laube aptly remarked) they "were +as the Lord's passengers," had an average thickness above the water of +five feet, and they considered that there was a submergence of forty feet. +"Our settlement," says the narrative, "at the beginning of November, when +we were not yet snowed up, might be seen from the most distant points of +our field. Near the chief building lay two snow-houses, which served for +washing and drying ourselves. Boats, heaps of wood, barrels containing +coal and bacon, surrounded this heart of our colony. To prevent the +entrance of the snow and wind into our coal-house, we built an +entrance-hall with a winding path, and a roof constructed in the same way +as that of the house." + +In November, upon a neighbouring floe, separated from them by a small +interval of freshly-frozen water, they saw the shapeless body of a large +walrus lying motionless as a rock. As soon as the boat could be launched +several of them went in pursuit, and with a needle-gun succeeded in +killing it, although in its dying struggles it tried furiously to smash +the young ice on which the hunters stood, and seize them when once in the +water. It took ten men with a powerful pulley several hours before they +succeeded in getting the walrus out of the water on to the ice. Late that +same evening a white bear, the first of their winter's campaign, was +attracted to the house by the smell of the walrus fat. Three shots greeted +him, the effect of which could not be seen until the following morning. +"About 100 yards distant lay the bear, hit in the head by the bullet, as +if asleep, though quite dead, on the snow. It was a fine handsome beast; +its well-developed head lay upon its front paws; the red drops of blood +stood sharply out against the clean white snow." It was a gift from heaven +to them in their position. The four hams weighed 200 pounds. + +The shortest day was passed, and still they were safe. They determined +that, whether or no fated to see another Christmas, they would celebrate +the present one. "In the afternoon," says the narrative, "whilst we went +for a walk, the steersman put up the Christmas-tree, and on our return the +lonely coal-hut shone with wonderful brightness. Keeping Christmas on a +Greenland floe! Made of pinewood and birch-broom, the tree was +artistically put together. For the lights, Dr. Laube had saved some wax +candles. Paper chains and home-baked gingerbread were not wanting. The men +had made a knapsack and a revolver case for the captain; we opened the +leaden box from Professor Hochstetter, and the other from the Geological +Reichsanstalt, which caused much merriment. Then we had a glass of port +wine, and fell upon the old newspapers in the boxes, and distributed the +gifts, which consisted of small musical instruments, such as whistles, +jew's-harps, and trumpets, also little puppets and games of roulette, +cracker bonbons, &c. In the evening chocolate and gingerbread nuts. 'In +quiet devotion' (says Dr. Laube in his day-book) 'the festival passed by; +the thoughts which passed through our minds (they were much alike with +all), I will not put down. If this should be the last Christmas we were to +see it was at least bright enough. If, however, we are destined for a +happy return home the next will be a brighter one. May God grant it!'" + + [Illustration: THE SUN AT MIDNIGHT IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS.] + +Early next morning they were awakened by a shout from the watch. They were +apparently drifting to land! An island seemed to be straight ahead of +them. Amid great alarm, all turned out. The air was thick, but about three +miles off they could distinguish a dark mass, which looked like an island. +It proved to be an enormous iceberg. Next day they passed the drifting +mass, which moved much slower than their field. + +On January 2nd a frightful storm arose, with driving snow. Alarming noises +were heard under the ice. "It was a scraping, blustering, crackling, +sawing, grating, and jarring sound, as if some unhappy ghost was wandering +under our floe." Perplexed, they all jumped out, but could detect no +change. They lay down, and applying their ears to the floor, could hear a +rustling like the singing of ice when closely jammed, and as if water were +running under the floe. They felt that there was great danger of a +break-up, either from being driven over sunken rocks or against the fixed +ice of the coast, or, may-be, both at once, and they packed their furs and +filled their knapsacks with provisions. Ropes from the house were fastened +to the boats, so that in case of a catastrophe they might be able to reach +them. But the driving snow was so terrible that they hardly dare move, and +they passed a night of misery, expecting each minute to be their last. At +nine next morning the longed-for twilight appeared, and an hour later the +wind abated a little. Some of them went in the direction of the "quay," +for thus had they christened the spot, 500 steps from the house, where the +sunken _Hansa_ lay. They there found a new wall of ice, and recognised to +their horror that this wall was now the boundary of their floe, whilst on +all sides of it large pieces had broken off, and rose in dark shapeless +masses out of the drifted snow. When, on the morning of the 4th, the storm +had worn itself out, they found that their floating ice-raft had +considerably diminished in size. The diameter, before over two nautical +miles, had now reduced to one; on three sides the house was close to the +edges, and on the fourth it was not over 1,000 steps, where it had +previously been 3,000. The following days were pretty good, and they got +their boats out from the snow, dug out the firewood, and employed +themselves in constructing swimming-jackets and snow-shoes out of cork, +the latter to prevent themselves sinking up to the hips, as they had often +done before. + +The days from the 11th to the 15th of January were destined to bring new +horrors. On the first-named day a heavy storm with driving snow prevailed, +in the midst of which the man on watch burst into the house with the +alarm, "All hands turn out!" Hastily gathering their furs and knapsacks, +they rushed to the door, to see it almost completely snowed up. To gain +the outside quickly they broke through the snow-roof, to find that the +tumult of the elements was something beyond anything they had previously +experienced. Scarcely able to move from the spot, they huddled together +for warmth and mutual protection. Suddenly a new cry arose: "Water on the +floe close by!" The heavy waves washed over the ice: the field began to +break on all sides. On the spot between the house and the piled-up wood, a +gap opened. All seemed lost. The firewood was drifting into the raging +sea; the boats were in danger, and without this last resource, what would +they do? The community was divided into two parts. Sadly, though hastily, +these brave Germans bade each other good-bye, for none of them expected to +see the morrow. Cowering in the shelter of their boats, they stood +shivering all day, the fine pricking snow penetrating their very clothes. +Their floe, from its last diameter, about a mile, had dwindled to 150 +feet. Towards evening, the heavy sea subsided, and the ice began to again +pack and freeze together. Shortly after midnight a new terror arose, the +sailor on watch rushing in with the information that they were drifting on +an iceberg. All rushed to the entrance, where they could, in the midnight +gloom, distinguish a huge mass of ice, of giant proportions. "It is past," +said the captain. Was it really an iceberg, the mirage of one, or the high +coast? They could not decide the question, for owing to the rapidity of +the drift, the ghastly object had disappeared the next moment. + +Again on the 14th a frightful storm raged, and the ice was once more in +motion. The floe broke in the immediate vicinity of the house, and the +boats had to be dragged near it. "All our labour," says the narrative, +"was rendered heavier by the storm, which made it almost impossible to +breathe. About eleven we experienced a sudden fissure which threatened to +tear our house asunder; with a thundering noise an event took place, the +consequences of which, in the first moments, deranged all calculations. +God only knows how it happened that, in our flight into the open, none +came to harm. But there, in the most fearful weather, we all stood +roofless on the ice, waiting for daylight, which was still ten hours off. +The boat _King William_ lay on the edge of the floe, and might have +floated away at any moment. Fortunately, the fissure did not get larger. +As it was somewhat quieter at midnight, most of the men crept into the +captain's boat, when the thickest sail we had was drawn over them. Some +took refuge in the house; but there, as the door had fallen in, they +entered by the skylight, and in the hurry broke the panes of glass, so +that it was soon full of snow. This night was the most dreadful one of our +adventurous voyage on the floe. The cold was -91/2 deg. Fahr. (411/2 deg. below +freezing). Real sleep, at least in the boat, was not to be thought of; it +was but a confused, unquiet, half-slumber, which overpowered us from utter +weariness, and our limbs quivered convulsively as we lay packed like +herrings in our furs. The cook had, in spite of all, found energy enough +in the morning to make the coffee in the house, and never had the +delicious drink awakened more exhausted creatures to life. The bad weather +raged the whole day. We lay in the boat, half in water, half in snow, +shivering with the frost, and wet to the skin." Next night was passed in +the same comfortless position, but on the morning of the 16th the second +officer caught sight of a star, and never was there a more welcome omen. +For five nights they slept in the boats, but by the 19th they had +partially rebuilt their house, although from this time forth they had to +take it in turns to sleep in the boats, their new erection being only +one-half the size of the older one. Throughout all the discomfort, want, +hardships, danger of all kinds, the frame of mind among the men was good, +undaunted, and exalted. The cook kept a right seamanlike humour, even in +the most critical moments. As long as he had tobacco nothing troubled him. + +And so it went on from day to day: fresh dangers were followed by fresh +deliverances, and in spite of all the perils encountered, no lives were +lost, nor were there any serious cases of sickness. By May they had spent +eight months on their ice-raft, and had drifted 1,100 miles. On the +morning of the 7th they were agreeably surprised to see open water in the +direction of land. The captain, considering that the moment had arrived +when they should leave the floe and try to reach the coast, called a +council. This project received almost unanimous approbation, and in +feverish haste and impatience the boats were hauled empty over three +floes, the stores and necessaries being carried after them, partly on +sledges and partly on the back. At four P.M. they set sail, the officers +and crew being divided into three companies. They made seven miles, and +then hauled up on a small floe. After finding a low spot, and first +emptying the boats, they were lifted, by swinging them in the water, till +the third time, when a strong pull and a pull all together brought their +bows on the ice, and they were soon bodily on its surface. Next day by +noon they were not more than four or five miles from the land, but the ice +was densely packed in irregular masses. Bad weather, with much snow, +detained them six days on a floe; and then, having proceeded some little +distance, they were again condemned to five days' detention. Their +provisions were getting low; they had rations left for not over a month. +As no change took place in the ice, they resolved to drag their boats over +it to the island of Illuidlek, which, after delays and dangers very +similar to those encountered by Parry on his memorable Polar sledge and +boat journey, was reached on June 4th. A little later they successfully +sailed to the Greenland Moravian mission station of Friedrichstal, where +their troubles ended, and where they received a hearty welcome. A Danish +vessel brought them to Copenhagen on September 1st, and it then became +evident that it was time to pay some attention to their outward +appearance. In their forlorn condition they could not leave the ship, or +they might have been compromised with the police. Some were in seal-skin +caps, some in furs, others in sea boots from which the toes protruded, +with ragged trousers, threadbare coats, and a general air of Arctic +seediness. At length Captain Hegemann fetched them away in the twilight, +and took them to a clothing warehouse, where they were soon made to look +more like civilised beings. A few days later, and they entered Bremen; +not, indeed, in their own good ship, but by an express train, by its east +gate, from Hamburgh. The _Hansa_ men may safely await the judgment of +their contemporaries, for throughout the narrative, good discipline, a +hearty _esprit de corps_, unmurmuring submission to the +inevitable--whatever it might be--and a determination to do and dare +whatever might appear for their mutual advantage, appear on every page. +Germany may well be proud of such sons--Arctic heroes every one of them. +The fortunes of the _Germania_ were less eventful. + +Lieutenant Payer, while out on a sledging expedition, made an important +discovery. On Kuhn Island he found a seam of coal, in places eighteen +inches in thickness, alternating with sandstone. It would be strange if in +some future age our supply of warmth should be furnished from Arctic fuel. +Many fine zoological and botanical specimens were collected by the +scientific gentlemen connected with this expedition. The leading discovery +was that of a large inlet in lat. 73 deg. 15' N., which was named after the +Emperor Franz Josef. Surrounding it were mountain peaks ranging as high as +14,000 feet. The _Germania_ reached Bremen on September 11th, 1870--but a +few days after the arrival of their brethren of the _Hansa_, and at a +period when all Germany was _en fete_ on account of their recent +victories. + + + + + + CHAPTER XXXI. + + + HALL'S EXPEDITION--THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EXPEDITION--NORDENSKJOeLD. + + + Captain Hall's Expedition--High Latitude Attained--Open Water + Seen--Death of Hall--The _Polaris_ Beset--An Abandoned Party--Six + Months on a Floating Ice-floe--Rescue--Loss of the + Steamer--Investigation at Washington--The Austro-Hungarian + Expedition--The _Tegethoff_ hopelessly Beset in the Ice--Two Long + Weary Years--Perils from the Ice Pressure--Ramparts raised round the + Ship--The Polar Night--Loss of a Coal-hut--Attempts to Escape--A Grand + Discovery--Franz Josef Land--Sledging Parties--Gigantic Glaciers--The + Steamer Abandoned--Boat and Sledge Journey to the Bay of + Downs--Prof. Nordenskjoeld's Voyage--The North-East Passage an + accomplished Fact. + + +But little record has been made, except in transient literature and +Government reports, of the expedition concerning which we are about to +write. Captain Charles Francis Hall's name is, with the public, more +intimately associated with "Life with the Esquimaux," and but little with +the fact that he succeeded in taking a vessel to a higher latitude than +ever reached in that way before. He returned to America in 1869, having +for five years lived with, and to a great extent _as_ the natives, the +result being that, excepting many errors of taste and style, he succeeded +in producing a work which has a very special ethnological value. Before it +had issued from the press, he had, encouraged by the then Secretary of the +United States Navy, laid a plan before Congress for attempting to reach +the North Pole _via_ Smith Sound. He eventually succeeded in obtaining a +grant of fifty thousand dollars for the purpose, while an old U.S. river +gun-boat was placed at his disposal. She was re-named the _Polaris_. It +was understood that no naval officer should accompany him, and he +therefore engaged a whaling captain, one S. O. Buddington, to navigate the +vessel. Two scientific gentlemen, Dr. Bessels and Mr. Meyer, accompanied +him, as did Morton, Kane's trusty friend, who has been so often mentioned +in these pages. + +The expedition sailed in the summer of 1871, and after having touched at +Disco, Greenland, proceeded up Smith Sound, Kane Basin, and Kennedy +Channel, across Polaris Bay (discovered and designated by Hall), +eventually reaching 82 deg. 16' N., the highest latitude ever attained by a +ship prior to Captain Nares's expedition. Ice impeded their further +progress. The strait into which they had entered was named after Mr. +Robeson, and from the point which they had so speedily and easily +attained, a water horizon was seen to the north-east. The vessel was laid +up in a harbour named Thank-God Bay, where Captain Hall, after sundry +minor explorations, died on November 8th, having endured severe suffering, +the symptoms indicating paralysis and congestion of the brain. During his +delirium he had expressed the opinion that they were trying to poison him, +and before he would touch medicine, food, or wine, he made his clerk taste +it. This being repeated at home, on the return of the expedition, a +Government investigation of a careful and detailed nature took place at +Washington, but led to nothing being elicited beyond the facts of a want +of _esprit de corps_ among some of the members, and that there had been +some disagreeable dissensions on board. Captain Buddington had no ambition +to distinguish himself in the field of science, which he evidently +despised, being probably what is called a "practical" man--that is, one who +must have immediate gain before his eyes to stir him to exertion--and there +does not appear to have been any very earnest feeling on the part of the +others. Hall died almost on the spot with which his name must ever be +associated, and it is a melancholy fact that he should not have lived to +reap the honours and rewards due to so much enterprise. The _Polaris_, a +steam vessel of small power, and unadapted for the Arctic seas, had been +taken to a point which the finest vessels ever employed in the exploration +of the far north had previously failed in reaching. + + [Illustration: THE FUNERAL OF CAPTAIN HALL.] + +The death of Captain Hall threw the command of the _Polaris_ on Captain +Buddington. In the second week of November, during a very heavy gale, the +vessel dragged her anchors, but at last brought up safely in the lee of a +large iceberg aground in the bay. She was made fast to it, and remained in +that position for some time. During the winter and spring she was much +damaged by the ice, and when she once more floated, in June, leaked badly. +After sending out an expedition to Newman's Bay, during the progress of +which one of the boats was crushed like a nutshell by the grinding ice, +Captain Buddington determined to sail for the United States. On August +15th the _Polaris_ was in a position so dangerous among the ice that it +was deemed necessary to place the boats with provisions on a large level +floe, in order to prepare for contingencies. A dark night came on, a gale +arose, and the steamer drifted away in an utterly unmanageable condition, +her steam-pipes, valves, &c., being frozen up. For hours they could not +get up steam on board, while they had little coal, and the boats were on +the ice. + +The condition of those left in charge of the boats and stores on the ice +was apparently desperate. Tyson, the second officer, with the steward, +cook, six sailors, and eight Esquimaux, passed a miserable night on the +drifting floe. Next morning hope revived in their breasts when they saw +the _Polaris_ apparently steaming towards them, and all kinds of attempts +were made to attract attention: an india-rubber blanket was hoisted on an +oar, but all to no purpose. The steamer altered her course, disappearing +behind a point of the land, and eighteen deserted beings were destined to +a series of experiences similar to those recorded of the _Hansa_ men. At +the Washington investigation, it was shown that the captain had at the +time hopes of saving his vessel, which, after all, had to be run ashore on +Lyttelton Island, in a sinking condition. As they had the boats and a +supply of provisions, he considered their condition better than his own. + +The men on the ice did their best under the circumstances, and their +experiences were hardly less eventful than those of the Germans in a +similar strait. Their food became scarce as the winter advanced, but the +Esquimaux were of considerable use to them in catching seals. They passed +nearly six months on the drifting ice-floe (from October 15th, 1872, to +April 1st, 1873), and when at length they left it, and were rescued by the +sealing steamer _Tigress_, we can well imagine the revulsion of feeling +described in their evidence before the Washington committee. Meantime the +_Polaris_ herself was ashore on Lyttelton Island, where Buddington, his +officers and men, fourteen souls in all, had to pass the winter, +fortunately under no great privations, as the stores were saved. They were +eventually rescued by the _Ravenscraig_, a steam-whaler, and later, having +been transferred to the whaler _Arctic_, reached Dundee, and eventually +their own homes, in safety. In spite of the perils encountered by both +parties, Captain Hall was the only one of the little band who did not live +to reach his native land. + +The Americans have, therefore, as we have indicated, stuck bravely to the +Smith Sound route to the Pole, and a large proportion of English and +foreign authorities still favour the same idea. + +We have seen the staunch little _Fox_ of M'Clintock's expedition +miraculously escape from the grinding surging ice after a detention of 242 +days, any one of which might easily have been the last for its brave +company; we have witnessed, in mental vision, the philosophical German +crew of the ill-fated _Hansa_ drifting 1,100 miles on their precarious +ice-raft, to be saved, every man of them, at last; and we have just seen +half of the _Polaris_ men rescued from their peril on the floating +ice-field after nearly six months of weary watching. Turn we now to one +more example of the dangers of the Arctic seas to find a vessel to all +appearance hopelessly encompassed in the ice-drifts, and destined not to +make its escape before two long and dreary years had passed away. + +When in 1874 the Austro-Hungarian expedition, after a long absence, during +which nothing had been heard from it, returned in safety, many fears which +had been felt were sensibly allayed; and when the public learned of the +difficulties they had encountered and the grand discoveries made, it was +generally voted a complete success. This expedition, under Lieutenant +Weyprecht of the Navy and Lieutenant Payer of the Engineers--who had +already made himself a name as an Arctic explorer in the second German +expedition--had been partly organised at the expense of the public, and +greatly aided by Count Wilczek, who accompanied it in his yacht as far as +Barents Island. A very small steamer--no more than 220 tons--named the +_Tegethoff_, was employed, and among its officers was Captain Carlsen, who +it will be remembered, had circumnavigated Spitzbergen some time before, +and was the discoverer of the Barents relics; he served in the capacity of +ice-master. The crew, all told, only numbered twenty-four men. The +expedition sailed from Bremerhaven on June 13th, 1872, provisioned for +three years, and was soon among the ice of the north-east. Early in August +the vessel became beset in such a manner that progress was next to +impossible. "Subsequently," says Lieutenant Payer, "we regained our +liberty, and in latitude 75 deg. N. we reached the open water extending along +the coast of Novaya Zemlya. The decrease in temperature and quantity of +ice showed, indeed, that the summer of 1872 was the very opposite of that +of the year before." The vessels kept company as far as the low Barents +Islands, where the "thick-ribbed ice," agitated and driven on the coast by +winds and gales, stopped their progress for a week. On the 21st of August +the _Tegethoff_ got clear, and left her consort, the former steaming +slowly towards the north. "Our hopes," says Payer, "were vain. Night found +us encompassed on all sides by ice, and (as it eventually proved) for two +long and dreary years! Cheerless and barren of all hope the first year lay +before us, and we were not any longer discoverers, but doomed to remain as +helpless voyagers on a floe of drifting ice." This is, so far as is known, +the longest period for which a vessel has been ice-encompassed, and the +reader will require no assistance to picture the apparently hopeless +condition in which they found themselves, with but little prospect of +accomplishing anything approaching exploration. With the autumn of 1872 +came unusually severe weather, which caused the ice-blocks to re-freeze as +soon as they were sawn asunder, and they were utterly unable to extricate +the vessel, although every effort was made. On October 13th the ice broke +up, and the collisions of and with enormous masses placed them in great +danger. They were quite ignorant of their position and where they were +drifting. In the sombre darkness of the long Arctic night they had to keep +the boats and stores in readiness, as they might have to abandon the +vessel at any moment. The floes were constantly uplifted by other ice +underneath, but the little _Tegethoff_ proved herself staunch and true. +Eventually a rampart of ice was erected about the little vessel, which had +to be continually watched and repaired, on account of the damage received +from the pressure of surrounding ice. Amidst all these dangers the routine +of the ship was admirably kept up. Divine service was observed, and a +school established for the crew. The men suffered severely from scurvy and +pulmonary complaints during the winter. + +In the autumn of 1873 an important discovery was made. "We had," says +Payer, "long ago drifted into a portion of the Arctic sea which had not +previously been visited; but in spite of a careful look-out we had not +been able hitherto to discover land. It was, therefore, an event of no +small importance, when, on the 31st of August, we were surprised by the +sudden appearance of a mountainous country, about fourteen miles to the +north, which the mist had up till that time concealed from our view." They +had no opportunity of reaching it until the end of October, when a landing +was effected in lat. 79 deg. 54' N., on an island, lying off the mainland, to +which they affixed the name of Count Wilczek, to whom the expedition had +in great measure owed its existence. Their second Polar night of 125 days +prevented any further exploration, but was passed without a recurrence of +the dangers they had met the previous winter. Their winter quarters were +comparatively safe, and being near the land they obtained a sufficiency of +bear-meat, the animals often approaching the ship closely. + + [Illustration: START OF LIEUT. PAYER'S SLEDGE EXPEDITION.] + +In the winter of 1874 several sledging parties were sent out. On the 24th +of March, Lieutenant Payer, with six companions, left the vessel, dragging +a large sledge freighted with provisions and stores to the extent of +three-fourths of a ton. They succeeded in reaching the new land, after +many a struggle with the ice-hummocks, snow-drifts, and floods of +sea-water which had submerged some parts of the ice. Their difficulties +were increased by the fact that a once fine team of dogs was reduced to +three capable of being of service. Payer describes the new land as broken +up by numerous inlets and fiords, and surrounded by innumerable islands. +The mountains were of fair altitude--from 2,000 to 5,000 feet in +height--while the glaciers in the valleys were of gigantic size, and formed +a great feature in the wild scenery. Some visited "were characterised by +their greenish-blue colour, the paucity of crevasses, and extraordinarily +coarse-grained ice." The vegetation was poor, as might be expected. To +this hitherto unknown land the name of the Emperor Franz Josef was +affixed. The party reached the high latitude of 81 deg. 37' N. + + [Illustration: FALL OF THE SLEDGE INTO A CREVASSE.] + +The return journey to the vessel was made successfully, although the +scarcity of provisions obliged them to make forced marches, and also +necessitated a division of the party remaining behind under a cliff on +Hohenlohe Island, while Payer, with two of the crew and a small sledge, +pressed forward for aid. Crossing an enormous glacier on Crown Prince +Rudolf Land, one of the men, the sledge and dogs, fell into a gigantic +crevasse which the snow had concealed. Payer himself might have come to +grief had not he had presence of mind enough to cut the harness by which +he was attached to the sledge. For a time the case looked very bad, as +they were unable to extricate the unfortunate explorer. Payer, however, +with that quickness which is one of his distinguishing characteristics, +immediately ran back some twelve miles to the other party, and obtained +assistance. They had eventually the happiness of rescuing the man, &c., by +means of ropes. After many perils in the journey over the rotten ice they +succeeded in joining the anxious little band on the vessel. Alas! the +_Tegethoff_, which had passed unscathed so many dangers, had to be +abandoned in the ice, and a journey by boat and sledge commenced, very +similar to that of Barents, made three centuries before. After mournfully +nailing the flags to the ship's mast, on May 20th they started on their +doubtful and adventurous trip. It took them over three months (ninety-six +days) to reach the Bay of Downs, in lat 72 deg. 4', where they happily met a +Russian schooner, and their troubles were over. + +And now to the Arctic expedition which stands out pre-eminently above +almost any other whatever. Professor Nordenskjoeld may be congratulated on +having performed the most intrepid and daring feat of the present century, +speaking in a geographical point of view. The North-East Passage has been +accomplished. "The splendid success," said a leading journal, "has been +splendidly deserved. It was no lucky accident of exploration that found +the _Vega_ a way round the northernmost point of Asia, or chance good +fortune that carried her through new seas to the Behrings Straits. +Professor Nordenskjoeld has fought it out fairly with Nature. The combat +has been a long one, and round after round had to be toughly contested +before the Professor closed with his opponent, the Arctic Ocean, and +floored the grim old tyrant. Six times he has gone northward to do battle +with ice and snow, and each time, though returning, he has brought back +such knowledge of the enemy's weakness that assured him of ultimate +success." Unfortunately the details as yet at hand are meagre, and only +the bare outlines of the story can be presented. Some of the important +scientific results of the expedition will be referred to in future pages. + +The _Vega_, a tough, teak-built steam whaler, left Gothenburg on July 4th, +1878, sighted Nova Zembla on the 28th, and anchored that day off a village +on the Samoyede peninsula at the entrance of the Kara Sea, once known as +the Ice Cave, but which of late has lost its terrors for even the hardy +Norwegian fisherman. Nordenskjoeld knew the right season to attempt its +passage, and it was surprised when almost free of ice. On August 1st, +after making many scientific observations of importance, the _Vega_ +proceeded slowly eastward, nothing but rotten ice, which in no way impeded +the vessel, being met. In a few days they were safely anchored in +Dickson's Haven, Siberia, a spot perhaps destined to become an important +exporting point. Bears and reindeer were found to be numerous, and the +vegetation extremely rich. On the 10th the _Vega_ again proceeded, and +threading her way through unknown islands, reached a fine harbour situated +in the strait that separates Taimyr Island and the mainland, where they +dredged for marine specimens with great success. Again resuming the +voyage, they, on the evening of the 19th, anchored in a bay round Cape +Chelyuskin, the most northerly point of the Asiatic continent. This, the +once unconquerable cape, had now been conquered, and that fact alone would +have constituted a splendid triumph, although it now only forms an episode +in this grand voyage. Low mountains, free from snow, were seen to the +southward; geese, ducks, and other birds were seen on the coast, while the +ocean was alive with walrus, seals, and whales. On the 21st, though +delayed by fogs and rotten ice, the _Vega_ coasted south-east; and on the +23rd, aided by a fine breeze and a smooth sea, was able to dispense with +steam. At the Chatanga river they shot bears and wild fowl to their +heart's desire. On the 26th they passed the entrance to the mouth of the +Lena, and on the 27th turned northward for the Siberian Islands, which +they were prevented from exploring, owing to the ice. Nordenskjoeld ordered +the vessel's head to be turned southward, and they passed the mouth of the +great Kolyma river. Soon they were among the ice, and, as they had +anticipated, were to be imprisoned in it. But the health of the party was +excellent, and no scurvy whatever appeared; their own provisions were of +the best; and after passing Cook's Cape, Vankarema, the _Vega_ crossed to +Kolintchin, where the furnaces were put out, the sails stowed, and winter +life fairly commenced. At a mile distance ashore there was a Tchuktchi +village of 4,000 souls, all living easily, for fish and seals, bear, wolf, +and fox, were abundant, while in spring the geese, swans, and ducks, +returned from the south. For nearly nine months they were ice-bound; but +at last the ice floes broke up and scattered, and the little _Vega_ soon +passed East Cape, the extremity of Asia, and steamed gaily into Behring +Straits, where a salute was fired, announcing a success unprecedented in +the annals of Arctic history. The Professor believes that voyages may be +regularly performed in the future which will open up a considerable trade +with northern Siberia. + +Surrounded by almost every conceivable difficulty and danger, Arctic +research has witnessed and developed more genuinely heroic skill and +enterprise than has been needed or found in the exploration of any other +portion of our globe. With all its dangers the North Polar world possesses +a rare fascination for the adventurous, and has something to offer in +palliation of its monotonous desolation. The yet unknown must always have +charms for the greatest minds, even though it should prove practically +unknowable; the undiscovered may not always be so, for the unfathomed of +the past may be fathomed to-day. The Polar regions offer much to the +scientist, and, in some phases, much to the artist. The beautiful Aurora +flashes over the scene and banishes the darkness of the Arctic night. The +vastness of Nature's operations are shown in the huge icebergs clad in +dazzling whiteness or glittering in the moon's silvery rays in the +interminable fields of fixed or floating ice, in glacial rivers of +grandest size. As the bergs melting in the warmer waves assume endless +fantastic forms--as of pointed spires, jagged steeples, or castellated +remains, and as, losing the centre of gravity, they roll over to assume +new forms, or meeting together crash like thunder or the roar of +artillery, throwing up great volumes of foam, disturbing the surface of +the sea for miles, the puniness of man is felt, and the mind inevitably +lifted from Nature up "to Nature's God." + +Much has been done; still, there is yet work which remains to be +accomplished in the Arctic seas. But brave men will never be wanting when +new attempts are made. As the old sea-captain, looking at the chart in +Millais' picture, says, concerning the North-West Passage, "It might be +done--and England ought to do it!" + + + + + + CHAPTER XXXII. + + + THE ANTARCTIC REGIONS. + + + Has the South Pole been Neglected?--The Antarctic even more + Inhospitable than the Arctic--The Antarctic Summer--Search for the + _Terra Australis_--Early Explorers--Captain Cook's + Discoveries--Watering at Icebergs--The Southern Thule--Smith's + Report--Weddell's Voyage--Dead Whale Mistaken for an + Island--D'Urville's Adelie Land--Wilkes Land--Voyages of James + Ross--High Land Discovered--Deep Beds of Guano--Antarctic + Volcanoes--Mounts Erebus and Terror--Victoria Land. + + +One might well inquire, without a previous knowledge of the reasons, why +the South Pole has not received the attention which has been lavished on +the North. The fact is that while the Arctic regions do not present many +attractions for travel, and certainly even less for residence or +settlement, the Antarctic regions are still more unpromising in both +particulars. The extreme intensity of Antarctic cold is found to commence +at a much higher latitude than in the northern hemisphere. In the Arctic +seas large icebergs are rarely found till the 70th parallel of latitude is +reached, while stationary fields are met in a still higher latitude. In +the South Pacific both occur at from 50 deg. to 60 deg. of southern latitude. The +mountains of Cape Horn, of Terra del Fuego, and outlying islands, are +covered with perpetual snow quite to their sea-coasts. "This contrast," +say Professor Tomlinson, in one of the few general works we possess on the +subject,(42) "has been ascribed to the shorter stay which the sun makes in +the southern hemisphere than in the northern. But this difference, +amounting to scarcely eight days, has been proved to be exactly +compensated by the greater nearness of the earth to the sun during the +southern than during the northern summer. Another cause must therefore be +sought, and as it is a fact that water becomes less heated by the same +amount of sunshine than any solid substance, this cause will be found in +the vast extent of the Antarctic seas, the total absence of any great +surface of land, and the form of the continents which terminate towards +the south almost in points, thus opening a free and unencumbered field to +the currents from the Polar seas, and allowing them to push forward the +icy masses in every direction from the south pole towards the southern and +temperate zone." + +The word _Antarctic_ explains itself as that part of the earth opposite to +the Arctic.(43) Winter in the one corresponds to summer in the other, and +_vice versa_. When the Arctic circle is delighting in one long summer day, +the Antarctic regions are oppressed by the darkest gloom. When we in +England are, or should be, enjoying the bright days of midsummer, the +southern Polar regions are pitchy dark, while at our Christmas-tide that +part of the earth is bathed in floods of sunshine. + +It has been seen that our knowledge of the North Polar seas has been +largely the result of explorations in search of a north-western or +north-eastern passage or strait to the Pacific. The exploration of the +Antarctic regions is mainly due to quests after a continent in the +southern seas--the _Terra Australis incognita_ of many old geographers. The +belief in the existence of such a land can be traced back as far as 1576, +when Juan Fernandez is reported to have sailed southward from Chile, and +to have arrived after a month's voyage at a _tierra ferme_, a charming +fertile land inhabited by friendly and almost civilised natives. If the +story be not altogether apocryphal, it may possibly have been some part of +New Zealand. At the same period there were wild reports in circulation +concerning the discovery by Alvaro Mendana de Neyra of some southern +islands abounding in silver. That navigator, however, could not find them +at all in a later voyage, and perished miserably, with many of his +companions, at Egmont, or Santa Cruz Island. His pilot, Pedro Fernandez de +Quiros, in 1605-6 made a professed voyage in search of the southern +continent, his voyage resulting in the discovery of Pitcairn's Island, the +New Hebrides, and other lands, while one of his captains, Luis Vaes de +Torres, passed through the strait between Australia and New Guinea now +named after him. The first actual approach to the then unknown southern +polar lands appears to have been made by one Dirk Gerritz, a Dutchman, in +January, 1600. This vessel was in the East India service, and was driven +by a gale from the immediate latitude of the Straits of Magellan far to +the south, where he discovered a barren, craggy, snow-covered coast, +similar to that of Norway. His accounts were discredited, but have since +proved to have been accurate enough, and the land is now known as New +South Shetland, and has been proved to cross the Antarctic circle. The +expeditions of Kerguelen, sent out for the purpose of exploring the +southern regions, resulted only in the discovery of the group of islands +now known by his name. It is to the celebrated Captain Cook that we owe +the earliest careful explorations of the south polar regions. + + [Illustration: VIEW OF CAPE HORN.] + +Late in November, 1772, H.M. ships _Resolution_ and _Adventure_ left the +Cape of Good Hope in search of the unknown continent, and early in +December of the same year were driven by several gales among and in +dangerous proximity to icebergs, one of which is described as flat at its +top, about fifty feet in height, and half a mile in circuit. A large +number of penguins and other birds were on these bergs, and this was +deemed a reason for thinking land near. The ice islands yielded excellent +fresh water, large detached lumps being taken on board and the sea water +allowed to drain off on deck, when there was hardly a trace of salt +perceptible to the taste. Part of it was kept as ice, while a quantity was +melted in coppers. Cook said that it was the most expeditious way of +watering he had seen. In the middle of February they had fair weather, +with clear serene nights, when the beautiful Aurora Australis, or Southern +Lights, were seen. "The officer of the watch observed that it sometimes +broke out in spiral rays, and in a circular form; then its light was very +strong, and its appearance beautiful. He could not perceive that it had +any particular direction, for it appeared at various times in different +parts of the heavens, and diffused its light throughout the whole +atmosphere." Bad weather followed, making navigation dangerous among the +bergs, while it was bitterly cold. A litter of nine pigs was killed a few +hours after their birth by the cold, in spite of all the care taken to +preserve them. This was in the Antarctic summer, which, however, improved +considerably afterwards. Captain Cook was then tempted to advance a few +degrees to the south, but soon altered his mind when the weather again +changed for the worse. + +It was not till the 31st of January, 1775, on the same voyage, that Cook, +who had become "tired of these high southern latitudes, where nothing was +to be found but ice and thick fogs," made a discovery of land. They had +been sailing over a sea strewed with ice, when the fog lifting, three +rocky islets of considerable elevation disclosed themselves at a distance +of three or four miles, one terminating in a lofty peak like a sugar-loaf. +It was named _Freezeland Peak_. To the east of this a high coast, with +lofty snow-clad summits, appeared, and soon another broken coast-line came +in sight, to which the name of _Southern Thule_ was given, as it was the +most southerly land yet discovered. Other coasts, promontories, and +mountains, soon came in view, which Cook tells us had land apparently +between them, leading him to the conclusion that the whole was connected. +Prudence forbade him venturing nearer the coast. The reader must remember +that his were not the days of steam. + +New land appeared next morning, with outlying islands, named the +_Candlemas Isles_ in honour of the day on which they were discovered. The +whole of the new land was named _Sandwich Land_, and was supposed to be +either a group of islands, or the point of a continent. Cook firmly +believed in a tract of land near the Pole as the source of most of the +icebergs in those seas, but did not attempt a further exploration. + +It was not till the year 1819 that the commander of the brig _William_, +Mr. William Smith, sailing south-east from the latitude of Cape Horn, +noted in latitude 62 deg. 30' S. and longitude 60 deg. W., an extensive +snow-covered land, on the coasts of which seals were abundant. As he was +bound with a cargo to Valparaiso, he could not follow up his discovery; +but on arrival at that port informed H.B.M. Consul, Captain Sheriff, of +the fact he had ascertained, and that gentleman dispatched Mr. Edward +Barnsfield, master of the frigate _Andromache_, to explore the new-found +land. It was found to consist of a group of islands, numbering twelve, +with innumerable rocky islets between them. There was little doubt that it +was a part of the same land sighted by Gerritz more than two centuries +before, and now known as the South Shetlands. They were further explored +in 1820 by Mr. Weddell, whose crews obtained an immense number of +sea-elephants and fur seals. These islands are nearly inaccessible, being +ice-bound, while almost any part of them, other than perpendicular cliffs, +is perpetually snow-covered. There are a few small patches of straggling +grass where there is any soil, and a moss similar to that found in +Iceland. In 1821 other additions were made to our knowledge of islands +adjacent to the South Shetlands by Captains Powell and Palmer, the latter +an American, and by the Russian navigator, Bellinghausen, who reached a +very southern point. They are respectively known as _Trinity_, _Palmer's_, +and _Alexander's Lands_. A voyage in 1822 has importance, as it led to +valuable results, in a commercial point of view. The brig _Jane_, of +Leith, Captain Weddell, with a crew of twenty-two officers and men, +accompanied by a cutter, set sail in September of that year on a voyage to +the South Seas for the purpose of procuring fur seals. At the beginning of +January, 1823, the vessels first came in sight of the land of the high +southern latitude, and the next day reached the South Orkneys. The tops of +the islands mostly terminated in craggy peaks, and looked almost like the +mountain tops of a sunken land. Proceeding southward, they one evening +passed very close to an object which appeared like a rock. The lead was +immediately thrown out, but no bottom could be found. It turned out to be +a dead whale, very much swollen, floating on the surface. Weddell obtained +at South Georgia a valuable cargo. From the sea-elephant no less than +20,000 tons of oil were obtained in a few seasons, the cargoes always +including a large number of fur sealskins. American sealers also took +large cargoes of these skins to China, where they sold for five or six +dollars a skin. The Island of Desolation, described by Cook, was also a +source of great profit. "This is a striking, but by no means uncommon +example of the commercial advantage to be derived from voyages of +discovery." In 1830, Captain Biscoe, commanding the sealing brig _Eliza +Scott_, made the discovery of another range of islands, since named after +him. In 1839, Captain Balley, in a ship belonging to Messrs. Enderby, the +owners of the last-named vessel, discovered land in latitude 66 deg. 44' S., +which was in all probability a portion of the same territory sighted by +Wilkes and D'Urville a year afterwards. Thus, while America and France +claim the honour of having discovered an "Antarctic continent," Balley +seems to have forestalled them. It is extremely doubtful whether the +patches of land seen by these explorers can be considered to form a great +southern continent.(44) + +D'Urville, after describing the "lanes" of tall icebergs by which his ship +was enclosed and impeded, states that they sighted land, some few miles +off, with prominent peaks 3,000 feet and upwards in height, and surrounded +with coast ice. Some boats were sent off to make magnetic observations, +and one of the officers succeeded in landing on a small rocky islet, on +which the tricolour flag was unfurled. Not the smallest trace of vegetable +life could be discovered. Numerous fragments of the rock itself were +carried off as trophies. Close at hand were eight or ten other islets. The +land thus discovered was named Adelie Land (after Admiral D'Urville's +wife). A projecting cape, which had been seen early in the day, was called +Cape Discovery, and the islet on which the landing was effected was named +Point Geology. + +Wilkes describes his discoveries in similar terms to those of previous +explorers already mentioned. Stones, gravel, sand, mud, &c., were noted on +a low iceberg, proving the existence of land somewhere about, but it must +be borne in mind that a landing on anything but ice was not effected. + +An attempt on the part of Captain (afterwards Sir James) Ross to establish +magnetic observations in the southern hemisphere was unsuccessful, but +resulted in a discovery of importance. On January 11th, 1841, land was +sighted, rising in lofty snow-covered peaks, the elevation of some of +which was stated to be from 12,000 feet to 14,000 feet. Various peaks were +named after Sabine and other distinguished philosophers who had advocated +the cause of the expedition. With some difficulty they landed on an +island, on which they planted our flag, and drank a toast to the health of +the Queen and Prince Albert. It was named Possession Island. There was no +vegetation, but "inconceivable myriads of penguins completely and densely +covered the whole surface of the island, along the ledges of the +precipices, and even to the summits of the hills, attacking us," says +Ross, "vigorously as we waded through their ranks, and pecking at us with +their sharp beaks, disputing possession; which, together with their loud +coarse notes, and the insupportable stench from the deep bed of guano, +which had been forming for ages, and which may at some period be valuable +to the agriculturists of our Australasian colonies, made us glad to get +away again, after having loaded our boats with geological specimens and +penguins." Whales were very numerous; thirty were counted at one time in +various directions. + +Further south the interesting discovery was made of an active volcano, a +mountain 12,400 feet altitude, emitting flame and smoke at the time. It +was named after the _Erebus_, one of the vessels employed, while a second +volcano, scarcely inferior in height to the first-named, was called Mount +Terror, after our staunch old friend the vessel which so well withstood +the ice in Sir George Back's expedition. "On the afternoon of the 28th," +says Ross, "Mount Erebus was observed to emit smoke and flame in unusual +quantities, producing a most grand spectacle; a volume of dense smoke was +projected at each successive jet with great force, in a vertical column, +to the height of between 1,500 and 2,000 feet above the mouth of the +crater, when, condensing first at its upper part, it descended in mist or +snow, and gradually dispersed, to be succeeded by another splendid +exhibition of the same kind in about half an hour afterwards, although the +intervals between the eruptions were by no means regular. The diameter of +the columns of smoke was between two and three hundred feet, as near as we +could measure it; whenever the smoke cleared away, the bright red flame +that filled the mouth of the crater was clearly perceptible; and some of +the officers believed they could see streams of lava pouring down its +sides until lost beneath the snow, which descended from a few hundred feet +below the crater, and projected its perpendicular icy cliff several miles +into the ocean." + +The whole of the land traced to the seventy-ninth degree of latitude was +named Victoria Land. Ross "restored to England the honour of the discovery +of the southernmost known land," which had previously belonged to Russia, +as won twenty years before by the intrepid Bellinghausen. A second and a +third visit was made by Ross, on the latter of which he made some +discoveries of minor importance. + + [Illustration: LISBON IN THE 16TH CENTURY. (_After an Engraving of the + period._)] + + + + + + CHAPTER XXXIII. + + + DECISIVE VOYAGES IN HISTORY.--DIAZ--COLUMBUS. + + + An Important Epoch in the History of Discovery--King John II. of + Portugal and his Enterprises--Diaz the Bold--Ventures out to + Sea--Rounds the Cape--Ignorant of the Fact--The Cape of Storms--King + John re-christens it--Columbus and the Narrative of his Son--His + Visit to Portugal--Marriage--An un-royal Trick--Sends his Brother to + England--His Misfortune--Columbus in Spain--A prejudiced and ignorant + Report--The One Sensible Ecclesiastic--Again Repulsed--A Friend at + Court--Queen Isabella Won to the Cause--Departure of the + Expedition--Out in the Broad Atlantic--Murmurs of the Crews--Signs of + Land--Disappointment--Latent Mutiny--Land at Last--Discovery of St. + Salvador--Cuba--Natives Smoking the Weed--Utopia in + Hispaniola--Columbus Wrecked--Gold Obtained--First Spanish + Settlement--Homeward Voyage--Storms and Vows--Arrival in + Europe--Triumphant Reception at Barcelona. + + +The Arctic and Antarctic voyages, purposely kept together and followed to +their latest developments, having been described, we now go back to the +most interesting and important period in the world's history, +geographically considered. In little less than a dozen years three of the +grandest discoveries in geography were made. First, the discovery of a +passage round the Cape of Good Hope, the sea-portal to the Indian Ocean, +the Orient generally, Australasia (not, indeed, then discovered, or even +dreamt of), and the innumerable islands of the various Eastern +Archipelagos. Next, the passage of the Atlantic ocean to the far west, the +discovery of the West Indies and the New World. Last, and not least, in +its ultimate bearings on the prosperity of Great Britain, the passage by +sea direct to India--its conquest and settlement by the Portuguese. What +other epoch can boast so much accomplished in a time so brief? + +To King John of Portugal are we indebted for the first of these great +discoveries. He fitted out a small squadron under Bartholomew Diaz, a +knight of the royal household, to attempt the passage by sea to India, +after endeavouring to learn all that was then known about that country. +For this important enterprise Diaz was supplied with two small caravels of +fifty tons each, accompanied by a still smaller vessel, or tender, to +carry provisions. The preparations being completed, he sailed in the end +of August, 1486, steering directly to the southward. + +"We have," says Clarke, "no relation of the particulars of this voyage, +and only know that the first spot on which Diaz placed a stone pillar, in +token of discovery and possession, was at _Sierra Parda_, in about 24 deg., +40' S., which is said to have been 120 leagues further to the south than +any preceding navigator. According to the Portuguese historians, Diaz +sailed boldly from this place to the southward, in the open sea, and never +saw the land again until he was forty leagues to the east of the Cape of +Good Hope, which he had passed, without being in sight of land." Here he +came in sight of a bay on the coast, which he called _Angra de los +Vaqueros_, or Bay of Herdsmen, from observing a number of cows grazing on +the land. From this place Diaz continued his voyage eastwards, to a small +island or rock in the bay, which is now called Algoa, on which he placed a +stone cross, or pillar, as a memorial of his progress, and named it on +that account Santa Cruz, or _El Pennol de la Cruz_. + +It would appear that Diaz was still unconscious that he had long reached +and overpassed the extreme southern point of Africa, and was anxious to +continue his voyage still farther. But the provisions on board his two +caravels were nearly exhausted, and the victualling tender under the +command of his brother was missing. The crews of the caravels became +exceedingly urgent to return, lest they should perish with famine. With +some difficulty he prevailed on the people to continue their course about +twenty-five leagues further on, as he felt exceedingly mortified at the +idea of returning to his sovereign without accomplishing the discovery on +which he was bent. They accordingly reached the mouth of a stream now +known by the name of Great Fish River. + +From this river, the extreme boundary of the present voyage, Diaz +commenced his return homewards, and discovered, with great joy and +astonishment, on their passage back, the long-sought-for and tremendous +promontory, which had been the grand object of the hopes and wishes of +Portuguese navigation during _seventy-four_ years, ever since the year +1412, when the illustrious Don Henry first began to direct and incite his +countrymen to the prosecution of discoveries along the western shores of +Africa. At this place Diaz erected a stone cross in memory of his +discovery; and owing to heavy tempests, which he experienced off the high +table-land of the Cape, he named it _Cabo dos Tormentos_, or Cape of +Storms; but the satisfaction which King John derived from this memorable +discovery, on the return of Diaz to Portugal, in 1487, induced that +sovereign to change this inauspicious appellation for one of more happy +omen, and he accordingly ordered that it should in future be called _Cabo +de bon Esperanca_, or Cape of Good Hope, the title which it has ever since +retained. + + [Illustration: BARTHOLOMEW DIAZ ON HIS VOYAGE TO THE CAPE] + +Soon after the discovery of _The Cape_--by which shorter name it is now +pre-eminently distinguished--Diaz fell in with the victualler, from whom he +had separated nine months before. Of nine persons who had composed the +crew of that vessel, six had been murdered by the natives of the West +Coast of Africa, and Fernand Colozzo, one of the three survivors, died of +joy on again beholding his countrymen. Diaz and his companions were, of +course, honourably received by their sovereign, after a voyage of such +unprecedented length and unusual success. And now to the second of the +great discoveries of this epoch, which, chronologically considered, +follows that of Diaz. + +In the long list of honoured names who have made geographical discovery +their aim, none shines with a greater effulgence than that of Columbus, +and although in his old age he was disgracefully ignored and even +maltreated, succeeding times have done full justice to his memory. The +present writer has gone to the fountain source for his information; the +whole of the narrative to follow is taken from the history written by his +son, Don Ferdinand Columbus. It would be easy, from the many popular +biographies written by well-known authors, to compile a more fanciful and +readable story, but some, at least, of these writers have not strictly +adhered to facts, but have wandered somewhat into the region of the +imagination. The account given to the world by the son of the great +navigator was compiled from the original letters and documents, from +actual information obtained direct, and from personal observation. + +The narrative of Don Ferdinand commences amusingly. He avers that many +would have him prove a highly honourable descent for the admiral his +father, and because on his arrival in Portugal he had assumed the name of +Colon,(45) prove that he had come in direct line from Junius Colonus, who +brought Mithridates a prisoner to Rome, or from the two illustrious +Coloni, who gained a great victory over the Venetians. The son is, +however, candid, and says, "that however considerable they (his +progenitors) may once have been, it is certain that they were reduced to +poverty and want through the long wars and factions in Lombardy. I have +not been able to discover in what way they lived; though in one of his +letters the admiral asserted that his ancestors and himself had always +traded by sea."(46) Don Ferdinand glories in his father as one of the +people, who had risen to his high estate by reason of honourable merit. +But however poor, he found means to leave his native city, Genoa, and +study astronomy, geometry, and cosmography, at the University of Pavia. He +is believed to have gone to sea at as early an age as fourteen. The date +of his birth is uncertain, but is believed to have been in 1447. Besides +voyaging constantly in the Mediterranean, he, as elsewhere recorded, made +a northern voyage of some importance. He distinctly states that "In +February, 1467, I sailed an hundred leagues beyond Thule, or Iceland." + + [Illustration: CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. + (_After a Portrait in the Gallery of Vicenza._)] + +In his person Columbus was "above the middle stature, and well shaped, +having rather a long visage, with somewhat full cheeks, yet neither fat +nor lean. His complexion was very fair with delicately red cheeks, having +fair hair in his youth, which became entirely grey at thirty years of age. +He had a hawk nose, with fair eyes. In his eating and drinking, and in his +dress, he was always temperate and modest. In his demeanour he was affable +to strangers, and kind and condescending to his domestics and dependents, +yet with a becoming modesty and dignified gravity of manner, tempered with +easy politeness." His regard for religion was strict and sincere, and he +had a great abhorrence of profane language. In a word, Columbus was one of +nature's truest gentlemen. + +His son states that the reason for his visit to Portugal "arose from his +attachment to a famous man of his name and family, named Columbus, long +renowned on the sea as commander of a fleet against the infidels." He must +have commanded a goodly fleet, for while Christopher Columbus was with him +he took four large Venetian galleys, after a desperate fight. The vessel +in which Columbus was, took fire, and he had to leap into the water and +make for the land, two leagues distant. He was an excellent swimmer, and, +by the aid of a floating oar, he succeeded in landing on the coast near +Lisbon. This was his first introduction to that city. Here he married a +lady of good family, Donna Felipa Moniz. Her mother was the widow of +Perestrello, one of the captains who had re-discovered Madeira, and she +put at the disposal of Columbus all the charts and journals left by her +husband, from which he learned much of the discoveries made by the +Portuguese. It was at this time that he began to think seriously of +attempting a passage to the Indies by the westward. + +Columbus first laid his plans before Prince John of Portugal, who lent a +favourable ear, but on account of the large expenses connected with his +expedition to the Guinea Coast, which had not hitherto been crowned with +any great success, could not promise immediate action. Later, by the +advice of one Doctor Calzadilla, in whom he reposed great confidence, the +King of Portugal resolved to attempt secretly the discovery which Columbus +had proposed. Accordingly, a caravel was fitted out under pretence of +carrying supplies to the Cape Verd Islands, with private instructions to +sail to the west. Those sent on the expedition had little knowledge or +enterprise, and after vaguely wandering about the Atlantic some time, +returned to the Cape Verde Islands, laughing at the undertaking as +ridiculous and impracticable. "When," says the son, "this scandalous +underhand dealing came to my father's ears, he took a great aversion to +Lisbon and the Portuguese nation." Little wonder, one would think! His +wife was now dead, and he resolved to repair to Castile with his little +son. Lest, however, the Spanish sovereign might not consent to his +proposals, he determined to send his brother, Bartholomew Columbus, from +Lisbon, to make similar proposals to the King of England. Bartholomew was +experienced in seamanship, and understood the construction of charts, +globes, and nautical instruments. On the voyage he had the misfortune to +be taken by pirates, who stripped him and the rest of the ship's company +of everything of value. Poor Bartholomew arrived in England in poverty and +sickness. Undaunted by his misfortunes, he commenced making and selling +charts, in order to recruit his finances. After much loss of time, he, in +February, 1480, presented a map of his own construction, and the proposals +of his brother, to the king, who became very favourably inclined towards +the project; and ordered an invitation to be sent to Columbus, desiring +him to come to England forthwith. But, alas! England was fated not to have +the services of this great navigator. "Providence," says Ferdinand, "had +determined that the advantage of this great discovery should belong to +Castile; and by this time my father had gone upon his first voyage." + +About the end of the year 1484 the admiral stole away privately from +Lisbon, as he was afraid of detention. The king had by this time come +somewhat to his senses, and it is asserted that he was desirous of +renewing the conferences with Columbus. But he did not use much diligence, +and thereby missed his last grand opportunity. Columbus next addressed +himself to their Catholic Majesties of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella, then +at Cordova. His affable manners and evident knowledge soon gained him a +hearing; but as their Majesties considered that a matter of such +importance required to be learnedly investigated, it was referred to the +prior of Prado, afterwards Archbishop of Granada, who was to obtain the +assistance of some cosmographers, and report on its practicability. The +report they presented was unfavourable to the enterprise. Some thought +Columbus presumptuous in expecting to accomplish that which skilful +sailors of all nations had not done, although several thousand years had +elapsed since the creation of the world. Others said that the world was of +such prodigious size, that they questioned whether he would reach the +Indies that way in three years. Others used the powerful argument that if +they sailed round the world _down_ from Spain, they would never get _up_ +again! No ship could climb up-hill! The ecclesiastics quoted St. +Augustine, to the effect that the antipodes were an impossibility, and +that no one could go from one hemisphere to another. Ignorance and +credulity triumphed for the time, but not for long. + +Columbus was not to be beaten. He followed the court to Seville, and was +again repulsed. He resolved to write to the King of France, and, if +unsuccessful there, follow his brother to England. But at this juncture he +acquired the friendship of the father guardian of the monastery of Rabida, +who, believing in his schemes, earnestly entreated him to postpone his +departure, saying that, as he was confessor to the Queen, he was resolved +to try his influence. All honour to Father Perez, the one sensible +ecclesiastic of his nation! A fresh conference was held, but the demands +of Columbus were deemed too high, and again the matter fell to the ground. +The admiral settled his affairs, and prepared to leave for France. + +He had actually started on his journey, when an officer was despatched +after him to induce him to return. The queen had at last listened to the +good counsels of Santangel (comptroller of the royal disbursements), who +had before shown himself a friend to Columbus. He had pointed out to her +majesty that the sum of money required was small, and that she was missing +an opportunity that might redound greatly to the honour of her reign, and +the credit of which now some foreign monarch would reap. From comparative +apathy Isabella rose to enthusiasm, and the treasury being pretty well +exhausted by the war with Granada, she offered to pawn her jewels in order +to raise the necessary funds. Santangel immediately replied that there was +no occasion for this, and that he himself would readily advance his own +money in such a service. + +All the conditions which the admiral required having been conceded, he set +out from Granada on May 21st, 1492, for Palos, that seaport having been +bound by the Crown to furnish two caravels. Columbus fitted these and a +third vessel with all speed. His own ship was the _St. Mary_; the second, +named the _Pinta_, was commanded by Martin Alonso Pinzon; and the third, +the _Nina_, by the latter's brother, Vincent Yanez Pinzon. The united +crews comprised a force of ninety men. Columbus set sail on this, his +first voyage in the service of Portugal, on the 3rd of August, 1492, +making direct for the Canaries. + + [Illustration: CARAVELS OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. + (_After an Engraving published in 1583._)] + +The day after leaving, the rudder of the _Pinta_ broke loose, and, after +being repaired as well as they were able at sea, the fastenings gave way a +second time. Alonzo Pinzon was more than suspected of having caused this +damage purposely, as he had endeavoured to avoid proceeding on this voyage +before the expedition left Spain. Having again repaired the rudder, they +continued the voyage, and successfully came to an anchor at the Canaries +on August 12th. The admiral tried in vain to obtain another vessel for +Pinzon. At length the _Pinta_ having been patched up, the little squadron +set sail. "Now," says Ferdinand, "losing sight of land, and stretching out +into utterly unknown seas, many of the people expressed their anxiety and +fear that it might be long before they should see land again; but the +admiral used every endeavour to comfort them, with the assurance of soon +finding the land he was in search of, and raised their hopes of acquiring +wealth and honour by the discovery." He purposely under-stated the +distance made each day, in order to make his people believe that they were +not so far from Spain after all; but he carefully recorded the true +reckoning in private. On September 12th they discovered in the water the +trunk of a large tree; and the people in the _Nina_, a few days later, +observed a heron flying over them, and also a smaller bird. Next, a +quantity of yellowish-green sea-weed was observed floating in the water; a +small lobster and a number of tunny fish were also noted. These signs of +approaching land raised hopes which were not immediately fulfilled; and +the crews, being utterly unacquainted with the seas they now traversed, +seeing nothing but water and sky, began to mutter among themselves. Later, +a number of seagulls and small land birds were seen, the latter settling +sometimes in the rigging. Again, a vast floating field of sea-weed was +encountered. These appearances gave some assurances of comfort to the men +at times; but when the weeds became thick enough to partially impede the +progress of the vessels, they became terrified, lest the fabled fate of +St. Amaro in the frozen seas, whose vessel could neither move forward nor +backward, might be theirs. "Wherefore they steered away from those shoals +of weeds as much as they could." + +On the 23rd a brisk WNW. gale, favourable for their course, arose, and on +the same day a turtle-dove, a land fowl, and other birds, were seen. The +more these tokens were observed, and found not to be followed by the +anxiously-looked-for land, the more the crews rebelled; cabals were +formed, of which the admiral was only partially aware. "They represented +that they had already sufficiently performed their duty in adventuring +further from land and all possibility of succour than had ever been done +before, and that they ought not to proceed on the voyage to their manifest +destruction." They growlingly remarked that Columbus was a foreigner, who +desired to become a great lord at their expense, that he had no favour at +court, and that the most learned men had scorned his ideas as visionary +and absurd. Some even went so far as to propose cutting the Gordian knot +by throwing him overboard. Poor Columbus! He had enough to do, sometimes +expostulating and sometimes threatening, and always in danger of a mutiny +upsetting all his grand projects. Nor were matters improved on September +25th, when Pinzon, whose vessel was near, shouted out to the admiral, +"Land! land, sir! let not my good news miscarry!" Next morning the +supposed land resolved itself into sea-clouds. + +During the following days the men caught some fish "with gilt backs" with +the aid of a line, and numerous birds were observed. Still Columbus +persisted in a westerly course, although many on board, thinking that the +birds were flying from one unseen island to another, wished him to +deviate. About sunrise on Sunday, October 7th, some signs of land appeared +to the westward, "but being imperfect, no person would mention the +circumstance. This was owing to fear of losing the reward of thirty crowns +yearly for life which had been promised by their Catholic majesties to +whoever should first discover land; and to prevent them calling out 'land! +land!' at every turn without just cause, it was made a condition that +whoever said he saw land should lose the reward if it were not made out in +three days, even if he should afterwards actually prove the first +discoverer." Those on the _Nina_, however, forgot this provision, and +fancying they saw land, fired a gun and hoisted their colours. This time +also they were disappointed, but derived some comfort by observing great +flights of large fowl and other birds going from the west towards the +south-west. + +It would have been impossible for the admiral to have much longer +withstood the spirit of mutiny which was fast gaining ground, "but," says +the narrative of Ferdinand, "it pleased God that, in the afternoon of +Thursday the 11th of October, such manifest tokens of being near the land +appeared that the men took courage and rejoiced at their good fortune as +much as they had been before distressed." From the _St. Mary_ a rush was +seen to float past, and one of those green fish which are never found far +from rocks. Some of the other men noted in the water a branch of a thorn, +with red berries, a curiously-carved stick, and other plain indications of +being close to land. After the evening prayer, Columbus made a speech to +the men, in which "he reminded them of the mercy of God in having brought +them so long a voyage with such favourable weather, and in comforting them +with so many tokens of a successful issue to their enterprise." As the +admiral was in his cabin that night about ten o'clock he believed that he +saw a light on shore; he called two of the men, one only of whom could +perceive it. It was again seen by the admiral and the sailor, but only for +a very brief space of time. "Being now very much on their guard," says the +narrative, "they still held on their course until about two in the morning +of Friday the 12th of October, when the _Pinta_, which was always far +ahead, owing to her superior sailing, made the signal of seeing land, +which was first discovered by Roderick de Triana at about two leagues from +the ship. But the thirty crowns a year were afterwards granted to the +admiral, who had seen the light in the midst of darkness, a type of the +spiritual light he was the happy means of spreading in these dark regions +of error. Being now so near land, all the ships lay to; every one thinking +it long till daylight, that they might enjoy the sight they had so long +and anxiously desired."(47) + + [Illustration: COLUMBUS'S FIRST SIGHT OF LAND.] + +When daylight arrived, the newly-discovered land was perceived to consist +of a flat island, without hills, but well timbered. It was evidently well +populated, for the beach was covered with people, who showed every sign of +wonder at the sight of the ships, which, says Ferdinand, "they conceived +to be some unknown animals." The admiral and his commanders, each in their +own boat, with their colours flying, went ashore, where, on arrival, they +fell on their knees, and thanked God for his merciful kindness and for +their happy discovery of the new land. Columbus then took formal +possession of the island in the name of their Catholic majesties. + +And now, these ceremonies concluded, the admiral went off to his fleet, +the natives following in canoes, and many indeed swimming off to the +vessels. Columbus named the island San Salvador, the title it still bears. +As he supposed himself to have landed on an island at the extremity of +India, he applied the term Indians to the aborigines he met, and the same +has in consequence become general to all the original inhabitants of the +New World. The islanders met by Columbus were friendly and gentle, and +usually quite nude. They were painted; this they might regard in the light +of costume, some, indeed, being coloured from head to foot. They had +little or no knowledge of metal weapons, for when shown a naked sword they +ignorantly grasped the whole blade, and were severely cut. Their javelins +were wood, armed with a piece of fish-bone. Their canoes ranged in size +from such as were only capable of holding one person to those built for +forty or more men, and were always hollowed in _one_ piece, as among the +northern Indians of British Columbia to-day, where canoes are to be seen +which will carry fifty to sixty persons and two or three masts with sails. +They had very little to offer in exchange for the toys and trinkets which +had been provided for use on the expedition, but the avarice of the +discoverers was soon excited by the sight of small ornaments of gold among +them, with which they parted as readily as with anything else. Gold, in +enterprises of discovery, being a royal monopoly, Columbus forbade any +traffic in it, except by express permission. Parrots were a prime article +of exchange among them, and cotton yarn. If they saw any trifle on board +that struck their fancy they were as likely to jump into the sea with it +as to offer anything for it, and, on the other hand, the Spaniards, after +the manner of explorers, did not hesitate to accept their valuables in +exchange for the merest trifles. The Indians would give twenty-five or so +pounds of cotton for three Portuguese brass coins not worth a farthing. +Enough; the story of their dealings is that of all times. It is scarcely +more than twelve years since the writer saw the same kind of thing going +on in Northern Alaska among unsophisticated natives. And, after all, +"value" is a somewhat indefinite term. The luxuries of some climes are the +drugs of others. The poor people met by Columbus highly valued a piece of +broken glass or earthenware, because unknown to them, and because the +possession of a fragment bestowed a proud distinction. Cannot we see the +same kind of thing among the most civilised? The rare and scarce must of +necessity be always the most valuable. + +Columbus, continuing his voyage, discovered several minor islands. +Everywhere he inquired for gold, and everywhere he was informed that it +came from the south. He began to hear of an island in that direction named +Cuba, which, from the mistaken ideas of geography current at the time, he +took for Marco Polo's famed gold island of Cipango. He determined to +proceed there, and eventually seek the mainland of India, which must be +within a few days' sail, and then he would deliver the letters of their +Castilian Majesties to the Great Khan, and return triumphantly to Spain. +Filled with this magnificent scheme, he set sail. We need not say that he +reached neither Cipango, India, nor the Khan; but he did discover Cuba, +that beautiful island of the Caribbean Sea long dear to the heart of every +consumer of the fragrant weed. Every smoker of a good havana should think +of Columbus with deepest gratitude. The Spaniards were struck with +astonishment at seeing the natives roll up certain dried herbs, light up +one end, and putting the other in their mouth, exhale smoke. Cigars as +fresh as these are often smoked in Cuba to this day. Columbus extols the +beauty of the verdure and scenery of the island, and states, as a proof of +the gigantic nature of some of their trees, that he saw a canoe formed +from one trunk capable of carrying 150 people. + +While Columbus, on leaving the eastern end of Cuba, was somewhat +undetermined which course to take, he descried land to the south-east, +gradually increasing to the view, and giving promise of an island of large +extent. The Indians on beholding it called out "Bohio" with obvious signs +of terror, and implored him not to go near it, as the inhabitants were +one-eyed cannibals, fierce and cruel. He, however, sailed closer and +closer, till the signs of cultivation and prosperous villages became +frequent. At first the natives fled. Even when only three sailors rambled +on shore, and encountered a large number, they could not be induced to +parley. The sailors at length succeeded in capturing a young female, in a +perfectly nude condition, having hanging from her nose only an ornament of +gold. Columbus soon soothed her terror, had her clothed, and gave her +presents of beads, brass rings, and other trinkets. She was sent on shore +accompanied by three Indian interpreters and some of the crew. By this +means, and after one of the interpreters had succeeded in overtaking some +of the natives, and had assured them that the strangers had descended from +the skies mainly for the purpose of making them presents, they were +induced to meet the Spaniards, whom they treated with the greatest +hospitality, setting before them fruit, fish, and cassava bread. The +description of these people given by Columbus to old Peter Martyr +represented them as holding a community of goods, "that 'mine and thine,' +the seeds of all mischief, have no place with them.... They seem to live +in the golden world, without toil, living in open gardens, not entrenched +with dykes, divided with hedges, or defended with walls. They deal truly +one with another, without laws, without books, and without judges. They +take him for an evil and mischievous man who taketh pleasure in doing hurt +to another." This must have been Utopia indeed! Alas, as we shall see, the +advent of so-called civilisation proved a veritable curse. Columbus named +the island Espannola, or Little Spain (_Anglice_, Hispaniola). The island +is now known as Hayti, or San Domingo. + + [Illustration: FACSIMILE OF AN ENGRAVING, REPUTED TO BE BY COLUMBUS, + PUBLISHED IN 1493, REPRESENTING THE DISCOVERY OF THE ISLE OF SPAIN (ST. + DOMINGO).] + +The people of Hispaniola appeared handsomer to Columbus than any he had +yet met. He was at length visited by a young cacique or chief, and the +interview was graphically described by Columbus himself in his oration +before Ferdinand and Isabella and the court on his return to Spain. + +Having put to sea on the morning of December 24th, at eleven in the +evening, Columbus, being very fatigued, retired to his cabin. The sea was +calm and the wind light at the time. No sooner had he left than the +steersman gave the helm to a _grummet_,(48) and the result was that the +current carried the vessel upon a treacherous sandbank. Scarcely had the +shock occurred than Columbus and his crew were on deck, but in spite of +aid from the other vessel, she speedily became a wreck, and had to be +deserted. The admiral immediately sent ashore to the village of the +cacique, at some little distance, and that chief with all his people with +canoes assisted to unload the unfortunate vessel. "From time to time," +said Columbus, "he sent some of his people to me weeping, to beg me not to +be dejected, as he would give me everything he possessed. I assure your +highnesses that better order could not have been taken in any port in +Castile to preserve our things, for we did not lose the value of a pin." +The Indians about this time brought in some few specimens of gold, worked +and in the rough state, and the cacique perceiving that the admiral was +much pleased at the sight, said he would order a quantity to be brought +from a place called Cibao, where it was abundant. After offering him to +eat, he presented him with gold ornaments and masks, in which latter the +precious metal formed part of the features. + +The chief complained greatly of a nation named the Caribs, who carried off +and made slaves of his people, and Columbus, who was impressed with the +beauty and productiveness of the island, readily promised to leave some of +his people to protect him and form a colony. Cannons had not been very +long familiar to Europeans, and we hardly wonder, therefore, that the +natives "fell down as if dead" on hearing the reports of those fired by +order of the admiral. Finding so much kindness among these people, and as +the narrative of his son _naively_ remarks, "_such strong indications of +gold_," he almost forgot his grief at the loss of his vessel. A fort or +block-house was immediately erected, and leaving three officers and +thirty-six men as garrison, he set sail for Spain. + + [Illustration: RECEPTION OF COLUMBUS BY FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.] + +On February 4th (1493) the vessels were overtaken by a fearful storm. The +whole company betook themselves to prayer, and cast lots which of them +should go on pilgrimage for the whole crew to the shrine of Our Lady of +Guadaloupe, which fell to Columbus. After other pilgrimages had been +vowed, and the storm still increasing, "they all made a vow to go +barefooted and in their shirts to some church of Our Lady at the first +land they might come to." The admiral, fearing the loss to the world of +his discoveries, retired to his cabin to write two brief accounts of them. +These were wrapped in wax and enclosed in casks, one of which was thrown +into the sea, while the other was placed on the poop of his vessel, in +case she should founder. Happily, the storm subsided, and they reached the +island of St. Mary, where they were detained by some formalities of the +naval etiquette of the day. Leaving St. Mary's, they encountered a second +gale of terrific force, during the continuance of which more vows were +made, and the lot again fell to Columbus, "showing," says his son, "that +his offerings were more acceptable than others." They were driven off the +rock of Cintra, and perforce had to anchor in the Tagus. When it was known +at Lisbon that the ship was freighted with the people and productions of a +new world the excitement was intense, and from morn to night the vessel +was thronged with visitors. In an interview with the king, Columbus +recited his adventures and discoveries. King John listened with the +deepest interest, and for the moment concealed his mortification. Columbus +himself was loaded with attentions and allowed to depart for Spain. Great +was the agitation and excitement in the little town of Palos, when the +well-known vessel of the admiral re-entered their harbour. Most of those +who thronged to the shore had relatives or friends on board, and the +previous winter had been one of the most severe and stormy within the +recollection of the oldest mariners. They awaited the landing of Columbus +and his crew, and then accompanied him to the principal church, where +solemn thanksgivings were offered, and soon every bell in the village sent +forth a joyous peal. His journey to Barcelona was one continued triumph. +He was accompanied by several of the native islanders, arrayed in their +simple barbaric costume, and decorated with rude collars, bracelets, and +ornaments of gold. He exhibited in the principal towns quantities of gold +dust, many quadrupeds, and gaily-coloured birds, then unknown in Europe, +with numerous specimens of natural productions in the vegetable and +mineral kingdoms. It was the middle of April when Columbus reached the +Court at Barcelona. The nobility, courtiers, and city authorities, came to +the gates to meet him, and escorted him to the royal presence. Ferdinand +and Isabella, seated under a superb canopy of state, rose as he +approached, and begged him to be seated--unprecedented marks of honour in +that proud court. Columbus had triumphed; he had for the time silenced the +sneers and cavils and specious arguments of courtiers and ecclesiastics. +Prescott(49) has well described the interview. In reciting his adventures, +"his manner was sedate and dignified, but warmed with the glow of natural +enthusiasm. He enumerated the several islands which he had visited, +expatiated on the temperate character of the climate, and the capacity of +the soil for every variety of agricultural productions.... He dwelt more +at large on the precious metals to be found in these islands.... Lastly, +he pointed out the wide scope afforded to Christian zeal, in the +illumination of a race of men, whose minds, far from being wedded to any +system of idolatry, were prepared by their extreme simplicity for the +reception of pure and uncorrupted doctrine. This last consideration +touched Isabella's heart most sensibly; and the whole audience, kindled +with various emotions by the speaker's eloquence, filled up the +perspective with the gorgeous colouring of their own fancies, as ambition, +or avarice, or devotional feeling, predominated in their bosoms. When +Columbus ceased, the king and queen, together with all present, prostrated +themselves on their knees in grateful thanksgivings, while the solemn +strains of the _Te Deum_ were poured forth by the choir of the royal +chapel, as in commemoration of some glorious victory." All kinds of +attentions were showered upon him: he was permitted to quarter the royal +arms with his own, which consisted of a group of golden islands amid azure +billows; and received the substantial gratuity of 1,000 doblas of gold +from the royal treasury, besides the premium promised to the person who +first descried land. But that which pleased Columbus most were the +preparations of the court for further discoveries, on a scale befitting +their importance. The complement of the new fleet was originally fixed at +1,200 persons, but was eventually swollen to 1,500, and many who joined +were persons of rank and distinction among the royal household. The +squadron counted no less than seventeen vessels. + + + + + + CHAPTER XXXIV. + + + DECISIVE VOYAGES IN HISTORY.--COLUMBUS. VASCO DA GAMA. + + + Columbus and his Enemies--Unsuitable Settlers--Outrageous Conduct of + the Colonists--The Second Expedition of Columbus--Discovery of + Jamaica--Dangerous Illness of Columbus--Return to Spain--The + Excitement over--Difficulty of starting a New Expedition--Third + Voyage--Columbus reaches the Mainland of America--Insurrection in + Hispaniola--Machinations at Home--Columbus brought to Spain in + Chains--Indignation in Spain--His Fourth Voyage--Ferdinand's + Ingratitude--Death of the Great Navigator--Estimate of his + Character--Vasco da Gama--First Voyage--The Cape reached--First Sight + of India--At Calicut--Friendship of the King of Cananore--Great + Profits of the Expedition--Second Voyage--Vengeance on the Ruler of + Calicut--His Brutality--Subsequent History of Da Gama. + + +The first accounts transmitted to Spain from this grand expedition were of +the most sanguine description. But in less than two years from the +commencement of this second voyage very different stories reached the home +country. It was true that on the voyage Columbus had made further +discoveries of a grand nature--the islands of Jamaica, Guadaloupe, and the +Caribbee Islands. But rumours, and more than rumours, had reached the +Court of the most alarming discontent and disaffection in the colony of +Hispaniola, while the actual returns of a practical and commercial nature +were as yet exceedingly small. The real secret was, however, that mutiny, +jealousy, and distrust of Columbus as a foreigner, had sprung up among the +Spanish adventurers, most, or at least many, of whom were little fitted +for rough life in a new country. They were like the miscellaneous crowds +who in our own day have gravitated towards the gold and diamond fields, a +large number of whom expect to make gigantic fortunes without special +effort, and in a very short space of time. The hidalgoes and cavaliers, of +whom there was a too large proportion on the expedition, could not bend +themselves to obey Columbus, whom they deemed an upstart. Prescott, who +has collated more carefully than any other writer the many authorities on +the subject, shows that the Spaniards indulged in the most wanton licence +in regard to the unoffending natives, who in the simplicity of their +hearts had received the white men as messengers from heaven. A general +resistance had, however, soon followed, which led to a war of +extermination. In less than four years after the Spaniards had set foot on +San Domingo, one-third of its native population, amounting, according to +several authorities, to many hundred thousands, were sacrificed by war, +famine, and disease. These figures are undoubtedly exaggerations, but the +number was very large. It is due to Columbus, always a just and humane +man, to state that he did all in his power to prevent this sad state of +affairs, and was forced by his own people to war on the Indians; and +equally due to Isabella at home, to record that she was in no way a party +to it, but expressed the utmost horror.(50) These excesses, and a total +neglect of agriculture--for none would condescend to dig unless for +gold--nearly brought about a famine, and Columbus had to put them on very +short rations, and compel all to work, whether high or low bred. These +regulations led to further mutiny and discontent. + + [Illustration: ANCIENT GOLD-WASHING AT ST. DOMINGO. (_After an Old + Engraving._)] + +On the return of Columbus to Spain, he brought home, as before, some gold +and other samples of Nature's productions in the islands. But other +voyagers returned, who loudly abused the new colony, and whose often wan +and sallow features provoked the satirical remarks of the people, that +they had come back with more gold in their features than in their pockets! +In short, the novelty of the excitement had passed, and like many really +valuable colonies of our own day which have been at first over-lauded and +over-estimated, Hispaniola fell utterly in public estimation. The Spanish +sovereigns, more especially Isabella, appear to have lent an unwilling ear +to the accusations of mal-administration by Columbus. Meantime the +treasury was drained by the expenses of an Italian war, and large expenses +had been incurred for the actual maintenance of the colony. But Isabella, +who really believed in Columbus, whose serious and yet enthusiastic +character resembled her own, at length found some means for a new +expedition, by sacrificing funds intended for another purpose. But now it +was found as difficult to induce men to join the new expedition as it had +been easy in the previous one. Even convicts were employed as sailors, and +this proved a ruinous expedient. All being at length ready, Columbus once +again embarked on May 30th, 1498, his little squadron consisting of six +vessels. On this voyage he discovered Trinidad, the mouth of the +Orinoco--which river he imagined to proceed from the tree of life in the +midst of Paradise--and the coasts of Paria, South America. This was really, +then his first visit to the _mainland_ of America. On August 14th he +sailed for Hispaniola once more, where he found that an insurrection had +been raised against his brother, Bartolomeo, whom he had left as his +deputy. At this juncture all the real interests of the colony were +neglected, and even the gold-mines, which were beginning to prove +remunerative, were unwrought. The convicts on the vessels helped to swell +the mass of general mutiny, and it took Columbus nearly a year before it +was in part quelled. Meantime discontented and worthless men kept +returning to Spain, where, encouraged by idle courtiers, they worried the +king daily with accounts of the unproductiveness of the colony. They even +surrounded him, as he rode out on horseback, clamouring loudly for the +arrears of which they said Columbus had defrauded them. + +It is very difficult to exactly understand the course pursued at this +juncture by the king. The popular view, as adopted by most writers, is +that he regarded Columbus as having served his day: the ladder had +fulfilled its use, and might now be kicked down. It is, perhaps, more +reasonable to believe that Ferdinand hardly knew how to act, with his +queen still firmly believing in the great discoverer, and so much pressure +in other directions being brought to bear from the court and outside. It +was determined to send out a commissioner to investigate the affairs of +the colony, and the person chosen seems to have been a most unfit agent. +He was one Francisco de Bobadilla, a poor knight of Calatrava, who, puffed +up with arrogance at his sudden elevation, seems from the first to have +regarded Columbus in the light of a convicted criminal. On his arrival in +San Domingo he immediately commanded the admiral to appear before him, and +without even pretence of legal inquiry, put him in chains, and thrust him +into prison. His two brothers, Bartolomeo and Diego, suffered the same +indignities. Bobadilla gave orders that he should be kept strictly in +irons during the passage; "afraid," says his son Ferdinand, satirically, +"that he might by any chance swim back again to the island." It is +recorded that the officers who had him in charge would have removed them, +but Columbus proudly and bitterly told them, "I will wear them till the +king orders otherwise, and will preserve them as memorials of his +gratitude." On arrival at Cadiz, it is not to be wondered that the popular +indignation burst forth like a torrent, and was re-echoed through Spain; +all seemed to feel it as a national dishonour that such indignities should +be heaped on the greatest discoverer of his day. Ferdinand understood the +weight of obloquy which, rightly or wrongly, would rest upon him, and sent +to Cadiz immediately to release him. The king disclaimed all share in the +shameful act; while the queen, who was at least honest in the matter, shed +tears when the old man came into her presence, and endeavoured to cheer +his wounded spirit. But Ferdinand had no intention of reinstating him in +his former power, and Columbus wasted nine months in vain solicitations +for redress. At the end of this time, another governor of Hispaniola was +appointed in his place. During this time Columbus was reduced to poverty, +and we have his own statement to the effect that "he had no place to +repair to except an inn, and very frequently had not wherewithal to pay +his reckoning." + + [Illustration: COLUMBUS UNDER ARREST.] + +Later he was indeed employed on a fourth voyage, but with greatly +curtailed powers. He imagined that there might be a passage through the +Isthmus of Darien, which would shorten the passage to the East Indies. It +need not be stated that he did not find it, although a ship canal through +that neck of land has been and is now being mooted, and may some day +become an accomplished fact. He, however, discovered parts of the coasts +of Honduras, the Mosquito coast, and Costa Rica. Again we find him making +his way to Hispaniola, on this occasion with only two over-crowded +vessels, almost wrecks in fact, out of the four with which he had sailed +from Cadiz. Here he exhausted his funds in procuring necessaries and +comforts for his men, even for those who had on the voyage been the +ringleaders of vexatious and outrageous mutinies. At length he returned to +Spain, where he learned of the death of Queen Isabella, his warm patron. +Wearied with illness and disappointment, it was some months before he +could proceed on his journey to the court, then at Segovia. Columbus at +this period of his life--he was not far from seventy years of age--suffered +severely from gout. When he did meet Ferdinand, that monarch gave him fair +words, but those alone. Prescott has probably indicated the secret, +although he admits that "it was the grossest injustice to withhold from +him the revenues secured by the original contract with the crown." Poor +Columbus was obliged to borrow money at this time for necessary expenses. +The truth was that the king, as the resources of the new countries began +to develop themselves, saw that he had promised a larger proportion of the +profits than he ever would have done to a subject and a foreigner could he +have foreseen the importance of the discoveries. He was so unjust as to at +last propose a compromise--that the admiral should relinquish his claims, +in consideration of other estates and dignities to be assigned him in +Castile. He regarded him in the unwelcome light of a creditor, whose +claims were too just to be disavowed, and too large to be satisfied. It is +very doubtful whether Columbus received any assistance from the crown at +this time, and wearied in spirit, with health broken by a life of great +hardship, he did not long survive. He expired on May 20th, 1506, and his +remains, first deposited at Valladolid, were, six years later, removed to +Seville, where a costly monument was raised over them by King Ferdinand, +with the following inscription:-- + + "A Castilla y a Leon + Nuevo mundo dio Colon"; + +"Columbus has given a new world to Castile and Leon"--a very limited +estimate of what he had done. From Seville his remains were taken, in +1536, to San Domingo; and at length, on the cession of that island to the +French in 1795, were removed to Cuba, where they were finally allowed to +repose in peace in the cathedral church of Havana. + +While the Spaniards were prosecuting enterprises of great importance in +and about the New World, the Portuguese were well employed in pushing +their way towards the Orient by a sea route. The aims of both were +practically the same. Each wished to find a shorter route to that fabled +Cathay, the land of gold, and pearls, and spice, and silk. The celebrated +voyages of Vasco da Gama deserve a full share of notice. + + [Illustration: VASCO DA GAMA.] + +The first expedition of Da Gama consisted of three moderate-sized vessels. +On the Sunday selected for offering prayers for the success of the +expedition, Dom John, with his nobles and court, assembled in the +beautiful cathedral, which is still so great an ornament to the banks of +the Tagus, and at the conclusion of mass the king stood before the curtain +where Vasco and Paulo da Gama placed themselves with the captains of their +expedition, on bended knees, and devoutly prayed that they might have +strength of mind and body to carry out the wishes of the king to increase +the power and greatness of his dominion, and be the means of spreading the +Christian religion. With these excellent professions, and amid very +general demonstrations of popular interest, Da Gama set sail on July 5th, +1497. Proceeding for the Cape of Good Hope, Da Gama ventured boldly from +the gulf of Guinea, and made a direct course to the Cape, and sailed for +three months--August, September, and October--without sighting land. At +last, on November 4th, they got sight of land in the forenoon, and were so +rejoiced, that the ships were decorated with flags, and the captains and +crews put on their best array, no doubt anxious to come to anchor +somewhere, and land. It was some days, however, before they could do so, +at a point believed to have been near the present St. Elena Bay. Da Gama +with the other captains went ashore to endeavour to learn from the natives +the distance to the Cape of Good Hope. + +Leaving St. Elena they encountered heavy gales, during which Da Gama +proved the possession of great courage and resolution. The waves ran +mountains high, and the little vessels seemed in peril of being engulfed +every minute. The wind was piercingly cold, and so boisterous that the +commands of the pilot could seldom be heard amid the din of the elements. +The sailors exhausted by fatigue and abandoned to despair, surrounded Da +Gama, entreating him not to devote himself and them to inevitable +destruction. But he resolved to proceed; and, at length, on Wednesday, the +20th November, all the squadron safely passed round the Cape, and on the +25th had sighted land beyond the furthest point reached by Diaz. + +At Mozambique, Vasco da Gama sent a Moor ashore with presents to the +Sheikh, who tried to act treacherously towards him, by stealing his +merchandise. Nor did he fare much better at Quiloa, where the king +endeavoured, by means of false pilots, to run Da Gama's ships on the +shoals at the entrance of the port. But at Melinde they were received with +full honours, and large supplies of provisions were sent on board. The +king visited the ships, and was received with royal hospitality. The +expedition sailed on August 6th, the long delay being caused by the +monsoons. After a passage of about twenty days they first sighted the high +land of India off the coast of Cananore. The news of the arrival spread +with great rapidity, and the natives were alarmed, for had they not the +legend "that the whole of India would be taken and ruled over by a distant +king, who had white people, who would do great harm to those who were not +their friends?" The soothsayers, however, told them that the time had not +yet come for the fulfilment of this prophecy. + +On the arrival of the expedition at Calicut(51) the Portuguese were well +received, for the king had discovered that the strangers had plenty of +merchandise with them. He immediately sent them presents, "of many pigs, +fowls, and cocoa-nuts fresh and dry," and professed to a desire to enter +into friendly relations with the king of so great a people. When Da Gama +landed, he took with him twelve men of "good appearance," and a large +number of presents and a display of cloths, crimson velvet and yellow +satin, gilt and chased basins, and ewers, knives of Flanders with ivory +handles and glittering blades, and so forth. But the Moorish traders, +fearing to lose their business, interfered, and the king eventually turned +round upon Gama, and endeavoured to capture his ships. Finding it unsafe +to remain, the half-laden vessels left Calicut, Da Gama threatening +revenge. In the King of Cananore they found a monarch well-disposed to +trade, and the Portuguese ships sailed thence very richly laden for the +homeward voyage. + +Their arrival at Lisbon after two years and eight months' absence was a +time of great rejoicing. The direct results of the expedition, +pecuniarily, were immense. In spite of the cost of the expedition and +presents made, the profit was "fully sixty-fold." Rewards were bestowed on +all who had taken part in the expedition, and Da Gama himself received the +title of "Dom" with many grants and privileges. He was also created high +admiral of Spain. + +The second expedition of Dom Gama had avowedly for its object the +punishment of the King of Calicut. Ten large ships, fitted with heavy guns +and all the munitions of war then known, with five lateen-rigged caravels, +formed the fleet. Arrived at Cananore, he related to the friendly king the +manner in which he intended to be revenged on the King of Calicut. The +former "swore upon his head, and his eyes, and by his mother's womb that +had borne him, and by the prince, his heir," that he would assist Da Gama +to his utmost, and they soon matured a system of trade. Gama then sailed +for Calicut, which he found deserted of its shipping, the news of his +previous doings having reached that port. + +The King made one effort at conciliation by sending on board one of the +chief Brahmins of the place with a flag of truce, but Da Gama rejected +every overture, ordered the Indian boat back, and kept the ambassador on +board, while he bombarded the city. While this was going on there came in +from the offing two large ships and twenty-two sambachs and Malabar +vessels, which he plundered, with the exception of six of the smaller +vessels that belonged to Cananore, and barbarously put to death a large +number of the captives. The King of Calicut, surrounded with the wives and +relations of those who had been so shamefully massacred, bewailing in the +most heart-rending manner their loss, and beseeching protection, called a +council, and it was resolved to construct armed proas, large rowing barges +and sambachs, and as many vessels of war as could be mustered. Long before +they were ready, Dom Gama had sailed with his fleet for Cochym (Cochin +China) having on his way wreaked vengeance on as many of the Calicut +vessels as crossed his path. The king of Cochym had resolved from the +first to be friendly with the Portuguese, and Gama soon established an +important factory, from which the power of Portugal spread over India. In +1503 he returned to his own country, to be welcomed with fresh honours and +titles, but was not immediately reappointed to command in India. In 1524, +however, he was appointed viceroy of Portuguese India, and a year later +died in Cochin China. Thus ended the life of one of the most courageous +adventurers the world has seen, but a life stained by crimes of the most +brutal nature. + + [Illustration: VIEW OF CALICUT IN THE 15TH CENTURY.] + + + + + + CHAPTER XXXV. + + + THE COMPANIONS AND FOLLOWERS OF COLUMBUS. + + + The Era of Spanish Discovery--Reasons for its Rapid + Development--Ojeda's First Voyage--Fighting the Caribs--Indians and + Cannon--Pinzon's Discovery of Brazil--A Rough Reception--Bastides the + Humane--A New Calamity--Ships leaking like Sieves--Economical + Generosity of King Ferdinand--Ojeda's Second Voyage--The disputed + Strong-Box--Ojeda Entrapped--Swimming in Irons--Condemned + Abroad--Acquitted at Home--A Triumphant Client, but a Ruined Man--A + Third Voyage--Worthy La Cosa--Rival Commanders--A Foolish Challenge. + + +In the following pages the enterprises of certain Spanish and Portuguese +voyagers less known to fame than those recently under notice, but still +great names in the history of maritime discovery, will be recorded. Not +merely had the examples of such men as Columbus and Vasco da Gama stirred +up a spirit of adventure unparalleled before or perhaps since, but, as +Washington Irving shows us,(52) the conquest of Granada and the end of the +Peninsular war with the Moorish usurpers, had deprived the Spanish of a +sphere of action which had occupied them almost incessantly during the +eight centuries preceding. The youth of the nation, bred up to daring +adventure and heroic achievement, could not brook the tranquil and regular +pursuits of common life, but panted for some new field of romantic +enterprise. The treaty of Columbus with Ferdinand and Isabella was, in a +sense, signed with the same pen that had subscribed to the capitulation of +the Moorish capital; while not a few of the cavaliers who had fought in +that memorable war now crowded the ships of the discoverers, firmly +believing that a grand new field of arms had opened to them. + +Alonzo de Ojeda, a native of New Castile, was one of this numerous class. +He had fought against the Moors when a youth, and had accompanied Columbus +on his second voyage when only twenty-one years of age. One of his +relatives, a Dominican friar, was one of the first inquisitors of Spain, +and was an intimate of the Bishop Fonseca, who had the chief management of +the affairs of the Indies, which then included all the countries as yet +known in the New World. Ojeda, therefore, was naturally and easily +introduced to the Bishop's notice, who took him under his special +protection. When he had accompanied Columbus he had taken with him a small +Flemish painting of the Holy Virgin, presented to him by Fonseca, and this +he had always carried with him as a protecting charm, invoking it at all +times of peril; while to its possession he attributed his hitherto +wonderful immunity from harm. When Columbus returned from his third +voyage, with the news of rich discoveries, especially of the +pearl-fisheries of Paria, Ojeda had no difficulty in obtaining from the +Bishop, who was one of the worst enemies of poor Columbus, a commission +authorising him to fit out an armament and proceed on a voyage of +discovery. It does not appear that the sanction of the King and Queen was +asked on this occasion. The means were readily supplied by merchants of +Seville. Among his associates were several men who had just returned with +Columbus, principal among whom was a bold Biscayan, Juan de la Cosa by +name. Amerigo Vespucci, the man from whose first name the title of America +is derived, a broken-down Florentine merchant, accompanied the expedition. +It does not appear that he had any interest in the voyage, or even +position on board ship. Ojeda sailed from Spain on the 20th May, 1499. + +After touching at the Canaries, he made, for those days, a rapid voyage to +America. In twenty-four days from leaving the islands he reached the New +World, at a part of the coast considerably south of that discovered by +Columbus, and after a little passed the mouths of several large rivers, +including those of the Orinoco and Esquivo, rivers which freshen the +sea-water for many miles outside. They afterwards touched at the island of +Trinidad, of the inhabitants of which Vespucci gives a number of details. +He tells us that they believed in no religious creed, and therefore +neither prayed nor offered sacrifice. Their habitations were practically +caravanserai, built in the shape of bells (meaning, doubtless, with +bell-shaped roofs), each holding from six hundred to over a thousand +inhabitants. He adds that every seven or eight years the inhabitants were +obliged to change their residences, from the maladies engendered by such +close packing. They ornamented themselves with beads and ornaments made +from the bones of fishes, with white and green stones strung together as +necklaces, and with the feathers of tropical birds. They buried their dead +in caverns or sepulchres, always leaving a jar of water and something to +eat by the head of the corpse, as do some tribes to-day. + +At Maracapana, on the mainland, the natives were friendly, and brought +quantities of fish, venison, and cassava bread. They anxiously besought +the Spaniards to aid them in punishing their enemies, the cannibals of a +distant isle, and Ojeda seems to have rather liked the proposition. Taking +seven of the natives on board his vessels to act as guides, he set sail in +quest of these cannibal islands, which are believed to have been the +Caribbees. After seven days he ran his vessels in near the shore of one +which the guides indicated to be the habitation of their cruel foes, and a +number of painted and befeathered warriors were seen on the shore, well +armed with bows and arrows, darts, lances, and bucklers. "This show of +war," says Irving, "was calculated to rouse the martial spirit of Ojeda. +He brought his ships to anchor, ordered out his boats, and provided each +with a paterero or small cannon. Besides the oarsmen, each boat contained +a number of soldiers, who were told to crouch out of sight in the bottom. +The boats then pulled in steadily for the shore. As they approached, the +Indians let fly a cloud of arrows, but without much effect. Seeing the +boats continue to advance, the savages threw themselves into the sea, and +brandished their lances to prevent their landing. Upon this the soldiers +sprang up in the boats and discharged the patereroes. At the sound and +smoke of these unknown weapons the savages abandoned the water in +affright, while Ojeda and his men leaped on shore and pursued them. The +Carib warriors rallied on the banks, and fought for a long time with that +courage peculiar to their race, but were at length driven to the woods at +the edge of the sword, leaving many killed and wounded on the field of +battle." Next day a larger number of the savages gathered on the beach, +but, after a desperate fight, were routed, their houses burned, and many +taken prisoners, which was probably Ojeda's principal object in attacking +them. Many similar experiences followed, but in all cases, as might be +expected, the Spaniards came out conquerors, scarcely any of their men +being even seriously wounded. At one place over a thousand Indians came +off in canoes or swam from shore, so that in a little while the vessel's +decks were crowded. While they were gazing in wonder at all they saw on +board, Ojeda ordered the cannon to be discharged, at the unaccustomed +sound of which they "plunged into the water like so many frogs from a +bank." + +Ojeda returned to Cadiz in June, 1500, his ships packed with slaves. But +the commercial results of the voyage, after allowing for expenses, were so +small that only about 500 ducats remained to be divided between fifty-five +adventurers. Nino, another adventurer, who had once served as pilot with +Columbus, made a voyage at the same period in a bark of only fifty tons, +returning two months before Ojeda, with a large number of the finest +pearls and some gold. The amount of pearls paid into the royal treasury +was so large that it drew suspicion instead of favour upon Nino and one of +his associates, and the first was actually thrown into prison on the +accusation of having kept the larger part of the spoil. But nothing could +be proved against him, and he was eventually set free. + +The year 1499 was also marked by a most important discovery, that of the +great kingdom of Brazil. It was reserved for Vicente Yanez Pinzon, in an +otherwise disastrous voyage, to first cross the equinoctial line, and on +the 28th of January, 1500, to sight the Cape, now known as that of St. +Augustine, which he, however, first named _Santa Maria de la Consolacion_, +because its appearance relieved him from much doubt and anxiety. Soon +after he had taken formal possession of the territory in the name of +Spain, an affray with the Indians occurred. In a general assault the +latter killed eight or ten Spaniards, and the crews retreated to their +boats, disputing every inch of ground. The Indians pursued them into the +water, surrounded the boats, and seized the oars. In spite of a desperate +defence they succeeded in overpowering the crew of one of the boats, and +carried it off. "With this," says Irving, "they retired from the combat, +and the Spaniards returned defeated and disheartened to their ships, +having met with the roughest reception that the Europeans had yet +experienced in the New World." Pinzon revenged himself, not on these +savages, but on a quiet and hospitable tribe found on some beautiful +islands off the mouth of the great Amazon River. Thirty-six of the poor +natives were carried off, to be sold afterwards as slaves. + +Off the Bahamas Pinzon's little squadron of four vessels encountered a +terrific hurricane, and two of them went down with all hands in sight of +the remaining two, the crews of which were powerless to help. The third +was driven out to sea, and the fourth was so battered by the furious waves +that her crew abandoned her in their boats. A few inoffensive Indians were +found ashore, and fearing that they might spread the tidings that a mere +handful of shipwrecked Spaniards were on the island, it was seriously +proposed to put them to death, when fortunately the vessel which had been +driven away returned, and it was later found that the other had ridden out +the storm uninjured. They speedily made sail for Spain, and arrived at +Palos in safety. Pinzon had as much as he could do to prevent the +merchants who had supplied goods for the voyage--at an advance of a hundred +per cent. or so--from seizing and selling the vessels and cargoes. But a +royal edict prevented this, and he was able to satisfy them in the end, +after incurring much loss to himself. + +The Pinzon family were subsequently ennobled by the Emperor Charles V. +When Washington Irving visited Palos he found numerous branches of the +descendants enjoying excellent circumstances, and living in an almost +patriarchal manner. + +In the year 1500, Rodrigo de Bastides, a wealthy Sevillian notary, +inflamed with the hopes of rapid wealth, fitted out two caravels, and +associated with him the veteran pilot, Juan de la Cosa, already mentioned. +The first honourably distinguished himself by his constant humanity to the +natives, and the voyage was successful, commercially speaking, for on the +South American coasts and islands they collected a very large amount of +gold and pearls, but an unforeseen misfortune arrived. They found their +vessels leaking most seriously, for their hulls had been pierced in +innumerable places by marine worms. It was with difficulty that they could +keep afloat until they reached an inlet on the coast of Hispaniola, where +they plugged and patched up their ships, and again put to sea for Cadiz. +Storm succeeded storm; the worms were again at work, and the leaks broke +out afresh. They were obliged to return to the inlet, where they landed +the most profitable and valuable parts of their cargoes, and the vessels +foundered with the remainder. Distributing his men into three bands, they +started for San Domingo by different routes, each party being provided +with trinkets and Indian trading goods. Francisco de Bobadilla, the enemy +and successor of Columbus, was then Governor of San Domingo. He believing, +or pretending to believe, that the adventurers were carrying on an illicit +trade with the natives, arrested Bastides and threw him into prison, +afterwards sending him for trial to Spain. He sailed in the same fleet in +which Bobadilla embarked for Spain, and which was for the most part +wrecked. The ship of Bastides was one of the few to outlive the storm; it +arrived at Cadiz in September, 1502. Bastides was, of course, acquitted of +the charges brought against him, and the voyage had been so lucrative +that, notwithstanding all losses, he was enabled to pay a handsome tribute +to the crown and retain a large amount for himself. Ferdinand and Isabella +granted Bastides and La Cosa an annual revenue for life, to be derived +from the proceeds of the province of Uraba, which he had discovered. +"Such," says Irving, "was the economical generosity of King Ferdinand, who +rewarded the past toils of his adventurous discoverers out of the expected +produce of their future labours." It is doubtful whether either at any +time derived benefit from these grants. + +Alonzo de Ojeda had gained nothing by his first voyage, but had earned an +honourable reputation as an explorer. His patron the Bishop recommended +him in 1502 once more to the royal favour, and a grant was made to him of +a considerable tract of land in Hispaniola, and the government of the +province of Coquebacao, which territory he had discovered. Four vessels +were fitted out, and, to pass over minor details, reached a part of the +South American coast called by the natives Cumana, where the idea struck +Ojeda that he should want furniture and utensils for his new colony, "and +that it would be better to pillage them from a country where he was a mere +transient visitor, than to wrest them from his neighbours in the territory +where he was to set up his government." This scheme was carried into +immediate execution, Ojeda ordering his men not to destroy the habitations +of the Indians, nor to commit bloodshed. His followers, however, did not +implicitly obey his instructions, and seven or eight natives were killed +and many more wounded in the skirmish which took place. Many of their +dwellings were fired. A large number of hammocks, quantities of cotton, +and utensils of various kinds, fell into the victors' hands, and they +captured several females, some of whom were afterwards ransomed for gold, +and others carried off. The place was found destitute of provisions, and +Ojeda was forced to send one of his vessels to Jamaica for supplies. + +Ojeda at length arrived at Coquibacao, landing at a bay supposed to be +that now known as Bahia Honda, where he found a Spaniard who had been +living among the natives some thirteen months, and had acquired their +language. Ojeda determined to form his settlement there, but the natives +seemed disposed to defend their country, for "the moment a party landed to +procure water they were assailed by a galling shower of arrows, and driven +back to the ships. Upon this Ojeda landed with all his force, and struck +such terror into the Indians that they came forward with signs of amity, +and brought a considerable quantity of gold as a peace-offering, which was +graciously accepted." The construction of the fortress was at once +commenced, and although interrupted by the attack of a neighbouring +cacique, who was, however, easily defeated, Ojeda's men completed it +speedily. It contained a magazine of provisions, dealt out twice a day, +and was defended by cannon. The treasure gained in trade, or by robbery, +was deposited in a strong box with double locks. + +Meantime provisions were becoming scarce, while the vessel which had been +despatched to Jamaica for supplies did not appear. "The people, worn-out +with labours and privations of various kinds, and disgusted with the +situation of the settlement, which was in a poor and unhealthy country, +grew discontented and factious. They began to fear that they should lose +the means of departing, as their vessels were in danger of being destroyed +by the marine worms. Ojeda led them forth repeatedly upon foraging parties +about the adjacent country, and collected some provisions and booty in the +Indian villages. The provisions he deposited in the magazine, part of the +spoil he divided among his followers, and the gold he locked up in the +strong box, the keys of which he took possession of, to the great +displeasure of the supervisor and his associate Ocampo. The murmurs of the +people grew loud as their sufferings increased. They insinuated that Ojeda +had no authority over this part of the coast, having passed the boundaries +of his government, and formed his settlement in the country discovered by +Bastides. By the time Vergara arrived from Jamaica the factions of this +petty colony had risen to an alarming height. Ocampo had a personal enmity +to the governor, arising probably from some feud about the strong box; and +being a particular friend of Vergara, he held a private conference with +him, and laid a plan to entrap the doughty Ojeda. In pursuance of this the +latter was invited on board the caravel of Vergara, to see the provisions +he had brought from Jamaica; but no sooner was he on board than they +charged him with having transgressed the limits of his government, with +having provoked the hostility of the Indians, and needlessly sacrificed +the lives of his followers, and above all, with having taken possession of +the strong box, in contempt of the authority of the royal supervisor, and +with the intention of appropriating to himself all the gains of the +enterprise. They informed him, therefore, of their intention to convey him +a prisoner to Hispaniola, to answer to the governor for his offences." +Ojeda was entrapped, and scarcely knew what to do. He proposed to Vergara +and Ocampo that they should return to Spain with such of the men as were +tired of the enterprise, and they at first agreed with this, and promised +to leave him the smallest of the vessels, and a third of the provisions +and spoils. They even engaged to build him a row boat before leaving, and +commenced the work; but the ship carpenters were invalids, and there were +no caulkers, and the two conspirators soon changed their minds, and +resolved to take him prisoner to Hispaniola. He was put in irons, and the +vessels set sail, having on board the whole of the little community, as +well as that strong box of gold and treasure, the disputed possession of +which was at the bottom of most of this trouble. + + [Illustration: OJEDA'S ATTEMPTED ESCAPE.] + +Arrived off the desired coast, Ojeda made a bold struggle for liberty. He +was a strong man and a good swimmer, so one night he let himself down +quietly into the sea, and made an attempt to reach the land. But, while +his arms were free, his feet were shackled with heavy iron, sufficient in +itself almost to sink him. He had not got far when he was obliged to shout +for help, and the unfortunate governor was brought back half drowned to +his unrelenting partners. They delivered him a prisoner into the hands of +the authorities, but held fast to the strong box, taking from it, Ojeda +afterwards stated, whatever they thought proper, without regard to the +royal supervisor or the royal rights. Ojeda was tried in the city of San +Domingo, where the chief judge gave a verdict against him, depriving him +of all his effects, and brought him in debt to the crown. He afterwards +appealed to the crown, and after some time was honourably acquitted by the +Royal Council, and his property ordered to be restored. "Like too many +other litigants," says Irving, "he finally emerged from the labyrinths of +the law a triumphant client, but a ruined man." Costs had swallowed his +all, and for years we know little of his life. + +In 1508 he was in Hispaniola, "as poor in purse, though as proud in +spirit, as ever." About this period there was a great excitement in Spain +concerning the gold mines of Veragua, first discovered by Columbus, and +described in glowing terms by subsequent voyagers. King Ferdinand should +in honour have given Bartholomew, the brother of Christopher Columbus, the +command of any expedition sent out to that country, but he appears to have +thought that the family had received reward enough, and more than enough, +already, so the claims of Ojeda were advanced by his friend the Bishop +Fonseca, and the king lent a favouring ear. There was, however, a rival +candidate in the field, one Diego de Nicuesa, an accomplished courtier of +noble birth and considerable means, and the king compromised matters by +granting both equal "patents and dignities which cost nothing, and might +bring rich returns." He divided the territory they were to explore +equally; and this is all, for they were to furnish their own ships and +supplies. Poor Ojeda had no means whatever, but at this juncture he +fortunately met the veteran Juan de la Cosa in Hispaniola, and that hardy +old navigator had managed to fill his purse in the course of his cruising. +La Cosa had, as we know, sailed with Ojeda long before, and had a great +admiration of his courage and talents, so in the spirit of a true sailor +he now offered assistance to his old comrade, and it was arranged that he +should go to Spain, and if necessary should fit out the required vessels +at his own expense. + +Juan de la Cosa, soon after reaching Spain, was appointed lieutenant, +under Ojeda, and he thereupon freighted a ship and two brigantines, in +which he embarked with about two hundred men. "It was," says Irving, "a +slender armament, but the purse of the honest voyager was not very deep, +and that of Ojeda was empty." Nicuesa was able to start in much more +gallant style, with four large vessels and two brigantines. + +The rival armaments arrived at San Domingo at about the same time, Nicuesa +having done a stroke of business on the way by capturing a hundred natives +from one of the Caribbee Islands. "This was deemed justifiable in those +days even by the most scrupulous divines, from the belief that the Caribs +were anthropophagi, or man-eaters; fortunately the opinion of mankind in +this more enlightened age makes but little difference in atrocity between +the cannibal and the kidnapper." It need hardly be said that Ojeda was +overjoyed at the sight of his old comrade, although he was mortified to +note the superiority of Nicuesa's armament to his own. He, however, +looking about him for the means of increasing his strength, was so far +fortunate that he succeeded in inducing a lawyer, the Bachelor Martin +Fernandez de Enciso, who had saved two thousand castillanos (somewhat over +the same number of pounds sterling), to invest his money in the +enterprise. Ojeda promised to make him Alcalde Mayor, or Chief Judge, and +the prospect of such dignity dazzled the notary. It was arranged that the +latter should remain in Hispaniola to beat up recruits and supplies, and +with them he was to follow in a ship purchased by himself. + +"Two rival governors," says Irving, "so well matched as Ojeda and Nicuesa, +and both possessed of swelling spirits, pent up in small but active +bodies, could not remain long in a little place like San Domingo without +some collision. The island of Jamaica, which had been assigned to them in +common, furnished the first ground of contention; the province of Darien +furnished another, each pretending to include it within the limits of his +jurisdiction. Their disputes on these points ran so high that the whole +place resounded with them." Nicuesa was the better talker, having been +brought up at court, while Ojeda was no great casuist. He was, however, an +excellent swordsman, and always ready to fight his way through any +question of right or dignity, and he challenged Nicuesa to single combat. +Nicuesa was no coward, but as a man of the world, saw the folly of such a +proceeding, so he slyly proposed that they should each deposit five +thousand castillanos--just to make the fight interesting--and to constitute +a prize for the winner. This rather checked poor Ojeda, who had not a +dollar he could call his own; but his cool and discreet friend Cosa had a +considerable amount of trouble with him afterwards, before he could bring +him to reason. The character of Cosa, as we shall see hereafter, was a +very noble one. He was Ojeda's best counseller and truest friend. + + + + + + CHAPTER XXXVI. + + + THE COMPANIONS AND FOLLOWERS OF COLUMBUS (_concluded_). + + + Nicuesa and the Duns of San Domingo--Indian Contempt for a Royal + Manifesto--La Cosa's Advice Disregarded--Ojeda's Impetuosity--A + Desperate Fight--Seventy Spaniards Killed--La Cosa's Untimely + End--Ojeda found Exhausted in the Woods--A Rival's Noble + Conduct--Avenged on the Indians--A New Settlement--Ojeda's Charm + fails--A Desperate Remedy--In Search of Provisions--Wrecked on Cuba--A + Toilsome March--Kindly Natives--Ojeda's Vow Redeemed--Dies in Abject + Poverty--The Bachelor Enciso and Balboa--Smuggled on Board in a + Tub--Leon and his Search for the Fountain of Youth--Discovery of + Florida--Magellan--Snubbed at Home--Warmly seconded by the Spanish + Emperor--His resolute Character--Discovery of the Straits--His + Death--The First Voyage round the World--Captain Cook's + Discoveries--His Tragical Death--Vancouver's Island. + + +Nicuesa remained some time in San Domingo after the sailing of his rival's +fleet, obtaining so many volunteers that he had to purchase another ship +to convey them. That commander was much more the courtier than the man of +business, and expended his money so freely that in the end he found +himself seriously involved. Some of his creditors, knowing that his +expedition was not favourably regarded by the governor, Admiral Don Diego +Columbus, threw every obstacle in the way of his departure, and never was +an unfortunate debtor more harassed by duns, most of whom he managed, +however, to satisfy or mollify. His forces, which now numbered seven +hundred men, were safely embarked, but just as he was stepping into his +boat he was arrested for a debt of five hundred ducats, and carried before +the Alcalde Mayor. "This was a thunderstroke to the unfortunate cavalier. +In vain he represented his utter incapacity to furnish such a sum at the +moment; in vain he represented the ruin that would accrue to himself, and +the vast injury to the public service, should he be prevented from joining +his expedition. The Alcalde Mayor was inflexible, and Nicuesa was reduced +to despair. At this critical moment relief came from a most unexpected +quarter. The heart of a public notary was melted by his distress! He +stepped forward in court, and declared that rather than see so gallant a +gentleman reduced to extremity, he himself would pay down the money. +Nicuesa gazed at him with astonishment, and could scarce believe his +senses; but when he saw him actually pay off the debt, and found himself +suddenly released from this dreadful embarrassment, he embraced his +deliverer with tears of gratitude, and hastened with all speed to embark, +lest some other legal spell should be laid upon his person." + +Ojeda set sail from San Domingo on the 10th of November, 1509, with three +hundred men, among the adventurers being Francisco Pizarro, afterwards the +renowned conqueror of Peru. They arrived speedily at Carthagena, which +harbour Cosa advised Ojeda to abandon, and commence a settlement in the +Gulf of Uraba, where the natives were much less ferocious, and did not use +poisoned weapons, as did those of the former place. Ojeda, however, was +too high-spirited to alter his plans on account of any number of naked +savages, and he landed with a considerable force, and several friars, who +had been sent out to convert the natives, were ordered to read aloud a +manifesto, which had been specially written by eminent divines and jurists +in Spain. It was utterly thrown away on the savages, who immediately made +demonstrations of the most warlike kind. + +Cosa once more begged Ojeda to leave these unfriendly shores, but in vain, +and the latter, offering up a short prayer to the Virgin, led on a furious +charge. Juan de Cosa followed in the bravest manner, although the assault +was contrary to his advice. The Indians were soon driven off, and a number +killed or taken prisoners, on whose persons plates of gold were found. +Flushed by this easy victory, he pursued them into the interior, followed +as usual by his faithful, though unwilling lieutenant. Having penetrated +deep into the forest, they came to a stronghold of the enemy, where they +were warmly received. Ojeda led his men on with the old Castilian war-cry, +"Santiago!" and in a few minutes the Indians took to flight. "Eight of +their bravest warriors threw themselves into a cabin, and plied their bows +and arrows so vigorously that the Spaniards were kept at bay. Ojeda cried +shame upon his followers to be daunted by eight naked men. Stung by this +reproach, an old Castilian soldier rushed through a shower of arrows and +forced the door of the cabin, but received a shaft through the heart and +fell dead on the threshold. Ojeda, furious at the sight, ordered fire to +be set to the combustible edifice; in a moment it was in a blaze, and the +eight warriors perished in the flames." Seventy prisoners were sent on +board the ships. Ojeda, still against the strongly-expressed advice of +Cosa, continued his pursuit, and he and his followers arrived at what +appeared to be a deserted village. They had scattered in search of booty, +when troops of savages, who had been concealed in the forest, surrounded +them. The desperate valour and iron armour of the Spaniards availed +little, for they were overwhelmed by numbers, and scattered into detached +parties. Ojeda collected a few of his followers, and made a desperate +resistance from the interior of a palisaded enclosure. "Here he was +closely besieged and galled by flights of arrows. He threw himself on his +knees, covered himself with his buckler, and being small and active, +managed to protect himself from the deadly shower, but all his companions +were slain by his side, some of them perishing in frightful agonies. At +this fearful moment the veteran La Cosa, having heard of the peril of his +commander, arrived with a few followers to his assistance. Stationing +himself at the gate of the palisades, the brave Biscayan kept the savages +at bay until most of his men were slain, and he himself was severely +wounded. Just then Ojeda sprang forth like a tiger into the midst of the +enemy, dealing his blows on every side. La Cosa would have seconded him, +but was crippled by his wounds. He took refuge with the remnant of his men +in an Indian cabin, the straw roof of which he aided them to throw off, +lest the enemy should set it on fire. Here he defended himself until all +his comrades but one were destroyed. The subtle poison of his wounds at +length overpowered him, and he sank to the ground. Feeling death at hand, +he called to his only surviving companion. 'Brother,' said he, 'since God +hath protected thee from harm, sally forth and fly, and if thou shouldst +see Alonzo de Ojeda, tell him of my fate!'" Thus perished one of the +ablest of the Spanish explorers, and one of the most loyal of friends, a +true counsellor, and a warm-hearted partisan. + + [Illustration: THE DEATH OF LA COSA.] + +Meanwhile there was great alarm on the ships at the non-arrival of the +seventy men who had adventured into the forests on this mad expedition. +Parties were sent ashore and round the coasts, where they fired signal +guns and sounded trumpets, but in vain. At length some of them arrived at +a great thicket of mangrove trees, amid the entanglements of which they +caught a glimpse of a man in Spanish attire. Approaching, they found that +it was their commander, buckler on shoulder and sword in hand, but so weak +with hunger and fatigue that he could not utter a word. When he was a +little revived by the fire they made on the shore, and the food and wine +they gave him, he told the story of how he had escaped from the savage +bands, how he had hidden every day, and struggled forward at night among +rocks and thickets and matted forests till he reached the coast. As +another proof of the special protection of the Virgin he showed them his +buckler bearing the marks of 300 arrows, while he had received no wound +whatever. + +Just as this transpired, the fleet of Nicuesa arrived, and Ojeda was much +troubled in mind, remembering his late rash challenge. He ordered his men +to return to the ships, and leave him on the shore till his rival should +depart. Some of the men went to Nicuesa and intreated him not to take +advantage of Ojeda's misfortunes. But there was no need for this, and +Nicuesa blushed with indignation that they should think him a gentleman so +unworthy the name. He told them to bring their commander to him, and when +they met he received his late foe with every show of friendship. "It is +not," said he, "for hidalgoes, like men of vulgar souls, to remember past +differences when they behold one another in distress. Henceforth, let all +that has occurred between us be forgotten. Command me as a brother. Myself +and my men are at your orders, to follow you wherever you please, until +the deaths of Juan de la Cosa and his comrades are revenged." This noble +offer was not one of words only, and the two commanders became fast +friends. Four hundred men, with several horses, were landed, and they +approached the village, which had cost them seventy lives, in the dead of +the night, their near approach being heralded by the numerous parrots in +the woods, which made a great outcry. The Indians paid no attention, +however, believing that the Spaniards had been exterminated, and they +found their village in flames before they took the alarm. The Spaniards +either killed them at their doors or drove them back into the flames. The +horses, which they supposed to be savage monsters, caused great alarm. The +carnage was something fearful, for no quarter was given. While ranging +about in search of booty they found the body of La Cosa tied to a tree, +swollen and discoloured in a hideous manner by the poison of the Indian +arrows. "This dismal spectacle had such an effect upon the common men that +not one would remain in that place during the night." The spoil in gold +and other valuables was so great that the share of Nicuesa and his men +amounted to 37,281 dollars. + +[Illustration: ARRIVAL OF OJEDA AND HIS FOLLOWERS AT THE INDIAN VILLAGE.] + +Ojeda now, somewhat late in the day, took the advice of his late faithful +lieutenant, and steered for the Gulf of Uraba, where he formed a +settlement which he named St. Sebastian. The Indians of the surrounding +country proved unfriendly and hostile, and at length their provisions +began to fail. "In one of their expeditions they were surprised by an +ambuscade of savages in a gorge of the mountains, and attacked with such +fury and effect that they were completely routed, and pursued with yells +and howlings to the very gates of St. Sebastian. Many died in excruciating +agony of their wounds, and others recovered with extreme difficulty. Those +who were well no longer dared to venture forth in search of food, for the +whole forest teemed with lurking foes. They devoured such herbs and roots +as they could find without regard to their quality. Their bodies became +corrupted, and various diseases, combined with the ravages of famine, +daily thinned their numbers. The sentinel who feebly mounted guard at +night was often found dead at his post in the morning. Some stretched +themselves on the ground, and expired of mere famine and debility; nor was +death any longer regarded as an evil, but rather as a welcome relief from +a life of horror and despair." Such is the chronicler's mournful account. + +We have seen that Ojeda felt unbounded confidence in his charm--the picture +of the Holy Virgin--and he had so long escaped unscathed that the Indians +also believed him to bear a charmed life. They determined one day to test +the question, and placed four of their most expert archers in ambush, with +directions to single him out, while a number more advanced to the fort +sounding their conches and drums, and yelling with hideous noises. Ojeda +sallied forth to meet them, and the Indians fled to the ambuscade. The +archers waited till he was full in front, and then discharged their +poisoned arrows. Three he warded off by his buckler, but the fourth +pierced his thigh. Ojeda was carried back to the fort, more despondent +than he had ever yet been, for his talisman seemed to have failed him, and +thrilling pains shot through his body. But he was not to be thus defeated. +He caused two plates of iron to be made red hot, and ordered a surgeon to +apply them to each orifice of his wound. The surgeon, fearful that should +he die the death would be laid to his door, shudderingly refused, +whereupon Ojeda threatened to hang him if he did not obey, and he was +obliged to comply. Ojeda refused to be held or tied down, and endured the +agony without moving a muscle. This violent remedy so inflamed his system +that he had to be wrapped in sheets steeped in vinegar to allay the fever, +and it is said that a barrel of vinegar was consumed in this way. But he +lived, and his wounds healed; "the cold poison," says Las Casas, "was +consumed by the vivid fire." + +At this time their provisions were again becoming scarce, and the arrival +of a strange ship, commanded by one Bernardino de Talavera, a desperate +pirate, was welcomed, as it brought some relief, although supplies were +only furnished for large prices in gold. Some dissatisfaction was +expressed at the division of the food, and shortly afterwards serious +factions arose. At last Ojeda volunteered to go himself to San Domingo in +quest of necessary supplies, to which his followers agreed, and he +embarked on board Talavera's ship. They had scarcely put to sea when a +serious quarrel arose between the freebooter and Ojeda; the latter, +apparently, having acted on board as though he were commander instead of +passenger. He was actually put in irons, where "he reviled Talavera and +his gang as recreants, traitors, pirates, and offered to fight the whole +of them successively, provided they would give him a clear deck and come +on two at a time." They left him fuming and raging in his chains until a +violent gale arose, and they bethought themselves that Ojeda was a skilful +navigator. They then parleyed, offering him his liberty if he would pilot +the ship, and he consented, but all his skill was unavailing, and he was +obliged to run her on the southern coast of Cuba--then as yet uncolonised, +except by runaway slaves from Hayti. Here they made a toilsome march +through forests and morasses, crossing mountains and rivers, in a nearly +starved condition. One morass, entangled by roots and creeping vines, and +cut up by sloughs and creeks, occupied them thirty days to cross, at the +end of which time only thirty-five men survived out of seventy that had +left the ship. At last they reached an Indian village. "The Indians +gathered round and gazed at them with wonder, but when they learnt their +story, they exhibited a humanity that would have done honour to the most +professing Christians. They bore them to their dwellings, set meat and +drink before them, and vied with each other in discharging the offices of +the kindest humanity. Finding that a number of their companions were still +in the morass, the cacique sent a large party of Indians with provisions +for their relief, with orders to bring on their shoulders such as were too +feeble to walk.... The Spaniards were brought to the village, succoured, +cherished, consoled, and almost worshipped as if they had been angels." +And now Ojeda prepared to carry out a vow he had made on his journey, that +if saved, he would erect a little hermitage or oratory, with an altar, +above which he would place the picture to which he attributed his +wonderful escape. The cacique listened with attention to his explanations +regarding the beneficence of the Virgin, whom he represented as the mother +of the Deity who reigned above, and acquired a profound veneration for the +picture. Long after, when the Bishop Las Casas, who has recorded these +facts, arrived at the same village, he found the chapel preserved with +religious care. But when he offered--wishing to obtain possession of the +relic--to exchange it for an image of the Virgin, the chief made an evasive +reply, and next morning was missing, having fled with the picture in his +possession. It was all in vain that Las Casas sent messages after him, +"assuring him that he should not be deprived of the relic, but, on the +contrary, that the image should likewise be presented to him." The cacique +would not return to the village till he knew that the Spaniards had +departed. + +We find Ojeda next in Jamaica, and afterwards in San Domingo, where he +inquired earnestly after the Bachelor Enciso, who had, it will be +remembered, promised to aid him with reinforcements and supplies. He was +assured that that ambitious lawyer had sailed for the settlement, which +was a fact. Next we find the sanguine Ojeda endeavouring to set on foot +another armament, but the failure of his colony was too well understood, +and there were no more volunteers, either as regards personal service or +pecuniary aid. The poor adventurer was destined never again to see his +settlement, the subsequent history of which is a series of intrigues and +disasters. He died in abject poverty in San Domingo, and "so broken in +spirit that, with his last breath, he intreated his body might be buried +in the monastery of St. Francisco, just at the portal, in humble expiation +of his past pride, _that every one who entered might tread upon his +grave_." Nicuesa, after many vicissitudes, was lost at sea. The Bachelor +Enciso was rather snubbed when he arrived at Ojeda's colony, but made some +fortunate ventures, and plundered a village on the banks of a river named +Darien, collecting great quantities of gold ornaments, bracelets, anklets, +plates, and what not, with food and cotton to the value of ten thousand +castillanos, or about ten thousand seven hundred pounds sterling. Among +the men who for a time served with Enciso was Vasco Nunez de Balbao, +afterwards the discoverer of the Pacific from the Isthmus of Darien, of +whom these pages have already furnished some account. He joined the +expedition of Enciso in a very curious manner. He had been a man of very +loose and prodigal habits, but had settled down on a farm in Hispaniola, +where he soon became hopelessly involved in debt. The proposed armament +gave him the opportunity he sought of running away from his creditors. He +concealed himself in a cask, which was taken on board the vessel as though +containing provisions. When the vessel was fairly out at sea "Nunez +emerged like an apparition from his cask, to the great surprise of Enciso, +who had been totally ignorant of the stratagem. The Bachelor was indignant +at being thus outwitted, even though he gained a recruit by the deception, +and, in the first ebullition of his wrath, gave the fugitive debtor a very +rough reception, threatening to put him on shore on the first uninhabited +island they should encounter. Vasco Nunez, however, succeeded in pacifying +him, 'for God,' says the venerable Las Casas, 'reserved him for greater +things.'" It was Nunez who afterwards directed Enciso to the village where +he obtained so much plunder. + +Another remarkable man of that age was Juan Ponce de Leon, the conqueror +of Porto Rico, and the discoverer of Florida. He had amassed a +considerable amount of wealth in the former place, and, like many of the +active discoverers of that energetic age, was ambitious for new triumphs. +By accident he met with some Indians who assured him "that far to the +north, there existed a land abounding in gold and in all manner of +delights; but, above all, possessing a river of such wonderful virtue, +that whoever bathed in it would be restored to youth! They added that in +times past, before the arrival of the Spaniards, a large party of the +natives of Cuba had departed northward in search of this happy land and +this river of life, and, having never returned, it was concluded that they +were flourishing in renewed youth, detained by the pleasures of that +enchanting country." Others told him that in a certain island of the +Bahamas, called Bimini, there was a fountain possessing the same +marvellous and inestimable qualities, and that whoever drank from it would +secure perennial youth. Juan Ponce listened to these fables with +credulity, and actually fitted out three vessels at his own expense to +prosecute the discovery, and obtained numerous volunteers to assist him. +"It may seem incredible," says Irving, "at the present day, that a man of +years and experience could yield any faith to a story which resembles the +wild fiction of an Arabian tale; but the wonders and novelties breaking +upon the world in that age of discovery almost realised the illusions of +fable, and the imaginations of the Spanish voyagers had become so heated +that they were capable of any stretch of credulity." A similar statement +was made by an eminent man of learning, Peter Martyr, to Leo X., then +Bishop of Rome. Juan Ponce left Porto Rico on the 3rd March, 1512, for the +Bahama Islands, on his search for the Fountain of Youth, but all his +inquiries and explorations failed in its discovery. Still he persevered, +and was rewarded in discovering on the mainland a country in the fresh +bloom of spring, the trees gay with blossoms and abounding with flowers. +He took possession of it in the name of the Castilian sovereigns, and gave +it the name of Florida, which it still retains. He subsequently discovered +a group of islands, where his sailors, in the course of one night, caught +one hundred and seventy turtles. He appropriately named them the Tortugas, +or Turtles, the title they also still bear. Disheartened by the failure of +his special mission, he gave up the command to a trusty captain, and +returned to Porto Rico, "where he arrived infinitely poorer in purse and +wrinkled in brow, by this cruise after inexhaustible riches and perpetual +youth." His captain arrived soon after with the news that he had +discovered the island of Bimini, and that it abounded in crystal springs +and limpid streams, which kept the island ever fresh and verdant; "but +none that could restore to an old man the vernal greenness of his youth." +As late as 1521 we find old Juan Ponce engaged in a new expedition to +Florida, where, in an encounter with the Indians, he was fatally wounded +by an arrow. He retired to Cuba, where he died shortly afterwards. The +Spaniards said of him that he was a lion by name, and still more by +nature. + +The name of Magellan, or Magalhaens, is more familiar to the general +reader than some of those which have preceded it in this chapter. He was a +Portuguese of noble birth, and had served honourably in India. When he +made the offer of his services to his own sovereign, there is no doubt +that the undertaking he proposed--viz., to determine the question whether +the shores of South America were washed by an open sea--had been mooted +before. To him however, belongs the credit of having brought that question +to an issue. His own king would have nought to do with his project, and +dismissed him with a frown. Magellan, accompanied by Ruy Falero, an +astrologer (the astrologers were in part the astronomers of those days), +who was associated with him in the enterprise, next made his proposals to +the Spanish Emperor, Charles V., by whom he was received with attention +and respect. Articles of agreement were drawn up, to this effect: the +navigator agreed to reach the Moluccas _by sailing to the west_; they were +to enjoy for ten years the exclusive right to the track (!), and to +receive the twentieth part of all profits accruing from their discoveries, +with some special privileges in regard to the merchandise of the first +voyage. Moreover, the Emperor agreed to furnish five vessels, and victual +them for two years--an unusual act of liberality in those days, when the +monarchs usually contented themselves with conferring patents, privileges, +and titles merely, which cost them nothing, and yet were often the means +of subsequently enriching them. The sailing of the expedition was retarded +by the machinations of the Portuguese king, who now professed a +willingness to employ Magellan, and, failing in this, is said to have +spread reports that "the King of Spain would lose his expenses, for +Fernando Magellan was a chattering fellow, and little reliance could be +placed in him, and that he would never execute that which he promised." +But at last, on the 20th September, 1519, the squadron got under weigh. + +In the month of December following Magellan anchored in a port on the +coast of Brazil, which he named Santa Lucia. The natives appeared a +confiding and credulous race, and readily bartered provisions for the +merest trifles; "half a dozen fowls were exchanged for a king of spades" +(card). Putting again to sea, Magellan sailed southward, touching at +various points till he came to anchor in a harbour which he named San +Julian, and where he made a stay of five months. Here discontent, and at +length open mutiny, broke out, the ringleaders being certain Spanish +officers who felt mortified at serving under a Portuguese commander. +Magellan was not a man to stand any nonsense, and was utterly +unscrupulous. He despatched a person with a letter to one of the captains, +with orders to stab him whilst he was engaged in reading it. This +commission being rigorously executed, and followed up by other stringent +measures, his authority was re-established through the mutineers' +knowledge and fear of his determined character. + +In October of the next year, after various minor discoveries, he arrived +at the entrance of the great strait which now bears his name. After +careful examination of the opening, a council was held, at which the +pilot, Estevan Gomez, voted for returning to refit, while the more +enterprising wished to complete their discovery. Magellan listened +patiently and silently, and then firmly declared that were he reduced to +eat the hides on the yards--which were, in fact, the sails--he would keep +his faith with the Emperor. It was forbidden to speak of home or scarcity +of provisions on pain of death! + +Two vessels were sent to reconnoitre in advance, and these were driven +violently by a gale into the straits, where the two coasts more than once +seemed to join, and the mariners thought all was lost, when a narrow +channel would disclose itself, into which they would gladly enter. They +returned, and made their report to Magellan, who ordered the whole +squadron to advance. On reaching the open expanse of water into which the +second gut opens, an inlet to the south-east was observed, and Estevan +Gomez was sent in charge of one of two vessels to explore it. He took the +opportunity to incite a mutiny, threw the captain into chains, and steered +back for Spain. When the western or Pacific end of the straits was +reached,(53) and they saw a grand open ocean beyond, they named the +headland at the entrance, Il Capo Descado--the "Longed-for Cape"--and spent +some days in erecting standards in conspicuous places, and in rejoicing +over their discovery. On the 28th November, 1520, the small squadron +reached the open sea, and took a northerly course towards the equator, in +order to reach a milder climate, the sailors having suffered much in and +about the straits. + + [Illustration: FERDINAND DE MAGELLAN.] + +Magellan, besides minor discoveries, is fairly credited with that of the +Philippine Islands, where he was treated in a most friendly manner. At +Zebu he acted after the manner of his time; for, finding the people +submissive and respectful, he exacted a tribute, which seems to have been +willingly paid. One king, or chief, alone refused, which so incensed +Magellan that he resolved to punish him. He accordingly landed with +forty-nine of his followers, clothed in mail, and began an attack on 1,500 +Indians. The battle raged some hours, but at last numbers prevailed, and +only some seven or eight Spaniards remained with Magellan, the rest being +either already killed or utterly routed. He himself was wounded in the +limbs by a poisoned arrow, and his sword-arm being disabled he could no +longer defend himself, and so fell a martyr to overweening ambition and +greed. The voyage home was completed, and those of his men who remained +had achieved the proud distinction of having been the first +circumnavigators of the globe. + + + +Before leaving the subject of remarkable voyages, a few supplementary +remarks are necessary. The great epoch just mentioned was followed by +great commercial activity, owing to the important discoveries of new lands +made, and, of course, the map of the world was by degrees filled in with +details which earlier explorers had overlooked. In some previous chapters, +notably those referring to the history of shipping and shipping interests, +many of the more important voyages following those just described have +been sufficiently noticed. In effect, the many subjects treated in +connection with THE SEA naturally intertwine, and the same voyages are in +the course of this work occasionally mentioned more than once, though in +different ways, and for different reasons. + +No explorer's name, after those recently considered, shines with more +effulgency than that of the celebrated Captain Cook, already mentioned in +two separate connections. Born in 1728, the son of an agricultural +labourer and farm bailiff, he early showed an irresistible inclination for +the sea, and could not be chained down to the haberdasher's counter, for +which his father had destined him. He commenced his seafaring life as an +apprentice on a collier, but soon rose to be mate. He next entered the +royal navy, where, from able seaman, his promotion was rapid. Some charts +and observations drawn up by him while marine surveyor of the coasts of +Newfoundland and Labrador brought him much notice from scientific +quarters, and the Royal Society offered him the command of an expedition +to the Pacific, to make an observation of the transit of Venus. This was +the first of his three great voyages, during which he re-discovered New +Zealand,(54) practically took possession of Australia, proved that New +Guinea was a separate island, made discoveries in the Antarctic, +discovered the Sandwich Islands, and made the northern explorations also +mentioned previously. He met his death on the island of Hawaii (Sandwich +Islands), in the tragical manner known almost to every schoolboy. + +It would appear that, previous to the fatal day, there had been some +little trouble with the natives. One day, the officer who had commanded a +watering-party returned to the ship, stating that some chief had driven +away the natives employed in rolling the casks to the beach, work which +had been gladly performed before for trifling payments. A marine, with +side-arms only, was sent back with him, when it was noticed that the +islanders were arming with stones, and two others with loaded muskets were +sent off to the watering party's assistance, which for the moment quieted +the matter. Captain Cook gave orders that, if the natives should venture +to attack his men, they should in the future fire on them with balls, +instead of small shot, as hitherto. And not long after a volley proceeding +from the _Discovery_, fired after a retreating canoe, announced that his +orders were being carried into execution. Ignorant that some stolen goods +were thereupon returned, Cook himself, with an officer and a marine, +chased these natives on shore, but fruitlessly. Meantime, the officer who +had recovered the stolen goods, thinking that he might retaliate, took +possession of a canoe on the beach, which act the owner naturally +resented, and a scuffle ensued, during which he was knocked down by a blow +from an oar. The natives returned the attack with a shower of stones, and +would have destroyed the pinnace but for the interference of the very man +who had just been knocked on the head, who was, however, still friendly +inclined towards the English. + +Captain Cook was naturally annoyed at and perplexed by these occurrences. +In the course of the next night a boat was stolen from the _Discovery_, +and Cook at once ordered a body of marines ashore, going with them +himself, and taking a double-barrelled gun, one barrel loaded with small +shot, and the other with a bullet. The other boats were ordered out to +prevent any canoe from leaving the bay until the matter was settled. +Arrived ashore, he marched up to the old king, who to every appearance had +had no hand in the theft, nor had connived at it, for he promised to go on +board with the captain, the latter intending to keep him as a hostage. The +chief's two sons were already in the pinnace, when his wife entreated him +with tears not to go off to the ship. Two chiefs also, at this juncture, +forcibly laid hold of the old man, and made him sit down on the beach. +Cook saw from the general aspect of affairs, and the gathering thousands +on the beach, that he must give up his idea, and proceeded slowly to the +place of embarkation. + +It appears that, while this was going on, some of the men on the boats +stationed around the bay had fired on some escaping canoes, and worse, had +killed a chief. The news arrived ashore just as Cook was leaving, and the +natives immediately began to put on their war-mats, and arm themselves. +One of them, carrying an iron dagger, which he brandished wildly, +threatened Cook with a large stone, and the captain at last could stand +his insolence no longer, and gave him a volley of small shot. This against +the native's thick war-mat was about as effective as shooting peas against +a rhinoceros. Next came a volley of stones in return, while an attempt was +made to stab a marine officer, who returned a heavy blow from the butt-end +of his musket. A native crawled behind a canoe, and then aimed a spear at +Cook, who soon gave them the contents of his other barrel, killing one of +the assailants. In quick succession, volleys of stones were answered by a +volley of musketry; four marines fell, and were speedily despatched. Cook +now stood by the water's edge, signalling the men to stop firing and get +on board; but in the scuffle and confusion his orders were not understood. +A lieutenant commanding one of the boats blundered, or worse, to the +extent of taking his boat further off, so that the picking up of the +wounded marines was thrown entirely on the pinnace, which had been brought +in as near the shore as the master was able to come. Poor Cook was left +alone on a rock, where he was seen trying to shield his head from the +shower of stones with the one hand, while he still grasped his musket in +the other. So soon as his back was turned, the natives attacked him, one +clubbing him down, and another stabbing him in the neck. Again he dropped +in the water knee-deep, looking earnestly out for help from the pinnace, +not more than a few yards off. But the end was near. The savages got him +under in deeper water. In his death-struggle he broke from them, and clung +to the rock. In a second there was another blow, and the end had come. His +body was dragged ashore and mutilated. After the fall of their commander, +the survivors of the men escaped under cover of a fire kept up from the +boats. But for Cook himself, one of the most humane of commanders, nothing +seems to have been attempted in the hurry and excitement of the scuffle. + +Cook's body--or as much as remained of it--was subsequently recovered, and +committed to the deep, the guns booming solemnly over the watery grave of +one of England's greatest explorers. While the rites were being performed, +absolute unbroken silence was enjoined upon the natives ashore and afloat, +nor was the water disturbed by the dip of a single paddle. Thus perished, +at the early age of fifty-one, in a miserable scuffle with semi-savages, +Captain James Cook, a navigator whose fame was and still remains +world-wide. + +Our space will only permit us to refer, briefly, to one other notable +voyage, namely, that of Vancouver, whose first experiences were gained +with Cook. The fame of this explorer rests very much upon his +circumnavigation, towards the end of the eighteenth century, of the island +which now bears his name. The actual discovery of the entrance to the +straits between the island and mainland dates from the time of De Fuca; +while Vancouver himself, in the following passage, admits a prior claim to +its partial investigation. He says--"At four o'clock a sail was discovered +to the westward standing in shore. This was a very great novelty, not +having seen any vessel but our consort during the last eight months. She +soon hoisted American colours, and fired a gun to leeward. At six we spoke +her. She proved to be the ship _Columbia_, commanded by Mr. Robert Gray, +belonging to Boston, from which port she had been absent nineteen months. +Having little doubt of his being the same person who had formerly +commanded the sloop _Washington_, I desired he would bring to, and sent +Mr. Puget and Mr. Menzies on board to acquire such information as might be +serviceable in our future operations." + +On the return of the boat, Vancouver found that his conjectures had not +been ungrounded, and that Mr. Gray was the same gentleman who had +commanded the sloop _Washington_ at the time she had made a voyage behind +the island. It was a little remarkable that on his approach to the +entrance of this inland sea or strait, he should fall in with the +identical person who, it had been stated, had sailed through it. Mr. Gray +assured the officers, however, that he had penetrated only fifty miles +into the straits in question in an ESE. direction; that he found the +passage five leagues wide; and that he understood from the natives that +the opening extended a considerable distance to the northward. He then +returned to the ocean the same way he had entered it. This inlet he +supposed to be the same De Fuca had discovered. The fact, however, remains +that Vancouver most thoroughly explored the coasts of the island, and the +inlets and shores of Puget Sound, Washington Territory, and British +Columbia--countries which are slowly but surely taking their proper place +in the world's estimation. + + + + END OF VOLUME III. + + + + + + + FOOTNOTES + + + 1 "The History of the Bucaniers of America." This once celebrated work + contains a number of the most reliable histories of the pirates and + freebooters of the seventeenth century. + + 2 The "piece of eight" means in value, as nearly as possible, the + American dollar of to-day. + + 3 This is the chronicler's statement. He meant the _cacao_-nut. + +_ 4 i.e._, "Spiked," as we say now-a-days. + + 5 Wherever "religious men and women" are mentioned in these old + records, the meaning is priests or monks, and nuns. + + 6 The city site was almost immediately afterwards moved to a spot, + four miles off, where the present Panama stands to-day. + + 7 The account is derived from a French source, and although in all + probability veracious in most points, cannot be implicitly believed. + For this reason the author has not gone further into the most + romantic story of this high-principled pirate. Misson is said to + have later gone down with his vessel, while Caraccioli was killed in + an affray with natives. + + 8 The best known of which is "The Pilot," in which he is the prominent + character. + + 9 Few readers will need reminding that the same Dr. Franklin was the + celebrated philosopher. + + 10 The narrative is derived from one of two most graphic letters by the + author of "The Military Sketch-book." + + 11 "Heroes of the Arctic." Society for the Promotion of Christian + Knowledge. + + 12 These papers, with others, were published in a small work bearing + the title, "The Possibility of Approaching the North Pole Asserted, + &c." + +_ 13 De_-lighted--_i.e._, deprived of light. + + 14 "Under the Northern Lights." By J. A. MacGahan. + + 15 The entertainments were, we are informed by Captain Markham, termed + the Thursday "Pops," and popular they most undoubtedly were. + + 16 Few readers will need to be reminded that on the Fahrenheit + thermometer commonly used in England zero is expressed by 0, and + that the freezing point of water is plus (+) 32 deg., or 32 deg. above zero. + The above temperatures are all minus (-), or below zero. Without + remembering these facts, one can hardly appreciate the intense and + almost unparalleled cold experienced by the late expedition. + + 17 "Journals and Proceedings of the Arctic Expedition, 1875-6," &c. + (printed as a Parliamentary Blue-book). + + 18 Mercury frequently froze during the writer's stay on the Yukon, and + other parts of Northern Alaska, in the winter of 1866-7. On one + occasion the thermometer registered 58 deg. below zero (90 deg. below the + freezing point of water). + + 19 The recently-reported exploit of Professor Nordenskjold, of which we + have at present the barest outlines, does not properly come under + this category. It was in reality a successful voyage by the + north-west passage, and must eventually find its place in these + pages. + + 20 Sir John Barrow: "Chronological History of Voyages into the Arctic + Regions." + + 21 The full name of this navigator is Willem zoon Barents, or Barentz, + _i.e._, William, the son of Barents. The abbreviated form, however, + has always been adopted of late. + + 22 Introduction to the Hakluyt Society's edition of these voyages. + + 23 A Dutch proverb, used when an undertaking turns out badly. The dog + stole a sausage, and got well whipped for his pains. + + 24 "Discoveries East of Spitzbergen," &c. Paper read before the Royal + Geographical Society by C. R. Markham, Esq., C.B., F.R.S., February + 10th, 1873. + + 25 A cubical or rectangular mass of ice will, floating in the sea, have + about six times the depth under water that it has height above. But + it will be evident that this will not apply to irregular-shaped + masses, which may have very solid bases, rising above in lighter + pinnacles or other fantastic forms. The brother of the writer has + seen on the Greenland coast icebergs 90 to 100 feet out of the + water, _grounded_ at 100 fathoms (600 feet). + + 26 "Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern + Ocean." + + 27 In several of the older Arctic works glaciers and icebergs are + confounded. The fact is that the latter, or at all events the larger + number of the latter, are born of the former. They are masses of ice + which have become detached at the sea end and have floated away. + + 28 The writer has visited many parts of Russian-America, or, as it is + now called, Alaska, a little south of the above point. The natives + as a rule live _underground_ in winter, but they have for summer use + board and log houses on the surface, and stages above and around + them of all kinds, some for drying fish, others for raising sledges + or canoes above the surface of the ground, &c. + + 29 There is none growing, but a wreck or piece of drift-wood + occasionally supplies their need. The writer was in Behring Sea in + the autumn of the year 1865, when the famed and dreaded privateer + _Shenandoah_ burned _thirty_ American whale-ships, and the natives + had then a considerable amount of wreckage, including complete + boats, which had come ashore. _Vide_ the author's work, "Travel and + Adventure in the Territory of Alaska," &c. + + 30 In the summer of 1843 Middendorf explored the coasts and + neighbourhood of Cape Taimyr, and looking seawards to the Polar + Ocean, saw open water. + + 31 The writer has spelt the word phonetically. It is impossible to + render more than the sound of a Russian word in English, and any + attempt to Anglicise the Russian spelling must end in failure, as + there are thirty-six letters in that language. But from intercourse + with educated Russians in Kamchatka during two visits in 1865 and + 1866, he knows that his mode more nearly represents the sound than + the versions commonly adopted, one of which may be noted above in + the quotation from Mueller, where the English translator has made the + word _Kamtschatka_. + + 32 We read little of these animals afterwards in Parry's narrative, and + they were not, and could not be, of service in the perilous and + harassing journey, over broken and detached _sea_ ice, about to be + described. + + 33 "Phipps's Voyage towards the North Pole." + + 34 Sir John Franklin's first wife died on the day after the departure + of the expedition from England. + + 35 It is not desirable here to enter into the detailed consideration of + who first discovered the North-west Passage. When Franklin sailed in + 1845 there was but a comparatively small gap between Parry's + furthest western point (Melville Island) and Back's Great Fish + River, unexplored, and Franklin did undoubtedly complete this + missing link. M'Clure, as we shall afterwards see, made the passage + successfully and independently, and his discoveries were published + long before the world knew anything of Franklin's fate or the extent + of his last voyage. The late Sir Roderick Murchison considered + Franklin "the first real discoverer of the North-west Passage," and + the inscription on his monument bears witness to the same effect. + + 36 It will have been observed that Captain Collinson, who was to have + accompanied M'Clure, was never able to communicate with him. This + vessel, however, passed some time in the Arctic waters, and some + pieces of wreck purchased by him from the Esquimaux, and _supposed_ + to have been parts of Franklin's vessels, the _Erebus_ and _Terror_, + were the only relics which were ever obtained by any naval commander + acting under Government orders. Captain Parry's discoveries, however + interesting in regard to the early progress of the expedition, threw + no light on its fate. + + 37 Although there is some variation in the mode of preparing this + comestible, it is essentially always the same: lean meat, dried and + cut into shreds, which is then pounded up and mixed with melted beef + fat, and pressed into cases. Among the Indians, who have not this + latter resource of civilisation, gut and skins are employed, and + their pemmican is not, therefore, unlike a rather substantial and + solid sausage. + + 38 Conjecture is perhaps wrong at this point, but the painful thought + has often occurred to the writer that the Esquimaux, not always + quite so innocent as some writers would have us believe, were the + murderers of some at least of the enfeebled party. Broken down by + starvation, and exhausted by painful travel, they would be an easy + prey to the hardy natives, whose cupidity might be excited by the + many useful articles they possessed. We have before seen how + Franklin was nearly involved in a serious _fracas_ with those + people, and in later days it is on record that Dr. Hayes, the + American explorer, discovered a plot for the destruction of his + party. + + 39 There are slight discrepancies in the above records, which, however, + can be readily understood were made in the hurry and excitement of + the moment. + + 40 No part of the skull of either skeleton was found, with the + exception only of the lower jaw of each. + + 41 "Arctic Explorations in the Years 1853, '54, '55," by Elisha Kent + Kane, M.D., U.S.N. + + 42 "Summer in the Antarctic Regions." + + 43 The word _Arctic_ is derived from the Greek, and signifies _of_, or + _belonging to the bear_. + + 44 Captain Dumont D'Urville commanded an expedition dispatched by + France in 1837 for the express purpose of exploring the Antarctic, + and Lieutenant Wilkes, U.S.N. had a similar commission the same + year. Wilkes and D'Urville sighted each other's vessels on one + occasion, but through a mistake did not communicate. + + 45 Don Cristoval Colon. The port now generally termed Aspinwall, on the + Atlantic side of the Isthmus of Panama, was long, and is sometimes + nowadays known as Colon. + + 46 Translation of the history by Don Ferdinand Columbus in Churchill's + Collection of Voyages and Travels. + + 47 They had been seventy days on the passage from Spain. + + 48 "Land-lubber" about expresses this term. + + 49 "History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella." + + 50 It must be remembered that it was the received opinion of the good + Roman Catholics of the period, that heathen nations were outside the + pale of spiritual and civil rights, and that their bodies were the + property of their conquerors. Even Columbus recommended an exchange + of native slaves for the commodities required in the colony; + representing, moreover, that their conversion would be the more + surely effected in slavery! _Vide_ Prescott's "History of the Reign + of Ferdinand and Isabella." + + 51 Calicut, in the district of Malabar, must not be confounded with + Calcutta. Calico derives its name from Calicut, once a famous + manufacturing city. + + 52 "The Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus." + + 53 The Straits of Magellan are nearly 300 miles in length, and vary in + breadth from one and a half to thirty-three miles. The rocky cliffs + and mountains which bound it are in some places 3,000 to 4,000 feet + in height. The passage has only been used extensively since the + steamship era. Now it is a common highway for steamships and some + sailing vessels, the latter being often towed through by steam tugs. + + 54 First discovered by Tasman in 1642. + + + + + + TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE + + +The illustrations have been moved so that they do not break up paragraphs +and are near the text they illustrate. + +Several illustrations which were missing from the List of Illustrations +have been added to it. They can be identified by the missing page numbers +in the list. + +The following changes have been made to the text: + + page iv, "Portugese" changed to "Portuguese" (three times) + page 7, "sudddenly" changed to "suddenly" + page 21, comma changed to period after "fleet" + page 27, "armanent" changed to "armament" + page 41, double quote changed to single quote after "them." + page 60, "were" changed to "where" + page 134, "Vere" changed to "Veer" + page 201, period added after "northward" + page 212, quote mark added after "putrid." + page 229, prime added after "43", prime changed to double prime + after "15" + page 246, quote mark added before "It" + page 249, quote mark added after "superb." + page 251, quote mark added after "land." + page 271, quote mark added after "ice." + page 275, comma changed to period after "whales" + page 299, quote mark removed before "On" + page 310, quote mark added after "fate!" + page 319, double "to" removed + +Differences between the table of contents and the chapter summaries have +not been corrected. Neither have variations in hyphenation been +normalized. + + + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SEA: ITS STIRRING STORY OF ADVENTURE, PERIL, & HEROISM. 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